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M II >■■«' r^ ^ ; ^4 BRITISH COLONIES I %\ IV NORTH AMERICA. •> a i 3 5 3 1')'' ' * 1 ) a J > » •» 1 j ■» J n 7 » •> S i 9 3 3 1* « « S^^ THE MARITIME PROVINCES. ,/^- ■ PUBLISHED UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE COMMITTEE OF GENERAL LITERATURE AND EDUCATION, APPOINTED BY THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING -4 CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. LONDON: PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE; SOLD AT THE DEPOSITORY, GREAT aUEEN STREET, LINCOLN'S INN FIELDS; AND 4, ROYAL EXCHANGE; AND BY ALL BOOKSELLERS. - v"f 1848. t a » « » > .1 9 * « « »» « It 9 1 ') 9 a • > • a • • 3 > • • • a t w • • « • • • t » > • I • • • « • ■■'/*• • • ,%»'. 4 1 ■) » • ci a a > '» . » (3 i ,^ g c? V .> ft > a l> 'J * o J J J a ;> ' '■' " 5 ,7 Zimdtm:Rthtirht>d hif Me Soaefy Av pnm u thn ft I P< W mujhtit. 184S. fed hff lite Saeieljf Arr p nu n n i o uf (hntHan. Jbun/Mge. II i iVd l l ^ i - i t i " I — • • Lf 1/ -.. • • # • t • • • • • • » • • • • • • I' • • • • a • • • • • • •• t» • ••»■• ••• « * • •• • « • e 1^ •f » 4 « • • ft • • « * • i • * •« • # • • ■•■ « • •• • « * « • • • • » •^?i*v^V<" LONDON : R. CLAY, PRINTER, BREAD STREET HILL. '\^ -n ' on - >< >^:..-, n t PREFACE. '•v> The following account of the Maritime Provinces has been compiled in continuation, of, and for the same purpose as, the volume on Canada ; and, v^ith it, comprises all the British Colonies in North America ; the remaining portion, by so much larger in extent, and the importance of which is daily becoming more apparent, being under the rule of the Hudson's Bay Company, which was incorporated by royal charter in the reign of Charles II. So that although British territory extends to the Pacific, that immediately under legislative control is confined to a comparatively narrow slip on i3 ^"V, ^ ? ,^ I LI IV PREFACE. the Atlantic coast, and the shores of the great lakes of the St. Lawrence. As, how- ever, the tide of emigration is setting strongly to the West, it cannot be long before its southern portions, and the western coast, become the home of our countrymen, and present the same features of interest which belong to those already described, in addition to what it derives from the excitement in- cident to, and the energies displayed in, the fur-trade, as well as the magnificent scenery and mineral wealth of its mountain ranges* F ... .- . *v L L.1 i» t t J V" . : i ■;'■:■'= ,;,. .••,.^ '•■'•; t ■-.. ■- ■■,.^]-,i '.'' '.: * * » • ■. i :i ■| . '- •' ". . . * ! ■ '.'■,' '• . } ' : V '■■:-'VX « • •r .-:T ", -■. ^'" ^z, » / ,',-. %■ • 1 ^^" :..,rj CHAPTER I. ' .: *>! '.''"'' PRIMA VISTA AND NOVA VISTA. ;« I . ■ 'it »' " There is," says the wisest of men, " a time for all things under the sun," and no truth is more forcibly impressed on the pages of his. tory. The seeds of every great event can there be traced in progressive germinations^ and not unfrequently the premature develop- ment which destroyed for a time their vitality^ until a more genial season has arisen. > ;,| And this may teach us that events make men, and not that men control events, for scarcely can one man be pointed out whose actions had not been anticipated in idea by those who preceded him, and had perhaps rendered by their own labours that easy to him which was impossible to them. ; >| /;>: i/^ v*.vc BRITISH DOMINIONS The rapid development of the arts and sciences, for which the fourteenth century was so conspicuous, is not any exception to this general rule, nor do we detract from the fair fame of the giants of those days, when we trace the origin of their great discoveries and masterly performances in earlier times. It is no more disgrace to Columbus, that, before his first expedition to America, one of his countrymen had said that *' voyagers may soon reach another hemisphere;" than to New- ton, that he should add — "because everything tends to its centre.*' We see, indeed, the men, and we glory in the results of their labours ; but we do not see whence the impulse— the energy, has been derived, any more than when, gazing with admiration on the white capped billows, which, as in their own strength, rush impetuously towards the land, we recognise the mighty swell of the ocean, from which It in reality proceeds. • Hence, it not unfrequently happens, that the originator of some great event loses thd fame which is his due; and thus the hemi- sphere first seen by Columbus, has been named after Vespucci, while the former has IN NORTH AMERICA. and y was ) this e fair ;n we }S and , that, one of rs may )New- ythin^ lo men I ibours ; le— the when, sapped rength, nd, we in, from ns, that OSes th^ le hemi- las been mer has generally been esteemed the discoverer of its continent, an honour undoubtedly due, if not to John Cabot, to his son Sebastian. Before Columbus had obtained any assist- ance from the court of Spain, his brother in vain solicited aid from Henry VII. in that of England ; and, perhaps, after the fame of his discoveries had reached his ears, that over-cautious monarch repented his un- belief, for when a proposition was made to find a shorter passage in more northern lati- tudes to Cathay, he readily embraced it. There was then residing in England one already eminent among the navigators and geographers of the age, '^men capable of making sea-charts, and expert in globes, maps, astrolabes, and like convenient instru- ments," who, although an Englishman by birth, had, when young, been taken by his father to Venice, and in that great nursery of navigators imbibed the first principles of nautical science, and probably the outlines of those ideas which he afterwards so gloriously matured.* * Sobert Eden says he told him : — " He (his father) tooke me with him to the citie of London whyle I was m BRITISH DOMINIONS I ikt 14 X Sebastian Cabot was the second of the three sons of Sir John Cabot, a Venetian, occasionally resident in Erigland, who appears, from his son's account, to have died shortly after the news of the great discovery of Columbus; and, therefore, although some think that he commanded during the voyage in which the continent of America was dis- covered, it is more probable that the idea originated with him, but was carried out after his death by his son ; at least, thus far it is certain, that Peter Martyr, a com- petent witness, as, in his *^ Decades of the Ocean," he styles Sebastian his particular friend, whom he delights to have at his house, makes no mention of the father, although both patents of Henry VII. are granted to John Cabot, the Venetian, and his sons Lewis, Sebastian, and Sancius. The first, bearing date 5th March, 1496, permitted them ** to proceed with^^?^ ships to the discovery of new and unknown lands, unvisited and unclaimed by Christians, in the seas to the east, the west, and the north, very younge, yet hauynge, nevertheless, some knoTV ledge of letters of humanitie and of the sphere." IN NORTH AMERICA, and from and to the port of Bristol only ;" expressions which show, that not only did those ahle geographers expect to find the **meta incognita," or strait connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific, to the north of the newly discovered continent, since, unhappily, designated America, but that even at this time the voyage which subsequently opened the trade of Russia to England, and led the way to the discovery of that existing to the north of Asia, was had in contemplation by them, A second patent, extending the power to six ships, was granted in 1498, and the fol- lowing year a fieet of six vessels sailed from Bristol, two large and four small, one of the larger being fitted out by the King, and freighted by Londoners, the other probably by the Cabots themselves, and the smaller by merchants of Bristol. With these, manned by 300 men, they crossed the Atlantic, and made land on the 24 th of June, about five o'clock in the morn- ing. The point then seen was called •* Prima Vista," and is with much probability conjec- tured to have been part of the island after- wards named Baccalao. From thence sailing B 3 BRITISH DOMINIONS north, and finding, after '' certain dayes" the land still continent to the ^6th degree, and despairing to find the passage, he turned back again, and sailed down the coast towards the equinoctial, (ever with intent to find the said passage to India,) and came to that part of the " firm land" which is now called Florida, where his victuals failing, he returned to England, and the Scottish war having for the time distracted the attention of the country from nautical discovery, he went into Spain."*^ The remainder of the life of Sebastian Cabot, though not directly connected with America, deserves notice, if only to show the estimation in which he was held. He is said to have made a voyage in search of a southern passage, but, failing in the attempt, 'o have returned by way of the West Indies, and afterwards to have been solicited by the merchants of Seville to un- dertake to penetrate to India by the Stn. ts of Magellan, and visit the Spice Islands, as * There are differences in the accounts of fliis as of most other early voyages, both as to time and course, but that here given seems, upon the whole, the most consistent. IN NORTH AMERICA. f " the , and irned coast nt to lie to i now g, he 1 war jntion y, he astian with show earch n the )f the been o un- trc.ts Is, as s as of •se, but Bistent. Well as discover **Tharsis, Ophir, Oriental Cathay, and Cipango/' and load his vessels with gold, silver, precious stones, and other supposed products of those countries ; he sailed accordingly, and after experiencing the same opposition which Columbus had done from the pride and ignorance of the Spaniards, returned to Spain, after he had discovered the Rio de la Plata, and esta- blished a settlement upon it. We subsequently find him Pilot Major of Spain, and in that capacity placed at the head of the conclave of geographers and mathematicians, or, as they were then called, pilots, on whose decision the noto- rious papal bull, which fixed the boun- dary between the grants made by the pope to Spain and Portugal respectively, was founded. This office also gave him the control of all voyages of discovery, as no one could proceed on any without his license; and his fame was so great, that it was made a special article in the treaty between the King of Portugal and the Emperor, that he should not be employed in the discovery of the Spice Islands. , / . | 8 BRITISH DOMINIONS He remained in the Spanish service until the beginning of the reign of Edward VI. when^ under the patronage of the Duke of Somerset, he returned to England, and letters patent were issued, constituting him Grand Pilot of the kingdom, with a salary of one hundred three score and six pounds thirteen shillings and fourpence, yearly. After this, a company was established by royal charter, of which Sebastian Cabot was governor for life, for the discovery of a north- east passage to China ; and this successful and profitable scheme seems to have absorbed for the most part the energies of his mind, during the remainder of his days, which he closed, after a long life of usefulness, in riches and honour ; having so far accomplished his object as to open the trade of Archangel to the company, which, that its great and original object might not be forgotten, whether sought by the north-west, or north- east passage, bore the title of " merchant- adventurers of Cathay." At this time, if we reckon him to have been thirty when he discovered the coast of America, he must have been seven-five years old, and he could IN NORTH AMERICA. 5 until i VL ike of letters Grand )f one lirteen ed by 9t was north- ul and sorbed mindy ich he riches ed his langel it and ;otten, north- chant- , if we en he must could not have been less than eighty when he died, % i ■fa € The of the account given of the country and people of America as seen by him is interesting. "The inhabitants use to wear bears* skins, and have them in as great estimation as we have our finest garments. In their wars they use bows, arrows, pikes, darts, wooden clubs, and slings. The soil is barren in some places, and yieldeth little fruit, but it is full of white bears and stags, far greater than ours. It yieldeth plenty of fish, and those very great, as scales, and those which we commonly call salmons. There are soles (hallibut) also above a yard in length, but especially there is a great abundance of that kind of fish which the savages call baccalaos." * He procured cargoes probably of peltries, and brought three of the natives back to England, and found them, as Peter Martyr naively remarks, " not without the use of * Peter Martyr says they were like tunnies, but from the numbers spoken of, figuratively, as impeding the ships, they must have been cod. The tunny is a species of mackerel, and never found in such numbers on those coasts as the cod are. He also speaks of the bears feeding on fish. 10 BRITISH DOMINip^9 reason," He, as well as Columbus, noticed the variation of the compass. The 24th June is still kept in Newfound- land as the day of its discovery by Sebastian Cabot. He died in the year 1557. In 1500, the King of Portugal had given license to Gaspar de Cortereal to make a voyage to Baccalao, which, as we have seen, had been discovered by Cabot the year before. He entered and named Conception Bay, but in a second voyage lost his life, as did his brother Michael, in his endeavour to trace him ; but, nevertheless, a regular fishery was, in 1502, established on the coast by the Por- tuguese, and shortly after by the French, In 1523, Verrazani discovered Cape Breton,* and part of Nova Scotia, and from this time the coast was frequented by vessels from all parts of Europe, for the sake of the fisheries. In 1527, the Dominus Vobiscum and another vessel were fitted out in England if at w ♦ Verrazani was in the French service, and Cape Breton was probably so named from the Bretagne fisher- men frequenting it. IN NORTH AMERICA. 11 sliced 5und- istian given ake a seen, year Bay, lid his trace y was, e Por- h. Cape from (ressels of the ■m. for the discovery of the north parts of New- foundland and Cape Breton ; and in the same year, the Haven of St. John, where now the capital of the island stands, is mentioned in a letter from John Rut, master of a vessel employed there in fishing. In 1534, Jacques Cartier was sent to colo- nize the northern parts of the New World, under license from the King of France, and having explored the Gulf of St. Lawrence (which had, however, been previously visited by the Spaniards,) returned to France, but the following year pursued his discoveries as far as Montreal. Although England engaged in the fisheries, she did not arouse herself to the importance of colonization until 1536, when an abortive attempt was made by a Master Robert Hore, and divers other gen- tlemen. These, in all a hundred and twenty persons, sailed in the Trinity of 140 tons burden, and a smaller vessel called the Minion* After much suffering from want of food, they seized a French vessel laden with provisions, but, notwithstanding, suffered so much before they could return home, that even Henry VIII., moved by their 12 BRITISH DOMINIONS miseries, indemnified the French by payinpf for their loss, and the survivors by pro- motion. • The valuable territory which France hadi acquired in Canada enhanced in their esti- mation the value of the lands about the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and, accordingly, when Fran9ois de la Roque, Lord of Roberval, was sent out as Viceroy of Canada, Terre Neuve, or Nova Vista, now Newfoundland, Belle Isle, Carpon (Quiri- pon), Labrador, the Bay of Chaleurs, and Baccalao, as well as the island and coast near, and south of Bonavista, were included in his patent ; and it has been thought that this mention of Baccalao gives additional weight to the opinion of those who suppose the island therein so named to have been the first land discovered by Cabot in 1540 ; he met Cartier (who had previously sailed to Canada) on the coast, partially examined Cape Breton, Newfoundland, (still believed to be part of the main land,) and Labrador, and sailed up the river St. Lawrence, and ^rom thence returning to France, was on his voyage, the year following, lost, with a gallant IN NORTH AMERICA. y pro- ce had ir esti- ut the e, andy Roque, ;eroy of ta, now (Quiri- :s, and st near^ i in his lat this weight )se the en the 40; he iled to amined )elieved brador. company of adventurers, and all his vessels and their crews, < ' The fisheries were now rapidly increasing in importance. France and Spain had each at least 150 ships, while Portugal and Eng- land had only 50 — those of the latter be- longing principally to the ports of London, Bristol, Barnstaple, and Bideford ; but their value was now felt throughout the country, and combined with the losses sustained from pirates to induce some attempt at coloniza- tion, and accordingly, in 1579, Queen Eliz- beth granted a patent to Sir Humphrey Gilbert of Compton, in the county of Devon, Knight, " for inhabiting and planting of our people in America." , He sailed, but met with unexpected, mis- fortunes, the elements being not more propi- tious to the attempt than the jealousies of I some among the adventurers, so that he was 'obliged to return, but finally left Plymouth ion the 11th June, 1583, with 5 ships, and above 250 men, and arrived on the 11th July following off the harbour of St. John's. His fleet consisted of the Ealeighy 200; the Delighty 150; the Golden Hind emi the c 14 BRITISH DOMINIONS Swcdlow, of iO each, and the Squirrel, of only 10 tons burden. But contagious sick'- ness having appeared in the larger vessel, it was obliged to return to Plymouth, and its commander, Sir W. Raleigh, although Vice- Admiral of the squadron, did not proceed vtrith it. Among the crews he had shipped not only masons, carpenters, and blacksmiths, but morris-dancers, hobbyhorses, and every description of persons likely to attract the attention of savages, and enliven the adven- turers with their exhibitions. But the Swallow had been manned with pirates, con- demned to service in the fleet, who wrought, as might have been expected, much trouble subsequently, which they commenced by plundering a French vessel on the banks of Newfoundland. Sir Humphrey took possession on the 5th August with much ceremony, having seizin given him by a piece of turf and a wand of hazel ; proclamation of his patent was made in various languages, and contributions were levied from the fishing vessels in the harbour of St. John's, then amounting to thirty-six of dif- ferent nations, of which sixteen were English. I 1 firs by Bu his I des Squ 5 befi I par l Swc Hry, § whe .1*. heai pigs sage I onl] i boa : in S , som % sufi S sur^ itf( hon oft IN NORTH AMERICA. 15 rrely of IS sick-^ ^ssel, it and its h Vice* proceed shipped [smiths, d every ract the adven- »ut the es, con- TOUght, trouble ced by inks of ■I i i He also promulgated three laws, by the first establishing the National Church, and by the second and third the Royal authority. But the discordant elements existing among his company soon became apparent: many deserted, and mutiny was imminent ; but the Squirrel^ which had parted company in a fog before reaching the land, having made another part of the coast, the Admiral sent home the Swallow with the sick, and resigning for the present his intention of colonizing the coun- try, sailed with the other ships to Sable Island, where he expected to obtain supplies, having heard that the Portuguese had left cattle and pigs upon it thirty years before. In this pas- sage the Delight was lost off Cape Race, and only part of her crew, reaching the land in their boat, were subsequently carried to Passages in Spain, by a Biscayan vessel, after existing some time in the woods on berries only, and suffering great hardships. Sir Humphrey had been in the Squirrel surveying the coast, and now refused to quit it for the larger vessel, when about to return home; nevertheless he reached the parallel of the Azores in safety, but was then over* 16 BRITISH DOMINIONS taken by a storm so terrible^ that all quailed before its violence, except the gallant leader. He was seen from the Golden Hind sitting calmly on the deck of the little vessel, reading, and heard to bid his crew be of good cheer ; " for," said he, " we are as near to heaven by sea as by land." In the darkness of that awful night the lights of the Squirrel sud- denly disappeared, and thus perished one, not the least of those noble spirits whose deeds raised to the height of fame the name of England and her virgin queen. In stature above the ordinary size, of robust constitu- tion, and sanguine complexion, celebrated for his private virtues and prepossessing manners, for courage and prudence no less than for learning and wisdom, though formed by nature and finished by education to grace a court, he devoted his talents and fortune to maritime adventure, which indeed he ho- noured less by his life than by the faith and constancy that shone so conspicuously in his death. The Golden Hind alone reached England, but the disastrous results of the voyage could not quench the enthusiasm of Sir Walter R G fo P« ur p» i A I da I of 4 'w k .■V, IN NORTH AMERICA. 17 quailed , leader, sitting reading, I cheer ; aven by of that rel sud- one, not e deeds lame of stature onstitu- ebrated ssessing no less formed to grace rtune to he ho- le faith cuously England, te could Walter Raleigh, nor destroy the energies of Sir George Pecham, who, as he had devoted his fortune to the first expedition, employed his pen to stimulate his countrymen to a second ; and in 1607 Sir John Gilbert, Sir Hum- phrey's brother, revived his title, and en- gaged Sir John Poplar to fit out a fleet for America, but after passing the winter at Saga- dahooc, on the Kennebec River, on the death of Sir John his companions returned to Eng- land in the spring. The attention of Sir Walter Raleigh was now directed to Virginia, but Henry Hudson returning from his third voyage to the northward, having sailed along the coast of America from Newfoundland to Cape Cod, and the importance of the fisheries becoming daily more manifest, another patent was granted, and an expedition promoted by Mr. Guy, a Bristol merchant, who, with the assistance of Sir Francis Bacon, Lord North- ampton, Sir Francis Tanfield, and forty asso- ciates, styled themselves '* the treasurer and company of adventurers and planters of the cities of London and Bristol, for the Colony and Plantation of Newfoundland." The grant made to them extended from c 3 18 BRITISH DOMINIONS h-'" m ■J .1! 46^ to 52^ N. lat., from Cape Bonavista, at the north of Trinity Bay, to Cape St. Mary, to the east of Placentia Bay ; it included all rights even of minerals and metals, reserving only that of fishing, which was declared open to all British subjects: Mr. Guy sailed from Bristol with thirty-nine persons, and arrived at Mosquito Cove, Con- ception Bay, in the year 1610, where he built a residence, store-house and fort, which he mounted with three cannon, and rf=»*nained there two years, during which time he ac- quired the friendship of the Indians, and formed an agreeable estimate of the country, its climate and resources.^ He returned to England, leaving the colony under the command of William Colston, and during his absence six out of the twenty-five settlers left by him, who had been seized with scurvy, died, but returning in the summer of 1612, the rest recovered by using turnips. He surveyed the coast, but seems soon after to have abandoned the settlement. In the meantime the French were not inactive ; in 1598 the Marquis de la Roche sailed with the intention of colonizing Nova Scotia; he i H ►^ in A I pre IN NORTH AMERICA. 19 sta, at Mary, led all serving d open ty-nine 3, Con- le built lich he mained he ac- ts, and )untry, colony )n, and ity-five id with ummer urnips. ifter to n the ve ; in i with :ia; he touched at Sable Island, where he landed forty persons, and proceeded to the coast^ but was subsequently driven off by bad weather, and returned to France, abandoning them to their fate. No place could be mofe unfit for a residence than this island, situated 50 leagues from Cape Breton, exposed as it is to the whole fury of the Atlantic, and not much exceeding 10 leagues in circumference. Composed of small sand hills interspersed with pools of water, it produces nothing but berries, nor does it offer anything for the support of life but the fish and fowl which surround it and cover its shores. Here, after many sufferings, they were found by De la Roche's pilot, (whom the French king sent to fetch them off,) clothed in seal-skin dresses, and reduced to twelve in number. They seem, however, to have pro- filed not only by the furs they had obtained during their sojourn there, but by a gratuity presented them by the king, of 50 crowns each. In 1603 Henry IV. appointed the Seour de Monts Governor of Canada and the other 20 BRITISH DOMINIONS e'4.i ' •Hit territories claimed by the French in North America, between parallels 40^ and 54*^ N. lat. (64 ?) There can be little doubt that this was the result of the extension of the fur trade and fisheries on the part of the French. The entire" monopoly of the former was given him, and he proceeded to exercise it without hesitation, by confiscating the goods of all, even his countrymen, whom he found trading with the natives. On first arriving at the coast he found one, (whose stores he appropriated to his own use,) at a place now called Liverpool Harbour, in Nova Scotia. The name of this unfortunate trader, Rossignol, has been perpetuated by its application to the large lake near the scene of his disaster. The fleet of De Monts, consisting of four vessels, was fitted out at the expense of a company formed of merchants engaged in trade with those countries. Champlain, who had before visited the St. Lawrence, was engaged as pilot, and many volunteers joined the expedition. Two of the vessels accom- panied De Monts and Champlain; while one was intended to carry on the fur trade at !i?^fB'£?^-*^-'^!i?'V"'im.'iWyi7^'^-*'"^iTV iTsUi IN NORTH AMERICA. 21 North id 54*^ ibt that of the of the 5 former exercise ing the horn he 3n first J (whose use,) at )our, in ortunate ated by he scene : of four ise of a ^aged in ain, who '.« ice, was rs joined J accom- ^hile one trade at Tadousac, on the St. Lawrence; and the other to cruize off Cape Breton and St. John's Islands, to keep off all strangers, and secure the monopoly of the trade in those parts for the French. Canseau had been appointed as a place of meeting for the two vessels, but De Monts was unable to reach it, so that he disembarked at Harbour Mouton, (so named from a sheep having jumped overboard,) and erecting wig- wams after the Indian manner, determined to remain there until he should hear some tidings of the other vessel, but having sent a party along shore to search for her, she was found at Canseau, where she discharged her cargo, consisting of stores for the winter, building materials, &c., and proceeded to Tadousac. These things, so necessary to the prosperity of the intended settlement, were carried to De Monts, under the charge of Pontgrav^. From Harbour Mouton, De Monts sailed along the coast, doubled Cape Sable, and re mained several days in the Bay of St. Mary, surveying the country. Here a priest named Daubre was, for a considerable time, lost in 22 BRITISH DOMINIONS the woods; and this accident gave rise to dissensions between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics, to the former of which parties De Monts belonged, although he had undertaken to disseminate the latter faith in the countries of which he had been appointed governor ; nor did they cease until, through the influence of Champlain and the priests, Protestants were entirely excluded from the country. Leaving St. Mary's Bay, they sailed up the Bay of Fundy, which they named La Baye Francois, and discovering a narrow strait on the eastern side, they entered it and found themselves in a spacious basin, sur* rounded by hills, from which descended streams of fresh water, one of which, now called Allan River, they named Laquille ; and so charmed were they with the country and its productions, that Pontrincourt, one of the volunteers, a friend of De Monts', who had come out to look for a place in which to settle with his family, chose this for his resi- dence, and having received a grant of it from De Monts, called it Port Royal. It is now called Annapolis, and the strait by -I IN NORTH AMKRICA, 23 'fH which it is entered, Digbj, from the town of that name on its south bank. At the head of the bay, on the festival of St. John the Baptist, they discovered a river, which they therefore named St. John, up which they sailed, hoping to find a passage by it to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or Bay of Chaleurs. The scenery and natural pro- ductions of the country soon attracted the admiration of the voyagers, but finding the season too far advanced for further explo- ration, the necessity of providing winter quarters being considered, De Monts, having coasted the bay to the southward, selected an island in the mouth of a river, which he named St. Croix, from the intersection of some brooks two leagues from its mouth, -and proceeded at once to take the necessary steps for establishing a settlement. t In the mean time, one of his companions, named Champdore, sailed with a party for St. Mary's Bay, to search for silver, and there found the lost Daubre, who returned with them to St. Croix, to the great joy of all. Here, having erected a fort, magazine, and dwellings, they passed the winter; but the 24 BRITISH DOMINIONS situation of the settlement on a small island proved, as might have been expected, dis^ advantageous, being deficient in wood, water, and game, and therefore, in the spring, De Monts visited the coast westward, touching at Penobscot, Kennebec, and Malabarre, which had been named by Gosnold, two years before. Cape Cod. • Pontgrave returning with a reinforcement and supplies, which were much needed, per- suaded De Monts to abandon St. Croix and return to Port Royal, where, after erecting the necessary buildings, and leaving the co- lony in charge of Champlain, Champdore, and Pontgrave, he set sail for France, to which Pontrincourt had before returned, leaving directions with Pontgrav^ to survey the coast south of Cape Cod, at the com- mencement of the spring. On May 13th, 1606, De Monts and Pont- rincourt, who had been employed through the winter in preparation for their return, and in collecting supplies, &c. for the colony, sailed from Honfleur, and arrived at Canseau after a long and disagreeable passage, so that on reaching Port Royal, they found X- IN NORTH AMERICA. 25 island d, dis^ water, ig, De uching abarre, years cement jd, per- )ix and erecting the co- npdore, nee, to turned, 1 survey le com- d Pont- through return. Pontgrave had sailed. Having, however, taken the precaution of leaving a boat at Canseau to look out for him, he was found in one of the harbours on the coast, having lost his vessel, and was brought back to Port Royal, The settlement now began to wear a pros- perous appearance. Pontrincourt, by the advice of his friend Lescarbot, a lawyer, who accompanied him, had brought out domestic animals, and now began to cultivate the land. Grain was sowed for the next year, and vegetables cultivated; nevertheless, De Monts was not satisfied, but still clung to his original desire of establishing his co- lony more to the southward, and therefore, on the same day (August 28th,) that he and Pontgrave set out on their return to France, Pontrincourt, Champlain, and Champdore set sail for Malabarre, but met with not much better fortune than Pontgrave had ex- perienced; so that, having damaged their vessel, and some of their men having been killed by the Indians, they returned to Port Royal in November, where they erected a water-mill, and being plentifully supplied with necessaries, and not entirely destitute of J) 26 BRITISH DOMINIONS I luxuries, they passed the winter in true French style, and contrived to conciliate the good will of the Indians, and their great Sa- chem Mambertou. But here the progress of the colony was to receive a sudden check. The monopoly of the fur trade granted to De Monts, was represented by the masters of the French vessels engaged in the fisheries, as being made by him an excuse to prevent their obtaining supplies from the Indians. And the French government seems not to have been slow in availing itself of this pre- text, to deprive him of his charter, although ten years of its time was yet unexpired, allowing him only 6,000 livres as a compen- sation. It was in this patent that the territories claimed by France in North America, were first named Acadia. The settlement at Port Royal was there- fore abandoned, but Pontrincourt lingered behind the rest in order to be able to bring back with him the first-fruits of his harvest. He employed the interim in collecting furs, minerals, and specimens of the natural pro- ductions of the country, and at length set IN NORTH AMERICA. 27 in true Hate the reat Sa-^ progress n check, anted to masters isheries, prevent Indians, not to his pre- Ithough expired, compen- rritories ca, were s there- lingered o bring harvest, ig furs, ral pro- igth set sail, to the great grief of Mambertou. On his return to France, however, the king renewed to Pontrincourt the grant which De Monts had made to him of Port Royal, and some families were accordingly sent out in the spring, who on their arrival found the friendly Indians had reaped and preserved the corn in expectation of their arrival. The renewal of the grant had, however, been saddled with the condition that Pon- trincourt should take back with him two Catholic priests who were ready to devote themselves to the labour of converting the savages ; both were Jesuits, and Pontrin- court had imbibed the common prejudice against them, and, though a zealous Catho- lic, determined to delay their reception as long as possible. At length, however, they went over, but their efforts were not very successful, although Mambertou, the chief who had been baptized on the first expedition of De Monts, had sufficient con- fidence to enable him at his death, which shortly happened, to allow himself to be buried as a Christian, renouncing the ancient rites of his fathers, in his affection for his new 28 BRITISH DOMINIONS friends, and his estimation of what they had taught him. On the return of Pontrincourt to France, his son Biencourt did not hesitate to threaten the Jesuit missionaries with corporal punish- ment if they interfered, as it appears they were disposed to do, with the affairs of the colony ; and accordingly they went to France to represent to their patroness, Madame De Goucherville, the difficulties under which they lahoured, who immediately sent a vessel freighted with all necessary stores to remove them from Port Royal, and establish a colony on some other part of the coa:t;t. Mount Desert Island, which they named St.Saviour's, was in consequence selected, — why, it would be difficult to imagine; but their residence there was not of long duration, for the settlements of the French had already begun to attract the attention of the English in Virginia, and Captain Argall suddenly attacked the settle- ment, and carried them captives to James Town. In this affair, a piece of deception of which he was guilty had nearly produced most tragic results, for having in storming the island discovered the commission of the French IN NORTH AMERICA. king authorizing the settlement, he concealed it, that he might have a more ligitimate pre- text for his violence. The governor, therefore, on their arrival at James Town, at once imprisoned them as pirates, on which Argall, as the only means of preserving their lives, was obliged to produce the charter, lest the good faith he had promised to them as pri- tsoners should have been violated. The investigations that followed induced Sir Thomas Dale, the governor, to fit out an expedition to dislodge the French from Acadia, which accordingly proceeded to Port Royal the following spring, under the com- mand of Argall ; and one of the Jesuits, delighted to be revenged on Pontrincourt and his son, undertook to act as pilot. His arrival had all the effect of a surprise, so that he destroyed the fort without oppo- sition ; and although Biencourt offered to transfer his allegiance to England, and admit the English to participation in the fur trade, and other advantages of that part of the country, Argall refused to treat, alleging that his orders to dispossess him were peremptory. The French, therefore, shortly D 3 30 BRITISH DOMINIONS departed, some going to the settlement Champtain had by this time formed on the St. Lawrence, and others being carried to England by the English, and thence trans- ferred to France ; and thus the first settlement of Nova Scotia was prematurely abandoned. As this action resulted from the rival claims set up by the London and Plymouth Com- panies against the French, it may be pro- per to give some account of them in this place.* • The disastrous termination of Sir Hum- phrey Gilbert's voyage did not, as we have seen, daunt Sir Walter Raleigh, or dis- courage him from similar attempts. Florida had been discovered by Cabot, in 1498 ; and, until 1584, the whole coast, to an indefinite distance northward, was known by that designation, but in that year Sir Walter, in conjunction with Adrian Gilbert, received an indefinite grant of territory, to be called Virginia in her honour, from Queen Elizabeth, and the same year despatched two ♦ Argall was a navigator of some note, and his name deserves to be so recorded, because it was he who, devi- ating from the southern track of the early navigators, first discovered the shorter one now in use. IN NORTH AMERICA. 31 Jar Sir rilbert, )ry, to Queen ed two Ib name 10, devi- sors, first vessels, which discovered Roanoke, and re- turned with so good a report of the country that the next year four vessels were sent out to establish a colony under Sir Richard Gren- ville, for whose chivalrous temperament the proximity of the Spanish main proved too great a temptation, so that it was not until after a cruise there, and frequent engage- ments with the Spaniards, that he landed his colonists and returned to England. The want of a master spirit to direct, and the unfitness of the colonists for what they had undertaken, led to quarrels with the natives, and squandering of stores and provisions, so that, after much loss and suffering, the sur- vivors were glad to embark with Sir F. Drake on his arrival in the river. Sir R. Grenville arrived a fortnight after, with supplies, and finding the settlement deserted, left fifty men and returned ; and in 1587, Sir Walter sent out another expedition under Governor White, who found the whole of Grenville*s colony destroyed, either In' the savages or famine. He left 175 men and women well provided with all necessaries. On his return he found England preparing 32 BRITISH DOMINIONS ■* I'l* :i Ik 4' I .i for defence against the Spanish Armada, and the vessels Raleigh had prepared for the assistance of the colony were detained for the public service. White, however, sailed in two small barks, but was attacked, defeated, and driven back by the Spaniards ; and when he returned to Virginia in 1590, he found the colony again extirpated. It is said that Raleigh's expeditions to America cost him no less that 40,000/. Gosnold having discovered Cape Cod in 1602, some Bristol merchants sent out vessels by the direct route he had pursued, instead of the old course by the Canary Islands, and in 1605 a vessel from London fell in with Long Island, after which patents were granted by James I. to companies in London and Ply- mouth to plant colonies. The former, among whom was Richard Hakluyt, the geographer, and historian of " Early Voyages and Die- coveries," had license to settle in that part of America, commonly called Virginia. The latter composed of knights, merchants, and others of the West of England, which (and especially Cornwall) had been so prolific in voyagers and discoverers, had permission to i IN NORTH AMERICA. 