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W '. 
 
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i 
 
 REPORT 
 
 ON 
 
 The Montreal, Ottawa and 
 Georgian Bay Canal, 
 
 BY 
 
 Marcus Smith, M. Inst. C.E. 
 
 OCTOBER 1st, 1895. 
 
 I The Ottawa Ship Canal and the Pacific Railway must be constructed, and no 
 
 j voice would be raised against the great national work, which would open the 
 
 j Western States and Colonies to the Seaboard." 
 I JOHN A. MACDONALD. 
 
 I am perfectly satisfied that the Ottawa Valley presents the greatest facilities 
 of any route upon the Continent for the transportation of the products of the North- 
 west to the Atlantic Ocean." 
 
 ALEXANDER MACKENZIE. 
 
 OTTAWA : 
 
 THOltURN & Co.. PHlNTEIiS 
 
 1895. 
 
 J 
 
 V- 
 
<■» 
 
 I 
 
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 •..jrti 
 
 ^ 
 
 liriliiiilliiyiii 
 
REPORT 
 
 o\ 
 
 The Montreal, Ottawa and 
 Georgian Bay Canal, 
 
 IIV 
 
 Marcus Smith, M. Inst. C.E. 
 
 OCTOBER 1st, 1895. 
 
 The Ottawa Ship Canal and the Pacific Railway must be constructed, and no 
 
 voice would be raised against t^ie great national work, which would open the Western 
 
 States and Colonies to the Seaboard." 
 
 JOHN A. MACDONALD. 
 
 I am perfectly satisfied that the Ottawa Valley presents the greatest facilities 
 of any route upon the Continont for the transportation of the products of the North-West 
 
 to the Atlantic Ocean," 
 
 ALEXANDER MACKENZIE, 
 
 OTTAWA : 
 
 THOHUBN & Co., PRlMEKiS. 
 
 189;'). 
 
I 
 
1 
 
I 
 
 I 
 
 ■*1- 
 
 J. 
 
 srsT/KNces — Chicago to new yo 
 
 I Lake and Rivgr Canal 
 
 (E) » ErPfC Canal 
 (8) 19 St iixuirence 
 
 1228 
 
 1065 
 
 144) 
 
 120 
 350 
 153 
 
 Is 
 
 
The Montreal, Ottawa and Georgian Bay 
 Canal and River Navigation. 
 
 I have carefully examined the scheme for forming a line of river 
 and canal navigation for steamboats of i ,000 tons burden, limited to a 
 draft of ten or eleven feet : Irom Montreal by the Ottawa. Matawan 
 and French Rivers, to lleorgian Hay, Lake Huron. 
 
 The subject is of great interest to the whole Dominion and of 
 paramount importance, not only to the district traversed by the route, 
 but more especially to the great domain extending westward to the 
 Rocky Mountains ; for the route will be much shorter than the present 
 line by the St. Lawrence and Welland Canals, or by any other piacti- 
 cable route of navigation for transporting the products of the mines and 
 forests of the lake regions and the vast agricultural lands of the North- 
 west Provinces and Territories, as well as those of the adjacent L'nited 
 States, to the head of ocean navigation at Montreal. 
 
 The line could be extended to New York by the construction of 
 what has been called the Caughnawaga Canal, from Lake St. Louis, at 
 the mouth of the Ottawa River, to St. John, or other convenient point 
 on the Richelieu, Lake Champlain and Hudson River line of naviga 
 tion; the improvement of which would doubtless be readily undertaken 
 by American merchants and capitalists. 
 
 The advantages of this route attracted the attention of the Cana- 
 dian Government ut an early period in the history of canal navigation 
 on this continent. 
 
 In July, 1856, Mr. Walter Shanly, the well-known Civil Engineer, 
 was engaged bv the Commissioners of Public Works to make a survey 
 of the route. He made a personal examination of the route from the 
 Georgian Bay to the City of Ottawa by canoe. The surveys were com- 
 menced in August and continued through the winter, with an energetic 
 staff of assistants. Some of the most difificult portions of the work were 
 
>v 
 
 I 
 
 OF TH 
 
 OTTAWA AND 
 
 S 
 
 PORT ARTHUR 
 
 DULUTH 
 
 OISTKNC 
 
 ES — CHICAGO TO \€!* >OftK 
 
 (l)viaOnauia Aovte 
 (&) ** £ri« Canal 
 (8) » St Lauirence 
 
 l^eonci fK\>ft \ Cq T>^i ; Total Mt'les 
 
 1228 
 1065 
 1441 
 
 .'Its 
 
 1415 
 1604 
 
 Chicago to head of Ocear 
 (I) Montreal - via Otlai 
 (a)N »Ui Yo rk - M Erie 
 
 Liverpool -450 miles neare^ 
 Total saving «ff« 
 
completed in a most thorough manner ; when in the following May the 
 surveys on that division between the confluence of the Ottawa and 
 Matawan Rivers and the Georgian Bay was suspended by official in- 
 structions, they had reached Lake Nipissing. They were continued on 
 the Ottawa River till near the end of January, 1858, when by Order-in- 
 Council all further operations were discontinued for the present, and 
 Mr. Shanly made his report dated 22nd March, 1858, 
 
 On the 1 6th November of the same year Mr. Thomas C. Clarke, 
 C. E., was engaged to continue the surveys, which he completed at the 
 close of 1859, ^"d ^^ made his report dated 2nd January, i860 ; in 
 which he gives quantities of the several classes of works and rates for 
 executing the same, from which an approximate estimate of the total 
 cost is made. 
 
 In my explorations of the country for the Canadian Pacific Rail- 
 way I made a close examination of a harbour in the Georgian Bay, at 
 the mouth of French River, and, in a canoe,examined the main channels 
 of French River up to the Falls, where it issues out of Lake Nipissing, 
 also all around the shores of that lake and eastward up to the waters of 
 the Matawan River at Trout Lake, on the summit of the dividing ridge 
 between the tributaries of the Ottawa and those of French River 
 
 With the information obtained from these and other sources I 
 shall endeavor to give a fair presentation of the prominent features of 
 the route, an approximate estimate of the cost of constructmg the 
 works, and its capacity (or safe and rapid transportation of freight at a 
 minimum cost as compared with other routes. 
 
 The general course from the mouth of French River to Montreal, 
 considering the great length of 430 miles, varies but little from a direct 
 line, a little south of east, and about half the length of the route is on 
 the north side, the other on the south side, of the 46th parallel of 
 latitude. 
 
 It follows a depression that may once have been the main channel, 
 certainly a most important channel for the outlet of the surplus waters 
 of the great lakes — Superior, Michigan and Huron. That there has 
 been an upheaval of the country nowf orming the barrier between the 
 Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River is clearly apparent from the surveys. 
 
