THE MISTASSINI RIVER AND ITS FIFTH 

 FALLS 



ONE of the most frequented camping sites and 

 fishing-grounds of late years to the north of Lake St. 

 John, largely, no doubt, on account of its accessibili- 

 ty, is at the fifth falls of the Mistassini. It may be 

 reached in a day's journey up the river from Rober- 

 val. The steamer Le Colon ascends the Mistassini 

 twice a week, leaving Roberval early in the morning, 

 crossing Lake St. John, some fifteen miles, to the 

 mouth of the river, which is nearly two miles wide, 

 and ascending the stream nearly twenty miles to the 

 mouth of the Riviere au Foin, or Mistassibi, near the 

 foot of the Mistassini's first falls. The journey up 

 the river is exceedingly tedious, on account of its 

 constantly changing sand-bars, and it is sometimes 

 after two o'clock in the afternoon when the steamer 

 reaches her destination. The Mistassibi is a very 

 handsome stream, three to four hundred feet wide; 

 and nearly a mile from its mouth, at its first falls, 

 is a primitive Trappist monastery. Here the brown 

 and white habited monks, whose almost only saluta- 

 tion is "Memento mori!" divide the long hours of 

 their working and praying day, from 2 A.M. to 8 or 



