A TOUR THROUGH CANADA, FROM NOVA SCOTIA TO VANCOUVER ISLAND, A Tour Through Canada FROM NOVA SCOTIA TO VANCOUVER ISLAND.[Reprinted, by Permission, from the Columns of THE CANADIAN GAZETTE, London,. England. 1884. [the right of reproduction is reserved.] PREFACE. The articles embodied in this pamphlet were originally written for the columns of The Canadian Gazette, to supply a want felt among members of the British Association of a trustworthy guide to the places in Canada most worth visiting during their stay in the Dominion. Their insertion in The Canadian Gazette led to a desire for their reproduction in a handy form, and this has been "made possible, with but few necessary alterations, by the kind permission of Mr. Thomas Skinner, the Editor and Proprietor of that paper. No pretension is made that these articles form a complete guide to the Dominion—so vast in resource for tourist and sportsman alike—for as newspaper articles they were necessarily limited in extent. But it is hoped that they will be of some service to the yearly increasing number of tourists and travellers who are seeking in British North America "fresh fields and pastures new" in which to spend their autumn holiday. London, England, August, 1884. SYNOPSIS CHAPTER I. PAGE The Voyage to Quebec—Halifax to Quebec—The New York Route—Travellers Notes x CHAPTER II. Quebec—Montmorenci Falls—Chaudiere Falls—Lorette—River Saguenay, and Lower St. Lawrence CHAPTER III. Montreal—St. Helen's Island—Sault-au-Recollet—Belceil Mountain—Three Rivers and St. Lawrence Excursion—Lake Memphremagog—Lakes Champlain and George - 13 CHAPTER IV. Ottawa—Up the River Ottawa to Mattawa—The Canadian Pacific Line over the North Shore of Lake Superior—Lake Nipissing—Ottawa to Montreal by Rail - 24 CHAPTER V. Toronto—Niagara Falls—Muskoka and the Northern Lakes of Canada—Hamilton, St Catherine's, London, and Guelph—Kingston—The Thousand Islands, Long Sault, Coteau, Cedar, Cascade, and Lachine Rapids -»...- 30 CHAPTER VI. Montreal to the Rocky Mountains—The New Ontario and Quebec Railway—Perth —Peterborough—Toronto—Owen Sound—Canadian Pacific Lake Steamers— Georgian Bay and Lake Huron—Sault Ste. Marie—Lake Superior - - - 35 CHAPTER VII. Port Arthur—Fort William—Kakabeka Falls—Rat Portage—Lake of the Woods 42 VI11 SYNOPSIS. CHAPTER VIII. Winnipeg—Lake Winnipeg—Icelandic Settlement—St Vincent and Emerson- Mennonite Settlements - - - - 47 CHAPTER IX. The Canadian Pacific Railway Through the North-West—Portage La Prairie—Brandon —Scotch Crofters' Settlement—Indian Head and Bell Farm—Regina—Moose Jaw —Canadian Pacific Test Farms—Swift Current—Maple Creek—Cypress Hills - 52 CHAPTER X. Medicine Hat—River Saskatchewan—Bow and Belly River Coal District—Battleford- Gleichen—Glimpse of the Rocky Mountains—Calgary—Alberta Cattle Ranches 60 CHAPTER XI. Bow River Valley—Morley—Padmore—In the Rocky Mountains—Mount Cascade— Castle Mountain—Silver City—Laggan—Stephen—Kicking Horse Pass and Valley —Columbia River—Rogers Pass Through the Selkirk Mountain—IUe-cille-waet Valley—Columbia River, Second Crossing—Eagle Pass Through the Gold Range —Thompson River—Kamloops—Savona Ferry—Lytton—Fraser River—Port Moody --- ..--65 CHAPTER XII. British Columbia—Vancouver Island—Victoria—Nanaimo—New Westminster—Port Moody—Yale 69 A TOUR THROUGH CANADA. ' CHAPTER I. The two great ocean routes to Canada are by the St. Lawrence to Quebec, and vi& New York The former is perhaps that more generally patronised. Among its advantages are a comparatively short ocean passage—Quebec being 480 miles nearer this country than New York, and nearly 1,000 miles of the voyage being in the comparatively smooth waters of the St. Lawrence ; as well as an escape of the double Custom House inspection to which travellers are otherwise subjected. THE VOYAGE TO QUEBEC. Speaking first of the Quebec route, we start from Liverpool in one of the St. Lawrence steamers. A few hours bring the vessel to Moville, sheltering in the picturesque harbour of Loch Foyle, on the north coast of Ireland, where, in the case of steamers engaged in the service, the mails are taken on board. Leaving Moville, the Irish coast is soon cleared, and the Atlantic fairly entered. Then for five and a-half or six days no glimpse of land relieves the eye, until the foggy portion of the ocean lying off Newfoundland is reached, and the north-east coast of the island itself sighted. On through Belle Isle Straits, with Belle Isle towering to a height of 650 feet at their mouth, passing the desolate island of Anticosti, the noble Gulf of St. Lawrence is entered, and the billows of .the Atlantic give way to the calmer waters of the St. Lawrence. For some 500 or 600 miles—during about two days—the beauties of the St. Lawrence are taken in on either hand. The grim, gloomy Saguenay is passed on the northern bank, followed by the rugged range of Laurentian Hills—supposed to be of the earliest geological formation-—the picturesque Isle d'Orleans, and the cataract of Montmorenci. On the southern bank Riviere du Loup, the favourite summer resort ot Quebec, is the first to attract attention beyond Rimouski; then are seen in rapid succession the quaint French villages, surrounded by luxuriant vegetation, which grace the eastern portion of the Province of Quebec. Suddenly rounding a point, a cluster of bright white houses and' glistening steeples, rising abruptly on a rugged ledge of rock, as it were in the midst of the river, and forming a scene of striking beauty, show that the historic city of Quebec, the " Gibraltar of America," has been reached. Point Levi, opposite the city, is now touched, and the eight or nine days' voyage is at an end. It may here be of interest to note that the Atlantic steamers land at Point Levi, rather than on the opposite bank at the ancient city itself, for the convenience of the great majority of passengers who are destined for cities further west, and who have no business in Quebec. The main lines of railway—the Intercolonial and Grand Trunk—run on the southern side of the river, and make connection at Point Levi, leaving the City of Quebec entirely out of their route. — 'UrTIm i lilt 'illWillJl S'^f^&isT¥^^0^ * I wEl&St*- =^^%Mmij, ' llllli SBBBBEBB^n (3) THE HALIFAX ROUTE. While, however, the St. Lawrence is the usual summer route to Quebec, it is quite possible that some visitors will prefer to land' at Halifax, in Nova Scotia, and proceed over the Intercolonial Railway to Quebec by rail rather than by water; and it will therefore be well to give a few particulars of this route. Halifax (Hotels: Halifax, International, and Waverley) is chiefly known on account of its famous harbour, well qualifying it to hold the important position of the winter port of Canada. This harbour is naturally the first feature of the city to attract attention on landing ; a deep inlet of the sea, it is six miles long, and on an average one mile wide, affording one of the best, perhaps the best, and safest havens in the world. Halifax is the chief naval station of British North America, and the only station now occupied by troops. It is protected by eleven different fortifications, chief among them being the citadel, which was commenced when the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria, was in command of the station, and now crowns the summit of the slope on which the city proper stands. The history of the place is a peaceful one, though it would doubtless prove a formidable point for an attacking force. Halifax itself is spoken of as the most British city on the continent, owing to its long association with the British army and navy. Its streets are spacious, crossing each other at right angles ; and its houses are, for the most part, built of wood, plastered and stuccoed, though there are many handsome stone residences. The principal public buildings are the Fish Market, the Province Building, declared by Judge Haliburton to be " the best built and handsomest edifice in North America," the New Province Building, with its fine museum open to the public, and the Public Garden. Outside the city, a visit should be paid to the large dockyard, covering fourteen acres, for the accommodation of Her Majesty's ships of war, which is acknowledged to be one of the finest dockyards in the British Colonies. The history of Halifax is thus told. It was originally called " Chedabucto," or " Chebucto,"'but in 1749, when it was proclaimed the capital of Acadia, which then comprised Nova Scotia and New Bisunswick, it was called Halifax, in honour of the Earl of Halifax, an active promoter of the enterprise which resulted in founding the city. In 1790 it contained 700 houses and 4,000 inhabitants; its people now number 36,100. The journey from Halifax to Quebec over the Intercolonial Railway— 686 miles—is one of considerable interest. Leaving from the North Street depot, the city is seen to advantage, as the head of the bay near Bedford is rounded. Passing along the shores of the beautiful Bedford Basin, and across the stretch of good agricultural land in the neighbourhood of the Stewiaches, Truro, of 6,000 inhabitants, one of the prettiest cities in the Province, is reached. The Folly Viaduct, six hundred feet long, and eighty-two feet high, over the Folly Valley, commands a good view. Amherst, a business-like town on the main line, is the next place of importance before Moncton is reached ; the latter a town of 5,000 or 6,000 people, known as the heart of the Intercolonial system. Passing through a country of no particular attraction, the Miramichi railway bridges, each measuring 1,200 feet in length, are crossed, and the train stops at Newcastle, noted for its lumber trade. A fine country for sport lies between here and Bathurst, the Tabusintac River, about half-way, being one of the best sea-trout rivers in America. La Baie des Chaleurs, one of the most beautiful havens in America, is next touched, and the Province of New Brunswick exchanged for Quebec. Thence to Rimouski an attractive reach of country is passed, after which, the land of the French pure and simple is entered, and we steam through Riviere du Loup and the quaint French villages B 2 '««7i7». (4) skirting the south shore of the St. Lawrence, each boasting its church and cure, until Levis is reached, whence the. ferry across the broad river takes us to Quebec. LIVERPOOL TO NEW YORK. If New York be the ocean destination, the point of landing on the south Irish coast will be Queenstown instead of Moville. On leaving Cork harbour and passing Daunt's Rock Light and Fastnet Rock, sixty miles from Queenstown, all sight of land rapidly disappears, and after between five and seven days at sea New York is reached. Thence a direct run of 380 miles—occupying about thirteen hours—through an interesting stretch of country, brings the passenger to Montreal. If, again, Boston be the port of landing, the railway journey to Montreal, a distance of about 340 miles, will occupy ten hours. TRAVELLERS' NOTES. It may be of service to mention that throughout the Dominion hotel charges average from 3 dols. to 4 dols. (12s. 6d. to 16s. 8d.) per day. The lowest will probably be i}i dols. (9s. 3d.) and the highest 5 dols. (£1 os. iod.). This is, of course, including only the first hotels. The average may, with equal comfort though perhaps less luxury, be kept down to 3 dols. The English pound is worth, in round figures, 4.85 dols.; the actual equivalent is 4 dols. 86% cents. Bankers' letters of credit, circular notes and marginal bills, together with Bank of England Notes, are easily negotiable at the rate of about 4 dols. 80 cents to the £. Each traveller upon an American or Canadian railway or steamer is allowed to take with him 1 solbs. of luggage without extra charge. The luggage is, however, only weighed when it seems to the officials to exceed the official limit. It need hardly be added that the traveller who is visiting Canada during July, August, or September will be wise in taking with him a selection of very light clothing, as he is almost sure to meet with warm weather. CHAPTER II. QUEBEC. (Hotels: St. Louis, Russell House, Albion, <5>-v.) Reverting to the St. Lawrence, we find ourselves landed at Point Levi, on the opposite side of the river to Quebec. One naturally looks for a handsome bridge spanning the St. Lawrence—here nearly a mile wide— at this important point, but none is seen ; in its place is a steam ferry, consisting of two boats, little more than immense floating platforms, made to carry several vehicles in the centre, the sides being set apart for passengers. These run from bank to bank at regular and frequent intervals throughout the days of the season ; during the winter the ice forms a better bridge than man could build. It is curious to note that there is but one bridge spanning the river St. Lawrence, that being the Victoria bridge at Montreal, called by some the "eighth wonder of the world." Indeed, throughout the whole 2,000 miles of the vast waterway from the further ends of Lakes Superior and Michigan, there are but five bridges—the Victoria, at Montreal; the railway bridge, at Buffalo ; and the three bridges below Niagara Falls. The city of Quebec has much to attract the tourist and historian, for up (5 ) to the time of Confederation the history of the Province bearing its name may almost be said to be the history of Canada itself. Here, on the banks of the River St. Charles, the venturesome Jacques Cartier wintered in 1535-6; here, in 1542, on the heights of Cap Rouge, the first attempt at settlement in Canada by 200 French colonists, under Jean Francois de la Roque, Sieur de Roberval, came to signal failure. And here it was, after an unbroken interval of 60 years, in which home affairs engaged the whole attention of the Old World, that in July, 1608, a small band of French artificers, in forming " l'abitation" of their trusted chief, Samuel de Champlain, founded on the site of the Indian village of Stadacona what lIuQ^JL L ABITATION DE CHAMPLAIN : THE FIRST HOUSE IN QUEBEC. was in the near future to be the queen city of the French Western World. A century passed, and the settlement flourished until, led on by ambition, the colonists endeavoured to push the supremacy of the French Empire into the territory to the south, including New York, which the English themselves had conquered from the Dutch. A series of engagements followed, at times resulting in victory to the English, but more often in defeat, until, in 1759, on the Plains of Abraham, a British army, under the gallant General Wolfe, routed the French force, led by the Marquis de Montcalm, and captured Quebec. Thus, by one blow, was the city that had been the seat of French power in the New World made the great fortress of Anglo-Saxon rule in British North America. Other battles, hardly less heroic, are called to mind as the historic city is explored. Indeed, in the words of a French-Canadian litterateur, history is everywhere—around us, beneath us; from the depths of yonder valleys" from the top of that mountain, history rises up to crowd the memory. i^aaaann ( 6 ) According to some, Quebec owes its name to an old Algonquin term meaning " Take care of the rock ;" if others are credited it is so named because of the natural exclamation, " Que bee!" (What a peak!) made by Jacques Cartier's pilot as he first gazed on the great rock of Cape Diamond. The city is situated on the upper bank of the St. Lawrence, at the point where that river is joined by the St. Charles, about 400 miles from the mouth of the former. Its form is triangular, the base resting on the memorable Plains of Abraham, and it is built from the water's edge along the foot of the cliffs, in the angle formed by the junction of the two rivers, whence it straggles upwards to the walls of the citadel which surmounts CHAMPLAIN STEPS, QUEBEC. Cape Diamond, at an elevation 01 some 340 feet above the river. The city is divided into the. upper and lower town, the former being enclosed within the walls, and the latter lying along the narrow strip at the foot of the Cape. To pass from the lower or old town, which is composed for the most part of narrow and dirty streets, to the upper town, the thoroughfares of which, though narrow, are clean and fairly well paved, one must either take the I ascenseur," an hydraulic inclined railway, or ascend by a winding, tortuous street and breakneck flights of steps. The commanding grandeur and natural beauty of Quebec have made for it many admirers, from Jacques Cartier, who first knew it, to the Earl of Dufferin and the Marquis of Lome, the last two Governors-General of the Dominion. Among these is Charles Dickens, who, writing of his visit to the city, in May, 1842, says :—"The impression made upon the visitor ( 7 by this Gibraltar of America, its giddy heights, its citadel suspended as it were in the air; its picturesque steep streets and frowning gateways; and the splendid views which burst upon the eye at every turn, is at once unique and lasting. It is a place not to be forgotten, or mixed up in the mind with other places, or altered for a moment in the crowd of scenes a traveller can recall. Apart from the realities of this most picturesque city, there are associations clustering about it which would make a desert rich in interest. The dangerous precipice along whose rocky front Wolfe and his brave companions climbed to glory ; the Plains of Abraham, where he received his mortal wound; the fortress so chivalrously defended by Montcalm | and his soldier's grave, dug for him when yet alive by the bursting of a shell, are not the least among them, or among the gallant incidents of history." In speaking of the public buildings of Quebec, we must first mention the beautiful Terrace, formerly named after its originator, the Earl of Durham, but officially recognised as "Dufferin Terrace" in 1879, when the great improvements carried out, with other important city works, under the patronage of the then Governor-General of Canada, were brought to a successful completion. Among the additions made at that time was the Kent Gate, erected by the Queen from her private purse, in remembrance of the long sojourn made in the city at the close of last century by her father, the Duke of Kent. The Terrace, forming part of the city fortifications, occupies the site of the old Castle of St. Louis, built by Champlain in 1620, and destroyed by fire in 1834. Stretching on the very edge of the cliff, 182 feet above the river, for a distance of 1,420 feet, the Terrace commands a grand view on all sides. Immediately beneath, beyond the narrow fringe of houses bordering the base of the cliff, runs the St. Lawrence, with its many busy scenes. On the opposite bank, Point Levi nestles at the foot of a lofty range of hills, on whose sides cluster quaint houses of the true French-Canadian type. Down the river lies the Island of St. Louis, a favourite resort, while the Island of Orleans stretches far away into the distance. The scene is essentially Quebecian; the very quaintness of the place, and of the French-Canadian people, deprives it of that spick-and-span appearance so common to everything American ; indeed, one might well imagine himself in the midst of some old castled city of southern Europe, such, for instance, as Angouleme. At the upper end of the Terrace, on the west or steepest side of the mountain, is situated the Palace (Chateau Saint Louis), a large plain building of stone, which served for over two centuries as the lodging of the Governors-General and the seat of Government in the Province. The chateau once comprised three structures—Fort St. Louis, Chateau St. Louis, and Haldimand Castle. The first-named disappeared after the English conquest; the latter is the present Laval Normal School. Mounting to the highest point along the cliffs, we reach the citadel, which crowns the summit of Cape Diamond, or Montdu Gas (Guast) as Champlain chose to call it, from the family name of De Monts. The citadel, with its numerous buildings, covers an area of about 40 acres, and is entered by one of five gates on the south-west. The St. Louis Gate and St. John's Gate are of especial interest, as it is known that by them portions of Montcalm's defeated forces passed into the city after the battle on the plains below. The former gate is to the tourist of to-day the best way to the plains. It may here be well to note that these historic plains have nothing to do with the Biblical patriarch, but derive their name from a Scotchman of the name of Abraham Martin, who owned tracts of land in the neighbourhood, and was looked upon as a person of some importance in the then infant colony of New France. The other gates are Palace or Palais Gate, the third and last of the old French (8) portals of the city ; Hope Gate, and Prescott Gate (commonly known as Lower Town Gate), which are of purely British origin. In the Governor's garden on Des Carrieres Street, is an obelisk, 65 feet high, to the joint memory of Wolfe and Montcalm—a true emblem of the peace and harmony with which the descendants of the conquerors and the conquered dwell and work together for the benefit of Canada, their nation