 Mr. Shanly gives the altitude of the Georgian Bay, at the mouth of 
 French River, 572 feet above sea level, and Lake Nipissing, out of 
 
which that river issues, 632 feet. Trout Lake, on the summit of the 
 dividmg ridge between Lake Nipissing and Ottawa waters, is 655 feet 
 above sea level. In this lake he made soundings of sixty, one hundred 
 and two hundred feet, thus reaching more than one hundred feet below 
 the surface level of the Georgian Bay. At the confluence of the Mata- 
 wan and Ottawa River the altitude is nearly one hundred feet below the 
 level of the Georgian Bay. All the rocks in the vicinity of these lakes 
 are of granite or kindred crystalline rocks, such as syenite, gneiss, etc. 
 
 The harbour on the Georgian Bay, at the mouth of French River, 
 is capacious, of ample depth and well protected. There are some rocks 
 at the entrance which may have to be removed, which can be done at 
 moderate cost. 
 
 There is also a good harbour at Cantin's Bay, about 25 miles up the 
 French River. It is about five miles long and a quarter of a mile wide ; 
 it was selected for the terminus of the Georgian Bay branch of the 
 Canadian Pacific Railway, to be operated in connection with the navi- 
 gation of the lakes ; there would be one lock between it and Georgian 
 Bay. 
 
 French River enters the Georgian Bay by several arms, but as we 
 
 ascend it consists mainly of two very irregular channels, with many small 
 bays or spurs. It is a series of still water stretches or narrow and deep 
 lakes, separated by short rapids or falls ; the first of these is about a mile 
 from the mouth of the river called the Petites Dalles ; about 16 miles 
 further up is Le Grand Recollect, a rise of about 7 feet ; then a stretch 
 of 18 miles more of deep water, interrupted by one short rapid ; the 
 foot of the "Rapids de Parisien" is reached, the first of a series of four 
 falls, extending about as many miles. The last is the "Chaudiere Falls," 
 one of the outlets of Lake Nipissing, in which the ascent to the level of 
 that lake is nearly twenty-six feet ; the distance from the Georgian Bay 
 nearly fifty miles ; total ascent about 60 feet, making the level of Lake 
 Nipissing above the sea 632 feet. 
 
 Lake Nipissing is a very irregular sheet of water, about forty miles 
 in length and twelve to eighteen extreme breadth ; its principal feeders 
 are the Sturgeon and Nawwanitigone Rivers, both of considerable 
 volume, and the depth of the lake is great . , 
 
 The south and west shores are bold, but the north and east are low 
 and fut. There are several islands in the lake. • • 
 

 From the east endof Lake Nipissing by the small stream called La 
 Vase, and a short portage the distance to Trout Lake is about five miles; 
 but by another stream further north the distance is only about four 
 miles or a little over, and the ground lower, being at the summit very 
 little above the level of Trout Lake. This lake is on the summit level, 
 being part of the Matawan River which flows eastward into the Ottawa, 
 its altitude is 655 feet above sea level and 23 feet higher than Lake 
 Nipissing. 
 
 The table below will show at a glance the character of the naviga- 
 tion from the Georgian Bay up to this point. 
 
 Natural ! Canal 
 Naviga- I Naviga- 
 tion, I tion. 
 
 Total 
 Distance . 
 
 Height j No. of 
 to be I 
 Overcome! Loclis. 
 
 No. of 
 Dams. 
 
 P'reiich River . . 
 Lake NipLssing. 
 Summit Barrier 
 
 Miles. 
 4! I 
 .'III 
 
 Miles. 
 1 
 
 70 
 
 ' Miles. 
 
 1 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 50 
 
 ti? 
 
 8 ' 
 
 :'.(i 
 
 
 
 "j 
 
 Ki 
 
 2 
 
 s:> 
 
 8.'< 
 
 10 
 
 11 
 
 This table is made out to raise Lake Nipissing seven feet by dams 
 at its outlet ; further on he proposes to raise it to the level of Trout 
 Lake twenty-three feet — which is now impracticable as it would sub- 
 merge many miles of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the town of 
 North Bay. 
 
 This is the greatest difficulty encountered, for, as Mr. Shanly states, 
 the supply of water to Trout Lake is not sufficient to meet the demands 
 of even a far inferior scalf of navigation to that which the general 
 character of the route will warrant. 
 
 Mr. Clarke proposed to raise Lake Nipissing sixteen feet and 
 lower Trout and Turtle Lakes to that level ; this is also now im- 
 practicable. 
 
 I think it may be safely assumed that Lake Nipissing may be 
 raised five feet without doing any damage to adjoining property that 
 cannot be compensated at moderate cost. Then the rise to Trout 
 Lake would be eighteen feet. This lift could be effected by hydraulic 
 
7 
 
 methods with a much less quantity of water than is required for ordinary 
 locks ; but, it practicable without excessive cost, the better method 
 
 would be to lower the lakes. This can be discussed more clearly with 
 
 the aid of the tabulated section of the Matawan River from Mr. Shanly's 
 
 Report. 
 
 Table of the Matawan Rapids. 
 
 Section of River. 
 
 Trout and Turtle Liilces I 
 
 Turlle Rapids 
 
 Lac Talon j 
 
 Talon Chute j 
 
 Eel Lake ' 
 
 Series of nipicls iiml jionds 
 
 Chutes des Paresscux 
 
 Lac des Aiguilles 
 
 Rapids des Aiguilles, I. a i^osc, 
 les Epines 
 
 Natural 
 Naviga- 
 tion. 
 
 Miles. 
 12-70 
 
 ••00 
 
 ' I 
 
 Canal Total P'alls : Xo. of 
 
 Naviga- | j to be | 
 
 tion. I Distance. ; Locked. : Locks. 
 
 No. of 
 Dams. 
 
 Miles. ! Miles. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 0,') 
 4 20 
 
 0-22 
 
 1-20 
 
 .'{ 15 
 
 I.iic Pleiu Chant. 
 
 
 rii'in Chant and otlier iMjiiils to 
 mouth 
 
 .■)-4() 
 1.21 
 
 •M 00 
 
 I-4S 
 (1-2:'. 
 
 2 14 
 
 1-4 1 
 '.••70 
 
 12 75 j. 
 
 4-20 ! 
 
 T'OO i. 
 
 0-22 I 
 
 1-20 ' 
 
 r4s 
 0-2:! 
 
 iri.j I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 2 14 
 
 .'i 4(1 
 2 05 
 
 40-42 
 
 2! -15 
 :14 12 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 1 
 
 1 s ■ 5 1 
 
 :'■ 
 
 .-i 
 
 20 liO 
 170 (10 
 
 IS 
 
 
 The end of the Plein Chant is within two and a-half miles of the 
 confluence of the Matawan and Ottawa Rivers. 
 
