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" , ■; ■ • . . 1 5^ •i 1 J.- ■ ' • ,>' 1 ■i -.v '} "' ■ ■ I- ■■ ' '" ■ . - ■ '■', r ^^ 1 fpv \ V NE DESCRIPTIO] CLl COMMIS PRl r ' !■— ^ M«> w^ * M; i|^WP> p:6 IITFWWHtHl it a iii <<>^iW7?""'iii i H^'^wf^affs^irf^immm^f^iimm^i^^mfm'f^ AN ACCOUNT UF THE PROVINCE ov NEW BRUNSWICK; IMCLUOINO A DESCRIPTION OF THE SETTLEMENTS, INSTITUTIONS, SOIL, AND CLIMATE OF THAT IMPORTANT PROVINCE : WITH ADVICE TO EMIGRANTS. BY THOMAS BAILLIE, ESQ. COMMISSIONER AND SURVETOR-OENERAL OF CROWN LANDS IV NEW BRUNSWICK. WITH A MAP. LONDON: PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTON, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH YARD, AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL. 1832. n /-/3/5 LONDON: OILDERT AND RIVINQTON, PRINTERS, ST. JORN'l 8QUARB. -■;/ ^ 0^ "' ,' ^•^m TO TUB RIGHT HONOURABLE THE VISCOUNT GODERICH, SECRETARY OP 3TATE FOR THE COLONIES, SfC. 8fC. My Lord, Your kindness in permitting me to dedicate to your Lordship a Map of the Province of New Brunswick, has emboldened me again to trespass on your goodness, by dedicating the following pages to your Lord- ship. I am encouraged to do so the more, by knowing your Lordship's anxiety to promote the welfare and improve the condition of all , His Majesty's Colonies ; and none, I am con- vinced, can more amply repay the attention bestowed upon her, than the Province of New Brunswick. I have the honour to be. My Lord, Your Lordship's most obliged and most humble Servant, . THOxMAS BAILLIE. 'K ; I •> l»m I PREFACE. Though our American Colonies have occu- pied for several years past a good deal of the public attention, and much has been done by the Government for their improvement, I was surprised to find, on my arrival in England, a few months since, how much ignorance still existed upon the subject. With respect to New Brunswick, of which the following pages treat, I discovered that, with the exception of persons immediately connected with and interested in the Pro- vince, the public knew nothing beyond the fact of her shipping annually for the mother- country some thousand tons of timber. No one seemed to know that it was capable of producing the fruits of the earth in perfec- tion, and that, consequently, a wide field was r,-^:c^^-.':;:x3HEr'i;.;:->6'3to*i"i- -j-jt-^jM VI opened to Emigration ; but every one ap- peared to think that the climate was miser- able, the land sterile, and the population rude. To remove these erroneous impres- sions is my only object in printing observa- tions not originally intended for the perusal of ti-e Public. I have filled an important and arduous situation in the Province for eight years, — I have traversed it from north to south, and from east to west, — and ^ am acquainted with her resources, her capa- bilities, and her wants ; all that she requires is increase of population ; and should thou- sands of families proceed thither, possessing one or two hundred pounds each. New Brunswick would be benefited, and the in- dividuals themselves would, with common industry, find themselves, in a few years, comfortable and independent freeholders. I do not mean to say that persons pos- sessing less capital would not be likely to do well, but I should recommend them to hire themselves out for a year or two, after which, with industry and perseverance, they Vll would soon be in possession of an improving farm. In giving a detailed account of the Pro- vince, I have divided it into Districts, which are marked almost entirely by natural boun- daries, in preference to confining myself to the county lines, which are merely drawn on paper, and have i.over been marked or surveyed. WP CHAPTER I. The Province of New Brunswick formed origin- ally part of Nova Scotia, and at that period was thinly settled and little knoWn even to the people of that country, but was looked upon as the desert and considered as the wilderness of the important and improving province of Nova Scotia. In the year 1784, however, the tract of country now forai- ing the subject of this little work was erected into a separate province, and called New Brunswick. A governor was appointed, and a council selected by His Majesty, and a house of assembly was chosen by the inhabitants, which bodies were to frame juch laws for the future ^ vernment of this infant colony as to them might appear necessary ; and 1 am bound to say, from a reference to their proceedings and the characters they have left behind them, that men of more devoted loyalty, sounder judgment, or more gentlemanlike conduct could not be found in any of His Majesty's colo- nies. They were most of them loyalists, who had sacrificed what property they had possessed in America at the termination of the revolution which r\i:iiA.v. i£f^ :x. W^U'-Aikiuklft.. Bpt£aB^^^^W^^^^S- ---. made the United States of America an inde- jiendent nation, and sought protection under the British government in the province of New Bruns- wick. A small population located in a dense wilder- ness could be expected to do but little towards the improvement of the country. Whatever it was possible for men to do, however, has been done. Towns have grown up, and roads have been formed in the wilderness, where fifty years ago the bear had his den and the deer had his lair, and I may well say that the people are intelligent and enter- prising. Out of the forests of New Brunswick has arisen a trade with the mother country beneficial to both. The colony receives the British manu- factures in exchange for the produce of her woods, and the labour of the active merchant and hardy lumberer. This trade, protected as it is at present by the laws of England, forms the nursery of her mariners, and the surest bond of union between the parent state and her colony. It is, indeed, essential to the existence of the latter, and any check to it could not fail to involve in distress and disappointment one of the most devoted of the British colonies. Of the value of this trade, some idea may be formed from the fact of upwards of 1000 sail of vessels having arrived this season at the port of Quebec, and about 70C ?X the different ports in New Brunswick. Next to the protection of our trade, the most essential thing towards our increasing prosperity is a greater population ; and ■m i I 8 while the small farmer in England is year after year becoming poorer, and endeavouring to eke out an existence, and pay a high rent and neces- sary taxes, some of the finest land in the world is open to his labour in New Brunswick, and invites him to cultivate and improve it. If it is not a land flowing with milk and honey, it is at all events a land of promise, and will not deceive the exertions and labour of the agriculturist; and the man pos- sessing a small capital would in a few years find himself in comparative affluence ; his children, which are here a clog to his exertions, will there be his support and assistants, for often have 1 seen a boy of twelve years old handle his axe and fell a huge tree with the ease and dexterity of an old woodsman. The girls will in winter spin, and in summer use the hoe. There are no idlers ; all the family are in requisilioTi, and all will enjoy health, comfort, and contentment. I have seen so many families who from very small beginnings are now in comfortable inde- pendence, that I should be wanting in regard to my countrymen on this side of the Atlantic, and forgetful of the interests of my adopted country on the other, if I neglected to make known the field which is open for the industry of the former, and the benefit which must assuredly accrue to the latter. The province of New Bruns^vick is bounded on the north by lower Canada, on the east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the south by the Bay of B 2 r BtJ I -- I - Funtly and Nova Scotia, and on the west by the United States, and extends from 45° to 48° 10' of north latitude, and from 63° 45' to 67° 50' of west longitude, and comprises in its area 16,500,000 acres, 2,000,000 of which are granted. The face of the country presents a wild appearance, owing to its being a continuor*? forest, in which tht ever- greens grow indiscriminately with the deciduous trees, shrubs and bushes occupy the spaces be- tween the trunks ; and a thick clothing of moss, fallen trees, and ligneous and vegetable substances in every stage of decay, encumber the earth. Along the margins of most rivers, a riband of smiling clearances, studded with cottages, and chequered with the worm-fences peculiar to a country abounding with wood, vary the monotony of the forest scenery ; while hamlets, composed of afevv families, and detached settlements or planta- tions, connected by paths or bridle-roads, are interspersed throughout the wood-lands in rear, and throw a cheerful aspect over the surrounding gloom. The settlements contain, collectively, about 200,000 acres of cultivated land, and are surv^eyed into allotments of one hundred and two hundred acres, from forty to eighty perches in width. This mode of allotting land, although exposed to many inconveniences, admits of a minute division of all the advantages of a river or road frontage, and in situations of particular value, it is unquestionably the best. On these allotments, with a few excep- tions, clearances have been made from five to fifty acres in extent, more particularly on the banks of those rivers which afford the best land, or jiresent any commercial or other advantages of a superior kind. The settlements are generally confined to the margins of rivers and navigable streams, because those situations present advantages of immense importance in a pathless waste, in the facility of communication by water in summer, and by ice in winter. The best land also, both alluvial and upland, is usually found on the banks of streams ; although the most extensive tracts, capable of re- paying improvement, lie in the interior, where it is utterly impossible to effect the establishment of any considerable settlements, in the want of some means for transporting, either by land or by water, provisions and implements. The generality of the land communications be- tween the settlements are mere paths cut through the forest, by felling the trees near their roots for the space of eight feet in width, and leaving the stumps for time to destroy. Wheel-carriages of course on such roads are not to be used, but our long winters, enduring nearly five months of the year, overcome the obstacles arising from the in- equality of the surface, as well as from the want of bridges, by freezing the swamps and the rivers, and covering the ground with from two to three feet depth of snow. A bottom so solid, and a B 3 V \ material so compact as snow when beaten by the passage of men and horses, soon form an excel- lent road for sledges of every description. During the winter, while snow covers the ground, all car- riages are necessarily of the sledge kind ; and two common horses will draw more than a ton weight upon them, at the rate of from five to eight miles an hour. The land in a state of nature is covered with so very thick a growth of trees and under- wood, that, added to the numerous obstructions occasioned by fallen trees, it demands great la- bour and exertions to force a passage through the woods. Walking, consequently, in the wilder- ness is violent and laborious exercise, and pro- ductive of much fatigue even to those who are accustomed to it from their infancy. Difficulties are therefore to be expected, and many privations endured by the new settler, where there is not a road approaching within some little distance of his farm. Neither is he to suppose that the flies will be more complaisant to him than to the na- tive. In the absence of water communication, or of roads passable for carriages, he is of course compelled to carry all his provisions and necessa- ries on his back, which is productive of so much labour, loss of time, and so many privations, that but few persons have sufficient energy to over- come obstacles of such magnitude; and in too many cases, the most valuable of our emigrants are driven to other countries affording the means « of subsistence with less difficulty and hardship. Roads being made, all obstacles to communica- tion and transport immediately connected with the natural state of the soil are removed, and the emigrant finds no difficulty in transporting his little stock of household goods to his cabin, where happiness and contentment bear him company ; his labour procures him subsistence, the smoke of his clearances drives away the mosquito, and the quality and extent of his cultivated land enlivens his view, and cheers his future prospects. The immense importance of roads throughout the province being admitted, I shall explain the mode of constructing them, and recommend the formation of such as will be necessary to develope the capabilities, and render available the internal resources of this fine province. When roads are made along the margins of rivers, as they generally are, the expense is greatly enhanced by the eminences and deep indents formed by the mouths of ravines and brooks, which are not of so serious a character at a little distance in the interior. Much money must be necessarily laid out in exploring the woods for the most proper site, and the more pains which may be taken in this laborious duty, the more will eco- nomy be ultimately regarded. In the construction of a road for the great purposes of communication, it has been usual to open it through the forest for no greater width than twenty feet, and after the stumps, rocks, and every other obstruction are B 4 entirely eradicated and removed, the whole surface is levelled, and a ditch, about eighteen inches in depth, opened on each side. On wet land, logs, about sixteen or eighteen feet in length, and about eight inches in diameter, are laid across the road, flat upon the surface, and close together. The whole of the earth thrown out of the ditches on each side is then carefully laid upon the piles, which should previously be covered with boughs of evergreens, to bind the whole closely together, and to prevent the frost from heaving them out of their places. The water in the ditches should be drawn off towards the nearest brook or falling land, and the whole will then form a pretty durable and dry carriage-way. Draining is never a work of difficulty, owing to the immense number of brooks and rills which meander on and variegate the whole face of the country. -r The bridges are built with wood or stone; but the latter material, if at hand, is of course always preferred, particularly on rapid rivers, or in situ- ations exposed to the fury of the broken ice in the spring. The piers, when built w4th stone, are always made without cement, and the material rough from the quarry, in order to suit the ex- penditure to the limited means of the country. Timbers are then extended from pier to pier, on which a covering is laid, either of sawn plank or of trees about six inches in diameter, hewn flat on the upper side. When the piers are constructed with timber wholly, hemlock logs, about two feet wmm^^^ammmm wmmm 9 in diameter, are laid in a square form, and crossed one over another to a sufficient height for the re- ception of the sleepers and covering. Hemlock is the best species of timber we have, taking into consideration its great size and immense strength, for enduring an exposure to alternations of wet and dry, and it generally grows in the most convenient situations for use. The breaking up of the ice in the spring, and sometimes, though not frequently, in the winter, is a great and terrible destroyer of our bridges. Permanency, strength, and durability, therefore, should be the ruling considerations in the erection of them, although the last-mentioned requisite has not received much attention, owing to the pecuniary circumstances of the province. It now becomes necessary to state what roads would be required, in order to lay open to the view of capitalists and settlers the advantages attending the formation of settlements in the interior. The great military road betv/een Halifax and Quebec is of primary importance, and it has been proposed to be carried along the shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence : but if it would not be presumptu- ous in me to make remarks on a proposition in- volving so many considerations and opinions, T cannot conceal the sanguine hope I entertain of one day seeing it opened in a direct line through the interior of the country from Fort Cumberland to the foot of the Tamiscouta Lake. From the bend of the