and their native land. Passing from the Terrace and adjoining public garden into the upper town of the " ancient capital," one is struck by the historic associations met with at every turn. As street after street is passed, their names recall THE ESPLANADE, QUEBEC. such heroes as Champlain and Frontenac, and such] household words in Quebec as Ramsay, Dalhousie, Aylmer. To each street belongs some peculiar feature. Here is a thoroughfare devoted to flourishing commerce; while some way off, but quite distinct, the modest grocery-shop is in its element. In this street reside the well-to-do merchants ; further on the humble poor. In one thoroughfare is found the emblazoned carriage marked by a distingui appearance; in the next is the more gaudy conveyance, where the social status of the master seems to differ little from that of his groom ; turn the corner, and you find the public conveyance; further, the curious and ungainly caliche is met; and further again every kind of vehicle has disappeared, the house-doors are ajar, and the footpath strewn with chatting men and women. So marked is this distinctiveness that a writer tells us the same individual will even indulge in a cigar, or light an ordinary clay pipe according as his course is east or west. ( 9 ) Of what can rightly be termed public buildings, Quebec does not possess a very imposing array. The new Provincial Parliament Buildings —for Quebec, once the capital of Canada, now occupies a humble sphere as the seat of the Provincial Government—are of the style of architecture used in French edifices of the seventeenth century. They form an imposing pile, and replace the old Parliament House destroyed during 1853, in one of the destructive fires that have been of such frequent occurrence during recent years. Churches are prominent among the public buildings of Quebec. The Roman Catholic cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, in the Market Square, was built in 1666, and being destroyed by cannonading from Wolfe's batteries, was rebuilt in 1759, in a quaint irregular style, to accommodate about 4,000 people. Many valuable pictures adorn the cathedral, while its vaults contain the remains of the heroic Champlain. The seminary, situated alongside the cathedral, was founded in 1663, by Francois de Montmorenci Laval, Bishop of Quebec from 1658 to 1688, and is used partially as a school of theology, and partially as a literature and science school for boys. The chapel has some fine paintings, and near the entrance is found an antique bronze figure of St. Peter, whose toe is worn bright by the constant embraces of the faithful. Under the central arch lies the body of St. Laureatus the martyr, and to the left is a wooden bust of St. Paul, including a link of the chain with which he was bound during his captivity in Rome. The relics of St. Clement repose in the chapel on the right of the altar; those of St. Modestus on the left. Adjoining the seminary, in the rear of St. George Street, stand out the walls of the Laval University, which received its royal charter in 1852. Among the interesting features of the University are the collection of Canadian birds, the spacious hall of convocation, the museum of Hurno antiquities, and the library of 50,000 volumes. Close by, in Fabrique Street, stands a relic of the French rdgime in the pile of buildings erected in 1646 as a Jesuits' College, but now used as a barracks for the troops. The English Cathedral, capable of seating from 3,000 to 4,000, and the Ursuline Convent are the two remaining sacred buildings of note. In the latter lie the remains of Montcalm, a simple mural tablet of white marble, bearing the following epitaph, from the pen of Governor-General Lord Aylmer :— Honneur a Montcalm. Le Destin, en lui d^robant la Victoire, L'a recompense' par une mort glorieuse. Other public buildings are the Court House, City Hall, and Marine Hospital. ' The population of Quebec, numbering 75,000, being of French extraction, the French language, or rather a patois, is spoken by all. The Roman Catholic religion predominates here, as throughout the whole Province of Quebec. The people may be said to be less enterprising than their brother Canadians of Scotch and English birth ; an instance of which is seen in the almost entire absence of manufactures, and in the primitive modes of agriculture. In speaking of Quebec as a hunting-ground for the historian and traveller, it must not be forgotten that the city is of some commercial importance. The noble basin, containing about 28 fathoms of water, harbours vessels of the largest burthen. Both banks of the river are lined with warehouses and wharfs, the latter jutting about 200 feet into the stream, and along which the water is sufficiently deep to admit vessels of the largest size. Shipbuilding is the chief manufacturing industry in Quebec, though there ( io ) are various other manufactures. The great staple ot export is timber supplied principally by the districts of the Ottawa and St. Maurice Rivers. FALLS OF MONTMORENCI, QUEBEC. EXCURSIONS FROM QUEBEC. Among the many interesting excursions that may be made from Quebec are the following :— MONTMORENCI Falls.—These noted falls are situated at the mouth of the Montmorency River, six miles below Quebec, by what is a good (I) road for driving when once the uneven thoroughfares of the Lower Town are passed. The scenery along the route is full of interest. Among other places passed is Beauport, one of the first settled villages in -the Province ; here Montcalm's head-quarters were, and now the chief building of note is the Provincial Lunatic Asylum. A white curtain of spray is the first indication of the approach to the falls. Closer view shows the Montmorency, called La Vache, a sheet of water sixty feet wide, tumbling over a precipice to the depth of 250 feet amid clouds of mist. A small charge (25 cents) is made on entry to the falls, which includes a visit to the pavilion near at hand, where a fine view of Quebec is had. Two miles above the falls are the " Natural Steps " formed by the river for about half a mile, the ridges rising one above another to the height of nearly twenty feet with remarkable regularity. In the winter the falls are the scene of much merriment and sport, giving to tobogganing parties an excellent run down a regular cone of 100 to 200 feet high, formed by the frozen spray. The CHAUDiiiRE Falls, on the southern side of the St. Lawrence, ten miles below Point Levi, may be reached by road, or, perhaps more pleasantly, by the small steamer plying daily from the Lower Town marketplace. "To a person who desires nothing more than the primary and sudden electric feeling of an overpowering and rapturous surprise, the' cascade of Montmorenci would certainly be preferable; but to the visitor whose understanding and sensibility are animated by an infusion of antiquated romance, the Falls of Chaudiere would be more attractive." So says a recent traveller, and the truth of his words comes home as one sees the river, narrowed to a'width of three or four hundred feet, precipitated to a depth of 130 feet, preserving, till it reaches the St. Lawrence, the characteristic features of its boiling waters, to which its name Chaudiere or Caldron is due. The fall is divided by large projecting rocks, overhung with dark green foliage. The rugged scenery surrounding the falls gives the whole a dreary wildness, such as cannot but produce a strong impression on the visitor. If the upper road be taken on the return to Levis, the Falls of Etchemin, close upon a century old, and the large saw-mills of Sir John Caldwell, now owned by Mr. Henry Atkinson, may be visited. The Indian village of Lorette, on the River St. Charles, eight miles from Quebec, is well worth a visit. It is an ancient settlement of the Huron Indians, the nobles among the red-men, and to this day some sixty Huron Indian families reside here. The men hunt and fish, and the women occupy their time in making snow-shoes, moccassins, and articles of curiosity. The Lorette Falls near the village are much admired. Taking Quebec as a centre, visits may also be paid by steamers running twice a week to Ha-Ha Bay, on the River Saguenay, 142 miles, the largest tributary of the St. Lawrence, and perhaps one of the most remarkable rivers on the continent. In making this excursion, some of the most impressive parts of St. Lawrence scenery are included. Leaving Quebec early in the morning, the first night is usually spent on board, outside Riviere du Loup, a pleasant watering place of about 5,000 inhabitants, situated on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, 127 miles from Quebec. Proceeding early on the following morning for 25 miles the vessel crosses the river to Tadousac, a favourite watering place, situated on a semicircular terrace a tthe top of a bay hemmed in by mountains of solid rock. There is a good summer hotel at Tadousac. The steamer generally stops here long enough for the sights to be seen, and it is therefore interesting to . remember that this pleasant village was at an early period the capital ot the French settlements, and that where are now found the ruins of a Jesuit religious establishment, was once erected the first stone and mortar building in the whole of America Proceeding up the Saguenay from Tadousac, ( 12 ) one is impressed by the wild, desolate scenery. On either side perpendicular cliffs rise to heights of 1,200 to 1,600 feet; in some places the rocks are partially covered with pine and spruce, in others they overhang the water void of almost every sign of life. It is truly, says a recent voyager, as though a mountain range had been cleft asunder, leaving a horrid gulf through the grey mica schist, the cleft still looking fresh and new. The bases of these cliffs lie at an unknown depth ; the bed of the river itself fails to be reached at its mouth by a line of 3,000 feet, and for the entire distance of 60 miles to Ha-Ha Bay, the largest ships can sail, dropping the anchor at the extremity of the bay into 30 fathoms of water. Justly then did the Indians call this river Chicoutimi, signifying " deep water." Thirty- nine miles above Tadousac is Eternity Bay, one of the most striking features of the river. Here is a narrow cove, flanked by two headlands, the steepest of which, rising to 2,000 feet, is known as Cape Trinity, because of its three distinct peaks, and the lesser as Cape Eternity. Passing Statue Point, the Tableau Rock, and Ha-Ha Bay, Chicoutimi, a place of considerable trade, at the head of ship navigation, is reached. A few miles above begin the Rapids of the Saguenay, said by some to equal in grandeur the Niagara Falls ; and sixty miles beyond Chicoutimi is Lake St. John, the source of the river. CHAPTER III. Montreal. (Hotels: Windsor, St. Lawrence Hall, Richelieu, Ottawa House, and Montreal House?) There are two modes of journey between Quebec and Montreal—by rail or by water. The former is made over the North Shore Railway, extending along the north bank of the St. Lawrence for 172 miles, and occupies from five to six hours. The river route, though perhaps taking more time, is preferred by many. Excellent sleeping and general accommodation is provided in the daily boats of the Richelieu and Ontario Navigation Company. The ordinary fare, with state room and meals, is two dollars, say 8s. 4d. The greater part of the journey (180 miles) is made during the night, and little of the river scenery is therefore visible. The view on leaving Quebec is very striking, especially if the evening be fine, and the air as clear as it generally is at the close of a Canadian summer day; and the approach to Montreal on the following morning is equally interesting. The busy city, awakening to life as the vessel nears it, stretches for three miles along the northern bank of the river, rising in series of terraces towards Mount Royal, from which the city takes its name. Montreal, the commercial capital of the Dominion, and one of the most beautiful cities in Canada, is built on a triangular island, formed by the mouths of the River Ottawa as they flow into the St. Lawrence. This island, bearing the same name as the city itself, contains 197 square miles, and, from its great fertility, has been well called the Garden of Canada. Above the city is the junction of the two rivers, St. Lawrence and Ottawa, and here the angle of confluence is so acute that the different waters do not at once mingle : the line of junction may be traced for many miles below, the clear blue water of the St. Lawrence washing the right bank, and the turbid stream of the Ottawa keeping to the left. The history of Montreal is one of much interest. Its first record is on October 3rd, 1535, when Jacques Cartier, having planted the cross and the lwrprowrc itfif§ iffipfa, o ( 14 ) flag of his native country" side by side at the mouth of the St. Lawrence, proceeded up the river from Quebec, and landed on the island now called Montreal. Pushing with his faithful following through large fields of Indian corn, he found an Indian village, Hochelaga, circular in form, and encompassed by three separate rows of palisades, put together with no little skill. The single entrance was strongly guarded with pikes and staves, and within the circle were to be seen some fifty rude wooden cabins, each in the form of a tunnel. The confidence of the venturesome Frenchman was fully reciprocated by the red men, but no attempt at settlement was then made. Cartier, after wintering in Quebec, hurried away, with trophies in the shape of the Indian chief and following, to acquaint his Sovereign of the result of his travels. Sixty years passed, and no European visited the settlement, until Champlain, after founding Quebec, journeyed up the river. These sixty years had, however, wrought a great change. No kindly natives advanced to meet him; no smiling fields of corn greeted the eye ; the site of the prosperous settlement was now a wild forest; two only of its people remained to tell the tale of woe. Their story ran thus:—After Carder's departure the Senecas and Wyandotts, or Huron Indians, who had hitherto lived side by side on the island in pe'ace, were embroiled in war, by the refusal of the chief of the Senecas to allow his son to marry a Seneca damsel. Indignant at the slight, the damsel offered herself to the man who should slay the offending chief. A young Huron killed the chief and won the prize : and the Senecas thereupon took up the cause of their chief, and attacked the Hurons. A bloody war ensued; the Hurons were totally defeated and driven westward, and Hochelaga was laid waste. But the wave of religious zeal passing at this time over France kept the memory of the mountain isle alive in the Old World ; and in 1642 a little party under the noble Sieur de Maisonneuve, believing themselves under divine command to found an earthly " Kingdom of God," landed on the island and sought to rear a city of refuge for the heathen Indians. Their pious intention was stamped on the name of the city, Ville-Marie, and their loyalty shown by the future name of the mountain, Mont Royal. The colonists needed all their religious zeal and fervour, for the warlike Iroquois, incited by the former hostility of Champlain, gave them no peace. Still they persevered in their good cause through years of patient struggle, till the tide of warfare was turned, and the city, rapidly growing in importance, became the centre of the fur trade with the west. The fall of Quebec in 1759 was closely followed by the appearance before Montreal of an English fleet under Generals Amherst and Murray, and the then well-peopled city quietly passed to English rule, thus marking the final surrender of the French power in Canada. The last vestige of French military' authority disappeared from Montreal when, in 1881, the Quebec Gate Barracks and a portion of the old De Lery walls were made give place to the station of the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway, now part of the Canadian Pacific system, and a portion of the main line on the completion of the road along the north shore of Lake Superior. Montreal (population 170,000) is acknowledged by travellers to be one of the best built cities on the American continent. Its streets are for the most part well paved and macadamised; and its massive stone buildings combine with its lofty towers and spires to give it an impressive appearance. Notre Dame is the main thoroughfare, running in the centre of tie ridge on which the city is built. In St. James Street, a wider and more elegant thoroughfare, are found the post office, a pure stone edifice, most of the banks insurance and other business offices, and the St. Lawrence Hall, ranking as an hotel next in public estimation to the Windsor, which is situate in Dominion Square. McGill Street, running from Victoria Square to the ( *5 ) river, is the favourite gathering place of mercantile agencies, guarantee societies, and those other adjuncts of a commercial community. The other business thoroughfares are St. Paul, St. Lawrence, St. Joseph, and Craig. One of the chief sights of Montreal is the Victoria Bridge, spanning the St. Lawrence for two miles, from Point St. Charles to St. Lambert's, and designed to connect the lines of railway on the north and south sides of the river. Passes to visit the bridge may be obtained from the Grand Trunk Railway office, at Point St. Charles. To span the river at this juncture was a task of no little difficulty. The current runs here at a speed of seven miles an hour, and in the winter the ice blocks come down with very great force. The work was begun in 1854 from the designs of Robert Stephenson and A. M. Ross, and, in spite of all obstacles, completed in 1859, and formally opened for traffic by the Prince of Wales during his visit to America in i860. The bridge is 9,184 feet in length, and consists of a massive iron tube, with six pairs of double tubes on either side, supported by 24 piers of hard crystalline limestone of the Chazy formation, and two terminal abutments, the piers having sharp wedge faces turned towards the current to break the ice blocks. The dimensions ot the piers at their summit are 33 feet in the line of the river by 16 feet in the line of the bridge ; and at their foundations, 92 by 22% feet. The abutments are 242 by 34 feet at the top, and 290 by 92 feet at the foundation. The entrance to this triumph of engineering skill, the largest and costliest bridge in the world, is between high parapets of massive masonry hewn in Egyptian style, over which, cut into the lintel, are the words : "Erected a.d. MDCCCLIX. Robert Stephenson and Alexander M. Ross, Engineers." Over the lintel again is the inscription : " Built by James Hodges for Sir Samuel Morton Peto, Bart. Thomas Brassey and Edward Ladd Betts, Contractors." Mr. Brassey here referred to is the well-known contractor of Birkenhead (Eng.). The iron for the superstructure of the bridge was all prepared at Birkenhead, each piece being so marked as to go readily into its proper place. In the construction 8,250 tons of iron in tubes were use,d, and 250,000 tons of stone; its total cost was 6,300,000 dols. Churches are prominent among the public buildings of Montreal, a feature happily summed up by Mark Twain, when he said he " never was in a city before where one could not throw a brickbat without breaking a church window." Many of the sacred edifices, about 60 in all, are very handsome. The Cathedral of St. Peter, now in course of construction at the corner of Dominion Square and Dorchester Street, is intended to reproduce, as far as the climate of Canada will allow, the peculiarities ot St. Peter's at Rome, and will, when completed, surpass all other churches in America as to size. The facade, in Classic style of architecture, will be surmounted by a dome in imitation of the parent building; and its dimensions will be as near as possible one-half those of the great Basilica. The exterior of the building is plain, the intention being to devote all attention to the interior arid make it as magnificent as possible, after the style of Italian churches. At the rear, facing the river, stands the Bishop's Palace. The stately Cathedral of Notre Dame, more properly called the parish church of Notre Dame, is well worth a visit. It was built in the early part of the present century, in the place of a quaint structure dating back to 1672. It is of cut limestone, and after the Gothic style. Its length is 255 feet, and its breadth 134 feet; and it will accommodate 10,000 people. The two principal towers are 220 feet high, and afford a very extensive view of the surrounding country. Admission is obtained on a payment of 25 cents (is.) to the south-west tower, where may be seen " Le Gros Bourdon," weighing 15 tons, the largest of the ten bells in the towers, ( i6) and only heard on great occasions. The two largest of the other bells are christened Maria Victoria, and Edouard Albert Louis, and weigh 6,041 and 3,633 pounds respectively. The view from the summit of the tower is thus described by Mr. W. D. Howells :—" So' far as the eye reaches it dwells