The St. Lawrence River : historical, legendary, picturesque

Front matter

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Preface

WHILE the St. Lawrence River has been the scene of many important events connected with the discovery and development of a large portion of North America, no attempt has before been made to collect and embody in one volume a complete and comprehensive narrative of this great waterway. This is not denying that considerable has been written relating to it, and some of this told in an interesting and painstaking manner, but the various offerings have been scattered through many volumes, and most of these have soon become inaccessible to the general reader. Sir J. M. LeMoine, F.R.S.C, of Quebec, who has done so much to give the St.^Lawrence place in the literature of Canada, says of this noble river :

It lies for a thousand miles between two great nations, yet neglected by both, though neither would be so great without it, — a river as grand as the La Plata, as picturesque as the Rhine, as pure as the Lakes of Switzerland. . . . The noblest, the purest, most enchanting river on all God's beautiful earth . . . has never yet had a respectable history, nor scarcely more than an occasional artist to delineate its beauties.

The writer of this volume has undertaken as far as he could in a single work, to present a succinct and

VI

Preface unbroken account of the most important historic incidents connected with the river, combined with descriptions of some of its most picturesque scenery and frequent selections from its prolific sources of legends and traditions. He has not hoped to treat so vast a subject fully in one volume, but he trusts that he will meet the expectations of the majority. In writing a work of this kind the difficulty has not been in finding sufficient material, but rather it has been in the selection of those matters which most closely concerned the subject in hand. Thus, he has felt obliged to pass over in silence, or describe hastily, many scenes that appear to deserve greater recognition. It does not seem practicable to make a continuous narrative in a work of this kind, but this plan has been followed as nearly as possible, and at the same time to give an intelligent account of the incidents in their order. When and where original documents and papers have not been available for consultation, only the best authorities have been accepted and then not without comparison with others. It is hoped that but few errors have crept in, while it must be borne in mind that no two historians ever exactly agree on the local history of a place.

The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the numerous persons whose works have proved especially valuable to him in his study of the subject. Among these it is a pleasure to mention Cartier's Bref Rdcit, Champlain's Narratives, Jesuit Relations, Haldimand Papers, Colden's Iroquois Nation, Prof. Grant's

Preface vii

Picturesque Canada, Willis's Canadian Scenery, Charlevoix's History of Canada, The Johnson Journals, MSS. of M. Fere, Winsor's Car tier to Frontenac, Haddock's Picturesque St. Lawrence, LeMoine's Maple Leaves, Parkman's Pioneers of France in the New World, and many others, besides those credited from time to time, in the following pages, not forgetting the numerous fugitive articles that have materially assisted him. He also wishes to record his appreciation of the valuable assistance given him by his friends who have so generously lent their aid in securing data which was not always easy to obtain.

In producing the hundred illustrations that accompany the work care has been taken to give as wide a scope as possible to the views belonging to the river. In this department many thanks are due to the artists and photographers for their efforts toward making the work attractive and interesting. The thanks of the publishers are due the Department of the Interior at Ottawa for a plan of the river.

G. W. B.

Chapter I Fags

From Lake to Gulf i

Physical and Picturesque Features of Canada's Remarkable River — Fifty Miles of Islands — Scenery of " Les Mille lies " — A Hundred Miles of Rapids — Shooting the Rapids — The Bright Path of Peril — Romantic Montreal — Twin Rows of Towns — Historic Quebec — Long Miles of Tide-Water — Then Out to Sea !

CHAPTER VII From Fur-Trade to Commerce 75

Cardinal Richelieu and his Hundred Associates — First Surrender of Quebec to the English — Comparison of the Settlements of the St. Lawrence Valley to those of Massachusetts Bay — Trade Troubles Increase — Founding of Three Rivers — Death of Champlain — His Character — The Great Company Make Concessions — Laziness Denounced — Fisheries — Lack of Pilots — Early Shipbuilding — Fairs — Suppression of Knowledge — Ladies of Quebec — First Newspaper in Canada — First Steamship to Cross the Atlantic — Commerce of the St. Lawrence To-day.

CHAPTER VIII The Wilderness Missions 95

Four Recollet Priests Come to Quebec — Were Explorers as well as Missionaries — First Missions — Encouragement of Agriculture — Recollets Forced to Abandon their Work — Taken up by the Jesuits — Work Interrupted by the English — Westward from the Ottawa — The Thessaly of Olden Canada — The Huron Missions — The Mis. sion of the Martyrs — College Established at Quebec.

