178 ARRIVAL AT BYTOWN. on bear-skins, we drove for twelve miles over one of the roughest roads in the universe, (by the side of the canal not yet completed, and into which vehicles have sometimes slipped,) and again embarking on the Ottawa, we sailed between dark woods on low lying and fertile banks, and arrived at Bytown. - CHAPTER VIII. - Colonel By, R. E. His Cottage Orneé. - The delightful prospect from it. The Union Bridge. - Fall of the Chaudière, and Rideau. - Bytown, and its Environs. The Rideau Canal.-Voyageurs.-The bursting of the Hog's-back Dam. -The Wilderness of Rideau.-Indian Wigwam.-Halloween. -Rapids. Merrick's Mills. Service on the Rideau. — A Warm Friend. Jones's Falls. The Cranberry Marsh. Fevers. - Brewer's Mills. Settlers on the Rideau. Wild Irishmen. Benefits of the Canal to Emigrants.-Threats.— Forest Wanderings. Sail down the Ottawa. - The Rapids of St. Anne.-Story of a Cable.-Lachine. -- Island of Montreal.-Habitans. The City of Montreal. The Streets.Canadian Hotel.-The Public Buildings.-Isle of St. Helen's. -Ride into the Country, and Evening Party. - Loss of Cap`tain Ross, R.N.—The question of Boundaries. The Northwestern Frontier. A settlement on the Columbia. — Turning the Tables.-Communicative Fur-traders.-An expedition proposed.-Embark again.-How to get a Berth.-The Banks of the St. Lawrence. Seigniories. Arrive at Quebec. Cape Diamond. - Magnificent View.Mountains of Labrador. The Citadel. The Obelisk. Lord Aylmer. Place d'Armes.-Wolfe's Statue. The Golden Dog.-Public Buildings.-Lauzon.-Falls of Montmorenci.-Indian Lorette.-Charleburgh.-The Plains of Abraham. - Opening of the Parliament of Lower Canada. chief's Speech. The - The Governor-in COLONEL JOHN BY, Royal Engineers, commanding at the Rideau Canal, gave me a most hospitable reception at his handsome cottage ornée, 180 COLONEL BY'S RESIDENCE. near the town named after him. Colonel By's residence (tastefully ornamented with rustic verandahs and trellis-work) is seated on a high bank of the Ottawa, at the entrance valley of the Rideau Canal, where eight locks of the most perfect masonry commence the great national work entrusted to an officer of singular activity of mind and body, and who for years has sacrificed his comfort and risked his health in the service of his country. Looking across the entrance valley, a lofty promontory is seen, on which are quarters for the officers of Royal Engineers, and barracks for the sappers and miners employed at the Rideau. A fort will naturally be constructed on this height, which, with the twenty-two block-houses at intervals along the course of the canal to Kingston, will serve to protect it from foreign foes. Looking up the Ottawa, was seen the Fall of the Chaudière, thundering over a limestone steep, one hundred feet high, and sending up a cloud of spray from the boiling cauldrons below. Rocky islets then divide the channel of the river, between which a series of arches have been thrown of stone and wood-work, connecting Upper and Lower Canada. The principal arch is a truss of two hundred and twelve feet span, designed and executed under the direction of Colonel By. This beautiful piece of workmanship rests on two natural piers of limestone, high above the Big Ket |