The Grenada gazette., 1888-03-31
The sAaueNAy RIVER.

THE sAoUeNAv RIVER.
ss.s Of the, 1saetlss Of the Wes,d''
Despsss strssm.
The river 10 probably the deepest
stream in the world; excepting In
few places the general depth is from
600 to 800 feet; and the bottom Of the
Saguenay at its mouth 10 600 feet b.
low the bottom Of the St lawrence.
Thus low point Of rock at the shore
or an island is really the top Of agrea,
hill springing up steeply from the bot.
tom. and many Of the cliffs arc no,
half out Of water. As the spring tides
rise about eighteen ieet the currents Of
the river are violent and eccentric; in
some places the ebb stream runs from
four to six miles an hour; the eddies
along the shores are like those on q
rapid; and the undercurrents some
times lay hold of vessel and turn her
about or hold her still in spite Of tow
boat Before the use Of tow-boats. .
vessel left helpless BY calm sometimes
drifted against the rocks
lodged on ledge, and
when the tide fell capsized in deep
water. As anchorage is very rarely
found. large iron riaga wcre lot into
the rocks. and vessels even now some-
times tie up to the cliffs and await
fair wind. The tide, for some unex-
planned reason. advances with extra.
ordinary rapidity in the Saguenay;
thus notwithstanding the fact that the
ebb current very rarely ceases to dow
out Of the river. yet high tide arrives at
Chicoutimi only forty-flve minutes later
than Tadousac-seventy miles On
the St. Lawrence the tide advances In
the same time only from Tadousae to
Murray Bay-about. thirty-ive miles
The source Of the 6sguenay, Lake St.
John. seems like Northern sea. Tho
pale twilight lasts far into the night
until the aurora borealis hangs its
mystic veil across the sky. The beaches.
mile or mere wide in summer. the
sharp waves raised by wind on this
very shallow basin. the screaming gulls
all make You look for tide and for
whits-winged ships But only a bark
canoe now and then comes along from
one of tho thirteen rivers descending
by many falls and cascades from the
fcrest-covered mountains; and the
pinchcd-up farms scattered along the
shores add to the arctic sentiment felt
even on a summers day. The Sagu-
enay comes into being as lusty twins,
the Little and tho Grand Discharge
deep narrow channels worn in the
rock. They run on separately for some
miles through rapids and pools, and
finally come together at the foot Of
Alma Island. at the vache Caille.
Thers begin the Gervais Rapids, three
or four miles long; at their foot the
river enters . smooth, quiet stretch of |
fifteen milss 70 the Grand Remous-
the most furious cascade and the most |
turbulent eddy of the river; and then.
after . few more miles Of falls and
the Saguenay ends its rapid
cafser, where, II meets the, tide near |
With the exception Of a
few clearings, the forest still covers
the abrupt hills providing upon the
river. The Grand Discharge is beau
tiful region; the stream is filed with an
archipelago Of small islands some
black. bare rocks, others tree-crowned
,r decked with rich muses., it has all
The virgin seclusion and quiet Of a
AXE, enclosed by shore Of bold. pic
;uresque bastions and walls of rock,
'urmounted by stately balsams that rise
ike sentincls above the birches, pop
ars, cedars. and hooks full of tender
,reon grass. But this quietness is full
# life; the islands divide the river
nto a labyrinth OF streams; the
water runs silently and swiftly
n many opposite directions down,
lcross, even up the general course Of
he river; one is piqued. surprised, at
is coquetry and shyness And farther
lown it leaps away in the furious
'apids of lie Maline. The Little Dis
,harge is so rapid that it destroys logs
n its fall and cascades; the Govern.
nent therefore built an aqueduct 1.-THE
'lide,' for running the timber over
hcse dangerous places. After fishing
few days for the active wannoniche
said to be the landlocked salmon
md exploring the waters of these twin
joined the men driving
ogs at the Vache Caille. and began my
with the voyagera C H.
'arnhan,, in Ha-per's Magazine.
AMERICAN PlACE.NAMES.
OF which Most Of Our
Nomenclators Have Been Guilty.