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-i^ 
 
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 REPORT 
 
 ox THE 
 
 OTTAWA AND FREXl^H RIVER 
 NAVIGATION PROJECT, 
 
 ■VT'-A-X^T.-EP^ SI-I-A-lSTLir, 
 
 CIVIL ET wINEER. 
 
 SUHaII; IKP TO rUf', LEGISI.ATIVK VSSf.MBLV OK CAN VliA, AND f'kIN TT-.D KV 
 , THlvIR ORIil R: JULV, 1S5S. 
 
 Ottiiw . : 
 
 KKl'RlNTKl) FV FAYNTER & ABBCTrT, 36 KI.GIN STREET 
 
 1900. 
 
 •• :! 
 
 ^#^ 
 
 ^"W 
 
IU^P»#"*P»*W " 'I' '.*.-* .''.:, •"-?• 'H!k.fl>-i. mmrr> 
 
REPORT 
 
 UN THE 
 
 OTTAWA AND FRENOH RIVER 
 NAVIGATION PROJECT. 
 
 liV 
 CIVIL ENGINEER. 
 
 SUHMITIKD 1\) THIi 1.K(;1S1,A1IVE ASSKMBLY Ol' CANADA, AN'l) PKINTED BY 
 THEIK ORDKK: JULY, 1858 
 
 Ottaiw^ : 
 
 RKHRIN TKl) BY PAYNTER ^^ ABBOTT, 36 KI,(iIN STREET. 
 
 1900. », 
 

 / % 
 
 / 1 
 
 I 
 
 1 (./ 5C 
 
I 
 
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 I 
 
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 RKl'ORT 
 
 ON Tiir; 
 
 OTTAWA AM) FRFACH UWVM NA\ KiATlON 
 
 l»lxM),IK(T. 
 
 Toronto, :i-Jt(l Mmcli, i,s:),s. 
 SiH, — I hav«' tho honor to ro|iort on the proposed line of iim\ ination tiom 
 Montreal, by the Ottawa and Fivru'li Kiveis, to Lakt^ Huron, the cxaniiii- 
 ation and svnvey of which wer<' connnitteil to n»y chin,'*; l>y th<' Cdimnis- 
 sioners of Pul>lic Works in July,,lH5G. 
 
 As an index to tlie work eniln'aeed in tin- eNph)ratioii und sinvcy ofso 
 Iono;and varied a chain of waters as tf<» to make up tli-' loutf in ipKfsti.m. I 
 *' will divide it into the following sections : 
 
 1st. Montreal to Ottawa City 110 niilcs. 
 
 2nd. Ottawa to Portai^e dii Fort '>') 
 
 lhf\. Portage du F(n-t to Fort VVilliani GO 
 
 ■% ■ 4th. Fort William to Mouth of the Matawan 80 
 
 oth. The Matawan and Lake Nippisingne ^o " 
 
 (ith. Tjrtke Nippisingne and French River NO 
 
 Whole distance Montreal to Lake Huron ^'M) miles. 
 
 For particulars of the stejis taken for the cariying out of my instruct- 
 ions, I would refer you to my rid infcrnii reports — more especially those 
 of the l-Stli December, 185H, and 19th March, arid 25th August last year, 
 while J will here merely recapitulate in general terms what in those docu- 
 ments is given in detail, viz : that the original appropriation for meet- 
 ing tho expcn.ses of the survey having l>een of veiy limited ainonnt, I 
 decme<i it advisable to confine actual instrumental ophMations. in the I 
 
 first instance, to those portions of ohe route which obviously jiresented 
 the principal obstructions to the establishment of a continuous navii;!!- 
 tion. The sections selected on these grounds were ; — 1st. That from, 
 I'ortairedu B^1rt. at the head of the Chats Lake, to the toot of the noble 
 stretch of navigable water above Fort Willinm, known as tJu; "J)ee}) Rivei," | 
 
 — beintr No. H in the above index : — 2nd. From the mouth oi the Matawan I 
 
 to Lake Ni{)pisingue, No. 5, in index. 
 
 •> J 
 t 
 
TIm' first. (IcscriliiHl <livisioii, ccvfMiiiif smin' sixty-live miles of th<' leiif^tli 
 ti) W explnioi). is H\' far tli • iii')>.'t nhsti iir-ti'd |>(irti(tii o\' tlic niiiin Ottawa 
 Hiver,an(lcons(M|Uontly tin- most tedious of survey ,iis it will I'ventually lio 
 ilio most costly of improveiui'iit.wlii'u plared in . nuparisoii with any e(|ual 
 portion of tlif routf above Hytown. A complete ami leliaMc survey of 
 this section I (U'cmeil indispensahie toa correct ls.no\vlt>d^e of the capacity 
 (if the Ottawa as a navit^alile lii^liway to the west. 
 
 That an accurate chart ot the Malawaii, and a reliahle topo^rajihical 
 map ot the dividins^ ridge l>etwe<M! it Mud i^ake Nippisirii^ue, werec(|ual- 
 Iv indispensable to a correct solution of the problem with which I have 
 to deal., must necessarily have struck any experienced engineer who had 
 at all (riven his attention to the subject, that cnuistion involving a matter 
 <if no less moment than the coi\nection, for purposes of commerce, of the 
 waters c)f the gi'cat Ottawa River with those which choose their path to 
 the Ocean by w'ay of the (ireat Lakes ami the Falls of Niagara. U 
 must have been obvious, also, even in the absence of any previous know- 
 ledge of itsconfovr, that in the region of tlie Matavvan, would have to be 
 ilecided the all important (juestion of the supply of water to meet the 
 exiirencies of lockage. 
 
 Fi'om the confluence ot the M.dawan with the Ott;' vd to the month 
 of the little " lliviere de Vase " on Nip])isingue. is forty-tive miles'. 
 
 The surveys f)f these two divis'onsof the [HMJected (diain of navigation 
 were comraenred in August, 1S.")(), and cariied on uninten-uptedly all 
 through the severe winter that ensued,]iarticuiarly severe as it must neces- 
 sarily ev:r be -'.i the northeily latitude in which they lie. Operations on 
 the Matavvan were continueij until the following ^lay, when 1 received of- 
 ficial instructions from vou that the two parties of enjjineors there 
 enijarred weie to bt- called in. and that portion of the survey abandoned, 
 or suspended -s'/ic die. Tho^e instructions lacteil upon at once, though 
 witli reluctance.for the work had been approached so near to completion 
 that three months' eontinnance of even one of the jiarties in the fieM 
 would have secured all the re([uis!te data for the tiompilation of a finished 
 and accurate chart of that singular and interesting rivei-as well iisof the 
 adjacent shores of Lake Nippisingue. 
 
 The lower division of tht> work, froui tlie Deep River to the head of 
 Chats Lake, continu'Vl und(;i- survey until the end of January la.st, short- 
 I .' previous to which time you notified me that it had been decided by 
 the Commissioners, acting under an order of His Excellency the Gover- 
 nor General in Council, to discontinue all further operations for the 
 present. 
 
 / 
 
/ 
 
 
 It is inncli to lie re(,'rettiMi, if I iii.iy Ix- pn init(<'<l ii. say so, tluit tin- 
 necessity toi' IIm- .sns|)<!lisi<)ti <>f tllis siii-vcy slimilM li;i,vr ;ii-isi'ii just ulicliif 
 dill, at !i |iuciii<l of tlu' ycnr ulitii tlu- icr art'>i(|s.siU'li I'acilitics lor soiiiiiliii;^ 
 wirli rti'curaey an<l ('xpcditi'iii, ti'nl Inr olitniiiintc tlu^ otlicr nccfssHr\' ilahi. 
 lor tinislir'l ami ('oicprcln'Msivc nmp.-. ami rluirts, ami «liii,li on tlu^ nt ii/n/ 
 and preci/ri.fo'iis s/ioris ,\' d.M'p waters cannot at any utiicr scasoji lie liad 
 with equal ccDiiotny aiid coircirtnc^v. The picscnl wiiibr. had the v/oik 
 not boon iuti-i ruptrd, woiM hav'- r';sidtod in the acipiisiiion of f lie iioocs- 
 sarv niatoiial i'or layiiijf down witli complotoiioss all tlu: Narviiiji' foatuir^ 
 of sli(>i'o-lino, islands, and depths ((dating to tho sovcral i^lniinols into 
 wiiich tliat intrif-ato section ot the Ottawa is divided hy the Allutintttes 
 and Caluniot Islaiids, and the many little i.slets hetweon the (dand Cahi- 
 niet Falls and Portage dii l''oi t 
 
 In aocordance with tiie instructions last rtd'eired to, tlie Ottawa sin'v.\- 
 was totally su>p''nded on the .')l^t January last. IS-jS), 
 
 I should have mentioned that in addition to the two divisions of tie- 
 route above ih-scrilied as compassing my liist scheme of operati<»ns. I have 
 also s\icceeihid in olitainiiig a veiy e.Kcellont. though also still incomplete 
 survey of a third division- -Lac <le> < 'lieiies — -tbriiiing part of section No. 
 2 in index, and extending from the foot of the Chats Rapid--, opposite 
 Fitzroy Harbour, to the head of tie' < "haudiere Ra[iids. seven miles above 
 the City of Ottawa. 
 
 J)uringn)y explorations of theOttawa, in Norembei-. 1 Sot), learning that 
 the works of the ( "hats Canal were on the eve of being sus[iendod, it 
 struck UK! that the resident Kngineer of that work. Mr. Gallwew thus 
 relieved of his ordinary duties might possiiily be spaicd to assist in the 
 important survey which I had then recently connuenced. On making 
 such a suggestion to tin; department, the Comnussioners at once res- 
 ponded liy placing Mr. (Jallwey and his ])arty at my disposal : I accoi'd- 
 ingly leiiuested him toconnoet. by regular .Mirvey, the already commenced 
 canal at the Chats with the contem])lated one at the Chaudien;, 
 
 This work, carried, on during the wintei- of iS.')(i-7, though not com- 
 pleted, was prosecuted sufficiently far t- furrnsh a correct outline of Lac 
 des CluMies. ami to add twenty-seven miles (the lengtii of the lake) id 
 correct .soundings to oiu' store of information respecting the available 
 depth of the waters umh-r exanujuitiun. 
 
 From the moment of assuming the I'esponsibility of asci'rtaitnng and 
 pronoui\cing on the merits of so bold a project as that of opetdng an 
 entirely new ship or steamoi' comnniidcatio)i between the Lowei' St. 
 Lawrence and the Lake ports of tlie West, I laid down the principle of 
 having the work executed with the gi oat* st possible caiefulness and 
 accuracy, desirous (as stated in a former report) of producing charts of 
 
6 
 
 our i^fiainl uortlu^'n rivei as reliaWo in every |>artu'iilai' as those adinii*- 
 ablf ones which will over associatti the name ol Raykikiji with the Great 
 Lakes an<l the St. Lawrence. 
 
 r apci>nlin;4ly a'lopteil thf trigori<>metri(!al systfiii ol' survey ; ami as 
 lin- as the work has i,'ont'. ho paius have heonspareii to itisuie eorrectiU'ss, 
 as well ill ilet M'uiininj; the shoro-liiie of the wate.'^, main laii'ls, ami 
 islands, JUS in layiiij:^ down the sontnlini^n. 
 
 The I'oUowiutr suininary. takinjr the sei;tions wl-.ich wei-e unflcr survey 
 in the order in which they oeciir asceiidin*; the Ottawa, will servo to 
 show at u Lrhuiet' what ]>r()portiou of tin* loute has l)een sul»niitted to the 
 test ot itistnunental fxamination, tin? whole distance I'roiu Montreal to 
 the mouth of the F'rench Kivcr lieinj;, as alrea<ly -itated, estimatfd at 
 +:i() miles. 
 1st. From theChaudierc to the Chats Rapids. 'Lac des ( ■hones". 27 miles. 
 
 •2nd. From F^)rtaj^e du Fort to the Deep River Ho '• 
 
 :?id. Krom mouth of the Matawan to Lakr Ni})]nsiii<,qie 4;") " 
 
 Total V)7 miles 
 
 The trianifulation of all these seotions has been nearly completed, hut 
 a larLi't' amount of field work, as has het-n hcforc mentioned, remains to 
 1.1' (loin* ill order to complete the tracinj; in of tlu; shore-lines, and the 
 topoi^raphy of the hanks of the rivers and lakes. Soundiii;j;s have lieen 
 taken throuiflnmt, generally at intervals of two hundred feet apart, .save 
 in the actual rapids, andsume isolated spots liesidt-s, whei-e the waters 
 did not friH'/e. The results of this department of the work may he 
 ■^unmit'd up as follow : 
 
 Jst. Ij<u' <lfs Chi'ihs. — For ahout three ipiarters o! a mile helow the 
 foot of the (.'hats Canal, we have a serie-iof to-ky liisand shoals, which 
 scarcel}' leave, at low water, a deptli ot iiioir rlmn seven ,. I a half feet 
 available for navi<ration. There is. Iiow. vi. !ii e li (i.ip wuler over fif- 
 teen feet) in that distance : and tli" t'oi'iiiiifio.i ot a e'l i;m' 1 twelve feet 
 in depth or more, thouL,di it WiiuM involve considerable outlay, is perf- 
 eetly within the scope of praetioability. The rem.iinder of Lae des Che- 
 nes, twenty -seveti miles, has a broad, diiiM-t channel, with a minimum 
 dei'th of twelve feet at low water, the averaiie sounilings beintr more 
 than twenty feet, ami but one fortieth pnrt of the whole <listance less 
 than fifteen feet. 
 
 2nd. The section from Poi-tage du Fort to the Deep River, 65 miles 
 has been sounded throughout the northerly channel of the river, in- 
 eluding Lac Coulonge, and presents generally an available depth of over 
 fifteen feet, by far the lai-ger proportion of the distfuice having soundings 
 of more than thirty feet. In tht? C!alumet Channel, from the head of the 
 
 
 
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 7 
 
 island of tliat naint" to the (iiuinl Calinuft Falls, sfvoiitceii miles, wc iuuc 
 SOUK! ten iiiilos (it slialkjw water, tVoiii six ti) nine toet. over slionls eoiii- 
 poHcd otsaiitl (»r alluvial deposit. Tlie watei' in this ehaiitiel eaii. liy the 
 simple eou.structioii ot uii easily foniuid (.lam at the Kails, he kept up pei- 
 mauently to a l(;vel that would, \\'ith(jut dama^in^ any lau(ls imw avail- 
 alile tor cuhivatiuii, i^ive a uiiniutuiu depth throue;h()Ut of nine feet, and 
 u channel of twelve, of foi' that matter, fifteen feet in depth, can then 
 easily he ohtaineil thriMiLfli the shoids liv dieiUing out from two to si\ 
 feet of the soft (Jeposit of which the bottom is composed. 
 
 •}rd. The .soundint^s (jf the Matawaii River are hi,uhiy .satistactoi y, 
 
 oxtendiufi;, save in the few east's of " open water ' (nearly all soundint^s 
 
 having- been taken from the ice;, from its ctniHui .. • with the Ottawa to 
 
 ts head waters in the upper extremity of Trout J^a. • . distance 4-2 nnle.>^. 
 
 In mid-chaiin(d the de}iths averat^e as follows : 
 
 J5 feet an<l over o- .) Jcs 
 
 12 ■' and le.ss than l5 o " 
 
 h» " and under •' "' 
 
 or tile dee[> portions, that is to say i.fteen fceL and over, three fiiurths, 
 or twenty-four miles, have more than ''{O feet .soundi.i.,s. In " Lac i'lcin 
 (Jhant," a stietch of smooth water five miles in leni^th. not fur .diovt the 
 mouth of the liver, the averaj^^e depth is more than eii'hty feet; in many 
 instances bottom not beiiiij (iiscoveralile with thiee times that leuirtli ol 
 line. 
 
 Lac "Talon,' whieli we reach at eii^hteen miles from tiie mouth, and 
 which j^ivesus eight miLs of still water, is also veiy dee}). ne\ ei- less than 
 twenty ( 20) feet in mid-channel and connnonly more than one hundred 
 feet. We then eon)e to La Toitue and Trout Lakes, twelve miles more 
 of smooth water. In the former the luininmm soumciin^s are fifteen feet, 
 in the latter thirty, while freijuently more than two hundred feet are 
 found. 
 
 Apart from theregulai- suiveyinif ojierations, Mr. Stewart, my princi|ial 
 Assistant in the woi-k, took advantae;e of the gO(»d ice in the winter 
 of 185U-7, to ascertain the depth to be depended on in the Chats Lake 
 (the upper part of section No. 2 in index) from Portage du Fort to within 
 three miles of the head of the Chats Canal. 
 
 Consecutive and close soiindinys w-.e taken throu<rhout that lenuth. 
 some seventeen adles. except for about two thirds of a mile of open water 
 at the Cheneaux Kapn's, and resulteil in showing a minimum depth of 
 about fourteen feet, the soundings generally ranging Vjetween thirty and 
 sixty leet, while the lead at the end of thirty fathoms of line fre(|uentty 
 announced " no bottom." 
 
8 
 
 1 have thus liad soutulii.-uvs take-' over about one iiundred and tit'ty 
 miles of the proposed chain of navigation, upwards of one-third of the 
 whole estiniafced len<j;th, ati<l in the distance find only some thirty miles 
 linchuliiig the Chats Canal) reip.ii-iuij artificial improvement to render 
 eacii section continuously nuviorable in itself for vessels drawino- twelve 
 or even fifteen feel, of water. As J procee i with this report I trust to be 
 able to show tint, followinu' the route of the watsus propo-ed to be im- 
 l)roved, fiom r<>'town to the (ieori^ian Bay, the points between which my 
 whole held ot ojierations lay, there are at least one }iiind)-ed and twenty 
 Juiles more of lieep and level water, in detached sections it may be. Imt 
 rccpiirino- little or no aid from the hand of man to reniler them amenable 
 to the pur[ioses of ship iiavii,fjition. 
 
 The falls and I'apids of the surveyed and other [)oi'tious of the route 
 will be touched on iiy and by when I come to enter on the ijeneral 
 engineeiing features of tiu' whole scheme, ami will in that connection be 
 exhibited in tabular foi'ui as an Appendi.K to this report. 
 
 Besides the h yd rographical examinations endjraeed in the loreeoino- 
 sunnnary of soutidings, a surxey has also been madi.- of ihe ridge of lanJ 
 dividing 'I'lout Lake, at the liead of the Matawa.n River and the most 
 westwar.Uy of ihe waters tribut.try to Ihe Ottawa, from Lake Nippisin- 
 gue, whose outlet is by the French Hive:- to I^ake Huron ; ati'l the 
 topographical features of the baiiiei' betwe.'U where the water.^ of two of 
 the mightiest of .VmiM-ican )-ivers appi'oach almost, within ritle shot of one 
 anothei', ha\e been ascertained with sutHcient areuracy to enable me to 
 pi'onounee with contideiice on the practicaliilitN and probable cost of unit- 
 ing them. 
 
 Having sketched, as above, n)y course of [)inceedings towards the dis- 
 charge <tf tilt.' trust counnitted to me, I will next, lielore enterin>'- on 
 consecutive dt'tails as to harborage and lockage, distance and depth, 
 exhibitory ot the engineering characteristics of the route, endeavor to 
 give, for the information of those who, though interested in the project, 
 may not t.ie familiar with the geography of the pi'oposed line of com- 
 muiMcation, a ileM'ji[itive outline of the chain of watius wdnch are to 
 liMin the 
 
 Ottaw.x anm) Fuench Hivek N.vvkution. 
 