Peticoudiac to the Tamiscouta, being that part of it which will pass through this pro- B 5 10 vincc, is a distance of 220 miles, and this road will cost at the rate of 100/. per mile, including bridges. Most of the other roads in request would diverge from Fredericton, as a common centre, to the different county towns. I should therefore pro- pose to take one to Dalhousie, one to Bichibucto or Liverpool, one to St. Andrews, and one to the Great Falls on the north side of the river St. John, forming the string of the Bow ; one should also extend from Miramichi to the Great Falls. The whole distance of these roads would be about 500 miles. In opening new roads, the expense has been ascertained to be from 80/. to 112/. per mile, including bridges and previous explorations, aud for the latter sum the goodness of the workman- ship, and the solidity and durability of the bridges and causeways, should be secured by a warranty of ten years. On the whole, about the sum of 50,000/. sterling would be sufficient to effect this desirable purpose. An undertaking like this, if well and efficiently executed, will form this province into a good mili- tary position, people the wilderness with a brave and hardy race, ready at all times to defend their homes, produce a great revenue from the sale of the waste lands, and erect the colony into one of the most valuable of all His Majesty's transatlantic dominions. In five years a forest-tree would scarcely be discerned within half a mile of these roads, and new settlements, under the care and auspices of the provincial legislature, would be "T"^ 11 commenced in the rear. I entertain no kind of doubt, that on tlie completion of these great im- provements, real property would, throughout the province, soon rise in value twenty per cent., and in four or five years would obtain a further increase of sixty per cent. Land in North America, except in a very few situations, is rendered valuable only in proportion to the capital expended upon or ad- joining it, in improvements of obvious and general use, not of those of an ornamental nature. Good roads are of the utmost importance to the improve- ment of land, not only to facilitate the transport- ation of agricultural produce, but they also create a considerable market, in affording an opportunity of meeting the wants of travellers and new comers. The object of a land proprietor is to cause his property to produce some beneficial consequences to himself, according to the extent of hiti capital. If his means be sniall, he should retain the less land in his own possession, and convert a portion of it into money, for the purpose of improving the remainder. The object which I have in view, is to propose an outlay on such undertakings as may arouse the spirit of enterprise, and call into active exertion the utmost energies of the people, and at the same time develope the internal resources of the colony. B 6 IV Hill vm .1 CHAPTER II. The settlements being confined to the margins oi rivers and other navigable streams, is occasioned, not by the dearth of good land in the interior, but by tne want of good roads, and by the facility of communication and carriage by water. All our rivers above the level of the tides, with some few exceptions, flow over a shingly bed with great rapidity, and their consequent shallowness com- pels the adoption of light vessels. St. John's river is navigable to Fredericton for sloops of 100 tons; but ships of much greater tonnage may ascend to the Oromucto, eleven miles below. Large flat- bottomed boats or barges, from ten to twenty tons, towed by one or two horses, and drawing about two feet of water when loaded, are the usual craft employed between Fredericton and the Great Falls. On most of the other rivers of the province, above the level of the tide, no other craft thai: canoes can be much used, although they present great facilities for the improvement of their navi- gation by the abundance of water. The fishery is another inducement for poor set- tlers to prefer a water irowtage. At the breaking I e >» 13 lip of the ice, smelts ascend all the rivcis and branches in incredible abundance, alewines suc- ceed, Salmon, shad, bass, sturgeon, and other fish, resort to the Miiamichi, Restigouche, and St. John's rivers until August; and the black salmon and salmon-trout to the Kouchebanguac, Richibucto, and other rivers on the Gulf shore throughout the year. ' The province furnishes immense advantages to poor settlers in this respect, united with the more solid benefits arisin/^ from a good soil, a genial climate, and a good situation for trade and com- merce. In addition to these advantages, settlers turn their views to a river frontage in the hope of obtaining a few acres of alluvial land, called inter- vale, which is to be found in considerable tracts on the banks of all our streams. The whole river front of the parishes of Magerville, Sheffield, and Waterboroiigh, an extrnt of nearly thirty miles, is a remarkably fine alluvial soil, exactly resem- bling that of Battevsea fieMs and the Twickenham meadows, stretching from the river generally about two miles. This tract of intervale, including the three noble islands opposite, is deservedly called the Garden of New Brunswick, and it is by far the most considerable tract of alluvial soil, fonned by fresh water, in the province. Inde- pendently of these concurrent circumstances in favour of situations on the bank of a river, the water forms not only an easy communication in summer, but when frozen affords another great wmmm u facility for the transport of goods. When the i; e is perfectly smooth, having no snow upon it to impede the gliding of sledges, I have frequently seen one pair of small horses draw a weight of three tons with ease. i I have yet to describe another source of profit which our farmers who have settled on the banks of the rivers have heretofore enjoyed. During the winter months, while the earth is locked up within an impenetrable barrier of snow, a man can cut a few loads of pine or birch timber, either on his own property or on the waste lands of the crown. The settlers have been in the habit of drs^ving their timber for half a mile to th^'ee miles, f. J i ;y have so entirely stripped the surrounding 'and of the material, that the back settler can now derive little or no benefit from such a source. The rivers afford a wonderful facility for the transportation of timber to the ports, the availing themselves of which has placed in comparatively easy circum- stances many a prudent man, who began the world with nought but his axe. But the late commercial difficulties have fallen with all their weight on the lumbermen, and have reduced a large propor- tion of that class of men to absolute want. I shall now proceed to describe the manner in which a new settlement is foimed in the wilder- ness, at a distance from water communication; and in order to give a correct delineation of every circumstance, it will be necessary first to enter into the tenure of the new settler, to give soiu« 5, 15 ic e '■J account next of hiss commencement and progress, and finally to lay open to view his situation after the expiration often years. v . - , »« An emigrant is generally so poor on his arrival, that he can seldom afford to purchase a lot of land ; but after the lapse of four or five years, with care and industry, he is generally able to effect that object. An emigrant, therefore, on his arrival here, will prudently eiigage with a farmer as a labourer for the first year, m order to acquire the means of im- proving land, and the mode of cultivating it. We will suppose him to be a married man with three children, the eldest of whom is seven years old, and he and his wife in the prime of life. Having made himself acquainted with the mode of farm- ing, it worald be better for him to hire a house, and a cleui ance of from four to eight acres, if pos- sible, and plant on it potatoes and grain. His seed, provisions, and any other assistance he may vi'ant, will be always furnished by his landlord or neighbours on credit, paying for them in kind, or in labour wh.a required. A new farm demands so little attention, being generally clean, that frequent opportunities of working for his creditors occur. If the landlord has agreed to receive his rent in a share of the produce, which is the most usual mode of letting land to poor people, he will be required to furnish one half of the seed, and the whole of the animal labour, and at harvest time he win select as his own one of two equal divisions *: I ^^mmm ammmm in the barn or stack. The same rent he receives for his hay and potatoes, excepting that he must take his share upon the land, and house it himself. This generally includes house-rent. Having gathered in his crop and paid his land- lord, or superior partner, our emigrant, his wife and children, by repeated journeys through the woods, commonly without any road, and with no other guide than a line of blazed or marked trees, carry off a portion of their produce sufficient for present \isumption to their chosen abode. Having by th; istance of their old neighbours erected the shell of a log hut, they will commence building their chimney with rough stone cemented with loam, filling the interstices of the outside logs with moss, forming a floor with poles rendered flal by the axe or adze, and making other preparations for the winter, which is now rapidly approaching. The man will next proceed to make a path to the nearest settlement, in order to allow a pair of oxen to draw the remainder of his necessaries to his new habitation, and when he has laid in his little stock of provisions for the winter, consisting of salt fish, potatoes, and bread stuff, another difficulty assails him in the want of warm clothing and bedding. To pay for articles of so indispensable a descrip- tion, he is compelled to labour as a timber cutter for about two months during the severity of the winter, at which time he could do but little in clearing up his land on account of the depth of the snow. He will then direct his attention to the 17 clearance of his land, which he sets about without delay. As soon as the land be sufficiently dry, he will set fire to his little chopping, which will pro- bably consist of about four or five acres ; and as this will not consume more than the brush and light boughs scattered around, he will then roll together what logs are not too heavy for himself, ass'^ted by his wife and children, into piles. When these are sufficiently dry, fire is again com- municated; which process must be repeated until the whole be consumed, leaving the stumps only for the hand of time to destroy. His wheat is sown about the middle or latter end of May, which he covers with a harrow drawn by oxen, or, which is by far the most usual, entirely by manual labour with the hoe. The latter implement is the only one which he can use in planting his potatoes, for the plough can never be inserted until a consider- able part of the stumps be extracted, and the roots which are interlaced in the soil decaj'ed. ' The stumps, roots, and unevenness of the sur- face in its natural state, form an obstruction to good husbandry, so serious in its consequences, that a farmer can never expect to receive more than one-third of th° produce which would be obtained by the same system of husbandry as is practised in England, for an acre of land seldom produces here more than twenty bushels of wheat, or more than 150 bushels of potatoes. The stumps occupy one-third of the land, and by preventing animal labour, they render the application of manure next ! if li to impossible, superinduce a slovenly system of husbandry, liable to be pei*petuated, and effect a gradual deterioration in the productiveness of the soil. We will now take a view of the settler after a lapse of ten years, with the acquisition of expe- rience in the use of the axe. He probably caught the mania of timber getting, but finding it a losing game as an exclusive trade (as it is to nearly all emigrants,) he has had the prudence to relinquish it before any ruinous losses had been sustained. But in the contrary event, the farm in all proba- bility is no longer his, and he is consequently reduced to a worse situation than when he first set his foot on the strand of America. But adhering to the fairer side of the landscape, we will view the emigrant now a freeholder, (hav- ing paid tlie last instalment of a lot of land, four years after his commencement,) and consequently closely identified with his adopted country, in a neat new log or framed house, with a good stone chimney well cemented with lime, a large framed bam, and other out-buildings, twenty-five or thirty acres of cleared land, admitting in many places the plough, possessed of a good strong horse, two powerful oxen and a pair of steers, two cows, a calf, eight or ten sheep, and about half a dozen of hogs. — His boys will be grown into stout athletic lads, and the family acquired several additioiis, the whole of whom, with the father and mother, present a lively picture of health and comfort. The farm may be worth, supposing it in a distant 19 part of the country, 250/., and to which he in fact contributed a value by settling upon it, but if within a few miles of any town, or near any place of great resort, it may be estimated at 400/. at least. ,1 <' ■-■•■ . > i| 1 ■^'C^'^l.V^-'^-'-^'' «pp / CHAPTER III. I SHALL now proceed with my general account of the characteristic qualities of the country, in regard to soil and its cultivation, climate, and natural advantages. Nature is here dressed in her wildest garb, and, consequently, it is improbable that men in general, brought up in the refinements of civilized life, can be pleased with the appearance of a New Bruns- wick forest. Yet in several parts of the woods, generally on small brooks, there are interspersed natural or wild meadows, similar to the prairies of the Illinois, and the savannahs of Georgia, some of which present a beautiful appearance. They owe their formation not to nature, as their name improperly implies, but to that industrious animal the beaver, which in a wonderful manner will construct a dam across any stream, and by throwing back the water upon the adjoining low lands, will occasion the destruction of the indige- nous forest growth, and, by the deposit left after the subsidence of the spring floods, will greatly add to the height and fertility of the land. In the course of a short time a thick growth of long grass. 