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T ,v^ ^s QUEBEC AND — LAKE HURON RAILWAY SKCTOH OF TIIK UXDEUTAKISG QUEBEC : Printed by " LkSoleiu." IHOO .?>••■ "J ^tm ^1 :3. Quebec and Lake Huron RAILWAY ■■♦•»■■ Sketch of the undertaking ^>» This road will ^tart^ from (^it^hec and end at the month of French river on (Jcorgian Bay, at the north-east ant^le of I^ake lfni-on. The road will pi-actically follow a strai^^ht line and be 440 mile^ in leni^th. ^iil.") of which will be in the Province of Qiieht'C, and 115 in that of Ontario. At the month of French river, it will conne('t with navigation on Lakes Huron. Michigan and Superior. OB.Jp:eT OK THE UNDERTAKING The object of the promoters of this uudertakin^ is to provide for the ex[)ortation of the agricultural produce of Wt^stern Canada ami the United States, the shortest road between navigation on the above mentioned lakes and ocean navigation between America and Europe. — 4 DESCRIPTION OF THE ROAD Between Quebec and (traiules Piles on the St. Maurice river, the road will rnn through the parish»'s of Ancienne Lorette. Ste. C'atlieiine, Ste. Jeanne, St. Basile,St.Alhan. St. ILahie, St.Adclphearid St. Tite. Beyond the St. Maurice. j,M»injr towards the west the road will run iu the same direction, passing through the parisli of St. Michel des Saints on the Mattawin to Moose IJapids on the iiievre river, wMll ci'oss tlie (iatineau in the vicinity of the river Joseph i)ost and reacdi the Ottawa in the n<'igh- bcnnliood of Mattawa viilage. From that point the * line will run to the south of Lake iNipissing, will cross the South river at the last falls, distant al)out three miles from that lake and from there will extend to the vve>tein terminus at French i*iver. suh'Cino oenfrks The (!hif^f shipi>ing jmints for grain, flour, salt meats and othfr agricultural produce from the Western Tnited States and Canada, are Chicago, Dniuth and Port Arthur. The chief ocean ports to which such produce is now sent are New-York, Port- land, Montreal, St. John and Halifax. In Europe. Liver[)0(d is the port at which nu)stof these shipments are receivr'd. CUMFAIUSON OF iilSTANOKS The following tal»l(?s show the disljinees between Livei-poi)l and the w estiM'n shipping centres by the various roads now in use. The liumbors betvvoea parentlieses refer to appendix .\. wliii h gives details fur eacdi road. — D — ClIirAGO TO FilVKRPOOL Via Bostoji (2, U, 73, 71)) 4,2ys miles Montreal |4, 9 ) 4,177 IJostoii (2, 12, 70 1 4,140 IWtluH.i (3, 14, 7:i, 7S) 4J3S (3. II. 59 ) 4.121 New- York (1, 211 ), Boston (2. 22 I. Portland (3. 14, ()9 I [O, O'l f Boston (2. 31 I Montreal (4, 11. 57 Quebec (5, 12, I'.S Montreal (4. 12. ()7 Quehee (5. 14, 73 It (1 ii ) ,4.nsi 4,n()«) .4.0i;3 . 3.'.ISS 3 *.)'*2 . 3,so3 3.71)4 .3,7()1) .3.G3D Taking iii each cas(» tlii^ shortest road between Cliica;j;-o and the Atlantic i)orts. we Hnd that the railway tVoni Quel)e<' to Lake Huron will shorten the distance as follows : Via (a) New-York.... 40S1 Q. ^ [.. li 3()31) a (h) lioston 31)22 Q. .JcL. H :i()31) (c) Portland 31)SS Q. «^ L. 11 3031) (d) Montr':nil 37()1) Q. i^ L. ll......3()31) 342 miles 2S3 " 341) " 130 •• The shortening of the distance by rail will be 546 miles for d ; 5>S7 for h and ()D8 for c. — () — DuLUTH TO Liverpool Via Buffalo and New-York. (1, 17. SO). . .4.544 milos - New-York (1, 3S )... 4,519 ; •' Boston (2,31) )...4,4t)D ' - Portland (-i 40 )... 4,413 '; " Montreal (4.41 )... 4.094 ; " " and Owen Soiind(4. Gl. ()7). . .3,9or> " and Midland.... (4, 18. 57). . .:],910 ;] " Quel)ee ^- Parry S()nnd(5, 20, 6S). . .;iS96 " Mcmtreal " " ;4, 1>0, ()7). . .3,871 '' " and ("an. Pacitic(4. 