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Un des symboles suivants apparaTtra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbols — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbols V signifie "FIN". ire Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre film6s A des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour 6tre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd A partir de Tangle supArieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. ty errata Bd to int ne pelure, ipon d 1 2 3 32X t 2 3 4 5 6 5 ■■ f 1 ■ ■ ■ LETTERS FROM NOVA SCOTIA; t O.Ml'KISIN'C. SKETCHES OF A YOUNG COUNTRY BY CAPTAIN W. MOUKSOM, .')2d light IVFAXTBV. LONDON: HENRY COLBURN AND RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BCRLINGTON STREET. 1830. i.cvdon: I'JUNTKU JJV SAMUEL BENTl.EV. Ooisei Strpfit, Fleet SirFPt. P R K F A C E. A LATF, military historian has rcniarkccK tliat some apology may be deemed necessary from the soldier who so far outsteps his limits as to enter the fields of literature. Tliat no ds such apology can justly be called for as regar the following unpretending " Letters," the Au- tiior is fully aware. — He feels, indeed, that rather should we deplore the paucity of narra- tive and of personal observation upon the Colo- nial or Foreign possessions of Great Britain, which must be admitted to prevail, when we take into consideration the cultivated talent that has (more especially during the course of latter years) been introduced into the Army, and the opportunities that professional leisure affords for compiling the result of re- flections which may suggest themselves upon such subjects. IV PREFACE. While cnfTa«Tccl in various tours, undertaken merely for the purpose of gaining some mili- tary information relating to the Province in which he was stationed, the Author was fre- (juently struck with the wide difference he found existing between reality, and his own })revious ideas respecting the country. With the view therefore of adding, however hum- bly, to the general stock of information, the followuig sketches have been com})iled from personal notes, antl are offered to public no- tice ; in the hope that, although individual facts may be adduced at variance with some of the opinions therein advanced, the general sid)jccts will be found correct, — and with the prayer, that those feelings of national parent- age, and of national union, that are cherished towards Great Britain amid the wild woods of a young country, may be reci})rocated in the increasing regard and encouragement of the Parent by whom that scion has been planted and fostered. ll;ilif;i\, Novn Scotia, August, 18'20. 1 C O N T E N T S. LETTER I. Introdtiction to tlie Family CiiTlu.— Ideas previously to eiii- harkatiou tor America. — Lauding at Halifax — " Hotel." — British Packet.— Fooling towards Great IJritaiu.— C'y?/;)f/'reJ/ of Halifax I'ago 1— 14 LETTER n. Topograi>hical remarks.— Atlantic C(xast of Nova Scotia. --Rocking-stoues. — Limited view taken l»y visitors of Nova Scotia.— Scenery of Halifax Harbour.— Peninsula of Halifax. —Geological peculiarities.— First settlement of the English. —Garrison of Halifax.— Employment of the troops.— Allr)w- ance and abuse of spirituous Liijuors — Genera : :\ annperance. 15—41 LETTER in. General progress of the Colony.— Commerce :— Exports : Fisheries; Timber-trade; Gypsum-trade; Grindstones; Coal- trade ; Internal traffic— Imports : British manufactures ; Tea ; West India products ; American flour.— Shipping : American Men-of-war ; Dock-yard of Halifax ; Squadron.— Manufactures :— Mines ; Operative labour — Popula- VI CONTF-NTS. no.v ; — Imniif^ration ; Iiu'reaso of Population,— .(iovKnx- MF.VT ; — Lit'ut.-(»ovi'rnor ; ('ouiu'il ; House of AssfiuMy. — TaxaTIo.v :— (^uit routs. — Crunrxcv : — Subdivision ol ( olouiai (ict\t'i'mm'nts. ..... 42— O't LETTKR IV. iSociETY : — Auuisenients ; Sluigliiup parties. — Indians : — Habits; cbaracteristics ; huntint>- tlif 3Iooie ; dant^t't of \nAnif l<»st in the woods ; Boars FnEKD Niuiuor.s : — Con- ditioii; No^^i-o clorf^yman. — Ki)i;cation .\ni) Hei.it.ion : — Esialdishod Churfh ; rnivoisitv of Windsor; IMissionarios ; riuircii of Scotland ; I'ictou Academy; Protestant Dissenters, Roman Catholics. — Oeneiiai. ."^yste.^i oi' runi.ic Kdc- CATiox — Churacter of the Peasantry: Cottage scenes. U4— 147 LETTER V. Meteoholoov. — Changes of temperature. — ''The Bar- I»er." — Thermometric intensity. — Atmosidierie phentmiena. — Seasons. — Spring. — " Nova Scotia niglitingale." — vSummer. — Autumn. — Indian Summer. — Winter. — Snow Storms. — Agricultuue. — Cape Breton. — Extent of Nova Scotia Pro])er Mode of first settling. — Log-hut. — First crop. — Rent. — Ungrauted land. — Three Agricultural Divi- sions. — Sketch of First, or Eastern ; Second, or Southern; Third, or North-western. — Lanij. — Upland. — Intervale.— Saltmarsh. — Dyked marsh. — Aboiteaux. — Tillage. — Crops. — ^Manures. — Rotationsi. — Average Produce. — Remarks on Nova-Scotian Wheat. — Live Stock. — Horses. — Cattle. — Sheep. — ■ Swine. — Dairies. — Farming. — Fences. — Seed-time «iid Harvest.— Wages of Labour.— Markets,— Horticulture. 148-211 CONTENTS. vn LETTER VI. Swnery ol \\'iii(lsor, — Anloi>t' Hills. — Ray of Fiindy. — •* Thf IJore." — Tttuii ol' M'imlsur. — llortoii ."Minuitaiiis. — Want ot" .MiU'htoiies and Finjfi'r-|M)sts. — Vale of Annapolis*. — Bridgelowii. — Cascade of Nii-iau. — Annapolis. — FuoviS- ciAL Militia. — Constitntion. — Discipline. — Ext'rtist'.— -In- spei'tin^' Eit'ld-otficfrs ."Matcrifl. — Ki-niiirks on Militia sys- tem. — .Military Schools of Unitetl Stales. — Morale of Mi- litia. — Ko.vDs. — IJ^id^rt's. — .Mode <»f trasoUinjf. — Country Inns Hints to English travt'UtTS. . . 212 — "ioC LETTER VH. Uiisin of Annapolis. — Iron Works at IVFonse River. — Digby. — Clar»!. — French Acadians. — Vannouth. — Tnsket. — .MapU- Sugar. — Harrington.— '' Brown Sugar Inns.".— Barrens. — Fires in the Woods. — Shelhnrne. — Entliusiasm of American Loyalists. — Wild Fruits. — Gcnenil Remarks. 2.jI — 282 LETTER VIIL Bad roads. — Mosquitoes. — Pleasures of fishing. — Native horses. — Road-making. — Liverpool Traffic l)y barter.— Canoe navigation — Bridge.— Only toll-gate in Nova Scotia. — Saw-mills. — Town of Liverpool — Petite Riviere. — Lehave River — Ferries — Lunenbnrg — 3Iilitia anecdotes Harbour of Lunenburg. — Town. — Inhabitants. — 3Iahone Bay. Chester — St. 3Iargaret's Bay.— Route through the ^Vood^i. 283—312 Vlll COtiTMNTS. li:tti:u ix. (Jolonial politics. — Nt-wspaiK-rs — UorxE fhom Wjno- soii. — Nt'\vj)ort.— Vah' nf Kt'iuycook. — Doufflas. — Rawdoii. -•-Kt'ini)t. — I'ictiu'C of a " Man nl" Kent." — Slmlifiiacadit'. — Truro. — (Jay's Ki'er. — Souiac. — MiiMiiKxltdmit.-ShulH'nH- radic canal. — Primitive viila^T. — NoiiTinniN Road. — Ons- low. — Londonderry. — f'olK'tiuid nioiin tains. — I'arrsitorongh. — Kiver IMiilip. — Slioals of tnmt. — Anilierst. — Bay Verte Canal, —(iulf-shore— Wallace. — Route fhom Tnvno to Pic- TOii.— Scenery of IMount Tom. — West River of Pictou.— Merijfomishe. — Old Hi(,'hlander. — Dorchester. — Tracadie. — belles Acadiennes. — '•'• Chemin du Hoi." — Gut of Canso. — Manchester. — Picture of Eastern inns. — " New Cuts." — In- genious mode of foraging. — St. Clary's River. — Sherhrooke. —Scotch settlers East Kiver of IMctou. — Mineral produce. —Albion Mines.— Pictou Uarhour. — Town and Inhahitants. — Oeaeral view of the Eastern Section. — Conclusion. 313— 3oA ILLUSTRATIONS. Map of Nova Scotia To face tiie Title Province ilouse, Holies Street, Halifax 11 Cape Bloinidon, or I31ovv-me-down, and the Basin of Mines, from the Ilorton Mountains 221 Lochabev Lake, County Sydney, Nova Scotia .... 339 « f Canso— :uts."— In. Slierlirottke. nil j)roduce. ulialMtants. >n. 313— 3oi) • ^age 'itle . . 11 I of • . 221 . . 339 1 r %S -^. i 1 f f'/ to.' tti'/r ^>y i>^' / A T 1^\A .Y W' ./ ( i>.y: f/' t,.V ±i;_ (jy_ ^ <'-r "*•» V i i ■«: j^ ^ ^ V ~ . (-• - ^ ^ ■; V. ^ c » * > t s ^ ■ .- ^ J < ( t (I I ! LETTERS I'llOM NOVA SCOTIA. • i LETTER I. Introduction to the Family Circle. — Ideas previous to em- barkation for America — Lauding at Halifax. — " Hotel." — British Packet Feeling towards Great Britain. — Coup tVosH of Halifax. TO MRS. Halifax, Xova Scotia. Methinks I have now before me the eager, half-doub- irjg glance, fixing itself on this en- velope, as, on first entering the breakfast par- lour, you scan over tlie letters, carefully ar- ranged in their wonted order by the hand of Mr. Smith, the comptroller of the lower household. Methinks I half hear your " A tetter from W already I'"* — while the Com- fi \('i MC m ? i 2 INTRODUCTION TO niodorc lowers the upraised half of the " Times," or, it may be, checks the commence- ment of his tirade against the last Amend- ment of the Corn Bill, and forf^ets alike his politics and his indignation in his partiality. The Colonel, fresh from his iNIorning's Constitu- tionnel, peeps over your shoulder to certify the fact ; and the old gentleman, quietly folding up his quarto communication from the Horticul- tural Society, even halts while in middle course to tlie satisfactory conclusion, that his next year''s peaches must certainly average at least two pounds in weight, — and insists that the contents of the first epistle shall be considered public property. Yes then, here I am already, not only landed, but comfortably ensconced in my hollow cube of ten feet, entitled, by vulgar misnomer, barrack- rooni, with all my worldly property, as the Irish express it, " convanient,""' and about to devote my first from the " other world'" to you. How well do I remember all the feelings that fluttered around me, when, two months ago, I found myself destined to sojourn in America ! lalf of the c commcnce- last Amend- jets alike his is partiality. S's Constitu- r to certify ietly folding ho Hordcul- iddle course at his next age at least its that the ■ considered >nly landed, How cube of ?r, barrack- rty, as the i about to world" to elings that iths ago, I America .' THE FAMILY CIRCLE. O Sundry prints of wild and black-looking buf- faloes, and of serpents rivalling that which stopped the progress of Regulus ; little wood- cuts of savages armed with tomahawks, and more especially one that used to strike my in- fant fancy, representing a creature scarce hu- man, covered with furs, and wielding a ponder- ous axe, with the superscription "A New Eng- lander ;*" — all these, followed by more boyish re- cords of the terrific exploits of Paul Jones and Commodore Rodgers, assailed me like a cloud of tirailleurs ; while the scientific tomes of Hum- boldt, the numerous memoirs recording the won- ders of the regions around Niagara, and other later works, instead of dissipating the illusion, appeared but as more solid columns moving on- ward to the attack, and already penetrating that indefensible point, which the national prejudices and the natural indifference of an Englishman to any local or minute geographi- cal knowledge, save that which more imme- diately affects his home, had combined to leave exposed in my mental position. How well, too, do I remember the grief ex- pressed, both in countenance and speech, hy our B 2 f ' ' I s \ 4 IDEAS PREVIOUS TO EMBARKATION. old servant, W , to whom I paid a flying visit on my way to join the packet ! How did lie deprecate the profession that imposed the necessity of my being sent " among those sa- vages, and to such a deadly climate!" It chanced that in my farther progress I met a na- tive of Nova Scotia recently arrived from that country. Must I confess my weakness ? I re- connoitred him cautiously from head to foot, astonished, it may be, to perceive in the out- ward man no great difference from the gene- rality of my countrymen, and equally pleased when, having ventured upon closer communion, I found him a pleasant companion. My passage across the Atlantic I need hardly mention, as I saw no mermen or sea-serpents ; nor indeed could that be reasonably expected, — our course, when approaching these regions of wonder, being considerably to the northward of that held by the American " Liners,^' by whom 1 believe such monsters are more ge- nerally described. The dense sea-fog, which, six days out of seven, rolls heavily along the coast of this con- tinent, from Newfoundland to Boston, preventr fi 1 ATION. id a fljirifr How did nposed the 5 those sa- nate !" It [ met a na- l from that less ? I re- id to foot, 1 the out- the gene- lly pleased •mm union, 'ed hardly -serpents ; expected, regions of lorthward ners," by more ge- s out of this con- preventr LANDING AT HALIFAX. 5 ed my catcliing more than a partial glimpse of land, before we found ourselves safely moored in tiie harbour of Halifax, and transferred from the narrow precincts of a packet-cabin, to all the comparative luxuries of a horizontal mahogany and stationary four-post, afforded at " the Hotel," (par excellence,) kept by my friend Millar, of departed memory, — the " Long's'' of this metropolis of Nova Scotia. Here, how- ever, no ready waiter starts to the door at first glimpse of an arrival, letting fall, in his offici- ous civility, the ever-attendant napkin ; no summons peals along the stair for Cybele, the goddess of turrets, to guide your weary limbs to an aerial paradise. Mine host himself, coat- less, and, to judge from the pertinacity Avith which his beaver maintains its station, of the Friendly persuasion, demands if you have come by the packet, along with sundry other interro- gatories as to ' news,' and * business-doing ;' and then, perchance, invites you to that in which he has himself indulged — a seat. Let me not, however, detract from mine host ; free and easy as he is, highly are his good offices valued by the whole fraternity of embryo naval heroes 1 1 6 IIRITISIJ PACKET. I ■> n ■I,! who frequent the shore : — in this respect, indeed, he stands tlie formidable rival of his well-known brotlier of the cloth at Portsmouth ; and ill would it become me to say more, than that all this strikes an Knglislunan, on first landing, witli marvellous ideas of American independ- ence. The arrival of the English packet is always a little event in Halifax. The moment that the signal is made for a packet in the Offing, half the town is on the alert ; speculations and ru- mours fly about in all directions ; half a dozen members of the cabinet are in idea displaced, or reinstalled in office, with an ease and rapidity even outstripping that we have seen acted upon within the last hundred years; and im- portant bills affiecting the Colonies — the Civil List, for example, — are made to fly through the three estates, ere Joseph Hume himself could possibly ascend tliree steps towards the summit of his column of farthings. The intimate con- nexion with the Mother Country, maintained by ties of consanguinity among the native resi- dents, and still more among those who are stationed here pro tempore, like myself, and m ■*:< 4i ^3 lil! i ( f ' '1 iMU risii I'ACKiir. •ft, indeed, vell-known and ill an that all t landing, independ- is always it that the ffing, half IS and ru- f a dozen placed, or ' rapidity Jen acted and im- the Civil 'ougii the elf could B summit late con- lirtained tive resi- who are elf, and the inip«)rtance attaching to the ollicial line of conniuinication, alike combine to render the vessel, and all on board, objects of interest, and to make her commander a personage of great demand, during the few !)ours she re- mains in port I have been frecjuently amused at tlie interest which aj)pears to pervade all classes on the arrival of any personage, to wliom, whether from office or other causes, any notoriety attaches. "I'm told, Mr. , a member of the British Parliament, has arrived by this packet — have you seen him ?"" is the first ([uestion upon reticontre. And a mere every-day stranger finds himself recognised, as he saunters along the street, by that sort of free-masonry which prevails perhaps ecpially in some of our more isolated provincial towns at home. To ladies, all this curiosity attaches with two-fold zest ; and many a rude gust, many a lowering sky is braved, many a mama's sage counsel to wait till to-morrow overruled, in the anxiety expressed to " see an English beauty." 1 confess I like all this, for I believe its ori- gin to be good, and its effects innocent. I was little aware of the feeling with which every '{ > 1 ' u I! m 8 FEELING TOWARDS GREAT BRITAIN. thingBritish appears to be regarded in this eoun- try : nor is this confined to the upper chisses of the metropolis alone ; it pervades all ranks, and I have found it as strong and as deep and as warm in the midst of the wild forests, as it is within the hospitable doors of the more wealthy, where it seeks and finds its return in the grate- ful regards of those whose temporary sojourn renders them more immediately the objects of its daily exercise. I love to stroll around the neighbourho(Kl wherever I am qi'.irttred, — to enter the dwell- ings of those who form the mass of the people ; to converse with them upon all their little daily concerns, and draw them out upon their petty topics of importance. How delighted was I, in my early rambles here, to find them all designa- ting Britain as " the o/rf Country," and although in most instances never having visited it, yet regarding it as home, and respecting those who announce themselves as pertaining to it. It is almost needless to remark, that this has driven all prospects of meeting with personifications of my " New Englander"' far into the back- ground for the present. w li TAIN. cut I' I) *IAL OF HAM FAX. 9 this coun- )er classes all ranks, deep and ts, as it is e wealthy, the grate- y sojourn objects of ibourhof duties ctical in- vision of e of the •assorted y liberal 1 service, a season )e seized tion for > appre- happen er upon we no iliiaire, nemy a g awny tter, ill woods, forth. these ford in second arc as good as can ho dcsirt'd ; the tliird arc abuiulaiit ; and, even if tlicy were not, might readily be obtained in sufliciont (juantity, through the means of some dozen gentlemen of the comn)issariat in Halifax, whose fingers would probably be as serviceably employt'd in practising the riding-whip as in guiding the pen. I must therefore leave this (juestion to be solved by your own lucubrations ; premising merely as a conjecture, tliat young John of Nova Scotia may be (to use an old saying) a " chip of the old block ;" and as the old gentle- man's ideas of economy do not permit his aji- portioning those nund)ers to the station that would admit of a part being withdrawn, pro tempore, from its duties ; so, doubtless, the young one, follov. ing old John's example, would grumble and growl amazingly were any thing in the guise of a commissary to point a finger towards his strong box ; though, it may be, the very sums drawn therefrom would return to the same abode in the shape of additional customs, arising from the increase of freight on the imports of Mr. A. the merchant, for the use of Farmer B., who sold his sheep to Quarter- c 5 t •, ■"»» 31 EMFLOYMKNT OF THE TROOPS. t P .* i i i f. : master C, receiving for them the hard dollars drawn by said Quarter-master from Commis- sary D. Individual restriction however, as to loca- lity, is never experienced : every facility is afforded to those who may wish to avail them- selves of this opportunity for visiting the United States, or the other British colonies ; and by none who contemplate the possibility of being employed in these coimtries should such opportunity be neglected. Great part of the summer may thus be pleasurably as well as profitably occupied ; and in winter, after a ge- neral blowing of fingers and noses, in conclave assembled, after the speedy dismissal of the morning-parade, you may turn to skaiting, sleighing, shooting, or racket-playing, till the Governor's soiree, a dance at Mrs. So-and-so's, or your own regimental evenings " at home," (for such we have lately seen tried with great success,) close the day. The custom of employing the troops upon public works prevails to a great extent in this garrison. I believe the injurious tendency thereof has been forcibly represented to head- ABUSE OF ARUIiNT SPIRITS. 35 dollars ;omniis- to loca- [jility is il them- ing the olonies ; jility of jld such t of the well as ter a ge- conclave 1 of the skaiting, till the and-so's, home,"" th great ps upon it in this :endency to head- quarters at home; hut it seems tiie compara- tively high rate of civil hihour is considered sufficient to justify the measure. This con- sideration, however, cannot nullify its effects, which evidently are, in a greater or less degree, to convert a battalion of soldiers into a corps of plasterers, stone-heavers, and ditchers ; to throw temptation (in the shape of additional pay received for this work) in the way of men who are wholly incapable of self-restriction, and to destroy in six months that which has been the toil, the pleasure, and the pride of a zealous adjutant, captain, and commanding- officer, for as many years. Another evil of more importance to the moral as well as the physical constitution of the soldier, exists, not in the garrison alone, but extends its baneful influence through the whole country — the abuse of ardent spirits. Here I fancy I can almost see you bristling up in generous, though (I hope) short-lived ire, at my condemnation of those all-powerful sources of comfort which, to your half- waking imagina- tion, flit around your chair, in the shape of sundry disembodied spirits, from as many flasks 36 ABUSE OP ARDENT SPIRITS. f 1 1 of pure Geneva quaffed on the stormy summits of the Pyrenees, when in 1813 you acted one at the game at hide-and seek among those passes with the conscript legions of Soult. Yet softly, my good friend ! these are but the visions of a dream : sink then again into the arms of thine enviable chair ; let thine indig- nation put on her nightcap ; and while she essays the act, let me, after confessing that on such lofty stage thou mightest well become dra>?iat\c, declare it ill befits thee or thine an- cient comrades here. It is but verbiage to assert, in extenuation, that flagrant instances of disorder are of rare occurrence. True it is, that such do not occur : the firm, although mild, discipline that happily is still maintained, notwithstanding fourteen years of inactivity, in the British army, does not permit the attainment of a state of utter demoralization. True also it is, that the una- nimity, the harmony, and good-feeling subsist- ing between the garrison and inhabitants of Halifax, may challenge comparison throughout the widely-extended dominion of Britain : but what officer is there wno has made himself mi- I 4 AHUSE OF ARDENT SPIRITS. 37 iummits ted one r those Soult. but the nto the 5 indig- lile she that on become line an- luation, of rare occur : happily our teen y, does >f utter lie una- subsist- ants of ►ughout In : but self mi- nutely acquainted with ilio daily habits of his men, — who is there of my companions, that has penetrated into the origin, tiie causes of those numerous, though petty, offences tliat daily fall under his reprehension, but has found, at least, nine out of ten arising, either directly or indi- rectly, from the same deplorable circumstance? I speak it with diffidence — not from any want of personal conviction, but of longer experience — when I ask, if we might not, on this subject, take example from a late alteration in the inte- rior economy of our naval service, to the bene- ficial results of which, practical proof has been adduced?* While I admit that the ration of liquor issued to a soldier in the field, is use- ful, and frequently even necessary, it surely cannot be maintained tliat any necessity exists for, or that any utility results from, the same, when he is performing the regular duties of a garrison, and is, moreover, in possession of ample means for procuring the indulgence. * In 1824, the regulations for victualling the Royal Navy were re-modelled ; and, among other alterations, the quantity of spirits issued was diminished by one-half, and certain allowances substituted in compensation. u I u '.I h ( . I ' 3ii EFFi:CTS OK EXAMPLE. Some will say of an old soldior, in his barrack- room, as the Great Frederick said of his young ones in the field, — ** He can ill spare it."" Granted. That (juantity which he now daily consumes, to the utter confusion of four out of his five senses, will, when his allowance is deducted, be reduced to such as this asserted necessity requires, and no more. Where the sum of two-[)ence will amply suffice to lead a man to that enviable state, which Saint Patrick of old was wont to term " merry," there is little reason to dread, that his necessi- ties, in this respect, will ever have to solicit the aid of the charitable. Look, on the other hand, at the number of raw boys we yearly receive from England, who enter the ranks of our service-companies unused to the taste of ardent spirits, and regretting the loss of their substantial beer. For the first few weeks, their ration is unheeded, — given to their comrades, or sipped with disgust; soon, the habits of all around them become the model of their own ; and, in a twelvemonth, the daily stimulus may be pronounced as necessary for the young as the old. The facility of procuring ardent spirits m ^ t m ■ .1; arrack- young ire it." V daily ur out ancc is .sserted ire the to lead Saint nerry," necessi- solicit e other yearly s of our ardent stantial ation is ' sipped around and, in lay be I as the ; spirits GKNERAL INTICMI'KRANCi:. at an oxtrenu'ly low j)ri • -. which is the imme- diate cause of so mucii ^'cncral intemperance, is not one of those occii'ions of offence which must necessarily prevail under the existing cir- cumstances of the country : it is one induced by the arginnenls of fancied political expedi- ency, acted uj)on by those entrusted with legis- lative power, and to whose consciences, as to those of beings responsible for the use or abuse of that power, I would refer its serious as well as its more profound consideration. A'iewed as regards the military, it is one tiiat gives many a pang to every reflecting mind ; it places those persons who may be vested with autliority in a painful situation, between the requirements of unbending discipline, and the yearnings of merciful consideration ; for, when we know what human nature. iij; when we see the cup of temptation raised by the hand of his rulers even to the very lips; how can ,we unrelentingly condemn the man whose untutored ignorance, whose previous habits and previous ideas have little taught him resolution to re- ject the seducing draught ? Taking a more extended view of the general effect, it is an evil 40 GENERAL INTEMPERANCE. r- f ■ I spreading far and wide, — it is an evil that checks the political as well as the moral progress of a nation, — that saps the virility, unnerves the powers, and mars and shortens the happiness of an otherwise happy people. I have frequently endeavoured to discover, why measures are not adopted which may tend to check this growing evil ; as no individual of the Legislature will attempt to deny the demo- ralizing consequences to which it gives rise. True it is, that regulations adopte>.i oy any one colony, without simultaneous agreement on the part of its neighbours, would operate only as so many channels for the introduction of crime; but the common argument, of the diminution of public revenue to be apprehended from an in- crease of duty upon entry, I look upon as nu- gatory after a certain period. It is matter of regret, that the attention of Legislature has not been directed to the encouragement and exten- sion of home-made liquors and of breweries, which ha\e been commenced by the enterpr*ise of two or three individuals. The fact is, that the personal interests of many members of the House of Assembly are opposed to the operation ^i 1 rlUV I'f ITS REMEDY. 41 M of any measures of this nature ; and it is from the gradual progress of education and better intelligence throughout the country, that we can alone look for amelioration in this re- spect. I t 42 GENERAL PROGRESS LETTER III. General progress of the Colony. — Commerce : — Exports : Fisheries ; Timber-trade ; Gypsum-trade ; Grindstones ; Coal-trade ; Internal traffic. — Imports : British Manu- factures J Tea ; West India products ; American flour. — Shipping: American Men-of-war; Dockyard of Halifax; Squadron. — Manufactures : — Mines ; Operative la- bour. — Population: — Immigration; Increase of Po- pulation. — Government : — Lieut. -Governor ; Coun- cil ; House of Assembly Taxation : — Quit rents. — Currency : — Subdivision of Colonial Governments. ^^i 'I i i il: TO COMMODORE M Halifax. The host of politico-economical queries which you, my good Cousin, term your advanc- ed corps, has debouched from the mail-bag, and has caused me, in despair of being able to with- stand whatever may be your grand army, to abandon the entrenched camp I was vainly at- tempting to prepare for your reception ; has ,J*^' OF THE COLONY. 43 li - Exports : •indstones ; sh Manu- al! flour. — ,f Halifax ; lerative la- sase of Po- or ; Coun- lit rents.— nents. Halifax. queries r advanc- -bag, and e to witli- avmy, to vainly at- ition ; has •# '■ determineM me to recall my foraging parties, and to leave you master of the field, hazarding but a skirmish here and there, wherever I ob- serve you weakest. Do not imagine that I can explore and unfold to your view the statistics of a province, with the same ease and perspicuity that you can unravel (though that be no easy task) the mysteries of your purser's store- lockers on board a man-of-war. In a young country like this, commerce is too intently oc- cupied in establishing a foundation for future structure ; trade too limited in her intercourse m d in her acquirements ; manufacture too infantine ; and agriculture too rude and too easily contented, for much general discussion to have been excited among those engaged in these various pursuits, upon their rise, their present state, and their future prospects. It is not till after capital has been accumulated, and regular proceeds therefrom, to a certain extent, insured, that general principles open to the con- sideration, and become a topic for the discus- sion of a newly formed people. It is then that a general spirit of inquiry shows itself, either in those whose comparative leisure impels them V 4i n 4 n .:Jt^' 44 GENERAL PROGRESS ' I to seek objects of intellectual employ, and whose practical habit quickly gives the bias in favour of those objects that engrossed their father's or their own early attention ; or, as society still farther advances, in those who de- vote themselves more exclusively to the supply of its literary necessities; and arrange, class, and systematize, upon data afforded by the experience of the past, and the facts of the pre- sent day. Leaving therefore, to those more competent and more deeply versed in chemical analysis, the task of extracting from Custom- house books and Excise-tables, the spirit and essence of commerce, trade, and manufactures ; I shall merely attempt to sketch the outlines I have observed, and commit to your powers of penetration the filling in of the picture. Be it premised, that my previous informa- tion and ideas upon the Port of Halifax were bounded by the marginal lines of a copper- plate, in one of the Naval Chronicles, exhibi- ting five or six sail of the line at anchor, and a hill crowned by a fort in the background, together with seven lines, entitled, " An ac- count, &c. &C."" The first emotion therefore, ! i li : OF THE COLONY. 45 oy, and the bias sed their ; or, as who de- e supply re, class, I by the ' the pre- )se more chemical Custom- pirit and actures ; utlines I owers of inform.a- ax were copper- exhibi- r, and a ground. An ac- erefore, resulting from my earlier speculations, after sauntering about the wharfs, was surprise that the trade of the place should be so great. A more extended knowledge of the country in- duces surprise that the commercial intercourse should be so limited. The central situation of this port, and its comparative facility of access ; the immense fecundity of the surrounding waters, opening a resoiu'ce for thousands of fishermen, whose cabins line the innumerable inlets all along the coast ; the supply of a rich back-country, and the absence of any near rival emporium ; all seem to mark Halifax as destined to become a thriving entrepot. Her growth however, in conmion with that of the province, has been checked till within these few years by many disadvantages, attendant alike on a colony and on a newly-settled country. The last American war gave a factitious stimulus to the port, which on its termination produced a corresponding depression. It is but within the few years subsequent to this period, that the remote springs that eventually set in motion and uphold the mercantile ma- il.' I;ii fS t li it i I I I ' ' KM' ill"'-- k ■^1 ' I ! i I ;< :!i 1* ' I t' ) 46 EXPORTS. chine, have begun to operate gradually, pro- gressively, and forcibly, and have produced the means for taking advantage of, the removal of sundry colonial restrictions, and for opening an intercourse with the Mother-Country and with foreign ports, which is now carrying the province with rapid strides on the road to pro- sperity. Halifax may be said to be the exclusive capital to all the country included between Cape Canso, Truro, Cornwallis, and Cape Sable. Beyond these limits, its supremacy is partially divided by Pictou on the Gulf-sliore, and St. John in New Brunswick ; the latter being the chief depot for the produce of the Bay of Fundy. The principal exports, speak- ing generally, are lumber,* and the produce of the fisheries, to Great Britain and the south of Europe : the same, with the addition of agri- cultural produce and provisions, to the West Indies: warehoused goods to the farther pro- vinces; and the same together with coal, gyp- * By lumber are meant all kinds of timber and wooden materials in a rough state. ■0 n i!l IMPORTS.— COASTING TRADE. 47 lly, pro- produced removal • opening ntry and f'lng the d to pro- exclusive between ind Cape )remacy is irulf-sliore, the latter Lice of the rts, speak- produce of le south of )n of agri- the West rther pro- coal, gyp- • and wooden sum, and other mineral productions, to the Ignited States. The imports are British manu- factures, wines. East and West India produce, flour, and sundries from the States, with pro- visions from the Upper Provinces. The recent enactments, both of England and of the United States, have contributed to make Halifax an entrepot for the commerce of the Union with many of the British possessions. The coasting- trade also employs a multitude of small craft, and consists chiefly in fish, and agricultural and mineral produce, in return for all descriptions of dry goods and supplies. The spring and autumn, or about May and October, are the periods at which the port shines to the greatest advantage : the wharfs are then crowded with vessels of all sizes dis- cliarging their cargoes or taking in the returns. Signals are constantly flying at the citadel for vessels coming in ; merchants are running about, in anticipation of their freights ; officers of the garrison are seen striding down with a deter- mined pace to welcome a detachment from the depot, or a pipe of Sneyd's claret for the mess ; 48 FISHERIES. 1/ : ■; i .1! I I and ladies, tripping along on the tiptoe of ex- pectation, flock into two or three soi-disant bazaars for the latest a-la-mode bonnets. The fisheries are undoubtedly the branch of industry that produces the staple exports of Nova Scotia. Viewing their importance in a purely national light, namely, as the means of affording an abundant supply of hardy seamen for the defence of the country, I cannot say that this appears to me so great as is usually imagined. I admit that they contribute in- directly to the supply, inasmuch as every ad- ditional vessel freighted by the Halifax mer- chant for a foreign port, is a proportional in- crease to the maritime strength of Britain ; but the fishermen themselves, being generally pos- sessed of small farms, will not voluntarily be in- duced to enter the sea-service; and, being more scattered along an unfrequented coast, and not under the same obligations of resorting to the great ports as those of the same calling at home, they are far less accessible to the odious powers of compulsion. Moreover, their fishing is con- ducted in boats and small vessels, which are but ill-adapted to render them efficient seamen. ^; FISHERIES. 40 toe of ex- soi-disant ts. branch of exports of tance in a 2 means of dy seamen ;annot say is usually ribute in- every ad- lifax mer- )rtional in- itain ; but erally pos- arily be in- jeing more st, and not ting to the ig at home, aus powers ling is con- which are nt seamen. The fisheries are, however, a most important source of national wealth, and are every year rising into more efficient operation. In 1743 the fisheries of the island of Cape Breton alone, then in possession of the French, produced nearly a milHon sterling. This fact is sufficient to prove what immense returns might and will be drawn from this source. Equally with the other resources of Nova Scotia, the develop- ment of these has been retarded by many ad- ventitious circumstances : those engaged in the pursuit were persons of the poorest description, who, commencing without capital, without any thing, in fact, but the power of bodily la- bour, had to procure credit in the first instance, and then fight up-hill under an accumulation of debt for their fit-out, their annual equipment, and their winter-stores, which keeps the greater part of them at this moment in arrear on the books of the merchant. Again, it must be confessed, there appears a want of energy, of spirit, and of activity, which is probably the more apparent from its con- trast exhibited in the enterprize of the Ameri- can fishermen from the New England shores. ■u I "^^ I ■ii 111 ! ' i' I 'If il if 50 FISHERIES. Before the shallops of Nova Scotia are yet afloat in their harbours, the small craft from Marble Head and Cape Cod are off the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the Great Banks, ready to take advantage of the very first moment that the ice will permit for commencing the season. Many frivolous reasons are alleged, such as the M'ant of encouragement, low price of the markets, and so forth ; but I fear the cause must rather be sought, first, in that natural indolence which induces a man to rest satisfied if he can " make out,'''' without being at the trouble of bettering his condition ; and secondly, in these people hav- ing arrived at, and remaining in, that state which, in ignorance of the great principle of the division of labour, makes a man depend partly on land, partly on water, for his sub- sistence, instead of attending wholly to the one. while his neighbour looks wholly to the other, l^his state of things however will improve with the general improvement of the country : as the means of each party become less shackled, we shall see greater liberality on the one side, and more spirited exertion on the other. Much attention has been latterly paid to the subject ^i^ 1 '# TIMBER-TRADE. 51 n are yet raft from the Gulf ks, ready Tient that le season, ch as the ? markets, ist rather nee which " make bettering 2ople hav- hat state inciple of n depend his sub- o the one, the other. )rove with intry : as shackled, one side, 3r. Much he subject by the Colonial Legislature, and a more regular system introduced : premiums have also been allotted ; but as these are in the shape of a di- rect bonus upon the (piintal, I doubt whether they will not benefit the merchant who does not want it, rather than the fisherman who does. The local advantages are all on our side, com- pared with those possessed by any other people ; and unless these advantages are rendered nu- gatory by ignorance, we shall still keep them In every foreign market. A vessel of four hundred tons has lately been sent from the port of Halifax to the South Seas ; but, although the speculation has happily every prospect of a good return, the limitation of capital at present in the province will hard- ly warrant the expectation that this example will be followed to any extent. The timber-trade furnishes employment to a numerous body, — but less so in Nova Scotia than in the neighbouring provinces; which, as far as my observation goes, the former has no cause to regret. That trade may rather be termed a necessary evil than a benefit to a young coun- try. The settler who arrives in summer from d2 1} I .-„ W 52 TIMBER-TRADE. ■': 1 1 Europe without a shilling in his pocket, finds he is too late to raise any crop, and that he can only provide for the winter by constructing his log-hut, and cutting a few staves and shingles,* which meet with an immediate sale : so far, so good: if he then devote himself steadily to agriculture, he will, in all human probability, become eventually independent ; but he is more frequently tempted by his first little gains to engage in " lumbering,^' or cutting timber. He lives a severe and laborious life in the forests; he flatters himself with the prospect of realizing a considerable sum in a very few years ; the timber-market falls in England ; he finds himself overwhelmed with debt, and has to work his way again from his first potatoe plot. I have known a lumberer who himself worked in the depth of the woods, with some men in his employ, and who cleared three thousand pounds in one year : at the expiration of twelve months he had sunk the whole sum, and was in debt besides: he managed to pay his debts, and then commenced farming. This • Small wooden boards of much the same shape, and used for the same purposes, as tiles. i t ^ L'ket, finds hat he can ucting his shingles,* so far, so teadily to robability, he is more D gains to )g timber. ife in the e prospect a very few igland ; he t, and has rst potatoe ho himself with some ared three expiration whole sum, red to pay ling. This ape, and used GYPSUM. 