33 da^ and for the for the 1 in two ed, and vhen he iind the tions to Cod in t vessels instead nds, and in with granted md Ply- *, among ^rapher, nd Dis' i part of u The Its, and ch (and olific in ssion to settle in that part of the country, north of James River, to be called New England. The London Company sent out their vessels under Captains Smith, Newport, and Gosnold, and having reached Chesapeake Bay, landed in James River, where they founded the first British settlement. The Plymouth Company also sent out two ships under Admiral Gilbert, and landed forty-five planters in the more northern parts. The romantic history of the gallant and able Smith, and the vicissitudes of the infant colony, belong to another page of history. It is sufficient here to notice the re-establish- ment of the colony under his auspices, and finally by Lord De la Warre, in 1610. From this period the foolish and baneful search for the so-called precious metals has been aban- doned, and the wise policy of Smith followed. Permanent footing in the country was secured by cultivating the soil, and ultimate riches by genuine commercial pursuits, and the miseries incident to the former have been almost for- gotten in the glorious success of the latter. The indefinite limits of the charter of the Ill 'I h 34 BRITISH DOMINIONS Plymouth Company led, as we have seen, to the attack on Mount Desert, and subse- quently on Port Royal, and was the first of those long and sanguinary wars in which the rival settlers of French and English extrac- tion deluged the newly discovered world with their blood, and taught tlie so-called savages new lessons of cruelty, and new methods of destruction. • IN NORTH AMERICA. 35 Jen, to subse* irst of ch the xtrac- d with avages lods of CHAPTER II. ACADIA AND THE ACADIANS. As the success of the London and Ply- mouth Companies could not but stimulate others to follow their example, the indefinite nature of their claims precluded any imme- diate prospect of settlement to the south of the Bay of Fundy, excepting by their agency. The attention of England was therefore directed to the late French settle- ments in Acadia as the most desirable loca- lity, and the more so as the prosperity of the southern settlements seemed in a great measure to depend on its being inhabited by people whose interests were not in opposition to theirs, if only to prevent circumstances from arising similar to those which had led to the expedition against Mount Desert and Port Royal, and ended in the dispersion of 36 BRITISH DOMINIONS 'f\ I the French and destruction of their settle- ments. For although more just, because more moderate expectations of the results of colo- nization began to prevail, enough of uncer- tainty still remained as to the possibility of the existence of the meta incognita^ the imagined easy road by which the riches of the East were to be attained, as well as the existence of the precious metals in the countries already discovered, to add stimulus to the love of adventure which has never been found wanting in Englishmen ; while the spirit of chivalry, like the flame of an ex- hausted lamp, burning brighter when about to be extinoruished, led the noble and aspiring minds of the age to desire those feudal honours and privileges in other lands which were so soon to cease in their own. And thus, as at first, mercantile adventure was not only encouraged, but personally assisted by courtiers and men of letters, and royalty did not hesitate to create new titles, to promote as well as to dignify the undertaking. It was in the year 1621, eight years after the destruction of Port Royal, that Sir ,'4 1- W'^ IN NORTH AMERICA. 37 more colo- ncer- ityof t the es of 11 as n the mulus never while an ex- about pi ring feudal which And as not 3d by :y did )mote William Alexander, a gentleman of Scotch descent, one of the ushers to the prince of Wales, and a favourite of James I., on account of his taste for literature and poetical talents, and by Charles I. afterwards ap- pointed Secretary of State for Scotland, and created Earl of Stirling and Dovan, applied for a grant of the territory bordering on the eastern part of New England, that he might plant a colony there, describing it as an uninhabited wilderness that would shortly be occupied by the French, (whose settlements in Canada were already objects of envy to the New Englanders,) who had engrossed the trade with the Indians, and that as Scotch families had lately emigrated to the conti- nent of Europe, it would be more for the interest of England, as well as themselves, if they were settled in the colonies. It scarcely needed such considerable interest or sufficient reasons to induce at that time a grant of land in the plantations ; and accord- ingly Sir William received one, embracing all the territory lying on the east side of a line drawn from the river St. Croix to the Gulph of St. Lawrence, and which was named E I * > ' t ' 38 BRITISH DOMINIONS |f W f |( 4 J*- 1 Ml' in the patent Nova Scotia, and thus origi- nated the subsequent disputes as to whether Nova Scotia and Acadia were the same or different districts, whether either, and if so which was part of the other, or whether the terms might be considered synonymous. In 162^ Sir William sent out a vessel with emigrants to take possession, but after various delays, being obliged to winter at Newfoundland, and on arriving at the har- bour in the vicinity of Cape Sable, finding not only that some of the original French settlers had found means to continue there, but that their numbers had in the mean time been considerably increased, it was deemed prudent to return to England. The adventurers, however, brought back so extravagant an account of the advantages of the country from soil, climate, and natural productions, both animal and vegetable, that when war broke out between England and France, the opportunity it afforded of de- stroying the French settlements in Acadia was eagerly seized; and in 1624 Charles I. re-appointed Sir William Alexander gover- nor-general, confirmed the original grant. IN NORTH AMERICA. 39 |origi- lether le or if so 5r the • vessel after ter at J har- nding i'rench there, I time reined back itages atural , that 1 and f de- cadia les I. over- frant, I ^M. ■i:» and founded an order of Knights Baronet of Nova Scotia, with many privileges and pre-eminence, who were to contribute to the settlement of the colony, and had a large portion of land allotted to each of them. Their number was limited to 150. Sir William now secured the assistance of David Kirtck, commonly called Sir David Kirk, a French Calvinist and native of Dieppe, who had sought shelter in England from religious persecution. With a small but well-appointed arma- ment, Kirtck set sail in 16^7, and having taken eighteen French transports laden with ordnance and stores for Quebec and Port Royal,, proceeded the next season to the latter, which he found in no condition to offer resistance, and from thence sailed for the St. Lawrence, but finding the season too far advanced, deferred any attack on Quebec, and returned to England. The following year he again crossed the Atlantic, and having taken another store fleet from the French, his brothers Lewis and Thomas sailed for Quebec, which imme- diately surrendered, and remained in the 40 BllITlSH DOMINIONS :\ 111 i4 '. 7; ^ * St! 1: i';-',.^ \i: i hands of the English until restored by the treaty of St. Germain en Laye. Among the captives taken by Kirtck in his first expedition, was a French Protestant named Claude de St. Estienne de la Tour, who during his residence in England, being a person of fortune, married one of the queen's maids of honour, and was created a baronet of Nova Scotia. He had but recently obtained an extensive grant from the French king, and his son at this time commanded a small fort near Cape Sable; and being a person of an enterprising but versatile spirit, he had no hesitation in transferring his allegiance and entering into arrangements with Sir William Alexander to settle the country with Scotch emi- grants. Sir William accordingly gi anted the coast of New Scotland for fifteen leagues inland, from near Cloven Cape to Mirliguest, now called respectively Cape Fourchu and Lu- nenburgh, to Sir Claude de St. Estienne, Lord of La Tour and Vuarre, and Charles de St. Estienne, Lord of Denicourt, to be held by them as Barons of Nova Scotia, in m IN NORTH AMERICA. 41 f anticipation of the ready concurrence of the latter. La Tour and his lady sailed with two ships of war, but on arriving at Cape Sable, he found neither threats nor entreaties of any avail, but was met by well merited re- proaches for his treason, and a firm declara- tion on the part of his son that he would hold his fort with his life. An attack was therefore made, which, lasting two days, terminated, as might have been expected from the character of the leaders, in a repulse of the English with great loss, who consequently abandoned the attempt and returned to England, leaving De la Tour and his family behind them. Afraid to return to France, and ashamed to appear in England, he was constrained to accept an asylum from his son, who permitted him to remain in the country. In the following year he was joined by some Scotch emigrants, who built a fort on the west side of Annapolis basin, in the pre- sent county of Granville, nearly opposite Goat Island, the remains of which still bear the name of the Scotch Fort. e3 42 UU1TI8U DOMINIONS •I ; Here thirty of the emigrants liaving died, and difficulties gathering round the colony, Sir William Alexander was induced to con- vey the whob of his rights in Nova Scotia (Port Royal alone excepted) to De la Tour, to hold of the crown of Scotland. Shortly upon this the treaty of St. Ger- mains followed, by which the conqnests of Kirtck were restored to the French king, and the dowry of the queen of England which he had kept back was paid, while a questionable session of Nova Scotia was also made.* The French now began in earnest the work of colonization both in Canada and Acadia. The conipany to whom, under the Duke de Ventadour, the country had been granted,f made the greatest efforts to repair the losses they had experienced from the expeditions of Kirtck ; and Razillai, who had been ap- pointed to head an armament intended for the reconqucst of the French colonies, on * There is much difficulty in reconciling the conflicting accounts of the various transfers of Nova Scotia, but for further particulars see Appendix A. f Fur an account of this Company see British Colonies, Canada, p. 47. IN NORTH AMERICA. 43 (lied. )lony, con- 5cotia ^ lour, I Ger- ts of , and Ich he )nable The )rk of a. Duke ^ted,f losses itions 11 ap- d for s, on iicting )ut for lonies, 'M their restoration at the peace sailed with a commission as commander-in-chief of Acadia, and a grant of the river and bay of St. Croix. The other parts of the province were divided between Cliarles St. Etienne, son of De la Tour, commonly called the younger De la Tour, and Monsieur Denys ; to the former of whom confirmation was made of the original grant to his father, as well as Sable Island with ten leagues on the sea coast, a corre- sponding extent inland at Cape La Have, and similar portions at Minas Bay and Port Royal ; while the latter held all that portion of the province lying between Canseau and the Bay of Gaspe on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In the mean time the New England colo- nists had extended their outposts to Pem- aquid on the river Kennebec, and Razillai having been instructed to take possession of the coast as far as that river, sent a vessel to destroy the settlement there, which was a depot for the Indian trade, and carry all the merchandise to La Have, of which he had obtained possession by an arrangement with La Tour, and fortified. But tlicugh successful 44 BRITISH DOMINIONS ; ■ I m 1.^1 in this, the New Englanders resisted all attempts to pass be)'ond that river, which thus became practically the western boundary of Acadia. He died shortly after, and was succeeded by Daubre de Charnise, who, abandoning La Have, removed to Penobscot, a proceeding which was resented by La Tour, and led to open hostilities between them. It was in 7tV.n that the king of France wrote to restrain them within certain boundaries ; the desire of each to monopolize the fur trade, and their equality of strength, rendered his interposition unavailing, and in 1641, having ordered Charnise to arrest his oppo- nent and send him prisoner to France, La Tour was confirmed in his opposition ; and in 1643, satisfied that hope from France must be abandoned, sailed for Boston to seek aid from the New England colonists, who, anxious to assist him on account of the Protestant profession of his men if not of himself, although public assistance could not be rendered, manned four vessels which he had chartered, and driving Charnis6 from the St. John, pursued him to Penobscot; from T m IN NOllTU AMERICA. 45 whence, dreading the interference of the English, he sent the Governor of Massa- chusetts a copy of the warrant of arrest against La Tour, and complained of the assistance that had been afforded him. This resulted in a treaty for peace, which had, however, more reUition to the trade of the two nations respectively than the quarrels of Charnise and La Tour ; so that the former, released from his apprehensions, attacked Madame La Tour on the river St. John during the absence of her husband, but wi^z obliged to retire with much loss. He had been seeking military supplies at Boston in exchange for his furs, which Char- nise understanding, complained against as an infraction of the late treaty, and seized a vessel belonging to that town, the crew of which he stripped, and after delaying six days, permitted them to return in an open boat, without means of defence or compass to direct their course ; and having by this in- timidated the colonists, they, however un- willingly, withheld the supplies desired by La Tour, and confirmed the treaty. Charnise now again attacked Madame La lit I :fi **■ k li 1-^ 46 BRITISH DOMINIONS Tour, who after an intrepid defence of her small fort was betrayed by a Swiss; yet even when her enemy had surmounted the wall, she advanced at the head of her garrison to contest its possession, and he, dreading another discomfiture from this determined woman, proposed a capitulation, to which she readily acceded, but which, on some trivial pretence, he immediately broke, and sparing one for an executioner of his comrades, hanged the rest of the garrison, obliging Madame De la Tour to witness his atrocity as a reprieved criminal with a halter round her neck. This unworthy treatment, together with the loss of all her property, consisting of stores, furs, merchandise, and plate to a great amount,which Charnise removed to Penobscot, brought about her death not long after. La Tour himself, commiserated and as- sisted by the New Englanders, repaid (it is said) their kindness by ingratitude, and unable to obtain any assistance from Sir David Kirtck, proceeded in a vessel he had stolen from them to Hudson's Bay, where he was largely engaged in the fur trade, but in 1651, Charnis^ having died, returned and married IN NORTH AMERICA. 47 his widow ; and obtaining confirmation of his claims on the country from the French government, again took possession of it. But a creditor of Charnise, by name Le Borgne, having represented La Tour as a heretic, obtained a decree empowering him to enter on the possessions of his deceased debtor; and accordingly, on his arrival in Acadia he not only burned the buildings at La Have, but destroyed Denys's establishment at Ched- abucto, and was proceeding to attack La Tour's fort on the St. John, when a force under Major Ledgemack arrived, commissioned by Oliver Cromwell to recover Nova Scotia, having surprised and defeated La Tour, he attacked Le Borgne at Port Royal, who made but a slight defence, and Penobscot having been also taken. Nova Scotia again fell into the hands of the English. But the sovereignty of the country, and the possession of Port Royal, were the only results of this success, for making no settle- ments, the trade still remained in the hands of the French, and Denys was again living in peace at Chedabucto ; but intrigues among his countrymen commenced, and a fire com- 'i 48 BRITISH DOMINIONS i i 1 jii' ■ pleted his ruin, so that he abandoned the country. The conduct of his countrymen also induced La Tour to place himself under the protection of England, and accordingly, on a memorial to Oliver Cromwell, he in 1656 obtained a fresh grant of the whole coast from Penobscot to Lunenburgh, in- clusive of the islands as well as the fisheries in the bay of Fundy, with reservation only of mines and minerals. His right was shortly afterwards purchased by Sir Thomas Temple, who re-established and fortified the settle- ments at a great expense, and received a large revenue in return from the fur trade ; but whether in consequence of the charter having been granted during the interregnum, or that private rights are seldom taken into account in public treaties, in 1667, by that of Breda, England ceded all Acadia to France. The cession being thus indefinite. Sir Thomas endeavoured to preserve some por- tion of his property by an attempt to confine the meaning of the word Acadia to the peninsula which had originally borne that name ; but this being considered frivolous, IN NORTH AMERICA. 49 the whole was delivered up to the Chevalier de la Grand Fontain on the part of France. During the time of the English occupation of Acadia, a thin French population was scattered along the rivers which flow from both sides into the Bay of Fundy, but too far distant to afford aid to each other in emergency, nor did their numbers greatly increase on its reversion to France; indeed, so great was that country's neglect of the colony, that -n the renewal of hostilities in 1689, a sing ' ^jiratical vessel with only 110 men was able to plunder the forts of Pen- tagoet at Penobscot, and Gemsec on the St. John. Meanwhile the English had carried on a profitable fishery on the coast, and more fully possessed with the importance of the country, the colonists of New England pre- pared for its reduction. Sir William Phipps, an example of that sudden elevation to rank and power for which new countries are remarkable ; born the son of a blacksmith at Pemaquid on the Kennebec, but having amassed a considerable fortune by successful search for treasure 50 BRITISH DOMINIONS i: from wrecks on the Spanish main^ and been nominated sheriff of New England, and subsequently governor of Massachusetts, without exercising either office, was appointed to the command of a squadron of three small vessels and 700 men for the conquest of Acadia. Proceeding to Port Royal, Manival, the governor, unprovided with any means of resistance, sent to treat for surrender : terms honourable to the French were agreed on, but which Sir William appears to have had no hesitation in breaking that he might plunder the place; from thence he proceeded to Chedabucto, which, after a gallant defence on the part of Montorgueil, the successor to Denys, was also taken, and the garrison con- ducted to Placentia in safety. Sir William also desolated other parts of the country, and destroyed the fortifications at Port Royal, treating the inhabitants as a conquered people, but taking ^no means to preserve what he had acquired ; so the the Chevalier Villibon arriving from France, took down the unprotected flag of England. Two things are very worthy of remark 1 , IN NORTH AMERICA. 51 respecting all the French efforts at colo- nization in North America. 1. The manner, not indeed always the most proper, in which they never failed to conciliate the Indians and attach them to their party. 2, The remarkable tenacity with which as individuals they retained possession of the country under every political transfer, so that even after the conquest of Sir William Phipps it was virtually in their hands. The old charter of Massachusetts being forfeited, a new one was obtained, adding to it the colony of New Plymouth, Maine, and Nova Scotia. Sir William Phipps was the first governor, and now the con- sequences of these two characteristic fea- tures of the occupation became apparent, for Villibon having returned from France with stores and munitions of war, established himself at the fort on the St. John, and from thence by means of the Indians seriously harassed the New Englanders. A remarkable character afforded him much assistance ; this was the Baron de St. Castine, who, born in Beam, had thrown himself 52 BRITISH DOMINIONS III n »■■-'■; ' ■■)■, among the Abenaquis, and having married one of their principal women, so ingratiated himself with them, that he not only became their chief, but was able by their means to amass much wealth in trade. Villibon having been joined by Merville with a force from Canada, and having de- feated some vessels sent against him from New England, marched to Penobscot, effected a junction with De Castine and his Indians, and invested Pemaquid, which capitulated, and the captors liaving destroyed it, separated for their return, but Villibon was overtaken bv a fleet from Boston, Measures of retaliation were soon deter- mined on, and Colonel Church, with 500 men, embarked at Portsmouth for Nova Scotia, and having arrived at Chignecto, ravaged the country about Beau Basin, now called Cumberland, and sailed to Massachusetts, but was met bv a reinforcement with orders to proceed against th-^ fort of Villibon on the St. John ; here, h vever, he found so determined a resistant e, that he was glad to retreat, and the per pie of Massachusetts, seeing their inability to protect Nova Scotia, IN NORTH AMERICA. 53 petitioned to be relieved from the burden, and it was accordingly, though at a sub- sequent period, erected into a separate province. Acadia remained noi*.Inally in t^** hands of the English until the peace of Ryswrick, when it was again ceded to France. By this treaty an attempt was made to fix the boundaries of the two nations at the River St. Croix, but as a doubt still remained what river was justly entitled to that name, a fertile source of dissension was left open for the future, of which France was not then, nor have the United States since, been backward to avail themselves. Villibon soon manifested an intention of confining the New Englanders to the eastern side of the Kennebec, and monopolising the fisheries and trade with the Indians, yet the dissensions among the French, and want of assistance from Europe, left them still in the hands of the English ; but France having acknowledged the Pretender as King of England, and war having been declared in 1701, an attempt was made by Bruillon, then governor, to fortify the coast, and, F 3 m It if ■J I S^. *-3 54 BRITISH DOMINIONS ^ being hopeless of assistance from Canada, he adopted the unpardonable resolution of taking the pirates who infested tho? -^ seas into his pay, and by this means did much injury to the trade of New England. Colonel Church was again sent to retaliate ; he ravaged the country about Penobscot and Passamaquoddy, destroyed Minas, but was foiled in an intended attack on the fo^*^ at Port Royal; from thence sailing toChignecto, he ravaged that district as he had done before, and finding scarcely any resistance, the English government was induced, on the representa- tions of the New England colonists, to authorize the conquest of Acadia, and pro- mise that it should not again be given up to France. > An expedition sailed accordingly in 1707, for the reduction of Port Ro3^al, but was defeated by the active and intelligent officer then in command, M Subercase ; a second expedition met the same fate, but persever- ance conquered all difficulties, and a third was successful in 1710. Port Royal was sur- rendered, though on honourable terms, and the French were unable, during the remainder IN NORTH AMERICA. 55 of the war, to make any attempt for its recovery; but Vaudreuil, governor of Canada, having appointed the Baron Castine as nomi- nal governor, by inciting the Indians and Acadians against the English wrought them much damage and annoyance, and had he not been detained for the defence of Quebec, by tlie arrival of an English fleet in the St. Lawrence, would probably, by the assistance of the baron and his Indians, who had pro- ceeded so far as to invest Port Royal, have succeeded in retaking it ; so successfully did the French cultivate the affections of the Indians through him and similar emissaries. At the close of the war, however. Nova Scotia was ceded to Great Britain in the most ample manner, with all the fisheries within thirty leagues of its coasts ; — that the latter should subsequently have been given up is much to be wondered at. The fortifications of Port Royal having been strengthened, and its name changed to Annapolis Royal, in honour of the Queen, the following year Mr. Nicholson was sent out as ffovernor and commander-in-chief of Nova Scotia, and, although both he and his '3 »-31 m 56 BRITISH DOMINIONS m Mr f 0' Si m successor, Colonel Phillips, used evej^y endea- vour to induce the French, who remained in the colony, to take the oath of allegiance, so great was the national influence exercised by the priests, it was entirely without effect. In 1720, the first colonial council, consist- ing of twelve, was formed principally from the public ofiicers, Mr. Adams being the only inhabitant admitted among the number, so small as yet was the proportion of English residents. Shortly after, above 800 Acadians took the oath of allegiance ; and the whole body was permitted to elect deputies annually in every parish to act for them and carry out the orders of the governor, to act as arbitrators in minor matters, while, in the more important, appeal was made to the governor and council. The male population, capable of bearing arms, amounted to upwards of 4000 men, and of those about 1300 were settled round the capital. They were permitted to enjoy their religion, and had total exemption from taxation ; but the trade in furs and feathers, producing an immense profit, together with that in fish and oil, still united them to their IN NORTH AMERICA. 67 in, Ind |oy nn irs, ith lir own nation, as they exchanged them at Cape Breton and the West Indies for European goods and the production of the tropics, while the former kept up their connexion with the Indians, and through them more directly with the American politics of the French ; and, therefore, when the governor endeavoured to carry out his instructions to grant land for settlement, his endeavours were frustrated through their opposition. Cape Breton being now the only place from whence the French could carry on the fish- eries, it was determined to erect fortifications there, not only for its protection, but as a base for future operations for the recovery of Nova Scotia. Accordingly English Har- bour was selected, and a town built and fortified at an enormous expense, and named Louisburg, after the French king. There was now additional reason for in- citing the Indians to a continuance of hosti- lities, for war became imminent between England and France. Accordingly the French began to treat them as an independent people, adducing their not being mentioned in the treaty of Utrecht as a proof that they i r !< \{ i j 58 BRITISH DOMINIONS < ->, LH i had never been deserted or given over to the English, and contrived so to distort the rea- sonable claims of the governors to their sub- mission, and so to inflame their superstition against them as heretics, that desultory but bloody warfare was the consequence. The fishing port of Canseau was taken and plun- dered of merchandize to the amount of 20,000/., while vessels were taken and burnt on several parts of the coast, with much loss of capital, and frequently of life. The principal leader of the Indians was the Baron de Castine, son of the old Baron by his Indian wife, who added to this claim on their affections his father's talents and great wealth ; his principal station was at Noridgewoack, on the Kennebec, where, for forty years, Pere Ralle, a French mission- ary, had dwelt among the Abenaqui. This remarkable person had gained by his talents as great an ascendancy over them as the Baron, and was as entirely devoted to the political interests of his nation, not the less, perhaps, as their individual interests connected with trade, and their influence with the In- dians, depended so much upon it. IN NORTH AMERICA. 59 The injuries inflicted by them on the English colonists made it apparent that some step must be taken to put a stop to them ; and not perhaps a little stimulated thereto by their ultra-Protestant feeling, the people of Boston concocted measures to take the baron prisoner, in which they succeeded, but unable either to consider him as a prison r of war, or a rebel, they felt obliged to release him, and he shortly after went to France to Jay claim to his paternal estates. During his absence the colonists from Massachu-;* tts attacked his settlement, burnt the chapel, destroyed all the so-called idolatrous emblems that could be found, and killed Pere Ralle, as the French say, while coming forward to give himself up for the safety of his flock ; while by the English he has been described as himself animating the defence, raurdering a prisoner, and neither giving nor taking quarter. Whichever statemeiit be in reality correct, it is certain the latter gives the more natural colour to the transaction, and it is rendered the more probable from the calum- nies propagated by the French missionaries, especially the Jesuits, and the outrages to 60 BRITISH DOMINIONS r which they incited the Indians against the Protestant colonists. In 1744 war was declared between England and France ; and this event, for which the latter was fully prepared, was in consequence notified much earlier to its colonies ; but the governor of Louisburg received, at the same time, a caution not to attempt offensive ope- rations, lest the English colonists should be incited to make an attack upon that fortress, for which it was scarcely prepared ; an event the more to be dreaded as it had been, since its foundation, a depot from whence the Indians could obtain at all times means of offence against the English, and a market for the plunder obtained in their expeditions against them no less than their furs. But Du Quesnal not, perhaps, thinking his chance of escape likely to be greater if he waited to be attacked, determined on the bolder course, which, had it succeeded, would doubtless have been fully approved ; and knowing that the garrisons of Canseau and Annapolis were as insufficiently provided against any attack as his own, fitted out a small armament under the command of M. du R sea ha mij th< as offd 10^ ( I IN NORTH AMERICA. 61 Vivier, which, proceeding against the former, it was obliged to capitulate immediately, and from thence the French reached the latter before intelligence had been received of the commencement of war. The fortifications were in ruin, and gar- risoned only by eighty men capable- of doing duty ; but as there were forty pieces of cannon mounted, and the enemy were unprovided with artillery, though they remained four weeks before the place, they did not venture on a regular attack until the arrival of suc- cours from New England, when Vivier at^ tempted but failed in escalade, and retired to Bay Verte, from whence he sailed to France, and received a severe reprimand (as may be supposed) for his want of success. In these attempts he had been assisted by the Indians, 200 having joined him at Can- seau, and 300 from St. John's and Cape Sable having assembled at Annapolis under a missionary priest, named Luttre. It was therefore deemed necessary to treat them as enemies, and premiums were ultimately offered of 100/. for every male killed, or 105/. if taken prisoner; and 50/. for every G 1 *■ w 62 BRITISH DOMINIONS i i K 'ir l! i f woman and child belonging to the tribes inhabiting from Cape Sable to the Penobscot river. Nevertheless, another attack was made by the Indians under M. Morice, a subaltern officer, sent from Canada; and this, unsuc^^ cessful as the former, served to demonstrate the necessity of, as well as to stimulate the colonists to the reduction of Louisburg, the possibility of which appeared from the re- ports of the captives from Canseau who had been sent to Boston. The town of Louisburg was built on a tongue of land projecting from the south-west entrance of the harbour, its fortifications ex- tending two miles and a half in circumference, although not yet completed, having been five- and-twenty years erecting. The rampart was from thirty to thirty-five feet high, and the ditch eighty feet wide; there were six bastions and eight batteries pierced for 148 cannon, of which, however, only 45 were mounted, and 16 mortars ; but the town and harbour were further protected by a battery of 30 twenty-eight-pounders on an island at the entrance, and the grand battery at the head of the harbour, and covering the entrance. ra th P( av fai IN NORTH AMERICA. 63 mounting 28 forty- two -pounders and 2 eighteen-pounders. Still, Governor Shirley determined to attack it, hoping to carry it by surprise before the arrival of succours in the spring. In this expedition, the Ncmt England colonists, who had already entered into a defensive league, were alone engaged ; Mas- sachusetts furnished 3,200, Connecticut 500, and New Hampshire 300 men, the Rhode Island contingent not arriving in time, and the whole naval force consisted of ten vessels, the largest of which only carried twenty guns. The command was given to William Pep- peral, a colonel of militia, a man of unble- mished character, affable manners, and popular in New England, being generally known from his extensive mercantile operations. There can be no doubt, that from the time of Argall, and his expedition against Mount Desert, all the wars between the rival races in North America were embittered by the antagonism of religious opinions; and Pepperal seems to have, with much tact, availed himself of the presence of the since famous George Whitfield, then itinerating ml 64 mUTISH DOMINIONS |:t u] I I II 1 in the Colonies, to inspire bis little army with somewhat of the ardour, if not the confi- dence, of crusaders. A banner, bearing the motto, **Nil desperandum Christoduce," was presented by the preacher as the emblem of victory, and an iconoclastic chaplain marched before his regiment with an axe over his shoulder. Admiral Warren, who had the naval com- mand in the West Indies, refused to co-ope- rate, having no orders from England to that effect; nevertheless, the gallant little band sailed and arrived without accident at Can- ^'^au, where it was detained three weeks for the breaking up of the ice around Cape Breton; and this detention, in all probability, determined the success of the enterprise; for in the interim the English government, hav- ing received despatches from Governor Shir- ley, intimating his intention of attacking Louisburg, had sent orders to Admiral War- ren to co-operate, who, sailing immediately, joined the provincials at Canseau, and on the 13th of April the combined fleet and army arrived before that town. The disembarkation was effected without IN NORTH AMERICA. 65 much difficulty, and Lieut-Colonel Vaughan, with the men of New Hampshire, were suc- cessful in an attack on the grand battery, the guns of which they turned against the town. For fourteen nights the troops were em- ployed drawing cannon through a morass ; in this labour they were protected by a fog, which enveloped them, so that on the 7th of May a summons was sent to Duchambon, the governor, who refused to surrender ; but having by the 28th erected five batteries, mounted with sixteen pieces of cannon and several mortars — taken the Vigilant, seventy- four, loaded with military stores, which sup- plied their most pressing wants — and erected another battery on the lighthouse cliflT, although the island still held out, being cer- tified by the Marquis de la Maison Forte, captain of the Vigilant, of the position and success of the besiegers, and their preparation for a general assault, he capitulated on the 16th of June. It was then seen how impossible the reduc- tion of Louisburg would have been had its defenders been sufficiently determined, for the garrison alone amounted to 650 G 3 1)7 • K 4t JH ,: mi m 66 BRITISH DOMINIONS i.t veteran troops, beside 1,310 militia, and was abundantly supplied with every means of defence ; but mutiny was rife, and the gover- nor could not trust his men in a sortie, lest they should desert ; and the unprovided and unprotected state of the camp, as well as the numbers of the provincials, remained a secret till the last, and was probably much over-estimated from the presence of so large a fleet, amounting to ten vessels, carrying not less than 500 guns ; but though success was thus in a great measure owing to fortuitous circumstances, even this does not detract from the valour of the provincials, either in the determination to attempt or in executing their attack upon the place. It has been remarked, ** that the plan for the reduction of this large and regularly con- structed fortress was drawn up by a lawyer, and executed by a body of husbandmen and merchants, animated indeed by a zeal for the service of their country, but wholly destitute of professional skill ;" but it was actions such as these, however little appreciated at the time, that inspired the confidence in their own resources, which enabled the children of IN NORTH A3IERICA. 67 these men to maintain successfully the war of independence. The loss on their side was about one hundred, that of the French, three-fold. Wiih Louihburg, the Island of St. John (since called Prince Edward's) fell also; nor was this alone the consequence of their vic- tory, but an expedition planned by the French for the recovery of Nova Scotia was in con- sequence frustrated. The fortress, garri- soned by the provincial militia, was left under the government of Pepperal, who (on the news of their conquest arrivinj,^ in England) was, together with Commodore Warren, raised to the dignity of the baronetage. In the spring the provincial garrison was relieved by regular troops, and great prepa- rations were made on both sides for the re- newal of the war in the colonies ; a powerful fleet, consisting of seventy sail, of which eleven were of the line, and twenty frigates, was despatched from France, under the command of the Duke d'Anville, to reduce, first, Louisburg, then Annapolis and Boston, and to proceed from thence to the West Indie?, the fate of which was disastrous in the extreme. s: I ; v ■ ■ * 68 BRITISH DOMINIONS After a passage of ninety days, d*Anville arrived at Chebucto, and in three days was joined by two vessels and six transports only ; and on the day after died suddenly, as is sup- posed from apoplexy, resulting from excite- ment and chagrin. On the afternoon of the same day the Vice- Admiral arrived with a few more vessels, but the dispersion of the fleet was so complete that it was not without hesitation that the attack of Annapolis was determined on, and before the fleet could sail, the Vice-Admiral, depressed in spirits at the unfortunate termination of an expe- dition from which so much had been expected, became delirious, and committed suicide. The plans which had been arranged of co- operation from Canada being entirely frus- trated by the lateness of the season, and information having been obtained that Admiral Lestock had sailed from Portsmouth with eighteen sail, it was determined to return to France, where the remnant at length ar- rived, after having been shattered by a storm ofi" Cape Sable, and left upwards of one thou- sand dead in Chibucto. The conquest of Nova Scotia, if not of Ne w IN NORTH AMERICA. 