47 )...3.S69 ". '' Quebec Q. \ 1.. II (5, Jl, 73). . .3,704 " Here a«iain, takin*i- in ea!)). .4().")0 - " Quobecand Can. l'acitic..(:), 2(), 02). .38fi8 '• '' Montreaian.l()\vftnS( ..n(l(4. 2r), 61)..3856 " " Qn(»l)ec' and Can. l'aritic..(r).:)2, )..3S.S4 " ' Montreal " " (4..')!, )..3822 '' Midland (4.2:) 57)..3NOO " '' Quebec and I'arr} Sonnd.(r). 27 fiS)..37% " '* Montreal '" " (4. 27. (w). .3771 " " Quebec Q. ^ C II (5, 2^. 73). .3604 "' Takinir a^'ain the shortest liiies we get the follow ing saving in (!- ■tan^-e.s. Via (i) Portbi. -I AOoCi Q.^K L 11 3()U4 ' - 446 niiies " (j) Montreal 3771 Q. «fc L. H 360 1 167 '• *' (k)Quel)ec 37% (^ ^ L. H 3B<)4 11)2 '' The shortening- (d' the distance by rail is 223 miles for i and 135 for /•. As may easily be seen, the Quebec and Lake Huron Ilaihvaywill l>e the shortest line for shi])ping the produce of the west. It suliices to cast a glance at the map to see that it is im])ossible to co'iceivea shorter one, especially as regards Duluth, the centre towards which of necessity con.verges the shipment of the enormous quantities of agricultural produce fiom the North Western States. ^SnHHH^R 5* — 8 — The Duluth Grain Trade. Duluth and Superior-which, commercially speak- inir, are but one-are the terminus ot seyentl rail- ways, and especially of two of tlie greatest trans- continental railways : The (Ireat Northern and J he Northern Pacific, which carry there the farm pro- duce of one of the richest agricultural regions ot the United Suites. The trade of Duluth is developinL^ with prodigious rapidity and has already attained colossal proportions as may be seen by the following figures : ^ Arrivals of Grain. 1S95 .... 70,793,676 bushels. 18%::::.'.'.'.'.... 97,604,001 ; 1897 92,597,319 " 1S9S 102,896,780 " 1899: 98,884,981 " In 1899, this grain was carried by the following railways : Northern Pacific 21,731.444 bushels. Eastern ^linnesota '->i'i?^V^J5> Chicago, St. Paul, M. and ( )maha 7,boS,ol7 St. Paul and Duluth 11,7o0,6;j4 The export bv navigation on the lakes amounted to 68,970,218 l)iishels and was shipi)ed to the fol- lowing ports : Buffalo 49.668,8-27 bushels. chicagci: i,s9(M88 ;; Clevehmd 1,160.789 ' Detroit 150,869 " At — D Erie 2.r)l.-),2r;n Ini^liels. FaJrport Milwaukee TO.inil) Port Huron ofUl.oOl Toledo 2(i.V.K]ll SaiKluskv r>](M)s4 Colliugwood 11IS.2-J1) Kinoston 2.nill,2:i(> Montreal 187,74i) Midlaii.l 3.0S0;Ji:; Owen Sound m),(Hn Parrv Sound 3.S12.4()0 I^rescott 21):il).Vi Sarnia 40(1.042 ({oderich 40.0(10 (irand Haven 27,873 Byi-iiil 1,610.753 bushels \vereslii[)iMHl. Tlielialance remained in the elevators. As regards the nntvenuiit of the port of Duiuth and Superior the figures are as follows : Entercfl .jsili vessels, iuirden 7,23."), 2SS tons. Cleared 5710 " •' 7.IIIS.213 " ll,2:)i; 14.443.501 " The receipts of grain for Isi^Dcouiprise 54.',l'>l/,)48 bushels of wheat and 4.57;»,U30 barrels of tloiir, representing at 4' busluds to thr barr33 bushels. This makes 1,301).77S tons and. by adding it to the other grain, we get a total of 1,1I('.(>.(U4 tons. if to this be added the fi'riglit that may be got at Fort-Arthui" ami the other Lak(^ Sui»erior [)orts, there is no exaggeration in saying that, in a few itrmjnM -10- years, the freight coniiiiii' from thau direction and destined to Athmtic [torts will amount to three or four milliinis of tons annually This is the tratti«; which the Oiehec and Lake Huron h'ailway aims to direct to Quel)ec and the 8t. liawivnce i-oute hy shortening fhe distance and materially i-educing the co>t of trausixn'tation : two ohjccts which it can hetter attain than any other line. Hut this traffic may also he doulded hefore the fin(^ wheat lands of the imuHMi-^e I'egion ('(uniner- ciallx and lUM'essai'ily tril)utary to it — Minnesota, IS'orth Dakctta. South Ihikota. Montana, Wyoming and even a largt^ jtart of the Canadian North VW^.st, whi(di in a few years will l)e able to supply fifty millions of hushels of cereals to exportation —have been brought into cnltivation. The outlook for the trade of Dnluth is therefore boundless. Sketch of the Tkaffjc The Sfa/lsfir if Yr^r llnnknt Cfninda for 1S!)S states that there pa^seil through the Cinadian Canal at Sault Ste. Marie. ^.'ul:.