w IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // y M Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4303 CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut canaditn de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6td possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-6tre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans !a m^thode normale de filmage sont indiquds ci-dessous. D Coloured covers/ Coi:verture de couleur I I Covers damaged/ Couverture endommag^e I I Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes □ Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicjide □ Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque □ Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicul6es ^ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d^colordes, tachet6es ou piqui&es □Pages detached/ Pages ddtachdes D Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) K Showthrough/ Transparence I I Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ n Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distottion along interior margin/ La reliure serr6e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 4t6 film^es. I I Quality of print varies/ D X Quality in^gale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel suppldmentaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ '.es pages totaiement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure. etc., ont 6t6 filmies d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. D Additional comments:/ Uommentaires suppl^mentaires; This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film6 au taux de reduction indiqud ci-dessous. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X v/ 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X tails du sdifier une Tiage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: National Library of Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de: Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetd de l'exemplaire filmd, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. Les exernplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim^e sont film^s en commenqant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Touu les autres exemplaire;. originaux sont filrnds en commenpant par la premidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporto une telle empreinte. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —-^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de choique microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole <— »- signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large tc be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent 6tre filmds d des taux de reduction diff^rents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filrn^ d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. rrata o lelure. 3 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 NEWFOUNDLAND IN 1842. I ■ ? ■ . • I" ■ 4. 'Wi", a ';"/■': tilElSR J N K \V KO [T N 1) 1, A N D IN 1842: A SE(Jt;KI. TO " illK I.ANADAS IN 1811. M SIR RICIIARl) HENRY BONNYCASTLE, KNT. I.T.-( . ON'KI. I\ Tilt: ( l>l(l'-> UK IlilVAI. K\(.l.\KKKS. \ IN T W O VOLUME S. VOL. I. LONDON: IlIENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER, GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET. 1842. •' c -J a IK, t '0\IM u ti MAJU ■"^ AND (lOVl Sf. JuliiCs, TO HIS KXCKM.KNCY MAJOR-GENERAL SIR JOHN HARVEY, K.l.'.U., KAMI. (OMMANDKR (»!•' THK TKOOl'S AND (lOVEUNOK OF NKWFOU M)|, A ND AND ITS DliPKNUKNClKS, WIIOSi: NAME IS SO MUCH HKSPF.CTi;i> IN TUANSATLAN nc lUHTAIN, r II I S W () II K IS I) i: D I C A T K I), 15 Y HIS VEllY FAlTIIi'UL SERVANT, UlCIIAKU I1E.NKY BONNYCASTLE. •bV. Julius, New/'tiuitdlund, 2ti//« A/iril, 18-1:2. )^\ 'Ri h V, t] di L of PREFACE. The aiitlior begs leave to state that his object ill writing this work is the same as that which prompted him to make a selection from his notes respecting " The Canadas in 1841" — a desire that the British public may become better acquainted with an important British colony through the medium of a person un- connected with the country described, and therefore unbiassed ])y any local influences, politics, or prejudices, but one whose military duties have stationed him there for a time. It may be alleged, that the vast territory of Labrador, which is included in the government of Newfoundland, ought also to have been treated of. But this would have increased the \ ni nn TAi'i' (liiurusions ol' llic work 1(Mt nuh'li, ms {mollicr \olnm(> luiisl. in Ihiil r!is(\ Imvr Itccn liMpiircd ; siu'li M \olunu\ h(>\vo\(M'. lU.MV |»(>ssil»l\ Jto )tr(t- »1u«mmI Ml soinr I'utiirt^ jXM'iod. 'Vho |>rrs(Mi< jiosilioii olNcwloimiUnnil, wIkmi^ M mnv svstoiu of coloniijl govrnniKMil is jiisl :it tliis iuoii\(Mil nn ()bi<'«'< ol" mliM-cst, iiud llic \:isl iiu]>or<:nu'(\ lo lli«' juotlirr connli'v. nl'llic isiiiiiil, iissum.^^t] h\ ilsjr(N\m!i]>ln«'iil inxl |>(»liii('!il position. MS llu^ kv\ of Cnn.-nln, nnisl ItMul, il is rono(Mvr(], rnrtluM- to .lov(>loi> iho uroMt in lon^sts 1o llio Uvilisli n;Hion of CiMuulii mul t\w \ov\]\ \\\\cvw'.\u Ci)\o]\w>^, or Triinsiilliinlic Urilnin. It ninv ho luliK^l. tlint lliis -liscription ol' llio most Mncic^nt «'olony ol' (Jroat r>ritMin is only \]w \nvc\\v^ov o( anotbiM' - M mon* conipro- luMisivt^ ;nul M lMrg(M' oMnniniition into iho pro- sont position nnd intnn^ pros]HM'ts «>!' ('Mninln, \\]\\c]\ \\w antlior is wUmi io pnt into n lorni littoil to nuvt \]\v pnb'io vyv. \{. W. U. i II. III. IV St. .K)lni s, N('\vl\nuullan(l. L>(ith Avril. 1S.41>. CONTKNI'S <•!■ •nil', I'lUS'l VoLI'Mlv PA in I l'0|,ni(',M, AMI CI'.NI W M, IIISTOHV ol' N i;\V r» •! I N I H, A N I ». < HAPI'K.U I'ACil I, llis(I rd-^spssidii mikI I'irsl SrIllcmriH. <>r iVoni I II>7 to MilL' ... ! II. Ilisloiy iVom livsl !i(t K V. III. (u'()loi>y iiMil ( }(Mtl<)i:;i('!il KrI.'ilions . . . . IV. AniiMiil Kiiiudoiu. — VwhI Division: (.^n;i v)'j;; 2r>H X CONTENTS. rHAlTER I'AiiK VI. Aninuil Kin^^doin. — 'I'liird Division: Insects, MoUusoa, Crustucou, Arachnides, Annn- luta, and Zoophytes 275 VII. Vegetable Kin( ('])(l('!i\(Mir (o myHtil'y it still liirtluM' by useless iiKjuiries as to wli(!tlj(;r it was the wine or tlur vine lainl of tin; (!arly navigators — whether the I{(!(1 Indians <(!' NewibiUKiland are (lie descendants of 'J'artai's, or of Scandinavians — or whethcsr tlie sea l(in«^s extended their sw^ay over its shores or not; VOL. I. B 2 IllSTOIlV TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION but shall content myself with commencing at that epoch when the arts and sciences of En}'o))c were reviving from the utter obscurity they had for ages been involved in, and during which beniglited period it has been conjectured, without sufficient reason, that America received European colonists, who have since so sti'aiigely, however, vanished from the face of a continent covering one half of the habitable globe. The discovery of the West Indies by Co- lumbus, whose fair fame has been tarnished by doubts as to his capacity, and by making him mei'ely the folloAver out of some visionary foi'crunners, had a wonderful effect upon mai'itime nations, ar:I however they may in t^iut age have envied his genius and depre- ciiited his extraordinary mission, they trod in his footsteps with the most eager and absorb- ing anxiety for the final discovery of Cathay — that region of gold, pearls, and diamonds, Avhicli w^as to enrich every hardy adventurer. But previously to entering upon the subject of this section, it is desirable to make a few remarks upon the object of the w^ork. That object is, chiefly, an endeavour to inform the British public, as far as the author may be AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. 8 IVf I'lll be i I. enabled, upon the state of the most neglected of our colonies, which, although the nearest to the mother country in point of space, ajipears to be the most remote from observation. Hitherto tliis most ancient and important settlement, Newfoundland, has been looked upon merely as a great nursery for hardy sea- men, rather than as an immense adjunct to the trade, the power, and resources of the empire, or as the real key of the continent of Northern America. The only readable works upon this country, in modern times, are Macgregor's and Montgo- mery Martin's Geographical Dictionaries of the British American Colonies; for Chappell, Anspach, and Reeves, afford very little local information, and express opinions coloured by circumstances connected with the residence or visits of their authors at St. John's, in periods when no other than party views prevailed, and when society was wholly limited to the houses of government officers, or to those of a few respectable merchants, and when the dictum of a naval governor was the law of the land. It was requisite, in order to obtain an un- biassed knowledge of the colony, that a person describing Newfoundland should be independent b2 iiisToin TO Tin: era of possession of all parties, and liavc resided long cnoufi^h there to become intimately acquainted with the state of things; and it is probable that few besides military men could be so favourably situated in that respect. Formerly Newfoundland was considered as a very pleasant place of banishment for an oili- cer in the army; whilst the merchant, having long toiled for riches drawn from the exhaust- less ocean, no sooner acquired them than he left the island for the enjoyments and the more genial climate of his native soil. The case is uoav altering rapidly : the move- able militarv men are confined to the scientific corps of the Ordnance service, who rarely stay more than four, five, or six years on the station, and there is a pernuuient colonial regiment, consisting chiefly, at present, of old service officers, appointed to do the garrison duty of the capital and outposts. A new race of inhabi- tants is springing up, who, born on the soil, cherish and fondly adhere to it; the population is no longer a fluctuating one ; the island has obtained a representative goA^erument; it has been discovered that it is by no means so barren and infertile as was uniformly stated by interested persons, and that it is not that foggy 1] it re.'K orig] hint( geog. of sc Wor from It tails be, b AM) nUST SETTLEMENT. SO by country wlicrc lantern liglit is requisite at noon-day, but is possessed of a climate of ex- traordinary salubrity. Its population is steadily advancing; roads are opening; agriculture rears i its head ; and in short, from Iiaving been a mere ■ mercantile depot, it now ])ids lair to take its rank amongst the more flourishing colonies of the neigh])()uring continent. To develop its resources, to assist its com- merce, to make it better known, as it deserves to be, in the Old World, is the task I have im- posed upon myself during the second winter of my temporary residence ; and I trust that my design nuiy ultimately succeed ; for, unbiassed by politics, I have only the welfare and renown of Britain and of this islmd gem in view. In tracing its general ) jstory, I have thought it a matter of great interest to the native reader to enter somewhat largely upon the original discovery — a subject hitherto only hinted at in all the modern gazetteers and geographical works; and being in possession of some very ancient histories of the New World, I have not hesitated to extract largely from them. It is extraordinary how vngue even the de- tails of the voyages of Columbus are found to be, by the most patient investigator, and there- 6 ai.":)TORV TO THE KRA OF POSSESSION fore a great deal of light cannot be expected to be thrown upon those of Cabot, wh )se claims as an illustrious navigator have slumbered for ages in oblivion. In searching into records long since devoted more to the worm than to the care of the his- torian, wo, however, find many highly interest- ing particulars which have been consigned to neglect, in consequence of the superior success which the contemporaries of the admiral of the ocean met with, when compared with Cabot and those who came after him. Gold, all- powerful gold, was the thing sought for, and in the frozen regions of Terra Nova the disap- pointment met with from finding only glitter- ing pyrites, rendered the public careless of the accounts given of that region ; and thus, no doubt, many valuable journals w^ere lost, and many anxious thoughts of the early north- western searchers for the riches of the east were nipped in the bud, and remained un- printed and unheeded. Herrera, the most careful and most diligent collector of the primal voyages, shews us, in a few words, the apathy of lienry the Seventh of England, and his cold, calculcting policy, when he suffered the dominion of the New World to slip, uncared for, out of his grasp. i AND FIRST SETTLEMi: NT Columbus uicetiug with nothing l)ut disap- pointment and repulse in lil favourite scheme, sent his brother liartholomew to Enghmd, to negotiate with that prince, lie was taken by corsairs on the way thither, and detained loi* seven years ; but, learning the language, the dis- position of the court, and of tlie people, having obtained access to the minister, and carried on his suit, wliich he at last accomplished, he was ordered to return to S[)ain, to find his brother, and conclude the necessary i)reliniinaries for the discovery. So unfrequent was communication between distant countries in those days, that it was not until Bartholomew reached Faris, that the fears he had entertained for his brother's life were quieted, as he had not heard from him during the wdiole period of his voluntary exile, and there he found that he was not only living, but had accomplished, under the auspices of the Catholic kings, the object of their fervent desires. Charles, the King of France, informed the Genoese of his brother's success, and Bar- tholomew, having quitted Henry and his ava- rice, sailed for the new vrorld. Charles presentedhini with a hundred crowns, and forwarded him on his journey to Spain, 8 HISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION whence he was despatched with three store- ships for Hispaniola, and found the Admiral, who made him Adelantado, or Lieutenant-Go- vernor, of the newly discovered regions.* Bartholomew left behind him, with King Henry, a map of the world, shewing the pro- bable road to the Indies and Spice Islands, which contained some Latin lines urging the voyage, and was dated London, the 21st February, 1480.t As soon as the news of this splendid disco- very reached England, the tardy vigour of Henry was roused, and he became as eager to share in the glory of forwarding voyages to the Indies as he had been cautious before. Of Bartholomew, he of course neither heard * Herrcra Historia General de los Yndios Ociden- tales, 8iC., tomo primo, capitulo xiii. p. 48. Edition in 4 vols, folio, 1728. Amberes. f If this date is correct, (but I think it should be 1490, unless the map was made before he left Portu- gal.) Bartholomew must have been fifteen years on his embassy. It is, however, taken from the Italian work entitled " Ferdinand© Colombo Storia della vita e de' fatte deir Ammiraglio Cristoforo Colombo suo padre," &c., printed at Venice, in 8vo, 1570. The extract will be given in the Appendix, No. I., as it shews the first glimmering of English enterprise in Atlantic spe- culation. AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. nor expected to hear further, and it is pre- sumed that his attention had been kept awake by another adventurous Italian, who then occasionally resided in England. The family of this foreigner became after- wards of as much importance and interest to Britain as Columbus had been to Spain. John Cabot, a Venetian, traded to Bristol for several years previously to the fii'st voyage of the admiral, and most probably was an inti- mate acquaintance of Bartholomew, who sub- sisted upon the rare art in those days of card or chart making, and by teaching navigation. After the discovery of insular America be- came well known in England, we find that Henry VII. granted letters patent to John Cabot and his three sons, Ludovicus, Sebas- tiano, and Sancius, to proceed with five ships to the discovery of new and unknown lands, unvisited and unclaimed by Christians in the seas of the East, the West, and the North, and from and to tlie port of Bristol only. This patent is dated Westminster, 5th March, 149G. in the eleventh year of his reign.* * Examplar Litteraruin Henrici Regis Angliae VII. Johanni Cabotto, civi Venetiarum, ac Ludovico, Se- bastiano et Sancto filiis dicti Johannis ad inveniendum 10 HISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION In the Rolls there is another licensed patent to John Cabot and Sebastian, his son, for any haven for six ships, dated in the thirteenth year of Henry YII., or in 1498. These voy- ages had the sole object of finding the Meta Incognita, or unknown strait, which was to lead to the rich country of Cathay, a subject, after the lapse of several hundred years, not yet despaired of, and now nearly accomplished by Great Britain. In the Appendix to this work is given a list of various authors who wrote about or soon after the time of Cabot, describing his disco- very of Newfoundland, and whose works may best be consulted, and from which extracts will now be made. It appears that he sailed from Bristol with a fleet of five small ships containing three hun- dred men furnished by Henry VII., who, although avaricious by nature, possessed a prudent and thoughtful mind, and soon per- discooperiendum et investigandum, quascunque in- sulas, patrias, regiones, sive provincias, gentiliuni et infidelium in quacunque parte niundi positas quae Christianis omnibus ante baec tempora fuerint incog- nitee, Teste Regi apud Westmon. quinto die Martii. An. Reg. XI. 1496. AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. 