only upon what is magnificent. All the features of the landscape are grand. Below you spreads the city, which has less that is really mean in it than any other city of our continent, and which is everywhere ennobled by stately civic edifices, adorned by tasteful churches, and skirted by full- foliaged avenues of mansions and villas. Behind it rises the beautiful mountain, green with woods and gardens to its crest, and flanked on the east by an endless fertile plain, and on the west by another expanse, through which the Ottawa rushes, turbid and dark, to its confluence "with the St. Lawrence. Then those two mighty streams commingled flow past the city, lighting up the vast champaign country to the south ; while upon the utmost southern verge, as on the northern, rise the cloudy summits of far-off mountains." Among the other Roman Catholic churches deserving notice are the Notre Dame de Nazareth and Notre Dame de Lourdes, which are interesting as marking the rise of a native school of Canadian Art applied to church decoration. Both were designed and painted in fresco by M. Napoleon Bourassa and his pupils, and in each the whole details are subordinated to one central idea. In Notre Dame de Lourdes, where the architecture is Byzantine and Renaissance, as seen at Venice, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary is visibly expressed. In the Notre Dame de Nazareth, the style of which is Norman, incidents in the life of Christ are commemorated. Of the Protestant churches, the Christ Church Cathedral, reminding one of our own Salisbury Cathedral, is the most prominent. It is built of Montreal limestone, faced with white sandstone from Caen in Normandy, in the form of a Latin cross, and is claimed as the best representative of English Gothic architecture in America. The western window is very fine, as are some of those in the transept and nave. The pointed roof of the nave, 67 feet high, is supported by columns whose capitals are carved in imitation of different Canadian plants. The font is noticeable as a beautiful piece of work. At the back of the Cathedral stands Bishopscourt, the residence of the Lord Bishop and Metropolitan of Canada. Other Protestant churches are St. George's and St. Stephen's. The Presbyterians have several good churches, while the Methodists, Baptists, Unitarians and Congregationalists are represented, each community being self-supporting. Few cities possess so many excellent Educational Institutions as Montreal. In former times all the schools were French and Catholic, but in later years English and Protestant efforts were made in the same direction. The question of public education is thus settled between the two denominations :—The whole Province is under a Superintendent of Education, who is assisted by two Boards, representing respectively the Roman Catholic and Protestant schools. An assessment of one-fifth per cent, is levied annually upon all real estate in the city, the tax on the property of Protestants going to the Protestant Board, and that on the property of Catholics to the Catholic Board. McGill University—in the buildings of which the British Association is to hold its sectional meetings this autumn—is the chief institution of the Protestant body of theProvince. It owes its origin to a patriotic Scotch- Canadian, James McGill, a North-West fur trader, who, on his death, in 1813, left his property—then valued at ^30,000—to found a college. Since then the gifts of other liberal men have made the property worth more than half a million dollars. The University has forty professors and lecturers, and about 500 students. The faculties are of arts, applied science, medicine, and law ; being non-denominational, it has no theological faculty, but offers advantageous ( % ) terms of affiliation to theological colleges. The Morrin College of Quebec, and the St.'Francis College of Richmond, are affiliated colleges in art. The McGill Normal School for the training of Protestant teachers is also affiliated. w u £3 w 1-1 a o D The Peter Redpath Museum, valued at more than 100,000 dols., and the gift of a gentleman of that name, is the latest large benefaction to the University. The higher education of women receives great attention here, and the medical school holds a high rank. The buildings of the college are well C ( i8) adapted to the purposes of education, and are pleasantly situated at the foot of the mountain. The library of 20,000 volumes, in addition to the medical library of 7,000 volumes, includes a varied and unusually valuable selection of books. Though endowed in 1813, and chartered in 1821, the history of the University as a leading educational institution dates only from the amendments to its charter, and the re-organisation of its general body in 1852. Its graduates number 1,200, many of whom occupy prominent public positions. Other educational buildings are the Laval University, a branch of the chief institution in Quebec, with faculties of theology, law, medicine, and art ; the Presbyterian College, devoted entirely to the training of missionaries and ministers speaking English, French, and Gaelic ; the Wesleyan Theological College ; the Anglican Diocesan College; the University of Bishops' College; St. Mary's (Jesuit)College ; the Jacques Cartier Normal School; the Hochelaga Convent, the mother house of the order of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary; the School of Medicine and Surgery; and the Seminary of St. Sulpice, which, with the hospital of the Hotel Dieu and the school of the Congregation of Notre Dame, forms the realisation of the dream of the French religious enthusiasts of 1636, to found on the island.three religious orders—one of priests to preach the " true faith," another of nuns to nurse the sick, and a third of nuns to teach the youth. One of the first points to strike the notice of visitors in landing at Montreal is the Custom House, a fine triangular stone building upon the -river front. Here were laid the foundations of the holy city of Maisonneuve, and here was uttered that memorable landing blessing which served so greatly to cheer the hearts of the colonists in their after struggles :—" You are a grain of mustard-seed, that shall rise and grow till its branches overshadow the earth. You are few, but your work is the work of God. His smile is on you, and your children shall fill the land." Among other noteworthy edifices are Bonsecours Market—where on any Tuesday or Friday the Lower Canadian peasantry may be seen to advantage—the Court House, the new City Hall, the Post Office, the Victoria Armoury, the Banks of Montreal and of British North America, and the head offices of the great Canadian Pacific Railway. The Champs de Mars upon Craig Street was once a station of British troops. Jacques Cartier Square, affording a commanding outlook upon the river, is the resting place of two Russian guns presented to the city by the Imperial Government as trophies of Sebastopol. At the head of the square is a column surmounted by a statue of Lord Nelson, the bas-reliefs of which represent passages in the Admiral's career. It is worthy of note that Nelson was on the Quebec station in command of the Albemarle in 1782, and that, falling in love with a fair Quebec maiden, he would, had he been left to himself, have become a Canadian. On Victoria Square is a colossal bronze statue of the Queen. Dominion Square, more to the west, is the finest in the city, the new Cathedral of St. Peter, St. George's Church, and the Windsor Hotel, giving it architectural importance. The last-named structure is worthy of particular notice, for it ju-Qy ranks as one of the finest hotels in America, whether in regard to its situation, its imposing appearance, or the comfort and completeness of its internal arrangements. Its handsome marble staircase, 180 feet long by 30 feet wide, leading to the grand corridor, is a feature in the building, as is also the main dining- room, measuring 112 feet long by 52 feet wide, and adorned in a most tasteful manner. "What would Montreal be without its mountain?" is a natural exclamation as one looks at the two miles of low land occupied by the city, with the river on the one hand, and the beautiful Mount Royal on the other, forming an excellent background to the picture. The drive "round the mountain," of about nine miles, is a favourite one with visitors, and should ( 19 ) not be missed. One-horse vehicles may be hired for 50 and 75 cents per hour; for two horses one dollar per hour is charged. From the town the mountain is ascended by a winding carriage road, or, if walking, by a series of 427 steps, very steep in places. From the summit, 700 feet above the river level, the view is extensive and pleasing. Below, the entire city is seen at a glance ; further off runs the St. Lawrence, checked in its course by many islands; to the south is Montarville, and the Belceil Mountain, with the ruined chapel on its summit; further still the Rougemont Mountain rises from the once productive plain, and almost hides the Yamaska height beyond; on the right the conical shape of Mount Johnson, or Monnoir, relieves the monotony of the level ground, while in the far distance are seen the Adirondacks in New York, and the Green Mountains of Vermont. The summit and sides of the hill are laid out in parks and cemeteries, and these may well be included in the drive. The Mountain Park, covering 430 acres, was acquired by the city in 1874. In the highest part, called Upperfel, the soil is thin and rocky, and the aspect wild and desolate ; lower on the southern spur, abounding in ferns, is Brackenfel, more generally spoken of as " The Pines ; " opposite, to the west, the stretch of rolling turf is named the Glades ; the forest land through which the road passed is the Underfell ; the bare land towards the north, the Cragsfoot; at the north end of the mountain is Piedmont; and the level plain stretching towards St. Jean Baptiste village is named Cote Placide. By these well-chosen names a more graphic idea of this favourite spot is given than by pages of description. In the heart of the mountain are the Mount Royal and Catholic Cemeteries, each containing many fine monuments. From a geological point of view it is worthy of note that the series of terraces, rising towards the Mount, upon which the city is built, marks the former levels of the river or of the ancient sea that washed the bases of the Laurentian hills to the north. The geological formation is Silurian, and the surface rock Trenton limestone. It is from the beds of this limestone in the rear of the mountain that the grey stone which forms so prominent a part of the principal buildings is obtained. The island of Montreal shows six different formations in the Lower Silurian. From the extensive exposure of Chazy formation at Point Claire the stone for the Victoria Bridge was quarried. As a Commercial Centre Montreal stands before all Canadian cities. It holds a peculiarly favourable position, in being at the head of ocean navigation and at the commencement of river and lake trade ; so that, though 800 miles from the sea, it receives the greater part of Canadian importations, while its manufactories are many and important. It is, moreover, the centre of converging railways. Here are the headquarters of the great enterprise whose progress has in recent years excited the interest of the whole world. From Montreal the Canadian Pacific system extends to Ottawa on the one hand, and on the other, by the Ontario division of the system, to the great agricultural districts of which Toronto is the centre. From Toronto a spur connects with Owen Sound, and here the fine Clyde-built steamers of the Company run through Georgian Bay and Lake Superior to Port Arthur, where continues the main line of the system, proceeding thruogh Manitoba direct to the Rocky Mountains. By the end of next year, or the beginning of 1886, the links of this national undertaking will have been completed, and then Canada will possess what it has long wished for—an independent line of railway stretching from her Atlantic ports, through the mineral country to the north of Lake Superior and the agricultural prairies of the North- West Territories, across the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific coast of British Columbia—a chain of nearly 3,000 miles, which will bind together in stronger union the various Provinces of the Dominion. Mr. W. C. Van Home, the Vice-President, and a leading spirit of the enterprise, bears the reputation of C 2 ( ^o ) being one of the cleverest railway men in America. Montreal is also the centre of other railway systems. The Harbour of Montreal is fully in keeping with the maritime importance of the city. An unbroken line of wharfs extends for 3^ miles from Point St. Charles to Hochelaga, while the total length of wharf accommodation is 4-57 miles, of which two-thirds is for ships drawing 25 feet of water. Such a continuous line of masonry is seldom seen. No unsightly warehouses disfigure the wharfs; a broad terrace runs along the whole river front, dividing the city from the river for a distance of il/z miles. Every advantage for loading and unloading vessels is here found, such as steam elevators for grain and appliances for shipping cattle ; while the lines of the Canadian Pacific and Grand Trunk Railways run along the wharfs, and thus afford direct communication between the vessel and the railway. Regular lines of steamers trade between Montreal and the chief cities of England, Scotland, and Ireland, as well as with Antwerp, Brazil, the West Indies, the Maritime Provinces of Canada, and Newfoundland. The deepening of the St. Lawrence between Quebec and Montreal in recent years has done much to encourage ocean steamships to proceed up the river to this port. Early in the present century vessels of more than 300 tons could not ascend so far up the river, and the foreign trade of the port was confined to small brigs and barges. In 1809 the first steam vessel made the journey down the channel from Montreal to Quebec. Built by the Hon. John Molson, it was named The Accommodation, though its passenger-carrying capacity was limited to twenty persons. There is now always a depth of thirty feet, except for a distance of thirty miles, chiefly in the Lake St. Peter ; and on most days of the week-ocean vessels of from 4,000 to 5,000 tons and more may be seen passing through the channel, which is 300 feet at its narrowest part. In 1882 the number of sea-going vessels entering the port was 648, with a tonnage of 554,692 ; of inland vessels there were 5,947, with a tonnage of 848,780, giving a total of 6,595 vessels, and 1,303,472 tons. In the year of Confederation—1867—the returns were : Sea-going vessels, 464 ; tonnage, 199,053 ; inland vessels, 5,248; tonnage, 744,477 ; showing that an increase has taken place in the sixteen years of 184 sea-going vessels, with 355>639 increased tonnage; and of 699 inland vessels, with 104,303 increased tonnage. The proportion of steam tonnage to the total comprising steam and sailing vessels was in 1867, 43'8o per cent.; in 1882 it was 85-75. The export live stock trade from this port is a growing one, while the main exports include phosphates (shipped in the crude form of apatite, of which large deposits are found in the Ottawa valley), timber, wheat, and other cereals, cheese and general agricultural produce. EXCURSIONS FROM MONTREAL. Many interesting excursions may be made from Montreal. St. Helen's Island, named after Helen Bouille, wife of Samuel de Champlain, the first lady to visit Canada, is now opened as a public park, and may be reached by steamer crossing the river from the wharf opposite Bonsecours Market. It is about three-quarters of a mile long by one-third of a mile broad, and is beautifully wooded. In 1672 it was granted by the King of France to the Sieur le Moine de Longueuil. It remained in the family until 1812, when the British Government purchased it, with Isle Ronde and Isle au Fraises, for ^15,000, and converted the baronial residence on the south bank of the island into officers' quarters, making the island itself a military depot. On the departure of British troops the island passed to the Canadian Government, and was placed under the charge of the Corporation of Montreal, who have converted it into a public park. The ( « ) remains of an old French redoubt may be found at the south-west point opposite the city, and lines of entrenchments on the opposite extremity facing Hochelaga Bay. The position and natural features of the island guarding the approach to Montreal, have led military men to consider it of great importance as a defence of the city. Champlain also held this opinion, for in 1611 he describes it as "une petite ile que sa situation et elevation semblent avoir fortifiee naturellement." The city is seen to great advantage from the elevated part of the island, rising 125 feet above the river level, and the beautiful woods give opportunity for a pleasant ramble. An interesting drive of nine miles may be had to the " back river " or Riviere des Prairies, at Sault-au-Recollet—a rapid so called after a Recollet priest drowned close by in the early days of the French settlement. The convent of the Sacred Heart is situated here. The drive to the village of LACHINE lies through beautiful scenery, the rapids of Sault St. Louis being well seen en route. Lachine Rapids.—No visitor to Montreal should fail to " shoot" these famous rapids. This may best be done by taking the train leaving the Bonaventure dep6t for Lachine about 7 a.m., which connects with the steamer Beauharnoisj or the'5 p.m. train connecting with the steamer Prince of Wales. Opposite Lachine is the village of Caughnawaga, interesting as the settlement of the remnant of the once powerful Mohawk tribe of Iroquois, for so long the terror of the young French colony. The Indians enjoy the free life of voyageurs and guides. Leaving Lower Lachine on the left, the steamer passes the long and dangerous rapids of the Sault St. Louis. Then are entered the Lachine rapids, the shortest but most turbulent on the river. " Suddenly a scene of wild confusion bursts upon the eye ; waves are lashed Into spray, and into breakers of a thousand forms, by the submerged rocks which they are dashed against in the headlong impetuosity of the river. Whirlpools, a storm-lashed sea, mingle their sublimity in a single rapid. Now passing with lightning speed within a few yards of rocks which, did the vessel but touch them, would reduce her to an utter wreck before the crash could sOund upon the ear ; did she even diverge in the least from her course—if her head were not kept straight with the course of the rapid—she would be instantly submerged, and rolled over and over. Ere we can take a glance at the scene, the boat descends the wall of waves and foam like a bird, and a second afterwards you are floating on the calm, unruffled bosom of the river below." The outline of the massive Victoria Bridge soon comes in sight, and the boat stops at the mouth of the Lachine Canal. Twenty-one miles from Montreal is Belceil Mountain, a spot of considerable geological interest. It may best be reached by the Grand Trunk Railway to St. Hilaire (not Belceil) station. Conveyances run from the station to the Iroquois House, an hotel built half-way up the side of the mountain. At the southern base is a lake of singular formation, supposed to be the crater of an extinct volcano. Though there is an outlet to the lake, no inlet can be seen. Proceeding to ascend, 14 wooden crosses will be passed at intervals, each of which bears an inscription having reference to Christ's journey to Calvary, and on the very summit are found the ruins of a small chapel erected some years ago during the visit to Canada of the Bishop of Nancy. These ruins, at a height of 1,400 feet above the river, command an extended view of the surrounding country for sixty miles. Returning, any evening train is available, though a comfortable stay may be made for the night at the Iroquois. A pleasant trip may be made by steamer to Three Rivers, at the confluence of the Rivers St. Maurice and St. Lawrence, about a hundred miles below Montreal. It may also be reached by rail. Taking the water route, the steamer is landed at the Richelieu Company's wharf at ( 22 ) 7 p.m. The view of the city on leaving the wharf is grand. Mr. W. D. Howells, the noted American writer, thus describes it :—" For miles the water front of Montreal is superbly faced with quays and'locks of solid stone masonry, and thus she is clean and beautiful to the very feet. Stately piles of architecture, instead of old tumble-down warehouses that dishonour the waterside in most cities, rise from the broad wharfs; behind these spring the twin towers of Notre Dame and the steeples of the other churches above the roofs." Leaving St. Helen's Island and Isle Ronde on the right, Longueuil is seen on the southern bank. Then comes a series of French-Canadian villages, of the style peculiar to the Lower St. Lawrence, among them Varennes with mineral springs. A mile beyond, on the north side, is passed