 The distance from Lake Ni pissing to Trout Lake by the little River 
 Ojibwaysippi is a little over four miles, of which for over three miles, 
 the land is little, if any, higher than near the shore of Lake Nipissing ; 
 then for continuing the canal on the same level as Lake Nipissing when 
 raised five feet, and for giving a clear depth of water of at least ten feet 
 as proposed by Mr. Shanly, the depth of cutting for probably three and 
 a half miles in length would average twelve feet. On the next half or 
 three-quarters of a mile to Trout Lake the land rises to very little above 
 the level of that lake, and is marshy, the maximum depth of cutting 
 
8 
 
 would be aboM nhiety feet, the major part of which would most jjfffik ' 
 bably be in ca^^eiaiiiaeroclc. 
 
 Trout I^aifct: h eight and a half miles long, and a short distantt 
 from the shor* aftie water is of great depth, so that lowering it eighteen 
 feet will not aititii i-t.'? navigation. 
 
 Immediatel;? Haelow, and separated from it by a rocky bar of dim 
 hundred feet am IkuR^th, is Turtle Lake — only one foot lower than Troyt 
 Lake — it ib fwuir aradi a quarter miles in length, and in it there are wmt 
 detached sboalt exi:endmg in all over a length of about fifteen hundred 
 feet, and chiejfly cwiiposed of needle rocks having seldom less than 
 eight feet of wtscer over them. With these exceptions the dtfyth 
 throughout is maudiy legs than eighteen feet, and generally over thirty 
 feet. The avtinag:*: width of these lakes is about one mile. 
 
 'J'he outiet ^(wei Turtle Lake is through a rocky river generaily 
 shallow and ragid mth occasional ponds of deep and level water. 'I'he 
 length of thk {lo&tk is a little over four miles, when it falls into another 
 basin, Lake 'l^tM-: Che fall from Turtle Lake being about thirty-two <eet 
 
 Lake J altiffli ii» seven miles long and thirty-three feet lower than 
 Turtle Lake^ msA ss the latter is to be lowered seventeen feet, if I.ake 
 Talon were TiuHtwi sixteen feet it would bring all these lakes to the 
 same level as ljik& Nipissing — when it is raised five feet. Thus giving 
 a continuous vwmmit level for a length of fully fifty-five miles with an 
 inexhaustible ism^fAy of water from Lake Nipissing. 
 
 In addititwE U)> the excavations between Lakes Nipissing and Trcrtit 
 there would he ifec following approximate depths of cuttings. 
 
 1. The f(odty bar between Trout and Turtle Lakes, 400 feet iung, 
 28 feet deep. 
 
 2. The 'Uf-jwa: part of Turtle Lake needle rocks scattered over a 
 length of 3,5ij«? ifeet^ tops about eight feet below the present level of the 
 lake, cutting* 2^ feet deep. 
 
 3. Aboial ©Bie-third of the length of Turtle Lake would, by the 
 raising of Laik« Talon, be flooded to a sutificient depth, the excavatimi 
 in the balar>oe rtttwo-thirds of the whole length) would be from nothing 
 to twenty seieio fee* — average fourteen feet. 
 
 The cost (Off efeeae excavations cannot be closely estimated without 
 
further surveys, much of it being under water, but if the excavations 
 are to be made the full width of one hundred feet at the bottom, a 
 roughly approximate estimate may be made for comparing the cost with 
 that of raising Lake Nipissing twenty-three feet by dams, to the present 
 level of Trout Lake, requiring two locks of eighteen feet lift, not needed 
 by the new method of lowering the summit lakes. 
 
 The difference would probably be not less than a million dollars, 
 but as a set-off there is the saving of a very large tract of land, and the 
 absolute certainty of a plentiful supply of water for all time to come. 
 
 It is probable that the small stream feeding Trout Lake may fail 
 altogether to supply the waste by evaporation, as it is well known that 
 the rivers are constantly shrinking as the forests are being cleared. 
 
 Trout Lake may be supplied by a small canal (or wide trench) to 
 divert part of Sturgeon River to it, the distance may be about thirty 
 miles. This could be done at probably one-fifth the cost of lowering 
 Trout and Turtle Lakes, but the latter is by far the best scheme. 
 
 The Ottawa River Section. 
 
 From its confluence with the Matawan down to the City of Ot- 
 tawa, about one hundred and ninety miles, the Ottawa is a broad and 
 deep river with a gentle current, broken at intervals by rapids or falls, 
 and expanding into broad, still water stretches and lakes. 
 
 Quoting from Mr. Shanly's report, he states that that portion of 
 the river from the Matawan down to the foot of Deep River was not 
 submitted to actual survey ; that for the fall of the river at the various 
 rapids above Les Deux Joachims he was partly indebted to the maps of 
 the geological survey by Sir William Logan ; that he made a careful 
 examination of the river throughout, and he estimated the distance be- 
 tween the rapids by the time occupied in the canoe journey. This is a 
 niethod frequently adopted to save tmie, it does not affect the works, if 
 any error in distance is made it is in that of natural navigation. 
 
 " The altitude at the confluence of the Matawan and Ottawa Rivers 
 is estimated 485 feet above sea level. 
 
 Immediately below this there is a rapid of about five feet fall and 
 would require a lock and side cut about a mile in length. 
 
 
10 
 
 For seventeen miles below these the Ottawa continues very direct 
 and deep with a decided current, the banks for the most part are bold, 
 precipitous and rocky ; the scenery very grand. 
 
 *' At nineteen miles is the head of a series of three great rapids oc- 
 cupying a length of three miles, ' La Veille, Le Trou and Les Deux 
 Rivieres.' The ])itch is 32 feet, the facilities for locking and canalling 
 highly favorable. 
 
 From the foot of these are ten miles of broad and deep water, to 
 the head of the "Rocher-Capitaine," the most magnificent of the rapids 
 of the Ottawa. The fall is forty-five feet. On the north side of the 
 river is a flat table land but little elevated above the water at the head 
 of the rapid. 
 
 From these there is sixteen miles of open navigation uninterrupted 
 save by some strong currents to "Les Rapides, Des Deux Joachims," 
 where in two miles there is a fall of twenty-eight feet. 
 
 The descent at "Les Deux Joachims" brings us into "Deep River," 
 a stretch of twenty eight miles of apparently motionless water, very wide 
 and deep. ' 
 
 On the south side of this superb piece of water the general con- 
 formation of the country is that of an elevated and comparatively level 
 plateau, the prevailing character of the soil being dry and sandy ; the 
 forest nearly all of red and white pine. On the north side very bold 
 mountainous scenery prevails. 
 
 The Deep River may be said to terminate a little below the Hud- 
 son Bay Company's post, Fort William, where a group of islands mul- 
 tiply the channels, and for less than a quarter of a mile renders the 
 navigation intricate. 
 
