St. Paul daily globe., 1893-08-28

the Rapid du Plat. a few miles below
the village the shore recedeS in plane
which becomes the very vision or peace
and plenty, of orchards and quiet home
SteadS, and meadows, sweet with deep
green grass, relieved about with little
woodland patches OF fir and hemlOck.
But right here, in what is now all this
serene quietude, we Americans got a
whipping winch TO this day kindles the
fire OF the Canuck's heart. 1t is the
battlefield of Chry,ler's farm. where, on
Nov. II, 1913, little army of Canadian
volunteers, With squad of British reg-
ulars, after siege of several dubious
days. victoriously Jabbed us in the belly.
While the Canadian narrator eXultS
about the battle of Chrysler's Farm. we
move OH past wondrously interesting
landscape, alive with
Prosperous Agriculture
and truit-growing. Suddenly we skirt
the elmS with accelerated rapidity, the
current qulckens, huge. ugly b0ulders
peep up from the waters edge and we
rush boldly iniO the Long Saut rapids,
by far the most exciting rapids of the
ciain. The large steamer SwayS and
lurches, then plunges and presses
her keel. An eager outlook is ob
served from every face. Timid woman
conjecture as to the absolute safety of
the tossing boat, while the b0lder ones
yell and shout in the eXuberance of
their untained delight. The pillows are
butfetiug how with a frenzy seldom
seen on inland waters: white caps play
all over the bow, and the crowd recedeS
Into the saloon, and for moment all is
chaos and excitement. We hear bell,
| the grind of the great engines relax.
gradually the swish and swirl of the
| Long Sault is Silenced in the rear. the
ruckS disappear, and We are again upon
| steady tide flow beneath the Shelterlng
| shores of the island OF st. Regis.
An hours ride and the great st. Law
renee presses wide apart its undulatlng
| shores and forms Lake ST. Francis.
| The beautiful st. Francis once ira
| verSed, the shores become rugged and
| abrupt, the current dips and darts and
| twists, and navigation becomes an art
| indeed. There is another belch of the
| engines. the craft beams crate and
creak, and another thrill comes from a
wild. undauntrd plunge into the EN-
erald maelstrOm. the beautiful rapid of
| the Cedars. To my mind this rapid is
! the richest in color, widest in form and
and action and must picturesque water
| rush OF them all. The cascades, where
thin
Ton CUES of Seethfng Water
| play ulSu lIOllC duOuS Iht SluOOOIil
| bald-neaded rocks. are finally passed
and Lake st. Louis is entered. Here
we learn by observation 10 appreciate
| the beautiful quality OF the olive depths
Of the ST. Lawrence, for it is here ill
| Lake St. Louis the brown and muddy
| Ottawa emplieS its dark portion Into
the channel. Side by side, as ii divided
by an oil wall. these two streams flow
ON without commingling color - the
| Ottawa d dull brown, the st. Lawrence
| clear green.
Away off in the eastern distance rises
Mount Royal, enShrouded in misty
veil of blue twilight. Lachine is at
hand, and now for the famous Lachine
rapids, by far the most noted of them
all. There is something truly awe
| inspiring abnut this rapid. The immi-
nence of apparent peril starts ones
courage. One brealheS faster and looks
with keener emotion upon the rushing
cataract as the englngs blow
and the boat surges in seem-
ing abandon to the fury of these
churning knots of froth and foam
and fearful rocks. against which dash
TO death seems Inevitable. Waves are
dashed into spray, which, from the force
of concuSsing water and current, leaps
twenty feet into the air. The career is
that OF impetuOuS glee, rampant, then
Tor a second repressed. only to burst
forth with grandeur of force,
form aud fury which moves
the senses of the observer in
a thousand delicate thrills OF mind ana
heart, be he ever So dull to the life of
any element. The Cascades of Nit
Shasta, the roar of rolling breakers on
the beach of Monterey, the kaleide-
scopic mirrors of the Yosemite as they
break down the valley of that enchanted
I wonder, the madness off the coast OF
Maine in all their minimiZed sublimity
seem to lenu some quality To ScnOOl of
Fhe LacEline Kapids
when especially famed by adverse
winds anu tuil current. The pilot who
at present steers the craft through the
Lachine rapids is son of the famous
Indian pilot who for iorty years was the
only competent navigator of this pre-
cIpitOus maelSIrOm. His son is taken
OH board daily at 5 O'Clock iii the atler-
noon at the Indian village Caughna-
waga. From here he pilots the Lachine
rapids and the channel to Mont
real, and for this service of two
hours each day, for three months i'll the
year, he receives salary of $1,000. We
have "shot the rapids" twelve miles
west of Montreal. AS we move into
the calm of the river. the multifOTmS oi
Montreal ale limned i'll broken lines Ut
fore the horizon, and as we near the
wharves and glide amongst myriad
ocean craft. the din of whistles ant
clang of industry teach one the might
the measure and the StatelineSS Ol
Montreal at sundown.
. HARRY w. WACK.