53 is but one of many instances that have come within my own knowledge. I know many fer- tile tracts in the province that have hitherto lain in an almost wilderness state, merely owing to the " lumbering" mania, that till lately in- fected those who settled on them. The late depression of tiie timber-market, althou/?h a severe loss to many indi^uluaIs, I /im incline-' to consider a decided gain to tlu' cor'itry. There are but few of the outw.irj and isible signs of the timber-trade at Haiifiix. One or two ships are generally binidnif; on tho slipR at Dartmouth, on the opposite side oi ifie har- bour, varying from one to four hundreri ions; but tlie timber cargoes are generally rhipped rtt the outports along the coast ; chiefly f-om the Bras d'Or lake in Cape Bretor*, or If! Have River, near Liverpool ; and most of that Uied at Halifax is brought thither by t:.ea. In several spots along tliC upper shoroi v)f the Bay of Fundy, and in the distni t of Pictou, large masses and even hills of gypsum afford an article of expor*^, ' liefly to the eastern ports of the New England States. The vessels em- ployed are schooners and shallops, and the HI ' ' W \h h l! '1 jto«*^- 54 COAL-TRADE. I) > gypsum is shipped in a raw state in small blocks from the quarries ; it is ground in the States and used as manure, and also, as is commonly said, for mixing with flour, to give it the appearance of superfine. This trade is considered to be only of secondary importance. It is in the hands of numerous small proprie- tors who are possessed of little capital, and has been liable to great fluctuation in the market. Nearly the same may be said of the trade in grindstones, the quarries of which are worked at the head of Chignecto bason, and in the district of Pictou. A far more important source of provincial wealth is just peeping forth from insignificance, in the shape of a coal trade from the eastern parts of the province. The mines of Nova Scotia, wliich, with certain exceptions, the Crown has generally reserved in prospective in the several grants of land, have been rented from Government by a British company, at the head of which is a well-known London capitalist. The result, thus far, after a period of eigh- teen months, has been a most rapidly increas- ing traffic in coal, with the United States, in viei deJ inc I INTERNAL TRAFFIC. 55 American bottoms ; Pictou having with that view been declared a free port. A very consi- derable coasting trade has also been com- menced, or rather augmented, both from Pictou and from Sidney, in Cape Breton, chiefly in shallops, owned and navigated by the French settlers of the adjoining coasts. This is however but the dawn of a new era in tlie trading annals of the province, and I have little doubt that, if the spark be duly fostered, it will in a few years kindle into a flame, the vital warmth of which will be felt throughout the country. The internal trade of the province has not arrived at such a state, as to deserve particular mention ; the facility of water carriage round the coast compensates, in great measure, for the want of good communications across the country. The traflic by means of the latter is confined almost exclusively to supplies of produce for the capital, and returns of goods for the casual consumption of individuals in the country. British goods and manufactures of every de- scription stand first on the list of provincial imports, and are retailed at from fifty to one I ( n n lit ^ " fl nliji !1'' ' ;i ii.;) I ii, /^ 56 IMPORTS. hundred per cent, upon what we should give for the same articles in London. British or Colonial vessels are exclusively engaged in this trade ; the latter being generally freighted with lumber or fish to the West Indies or South of Europe, whence they make the circuit of a Bri- tish port on their return. Wines from the South of Europe are received partly direct, and partly from Newfoundland, in return for agricultural and West India produce. Port of very good quality may be procured in this way ; but the white wines of the Peninsula are generally inferior : those of France comme ffi. The East India Company annually consigns one or two vessels direct from China, which arrive about June. The quantity of tea, of very inferior quality, that used formerly to be smuggled into the province from the States, has now been in a great measure superseded by this consignment : I say, in a great measure, because I know that the practice still continues in the remoter parts of the province, purely owing to the ignorance of the inhabitants ; and I have myself had the honour to be taken for a riding excisemau by a regular Yankee from 11! WEST INDIA PRODUCTS. 57 Marble Head, whose schooner had put into a cove to " wood and water r which a clause in one of our treaties per»i";its. Tea is more extensively consumed throu*r^iout Nova Scotia than any other article of luxury, except spirits. It is used in the poorer cottages at every meal, particularly among those settlers who origi- nally came from New England. In the third year from the first experiment of the China- man, the sale of the East India Company trebled its original extent. The Company's agent disposes of the consignment by whole- sale, with a very moderate charge to meet contingent expenses ; and tea, of the best quality, next to gunpowder, may be procured at Halifax, at an average, when mixed, of three shillings sterling per pound. The trade with the West Indies, always ex- tensive, has been much increased by the late re- gulations which close those ports to the Ameri- cans : the Custom-House rules of some of the other Colonies also, tend to render Halifax an entrepot for spirituous liquors from that quar- ter, which are afterwards re-shipped in small craft. The vessels employed in the West India d5 \ I fhf M I ■: i 1^ 58 TRADE WITH UNITED STATES. il < !^ i I trade are small brigs and schooners, most of which belong to the province. Rum, sugar, and molasses, are always to be found in abun- dance : the first is retailed at a lamentably low rate ; the second, at nearly the same price as at liome. Molasses are an article of much con- sumption among the American part of the population : many of the poorest class use it altogether, in place of sugar ; and by others it is used as a drink, when diluted with water. The fruits, and finer produce of the West Indies, are a very fluctuating supply ; sometimes pine apples are almost rolling about the streets of Halifax ; at other times, a lemon cannot be procured at any price. The trade with the United States employs (exclusively of the colliers) small brigs and schooners, belonging to the Americans. Flour in barrels, and bread, is received in large quantities, from Boston, and all the more Sviuthern ports : much of this is again ship- ped for Newfoundland and the West Indies. Of late years, the demand has been diminish- ing in inverse ratio to the provincial agricul- ture ; and in order that this may be encouraged. 1 i SHU' PING. 59 'V'l a duty of five shillings sterling per barrel is im- posed by Act of Parliament on all flour imported from the United States ; but still a large balance remains in favour of the States, and bills on Boston or New York are always at a pre- mium. The provisions imported from the upper provinces are partly for the supply of the shipping, and partly for re- shipment to the West Indies and Bermuda. There is certainly no want of stock within the province ; but the infancy of agriculture and sundry other consi- derations have hitherto directed the importa tion of provisions from other quarters. The shipping generally are, in appearance, highly creditable to Nova Scotia, although they do not equal those superb merchantmen, — those models of neatness, and of good rigging, which I have seen towards New York and Philadel- phia : yet, I have never observed a Halifax ship, or even schooner, that would brook being anchored alongside such tubs as those that in any port between Leith and Plymouth hourly excite our astonishment and admiration at the hardihood of the reasonable beings who navi- gate them. Although clouds of small craft, I i '■H * 1,1 i i^l < i it! 1 ( ' (! a- ) \ u l\ ,: ' li' 60 SHIPPING. from petty shallops to schooners of 120 tons, annually emerge from the sequestered inlets, all around the shores of the province, but few square-rigged vessels are built, except at the principal ports, as Halifax, Poitou, or Liver- pool; and even at Halifax there is seldom more than one on the stocks at a time. The favourite rig along the American coast is the schooner. Halifax harbour frequently ex- hibits a curious epitome of the models and fashions of this class of vessel, varying in all the degrees from the full bow, heavy quarter, and upright spar of the bay of Fundy, to the gradual swell, " clean run," and main- mast making an angle of forty-five with the deck, of the clipper from Baltimore. You, who may remember, during the last war, the powerful schooners of nearly 300 tons that were sometimes off this harbour, would be disappointed to see tiiem now seldom exceed- ing half that size, if we except some in the American navy and revenue service. The sudden and tremendous gales that occur off these coasts are alleged as the reason why this class of vessel is preferred to the cutter or , -Sfc..**! -.* *J.S^_^'" AMERICAN MEN-OF-WAR. 61 brig; the former having too large a mainsail to be readily handed on sudden emergencies, and the latter requiring comparatively more men : most of the larger schooners, however, are brigantines. Your professional gout, if it deems me presumptuous, will at least not be blindly incredulous, should I digress to introduce our own naval establishment, by a remark excited from having been over all those (except at Norfolk and Charleston) in the United States. We have heard the American vessels of war lately decried ; their supposed excellence stated to be ideal. I have not served in the navv ; but I learnt to speak, to think, to act among naval officers ; and 1 felt pity deep within me as I examined every plank of the American ships from Portsmouth to Washington, and thought that my gallant brothers might be sent, on a nominal equality, to cope with such fear- ful odds of material against them. It is like the combat of the cuirassier with a naked though not more active dragoon : I include not here the consideration of number or weight of metal; in the latter, indeed, I believe they have them- selves discovered that the due proportion has 'I 'I I m n h£Kr u i m C2 AMERICAN MEN-OF-WAR. t 'I II ; * in- been exceeded. It may be true that ships of this description are very unfit for the services required upon our home station ; but it is to be hoped that such of ours as may be destined for the American shores will be more powerful of their respective classes than any we have hither- to launched : for, although our late Razee fri- gates may be fully adequate to the old '* Con- stitution," or our Canopus models to such as the " Franklin ;"' neither the one nor the other could fairly compete with the rivals that a few weeks would produce to each respectively, from under the building sheds that at present con- tain them. Actions of fleets in confined seas would produce very different results, were such large ships employed ; history attests it : but the Atlantic will be the theatre in the western hemisphere, and squadrons are the most nu- merous orders that are likely to be opposed to each other for years to come. I wish well to brother Jonathan ; I admire him greatly upon many points, owing to per- sonal observation ; I dislike the feeling of any hostile calculation either on his part or ours — considering him as a near relation, and know- ^kjt DOCK-YARD OF HALIFAX. 63 ing that the truest wisdom would induce him and his elder brother to walk arm in arm through life : but how easily will motives of fancied self-interest sever the bonds of even family union ! I would therefore have mutual respect ensured by physical means, which could not but contribute to render that union more lasting. The royal naval yard at Halifax is situated nearly a mile above the town, at the extremity of a straggling suburb. It includes an area of about fourteen acres, more or less ; and, to j udge by the size of its commissioner's house, was originally intended to be made of some conse- quence. The men-of-war lie alongside a large wharf to refit, or must be hauled up on slips ; for there are no docks. An ingenious and simple plan was proposed, towards the close of the last v^^ar, for constructing a dock imme- diately opposite the yard on the Dartmouth shore, where a little cove and ravine offer two sides of a natural basin which was to be formed into a double dock, supplied by means of the rivulet. I know not why this plan was not adopted. At present the naval yard is on but \ If 64 DOCK-YARD OP HALIFAX. I :■ im a very paltry footing, and nothing is to be seen in operation but casual repairs and boat-build- ing. The principal depot of stores for the station has been removed to the Bermudas, probably with a view to encourage the cultiva- tion of hemp ; as it is universally asserted that the atmosphere of those islands is far more de- structive to every description of stores than that of Halifax. More sober arguments may point out the Bermudas as a nucleus more se- cure for the depot of a maritime power. I can only say, in reply to this, if we lose the penin- sula of Halifax, or permit its harbour to be insulted, while England retains her present strength, it will be our own fault for not having employed the physical means capable of ensuring their safety. A few half-decayed timbers lying alongside a jetty in the yard are pointed out as the remains of the old Cen- turion, the vessel in which Anson performed his circumnavigation of the globe. It is strange, if this be the real " Simon Pure,"" that the said timbers have not long since been con- verted, after the manner of John Bull, into snuff-boxes, to line equally the pockets of the SQUADRON. 65 makers and of all naval enthusiasts. Halifax, being the summer residence of the admiral commanding on the station, is, par consequent^ the rendezvous of the squadron. It is seldom, however, that more than one or two pendants are flying in the harbour ; for the great extent of the station, compared with the number of vessels, admits of no reliefs. The usual ar- rangement for the squadron is — one vessel to the Newfoundland coasts, and one to the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; a third has to find her way by instinct amid the fogs of the Bay of Fundy ; and Bermuda occupies a fourth. If any others are on the station, they are variously employed. In the winter, one of the squadron is left at Ha- lifax, unrigged and housed over; the rest go to collect whip-weed * and specimens of coral, at Bermuda ; to theirjndustry in which occupa- tions ample testimony is borne by the multi- farious collections on the ladies' drawing-room tables, and the unwonted velocity with which the town-hacks dart along the roads, shortly • A species of sea" K i« * tf 70 OPERATIVE LABOUR. pMi into the total account, the nominal advantages are completely outweighed. I hesitate not to aver, that were two workmen of the same class and of similar habits to enter, the one in the mining establishment of the Pictou Company, the other in that in the Lehigh River, in Penn- sylvania, the former would find, at the close of the year''s account, he had at his disposal a sur- plus of cash, i. e. of comfort, far exceeding that of the latter. This applies equally to ordinary workmen of all descriptions : it does not, how- ever, apply to superior artificers in the finer or more costly kinds of work ; for Nova Scotia has not yet arrived at the state of opulence to give encouragement to such ; — but wliere will an mdividual of this class fail to find an advan- tageous field in Europe? Halifax is tolerably well provided with operative workmen of all descriptions. Every undertaking, from build- ing a house, to repairing your watch, may be accomplished by their means ; paying for the same at a rate which the employers, especi- ally if r om Europe, aro wont to consider ex- orbitant, and the employed to consider quite the reverse. The mean between those extremes i POPULATION. 71 \p • ex- is, in my opinion, the true state of the case, tak- ino- into account, as before, the value of money, and so fortli. The population of the province of Nova Scotia, according to the census of 1827, amounts in the tal, including Cape Breton, to nearly 1 13,000, and is of a very mixed description. Four dife inct classes present themselves — in the Indians or Aborigines ; the Acadians, or descendants of the French, who partially settled the country under the name of Acadia, pre- viously to its conquest by the English ; the free Negroes who have been transferred or have fled hither at various periods; and the emigrants under British auspices from Europe and from the United States. The number of the Indians and Negroes may be stated as to- gether amounting to about one-fiftieth of the total population.* The smallness of the^r number is a matter of political gratulation rather than of regret, neither party producing more than is sufficient for enabling them to maintain a scanty existence, and both being alto- % % * The Indians are supposed to amount to about 600 within the province, and the Negroes to about 1500. m 72 IMMIGRATION. r I' gether nugatory when viewed as contributors to the internal defence of the state. The Aca- dians form upwards of one-twentieth of the whole ; and are to all intents and purposes an efficient branch of the commonwealth. The patriotic feeling of attachment that would na- turally be directed towards the land of their forefathers, is now almost extinct from the lapse of time, and is fast becoming incorporated with the country that gave them birth, and with the government whose protection surrounds their domestic hearth with all the blessings of free- dom. The remainder of the population, form- ing the main body of the country, are the de- scendants of colonists from Germany, of refugee royalists from the United States of America, disbanded British soldiers and emigrants from all parts of the United Kingdom, more espe- cially from Scotland. The influx of immigration into the province has within the last few years been directed chiefly to Sidney in Cope Breton, to Pictou, and to Halifax. Those who arrive at Pictou being chiefly settlers from North Britain, who have friends already in the coun- try, are usually enabled to And some immediate M POVERTY OF EMIGRANTS. 73 i means of provision. Those whom we have lately seen arrive at Sidney and Halifax are principally from Ireland, and land alike desti- tute of friends and of pro})erty. In illustra- tion of this fact, I remember more particularly, among other instances, (one day while vander- ing in a wild part of the country, about twenty miles from Halifax,) entering a hovel that bore signs of more peculiar misery than its com- panions. A broken bench, two or three damag- ed articles of crockery, some straw, and an old blanket, comprised the furniture of the in- terior : some small potatoes, the same that the farmers leave as refusr on the ground, thrown into an iron pot by the fire, were the only thing in the shape of food. A sickly-looking woman, and two infants scrambling on the floor, were the inmates. This family had landed from Plymouth at Halifax, about a month before : the father had got this hovel rent-free, on con- dition of putting some little crop into the ground, and was endeavouring to prepare for the winter, by making a fevv shingles for the Halifa.v market. In die summer of 1827, as many as four 1l M ti !k' I lit 11 M \ Mr ii\ i i % 5' I? I. pi!.;!!. I , IE ,1; li- U li ^Ui; •f l 7i ABUSES OF EMIGRATION. luindred and sixty of these poor emigrants were supported, and indeed rescued from dis- ease and starvation, solely by issues from the public treasury. A malignant disorder having made its appearance amongst them, an unoccupied farm on the peninsula of Hali- fax was converted into a lazaretto for their reception, and proper attendance afforded. Notwithstanding these measures, the disorder (a species of small-pox) was communicated to the town, and partially through the country, and, in twelve months from the commencement of the infection, the registers of mortality in- cluded nearly one- twelfth of the total popula- tion of Halifax. That the system of emigra- tion should be left open to such abuse, is a re- flection that calls for a revision of the Imperial Code by which that system is regulated. The Colonial Legislature has adopted measures cal- culated to prevent a recurrence of such scenes in this province. By a comparison of the re- cent census with that taken in 1817? it appears that the population is at present doubling it- self in a course of fourteen years ; and should the Mother-Country remain at peace, it is pro- INCREASE OF POPULATION. 76 bable this ratio of increase will be augmented. The internal divisions of the country present singular fluctuations during the above period : some are shown to have increased their popu- lation in an unequal proportion, while others have remained stationary, or have even retro- graded. Many concurrent circumstances are assigned for this inconsistency with the suppo- sitions of those possessed of most local intelli- gence : it is partly attributed to the difficulties attending the formation of correct statistical tables in a new country, and partly to the ab- sence of topographical knowledge, which has induced frequent internal (changes of abode, under the idea of amending the errors discover- ed in first settlement. The increase of popu- lation in North America is notoriously the most rapid of which at the present day we have any example. For this rapidity, two grand causes must be assigned : the influx of immi- gration, and the local incentives of a young cvmntry. The former is to Nova Scotia but an auxiliary, of the extent of which it is difficult to form any accurate estimate, as many who land at these ports proceed afterwards to other E 2 i.( % N 1 ' i; : 1 1, 1 1 1 ' : ll fell I I w u! ( ' ( 76 INCREASE OF POPULATION. (juarters, and vice versa ; but the truth will probably not be far violated, when I state the ])roportion within the last three or four years to have been annually about one-fortieth of the whole population. The latter cause acts as forci- bly in this province as in any other part of the globe. The Government, sufficiently alive to the importance of the personne/, has given every facility to the legal solemnization of marriages ; and the Executive is equally careful of the life of the subject. The certainty with which a sufficient maintenance can be ensured by the steady exertion of ordinary labour, and the various openings that present themselves, either in the professions, commerce, or business, con- cur to quash all those anxieties respecting the probability of future provision, that act with such preventive force upon the inhabitants of most European states. Considerations of this nature seldom enter into the calculation of the Nova Scotian : all classes feel them to be com- paratively nugatory : hence we find what has been termed a prematurity of nature ; we meet with parents whom we mistake for the elder brethren of their children"" ; but all this is, in fact, nothing more than a combination of local i Y 4 4 GOVERNMENT. 77 and moral causes acting upon the onmi-similar constitution of mankind. To the poorer classes of this country, where labour is (by them) hardly to be procured, a large family is, after a certain period, a source of wealth, rather than of poverty. A Dutch- man (or, more properly, a German,) of Lunen- burgh, seeing some of my companions, on a sultry day, rowing some ladies in a boat, asked with much nav'iete^ ••' Fy don't you make the Mmenns vork ?" In the idea attached to this query, our friend would find himself by no means singular. The mistress of the house is the greatest slave in it ; and a respite from drudgery within doors is but an opportunity for engaging in the same without. Her young family are drilled upon her own practice ; and no sooner can the boy lift an axe, and his sister a kettle, than both of them are made useful in sundry avocations. Nova Scotia is remarkable in colonial his- tory for the facility that has hitherto attended the management of her reins of government. In 1808, a military officer was, for the first time, appointed to administer the government, and the leading colonists immediately began, in 1^ ';^i s* 1 U-'ll 1 I* w M 78 GOVERNMKNT. ! 'i I'. I' I iiil; dire alarm, to look round, to see whose head slioukl first fly off his shoulders. The ex- periment, however, was found eminently suc- cessful, and both governors and governed, since that period, have but vied in mutual esti- mation.* Perhaps the main causes of this good understanding may be found in the ab- sence of those conflicting local interests that prevail elsewhere ; in the progressive rise of the country, which gives sufficient occupation to the minds of its inhabitants ; and lastly, in the more clear definition and more impartial pro- tection of those rights, whether imperial or co- lonial, which in other situations have threatened mutual loss of confidence, and have produced mutual recrimination. I mean not to give you the detail of the Con- stitution, even were I capable of so doing. Call it, if you will — " John Bull — a farce in three acts f' it is, however, a farce superior to many i If: P'f • The head of the government of Nova Scotia bears the title of Lieuteviant-Governor : this being originally one of the Royal governments, of which the King was the supreme ruler, represented by his immediate deputy. The distinction being all but nominal, the terms Governor or Lieutenant- Governor may be used indifferently without confusion. ; I GOVERNMENT. 79 others, for it keeps pe()])k' in good lunnour, and nils the ])ockets of the old caleuhit- ing manager, as well as those of the actors. The second act is, literally speaking, peerless of its kind. Nobility being unknown in the province, the Upper House of Britain is here imaged forth by a council of twelve, nominated by the Governor, partly ex qllicio, partly from those of most personal consideration in tlie ])ro- vince. The council, however, possesses this pe- culiarity, that, after the close of the legislative session, it becomes an executive body, in con- junction with the Governor ; thus resembling the privy council at home. The House of As- sembly consists of about forty members, elected for counties and townships, nearly on the same plan as that pursued at home ; and, although it may appear singular that a representation so juvenile should have admitted within its bosom the germ of vitiation, it is a fact, that sundrv electioneering manoeuvres have found their way to these colonial hustings; and a member, once fairly seated, generally contrives to entrench himself behind such a mass of in terested constituents, that it requires equal ' < h ■1H 'I I U ! Ill IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TAi^GET {MT-3) <^ ^3^ "-.'^ >>^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) 873-4503 S iV iV ■^ o ^> ^^ «>. ^ ;\ '^" >.1. ^^% ^%^ ^^^<^ # fA^^ «' h <> 1 » .» 1 I f'li ■l I H A\. H i r\ I: 80 HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY. resolution and address in the candidate, who would seek to supplant him. The Legislature generally meets in January, and continues in session during two months, more or less. The opening and closing of the House is a business of great importance in the eyes of all the little dirty boys, good house- keepers, and Irish truckmen * of Halifax. His Excellency, attended by all the great people, makes a speech in due form. Pop — go the great guns of the militia artillery in the market- place : hurra ! sing out all the young fry that a general school-delivery for the day has collect- ed around them : " Mercy !"" cries Susan, " there is the best bedroom winf^ow all shivered in pieces;" and away scamper a dozen proud nags waiting for truckage, to the utter discomfiture of all sedate matrons of the apple-stall and cabbage-l>asket. During the session, a little of that opposition of interest, for the equipoise of which John Bull is so celebrated, here comes into play. The Assembly, after a most en- * The cartage of lieavy goods about the town of Halifax is usually performed by means of a strong carriage upon two wheels, called a truck. J lij HOUSE OF ASSEMULY. 81 lightened debate upon the value of time, ha\e th()Ug])t proper to vote themselves a stated sum ill consideration thereof, amounting to one pound currency to each individual up to a cer- tain date of their session : it is said, that the arguments upon these occasions carry such conviction to the consciences of the auditors, that, as the ({uestion is purely one of con- science, it has been hitherto carried nem. coti. The consecpiencc is, that the press teems with tlie eloquent effusions of sundry satellite Broughams and ^I'lntoshes, wandering from the mysteries of pickled fish and winter wheat, from similes u])on old women, and touches of metropolitan satire, to discpiisitions on the lore of the ancients, and general views of the practice of the modern empires. In vain to this torrent does the gratuitous and more sober council oppose a dry assent or dissent, — a si- lent reproof or a grave message. The petulant junior enjoys his laugh ; keeps just beyond reach of the elder's rattan, and, finishing in one day, at the close of the session, as nuich business as took him three to talk about during the earlier part, runs off to his desk, E 5 ii» 1. ft :(l ! y' •Il 82 TAXATION. ,f ' i ' ;l m m f';l In \'. I! l\ '( u his farm, or liis warehouse, and busies himself as becomes an honest citizen, in those several avocations. The obnoxious light in which direct taxes to the Government are viewed, not only in this province, but throughout North America, is almost incomprehensible to one accustomed to the financial systems of Europe. A mail-carrier, a personage e([uivalent to the mail-coachman of England, expressed to me, pithily, the ideas of the many on this subject. " Sixteen years ago, I came from the old country to Upper Canada: I soon thought I could do better, and tried all the great towns of the States, as far as Philadelphia. They may talk of their liberty, but I found none there ; it was as bad as in England ; for I was taxed for every thing. Well, 1 thought I Vl make trial of this country, and here I 'm suited ; we have no taxes to pay, and no man can shake a finger at us." — " Friend,''"' said I, " how much did you pay for that respectable Benjamin I see thrown over the seat ?" — He named the sum. — " I gave just half that price for mine in England : — do you see now how you pay taxes ?''"' He could not REVENUE. 83 conipreliend. — "Well, we don't hear any thing of them," was his conclusion ; and a ha])py conclu- sion it is, which leaves a provincial population of 140,000 perfectly satisfied, in the conviction tiiat they enjoy the unalloyed sweets of political freedom. The public revenue of Nova Scotia is raised exclusively from imposts upon imported goods, and is, at present, ra])idly increasing. The amount appropriated for various purposes by the House of Assembly, in the '^'ission of 1829* wafi about 60,000/. currency. The absence of all turnpikes and tolls is in accordance with the above system.* The roads are repaired by means of legislative appro- priations, aided by a few days' statute labour im- posed by law with certain limitations, upon the resident parishioners throughout the country. The Legislature is very liberal in granting pe- cuniary aid to private undertakings which em- brace public utility ; for instance, a carriage ferry from Halifax to Dartmouth, in the hands of a few individuals, is annually subsidized * About forty years ago, a turnpike-gate erected within ten miles of Halifax was pulled down by the people. 1 k - 1 ! " i. 1 i I- i \i 1 ;i 'ii t * 1 \ ! ,t 1 W i 1 ? I. \ 1 S " 1 : f ; ( • 1 i! ' 1 •wih I \ r «4 CHURCH DUES. m i » »^ il ^ Ji :| I 1 m 1:- I from the Treasury ; and a similar grant has lately been made in furtherance of a stage- coach from Halifax to Annapolis. In some instances, it is to be feared, a little abuse has been engendered by this method of proceeding ; but in the general scale, it has no doubt contri- buted to the more rapid advancement of the country. Rates, to an inconsiderable extent, for the support of the poor, are felt only in the towns : the paupers, excepting in Halifax, are in a manner put up to auction, and boarded with those whose offers are the most economi- cal. The law, however, upon these points is considered very defective. Church dues, being merely for contingent expenses, are also light ; yet, light as they are, the comparative amount levied upon those of the established persuasion above that voluntarily paid by sectarians, and still more the manner in whicli these rates are levied, have been among the means of inducing not a few to unite themselves to the latter.* The only tax imposed upon this colony, pay- * Although the contributions of sectarians are vohintary, not comj);;lsive, it is not here intended to recommend that this mode should be more extensively adopted. II QUIT-RENTS. 85 able into the Imperial Treasury, is a (juit-rent upon land originally granted by the Crown. This quit-rent has been suffered to lie dormant till very lately, when an order was receiveii by tlic colonial authorities for its collection and payment. Although the sum is only in the proportion of two shillings sterling for every hundred acres ; although the back rent has been given up, and the future proceeds alone required ; yet the feeling throughout the coun- try is so generally repugnant to its payment, that the collection has been, pro tempore, sus- pended. Perhaps it may be deemed presuni])- tuous to advance opinions upon that which has been decided by those more competent to judge. Large proprietors, whose grants of many thou- sand acres are lying in a wilderness state, and will continue so to lie till the increase of popu- lation forces settlers to tenant them, are ob- viously adverse to all quit-rents ; but I have never yet found a settler who was actually upon his own land, whether in circumstances good, bad, or indifferent, who could maintain that he was unable to make payment, or even that the payment would really distress him. \i i m ( }' \ :^K\ .1 . /! 1? '■1 ft ' ii'iii !■ • !'!' [ ' 1 1 1 ^ !! 1 ■ .ii 1 I h ! f^lf 86 CURRENCY. That arrears of rent should be required, is, I apprehend, deemed inexpedient by all ihoAc best accjuainted with the subject. The limited reasoning of the farmer at once brings this be- fore him as a measure not consistent with equity, or with a due regard to liis peculiar situation. The settler in a young country, al- though he be " dives equutUy'' is never " dives auri r the small quantity of hard cash that passes through his hands from one year's end to the other, is scarce credible by those who inhabit an old country overflowing with capital. Witness the early stages of any one of the American republics; where we see numerous armies formed and supplied, yet serving either without pay, or paid scantily by the most ruin- ous contrivances of an impotent system of finance. The state of trade between tlie province and other countries is such, that every hard dollar which may have been realized in the fisheries or mines, eventually finds its way to the States or England, in payment of flour or manufactured goods. The coins current in various parts of the province are doubloons and their fractions, CURRENCY. 87 chiefly of the South American republics ; and in Halifax, occasionally, a Britisii sovereign: Spanish and American dollars and their frac- tions, and British silver ; and, in the eastern parts, every description of English and Irish tokens, and French silver, ])asses at a higher nominal rate than that at wiiich it is received elsewhere. Paper from the ])rovincial Banic is in circulation, to the amount of nearly forty thousand pounds at present, and is limited by statute. Old British and Colonial copper coins complete this medley ; which, as long as we re- main within the province, offers little inconve- nience ; but, when we go beyond its limits, we find this piece will not pass here ; that piece is only of such a value there ; and the Bank paper must be changed at a discount, to the great annoyance of all unprepared travellers. The Imperial Government has, . r different times, sent out British silver, to facilitate the pay- ment of the troops ; but this silver performs a march of circulation no farther than from the commissaries' chest to the troops, (with whom its halt is marvellously short,) thence to the retail merchant of Halifax, and back again to tliC !' > I'B ; i ■ I w . /!■ t; ' i i f i . J I- ;. !' \l 08 CURRRNCY. commissary, in litMi of bills of oxtlmiigc for nu'rcuntile remittances to Kn«;laiul.* The ef- fects of this scarcity of cash arc not apparent in the capital, or in those parts of the country frequented by persons of ))roperty ; but, go into the country towns, whicli serve as so many mulci for tlie settlers in the wilderness around, and you will there find the most extra- ordinary systems of barter and exchange; re- iTular scales established for the different modi- Hcations of mixed payment in cash and goods ; while the person who ])roduces the former with- out delay or subterfuge, is looked upon as a prodigy of affluence and generosity. In this state of affairs, the bringing up arrears of quit or any other rent, is a very difficult, not to say impracticable measure, for those on whom the weight will chiefly fall. The annual C(mtribu- * The Legislature li.'is recently given a standard value to the British shilling and sixjjence, whieh has the effect of circulating these coins heyond the precincts of Halifax : previously to this measure, their value was not legally esta- blished. The rate of exchange between Nova Scotia and Great Britain is one-ninth in favour of the latter. The premium upon bills is variable ; but a bill on Knglaiul, drawn at Halifax, in colonial currency, usually produces an addi- tion of one-fourth upon the pound sterling. IK I m -1 a APPROPRIATION OF RENT. 89 tion of ft mere fractional proportion is by no means open to the same objections, either moral or phyj^ical : knowing the demand to be a fixed and regular amount, those subject to it would make ])rovision accordingly. It has been urged in the colony, that the fullest amount thus collected would be too paltry to deserve a ])lace in the treasury accounts of the Mother-Country. On the one hand, I ap])rehend this does not at all inijjugn the motives and be- neficial views with which the demand has been made : on the other hand, I should hope that the truth of this remark would induce the Govern- ment at home, after having attained the pecuniary object, to devote the proceeds to the internal im- provement of the colony. Such a measure would repay interest upon* the principal, in the moral feeling with which its liberality would be ap- preciated, and in the additional impetus given to the industry of the province, and, pai' conse- quent, to the manufacturing interests of Great Britain. The probable appropriation of this rent very materially influences the views of those liable to its collection. A spirit of poli- tical inquiry, and a freedom of judgment, ac- ^*'* ' V n ;iMi u ) I 1' ■!-i mUI ll I vi|i : '"',.1 •' I 90 SUIIDIVISIONS OK I cording to the iiiorr or loss extensive means of information possessed by its inmates, pervades every eotta^e tlirougliout these eolcmies to a decree unknown to those of similar eonditicm in Britain ; where, as in a neighbouring island, a sum to be raised from the colonists is previ- ously pensioned away in a maimer universally considered unjust, and rendering the enforeement not only dillieult, but im])olitie. Let the measure be framed so as not to militate against the true interests of the country, or the peculiar spirit and condition of its inhabitants,— and a corre- sponding facility will be found to attend its execution. The division of territories under separate go- vernments, which geograj)hical position points out for consolidation under one, is strongly exemplified in this portion of the British em- pire. Till 1820, the island of Cape Breton, which is separated from Nova Scotia by the Gut of Canso, a strait in some places only a mile in breadth, possessed a government totally distinct from, and independent of the latter. Prince Edward Island, whose nearest cape is within nine miles of the north shore of County COLONIAL flOVKRNMKNT. 91 Cumbcrlaiuljis still iiiuler a ^(ovornor ami loj^is- lature of its own. This petty systt'iu of divi- sion has, of course, many atlvorates at the re- spective seats of (iovernment : the advancement of Cape Breton however, during the last seven years, affords a fair export of the comparative advantages of a more consolidated union. The practice of America is, in some respects, like that of a Covent (iarden contractor : the nur- sery is prepared, tlie hot-bed formed ; s 1 1 !! , ' i ' 1 V' LETTER IV. SocitT Y : — Amusements ; Sleighing parties. — Ixdians : — habits ; characteristics ; hunting the IMoose ; danger of being lost in the woods ; Bears. — Fueed Negroes : — condition; Negro clergyman. — Education and Reli- gion : — Established Church ; University of "Windsor ; Missionaries ; Church of Scotland ; Pictou Academy ; Protestant Dissenters; Koman Catholics. — General System of public Educatioj?. — Character of the Peasantry ; Cottage scenes. TO MRS. Halifax. The address of your first Trans-Atlantic let- ter amused me much. " Halifax — Canada.*" 'Tis well there is but one post-office route to British North America, otherwise the said epistle might have gone in search of me among the Chickasaws and Choctaws, in whose neigh- bourhood it would have stood much the same chance of finding me, as in Canada. Your SOCIETY. 95 mistake is pardonable, for it is quite a t An- glaise, and is upon a par with that of the Nova Scotian who should conceive Dublin to be the county town of Kent. The lower pro- vinces, by which I mean New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New- foundland, are as essentially distinct from the Canadas, as (to use a home phrase) the " West End," from the " City" of our British Metropolis. There are many spots in this province, to which, if one of our countrymen were suddenly transported, he would not immediately perceive any dissimilarity to Great Britain, and more especially to parts of Ireland. The universal wooden house, in place of more solid materials, and the absence of hedges in the cultivated tracts, are the most striking changes. Let him be placed in the midst of the party at the Governor's weekly soiree, — he would not con- ceive himself to be elsewhere than in some English provincial town, with a large garrison. In fact, there cannot be any town out of Great Britain, where this similarity is so complete as at Halifax ; for at least one-half the circle of irl ■•% h h i i-i] ^^ "f 96 SOCIETY. ii' I society consists of those who are not natives, and the other lialf are the immediate descend- ants of the same. This is not, however, what must be termed a characteristic specimen of the country : we must go into the little country towns, into the numerous farms in the fields, and cottages along the shore, to learn the popu- lar characteristics, — and these we will shortly visit hand-in-hand, and observe how the wilds of uncultivated nature operate on her adopted children of civilization. The winter is here, as in other places, the season for gaiety similar to that we find prevalent else- where in the shape of dinner and evening parties, rational and irrational; festive, sober, and joyous; insipid, dull and stupid. How far individual gout, or rather deguut, may act to give a "jaun- diced eye,"" I know not ; but it seems to me, the general tone of these social meetings indicates a stage of luxury rather than of refinement, — of mere gaiety, rather than its combination with that intellectual foundation which renders such gaiety truly delightful. How often has this view caused me to regret, that the good mate- rial I see abundant in some respects, should in SOCIKTV. 