 The great ( )ttavva River, which at the foot of the island of Montreal 
 beeonies Hiiaily merged in the greater St. Lawrence, has a north-west- 
 wardly course of probably sane Hve hundred miles, and may be said to 
 ilrain all that portion ot the area of Canada comprised between latitude 
 fo'-' and 49^ a:id longitude 7V' and IDh*^- 
 
 Following the couise of this great artery for about three hundred 
 miles from Montreal, and noting in the distance many large streams 
 
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 9 
 
 pouring into it from both si los, we come to a broarl, dee[) river, havincr 
 rtti asceiidinr,' coarse to the w^st. Thi^ is the M.vtawvn, the widest and 
 deepest of the western trilmtaries of tlie Ottawa. Turninir out of the 
 main river, we follow up thi> branch, directly towards the settinj; sun, 
 for a little over forty miles, when, far larf^-er at its sources than at its 
 mouth, the Matawan closes abruj)tlv at the head of a deep lake, an'l, for 
 the first time since startinjj; upon our journey, the waters seem to come 
 to an end. 
 
 Landincr, however, and crossintj a sandy rid^e. but little elevated above 
 the level of the lake just spoken of, a walk of scarce three-quarters of a 
 mile brings us upon a little rivei', wlr^re the current, whiijh has hitherto 
 impeded the pi'ogtess ot our bark canoe, now assumes a contrary direction 
 from that of the waters we havt^ It.-f t behind, an<l is gliding .silently but 
 suruly to the Wkst. 
 
 Descending this .stream, known to the " Voyageurs " as " La Riviere 
 de Vase.' rive miles of canoein^j over its ffraduallv widenintr siirface 
 brings us out upon a noble expanse of water, Lake Nippisingue : acro.ss 
 which, still keeping on our due west course, we find thirty miles of deep 
 water ere agiin compelled to take the latul. which we do near where the 
 dark waters of the lake are .seen to hurry tumultuously to som^ destined 
 goal below, through a narrow (channel cut perpemlicularly in the hard 
 granitic rock. Here a " portage " of scarce a quarter of a mile in length 
 brings us once nioie to navigable water, iind our canoe floats securely on 
 the placiil surfin-e of the Fhkn'c'II Rtver ; following who.se deep and 
 beautifully terraced waters, and making thrtic t^hort '' portages " in its 
 li'iigth of fifty miles, we emerge U|)on the Groikuan B\v ; having trav- 
 elletl, as near as nuiv l»e, four hundred and thirtv miles from our startinsx 
 point at Montreal, and to i-eacli which place of union with Ottawa waters 
 those of the l''rencli Rivei-, which have just borne us out upon Lake 
 Huron, have a journey before them of not less than one thousand miles ; 
 forming an atom in the hugi', volume of water that takes the great leap 
 of tlie cataract of Niagara. 
 
 With so indii-oken a chnin of water eomm'uication, river an<l lake, 
 between the lower St. Lawrence — the natural portal of (Janada - and the 
 " land of promise " in the west, it is not to be wondered at that the route 
 we have just come over should have been the earliest highway of Cana- 
 dian Commerce. 
 
 In the year 1015 a brave Frenchman a.sconded the Ottawa from where 
 
 the C'ity of Montreal now stands, antl. under the guidance of his allies 
 
 from among the Indians, who then swarmed on its banks, as well as on 
 
 the now desolate .shore of Lake Nippisingue and the French River, he 
 
 jfk followed the identical course that has been traced above, extending his 
 
 
ir 
 
 10 
 
 cxploratiotis far duwn Lake Huron. Hnioii wah thus tlir first ut uur 
 wonderrul freshwater .seas evei" juazcil upon liy European eyes, ere yet 
 the thunders of Niaiiara liail "reetoil KinoDimn cars. 'Pin? uaiui' of the 
 iiallant voyaijeur was Samukl ( 'ham plain. 
 
 ftnpellod liy the l.)ve of advont.irc, or th«' temptations of ti-athc. La 
 Salle and others *|uicl<ly followed in tlw! fot^tsteps of <Jliaui[jlain, and for 
 a long series of years, np to a eoinpaiativoly recent lu-riod, larj^e fleets 
 of canoes, richly laden with the peltries of the North, ])eriodically, year 
 by year, ascended the French Hivei , and, crossinu over Nippisin^ue nnd 
 the " htjijrht of land, ' dri^pped dnwn the Ottawa to ^^ontreal, the hend- 
 • piarters of tlie fur trade. 
 
 Owing to I he falling oH in tha.t iuijioitant laancli of ei?iiun4n;e, in part 
 hi'cause of the gi-adnal dccre;;se in the nninl)er of fnr-hear'ing animals in 
 the region of Nippisingue and the Ottawa, in part l)eeause of tliLMjpening 
 of other chaiuiels of conimuniiation, Init, aliove all. to the appearance of 
 steamers (.)n ^hv great Lakes, an 1 ol Railways on their liorders, the 
 French River and Ottawa r')nte fell into gradual disuse; save, as regards 
 the latter river, for the purpo.ses of the. tiinlu'r trail- : and on the French 
 River, Lak(( Nii)pisingne, and tlu; Matawan, whose echoes formerly res- 
 ounded at not unfretpient interval-, to tin- smLfof the voyageur, his cheery 
 Voice is now l>nt seldom luaid. tin' only iidialtitants of the solitary 
 shoi'us consisting of some few do/.en Indi.m funilie-, of that self-.samo 
 Algoni|uiii trilie ni whom hundreds gathered, womlering, roinid the 
 ■' white; men " when, nearl\- two centuries suid a half ago, Champlain 
 ami his companions first appeared among them. 
 
 In reviewing the commeivial hearings of the piojeet under consider- 
 ation, it nnist ho apparent ti» the most indiflerent looker-on, if he will 
 only gi\c the suhjecl his serious attention for a little, that the claims uf 
 such a route as has heen discrihed --water, it may i»e.sai<I the whole way, 
 and nearly four hundred miles shorter iietween tide water and Lake 
 MichigMii than that iiy the great Lakes, are at all events desei-ving of an 
 impartial hearing. Setting asi^lc, therefore, tin.' engineering ohstacles to 
 l»e overcome, and which, for aigument's sake, we will snp])()si; to he 
 smoothed over in the meantimi'. I will procee(l to state the eas(; as simply 
 and hricHy as I can for the consideration of the merchant. 
 
 It is not my intenti(Ui to array great c.olunnis of statistics to show 
 what the ])'jssilile trade from the west t<i the scaSoard may be some ten 
 years he.ice, within which period such a navii>ation as is abovj forcishad- 
 owed may heeome a i-eality. The increase of population and conuuerce 
 in the western States and western cities has invariably outstripped tlie 
 anticipations uf the theovist, and are perfectly certain to continue to do 
 so for a long series of years to come. 
 
 \ 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
t 
 
 + 
 
 I 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 n 
 
 Tt. would he almost in van. thon, to ."i]>eciiliite on wlint the next ten 
 years of pr()(jies.s .shouM liriio forth ; Imt it may Ix- toirly Hs^e^t^;(l tluit 
 lU'o'luciiiLj p )\vi'r'* ill til ; \vi',t, ami dt'in irid for it-. |t«.-0(lucts in tlic cast, 
 arc increasing in such ra))i<l latio tiint any project which shall liavc I'or 
 its end to diminish space and increase the facilities nl transpoi-t hy watci' 
 can'ia<,a' will Hud s;ich f'nwuir in the eyes ot'thc mercantile community, 
 that the restless sjiirit <>f Oommerce will neither .sliiMilcr nor sleep while 
 ii |)o^.sil)i!ity rem.iins of t'lfcetin-j;- >nme rndieal improx-ement in the wa,ter 
 (!ommuni('ati(»ti lictween the lake ports of the interior ami the sea ports 
 of the Atlantic coast. Millinns will he fr<-ely coutiihnte*! jirid I'reeiy 
 expended lor the furthernnec of such ii piu'p )se ere arioth.T decidt; has 
 pas.se(l Mway 
 
 The natuinl outlet of all that fiTtih' region t-ast of the Mississippi, 
 which drains into the yreat Lakes, is. of course, their outlet the St. 
 Lawrence ; and the prejxiudeDince of the trade ol' that immense area, as 
 it assumes dimensions pi-opurtioueti to the vastness of th river, will 
 settle into that channel as a mattci- of destiny. No wholly ai'tificial 
 avenue can keep pace in increasinii," capacity with the gi<;antic ef)mmerce 
 which is orowiri<f uj) to the west of Lake Michigan, and which will force 
 UH ( 'anadiiins into holder uiidertakiiii^s than any we have yet emharked 
 in. ( 'annda lies dii'ectiy across the leadinrr route from the far west to 
 the Atlantic .seaboard, and over some portion of our territory the ijreat 
 tide of western commt'ice must tor ever roll. 
 
 To meet the incoming c\ii>'encies of that connnerce, puMie attention 
 has already l)een directed to three ^reat jirojects. \iz : 
 1st. The cnliupfinient >t the W'elland Canal. 
 2nd. The eon.strnction of the Toronto and Geoi^jian Bay Canal, 
 ."{rd. The establishment of the French River and Ottawa navii^ation. 
 J use the term n'lrlfiitlioii rather than I'niuil. in relation to the last 
 named scheme, becau.se, as before observed, it consists of tin almost un- 
 interrupted chain of waters — river and lake — demanding, just as we all 
 retnember the St. Lawrence did, certain detached •i<rlioiif< of rand to 
 render the navigation continuous. 
 
 The maf).s accompanying this Rei>ort will place clearly before the 
 reader the relative geographical jiosition of each of the routes named. 
 That by the Wellantl (.'anal is so familiar to all in any way concerned in 
 the trade of the lakes, that the name is sutiicient to recall its importance 
 and success. 'I'he enlaigement to ship proportions of that indispensalile 
 connection between Lake Ontario and the upper Lakes will l)e the tirst 
 accoinpli.shed of any of the three projects under consideration. 
 
 With respect to the Toronto and Georgian Bay Canal, the lately 
 published an<l elaborate report of Mr. Kivas Tully, Civil Kngineer, puts 
 
12 
 
 us in possession of full and reliable data as to the constructive features 
 otthat project, while my own explorations and partial surveys in connec- 
 tion with project No. .S enable me to condense its salient features into 
 tabular comparison with those ot its compeers : — 
 
 DiNtaiires, Chifajju '" M<intiH;al. 
 
 1 i Welland Ciiiial. 
 
 •i Toronto uid (Jt'oi ,'1 ui tia> 
 3 I Fretifh River and (.)tta«u 
 
 
 
 
 
 Laku. 
 
 River. 
 
 e:inul. 
 
 Total. 
 
 1 
 
 Mil^s. 
 
 .Mjle.^. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Ulfi 
 
 V.i-> 
 
 71 
 
 1:M8 
 
 77*' 
 
 l.V. 
 
 120 
 
 lOf.0 
 
 ST.'. 
 
 :;47 
 
 - 
 
 lt>)0 
 
 Up 
 
 Keet. 
 
 
 l.ncknue. 
 
 I Down. 
 ; Feet 
 
 i .17.-. 
 
 ! f.if. 
 
 Total. 
 Feet. 
 
 SO.'i 
 
 From these figures it appears tiiat in point of distance, JNo. 3, which 
 may be tei'mcl, /Hir excellence, the " Canadian route," holds a very wiiie 
 advantaoje over No. I ; and though pos.sessing in a lesser degree a similar 
 advantage over No. 2, is so fai' itf= superior in reganl of lockage, as. 
 c(efer>s parihu>i, to entitle it to at least an etpaal share oi attention. 
 
 In the foregoing table, Chieago is taken as our point of departure from 
 the west, Mt-)ntreal as the [lort of destination : with these ])oints as ter- 
 mini, I will endeavour to show what the relative cost of transportation 
 bv each of tlie three routes should be, and to that end will avail myself 
 ot the calculations of the net mileage cost of transport by the several d(;- 
 scriptions of water eariiage, lake, river and canal, given us in the al)le 
 report of Mr. W. J. Mac.\lpine, on the canals of the State of New York. 
 1 also ask permis.sion of iMr, J B. Jervis to make uh(^ of some of the 
 figures relating to similar matters set forth in his excellent treatise on 
 the Caughnawaga Canal project. 
 
 The following is Mr. McAlpimi's table : — 
 
 TA15LE UK THE COST OF IKANSI'ORT PER fOV PRH Ml I.E. 
 
 Long voyage 1 mill 
 
 Short " 2 to + mills. 
 
 Long " 2 
 
 Short '■ 3 to + 
 
 Hudson, and ot sinnlar character '?.i " 
 
 St. Lawrence, and Mississippi 3 
 
 Tributaries of Mississippi 5 to 10 " 
 
 Erie enlargement -l 
 
 " Other large Canals, but shorter T) to ti " 
 
 " il]rie Canal, ordinary size 5 
 
 " With Creat Lo'^kage (I to 8 " 
 
 Railroads. Transporting Coal 6 to 10 " 
 
 " Not for coal, tavourable grades and lines 12^ 
 
 " Steep Grades L5 to 25 " 
 
 Ocean. 
 
 it 
 
 Lake. 
 
 Rivera. 
 
 « 
 Canals. 
 
 i 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
I 
 
 L 
 
 \ 
 
 i 
 
 F.J'p^''^ l"-'" -'1 '''^'' *'*'"''' "?'*'" '""'* ^'^ *^^'''^'J the tolls, which o„ the 
 En. Ca.ml i., ,ts present i nenlarg.,! condition, sw.ll the cost of t"ansr.ort 
 through .t to ahont U mills per ton per mile. Mr. J.rv^s maki^^r'i^ust 
 allowance for the lessenin.j of tolls certain to U- a cor.sequence of the 
 nu-rease of tr.nnara <lue to the la,.er capacity of our CaruUian canals 
 when tested t,. the.r full capability, and lor the actual decrease m the cost 
 oi transportation due to the larper class of vessels that their capabilitv 
 w- 1 admit of being empl-.yed in the trade, assumes the cost of trans^)0i-t 
 tolls included, m ship canals of ordinary cost, at 8 mills |)er ton p.r mile' 
 which IS simply a.lding 4 mills for toll to Mr. MacAlpiue's 4 mills for 
 transport. 
 
 Mr. T. C. Clarke, in his excellent paper on the " AAcuues of Western 
 irade, first published in '• Hunt's Merchants" Magazin,> '' and subse 
 quetitly in the Report of the Commissionner of Public works fur last 
 year, assumes, and justly, that the cost per mile of both the - Toronto 
 and Georgian Bay. " and ' French River and Ottawa ' Canals will be 
 far in excess of the average cost of the magnificent canals we can now 
 boast of; an<l that, as a consequence of such increas- of outlay there 
 would naturally be a corresponding increase of tolls,-, stinuite.l l)v him 
 at double the ordinary rate.- which, however, he puts at o mills per ton 
 l.or mile, against Mr. Jervis' 4 mills. Accepting Mr. Clarke's principle as 
 .sound, I adopt Mr. Jervis' figure.s, though for the purposes to which I an. 
 about to apply them, that ..f comparison, th,.- one rate would answer 
 fully as well as the otiun-. Taking, therefore, Mr. MacAlpine's rate of 4 
 mills as the net cost of transport in large canals, and doubling Mr Jervis' 
 tollnge of 4 milks, we have 1'2 mills as the cost of transporting a ton of 
 goods through each mile of the two co.stly canals with which ] have to 
 deal in comparing them as channels of trade with the Wnlland and other 
 artificial links in the St. Lawrence line of navigation. 
 
 The .several routes. Chicago to Moxtreu., will then compare as follow: 
 1st. iVelkind ami St. Lawrence Canals. 
 
 Lake Navigati< a 1145 miles at 2 mills «•? 90 
 
 Kiver " i.S2 ' ;? - ."f,. 
 
 Canal '■ 71 « .s «• t!! 
 
 yj.ot 
 
 N'et cost of movement per ton $3 26 
 
 2nd. Toronto and Georgian Bar/ Rmtc. 
 
 Lake Navigation, 775 miles at 2 mills ^1 k,- 
 
 Rivcr •• 155 " .s .< ^[^.^ 
 
 Canal (T. & G. B.) 77 ' \'i ■■ ,;^1; 
 
 Canal (St. L.) 48 • « " .■.■.■.■.■.■.';.■;.■; o.'gj 
 
 Net cost of movement per ton $3 27 
 
f 
 
 ^ u 
 
 .Srd. French River .n..! OHawa Houtr. 
 
 Lake Navi<;atinn. 'u^ miles at 2 mills $1.1') 
 
 Rivei " ;{+7 '* 3 ' 1.('4 
 
 ("anal " oN " 12 " • Ojit 
 
 Xt't '■©st of mov(>ment pev ton .'if^.S!) 
 
 In tliefuieijoino calcnlatinns Ihave assumed ^\x Mac A I pine's minimitni 
 rate lor lake carnaj^'e ami liis muxiiioi m for lartjf rivers, so that tin- 
 ecmiparison eannot lie eharcjed with heini; umlnly favourable to the Ot 
 tawn route, which is lepresented as possessing a very much h'Si propor- 
 tion of hiL'i' auil iiw nioie u\' riri>,- navigation than either of the other 
 two, althoun'h iimch of what in it 1 have classed as river niio-ht justly he 
 put down as lake, fully one-f<jurth the distance assigned to the former 
 category having,' width and depth sutticient to aihnit of half a doztMi 
 vessels as big as the " (ireat Kastern ' runniny' side l)y side, 
 
 I will now submit a comparative statement of tlie time to be occiipinl 
 in an onlinury voyage over eacli of these loutes, choosinL,^ the Propeller 
 as the inscription ot vessel with which to experiment in tasking their 
 respective nierils in that |-.aiticular. and will suppose three sneh vessels, 
 of e.pial capacity in every respect, to clear froui Chica<j;o at the same 
 time, all three having tl, ir manifests made o>it tor Montreal. They 
 sail toe-ether pa-t the straits of Mackinac till abreast of the lower end of 
 the (iieat Manifci.ulin Isjaiid when one of them keeping on a nearly due 
 soutii .'(.niM- .|ou-n Lake Huion, lor the Weliand Canal, the other two 
 >tce) ( aMwiu-.l, and in company, till, clearinu' <jape Hurd, they enter the 
 <ieoi„;an Bay ; one ot them rhen heads nortwar(1 for tin; Fi-ench River, 
 ♦■'> '••''<'• fhc Oltawa Honte, the other .southwardly to Nottaw^a.saira, the 
 entrance of the Tor(»nto and tieiugian Bay Canal. 
 
 1 wUI as-imii' tor thi: rate of progress of all three vessels eight miles 
 yw lioin through lak,' and river, three nules |,ei' hour in canal, and will 
 allow one an I a I alf minute foi each foot of lockage. 
 
 With these conditions the time occupied in the .several trips should 
 result as foUowe : 
 
 |-:t \V''I 'iitil I'll inil h',ah- [t'lilargfxi). 
 
 1277 niili> Lake and River Navigation 159 hours. 
 
 7 1 '■ Cinal '> 24 
 
 oHo feet Lockage 13 " 
 
 Chicao,^ to Montreal (134S niilcx) 196 hours. 
 
 2nd. Toronto (I tul Gt'orgio II Hay Rmilf. 
 
 9oO nn'les Lake and River Navigation. ... llti hours 
 
 120 " Canal •■ 40 " " 
 
 SO") feet Lockage 20 " 
 
 i 
 
 • i J 
 
 
 Chiciigo to Montreal (1050 niilfH) I7fi Imurs. 
 
 t 
 
i 
 
 .■jrd French Rivi'r arr/ Ottawa Boufr. 
 
