26 



RECREA TJOJST. 



splendid masses of pink granite to be util- 

 ized in connection with the dens of the 

 bears, wolves and foxes; the rugged es- 

 carpment that will furnish a home for the 

 mountain sheep and goat; the shady and 

 secluded pond for the beaver; the ample 

 lake for water birds, and the broad, grassy 

 plateau that is to furnish trees, and rocks, 

 and " town " sites for what is intended shall 

 be a large collection of American rodents. 

 But, like all good things, space in Recrea- 

 tion is limited, and without an extensive 

 series of pictures it is impossible to convey 

 an adequate conception of the natural beau- 

 ties of the zoological park grounds. 



The timber is simply perfect. Instead of 

 second-growth, filled with underbrush, it 

 is all virgin forest, composed mainly of 



giant chestnuts, oaks, beeches, hickories, 

 elms, hemlocks, and coniferous trees, vary- 

 ing from small red cedars to a huge white 

 pine 120 feet in height. The accompanying 

 illustration of a group of chestnut trees will 

 at least suggest the general character of the 

 forestry. From the number of trees that 

 have been identified thus far, it seems cer- 

 tain that the Zoological Park contains not 

 less than 40 species; and perhaps 50 would 

 be nearer the mark. 



The membership of the Zoological So- 

 ciety is now 510, and the fund for buildings 

 and collections is steadily growing. A later 

 date it will be a pleasure to place before the 

 readers of Recreation other illustrations 

 of the Zoological Park grounds, and of the 

 buildings for animals. 



THE UPPER MISTASSIXL 



W. F. J. M CORMICK. 



Mr. E. J. Meyer's article on the Lake St. 

 John country, which appeared in Recrea- 

 tion some time ago, interested me greatly, 

 for I met him at his camp near the Fifth 

 Falls of the Mistassini river last July, and 

 spent some pleasant hours with him. At 

 that time I was returning from an exten- 

 sive trip to the headwaters of that river, 

 having ascended it over 200 miles above 

 Lake St. John. For many years I had 

 heard of the " Grande Chute," near the 

 source of the Mistassini, and had also heard 

 the stories of the Indian and French voy- 

 ageurs, concerning the origin of the river. 

 Some of these men insisted it flowed di- 

 rectly out of the great lake Mistassini. 

 which I knew to be incorrect, as Mr. Low, 

 of the Canadian Geographical Survey, has 

 proven, beyond a doubt, that the waters of 

 that mysterious lake find their way through 

 Ruperts river, into James bay. Reports 

 that reached me from time to time, during 

 my 7 seasons at Lake St. John, told of 

 enormous ouananiche, pike, dore and of 

 " trout as big as salmon," to be found 

 farther up than sportsmen ever go. All this 

 excited my curiosity, and while fishing for 

 trout on the preserve of the Triton Fish 

 and Game Club, near Lake St. John, I per- 

 fected my plans and left for Roberval some 

 weeks sooner than I had originally in- 

 tended, much to the disapproval of my 

 father and my wife; but I finally persuaded 

 them to accompany me. Arriving at Hotel 

 Roberval, on the afternoon of June 14th, I 

 found my 2 head canoemen — Alfred Lavoie 

 (French) and Joseph Verrault (Algon- 

 quin) — whom I had employed 6 summers, 

 awaiting me on the platform. Two days 

 were spent in repairing my canoes, buying 



a new one and making additions to our 

 stock of provisions; then all was ready for 

 the start. I experienced some difficulty in 

 securing the four subordinate canoemen, 

 as none of the voyagcurs of the lake care to 

 undertake the hard portaging of mountains 

 and ceaseless poling of the canoes up the 

 heavy rapids above the tenth falls. How- 

 ever, a half-breed, Henry Caligny by name, 

 and 3 Frenchmen from Chambord, agreed 

 to go. 



The morning of the 17th found us all on 

 the little steamer " Le Colon," bound for 

 the head of navigation on the river. After 

 some 5 hours of bumping sawlogs and 

 grinding our way through sand bars, we ar- 

 rived at the landing of the Trappist Mon- 

 astery, near the first falls. A hurried lunch 

 was taken here, when, after a short walk 

 around the fall, the canoes were laden and 

 our trip commenced. This so called " fall," 

 is merely a heavy rapid in a narrow gorge. 

 Not 200 yards from where the canoes are 

 launched, across a foam flecked pool, is the 

 second fall, this being a sheer drop of 15 

 feet and affording good ouananiche fishing. 

 The portage here is very short and steep. 

 Two miles of canoeing in still water 

 brought us to the third fall, merely a short 

 rapid and a still shorter portage. The 

 fourth fall is a shallow cascade, about 24 of 

 a mile from the preceding. 



While here in 1802, accompanied by 2 

 reckless canoemen I ran the fourth and 

 first falls. At the head of this portage the 

 canoes are launched near a small island and 

 very close to the brink of the cascade. 

 Only a short bend in the river separates the 

 fourth and fifth falls. This is the favorite 

 camp site for parties visiting this river, in 



