Across the Ottawa River from the CPR line Runs Hwy 533 . The history of this road has a significant bearing on this part of my True Tales .
Julian Ralph gives an accurate account of what the road was like in 1889 in his Harper's article ' Antoine's Moose-yard' . The initial part of the road he describes was in good form because it was continually used by horse drawn wagons and sleds between Mattawa and the portage at LaCave .
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The Steam boats only operated part of the year . Winter ( determined by snow and ice , not the calendar ) and high Spring melt waters prevented forwarding on the River so a regular well maintained road existed . Horse-drawn sleds regularly hauled small logs for local use - firewood and building projects . Larger logs stacked along the banks of the River during winter by lumbermen