11 ceived the folly which his ministers had com- mitted, in refusing so long the offers of Bartho- lomew Columbus on behalf of his celebrated brother, and therefore hastened to the aid of another foreigner, projecting a more northern route for the Oriental regions. The Cabots were experienced and expert pilots, as navigators were then styled; but whether John Cabot went on this voyage or not, does not clearly iippear by any record ; and in Richard Eden's " Abridgment of Travels"* we find, that he mentions Sebastian's having told him that his father died soon after the news of the discovery of Columbus became known in England. This renders it just barely possible that he did command the fleet ;f but it is the more improbable, as it will be seen, in the ex- tracts from early writers, that Sebastian is ahvays mentioned as the first discoverer of the northern continent of America. * Printed in 1555, with the first three Decades of the New World, or West India. London, 4to, black letter, page 255, in the account of Muscovy and Ca- thay, marginal note. t In the Appendix, No. II., I have extracted the whole memoir of Cabot from " Campbell's Lives of the Admirals," who gives all the information he could gather. 12 HISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION lie sailed from England in the spring of 1497, five years after Columbus had seen the West Indies, to penetrate by a north-western route to China and the Spice Islands. There is, unfortunately, no regular journal known to exist of this voyage, and we must therefore be contented with what can be ga- thered out of the works of the early writers ; Hackluyt being one of the chief sources, but not containing so much personal notice as can be found in the writings of Peter Martyr, a contemporary, Oviedo, Gomara, and the ob- scure work of Itichard Eden. It is said, that Sebastian Cabot's fleet made the land of tlie New World near Bonavista Bay, about the island of BaccalaOy on the 24:th June, 1497. This subject is, of course, of much interest to the natives of Ne"\\^oundiand ; and I shall therefore quote the observations of such wri- ters as I am able to refer to, either by trans- lations of the original works, or by transcripts. Peter Martyr, a learned clergyman, in his voluminous work, called, " The Decades of the Ocenn^^ written in great part during the lifetime of Columbus and Cabot, with whom he was personally acquainted, and professing i to St) upon the says, by til north Sebas infan( laud, mercii Venet trodde vessels three J towaro found heaps ing th heat he tu south, tude * "E lanensisj cades oc Jnis aniK Paris, J, AND FIRST SETTLEiMENT. la to state from authority the subjects he treats upon, which are the different discoveries in the New World, then constantly occurring, says, when mentioning the passage to the Indies by the west, in his third Decade,* — " These northern or frozen seas have been searched by Sebastian Cabot, a A'enetian born, avIio, in his infancy, was carried by his parents to Eng- land, where they occasionally went upon com- mercial pursuits, it being the custom of the Venetians to leave no part of the world un- trodden in search of riches. He furnished two vessels at his own cost in England, and, with three hundred men, directed his course so far towards the North Pole, that even in July lie found almost continual daylight, and innnense heaps of ice floating in the sea ; but observ- ing that the land was clear of it, owing to the heat of the sun having melted the ice near it, he turned westward, and, coasting by the south, sailed so far that he came into the lati- tude of the Straits of Hercules, having the * " De Orbe Novo, Petri Martyris Anglerii Medio- lanensis, Protonotarii, et Carol! quinti Senatoris, De- cades octo diligenti temporum observatione, et utilissi- mis annotatioiiibus illustratee, suoque nitori restitutae." Paris, io87, 8vo. In italic print. 14 niSTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION North Pole elevated, in the same manner, in the same degree. He sailed thus so far west- ward, that he had the Island of Cuba on his left hand, in like manner, in the same parallel of longitude.* As he passed by the coasts of this vast country, which he named ' Bacca- laos,' (' Terra Baccallearum,') he said he found the course of the oceanic waters Avas towards the west, but that they tlowed more softly and gently than those swift currents which the Spaniards had found in their southern navigations. " Sebastian Cabot called those countries Baccalaos, because in the seas there he found such multitudes of large fish, like tunnies, which the inhabitants call baccalaos, that they sometimes hindered his ships; he found, filso, that the people of these regions were clothed in the skins of beasts, but were not without the use of reason. " He said that there were plenty of bears there, which eat fish, plunging themselves into the water where they perceived a number of * In tiie original Latin the sentence is, " Ad occi- dcntcmque profcctus tantum est, ui Cuhuni insuhini a IfEvn longitiuUne gradaum pencparcm /labuerit." Editio 1587, in italic print, now very rare. these in tl devoi they "J of th anion; cular much someti house, Catho] Henry counci] affairs tiently secret westeri voyage next ( MDXVI., shall 11 live, was th affirm t must n AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. 15 not these fish to be, and then, fastening their claws in their scales, dragged them on shore, and devoured them, so that thus feeding on fish, they are not so dangerous to man. " He declared, also, that in many places of these territories he saw plenty of latten amongst the inhabitants. Cabot is my parti- cular friend, with whom I am on terms of much familiarity, and I delight to have him sometimes to keep me company in my own house, for being sent for from England by the Catholic King of Castile, after the death of Henry VII., he was appointed to assist our council, and did assist us in managing the affairs of the New Indies, whilst he was pa- tiently waiting for aid to discover this hidden secret of nature (the Meta Incognita, or western road to China and Japan.) This voyage is now, at last, appointed for the year next ensuing, being the year of Christ MDXVi., and whatever occurs from it, I shall inform your holiness (Leo X.) of, if I live. Some of tlie Spaniards deny that Cabot was the first discoverer of Baccalaos, and affirm that he never went so far west ; but it must now suffice for me to have said thus K) MlSiOllY TO TIIK KIIA OF TOSSKSSION miu'li of tho guli* jiiid straits, and oC Si'l)astiait ('al)ot." It would (Miiharrass tho narrative of tlic dis('ov(M'v of Nowfoimdlaiid too niiudi, to enter into all the ar<;unients of the Spaniards and otluM's, about previous discoveries of the eunti- nent, (>t(\ Ortel nis av( i'red that Istotiland (thenortl u*rn ])art of Anu'riea, whieh exten, next before the maj) of the Mar del Zur, IT)!)!), Antverpia^ This Zeno fitted out a ship from \'enice, and was cast away on Friezland, in a vova^o to Fiiig hantl and Flanders, in JoSO. Zechmni was Prince of Poland, on the siTuth side of Friez- land, and Duke of Soruni, opposite to Scotland. r(»n(|( AND KIIIST HKTTLKMKNT. 17 It U' cr li- MMl Ml- in(\ roll! nil ; ), :i ill 1(1 Ijrrni- j) of This was Fill (V-. AY as 'ric/- lland. I i i lie WHS llicii ii.tt(nn))liMf^ to coiKiucr all tliiit couiitfy, and had (l(*li'at(ul IIk; Ki?iliiied hy the well known st(H'y oi'thi^ e^^^. l'\)r thes(! reasons, it is not my intention to enter ni)on the diseoveiy of .America l>y th(; Northmen and Welsiimen; but in ordei' tosav(! th(^ t]"oiibI(^ orrelerenee nj)on that snhject to th« render, who may not have access to the works iijiCii the controversy, 1 have; added an ex- trac-t from llacklnyt, in No. .'>, A]>pen(lix. It may also interest tla; I'eacU'r, to a(hl tlie translation of a j)assarevions to that event: — " IVte trnter is Icncl throufrluHit its irlHtln (uirjit, alf/i(Hfi>h /ike tlic. eartli^ if luts the form of a ^lohc. Mankind in. those (t^es irerc ninc/t more if>'norant tluin now. Her- eules irould blush, at this dai/^ for harins:^ fixed his eolnnins: vessels ivill soon pass far hejiond. them. Theij niaj/ soon reaek another VOL. I. C IS niMiOU^ 10 I UK I HA Ml IM»MM|MS|(»\ hrf}nsp/in'f\ hn'ftust' rvrri/f/nitu frth/s fo tfs t ( 'ifrr. n) JiKr innnfU'r ns hu It tftrinc tn/fs frn/. thi- rin fh js snsprfttfti/ in f/ir tntifsf nf iirr I'ihrs o/hf rnintirs. //, !fnr hri otr 7' n hu'h rrt ir n:h-trnf. i'hr n>fhif>ti(fn/s nf fh rsr myfon.y H'rrr rnlhif .i nf/pot/rs. 77/ t'U fhivc p/iinfs n)}t1 KK. « \\v. Si. l'i>!». olc. Omu(«\ who llomislhMl liclwrrn lySTi iind l.'^:.M, or luovo i\\'.\\\ \ ii) Ncnis Itrloro ( 'o pos\(ioii y\\ \\\c si ins ('onn>os)n*\ llic |»(Min vow stoll;ilions ol" llio AmsIdjI luMnispluMo. niid s:\vs. i\! \\\w\\ l,ii«'il'»M- Irll iVoin Im'm\(Mi, liis bo*{\ |>iorro»l llutMijvh llir »\nlh. IimIT rnnniii iuii on om sido ol" lln' ron siKU'k ilrivinii uiosl o( i\\o ooonn umIois lo llio S.>1 Ith nt novn h(Mnis|Mior(\ snn (1 onl V ono Inol I nioiin- tnin I'onniining unooviMUMl, on whitdi llio jkm^I pl;\ood his inirgMlorv. V\\o \\\\\ of lh(> n»oin- \n^^• stnv linp|>tM\nio Ihmoio Iho crcMlion o( Viiiun. Oanlo ronhi uoi WV\c\v ihsit Iho An- ti]>od:\l or svnithovn htMnisplioro was vwv in- rotraivh. a bettor eosiuv^gvinist. g(\\i>raj^lior, ANh nHf^l HlillKMKNT. I<» mul rlnMsic, mImhiI (liiitv v^mmm iirh'r\viii»l':, VtMillircMl In liiiil, tliiil llirir wnr Itriiijr^ im nlir ^rloliP llllKlliiWII fn im, lull nl' Mill MWII mil m(> ill lliosc icniuiiM " Nfllii "liijiiHii cIh' il rill rnpMlii iii« liiii'i \ rm Mcritli'iitr, r t'\\r il ill mmlin volii ,\ ^riili' «'Im' iIcIIc lui/.r »• r;i|ii||(i.'' l'"iriV N'Mlls liriri rrllllM'li lliii- |iri<(li< IimI, lIlP rvislriirc ol llic A ill i)t(t(|ii| fiicc WMs}'i(ilv (Icimmslnih'd ; Iml il Ims Im rn r|t«v('ilv oii'l, lluil Tnlri '' niiMcs n drvil h> iiimMiincr limt lnvl." His rt'llt»\v-('il i/,t'!i, I'lMild 'I oMniiH'lli, u miohI imIiiiii'mMo iimI roiminri iiikI tiinlliciuii licitiii. wroir In ( oIiiiiiImi ', fxliorliii^ liim hi MIldiM'hiKr llic (lis('n\ CIV ol' ||. Alll|Ol|n;|| mUcm |M'|H'|lh"(|, \Vf mIiiiII cIoU' IIiI , loHf^ (ligi'i'ssioji uilli ||i(> |iro|i|M('y ol Scimtji, llic lirsl on r«'C(tifl ii|)mii llii- iiitrfcsliri''; siil)- jrcl : — " \'riii"iil !»imis .S;.(MiI;i s( lis, ijiiilnH occaniiH \'iii('nln ifniiM la\<'(. «•(. iiijMfm I'lllraf Irlliis", Tiplii ■((lie tidvos Dctcfinl orlics. Nee sil l(-l^i^ iilfiiii!i 'riiyWv ' Tlir |m)II(1s arc Iti'okni, lli(' ji^rc lui^ juTivcl, !iiio1 is iimdo in the *' SniniMJiry of tlic (hmutuI History «>i lln' Indies," l»v , wriltcn to the Mnmrror CliJirli's \'., ill tlic vciir LM*.'*. It Iciivcs tlio mutter ill ixrvwi niu'cM'tiiintv uhctlKM' tl»:it liuid was tho ciMitinont ortlio island of wliicli we sire writinj-;. Hnt the most interesting not loeot' nil is con- tained in a " Diseonrse ol' divers \'oy!i^es and Ways, by whielj Sjuei's, Preeions Stones, and (Jold were l)ronu,ht in old tinn» Ironi India into Knroi)i' and other Tarts ol' the World, also of t]\v \o\i\ii:c. to Cathav and laist India hy the North Sea. And ol" eertain Seerets tonehinii: tlu* same ^(>va^•e deelared by the Dnke ol' Aloseovie, his Ambassador, io an t-xeellent learmnl (Jenthanan of Italy, named (iah>atins Untriirarins, Lik(>\vise of the Vovaires of that \vorthy old man, Sebastian Cabot, y(>t living in r.niiland, and at this ])resont the v-.ryernor ot'the Company oC the Merchants of Cathay, in the city of London."* * Soe " Kichanl ImKmi's (lathoriiijjs from Writers on tlio XiM\ Worlil," London, 1 ;>.")."> , ami also in " I'nrclias his nigriniago," folio, London, KilT), vol. ii. j). 807, whoro thoro is a short " Account of the Discovery of <]n(>i Ne«( hastj.' Sliips A ceo the (*( litlie I si hie V Pui the let in Spa llaekh foh'o 5 three sj to the I. page .^) out of Adams « liich private chants' luyt, t of the litary ni I canno mote sti at any l)y the <• the stoc tlie e.\C( ciudimr men. AND MUST sr,TTi,i:Mr,NT. 21 riior It will iilVoni nnniS(MM(M)t to tlic ifiKlrr to quote tills su'voimt of LiihrjuiiM" mikI Ncw- N<'Nvi'i>untlli\nil, by .Inliii (*u)i(i(, a V'ciii'tiiin, ntul Sc- hiisliat), Ills Son, on the L' Itli ot',lnn<>, It1)7,in I'Ji^liHJi Slii|H, with n Commission of Ilrnry VII.; Mitli tlir Aoroiint, Kivrn by S<>l)aslian, of tlircomin^ Iiouh' along tlir roasts of Amrrii'a to I'lori^ja." 'IImh dill'irs lint lilll(> from any of thn ahovj- more rare and Ii'hh arrrs- sililc works, rxtl(aroi' his reign, whilst at page 51 1 of I hu'klnyt's ponderous folio is an " lOxtract out of the Mapp of Sebastian (>abot, cut by (Memont Adams, concerning his discovery of the \V<'st indies, M Inch was to be seen in Imt .Majesty (iue(M) I'^li/abeth'N private gallery at Westminster, and in many mer- chants' houses. ' Thes(! woiks of Purchas and Ilactk- luyt, the former b«'ing a continuation and enlargement of the latter, i\ro. .so bulky that it is diliicnlt for a mi- litary man to add them to his stock of books ; so that I cannot (piote, «ixcepting from memoranda, at this re- mote station, ll\< (!A- I \OS, inNtJi: WKST AND NOlMM-WKSi I UOM r\(;i wnr, and niiNcr rAim: (»k riii: I'linn: l.ANDK 01' Tin: \VKST INDIKS. '' Miuiy hiinc iniUMly(Ml (o si-nivli lln' v onsl, of wliolluM- \\\v\v l»('o iiny itsissngo )>y soa llivoiiirbo Ilu> sumo into llio Son ol" Snr iind tl\(^ Isliindos oi" Midnoii, wdiioh iuv nndor Mio, K(jnin(HMi:dl lino: (hinkyngo Hint \\\o wnyc* tlivtlior slinltK^ iin^Mtlv boo shortonod by Hdh VNM.uo. Tho Spnnymdos, ns by tbis wjiy. riio rovtugulos sdso liMnyngo ib(> ivadv ul' spioos in tboyr Inuidos, dyd i.niniiyb' to iymb; tlu sjimo: sdtbonoli b(>tliorto noytbor suiyo suoho jnissago is ibuiulo or tbo ondo of tbjit buido. In tlio yoiire a tbousan«b' and lino, Innulrotb, (iiispiir Cortosroalos nni(K^ si vyagc thythor witb two canuioHos; but Ibundc not tho stroygbt or pas^sagc ho souglit. At his ANI> I IUST Mi;iTF,r,MI,NT. (•'I \)v\\\\i^ lln'i goiiir*^ QiiihIiimIo, {iltcr liiw iiiiuM', ( 'orlf'sifjiIrM, lyin«i; \\\ (lie L : iiixl liiovv;.';lil(' I'lfHii (liiit, luiidr Jiltowt tlirccscdi'c iiMMi lor siniics. II*' t.n'»'n,fly mnr- iiiiylcil lo Im"Ii(»Iscn cxcrd- yiiijjly. Tliiidiiihir.'iiinfrs iir*- men of //ood corponiliirc, idtlmiitj;!! tnwiiy likf. tlic lridi<'M, iiiid ItilMiiioiis. n^y |i)iyiil(' llMyr iKtdycM, jifid vvcMrc lu'n.sclrlirs iiiid li(»ojics u{ sylucr iind (',(>|t|M'i'. Tiiryj- !i|>)»!ir«'| isi iiiiidc of IIk! skyimcK (»r iniiflcnics niid dyvrrsoth'')' hciist^'S, wliiclic. tlicy wcsirc vvilli tlic li'-nrc iiiw;ird<; ill wy liter, iiiid owlw.'irdc in sooiiiiMcr. Iliis HppJircll Hicy ^yrde to tli<'yr l»odycs with |i,yrd('ls iiiiidc of colioii or flic, synrwcs of (ysslM'S mik! l)('ii,sf(',s. Tli«'y <'iit'; lysslic more IIk^ii liny olJicr lliyn^n-, iuid csfMiciidl;' sjilrnoiiM, jiitlioii^lu', llicy lisivc loiil(!H niid Iriitc. 1 iHiy iiiiikc, ilicyr lioiiscM of liinhcr, wlicrcof tJic.y liJiiK! \L^\\\\vl pN'iitic. : and in flic stcsidc of tyJes, coiu'i' then with the- skynncs ol" j'ysshos ',m(\ lu'iistes. I{, is sjiid also that llicrc, arc ^niics in this hind: and that the bcares anrl many other bcastcs and tonics arc whyte. To this and the islaridcs abowtc the same, the liritons ':^l nHn>in w) ww i in oi rnMS!,-iMio\ sntuo Mllitii'lo nnd hMnponHiinv I'lic Not" xvnyos nlso s;n IimI llntlior uilli llir j>vl(»l cniiltMl John Sooliio : nnd llii' Musvlvs^lir intMi willi jH'OiUo (rnr((\ nml I bo nllilmlr (liciool' is \h iii tloorrrs :iii«l ii \\\\\\\\ SolMislinn Ciiltof n:\s tho l\ i-'f flint 1mo\v}\Ii< miiv IvIiowNmijm' oT this \\\]\A. I'or b(Mn>; in I'lU'lnndr in (li(> «l:i\»^^ ol' Iwnyv lltMn\ \\\c SoiiiMilli, li(> Inr- nvsshod <>voo 'dn|>|>rs m! his onnc rh.'irjvi'M or (jissouK^ >-n\ '\ '.\\ ihi' K\n>rM. whom he pnr su:blr»l th:il :» piis^MOi^ niiujil hcc Innnd lo TiUhin hv {\w North S(\ms. mikI thiit spiers inxglit boo broAvoht iVtMn th(Misi< sonor hv I hut w.n. thon h\ tho \ \ mu^ {\\c rortnjvnlos \so hy tho Son ol' Snr. Ih* >vont niso to knowo >vh;it numor ol l;nnl<\^ thosi^ Imlios wnv lo in liubito Wo h;ul \vith hyni thn^' hnndroth nioiu and iliriH^tt^d his oonrso l>y tho Inioti^ of isl:u\do uppiMi iho Tnpo ol' l,MhorM(h)i' \\\ Iviii (iosriws : MtVirnn Ui^-o that in tlu* ujonotho of ,1uly thoro \v:is siuli Oi>nhi and lioaptv^ of is(» tb.:\t ho viurst passr no I'lirthor : ixho that Iho d (tnvos u oro vorv louiiw nnd in niaiUM' >vith()\vl \M» MItMT SiTTirMrNT '>r. iiv;^lil, iiikI |Ii(< in,iir( I lit" (MMJsl of flic IiiikI of lllir- r!ilii(»M \iilo lln' wNviii (Icjnrcs, IVdiii wln-n <• lie rcl III liril Id (''iliirhiiiflf Td (•(•iicliMlr. IIm' Uiyloiis (iihI hiiiii's liiivc Miiylcd lo llic I'mrcn- Inos ; mihI .I:i((|II(V'4 ('mi tier, n, ririicliiiniii, wms (Ikm- Iwvsr \vi III III ircr ^',iilr(iiiM : MS oiM* lii I IM III yiMirc wsiiii iiml llir oilier in llic \\s\, mifl (•Iim(> lli(< IiiihIc (o inliiiltilr lioni llic \lv (Ic ^|i«(>s to I lie li, Itciiiirc IIS ;n»o(| n. IjiiiimIo MK I'ViniiiiT, Mild ill lliyncn's llicnin ('oniinnnc lo sindi MS IVimI posscMHc llic siimc '' Of Ili(«s(« liinds, .liicolm > P.iiMhildiis vvryf'-lli Ihiis : ' I'lir Ncwc liiiid of |>!|c,(',mI;ios im m cniildr n>fj;ioii, uliosf inliiiliyliiiinIrM iirr idoliilonrs, iind pi'siyc lo llic snoric mid ninonc mid dy- vcrs idnlcM. Tiicy me wliylc iH-opIc, iiiifl yciy I'lislicul. l''orlli(\y I'silc IIcskIic mid ly.KslK^ mid nil ollirr tliyn,L!,('s niwc. Siinilynics jiIho \.\\('y cnto inmis llcsslir priiiilyc, so MdiI tliryr ('nci- ((ui liiiyc no kno\y|('!i[)m'('II of )>o(Ji tin* uuMi juid women is injide of Ixiarcs skynncs, altliouii,)! (Ii(!y liuvo sublos nnd in.'ir- 2(; msTORv TO Tiir> vm\ ok possession toriios, not u^rc.'itly cstocuuMl bycuusc they arc lytilo. Sonic of tluMu go niikcd in soomor, nnd woiuv ;ij>|)!nvll o]\]y in wyntor. The lirytons suul rn'iu*li(> men aiv aocustonuMl to tako tysslic in tlic conslo, ol' tliosc, lands, wlicre is ioundo groat plontio of tunnyos, wliicli ilic iidiid^it- anntos canl I>a('calaos, wluM'ol' tlio liindo was so named. Noi'tlnvarde tVoni tlu; rrgion of l»a\'calaos is tlio land (4' Laboiador, all Inll of nionntayncs and great Avoodos, in whiclio are nianye beares and wylde boares. Tliinliabit- antes are idolalonres and warlike ]>eople, ap- ])arelle(l as are they of Bacealaos. In all this newe lande is n(>yther eitie or oastell, but they lyve in companies lyki' heardes of beastes. ' Si^bastian Cabot was afterwards eni])loyed by the Spanish eonrt, and discovered the l\iodo la Plata and l>rasil,and was so highly thought oi\ that he was a})])ointed by the emperor, with other learned niathenmticians and navigators, to decide upon the (piestion of boundary be- tween S|)ain and Portugal !is affeeted the In- dies, on whicli the notable bull of the Pope, which evinced such ignorance of geograpliy in those days, was founded. He was also pilot-major of the Indies, and no one was permitted to sail on voyages of ga,th( AND KiKST si;ttlkmi:nt. 27 1 1>C- n- in discovery witlioul. Iiis licciiCA^ So great, in- deed, wjis liis Ijiine, tli;it. it wiis miid<', a sj)eciiil urlieJe of treaty between .lolin the iMuirth iind the lMn])eror, that lie, sliould not be employed in diseovei'inf!; the SjMce ishinds.