97 -1 others be clouded by neglect, or even choaked by the weeds of its own luxuriance. The ex- quisite powers of musical concert, and of all that has been so emphatically comprised by Hannah jNIore under the term " Conversation,*" are here almost unknown, and, except in two or three solitary instances, hardly attempted. The data in fact are wanting ; the dawn of cultivated education has hardly yet risen upon tiie province ; and its first ray has glanced on the soil, almost as soon as the soil itself was prepared to receive its vivifying influence. We must not expect to meet in young coun- tries with that cultivation, that high pitch of intellectual civilization, which is almost al- ways attendant upon the constitutions of ages. An impartial view of the circumstances that ()))erate on each respectively, will show that this cannot be. Witness the few examples afforded us by the colonization of the ancients: witness the gradual progress of Athens and the other Greco-Egyptian colonies : witness what record we have of tlie successors of Ascanius. Look at those portions of the American continent that have arrived at comparative maturity : it is F .■ 1 .\ ' \ 1/ 4 I u i' I i?i- i I ! If Ri mn mi SOCIETY. only within these few years, that thence have emanated any literary productions calculatetl to improve the present, or worthy to hold a ])lace in the esteem of the future age. In- structors, and their attendant establishments, so numerous in Britain, are here not to be found, simply because the means of encourage- ment have not yet been accumulated ; in some measure, also, because the advantages thence to be derived are not as yet appreciated : for, as a professional gentleman once remarked to me, " How can we be expected to estimate so highly that which you describe, when we ourselves have not — or but in part — experienced it?" There is an idea partially prevalent, that superiority of attainment is inconsistent with tliosc more really valuable qualities which form the truest ornaments of social life : this is the result of ignorance, and of a jealous regard for old habits, and for that which we possess rather than for that which we might attain : a less limited view will quickly dispel it. A corre- sponding species of ignorance I have found more generally existing in the ideas entertained by the younger branches, as to the objects to M ' SOCIETY. 99 ^ ^ which cultivation should be directed. " Oh ! Mr. ? if I could but draw like that^ I should be perfectly satisfied."" " How beautifully Miss H. sings ! Don't you think her very accom- plished ? Mr. L.'' (the Phillips and the Bochsa of Halifax) " says she is perfect, and her cousin all but perfect." In plain English, those ac- .(uirements which should be pursued (keephig in view the state of the country) but as lighter auxiliaries, that enable us more jileasurably to unbend during our hours of recreation, are re- garded too much as the ultima Thule of attain- ment, to the proportional neglect of all those exercises more peculiarly adapted for enlarg- ing the mental capacity, and for rendering us beings, in every sense of the word, rational. The literary emporia of the town but too clear- ly bear evidence to the same fact. A few law and school-books fill the catalogue, as do draw- ing-paper and etchings the windows — of the solitary bookseller of Halifax. In vain do we inquire for some of those numberless sheets printed for the instruction of the juvenile, or for the standard works that assist in forming the more advanced mind : none such are to be F 2 "^ »S I •■! t it- ' I 1 1 100 SOCIETY. r ■i r' / ^ • procured, except by express coinniission to Enj^j- land : and the reason uniformly assigned is — " We should find no sale for them." These impediments in the way of education, — and especially female education, — are, in my o})inion, one of the most solid objections that can opi)ose tbcmselves to the influx of that class of emigrants most needed in the province, — those who compose the gentry at home. I speak here of course of the superior rather than of the elementary branches of instruction ; not that the former can be properly attained without the latter as a foundation, but that the elements are already to be found in a preparatory col- legiate establishment at Windsor, and under the auspices of an English lady and her family, whom the exertions of a distinguished member of the provincial community have happily in- duced to settle lately at Halifax. It is not the fault of the inhabitants, if Hali- fax be not a pleasant quarter for a stranger, and particularly for a military stranger. Hos- pitality, unbounded in comparison with that which such a person will experience in England, is offered to his acceptance; and if he be not Mi i SOCIETY. 101 fastidious, he may quickly enjoy tlie ])leasiires of a small society, unfettered by that ceremo- nious restraint which frecjuently becomes an annoyance in the intercourse of larger ones. The general tone of intercourse is somewhat analogous to that we meet with in Ireland ; it is in fact such as naturally prevails where the cir- cle is not very extended, — where the individual members have been long acquainted, and where military have been long stationed with few in- ternal changes. On the Englishman, especially if he have not previously travelled, the earlier impressions will probably be unfavourable : he will at least be surprised at the apparent fa- miliarity subsisting between those whom at home we should consider all but stran";ers. This impression will not continue when he be- comes more conversant with the circumstances out of which it has arisen. He is introduced, as a perfect stranger, to Mr. : two hours afterwards, he meets the same gentleman in the street, the drawing-room, or elsewhere : he is surprised to find himself recognized by a cor- dial shake of the hand, accompanied with the air and manner of an old acquaintance. He ( 1 li ■J. ' K ' Hi ill 1 1 1 [ 1 ) I \> , ^ r *r|: " II >-v \ • f :1 I V. 102 SOCIETY. will soon learn, that, while in England the manual salutation reserves itself for expressin*^, as plainly as a sign can speak, " Here's a hand, wty trusty friend C in America it is also com- monly used to express, " How do you do, Sir ?" and a return to his hotel, after the temporary absence of a day or two, would ensure the equally cordial grasp of his host. I remember being excessively flattered one evening at the hand of a young lady, proffered evidently without art or affectation on our second meet- ing, or thereabouts ; but I had then been only a short time in the country. I believe all this sort of thing to arise from the individuals having been originally accustomed to meet only those whom they con- sidered as intimate friends ; hence, I see not that it ought justly to militate against our more reserved ideas. Why should we condemn a confidence which can only be reprehensible in a prospective view to the possibility of abuse ; and is, on the other hand, rather to be admired, when we examine its origin and its motives ? There are no regular public assemblies in Halifax. A theatre, conducted by ama- s \^ i AMTSEMKNTS. 103 3 4 teiirs, is opened five or six times during the season ; but a dearth of female performers ren- ders it not peculiarly attractive. Quadrille cards have lately been issued every fortnight bv one of the regiments in garrison, and have been received in the light they were intended — as an earnest of social harmony and amusement. Picnic parties in sunnner, and sleighing ex- cursions in winter, complete the scale of diver- tisseinens. The latter are peculiar to, the cli- mate. The quantity of snow that falls in the course of the winter, and remains on the ground without being carried off by the mild inter- mittent weather we experience during the same period in England, forms, when trodden down, a road almost equal to the finest railway.* The snow then becomes sufficiently firm for the grasp of the horse's hoof when rough-shod, and yet so soft as to prevent any injury arising from too rapid action : friction is reduced al- most to its minimum, and vehicles in the form ^ . Mi; * I have seen even small schooners built on the verge of the forest, several hundred yards from the water, which were intended to be drawn down to the sliore as s«)on as the snow should be sufficiently deep for this purpose. r .i) I ; l( I.' ' f ■n M 'I n V| < J \i 104 SLKIGIIING PARTIES. of a phaeton, tilbury, or even cliariot and coach, mounted upon a sort of broad skate, wliich ex- tends tlie wliole length of the carriage on each side in place of wlieels, glide over these roads with far more ease than is afforded by those of the famed M'Adam. \Vhenever a fine day and a well-formed road combine their attractions, — from a dozen to twenty of the members of the sleigh club may be seen with tandem, pair, four- in-hand, or postilions « tAnglahe, first making the tour of the streets to the open-mouthed ad- miration of all the little truant ragamuffins, and then dashing out of town along the fine *' bason road," to partake of a dejeuner a la fonrchette at some country-inn a few miles off. Each pretix chevalier is accompanied by the lady of his choice, while some in double sleighs are so unconscionable as to monopolize three or four. The only sitie qua non of pro- priety seems to be, that the signorine shall be matronized by some one. Strange as it may appear, while hosts of the unqualijied are ready to the moment, matronly volunteers are rarely to be found ; and the one who is eventually press- ed into the service, usually finds her numerous COASTING 10.1 clinr^ ns perfectly l)e}'()iul all control, as the necessity for such control is perfectly trivial. Allied (o this p/itrieian anmsenieiit is one that pt^'-sesses chrtnns in the eves of nnme- roiis plebeian votaries among the risin<^ "rone- ration, sufficient to oiitwei«rh all the terrors of the constable's baton and the house of correction. When the streets of Halifax are covered, as is frecpiently the case, with a sheet of ice, hosts of young urchins, with small flat boards placed upon runners, or sometimes' with butchers' trays, seat themselves on these machines, and, setting off from the top of the hill, glide down with inconceivable force and velocity. Serious accidents have occurred from this practice. One of my brother officers was lately passing in his tandem-sleigh the track of one of these Montagues Riisses, when a youngster in the act of descent, unable to alter his course, dashed between the legs of the leader, but luckily without doing or receiving any injury. Sometimes on a clear frosty night, when the moon assumes a brilliancy unknown in our English climate, 1 have watched these little sleds coasting (as it is termed) down the hills, F 5 t .'i *. ' \ !') 1/ ' J I*' ^':h i t ii ( ■; 106 AMUSEMENTS. witli an indescribable feeling of pleasure. The pure white of the polished snow is finely con- trasted with the dark masses that indistinctly cluster above, then break off one by one, and wliirl past, almost before the eye can fix itself upon the object, without leaving one trace behind. Scarce a sound breaks the stillness around, — the presence of animation is only re- cognized through the hum of the happy group, as they re-assemble at the station below. In England, we should think that lady open to a judgment oifelo de se, who should be seen driving about the Park in an open carriage on a severe day in January. Here, with a far greater intensity of cold, the same is practised as a daily amusement. The sleigh, however, cannot be compared with the English carriage : skins and furs in abundance line the former, and envelope the persons of the occupants ; and warm clothing is commonly worn sufficient to bid defiance to the cold. I have been much more surprised at witnessing the hardihood with which the nightly frosts are braved by the belles of Halifax. A crowded room, at the temperature of 80°, is cjuitted for the open air 'i I * BELL lis OF HALIFAX. 107 at a few degrees above, or even below the cypher, a cloak or shawl being the only addi- tional palliative of cold. If this does not sur- pass the fiimous vapour and snow bath of the Russiaui, it at least comes very near the mark. I have known, too, ladies walking home after evening parties, amid snow, sleet, or rain — not once or twice, but commonly. Can we be sur- prised that such extremes, accompanied by an almost nightly round of winter'^s Q*ssipation,give an appearance of maturity, when youth should be hut blowing, and sometimes call to mind the languid hue which indicates the noviciate of one whose rustic glow has not yet been ultimately succeeded by the transparent delicacy wc find under the black veils in the British metro])olis ? I am become cynical and einmienx, you will say, if patience has conducted you thus far. Truly, my fair cousin, I attempt not to deny tlie fact : bear with me, however, yet a little while: remember, I have not lately felt the renovating influence of your presence ; and that is surely sufficient apology. RevenoNs li fiotre sujet. — You ask about Indians, slavery, and education, or instruc- !i m 1 1 j ' I ' I 108 INDIANS. lltt d^ I I tion, Christian and moral ; — feminine subjects without doubt, but involving researches of which I can commimicate but a partial glimpse. The lengthened descriptions we have read in the volumes of the historians of these coun- tries, and the romantic narratives corrobo- rating those descriptions, that have interlined the pages of every modern traveller, and have afforded a prolific subject for the high colour- ing of the American novelist, induce an in- terest in the native children of the forest, which survives the fall of all those expectations that must ensue upon a comparison of the past with the present state of the Indian tribes ge- nerally, and more especially of the tribe at pre- sent existing in this province. Who is there that, after observing in the tales of Indian lore, instances of fortitude, throwing into the shade that of Mutius Scaevola; — of devoted patriot- ism, rivalling that of Leonidas; — of heroism, surpassing both in enthusiastic valour and in misfortune the deeds of a Kosciusko, — can land in the soil where once these cultivators of the sterner virtues roamed in the freedom of undisturbed possession, without a mingled feel- II •i:) I i INDIANS. 109 ing of reverence, of curiosity, and of admira- tion for their posterity ! How miserably are all these ideas levelled with the dust, at first sight of the abject beings who loiter about the wharfs, or infest the barbers' shops of Hali- fax,— meagre, squalid, dirty in person and in habit, — clothed in filthy rags or tattered blan- kets, and too often reeling half stupified under tlie effect of ardent spirits. Yet still, I have frequently observed about these Indians, that which I could not refrain from de])loring as tlie last faint traces of their former grandeur. Many of them are of stature above the common height ; of step firm and undaunted ; a form thin, yet discovering a bone and muscular ac- tion that bespeak powerful energy on excite- ment. Their dark piercing eye, lank black hair floating over the shoulders, and com- plexion of tarnished copper, mark them to the European as sons of an aboriginal race ; while their blue cloth surtout, edged at the seams with stripes of red, open at the neck, closely fitted to the body, and belted round the waist, their leggins of the same material, and seal-skin or stuff cap, or a common hat, ■ I . i ■i ii y ii > III \ ,1'. ^;; 110 INDIANS. / * , ^ '■I although somewliat out of character, still do not destroy the picture, and form a costume which is far from unbecoming. Would that there could be traced in them any certain relics of the lofty character that once swelled proudly within the breast of every warrior, and empowered the weakness of human nature to triumph even over agony and death ! but, with the change of physical habit, which their gradual association with Europeans has pro- duced, the bold and independent spirit of the natural lord of the soil appears to have be- come merged in apathetic indifference, and the fire of the warrior to have subsided into the inoffensive and peaceful demeanour of a weak dependent, content to live under the equal protection of the laws, and to seek, amid those wilds where the woodman'^s axe is yet unheard, the means of indulging the still savage habits from which every effort has hitherto failed to wean him. The tribe to which the Indians of Nova Sco- tia belong is called the Micmac, once among the most numerous ; but never, I believe, held in particular estimation for warlike courage. INDIANS. in The Baeothic or Red Indians of Newfound- land are supposed to be a branch of the same family. The number of those who may be termed residents, in Nova Scotia, is not easily ascertained. They themselves will tell you in conversation, " suppose 'em thousand :" less than half this number may probably be stated as the true amount of their male population ; mid their numbers are gradually diminishing. They all profess the Romish creed, — the first converts having been made by the Jesuits, when the French were in possession of the country ; and many of them have been so far instructed by their priests, as to be capable of reading the forms of prayer in their own lan- guage. A few individuals among them possess farms, and have submitted to the first ap- proaches of civilized life, as a measure of stern necessity. " White man," I have heard them say, " settle this side, that side, every where. Indian no see moose, caraboo ; Indian no like 'em starve, — force 'em go farm." These farms are but poor, and chiefly for live stock, of which I have known eight or ten head be- longing to one proprietor ; but their natural i!f r- i. ■If 112 INDIANS. I '.; 'i ( ■ : I :•■ inheritance is not to be thrown off by mere dint of reasoning ; and far more time is passed by these Indian farmers over the brook, or in ranging tlie woods, than in attending to the farm. The greater part live a wandering life, similar to tliat of our gipsies, frequenting the neighbourhood of the towns in summer time, when the smoke of a dozen wigwams curling over the shrubbery of some sheltered cove, marks tlie abode of as many families, from the montli of May till November. In each of these parties is one Indian generally of age and experience, to whom the rest sub- mit, in a manner most nearly resembling the patriarchal form ; but the authority is exercised and the obedience given without much rigour on either side. I am not aware that any one Indian claims authority over the whole Micmac tribe; there is certainly no one chief to whom obedience is acknowledged. The Indians are included as subjects, under the connnon protection of the laws ; but it is very rarely that any cases re- specting them appear before the bar, their petty differences being orbiirated by their re- INDIANS. 113 spective leaders. Their wigwams are simply a few poles placed upright, in tlie form of a sugar- loaf, and bound together at top, over which a few sheets of birch bark are laid, so as to ren- der them impenetrable to rain. The men emj)loy themselves in fishing, chiefly with the spear, and in shooting. The Squaws sit for hours and days, in their smoky wigwams, making baskets, or ornamental trifles, generally a sort of Mosaic work, in moose hair or quills of the Nova Scotian porcupine, stained of vari- ous colours, and worked upon a shell of birch bark. It is an amusing and yet almost a pitiable sight to see a family (as half a dozen at once may daily be seen) landing near the market- place at Halifax, from their " camp" on the opposite shore. The light canoe of birch bark glides into an opening between two of its bro- therhood, the squaw sitting in the centre, the papoose, (child,) if old enough, in the bow, or else at her feet, and the father paddling at the stern : their very movements indicate a listless- ness that bespeaks the little importance, even to themselves, of the object they have in view. ■,i^ U |i( • i i V. ,1. I? \l H '«'* I ,' dll < I ' V ij I (. I' W /. i <■ '» ,:f, f '1 I I! • Those who have not attempted to penetrate the vast forests of America, can have little conception of the accumu- lated horror their profound stillness forces upon the mind, especially when accompanied hy doubts as to the possibility of egress. I can only ompare this feeling, both in its cause and effects, to that which I apprehend would overwhelm the wild Indian of the woods, on finding himself in the de* sert of Zahara. g2 II 124 BEARS. 'i i ' ... ! .1 iM 1.1 ' ! reMard is reaped in self-preservation from ])e- rishing by cold or famine. Few other wild animals offer temptation either to the Indian hunter or to the sportsman. The back-settlers frequently range the woods in search of bears, which they also catch in strong- steel traps. The bear of Nova Scotia is black, and smaller than that of the North of Europe. Hardly any instance is known of his attacking the human species, if not wantonly provoked; lie generally makes off at the sight of man. Much as I have travelled through unfrequented parts of the province, I have never met with one of these animals ; they are, however, numerous in the interior, and destroy both the corn and cattle of the farmer. They remain stationary during the winter. Choosing some recess in the rocks, or under a hollow trunk, where, after a fall of snow, the air is almost excluded, they become sluggish, and in some measure torpid, never stir from their lair, and are said to de- rive such sustenance as their situation requires, from sucking their fore-paws. In the spring they issue forth with the departure of the snow, and, if killed at that time, are invariably I FUFKD NEGROES. 125 >g' fat, and in good condition. This singular trait in the natural history of the bear has been treated as a fable by many ; but those who have hved in the woods, and have been, as it were, the companions of the animal, concur in their testimony to the fact. The only animal besides the above, that can be deemed worthy of a bulletj is the Loup-cervier^ (pronounced Lucifee,) a species of wild cat, which flies at the sight of man, and is hunted only as a nuisance, or by the Indian for the sake of the skin. The large proportion of people of colour daily seen about the streets of Halifax strikes an European stranger sensibly : curiosity soon led me to visit their settlements in the neio-h- bourhood. The greater part of the negroes in Nova Scotia are individuals, or the descendants of individuals, carried ofl* from the United States, during the last war with America ; and who, being thus snatched from a state of slavery, were emancipated on touching the Nova-Scotian soil. I must be understood ta allude here, more particularly, to the black set- tlement at Hammond's Plains, about fifteen miles west of Halifax, which is the most ex- ■■\ ii r I 'Hi m' t 126 FREED NEGROES. ^ r Fl :i tensive of the whole ; but the main features, and the observations that a personal acquaint- ance has there enabled me to make, are ap- plicable to all the other settlements thai I have visited. In summer, large parties of these negroes may be seen entering the town by seven in the morning, having walked all that distance, to sell the wild fruits they gather in the woods, and to procure their little sup- plies. In winter, too, they are seen bringing in a few shingles or brooms, and, with the ex- ception of some of the young women, always clothed in rags, and exhibiting the picture of wretchedness. " How do you get on at the Plains, friend ?" said I, one afternoon, as my horse outpaced one of these tatterdemalions, who was trudging along the road with great sang-froid. " Oh, bad times now, Sir," was the reply. " Then, why do you stay here ? why not go back to your old master, in the States ?" " Oh no, — that never do." — " How so ?" — " 'cause, what I works for here. I gets." This is not the idea of one, but of the many; and it is this, together with the suspicion attendant upon 1 1 FREED NEGROES. 127 tlicir ignorance, that lias rendered abortive all attempts to induce them to remove to other countries, or to other parts of the pro- vince. Scarcely does a winter pass without the distressed situation of the negroes coming under the consideration and relief of the Le- gislature. Their potatoe crop fails ; their soil is said to be incapable of supporting them ; and disease makes fearful ravages. Many and various have been the means resorted to for the purpose of inducing them to migrate to a climate and soil better adapted to their constitution and habits. Free passages, and rights and possessions, similar to those they at present enjoy, have been offered in vain : the representations of a few individuals, wlio have accepted these offers with much advan- tage, have been treated as falsities or impo- sitions, — and the negro settlements conti- nue with numbers gradually diminishing — in summer miserable, and in winter starving. Their origin, their story, and their condition, thus contribute to shed an almost romantic halo around them; and the first question put to any one who has returned from their neigh- ■; ' ■ 128 FRKED NEGROES. '^ \ i ' ■■ :■ 'I. bourbood, is sure to be — " How are the poor blacks ?" I confess I cannot fully accord witli these compassionate ideas. Kxaniine the coun- try in the neighbourhood of Hammond's Plains, or of Preston (a black settlement of nearly the same extent) ; and then look at the white settlers around them. How comes it that the latter have, in many instances, commenced with equal capital, viz. a pair of hands, — have la- boured on a soil of worse quality, — have re- ceived iio provincial aid, and yet have arrived at a state of comparative independence and comfort ? The cause is simply, — industry. One or two examples I know among the younger men of colour brought up in the pro- vince, who are rising above their comrades ; but the mass appear sunk in indolence, and pre- fer even the approach of starvation, to the steady exertion necessary to provide for their own support. Yet we must not condemn those whose faculties, having been first debased by the injustice of one portion of their fellow- creatures, have then been suffered to find their own level among those of a free people. Their palliative plea in our minds must be the reflec- 2 I ri 'I i ! : ' I \V\\ , ■ it( I ni:(;R'> clkkgyman. 129 tion that our policy brought tliuni into tliis con- dition. Tiiese are the people on whose account (rreat Britain lately awarded a donation of one million to the United States ; a donation as unlooked-for as it is ridiculed by those very citizens who have tasted the cream of the jest — a donation bestowed by honest John, in com- pensation to the planters, whose slaves were carried oft* in order to enjoy the domestic com- forts of political freedom and physical starva- tion, under British auspices in Nova Scotia ! Most of these negroes are Protestant secta- rians; but their ideas upon religious subjects are more limited than those of any other class in the province, not excepting the Indians. This is easily accounted for, among the older subjects. A school in each of the principal settlements has opened the dawn of better intelligence among their children. In the Preston village is a fa- cetious worthy, of sable hue, who styles himself the Reverend, and is in the habit of holding forth to a weekly congregation. A clerical friend of mine, a true Episcopalian, fraught with all the classic dignity of Oxford, was reclining one Saturday afternoon in that grotto of in- G 5 ;.ly not (loom nio to (li«;rt'ss too widoly from tin- siibjoct, if wi' incliidi' undi'i tlu' .saini' luwid a skotch of tlu' ii'li^ious denominations that \)rv- vail in tlu' |)roviiu*(\ 'Vhv fstahliislu'd ri-ligion, or that which has the support of funds autlio- rizod by the (lovermnent, is tlie same as at home, included in the diocese of a Hishop, whose officiating clergy are comprised in one Arclide.'icon, and twenty-seven ])arocijial minis- ters williin tlie ])rovincc. 'I'he Cliurcli Ksta- Ijfislunent is controlled and supported, almost entirely, hy the " Incorporated Society for the Propa«ration of the (xospel in Foreign Parts," which, for this purpose, receives an annual grant from the Imperial Parliament. The ministers are procured partly from Britain, partly from the e/cvcs of the Kpiscoj)al Provincial Univer- sity at Windsor. All bear the title of Mission- ary ; and all must be considered Missionaries, thoii- fc'ssors lor tlu* various hranclics of a tiassiral odiicatioi) ; tlu> inatlu'inatiis luiii^ hut socoii- dary. Diiriii*; tlu- last fivt- years, tlu- avi-ra/^t- niiinlK'r of students may hv stated as twenty annually. The nuinher of ordinations (hiring the same period has been liftcen; the greater mMnl)er of* tliose wlio leave the College hein^ destined for the ehiireh. Krom this mirsery have issued many youn*;- men, who now ably (ill the situation of resident Missionary, in various parts of the country. The Coliefjiate supj)ly, however, not bein thrd inn infii the disrl I } If ' I ESTABLISHED CHLRCH. 135 sional education. Yet we have found those whose qualifications do not admit of their en- tering into orders in England, receiving an episcopal benediction for this province : and again, we find the few who have regularly passed through the University courses, bring- ing with them, and maintaining, ideas, de- meanour, and habits, but little calculated to conciliate their parishioners in this country. I repeat once more, brilliant exceptions exist among the latter ; but how rare ! — What is the effect produced by the repeated action of these events ? Not merely that a congregation, in place of receiving its doctrine from a most legitimately constituted son of St. Peter, takes a fancy to receive the same (or one founded on tlie same broad basis) from the unepiscopal lips of Mr. So-and-so ; but that a discredit is thrown upon religion ; that the highway to immorality is opened still wider, and that the infinite blessings imparted by the revelation of the Most High, are perverted or treated with disregard. Among other facts to be deplored, I have witnessed one most flourishing dis- , IV. ) ' ! 1 = i»V '' ", \ i 136 MISSIONARIES OF THE t i ,!! t ■ft .1. I' f ^1 fill i trict,* containing some thousand souls, provided with an excellent church, to the erection of which tlie then parishioners mainly contributed, and which, for some time past, has been left without an established minister. M hy ? " All the in- habitants are Dissenters." Is this the cause or the effect.'' — I am inclined to believe, the latter. That the number of Missionary Clergymen of the Established Church should be so inadequate to the wants of the province, is greatly to be lamented ; and 1 cannot conceive that such would be the case, were more active measures pursued by the Society at home, and their true situation, as residents in Nova Scotia, more generally known. Many hundred curates are there in Great Britain, whose personal comforts and emoluments are infinitely more restricted. The term Missionary excites, in the English breast, many a vague idea of hardship and de- voted suffering, and of constancy beyond the common lot of mankind. Mere fatras here. If a Missionary in Nova Scotia ever suffers any • Amherst, in county Cumberland, in 1828. I helieve, a Missionary has recently been nominated to this township. ESTABLISHED CHURCH. 137 real hardship, or incurs any personal danger, it is the effect of his own egregious folly, in not taking the advice of those better acquainted with the climate than himself. I once under- went excessive fatigue, and incurred some risk, in returning during a snow-storm from a cle- rical out-quarter, whither 1 had accompanied a missionary ; but this was purely owing to my own obstinacy : my more sober friend remained snug in his quarters, and laughed at me when next we met. — In preference to obtaining ministers ordained in England, I should con- ceive it desirable to send out young men eli- gible for entrance into the University at Wind- sor, who, while thus devoting themselves to the service of the Church, would also become habituated to the country, and to the moral peculiarities of their future parishioners. The small expense at which an excellent education is thus ensured, and the certainty of com- fortable provision for the future, should induce many a parent to seize this opening, whose funds and whose large family preclude him from all hopes of passing his son through either of the Universities in England. #|< t'ift I ' ,1 ^ i L ' /I '"•if 138 PRESBYTERIANS. — DISSENTERS. 'A i] ''fl'l ■ li ' (, I The establishment of the Church of Scot- land, which numbers ten officiating ministers within the province, of the " Church of Scot- land," and sixteen ministers of the " Provincial Presbyterian Synod,*' is also assisted by partial aid from the Government. This aid was, till very recently, extended by the provincial legis- lature to an academy at Pictou, which, al- though originally established by Presbyterians, in order to afford instruction to those professing their tenets, who are not admissible to the Col- lege at Windsor, is open to young men of all Christian denoilnations. This academy is still continued, under the direction of a Scottish clergyman ; but the number of students is hardly above a dozen. — In point of numbers, this congregation stands first on the provincial list ; but its excess is not in any great amount. It includes nearly one-third of the total popu- lation, and is provided with ministers almost exclusively from Scotland. Protestant dissenters are numerous through- out the province : of these, the Baptists form by far the largest portion. Twenty-four ministers of all classes are comprised as officiating in this per- Ind settl the I of one! are u ^ ROMAN CATHOLICS. 139 suasion. The aggregate amount of tlicsc con- gregations is upwards of one-fourth of the to- tal population. No political disabilities are attached to any creed. The Dissenters, ge- nerally speaking, convey religious instruction by resident ministers, in the more populous districts, and by visiting ministers periodi- cally, through the smaller settlements. Whe- ther the system of periodical visitation in a more extended circle be preferable to perma- nent labours in one more confined, is a well- known clerical proposition which I pretend not to solve. The dissenting ministers are sup- ported much in the same manner as those of the Established Church, namely, in part by pri- vate aid from Great Britain, and in part by contributions levied in small proportions upon the property of their congregations. The Roman Catholic Church includes all the Indians, the Acadians, and great part of the settlers along the north-eastern or gulf-shore of the province, who are chiefly from the North of Scotland. Its administration is conducted by one bishop and thirteen priests, four of whom are foreigners. This congregation comprises :ki i i< ' i I . .1 m ' ! i'r 140 SYSTEM OP • J. ( >J i ' I/! I ■ k I ifi 1 "I about one-sixth of the population. It is cer- tainly behind the others with respect to instruc- tion, and is as completely under the control of its bishop and priests as any other out of Ireland. The priests are chiefly from Great Britain or France. There is no provincial seminary for the instruction of elh^es in the Roman Catholic tenets. Education in the elementary branches is more generally to be attained throughout Nova Scotia than might be expected in so young a country. It is only in the most remote and scattered settlements that schools in some shape do not exist. The whole country is divided into school-districts, apportioned with reference to its state of population. Upon the application of two-thirds of the inhabitants of any district, a school is therein established, and a compe- tent master appointed by legislative authority. The maintenance of these schools is effected partly from the public funds, and partly by as- sessments upon the inhabitants of the district. The system is not by any means perfect in its internal arrangements ; but it is perhaps the one best adapted to the circumstances of the • T ton, H ior the associai + H a yearl on the for the) vate sc] It I GENERAL EDUCATION. 141 country.* There is by no means a feeling of indifference prevalent on this head ; the settlers are generally anxious that their children should he instructed ; and I have found several schools in temporary operation, where the number and means of the settlement did not admit of its coming within the scope of the provincial grant ; tliough this practice is punishable by the strict letter of the law. These efforts, insignificant as they may appear, I regard with greater at- tention than the academical placards of the capital ;-|- for it is into the habits, the feelings, the intellectual cultivation of its peasantry, that we must look for the character of the country. If we find that the rough log-hut with barken roof contains beings with whom the practical precepts of Christianity are the guide of daily life ; if we find that general intelligence, com- • The principal Black settlements, those of Halifax, Pres- ton, Hammond's Plains, Shelburne, and Digby, have schools for the Negroes, supported by an English society, " The associates of the late Reverend Dr. Bray." + Halifax possesses a grammar-school, which is assisted by a yearly allowance from the public revenue ; a large school on the National, and one on the Lancastrian system ; a school for the children of Roman Catholics, and several smaller pri- vate schools. '■ t li I' mm im 1 r f i ! ! m I ' 142 CHARACTER OF THE PEASANTRY. (, ) 1 ,■ l!:l / i r . U^ bined with honest independence, respect for the laws, and contented minds, breathes happiness in every well-shingled tenement ; then may we admire the people that are in such a case, — then may that people look forward with hope un- clouded to the future. That this is not a mere beau ideal, an intimate acquaintance with cot- tage scenes, in various parts of the province, enables me to assert. Politically speaking, it is an unqualified fact. Yet I mean not to apply it as universal ; we have not yet arrived at the Millenium. The truth is, the circumstances of the country are such, that the appearance of a higher standard of simplicity, virtue, and intel- lect presents itself to the European observer, than a more careful examination will evince. Eve was not tempted with a yard of Brussels' lace, nor would the very apple, divested of its prohibitory mark, have retained among a thou- sand others its resistless fascination. We observe, as general characteristics;— un- bounded hospitality ; great courtesy of manner, and readiness to oblige ; the most liberal exercise of that branch of charity which inculcates the relief of distress ; and much apparent devotion ninety! these in desJ ) > CHARACTER OF THE PEASANTRY. 143 in the conduct of the family economy. The first I hold to arise from the abundance in which steady labour will always produce the neces- saries of life ; the second, from the necessity daily and hourly experienced by neighbours, of mutual help and mutual obligation ; and from the absence of any thing like the assump- tion of ascendancy by one class over another. The third may be deduced from the first and second ; and the fourth I apprehend to be the effect of religious instruction, which impresses itself more forcibly upon the mind under these peculiar local circumstances. Take the most accomplished scoundrel from the purlieus of the British metropolis ; suppose (for thus much must be admitted as data) that emigra- tion has fixed him in an American forest-farm, which he clears during a course of years by his own labour. A wife and young family spring up around him ; he has the necessaries of life in abundance, and cannot procure what were once his luxuries. I assert that, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, either of tiiese two circumstances would take place: — in despair at the sight of his sylvan abode, he t!« I' • ) 111 I j ; , 1 i i'. .') 11 144 CHARACTKR OP THE PEASANTRY. 5 -S' ' (;■ ! ■ i I would flee the country to haunts more con- genial ; or, — would gradually assume the cha- racteristic qualities above stated. Turn the picture. We find an uncontrollable indulgence of self-will frcc^uently setting at nought the fifth commandment : that courtesy so conspicuous, changed into its most determined converse, when any opposition is experienced : morality, on some points at least, loose, and, on the score of temperance, but too generally dis- sipated. These, as well as their opposites, are all more or less incidental to local circumstances. From the first moment that he begins to crawl about the cottage, a child in these young coun- tries becomes far more dependent upon his own resources than in those that have been for ages under civil government. The case is different with the savage : knowing but the wants of primitive nature, he looks for the gratification of no other : and, while the cor- responding senses receive proportionate ex- ercise, other faculties lie comparatively dor- mant. Witness the animal sagacity, together with the absence of foresight, in the Indian. The white settler has his thousand artificial U ii h f PROGRESSIVE II .