CHAP. XV.

COAST OF THE RIVER ST. LAWRENCE FROM GASPÈ TO QUEBEC. -BAY OF SEVEN ISLANDS. TRINITY. - MANICOUGAN SHOALS. - PORT NEUF. - SOUTH SHORE. - CAPE GASPÈ. - ANSE DE L'ÉTANG. - MATANE. - MITIS. - RIMOUSKI, — BIQUE. - TROIS PISTOLES.- APPEARANCE OF THE SOUTH COAST. - ROADS, TRAVELLING. AUBERGES. CHURCHES. HABITANS' HOUSES. RIVIÈRE DE LOUP. KAMOURASKA. - ST. ANNE'S. - ST. THOMAS'S. - HABITANS ON SUNDAY. - MORAL CHARACTER. - POINT LEVI.

- CANADIAN PARISHES.

THE coast and interior country of Lower Canada, from Cape Gaspè to the Paps of Matane, a distance of about 200 miles, still exhibit the same primeval wildness which this portion of the western world presented to Cartier 296 years ago. The northern shores, from Labrador to Tadousac, are equally desolate; and, if we except the king's posts at Seven Islands' Bay and Port Neuf, we discover no signs of art or civilisation, no traces of the industry or enterprise of man. A few miserable wandering Montagnez Indians, and a few transient fishermen and furriers, are the only human beings that frequent this cold and barren region. The vast country which lies between the lower shores of the St. Lawrence and Hudson Bay, seems, indeed, unfit for any other inhabitants, save the shaggy bear, prowling wolf, ruthless Esquimaux, and hardy Mountaineer Indian, who wander along its waters, or traverse its wastes; yet the vast swarms of salmon that frequent its rivers, and the remarkably fine fur of its wild animals, offer sufficient temptations to the adventurous, and sources of profit to the industrious. Minerals, especially iron, are believed to abound; but, from the geological formation of the country, I think that few, unless it be copper, will ever be found east or north of the Saguenay.

The Bay of Seven Islands lies on the north coast of the St. Lawrence, which at this point is seventy miles broad. It derives its name from seven high rugged islands which lie at its entrance. There is deep water close to these islands, which rise abruptly out of the sea, and from ten to fifty fathoms' depth of water in the bay. It forms, within, a large round basin; and the lands at its head appear sinking low in the horizon, while those on each side are high and rugged. Here there is a king's post, rented formerly to the North-west Company, and lately to the Hudson Bay Company. Humpback whales enter this bay, in which they are sometimes pursued, both by the American and Gaspè whalers.

The best track, sailing up the St. Lawrence, nearly as far as Tadousac, especially with contrary winds, is along the north coast. The current always runs so strongly down along the south shore, that it can only be stemmed with a fair wind. The shores of Anticosti are flat, but the soundings are regular; and lighthouses are erecting on the east and west points of this dangerous island. The Labrador coast may be safely approached. It affords harbours, and excellent anchorage, and the tides are nearly regular. Trinity, a little below Point des Monts Pelées, on which a lighthouse has lately been erected, is a place where ships anchor in

proceeding up the St. Lawrence with a head wind.* Pilots usually meet vessels between Point des Monts and Cape Chat, which is nearly opposite, on the south side. There are two formidable dangers off the north shore, between Point des Monts and Tadousac. The first is a rocky shoal, extending several miles off and along the coast at Manicougan. ships have been stranded on it. The other is a lesser danger, lying off Point de Mille Vaches, a little above the king's post at Port Neuf. There is no further danger until we pass the mouth of the river Saguenay; from which to Quebec a pilot is absolutely necessary. I therefore return to sketch a brief description of the south coast of the St. Lawrence, which has hitherto been neglected in all the English accounts of Canada that I have seen. The counties of Gaspè, Rimouski, and Kamouraska, comprehending a valuable territory, extending about 300 miles along the River St. Lawrence, are less known in England than Kamtschatka.

Cape Gaspè is rather high, and its rocky cliffs are perpendicular. Cape Rosier is low, but the land behind rises into high round hills; and the whole is covered with trees of various kinds, except a few small spots near the Cape, cleared by some fishermen settled there. The coast preserves this character as we proceed up the St. Lawrence, and generally slopes, covered with trees, to the water's edge. At Great Fox River there are also a few fishermen; and at Anse de l'Etang, twelve leagues above Cape Gaspè, there is a small harbour for shallops. It may be known by a remarkably high wooded conical hill on the east side, and by a beach with a few huts and stages on the west. Some of the habitans of the parish of St. Thomas, on the Rivière du Sud, thirty miles below Quebec, frequent this place during the cod-fishing season. The river issues from several lakes, one of which is only half a mile through the woods from the fish stages.* Fishermen also frequent Grand Vallée des Monts, Magdalene, Mount Louis, St. Anne's, and Cape Chat, during summer; but I believe there are no permanent settlers (unless it be at St. Anne's) until we reach Matane. As far, however, as I could judge of the country, it appears to possess sufficient advantages for settlements. The shortness of the summer, and the intense cold of winter, may form strong objections to agriculture; but the severity of its climate differs little from that of the thickly settled agricultural parishes about 200 miles farther up than Cape Gaspè, nor is it so cold as many parts of the corn countries of Russia. The soil in the valleys is fertile, and the uplands appear also to be fit for cultivation. The trees, growing on the hills, and on the sloping high lands facing the coast, if used in ship-building, - and there are abundant convenient situations for building vessels, would be found far more durable than those which grow in the valleys or along the rivers and lakes of the upper country. The "scrubby oak" of the hills, as it is called, is considered as durable as the best English oak. It is admirably adapted for the timbers of a ship, and of sufficient size for the construction of large vessels.

The country in the rear of the Canadian seigniories, east of the river Chaudière to Lake Tamiscouta, and to the south as far as the American boundary, including the ungranted lands on the two rivers St. Francis, and the valleys of the district of Gaspè, afford excellent lands, and seem the natural ground