\\y.) tons of fi'eiglit in ISlM), and 4.l|47.0(;.3 tons in lsl)7. These ((uantities wer<> greatlv increased* in 1S9S ami I SDK. i}esi(|es this, tliei-e is tln^ freight jtassing thi'ough the AmeiMcan Canal on the south side of the Sault. Setting this off to nnike up for tlie ascending freigi;t imduded in the tiynres ai)ove given.it remains very clearly established that at least 5.00(1.(1(10 tons of frjuglit. bound foi* Atlantic ports and coming from ])',iluth, Port Arthur and otluu- Lake Su[)erior ports, jjass annually through Lake Huron. 1 — 11 — In tlie case of onr railways with the most im- proved rolling st(jck, the largest cars carry 2()rt> o;i l.akr Mirlngaii. winch ].as<(^s thi'oiigh ihe Straits of Mackiiiaw to n-wcl] I^ake Ilnron and whi(di is as large, il not larger, than that coining from Lake Superior. ^riiest" coiisi(hMatioii> nvr calculated to gi\e an ideaof the ini[»ortancr of opening up tlit^ shortest possihle ront(^ for the coineyance of the products of the w<>st hetween the port> of Lake liiiron / i'(nn/ in the i'rovince (d" Quehec for tNnidgn poi't>. amounted to ().*)7'2.nlS tons, whirt, ol' (^ni'hcc alone as much ocean freight as there was slii|)|ie I from iJial port and all the other ports of the pr(>\ ince during the four years in question ! Aud why should not this come to pass ? It is an (deuienfary truth that tratHc invariably seeks the shortest i-oute and the cheapest trans- port. it ion. In hoi h thivse i-(vsj)ects, the Quebec and Lake liurtm road would b:\vondall ipiestion be unrivalled. Why should not thi^ same results usually obtained (dsewhere. Im» had in favor of Quebec and the St. Law leuce route .' LlMUKU TliADE HtMwtMMi tli(^ St. Maurice aud the Ottawa, the Quebt'c aud Lak«> Huron l\*ailway would run nearly thi'ough the centre of tle^ finest foi"i;sts of the pro- \ i:u'e o( (^)uel)t>('. In iSiKS. there wtU'O taken t)ut of tlu's(^ toi'ivsts lM'_\<>7o.'»'J.S su|>erticial feet of pine, 1 l(».(»OL47J su|>tM-ticial feet of sprue.'. '.MO.s-Jt) cubic ftM>t of stpiare pine and o4:>.')l I cuhic feet of birch and a ipianl i!y ^^( ot her timl>ei-. In the Lake Nipis- >ing region, a part o{ Ontario also to be traversed 1<> \\\o road, a gi-(\it dt'al of iinib»M' is also manu- fai'tin\vl. M> that tlhM't> i> no (Exaggeration in the statiMucni tiiat the railway will run through a count i-\ in w hich ooo.' (id.Odii feet of pine aud >['ruce timluM' are auunall> made tor exiiort. This railway will olT(U- fortlu> exportation (d' this timber tluMuo^t expeditious and the least expen- sive mode of trausi>ortation. — 13 — y only \rh the or the Ls there V ports 3stion I ai-uil)ly , traiis- 1 Lake ivalled. btained the St. wa, the II nearly the pro- >n out of of pine, >2«> cubic of birch kt' N i pis- rave r>e'l ■o nianu- \n ill the irouj^'h a III spruce on of this it expen- From the Coulonge river, the distance is about the same to Quebec or Montreal. From the Oatineau river and other streams more to the eastward, it is nearer to the i)ort of Quebec than to that of lijontreai. Most of the timber made in the r[)per Ottawa comes down by the Dnmoine, Noii-e and Coulonge