OTTAWA.
Ottawa, the seat of the Canadian Government.--History.--
Population.--Geographical Position.--Scenery.--Chaudiere
Falls.--Rideau Falls.--Ottawa River.--Lumber Business.--
Manufactures.--Steamboat and Railway Communications.--Moore's
Canadian Boat Song.--Description of the City.--Churches,
Nunneries, and Charitable Institutions.--Government Buildings.--
Rideau Hall.--Princess Louise and Marquis of Lorne.--Ottawa's
Proud Boast.
Ottawa was, in 1858, selected by Queen Victoria as the seat of the
Canadian Government. When, in 1867, the British North American
Possessions were reconstructed into the Dominion of Canada, Ottawa
continued to be the Capital city. It was originally called Bytown, after
Colonel By, of the Royal Engineers, who was, in 1827, commissioned to
construct the Rideau Canal, and who laid out the town. In 1854 it was
incorporated as a city, and its name changed to Ottawa, from the river
upon which it stands. Since that time it has increased rapidly in
population and importance, and has at the present time not far from
twenty-five thousand inhabitants. It is situated on the south bank of
the Ottawa River, at the mouth of the Rideau, one hundred and twenty-six
miles above Montreal. The scenery around it is most magnificent, and is
scarcely surpassed by any in Canada. At the west end of the city the
Ottawa rushes, in a magnificent cataract, over a ragged ledge, two
hundred feet wide and forty feet high, in what is known as the Chaudiere
Falls. Chaudiere signifies caldron, and in the seething caldron of
waters at the base of the falls a sounding line three hundred feet in
length has not touched bottom. Immediately below the falls is a
suspension bridge, from which a most satisfactory view can be obtained.
At the northeast end of the city the Rideau tumbles, in two cataracts,
into the Ottawa. These cataracts are very picturesque, but are exceeded
in grandeur by the Chaudiere. The Des Chenes Rapids, having a fall of
nine feet, are found about eight miles above Ottawa.
The Ottawa River is, next to the St. Lawrence, the largest stream in
Canada. Rising in the range of mountains which forms the watershed
between Hudson Bay and the great lakes, it runs in a southeasterly
direction for about six hundred miles before it empties into the St.
Lawrence. It has two mouths, which form the island upon which Montreal
is situated. The entire region drained by it and its tributaries
measures eighty thousand square miles. These tributaries and the Ottawa
itself form highways for, probably, the largest lumber trade in the
world. The clearing of great tracts of country by the lumbermen has
opened the way for agriculturists; and numerous thriving settlements are
found upon and near their banks, all of which look to Ottawa as their
business centre. As these settlements increase in number and size, the
prosperity of Ottawa will multiply in proportion. The navigation of the
river has been much improved by engineering, especially for the
transportation of lumber, dams and slides having been constructed for
its passage over rapids and falls.
This immense supply of lumber is, much of it, arrested at Ottawa, where
the almost unequaled water power is utilized in saw-mills, which furnish
the city its principal employment, and from which issue yearly almost
incredible quantities of sawed lumber. There are also flour mills, and
manufactories of iron castings, mill machinery, and agricultural
implements, which give it commercial importance, and a sound basis of
prosperity.
Ottawa is connected by steamer with Montreal, and by the Rideau Canal
with Lake Ontario at Kingston, while the Grand Trunk Railway sends a
branch line from Prescott. The Ottawa River is navigable for one hundred
and eighty-eight miles above the city, by steamers of the Union
Navigation Company, but there are numerous portages around falls and
rapids. The last stopping place of the steamer is Mattawa, a remote port
of the Hudson Bay Company. Beyond that outpost of civilization there is
nothing but unexplored and unbroken wilderness. Moore's Canadian boat
song makes mention of the Ottawa River:--
"Soon as the woods on shore look dim,
We'll sing, at St. Ann's, our parting hymn.
"Ottawa's tide, this trembling moon
Shall see us afloat on thy waters soon."
Ottawa is divided into Upper and Lower Town by the Rideau Canal, which
contains eight massive locks within the city limits, and is crossed by
two bridges, one of stone and iron, and the other of stone alone. The
streets of the city are wide and regular. Sparks street is the
fashionable promenade, containing the principal retail stores. Sussex is
also a prominent business street. The principal hotels are the Russell
House, near the Parliament Buildings; Windsor House, in the Upper Town;
and the Albion, on Court House Square.