21 here called hltte-jointy covers the parts which are not constantly overflowed, and subdues every other kind of herbage. On the destruction or decay of the dam the grass grows freely, and makes excel- lent pasturage for homed cattle, and which will fatten them in a few months. Americans distinguish the different qualities of the soil by the growth of wood found on its sur- face, and in general they are not mistaken in their judgment. That which is called barren is an open plain, formed of peat moss, destitute of any cover- ing whatever, and the name is properly applied. The soil beneath the moss varies greatly, being frequently a white sand, often a white or red clay, and sometimes a gravel, but I have never yet seen a good loam beneath a heavy growth of moss. Much land is in this country called barren which by no means ought to be so denominated ; but the extent of uncultivated land, compared with the number of cultivators, renders the latter fastidious in their choice. The next sort of inferior wilderness land is a spruce sw^amp, the soil of which is very wet, and composed of white sand or clay, and as frequently of clayey loam, which only requires draining to make it productive. Another kind of this descrip- tion of growth is found on high land, and is the produce of a reddish yellow sandy soil. On this kind of land white birch is very frequently seen intermingled with the growth of spruce. Cedar delights in a deep clay or mould soil, saturated and 1 > »i i ■ • 4 ii' li m mm ■■ 22 covered with spring-water. Land of this descrip- tion can only be properly cleared by extracting the roots which spread and interweave themsolves over the whole surface, and by draining it of the superabundant water, which practice will readily convert it into excellent meadow. Another sort of cedar swamp, intermingled with stinted spruces, is generally considered poor, and probably is really so, although, having never had an opportunity of seeing it turned up, I can form no correct opinion of its quality. Another sort of land is known by a growth of hemlock, pine, and spruce, consisting of a white or red sandy loam, and sometimes gravel. This is generally poor ; but if the growth be well inter- mingled with the deciduous trees, experience shows that it will prove th^t kind of soil best adapted for the varied purposes of our husbandry, and conse- quently the best of our uplands. Next comes upland hard wood-land ; and dif- ferent kinds of this timber also denote different soils. Beech, where the growth is wholly com- posed of it, almost invariably denotes a thin gra- velly hungry soil ; but at Buctouche, and where it may be found on intervales, being there a clayey loam, are exceptions to this rule. The rock-ma- ple and black birch are never found far apart, and they always denote a good soil for potatoes and grain. The wood is large, and hard for settlers to cut and prepare for burning, but in general it is readily cleared away, and the stumps decay in 13 23 about ten or fifteen years. Land covered by pine is mostly poor, although where mingled with the hard woods it is invariably the best; but their stumps require an age to decay. The alluvial lands on the banks of rivers and brooks, here called intervale, are fine, rich, and deep sandy loam, having a sub-soil of strong red clay, and are usually covered with a luxuriant growth of elm, rock-maple, black birch, butternut, and fir. I must here remark, that upland is a term used to denote that land which is above the level of the vernal and autumnal floods, which, on the mar- gins of running waters, have obtained the general contradistinctive term of intervale. This province is exceedingly well adapted for a grazing, as well as a grain country, on account of the moisture of the climate, and the congeni- ality of its soil to the production of the grasses, white clover and many other species being in- digenous. The intervales and islands will pro- duce, on an average, two tons and a half of hay per acre. Oxen and cows are not so large nor so strong as those of Great Britain, but they are not fed in the manner in which they are in England. An ox was killed at Ferdericton a short time ago, which weighed, exclusive of offal, 1147 lbs., the tallow 1401bs., and the hide the same weight. The animal was young, and fatted only, after having been taken from grass in the fall of the year, with hay, potatoes, and a small quantity of Indian-corn ; V 1 1 21 ineal. Oxen in general, when taken from iheir pastures, eitlier in the woods or the cultivated lands, will weigh about seven hundred weight, exclusive of offal and tallow. — Tn this country tallow is too high in value to permit the internal fat to be generally preserved for the table, and our sheep are too often not sufficiently fatted to fur- nish any at all. Sheep are small, and their flesh is rather delicate and well flavoured. Three years old wethers will average 70 lbs. the four quarters : their wool is tolerably fine ; and they have lately been much improved by the importation of supe- rior breeds from England by the Agricultural Societies. Our sheep are subject to none of the diseases common in England, but a '^ear will occasionally help himself to one, thoug' s visits are n(>ither alarming nor frequent. Swine are raised in such plenty, and the breed has received so much improvement, that as soon as the country produces a sufficient supply of com for its own consumption, we shall no longer have occasion to import meat. Mr. Richard M'Lauch- lin, of the north-west river of Miramichi, sent me in March, 1827, the head of a hog which weighed 931bs., and measured behind the ears four feet eight inches in girth. The whole animal, when killed, weighed between eleven and twelve hundred weight; was four years old, and the breed was imported from England. The parish of Woodstock raised a few years ago wheat in such abundance, as to supply in a 25 great degree tlie lumber trade on St. John's river, as well as the consumption of the town of Fre- dericton. Horticulture is not practised to any extent, and our farmers in general have not yet conceived the idea of cultivatnig any other esculent plants than potatoes for the fattening of cattle. Tuniips are seldom raised, except for the use of the table, and all kinds of vegetables are scarce, although the soil and the market will amply pay for their cultiva- tion. No plants in our kitchen gardens will en- dure the rigour of the winter but parsnips ; cab- bages and every other plant must be preserved for the following year to mature in the cellar. Very few fruits are cultivated, alt^iough those which we have clearly prove the utility of making importa- tions of trees from English nurseries. Purchasing provisions from another country in- creases the price of labour, and thereby presents another obstacle of no ordinary magnitude to, the progressive improvement of the country. Paying for provisions in specie enhances their value so much, that when the labourer provides himself, he necessarily requires a very great remu- neration. But it is only in towns that labourers can provide themselves; every where in the coun- try the employer must find him in provisions and lodging. This circumstance unavoidably en- courages an itinerant race of labourers, no way attached to the soil, and it deprives the country of a resident peasantry. c ■ I 26 In all new countries where a l an's industry can be made permanently productive to himself in the soil, the price for labour must necessarily be high, for without a great remuneration no man would be induced to quit such advantages, except under such circumstances as preclude him from waiting for prospective benefits. But although labour here is unquestionably too high, yet other people will entertain en'oneous ideas respecting it, unless they be made acquainted with circumstances pecu- liar to the habits, and interwoven with the customs of the country. Here there are no seasons of rest or recreation, but the darkness of the night or the sabbath-day. At early dawn our sturdy native rises from a hard and thinly-clad bed, and pro- ceeds to his labour before the rising of the sun. He requires no more time for his frugal repast than that which suffices for him to eat it ; and he cheerfully resumes his work, which he will pcrsue incessantly, and exert for the whole day his utmost degree of strengtii. This practice is universal, and to which an emigrant must conform ; for until he has acquired Ihe same habit, he will be the butt and the ridicu''^ "f the native. No idling is tolerated, and the employer generally works with his men, keeps them constantly engaged, and is a Judge of what they are capable of performing. When all these circumstances are taken into consideration and duly weighed, it will be very evident that we receive from our labourers at least one-fourth more than employers do in the old ■ t 27 n; counti'y. Still no capitalists can be expected to speculate much in improving land, until all the disadvantages respecting the high price of labour be obviated, and this strongly demonstrates the necessity, under which this country labours, of holding out inducements for industrious and steady emigrants, of the mechanic as well as the farming classes, to settle on the waste lands. The climate of this province is peculiarly con- genial to health and longevity, and agrees uncom- monly well with British constitutions, and I have never even discovered that the swamps and baiTen plains render the atmosphere in their neighbour- hood injurious. No great difference is expe- rienced in any part of the country, in regard to our present subject ; but the extremity of the winter's cold, and the intensity of the summer heat, are certainly experienced in the greatest degree in the inland parts, at a distanfTC from the waters of the Bay of Fundy and of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Immediately on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, fogs are frequent during the summer months, but they are by no means unhealthy, nor do they extend beyond a few miles into the country, and in the interior such a thiLg is scarcely known. The sumraers are indeed beautiful, more like what the summers in England are described to have formerly been, than what they are now. The winters are doubtless severe, but the intense frost is more tolerable than the bitter chilliness of an English winter's day, when it can be said that it neither c 2 m n m :tl 1, ■: 28 freezes nor thaws. The ague and fever of Upper Canada are quite unknown, and I doubt if any country exists less liable to disease than New Brunswick ; the disorders most frequent are pleu- risy, scorbutic affections, and rheumatism : but the last is generally confined to those persons whose avocations lead them into the water, and to other exposures to the inclemencies of the weather. The scurvy is occasioned by an almost constant salt diet. The deaths are mostly caused by acci- dents, from drowning, (water and ice forming nearly our only means of communication,) and from old age. Tlie ice forms on the still waters about the 12th November, and it will generally bear a man about the 15th. The salt w^aters in the harbours and lagoons freeze about the 23d, but the channels will scarcely ever bear until the 12th December. The rapid waters of the rivers resist the action of the frost imtil the middle of December ; and horses may generally travel on them a little before Christ- mas. To support the weight of a man, a thickness of one inch is necessary, and for cattle three inches are requisite. On St. John's river, and other large and comparadvely still (fresh) waters, travelling begins about the middle of December. About the 20th of March or the beginning of April, the power of the sun is so strongly perceptible by its action on the ice, that travelling becomes dangerous in some particular places, and about the middle or 29 latter end of the month tho waters become again navigable. The snow seldom exceeds four feet in depth : a depth of eight inches commonly lies on the ground at Christmas, and the frequent alter- nations of frost and thaw, which we usually expe- rience, prevent the snow from accumulating in the manner in which it would otherwise do. About the middle or latter end of April, the ground again becomes visible and soon assumes its ordi- nary appearance of green. About the 25th May the grass is usually three inches in height, and at the beginning of June the low land pastures will have acquired sufficient consistency to support the weight of cattle. From the 5th May to the begin- ning of July, potatoes aie planted with success ; wheat may be sown till the commencement of June, and other grain, including Indian com, until the 10th. From the middle of July to the latter end of August, the timothy and other cultivated grasses are mown, and the gi'ain har sled. In the middle of September the Indian corn is ready to gather, which gives the farmer full occujiation until the beginning or middle of October, by vhich ti ne two or three warning frosts will have announced the necessity of digging his potatoes. At the commencement of November or a little earlier, cattle require hay occasionally, and from the mid- dle of the month until the 10th or 12th May, t* be entirely fed on it. The soil, on account of its exceeding frial ness, does not require half the labour either animal or manual, which land in c 3 'J li II ■:. ; a^ vvi^ 30 1 England demands, which is an advantage occa- sioned by the frost, the intensity of which breaks down and ameliorates our clays and stiff soils, and effects a saving of two horses to every plough. September and October, and even part of No- vember, form the pleasantest season of the year, which is universally called " The Fall," but win- ter is the season of enjoyment, and of active busi- ness. The summer is warmer than in England, but the weather is so genial that few people com- plain of the presence of the sun, * •a •I f I !> _ !• , CHAPTER IV. I SHALL now proceed to describe the state of manufactures and the various branches of public industry. Mills for sawing timber are our principal and largest branches of machinery. The proper di- mensions of the building are 60 feet long, 40 feet broad, and about 25 feet in height to the roof. The usual expense of the whole undertaking, in- cluding the dam, is seldom less than £1000, pro- vided the river be large. In this countiy, wood and water being so abundant, steam and iron are not likely to prove proutable, where the former materials can be used. Labour is so exceedingly high, that mills are constructed in a very simple manner, substituting great power for complicated machinery, and no fault could possibly be found with such an economical arrangement, provided that power remained at its usual maximum. But during the summer months, and in the depth of winter, the water, which is generally so abundant, becomes much reduced in quantity, and the ma- chinery is then in want of sufficient power to continue in operation. The simplicity of the C 4 if I t ;; :i^ r- .■! I. 32 machinery, and its being made of wood, admits, in the scarcity of millwrights, of the repairs being at any time effected by the millers themselves, at which they are exceedingly expert. The diffi- culty attending iron machinery in the event of accidents would be irreparable, for, considering the remote situations of mills, an engineer could not possibly be obtained in sufficient time to pre- vent delay. Saw-mills are worked with under- shot water-wheels, carrying a crank, to which is affixed a connecting rod, giving motion to the saw. One saw in a frame is universally considered more advantageous than gangs, owing to the acce- leration of the motion. That part of the ma- chinery which causes the log to advance to the saw, and to carry it back, is equally simple and prodigal of water. The generality of our com or grist mills cannot be exceeded in simplicity, and the work effected by them is as inferior ; but some of our grist-mills and our carding machines are very good, and constructed on the best principles. We have a few fulling-mills, one paper-mill, and many excellent oat-mills. The saw-mills manufacture boards one inch thick from the white pine, the spruce, and the hemlock, for the consumption of the province, and the former article also for the West Indies. Here- tofore they have been principally employed in the sawing of deals fi'om the white and red pine, and a few from spruce for the British market, but the latter trade has sustained so severe a shock from 33 the low slate of the home market, that the mills would have gone to decay, had not the West Indies at c'f period held out some inducement to manu- facture boards. The raw material is obtained from the crown lands under a license, for which a duty of two shillings and six-pence for every thousand square feet of one inch in thickness is paid to the crown. In the neighbourhood of a large saw-mill a set- tlement of several families is always seen, for employment is given to a blacksmith, and a car- penter, if not a millvnight. The number of millers and labourers, with their wives and families, en- courage a shoemaker, a tailor, and other small trades-people, to settle near them. A small store will then be commenced, and a public-house is sure to follow. A collection of persons like this will soon create a value for the adjacent lands, and settlements will be formed in the wilderness, and these give rise to a ginst-mill, and a place of wor- ship for the use of the rising village. Thus a large and well-conducted saw-mill is a little town in embryo, and from experience and careful observa- tion, I am fully convinced that no schemes for the formation or erection of inland towns will ever j^rove effective, unless combined with manufac- turing advantages of some description. A mill of such a description, working two saws, will employ four first-rate millers, or sawyers, four second-rate, and two ordinary men, thirty -four common labour- ers accustomed to the woods, the water, and the C 5 i • 4 ? ' 1 34 axe, one surveyor of lumber, and occasional work besides for a millwright, a carpenter, and a black- smith, and twenty oxen and two horses. The wages of the first of these men will amount to 61, a month, for the second 41, 10«., and for the re- mainder from 3/. to 41. 