rivers and passes through the government slides to reach Ottawa. The tolls for the ns(» of these s.'idcs, per thousand feet boai-d measure, are'? cents on the Dumoiue, and iS cents on the Noiie and ("oulonge rivers. In addition there are the tolls for the use of the booms and slides in the Ottawa river whi(di amount to 28 cent [)er 10(1(1 feet. These tolls ami the cost of driving form as large a sum as the cost of transjiortation by railway from the point of production to Quel)ec. Hy forwiirdiug this timber by the railway, the liiuit owners would gain the price of transportation from their mills to Montreal and the oc^an freight from Montreal to Quebec in the casiiof all timber intended for the J^uropean markets. It is only necessary to set forth these fa(;ts to demonstrate the advantages which the railway in question would bring t(» the lumber trade and to the i»()rt of Qiud)ec. Su])i»osing even that the road only secured one fourth of this freight, it would bring 125,()()(),(J0() feet of timber to Quebec. Tt is very probable that a portion of the timber ■would also take a western (lirper Ottawa the markel of Duluth and al)ove all that of (.'hicago. uliicli is one of the largest in AuHM'ica. — 14 — There is another advantage wliich this railway would procure for the timber trade and the govern- ment. Hard Wood. Throughout this region there are extensive torests of hard-wood trees: red oak, asli, hntternnt, maple, black hindi, bass-wood : and as this wooable of sui>piyiiig motive power to iiumer(Uis and extensive industrial establishments. Some falls are as much as 50 and even 7n feet high: such as those of the Dumoineand the Mattawin. These water [)owfn's are not yet utilized beciiuse there are no jjractical nutans of transport for bringing into the great trade centres the products of the manufactories that could be established there. The railway will provide these means and transform into manufacturing villages the surroundings of dozens of these falls that are now useless and barely known to hunters and coii- retirs des hois. 15 — •ailway roveni- ; torests , maple, loes not .sily got j is lost railway cle sncli atioiis ill h would t-ownera lent. cs. there are g motive industrial as 50 and noineantl 3 not yet moans of le ceutres couM be vide these g villages s that are •s and cou- COLOMZATION. It would he diffi(*ult to imai^nno an nndertiiking likely to do as much for colouizatiou as the railway from Quebec to Lake Huron which will bo pre- eminently the luaiu artery of the colouizatiou move- ment iu the north-western [tortion of the Province of Quebec. From Quebec to the St. Maui-ice. the raihvav will run through a country ali-eady setthnl iu a great measurebut, at (Ji-an es Piles, it will conu(M'l with the steamboats ruuniiigfui the St. .Maurice to (.a Tiuiue aud hy this connection will i-each the valleys of the rivers WcssoHeau. eyond this strij) of mountains, the road will enter upon the great plattniu of thcMatfawin which extends to the west of the <;atineau. This plateau, which is 150 miles long from east to west, and 40 miles wide from south to north, covers an area of neaiiy 4.000.000 acres of arable land, the "reater portu)n being of excellent ([uality and ofTerTuo- ex- ceptuuuil aose of founding new settlements, merely a width corr(\sponding to that on the other hank, we should have room for eiglii line parishes. *' In the strip of hard-wood forest ascending to- wards the sources of the ririhf Uu Milieu, we could easilyplacefoiirothers. From the /^r/^/d rapids, where i\\Q(Us Aiilneis valley begins, to Lake Bourget there are thirty miles of navigation. The banks of the river are from 5 to 12 feet high : in some places they are covered with hay : in others they are bor- dereil by aldei'-hushes. Here and there the bank sti'etches out, forming [toints ap])arently of great fertility. In these thirty miles there is room for at least six parishes whi(di would thus be on the banks of the Mattawin itself. If we descend this river to l*ine lake and i)roceed towards the rear in the direction of the ricihr da Milieu, returning thence westward to tind ourselves once more on the plain of the dcs A uhwls, vv(^ have a ci'rumference sutHcient for four large parishes besides those whose settlenu'ut has alnnidy been licgun in the townships of Hia>sard and Pi-ovnst. Let us follow the rear line towards the west and cany our investigations as far as the last branch of the liomie river, taking only nine miles of new limits towai-ds the north and we shall tind roo.n tlnnn; for six new parishes. — 17- [ La aw in Lake level . Hue ,0 the t side f five ureu- there. iidiug ing to nn for mg to- i could where it there oi the places ire bor- e bank t* great 00 ui for on the ud this rear iu 5turuing 11 ore ou iifereuce ^0 whose )wn^hips rear line itious as i\ takiug lorth and Lies. ''Many people kuow tliat below the line of the dis- trict of Three Uivers on both sides of the Mattawin and ascending some leagues in the direction of Lake (l(i'n\ four new parishes can l>c cstal)]ished there to advantage. The environs of the hike could easily ac- commodate two.Thus iu about one half of the Mat- tawin Valley after deducting unproductive land, there is room, both on the banks of the river and on a width of from 15 to IS miles, for nearly fokty PARISHES, representing a po[»ulation of about sixty thousand souls ! •* Fi'om every standpoint, in every resi)ect. as regards natural riches, tlu^ fertility of the soil, the industries to be established there, the Mattawin region offers many advantages and is worthy of the attention of those who take an interest in coloni- zation. I have shown that both banks of the Mat- tawin are of a width of over six miles on the south and from 1() to IS miles on the north, from the intersection of the valley of the Hou'/r river on the west to ))elovv the line of the Three Uivers district on the east. But this is not all : let us go further and push our investigations in rear towards the north and tind out if there is anything remai'kable there. " Nearly half way between the rivers (In Postr and (In Milieu, there Hows thi'ough a very pretty piece of country a large and powerful stream (tailed la Ririi'/'p an Brovhet (Pike river). As a rule the land and the forests are splendid, especially on nearing the great Lardn Hnhhct which may be looked upon as the source of that imvcm*. The up[)(M' portion of ihat lake toucliestln^ plarean from v\ Inch the hii'iitv//^ I'ostc and (/// Miliou rivers derive some streamlers. Very advantageous settlements can be estaldishetl along the course and at the head of these streams. Several 18 rapifls at >;nital>lt> places can he utilized to supply iiKttive poTAer t'oi- good-sized mills. Some lea|;iie» higher n|». north of the N'ermilion rivei", as well as on the western line tirst class merchantable timber is still being cut. Finally tlie nnt-^t advantageons things that can be desired toi* colonization at its outset, are to l>e found in these localities. And if we direct our steps towards the west, following a line parallel to the 47th degree of latitude, we come upon a well watered region, a dense and vigorous forest, much hard- wood timber, deep yellow soil as rich as in the lower i»art of the plain and jxissessing all the resources already mentioned in connection with the otlmr }>luces. This