\ BITS. U5 wants, which twine themselves around the opening ideas of liis cliiklren ; tlie means of gratification are not, or only jiartially, at hand ; hence the intellect is early forced into action in inventing substitutes for tiiose means. The child's attendance at the day-school is but a casual break to this exercise of sagacity : it is here, more commonly, that the first idea of control is acquired ; for at home, the busy oc- cupation of his parents, and the absence of any thing like physical want, ensure to him the most unrestrained indulgence of free-will. The value of his services, where labour is so much needed, cuts short the years at school, and he then grows up more as the assistant and equal than as the child of his parents, not plodding along one narrow path, as a ploughman or a cobbler, but habituated to all the varied occu- pations of the farmer and tlie household me- chanic. Let it not be considered that, in thus stating the effects of physical causes, I endeavour to deteriorate from the good qualities that decided- ly preponderate in the scale of the morale. When- ever we find peculiarities in nature, the inquiry H ! J n 146 COTTAGE SCENKS. , ! iJ' r t as to how they arc produced, or how assisted, ean never be productive of harm, and may lead to much benefit. I am not unmindful of the happy hours I have passed, when forming one of the family circle round many a eottagi- hearth in this province; answering the half- antiquated queries of the elders, upon sundry topics respecting " the old country," and '* home," as it was when they left it ; and re- ceiving in return all their local information, in- terspersed with occasional adventures in the woods, or escapes from shipwreck in the fishing shallop : the only concern of the master being, lest his door should be too soon opened for my departure ; and of the good woman, lest her fare should prove too homely. Often have I been unable to prevent the best bed being given up to me — and this, too, with no other recommendation than that of a stranger and an Englishman rambling over the country. The inquisitive curiosity so remarkable among the Americans is here seldom so in- dulged as to become annoying. I have even observed, in some instances, a delicacy in this respect, for which I should not have looked ; TRAITS OP CHARACTER. u: l)iit these instances arc not more common than is the event of a stranger wandering througli the back-settlements of a forest country. In the older and more populous districts these characteristic features show forth less promi- nently ; but the family likeness is by no means impaired. It is in the towns alone, tliat the portrait loses great part of its resend)lance : tliat simplicity is succoeded by pematurc at- tempts at an approauh to eleg/iice, and the unassuming inquiries ol' iMnitcd cultivation replaced by the msipiiity of self sat i-fteil igno- rance. Days o^ l>ct';er euVhvatkjn mc>re e«pi.'- cially among th( upper ci^ssc.-, arc Ap| > ;v»u^b- ing, as the province is dsin^; in "Pntrgy and wealth ; and although it. m:,y be xaid, ^' Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be w jse,'' 1 hold that truism to be inapplicablo lo the Tin^e in question, where the general diiVnsion of hnppi- ness that certainly exists would be lugmcnled exactly in inverse raijo to the abstravtmn of her too intimate cod-pani >n. ■tl' )l r I I .1 vJ H 2 I '' li 1 ' /: 148 A PARTING INJUNCTION. i f. t 1/ h LETTER V. Meteorology. — Changes of temperature. — " The barber." — Thermometric intensity. — Atmospheric phenomena. — Seasons. — Spring. — " Nova Scotia nightingale." — Sum- mer. — Autumn. — Indian Summer. — Winter. — Snow Storms. — Agriculture Cape Breton Extent of Nova Scotia Proper.— Mode of first settling. — Log-hut. — First crop. — Rent.— Ungran ted land. — Three Agricul- tural Divisions. — Sketch of First, or Eastern ; Second, or Southern ; Third, or North-western. — Land.— Upland. ^Intervale. — Saltmarsh. — Dyked marsh. — Aboiteaux. — Tillage.— Crops. — Manures. — Rotations. — Average Pro- duce. — Remarks on Nova Scotian Wheat. — Live Stock. — Horses. — Cattle. — Sheep. — Swine. — Dairies. — Farm- ing. — Fences. — Seed-time and Harvest. — Wages of La- bour—Markets. — Horticulture. 'K ■I TO ESQ. HALL, NORTHAMPTONSHIRE. Halifax. Do not imagine, my worthy Uncle, that the lapse of several months since my passage across " the water," as the Americans term the At- lantic, must be taken as presumptive evidence usei one of , i, ri; METEOROLOGY. 149 to the fact of my having forgotten your part- ing injunction, to send you an epistle which, as you expressed yourself, might certify to you whether, on tlie one hand, " the people do bur- row under the snow,"" to preserve themselves during winter; or, on the other, the land be so rich and the climate so genial, that, as in the wonderful country of Ohio, " a crow-bar plant- ed in the ground at night will be found sprout- ing out tenpenny nails in the morning." In endeavouring to clarify your ideas upon these two subjects, and more especially upon the latter, I must be understood as stating the per- sonal impressions produced by casual observa- tion in various parts of the country, and by con- versation with practical persons, rather than as work.ng upon certain data afforded by the com- bination of theoretic attainment and long expe- rience of those who are resident in the province. Meteorological observations have yet been noted to a very limited extent, and, for many years to come, will probably be no farther useful than as indices of climate, confined to one or two isolated spots. A very short period of residence points out to the European, many HI I ''I If 1 if' Vi •'*J ■ »5 'Ifi^^'^fU t i! • I 1 . .^ \' : i \ If i m-i f. .1 fi! :l Vi Uli /'s 1^- 5 IJ a. 4; I 150 CHANGES OF TEMPERATURE. remarkable differences from the climate he has recently quitted, which appear, at first sight, to set all theory at defiance, and which yet, per- haps, on closer investigation, are only calculated more strongly to exemplify i^s truth. Suppose him landing at Halifax, on any day in the month of August ; he pants with oppressive heat, throws himself on a sofa, and lies in " pro- strate energy,"' till a friendly invite from one of the military messes places him in the midst of twenty or thirty close-buttoned, well- sashed personages, where a quiet annunciation from the surgeon acquaints him that Fahrenheit lias exhibited 95° in the shade, during the day. Next day, he is stewed in a sort of vapour bath, formed by a due admixture of sea fog, with the above-mentioned caloric ; and on the third day, he rises to behold a lovely Italian sky — a sun shining with unwonted brilliancy, and yet a bracing breeze that makes him glad to button his surtout ere that sun has descend- ed midway from the zenith. Again : — let hiri be a man sufficiently adventurous, or suffici- ently ignorant, to take the December packet from England : he sails up Halifax harbour on (C THE BARBER. 11 151 a January morning, the cook handing up kettle after kettle, at every tack, to scald the frozen sheets and blocks, and the skipper half frantic with tlie helmsman, who finds himself out in Iiis calculations, froiii the circumstance of the vessers trim being altered a foot or two by the liead, owing to a wall of ice that has accumu- lated on her bows, looking like the grisly mous- taches of a veteran hussar. Woe betide his fresh shaven visage, if it be upreared above the hatchway ! Frozen particles of the atmosphere, aptly termed by the natives " the barber," sweep the surface of the water, and are ready to perform the operation afresh, without the kindly aid of soap suds ; and Fahrenheit'*s mer- cury in a sheltered spot is levelled to six or eight degrees on the negative scale. Once land- ed, he fixes himself immovably in his stove- heated parlour ; at night esconces himself be- neath a mountain of bed-clothes ; and, before he has got well into oblivion, is tormented with apprehensions of having migrated bodily into the infernal regions, being in much the same state as that so heroically endured by Roderick Random, in the blankets, at the crisis of his 1.1 Si '. % ^.^ ■(I !' i li 1 f ' fj r V 11 in I!' f " : \ !l u '» 1 1 '.I*' 152 WIND AN INDEX TO WEATHKR. i t I i! Carthagena fever. The index of Fahrenheit will now point on the positive scale to 50^. I do not nKan to assert that these extremes will inevituoly be experienced during three days' residence in Halifax, but that they are of frequent occurrence, and so frequent as to be matter of surprise only to strangers. Perhaps there is no spot in North America, where relative locality influences atmospheric temperature so inmiediately, as it does here. Knowing the direction of the weather-vane is almost synonymous with knowing the hygro- metric and thermometric temperament for the day : thus, for instance, in summer, the winds from norch to west are accompanied by fine, clear, bracing weather; while any thing from south to east brings fog or rain. The wind from west to south produces pleasant, yet vari- able or showery weather ; and, from north to east, we expect only that which is raw and dis- agreeable. In winter, the north-west quadrant becomes identified with a clear, dry atmosphere and intense cold : the south-east, with rapid thaw and floods of rain. The south-west is marked by moderate frost and shght thaws; ■ t '> TKERMOMETRIC VARIATION. 153 and the north-east winds come charged with cold raw mist, or heavy snow-storms. I do not pretend to enter into scientific disquisition, and still less into speculative inquiry as to the causes whence may be deduced the origin of these facts ; but a simple glance at any map of the American hemisphere will show them to be severally coincident, in a remarkable manner, with vast continental tracts of land, broad ex_ panses of ocean, or combinations of both in minor proportions. The greatest degree of heat that has come under my own observation at Halifax was 95" of Fahrenheit ; and the extreme of cold — 10" ; but in other parts of the province, I have known the thermometer to range from — 25° to — 32" on win- ter mornings, during the course of a fortnight. The extreme difference of thermometric tem- perature that I have personally remarked was 50'' of Fahrenheit within twenty-four hours. A difference of 62' has been known to occur within the same period. All this, it must be remembered, is upon the 45th parallel of north latitude. These changes are seldom so fre- quent, or so extreme, in the interior, or in those H 5 3 I 154 SUPFOSKD EFFECTS m I I I t parts of the province situated less immediately upon tlie Atlantic: a greater proportion of clear dry weather is there experienced in sum- mer ; and in winter more intense cold and more severe storms of snow, with much less intermis- sion of thaw or damp. The general idea with regard to the effects of these rapid changes of temperature upon the human frame, is that they are prejudicial to health, and that the constituticm is thereby exposed to very severe trials. The ex})ericnce of a course of years seems, in some measure, to corroborate this idea, although the passing observation of the day, and reference to the few tabular registers that have hitherto been produced on this subject, would rather prove the contrary. We find, among the old settlers, and not unfrequently among the younger ones also, that rheumatic pains are very prevalent ; and although the duration of life, and the pos- session of vigorous faculties, are certainly not more limited than in Britain, still the pre- valence of slight disorders, or rather, I should say, of such as are commonly called incidental to a cold climate, must be admitted to bring i '1 OF CLIMATE. 155 IS tlic scale of comparison very nearly to an ec|ui- poise. On referring to the register of health appended to the meteorological table,* it will be seen that the months during which the most rapid changes are experienced, viz. between December and April, are those in which sick- ness appears to be the least prevalent ; but it must be remarked, with reference to this table, that the state of the military quartered at any foreign station must not be taken abstractedly as a criterion of the salubrity or otherwise of the climate, — on account of the peculiar liabits of soldiers, and of local duties by which that state is often more or less affected. Individually speaking, I prefer the climate of Nova Scotia to that of England, simply because, in the former country, a much larger portion of the pure air of heaven may be in- haled within a mane's lungs during the twelve- month than in the latter. More intense heat and more intense frost are undoubtedly ex- perienced ; but, though the days be hot, the evenings are always cool, and tenfold more de- lightful from their very contrast with midday * Vide Appendix, No. IV. 1 156 CLIMATE THE CAUSE ^ With respect to the opposite extreme, the remark made by a distinguished provincial character, before a Committee of the House of Commons — *' It is not the frost that makes cold," — although quaint, and at first sight paradoxical, is nevertheless perfectly intelH- gible to the English resident in Nova Scotia ; for here we seldom feel those raw, shivering, and (to use a pure Anglicism) " starvation" days that December, January, and February produce in abundance at home ; and I speak from experience, when I say, that 25° below zero, with the cloudless sky and brilliant sun that are the usual concomitants, are far pre- ferable to such weather as the above. The numberless petty distresses into which many a worthy English housekeeper is thrown daring the course of her first year's residence in this country, are subjects that excite only the amusement or the charitable feelings of those to whom the relation of such woes may have been communicated, and who are better acquainted with the antidotes which prevent their recur- rence. In autumn, the good lady of the mansion is delighted with the facility of her domestic i; OP HOUSEHOLD DISASTERS. 157 menage : a delicious temperature is continued beyond the time at which she would be swath- ing the little ones in flannels at home; fruits and vegetables of the more common kinds are to be procured in abundance ; and her larder is relieved from the swarms of flies that skir- mished round its defences in summer. All goes on smoothly till December : then comes a catalogue of disasters sufficient to ruffle the temper of a very Job in petticoats, — if such a personage could be ever imagined in existence. Her fine stand of flowering geraniums greets her morning-glance with a mixture of half- shrivelled stems and blighted leaves ! Up comes cook in dismay, to report that the stock laid in as potatoes is now nothing better than a heap of stones, totally unfit for all purposes of the art culinary ! The formation of an apple- dumpling for the children''s dinner is found, from the same cause, to be matter of impossi- bility ; and when it is determined that, next morning, detachments of domestic foragers shall marih in all directions to replace the loss, the enemy is discovered by rnorning"'s dawn to have thrown up, or rather thrown down, an 'i I ii m* ! ( 1 i* t 158 ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA. I t h lit U If.' 1 1 epaulement of snow in front of the door, that bids defiance till noon-day to all the spades and shovels of the establishment. It would be end- less to enumerate the difficulties that may be incurred by those who will not take the proper steps to surmount them : the antidotes are all simple, and easy in their application. Various atmospheric phenomena may be re- marked at certain seasons, which are observable in climates farther south, as well as in the higher latitudes. A southerly wind is almost invariably preceded by a sort of mirage, or, as it is technically termed, " a looming" of the land, or of objects seen at a distance, which, to all appearance, raises them in air above the sur- face of the water, and throws the outlines of hills into the most fantastic forms. This is ob- served most sensibly upon the Atlantic coast, and there frequently in as great a degree as in the southern parts of th'^ United States. A moon shining in the early part of the night, through an atmosphere so clear as to render her opaque body distinctly visible to the naked eye, is often encircled by a halo of light-coloured vapour before she has attained the meridian : A SINGULAR PHENOMENON. 159 er her ?d eye, loured •idian : a storm of rain or snow within twenty-four liours is generally consequent on this appear- ance at Halifax. A similar halo sometimes surrounds the sun ; and I once observed a double halo surrounding the sun"'s disc, a little after midday, beautifully tinged with all the colours of the rainbow ; the lighter ones being predominant. The sky had previously been clear and serene as that of Italy : snow followed shortly afterwards. Although the aurora borea- lis is so frequently seen as to be an object of lit- tle curiosity, I am not aware that it is more brilliant here than in some parts of Scotland. A singular phenomenon occurred at Lu- nenburg some years ago. The person from whom I received the relation was in company with several other inhabitants of that town, when suddenly they heard the report of distant guns, and counted the number very distinctly. It was in the afternoon, and the atmosphere was perfectly calm, rather cloudy, and without any other remarkable appearance. The party con- cluded it to be some engagement or great gun practice on board a vessel oft' the harbour. It was afterwards discovered to have been a I! I < If ) H 7# ICO OIJSKIIVATIONS ON CLIMATK. ^ ill i salute fired by a fri«rate in the harbour of Hali- fax, the distance from which, in a straight line, is very nearly fifty miles. It is said that the evening-gun fired from the citadel at Halifax is also sometimes heard at Lunenburg. Whether the climate of Nova Scotia, and in- deed of the northern ])arts of America, be not undergoing a gradual change, is a (jueslion often discussed ; and, 1 apprehend, as often left undetermined. Observations noted with care, at many stations distant from each other, con- tinued during a series of years, and compiled and investigated by men of science, are the only data that can be admitted as conclusive evi- dence towards the solution of questions of this nature. Sufficient time has not, however, been yet afforded for completing continued courses of observation, except at a few isolated spots; nor has scientific intelligence yet found footing so broad and firm as to enable us to rely with confidence u])on those registers which the praisewortliy exertions of private individuals occasionally offer to public notice. It is very generally asserted, that whereas in former years certain fruits or vegetables were found TJi| bered I relati\ deeine April, from ^imilail thouffll o ■ SEASONS- 161 incapable of cultivation, or were brought to iimturity with iimcli troulilo, or at lator periods of tile season, the suiuc are now found easy of production, and coiiM^.irativcly early. Hence is assumed the conclusion, tiuit an amelioration of climate must have taken place. It is al- most needless to remark that, admitting; the fact as abo\. stated, the advantages of ])ettcr local intelli«5ence, cond)incd with practical experience — the difference between a newly broken soil and that which has been for some time submitted to the various processes of agriculture, — together with many other con- siderations, would offer sufficient Means of so- lution, without any recourse to operations upon so grand a scale as those of atmospheric variation. The seasons in Nova Scotia may be num- bered the same as at home, but not in the same relative proportions. Spring can hardly be deemed to commence before the beginning of April. Summer occupies three months, dating from the early part of June. Autumn, a similar period, terminating with November, though sometimes protracted a little later; '' 11. J 1. 162 SPRING. - ( ' J: and winter, borrowing a month from the next quarter, prevails from December to the end of March. These periods will be found correct, as the average throughout the province ; but consider- able local variation is experienced. Thus, at Horton, the spring usually opens three weeks earlier than it does on the gulf-shore of Coun- ty Cumberland, from which the distance is hardly sixty miles ; and at Windsor, only forty- five miles from Halifax, a difference of a fort- night is generally perceptible in favour of the former. Spring is found always to advance with steps nearly imperceptible until the latter part of May, when it bursts forth with a luxu- riance of vegetation and a warmth of tempera- ture that quickly convert the landscape into that of an English summer. Hence, perhaps, the southern Englishman will deem it prema- ture to date the spring season from the com- mencement of April : the native, on the con- trary, will hardly admit that winter continues till the end of March. These boundaries of the seasons are here assumed, not so much from the progress of vegetation as from the state of in Jicai-d than " NOVA SCOTIA NIGHTINGALE." 163 lext dof i the iider- is, at ^veeks uoun- X ice IS forty- a fort- of the dvance i latter luxu- ;mpera- -)e into erhaps, 3rema- le com- le con- antinues anes of ch from state of the atmosphere, and from its effects on ani- mated nature ; for now, the Upper Benjamin^ in place of being on the back of its owner, is seen to decorate the peg in his entrance-hall ; fur tippets and pelisses give way to apparel of k^ss dreadnought appearance ; snow has disap- peared, except within the woods; tlie birds are found hopping among the twigs ; and the marsli-frog, the " Nova Scotia Nightingale," as he is sometimes termed, unceasingly uplifts the voice of melody in chanting the praises ot Ins helpmate. The last named creatures are considered in the country as certain liarbingers of Spring, as the cuckoo is with us. I'he noise they make resembles the chirping and whist- ling of a multitude of small birds, and, if not heard too near, is soft and pleasing rather than otherwise. Mingled with this, the half- suppressed bellow of the large bull-frog occa- sionally strikes upon the ear, and always re- minds me of the leader of an orchestra, boiling with fury towards a recreant violinist, and yet forced to keep his attention upon the progress of the piece. I remember, one day in April, wliile sketch- \ 3 "I ! '*" Isl ^ * \- ?!*! / ll r f 164 FIELDS OF ICE. H I'll i j, .*}i|f { ■ li,i Am f V I ' Ml ''iiv \ :^i, ,^;i ^1 /ill i ^«^ ing near the road-side, some newly-landed emi- grants from the Emerald Isle trudged past, in all the unlovely dishabille occasioned by a hot sun and plenty of dust. The usual preliminary, of '* What time o' day is it, y'r honour ?" hav- ing been settled ; the next question was, " What birds are those chirruping ?" '* Birds ? Paddy ! no birds at all."" Patrick visibly stared, in some alarm, which instantly spread its infection to his comrades. " What then, y'r honour ?" ex- claimed two or three, " are they the snakes ?" My risibility hardly reassured these true sons of the modern Pythian Saint ; and their forward steps were measured with no small increase of caution. In April, the vast fields of ice that break up from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, float past the parallel of Nova Scotia, and occasion a course of cold raw winds which vary between the N. E. and S. E. quadrants, in a manner re- markably coincident with the position of these frozen masses, during the space of a month or six weeks. It is this circumstance that chiefly retards the more gradual developement of the usual appearances of Spring ; that obliges us to .( '111 I >v' emi- st, in a hot nary, ' hav- VVhat addy ! 1 some ion to ?" ex- akcs ?' le sons forward rease of reak up jast the course Ireen the nner re- of these Honth or chiefly nt of the ges us to A MYSTERY EXPLAINED. 165 keep up good fires till near June; and that malies us feel thoroughly chilled when the S. E. wind rises, although we may have been pre- viously forced to throw oif all but the lightest clothing. From the vernal equinox to the end of April is, to my idea, the most disagreeable season in this country ; for, even if the wea- ther be fine, the state of the ground is such, diat stirring out beyond a well-paved street is matter of impracticability for any purposes of pleasure. The frost having converted the soil into a mass more or less congealed, for the depth of some inches, or even of some feet, is now " coming out,"' as it is termed, and, together with the aid of melting snow or rain, converts all but the best -formed roads into perfect quag- mires. I remember being " brought to a non- plush,"" as the soldiers say, on one of my first spring mornings in Nova Scotia, by observing the track of a gigantic pair of pattens opposite my door. The mystery was shortly explained by the appearance of a brother officer, who was well used to this work, mounted upon a pair of galoche pattens, elevated a foot from the ground, with a ring at bottom as large as a dinner- !■ ? I ' %u \ i % ^ 'i « I 7 '/!.» I'ii I i it If. (i li I I , ' f (■.;l| ^ •« 'H :ii ii 166 SUMMER. plate. Riding at this time is unpleasant and even danaerous. I have twice come down with my horse, as if we had both been dropped by a shot, owing to the animal having trodden ii])()n a spot where the ground was completely rotten. May and June are the months in which the greatest proportion of foggy weather is experi- enced. July and August are remarked for the com])arative prevalence of calms. 1 have been very frequently engaged in operations in the field that were peculiarly affected by the calm or agitated state of the atmosphere; hence. 1 have had more particular occasion to remark that, early in the morning, during the sum- mer Lionths, the air is almost always in a state of quiescence, and that, as the sun rises midway towards the zenith, a gentle breeze springs up, which again dies in the eveninjr. During the other months of the year it is rarely that a calm day can be met with. The bao; of ^olus seems to have been here Awm up with a hole in each corner ; so that the puff' which enters in one direction is immediately whiffed out in another. Autumn is the season in which the climate iu 'ii AUTUMN. 167 t and [\ with d by a 1 upon rotten, ich the expevi- for the ,ve been in the he cahn , hence. ) remark he suni- s in a sun rises e breeze evening;. ear it is th. Tlie ftere Amv^ the pnff mediately le climati' of Nova Scotia may vie with that of any country in either hemisphere. September and October are very similar to the same months at home ; but in November, and sometimes un- til the middle of December, the waning season, Hke the expiring efforts of a lamp, which now and then glimmers fitfully yet brilliantly in the socket, presents us with days to which there is no parallel in England. This sort of weather is called the Indian summer, and varies in dura- tion, from a few unconnected days in some years, to as many weeks in others. I have heard great latitude given to the term ; but the true Indian s»immer-day is that on which, at this season, the whole atmosphere appears suf- fused with a faint vapour, as if there were fires in the woods, beyond the circumference of the visible horizon. The brilliancy of the sun's disc is deadened, and his rays more equably refracted, so as to produce but a very faint shadow ; the air is generally calm, and as warm and as mild as the loveliest morning that ever dawned upon newly-elected Queen of May. ^Vinter can hardly be said to commence in earnest, before the middle of December, al- \ i I'li /| i» lit /i I ,. ;, . ) ill !| i| 168 WINTER. though, in some years, many a severe nij>ht\s frost, or cold cutting wind, shows itself, even in the preceding month, as a sort of advanced- guard, in warning of the enemy's ap})roacli. Winter is severe, undoubtedly, in comparison with that in England ; yet, many who come to this country do not find it necessary to make any addition to their customary clothing. For persons who have any tendency to pul- monary complaints, the climate in winter, and indeed in any season, is considered dangerous. This may, at first sight, seem contradicted by the infrequency of deaths, attributable to such causes, among the natives of the country ;* but this remark is of the same nature with that which ascribes unusual strength of constitution and perfection of bodily frame, as hereditary in the Indian; — those who are unable to support the trial early succumb to its influence. We have little idea in England of the severe ♦ There is an idea prevalent among the country-peojile, that the nse of sto 'es is a powerful anti-pulmonic ; Imt whether there he sufficient foundtitiou or not for such an idea is not well- authenticated. It is said that pulmonary complaints are becoming more common than in former vears. whicli intcri in tht it was humai ously woods accidc fess 1)1 appre next f the m SNOW-STORMS. 169 ( I snow-storms experienced in this climate ; the (jiiantity of snow that falls is not only extreme- ly variable from year to year, but is also very unequally distributed throughout the province ; the north-eastern section being that which re- ceives by far the greatest proportion. In the course of three consecutive years, I have known, in the first, so little snow fall at Halifax, that only three or four days' good sleighing were obtained during the season ; while, in the second, the sleighing continued good for almost as many months ; the third year was a medium between the others. The longest period for which I have known snow descend without intermission was seventy hours ; but this was in the east of the province. In former years, it was not uncommon to hear of the loss of human life, owing to peisons having incauti- ously travelled, or become bewildered in the woods during snow-storms: in later years, such accidents have rarely happened. I must con- fess myself to have been by no means devoid of apprehensions, when last we parted, lest my next friendly shake might be given to you in the masonic style, namely, 7ninus a finger or I »■'( i; ' il ) ': !;:• n H J^r ■'• 170 TRAVKLLING DURING A ^ilrl t i I!., ii; hil i '■' two ; or lest, haply, one ear, or part of a nose, might pass current for an honorary nicdul, in token of having "seen service' in IxOrtli America ; but such ideas as these soon vanish, upon becoming acquainted witli the true stati of the climate ; and, although I have seen one or two persons frostbitten, the occurrence is rare ; and animation is always speedily restored by a due application of .^now, rubbed upon the jiart affected. It is not however surprising, tliat instances should occur of persons suffering severely from the frost, and even perisliing from the effects of frost and snow combined ; with me, the cause of surprise is rather, that such instances are not more frequent. I once happened to be out in a snow-storm, imder circumstances that made me better able to appreciate the effects of such weather. The morning dawned with a strong nortli- easter, that brought along with it the storm — " At first thin wavering, till at last The flakes fell broad, and wide, and fast, Dimming the day." However, tumpor/e, thought I, being anxious to return to my quarters, and knowing there were SNOW-STORM. 171 houses, and a road well marked, for tlie first three miles. The said road proved a sheet of ice, smooth as glass, and the newly fallen snow hailed in my horse's hoof at every step, and prevented the sharp shoe from taking any hold upon the icy surface beneath. After upwards of two hours' exertion, I reached a cottage near the end of the third mile; the poor mare having been seven times down on her side, and her leader (for riding was out of the question) being so knocked up, as to feel perfectly in- different whetlier tbe next moment were to be one of life or death. I believe this is a feeling peculiar to exertion in the snow, during cold weather; — a combina- tion of fatigue, lassitude, drowsiness, and utter indifference to the future. A windy day, after repeated falls of snow, produces much the same effect as the descending storm ; particles mi- nutely fine are whirled along the whole face of the country, and form so dense a cloud, that I have been unable to see the tracks along the road, (altaough bending down to my horse's nose,) or any object beyond the scope of two or three yards ; while, at the same time, a beauti- I 2 Hil I'll n V: { ■i « ll^ I \ ' ^i I J Vi • ■ ' f '* I •■{■■ * 4 l> mil \ i ^1 'I u u [ t ! ? 172 TfiE KNGLISn FARMER. .:im / i .; C; ■\n ^ i ! I' f il'i 'i I'i I ful sky and clear atmosphere appeared far above the clouds of drift that composed the lower strata. As each year revolves, the constant remark in common conversation is, " We never had such a season as this !" One winter differs materially from another ; and as the component elements are three, namely, frost, humidity, and snow, so are the annual variations as unlimited as the changes which a well practised set of your North- amptonshire village ringers will produce, when their mattriel is confined to the same number of bells. The winter of 1827-8 appeared to me to present a fair average, and, as such, I send you a meteorological diary,* which includes that period. It may readily be supposed that, in a climate like this, an Englislt farmer would not find him- self quite at home ; and, supposing him to make trial of the change, I do not think he would do otherwise than grumble morning, noon, and night, until he became accustomed to the country. I say until that time, because when his first ideas of rapidly acquiring substance, without the necessity for corresponding toil, had worn off; when he had learned the habits • Appendix, No. IV. AGRICULTURE. 17.'3 i)f those around him, and the manner in which to provide against local difficulties, he would then find the task of daily provision attended with certain fulfilment, and his care for the future diminished in the same proportion. In speaking of the agriculture of Nova Sco- tia, it must be premised that the condition of the province, in this respect, may be compared with that of the *' small boys for register- stoves,"" (borne upon the establishment of most London Ethiopians of chimney-sweeping celebri- ty,) who, though stunted in their earlier years, and giving to every passing stranger the idea of incapacity for attaining the standard of manhood, yet, if haply they emerge from the shrivelling atmosphere that has hitherto surrounded them, soon swell into plump and goodly condition. An agricultural class of population can hard- ly be said to have existed till the close of last century ; for, although the French first laid the axe to the forest, in the early part of the seventeenth century, it was not till the middle of the following one, that secu- rity of property was permanently establish- ed, or any thing more attempted, than tlie i: 3t '*' ,11, 1. • 'i 1 I, 1^ ! I I'i* ^ ~ * f ■ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) .V ,V4 /A 1.0 I.I 1^ l£i^ Uii 12.2 us il i2.0 u ^ I 1.8 pS 1.4 1.6 ■« 6" ► <9 k. /i .^ ^'>,> / /A *>v^ c/i Hiotographic Sciences Corporation m 4 r\ V \\ 4lf «-■ 6^ ^j;* ^>' 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ■^^ ip K^ 174 PROGRESSIVE IMPROVK.MKNTS • |i f] I ) ||. fi P; i\;k \P. production of the mere necessaries of existence. The close of tlie war of independence intro- duced a body of industrious farmers from the United States, whose exertions since that pe- riod have produced the greater part of the abundance Jind wealth we find spread over a beautiful country at the back of the province. The last ten years have disclosed still brighter prospecis for the future ; for although, after tlie clo.se of the last war, very many farms were found encumbered witli mortgages, and many cases of individual distress and depression oc- curred, still, more capital has been invested in agriculture ; and, above all, the exertions of intelligent and well-educated men have been directed towards the formation of societies, or boards, in each county, for the diffusion of practical knowledge, and the encouragement of farming in all its branches. We still see, in travelling along the prin- cipal roads, an apt illustration of the pro- gress of agriculture, dating within the last fifty years. A hut formed of rough logs, or long, straight trunks, placed one lipon the otiier as they are cut from the forest, has now become ;l ii 8 t IN AGRICULTURE. 175 the gable-end, or (as we should deem it in England,) the " washhouse,'' to a neatly boarded cottage; a little farther on is seen a wooden frame house, of two or three stories, sufficiently full of windows to create astonish- ment in the mind of any English tax-gatherer, and standing in a well-stocked garden. Ask their owner the history of these buildings, and he will tell you — " Fifty years ago my father was living in that log-hut, which he set up when the first clearing was made about this place : wc finished the boarded cottage toge- ther; and here my father died. I built this frame-house a few years ago, and my son has the cottage, till he can find time to build a house for himself."*"* Farther than this we must not look at present; for, although there are scattered over the province a few individuals whom we should call " gentlemen farmers" in England, who have introduced the best sys- tems of British husbandry, and expend yearly a considerable capital upon their farms, their numbers are too limited to do more than excite a spirit of improvement within their own imme- diate circle, and give us some data whereupon i:M ■ I ; . I I » J 1.. >i \r I' \ r.v ''Mil' i »l aS 17G CAPE HRKTON. wc may frame more just opinions of the real capabilities of tlie country. In speaking of the agriculture of the province, I must be understood to confine myself to Nova Scotia Proper, Cape Breton being beyond the ex- tent of my rambles. I shall briefly remark, that that Island is becoming settled very fast, and that the interior contains large tracts of excellent land, together with a climate of much the same nature as that of the neighbouring county of Sydney, though the winter is, in a trifling de- gree, more severe, and the spring more tardy. Nova Scotia Proper is estimated to contain, exclusively of the lakes and waters of the inte- rior,* nearly eight million acres of land, of which about three-fourths may be available for the purposes of cultivation : the proportion of wilderness land, to that under cultivation, is at present as twenty-six (nearly) to one. That this proportion should be so extreme may ap- pear extraordinary, when it is known that no one lot yet ungranted, so large as to contain * Nearly one-tliird of the total superficies has been suj)- posed, by those possessed of good local infornjation, to be covered by lakes, rivers, or streams. NOVA SCOTIA PROPER. 177 40,000 acres, could be found by tlie conniiis- sioner sent out for the purpose of reportin«jf to the National Committee upon Emigration. The fact is, that many ])roprietors possess large tracts, which have long lain neglected, and will continue in that state until either the law of esclieats is enforced more strictly, oi till j)opu- lation arrives at the stage which will oblige new settlers to sid)ject themselves to the will of a landlord. At present, no such necessity is felt : tlic native settler has a sufficient prospect of hecoming a land-owner by natural inheritance ; and new comers either obtain lots upon the terms offered by Government,* or proceed elsewhere. I do not mean to assert that no land is brought into cultivation under tenure from proprietors, but that these extensive pro- prietories are one great bar to the progress of the country ; a fact which is more particularly exemplified in the fine tracts lying untouchetl hy the axe in County Sydney. ill »» i H ■• * Crown. land is obtained on application to the Commis- sioner at Halifax, at the rate of about five pounds currency, for one hundred acres, (I speak from memon,' alone,) which covers all fees, and redeems the (juit-rent. I 5 . 1 i: dU3 'I , I 1 |:iN' i ' I'M'/^iP i. .'i ' / 178 FIRST SETTLING. It is not so much the interest of a distant proprietor to settle his lands as might at first sight appear to be the case. The settler who will take up wilderness-land is seldom possessed of more than a strong pair of hands, and requires to be supplied with implements ; perhaps, even with stock and food for a cer- tain period : his aversion to any tiling inidcr the denomination of rent is extreme, and his incapacity to pay the same still greater. On first coming to his lot of land, he cuts down the trees as fast as possible, till a few square yards of the broad expanse of heaven become visible above his head. With the fallen trunks he sets up his log-hut, and covers the roof with bark. Fire is then put to the roots and remaining branches as they lie on tlic ground, and the ashes serve for manure : he stirs up the soil between the stumps with a sort of spade, and plants his first crop, which is sometimes grain, but more frequently potatoes. A good soil enriched with burnt manure will generally give an extraordinary return. I have known twenty-five bushels oi wheat produced for one sown, which is at the rate of fifty bushels per acre. A hard-working man mny RKNT. 179 (Tradually rise to substance in this manner with- out much assistance from liis landlord ; but the latter will, on the other hand, see very little in the shape of rent. Money in such case is out of the question ; — the improvement, or, to speak more correctly, the clearing of the land, will be his only return for a course of years ; and after that he must take his rent in kind, or in labour. Hence it is, that a land- lord, secure of not being troubled with an escheat, for not having fulfilled the terms of liis grant, prefers letting the land lie in a wilderness state until the progress of popula- tion shall force ])urchasers into the market. The total quantity of land still ungranted in the province of Nova Scotia is supposed to amount to about four million acres, of which nearly one-half is fit for cultivation. We may trace upon the map three grand divisions, in each of which a different quality of land and state of agriculture are apparent. A line drawn from the mouth of the River Philip, through the middle of County Cumberland, to the Atlantic coast at St. Mary's River, bounds the eastern division, which presents a strong upland soil, well adapted for grain, and varied n W Ml Pi ■'! 180 AGRICULTURAL DIVISIONS. '1 I , (h hi'ilf \ ... I with strips of rich intervale land along the sides of its rivers. Commencing at the inter- section of the above line with the great Ardoise chain of liilis, and following tlie latter across the river Shiibenacadie along the back of Hants and Annapolis counties down to Argyle, we find, to the southward, a vast quantity of rocky Aviderness generally unfit for cultivation, upon the better portions of which the proximity of markets has occasioned an undue expenditure of valuable labour and capital, by which the soil has become comparatively ameliorated and been rendered partially productive. The division to the northward of this line is that to which the eye of the agriculturist turns with most satis- faction, as exhibiting the effects of longer and more successful cultivation, and of greater in- telligence among its early cultivators, acting upon a soil extremely fertile by nature, and equally remarkable for many peculiar pro- perties.