The picturesque StLawrence . erminal on the south shore of the river,and such a blockade is so serious a matter thatevery effort is made to keep the ice portion of the river that flows north ofthe Isle of Orleans, however, is frozen over andpeople drive back and forth between the main-land and the island at various places for months. The aspect of Quebec was satisfactorilywintry, but I wanted also to see the outlyingcountry, so I journeyed down the river to one ofthe rural villages, and trudged for many milesalong the drifted roadways. It was stormingand the wind drove the prickling
The picturesque StLawrence . erminal on the south shore of the river,and such a blockade is so serious a matter thatevery effort is made to keep the ice portion of the river that flows north ofthe Isle of Orleans, however, is frozen over andpeople drive back and forth between the main-land and the island at various places for months. The aspect of Quebec was satisfactorilywintry, but I wanted also to see the outlyingcountry, so I journeyed down the river to one ofthe rural villages, and trudged for many milesalong the drifted roadways. It was stormingand the wind drove the prickling sleet againstmy face, and whirled it over the fields to pile it upin the lee of the hills or other snow lay even with the tops of the before had I seen a region so buried; andyet I was told there was not half as much snowthis winter as usual, and that the recent thawhad settled it about three feet. After each storm it is customary to go over theroad with a scraper that smooths the snow off, and. The St. Lawrence in Winter 251 then with a roller that packs it down hard. Thehardened trail is wide enough to allow teams topass each other, but woe betide the driver whogets off the rolled space. To prevent such stray-ing the more doubtful portions of the road aremarked with spruce saplings thrust in at inter-vals along the hardened portion. It seemed as if the snow would linger till mid-summer, but the spring rains and warm windsthat sweep through the valley carry it off likemagic. As soon as it softens travel is practicallyimpossible, for the horses at every footstep sinkdown almost out of sight. Most people theneither wait for a freeze, or, if the season is toofar advanced to expect such hardening, the menget out with shovels and open a rough waythrough the worst places. The storm I encountered did not appear to de-ter the people from going about their were sawing wood in their dooryards,piling sleds with pulpwood by the roadside, anddriving
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Keywords: ., bookauthorjohnsonc, bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookyear1910