69 England, had been inevitable, if natural causes had not interfered to frustrate the objects of this great armament; and it is not surprising, apart from the religious animosities which marked the contests between the rival races in America, that to the English colonists their deliverance should appear providential. In the ensuing spring another fleet was fitted out in France, consisting of thirty-eight sail ; but being completely defeated by Ad- mirals Anson and Warren, all further hope of conquering Nova Scotia was abandoned, anc^ on the 7th of October a treaty of peace was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, by which Cape Breton was to be restored to France. The impolicy and injustice towards the provincials of this act was manifest, and is one among the many instances history affords, of the utter neglect of their interests in treaties. Louisburg, it has been well said, was the Dunkirk of America, and from thence privateers were fitted out which did incalculable mischief; moreover, being situ- ated between the Newfoundland and Nova Scotia fisheries, it acted as a check upon both ; but, like many well known instances 70 BRITISH DOMINIONS •1) ■■:\ w^ of short-sighted policy, this entailed its own punishment. Nothing could be more unfortunate than the condition of Nova Scotia after the peace. So entirely had Great Britain neglected her colony, that the French anticipated a compa- ratively easy task in obtaining possession of it ultimately, if not by force, at least by guile, and therefore never ceased to maintain from the Canadian frontier constant communication with the Acadians and Indians of Nova Scotia ; and, indeed, so evidently were the affections of the former engaged in the contest between the nations, that they were charged with viola ang their neutrality. Under such circumstances the French were not slow in putting forward some plan to set aside the provisions of the late treaty, which they attempted to do by drawing a distinction between Acadia and Nova Scotia. The country had been ceded under the former name, and they now contended that it comprehended the peninsula, and nothing more, and that therefore the territory between New England and the Bay of Fundy still belonged to them as part of Canada. IN NORTH AMERICA. 71 This, of course, aroused the New England colonists ; and on representation of the un- protected state of this province, a plan was determined on for sending emigrants selected from the army and navy to colonize the island; a grant of 4O,000Z. was, with addi- tional annual grants, which together amounted in six years to no less a sum than 415,584/, 145. lld,y voted by the Imperial Parliament: 3,760 adventurers, and with them the Hon. Edward Cornwallis, as governor, sailed for Chebucto, and laid the foundation of the present town of Halifax ; and the arrange- ments made for the prosperity of the infant settlement reflect no less honour on the governor than the people. The French, in the meantime, were not idle, but laboured assiduously to confine the English within those limits to which their interpretation of the words of the cession would limit them; and for this purpose erected a chain of forts along their frontier, so that some decision being necessary, a com- mission was appointed to meet at Paris^ and examine the claims of both parties. Of this it may be sufficient to say, that the 72 BRITISH DOMINIONS ft ' W J If disregard of the interest as well as tl - re- presentations of Sir W. Temple on this very subject, no less than the treaty of Breda, by which the forts on the main were given up to France as part of Acadia, may be con- sidered as fully establishing the claims of Eng- land; but on the other hand, we cannot but remark, that all such disputes in this, as in most other cases, have arisen from the ex- travagant claims set up by either party at the outset, by which, lands, the limits, nay, the very existence of which was matter of uncertainty, were not only granted to differ- ent individuals by different governments, but by the same government to different people. It soon became apparent that the French were not so much anxious for a settlement of the existing difficulties, as for the agita- tion of a claitn that might hereafter, in a convenient season, be insisted on. The result of such conduct could not be doubtful ; it became one of the most powerfully exciting causes of the war which shortly ensued, in which France most deservedly lost the whole of her valuable dominions in North America, and that for ever. .'-5 «r IN NORTH AMERICA. 73 On the arrival of Governor Cornwallis, deputies were sent from the Acadians in the neighbourhood of the new settlement to ten- der their submission, and they not only for- warded supplies for the use of the colonists, but contributed the labour of seventy men towards its establishment. The Indians also readily acknowledged the sovereignty of England, and everything pro- mised a period of peace and prosperity. This, however, did not suit the views of France, still anticipating an opportunity of recover- ing her lost province, and therefore instruc- tions were sent to alter, if possible, the conduct of her former subjects, and stimulate them to acts of aggression against the English. The scene was immediately changed : be- fore the first year of the peace had expired, the nev town was surrounded by flying parties of Indians, till it became dangerous to clear or plough the ground, or take the shortest journey into the surrounding woods ; and even small parties were occa- sionally surrounded and cut off, though more frequently taken prisoners, and carried to *^. BRITISH DOMINIONS Louisburg, where a regular allowance was given the Indians for every prisoner taken, the French pretending they did so in order to save their lives ; but it is certain that, with all their assumed compassion, an exorbitant ran- som was exacted before the prisoners were set at liberty, and that these Indian parties were generally commanded by Frenchmen; but for this also the French found excuse, alleging that they were not subjects of France, but Acadians, over whom they had no jurisdiction. By an article in the capitulation of 1710 the natives had been permitted to retain their priests ; and as by them the French had kept up their influence, and the Bishop of Quebec still claimed episcopal authority over them, they formed not only a bond of union, but a powerful engine, the operation of which was no doubt effectual to prevent the consolida- tion of English power. An example of this shortly occurred in the priest of Minas (Horton) who was found engaged in treasonable designs, and obliged to quit his cure; and the central situation of this place on the road from Canada IN NORTH AMERICA. 75 and St. John's to Halifax having always made it a rendezvous for the disaffected, and being also within convenient distance of the principal station of the province, it was de- termined to erect a fort there to secure the submission of the inhabitants, and check predatory incursions; another was also erected at Pesiquid (Windsor). The Acadians were then required to take the same oath of allegiance as the English, and bear arms if necessary ; to this they objected that it was contrary to nature to bear arms against their countrymen, and that if they assisted the English against the Indians, they would never be safe from their vengeance, and requested permission to sell their property that they might leave the country ; this was, however, denied them, the treaty of Utrecht having limited the period in which they might do so to one year, which was expired. From this dilemma, an irruption of the Indians, for a time at least, released them ; the troops were defeated with loss, and the fort at Minas blockaded for a month, and at Canso, Dartmouth, and even near Halifax, several were murdered, and much damage done. i' 31 I 76 BRITISH DOMINIONS In these attacks the forts were found no protection to the inhabitants, they being made principally at night with great cau- tion and secrecy, so that the victims were generally slain and a retreat effected before any knowledge of their intention had been obtained. Nothing can possibly exceed the horrors of these scenes, or the sufferings of those who were taken prisoners ; and it be- came necessary to take some extraordinary means to prevent their recurrence. The priests having been engaged in ex- citing these attacks, and causing the inhabit- ants to swear allegiance to the French king, the governor thought himself fully justified in punishing with death any French emissa- ries found so employed ; and volunteers were collected to scour the woods after the Indian manner, being allowed the same pay and rations as regular troops, with a reward of ten guineas for every Indian scalp, w^hile the inhabitants of Halifax were embodied as a militia, and by these means the country was for a time relieved from their incursions. In the mean time the French had de- spatched from Canada to Bay Verte two IN NORTH AMERICA. 77. vessels laden with stores and materials for a winter campaign, while Indians and *^ Cour- riers du bois," as the French residing among the Indians were termed, assembled in force at the same place, so that it was evident some movement of importance was intended, although peace still existed between the nations. Having taken possession of the place, un- der pretence that it was part of the govern- ment of Canada, a fort was built commanding the isthmus, and Colonel Lawrence having been sent in the spring to reduce the inha- bitants of Chignecto to obedience, they burned their town, and sought refuge in the fort with M. La Corne, who thus found himself at the head of 1,500 well appointeu men. Finding the French ofiirer had orders to maintain his position, IMfjor Lawrence, being unwilling to commence hostilities, returned to Halifax, on which the French inhabitants also returned to their farms, and joined the Indians in renewed predatory attacks on the English settlements. La Corne now built a fort called Beau Sejour, and Lawrence having arrived with U (i i! b m If. •"»■'>, £^ h 78 BRITISH DOMINIONS 1,000 men and defeated the rebels, they were again sheltered by him under its walls : as a check aga=nst any advance, another was raised by the Enghsh on the south bank of the river, and named Fort Lawrence. The desultory warfare still continued ; the French authorities temporized, but assisted the aggressors, and, in April 1755, Admiral Boscawen having taken two French frigates on the banks of Newfoundland, war, although not declared, in reality commenced. In the interim, however, courts of judica- ture had been for the first time established in the colony. These consisted of a court of general session; a county court, embracing in its juris- diction the whole province, and presided over by those in the commission of the peace in Halifax; and subsequently an inferior court of common pleas; and, in 1754, the first chief justice, Jonathan Belcher, was ap- pointed, and a supreme court of assize estab- lished. Governor Hopson having succeeded Colonel Cornwallis, a settlement was made at Lunenburg, the progress of which was re- tarded by similar opposition to that experi- enced at Halifax. IN NORTH AMERICA. 79 War having been commenced, it was de- termined that the French should be dislodged from their encroachments, and accordingly an expedition was organized under Lieutenant- Colonel Monckton, with Lieutenant-Colonel Winslow as his second in command. The influence of the latter gentleman hav- ing, as in the case of Pepperal, insured a sufficient number of volunteers, the expedi- tion was despatched from Boston and landed at Chignecto, where they were joined by about 300 regulars and three frigates and a sloop, under the command of Captain Rous, to co-operate by sea. In a series of short and brilliant affairs, the French were driven in succession from all their forts, much ammu- nition and materiel taken, and the Acadians, to the number of 1,500, disarmed, and Fort Beau Sejour garrisoned, its name being changed to Cumberland. The condition of the Acadians was now truly pitiable, the colonists being irritated in proportion to their former alarm and danger. They were Frenchmen, and papists, and on terms of amity with the Indians, any one of which, in those days, might be i 80 BRITISH DOMINIONS 'f I sufficient to excite the jealousies of the co- lonists. Their position, too, was anomalous ; they were hardly rebels, for they had re- fused the oath of allegiance ; they were not prisoners of war, for they had been permitted to retain their possessions for nearly half a century. The character of these people has been painted in the warmest colours : their patri- archal mode of life, the absence of crime among them, their happiness, contentment and prosperity, are the theme of univer- sal praise, and probably in the similarity of their descendants we have considerable evidence of its truth. One thing, however, is certain : — with all their simplicity, they were dangerous neighbours, their ignorance laying them open to the machinations of French emissaries and the intrigues of the priests. It is difficult to read this page of history rightly. That something must be done with them was evident : what that should be was not, perhaps, so apparent ; and when it was determined by the council of the province to disperse the entire body among the Britisli colonies, it would, perhaps, not have been IN NORTH AMERICA. 81 easy to suggest any other plan likely to be successful. It should be remembered, that, though victorious in Nova Scotia, the English arms had met with defeat in Canada under General Braddock, and therefore Louisburg was likely to remain as a retreat and safe- guard for the disaffected, and a magazine from whence to supply the Indians with arms and ammunition. In order to carry out this plan, instruc- tions were committed to Colonel Winslow, who collected the Acadians in the church at Grand Pre, to the number of 1,923, men, women, and children, and, their fate having been then for the first time made known to them, they were declared prisoners. Some had, however, fled, anticipating evil ; the country was therefore laid waste to pre- vent their subsistence, and at Minas alone, 255 houses, beside farm buildings, 1 1 mills, and one church, wer6 destroyed, until the whole male inhabitants surrendered them- selves. At Annapolis and Cumberland, in the latter of which 253 houses were burning at one time, the inhabitants fled, and wit- ;f V^i ^^' W p. "•'1 , ¥ 82 BRITISH DOMINIONS nessiiig the 'conflagration from the woods, at length, maddened to desperation by the chapel being set on fire, they made an attack on the provincials, of whom they killed and wounded many. The other Aca- dian"settlements being too far apart to permit the intentions of the colonial government being fully carried out, only 7,000 were collected, and distributed among the British colonies. g Notwithstanding a pathetic and temperate petition to the crown, they were permitted to suffer the punishment of poverty and exile. Their lands confiscated, their pro- perty destroyed, their once thriving settle- ments now heaps of ruins, these simple and primitive-mannered people were thrust among those unwilling to receive them, and who meted out with hard and unsympathizing hand the bread which they had before possessed in abundance, or left to perish from want, those so lately rich in the pos- session of more than all they desired. But hov/ever much sympathy may be aroused on behalf of these unfortunate people, the difficulties of the colonial go- vaa IN NORTH AMERICA. 83 vernment must not be forgotten; and although the means employed for the attainment of the end proposed seem far more severe than effectual, it cannot be denied that the Pro- vincials had themselves suffered similar barbarities at the hands of the Acadians, their countrymen, and the Indians in league with them. Doubtless the many suffered for the faults of the few, but this must ever be the case in dealing with distinct classes of people; and, however much it may be lamented, cannot always be avoided. The campaign of 1756 had been unsuc- cessful on the Canadian frontier, and Lord Loudon, on whom the command was con- ferred, determined, instead of extending his operations over its whole extent, to limit them to one object, and direct his whole dis- posable force against Louisburg. Chebucto was appointed the rendezvous, where Admiral Holborne arrived in July with a powerful squadron, and 5,000 troops under Viscount Howe, and was joined by Lord Loudon with 6,000 men from New York ; but intelligence having arrived of the perfect preparation of the French for the Jll ) 84 BRITISH DOMINIONS If' It '4. -I :■ i it I ' >f 111" 1 St IJ." 'V "~ intended attack, and the presence of a large fleet at Louisburg, the attempt was for the time abandoned. The campaign of this year had confined the colonists within the Alle- ghany mountains, and left the ^rench in possession of lakes Champlain and George; but the accession of Pitt to power soon changed the face of affairs, and preparation , were made for the entire extirpation of French dominion in America. Admiral Boscawen arrived at Halifax with a large fleet and army commanded by General Amherst, and was ardently seconded by the Provincials, so that 151 vessels, and 14,000 men, sailed on the 28th of May, and arrived at Gabarus Bay to the west of Louisburg on the 2d of June, 1758. The place was de- fended by 2,500 regulars, and 300 militia, under the command of Chevalier Drucor, reinforced by S56 Canadians and Indians; and the harbour was protected by 6 ships of the line and 5 frigates, 3 of which had been sunk across the entrance to render it in- accessible. For six days the weather was unpropitious, but on the seventh the corps under Governor I ! IN NORTH AMERICA. 85 i* a large for the this year lie Alle- ench in George ; er soon )arations tion of fax with General 1 by the : 14,000 I arrived jburg on was de- militia, Drucor, Indians ; ships of ad been r it in- )pitious, "overnor Lawrence and General Whitmore made a feint, while that under General Wolf effected a landing and drove the enemy into the town ; after which, having taken the light-house battery, the island battery was soon silenced, and one of the largest of the French ships having been blown up, nd two burnt, the boats of the fleet destrt^ jd a 74, and took the Bienfaisanty 64. The command of the harbour being thus obtained, and several practicable breaches made, the garrison sur- rendered as prisoners of war on the S6th July. The loss on the side of the English was only 400 men. In Louisburg were found 231 pieces of cannon and 18 mortars, with proportionate stores and ammunition ; 5,867 soldiers, sea- men, and marines were sent to England ; and Captain Amherst, the general's brother, who carried the news of the capture, presented eleven pairs of colours to the King. The reduction of the fertile island of St. John, the conquest of Quebec and Canada, followed shortly after, and the French pos- sessions in America were reduced to the province of Louisiana. I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^O ^ ^/k \C\ 1^ IM ill 2.5 I.I K£ 1^ ill^ 2.0 US 40 6" 1.8 L25 lliu II1III.6 V] yl ># ^^^ ^^-^J. ^/^ /A PhotDgraphic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4S03 s\ 'u •X 86 BRITISH DOMINIONS After the conquest of Canada, the fortifi- cations of Louisburg were dismantled, and it is now an inconsiderable fishing place, though its former importance is indicated by the green mounds which mark the line of its forti- fications. At this time a house of representatives for the civil government of the province was convened, consisting of 16 members for the country, 4 for Halifax, and 2 for Lunenburg, the franchise being given to freeholders only. The first session was opened at Halifax on the 2d of October, 1758, and Robert Sander- son chosen speaker. At this time the revenue of the colony was only raised as necessity required, but excessive fees were demanded from suitors, especially in the Admiralty courts, and on this account difierences arose between the general assembly and the council. The lands which had been vacated by the Acadians were now offered among the old colonists for settlement, at the rate of 100 acres of woodland to every family, and such proportion of land already under cultivation as the settler might have the ability to work. IN NORTH AMERICA. 87 not exceeding 1,000 acres, subject to a quit rent of Is, and the improvement of one-third part of the land every ten years ; terms that were readily accepted by many. In 1760 Governor Lawrence died, much and deservedly lamented in the colony, having for I ^^^^ ^ substantial basis for its future prospe- rity. The following year the president and council abolished the election of members for the province at large, and issued writs for eight county members, and sixteen from townships. The assembly met at Halifax, July 1671, and during its session a treaty was executed with Joseph Argimault, chief of the Monquash Indians, and a taiif for the purchase of furs agreed upon, a pound of best spring beaver being assumed as a standard, and that valued at 5s. The tide of emigration now began to flow, and the borders of the bay of Fundy and basin of Minas became settled. Boston contributed £00 settlers, Rhode Island 100, New London 100, Plymouth 180, while 2Q0 arrived from the north of Ireland, and were followed at intervals by many others. 88 BRITISH DOMINIONS But the anticipated prosperity of the pro- vince, as the result of this, received a momentary check from the capture of St. John's, Newfoundland, by the French ; and so great was the alarm it occasioned in Nova Scotia, that the few Acadians remain- ing in King's County were collected and sent to Massachusetts, but being forbidden to land were brought back to Halifax. In the interim, however, the French had been dis- possessed, and the peace of Paris guaranteed all its conquests in North America to England. . Of the history of Nova Scotia after the peace of Paris but little may be said : suffering less than the other loyal colonies during the first American war, its prosperity was regu- larly progressive, and the importance of Halifax as a naval station being then fully evidenced, added much to its other advan- tages. IN NORTH AMERICA. 89 5 pro- ed a bf St. ; and d in main- 1 sent m to n the 1 dis- nteed ;a to r the iering ^ the regu- ;e of fully Ivan- CHAPTER III. NEWFOUNDLAND AND THE FISHERIES. The importance of the fisheries, and con- sequent casual settlement of the coast of Newfoundland, having attracted the atten- tion of government, Richard Whitbourne, of Exmouth, in Devonshire, who had since 1578 annually engaged in the trade thither for fish and peltries, was sent in 1615 with a commission from the admiralty to establish order among the fishermen. The necessity of this step may be imagined from the fact, that the masters of one hundred and seventy vessels submitted to his jurisdiction. In 1618 he again visited the island and planted a small colony, and from this period a continued struggle was maintained by those who desired permanent settlement, against I 3 90 BRITISH DOMINIONS the merchants engaged in the fisheries ; so that while the former were impeded, the latter were not without loss from their opposition. In 162^, Whitbourne published a"Discourse of Newfoundland," which attracted the atten- tion of King James, who became very anxious for its settlement. Already charters had been given, first to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, and secondly to Lord Northampton and others; and now Sir George Calvert, afterwards better known as Lord Baltimore, obtained another, by which he became sole proprietor of the peninsula since known as Avalon, and so named by him from the ancient name for Glastonbury, he being a Roman Catholic, and purposing to confine his colonists to that denomination. He resided at Ferryland for some years, and built a fort and house at Isle aux Bois; but afterwards obtaining a grant in Maryland, settled there, and laid the foundation of the since flourishing city of Baltimore, so that in 1628, on the pretence that he had deserted his settlement, another charter was granted to the Marquis of Hamilton, Sir David Keith, and others. IN NORTH AMERICA. 91 SO The powers by which Whitbourne had endeavoured to establish order had proved insufficient to maintain it among the fisher- men; although the share England had in that trade was then so large, that 150 vessels were employed in it from Devonshire alone ; but the French fishermen were numerous, as were also buccaneers, so that to secure some safety and order among them it was ordained by a decree of the Star Chamber, that the first vessel arriving at a station, its master should be termed Admiral, and act as judge ; and in 1633 a code of regulations were drawn up by the same authority, which enacted that for greater ofiences criminals should be sent for trial to England, and established penalties for minor offences. But these arrangements still proving insufficient, it granted a fresh charter to the merchants and traders in Newfoundland in the following year ; and subsequently John Tregonway, a merchant, and Sir David Keith, received commissions to order affairs there. In 1676 the number of vessels engaged in the fisheries had decreased from 205 (the number in 1605) to 80, owing to the increase 92 BRITISH DOMINIONS of the shore fisheries and the inhabitants, of whom, in 1654, 400 families were English; and so great a panic was created among the council, lest by this means a nursery for seamen should be destroyed, that an order was passed to burn their houses, and drive out the inhabitants ; the execution of which being committed to Sir John Berry, he did not hesitate to remonstrate against the severity of it, and on an application from Mr. J . Downing, a merchant, the king was persuaded to annul it. The value of the island, on account of its fisheries, was so thoroughly established in 1660, that the French had made a settlement at Placentia Bay ; and on the breaking out of war in 1696, a French fleet attacked and destroyed St. John's, while D'Iberville, with their forces from Canada, devastated all the English settlements, and after the peace of Rhyswick they continued extending their settlements, while the absurd jealousies of the merchants prevented colonization from England ; so that on the opportunity being afforded by the " war of succession" in 1702, they shortly obtained the ascendancy, and IN NORTH AMERICA. 93 until the peace of Utrecht the island was continually harassed by the contending parties. By it, however, its exclusive sove- reignty was given to Great Britain, while the French were prohibited from settlement, although they obtained the right to catch and drag fish on the coast from Cape Bonavista, the northern point of Trinity Bay, to Point Riche, the northern part of Ingornachoix Bay, or two -thirds of the eastern, the whole northern, and one-third of the western shores of the island; in consequence, in 1721, they had 400 ships employed in the trade. Hitherto, Newfoundland had been nomi- nally under the jurisdiction of the governor of Nova Scotia, but in consequence of the numerous representations sent to the govern- ment at home of the inconveniences and vexations consequent on delegated authority. Lord Vere Beauclerc, having been appointed admiral on the station, obtained the appoint- ment of governor and commander-in-chief for one of his captains. Captain Henry Osborne, on his arrival in Newfoundland, found himself much impeded by the instructions with which he was charged. 94 BRITISH DOMINIONS I 1 m not to do anything contrary to a statute passed in the reign of William III, the provisions of which, establishing the powers of the fish- ing admirals, and being arranged with a view to the fishing interests, were not at all consonant with those of the residents, especially on the more remote parts of the coast. On his arrival in the year 1729, it would appear that Placentia, St. John's, Carbonier, Bay of Bulls, St. Mary's, Trepassey, Ferry- land, Bay Verte, Trinity Bay, Bonavista, and Old Parlekin, were settlements of sufli- cient importance to justify the appointment of magistrates for each of them ; but the civil authority thus acquired seriously abridged that of the fishing admirals, and led to a series of violent efforts on the part of the merchants in England to get it super- seded. This contest lasted until the government of the Hon. John Byng, when a court of vice-admiralty was established ; and subse- quently in that of Captain Francis William Drake, a commission of Oyer and Terminer ; but it was not till 1766 that Newfoundland IN NORTH AMERICA. 95 was declared to be one of His Majesty *s plantations, as colonies were then styled, and the navigation laws extended to it. In the interim, however, it had been left so unprotected (the governors being chiefly afloat, and engaged with their naval com- mands), that in 1762 the French, seizing a favourable opportunity, landed some troops in the Bay of Bulls, and succeeded in taking St. John's, Carbonier, and Trinity ; but Governor Graves forwarding despatches to Halifax, Lord Colvill blockaded the French fleet in St. John's harbour, where he was soon joined by Colonel Amherst with troops from Louisburg.* Lord Colvill having been driven off the coast by a violent gale, the French fleet put to sea, and escaped; but Colonel Am- herst, with but a handful of men, by the zealous co-operation of the inhabitants, re- duced the French army to capitulate. The natural strength of the position occu- * The narrowness of the entrance of the harbour, pre- venting more than one ship coming out at the same time, neutralized the advantage the French Admiral would l^ave otherwise possessed from his superior strength. 96 BRITISH DOMINIONS pied by them, rendered this by no means one of the least brilliant of the successful opera- tions which led to the treaty of Paris, by which, as already observed, although the French dominions in North America were ceded to Great Britain, they retaining only the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, yet the right of fishing and curing fish on the coast of Newfoundland, which had been granted them by the treaty of Utrecht, were secured to them* Under the government of Sir Hugh Pal- liser, the laws relating to the fisheries were much amended, to the great advantage of the fishermen; and from this time the prosperity of the island must have gone on rapidly increasing, but for the excitement succeeding the revolt of the colonies, since called the United States, and their subse- quent suspension of all intercourse with Newfoundland, thus depriving her of produce to the amount of £350,000 yearly, and causing great scarcity. Much damage was also done by American privateers, but on the declaration of independence an ofiensive and defensive treaty was arranged with France, IN NORTH AMERICA. 97 and Admirals Montague, Edwards, and Campbell were, during the war, successfully employed in the pursuit of French and American privateers and fishing craft, and securing to England the exclusive control of the fishing ; the peace, however, restored to both their former privileges. While it lasted, efforts were made by the governors to establish proper local jurisdiction, and in 1792 chief-justice Rivers was sent to open a supreme court of judicature ; but the renewal of the war with France left the fisheries again in the possession of theEnglish, which, scarcely interrupted by the peace of Amiens in 1802, and made exclusive by the declaration of war by the regency in 1812, gave full employment to the inhabitants of the island and the merchants of England, and St. John's became the centre of an immense and most lucrative trade, by which large for- tunes were speedily realized. The treaty of Paris in 1814 restored things to their ori- ginal position, and the great fire, which almost destroyed St. John's two years after, coming as it did in the midst of winter, re- duced the inhabitants to extreme distress, K m ; » iii Ire ' ' J I m\ 98 BRITISH DOMINIONS and entailed great loss on the mercantile part of the community. Nevertheless, in 1818, affairs began to brighten, and Newfoundland, which hitherto had been considered a mere fishing station, ultimately received a charter, by which a regular form of government was established, and the difficulties arising from the insuf- ficient powers and clashing jurisdiction of the local courts were done away with, and under the government of Sir Thomas Cockrane roads were formed and public buildings erected, evidencing an advance in social economy ; and in 1832 a local legislature was given to this colony, now, for the first time, beginning to assume its proper position among the dependencies of Great Britain. This consisted of a legislative and executive council of seven persons, and a house of assembly of fifteen representatives of the people, chosen by almost universal suffrage, every householder, whether owner or tenant, having a vote. It was not, however, till 1841 that the series of naval governors was brought to a close, by the appointment of Sir John I c e n V a r IN NORTH AMERICA. 99 Harvey; and the future prosperity of the colony may be confidently dated from this era. The value of Newfoundland to this country may be estimated by the amount of their trade, which has been calculated for the year 1834, at the close of Sir Thomas Cockrane's govern- ment, as follows: — .1 Exports Imports Balance in favour of Colony It then employed — 888 British ships, carrying ■ 20 Spanish and American £. 826,659 618,757 207,902 tons. 105,570 2,978 while the seal fishery employed not les3 than 500 vessels, and perhaps more than 13,000 men. By government returns, it appears that in 1843, 775 vessels of 48,601 tons, navigated by 4,182 sailors, belonged to the colony ; but in the number of men, those engaged in the seal fishing are not probably estimated, engaging only for a short period. But the fishing on the banks had almost 3 Q ■J J ■j 2 J » ^ i » 3 1 1 3 » 3 13 J J -5 1 J J 3 : J ) ,< ) t * > 3 > J » >*' i \ * * t 3 J » <) -1 n f t J » > • » J I ^ » ; 7 1 » » 1 i J i » I I J J > ■■■> , I « t I » f I I I » I • » ; • « . » t C I i I ( ( t c « { < I I ( I t I < r c f c « C f » f « f « ' < « C « « ' I » « It • t C ( c 1 « < # : t I t ' « < f < < I « ( t ( r I < « • • I « < • • t • I « t • (, • 4 < « I « I I « • • « • • « » • * • • 100 BRITISH DOMINIONS ceased, having fallen into the hands of the French and Americans, of whom the former exercised their rights in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the shores of the island, to the great detriment of the inhabitants; while the latter infested the coasts of Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy, and, made bold by the impunity with which their trespasses were committed, have never ceased their encroachments on the English fishing grounds, even to the present time. That the fisheries of Newfoundland were a prize worth contending for, may be ad- mitted, when it is considered that at the close of the second war with the United States, in 1814, the exports offish were esti- mated at 2,400,000/. sterling per annum, over and above train oil to the value of 192,000/. ; 20,000 quintals of salt fish in barrels; 156,000 seal skins, valued at 5^. each ; 4,666 tons of oil, at 361, per ton , besides salmon, mackerel, furs, and berries, making the total value of exports 2,848,976/. The fisheries of Newfoundland may be divided into two classes: — 1. The cod fishery, and the minor fisheries accessary to IN NORTH AMERICA. 101 it, as capelin, &c. for bait; and, 2d, The seal fishery. For although fish of all sorts swarm around its shores, these fisheries, from their extraor- dinary productiveness, engross all but the entire attention of its inhabitants. The cod fishery is carried on from the shore and in boats, and in small vessels on the banks; the former by the inhabitants, and the French from St. Pierre and Mi- quelon ; the latter by the French, Spaniards, and Americans. Cod are caught on sandy beaches in seine nets, by hooks, both by float lines and by hand, and by jigging ; the two former pro- cesses are familiar to all, the latter is interesting as an evidence of the incalculable number of fish with which these waters abound. It is so named from a plummet of lead with hooks stuck in the bottom and projecting from every side, called a jigger, which is let down into the water unbaited to the depth at which the cod are expected to be found; this being drawn backward and forward strikes the fish, which are imme- diately hauled on board; many are caught k3 102 BRITISH DOMINIONS in this way when they are not to be tempted by bait. The French on the banks use hooks of a soft metal, which offers no resistance, and permits their being turned back to take the fish off; from the shore, also, novel methods are practised, one especially, called bultows ; this is by means of a line floated by corks, and having several hooks pendant from them ; these are only taken up to bait, and as many as one and a half quintals have been caught by it. • The shore fishing commences with the appearance of the first shoal of herrings, called the spring herrings, generally toward the latter end of May ; these are caught in nets for bait; but the fishing is not at its height till the capelin make their appear- ance, and their season lasts from the middle of June till the middle of July. In August the small cuttle fish, or, as they are called by the natives, young squids, succeed the capelin, and the fishing is closed in September by the fall or autumnal shoals of herrings. This variety of bait seems necessary, for though increased by shell fish of various kinds, which \»^ IN NORTH AMERICA. 103 form a favourite bait, food is occasionally so plentiful that the fish get gorged and refuse to bite, and hence the use of the jigger, which is, however, to be reprobated, from the probability of its wounding many more fish than are taken. From the commencement of the fishing, every man, woman, and child is employed ; and so rapidly are the fish taken, that a boat with two or three men will frequently be fully loaded in less than two hours. As the male inhabitants are chiefly em- ployed in the catching, so the females usually meet them at the stage head to receive the fish, and prepare them for curing. At every settlement on the coast of New- foundland these stages are the first things that meet the eye, and form a prominent feature in the landscape. They are made of loose small poles, raised on a frame-work, against the side of a hill or rock ; on to them the fish are thrown with a pikel or gaff", having a hook which is stuck into the head. It is then taken by one called the header, who cuts it across the throat and down the belly, and passes it to an assistant, who, tearing 104 BRITISH DOMINIONS i» 1^ - (; away the head and entrails, preserves the liver for oil, and passes the fish to the split- ter, who takes out the back bone, an opera- tion requiring much dexterity. They are then washed, salted, and laid in piles to drain, washed and salted again, and kept constantly turned till sufficiently dry. The fish are packed in quintals, (a quintal is about lOOlbs. weight,) it requiring about three hundredweight of green or fresh fish to each quintal of dry ; yet So great is frequently the take of fish, that although a quintal is worth on an average only I5s. when ready for exportation, a family of five or six will not unfrequently make from 50/. to 100/. by this means only, during the sum- As much as 5/. a day is said to have mer. been made individually, although it is ne- cessary that S24 cod of an average weight of lOlbs. each be caught to realize that amount. There are three distinct interests involved in this fishery — the merchant, who finds the capital ; the planter, or middleman, who pro- vides the labour; and the fishermen, who catch the fish. The usual division of profits IN NORTH AMERICA. 