The most prominent church edifice in the city is the Roman Catholic
Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is of stone, with double spires two
hundred feet in height. The interior is very fine, and contains as an
altar piece Murillo's "Flight into Egypt." St. Patrick's, Roman
Catholic, and St. Andrew's, Presbyterian, are also striking churches. At
the corner of Bolton and Sussex streets is the imposing stone building
of the Grey Nunnery, while the group of buildings belonging to the Black
Nunnery is to the eastward of Cartier Square. There are, besides, in the
city, two convents, two hospitals, three orphan asylums, and a Magdalen
asylum, all under the control of the Roman Catholics. The Ottawa
University is also a Roman Catholic institution, and has a large
building in Wilbrod street. The Ladies' College, in Albert street, is a
Protestant school.
But all these structures sink into insignificance when compared to the
Government Buildings, which constitute the most prominent feature of the
city of Ottawa. They are situated on an eminence known as Barrack Hill,
which rises one hundred and fifty feet above the river, and were erected
at a cost of about four millions of dollars. They form three sides of a
vast quadrangle, which occupies nearly four acres. The Parliament House
is on the south side or front of the quadrangle, and is four hundred and
seventy-two feet long, and the same number of feet deep, from the front
of the main tower, to the rear of the library. The Departmental
Buildings run north from this main structure, forming the east and west
sides of the quadrangle. The eastern side is five hundred and eighteen
feet long, by two hundred and fifty-three feet deep, and the western
side is two hundred and eleven feet long, by two hundred and
seventy-seven feet deep. These latter buildings contain the various
government bureaus, in the west block being also found the model room
of the Patent Office, and the Post Office. The entire structure is of
cream-colored sandstone, with arches and doors of red Potsdam sandstone,
and the external ornamental work of this sandstone. Its architecture is
in the Italian-Gothic style. Green and purple slates cover the roof, and
the pinnacles are ornamented with elaborate iron trellis work. The
columns and arches of the legislative chambers are of marble. These
chambers are capacious and richly finished, and have stained glass
windows. The Chamber of Commons is reached by an entrance to the left of
the main entrance, under the central tower, and the marble of its
columns and arches is beautiful. The Senate Hall, which is entered from
the right of the main entrance, contains the vice-regal canopy and
throne, and a portrait of Queen Victoria. There are also full-length
portraits, by Sir Joshua Reynolds, of George III, and Queen Charlotte.
The Library is a circular structure, on the north front of the
Parliament House, with a dome ninety feet high, and contains about forty
thousand volumes. A massive stone wall incloses the fourth side of the
quadrangle, and the inclosure is laid out with tree-shaded walks.
Rideau Hall, the official residence of the Governor General, is in New
Edinburgh, a suburban town on the opposite side of the Rideau River,
connected with Ottawa by a bridge. Rideau Hall has been for several
years past the home of the Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of the
Dominion of Canada, and the Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen
Victoria. The love which the Canadians bear their Queen was most loyally
manifested on the arrival of the Governor General and the Princess, his
wife. Every honor was shown the Marquis which was due his official and
hereditary rank; but the most extravagant marks of affection and
veneration were lavished upon the Princess, who was regarded as a
representative of her mother. Whenever she proceeded through the
Dominion, her progress was a triumphal procession. The people crowded to
catch but a glimpse of her face, or to hear the tones of her voice. She
is described as an extremely affable lady, the beauty of Her Majesty's
family, caring less for the traditions and observances of royalty than
her imperial mother, with great native shrewdness and marked ability as
an artist. She has traveled extensively throughout the dominion of
Canada, having reached its extreme western limit, and crossed the United
States from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It is said she does not greatly
admire Canada, and proposes to spend as little time at Ottawa as
possible, regarding the somewhat primitive society there as almost
semi-barbaric. But when she returns permanently to the island of her
birth she will go with greatly enlarged views, and a knowledge of the
world, and especially of the people of the new world, which ought to
constitute her an efficient counsellor in affairs of state.
The Marquis of Lorne, Governor General of Canada, is described as an
extremely handsome gentleman of the Scotch type, with large literary
attainments, and with a desire to conciliate the people over whom he has
been sent to rule. For many generations to come it will undoubtedly be
Ottawa's highest boast that it has numbered among its citizens the son
of one of the proudest nobles of the British realm, and a princess of
the blood.