* 'I'he nne-(U'tainty vvhieh |H('VJiiIs oviir idl the aecounts of Newlonndhmd at this (!a.rly jK'riod, rests also over its discoverer's ])hiec ol" birtli ; tor in readinii; all tlu; accounts I have been able to gather concerning him, although it is very ])i'obable Ik; was oui' countryman, yet it is not anywhere stated so positively as in tlic following extract. tr(»in liicliai-ot than ))y any other account of him. The marginal notes would seem to indicate that the translator VuGW him, and that lie was then living in London at a very advanced age; lor ii'he was thirty when he discovered Newlbnndland, he nuist have been eighty-eight in 1555. In tlie * Sen the work of rnincisro Lopez de (Jomara, " Ilistoria Diiiversal de las Yndias, y del Nuevo Muudo." 15,")L>. illSTOIlY TO TIIK KUA OF I'OSSKSSION Biog. r>rit., iiud in Mortimer's Dictionary, it is stated that Ik; was IxM'n in 1477, wliicli would make him onlv twenty when ho achieved a name that will last ns lonij^ as history endures; and that he die note is prohably tru(>. He must have heen a man of oxtraordinai'y powers of mind; for in l.^r)^, when at the advanced ag(» of seventy-live^ if tlu> lattei* -.ccount be cornn't, w(^ find him projecting the plan of tlie first voyagi^ of the F^nglish to Russia; thus laying the foundation of tlu; great comm<>rce with th<^ nortluM'n regions of Europe, and for which service he wiis miuh governor for life of the first Uussian company in Eng- land. Cal)ot* was, in fact, equal in many n^spects to Columbus; and really discovered the prin- cipal part of the New World a year before Cohunbus saw the main land. Tin; only mo- nument over erected to his fame that I have * In " Canipboli's Lives of tho Admirals" he is said to have been the autlior of a work entitled, *• Naviga- tione nelle Parte Settentrionale," printed at Venice, ii> folio. I have never met with it. A\[) rillST SF'.TTLF'MKNT. 21) lu.'jinl of, or seen, has Ix'cii :iii Jitt,«'in[»t by ii very i!ip;(Mn(>Ms liydro^rjiplicT, Mr. .Irdm riirdy, in 1821, whosiM'xc'cllcnt l!n'ritisli Nortli America is culled Cabotia — a name wliicli, although not so euphonious as America or ('olond)ia, is strictly a])|)lical)lc to the whole continent i'rom the Frozen Seas to the ({uH'ot' Mexico.* ! shall, in oi'(l(!r to sIkjw the chan(!;(^s in our lanf:;ua^e and iikmIc of writing, pn^fer giving the hlack-letter account above mentioniMl than to modernize it; the more ])articularly as it was certainly written and ])rinted in the life- lime ol'Oabot, and [)i"obably read by him. it proceeds thus, aitei' detailing a gi'cat deal of learned discourse about th(3 north-west and north-east ])assage to (!athay : — " And here makynge a certayne pause, and turnynge hynisclfe towards us, he saydc, ' I)oo yow not iniderstiinde to this purpose how to |)assc to India toward the north-weste wind, as * When all t.li(! political and othor (liflcronces in St. John's are .softened by time, and the })eopIe begin to feel that their own consecjuence does not deperid upon distinctions of creeds and conditions, it is to be hope(i that a suitable monunje»)t will be erected to the genius nrid enterprise of Sebastian Cabot in that capital. 30 HISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION dyd of late a citizen of Venese, so valiente a man, and so well practysed in all thynges per- taynynge to nauigations and the science of cos- mographie, that at this present he hath not his lyke in Spayne, insomuch that for his vertues he is preferred aboue all other pylottes that sayle to the West Indies, who may not passe thvther withowte his licence, and is therefore cauled Piloto Maggiore (that is) the graunde pylote. And when wee sayde that wee knewe him not, he proceadeth, sayinge, tliat beinge certeyne yeares in the citie of Siuile, and desy- rovs to haue sum knowleao-e of the nauio-ations of the Spanyardes, it was tould hym that there was in the citie a valient man, a Venecian borne, named Sebastian Cabote, who had the charge of those thynges, being an expert man in tliat science, and one that coulde make cardes for the sea with his owne hande.* And that by this reporte, seekynge his acquaintaunce, he founde hym a very gentell person, who en- terteyned him frendly, and shewed hym many great * " Sebastian Cabot tould me that lie was borne in Brystowe, and that at iiii yeare ould he was carried Avitli his father to A'^enise, and so returned ageyne into Englande with his fatlier after certeyne yeeres, vhereby he vvas thought to have bin born in Venice." m AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. 31 :liat nee, eii- laiiy r e in ried into rebv thynges, and amonge other a large mappe of the worlde, with certeine particular nauigations as well of the Portugales as of the Spanyardes. And that he spake further unto hym, to this effecte. When my father departed from Ye nese many yeeres sense, to dwell in Englande,to folowe the trade of marchandies, he tooke me with him to the citie of London whyle I was very yonge, yet hauynge neuertheless some knowleage of letters of humanitie and of the sphere. And when my father dyed, in that tyme when newes was brought that Don Chris- topher Colonus, Genuese, had discovered the coastes of India, whereof was great talke in all the courte of kynge Henry the Seuenth, who then reigned : in so much that all men with great admiration affirmed it to bee a thynge more diuine then humane, to sayle by the Weste into the East where spices growe, by a way that was never known before. By which fame and reporte, there increased in my harte a great flame of desyre to attempte sum notable thynge. And understanding, by reason of the sphere, that if I shulde sayle by the waye of the north-west winde, I shulde by a shorter tracte coome to India, I thereuppon caused the kynge to be aduertised of my diuise, who immediately 32 UISTOIIY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION conuniiunded two caniucls to bee iurnyshed with all thyiigc's iippei't('.yiiyiig(5 to the vyage, which was, as fai'rc as J remember, in the yearc 1490, in the begynnynge of sommer. Begynnynge therlbre to saile towarde North- westc, not thynkynge to fynde any other lande than that of catiiay, and from thense to tnrne towarde India. But after certeine dayes, I founde that the lande ranne towarde the Northe, which was to me a great displeasure. Never- thelesse, saylinge along by the coast, to sec if I could fynde any goulfe that turned, I founde the lande styll continent to tlie 50 degree vnder owre pole.* And seing thiit there the coast turned towarde the East, dispayringe to fynd the passage, 1 turned backe ageyne, and sayled iisliiin ('nlutlr, MS I l«!IIM' gU'lKMrd OUtt' oI'llvUiM'H llllll i^'lll iollS >vivll<>M in llic hnliim (i»onp\" ll is M vrrv iinroilunnjr riiiMinislniitM" linil only s\\c\\ (lisjoinliMl conhMiMir.rurv irrords nl' ('mIioI's nnviuutioii, d wliit'li tlir mIhiV(> sjicci- men is |umIi!I]>s flu* Im's(, slioulJ linvc liccn Il.'icklnvt IS !i(t( nuM'lt luoiT siilislMctory ; ll wiisn (nMiocsc, snul oilier (M<'lo inilliors twv V{\\\i\\\\ dr- ]i(';n'< (lull liis rudicr lirsl :iHr;icl<'(l llomv \ ll.s int(i('(' «ljiriii_L!: sonic n<'L':olint ions willj llio Pjmisli Ixini':. l>y which the port of Itrislol >V!is nnich hcnclitod; tinit SobMStiiin Wiis rnrclnllv instrnctcd lor n sojirMiinL!; lite lVo',11 his (\".rlicst yonth; und tinit ho had \\\i\dc sovcrni vv>Y:ii!;t'^ hclorc his scvontcrnth V(^!n\ Acconlinii" to llMcklnvt iind otlicr nnthors, liis tirst i:rcnt vi^yMii'o \v;is the one wo Inivo hccu tn^alina' of, and t]u> discnMiiincv in the ni'i^c.iuts ot' the nuniluM' of vessels employed may arise iVoni only t\vo ollhe shi)»s hein^' ol' any size, the oth.or lour having Km mere small liiei' iiiiv AN!> FIHHT HI TTI I Ml NT f V I iM'lvd \tit»us (CUtll lliors, Ir.ivo small Imrks, wliicli wrw litlrd uiil, hy mim«' hrinldl inrrrhiifilM who wnr iiilcrrHlrd in <(IM' ol' tho Iiiigt'i" vrM.m'lK, wliu'h WMM ^uf, iciuly iii liriMtol 111, IIh' kin^';'s rx|M'ir>(', mihI firij'litnl )»y l/on- (loiHTM. riicvr juiii' ImrkM wrc ii|»|M»inl<'<| lo iiMrtid Ih'?-, niiii >vrir liidrn willi ((iiuMf cJotlis, CUpH, lll(MV|M>ill|,M, illld l.iiiikctH. It in iivfMTrd iliiil llir?r csiHtK n. iiiMmiKrripi cnk'ndur ol' I'riKlol, wlirrrin flic ynir IMMI '\h siiilrd to Im' lliiii of flic voyii^r, niid llint SrlMistiiin tluii iiC('oiii|iM.ni(M| Ink i'ntlicr, .loiiii ('n.l)(»l. IlK'y Hli'crcd in I lie ikhIIi-wc ;t, in lh(^ lio|»«'S oi' n'lirliiiig hid in l>y n. sliortrr Yowiv limn tluil, Inkcn l>y ('(»lmnl>ns, jmmI to lind lln' const oi' Cliinii. or Ciifluiy, of wliicli Miirci* Tolo liiid^lvc.n kmcIi llnttrrinf?; iic-conntH. After sMilin^ lor soiur weeks on tlir, sjinic, course, tlicy discovci'cd INcwIonndliiiid, .ind sonic iicconnts stiite tliiit the conrsc, vvfis duo west, in tlu^ jminllc! ol' llrislol. 'riie inod(^ by vviiicji the dii.y of the disco- very has l>een fixed was as follows : fn»in a uiaj), eiif^raved by ('lenient Adams and drawn by Sebastian (labot., wliicli was dfqiosited in (Ik; Trivy (jallery at Whitehall. It had a por- tniit oi" tlu; author, under wliicli was tli(5 following inscription, " lCiri<^^ies Scb. Caboti, I) 2 3() HISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION Angli Filii Jo. Caboti, Ycuetiuni, Militis Aurati," etc. On this map was a narrative of the dis- covery, in Latin, whicli is given in Hackluyt, vol. iii. p. 27, and thns translated by him : — " In the yeere of onr Lord 1497, John Cabot, a V'enetian, and his son Sebastian, ■*vith an English fleet, set out from Bristol, and discovered that land which no man before that time had attempted, on the 24tli of June, about five of the clocke, early in the morning. This land he called Prhnavistn — that is to say, first scene, because, as I suppose, it was that part whereof they had the first sight from sea. That I^^land which lieth out before tlie laud, he called of St. John, upon this occasion, as I thinke, because it was discovered upon the day of John the Baptist. The inhabit0 or foundland. The ice in .July is no uncommon oocurr(?ncc on its eastern shores, as, during u voyage from l^nglaud in 1840, 1 saw an ice- berg or two near the island of Bacxalao, at the mouth of (lonception Bay, as hitc as the hist week in »)uly, and they frecjuently remain all the summer in the Straits of Belleisie. He may, however, have reached r)()", and have merely seen the land, whence, being driven southward, his first real discovery and intei*- view with the natives took i)lace, as 1 believe, at Baccalao Island, which is in 48' 12', and just where the coast is most })rominently east. 8o that probably Cal)ot ascertained that New- foundland was an island by observing the bend- in*^ of the land, from the Straits of Iklleisle to the shores of the great mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. lie returned with a cargo to England which must have been procured in Newfoundland, and consisted possibly of peltries, for there is no account of his landing on any part of the shores of the Athmtic coast of Nova Scotia or of the United States, or of his having attempted either to make a conipiest or a settlement. It has been said by authors favourable to the idea that Sebastian Cabot was the disco- 40 HISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION verer of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, that he landed at St. John's, or Prince Edward's Is- land ; — but that notion appears highly impro- bable ; whilst it is averred that he made several subsequent voyages to this portion of America. No evidences to this effect have, however, been adduced, and that (tf Kichard Eden to the contrary appears conclusive. In short, I'or the twenty years after the disco- very of Newfoundland, all correct traces of Sebastian Cabot's history are lost. We hear no more of him in contemporary writers until 1510, and it is highly probable that the cau- tious temper of Henry VII. prevented the pro- secution of northern voyages, and the search after the Meta Incognita, in consequence of Cabot's exploit proving so unproductive and dangerous. In 1516, when Sir Thomas Pert was Vice-Admiral of England, an expedition for the discovery of a southern passage, under the guidance of Sebastian Cabot, was fitted out. He steered for Brazil, but failing in the attempt, went to Hispaniola and Puerto Kico. Disappointment and chagrin, it is con- jectured, caused him to leave England, and to enter into the service of Spain, where nau- tical merit was then better rewarded. Accord- ri AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. 41 ingly we find that Herrcra, the best and most correct Sp'«aish historian of the Indies, states that lie was received according to liis acquired fame, and made piloto maijor, or principal pilot of the kingdom. I have searched Her- rera's ponderous work, in four folio volumes, in vain, to find an account of the previous path by v/hich Cabot was so distinguished; and it is only in the first that anything is said about it,* Avhere Ilerrera affords the i au- rd- * The following is all Herrera says : — " Porquc aunque muchos riavegaron azia el Norte costeando los Raccalaos, y tierra del Labrador, como mostrasa aquella parte poco rigueza, no I'lvo memoria dellos, ni aun de otros, que fueron por la parte de Paria, salvo los que se han referido : los que por la parte del Norte descubrieron, fueron Gaspar Cortereal Cavallero Por- tugues, y un hermano suyo, el ano de 1500 con dos caravelas, y no hizo mas que dexar su noinbre a las Islas (jue estan a la boca del golfo qnadrado en mas de 50 grades, truxo 60 hombres de acjueila tierra, y vino espantado dt las muclias nieves, y heladas de la mar, y al till bolvierou los dos hermanos a navegar, y se per- dieron. Tambien fueron u esta tierra gentes de Nor- vega con el piloto Juau Seduco, y Sebastian Gaboto fue por orden del Rey Enrique VII. de Ingalaterra, con dos nav;os, por(|ue tambien procurava la contra- tacioti de la especeria, otros dizen (jue armo a su costa, y que iva por saber que tierras eran las Indias, y para poblar. Elevo 300 hombres, y caminaro la buelta de 42 HISTORY" TO THE ERA. OF POSSESSION reasons why the Catholic King employed Amerigo Vespucci, which was in consequence of the Portuguese and other nations being actively employed upon the great ques- tion of the unknown passage to the Spice Islands and Cathay. This document scarcely needs translating, as it is a mere recapitu- lation of that which has been already ad- vanced; but short as it is, it strongly assists in the conjecture that Cabot really discovered Newfoundland instead of Labrador, and that he was turned back from the north by the ice and cold. Herrera, however, enters much more at length in his second volume upon the future career of Cabot, who we find assisting at the great council between the Spaniards and Por- -1 I islandia sobre el cabo del Labrador, hasta ponerse en 68 grades, y porque por el mes de Julio avia grandes hielos, y haza mucho frio, no ozo passar mas adelante, dixo que los dios eran grandissimos, y casi sin noche, y las noches muy claras, por esta fualdad die la buelta azia Poniente, y rehaziendose en los Baccalaos, corrio la costa hasta 38 grades y de alii se bolvio a Ingala- terra, y este llevo mas noticia destas partes que ningun otro. Bretones y gentes de Dinamarca ha ido tam- bien a los Baccalaos y Jacques Cartici, Frances, fu^ (los vezes con tres gal^ones." Book I. chap. xvi. AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. 43 tuguese concerning the respective rights of those nations in the newly-discovered regions, as grand pilot ; an office which gave him the controlling advice of the numerous Spanish voyages of discovery then projecting or making, and which led to his own second attempt to penetrate to the Pacific by the south. We find him then, in 1524, at the head of all the great navigators of the day assembled in con- clave, his name being placed first in the list of cosmographers and navigators, " men ca- pable of making sea charts, and expert in the globes, maps, astrolobes, and like convenient instruments."