105 that has been for the former to take one-half, and leave the other for his dependants^ for such in reality they become. This system originated on the banks^ before the island was sufficiently inhabited to carry on any considerable fishery from the shore, and in the opposition of the merchants and fishing admirals to the establishment either of settle- ments or courts of judicature, insomuch that it was once seriously proposed to depopulate the island for the benefit of the fisheries. It is to be hoped, however, that all such ignorant prejudice has long since been dissi- pated. Notwithstanding all opposition, the fisheries are now free ; and there can be no doubt that as agriculture progresses and im- proves, the same system so successfully em- ployed in the United States, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Canada, will be extensively adopted in Newfoundland, with all the advan- tages arising from superiority of situation and position ; and the shore farmers, before the season arrives for agricultural labours, and in the interim afforded between seed time and harvest, will gather a rich produce from the ocean : then, and not till then, will the English ♦■. 106 BRITISH DOMINIONS compete successfully in their fisheries with the French and Americans. If a population of 100,000 can export fish of an average annual value of 400,000/. what might be ex- pected if the western shores of the island were fully peopled, and all its waters thus secured to its inhabitants ! . The whale fishery, as well as that for salmon, might be made very profitable, if fol- lowed systematically, as the former abound on the northern coast, and the latter in all the rivers. Dog fish are caught for the oil procured from them, and capelin and herring are cured in small quantities. The bounty paid by the French govern- ment, of five shillings per quintal of fish caught by their own people, necessitates great regularity in the mode of conducting their fishing both on the banks and the shore ; for the former they use large vessels, the men employed in which are regularly registered and numbered, and which generally remain at sea till their cargo is completed ; their shore fishery is carried on in boats, a certain num- ber of which belong to each merchant, and the fish caught by them are sent to and cured IN NORTH AMERICA. 107 at his stores. The crews have regular wages paid them, and the bounty enables the French to undersell the English in the Mediterranean market. They are said to have 600 vessels and 13,000 sailors employed in these fisheries (and the Americans of the United States may have as many), but the greater part of them return home to France when the fishing season is over. On the north-western coast of Newfound- land, however, it is believed that they are forming settlements in the face of treaties, and carrying on not only a profitable fishery, but exporting timber to St. Pierre and Mi- quelon, and even building vessels. Above 500 are probably located in that remote but desirable quarter of the island. The whole question of the French fisheries in their relation to the English, is involved and difficult; their establishments at St.Pierre encourage smuggling, and they have but little hesitation, as has been already noticed, of robbing their neighbours, both by fishing in their waters, and even by making descents on the coast with fast boats, enclosing the baits in their seine nets, and retiring before any notice can be taken of the trespass. 108 BRITISH DOMINIONS ii!{ The French Government, looking on the fisheries in Newfoundland as their great school or rather nursery for seamen, neglect no means, and spare no expense, for their support and encouragement. England, on the contrary, scarcely affords them an oc- casional visit from a man-of-war, so that every advantage, except that of residence, is on the side of the French. Nevertheless, the English fisheries increase ; and doubtless this will be found the ultimate means of their entire success, though the monopoly of the sea fisheries by the French and Americans presses for the present very heavily upon them, the latter of whom have entirely taken the mackerel fishing of the Magdalen Islands into their own hands, and during the season cover the Gulf with their cruisers.* A recent writer does not hesitate to esti- mate the number of French seamen employed in this trade, and the carrying trade result- ing from it, at 30,000, and the Americans as * The General Assembly of Newfoundland has lately petitioned the Home Government for a revival of the bounties on the bank fisheries, or to endeavour to induce the French and Americans to discontinue theirs. IN NORTH AMERICA. 109 many ; but certainly the number of English engaged is not less at sea, and probably 13,000 from the shores of the Island. If the cod fishery be rather more than equally shared by the inhabitants of New- foundland with the French and Americans, in the seal fishing they have the decided advantage ; and since the formerly lucrative walrus fishery has been discontinued, this is, next to the cod, of the most importance. A more disagreeable employment than the seal fishing can scarcely be imagined ; but the excitement, arising both from the nature of the exertions required in getting through the ice, as well as killing the seals, and the uncertain but frequently very large profits arising from it, prevents a want of hands from being ever felt. ' Preparations for fitting out the " soilers," as the seal vessels are termed, begin early in February, and by the 1st of March, in ordi- nary seasons, the sealers arrive at the different posts from all parts of the country. The vessels employed vary from 30 to 150 tons burden, and may number 100, employing nearly 3,000 men. The dangers of this ser- L 110 BRITISH DOMINIONS I! i vice need no exaggeration: — a voyage of inde- finite extent and uncertain direction, among the ice fields of the coast of Labrador, at so early and inclement a season of the year, sometimes through so thick an atmosphere that observations are impossible, always so impeded by ice that dead reckoning is not to be depended on ; now surrounded by packed ice; again forcing through soft half frozen water and snow, technically termed " lolly ;'* at one time in danger from the slow move- ments of terrific bergs ; at another from the rapid evolutions of rolling pieces ; the crew sometimes sawing out a passage for their vessel ; and at another, suspended by ropes from the bows, engaged in warding off from it the heavy masses of ice though which she is making her way, with their ice-poles or feet, needs only a simple description to give a sufficiently impressive idea of the difficulties and dangers attending it. Yet there can be no doubt that these very difiSculties and dangers, and the excitement they afford, are powerful inducements to brave them, and probably the rough seamen who en- gage in the employ are not entirely insen- IN NORTH AMERICA. Ill sible to the natural beauties by which they are frequently surrounded. Nothing can exceed the romantic ap- pearance of the ice, when seen under fa- vourable circumstances, although the ice- bergs, by which the scenery of the more northern regions is so strikingly diversified, are not here of very frequent occurrence; and perhaps none is more favourable than when the open blue water, shining under the *' clear cold moon," is studded with fairy islets, whose fantastic pinnacles glitter in her rays, as if spangled with innumerable diamonds, or more chastely clothed with pure snow wreaths. At such a time, and in such a scene, when no sound is heard but the ripple of the sea against the bow of the vessel, as, under the influence of a gentle breeze, she imperceptibly threads her way through the transparent archipelago, how readily might the thoughts wander from the real objects of the voyage, and people its islets with crea- tures of the imagination, or, when the corus- cations of the Aurora added brilliancy and colour to their unsullied whiteness, suppose with our fathers — ! 112 BRITISH DOMINIONS 1 i' " By the streamers that flashed so bright, That spirits were riding the northern light!" How soon to be restored to consciousness of the so different reality by the hoarse voice of the captain of the watch directing the man at the helm, or, on approaching an icefield, by the shouts of the sailors to stimulate each other to more active exertion for deliverance from threatening danger, while the morning reveals the real character of the inhabitants of the place, and the dreams of imagination give place to the most sickening scenes that can disgrace humanity. This fishery affords a remarkable example of the power of adaptation inherent in man, and the danger of entering into any employ- ment calculated to blunt the natural feelings of humanity, as well as the no less certain consequence of even an unavoidable residence among filth and garbage, — insensibility not only to the circumstances by which we ourselves are surrounded, but indifference to their removal, the causes of their accumu- lation, or the sufferings they occasion ; and so powerful is the effect of habit on both mind and body, that contact either with IN NORTU AMERICA. 113 suffering or sin, unless it be to relieve or oppose it, can only have this result. That the rough fisherman, whose livelihood in some measure depends on it, should be able to acquire this indifference, is perhaps desirable ; but that educated men should not only witness but assist in the disgusting butchery which this fishery exhibits, can only excite wonder. The idolatry of science, however, joined to novelty and an inquisitive disposition, has induced such to visit the " ice," and full details, which would otherwise be wanting, have been thus afforded us, of which it may be sufficient to say, that, as three hundred seals have not unfrequently been caught in one day by the crew of one vessel, every one of which has to be stripped of its skin, it is no wonder that many should outlive that opera- tion, or that the vessel should wear the appearance of a great slaughter-house. In this, as in all things, the love of money is the root of evil, and the blame attaches more en- tirely to the merchants and fitters out of the vessels than the men employed. The mode of proceeding in this fishing is as follows. l3 114 BRITISH DOMINIONS Every vessel undertakes to carry a number of men proportioned to her size, and is fitted out, provisioned, and found in everything by the merchant by whom she is owned or chartered. Men desiring to go on the voyage then apply for a berth on board of her, and those who are selected pay about 4/. each for it; they are supplied with provisions, &c. and on the return of the vessel receive half of the produce of the voyage for their share, the other going to the merchant and captain. A vessel of from 130 to 150 tons might have a crew of thirty-six men : these would be divided into three watches, each under the direction of a captain, who receives a larger share than the others of the profits of the voyage, and, per- haps, pays less for his berth, as is the case with those engaged as gunners. To each watch three punts would be attached, nine in all, each under the charge of a punt- master, with three men under him ; these are selected, as well as the boats, at the commencement of the voyage, by lot. Each punt is then numbered, and thus easily distinguished with her crew, and IN NORTH AMERICA. 115 manned when required without confusion or delay. , Each man is armed with a bat or gaff, a strong pole of six or eight feet long, to which a large hook is strongly snedded or bound with cord and a rope of several yards in length. On arriving at the ice, and finding it covered with seals, the men disperse with gaff in hand and hauling-rope over their shoulders, striking every seal they can meet a heavy blow over the nose; and thus at least stunning it, they then proceed to skin, or, as it is termed, " sculp " them, which is done by making an incision with a large knife through the fat to the flesh along the whole length of the belly from the throat to the tail ; the legs, or flippers, and head are then drawn out from the inside, and the skin is laid out flat and entire, with the layer of fat, generally about three inches, firmly ad- hering to it; in this state it is called the pelt or sculp, and is commonly three feet long and two and a half feet wide, and weighs from thirty to fifty pounds. This being done, holes are made with the 116 BRITISH DOMINIONS 1 sculping-knife in the edges of the skins, which being laid over each other, the rope is passed through them in such a manner as to draw the whole into a compact bundle, which is dragged along the ice to the vessel. Six pelts is considered a heavy load, and well it may, when the roughness of the road, and the frequent necessity of jumping from one piece to another is remembered; yet one man will often bring in such a bundle six or seven times a day from a distance of two miles, or perhaps more; indeed, as many as sixty pelts have been secured by one man, each of which would be valued at a dollar ; but suc- cess is not always to be depended on, and vessels sometimes return from the ice without a single pelt. When taken on board, the pelts are suf- fered to lie on deck some hours to cool, and are then stowed away in the hold in pairs with the hair outwards ; and as the mo- tion of the vessel and heat of the hold dis- solves the fat, which runs into oil, the hold is divided into compartments to prevent the cargo from shifting and endangering the ves- sel ; indeed, from neglecting this necessary IN NORTH AMERICA. 117 skins^ 3 rope ner as )undle, vessel, id well idy and m one le man ' seven lies, or Y pelts ich of it suc- 1, and ithout •e suf- cool, 3ld in le mo- d dis- lold is it the le ves- essary precaution, vessels and their crews have been entirely lost. Vessels frequently make two trips to the ice during the season, and one has been known to bring in, altogether, 11,000 seals. The total in one year has exceeded 600,000. When the cargo is brought into port the blubber is scraped from the hide, and, being cut into small pieces, is put into vats made of stakes of wood, covered on the outside with planks and tarred ; in these it is left to melt by heat and the influence of the atmo- sphere. The snow-water mixed with the fat is received in the bottom and drawn off occasionally, while the oil is collected in channels of leather placed at different dis- tances, the oil decreasing in value as it approaches the bottom. The first, or upper running, is the pale or pure seal-oil, and is obtained at one-third from the top ; it answers well for common lamps, generat- ing much heat, and is preferred in the lighthouses on the coast of the island to spermaceti. The common seal-oil of commerce is ob- tained from boiling down the fat and integu- 118 BRITISH DOMINIONS jl ment in large cauldrons after the first process. 12,500 tons of seal-oil have been exported in one year. After the fat is scraped from the pelts they are spread out and piled in bundles of from five skins upwards, with layers of salt be- tween them. The seal casts its young, or whelp, in the middle of February. These are in perfect condition in about three weeks, and, as they contain a purer oil, and are more easily killed than the old ones, being found constantly on the ice, while the others take the water, they are more sought after. The old seals, especially those of the hooded species, are fierce, and exceedingly tenacious of life. Many seals are killed on the shore and caken in tide-nets ; the old ones are shot both dur- ing the voyage and from the shore. There are four species of seal found on the coast : — 1. The Bay Seal, probably the Phoca Vitu^ liana of Linnaeus, the common seal, found on our own coast. This is the smallest of the four, prettily marked with irregular spots ; frequents the mouths of rivers and harbours. IN NORTH AMERICA. 119 whence its name : it is never found on the ice during the sealing season. 2. The Harp Seal, {Phoca Greenlandica^ or Greenland seal,) and so named from the supposed similarity of its markings to the ancient harp. This, however, does not ap- pear till the second year, and then only on the male. These seals are gregarious; the young are left on the ice by the mothers, who return to them. When born they are covered with a white fur, and are called White-coats, but in six weeks a smooth spotted skin appears, and they are called young harps ; in about three weeks from the birth, the young ones are nearly half the bulk of their parents. 3. The Hooded Seal, {Stemmatopus Cris^ tatus of Cuvier,) is of a grey colour, with dark irregular blotches. The name is derived from a hood or bag of soft flesh, which, when angry or alarmed, they have the power to inflate so as to cover the face and eyes ; it acts as a defence, resisting seal -shot. When wet, the young have a bluish tinge, and are in consequence called Blue-backs. 120 BRITISH DOMINIONS 11 Ml I They are not so tierce and pugnacious as the White-coats, and as the fat is not so thick, are of inferior value. The Hooded Seal is less gregarious than the Harp, and they appear later and farther north; the male and female keeping with their young in families, — so much so, that it is said, if the female is killed the whole family may be easily dispatched, as the male will not leave the young. 4, The Square Flipper, which has, proba- bly, never been described, unless it be the Phoca Barhata of MuUer, is the largest of all, reaching occasionally the length of fif- teen feet: it is, moreover, very seldom met with.* * For Statistics of Fisheries see Tables of Commerce and Navigation in Appendix. IN NORTH AMERICA. 121 CHAPTER IV. THE GULP AND THE BANKS. The maritime provinces of British North America may be topographically considered as boundaries of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or with reference to each separately. But, in the first place, it seems desirable to give some account of the vast expanse of water contained by them. The Gulf of St. Lawrence was so named by Jacques Cartier, who, during his second voyage, entered it on the 10th of August, being the festival of St. Lawrence, by the main passage between Newfoundland and Cape Breton; and, as he had previously sailed across from * the Straits of Belle Isle to Gaspe, it is prob- able that he first applied it to the outer gulf and shores of Cape Breton, but ultimately retained it for the whole,* which, in its full extent, forms an irregular elongated triangle, * See British Dominions in North Ameriea,Canada, p. 37. M 122 BRITISH DOMINIONS 11 i i having its apex in the Strait of Belle Isle, and its base across Prince Edward's Island, and lying nearly N.E. and S.W, Its greatest length from Grand Point, Bradore Bay, La- brador, to River Philip in Nova Scotia, may be estimated at 450 miles, and its greatest breadth, from Cape Gaspe to Cape Ray, at 230. Receiving the waters of the river of the same name by two channels formed by the island of Anticosti, the gulf also divides itself into two well defined portions ; that on the north forming nearly an isosceles triangle contained between the coasts of Labrador and Newfoundland, and a line drawn from the extreme point of the latter. Cape Ray, to the east point of Anticosti ; and that on the south rather more than an irre- gular semicircle, the diameter of which may be estimated from Cape Gaspe, at the south point of the river St. Lawrence, to Cape North, the northern extremity of Cape Bre- ton Island, its semi-diameter from the north point of the Magdalen Islands to River Philip, and its chord from the island of St. Paul to the east point of Anticosti. IN NORTH AMERICA. 123 The triangular northern point would thus have a base of 130 miles, and each of its sides would be 250, while the southern semi- circular portion would have a diameter of 200 miles, a semi-diameter of 150, and the chord 130 ; and, from these data, the super- ficial contents of the whole may be roughly calculated at above 70,000 square miles. The outer gulf may be estimated as con- tained between the northern shores of Cape Breton Island and the southern coast of New- foundland, the former extending from Scatari Island to Cape North, near 70 miles, and the latter from Cape Ray to Cape Race, about 280. But if the peninsula of Avalon is con- sidered as extending beyond it, its northern shore may be estimated at 180 miles from Cape Ray to Fortune Bay, and its contents at 12,000 ; so that the whole gulf cannot contain less than from 90,000 to 100,000 square miles. The Gulf of St. Lawrence has three entrances; to the north, the Strait of Belle Isle, between the northern coast of New- foundland and the southern of Labrador ; to the south, the Gut of Canseau, between Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island ; and in the 124 BRITISH DOMINIONS III ^ i% m centre, the more important passage connect- ing the outer with the inner gulf. The Strait of Belle Isle is about sixty miles in length, having a breadth of twenty- six at its eastern entrance, eighteen at its western, and nine at its narrowest part. It is of irregular depth (from twenty to seventy fathoms), and a current from the north by the coast of Labrador, bringing down icebergs into it, and causing, from the variation between the temperature of the water and air, thick fogs, renders its naviga- tion difficult, if not dangerous. There are, however, several good harbours on the coast of Labrador, which is studded with islands ; amongf these Chateau Bay, Pitt's Harbour, and Red Bay, are the best. Fortune Bay, at the southern extremity of the strait, forms an excellent roadstead, and is much frequented by the Jersey men in the summer for the fisheries, who have large establishments there for that purpose, as the whole coast is by the Americans and French. The southern shore is composed of low lime- stone cliffs, in an unbroken range. The northern is rocky but irregular. Belle Isle, IN NORTH AMERICA. 125 nnect- sixty venty- at its nty to m the ingin^ )m the of the laviga- •e are, 3 coast lands ; Tbour, e Bay, forms iiented or the iments 3 coast The lime- The e Isle, from which the strait derives its name, is situated 13^ miles from the nearest point of Newfoundland, and 15| from that of La- brador. It is about 9^ miles long, and 4f wide, steep all round, and of moderate height, and, though barren, much frequented by English and American fishermen. The Gut of Canseau forms the best entrance to the gulf for ships bound to its southern ports, as its navigation is free, and much distance saved by using it. Its length is about fourteen, and its average breadth rather above one mile. After strong north-west winds, the water in the gulf is lowered, and a northerly current sets through the gut; the contrary effect is produced by gales from the south, and the tide is so much influenced by the wind, that it has been known to run only one way for several successive days. Its depth varies from 10 to 34 fathoms. The Gut of Canseau leads into Northumberland strait, dividing Prince Edward's Island from the northern shores of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It is about 120 miles in length, and varies in breadth from eight to twenty- two miles. It is clear from all obstruction, m3 ^ ■ 126 BRITISH DOMINIONS iii • II M and varying in depth from ten to eighteen and twenty fathoms in mid channel. The scenery here as well as ahout the Gut of Canseau is extremely beautiful, rock, wood, and water combining in the most picturesque manner, and the outline delightfully varied by the deep indentations of both shores. In the former the rocks, crowned with umbra- geous foliage, tower over the mast heads of vessels passing through, and not unfrequently the lighter spars and rigging are in close con- tact with them, the shores being, in nautical phrase, " steep to." In the latter the scenery is more varied, though perhaps less strikingly picturesque in its features ; but the extreme richness and fertility everywhere apparentlend it an additional and most grateful* charm. i- The principal entrance of the gulf lies between Scatari Island on the south-west, and those of St. Pierre and Miquelon on the north-east ; the former is a small triangular island, five miles in length and three in breadth, lying off Cape Breton, the most easterly point of the island of the same name. Here has at length been erected a lighthouse, exhibiting a revolving light, ninety feet above IN NORTH AMERICA. 127 iteen I Gut vood, 3sque aried . In nbra- ids of lently 5 con- utical jenery dngly treme itlend lies west, )n the igular ee in most name, louse, above the level of the sea, a precaution imperatively demanded by the frequent wrecks whicli formerly took place in the neighbourhood. Scatari Island is barren and rocky, and from it a reef of rocks stretches for a mile and a half. Cape Breton is the lowest land on this coast. The opposite islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon require a more extended notice, as the only remains of French dominion in North America ; they are situated about fif- teen miles to the westward of Point Mary, which forms the extremity of the peninsula dividing Fortune Bay from the Bay of Pla- centia, and is the most southern part of the Island of Newfoundland, the peninsula of Avalon excepted. St. Pierre is nearly twelve miles in circum- ference, rising in a mass of rocky hummocks to about 500 feet above the sea. It is barren and entirely destitute of trees. On Galantry Head, its south-east point, a lighthouse is erected, having a fixed light. Miquelon is about twelve miles long, by five broad. Its northern extremity, called Cape Miquelon, is a lofty promontory, and 128 BRITISH DOMINIONS ij 111! the centre of the Island rises in high land, but the shores are low. This island was for- merly separated from Langley (sometimes written Langlade), or Little Miquelon, by a passage with deep water, but is now connected by a line of low sand hills or dunes. The latter is a pleasant and fertile island^ of moderate and equal height, and about twenty- four miles in circumference. A channel with deep water, 2^ miles broad, separates it from St. Pierre. At the extremities of the strip of sand connecting Great and Little Miquelon are extensive meadows, on which are fed sufficient sheep and cattle for the inhabitants of St. Pierre, and on the latter the com- mandant has a house pleasantly situated. The scenery of these islands is striking and picturesque. The town of St. Pierre consists of one street, with lanes branching from it. The houses are seldom two stories high, and even the commandant^s is built of wood. The harbour of St. Pierre is small, and only capable of receiving vessels of 200 tons burden, on account of its rocky bar, but the outer roads are well protected by small islands and rocks, and form an excellent anchorage. IN NORTH AMERICA. 129 The distance from Scatari to St. Pierre is about 160 miles, and from these points the shores of Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island gradually approach, until, at their western extremities, Cape North and Cape Ray are within fifty-five miles of each other. In the comparatively narrow entrance thus formed to the main gulf lies the Island of St. Paul, ten miles distant from Cape North. It is nearly three miles long and one broad, and rises in three hills, the centre of which is the highest, terminating in a square summit 500 feet above the level of the sea. The surface of the island is rocky, interspersed with marsh, and producing only a few stunted fir and birch trees. Around the island the soundings are im- mediately from tv^enty to forty fathoms, but these soon deepen to 100 ; so that during windy weather the sea breaks over it, and forms a scene of most magnificent though awful grandeur. Before the erection of the lighthouses which now occupy its northern and southern extremities, this island was the dread of the mariner ; and not without reason has it been noted for the number of 130 BRITISH DOMINIONS lip !l 1 wrecks which have occurred on its rocks, for in the first week of May, 1834, four vessels were lost here, and many of their crews drowned."^ It has, however, on all sides of it small coves in which vessels can be safely anchored by those acquainted with them, and it is to be hoped that now it is so well lighted wrecks will not occur, at least so frequently. Cape North is a bold rocky promontory, stretching four miles into the sea, with a deep bay on each side,- — that to the south having a high needle-like termination, called White Point. The whole northern coast of Cape Breton Island is of the same character. On entering the gulf, the vast expanse of its waters is only broken by the Magdalen Islands, which have their northern extremity in a direct line between Cape North and * Halliburton, in his history of Nova Scotia, vol. ii. p. 23, calls it the fatal St. Paul, where, washing among the rocks, are to be found the bones of its victims ; and numbers of massy anchors lie around under water, the only inde- structible remains of the ships thus dashed to atoms ; and adds, the lives of thousands, and incalculable property^ would be saved by the erection of a lighthouse on this island. He has since rejoiced in the brilliant light of two, one at each extremity. IN NORTH AMERICA. 131 Cape Gaspe, distant about fifty-five miles from the former, and 135 from the latter, and extending nearly N.E. and S.W. for thirty- five miles. Their southern extremity is distant twenty-five miles from the nearest point of Prince Edward's Island; but although at a much greater comparative dis- tance from it, they form part of the district of Gaspe and province of Canada. They are remarkable, as well for their character as beauty, and consist of six principal hills, con>- nected by low sandy flats, inclosing lagoons, around which are natural meadows, producing plenty of fodder for cattle. The inhabi- tants, principally French Acadians, are above 1,000 in number, cheerful and contented in disposition, and healthy in body; they live on their cattle and the produce of the fisheries, the soil and climate being unfavourable for the cultivation of grain, although potatoes thrive well. There is no timber, but gypsum abounds. These islands might be made extremely useful in navi- gating the gulf, for not unfrequently, in the continuance of north-westerly winds, the crews of vessels are wearied out in their 132 BRITISH DOMINIONS endeavours, and forced to seek rest and refreshment in the southern parts, when, by coming to an anchor there, they might await with advantage a change of wind. For this purpose they are admirably fitted, having harbours at the centre and northern extremity of the lagoons, and a most excellent bay> deservedly named Pleasant, at the southern, formed by Amherst and Entry Islands on the south, and Alright and the Grindstone on the north, extending seven miles in width by five in depth. The porphyry cliffs of Entry Island rise 580 feet above the sea, while the red sand- stone of Amherst Island, and the greyish white of Deadman Islet, contrasting well with the dark green of the spruce and lighter tint of the pastures, again relieved by the dazzling brightness of the sandbars and beaches, afford a variety of outline and colour not often met with, and blend in most harmonious and picturesque effect. Detached from the main group, Bryon Island and the Bird Rocks lie respectively about ten and sixteen miles N. and N.W. ; the former, sometimes called Cross Island, has IN NORTH AMERICA. 133 on the north steep cliffs of red sandstone, from which reefs extend for about three miles ; it may be about five miles long and one broad, and is connected by a ledge of rocks, having four to seven fathoms water on it, with the Bird Island. These are of no great height, flat, and white from the dung of the gannets with which they abound. It would be a great advantage to the navi- gation of the gulf if a lighthouse was erected upon them. In sailing from the Magdalen Islands to Cape Gaspe, the water deepens, until sound- ings are lost, and in the mouth of the river St. Lawrence they are from 100 to 200 fathoms. The island of Anticosti has been described in the volume relating to the Pro- vince of Canada, to which it belongs ; but the just proportion of that magnificent river to the gulf, may be estimated by the breadth of the two channels by which its waters are discharged into it: the southern may be reckoned twenty, and the northern fifteen miles in breadth, while from Cape Rosier (to the north of Cape Gaspe), its southern ex- tremity, to its opposite point, Natashquan, is N I! i I I 11 134 BRITISH DOMINIONS 130 miles, and from Cape Gaspe to Cape "Whittle, where the shores of the gulf di- verge north and south, may be reckoned 200 miles. The east cape of Anticosti is distant above 130 miles from Cape Anguille, 100 from Cape Gaspe, and 95 from Cape Whittle, the nearest angles respectively of the northern, western, and southern sides of the gulf, and 80 from Bryon Island. The prevalent winds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in summer and autumn, are westerly, and almost always accompanied with fine dry sunny weather, but in the spring easterly winds prevail, and bring with them great dangers to the mariner, covering the surface of the water along the coast with banks of dense impenetrable fog. Great local attraction of the needle occasionally takes place, from the existence of magnetic oxide of iron, especially on the northern coasts. The influence of the northern stream through the Strait of Belle Isle frequently produces beautiful examples of the mir- age; this current flows along the Labrador coast till it meets the current through IN NORTH AMERICA. 135 the northern channel of the St. Lawrence, where uniting, they take a SS.E. direction across the gulf to the north of the Magdalen Islands, where receiving another easterly im- pulse from the main waters of the river, which flow to the south of Anticosti, they are dis- charged through the principal entrance of the gulf, between Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland. In the gulf alone, there are probably more available harbours than in all England put to- gether, many of which on the northern coast are scarcely known, while on the western the bay of Chaleurs is itself almost worthy the name of gulf, being in length above 80 miles, 45 in breadth at its mouth, and 10 at its extremity. The gigantic workings of nature in these regions appear not only in the proportions of the gulf and river Su Lawrence, but the islands by which the latter is surrounded : the two smallest, Prince Edward's and Cape Breton Islands, are, the former 100 miles long by 20 in average breadth, and the latter 60 by 85; while Newfoundland ex- tends on the south from Cape Spear to Cape 136 BRITISH DOMINIONS Ray 280 miles, and on the west from Cape Ray to Cape Bauld above 300; and the penin- sula of Avalon alone, at its south-eastern ex- tremity, is above 70 miles broad and 50 long, making its eastern boundary not less than 435 miles. The topography of these, however, as well as of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, require a more extended and particular notice. Situated at the mouth of the gulf, and having the appearance of deposits from the waters which discharge themselves from it, are those vast banks of sand, shells, and gravel, commonly called the Banks of Newfound- land, a name which they in all probability first received from the harbours and shores of that island being the principal and earliest resort of those engaged in the fisheries con- nected with them. Excepting the shoals on the eastern coast of China, which indeed have rather the character of a gradually shelving bottom to a shallow sea than shoals properly so called, these are perhaps the most extensive elevations of the bed of the ocean of which we have knowledge, stretching from IN NORTH AMERICA, 137 47° 65' W. longitude from Greenwich to the entrance of the gulf in 59** 50', and thence along the coast of Nova Scotia to the entrance of the Bay of Fundy on the meridian of 65°y while they cross diagonally, from N.E, to S.W., the parallels of north latitude between 47° 42' and 42° 38'. The term Banks of Newfoundland should, however, strictly speaking, be confined to the St. Pierre, Green and Great Banks, the others appertaining more immediately to Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island. The Bank of St. Pierre commences off the island of the same name, and extends in a N.W. and S.E. direction for about 115 miles, being about sixty in breadth. The Green Bank is smaller, being only about sixty miles from N. to S., and forty from E. to W. ; it lies off the southern point of the peninsula of Avalon, and forms the connecting link between that of St. Pierre and the Great Bank, The soundings on St. Pierre vary from twenty-five to fifty-eight fathoms, and on Green Bank from thirty-eight to fifty-seven ; but while to the west of the former they increase imme- diately to 150 and 180, in the channel be- tween them there is only eighty-nine fathoms N 3 138 BRITISH DOMINIONS 11 water, while in that between Green and Great Banks it is not deeper than sixty-nine. The Great Bank is the most interesting of the whole, both on account of its size and comparative proximity to Europe. It ex- tends from longitude 47" 55' W. from Green- wich to the Green Bank, and between the parallels 42° 58' and 47° 42' N. latitude. Its length may be estimated at 300, and its breadth at 250 miles, and beyond it the outer or false bank stretches eastward to the meridian of 44° 10'; upon it the soundings vary from twenty to fifty, and in some places sixty to seventy-eight fathoms. These are, for the most part, of gradual variation, the track of the French vessels to St. Pierre and Miquelon lying N.W. by compass across the Great Bank, having a depth of from twenty-seven at the western extremity to thirty-eight and forty-seven at the eastern, except where, on crossing the Whale Deep, it increases to sixty-one. This and another hole at the more northern part are the only places where the depth ever exceeds fifty fathoms. In one place and in one only are any rocks apparent, and providentially this is too far IN NORTU AMERICA. 139 north to lie in the usual track of vessels. These are called the Virgin rocks, they are usually placed in* longitude 50° 55' W. and latitude 46° 25' N.; and rising precipitously in thirty fathoms of water to within twenty-five feet of the surface, are extremely dangerous, not only in themselves, but from the terrible swell they occasion. They extend in an irregular chain S.W. and N.E. about 800 yards, the breadth varying from 200 to 300 ; at its extremities, on detacher^ i ocks, the depth varies from seven to nine fathoms, and then to thirty from a half to one mile distant. The bank on which these rocks are situated lies from E. to W. about four miles in length, and nearly three in its greatest width, with regular soundings from twenty-eight to thirty fathoms, until they suddenly deepen to thirty-nine and forty-three. The breakers are frequently so heavy, even without wind, that it is impossible for vessels to pass near them with safety. But although the smooth surfaces of the banks generally present but few dangers to * The mean of a series of observations made from H.M.S. Hussar, Master J. James, was — Longitude . . . . 50'^ 56' 35" W. Latitude . . . . 