10«., exclusive of board and lodging. The value of the oxen will be about 20/. a pair, and that of the two horses about 20/. Hay, when it is consumed in the woods, costs 8/. the ton, and the men's board there will be fully 41. the month for each person. With charges so heavy as these, it is perfectly impossible for our mill- owners to compete with the Americans. The re- turn made by the West Indies is for the most part in the produce of their own islands, which, on importation, pays a small provincial duty. I beg leave to extend my remarks on this sub- ject for the purpose of drawing attention to the subject of sawn laths. The market at present offered for the consumption of this article of manu- facture is only at the towns of Fredericton and St. John's, where the price is lOs, per thousand. I wish to urge the expediency of promoting manu- factures which encourage the settlement of the province : manufactures too, which no way inter- fere with the views of the mother country. In sawing deals and boards from saw-logs, four slabs, four inches thick, will be sawed off each log, and thrown away to float down the stream, obstioict- ing navigation, and of no use to man whatever, causing a waste of one-fourth of the raw material. 35 The slabs sawed from these logs are not only the strongest part of the wood, but can be manufac- tured into excellent laths. It is asserted by mill- owners, with the utmost confidence, that the profit arising from the laths will pay the expense of sawing the whole log. If it might be deemed expedient by any legislation to encourage the shipping of laths to Great Britain, (for under the present scale of duties that is thought impossible) I have no doubt that in a very short time we should not only be able to compete with the Americans, but this manufacture itself would do so much to- wards the settlement of the province, that it would tend to obviate other obstructions which now im- pede our progress. Ship-building, although at present utterly de- pressed, is another great branch of our industry, and for the carrying on of which we possess almost unrivalled facilities. It is an article of export, no vessels of any very great consequence being navi- gated by our own merchants. Some ships of infe- rior quality have, I fear, been built in the province, which circumstance has occasioned a bad charac- ter to attach to all New Brunswick built ships ; this I conceive to be unjust, for I am convinced that excellent vessels have been and can still be built in the province, where timber of the first quality abounds for the purpose : that some ves- sels of an infamous character have been n\ade in the province, I will not deny; but I cannot admit, c6 • 't f i ■ri m t. -' fl 36 because a merchant contracts with a rogue to build him a ship of a certain class, and he is cheated, that the imputation is to be general, and that all vessels arc to be equally worthless. r f hi CHAPTER V. Another source of future prosperity which this fine country enjoys in a pre-eminent degree, in the facility of internal water communication, requires full notice. Rivers and brooks intersect the whole country, and it has frequently been observed by timber- cutters, that there is no part of the province in which a space exceeds seven miles between any two rivers or large brooks ; and I think that I may say with equal confidence, that it is not possible to walk on a straight line more than half-a-mile without meeting running water. I am also of opinion, that a man can scarcely settle on 100 acres of land, without finding a spring or fountain of excellent water on some part of the allotment. The rivers, as I observed before, above their con- fluence with the tide, run with too great a descent over a shingly bed to be deep, but canoes can, during the greater part of the summer months, be impelled either with poles, or towed by man or beast. Many of the rivers approach in their courses so near to each other, that it is a work of little difficulty for the simple aborigines, and for l\ i 88 our own settlers, to carry their canoes and other higgage through the woods, by paths made for the purpose, and called portages, from one navigable river to another. The grand river, a branch of the St. John, above the great Falls, communicates by a portage of six miles with the Avaganneits, a branch of the Restigouche ; the Nashwack, by a portage of twenty miles, with the south-west river of Miramichi, the site of the present road from that place to Fredericton, and another on the same river by means of a branch of the Nashwack, called the Nabudahgon, to a lake discharging into thd south-west river, which is only three miles across. Salmon River flows within two miles and three- quarters of theRichibucto, both considerable rivers; and the Gaspereau, a branch of the former, com- municates with the Etienne, or Koines River, by a portage of about six miles, crossing a large brook about midway, being a branch of the Etienne. Cumberland Basin, at the head of the Bay of Fundy, is only fourteen miles from Bay Verte, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A grand canal on that isthmus has long been in contemplation, and an engineer has made a survey of the site, and an estimate of the expense of the undertaking. His proposition, for a depth of eight feet of water, amounts to 67,728/.; but with four feet and a half depth, 45,152/. Desirable as such a measure is, in a national point of view, all thoughts of its execution are obliged to be postponed, from the want of funds to effect it; and should the consider- 39 ation of it be resumed, I shall have to protest against the Bay Verte, as being in many respects highly objectionable. But of all these natural communications^ ex- cepting indeed the last, none seems to offer so many advantages, combined with so much ease in the execution, as the connection of St. John^s River with the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Quebec, by way of Salmon River and the Richi- bucto. Salmon River is navigable for craft of 150 tons* burthen, eight miles above its mouth ; thence to the portage is thirty-four miles, flowing in a wide channel, not very rapidly, over a shingly bottom. The portage is all low land, through which an excavation could be effected with little expense, being only two miles and three-quarters, possessing the further advantage of a small pool, or lake, near it, discharging into Salmon River, and a brook flowing in a hollow, from near the lake to the Ricliibucto River. The Richibucto flows over a smooth rocky bottom, with but little depth of water, about ten miles, and then falls into its estuary, or tide-way, twenty-two miles from its mouth, with plenty of water for large Vessels. Both these rivers would require several locks to deepen the water ; but the numerous advantages arising from the situation would induce individuals to construct them wholly at their own cost and risk, for the exclusive enjoyment of the privilege of erecting ^lereon mills for sawing timber. I have personally inspected the whole route ; but as h !'■ J •J If I J I 40 no regular survey has been made, I cannot state tlie difference of level. The soil on all the port- ages is generally soft, being loam or clay, except the ridge of land between the Oromucto Lake and the Magaguadavic River, which I have every reason to believe is too rocky for excavation. The advantages attending the formation of canal communications are inestimable, as is fully exem- plified in ail parts of the United States ; and inde- pendently of settling the province, they would serve to strengthen the bond of union with the Canadas. Quebec furnishes provisions to the lumber and fishing trades earned on on the gulf shore of this province; and were the facility of intercourse greater, the population of St. John's Kiver would have no occasion to send large por- tions of their little capital to the States. Remit- tances to Quebec ai*e made by bills on England : payments to the States are, for the most part, made in specie, ^ . . , ' ,,;,'•.*. .y-- :.•;;- 1 -v* ■-, ■ i.., ■ ?■*■,! 1^ .. i-J s! * CHAPTER VI. Having treated on the state of the country, in regard to its general situation and the soil, I now beg leave to proceed. ' ^ Timber of different descriptions covers the whole face of this country in such abundance, that, were it used for the purposes of building alone, it would supply Great Britain for ages ; and of the several kinds of which, with their varieties and qualities, I shall endeavour to give an accurate and succinct account. WHITE PINE. The white, yellow, or Weymouth pine, fpinus sirobitsj, is the monarch of our forests, growing to the height of one hundred and thirty feet, and the astonishing number of fifteen hundred annular divisions have been counted in its trunk. The timber has been the staple export of this country for several years ; and it is a valuable wood, more in demand than any other kind whatever, for the various purposes of the carpenter, from its softness and tractability, combined with its strength and ! I i-:' i*^ 1(1 I ' !i ,( f if i I, i:J '■a \'l LIJ 42 durability. The latter good quality is eminently proved by the astonishing duration of the stumps, which are allowed to remain in the soil, owing to the too great expense attending their removal. There are three varieties of this species of pine, called by the workmen the Pumpkin, the Black- bark, and the Sapling; the first of which is in by far the greatest demand, for the straightness of its grain, its great size, its softness, and its freedom from knots. The second sort is reckoned inferior to the former, but the sapling is in high estima- tion. RED PINE. The red pine (pinus sylvestris) is an extremely valuable kind of timber. It is much harder, stronger, and more durable than the white pina. There are two varieties of this species, but with- out distinguishing names other than those of the rivers on the banks of which they are found. That of the Tobique is very large, many trees pro- ducing even nine tons; and the same kind, but smaller in its growth, is obtained on St. John's river, and on all its branches. That found at Miramichi and Kouchibougnac, particularly the latter river, is extremely small, seldom found far from the water, but of a most superior quality. This is the same as the Memel timber, equally as close in the grain, and probably as durable. I am also infonned that it is capable of supporting a much greater weight than that of St. John's river. 43 LARCH. «^ The larch (pinus larixj, here called hackmetack and tamarack, is next in quality among the soft woods, and grows verj' tall and straight, but seldom very large. It is an excellent durable timber, preferable to red pine for ship-building, and makes superior tree nails, which are excelled only by those of white oak. SPRUCE. The spruce (pinus nigra) is a tall and straigh t tree, and usually found very sound. It is an ex- cellent kind of timber, but not liked by the car- penters on account uf its hardness, intractability, and its tendency to warp. It is much stronger than white pine, but from its liability to the attacks of the moth-worm, not so durable. There are two varieties, the white and the black, the latter of which is much the best. '1' I 1' ,* ' ^ HEMLOCK. M The hemlock (pinus CanadiensisJ grows to a very large size, and from its splitting so freely, it is much used for laths, but the want of sufficient cohesion in its fibre, prevents its being used by the carpenters. It is a very durable wood, and I am confidently of opinion that it might be found ex- ceedingly well adapted for the mines, in which '^i y ' '^l: u they now use in England the red pine of Norway. Could this timber be found useful in England, and by legislation its importations there be encoiuraged, I am persuaded that the trade would prove highly beneficial to both countries. This colony abounds in it in all parts, except the borders of Lower Canada ; it grows among every species of timber, and on every kind of soil, but differing in size, according to the goodness of the land whereon it grows. Hemlock, cedar, and larch, are the most dura- ble kinds of timber we have for exposed situations, when laid on the earth, or partly covered by the soil, but the first has the advantage over the latter in point of size ; when sawn into plank, it makes good flooring for bridges and wharfs. It is much used for bed timbers in the saw-mills, where great size, strength, and durability are required, and were it not for its weight, it would make excellent joists and rafters. Some hemlock plank, which I lately had an opportunity of observing, covering a large wharf at Liverpool, in Kent, appeared equally as good as any made from red pine, and doubtless it is superior in point of durability. On the whole, I am convinced, that if this timber were well known in England, it would be in great demand, and might be procured much cheaper than pine or spinice, owing to it? abundance and convenience to water-carriage. Its bark, as well as that of the black birch, abounds in tanning, and it is exclu- sively used by our tanners for that purpose, , j 45 FIR. The fir (pinus piceaj is a soft white wood, neither durable nor large. It is used for nothing but the smaller timbers of framed houses, and sometimes, though not frequently, for flooring. The white cedar (cypress us thyoidesj never grows very tall, but often attains a bulk of three feet in diameter. It enters into many of our do- mestic uses ; makes good planking for boats and wheiTies, shingles for the West Indies, often called cypress shingles ; and for its durability and light- ness, it is much used for land-marks, for posts set in the earth, and for other kinds of fencing. It is, in fact, the lightest and most durable wood we have ; white in colour, and slightly aromatic. Il POPLAH. The poplar (poptilus alba J, the species, I be- lieve, called in France hois blanc. It grows on the gulf-shore to an immense size; but as it is neither durable nor strong, it enters into no other uses than those domestic manufactures, for which the willow in England is employed. The willow, which, however, is not a native, grows very large, but is not used for any other purposes than for aquatic fences. m .J M BASS-WOOD. The bass-wood, so called by the inhabitants of the province, will, I believe, belong to the class 46 platanus occidentalism It is a beautiful tree, and grows to a very large size, but the wood of it is soft, and only used for turning. MAPLE. The white maple facer rubrumj grows large, but is used only by the turners, and for agricultural implements. The rock maple facer saccharinum), a very hard wood, but not durable in exposed situations ; it is frequently bird-eyed, or knotted in the fibre, and then is in great demand for the cabinet-makers. In the want of hornbeam it is used for mill cogs, and for many other purposes in which great hard- ness, strength, and weight are required. The maple sugar is produced from the sap of this tree, on its ascent, in the month of March. BLACK BIRCH. The black birch fhetiila nigra) is a very valua- ble species of timber. The grain is very fre- quently waved, or curled, and it is then in demand for tables, chairs, and other furniture. It is very durable under water, and when not exposed to the vicissitudes of wet and dry ; and consequently is much used for keels and the under plankings of vessels. 13 47 YELLOW BIRCH. The yellow birch (hetula lentaj is used for the same purposes as black birch, but it is con- sidered tougher than the former, when young. I M ! WHITE BIRCH. The white birch (hetula alba J, by the Aca- dian French called homhau. The bark is silvery white, highly inflammable, and, whether in or upon the earth, or under water, almost everlasting in durability. There are two varieties, receiving their distinguishing names from the seasons in which the bark peels readily ; the one in summer, and the other in winter, thence called summer or winter bark birch. With this bark, preferring the latter kind, the Indians make their ingenious little canoes, sometimes thirty feet in length, from a single sheet. -■,,-. ^ -'■ I . - ,' ■ BEECH. The beech (fagus ferruginea) is a very hard wood, and durable under^ water, which makes it useful for tree-nails and planks for the bottoms of ships. We have two varieties of beech, called the white and the red, both of which are highly valued for plane-stocks. I *! m rill i m 48 ASH. There are two species of this tree, extremely different in their nature and qualities. The white ash (fraxinus Americana) is a very valu- able wood, combining stiffness with elasticity and durability, and it is used for many purposes where those combined qualities are required. It is not very plentiful, and it seldom exceeds fifteen inches in diameter. The black or swamp ash (fraxinus nigra) grows large, but is of little value ; it splits freely, but wants strength. A few black ash staves are exported to England. . OAK. The oak has two varieties, the white (qiiercus alba) and the red (quercus rubra) ; the latter is used for nothing but staves; it is of very open grain, but exceedingly pliant. The oak never abounded in this province, and nearly all that was good for use is now exhausted. It is exceedingly strong, pliant, and durable, which qualities render it invaluable for tree-nails. -.