* I shall take a brief view of the two former divisions, and enter more largely into the agriculture of the latter. The soil of County Sydney, Pictou, and the • Vide Comparative TabJe, Appendix, No. VI. KASriiRN Ul\ iJSiON. nn 1 \ 1 • i! ■■ I ■ ng the ; inter- \rtloisi' ' across f Hants ylc, Nve )f rocky n, upon iiuity of lit lire of the soil ind been vision to hich the st satis- io;er and atcr in- acting lire, and ar pro- the two L>ly into md the east of Cumberland, may bo described generally as consisting of strong loaujy clay upland ; tiie lower parts of which are intermixed, more or less, with sand and gravel. The intervale land, which extends along either side of the numerous streams, is usually a rich, sandy loam. Through- out the greater part of this division is found abundance of limestone, which will hereafter prove valuable as a manure. Mud from tiie salt marshes, and sea- weed for manure, is also to be procured along the coast, and as far as the liead of tideway in the rivers. The lands about Antigonishe are, to all appearance, the most fertile in this division ; but parts of Pictou are iield in equal estimation : on some of the up- lands of Antigonishe seven successive crops of wheat have been raised without the aid of ma- nure; and the seventh crop appeared equally luxiuiant with the first. From ten to twelve hushels of wheat for one, or from twenty to twenty-five bushels per acre, and nearly two tons per acre of hay, are the average return of good land in this division ; but in stating this average, it must be remarked, that the farms are here of more recent formation than those of any K !'* \ \ J 11 1j 182 SOUTJIKRN niVISlON. J 1 I til' f ! ; ! I) otljer part of tlu' ])r()viiu'e, and tliat the S't tiers bein^ cliiofly Highland Scot eh, and aeeustomed to hirj^e sheep-walks rather than to tillaj^e farms, exhibit, with few exceptions, very inferior attain- ment in almost every braneh of a«;riculture. The southern aorieultural division com- prises the district of Halifax, the counties of Lunonburhape of salted provision. Although the merit of industry cannot but be conceded, when we observe the difficulties that have been over- come, the state of the farms generally exhibits the reverse of intelligence. The unskilful use of manure, the indiscriminate employment of sea-weed, and, in many instances, the neglect of any manure at all, have retained those lands ill a poor and backward state, which better management would have rendered compara- tively ]^roductive The back-lands of Liver- pool and Shelburne are hardly known to the I « ^^n NORTII-WKST niVIHION. •I I rc'sitlt'iits oil the coast ; but it is helicvcd that largo tracts of fertile soil are to be found in the interior, which are yet unsettled, and are capable of l)eing cultivated with success. We iiave now to conaider the north-western agricidtural division, which comprises ])art of Shelburne, the entire counties of Annapolis, King's, and Hants, the district of Colchester, and part of County Cumberland. The land in this division is of three descrip- tions, — upland, intervale, and marsh ; each of which presents great variety in the nature and (pjality of its soil. You, who have been accus- tomed to the broad valleys in the midland counties of England, where the upland swell scarce differs in appearance from the soil that is found on the lower grounds, will hardly ap- prehend the marked distinction that is made in this country between u))1and and intervale. I cannot explain this distinction more clearly, than by supposing, for the sake of illustration, the waters to have been elevated in former years some twenty feet higher than they are at present. The streams which are now fifty yards in breadth, would then have exceeded five \L INIKIIVALE. — SAI/I-MAKSII, &C. 185 huiulri'd, and in the ivvohition of agos, tlu' ♦Iner purticlc's broii^lit down from ahovo would liavt' fornifd a rich alluvial bed of this breadth be- neath the surface. Suppose the water-level to have been suddeidy lowered, and this bed be- conjes the intervale in (juestion. Intervale is hardly ^'ver exposed to such accidental Hoods as those which fre(juently occur during hay or harvest-time in some of the Vides of Kn^land. When the snows melt from off the uplands in spring, an inunense body of water, technically termed u " Freshet/"'* rushes down, and covers the entire breadth of the valley, often doing- great injury to the dykes or bridges; but, when this has subsided, a second flood is rarely experienced until the following season ; and the hay or harvest is secured without danger. Marshland is of two kinds ; one is usually call- ed salt-marsh ; the other, dyked marsh. The former is common both on the east and south- west shores of the province, and i^ nothing • This is a word peculiar to America, and is expressive of the extraordinary rise of rivers and streams, after either thaws or heavy rains. \{ I , '1 I (I i< '») h ! Hi ' rr; i'|||_^ I \ (■ i[' > i. \ \i t 186 FORMATION OF DYKED MARSH. more than a flat surface of spongy soil, over- flowed at spring-tides, and covered with a rank grass highly impregnated with saline particles. Upon the better marshes of this kind, a coarse hay is made and stacked by the farmers, in order to be drawn to the barn when the snow- comes. This hay is found of great benefit, as alterative food for cattle during the winter. Dyked marsh owes its formation to a natural phenomenon, which appears to have been operat- ing for ages on the upper shores of the Bay of Fundy. The tide of this singular bay, rushing with vast impetuosity through the narrow necks of Cape Split and Chignecto, carries along with it fine loamy particles, wiiich accumulate at every step of its farther progress up the various in- lets, till its waves assume the appearance of what Napoleon used to call the fifth element, — a sort of compound between water and mud. As the tide recedes, these particles are precipi- tated and left behind, and in course of time a succession of layers raises the surface of the land as high as the usual rise of spring-tides : as soon as this has been effected, a bank of earth is thrown up to prevent any farther over- ABOITEAUX. 187 flow ; and if it be necessary to carry this bank across a water-channel, or the mouth of a small river, where probably a large tract of marsh will be reclaimed, all the able hands in the neighbourhood unite in the operation. A dam of this description is called an " Aboi- teau,'''* a term introduced by the Acadian French, by whom they were first constructed. During the recess of tide, which, it must be remembered, in these situations falls probably [r 'm thirty to fifty feet, piles are driven in order to form a strong foundation, as well as a barrier against the water on each side ; spruce trees and branches, with intervening layers of .Aones and earth, are then placed between and above the piles, and a compact surface of earth is formed over all, which generally serves as the common thoroughfare over the river. The aboiteau is provided with a floodgate, which opens and closes with the preponderating water : thus, when the fresh running stream has ac- cumulated above the level of the receding tide, tlie floodgate opens and lets out the excess : when the tide returns, so as to cause a contrary current, tlie gate closes against its farther pro- ^f.,) I * 188 CROPS ON DYKED MARSH. i I llii •i' if ,1 i^ I I if If gress. A surface of seven hundred acres was enclosed in this manner, and secured by means of one aboiteau, at comparatively small expense, a sliort time before I visited the Cornwallis country ; and in County Cumberland many thousand acres liave been thus converted into one vast tract of rich pasture land. A marsh newly dyked is left untouched for the first three or four years, during which time rank weeds first show themselves, followed by coarse wild grass. In the third year it is gene- rally fit to receive the plough, and is then sown with wheat. The first crop is extraordinary : twenty-five bushels of wheat for one, or sixty bushels per acre, may be stated as a fair average. On marsh that has been long dyked and culti- vated, eighteen bushels of wheat for one, or about forty bushels per acrt, is the average re- turn of wheat, — and from two and a half to three tons per acre of hay. Commencing our view of this agricultural division with the township of Argyle, in Shel- burne County, we find the farms, as far as Annapolis, consisting of upland, with some portions of salt-marsh. The upland is well SOILS. 189 res was ' means xpense, rnwallis I many ted into checl for lich time Dwed by : is gene- len sown ordinary : or sixty average, ind culti- one, or ^erage re- la half to ricultural in Shel- ls far as lith some is well adapted for potatoes and the coarser grains, which are the usual crops. Pasturage, except in Yarmouth Township, is but little attended to; and, along the whole line, the tempta- tion offered by the shore fishery has much retarded the progress of agriculture. About Annapolis, we first meet with dyked marsh, which is not however equal in quality to that higher iij) the i}ay shores. Annapolis River is bordered by large tracts of excellent inter- vale, of which advantage is taken for pasturing cattle. Tlie breeding of horses is also much at- tended to in this county. An unbroken ridge of excellent upland, from three to seven miles in breadth, extends from Digby Gut to Cape Blo- uiidon ; the soil is a strong loam, varied with clay, sand, and some gravel. In the lower parts of Wilmot and Aylesford townships, a sandy soil prevails, and considerable tracts re- main uncultivated ; but in Horton and Corn- wallis, abundance of excellent upland and dyked marsh are met with, which continue round the foot of the Horton mountains as far M Windsor and Newport. The district of Col- chester presents excellent upland and intervale, .H \\ t 1 I I 1 n\ II - 'I f" i I if \f 190 SOILS. together with some good dyked marsh on tlie shores of the Basin of Mines. At Truro, the soil becomes a fine red sand mixed with gravd and some clay. The northern and western parts of County Cumberland consist almost en- tirely of dyked marsh laid out in pasture, amid which rise gentle upland swells, presentin .'I 91 • I f '• 1l (I 200 LIVE-STOCK. '•I '!■ i: ; i,' i '» u>i favourable. The farmer takes little pains in drying and cleaning the grain ; the miller bolts it badly ; and the machinery of his mill is but. indifferent. It will be readily observed, that most of these effects can only cease to operate as the country advances towards maturity. It is from the coarser grains that a counterpoise must be derived to an importation which will probably never cease while the habits of the more luxurious remain unchanged. No coun- try i? better adapted for the production of oats,* barley, and other grain for which a market is open in the more southern climates ; and when, in conjunction with the improvement of agriculture, the home-demand shall be more adequately supplied with flour of provincial growth and manufacture, then doubtless will the foreign supply attract more general and more spirited attention. The live-stock of a provincial farm con- sists of the same species of animals that are * While travelling through the country near Truro, in the summer of 1829, I had my horse fed with white oats which weighed forty-six pounds per bushel ; a year before this, I remember seeing some oats in the Vale of Keutycook, which gave forty-four pounds to the same quantity. i'!i).B 1 HORSES. — CATTLE. 201 classed under that head at home, though the peculiar properties of each breed have general- ly suffered deterioration from want of due care and proper management. The horses, though small, are strong and hardy, and in appearance not unlike the Irish hack : those of Annapolis and Cumberland are the most esteemed for the saddle ; and, for the sort of work which is usual- ly required of them, viz. long continued exer- tion rather than momentary strain of energy, few animals will be found superior. For tillage they are less used than oxen, on account of the long winters, during which their feed becomes expensive. For the saddle, I prefer the native horse infinitely before one of the English breed ; the latter would find himself sadly puzzled in roads where the former is quite at home. A late importation of blood-horses from Eng- land will shortly effect a great improvement in the breed throughout the country. The horned cattle are generally good : the oxen I have seen revelling in the luxuriant pastures from Annapolis to Cumberland, present a size superior to those of your Northamptonshire valleys. Their fatteningdoes not appear to be well k5 I */5 U' I t / i't il I i i^iill ft I \ f 202 SHEEP. — SWINE. understood, and their appearance in the market is consequently less favourable than in the pasture. It is singular that the salting of meat should be so much neglected all over the country ; it is neither understood nor attended to ; and live-cattle are often sent to Halifax market, at a price which hardly repays the farmer, while salt provisions are imported from Ireland, or from the upper provinces.* The sheep have been crossed in various ways with English breeds, and those commonly seen resemble most nearly the black- nosed South Downs : they thrive well throughout the coun- try, and are frequently allowed to find their own pasture in the woods. Their wool is only of inferior quality ; and from three to five pounds are considered a good fleece ; the meat however is excellent. Swine are the worst description of stock possessed by the farmer. A facetious editor has aptly supposed them to be descendants of some stragglers that escaped from the scrip- tural herd into which the legionary devils were * A little more attention seems now beginning to be di- rected towards the curing of home-fed meat. STYLE OF FARMING. 203 leir own transmitted. " A back habitually raised and bristling, liice that of an infuriated cat; legs of an undue length ; sides lean and lank ; ears prickt and erect ; and a tail long, straight and rat-like," do certainly give to this animal an appearance highly corroborative of the editor's supposition. Good dairies are found in the north-western division, chiefly in the counties of Annapolis and Cumberland. I have tasted cheese made in the former county much resembling the English sin- gle Gloucester, and of as good quality. Cyder is made in abundance throughout the samedivision. However luxuriant may be the appearance of the well-cultivated districts, a nearer view gives us no very prepossessing ideas of the neatness and industry of the farmer. Seek through the whole province for any thing like that beautiful order and style of farming which you have pointed out to me while riding over the grounds of Lord C. F ; your search would be as vain as though it were for our noble neighbour himself. I remember at this moment only one farmer to whom could never be attached the stigma of slovenliness, — who is */ >l u I ) i [.,.. .sS'55»«Eair?>?ai.^ /; ■t\ i\ ij' I; 204 FARMING OCCUPATIONS. I ! mm i * br If ' ' ». ^ i :(id 'li content to cultivate upon a small scale only as much as he can superintend effectually, and whose little cottage and farming menage in the neighbourhood of Windsor offer an example worthy the imitation of far wealthier neighbours around him. The value of labour will account generally for the defect of agricultural order ; perhaps, also, the climate of this country affords less time for attention to outward appearance than tliat of England. As soon as the ground is clear from snow, the farmer is busily employed in piling his summer fuel, securing his sleds and other win- ter apparatus about the house, clearing his drains, and setting up his fences. These fences are either walls of loose stones, or rough trunks or poles placed in a variety of ways : in winter they are frequently thrown down in order to allow a free track for the passage of sleds over the snow, and always require to be fixed afresh in spring. Much labour and expense is thus annually incurred beyond tliat which is called for in clipping an English hedge ; but the readiness with which poles are procured from SE£D-TIM£ AND HARVEST. 205 3 only y, and in the sample libours nerally erhaps, iss time an that I snow, ing his ler win- ing his e fences trunks winter rder to ds over 3 afresli is thus called )ut the d from the woods, the facility offered of shifting the pole-fence in any desired direction, and still more, the expense and trouble attendant upon first rearing a hedge, where no such thing has been ever planted before, are the reasons which induce the employment of timber fences even where a farm is at some distance from the forest : hedges, however, are slowly creeping up in the best cultivated districts. Ploughing, sheep- shearing, and seed-time, occupy every moment from the middle of April to the middle of June ; and attending to the garden and field crops, and removing the accumulated refuse of winter, bring the farmer to the rijowing season before he is nearly ready for it. The scythe comes into play in the middle of July ; and in some seasons I have seen the hay left rotting on the ground for want of time to secure it before the speedy ripening of the grain obliged the husbandman to employ the sickle. The sheaves are commonly brought into the barn or stacked by the middle of September. Digging potatoes, gathering Indian corn, and fall ploughing, both for winter grain and as a j)reparative for the soil against the following spring, occupy the I*' " \^\ "I i^i 2 T UV )':l I .riT fM '•' ri mm mil m il hi ! !:■ m ! \M i, ,. li ;i 206 WAGES OF LABOUR. farmer till frost and snow compel him to put on mitts and woollens, and labour with his axe in the woods in or«lor to provide fuel and fen- cing-poles, which he brings home as soon as the snow renders " hauling" easy. Amid such a variety of work, there is but little time left for attention to neatness : much, however, might be done which is nov;^ neglected. The large quan- tity of land under cultivation, in proportion to the number of hands employed upon it, is an- other cause not only of slovenly farming, but of the general inferiority of produce, both in quantity and quality, below the real capabilities of the soil. The lower class of farmer seldom employs additional labour, other than the voluntary aid of his neighbour, for which he gives his own in return. About the Windsor coun- try, the common practice is to hire labour on a farm for a period of six months, for which from fifteen to eighteen pounds cur- rency, besides the man's *' keep,"" are given : this is considered less expensive than giving twenty-five pounds per annum, as the keep of a man during winter is of more value than the . WAGES OF LABOUR. 207 labour he would then be required to perform. Part of this payment is generally made in produce. Farms are sometimes rented by the pro- prietor to a farmer for the half of the returns he raises ; but labourers are seldom hired in this way. Upon any press of work, such as haymaking or harvest, a labourer will some- times, though rarely, get as much as a dollar per day, and his keep. jNIowers will some- times engage for a dollar per acre, but they then find their own provisions ; a good mower will get throuo;h his acre in the course of the day, by working after sunset. The wages of la- bour, compared with the state of the market for agricultural produce, are the greatest drawback that the Nova-Scotian farmer experiences; in this way, he finds the greater part of his pro- fits absorbed ; and hence it is, that a large fa- mily, instead of being a clog, is a direct source of wealth, so long as its members will combine in operating for the common benefit. The labourer, such as we understand by the term in England, is not a class that exists among the agricultural population in this province. n;i""i Uf 208 LABOURERS. ■' > I \ \ ' ( \ ■( III i:-ii II ii \y dan- ^vith ac- the up- been in- re stran- »r in six hey sup- iter they dge of a into the nee with sons and med the this phe- occurred continued high ex- \ like the through bout four ■mur an- nounced its approach before it became visible ; but when near, the roar did not differ from that of distant breakers on a sea-coast. Clouds of gulls accompanied its advance, hovering in quest of the small fish that_^are brought in shoals along with it. This was, however, but a minor specimen : the " Bore" sometimes rushes in with a swell five or six feet in height. The low grounds of Windsor and of all the neighbour- ing rivers exhibit every appearance of having been formerly submerged ; and the isolated knolls that now stud the plain like so many Oases, were then probably mud banks or islands. The junction of three principal roads, and the deboucht from Halifax upon the Bay of Fundy, have pointed out Windsor for the site of a small military post. I have, indeed^ heard it asserted by some S^avans, that the possession of Windsor and Truro as points of appui, maintaining a communication along the intermediate line by Shubenacadie, would prove the key to the acquisition of Halifax, and, pai' consequent, (selon ces gens Id) of the province. Leaving the decision of this point L 2 ? * ^ ! i, ■> U I 220 TOWN OF WINDSOR. n\ ' M. B H'' ' 1 1 i! of strategy to your more experienced judg- ment, I shall merely beg to express my own humble dissentient opinion. The dilapidated field-fort that overlooks the town, as if to brow- beat the good folks into military reverence, is about to be put into as respectable a state as the tracing of a mere redoubt will admit. Windsor aspires to the name of Town ; — that is, a Nova-Scotian town ; — and consists of about one hundred and twenty irregularly- built wooden houses, with a population of seven hundred inhabitants. The numerous farms scattered in every direction around give about four times these numbers for the total amount in the township. Considering the place as we should an English country vil- lage of the better order, it may certainly be called pretty. Its resources are almost en- tirely agricultural ; and the herds of fine cattle that cover the low lands, and dwindle in the perspective till they look like specks on the landscape, would afford ample scope for the activity of a score of needy commissaries. Do not fancy I am going to play upon your somniferous faculties, by attempting to I m .lii HORTON MOUNTAINS. 221 describe village scenes and rural pictures. I know of no organ that developes itself with an undue degree of peculiarity on the skulls of the Windsoi-ians, unless it be the organ of com- bativeness, which sometimes appears prominent even under the concealment of linen bandages, being indicative of the collision of sturdy rustics with spirited collegians. Proceeding along the main western road to Annapolis, we soon cross the Horton Moun- tains, and are repaid for toiling up steep hills covered with unbroken forests, by the finest view in Nova Scotia, which pre- sents itself on descending their western sum- mits. The eye commands, at one glance, the rich valley of the Gaspereau River studded with farms, — large masses of forests hanging on the hills, — the cultivated levels of Corn- wallis, terminated by the North Mountains in the distance, and Cape Blomidon, (or, as it is more feelingly termed by navigators, Blow-me-down,) the north-eastern head of this chain, boldly uprearing its cliffs against the turbulent tide-waves of the Bason of Mines, which even at this distance show the \ j ' ' 1 1 , , i ,1 ) I ' 1 1 , '.<■ i if '' r f ; !i ! j * 1 ' i 1 ll 222 MILE-STONES AND FINGER-POSTS. deep red tinge acquired from the dtbris of tlie coast. The extensive levels of Horton and Cornwallis are but folio editions of the Wind- sor impressions : the country however, being more diversified with patches of wood, forms a prettier landscape. You must not here ask simply the distance to Horton, or any other place you may have heard designated as a town or village : the said town being scattered along the road for five, ten, or fifteen miles, will produce a scale of distances sufficient to puzzle the most profound itinerist. The church, court-house, or some such conspi- cuous object, is the standard of measurement ; and when this preliminary is introduced, you will find the statements of the countrymen, as to distances, generally very accurate. Mile- stones are unknown ; indeed, in Windsor or Cornwallis i; would be necessary to bring stone from a distance in order to establish them. Some- times a post supplies a half-obliterated cipher to bewilder the traveller ; sometimes a few figures daubed on a rock by the road-side, answer nearly the same purpose ; but the kindly finger-board has not yet been reared in NovaScotia, and travel- immm- iHtiJ I - BRIDGETOWN. 223 lers are not unfrcquently left to divine by in- stinct, whicli of two branching roads is the one that leads into the mazes of tlie forest, and which to the desired settlement. Some tracts of marshy forest land, and some of barren sands covered with bushes and pines of unusual height, intervene between the heads of the val- leys of Cornwallis and Annapolis. After pass- ing these, the road winds for nearly forty miles along the course of the Annapolis River, which resembles in character, in fertility, and in gene- ral beauty of landscape, some of those which, from the Cheshire side, contribute their streams to swell the estuary of the Mersey. The North Mountain range, commencing at Cape Blomidon, conceals all appearance of the Bay of Fundy from those who confine them- selves merely to the main road. We again recognize the peculiar character of the Bay at Bridgetown, fifteen miles above Annapolis, where a mean rise of twenty feet tide, and the advantage of the river current for floating down timber, have effected the rapid increase of a flourishing little town. Fifteen miles above Bridgetown, the little river Nictau unites with l((.v i ■ 224 ANNAPOLIS ROYAF^. Ki ' •/ . ■ii that of Annapolis. The principal cascade yet discovered in Nova Scotia is formed by the Nictau River : it is however a mere pailful of water thrown over a rocky barrier about twenty feet in height. . ■ Anna])olis Royal was formerly the capital of the Acadian Government, under the name of Port Royal (French) : in the early provincial wars, it underwent many vicissitudes, and very few, if any, of the French settlers now remain in its immediate neighbourhood. The place is at present of little consequence, except as being the county-town. The number of houses is about one-half as many as at Windsor : the inhabitants amount to less than three hundred. Command- ing, as this site does, the most direct line of com- munication from St. John''s in New Brunswick to Halifax, it is in contemplation to commence re-modelling the old bastioned field-fort which was once the key and citadel of the province. The quarters destined for officers within this relic of the art military are now occu- pied by rusty militia firelocks, much to the satisfaction of the hares and partridges in the woods, and of the caraboo, which not unfre- f ,. r PROVINCIAL MILITIA. 225 (juently ventures to frisk over the fields on the outskirts of the town. This reminds me that I Imve not yet answered your inquiries respect- ing the provincial military force, and the roads through the interior of the country : prepare then for a disquisition thereon, while the ma- tronly care of mine hostess is making ready lier snowy bed-linen for the night. Our considerations of the existing militia of Nova Scotia must be directed upon two principal points ; the first being what we may term its constitution ; the second, its discipline. The necessity of possessing a defensive force for internal protection was too strongly exem- plified by the early provincial wars, to allow the attention of the Legislature to slumber up- on this subject. It was not, however, until the administration of Sir George Prevost, about the year 1809, that an effective formation was carried into execution. A few privateering descents upon various points of the coast du- ring the several American wars, kept the militia a little on the qui vive ; but thirteen years of listless security have established the general ex- istence of a feeling of comparative indifference. l5 v\i ;!, r' "I j i J » I .1 in 'J ! 226 MILITIA — CONSTITUTION. U ' ' Tlie constitution of the militia is decreed hy act of tlie three combined branches of the legis- lature ; it is continued from year to year, with whatever alterations or modifications are deem- ed advisable ; and at present stands thus. Every male between the ages of sixteen and sixty, residing within the province, is liable to enrolment for interior military service. The Members of Council, the Judges of the Supreme Court, and Secretary of the province, are alone exempt from enrolment, and from the per- formance, whether personally or by substi- tution, of all duties. Exemption from train- ing is admitted in favour of the Clergy re- gularly ordained or licensed, the Members of Assembly, the Law-officers and Magistracy, officers in the various departments of the public service, and members of the profes- sions legal and medical, and of the society of Friends. Certain exemptions, to a very limited extent, are also vested in the power of the Go- vernor ; but all the above persons are liable to enrolment, and to the performance of all duties of emergency. This general levy forms but one indiscriminate class for the exigencies of M 'I •!1 Ml m ) MILITIA — CONSTITUTION. 227 public defence, and cannot be called upon to serve beyond the [)rovince of Nova Scotia. The Governor for the time being i^ vesteil with the supreme connnand of this force, and can call out the whole or any part tliereof whenever danger may appear to render such measures necessary. With him rests exclu- sively the apj)ointment of all cimimissioned officers ; and he can at pleasure dismiss from that rank any on whom he may deem it proper to impose such degradation ; but custom has caused this to be held justifiable only in ex- treme cases. The provincial statutes enter into minute detail in awarding penalties for every description of offence. These penalties resolve themselves into pecuniary fines of greater or less severity, recoverable before the civil ma- gistrate, as in cases of debt. When called out on actual service, the articles of war established for the government of the regular forces are extended — in so far as deemed applicable by the Commander-in-chief — to the militia. General and regimental courts-martial may at all times be assembled for the trial of both officers and soldiers, under similar regulations to those ob- li I* \ 228 MILITIA — DISCIPLINE. I H 'Ml Oi i;:' n ' I inilu: ll served in the regular forces. Fines for the smaller offences which are liable to daily occur- rence, may be imposed — in conformity with the statute scale, at the discretion of officers commanding, — subject, however, to appeal be- fore a board of officers. Discipline — without taking into present con- sideration that which regards the morale — may naturally be resolved into two divisions, under the heads of formation and exercise. The general staff of militia consists, under the General commanding in chief,— of an Adjutant- general, a Quarter-master-general, a Judge Ad- vocate-general, and three inspecting field-officers. The general levy is formed into battalions and companies, attached respectively to the county or district on the lists of which the individuals are enrolled. Although the establishment of troops of cavalry has been contemplated by the statute, none have yet been formed. The total force organized may be stated at about 25,000; and exhibits a detail of twelve companies of artillery,* and thirty-three battalions of in- • 1 hese companies (with the exception of two at Halifax) are included in the strength of their respective battalions. ^i, il FORMATION. 229 i; fantry of the line, of which six are fur- nished by the county of Cape Breton. The staff of battalions is similar to that of the regular forces, with the exception of the Pay- master. Their interior formation into com- panies is likewise on the same principle, with the addition of a " clerk" to each company, whose duties, under the captain of the com- pany, are much the same as those usually termed " office duties"* of the adjutant of re- gulars. The strength of each battalion is li- mited by statute to between three hundred and eight hundred men : that of each company to between thirty and eighty men ; with an ex- ception in favour of harbours and small settle- ments. Those enrolled in artillery or flank companies must continue in the same for five years, unless in case of change of residence or discharge. The onl; officers whose services are remunerated are the inspecting field-offi- cers and the adjutant-general, on the general staff; and the adjutants on the regimental staff. The quarter-masters of battalions and clerks of companies are paid by a per-centago upon fines imposed by way of penalty : — their actual ^1 < ! J i I > It ^n 230 EXERCISE. #■■' id u, U I : 'li VI ih i I • • ' ! Im ';: t pay is thus all but nominal. When called into active service, the whole are borne upon the same pay and allowances as those established by the Crown for the regular army. The assembly of militia for purposes of exer- cise is regulated by statute, and has been altered from time to time with reference to the political relations of the country. In the year ITOO, six meetings by company, and two by battalion, were appointed annually, — besides more fre- quent drills of squads. At present, the days of training are limited to two during the year, either by battalion, or by such detachments as the officers commanding battalions may deem most advisable with regard to local considera- tions. The days of appointment rest with the Go- vernor, and are generally named, in concurrence with the inspecting field-officers, early in sum- mer and late in autumn. At these trainings, the above staff-officers are the presiding genii, — the primum mobile whence springs the life, aniir.ation, and intelligence of the machine. They receive their appointment from the Horse Guards, and are field-officers of the British ii« I ii INSPECTING FIELD-OFFICERS. 231 army, in which the brevet-rank of lieutenant-co- lonel is accorded them along ^/:th their situation. Their pay for this appointment is not drawn from the Crown, but from the provincial trea- sury, for which purpose a sum is annually voted by the House of Assembly. An opinion prevails generally in our service, that this situa- tion is one approaching to a sinecure : that it is one which offers a convenient step to the ladder of promotion, without much exertion attending the maintenance of a footing there- on. No opinion can well be founded on more erroneous ideas. I do not mean to assert that a rigid and infj'^ ■' ' control is exercised over these officers in il.^ minute execution of a severe duty. The officer holding a superior situa- tion, whose conduct would be influenced only by such control, would be unworthy the stafF- epaulette that marks the rank which it is his pride, his pleasure, and his glory to hold : but that an extensive field is here open to an active mind, few who know its duties will attempt to deny. If a rapid traversing of the country, con- tinued for weeks together at the worst seasons \ Ui /^ fj i 232 MATERIEL OF MILITIA. '(if 1' 1; KM (' V U I'' IS I !f ! n in the year for travelling : if being mounted on heavy country-broken horses from dawn till dark, puddling along vile cow-paths dignified with the name of roads : if the tact, the mental exertion necessary for establishing military order among those wholly unaccustomed to the sound — ^be deemed mere child's play — then do these staff situations deserve the name of sinecures. The instruction and exercise practised at these inspections is nominally the same as that of the regular forces : it is evident that such practice must be but nominal, — for what can two days effect during the course of a twelvemonth ? Ii is however but just to state, that the exertions of individuals have, in some measure, compen- sated for the defects of a faulty system, and have introduced, in some instances, a degree of order and subordination far beyond what could be expected. The materiel of the militia is provided by the Imperial Government, at the cost of the pro- vincial treasury ; and is the same as that of the regulars. Security is taken by bond from those to whom arms and accoutrements may be issu- ed. When actual service is urgent, provision ii'll «< VI -^^ REMARKS ON MILITIA-SYSTEM. 233 is made by statute, and power vested in the Commander-in-chief, for the establishment of armed boats, the impress of horses and car- riages, the billeting of men, and other services usually conducted under the Quarter- master- general. " Prodigious !" I hear you exclaim. " Twenty- five thousand men organized as a provincial force in that out-of-the-way quarter !"" True, without a doubt, in the abstract ; but let us examine a little more closely that organization which looks so pretty upon paper. The levte en masse involves, I apprehend, the certainty of a Scylla and Charybdis, between which no mili- tary pilot can steer. To this the code of penal enactments is a subordinate consideration, to which therefore, whether judiciously regulated or otherwise, we need not pay much attention. The general formation presents a group, as our friend W. would say, rather out of keeping with the landscape, — a mere body of heavy infantry, with a disproportionately small artillery, and no cavalry, to act in a country whose forests were made (to use a soldier's idea) for riflemen, and whose coasts and necessities of a rapid commu- ilr<; ! 1, \ \ ] ! '' ^ ; i /f! 1 «i: t* ''i M ;! \ 234 REMARKS ON MILITIA-SYSTEM. I '^1 ■ ' ' ' S \ .M .^!' t:'! I ' ' m^j nication would occasion ample service for the other arms. Exercise has visibly degenerated into a mere muster ; the absence of intelligence in officers is not here compensated by habitual practice in the men ; all alike need instruction ; and the moment for its acquirement is alike curtailed to all. How then can the zeal, the energy of a few individuals be supposed to work what might well be deemed a miracle ? The Halifax artillery companies and the flankers of the same regiments are tolerably com- plete ir their equipments ; the remaining corps are miserably deficient, whether in arms, accou- trements, or clothing. In most of the districts, the Government firelocks have been^ called in from the possession of those to whom they were issued during the war, and are now lying useless and almost unheeded in the stores or depots. The provincial statute which issued a fire- lock to each militia-man, and at the same time prohibits him from using it in the woods, is much on a par with the sagacity of the school- mistress who dismissed her children with a lump of barley-sugar to each, which he was REMARKS ON MILITIA-SYSTEM. 235 forbidden to suck till after school-hours on the following day. What if a few thousand firelocks do wear out in ten years in place of fifteen; are they issued with the intention of being kept like china tea-cups, to look pretty over the fireplace of the cottager ? Does not, on the contrary, the user of this weapon, while pur- suing his own sport, assist, at a trifling expense, in the construction of the most powerful ma- chine for defence that can be wielded by the hands of a free government ? The deprivation of the arms issued has been one means of lead- ing the people to consider the militia inspec- tions as mere occasions of annoyance ; * and those who now express the most repugnance on being called out to attend the muster of a mere rabble, are equally explicit in declaring their willingness to conform to such measures as would ensure greater efficiency. It is generally the fashion throughout every part of the country, to laugh at the Mili- tia ; an officer's rank therein, if mentioned, is always announced with a smile, as though he were a deserter from Sir John Falstaffs corps, * The Halifax newspapers during the Sessi )n of Assem- bly in 1829 exhibit the public feeling on this head. i , ^ I m ' I , i 'ff >/ ''■:\t j ; v.\ * I .! Ii r J ^ 236 REMARKS ON MILITIA-SYSTEM. or a recruit on furlough from that elite troop, the Horse Marines. I cannot at all concede the reasonableness of this feeling, and would joyfully hail the amendment of militia laws, which is necessary as the first step towards its eradication. It appears to me as though a strange fatality were permitted to cloud our view, when re- garding the national force of these provinces. Whence arises this supineness, this almost Indian absence of foresight ? Is it from the improbability of our collision with an active, enterprising, and envious neighbour, whose view from the back-windows of his mansion is cramped, and whose premises are overlooked and confined, by our rudely-constructed out- houses ? Is it that a vast line of coast pecu- liarly unfavourable for permanent maritime defence, and a frontier purely artificial, ex- tending along two degrees and a half of lati- tude, (that of New Brunswick,) are considered secure from the insult of an adversary whose forces might be concentrated within thirty-dx hours'* sail ? Look at our very neighbours them- selves ; observe that young giant of our own rearing, whose perseverance taught our fathers ,!'?• MILITARY SCHOOLS. 237 ;roop, •ncede would laws, •ds its atality en re- tvinces. almost om the active, whose ision is rlooked ed out- t pecu- laritime ial, ex- of lati- nsidered r whose [lirty-six rs them- 3ur own r fathers to respect, and whose active progress must force us to admire him; — do the Americans consider their militia a mere bugbear? Is it with this idea that private seminaries and schools, both large and small, are establishing themselves for the education of the rising ge- neration throughout the States, upon military principles, and under the conduct of retired military officers ? * Is it in the conviction of its inutility, that such care is manifested by the public authorities for the encouragement of a defensive system, — that the choicest arms at the disposal of the Government, are bestow- ed as rewards to perpetuate the memory of * On my arrival at a hotel in the neighbourhood of Nia- gara, in the summer of 1827, 1 was surprised to find the house occupied by a corps of fine boys, apparently from fourteen to eighteen years of age, clothed in a plain uniform, and in num- ber about 150. Their firelocks were piled in the bed-room passages, and sentries regularly planted over them. I was informed that they Avere the pupils belonging to a private academy on the Connecticut River, and that, although not in- tended particularly for the military profession, their school was conducted on military principles, and they marched for a certain period every summer. They were, at this time, 300 miles from their academy. I believe there are several private institutions springing up on this model, in different States of the Union. The National College for the instruction of young men destined for commissions in the regular army, is at Westpoint, on the River Hudson. r i 1 1 ll !'f IP ; ■\'-\ v\ 238 MILITARY SCHOOLS [I i : '' } { I ! .! ' ! ( m ii successful opposition,* and the palm of ex- pertness in tlie use of the national weapon sedu- lously regarded as the highest honour of him who bears it ? These measures are surely the result of a conviction of the vital importance of a national organized force, and its nature is justly dictated by local peculiarities and by the all-powerful facts of former experience. The history of all our wars in America, from the time of Braddock to that of Proctor, shows the overpowering advantage that may be de- rived from an organized force composed of such materials as the militia of these provinces afford, and capable of acting in conjunction with regulars. " Voltigeurs! en avant,'"' was a signal more dreaded by the Virginia and Kentucky " shooters," than the sight of all the bayonets of the British line. Although the settlers of Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick are not so persevering in the use of the rifle as the back-woodsmen of the States, they are, nevertheless, in the constant habit of ranging the woods v/ith fire-arms ; and as * At Plattsburg, in 1827, I was present at the inspection of a beautiful Tirnilk'ur battalion of militia, wliose rifles were presented to them in commemoration of the affair at that place. wr OF THE UNITEIJ STATES. 