* In 1525,t we find him solicited by several of the leading merchants of Seville to under- take the attempt to penetrate to India by the Straits of Magellan, and visit the Spice Islands, as well as to discover " Tharsis, Ophir, Oriental Cathay, and Cipango," and to load his vessels with *' gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, drugs, spices, silks, brocades, and other valuable things." Cabot niet with the difficulties attendant * Herrera, Decada Tercera, page 159. Book VI. chap. vi. t Vide Decada Tercera, Libro IX. cap. iii. fol. 213. tl MIMTOin TO TIIF \M\ i)V I'OSHI-SHION np(Ui ill! lorcigju IS who yrvsmun] lo hiiv(» wuwv knowlodgo lliiin lli(> nntivp Spiminrds, mimI wliirli Colimihiis Iiml so liirp'Iy r\|M>ii(MHMMl ; uiul \vli(>n he liiid snilctl mI Icn^rtl,^ i|, t|„. |^,. ginninu: ol' April, i;»i.':), nlYcr (Micoimtcriiig tins niovm ol' Innnim p.Mssions, Ik* (omcIhmI mI. llio CjniMrics. Hie ('mh(> \'(«r(ls, mikI nl lust n>!h'lu^l Cmju* Sj. AngMstinc, ninl the isle of r.'ilos, i\\\{\ :ill Siiiiils' \\n\ . Hcrrcni oltycrvos luMV, (liiit Si^hiistinn (V.liol did not condiicl. liinis(>ir \>.) tMs voyng(' ms m scjmiim of cxpc- noiuv,* or vwu ms n ihoroiigli sen riiplnin, for thoy \V!M!tod M siif]icils to, Mud uidoMdod tluMU. luiilt M loil, Mild pio- ootnlod to traoo tlio stroaui. At this phh'c ho rouuiiucd Mi'trr VMrious * Honrra staler, in (lio Irulcx, tiiat lu- was a Ik ilcr oosr.iogrnphor than srajuan ; hut v o have ul jealousy. miM--:.i-' ION AND rillMT Mr/m,KMi:NT. 4r» iivc nu»n* il Ml lust ic Islo of of o\]u'- H»lnin, for isiou and of (Icnrlli Isi riiilM, ^vluM*^ ho ov llnvo It* ujinicd osscIm to, iind |>vo- r various MS a b. it(M' Illy to rof'iM" his Sj'juiish t'nhot was iinhMi)j>y iidvonliiiM'M, f'oi* livo y'"ai's; n( I he cxpinition of wliicli toiiii lie nnlKiikcd in Iiik liir^osl vcMMcl willi llic r(»imiiiid«"r (»!' Iiin men luid his |»ro)M'rtv, iind rcliirnod iti It r to S|»)iiii, il) l."»;'>|. Ilo IomI iiiMiiy of his r(iiii|>iini(iriK ill ronihiits with tiic liidifiiis, !iiid hiiih iiiiothcr I'ort on Hio river LiirriiniiDi, which whs ciilh-d "• \,\\ I'^ortidczii (i()h(»to, or SiintcMpiiitii." Ciihol arrived, in the sprints of Ifj^'J, \d the Spanish euiirl, where he was not. well feecived, MS his severity towiirds the inntineers diirint/ I'.is voya|(e had made him many enemies, from the .siiine causes wliieli ('olnmhns experienced, who fell under the pride imd envy of th'' Spiiniards. lie nMimined, however, as pilot- maj'tr, :ind continued in the Spanish service until the close (»f the reign of Henry VIII.; for, in the he;i;inni!i\\v Vnwo. WilMoss, tlio Kinir, .M \Vrsi', (»tli .lan- U'.wy. in tliosrvMnul \vv\v ol' mir KNm^ii, I^I!'."' Aim! in fliis y<'!n*. silso, it is sl!it(Ml lljjit fhc l'>in- ]>oror ('liiuli^s I. ivqii<*st«Ml IMwiU'd f(» send liim to S|>jnn suraiu, ns Ik^ wsis nvpiirrd there in his 0}i|>!icity oi grand ]u\oi, nnd (M»nhl not ho of nnirh siTvioe to tlio l-iUirlish. who had not nnioh roroiirsc^ to. or posscssi^uis in, tho Indi«N. Kdward MH]»o!U'od, however, to know his own interests, and Cahot his own valne l»etter, tor he remained in liiyh I'avonr with the Knirlish nionareh, and was his chief adviser in all nuMvantile and marine athiirs, par- tioularly in tlu^ vei'y important matters with tluMuerehants ot' th(^ steelyard in l.^oO, who were toreiirners s(^ttle«l in Kngland, and so ealhni, trom stcvl heini:; im])ort(Hl hy them. (\\hot. who Avas now at the head o( a body of merelnint aralion. in instrii tJH! ( (at ha the r Ks(j., ! hikI l<»r llio ind |il;iees unknown, llie IMli of iMiiy, in flie year or our Lord, 1 :):);;, 7tli Ldwiml VI." (*iil)ot. Iiii.d now tui'ne(| Ids iit tent ion U> tlie discovci'v ol !i |>Mssji|!;e to Cliinii, l»y tlie noi'tli east, inid lienee, the v<»y!ii!;e of Uicdiard Cluin- celhn", wliieli is thus nllu(k'd to in Ivh-n's curious bhi(d< h'tler honk (()iiot('d already) unch'r the head of — '' A reci«»us stones, and jA'ohUi, wcie bnmght in owhk', time ihnn India * ll.'ukluyt. t\(li() 1.^89, ])iiffc 12.'>0; and iti the snino work. ;U png*' ii.Ml, wv. have tlic letter of iMlward VI. to to 'eign poleiUaios oa the subject: — " I'^xemplnr <>|)ist()la' sen litleraniin iiiissivaruiii (jiias illiistriHsiiiius priiu'ips Kdvanlus (hi). 48 HISTORY TO THK ERA OF POSSESSION into Europe, and other purte of th(> worldc ; also, of tlie vya<]^e to Cathay, and East India, by the north sea; and of certaynt^ seacretes touchyn Lopez de (Jo- niara, of his pi'ocee(lin«jjs. Osorio also j!;ives another version. Gaspsir perished in a. secoad attempt, and his brother Michael, who endejivoured to trace his fate, in !.")() I, shared the sanuMinhappy (h'stiny ; bnt in lo02, the Portugnese established tlie lirst regnhir tishery on these shores, and were fol- lowed by the Hiscavans and tlie French. Coii- t'cptioii Hay, Portngal Cove, etc., bear in their names evidences oi' these early enterprises of th(» rortni^nese. The voyage of Verrazani in \i)2',\^ on which the French laid their claim to Cape Breton, is eiimdly vague; but in lAl? foreign nations tot)k advantage of Cabot's discovery of the wealth of the ocean in these regions, and it is said that forty sail of Portuguese, French, and Spaniards were tlken engaged in the cod AM) riKST SrrTIJ-MKNT. r)."» , 111 but lirst fol- \m- \mv s uf fisluM'y.* Tills rouscil Mic uttcntion ')!' I'^n^- liiml, iind in tJii^ hitter ])!irt of tlic rci^ii ol" Henry VIII., feeble jittiunpts iippeiir to liiive lnH'n niiide at colonization. In Ihickluyt, the greiit source ofinibrmnfion on these cjirly rjn<:;lish voyages, wo find " An ilCCOl mt of tli(^ voyn^i o )f .) snijis, -wliereo the one was calhid tin; ' i>ominiis Vobisciini,' set out on the 20th of May, in the year of oiii' Lord ir)27, for the discovc'ry of the north parts of Newfoundland and ('a])e liritton." And in '' Purchas," vo|.iii.,|)aireH()I),is copied from the saiiu\suurct;s,alettertoKin<^lleriry,inth(!lIaveu of St. John, in Newfounvoro niado to coloiiizo uiui to (^xainiiK* Capo Rrcton, Nowfoinulland, and Lahra fate of this exjuslition has novel* heen trac(»d lo tliis (hiy. We fuid, liowever, that the fishery on the hanks of Newfoundland was at this (>arly period (1540)* vi.ii'orously pursued; for in llackluyt, }>. 521, there is ixiviMi an extract of " An Act against the exaction of Money, or any other thing, hy any othcer, for licence to Tratii(pie in In^land or Newfonniiland, temp. An. 2 Edwardi sexti,'' and, in 15»i3, Cabot was urging the discovery of the northern passage to Cathay. In 157(), Frohisher was driven by the ice to Newibundhind. Some of the natives cjune on board his ship, but sending them ashore in a boat with five saih)rs, neither the boat nor * In l.")40, the English lirst steadily pursued thfi Nmvfoundland fisheries, from the ])orts of London, Bristol, Biddeford, and Barnstaple chiefly. men w the hii he dice in J upon t hiyt, p hy M. iiig a r of New engagec coiiside the coi increasi hut Kn; France each at had 50, Piral such ai that om of war, upon al! lumdrec rendczv We 1 Latin ai Kichard I AND FIRST .SI:TT MOMENT. 57 men Avcre vvvr seen agiiiii. II V seized one o )f i the Indijins and took liim to lingland, where he died soon at'terwards. In ITiTH, some ninv liglit nppears to breiik upon the history of the ishmd; lor in Ilaek- hiyt, |). ()74, we find a UifU'v writt(!n to him hy M. Anto!ii(; Pjirkhnrst, genth'msm, contain- ing !i report of the trne state and commodities of Newfonndhmd. l^nghind had then Hl'ty shij)s engaged in the fishery, and hegnn seriously to consider the; necessity of taking possession of the country, as in four years tlie vessels Imd increased from thirty to the al)ov(? iiumlxM*; hut Endaiid was still iinabh; to contend with France and Spain, both those nations having each at least 150 sail, whilst the J*ortuguese had 50. Piratical adventurei's were also rife, and to such an extent did they carry their daring, that one named Easton commande(i ten vessels of war, and soon afterwards levied black mail upon all engaged in the fisheries, impressed a hundred sailors for his fleet, and made his rendezvous at Ferry land. We next find " Copies of the Letters in Latin and English, to the worshii>full Master Pachard JJackluy t, at Oxford, in Christ Church, 58 UISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION Master of Arts, dated in Newfoundland, at St. John's Port, the sixt of August, 1583, giving un Account of that Island, and the Let- ters patent graunted by Her Majestic to Sir llumfrey Gilbert, of Compton, in the Countie of Devon, Knight, for inhabiting and planting of oiu' People in Ami rica. Witnesse ourself, at Westminster, the x: (hy of JuJie, the 20th yiare of l and her brave admiral as the ])erilous mountains of waters would permit, and the crew, with disnmy, saw him sitting and calmly reading on the deck, and heard him bid them be of cheer, lor said he, " We are as near to heaven by sea as by land." At night, the blackness of darkness fell upon the ocean ; the lights in the S([uirrel suddenly (lisa})))eared, and this is all that will ever be chronicled of the fate of one of the bravest of the adventurers who sought in the glorious i AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. Gf) reign of Kliza})eth to extend tlie Dominion of Englsmd in the western world.* Of till the armunient, the Golden Hind alone returned, and she wiis a mere wieck ; ;ind Captain Hayes wrote an account of the dis- covery, which is given in No. 7 of the Ap- ])endix to this work. l)i.uistrous as were these results, the spirit of Raleigh and Pechani rose superior to them. The latter had liberally contributed to tlie adventure, and now wrote a treati.se on colo- nization in the new world, stimulating the spirit of the nation to *Vesh attempts. Caj)- tain Carlile also memorialized the Muscovy {'ompany, and obtained its approval ol' a new expedition, which, however, did not take efi'ect. pon be i of ous * Hackluyt, j). 679, " A report of the voyaj^c and successe tln.'rt.'of, alt('nij)ted in the yeuro of our Lord 158:3, l)y Sir Umiifrry (iilbcrt, kiiiglit, with other iii'iitlenien assistiiii^ liiiii ii) that action, iiit(!nde(l to discover and to plant Christian inliahitants in places convenient, upon those largo and ample countries ex- tending northward from the Cape of Florida, not in the actual posst^ssion of any Cliristian prince. Written hy Mr. Edward Hai(\s, gentleman, and principal actor in the same voyages, who alone continued unto th(» end ; and by heaveij's special assistance leturncd home with hiii retinue, s-afe and sound." VOL. I. F 66 HISTORY TO THE ERA OF POSSESSION Sir Walter Raleigh then broached the sub- ject of examining the continent of America in a milder latitude, and Newfoundland was long neglected for the El Dorado vision — a vision glorious in its conception, and which has since peopled North America with the Anglo-Saxon race. Less-distinguished names must now be cited, as containing the almost abandoned pro- ject of colonizing Newfoundland ; and we shall, before we notice these attempts, mention tlie voyage of Henry Hudson towards Nova Zem- bla, as given by Purchas, vol. iii. ]). 58 K This voyage of Hudson was his third, for the discovery of tlie unknown straits, and, on his return lie passed " from Farre Islands to New- fouiidliuid, and along to fourty-i'oui' degrees ten i.jinutes, and thence to Cape Cod, and so to 3.'> dv'grees, etc., in 1609." The account of this visit to Newfoui'dkuid, in Purchas, was written by llobtTt Ives, of Limehouse, in the seventh c»f James 1. ; and was fullow<>d, in 1()10, by a " Patent for Newfoundland, and the Plantation thereof made by the English, If) 10; delivered in a letter dated thence fn^iii ]\I. (Juy to M. Slaney; treating, also, of the AVeather the tliree first Winters, and of Cap- AND FIRST SETTLEMENT. e? b- in iig on ice :on 1)0 iVO- all, tl.e L'ln- tlic his evv- 'OOS to t of AVJIS tlie in iiiul isli, tlie tain Weston, with other remarkable Occur- rents." This expedition was upon a large scale, and was promoted by Mr. Gny, a Bristol merchant, who published several pamphlets, and obtained the pati'onage and assistance of the celebrated Sir Francis Pjacon, Lord Northampton, and Sir Francis Tanfield, to whom, with forty asso- ciates, a pal ent was then granted, styling them, " The Treasiiier and C()m})any of Adventurers and Planters of the C'itie of London and Bris- tol, for the Colony aad ]*lantatioH of New- foundland.'' Their territory was declared to reach from Cape P)onavi.sta. to (Jape St. ^fary, and they were even invested with the royal rights of the precious metals, and the entire property of the land, soil, and mines, with vice-regal powers of the most extended nature: and, in short, the oidy important reservation was that the fisheries should be open to all Bi'itish subjects, hut all the seas and islands within ten miles of the coast, from N. L. 40 degrees to 52 degrees, wore declared to ))e in tluMr dominion. It is most interesting to trace this adven- ture. Mr. Guy sailed from P»ristol, IGIO, with three ships and thirty-nine })ei'sous, as y 2 «8 lilsrOUY TO THK K,UA OK I'O.^SKSSION (lOvtM'iior. Ill' settled his littl(! <'.()Ioiiy at M()S(juilt> (\>vc*, in ('oucoj^tioii liay, nwd built n (hvrlling niul storehouse, with ji fortified (MU'losure of 120 feet, l)y IM), in w!neh he inouutotl three cmnions, nn l\ed Indians. ilis letter to his iViend, l\lr. Slaney, rdready (|Moted, eoutains, anion^ijst other inten^stinu; matter, au aecount of the eliiuate, which he dt'seribes as U'>t so eold as that ot'Ku^land; that tlu^ rivulets had not been iVoziMi duriu^^ the (le|)ths of winter, and that, unless tor about- a t'orlnij;ht dnrink a .survey of i\w coasf, sukI iik t Willi two canoes of fh,. |;,.,I Indians; hut Ml'ler fhis advcntnrc, we. hear little ni(u-e of liini, as he abandoned his design, and the settlement, \Yauting his pmsenco, soon lan- guished. riurTKK n. m.sroRY ruoM riusr ArrKMrr at skttlkmknt DOWN TO IS 12. \Vi: now iipproach inon- lucid n^romid, having JH'lorc us a ropy (»!' '' A DiscoinsK and Dis- co vkuy OK Nl'VV-FOlND-' AN l>. if! wirii mail y ivasons to ()n)()V( how wortliy and luMicfinall a plantation may Micro In inadc^ alYor a far Ivttor manner tl)an now it is. 'ro<::oth('r with tho iayinij; .)|Pin ol' oortaino onormitios and ahusos commit tod by som(» that traih' to thai J oonntroy, and the mcancs laid downc loi ivtormation thereof. Written by ('aptaim; Ivichard Whithourne, of Kxmonth, in the county of Deuon, and published by authority. As also an imitation, and likewise certainc let- ters from that countny, which arc printed in the latter part of this booke. Imprinted by Felix Kingston, 1022." Small 4to; and dedi- cated to James I. IIISTOUY FROM riKST ATT KM IT, KTC 71 Few liistorics have hccn ho cut up iis t.liis prcc.ioiiH rcinimiil (»rtlijit of NcwfoniKilniicl, mfkI in my opinion ^md injusticj, hits bomi donci to if, iniisnnicli ms, hcin^ now ii V(!ry H''ar(''<' work, most of its critics Imvr ijik(M) n jrvvMl (1(!m1 upon cj'cdit. It shall, howv^r, spcnk for itsoll"; its importance bcin;^ nuinilcst, us taking the 1«'M<1 of all the tn-iitiscs upon thr country, it hriu^ the first roFiipl(!t,(> one* cxtjint. Kin22, with a list of the names of some wln^ have undertaken to helpe and advance his Majesties plantation in the New-ibund-land : with extracts of certain letters written from the Governor, Capt Ed- 72 HISTORY FKOM FIUST ATTEMI'T AT wun! Winnc to Sir (ieorgc Calvert, his Ma- jc'stjo's Secretary of State, and othcis, in thisyeare l(i22." ko. n;22 ; and in Purchas, vol. v., J). 1189. Whit'Mjiirne appears to have been a Biost persevering and j)ainstaking mariner, and, ac- cording to his own statement, had been tho- ronghly initiated into the mysteries of his eraft. lie was employed in a ship of his own against tlu* Spanish Armada in I.'')88, nnd as (.'uriy as 1578, he had been in Trinity Har- bour, Newfoundhmd, where he obtained peltry and fish in great (|uantities. In ir)83, Whitbonrne describes Ids meeting with Sir Humphrey Gilbert at St. John's, this being on the second voyage to Newfoundland of Whitbonrne. He made a third in 1585, and then met in the same harbour with Sir Ber- nard Drake, who had been sent from England with a fiv: ;t and commission irom Queen Eliza- beth, to assert her Sovereignty, which he effectually did by seizing several JN.rtuguese vessels, and carrying them home as prizes, with their cargoes of train oil. In short, Whitbonrne appears to have been almost yearly employed in the trade, and after mentioning his encounter with the bucctmeer HKTTKKMK.NT DOWN TO 1842. 7'* ,5, Raston, in 1(J12, ho relates ww interview witli Sir Henry Muinwariiig iind Ins tl(!et, in 1(114, to whom he appears to liave beew very nsei'ul. It was at this [u'riod that Kn<;hind seems to luive awakened iVoni the trance into which she had tallen respecting the importance of colonization in the N(;w World, to which Sir llumlVcy (Jilbert had so gallantly led the way. In 1(515, VVhitbourne was sent to Newfound- land with a commission from the Admiralty of Kngland, to establish order among the boisterous fishermen, and to correct the great abuses which then subsisted among them. One hundred and seventy masters of vessels submitted their grievances to his jurisdiction, and he made an attempt to emj)annel juries in the harbours most fre(]uented. This nuiy be considered as the dawn of colonization, and renders Newfoundland, independently of the previous discovery, tlu; oldest acknowledge*! colony ol' Britain in the western world. In 1()18, Whitbourne, to whom Newfound- land is so deeply indebted, again visited it, to increase a small colony of which he was made Governor, which had been sent out by Doctor Vaughan, a Welsh gentleman, in IGIG, who had purchased part of Lord Northampton's 74 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEBIPT AT patent. This settlement was called Cambriol, and waH on that part of the south coast, now named Little Britain, and was expressly planned on such a scale as to make agricul- tural [)iirsuits and the fii '^s'^y mutually depend upon each other. He appears to have returned home in 1 022, and wrote the book we have quoted to induce settlement ; and upon u careful perusal of that part of the work of which he is the author, there seems to be nothing but what may be fully borne out by present experience. It will be quoted hereafter. The next great attempt at colonization was that undertaken by order of the Secretary of State to James 1., Sir George Calvert, a Roman Catholic, who v/as afterwards Lord Baltimore, and whose latter title has been per- petuated in the settlement of Maryland. Sir George, in order to enjoy the unshackled exercise of his religion, obtained a grant of the tract* of the south-eastern coast of Newfound- land, lying between the Bay of Bulls,f or, as some accounts say, between Trinity Bay, and * Anderson on Commerce, vol. i. page 495. t A corruption of the French words, " Baie des Boules." Cape thus ( in nhi Iti of pij from across tuo R( Ferryl from i Christ This 1 penins Bay Carey, nant o Lore • In sent to ( Newfoiii ing a ff\ t TJii be a con the local first lette dated Ju book, an author's SETTLEMEM DOWN TO 1842. 