 The altitude of Deep River is estimated 351 feet above sea level. 
 
 This is estimated about eighty miles from the confluence with the 
 Matawan, below which to the City of Ottawa the surveys were com- 
 pleted. 
 
 The most striking feature of this part of the Ottawa is its severance, 
 as it were, into two distinct rivers. The "Allumettes" Island, com- 
 
II 
 
 mencing six miles below Fort William, has a length of six miles, with 
 an average width of four miles. To the south of this the main river 
 passes by the Pembroke channel and the AUumettes Lake, presenting 
 long stretf'hes of rapids and much shallow water ; the fall of the river 
 in this length being about nineteen feet. 
 
 The northerly channel, about one-fifth of a mile in breadth, con- 
 centrates nearly the whole fall into two cascades at the head of the 
 island— the " Culbute " and " L'Islet " rapids. 
 
 At the foot of the Allumelte Island the two arms of the river come 
 together, forming " Lac Coulongc," across which we have eleven miles 
 of wide water. The section of this part of the river is more clearly 
 shown in tabulated form : 
 
 Fall, j Distance. 
 
 Fiet. 
 
 Culbute and L'Islet, six miles below Fort William 18 
 
 Length to be canalled at these rapids 
 
 Fall of river, foot of L'Islet to Grand Calumet Falls. ... 7 
 
 Grand Calumet Fall ^G 
 
 Dargis, Mountain, Sable and other rapids I ','u , 
 
 Grand Calumet to Portage du Fort, smooth water { 5 
 
 " " rapid water ' ' 5 
 
 Total fall and distance ! 118 j 54 
 
 Miles. 
 
 2 
 48 
 
 "The rapids below the main chute at the Calumet, five in number, 
 are situated at average distances of more than a mile apart. In the 
 reaches between them where not of sufficient depth for navigation, this 
 can be obtained by throwing dams across above the locks. 
 
 The last of the above series of rapids is at the village of Portage 
 du Fort, situated on a deep bay at the head of " Lac des Chats," a 
 stretch of eighteen miles of navigable water terminating at the Chats 
 Rapids, where a canal connecting with the next lake below has already 
 heen commenced. The length of the Chats Rapids is about three 
 miles, with a total fall of fifty feet, into the head of " Lac des Chenes." 
 The length of this lake is twenty-eight miles, to the head of the 
 Chaudiere Rapid.s, which have a length of two mileS; and a fall of 
 sixty-seven feet, to the harbour of the City of Ottawa. 
 
12 
 
 TAIir.E SHOWING SECTION OF THE RIVER MAT.^WAN TO OHAWA. 
 
 Name of Rapids, kc 
 
 Distances. 
 
 1 
 
 i< = 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 
 t t^ 
 
 V > 
 
 ii 
 
 > * 
 
 •( 1 
 
 5S5 
 
 ^ 
 
 Fall 
 
 of 
 
 River, 
 
 Eleva- 
 tion 
 above 
 the sea. 
 
 Junction of Matawan and Ottawa 
 
 Matawan Rapida 
 
 Matawan to La Vi-ille Rapids 
 
 La Veille, Grou and Deux Rivieres . . .1 
 Deux Rivieres to Rocher Capitaine . . . . 
 Rocher Capitaine and Grand Maribout 
 
 Rapids 
 
 Rocher Capitaine to Deux Joachims . . . 
 
 Deux Joachitu Rapids 
 
 Deep River to head of Culbute 
 
 Culbute to L'Islet Rapids 
 
 L'Islet to Grand Calumet Falls 
 
 Grand Calumet and other rapids 
 
 Lac des Chats 
 
 Chats Rapids 
 
 Lac des Chenes 
 
 Chaudiere Rapids 
 
 Ottawa Harbour 
 
 Miles. 
 
 
 1 
 17 
 
 
 10 
 
 
 16 
 
 
 34 
 
 
 42 
 
 5 
 18 
 
 
 28 
 
 2 
 
 
 
 173 
 
 1 
 
 Miles. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 
 
 
 
 485 
 
 1 . 
 
 5 
 
 . • • . . ■ • 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 3 
 
 32 
 
 
 
 
 5 
 
 
 2 
 
 45 
 
 
 
 
 8 
 
 
 2 
 
 28 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 350 
 
 2 
 
 18 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 
 6 
 
 93 
 
 
 
 
 I 
 
 231 
 
 3 
 
 50 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 181 
 
 4 
 
 67 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 114 
 
 oo 
 
 371 
 
 By later surveys, the distance from the mouth of the Matawan 
 ^ to ihe Cily of Ottawa is fully 190 miles; *tie 
 '^'^•'*^nnTes ) is acrunuilative in cstimatinL' the length 
 
 the rate of travel by canoe. 
 
 open navigation by 
 
 II 
 
 Ottawa to Montreal. 
 
 Mr. Shanly's survey did not extend below the City of Ottawa, but 
 from some oth<ir sources he gives the following : 
 
 Ottawa to Grenville, still water navigation 54 miles 
 
 Grenville to Carillon, " " 4 miles 
 
 " " Canal, still water navigation . 8 " 
 
 — 12 •* 
 
 Lake of the Two Mountains, Carillon to St. Ann 20 ^' 
 
m 
 3y 
 
 ut 
 
 es 
 
 St. Ann Rapids 14 miles 
 
 lake St. Louis— St. Ann to Lachine 15 " 
 
 I jchine Canal — Lachine to Montreal 8 Vj *' 
 
 Total distance, Ottawa to Montreal no " 
 
 The required lockage is : 
 Clrenville to Carillon, Long Sault, Chute au Bloudeau and 
 
 Carillon Rapids 5^ feet. 
 
 St. Ann Rapids ^ «' 
 
 Sauii St. Louis, Lachine Canal 44 " 
 
 Total lockage 101 " 
 
 Mr. Clarke differs a little from this ; he gives : 
 
 Ottawa to Grenville, distance 56 miles 
 
 Grenville to Montreal 60.43 " 
 
 Total distance 1 1 6.43 " 
 
 Fall of River, Grenville to Lake St. Louis 61 feet 
 
 St. I^uis Rapids— Lachine Canal 43 75 " 
 
 Total fall 104.75 feet 
 
 Mr. Shanly's Recapitulation. 
 
 River and lake navigation 372 miles 
 
 Canal navigation (including the Lachine) 58 " 
 
 Total distance Lake Huron to Montreal 430 " 
 
 Rise — Lake Huron to the summit 83 feet . 
 
 Reduced by lowering summit lakes to 65 " 
 
 Fall — summit to Montreal 642 " 
 
 Reduced to 624 " 
 
 Capacity. 
 
