Voyage of The Paper Canoe | Page 8

miles beyond its usual current. In fact, they
appropriate the whole estuary, which, in places, is nearly one hundred
miles in width, and call it a river -- a river which lacks the
characteristics of a river, the currents of which vary with the winds and
tidal influences, and the waters of which are as salt as those of the briny
deep.
Here, in the mouth of the river, at the Bics, secure anchorage for
vessels may be found; but below, in the estuary, for a distance of more
than two hundred and forty-five miles, to Gaspe, there is but one port
of refuge, that of Seven Islands, on the north coast.
As the ship ascends the river from Bic Islands, a passage of about one
hundred and sixty statute miles to Quebec, she struggles against a

strong current. Picturesque islands and little villages, such as St. Andre,
St. Anne, St. Rogue, St. Jean, and St. Thomas, relieve the monotony.
But very different is the winter aspect of this river, when closed to
navigation by ice from November until Spring. Of the many tributaries
which give strength to the current of the St. Lawrence and contribute to
its glory, the Saguenay River with its remarkable scenery is counted
one of the wonders of our continent. It joins the great river from the
north shore, about one hundred and thirty-four statute miles below
Quebec. Upon the left bank, at its mouth, nestles the little village of
Tadousac, the summer retreat of the governor-general of the Dominion
of Canada.
American history claims for the Roman Catholic church of this
settlement an age second only to that of the old Spanish cathedral at St.
Augustine, Florida. For three hundred years the storms of winter have
beaten upon its walls, but it stands a silent yet eloquent monument of
the pious zeal of the ancient Fathers, who came to conquer Satan in the
wilderness of a new world. The Saguenay has become the "Mecca" of
northern tourists, ever attracting them with its wild and fascinating
scenery. Capes Eternity and Trinity guard the entrance to Eternity Bay.
The first towers sublimely to a height of eighteen hundred feet, the
other is only a little lower. A visit to this mysterious river, with its deep,
dark waters and picturesque views, will repay the traveller for the
discomforts of a long and expensive journey.
Where the turbulent current of the Saguenay mingles angrily with that
of the St. Lawrence, there may be seen disporting in the waves the
white whale of aquariums, which is not a whale at all, but a true
porpoise (Delphinopterus Catodon, as he is now called by naturalists),
having teeth in the jaws, and being destitute of the fringed bone of the
whalebone whales. This interesting creature is very abundant in the
Arctic Ocean on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides, and has its
southern limits in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, although one is
occasionally seen in the Bay of Fundy, and it is reported to have been
observed about Cape Cod, on the Massachusetts coast.
As the ship nears the first great port of the St. Lawrence River, the

large and well cultivated island of Orleans is passed, and the bold
fortifications of Quebec, high up on the face of Point Diamond, and
flanked by the houses of the French city, break upon the vision of the
mariner. To the right, and below the city, which Champlain founded,
and in which his unknown ashes repose, are the beautiful Falls of
Montmorency, gleaming in all the whiteness of their falling waters and
mists, like the bridal veil of a giantess. The vessel has safely made her
passage, and now comes to anchor in the Basin of Quebec. The sails are
furled, and the heart of the sailor is merry, for the many dangers which
beset the ship while approaching and entering the great water-way of
the continent are now over.
CHAPTER II.
FROM QUEBEC TO SOREL

THE WATER-WAY INTO THE CONTINENT. -- THE WESTERN
AND THE SOUTHERN ROUTE TO THE GULF OF MEXICO. --
THE MAYETA. -- COMMENCEMENT OF THE VOYAGE. --
ASCENT OF THE RIVER ST. LAWRENCE. -- LAKE OF ST.
PETER. -- ACADIAN TOWN OF SOREL
The canoe traveller can ascend the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario,
avoiding the rapids and shoals by making use of seven canals of a total
length of forty-seven miles. He may then skirt the shores of Lake
Ontario, and enter Lake Erie by the canal which passes around the
celebrated Falls of Niagara. From the last great inland sea he can visit
lakes Huron, Michigan, and, with the assistance of a short canal, the
grandest of all, Superior. When he has reached the town of Duluth, at
the southwestern end of Superior, which is