 922 miles Lake and River Navigation Ho hours. 
 
 58 " Canal " ]«) •• 
 
 698 feet Locka,^'(.• 
 
 Chicago to Montreal ! fl.SU uiilcs) |52 hours, 
 
 Ditiei'encc in favor of No. :i over No. 1 4+ hours. 
 
 !><» ilo No. ;{ over No. 2 24 '• 
 
 To render the eoniiiarisons still more coinpri'hensixc \vi' will now 
 retrace our stejjs from Montreal to tin; foot of Lake St. Louis, and 
 sui>posin,(.>' the Caughnawaga Canul to lu- /ai /<ii/ aav////>//, will takr ou)' 
 propellers an.l their eai'goes l)y that route. Lake Chaniiilain and the 
 Hu.lson, to New ^'ork. The cost of transportitii;- a ton of goods from 
 Chicag(j to New York will then compare as follows, the ( 'hamplain Canal 
 being assumed as enlarged to.slii, proportions, and the flud.sou improved 
 for huge vessels to Waterford ten miles aho\-e Albanv. 
 1st. Wr'/jtix/ ('ii„al Ihuitc 
 
 Chiea.go to Caughnaw.iHja as above, (dedueting Lacliine Canal 
 
 t^l>:'i'g'^ ■ ■ ■ s:;,|!) 
 
 Caughnawaga ( 'anal WW udles at 8 mills 8<>.2G 
 
 St. -Johns to Wiiitehall, river and lake 12(' " S • d.rii; ' 
 
 Cham|)lain Canal fj,", " ,s (»..')2 
 
 Hudson Hiver, Watei-ford to New 
 York 
 
 ).) 
 
 2^- " ().;!!) 
 
 Ciiiea^oto \e\v \uyk, ,1721 miits) .*k72 
 
 2n I. Tiirdiilii il.'td (r oiyidii. linij lunlJc. 
 
 Chieago It) Caughnawaga, as above .So. 20 
 
 Caughnawaga to New York, do i_.-,;} 
 
 ^L7:} 
 
 Chieago to .\ew York, (1 42:5 miles) 
 
 •".ril. (HI(Vi'i> mid Fi'.nr/, /^irrr lioiUc. 
 
 Chieago tv) ("aughnawaga. as above ^'2s-2 
 
 Caughnawaga to New York, do 15;^ 
 
 Chieago to New ^'ork. (lo.Ni miles) ^i.'Ary 
 
 The foregoing ealcniatioiis sliould be suHieient, 1 think, to .show that 
 the French lliver and Ottawa line (»f navigation pos.sesses in realitv such 
 eonnnereial advantages as make it worth while to put its emdneerin"- 
 merits on their trial. I will therefore proeued to ,set forth the difficulties 
 to U^ enoountei-ed, an<l the hieilities for dealing with them, in grapplinf' 
 
16 
 
 with vvliat must undoubtydly proven stiipeudoiis iindtn taking;, and in 
 doirijr so I shtiU confiru, myself s'rictly to the facts elicited in the course 
 of my explorations and surveys, " nuthinj; extenuating wherein they aie 
 worthy,' and, \ dui'liino' for the eoi'iectne^ts of my premises, shall cheer- 
 fully abide the critieisms of my professional uiv'.hren upon the 
 conclusions J arrive at, 
 
 h:noineeuin(; features of the rocte. 
 
 I corinueiiced my examination at Penetanguishene, au<i made a careful 
 reconnoissan(!e of the eastern I'oast of the Georgian Bay, from thence to 
 its most uortherlv indentation, the Fn tieh River. Aseendinu- which 
 stieain I noted all its ca])diilities for the purposes of a ship iiavimition ; 
 and, continuing my route across Lake Nippisingue, exjtloretl its (toasts 
 and inlet'', ei'ossed over the ridge of land separating its water-shed from 
 that (»( the Ottawa, decended the .Matawan River, and so on down the 
 Ottawa to the foot of the Grand Cidumet Falls, niakiu;'' a canoe V(jva"-e 
 of nearly I'oui' liiimlred miles, and satisfying myself by personal oljser- 
 vation that the plan of ojieratiou-i previously adopted, and herein alreadv 
 flescribed, was rhat liest ealculaterl foi' the pioper carrving out of m\' 
 instruction^. 
 
 Previous to setting out upon my explorations! had endea\'oured to 
 gatl'.er such reliable inforinationas was within my reach relatiii"- to the 
 characteristics of the route generally,but more especially as regarded that 
 important point, the 
 
 TERMINAL HARLOR ON LAK K IILRON. 
 
 And aseeitained that the prevailing opinion with respect t'j th<' cut lanei 
 of the French River was not favourable to thw project ofopeniii:;- a 
 navigable comnumication by tha": route with the Ottawa. It was 
 represented that the apj)roacli to the river was so b;ured by reefs and 
 rendered so intricate by the maxe oi islands multipl^-ing its outlet into 
 innutuorable deltas, that only the most skilful Indian pilots co\ild thread 
 its lal)yrintli of channels so as to steer their bark canoes into thi' main 
 trunk of the ri\er. 
 
 1 have already in this re[)ort had occasion ti.> refer to Admii-ai IJay- 
 field"s charts; of .lur Lake's, the accuracy of which is proverbial among 
 those who '■ oecupy their business" in those "great waters. "' Singular- 
 ly, however, an error or oversight in nomenclature on that portion of his 
 cha)-t of Lake Huron which shows the outlet of the P>enjh River, goes 
 to strengthen, if indeed it did not originate the opinion referred to as 
 common among the casual visitors to that coast, viz., that the river is 
 not accf ssible for any craft bigger than a birch bark canoe. 
 
 
 > 
 
 A, 
 
t 
 
 J would direct your attention to sheet No. 8 of Bayfieild's Chart of 
 Huron, and with it beiore you, t') a grroup of islands in tlie north-easter- 
 ly angle known as th(. " Bustard Island.''. " 
 
 Looking northwai'd from this point of oVnurvation you will .■seethe 
 "Mouths of the Fronch River," tioted as conspicuous capitals, deVjouch- 
 in:,'ainid a nunihi^r of litUo islands. Tinning dm; (.'a>t you will observe 
 an inlet named the •' Kisy, " also Hgurinij^in capitals; while between it 
 and tlie first named point is another indentation of the coast ; settin" up 
 from which, but noti(!ed only in unpretcMidin^' italics, is a large river. 
 
 The Indians (jf Lake Ni|»pisinii;ue in goini^ to and fro between their 
 homes and Shebatiowhcnanintr and the S;iult de Ste. Marie, commonly 
 enter or descend tin; French River by the " Mouths," so de.signat^'d by 
 Hayfiolil, that route atl'ordin'^ the beat shelter for their canoes ; in goint' 
 to or returning from Pei.et;ingnish(;ne they as commonly chose the pa^^s- 
 age by the " Key", the wat ;rs of which, although thoy do not belong to, 
 the French River, approai'h so near it at some distance up as to render 
 it accessable for canoes by an (!asy " portage ". 
 
 fn pursuing my examination of the coast I placed myself entirely in 
 the hands of mypihjt, a .sagacious Algoiupiin oi' Like Nippisingue, 
 perfectly familiar with every rocky ishui i and inlet of the myriads that 
 stud and indent the inhospitalde coasts of the CJeorgian Bay, merely 
 giving him to understand that my desire was to enter the river by its 
 widest and deepest e.stuary. 
 
 hissing tin- " Key ", which he indicated as the; shortest route to Nippi- 
 tiingue, ray guide bent his course for the Bustard Islands, and from thence 
 steered directly for the " large river" already referred to, the way into 
 which from the islands being perfectly clear and unembarrassed. It 
 thus for the first t.ime becHTi(> known to me that the French River had at 
 least one outlet independent or those a>signed to it by the chart, and that 
 the "large river ". which riKjst probably was cinsil(;red by Bayfield as 
 a distinct stream, is in reality that arm of the former bj' which, if ever 
 it is to be adapted to the purposes of modern commerce, vessels will have 
 to enter it. As f(»r the other mouths f have ascertained that they were 
 rightly pronounced to be inaccessible save, as before observed, by the 
 Indian in his canoe. 
 
 On reaching the month of the rive:' T landed, and looking back upon 
 the bay over which I had jusc passed, it certainly did seem to fulfil all 
 tho external conditions of the noble harbor. 
 
 The Bustard Group completely protects it on the south and south- 
 west, while a heavy sea, grinding angrily against a projecting headland 
 
18 
 
 of granite on the iiortli-wiist, st'emcti tu announce somo shelter agninst 
 the violent salen which so fVecjuei.tly assails the Lake from that quarter. 
 The bay within was |.erfoctly smoi.tli and unriitfled, while without the 
 water was .still hoavino nml swellini; i\nu the ijHects of a iii^ht of storn». 
 
 The entiaiiee to the harbrjr i.s studded across, from the Bustards tow- 
 ards the I'tain shore on the north, i.y a 'lew rocky islets, jri-eat broad 
 channels between whieh jj;ive every indieation at' very deep soundini,'s. 
 Ciorte under the Bu.stard Islands the chart n»arks sixty feet of depth : 
 in the nio\ith of the river I paid out twenty feet of line witiiout touching 
 liottoni. The interni Miiat.' iiay, doubtless, has sonic of tho.sc treacherous 
 sunken rocks wldcb l>i.'setthe whole of th;i' coast, but the i;-eneral depth 
 r)f water, i> orcat, an 1 deep channels of ample width exist throuj^limit 
 the whole bfiy into tli- cntianec of the river. The reefs and sunken 
 rocks referred to are almost sure to be ot the piniiacli.- form whieh char- 
 aetei'ises the r(»ck-< luul islands «//;o/( water, and as tliey stand up like 
 pyramids with deep soundiiiirs all .uoun.l tluni and therefore su.sceptilde 
 of being removed without e.\trauidiiiar\- tldticultv or cost involving- a 
 description of Work in fact, which, is it would be permanent in its 
 results, would |»rove (jf less ultimate cost tlian the endless dredein-' of 
 some of the ever siltinrj harbors of Lake.s Erie and (Jntario. 
 
 A vessel of whatever class, steamer or sailimj craft, onee within the 
 Georgian Hay, could, in any weather, at least as easily make the Bu.stard 
 Islands as any of the moll,' southerly ports, (Jwen Sound, tJollinirwood. 
 or Nottawasaga, while in the sweeping u'ale:. from the nortli-west. the 
 seourge of Lake Huron, the run from Capo Hur«l to tlu; Bustards, havinu' 
 the shelter of the great .Manitoulin Island, would assuredly be far safer 
 than tiiHt to any three lower harbors named. Under the lee of the 
 I5u.stard group vessels eould anchor or moor in tlu- n)0st Complete .sec- 
 urity. t)low the wind from what ((uartei- it might, and to drop th.'nei! 
 into the river, the depth and directness of the channel being a.ssumed as 
 sufficient, would lie practical)le under almost any condition of weather 
 slu^rt of actual storm. 
 
 Icotisider tie; harb .r formcl by the Bay of the French Biver, deseri- 
 lied above, as capable of being remlered in every respect suitable for the 
 entrance of a gnat shi|) canal. The ordinary adjuncts of lighthouses 
 and piers would, of course, be called for, and a careful survey requiretl 
 to determine the proper site for such erections. It was my intention to 
 have made such a survey in the summer of 18.57 had i been permitted 
 to proceed witli the work embraced in mv first instructions. 
 
 THE FRENCH RIVER. 
 
 For more than a mile from its mouth upwards the river is broad, deep, 
 and still ; in width from three hundred to four hundred feet ; in'depth 
 
 1 
 
1!> 
 
 t 
 
 probably twenty tVei. The banks aro of bold jxranitc, that on th«> nortli 
 sido presenting th»i ti\ pcarance of a ni mster artitii'ial bl.•llkwilt^M• or pier, 
 rising perpendifularly many feet above tbe water and jntting out far 
 into the lake, atlor liiiij t') the entranee eoinplot'^ proteoti<in from the 
 blnsterinif winds of the north. 
 
 At the end of a mile or more from tlie entry, uii rounding a .sudden 
 bend, we come ui)on the first, or. more properly ■speaking, the la.»<t falls 
 of the river, having a descent ofaljout si.\ ffet. and in form resembling 
 an artificial wear; the width of the fall i>eing .scarcely om- lunidred feet, 
 ami the <lrop fiom the higher to the lower level almost perpendicular. 
 On the north side the granite I'ises up boMly from out the water, while 
 on the south there lies a ftat table of tlu; same character of rock, its sur- 
 face but little elevated above that of th<' water in the upper reach, anil 
 the porta; ' over which fiom deep wnter below to deep water above the 
 ca.scnde is not four hundred feet in length. This tal)le rock is admirably 
 adapted for the reception of a lock. Such a structure, of the largest re- 
 quired proportions, would almost occupy its whole area, for in width it 
 can scarce l)oast of oiu' hundred feet when it is overshadowed by a 
 beetling cliff of the same imperishable formation as that upon the oppo- 
 ."ite side. • 
 
 A dam across the head of this fall and the other outlets, carried up to 
 a height sufficient to maintain the watei- permanently at a level of about 
 one foot above ordinary high water mark, or aliout three feet above the 
 stage at which I found it on the 16th October. ISofJ, would have the 
 effect of creating a dead level from here to the next falls, some si.xtcen 
 miles further on, and would completely drown oru.* oi two trifling inter- 
 mediate rapids, without drowing any land. This elevation of the water 
 would give us a lock of nine feet lift to construct, which, with the dams, 
 about 1100 teet long by 15 feet high, embrace all the work required to 
 render the first eighteen miles of the French River navigaV)le for vessels 
 drawing from ten to twelve feet of watei-. 
 
 I have been thus particular in describing the first fall encountered in 
 the ascent of the river, and which is known by the name of " Les Petit(is 
 Dalles," V)ecause the jreneral features of all the other falls to be surmounted 
 are precisely similar. They are all more or less wear-like in their forma- 
 tion ; and the mode of dealing with them, when " improvements " come 
 to be considered, will in everv instance be identical : locks and dams 
 being almost the only description of work required to render the river 
 navigable throughout its entire length for an> draught of vessels that 
 the harbors of T^ke Michigan can send out. 
 
20 
 
 From the •' Dalles " to th^ n^xb falls above, " Le Grand Rectllet, " 
 the distance, as has been said, is about sixteen miles ; the height of the 
 Recollet Fall is seven feet, ami then a stretch of eighteen miles more of 
 deep wide water, iiiteriuptrd by but one short lapid, till we reach the 
 foot of •' Rapide de Parisien, " the tirst of a series ol four falls extending 
 over a distance of as many miles and separated from one another by 
 deep still ponds. Three locks and dams will com|iletely surmount these 
 obstructions, which have an aggregate height of about eighteen and a- 
 half feet. 
 
 At the head of " Rapide des Pins, " the uppermost of the four falls 
 just referred to, we find ourselves one-; again in one of 'hose lake-like 
 expanses of deep water which constitute a principal characteristic of this 
 river, and over the smooth surface of which, in this instance, we skim 
 for eight or nine miles without intt'rru[)tion, till our progress is arrested 
 by the " Chaudiere Falls, " one of the outlets from Lake Nippisingue. 
 Here the ascjnt is nearly twenty -six feet to gain the level of that lake. 
 
 The " Chaudiei-e " has a course of about a mile in length through a 
 narrow channel enclosed bftween lofty and perp(nidicular w^alls ofgianite, 
 resembling a eoml'in.itiou of niiglity locks, trora which the pent-up 
 waters had swei it out the gates. Tc the southward of this channel a 
 deep still bay sets up towards Nippisingue, appioaching to within a 
 quarter of a mile of it. At the hea<l of this bay the portage is made, 
 and at that point the facilities for connecting the waters are all that 
 could be desir.-d. Twolncksanda few hutnlred feet of canal would 
 effect a navigal)le link between twelve feet water above and twelve feet 
 water below the Chauiliere portage. 
 
 Fiom the entiaiice of the French Hiver, on the Georgian Bay, to its 
 outlet from Lake Nipiasingue, the distance is as near as may be. ..50 miles. 
 
 The ascent about 60 feet. 
 
 Making the level of Nippisingue above the sea 632 feet. 
 
 I estimate tliat the C(jnstruction of seven looks and eight dams, with 
 not to exceed threequarters of a mile in length of rock cutting, ex- 
 clusive of tliat required for the locks, emhraccs all the work necessary to 
 admit of the transit from Laki Huron to Lake Nippisingue of vessels of 
 one thnusand tons burden. 
 
 It has ain ady been said that the mouths of the river are numerous and 
 intricate. The river itself, though sometimes merging into one vast 
 lake, is, throughout the greater part ot its length, divided into two main 
 channels. M the head the waters of Nippisingue pass out through 
 three distinct outlets, all similar in character to the < haudiere. The 
 .channel I have endeavouied to describe is the southerly one ; the Chaii- 
 difere rapid the furthest south of the triple outlet from the lake. 
 
 *> 
 
21 
 
 The French River might more properly lie described as a succession 
 of lakes than as a coJitiiiuons river. The ascent is made in a scries of level 
 terraces; the ra[)ids or falls between which are short ; assumincj in nearly 
 every instance the cascade form. The depth of watei- between rapids is 
 srenerally very great. I took sounding'i throughout with my own hand, 
 and rarely lighted upon any i^pot where less than twelve feet of water 
 was to bo had, thret; time" that depth being probably moie common. 
 The lake i^ortions are studded with islands clothed to the water's edge 
 with the cedar and the fir, and of every conceivable outline of beauty : 
 while here and there vast l)ays indent the shores to such a depth that 
 fleets of large vessels might lie moored within them unseen amono- the 
 islands. The river portions are for the most part narrow defiles, from 
 two hundred to four hundred feet in width, walled in by towering cliffs 
 of the unchanging granite, or its kindred rocks, the syenite and the gneiss, 
 close up to which 1 invariably found great depth of water. . Emergino- 
 from theee detile.s, the lake scenery will again break upon the view, the 
 islands appearing to be more numenms, the bays more varied, as we as- 
 cend toward the sources of the river. 
 
 The scenery of the Thousand Isles of the St. Lawerence is tame and 
 uninteresting as -^omppred with the endle.ss variety of island and bay, 
 granite cliff and deep sombre defile,, whicli marks the character of the 
 beautiful, solitary French River. 
 
 LAKE NIPPiSINGUE 
 
 Lies just above the 46th parallel of latitude and across the 80th of longi- 
 tude. In form it is very irregular, but has an extreme length, east 
 and west, of about thirty miles, and a maximum breadth, north and 
 south, of about twenty miles. Its aiea may be set down in round 
 numbers at three hundred square miles. Its elevation above the sea is 
 632 feet. 
 