75 Cape St. Mary's, or the Bay of Placentia,* thus embracing the whole peninsula of Avalon, in absolute proprietorship. It is well known that at this epoch crowds of pilgrims, of sects and of creeds differing from the Church of England, were pouring across the Atlantic, and the resting-place for tuo Roman Catholic persecuted was chosen at Ferryland, and his grant was styled Avalon, from the ancient name of Glastonbury, where Christianity was first preached in Britain. This name has since extended to the whole peninsula between Conception Bay and the Bay of Placentia. About the same time, Carey, Viscount Falkland, then Lord Lieute- nant of Ireland, established another colony. Lord Baltimore resided at Ferrylandf for des • In 1G22, the ship which Sir William Alexander sent to colonize Acadia, or Nova 8cotia, wintered iu Newfoundland, but returned disappointed, after visit- ing a few harbours in Nova Scotia. f This is called Foriland by Whitbourne, and may be a corruption of Fore Island, which is appliable to the locality. It is, however, written Ferryland in the first letter from the governor to Sir (Jeorge Calvert, dated July, 1622, which is appended to Whitbourne's book, and contains extravagances, from which that author's reputation has sufiered. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. // .)le wealth of its adjacent seas, and also its being the key to unlock or close the access to the Canadas, that strenuous exertions were made by both powers to assert their rights ; and it was then thought that the very existence of the British navy depvjnded upon the school for her seamen which the bank fishing afforded. By this celebrated treaty, Newfoundland and the adjacent islands were declared to be- long, in exclusive sovereignty, to Great Bri- tain ; and such was the renown of her splen- did achievements, that she might, but for ^-^ 88 niMToin vmm I iKsr attkmpt at goiuMosil V, liMV(' rx('lusiv('ly niMiiiliiiiuMl Ihnl. soviM'cignl y. Unlnrtnuulrly, liowi'vcr, lilxM'ty was grjiiitiMl lo i\\o Frciicli fiHlMMiiKMi lo rntrJi inul {\v\ lisli on IIk^ comsI, lyiiu' bclwn'n ('inx' I^MiMvisfji, on i\\v oiislcni sido, tuid roiiilc Kit'lir, vu Iho u'(*sl(M*n; or, on Iwo-lliiids oCllic oMsloin shoit»s, Ihc wholo oCllio norllicrn, \\\u\ ono-tliinl ol' llu^ wcstorn in \\\v (oill of Si. LiiwnMU'o. Tlioy wore, liowovcr, nol Id iMiild or io sotlic. Tho vii'orons war in ulnrli liniilnnd hiid hoou cwixwiivd, and llio noiM'ssily of ovorl(Md< ing i\\o luii'sh laws againsl llirnrilisli rcsidonls, in ('i)ns(M|nonrv orihoir ns«>lnhu>ss cxpcritMu'cd during I ho rr(Mudj aggressions, had increased tlio popuhilion ol' N\my Ion nd hind v(M'y groally during Ihis trouhUMJ j)(>riod, an^reed lo yield to the prayers of the scl tiers, hy the nppointmeid, from home, of u civil gov«^rnor. Lord Vere IJenneJeik, the nnvnl commnnch^r ah(»ve ullndeta- jta- liatl and ^ate lich ade ices and All Act to encourage the trade to Newfoundhmd," and it certainly answered that purpose as far as the fishing and provision merchants were concerned, whilst it repealed none of the dis- abilities under which the poor residents la- boured; nor did it even annul that Star- Chamber provision, which forbade wood to be cut within six miles of the shores of the island. This statute, however, had some sterling merits : its first section made it lawful for all the king's subjects freely to fish in or about Newfoundland, and forbade any alien or stranger to bait lines or to catch fish there. The second, ordered that no ballast should be thrown overboard in the harbours, but car- ried on shore wherever it might not be of an- noyance. The third, forbade the destruction of fishing stages and cooking rooms. The fourth, reinstated the fishing admirals in their strange and unlimited powers, adding rear and vice-admirals, and pointed out how they were to settle the fishing-rooms or drying- places for all after comers. The fifth ordered that all residents w^ho liad possessed themselves of stages, drying- places, cook-rooms, etc., since 1685, should 94 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT give them up to the jurisdiction of the fishing admirals. The sixth, in like manner, prohibited any inhabitant of Newfoundland from possessing such places until the ships of the fishery were first provided. The seventh, was a proviso that these poor inhabitant fishermen might retain such houses, stages, or cook-rooms as they had built, cut out, or erected since the 25th of March, 1685, or might hereafter make, if the localities had never been claimed since the said period by fishing ships. The eighth annulled this proviso most effec- tually, for it declared that no bye-boat keeper* should pretend to meddle with any such places as belonged to fishing ships since 1685, or which might belong after the 25 th Marcli, 1700. Tlie ninth, obliged every bye-boat keeper to employ two fresh men out of every six of which the crew of the boat was to be composed, and every inhabitant was also forced to employ two such men; "whilst the masters of ships were * Bye-boat keepers were persons who went out to Newfoundland to keep boats for a fishing voyage. to era ofth( voya^ Th every wlioh restri( follow The marks ownen The be bar" or dest fishing baits s The the Lo] End an land, a: mitted county termine The to see t and to yearly. SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 95 ut to to employ one in every five of their crews ; one of these men to htt/e previously made only one voyage, and the other never at sea before. The tenth section obliged the fifth man in every fishing vessel to be a green hand, or one who had never been at sea. The object of these restrictions was to prevent the settlers from following the fishery as much as possible. The eleventh forbade the obliteration of marks on boats or train-oil vats, without the owners' consent. The twelfth forbade any standing trees to be barked, or the woods purposely set on fire or destroyed, excepting for necessary fuel ; and fishing-nets or seines being wilfully injured, or baits stolen. The thirteenth annulled the jurisdiction of the Lord High Constable and Earl Marshal of England over felonies committed in Newfound- land, and orderel(Mi that they derived tht-ir authority, not tVoni an act ol' ]»arliain('iit, hut only tmni tho kiuii: in couiicil; and such was the absurd degree of" iiniu>rtanee they attached to this I'ai'- ietehed subterluge, that it proved too strong' tor the unite(l eilorts ol" Captain ()sl)orne and liis powerful sn]»porters. The j^overnor, in levying tlio tax bet'oic mentioned, to build njail at St. .lohn's, and an- otlier at Keiry land, and in a]>}tointing justices ol' the peace and constables, had aimed the lirst blow at the power of the adventurers and tishing captains, lie also did many acts »il' justice to the inhabitants, who had been s sorely oppressed; and at I'lacentia he restoi'c several ]n'opertiesof wliich Colonel Gledhill, tlu military lieutenant-governor there, had (It*- ])rived the residents. For all these hitherto unheard-of acts, tho governor was assailed by a stoi'm of invective, and an attempt to ]>lace him in diliiculty hy legal measures; so tliat upon his return in the winter months, to England, he, (with Luid so d I Wilh'a declai* peace "f a ( proper The also ob illegali Newfoi ri^y, hi and de acted through i SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1812. 00 aiwl I nn- iirst niitl so tlK' tlio tivo, tlio Ijcjiiu'lcrk,) WHS oldip'd to seek tlu; ndvicc dC tlio uttoriK'y-^t'Mn'iiI, in oivIt to protect liim- scHlroiM serious |)n'uiiijiry rn '\\\ \\\\y:\\\uA, mul htmiii iMi'udnl i\\'.\\ {\\v goNcriior ■jlionltl nmliiiin' !'• low tlu' n\t»\ n-> lii-i ollirc iukI «''»niinissioii ntuinril to tlx' isliitxl, wo lind liiin conipliiiii iuu iMltorly tliMt Ihr jn^liiMw he liml rrnilnl wow t>|>noso«l to liim fi> tho utlcnnosl, imd tlml liis own ]>»nvor uns tnMX'liod upon most dolrr miiuNllv l»v lh<> lishini'; jMlmirnls. " IiuKmmI," s;i\s I\o, in liis n^|»ort, ''I lind tlnit h\ tlicii will, thov would ho solo ruliM's, iind 1im\o no body to oontrol lluMn in thoir Mfhitrnrv pro 0(\ tliuii's." ll«M^\]>os(ulMlod willi tliou), ImiI ll s.^ouiod to so]'\o no olluM' purpose tliMU \o iiii>r ihoiv iH^sontniont Muniiist him, iis \\\o iiltrllor nl tlio jnstioiv-^. llo(NMd»l nt>t idniijj'o llio jusfiiv . with hiwinu t[\]\0\\ !U\y iirhitrnrv stops ; tlnii t:ndt was rather tin* eoutrarv, whereas the nil inirals were uuiltv of niauv. " The eonnnission o{' the peae(> wa*^ in uv- ueral dislike«l l\v all the njast(M's of ships, who wore the ehiet' pe*>]>le that «»pp(>s(Ml ujost oI'iIk steps tlie iTovornorhad taken; tor whieh reast'ii, and partly tVora the iudilVoroiioo ot'sonie ol'llir Ml iniMKNi liMWN in \H\'^. IMI mini) aril 1t:i.l liiin 1 tllMl Irrd." thru (> no .■ |>n' iMit II nil"' 1(U "I (li-'ii ill .iLi*- i: < fl' O K*iis»'ii. o ni |llsli lillf ilMJilVrrfllt ly rx«'nil'»;i t|if» Kuvcrnor iVoin tln' iiisti<'rK,r(ini|>l)iinin'!; tluit tli** rii.»«s((l, ami iitcfdl (locuitKiiii on rfconi, of ilio, I'lrfil liislory of Ncwioiuxllaiirl, and is dcrivtifl froiri tli*- ar- cliivcs of tlic Colonial OHicc, from tliorror«HH] to i]w yowv \7l\7, whon ('mttnin \'iin !u"nul\ \V!is in ot)ioo. nn*! it wms tirst |>ro|ioM('t| io oMMi^h M ronrt o|' Ovor Mnorg(^ (irijlnnn WMssmnointnl i^^ snooood (\q)tnin \ nnhrugli, Jind in 1711 w(^ tind tlio HononrnMo .lohn Uyng, mm Civil (lovornor ot' N(^wtonn«lljnid, wliosi^ sipnidron wns vory snoot^sstnl in on|>tnring tlio Snimish \ossols in tlio noighboni'ing soms, luiglnnd being tluMi at war witli that nation; and sncli was ilooni(^l tlio o\])onso ot' sonding tlioso |>riz(>s h(>nu^ tor tinal adjinlioation, tbat tlio govorn- n\ont ostablisbod at St. John's, a ''oourtol' \"iv'o- Aibniraltv." tlio tirst jndiio ol' wliirh wsis AVilliani Koon, Ksi]., aii oxjUMionood niorclianl, who Avas also appointed naval oiVioor, to colh^'t 'i PI ITII'MKNT |tr»WN |o 1H1.2. lOi \\- '>^^ \V '■.V \]\ Mrd vv 11 nil li ns illUl u«'h 17.0S |t o\' |\V!lS nU, 1«mM lilt' fisliPi'V rffiifiiw fVcuii til" »lin"rr«'iit, fiwliifi^ iiiliiiinilM V'"f"'y, <'• ''ximu'mm' nil Kliips' |i!i|w>rq iiinl nmiiir<'wfs, n'ifli n fjcpiify rmviil olli(< » |(, iis^itil liim. Il<» WMK nl^M ImmiIiIi oniccr. Tilt' "yiHMTCMliii^f ^nivJM'iinr WMR S'lf ('Innlcq IIiikIv, <'ll|il!li»l <»r II. M. S, .|(>rt;r>y» vvlio WiiR ii|i|)(iinhMl ill I 711. hi I 7 1!>, ( 'nphiiii, urhM'wnrds Lord h'odn'y, III llic Kiiifilinw fVifMil««, MppciHR }m fntviiior, mill the MiKMVRRioii iiff (twiiimIk Im more clrtif. Ill April 1750, ('iiptfiiii rrniM'iK WiHi)irri \)\'Av !»Ksiim''d Hm' ^ov^'iiiiii«'?it, Mfid ii, vry iiiipdifiinl rni, dtiwiKMl ii|iom Hm>. islinid, jiw flif» tr()V( rnor wiis tlicii (•rdcnwl to iKKiif n comtnis- sioii, llinf rmpowcn'd liiiii to nppoint " roitnrii^- si(>iin>^ orOycr iind Trrmijicr/' for tlic frinl oT felons in Ncwroiindlniid, licin*/; f lif first rcnl fit- iriiipl to cKtiildisli Inw MTid jiistifH' in tlic islniid. It mcrrly iTstrictrd tlir j/;ov('J'nor fV'>rri trying or piirdoiiijifr trojiHoii, nor ('(»nid M?iy KCTitcnro, Im' rKcciitcd until rcpoitrd to tlir lot;ition, lull not. so for('.il)ly Jis licn't.ofoic, ns njival law \v;is now iM'ginning U* g^'t n]»jif!iTno.st, Jirid wu'^ 106 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT too decided in its operations to admit of much cavil on the spot. Captain Drake was succeeded, in 1753, by Captain Bonfoy, during whose administration Lord Baltimore renewed his claim upon the province of Avalon, which, from neglect, had slipped out of his grasp ; but it was ruled that his title to the province had lapsed. The naval governors usually remained in charge of the squadron, or ships appointed to protect the fisheries, for two or three years, going home at the close of every autumn, and living chiefly afloat. Captain Dorril succeeded in 1755, and was relieved by Governor Edwards in 1757. In 1760, we find Captain Webb as naval governor, and that during his administration a Mr. Scott made an ineffectual attempt to open an intercourse with the Aborigines, or Red Indians, who slaughtered him and his companions. In 1761, Governor GraveG was left in so un- protected a state, that a brig was equipped at the merchants' expense, with guns ; the command given to Lieutenant Neal, and she was sent as a convoy to protect the homeward-bound fishing vessels. In consequence of this neglect or oversight, a French squadron arrived in the i SETTLEMENT DOAVN TO 1842. 107 ich by ion the had ;hat I in dto 3ars, and . was laval lou a snail ians. un- id at land as a ihing .tor the Bay of Bulls, on the 24th of June 1762, and having landed troops, they proceeded over roads which even now are sometimes almost impass- able from bogs and rapid rivulets, to St. John's,* where they captured the Grammont sloop-of-war, and sixty-three soldiers, com- posing the weak garrison, inflicted almost ir- reparable injury upon the trade, and took the hitherto invincible station of Carbonier, and the village or town of Trinity. They imme- diately commenced strengthening and repair- ing the fortifications of St. John's. Upon intelligence of this disaster. Governor Graves, who was convoying in the Antelope a large fleet of merchantmen, and was met on the Great Bank by a hired sloop, which Captain * This road, reaching to Renowes, has been care- fully bridged over the torrents which formerly were most hazardous to cross, one false step on the step- ping-stones involving certain destruction. It is con- templated to continue it, and finish it to Trepassey. Along the coast, at present, it is excellent for four miles, good as a bridle path to the Bay of Bulls, twenty- flve miles, and thence from bay to bay to Renowes. It will open, with the Placentia road, access to all the coast of the Atlantic shore on the south of Avalon and the great bays of Placentia, Trinity, Bonavista, and Conception, thus almost encircling M'ith a belt of road the whole peninsula of Avalon. m 108 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEiMFT AT Douglas, who liappened to be on a cruise to the southward of the island, and had received the newsof the appearance of the French fleet, had detached to meet him, immediately took mea- sures to secure his valuable convoy. He then sent the sloop to Ferryland, with a party of marines to garrison the Isle aux Bois, where a number of the inhabitants had taken refuge, and had fortified it as strongly as they could, and thence directed itto proceed to Halifax, with dis- patches to Admiral Lord Colville and Sir Jeffry Amherst, the commanders of the land and sea forces, whilst in the Antelope he repaired to Placentia. Placentia, once a strongly fortified position, was now in ruin, but Governor Graves forth- with repaired, as he best could, Forts Frederick and Castle Hill, and appointed Captain Douglas to superintend the fortifications at Ferryland. Monsieur cle Ternay, the French admii'al, was all this time very busily employed in the harbour of St. John's, with a squadron very su})erior, while at anchor in that secure posi- tion, to any which the British commander-in- chief in North America could bring against -him. But Lord Colville did not lose much time in looking out for his rival; and Sir Jeffry SETTLExMENT DOWN TO 1843. 10!) linst liuich effry Amherst, the militury chief, ordered his bro- ther, Colonel Amherst, to collect troops from Louisl)oiirg, and on the lltli of September 17(12, that officer joined the admiral off St. John's, with eight hundred Highlanders and some provincial light infantry. Lord Colville, having previously recon- noitred the Bay of Bulls, now blockaded ])e Ternay, by lying off the narrows of St. John, (•lit: of which harbour one large vessel at a time only, even with the most favourable wind, can ever attempt to move. The French destroyed the access to Quiddy- biddv, a small boat harbour close to St. John's,, iind thus the troops were forced to proceed to Torbay, about seven miles to the northward, where they succeeded in effecting a landing under a most severe and galling fii'e, the coast, excepting in one or two places, being a wall of precipices. The French retreated into the woods, and, skirmishing the whole way, with much loss, tlie British forces drove them onwards until they arrived within a mile of St. John's, wdiere they attacked and took the pass of Quiddy- biddy ])y storm. Thus they w^ere enabled to remove the obstructions which the enemy had 110 UISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT ■created in the entrance of the boat harbour, and landed guns and stores for the attack upon the cai)ital. The next object was to dislodge the French from the hill, now called Signal Hill, which overlooked Quiddybiddy, and was separated from it by a small lake, a mile long by about a quarter in breadth. Signal Hill is surrounded by many eminences of rock, which rise out of its side towards this pond, and each of these is a strong military post ; the whole mountain was, moreover, covered with brushwood and a low forest, and is a mass of broken and jagged rocks, five hundred and ten feet above the sea, near the abrupt crest of which is one large and another small pond, with several deep gulleys. A stronger post against infantry (for cavalry could not be used on it) there can scarcely exist, and yet Captain McDonald, with his Highlanders and provincials, gained the varior^ natural obstacles unobserved, until the Frencli saAv him climbing upon the very crest of the position, which he actually gained amidst volleys of musketry, the return to which speedily convinced his enemy that it was time to retreat. This '^aring and excellent officer and is SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. Ill Ifficei" r was killed, in the moment of victory, with his lieutenant and four men, and eighteen of the brave assailants were wounded. The French still occupied in force the posi- tion to the westward, commanding the town and harbour, as well as that immediately under Signal Hill, now called Fort William, which looks into the Narrows. On the 1 6th of September, Colonel xVmherst, liaving completed his batteries on Signal Ilill, near George's and Parson's Ponds, attacked the enemy vigorously, and took Fort William, which was then a mere