239 jf ex- \ scdu- )f him ely the Drtance nature and by ice. ;a, from r, shows be de- )osed of irovinces ij unction nt,'' was inia and it of all Although V Bruns- lise of the ates, they habit of and as le inspection se rifles were [iffair at tliat marksmen, would put to the blush any rifle corps in Europe. The destinies of Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick are too intiniately linked together to admit of their defensive systems being ccmsidercd sepa- rately. In no respect does the urgency of tlieir case materially differ from that of the United States; for if, on the one hand, they are less liable, from political causes, to powerful aggres- sion, they have, on the other, far more to a])pre- hend from its serious execution. Whether the more perfect organization of an efficient military force be more than counterpoised by the expense, the loss of industry, and the change of moral habit such measures would occasion, is matter for extensive as well as detailed consideration ; towards which, perhaps, the civic-military in- stitutions of Napoleon might furnish some use- ful ' : .s. Let those who possess better data and more experience, and, above all, the power of action, fathom these subjects, over which I can throw but the coup (Tml ; I pretend not to give you more than the observations which strike a friendly stranger, and leave to your own judgment the improvement or correction. The individual morale of the Nova Scotian 4 V Uv i» • ' I -a i ♦& !J» 240 MORALE OF MILITIA. i t !l ! ^'Ji 'i militia is unquestionably good. In the eastern sections, the nerve of the (iael exhibits, amid the forest, the same sturdy and unflinching nature that has ever characterized his native higlilands. In the West, the great body of settlers originally expatriated from New Eng- land have attested, with their property and blood, full many a deed of loyal devotion. Ardent enthusiasm has passed away with the events that gave it birth ; but, far from becom- ing extinct, the quality itself has, in my opinion, only steadily subsided. Individual possession of property and personal interest in the soil, produce a universal feeling totally different from any that enters into our calculations in estimating the moral power of the countries of Europe; and although I am aware this might be made the handle for effecting a passive acquiescence in foreign aggression, it is not likely that tlie aggressors would possess the address and the time requisite for working the change. Joined to this feeling is a certain degree of general intelligence, — an appreciation of the blessings enjoyed under a powerful yet equitable, a firm yet liberal Government, which produces ROADS. 241 the best assurance of attachment, of union, and of political strength. Accustomed as I had been, before commen- cing my travels in the interior, to the cart-tracks which wind among the rocks in every direction off the main road, in the neighbourhood of Hahfax, I fully expected to sympathize with your feelings in the Portuguese bullock-car of Peninsular memory, and to be reduced, ere my return, to much the same consistence as a jelly. Agree- ably, then, was I surprised to find the provincial Western road equally good with those of secon- dary order in England. The system of turn- pikes is here unknown ; the means adopted to answer the same purpose are statute-labour and aid from the provincial treasury. Personal labour, for a certain number of days annually, is obligatory on the inhabitants of every road- district, for each of which a surveyor is aj)- pointed, who superintends the execution, and receives the composition of the more wealthy. Aid from the public funds is appropriated annually by the House of Assembly, whos^f proceedings on this head enter very much into detail. Commissioners for carrying into effect M f i i ■ is Ml ft . : ill : S 1. 1 i\ 'I ROADS. ;■! ni: li- the proper expenditure of the sums appropri. ated, are appointed by the Governor in council, and receive a certain per-centage. Some late amendments have been adopted to render the appointment of those on the great roads more permanent, and have been attended with ad- vantage. These Commissioners engage sub- overseers and labourers by daily hire, and are decidedly the organs of execution by which the chief improvements are effected. The attention of all the military governors has been mainly directed to internal commu- nications; and the Legislature, now become practically instructed in their importance, has seconded the recommendations laid before it. with increasing liberality. The exertions of Sir James Kempt, in this respect, are conspicuous throughout the province. Not content with the mere reports of distant individuals, or with a mere recommendation to the Assembly, ex- pressed in general terms ; detailed information was elicited by examination from all those pos- sessed of local knowledge ; the coup (Tml of the country was generally gained in person, and the best methods of carrying into effect the ;■ : ! ROADS. 243 i Mil V ! intentions proposed, were distinctly pointed out to the Legislature. Justly, too, was this activity appreciated, not only in this but in every other branch of the public business : anxiety for the provincial welfare was repaid by universal con- fidence and respect, and long will the warm feelings of good-will and gratitude be associ- ated with the name of his late Governor, in the breast of every Nova-Scotian. Although in the remoter sections of the country a good deal of petty interest impedes the progress of the general good, yet, in the principal lines of communication, an excellent system is gradu- ally carrying into execution. It is not many years since the science of road-making in England was enlightened by the discovery, that it was better to go round a hill of spherical form, than to mount over it. The same discovery is now obtaining general attention in Nova Scotia. Both the levelling and formation of the principal roads have been placed in the hands of men whose intelligence would do credit to any country. The very nature of the country has caused the first lines of road to be opened in the most unfavourable M 2 ' a 1 ; 'M / 244 ROADS. I i m "H I' M t ! directions. The original communications be- tween distant settlements were footpaths: those whose steps effected their formation were in- variably led to take the straightest course, and to prefer the higher ground and ridges in that course ; not only on account of the difficulty of ])enetrating through the close wood and swamps in the low grounds, but from that feeling of advantage in a more elevated situation, which those only know who have traversed the woods. In fact, all idea of levelling was either unknown or disregarded ; hence it is that, as the country has become cleared, the most absurd courses appear to have been pursued ; and in the lapse of a few years, those who travel along the new lines will peep out of their carriage-win- dows in astonishment at the seeming ignorance or liardihood which induced their fathers to risk their own necks and their cattle so need- lessly. It has often been asserted that the severity of the frost in winter, and the decomposition of earth that takes place during the thaws in spring, are insurmountable obstacles to the con- struction of good and permanent roads. It ap- Ji BRIDGES. 245 pears to me that the idea has obtained credit only in consequence of the insufficiency of the means hitherto employed to overcome these ob- stacles In England, the best materials are trans- ported from a distance, and worked up at a tri- fling expense. In Nova Scotia, the expense would be enormous; and in consequence, the materials are usually such as the way-side affords. Add to this, the roads are left in utter neglect at the very time when care is most needed. When the snows melt in spring, the water-courses, if haply there be any made, are choaked up ; the road becomes the bed of a torrent ; and the pas- sage of a few wheels at that time, together with the subsequent alternate rains and frost, keep it in a state nearly impassable till summer. The statute-labour is of little benefit, compared with the work done under the commissioners, be- cause the superintendance of the former is in- trusted to men ignorant of the art of road- making, and the work is seldom executed at the proper season. There is one description of road peculi- arly annoying to the feelings of the traveller, —that technically termed "corduroy."" Where \ r ill » fH :l' i't tl' \' 246 CORDUROY ROADS. /■ u ,ji ■■• ' : 1 I? the ground was swampy and unfit to bear the passage of wheels, the early road-makers most ingeniously contrived to place rough trunks of timber side by side across the road, so that the wheels, jolting over the interstices, beat hollow the vilest French diligence over the vilest pavee of France. However well the interstices may be filled with gravel, the wear and tear soon carries it down below, and the corduroys remain in their pristine simplicity, alike insensible to the maledictions of all im- patient travellers, and to the furious assaults of their waggon-wheels. Although the common language of the country gives the idea that there are only two or three passable lines of road, this must be understood as applying only to such as are fit for carriages on springs. There are numerous cross-communications not generally known, which we should deem per- fectly practicable in military language, unless after a series of wet weather. Bridges are usually done by contract ; wood is the material universally employed in their construction, in which but little taste or sci- 1 ■ i MODE OF TRAVELLING. 247 ence has yet been displayed.* They are some- times suffered to remain in a state of great neg- lect ; and one on the outskirts of this town was very nearly the occasion of your being deprived of an invaluable correspondent, whose precious person ran no small risk of being engulphed, while " threading the needle " in the dusk, be- tween some dozen fractures that yawned in every plank, like traps to catch the unwary. The common English chariot is used in tra- velling, by some persons ; but the more usual vehicle is a light waggon, much the same sort of thing as the pony phaeton on four wheels we see at home, and, certainly, the best adapted to a country where an occasional windfall (a tree blown down across the road,) not unfrequently reduces you to the alternative of lifting your carriage over the obstruction, or dragging it through the woods on either side. Posting is out of the question : every one travels with his * Two or three of the provincial bridges have stone piers, but are not otherwise remarkable. A peregrination through the States would afford many a useful lesson to the provin- cial architects. Several of the American bridges exhibit a masterly combination of mechanical science and beauty: I allude particularly to those over the Schuylkill and the De- laware. V^: ! J . I li i U ■ i I I I V'] 248 COUNTRY INNS. i ;i ■I i"i'i H PU:' I i }>'^ . 1- HI * I (1 I own or with hired horses, or takes advantage of a stage, which plies on the two principal roads. The inns in the towns such as Windsor, or Annapolis, are much the same as those we find in the larger villages of England. The coun- try inns are usually detached cottages, of which the owner having originally commenced as a farmer, and looking to that occupation as his chief resource, is a very different being from his accomplished prototype in England. I know of no occasion more likely to arouse the choler of an aristocratic Englishman than his arrival at one of these inns, before he has become acquainted with the character of the country. The last crack of the whip, which, in England, places, as if by magic, a stable-boy at the head of each leader and a waiter at the door, here dies away unheeded in an echo among the woods. He looks round with surprise — surmises that he may have mis- taken the house — descends to inquire. By this time, a countryman makes his appearance from the field, announces that the host will " be here after fixing the next load," and coolly begins to unharness. Milord Anglais may walk in if HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. 249 he pleases, — for though there is no one to invite, there is no one to forbid his entrance : a neat little parlour will then receive him; perhaps even the " mistress" will be sufficiently on the alert to perform the office of introduction in person. Woe betide him if any symptoms of dissatisfaction or hauteur express themselves ! If he has the address to conceal his impatience, —to open the heart of the good lady by a few civil inquiries, — all will be well ; his wishes will be attended to with all the ability in her power ; but if the costume of Boniface from the hay- field shock his sensibility ; if his pride take of- fence at the nonchalance and the familiar style of conversation opened by his host in the shape of question and answer, — adieu to his expecta- tions of attention ana speedy refreshment ; he must submit to the convenience of both master and mistress, for they will not put themselves out of the way for him. This may present wo very favourable picture, when contrasted with the corresponding establishments at home ; yet I confess myself a great admirer of these little inns. There is a style of simplicity — of primi- tiveness about them, which has not yet yieldec' M 5 L \ Ih i '^'i^ 1 I 1^' t r (I- T I- s i \ ! 4 \ ^ 7fi / t ■ M !» 250 HINTS TO TRAVELLERS. i» . ,'i I'i'i I t : ! , f y 111 If t to the calculating habits of commoner inter- course. A few fair words aptly employed will ensure an attention and good-will far beyond those of more splendid establishments, if we es- timate each by its motives. Their cleanliness would match that of a Dutch housekeeper; and if the larder be not so well supplied, nor the cookery so piquant as that of our friend Wright at Dover, the best that the farm, the poultry-yard, and dairy afford, seasoned with the best exertions and modest excuses of a pretty hostess, may at least be graciously ac- cepted as a reasonable compensation. Let me recommend you, should any accident occasion your visiting these countries, to cull a few hints from what you have just read. Do not take offence at a style or a few customs that may be different from those to which you have been used. Leave a blank leaf in your album to be filled with personal sketches, illustrating the attributes of good-nature, and you will en- joy in Nova Scotia the day's excursion and the night's rest, with a certainty equal to that of which my matronly hostess has just made her appearance to assure me. PLEASURE ANTICIPATED. 251 LETTER VII. Basin of Annapolis. — Iron Works at Moose River.— Digby. — Clare. — French Acadians. — Yarmouth. — Tusket. — Maple Sugar. — Barrington. — *' Brown Sugar Inns."— Barrens. — Fires in the Woods. — Shelburne. — Enthusiasm of Ame- rican Loyalists. — Wild IVuits.— General Remarks. TO MRS. Shelburne. I HAVE already anticipated the pleasure, perhaps not unmixed with surprise, which would pervade your breakfast-circle, when our military Cousin proved, from the contents of my last epistle, that I had neither been squeezed into a bonne-houche for the cubs of a Nova-Scotian bear, nor had even been eaten up while sojourning in country inns, by less formidable, though no less voracious enemies. I write to you from the very covert of the bear, the moose, and caraboo, — for, on this side, the ! t. i i t I if hi I i >|i ml 252 BASIN OF ANNAPOLIS. ; 'I ',7' 1 1' i, province may, like County Wicklow, be com- pared to a coat of frieze with embroidered edging, being a vast wild of forests, lakes, and (as is supposed) of rank meadow levels in the interior, into which scarcely a woodsman has penetrated beyond twenty miles; while a line of farming and fishing cottages winds all along the coast. To commence, however, more syste- macically, I must beg you to overcome those terrors of the imagination, (strictly feminine, I doubt not, but vastly inconvenient in this country,) which used to render you unwilling to trust to my charioteering capabilities even in that most humble of all unaspiring vehicles, the little pony carriage : place yourself, then, in the seat of my waggon, without harbouring any ideas of broad wheels and eight horses, and let us set out together from Annapolis. Imagine yourself in the south of Devon, or east of Cornwall bordering on the sea, and you will understand the style of scenery about the Basin of Annapolis, or Digby, — for it is called by both names. The road, though good, occa- sionally descends into deep ravines, that look as if Nature, in their formation, had here employed J'l-ii'i IRON-WORKS. 253 the mallet and the wedge. Farm-houses are scattered from the sloping brows to tlie water's edge along the whole line; the Basin, twelve miles in length by about five in breadth, is se- parated from the Bay of Fundy by the North Mountain, and appears more like a beautiful lake than an inlet from tlie sea. The gut, or passage of connection with the Bay, is a narrow cleft through the chain of the North Mountain, hardly half a mile in breadth, the existence of which is not perceived till the broad expanse of the Bay of Fundy and the faint l)lue edge of the New Brunswick coast are pre- sented to the eye, when opposite to the opening. At the mouth of Moose River stand the smelting-houses and other works of the Cle- ments Mining Company. The stone buildings, and the workmen busily employed in transport- ing the iron-ore, or completing the works, carry us in idea to some of our smaller establish- ments at home ; while the steep overhang- ing banks fringed with luxuriant copse-wood, the half-wild, half-cultivated air that prevails around, and a neat inn, of magnitude unduly proportioned to the place, indicate a resort of t i- 1 IM !„i « 1 h i i !' ' ( : J' ■ i i / 254 DIGBV. Strangers, similar to that occasional and more sober species of visitation which, in the seques- tered nooks of our more distant counties, has not ceased to call the little schoolboys from their lessons to the door, nor to find the village damsels peeping from behind the window-blinds to study the science of Lavater in the aspect of every arrival. At the lower end of the Basin is situated the small town of Digby, now of little celebrity for any thing but its herrings, or, as they are more familiarly termed, " Digby chickens,'' — a favourite morceau for the breakfast-table of those who prefer a piece of leather well- dried and salted (which they greatly resemble,) to a fresh-baked roll. Much the same character of scenery as above is maintained as we rise upon the high grounds that interpose between the Basin of Digby and the Bay of Saint Mary, and proceed on through the settlement of Sis- siboo to the Roman Catholic chapel atMontaigan, fifty miles from Annapolis, where the worthy Abbe will feel sadly disappointed if we do not stop to partake of the simple but hospitable re- freshment he has in his power to offer. '( )*! t >•/ J It more jues- , has from illagc blinds ►ect of tuatccl iebrity s they likens,"" it-table r well- jmble,) laracter we rise 3etween t Mary, t of Sis- ntaigan, worthy e do not table re- UEAUTIKS OF SCENERY. 255 The line of route we have just traversed pre- sents, to my idea, more beauties than any other of the same extent in Nova Scotia ; and there are but few in England that would surpass it in the same character of scenery. Tliere arc many spots in the province where riclier cultivation and su- perior progress in agriculture are manifested ; there are others where greater sublimity or more impressive wildness appeal to the imagination ; but tliere are none where the charm of loneliness appears so pleasingly contrasted with the haunts of mankind; none that exhibit the ever-changing varieties of wood and water, liill and hollow, farm and forest, in such well-blended continuity. It is to an average of three or four miles from the shores that this description can alone be applied; the interior is still a wilderness, al- most unexplored. The increase of population is however rapidly extending the inroads of cultiva- tion to what arc called the back-lots ; to those portions of forest-land some milesfrom the shore, which, though long granted to individuals, have hitherto lain untouched, unless for the pur- pose of procuring fuel. The land is said to be of better quality than that immediately on the ■ 1i 1^ w ^■ I /: ^ 256 CLARE. r .«■''•■ ^ ii IM - i Iff (■; f ■M X\ H shore : and the more steady attention to agricul- ture, which the situation of these settlers will probably induce, will undoubtedly procure in- dependence for themselves, and an increase of substantial wealth for the country. The settlement of Clare, of which the Roman Catholic chapel is the nucleus, extends for about thirty miles along the shores of Saint Mary's Bay. The population is almost entirely Aca- dian-French, and deserves particular mention not only from its origin, but for the distinct and peculiarly interesting features it displays. The number of families comprising the pastor's immediate flock is about three hundred and thirty, giving a total of nearly two thousand five hundred souls; about thirty families also reside in the township of Digby ; and at Tusket, below the town of Yarmouth, are nearly two hundred families more ; the whole being in- cluded in the cure of the Abbe Segoigne. Per- haps it is to a sojourn in the cut- quarters of Ireland that I owe, in common with manv others, the uncharitable feeling which leads us to associate a Roman Catholic priest with imaginary phantoms of dark-scowling mortals ■- ^■i*i-«-t.^rwt.««-_' cur6 of montaigan. 257 icul- will e in- ise of ,oman about ilary's f Aca- lention Ustinct splays. castor's 2d and lousand ies also Tusket, rly two nng iii- i. Per- artcrs of 1 many leads us St with mortals wrapt up in bigotry and black garments, or intent on the means of retaining in slavish ignorance, and moulding into a handle of political anarchy, the quick perceptions and high-wrought passions of a warm-hearted pea- santry. How pure, how redeeming an archi- type in the reverse of this image is the worthy Cure of Montaigan ! Born and educated in France, M. Segoigne emigrated from that coun- try when revolutionary suspicion threatened the lives of all whose virtues were inimical to the views of the ruling democrats, and for the last thirty years has devoted his attention exclusively to the welfare of these children of Acadia. Buried in this retreat from all the thoughts and habits of the polished world, he yet retains the urbanity of the old French school ; or rather, I apprehend, possesses that natural excellence of disposition which gives to urbanity its intrinsic value. He is at once the priest, the lawyer, and the judge of his peo- ple ; he has seen most of them rise up to man- hood around him, or accompany his own decline in the vale of years : the unvarying steadiness of his conduct has gained equally their affec- 'I ' » . /" III' :/!li 1 ,l|( i ;>if "■ if' 11^ •I |! |:in'>;i'f!Mii'^ 258 FRENCH ACADIANS. tion and respect : to him, therefore, it is that they apply in their mutual difficulties ; from him they look for judgment to decide their little matters of dispute. Eleven years ago, a case between two Acadians belonging to this settlement came on for trial before the Su- preme Court. From some informality, the cause was nonsuited : it was not again brought for- ward ; and since that time there is no instance of a law-suit from Montaigan appearing on the records of the judicial circuit. The Abhe complains much of the indifference his parish- ioners manifest on the subject of education: with the exception of two or three young men who are under his own instruction, the rising generation of this settlement are wholly unedu- cated : his exertions to establish schools among them under the system framed by the legisla- ture, have been attended with no effect : the parents are not willing to contribute the neces- sary quota, and consequently no schoolmasters can be appointed. Probably this apathy may be attributable to the same source as that which renders these people so peculiar in the picture FRENCH ACADIANS. 259 ^ that from ! their s ago, to this le Su- le cause rht for- instance ring on le AbVie i parish- .ucation : Ling men le rising y unedu- Is among e legisla- [Fect: the le neces- )olmasters ly may be lat which le picture compared with those around them. A feel- ing of isolated existence and separate interests, in the first instance, has been softened down into sacred reverence for the habits of their fathers. Possessed of few ideas beyond those relating to their own immediate wants, they know not that active, perhaps I should say, that restless spirit of enter^ rise which ever urges forward to the acquirement of more : they are satisfied with their condition as it is : a competence sufficient for their simple mode of life is easily obtained ; and beyond this they do not care to make any farther exertion. In practical traits of social morality, they shine pre-eminent. Their community is in some re- spects like that of a large family. Should one of their members be left a widow without any immediate protector or means of support, her neighbours unite their labours in tilling her land, securing the crops, and cutting her winter-fuel. Instances of a second marriage are rare among them. Children who may be- come orphans are always taken into the fami- lies of their relations or friends, who make no 260 FRENCH ACADIANS. ' t /M i i; ,1 i % I'J;' il 1 ! Jill distinction between them and their own off- spring. Intermarriages between the Acadians and British settlers very seldom take place. " Why," said a friend of mine, to a young Acadienne, — " why do you keep the English at such a distance ? you never give them a chance of running off with any of you."" — " Ah," replied Ma'mselle Teriot, in her native patois, " per- haps the English don't try." The difference of language, however, is rather an awkward bar to surmount in the advances of intimacy, and is quite sufficient to give colour to the young lady''s implied accusation. A small auberge near Sissiboo is kej t by an Englishman, who has been bolder than the rest of his countrymen, and has carried off a prize from the flock of Montaigan. I passed the night at his house, and was amused, — not like Miss Letitia Ramsbottom, that little boys should speak French, but to observe half a dozen chil- dren chattering to their mother in that lan- guage, and then running to their father with a little tale in English : they invariably main- tained this distinction, never speaking to their parents, except in the native language of eacli, H FRENCH ACADIANS. 261 m oft- is and Whyr idienue^ such a aiice of replied (( per- is rather ;aiices of e colour tion. A t by an the rest [ a prize issed the —not like ys should ozen chil- that lan- ler with a 3ly niain- ,2 to their e of each, although the mother, in this instance, was almost equally conversant with either. The French of la vieil/e France is perfectly under- stood by them ; and one whose '^ar has been accustomed to the patois of that country, would have no difficulty in understanding theirs. It is however far more corrupted than that of the Canadians, and has become still farther changed by many grammatical misapplications. The costume' of the women is preserved in greater purity than I have ever observed among the settlements of the East Coast. The coije, a blue or white handkerchief, covers the head, and is tied under the chin. The little children, who are muffled up in this manner at all sea- sons, look almost smothered on a hot summer's day. A ribband is bound round the forehead, under which a few short and remarkably thin curls are suffered to escape in front, and two ringlets equally thin fall dov n on each side. A little bob-jacket of linen cloth, checked blue- and-white, with a high waist, is covered at the shoulders with a white or coloured handker- chief, pinned neatlv behind. The petticoat is usually dark blue, of coarse woollen homespun, I 'il: I t if! lur f ( ■ / ; 262 FRENCH ACADIANS. made very large, and gathered in folds at the waist all round. Blue stockings, (as if in mockery of the notions we attach to the bus bleu,) and low shoes of black leather, without binding or ornament, complete the dress of the females. The men are not so peculiar in this respect : a sailor"'s jacket and trowsers compose their ordinary dress ; and their dark eye and olive-brown complexion, together with an occa- sional bonnet rouge, are the only characteristics that recall to the memory aught we have seen on the coasts of Brittany or banks of the Ga- ronne. Their labour is divided between sea and land ; they build their own shallops, (of which the construction is peculiarly well-adapt- ed to this squally coast,) and in these vessels carry on the fisheries to a limited extent off the provincial shores, or transport their agricultu- ral produce to the market of their commercial capital, Saint Jean, m New Brunswick. Their lands are of good quality, although not equal to the rich alluvium of the Annapolis valley and upper shores of tne Bay of Fundy : they pay a good deal of attention to its culture ; and their crops, chiefly potatoes and barley, at the time YARMOUTH. 263 at the if in he bus vithout of the in this ompose ;ye and a,n occa- teristics ave seen the Ga- veen sea ops, (of U-adapt- vessels it off the gricultu- mmercial Their lot equal alley and ley pay a and their the time I saw them, looked cleaner and in better order than those on most of the other small farms. A few families of semi-Indian extraction are to be found in this settlement : their origin must be referred to the commencement of the eighteenth century, when the invasion and par- tial subjugation of Nova Scotia by the British forces from New England, united the Acadian- French and Indians in common cause against the intruders, and subsequently forced many of the former to take refuge among the fastnesses of their savage allies. These families are look- ed upon as rather without the pale of social brotherhood ; but their habits do not differ from those of their neighbours, and it is probable they will gradually become blended with the general mass of the community. At Yarmouth we come to a very different scene, and may almost fancy ourselves in some rising village of the Eastern States of America. The little red-coloured Acadian cottages are succeeded by large frame-houses neatly painted white; and the appearance of two or three square-rigged vessels and sundry smaller craft jf i! i s r 264 YARMOUTH. h^ ' I {Ml II. i i''h ' ii HI ,j I ri I;,: ..t ; lying in the harbour, indicates the rising efforts of a spirit of commercial enterprise in the in- habitants. Yarmouth town consists of a " street,*" as it is called, nearly two miles in length, on either side of which a respectable dwelling-house (oc- casionally presents itself, separated from its neighbours by long intervals of field or garden, something similar to the style — (allowing for the difference between brick and wooden ma- terials,) — of the western a])proach to Worthing on the coast of Sussex. The roads in the vi- cinity are very good, and the inhabitants take full advantage thereof, — running about in their gigs and waggons in all directions. The number of horses in this township more than doubles that of all the rest of the county of Shelburne. The inhabitants are chiefly the descendants of emigrants from New England ; they possess therefore, by inheritance, a spirit of activity which does not appear likely to de- generate upon the soil to which it has been transplanted. A good deal of intercourse has always been maintained with the States ; and the recent tarift' of the Federal Government . . ^im I! I 'l|! YARMOUTH. 265 of that country promises to increase mani- fold the receipts of tlie Cust(mi-House of Yarmoutli. The harbour is but indifferent : ahhough well protected from the swell of the Atlantic by a long neck of land and an island at the entrance, the channel is narrow, and large vessels moored near the wharfs are aground at low water. After leaving the French settlement at St. Mary's Bay, we see no more of the extraordinary tides that prevail in the Bay of Fundy. At Yarmouth, the rise of tide is only from eight to twelve feet ; and the flat meadow-land extending along either bank of the little rivers in this neighbourhood, is not composed, like that about Cornwallis, of rich alluvial loam, but partakes more of the na- ture of marsh, and produces strong grass im- pregnated with saline matter, which the owners esteem as excellent alterative food for their cat- tle in winter. — We are now at the south-western extremity of the province, and the adjoining township of Argyle may be considered the ter- mination of that fine belt of agricultural wealth and population which, commencing at the head of the Basin of Mines, encircles the back of N ■ ( < ' ,i: fl \- \ ih If f 1 I. > »} ; /n 2m TLSKET. I! Nova Scotia, comprising an extent of two lum- (Ircd and sixty miles, with a breadth varying from two miles to fifteen or twenty. The Acadians of Tusket resemble their bre- thren of Clare: their chapel is prettily embosom- ed in a grove of oak-treos, to which the Abbe Segoigne occasionally transfers liis head-quarters from INIontaigan. The scenery of Argyle Bay is extremely beautiful of its kind : innumerable islands and peninsulas enclose the water in every direction. The tameness which would other- wise prevail from the want of bold features, is relieved by a diversity of oak, maple, and other liard timber, and is varied by marshy intervale contrasted with abrupt alluvial banks : cottages and cultivated land break the masses of forest ; and the masts of small fishing-vessels peeping up from every little cove, attest the multiplied resovuces which Nature has provided for the supply of the inhabitants. Back settlements are extending themselves for fifteen or twenty miles into the interior along the banks of the Tusket River, which debouches at the head of Argyle Bay. After the first eight miles, the navigation is unfortunately confined to small MAPLE SUGAR. 207 boats, and the winding course of the river ren- ders the passage by water extremely tetUous. A fertile soil is found to exist as far as has hitiierto been exj)lored, interru|)ted oeeasional- ly by poor stony land and marshes. Near Tusket we pass through a fine grove of large maple-trees, not crowded togetiier and shooting up like lathy saplings, but spread over the sward, and presenting a fair breadth of timber. The trunks appear to have been nui- tilated on all sides by the axe, which at first sight inclined me to exclaim with indignation against the gothic barbarians of the vicinity. These trees are of the description called rock or sugar-maple, and in the back-settlements are of great value in furnishing a luxury which the young settlers would otherwise be unable to procure. In the early part of spring, when the night frosts are succeeded by a powerfid s m, the maple is tapped by making an incision through the bark, near the bottom of the trunk. A. branch, hollowed in order to act like a spout, is fixed in the opening, and ihe sap soon trickles down and is received into rude troughs hewn out of a log, and placed N 2 I: IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 4p t/j 1.0 I.I UiWU |2.5 |50 ■^™ HHB •^ 1^ 12.2 ? i:s lllllio 11-25 il.4 I 1.6 V <^ A *^W .V '^' Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 m i\ iV :\ \ tV A. '^"^ tliat from the West Indies. The country peo- ple do not manufacture it to any considerable extent; for, although it recjuires but little labour while the trees are close at hand, still, a^ these become exhausted, and the people who attend to the troughs have to go farther into the woods, the time thus occupied becomes too valuable to be abstracted from the farm, and the sugar or molasses required by the family is purchased from the merchant. Every feature changes step by step, after leav- ing Argyle Bay ; stones and gravelly t/e/^ris usurp V. thus col- iiired. A I quality, e season, rar. The moulded wn soa[), mistaken ire taken refined in s seen on ?ver as a iferior ro itry peo- ^iderablc ut little , still, a.s pie who ther into )mes too rm, and aniily is ter leav- es usurp BARRINGTON. '269 the place of the loam we have hitherto seen, and the streams become tinged with the deep colour of bog earth. Barrington is a respectable fish- ing settlement, but its leading hotel would not receive a better character from a Nova-Scotian traveller, than that of a " brown sugar" house. This expression, used by the young gentlemen of the country to designate the (juality of the entertainment that may be expected at any inn on the road, does not immediately strike the apprehension of a stranger; it is however, though perhaps somewhat in the nature of a cant term, not the less comprehensive. Those houses which are well frequented are generally supplied with all the requisites for refreshment during a journey, and, amongst others, with the best loaf-sugar. Those, on the contrary, of secondary order, are seldom provided with an article which is considered a superfluous piece of luxury ; and the rest of their accommodations are always in the same scale of proportion. I have even had to put up for the night with a Boniface, who " gave molasses," — but this is a matter of rare occurrence. On approaching Shelburne, we cross some ex- I.. II M 'l|(^ ! I' N \ i' ' III i ,V5l 1 1 'J I \ ! ' . il I, ' l<; ( 'Mi''i,ii { (I h fill , » 270 FIRES IN TIIK WOODS. tensive tracts of what may be called American moorland, being plains totally bare of forest for miles around, and covered with poor grass, weeds, and large stones. It is said that the heather of the British moors is unknown in North America. A plant very nearly resem- bling the connnon Knglisli heath, but, I be- lieve, not strictly belonging to the same class, is common in this neighbourhood. These plains appear to have been deprived of their primitive forests by conflagrations ; and the sterility of the soil, and exposure to fogs and bleak sea air, have probably prevented the young woods from again covering the surface. A fire in the forest is no harmless joke in Nova Scotia ; the immense extent of country devastated by the fire of Miramichi, in 1825, remains, and will remain for many years, a mo- nument of the incalculable ravages that may thus be occasioned. Not far from Barrington the woods caught fire by accident a few years ago; the flames flew with rapidity in the direction of the wind across the province as far as Sissiboo, and burnt numerous buildings and much farm- FIRES IN THK WOODS. 271 I Amoricaii ? of forest boor ^rass, I that tlk- iknowii in 'ly ivscm- •ut, I be- mie class, Tliesc I of their and the fogs and ■nted the surface. 5 joke in country in 1825, rs, a mo- nay thus gton the ars ago ; ?ction of iissiboo, ;h fann- ing stock. In fifteen hours they spread from Yarmouth to Annapolis, a distance of one liun- dred miles, before tliey were exhausted on tin- Western shore. These fires are most frecpient in the month of June, when the timber that has been cut down for clearing tlie land has become sufficictly dry to burn. If the season has been unattended with wet weather, the fire sometimes spreads to the standing timber, and then, woe betide those whose cottages stand on the verge of the wood to leeward of the flame, unless change of wind or a shower of rain obviate the danger ! I have known Ha- lifax enveloped for several days in a cloud of smoke, so thick that the sight was limited to less than i hundred yards, and the fire which occasioned it was then five-and-thirty miles distant. The appearance of the forest, after fire has passed through it, is the most desolate that can be imagined: the blackened trunks are left without the smallest vestige of vegeta- tion ; some leaning half fallen or lying uprooted and prostrate like large logs of charcoal. The very ground is scorched to an unnatural colour ; M I I h I 272 SHELBURNE. :if '. \li'!i I . t 'f IV and the appalling stillness of the scene always brings forcibly to my mind the " blasted city'* of the Sultana Scheherazade. It is a singular fact, that the quality of the young timber whicli, after a brief interval, springs up through the soil, is always the converse of that which has been destroyed : thus, if soft wood previously occupied tlie ground, hard wood, such as beech, birch, and maple, invari- ably replaces it ; and these in ilieir turn are succeeded, after a conflagration, by the various species of fir. I do not remember to have heard any reasonable theories on this subject : — ami for myself, I pretend not to account for it. The town of Shelburne is situated at the northern extremity of a beautiful inlet, ten miles in length and from two to three in breadth, in which the whole royal navy of Great Britain might lie completely land-lock- ed. A wooden lighthouse is built on a large island at the western side of the entrance. This splendid harbour was the bauble that dazzled the eyes of those by whom the town was (to use an appropriate American expression) first located. In 1 783, a large body of loyalists cue ahv ays isted city' ity of thf al, springs Jn verse of s, if soft nd, Jiard le, invari- turn are e various ive Iieard \ : — and rit. 1 at the ilet, ten three in navy of iid-lock- a large titrance. le that wn was •ession) )yalists AMERICAN LOYALISTS. 