the mouth of the northern branch of the river Ottawa, half concealed by numerous islands ; after which the St. Lawrence widens considerably, running through a broad alluvial plain. Far on the north lie the Laurentian Hills, and on the south are the Green Mountains. At Sorel the river narrows to about a mile, the banks rising to a greater elevation. This town, named after the captain who, in 1663, built here the old Fort Richelieu to check the inroads of the Iroquois, is now, with a population of 6,000, a place of considerable trade. Most of the many steamboats plying on the river were built here, and it is the winter quarters of nearly all the craft of this part of the river. It was for many years the seat of Government of the French Governors of Canada, and the residence at one time of the Duke of Kent, father of Queen Victoria. Leaving the town, Lake St. Peter, an expansion of the St. Lawrence, is soon entered. The lake is 35 miles in length, and in places 10 miles broad. The St. Francis River enters the lake on the right and the Maskihonge on the left. There is little to be seen on the banks of the lake, and Trois Rivieres is soon touched. This is one of the oldest towns in the Province, having been founded in 1634, and its advantageous position at the mouth of the River St. Maurice, one of the most important tributaries of the St. Lawrence, draining an immense " lumbering " area, gives it importance as a centre of an extensive lumber trade. Its present population is about 10,000. From Three Rivers an excursion may be made to the Falls of Shawenegan (meaning " the foot of a rapid "), about thirty miles up the river St. Maurice. " Here the river, suddenly bending, and divided by a rocky island into two channels, falls nearly 150 feet perpendicularly, and dashes violently against a wall of opposing rock, where the united stream forces its way through a channel not more than thirty yards wide. There can be no more striking scene in its savage grandeur than this fall." Above the falls a tug steamer runs as far as the Hudson Bay Company's post of La Tuque, about 100 miles above Three Rivers. This remarkable place is separated from the falls by a conical hill, principally composed of granite rock, containing quartz, mica, and feldspar. The falls of Grand Mere are another -attraction to the tourist in this region. The River St. Maurice and its tributaries abound in fish. From Three Rivers daily steamers proceed to Quebec, passing through beautiful scenery on each bank of the St. Lawrence, including the village of Batiscan, the Richelieu Rapids, the mouth of the Chaudiere River, Cap Rouge, the Sillery and Wolfe's Cove, where, in 1759, the landing of the general led to the complete overthrow of the French supremacy in Canada. LAKE MEMPHREMAGOG, " The Geneva of Canada," offers another pleasant excursion from Montreal. Taking the Boston train of the South-Eastern Railway at the Bonaventure station, the traveller has1 before him a run of 100 miles, occupying four hours, ( 23 ) to Newport in Vermont, United States. Crossing the Lachine Canal and the Victoria Bridge the train strikes across level country to the valley of the Richelieu River, which in ante-railway days was the chief route between Canada and the United States, and by means of which an important trade is even now carried on between the two countries. At Chambly Basin the Richelieu changes from a rapid stream to a wide and tranquil expanse, into which the Chambly Canal discharges itself. Chambly Canton is a thriving English village on the west side of the river, between the rapids and the east side of St. John's Canal. Mons. de Chambly built a fort here in 1711, and thus gave his name to the place. Passing the important manufacturing village of West Farnham, Cowansville, the county town, and Sutton Junction, United States territory is entered between Sutton Flats and Richford. Passing Jay's Peak (4,018 ft.), the most northern spur of the Green Mountains, the train follows the valley of the Missiquoi River, and re-enters Canadian territory only to pass from it again to Newport, a pleasing village in the State of Vermont (U.S.), at the head of Lake Memphremagog. The hotels at Newport are Memphremagog House, a large and excellent hostelry, and Bellevue House. Lake Memphremagog is a beautiful sheet of water,, thirty miles in length and from two to four in width, lying partly in Canada and partly in the State of Vermont. Its shores are rock-bound, and indented with beautiful bays ; its waters are studded with finely-wooded islands, while its western banks are overshadowed by mountain ranges clad with dark forests, and on its eastern shore, sloping gradually to the water's edge, are beautiful villas and prosperous farms. The Indians fully realised the charms of the lake when they named it " Memplowbowque," or beautiful water. A steamer leaves the pier at Memphremagog House every morning for Magog, a pretty village at the foot of the lake, returning the same day. Leaving the pier behind, Indian Point, the Twin Sisters, and Province and Tea Table Islands are passed within a few miles of Newport. Half-way down the lake, the steamer lands at Bay View Park, and then crosses to the Mountain House, at the foot of Owl's Head, towering to a height of 2,743 feet. A footpath leads from the hotel to the summit, and may be ascended in one to two hours. The view from the summit in fine weather is veiy beautiful and extensive, taking in the whole length of the Lake, the White Mountains, Lake Champlain, Willoughby Lake and Mountain, the St. Lawrence River, and even the towers of Notre Dame de Montreal. Near by are Skinner's Island and Cave, said to have been the haunt of the smuggler Uriah Skinner, whose daring exploits in the war of 1812 form the basis of much local romance. Sir Hugh Allan's summer residence is on the right shore, near which is Mount Elephantis or Sugar Loaf, so called from its peculiar shape. Just beyond is Georgeville (Camperdown House), a favourite Canadian summer resort. Beyond, at the point where the Memphremagog discharges its waters through the Magog River into the St. Francis, is the small village of Magog (Park's House). Stages run from this point for sixteen miles to Sherbrooke station, 101 miles from Montreal, on the Grand Trunk Railway ; or return may be made by the steamer to Newport. 1 LAKES CHAMPLAIN AND GEORGE. To Rouse's Point, Lake Champlain, and Lake George is another interesting excursion from Montreal by Grand Trunk Railway. Lake Champlain—known to the Indians as Cheonderogo, i.e., Sounding Waters —is 130 miles in length and from a half to ten miles in width, extending from Whitehall, in New York, northward a few miles across the Quebec boundary line. Lake George, the Indian name of which was Horicon, ( 24 ) meaning Silvery Waters, is more picturesque, measuring thirty-six miles from north-east to south-west, and from three-quarters to four miles wide. The two lakes have been thus compared :—" On Lake George the mountains come down to the edge of the waters, which lie embowered in an amphitheatre of cliffs and hills ; but on Lake Champlain there are mountain ranges stretching in parallel lines far away to the right and left, leaving between them and the lake wide areas of charming champaign country, smiling in fields and orchards and nestling farmhouses. There are on Lake Champlain noble panoramas ; one is charmed with the shut-in sylvan beauties of Lake George; but the wide expanses of Lake Champlain are, while different in character, as essentially beautiful. It is in every way a noble lake. Ontario is too large—a very sea ; Lake George is, perhaps, too petty and confined; but Lake Champlain is not so large as to lose for the voyager upon its waters views of either shore, nor so small as to contract and limit the prospect." CHAPTER IV. OTTAWA. (Hotels: Russell House, Grand Union, Windsor, &c). No visitor to Canada will wilfully exclude the capital of the Dominion from his programme. It may be reached from Montreal by rail or by water, and if one route be taken on the upward journey, the other should be chosen for the return. Selecting the river as the upward route, we take the early train by the Grand Trunk Railway to Lachine, eight miles distant. Here we embark on the steamer, and leaving the Indian village of Caughnawaga on the south bank of the river, we pass through an expansion of the St. Lawrence, twenty miles long by seven miles broad, known as Lake St. Louis. Leaving Point Clare on the right, we pass on the north bank Ste. Anne—a village, the simple beauty of the surroundings of which inspired Tom Moore when writing his famed " Canadian Boat Song." Through a lock, forty-five feet wide by 180 feet long, to avoid a succession of falls, and we enter the Lake of Two Mountains, an irregular expanse of the River Ottawa, near its outlet into the St. Lawrence, and passing the Riviere des Prairies, or Back River, forming the north boundary to the island of Montreal, we stop at the rock of the High Mountain, situated at the foot of the Island of the Grand Calumet, in the middle of the Portage des Sept Chutes. Here, surrounded by a wooden railing, lies the tomb of Cadieux. The fate of this brave interpreter is full of romantic sadness. Learning that a party of Iroquois contemplated inveigling the canoes, in which the furs he and his companions had toiled the winter through to secure were to be taken to the traders at Montreal, he and a young brave sought to lead the Indians astray into the woods while the canoes descended the rapids, they themselves intending to rejoin the voyageurs by a circuitous route. In their perilous adventure the young brave was shot by the Iroquois, while exhaustion, hunger, and anxiety, brought about, after days of hopeless wanderings, the death of Cadieux. When found by his companions, his hands were clasped over a large sheet of birch bark bearing his dea,th song, for Cadieux ranked as a poet among his fellows. Passing Rigaud Mountain, the steamer lands at the antiquated but pretty post village of Carillon. Here we take the cars for twelve miles around the Carillon, Chute a Blondeau, and Long Sault Rapids, to Grenville, where another steamboat continues the voyage up the ( 25 ) river through a thickly wooded region. Six miles above Grenville is L'Original, a village of some importance, near which are the Caledonia Springs, long famed for their medicinal qualities. Nearing Ottawa we pass New'Edinburgh, where the Rideau River, in its fall into the Ottawa over a limestone ledge 50 feet perpendicular, forms a beautiful curtain, from which the river derives its name. This interesting, feature of the river has unfortunately been spoiled by the encroachments of commerce. New Edinburgh contains Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor-General of the Dominion. A mile and a quarter more and we reach the capital, beautifully situated on the south bank, just below the point where the Chaudiere Falls are formed. Founded as Bytown in 1827, by Col. By of the Royal Engineers, when engaged in the construction of the Rideau Canal to Kingston, Ottawa was incorporated under its present name in 1854, and in 1858, in view of the Confederation of the Provinces of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, its favourable position on the border of the two chief provinces of the then " Dominion of Canada" led the Queen to select it as the capital. Ottawa is placed between two waterfalls, the Chaudiere on the west and the Rideau on the east, and its natural attractions are great; but the pride of its citizens naturally centres in the Government buildings, which occupy the rock known as Barrack Hill, guarding, as it were, at a height of 150 feet, the town from the river. The view from this point of vantage is very fine. Below runs the river laden with busy craft, hemmed in on either side by waterfalls ; in the near distance the suspension bridge spanning the Ottawa breaks the view of the Chaudiere ; while far beyond, across the broad waters, rises a range of lofty mountains. The Parliament Building, facing Wellington Street, is the main structure, forming the south front of a quadrangle, with the Deparmental Buildings to the right and left, and contains the corner-stone laid by the Prince of Wales in September, i860. It is built in the Italian-Gothic style of the twelfth century, of cream-coloured Potsdam sandstone, found in the township of Nepean, in the valley of the Ottawa ; the dressings on the walls and arches being of Ohio stone. Its length is 500 feet, and the total frontage of the quadrangle 1,200 feet, the depth being 370 feet. The central tower, called the Victoria Tower, projecting in front of the building, and surmounted by a large iron crown, is 185 feet high, while the body of the buildings measures forty-three feet in height. The main entrance is under the central tower, 250 feet high, and leading through a large vestibule, with stairways to the chambers and offices of the Senate and the House of Commons. The chambers, forty-five feet wide by eighty feet long and fifty high, are of similar dimensions to the Imperial House of Lords. Close to the Commons Chamber are the Reading-room, the Speaker's apartments, and the Library. The latter is a fine circular building, with a dome ninety feet high in the rear of the central tower, constructed after the plan of the library of the British Museum, to hold 300,000 volumes. There are at present about 100,000 volumes on the shelves. In the centre stand a white marble statue of Her Majesty and busts of the Prince and Princess of Wales. The two Departmental '. Buildings contain in the aggregate 300 rooms. The Western block accommodates the following departments of the Dominion Government:—Public Works, the Customs, Post Office, Militia, Marine and Fisheries, Bureau of Agriculture, Railways, and Canals, and the Model-room connected with the Patent Department. In the Eastern block are found the Governor-General's offices, Privy Council Room, Minister of Justice, Secretary of State, Finance and Audit Offices, Registrar, Secretary of State for the Provinces, Inland Revenue and Interior Departments. The buildings are so constructed as to allow of extension at any future time without injuring the general archi- ( 26 ) tectural effect. They now cover an area of nearly four acres, the ground extending over 25 acres, and cost about four million dollars. Ottawa is, like Quebec, divided into an upper and lower town. It is DOMINION PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS AT OTTAWA. in Upper Canada, but only by a stone's throw, for crossing the suspension bridge into Hull brings one into Lower Canada. It has about 25,000 inhabitants, and, as the great entrepdt of the lumber trade, is a place of considerable commercial importance. The lumber mills, occupying every available spot around the Chaudiere Falls, are said to be the largest of the ( 27 ) kind in the world. Among the prominent public buildings of the city is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Notre Dame, called the Basilica, one of the finest sacred structures in Canada. It is built of blue limestone, and has two lofty towers over 200 feet in height. Its interior dimensions are 200 by 72 feet, and it will seat 2,000 persons. Knox Church, and the Dominion Methodist Church, are handsome buildings. The Post Office, City Hall, Collegiate Institute, Normal School, and the University of Ottawa, are among the other public buildings. Rideau Hall, the residence of the Governor-General, is across the Rideau River, in the suburb of New Edinburgh. This edifice was purchased in 1868 by the Canadian Government for its present purpose from the late Hon. Thomas McKay. It is a handsome stone structure, with thirty-five acres of well-laid-out grounds, and its many attractions make it a centre of life at the capital. A street railway connects the city with the villages of Hull and New Edinburgh. UP THE OTTAWA RIVER. Above the city the Grand River, as the Ottawa is sometimes called, is navigated for nearly 200 miles by the steamers of the Union Navigation Company, though the many portages make the journey a somewhat disconnected one. Just beyond the city, surrounded in autumn and winter by massive bare rocks, come the Chaudiere Falls, whose rapids commence six miles higher up. This part of the journey must therefore be made by coach for nine miles, to Aylmer, at the foot of the Chaudiere Lake, whence the steamer proceeds through the Lake, 18 miles in length, to the village of Pontiac. Here the horse cars journey for three miles to Union Village, around Chats Rapids, a picturesque series of cascades, descending 50ft. in the three miles. From this village the magnificent Lac des Chats is traversed to Arnprior, a flourishing village on the Madawaska River, surrounded by a district rich in marble and iron. At the head of the lake, which is fifteen miles throughout its entire' length, the Cheneaux Rapids are ascended to Gould's. Here passengers disembark for the portage, necessitating a rather tedious stage journey of twelve miles to Cobden, at the head of Muskrat Lake. Thence the steamer runs to Pembroke, the capital of the county of Renfrew, and a city of some importance. The surrounding country is prominent as a timber district. From Pembroke the steamer passes through the Upper and Lower Allumette Lakes to Les Deux Joachim (forty miles). The wild beauty of this part of the river is very striking. The Deep River, or Riviere Creuse, is another remarkable section. For twenty-eight miles the water is to all appearance quite motionless, very wide, and of great depth; while in contrast with the comparatively level plateau on the south side, bold mountainous scenery prevails on the north, Syenitic rocks rising in places from the water's edge to great heights. Further in a north-westerly direction, and the steamer' reaches the pretty village of Mattawa, at the point where the Mattawan, the widest and deepest of the western tributaries, enters the Ottawa River. A sandy ridge of only three-quarters of a mile separates the head of the Mattawan from La Riviere de Vase, a small rapid stream, five miles long, running into Lake Nipissing. Mattawa is the stopping place of the steamers, and a station on the Canadian Pacific Railway, the main line of which—now open for traffic from Montreal through Ottawa to Sudbury Junction, a distance of 444 miles—passes through the village. A fort ot the Hudson Bay Company stands on the point of land between the two rivers, while the village clustering round the railway station, with a population of one thousand, is on the south side of the Mattawan. What is before this place is impossible to say, but the natural advantages of its ( 28 ) position as a chief station in the Upper Ottawa lumbering business, and as the centre of a country possessing great attractions for the tourist and sportsman, would seem to point to an important future. OVER THE NORTH OF LAKE SUPERIOR. Beyond Mattawa the Canadian Pacific Railway proceeds for 26 miles to Callander, through a promising country dotted with good farms. From Callander the line runs through what may be termed historic ground, for by the western trail close at hand the intrepid Champlain travelled on his noble mission to the lake of the Nipissing and down the French River to the Mer Douce, the lake of the Huron Indians. Passing through the interior chain of lakes he came to the Bay of Quinte, and completed the first passage made by a white man across Lake Ontario. To the North Bay of Lake NIPISSING is but a run of 20 miles. This lake is one of the finest of the interior waters of Ontario, measuring fifty miles in length and thirty-five in width. It contains many islands, and discharges itself into Georgian Bay, a north-eastern arm of Lake Huron, by French River. An idea has long been entertained of utilising this lake and river as part of a canal, stretching from Montreal up the Ottawa, for 305 miles, to Mattawa, thence for forty-five miles to Lake Nipissing, and down the French River for fifty miles to its outlet in Lake Huron. The distance from Montreal to Chicago by the present line of navigation is 1,145 miles ; vid Ottawa and Lake Nipissing it would be 575 miles, about one-half. The total cost of such a canal, utilising the Lachine Canal, is estimated at 12,000,000 dols. At the mouth of French River is an excellent harbour, and a channel a quarter of a mile wide and thirty feet deep. The lake abounds in fish, some new to the great majority of anglers. From a purely commercial point of view Lake Nipissing is destined to be a very important lumbering centre. A large trade has already sprung up in the carriage of square pine timber from the lake to Montreal for the transatlantic trade. Leaving North Bay, the railway passes for some distance along the north shore of the lake; afterwards, just above the falls, crossing the Sturgeon River, the principal source of the supply of the lake, having its rise in Lake Watagamashing to the north. Following the valley of the Veuve River, Sudbury Junction, the present terminus of the line, is reached at a distance