 The northerly shores of the lake are .somewhat low, generally of flat 
 granitic rock ; the water shoal upon a sandy bottom. On the southerly 
 side, ecross wdiich our line of navigation lies, the primitive rocks stand 
 boldly out of the water, which is de -p, as much as thirty fathoms some- 
 times, and conmuuily three fathoms close up to the shores. For about ten 
 miles from the head of the Uhandi^re Falls the character of the Jake 
 is in close affinity to that of the French River, the way lying through 
 myriads of islands. We then emerge upon the broad, open lake, across 
 which is a clear, direct, unembarrassed course, of what sometimes proves 
 stormy navigation, to the mouth of the little . ■>/ 
 
 "KIVIERE DF VASE", -.- s...^', 
 
 in itself an insignificant stream, but 0'. -msy adaptation to the purposb of 
 
an artificial oavigation. Its course lies through wide marshes of deep 
 mud, maintaininjjr : tangled growth of dwaii" alder and willow, or between 
 sloping hills of arid sand wooded with red pine. Canoes ascend the 
 Vase, portaging thi'ee times, for five miles from it« month till wf 
 reach 
 
 THE SUMMIT RIDGE, 
 
 where we attain a height above Lake Nippisingue of 35 feet ; above the 
 sea 667 feet. Here the water-shed of the St. Lawrence and the Ot- 
 tawa divides, and a portage of threequarters of a mile across the " height 
 ot land " brings us to the head waters of 
 
 THE M ATA WAN. 
 
 which are enclosed in a beautiful basin of immense? depth — "Trout Lake" 
 — in the bays of which, at one hundred feet from shore, we are in eleven 
 feet of water ; at two hundred feet, in twenty feet : and then rapidly drop 
 off into sixty, one hundred, and two hundred feet soundings. The length 
 of this lake is eight and a half miles, and immediately below and separa- 
 ted from it by a rocky bar of four hundred feet in length, is a similar 
 basin —"Turtle Lake" — having a length of four and a quarter miles. 
 This gives us some twelve and three quarter miles of smooth, deep water 
 (Turtle being but one foot lower than Trout Lake) to start with on our 
 summit navigation ; for, with the exception of the bar above refei-red t,, 
 and some few other detached shoals, extending in all over a distance of 
 about titteen hundred feet and chietly composed of needle rocks, the 
 points of which (having seldom les.i thai.' eigiit feet of water over thetn) 
 can easily be blasted off. the deptii throughout is ample, rarely less than 
 three and generally over t^iK fntlioin^. The average width of these two 
 basins may be taken at one mile, and their joint area at twelve square 
 mile.«. 
 
 The height of Trout Lake above Nippisingue it> 23 feet. 
 
 " aiK)ve Huron...' 83 " 
 
 " " above tli<' sea 655 " 
 
 This is the summit water of our route. 
 
 I shall take up the question of supply further on, but while we are on 
 the summit the practicability of connecting the waters— between which, 
 though so near to one another, nature has interposed a barrier — may pro- 
 perly be discussed. 
 
 For a canal between Lake Nippisingue and Trout Lake two routes pre 
 sent themselves: The one is by tho Vase as already described ; and 
 aesuraing the supply of water on the summit to be sufficient, I would pro- 
 pose to flood the first two miles from the mouth ;if the river by raising 
 
 
 *¥ 
 
 \ 
 
■•■vagi^'aia j . 
 
 2,^ 
 
 I 
 
 4 
 
 Nippieinguc permanently to a height of about five feet above its highest 
 natural level — a work very easy to be accomplished, and at little cost. 
 This would reduce the extent of actual cuuallin^ necessary between the 
 lakes to about three tnile.^, of which about three-fourths of a mile would 
 have a tnaxltnum depth of cutting of not mure than twenty-four feet, 
 with an averag).- of less than twenty feet ; the remaining flistance. two and 
 it quarter miles, would average perhaps ten feet in depth of excavation. 
 The material to be worked upo!) would be chiefly sand and boulders,though 
 prol)ably the hard primitive rock would i)e struck ere reaching Itottom in 
 tiie summit cutting. Two locU;^ w.iuld be required to overcome the ascent 
 of sixteen feet fntm the laised surface of Nippisingue (1 here propose 
 raisiuiT it seven feet al)ovo low water) to the level of Trout Lake. Seven 
 feet would then be added to the lockage at the Chaudiere, from the 
 French River to Lake Nippisfngue. 
 
 The other route refei red to is by following another small stream, the 
 " Ojibwaysippi,'"' which falls in a nn'le or so north of the Vase, and along 
 the course of which thei-(! exists a chain of lagoons extending to within a 
 short distance of Trout Lake.— no summit intervening Itetween them and 
 it , and so nearly does the level i>f these lugoons correspond with that of 
 the summit waters that it is in.t improbable that, althoagh now solely 
 tributary to the Ottawa, they at one time found their way to Nippisingue 
 by this channel. 
 
 A canal i)y the Ojibwaysippi route would b(? more direct than one by tlu) 
 Vase, and would have an entry on Trout Lake in a far finer bay than that 
 wl ere the latter woidd terminate. The survey of the former was not com- 
 pleted, — 1 cannot therefore speak with confidence as to wiiether on the 
 whole it should be preferred to the l)ettcr known one by tiie Vase, but 
 certain it is that by either route the construction of a canal would be an 
 umlertaking of marked simplicitv, and perfectly feasible within moderate 
 limits !.»f cost. 
 
 Hefore coimnencing the descent from the summit eastwards, I will re- 
 capitulate the works required toci»nq)lete the navigjition to that point, as- 
 centling fiom the west: 
 
 Assuming; 
 Supply from 
 Trout r,.iV;c. 
 
 
 Natural 
 NaviKfttloii. 
 
 Canal 
 Navigation. 
 
 ToUl 
 Disfanne. 
 
 Height I .. , 
 orercome. *'"•■^''■ 
 
 .Vo, tJt 
 r>Am>.. 
 
 
 Milp«. 
 
 Mile» 
 
 Milen. feet. ' 
 
 
 French Ki\er 
 
 t'< 
 
 1 
 
 .id ' (17 .^ 
 
 ,s 
 
 l.aWe NipviBilieue 
 
 ;lli 
 
 
 •II' 
 
 .» 
 
 Summit Barrier 
 
 
 •■' 
 
 1 
 
 . 
 
 -. - - 
 
 
 
 
 
 • 1- — 
 
 
 
 Tit 
 
 r> 
 
 »!i 
 
 ri» ; lu 
 
 n 
 
'24 
 
 •The. dams in the French River would bo structures of inconsiderable 
 magnitude, averacjin^ not more than 25i» tfet in length by twelve feet in 
 height. Those on Lake Nipj)isin^]:ue would not exceed twice those di- 
 mensions where largest. 
 
 The greatest depth of cutting at any point in the canal portions of the 
 route would bo under thirty feet. 
 
 I now return U> the Matawan, the upper reservoir of which, formed by 
 Trout and Turtle Lakes, has already been described. 
 
 The outlet from Turtle Lake is throuirh a roekv river, irenerailv shallow 
 and rapid, though having occasional ponds of deep and level water. The 
 length of this neck is a little over four miles, when it d(ilivers its waters 
 into another vast b;isiii — Lac Talon. Tiie fall between Turtle and Talon 
 basins is about rhirry-two feet. Three iooks can be coMvcnently con- 
 structed, and damming resorted to with good eft'ect to obtain the requisite 
 depth of water, without recourse being had ro heavy excavations. 
 
 Lac Talon is in letigth 7 miles. 
 
 Its heigth above the sea is 622 feet. 
 
 Its general <iepth is ver\- great, from ten to twenty fathom soundings 
 prevailing over a large portion of it. Two bars exist near its lower ex- 
 tremity, having from five to eight feet of water over them. Their com- 
 bined length is about thirteen hundred t'ecit. and they stand.in both cases, 
 on the verge of very deep water. 
 
 Lac Talon discharges it.>^ water precipitously in a splendid f'A//Yt' of forty- 
 tiu-ee feet height, \yixy narrow, and liound in by granite clids. lofty and 
 perpendicular. From dee[) water above to i1ee|) watei' below the chute, 
 there is about twelve hundred feet of length, and in a dee[» ravine upon 
 the southerly side nature ha.^ i)lainly poinded out the site f'T future locks. 
 
 Below the Talon chute there is a series (jf f>>ni' Ijasins or ponds, and three 
 rapids ; the former oecu))ying a combined length of two miles, the latter 
 three ipiarters of a mile. The descent is twenty-one feet. re([uiring twc* 
 locks and dam.'^ to perfect the navigation. The uppermost and longest of 
 tiie " ponds,'" a mile and a fifth in length, is very wide, and from twenty 
 to one hundred and twenty feet in depth ; the otiiers are nowhere less 
 than one hundred feet in width, and have a least depth in mid-channel of 
 eight feet. 
 
 We next come to the "Portage des Paresseux," where the water 
 tumbles over in a fine cascade, thirty-four feet in he'fflit, the >vhole length 
 of the interruption being about a .'juarter of a inih;. Here a thorough 
 cutting through hard rock will have to bo resorted to in effecting a navi- 
 gable pufisage from the head of the rapid to the foot of the cascade ; three 
 lockB will also be required. The average depth of cutting will not exceed 
 fifteen feet. 
 
 
 1 
 
m. k 
 
 Imme'liately belo.v tlie Paresseux fhute we are in verv deep water, and 
 between bold and bt!etlin^ cliffs of the all pervading syenite : in a great 
 fissure in tlio J'ock in fact, wliieli clothes in at one point till scarce eighty 
 feet of width is left between its mural sides. The least depth of water in 
 Miifi narrow defile is forty-three feet. You may suspend a plumb line upon 
 the face of the rock, on either side of the river, and keep paying it out for 
 that mnnOLr of feet ere the lead rests upon the bottom. 
 
 The whole still water di^^tance from the Portage des Paresseux till we 
 arrive at the next rapid l»eIow is somewhat more than three niiles,and over 
 that length, save at one point, the depth of water is very great, and the 
 width am[)le for all purposes of ship or steam navigation. The "narrows" 
 already referred to as having some eighty feet of width, are vertj narrow 
 as compared with the general width ui this reach of the river. The one 
 point alluded to as shallow is where the stream is divided into two by "Les 
 Anguillcs" IslaJids, the channels around which are impractical)le for the 
 passage of any ciaft bigger than a five fathom canoe : natuie has however 
 placed close at hand the means of reme«lyin<r this oltstruction. The shoal 
 is not more than two hundred feet in length, when it at once drops off, 
 above and lHk)W, into upwards of nine fathom soundings. 
 
 From the foot of " Lac des Anguillcs " we have an alternation of rapids 
 and pond? tor a little over two miles, the whole fall in that distance,to the 
 foot of "Portage des Epines," being about eighteen feet. Two locks and 
 dams will surmount all the obstructions encountered oa this section of the 
 Mataw^"-, 
 
 At the foot of "Les Epines" Rapids we enter "Lac Plein-Chant," a 
 magnificent stretch of deep water. In length it is nearly five and a half 
 miles, in width very variable, from two hundred U|) to two thousand f(>et. 
 Its general breadth may be taken as between four hundred and five 
 hundred feet. Where deepest forty-live fathoms of line failed to touch 
 tlie botton). The general depth ranged over Hve fathoms ; the only ,s/wal 
 spots that have been found to exist, being of inconsiderable extent, and 
 having froin twelve to twenty feet of water upon them. 
 
 The end of Lac Plein-Chant brings us to within about two and a half 
 miles of the confluence of the Matawan with the Ottawa. That distance 
 is broken by three rapids, having an aggregate fall of nearly twentv-ono 
 feer. One half of that length has deep and level water ; the remainder 
 may be put down as requiring to be canalled. Three locks should be ne- 
 cessary. 
 
 Having now reache<l the Ottawa, I will, before i)roceeding down that 
 river, condense the features of the Matawan into tabular form, so as to 
 shew at a glance what is the extent of artificial work required to render 
 its length of forty miles, or more, continuously Jiaviyable on a scale 
 proportioned to the capacity of tiie waters westward of the summit. 
 
2(i 
 
 TABLE OF MATAWAN KAPIDS. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■- 
 
 
 
 
 sKLTiOK III' kivi;k. 
 
 11 
 
 a 
 
 25 
 
 ^1 
 
 = 1 
 
 it 
 
 
 
 Z 
 
 Z. 
 
 
 "~ 
 
 
 
 Trout and Tiirtli' Lake-. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 lli.Tti 
 
 .Milca. 
 o.or> 
 
 Miles. 
 
 12 Tr. 
 
 4.20 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 
 Tiiitlc ku|iiils, 
 
 
 4.20 
 
 :i2,7r. 
 
 ;[ 
 
 :! 
 
 Luc Talon 
 
 7.(Ki 
 
 
 7.(KI 
 
 
 
 
 Talon C Imtf 
 
 Kel Lake , ..'.'.'.",'.'.'.'.","'",' 
 
 Si'iies of Kapids uiiij P.imls " ' ' " .','"_ 
 1 liutr (li- l'ar<'»iM'\i\. 
 
 I.a^' do-. Aj;;uilli"., 
 
 Knpiilsiles Al-iiill,-, l.a Kosf. I,e» iJiiiiaa 
 
 
 
 
 
 II. -.;•-! 
 
 4'i.7r> 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1.511 
 
 1.4K 
 
 I..1I 
 1.4S 
 
 ■!i!i:. 
 
 •f 
 
 2 
 
 
 0.23 
 
 o.it 
 
 .•i4.Ii 
 
 :i 
 
 1 
 
 ■1.15 
 
 •I.ii 
 
 •1.1.'^. 
 
 2.14 
 
 '1 lti..''i4 
 
 ':{ 
 
 :i 
 
 La'' I'li'iii ( liiitit . 
 
 I'liMii Ciianr. and ..rli..r Ka|>id> h, Moulli 
 
 .").40 
 l.-il 
 
 M.- 
 
 U.4U 
 
 ■mr, 
 
 •20.(1!) 
 
 ■■■' 
 
 :i 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Mi.m 
 
 il.TIl 
 
 411,42 
 
 i 170.0(1 
 
 IS 
 
 l:l 
 
 A.>- it! tlir I-'ic'iu'li UivtT, the (iiinis will he .siuiplc! .«tructure9, not to 
 exceed, where lar;Lref^t, two luiiulred leef in leii'^-tli by twelve in lieiglit. 
 Of the cdiial portion, one third will be foniicd by riiij-iiiir the level of the 
 water ; tiie other two third;;, enibraeinijc the hitcn of the locks, will be ex- 
 cavated wholly ill r(K'l<, but at no point is it likely that the deptii of cutt- 
 ing will exceed twenty feet. 
 
 Coinbiiiiiig the above taijle with that on piige '2 \ it will be -seen that 
 from the eiifrance of the Kremdi River to the mouth of the Matuwan. 
 
 TIk; total listaiice is 125 ,*^ milcH. 
 
 ascent and descent •_'.") 3 feet. 
 
 " extent to be canalleil laf miles. 
 
 nunilier of locks required 2S 
 
 '• niiniber of daiii^ '24 
 
 I ha\e How to de;il with-tiie Ottawa itself, which at the niouth of the 
 .Mutawan. more than three hundred miles above its union with the St. 
 Lawrence, is still a noble river, about lifteen hundred feet in width and 
 very deep. 
 
 Trout Lake, our summit water, ha^ an elevariou above the sea 
 
 (r/VA page 221 of (i.^o feet. 
 
 The total fall of the Matawan is 170 " 
 
 '.yaving tor the elevation of the Ottawa at this point 4S5 •' 
 L; :,k-diat!y below where the Matawan comes in liiere is a rapid of 
 Tivo text tall, where a lock and side cut of about » mile in lem>-th will 
 ue rv luMVii ! sounded below the rapid and found twenty-four feet. 
 
 Furcevi.iiUcii miles from the ••ALilawan liapidf ' the Ottawa continues 
 very wide, direct, and deep, and. though with i decided current, is a 
 splendid piece of natural navigation the whole \ray. The baidcs are foi.- 
 the most part bold, precipitous, and rocky ; the ?ceuery very grand. 
 
 ^% 
 
^ 27 
 
 At nineteen miles below the Matawan we are at the head of a series of 
 three great rapids, occupying a distance of three milcp : " La Veillf^e '■ 
 " he Tron," and " Les Deux Rivieres. " The pitcli is tliirty-two feet 
 tlie opportunities for locking and canalling highly I'livoraMc. 
 
 From the foot of Les Deux Ilivirres we have ten miles of hroad deep 
 water, which l)rings us to the head of the •• Uoeher-('a])itaiti(', " the 
 grandest of the magnificent rapids of the Ottawa. The fall here is forty- 
 five feet. On the north side of the river is a flat tahle-land, hut little 
 elevated above the level of the water at the head of the rapid niid well 
 adapted in form to the construction of a canal, the lengtii of which w.uiid 
 have to be about two miles, with, at the foot, a tliglir of four lo(;l<s in 
 combination. The excavations required here would, as far as extcrriiil 
 indications justify one in determiniiiii:, i)e chietiv throuirh misses of lar"c 
 boulders. 
 
 Leaving the " Tiocher-Capitaine, " we are once again on the broad 
 bosom of the Ottawa, and have sixteen miles of open navigation, unint- 
 errupted save by some strong currents, to " Les Riipides des Deux Jon 
 chims, " where in two miles there is a fall of twentv-eis2:ht feet. A care- 
 ful survey would lie retpiired here to determitie tlie proper site for the 
 canal, which must be on the north or Lower Canada side of the river. Two 
 routes present themselves as practicable: the longer one, passing tlirouirh 
 a ravine of .some three miles in length, and entering above near "'Ferres" 
 Clearing," I have not thoroutihly exaniined. The other would enter ne<ir 
 C'olton's farm, not far al)ove the head of the rapid, and would inxolve 
 some heavy i-oek cuttings, ine nisideralile in length however, through 
 '•idges crossing at right aiigles to the line of canal, The facilities lor 
 fitting in locks near the lower end, and for forming most convenient 
 entrances at both termini, are very good indeed. 
 
 The descent at "Les deux Joachims" brings us into the " Dee[) River, 
 a stretch of twenty-eight nnles of appai'ently motionless water, very wide, 
 and of great depth. I have no soundings of this section of the luivigation, 
 nor indeed, except to gratify curiosity, would there have been any occa- 
 sion for testing the depth, which is immen.se. On the south of this superb 
 piece of water, the general conformation of the country is that of an ele- 
 vated and comparatively level |)lateau ; the prevailing character of the 
 soil being dry and sandy, the forest nearly altogether of red pii.o ;iiid 
 white birch. On the north side very bold mountainous scenery prevails ; 
 all that can l»e seen of the country in that directiitn. as one pa8.ses down 
 the river.being harsh and barren. witli thesyenitic rocks freijueutly tower- 
 ing up perpendicularly -to vast heights above the surface of the deep 
 water. 
 
 1^ 
 
28 
 
 The -'Doep RIvcm" msiy be said to tertninatc a little below the Hudson 
 Bay Coinpaiiy's post, P\)i-t William, where a fijroiipof islands multiplies 
 the channels, unci foi' k-ss than a qiiaater of a mile renders the navigation 
 intricate, Tin; soundings ot this part h;ivo iior Ixhmi completed, but I 
 entertain little doubt of the existence of a dec]^ channel, though there is 
 much shoal water over boulder /^aJ^^Iw/VA-, between the islands ; (dean'jig 
 which we have live miles more of deep water, to the head of the '"Cul- 
 bute" B^ill, on the north side of the Allumettes Island. 
 
 As stated in the outset of this report, that section of the Ottawa lying 
 between the mouth of the Matawnn atid the foot of the Deep River, was 
 not submitted to actual survey. The description al)ove given is therefore 
 the result of sucli general examinations as an exploratory voyage would 
 admit of. For tlie fall of the river at tiic various rapids above "Les Deux 
 Joachims," I am partly indebted to the maps of Sir Willian Logan ; the 
 descent due to the current between rapids I estimate from the time occu- 
 pied in the canoe jfturney between eacii, the whole being checked by the 
 ascertained elevations at the mouth of the Matawan, and at the foot of 
 the Deep River, which are as follow : 
 
 Mouth of Matawan above the sea 485 feet 
 
 Foot of Deep River 351 " 
 
 The entire series of rapids over th \ wh »le route, their respective descents, 
 and their relative distances apart, are exhibited in Appendix A. 
 