 After obtaining full information respecting the character and 
 dimensions of the vessels navigating the upper lakes, Mr. Shanly gives 
 his views as follows : 
 
 " It is a stream navigation, and more especially for the denomin- 
 
14 
 
 ation of fnenrr^r Itnown as the '' propellor " that, I believe, the Ottawa 
 and French JL^er route is destined to hold a first place as a channel of 
 trade. ¥cn ^'i^mla of that description the character of the waners, and 
 of the rexricrrf :n either side of them, is peculiarly fitted. Ijuxd-locked 
 for the gjt: : " > rt'on of the way, the route in that resj^ect wiJI not be 
 as advania;. - - • - sailinij craft as that by the great lake*, but the 
 inexhausiit HI • . i i es of wood at all points along it will forever render 
 the cost o". V :ri.n-z steam vessels lower on this than on any equal 
 length ot nLTLTi:;' n on. the continent." 
 
 } rciTE >D" r B. farvis' report on the projected Caughnawajga Canal 
 he obtains: : -c of forty-eight propellors with their principal dimen- 
 sions. On.U i'.ev'in -if those could pass the Welland Cjnal us con- 
 structed 21 rhiC -late). There are but two of them under 500 tons 
 burden. :ht iir-xerfc 6^0 tons. The greater portion range from 400 to 
 600 tons. Tbi ^eatest lenuth, the •' Iowa," is 234 feet, and her actual 
 tonnage i> 7rr. iraws iiy-j feet when loaded. Most of them are em- 
 ployed in iht zd.t\ip.tion of the upper lakes. 
 
 '•The v -:osr important lake pores for outward bound tonnage 
 are Chicago kzsi Foiedo ; the entrance into the former was kej>t open 
 by excavaii c ~.c vesseU drawing ten feet of water : in *he latter, nine 
 feet of waiiT j? X"* much as usually can be depended on. 
 
 ** Thai rte 'tjjboars on the lake "ports are not as a genera! thing 
 adapter! icir "i^r rtec draft of water I was well aware, and it must 
 be obviouf ■lo x:-*QQe who has at all studied the subject, thai the vessel 
 which ca.n zz iz.'i stage of the lakes obtain or deliver her cargo m the 
 greatest -nu—rer :f the principal ports must be a more profitable one 
 to employ :rii". :n-e larger craft, which, from her excessive draught, must 
 limit her initrrr: .(irse to one or two of the deeper harbours, or more un 
 profitable siiij .2iaJ<e her trips with lighter loads. I am not one of those 
 who beliere aftat sea-going vessels will ever be freighted to any consider- 
 able exieB: .- ..r lake ports. 
 
 " The Oni^wa route possesses distinctive features which entitle it 
 to other cors-Ccmtions than those incident to a mere channel for 
 merchandise. Penetrating the heart of our country it can boast of 
 magnificeni -aaaBery. which, when it becomes accessible and known, 
 cannot fall ic iirrract the tourist, as well European as American. To 
 prohibit the lost on Ottawa waters of the paddle-wheel steamer, with her 
 
«5 
 
 commodious upper cabin and promenade deck would be a mistake. 
 I |)ropose, therefore, to fix the dimensions for the Ottawa locks so that 
 they will admit the passage of vessels of that denomination. The si/e 
 of the St. I^awrence locks is 200 feet long by 45 feet wide, the depth of 
 water on the mitre sills is nine feet." 
 
 Considerinji all the data above stated he recommends the following 
 dimensions : 
 
 T,OCKS. 
 
 Clear length between the mitre sills 250 feet. 
 
 Clear width between the gate quoins 50 " 
 
 Depth of water on the mitre sills lo " 
 
 Width of canal at bottom — long lengths 100 " 
 
 " " " —short lengths 60 " 
 
 Estimate of Cost of Construction. 
 
 Mr. Shanly's estimate of constructing the works on the whole rotite 
 on the scale laid down is twenty-four millions of dollars. 
 
 He explains in relation to this : " The proportion of canalling on 
 the route is not large, being about twenty per cent, less (Lachine Cana- 
 included) than on the Welland and St. Lawrence line of navigation. 
 The quantities of material to be excavated will also average less per mile, 
 but the oitticulties to be encountered on this work are : The hard and 
 unyielding nature of the materials to be worked upon, the granite rocks, 
 chiefly syenite, gneissoid and gneiss ; the distance which materials for 
 building the locks would have to be carried ; the great cost of transport- 
 ing these materials, plant and supplies, to a large portion of the route, 
 without roads, in a wilderness without inhabitants. He therelore places 
 very high rates on the works to be executed. 
 
 He states that the St. Lawrence and Welland Canals cost not far 
 from $150,000 per mile, and he estimates that the 58 miles of the 
 Ottawa & Georgian Bay Canal (the enlargement of the Lachine included) 
 will cost upward of $370,000 per mile. 
 
 Now, as the I^chine Canal is, or will be, completed by 
 the Dominion Government, there will be only fifty 
 miles to construct, at $370,000 per mile $18,500,000 
 
t6 
 
 Deduct for improved f^iTSntinf* brthe construction of the 
 Canadian I'anfi. R^w-jy. and improvements in 
 
 machinery, etc . ro 3,700,000 
 
 $14,800,000 
 
 This might ««» aadkniie the extra work of lowering Trout and 
 Turtle lakes and maliTij: il!r«f canal from Lake .lipissing to Trout 1-ike, 
 say in round numbers 6iii»«r million dollars. 
 
 MR. THOMAS C CLARKE'S SURVEY. 
 
 Mr. Clarke compliuc ::-<; surveys in 1859, and hit report is dated 
 January 2nd, 1 S6c. 
 
 Scaie of Navigation. 
 
 In deciding ihi<« qio«ai»,in Mr. Clarke explains : • 
 
 "The first point to^ CittsKier is. whether we are designing a local 
 or a through navigat>caik This would be decided by the general 
 depth of the chain of «Ji?irk the difficulties of overcoming the summit, 
 the supply of water, aixS -cci&Kr pomts more or less connected with the 
 preceding. 
 
 *' To these mx ancciscc was first directed, and after a careful 
 personal examination no" :}« whole route, aided by the graphic report of 
 Mr. Shanly and the ic.^^ :> .£ >uch surveys as were at the time made, I 
 was able definitely to df^raiie t:hat whatever scale was fixed on should 
 be with the view of c: v .L.;::n^, at some future day, the through line 
 of navigation. The nt^^ wtnc is» whether we shall build locks fitted 
 for large vessels; w, frtwflStxer. preserving the dimensions suited to an 
 inland and local na\ip:fia»*m.. -xe shall cause a transhipment to take 
 place at French River, mtorft ts about half way between Chicago and 
 Montreal by this route. 
 
