‘A Mixed Assemblage of Persons’: Race and Tavern Space in Upper Canada

Abstract

On our arrival yesterday many Indians were in town and a few of them stayed about the taverns pretty late in the evening. Some of them, as well as the blacks and whites, drank quite freely; and I heard this morning that a fracas occurred in our landlord's bar-room among the heterogenous assemblage there. Having retired early I knew nothing of it. The blame was thrown upon the ‘negroes’ by the bar-keeper who was a ‘Yankee’ of ‘high pressure’ prejudice, but it did not amount to much; and to-day very few Indians or blacks are to be seen in the public places.