of 125 miles beyond Mattawa and 324 beyond Ottawa. At this point the Algoma branch of the Canadian Pacific system leaves the main line and proceeds for 100 miles to Algoma Mills on the north shore of Georgian Bay. This section is not, however, as yet in operation. The main line will proceed from Sudbury along the north shore of Lake Superior for 550 miles to Port Arthur, where it joins the line now in operation, to Winnipeg, and on through the North-West Territories to British Columbia. At Michipi- coten, at the extreme end of the lake, 225 miles from Sudbury, extensive deposits of iron, copper, and silver, have been found ; indeed, the whole district abounds in mines which only await capital to insure their profitable working. Near the Pic River, 140 miles further west, where the line first touches the lake, docks have already been erected, and there seems every probability of the place becoming an important centre in the near future. Further west still for 130 miles, the Nepigon River, a fine outlet of the very large lake of the same name, is crossed by a substantial bridge, 700 feet long by 80 feet high. The railway is now in operation between Nepigon and Port Arthur, a distance of sixty-five miles, thus leaving a gap as yet unopened to the public of some 490 miles, the construction on much of which is far advanced, and on the whole of which no effort is being spared to secure an early and thorough completion, It was recently officially computed that the ( 29 ) road-bed work on this section of railway on the north shore of Lake Superior would be practically finished by July ist, with the exception of two tunnels, of which one is on the thirty-sixth mile from Nepigon, and is 320 feet long, and the other on the thirty-seventh mile, and 350 feet long. Both are through substantial red granite. It is expected that the working of both tunnels will meet by the end of August; and there is a good chance of the rails being laid throughout the whole section along the north shore of the lake by March next, and certainly by the ist of May. There can be no question that the district through which this main line runs is one of great mineral value, and the approaching completion of the railway in the very heart of some of the most valuable of the deposits must make the region one of untold wealth to Canada in the near future. OTTAWA TO MONTREAL BY RAIL. Leaving Ottawa by the Canadian Pacific Railway, the first link in the great system that will shortly connect the Atlantic with the Pacific shores of the Dominion, a pleasant run is had to Montreal, occupying from 3^ to 4 hours. Crossing the Suspension Bridge, 262 feet long, and remarkable for its solid construction, where a fine view of the Chaudiere Falls is obtained, Hull is reached. The Gatineau River, a large and important lumbering river, 400 miles long, is next crossed, after which is Buckingham, a station of importance upon the Riviere du Lievre, a remarkably rapid stream, falling seventy feet in a very few miles. From the Gatineau River as far as Buckingham, the railway crosses the mineral belt of land, averaging from 20 to 25 miles in width, in which are very extensive and valuable deposits of phosphate of lime and other economic minerals. A remarkable revival has taken place in recent years in the mining of this district. In 1880, 7,500 tons of phosphate were exported ; in the following year the numbers were 10,327 ; in 1882 the exportation was 15,556 tons, and last year no less than 17,160. The whole region abounds in valuable minerals, apparently only awaiting energy and capital to yield a handsome return. Passing Rockland and Thurso, and crossing a lumbering stream at North Nation Mills, we reach Papin- eauville, so called because the late Hon. Louis Joseph Papineau, the O'Connell of Canada, resided here. Crossing the Rouge and Calumet streams, the train stops at Calumet, from which point the Caledonia springs may be visited. The next station, Grenville, is a good point from which to examine the Laurentian country. The mountains abound in apatite, graphite, mica, and other minerals. At this point in the river, the Long Sault Rapid commences, and here also is the upper end of the Carillon and Grenville Canal. Leaving the main Ottawa River, the line proceeds through St. Philippe, and passing between the river and the base of the Laurentian Hills, comes to Lachute, the chief town of the county of Argenteuil, situated on the falls of the Riviere du Nord. Several small stations, each named after some patron saint, are passed, and we cross the northernmost mouth of the Ottawa at Ste. Rose, where a comprehensive view up and down the river is had. At St. Martin Junction, the North Shore Railway to Quebec diverges. One more station, Sault aux Recollets, where the train crosses the Riviere des Prairies, and we alight at the Mile End station, in the western part of Montreal, or proceed to Hochelaga or Montreal station proper. ( 3° ) CHAPTER V. No visitor to Canada should miss the beauties of the Thousand Islands. This excursion may well include the Long Sault, Coteau, Cedar, Cascade, and Lachine Rapids, as well as the towns of Brockville, Kingston, and Toronto ; and while at Toronto a visit may conveniently be paid to Niagara. Leaving Montreal, the traveller will probably take the quicker route, the recently opened Ontario section of the Canadian Pacific system, passing through Ottawa, Perth, and Peterborough. Those acquainted with the old route will also be glad to take advantage of the Canadian Pacific line to see an interesting section of country hitherto unknown to them. It may here be remarked that if the tourist so wishes he may, instead of returning from Ottawa to Montreal, as above described, proceed from Carleton Junction, on the Canadian Pacific Railway, 149 miles from Montreal and 29 beyond Ottawa, direct to Brockville, a distance of 46 miles, where is direct railway communication with Toronto. If, again, time be short, the return to Montreal may be made by steamer from Brockville; but those who can arrange to do so should push on to Toronto—"the Queen City of the West" —which is itself a convenient centre from which to visit places of interest on the north and south. TORONTO. (Hotels: Queen's, Rossin, Walker, and American). The capital of Ontario (population 90,000), one of the most flourishing cities in the Dominion, is situated, on a level plateau, overlooking a beautiful circular bay of Lake Ontario, bearing the same name as the town. The bay, about four miles long and two in width, is entered from the west by a narrow channel, and is separated from the main body of the lake by a low peninsula of sandy beach six miles in length, known as Hanlan's Island. Within this sand-bay is enclosed a basin 1% miles in diameter, forming an excellent harbour capable of sheltering a large number of vessels. What .was once a peninsula is now, however, Hanlan's Island, a favourite summer resort, and the home of the champion sculler, who has erected here the Hanlan Hotel, the taxes on which are remitted by the city authorities as a token of their appreciation of the skill of their fellow- citizen. On the south-west angle of the island, known as Gibraltar Point, is a lighthouse which does good service. Toronto is at this moment completing great preparations to fitly celebrate its first semi-centenary, and a few words on its history will not therefore be deemed out of place. The site of the town of York, as it was then called, was selected in 1793 by Lieut.-Gov. Simcoe, and named in commemoration of the victory of the Duke of York over the French in Flanders. Where is now a thriving city of close upon a hundred thousand people, were found two Indian families, the harbour being a resort for myriads of wild fowl. Its situation was low and marshy, and it well deserved its then familiar name of " Muddy York." In 1797 Parliament Buildings were erected, and the Legislature assembled for the first time. Little of interest occurred until 1813, when the place was captured by the Americans, under General Pike, though held only a few days. In 1834, when Sir John Colborne was at the head of affairs, the town was incorporated, and the name of York exchanged for that of Toronto, supposed by some to be equivalent in the Indian mind to " oak-trees growing out of the lake," and by others to mean " the place of meeting." Its people ( 3i ) then numbered 9,254. Since that time nothing has interfered with the steady progress of the city. In 1856 its population had reached 50,000, and its commercial prosperity had taken firm root, so that to-day it ranks as the second city of Canada. The streets of Toronto are broad, and generally cross one another at right angles, the whole forming nearly a parallelogram. The main thoroughfares are King, Queen, and Yonge Streets, the latter named after Sir George Yonge. The city generally is regularly built, of a light-coloured brick, and the public buildings are substantial and well designed. The chief building is the University, a fine Norman building at the western side of the Queen's Park, forming three sides of a quadrangle, each measuring 200 feet in length. The University was founded in 1827 by William IV., and erected during 1854-57, at a total cost of five hundred thousand dollars. Excepting the Memorial Hall in the Harvard University, it is looked upon as the finest building of its kind on the American continent. The principal halls are the library, containing 25,000 volumes, the museum, convocation hall, and the senate hall. A fine view of the city and Niagara in the distance may be had from the massive tower, 120 feet in height, which stands in the centre of the south frontage of the building. St. James's Cathedral, the principal episcopal church in Toronto, is a fine English Gothic structure on King and Church Streets. St. James's is the fourth church that has occupied this site, the last one having been burnt down in 1849, and the present building commenced in the following year. Its spire is 315 feet high, being several feet higher than the Trinity Church, New York, and the highest in America. In the interior is beautiful workmanship, including some fine windows and wood carving. Knox Church, a Presbyterian building, is much admired for its graceful Gothic tower and spire. St. Michael's (Roman Catholic) Cathedral, in the early English Gothic style, and the Metropolitan Methodist Church, are also prominent structures. Toronto is the seat of Law and Provincial Government, as well as the headquarters of the Educatonal Department of Ontario. Osgoode Hall, built in Classic style, and named after the Hon. William Osgoode, the first Chief Justice of Upper Canada is the seat of the superior courts of the Province; and parliament buildings, in keeping with the importance of the Province and city, are about to be constructed in the place of the present ill-looking structure. Government House, the residence of the Lieut.-Governor, is a modern structure, after the French style. The Normal School buildings, the Upper Canada College, Trinity College, are among the educational institutions of the city; while the other public buildings are the Custom House, the Post Office, the Central Prison, the Mercer Reformatory, the Provincial Lunatic Asylum, and the Exhibition Buildings, in which the Provincial agricultural exhibitions are held. The Queen's Park is situated in the heart of the city, comprising fifty acres. In 1860-the Prince of Wales laid the foundation of the statue of the Queen, which now stands in the park. There is also here the Volunteers' Monument, erected by the citizens in honour of the volunteers who sacrificed their lives in repelling the first attempted invasion of Canada by the United States Fenian miscreants in 1866. Some of the band were members of the University, and to their memory a window has been placed in the college hall. The beautiful Horticultural Gardens, owned by the Toronto Horticultural Society, were opened to the public by the Prince of Wales in i860, and are well worth a visit. The manufacturing interests of Toronto are large and varied, while its fine harbour affords facilities for an extensive traffic. Lines of steamers run daily during the season to all St. Lawrence ports, and no less than six lines of railway run through the city. It forms the junction from which a o H O Pi o W H « H CO O ( 33 ) Spur of the Canadian Pacific system extends to its lake port, Owen Sound, and members of the Association will, therefore, on their Rocky Mountain excursion, pass through the city before embarking on the Canadian Pacific steamers. NIAGARA FALLS. From Toronto a visit may readily be paid to the Niagara Falls. The steamers of the Toronto and Niagara Navigation Company leave the port three times daily, and by them a pleasant trip of 36 miles may be made in about two hours to the town of Niagara, on the Canadian side of Lake Ontario. This is the oldest town in the Province of Ontario, and was mainly settled by the sturdy United Empire Loyalists, at the close of the American Revolution. From Niagara to the Niagara Falls station is a short run of 15 miles over the Canada Southern Railway. The best view of the famous cataract may be had from the Canadian shore, near Clifton, reached from the station by the new Suspension Bridge. From Clifton House, a good hotel, the whole of both cataracts is well seen. The Prospect House is also a good hotel on the same side. Having taken the tourist to the Falls, we will leave him to form his own impression, feeling that in attempting to undertake this on his behalf we should be going beyond our province. THE NORTHERN LAKES. Toronto is also a convenient centre for all points in the district of the Northern Lakes of Canada, and the country stretching 100 miles northward. Until recently this vast region of forests, lakes, and rivers was a wilderness neglected by tourist and settler alike, but within the last twenty years numerous towns and villages have sprung up in the wake of the railways and steamboats penetrating the country. The chief lakes and places worthy of a visit are Simcoe, the largest of the inland lakes of Ontario, characterised by great sylvkn beauty. Couchiching ("lake of many winds"), with the pleasant park of the same name ; Sparrow, first among the sporting districts of Muskoka ; Gravenhurst, the key to the regions of Muskoka, Maganetawan and Nipissing, and an excellent centre for tourists ; Lake Muskoka itself, the largest in size ; Lake Joseph, whose waters are, unlike those of its neighbours, beautifully clear and deep, in the midst of characteristic scenery; Lakes Rosseau, Maganetawan ("smooth flowing water"), Nipissing, and others too numerous to mention, though well worthy of a visit from the tourist who can spend a few weeks in this most interesting district. Comparatively few visitors to Canada will have that time to spare, and we therefore hasten to Toronto to make the return trip to Montreal, through some of the most charming of the St. Lawrence scenery. It should, however, be added that from Toronto visits may be paid to Hamilton, St. Catherines, and London, the first two named by steamer, or by rail. The prosperous city of Hamilton (Hotels: St. Nicholas, Royal, and American) is pleasantly built on a plateau of slightly elevated ground, winding around the foot of a hilly range, which extends from Niagara Falls, and here receives the name of "The Mountain." Its population is 35,000. St. Catherines (population 18,000) is much resorted to for its mineral waters. Its favourable situation on the Welland Canal, and in railway communication with all important points, has made it the centre of a large and rapidly increasing business, shipbuilding being among its industries. LONDON (Hotels: Tecumseh and Griggs1), ill miles west of Toronto, with 16,000 inhabitants, is the capital of the county of Middlesex, on the River Thames, and has a fine appearance. As the centre of one of the finest agricultural regions of Canada, it is a place of commercial importance, while its medicinal white sulphur springs make i (34) it a favourite resort among health-seekers. About fifty miles west of Toronto is the picturesque city of GUELPH, on the river Speed. Here, in the midst of an extensive agricultural and noted stock-raising district, is the well-known and admirable Ontario Agricultural College and Experimental Farm. the thousand islands. On the return journey to Montreal, we embark on one of the steamers of the Richelieu and Ontario line. Sixty-two miles brings the boat to Port Hope, advantageously situated on the north shore*of Lake Ontario, where lumber and grain are much traded in. The steamer next stops at Cobourg, a formidable rival to Port Hope. Leaving this pleasant port town, the broad waters of the lake are made for, and KINGSTON is soon reached (Hotels: British American, Albion, and City). This city, once the capital of Upper Canada, is situated at the outlet of Lake Ontario, on the northeast shore of the river, opposite Wolfe Island, the harbour and shipping being in front. Kingston is, after Quebec and Halifax, the strongest city in Canada. Its natural position is bold, and all the accessible points are secured by batteries, Point Henry fortress completely commanding both harbour and town. The history of the place dates back to 1672, when the French, led by De Courcelles, began a settlement here under the name of Fort Cataraqui, afterwards called Fort Frontenac, in honour of the French count of that name. It is upon the site of this old fort that the present city is built. Kingston is the name given to the city by the British in 1762, when it fell into their hands. It was incorporated in 1832, and its population now numbers nearly 15,000. The streets are regular, and the buildings, well worthy of the fifth city of Ontario, are chiefly of the blue limestone underlying the town. Wells of mineral water resembling those of St. Catherines have been obtained in the neighbourhood. The city is connected with Ottawa, by the Rideau Canal, making it a place of considerable commercial importance. It has also good railway facilities. Leaving Kingston, the expansion of the St. Lawrence, studded with islands, and well called Lake of the Thousand Islands, is entered, extending down the river for 40 miles, with a width of 7 miles. Numbering about 1,700, these woody and rocky islets are of every shape and size ; some hardly seen, others many acres in extent ; some little but bare rock, others beautified by plenteous foliage. The navigable channel, marked out by wooden lighthouses, runs from isle to isle, at times within a stone's throw of land. The gorgeous mass of foliage presented in autumn, when the trees exchange their summer green for numberless tints, is a scene of striking beauty. The chief resting-place among the islands is Alexandria Bay (Hotels: Thousand Islands House, and Crossman House), a small village on the New York side of the river, from whence good boating and fishing may be had. A steamer plies between the Thousand Islands House and Clayton, whence all rail connection can be made with New York via Utica. South-east of Alexandria Bay, distant some eight miles, are the romantic Lakes of Theresa, with good fishing, and shores and islands rich in rare minerals. Passing Morristown on the south bank, and the thriving town of Brockville on the opposite Canadian shore, the Lake of the Thousand Islands ends, and the river widens to two miles. Thirteen miles further on lies Prescott, a city of 4,000 inhabitants, immediately opposite, and presenting a poor contrast to, the prosperous little American city of Ogdensburg. A few miles beyond, and the first rapids, Gallopes Rapids, are descended, closely followed by the Rapide de Plat. The former is a stretch of two miles long, through which the descent is made with full steam on. Thirty miles further is Louisville, whence stages run for seven miles (35 ) to Massena Springs, a popular American resort. Opposite Louisville, on the Canadian shore, is Dickenson's Landing, just below which are the Long Sault Rapids, nine miles in length, with a gradual fall of 48 feet, the longest and wildest on the St. Lawrence. Indeed, up to within half a century ago, the passage was thought impracticable, though no one need now hesitate to undergo the peculiar sensation experienced as the vessel shoots over the huge and heaving billows. In ascenc.ing the river, use is made of the Cornwall Canal, eleven miles in length. At the foot of the rapids lies the thriving manufacturing town of Cornwall, boasting in 4,000 people. Opposite is the large Indian village of St. Regis, within the boundary line of both the United States and Canada, whence Lake St. Francis, dotted with islets for a distance of twenty-five miles, expands to a width of from two to six miles. Now entirely in Canadian territory, we pass Coteau du Lac, at the head of the Coteau Rapids, extending for two miles. Nine miles below, these take the name of the Cedars, and still farther on, the Cascades, or Split Rock, at the foot of which is Beauharnois, prettily situated in a bay, and we are once more in still water. From