 It has l>een mentioned on page 2 of this report, that by far the most 
 obstructed portion of the Ottawa is that extentljng from Fort William, at 
 the foot of the Deep River, to Portage du Fort at the head of the Chats 
 Lake, a distance of sixty miles. To tliis section of the route surveying 
 operations were mainly confined, and the results fully confirm the conclu- 
 sion I had from personal observations prcviou:ily arrived at, namely, that 
 on the north side of the river throughout the whole of this distance are 
 presented the best facilities for improving the navigai^ion. 
 
 The most striking feature of this part of the Ottawa is its severance 
 for the greater portion of the way into, as it were, two distinct rivers. 
 The "'AUnmettes" Island, conunencing six miles below Fort William, has 
 a length of six miles, with an average width of perhaps four miles. To 
 the south of thi.s large island passes the main river Ijy the Pembroke 
 Channel and the Allumettes Lake, presenting long stretches of rapids 
 and much shallow water; the fall of the river in the length of tlie island, 
 being about nineteen feet. 
 
 The northerly channel, much narrower than the other, tliough seldom 
 less than one-tifth of a mile in width, concentrates nearly the whole fall 
 
 ! 
 
 V 
 
 tk 
 
2ft 
 
 into two cascades at the head of the island — the "Culhuto" and "L' Islet" 
 liripids: the length of broken water at which ■ less than two miles, the 
 descent not quite eij^hteen feet. The remainder of the distance, save for 
 a short rapid with fifteen inches fall at tiie "Chupe^in/" is smooth water, 
 deep throughout, except for some two and a quarter miles in detached 
 shoals of gravel or silt, on which the soundincrs vary from seven to ei,i(ht 
 . feet. By deej) water. I mean twelve feet and ovor : the general depth in 
 
 ~ mid channel is from fifteen to twetitv-tive fe-it, soundings of forty, tiftv, 
 
 nnd seventy feet even being not unfrequent. 
 
 At the foot of the Allumettes Island the two arms of the river, by 
 which it is encircled, come Together, forming "Lac Coulonge,'" across 
 which we liave eleven miles of wide water. The northerly side of the 
 lake, in continuation of the Culbute Cliannel, has been earefnily sounded 
 and nine miles of the distance ascertained to have ample depth. The 
 i other two miles, consisting of five shoals isolated from one another, and 
 
 I varying in width between one half and one-fifth of a mile, have from 
 
 j , eight to nine feet soundings over bars of silt, exeept at one point where 
 
 I I a siiarp and narrow ledge of rock is found to prot-ude to within nine feet 
 •i' of the surface. The fall of the lake o?i the line of soundings is one foot 
 
 nine inches. 
 ; Lac Coulonge terminates at the head of the ''Calumet" Island, when, 
 
 as at the Allumcttesf, the main river .seeks the southerly side, passing down 
 in a long and wild rapid through the '-Rocher-Fendue" Channel. The 
 <)escent of the river from Lac Coulonge to smooth water l)elow Portage 
 dn Fort, twenty seven miles, is about ninety-seven feet. 
 
 On the northerly side of the island the water has a smooth and even flow 
 
 from the heaii to the Grand Calumet Falls, for seventeen miles; the descant 
 
 in that distance being but four feet. This part of the river, known as the 
 
 " Calumet Channel, " resembles a great natural canal, the width of which 
 
 ,' may be taken at an average of 000 feet. The depth for one-half the 
 
 4> distance varies from eleven to twenty feet ; for the other half, from 
 
 six to nine feet ; the shoal portions being in banks here and there, 
 alternating with pools of deep water. A dam at tlxe head of the Grand 
 Calumet Falls, to keep the wat(!r permajiently from four or five feet 
 abrve its lowest natural level, the datum to which the soundings refer, 
 would at once reduci; the extent of shallow soundings from upwards of 
 
 i eight to about four miles in length, and, as the banks, or bars, appear to 
 
 consist wholly of deposits of silt, the dredge would soon effect the re- 
 
 I i quird depth through the obstructed portions of the channel not remedied 
 
 i I bv the raising of the water. 
 
 The main fall of the river, from Lac Coulonge to the Chats Lake, 
 
 A which in the southerly or Rocher-Fendue Channel is extended over a 
 
i;reat Iciigtii, takes place in the northerly (»r Cahiinet (.'hannel, within a 
 distance of ten miles, comineiiciiifr at the Orand Calumet Falls, seventeen 
 miles below the head of the island, and ending at Portage dn Fort. The 
 entire descent i»i this distance is ninety-three feet, separated into six 
 distinct falls, between which are level reaches, where the water can be 
 conveniently dammefl up so as to obtain the requisite depth for navig- 
 ation. 
 
 The following is an abstract of the features of the northerly side of 
 the Ottawa from the head of the Allumettes to the foot of the (/ainmet 
 Island : 
 
 Level <^f water at head of Cnlbnte Rapid, referring to the sea... 350 feet. 
 " Chats Lake at Portage du Fort 232 " 
 
 Whole descent from head of Culbute to Portage du Foit. 
 The distribution of which is as follows : — 
 
 118 
 
 i 
 
 (JuUiute aiitl L'Islt't Fiill«, six iiiiics below Fort Wllliiim... 
 
 liCng'th to be caiiulled at those Rapids 
 
 Fall of River, foot of L'laiet to OramI Calumet Falls 
 
 DistAiici' <lo do 
 
 (irami Caliiiiiet Fall 
 
 Oaryis, llouiitaiii, Salile and other Kapids . 
 
 (■land Cnlnniet to Portai;e du Fort— smooth watrr 
 
 do do ra))id wafer 
 
 Total fall . . . 
 
 Total distancfi 
 
 Fall. 
 
 Feet, i 
 18 : 
 
 Dis- 
 tance. 
 
 Miles. 
 
 fl 
 
 lis 
 
 At the Grand Calnraet the fall is tiinkcd at s > n ,■ lirrje (li-.f,iiice in on 
 the south side by a deep ravine, wliieh sets in from simtotli w.irur a siiorr 
 way above the head of the rapid, and tenninates where the w'a'v, nffi'i' ;i 
 descent of lifty-«ix feet, has regained its depth and tranquiility bi-low. 
 Through this ravine a canal two miles ill leiigrh can apparenrlv lie led 
 with a facility of which first impressions of the rock-bound and precipi- 
 tous torrent give slight promise. 
 
 The rapids below the main chute at the Calumet, five in number, will 
 require as many locks, situated, relatively to one another, it average dis- 
 tances of more than a mile apart. In the reaches between them the re- 
 quisite depth for navigation, where not already existing, can mainly ble 
 
31 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 ol)taiiietl by tlintwiiii; diiiiia acmss iibuve the locks, and the, curieit ruction 
 of which will b«) much fat;ilitiited by the oxistence of nninberioss islands of 
 bold and rocky ontlino. The amount of excavation to be encountered in 
 inipi'ovin^r this section of the river will not be very iji-eat, 
 
 The last of the above series of rapids i)rin^8 us to the villa"-e (d I'oi'- 
 tH!<c du Fort, situated on a de(!|) bay at the head of " Lac des Chats, "' a 
 stretch of ei<^hte(Mi irnles of iiaviirable water, tenninatinj; ar the (Miats 
 rapids, where a canal, eonnectin;^- wifli tin; tu'xt lake lielow. lias ali-eadv 
 iiecn commenced. 
 
 Careful sorindin«is liave been taken from I'ortage du Fort to within a 
 couple of miles oi the heiul of this canal, and but twoobstructiouh todecp 
 water navii-ation found to exist The first is a bar, composed of <''ravel 
 and rock, half a mile below the porta^'e. In len>;th it is about twelve 
 hundred feet, the de[)tli of water upon it from six to ten fet^t. deepeiuiit>- 
 immediately on either .^ide to seven and eii^ht fathoms. To cut a eliantiel 
 of sufficient depth throu«i;h this bar would be a work (d' no ^^reat labor or 
 
 CO-!:t. 
 
 The other obstruction alluded to is '• Les Cheneaux " Jiapid, three 
 miles below, where a sudden |>itch of eij^ht inches causes the main body 
 of t!ie water to rush with irreat force throu<,'h a deep and narrow channel, 
 the main breadth of the river beinf< ujarked by a r^f of rocks over which 
 the water is broken and shallow. At low water the one steamer which 
 plies upon this lake has much difHeulty in breastinj: tliis short rapid so as 
 to ascend to l"ortai;'e du Fort. 
 
 The (Mieneaux Rapid vnl;^-arly eailed '• Tiie Snows"; can be com- 
 pletely obliterated by throwiui,' i dam or a series of dams across the head 
 of the Chatg Hajjids. at the foot of the lake, where a muititiide of roekv 
 islands, .•^■^atiered across the river, render such an undertakinn' already 
 half accomplished by nature. 
 
 The remainder of the Chats Lake, save the two miles (Uixt above the 
 canal, not sounded because of the failure of the ice, has, as above observ- 
 ed, been ascertained t(j be deep, often upwards of eighty and rarely undei' 
 twenty-five feet, except at one or two points where it shoals to two and a. 
 half fathoms ; and there is every reason for supposing that the deep water 
 character continues close up to the entrance of the canal. 
 The low water level of the Chats Lake referring to the sea is... 231 feet 
 The fall of the Chats rapids at the foot of the lake i.s 50 i. 
 
 The length of the Chats Canal •; .mII-.c 
 
 '^ o miles, 
 
 We then enter J.ac des Cheues, encounteiing a good deal of shoal water 
 
 for the first half or three quarters of a mile after clearing the Chats Canal. 
 
 and have then twenty-seven miles of wide direct navigation, deep through- 
 
••{2 
 
 out except for uccasioriai short ljai> with twelve fi-ot wiitor on thern, to 
 thohciidol the " ChaiKliero " i'a|)ids. aioiiii.J whicli t'uiir miles uf caoal 
 and two miles of 'rivet iiuvi<i;atioii. with a doscetir of .sixty-seven feet, 
 l)i'iiif<^d ns to that iiuio^niHcetit Itasin on which 9t;iri is rhe ('nv ok OrrAWA, 
 formerly called I^ytown. 
 
 From the month of tin; Matawaii liiver to Ottawa Cify is IS>5 miles. 
 
 Tlie 'lescent of the water in thai distaniiu is 371 feet. 
 
 Difttrihutcd as follows:- 
 
 NAMKOK K.VI'Mi.A. .S.c. 
 
 jutii:tioii of Mutawaii witti Ottawa 
 
 MaMiwan Rapids . 
 
 \latii«.i!i to Lii Vcillei; HapM 
 
 l,« \eilk-e. Troll uiiil Dkux Rivicn* 
 
 Keiix Ktvicres to Riicliir ('aintuiun- 
 
 kocher CapitaiiK' and (iiarid .Marilxnit liapid. 
 
 Rocher Ctt|)itaiiif tn Utux Joacliiiiig. . . . 
 
 Detix Joiii'hiuis Iliipid!' 
 
 (teep Rivertohfad of Cnllnilf 
 ( !iilbiitp to risl«t Rapid" 
 I.'ldlpf to Ciiluim't KallH . . 
 liiaiid Calumet and othti- RapkU.. 
 I.ar dt;.s ('hats 
 
 Chats Hapi(ls 
 
 I.ao doM ChiJiiei. 
 t.haiidicre Rapids ... 
 
 Ottawa Riv.'i-at thcCit.i or Ottawa 
 
 « 
 Total 
 
 l.l.-H .vtK.- 
 
 River and 
 
 Lake 
 Navi)(ation. 
 
 Mlleii. 
 
 ■ 
 
 17 
 1) 
 III 
 11 
 10 
 
 n 
 :m 
 (I 
 
 rl 
 
 l-i 
 
 II 
 
 •I 
 It 
 
 Canal- 
 N'uv iKUtioii, 
 
 Kail ol 
 
 RlVlT. 
 
 Mlli'i. 
 
 Ki'et. 
 
 
 
 (1 
 
 1 
 
 r, 
 
 u 
 
 <l 
 
 1) 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 4.-. 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 1^ 
 
 ■is 
 
 II 
 
 A 
 
 .) 
 
 18 
 
 (1 
 
 ( 
 
 it 
 
 !t:i 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 :i 
 
 .'lO 
 
 
 
 II 
 
 4 
 
 ('.7 
 
 II 
 
 li 
 
 ti 
 
 .•i7l 
 
 KIrvatioii 
 
 abovi' thi' 
 
 sea. 
 
 Keet. 
 
 .•t.'.l1 
 
 ia 
 
 isl 
 
 tl4 
 
 iVt Ottawa, my e,\aiiiination of the chain of waters nniior coiisideration 
 tri'iiiiiiated. it haviiiir heen my intention to have made tiie portion o"f the 
 route thence to Montreal the s;ui)j(;et of ennniry dlll•in^■ the iirii.-eiif year, 
 had the , survey not been suspended. Tlie general features of that section 
 commonly termed the '■ Lower Ottawa "" may he stated as follow :-- 
 
 < >ttawa to Orttuville— still water navii^ation 5i miles. 
 
 Orenville to Carillon, do. do 4 miles. 
 
 L)o. do. Canal, do 8 ' 
 
 lli •' 
 
 Lake of the Two Mountains, Carillon to St. Am.' ,. 20 " 
 
 bt. Ann Rapids ;| 
 
 Lake St. Louis— St. Ann to Lachine 15 " 
 
 l.iachine Canal — Lachine to Montreal f^A " 
 
 Total distance, Ottawa to Montreal 110 miles. 
 
 Ami the rcquireii Lockage is : 
 Orenvilleto Carillon, LongSault, Chute au Blon- 
 
 deaii, and Carillon Rapids 54 feet. 
 
 St. Ann Rapid 3 '■ 
 
 Sault St. Louis, Lachine Canal , -1+ '• 
 
 Total Lockage 1 01 feet. 
 
k 
 
 The Lower Ottawa has lonsj heen in use as a channel of steam naviija- 
 tion ; the rapids l)i!t\V(-oii (Ti-orivilU> anl Carillon having been c;analle<J for 
 vessels of five anij a liaif feet draft (at ln-,v wator), and tneasur'ng 108 x ij 
 feet, as far haek as thirty years ago, by tlie Imperial CrDverninent. and 
 until withifi the last twelve years the Interchangii of commerce between 
 Montreal and Upper Canada was mainly carried on through the instrn- 
 montitlity of those works. During the season of navigation steamers of 
 the above dimensions were eo?i>taiitIy ascending the Ottawa as far as By- 
 town, where they enteied the Rideau Canal, and found their way by that 
 route, through the heart of the couhtry, to the foot of Luke Ontario 
 at Kingston. The downward trips of these vessels were made by wav of 
 the St. Liwrciiee, —their ligl.t draft of water enabling them to run all the 
 rapids with ease and safety, and thus to aecomplish the journey with deg- 
 pr.tch. 
 
 The completion (jf the St. Lawrence Canals, in 1^40, tlirew the Ottawa 
 and IMdcau route into disuse sav(^ for the local trade of the circumjacent 
 districts, to the convenience and development of which thobe pioneer 
 canals of Canada continue largely to contribute. 
 
 From the information I l)ave l)een able to gather concerning the depths 
 of the Lower Ottawa, I incline to the belief that in it will be found to 
 exist the most seri<,»us of the ditficuities to be encountered in carrying out 
 the project which is the subject of this Report, and tiiose ditiiculti«s I 
 apprehend incri^ase as wv descend. In the titly-eight miles of still-water 
 navigation between (Ottawa and (irrenville, the shallow.s are likely to be 
 occasioned by bars of silt and alluvial deposit, the removal of which would 
 not bo attended with any great amount of labor or expense, nor would the 
 enlargement oi the Ordnance Canals between (irenville and Carillon bean 
 undertaking of extraordinary ditiicnlty, but it is to l)e feared that there 
 does not exist through the Lake of the Two Mountains, a channel suffi- 
 ciently direct and deep to promise the attainment there of a navigation df 
 equal capacity to that wliich nature has proviilcu for in the Upper (Ottawa, 
 the Matawan, M\d the French River.* The shaIi:)W8 of the Ijake of the 
 Two Mountains are undoul)tei|ly over rock bottou'. f.nd in the course 
 which the steamers plying between Cavillon and St. Ann commonly steer 
 there are many slndlows. Tlie non-existence of a deep channel is. how- 
 ever, by tuj means to be set down as certain on that account. The ob- 
 structions above and below the lock at St. Ann have hitherto limited the 
 draft of vessels to less than six feet, and those persons engaged in the 
 trade of the river have been content to find water enough for their pur- 
 
 " AeruoR's Note. Mr. T. C. Clarke's .Survey, niatk- two years subsequent to the writ- 
 ing of the above, .shows a channel throughout the length ol the Lake of the Two Mountain.'-, 
 with a least depth of thirteen feet at low water. — li'. S- 
 
34 
 
 pose, in their accustomed path, witliont going out of tlieir way to ascer- 
 tain fact:: iliat in no degree iitfect their interests;. In estimating the ex- 
 tent of eanalling ro(iuired on the proposed line of navigation, I provide 
 for three miles at St Ann, where there now is hut a single lock, with a 
 few hundred feet of wing-dam at either end of it. 
 
 Above the rapids of St. Ann tlic river divides around the Jsland of 
 Montreal into two branches. The mail, vuhune jwsses down the north 
 side through whut is called "La Riviere des I'rairies;' and over the Sault 
 au liecollet Jiapid, till It finally merges in the St. Lawrence at the foot of 
 the Island. 
 
 On the south side, at a few miles below St. Ann, we entei Lake St. 
 Louis, where the Ottawa meetn. though it will not mingle with the St. 
 Lawrence. On a clear summer da}', when the surface of the Luke is 
 culm, the line of demarcation between the dark waters of the north and 
 the pale waters of the Great Lokes, nearly equally dividing its area be- 
 tween them, is unmistakeably detined. 
 
 Through Lake St. Louis to Lachine, once the shallows below St. Ann 
 are passed, a channel for \essels of ten feet draft either exists already or 
 is easily attainable. 
 
 The Lachine Oanal, taking us past the Sault St. Louis to Montreal, is 
 so well known to all eoncerned in the trade of the St. Lawrence and the 
 Ottawa that it is hardly neeessary to allude to it; but as the last artificial 
 link connecting tilt' Lower St. Lawrence and tlu; Ocean with the great 
 chain of the interior wafers of Canada, it may be a.- well to state that 
 
 The length of the Canal i> SJ, miles. 
 
 The l..ockage 44 I\,l.|, 
 
 and that its oa-tern terminus is in the ILirbor of .Montreal. Tiic depth 
 of water for whidi the canal is adapted i.^ nine feet (<n the mitre sills of 
 the locks, and the lock.-^ thr.,-uiselves are two hundred feet in length be- 
 tween the sills, with a clear width between (|Uoii!s o^■ fortv-tive feet. 
 
 rjaving noiv reached the termination of .-ur route, 1 will brietlv recap- 
 itulate the distances, lockatre. k.v., which form the substance of the 
 Tables on pages, L'.'-l. Sf), ;51 and l]2 of this Report. 
 
 River and Lake Navigation 1^72 miles 
 
 ^''"'"1 " (including the Lachine) .5S " 
 
 Total distance, J.ake Huron to Montreal. 430 '• 
 Rise Lake Huron to summit «;{ feet 
 
 f.t'i'kage ;. ,.'■;.;■;;;;; 8.3 ^ " 
 
 ball summit to Montreal (54.2 " 
 
 Lockage "_ _ ...'.'.,"., .HI5 «' 
 
 Total Lockage 6!>8 feet. 
 
 
 i 
 
^.WAtLH 
 
 T 
 
 I 
 
 36 
 
 I have now completed my sketch of the various waters which form the 
 several links in tlie Ottawa and French River navigation ; but there still 
 remain for discussion three important questions— supply, cai'A(ITY, and 
 COST— ere a fiiuvl opinion can be proih-unced on thepraeticability of so great 
 a project. Kaoii of these I will now proceed to touch upon in tlie fore- 
 goin.ff order, and first, a.s regards the vital one of 
 
 SUPPLY. 
 
