The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1906-09-06
AN INTERESTING TRIP
The Editor and Family on Their De-
lightful Vacation With National
Editorial Association.


tial steamer Montreal carried us from
Quebec to Montreal and here the party
were to spend a couple of days before
disbanding. Arriving at Montreal we
made headquarters at the Place Viger
hotel, magnificent structure owned
and operated by the Canadian Pacific
Railway Co. facing the Viger Gardens a
large and beautiful city park. After
breakfast we were loaded into carriages
and driven over the city, getting a
pretty good idea of the largest city in
Canada. Montreal has population of
about $4,000 and is the commercial
metropolis and national port of the
Dominion of Canada. In the year 1886
Jacques Cartier came up the st. Law
renee to where the city now stands and
found large well-fortifed indian town
called Hochelaga. Later on, in 1911.
Champlain established a trading post
and called it Place Royale, tablet in
front of the Custom House now marking
the spot. 1t was not however until 1912
that Paul de Chomedy landed, and laid
the lasting foundation of the city. For
almost a century and quarter Canada
remained French colony, and not until
the Treaty of Paris in 1853 did Montreal
become British city. Since then
French and English have lived together
although to great extent the business
and residence portions Of the city is
divided into the English town and
French town. While the public build
ings and churches of Montreal are i'm
posing and grand we were considerably
disappointed in the residence portion,
for while occasionally a fine dwelling
was seen, most of them were very or
dinary and would not in any manner
compare with the residences of Amcri-
can cities of one half the size of Mont
real.
Among Montrears most interesting
public buildings is the Chateau de
Ramezay, one of the oldest historical
landmarks, associated with the events
of greatest Importance in Canada. 1t
was built in 1905 by Claude de Ramezay
governor of Montreal. Within it's ven
cradle walls, after the fall of Quebec, in
176O, arrangements were completed for
the withdrawal of the last French gar
rison from Montreal, by which act the
finest colony of France, and for which
the French had done so much, became
the possession of Great Britain. In 1875
the Chateau was again made memorable
as the headquarters of the American
Brigadier-General Wooster, and in the
year following, under General Benedict
Arnold the Commissioners of Congress,
Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Chase and
Charles Carol, of Carrolton, held coun-
Gil. To Benjamin Franklin Montreal
was indebted for it's first printer
Fleury Mesplet, who established The
Gazette, which is one of the leading
papers of the city today. For years af-
ter the conquest the Chateau was
recognized as the official residence Of
the English governors. 1t has now been
converted into museum, in which re-
poses many interesting souvenirs as
sociated with the history of Canada.
Opposite the Chateau is the city hall, a
very handsome structure of grey cut
stone. West of the city hall stands the
Court House. Affixed to this building
is tablet bearing this inscription:
"Here stood the church, chapel and resi-
dence of the Jesuit Fathers. Built
1892; occupied as military headquarters
1900; burnt 1903; Charlevoix and La
titau, amongst others, sojourned here.
On the square in front four Iroeuois
suffered death by fire, in reprisal, by
order of Frontenac, 1896" This square
was also during the last century, the
site of the town pillory, so that the adj
ministration of justice, in various forms
seems to have been meted out on this
spot from the earliest to the present
time.
One spot of special interest to Ameri-
cans is an old fashioned building bear
ing the inscription, "Here lived Robert
Caveiier, Sieur de la Sale, 1867 The
name of La Sale is prominent one in
Amerian history, the ill-fated explorer
being assassinated by two of his fol-
lowers in Louisiana in 1857.
Montreal is noted for it's many fine
churches, and while we cannot remem-
ber the names of near all of them we
will tell little about some of the most
important ones. The Roman Catholic
parish church is situated on Notre Dame
street, facing Place d'Armes Square,
and is a massive and impressive struc-
ture. The style is Of composite Gothic
order, combining different varieties of a
severe French design. The vast Audi
torium holds ten thousand people, and
the pipe organ is reputed to be the
finest on the continent. The towers