46« 26' 15-3" N. 140 BRITISH DOMINIONS I III i ;,;:; the mariner, there are circumstances peculiar to their position and physical character which render a passage over them not without other than are to be expected in any sea voyage. The difference between the temper- ature of the air and water, ( produced by its shallowness) and the proximity of the Gulf stream, generates fogs which prevent vessels from being aware of their approach to each other ; and icebergs carried from the frozen regions of the north by the prevailing southerly current and by northerly winds, hidden by its treacherous veil, not unfrequently present more dangers to the incautious mariner than the iron-bound coast of the continent itself. The regularity of the soundings on the banks, and the calm weather usually attending fogs, render these dangers comparatively trifling, with due caution, a careful look out, and constant use of the lead. But although the fogs on the banks are the cause of some danger and inconvenience to those crossing them, the beautiful scenic and atmospheric effects which they produce are more than a sufficient compensation. It is not when falling in small rain — like a Scotch mist, that, according to the proverb, wets IN NORTH AMERICA. 141 culiar which ithout y sea jraper- by its 3 Gulf vessels each frozen utherly 1 by its present er than t itself. banks, g fogs, Itrifling, t, and an Englishman to the skin— and which, from its contracting effects on the cordage, tighten- ing the standing rigging of vessels, is not in- aptly named by the sailors a Newfoundland boatswain — that these effects are apparent ; then all is dreariness and danger without, and coldness and caution within. The deck slimy with moisture, the cabins and berths damp and uncomfortable, flues smoky, and yet the weather so cold withal that flre cannot be dispensed with ; while the incessant firing of guns, blowing fog horns, ringing bells, and beating gongs, if by chance, as is most likely, a fleet of flshermen be near, afford such a mixture of the minor miseries of human life as are seldom met with elsewhere, and are sore trials of temper to the officers and crew — to say nothing of passengers, whose anxiety to reach the end of their voyage generally sufiers a rapid increase, to the further annoyance of themselves and all around them. But these discomforts may have a very short duration ; a change of wind will chansre the scene, when, pierced by the genial rays of the sun, the fog rolls itself up in vast volumes of vapour, lying close on the surface of the water, which, as if pressed down by the U2 BRITISH DOMINIONS superincumbent weight, heaves its long, slow, and heavy swell in glassy smoothness, unbroken by the slightest ripple, and glowing like molten ore ; and all around is bright and beautiful, cheering and cheerful; the decks dry, white, and clean ; the now useless pilot- coats and south-westers, like the '* bruised arms " of the warrior, " hung up for monu- ments " of past trials and dangers, and con- tests with wind and water; the balmy air blowing softly and sweetly off the still far distant land, filling the so lately sickened heart with hope for the future from satisfac- tion in the present. Shoals of porpoises and black fish sporting around, divert the mind with their unwieldy gambols ; and birds of all kinds flock in the wake of the vessel, greedily seeking the refuse of its provisions, fill the air with their wild cries, and delight the eye with their rapid motions and beautiful plumage ; and among them the delicate and elegant little petrel, now no longer ominous of storm and tempest, conspicuous for its gracefulness and confidence. Then, unfeared, either on their account or his own, the fishing boats are passed by the outward bound with admi- ration, not unmixed with envy, at the dex- IN NORTH AMERICA. 143 r, slow, ibroken ig like ;ht and 3 decks s pilot- bruised monu- md con- ilmy air still far sickened satisfac- lises and lie mind *ds of all greedily 1 the air eye with lumage ; elegant rf storm jefulness ther on g boats [h admi- he dex- terity and rapidity with which cod, haddock, and hallibut are drawn up one after the other, by boys and men, while his own lines, towing astern all day, have perchance taken nothing; and the hoarse hail with which, during the ** thick, heavy weather," they were admonished of his near approach, is exchanged for a cheer- ful remark on the success of their fishing, or a ready reply to the customary question, " What weather abroad ? " Or perhaps, if the wind \ IS died away, a boat is lowered, and a visit I to procure with a " silver hook " that which his unaccustomed efforts have failed to obtain; and, indeed, if the price demanded be any criterion, he might well be excused from the vain labour, except it was for amusement.* And when, descending into the little cabin, the calumet of peace is smoked with his new acquaintances, by a wood fire, on a stone hearth, if it were not for the strange faces round him, the motion of the lively little schooner, rising buoyantly to the slightest swell, and the propinquity of fish, unmistake- • The writer has purchased, in this way, twenty-six cod, six haddock, and one large hallibut, the latter weighing probably above thirty pounds, for a dollar. 1^ i'! 144 BRITISH DOMINIONS |!| I • frfl able at least to the olfactory nerves, it would need but little exercise of the imagination to carry him back to the cottage homes and ingle nukes of old England. The heavy fog-banks, seen at a distance, frequently assume outlines so closely similar to those of distant land as to deceive the most experienced eye ; even places still far off are with confidence pointed out, to fade into thin air at a nearer approach, and cause a smile of derision, or perhaps of disappointment, at the error. The bolder projections of the coast seem to stand out in full relief from the more flowing lines of the hills be- yond, and present, with the most natural exactness, the deep indentations of harbours and open mouths of bays, from which the white sails of the fishermen in reality on the edge of the fog-bank seem to flit in or out, or follow the line of coast as if engaged in the pursuits of commerce ; while the bells of those hidden in its thick folds sound not unlike the village chime which, alas ! is in truth so seldom heard on the western side of the Atlantic. Nor does thescenery of the banks in its ima- ginative and fictitious character confine itself to comparatively tame verisimilitudes, but the IN NORTH AMERICA. 145 eye is not unfrequently delighted by the most fantastic visions that can be conceived. Sud- denly^ and v\rithout apparent reason^ the scene on which it has been gazing with calm and tranquil pleasure, scarce heeding whether it be real or not| appears double^ and inverted, or perhaps distorted ; at one time the masts and rigging of the vessels bent or broken^ at another enlarged or feathered ; and sometimes two or three different representations of the same object are clearly discernible. These freaks of the mirage, however un- real, are frequently very beautiful ; and, as their character is so diversified, present a never-failing source of inquiry and gratifica- tion. The same causes — ^namely, difference in the relative temperature of the sea and super- incumbent air — which generate the fogs on these banksy are probably the cause of the mirage which, as has been already observed, is frequently seen on the coasts of the Gulf and River St. Lawrence. Easterly winds carry the fogs over the western coasts of the continent, but not with so much frequency as to justify the usual evil name given to their climate ; but, veiling the o 146 BRITISH DOMINIONS IIII1 rocky barrier which defends them from the heavy surges of the Atlantic, they of course render any approach to it during their preva- lence difficult and dangerous, and their prox* imity is often first apparent from the war of the breakers at their foot, by day, or the half- obscured glimmer of the warning light on the top, seen far above the mast head of the vessel, like the twinkling of a distant star, through the darkness of the night; so that the slow but certain indications of the lead are the only safeguards of the mariner. And here also, not unfrequently, the foggy curtain rising, discloses scenery of the most attractive beauty, rendered doubly beautiful by the contrast, as by the anxiety with which for some time, in full consciousness of the nearness of the coast, the eye may have been endeavouring to pierce its gloom and realize the pictures of imagination ; or perhaps, when a low, despondent feeling of dissatisfac- tion has taken the place of the excitement of hope and expectation, ^uch scenes have been often seen, and might . sily be painted. Perchance, betwee n high precipitous rocks, raising their rifted ^icads many hundred feet IN NORTH AMERICA. 147 above the sea, and crowned with dark and sombre foliage, the coast, bending inwards, forms a calm and secluded bay, whose rocky barriers gradually sink into a narrow line of bright and sparkliij . ad, beyond which, in gentle undulations, rise verdant Lieadows and fertile fields, whose richness is strongly contrasted with the modest humility of the owner's residence, scarce distinguishable from the heavy fences and low sheds for the cattle, whose distant low floats softly and sweetly over the still waters; while in the middle distance the rigid line of the pine forest has melted into the more flowing characteristics of the harder woods, indicating the fertility of the soil, as the lofty peaks which crown the whole and glitter in the sunbeams do, with equal certainty, its mineral wealth. Such a scene, so suddenly disclosed, seems more like imagination than reality, and per- haps is scarcely appreciated in all its beauty and sweetness, before the foggy curtain, again descending, envelopes it in its thick and en- vious folds — unless the weary mariner is tempted to set his foot on the welcome shore^ and from the hospitable hand of the settler 148 BRITISH DOMINIONS receive with equal welcome those almost for- gotten dainties which he can only taste on land ; and while the homely board groans with the produce of the soil and cattle, and the home-made bread, rich cream, and fra- grant butter, delight his eye and gratify his appetite, in the pleasure his presence and conversation and the news of home— as the old country is every where affectionately termed— afford, he offers a more than suf- ficient recompense for all. The approach of icebergs, so common on the banks, especially on their eastern edge, and sometimes as low as the 40th parallel of lati- tude, between the months of March and July, involves the mariner in some of the difficulties and dangers, as well as the scenery of the polar regions.* Enormous masses they are, often towering far above the topmast rigging of the passing vessels, and threatening them with instant destruction ; for though their motion through the water is so slow as to be imperceptible, their vast bulk and propor- tionate weight would utterly annihilate any- thing of human construction, in the event of * See Appendix B. IN NORTH AMERICA. 149 ost for- aste on groans tie, and ind fra- itify his ice and —as the ionately lan suf- imon on dge, and . of lati- nd July, culties of the ley are, rigging ig them rh their las to be propor- ate any- levent of collision ; and doubtless many, of whose fate we are still ignorant, have been suddenly engulfed in the deep sea at the base, with all their crews, with scarce a thought between time and eternity. Still such dangers are not without protective warnings : — the cold blue gleam of the ice-blink may be seen at a very considerable distance, and the sudden coldness of the air and water, produced by the proxi- mity of an iceberg, cannot be mistaken, while the noise and sparkle of the surf at its base are perceptible even through a fog ; and of all the dangers incident to the sailor, none is so great as that arising from carelessness, which has wrecked more vessels, and destroyed more lives and property, than all the rocks, waves, winds, currents, fogs, and icebergs of the sea or its coasts. From the low, long, level floe and undu- lating hummock, the ice assumes every variety of shape and size, even to the solemn grandeur and sublimity of Alpine scenery, or the irre- gular and picturesque beauty of the fretted arches and airy pinnacles of gothic architec- ture. Nor are fitting inhabitants wanting ; innumerable birds flit round the top ; seals o3 I tl i iiii 150 BRITISH DOMINIONS lie basking at the base ; while from the low long black mass which floats motionless be- neath, rises in intermittent jets the sparkling stream of water which proclaims the pre- sence of the mighty monarch of the deep, who, perchance in frolic, or perhaps alarmed by the presence of strange and unwelcome intruders, dives suddenly into the abyss of his watery home, exposing by the action his enormous bulk, and giving sufficient indi- cation of his strength in the rapidity of his motion, and the tumultuous heaving and boiling of the water on the spot from whence he descended, no less than in the long dis- tance, which prevents his body from being discernible, where the bright jet again in- dicates the place of his return to the surface. The Gulf-stream sets from the southward to the edge of the Great Bank, between parallels 42 and 43, extending somewhat more northerly in summer and autumn than in winter and spring ; its edge is indicated by a very perceptible ripple in the water, as well as by the weed which generally marks its course, and is most abundant at its IN NORTH AMERICA. 151 extremities. Within its limits the water is warmer than the air ; without them it is colder ; and there can be no doubt that the proximity of this extraordinary current must have considerable influence on the weather and atmospheric phenomena experienced on the Great Bank. But to return to the banks themselves. From St. Pierre they stretch, as has been remarked, to the south, and follow the line of coast with a gentle inclination to the west. The first of these, Banquereau, lies, like St. Pierre, in the entrance of the gulf, and is remarkable for the small depth of water upon it, not exceeding forty fathoms ; indeed, in the fair way to Halifax to the north of Sable Island, the extreme depth is only thirty- seven. This bank lies about N.E. and S.W., in length about 145, and in breadth 50 miles, except where a projection towards the north- w^est, called the Mizen, increases it near the centre to about 100. Off the entrance of the Gut of Canseau is « a small bank which bears the same name. Next to Banquereau is the most irregular and dangerous of all the banks, named, from 152 BRITISH DOMINIONS aU m ^:.'i 'I I fi the singular island at its north-eastern ex- tremity, Sable Island Bank* This island, from its peculiar position and character, deserves a somewhat extended notice. It is situated about 85 miles distant from Cape Canseau, and extends nearly east and west for thirty miles, in the form of a bow. Lying directly in the track of vessels to and from Europe, and being but little elevated above the level of the sea, it has been the scene of constant shipwrecks, and a terror to the mariner.* The north-east end of the bank on which it is situated rises in terraces, and, as well as the island, appears to have received its pecu- liar form from the meeting of two currents in its immediate vicinity, and this may, per- haps, have really caused its existence ; for although at present the Gulf-stream meets the current from the St. Lawrence, to the eastward of the island, yet the former, flow- ing in an E.N.E. course, sets the latter con- * Scarcely a year has passed without loss on this island, but as terrible examples, the year 18C2, in which two hundred persons perished, and 1826, in which three ships, two brigs, and a schooner were lost on it, may be noted. I ex- 1 and ;nded istant f east bow. o and ivated n the ror to which ^ell as pecu- rrents per- ?; for meets o the flow- con- island, jh two ships, loted. IN NORTH AMERICA. 153 siderably westward of its original SS.W, direction, and has undoubtedly been the cause of many wrecks taking place on the S.E. point of the island. This long attenuated line of sand, being only one mile and a half in width, presents an undulating outline, the cliffs and hum- mocks rising from 100 to 150 feet above the sea ; but its solid surface is considerably re- duced by a pond of about eighteen miles in length by one in width, which occupies iH centre, and is only separated from the sea by a barrier of about two hundred yards. At one time, by the action of the sea, a breach was made on the northern side, and the lake converted into a safe and commodious har- bour for small vessels, but another tempest soon after closed the opening, and 'mprisoned two American boats that had sought shelter in it. It is now supposed to be gradually filling up with sand blown off the island, while the surface of the latter is said to be decreasing, several fathoms water now flow- ing over places once high above the level of the sea. In twenty-six years four miles and a half have been washed away; but during 154 BRITISH DOMINIONS the same period the height of the hills has increased, and as the eastern end has no apparent diminution, it appears prohable that the reduction of the lake, and elevation of the surface, will ultimately change the face of the island, and make it more habitable and less dangerous. At present, however, the changes are very rapid, sand-hills being frequently blown quite away, and the remains of former wrecks and persons whose fate was unknown ex- posed to view; and the southern shore is always covered with similar sad relics, al- though, since there have been settled residents in the island, they are confined to those of the vessels whose timbers supply to the in- habitants the want of a more natural growth. On the south side the water shoals gradually, but on the north shore there are ten fathoms close to danger. At either extremity of the island there is a long and dangerous bar ; that on the north- east is twenty-eight miles long, and has not more than three or four fathoms water for four leagues. The north-west bar extends sixteen miles. Along these and the whole IN NORTH AMERICA. 155 Us has as no le that tion of e face )\e and re very blown wrecks vn ex- hore is ics, al- jsidents ose of the in- rowth. dually, athoms there is north- las not iter for extends whole length of the island, the surf beats with tremendous vehemence and appalling sound in stormy weather, and the loose sand trembles under its weight. The currents round it are uncertain ; but during the summer months south-west winds are almost constant, and cover the island with the heavy fog that always accompanies them. The climate is less rigorous in winter than on the continent, snow seldom lying long on the ground. . The island produces nothing but a coarse strong grass or bent, with whortleberry and cranberry bushes in the hollows. The hu- mane conduct of the Portuguese in stocking it with cattle has been already noticed ; but in the lawless periods of the early history of the provinces they were destroyed, even for their hides and tallow. At subsequent pe- riods it has been re-stocked both with cattle and hogs, but both have disappeared, and now its undomesticated inhabitants are ponies, rabbits, rats, and seals, and, of course, innumerable wild fowl. The origin of the former is unknown, but they are a hardy, active race, resembling the Shetland pony in character, and are found not unpalatable for 156 BRITISH DOMINIONS iml ill * food. The seals are of the ursine species, and are a source of profit to the inhabitants. The rabbits have found a most congenial abode, which is, however, disputed with much success by the rats. The dangerous character of this island, and the shoals about it, made the establish- ment of some refuge upon it for the ship- wrecked mariner to be early devised, but both the Home and Colonial Governments appear to have been deterred by the ex- pense until the year 1801, when the legisla- ture of Nova Scotia took it under its protec- tion, voted 600^. for settling some persons upon it, and subsequently, in the year 1804, enlarged its grant to 400/. per annum, which has, since 18^7, had a similar amount added to it by the British Government. These funds, now amounting to 800/. per annum, have been administered by a commissioner (the Hon. Michael Wallace) residing at Halifax, who has also in charge the sale of all effects, stores, &c. from vessels wrecked there, which are regularly forwarded to him by the residents, as well as of awarding salvage to them in extraordinary cases. IN NORTH AMERICA. 157 species, bitants. ngenial h much island, tablish- le ship- ed, but rnments the ex- I legisla- protec- persons k 1804, , which t added These annum, lissioner ung at sale of rrecked to him [warding ;s. These contist of an overseer, his family, and four or five servants, who find constant employment in their solitary but charitable labours. Under their care are large store- houses filled with necessaries for the sufferers from shipwreck ; so that while, in 18^2, the survivors from the wreck of the French frigate L'Africaine were obliged to bivouac between the sand-hills, two or three hundred men may now be comfortably provided for. Attached to the Superintendent's house is a small gar- den, in which cabbages have been successfully cultivated, but corn, although the attempt has been frequently made, could never be brought to maturity. A few horses, cows, and oxen, with some hogs and poultry, form the live stock, sheep not finding sufficient food, nor being able to bear the exposure of the island. The principle which actuated the establish- ment of this little life-preserving colony, at so great an expense, cannot be too warmly applauded ;* but it is to be hoped that light- bouses may be erected at either end of the island, to make good the old proverb, that prevention is better than cure. * See Appendix C. P 158 BRITISH DOMINIONS Sable Island Bank reaches the 42d parallel of north latitude, and extends about 175 miles in length, and thirty-five in breadth, in a direction nearly parallel to the line of coast. The soundings on it are very irregular, vary- ing from twelve to sixty fathoms. It is enlarged towards the north thirty-five miles by the middle ground, which extends east and west seventy. To the west of Sable Island lie the La Have and Rose way Banks ofi* the harbour of Shelbourne : the former, having its western extremity on the 65th meridian, and being crossed near its eastern by the parallel of 48** north latitude, and the meridian of 64® west longitude, is comparatively unimportant, from the depth of water on it being never less than forty-six fathoms, as is the case with the latter, which is still smaller. They al- most unite the line of soundings with those which extend round the coast from Cape Sable across the Bay of Fundy, and again approach the same point in the long shoals off Cape Cod and the Bank of St. George, which extend in a north-westerly direction to latitude 42° 10'. IN NORTH AMERICA. 159 parallel 5 miles , in a [ coast. ', vary- It is B miles ast and the La bour of yestern I being of 48^ ** west it, from ^er less le with |hey al- with It from [y, and le long of St. lesterly CHAPTER V. NEW BRUNSWICK AND THE TIMBER TRADE. The district of Gaspe, which forms the upper part of the eastern boundary of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, appertaining to Canada, will be found noticed in the volume contain- ing the description of that province. Its southern boundary is the northern limit of New Brunswick, which therefore claims the first attention: commencing at Miscoue Island, the south-east extremity of the Bay of Chaleurs, it follows the course of the river Restigouche,* until it meets the north line drawn from the sources of the St. Croix river; which, continued to the mouth of that river in Passamaquoddy Bay, forms the eastern boundary of the province, including * There appears to be a difficulty in ascertaining which branch of the Restigouche should be considered the boun- dary of the province. ■m ifcl: 160 BRITISH DOMINIONS the principal islands in it, Deer and Campo- bello, as well as the Grand Manan in the Bay of Fundy. Its southern boundary follows the line of coast to the head of Cumberland Basin, and is carried up the river Missa- quash, and then across the isthmus to Bay Verte. It has its western boundary in Nor- thumberland Strait, which separates it from Prince Edward's Island, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; within these limits it forms a com- pact square, the contents of which are pro- bably under estimated at 27,000 square miles j of this 6,000,000 acres have been granted, and of the remainder 3,000,000 are esteemed fit for cultivation. The province will thus appear to be sur- rounded nearly on three sides by the sea, but its coasts present very different features; those on the Bay of Fundy being rocky and precipitous, and of great and picturesque variety, while on the northern and eastern shores a nearly level and unvaried country is presented to the view, sloping gradually down to the sea, and extending into it in banks of shingle and sand, inclosing lagoons, while extensive tracts of internal marsh and IN NORTH AMERICA, 161 Jampo- he Bay 3VVS the berland Missa- to Bay in Nor- it from fof St. 5 a com- re pro- e miles ; granted, iteemed be sur- ;ea, but atures ; rocky iresque astern jountry idually it in igoons, Ish and peat-bog are found along the banks and about the mouths of the rivers. Perhaps even more than its neighbour provinces, New Brunswick is a land of rivers and fountains of waters, and, therefore, by following the plan already adopted in the description of Canada, in that of the course and character of the rivers, its general fea- tures will be most intelligibly exhibited. The centre of the province is occupied by a hilly district, in which all its rivers, the St. John and St. Croix excepted, take their rise; the latter of these, forming the boundary of the province, has one of its principal sources in the state of Maine, as has also the former since the treaty of 1842. This may be con- sidered as the termination of the Alleghany range, which, losing its identity in numerous spurs about the head waters of the St. John's and Restigouche, extends through the whole district of Gaspe, after having been joined by that which forms the southern boundary of the basin of the St. Lawrence. As they extend to the west and south, these mountains decrease in altitude, so that although Cataadan, in the state of Maine, and p3 162 3RITISU DOMINIONS within sight of the boundary, is about 6,000 feet high, few of those in New Brunswick will be found to exceed 2,000. A glance at the map will show that the principal watershed of the country is about the source of the Tobique, a tributary of the St. John's, the Upsaquish, which falls into the Restigouche, the Nipisiquit, and north- west Miramichi rivers; here, therefore, the lofty summits of Blue, Ox and Bald moun- tains rear themselves above the rest, and afford scenery not deficient in Alpine wild- ness, and about the sources of the St. Croix, and towards the north-east. Mars Hill reaches an elevation of 1,700 feet, and others pro- bably somewhat more. These mountain chains consist for the most part of primitive rocks, and the rivers which flow through them, broken into cata- racts and swelling into lakes, aflbrd every variety of picturesque and beautiful, not to say sublime, scenery; but although having their rise in the same district, the rivers flowing eastward water a country of very different character from those flowing to the south, and require a distinct and separate IN NORTH AMERICA. 163 : 6,000 nswick < • ■> .^. lat the ; about ' of the is into north- ire, the moun- st, and e wild- . Croix, Ireaches rs pro- per the rivers cata- every not to jhaving rivers »f verv to the sparate description. Of the latter are the St. John's, and its branches, the St. Croix, and the smaller streams which separate them, and the Petitcodiac. The St. Croix has its rise from two separate heads, forming distinct chains of beautiful lakes ; the southern is, as^ has been observed, entirely in the state of Maine, but the northern, or Cheputneticook, flowing from an irregular, serpentine sheet of water, called the Grand Lake, extending for above forty miles in a south-westerly direc- tion, will not yield in picturesque effect to any river of the same size; in a course of 150 miles, it is frequently broken into falls, some of which, especially those termed the (jrrand Falls, are wildly beautiful, and with their broken rocks and foaming waters form a striking contrast to the soft, calm, and chastened scenery of the wide -spreading "eddie^s," which follow in regular succession. These might, perhaps, be properly regarded as small lakes, but are too insignificant in this country of waters to be so esteemed* The rapid course of this river renders it only navigable for fifteen miles, to a place called the Ledge, where large vessels can load with 164 BRITISH DOMINIONS 14' In- ease and security ; but being by it admirably adapted for the erection of mills, a thriving trade is carried on from it in timber, though chiefly from the American side. The Digdeguash and Magaguadavick are rivers of similar character, the country watered by the latter being, perhaps, more fertile and richly beautiful, and may be compared without fear to the softer parts of the lake district of Westmoreland." Passamaquoddy Bay, into which these fall, is of considerable extent, being fifteen miles wide at the mouth, and twelve in extreme depth ; its entrance is full of islands, which enclose a clear basin of ten miles in width by five in depth; of these Moose, Dudley, and Frederick belong to the United States. Among them there are several entrances into Passama- quoddy Bay, three of which seem to corre- spond with the rivers flowing into it. The principal channel — by Campo Bello and Deer Islands — is wide and plain, but those on the New Brunswick shore are tortuous ; they a.'^ called the Big and Little La tete, or Latite; the latter is scarcely practicable, except for small craft, but the former is m NORTH AMERICA. 165 drably iriving hough ck are iratered fertile mpared le lake quoddy derable mouthy raiice is r basin depth ; ederick them ssama- corre- . The d Deer se on ; they ete, or bl« Lica Imer is frequently used, and remarkable for its pic- turesque character. A fleet of vessels threading its mazes, the bulky timber ship or stately man-of-war following the light and agile pilot schooner, and the smaller vessels of the country loaded with fish or lumber, their bright canvass swelling in bold relief against the dark precipitous rock and heavy foliage of the spruce, and the sparkling waves glanc- ing from their dark sides, or thrown off* in feathered spray from their bows, or breaking fantastically over the jutting ledges, form a picture not easily effaced from the memory. Campo Bello and Deer Islands are inhabited and cultivated : the former is twelve miles long and three broad, and the latter about six by three ; their eastern sides are barren, rugged, and precipitous ; the western, sloping gradually to the water, are soft and fertile in their features. The bay, from its great extent, offers no adequate security against violent gales, especially from the south-west, but every protection is afforded by the nu- merous small harbours with which it is sur- rounded, among which L'etang harbour, at its western extremity, is inferior to none in 166 ISRITISU DOMINIONS II M Bill 1^ British North America. On a peninsula at the head of the bay is situated the town of St. Andrew's^ the third in importance in the province ; it has a small harbour formed by Navy Island. The land around is extremely fertile, and the country in process of settle- ment, but the interior is still a wilderness, trodden only by the lumberer. From Passamaquoddy to the mouth of the St. John's the coast is composed of bold and rocky cliffs, deeply indented, affording several coves and small harbours, admirably adapted for vessels of light burden, and remarkable for picturesque effect. The inhabitants are few, but derive plentiful sustenance from the joint produce of the sea and land, (being both fishermen and agriculturists,) but the latter, producing chiefly spruce, cedar, and white birch, is not of a nature best adapted for cultivation. The river St. John's has its principal source in the Walloostook, or Maine, St. John's, which was ceded by the treaty of 1842 to the United States, as well as the S.W. bank of the river, from lake Pohenagemook at the head of its tributary, the St. Francis, to a isuia at :own of ) in the med by tremely f settle- derness, h of the old and r several adapted larkable ints are :om the ng both J latter, white ted for source John's, to the bank at the IS, to a IN NORTH AMERICA. 167 short distance above the Grand Falls, where it enters the province of New Brunswick ; the St. Francis, Green, and Madawaska rivers, and the smaller tributaries of the St. John's, being in the province of Canada. Throughout New Brunswick the river is entirely British, although the citizens of the States have by the late treaty a right of traffic on its waters. The Grand Falls are situated 200 miles from the mouth of the river, and 125 from Fredericton ; by these, the river Madawaska, and the Temiscouata portage is the mail route from Halifax to Quebec. A fort is being erected here, and preparations for set- tlement, which, considering its proximity to the frontier, is in every respect most de- sirable. These falls, in any other country, would be of deserved estimation, though here sur passe i by Niagara, Wilberforce, and the other stupendous cataracts in the more western and northern districts. Above, the river spreads into a broad basin, from whence its waters shoot in glassy smoothness over a precipice of calcareous slate, fifty-eight feet in height, into a gorge of twenty-five feet in width, and three quarters of a mile in length. If-^-- i ' W*^'-- m nil " 1?' m 168 BRITISH DOMINIONS flanked by overhanging cliffs fifty feet in height. Emerging from the chasm, the waters iagain make a rapid descent of the same depth, the difference of level between the upper and lower basin being 116 feet. Some distance below the falls, the river receives the waters of two large tributaries from opposite sides : the Aroostook, the valley of which was ceded to the United States by the treaty of 184^, is, from its fertile soil and luxuriant growth of forest, advancing rapidly in settlement ; and the Tobique, which, although it flows through a district scarcely less inviting, is so seldom trodden by the foot of man, that it is the last haunt of ihe beaver on the eastern coast of North America. The Tobique takes its rise in the moun- tainous district already noticed as forming the principal watershed of the province: here its four principal sources and their feeders precipitate themselves over the naked rocks, and wind around the base of lofty precipices ; and the scenery, though exceed- ingly grand and impressive, is beautified by luxuriant groves of birch and maple, be- IN NOHTH AMERICA, 169 Feet in waters depth, )er and e river jutaries e valley tates by tile soil vancing 'obique, district dden by launt of ' North moun- tbrming rovince : their e naked of lofty exceed- ified by 3le, be- sides an abundance of spruce^ cedar, larch ^ and hemlock. Extensive fires have, how- ever, given an appearance of desolation to some parts of it ; but where these streams unite, about eighty miles from its mouth, the fertile intervals commence; and from hence, throughout its whole course, few localities offer a more delightful residence, as well from the richness of the soil as the beauty of the scenery, and the variety of the produc- tions of its woods and waters. The dark rich loam, which everywhere forms the surface of the ground, produces a heavy growth of sugar-maple, yellow birch, hemlock and pine. The balsam-poplar is also found ; and the cranberry, butter-nut, gooseberries, currants, plums, and grapes are indigenous, and wild hay abundant. The woods teem with game, and the waters with fish.* As the river approaches the St. John's, the intervals widen, and the country becomes more level ; but throughout the whole course * >' Fish are so numerous, that Dr. Gesner records an instance of a settler killing twelve barrels of salmon with 9. single ?pear, which Bold for 51, currency per barrel,. 170 BRITISH DOMINIONS »f r^f of the river, the lofty summits of the Blue Mountains form a varied background to the landscape. At their base, the river is 75 yards wide, and is navigable for tow boats and canoes 100 miles from its mouth. Gypsum and limestone are abundant in this district. Eleven miles from its mouth this river is broken at the Red Rapids; and below this, again, forced through a narrow gorge of about forty-five feet in width, between pre- cipitous cliffs one hundred feet high. From the narrowness of tho channel, the water rises, rushing impetuously onward, forming whirlpools, which during the freshets render its navigation dangerous. At the mouth is a large tract of terraced intervale in possession of the Melicete In- dians, 200 of whom reside here, and collect furs from the mountains to a considerable extent. They also derive temporary advan- tage from the position of the village, forming the most convenient station for collecting the logs, cut in the woods during the winter, into rafts to float down the river. As, however, they do not cultivate the lands, it would be IN NORTH AMERICA. 171 desirable to purchase them, that settlers might be placed in this most eligible spot. From the Tobique to Woodstock, fifty-two miles below, the banks of the river are only in process of settlement ; but from thence to Fredericton the intervale is generally under cultivation. A steamer ascends the river as high as the former town. Numerous small tributaries add their water to the main stream, each flowing throuf^h its own little tract of fertile land, both above and below Fredericton, none of which deserve particular notice, except the Pokioc, on ac- count of the beautiful cascades by which its waters are discharged into the main river, and the Keswick, for its fine alluvium, on which disbanded settlers were located after the peace of 1763. Fredericton is the capital of the province, and residence of the government^ but other- wise not an important or interesting place ; it is situated at the head of the sloop naviga- tion of the river, eighty miles from the town of St. John's ; it was formerly called St. Ann's, and settled about the year 1785, Here is the provincial university, or King's 172 BRITISH DOMINIONS Ifll!-: ^ B College, which is liberally endowed by the legislature ; it has public buildings, churches, banks, &c. and a population of about 5,000, but all consequent rather on its o:(ficial character than its trade, although it is the centre from whence the roads of the province diverge. To Gage Town, the character of the river varies little ; but below it assumes rather the appearance of a chain of narrow lakes with extensive branches to the north and north-west, the three principal of which are the Grand Lake, fed by Salmon River, and those at the mouth of the Washademoac and Kenebekasis, the head-waters of which, as well as of all the tributaries to the north of the St. John's, are in close proximity to those of the rivers falling into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The country about Grand Lake may be termed the garden of the province. Its shores are extensively settled, its woods are of the most valuable description, its waters abound with fish, and extensive coal-fields surround its northern extremity, where the character of the country changes, and its IN NORTH AMERICA. 