Part 16

It was very sultry when we left Quebec, but about noon we struck much clearer and cooler air, and soon after ran into an immense wave or puff of fog that came drifting up the river and set all the fog-guns booming along shore. We were soon through it into clear, crisp space, with room enough for any eye to range in. On the south the shores of the great river appear low and uninteresting, but on the north they are bold and striking enough to make it up,--high, scarred, unpeopled mountain ranges the whole way. The points of interest to the eye in the broad expanse of water were the white porpoises that kept rolling, rolling in the distance, all day. They came up like the perimeter of a great wheel that turns slowly and then disappears. From mid-forenoon we could see far ahead an immense column of yellow smoke rising up and flattening out upon the sky and stretching away beyond the horizon. Its form was that of some aquatic plant that shoots a stem up through the water, and spreads its broad leaf upon the surface. This smoky lily-pad must have reached nearly to Maine. It proved to be in the Indian country in the mountains beyond the mouth of the Saguenay, and must have represented an immense destruction of forest timber.

The steamer is two hours crossing the St. Lawrence from Riviere du Loup to Tadousac. The Saguenay pushes a broad sweep of dark blue water down into its mightier brother that is sharply defined from the deck of the steamer. The two rivers seem to touch, but not to blend, so proud and haughty is this chieftain from the north. On the mountains above Tadousac one could see banks of sand left by the ancient seas. Naked rock and sterile sand are all the Tadousacker has to make his garden of, so far as I observed. Indeed, there is no soil along the Saguenay until you get to Ha-ha Bay, and then there is not much, and poor quality at that.

What the ancient fires did not burn the ancient seas have washed away. I overheard an English resident say to a Yankee tourist, "You will think you are approaching the end of the world up here." It certainly did suggest something apocryphal or antemundane,--a segment of the moon or of a cleft asteroid, matter dead or wrecked. The world-builders must have had their foundry up in this neighborhood, and the bed of this river was doubtless the channel through which the molten granite flowed. Some mischief-loving god has let in the sea while things were yet red-hot, and there has been a time here. But the channel still seems filled with water from the mid-Atlantic, cold and blue-black, and in places between seven and eight thousand feet deep (one and a half miles). In fact, the enormous depth of the Saguenay is one of the wonders of physical geography. It is as great a marvel in its way as Niagara.

The ascent of the river is made by night, and the traveler finds himself in Ha-ha Bay in the morning. The steamer lies here several hours before starting on her return trip, and takes in large quantities of white birch wood, as she does also at Tadousac. The chief product of the country seemed to be huckleberries, of which large quantities are shipped to Quebec in rude board boxes holding about a peck each. Little girls came aboard or lingered about the landing with cornucopias of birch-bark filled with red raspberries; five cents for about half a pint was the usual price. The village of St. Alphonse, where the steamer tarries, is a cluster of small, humble dwellings dominated, like all Canadian villages, by an immense church. Usually the church will hold all the houses in the village; pile them all up and they would hardly equal it in size; it is the one conspicuous object, and is seen afar; and on the various lines of travel one sees many more priests than laymen. They appear to be about the only class that stir about and have a good time. Many of the houses were covered with birch-bark,--the canoe birch,--held to its place by perpendicular strips of board or split poles.

A man with a horse and a buckboard persuaded us to give him twenty-five cents each to take us two miles up the St. Alphonse River to see the salmon jump. There is a high saw-mill dam there which every salmon in his upward journey tries his hand at leaping. A raceway has been constructed around the dam for their benefit, which it seems they do not use till they have repeatedly tried to scale the dam. The day before our visit three dead fish were found in the pool below, killed by too much jumping. Those we saw had the jump about all taken out of them; several did not get more than half their length out of the water, and occasionally only an impotent nose would protrude from the foam. One fish made a leap of three or four feet and landed on an apron of the dam and tumbled helplessly back; he shot up like a bird and rolled back like a clod. This was the only view of salmon, the buck of the rivers, we had on our journey.