2T3 from the states of New En '1! i\ '!l The streets of the town are changed into ave- nues bounded by stone fences on either side, in which grass phuits contest tlie j);dni of supre- macy witli stones. The inhabitants are supported, in great mea- sure, by the numerous town-lots that originally were formed into gartlens, and now produce gooil pasture and potatoes, for those to whom they have been apportioned. Some capital is vested in the fis'ieries ; but the site of the town is ill-ctd- culated for expeditiously fitting out the vessels thus employed, as the land-locked position of the harbour occasions it to freeze in winter, and to remain blocked up for a much longer period than those which are more open at the mouth. A little success however, with which these speculations have been attended, induces the patriarchs of the place to speak of its future prospects witli animation, and (happily) to rest contented with the hopes of increase and prosperity. A few ships are built at this port, of a species of white oak, which 1 believe is not met with else- where in the province. The timber is found about fifteen miles up the Shelburne River, where large quantities of it are (in the phrase- \fc u SIIKLHLKNi;— TIMHKR. L>77 ology of tlic woodsmen,) ** slaii^hti'rrd down,'* and rioatfd witli tlie stivain, wlu'ij the waters rise with the freshets in spring. This oak is durable, hut exeeecUn^ly porous, lied oaU is not uneoinnion in Nova Seotia ; but ships built of tlie wliitespeeies are preferred; they liardly, however, feteh a l)etter priee per ton than is ^iven in tlic market for those built of the usual material — blaek bireh. Had the Shelburnc River been explored before the town was founded, and settlements made on the spots that have reeently been diseovered to possess ajrricultural capabilities, it is ])ro- bable that the result would have been more successful. Clearances which have very lately been made twenty-five miles uj) the river, have exposed some good land surrounded by fine oak-timber. The woodsmen also tell stories about extensive meadow-lands covered with long grass, which afford pasturage for the cattle of the Indians, and report the existence of a lake stretching farther than the eye can reach, whence issue all the streams from the Tusket to the Liverpool River inclusive. During part of the year, the coast, especially i '«! M. lit . ':■! ( 4 II n .11 27H CLIMATIi OF SIIMLUURNE. I! I I i'M about YarnuHitli, is I'livulopcd in fog, and tliis sometimes to so great a degree as to j)revent the crops from coming to maturity, — witness the summer of 1828. Slielburne is comparatively exempt from tliis inconvenience, the vapour being frequently exhausted before it arrives at the liead of the inlet. It is very singidar to observe these watery clouds rolling along over tlie surface of tlie bays and inlets, and appearing to slum the projecting headlands. I liave many a time seen a peninsula not a mile in breadth, perfectly clear in the centre, and even tinged witli the rays of a fine sun, while the water on each side has been com- pletely concealed by intense fog ; — and only discoverable by those wayward clianges, or, to speai< more in consonance with its appearance, those partial solutions of the vapour which every now and then lift the veil from off the landscape. The sea-fog is esteemed rather salubrious than otherwise ; and the climate of Shelburne, independently of this imagined auxi- liary, is considered the most genial in Nova Scotia. The season usually opens earlier than in any » V WILD FRIITS. 279 Other part of the province ; nnd the jjood folks pride themselves upon outstrijjpiii^ tluir nei^jh- boiirs in the early ))ro(lueli()n of strawlurries from the woods, and ^reen peas from the gar- dens. It is rather atnusiuij to an Kn dish ear to hear a housekeeper in this country give the boy directions to gather a basket of straw- berries, raspberries, or gooseberries — not from the garden, but from the woods. These fruits, especially the two former, are found growing wild in abundance, a little later than the sea- sons in which we have them at home. The strawberries are of the small red kind, and ex- tremely well-flavoured. Many persons u])holtl them as superior to the cultivated strawberry of England. The gooseberries are very small ; .so much so, that they might almost be mistaken for currants; their flavour, iiowever, is good. Raspberries are the same as the Knglish, but comparatively insipid. The wild currant is less common than the others, and is the most acrid, disagreeable fruit imaginable under that name. From Shelburne, we may set aside all thoughts of travelling onwards upon wheels; indeed, su'-h I, ''•i If ■•i' [ 'I 280 GENERAL REMARKS. ;> t? vii mode is not very advisable even thus far. An associate judge of the Supreme Court very nearly broke his neck not many months ago, in consequence of the bad state of the Barrington roads ; and if the province continues to extort such journeying from elderly gentlemen, it is not improbable the Bench may, ere long, pre- sent a few vacancies. In passing through the country, a stranger cannot fail to be struck with the small number of what we should call country-seats, and, con- sequently, with the comparative paucity of that class which corresponds to the country-gentle- men at home. I do not take into account those worthies who, according to the definition ot the term *' 'Squire" given by the little American boy, " 'tend court and justice meetings," and on other days " help the mister there at the tavern."" I speak rather of persons of extended education, who, being possessed of some substance, have suf- ficient leisure to devote their intelligence to the general improvement of the country, and to diffuse, by personal example, a moral benefit through their own immediate neighbourhood. This is of course one of the drawbacks na- I ii GENERAL REMARKS. 281 turally attendant on a young country ; and the evil — for evil it must be deemed — will gradually correct itself, as population becomes more dense, and wealth more abundant ; but, meanwliile, a species of interregnum must exist, whicli I would willingly see abbreviated. Tlie increase of this class of gentry would be the mildest, and, at the same time, the best antidote to those germs of wrangling and disputation, those petty jarring interests which rise up in the imaginations — for they are more imaginary than real — of the congregated villagers, and disturb the harmony and good-fellowship which would otherwise be universal. Let not this be considered at variance with what I have said of the peaceful colouring that elsewhere softens the scene : the one is applicable in a general sense, the oth'i^r partially, and, like the water-spout, splashes and troubles the surface witliin its circle of attraction, but does not disturb the serenity of the ocean. No less do we feel the absence of that venerable character with which the glimpse of a distant abbey, the still frowning turret of a ruined castle, and the fanciful imagery of historical tradition, imbue the very atmosphere 'If! V 1 'ii h, * :i 282 GENERAL REMARKS. ,1 .'i \t of many a British scene. In America, tradi- tionary lore is yet too infantine to lisp the ac- cents of attractiveness, and romance flickers doubtfully before the gaze that would seek to penetrate its attendant obscurity. Yet, if there be any spot to which the veneration of an Eng- lishman be more peculiarly due, it is Shel- burne ; for here alone we mark the impress of premature decay, — here only are preserved the relics of those who, bleeding in the cause of the parent they loved, fled hither for protection, and have now passed from the scene for ever. •f I i ■■ i r I 1 ^f I / ('ill i COMFORTS OF SOLITUDE. 283 LETTER VIII. Bad roads. — Mosquitoes. — Pleasures of fishing Nativt' horses Road-making. — Liverpool Traffic by barter. — Canoe navigation. — Bridge Only toll-gate in Nova Scotia — Saw-mills Town of Liverpool Petite Riviere. — Lehave River. — Ferries.— Lunenburg Militia anec- dotes. — Harbour of Lunenburg. — Town. — Inhabitants. — Mahone Bay Chester. — 8t. Margaret's Bay. — Route through the Woods. TO COLONEL Windsor. I BELIEVE DeRoos spoke feelingly, when he so tenderly apostrophized the comforts of soli- tude and gentle treatment in the hostelry of Mrs. Wilcox. On the same spot do I now revel in the luxury of a good hair-mattress, in place of the immense sacks of feathers under which, — spite of a thermometer at 80", — I have been buried alive in most of the country inns for the last fortnight. The very tread upon smooth level ground is delightful, after having been III I w V 4! > I I(' 284 BAD ROADS. r I r f t it* stumbling over rocks, or sinking into swamps, for the last hundred and twenty miles. The line of route from Shelburne to Liver- pool bears the palm of vileness from all " post- roads" I ever saw, except one. The natives described this to be the " post-road to Hali- fax ;"* I was therefore simple enough to ride my own mare ; but any man who has a regard for his cattle would never trust his own cow upon such paths. Being in company with three or four others, we marched in Indian file, each taking the lead by turns as a wider space in the path admitted his passing to the front : this arrangement was but fair play for the horses. The passage of so formidable a cavalcade at- tracted hosts of mosquitoes and other winged plagues of Nova Scotia, who came buzzing about our ears to the tune of " what can the matter be," and seemed so well satisfied with the replies they extracted from the carcase of the leading horse, that those following were but little troubled with their inquiries. There are few parts of the province where mosquitoes are • By " post-road" must be understood the route of the letter-carrier. ii i V;*, PLEASURES OF FISHING. 285 troublesome as a domestic nuisance, except in single houses surrounded by woods. In Hali- fax they are rarely seen ; and wherever clear- ances have been made, and the swamps drained, they are kept proportionally at a distance: they are much the same as the English gnat, but infuse with the sting of their proboscis a greater degree of venom. Sundry small flies that infest the woods in summer are more an- noying than these mos(juitoes. I know a worthy disciple of Izaak Walton in this country, who, in proof of his devotion to the craft, and at the same time of his willingness to escape death by piecemeal, has been seen to wind his solitary way to the lakes, clad in the defensive armour of a huge pair of hedger's gloves, his face smeared with a composition of camphor and grease, his fishing-rod in one hand, and a formidable torch of birch bark in the other ; the last being a sort of flaming sword, whereby a constant fumigation is maintained around the head, and all access thus interdicted to the agents of evil in the shape of black flies. To wander a little from such a path as that we have been upon is surely excusable: in this i' I t'ji i 'H 1 i > i m I * i |i ■I: !i 1 > I Ill NATIVE HORSES. instance, however, such wandering brings its own punishment, there being on both sides a deep bog, into which a horse, if once plunged, would run no small risk of remaining till doomsday ; while, by carefully keeping the middle of the track, I was assured, by way of consolation, my horse would not sink above his knees. The dexterity with which horses bred in the country skip along these tracks is ad- mirable : their gait is a farmer's jog, varied oc- casionally by a hop, step, and jump, as the broken corduroys of a water-course, or rugged edges of rock, render such variety advisable. It is needless to expatiate upon the delights in- fused by this motion through the system of the unsophisticated mortal who has only been inured to the spring of an English hunter : it has perhaps one advantage ; the sinewy hens and hard bacon that compose the sum total of his bills of fare on the road, are thereby render- ed palatable, and their indigestible natures fairly conquered by the thus powerfully aided operation of the gastric fluids. Although the route from Shelburne to Liver- pool, a distance of forty-three miles, lies chiefly ROAD-MAKING. 287 through barren rocky land covered with stunt- ed wood, a few small streams running into the heads of innumerable inlets that indent the coast, afford narrow tracts of marsh land along their banks, by means of which the strings of cultivation are drawn into the interior. I'he sea-shore is lined with straggling cottages, in- habited by a sort of amphibious beings, who depend for subsistence partly upon their pota- toe-plots, and partly upon the shore fishery. On approaching Liverpool, I was edified by observing a novel method of road-making pur- sued by one of the county coinmissioners. Stones about the size of a man's head, of which there was no lack, were collected and thrown loosely into the middle of the road-way, and were then covered with rubbish found by the side, — a mixture of sand and rocky dtbris. The first heavy showers that fall, after this process, wash the rubbish through the interstices, and the road then becomes nothing but a bed of loose stones. It is singular to observe, in a country under representative government, and consequently jealous of its expenditure, what sums are annually squandered through the ^i Ml nt y : I K 111. I.; \ 288 ROAD-MAKING. ignorance or inefficiency of those to whom tlieir expenditure is entrusted. Ahnost the whole line of road along this coast has been conduct- ed by men who knew nothing about levelling ; whose genius, indeed, seldom contemplated ef- fecting a practicable passage for wheels, and who have gone on patching and mending, with the pecuniary items doled out here and there by the House of Assembly, without effecting more than a mere temporary repair. Marvellously small is the benefit which (as some would as- sert,) accrues to the country by the circulation of these sums among its labouring classes. These labourers are most commonly persons already in debt to the commissioners, or others ; and rarely is it indeed that a hard dollar touches the palm that has been handling the pickaxe and shovel, — payment being made to them by order on their creditors. There is perhaps no one measure that would produce a greater saving in expenditure of the resources of the country, and therefore contribute even- tually more to its advancement, than the exe- cution of a provincial survey on a grand scale. The expense of the proceeding has been hither- LIVERPOOL. 280 I •; to deemed an insurmountable obstacle, and in all probability the same opinion will continue to prevail. I'he want of accuracy in all the published maps of Nova Scotia, is notorious to those who have any local knowledge ; and I have never yet seen any official documents that me- rited a much better character. Tiie fact is, science and a practical knowledge of tlie pecu- har difficulties to be surmounted in a forest country, have not yet been combined in the compilation of topographical researches, and until this is done, errors both in geography and in all matters connected with location, will continue to abound. The town of Liverpool is formed by one long street, with a few offsets, lining the south side of the river bearing the same name, which here debouches upon a small bay. The sub- urbs included give a total of about two hun- dred houses, and nearly fifteen hundred inhabi- tants. The port aspires, at present, to the rank of second in the province ; but that of Pictou will most probably outstrip it in a very short time. Trade is carried on with the West In- dies, in fish and lumber ; and timber is shipped o 1 1 i \ .! t I s i!il i! 200 LIN KR POOL. ' : ' I III I :r' ' f u 1 II j n\ i for Kngland at various coves in the neifrlihour- hood. Tlie harbour having a bar entrance, with only seven feet at low water, renders access precarious for large vessels : a lighthouse built of wood stands on an island at the eastern side of the entrance, four miles distant from the town. A singular fatalitv has attended the shi|)})ing of this })ort. A very large proportion of the young men belonging to the place have ])erished at different times by shipwreck. Du- ring the war, in consequence of one privateer foundering at sea, forty- seven widows were left to lament the loss. A circumstance almost ri- diculous has arisen from this melancholy cause; the title of " Le Beau GeneraP' has been be- stowed upon a gentleman of the town, he being the only person to whom the young ladies have to apply, as an escort in their boating and other summer excursions. Liverpool is the commercial capital of a considerable population of settlers scattered along the coast, and also of some flourishing young settlements which have been recently planted in the interior. The neighbouring I LIVF'.RPOOL. 291 fishermen alonpr.shoro, as they rise to in(le])eii- (k'lH'e, are l)eoiiniin' ITS PH, tlu- ■on the ffs per s keep. White all the men of ommon rpool is s river, re float- fisheries rchants, cannot, f retro- iparison Brook - miles in e to the CANOU navI(;ation. '2d^ town, and may probuhly afTord, by (lef wo(k1 . The )nipletc- Y two of BRIDGE. 205 the buildings being contiguous; the intervals are occupied by gardens and trees, wliicli in summer contribute to form a very pleasing vis- ta. The road to Lunenburg crosses the river by a wooden bridge three hundred yards in length, built upon piles above water. Tliis bridge was built by a company, at the close of the last war, when the town was thought to be advancing with rapid strides on the road to opulence : the speculation has hitherto ])roved rather unfavourable. There is some risk in this country attendant on the mode of con- struction here adopted, lest the ice, whicii freezes strongly to the wood in winter, should, with the rise of tide, force up the posts along with it : the stability of this bridge, however, has stood the test of several winters witliout receiving the smallest injury. The statute which authorized the erection of the bridije bv private subscription, also authorized the col- lection of a toll from ])assengers, to remunerate the company of subscribers. Here, then, is thi' only toll-gate in Nova Scotia, and in solitary notoriety will it remain, until the internal traf- fic of the country arrives at that state which ! MM \i m^^ 5 k- ' 296 SAW-MILLS. ■ir V' * 11 M I ii- 1 1 1 1 I > §h ! V hi ■ 'ir will render the maintenance of its communica- tions too expensive to be defrayed by public appropriation, and will compel the Legislature to throw the burden of remedy upon the shoulders of those who contribute principally to cause the evil. A dam is carried across the river nearly two miles above the bridge, and some saw-mills are constantly employed in cut- ting up the logs floated down from the interior. A small village has risen up around the spot. These saw-mills, as well as all others I have visited, present nothing particular in their con- struction or machinery ; a rough shed usually covers the wheel-work, and the saws are of the commonest kind, worked by water power, on the same principle as in a saw-pit, except that here the saw maintains its position, while the log is forced by machinery to meet the vertical action of the teeth. The farming cottages round the shores of the bay are much scattered, and the land miserably poor. The town''s-people are chiefly settlers from New England, who emigrated during the Revolution. Their personal neatness, and the style and good order of their dwellings strong- TOWN OF LIVERPOOL. 297 () ly partake of the features of Massachusetts ; the tone of their little society is also attuned to nearly the same chord. The young ladies are remarkable adepts at the manufacture of all sorts of little nothings, in the shape of picture frames studded with shells, baskets, and other ornamental trifles, worked with moss or bcails. I doubt whether this system, as at present pur- sued, contributes much to swell the receipts of the Excise, or indeed does aught save spreading the industrious reputation of the fair manufac- turers. I would suggest that such manual in- dustry, under proper arrangements, similar t those of our charitable repositories, might be rendered available towards relieving the distress of poverty, as well as an annual burden of a few hundreds, which pauperism is said to throw upon the township. Between Liverpool and Lunenburg, a dis- tance of thirty-five miles, there are few features of interest: a decided improvement, however, takes place in every respect compared with tlie route from Shelburne : in the course of another year, a waggon will be able to reacli Liverpool with its wheels and springs unbroken, a fact of o 5 1' f I ': 11^ 1^ ii: ' ■■. i( I!,.? if hl,i ( 1 Hi' 29« LE JIAVK RIVER. fortunate occurrence, unlooked for at present. Tlie road runs through close woods, occasion- ally opening to discover clusters of fisher-cot- tages in the coves along-shore ; or descends upon small streams, which give a water-power to the saw-mills erected near their mouth. The scenery of Petite Riviere is worthy of notice. From the elevated site of its excellent imi, the eye connnands a wide extent of forest- land, indistinctly waved in distant undulations, and gratlually becoming n)erged in one broad and deep ravine, till the dark masses of wood seem as though rolling down the declivity un- broken, save here and there a small green patch and faint blue curl of smoke, that tell of human footsteps having ])enetrated there. To seaward, Ca})e Le Have a})pears to court tlie first fury of the waves, and affords protection to innumerable islets, covered with various species of fir, that group themselves in clusters along its shores. The river of Le Have is navigable for the largest merchantmen, for twenty miles above its moutli ; it then becomes a mere stream. Cireat quantities of timber are floated down % resent, casion- ler-cot- thy of ^cclleiit ' fori'st- lations, ' broad f wood ity un- n patch tell of •e. lo Lirt the >tecti()n various .'lusters for the above jtrcani. down KKRRIKS. -MM) to this spot, and shipped for England and the West Indies. It is here that the reiiular pac- ket-ships bet Halifax and L :ei-snips oetween uaniax ana i^iverpooi (England) usually take in their cargo. Both sides of the river are extensively cleared, and an amelioration of the Liverpool soil is very perceptible. The French had formerly a sinall fort near the mouth, the site of which is now hardly to be distinguished. A ferry three-quar- ters of a mile broad, is necessary to reach the left bank. The usual mode of the country is here pursued, the ferry-boat being a large ]junt or " scow," with raised sides to prevent horses froji step])ing into the water. It is absolutelv necessary to travel with a light waggon on anv road where one of these ferries occurs, for the officiating Charons not having pitched upon any eligible contrivance whereby the passage of wheels may be facilitated into their machine, you are obliged, in nine cases out of ten, to lift the carriage in by main strength, and to let the horses take their chance of broken legs or knees in attempting the same entrance. I once cross- ed the most dangerous ferry in Nova Scotia with a farmer, whose horse not liking the ,ii •i'ii I 4 j 1 .i ti P\: ■ i f I \ ' r M I 300 LUNENBURG. mi' a !■" motion, endeavoured to better his condition by -^apering until he fell with one leg over the side : my friend pinched the animal's nose most manfully to keep him quiet, and thus we at length effected a passage : the unlucky leg acting on our craft with an effect the reverse of that produced by a Dutchman's lee-board, helped to carry us down upon a mud-bank be- low the landing-place. In general, the country horses are well drilled to these manceuvres, and might be matched to pace through a swamp, scramble over rocks, or mount the parapet of a *' scow," with any rival breed under the sun. On approaching Lunenburg the coast be- comes indented in the most singular manner with inlets and coves, almost isolating the numerous peninsulas that rise in small hills be- tween them. The town of Lunenburg is situat- ed at the innermost extremity of a peninsula of this description, and to a military traveller presents a more formidable aspect than any other in Nova Scotia ; the upper houses being placed on the crest of steep glacis si jies, so as to bear upon all approaches, while a half-con- } , MILITIA ANECDOTES. 301 cealed parapet surmounted by a block-house, suggests to the imagination that this must be the dernier ressort of stout burghers determined to bury themselves beneath its ruins. In fact, the good people here have some cause to put on the most warlike possible appearance. About fifty years ago, two or three American small craft, on a privateering cruise, were un- civil enough to sound the buccaneer"'s rcveiUez one morning in the harbour : some charac- teristic anecdotes are still current upon this occasion. One old gouty major of militia was seen to bound over his garden-paling, and hasten, with all the youthful ardour of sixteen, to *' collect the militiamen'" of the neighbour- hood. Another shut himself up with two com- panions in an old watch-tower, and fired away most manfully at every thing that looked like the shadow of a privateersman, till all the am- munition in the castle being expended, the garri- son was forced to surrender at discretion. The major of Voltigeurs was not able to collect his forces in time, and the Americans retired, after having furnished themselves with all things needful. As might be expected, a most mar- 'J' iti m n i « * ■ 1 r. ^ i i y ■: ., ^ ti .302 MARnOUR OF LUNENIJURG. || I [I ; f i I i 'li tial spirit was manifested after this rencontre ; for a long time was regular watch and ward maintained by the inhabitants, and many were the '* marchings and countermarchings from Acton to Ealing, and from Ealing to Acton,"" performed between the town and block- house of Lunenburg, in the laudable acquire- ment of the art military. The good-natured ease with which duty was transferred by substitution in those days, is worthy of admiration. A friend of mine who had the honour of carrying a firelock as full private in the ranks, had walked in from Li- verpool the same day that his tour came on for night-watch : he petitioned his captain to be excused, on account of his long day's march. " Fell,"''' replied the conscientious Dutchman, after some thought, " you 're a good ladt, I vill take your guardt myself for this once."" Quo- modo tempora mutantur ! Lunenburg contains nearly one hundred and thirty dwellings, besides storehouses, and numbers eleven hundred inhabitants. The harbour is upwards of a mile in length, and about three-quarters in breadth, and is tolerably IS TRAUli OF LUNIiNUURG. 303 Well protected from stor IDS. Vessels of two hundred tons can float alongside the wharfs at high water, and larger merchantmen can ride securely in the channel. Fifteen s([uare- rigged vessels are owned in the port, besides a multitude of small craft. Their trade con- sists in exports of fish and some lumber to the West Indies, and a very considerable coast- ing traffic with Halifax and Newfoundland, in farming produce. A small commercial inter- course is also beginning to open direct with the mother-country. There is no spot in the pro- vince where more persevering industry has been exerted, or more steady developement suc- ceeded to those exertions. The German cha- racter has been amply displayed in bringing a soil naturally rugged into a state of compara- tive fertility. Many substantial farms are scat- tered all around the neighbourhood ; indeed, the county of Lunenburg is more covered with settlements which penetrate the forest in vari- ous directions, without leaving any large intermediate wilderness, than any other dis- trict c; the same superficial extent on this side of the province. Althougli the smaller '\ > hi :> ; . « >- 1 304 TOWN OP f.UNKNBURG. l,i 1' ( j'l I w. ■' iff J kinds of fanning produce arc sent to Halifax in great abundance from tliis district, the stock reared within it is not sufficient for tlie supply of the port : tliis may chiefly be referred to the nature of the land, which is almost en- tirely upland, and affords less marsh meadow or intervale for pasture than any otlier county except Queen''s. The town is irregularly built on the steep slopes of a hill ; its form is more comphct than usual, and the streets are laid out at right angles. Perlia])s this is the only town in Nova Scotia that does not contain one building from whose external appearance may be inferred the indigence of its inmates : o.ery householder, from highest to lowest, appears to possess the means of keeping his tenement in repair and good order ; a fact by no means too prevalent in other places. The houses are almost all of wood, constructed with a view to comfort rather than to appearance. A whimsical taste has in- troduced the custom of painting the exterior white, red, pink, and even green, which, on approacliing from a distance, raised up be- fore my imagination the original of the little i !;. I INHABITANTS. ,305 Dutch toys I remember, as a child, you used to teach me to overwliehn under u bombardment of marbles. Tlie interior of many of these odd buildings exhibits a mixture of furniture e((ually odd. Old German clocks, and J)utch chimney-ornaments ; chairs of a moidd as sid)stantial as wood can form, and heavy-coloured pictures to repre- sent human automatons, larger than the habi- tations in front of which they are grouped, still court the eye of venerable regard ; while the fine Axminster carpet, polished sofa-table, and full festooned window-drapery, appear like in- novating usurpers of ancient demesne, conscious of their power, yet fearing to tear down the re- lics of that around which long-cherished feeling has wrapped the folds of reverential sanctity. The country cottages are still more primi- tive : the close German stove is universally em- ployed to convert the room into a sort of ov n, almost suffocating to those who have not by long habit been baked to the same tem])erature and consistence as the natives. Sometimes also the German bed puzzles the untravelled visitor whose acutcness is rarely sufficient to direct ) '! 1 1 I \ I I \ »■ .'i()() INIIAHI'VANTS. !)'• , I a lii liiin to ail intrrval bctwcvn two inountaiiis of fiatlu'i's, as till' phu'c assi^iii'd for liis corportal ivfrc'slinit'iit, aftrr a l)roiliii^ simmu'i's day. A few otlier peculiaritii's, trifling- in tlicin- selves, may y^'t be iviiiarked as baronu'tiical iiiditvs (»f a difioiviuv of moral ti'iiiperatuiv between tliis place and its neip;hboiir Liverpool. The sun appears to be passing the meridian of the latter, while his rays are evidently bnt beginning to exert their inflnenee upon the former. Two gentlemen of the h)ng robe pro- tect the legal interests of Queen's County, w hile three times that number do not exhaust the liti- gious resources of County Lunenburg. In Li- verpool, men of colour are the common labour- ers of the town, and a black visage ])resents itself in answer to the knocker of every door. In Lunenburg I saw but one coloured person in the course of a week, and ])rovincial obser- vation has long led me to consider freed ne- groes and absence of wealth, as circumstances universally more or less c(mcomitant. The founders of Lunenburg were an emigrant colony of Swiss and Germans, sent out by Go- vernment in 1753. The settlers of German ex- f illKIIi (»KI(;iN. im n traction throughout Nova Scotia iivv comiiionlv tailed " Dutch," aIthou«rh thcrt' arc hut i'vw to whom tiiat national a|)|H'nativi' is strictly a])- propnatc. The early history of this colony is marked with adventure and anecdotes of Indian warfare ; and for several years, the colonists stru^^led hard with the dilliculties which the furtive attacks of *\mr sava«i;e enemies, and the nudtiplied necessities A' n youn*^ settlement com- bined against their |)ronress. Manuscript re- cords, preserved with pious care by their chil- dren, furnish many a (juaint narrative of these events, and of the }>rimitive manner of life prac- tised by the *' rude forefathers of the handet." It is thus we nuist account for the slow progress Lunenburg may a])pear to have made when com- pared with other counties and towns of more re- cent settlement. The inhabitants and country peo])le of the neighbourhood are evidently a race widely differing in features from the generality of Anglo-Nova-Scotians. (iermany is stamped upon their broad features and liigh cheek- bones, and Helvetic origin shows itself in the florid complexion, and form more scjuare and bony than that of the lathy saplings we usually • \ m 1 "i" < II / V 308 INHABITANTS. ilV '( ^ ki \ !i^f< see reared in the hotbeds of America. The German language is used as frequently as Eng- lish, in the common intercourse of the country people ; there are some who hardly ever make use of any other tongue, and the accent is uni- versally foreign, and the pronunciation hard to an English ear. As 1 was fortunate enough to visit the place under the auspices of an old and respected townsman, the social picture was probably pre- sented to my view in the most favourable light. To me, it appeared as though the essence of hospitality and kind attention were here con- centrated from the very overflow^ of their com- ponent materials. Industry and perseverance have produced what, in consideration with the habits and ideas of its possessors, may be termed wealth. Political improvement has perhaps already commenced its course in a narrow but efficient channel. Mental improve- ment is hanging in a more uncertain stage, for it wavers bet'.veen the instigations of petty opulent display, unchastened by cultivation, unguided by taste, and the honest desire of attaining to those things which are of good re- Hi MAHONK BAY 3ted 309 port, — a desire implanted by habits of early in- duction, and only requiring the direction of a superior mind, the influence of a superior ex- ample, to be productive of the best results in the community where it is cherished. It is a pity, where much of social harmony exists, that difference of religious creed should cause diver- sity and opposition of opinion in those who meet for purposes of lay import : this petty warfare, exhibiting as much for ridicide as for reprehension, has been frequently productive of inconvenience and delay in matters relating to the internal business of the county. The roads improve in the neighbourhood of Lunenburg, but are still excessively stony. Mahone Bay is celebrated for its scenery, con- sisting of numerous islands partially cultivated and covered with young oak forest, much in the style of Argyle Bay. An excellent inn kept by a Dutch hostess, would contribute, together with the local beauties, to make this a place of summer resort from Halifax, if there were any thing like a good communication. By sea the distance is but sixty miles, and by land near- ly the same length ; but the circuit of Windsor, ll rfLJZ 310 CHESTER. — ST. MARGARET'S KAY. f, i; f which gives an additional forty miles, must be made by those who are unwilling to brave the perils of rocks and morasses that occur abun- dantly on the miserable horse-path which leads to Halifax through Chester. As far as tlie latter town, good farms are sprinkled all along the shores and near the road : Chester itself contains but twenty houses or thereabouts, and is only known by a small traffic in lime- stone with Halifax. Beyond the headlands, which extend for twenty miles to the east of Chester, opens the splendid Bay of St. Margaret, exposing a general line of shore forty miles in perimeter, with an entrance easy of access, and an inlet that can be pur- sued for fifteen miles in length with a minimum depth of eight fathoms water. Such is the ge- neral character, with little variation, of the admi- rable bay-harbours of which this south-eastern coast of Nova Scotia is literally formed : their interior presents a variety of smaller bays and coves, that is almost inconceivable by those who have njt personally examined them, both on account of their number, and the excellence of shelter they afford. In these respects, St. Mar- f i ROUTE THROUGH PHK WOODS. 311 ist be e the abun- leads is the along itself bouts, lime- twenty alendid line of ntrance be pur- inimum the ge- le admi- -eastern I : their ays and lose who both on Hence of St. Mar- garet"'s Bay stands unrivalled. The land on its shores is also tolerably good, and supports a population of eight hundred scattered settlers. The coast from tlience to Halifax, although in- dented by some small harbours and peopled by fishermen, is of the most sterile nature, and the interior, a wilderness of stunted forest creeping over masses of granite rock and whinstone, be- tween the intervals of which a few agricul- turists, allured by the proximity of the Halifax market, have contrived to dot the surface with clearances effected by their hard-wrought in- dustry. From the head of Chester Bay to AMndsor is the shortest line of communication across the province, the .Jstance between the two towns being only thirty-six miles. Of this distance, twenty miles are through woods, where the eye searches in vain for one glimpse of cultivation, except where, midway, a hardy settler has raised himself in a course of sixteen years to substance and independence. In the early part of sum- mer, the ride along this route is by no means devoid of pleasure : mosquitoes do not then ir- ritate both horse and rider; and the road, al- I I! m ;:n: I t:!: m IK 312 ROUTE THROUGH THE WOODS. ^1' ,)> l( f i though extremely bad for wheels, is tolerably good for an equestrian in dry weather. An ex- quisite fragrance is inhaled from the Linnea, a small wild flower of the most delicate texture which here grows in abundance, and scents the air for some distance round its bed. There is a feeling, too, which even habitual wandering among the woods hardly serves to diminish. A consciousness that human habitation has never here found place, — the absence of every vestige of civilization save the narroAv track along which we wind, — the partridge every now and then strutting within pistol-shot across the road, as if in impotent displeasure at our intrusion on his domain, or the red fox more wary, steal- ing to his thicket, create abundant food for imagination to beguile the way, and induced a startling impulse of surprise when, on suddenly emerging from these deep recesses, the broad levels of Windsor burst upon my view, dis- played in all the variegated loveliness of their sumiTier's clothing. 313 LETTER IX. Colonial politics — Newspapers.— Route from Windsou. — Newport. — Vale of Kentycook.— Douglas. — Rawdon. — Kempt.— Picture of a " ISIan of Kent." — Shubenacadie. — Truro. — Gay's River. — Souiac. — Musquodoboit. — Shuben- acadie canal. — Primitive village. — Northern Road. — Onslow. — Londonderry Cobequid mountains. — I'arrs- borough. — River Philip. — Shoals of trout. — Amherst. — Bay Verte Canal. — Gulf shore. — Wallace. — Route from Truro to Pictou — Scenery of Mount Tom. — West river of Pictou. — Merigomishe. — Old Highlander. — Dorchester. — Tracadie. — Belles Acadiennes. — " Chemin du Roi." — Gut of Canso.— Manchester. — Picture of Eastern inns. — " New Cut." — Ingenious mode of foraging — St. JNIary's River. — Sherbrooke.— Scotch settlers.— East River of Pic- tou. — jMineral produce. — Albion mines.^Pictou harbour. — Town and inhabitants— General view of the Eastern sec- tion. — Conclusion. TO COMMODORE Pictou. I THANK thee, my sage Cousin, for thy deep- drawn speculations on the future policy of crowned heads in thine Eastern Hemisphere. I would thou wert appointed minister plenipo- P ■ ( [' ■'.sels The numerous streams which discharge themselves into this inlet are border- ed on either side by rich intervale land, and are well cultivated for several miles up their course : the upland is also of excellent quality. From Dorchester as a centre, roads diverge to St. Mary's, Country Harbour, Manchester, Cape Porcupine, Cape George, and Pictou. Of these iW Pictou and Manchester line is the only one deserving of notice, the others being either unfit for the passage of wheels, or lead- ing only to scattered settlements. The " post- road" to Cape Breton passes through Man- chester, and then turns direct to the Gut of Canso, ending at M'Nair's Cove. The Gut is there about a mile in breadth, and is crossed by a ferry. Some hundreds of Acadian French are settled along the coast, between Antigonishe and the Gut of Canso, particularly at Pomket and Great Tracadie. At the latter place, " cent families''' are under the cure of M. Vincent, an eleve of La Trappe. His fair penitents, whom I found assembled round their chapel, seemed adapted for any thing rather than sackcloth and ashes. t .1 *,^i t: i V K I ' I »1 11 334 ** CHEMIN DU ROl/' and might compete for the Hcspcridan apple witli many a choice bevy of the brunettes of La Belle France. The Irish and Scotch settlers about the Gut do not give their French neigh- bours much credit for any thing but indolence. The latter attend chiefly to the fisheries, on a small scale, and to the transport of freight in their own shallops; their lands are but a se- condary consideration, and for their own con- sumption they are in some measure dependant upon the produce of the British settlers. A sad contrast to the flock of Montaigan in An- napolis County is exhibited in the litigation which prevails among them. Personally, I ex- perienced the essence of hospitality in their humble style, which was the less to be expect- ed, as, I believe, I had the honour of passing current, among their conjectures, for an ec- centric satellite of the Custom-House. An in- famous track covered with rocks and loose stones, passes among these gentry under the denomination of " Le Chemin du Roi.'*'' The scenery of the Gut of Canso presents but little worthy of remark. Cape Porcupine, rising boldly from the water, somewhat in the MANCHESTER AND fJUYSBOROUGII. 