173 features resemble those on the northern and western shores of the province. Grand Lake is connected with the St. John's by the Gem- seg) a natural canal. It was the general productiveness of this spot, as well as the facility afforded by the river communica- tion with Quebec, that first attracted the attention of the French, and caused its so early occupation by them. The chain of lakes extends for nearly fifty miles, and their vast surface of water accumulates a little above St. John's, to find a passage through tortuous and narrow channels, in many places not more than twenty -five feet wide, and con- stantly divided by islets and rocks. The effect of this is to produce a fall or shoot of water, twenty-eight feet in height, when the tide of the harbour is low ; but at high water, the fall is, against the current of the river, at spring- tides, fifteen feet in descent. At half-tide, however, there is smooth water; and, for a short period, boats and even vessels up to 200 tons burden may pass in safety."^ The beauty of these falls can scarcely be exaggerated ; the split rocks towering m * See Appendix D.- -Danger of Passing the Falls. q3 174 BRITISU DOMINIONS si I. i aloft in rugged pinnacles, decorated with festoons of climbing plants, and crowned with verdure, flittering with the spray which not unfrequently dashes over them^ and pours down their rugged sides like streams of diamonds, when the level light of the rising or setting sun gilds their hoary heads ; and the dark-green torrents rush with hoarse murmurings through the black chasms at their base. Beautiful at all times, this scene becomes not unmixed with terrors, when the ice, breaking up in the lakes and streams above, descends the river in massive sheets, which strike with the noise of thunder the rocky barriers of the pass, and, broken by the violence, scatter innumerable fragments in the air, while the sombre hues of the woods, as yet unclothed with verdant foliage, con- trasted with the 3now drifts which still fill the hollows and chasnis of the rocks, lend darker horrors to the rushing waters. The town of St. John's is situated on a sloping declivit}^ at the head of the harbour, two miles from the falls. It contains above 6,000 inhabitant^, and is the centre of an IN NORTH AMERICA. 175 I with owned which ly and treams of the heads ; hoarse sms at lecomes he ice, I above, , which rocky by the ents in woods, e, con- still fill lend on a larbour, above of an extensive foreign and coasting trade. Ship- building is also carried on here with great spirit, and vessels of large tonnage con- structed, which may rival in model and work- manship those of any British port, whether at home or in the colonies. There is also a productive fishery in the harbour; 15,000 barrels of herrings, 3,000 of salmon, and ^,000 of shad being frequently taken in one season. The harbour offers every facility for loading, and convenience and safety for anchorage. The coast and interior from the St. John's to the Petitcodiac are as yet scarcely at all inhabited; the former is rocky and barren in appearance, but the latter in every respect desirable. The Petitcodiac falls into Shepody Bay, the western arm of Chig- necto Bay, about which settlement is rapidly progressing, and the locality advancing in importance. The river Missiquash, which separates this province from Nova Scotia, flows into the south-eastern branch, called Cumberland Basin. Here the tide rises sixty ieet, and produces a bore advancing in a solid mass so swiftly, and with so great noise and "•NT m^ ') .•: 1 176 BRITISH DOMINIONS elevation, that the cattle grazing on the marshes fly before it in terror. The rivers which flow into the Bay of Chaleurs, as well as the north-west branch of the Miramichi, rise, as has been remarked, in the mountain district, from the eastern side of which the Tobique descends to join the main waters of the St. John's. The northernmost of them, the Restigouche, retains its mountainous character until within a short distance of its mouth, which forms a secure land-locked harbour, though diflicult of entrance, at the head of the Bay of Cha- leurs. Near the southern point is the rising village of Dalhousie. From hence the shores of the bay, to Miscoue and Shippegan Islands, are low, but fertile and pleasant, and well watered by several small rivers, the principal of which is the Nipisiquit, flowing from the lake of the same name near the source of the To- bique into Bathurst Basin, which, however, offers no advantage for commerce, but Nipisiquit Bay is a fair roadstead. Though not less fertile, they present a strong contrast to the opposite shore of the district of Gasp^, IN NORTH AMERICA. 177 n the \ay of inch of larked, eastern to join ;ouche, within forms a iifficult rf Cha- e rising )ay, to e low, red by which ake of ;he To- iwever, le, but gh not Itrast to Gaspe, which is for the most part under cultivation, except towards the eastern extremity, where it is bold and rocky. From Miscoue Island the western coast of the province affords no remarkable features ; but the soil is rich, well watered, and adapted for settlement, which should be rapidly pro- gressing. The deep inlet formed by Miramichi Bay is the centre of the trade of this part of the province, as the river is the natural outlet of the richest part of the interior. It is second in size and importance to the St. John's, and with its tributaries may water a district containing 5000 square miles in a course of 250. About twenty miles from its mouth, on the south bank, is the town of Chatham, a free warehousing port, scarcely second to St. John's in the importance of its trade, from two to three hundred vessels loading in this river with timber every year. Four miles higher up, on the opposite bank, is New- castle ; and still higher, on the south side, at the head of the navigation, and not far from the junction of the two principal branches. 178 BRITISH DOMINIONS Nelson; both flourishing settlements, al- though the great fire in the year 1823 gave so severe a blow to the trade of this river, that it might have been supposed impossible that it should recover. By it the whole of the buildings on the banks of the river were de- stroyed, and the flame rushing with Tearful rapidity through the dry woods, formed a fiery arch over the water, and burned not only those on its banks, but, in some places, unfortunate persons who had fled to them as a place of safety. After completely deso- lating the neighbouring country for miles round, and burning for many weeks, it be- came at last extinguished for want of food for its rapacity, in some places stopped by mountains, in others by lakes and rivers, and in others by districts already a prey to the same devouring element. Although scarcely any town in British North America has been free from the ravages of fire, and some, as St. John's, Newfound- land, Halifax, Quebec, and even St. John's, New Brunswick, have suffered often and severely, none perhaps have been so com- pletely devastated by one fire as Miramichi IN NORTH AMERICA. 179 and the country around. It still in the un- cleared districts wears a barren and desolate appearance, forbidding to the settler, and hiding under its black and rugged exterior the natural fertility and capabilities of the soil. The harbour of Miram M is large and capacious, although the ^^i trance between Waltham and Fox Islands is tortuous and difficult, and its size somewhat contracted by sand banks. Here is an excellent and pro- ductive fishery for salmon and gaspereau ; but this, as well as many other natural advan- tages, is for the most part neglected by the inhabitants for the more lucrative and excit- ing trade in timber. This trade, although carried on from both East and West Canada, as it forms the staple of New Brunswick commerce, and two-thirds of her population are directly or indirectly connected with it, may here, perhaps, be most properly described. There are two modes in which the timber trade of the interior is carried on : first, by settlers cutting timber on their own lands, and selling it to the merchant who exports ^, -.% IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^ /. fe Ic ^ 1.0 I.I -i^ 12.5 us 11.25 i 1.4 1.8 1.6 v] 7 %oV^ 7 Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 C^ :V 180 BRITISH DOMINIONS it; and, secondly, by parties sent into the woods by the merchant himself. * The first is a natural and legitimate mode of traffic; the second, though it has been the source of enormous profit to individuals, and so of course to the community at large, has probably done more to demoralize the population of the provinces than even their contiguity to the United States. The reason of this will be apparent, when it is stated that the timber of commerce, consisting almost entirely of the larger species of fir, oak, beech, birch, and maple, — but of these last, comparatively, an insignificant quantity, — ^is not found universally fit for cutting, but only here and there in spots, perhaps many miles from each other. To purchase land simply for cutting timber, would therefore be a ruinous proceeding, and the merchants, especially in the early periods of the trade, were not very particular where it was cut, provided the timber reached the market. Sometimes a right of cutting was purchased of Government, or the grantee of any district; but much oftener timber was cut wherever it could be procured, and thus the whole of IN NORTH AMERICA. 181 ) the node been luals, arge, e the their eason stated isting >f fir, these ntity, g,but many ) land refore hants, trade, s cut, larket. chased [strict; erever lole of I the country near the mouths of the rivers has been denuded of its larger growth, which has now to be sought in the more distant spots, and shipped at so much greater ex- pense. On examination, the history of the timber trade will be found a key to much of the difficulty constantly experienced by the legislature of the province, as well as in the arrangement of a boundary line with the neighbouring States of America. It was not to be expected that when such temptations were put in the way of the em- ployer the lumberer himself should be left unexposed ; and thus, both with master and man, the trade has been pursued in a spirit of gambling, to the great injury of both. Some allowance is, however, to be made for the character of the employment, as will appear from a description of the manner in which the timber is procured and brought down to the port of shipment. In the fall of the year, while yet the days are warm, and before the roads have been affected by the falling snow, the lumberers go into the woods, the place for their winter resi- dence having been previously selected for them. R 182 BRITISH DOMINIONS ?;. They are divided into parties usually con- sisting of six men and four oxen, and carry with them a rough sledge, or sled, as it is familiarly termed, on which are placed a sufficient store of salt pork, molasses, flour, with tea, spirits, tobacco, &c. according to the wants of the party; hay for the oxen, blankets, and implements for such simple cooking as a life in the woods requires ; axes, ropes, and other necessaries of the trade. With these they proceed to their location, and commence operations by felling trees and erecting a shanty large enough to contain the party, with a shed for the oxen. This is usually completed, and roads " brushed out " to the nearest water and the places where the principal timber is standing, before the winter sets in ; and during the short but beautiful season called the Indian summer, which im- mediately precedes the first fall of snow, the merchants will sometimes visit their logging parties, going from one to the other to see all ready for the campaign. One mercantile firm may often have twenty-five or thirty of these parties, and some even more, and find means to advance provisions and necessaries, IN NORTH AMERICA. 183 y con- •ywith liliarly t store spirits, of the s, and 3 a life i other le they imence ;ting a party, usually to the re the winter jautiful ich im- ow, the logging to see •cantile lirty of nd find jssaries, often even clothing, for the men, as well as hay for the oxen, at a very large outlay. They are, therefore, generally storekeepers and farmers, as well as timber-merchants, and of course make additional profit from each branch of trade. The logging camp is usually so placed as to be in the immediate neighbourhood of a river or lake, by which water-carriage can be obtained for the timber when the ice breaks up, and the winter is employed in cutting and hauling it to the ice, upon which it is rafted together in preparation for the spring, if it be a lake, or left to be car- ried down the ^.urrent in single pieces, if a river. The labour is, as may be supposed, often extreme, where logs of the largest size have to be hauled any distance ; and the energy and skill of the men both in cutting and hauling, and the docility, strength, and per- severance of the oxen, cannot be too much admired, when it is considered that sticks ninety feet in length, six feet in diameter at the base, and one and a half at the top — though this is certainly an uncommon size — have been 184 BRITISH DOMINIONS P I in this way brought to market out of the trackless forest. Nor does the labour end with the spring. Then the logs have, as it is appropriately termed, to be driven down the rivers ; hence the word ** drove," applied to the quantity cut by one party ; and in this the skill and courage of the lumberer is even more apparent, all his activity and energy both of mind and body being called into full play. Before the breaking up of the ice each log is carefully branded with some mark pre- viously agreed upon, to indicate the drove ; and a wedge being driven into it, two half- hitches, as the sailors call them, of a rope are taken over each wedge, and thus the whole body of logs is formed into a solid raft, if they have been brought to a lake or large river ; the oxen being then sent home with the camp equipage, under the charge of the teamster, sufficient provision being left for the probable though uncertain termination of the voyage. With the thaw they are afloat among the ice, and with it are carried if there be any current, or if not, they work their way by IN NORTH AMERICA. 185 Df the ir end J, as it down pplied in this 3rer is :y and called ach log k pre- drove ; o half- a rope us the id raft, r large le with 3 of the left for lination )ng the be any way by hoisting sail if the wind be fair ; or if it be contrary, by the slower and more fatiguing^ but equally certain method of warping, for which purpose they are supplied with small kedge anchors and cables, and where neces- sary erect an extemporary windlass on the raft of logs. The number of logs in a drove is propor- tioned to the size of the party and the faci- lities they have enjoyed for logging : on the larger rivers there may be frequently many thousands, while in the smaller it is reduced to hundreds ; but with this drove, large or small as it may be, they thus work their way slowly but surely, exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather, frost and snow, wind and water, until they arrive at the spot where the rapid current first begins to exert its influence on the raft. And now it is that the excitement begins; the wedges are knocked out and the raft broken up, and log after log committed to the stream, and then with a shout jumping into a skift' prepared for the purpose, and in which their necessa- ries have been deposited, they ply their active paddles in pursuit. r3 186 BRITISH DOMINIONS Driving logs may be compared to driving cattle, or perhaps more appropriately the swine of our Saxon ancestors, whose loitering propensities caused Gurth and his dog Fangs the trouble and consequent wrath so graphi- cally described by the author of Ivanhoe ; for although the body of the drove, true to its first impulse, follows the course of the stream, yet here one tails in an eddy, and is held back; and there another, caught by a projecting bank or bush, half covered by the swollen stream, is not only retarded itself, but is the cause of retarding others, as the cattle or swine tempt each other to wander after the crisp tufts of grass by the road side, or the savoury acorn or sweet mast of the forest, thus affording ample employment to the lumberers and their skiff; which, like the dog of the drover, is incessantly darting to the right or left, to keep the stragglers in the track. For a long time, as they proceed down the river, the roar of the distant falls, swollen to their greatest extent by the spring freshets, swells and increases on the ear, and as the drove approaches, and log after log is preci- IN NORTH AMERICA. 187 [riving ly the itering Fangs rraphi- mhoe ; true to of the , and is t by a by the I itself, , as the wander id side, of the [lent to jh, like darting glers in )wn the oUen to reshets, . as the s preci- pitated into this abyss at the bottom, reports as of heavy ordnance reverberate through the woods ; and some estimate may be at- tempted of the number passed and passing, when suddenly they cease, and are succeeded by a harsh, grating, grinding noise, which tells to the accustomed ear of the lumberers a tale of further difficulties and dangers ; and as with rapid strokes they urge their light bark over the water, a dark dense mass of logs soon appears covering the river in hard relief against the white spray of the falls. The logs are jammed, and soon, from party to party, the word " a jam on the falls" is passed, and the united strength of all is collected to break it. A better opportunity for seeing a dis- play of the activity and strength, nr, well as the daring courage and quick perceptive faculties of the lumberers, could not be found. Armed with heavy hand spikes, six feet long and of great strength, protected by iron ferules, and terminated by a formidable iron spike, they lightly traverse the floating mass, the logs yielding to and rolling under their 188 BRITISH DOMINIONS feet, in a manner that renders them im- passable to the uninitiated, and soon reach the scene of strife, where perhaps two or three of the perverse spirits of the drove are contending with the stream and barring the way. A jam, as it is technically called, is gene- rally caused by some of the longer sticks of timber catching across the rocks at the head of the fall, and thus stopping one log after another, until the weight of many hundreds, impelled by a rapid and swollen stream, are supported by them, and it becomes necessary to remove them that the others may pass. In extreme cases this is done with the axe ; but even then it will at once be seen how dangerous and difficult escape must be over the rushing torrent of timber, no less than in preventing other logs from catching in the same manner ; but it is when the handspike only is employed that the soul of the lumberer awakes. Lightly leaping on the rocks above the fall, or the logs at the extremity of the jam, which frequently project far over it, with hands and feet, they ply their enor- mous weapons until the jam is broken. IN NORT I AMERICA. 189 im- reach vo or drove irring gene- cks of 5 head I after dreds, [n, are essary r pass. 5 axe; n how e over ;s than in the dspike nberer above of the ver it, enor- broken, and frequently remain, to the extreme terror of the unaccustomed spectator, till they are tottering on the verge of the falling water. Thus for six weeks or two months are these adventurous men employed, until they have brought their whole drove safe home to the pond of the merchant ; who, on his part, has not been passing the winter and spring in idleness. While the logs are being cut, he, not unfrequently, makes visits over the snow to his various camps, to see that all is right, and that the men want nothing; and a day or two, perhaps, is spent at each, hunting or fishing, to raise the spirits of the men, and mend their cheer. While the logs are coming down the river, he must be ready to supply assistance at any point where it maybe needed ; and as they, first by slow degrees, and then with greater rapidity, reach the place of their destination, each log has to be turned, ex- amined, and rafted away or floated down the river, to the pond of its owner. For this purpose a boom is drawn across the river, at the highest point where any are to remain ; and during the whole spring and early 190 BRITISH DOMINIONS part of the summer, men are employed, with long poles, turning each log,* and retaining or passing it, according to its mark ; and the same is done as they descend lower and lower, till all are appropriated. Now, too, the mills are in full work, pre- paring for the arrival of the vessels, and making up unfinished orders ; and as the men are employed above, sawing, and below in rafting and piling the boards, deals, and planks, as the produce of the mills are re- spectively called, according to their size, the boys are as active below, cutting the rough slabs into straight and even laths, with circular saws, worked by straps connected with the machinery above. Timber is generally squared in the woods, with the broad axe ; and thus much of the best woodf lost off each log, which would have been saved by siding it up with the saw. * This is done by stepping on the log, and making it roll by pressure of the feet till the mark comes upper- most ; this, as may be supposed, requires no little dex- terity, which can be only acquired by practice. t The best part of every log is that from four to six inches or more, according to its size, next to the outer slab. IN NORTH AMERICA. 191 with ining dthe ower, , pre- , and emeu ow in J, and re re- 56, the rough xcular th the woods, of the would lie saw. aking it 9 upper- tie dex- ar to six ihe outer This custom has, however, been the result of fraud, in the first instance, in cutting off too many boards before the timber left the mill, and reducing it to a small stick of knotty and comparatively useless wood. Against it, however, there was a very easy and sure pre- caution, by insisting on some portion of the outer part of the tree being left at each angle of the stick, as is usually done to save labour in hewing, and then sawn timber might have easily driven the hewn out of the market ; not only because it could be sold much cheaper, the mill saw doing in about three minutes what it would take as many days to do with the axe, but being in reality better, the outside of the hewn log being useless, while that of the sawn is equally fit with the inner part for any purpose of the car- penter. The lumberers are paid in proportion to the number of logs which are brought home, and accounts are opened with their employ- ers, to the credit of themselves and their families, at their store. Hence it not unfre- quently happens that the advances made leave little or nothing to be received at the 192 BRITISH DOMINIONS end of the season ; and the amount, if any, must be always doubtful. This is disadvan- tageous to the morals of the lumberer, as is the incitement to the use of intoxicating liquors afforded by the absence of amuse- ment in the logging camp, in snowy or other weather, in which work is impossible during the winter, as well as from the exposure to cold and wet, and especially from standing in the water breaking jams, while driving the logs in the spring. Add to this, a six months' absence from all the ordinances of religion and the softening influences of domestic life, and we cannot be surprised if many dissolute and disorderly characters are found among them. It is also to be la- mented that the nature of their employment is unfavourable to the duration of life. The timber trade, however, as at present carried on from the shores of New Bruns- wick, cannot last for ever ; and the province must look to other sources for its prosperity, from which the early opening up the interior by roads, and connecting the head waters of the principal rivers by establishing settle- ments upon them, as the Tobique, Resti- IN NORTH AMERICA. 193 any, ivan- as is sating nause- other luring ure to mding Iriving this, a iiiances ices of rised if ers are be la- oyment e. present Bruns- )rovince )sperity, interior waters of settle- ;, Resti- gouche, Nipisiquit, and Miramichi, is in- separable. To the steady settlement and the conse- quent development of its agricultural and mineral wealth, and the improvement of its fisheries, the province must look for the future ; these are in the hands of its people, and with them their own destiny. The remainder of the province, as yet undescribed, is rich in coal and minerals, which will come under notice when the general geological structure of this part of America is treated of. Its surface is fertile, and invites the agriculturist; it is well watered by small rivers, and has several har- bours ; but except Richibucto and Shediac, they will not admit vessels of any burden. The former of these is of considerable im- portance, as giving immediate access to the centre of the coal district, and an easy water communication with the St. John, by Salmon River and the Grand Lake. The town of Liverpool, destined, probably, at some future period to a trade in some measure worthy of its name, is situated on its western side, about four miles from the bar, which S T^ 194 BRITISH DOMINIONS has from sixteen to eighteen feet water over it. At Shediac an opportunity is afforded for connecting the Gulf of St. Lawrence with the Bay of Fundy, by a canal, the most eli- gible line for which appears to be from the river Meramcook, presenting, in a distance of eighteen miles, little difficulty, either from the rise of the tide, as in Cumberland Basin, or in the height of land to be cut through. Other lines, however, are proposed and supported, especially that to Bay Verte ; by any the passage for steam boats to Quebec would be reduced to sixty hours. On this harbour is a settlement of the same name ; but there is no other of any conse- quence on this part of the coast, except Dundas, on the Cockagne River, about eight miles to the north. This paucity of population can, however, only last till the construction of a canal, or the carrying into execution the project now on foot of a railroad from Ha'^- fax to Quebec, through New Brunswick, give it its due importance as the point of land connexion with Nova Scotia, as well as be- tween the Gulf and Bay of Fundy. IN NORTH AMERICA. 195 water led for e with ost eli- 3in the listance either berland be cut roposed r Verte ; Quebec he same conse- except >ut eight pulation truction ition the Dm Ha ■- ick, give of land 11 as be- ^ The area of New Brunswick has been roughly stated as ^7,000 square miles. Its population should be rapidly approaching ^00,000; and as it dates its rise only from the War of Independence, as already stated, it must be placed first on the list of our North American colonies for rapid develop- ment. This it owes to its natural resources and position ; for, if not so fertile as Upper Canada, it is sufiiciently so to make a hand- some return to the cultivator ; and its woods have been and will for some time continue to be, as its minerals must hereafter prove, real sources of wealth to those who improve them. Its splendid internal and external water communication much assists its rapid progress ; and its fisheries, were they main- tained to its inhabitants in their integrity, would give them an important article of export- It therefore invites both the settler and the capitalist, and has the advantage, having been originally settled by royalists, of being the most English of any of the pro- vinces in the character of its inhabitants, as it is in that of its scenery. As in all the others, but small provision '-n oppo- •oach on charac- insula of 1 joins it resents a very different aspect to its neighbour, New Brunswick. Its irregular shape, and deeply indented coasts, divide it naturally into three parts : — 1 . That bv which it is connected with the main land. 2. The southern and western districts, which present very distinct features, both geographically and physically : and 3. The northern and eastern; which are separated from the southern by the almost insular portion between Minas Basin and Halifax, and St. Margaret's Bay. The first, which contains the county of Cumberland, may be considered, generally, as an extended isthmus, connecting the two provinces; or, with reference to itself, as a peninsular tract, separating Chignecto Channel from Minas Basin. To the north it presents features not dissimilar from the shores of its neighbour provinces ; the ground falling on all sides gradually from the Cobe- quid Mountains. But towards the south and west the land rises, and offers bold headlands to the rapid influx of the tides of the Bay of Fundy. 200 BRITISH DOMINIONS ! 1 The country about the narrow isthmus between Cumberland Basin and Bay Verte will not yield in fertility to any in British North America, The uplands are rich loam ; and about the mouths of the rivers, and on the coast, the dyked lands, for which the whole western portion of Nova Scotia is remarkable, extend their fertile levels; of which there are ^,000 acres on the Missi- quash, 4,000 on the La Planch, 5,000 on the Napan and Maccan, and near ^,000 on the Hibbert, which fall into Chignecto Channel ; and in the whole county above 17,000. Here are settled, side by side, in peace and prosperity, the descendants of the rival gar- risons of Forts Beau Sejour and Lawrence. Their mouldering walls and faint lines of entrenchment bearing witness to the former, as the substantial dwellings, large haystacks, and abundance of cattle which overspread the meadows, aiford ample evidence of the latter;* * The accompanying statement of its condition in the year 1830, may give a fair notion of the prosperity of the county of Cumberland : — Number of persons 6,416 Do. acres of cultivated land . 29,308 Do. bushels of wheat .... 14,152 Number ^hmus Verte British loam ; ind on :\i the 3tia is ;ls; of Missi- on the on the lannel ; ). ace and ^al gar- wrence. ines of ■ormer, jrstacks, ead the latter;* ion in the :ity of the 6,416 !9,308 4,152 Number V. • IN NORTH AMERICA. 201 which suffers only one drawback, viz. from the boundary line between the two provinces crossing several of the farms, and rendering their possessors liable to suit and service of every kind on either side, as also from its retarding some improvements, the monopoly of which is desired by both. Among these is the construction of a canal to connect the Bay of Fundy with the Gulf of St. Law- rence. The line already mentioned as having been proposed from the Meramcook to the Shediac River being more to the advantage of New Brunswick, while that approved by Mr. Hall, in 1825, from the River au Lac to Bay Verte, would admit Nova Scotia to a share of the profits of transit. Either would probably fully answer the desired end : but if the provinces are to remain separated, the latter is to be preferred, as more equitable : it is also a line presenting Number of bushels of other grain . . 34,067 Do. do. potatoes . . . 269,837 Do. tons of hay 13,790 Do. horses 1,264 Do. horned cattle 8,226 Do. sheep 11,576 Do. swine 5,533 I I 202 BRITISH DOMINIONS i . ! ! i ill! ■I I few difficulties, as but five locks would be required throughout the whole length of 11 miles 240 yards : and it is to be remarked that, although the tides in Cumberland Basin rise seventy feet, while those in Bay Verte rise only seven, the difference between their greatest altitudes is less than twenty-nine feet. In any case, however, the unnatural and arbitrary division of the isthmus affords a pregnant example of the consequences of establishing conventional boundaries. The centre of this district is occupied by the settlement of West Chester, which, on account of its injudiciously selected position on the top of the Cobequid Mountains, is on the decline. The northern side, at River Philip, the Pugwash, and Ramsheg, presents thriving settlements ; the former remarkable for its scenery, as well as its salmon fishery ; and the latter for its beautiful bay, the ad- vantages of which are not, however, superior to those of Wallace and Pugwash. The settlers on this coast, though thriving, have suffered from their devotion to the lumber trade; but experience having taught them the delusive nature of it, the natural capabili- IN NORTH AMERICA. 203 Jd be of 11 larked [ Basin Verte n their ty-nine natural affords nces of pied by iich, on position IS, is on River presents larkable fishery ; the ad- superior thriving, e lumber ht them capabili- ties of the district will doubtless soon be fully developed. The south-eastern shore of Chignecto Channel is of a bolder character. Its extreme point, Cape Chignecto, as well as the neigh- bouring promontory terminated by Cape d'Or, is a lofty cliff of rock and red earth ; although its two channels terminate in exten- sive flats of sand and mud, dry at low water ; and over these it is that the tide courses in with formidable rapidity, presenting, at the equinoxes, a solid wall sixty or seventy feet in height. This, no doubt, is caused by the continuous nature of the upper coasts of the Bay of Fundy ; the southern of which, in particular, presents but one opening, at Digby Gut ; and the waters thus finding no vent, are com- pressed with extraordinary violence into Chignecto Channel and Minas Basin. Off Cape Chignecto, Isle Haute, with its over- hanging cliffs, stands forward, the watch-tower of the coast ; which, swelling out into two semicircular bays, presents no visible evidence of the deep inlet concealed by its south- ern boundary. sot BRITISH DOMINIONS M I I . ; Minas Basin forms an elongated triangle, thirty-five miles long by fifteen at the base, and is entered by a narrow channel five miles long by two broad, bounded by lofty cliiTs similar in character to Cape d'Or and Chig- necto, of which Cape Blomedon, or, as it is usually called, Bio w-me-down, raising its head among the mists and clouds, gives the scenery a grand and imposing aspect The basin receives the tributary waters of nineteen rivers, the principal of which are the Comwallis, the Avon, and Shubenacadie. Its southern and eastern shores are sur- rounded by thriving settlements, and fertile alluvial soil ; and its northern are diversified by the beautiful group of the Five Islands, which rise in picturesque outline abruptly from the water. The apex of the triangle is formed by Cobequid Bay, and the estuaries of North and Shubenacadie rivers; the latter of which, with the Avon, and the lake in which they have their rise, almost insulate the county of Hants, and townships of Halifax and Chester. The waters falling into Cobequid Bay apper- tain to the northern and eastern section of IN NORTH AMERICA. 205 iangle, e base, B miles y cliffs I Chig- as it is its head scenery aters of L are the iiacadie. ire sur- d fertile versified Islands, abruptly 'nied by )f North )f which, ich they jounty of . Chester. ay apper- ection of the province ; but the deep inlet at the mouth and estuary of the Avon forms the connecting link between the two. The Indian name for the Avon was Pisiquid, signifying the junction of two streams ; and, accordingly, its embouchure presents two dis- tinct channels, though it receives the waters of five rivers. Its estuary is about ten miles long, and one broad, but is dependent on the flood tide for its volume of water, which admits vessels of fifteen feet draught. The channel at low water is nearly dry, and the rivulets which meander through it easily fordable even on foot. This extraordinary reflux of the water, while it facilitates the drainage of the dyked lands in the vicinity, which are among the most fertile in the province, and amount to about 3,000 acres, by no means improves the character of the scenery ; nevertheless it is, especially at high water, of a very rich and varied character. At the southern extremity of the tide- way, on opposite sides, stand Falmouth and Windsor; the latter the chief town of the county. Here is a university, called T 206 BRITISH DOMINIONS King's College, of which the Archbishop of Canterbury is patron. It is governed by a board consisting of the principal officials of the province, and aiFords a liberal education to its youth. Twelve divinity scholarships have been attached to it by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, of 30/. each, and four on the foundation, of 20/. ; the former tenable for seven, and the latter for four years. The building, though of wood, is com- modious, and delightfully situated on 100 acres of land ; it contains a good library, and has a collegiate school attached to it, in which also there are twelve divinity scholarships founded by the same Venerable Society, the chief sup- port of religion and true learning in the colo- nies, of 30/. each, tenable also for seven years. The Avon has its rise in the St. Croix Lakes, which interlock with the head waters of the rivers of the Atlantic coast ; the lower part of its estuary is bounded by the fertile uplands of Falmouth and Kempt. In the latter township, the Kemet-cook was settled by the 2d battalion of the 84th regiment ; as Rawdon, which lies between it and Windsor, was by royalists from the Carolinas. IN NORTH AMERICA, 207 shop of 3d by a Is of the m to its ps have for the ach, and 5 former for four , is com- L 00 acres nd has a hich also founded lief sup- the colo- en years, t. Croix d waters he lower le fertile In the s settled lent ; as Windsor, The south-west angle of the bay is occupied by the beautiful and fertile valleys of the Cornwallis and Gaspereaux rivers, settled by loyalists from Connecticut, who occupy the lands of the exiled Acadians. On the penin- sula to the eastward of the latter was the old French settlement of Minas or Grand Pre. The former has its sources in the Caribboo Bog, from which the more important stream of the Annapolis flows to the southward. This river, whose w^aters, confined behind the mountainous barrier of the S.E. coast of the Bay of Fundy, seem to have forced a passage for themselves^ by some mighty effort through the gut of the same name, which is three miles in length and one in breadth, has a course of sixty miles through a fertile and well-settled valley, remark- able for its beauty, and then spreading till it is four miles in breadth, forms the inner basin of Annapolis harbour, protected at its entrance by Goat Island and two peninsulas ; that on the western shore having been selected b}'^ the French, on account of its beauty and advantageous situation, for their first settle- ment in Nova Scotia, and that on the eastern Xf FH f 208 BRITISH DOMINIONS being afterwards chosen as the site of the town of Port Royal, since called Annapolis Royal. Before the removal of the Government to Halifax, this was the principal town in the province ; but the conduct of the French governors had done much to retard its deve- lopment, as had also the appropriation of the lands in its immediate vicinity for public purposes ; and it has not advanced so rapidly as might have been expected from its situa- tion.* It has an academical institution, sup- ported by an annual grant of 200/. from the colonial legislature. Below Annapolis, the outer basin spreads into an extensive sheet of water, ten miles long by four broad, entirely land-locked, and re- ceiving from the east the waters of Bear, ^ " The commission of Governor, in those days," says Halliburton, "seems to have been valued only for the superior privileges which it conferred upon the person holding it of conducting a lucrative trade. He was, at once, commander, merchant, fisherman, and vintner. He compelled the inhabitants to make their purchases of him, and to give him the preference in the sale of their com- modities. He appropriated to himself the rigging of wrecked vessels ; and passed his time in sailing up the different rivers, to trade with the Indians." IN NORTH AMERICA. 