FOREST AND STREAM, 
965 
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l TH'adoiisae at i d into the great chasm of the Saguenay, 
. 2 . 188 hroudiug the grim walls in a darkness only less 
caueding than their own desolate heights. Some time 
dur night we met a cold north-wester, which put the 
of A to rout, and we woke with a shiver in the early 
to i to find the steamer at the wharf and the wind whist- 
ifromthe hills under a clear sky. A large Yankee 
> was out in the bay loading with lumber for Aus¬ 
tin. Ha Ha Bay is sixty or seventy miles up the river, 
31 is said to owe its name to the astonishment of the fu st 
-erieh explorers, who, mistaking the Splendid bay for 
the main river, followed it up till brought to a sudden 
stop, “Ilal Ha!” exclaimed they, and Ha Ha Bay it 
remains to this day, 
One of the numerous cabbies at the landing agreed to 
carry us to Point Blue, lac St. John, for six dollars. W e 
selected the fellow because he could speak a little Eng¬ 
lish, vile though it was, but the sinner bundled us into a 
two seated backboard and handed the reins to a native, 
who drove us well out of the village before we found that 
“ tabao " and “dollar” were the only words he kuew iu 
any lingo but the choicest Canuck patois, But never 
mind, that fellow for his six dollars drove us and our two 
hundred pounds of baggage ninety-one miles in less than 
two days with one horse. He then started back forty- 
five miles ; whether he made the distance 1 know not, 
but returning by way of Gliicoutuice, where we stopped 
at Ha Ha Bay, he grinned at ns from the dock as though 
he thought he had made a good thing of it. The native 
horses are naturally tough, but are much abused and 
soon wear out and break down. Travelling costs very 
little after leaving the steamer, the whole expense of our 
two days drive with lodging and meals for all being but 
ten dollars. The people complained bitterly of the 
scarcity of money, though well satisfied with the natural 
resources of the country, Our little stock of French was 
taxed to the utmost iu making ourselves understood, and 
then the people understood us better than we could them. 
They are great talkers, and a direct question from us 
usually elicited an “oration" in reply, Queer fellows, 
these habitans. Every house is built of square hewed 
timber with pitched out eaves, and always stands as near 
the main road as possible. Newspapers are in demand— 
illustrated ones preferred—for pasting over the logs and 
cracks inside. Birch bark frequently answers the same 
use outside. Except the buck-board, every vehicle is a 
two-wheeler or on runners. The roads are terribly hilly. 
The mountains along the north shore of the Gulf form 
the southern wall of a great plateau, shown in sections by 
the rifting of the Saguenay chasm, and itself upheaved 
into mountains one or two thousand feet high. This 
numerous outcrop of primitive rock dips a littlo to the 
northward, and at Ha Ha Bay the mean surface must be 
several hundred feet lower than near the Gulf. Though 
the country we traversed is less broken as well as lower, 
the tale of mighty forces is told on every hand, Through¬ 
out the first fifty miles it is granite everywhere. It 
crops out in little ledges by the roadside, and again in 
hills hundreds of feet high and with hardly enough soil 
to allow a few stunted bushes to cling. Not a trace of 
order appears in the arrangement of the hills and moun¬ 
tains. It seems as though a sea of melted granite had 
been upheaved by tea thousand tempests and earthquakes 
at one time and suddenly cooled : level plains, rolling 
swells of granite, hills in ranges, clusters and single, 
masses of mountains thousands of feet high were formed 
over an immense territory, though ages of erasion have 
polished the granite billows and the detritus i* spread 
through the valleys ; it is hut a little reach of imagina¬ 
tion to picture the first appearance of these features, so 
terribly alike in all their variety, above the waters of the 
universal sea. 
In a sort of “crack” in the country, and within sight 
from several points along the road, is Lake ICenogami, 
twenty-one mile3 long, yet scarcely a mile wide at any 
point. Precipitous, rocky mountains rise abruptly from 
the west shore, broken by deep gorges, from which pour 
icy trout streams which rise in the wild mountains be¬ 
yond — and we wero told of eleven-pound trout to be 
caught at that time in deep water. On our return we 
stopped in the middle of a fiercely hot day at the mouth 
of the Bois Yest, a trembling torrent a hundred yards 
wide, and caught a dozen in a few minutes (none over a 
pound weight), but whose large tails and rather coarse 
build, like those of the Rangeleys, showed them to be¬ 
long to a giant race of trout. Fire and the axe have 
played havoc with most sections where there was soil 
enough to support a continuous forest or treea of size 
worth cutting. Along Kenogami, however, the moun¬ 
tains are partially clothed with a dark growth of scrub 
spruce and fir, but elsewhere, especially further north, 
the bare rocks and dead stubs give the hills a terribly des¬ 
olate aspect. Where fire has swept without the axe there 
are miles and miles of tall bleached trunks standing like 
quillB on the back of a porcupine, and not more pleasing 
to the eye. The granite finally disappears under the lime¬ 
stone formation, in which lies St. John, yet extending to 
the very south shore of the lake, forming the hundred 
little surf-beaten islets about the Grand Discharge. 