It was a bright and flawless midsummer day that we sailed down the Saguenay, and nothing was wanting but a good excuse for being there. The river was as lonely as the St. John's road; not a sail or a smokestack the whole sixty-five miles. The scenery culminates at Cape Trinity, where the rocks rise sheer from the water to a height of eighteen hundred feet. This view dwarfed anything I had ever before seen. There is perhaps nothing this side the Yosemite chasm that equals it, and, emptied of its water, this chasm would far surpass that famous canon, as the river here is a mile and a quarter deep. The bald eagle nests in the niches in the precipice secure from any intrusion. Immense blocks of the rock had fallen out, leaving areas of shadow and clinging overhanging masses that were a terror and fascination to the eye. There was a great fall a few years ago, just as the steamer had passed from under and blown her whistle to awake the echoes. The echo came back, and with it a part of the mountain that astonished more than it delighted the lookers-on. The pilot took us close around the base of the precipice that we might fully inspect it. And here my eyes played me a trick the like of which they had never done before. One of the boys of the steamer brought to the forward deck his hands full of stones, that the curious ones among the passengers might try how easy it was to throw one ashore. "Any girl ought to do it," I said to myself, after a man had tried and had failed to clear half the distance. Seizing a stone, I cast it with vigor and confidence, and as much expected to see it smite the rock as I expected to live. "It is a good while getting there," I mused, as I watched its course: down, down it went; there, it will ring upon the granite in half a breath; no, down--into the water, a little more than halfway! "Has my arm lost its cunning?" I said, and tried again and again, but with like result. The eye was completely at fault. There was a new standard of size before it to which it failed to adjust itself. The rock is so enormous and towers so above you that you get the impression it is much nearer than it actually is. When the eye is full it says, "Here we are," and the hand is ready to prove the fact; but in this case there is an astonishing discrepancy between what the eye reports and what the hand finds out.

Cape Eternity, the wife of this colossus, stands across a chasm through which flows a small tributary of the Saguenay, and is a head or two shorter, as becomes a wife, and less rugged and broken in outline.

From Riviere du Loup, where we passed the night and ate our first "Tommy-cods," our thread of travel makes a big loop around New Brunswick to St. John, thence out and down through Maine to Boston,--a thread upon which many delightful excursions and reminiscences might be strung. We traversed the whole of the valley of the Metapedia, and passed the doors of many famous salmon streams and rivers, and heard everywhere the talk they inspire; one could not take a nap in the car for the excitement of the big fish stories he was obliged to overhear.

The Metapedia is a most enticing-looking stream; its waters are as colorless as melted snow; I could easily have seen the salmon in it as we shot along, if they had come out from their hiding-places. It was the first white-water stream we had seen since leaving the Catskills; for all the Canadian streams are black or brown, either from the iron in the soil or from the leechings of the spruce swamps. But in New Brunswick we saw only these clear, silver-shod streams; I imagined they had a different ring or tone also. The Metapedia is deficient in good pools in its lower portions; its limpid waters flowing with a tranquil murmur over its wide, evenly paved bed for miles at a stretch. The salmon pass over these shallows by night and rest in the pools by day. The Restigouche, which it joins, and which is a famous salmon stream and the father of famous salmon streams, is of the same complexion and a delight to look upon. There is a noted pool where the two join, and one can sit upon the railroad bridge and count the noble fish in the lucid depths below. The valley here is fertile, and has a cultivated, well-kept look.

We passed the Jacquet, the Belledune, the Nepissisquit, the Miramichi ("happy retreat") in the night, and have only their bird-call names to report.

INDEX

Anemone.

Angler, a born; eagerness of the.

Arbutus.

Asters.

Audubon, John James.

Aurora borealis, an.

Balsam Lake.

Barrington, Daines, his table of English song-birds.

Basswood, _or_ linden.

Bear, black.

Beaverkill, the; trouting on.

Bee. _See_ Bumblebee _and_ Honeybee.

Berries.

Berrying.

Big Ingin River.

Birch, yellow.

Birds, eyes of; imperfect singers among; human significance of; songs of English; relative pugnaciousness of English and American; species common to Europe and America; small and large editions of various species of; their ingenuity in the concealment of their nests.

