Up the Ottawa. 93 



grounds, and exchanged the peltries, as they were called, for 

 European goods. The Ottawa was the grand route of these 

 fur- traders, and was little known, except to those employed 

 iii that business. 



At the end of the lake, or rather at the entrance of the 

 Ottawa, lies the picturesque village of Ste. Anne, distant 

 twenty-one miles from Montreal, clustering round an old 

 church, which owes its existence and support to the contri- 

 butions of the Canadian voyageurs, who never omit to pay 

 their offerings to the shrine of St. Anne, before engaging in 

 any enterprise. Here it was that Tom Moore composed the 

 popular Canadian Boat Song, and many who have never seen 

 and never will see " Uttawas tide'* have sung about it till it 

 has become almost a household word. A massive bridge 

 crosses the river here, supported on sixteen stone piers, and 

 built for the central section of the Grand Trunk Railway, 

 which has a station here. There are also a set of locks here 

 for vessels to avoid the rapids, which are formidable, more 

 from their shallowness than their velocity. A number of 

 small islands are scattered about, and there is excellent 

 shooting and fishing in the vicinity ; here also is the favorite 

 resort of yachts from the Lachine or Beauharnois Clubs, the 

 expanse of Lake St. Louis affording ample room for their 

 movements, and the head of it, Ste. Anne, an excellent 

 rendez-vous for the crews. 



Proceeding onwards, about two miles, at the western ex- 

 tremity of the island of Montreal, we see the ruins of two 

 old towers or forts, constructed, to keep off the attacks of 

 hostile Indians, and near them the remains of a larger fort 

 taken from the French, and bearing the marks of war in its 

 walls. The expansion of the river here, probably caused by 

 the narrowness of its outlets, bears the name of Lake of 

 the Two Mountains, and the hilly character of the scenery ^ 

 clothed to the water's edge with the richest verdure, presents 

 more the appearance of an inland lake, than the banks of a 