Chapter IX

Founders of the Ursuline Convent in Quebec — Maisonneuve, the Champlain of Montreal — The Heroines of Ville-Marie — A Canadian Regulus — The Holy Wars of Early Montreal.

Contents xi

Chapter X Page

The Story of Daulac and his Heroic Band, every Man of whom Died for New France — How Twenty-two Heroes Held Seven Hundred Iroquois Warriors at Bay.

CHAPTER XI The Heroic Period . . . . . . . . 136

La Salle and his Associates — Talon, the First Intendant — Frontenac — The Great Council with the Iroquois — Laval Restored to the Episcopate — Maids of Quebec — First Ship upon Lake Erie — Fate of La Salle — Frontenac Recalled — Treachery of Denonville — Massacre at La Chine — Return of Frontenac — His "Winter Raids" — Phips's Expedition — Death of Frontenac.

CHAPTER XII Bushrangers and Voyageurs 162

The Coureurs de Bois — A Unique Canadian Character — Their Dress and Habits — The Voyageurs — Rangers of Romance — Personal Appearance — Their Roving Natures — Rowing Songs — Story of Cadieux — His " Lament" — Revelry at the Rendezvous — Homeward Bound.

CHAPTER XIII When Quebec Fell . . 174

Situation under Frontenac's Successors — Infamous Conduct of Bigot and Others — Declaration of War, 1756 — Arrival of Montcalm — His Early Victories — Driven back to Quebec — Wolfe and his Army Reach Isle of Orleans — Siege of Quebec — Wolfe's Famous Path to the Plains of Abraham— The Battle — Rout of the French — Wolfe and Montcalm Shot — Scenes that Followed.

CHAPTER XIV Under the New Regime 192

Second Battle of the Plains — Surrender of Montreal — Conquest Closes at Pontchartrain — Result — Campaign of 1775-76 — Fall of Montgomery — Arnold's Retreat — The " Hungry Year" — Heroism of the Canadians at Chateauguay — Naval Fight on Lake Champlain — Victory of McDonough — Hard Blow to the English — End of War of 181 2-1 5 — Result of this War to Canada — Important Periods in History — Final Union of the Provinces.

xii Contents

Chapter XV Page

Tadousac of Historic Interest — First Mission here — The Old Church —The Fur-Trade— The Cavern River— Sixty Miles of Mountain Walls— Ha-Ha Bay— Chicoutimi— Lake St. John— " The Grand Discharge " — Falls of Ouiatchouan — Cape Eternity.

Chapter XVI

The Mission of the Montagnais — Story of the Last Missionary — Riviere du Lotip — Murray Bay — Giant of Cap aux Corbeaux — Earthquake of 1663 — A Vivid Scene — Isle of Hazels — A Legion of Mountains — First Mass in Canada — Baie St. Paul — Gouffre — Nature Asleep and Awake.

Chapter XVII

Where Art and Nature Meet — A Climax in Mountains — The Island of Sorrow — Legend of Crane Island — Chateau Le Grande — Prisoner of the Jealous Wife — Cartier's Isle of Bacchus — Ancient Petit Cap — Divine Ste. Anne — Canadian Mecca — Story of the Saint — A Bird's-Eye View of Beauport — Falls of Montmorency.

Chapter XVIII

A Peopled Cliff — The Lower Town — A Spiral Street — Cape Diamond — The Citadel — A Relic of Bunker Hill — Rare Panorama of Country — Memorable Trip of Major Fitzgerald — His Unhappy Love Romance — "Ribbon Farms" — Scene of Cartier's "White Winter" — Two Acres of Clover, Daisies, and Buttercups — Road to Charlesbourg — Chateau de Beaumanoir — Ruins, Flowers, and Vines — Historic Names — Story of the Acadian Maid— Old Fortress — Its Secret Passage — Plains of Abraham.

CHAPTER XIX Sights and Shrines of Quebec 260

Monuments to Wolfe, Montcalm, and " Aux Braves" — Ste. Foye Road — Mount Hermon — Chateau St. Louis — Portraits of Celebrities — Chateau Frontenac — " The Golden Dog" — Story of M. Phillibert — University of Laval — "Notre Dame des Victoires" — Graves of Richelieu and Laval — A Winter Night — Laughter and Good Cheer.