 " This question k uSecermmed by the length of canal (or what is 
 equivalent in delay to ah x:nilicia.I cut). On the route where a large 
 proportion of the distauoe is canal, I should then recommend tran- 
 shipment 
 
 "As soon as I ha-d jsoertoined that the length of canal on the 
 whole route would nca. tssxed 29-32 miles, and that the reutaining 
 
t7 
 
 401.44 miles could be made .1 navigation allowing of as rapid transit as 
 the great lakes themselves, and mdccd more so, so far as freedom from 
 head winds and storms is concerned ; I was then pn^pared to rccom- 
 mend the larger scale, and an unbroken line of navigation. 
 
 "It only remains to decide how large. When crops are good and 
 full freights offer, it is an axiom that the larger the vessel the cheaper the 
 cost of transport. It is a fortunate j>eculiarily of this route that vessels 
 can always depend upon making up full freights of sawed lumber from 
 the inexhaustible i)ine forests of the Ottawa, manutacturcd at every 
 dam on the river." 
 
 Appendix E is a table of projie'ilers of 600 tons and over with their 
 drafts when loaded ; the drat'ts vary from ten feet to eleven feet eight 
 inches. 
 
 From th^se data and after consultation with various persons ex- 
 perienced in the Lake trade. I have fixed upon the dimensions as 
 
 follows : 
 
 Length of lock 250 teet 
 
 Clear breadth 45 " 
 
 Depth on sill i -' " 
 
 "Although through heavy cuttings and where the distance is short, 
 I have followed the width recommended by the Pepartment, 100 feet on 
 bottom, I have not hesitated to increase the prism of the canal gener- 
 ally to 146 feet on the bottom, as I l>elieve that it is not more than is 
 required for vessels to pass with speed and sat'ety. The depth has been 
 fixed at one foot more than the locks — say 15 feet and in lakes and 
 rivers will be generally 15 feet and over." 
 
 Mr. Clarke has reduced the length of canalling and the number 
 of locks by dams, raising the river to overcome many of the rapids. In 
 Appendix E he gives a tabulated statement of distances and levels of 
 the natural section of the river, and in Appendix G he gives another 
 table of lengths and heights of canal and river with number of locks as 
 improved, and in Appendix I the quantities, rates and amount of each 
 work is given in detail. 
 
 The total estimate exclusive of Lachine Canal is $12,058,680, which 
 is equal to $579,134 per mile of canal constructed. 
 
 I think some of the prices were too low at that date, but with the 
 present improved facilities, if the quantities can be relied on, the esti- 
 
iB 
 
 mate cannot be far out. I should, however, add for contingencies, 
 such as that which prevents the raising of Lake Nipissing and other un- 
 forseen difficulties, not less than twenty per cent., making the estimate 
 in round numbers fourteen million five hundred dollars. 
 
 Comparison with other Routes. 
 
 The St. Lawrence and Welland canals were completed in 1846, 
 but in the next decade the trafific had so increased that improved 
 means of transport were already being discussed, and Mr. Shanly 
 states : — 
 
 '* To meet the coming exigencies of that commerce, public attention 
 had already been directed to three great projects, viz. : 
 
 1st. The enlargement of the Welland Canal. 
 
 2nd. The construction of the Toronto and Georgian Bay Canal. 
 
 3rd. The establishment of the French River and Ottawa navi- 
 gation. 
 
 The term navigation is used rather than canal, in relation to the 
 last named scheme, because it consists of an uninterrupted chain of 
 waters — river and lake — demanding certain detached sections of canal 
 to render the navigation continuous. Its advantages will be sjtn from 
 ♦■he tabular comparisons, viz. : 
 
 No 
 
 Name of Route. 
 
 Distances— Chicago to 
 Montreal. 
 
 Lake. 
 
 Lockage. 
 
 River. Canal. Total. 
 
 Up. 
 
 1 
 
 Welland Canal 
 
 Toronto and Georgian 
 Bay 
 
 French River and 
 Ottawa 
 
 Miles. 
 1,145 
 
 775 
 
 Miles. 
 132 
 
 Miles. Miles. 
 
 71 
 
 1,348 
 
 155 120 I 1,050 
 
 575 347 58 , 980 
 
 Down Total. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 Fe.5t. 
 535 
 
 180 1 675 
 83 615 
 
 Feet. 
 535 
 
 805 
 
 698 
 
 These figures show the superiority of the French and Ottawa 
 
19 
 
 Rivers route not only by the difference in the whole length of the route, 
 but in the large proportion of open, yet sheltered water in the latter. 
 
 Chicago to New York and Liverpool. 
 
 I. Chicago to Buffalo by Lakes 920 miles 
 
 Buffalo to Albany by Erie Canal 350 
 
 Albany to New York by Hudson River 14- 
 
 To New York 1,415 
 
 • New York to Liverpool ^ 080 
 
 
 
 Total to Liverpool 4,495 " 
 
 2. Chicago to Montreal via Welland & St. Lawrence 
 
 Canals and River ,^.48 miles 
 
 Montreal to Liverpool 2,800 " 
 
 Total 4,148 " 
 
 3, Via French River and Ottawa route — 
 
 Chicago to Montreal 980 miles 
 
 2,800 " 
 
 Montreal to Liverpool, 
 
 Total 3,780 " 
 
 Over 700 miles less via the French and Ottawa Rivers route than 
 by way of Buffalo and Erie route. 
 
 Rate of Travel. 
 
 The difference in distance is practically increased by the compara- 
 tive length of canal to open water on each route, the rate of speed 
 being estimated at four miles per hour for canal, and ten miles for open 
 •iver and lake, and allowance for lockage one and a half minutes per 
 foot. With these conditions the time estimated taking Mr. Clarke's 
 plan which gives 29.32 miles of canal to be constructed, add 4.18 miles 
 canal between Lakes Nipissing and Trout, making a total length of 
 canal 331^ miles, and of open water 946 '2 miles, lockage 700 feet, we 
 have : 
 
 I. We'land Canal and St. Lawrence route. 
 
 mm. 
 
 1277 miles lake and river navigation , 127 42 
 
30 
 
 h. min. 
 
 7 1 miles canal navigation 17 45 
 
 535 feet lockage ^3 22 
 
 Chicago to Montreal 158 49 
 
 2. Toronto and Georgian Bay route — 
 
 h. min. 
 
 930 miles lake and river navigation 93 00 
 
 1 20 " canal navigation 3° °o 
 
 805 feet lockage ■20 07 
 
 Chicago to Montreal 143 o? 
 
 3. French River and Ottawa route. — 
 
 h. min. 
 
 938 miles lake and river navigation 93 48 
 
 42 " canal navigation 10 30 
 
 700 feet lockage 17 3° 
 
 Chicago to Montreal 121 48 
 
 Or, by lowering Trout and Turtle Lakes. . . 120 54 
 
 4. Via the Erie Canal 10 New York. — 
 
 h. min. 
 
