IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. tiikon to nii'un tlic pnihiHutar n^/iou of Ontario, and all that part of the Dominion northw(;st of tlic thickly si'ttlod portions of Ontario. It will thus include the ('anadian shores of Lake Krie and Lake Kuron; the head-waters of the (Htawa; the borders and islands of C>eorKian Bay ; the northern shore of Lake Nuperior ; the watery wilderness between there and Hudson's Kay, and the Lakc-of-thc- Woods rej^ion ; Manitoba, and the vast treeless plains that stretch from the KeJ Kiver to the Rocky Mountains and the shores of the Arctic Ocean ; the whole Rocky Mountain region ; and the coast and populous islantis of British Columbia — the gateway to Alaska. This is yet, for the most part, a vast wilderness, with only here and there a tradin<^-post ; but alon^ its southern mar<;in it is rai)idly yield- ing its savagery under mankind's persuasions, and producinj^ wheat instead of prairie grass, or cattle in place of bisJew York to Toronto. A pleasant diversion is to go to Buffalo, or to Niagara Falls, and there changing cars go down through the Niagara (ronfc, with a fine view of the Falls, the Whirl- pool, and the Gorge, to Lewiston, and then take a steamer (three times a day) across Lake Ontario (40 miles) to Toronto. By leaving Boston at 3 p. M., or New York at 9 p. M , Niagara Falls can be well seen, and Toronto reached by this boat at 8 p. M. the next day. The fare from Niagara Falls by land is $2 65; by water, $1.50. Another steamboat pli(!S daily between Tr ind Port Dalhousie, a station on the Grand Trunk R. R. near the . ...ch of the Niagara River. Toronto is the tourist's starting-place for all points in western or northern Ontario, and for the steamers to the N. shore of Lake y> 4\ MONTREAL TO FORT WILLIAM. 7 Huron, Sault Ste. Mario, and Lake Superior. The Canadian Northwest may also be reached by steamers from Owen Sound, or Sarnia to Lake Superior (Fort William, Port Arthur) ; and by rail through Chicago or Sault Ste. Marie to Winnipeg. Round-trip tours, from such central points as Montreal, Toronto, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, have been arranged by the transportation companies, and tickets for these are offered at reduced rates, the terms and conditions of which vary from time to time, but can be ascertained by application to any of the principal passenger or ticket agents in the United States, Great Britain, or Canada. Several tourists' agencies also conduct occasional tours and personally conducted excur- sions into or through northwestern Canada. h 4' HONTBEAL TO FOKT WHIIAH BT BAIL. The Transcontinental Train of the Canadian Pacific Ry. leaves Montreal from the Quebec Gate or Dalhousie St. station every evening (at present at 8.40 p. m.). 1* has the finest of sleeping-cars attached, which run through to t' acific coast ; its other cars go only to Winnipeg. Dining-car' ^t>mpany the train at the requisite hours. The distance from Montreal to Fort William is 998 miles ; to Winnipeg, 1,423; to Vancouver, 2,90C. The departure of the daily transcontinental train f i-om Montreal is an event which has hardly yet lost the special interest which first invested it. The long line of cars, all of shining mahogany, and the stately lo- comotive panting for the signal to begin its stage of the momentous journey ; the emigrants, which fill the forward colonist-coaches, a little stunned by the strangeness and magnificence of everything ; the leave'- takings, like those on the pier of some ocean-steamer, for many are wending their way to face a new life in the new world of the far front" ier, and it must be long before they return ; the varied travellers who fill the "sleepers," almost always including some eminent character on his tour around the world — to observe and to be observed ; all these types and circumstances, varied and cosmopolitan, render the scene picturesque far above that of an ordinary train-starting. But beyond this is the sentiment — the feeling that the^e very cars arc to traverse the breadth of a continent ; to roll through the " brambly wildernesses '' of the great " back country ; " to look out upon the glorious inland sea that seems so large and far away ; to visit those new, energetic cities where fortunes are nuide in a day ; to speed steadily and unerringly 8 MONTREAL TO FORT WILLIAM. across the wide plains ; to climb the wonderful heifjhts of the Rockies ; to stop only when these expectant faces framed in their windows shall look out upon the surf of the Pacific ! Its history, its almost magical construction, the part it plays in national life, the link it forms between the Old Canada and the New — all combine to invest this national high- way and its transcontinental train with a romantic and sentimental attraction. The line skirts the water-front, through Jlochctaffa, the old French part of Montreal, and sweeps around behind the city and its mountain- park, whose lights are thus long in view. The course is then up the valley of the Ottawa., though not at first in view of the river, through old French villages named after saints, and largely devoted to milking cows in the winter and " chy boarders " in the summer. Odumct is a little refreshment station among rugged hills frequented by trout- fishermen. Phosphate and mica mines occur in this neighbouihood, but the principal industry is dairy-farming. Farther on, where the river is ai)proached, saw-mills and lumbering industries begin; and f/uU, at the mouth of the Gatineau, is a town of 10,000 people, mainly supported by lumbering. Here the train crosses the Ot- tawa River and enters the Province of Ontario and the capital of the Dominion. Ottawa. — The city, and this part of the route, have been described so fully in Appletons' Canadian (juide-Rook, Part I, that only a few words are called for here. It is picturescpiely situated at the junction of the Ridoau River with the Ottawa. Navigation is interrupted here by the falls of the Cliaudiere, whose remarkable cataracts are seen in crossing the river. This gigantic water-power is utilized, and some of the largest lumber manufactories in the Dominion are visible fi'oni the bridge, as well as the timber-slides, by which the logs from the upper river pass down without damage into the navigable water lie- low. The city itself stands upon high ground overlooking the falls and the lumber-yards. The principal jilaces of interest Avithin it are the Capitol buildings, some of which, most jirominently the octagonal and buttressed Library, can be plaiidy seen from the railway. These are of magnificent proportions and ornate architecture, llideau Hall, the residence of the (Jovernor-General, is 2 miles distant. Ottawa is be- coming not only the residence of many public men, and attracting a brilliant social circle, but factories of various kinds arc accumulating, and the tourist will find it to his pleasure and advantage to spend at } '« V- '^ 5. a; ^1 <5 THE OTTAWA VALLEY. 