Contents xiii

Chapter XX Page

North Bank — Sillery — Indian Settlements in the St. Lawrence Valley — St. Francis — St. Regis — Three Rivers — Poetical Names — An Atmosphere of Age — Peasant Population — Three Types — Early Farmhouses — The Harvest Festival — Christmas-tide — A True Son of Old Normandy.

CHAPTER XXI The Region of Rivers 285

The Chaudiere Valley — Watershed of Northern New England — Falls of the Chaudiere — Eastern Townships — As Seen by the Early Voyagers — A Primeval Picture — Feathered Denizens of the Woods — Noble Old Trees — Memory of Cartier's Men — Lake St. Peter — Town of St. Francis — St. Francis River — An Old-Time War-Trail — Rogers's Raid — The Loyalists — Yamaska — A Vista of Mountains — The Richelieu Valley — Extract from an Old Journal — Saintly Names — A Ghostly Bivouac.

CHAPTER XXII Canada's " White City " 300

Oldest Town on the St. Lawrence — Victoria Bridge — Helen's Island — "All 's Lost but Honour" — History and Tragedy — First Steamer on the St. Lawrence — Churches — Notre Dame — Great Bell — Midnight Mass — The Devil and the Wind — Grave of le Rat — Recollet Gate — Public Parks — Terrible Fate of the Four Iroquois Brothers — Noted Homes — Chateau de Ramezay — Scene of Momentous Events — Hallowed by the Presence of Famous Men — Old Kitchen — Portrait Gallery — Future of Montreal.

CHAPTER XXIII Climbing the Rapids 323

The White Steamer — Hardships of the Early Portages — " Roads of Iron " — La Chine Canal — Nature Outwitted — The Place of Captives — Lake St. Louis — The Ottawa — Once a Part of the Great River — Lake St. Francis — Sunset on the River — Cornwall — Crossing the Line — St. Regis — Its Historic Bell — First Steamer to Run the Rapids — How it was Done — Prescott — Ancient Landmarks — Grave of Barbara Heck — "Patriot War" — Ill-starred Adventures — The Fenian Insurrection.

xiv Contents

Chapter XXIV Page

Mission of La Presentation — Ogdensburg — Brockville — Romance of the Thousand Islands — A Daughter's Devotion to a Father — Carleton Island — " Lost Channel" — Memory of a Bonaparte — Origin of the Feud between the Iroquois and the Algonquins — Legend of the League of the Five Nations — Tradition of Hiawatha — Cooper's "Station Island" — Gananoque — " The Place of the Deer" — A Poet's Tribute — Kingston, the Limestone City — Conclusion.

Illustrations

PAGE

View of Quebec, Lower Town . . . Frontispiece

Modern Attractions of the Thousand Islands . . 6 From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

Long Sault Rapids 8

From a drawing by W. H. Bartlett.

Shooting the La Chine Rapids 10

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

View of the City of Quebec 12

Portrait of Jacques Cartier 16 v

From B. Suite's Histoire des Canadiens-Fran$ais (Montreal, 1882-84).

The Voyage of Jacques Cartier to Canada, 1534 . . 20

From an old print.

Gaspe Basin 26

Perce Rock 28

Riviere du Loup Falls 32

Cartier's Visit to Hochelaga, 1535 . . . -34

From an old print.

Cartier on His Way up the St. Lawrence River . .40

Manor de Cartier, St. Malo 50

Samuel De Champlain 52

From the O'Niel copy of the Hamel Painting.

1 A Squall on Lake St. Peter 58

From a drawing by W. H. Bartlett. xv xvi Illustrations

PAGE

Old Fort Chambly 64

From a drawing by W. H. Bartlett.

The Champlain Monument, Quebec 72

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

The St. Louis Gate, Quebec 76

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

The French Flag in the Time of Champlain ... 82

Scene on the Jacques Cartier River .... 86

Habitation de Quebec 92

From Champlain's Works, rare Paris ed. of 1613.

Chateau St. Louis (1694-1834), Destroyed by Fire in

1834 9 6

The Rapids Above the Cedars 100

From a drawing by W. H. Bartlett.

The Indian Village of Caughnawaga .... 104 From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

Portrait of Marie Guyard (Mere Marie de L'Incar-

nation) 108

From B. Suite's Histoire des Canadiens-Francais.

Portrait of Maisonneuve 116

Ibid.