this point the river expands for twelve miles to the head of the Lachine Rapids, the expanse measuring five miles in width, and going by the name of Lake St. Louis. At Isle Perrot the dark waters of the Ottawa are seen flowing into those of the St. Lawrence. Touching at the Indian village of Caughnawaga, an Indian pilot is taken on board, and the last, though the most turbulent and dangerous of the rapids, the Lachine, are run amid feverish excitement. Thence, leaving Isle aux Heron and Nun's Island formerly an Indian burial ground, now well cultivated under the care of the Grey Nunnery at Montreal, we pass under the Victoria Bridge, and land at Montreal. CHAPTER VI. THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN EXCURSION. The excursion to the Rocky Mountains by the Canadian Pacific Railway is a feature in the programme of every visitor to Canada. The excursion is made up of three stages. First comes the railway journey through Ottawa, and over the new Ontario section of the system to Toronto— passing through valuable mining, lumbering, and agricultural districts for a distance of 478 miles, and thence to Owen Sound, making.altogether 600 miles. From O.ven Sound, by steamer, through Georgian Bay and Lake Superior to Port Arthur, is 575 miles. At Port Arthur the main line of the railway is joined, and runs for 435 miles to Winnipeg, and thence for 962 miles to Stephen, in the Rocky Mountains. MONTREAL TO TORONTO. From Montreal the train proceeds to Ottawa, a distance of 120 miles, over the route already described. Thence to Carleton Junction is a run of 29 miles. This town, more generally known as Carleton Place, has a population of 2,000, and is on the Canadian Mississippi River, and at the junction of the Brockville and Ottawa with the main Ontario section of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It has unlimited water power privileges. Steamers ply between it and several places on the River Mississippi on its way to the Ottawa, which it enters about 30 miles above the capital. D 2 (37 ) Passing Franktown, more than a mile from the village of the same name and Smith's Falls, we come to Perth, the capital of the county of Lanark, situated on the River Tay, eight miles above its mouth, and 300 miles east from Toronto. The Tay has been rendered navigable from this point to the Rideau Canal, a distance of seven miles, thus opening up water communication with Kingston and Ottawa. The population of Perth numbers 3,000. In its vicinity are extensive deposits of iron, mica, plumbago, and phosphate of lime, while gold in paying quantities is among more recent discoveries. Traversing the centre of the counties of Frontenac and Addington, interspersed by numerous small lakes and rivers, we pass to the south of the flourishing village of Madoc, in Hastings county, a neighbourhood abounding in gold mines, of which the Malone mines to the northwest have been for some time successfully worked. Large deposits of iron are also being worked in the neighbourhood. The demand for the iron of this district is very great, and several mining companies are already at work getting out the ore. It is magnetic, and is largely used in the United States, especially Cleveland, to mix with other iron for smelting purposes, whence large quantities of the crude ore are sent. On through a rich agricultural country and we come to Peterborough, with a population of nearly 10,000 in the centre of the district. The town is advantageously situated on either bank of the Otonabee River, which is spanned by a number of bridges in use for railway and ordinary traffic. The town is about midway between Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay, on the route of Trent Valley navigation. The water power at this point in the river is unlimited for manufacturing and other purposes. The extent of the trade of the town is shown from the fact that annual exports of wheat average 150,000 bushels; of flour, 15,000; of barley, 275,000; of butter and cheese, 5 50,000 cwt.; while the export of lumber' reaches thirty million feet annually. The opening up of the direct rail route to Ottawa, Montreal, and Atlantic cannot but still further develop this fertile agricultural region. The site of the town was three-quarters of a century ago covered with scattered oaks and small bush. It was then known to the Indians as Indian Plain or Scott's Landing, and was at the head of the Otonabee navigation on the portage of Lake Chemong. In 1825, under the patronage of Earl Bathurst, a Colonel Peter Robinson, of Newmarket, conducted 2,000 Irish emigrants to the Plains, and settled them in the neighbourhood. The name Peterborough was given the settlement, in honour of Colonel Robinson. From this point the line runs through the agricultural counties of Durham and Ontario to Agincourt in York County, near which the Toronto and Nipissing Railway is crossed by a substantial bridge. Through the neighbourhood of Wexford, and Carlton is soon reached, five miles west of Toronto, on the Owen Sound spur of the system. TORONTO TO OWEN SOUND. Toronto is now left behind, and passing over what was once known as the Toronto Grey and Bruce, but now part of the Canadian Pacific system, through highly cultivated land, we come in about 3^ hours to Owen Sound, a distance of 122 miles. Carlton, a small village on Black Creek, is the first station from Toronto ; a few miles beyond is Weston, an agricultural centre. At Humber Summit the River Humber is crossed by an elevated and lengthy bridge, having five spans of 50 feet each, and one span of 83^ feet, with stone piers. Passing Kleinburg, rich in agricultural resources, and the villages of Bolton, Mono Road, Charleston, and Alton, we come to Orange- yille, a, rising townj of |3,ooo inhabitants, where a jspur of the railway runs -( 3« ) for 73 miles to Teeswater, thus giving connection with the county of Bruce and its Lake Huron ports. Orangeville, 49 miles from Toronto, is on a j branch of the River Credit, a stream taking its rise in the Caledon Mountains. Caledon Lakes are within easy reach, and afford excellent trout fishing. Shelburne, 15 miles beyond, and Flesherton, 37 miles, are also good trout- fishing centres. Near the latter small village, the Beaver River takes its rise, anu pursues its course through strath and wood and glen to the thriving village of Thornbury on Georgian Bay. Five miles from Flesherton, on one of the branches of the Beaver, are the beautiful " Eugenia Falls," where the stream, falling perpendicularly for 70 feet amid peculiar sylvan beauty, forms a great attraction to lovers of nature. Markdale, 92 miles from Toronto, is on a branch of the River Saugeen ; 15 miles beyond, and 13 miles from Owen Sound, is Chatsworth, another favourite centre for sportsmen. One cannot but be struck by the fine situation of the rising young town of Owen Sound. At the mouth of the river Sydenham, which at one time gave its name to the town, it is said to have the best natural harbour of Lake Huron. This harbour is 12 miles long and 5 miles wide, and throughout its entire length is completely sheltered on both sides. Its anchorage is decidedly good, and the depth of water considerable, so that vessels of any size may come to the mouth of the river with perfect safety. The town, boasting in. a population of more than 5,000, is pleasantly situated on a small plain, surrounded on three sides by well-wooded hills. Many manufactories are carried on here, and the town is well supplied with churches, banks, and hotels ; while the charming falls, the many pleasant drives in the neighbourhood, and the excellent boating in the bay, make it a favourite pleasure resort. The Coulson House is a leading hotel. GEORGIAN BAY. At Owen Sound we embark for a journey of 575 miles across the lakes to Port Arthur on one of the new steamers of the Canadian Pacific Railway, vessels so complete in every way as to deserve a word of mention. Built at Glasgow last year, at a cost, including complete equipment, of 300,000 dols. each, the Algoma, Alberta, and Athabasca, each has a length of 270 feet, a width of 38 feet, and a depth of 23^ feet, with a gross tonnage of 1,780 tons, and propelled by compound engines of about 1,700 horse-power. The passenger accommodation on the boats is extensive and excellent, while the saloon is tastily fitted. They are lit throughout by the electric light, and thus form an innovation in Canadian lake travel. On leaving Owen Sound, the immense grain elevator erected by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company stands out near the wharf. Passing up the harbour, with Point William on the right, and Cape Commodore on the left, the middle waters of Georgian Bay are soon reached. On the left appears the well-timbered ■Griffith's Island, after which the pretty Flower-Pot, Echo, and Cove islands are passed ; and rounding Cabot's Head and- Cape Hurd the main waters of Lake Huron are entered. Ahead lie Middle and Outer Duck Islands, while away to the east as far as the eye can reach stretches the coast-line of the Grand Manitoulin Island, known to the Indians as the Sacred Isle—they firmly believing it to be the abode of "The Manitou" or Great Spirit. This island is 30 miles long and 20 broad, and has an area of 1,600 square miles. Its shores are deeply indented with numerous bays, and backed by steep precipices, on whose summits are clusters of beautiful pine trees. The Little Manitoulin or Cockburn Island, resembling in general features its larger neighbour, and Drummond Island, presenting a rugged surface for 24 miles, are passed on the right hand, and the head of the vessel is turned towards the Detour Strait, scarcely a mile wide, with the American " ( 39 ) shore on the west. Ahead, on passing through the channel, is seen the mainland of the District of Algoma, now populated chiefly by Indians, but in the near future likely to be the home of more civilised races attracted thither by the great wealth of copper and silver mines awaiting capital and skill. The opening of the branch of the Canadian Pacific system to Algoma Mills will do much to develop this valuable region. Behind St. Joseph's Island, which we now coast; is the village of Bruce Mines : twenty years ago the centre of a busy copper mining district; now, from no lack of valuable ore, but a shadow of its former self. Passing up the St. Mary's River, some of the prettiest of lake scenery is met for 30 miles, reminding one forcibly of the beauties of the Thousand Islands. At times we are. face to face with some huge rock, and seem about to run headlong into it, when a turn of the wheel brings the boat safely round a sharp corner and into a spacious channel beyond. In a short time we reach Lake George, a beautiful sheet of water, some fifteen miles long and four to five broad, studded with numberless islands. At the head of the lake is Churchville, at one time a place of some importance as a timber station, but now the dwelling place of but two or three families. In the shallow waters of the lake wild rice is seen growing plentifully, and serves to feed countless flocks of wild ducks. Along the north shore we coast Sugar Island, an American possession, owing its name to its rich growth of maple trees, under which large quantities of excellent sugar are made every spring. On the Canadian side of the river are seen pretty villages, surrounded by hilly country; followed by Garden River and Garden city, a small but pretty village of 500 inhabitants, forming part of an Indian reserve which extends for nine miles along the St. Mary's River. The Indians here are chiefly engaged in fishing and the chase, though the neighbourhood abounds in mines of silver, lead, and copper. Passing through Little Lake George we soon reach the two towns of Sault Ste. Marie, the one on the left in the State of Michigan, and that on the opposite shore in Canadian territory. It is a rule that no vessel shall pass after nightfall through the canal which leads from this point to Lake Superior, so that a stop is often made here for the night. SAULT STE. MARIE STRAIT. The old village of Sault Ste. Marie, on the northern side, is neat, though smaller and with less of the go-ahead air characterising its American neighbour. The streets of the Canadian village are broad, and some of its buildings are fairly creditable. The inhabitants are now largely engaged in the fur trade and fisheries, though it is anticipated that the contemplated erection of a dock for the accommodation of the new Canadian Pacific steamers will open up new industries and give considerable impetus to the trade of the place. There is, however, no immediate probability that it will outdo its American rival, which has] now a population of nearly 2,000. All vessels passing through the canal call at the latter village and take in coal, and a garrison of two American companies of infantry and four fieldpieces are placed here. The rapids at this point have a descent of 22 feet in less than a mile, and form the natural limit of steamboat navigation. The scenery is very charming, the width, length, and picturesque surroundings of the Sault combining to give it much beauty. " In front, we see the waters churned into foam as they leap over their rocky bed and over the boulders which for three-quarters of a mile stand in their way. The river is about a mile wide at the chute, and the waters come down a gentle slope and glide into the river, first gurgling, then jumping, and then quietly dying away into the smooth surface of the waters below." During the vessel's stay at Sault (4° ) Ste. Marie, the rapids may be run with the aid of a canoe and two Indians, whose services are obtainable for 50 cents per passenger. To overcome these rapids and afford uninterrupted water communication between the great lakes, a canal was, in 1855, cut largely through rock on the American side, thus placing the upper and lower reaches of the river in direct communication. Traffic increased so rapidly that in 1874 a grant of three million dollars was made by Congress to increase the capacity of the canal. In seven years it was finished, and is now classed as the finest structure of its kind in existence. The old canal, which cost in _ all close upon ^200,000 sterling, had two locks, each 350 feet long, 70 feet wide at the top, and 61 feet at the bottom of the chamber. The new canal, added between 1874 and 1881, at a cost of over .£500,000 sterling, has one lock, 515 feet long inside the chamber, and 80 feet wide, intended to hold several vessels at once. The movements of the gates and valves—indeed, everything connected with the operation of the locks—is regulated by powerful hydraulic machinery, worked by the natural fall of the water, for Lake Superior is said to be 26 feet above Lake Huron, of which 18 feet is accounted for in these falls. The strait is about a mile long, and the depth of the water 12 feet. The season during which the canal is open averages from the ist of May to the end of November, and its waters are at all times free to the use of the vessels of every nationality. The volume of traffic passing through this channel shows its importance both to Canada and the United States, In the season of 1882, 4,774 vessels, with a tonnage of 2,468,088, passed from the one lake to the other. Twelve years before, the returns showed 1,091 sailing vessels and 2,567 steamers, with a gross tonnage of about one and a half millions. In connection with the figures for the year before last, it must moreover be borne in mind that at that time no contributions came from the Canadian Pacific or Northern Pacific (United States) systems, both of which being now in active operation, may be expected to add largely to the traffic of the canal. The opening of the second canal in 1881 completed the inland navigation of the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes for vessels not over 180 feet long, 44 feet wide, and 9 feet draught, only 72 miles being artificial. - When looking at the busy villages on either side of the river, and admiring the rock-cut channel by which navigation is made possible from one great inland sea to another, it is somewhat difficult to realise that, two and a half centuries ago, where is now seen so much activity and the outcome of so great engineering skill, a cluster of Indian wigwams was the only sign of man. Among the followers of Samuel de Champlain in his efforts to Christianise the Indians of-the continent was John Nicolet, a young man full of religious fervour and ready talent. To him Champlain looked with unerring confidence to develop his schemes of exploration in the Western world, as yet unseen by civilised man, of which his limited hearsay knowledge made him still more eager to realise its full limits, its resources, and to reach the hearts of its savage peoples. Fond expectations were held by the colonists in Quebec and Eastern Canada, of reaching China and Japan across the American continent, and it was to solve the problem of a near route to China that Nicolet was chosen in June, 1634, to make a journey to the Winnebagoes, an Indian " People of the Sea," dwelling in that part of the American State of Wisconsin known as Green Bay. Accompanied by a party of Jesuits, he and his companions ascended the River Ottawa under great difficulties to Isle de Allumettes. On to the tributary of Mattawan he reached Lake Nipissing, whence he floated down French River to the north shore of Georgian Bay. Leaving the Huron villages in the company of seven Indians, he came in his birch-bark canoe to the Nation of Beavers, supposed to be descended from the Great Beaver ( 41 ) their supreme divinity next to the Great Hare. The hunting grounds of these people lay to the north of the Manitoulin Islands. Further still on the margin of the Great Huron Lake were the Amikoiiai, of the Algonquin family. Pushing on, he finally entered St. Mary's Strait, and urging his canoes for many miles came to the falls of Sault de Sainte Marie, surrounded by a cluster of Indian wigwams, which two and a half centuries have changed into an active American village. Then for the first time white man trod " the territory north-west of the River Ohio," known to us as the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin, and so much of Minnesota as lies east of the Mississippi River. Here, among the Algonquins, "the People of the Falls," Nicolet rested. Returning down the strait he came to Lake Michigan and reached Green Lake County, Wisconsin, the destination set before him, having carried out the object of his visit, and secured a treaty of peace between the maritime tribes and the Hurons. A century later the mantle of Nicolet was taken up by Pierre Gualtier de Varennes, Sieur de la Verandrye, then in command of a French trading post at the new fort of Nepigon. Here was the very outpost of trade and civilisation, for the spirit of adventure in the interval between Nicolet's journey and Verandrye's appearance led the " remote West" to be pushed from the Saulte Ste. Marie along the rocky shore of Lake Superior to this north-western fort. With his little band Verandrye left the shores of Lake Superior in 1731, and made the first visit of white man to the Winnipeg district. Resting at Lac Du Pluis, the Rainy Lake, and establishing there Fort St. Pierre, his first trading-post, he came in the next year to Lac des Bois, Lake of the Woods, building on its shores Fort St. Charles. Thence they descended the picturesque River Winnipeg (Ouinipique) to Lake Winnipeg, thus marking out a route which Colonel Wolseley did not hesitate to follow with his troops in 1870, when charged with the putting down of the Riel Rebellion. They then ascended the river of the Assiniboine, called by him the St. Charles, but known to us as the Red River, and in 1736, in the angle formed by the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, built Fort Rouge, just across from the point where now stands the city of Winnipeg. On up the Assiniboine and Souris he ultimately reached the great Couteau de Missouri. Six years later Verandrye followed the Missouri to its source, and thus discovered the Rocky Mountains. Another six years, and following the Assiniboine to its northern limits he reached the Saskatchewan River, traced its course for hundreds of miles, and only when about to realise the long-wished-for hope of sighting the great "bitter sea" across the mountains, of which the Indians had spoken, the years of toil and suffering through which he had passed brought about his death, towards the close of the year 1749, his hard-earned discoveries being left to benefit a selfish and ungrateful people. I LAKE SUPERIOR. Leaving the Sault and steaming for 15 miles up the river, the vessel commences to plough the waters of Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world. " What a farce!" justly exclaims the voyager; " how poor our mother tongue must be, that this immense expanse should of necessity be called a lake." In the old country we look with pride upon our Windermere, with its paltry ten miles length of water; how then shall we regard this inland sea of 