335 form of an immense hog's back, can hardly be deemed an exception to the general tameness of character ; for its altitude, to judge by the eye, does not exceed four hundred feet. I prefer infi- nitely such softened landscapes as are presented around the cultivated intervales of Dorchester and Guysborough, where scattered wood, wattr, and cottages, contrast peacefully with tht ma *.ep of forest that frown sternly on the hills above. At the head of Manchester Valley this Sityle of scenery is particularly imposing, as thi'li'lls are there more lofty and assume a bold, r form. Manchester and Guysborough, on opposiij sides of a long inlet or harbour, whiih if? here about a mile in breadth, contain together about eighty houses, and, like Dorchester, are orJy to be considered as a central point, recently esta- blished for the rendezvous of a young agricul- tural district. The harbour affords safe anchor- age for large merchant-vessels, but h di^'^uh of access : travellers to Cape Breton frequently eoi« bark here in preference to taking die land route. Throughout this part oi the country there are hardly any houses that profess to afford public entertainment ; and those that do profess, li r\ ill 1 I' 336 PICTURE OP AN INN. l'- have little idea of acting up to their profession. Hearing that a Judge of the Supreme Court, then on the circuit, had made a certain inn his halting-place for a night, I pushed on thither, anticipating the undefinable pleasures of " a snuggery." Twilight, which in this climate lasts but a few minutes, closed as I approached the spot; and were such a thing as romance known in America, I should have been tempt- ed to indulge in the romantic. The house, a cottage of one story, lay in a hollow shaded by deep foliage; the path leading to the door wound round the back, which exhibited little signs of habitation ; out of twelve window-panes, five at least being broken. Hardly was the as- pect within more inviting; for, though no stilet- to met the eye, — unless a nondescript sort of rapier, probably betokening the dignity held by mine host in the provincial bands, might pass for such ; still, the unshaven visage and rough figure of the said dignitary marked him equally well adapted for bravo or back-woodsman. In the open chimney-nook sat an old beldame hum- ming a nursery requiem, interrupted by ex- *S ' *^1 (( a I ! PICTURE OF AN INN. 337 clamations of impatience at the impracticability of quieting the clamour of a half- naked infant on her lap ; while a younger female with face and head half-European, half-Indian, and clothed apparently in nothing but a loose gown, without any under garments, strode round the hearth busied in broiling salt mackarel as a " le- lish'^ to potatoes. The dormitory was not more inviting ; each sash was minus a pane ; and although the light-robed damsel of the macka^ rel considerately crammed her husband's hat into one aperture, remarking that it would " serve to keep out the wind," through the other rushed a stream of cold air that greatly en- dangered the candle. The sheets of a truck- bed in one corner disclosed a tale probably of murder, certainly of woe; and quickly did there arise before my terrified imagination the manes of whole hosts of those nightly enemies to hu- man repose, conjuring up their still living pro- geny to avenge their own untimely fate. How- ever, though I certainly was only supposed to sleep here, and this not from any play of ima- gination, but owing to bond Jide facts, I arose next morning at least unmurdered, and half an ' . i» -i !| 1 . :"•, 'if -iBSfaaRTr > ': V I f V ( !il/ 338 i( NEW CUTS. hour''s ride up the beautiful vale of Guysboro," glittering in all the dewy loveliness of the rising sun, entirely effaced whatever unpleasing re- flections might have arisen from the style of its " entertainment." I felt too happy to be released from the exe- crable " new cuts," that may some day per- chance deserve the name of roads, through this ])art of the country, — to detain you long upon them. This term however, being one that in England relates rather to hydraulics, it may he necessary to explain the local meaning. The provincial grants and statute labour together, being totally inadequate for eflect- ing at once a tolerable line of road through these unfrequented districts, the work is done by piecemeal during a course of years. My evil stars led me over those lines which for great part of their course had been formed only a few months previous. The forest trees had been cut down, and the trunks piled on each side so as to form an avenue of about tliirty feet in width. Stumps and tangled roots were left as nature had given them growth, amid stones, or masses of half-decayed vegetable I *i /^^ sboro,' e risinf^ iiig re- e of its he exe- ay per- igh this ig upon that in it may leaning. labour eflfect- throufih ork is f years. s which formed 'st trees piled on f about ied roots th, amid egetable i: 1 1 'f i 1 \ r ' 3 I •: ' 9 ••'i 1 i 1 ('! 1 ^ 1 'i 1 i '/ \ ' I '1 ; ^ I n.u'i' i '(' IMPEDIMENTS TO INTERNAL TRAFFIC. 339 matter; to which occasionally a profusion of brushwood, or a treacherous slough, afforded some variety. From five to ten or a dozen miles may be passed in this manner, without meeting any signs of habitation ; and even the dernier ressort of listless wanderers, — castle- building, is here precluded, unless stumps, rocks, and sloughs be held at nought in the in- dulgence. It may readily be conceived that no internal traffic can exist under such disadvan- tages : a stranger is a complete rara avis, suf- ficient even under the most humble garb to excite the united speculation of an entire neighbourhood ; and in the course of these rambles I have been highly amused at being addressed alternately as an exciseman, a riding speculator in cattle, an agent for the Albion mines, or a wholesale dealer in liquors. A farmer jogging along to attend court at the county town, or a barelegged boy loitering heedlessly on horseback with a sack of grain for the mill, are the only objects likely to be met with on such roads. Some of these urchins contrive to twist a " cunning gear"''' out of hay- bands, byway of horse-furniture; and in winter q2 :i fi ' i 340 ST. MARY S RIVER. 4 M fc ! % tlic ])oorer settlers sport this kind of harness for their sleds in the streets of Pictou. In- stances have been known of the owner, who had remained rather too long inside a house, finding on exit, his sled standing before the door without a horse, the animal having been liberated from his bonds by the kindly aid of sundry half-starved cows, which the inha- bitants (trusting probably to such provision,) suffer at that season to stray about the town. The settlement of St. Mary's, in the lower dis- trict of County Sydney, is not the less interest- ing for being almost unknown beyond its own limits. The river that gives it name, rises in two branches, of which the western, flowing from Mount Tom, near the main road from Pictou to Truro, is the most considerable, and, after being joined by that from the east- ward, continues for twenty miles in a south- easterly course, and is then discharged into the Atlantic, at a distance of ninety miles from Halifax. — Ten miles above the mouth of this river stands the little village of Sherbrooke, a modest assemblage of twenty cottages upon a pretty plateau or piece of intervale, that bears !e SHERBROOKE. 341 every appearance of having once been sub- merged, and is enclosed on all sides by rug- ged features covered with forest. The river is ninety yards broad at this spot, with a depth of twelve feet at low water. Vessels of six hun- dred tons can anchor securely two miles lower down ; and for six miles from its mouth the channel is never closed in winter. Small craft under one hundred tons are used for this naviga- tion by the settlers, and during the year 1828 six vessels of that description were built between Sherbrooke and the sea. The price current in the market at that time was four pounds (of Nova Scotia) per ton, and the expense of build- ing these vessels, iron-fastened, would be cover- ed at the rate of three pounds ten per ton. Two small fishing establishments have re- cently been formed by private speculation in this port ; the craft employed in them carry lumber or produce to Halifax in April, and there fit out for the Labrador coast : this spe- culation is proceeding prosperously. Above the village, a boat navigation extends for ten miles to the P" ks r»f the two branches, and, after a course ui rainy weather, may be con- i^ }\- ; r'r J m i >' ( ■ 342 ST. MARY'S RIVER. tinued for twenty miles farther along the west- ern, and for half that distance along the east- ern branch. The French Acadians, who sel- dom formed a settlement except in the most advantageous situations, built a small fort at Slierbrooke, from the ruins of which were very lately dug up two iron guns, of old French manufacture. With the exception of one or two individuals, none of the Acadian inhabi- tants are now to be found in the neighbourhood. Lumbering has been the occupation and the bane of the settlers of St. Mary's. After having accumulated a load of debt upon their farms, by their ill success as woodsmen, they are happily becoming aware, that it is from the soil their labour is most certain of meeting with a due return. Both branches of the river are bordered throughout their course by inter- vale land of excellent quality ; already does the retail merchant, in the village, feel the benefit of the agricultural industry for which this land affords scope ; and when the attention of the Legislature shall have been drawn to this part of the country, in the degree that its capabili- ties deserve ; when good roads shall second the '(' very 'rench OBSTACLES TO IMPROVEMENT. 343 exertions of an increasing population, tlion shall we see the progress of St. Mary's rapid and flourishing as that of the most favoured settlements of Nova Scotia. A great obstacle to cultivation and improve- ment is apparent, as we proceed up the river, in extensive tracts of excellent land lying in a wilderness state on the hands of large proprie- tors. Great portion of the best intervale is thus neglected, while settlements have been made on land of inferior quality around it. No pettier will burden himself with the toil of clearing, and first cultivation, for a landowner to whom, at the same time, he is obliged to pay some ac- knowledgment by way of rent, when he can, for a moderate payment, procure a grant that will descend, improved by his labour, in fee simple, to his children. Thus it is that statute-labour, which is imposed not upon granted land, but upon those who occupy, effects so little, ven- der such circumstances, towards forming any thing like a good communication through the country. Great diversity of condition prevails among the settlers, in proportion as their habits have li I. 344 SCOTCH SKTTLER8. ^'' / i; 1 been industrious or indolent, and their labour steadily devoted to the soil or wasted upon the forest. Scotch, both from the High and Low- lands arc here found almost without intermix- ture : the former make but indiflerent farmers: accustomed to a hard and penurious mode of life, they are too easily satisfied with the bare existence that even indolence can procure in this country, and care little for raising themselves and their families to a state of comfort and abundance. In the course of another generation, a very different order of things will prevail; for the sons of these Highlanders, more ac- customed to think for and depend upon themselves, and instructed by an occasional excursion to other districts, appear to be a more promising race, and to inherit but little of the apathy exhibited generally by their fathers. At some future day, the great provin- cial road to Cape Breton will run from Halifax through lower Musquodoboit, St. Mary's, and Manchester; but at present, the greater part of this line is either a rough horse-path, or in the same state as that de- scribed under the name of a " new cut." — A MINERAL PROUUCK. 345 wild tract occurs between the head of !St. Mary's River, and that of the East River of Pictou : eleven miles are traversed along un infamous path, without the semblance of ha- bitation. The three rivers of Pictou are well settled nearly to the head of their respective valleys. The East River ^'^alley contains the most considerable o,nd most flourishing settle- ment: good intervale land borders the stream for thirty miles from its mouth ; and the far- mers who have here brought the wilderness into cultivation, find the market for their pro- duce improving every year. Abundant specimens of iron ore, coal, gyp- sum, and limestone, are found throughout both the lower district of St. Mary, and the greater part of Pictou. At Sherbrooke, coal protrudes to the surface, and has been long used for the blacksniith's forge, being merely scraped from the ground. Iron ore exists in masses upon the East River, to such an extent, that u mountain near the upper part of the valley is said to be almost entirely composed of this mineral. Copper ore has been found in tlie neighbourhood of Pictou and of Antigonishe, Q5 ^i ; n ■ I »,i III 34(j ALBION MINES. and near the former place are some salt springs, whicli were formerly worked in connection with the old establishment at the coal-mines, and have been pro tempore discontinued. In the lower part of East River Valley, seven miles from the harbour, and eight from the town of Pictou, which stands on the opposite side, is the spot where the General Mining Association from England has fixed its establishment. A little below this point the river is navigable for a large lighter, and at the distance of a mile farther down is crossed by the bridge of New Glasgow, to which vessels of one hundred tons can ascend at high w^ater: large vessels, how- ever, always load at the mouth of the river, on account of the difficulty of the passage up. Coal and salt-works have been carried on in the neighbourhood of Pictou, for the last fifteen years or upwards ; but the scale of action was confined, and the mode employed of little or no benefit to the province at large. In tlie year 1825-6, a Company was organized in London, which now rents, under certain terms from the Crown, the right of working mines and minerals in Nova Scotia. In 1827, this COAL. 'Ml Company commenced active o])eratioiis botli at Pit toil and at Sydney in Cape IJreton. ' i a spirited style, under the superintendancc « f a gentleman of high ])r()fessional talent and ex- perience. These operatitms have hitherto been limited, at Pictou, to coal-mines, and iron-works upon imported material. It i^ probahle tiiat iron-mines will be opened in the course of the present year. The coal formerly })rocure(l was chiefly from surface pits, and was of very in- ferior cjuality : the principal shaft now in work has been sunk to the depth of two hundred and fifty feet below the surface, and steam power has been applied for the usual pur- poses of draining and of raising mineral. The veins of coal laid open by this procedure are of a quality much superior to those former- ly discovered. The coal is overlaid by a decayed blackish shale ; it is of jet-black co- lour, and contains a large proportion of bitu- men : excellent coke is made from it, and for the furnacc; it is highly esteemed. The Cape Breton coal is preferred for household use, on account of its producing less of the white or brown ashes than that of Pictou. A sin- i li » 348 IRON. gular phenomenon is exhibited in the river whicli runs within a few yards of the principal shafts. The surface of the water is disturbed for the length of some hundred yards by gas escaping from beneath. If a tub be inverted over these bubbles, the gas in a short time be- comes capable of ignition by means of a candle. Several beds of clay ironstone have been dis- covered, interstratified with coal and other for- mations, during the progress of the miners, and there is every reason to believe that extensive veins of this ore exist in the neighbourhood. One vein of red iron ore upwards of forty feet in width, has been discovered and traced over a distance of four miles, in a course from S. S. W. to N. N. E. The specific gravity of this ore is about four hundred, and its return in the assay furnace about sixty-four per cent. Abundance of excellent fuel, and the moderate expense at which transport can be effected, afford great facilities for the operation of iron-mines, which it is the intention of the Company to establish in the first place. Copper and salt-works will probably be a more distant consideration, upc . the practicability of which, the various business //( LEASEHOLD OF MINES. 349 at present on the hands of the Company leaves but little time for making satisfactory experi- ments. The lease granted to the Company gives them, for a period of sixty years, the exclu- sive right of working all mines and minerals that have been, or that may hereafter be dis- covered upon lands in the original grants of which, reservation to this effect was made in favour of the Crown. There are certain tracts of land in various parts of the province which have been granted without any such reserva- tion, and where, consequently, competititm is open to capitalists ; these tracts, however, are small both in number and in extent ; and the Annapolis Iron Company, which was in exis- tence prior to the formation of the Albion establishment, is the sole mining speculation in this province that enters into competition with the latter. In the present state of the country, it is pro- bable that little objection attends this lease- hold ; indeed, I am inclined to consider the privilege of exclusion tmly in tlie liglit of an 0{(uitable patent granted to an enterprising !Hi \ i 350 EMPLOYMENT OF CAPITAL. ■'! ;ir ' ' speculator ; and even if this patent were to be exercised in a few petty instances, I should deem it rather a benefit to the country ; for the mineral products brought to market by the unskilful attempts and limited means of former operators, were of such quality as to excite a prejudice against them in the public mind, which is now only gradually giving way under the proofs afforded by more recent ex- perience. It is understood that, while the Company takes into its own hands the operations necessary for preparing the coal or metals for the market, it leaves every other field connected with their transport and retail, open for the employment of capital whether British or American. I have frequently boarded the American vessels in Pictou Harbour, and, when making inqui- ries as to their usual freights, have received almost invariably the same answer from the skipper, accompanied by a peculiarly expres- sive shake of the head, — " I would not look after this work, if I ..ould get any thing better."'' Should the Government of the United States repeal the Tariff of 1827, it would probably PICTOU TOWN. 351 be well for some of our unemployed ship- owners to turn their attention to this opening. The mining establishment has hitherto had a more prominent effect upon the valley of the East River, than upon Pictou town. Good roads, increase of settlement, numerous waggons and horses where none were previously kept, and a market well sup|)lied, where none formerly ex- isted, are outward and visible signs indicative of the neighbourhood of two hundred well paid, / beef-eating, and porter-drinking operatives. The town is almost too far distant to feel more ilian the increase of business which the extensive in- terests of the Company require to be executed ; and although American vessels of large size are frequently in the harbour, they merely bring hard dollars, or a little fine flour, in return for their coals, and depart as quickly as possible, after taking in their cargo at the mouth of the river. The miners procure their supplies from an excellent store established by the Company upon the spot. The town of Pictou is situated upon the north side of the harbour or basin into which tlie three rivers dehouche. The mouth of the \ ' i i:: J 352 HARBOUR AND INHABITANTS. it ' harbour is three miles from the town, and the narrows or passage up is hardly three-quarters of a mile in width. In winter, the basin is closed up by ice, and all access is thus de- barred between December and the latter part of April. There are seventeen feet at low water over the bar, and good anchorage in the basin. Vessels of three hundred tons can be laid alongside the wharfs. The town consists of about three hundred houses and stores, con- taining one thousand five hundred inhabitants, and is consequently the second in size through- out the province. The air of the place strikes a stranger''s eye as peculiarly Scotch. . The houses are little dirty stone or wooden build- ings of two or three stories, huddled close to- gether, with chinmeys at each end and a door in the centre. Keen-looking fellows in bob- tailed coats « la Joseph, of many colours, stand in knots about the streets, discussing in I broad Scotch or pi : v'e Gaelic the passing topics of the day ; while in the distance, a long scarlet robe floating gaudily in the wind, as if in mockery of tlie sedate air of the student who bears it, carries us back to tlie classic ])recincts of Aber- IMPORTS AND EXPORTS. 353 deen or Glasgow. Tlie academy to which these students, to the number of about fifteen, be- long, is an ordinary wooden building neatly painted outside, but not yet finished within, and contains nothing remarkable, if we except the learned Professor, and his little Museum consisting (chiefly) of native animals. Pictou imports its wares direct from Scotland : it is the depot for supplying a great extent of well- settled back country, and is consecjuently advanc- ing with rapidity, though less in superficial ex- tent than in wealth. Timber and coal are the chief exports. Freestone is quarried in the neighbour- hood, and affords a small article for traffic. I believe, all the feuds of all the Macs from A to ^y^ Z, througliout the Scottish alphabet, have emi- grated from tlieir ancient soil, in order to con- centrate their violence within the precincts of Pictou. Half a dozen parties with half a dozen different ends in view have lately made a clatter in the province, that puts to the blush all the acclamation of the ex-agitators of Ireland. The violence of r. jgious sect has kindled the spark, and the petty jealoury of individual interest, combined with the self-importance of individual '* : 1:1 354 GENERAL VIEW. i i • • i li ! nothingness, serves to keep alive the Hame. Pity it is, that a little population which has plenty of fish to pickle outside of its harbour's mouth, and plenty of forest to clear, and of land to cultivate within its township, should distract its brain with political arguments upon abstract questions of privilege, and party squab- bles for sectarian aggrandizement. I turn with pleasure from such scenes to the general view exhibited over this Eastern Section ; a section of far more recent settle- ment than either the Midland or Western, and which appears to possess resources adapted equally for its own advancement, and for that of its two neighbours. Thirty years ago, the whole extent was little better than a wilder- ness, and Pictou but a melee of miserable huts. In a few years more, its character will, in all probability, be still farther changed. The Highland bonnet, which slouches like a night- cap over the eyes of the present generation of settlers, will be worn out, and replaced by the hat of native straw platted by the hands of their children. A soil generally rich, and a climate available for the modes of Scot- CONCLUSION. tisb husbandry, are facts less presumptive of its future prosperity than the abundance of mineral which, from the limited examination it has hitherto undergone, we are warranted to conclude its substrata contain. Preparatively to again joining your family circle, I cannot close these epistolary sketches with more truth than in nearly the words of a late scientific journal, upon the minera- logy and geology of part of Nova Scotia. — *' To describe the state and structure of this beautiful country, in such a manner as may be most useful to persons who may fol- low the same track, has been the object of the present essay. Much remains yet to be discovered by future investigators. Our state- ments will, we trust, be found, in the main, cor- rect, although some omissions will doubtless be observed." — The rank vegetable coating, which, as the above journalist remarks, tends to throw obscurity over its geological riches, may be aptly assumed as a type of the wild weeds that hide the ?'eal capabilities of the country from the gaze of a passing stranger ; that detract from the intrinsic fertility of the soil ; and of which / H ■ i: .356 CONCLUSION. the implements of knowledge, the extended in- troduction of useful, general, and Christian in- struction, offer the only sure, the only effectual means of eradication. ?d in- n in- ctual APPENDIX. CI 3S >; I y: O .1 'O 'Ji en -3 r. I'*— ■ •- " .M .-t 71 O — 71 © ,— — ■ — !-•— 5 __ "^ Al S J4 4i |-» -t — iC :i !-• ^1 vi^ "^ < 3 5 ■)-■.'" 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"M r^ K 'C « 'i\ — -ri "c I'* -» >*: r: rt I'- -r l^ t^ — X It C «-• I'" '^1 >t rt :c tT — -t :c t-i d t! — -^ -f — Ti — — 71 ?» — . — ?i M o t-» — >!? c -Ti r^ » tc 'J *^ •t « I'* s 1^ X i-^ ?t r: t^ ;2 s -t — — I'* -»■ "t sc — -r r: ri I'" t^ = « rs ?i M o "M :c ^ o I'- 1-^ i-» w ■^ ^ "^ |-^ •^ ^* ^M ^1 ^1 ^ •TJ o a. — 71 a © 1--. '^ r. rt ■M 11 >t \t it v-^:^. -r ~. *"■ l"^ ^ ^ »w ?> c k; I'.T- r. ^: >t -m It It l^l'- tJ »M ^ ^N ^ ^ ^M ^ l^ MM ^1 ?t s « It M ^^ ^- ^ ^* ^1 'Jl •■* >^ *" !--« r-M ^ ;/} J3 o -f r: I't -f c r-» I*: ^ s ~ ;c c ri -c r. r. -r -ri ~ — CC Tl tl T) 71 M r: "M Ti t^ c; >-: cc ti -f n y: ^ ■?! r^ c: c Ti X ic o It « v= -^ !-• cu ■*■ — n r: i?« o rt ^: « ?1 r: , Ji It Tl X 'M M O T-. 'M •c :r :a n b» — ^ C — t^ -^S -M C © IS I'* -r 1^ i^ 'TJ .-« ^ ?« o It ?t — « := r^«■r^ — • rs«r 'J 3 •* w -" := It It :c r. ?t rt T M ^ 1 cn 71 ;;; j; Tf v; ?i j^ J* -to , CT/ ~. ^ ^ .- ^ ,^ ■M t^ ti r; _ ?! =: .-J r: ti j;; S -t ;r — It -^ ^ £ — ti ;i -. .t -^ t -f yj »M4 PMM ^ " •^ •* t> «- 1 ^ 3 It ~ CS SC It Lt -< ft -r — 01 n ^ M — ?1 ^ ei o 1 ^ '£-53 3 li S 3 •^ o ^ O r)^Mc:^:i"ti-5:«J^cis c-r — — It — — t•J■^«-^' r: C". r: I- -r — < T« -r M n I t^ It -M o .cs C so 3) •■s soa- ;5 c s 'w i s i2 < ^ o* ^6 c 21 11 3 o .-8 i£ B -•5P zi Z = 3^ — u „ «^ C ^ s 2 R i» *2 3 0) !< ^ ^ *** '^ * — — .Si- = S •^ -3 2 *^ U-^' iilj S i s: c _ = « S . 2 = - i 5 b "^ ♦J "^ n .» _ > '-' i C ^ 0, i - -i L X i 0) -^ = 53 5 y: i; i 1j ^ 1 "— 9 i - .-a s 3, i i ! PC ^'c: ^ Z § i c ri "^ iM r r\ r> • * CO 13 2 ?? a. C #- g g 9- ^ '^ c« ^ !z 1-S 1 s i r* •* 1^ 5 ^ § • 3^ 1 1 c rT ^ «s» •^ eft .5 .■8 1 J 1 V4 ! ''J 2 , ! ^ "T « t a (rt A-* 1 • • 1-. T" 1 S S % "2 ' .i ^ ^ 0. r-- yf — rf !-• « •" (TI .'C 1 i S \ - ^^ )■■* ^^ »■ #s C ; ^ ^ ^ ..^ » ]!i s 4- -; 55 T -* — > »-i CO rt « •c . ."« \\T^' • : ... : : ^ .' I ! J oJ ! : • • 1 •.J >l a s t 1 S > £ of Sydney . . , t. of Picton . . , of Co. Cumberl; ' 5X • ^ t. c2 -5 '* '5 "a! "3 ^ * s 3 J -; c •- . . Hants t. of Colchester of Cumberland • -^4 • :n -n , 6S(s: ca :£ a:a : :q£ ^""^'^^ A : d^ , ^"»s S on g • e § GO < ^ S > C U' l- ^ Q 1 6 g » J u cc 2 .2 I •' - ■•' t- — c iX b, CS u ■? ,•: V t» u 0! ;^ b. b i ?^ 1 u Qu '-•^ 1 = 1 fM ■■ 5 ■•« « J* _ o •^ «-2 ;^<^ ce -yj > a _ n S n3 C u O I" US 01 .2 '-*—' — — 3 *^ -^ *' •j( .- ^ ic .S Ji ' ^— ' '*^ 11 11 ^ t. - 2 re S" ~ i3 ^ :j'J< •f ^ ? - ~ c I N D K X. 3 -L =5 -c r .^ ^ -ire ^* .S iJ' ^~' 't^ 'il 11 ^ C D i) u J;J < Aboiteau, dam so called Academy at Pictou Acadians, French Acadiennes, Belles Agriculture, state ol", in Nova Scotia AgricTiltural Division, 1st, or Eastern 2iid, or Southern 3rd, or North -VVes tern Allowance of liquor to troops . America, arrival in • . . American ships of war Amherst, township of . Amusements in Halifax Anecdote of Dutch politeness — a mail carrier ■ Rev. Quaco B . IMa'mselle Teriot illustrating want of good roads of crossing a ferry — Luuenburgh militia — a country inn — Irish emigrants Annapolis Royal , Basin of Ardoise Hills, account of Asseml>ly, House of Atmospheric phenomena Autumn of Nova Scotia B "• Barber" The, a close cuttijig wind Barter, traffic by Bear, singular trait of the Page 187 13« 258 334 173 180 182 181 35 5 61 327 103 77 82 130 260 293 300 301 336 164 224 252 215 79 158 167 151 88. 292 124 ( :m INDEX. Blow. me. down, Capo '•'■ Boro" I'lif, plienomenon of Breton, Cajte . Bridges, constniction uf . Bridge of Liverpool Bridfjt'town, vicinity of Buildings of Halifax . I.nnenl)urf^ Pictou P.ie' 221 • 2n< i7<; , 245 21ia • 22:t 11 • 304 ;ir.o Cnnal, Shubenacadie Bay Verte Cascade of Nictau (battle, liorned Causo, Gilt of Chester, town of Church of England Scotland Climate, variable . , influence of on health ., gradual change of (voal Trade, state of Coast, Atlantic, of Nova Scotia ('ohequid Mountains, road over Commerce, progress of Council, Legislative Crops on dyked marsh , rotation of t'urrency, particulars respecting 32!» 224 201 XM 3lU i:i2 \'M 14;» 154 IGO 54 \U :mi 4(1 80 w\ UN Dartmouth, massacre at Digl)y, Basin of Dissenters, numerous Dorchester, village of Douglas, township of Dykes, formation of 28 252 1:^8 332 317 Wi £ Education, state of , general System of Emigrants, influx of . English Housekeepers, distresses of Exports, principal 132 140 72 ISfJ 4G INDEX. 3G7 p.ip. 221 218 Mr. 24.% 2{ia 22.'< :V21 32! » 224 201 3:u 310 132 13K 14;) 154 1(30 54 l!l 32f) 4(> 80 IHii Hf; ^ Farming, style of . FtTiif s, rominercf of Fisheries, iniportiince of Fisl uiig, pleasures ot ut lliver Philip Fisher Cottajres Plour, American , Provincial Fogs at Halifax along the coast Foraging, ingenious mode of Forts, ruins of old French Freshet, definition of Frost, effects of, on the soil , degree of Fruits, wild — — , cultivated Fuudy, Bay of O Garrison of Halifax Library Gay's River, settlements uj)on Geological peculiarities Government, c»mduct of Great Britain, feeling towards Grindstones, trade in Gut of Causo . Guysborough, vale of Gypsum, trade in ■ used as IManure 2!)!K 21. Page 30fl 2f»9 AH •2115 110 2H7 58 liMI 13 278 340 342 H<5 1(J5 153 270 150 217 20 32 310 2(; 77 8 54 334 335 53 103 132 140 72 150 4G H Halifax, coup dVnl of , style of building in , Peninsula of . , first settlement of , influence of as a Capital , Dock-yard of , Society in Horses, Provincial , Native, dexterity of . Horticulture, neglect of Hospitality of Halifax general in the country 11 25 24 4f; 64 05 201 280 200 101 142 m A. \!\ i| ^1, I »^r ' ( II .'i(J8 INDi X. K ilospitality of Lunenburg Hotel at IliilifHx Imports, Rritish Indians described Indian Curn Inns, country , Eastern . ■ , " Itrown sugar'' Intervale land Kempt Settlement " Kent, man of" Ken ty cook, vale of Labour, wages of operative . iigricultui'al Lakes, number of Land, descriptions of Legislatures, Colonial, growth of Le Have River Liquor, allowance of to troops Live stock of a farm Liverpool, town of Log-hut described Londonderry, lands of . Lunenburg, town of M Mahone Bay, scenery of Manchester valley . Manufactures, state of Maple Sugar Massacre at Dartmouth Merigomishe, settlement of Meteorology, remarks on Milestones, want of Military works, paucity of Militia, provincial — , Remarks on the System of Mineral produce Mines, Albion 17. 6 47 100 \\)o 248 'AUG 2(i!) 1H.-I :n7 SI 7 «17 206 18 137 91 2!I8 35 200 289 178 326 300 309 336 66 267 28 331 149 222 16 225 233 345 346 INDRX. :m MiKNionarit'8 of t)ie church MontllffllfN RUHNCH AluntaiKiin, Ciitliolic chnpcl at Moosi', hunting the M<)»boit, settlement of N Neffroes, freed state of Ne^ro Cler^fynian Newport, township of Newspapers, C'oh>niul Nictaii, cascade of Nightingale, of Nova Scotia Nova Scotia Proper, extent of - whether a corn country O Onslow, lands of Operative workmen Packet, British Parrsl)oroiigii, township of Peasantry, sketch of ■ , character of Petite Riviere, scenery of Philip River, . Pictou, Academy at, . , town of . Pigs, breed of Politics, towards European, apatliy Population, amount of , rapid increase of 117 -2U4 H2(l 12K 12!) •M7 :U4 224 Ui2 177 \m'> • . -.mi < m f) 32G • u 142 • . 2!)K 327 , i:«{ 351 , . 203 314 • 71 7r> 1 ^!! Q Quarries, grindstone - — gypsum • freestone Quarters, Colonial, picture Quit rents , appropriation Rawdon, township of Religion, Established -, Roman Catholic of of 54 192 321; Settlciiicnt, mode of first Slielbunie, town of lliMT Sherbntoke, village of Sluibenat adio, village of Snow Storms , • 8(K'i('ty of Halifax Spirituous Liijuors, general abuse of Squadniu, Naval St. IMai'f^aret s Bay St. Mary's Hay River m 344 22 212 221 252 254 298 331 14U 237 2d7 i7» 272 277 341 318 169 »S 36 65 310 2d4 340 Tabli's, diflii ulty of forming correct Taxation, oiijiressive Tea, coiisigninrnt of . Tempontiurt', changes of . Tillii;;*'. stiiteol Timl'tT tradi' TopoiiniiiiiH'i.i remarks Trai Millie, tiieat Tra\ ' l!tis. 1 in'.s to Tra^ ( lllnt;> ni.Hle of . Tro-'^. ('iu|il^ — J ;iiJu\\ ante of Spirits to ^ • «2 , , 56 150 , 191 51 , , 15 333 ^ , . 249 248 • 34 36 Pa|p 241 284 24G 287 m 344 22 212 221 252 254 298 331 140 237 257 176 272 277 341 318 1«9 95 35 65 310 254 340 INDRX. Truro, t corded, in language of unaffected simplicity, the observations made in a journey of 4600 miles, of which 3000 were through regions either absolutely, or nearly unknown, cannot but possess powerful attractions for every clati of readers, whether pursuing the career of trade, of science, or of politics, whether in quest of individual advan- tage or personal information. i Interesting Works just published Oy Colhiirn and Bcnf/n/. I J ;*;rj II. Ill 2 vols. Hvo. with a Map and numerous Plates and Vignettes, TRAVELS in VARIOUS PARTS of PERU ; compris- In^' a Year's Residence at Potosi. liy Edmond Temple, Kniglit uf the Koyal and Distinguished Order of Charles III. of Spain. III. In 2 vols. 8vo. with numerous Plates, THE FIELD SPORTS of the NORTH of EUROPE including a Personal Narrative of a Residence in Norway and Sweden. By L. Llovd, Esq. IV. In 2 vols, small 8vo. with Plates, TRAVELS in KAMTSCHATKA, SIBERIA, ami CHINA. By Peter Dobell, Esq. Counsellor to his Imperial 3Ia- jesty the Emperor of Russia. V. In 8vo. 10s. 6d. FOUR YEARS in SOUTH AFRICA. By Cowpkr Rose, Royal Engineers. • All agreeable mixture of vivid landscape, and spirited portraiture.' — Litefar> Gazette. VI. In 2 vols, post 8vo. Avith a fine Portrait by Dean, and numerous Illustrations, 2 Is. RECORDS of CAPT. CLAPPERTON'S LAST EX- PEDITION to AFRICA. By Richahd Lander, his faithful At- tendant, and the only surviving Member of the Expedition ; with tlic subsequent Adventures of the Atithor. VII. In 1 vol. post Bvo. 10s. 6d. TRAVELS in the EAST. By John Carne, Esq. Au- thor of " Letters from the East." Printed uniformly with, and in cou tinuation of that work. • Mr. Carne, whose work entitled "Letter* from the East," is in every onrs hands, and has been considered as a topographical guide through the Scriptures, nas just publ'slied a volume of ' Becollections' connected with the Holy Land, Syria, and Egypt, which abounds in curious illustrations of biblical localities and events.' — Evening Paper. VIII. In 1 vol. with a large Map, and a Plan of the Battle of Leipzic, NARRATIVE of the LATE WAR in GERMANY ami FRANCE. By Lieut. -General Charles Vane, Marquess of Lon- donderry, G.C.B. G.C.H., &c. &c. on on I Bc/ifh. Vignettes, J ; compris- LE, Knight cif Spain. EUROPE • and Sweden. IRIA, and Im])t'rial Mn- 3y CowPKR ture.' — F.iterary nd ntirneroiw iAST EX- s faithful At on ; with the Esq. Au- ij and in con in every oiif s Scriptures, iias ly Land, Syria, I and events.' — Leipzic, lANV and ;es3 oi'LoK- Interesting Works just published bij Culburn and Benl/ci/. IX. In 1 vol. 8vo. with 25 Illustrations, 14s. TRAVELS in CHALD/EA, including a Journey from BUSSORAH to BAGDAD, IIILLAH, and BABYLON, performed on toot in the Year 1827 ; with Ohservations on the Sites and Remains of BABEL, SELEUCIA, and CTESIPHON. By Captain 3Iic.ka.\, •jf the Honoiirahle East India Company's Service. * Captain Mignan lias furnialied the best account or the relics of Babylon that lius ever been published.' — Monthly Magazine. < An indispensable addition to the libraries of all who take an interest in biblical rriticism, in Oriental antiquities, and in the most curious pori.oiis of the history of human nature.' — Morning Chronicle. ' A book full of curious matter, and most valuable conformations of Scripture prophecy.' — Gentleman's Alagazine. X. In J vol. 8vo. with Map of Sonora and Gulf of California, and numerous Illustrations, IGs. LIEUT. HARDY'S TRAVELS in the INTERIOR of MEXICO, in 1026, 1H27, and 1H20. 'Tills work is certainly one of the most curious and valuable thdt has ever appeared on the subject of this interesting country. It seems that the author travelled far into the interior, and explored many parts never before visited by any European. Tlie inexhaustible resources, productions, and capabilities of this mighty Empire, havt indeed, we feel persuaded, never been properly known or appreciated. Trea. surt's of natural wealth, beauty and curiosity — climates of every kind, yet all singu. larly propitious to the products of the earth — immense lakes, great rivers, springing from the undiscovered depths of forests, untouched since the CrebHuii'^— mountains containing gold, silver, and precious stones — trees of a magnitude beside which those of the European forests seem but dwarfs — such are the natural objects that Mexico presents to the wonder and admiration of the traveller: and these Lieutenant Hardy tias succeeded in vividly and forcibly delineating.' — Court Journal. ' An exceedingly entertaining book, abounding in miscellaneous information and anecdote.' — United Service Journal. XI. In 4 vols. 8vo. 21. 2s. MEMOIRS and CORRESPONDENCE of THOMAS JEFFERSON, Late President of the United States. With a Portrait, iiiui an engraved Fac-simile of the Original Declaration of Independ- ence. ' A work of extraordinary interest— a work full of acute observation, and of the materials of political knowledge. Mr. Jefferson, it is well known, was a man of great shrewdness and imperturbable temper, and as Minister at Paris, for several years before and during the French Uevolution, he enjoyed opportunities of studying the characters of public men, and the influence which particular tempers have exercised upon the destinies of their country, such as no other man perhaps could avail himself of, before or since.' — Standard. ' Tliese volumes must he rean with intense interest. They teem with profound philosophy. They will form the code of future legislatorf. They are worthy of transmitting a great name to immortality.*— Atlas. h;' I ' 1 I Interesting Works just published by Colburn and Bentley. XIT. In 2 vols. 8vo, Avith a fine Portrait, 28s. THE DIARY and CORRESPONDENCE of RALPH THORESBY, Author of " The History of Leeds." Edited by the Rev. Joseph Hunter, F.S.A. ' A curious, a very curiout publication, and one which affords a great dral of inte- resting informaiion, and set* before us pictures of society and manners drawn in the liveliest tone, and bearing tite stamp of perfect truth upon every lineament,' — Lite- rary Gazette. XIII. In 2 vols. 8vo. with fine Portrait, and Map of Colombia, 21s. MEMOIRS of BOLIVAR. By General Holstein, Ex-Chief of his Staff. ' This work is remarkable for containing far more of personal incident and of in- dividual traits of character, than has been yet exhibited in any narrative treating of the active and chequered struggles in Soutli America. All the chieftains and promi. i;ent men, whom those struggles called forth, are sketched from the life, and shown under the most effective contrasts. On the patriot side are displayed the Liberator himself, with his veiy peculiar habits of mind and disposition— Marinno, his asso- Chile Dictator— Paez, tl>e swarlliy and savage commander of the Llaneros, or men oi the plain— Admiral Biron, the mild hut consistent supporter uf freedom — Piar, the victim of a cruel fate — Bermudes.Sedenno, Monages, Diego, itc. besides some of our own countrymen, distinguished as well for their enterprising courage as their endur- ance of hanlships. On the side of the Spaniards, Murilln, the cruel and inflexible,—. the daring and impetuous Bov£s, with his band of black desperadoes, called " the infernal division" — the weak and superstitious Monteverde— the stern barbarian Morales; and various other persons who have attained " bad eminence" among the champions of oppression.'-.-Morning Paper. XIV. ACTUAL STATE OF INDIA. In 2 vols. 8vo. with a fine Portrait by Meyer, and Map, 32s. THE LIFE of SIR THOMAS MUNRO, BART. & K.C.B. Late Governor of Madras. With Extracts from his Correspond- ence and Private Papers. By the Rev. G. R. Gleig, M.A. M.R.S.L. &r. ' This Work contains a greater 8lia:t of interesting and important matter than al. mos^ any biographical performance of modern times. Sir Thomas Munroentered the military service of the East India Company in 1779, took part in ttie campaigns against Hydcr under Sir Hector Munro and Sir Eyre Coote, served in both the Wars against Tippoo Sultan, and witnessed the fall of Seringapatam. His great intelli- gence and intimate acquaintance with the native languages and customs caused him to be employed in the civil department ; in which capacity he superintended the af- fairs of the Bahramal, Caiiara, and the Ceded Districts. Whilst thus occupied, he kept up a confidential correspondence with almost every distinguished man in India, many of whose letters are introduced into the Memoir; more particularly those of the Duke of Wellington, descriptive of his Grace's operations against Dhoondee and at Assaye. After a brief visit to England, Sir Thonnas returned to India as head of the judicial commission in 1814, and laid ast Mahratta war. Finally, he filled the station of Governor of Madras, during the Burmese contest, upon the mode of con- ducting which his Correspondence with Lord Amherst throws much new light. This Work may indeed be said to comprehend an accurate history of India, during the la^t forty-five years, told in the vivid language of one who writes the impressions he feels at the moment. Nor is this, we are assured, the only charm attaching to the work t his private letters to his parents, his sister, and his wife, are said to be as replete with amiability, wit, humour, descriptive talent, and single-heartedness, as his otti. cial correspondence is comprehensive of accurate and extensive information; whilst his minutes and papers upon the opening of the trade, the system of internal govern- ment, and other questions relative to the general management of British India, will be read at this moment with the deepest interest.'.— Morning Chronicle. d Bentley. of RALPH id by the Rev. ;reat deal of inie. leri drawn in the ueament.'— Lite. nbia, 21s. HOLSTEIN, de>u and of in. rative treating of .ains and promi. •■ life, and shown ed tlie Liberator irinno, his asso. neros, or men ot :dom — Plar, the ides some of our I as their enduf. »nd inflexible,^ es, called " tht stern barbarian inence" among ^ap, 32s. BART. & I Correspond - H.R.S.L.&r. matter than aU nro entered the the campaigns both the Wars 5 great intelii- tis caused him itended the af- i occupied, he man In India, ularly those of Dhoondee and as head of the night conduct U lie filled the mode of con- !w light. This luring the last ssions he feels to the work t be as replete IS, as his ofh. lation; whilst :ernal govern- )h India, will e.