great strip of fertile hind which 1 call the second section of the Mattawiu valley merges, as the hrst one does, into the valley of the hoHtji and of the other tributaries of the Ottawa, a vast field in which at least twenty THorsAND FAMILIES might settle to advantage. •• The two s(H'tions of tliis valley which I have endeavored to describe in these last chapters, con- tain an arable sujierticies of j.bout 5,400 miles (8,- 45().000 iicres). The surrounding lines would form a scpiare more or less regular iu sha])e whose sides would be about 7-') miles. The extensive explor- ations, the lengthy journeys, the frequent excursions I hav(> made in this territory, both in winter anJ in summei'. give, through the distance gone over on all siss mon are aware that we have such a splendid l)ack-countiy at oui' door ? What shoulil l)e done to direct colonization to- wards that tine and i'i(di (•()unti*y .' Ahbe I'rovost, who has tlioroughly studied the question, tells us in these words : '* Ibit what would be needed to at once direct a strong curi'ent of colonization towards these loca- lities, is, as everybodv knows, understands, thiidvs ami says, a railway. Shall we have a I'aiiway in that direction .' Shall we never hear the shrill whistle of a locomotive rousing the drowsy echoes of those vast solitudes ? When shall we see an engine haul- inglong trains of frtMght and passenger cars thrnugh the Lanrentians and making its trium[)hal [)rogress in the valley of the Mattawin L . . . '"The nnfailingand powerfid impetus which a rail- way would at onee give to colonization, would in a shorttime make u[»forwhatev<'i'expeuse would have been incun-ed. It 's certain that thousands of nei-- sons will go and settle permanently in these places. Swarms of settlers, hastening thither and gi'oup- ing themselves in the various parts of the St. Mau- rice valley, will soon miV if hy m.'nic as soon as they become accessil>le by means of the Quebec and Lake Huron Ksiilway whi(di will run through this counti'y so rich in rex.urces of all kinds. liet wtHMi the Saint ^hlurice and the western limit of the < Jatiueau Valley, the i)ro.jected railway will trav(n*se a regi(ui containing nearly .".(iiHMXlO acres of arahle land, lirst class in every res[>ect. capable of supporting a, population of ;•! least .")ili).()iiil sjuls. The projectetl railway will hring all this (!ountry in direct cuniniunicatiou with Quebec. NllMSSlNci ('(U'XTUY, in Tn 1S74. Mr. Charles Leggc C K.. was directed liy the Montreal Northern Co!oniz;ition h'ailway to ex[»l()re a line for that roa^l to the mouth of French river. :M 00 HtM-e is ^vllJ^t he says in lii< ropovt with reference to the region south' of Lake Xipissing between Ottawa and (Georgian Wax. " Drawing a line fi'oni the proposed [)oint of cross- ing tlie (Htiiwa at Matawaii. to tlie nu)st southeidy ba.\ of Xipissinii'.ne;! • the nioiitli of South Kiver and kei^piiig ffoui li\ •' to smcii iuih'>south of hike Tah)ii, it will juiss over a coinparatively level country. '■ AiTiviug at Soul h h*i\'<'i' whoiv a union of the rail and navigati(ni of Lak*^ Xipissing is to he effected, we find a strt^ini of considiM'al*!*' inagnitude. *20 miles or ii!'>i"(' ":n ki'-iih laicingivs \'\< from it^ momli. with a width of from lo<> to 2(Mi te-^t. audi of ample depth. 'Y\\o (irst fall of ahout ten feet then occm'^. furnishing goixl uiill-sites. Siune two or three miles further up. a second and nnu'e extensi\e de-^rcmt tak«'s pla<*e, also giving good mill poWtM'S. " Tilt' laud foi' ;i gi'cat di-tancc east and west of this I'iver. i> \'«m'\' h'vtd and wili yet fui'uish farms equal to an\' i)art of the hoininiou. from this [tlace imouth of South l{i\ (UM. sDuth to thf f'alU of the .Mi'ganatawan. Ml mile-. . , . the land i< gcufrallv of the hest (piality. hea\il> timlHTtMl witli nuii>le, hee(di and hindi....! mmitioii th(?