Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1874-09-17
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ST. CLAIRSVILLE OHIO.
HI RsDAE MORNING. Sept Il, !S94.
DOWN THE ST. LAWRENCE.
Correspondence OF Belmont Chronicle.
MONTREAL, Aug. 20, 1871.


On arriving at Lewiston, near th'
mouth of the Niagara river, we went
on the steamer City Of Toronto, and IL
a few minutes were on our way to To
ronto. At the mouth of the river We
pass the village of Niagara on the Can
ada shore, and short distance below
glide out on to Lake Ontario, hetwee1
Forts Niagara and Manasauga; above
the former the Stars and Stripes were
flying, and above the latter the flag OF
Great Britain. The forts are so neal
that it is said the challenges OF the
guards on the ramparts of either fort
ress can be heard distinctly at the 9TH
er. The lake was comparatively
smooth, the day fine, and the rapid
motion of the vessel produced stiff
breeze, that was delightful. One of our
party had some of the symptoms o fsea.
sickness, but was slow to confess it.
He went below, and lay coiled up on a
sofa, taking mo note of time," and re-
pelliDg the kind inquiries of his COM
panion in a very irritable manner.
Those who have been sea-sick know
the feeling one has at being compass
sionated or laughed at, in such state,
too we'll to blame him. AT Toronto
our baggage was overhauled by the
very polite Canadian Customs officers,
and we barely had time to step aboard
of the steamer COrsican, of the Royal
Mail Line as she steamed away from
the wharf. On the CorsicaI we found
a dense crowd of men blockading the
way to the Purser's Office, all eager to
procure state-rOOms, or other sleeping
accommodations for the night. That
great officer stood serenely at his desk
slowly and deliberately taking The
names and fares of the passengers who
were swaying and struggling outside
to get the first place at the little pigeon
hole through which you could see or
speak to His Greatness. AS one of the
throng paid his fare, and learned his
fate, it was even more difficult to get
away than it had been to approach the
place. The crowd SO struggled and
pressed for the next chance, that the
fortunate man came out with rupful
face, crushed hat, and disordered collar
and shirt front;he had paid his fare and
Lou rnp pd that tho Stot -rnorns xrnr1. =. II ta
ken, and it was doubtful .feven berth
could be procured. We wisely deci-
ded to wait until the press was over
before seeking accommodations for the
night.
Our course during the afternoon and
evening, lay along the northern shore
of the lake. There was delicious
breeze, and with the eager throng of
passengers we sought the deck and
gave ourselves up to one of the
delights of summer travel. The water
was smooth, and a. the sun went slow
ly down we glided along by low, gen.
tly undulating verdurous country; its
green meadows, and fields of ripening
grain stretched down to the waters
edge. Beyond the pleasant farms with
their neat cOtta9 es, were dense woods,
which at the distance we were, SEEM
ed to be of pine and birch, and from
under whose deepening shadows the
nil hit crept across the lonely landscape,
and out over the placid lake. After
sunset there was an fOur Or two of
moonlight; under which the quiet
lake lay asleep, save where it was bro
ken into thousand silvery dimples by
the paddles of the steamer. If were
writing story would place my low
ers right there, on the deck of the Cor
sican, on such a night, at the "soft
hour that wakes the wish and melis
the heart" and if they did not make
a happy denouement of my story, 1
would give it up in despair. l am sor-
ry to record that the wretched discom-
fort we suffered after the moon went
down, nearly destroyed the pleasure of
the entire voyage. We could get no
berth for love or money. Away to-
ward morning we bribed one of the
cabin boys TO give up his pallet, and we
laid it on the floor of the saloon, and
got half hours sleep.
In the morning we touched at Kings
ton, once the capital of Canada, a town
Of about 1900 inhabitants, situated at
the head of the st. Lawrence river, on
the site of old Fort Frontinac, few
miles below Kingston, we came to the
first of the famous 1000 islands. AT the
of this fact, the passengers
hurried on deck, and with glasses in
hand, prepared to enjoy the far-famed
beauties of the passage through them.
They extend fifty miles down the
stream, and their number is sa q to be
over eighteen hundred. Some of them
are mere dots of green, and others are
acres in extent, All are covered with
foliage of the richest green. So closely
are they grouped, that sometimes we
seemed making our way straight to
the shore, but when we came nearer,
the prospect would open and disclose
channels through which the
river flowed on in its Intricate way
The beauty of each seem only changed
to greater beauty in the one which fol-
lowed. The whole passage is indescri-
baby lovely, and must be seen to be
A short distance below
the islands, we came almost up to the
steamer Bohemian also one of the
Royal Mail Line, and Steamed along
near her for several miles. 1t was a
long time before the throng OF passen-
gers crowding our deck realized that
the rapid motion of the walking beam