American history claims for the Roman Catholic church of this settlement an age second only to that of the old Spanish cathedral at St. Augustine, Florida. For three hundred years the storms of winter have beaten upon its walls, but it stands a silent yet eloquent monument of the pious zeal of the ancient Fathers, who came to conquer Satan in the wilderness of a new world. The Saguenay has become the "Mecca" of northern tourists, ever attracting them with its wild and fascinating scenery. Capes Eternity and Trinity guard the entrance to Eternity Bay. The first towers sublimely to a height of eighteen hundred feet, the other is only a little lower. A visit to this mysterious river, with its deep, dark waters and picturesque views, will repay the traveller for the discomforts of a long and expensive journey. Where the turbulent current of the Saguenay mingles angrily with that of the St. Lawrence, there may be seen disporting in the waves the white whale of aquariums, which is not a whale at all, but a true porpoise (_Delphinopterus catodon_, as he is now called by naturalists), having teeth in the jaws, and being destitute of the fringed bone of the whalebone whales. This interesting creature is very abundant in the Arctic Ocean on both the Atlantic and Pacific sides, and has its southern limits in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, although one is occasionally seen in the Bay of Fundy, and it is reported to have been observed about Cape Cod, on the Massachusetts coast. As the ship nears the first great port of the St. Lawrence River, the large and well cultivated island of Orleans is passed, and the bold fortifications of Quebec, high up on the face of Point Diamond, and flanked by the houses of the French city, break upon the vision of the mariner. To the right, and below the city, which Champlain founded, and in which his unknown ashes repose, are the beautiful Falls of Montmorency, gleaming in all the whiteness of their falling waters and mists, like the bridal veil of a giantess. The vessel has safely made her passage, and now comes to anchor in the Basin of Quebec. The sails are furled, and the heart of the sailor is merry, for the many dangers which beset the ship while approaching and entering the great water-way of the continent are now over. [Illustration: GREAT AUK.] CHAPTER II. FROM QUEBEC TO SOREL. THE WATER-WAY INTO THE CONTINENT.--THE WESTERN AND THE SOUTHERN ROUTE TO THE GULF OF MEXICO.--THE MAYETA.--COMMENCEMENT OF THE VOYAGE.--ASCENT OF THE RIVER ST. LAWRENCE.--LAKE OF ST. PETER.--ACADIAN TOWN OF SOREL. [Illustration: From Quebec, Canada, to Plattsburgh, New York State. Route of CANOE MAYETA From Quebec Canada to Plattsburgh N.Y. via St. Lawrence and Richelieu Rivers Followed by N. H. Bishop in 1874 _Copyright, 1878 by Lee & Shepard_]