>o part-- to show that th«' country around Lake Xipi>>-im:'. i< mtt alto- gether of the rooph' judge it to hi', w ho ha\c -;iui[)i)' pa>st'(l up the Matawan. and down I'rcuidi river in canoes, and wlio C(uif(uind tlhir ro(d\y >hore> with the country a lew miles Itevoud." U 23 — Port of FRENrn RIver. This port wiis oxainined and p\i>lor.Ml hy throe of €antidii's most couiix^toiit oiiuitHMTs: Messrs Walter Shanlv. Chirke and ('harh>s Leggv. This is what Mr. Shaidev savs on page IC of his vi>\n)V\ \\\ \^'}\ "On reaJ'hing tlie mouth of tht> river, I landed, and hooking ))aek npon the hay upon ^^I'j''^^' \i;'*' just passed, it eertainly did xH'ni to tnlhli all tli.- external conditions of a iiohle harhor. The Ihistard group completely [)rotects it on the soulh and soutu- \vest. whih' a heavv sea gi-indinu' iinurilv auninst a, projecting h(>adlan'd of manit<> onlli<' nort li-wvst, seems to announce some shelter against lln^ viohmt <»-ales whi di so fre.iucntix assail the lake from tUat rniartei- The hav within was perfectly smooth and Linrallled. while witlumt the water was still heaving and swelling from theeltVcts of a nigln of storm. " The entrance to the hai'hor is >tiidiled across, from the Ihistavds towards th<^ main -hoiv (>»i ^1^/' mn-th. l»v a few ro(dcv islets, great hroad (dianiiels between which give every indication ot very .leep smuidings. (dose under the lhi-^rar( Islan.ls the chart markssixty feet of depth: m the mouth o the river. 1 paid out twenty feet ot line without touchir.g hottom. . . " The intermediate hay. doubt cs^. has s(,iu.m> the treach(U-ous sunken rocks whi(d. bes.'t the whoh> ot the coast, but the --eneral (hM'Hi ot water is great., d deepchannels of ample width exi>^ thronguout 3 whole ))av into the entrance of the river. iim the ailing ' A vessel of whatever (das-, steaimu- or s craft, once within the (b-orgiaii Uay O'.uld in any weather,at least as .>asily make the Uustard Islands, 4Xsanvofthe more southerly ports: ^'^^^ ^^^^^^^ iJollingwoo.l or Xottawanga : while in the sweep- — 24 — ing gales from the north-west, the scourge of Luke Huron, the run from Cape Hurd to the Bustards, having the shelter of tlie (ireat Manitoulin Ishmd, woukl assuredly l»e far safer than that to any of the three lower harboi-s named. I'nde" the lee of the Bustard the Histard group, vessels could anciior or moor in most complete sc uriry. Idow the wind from what (luartei- it might, and to dro^) thence into the river, Avould be practical de und(^r almost any condition of weather short of actual storm. I consider the harbor formed bv the Bav of the Frenidi River, descril)ed ab()\e, as cnpable of being rendered in every respect suiinble to the euti-ance of a great ship canal." S})eakiiig of Mr. Shauloy's report. .Mr. Legge says : ■■ Having passed on the ice over the identical route followed bv Mr. Shanlv in his canoe, to the last fall of Frencdi Kiver, and having previously examineil tiie channels and inlets jilong the coast to the south. 1 have Ud he^iitation in confirming all that gentleman has written regarding this noble harltor." Mr. Clarke writes as follows in speaking of the (diaiHiel iit the mouth of Fren(di river : *• 'riiis deboiKdu'Uient of French Biver is entirely land-locked. 