 It may at once be stated that the summit does not furnisli water suffi- 
 cient to meet the demands of even afar inferior scale of navigation to 
 that which the general character of the route \,ould warrant us in look- 
 ing forward to. 
 
 Standing upon the cliE* ovorhanging the Talon Ohnte, on the Mata- 
 WAU, one sees nt a glance, rushing throngh the narrow gorge at hia feet, 
 the whole of the water which the deep and land-locked basins above it 
 receive from the surrounding country ; and. without resorting to experi- 
 ment, a practised eye can quickly form a sutiiciently correct estimate of 
 the discliarge to justify the conclusion that it is inadequate to the pur- 
 pose in view, 
 
 A canal of the size of the Welii.nd, witii locks 150x27 feet, average 
 lift eleven feet, to pass fifty vessels per day, woiud draw up the sources 
 of supply to the extent of 3,000 cubic fee.^ per minute. Increasing tiie 
 dimensions of the locks to those of the St. Lawrence Canal, 2u0x45xlO 
 feet, would double that consumption, making it equal to H,000 feet per 
 minute. 
 
 Even allowing for ihe large storage afforded by the twelve square 
 miies of surface in the two summit reservoirs Turtle and Trout Lakes, 
 and further allowing that storage capacitv to be doubled bv hoisting 
 Talon Lake up tu the sunrnit level — which conid be easily done— 1 am 
 satisfied that the -oiiroes of the Matawan could not be relied upon for 
 more water than would be sufficient to meet the least of the above de- 
 mands, while the minimum size of loc!- 1 would t ik of ailopring would 
 l)e that representiPg the greater exigency. 
 
 The season of navigation on the Welland Canal has been found, from 
 
 sev^eral years' experience, to average as near as may be 200 days 
 
 The number of vessels locked through in 185(1 was o^S?. 
 
 1S57 3<i04. 
 
 And the greatest number passed in anyone month of t!ie latter year 
 
 was in June, amounting to (j-fi 
 
 Or nearly 25 'essles for a maximum (' v business. 
 
 In basing my calculation of -ha supply of water to l)e provided for on 
 the Ottawa route on double the above number of vessels per d;iy, ves- 
 
36 
 
 sels, too, of more than doiiblf; tlic capicity of thoso to which tho Wclhuid 
 is adapted, it may seem tiiat I am esti.riatiDcj in excess of any prol>al)le 
 increase of the trade of the west. If I am. in error, the projecit of open- 
 ing up the Ottawa route mii^iit be abandoned without farther discus- 
 sion ; l)ut the quadrupling of tiie pre-seiit commerce of tl)e lakes is surely 
 within the Hunts of certainty, as its arrival at those jjroportions within a 
 moderate space of time is within tlie limits of probid)ility ; nor is it 
 S))eaki!ig too iiopefully to predict that when that time l)as arrived, 
 Western Civilization, still ad"ancing with giant stiitios towards the 
 Pacific, will still industriously heaping up the mateiials of a mighty 
 commerce for which Eastern Entkrprise will have, through force of 
 pressure, to provide tiie means of transit to the ocean. 
 
 With such a future in prosjtect, the supply of water on the summit has 
 been stated to be insutlicient. and, unless artificial means c;!n be resorted 
 to to make up the deticiency, the project of our Ottawa navigation on a 
 large scale is, of course, at an end . Foitunately, however, such means 
 of assistance are at hand, and are to be rendered amenable to our purposes 
 in the following manner : 
 
 Lake J^ippisingue is twenty-three feet lower than Trout Laice — the 
 summit, I propose Ity means of dams thrown across its outlets to raise it 
 to the latter level, and thus at once increase the storage capacity of the 
 summit reservoir from twelve to unward of three hundred s(puue miles. 
 
 lu speaking of ihe Chaudiere outlet of Ldce Nippisingue into the 
 French River (v. page li)). 1 have said that the passage is through a 
 narrow channel Itetween lufty walls of rock " resemlding a combituition 
 of mighty locks from which the pent-up watei's had swept out the 
 gates." The other two outlets are of similar format ion^ presenting 
 great facil ties for the coii-^truction of dams to any recjuired height. In 
 tin's way the lake can be raided twenty-three feet above its natural level, 
 and an inexhaustil)le supply obtained to fVed l«>th ways from the summit; 
 for even setting aside the enormous storage capacity of its innnense 
 area, the acces.-ion of water which Lake Nippisuigue receives from its 
 many tributaries is ample to guarantee a sutiiciency for whatever drafts 
 may be tnade upon it, for any possible purjjoses of lockage in the most 
 distant future.* 
 
 On the north and northwest come in the '• Stuigeon " and " Widow 
 Rivers, '' on the south and south-east the " Namanatagohn^ '' and "Wassi- 
 *AuTnoR's NoiK. — Mr. T. C. C'arke, in his liepurt u( 2n(l January, i860, rcconiniends 
 raising Nippi inguc hut .sixteen feet, and loweiiim 7 rout Lake sti^en fent an(i in that way bring- 
 ing the two on a level, instead of, as propused above, raising Nipjiisinguc the full twenty three 
 teet. I am not prepared to pron>Hin(:e decidedly as to which of Uie two modes of derling with 
 the summit wa'ers may, on final examination and suivey, prove to be best adapted to the 
 emer;4ency.— AK S, 
 
 i 
 
37 
 
 ] 
 
 • I 
 
 \ 
 
 Wissiiig" : aiaiiy niiiior' streams, besides, contributiDg at various points 
 aioii^ tile coiist to swell tlie measure of its waters. 
 
 The objecti()iial)!e feature in tliis mode of obtainiuir the necessary 
 supply of !o(;ka,ii-e water it; tlie drowning of tlie circumjacent lands. This 
 effect M'ould not be produced to any considerable extent on tlie soutlierly 
 and easterly borders of the lake, but around the northerly and north-west- 
 wardlj shores vast tracts of land would be submerojed ; unfortunately.too, 
 the beet lands wliich are to be found in its immediate vicinity. Admittinsr 
 liowever, tlie nu^i-its of the project as a whole to be such as t have endea- 
 vored to show tliem to be, I ap]M'chend that few will be found to ar^J'ue 
 that this necessity for the swamping of untenanted lands, a mere patch 
 \: the rnrcclaimed wilderness, should be allowed to stand as a veto on 
 its attainment. 
 
 The iaisin.ij of Lake Nippising-ue would reduce the actual canalling 
 between it and Trout Lake to less than half what would be required 
 were the latter body of water capable of furnishing the neeessary supply ; 
 and at the cost of one mile of canal would be more than that of all 
 the dams together, it follows that the cost of the whole work on the plan 
 proposed will be considerably less than if the supply were drawn from 
 the natural summit. 
 
 As works of art, the dams would be of inconsiderable magnitude whei 
 compared with some of those stupendous structures of that class which 
 are to be seen on the Rideau Canal —enduring monuments of ihe indom- 
 itable perseverance and high engineering skill of the late gallant Colonel 
 %■ 
 
 I now come to the question of the 
 
 CAPACITY 
 
 Of the route as ;i continuous line of navigatiou between the lower iSt. 
 Lawrence and the Western Lakes ; in other words, with a view to the 
 arLOiuodation of what class of vessels should" improvements" be 
 designed. 
 
 ft is as a steam navigation, and more especially for that denomination 
 of steamer known as the " pn^peller," that I believe the Ottawa and French 
 River route is dcHtinod to liold a first place as a channel of trade. For 
 vessels of that description the character of the waters, and of the region 
 on ;>ither side of them, is peculiarly fitted. Laml-locked for the greater 
 proportion of tlie way. the route will nt.t in that respect be as advanta- 
 geous for sailing craft as that by the g, jat lakes, but the im}xliaustible 
 supplies of wood at all points along it, and the facilities for takinj; their 
 fuel on board at frequent intervals, will forever render the cost of 
 working steam .essels lower on this than any equal length of navig;;- 
 
38 
 
 tion on the continent. Here, too, the propeller can keep " the even 
 tenor of its way, " heedless of the storms which, sweepi'if; across the lakes 
 in the autumn of each year, cause such immense destruction of life and 
 property.* 
 
 Mr. J. B. Jervis, in his report of the projected Caughoawaga Canal, 
 furnishes much valuable information respecting the propeller craft in use 
 upon the lakes ; and subscribing as I do, in the main, to the soundness of 
 his conclusions relating to the size of vessel best adapted to the trade of 
 those waters, I cannot, in adopting, better convey his opinions than by 
 quoting his words. lie says : 
 
 " I have obtained a list of forty-eight propellers with their jirincipal 
 dimension.-. Only eleven of thesi propellers can pass the locks on tiie 
 Wellrtnd Canal : most of them ar f'r'> "',yed in tlie navigation of the 
 upper lakes. There are but, two or under 300 tons burden,— the 
 
 largest 850 tons. The greater ])ortioi. ,ii!ge from a few tons under 400 
 to a few above 600. The greatest length is 234 feet— the " Iowa, " — 
 and her actual tonnage is 720,— draws 11^ feet, loaded The "Oriental' 
 is 234 feet ; actual tonnage 850, (2^ feet more beam); draws laded 10^ 
 feet of water. The " riymoutli " is 225 feet in length, (loaded draft not 
 ascertained,) and carries 700 tons. These vessels can only carry full car- 
 goes when the lakes are at their greatest height. There are times, oc- 
 curring every year, when ves.sels with over 'Jh feet draft of water cannot 
 pass the St. Clair Flats : consequently those of greater depth musL load 
 lighter than their capacity, or depend on lightening when they reach the 
 Flats, or have occasion to enter harbors of similar depth of water. The 
 two most important lake ports for outward bound tonnage are Ohicatjo 
 and Toledo. The entrance into the harbor cf Chicago is kept open by 
 excavation, so that vessels drawing ten feet of water can, for the greater 
 portion of the season of navigation, enter the harbor. TolerJo is on the 
 Miamee River, and i> feet water is as much a'- can usually be depended on, 
 though at times they can go in with JO,^ feet. Detroit liiver affords 
 better water, and vessels that can pass the St. Ch\ir Flats easily make 
 Detroit. 
 
 *• In the enquiries I have been able to make as to the draft of water 
 that vest-els could carry and make the harbors with safety on the upper 
 lakes, I ha^'e found considerable diversity of opinion among navigators. 
 The range of opinion has been 8^ to 11^ feet. It is admitted by those 
 that advocate 11 J i'eet that lightening will often be necessary, and this is 
 considered to injuriously alfect the profit of and cause delay in the voyage. 
 It is an important fact that the most usual time for higla water (not re- 
 
 * See appendix " C " foi staliintni of Lake disasters, including loss of life and properly, 
 in year 1856 and 1857. 
 
 h! 
 
39 
 
 1 
 
 
 ^ardin^ those rises and falls that occur in a series of years) is in mid- 
 summer, and lowest in spring and autunm, — the latter are the seasons of 
 fjfreater pressure in freight. It is considered, generally, that the largest 
 vessels can only make full loads when the lakes are most favorable, and 
 then only to the port having the greatest depth of water, So far as 
 I have heen able to ascertain, it appears the most prevalent opinion 
 that the largest class of propeller, both in relation to lengtii and draft 
 of water, has not I)een so successful in economy of transport as those 
 of less dimensions. The greatest weight of opinion I have been able 
 to obtain is that a draft of 9 or 9| feet is as much as can profitably be 
 adopted for general use, and that 10 feet Is the extreme draft that should 
 in any case be adopted, and only for ports of best water. In the opinion 
 of several very experienced navigators, the propeller ''Portsmouth," in her 
 main features, is the best pattern for general use and economy of transport; 
 she is 175 feet long, and draws 9k feet water ; carijo 5.000 barrels of Hour. 
 Some would add 5 feet, others 15 feet to her length — this last addition 
 would make her 190 feet long, and with a small increase of beam would 
 enable her to carry 6,000 barrels. Objections are made to greater lengtii 
 on account of the increase of weight that is required to give the requi- 
 site strength on a vessel of, so small depth as must be adopted for lake 
 navigation.'' 
 
 The beam of the largest of the propellers instanced by Mr, .Tervis, (the 
 " Oriental, ") is .'54- feet; that of the medium size, such as the '• I'orts- 
 mouth, " ?S feet; and as the result of his en(}uiries and observations he 
 recommends locks of two hundred feet in length by thirty-six feet in 
 width, with depth of w.iter to admit the passage of vessels of 0^ feet 
 draft, as the iriost judicious size to be adopted for the Caughnawao-a 
 Canal. 
 
 When the Commissioners did me the honor to entrust to me the exami- 
 nation of the Ottawa chain of waters, I entered upon the task with the 
 conviction, growing out of previous knowledge of the generf;! capacity as 
 to depths of the harbors of the lakes, that ten feet of water was as much 
 as it was desirable to seek for in ascertaining the capabilities of the ronte. 
 It was my belief, also, then as it is now, that if nine feet depth was found 
 to be obtainable throughout, I might speak with favor of the project, and 
 predict its success. That the harbors of the lake ports are not, as a 
 general thing, adapted for ten feet draft of water, I was well aware, and 
 it must be obvious to any one who has at all studied the subject, that the 
 vessel whicli can at any stage of the lakes obtain or deliver her cargo in the 
 greatest number of the principal ports must be a more profitable one to 
 employ in the trade than the larger craft, which, from her excessive draft, 
 
4(» 
 
 must limit her intercourse to one or two of the deeper harbor?, or else, 
 more unprofitable still, make her trips with light load.-:. L am not of 
 those who believe that sea-going vessels will ever bu frtMghted to Any con- 
 siderable extent in our lake ports: and in that conviction had an addit- 
 ional reason for adopting ten feet as the available !i;axinnun deptii that 
 there was any occasion for attempting to obtain. That depth (with a 
 reservation as regards tiie lower Ottawa;) I believe to be practicable 
 throughout, and upon it I shall base mv estimate ol 
 
 COST. 
 
 The cost of eanalling, or improving river navigation incieascs in rapid 
 ratio as we seek for increased depth : ainl fr,,iu a li'oncral estimate I have 
 made, I would not venture to set down the ditl'erence in cost between the 
 forming of a ten feet and a twelve feet navigation through the Ottawa, 
 Matiiwan and trench Rivers, at a less sum than five nullions of dollars, a 
 useless expenditure when the ie^«er draft is so obviously sufKcient. I 
 would recommend, then, that the mitre sills of all locks henceforward to 
 be constructed on the Ottawa ai.^ "th'- w .ters in the <diain, be calculated 
 for a le;ist depth of ten feet. Nine and a half, or even nine feet, would 
 doubtless answer all purposes for a long time to come, but whenever the 
 gi eater draff may become a necessity, let there be no ])u!ling down of solid 
 masonry or ripping up of costly fonndations in order to obtain it. 
 
 On the question, then, of the draft (d' vessels Ix'st adapted lo the 
 commerce of the Upper Lakes, to attra.ct which is the common object of 
 the Ottawa Canals and the Canghnawaga, Mr. Jei'vis and myself ar(; of 
 .-nc opinion : but as relates to his other dimensions, whib' freely admit- 
 ting that he has made out his case as applying specially to the latter, I 
 cannot agree to adoj)t them as i(ni;dly suitable to the former project, and 
 for the following reasons : 
 
 The Ottawa route possesses certain distinctive features which entitle it 
 to other considerations than those incident to a mere channerTor merch- 
 andises. IVmetiMting tlu; heart of our country, it can boiistof niagnifi^M.'nt 
 scenery, which, as it becomes acc(fs,-ibie and known, cannot fail to attract 
 the tourist, as well European as American. Tin; waters consist to a great 
 extent of a succession of noble lakis. between which, as the couid:ry be- 
 comes inhabited, and civilization turns its resources tc> account, inti'rnal in- 
 tercourse will ^.i)ring up, creating a trade ajiart (Uitirely from tlu; dull 
 routine of western tratlic. [)ro|)eller folli-wing propeller with their eternal 
 cargoes of grain an. 1 flour. To prohibit by a deliberate act, and for all 
 time to come, the use on Ottawa waters of the paddle-wheel steamer, with 
 her commodious upper cabin and promenade deck, would be a mistake. 
 I propose, therefore, to fix such dimensions for Ottawa locks as will admit 
 the passage of vessels of that denomination, superior in some points to 
 those which, as passenger boats, now use the St. Lawrence Canals. 
 
B 
 
 ■4 
 
 I have before statod the size of the St. Lawrence locks at 200 feet long 
 by 45 feet wide. The depth of water on thf mitre siils is nine feet. Tiiey 
 are not justly proportioned. I)eing too siiort for their width. The largest 
 of the passenger steamers now in use, the '* Arabiiin, " for instance, i-o 
 completely fill the chamber of the lock as to require considerable nianceu- 
 vering to get them in, and to close the gates behind them when they are 
 in. The process of locking is thus rendered more tedious than it need 
 have tieen were there a litth; more " play " for the vessel. It is well 
 known, too, that these vessels are short in proportion to their beam and that 
 with from 25 to 30 feet more length they could have all the speed neces- 
 sary to give them equal rank with tlie larger lake steamers ; while now, 
 though having to compere with those for the lake business, they only 
 rank as river boats. In short, while not sufficiently 'arg'- properly of fulfil 
 the purpose for wiiich they are designed, they are too large for the canal 
 locks. 
 
 It is not likely that much more than ib feet would ever be required for 
 vessels intended to combine the attributes of lake-craft and river craft; 
 but assuming that as the extreme width of vessel, the lock should cert- 
 ainly be iis much wider, say five feet, between the gate quoins, as would 
 allow of her entering it with ease; :\m] dii-patch, and without lifting her 
 fenders. For the extreme length of vessel to be accommodated, I would 
 assume as my standard tiie longest propeller now in use upon the upper 
 lakes, the " Iowa. " Her length is 242 feet ; to which I propose to add 
 ei-'ht feet, to make up the length of my lock. 
 
 With the above additions, the dimensions I recommend for the Ottawa 
 locks are as follow : 
 
 Clear length between the mitre sills 250 feet. 
 
 Clear width I)etween the gate (juoins 50 " 
 
 Depth of water on the mitre sills 10 " 
 
 And here 1 think we have a well proportioned lock to whicli no ex- 
 ception can be taken a century hence. 
 
 ESTIMATE OF COST. 
 
 Under any circumstances the creation, as it wei'e, upon any scale, of 
 upwards of four hundred miles of internal navigation must be a matter 
 involving large outlay, and my estimate of the cost of carrying out the 
 French River and Ottawa navigation project on the scale above laid down, 
 amounts to the very large figure of twenty-four millions of dollars, or 
 about five millions of pounds sterling. 
 
 The proportion of actual canalling on the route is not large; being 
 about twenty per cent, less (Lachine Canal included) than on the Wei- 
 
aJ.^iiBi»H!»ljWMita*""!™H»JWil! 
 
 42 
 
 land and St. Lawrence line of iiavigati(»n. The quantities of material, 
 also, to he excavated and removed will average less, mile for mile, 
 on the former than wan involved in the carrying out of the latter aeries 
 of undertakings. So far, then, the average of physical advantages would 
 seem to be in favor of the new project, and would be largely so in reality 
 were it not that the geological structure ot the region watered by the 
 Upper Ottawa and its tributary the Matawan, by Lake Nippisingue and 
 its outlet the French River; is such as to far more than counterbalance 
 all the apparent facilities for c instruction which the proposed route 
 presents as compaied with the existing one. 
 