209 of the nnapolis ment to 1 in the French its deve- >n of the r public a rapidly ts situa- ion, sup- from the spreads [liles long and re- of Bear, days," says nly for the the person He was, at intner. He ases of him, • their com- rigging of ling up the Moose, and Allen, or (as it was called by the French) Laquille, rivers. Nothing can exceed the variety and harmony of the scenery of this lovely basin ; the richly wooded valleys of the rivers on the eastern shore lending an inex- pressible charm to the mountainous barrier on the western. An isthmus, five miles broad, separates it from St. Mary's Bay, which affords great facilities for fishing and ship-building to the inhabitants of the town of Digby, which stands upon it, as well as those on the neck, which was settled by loyalists in 178^. The mackerel fishery is most productive and lucra- tive, but the herring fishery is not so much so as in the early days of the province, when this fish was more numerous, and remained longer on the coasts. It is recorded that a quantity equal to ^00 barrels was, in the year 1796, frozen into a solid mass, in one of the weirs in this harbour. The western shore of St. Mary's Bay is extended by Long and Bryan Islands. It is not, however, of any importance to naviga- tion, though small craft may find shelter in the mouth of the Sissiboo, a considerable and beautiful river which falls into it from the east. t3 h I 210 BRITISH DOMINIONS 1 ? ' The entire southern portion of the pro- vince may be characterized as an extensive but not very elevated table land, the hilly boundaries of which are developed in the two long irregular spurs which surround St. Mary's Bay and the valley of the Annapolis. On this are numerous and extensive chains of lakes, little known, indeed, but frequently connect- ing the rivers which water the low lands on either side. The slope towards the east being more gradual than that towards the west, and the rivers consequently having a longer course, are more important. Hence, also, it may happen that the eastern coast is more in- dented and broken, and presents so many fine harbours. From St. Mary's Bay the coast is settled by returned Acadian exiles, who retain their primitive character and habits, and form a strong contrast to the rest of the population. The climate here is milder than in any part of the province ; but, though fertile, the dis- position of the inhabitants prevents the district from making any progress. Cape Fourchu, or Forked Cape, so called from the island on which it is situated spreading IN NORTH AMERICA. 211 he pro- ttenstve he hilly the two .Mary's On this of lakes, connect- iands on ist being vest, and r course, it may nore in- oany fine ts settled ;ain their [ form a pulation. any part , the dis- le district ailed from spreading into two remarkable tongues or forks, lies at the entrance of Yarmouth Harbour, on which is a rising settlement, with a trade employing upwards of seventy vessels. From hence the coast becomes broken and indented, and studded with rocks and islands ; and here the whirlpools and overfalls of the Seal Islands* presented serious dangers to the navigation, till the erection of lighthouses on them, as well as Bryan Island, Cape Fourchu, and Cape Sable, has rendered the Bay of Fundy tho- roughly accessible. The hilly range project- ing at Cape Fourchu shelters the valley of the Tusket, which has its head-waters inter- locked with those of the rivers falling into Annapolis Basin and the Atlantic. In the deep bay at its mouth are the islands of the same name, 300 in number, many fertile and well cultivated, and offering shelter and an advantageous position to fishermen and coasters ; while below, the harbour of Pub- * The North Seal (commonly called the Mud) Isles are remarkable for the quantity of Mother Carey's Chickens (the beautiful little stormy petrel) found on them. They make holes in the ground, diagonally, from three to four feet deep, in which they lay one egg only. 212 BRITISH DOMINIONS im nico affords every facility of access, and per- fect safety for vessels of any burthen. The extreme angle of the province, Cape Sable, is situated on a low sandy island, the greatest elevation of which does not exceed sixty feet. Behind this is Cape Sable Island, which, notwithstanding its barrenness, is under cultivation. It shelters the very excellent harbour of Barrington, which is surrounded by a considerable though scattered population, engaged in the cod fishery, and hav- ing an export trade employing above seventy vessels of considerable tonnage. The small river at its head, flowing from an extensive chain of lakes only nine miles distant, sur- rounded by the finest timber for ship-building, enables the inhabitants to engage in this trade also with great advantage. From hence to Halifax the whole coast presents the same features : — bold, project- ing white headlands shelter deep, capacious bays, receiving rivers flowing from lakes far in the interior, through a well wooded country. Port Latour first presents itself; then Port Negro, into which flows the Clyde, one of !! ■' IN NORTH AMERICA. 213 the largest and most beautiful rivers on the coast ; and then Shelbourne, which will yield to none in capacity and safety, not even to Halifax itself. From its mouth, which is protected by Ramsay Island, it gradually narrows for two miles, and then spreads into two capacious arms ; on the southern of which is Bird Town, originally settled by negroes, who were sub- sequently removed to Sierra Leone ; and on the northern, the town of Shelbourne* . The history of this place is peculiar, and shows that more than mere advantages of situation is requisite to the prosperity of any settlement. It was originally granted, in 1764, to Alexander Mac Neott, who having failed in complying with the conditions of the grant, it escheated to the crown ;* and twenty years after it was selected by a body of asso- ciated loyalists, who emigrated from New York after the surrender of Lord Corn- wallis. 47 1 families sailed in a fleet of eighteen square-rigged vessels, and several sloops and schooners, convoyed by two vessels of war. ^ It is to be regretted that, under similar circumstances, the same strictness has not always been used. 214 BRITISH DOMINIONS Their numbers were afterwards increased by other emigrants, as well as by the presence of several regiments quartered there. So that at one time the inhabitants of Shelbourne amounted to 14,000. But having no con- nexion with the rest of the province, and the people being totally unaccustomed to self- dependence, their numbers, in 1816, had diminished to 374; since when, however, they have been increasing, having reached 2,697 in the year 1828, and will probably, at no very distant period of time^ repeople its waste and desolate streets. The population along this coast is scattered, and for the most part engaged in fishing ; the principal stations for which are at Cable River, and Port Mills, or Ragged Island Harbour. At Liverpool is a most excellent salmon fishery ; while ship-building is carried on at the mouth of the rivers ; the chief of which are the Mersey, flowing from Lake Rossignol, which is above thirty miles in length, and connects its waters with those of Allen's River. The principal harbours are Port Moreton, Liverpool, (the town of which is said to be the best built in the province,) IN NORTH AMERICA. 215 Lsed by mce of >o that [bourne 10 con- and the to self- [6, had owever, reached lably, at ople its lattered, ng; the Cable Island excellent 3 carried chief of m Lake miles in those of ours are of which rovince,) Port Medway and La Have, at each of whj^h are thriving settlement no colony was ever established in a more desirable location, whether on account of the advantages or extreme beauty of its situation. The peninsula contains about 3,000 acres, and the town occupies a commanding position on the declivity of a hill, which rises 256 feet above the harbour. In 1790, it con- tained 4,000 inhabitants and 700 houses, and in 1828, 1,580 houses and 14,439 inha- bitants. This is the most important naval station in the North Atlantic. It has a large and well-appointed Dock-yard, with a residence for the commanding officer of the station. On the Citadel hill are two barracks, a resi- dence for the Commandant, and a military hospital. Lord Dalhousie, when Governor, established a library for the use of the troops, setting an example which it is to be hoped will be universally followed. The town is well laid out, and in general well built. The Government House and Province Buildings are of stone ; the latter, indeed, one of the largest and handsomest edifices in the country, presenting a fa9ade IN NORTH AMERICA. 219 a more lunt of of its acres, position ses 266 it con- houses, 59 inha- station rge and esidence station. , a resi- military overnor, of the is to be general ise and le latter, idsomest a fa9ade of 140 feet. Dalhousie College is also a handsome building, though unfinished, and was erected for the education of students ** as they are commonly taught in the Uni- versity of Edinburgh ; " it baa 9,750/. in- vested for its support.* Halifax is in general estimation the third town of British North America, and may be considered the guard of the southern part and coast, as Quebec is of the northern and interior ; but in political importance it is second to none. On the other side of the harbour is situated the town of Dartmouth, which, after various vicissitudes, has been since the war in a thriv- ing condition. From this place, a valley of irregular elevation and breadth reaches to the Bay of Minas, dividing the province into two parts of nearly equal extent. The higher * Mr. Halliburton remarks, " It is generally regretted that so much money " as this College cost " should have been so injudiciously expended. One College, with the academies already established, is at present sufficient for the two provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The latter colony, with that sectional feeling so peculiar to America, has already provided means for the support of one at Fredericton, and thus we shall have three insig- nificant instead of one respectable institution." 220 BRITISH DOMINIONS portion is occupied by Lake Charles, distant from Halifax Harbour about three miles and a half, and extending 4,300 yards. From its southern extremity, there is a descent of ninety-one feet through the Dartmouth Lakes to the harbour, and from the northern of fifty feet, through a chain of beautiful lakes to the Great Shubenacadie ; and from thence it forms the bed of the Shubenacadie River, which in a course of thirty miles reaches the tide water of Minas Basin. At Shubenacadie Lake, nature has drawn a line of separation between the northern and southern districts ; in the former, the land is level and fertile, abounding in lime and gypsum, coal, iron, and other minerals, while the latter is in many places waste and barren, covered with ponderous granite rocks, and presenting comparatively few spots profitable for cultiva- tion ; its forests of pine, spruce, and hemlock, interspersed, here and there only, with small patches of hard wood separated by extensive barrens and wild broken hills. This district extends to St. Mary's River, and is but thinly peopled ; there are, how- ever, some thriving settlements, and it has IN NORTH AMERICA. 221 distant lies and From scent of ih Lakes 1 of fifty 3S to the lence it e River, ches the IS drawn hern and ie land is gypsum, the latter cover :d resenting r cultiva- hemlock, ith small extensive y's River, re, how- id it has some excellent harbours. The former for the most part lie close to Halifax ; the latter at some distance, commencing at Owl's Head, from whence there are in suc- cession. Ship and Tangier, both excellent harbours, then Mushaboon and Sheet Har- bours, which are connected by a channel so sheltered that vessels may lie in any weather lashed to the trees. The latter of these presents advantages for settlement, having a river falling into it, the mouth of which is navigable, and affording extensive and excellent anchorage for vessels of any burden. Beyond this again, the Bay of Islands, with its intricate channels, affords good shelter for vessels ; and Liscomb Harbour, between it and St. Mary's River, is one of the best in the province. This coast, though of the same indented character, may be easily known, being for the most part formed of red cliffs, while, as before noticed, those to the south of Halifax are white. The best land upon it is about the Musquedaboit, which is a fine river, flowing through a country producing not only pine limber fit u3 m ' ! 222 BRITISH DOMINIONS for masts and spars, but oak, and other hard woods for ship-buiiding. The Shubenacadie River receives the tri- butary streams of Gage River and the Stu- wiac from the east. The latter, flowing through a beautiful country, highly adapted for agri- culture and already thickly settled and well cultivated, is a fine stream ; the tide water ascends it for seven miles, and for forty more it is accessible for boats and lumber. Fourteen miles above the tide, veins of coal crop out, and freestone, lime, and roofing-slate are found in the neighbourhood. The for- mer, being the discharge of Lake Egmont, joins the Shubenacadie, just below a black limestone rock at the head of the tide water, and though well adapted for settlement, rich in timber and minerals, is but partially occupied. The estuary of the Shubenacadie forms the southern arm of Cobquid Bay, as that of Salmon or Onslow River does the northern, which, though not navigable, is bordered with fertile intervale, and flows through a dis- trict of surpassing beauty ; on it is situated the town of Truro, divided into the upper IN NORTH AMERICA, 223 er hard the tri- le Stu- ;hrough br agri- nd well e water r forty lumber. of coal ng-slate rhe for- Sgmont, a black ie water, tlement, partially Drms the that of lorthern, bordered igh a dis- situated le upper and lower villages. The latter is merely a line of detached farm-houses ; the former, a thriving place, remarkable alike for the beauty and advantages of its situation. " The aspect of Truro," says Halliburton, " when viewed from the elevated land on the north-east, is highly pleasing. The whole sweep of the Basin of Minas, as far as Cape Blo- midon, embrachig a space of more than sixty miles, is distinctly visible, while the two villages, into which the township is mainly divided, with their level marshes relieved by finely swelling uplands, and backed with well-wooded and undulating hills, compose the foreground of this beautiful landscape. The indenture made by the Shubenacadie on its western boundary, is a striking fea* ire in this scene, and when viewed with previous knowledge of the singular character of the river, invests it with peculiar interest. The Shubenacadie, at the ferry, where it is a mile in width, rises fifty feet at the flood-tide; and at the distance of twelve miles, twenty- five or thirty feet. At times the stream runs at the rate of seven or eight miles an hour ; but notwithstanding the rapidity of the cur- 1 I'll 224 BRITISH DOMINIONS liilii !1 i 1:1 ' iliiil rent of the river, it is securely navigated to the distance of thirty miles by those ac- quainted with its eddies. Its banks are precipitous, but in general of that formation which admits of the most fantastic appear- ances, being shaped by the waters, and are in most places fringed and overhung by trees of great beauty." The township between the Shubenacadie and Salmon rivers was first settled by Irish emigrants from Londonderry, who were re- moved from New Hampshire by Col. Mac Nutt,* in 1761, as was that of Onslow on the opposite bank, by thirty families of various origin, from Massachusetts. The Chigenois River flows into the estuary of Salmon River, and is one of the most romantic in the province. It takes its rise in a small lake, only about four miles in circum- ference, embosomed in woods, and so com- pletely environed with wild and precipitous heights that " its pellucid waters, completely sheltered from every wind, float in perfect * Alexander Mac Nutt was an enthusiastic colonizer. To him and his associates above 1,000,000 acres of land were granted in Nova Scotia. IN NORTH AMERICA. 225 »ated to ose ac- dks are rmation appear- and are by trees 3nacadie by Irish ivere re- ;!ol. Mac V on the • various J estuary he most ts rise in L circum- so com- ecipitous mpletely I perfect 3 colonizer, jres of land stillness around a large rock, which rises boldly in the centre.'* About a mile below the lake, the river, which is there about thirty feet wide, rushes over a ledge of rocks, fully forty feet in perpendicular height, and flows along, now with high and rugged banks, now through fine and sheltered, though small, intervales, to where it meets the tide, about four miles from its mouth. Folly River, about five miles beyond, has the same cha- racter, and abounds in trout. This delightful part of the country could not fail to attract early settlement, and some idea of its population under the French regime may be formed by the size of their chapel, which was 100 feet long by forty feet wide ; the building was, however, destroyed at the dispersion of the Acadians, in 1755; it was subsequently re-settled under the auspices of Mac Nutt, in 1761. Mount Tom divides the tributary waters of Cobequid Bay from those of Northumberland Strait, which water a district of very similar cha- racter. These, with the exception of the St. John, flow into Pictou and Merigomish, which are the only harbours of capacity for 226 BRITISH DOMINIONS large vessels between Tatmagouch, into which that river empties itself, and Cape St. George, the north-east angle of the province. They are, however, of the first class; the latter is an excellent harbour, where the mer- chants of Pictou collect timber, and load many vessels annually ; the former receives the waters of West, Middle, and East Rivers, all navigable for a considerable distance ; on the latter are situated the extensive Albion Coal Mines, originally opened by Messrs. Rundell and Bridge, and from which above 30,000 tons of coal are annually exported. The harbour is a beautiful and capacious basin, capable of containing vessels of any burden, and inferior to Halifax only in being more liable to be frozen ; it is protected at the mouth by a bar, over which is fifteen feet at low water. About three miles from its mouth, on the north side, is the town of Pictou, the first house in which was built in 1760; in 1827 it contained 1,439, and its population must now be above 3,000. It is a free warehousing port, and exports great quantities of timber, especially birch, which is of the finest quality. IN NORTH AMERICA, 227 h, into 3ape St. )rovince. ass ; the the mer- ind load receives t Rivers, ince; on e Albion Messrs. ch above orted. capacious is of any in being )tected at fteen feet from its town of IS built in f and its 0. It is a >rts great ch, which Pictou township was originally settled by Scotch emigrants, in 1765, under great hard- ships, but had, nevertheless, so prospered, that in 1783 they were able to set apart ^ stipend for a minister, and, consequently, it became the centre of attraction to the Scotch Presbyterians, whose synod still meets there, and there has been since a college established for the education of the youth of that per- suasion. " The northern coast, though last settled, is evidently the most important part of Nova Scotia,'* says the historian before quoted. " The fertility of the land, its proximity to the fisheries, its coal and other mineral pro- ductions, naturally lead to the conclusion that it will, at no distant period, be the seat of enterprise and wealth." The triangular district contained between Cape St. George and St. Mary's River, having the Gut of Canseau to the north, and the Atlantic to the south-east, is of an inter- mediate character, appropriate to its position, approximating about St. George's Bay to that of Pictou ; while to the south, although more 228 BRITISH DOMINIONS ■fill ! '111! fertile, it approaches that of the coast to the north of Halifax. The former is superior as an agricultural district, has an increasing population, and carries on a considerable trade in sawed lumber, shingles, and staves. It was settled by the officers and soldiers of the Nova Scotia regiment, in 1784, but probably dates its prosperity from the arrival of Scotch emi- grants in 1785 and 1800. There is, however, no good harbour on this coast ; nevertheless, small vessels are built at Aubushbee. The river St. Mary, having its rise on the northern, has its outlet in the southern division, and partakes of the characteristics of both. The College Lake, from which it flows, (so called from a large tract of land upon it having been granted to King's College,) pre- sents singular features. Its shores rise ab- ruptly to a considerable elevation, but without rocks or precipices, and for the most part bordered with a beautiful gravelly beach. Its water is of transparent purity, and is never frozen until long after all the neighbouring IN NORTH AMERICA. 229 st to the •icultural Lion, and n sawed IS settled iva Scotia dates its )tcli emi- however, ertheless, e. ise on the southern teristics of : flows, (so 1 upon it lege,) pre- js rise ab- lut without most part beach. Its id is never ighbouring lakes and streams arc passable for loaded sleighs. St. Mary's River is navigable for vessels of the first class for eight or nine miles from its mouth, and for small vessels two miles farther, to the village of Sherbrooke, situated at the head of the tide water, and at the foot of the rapids which obstruct the navigation. This is a rising place, not having been settled till 1800 ; it already has a considerable export trade in lumber, and productive fisheries ; it was only frequented before that time for the latter, especially the salmon fishery at the rapids. The former is carried on principally from the north-west branch, which rising, it is said, in Mount Tom, in a rapid course of fifty miles has water enough for that purpose for thirty miles above the forks, where the meeting of the swollen streams in the spring has produced an extensive and fertile alluvial tract, very suitable for settlement. The eastern angle of this district presents, perhaps, more and finer harbours than any similar extent of coast, of which five may be enumerated of the first class, and twenty adapted for small vessels; of the former. 230 BRITISH DOMINIONS |liil; f ill iir m II 11 County Harbour deserves notice, being navi- gable for the largest vessels for twelve miles inland. The coast is, however, chiefly remarkable for its fisheries, of which Canseau is the cen- tre, and for which every facility is afforded by Chedabucto Bay and Guysborough Harbour. The former is an extensive sheet of water, twenty-five miles long and fifteen broad, free from rocks or shoals; the latter lies at its northern extremity, and will admit vessels of eighteen feet draught over the bar at its entrance ; it is a spacious and beautiful, but irregular basin, with depth of water for ships of any size for above nine miles, and is some- times called Milford Haven. Here is situated the rising village of Guysborough. The fish- eries of Chedabucto are, perhaps, as productive as any in the world. Cod and polluck are caught in the spring, herrings are plentiful in the autumn ; but the shoals of mackarel at both seasons are enormous — so much so, that several thousand barrels are frequently caught in one day. In the spring they appear on the northern, and in the autumn on the southern coast. IN NORTH AMERICA. 231 ig navi- re miles larkable the cen- rded by [arbour, f water, )ad, free 3S at its essels of ir at its iful, but for ships is some- situated The fish- •oductive [luck are jntiful in ckarel at so, that ly caught ar on the southern The mode of taking the fish is by seine nets ; differing from that at Digby and in the Bay of Fundy, where they are taken almost entirely in deep water with the hook. The necessity of hauling these nets on the beaches has given the owners of the land an interest in the fish ; and, accordingly, it was decided, in 1811, that a per-centage of all fish should be paid them, as well as ground rent for fishing huts erected, and places to spread seines, &c. This is fixed at a barrel of mackarel, or its value, for the hut, ^ve shil- lings for every man hired, and an additional barrel for every partner or associate. The proprietor has also the right of sending two free "dippers" to every seine, and a tenth of all the fish that are dressed. In 18^5, on Fox Island main, 1,200 barrels of mackarel were received for rent, and above half that quantity from the island itself* This fishery will, of course, seriously retard the settlement and cultivation of the district. The province of Nova Scotia is politically apportioned into five divisions, and ten coun- ties. The former have reference only to the * A bari'il is worth 17«. 6d. jliiil U M 232 BRITISH I>OMINIONS circuits of the judges, and general sessions. They are Eastern, Middle, Halifax, Western, and Cape Breton. The first comprises the counties of Sydney, Cumberland, and part of Halifax. 2. Hants, King's, Lunenberg, and Queen's. 3. Part only of the county of the same name, viz., the townships of Halifax, Law- renton, and Preston. 4. Annapolis and Shelbourne. 5. The whole of Cape Breton Island. The counties are again subdivided into townships, some of which elect a representa- tive ; but the most part are only districts set apart for the better assessment for main- tenance of the poor. Nova Scotia was erected into a Bishop's See in the year 1787, at that time the only one in British North America ; and extend- ing its influence over all the maritime pro- vinces as well as the Bermuda Islands, but has since been confined to the peninsula and adjacent islands of Prince Edward and Cape Breton. Some provision had here been made for the Clergy out of the property of the Crown, and a Church-rate admitted ; but the IN NORTH AMERICA. 233 sessions. Western, Sydney, Queen's. :he same ax, Law- and. ded into presenta- jtricts set or main- , Bishop's } the only i extend- time pro- ands, but insula and and Cape 3een made rty of the 1 ; but the latter having been since declared not binding on Dissenters, has been rendered, in a great measure, nugatory. The number of Clergy in this, is more nearly proportioned to the wants of the Church, than in the other dioceses of British North America, a large proportion of the inhabitants of the province being, as already remarked, French Acadian Roman Catholics, and in the north Scotch Presbyterians. In all the colonies the Church is mainly sup- ported by the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel.-^ * Further particulars respecting the Church in these Colonies may be seen in the " Annals of the Colonial Church/' published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. X 234 BRITISH DOMINIONS i' CHAPTER VII. THE ISLANDS AND THEIR COASTS. From its close connexion with, and simi- larity in character to the eastern coast of New Brunswick, and north-east coast of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island first claims attention, and indeed scarcely any part of the British dominions is more worthy of it, whether beauty of scenery, salubrity of climate, fertility of soil, or capability for commercial pursuits, be taken into consider- ation. Divided only by Northumberland Strait from its sister provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, it bears every appearance of having been separated from the former by some violent disruption, an hypothesis fa- voured by the great rush of waters through that strait and the Gut of Canso, the distance at the nearest point from near Cape Tormen tin to Cape Traverse being scarcely eight miles. Its position, at the bottom of the Gulf of IN NORTH AMERICA. 235 TS. nd simi- t of New of Nova 5t claims irt of the ly of it, ibrity of dlity for consider- fid Strait irunswick )pearance brmer by thesis fa- 5 through B distance ^ormentin ht miles, le Gulf of St. Lawrence, while it gives it a warm southern exposure, protects it at the same time from the severity of south-east and south-west winds, and tempers the northern by the passage across its waters; thus giving to the island a far more salubrious climate than the surrounding countries, leaving it comparatively free from fogs, shortening the winter by nearly two months, and considerably abating the heat of the summer. Its deeply-indented shores and richly-wooded hills present the most agree- able diversity of outline, and its many and excellent harbours give it unrivalled facilities for commerce. When, after the capture of Louisburg, this island fell into the possession of Great Britain, it contained 5,000 inhabitants, and was then divided into sixty-seven townships, of about 20,000 acres each, which were granted to a few individuals, who undertook to settle upon it one person for every ^00 acres, or 67,000 persons in ten years. This they proved un- able to do, and further time was allowed ; and in 1770 they procured the separation of the island from Nova Scotia, and the appoint- ment of a governor, under whose jurisdiction 236 BRITISH DOMINIONS :%:, 1|| F* -,. there were at first only 150 families ; but by the exertions of some proprietors, especially Earl Selkirk, Baron Montgomerie, and Cap- tain McDonald, the foundation of a popula- tion was laid, by bringing emigrants from the Highlands of Scotland, and settling a considerable number of the exiled French Acadians ; but so completely had the bad policy of the original grants checked all desire to emigrate to the island, that its popu- lation has not even yet reached the number originally proposed, as it may be estimated to be under 60,000. The island is divided into three counties — Prince's, in the west ; Queen's, in the centre ; and King's, on the east ; and, according to the original surveys, contained 1,365,400 acres; but the ceaseless inroads of the sea have from the first, and still continue to reduce the amount conside- rably, year by year. Charlotte Town, the capital of the island, occupies a most desirable position, on a level peninsula, at the junction of the Elliot, York, and Hillsborough rivers. It contains the provincial House of Assembly, the governor's residence, barracks, and military stores. IN NORTH AMERICA. 237 ; but by specially md Cap- . popula- Qts from ettling a I French the bad 3 eked all its popu- e number estimated is divided the west ; 's, on the 1 surveys, i ceaseless first, and t conside- :he island, on a level liot, York, n tains the governor's tores. Hillsborough Bay is a fine roadstead ; but the inner harbour is completely land-locked, the entrance being only half a mile wide, while the sheet of water enclosed is six miles in length by two in breadth, besides the estuaries of the rivers, of which the Hillsborough is navigable nearly across the island. Few colonial towns occupy more delightful or advantageous positions than this, which, with the township surrounding it, may con- tain above 6,000 persons. Gev -^3 Town and Prince Town are so only : X name, but occupy positions which must soon raise them to the rank they now assume. Cardigan Bay, also called Three Rivers, from its being the common outlet of three, or rather four rivers, is a harbour of the first class, well sheltered by Panmure and Boughton islands, and affording in their estuaries the greatest facilities for commerce ; while Richmond Bay is a basin upwards of sixty miles in circumference, studded with numerous islands, and indented with exten- sive peninsulas of fertile land. Between this and Holland Bay is an ex- tensive lagoon, and near it a large peat bog^ i I 238 BRITISH DOMINIONS affording evidence of the recent depression of this part of the island. In Holland Harbour, or Cascumpec, vessels of heavy burden can lie with safety, close to the land, near its entrance. Bedeque Bay is the principal port for timber; and Egmont Bay at the western, and Murray Harbour at the eastern, end of the island, as well as St. Peter's and others to the north, are worthy of separate mention. As in New Brunswick, the timber trade has engrossed too much the attention of the inhabitants of this province, and, probably from the small distance from home at which the timber is cut, the agriculture is more slovenly, so great supplies not being needed. The fisheries of the island are most im- portant and productive, though, as already noticed, all but monopolized by the inha- bitants of the United States. Some idea of their productiveness may be formed by the facts recorded by Dr. Gesner, that in one season, a settler, with the assistance of his son and daughter, caught and cured 800 quintals of fish; and that a vessel of fifty IN NORTH AMERICA. 239 jpression ic, vessels , close to Lie Bay is . Egmont arbour at ell as St. re worthy ber trade on of the probably home at culture is not being most im- is already the inha- 5ome idea brmed by r, that in sistance of cured 800 el of fifty tons was laden with salmon in St. Peter's Bay in less than a week. The shoals of mackerel which appear in the month of August are so large that American vessels often make their cargoes in a few days. Herrings may also be taken in large quan- tities. The island was formerly the favourite resort of the walruss. There are ten fishing establishments in the island, each exporting from 1,000 to 1,200 quintals of fish yearly ; but as the fishing is principally carried on near the shore, and the largest catches are always made in deep water, this is infinitely below what might be procured if they were well conducted. The rivers of the island abound with fish, but there is little game in the woods, though wild fowl are plentiful. , Ship building is carried on here with great spirit, and the vessels built command good prices in the home market. In short, if the tenure of lands, and sepa- rate legislature of the island, had not so seri- ously interfered with its prosperity, it would probably have been far in advance of the other colonies ; and as most of the proprietors 240 BRITISH DOMINIONS H m have resided in Great Britain, and very few take any trouble to comply with the terms of the original grant, or at least the proper means to enable them to do so, it is not surprising that great dissatisfaction should be felt by the inhabitants, or that more than half the island is still a wilderness. One difference between this and the other provinces strongly marks the ill effects of the system; namely, that almost all the inhabitants are tenants; and nothing can show the natural capabilities of the country so much as that it prospers, even in the teeth of these disadvantages. The very singular island of Cape Breton forms the northern and eastern extremity of the province of Nova Scotia originally called by the French Isle Royale, and of the importance of which, as the key of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and consequently of Canada, they showed their just estimation, by the erection of the extensive and costly fortifica- tions of Louisburgh. The island is in greatest length only 100 mile and in width 80, yet it contains an inland ea, whose irregularly extended arms stret jh nearly fifty miles from N, E. to S. W., an^i above forty from S. E. to M! IN NORTH AMERICA. 241 [ very few the terms he proper it is not should be ^ than half difference !s strongly Lmely^that lants; and ibilities of jpers, even • 3e Breton extremity originally and of the r the Gulf of Canada, 1, by the y fortifica- in greatest h 80, yet rregularly miles from m S. E. to N. W., and which divides the island into two distinct parts. This extraordinary sheet of water is en- tered from the N. E. by two channels, called Great and Little le ^^ j d'Or; and itself is usually denominated Lj Bras d''^" Lake. This appellation, " the Golden Arm," although many other meanings have been suggested, has reference, probably, to the hope of the first discoverers that their labours would be rewarded by an abundance of that precious metal which had enriched the Spaniards in the south. The former only of these passages is prac- ticable for vessels of burden, and is twenty miles in length, by one in average breadth ; the latter, although called little, after the first seven miles spreads to a width of three miles, until, at the end of Boulardrie Island, by which they are divided, their channels unite, and are here six miles across, but contract again at the Strait of Barra, before entering the lake. These passages are bounded by precipitous rocks, clothed with a thick forest growth, and present scenery of a highly pic- turesque character. In the centre, the lake is w. 242 BRITISH DOMINIONS above sixty fathoms in depth. To the north- west of Boulardrie Island, a long irregular inlet extends for twenty miles, called St. Patrick's Channel, and is terminated bv a fine sheet of water called Wycocomah Basin ; near its en- trance it receives from the north the waters of the Bedeque and Wagamatcook Rivers. In Wycocomah Basin ships are loaded with tim- ber. The shores of the Bras d'Or and St. Patrick's Channels are settled chiefly by Scotch emigrants. Through Barra Strait the tide rushes impetuously into the great lake, whose deeply indented shores present an irregular and confused assemblage of headlands, pro- jecting in every direction. At the entrance of the strait an arm stretches to the north- west, having a variety of inlets in the direction of St. Patrick's Channel and Wycocomah Basin ; and at the extremity is the harbour of St. Denis, receiving the river of the same name. Its entrance is so shut in by islands as to be scarcely distinguishable ; it is, however, six miles long, and from one to two broad, and here, also, ships are loaded with timber. This deep channel is separated from the IN NORTH AMERICA. 243 le north- ular inlet Patrick's ; sheet of ar its en- waters of vers. In with tim- r and St. by Scotch e rushes e, whose irregular nds, pro- entrance he north- direction ycocomah J harbour the same islands as however, )road, and ber. from the main waters of the lake by the irregular peninsula of Walaga-waatcht, where it makes a deep bend to the southward, forming St. George's Channel, six miles in width and fifteen in length, and approaches within four miles of the Gut of Canseau. The northern shore of this channel is high, and it has many scattered islands, but the depth of water at its extremity is sixteen fathoms ; it is also settled by Scotch Highlanders. The southern rounds off toward the eastward, and then trending again to the south forms an- other deep channel, which in a zigzag course of six miles, among numerous islands, approaches within about ^,000 feet of St. Peter's Bay, and offers an admirable opportunity of making a southern entrance into the lake. While thus forming three deep indenta- tions towards the west and south, the waters of the Bras d'Or Lake extend themselves in one only towards the north and east, in the Barrasoi or Lagune of Tweedmooge ; which, in a course of twenty miles, closely approaches the head waters of Sydney Harbour. The northern shores are also settled by Scotch, but on its banks are many descendants of the 244 BRITISH DOMINIONS old French population of the island. The immense extent of the Bras d'Or Lake makes the scenery on it rather resemble that of the sea coast than a land-locked sheet of water ; but at the head of its bays and inlets are scenes of surpassing beauty, and above the mouths of the small rivers which empty themselves into it, broad fertile intervales, rich in verdure, and clothed with stately elms, are constantly met with. The northern part of the island is, for the most part, mountainous and continuous, as far as Marguerite or Salmon River, which has its sources in two lakes : the larger at the head of the south-western branch, called Lake Marguerite, or Ainslie, approaches closely to Wycocomah Basin. Its whole course is settled by descendants of the French colonists. Its western coast has no harbour of any capacity, but on the eastern, St. Ann's, which was callt^d by the French Port Dau- phin, is very safe and capacious, stretching with deep indentations into the land. On the north side its shores are so bold, that a ship of war may, by means of a hose, take in water direct from a cascade which falls over IN NORTH AMERICA. 