The Junction of the Ottawa and the St. Lawrence

Rivers 126

From a drawing by W. H. Bartlett.

Grandmere Rock, St. Maurice River .... 130

Portrait of Laval, First Canadian Bishop . . . 136

Ibid.

La Salle House, Lower La Chine Road, Montreal . 138

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

A Summer Scene on the Shore of Lake Memphremagog 144 From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

Portrait and Autograph of Cavalier De La Salle . 148

From B. Suite's Histoire des Canadiens-Francais.

Illustrations

XVll

Frontenac .

From Hebert's Statue at Quebec.

View of the St. Lawrence River, from Citadel, Quebec

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

The St. Lawrence River in Winter

Portrait of Montcalm

From B. Suite's Histoire des Canadiens-Franfais.

The Louisbourg Gun in the Yard of the Chateau de Ramezay, Montreal ....

Cap Rouge .

Major-General James Wolfe Montmorency Falls ....

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

The Citadel, Quebec, from Parliament Building

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

In the Days of the Pioneers

From a drawing by W. H. Bartlett.

The Old Tadousac Church

A Group of Montagnais Indians

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

The Little Saguenay ....

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

Ouiatchouan Falls ....

Pointe-a-pic, Murray Bay .

Cap Tourmente (St. Joachim)

St. John's Church, Isle of Orleans .

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

Bonne Ste. Anne — Old Church

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

PAGE

*54

170 176 ,

190 196

222 226

234 240

Illustrations

Cape Diamond, Showing. Tablet to the Memory of

Montgomery

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

The Break-neck Steps, Quebec ....

Natural Steps, Montmorency River .

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

The Ruins of Chateau Bigot ....

A Distant View of the Jacques Cartier Monument

The Golden Dog

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

Sillery Cove

A French Canadian Farmer

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

A French Canadian Homestead (St. Prime)

Chaudiere River

Chaudiere Falls

From a photograph by Livernois, Quebec.

A Toss-up. A Form of Canadian Sport. .

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

A Spill on the Toboggan Slide ....

The Ice Palace, Montreal, 1885

Dominion Square, Montreal ....

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

View of Montreal from Mount Royal

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

The Chateau de Ramezay, Montreal

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

Kitchen in the Chateau de Ramezay, Montreal

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

Victoria Square, Montreal ....

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

260 262 264

268 276

278 286 288

296 302 306

Illustrations

XIX

An Old Windmill on Lower La Chine Road, Montreal 324 From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

The Methodist Church at Prescott

Founded by Barbara Heck. Her grave is marked by a cross.

The Old Windmill at Prescott ....

View of the Thousand Islands from Devil's Oven .

From a photograph by W. Notman & Son, Montreal.

Below the " Rift,' 1 ' Thousand Islands

Among the Thousand Islands

Map of the St. Lawrence River

• 334

• 336

• 346

• 35o at end

Chapter I From Lake to Gulf

Physical and Picturesque Features of Canada's Remarkable River — Fifty Miles of Islands — Scenery of " Les Mille lies" — A Hundred Miles of Rapids — Shooting the Rapids — The Bright Path of Peril — Romantic Montreal — Twin Rows of Towns — Historic Quebec — Long Miles of Tide-Water —Then Out to Sea!

RIVERS play an important part in the history of a country. They reflect more clearly the character of the settlers than any other natural boundary. They were, in truth, the one dividing line acknowledged by the American aborigines, and by them, as a rule, the limitations of the tribes became fixed, so far as it was possible for a people with unwritten laws to establish their domains. Along the banks of these unmapped streams clustered their conical tents ; here they held their councils of war ; here they celebrated their festivals of peace ; here they fished and hunted ; here they staked their fates, and won, and lost. These streams became their main highways of travel. Along their sedgy courses they sped their light canoes, leaving in their wake no stone disturbed, no twig turned, and scarce a ripple upon the surface of the water. The same boulders and smaller stones that strewed the pathway of the earliest voyager remained in the path of the last. Upon reaching the fountain-head of a river recourse was had to a land journey to the nearest water, the craft which had been their means of transit, as well as their rude " baggage," borne on their shoulders over the intervening portage, known for this reason as a "carrying-place."

Upon the advent of the white man these rivers again became the natural paths of the explorers, their banks the homesteads of the pioneers ; later, the sites for cities builded through the industries arising from the mills and manufactories whose power was furnished by their waterfalls. Thus, in many ways, they became closely identified with the progress of civilisation.