 The greater ditliculties to be encountered on the former consists, first, 
 in the hard unyielding Jiature of the material to be worked upon :— the 
 granite rocks — chiefly (according to the classidcation of Sir William 
 Logan) syenite, gneissoid-syenite and gneiss, thrusting themselves for- 
 ward harth, naked, and rcpellant, over the who'e of the more distant 
 portions of the line. On the nearer sections, from the Chats Rapids to 
 St. Ann, th^ formation to be dealt with, though of less impracticable 
 character than that, named above, is still rock, —rock everywhere. 
 
 The second great difficulty that presents itself in considering the im- 
 j)rovement of those distant waters, where the major portion of the first 
 named and principal ditficulty exists, lies in the innccessibil'ty of the 
 region which they penetrate, the whole of which, in so far as lelates to 
 the sustaining of human life, may be called non-producing, little or none 
 of it being as yet settled. This is a feature that must be kept in view as 
 one that will adil largely to tlie cost of the undertaking, just as it now 
 does to the cost of "making lumber" on the I'pper Ottawa and its 
 tributaries. 
 
 Where so comparatively small a portion of this long chain of navi'^a- 
 tion has been submitted to the test of instrumentafi survey it would, of 
 course, not be possible to present an accurate and detailed estimate of 
 the (piantity of work to be executed at each point of interruption. 
 General examination, however, joined lo the results of the surveys as far 
 as carried out, have enabled me to make such an estimate of the anjount 
 of excavation to be encountered as, allowing for all known difficulties and 
 probable contingencies, warrant me in stating the cost of establishing the 
 communication, tht'owjk, from Montreal to Lake Huron at the amount 
 already named. 
 
 The leading denomination of the work involved in the undertaking 
 are, let, Rock Excavation ; 2nd, Dams : 3rd, Locks. 
 
 i' 
 
 , 
 
43 
 
 I have eousiderod all excavation tioin St. Aim upwards as rock, and 
 estimated the oo.st of reinoviiio- it at from ^2 to $4 per (Mibic yard. The 
 dams, of timlier and stone, after our CJanadian fasliion ol -'crib work," I 
 place at $4 per cubic yard. A large portion of the canallini;; will be 
 accomplished by means of these dam.s, and that too without incurriuii; the 
 disadvantatco so often a consequence of that mode of improviu*.? river 
 navigation — the dn^wning of valuable lands. As a general thing, save 
 in the great hoist proposed to be given Lake Nippisingue. the raised waters 
 will merely wash their rocky boundaries at a higher level without acquir- 
 ing any material increase »f surface area. The locks, of masonry n<;)t in- 
 ferior in quality to tlie higliest standard on our existing canals, are i)ro- 
 vided for at an average of $10,000 per foot lift. Engineers who have 
 had experience in the carrying out the bydraulie works of this contiuent,and 
 those mori' especially who have gathered such experience on our noble 
 St. Lawrence navigation, will, in comparing the above prices 
 with the actual cost of similar works elsewhere, credit ine 
 with libe-ality in my \ lews of the probable cost of constructing the 
 works pertaining to the Ottawa and French River navigation scheme. 
 
 The cost of lockage on the main Ottawa River will be not a little 
 affected by the necessity that will exist for providing lofty gu-rd-locks 
 at the entrances of some of the canals because of the ijreat fluctuations of 
 tlie water ; the difference of level htetween extreme high and extreme low 
 water reaching in some places to twelve feet: on no section of the river 
 is it tnuch less than six feet. 
 
 Before concluding on this question of cost, I will touch briefly on one 
 other point bearing upon it in no small degree, viz : the facilities present- 
 ed for procuring the materials requisite for construction. 
 
 The granitic formation, such as pervades the greater portion of the 
 route, is not likely to furnish much material for those portions of the 
 lock masonry, such as quoins, coping, ifee., v.'hich will require to be finely 
 cut ; though the gneiss projHn- nuiy be found well suiteil for the interior 
 and many parts of the face works of the walls. 
 
 The Great Mauitoulin Island, in Lake Huron directly facing the m .mths 
 of the P'rench River, abounds in limestone of superior quality. From 
 there the stiuctures on the river can be conveniently suppli'd with cut 
 stone of any rerpiired dimensions ; the •'backing'" and certain portions of 
 the face stone being, as suggested above, procurable from the necessary 
 excavations for thelocks,or inclose proximity to them. It is more than likely 
 that much of the material for the Matawan locks would also hav(^ to be 
 transported from Lake Huron, and that could only be effected within 
 reasonable limits of cost, after the conqjletion of the French River works. 
 
44 
 
 At two points only l)etween the Georgian Bay ;uul the continence of the 
 Matavvan vvitii the Ottawa, do 1 i<no\v of the liine.-^ront' croppinj^ ')ut. ( )ii 
 "Iron li^iund," (sj named l)y Mr. Murry. Assistant GeoIo^ist/i in Lake 
 Xippisiniji-.e, and near the "Talon Chute," ii|)()ii the Matawau. In 
 neither itistanee does it present itself in strata of sufficient amplitude to 
 promise much assistance towards the construction of the loekt^, uidessin 
 furnishiuii; lime for such portions of the masonry .is may not recpiire to 
 be laid in hydraulic cement moit.tr. 
 
 B'or the works upon the Ottawa, from the Matawan to Portai^e du 
 Fort, I am not prepared to say where appropriate buildinir stone may he 
 most conveniently obtained. There are, however, (juarries of fine lime- 
 stone n Lac des Chenes. below the Chats Rapids, whence, as the several 
 sections of canal advance towards completion, ascendin<; the stream 
 material for the more distant improvements, at Les Deux Joachims, Le 
 Rocher-Capitaine, Les Deux Rivitres, vtc, may be carried at reasonable 
 expense, provided no nearer source of supply should be discovered. 
 This is the most unfavorable view that can be presented of this phase of 
 the undertaking. The probability is that suitable material is to be found 
 very much more convenient to the several points above nanied, and tliat 
 portions of the Matawan im|)rovements al&o maybe supplied from not 
 far distant quarries on the Ottawa. 
 
 Fur the Chaudiere Canal at Bytown, and for all the works on the lower 
 Ottawa, l)uilding stone of unexceptionable quality is to be had close bv; 
 
 After the locks, the dams are the parts of the work which will absorb 
 the largest amount in wrought material, but fortunately, inn) one 
 instance will it be necessary to go to a distance for the timber and stone 
 which form the main elemtuits for their construction. These are on the 
 spot, in inexhaustible quantities, and labor only has to be provided for 
 tins class of work — the cost of which 1 have estimated at as high a rate 
 as I have ever known similar work to ajuount to where the raw 
 material formed a large proportion of the expense" 
 The St. Lawrence and Welland Canals cost per mile, not 
 
 far ff«'" $150,000 
 
 The fifty-eight miles of Ottawa Canal (enlargement of La 
 
 chine included) I estimate at upwards of )?n37(i,000 
 
 per mile; and for the removal of shoals, hereinbefore 
 referred to, I allow two and a quartei' millions more, 
 
 swelling the whole cost to $24,000,000 
 
 equal in sterling money to £'4 931 .50(5 
 
 That the raising and expenditure of this large amount of capital sliould 
 be entered upon all at once it is not the object of this report to recommend. 
 
 i 
 
 
 t 
 
45 
 
 1 
 
 f 
 
 i 
 
 TIk! j.robecu ion of the '' Ottawa ami Vl\•u^:\^ lli\or navigation ' sdieiia' 
 must be a /,'r.i<lual and pru<<rer>sivo work, advancing towards completion 
 as wo grow in wealth and national resuiirceti. 
 
 It is not, liowuver. tiio money cost of the enterprise that will he so difti- 
 cnlt to deal with in endeavoring to procure an impartial consideration of 
 its merits as tlie ren)otene.-s and present inaccei-sihility of the district 
 which it penetrates. Ihit an atom of our i)opulation belongs to the 
 valley of the Ottawa : and to the mass of the people the whole of the 
 region drained by that great river and by the basin of Lake Nippisingue 
 is a ierrtr inmynlta, sni>posed to be enveloped in frost and snow for tlie 
 greater part (»f the yeur, and, therefore, unsuited for the habitation of 
 civilize(J man. Inditference to the facts of tlie case and conse(pient ab- 
 sence of correct information engender unbelief. The very name of 
 '■'Canada" was wont bnt a few years since to suggest similar ideas to 
 the people of New York and Massachusetts. 
 
 Viewing the project in detachment will disarm it of many of its terrors. 
 The canals of the lower Ottawa for instance, from fJytown to Montreal, 
 have to be eidarged — not made Je novo. This section covers more than 
 one-fourth of the whole )oute and embraces more than one-third oi all 
 the canal ling. • 
 
 Above the City of Ottawa (Bytown)tlie first cnnal--f(mr miles in 
 length — to conjiect the lower Ottawa witli Lac des (.'hene,"— has long 
 been in contemplation, and a money appropriation has, in 
 fact been made foi- its commtmcement. There are none but ordinary 
 difhculties in the way of its construction, and no one having a know- 
 ledge of the locality can doubt that it nmst ore long lie undertaken and 
 carried out. 
 
 Beyond that again is the "Chats" canal— three miles long— to connect 
 Lac des Chenes with Lac des Chats .• This has ah'(.'ady been commomced, 
 and the works, though temporarily suspended, tar advanced towards 
 completion. The finishing of tliosc two links in the chain will render 
 the river continu(jusly navigable for fifty-tive miles fr-n the City of 
 Ottawa upwards, to Portage du Fort. 
 
 From Portage du Fort to the" Orand Calumet" five miles of canal are 
 Vi^anting, and further on, at the "Culbute," two miles The; coi»struction 
 of these seven miles will not be more difficult than that of the eipial 
 length embraced in the Chats and Chaudiere sections, and will add 
 .seventy-eight miles to the continuity of the chain, bringing us to the 
 head of the "Deep River," 143 nule.s above By town or 258 miles above 
 Montreal ; considerably more than half the entire distance covered by 
 the project. 
 
mmmmmm 
 
 46 
 
 The head of the Deep River, at Les Ranides des deux .loachims, is alsit 
 the head of steamer navigation mi the Ottawa, and aiinoHt the last out- 
 post of settled habitation. 
 
 There are a few isolatcil patehes of settlement beyond but th()U<2;h 
 "luniberiiij,'' operations are lar^'ely curried on to a fjieat distance further 
 up the river, the sole means of transit an- the i-aft and the canoe. 
 
 Seven miles of canal at and above "Les .loachims" would enable the 
 forest-born steamer, now plyint? on the Deep Ri\er to ascend to the Mata- 
 wan, 305 miles from Montreal ; seven miles at an<l below the '• Culbnte '' 
 would allow her to descend into the Chats fiuke ; as re;yriirds the Ottawa 
 itself, then, these fdvirteen milee tVjrm the only portion of the proposed 
 improvements which have not yet been recoi^nized by some decided ac- 
 tion of the Lei^^islature as necessary to the well-being of the commerce of 
 that section of the Province. It is diflicult to imagine that when the 
 half finished canal at the Chats Rapids is completed we shall have reached 
 the limit of our expansion in that direction. 
 
 Distant and inaccessible as tlu; region of the Matawan, Lake Nippisin- 
 gue, and the Frencli River may now appear to us, it is in reality no more 
 difficult of access than was the forest country between Bytown and 
 Kingston«when first pierced, some thirty years ago, by Colonel By, in the 
 construction of the Rideau Canal ; nor, comparing now with then, are the 
 obstacles to be encountered, generally, in the project under consideration 
 of equal magnitude with those which h.,- so bravely grappled with, and 
 so successfully overcame. 
 
 The pr:icticability of the Cauglinawaga Canal project is no lono-er a 
 matter of opinion. We have surveys and estimates of cost, which place 
 its entire feasibility beyond doubt. As a consequence of its construction, 
 the people of the State of New York would be cotnp(dled to etdaro-e their 
 "Champlain Canal" to corresponding iliiiH/nsions ; thus openino' a com- 
 plete water communication betw<ien the St. J.awrcnce abi)Ve Moiitieal,and 
 tiie Hudson abox-e Albany ; and, with the Otta\im inq)rovemeni,s also 
 completed, ai» unbroken stc'i„i<-r ixirhjut'ion from Chlaujo to New York 
 shorter by loO utiles tlxm the t^rlfitintj irnler rente between those points 
 via Buffalo and the Erie Cawd. I would not like to assert that there 
 are among us any commercial men taking broad views of the future of 
 Canada ii. its connection with the trade of the west, who dou^it for a 
 moment that the Lake Champlain line of communication is destined to 
 be established : and yet it will involve the coastruction of upwards of 
 thirty miles more of canal than the route herein reported on as between 
 Montreal and Lake Huron, besides tlie dec.'pening of .some ten miles of th 
 Hudson River. There is no scepticism as regards the feasibility of th 
 
 e 
 the 
 
 
 N 
 
 1 
 
 
47 
 
 Jt 
 
 s 
 
 \ 
 
 former project, 'Von among those who may question its utility, simply 
 be(-au.se it lelatf.s to a sectiou of the country with which we are all nioi'e 
 or lesH familiar— wliere the forest haa disappeared before the march of 
 civili/.Htioii ; an<l where we have hitherto allowtMl ik. difficulties to arrest 
 our progress in tin; mission of enterprise. 
 
 I have already stated the dimensions pru|)oted for the iocLs of the 
 Ottawa and French River navi<;ation. For the ntnats, 100 feet wide on 
 V)ottom is calculated in long reaclii^s — (10 feet in short reaches, where 
 vessels need never seek to pass one another. The surface widths of 
 water, the excavations being all in rock, would be about ten feet greater 
 than the bottom widths ; the depths to be from ten to eleven feet. 
 
 The deepening to full depth of mutrh of the shallow portions of the 
 waters might bo gradiially carried out, but as hereinbefore observed, the 
 sills of all locks should be laid at ten feet below the level of the lowest 
 water ; each successive .ste[) in tlie advancement of the und<'rtaking being 
 regarded Itut as a link in a great uniform and well-digested scheme of 
 
 navigation. 
 
 CLIINIATK, SOIL, Arc. 
 
 At each of the camps a careful meteorological record was kept, not- 
 ing the temperature three times each day. The rain-fall and snow-fall 
 were also recorded. Appendix B gives a summary of the result of those 
 observations. 
 
 The winter of 1856-7 was one of more than av(?rage .severity all over 
 Canada, and it will be seen from the tallies that on the 28rd January, in 
 the latter year, the mercury had descended to the point at which it 
 freezes, .SO°—zei-o of Fahrenheit, and the cold on these occasions was 
 estimated at from six to seven degrees lower. Not anticipating such 
 extreme severity of temj)eiature, the camps were only furnished with the 
 onlinary quicksilver thermometers. 
 
 The mean temperature of that, the coldest month, was: 
 
 7 A.M. 1 I'.M. 11 I.M. 
 
 On Up))er Matawan — ■").1.5+ (;.27 — 8.87 
 
 " Lower Matawan — S.0()4- 8.85 — 1.08 
 
 " Ottawa below Fort William —().74.+ 18.00— -2.49 
 
 The periods over which these records extend are as follow : 
 On Upper Matawan from 1st November, 1856, to 15th June, 1857. 
 " Lower " " " 31st May 
 
 " Ottawa " ' 28th Feb., 1858. 
 
48 
 
 We had thus biu one winter ,s experience on the Matawan, and that a 
 particularly severe one. On the Ottawa, in the region ot the Allumettes 
 Island, the records embraced nearly two winters ; the second, that of 
 Ib57-N, proving, as was the ease throu<;hout the Province, very much 
 milder on the whole than the first. For instance, in .lanuaiy, LS58, the 
 mercury fell hut once as low as — l?*-'. In J'^ebiu.uy, which, as it com- 
 monly is, was the coldest month in the year, the extreme, and on but one 
 day, was — 25*^ : the average of the weather in that i)artlenlar month 
 (1858) having been moi-e severe than in the corresponding nionth otthe 
 previous year ; which^ notwithstanding the general severity of the win- 
 ter, was, in the western parts of the Province also, sintfularly mild for 
 February. The table shews : 
 
 Mean temperature, February, 1857 17^.39 
 
 1858 11^.74 
 
 As regards the bearing which this ijue^'ition of temperature may have 
 on the navigation in limiting its peiiod of duration, I took much pains 
 to ascertain tor what portion of the year open water may l)e reckone<l 
 on throughout. The conclusions arrived at are ; that the ice on the 
 French River is never particilarly strong ; that the river is generally 
 quite clear before the 1st May, and rarely closed till some time in Dec- 
 ember. That Lake Nip))isinguo is always open all thiough November, 
 and the ice seldom st.'oug enough to bear till tovvards the close of the 
 following month, but (»nee it "takes" it coniinues iee-l)outid to anadvanc. 
 ed perio'I in the spring, and has been crossed on toot as late as the 15th 
 May. This, however, is a very rare occurence, my Indian informants 
 liaving beerk able to recall but one such instance. From the 1st ro the 
 5th May may be assumed as tlie oniinary perioil of ilissolution ot iee in 
 Lake Nippisitigue. 
 
 The Matav;an was enUrely open by 5th May, 1857, which, as already 
 observed, succeeded a winter of more than eoeunr.n sevei-ity. The Ottavva 
 is generalh' entirely free by the first of May,'and often from a wnck to 
 ten days before that time. The St. Lawrence Canals below Prescott, it 
 will be remembered, are seldom ready for na .'igation sooner than the 
 first ot May. 
 
 Thi-ough the kindness of Captain Cumming of Aylmer, on the Ottawa 
 a gentleman of long experience in the iiavig« bion of thai, river, 1 have 
 obtained a tel-able return of the dates -.tt which, for eleven years past, 
 steamer navigation has commenced and closetl each year. The earliest 
 ojjening was in 1848, wl.en the boats commeticed thei)- trips on the iMth 
 April. The iatest closing was in 1854, on the 1st December. The 
 average for the elevc^n years i-efened to, 1847 to 1*^57 inclusive, is .• 
 
 
 ■«»i«~»-i!i"«««)ii'!»*»»f-*j»tr-'' 
 

 
 ■tffTtf'-J^^'-'-' 
 
i ] 
 
40 
 
 I 
 
 Commencement of Navigation 27th April 
 
 Closing of " 27th November 
 
 And, as a general thing, the steamers mighc have continued to run dur- 
 ing part of DeccmlKr had the trade of the river warranted their owners 
 in not laying them u[). 
 
 The season of water-bornt- trathc bctwfcn Montreal and the Western 
 Lakes is at present governed, as to duration, by tiie pei-iod at which the 
 lower links in the St. Lxwrence improvenienLs— the Beauharnois and 
 Laehine Canals to wit— open an.l close. The farmer [-eriod is not often 
 efulier than the 1st of May ; the latter as seldom reaches the lOth of Dec- 
 ember. It will be obseiv.-d, then, from the dates already given, in refer- 
 ence to the as>^umed season of open water on the Ottawa and French 
 River route, say from ")th May to 1st December, that the balance against 
 it in the actual nundxn- of days navigation in the year cannot be very 
 great; while pra<:ticallv, and in point of availalile time, it can claim ain 
 advantage over the lake route, fiom the fact that, owing to the lesser 
 distance to l)i' travelled, a vessel could tJiake i\ least three trips mote in 
 the season between Chicago and Montreal b;- the former than it could 
 by the latter route. 
 