'I'o the west, lies a large group of islands known as the *' Bustard Islands " which completely shelter the mouth of the river from the westerly and south westerly winds of (ieorgian Hay. The maiulaud affoivls protection from the noitherly winds."" "The (duinnel toUieenti-ance of Fremdi Biver lies at the northerly eMnnnity and (dose under these islands. There appear to be several deep and broad channels divided by sunken reefs.... The nuiuth of Freii(di l\ivei' is a deep fissure or (deft in the V(H'k, e.xtemling from the lake into the land. Its course is about mnth-east and south-west. Thus. — 25 — although the navi^titioii is dangerous to those who are coastiiifr. and have to pass over the ends of the reefs, there is always be found a direct entran<*e 1)e- tween theni.uno])strncted by shoals or sunken roeks„ 1 have myself soun.led from the foot of the "• Petites Dalles "-—the last fall^— out into the oiuui hike and found a gradual increase of 1). 7. S. 9 and 10 fathoms where nTy soundings ceased about half a mile from the point where the river mav be said to end." 'Vheyorfit Channel rHoL edition of ISI)!) says : '• Wy followinu' tlicse directions, a depth of not less than 24 feet will l>e found."' advantaop:s of tui- lixe. The navigation of Northern hake Huron and outside of (Jreat Manitoulin Inland is the terror of nuiriners. AViuds from the west, the south west and north west lu'ing on storms whi(di cause ship- wrecks evcrv vear. There is nothing of this to be dreaded in t"ho north channel which is slieltered l>y Manitoulin lslan'J 6 " St..lolin, N.-B -IS-JO " 7 »' ll;ilifax -\^>->'> • " Phila.lelpliia Vll-) '' Baltimoro '''.-t->'> " Uichinoiid o;>) Norfolk o.:]:J0 " INLAND NAVIGATION S Chicago to Quebec 1.50S miles. 9 " Montreal l.->-l-^ 10 " HuiTalo l.'»'.^'"> " 11 " Midland '}:><» '[ \2 " Depot- Harbour.. •_!')<> J3 " Owen-Sound.... •')4:0 14 " Frenidi IJiver ")':5(> 15 Dulnth to Quebec [-^^ ]' 16 '• :Montreal l-->-'^ 17 " IkitTalo l.<''-^"' " 18 " Midland <»•>! " 19 " Owen-Sound tj•>-) Detroit '('*'> " 22 Port-Arthur to Quel^ec. U^^ |; OQ " ^Montreal l.L.io 24 '^ Buffalo ^25 " 25 " Midland ^^^"^ — 28 — 26 Port- Arthur to Owen-Sound... . 567 miles. 27 " Depot- Harbour o52 98 " f'rencli River... 495 Detroit 650 ''^ Detroit to French River 300 " " Depot-Harbour oLo ^ Marinette to French River 360 '^ Depot-Har})()ur •illO ^^ Bay City to French River 225 '^^ Depot-Harl)our <^oO ^^ Milwaulveeto French River 460 | " Depot-Harbour 490 Distance by rail 29 CHICAGO to Xeir-York, by Erie. 986 miles. 30 CHiCAGO to Xeir-lorl\ l)y Micliigan Central to Buffalo _ ^^ and thence l)y Erie 960 31 " /^o.s/o;i,nrt the Michigan Central, Erie and Hoosac Tunnel 1027 32" nV/ the Grand Trunk 1174 "^ 38 " Portland - 1138 '^ 34 •• Montreal " ^^fO ^^ 35 '• Que])ec '' - ]^M ^^ 36 " St-J(dni '• and I. C. R loSO 37 " Halifax " " ..-Kn? ]' " Halifax C. P. R 1597 - St-John 1322 " 38 DFLrTH to New-York via GreatNor. Western and Huffalol424 39 •' Boston via the G.T.R. and Chi- cago 1600 '; 40 " Portland " " 1563 '' 41 " Montreal " " 1265 " — 29 — 42 DrLUTH to Qnel)ec via Grand Trunk and Chicago U37 miles. 43 " St. John " "1. C. 1U5S0 '• 44 " Halifax " " " 1(^7 45 " Boston C. P. R \^ ^ 46 " Portland " f-^ ^, 47 " Montreal " Hjw ^^ 48" St. John " (short line).... lo21 49 " Halifax " " ™^ [^ 50 " Quebec " I'-l'^ 51 PORT-ARTHI'R to Montreal... 993 " 52 Quebec C. P. U 116'^ ;; 53 St. John '• \i{l ^. 54 Halifax '^ \^l ,, 65 Portland " 2/9 _ 56 Boston " ^^^'^ 57 MIDLAND to Montreal G. T. R. 384 ;; RC Quebec " 5;)/ 59 Portland '' GSl " eo Boston " 717 " 61 OWEN-SOUND to Montreal,C.P.R 460 ;' 62 Que])ec " bei2 A^i Portland " 746 ' 6^ Boston " 802 ' fit St. John " 941 " ^6 Halifax " 1216 " €7 DEPOT-HARBOT'R to Montreal (Parry-Sound Ry).. .^9() ^Q Uuobec •>''-> ^1 Povtlaiul «i? :; 70 Boston 6'^'> ' 4? St.Jolm 11:^7 " ^2 Halifax 1224 " — SO- TS FRENCH RIVER to Quebec, via Q. t