BRIGADE OF BATEAUX.
It was on the 28th day of August that we reached La Chine; the next day the “brigade,” as it was called, of bateaux was ready, and in the afternoon we set out on our voyage. Three men are found sufficient to conduct an empty bateau of about two tons burthen up the St. Lawrence, but if the bateau be laden more are generally allowed. They ascend the stream by means of poles, oars, and sails. Where the current is very strong, they make use of the former, keeping as close as possible to the shore, in order to avoid the current, and to have the advantage of shallow water to pole in. The men set their poles altogether at the same moment, and all work at the same side of the bateau; the steersman, however, shifts his pole occasionally from side to side, in order to keep the vessel in an even direction. The poles commonly used are about eight feet in length, extremely light, and headed with iron. On coming to a deep bay or inlet, the men abandon the poles, take to their oars, and strike if possible directly across the mouth of the bay; but in many places the current proves so strong that it is absolutely impossible to stem it by means of oars, and they are obliged to pole entirely round the bays. Whenever the wind is favourable they set their sail; but it is only at the upper end of the river, beyond the rapids, or on the lakes or broad parts of it, where the current is not swift, that the sail by itself is sufficient to impel them forward.
The exertion it requires to counteract the force of the stream by means of poles and oars is so great, that the men are obliged to stop very frequently to take breath. The places at which they stop are regularly ascertained; some of them, where the current is very rapid, are not more than half a mile distant one from the other; others one or two, but none of them more than four miles apart. Each of these places the boatmen, who are almost all French Canadians, denominate “une pipe,” because they are allowed to stop at it and fill their pipes. A French Canadian is scarcely ever without a pipe in his mouth, whether working at the oar or plough; whether on foot, or on horseback; indeed, so much addicted are the people to smoking, that by the burning of the tobacco in their pipes they commonly ascertain the distance from one place to another. Such a place, they say, is three pipes off, that is, it is so far off that you may smoke three pipes full of tobacco whilst you go thither. A pipe, in the most general acceptation of the word, seemed to be about three quarters of an English mile.
LAKE ST. LOUIS.
Lake St. Louis, commencing, or rather terminating, at La Chine, for that village stands at the lower end of it, is about twelve miles in length and four in breadth. At its uppermost extremity it receives a large branch of the Utawas River, and also the south-west branch of the River St. Lawrence, which by some geographers is called the River Cadaraqui, and by others the River Iroquois; but in the country, generally speaking, the whole of that river, running from Lake Ontario to the Gulph of St. Lawrence, goes simply under the name of the St. Lawrence.
At the upper end of Lake St. Louis the water is very shallow, owing to the banks of mud and sand washed up by the two rivers. These very extensive banks, are entirely covered with reeds, so that when a vessel sails over them she appears at a little distance to be absolutely sailing over dry land. As we passed along this part of the lake we were enveloped with clouds of little insects, different from any I ever saw before or afterwards in the country; but they are common, it is said, on various parts of the River St. Lawrence. Their size was somewhat larger than that of the gnat; their colour a pure white; and so delicately were they formed, that by the slightest touch they were destroyed and reduced to powder. They were particularly attracted by any white object, and having once alighted were not to be driven away but by force. The leaves of a book, which I happened to have in my hand, were in a few seconds so thickly covered by them that it was impossible to discern a single letter, and no sooner was one swarm of them brushed off than a fresh one immediately alighted. These insects have very broad wings in proportion to their size, and fly heavily, so that it is only when the air is remarkably calm that they can venture to make their appearance.
ENCAMPMENT.
About sun-set on this, the first evening of our voyage, we reached the island of Perot, situated at the mouth of the Utawas River. This island is about fourteen miles in circumference; its soil is fertile, and it is well cultivated. There are two considerable villages near its center, but towards Point St. Claire, at its lower extremity, the settlements are but very few. We landed at the point, and pitched our tent in a meadow which stood bordering upon the water. Here the bateaux were drawn up, and having been properly secured, the different crews, amounting in all to upwards of fifty men, divided themselves into small parties, and kindled fires along the shore, in order to cook their provisions for the succeeding day, and to keep themselves warm during the night. These men, who are engaged in conducting bateaux in Canada, are, as I have before observed, a very hardy race: when the weather is fair, they sleep on the grass at night, without any other covering than a short blanket, scarcely reaching down to their knees; during wet weather a sail or a blanket to the weather side, spread on poles stuck into the ground in an inclined direction, is all the shelter they deem necessary. On setting out each man is furnished with a certain allowance of salted pork, biscuit, pease, and brandy; the pease and biscuit they boil with some of the pork into porridge, and a large vessel full of it, is generally kept at the head of the bateau, for the use of the crew when they stop in the course of the day. This porridge, or else cold fat salted pork, with cucumbers, constitutes the principal part of their food. The cucumber is a fruit that the lower classes of the French Canadians are extremely fond of; they use it however in a very indifferent state, as they never pull it until it has attained a large size, and is become yellow and seedy. Cucumbers thus mellow, chopped into small pieces without being peeled, and afterwards mixed with sour cream, is one of their favourite dishes.
At day-break on the second morning of our voyage, we quitted the island of Perot, and crossed the Utawas River, in order to gain the mouth of the south-west branch of the St. Lawrence. A tremendous scene is here presented to the view; each river comes rushing down into the lake, over immense rocks, with an impetuosity which, seemingly, nothing can resist. The waves are as high as what are commonly met with in the British Channel during a smart breeze, and the breakers so numerous and dangerous, that one would imagine a bateau could not possibly live in the midst of them; and indeed, unless it were navigated by men intimately acquainted with the place, and very expert at the same time, there would be evident danger of its being filled with water. Several times, as we passed through the breakers, the water dashed over the sides of our bateau. Tremendous and dangerous, however, as the rapids are at this spot, they are much less so than some of those met with higher up the River St. Lawrence.
The water of the Utawas River is remarkably clear, and of a bright greenish colour; that of the St. Lawrence, on the contrary, is muddy, owing to its passing over deep beds of marl for some miles before it enters into Lake St. Louis. For a considerable way down the lake the waters of the two rivers may be plainly distinguished from each other.