32,000 square miles, measuring 420 miles from end to end, and 1,750 miles in circumference? Drop New Brunswick into it, and you make the Province an island ; while Switzerland would occupy little more than half its area. Though 630 miles above sea level, the waters of the lake average a depth of no less than 900 feet, and many of its depressions ( 42 ) have never yet seen plummet line long enough to reach their base. To its great depth is attributed the peculiar coldness at all times characterising the water of the lake. Even though the sun be at its height and the weather ever so warm on land, let the voyager bear in mind that an overcoat is a comfort when crossing from land to land. Passing from the River St. Mary, up Whitefish Bay, and nearing the headland of Whitefish Point, the coast line is seen for miles on either hand. To the north is the low-lying Isle Parisien; beyond it Point Iroquois; while far in the distance rises Gros Cap. Some activity is shown in the working of the silver, copper, and other valuable minerals with which this region abounds. The Lake Superior Native Copper Company here mine native copper in a formation similar to that in which it is found by the successful companies on the American shore of the lake. The average so far is said to be from iyi to 3 per cent, of copper. One hundred miles after losing sight of land, Michipicoten Island and River are reached. Silver Islet is the next port, and here we find the pioneer silver mines of the district, which have probably produced more actual bullion than any other mine from the same amount of territory worked. Originally the islet was a rock, no more than a few yards long, rising from the waters half a mile from the mainland. Sinking their shaft 600 feet, and bringing the ddbris matter to the surface, the miners have, as report goes, enlarged the island to its present size. The development of the mine still continues with considerable energy, though there is ample scope for both capital and mining experience. The mainland is now soon visible again, and Cape Thunder is seen rising boldly from the water on the right, with McKay's Mountain in the distance. Passing Page Island and Isle Royal, which, with the indentation of the north coast, affords good shelter for vessels, we enter Thunder Bay, between the imposing headlands of Thunder Cape, rising majestically to a height of 1,350 feet, and Pie Island, with an altitude of 850 feet, so called from its resemblance in form to an immense pork pie, from which one may fairly conclude that this adjunct to civilisation was not altogether unknown to the early inhabitants of these regions. The bay is a north-west expansion of Lake Superior, and the most southerly of three large indentations, the two above being Black Bay and Nepigon Bay. It measures 32 miles in a north-easterly direction, and 14 miles from Thunder Cape to the mouth of the Kaministiquia River. The spaciousness and majestic grandeur of bay and cape cannot but be admired as the vessel approaches the Port Arthur wharf, where a landing is effected after a lake voyage of some thirty-six to forty hours. CHAPTER VII. rocky mountain EXCURSION (continued). PORT ARTHUR. Port Arthur (Hotels: Queen's, Pacific, &*c), or Prince Arthur's Landing as it used to be called, is well spoken of as " The Silver Gate," in that it is the natural door of entrance to the North-West. Its future importance can hardly be a matter of doubt. Its land-locked bay affords an excellent and safe harbour; it is surrounded by a country in which vast stretches of rich agricultural lands, including the Kaministiquia and other valleys, and large lumbering resources combine with gold, silver, iron, copper, zinc, and other mineral deposits, to make it one of the greatest value ; while westward, and ( 43 ) tributary to it, lie the great wheat fields of the Canadian North-West, the extensive cattle ranches of Alberta, and the fertile acres of northern Minnesota and Dakota. During the first half of the present century what Q Z s we now know as Port Arthur was content to lead the humdrum life ot an ordinary fur-trade village. Its first event was the expedition of Mr. Dawson and Professor Hynd, in 1857-8, and the opening up of the Dawson route to the Red River country: indeed, the former gentleman is looked upon as the founder of the place. In 1867 the commencement of the (44) Government railway from the shores of the lake to Manitoba gave the " Station" the appearance of a busy frontier village. The landing of Colonel Wolseley and his troops in 1870, on their way to quell the Red River Rebellion, was an important event in the history of the place, for at the request of the colonel, the village, then known as the " Station," was thenceforth called Prince Arthur's Landing, in honour of the young prince who had become so popular in the Dominion. In 1872 the town and surrounding country was placed under a regular form of government, and its progress in succeeding years, when the railway continued to be pushed westward and eastward, has been rapid but comparatively steady, without that fever-heat of speculation, the " boom," apparently so necessary to the development of most western cities. The population of the town has doubled itself in less than one year. It is now 3,000, and continues to increase rapidly, while fine buildings are springing up on all hands. The town of Port Arthur—for it was so incorporated last year—is beautifully situated on a gradual slope towards the lake. From the hill in the background the whole landscape is laid out before one. To the right, some six miles distant, McKay's Mountain, a grand headland, rises 1,000 feet high, with Fort William and the Kaministiquia River at its foot; further lies Pie Island, and the smaller Welcome Islands protecting the harbour ; in the dim distance is the northern portion of Isle Royal, and more to the north Thunder Cape, while in the bay vessels may be seen approaching for thirteen miles. Still farther to the left, at the north end of the town, are the new Canadian Pacific Docks, generally known as the Government Dock, upon which stands the immense elevator erected by the company, and capable of storing 250,000 bushels of grain of the Western farmer to await shipment. This structure is considered the most complete of its kind in America, and the facilities for handling grain are such that one car is on an average unloaded every three minutes, while in the same space of time thrice that amount of grain is passed from the elevator into the hold of the vessel. Bordering on the bay at this end of the town are fifty acres of land occupied by the railway company. Among the other docks are those of the Lake Superior and Thunder Bay forwarding and elevator companies. A vote of 150,000 dols. has recently been made for a breakwater to run from the lighthouse at the end of the Canadian Pacific depot, parallel with the coast to a point opposite the elevator of the company. Farther south are the emigrant sheds, which have happily been much in requisition this season; while farther inland are the Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist churches, the public school, the court-house, the post-office, and other public buildings. Six miles south-west of Port Arthur, over the railway originally built by the people of the village, is the town plot of FORT WILLIAM, on the Kaministiquia River, about three miles from the lake. This was the first starting-point of the Dawson route, and the original Lake Superior terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, as proposed by the Mackenzie (Liberal) Government. Certain reasons, however, gave Port Arthur the preference, and Fort William has now fallen back almost to its former obscurity, and its population hardly numbers 300. The natural harbour, 11 miles in extent, has an average breadth of 350 feet, and a depth of eight or ten feet, so that vessels drawing over nine feet of water cannot ascend the river. The old Hudson Bay Company's port of Fort William, erected in 1802, is about half a mile from the mouth of the river. A branch line of the Canadian Pacific Railway has been projected to the fort, and it bids fair to rival the " town plot." Eighteen miles from Port Arthur are the Kakabeka Falls, on the Kaministiquia River, the drive to which from the town is very pleasant. The falls, otherwise called the Cleft Rock, form one of the most magnificent ( 45 ) of cascades. Contracted to a width of 50 yards, and supplied with a volume of water unusual for such a breadth, the river in one dense sheet drops abruptly into a deep, narrow canyon, more than 130 feet below, from the edges of which, for nearly half a mile, rise rugged, abrupt walls of slate, in many places overhanging their bases. Below the falls, the river presents a continued rapid for 20 miles, from whence it quietly passes to its mouth and into Thunder Bay. PORT ARTHUR TO WINNIPEG. From Port Arthur to Winnipeg, the line of the Canadian Pacific Railway runs through a remarkable tract of country, wild and rocky, in places magnificent in scenery, and abounding in gold, silver, and the economic minerals, as yet but very scantily worked. After leaving Port Arthur and the old fur-trading port of Fort William, we follow for some distance the course of the Dawson route, formerly the only means of reaching Winnipeg. Through the valleys of the Kaministiquia and' the Mattawan, the train passes over a broad belt of low swamp and ascends a gravelly plain, catching in places beautiful glimpses of the swift and winding waters of the Kaministiquia on their course to Thunder Bay, surrounded and overhung by huge rounded hills of rock. Ten miles farther the rivers are crossed by fine iron bridges, and taking a north-western course we leave the old Dawson route to pursue its way westward to the Rainy Lake district, on through a chain of lakes to the Lake of the Woods, and thence by water to Winnipeg. Following the course of the Sunshine Creek, a bright stream flowing impetuously over a rocky bed, we come to Finland, 37 miles from Port Arthur. Thirteen miles beyond, we cioss the watershed, which divides, at an elevation above the level of Lake Superior of 1,100 feet, the streams of the St. Lawrence from those flowing into Lake Winnipeg and Hudson Bay. For the next 100 miles to Tache is a fairly level expanse of wood, rock, and lake. Here a serious obstacle in the construction of the railway had to be overcome, in the form of a " floating muskeg," one of those undrained marshes of unknown depth, so green and pleasant to the eye, but so treacherous under foot. West of Tache, sand deposits are a noticeable feature, and farther still, at Wabigoon^ near the large and beautiful " lake of flowers," which gives its name to the district, is a stretch of good black loam. At Barclay, the next station, one of the worst of muskegs is passed. Rock and swamp again prevail until the landscape is relieved by a vast sheet of water on the left. Skirting the wide bay for a short distance, we cross the northern part of the Lake of the Woods, and enter the picturesque little town of Rat Portage, situated on a strip of land lying between the lake and a bay of Winnipeg River. Here, in the place of the out-of-the-way Hudson's Bay Company's post, known to the Indians by the highly euphonious name of Kakabekitchewan (which, translated, means "The Steep Rock Fall"), is now a busy town, the centre of what bids fair in the near future to be one of the most important mining districts on the continent. The natural water power of Rat Portage is perhaps the finest in America. By many it is pronounced superior to that of Minneapolis, and the water power of that American city is admitted to be the most valuable of any in the United States. Rat Portage is the seat of an extensive lumber trade; several large mills and manufactories have already been established, and the recently discovered gold mines in the vicinity have stimulated trade and enterprise. Almost in sight of the town are the two beautiful falls over which the two outlets of the lake begin their downward course to Lake Winnipeg. Opposite the falls the clear, sweet waters of the Lake of the I ( 46 ) Woods extend amid great natural beauty on all hands for more than one hundred miles to the south and west, though the view is confined to the limits of a broad river by the verdant slopes of a thousand closely clustering islands. The scenery in the neighbourhood of the lake is very charming. A short journey from Rat Portage, and we leave the vast territory of Keewatin, now in dispute between the Provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, through which we have been traversing since we left the Rainy Lake district 'is I THE LAKE OF THE WOODS. behind. Past low mountains of primitive rock, clothed with tall, slender tamaracks, growing on a thin soil, and between lake after lake, through deep rocky cuts and tunnels, and over lofty embankments, for 37 miles, we reach Cross Lake, cut in two by the track of the railway. Westward still we leave behind the clear rapid streams, and pass along the banks of muddy prairie rivulets through low-lying land, where tamarack, poplar, and other trees give place to clumps of stunted shrubbery as we near the Red River valley. Whitemouth, at the crossing of Whitemouth River, a depot for the timber supply of the district, is the only considerable station, and here we notice the land of rock and swamp gradually gives place to the deep-red [marly soil of (47 ) the prairies. Forty miles from Whitemouth the railway strikes the Red River at Selkirk, and turning south, runs for twenty miles along the east bank to Winnipeg Junction. Here it is joined by the branch line from the south, which makes communication with St. Paul and Chicago, and both turning westward, cross the Red River and enter the city of Winnipeg. CHAPTER VIII. ROCKY mountain EXCURSION (continued). WINNIPEG. (Hotels: Pacific, Queen's, &*c.) On entering the city of Winnipeg, the capital of Manitoba, and the distributing point of the great territories stretching to the north and west for hundreds of miles, one feels at the threshold of a vast region whose characteristics have but recently been examined and clearly understood. Who, fifty years ago, thought of the Red River settlement without a shudder and a word of pity for the few hardy Scotchmen of the Selkirk colony, shut up amid those " frozen acres " ? Yet these northerners flourished, in spite of hardships and discouragements of no mean kind, and after years of patient toil became the pioneers of thousands of European and Canadian settlers, whose prosperous farms and cheerful testimony have in recent times done much to sweep aside the extravagant and unjust prejudices created in the minds of old-country folk, for the most part by those having a personal interest to serve. The history of the Cajiadian North- West is soon told. In 1670 Charles II., with that free-handed generosity when dealing with Western lands so characteristic of the monarchs of the period, granted to Prince Rupert and a number of English nobles and gentlemen a charter, the effect of which was to secure to them the proprietary rights over a large portion of the North-West. In this way commenced that great and wealthy corporation, the Hudson Bay Company. In 1736, as we have already seen, Verandrye and his fellow-adventurers established Fort Rouge at the angle of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and for a century fur trading was the chief business and controlling power of the country. In 1812 and 1814, Lord Selkirk's Scotch colonists came in, and establishing themselves on the banks of the Red River, near Lake Winnipeg, battled bravely with adversity for fifteen years, in time to reap their full reward. Settlement proceeded but slowly, until in 1869 the Hudson Bay Company, in return for ,£300,000 and a land grant, surrendered its claims to the North-West as a private property for trading purposes. In the following year, when the Riel Rebellion had led the Canadian Government to give the people representative rights, the entry of Manitoba into the Confederation was effected, and the territory commenced its second epoch, a period as marked by rapid and substantial development as that preceding it had been by obscurity and stagnation. Mr. Fraser Rae tells a story which well illustrates the lifeless state of affairs prior to 1870. A flag bearing the letters H.B.C. was the sign of the possession of the fort by the Hudson Bay Company. Some Americans when first visiting the country puzzled long over the mysterious letters, and at last concluded them to signify " Here before Christ," as from the appearance of the country there had been no change since then ! Winnipeg, covering an area of nearly three square miles, is situated on ( 49 ) the west bank of the Red River, upon an elevated plateau about sixty feet above the river level, where the waters of the Assiniboine enter the main stream. The city itself (for it obtained its charter of incorporation in 1873) is full of activity ; it is neither the collection of " houses enough to form a sort of scattered town," which the Earl of Southesk found in 1859, nor the "miserable little village of Winnipeg," of which Col. Butler wrote in 1870, when it was nothing more than Fort Garry, the chief trading post of the Hudson Bay Company. From a population of 150 in. 1870, with an assessment roll of two million dollars, the number of its inhabitants rose in ten years to 8,000, and is now 25,000, while its present rateable property is assessed at 32,845,100 dols., or £6,569,020. The majority of the public edifices are well built, of the excellent limestone brought from Stonewall, or of the cream-coloured brick made from prairie clay. Main Street, the principal thoroughfare, is 132 feet wide and a mile and a quarter long, running from the railway station to the south of Fort Garry. Near the Fort are found the land and other offices of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company, the Pacific Hotel, the Custom House and Inland Revenue office, the Dominion Lands office, the Government Emigration office, all of which are pure white brick buildings. The new warehouse and stores of the Hudson Bay Company and the Hon. Callchon's buildings are handsome structures, while the other notable buildings on Main Street are the post-office, city hall, the Bank of Montreal, and the Ontario, Merchants', and Imperial Banks. Portage Avenue, running from the Red River in a westerly direction, parallel with the Assiniboine, is another leading street. Notre Dame and Princess Streets are also business thoroughfares of importance. The ecclesiastical divisions of the Canadian North-West are six:—The diocese of Rupert's Land, of Assiniboia, of Saskatchewan, of Moosonee, of Athabasca, and of Southern Athabasca. The Bishop of Rupert's Land is the Metropolitan, and his palace is situated in St. John's, Winnipeg. The churches of the city are numerous. Among the more noteworthy are St. John's Cathedral, the principal structure of the Church of England, St. Boniface Catholic Cathedral in the St. Boniface suburb, Holy Trinity, Christ, and Knox Churches, as well as those of the Congregational and Methodist bodies. Its educational institutions embrace the Manitoba College, the Catholic College of St. Boniface, and St. John's, representing respectively the Presbyterian, Catholic, and Episcopalian religious bodies, and together forming the young University of Manitoba, with power to grant degrees in arts, science, law, and medicine. It is matter for congratulation that at least in one portion of Her Majesty's dominions religious principles are not allowed to hinder a hearty co-operation in the common interests of a higher education; indeed, so fully and successfully do the different denominations work together in this respect, that in no other Province in the Dominion is there so complete an organisation of higher education, and at so small a public expense. Another institution one is pleasingly surprised to find in so young a city is the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba, which, though only some few years old, has rendered, and is rendering, much valuable service to the Province in the disclosing of its early history, and in the exploration and revealing of its hidden mineral and geological wealth. As the Provincial capital, Winnipeg is the head-quarters of the Provincial Government, the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, and the abode of the Provincial superior courts. The city is lighted by electricity and gas, street railways are in operation, and most of the advantages and conveniences of an old-established city are found within its limits. The mercantile and commercial interests of Winnipeg have expanded with no less elasticity than the city itself. In 1883, the imports amounted to E ( 5i ) 24,291,767 dols., and the exports 1,843,481 dols.; a total of 26,135,248 dols. In the previous year the total was just over seventeen million dollars; in 1881, hardly eight million dollars ; while ten years before, in 1872, the total commerce of the town