THE SAGUENAY RIVER. 49 



Streams opposed to a heavy easterly gale cause an exceedingly high, 

 cross, and breaking sea in which no boat could live. On the flood 

 at such times, there is no more sea than in other parts of the river. 

 A fixed white light is exhibited from Lark islet ; the tower is a 

 square white building ; the light is thirty-five feet above high water, 

 and visible ten miles. Two range lights (fixed white) are shown 

 on the western side of the entrance to the river ; one eighty-two 

 feet above high water, on point Noir, distant one and a half miles 

 from Lark islet lighthouse ; the other one hundred and seventeen 

 feet above the sea and distant from it about six hundred yards, and 

 are for the purpose of leading vessels clear of Prince shoal. Bar 

 reef, and Vaches patch, and visible nine miles." A curious fact, be- 

 sides all this nautical description above quoted, appears from the 

 description of another writer who says : "At spring tides a large body 

 of water passes over the Chicoutimi shoals (at a very rapid rate du- 

 ring ebb tides) , and falling suddenly into deep water seems to strike 

 downward at once, leaving but a slight current on the surface." 

 The Chicoutimi river enters the Saguenay about sixty-five miles from 

 the mouth of the latter. Further on he adds : "The strong flood 

 tides over the bar, at the entrance of Saguenay river, falling suddenly 

 into deep water, may also contribute to a certain extent to check 

 the strength of the surface-current of the river." A singular fact 

 appears that at Tadousac was built the Jifst church in Canada, I 

 understand that it is still standing. 



I have not forgotten that it is Monday morning, a damp, foggy 

 day — for which reason we find ourselves anchored near Green isl- 

 and, by whose reefs it is most dangerous to pass except in clear 

 weather ; thus it happens that we take the boat and are rowed to 

 the island on our first gunning expedition. We find the island low 

 and rocky, with occasional sand patches on the southern shore : on 

 the east some half a mile long, narrow rocky points, almost reefs, 

 are above high tide, while rocks and shoals are distributed quite 

 abundantly all around the island. Not three miles north and a 

 little east of Green is Apple (or Pomme as the French call it) island ; 

 between the two is a reef of slate rock, visible at low tide. The 

 4 



