DAYS WITH THE LAND-LOCKED SALMON. 95 



nay Eiver. The railway from Quebec to Lake St. John 

 is under construction and will soon be completed.* 



The ubiquitous and uncomfortable mosquito was at 

 this very time in his prime; for most Canadians think 

 any one almost insane who, in the month of June, 

 exposes himself to the attacks of this horrible winged 

 scourge infesting the woods of North America un- 

 necessarily and of his own free will. 



But in this same month of June something else was 

 in its prime, too namely, the land-locked salmon 

 fishing in this great solitary Saguenay, that helps to 

 drain the north-east corner of the continent, and carries 

 off more water than any other four of its colleagues 

 added together. I maintain, though I may be mis- 

 taken, that the majority of the non-travelling public, 

 rightly or wrongly, hold the opinion, that, for every 

 sort of sport worth having, " there's no place like 

 home." When they read piscatorial accounts emanat- 

 ing from some strange and outlandish foreign place, 

 then their interest declines. But I shall not in this 

 instance insult their intelligence by informing them 

 that the Province of Quebec comes under this heading. 

 Eather, I hasten to explain that the Saguenay Eiver 

 is free to the public, although all its tributaries are 

 not, and may be reached in ten days from Liverpool, 

 for an outlay of about 13. Whether it is worth any 

 one's while to go there for the fishing I will not 

 undertake to say. I simply give my own experiences. 



The birch-bark canoe is in many ways an awkward 



* The line is now open. 