*'■■■• . ' ■' i ■ ' ' 'i ' • ELM. The elm (ulmus Americana) is only used for a few purposes in ship -building. Its growth is 49 large and rapid, being almost always found on soil of alluvial origin. il BUTTERNUT. The butternut (juglans cinicea) is a species of walnut, producing the same fruit, but which has a much harder shell. I have reason to believe that the wood is not of ecjual utility. The hornbeam is scarce, and seldom attains a sufficient size for any useful purpose ; it, therefore, is hardly worthy of being ranked among the timber of New Brunswick. I cannot help saying a few words on the timber of New Brunswick, although it has so long been the fashion in England to ad- mire every foreign production in preference to those of our own manufactures, and our own colonies, that what T can state will, I fear, have but little effect; I must, however, be allowed to observe, that the timber of New Brunswick, when used in its proper placet is as good as need to be put into any building : if, however, people will make use of it improperl}'^, and find it fail, then they must only blame themselves, not the timber. I sincerely wish that some nobleman or gentleman who may be friendly to the Colonies would give it a fair trial, by building a house, and using no timber but that of the Colonies. Let him then make the bond- timbers of red pine or hemlock, the joists of spruce, the flooring and inside finishing of white pine, the D 'i ' ::1 ^'■^'f\ h mmm 50 sashes of red pine or black bircli, the outside work of red pine, and the roof of larch, and I will ven- ture to say that he would have no just cause of complaint. It may be said that he would like to have handsomer doors than painted pine ; then let him have black birch, or bird's-eye maple, or mix them, if he prefers it, having maple pannels, which would have a very good effect. It may be said, why, then, if your timber be so very good, should it not bear an equal duty with that of Norway ? I will answer, for six good and, in my humble opinion, sufficient reasons. 1st. Because a strong prejudice exists against it, and it does not fetch so high a price in the market. 2d. Because the voy- age bears no compari^ i. 3d. Because we cannot build or navigate our ships as cheap. 4th. Be- cause the seamen employed in the trade are hardy good sailors, fit for the royal navy in case of war. 5th. Because the colony receives payment in Bri- tish manufactures; and lastly, because we are British subjects, and deserve protection. It will be well here to remark, that a very in- jurious system prevails among the timber mer- chants in England, of requiring the timber to be squared up to a proud edge, as it is called, and allowing so small a proportion of wane, or the exterior of the tree, to remain ; by which means the strongest and best part of the timber is cut off, and wholly lost, and the timber very materially reduced in size, in order to bring it to the shape required ; indeed so essential does it appear, that 51 timber will not sell, unless manufactured in this manner, and the Legislature of the province has consequently been obliged to frame the laws for the regulation of the commodity agreeably to the views of the English timber merchant, much to the injury and waste of the material. 1 )r 1 ..I i'^ yi d2 CHAPTER VII. DISTRICT, No. 1. District, No. 1, comprises parts of the counties of St. John, King's, and Westmoreland, the par- ticular boundaries of which are described as fol- lows ; viz. from the mouth of the River St. John, following the shore of the Bay of Fundy easterly, to the mouth of the Peticoudiac, and up the said river and its branch, the Anagance, to the portage leading to Salmon River ; thence along the said road, down the Salmon River, and the Kennebec - casis, and the River St. John, to the place of com- mencement. RIVERS AND LAKES. St. John's River takes its rise in several copious springs near the source of the Chaudiere, and rapidly flows through a rich tract of country, in a large channel, receiving the River St. Francis, the Meriumpticook, Fish River, and others, until it joins the Madawaska, whence it runs south-east- erly, preserving a smooth, deep, and placid course 53 to the grand cataracts. After being precipitated over the Falls, it takes a southerly course, with a channel about a quarter of a mile in width, and about twelve feet in depth, excepting where it may bo crossed by bars or bankc^ to a little above Kcl River, receiving its large tributaries, the lies- took and the Tobiquc; then easterly, passing P're- dericton, opposite to which it receives the Nash- wack, and about eleven miles below the town, the Oromucto, to Grimross Island ; and again south- erly from the mouth of the Jemseg, to the Bay of Fundy, through the harbour of St. John, after having run a course of nearly six hundred miles. At its entrance into the harbour, the river passes through a fissure of solid and overhanging rock, exhibiting every appearance of being formed by some convulsion of nature. The volume of water collected in such a length of course being here compelled to pass through so narrow a passage as about thirteen hundred and twenty feet, occa- sions what are called the Falls of St. John, which are merely a sluice on a grand scale. At times of great floods, the appearance from the overhanging precipices is truly wonderful, and the noise tre- mendous, particularly on the ebb of the tide. The ordinary rise of the tide above the Falls is about six feet, and then only when the river is not swollen. The tide must flow twelve feet below, before the river at the Falls becomes passable for vessels ; and the time for such passage lasts about twenty minutes, after which the rise of the tide D 3 I! j] m m ." ■ '^i 54 creates a fall from below. The river is again pass- able for the same space of time on the returning tide, when the water becomes level ; consequently there are four times in the twenty -four hours when vessels can pass through, and at no other times whatever. The Kennebeccasis River takes its rise in West- moreland, in District, No. 2, and above the vale of Sussex it is more frequently calltd Salmon River. It is an inconsiderable stream, blowing rapidly through a valley formed by lofty ridges of hills, and meets the tide above Darling's Isl id, with which it widens into a large estuary, op ./ling into the grand bay of the Uiver St. John. The navigation for canoes, extends no higher than the mouth of Studholm's mill-stream, about eight miles above the head of the tide, and upwards of forty from its discharge into the main river. Hammond River rises in King's County, and falls into the Kennebeccasis at Darling's Island, near the head of the tide. ITiis river is not navi- gable, and it runs with a very strong cuiTent. The Mispec is a small river, receiving its source in the Loch Lomond Lakes, the water of which it conveys to the Bay of Fundy near Cape Mispee. Black River is also too small and rapid for navi- gation ; it falls into the Bay of Fundy, after work- ing an excellent saw-mill. Great and Little Salmon Rivers, Hawshaw and Shepody Rivers, are inconsiderable streams, rising 55 in Westmoreland, and falling into the bay over roughand rocky beds. The North River falls into the Peticoudiac be- low the Anagance ; it rises in Westmoreland, in District No. 3, in which it will be more particu- larly described. The Anagance has its source in King's County, and joins the Peticoudiac, where the great road from St. John's and Fredericton crosses it by a long wooden bridge. Paulet River and Coverdale River are small streams, falling into the Peticoudiac below the Anagance, but are navigable for several miles above their mouths. The Falls on Paulet River are peculiarly beautiful and picturesque. The pei*pendicular fall is about thirty feet, falling through a rocky chasm, surmounted by deciduous trees growing on a luxuriant soil. The Peticoudiac forms in its course a bold turn to the southward, which is called " The Bend," to which vessels of any burthen might ascend ; but owing to the danger arising from the return of the flood- tide, — there called " The Bore," — schooners of small burthen only, calculated to take the ground above the level of low-water, are employed in the navigation of this noble river. This danger ope- rates in preventing any navigation above the Bend, although the tide makes deep w^ater for more than forty miles above the mouth. There are a number of small lakes in this dis- trict, which discharge themselves into the Kenne- D 4 li. >A ■ t ■ 'i; 56 beccasis, or the Bay of Fundy, the principal of which are the Lock Lomond Lakes, which extend about ten miles in a chain, and nerer exceed one mile in breadth. Almost every river and brook in this district is well adapted for water-machinery, except saw- mills, on account of the want of pine and spruce of sufficient size. TIDES. The tide rises at St. John's sometimes forty feet,'^ but its ordinary rise is not more than eighteen ; and above the Falls, and in the Kennebeccasis Estuary, only six feet. At the head of the Bay of Fundy, and more particularly in the Peticoudiac River, the rise at spring tides will sometimes ex- ceed fiftv feet. The turn of the tide at low-water is truly tremendous, and which has obtained the name of the Bore. It rushes in with a velocity of six miles an h'^ur, with repeated waves, or swells, from three to five feet in perpendicular height, attended by a roaring noise, and force sufficient to drive away stones, mud, and the largest vessels from their moorings. The cattle are so well ac- quainted with its violent effects, that should they be near low-water mark, and at a distance from a place of safety, on hearing the Buie tiny nin bel- lowing towards the high land, and never cease the utmost exertions luitil tlH;y have attained security. 57 CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES AND SETTLE- MENTS. On the coast of the Bay of Fundy, and for some distance up the Kennebeccasis Estuary, it is al- most a bare rock, in many places not having a sufficiency of soil to produce the spruce, which is found the readiest to grow in such situations ; yet, owing to the contiguity of the markets of St. John, much of this sterile soil has been reduced to cul- tivation. The soil is very good around the Loch Lomond Lakes, on Hammond River, and the inter- vales of the Kennebeccasis. On the road from St. John's to Qu;ico, the land is poor and rocky, covered with an unpromising growth of stunted trees, but on the emigrant road to Shepody it is much better, and where the wilderness land among the improved lots is valued at five shillings per acre. At the junction of Trout-brook with the Kennebeccasis, there is a very beautiful tract of alluvial lanu, wholly cleared, but the upland around it is a dry gravel. This place is known by the name of Sussex Vale. The land above the vale is all poor, but the Kennebeccasis and all its branches to their sources are well settled. The land rises into eminences on both banks of this river, and is exceedingly poor, and consequently very little of it is tilled. Above the vale a lofty hill is de- signated Piccadilly Mountain, and a correspond- ing height on the opposite side has obtained the D 5 <;n ill, A:' ii 1 nil 58 appellation of Mount Pisgah. That part of the interior of this district which is within the county of Westmoreland is generally of a remarkably good character, but hilly, rocky, and broken by abrupt eminences and very deep precipitous ravines, and presenting at every step to those who are capable of appreciating the romantic and picturesque in so wild a situation, a very high treat. 'I'he Peticou- diac has not much very good land on its banks, but the contiguity of marsh and fresh meadow-land, added to the advantages attending proximity to so noble a river, have induced people to settle it and all its branches to near their sources. On the whole with regard to settlements, very nearly all the land in this district westward of a line ex- tended from Quaco to Sussex Vale may be con- sidered as granted or located, eastward of such line few settlements will be found at a distance from the rivers. The city of St. John is the emporium of the whole of the inland trade of the province, con- nected with the navigation of St. John's River, and in this respect no other port in the province can ever compete with it. In 1824, the city consisted of about 1000 houses and 8200 inhabitants ; and I have much reason to believe that it has greatly increased since that time. It has an elegant bank, and a court-house of stone ; one church of stone and one of timber, on the episcopal establishment ; a kirk of Scotland, a Roman Catholic chapel, and several other places 59 )t o 11 of worship, some of which are built of substantial materials, and of an elegant appearance. A large number of houses are now built with brick, nearly all of which are capacious, commodious, and ele- gant. Its citizens are enterprising, active, public- spirited, and well-informed. MINERALS. Limestone in great abundance, suflScient for the consumption of ages, is found in the neighbour- hood of St. John's. Grindstone, freestone, and gypsum, are plentiful along the shore of the bay ; hermatite, red cornelian, lilac amethyst, serpentine stalactites, are found in different places ; lemiiian earth, talc, epidote, and limestone at Hampton ; plumbago at Norton ; coal, gypsum, bog-iron, black garnet, and limestone at Sussex ; copper, soap-stone, coal hepatic, and chalybeate springs at Monctoii ; alum, chalcedony, and bole, at Hopewell ; and hepatic springs are foimd on Paulet river ; manganese of good quality is met with at Quaco ; and excellent and abundant salt springs at Sussex Vale. \i BYE-ROADS. This district, particularly near St. John's, is intersected with tolerably good carriage ways; for the density of the settlements has given many advantages in the laying out of the parochial sta- D 6 ^ 60 tute labour. The great road to Halifax has already been described ; another road ascends the banks of Hammond River, another leads from the city to Loch Lomond, and a tolerable bridle road to Shepody, besides several short ones along the bay shore, and others connecting the detached set- tlements. A tolerably good road also leads up the Coverdale River, and another up the Paulet. These roads, generally speaking, are not fit for carriages. PRODUCTIONS AND EXPORTS. St. John furnishes Fredericton with a consider- able quantity of the lime she consumes, and the whole of the interior on the river St. John with English, West India, and American goods. Grind- stones and gypsum used to be great articles of ex- port to the States, but the restrictions of the Ame- ricans have nearly put a stop to that trade. Pine timber is the gieat article of export, which is brought from the different branches of the river in rafts of from 200 to 2000 tons each. Deals in considerable quantity, the raanufac* .tre of the country, are exported to England ; and one inch boards of pine and cedar shingles to the West Indies. Ship-building has been carried on here to a great extent, and the whole of the vessels are exported to England. r 3B CHAPTER VIIL f DISTRICT, No. -2. District, No. 2, comprises part of the county of Kent, and part of Westmoreland, and its particular boundaries are as follows, viz. : Ascending the Cocagne river from its mouth to its source, thence south by the Magnet to the north branch of the Peticoudiac, and down the said river to the Bay of Fundy, thence along the bay shore easterly to the Nova Scotia boundary, along the said boundary to Bay Verte, and along the bay shore and the shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence northerly to the mouth of Cocagne river, as first mentioned. RIVERS AND HARBOURS. The Cocagne rises in the county of Westmore- land, near the north branch of the Peticoudiac, falling into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, after having traversed a course of eighty miles. The tide flows about seven miles above its mouth, through which t. V ^ent it is navigable for square-rigged vessels, and the harbour has good anchorage for ships of six- 1.30X1 fret draught. The river is navigable for m % \ 62 canoes about twelve miles above the level of the tide, at all ordinary seasons. The