n,i^ HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE S AG U EN A Y HISTORICAL SKETCH OK THE SAGUENAY Souvenir of the Ontario and Quebec Press Excursion to Cliicoutiiui, (irancl-BruI^ and St-AIphonso on the yth August 1883 BY A COMMITTEE OF WRITERS ^•' ••» '. I.. , • « i^ — 1^„- -_J»*^.-g,l^,^ _,i — X , , , • • ♦ • • * « 4. *,-♦•" » ■» , QUEBEC Printed by L:&geu Brousseal- 9, Buade Street, 9 1883 . • • • i • • « • • • • » • • ^ « » • • • • » • ^ * » • ' . • • « • • • • • • •• : • • • • * ' • • • » » • " • • • • • • • • I, ^> • • • HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THR SAGUENAY I Old Times The History of the Saguenay begins with the rise of the French Colony in America. The writings of the first European explorers of the St- Lawrence mention the country, Cartier, Chami)lain, Lescarbot, Mi- chaux and many others speak of its mineral resources and of the customs of the savage tribes who inhabited the territory. The great nation of the Monta- gnais which lived there was divided into nine tribes, Two only exist at -^6 — present. The Montagnais, now set- tled in ihe county of Saguenay at Betsiamis and on the borders of Lake St-John and the Naskapis who occupy the height of land as far as Hudson Bay. The Tadousacians, the Chicouti- mians, the Aschamouchoumians are now no more and have disapeared before the invading torrent of colo- nization. There now remain little more than one hundred families in the midst of the farming population, most of them still live by hunting and fishing, but they are no more the savage people of olden times. A few of them have succeeded in making a living by cultivating the soil. II The first missionaries who preached the word of God in the Saguenay were Jesuits. At the very beginning of the Colony they visited Tadousac, and in 1693 Father de Crepieul paid — 7- a visit to the mission of St-Fran9is Xaverius of Chicoutimi. Long before him, in 1661, Eev. Fathers Drnillettes and Dablon ascended the River Sa- guenay, crossed Lake St -John and penetrated the forest as far as the height of land. Ten years later, Revd Father Albanel made verv nearly the same trip, and went as far as Hudson Bay. A township situated 78 miles from Chicou.timi and a pro- mising settlement bears his name. Rev. Father Albanel built chapels or mission churches at Chicoutimi and Lake St-John. The site of the chapel built at Chicoutimi is now enclosed within the limits of Messrs Price's sawmills. A fence is the only mark that can tell of its existence to the traveller. The last Jesuits who preached the Gospel in the Saguenay district were the Revd Fathers Cocquart and La- brosse. — 8 — III The territory of Saguenay under the french domination was leased as a hunting and fishing ground. Under the english domination the same system was adopted,but the lease was renewed every 21 years. The lessees finding it to be in their inte- rest to conceal the great ressources of the country from the eye of the explorers, the territory remained complete ly unknown up to 1820. But in the vear 1828 the truth was made known, and the Legislature ordered the whole county to be explored. TOPOGEAPHY OF THE SaGUENAY The River Saguenay flows out of Lake St- John by two channels, called La petite et la grande Decharge and forms the Island of Alma. For thirty miles the course of the river is bro- kenby falls,cascades and rapids which — 9 — render its navigation by any other craft than a bark canoe impossible. Seven miles from Chicoutimi the river becomes navigable and con- tinues so to its mouth. It varies in width from one to three miles and in depth from ten to eighteen hundred feet. Its shores are formed for the most part of cliffs and mountain bluffs from 1000 to 2000 feet in height, and good har- bours are very rare. It receives the waters of numerous tributaries, the most important being the Chicou- timi Eiver. On its bank are the extensive saw mills of Messrs Price Bros & Co. From Tadousac to G-rand Bay or Ha ! Ha ! Bay, the extent of farming lan4 is somewhat limited ; and only few groups of settlers are to be found scattered on the shores of the Saguenay. Two only can be called parishes Tadousac and Anse St- Jean. It is above Ha ! Ha ! Bay that the farming county is to be found. Two — 10 — beautilul parishes are fc.ituated on the shores of the Bay. On the South St-Alphonse where the St-Lawrence and Saguenay Navigation Co has erected its wharves, and two or three miles further on the left, St-Alexis likewise a charming little parish. On the north of the River Sague- nay, the tourist can perceive the parish of St-Fulgence which pos- sesses the saw mills of Messrs Fraser and Co, and the parish of St- Ann, the last parish on the north shore which has any canonical or civil organization. On the south, having St-Alphonse as its eastern boundary, is the parish and town of Chicoutimi ; to the south east Notre-Dame de Laterriere, and to the west St-Dominique de Jonquieres, the two latter are large parishes and rival in every respect, the best to be found