battery and breast- work, and, overawing the town by his guns on Signal Hill, the navy proceeded to clear the Narrows of the small vessels, which the French admiral had sunk there to obstruct the chaimel ; and the rest of the guns necessary for con- tinuing the operations, as well as the stores, were landed before a violent equinoctial gale drove Lord Colville off the coast. The military or naval reader must be made acquainted that the harbour of St. John's is a sheet of deep but not broad water, which runs at right angles to the Narrows, or entrance, and is about a mile in length. The Narrows, a third or a fourth of that distance, are 112 UISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT bounded by precipices on the east, by others three hundred feet high, and on the west side by a mountain somewhat less precipitous, but nearly six hundred feet in altitude ; and almost inaccessible from the sea coast, on the south. The city of St. John's lies on the north side of the harbour, and is built on a sloping range, which attains no greater elevation than perhaps about one hundred feet, flanked to the westward by the hill on which the French made their stand, out of cannon-shot from the English batteries. The south side of the har- bour is formed by the high range of mountain land above alluded to, which comes down from its crest very rapidly to the harbour, and in those days was impracticable for cannon, oi' even for troops, owing to its precipitous nature, and from being covered with a low but almost impervious forest. In September, moreover, frequent fogs ob- scure the crest of Signal Hill, and the v/hule harbour, whilst they scarcely affect the town or its vicinity. The French, therefore, driven to the corner of the western part of this military stronghold, could have no hope to escape by the road through which they arrived at it, the Bay of Bulls, which until t (loned SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 113 they knew liad been cut o^. The country around was a mass of bog and forest, and every avenue, few in those days, carefully closed ; and thus, although superior in strength and in material, they were completely checkmated. As soon as Lord Colville weighed anchor, before a storm which would have been his destruction had he I'emained, the French admiral, per- ceiving the state of affairs, and that the trooj^s had hemmed him up in the further end of the harbour, took advantage of a dense fog, which completely buried in its folds the magnihcent hasin he was so insecurely anchored in, and, under cover of its cloud, passed out of the Narrows, towards which his antagonists had cleared the way for him by removing the vessels he had sunk, and escaped to sea, l-eaving his troops to fight the matter out as they best could. C(>lonel Amherst, on the night of the 17th, opened a battery against the French position, with one eight-inch mortar and eight smaller ones, which the French garrison stoutly re- turned. Shells continued to fly between them until the 20th, when these brave troops, aban- doned by their fleet, capitulated upon honour- VOL. I. I 114 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT able terms, and Lord Colville, who Lad returned to the harbour as soon as the storm subsided, sent them to Brest. Thus the English dominion was re-esta- blished in Newfoundland by a handful of men, who had surmounted difficulties by a perse- verance which can only be appreciated by those who have examined the scenes of their toil. Captain Macdonald and Lieut. Schuyler, of the Royal Americans, were killed, and Captains Baillie and McKenzie severely wounded, but not above twenty men were lost on the part of the English, who fought with unequal numbers against some of the best troops of France.* It would not be doing justice to the deroted * The French squadron consisted of the Robuste, 74 ; L'Eveille, G4 ; La Garonne, 44 ; La Licorne, 30; and a bomb vessel, with fifteen hundred soldiers, plenty of artillery, and stores. T' •" British force, originally onl}' of eight hundred soldi i?rs, was divided among the garrisons of Placentia, Ferryland, and this expedition. The French lost a fine frigate, which was intercepted in carrying military stores to Newfoundland, by Captain Hervey, afterwards Lord Bristol, Mho fell in with her in his passage from the Havannah. maud, i'VcnchI tlistres.^ i SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 115 m loyalty of the settlers in Ne^vfouiidlund of that day, if their exertions were passed over in silence, and, amongst the leading men, I were not to notice the admirable conduct of K()l)ert Carter, of Ferryland, a merchant, whose family still exists there, and is numerous in the island. He supported the garrison and inhabitants who had tied to the Isle aux Bois, (now called the Isle of Boys,) from the 24th of June to the 0th of October 1762, by procuring provisions and other necessaries when those articles were exorbitantly dear, and difficult to be got at. Mr. Charles Garland, also, a name well known in the colony, who was then a mer- chant at Carbonier, in Conception Bay, paid, fed, and supported, a detachment of men, who garrisoned a large battery on an island near the mouth of the harbour, and raised numerous squads of sailors for the temporary uses of the fleet. The principal employment of Governor Graves, on taking re-possession of his com- mand, was to afford relief to the sufferers by French occupation, and in sending home the distressed fishermen who had been left on shore, I 2 116 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT as well as in providing siipi)ort for the poor durinir the winter. * * * * Some mai-ks of the French dominion at St. John's still remain : the stone buildings at Fort William, it is said, were erected for their commander, and were built in a most snl)- stantial manner, being yet the heaviest .'uid strongest stone houses in the island; Pome chairs, with the fleur-de-lis, which belonged to the commandant, are also yet in existence, and tliere are men still Jiving near St. John's who remember the battles. In short, tlie year 1702 was a most memorable one in tlie annals of the British colonies. British valour, in that year, triumphed in the conquest of Martinique and the other Caribbean Islands; at the Havannah ; in the Philippines, wliicli should have remained British provinces ; and at Newfoundland. The celebrated treaty of Paris followed j these glorious feats, and on the 10th February 1763, France formally yielded to us Nova Scotia, Cunai new J turn i land 1 confiri of Vt Ml an land 1 niitted SETTLEMEXT DOWN TO 1842. 117 Canada, Cape Breton, and, in short, all the new British North American cohjnies; in re- turn for which cession of all prior claims, Eng- land very unwisely, but very magnanimously, confirmed the thirteenth article of the treaty of Utrecht, which permitted the French to fish and cure fish on the coasts of Newfound- land before mentioned; they w^ere also per- mitted to fish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at a distance of three leagues from its shores, and fifteen from those of the Island of Cape Breton, whilst the rocky islets of St. Pierre and Miguelon were made over to them, on condition (if not erecting any fortifications or mounting any guns thereon. A new addition to the government of New- foundland was also made, by placing all the coast of Labrador to Hudson's Straits under the orders of its governor, who was now stvled " Governor and CLmmander-in-Chief in and over the Island of Ne^vfoundland, in North America, and of all the coast of Labrador, from the entrance of Hudson's Straits to the River St. John's, opposite the west end of the Island of Anticost*, including that island, with any other small islands on the said coast of 118 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT Labrador ; also the Island of Madeleine, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and of all forts and garrisons erected or established, or that shall be erected or established, in the said island, or on the coast of Labrador, within the limits aforesaid." The resident population had now reached to upwards of seven thousand, and thirteen thou- sand eleven hundred and twelve, in all, were employed on the shores, in the fishery, or in business connected with it, or in the fur-hunt- ing of the interior, whilst four hundred sail of vessels carried on the trade with the mother country and British America, and England was now actively engaged in fostering it ; Bel- fast, Cork, and Waterford, in Ireland, were now eminent fishery ports. Amidst all this addition to its resources, Newfoundland was troubled by the eagerness of the French government to obtain the mastery of the shore fisheries, and by a claim set up to extend the French coast from Point Riche to Lape Ray, or for two hundred miles more of the western shores of the island ; this, however, was disallowed, and the Board of Trade be- stir»-ed itself in representations to the king, SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 119 shewing the vast importance of the British rights, and the nature of the trade. In 1764, Captain Hugh Palliser was sent out as governor, and as the French had de- tached men-of-war to St. Pierre and Miguelon, it was recommended that the forts in New- foundland should be repaired, and everything placed in readiness, in case of hostilities or nirf?ressions. Captain Palliser's administration was an active one, and the rules and orders he drew up for the conduct of the fishery were after- wards passed into a law. In the months of March and May 17G4, the commissioner of the Customs issued deputations, appointing a collector and comptroller at Newfoundland in place of the naval officer whose duties have been heretofore mentioned. Newfoundland had hitherto been recognised merely as a fishing station ; but in consequence of the previous seizure of some vessels in which foreigners were engaged, it was declared to be one of his majesty's colonies, or " plantations," as they were then styled, and on the 5th of June 1765, it was recommended by the Board of Trade that the navigation laws should be 120 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT therefore extended to it, which was accord- ingly done. This additional strength to the local govern- ment was met by the merchants at home and the fishing adventurers with clamour and complaint, and the fees of the Customs' de- partment were evaded or resisted as much as possible. Governor Palliser next endeavoured to define the rights of property in the island, the which had embarrassed his predecessors, who had undergone much vexatious exposure to low- suits, for what they had done respecting the fishing-stages and ship's rooms. He also vigorously opened the free fishery on the coasts of Labrador, where he had to contend against exclusive claims for posts and stations, in con- sequence of grants made illegally by the governors of Canada, and he ejected the British American inhabitants of the neighbour- ing colonies, who were actively concerned in some of these settlements. All these acts brought down upon Governor Palliser a mass of complaint, wdiich led to inquiries occupying nearly four years, and although he carried most of his points, yet, in SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 18 12. 121 conse<"[uence of the seal-fishery at this time pur- sued in Labrador requiring a more resident po- pulation than that of the cod or salmon, and that it would have been unjust to deprive the persons altogether who claimed under Canadian grants, Labrador was again separated from Newfoundland, and annexed to the province of Quebec by the act of George IIL, statute 14, cap. 3, in 1774. The memory of Captain Palliser, afterwards Sir Hugh,* requires more than a passing * Cook, the immortal navigator, first entered the navj- as a volunteer, in the Eagle, of 60 guns, to whicii Caj)tain Palliser Mas soon afterwards appointed, in October 1755. By his interest and that of Cook's friends, as well as his own merits, he obtained a master's warrant, on the 10th May 1759, or only four years after entering the navy as a common sailor. Palliser was his steady friend, and Cook join- ing the fleet for Quebec in the Mercury, was employed in reconnoitring by Admiral Saunders, at the Cap- tain's recommendation, as well as in making a chart of the St. Lawrence, which to this day is the best, al- though it is said that Cook had never before used a pencil, and knew nothing of drawing. On the 22nd Sept. 1759, he was appointed, by Lord Colville, as before mentioned, master of the Northumberland, his flag-ship; and being. at Halifax during the winter, he applied himself to 122 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT notice. He was one of the most enlightened and active of the naval governors of New- foundland ; and although severely -^^ounded in the leg, when young, in the Mediterranean, and constantly subject to pain from the includable nature of that wound, which ended in his read Euclid and to the study of astronomy, and all the other branches of science useful to a seaman. He went with the admiral, in September 1762, in the ex- pedition to recapture Newfoundland from the French, and having shewn great activity and diligence in sur- veying Placentia harbour and fortifications, Captain Graves, then governor of Newfoundland, was struck with his sagacity, formed a friendship for him, and employed liim wherever the expedition went, in no- ticing the coast and navigation of the seas there. In 17G2, Cook went to England, but returned with his patron, Gaptain Graves, who, as governor, obtained with difficulty an order for the establishment of a naval survey of Newfoundland, and got Cook ap- pointed to carry it on. He surveyed St. Pierre and Miguelon, previous to the surrender of those islands to the French. Cook again returned home, and in 1764 Sir Hugh Palliser, his steady friend, having been made governor, he went out with him to continue the survey, having received a commission as marine sur- veyor of Newfoundland and Labrador, on the I8th of April 1764, with the Grenville schooner to attend him. In this arduous service he continued until the winter of 1767, His surveys are the only existing goo SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 123 deuth, at an advanced age, in 1796, he was indefatigable, and acquired ample knowledge iA^ everything relating to the fishery trade. His government was conducted with mode- ration and humanity, and although he had to deal with a very intractable race,yet, by patiently investigating the abuses which were as rife as ones, and he, moreover, explored the interior in many directions, and laid down several large lakes. He also observed an eclipse of the suu at one of the Bur- goo islands, n^ar Cape Ray, in latitude 47'^ 36' 19" north, on the 5th August 17G6. His observation was sent to the Royal Society, and published in a short paper in the 57th volume of the Philosophical Transac- tions ; and the same eclipse having been observed at Oxford, the longitude of that part of Newfoundland was well settled, and Cook first obtained the character of being an able mathematician. Some of his survey marks still exist on that part of the coast. Hissubsequentcareer is well known, but the above account, abridged from Kippis' Life of Captain Cook, cannot fail to be inte- resting to every Newfoundlander ; and it is to be hoped that some means will be taken to preserve the survey marks on the south-west side of the island, or at least the most prominent of them ; for indepen- dently of Cook's general fame, he has been the greatest friend to Newfoundland that it ever had — his accurate chart of it, and its seas, having made its importance vej:y clear. 124 UISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT ever, he succeeded in effecting much relief for the poor fishermen, and in carrying tlirough afterwards, by his advice, the act of George III., statute 15, cap. 31, 1775, commonly called " Sir Hugh Palliser's Act," which, while it assisted the British merchant in his ship fishery, enforced the payment of wages to the fishermen, and provided a heavy penalty, hitherto wanting, to oblige the masters of vessels to secure the return of the seamen to England. This was as ill received as it was kindly meant ; and, in Chief Justice Reeve's day, the merchants complained that such was its rigour towards them, that it w^as with the greatest difficulty they could carry on the fishery. It, however, secured the right of British European subjects to the exclusive privilege of drying fish in Newfoundland, and gave several boun- ties encouraging the fishery ; it controlled the frequently atrocious conduct of the masters of vessels towards their seamen, in the payment of wages in articles of supply instead of money; and gave the fishing sailors a lien or prior claim on the fish-oil for their due payment, empowering the Court of Session SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1812. 125 and A^ice- Admiralty with competent juris- diction. In 1769, Captain Palliser was succeeded by Captain the IIonouraLle John Byron, so well known for the talents he exhibited in the voyages of discovery under Anson and to the unexplored regions of the southern hemisphere, in 1764, 1765, and 1766. He is said to have conducted his government with equal zeal and ability as his predecessor, and was the first governor who appears to have taken a lively interest in the aborigines, or Ked Indians, who were ruthlessly massacred on every possible occasion by the barbarous furriers; he issued a proclamation for their protection, which the then lawdess vagabonds of the north- eastern coasts cared very little about. He was succeeded, in 1772, by Commodore Moli- neaux, afterwards Lord Shuldham.* During several preceding years, or from about 1764, the spirit of insurrection, which had so largely developed itself on the neigh- bouring continent, had been manifested in * In whose administration the Weslevan Methodists obtained their first footing, by the Rev, Lawrence Couglane, a clergyman of the Established Church, having introduced Methodism. 