Birds of prey.

Biscuit Brook.

Blackbird, European; notes of.

Blackbird, red-winged. _See_ Starling, red-shouldered.

Bloodroot.

Bluebird (_Sialia sialis_), struggling with a cicada; courting; cares of housekeeping; and screech owl; notes of; nest of.

Blunder-heads.

Bobolink (_Dolichonyx oryzivorus_); song of.

Boy.

Brooks. _See_ Trout streams.

Buckwheat.

Bumble-bee.

Bunting, European, notes of.

Bunting, indigo. _See_ Indigo-bird.

Bunting, snow, or snowflake (_Passerina nivalis_).

Butcher-bird, or northern shrike (_Lanius borealis_); appearance and habits of; notes of. _See_ Shrike.

Buttercup.

Camp, a thunder-storm in; in the rain; books in.

Camp-fire, the.

Camping, by trout stream and lake; in a log stable; pleasures and discomforts of; in the Catskills; thoughts of the camper; in Canada.

Canada, an excursion in; dwelling-houses in; churches in.

Cape Eternity.

Cape Trinity.

Caribou.

Catbird (_Galeoscoptes carolinensis_), song of.

Catfish and snake.

Catnip.

Catskill Mountains, camping in.

Cattle, in Canada.

Cedar-bird, _or_ cedar waxwing (_Ampelis cedrorum_), a small edition of the Bohemian waxwing; plumage of; notes of.

Chickadee (_Parus atricapillus_); notes of.

Chipmunk, frightened by a shrike; stealing strawberries; playing tag; never more than one jump from home.

Clouds, natural history of; rain-clouds and wind-clouds.

Clover, red.

Clover, white.

Coon. _See_ Raccoon.

Corn, Indian.

Corydalis.

Crossbills.

Crow, American (_Corvus brachyrhynchos_); notes of.

Crow, fish (_Corvus ossifragus_), a sneak thief.

Cuckoo (_Coccyzus_ sp.), parents, eggs, and young; breeding habits of; appearance and habits of; notes of; nest of.

Cuckoo, European; in literature; notes of.

Daisy, ox-eye.

Dandelion.

Deer, Virginia.

Delaware River.

Dove, mourning (_Zenaidura macroura_).

Drought.

Ducks, wild, voices of.

Eagle, bald (_Haliaetus leucocephalus_); nest of.

Esopus Creek.

Eyes, of man; of birds.

Farmer, an observing.

Farmers, their dependence on the weather; weather-wisdom of.

Fieldfare; notes of.

Finch, purple (_Carpodacus purpureus_), the alter ego of the pine grosbeak; song of.

Fishing. _See_ Trout-fishing.

Flicker. _See_ High-hole.

Flies, black.

Flycatcher, great crested (_Myiarchus crinitus_); nest of.

Forest, a spruce; a burnt.

Fox, red, bark of.

French Canadians.

Ghost story, a.

Girl's voice, a.

Goethe, on the weather.

Goldenrod.

Goldfinch, American (_Astragalinus tristis_), a shrike in a flock of.

Goose, wild _or_ Canada (_Branta canadensis_), notes of.

Grande Brulure, La.

Greenfinch.

Grosbeak, blue (_Guiraca caerulea_), its resemblance to the indigo-bird; song of; nest of.

Grosbeak, pine (_Pinicola enucleator leucura_); appearance and habits of; song of.

Grouse, ruffed. _See_ Partridge.

Grouse, spruce _or_ Canada (_Canachites canadensis canace_).

Guide, a Canadian.

Hawk, worried by the kingbird. _See_ Hen-hawk.

Hawk, chicken, a provident.

Hawk, fish, _or_ American osprey (_Pandion haliaetus carolinensis_).

Hen-hawk, a love passage; in cubating habits.

Hepatica.

Highfall Brook.

High-hole, _or_ golden-shafted woodpecker, _or_ flicker (_Colaptes auratus luteus_), a household of; a tame young one; nest of.

