New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1854-11-13

eTi lie WSicf OF MONTREAL nas " law. ~ '-'7
! which il by no means agreeable. cor always whole
some TO strangers. The principal si,fet tue Gftni
Re-st Jacques. Is bright, cheerful 'horcusofare
but more Englsh than French in It's cosrscser'
was ncre interested in the old streets nesrefte river
which still have a certain Preach quaintneas soou
them.
The weather, since nv arrival. has been deliecus.
Yet. rday dawntd without cloud. and With pure,
sweet brscipg air. such hsve rarely brea.hed on
the Atlantic side Of our continent Its inhsadon IS
violation Of TIE Msne Law which prohibits the use
Of all Intoxicating beverages II contained stimulus
q. keen and active il not so poisonous, as alcohol
went out after breakfast and became so inebrsted
that found il difficult to return to my hotel. got
quite hgb-in fact did not stop until had reached
TIE summit of the mountain behind the city. Ga the
way passed large reservoir Of masonry, which the
city authorities are new building on toe slope at the
foot OF the mountain The water will be forced up by
Wheel At Lachne, above the rapids, and will fur
nish supply which. IL i- hoped will prevent Mont
real from being again laid waste BY fires The thoayht
Of 20 much wster, all with the lime stone favor
and tie same horrid intestinal qualities filed me With
repugnance. Give me the iced champagne OF thi.
glorious air in my lungs, and let those drink water
who will
Montreal has shown great taste and good sense in
preserving the mountain with its clothing Of primitive
forest within fifteen minutes reach of her 60 900 in
habitsDts. Behind the reservoir, we jumped over
stone wall, and were in the wild woods. There was
rugged zgzsg path up the steep slant of the hill but
il was almost hidden under the fallen leaves. AL
though a good climber, my knees became weak and
my breath short before reaching the crest The
groves Of pine and silver birch DISTRACTED the view,
except at point, where found Irsh boy, ly-
ing in the sun, pointing out Mr.. Smiths house to
another Irish boy Here was greeted with the sight,
not only Of Mr. Smiths house, but Of all Montreal, OF
many leagues OF the st. Lawrence, flashing spenddly
in the sun, of the broad plains beyond, sprnked with
the white cotsges Of the hG1taHs, and far in the dim
south the outlying spurs Of the Vermont and Adiron-
dac Mountains. 1t was grand and inspiring panors-
ma, embraced by the cold bright blue of the Canadian
sky. Well did the followers of Jacques Cartier call
THE the Roy al Mountain.
We found another faint trail leading northward
through the pines and birch, and having followed it
up for short distance reached the opposite brink Of
the mountain, whence we looked away beyond the
Island Of Jesus girdled by the blue arms Of the o..
tawa to distant horizon Of low hills and forests. In
the Keen northern air. which came to over the rim
of that horizon, there a whisper of Hudsons Bay
ard Of those snowy lodges by the Great Fish River,
where lie the corpses OF the Arctic Explorers. II re-
qures but slight elevation to make the ends Of the
earth seem near to U.s. Along the Ottawa River there
are settlements for two hundred miles. and many hun
dred lesgues further to the Northwest Passage, yet
to my fancy the cite Of that useless problem just
beyond the range of vision. There bears and deer
in some of the forests sew, and the "ravages" Of
the moose may be reached in few days journey.
This afternoon had the pleasure Of inspecting the
works Of the Victoria Bridge which is to span the St.
Lawrence at this place. was indebted to the court
esy Of Mr.. Holmes and Mr. Grant, Of the Grand
Trunk Railroad Company, for the opportunity Of see
ing in detail the beginnings Of this colossal undertak
ing. Some account of its character and Dimensions
from the pen Of DIR. Litchfeld of The Plot, has al
ready appearedn The TRIBUNE, and need net peat
the particulars. Suffice ii to say that the bridge which
is 10 be Of iron, and tubular like that the Menai
Strait will be tteo mules in length and its central arch
will have span Of 333 feet The abusment of 200
feet in length on the northern side, is rapidly ad-
vancng toward completion the first pier is already
IS feet above the water while the second and third
piers ore above the surface-and all this has been
done since the 23d OF July The material used is
blnck limestone, and the Titanic piers, which COM
pete with the grand masonry Of Egypt are based
upon the solid natural rock which here forms the bed
Of the St. Lawrence. Immense strength is required
in the piers order resis the pressure Of the ice.
The huge blocks of stone are laid in hydraulic ce-
nent Of the fImest character and melted lead, and
strongly clamped together with iron. In the middle
of the river the current at the rate OF nine or ten
miles an hour, and the force Of the immense masses
of ice carried down at the breaking up OF winter, il
90 great that the old residents Of Montreal shake
their heads and predict that the bridge will be a
failure But cannot conceive how these piers can
be shab en- any more than SO many masses Of natural
rock Certainly, human genius never better counter
feted the strength Of nature. 1t Is refreshing to see
on this continent where the most that Ia done is tenn
porary and transitory work which riv AIS the Pyra-
mids The cost OF the bridge, when completed, Ia
estimated at fl, 500 900, but will probably be nearer
f2 600, OoO II there is delay, the work will be
finished in 1883.
had seine other things TO say, bat must be mind
full Of your want Of space, in these election times
But | cannot leave Montreal without recording my
obligations to the editorial fraternity here all Of
whom / have found most kind and ssrdial. shall
take away none but pleasant recollections OF my In
tercourse with them and with all the other residents
of Montreal whom have been so fortunate as to
meet. leave tomorrow morning for Ogdens'
burg. BIT
TROUBLE WITH TIE Ispnss.-The Punka Indians
are becoming more and more troublesome, and 10
;xan hold axadu nh