Shallow water in the lower Saguenay must not be expected, and even at the head of navigation a name is found that signifies ‘deep water.’ This is Chicoutimi, a delightful village where Scandinavian vessels come to load up with lumber. Some claim that the name of the village is derived from the Indian word Ishkotimew, meaning ‘up to here the water is deep.’ Be that as it may, it is a picturesque place, where many of the cottages are roofed with birch-bark, and where trim flower gardens, and cottage doors festooned with climbing vines, may be seen. The dashing mountain stream Chicoutimi, which has a wild descent of near 500 feet in seven miles, enters the Saguenay just above the village, and puts on a white bridal-fall in honor of its union with the stern Saguenay.
On the way from Tadousac to Chicoutimi, the mouth of the Marguerite River is passed. This river is distant from Tadousac about 14 miles, and it has a beauty of its own claimed by some to compare with that of the larger river, but, of course, on a smaller scale. The scenery is romantic in the extreme. Swirling eddies and foaming rapids turn sharply around the high cliffs, which are water-worn and smooth below from the action of the dashing foam. Here and there are quiet pools, deep and silent; and some are in almost perpetual shade from overhanging cliff and woodland.
Some seventeen miles above stands Cape Eternity, with Eternity Bay between it and the giant twin-brother Cape Trinity. Many have felt that here the ‘climax of the awe-inspiring scenery of the Saguenay is reached.’ A huge wall of limestone here towers up and projects boldly over the river. Those who pass beneath it give a shudder of apprehension as they realize that a fall would mean annihilation for all below. The great column has been likened to a colossal stairway of three enormous treads, fit ascension to the clouds for the giant gods of the early Indian’s dream. Cape Eternity is 1700 feet high, and Cape Trinity 1500 feet. These enormous bulwarks of rock are stern and grand in the awful majesty of their height and power. As the eye soars upward, the pine-trees that have gained a foothold in the fissures serve to accentuate the prodigious heights, for onward and upward they loom until lost as specks of nothingness.
As Chicoutimi is gradually neared, the water of Ha-Ha Bay opens up on the south. It received its odd name from the peals of laughter indulged in by the early French explorers who took it for the main channel of the river, and who found their mistake when they reached the end of the cul-de-sac.
In and about Chicoutimi and the neighboring villages are numerous places of great interest; and doubtless many who visit this district will wish to go part or all the way to Lake St. John for the pleasure of returning by canoe, and of enjoying the lively sport of shooting the rapids in care of two skilful Indian guides. At Portage de l’Enfant an Indian child managed to perform a feat that few could be likely to imitate successfully: that of going over the 50-foot fall in a canoe, and escaping uninjured. For lovers of the curious, the church at Chicoutimi contains an ancient bell with an inscription on it that no one has been able to decipher.
If so minded, the traveller who finds himself in this delightful district may go by rail from Chicoutimi to Roberval at the south-western end of Lake St. John. Here, in more open country, another series of excursions may be had, and, not forgetting the pleasure of a stay at Roberval as a centre, those who are fond of steamboat trips, driving, walking, boating and canoeing may go in many directions.
The steamboat trip from Roberval to the Grand Discharge and ‘Thousand Isles of the Saguenay’ is a favorite one. There is nothing similar to it elsewhere. The drives to Ouiatchouan Falls, picturesque and nearly 300 feet high, and the Montagnais village of Pointe Bleue are full of interest and novelty. Many other trips are possible.
Much of the country to the north of the lake is unexplored. The same remark applies to the rivers of the northern district, or rather to their upper waters. Across Lake St. John, therefore, is ground where the experienced huntsman or nature-lover may find ample occupation in new fields.