A Glorious River — Tkc St. Laivrcncc. 



383 



rock barriers out of which its own mad- 

 dened waves have cut a channel ; ca- 

 reening round and round in the whirl- 

 pool ; gradually subsiding, and at last 

 flowing into Lake Ontario without a 

 ripple. 



After the glory of Niagara comes the 

 glory of the Thousand Isles. Very 

 different indeed are they from Niagara ; 

 but the Thousand Isles are as unrivalled 

 in their own way as Niagara. There 

 is nothing like them in the world, so 

 far as it has been explored. The 

 Thousand Isles want but one thing to 

 make them as nearly heavenly as it 

 would be possible for anything earthly 

 to be, and that is mountain scenery. 

 Of this they have none. The Canadian 

 side of the river is, however, at one 

 place very steep, forming most pictur- 

 esque cliffs covered with green trees 



of unnumbered species. But the Isles 

 themselves are the wonders of the 

 scene. There are a great many more 

 than a thousand — sixteen hundred and 

 ninety-two, according to the most re- 

 liable count. Some contain thousands 

 of acres ; some are no bigger than a 

 tea-table. The biggest and the least of 

 them are beautiful. All are covered 

 with shrubs or something green, and 

 all are surrounded by water so clear, so 

 wonderfully pure, as can be found in 

 no river save in the St. Lawrence. 

 This purity of water is one of the great 

 charms of this glorious river. If the 

 Thousand Isles were in the Ohio or 

 Missouri they would lose most of their 

 charms, for the waters of those rivers 

 are the color of pea soup during nine 

 months of every year. The same cause 

 that makes the St. Lawrence floodless 



^% 



^.-^i. 







AMONG THE THOUSAND ISLANDS. 



