The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1920-08-06
TR A v E 0 G u E
BY THE EDITOR.
Continued from last week. J

The next morning we passed throu-
Oh the Mount Royal Tunnel, Just be-
fore entering the city of Montreal.
This tunnel is three and n half
miles in length and consists Of twin
tubes Of reinforced concrete, which
raise by an easy grade Of BIG feet to
the mile. From the summit Of the
mountain t the tubes there is a depth
Of 500 feet. Trains entering the tun-
mel from either end are hauled through
by 400 volt electric locomotives cap
able of hauling the heaviest passen-
ger trains at a speed of from 80 to 80
miles per hour. This great tunnel
was completed in September 1918.
After passing through the tunnel we
were in the heart Of the city Of Mon
treal the leading city of Canada. and
our train was parked at the Tunnel
Terminal station Of the Canadian Ma
tional Railway.
Montreal is the greatest port In
Canada and is also the financial and
commercial metropolis. The harbor
Of Montreal is the farthest inland
port in the world, as it Is situated
one thousand miles from the sea, at
the interchange point between the
ocean and inland navigation. About
Sc twenty-five per cent Of the popula-
ton Of Montreal are Of French anad-
ian origin, and both English and
French are officially used i'm Montreal
The population now exceeds the 75O,-
600 mark. The city has l,400 indus
tries, among which might be men,
toned immense manufactures OF loco
motives, railway cars, structural iron
and steel, electrical appliances. rub
Der goods, machinery, tobacco. boots
and shoes, clothing, sugar refining,
silk, cotton, woolens, paints, furni-
ture, carriages, corrections, and the
largest flour mills in the British En-
pire with a capacity Of 800 barrels
of flour daily. 1t also has great stock
yards and packing houses. The city
Is In the center Of a district rich in
water powers and 1t Is lighted and
supplied with electrical power for i'll
purposes by water power plants.
Monday morning we were taken for
boat ride down the river during which
trip we shot the famous Lachine Rap
ids which fall sixty feet in their course
of less than two miles and possess the
most intricate and winding channel
of all the rapids. 1t was but another
new and novel sensation for our party
and while the waters at times looked
mighty wicked, we felt safe in the
hands of the skilful navigator Whc
plotted our boat. After passing over
the rapids in safety, we passed under
the Victoria Jubilee Bridge, one of
the greatest engineering feats Of its
day, into the magnificent harbor of
Montreal. After the boat trip we
were taken to the City Hall where we
were welcomed by the Mayor, who,
10y the way, could not speak the En-
glish language. Here we entered old
fashioned English carriages and were
of for a trip up Mount Royal 1t was
raining some, and it was a little cool
as we approached the summit of the
mountain, where we were guests Of
the city at a luncheon at a most beaut
iful resort hotel, overlooking the city
1t was a magnificent sight, and our
party would have appreciated tie view
even more had the weather clerk fav-
ored us with a bright day. After
lunch we again entered our carriages,
which were drawn by one horse, and
we began u decent to the city. This
is a most beautiful drive through a
well kept mountain park. No auto
mobiles are allowed to drive through
this park. W. left Montreal the next
morning at n o'clock.
We arrived at Ottawa, the capitol
city of the Dominion Of Canada early
the next morning, and after breakfast
ing on our dining cars, we assembled
at the Chateau Laurier where we
were taken for an alto drive about
the city and also cross the river to
Hull, returning to the Chateau for
one o'clock luncheon.
After a bitter fight to become the
capitol city Of the Dominion, waged
between the cities of Quebec, Mon.
treal and Toronto, the matter was left
TO Her Majesty Queen Victoria, for
a decision, and In 1853, greatly to the
surprise Of all, she decided that OF
tawa should be the capitol city, and
while for time 1t seemed as II though
Pertinent would reject the decision
of the Royal arbitrator. yet in 1869,
Pertinent finally agreed to accept the
decision and Ottawa has, since the
issuance Of the official proclamation
In 1866, has been the capitol city of
the Dominion. Parliment was in ses-
sion at the time of our visit, and a
soldiers bonus bill was under discus