The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-09-01
CANADA IN SUMMERTIME.
A Land of Majestic Mountains,
Streams and Beautiful Lakes.
How All Glasses of Canadians Enjoy the
Universal Summer Vacation at the
Seaside and by the Lakes.
cOrrespondenee Of the InnIanaroIis Journal.

correspondence OF the Indianapolis Journal
!, SHERBRooKE, Aug. 27-Old Vermonters
are in the habit of saying that the Canadians
took the country as far south as it is good
for anything and left the rough, barren
mountains to the Yankees And while the
latter have far outstripped their northern
neighbors in wealth and progress there is no
doubt but the northern neighbors have had
greatly the advantage in the natural re-
sources of the soil and the forests.
The timber and hemiock bark of Canada
have been wonderful sources of wealth, and
now the time is near at hand when the min
ing and agricultural resources are to be de-
veloped in higher degree than they have
been heretofore. In the development of
these resources L can but think that the
progress o. the eastern townships of the
Province of Quebec is destined to be quite
marked and satisfactory in the next score of
years.
The eastern townships comprise a large
tract of country lying north of and adjoin-
ing to the States of New Hampshire
and Vermont and west of Maine This sec
ton is watered by numerous streams which
are tributary to the St. Lawrence, and pre-
sent the seeming paradox to a Southwest
erner of flowing north, which, with US is
synonymous to running up hill.
| The Richelieu river, whose entire length
lies west of the eastern townships, drains
Lake Champlain, and is navigabe for steam
boats and small sailing craft from the beau
tiful lake which is its source to its junction
with the St. Lawrence in Lake st. Peter.
| Eoct ri ;ol,o Il
miles, flows the first great stream of the east
ern townships-the St. Francis-which also
empties into Lake st. Peter. This majestic
stream flows over such an uneven bed of
worn and ragged rock and contains so many
cascades, and often has such great masses of
rock standing up in and dividing the water
way as to entirely unfit it for steamboat navi-
gation but the cataracts furnish abundant
water power for all manufacturing purposes
The st. Francis, like most streams in this
country, has its sources in the numer-
GUS lakes with which the land abounds
Scarcely a brook flows into it
or any of it's tributaries that does not drain
| some pretty little sheet of water that lies
smiling to the green hills whose shadows it
reflects. The largest, and, perhaps, loveliest
| of these is Lake Memphremagog, q body of
water lying partly in Vermont and partly in
the eastern townships. 1t varies in width
| from one and one-half miles, in the most
| confined places, to, probably not over ten
miles at the widest places 1t lies like rib
| bon of polished steel thrown in serpentine
| curves and fantastic positions among the
! beautiful peaks and hills of the Green noun
| tain system, winding away from its upper
| end at Newport VT, to its foot at the little
| village of Magog, a distance OF thirty-s
miles, no single mile of which Is dull or
commonplace or devoid of some peculiar
| feature of beauty and loneliness. Here it
| basks in the shadow of mountain; yonder it
laughs in the broad free sunlight; at another
| place it is kissed by alternate sun and shade,
where its waters break like the surf of a
miniature ocean, on the rocks and pebbles
of green little islet; and, at yet another, it
spreads out into calm, bright bay, down
which the white gulls swim silently
away. Here it widens out in majesty,
and here it is contracted between steep
| walls of netamOrphic rock. 1t approaches
some of its shores in long reaches of shallow
water that laugh and ripple upon their peb-
bly, borders as if inviting lovers of the aque-
GUS element to walk in and be made clean;
| at others it maintains sufficient depth to en-
able large steamboats, to come right up to
| their natural wharfage of rock. And thus
| it winds its devious, ever-vared and forever
beautiful course down to its foot whence the
Magog river speeds on its rapid journey to
| JON llle d. IIduCIS. upon lno ldSJ NAH mile
of which it leaps downward from ledge to
| ledge 120 feet
| GROWING IN POPULATION.
Newport, at the south END of the lake, is
becoming widely known ass favorte summer
resort. The Memphremagog House, con-
structed and furnished by the Passumpsc
Railroad Company, is large and wel-kept
hotel, commanding a very fine view of the
lake; and north of the line, in Canada, there
are other hotels, the chief of these being the
| Owls Head Mountain House. at the foot of
the Owls Head mountain, which peak rises
almost abruptly out of the lake on the west
side to height of over /, 900 feet. This mount
ain is about twelves miles down the
! lake from Newport, and is on the Canada
! side of the line. The path to the summit is
not difficult, and is threaded almost every
day of the summer season by eager sight
| seers, From the summit the weary pedes-
| tran Is repaid for the toll of the ascent by a
magnificent view OF the land of mountain
and stream that lies about and below him.
| At the lower end of the lake near Magog viii
| lage, is the Oxford mountain, which is the
| highest peak in lower Canada. From its
| summit the beholder looks out over a vast
area of hills, valleys, mountains, streams
and lakes, the whole dotted here and there
| with towns ana villages and made pleasant
to the eye by the Interchange of farm and
woodland. 1t is a panorama of rare lowell
ness and beauty. On clear day, when the
sun shines brightly, one can count more than
thirty bodies of water laughing and spark
ling among the hills in different directions.
Sherbrooke seems only a few miles away
while Compton, Waterville, Coahcooke,
Rock Island and Stanstead, Ayers Flat
Magog, Georgevile etc, seem almost under
your feet; and winding away to the south,
| sparkling and flashing in the sunlight, bear
! ing steam and sail vessels on its
bosom, and it's surface broken