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ROSE-BELFORD'S

CANADIAN MONTHLY

AND NATIONAL REVIEW.

JULY, 1879.

10

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THE NORTHERN LAKES OF CANADA.

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self, at intervals, from the toils of business, to determine to turn one's back upon the depressing influences of routine occupation, is now happily a recognised necessity. Quitting commercial and industrial centres and hieing off to give a fillip to the mind by a few weeks' recreation amid ture's solitudes is, moreover, a wise and laudable act, the mental and physical refreshment of which is well-nigh incalculable. Of places of desirable resort there are many in Canada to which the wearied and over-worked busior professional man may hasten to take a bain de vie, and to reinvigorate his system, in a period of

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EAGLE'S NEST ISLAND, LAKE ROSSEAU.

repose, by the restorative influences of a change of scene. Few of these resorts possess greater attractions than the Upper Lakes of Canada, in the bracing and invigorating atmosphere of which almost every essential will be found for the recuperation of exhausted strength, or for the delight and entertainment of robust vigour. In the following paper we design to give a brief itinerary of the points of interest in a trip from Toronto to the head of Lake Superior, to be followed at a future time by similar notes of travel in other parts of the Dominion. The reader will find no incidents to interest him in the tour, but simply a guide-book record of the places successively met with en route, with such information regarding them as may be useful, and as may tend to the enlightenment of those who are ignorant of what is to be seen in the region described. The trip, which occupies going and returning from eight to ten days, is, to our mind, the most delightful the traveller will find in Western Canada. It divides public favour with the steam-boat voyage down the St. Lawrence, to which many tourists unhesitatingly prefer it. The bracing air, the grandeur and beauty of the everchanging scenery, and the tranquillity with which the absence of all hurry, bustle, or care infuses into the soul, are worth all the physic compounded by all the apothecaries.

Our present excursion will lead us by the Northern Railway of Canada, the oldest of the Toronto lines, to Collingwood, situate on Nottawasaga Bay, the point of embarkation for the tour before us. The Northern road traverses the neck of land between Lakes Ontario and Huron, and covers a distance of some ninety-five miles from Toronto to Collingwood; thence it branches off along the shores of Nottawasaga Bay to Meaford, about twentyfive miles further on. On leaving Toronto, the road passes through the old settled county of York; but the thriv

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ing character of the villages in the line of Yonge Street is hardly seen, as the railway runs rather wide of them. There is a constant ascent for about twenty-five miles, where we reach the watershed, the streams north and south of it flowing into Simcoe and Ontario respectively. Passing the pleasant little villages of Richmond Hill, Aurora, Newmarket, and the town of Bradford, we arrive at Barrie, the county town of Simcoe, which is delightfully situated on Kempenfeldt Bay, an inlet of Lake Simcoe. Barrie, a branch of the Northern Railway extends along the shore of Lake Simcoe to Orillia, on Lake Couchiching; from whence, winding round the southern end of the lake, it projects itself into the Muskoka district, and after reaching Severn Falls, the next point on the route, terminates at Gravenhurst, at the foot of Muskoka Lake, and the key to the labyrinth of waters which lie to the northward. Here the tourist would doubtless fain arrest our steps, and bid us seek our holiday amid the wealth of picturesque islands and the charmingly varied coast lines that everywhere meet the eye in this delightful haunt of Nature. But for the present, turning our back on the attractions of this region, a specimen illustration of the scenery of which embellishes the first page of this paper, let us resume, at Barrie, our journey northward, and conduct the reader over the intervening ground between the latter place and Collingwood. Passing along the line between these points there is nothing that calls for particular attention. The railway has done great things for North Simcoe; villages are springing up on both sides of the line, the wilderness has been subdued, and agriculture and manufactures are making rapid progress. Collingwood, which is supposed to have derived its name from the great admiral, is situated, as we have already said, on Nottawasaga Bay, or the Hen and Chickens Harbour, as it used to be called,

from a group of small islands of that name a short distance from shore. The Indian name is said to mean "Mohawk river," and is still applied to the stream which enters the bay at this point. The town is not yet thirty years old, and certainly is still far from being an attractive place. The greater part of the dwellings are simply lumberers' shanties, and the principal branches of its trade are lumber and fish, both of which are carried on on a very extensive scale, although they scarcely afford much novelty to the Canadian tourist. Collingwood, however, possesses considerable importance from its shipping connection and trade with Chicago and other ports on Lake Michigan, in addition to its direct trade with the various mining and other settlements on Lake Superior, and with those nearer home on the Georgian Bay. Communication with these ports in the vicinity affords the opportunity of short excursions, which have become very popular, to those who cannot spare the time for the round trip to the Upper Lake. Steamers will here be found communicating with Penetanguishene, Byng Inlet, Manitoulin Island, and Parry Sound, and they enable the tourist to see, on a small scale, the beautiful and romantic scenery which forms the charm of the longer excursion we are about to describe. From Parry Sound the visitor can pass by stage to the head of Lake Rosseau, and thence by steamer through the Muskoka Lakes to Gravenhurst, and then by way of Orillia and Lake Simcoe, return to Toronto.