around Quebec. From St-Dominique to Hebertville, a distance of 18 miles, a few settlers are met with ; they have establi- shed themselves on the banks of — 11 — Lake Kenogami, a line lake, 21 miles in length. Hebertville is the most thickly populated parish of the Lake St- John Valley. The first settlers arrived here in 1851. The parishes surrounding Hebert- ville are : St-Joseph d'Alma et St- Gredeon de Grandmont ; the latter is situated on the lake. There then come St-Jerome (the terminus of the colonisation road from Quebec to Lake St-John) St-Louis which is separated from St-Jerome by the Metabetchouan river. This will pro- bably be the terminus of the Lake St-John Railway. Notre-Dame du Lac St-Jean which was settled immediately after Hebert- ville. The Ursuline nuns of Quebec founded a convent there last year. The la=5t parish of the Lake Dis- trict is St- Prime ; it is not more than 18 years old. From Notre Dame du Lac St-Jean, the country which uj> to this is hilly and mountaineous undergoes a complete change ; the — 12 — mountains and hills have disappea- red and a vast prairie stretches out offering the most fertile land to the settler. Here and there new parishes have already sprung up, some of them already requiring the services of a curate for themselves, such as St-Felicien, Normandin, and Albanel. Behind the parishes bordering on the Lake, hundreds and hundreds of thousands of acres of the finest land in the province are to be found. And before many years this portion of our province is destined to be great centre of attraction to settlers. Chicocitimi and its surroundings Population — Agricultural prog'ress of the count// — Industrial, Educational and other builditiga and institutions. The parish of St-Fran9ois-Xavier of Chicoutimi, which is situ.ated on the shores of the Saguenay river, dates back to 1845, at least as a farming 13 settlement. Though one of the ol- dest parishes of the country, yet it still counts amongst its inhabitants many of its first settlers. In spite of its geographical situation, of the absence of all necessary communica- tion, its progress has been really asto- nishing. It has no railway and steam- boats touch there only since 1870. The only sure means of communica- tion was by schooners. During the first years of the settle- ment, the men employed by Messrs Price at Chicoutimi, at Grrand Bay consumed all the grain produced ; but in a few years the crops exceeded the local consumption. With no convenient means of shipping his produce, the farmer became the prey of the parish shop keeper, who sold his goods at exorbitant prices, giving little or nothing for the grain in return. These men, by their avarice, were a serious obstacle in the way of the general developement of the county, until competition rightly set in. — 14 — But more terrible than any obsta- cle was the havoc made by the fire fiend. Twice in twenty fi.ve years the whole settlement was on the eve of becoming a prey to this devouring element. The fifth of may 1846 and the 19 of May 1870 are dates never to be forgotten in the annals of the Saguenay district. On this occasion St- Alexis and St-Alphonse were al- most entirely destroyed. The second conflagration was still more disas- trous. The whole district from Ha ! Ha ! Bay to Lake St-John was one mass of flames and the scenes that must have occurred in this terrible disaster, are beyond all conception. It is in those times of distress that the powerful voice of the press is felt. True to its mission, it made it- self heard. The tales of the suffer- ings and privations caused by this sad and lamentable drama, were echoed through the country. The province of Quebec and the province of Ontario readily come forward to answer our appeal for help, and they — 15 — succeeded in partially repairing the terrible havoc made by the fire. In consequence the citizens of Chicoutimi are glad to avail them- selves of this opportunity to receive their benefactors, at least the success- ors of those who lent them such substantial aid in their misfortune and whose Mission is ever to enlight en the people, and excite their pity in favor of the unfortunate. The parishes of St- Alexis and St- Alphonse were founded in 18-3t. Ten years later Notre-Dame de Laterriere followed. The first settlement there being made under the direction of the Oblats fathers. The property formerly occupied by the fathers is now in the possession of Mr Jules Grauthier and his two sons. Their farm in one of the best in the Sague- nay district, and in all respects a model farm. The first attempts at colonisation in St-Dominique, were made in 1848. The first settlers came from Malbaie. It is now one of the most — 16 — flourishing parishes of the County. It has a cheese factory, bu.ilt this year, by a very enterprising merchant of the locality, M. Joseph Brassard. This gentleman and two of his brothers, Messrs David and Onezime Brassard, control the whole of the trade of the parish. To their liberal way of transacting business the developpement of the trade of the place is greatly due. St. Ann and Ste. Fulgence were settled about the same date as Chi- coutimi. »,,■ ■ ■ ■■T- ;- .' ^ •• • ; ,. , ,< 17 Extracts from the census of 1851-71-81 -Hi" Cliifiouliini- par. do vMIe St-Alphonse.. .. Sl-AIexis. Sle-Anne St-Fulgence.... Sl-Dominique. ... Grand-Brule H6J)ertviHe StGed6on Alma St-J6r6me; St-Louis , Roberval 1 } } Population Busliels of wlioat, produced. 