In the forenoon of the second day, as we slowly gained 
the top of a hill our eyes became’ intently fixed on the 
withered and fire-swept mountains on our left, now 
gathered iuto long ranges, extending northwesterdly 
toward Hudson’s Bay. Almost unconsciously we became 
aware, a3 it seemed, of a groat black mountain filling the 
sky to north and east. With a little start, we turned to 
look at the same instant. It was the lake. Piled up 
against the northern sky In the clear air. and wide as the 
field of vision, its dark blue waters sent through us a 
thrill, almost of awe, as we gazed. It was a sudden reve¬ 
lation of the possibilities of this land toward the Seven 
Stars which made the breath come short. “ Beau Lac ?" 
cried Pierre. “ Grand Lake !” we replied, From our two 
hundred feet elevation the oast shore was visible, and 
beyond the mountains rose in wildest confusion. The 
horizon was ragged with tbeir angular, forest-covered 
masses, and it is the wildest looking region I ever saw. 
Several hours we travelled on up the sparsely settled strip 
along the west shore of the lake, stopping a few minutes 
at; the lower Hudson’s Bay post on the Matabetchnmu, 
then on nine miles to the Oniachouanish before dinner. 
This latter river leaps the mountain wall there less than 
a milo from the lake with a sheer fall of between one 
hundred and two hundred feet, showing tho lowest level 
of the land for a long way west to be considerably above 
that of the lake. Toward four o’clock the frightful jolt¬ 
ings of the ninety miles were ended, and our Kannck 
drove off, with a “ Bonjuur I" leaving us at the upper 
post on the Point Blue Reservation. Next morning a 
cold northwester set in, and for two days the white caps 
drove across the Hike, and rolled with a constant roar on 
the rocky beach. Though wind-bound, we were saved 
the unpleasant.ness of camping through the rain on an 
exposed shore by the kindness of Mr, Spence, the Com¬ 
pany's agent,, and his wife, and were also assisted by Mr, 
S. in selecting a canoo. 
There were about thirty families of Indians and half- 
breeds on the reservation, most of whom were building 
and repairing canoes to go up the rivers and hunt. They 
spend the spring and early summer at the lake, in their 
tents and cabins, and hum; during the fall and greater 
part of the winter on tho heads of the rivers, hundreds of 
miles away. There are no moose or caribou near the 
lake now. "and few skins arc brought in. The men were 
quiet, dark, strongly-built fellows, with quite a sense of 
humor and a pleasant, almost musical language. A few 
speak English. One man I quite admired—a very 
straight, dark, broad-shouldered man of thirty, reputed 
a good hunter and the best can oe maker. The older squaws 
were not beautiful, though good to work and paddle. 
Some of the younger ones were not had looking, wearing 
bright colors with good effect. Pappooies, tied up in 
pieces of bark, abounded, with numerous litlle sharp- 
eared dogF naid to do great work on beaver when tho ice 
is clear ; the wicked flea also was there. 
Formerly the Company advanced every hunter several 
hundred dollars worth of goods yearly, but since the set¬ 
tlers have come in and the company lost its former abso¬ 
lute power, the Indians have become unreliable, and Mr. 
Spence said the tribe then owed the Post more than 
$3,000. A good hunter gets as much as $800 worth of 
fur in one season, including perhaps 100 beaver. These 
few Indiaus are the only inhabitants of an immense ter¬ 
ritory, chiefly about the heads of the great rivers Chou- 
mouchouan, Mistassini and Peribonka. After consider¬ 
able bargaining, though done in a few words, we secured 
a large canoe just finished for $14. The usual price is 
half that amount, but they were in demand, on account 
of the hunting season being near - . They build beautiful 
canoes, these Mistassins, of wonderfully good lines, and 
deep, with sharply up-curved ends to meet the great 
waves of St, John. For a long time the Indians have 
made it the point their summer camping place, it being 
near the mouths of two large rivers. Over eastward 
across the lake is Peribonka—“River of the Sun." And 
river of the sun I felt that it was indeed, when, standing 
as thousands of the ancestors of my dusky canoe-maker 
had done, I saw the sun rise from the lake and knew, 
though beyond sight, that the great river was there. The 
old wild men got nearer the forces and phenomena of 
nature than we do, and something of their spirit is in 
the names they left behind. 