Honey, as an article of food; with the ancients and in mythology; of various countries.

Honey-bee, gathering honey and pollen; wax-making; life of the drone; life of the queen; democratic government; description of queen and drone; swarming; wildness of; favorite hives; mortality of; acuteness of sight.

Honey-locust.

Horse-fly.

Hummingbird, ruby-throated (_Trochilus colubris_), strange death of a; nest of.

Hyla, Pickering's, in the woods.

Indigo-bird, or indigo bunting (_Cyanospiza cyanea_), a petit duplicate of the blue grosbeak; song of; nest of.

Jackdaw, nest of.

Jacques Cartier River, trouting on.

Jay, blue (_Cyanocitta cristata_); worrying a screech owl.

Jay, Canada (_Perisoreus canadensis_).

Jay, European, notes of.

Junco, slate-colored. _See_ Snowbird.

Kingbird (_Tyrannus tyrannus_), worrying hawks.

Kingfisher, belted (_Ceryle alcyon_); notes of; nest of.

Kinglet (_Regulus sp._).

La Chance.

Lake, nature as seen from a; life in and about a.

Lake Jacques Cartier, Great; an excursion to.

Lake Jacques Cartier, Little; trout-fishing in.

Lake Memphremagog.

Lake St. John.

Lark. _See_ Skylark.

Lark, shore _or_ horned (_Otocoris alpestris_).

Ledges, the fascination of.

Lily, spotted.

Linden. _See_ Basswood.

Locusts, as an article of food.

Longspur, Lapland (_Calcarius lapponicus_).

Loon (_Gavia imber_); laughter of.

Maiden, a backwoods.

Maple, red.

Maple, sugar.

Marigold, marsh.

Marmot. _See_ Woodchuck.

Meadowlark (_Sturnella magna_).

Metapedia River.

Midges.

Mockingbird (_Mimus polyglottos_); song of.

Montmorenci, Falls of.

Moose.

Morancy River.

Mountains, poetry of.

Mouse, common house.

Neversink River, trouting on; trouting on the East Branch of.

New Brunswick, journey through; streams of.

Nightingale, notes of.

Observation, powers and habits of.

Oriole, Baltimore (_Icterus galbula_), nest of.

Osprey, American. _See_ Hawk, fish.

Ouzel, ring.

Oven-bird (_Seiurus aurocapillus_).

Owl, screech (_Megascops asio_), worried by other birds; in captivity; wail of.

Panther, American, cry of.

Partridge, _or_ ruffed grouse (_Bonasa umbellus_).

Peakamoose.

Pewee, wood (_Contopus virens_), notes of.

Phoebe-bird (_Sayornis phoebe_); nest of.

Pigeon, passenger (_Ectopistes migratorius_); nests of.

Pipit, American, _or_ titlark (_Anthus pensilvanicus_).

Porcupine, Canada, adventure with a; description of; his armor of quills; at Balsam Lake.

Porpoise, white.

Quebec.

Raccoon, or coon, voice of; den of.

Rain, waves and pulsations of; history of; relaxing effect of; necessary to the mind; after drought; importance to man of an abundance; curious things reported to have fallen in; the formation of; storms; effect of electricity on; in winter and spring; signs of; in camp. _See_ Thunder-storms and Weather.

Raspberry, red.

Rat.

Rat, wood.

Redpoll (_Acanthis linaria_).

Redstart, European, nest of.

Redwing.

Restigouche River.

Riviere du Loup.

Robin, American (_Merula migratoria_); notes of.

Robin redbreast, song of.

Rondout Creek; camping and trouting on.

Rose.

Rye.

Saguenay River, scenery of.

St. Alphonse.

St. Lawrence; down the.

Salmon.

Sapsucker, yellow-bellied. _See_ Woodpecker, yellow-bellied.

Scenery-hunting.

Schoolhouse, a country.

Shakespeare, quotations from; power and beauty in his poetry.

Shanly, C. D., his poem, _The Walker of the Snow._

Shrike (_Lanius_ sp.).

Shrike, northern. _See_ Butcherbird.