9 least one day there. The chief hotelH are the liunscH ($3 to |»4), Wind- sor (|2), and Gmnd Union (#2). Population (consus of 1891), 41,154, The Ottawa Valley. Leaving Ottawa at midnight, the train passes Carfcton Junction, where the line to Toronto iliveiges. This small town (hotel at the sta- tion, $1.60 a (lay) is upon the Mississippi River, a ra|»id stream, foani- ing and boiling over rocky ledges and big boulders, with many deep, quiet pools and eddies, in the shadows of which lurk plenty of black and rock bass. It is advisable, however, to go to the neighboring vil- lage, Carfcton P/occ (two hotels, $1 a day), and then drive to Mississippi Lake, 'i miles distant. Here large black bass are takeu, pike are occa- sional, and rock bass in unlimited (luautities. Two miles above is a second lake, highly praised by anglers. From Carleton Place Junction the railway turns westward toward the Ottawa. French Canada has now been left behind. The wandering votjaijcur and trader used the river as a pathway ; fur-trading posts of the n. B. Co. were established at several i)oints,* and rcnuiintd as long as the Indian trade was valuable ; and here and there some half-wild Ools-brule would make a little clearing and plant a few hills of corn and potatoes on the u])per river. But these were nearly always on the northern or Quebec side (the Ottawa is the boundary be- tween Quebec and Ontario from Lake Temiscamingue nearly to its mouth), and they have not been followed by any towns of conseciuence. Along this southern shore, early in the present century, settled many Scotch families, most prominent among them the Highland chieftain MaeNab, who induced a larsc nuTuber of immigrants of his own clan to come here, and whose home, KiniK'll Lodge, was beautifully situated on the southern shore of the expansion of the river called Lac des Chats, a few miles below Arnprior and near the mouth of the Mada- waska. The principal resource of these villages is the logging and timber-making industries in some of their many fornjs. The river at the right season is one long sluice for logs from the ravished forests far and near. Most of these float to Ottawa or still farther, but the splendid water-power which the many rapids afford has caused scores of saw-mills and factories for all sorts of sawed lumber and articles * It is hoped that the reader will familiarize himself with the map as he goes along. 10 THE OTTAWA VALLKV. made from wood to spring up along the upper river. These linvocallfd into existence other mills, as for flour and woolen yarn and cloth, and have encouraged agriculture by creating a home demand for faun prod- ucts, generally at better prices than could be obtained elsewlieif. The most noteworthy towns are Almonte, where there are woollen mills; Anipriory where the railway again touches the river at L.ie des Chats, and where there are marble-quarries; Sand Point, a sumnier re- sort; /iV/a/Vcj^j, a lively trading-place of 2,70<» i)eople at the northern terminus of the Kingston & Pembroke Ky. ; and l\nihroke{Mnn'13 Champlain, with a few companions, made his way in canoes up this utterly unknown stream. "Day by day brou;.'ht a renewal of their toils. Iloiir by hour they moved prosperously up the long winding of the solitary stream ; then, in quick succession, rapid followed rapid, till the bed of the Ottawa seemed a slope of foam. Xow, like a wall bristling at the top with wooded islets, the falls of the (Jhats faced them with the sheer plunge of their 10 cataracts. Now they glided beneath overhanging cliffs where, seeing but unseen, the crouched wild cat eyed them from the thicket ; now through the nuize of water-girded rocks, which the white cedar and the spruce clasped with serpent-like roots, or among islands where old hendocks, dead at the top, darkened the water with deep-green shadow ... In the weedy cove stooil the moose, neck-deep in water to escape the flies, wading shoreward, with glistening sides, as the canoes drew near, shaking his broad antlers and writhing his hideous nostrils, as with clumsy trot he vanished in the woods." So, iu his imaginative style, I'arkman (Pioneers of France, p. 344) recounts the journey and pictures the noble river as it was then — as it is now in many a lonely reach. Finally they made a long detour, car- rying their canoes through tangled woods, around the cascades of the Grand Calumet, and emerged upon Ijake Coulonge, now so called in memory of an early trading-post upon its northern shore. This expanse : -,. TIIK UIM'KK OTTAWA VALLKY. 11 r ■ wan made by tlic reunited river hotwei'ii tho two inltUKls tncntioiuul above, uiipiientod by the (^^ulnIlge Kiver, wliieli eorncs in from the plexus of forest hikes far northward near the sources of tlie Ottawa. Cluimphiin found here tlie centre of the Indian popuhition — a strategic point lield by tlio masters of the river. *' Here was a rouj^h clearing. Tlie trees had been burned ; there was a ru«le and desolate 'wmi of the pine forest. Dead trunks, blasted and black with Hre, stood i;rimly uprifxlit andd the charred stumps and prostiate bodies of comrades half consumed. In the inter- venin}^ spaces the soil had been feebly scratched with hoes of wood or bone, and a croj) of maize was growing, now some 1 inches high. 'S^e dwellings of these slovenly farmers, framed of poles covered with sheets of bark, were scattered here or there singly or in groups, while their tenants were running to the shore in amaz.ement. Warriors stood with their hands over their mouths — the usual Indian attitude of aston- ishment ; squaws stared betwixt curiosity and fear; naked papooses screamed and ran. The chief, Xibachis, offered the calumet, tlu-n harangued the crowd: 'These white men must have fallen from the clouds. How else could they have reached us through the woods and rapids which even we find it hard to pass? The French chief can do anything. All that we have heard of him must be true?' And they hastened to regale the hungry visitors with a re|)ast of fish." These Indians were the ancestors of the present Ottawas, but (■hamplain and all the earliest writers called them Algon niatidiiH yield oxirlloiit liiiiostoncs lor lime or liiiiltlin^' purposes, wliilo the Cliazy of Ncpt'an affoi'liMl much of flic matcriiil (stmdstont'H) used in the erection of the I'arliauient l»iiildin}?rt. A lii'd of liych'niilic lime- stone, occurrini; at tlie top of the ('hazy, has been worked and em- ployed in the manufacture of tlic ' Hull cement.' At I'ukeidiam oc- curs a Pleistocene deposit, contaiinn^)^ a ndxturc of nutrine and fresh- water shells, near the Pakcnham Mills, 2(Wt ft. above the sea-level. At Arnprior a bluish-gray Laurentian marble is (puirried. Kxcellent Si-ctions of Laurentian are exhibited in the railway cuttinp:s for many miles VV. of Pembroke. The rocks shown are for the most part hij^hly <'har- acteristie red, K'".^'< '^'»l dark-banded f^neisses, felsjtathic and horn- blendic, and frecpiently pirnctiferous and micaceous. There are also some lar<^ bands of <,'ray and white crystalline limestone; but none of these are exposee exaniiiied in the Museinn of the (Jeological Survey at Ottawa."* The "river of the Ottawas" rises anuuig the marshy lakes and dense forests that surround the dome of the Laurentides precist'ly N. of the capital city, and distant less than loo miles as the wild goose flies when rushing southward in XovoMdu'r. A circle of lakes, with strange Indian and French names, surrounds this dome upon the Quebec water-shed. From one group flows southeastward the gather- ing currents of the St. .Maurice to find an outlet into the St. Fiawrenee at Three Rivers, near the city of Quebec. Another group supplies the Liovre and the Rouge, and a third the (Jutineau, all of which en»pty into the Ottawa below the capital. Close to the source of the (Jati- neau — .so near that in freshets tiieir overflow intermingles with it — arc several small lakes whose waters drain westward, and gather into a powerful hill-stream, which frets and fumes in the nooks of the rocky ridges, expands into lakelets in the small valleys, and summons the tribute of a hundred mountain brooks and forest tarns known only to the Indian and wandering trapper. Rather a succession of long lakes than a river, it struggles deviously onward along the base of the crest of the Laurentides, and forms the water-i)athway of the native hunter, who has given a name to each rapid and brook and lakelet of them all. Thus it keeps on for 100 miles or more. Then an elbow of the hills bends it sharply southward, and the rocks dam it up to fill some * Macfarlanc'a Geological Railway Guide, p. 71. D. Applcton & Co. 14 THE UPPER OTTAWA VALLEY. old glacial valley with a deep, unobstructed lake, 75 miles long and 6 or 8 miles wide, called Temlseamint,'ue, about which U a larce area of level, arable land. Thus far, at least, its course was early explored — probably much farther. Almost a century ago the II. B. Co. estab- lished a fur-trading post upon the lake. Now there are settlements upon the rich land lying all about it, and a regular steamboat