was represented by no more than one and three- quarter million dollars. The carrying trade by rail and steamer is very large. No less than six sections of the Canadian Pacific system converge here. In a north-easterly direction runs the eastward section of the main line for 23 miles to Selkirk ; more to the west on the other side of the river is the West Selkirk branch, 22 miles in length ; farther west still, taking a north-westerly course, is the Stonewall line, 20 miles long; next comes the main line, also running in a north-westerly direction, through the fertile mile belt to the Rocky Mountains ; south-west is the Pembina Mountain section, open for 102 miles to Manitou, with a branch south to Gretna; while due south is the line to Emerson and St. Vincent (68 miles), where connection is made with the United States railways. The passenger station is a fine and commodious building, lit throughout by the electric light, and in every way befitting so important a centre. With these facilities, and so vast and fertile a territory tributary to it, what wonder that Winnipeg has made, and is making, such rapid strides! what wonder that its citizens hold so great expectations for its future ! LAKE WINNIPEG. Among the interesting excursions that may be made from Winnipeg is one northward to Selkirk by rail, and thence down Lake Winnipeg by the Hudson Bay Company's steamer, which makes trips about weekly. At Selkirk the Red River is very slightly larger than at Winnipeg—-about 350ft. broad—and flows in a crooked course between banks partly wooded and occupied by an Indian reservation, though with frequent stretches of marshes. The Indians on the Lake are Chippewas, Swampys, Ojibways, and Crees. Thirty miles below Selkirk, and about sixty from Winnipeg, the river widens into the lake by several mouths. The lake, 240 miles long, is full of wooded islands, and affords in many parts excellent scenery. When open to convenient travel the lake will unquestionably be a great attraction to tourists and sportsmen. On the left bank, some fourteen miles beyond the entrance from the river into the main body of the lake, is Gimli, where is found a successful Icelandic settlement, spreading over a shore frontage of about fifty miles. There are now some fifty families established in the reserve. As Lord Dufferin pointed out when visiting this settlement, it is not to be expected that these people, bred amid the snows and ashes of an Arctic volcano, should exhibit the same aptitude for agricultural enterprise and settlement as those from intimate contact with the higher civilisation of Europe. Yet they are endowed with a great deal of intellectual ability and a quick intelligence, and are well conducted, religious, and peaceable. They are well educated, and more apt to acquire the speech of the English language than other foreign settlers. The travellers, in visiting the reserve, will scarcely enter a house that does not possess a library. fl MENNONITES SETTLEMENTS. To the south of Winnipeg excursions may be made to St. Vincent and Emerson, including the successful Settlements of Mennonites—a people of Russian extraction, though German race, moved to leave their native land by a conscientious objection to the Russian law requiring every male subject to enter the army. St. Vincent is an American town opposite the British town of Emerson, at the point where the Canadian Pacific system makes connection E 2 re* ( 52 ) with the vast network of railways to the south in the United States. This enterprising Canadian city is some ten years old, and was incorporated in 1880. The first settlement of Mennonites was made in 1876, and in 1880 they had under cultivation 10,656 acres, and a surplus of wheat that year of 300 000 bushels. The people are indeed thrifty and excellent citizens, and their settlement has deservedly flourished. "Although," says Earl Duffenn m 1877, " I have witnessed many sights to cause me pleasure during my various progresses through the Dominion, seldom have I beheld any spectacle more pregnant with prophecy, more fraught with promise of a successful future, than the Mennonite settlement." These anticipations have not been falsified, for village after village, and homestead after homestead, furnished with all the conveniences and incidents of European comfort, and surrounded by smiling cornfields and verdant pasture lands, show that prosperity has attended the patient industry of these Russian exiles. It is a proof of the innate conservatism of these settlers, that they still preserve their German speech, though recently they have made a request that English may also be taught in their schools, an innovation that must lead in time to the disuse among them of their native tongue. CHAPTER IX. WINNIPEG TO REGINA. The main line of the railway westward from Winnipeg follows generally the valley of the Assiniboine River for 180 miles. For 56 miles to Portage la Prairie, the first town of any pretensions, the railway and river run in almost parallel lines through a level prairie country of great fertility. Portage la Prairie was in olden times known as the nearest point on the Assiniboine to Lake Manitoba, and became a place of importance on this line of water communication. Verandrye built here his Fort a la Reine, and the place subsequently became a leading Hudson's Bay Company's depot. It is in'the centre of one of the most promising agricultural districts of the Province, and is rapidly rising in importance. Its manufactories are numerous and representative, while it is the junction of the Manitoba and North-Western with the Canadian Pacific system. Passing through a number of rising villages we come to Brandon, admirably situated on the Assiniboine, with picturesque hills on both sides. Little more than three years have elapsed since this thriving town was surveyed and laid out; yet it now has a population of about 4,000, and, being surrounded by successful settlements, is already a commercial centre of some importance. Its position on the Assiniboine River, and on the main line of the railway, will, it is thought, so develop the farming capabilities of the district as to add materially to its importance. Eight miles to the south of Brandon are the Brandon Hills, which rise, ridge over ridge, from the level of the Souris as it runs in a deep valley and forms a picturesque scene. Farther south still, about thirty miles from Brandon, is the Elliott settlement, a typical group of highly successful farms. The district around Brandon is indeed fairly well settled. Proceeding westward, we pass a light sandy stretch of country, with many boulders, suited rather to grazing than the growth of cereals. Beyond, Oak Lake and Virden are the centres of a highly productive region. The latter is a lively little place, with an hotel and several stores. The country round Elkhorn and Moosomin is of the same promising nature, and here it ( 53 ) will be noticed by those who have previously passed over the ground, that the land in close proximity to the railway on either side, known as the " mile belt," is no longer reserved, but being rapidly placed under homestead o Q a o a cultivation. At WAPELLA the line passes across the Indian trail which leads from Fort Ellice to Moose Mountain, the latter a very favourite locality for settlement. The mountain is part of an elevated group of Drift hills, which extend to the northwest, under the name of the Weedy, Wolf, and Squirrel Hills. From the east end of the mountain, rising for H^9B — •''■&!?>', embedded in hard sand, and covered at its top with lichens. Two gaps have been made by mountain streams. The origin of the mass is as yet unknown ; here are excellent materials, then, for the venturesome geologist. Proceeding from the head of the park for eight miles, we see, towering: 5,800 feet above the track, Mount Cascade, named from the stream which issues from its side, and with one leap descends 2,000 feet to the valley below, its volume becoming spray in the fall. In the flanks of the mountain, on the Cascade River, near its .confluence with the Bow, and close to the line of the . railway, discoveries of excellent anthracite coal during the summer of last year have been followed by mining operations. According to Dr. Dawson, cretaceous coal-bearing rocks, with a width of about two miles, and undetermined length, here occupy a valley. They are much disturbed and folded together, it is doubtless owing to the metamorphism occasioned by this disturbance that the coal has passed to anthracite. It does not lie flat, as the Saskatchewan seams, but nearly perpendicular to the stream, and is thus less easily worked than the coal of the plains, but its more valuable character will probably compensate for this. A preliminary analysis shows 1-34 per cent, of water, 8-57 of volatile combustible matter, 86*27 of fixed carbon, and 3-82 of light grey ash. This exposure is merely a special case; there are unquestionably large ores of these cretaceous coal- bearing rocks in the mountains, containing excellent seams of coal, as, for instance, on the headwaters of the North Fork of the Old Man, on the Crow Nest and North Kootanie Passes, and on the Elk River to the south of the Bow Pass. Should metalliferous deposits also be found in this part of the range, as is not unlikely, these coals will be of great immediate utility for smelting purposes. Westward still for fifteen miles, and we come to Castle Mountain, named from its resemblance to Cyclopean masonry. It reminds one, indeed, of an immense fortress, such as many a mediasval general would have gloried in, with its natural towers, turrets, bastions, and loop-holes of many elevations. At the foot of the mountain, on the banks of Bow River, nestles Silver City, where the gold and silver finds and workings have of late made mining excitement run high. Indications of rich copper, silver, and gold-bearing quartz can, it is said, be seen on almost any of the neighbouring mountains, but the people of Silver City have yet to learn that capital, experience, and persistent energy are needed, as well as enthusiasm, before a mining district, however rich, can enter upon satisfactory development. The next point is Laggan, or Holt City, 955 miles west of Winnipeg. " It is, indeed," says a recent traveller, " a motley town, with no particular style of architecture. There are log-houses pure and simple, houses part log and part boards, frame houses, houses part frame and part canvas, and tents. There is the Palmer House, the Grand Pacific. Queen's, Brunswick, and other hotels, almost beyond counting, down to the Dewdrop Inn, all full of guests and running over, and although the composition of the crowd is motley, it is exceedingly orderly and quiet—a fact certainly to be attributed to the presence of the Mounted Police and the absence of whisky. Mining excitement runs high ; many have gold and silver mines on sale; a hot spring has been found, and sulphur springs are numerous ; a deposit of alum is the latest sensation; iron is common in large deposits, and timber is said to be plentiful and of great size in the mountain gorges." Whether visitors of to-day to Holt City will thus find things in this mountain village we know not ; it is,more than probable that want of capital and practical experience will for a time deaden the enthusiasm-of its people, and lessen the population of the place. Leaving Laggan we pass under the shadow of the mountain, and cross wild mountain streams, and shortly stop at Stephen, named after the president of the Canadian Pacific Railway, to whom the successful prosecution of the enter- j ( 68 ) prise is so largely due. This is the highest elevation on the railway, 5>3°°ft. above the sea, and the present terminus of the line. The boundary line between the North-West Territories and British Columbia is close at hand, and here, on the 5th of June in this year, the last spike in the rail was driven in the Territories and the first in British Columbia, thus inaugurating the HORSE ROAD OVER ROCKY MOUNTAINS. completion of the iron chain through the Pacific Province of Canada, which the Columbians have so anxiously awaited ever since they entered Confederation and united their interests with those of the other Provinces of the Dominion. Westward from Stephen the track passes several summit Jakes, from one of which streams flow on one side to the Atlantic, and on the other to the ( 69 ) nearer waters of the Pacific. Five miles beyond is Kicking Horse Lake, from whence the Kicking Horse River empties into Columbia River. It is said that Dr. Hector, who accompanied the Palliser expedition, was kicked not far from this spot, and hence the name of the river, which the Indians have curiously translated to Shawata-nowchata-wapta—Horse-Kicking-River. The track proceeds down the Kicking Horse Valley amid scenery more magnificent even than before, to the north bank of the Beaver River, and spans the Columbia River, thence crossing the Selkirk Range by Rogers' Pass, named after its discoverer, Major Rogers, an approximate distance from Stephen of 100 miles. The valley of the River Illecille-waet is next followed, for forty miles, to the second crossing of the Columbia River. Opposite is the Eagle Pass, through which the line passes, and on through the valley of Eagle River to East Shuswap Lake, another forty miles. The valley of the Thompson River proceeds for seventy-five miles to the town of Kamloops, a post of the Hudson's Bay Company. Continuing through the valley, and coasting Kamloops Lake, the track reaches Savona Ferry. Still keeping to the basin of the Thompson, and following the gorge through which the river forces its way, the railway leaves the westerly direction it has hitherto pursued, and bends down to the south. Crossing the Nicola River, we reach Lytton, near where the Thompson River enters the parent waters ©f the Fraser. Crossing the Fraser, the line proceeds on the western bank past Yale to Hope, where a westerly course is again resumed to Port Moody, a distance from Kamloops of 215 miles. The post is most advantageously situated on Burrard's Inlet, and is the Pacific terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, completing a distance of 2,898 miles from Montreal across the Continent "to the Pacific. This mileage is, it is worthy of note, 380 and 490 miles less than the shortest of the railways crossing LTnited States territory from Atlantic to Pacific. CHAPTER XII. BRITISH COLUMBIA. Little space is left to speak of British Columbia, the Pacific Province ot the Dominion. But a small number of the readers of this pamphlet will, we imagine, visit it, for the means of access are both difficult and costly. Putting aside the course being made through the Rocky Mountains by the Canadian Pacific track as impracticable—for it is still beset with dangers and obstacles, though to a less degree than when the parties of Major Rogers and Mr. Sandford Fleming passed over it—the only entrance is by dipping down into the United States, crossing half the continent by one of the Pacific lines of railway to San Francisco or some port higher up the coast, and thence northward by steamer to Vancouver Island and British Columbia —truly a journey involving no little expense and time. By the end of next year the people of the Province will, it is anticipated, be placed in direct railway connection over Canadian territory with the eastern portions of the Dominion. Then will its productive fisheries, its valuable mines, and fertile lands be more fully developed, and its resources and favourable climate be better understood and appreciated. The history of the Province does not extend over a lengthened period. The Pacific Ocean was first visited by Drake, three*centuries ago, in 1579, but it is doubtful whether he pushed his researches farther north than Oregon ( 7° ) and Washington, of which he took possession in the name of Queen ' Elizabeth, and called it New Albion. Passing by the tradition that De Fuca discovered Vancouver Island in 1592, we find no historical record until 1778, when Capt. Cook cruised among the islands, which stretch along the shores of the then unknown and unnamed land of British Columbia. Captain Vancouver, of the Royal Navy, followed in 1792, and gave his name to the largest of the islands. During the following forty years the populous Indian tribes held sway over the whole region. In 1821, the Hudson's Bay Company obtained a licence to extend its operations to New Caledonia, as British Columbia was then called, and in 1843 the Company made the first permanent settlement by building a fort upon the beautiful site of the present city of Victoria. Six years later, Vancouver Colony was formed. In 1856, the discovery of gold on the Fraser River brought so large an influx of miners from California and elsewhere, that another colony was organised in the mainland, and in 1859 the present boundaries of the Province were set apart and designated British Columbia. Seven years later, Vancouver's Island became part of the Colony of British Columbia, and in 1871 they were together confederated as one of the several Provinces of the Dominion. British Columbia is a vast region, containing an area of nearly 350,000 square miles, larger therefore than Great Britain and the German Empire combined. Its present population is 49,500, of which 25,600 are Indians. A large portion of the Province is mountainous, possessing rich mineral deposits hitherto only scantily worked, and great forest wealth ; the smaller portion—still a considerable area—including the fertile Peace River country, is suitable for farming purposes. The great importance of the Province to the Dominion is in its Pacific shore line of 450 miles, indented from north to south by deep inlets, each of which presents an excellent harbour of perfect security. The chief city and capital of the Province is VICTORIA, which occupies a commanding situation on the south shore of Vancouver Island. Its immediate surroundings are picturesque in the extreme, embracing a beautiful harbour and inlet, pine and oak-covered shores, and rolling hills, with great forests of fir and pine-clad mountains in the near background. The distant view is one of exceeding grandeur, comprising the loftiest peaks of the Olympic and Cascade Mountains. The busy marts of trade in the city, the ships of commerce, laden with exports for the most distant parts, numerous manufacturing industries, well-graded streets, and good public and private buildings, all show what rapid progress this Western city has made in the twenty years or so since it was a mere wilderness, the trapping and hunting ground of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the gold field of the adventurous miner. NANAIMO, admirably situated on the south-eastern coast of the southern part of the island, is the principal mining centre of the great coal fields of Vancouver, its. surroundings including the Wellington, Newcastle, and Vancouver coal mines, the most productive in the Province. New Westminster, with a population of 2,500, was formerly the capital of the Crown Colony, and is now the principal city of the mainland. It occupies a pleasant and commanding situation on the right bank of the Fraser River, about 15 miles from its mouth, and 75 miles from Victoria. It is surrounded by the most extensive and richest agricultural lands, with large tracts of the finest timber near at hand, is in the midst of the most productive salmon fisheries, and, indeed, in the very heart of the great resources of the Province. One feature in the city should not escape the visitor. One of its churches boasts in a 4-peal of bells, the gift of the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, and the only peal on the whole Pacific coast. Port Moody is higher up the coast, on the south side and near the head of Burrard Inlet, an arm of the Gulf of Georgia, extending about ( $ ) twelve miles from the entrance between Points Grey and Atkinson. Port Moody is the Pacific terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and already its people are busy preparing for the important position it will hold on the >- o o o s s (4 o P^ operation of the line through the Rocky Mountains. The place is even now something more than a village. A large wharf, having a frontage of 1,324 feet, has been constructed, and it may not be long before fleets of ships will sail hence to eastern ports, and connections be made by steam ( 72 ) with. American ports to the south. Then will Port Moody flourish, and become one of Columbia's most distinguished cities. Yale is at the head of navigation on the Fraser River, about no miles from its mouth, and on the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway. It is now a town of not more than several hundred inhabitants. It is surrounded by mountains of striking grandeur, rising precipitously thousands of feet, and watered by rushing mountain torrents. The other towns of the Province are small, though the grandeur of situation of most of them will amply repay a visit. CONCLUSION. PlUNTBD BY CASSELL & COMPANY, LIMITED, BeLLE SaUVACE WoRKS, LONDON.