12G HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT Ne;\'foimdland, in consequence of the fre([uent communication between the colonies, which had supplie<.l her with provisions and goods to a vast annual amount, in retui'n for her oil and fish. In 1765, disturbances had occurred in Con- ception Bay and in St. John's ; political excite- ment was used to cover fresh attacks upon the new customs regulations. It appears that the collector was under the orders of a superior resident at Boston, and as that port was one of tlie first to resist taxation by the mother country, so, in like manner, St. John's loudly denounced the introduction of duties on the free fishery, which had been protected from the earlv times of the 2nd and 3rd of Edward VI., and those of Charles II., by an act passed in the fifteenth year of his reign, all of which made it illegal to exact admiralty fees on the fishing vessels, or tolls, duties, or dues of any kind, on the fish. j\Iemorials were accordingly addressed to the king, but the petitioners forgot that New- foundland had been declared " a plantation," and that at least the goods and provisions re- quired for the settlers were liable to duties for the support of the civil powers. Commodore SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 127 Moiiiieaux was ordered to enforce the payment of the customs duties at the several harbours, according to a table sent out to him, and this regulation was to continue in force from tlie Jute of his assumption of the government. The collector, in 1763, having got involved iu a civil action, was proceeded against, and, by a decision of the court of Vice-Admiralty, his office was stated to be an illegal one, as <' it was doubtful whether Newfoundland was included in the acts of parliament respecting the officers of the customs in the colonies of America." This expression of opinion was backed by the principal merchants. The passing of the Stamp Act had blown sparks from the embers of revolution, but the Tea Duty Act lit up a flame which consumed all traces of reciprocal feelings of amity be- tvreen England and such of her transatlantic colonies as were ready to take advantage of French assistance. The absence of the usual intercourse be- tween the revolted colonies and Newfoundland, of course soon put a stop to the continued excitement kept up by the emissaries of the former, and, once clear of this cont-uued action, the good sense of the inhabitants, as well as 128 IIISTOIIV FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT their interest?, caused them manfully to stand out for the Hag of Old England. But they did not do this without the most painful privations — privations felt to this hour; for the first congress, in the plenitude of power, and not in retaliation for injuries received from the island, passed a decree on the 5th of Sep- tember 1774, wliich informed the Britisli nation that " they had suspended all inter- course of trade by importation, and that un- less their grievances were redi'essed, they would likewise discontinue their exports to her possessions." The second congress carried this measure out against the unoffending Newfoundlanders, on the 17th of May 1775, and against all the neighbouring British colonies, ineffectually as regarded some of them, but horribly effectual as respected this island. Newfoundland had increased in wealth, in population, and in respectability as a colony, and was proceeding with vigour to take its place amidst the principal ones, when it re- ceived this check. Vessels were detached from the fishery immediately, and sent to Ireland in ballast, to procure provisions ; and the ex- tent of this sudden demand on the mother SETTLEMEXT DOWN' TO 1812. 120 country may be imagined, when it is stated that the present United States then furnislied Ncwt'oundland with produce to the annual amount of all her imports from Great Britain and Ireland, or nearly 350,000/. sterling. To meet the first decree of Congress, the British parliament passed an act, 15 George HI., cap. 10, by which the revolting colonies were excluded from the Newfoundland tisiieries, and a supplementary one declaratory of non- intercourse. Scarcity and want now prevailed to an alarming degree, and the face of society was covered vdth a veil of gloom and despondency, which was subsequentl increased by th<.^ appearance of American privateers otf tlie coast, whose masters were so well acquainted with the harbours that they would run in and make prizes of vessels lying at the wharfs. The year 1775 was remarkable as having been the era of distress of another kind, arising from natural causes ; one of the most severe storms which ever assailed the island and its neighbouring banks, caused the destruction of hundreds of fishing boats and numbers of large vessels, and not fewer than three hun- dred men perished. The sea rose, as it is VOL. I. K i;io HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT said, siuldcMiIy, twenty tbct above its usual lovol, and tlins cunscd innnonso destruction on tlie land as well as in the li}irl)onrs. Commodore l\ol)ert DnfV was governor dni'ini;: this awlnl year, and issued some sale- tary regulati(Mis, tounded on Sir Hugh l*al- liser's aet, 1'or the security of the trade, in July, 177.'), and ])rotected the rising sidnum tisheries at (iander Hay, the J»ay of Exploits, Freshwater Bay, and other stations on the norih eastern coast. Connnodore Dutf was succctnled in 1770 ]>y the lirst admiral a]^pointed as governor, who received this honour in conse(|uence of tlie viij^our witli -which it was necessary to watch the American aggressions. l\ear Admiral Montague issued a proelanui- tion on the (Uh o\' May, 1770, for the hetter pr(>tection of the l\ed Indians, by order of tlio king, in which his majesty expressed his ab- horrence oi' the inhuman barbarities witli which they had been treated by the Europeans, and it dii'cctcd that any furrier or other per- sons murdering these hitherto unprolected }^ple, should be sent to England for trial . lUit the admiral's time was more closely occupied in afliiirs of nearer moment, fur on SRTTT,F„MENT DOWN TO 1812. 131 the, 17th of A})ril, ITTT), the congress h;id issued letters of nianiue, and on the 4th of .Inly, in tho s:inn' year, declared the thirteen United States a free and independent nati;, harbours, and creeks of Nova Scotia, the Magdalen Islands, and Labrador." The French fishery was limited, also, to Cape St. John, instead of Cape Bonavista, on the eastern sliore, as had been allowed by the treaty of Utrecht, and thence, however, was extended to Cape Eay, instead of Point Iliche, on the western coast. In 1785, the exportations from the United States to Newfoundland were limited to bread, stuffs, corn, and live stock, in British bottoms oiilv. The resident inhabitants of Newfound- land had now reached the number of 10,244, and they had 8034 acres of land imder culti- vation; but they still suffered the more, as their numbers increased, from the want of an adequate system for the administration of justice other than that afforded by merchant captains, and by naval commanders; so that frequent memorials from the settlers were for- warded, and frequent discussions in parliament occurred in consequence, particularly respect- ing tlie right to landed property and ships' rooms. 134 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT In 1786, Rear- Admiral Elliot was appointed governor.* In this officer's administration the act of 26 George III., cap. 26, was passed, continuing the bounties on the fishery for ten years, and improving the former act, abridg- ing the powers of the court of vice-admiralty, and declaring that the court of Session was to hear and determine exclusively matters be- tween master and servant. This was vehe- mently opposed by the judge of vice-admiralty and hb deputies, and the abilities of the pro- vincial secretary, Mr. Graham, were severely tried, as well the patience of the governor, who is stated to have been prudent, intelli- gent, and firm. Anspach remarks, that the records of the court at St. John's and Har- bour Grace exhibited an " audacious and persevering resistance to the arrangements introduced by the new act, which almost ex- ceeds credibility." But although Governor Elliot was very far from completely succeed- * In whose administration Dr. James O'Donnell was sent out, with the appointment of prefect and vicar apostolic of the Roman-catholic church. He was afterwards raised to a bishopric, and spent twenty- three years in the island, retiring on a pension from the Government, after a very meritorious career. SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 135 nted tibn ssed, r ten >ridg- ralty, ^as to s be- velie- liralty 2 pro- verely rernor, mtelli- at tlie Har- and ements )st ex- vernor icceed- Donnell feet and jh. He twenty- Ion ter. from ing in this important work, he materially con- tributed to facilitate the more effectual im- provements which were afterwards made by Chief Justice Reeves. He was ably supported in this task by his secretary, Mr. Graham, and by Captains Edward Packenham and Robert Carthew Reynolds, who were em- ployed as his surrogates in the principal out- harbours. This disgusting and vexatious state of affairs was in a slight measure remedied by the commission given to Admiral Mark Mil- banke, who succeeded as governor in 1789, and who was empowered to destroy the ex- tensive jurisdiction of the Vice-admiralty and Court of Session, by establishing a Court of Common Pleas. The judge of the Vice-admi- ralty had been removed in consequence of his opposition, and now the registrar of that court, much more contumacious, was sent off likewise by the spirited secretary. But no- thing could please the discontented holders of former power, and a continued stream of peti- tions assailed the home government, until at length the king was advised, in 1790, to direct the government to appoint a Coui't of 136 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT Civil Jurisdiction, with extensive and defined powers; and at last, in 1791, a bill was brought into parliament for the institution of such a court permanently, consisting of a chief justice appointed by the crown, and two assessors appointed by the governor; but this was limited to one year, or, in other words, until its merits and capabilities to conquer the storm of opposition, and to intro- duce order and regularity into the island, liad been fairly tried. In 1792, another act was passed in conse- quence of this experiment, creating the Su- preme Court of Judicature of the island of Newfoundland for one year also, and Chief Justice Reeves, a man of sound legal knoTv- ledge and extensive acquirements, was sent out, v/ith directions to open it, and on his return in the winter to England, to draw up a statement of the condition of the fisheries, tlie customs and usages of the courts of justice, and, in short, to afford every information upon the colony to the home government. Assisted by the secretary's local knowledge, and by his own firmness, prudence, ami popular manners, he soon, as Anspach ob- se alJ I)r ini res an( toi 1 jnst thoj quai to p^ 17}), Gov( L] oollei cap. SETTLExMENT DOWN TO 1842. 137 ined Tvas n of chief two but other es to intro- I, had conse- le Su- md uf Chief knoTN- ,s sent Ion his ,v up a es, tk [justice, 111 upon Iich oV serves, silenced all impertinence, and shamed all attempts at opposition in the capital, and proceeding to Conception Bay, he examined into a most disgraceful state of things, as respected the administration of the laws there, and caused Captain Graham Moore to be sent to liold a surrogate court.* We must not pass over this, the first chief justice of Newfoundland, without advising all those who desire to make themselves ac- quainted with the legal history of the island, to peruse the interesting work he published in 1793, under the title of the "History of the Government of Ne-wfoundland." In consequence of the information which he collected, the act of the 33rd George III., cap. 76, was passed in June, 1793, by which the supreme court was established, and the administration of the laws placed on surer grounds, so as to pave the way for that of * Surrogate courts were, until 1809, courts held by virtue of an act passed in 1792, empowering the go- vernor to appoint uaval officers, to hold courts at the out-harbours, and to give these courts the same power as the supreme court, excepting for cases above forty pounds, when appeals lay to that tribunal. These oificers were called " floating surrogates," and, as may beiuiagined, administered the law after the naval code. 138 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT 1809, of the 49th George III., cap. 27, by which this court and the district courts were permanently constituted and made perpetual. In this year. Governor King held the reins of power, but was succeeded in 1794 by Governor Sir James Wallace, and lie in 1797 was re- placed by A^ice- Admiral Waldegrave.* Admiral Wallace's administration is chieflv marked by the attempt of a French squadron of nine sail of the line, and several other men- of-war, under Admiral Richery, ^o burn tlie fishing village in the Bay of BuUs, and to alarm St. John's, which had no other resuirs> than the destruction of the village, stores, and fishinoj-craft in the Bav of Bulls. Admiral Waldegrave, afterwards Lord Rad- stock, rendered his administration remarkable by his zeal for the public welfare, by his strenuous efforts to counteract the insidious and hateful poison which " Paine's Age of Reason'' and " The Rights of Man" were working in the small, and not very educated community he ruled over, and by his muniti- ♦ The Crow's I'^'est, an important military jost, of striking features,, ir, the view of the harbour ot St. Join., is named Wallace's Battery ; under which, half way down the precipice, is Waldegrave s Battery. M ' n, ■■■■'■ ■^ -v -^^ . ■ SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 139 ( his m dious j^m §e of ip wore w% cated jK uniti- 1^ ost, of ^H Johu, ^H ^vay Ij cent and careful protection of the interests of religion and the due administration of the laws. He built a now church, patronized the formation of schools, and left a name lasting in the memories of those disposed to perpe- tuate good government, morality, and order.* Notwithstanding the bloody and vindictive war then raging in Europe between England and France, Newfoundland rose in wealth, in- creased in population, and assumed a station of great importance; and it has been esti- mated, that in 1795 and 1796, the amount of property vested in the fishery of cod, salmon, and seals, was not less than a million and a half sterling. Yet, still settlement was dis- couraged, and those who remained in winter, were chiefly persons concerned in trade, or too poor to make the annual voyage home. The state of society at this period is most ably and most amusingly described by the Rev. Lewis Anspach, who was enticed to settle at St. John's, by some leading persons, in order to open a school, in consequence of resolutions entered into in 1798, under the auspices of * The chief justice, by whom he was ably assisted, was Richard Routh, Esq. 140 HISTORY FIIOM FIRST ATTEMPT \T the governor, the chief justice, and principal officials and inhabitants. Governor Pole assumed the administration in 1800, and was succeeded by Admiral Gam- bier, who was appointed to the government of Newfoundland in 1802. The character of this governor is well known. He promoted the interests of the colony to the utmost of his power, fostered the education of the people, and left the name of a mild and equitable man. The treaty of Amiens was signed early in this year, by which the French were re- instated in their possessions of Miguelon and St. Pierre, and in their concurrent rights of fishery. A regiment of volunteers, which had been raised in the colony under the name of the Newfoundland Fencibles, and which had been very efficient, was now disbanded; but the short peace soon rendered it necessary to reorganize it under the title of the New- foundland Light Infantry, when it was ex- tended to a thousand men, and placed unuer the command of Colonel Skinner. The French were igain dispossessed, the squadron made many and most valuable captures, an im- mense quantity of dried fish was seized, and Newfoundland ai^ain flourished more and more. SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 18 13. 141 early ■ ■ T re- HI 11 and W its of Bf hliad ■] ,me of m ' 1 had ft ; 1-'^^ ■ iryto 1 NCAV- ft -s ex- 1 iinuer 'I'cncli made 1 im- eized, 1 and In Admiral Gainbier's administratic^n, a il-male IJed Indian was brought to St. Jolm's, who will be treated of hereafter. He was succeeded by Admiral Sir Erasmus Gower, in 1801, and during these adminis- trations, several Sunday schools were esta- blished, law w^as more perfectly settled in its operations at the out-ports, and benevolent Irish societies were formed, both at St. John's, and in Conception Bay, for the relief of the poor fishermen and settlers. Admiral Holloway was appointed to tiie command of the fleet, and governor of the island, in 1807, and in the next year, the first newspaper was printed in NcAvfoundland.