Shediac river, called by the Acadians Gidaic, is a very small river rising in Westmoreland, falling into the Gulf through a large bay, which affords anchorage, though rather unprotected, under the shelter of Shediac Island. The only entrance to the har- bour is on the south side of the island, where the channel is wide, and sufficient for vessels of seven- teen feet draught. This harbour is famous for a great abundance of excellent oysters. Shediac Bay also receives the Shadouk, a small unnaviga- ble stream. The Aboushagen, the Great and Little Che- mogue, the Tedish, and the Gaspereau, are small unnavigable streams, except for the distance which the tide ascends, and in few of them that scarcely exceeds one mile. They rise in this district, and fall into the Gulfl Bay Verte takes its name from the quantity of salt water grass which grows in the mud, and floats upon the surface. It admits of few advantages in a commercial point of view, as only small vessels can discharge their cargoes even within some miles from the shore. The Missiguash rises in Westmoreland, and empties into Cumberland bason. It possesses no other importance than that of being the division between the two provinces, and having on its banks a large quantity of diked marsh and culti- vated land. 63 The Eau Lac and the Tintamarre rise in West- moreland, and arc very small unnavigable streams above the tide. The tide, however, has formed on their margins large tracts of valuable salt- marsh, which have drawn to their neighbourhood as rich a settlement as adorns any river in the province. The Memramcook empties into the mouth of the Peticoudiac on its eastern shore. The navi- gation is only for boats about eight miles, the height to which the tide ascends ; but vessels of small burthen frequently sail up to Dorchester Island, about two miles below the town of Dor- chester, and not higher on account of the dangers and inconveniences attending the flood-tide. TIDES. On the shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence the tides are extremely irregular, and subject to the caprices of the wind. The greatest rise is usually on the third day after the new and full moon, and which seldom exceeds three feet and a half, al- though it may occasionally attain a rise, when accompanied by a strong wind, of fivo feet. In Cumberland bason, in the Tintamarre, Memram- cook, and in the Peticoudiac, the rise sometimes exceeds fifty feet. TTMBER. In this district but very little pine timber is to be procured, and what timber is found consists H •t i 64 almost wholly of birch, sapling red pine, and a very little spruce. This scarcity of timber renders this district ineligible for the erection of saw-mills, but the quantity of grain raised in this agricultural couTity gives encouragement to many grist-mills. ROADS AND SETTLEMENTS. No district of the province equals this for good roads, and the neighbourhood of St. .Tohn's can alone enter into any kind of competition with this highly improved part of the country. Besides the main road from Halifax to Fredericton, there are good caniage-ways between the Bend and Chediac, and from the latter place to Dorchester, and in the opposite direction to Cocagne. Another connects Cape Tormentine with the Halifax road ; a bridle road from the Chemogonic Lake to the above- mentioned one, and another along the Gulf shore from Chemogonic to Shediac. These roads are all fringed with flourishing settlements ; and d tached French villages are strewed over the triangle formed by the three main roads from the Bend to Shediac, and from both those places to Dorchester. Nearly all the houses in Dorchester and Sackville are good, and many of them are built with brick. PRODUCTIONS AND EXPORTS. Large quantities of the best hay are raised on the diked marshes of the Peticoudiac, Memram- 13 05 cook, Tiiitainarre, and Missiquasli ; much of which is sent during the winter to the lumbering districts Nos. 4 and 6. The marshes on the Gulfs shore produce much saH hay, for which the owners fnul a market at Richibucto and Kouchibouguar Butter and cheese in large quantities, and beef, pork, mutton, and poultry, as well as working horses and oxen, are sent to Miramichi. Not more than ten or twelve cargoes of timber, con- sisting of sapling red pine, are exported from those ports of this district which communicate with the Bay of Fundy ; but considerable ship- ments of grindstones, freestone, and gypsum, arc mado for St. John's, Nova Scotia, and the States. From Cocagne and Shediac, about ten cargoes of timber and mill lumber are exported to England and Halifax ; and ship-building is carried on at both those places, at Sackville and the Bend, but not on an extensive scale. }!'. ' ft . ■',t: , IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) II I.I 11.25 If 1^ 1^ Iti 140 1.4 1.6 6" _SciaiGe^ Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MSM (716) 872*4503 \ •^ \\ ;\ '^ )1 .' ) • i '■ ■■■ ' .ft ♦•->■ . ' ' ■' ,1 CHAPTER XVI. . DISTRICT, No. 10. .'-.•(•■ ■■.'■' This comprises parts of the counties of York, Northumberland, and Gloucester, and is bounded on the south by the Tobique River, from its moutli to the Upsalquitch portage ; thence by Nos. 7 and 9, to the mouth of the Upsalquitch; then by the Restigouche, and the route to St. John's River, by the Avaganeits and the Grand River ; and on tho west by St. John's River, between the Grand River and the Tobique. RIVERS. The Tobique is one of the most considerable branches of St. John's River, and rises in the still unexplored parts of the country. It is navigable for boats sixty miles without any very considera- ble obstructions, preservino; a general mdth of about ten perches throughout that distance. — Grand River is not a very large stream, but it is navigable for several miles above the Avaganeits BB1 97 portage, which is about twelve miles from its mouth, and it flows through a very small tract of country. Its current is not rapid, and its banks are not precipitous. Salmcm River is an incon- siderable stream, and so very rapid and rock}', that no timber has yet been floated down its bed. It discharges into St. John's River, about seven miles below the cataracts. SETTLEMENTS, ROADS, AND CHARACTERISTIC QUALITIES OF THE SOIL. The whole front of this district on St. John's River is well and thickly settled, particularly above the cataracts ; but no road is yet laid out for the use of the inhabitants. The settlement of Madawaska commences a little above the Falls, and extends in an unbroken line of clearance, half a mile towards the rear, to the Madawaska River, which is above this dis- trict. Two persons have settled on the south side of the Tobique, also without this district, and no other persons have formed settlements in the in- terior. The soil is exceedingly good, but the face of the country being precipitous, mountainous, and rocky, has prevented people from settling, and retarded its improvement. If ! m i m I ;t MINERALS. .:■ Freestone of good quality, but red in colour, is F •• found on the Tobique, as well as fine slate and gypsum, all convenient for navigation in tow- boats. , .. ;.- - - /•-■>" ■■•■;';. TIMBER. J The Tobique has been, and still remains, the mine of the lumber-man ; its red pine is not ex- ceeded in size in any part of the world ; and the white pine, if well manufactured, and made sub- ject to a rigid survey, would be found undeserving »)f the bad name which it has acquired. Abund- ance of pine is to be found on the banks and in the vicinity of the Restigouche; but the rough- ness of the country, and the quantity to be ob- tained in more convenient situations, have pre- vented any from being yet cut above the Upsal- quitch. This district is by far the best timbered, and the least settled in the province. PRODUCTIONS. ftnrt y-' White and red pine timber are almost the only articles of export; but hay, grain, and esculent roots are raised in the settlements. ■.;■;','; ir4 ,..>■'> ■■mIKJ CHAPTER XVII. DISTRICT, No. II. This district embraces part of the north- eastern angle of the county of York, and is bounded on the north by District No. 10 ; on the west, by that part of St. John's River which is between the mouth of the Tobique and that of the Nashwack ; on the south, by No. 5 ; and on the east, by No. 7. ll RIVERS. The branches of the Tobique in this district are, the Otella and the Gulquack, both small streams, and the Wapskehagan, which is a considerable river, and navigable for canoes. The Peckagwimick is a small river, emptying into the St. John, and too rapid for any kind of navigation. The Nackackwickack, the Macktuquack, the Keswick, and the Nashwacksis, are small rivers discharging into the River St. John, but having excellent land, and flourishing settlements on their banks. F 2 100 The Nashwack is a large river, emptying op- posite to the town of Fredericton, and rising many- miles in the interior of a country not much ex- plored. It is navigable for canoes after heavy rains into the Nabudagon Lake, through which it communicates, by a portage of only three miles, with a branch of the South-west River of Mira- michi, but not more than fifteen miles up at ordi- nary seasons of the year. The Tay and the Na- budagon are its principal branches, both of which streams wash excellent land. II SETTLEMENTS, ROADS, AND GENERAL QUA- LITY OF THE SOIL. From opposite to the military portage on the Nashwack, down the banks of that river, up the River St. John to the Tobique, is nearly an un- broken line of flourishing farms, extending back- wards from a quarter of a mile to a mile and a half. On the Tay, the Nashwacksis, the Keswick, the Macktuquack, and the Peckaguimick, there are also fine and growing settlements, besides several in the rear of the Nashwacksis, the Keswick, and the Macktuquack. All these settlements have bridle-roads, or mere paths cut through the woods, which answer the purposes of communication for the settlers. The whole of this district comprises excellent land, excepting a tract of about forty square miles, 101 in the rear of the Macktuquack and the Peckagui- mick. TIMBER. White and red pine timber in immense quantities has been obtained for exportation in this district, and much remains, although it is not nearly so advantageously situated, on account of the gi'eater distance from the river and large brooks, by means of which it must be conveyed to the sea-port. The hard woods and ship-timber are abund- ant, and in most parts exceedingly luxuriant in their growth. PRODUCTIONS. Timber is obtained and taken to St. John in immense rails ; hay, oats, and maize, and, in good seasons, wheat flour, are brought to Fredericton, or sold to the lumber parties. All kinds of agri- cultural produce peculiar to the climate are raised in this district, and disposed of as above. Sawn lumber, for the English and West India markets, in considerable quantities, is manufactured. A '■' f3 CHAPTER XVIII. DISTRICT, No. 12. District No. 12 embraces that part of the county of York which is bounded on the south by Eel River and the Lakes of St. Croix, and the land- route between them ; on the west, by the United States and the disputed territory ; and on the north and east, by Districts Nos. 10 and 11. RIVERS. Eel River rises in a small lake, and after receiv- ing several branches which also rise in lakes, falls into the St. John, in the parish of Woodstock. In the lower twelve miles of its course it is so ex- tremely rocky and rapid, that canoes must be con- veyed over a very tolerable bridle-road to the head of the rapids ; after which, with the exception of one bad place, the river is still and deep to the lake. At the lake, it communicates with the North Lake of the Scoodie, by a portage two miles and a half in length, and which is a route much fre- quented by the settlers, as well as by Indians. 8 103 The River of St. Croix, within this district, is usually called Monument Brook, from the square cedar log erected and marked as the boundary be- tween the British possessions and those of the United States; it is not navigable, and it falls into the North Lake. The Meduxnikick is a large stream, rising in several considerable branches near the Matawam- keag in the State of Maine, and falls into the St. John, in the upper part of Woodstock, after work- ing a number of mills in both the British and the American territories. The PresquTsle River rises also in Maine, and falls into the St. John at the foot of an old military post, which has an extensive command of the river upwards and below. •The rivers Little PresquTsle and Des Chutes are small streams, rising in the disputed territory, and falling into the St. John, after having watered much excellent land. The Restook, called by the Americans Aroostic, rises in the disputed temtory, and flows for one hundred and fifty miles through a vast tract of ex- cellent land, which, were it not for the litigation now pending, would be immediately settled, and become the most flourishing district of the pro- vince. The river is navigable for many miles, fifty of which have been surveyed by Government ; and throughout that whole distance it preserves a gene- ral width of four hundred feet. Its banks are low and accessible ; rich islands and extensive tracts F 4 104 of alluvion arc frequent, and considerable planta- tions embellish both sides. It is the largest branch of the St. John, and superior to any for the quality of the soil in its neighbourhood, as well as for the volume of its water, and the extent of its course. SETTLEMENTS, ROADS, AND QUALITIES OF THE SOIL, The whole of the land in this district is of the very first quality, producing every kind of grain, maize, and esculent plants in the highest luxu- riance. Tlie whole front of this district on St. .John's River, nearly up to the Grand Falls, is, for the most part, an unbroken range of cleared land; but at the Falls, and a little above and below, but few clearances have been yet made. A small set- tlement has been established on the Presqu'Isle, and several extensive ones in the rear of Wake- field. In the neighbourhood of the Meduxnikick, not only on its banks, but many lots in the rear, are all thickly settled, even to the fifth tier or range from the River St. John, and several settlements are formed along the boundary line. All these flourishing settlements have bye-roads, or paths, made from house to house ; and the great Canada road on the bank of the St. John may be used for carriages as far as the Presqu'Isle. 105 TIi\IB£R. Tlic timber principally consists of the hard woods, but red and white pine, of the first quality, but not very abundant, are found scattered among the rock-maples, beeches, elms, butternuts, white ash, and other excellent timber trees, which are so large and abundant on the superior soils of thiH district. ' PRODUCTIONS. Agricultural produce, and a few home manufac- tures, are almost the only articles raised in this district. p F i ,A CHAPTER XIX. ' DISTRICT, No. 13. ' This district comprises the western part of the ccuiity of Charlotte, and part of that of York, being bounded by the United States in the west, by No. 12 in the north, and on the est by St. John's River, from the mouth of Eel River to the mouth of the Oromucto ; thence by the Oromucto to the Lake at its head ; thence by a line running west to the Magaguadavic, and by that river to its mouth. RIVERS AND LAKES. The Oromucto rises in a large, deep, anc^ beau- tiful lake in the county of York, fourteen mile > in length, and from four to five in width. The river is large but shallow, and flowing over a rocky but not a rough bed, to its jimction with the south branch, where it becomes deeper, and about four miles below very still and placid. Large vessels can float in this river for sixteen miles from its mouth, and many excellent ships have been built 107 it upon its banks. This river is navigable for canoes to the lake, and receives in its course the Erina, a ri\^let rising in a lake of the same name, the south branch, which will be described in No. 14, and the Rushagaunis. It falls into the river St. John, opposite to a noble island, to which it lends its name, and at the head of the deep- water navigation. The Rushagaunis is navigable for canoes as far as the mills, which are about four miles from its outlet. Long's Creek, or the Scoodawapskook, is a rivulet not navigable, discharging into the main river about two miles above the ferry, where the Canada road crosses about eighteen miles fi >m Fredericton; it furnishes power for two saw- mills, but is not settled in any other situations than at the mills. The