334 TRAVELS THROUGH LOWER CANADA! 
then; these are floated down to Quebec, and 
there rigged. Ship-building is not carried on 
to so much advantage in ’ 4a as might be 
imagined, all the bolts ar . : kher articles of 
iron, the blocks, and the cordage, being im¬ 
ported ; so that what is gained by having ex¬ 
cellent timber on the spot is lost in bringing 
over these different articles, which are so bulky, 
from Europe. The river of Sorelle is deep at 
the mouth, and affords good shelter for ships 
from the ice, at the breaking up of winter ; it 
is not navigable far beyond the town, even in 
boats, on account of the rapids. 
The next morning we left Sorelle, beyond 
which place the St. Lawrence expands to a 
great breadth. Here it abounds with small 
islands, situated so closely to each other, that 
it is impossible to think without astonishment 
of large vessels, like those that go to Montreal 
passing between them: the channel through 
them is very intricate. This wide part of 
the river is called Lac St. Pierre ; the greatest 
breadth of it is about four leagues and a half, 
and its length from the islands at the head, 
of the lake downwards about eight leagues-. 
From hence to Quebec the river is in no place 
more than two miles across, and in some parts 
it narrows to the breadth of three quarters of 
a mile. The tide ebbs and flows in the river 
within a few leagues of Lac St. Pierre; the 
