220 Country hctvcecn the Rivers 



timber ; but these spots of good land are of such small 

 extent, as to be, at the present day, of little or no value. 



It may not be amiss to observe that tiie Jacques Cartier 

 river derives its source from a series of small lakes in the 

 immediate vicinity of those which pour their waters into 

 the Saguenay and Lake St. John. These lakes are repre- 

 sented by the Indians (and it is only from them we can at 

 present obtain any information on the subject) as being 

 situated among a seriesof barren mountains, thinly covered 

 •with a light sand, bearing birch and poplar; but as these 

 mountains are not far from the rich valley of St, John, we 

 must be cautious of placing imj)licit confidence in what 

 they say, particularly as their contempt of all agricultural 

 pursuits is proverbial. 



On looking at the range of mountains seen from Cape 

 Diamond, they are observed to stretch in an irregular 

 circle from Cape Tourmente below the Island of Orleans, 

 sweeping round towards the River St. Lawrence, several 

 leagues above Quebec. On the south side of the river they 

 again make their appearance in a semicircular form, at the 

 distance of forty or fifty miles, but gradually approaching 

 until thev terminate on the shores of the St. Lawrence 

 nearly opposite Cape Tourmente, enclosing within their 

 vast circumference an alluvial deposit, which may justly 

 be classed with the richest soils in America. The land in 

 this tract (which we may term the valley of Quebec) 

 is observed to rise gradually from the St. Lawrence to the 

 foot of the mountains on either side of the river, and is well 

 watered by numerous small rivers. In this paper I must 

 strictly confine myself to the North Shore, although the 

 south side of the St. Lawrence would be found equally 

 interesting to the agriculturist or geologist. 