service from Mattawa, worked in conjunction with short railways, which carry the freight and passengers around the unnavigable places in the river, and convey the passenger to the head of the lake in two days. The Ottawa escapes from Lake Temiseamingue — the old fur-traders gave the name only to the river below the lake, calling the head-water stream La Petite Riviere — and soon receives a powerful tril)utary (and canal route) from the \. W., which some old trapper, thinking of home, called Montreal River, and flows on, always swerving eastward until it becomes due E. I'l its course, and completes the form of the fifth vowel laid upcm its side — C- Nothing could be more enjoyable than a canoe trip in exploration of these upper waters. The best time is after August 1st, when the l)lack flies have ceased to be troublesome. If one does not bring his own canoes, birch-barks can be procu?'ed at Mattawa, together with guides, camp-attendants, and the completion of the outfit. From the head of Lake Temiseamingue, where he can begin his adventures by fishing for big black bass, he can follow the Ottawa into the Province of Quebec to Lac des Quinze and Lake Mujizowaja ; thence to Grand Vic- toria Lake and Lac des Rapides, and finally to the very source of the mighty i-iver, if he so pleases ; part or all of which would be a glorious pilgrimage by canoe, and furnish themes for many a tale of moose and bear and wolf, of struggles with hard-fighting trout and bass, of nights in the forest primeval, of beds of sapin, and a thousand and one things that go to make the life of a woodland wanderer delightful. " I'd like to go there again myself ! " exclaims Sandys, as he concludes an account of such an excursion. The regiecame a natu- ralized member of the tribe. Mackenzie (Voyages, j). 80, foot-note) rec(«"ds that, about the year 16n8. "a band of the Nepi.>ingues, who were converted, emigrated to the Nepigon country. . . . Few of their descendants are now [about 1800] remaining, and not a trace of the religion comnmnicated to them is to be discovered." — (E. I.) 20 THE NIl'ISSINO DISTRICT. they were forced to subsist on the bhieben-ies and wiUl raspbei-ries that grow abinuhmtly in the meagre soil, when suddenly they encountered a troop of 300 Indians . . . gathering blueberries for their winter Btore. Their demeanour, too, was friendly, and from them the voyager learned that the great lake of the Ilurons was close at hand. " Now, far along the western sky, was traced the watery outline of that inland ocean, and, first of white men save the liumble friar, Chaniplain beheld the ' iMcr douce,' the Fresh - Water Sea of the Ilurons." Two hundred and fifty years have brought only small changes. Steel rails and the palace-car have rephiced the portage and canoe of the pioneer and fur-trader. Ste;>inrtliips plough the waters of Lake Huron, and the houses of farmer and lumberman are seen here and there by the side of Nipissing and its tortuous outlet. IJut the lake and its islands are still haunted by spirits which neither priest nor engineer has been able to exorcise ; and still the red-man hunts and fishes, builds his lodge, fashions his canoe of bark, and threads as of old the limpid pathways of a leafy wilderness. It is easy for the traveller to set behind him, in a few moments, the culture of two and a half centuries. The moment he is out of hearing of the railway whistle he can restore the experience of Le Caron and Chaniplain. If one chooses to go north, penetrate forests as wild, and find the native almost as primitive as before Canada was heard of, it is merely a matter of time and endurance. By going up IJlanehe I?iver, or from Lac de Quinze, just al)ove the head of Temiscamingue, he can ascead a st.'cani to its source on the Height of Land, make a short portage, and launch in a brook which will speedily carry him to Lake Abitibhi — a body of water as shapeless but twice the size of Winnepesaukee, where there are a trading-house and mission. Out of this lake flows the Abitibbi River, to find its outlet in the southernmost extremity of Iludtion's Bay (James Bay), only two degrees — something over 150 miles — distnnt. Or he may ascend the Montreal River from the foot of Luke Te/niscamingue to Fort Matatchewan, an old II. B. Co.'s post, near its head, c- '' *' '.ii ■'rork across into the Metawagaming lakes and river, which i' -• ii'io the Moose, and will float his canoe straight to Hudson's Bay. ie '-hoi*' region on both sides of the narrow and sinuous water- shea is ."^Kd with intprsecting streams and lakes, through which the Indians know their wuy as the white man does about his home city. In a brief account by William Ogilvie, D. L. S., of an exploratory trip to Hudson's Bay, printed in the Annual Report of the Canadian THE NIPI8SING DISTRICT. 21 Department of the Interior, for 1890, may he found complete and i)ar- ticular directions as to trails and canoe routes throughout this northern wilderness. Nowhere in Eastern Canada can more varied and better sport be obtained than upon and around Lake JVijti.sshii/. Deer and ruffed grouse are plentiful, and at suitable points, as on the "long arm," good duck-shooting can always be had in the fall, Tlie region between the lake and Georgian Hay is famous for deer, and a few moose, caribou, and bear are seen each winter. IJeeords exist of some remarkably large bags that have fallen to the rifles of Toronto sportsmen on Stur gcon River, N. of Lake Nl[)issing. As to the fishing, let me turn again to Mr. Sandys's complete account : "Below the village [of North Hay] a long pior runs out 150 yds. or more, for the aecommodaticm of the steamers, and fiom this j)oint of vantage big catches of pike, bass, and pickerel are made daily. The method used is ' whipping ' with a rod and spoon or with a fish's eye for bait ; but there are plenty of minnows to be taken with proper tackle, and live bait. . . . The list of fish includes bass, pike, jjickerel, and 'lunge, and heavy ones of each variety will probably be taken dur- ing an afternoon's trailing. . . . "Should the tourist desire new waters after testing Lake Nipissing, a splendid opportunity is right at hand, for about 4 A miles inland, over a lofty hill, is a grand piece of water known as Trout Lake, a portion of the head-waters of the Mattawa lliver. " One can have a canoe carried in a waggon from North Hay to Trout Lake : or a guide and boat can be procm-ed on the spot, and, starting from the head of the lake, the visitor is pulled away down for a couple of miles ere it is time to cast out the trolls. " Each fisherman should have a couple of lin^s, for this reason : Some few yards from the rocky, evergreen-clad shore a sort of shelf of rock runs out 10 or 12 feet below the surface. It can be distinctly seen, and the object i^ to keep the boat as near as possible above its outside limit. Looking down through the clear water, you can trace the extreme edge of this ledge, and immediately outside of it is a black abyss of unknown depth. The two lines are worked in this way : One should be as long as possible, and have enough sinker above the tndl to keep it at the depth of this shelf of rock, the other and shorter line recpuring nothing but the ordinary spoon-hook. Following this method, some heavy fish should be taken, and the short line keep the angler thoroTighly well occupied playing bass and pickerel, with a very good chance of hooking a big lunge now and again. " I'assing on down the lake, the scenery is extremely beautiful, and one realizes how thoroughly attractive is this wilderness pure and sim- ple. Presently a round opening in the wall of evergreens is noticed, and a closer inspection reveals Short Portage, a few yards long, which d2 LAKE NIPI88TNO TO LAKE RUPERTOR. leads into Four-mile Hay. We take a peep throuj^li, and note how pretty the surroundhigM arc; then go down the lake toward Big Camp Island, 7 miles from the starting-point, passing several very pretty lit- tle islands on the way. "Turtle Creek is connected with this