 1,064 niiles lake and river navigation 106 24 
 
 35 1 " canal navigation 87 45 
 
 655 feet lockage 16 22 
 
 Chicago to New Yo^k 210 31 
 
 Both the reduction in the length of the route and the time of 
 navigating it make a reduction in the cost of transporting freight. Mr. 
 Shanly estimated the cost of transporting a ton of freight from Chicago 
 to Caughnawaga (where the two routes meet) 
 
 By the VVelland and St. Lawrence route $3 20 
 
 By the French River and Ottawa route 2 82 
 
 Difference per ton o 38 
 
 At the present time making all due allowance fo; lack of return 
 freights at the outset, it is calculated that wheat should be laid down at 
 Montreal by the Ottawa route at a cost of iransportation from Chicago 
 
at 
 
 not to exceed three cents per bushel ; or about one-half the lowest pre- 
 vailing rates. 
 
 The Safest Route. 
 
 From the mouth of Lake Michigan vessels will pass under the shelter 
 of Manitoulin Island to the mouth of French River, avoiding all 
 the dangers of southern Lake Huron, the shallow and dangerous Lake 
 Erie. From Sault Ste. Marie, with the exception of a few miles on 
 Georgian Bay, the route will be on land-locked waters continuously to 
 Montreal. Grain will not only be insured at minimum rates on this 
 route, but passing through the cool deep waters of the Ottawa in so 
 much shorter time will reach market in better condition than by any 
 other route. 
 
 The Scheme Generally Approved. 
 
 The advantages of the project were fully recognized when the 
 surveys were completed in 1859, but the time was not auspicious, it was 
 premature. Canada at that date consisted of Upper and Lower Can- 
 ada, extending from the Detroit River to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. 
 The bulk of the population west of Montreal occupied a narrow belt, 
 extending northward from the St. Lawrence and Lake Ontario, and 
 from Lake Erie to the eastern shore of Lake Huron. Up the Ottawa, 
 Renfrew was the last post of surveyed settlement, and there were a few 
 settlements on the southern shore of Georgian Bay. All the country 
 north of Georgian Bay, Lakes Huron and Superior, was an unbroken 
 wilderness, the hunting ground of the Indian without a white settler. 
 The country was believed to be worthless except for the timber that 
 grew on it, and entirely unfit for settlement. 
 
 We had not then any Manitoba or North-Wesl Territory, and 
 even the adjacent United Slates were but sparsely settled ; commerce 
 was then chiefly with south-western and southern states entering in 
 Toledo and Chicago, I have no statistics of the tonnage passing 
 between these points and eastern lake ports, but, in 1856, when Mr. 
 Shanly commenced the surveys for the French River and Ottawa 
 navigation, the registered tonnage using the Sault Ste. Marie Canal was 
 only 101,458 tons. Now over twenty million tons pass Detroit annually, 
 a large proportion of which passes through the Sault Ste. Marie Canal. 
 
 The Great VVestern and Grand Trunk Railways had recently been 
 
i'N 
 
 2§ 
 
 completed ito Ltetroit, connecting with railways of the western «tate», 
 the public was* elated with the impulse they gave to commer<;« and 
 loudly prodMm&d that the days of canals were passed. All these un- 
 favourable ciiffCTamstances contributed, not to the abandonment, but the 
 post pone nitffie ©fi^the project till the proper time arrived. 
 
 At the ps&k&nt day a very different picture is presented. Canada 
 is now a gr-eca lf)Qminion extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific 
 Ocean ; a smwsty has been constructed extendmg over the whole length 
 uniting all l3a& (provinces into a concrete whole. This passes over our 
 heretofore tksjfjised wilderness, and it is found that, besides the forests, 
 there are tirakUL+ of rich land in the valleys, and underneath the surface 
 it teems wjiib tifoe precious metals and abounds in those minerals which 
 are applied to afec arts and manufactures. While the vast extent of the 
 rich agriculitaairal and pasture lands of Manitoba and the North-West 
 Territories ajre Itieing settled and developed, and the settlers are eagerly 
 demanding ikwi the best possible means of transportation to the Atlantic 
 seaboard t»e pcmidtd, so that they may send their produce, at the 
 smallest cGaa, m compete in British markets with that from Ru.«»ia, 
 Egypt, India simd South America. 
 
 How e^fefcOTfial this is for the rapid settlement of this grand inheri- 
 tance may !>« feathered from what has taken place alongside of us, as 
 related by & igentleman of large experience and keen observatioa He 
 states : 
 
 " The f|-jiiestion of a navigable waterway connecting Lake Huron 
 with oceaja ma^igation at Montreal, by way of Lake Nipissing and the 
 Ottawa KJTiir, h one in which I have long taken great interest The 
 prosperity 'od'ttftie American Northwest, no less than of the Canadian 
 Northwest, flinJllB he promoted to a greater degree by increased fadtitie<« 
 for transprjJiUJttOiBi to the seaboard, than by anything else which can be 
 imagined. T"Biie settlement of the American Northwest did not fairly 
 begin until k wa-i settled that a lock and canul was to be constructed 
 to surmotttyt ttBDe rapids in St. Mary's River at the outlet of I^ke Super- 
 ior. Aootlactr great wave of settlement began when the new lock «ras 
 opened in i <i^ j,and there is every reason to expect that a similar move- 
 ment will ftsflilkj^ the opening of the still greater locks now approaching 
 completkaa odd k«:h the American and Canadian sides of the St. M^y* 
 River." 
 
«3 
 
 " The route from Lake Superior to Montreal, by way of the Ottawa 
 River, is more nearly an air line than any other stretch of inland navi- 
 gation whicfi can he found in all the world, and presents, beside, physical 
 conditions which will enable it to be improved for the passage of the 
 larj^est vessels for a less cost than any other which can be found. 
 
 "The Canadian Pacific Railway, lying close to the whole route,will 
 afford facilities which will materially lessen the cost of construction. In 
 this connection I wish to emphasize the fact, that while the cost of 
 water transportation is very much less than that of transportation by 
 rail, and waterways are the most effective regulators of railway rates,yet, 
 instead of injuring railways, they are of the greatest possible benefit to 
 ,nem. This opinion is not based on theory, but upon the facts which 
 I have been for many years collecting from all parts of the world. I 
 have scores of illustrations of the beneficial effect in the enormous in- 
 crease of railway business which has followed the construction or im- 
 provement of waterways directly alongside of the railways, and I have 
 been utterly unable in all my researches to find a single case in which 
 the result of the railway has been anything else than highly beneficial. 
 
 "The Pennsylvania Central Railway owns and operates 900 miles 
 of canal. 
 
 "When the Baltimore and Potomac Canal was almost utterly de- 
 stroyed by floods a few years ago, the funds for its reconstruction were 
 supplied by the Baltimore & Ohio Railway Company, which railway 
 parallels this canal all the way from the City of Washington to the heart 
 of the Alleghany Mountains. 
 
