The passage of these rapids is so very tedious, that we here quitted the bateaux, took our guns in hand, and proceeded on foot to “Le Coteau des Cedres,” the Hill of Cedars, about nine miles higher up the river. In going thither you soon lose sight of the few straggling houses at the cascades, and enter the recesses of a remarkably thick wood, whose solemn gloom, together with the loud roaring of the waters at a distance, and the wild appearance of every object around you, inspire the mind with a sort of pleasing horror. As you approach “Le Coteau des Cedres,” the country assumes a softer aspect; cultivated fields and neat cottages once more appear in view, and the river, instead of being agitated by tremendous rapids, is here seen gliding on with an even current between its lofty banks. The village of the Hill of Cedars contains about thirty houses, amongst which we were agreeably surprised to find a remarkably neat and excellent tavern, kept by an English woman. We remained here until three in the afternoon, when we again set off on foot, partly for the pleasure of beholding, from the top of the steep banks, the many noble and beautiful prospects laid open before us, and partly for the pleasure of stopping occasionally to chat with the lively French girls, that, during this delicious season of the year, sat spinning in groups at the doors of the cottages. About five o’clock the bateaux overtook us; but after proceeding in them for about two miles, we again landed to escape the tedious process of ascending fresh rapids. These are called the rapids “du Coteau du Lac St. François;” they are several miles in length, and though not the most dangerous, are yet the most tremendous to appearance of any in the whole river, the white breakers being distinctly visible at the distance of four miles; some travellers have gone so far as to represent them as even more terrible to the beholder than the falls of Niagara, but this is a very exaggerated account. Boats are here carried down with the stream at the rate of fourteen or fifteen miles an hour, according to the best information I could procure on the subject, though the Canadian boatmen and others declare that they are carried down at the rate of twenty miles in the hour. At some of the rapids, higher up the river, the current is considerably swifter than at this place. [Sidenote: THE RAPIDS.]