water, and the fishing there is something to be remembered; while in its outlet, Lost Hiver, the bass-fishing is unsurpassed. Many big catches made on the last mentioned are on record, some of the bass running over R pounds, and quite willing to be caught at the rate of Ifi an hour. "Shooting in the immediate neighbourhood is always good." Lake Nipissing to Lake Superior. Proceeding on its way westward from North Bay, the C. P. R. passes through a rocky and forested region, out of wliich has come and continues to come an immense (juantity of varied and valuable timber. A portitm of this, in the shape of logs, is floated down to Lake Nipis- sing and (leorgiun Bay, but a large qiumtity is sawed into square timber and hauled eastward by rail. Cord-wood is a |)rofitable item of export. Much good land is to be found in all the valleys, and many Frencli and Scotch settlers have begun farming, eking out their small results in the beginning by labouring at logging and wood-cutting camps. Sturgeon Falh is a station near the mouth of Sturgeon River, and a good point of departure for fishing or shooting trips. Mendovmdc is on a reservation of the Nipissing Indians, after whose chief Bcaurage was named. WahHapitit> is near an excellent fisliing lake and river of the same name", along which there is considerable farming and lumber- ing, little of which is visible frotii the cars. It would be a good center for sport. Iluronian rocks succeed the Laurentian as the surface for- mation as soon as the Wahnapitse bridge has been crossed ; and it is in the midst of the rough hills that characterize these hard quartzites that the Sudbury mineral veins have been discovered. Sudbury is a divisi obtained of the 11. It. Co.^s agent at Missinabic, with which to cross Dog Lake (10 inilcH) to Stony Portage, and the farther distance to the nioutli is about 40 miles, Mr. (f L. Wetmore, the local division enirineer, says that the fishing in the Michipicoten is little in- ferior to that in the Xepigon, the trout being large (up to fij pounds) and gamy. It would be e(pially feasible to make the run down to the mouth of the Moose, as missionaries and trath-rs frecpiently do; but the journey 18 described as not only toilsome and extremely uncomfortable on ac- count of the hosts of mosipiitoes and flies which infest the endless forests Ihrough which the river passes, but monotonous in the highest degree, and having little at the end of it to reward one's exerti«)n. A few general statements in regard to the "great lone land" N, of tlic! water-shed may not come amiss before leaving this digression. Hudson's Hay is the lowest central portion of a vast basin of paheozoic strata rimmed by the primitive granites, (piartzites, limestones, etc., of the plateau, of which the Laurentian Mountains is the loftiest ri(lge. This ancient plateau abounds in lakes that feed many great rivers flow- ing north as well as south. Where these fall over the rim of the old hard rocks occur the long portages that interfere with steady naviga- ti(m. Helow this rim of priiidtive rocks, representing the shore of the old Silurian sea, a plain of paht'ozoic rocks, almost level, slopes gently down from all sides toward Hudson's IJay. The soil is clayey, there arc tow surface rocks or lakes, but many great swamps and an almost unbroken forest, which, however, yields little timber of value. A poor sort of lignite coal is exposed in many places, bat no other useful min- erals. That the soil is fertile has been shown by the gardens around the ti"ading-i)osts ; but the early frosts prevent extensive or certain agri- culture. The rejiion N. of th« Height of Lantl is as useless for cul- tivation and settlement as it is uninteresting to the traveller. Even the fisheries of the southern part of Hudson's Hay are poor. Few features call for notice during the next 100 miles. The line winds about among rough hills, through many rock-cuttings and over deep ravines, in a way most creditable to the engineers who built it. At Whifr Rivn\ a divisional point (station, lodging-house, restaurant, etc.), arc large yards, where c .ttle shipped from the Northwest are dis- embarked, rested, und fed. The railway follows White River onward to Round fjakt\.(and there is excellent fishing in it, easily accessible all the way), then crosses a level tract to the Hig Pic, which is spanned by a high bridge. This brings the passenger to his^r.v/ view of Lake Su- perior at Heron liai/, on its N. E. angle. NORTH ftllORE OF I,AKE SUPKRIOU. 27 North Shore of Lake Superior. The time si'hodiilo i.s 8o arriuipod ns to put the wcst-boniul train within sij^ht of Luko Superior iit siinrisc in suiimior. rarcntlu'tically, it may ho roinarUod here that the reason why tlie time consumed in ercssin^ the continent l)y tlie Canadian road is some twenty-four hours lonf^er than is really necessary is found in the desirability of passing certain great features of scenery by daylif^ht, and of reaching ci-rtaln preat sta- tions, as \Vinnipe«j and the terminus, at suitable hours. The passenper should be awakened at Heron May in order not to miss seeinii any of this remarkable coast, which, {loinfr eastward, is passed in the afternoon. At first (miy occasional glimpses of the a/ure sheet of water are given. Peninsula iJay, the outlet of Little Tie Uiver, is the first large opening, and the first harbour X. of Michipicoten. Indians are al- ways campinjr here, and would assist fishermen. Jtwkjish, on Jaekfi.sh Bay, is a great lake-fishing place, the sheltered waters behind the Slate Islands, seen in the olfinjx, furnishing the white-fish, lake-trout, stur- geon, etc., with a favourite feeding and spawning ground, i^c/nrihcr is a divisional point of the more important kind, being the residence of the local superintendent and staff, and is surrounded by a neat little town and some small farming. RoKHport, formerly McKay's Harbour, was a landing-place for railway material and the men em])loyed near by in working E. and W. toward a connection with adjoining sec- tions; and here happened one of those vexatious accidents that occa- sionally occurred to delay progress and increase the cost — a land-slide, that swept bodily into the lake a large section of track, carrying with it a wharf and a great (piantity of supplies. Hetwccn this station and the next, (Uravcl /\V>vr (formerly ii favourite hunting-ground and trading- place), some of the heaviest work on the whole road was done, as plainly appears in the vast displacement of rock which enabh'd the track to be carried around the cliffs that here jut out into the lake. One cut at Pay's Plat Point is IcO ft. deep in solid rock. Pay's Plat, or Tonnerre (its old name), vvas the scene of some of the earliest Indian trading on the lake. (J ravel River is especially eligible for camping and fishing. Such are so:iie of the dry facts of the wonderful stretch between Heron Bay and Nepigon, but the traveller will pay little attontien the capes, and the valleys opening northward are seen to b(! hemmed by great walls of basalt, splintered along their faces like the IIiids(m Palisades and the East Rock at New Haven. . . . The gorgeous coloring of the dome:' and ))romontories that line the shore is due to metallic oxides, mostly iron, in the rock, and it would make a beautiful building-stone. It is not a true granite, for mica appears in it but sparingly, and the feldspar is scarlet, Hesh-colored, purple brown, gray, greenish, white, and yellow, giving remarkable vivacity and brill- iancy to the foreground of the landscape."