 In Canada an.l the neighboring States the season of canal navigation is 
 commonly consi,lered to be 2'"' days. From an average of eio-ht vears, I 
 find the VVelland Canal to l)e open i09 'lays in the year .'Sui.day b.'ino- 
 a dies non), and tlv- Krie Canal, in the average of the same years, 18.50 
 to 1857 inclusive, tor 11)5 days. 1 do not venture to calculate on more 
 than ISO days for the navigation of the Ottawa line ; but, as I have en- 
 deavored to .-.Iiow on page 14 of this Kep<.rt, it should have on each trip 
 again in point of tim- )f forty-four hours over the VVelland and twenf,y- 
 four hours o\er the Toront) and ('^'Mirgian Bay route. 
 
 Appendix, D gives th(^ dates of opening and closing of navigation on 
 the Welland, Lachine. and Erie Canals, and on the used portions . f the 
 Upper Ottawa for a iniml^or of years imtnediately precedint' the current 
 
 one. 
 
 In its agricultural capabilities the viilcyofthe Ottawa presents a 
 striking and unfavorable contrast to the almost uniformly fertile aspect 
 of the country watered by the St. Lawrence and bordering the Great 
 Lakes. 
 
 From St. Ann upward.s, the Lower Ottawa exhibits varied features of 
 fine cultivable lands and bold mountain scenery. 
 
 On the up[)er section of the river also, for one hundred nn'les above the 
 city which bears its name, a fair proportion of well-tilled farms and com- 
 
 I 
 
50 
 
 fortalik' liomesteatls meet tho eye ol:" the iDivclk'r, td^'etlior with tracts 
 of wilt] 1,111(1 that will icpav the labors ut the settler. 
 
 From the westerly limits of the County of Renfrew, the last outjxvst 
 of surveyed settlement <ni the soutli siile, ridges of aiid sand, or fr«nvnint; 
 rucky nioiuitiiins, I iiuler the v\ateis. Forests of jiiue. fiom which the 
 large timher has already heen chiefly eullnl out, prevail everywhere, savt: 
 where the cold, iitikid granite refu.-es even tlie seanty notirishment that 
 sut^iees to a stnnti-d grov,th i>f the Norway tiv, nr its hartly companion 
 the white birch. 
 
 The trnveller, hnwever, who jndges the coimtj'v iiily by what can be 
 seen t)t it from the rivi'i- a.s lie glide.s past in Ids entioe, does not form a 
 fair estiniat? of its adaptability t(j the uses of civilization. The worst of 
 it is along shore uu bntb sides, Tlr; interiur possesses large tracts ofgootl 
 liiirdwoiid land in the valleys of the nmuiitauis on tlic north .->ide, or 
 stretching in broad belts, towards ttie lake eonnti'\'. on the siaitli. 
 
 .Still the imjiartial chionieler, wlien he has completed his tour of the 
 river, must leeord his opinion, that tlie destiny of the valley of the 
 Ottawa is not to be a parallel one to or of the same inviting charaeter as 
 that of the St. Lawrenec \'alley, with its rich alluvial oil and broad 
 wheat-growitig dislj-icts ; but. having faith ii: tlie futttie of his eouuiry, 
 he u ill at the .-aine time pi<dii-t that tlie foriuer section has awaitin" it 
 a destinv' not .second in nati(.>nal importance to that of the more favour- 
 ed region, as to soil and climate, whi(;h ctmstitutes the' lattei' se('tion : and 
 that, with our great northern I'iver \\,\- tlie spinal coiumn, (\iiiad.i must 
 gi-adually attain the .strength and vigour whieh length without bi'eadth 
 can never confer. As yet. we ie[]re.seiit Itut an attenuated IVoiitier 
 settlement, fringing ;i thousand miles oj' i>;poscd jnid im|iroL< eteil eoast 
 liut our position on the' map o| the eontineiit is a distinctive ;uid im]»reg- 
 nable one. 'I'lie lakes and the noble St. Liiwre'nee tietining our lindt o| 
 expansion to the sotith the polar regions bouniiiiig us ir. Kar. w,. jdv the 
 "Northmen of America < hn- national o'rovvth may be slow, but it will 
 be healthy and enduring. lb'i-(« the surplus p(.)j)nlation of the Jhitisli 
 Isle.s may, f'U' eenturie^ to come find ^(•ope tor theii eide'i'piiM' and in- 
 dustry, and— transplanting with them tei '-ongvnial soil tiie laws and 
 principles ot the Mothei- Country — here forever may 
 
 "ll"i (rtTiliKii ■.|ir(Mil \uiii.'\L'rL'il ;ui<l icicne" 
 
 A striking feature in the co-tiformation of the Ottawa i'^ the eoncen- 
 tration of the greater jirojiortion of its descent into shoi-t.Mbru|it ia)iids,or 
 aimopt perpendicular fali.s, at tlisoances of from fifteen to lilty miles 
 ai.art, over the entire length embraced in the pro[)osed scheme of ini- 
 
51 
 
 provement ; rbrmirifi^ at each point water power of singularly easy adapt- 
 ation to manufacturing purposes, anil fif unlimited extent. In tlv eity 
 of Ottawa alone the availiUtle pnwi'r almost dnHi's computation ; the 
 whole volume of the mighty river le.'ie i>ouiing over a natural wear or 
 flam of forty ieet in height ; while into the basin helow the cataract 
 flow two lar^e tributaries The ''Hideau," entering from the south, falls 
 perpendieulai'ly from a height of Hfty-Four feet. On the north the 
 'Gatineau" comes in, j>resenting mill siti' attiM mill site ;is it stretches 
 far away into the nnexplorcl forest 
 
 'I'liis rising eity, the future metroi>o]is of I'nited Canada — of Tnited 
 British North America perha]is — with the Ottawa and French River 
 navicration comi)lettHl, would be nearer by at least one hundred miles to 
 Chicago than Hutlalo is by wa^ of the lakes, and with n branch of the 
 Grand Trunk Railway direct to Montreal, it would also be nearei' by at 
 lea.st thirty miles to an Atlantic port (Portland), and over a <-ontinuous 
 line ot rail, than Buffalo, the "Queen City" of Lak.' Erie, is to New 
 York. 
 
 The Ottawa country aliounds in iron on; of the richest description ; 
 its forests of pitu^ are inexhausttible ; .ts water power, as already stated, 
 not onl\ unlimited in capacity bat available to its full extent at mnnber- 
 less stages upon the route. By the opening "f the projectrd navigation 
 this great manufacturing agent would be brought into comparative prox- 
 imity to the granaries of Lake IVLichigan, and woulu numediately Ije turn- 
 ed to account in preparing the cereals of the west for the markets of the 
 east. With such a condiination of advantages in i)ossession or in pros- 
 pect, it is surely not difficult of belief that the valley of the Ottawa is 
 destined to be not only the worksho)- of Canada 'out one of the chief 
 manufacturing districts of America. 
 
 The country bordering the Matawan. Lake Nippisingue, and the 
 French River.ccri-esponds very closely in character to that on the upper- 
 most sections of the Ottawa ; all that can be seen from the waters^ is 
 harsh and barren, but in the interior are broad tracts of good land The 
 whole region is beautifully watered and in the highest degre.- healthy; 
 fever and ague, those scourges of the new settlements in the rich allu- 
 vial districts ahmg the (ireat Lakes and on the prairies of the west, 
 being wholly unknown, in tine, like tiie granite regions elsewhere up- 
 (m this continent, the granite regions of Canada are capable of produc- 
 ing and mauitaining a hardy, industrial, enterprising, and .self-reliant 
 
 race of men. 
 
 T have before said, that in investigating the important question sub- 
 mitted to m. by the Commi,ssioners of Public Works it was not my in 
 
tentioii to entor largely into the compilation of statistics, deeming that 1 
 would host follow out my iiistiuctioiis by conllning- myself chiefiy to the 
 acquisition of tl'.e muteiials necessary to etial)K' uv.' to ])ronounce on the 
 piaot'cability of the undertaking; and I trusl that I have, to some extent, 
 succeeded in slewing that the interior of oiu' i (uintry is not wholly 
 without lu)|)e in the hitnie. 'rotiiose who hiive made the laws that 
 covern the movements of \\e.-Li')'n tr.itiic their stud> . I leave it to estim- 
 ate the height to which Canada would lie ••ii.\atc<l, in connnereial im- 
 portatice by ojiening through the heart of hci- Uoniinion m continmais 
 navigatiiiU, shoitening by fully one hundi'cd a)id lifty miles the shoit- 
 est water cnununication that now does or ever can exist be- 
 sides, between Tide- Water, iv/u'ther ia the Gulf of St. Laivrence or the 
 csiuury of the Hudson, and the broadest extent of grain-growing coun- 
 try in the world, 
 
 With the commerce of a continent pouring down the valleys of our 
 two great rivers (by rail as well as by water), and centering in Montreal, 
 that city and Quebec could not fail to hecano the principal entrepots of 
 imported merchandise tor the north and west ; and our eastern lines con- 
 necting them with one another and the sea-bord, would then cease to be 
 stigmati ed as unproducti\'e .ipp.nidages to our national railway. 
 
 In concluding this report, 1 would beg leave to observe that the survey, 
 entered \ipon with a view tu comjn'ehensive result.-', having been brought 
 to a somewhat abrupt termination, the work necessarily remains in an 
 untinislied condition, The greatest pains have, however, been taken to 
 fix permanently on the ground th'^ principal points in the triangulation ; 
 so that, at any time for some years to come^~fch(; .several portions ot the 
 survey, commenced and abandoned, mry bo tak^n uj) wlicre left off, and 
 continued to completion without the necessity ofgoing over again with the 
 instruments ground that luxs already been carefully triangulated, and 
 Waters that have been once aecuiately sounded, at great ex|>ense. 
 
 My principal assistant in the geneial management of the surveys was 
 Mr. James Stewart, a gentleman whose skill and expciionce as a Hydro- 
 graphical Surveyor have Iteen long known to tin; Department. Mr. 
 George H. Perry had innnediatc charge of the section between Fort 
 William and Portagi- du Foit, and during two severe winters and one 
 liot summer displayetl \nitiring energy and /oal in pushing forwaid the 
 work. The two parties on the Matawan were in chargii of Mr. H. 
 Munro Mackenzie and Mr. Robert Shanly, respectively. The former 
 gentleman comploteil the triangulation and soundings ot the river from 
 the mouth to the head of Lake Talon, and is familiar with it in all its 
 bearings in that distance of twent3'-.six miles. 
 
The latter knows the river intimately in it.-^ ontiie liingth, having run 
 the levels throughout, and made the surveys of its upper section as well 
 as of the dividing ri(Jge between its waters an<l those which How to the 
 west : with the topography of the summit Ijanier and of the fdjacent 
 shores of Lake Nippisingue he is also thoroughly acquainted. 
 
 All of the geutleiiiun above named took the deej)est interest in the 
 work, continuing, under all the trying conditions of camj) life in the 
 forest, the thermometer ranging from forty-tive degrees below to ninety- 
 seven degrees above zero, to discharge the duties assigned them with a 
 zeal, ability and patience, to which [ bear most willing testimony. 
 The whole respectfully submitted : and 
 
 I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 (Signed) W. SHAXLY, 
 
 T. A. Begly, Esq., 
 
 Secretary Public Works, 
 
 Toronto. 
 
.S5 
 
 .\n^KNI>IN A. 
 Section of Waters on French River and Ottawa route — Laite Huron to Montreal. 
 
 Names «if l-rfkffs, ki'.'ti^. anti Kapul^. 
 
 Lake U iiKui . 
 
 French Rivei, (still water) ^ 
 
 Lo Heiites Dalle's Fall ', 
 
 Freiuh I!iver, (current) ' 
 
 Craiid kea.llet Fall - 
 
 French River, (current) 
 
 I Iraiid Faiis^e Isle Rapid t,. I)e^ Piiu Kapids 
 
 French River, i«till water). . 
 
 Cli.uulieru Rapid , .... . . .) ' 
 
 Lake Niipi\inguc '\ 
 
 Rivie.e de \ ase, (still walerl | 
 
 do (ciiiienO 
 Rapid . . 
 
 Riviere de Vase, Isiill walei) 
 
 Rapid 
 
 Rivif re de Vase, (I'.urrciit). . . 
 
 Creek, (iiirretit) 
 
 Rapid 
 
 I .agoc n . 
 
 j Suiiiinit 
 
 Portagr From thence to Irdiit Lake, 
 
 I distant c ahoui 4C0 feel. ..J 
 Tfiut Lake 1 oiincctiiii; Rapid at Inrtle Lake-; 
 River NL.itawan— Rapids with reaches of still 
 
 water . 
 
 L.ii; Talon 
 
 I'alon C'hute I 
 
 r>l Lake .■ : ■ I 
 
 River .Matawan -Rapid^ with reaches of still 
 
 water 1 
 
 Pan's.<fcii.v Rapids and Chute. . . ' 
 
 Lac Dfs .Mijnille-. . 
 
 Rapid des Aiguilles I 
 
 River Matiiwan, (current) . , | 
 
 Rapid de la Rose t 
 
 River Maiaw.'in, (still water) 
 
 Rapid des Kpines . , 
 
 I .ar Plein Chants . | 
 
 Itiver .Matawan Rapids with reaches of ■.till ! 
 
 water to tiiouth j 
 
 Rapids ,in Ottawa at nioulh of Matawau ^ 
 
 River OtlaM'a, (current) . . 
 
 La Veillet, Vr .11 and I'ett.s Rivieres Rapids . 
 
 River Ottawa, (current) 
 
 Richer Capitaine Rapid 
 
 Rivef ()tl:iwa. (current) 
 
 Joai-luni's Rapid 
 
 River Ottawa, " Deep Kiver" |jfrctptil)lc cuf 
 
 leiitat fi.ot of loacliiiii's Rapid only. 
 
 River Ottawa, (carrimt) 
 
 Culhnte and L'ls'et Rapids 
 
 River Ottawa. (Ijy L.ike Coidonse ami Calu- 
 met Chaiuicl (cnricnt generally) 
 
 t Irand Ca niiiet Rapids ... 
 
 Kivcr Ottawa— Raiiids with reaches of still 
 
 water to I'oriaye du I'ort 
 
 Lac des Cliais 
 
 Chats Raids 
 
 Lar de Chenes 
 
 Chaudiere Rapids anfl Lake. . . . ._ 
 
 Ri\'er O'.i.iwa lOtlawa to Grenville) 
 
 Long S.tult Chute an Blundeau and Carillon 
 
 Rapids 
 
 River Ottawa (Lake of the \.\\o Mountains, 
 
 still water) 
 
 St. Ann Rapid. 
 
 Lake ."si. Louis 
 
 Lachiiie Canal to Montreal 
 
 ai 
 
 1il«i«n' 
 111 
 Mile. 
 
 ; 
 
 IR 
 + 
 
 ^ 
 
 +1 
 
 7 
 
 16 
 
 iS 
 
 i 
 
 1 T 
 
 6i 
 
 Hita.l-, 
 
 Rlw 
 
 in 
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 "i 
 
 T itaK. 
 
 "J 
 
 
 5 
 
 4s 
 
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 7 
 
 IllMMIIT 
 
 rmiti 
 Monlr«fll 
 
 43} 
 
 5f> 
 
 44 
 
 El«v«t|on 
 
 abdve 
 Tldf Watur 
 
 4,i'> 
 
 '■T 
 
 4>8K 
 
 57--' 
 
 ^l&'4 
 
 .■>78>* 
 
 4i-<'4 
 
 599S 
 
 4>a.'^ 
 
 ^m 
 
 J94i 
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 ho6 
 
 .i»>J 
 
 f,o(i 
 
 ^i\ 
 
 nt/ 
 
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 fiij 
 
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 6,*-' 
 
 349i 
 
 637J 
 
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 647 
 
 M9 
 
 647 
 
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 651 
 
 34S 
 
 656! 
 
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 6i8 
 
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 f>57 
 
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 b55 
 
 ii'i 
 
 653i 
 
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 v..i 
 
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 320 
 
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 5584 
 
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 5^41 
 
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 3 >3 
 
 5>7J 
 
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 <QyS 
 
 )^5 
 
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 47' 
 
 ^8,? 
 
 439 
 
 .*■/ i 
 
 434 
 
 'T 
 
 3«9 
 
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 ■1.53 
 
 3 S3 
 
 i!o 
 
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 JIO 
 
 350 
 
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 j6u 
 
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 14/ 
 
 ijl 
 
 144 
 
 
 110 
 
 18, 
 
 '.'4 
 
 f)0 
 
 1 
 
 57 
 
56 
 
 AFI'ExNDIX'b 
 
s. ? 
 
 
 
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 ■fc c 
 
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 7;g^ 
 
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 1 
 
 1 , 
 
 _. 
 
 ( 
 
 t-^-Coo ■ I ao -»^ 
 
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 I x.** 
 
 5. r S ^'5 2 « ;; 
 
 < 
 
 /' 
 
 .)( 
 
 Al'I'ENIMX <•, 
 
 Staif.vikm if Mariiif (>isa-.iiTs on the Li'^es and the kivcr S-. I..-iwrenof in the 
 
 year 1S57. 
 
 February, 
 
 March, 
 
 April, 
 
 May. 
 
 June, 
 
 July, 
 
 August, 
 
 Septeiulier, 
 
 October, 
 
 Novcmlier, 
 
 I'lopcrty Livt's 
 
 Lost 
 
 TciiaU, 
 
 $ 41.S50 
 12,500 
 52,580 
 S2,56o 
 
 ij9.279 
 26,cj5o 
 
 79.3'7 
 
 '^9,47 5 
 
 276,079 
 
 597.549 
 
 Lost. 
 
 $'.387,935 
 
 I 
 
 42 
 19 
 270 
 S 
 1 1 
 22 
 43 
 
 490 
 
 N. B. — In the loss of life recordfil in June are included the lives lost by the hurnin!3; df ihe 
 steamer " Montreal," near t^'uehec ; in which disaster 264 pers'jns )ierished. 
 
 RKCAl'rrUI..\TION, AND COMPARISON WITH NEAR 1856. 
 
 Total value of property lost in 1856, 
 Do ilo. do in 1857. 
 
 nccrea.se in 1857, . . 
 
 Loss on Hulls, Sleamer■^, in 1857, 
 Do. Cargoes, do do 
 
 Total lovs hy Steamers, 
 
 Loss on Hulls, Sailing Vessels, in 1857, 
 Do. Cargoes, do do 
 
 Total l(>ss liy Sdling V'essels, 1S57, 
 
 Total losses in i8.'i7. 
 
 Anumnt of Steam Tonnage totally lost in 1857, . . 
 Do. Sail do. do. do 
 
 Total Tonnage I0..1 in 1S57, 
 
 Total loss of Life in 1857. 
 Do. do. in 1856, 
 
 Increase in 1S57 . 
 
 Total Tonnage on Likes in lall of 1857, 
 Total value of Lake \essels do 
 
 $3,126,744 
 
 1,387.935 
 
 $1,738,809 
 
 $ 393.647 
 ^*<4.49S 
 
 $478,142 
 
 $ 570,57s 
 339.215 
 
 909.743 
 $1,387,935 
 
 4,781 tons 
 10,658 " 
 
 400 
 
 407 
 
 15.4J59 tons 
 
 8j 
 
 388,863 ti ns 
 $15, '95.490 
 
 The above figures are taken from the Report, for 1857, of I). P. Dobbin, Esq., Secretary 
 to the Board of Lake L'n lerwriters. .As regards the casuidties on the " River St. Lawrence." 
 as distinguished from "The Lakes," the above statement rovers only such as relate 10 the 
 inljind trade of the river, ahove Quehfc. 
 
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