But to resume our journey, we board the steamer at Collingwood, which after setting out, and calling at Meaford and Owen Sound-the latter place being the northern terminus of the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway -heads nor'-nor' west, and traverses the entire length of the Georgian Bay. Having passed Lonely Island, with Squaw and

Papoose Islands lying to the northeast, and the Fox Islands further inland, we at length come upon the Great Manitoulin, and sight a light-house on the rocks, apparently out of reach by water. Behind it rise, like petrified sea-billows, immense waves of granite of the Huronian formation. Still further in the rear lie the La Cloche Mountains, ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 feet in height and stretching along the whole northern shore. The whole coast from this point to the Sault Sainte Marie is full of craggy headlands, and rugged indentations and inlets. The channel is studded with innumerable islands of all sizes, forms, and degrees of elevation. There are said to be 3,600 of them between the points we have mentioned, and 23,000 altogether from Parry Sound to Fort William, on Lake Superior. On reaching the narrow coast of which we have spoken, we find there is a narrow passage-narrow, but deep and safe. The Indians call it Shebawanahning, that is to say, "here is a channel." Into the inlet we glide, with the high rocks of the island on the one hand, and the heavy masses of the La Cloche Mountains on the other, to find a very quiet little settlement called Killarney. This is a little fishing-place, not very interesting in itself a quiet nook in the rocks, like some kindred spots, it is said, in old Normandy and Brittany. The Indians flock about on the arrival of the steamer with their little curiosi

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STEAMERS AT OWEN SOUND.

ties, which may be obtained here perhaps at better advantage than elsewhere. Baskets, boxes, and other trifles made of scented grass, birchbark-work in fans, canoes, etc., with their trimming of coloured straw and beads of porcupine quills stained and arranged with the rustic taste of the squaw, are the articles eagerly vended. From Killarney we pass into a lovely bay studded with islands as the firmament is fretted with stars. On the right rise the sterile mountains of La Cloche; on the left is the Great Manitoulin the abode, in the Indian mythology, of Manitou, the Great Spirit. Everywhere are the evidences of geological convulsion, during the reign of fire, earthquake, and volcano. Yet the islands have gathered soil to cover their gaunt bones of rock, and stand out like emeralds upon the glassy surface of the channel. The endless variety of these islands is absolutely enchanting. To one who has never visited them, the constant change of scene, the play of nature, infinite in her resources, can scarcely be conceived. Between the bit of angular rock just emerging from the surface, and the large islands of many thousands of acres, there is an infinite series. Some are barren or clad only with moss; others bright with the freshest verdure; on some the warmly-tinted foliage of the Canadian maple, the birch, and the pine, throw an air of cheerfulness even on the rocks of the main shore. next landing-place, about twenty-five miles west of Killarney, is Little Current. It is not quite so dull as Killarney, for it occupies a commanding position on the Great Manitoulin. The channel here is narrow, and the current runs at the rate of between four and five miles an hour. Opposite Little Current is La Cloche Island proper. The name is said to be derived from the fact that a peculiar kind of stone is found there, which, when struck, gives a sound like a bell. It is even hinted that, by a proper arrangement of stones, the notes of the

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scale in music may be produced. Here the visitor may meet with a few worthy successors of the early Roman Catholic Missionaries, who suffered and died for Christianity; and whether Protestant or Catholic, he will not be disappointed with a short interview with the Fathers on Manitoulin Island. They have nearly a thousand Indian converts, and boast of a stone church and regular service. There is also a convent with eight or ten Sisters.

Passing Spanish River, a post-office station on the Algoma side or mainland, and Lauzon's Mill, with its huge pile of timber ready for shipment, we arrive at the end of the first stage of our journey, the Bruce Mines, the village of which is the great depôt of the mining district of the neighbourhood. These famous copper mines are situated at the north-west angle of Lake Huron, not far from the mouth of the St. Mary River, the outlet of Lake Superior. The copper found here occurs in the form of the yellow sulphuret, running in veins through the quartz rock. In the Wellington mines, which are the most productive, some ten or twelve shafts have been sunk, and the yield is extremely good. The village of Bruce Mines is opposite the lower end of St. Joseph's Island, seven miles off, a beautifully wooded and picturesque spot. The island is twenty miles long by fifteen wide, and is well worth a visit if the tourist stops at the Mines. Coasting along between St. Joseph's Island and the mainland, over a fine inlet from the lake, with the usual complement of islets, and leaving Campement d'Ours to our left, we pass through a rather difficult channel called the Narrows, surrounded by barren islands. About ten miles west of this we reach St. Mary's River. This rapid and broken current is at once the outlet of Lake Superior, and the boundary line between Canada and the United States. At present, however, the course is smooth and pleasant. The La Cloche Mountains have

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