 "The underlying fact is, that it is better for the community, and 
 hence for the railways which serve the community, to turn over to f/ie 
 waterway the transportation of bulky raw material, in which the wtight 
 is very large in proportion to the value ; and in the transportation of ivhich 
 speed is not essential. " 
 
 Water Power and Electricity. 
 
 But, in my view, the most important event that has occurred to 
 stimulate the carrying out of this project is the complete success in 
 using electricity as a motive power ; this will make a complete revolu- 
 tion in transportation, whether by rail or canal. 
 
24 
 
 ii^ 
 
 iU i 
 
 •• The characteristics of the waters by which it is proposed to form a 
 continuous line of navigation from the Georgian Bay — Lake Huron to 
 the head of ocean navigation at Montreal — are such as to afford very- 
 great facilities for generating electricity ; for, when improved by dams, 
 they will at convenient distances give hydraulic power, in the aggregate 
 probably not less than that of Niagara, but more serviceable by being 
 distributed over the whole route, not in dribblets, but from Lake Nipis- 
 sing westward to Georgian Bay, and eastward by the Matawan and Ot- 
 tawa Rivers to Montreal, continually increasing in volume, none being 
 wasted, but passing on from dam to dam, doing duty at each, extending 
 a length of 430 miles. 
 
 There can be no doubt, if this project is carried out, that electricity 
 will be used not only for lighting towns and driving manufacturing 
 machinery, but also for operating the Canadian Pacific and Parry Sound 
 Railways with their branches that will be made to mines and for lum- 
 bering purposes. 
 
 It is estimated that the Canadian Pacific Railway could be oper- 
 ated on tfiis route by electricity at thirty per cent, less cost than by 
 steam, and as there are rivers of sufificient volume and water falls for 
 generating electricity at convenient distances apart, westward from Lake 
 Nipissing, it is probable that within a short time the Canadian Pacific 
 Railway would be operated by electricity to Fort William, or even to 
 Winnipeg. Propellers will also be driven by the same power when that 
 power can be carried with them. 
 
 * 
 
 The leasing of this water power should yield a large revenue to 
 the Canal Company. 
 
 But what a transformution will take place in the aspect of the 
 country, all up the Ottawa Valley extending to the Georgian Bay will 
 be a hive of manufacturing industry, and what this will be for the Cities 
 of Ottawa and Montreal it needs no prophet to foretell. 
 
 MARCUS SMITH. 
 
 M.Inst., C. E. 
 
25 
 
 Deep Water-way from the Atlantic Ocean to the 
 
 Great Lakes 
 
 The project of a deep water-way for ocean steamers to reach Lakes 
 Huron, Michigan and Superior has recently been discussed both in 
 conventions of "The International Deep Water-way Association" and 
 in engineering journals ; the discussion being generally limited to two 
 routes : 
 
 1 By the P>ie Canal and Hudson River to New York. 
 
 2. By the VVelland Canal and St. Lawrence Rivers to Montreal ; 
 with extension fruiii Lake vSt. Francis to Lake Champlain, thence by 
 canal and Hudson River to New York. 
 
 The depth of water to be not less than twenty feet ; and even this 
 is considered insuthcient for the larger class of steamers by which freight 
 could be carried at the least cost. 
 
 'J'he cost of constructing such a work to Montreal would be very 
 great, and to New York enoraious, even if sufficient water could be 
 obtained on this route. To construct a canal of this depth to be fed 
 by water from Lake Erie has been estimated by an American engineer 
 h) cost one hundred and fifty million dollars. 
 
 That portion of the route between Sault Ste. Marie and Lake Erie 
 being on the boundary line would be an international work, but from 
 Lake Erie by ihe Welland Canal and St. Lawrence River to Lake Fran- 
 cis is entirely within Dominion territory, and it carried thence to Mont- 
 real and also to New York, the Dominion Government would be required 
 to bear a large proportion of the cost. 
 
 No one ex[. ects that any interest on the large capital would accrue 
 from the tolls, if indeed they should pay working expenses ; some o( 
 the promoters want no tolls. 
 
 The scheme would be chiefly for the reduction of the cost of 
 "through" freight from the Western States to the seaboard, for expor- 
 tation to Europe, and in a less dsgree, from the Northwest Territories 
 of the Dominion ; for few of the lake harbours on the route will admit 
 vessels ot twenty feet draught, aiid they could only be deepened and 
 kept open at great expense. 
 
 The general or prevailing result of these discussions has been to 
 discredit the scheme. 
 
26 
 
 At the conveniion recently held at Cleveland, Mr. T- C Clarke, 
 M. Am. Sec. C. E., submitted an elaborate paper from carefully col- 
 lected statistics of operations and cost of transportation of freight on the 
 Erie Canal, from which he concludes, that to reduce the cost to a mini- 
 mum on that route, the canal should have a depth of nine feet, to be 
 navigated by a fleet of one tug boat with four steel barges, loaded to a 
 depth of seven and a half feet draught — capacity 2,400 tons. 
 
 But as the length of canal to be constructed on the Georgian Bay 
 and Ottawa River route bears a very small proportion to the length of 
 open water navigation, and the depth of the rivers being favourable, a 
 canal of the depth of t2n to twelve feet, with suitable propellers and 
 barges as suggested in the reports of Mr. Walter Shanly and Mr. T E. 
 Clarke, already (juoted, would be the most economical lor carrying 
 freight. 
 
 After duly considering these several schemes in all their bearings, I 
 believe it indisputable that the Montreal. Ottawa and Georgian Bay 
 scheme has very great advantages over all the others : 
 
 1. It is the shortest practicable route that can be found from Chi- 
 cago or any point on Lake Superior, being ^63 miles shorter "to Montreal 
 than by the Welland and St. Lawrence route and 435 miles shorter to 
 Montreal than it is to New York by the Erie Canal and Hudson River, 
 
 2. It is the safest, being for the greater portion of its length shel- 
 tered in rivers and narrow lakes. 
 
 3. It is the quickest, not only for its shortness, but from its propor- 
 tion of open water, on which steamers can make greater sp^ed. 
 
 4. It is by far the least costly to construct. 
 
 5. Having all these advantages, ihe transportation of freight can 
 be done at the least cost. 
 
 In addition to these, it will have very great local importance from 
 a Canadian point of view. The water power that will be ])rovided by 
 the proposed dams for over-coming rapids will be used for generating 
 electricity for driving manufacturing machinery, branch railways, lighting 
 towns, etc., so that will materially as -.ist in developing the mineral and 
 other resources of the country, and it will thus have a large local as well 
 as through traffic. ^ 
 
 MARCUS SMITH, 
 
 M. Inst. C. E. 
 
 feisfe^fe^?^* 
 
E.