The Portland daily press., 1896-01-31
QUeeEc,S CARNIVAL.
Recent Attempts to Modernize a Quaint
Old City.

lSp6clli NoFfeSpOnUSIce.I
QUEBEC, Jan. .J.-In the summer the
people of Quebec have the American tour
ist on their hands, and there is little
business doing in the harbor. In winter
there is nothing for the good Canadians
to do but hold their hands or to warm
themselves, if they are poor, over the drift
wood which they draw from the bottom of
the St. Lawrence Fishing for driftwood
is necessary occupation of the poor in
summer. They go out in boats, and with
a long spiked pole search the bottom of
the harbor for water logged timbers.
When they find one, they spike it and draw
it to the surface. What they rescue in this
way is all they have to keep them warm
in the long, hard winters.
The Montreal winter carnivals, begun a
few years ago to attract tourists. have
been a great success. They have been
given biennially. Two winters ago Que
bee determined to try the experiment. of
giving carniyals, to alternate with those
of Montreal. The first of these carnivals
was very successful. The second will ho
givon the last week of this month. Great
preparations for it have been made. Ar
rangemcnts have been made for a French
opera company to give series of French
and Italian operas. There will be masked
balls every night at the rink. There will
be curling contests and games of hockey
on the ice. An ice fort has been built.
1t will be assaulted and captured by the
snowshoers one night in carnival week.
After the storming of the fort there will
be torchlight parade through the city.
There will be bowling competitions. snow
shoe races and many other sports. In the
daylight parade, in the middle of the week.
all the primitive life of Canada will be IL
lustrated. and its historic figures will be
reproduced. The red blanket and tasseled
cap of the snowshoe men and maidens
will be over it all. Thousands of snow
shoes will skim the surface of the hard
snow that lies on Dufferin terrace in front
of the great big $1,000, 600 hotel of the
Canadian Pacific railway. Blazing wood
fires within will keep the American
guests warm. The Americans are the
people from the United States. The peo-
pie of Quebec, or at least those who are
natives Of Canada are quite as much
Americans. but they distinguish the peo-
pie from the other side the border with
that conti asntal title. They are Canadi-
ans always, Americans never.
1t is only of recent years that Quebec has
had q hotel which could compete with the
hotels OF New York and other great cities.
The "rich Americans have made this
possible. Few of them saw the quaint,
artistic side Of the primitive lodging places
in tho Basse Ville'' or the more preten-
tious, though no less primitive, hotels of
the upper town. So the railroad company
added to it's string of hotels between the
Atlantic and Pacific oceans this one at
Quebec. 1t was almost crime to make
room for it by tearing down the old cha
teau which had overlooked the St. Law
renee from the heights for a century, but
the comfort of the tourist must take prec-
edenoe OF everything in a city whose
bread and butter the tourist supplies.
The new hotel is one of the few attempts
at modernization in old Quebec. Mont