The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-24
IN CANADA.
On The Thames-A Charming
River and a Beautiful
Lake.

LAKE ST. CLAIR, ON BOARD THE
STEAMER, @. 81. MERIT.
ONTARIO. CANADA, May II, 1884.
Editors Herald:
We are having a sIlet did ride
over this nice little Lake. The day
is very pleasant and the lake
smooth. Our little steamer is about
100 feet long and draws seYt n. feet
of water. 1t is a pleasure boat
running daily between Chatham,
Kent County, and Detroit, Michi>
gan. Leaving Chatham at $50
this morning we passed down the
river Thames, twenty miles. into
lake st. Clair. The river is nearly
200 yards wide at Chatham and as a
matter Of course enlarges as itnears
the lake. There ara some very
pretty homes and farms on either
side of the river with some nice
wheat fields, mostly fall wheat,
although there are some spring
crops. Vegetation is beginning to
show her be uties, although much
later than il Utah, and this part is
much in advance Of many othe in
Canada. Scarcely any bloom of
fruit or shrubs is ID he seen as yet,
although the gorSeberfy trees which
grow wild in the woods look very
pretty. Some of the more tasty
farms on the river, with beautiful
lawns aud evergreens, are very att
| trsctive and show to good advan-
tage from our boat. AS we ap
proach the lake the country becomes
more fat and NOISY, although the
country in this region is notorious
for its f1atnes, but near the lake it
is worthless for fsrming purpos es.
Many French people live On the
| river and country round about, snd
| from the number of nets, trap and
fish boxes along the banks, should
Judge that the French are very fond
of fish; and why shouldn't they be,
as this is incident to all white pee
pie, and some that are not quite 60
white2 Very fine pike, bass, perch,
sunfsh and mullet abound in this
| river. St. Clair lake is about thirty
miles long from the mouth OF the
Thames river, where we en-
ter into the lake, to Detroit
! river which is much larger, and
from the light house just as we pass
Peach and Bell Island it is seven
miles to Detroit. The view is ad,
mirable. Steam packets run twenty
miles down the Thames river, over
the lake thirty miles land it ia
about twenty-five miles wide) and
down the Detroit river seven miles
and return ia miles, round trip on
Mondays for fifty cents, and other
days for fifty cents each way.
People are now beginning to
pillow their ground for corn
and some sre planting. Last year
corn was cut off by frost and was q
failure, and the wheat crop was
very short. Some Of the farmers
are now blowing up their fall wheat,
it being winter killed, and in many
places 1t is light, but there are other
fine looking fields. Many complain
of the potato bug, and were it
notfor the Paris green used by
| Tue IRImoTS Gu6 crop WOulO
be an entire failure in the whole
country around. These, with other
kindred evils, and the seasons be.
coming shorter, the people are be-
ginning to feel restless, looking for
perilous times to come in the fu-
tuye.
Since my fellow. lsborer, Elder G.
". Beckstead, left me on account
of sickness, on March 18th, 1884,
| have labored as a missionary alone,
delivering lectures and holding pub
lie meetings in the vicinity of Graf.
tan, London and Kamoks, under
considerable opposition. In April I
baptized three persons and blessed
two children. Some few are believ-
ing. EDWARD STEVENSON.