* The ancient rocks along this N. shore — relics of the primitive, life- less skeleton of the continent outlined by the sweep of the Laurentides eastward to Labrador and northwestward beyond Lake Manitoba — are everywhere, in this section, interrupted by enormous trap-dikes of un- certain geological age and origin, which often stand out high above the surface, because they have resisted decay better than the gneisses, shales, and sandstones they cut. To cpiote the elder Agassiz : " The de- structive action of the water u[)on the coast is partially arrested in its progiess upon meeting with them, and the dikes which run with the strike are in conse(pience often found to shield the shore for consid- erable distances; and it fre(pK'ntly happens that a narrow breach hav- ing been effected in a dike, it will be found to be the entrance to a spacious cove worn out on each side in the softer rock behind it. In almost all those instances connnodious harbours result." * C. M. Skinner, A Railway Vacation, p. 24. NOIiTll SiroKE OF LAKE SUPERIOK. 20 Tliese vast hillocks and toweriiijf ridges of daik basaltic rocks form a very striking characteristic of the scenery from Jackfish Hay west- ward. Ogihit>i Butte, just west of Jacktish River, is a good example, and a prominent landmark from the car-windows for a long distance in both directions ; and similar beautiful table-lands last all the way to Thunder Bay — Thunder Cape itself being the highest and most imj)res- sive of all. All this distance cliff and shore are grandly picturesciuc in form and brilliant in colour. The building of this section of the line taxed most severely the exchequer of the company, the skill of the engineers, and the en- durance of the employes. The general manager was W. C. Van Home, now president of the company. A very succinct account of the work is at hand in a little book wiitten and published in London by the Mar- quis of Lome, who, when Govcrnor-(ieneral of Canada, made a jour- ney to the Pacific coast and return, largely along the incomplete line of the growing railway. This is it : "With the exception of about 60 miles, the principal material en- countered was rock of the hardest descrijjtion known to engineers and contractors, and the oldest known to geologists — syenite and trap. Over two and a half million tons of solid rock excavation of this de- scription — a mixture chiefly of feldspar, hornblende, and (piai-tz — had to be removed, besides large quantities of loose rock and hard-pan. The task may be judged of by the fact that for fifteen months 100 tons of dynamite per month were used. The explosive property of dynamite is c(msidered to be equal to twelve or thirteen times that of gunpowder; so that for every month, for fifteen months, if gunpowder had been employed, enough would have been recpiired to freight one of the company's large steel steamers running on Lake Superior. The dynamite was manufactured on the work.*. " The operation went on without intermission, winter and summer, day and night, controlled by an army numbering for the greater part of the time not less than 12,oo0 men. There were also employed from 1,500 to 2,oOO teams of horses, supplemented in the winter by about 1^00 trains of dogs. To house and accommodate this va'^t host, nearly fi,000 buildings of various descriptions were erected on the works. There would thus be there more than double the number of buildings that the city of Stratford contains, counting five persons to each building. Of course, the comparison ends here, for the shanties and stables were in marked contrast to our three-story stone and brick edifices. We can give no estimate of the (piantitics of food for men and dogs and forage for horses which which were brought in ; but in the fall of the year seven months' provision had to be made for this hungry host, with appetites so whetted by the hard outdoor work and the eager, nipping air, that each man consumed on an average five pounds -! 30 NORTH 8IIOKE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. of solid food per diem. To hrinf^ in those supplies and the material for the works, the company had seven steameis running and the contractors five. For the same purpose fifteen docks and storehouses were built by the comi;any along the shore of the lake, requiring Jl,ooO,(»(»o ft. of lumber in construction. The shore was so rough that supply roads could not be built except at enormous expense ; so the supplies and material were landed at these docks, and thence distributed l)y fleets of small boats along the line. And not only were there difhculties by land ; there were dilHcultics by water as well. Miehipicoten was one of the most valuable points of distril)Ution along the entire coast ; but it could not be advantageously availed of owing to the fierceness of the storms. Here two docks were built, each in turn to be washed away l)y the violence of the sea, and here also two steameis were sindv. Conse- (piently the supplies had to be landed 4 miles W. of Miehipicoten, and distril)uted from that point instead. . . . "The labour and expense of getting in the stuff from the coast at Miehipicoten to the railway being constructed inland on the X. may be estimated from the following: First, a road through the rocks had to be built 7 miles in length ; then a lake (H miles long was struck, to traverse which a steamltoat had to i)e constructed. A stretch of Itj miles of rough mountainous country, requiring large rock blastings and cuttings, had then to be encountered. That accomplished, a second lake 11 miles long was reached, where another transport steamer was built. Two and a half miles more of road intervened between this lake and Dog Lake, where a tinrd steamer was built. " Betwi'cn Nipigon and the IMc there are five tunnels, and not less than ten riveis had to be diverted from their natural courses and car- ried through rock tunnels excavated iinderiKiath the road-bed. One of tiiese rivers measures in width l'*i) ft. There are along the coast 11 miles where in the living rock a shelf has been formed for the road- bed of the railway, averaging *2(» ft. in width, in some places consid- erably wider. The rivers crossed by the line >ire spanned by iron bridges ; the abutments — indeed, the stone-woik throughout — being the best kind of juasonry. There is some temporary trestle-woik, which has mostly now been filled in. As a further evidence of the (piality of the work, it may be remarked that no giade exceeds 52 ft. to the mile, and the curvature is generally good, only two curves exceeding six de- grees. There were few accidents to call the hospitals into re(piisition, and such was the care exercised in the dynamite-factoiies that no casu- alty whatever arose in the manufacture of the explosives." The Fishing on the North Shore. All the rivers that come down to the X. shore of Lake Superior are tempting to an angler. The NcpUjmt, to be spoken of presently, i.s fucile pntH'cpn ; but the streams E. of it, where the track closely bor- ders the lake, are ecpial in everything except the size of the fish. The B'uj Pic (pronounced Pwk) is well worih a trial. This is the largest NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. 81 stream that falls into this i)art of the lake, au'l it formed a boat route between the northeastern eorner of Lake Superior and the I.onj^ Lake grow I ) of waters 100 miles northward. The 11.15. Co. early planted a post at Long Lake, whose outlet is the prinei|>al trilmtarv of Albany Itiver ; and another, well proteeted by palisades at the mouth of the Hig Pic, commanding this minor route to and from the far \. Just W. is the Little Pic, reached from Middkton station ; and just E. White liii'cr. All three contain good trout, but canoes can not be used. There is a humble but clean sleej»ing-place iit Pcniti^ulo, and good fishing may be had from the rocks all along this part of the shore. As am])le accoumiodations arc available at Jtukfish and SehrcHnr, however, the streams nearer those stations are esi>ecialiy recommended. The best, perhaps, is Sttel River, which is now provided w ith a good trail cut by direction of the railway otlicers. Trails have also been nuide along Prairie, Hlack, Gravel, and Jack-pine Rivers, so that now anglers can reach a great number of good [)ools heretofore inaccessilde. (Jen- tlemen well acipiainted with these waters, in particular Messrs. (Jeorge W. Wetmore, of Schreiber, and K. W. Sandys, of New York, have fur- nished the writer with the following explicit and tnu>*t worthy information: The Steel is reached from JaekjiKh, and offers about 5 miles of good water below Mountain Lake, which has i-apital camping-sites. To fish this river the sportsman should get off at Jark-Jislt sliitiou. Starting about a «piarter of a mile K., a portage has l)een cut through to Clearwater Lake, about 2^ miles, and the poitage between Clear- water and Mo'.sntain Lake has been brushed out and i)ut in good order, (jood trails have also been cut on both sides of the river to the foot of the rapid water. A trail has also been cut from the iron railway bridge to the head of the rariid water at the mouth of the rivei'. A canoe can now be taken in by way of Clearwater Lake ami down the river to Jacktish without dilliculty. The i)ortages, though long, are easy. The fishing in this liver is good from the tiiiic the ice leaves until the middle of June. Froni then until .