The history and description of a river should be written, it would seem, by starting at its fountain-head and following its course to that larger body of water where it yields its life and treasures. Unfortunately for this purpose, the tide of human events runs counter to the current of most rivers, and the storied St. Lawrence is no exception. If this is true the series of incidents that have helped form its history will be better comprehended after an outline of its natural career from lake to gulf ; each rapid, lakelet, rocky bluff, and tributary, having a double interest when linked with its ancient and now silent glory, is the story of human achievement, some deed of heroism, sacrifice, or suffering endured by the brave race that led the way along its trackless aisles bordered by mighty forests.

The St. Lawrence River, in its most limited bounds, x begins at the foot of Lake Ontario, opposite the city of Kingston, and flows generally in a north-easterly direction about 750 miles, when its flood mingles with that of the gulf by the same name. Treated in a more extended manner, according to the ideas of the early French geographers, and taking either the river and lake of Nipigon, on the north of Superior, or the river St. Louis, flowing from the south-west, it has a grand total length of over two thousand miles. With its tributaries it drains over four hundred thousand square miles of country, made up of fertile valleys and plateaux inhabited by a prosperous people, desolate barrens, deep forests, where the foot of man has not yet left its imprint.

Seldom less than two miles in width, it is two and one-half miles wide where it issues from Ontario, and with several expansions which deserve the name of lake it becomes eighty miles in width where it ceases to be considered a river. The influence of the tide is felt as far up as Lake St. Peter, about one hundred miles above Quebec and over five hundred miles from the gulf, while it is navigable for sea-going vessels to Montreal, eighty miles farther inland. Rapids impede navigation above this point, but by means of canals continuous communication is obtained to the head of Lake Superior.

If inferior in breadth to the mighty Amazon, if it lacks the length of the Mississippi, if without the stupendous gorges and cataracts of the Yang-tse-Kiang of China, if missing the ancient castles of the Rhine, if wanting the lonely grandeur that still overhangs the Congo of the Dark Continent, the Great River of Canada has features as remarkable as any of these. It has its source in the largest body of fresh water upon the globe, and among all of the big rivers of the world it is the only one whose volume is not sensibly affected by the elements. In rain or in sunshine, in spring floods or in summer droughts, this phenomenon of waterways seldom varies more than a foot in its rise and fall. By this statement it should not be understood that the river maintains every year the same depth of water, as from other causes it varies somewhat. One of the historians of its upper section', Mr. J. A. Haddock, says :

The level of the river differs, one year with another, the extreme range being about seven feet. These changes are not the immediate effects of the excessive rains, such as cause floods in other rivers, but appear to be occasioned by the different quantities of rain falling, in some years more than in others, and which finds its way down months afterwards. A series of several years of high water, and others of low water are known to have occurred. The level of the river is also affected by strong prevailing winds, blowing up or down the lake, and several instances of rapid fall, followed by a returning wave of extraordinary height, have been reported.

While favoured with America's Great Lakes as the reservoir from which to draw its supply, the St. Lawrence has not been niggardly treated in the offerings of tributary streams, some of which are themselves noble rivers, the largest being the Ottawa and Saguenay. Hundreds of streams, many of them deserving the designation of river, come winding down from the region of the northland, or from the great watershed of the south. Canada is a country of canons and waterfalls, and the streams that seek the St. Lawrence run tortuous races before they reach the parent river. Some come tipped up edgewise, like the mysterious Saguenay ; others come flattened like the Montmorency, rolled so thin that the sunlight breaks through ; but one and all roll and tumble, toss and twist, and wear the white veil of mist. Beside Canada, New England, with her rivers and mountains, must be content to take a second place in the matter of waterfalls.

Where the great Laurentian chain of mountains, running from east to west across Canada, swings southward to enter Northern New York, it drops a link, as it were, so as to allow the last of the big lakes an outlet in the channel of the St. Lawrence, which moves sluggishly among the thousand islands helping to form the most picturesque archipelago in the world, its nearest rival being that other section of lakes and islands, Finland. The actual number of the islands of this Lake of the Thousand Isles is really nearer two thousand, though this discrepancy would not be noticed by the new-comer into this enchanting realm. Nor can it matter greatly to the daily voyager, as he threads the winding passages of the interior, or glides along the broader way leading into the American channel. This was the old Indian trail, and along this course followed the adventurous Champlain, who was the first white man to gaze upon this entrancing scene.