Intending to take a two or three weeks’trip, we started 
up the Mistassini when the storm cleared. The river is 
three miles wide al, the mouth, and sixteen miles up the 
shores are still nearly a mile apart, though it there flows 
shallow over shifting sand bars. It pours down a large 
volume Of cold water whose reddish color tells of forests 
and mountains in the interior, yet as far as we could see 
the same low, sandy wooded shores stretched away north¬ 
ward, except perhaps thirty miles from the lake, where 
appeared a low mountain or ridge. From this river 
arouud to Peribonka is a wide tract of level country, 
well wooded, and a great place for bears and wild cats. 
How far this flat country extends toward the interior of 
Labrador I could not find out. But the Indians said that 
150 miles north, where is the great Mistassini Lake, with 
its 4,000 miles of area, the shores are low and the land 
level. It is not easy to induce an Indian to say much 
about his hunting ground, and the few facts we could 
gather were fairly earned. 
Camping early to avoid a shower some twelve miles 
up the stream we pitched on a wooded sand bar which 
proved the worst mosquito hole I ever got into. At 
night they swarmed into the tent.—great bony, long billed 
fellows — ’by thousands, in spite of the densest of smoke 
and the thickest of tar and oil. They screamed and 
whirled about, filling the air and biting until we were 
nearly frantic. The worst spots in half a dozen summers 
in the spruce woods were bliss in comparison. Finally, 
B——, with an idea, seized his blanket and rushed for the 
canoe. In a couple of minutes we were tied to a stake 
well out in the river, and lying head to lieadiu the canoe, 
soon slept comfortably without the “muskeets,” and re¬ 
gardless of the danger of a capsize. Toward midnight 
I woke ; we were adrift; the rope had come untied. I 
do not recollect a more bewildering sensation than that 
of waking up in tire blackness on that great, desolate, un¬ 
known river, full of bars and currents. 
The sky had clouded over heavily and the low distant 
shores could hardly be distinguished in the gloom, while 
low thunder mattered in the oppressive air. I thought 
of original chaos. As it afterward appeared, we had 
drifted about a mile, and it was a long time before we 
found the camp and resumed our floating bed, this time 
with a better knot. 
Awakened again by a pouring rain, we retreated to the 
tent, rolled the blankets about our heads and slept alittle, 
though nearly stifled, while the enemy with unceasing 
yells, tried in vain to pierce the covering. 
Leaving the place next morning without much regret, 
we continued up stream a few miles wlien an intensely 
hot sun produced symptoms of suustroke in my friend, 
already somewhat unstrung by tho events of the night, 
and it became necessary to turn back. I was sorry not 
to reach the first rapids, three Or four miles further on, 
for the Indians assured us we could get plenty of fish 
there. The salmon, or winninish, run far up these rivers 
and weigh, it is said, fifteen pounds. We saw none over 
six pounds. The Indians fish with gill nets, and be¬ 
sides tho winninish, catch white fish, large pike, and a 
kind of large perch. There are trout in Peribonka. 
My companion's attack of sunstroke was fortunately 
not serious; but not daring to risk a trip into the 
interior, we took a cruise of sixty miles or so around 
the west shore of the lake, past the Grand Discharge, and 
on till the broad mouth of Peribonka lay before us ; then 
retracing part of the way, went up Belle River. St. 
John is thirty miles in diameter and nearly round, with 
no islands far enough from shore to break its wide ex¬ 
panse. Yet, strangely enough, it iiap no depth, being in¬ 
deed a mere splanh on the surface of the country. We 
usually sailed along a mile or two from shore, yet much 
of the way we could touch bottom with a paddle. Its 
shallow waters respond to the slightest breeze, rolling up 
into peculiarly ngly waves, which, the day before ive left 
the lake, gave us a wild tossing, as the canoe leaped from 
wave to wave. At last we were forced to beach her, and 
were lucky to have the chance. There are iarge trout in 
all the waters sou tli and west of the lake, nut one must 
go a few miles back from the settlements to find good, 
fishing. The few ducks we saw were wild as possible. 
It is not far from, fifty mites to Ohieontnice by way of 
Belle River, and the lakes furnished us with trout enough 
to eat most of the way. Except lmvingtbe tent whisked 
off by a little tornado, and being well wet and pelted with 
large, bail one night, we had no mishaps, and made 
our last camp iu the Dominion on Jxenogami, and a 
pleasant One it was. Of the glorious purple lights on the 
magnificent mountains juttuig out in succession, far up 
tho lake, and the rare memories of that evening scene, 
1 1 know, hut may not toll.” 
Fair fishing was reported at Cbicoutuice, and we saw 
some beautiful salmon brought in; but our rods remained 
unstrung, and we left immediately for the States. B - 
went home, while I tramped thirty-five miles from the 
railroad to Chester’s Gamp, on the Connecticut Lake, and 
played wild man three weeks move. Doubly delightful 
seemed the grand forest around the dear old lake, after 
the desolation of the Saguenay, RAncofer. 