\ugiist 1st good s|)ort is to be had, though somewhat uncertain. After that, until the muldle of September, the fishing can not be surjiassed anywhere, the fish rang- ing in weight from 2 to G pounds. If the tisherman intends visiting the head-waters of this river, he should ha»e guides with him. These can be obtained or recommended by the division superintendent of tlie railway at Schreiber. Capital sport can be had from the mouth of the river to the heads of the lower rapids, and, if the sportsman contiiu-s himself to this stretch of water, no guides will be re([uired. Prairie River is 2 miles E. of Steel Lake Siding, 7 nnles \V. of Middleton st-ition, and 9 miles E. from Jacktish station. The trail commeuces about BOO ft. W. of where the railway crosses the river, 32 THE NEPIOON KE(}ION. aui trends N. for about 4 milcrt, where it strikes the river at tlie head of the fast watei*. From this point tlie wading is good and safe down- stream through tlie rapids, tho fisliing being exeelient all along. The trail is cut close to the river, and can be reached from any point. From August 1st until September 15th is the best time, but good sport may be hud any time after the middle of June. Black Jiiver is another good one, though the fish do not range so heavy. Half a mile W. of lilack lliver Siding, and starting from the W. side of the railway bridge, is a trail leading N. along the bank for 6 miles to the head of the rapids. From this point the wading down- stream is good and the sport certain, or a canoe can be used. A beauti- ful cascade, well worth seeing, lies about a mile S. of the bi-idge. A good trail, starting at a i)oint a mile W. of hlack River Siding, leads directly from the railway to the falL Gravel Liver is a capital water, either early in the spring or late in the fall, though it is at times somewhat uncertain. From Gravel River station a trail extends for a couple of miles to the IJig Fall, thence down-stream along the rapid wat;v for 2^ miles, thence back to the station, the trails forming a triangle. Trout in this river range from 1 to 4 pounds' weight. Good fishing is also to be had from the rocks along shore, aiul this is a most desirable spot for camping-parties. The Jack Pine is a first-class water. During early summer fish of small size are plentiful, but after August big fellows weighing up to 5 pounds may be taken readily. A trail, starting a little E. of Mazo- koma station, extends along the river 4 miles to the head of the rough water, rendering the best reaches available, and large fish may be ex- pected. The Nepigon Region. The Nepigon region embraces the country N. of Lake Superior sur- rounding NepUjon Lake, and its outlet Nepiyon River, which fiows southward into Ncphjon Bay, the northernmost point of Lake Supe- rior. The train crosses this famous trout-river near its mouth, at Nepi- gon station, near the old Hudson IJay post and settlopient of Red Rock. " The Nepigon River ... is the largest river flowing into the lake [Superior], and differs from all the others in having clear water. The following appears to be about the order in size of the 12 largest rivers entering Lake Superior, judging principally by the area wliich each appears to drain: Nepigon, Kaminitiquia, Black Sturgeon, St. Louis (in United States), Pie, Michipicoten, Goulais, IJutchawana, Black, Ontonagon (in United States), Montreal, and Current. The character of the Nepigon River and its size . . . entitle it to be con- sidered as the continviation of the St. Lawrence beyond Like Superior. The j^eneral upward course of the Nepigon is due N. (astronomically). . . . Four lakes occur in its course [of about 40 miles], to which, in the absence of other names, we gave those shown on the accompany- ing map. The lowest of them, Lake Helen, is only 1 mile trom Red THE NKPIGON KE(HON. 88 Rock, a H. IJ. Co.'s post at the head of Ncpigon Harbor. At the outlet of this hike [where the railway now crosses] the liver is very narrow, apparently only about l«iO yards wide, and sweeps around with a strong current (estimated by Adnuial Hayfield at four and one half knots an hour) for a distance of abnut half a luile between banks of border-drift from 30 to 40 ft. hif^h. Lake Helen, which runs due N., is about S ndles long and 1 mile wide. The upward course of the river leaves the W. side of this lake nearly at right angles to the shore. For <> miles from this point, in a northwesterly direction, it has a width of al)<)i'*: 5 chains, with deep water and a moderately strong current, flowing in a bed of alluvial sandy clay, with Laurentian gneiss close to the K. side, sometimes approaching miles long, and is studded with islands, is separated from Lake Maria, immediately above it, and 2-J^ miles in length, by The Narrows, 6 or H chains wide, in which there is a strong current, with a fall of inches or more. " A very high, west-facing cliff of columnar trap approaches the river from the southwestward, at the he.ad of Lake Maria, and runs from this point, in a tolerably straight course, all along the K. side of the river to Lake Nepigon. Trap cliffs also occur on the W. side of the river from Lake Maria to ('edar portage (Sj)lit Rock), the distance be- ing 2 miles. This portage is 250 yards long. A mile and a (puirter a))Ove it there is another portage, of .)0 yards, over an island in the middle of the river. Three quarters of a mile above Island portage the One-mile portage (2,000 paces) begins. " At rather more than 1 mile from the head of this portage the river breaks into a white, foaming chute, across a narrow ridge of trap, which separates Lake Emma from the lower level. A narrow arm, in continuation of the course of the river, just below White chute, and parallel with the E. shore of I^akc Enuna, but on a lower level, ex- tends beyond the chute to a distance of about a mile, where a portage of 230 yards is made across the low trap ridge to the lake which has just been mentioned. This lake is nearly 4 miles long. Retween it and the point at which the river leaves Lake Xcpigon, a distance of .some fi miles, four principal rapids occur, the lowest of which is seen where * The writer is informed that the Canadian Pacific Company will probably erect next ydUr a small hotel, or c/ulfcf, at this point, for the benefit of fisherman, and that certain Port Arthur men are taking steps toward placing a small steam-yacht to run between Nepigon station and Camp Alexander. 