The improvement of the St. Lawrence, indeed, dates as far back as 1825. In that year the opening of the Lachine Canal gave connection with the Great Lakes and established a commercial basis for the route. In those days attention was turned chiefly to making the channel deeper. At that time light sailing vessels could come up as far as Montreal. In 1844 dredging was begun to give safe passage for vessels of 500 tons. The progress made in this fundamental of safe navigation may be strikingly shown by a few figures. The original depth of water in Lake St. Peter was ten feet six inches. Today there are thirty feet of water there and a channel 800 feet in width. In order to provide the present channel it has been necessary to dredge seventy miles; and the cost of the work since 1851 has been $15,600,000.
HOW THE ST. LAWRENCE GULF AND RIVER ARE GUARDED BY WIRELESS STATIONS
The black dots represent Government owned and operated wireless stations under the station name. The “N. M.’s” and the dots with the rings around them show stations operated by the Marconi company. The Gulf stations between Montreal and Point Riche are open permanently day and night during the season of navigation. The remainder of the stations, except Pictou, are open permanently day and night all the year round. Pictou is open permanently day and night during the winter season.
The deepening of the channel, the straightening of curves and the removal of obstructions—these things have been but the beginning of measures taken for the safety of the St. Lawrence route by the Canadian government. The waterways have been charted. The tides have been measured. The darkness has been lighted and beacons erected to throw a warning or a welcoming flash across the waters. Fog alarms have been installed. Wireless and other signal stations have been erected, and a system of marine intelligence has been built up to warn the mariner of coming storms. Science has been enlisted in the cause, and the Dominion has in several directions been a pioneer in the world-wide work of providing for the safety of those who go down to the sea in ships.
FATHER POINT
Father Point, near which the wreck of the Empress of Ireland occurred, is a small village on the south bank of the St. Lawrence, and ten miles distant from Rimouski, where the transatlantic mails are transferred. It stands high above the water, and on clear days can be seen from a distance of twenty miles.
In 1859 the first telegraph line was connected with this point, and Robert E. Easson was the first operator. It was the first point in Canada to receive old country news from the boats, and this was relayed to other parts. Messages for the old country were also wired there frequently and mailed on the boats.
The river in this neighborhood is approximately thirty miles wide. Rimouski is about 150 miles down the river from Quebec, and usually is reached in the early morning after an afternoon departure from Quebec.