Poquiock is a small river, rising from Lake George, unnavigable, but driving a gi'ist and a saw-mill, situated at its mouth. It issues from a deep fissure in the rocks, across which a short bridge has been easily constructed for the high- way, and forming one of the most beautiful and romantic cascades in the province ; it discharges about four miles below the Meductic falls in the main river. The Shugamock is a small river, rJsing in a lake, and flowing over a rough and rocky bed; it discharges into the main river, about five miles above the Poquiock, and is not navigable, but f6 m wfm tw'"' 108 furnishes ample power for a saw-mill lately con- structed. The River St. Croix, or rather that branch of it called the Cheputnecticook, as at present arranged for the boundary between this Province and the State of Maine, rises at the Monummt, which is a square Cedar log, standing in the midst of a quantity of large rocks, and it runs but a short distance before it falls into the North Lake, which discharges by a narrow gut into the Grand Lake, a very fine sheet of wa ter, about fourteen miles in length, and varying from two to five miles in width, and very deep. The lake is surrounded by a rocky and precipitous shore, particul&r v - the British side, and at its foot the discharge is through a very rocky and rapid passage, about eighty feet in width, and two miles in length ; it then falls into the Snepental Lake, which is a very irregular piece of water, greatly indented with bays and coves, and extending for upwards of twenty-two miles in length, frequently expanding into a width of four or five miles, and again contracting to only one, or even a less space. The river then pursues its course among rocks of stupendous sizt, and over falls and cataracts of the most wild and romantic kind. One rapid presents at a short distance the appearance of a quantity of hay- cocks being thickly interspersed in the bed of the river, and which phenomenon is occasioned by a large number of conical rocks. The place has obtained fi:om thence the appellation of the Haj 109 cock Rapids. The river then passes several low islands called the Grassy Islands, and afterwards widens into the Loon Lake, which is about three miles in length ; at the foot of this still water it falls about four feet perpendicular, but, owing to the abundance of water, ligiit skiffs are forced up by the lumber-men ; the river then flows very rapidly over a rough and rocky bed, passing a very large rock of several hundred tons, which was overset ]jy the ice and the timber some years ago, to a piece of smooth and deep water called the Peacock: and then it rushes with violence between precipices of very hard rock, in some places not sixty feet in width, and again expand- ing to a thousand, leaping from rock to rock, roar- ing and threatening death to all who resist its course. Near the head of the tide for several miles the river falls continually from ledge to ledge, and on these a number of saw-mills have been constructed, and the river is thickly strewed with them to the deep water. Notwithstanding all these obstructions, the enterprising lumber- man for'^'^s up with poles his light skiff laden with provisions in barrels for his party of men, occasionally unloading and carrying his vessel and its load where the cataracts present an insur- mountable baiTier to his navigatiol^ There are many islands in this river and its lakes, which have been divided by agreement between this country and the United States, but very few of which are valuable as respects the soil, and those i no in the lakes are bare rocks, with a thin covering of stunted White Birch. Timber and saw-logs obtained on the lakes generally require a period of three years to reach the mills or the harbour, as owing to the difficulty of getting them through the still water, where they are so liable to be acted upon by the wind, they require to be rafted together, or a boom of logs connected with withes drawn around the whole, and then warped by means of an anchor and a hawser to the foot of the lake. The rafts are here broken up and driven 're through the narrow thoroughfare, and in the li. t lake again rafted and warped to its foot, to be again broken up and driven to the mills, or to the harbour. There are many fine lakes, branches of this river, in Maine, and it seems almost beyond doubt that the other branch ought to have been deemed the St. Croix, and this name has, indeed, been so handed down by the Indians. This river, on the British side, receives several tributary streams, among which the following are the principal : — The Canous, navigable for a very short distance ; the Moannes, and Dennis streams, neither navigable; and the Waweig, which is navigable for skiffs and caiioes only about five miles, and has a good bridge over it about six miles above its junction with the St. Croix, where the Frederictou and St. Stephen's road crosses it, and which is also the head of the tide. The Schoodie, or St. Croix, (for it has both these names,) discharges into the Bay of St. An- Ill drew*s, preserving a deep channel through that bay, between Moose Island and Campo Bello, to the Bay of Fundy. The tide flows to St. Stephen's, which is situated at the Lower Falls, thirty-two miles from the Bay of Fundy. The Digdequash rises in York County, and is navigable for skiffs and canoes for twelve miles, and falls into Passamaquoddy Bay, eastward of St. Andrew's. The Chamcook is a small stream, discharging into Passamaquoddy Bay, and only remarkable for the paper manufactory upon it, being the only one in the province. The Magagaudavic is a fine river, as respects length of course, and the volume of its waters; it rises in the County of York, and follows a southerly course through several lakes to its discharge into the Bay of Passamaquoddy, receiving consider- able contributions from a number of large streams. The tide flows only two and a half miles up to the foot of the Lower Falls ; and it is thence navigable, with the exception of a few places where there are falls, or very bad rapids, (of which, indeed, there is nothing but a succession, and round the worst of which there are carrying-places,) upwards of sixty miles to the lakes : light skiffs and canoes caiTying from six to eight hundred weight, and two or three men, are the usual craft on this river, well as the Schoodic. As for mill-streams. ( as every river, brook, and rill on the Bay shore, or 112 on its rivers, has a mil] of some description, either saw, lath, or grist. TOWNS. St. Andrew's was laid out about the year 1784, and is now a flourishing and pretty town, consist- ing of more than 300 houses, and 2200 Inhabit- ants, and having a church, a Scotch kirk, and a Catholic chapel. It is believed that it has in- creased in population not less than forty per cent, since the census of 1824. St. Stephen's is a small but fast-improving vil- lage, situated at the head of the tide of the Schoodic, where three long bridges are constructed, which afford free communication with the American side. The mills on the river, doubtless, cause all the business which is here transacted ; and small craft are constantly loading for the West Indies with sawn lumber. There is a neat wooden church, of the Establishment, and one dissenting meeting- house. There are 100 houses, and about 600 inhabitants. bo inc mi bes An th( EXPORTS. The exports consist almost entirely of squared timber and sawn lumber, but the latter is the staple of their trade. On the Scoodic River alone, in 1819, there were forty-seven saws in full opera- tion, and cutting upwards of seven million feet of 113 boards annually. The quantity is now greatly increased, there being fifty-two saws, cutting ten million feet, superficial, of sawn boards and deals, besides laths. But this account includes the American side ; and, indeed, business is done there with but little division of interests. Ill PliiPilV!PPPPP CHAPTER XX. DISTRICT, No. 14. This district comprises part of the counties of Charlotte, St. John, King's, Queen's, Sunbury, and York, and is bounded as follows, viz. by No. 13, in the north and west, and by St. John's River to the mouth of the Oromocto in the east ; thence by the boundaries of No. 13, and by the Bay of Fundy. The south branch of the Oromocto is formed by the junction of two large brooks or rivulets ; the one called Shin Creek, which rises northward of the road from Fredericton to St. Andrew's, in a rocky and hilly country ; and the other called Back Creek, which rises in high and rocky land in the rear of the two counties of Sunbury and Charlotte. The south branch is navigable for canoes as far as the junction of the above branches, and is a handsome river. The Nerepis River rises in Sunbury County, near the Oromocto, and pursues a parallel course with the River St. John until it discharges into it IPIMi 115 about twelve miles above St. John's. It is navi- gable for boats about six miles, through low land, where the water is still and deep, and then it be- comes rapid, but flowing for the space of eight miles through rich tracts of intervale, bounded by high and rocky mountains, which form the valley of the Nerepis. At the upper end of this beauti- ful valley the river flows over a bed of rciks of a blue colour, very hard, and capable of a fine polish ; the whole length of the cascade is rather less than half a mile, and above it the river is navigable for canoes about ten miles. The Musquash is a small river flowing into Musquash Harbour through a tract of excellent dyked marsh into a harbour which is capacious and safe for vessels of four hundred tons burden. Le Proe River is a small stream running over a rocky hilly country, and falling over a precipice about forty feet high into Mace's Bay. The Magaguadavic is one of the largest rivers of the province, rising in the County of York, in District, No. 13, in which it is more particularly described. The Piskehagan is a branch falling into the Magaguadavic, about twenty-one miles from its mouth. Lake Eutopia is a fine piece of water discharg- ing itself into the Magaguadavic ; which also re- ceives contributions from a considerable number of other small lakes in this district. ^. 116 MOUNTAINS. Much of the highest land in the province is within this district, but compared with the Alle- ghanies, and other even inferior mountains, they can only be designated hills of the first class. The range of high rocky land on the right bank of the St. John River, from the head of the long reach to the mouth of the Nerepis, expends up the latter river on both sides about fourteen miles, leaving a valley about three miles in width. The rock composing the Nerepis ridges is of a granitic base, and that on the right of the river sweeps round towards the head of the south branch of the Oromocto, forming in many places almost inaccessible fastnesses. The whole shore of the Bay of Fundy is ^igh, precipitous, and rocky. SOIL AND SETTLEMENTS. The soil in this district is as various as the fea- tures of the country, but, generally speaking, it abounds not in that of the best description. The shore of the Bay of Fundy is altogether so rocky that the uplands may be considered sterile, affording only small detached tracts of good land. On the Magaguadavic the land is generally good, and settled as high as the Piskehagan. TIMBER. The timber of this district is sound, large, and 117 of good quality. It abounds on the Magaguadavic, and is principally manufactured by the numerous mills on that river, very little square timber being exported, llie fires of 1825 did incalculable mis- chief to the timber in this district ; many large tracts on the Magaguadavic, and between that river and the Oromocto being devastated. From the Oromocto, around the banks of the River St. John, and the shores of the Bay of '^undy, hardly a pine tree is to be found. The productions of the Oromocto and St. John Rivers principally consist of agricultural articles, sold at the towns of Fredericton and St. John's Cordwood for the latter town employs a consider- able number of small cralt on the river, and small pine timber in inconsiderable quantities is sent to St. John's for exportation. Spruce saw-logs are procured on the Le Proe, Musquash, and Poplogan, which are sawn at the mills on those streams into deals for exportation. The Maga- guadavic furnishes a very large supply of sawn lumber for the English and West India markets. A large quantity of hay is made in the marshes at Musquash for the consumption of St. John's, and the small parties procuring logs for the mills. In other respects this district does but little towards supplying the province with her agricultural de- ficiencies. '1 .•-1 -; ' "t : * CHAPTER XXI. DISTRICT, No. 15. Tins district comprises Grand Manan, and the Islands in Passamaquoddy Bay. Grand Manan, or Great St. Mary's Island, lies at the entrance of the Bay of Fundy, between the Grand Passage and the Bay of Passamaquoddy. It is about twenty miles in length, ^ ' averages about five in width. On the nortl side the shore is rocky, and presents no landing except in two small coves, but the southern coast is easy of access. Grand Harbour is about the middle of the island, which is not in repute, being only used by fishennen. Seal-cove, on the southern part of the island, is frequented by fishennen only ; but two small islands within it, one containing one hundred, the other one hundred and fifty acres, form a barrier for vessels. There are thirteen small islands on the southern side of Manan, the largest of which contains about two hundred acres, except White Land Island, consisting of nine hundred acres, and the smallest about twenty -five. Tlie navigation on this side is very dangerous, on :yjri«^ rmm ^•™p 119 account of the tides and numerous sunken ledges. The fishery for cod and herrings, which are gene- rally large, is very productive, especially in the autumn and winter. Nearly one-third of the island is covered with heath, but when cultivated it bears good grass. There are seven small lakes on Grand Manan, the least of which contains about fifty acres. Tlic woodland, where cultivated, j)ro- duces good wheat, winter rye, barley, and maize, potatoes, and other necessaries of life. There are no foxes, bears, snakes, toads, or any reptiles. This island is said to have been granted to Lord William Campbell, when Governor of Nova Scotia, but there was no settlement effected till the year 1784, at which time three persons took posses- sion under authority as was said from Nova Scotia, who admitted settlers under them. There is one saw-mill on the island, and a few vessels employed in the West India trade. The island experienced depredations during the late war witn the United States, and a brig and a schooner belonging to it were taken by the enemy. In point of situation and political importance, for puiposes of trade, and from the advantage of overlooking the Bay of Fundy, this island may be compared to the Isle of Man, or Guernsey, or Jersey j and may possibly become, at no distant period, an important naval depot. It is guarded by nature equally as much as Jersey, and there are several places, easily fortified, which will then be capable of effectual defence. Several minerals have been found on the island ; copper- ^1 pp npv ^^ 120 I- ore Jias been seen, but whether productive or not is not yet known. Indian Island, formerly called St. Altereuil, is much frequented by Indians, who have a common burying-ground thereon ; it con- tains about one hundred acres, and ^. ifects a divi- sion in the channel of the River St. Croix, the southern passage being Passaniaquoddy, and the other Indian River. This island was formerly a great place of traffic. A small bar island, on the southern point, was granted to a person in trade, who has erected a fish-house and a wharf thereon. It forms a small harbour in the eddy made by the Scoodic tide passing its extremity, where large vessels have lately loaded, but not in entire safety from southerly winds. Opposite »,o this point, an islet, or thram-cap, (as these are termed,) was once considered valuable for the purpose of drying fish thereon, but the whole of the fishing business car- ried on there and on the neighbouring pand-bar has been abandoned as unproductive. Another thrum-cap isk.nd contiguous to the above is of no value whatever. It may be found proper ere long to erect batteries for the defence of Indian Island on this point, but it is only inhabited by two fami- lies at present. Indian Island i'? entirely cleared; the ground is rocky, but productive of grass, gi'ain, and