Silkweed.

Skunk, den of.

Skylark, song of.

Snake, and catfish.

Snapdragon.

Snow, a sign of.

Snowbird, _or_ slate-colored junco (_Junco hyemalis_).

Snowflake. _See_ Bunting, snow.

Sparrow, English (_Passer domesticus_), a comedy; notes of.

Sparrow, reed, song of.

Sparrow, song (_Melospiza einerea melodia_), song of.

Sparrow, white-throated (_Zonotrichia albicollis_), song of.

Sparrows, songs of.

Spring-beauty.

Spruce, a Canadian forest of.

Squirrel, gray.

Squirrel, red; playing tag.

Starling, European, notes of; nest of.

Starling, red-shouldered, _or_ red-winged blackbird (_Agelaius phoeniceus_).

Strawberries, Dr. Parr and Dr. Boteler on; praise of; odor of; Downer; Wilson; wild; alpine; cultivation of.

Sumach.

Swallow, an albino.

Swallows, on damp days.

Swift, European, notes of.

Tadousac.

Tanager, scarlet (_Piranga erythromelas_), song of.

Thoreau, Henry D.; quotation from.

Throstle.

Thrush, hermit (_Hylocichla guttata pallasii_); song of.

Thrush, missel; pugnaciousness of; notes of.

Thrush, White's.

Thrush, wood (_Hylocichla mustelina_), song of.

Thunder-storms; in the woods.

Titlark. _See_ Pipit, American.

Tree-toads, young.

Trout, brook, markings of; of the Neversink; cannibals; of the Beaverkill; jumping; of Balsam Lake; spawning of; of the Catskill waters; an unsuccessful fight with a; a six-pound; two varieties in Jacques Cartier River.

Trout-fishing, as an introduction to nature; the heart the proper bait in; on the Neversink; on the Beaverkill; in Balsam Lake; pleasures and discomforts of an excursion; on the Rondout; on the East Branch of the Neversink; in Canada; catching a six-pounder.

Trout streams, beauties of; the ideal; at the headwaters of the Delaware; clearness of; thriving only in the woods.

Violets.

Vireo, song of.

Vireo, red-eyed (_Vireo olivaceus_), song of.

_Walker of the Snow, The_, by C. D. Shanly.

Walking, benefits of.

Wallkill River.

Warbler, Blackburnian (Dendroica blackburniae).

Warbler, black-throated blue (_Dendroica caerulescens_); finding the nest and young of; notes of; nest of.

Warbler, Canada (_Wilsonia canadensis_).

Warbler, chestnut-sided (_Dendroica pensylvanica_).

Warbler, mourning (_Geothlypis philadelphia_).

Warbler, yellow-rumped or myrtle (_Dendroica coronata_), rescue of a.

Water, its importance in nature and in the life of man.

Water-wagtail, small, _or_ water-thrush (_Seiurus noveboracensis_).

Waxwing, Bohemian (_Ampelis garrulus_).

Waxwing, cedar. _See_ Cedar-bird.

Weather, the, the farmer's dependence on; human changeableness of; getting into a rut; in literature; the law of alternation in; dry; laws of. _See_ Rain and Thunder-storms.

Weather-breeders.

Weather-wisdom.

Wheat.

Whip-poor-will (_Antrostomus vociferus_), mother, eggs, and young; an awkward walker; nest of.

White, Gilbert.

Whitethroat; notes of.

Whitman, Walt, quotation from.

Wilson, Alexander, quotation from.

Woodchuck, or marmot; hole of.

Wood-grouse.

Woodpecker, downy (_Dryobates pubescens medianus_).

Woodpecker, golden-shafted. _See_ High-hole.

Woodpecker, yellow-bellied, _or_ yellow-bellied sapsucker (_Sphyrapicus varius_).

Wordsworth, William, quotations from; the poet of the mountains.

Wren, European, song of.

Wren, winter (_Olbiorchilus hiemalis_).

Wrens, songs of.

End of Project Gutenberg's Locusts and Wild Honey, by John Burroughs