1851 187118811 1871 1200 14*38 507 82 SGI 4100 1*598 130» i58* 2687! 29,768 1579 12,042 129G 1319 Si- Prime.... St-Felicien. ■ ••••• tl29 •••••• lOU 2467 1749 1260 845 1511 1320 2501 654 70C 1803 1007 1186 956 530 8.848 9,104 2.600 12,726 13,164 2*4,741 *3.*773 23,674 • • • • • « 188 18.330 1,981 9,921 8,24-: 5,8)4 3,303 10,530 9,001 19,255 5.025 2,467 17,374 8,442 14,185 6,889 2, 70 J The quantity of other cereals grown in the County of Chicoutimi ill 1871 amount to 445,405 bushels — 18 — and in 1881, to 904,992 bushels sho- wing an increase of 119,587 bushels. Town of Chicoutimi. Chicoutimi, which is situated at the junction of the Chicoutimi and Saguenay rivers was founded in 1850 It obtained its charter as a town in 18 Y9, and since 1878, it is the seat of a bishopric, of which His Lordship Mgr Racine is the first title bearer. When curate of Chi- coutimi His Lordship built the cathe- dral which is really a magnificent edifice. In 1863 His Lordship founded the Grood Shepherd Convent and in 1872 a College, which is now affiliated to the Laval University and is consi- dered as one of the prominent insti- tutions of Canada. Chicoutimi is also the judicial centre of the District of Chicoutimi. From 1848 and 1857 there was only a Circuit Court presided over by Judge Boy, who was elevated to the Supe- — 10 — rior Court in i85V and replaced in 1870 by His Honor Mr Justice Elzear Taschereau now one of the judges of the Supreme Court of Canada. Since 1873 His Honor Mr Justice A. B. llouthier administers justice in this District. At Chicoutimi the Messrs Price Bros, have their largest Saw-Mills ; per- liafits he most extensive of the kind in the Province. The Mills turn out on an average enough to freight from thirty five to forty ships a year at Chicoutimi. During the 'ipring of 1882 an enterprising citizen of Quebec went to Chicoutimi with the intention of starting a cheese factory. He has succeeded beyond all hopes and has now started a second factory in St Alphonse. Chicoutimi now possess a Marine Hospital which on account of the number of sea going vessels visiting the port every year was greatly de» sired. The hospital was built by the Federal Government who realizing — 20 — the great importance of a country which is almost a Province in itself has also granted Chicoutimi tele- graphic communication with the en- tire world. The improvements now making on the channel at Chicoutimi will per- mit steamers and ships to anchor at low tide. Opposite the Marine Hospital stands Price's Monument, erected by Citizens of Chicoutimi and of the surrounding parishes to the memory of him who has so worthly named " Le pere du Saguenay." The County of Chicoutimi was createdja separate County in 1883, from that time until 1864 the County was represented in the Legislative Assembly of Canada by the Hon. Senator Price, except during one year (1854-55) when it was represented by the Hon. A. N. Morin. En 1864 Mr. Price who had just been elected member of the Legisla- tive Council was replaced in the Legislative Assembly by the late Mr Ol p. A. Trembiay who was the member for the county until confederation. From 1867 the county was repre- sented by the following members. House of Commons 1867 to 1872— P. A. Trembiay (died 1874). 1872 to 1871— W. E. Price (died 1880). 1874 to 1882— Ernest Cimon (now a judge). 1882— J. A. Gagne. Legislative Assembly of Quebec. 1867 to 1874— P. A. Trembiay (who resigned his seat when the system of dual representation was abolished). 1874 to 1875— William Baby. 1875 to 1880— W. E. Price. 1880 to 1881— Elisee Beaudet. 1881— Elie Saint-Hilaire. The abov^ethis^oiical'sketchis-^uih^ . cient to iJfoyKJhat; '^.fetQit: fiiti\re is;^ ,'••••«• \ ••'•• • • — 22 — in store lor the vast District of the Saguenay, which almost unknown forty years ago has already attained such prosperity. If in spite of all drawbacks, having no communication with the outer world during the winter months except by land, no railway or steam communication whatsoever, for the greater portion of its existence, it has progressed so rapidly, what can we not hope for it when a great rail- way shall put into communication with all the great centres of the Country. This dream of the inhabi- tants of Chicoutimi and Lake St John is about to be realized. One third of the road is already made ; the contract for the remainder given out, and in 1 885 should the second grand excursion of the Associated Press of Canada arrive at Chicoutimi. The tour of Lake St-John shall be on the programme and the return trip shall commence at St- Jerome by the oft repeat^^ >vp;;