At the head of these Rapids is the pretty little Indian village of
Lachine, and here comes aboard our Indian pilot, Baptiste by name, who
has piloted the boats through the Lachine Rapids for forty years. These
Rapids are the most perilous in all the river’s extent, on account of
the devious nature of the channel, and the dangerous rocks which lie
just enough below the surface to deceive any but the skillful navigator.
The swarthy giant who takes the wheel at this point pays little
attention to anything but the duty in hand, and that seems to demand all
his energies. Casting alternate glances at him and at the rushing waters
ahead of us, we involuntarily breathe the words of the hymn,
“Steady, O pilot, stand firm at the wheel.”
Right in our path lies a ragged rock, which threatens us with instant
destruction; but a turn of the wheel at just the right moment sends our
good craft a little to the left of it, and the apparent danger is past.
With bated breath we watch for the next peril that looms ahead of us, to
find it, like its predecessor, vanquished by the strong arm and steady
nerve of the man to whom every inch of the channel is as familiar as a
beaten path.
Entering once more into quiet waters, we steam on our way toward
Montreal, and soon the horizon is marked with the long line of the
famous VICTORIA BRIDGE, which rises higher and higher as we approach it,
until we glide under it and are soon at the wharf of the American Line,
at the close of a day that has been filled with a succession of delights
unapproachable in a day’s experience in travel elsewhere on the American
Continent.
[Illustration: CANADIAN CARRYALL.]
[Illustration: MONTREAL AND QUEBEC.]
A tour from the West to the East which did not include a visit to the
chief cities of Canada would be indeed incomplete. Hence, in the
arrangement of summer excursions, the River St. Lawrence comprising a
part of the trip, it is both easy and natural to embrace these points of
interest.
MONTREAL is the metropolis of British North America. Its situation, both
from a scenic and commercial point of view, renders it attractive to the
tourist and prosperous as a business center. Its location is on an
island in the St. Lawrence, at the base of Mt. Royal, which gives the
city its name. The view of the city from the river, with the mountain in
the background is beautiful and impressive, and when this is
supplemented by the grand picture exhibited from the summit of the
mountain, with the river and the Victoria Bridge in the distance, the
observer is ready to exclaim, “Beautiful for situation!”
On arriving in Montreal, whether by boat or rail, the traveler is
impressed with the idea that the entire population must indulge in
riding, so numerous are the hackmen, or carters, as they are called, to
be seen at every hotel, depot and landing. Their easy one or two-horse
carriages are at your service for long or short trips, and their prices
are very reasonable, being regulated by law. The fare from point to
point within the city is twenty-five cents for one or two passengers,
and fifty cents for three or four, although the usual custom of the
driver is to charge twenty-five cents for each passenger, and collect it
if he can. If you go outside the city limits, make a bargain in advance.
In fact, there is safety in giving this rule a general application
wherever you need the services of a hackman, and thereby always avoiding
contention in settlement.
[Illustration: CITY OF MONTREAL, FROM THE RIVER.]