8 34 THE NKPlfiON KEOION. the river enters the northern extremity of liake Eniinn. The cnnoe route turns aside from the waters of the Nepipon »t the N. W. an{:;Ie of this lake, and for one (|uarter of a mile follows a brook tlowin;^ from Lake Hannah, whieli has a sli};htly hi<:her level than the last lake. Four miles more, in a noithwesteily eourse, brinji^s us to the head of Lake Hannah, from whieh Flat lioek portage, about 1 mile in length, earries us to the shore of Lake Nepigon." * Lake Nepigon, the "deep, clear lake," Aminij)igon of the Crec In- dians, is elliptical in form, but its outline is extremely irregular. The longest diameter is a little W. of N., and measures about 70 miles, while its breadth is about 50. On the S. side aie many large bays, though the largest bay of all, Ombakika, is on the northern side; this bay is nearly 20 milrt is plenti- ful ; brick-clays, lime, an(i l)uilding-stone abound ; salt springs are known; and the day is probably near when these hills and watcr.s will echo to the .'bounds of rural industry. Finally, it nnist not be forgotten that all these rough rocks belong to the same series as the e(»pper-bearing ledges surrounding liake Su- perior; and that not only native copper, iron, and lead, but gold and lesser ndnerals are recogui/.ed, and have already been mined. It is the fishing, however, which makes this lake, and more espe- cially the river, intere.artifi|iiilc in tlic iiispiiiliii;^ pleasures of our un^liii); trips willioul the sll;ilitest, diiii;^er of family Itunkruptev. ilust think how much Ixi^hter the waters a|)peiir, how niiieh lovelier the woods seem, and what a ffviuv of ;i<'ntleness pervades the wildness and romanee of our HurroiMidin^s when the 'girls' uro in eaiioe and camp with us! And a mere trifle of extra cost sulfiees thus to 'jiaint tho lily' of our joy- ous outdoor life." Tho fish euujrht are white-fish and trout, the hitter remarkahle for their si/e. Two and three pounders are not uncommon. A few live- pounders will fall to the lot of most diligent anglers in tlie course of a season ; and Hsh wei}ihin<^ eight pounds huvo been taken. The best flies, according' to Sandys, arc as follows: "The standard flies for Nopitjon and adjacent waters arc the 'pro- fi'ssor,' Spleen,' ' frrizzly kiiij;,' 'Montreal,' 'Sotli (Jrcen,' 'fairy,' *slioemaker,' 'c.'iul benefit of the silvery white-fish. In addition to such (»f these as you may pin faith to, and otheis of your own particular fancy, it will be as well to take some artificial niiiniows and a lew ()f the j.'ood rul)bor baits along; for they come in very handy when fish refuse a fly, and are a|)t to tempt big fellows. Vour fly fisher may sneer at this, but do you let Idm sneer, ami take the bails just the same, for they will surely be used and do their part gallantly. A fig for what the fish rises to! So long as you ])lay him fairly and well after he i.s once hooked, Uie sport is just the same ; and, moreover, if the tiue inwardness of the capture of some of the 'monsters' was known, it might be that they fell to a grassliopi)er or even the degraded 'chunk of pork,' while the fly-book was never ojiened." The names ujum the accompanying map indicate favorite camping and fishing places. Writers like the Jlon. Robert H. Roosevelt and Charles llallock have sung the praises of Nepigon fishing, and an ex- cellent article upon this svibject by A. U. Macdonongh Yale appeared in Scribner's Magazine, vol. v (l^Hfl), page o\o. Cnmpiiig Outfit and Regimen. Bearing in mind that one mu-?t camp in fishing the Nepigon, the following hints by Mr. Whitclier may prove very valuable, not only liere but elsewhere, in Western campaigning: " Practiced campaigners know all about the proper outfit for such a jaunt as I have been describing. Others may be glad to TIIK NKPIOON HKOIoX. .^7 ln' rciiiiiidt'd of what are nri'cssitit'P ; what iniiy bo (.'oiisidcrtMl liixurii's; wIh'It bi'st to p't tliciii ; liow to iirraii;,'!' for tnuis|iortiition, vtv. . . . " Tlic ki» lor siu'h an expedition oii^iht to incliidt' tents and a rejjii- lai' canteen for c'ool rather, eonfront the eye on both sides, restiniij upon the indurated red marls, whieh give the name " Red Rock " to the district ; and outward the view takes in the broid bay, the rough outlines of St. Ignaeo and other islands, and eatehes glimpses of the distant lake. There is a fine strip of shore where the houses of fishermen and small farmers shine against the green forest, and the white sails of tishing-ciaft dot the azure plain of water. The riiilroad descends by steep, curvilinear grades until, some 4 miles westward, it turns around the base of Red lloek elitf, enters a stri'teh of level country, and passes easily between > succ.'ssion of highly eolouied buttes across to the head of IJlaek Hay — ■ i large iidet penetrating northeastward from the lake, and sepaiated from Nepigon Hay by a long and lofty peninsula terminating in rocky islets which form a favourite white-li.hing ground. This bay owes its name to the discoloured water of Hlack Sturgeon River whieh enters its apex, and is presently crossed by the train. Ilei'e. too, the " Hlack " in the name refers to the colour of the water rather than to the great fish Cftmmonly taken there. It comes from Black Sturrfcoii Lake — a body of water lying just west of l-ake Nepigon ( 1 ndle by portage), and courses irregularly down through Hig and Little Nonwatan and Ksh([ua- nonwatan l^akes, the last some 20 ndles above the bay. The upper portion of the river and the lakes lies in a tolerably level region, but hills close in near the mouth. A great many rapids disturb the very crooked current, but all these can, with one or two exceptions, be run by canoes. These facts are given because this is one of the lartrest and most interesting of the north-shore rivers, and affords excellent fishing, thou'rh the tio\it are small. The level lowland contimies, and the train proceeds straight southwestward at high speed, keeping con- stantly in view eastwaid a lofty, dark-colored ri'lge, which grows higher and more pictur"S(iue. The stations Wo'f Jiivrr, Pearl Jx'ieer, Loo' Lake, j\i\i\ Mackenzie are passed in quick succession; but they have nothing to merit attention except that eacli of them gives access in summei' to a good trout-stream (Current River has the highest repute), THE PEN INSULA OF ONTARIO. 30 and in winter to fine trapping and sliooting grounds, especially for bear and deer. Partridges are abundant here, too. Tlu'ee hours after leav- ing Nepigon the lake again comes into view at the head of the great inclosed harbour of Thumh'r Biuj^ the lofty ridge sweeps on down its farther shore in tlie grand promontory of Thumkr Cope, and soon the train completes the first stage of its transeoiitinental journey at the busy little cities of Port Arthur and Fort William, 1,(KM) miles from Montreal, l,7oi> miles from Halifax, and 2,000 from the Pacific coast. TOUR OF THE UPPER LAKES. A most attractive pmt of West Canada is the region of the (Jreat Lakes; and tiot oidy is there a large number of towns, sunnner re- sorts, and fishing-places along their shores, but several of the idghways to the Northwest lie across Lakes Huron and Superior. The present chapter will di'al with the various routes and places of interest on the Canadian side of the Upper Lakes. The Peninsula of Ontario. Western Ontario constitutes a triangular peninsula inclosed by LiJ2). Diverging lines of the Grand Trunk and C. P. K. con- nect St. Thomas with all the interior districts and with Port Stanley (see p. 44). From St. Thomas westward to the Detroit River this line pjvsses through a ilat, wooded, and uninteresting district, but the road is straight and well laid, enabling its trains to go with great speed and punctuality. At Kssex Center the road divides, the present main line keeping '^n to ^F«k^.so>-, opposite Detroit, where tlie ears cross the De- troit River upon a ferry-boat ; wliile the oiiginal line of the Canada Southern turns southward to Aniliersthunj (population, 2,500; Lalc- vicw Ilolef, f 2), and crosses the Detroit River at Grosse Isle by ferry, whence it continues to Toledo, Ohio. Lake Eric ami Detroit Jliver K. R. This line is a route 30 miles in length, from Walkerville, a manu- facturing village adjoining Windsor on the N. (and connected with De- troit by its own ferry), to K'ni(jsvilh\, on Lake Erie. Walkerville is interesting in having what are said to be the largest distilleries and storage warehouses in the world. Here no less than 80,000 barrels, containing more than 4,000,000 gallons, are always to be found ripen- THE PENINSULA OF ONTARIO. 