unquestionable. Why, therefore, should it be persisted in? as the money, if at all appropriated for their benefit, might be more wisely and much more usefully applied. The beautiful and fertile Isle Jesus, which contains three large populous parishes, viz., St. Vincent de Paul, Ste. Rose, and St. Martin, belongs to the ecclesiastics of the Seminary of Quebec, to whom it was granted, together with Isles aux Vaches, contiguous to it, in 1699. It is separated from the main land by the River Jean, or Jesus. Opposite, at the upper end of the stream, is the beautiful village of St. Eustache. Lachine has long been a great point of departure for Upper Canada. From it the North-west Company despatched their large bark canoes for the Uttawa and western regions, laden with various and necessary articles. From this place, also, the steam-boats now start for Upper Canada; and we may either take a passage by one of them, or we may drive in a calèche, through a beautiful rural country, to St. Anne's, from whence we may cross the ferry to Isle Perrault, and from thence proceed to Upper Canada; or, by the lake of the two mountains, continue our voyage or journey up the Uttawa. CHAP. XX. THE RIVER OTTAWA, OR GRAND RIVER. - LAKES. - SEIGNIORIES. - CANALS. - HULL. - PHILEMON WRIGHT. - MACNAB. - BYTOWN. - UNION BRIDGE. - CHAUDIERE. - RAPIDS. - GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS, ETC. STEAM-BOATS, bateaux, and other river craft, proceed from the island of Montreal up the Ottawa, or Uttawa, and pass through the lock lately cut at Vaudreuil to the Long Saut rapids, near Grenville; to obviate which, a canal is now cutting, about forty miles above Lachine, by government, that will cost about 180,000l. The Ottawa has only been very partially explored. It rises in the north-west regions, beyond Lake Huron; and probably winds its course, for from ten to twelve hundred miles, before it joins the St. Lawrence. This great river, however, was scarcely known, except to the fur traders. It was their grand route to the north-west territories. Forty to fifty canoes formerly proceeded from Lachine with articles of traffic, and ascended the Ottawa for about 300 miles; from whence they were carried over portages and décharges, or paddled along lakes, and then across by French River to Lake Huron. The coasts of this lake, and those of Lake Superior, were afterwards traversed, until the voyagers reached the Grand Portage, where they received the furs purchased by the Company's agents from the Indians. The voyagers then returned with these furs to Montreal; and in light bark canoes, voyages of several thousands of miles were performed by those adventurous men. The navigation of the Ottawa is frequently interrupted by cataracts and rapids; and the scenery exhibits picturesque beauty and fertility. In some parts it expands over the country, and forms what are termed the lesser, or thirty mile lakes of Canada. It receives several rivers between its embouchure and its upper settlements, most of which issue from or run through lakes. The largest of these rivers are the Petite Nation, the Rideau, the Canadian Mississippi, La Rivière aux Lièvres, the Madawask, &c. It divides Lower from Upper Canada; and townships have been laid out, and settlements have for some time been rapidly forming, along its banks. Its periodical rising, which enriches the alluvions, owing to the rapid melting of the snows in the extensive northern region through which it and its numerous tributaries flow, is much higher in the spring than in the fall of the year. After leaving St. Anne's, on the western part of the Island of Montreal, we soon after enter the Ottawa, and its expansion, the Lake of the Two Mountains. On the left rise the eminences which give a name to the lake. One of these is called after the mount of the same name near Paris, Mont Calvaire. On the summit were built seven chapels, constructed of stone; and here a mission has long been established. The whole seigniory belongs to the seminary of Montreal, who derive merely the seigniorial fines, and very trifling rentes from it: and it is but justice to mention, that such is the encouragement they give to cultivation and improvement, that in no part of the province are the habitans more comfortable, or the country better tilled. On this seigniory are two Indian villages: that of the Algonquins appears first; a little above, that of the Iroquois. Both contain 880 inhabitants; and the whole population of the seigniory amounts to about 8,500. The ecclesiastics and the sisters of the congregation provide for the instruction of the young Indians of both sexes. On the opposite or west shores of the Ottawa are the seigniories of Soulanges and Vaudreuil, and Regaud, within the line of Lower Canada; but they are not quite so well settled or cultivated as the seigniories of the Lake of the Two Mountains. We then pass the seigniory of Argenteuil, populously settled, and now belonging to Major Johnston. The township of Chatham, settled some years ago, and that of Grenville, through which the canal to avoid the turbulent Long Saut rapids is now cutting, lie between Argenteuil and the seigniory of La Petite Nation. The latter is the property of Mr. Papineau, the Speaker of the House of Assembly of the province. Here he has good mills; and he liberally encourages all who inhabit the seigniory. Several Irish have lately settled on it. Philemon Wright, Esq., having left the United States in 1800, travelled in quest of lands to Canada, and proceeded up the Ottawa. He examined the country about Hull, and quickly discovered its favourable advantages. Here, in the heart of the wilderness, eighty-five miles above Montreal, was a magnificent river, flowing from afar through excellent lands, with abundance of timber, and mountains of iron ore. He knew well how to bring those resources into profitable operation, and became the leader in forming a settlement. He drew hundreds to the place: forests rapidly disappeared, which were soon succeeded by houses, inhabitants, yellow cornfields, meadows, and flocks and herds. Settlements have extended, since that time, twenty to thirty miles above Hull. Bytown and the Upper Canada shores of the Ottawa will be noticed hereafter. Vast quantities of pine and oak timber are floated down the Ottawa. It is said that some gangs of lumberers have brought rafts down 600 miles. The dexterity with which they manage these rafts, or masses of timber, is astonishing; particularly when directing a raft down the falls of Chaudière. This cataract is grandly picturesque, about a mile wide, and broken and separated by numerous islands, where it comes thundering down eighty feet over precipices. Here, however, the two provinces are connected, by the execution of a most daring plan, the “Union Bridge," over the Grande Chaudière, where no soundings have been found at a depth of 300 feet. This bridge was erected, three or four years ago, under the superintendence of able engineers, Colonel By, and the late Mr. MʻTaggart. It has eight arches of sixty feet, two of seventy feet, and one of 200 feet. Opposite, in the upper province, Bytown has lately been built, and it appears to thrive rapidly. There are various fur trading posts held on the Ottawa by the Hudson Bay Company. A solitary family is to be found settled in some places for nearly eighty miles above Hull. The country of the Ottawa affords great advantages |