Nov. 8th, 1879. 
<JJ xhtml Jjwtotfy 
GEIKIE ON DR. HAYDEN. 
I T is gratifying to note that the name of Dr. Hayden is 
not to be smothered by the mantle of indifference of 
politicians who have persecuted the United States Geolo¬ 
gical Survey at Washington. In the majority of the 
marts that know him there is a warm spot for Dr. Hay¬ 
den. He has conducted for the United States Govern¬ 
ment a geological survey cn a more magnificent scale 
than was even projected by any other government or 
main. 
The name of Archibald Geikie is nearly as familar to 
the households of America as to those of his native Scot¬ 
land. His persistent friendship for Dr. Hayden, and^liis 
special mention of him in his writings, will strike a re¬ 
sponsive chord of the popular heart in this country. In 
ins new work, “ Outlines of Field Geology,” just pub¬ 
lished by Macmillan & Co., Prof. Geikie pays very con¬ 
siderable attention to Dr. Hayden at intervals through¬ 
out the book. On page 30, in giving directions for the 
construction of geological maps, the author says : — 
“In those parts of the world where no good maps yet 
exist, geological and togographical surveying are some¬ 
times conjoined. I may cite as admirable illustrations of 
tiiis union the explorations of the river-courses of Canada 
by the late Sir YYilliam Logan, Director of the Canadian 
Geological Survey. He and his colleagues had to furnish 
themselves with canoes, attendant Indians, provisions 
and hunting gear, and push up unexplored rivers, wind¬ 
ing through dense forests of the Province. They explored, 
mapped, geologized and hunted, '.laying down lines of 
traverse, which served as the base for future more de¬ 
tailed topography, and did vast sendee in opening up the 
country. 
“Still more elaborately topographical are the remarkable 
surveys at present carried out under Dr, Hayden, geolo¬ 
gist in charge of the Geological and Geographical Survey 
of the Western Territories of the United States. Year by . 
year valuable reports, drawings and photographs by that 
able geologist and his associates make known the geogra- 
hy, geology, natural history, botany, meteorology, eth- 
-ology and antiquities of thousands of square miles of 
previously unexplored or but partially explored land." 
In the above sketch Professor Geikie expresses his high 
opinion of the Geological Survey. In the following, 
taken from his explanation of “ preliminary traverses," 
on page 45, he writes of a dear friend :—“ Now, with field 
geology and map making as possible and as actually ac¬ 
complished in Britain, let us contrast the condition under 
which work of this kind must be carried on in an unex¬ 
plored region like the Western Territories of the United 
States. The survey of vast tracts in those parts of the 
North American continent has been entrusted to my 
friend Dr. Hayden, one of the most zealous, active and 
efficient men who ever undertook of pioneering through 
a new country.” It will be noticed that Prof. Geikio’s 
work deals largely in explanation of methods used by 
working specialists in all geological work, and though 
himself the director of the Scottish Geological Survey, 
lie refers to American operations adopted by Dir. Hayden 
as the best examples to follow, and thus continues;— 
“ But the utmost skill and experience cannot alter the 
natural features of a country and its climate. The Amer¬ 
ican survey requires to be carried on in a very different 
manner from ours, and I oite it as an excellent example 
of liow field geology can be prosecuted in new and pre¬ 
viously unmapped regions. As the topographical map of 
the country requires to be made, Dr, Hayden’s snrvey is 
at once geographical and geological. His Btaff contains 
more topographers than geologists. It requires division 
into separate working parties, to each of which a distinct 
tract of country is assigned. From the higher hill-tops 
triangulations are made and outline sketches are taken, 
so that a general map is traced and filled iu. Iu this work 
the geologists cooperate, indicating to their associates the 
salient geological features of eaoh region, and inserting 
upon sections or diagrams which, for beauty and effec¬ 
tiveness, are among the most remarkable geological 
sketches wliich have yet been produced. Besides the sci¬ 
entific staff, however, provision has to be made for a for¬ 
aging department ; and sometimes also an escort is 
needed, where the work lies in or near theterritories of 
hostile Indians. 
“ As a sample of equipment of Dr. Hayden’s survey, I 
may cite a few particulars from his report for 1874. The 
staff in the field were divided iuto seven parties, and of 
the organization of these, the first may be taken as a type. 
It consisted of one assistant-geologist or director, two to¬ 
pographers, two meteorologists, one botanist and col¬ 
lector, one general assistant, two packers, cook, and 
hunter. It would seem that there was thus only one ge¬ 
ologist in the party, though probably one or two of the 
I members were able to lend him some assistance, Starting 