Leaving the city of Kingston, which stands upon the site of that frontier town, Cataraqui, with its Martello towers and decidedly military appearance, the course of modern travel leads to the lively American town, Clayton, noted as a summer resort. Below this thriving village, island after island studding the placid lake rises into view, the finger-tips of the great mountain range. On one of these larger isles is located the " Thousand Island Park," while a little below is the fashionable resort known as the " Saratoga of the St. Lawrence," Alexandria Bay, its shores the foreground for many elegant villas and summer hotels. Gazing upon the numerous cottages now dotting the islands, the mind of the thoughtful observer quickly spans the years that have seen this beautiful region opened to the admiring sight-seer ; to the period, not so very remote, when this lovely expanse of river and isles was known to I the romantic red man as Manatoana, or " The Garden '■ of the Great Spirit." As usual, the Amerind expressed in fitting term the natural beauties of the spot named. Covered with the ancient forest, fitting haunts for the wild deer, the little bays and inlets the common resort of water-fowl, it must indeed have been a paradise for the dusky hunter "and fisher. It is well that all of these natural attractions have not vanished, for still many of the isles

O £ r js are bristling with firs and pines; others lie open like a level field awaiting the husbandman's care. Some are but arid rock, as wild and picturesque as those seen among the Faroe Islands; others have a group of trees or a solitary pine, and others bear a crown of flowers or a little hillock of verdure like a dome of malachite, among which the river slowly glides, embracing with equal fondness the great and the small, now receding afar and now retracing its course, like the good Patriarch visiting his domains, or like the god Proteus counting his snowy flocks.

From Clayton to Chippewa Bay the river, with its clustered isles, is like a fairyland, the thousand and one gems brightened by the fantastic imagery of the beholder. Now an island comes into view which bears a happy resemblance to some spot known in childhood. Yonder is a bit of rock-landscape diamondshaped, the gleam and glitter of the gem in its setting rather than in itself. Close by, in marked contrast to the other's barren aspect, is a star-pointed plot of greensward, adorned by three trees whose interlacing branches form the outline of a cross. Below, like a huge hand laid upon the waters, is the green-bordered isle of the "lost lover" of Indian legend. The pointing finger of this island hand still shows the way the dusky maid went in search of her recreant lover, never to return. And everywhere art has combined with nature to enliven if not to enhance the scene. Upon a tiny island, barely large enough to afford it standing room, is a modest cottage. Over the brown shingle of the rocky beach of a larger island loom the dark grey walls of a western-world imitation of the Castle of Chillon, but happily the white face of its prisoner, made immortal by Byron, is not to be seen at its windows.

The last of the Thousand Islands are called " The Three Sisters," on account of their resemblance and intimate relations to each other, a beautiful trio that have been the silent witnesses of the coming and going of the races of men claiming lordship over the wonderland of the noble river.

Brockville, " the Queen City of the St. Lawrence," named for General Brock, is situated on the Canadian shore, below the last of the islands, with Morristown on the New York bank nearly opposite. Below these, Ogdensburg, on the American side, and Prescott on the other, stand also vis-a-vis, like sentinels long on duty. Then the Massena Landing is passed, and the approach to the famous rapids is begun.

There is a concealed velocity to the current of the St. Lawrence which we do not realise, though at times conscious of passing along swift water, until we are forcibly reminded of the troubled condition of the river, and are told that we are entering the first of the series of rapids marking the downward flight of the waters. The Galops are passed when we come in sight of du Plat, thrilled with the pleasant sensation of excitement, and longing for a repetition of the exhilarating experience. We may be cowards at heart, but there is a fascination in this mild form of danger which arouses our interest. Aware that the descent just made was merely the prelude to the grand march ahead, as if nature were alive to the best effect to be produced, we approach with quickening pulse the nine miles of rapids known as the Long Sault. The river is now divided by a string of islands. The roar of the surges now breaks solemnly upon the ear, and the gaze is greeted with whirlpools of foaming waters and curved lines of yellow flood charging some hidden enemy which flings it back with furious defiance, only to receive again and again the rallying legions forever beating its rock-ribbed front. Farther than the eye can reach extend these series of rifts, now capped with white plumes, anon darkling with rage ; at one moment rushing madly past jutting headlands, and then leaping with bounds the broken barriers in its pathway.