other necessaries ; and sheep thrive here. At the north- east end there is a very good place for fishing, which is much frequented by boats. From this point extends a chain of small islands to the en- 0< i m m m. tm mfnmm 121 trance of the river or passage, which form its northern bounds. They are five in number, and are called Sandy or Gull Island, Case's Bay, and Spruce Islands, and Pope's Folly, and Green Island ; the two latter of which are of very little value. The former are granted, under the Nova Scotia seal, to William Owen. Hound Case's Bay Island^ which contains about forty acres, there is a good fishery. This island is said to be the best situation in the Bay for curing fish, it possesses a good harbour for small craft, and is partly cultivated ; the others are very small. Moose Island is situated at the extreme point of St. Andrew's Bay, between the waters of the St. Croix and the Cobbescook ; and the chan- nels on each side are not wider than a few perches. It contains about two thousand two hundred acres, and was laid out into fifty and one hundred acre lots under Massachu;:,ett's, and which have again been subdivided by the original settlers and gran- tees into small parcels, wherever the situation rendered it peculiarly valuable for the convenience of tra«ie or fishing stations. On the east side, about the middle, an eddy is ^ormed in the cur- rent by the separation of the two channels before mentioned, which extends a considerable dis- tance, and forms a good fishery, and renders the island here readily accessible at all times. The soil of this island is generally sandy, but raises good Indian corn, and other necessaries usual to these islands. In time of war a great G I! ■ui«uj. iupijj| pi^pWHH 122 force would be necessary to maintain it ; it has but one commanding position, which is on the St. Croix side. This island would not be very valuable to Great Britain, if she had possession of it, as it would only afford facilities for smuggling, and would require a very considerable force to maintain it. It forms some convenient stations for outwai 1-bound vessels while waiting for a wind, though not very often used. Deer Island lies between Indian River and St. Andrew's Bay, and extends, with three other small islands, to the main passage. The soil is gene- rally very indifferent and the surface broken : it has several strong positions, and can be easily held against an enemy ; but it has no safe harbour for shipping. The three small islands before mentioned are of the following descriptions. A nari'ow island containing about two hundred acres, between which and Deer Island there is a narrow passage for boats, and another for vessels separates it from La Tete Island. This island is settled, its soil good, the situation unobjectionable, and its aspect favourable to agriculture. La Tete Island is high and broken, and contains about four hun- dred acres, but is not settled. The other small island is in front of the one last mentioned, which has been settled, but now is deserted. It contains about fifty acres, and is fit for a fisherman. Near the south-east end of Deer Island there ^9m Wl» 'W^ 123 are three other small ones, one of which, called Bean's Island, has two families settled upon it. There are also about ten small islands between this chain and that near the river called Passa- maquoddy, already described. One has been occupied for the curing of fish, and the largest is settled by two families, but it is of very small extent. There are only seven of these islands which are any way capable of settlement, and that only with the chief purpose of a fishing station. The waters among them are very dangerous for navigation. Campo Bello, or Passamaquoddy Outer Island, includes all the small ones on the south side of the Passamaquoddy River, until it merges in the Cobbescook, on the western side of Moose Island, containing about four thousand acres. The small islands are, Whiteheid, or Penguin Island, almost adjoining the main island at the north-east end ; and Ho^-^e Island, corrupted from Penguin Hors, or Ouu i Whitehead ; both are nearly enclosed by the main isl nd, with a long head-land to the northward gorge of the l»ay of Passamaquoddy, and are marks not to be mistaken by navigators in gaining the different (^hannels through La Tete, and up the River Quoddy. These islets form a good barrier to Head Har- bour, which is long and narrow, but snfe for boats and small vessels. There is good boat- fishing off tl end of Campo Bello. The Island of St. Croix, called of late Allen's g2 H ]V 124 Island, it being occupied by one William Allen, an American, and formerly called Hibbard^s IsUnd, contains about seventy acres, but no har- bour, nor has it any other particular advantage, excepting its situation as respects the frontier of the United States, although it cannot be easily fortified. Between the St. Croix and the Campo Bello, there is also an islet, containing about one acre, inclusive of the rocks. It may be fortified with little expense, but it wants water, and is commanded by the American main land. Campo Bello has a large harbour, called De Sute, at the extremity of which a space of nearly one mile square is dry at low water, and has an entrance, which might be docked for three thousand pounds, and made very useful to government. The soil of this island is remarkably good, and the climate more genial than on the main. The winters are not so severe, cattle require less provender ; and wheat, oats, barley, peas, rye, maize, and all the usual vegetables, thrive very well. The French formerly settled this island, and the Campo Bello Company, in 1770, found one family on it, whom they allowed to remain. That Company, after having coutributed largely to the settlement of this and the other islands, were compelled by the American revolutionary war to relinquish their trade, and all their claims on the extensive grant on the main land, as well as on Moose Island. They established a town on Harbour De Sute, called Warrington, where the sessions were held, 125 and all public business transacted, until the Com- pany abandoned the country and all further specu- lation in it. There are fifty families in this island, all flourishing, and living by the fishery : and they own eight vessels, all of which are employed in the plaster-trade. This island would be greatly increased in value, were a communication opened with Quebec, by the head of the Bay of Fundy, as an entrep6t for flour, staves, fish, &c. for the West India market, in all seasons. The late war with the States proved highly injurious to this island. There are several situations here, which might at a small expense be rendered impregnable, among which is Brucker Hill, which is fortified by nature. About eight thousand tons of plaster were reshipped a few years ago, and fish and oil to the value of at least two thousand pounds ex- ported by the settlers. This island is generally esteemed a place of great importance to the secu- rity of the trade of the Province, and a useful and necessary station for vessels of force, in the event of war with the United States of America. G 3 CHAPTER XXII. Having giren such a general description of the country as will, I think, answer my purpose, I shall proceed to lay before my readers a short ac* count of the institutions of the Province. New Brunswick forms part of the general government of the North American provinces, being included in the Governor-General's commission ; but, ex- cept when he is present in the Province, the Lieu- tenant-Governor, who is appointed to the com- mand of New Brunswick by a separate commis- sion, is in every respect the Governor ; and the Province is now happy in having so distinguished an officer as Sir Archibald Campbell to preside over her interests ; he is assisted by an executive council of twelve, whenever he thinks proper to call upon those gentlemen for their advice and opinion. The executive council also constitutes the legislative council, and forms the same branch in the constitution of the province as the House of Lords in England ; but their station is not here- ditary, being appointed by the King, under a re- commendation from the Lieutenant-Governor. The House of Assembly consists of twenty-eight mem- 127 bers, who are chosen by the freeholders, and who represent the several counties as follows, viz. i 'k, four; St. John, four; City, St. John, two; King*s County, two ; Queen's County, two ; Char- lotte, four; Sunbury, two; Westmoreland, four; Northumberland, two ; Kent, one ; and Gloucester, one. The population of New Brunswick, accord- ing to the census taken in 1824, amounted to se- venty-four thousand souls ; but I have reason to believe that the above was far short of the actual number then in the province, and there can be no doubt it has greatly increased since that period, not only from natural causes, but from the influx of emigrants from the mather-country. The common law of England is applicable in New Brunswick, and mostof the provincial enact- ments are founded upon the laws of England. The administration of justice is easy and impartial, there being a chief-justice and three assistant judges, who are men of the highest respectability and character ; they perform regular circuits to the different county towns, for the trial of prisoners and other legal business, where the greatest order and decorum invariably prevail, and where the poor man will obtain equal jui^tice with the rich. There are also quarter sessions held in the several county towns ; but much legal knowledge cannot be expected from the bench of magistrates, few of whom have ever paid any attention to it. The jurors are generally men of respectability and in- g4 U 1 '...JK^ mm 1*28 telligence ; and these courts are, therefore, quite as good as can be expected in so young a country. New Brunswick is included in the diocese of Nova Scotia, an^ the establishment of the Church of England consists of the archdeacon as its head, who is rector of Frederic ton ; he is a man of the most amiable and conciliating manners, of the most iiTeproachable character, and eminently qualified to fill the important station he holds. There are be- sides 30 missionaries, who receive a certain stipend from their parishes, besides a regulated allowance from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. They are all men of excellent character, and are most deservedly respected throughout the Pro- vince. There are also several of the Roman Ca- tholic clergy, and some Wesleyan missionaries, who are all, I believe, very respectable and good men. King's College, at Fredericton, lately erected at considerable expense, is a handsome building of the Doric order. It is liberally endowed by His Majesty, as well as by the provincial legislature, and possesses besides a valuable tract of more than five thousand acres of land, in the immediate neigh- bourhood of the town. The education of youth is there carried on with every regard to their com- fort, morals, and future prbgi*ess in life, under pro- fessors of high character and attainments ; and the expense to the student is so moderate, that it is within the reach of a great many persons ; and mm 129 although at present the number of students does not, I believe, cfxceed twelve ; yet, as the Province advances, I hope to see young men who have been educated there, prove a credit to themselves, and a future ornament and lasting advantage to the Province. In addition to the college, there is an excellent grammar-school in each county, besides numerous schools in the several parishes for the education of the children of the lower classes ; and as all these establishments are liberally paid by the legisla- ture, the sums required from the pupils are so moderate, as to exclude no persons from availing themselves of these advantages. In conclusion, I will address a few words of advice to those persons who may be inclined to proceed to this inviting country, where there are neither tithes nor taxes, but a moderate poor-rate is required from all persons, according to their pro- perty, for the support and care of such poor who, from age, sickness, or other infirmities, are unable to provide for themselves. There is also a certain portion of statute labour to be performed upon the road by all persons in proportion to their wealth ; and I am sorry to say, that in almost all cases it is done with a bad grace, so much so, that half the amount of labour, under proper management, would do more work. Should a person possessing 1 ,000/. and upwards, proceed to New Brunswick, I should recommend him to purchase a farm which is already made to 130 his hand, and most likely having a house and bam on it : he will perhaps get one to suit him for 400/. or 500/., leaving more than enough to buy stock, furniture, &c. so that he will have a consi- derable sum remaining for any future occasion. Taking it, therefore, for granted, that he is indus- trious, and willing to work himself, having a family to assist him, his £Burm ought to produce him abundance for the comfortable support of himself and family. A person possessing from 100/. to 1,000/. might purchase such a tract of crown land as could not fail to make, in a few years, a beautiful farm ; he would have to pay from 2«. 6d, to 5«. 6d, an acre, according to the situation and quality of the soil, he will then perhaps employ people to clear as many acres as he thinks he can manage, get a log- house, and perhaps a small bam built ; and that man is in a fair way of enjoying comfort and inde- pendence. Persons with less capital than 100/. would, of course, hire themselves out to sei*vice, and would receive good wages, but the price of labour is not near so high as it was in 1824 ; in that, and the succeeding year, a labourer could scai'cely be hired under five shillings a day, but now the usual price is about half-a-crown, and as it will be perceived by the table of prices current, that provisions are very cheap, a man can provide himself with food at a trifling cost. I would not recommend emigrants to take any fiurniture with them, but all articles of bedding and clothes should 13 > >ii w » »m 131 of of course forai part of their baggage ; if they have a gun it may also accompany them, and should they have the means to purchase a small steel hand-mill for grinding wheat, it would no doubt turn to good account in a new settlement, which may possibly be far from a mill. Mechanics should, by all means, take out their chest of tools with them, as those articles are very dear. Masons and bricklayers get about eight or ten shillings a day ; carpenters from six shillings to seven shil- lings and sixpence ; and all other mechanics in proportion. The voyage to New Brunsi^dck is very short, and varies from three to five weeks : the passage money is low in proportion, and including food is only about four or five pounds ; half-price for children, and for infants nothing. There are so many excellent ports in New Brunswick that an emigrant can scarcely go wrong ; but if he is anxious to get immediately into the interior, the river St. John affords him the best opportunity, and abundance of superior land is to be found near its banks. From the port of St. John an emigrant can make his way to Fredericton, by a steam-boat, for 28, 6d* ; and the public offices being at Frede- ricton, it would be well for him to get up there as soon as he can, if he wants land, although the deputy-surveyors at the different ports can explain to him where he can get land, and are always ready to afford him every information. There is also an agent for emigrants at St. John^s, who t#f« 132 would pay him every attention, and infonn him where he would be likely to find employment. If, therefore, there are persons, who, with a small capital, would like to improve it, — persons with a few hundred pounds who would wish to live com- fortably on their own faitn, — industrious mecha- nics out of work, who would wish to save money, — or hardy labourers, who can get no employment, and who tvould be glad to have a little farm of their own, — let them proceed to New Brunswick, and they must be either very unfortunate or very care- less if they do not succeed. ■"• wm~ "■■v*J5'""-mrKfffr"f^' "T" " ilti' ■/ ••"Vf! A TABLE OF PRICES CURRENT. Beef, in summer time per lb. 6 Ditto in winter, at which time it may be^ preserved for many weeks in a frozen s 3 state 3 Mutton 6rf. to lid. Veal 4 Pork 7i A fat Goose 2 6 Fowls each 10 Ducks 19 Turkey per lb. 9 Salted Pork per barrel 5 X Herrings , 10 Mackerel 1 Salmon 3 Shad 2 Flour, best 2 f,MW)«