245 1. The e makes it of the r water ; re scenes mouths emselves verdure, mstantly , for the luous, as ;r, which larger at :hf called )proaches ts whole le French ) harbour 3t. Ann s, ^ort Dau- jtretching 1. On the lat a ship , take in falls over the rocks. Sydney Harbour lies to the east of the Bras d'Or Channels, as St. Ann's does to the west. It was formerly called Spanish River, and is an excellent and very capacious anchorage, divided into two arms, each pro- tected by a bar; about three miles up the easternmost of which, on a peninsula ex- tending from the east, is the site of the little town of Sydney. Before its annexation to Nova Scotia this was the capital of the island, and residence of the governor, and has, con- sequently, public buildings, barracks, &c. Outside the bars, at the mouth of the harbour, are the coal mines, from whence the future wealth of the province must be in a great measure derived ; at present, however, the demand for that mineral is not sufficient to make them very profitable, although the increase of steam navigation on the Atlantic, and the establishment of a line of packets to Halifax, in immediate connexion with their proprietors, promises better things to come. Sydney is now a free port, the land around it is of excellent quality, and the fisheries most productive. The north-east coast presents two harbours, y3 246 BRITISH DOMINIONS capacious, but not accessible for vessels of large burden, Lingan, and Cow Bay : at both mines have been opened for coal, which is everywhere abundant. The extreme eastern point, Sca- tari Island, already described, forms the southern boundary of Mire or Miray Bay, a beautiful semicircular sheet of water, pro- longed fourteen miles by the river or narrow lake of the same name, which is fed by a stream having its rise thirty miles from the coast, near the head waters of St. Peter'^s River ; the mouth is, however, impeded by a sandbank, which prevents the lake from receiving large vessels. About Sydney the country is principally settled by loyalists from the New England states, but about Lingan and Mire by Irish. Below Cape Breton is Louisburg, which, notwithstanding its noble harbour, has never risen from its ruins, probably on account of the light and unfertile nature of the soil in its vicinity ; yet it is admirably adapted for carrying on the fishery, for which indeed it is frequented in the season, though no esta- blishments have been erected. Below Louis- burg the coast, though indented, presents no IN NORTH AMERICA. 247 Is of large )th mines erywhere )int, Sca- )rms the ly Bay, a iter, pro- 3r narrow fed by a from the t. Peter's peded by ake from rincipally England by Irish. g, which, has never ccount of soil in its ipted for indeed it 1 no esta- ow Louis- •esents no harbour of any importance. It consists prin- cipally of cliffs of red earth. The land is not fertile, yet is partially settled by Scotch emigrants. At Grand River, however, it improves, and large fertile tracts surround the beautiful lakes from whence it takes its rise ; and probably the whole interior, from St. Peter's River to Mir6 Bay, is of ,. similar character. From Cape Hitchinbroke the coast is chieiiy settled by fishermen, descendants of French Acadians, for whose small craft, though lot for larger vessels, its many coves offer con- stantly available shelter ; but at the southern side of Isle Madame, at the entrance of the Gut of Canseau, and separated from Cape Breton Island by Lenox Passage, is the large and important harbour of Arichat, or Arochet, which is the chief commercial stati or; of Cape Breton, being much frequented by the Chan- nel Island fishermen, and having a consider- able export trade. The town is fast increasing in size, and the port, in the summer season, thronged with vessels of every description. It is less liable to be blocked up with iqe: than any harbour on the coast. 248 BRITISH DOMINIONS if At the entrance of the gut is Inhabitant River, the whole course of which is partially settled; its mouth is covered with islands, and forms a good harbour; and about half way through the gut is Ship Harbour, a settlement fast rising into importance. The gut itself, and its scenery, has been already noticed, but it may be added, that the view of its southern entrance from Bear Island is con- sidered as unrivalled in North America. At the south-western point of the island is Just au Corps, or Port Hood, an excellent harbour, opposite Cape St. George, forming the northern and southern extremities of the extensive bay of the same name, by which access is obtained from the Gut of Canseau to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. From the above description it will be seen that the southern part of Cape Breton Island is admirably adapted for settlement, producing every sort of timber, coal, and having most excellent fisheries, with many fine harbours ; as yet, however, only partially inhabited or cultivated, and that only on the coast and shores of the Bras d'Or Lake. After its conquest from the French it was IN NORTH AMERICA. 249 habitant partially islands, )out half rbour, a le. The 1 already e view of nd is con- rica. 3 island is excellent , forming ies of the by which : Canseau : will be )e Breton ;ttlement, coal, and ith many y partially ily on the iake. rich it was for many years neglected, but on being made a separate government, at the solicitation of M. Desbarres, in 1783, it began to improve ; in 18^0 it was re-annexed to Nova Scotia, and now forms a division of that province. Its inhabitants may be 50,000, but for the most part of the labouring classes only ; yet nearly 400 vessels, besides above 1,000 boats, belong to the island. About fifty vessels may be built here annually, and its exports of fish, coals, and timber, are considerable, as has been stated, and capable of great augmenta- tion. It appears, however, to be unequally represented in the Provincial Assembly ; but it is to be hoped that its importance, as the key of the St. Lawrence, will be recognised, and more attention paid to make it available for that purpose. The Island of Newfoundland, in shape and general character, bears some analogy to that of Cape Breton. The centre of both is occupied for the most part by water ; in the one by the Bras d*Or Lake, in the other by numerous lakes and chains of ponds and waters intersecting each other, and spreading in an intricate net-work over the Ill .11 ..is 250 BRITISH DOMINIONS face of the country; but here the resem- blance ceases ; the eastern and southern coasts of the latter being rocky and comparatively barren, and its most fertile district lying on the western coast. The late historian of the island, Sir R. Bonnycastle, does not hesitate to divide it into two portions, containing 1^,000,000 of acres each, which he says may be well defined by a line drawn from Cape Ray to the River of Exploits ; and states the St. Lawrence half to abound with lime, coal, iron, timber, with good building stone, and clay for brick- making, and in its numerous lakes and rivers teeming with fish ; and this description may serve well enough in a general way. It would, however, be more correct if he had said that the eastern and southern coasts form a semi-basin, by which the table land of the centre portion is contained. This appears to be in an early stage of the process of drainage, and to be entirely overspread with waters, which, approaching on every side nearly to the sea, have their principal exits by the rivers Humber and Exploits, between the sources of which is the only well-defined IN NORTH AMERICA. 251 le resem- ern coasts 3aratively lying on J, Sir R. divide it 00,000 of ?11 defined the River rence half iber, with br brick- and rivers escription way. It if he had jrn coasts :able land ed. This he process )verspread every side lipal exits 5, between ^ll-defined watershed. It ir^y, therefore, be concluded that the whole interior bears a considerable analogy to that district, being fertile, well wooded, abounding in minerals, and other- wise well adapted (though, of course, with con- siderable variation) for immediate settlement. From this general view, however, the peninsula of Avalon must be exempted; and indeed the current ideas of the geography of the island may, with much propriety, be confined to the coasts of this very small part of it. Its elongated arms, separated from each other by deep and extensive bays, indented with numberless coves and harbours, and containing all the larger, and for the present most important settlements, present to our minds the Newfoundland of early history and commerce ; and indeed, when the value of the island was estimated by the Bank fishery, it might justly be so esteemed, though now that the superior importance of the western coast is satisfactorily demonstrated, it can claim only the second place, though in description it must receive, for these rea- sons, the earliest notice. . .>, 252 BRITISH DOMINIONS The eastern coast of Avalon, extending for eighty miles nearly north and south, approaches at Cape Spear, within 1,800 miles of England, and 1,500 of Ireland. It is the land fall of mariners to Newfoundland, and shows at night a bright flashing light, visible from five to seven leagues to sea. The town of St. John, situated a little to the norths is the principal one in the island ; its settlement and history have been already detailed ; it may contain from fifteen to six- teen thousand inhabitants, and carries on, as has been seen, an important trade. The harbour is excellent ; in length a mile and a quarter, and in breadth a quarter of a mile, with deep water everywhere ; and though the south side is precipitous, the north offers a convenient strand for wharfs and warehouses, above which, " climbing up the hill,'* the town appears crowned at either end by Forts William and Townsend, with the Government-house between them. It has little to recommend it, betraying at every step its origin from, and connexion with, the fisheries. The numerous fires of which it has been the prey have done something towards IN NORTH AMERICA. 253 jLtending south, ;00 miles It is the and, and t, visible I little to e island ; n already 5n to six- ies on, as ^th a mile quarter of ere ; and itous, the for wharfs imbing up i at either end, with them. It ig at every i with, the hich it has \g towards its improvement ; in which the last, as it was the most severe, will probably prove most beneficial. The approach to the harbour is well termed ^^ The Narrows," being half a mile in length, and at the entrance only 900 feet in breadth, which again diminishes to 400. On the right hand is a precipice nearly perpendicular, rising 800 feet, crowned by the signal-hill, the crest of which is 500 feet above the water ; and, on the left, a rugged and abrupt but picturesque hill, rising 600 feet, from which extends a promontory, with batteries commanding the passage, and a light-house. It is indeed so well defended on both sides, that entrance by a hostile fleet would be impossible. The harbour and town of St. John's pre- sents a scene by no means destitute of cha- racter and interest, and the environs, though somewhat barren in appearance, are not de- void of spots of high picturesque beauty. The whole coast from St. John's bears the same character. To the north, there is but one small and unimportant harbour, called Tor Bay ; but to the south it is more 254 BRITISH DOMINIONS ii^ ' i indented, presenting many small but useful coves, besides the harbours of Capelin Bay, Fermowes, and the Bay of Bulls. The former is a good and capacious an- chorage, and connected by a narrow passage with that of Ferryland, Lord Baltimore's original settlement, a pleasant place, and with the country round it containing above 2,000 inhabitants ; the latter, larger and more important, having several coves which offer every facility for mercantile operations. At the Bay of Bulls there may be a popu- lation somewhat exceeding 2,000. In Shoal Bay, ten miles below Cape Spear, is a very remarkable natural curiosity, called " The Spout," being a cavern with a hole at the top, through which in rough weather the sea is forced to a considerable height. The two extremities of this coast form the eastern boundaries of St. Mary's and Con- ception Bays, which are all but united by the waters of Salmon River. Cape St. Francis, on the north, is a low whitish point, with hi• « •>H. .',•.. 262 BRITISH DOMINIONS *u';^ by numerous small rivers and lakes, and the salmon and whale fisheries are productive. A very extensive establishment for these purposes is conducted at Harbour Britain, The population is fast increasing. Besides these, the coast is full of good harbours, as yet all but unoccupied ; among which are Grand Pierre Harbour, Le Comte, and Long Har- bour, at the head of Fortune Bay, Great Bay de Lean, near Harbour Britain, Great Jervis Harbour, at the west entrance of the Bay of Despair, Bonne and Rencontre Bays, to the east of Cape la Have, Mosquito Harbour, within the Rameo Islands, several of great security in La Poile Bay, which is the seat of a rising population, Garia Bay, Harbour la Cane, and the double harbour of Port au Basque, all of which must be of great esti- mation in any other country. Here Cape Ray terminates the south coast, remarkable for its three sugar-loaf projec- tions. From this point the shores of the island to the westward assume a distinct character. This is first apparent at the Codroy rivers, between Capes Ray and Anguille, where the land is low; here coal is first appa- i&£r IN NORTH AMERICA. 263 md the luctive. r these Britain. Besides s, as yet e Grand ng Har- :eat Bay at Jervis e Bay of rs, to the Harbour, of great the seat Harbour : Port au reat esti- iith coast, if projec- es of the a distinct he Codroy Anguille, first appa- rent. Northward of Cape Anguille, the southern coast of St. George's Bay is a fertile and well-wooded table land ; its eastern ex- tremity receives the waters of the St. George, and here again we find the harbour rapidly filling up with sand. Here is a small settle- ment, containing about 600 persons. The peninsula of St. George, to the north, encloses the extensive and safe double harbour of Port-au-Port, perhaps the most eligible marine station on the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is attached to the main by an isthmus only a quarter of a mile in width, of low ground, and having ponds in it, ren- dering a connexion with the Bay of St. George's free from any difficulty. Cape St. George is remarkable for its steep cliiFs of light yellow coloured limestone. To the north of Port-au-Port, in the Bay of Islands, is the mouth of the Humber, the principal river of the island. The land here has an elevation of above eight hundred feet, and the sound into which the river falls is about seventeen miles long, with an average width of one mile. Its rocky shores covered with wood are of an extremely picturesque ri , h ,. 264 BRITISH DOMINIONS character. The river is small, shallow, and rapid, having its origin in lakes extending north and south, but uniting in one called the Deer Pond, about fifteen miles in length. These lakes cover an extensive undulating district, abounding in coal and minerals, well wooded, fertile, and of delightful scenery ; that extending southward is about fifty miles long, and reaches the lofty barrier of primi- tive rocks, rising 1,000 feet above the level of the sea, approaching within fifteen miles of St. George's River. The Bay of Islands has an increasing popu- lation, probably approaching one thousand in number. To the south, Lark and York Har- bours afford good anchorage. Bonne Bay and the Bay of St. Paul have a similar cha- racter ; and about Cow Head the French have many settlers, it being considered the most advantageous position for the fisheries, and affording excellent timber for ship building. From hence for above fifty miles, the coast is continuous ; but within Point Rich, In- garnachoix Bay affords shelter for shipping, at Port Saunders and Hawkes Harbour ; while on its northern side, Port-au-choix is small but IN NORTH AMERICA. 265 w, and tending called length, lulating als, well cenery ; 'ty miles f primi- level of miles of ig popu- >usand in ork Har- nne Bay lilar cha- ;ncli have the mobt 3ries, and )uilding. the coast Rich, In- ipping, at ir ; while , small but safe. St. John's Bay receives the Castors River, small and rapid. Here the land is high, but St. Margaret's and St. Genevieve Bays afford anchorage, wood, and water ; and there is a superior harbour at the Bay of St. Barbe ; from hence a straight low coast of lime- stone rocks, covered with spruce, terminates in Cape Nouveau, the northern extremity of the island. Of the interior of the long narrow neck which forms the northern part of Newfound- land, little is known; its eastern coast is remarkable for the capacity and safety of its magnificent harbours. There are no settlers upon it, the French having, as already noticed, the monopoly of the fisheries to Cape St, John. Of these l:?irbonrs may be mentioned in succession, St. lemairey Cre- maillere (one of the finest In the iSiand), Howe's and Prince Edward's, in Howe Bay ; those of Croc and Cape Rouge ; the several arms, but especially that called the Gouifre, in Canada or Canary Bay ; the southern arm of Lobster Harbour, White Bay, which is forty-six miles in length, and safe throughout its whole extent; and Pacquet Harbour, where A A ! i i.V. 'V' '&■■'■ I 266 BRITISH DOMINIONS there are fishing establishments on the coast. There are several islands at the mouth. Cape Bauld, on Quirpon Island, forms the north- eastern extremity of Newfoundland, from which the barren island of Belle Isle is situ- ated thirteen miles distant to the north ; Groais and Belle Isle, south, are rocky and unimportant. Between Cape St. John and Cape Freels the Bay of Exploits and the Bay of Notre Dame extend above one hundred miles. Here, although the coast is mountainous and rugged, and the islands partake of the same character, are rising settlements, especially at Twill ingate. The rivers at Hall's Bay and the Bay of Exploits are connected with the lakes of the interior, and link with those of the western side of the island, as that at Gander Bay does with those of the eastern. The River of Exploits is of very similar character to the H umber, and not far from its mouth is broken into a series of very pic- turesque falls. It has its origin in a large lake called tlie Red Indian Pond, al>ove thirty miles in length. The whole coast and islands are deeply iiidcnted, and coves and small IN NORTH AMERICA. 267 le coast, h. Cape e north- d, from is situ- north ; 3cky and >e Freels of Notre i miles, nous and the same ecially at Bay and with the L those of s that at eastern. rv similar far from very pic- n a large ive thirty tid islands md small harbours are numerous, being thus admirably adapted for the fishery; and here, among innumerable channels and passages between the islands, is to be found some of the most splendid rock scenery in the world. The popu- lation is gradually spreading and increasing. At Cape Freels the land is low, and continues low and marshy along the north side of Bona- vista Bay ; the water is shoal, and broken with numerous islets, and the navigation difficult and dangerous. The south shore is high and mountainous, and the coast steep and iron- bound. The harbours in the bay are nume- rous and excellent, but difficult of access ; the best are Barrow and Great Chance on the south-west, and New Harbour and Cat Cove on the north-west. On the shores of the bay there may be a population exceeding 5,000, and nearly as many about the Bay of Ex- ploits, at Tvvillingate and Foy. Bonavista is a large straggling place, situated to the south of Cape Freels, on the harbour of the same name ; it is one of the first fishing sta- tions on the coast, but the harbour is exposed and unsafe. W' Mr ml I 268 BRITISH DOMINIONS CHAPTER VIII. PROSPECT AND RETROSPECT. If, from a particular consideration of the iiiuritime provinces of British North America, wc turn to take a general view of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and districts by which it is contained, there will appear a great basin enclosed by primitive rocks, for the most part occupied by water, but around the Gulf thus formed exhibiting extensive tracts co- vered with secondary strata, including in their areas the greater part of New Bruns- wick, all Prince Edward's Island, the eastern part of Nova Scotia, and the greater, i, e, the western and northern, of Cape Breton Island and Newfoundland. The boundaries of this basin, as marked by the development of the primitive rocks, may be roughly traced in a semicircular line from the district of Gaspe across the sources of the Restigouche IN NORTH AMERICA. 269 n of the America, the Gulf lich it is at basin nost part the Gulf racts co- iiding in w Bruns- le eastern later, ^. e> e Breton oundaries relopment ily traced listrict of 'Stigouche and River St. John, by the St. Croix to the Bay of Fundy, and thence along the coast ; appearing again in the Cobequid Moun- tains, it stretches southward to Halifax, and eastward and westward through the whole length of Nova Scotia, in its western districts occupying the centre, while in its eastern it is apparent on the coast, and passing thence along the southern shore of the Great Bras d'Or Lake is visible again at Point Ray, whence, taking an eastern direction along the south- ern coast, and at no great distance from it, to Fortune Bay, it trends northward across the island to Cape Freels, and on the north side occupies the whole extent of Labrador. No doubt this may be esteemed the exten- sion of the basin of the great lakes and River St. Lawrence. Its effect in the formation of the numerous lakes, rivers, harbours, and inlets of the sea, which offer such facilities for carrying on the fisheries and the pursuits of commerce, both internal and external, have already been detailed ; it may be proper now to explain briefly the mineral and agri- cultural advantages which are combined with them. AA 3 270 BRITISH DOMINIONS '¥-" And first of the former, as accessary to all other wealth, and necessary to the utility of all other minerals, is coal ; of this most im- portant product of the earth few countries have such an abundance. In New Brunswick alone it extends over an area exceeding ten thousand square miles, from the south coast of the Bay of Chaleurs to the channel of Chignecto. It may be roughly said to lie within an extensive arc from the Tatma- gouche, round the sources of the Miramichi, to the Keswick, thence round Gage Town to the Otnabog, and reaching eight miles below the Washademoak, where the limestone again crops out ; but the coal is found at Sussex Vale and Salmon River, and extends from thence to the Petitcodiac. It is worked at Grand Lake and Richibucto. The southern extent of this field seems immediately connected with the coal mea- sures on the other side of Cumberland basin, extending from the Napan to the Hebert River ; and there are in Nova Scotia three other distinct fields of this mineral : — at the extremity of Cobequid Bay, reaching from Folly River across the Shubenacadie ; at IN NORTH AMERICA. 271 ry to all itility of [lost im- ountries unswick ding ten ith coast annel of d to lie Tatma- iramiclii, Town to ies below )ne again it Sussex nds from worked at 5ld seems oal mea- nd basin, 3 Hebert )tia three : — at the ling from 3adie ; at Pictou, in the valley formed by the estuaries of the rivers falling into that harbour, the Albion mines being worked on East River ; and at Pomket Harbour, stretching from Anti- gonish to Milford Haven. In Cape Breton Island there is a coal-field about Port Hood and Mabou River, of which, however, but little is known, save its existence; and on its eastern coast, that of Sydney, extending from the Great Bras d'Or channel to the Mersey River, the seams of which are work- able at almost every part of the coast, and are in process of working at Sydney and Lin- gan Bay. Crossing to Newfoundland, we see one small field encompassed by an offshoot of primary rocks stretching round St. George's Bay and the Bay of Islands to Point Gre- gory ; and behind this, another, probably extending over the entire area of the western basin formed by the primitive chain in its semicircular course from Fortune Bay to Cape Freels, as there have been indications of coal observed by Mr. M'Cormack on his journey along the southern part of the island, a little to the westward of Serpentine Lake, 272 BRITISH DOMINIONS and by Mr. Jukes, good workable seams at the northern extremity of the Grand P'vnd. Throughout the maritime provinces, then, we see an inexhaustible supply of this essen- tial mineral laid up in store for the f ture naval, commercial, manufacturing, and loco- motive wants of the colonies, and the basis of doubtless a future extensive export trade. The iron which should accompany coal is not wanting ; furnaces and forges have been established on the Annapolis River, and it is interstratified with the coal, and worked at Pictou and elsewhere. Surrounding the whole of these districts limestone and gyp- sum, with the saline waters usually accom- panying them, abound. Grits are quarried both in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia for millstones, and slate is plentiful in the south- ern and eastern coasts. Time will probably develope further mineral wealth, but without it there is full occupation for colonial indus- try and activity. ^' It is,'* says a recent and judicious writer, " always of much importance to remark the effect of the geological formation of any country on its agricultural capabilities,'* and IN NORTH AMERICA, 273 jams at Pond. s, then, s essen- e f tuve id loco- he basis rt trade. coal is ive been and it worked ding the and gyp- ^ accom- quarried Scotia for lie south- probably t without ial indus- lus writer, 3mark the 1 of any [ties," and this is less difficult in these colonies from the prevalence of one direction to the stratifica- tions throughout them, the same N.E. and S.W. course being observable both in New Brunswick and in Newfoundland ; but then it frequently happens that the surface soil has no connexion with the rock on which it has been deposited, as where w nd the rich disintegrations of the sandstones fertilizing the districts of Grand Lake, Sussex Vale, Westmoreland, &c. In general, however, a knowledge of the geological formation of any country will afford a fair index to its agricultural capabilities. Thus in the gra- nite and syenite districts, we find sandy soils covered with a heavy growth of pine; from the trap rocks, the large proportion of potash favours the growth of the hardwoods; while on the grauwackes and slates, cedar, spruce, hackmatack, and stunted red pines are prevalent, each group indicative of the quality of the soil on which it is found, the produce which may be expected from it, and even of the rocks it covers. Of these, the second i by though first, when the soil is pulverized, will bear ^>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) // 4. 1.0 I.I 1^ 1^ 12.2 11: i£ lillM 1.8 11.25 i 1.4 i 1.6 m 7 "^ •> y /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 sultry. The fogs, of which such a bugbear is made, are for the most part confined to the districts immediately bordering on the coast. Excepting New Brunswick, their insular character protects them from the ill-assorted sympathies of their republican neighbours, though not from their industrial and com- mercial intrusion ; but this, it may be re- marked, is consequent principally on the scattered character of the population of the coasts, and would be impossible were measures taken to extend and increase it to a number consistent with their extent. If in the Bay of Fundy the American fishing vessels num- ber 600, and the British not one-half so many, it is because the one are collected from the more populous and early settled shores of New England, and the other from the scattered and recent population of our own ; and let but the Englishman know that he carries with him to those colonies equal freedom, with greater political privileges than he has at home, and that in them labour not only secures daily bread, but competence, nay, comparative affluence, and this increase, the only want which the colonies can name, will 284 BRITISH DOMINIONS '.''M be speedily supplied. Of the 9,000,000 un- granted acres of New Brunswick, much, especially on the Tobique, presents features the most desirable for settlement, whether we regard profit or pleasure. The head waters of the St. Croix and Magaguadavick are also desirable, as are the coal districts generally, especially the western coast of Newfoundland and northern of Nova Scotia, and perhaps Cape Breton Island may be esteemed an epitome of all. Of the constitution of these colonies nothing need be said, for the most part ap- proximating closely to that of Canada:* taxation is regulated by the representatives of the people, and the suffrage is all but general ; and were a comparison instituted between liberty in them and in the neigh- bouring republic, little could be advanced in favour of the latter, but much in praise of the equal administration of justice, lightness of taxation, and comfort and happiness, be- cause of morality and industry, in the former. That much is to be done to correct early errors of government and mismanagement, * * See BritiBh Colonies in North America.— Canada. ■w IN NORTH AMERICA. 285 lOOun- much, eatures whether e head 3idavick listricts oast of Scotia, nay be colonies part ap- mada :* titatives all but stituted neigh- nced in raise of ^htness ess, be- former. ;t early jement, Canada. especially with respect to grants of land to ^ individuals not contemplating personal or indeed general settlement, and that many present evils are in consequence perceptible and tangible, cannot be denied; that they will speedily be remedied, cannot be doubted; but let it be remembered that they are only partial, not total obstructions to prosperity, the seeds of which are too widely and too thickly spread to refuse an abundant harvest on account of a few weeds or some stony ground. The colonies have prospered and may prosper, these evils existing ; they will prosper more if they are removed. As in Canada, so in the maritime provinces, history makes it apparent that to English elements their prosperity is to be attributed ; and among the first of these must be reckoned the influence of the Church. Placed among conflicting sects, without those endowments which raise to her envy and enemies at home, however much her poverty is to be depre- cated, and however strong our efforts ought to be to remove it, she has one advantage, — that her quiet and unobtrusive aid is always felt on the side of justice and morality, and 286 PRITISH DOMINIONS . -J* • 'J *i' I ■ft her exertions uniformly directed to the spread not only of religion, but, as the first step to it, of education. In this, however the Pro- testant dissenter may have laboured, the Romish priest is clearly behindhand ; and as she alone can oppose a steady and progressive force to the inroads of ignorance and irre- ligion, because she represents the body of the English people at home, (and from home, for many years, the means for these purposes must, in a great measure, be derived,) it be- hoves all her children to rally round her, and support her with the open, honest, manly frankness of Britons and Christians, assured that by so doing they are performing their duty to man as well as to God (for the two are ever inseparable), and acting as much for the temporal as the spiritual welfare of the country. The union of all the colonies under one government would do much to root out all sectional feelings, and bring all to acknow- ledge and endeavour after the things which make for general advantage ; and whether assisted by the government at home, either in colonizing or the development of their ^i^ IN NORTH AMERICA. 287 spread step to le Pro- d, the and as ^ressive id irre- body of Q home, )urposes ) it be- her, and , manly assured ig their the two uch for of the Ider one out all Lcknow- which rhether I, either )f their natural resources, or left entirely to them- selves, the residents in these colonies may rest assured that if their future progress is not commensurate with their advantages, they can have no one to blame but themselves. It is not by legislative enactments, but by steady and perseveriiig industry, that the fruits of the earth are to be produced, the riches which lie hid beneath its surface exposed, or the depths of the ocean made subservient to the uses of man ; and by these alone can future progress and prosperity be achieved. They will not export what are usually called the precious metals, their former trade in marine ivory has long since ceased, but they may supply less favoured countries with food both from land and water, and the more useful minerals, iron and coal, may yet make Le Bras d'Or worthy its name, and develope resources far greater than even the ardent imagination of a Gilbert or a Raleigh in the time of their discovery could have been able to conceive. Ff of of of th( we pre of Ca] roi islf fdt] anc goe froi Fu] sail nor pro 1 the ■»••■»■■ ■ \ APPENDIX. APPENDIX [A].—p.42. Notwithstanding the subsequent attempt of the French government to restrict the term, the decision of the English government as to the interpretation of the treaty of Breda left no doubt of the identity of Acadia and Nova Scotia, though the boundaries of the province were not settled till 1763, when they were fixed by royal proclamation, as follows :— " To the north by the southern boundary of our province of Quebec, as far as the western extremity of the Bay des Chaleurs. <' From thence (including the islands of St John, Cape Breton, and all within six leagues of the coast) round Cape Breton to Cape SablC; including all islands within forty leagues — and to the westward, although our said province hath anciently extended, and doth of right extend, as far as the river Penta- goet or Penobscot, it shall be bounded by a line drawn from Cape Sable across the entrance of the Bay of Fundy to the mouth of the river St Croix, by the said river to its source, and by a line drawn due north from thence to the southern boundary of our province of Quebec." The impossibility of abiding by this description of the southern boundary has been the source of infi- c c 290 APPENDIX. If' m !" ''ft I >i] nite dispute between the colonists, the government of this country, and citizens of the United States ; it was in vain that the arbitration of the king of Holland was accepted by both parties ; his decision was rejected by the latter. But at length, when further contest appeared likely to involve the peace of the world, the following conventional boundary was, in 1842, established by the treaty of Washing- ton : — " From the point where the Connecticut river cuts 45 parallel north lat. to the head of Hall's stream, its principal source, from thence in an undulating line along the water- shed between the Kennebec and Penobscot, on the south, and Chaudiere on the north, to the centre of the three principal head- waters of the St. John's river, and to the south of Lake Woolastaquagam, to where it cuts the parallel 46.25 north lat., and from thence in a line nearly north, to where the north-west branch of the St. John cuts the 70 meridian of long, west from Greenwich ; from which point it is carried in a direct line to the south point of Lake Pohenagamook ; whence following the course of the deep water of the river, it meets a line carried due north from the source of the river St. Croix, about lat. 47.4, and long. 67.50." APPENDIX [B].— p. 148. In April, 1841, the Great Western steam-ship, Captain Hosken, went through an assemblage of field-ice and bergs, from lat. 43, long. 48i, to lat. 42, long. 50. The same field was seen by the American APPENDIX. 291 packet-ship United States, in lat. 40. Captain Hosken estimated some of the bergs as little less than a mile in length, and from 150 to 200 feet high. In the month of May, in the same year, the Bre- menese ship Pauline fell in with several islands of ice, and a berg, 160 feet above the vt^ater and two miles in length. In May, 1842, the Acadia saw nearly 100 ice- bergs, to the eastward of the Great Bank, some of them of large size, and one bearing so strong a resemblance to St. Paul's cathedral in London, that it was at once named after it ; the dome was perfect. On the homeward passage, about four weeks after, the same object was seen, and greeted with the ex- clamation, " There is our old friend, St. Paul's !" In that time it had drifted about seventy miles. APPENDIX [C].— p.l57. Mr. Laurie gives the following extract from the log of the Superintendent : — " Thus ends the year 1835 ; and with us it has been a year of great labour and fatigue ; our work has heaped upon us faster than we could clear it away. " We have saved and shipped to Halifax property to an immense amount. The materials of five vessels, and the cargoes of two, have been mostly landed on the island by the establishment, and seve- ral tons of property have been carted over the island, some fourteen miles, and all reshipped ; and there is now on the island between two and three '•A., 292 APPENDIX. thousand pounds' worth of property, ready for ship- ping, besides as much more that was saved on the island, and taken to New York. One hundred and nine persons have been saved, and fed, some of them six weeks, some of them three months and a half. Some of us are sometimes sick. We generally work until ten o'clock at night. We are all desirous to make something extra by shingle-making and boat- building, which if we can do and not be thought un- profitable servants, I, for one, shall think myself fortunate." gt^ APPENDIX [D].— p. 173. The danger of passing the falls, except during this interval, is fresh in the memory of the author. Having on one occasion delayed rather too long at Indian Town, which is a village of domiciled Indians just below the Neripis River, confident in the skill of a St. John's pilot, by whom he was accompanied, the energies of a crew of four practised oarsmen, and the sea-worthy properties of a pilot-gig, he essayed the passage and passed in safety, though not without delay and danger ; but the well-known character of the pilot for care and prudence induced two men to follow in a large and heavy boat, not understanding or not perceiving the signs which were made to prevent them. Their progress was watched with intense anxiety, the danger to which they were exposed being but too evident; and, while waiting beyond a rocky islet for a favourable moment to shoot a precipitous part of the fall, the ■i^;.,: APPENDIX. 293 boat was observed to be caught in a whirlpool, and, after many revolutions in its vortex, shot with the swiftness of an arrow down the torrent. Then was seen the triumph of skill and courage in difficulty and danger. Quick as thought a rope was made fast to a small birch-tree under which the gig was lying, and as the boat and men were hurried past to swift and apparently certain destruction, its coil was thrown on board and made fast to a thwart ; and although the jerk broke both it and the tree, it brought the boat safely into an eddy, where its rescued crew, having learnt prudence from danger, remained till the next period of still water. 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