THE SALMON. 263 



beautiful pools and rapids. At Dery's bridge, which is the 

 general rendezvous of amateur fishermen, and about twelve 

 miles from the mouth of the river, is a fall of about ten 

 feet in a narrow gorge, at the bottom of which is a fine 

 pool in which the fish congregate before ascending. 



There are other salmon streams within easy reach of 

 the city, as the St. Anne, St. Charles, Port Neuf, &c. ; 

 but being on that account a good deal frequented, it is 

 better to proceed at once to some of the rivers below, 

 where one may revel in unfished pools and the undis- 

 turbed enjoyment of wild life. Formerly, and indeed 

 till very lately, the only way of reaching these rivers 

 was by means of a pilot boat or fishing smack : a mode 

 of transport still preferred by many, and in fact in- 

 dispensable for getting access to the more remote rivers. 

 These boats are always to be hired at Quebec, either by 

 the month or by the week, crew and all; or a simple 

 passage may be negotiated for to any particular point. 

 The chief drawback attending sailing boats, namely, the 

 uncertainty of reaching one's destination in a given 

 time, is greatly aggravated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence : 

 the dead calms and contrary winds which seem always 

 to prevail there at this period of the year, frequently 

 detaining the impatient passenger a prisoner on board 

 his boat for many days together in the height of the 

 fishing-season. 



