THE GASPÉ PENINSULA 



A Study of the Geology of the Region, and its Influence on the Inhabitants. 



Introduction 



The Gaspé peninsula, projecting like a huge lobster's claw be- 

 tween the St. Lawrence and the Bay of Chaleurs, was naturally the 

 first part of the province of Quebec to be visited by white men. In 

 1534, Jacques Cartier landed on its eastern end and raised a cross in 

 token of its possession by France. Even before this Basque and 

 Breton fishermen sought the cod in its waters and must have been 

 familiar with its bold clifïs and promontories. Later, some of the 

 earliest settlements in Canada were established on its shores and 

 several of them have persisted to the present day. 



Books have been written in eulogy of Gaspé and its people, such 

 as Le Clercq's Nouvelle Relation de la Gaspesie, in 1691 ; Langelier's 

 Esqtiisse sur la Gaspesie, in 1884; Clarke's charmingly written The 

 Heart of Gaspé, in 1913; and Pelland's Guidebook to la Gaspesie, pub- 

 lished by the Quebec Government in 1914. These and numerous 

 other writings suggest a country long and favorably known. 



At present, a great railway transports every year hundreds of 

 thousands of travellers past its western end ; other thousands of pas- 

 sengers sail down the St. Lawrence on Atlantic liners close to the 

 northern shore of Gaspé and enjoy its grand scenery; while hundreds 

 of tourists visit the watering places of its southern shore. 



One naturally expects to find Gaspé one of the best known parts 

 of Canada, thoroughly explored and mapped and easily visited. In 

 reality the interior of Gaspé is the least known part of southern 

 Canada and remains a trackless wilderness, inhabited only by wild 

 animals. Whoever would cross the peninsula from north to south 

 must shoulder a pack and toil through dense woods and wild moun- 

 tains before reaching civilization again. Actually no one ever under- 

 takes the journey except, at intervals of years, some party of land 

 surveyors or of scientific men. 



If you ask for a map of Gaspé at Ottawa or Quebec you will 

 receive two broad sheets which, when put together, show its lobster 

 claw outline and a rim of roads and settlements, and on the south 

 even railroads, all clinging close to the sea coast. A few lumber roads 

 run a little way towards the interior, and one from the south reaches 

 half way across; but in the heart of the region one sees nothing but 

 a few boundary lines and some lakes and wandering rivers. The ex- 



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