41 ing with nge under a continuously uniform teniporaturo. Tlu' Cuniidian law forbids the sale of any spirit less than two years old ; and excise officers keep it under their seal until that time, at least, has expired. But in the case of the Walkerville whiskies the (Jovernnicnt, at the re- quest of the manufacturers, retains possession much longer, and finally stami)S a guarantee of the age of its contents over the cork of every bottle. This fact will interest all readers, and a visit to this great establishment will be well repaid. The southern terminus of the rail- road is at J\l)tf/.svill(\ on Pi^/cmi Bai/, a shallow bight of liake Krie be- tween Point Pelee on the E. and Arner's Point on the W. This shore is warm and fertile, and is largely devoted to grape-growing and the production of wine. Point Pe^ee is a gi'avelly i)romontory reaching out into the lake, and separated from the nuiinland by a marshy tract which forms one of the best duck-shooting grounds in Canada. (Opposite its extremity is Pche hhtruf^ the most southerly point in Canada, and occupied largely by the Peleo Club, an association of sportsmen. Lcmniiiyton and h'iuf/srillc are villages on the shore, the latter lighted by natural gas obtained in abundance from wells near by. KingsvilU; is the station for a large and handsome summer hotel, l^ie Jlttfairos^ which is provided with all modern improvements and largely patronized, not oTily by Detroit people and Canadians, but by many families from the Southern States. It stands on high blutfs, and many islands are in view. IJesides the two tine groves within the village there are sev- eral itretty picnickmg-grounds along the shore ; and 2 miles W. is Cedar Iteaeh, a broad strip of clean-washed sand lying between Cedar Creek and the lake, with a wide belt of red cediii's extending its whole length. Besides several daily trains between Walkerville and Detroit, the steamboat Ldfcc-ilile plies frecpiently between Kingsville and Pelec Island, .Sandusky (Ohio), and Detroit. Lines of the («i-aiul Trunk Kaihvay* The (Jrand Trunk Railway Comjiany was the first to lay tracks in Western Ontario, and now reaches ahnost every town of importance. The mr'.in line |)roceeds nearly straiglit W. from Toi-onto through Georgetown (poi)tdati(m, l,6tH>); (iuclf>h (population, 11,000; RomJ and WcUhi(fton Hotels, ^2); Herlin (population, S,o()o ; Anuritunt Ilotil, $2 — a good place for fishing); and Waterloo (population, .'5,oflO ; (V>'/i- mn-ciril Hotel, *(2), to Stratford (population, lo,OoO; ]Vhi0 ft. long. It is lined throughout with solid cast-iron plates, bolted together in seg- ments — each segment being 5 ft. long, 18 inches wide, and 2 inches thick, with tlangt's 5 inches deep ; the whole lining weighing together 28,000 tons. The interioi- diameter of the tunnel is 2tt ft., and ample means have been provided lor thorough ventilation, and for lighting it tl'.roughont, when re(iuired, by the electric light. The road is practi- cally level under the river, with approaches at each end on gradients of 1 in 50. The total length of the tunnel and approaches is 11,553 ft. At the ends of the approaches are Junctions with the (irand Trunk Ry. on the (^anadian side and the Chicago and (Irand Tr^.nk Ry. cm the American side of the river. The tunnel was constructed by means of heavy wrought-iron shields, with sharp edges, 15 ft. '-^ inches long, and 21 ft. (i inches in diami'ter. Kach shield was pushed forward by 24 hydratdic lanis, the barrel of each lam being 8 inches in diam- eter, with a stroke of a little more; than 18 inches. Each ram exer- cised a force of 125 tons. From the date when the shields were first lowered in position at the pf)rtals to the meeting of the shields in the tunnel, the time occupied in constructing the tunnel was twelve moiiths. The cost of the tumiel is in the neighborhood of |2,7oo,O0O." Sarnia is a port of call for occasional steamboats, and the starting- point for an important line to the Upper Lakes. A small steamer may bo taken here daily (or at Windsor), which nuUtes the circuit of St. Clair River and Lake, stoi)])ing at all landings. Another line of the Grand Trunk proceeds westward from Suspension Rridge through Ham- ilton {^i'C Canadian (luide-Rook, Part I, pp. 17-20), //(^-yvVn^/T/ (junc- tion for (Jalt, (Juelph, lirantford, etc.), and Paris (junction for Strat- THE PENINSULA OF ONTARIO. 48 ford iind northern points) to 11 W/.s/ocA* (population, 9,000; O' AW// and Commercial I/oOfn, >;2), higermll (poi-ulation, 4,200; T)<(hi //(>«,sr, $2) iMiidoH, and Sam/a. Tliis is the old " Great Western llailway," and it and its many branches pas;? through the most populous part of the province. One sees everywhere fields of corn and prain, with pastures and mueh timber interspersed ; and everywhere the same lonely ham- lets and neat, well-shaded towns, just as in New York or Ohio. The largest and most notable eity is Loudon. It contains ;i'2,0()0 people, and is the central point of the whole peninsula. Branches of the Grand Trunk system radiate from it in all directions, and it is con- nected with Detroit and Toronto by the Canadian Paeitie. The city is named after the British metropolis, stands upon the Thames River, and has its Hyde Park, St. Paul's Cluirch, and a nundjer of otiier nominal resendjlanees. The river is a very pietty stream, and navigable for some distance by small pleasure-steamers, which carry the citizens to certain picnicking resorts, and to the copi(»us s|)rings whence the city's water-sup|»ly is derived. The town lies level, and is intersected by wide streets, several of which are planted with four lines of shade- trees, making charming avenues in summer. There is much wealth, and the public buildings, banks, and stores are of fine appearance. Cream-coloured brick and light stone are the j)rincipal building mateiials, and nearly every residence is surrounded by pretty gn»unds. Alto- gether, London is a comely, cultivated, and highly prosperous town, though it is not one that is making veiy rapid progress. As the home of many old and well-to-do families, its social affairs are ujxm a high plane. Besides the long-organized London Club there is a younger Hunt Club, which supports kennels with a large i)ack of hounds )} miles from town, where there is also a club-house. Drag-hunts are con- ducted twice a week duiing the season, and the kennels form a rendez- vous for driving and riding partii's. A rod-and-gun club also flourishes ; and the jjcople pay great attt'iition to good dogs and horses. London has many churches, some of which ate nol)le in architecture ; ami a complete system of schools, supplemented by two rt'ligious colleges, a btisiness college, etc. There is an opera-house, where most of the best travelling companies are seen from time to time ; two daily newspapers, and a public library. The city is lighted by electricity an(» ; Atnrneon and Ihttlershj/ hotels, -^Nl.nO), a flourishing village ), with branches to Midland, Penetanf;uisliene, Collingwood, and Mcafonl, at the soutliern extrendty of Ceor^dan Hay. Co/Z/^^/^vW (populatioti, r),(i()(»; Cnifni/ I/oft f, ^2) is an old and pleasant port, the startiiifi^-point of steamers on (Jeoi-gian Bay (see p. 52), and fre(|uented by sunnncr residents. Afm/ord (popu- lation, 2,0(M> ; Jirilifih llotd, ^1) is condn<2) is well known. ]Vri(/ht\s Farms is a summer place near by. This town lies innne- diately opposite Saginaw, Mich , and in its vicinity are copious and valuable brine-wells and salt-works. The steamers of the Sarnia Line touch at Goderich, and Kincardine; and these towns are further con- nected with London, Chatham, and Lake Erie by the Ilarvn and lirnec Ry. * • Points on the Canadian Pacific. Within the past five years the C. P. 11. has built or ac(pdred lines reaching into Western Ontari(» in competition with the older companies. Two main routes now exist, one from Toronto to Wind- sor (Detroit), and the other to Owen Sound on (Jeorgian Hay. On the former line the train passes west of Toronto through a highly product- ive region, with such flourishing towns as MVton (branch to (luelph). Gait (population, 8,000; Lnp