* A volunteer militia was formed in this year, for the defence of the capital and island, and a post office was instituted, but no regular packet or mail. Labrador was also re-annexed to the go- vGrnment of Newfoundland, with Anticosti ; and an act of Parliament in 1809, rendered * "The lloyal Gazette and Newfoundland Adver- tiser,'' was published first on the 27th August, 1807, by Mr. John Ryan, and still continues as the official govern- ment paper, under the title of the " lloyal Gazette.'' Mr. Ryan has Mr. Withers associated with him at St. Jolm's, 142 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT the supreme and other local courts of justice permaucnt. An ineffectual attempt was also made hy Lieutenant Spratt, K.N., to open an intercourse with the Ked Indians, and such was the scarcity of fresli provisions, in conseciuence of the prohibition of export from Canada, J^uva l:3Cotia, and Prince Edward's Island, that Governor Holloway issued a pro- clamation to license the supply of cattle, corn, and fruit from the Western Islands. Vice Admiral, Sir John Thomas Duck- worth, was appointed governor in 1810. He visited some of the out-harbours, and rencAved the proclamation of 1775, for the protection of the lied Indians, and sent an exploring party to cultivate friendship with them, under Lieut. Buchan, R.N., vdio lost two marines at the Bay of Exploits, where he had left them as a guard, at an apparently abandoned camp, whilst he and his party went to visit anotlier station. On his return, he found his two soldiers decapitated, and that the savages had utterly fled. In 1811, an act of pari anient was passed, authorizing the holding of surrogate courts in Labrador. The governor offered a bonus of 100/. to any person who should brinir SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 143 abou' a friendly understanding with the Red Indians. By the act above mentioned, the harbour shores of St. John's were cleared of an in- tolerable evil. The ships' rooms occupied the whole beach, and having become almost useless, continued a source of everlasting dis- pute and contention. They were now thrown open, by lease for thirty years, to public competition, divided into building and water lots ; and several very judicious measures were adopted to secure the town from fire, as well as to improve its appearance, it being at that time a confused mass of narrow streets and irregular blocks of wooden hovels and buildings. From tliis period may be dated the present city, which still has many serious imperfections, uiid lias frequently been almost destroyed by fire, but invariably rises, like the phoenix, brighter and better from its ashes, — stone and brick houses, and wide streets, taking the place of the wretched wooden dwellings of inrmer times, and infectious disorders, then so frequent, giving way before increasing clean- liness, and the natural salubrity of the cli- mate. The year 1812 is remarkable as tlie epoch U4 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT of the declaration of war by the United States of America against Great Britain. On the ITtii of June, St. John's was put in the best state of defence, and the Nortli American fleet, consisting of three sail of the line, twenty-oue frigates, and thirty-seven sloops, brigs, and schooners of war, rendered any attack froiii the enemy, either French or American, hope- less. Thi. numerous and splendid convoys, the exclusive possession of the bank fishery, and the immense trade now carried on, made the little capital a most important and wealthy place, and large fortunes were soon achieved ; but the treaty of Paris in 1814 put a stop tu this enviable state of things, as fur as Ne^v- foundland was concerned. In 1813, Vice- Admiral Sir Iiichard Good- win Keats wos governor, and it has "been com- puted that just before the close of the secoml American war in 1814, the exports of M\ alone were valued at two millions four hundred thousand pounds sterling ; J 92,000 pounds' w^orth of train oil were exported, besidi" 20,000 quintals of salted fish in barrels : 156,000 seal skins, valued at five shilUnii^ each; 466G tons of seal oil, at 36/. per ton; besides salmon, mackerel, furs, and berries. neighl SETTLEMENT DOAVN TO 1842. 145 Acs 7 th catc eet, -one and from lope- v'oys, liery, made altliv eved ; top tu Good- com- iecoiul LiidreJ lound:' )esidej irrels ; ix ton: ieri'i^''' worth 10,000/. more: altogetlier amounting to about 2,848,976/. sterling for exports. As may be readily supposed, however, in so isolated a position, the necessaries of life were higli ; flour was eight pounds per barrel ; pork, i;pon which, with fish and biscuit, the sailors chiefly exist, was 12/. a barrel; butter, 3^. a pound, and biscuit 6/. the hundred weight. Fresh meat, as there was little or no pas- turage then, was scarcely to be had, and for want of corn, poultry was exorbitantly dear. Hay for the few cows or horses kept by the military or chief inhabitants, for there were no roads, was brought from Prince Edward's Island, or Nova Scotia, and has been known to rise in value as high as 30/. a ton. Admiral Pickmore was appointed governor, in succession to Sir Richard Keats. On Mon- day, the 12th of February, 1816, the capital was almost destroyed by fire, and such was the consequent distress of the poor, that the neighbouring colonies and the city of Boston, in the United States, supplied them with food gratuitously. The years 1816 and 1817 were unusually VOL. I. L 146 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT distressing to the settlers. The great fire, in the former, at St. John's, and the failure of the harvests in many portions of Europe in the latter, heaped misery upon misery; f'^r the merchants who held stocks of provisions on hand, foreseeing the impossibility of prompt payment, contracted the usual credit system, and the populace, driven to despair, desperately attempted to take that which was otherwise out of their reach. Volunteer companies were raised, to prevent total ruin, and committees of relief were also formed, to dole out food at stated periods. The losses by lire are stated to have amounted, in St. John's, to upwards of 100,000/. sterling, and fifteen hundred people were driven, in the most inclement season of the Newfoundland winter, to seek fresh homes on board the shipping in the harbour, or wher- ever they could find shelter. Fortunately the exertions of the seamen and troops preserved the great warehouses and magazines, althougli a hurricane from the south-east was blowing at the time, [and thus a town, then containhig twelve thousand inhabitants, without exterior resources, shut in by the ice on its coasts, anJ without an interior to resort to, was saved. SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 147 3, m re of ithe the .s on ompt stem, rately irwise I were littees bod at stated ards of people .son of homes wher- |ely the iserved [tlioiigli ring at ItainiiiL^ jxterior sts, and Ived. li i ,4 Until the year 1811, no building could be erected in any part of Newfoundland without the permission of the governor, in order to pre- vent unnecessLTy settlement, and to protect the fishing adventurers, as well as to provide for the return of the mariners engaged in it to Britain. V .as now evident enough that the utmost exertion of the local government was requisite to preserve the capital from similar destruction, and measures were accordingly adopted to enforce the building regulations. The British parliament was appealed to, and by statements made to it, it appeared that the population of Newfoundland had, by the unex- ampled prospericy produced from the exclusive fishery carried on during the war, reached to nearly eighty thousand, whilst eight hun- dred vessels were employed in the trade, and the revenue of two millions annually had been yielded; but the fire, the scarcity in Europe, and the peace, had so altered its circumstances, that one mercantile house in Conception Bay alone had sunk 20,000/., and poverty and want raged amongst the poorer classes. Government immediately vested Admiral Pickmore, who is represented to have been a man of humane disposition and amiable quali- L 2 148 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT ties, with discretionary powers, and forwarded relief to the sufferers. But St. John's was fated to experience an increase of misery; for on the 7th of No- vember, 1817, another immense portion of the city was destroyed by fire, with a large supply of provisions and goods in the ware- houses ; thirteen merchants' establishments, aud one hundred and forty dwelling-houses, occu- pied by one thousand one hundred persons, were totally consumed. The value of the property thus destroyed was near five hundred thousand pounds sterling ; and to increase the privations of those who escaped, another fire broke out on the 21st of the same month, by which fifty-six more houses were burnt down to the ground, besides several of the merchants' storehouses. Admiral Pickmore laid an embargo upon all vessels and craft in the harbour, in order to ascertain the quantity of provisions left, whicli was found not to be sufficient to meet the de- mand until the ensuing spring. Many of those who could get away, accordingly soon afterwards sailed to the neighbouring colonies or harbours, or went home to Great Britain. The spring of 1818 was remarkable for tlie intensity of the frost, which, in general, in tlie SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 149 southern parts of the island, is not severe, owing to its insular position ; but this year the harbour was frozen over on the 10th of Fe- bruary, and an enormous impenetrable barrier of ice shut out all approach to the coasts. The months of January, February, and March, ex- hibited this unusual severity of frost, without much interval of milder weather, and had it not been that a previous supply of food had arrived, destitution, famine, and death would have almost annihilated the city. In the midst of this severe winter, which has been stated to have equalled, in snow and frost, that of Greenland, the respected Governor, Admiral Pickmore, died. He had been the first naval ofiicer who had been directed to remain on the island during the winter season ; and, by a singular fatality, he was the first out of a succession of administrators, for sixty-eight years, to fall on his post. His body was placed in the vaults of the church, and subsequently carried to England, and he was succeeded, in 1818, by Vice- Admiral Sir Charles Hamilton. Sir Charles was the first permanently resident civil governor, and occupied the old wooden government house, since pulled down, in Fort Townsend. During the early part of his admi- 150 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT uistration the affairs of tlie island began to brighten : the cod and seal fisheries proved nniisiially successful in 1818, and the change which had now taken place, so favourable to commerce in England, was sensibly felt in her long suifering colony, whilst St. John's began to rise from its ashes, and stone dwelling-houses and stores were everywhere erecting. In 1819, an Indian female was captured and brought to St. John's, but on sending her back to lier tribe she died, so that the intended communication mth the Red Indians was frustrated. She was named Mary March, and the inhuman mode of her capture will be ad- verted to under the chapter of this work in which the unfortunate aborigines will be treated of. The administration of justice was still fur from perfect, although administered, as far as was possible consistently with his powers, bj a man of talent and high attainments, Francis Forbes, Esq., an English barrister, who was made Chief Justice of Newfoundland on the 4th August, 1816. He took great trouble to render tlie courts as useful and as pure as was practicable, and to extend the incalculable be- nefits of British jurisprudence; but still the SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 18-12. 151 anomalous system of capstan liead law, Tinder the designation of surrogate courts, existed in the outports, and the courts of session were not all that could be desired. Mr. Forbes re- signed in 1822, leaving a respected name in the colony, and was succeeded by Chief Justice Tucker, who assumed his seat on the 5th May, 1823. In 1824, in consequence of the inadequacy of the courts above mentioned, a bill passed the imperial parliament " for the better Ad- ministration of Justice in Ne^vfoundland," and the chief justice was thereby enabled to have the assistance of two judges, and the island was divided into three districts, in each of which a court was annually to be held. It was, like the former acts, experimental ; and did not entirely obviate all objection, or tend to diminish the difficulties existing about wages, between the adventurers and their employed fishermen. In fact, as Mr. M'Gregor, in his work on British America, very justly observes, there has been no instance of a British colony so inadequately provided for, in the administra- tion of its internal affairs, as Newfoundland. Always regarded as a mere fishing station, the \,y2 msroHY r ROM first attempt at oiKM'L^ics o["]i>^ jK^piiliitioii wow, also tlius nlwiiy . oluM'kod, mid tli«> iiitcHNf, tlu' ohvitms mid mc- tually lUH'essiiry iiitcnst, ol" tin* nKMvliaut ndvoiituiMM's in tlio fisliory '.vas to \\vc\) power as ihl luiuMi Jis !»o;'sUa(' in in(!ir own til in rnc th ase o f Indi hand.' d I an( as la, i2;ovcrn(Mi hv a niercan- tJ'«ntodv. "') (wclnde conipotith 'I tV<'"i \v f'l O; it: Id. anv OVA was now dawnmii: Tl \o ap- point ii.ent a resident, instead ol'jilloatiii iiovt^rnor : tlie dcei'oase of the liiink fisherv, — whieh altered tlu* neM'essitv ot" inakiniir New- fonndland a iinrserv tor seamen; the decl.i- ration ot' sneh a man as (-liiel' Jiistiee Forlxs that the island was capable of internal iiii- provenients; and the growing inij)ortanee of Canada; rendered this kev ot'the k*>t. Lawreiuo a trust in wliich every Briton is interested; and accordingly the reader will tind, tli.it. durinu: the government of Sir Chm-les iraniil- ton, tlu^ way was paved for a new state df things, whieh was to oecupy the attention of lis successor Uli In the year 1825, the usual routine, dur the war, of appointing the admiral commaiul- ing the Newfoundland squtidron civil governor of the island, was departed from, and Captain SKTTLEMENT DOWN TO IHI'i. 1 "v"' Sii" Thoimis i'oolinnir, <»(' llic IJoyul Niivy, siic('<'('il«'(l; jiiifl :i " Royal < 'li,,rf('r%" \Uv tirst cHicicnt one <>!' tl"; kind, was issued on flu- 'Jiid <»(' Jariuiiry, 1S2II, l>y which a. most imijorfniit; and saliitury chaiJjL^c in lhSvico was olVccfcfl.*' This ')])'' KM' j)rovi(hMl, that the ishirid sliduld he divi(h'd into the northern, renti'al, and southern districts, and that over thes«! a cliiof justice and two [uiisne judges sliouhl pre- si(l(!; that the siiprenu! court shoidd have [M)\vers to admit a sullicient nnniher of soli- citors and attorneys, duly ([ualilied i'or the, pptt'cssion, to [)ractis(; in the s(jveral court. : and that, as usual, it should ^'I'ant probate wills and letters of Jidniiriistration. It also provided ample salaries to the thre(j judges. The <(ovcrnor was, moreover, directed to ap- point annually a suflicient person as high sliorilf of the island, who wjis to enter into heavy securities for the lith the trade ih had lout, iii Thus commenced a series of events which histed during the administration of Sir Thomas Cochrane and his successor. Mr. Tucker, who was very much respected in the colony, resigned, and went to Canada, and was replaced from that country by the late attorney-general of the Upper Province, Mr. Henry T. Boulton. In 1834^ Sir Thomas Coclirane was some- what suddenly relieved of office by the appear- ance of a vessel of war bringing Captain Henry Prescott, of the Royal Navy, with a commission as civil governor, who found the colony flourishing in trade, but extremely dif- ficult to manage. The imports of Newfoundland this year amounted to G 18,757/., and the exports, to 82(),659/., leaving a favourable balance of 207,902/., for the island, which then employed 888 British ships, carrying 105,570 tons, and twenty Spanish and American vessels, carrying 21)78 tons; whilst the Spring Seal Fishery en- gaged 125 vessels, and employed nearly 3000 sailors from the Port of St. John's only ; and Conception Bay sent out 218 ships, manned I'Y 4894 men; Trinity Bay, nineteen vessels; ;iud many more from other out-har])ours, en- :-r^ ICO IlISTOKY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT ii^ac^ed in tliis daiigcrous but lucrative dcstnic- tioji of the poor seals, amidst the treacherous floating ice near the coasts of Newfoundland and I^abrador. It lias been said, that in 1835 the populii- tion of Newfoundland had risen to (^5,000, Imt that the fishery on the Great Banks had almost ceased, for where, during the war, at least 7(10 ships were seen, there were not then twenty ('nii)loyed, the fishing-ground being covered Avith French, American, and otliiT foreigners. The capital of the island was also attaining great importance, and had 1 5,000 inhabitunt«. C'aptain Prescott's reign lasted until the summer of 1840, and was i)assed amidst con- stant turmoil, from the opposing interests df the House (»f Assembly and the Council; flic former adopting bills as thick as hail, and the latter swamping them as fast as they appeared. The scenes described at the elections almost exceed credibility, and the troops were kept during those periods always ready to prevent or to check popular commotion, and altogether the country w^as in a state of agitation fruiii one end to the other. Chief Justice Boulton, an acute and intel- ligent lawyei', in the course of his duty, sen- '1 t SETTLEMENT DOWN TO I8l:>. lOl .tnic- erous (11 and opula- lO, Init almost St 7i)0 tAventy covered ignors. I tonred several individuals t(» tlui gallows, and a warfare was kept up by the press against tla; catholic priesthood, who were openly aixuscMl of controlling the elections. The resident population had apparently been overrated, as I do not find any authentic docu- ments which carry it higher than 80,()()0 in this yi'ar, 1840; although, strictly speaking, it was prol)al)ly much more; of which, about on(!-Jia!f are protestants, either of the churcluis of Kng- laiid or Scotland, and Wesleyan methodists and congregationalists, and the other half are Koinan catholics. The protestants are chicifly of English descent, and the latter of Iiish pa- rentage.* But of this hereafter, under the proper head. Suftice it now to observe, that the broad, reli- gious line of separation, is also strengthencid and widened by the interests of the mercantile comnmnity and office-bearers, the most wi'althy and influential portion being, as w(."ll as tlic lawyers, all protestants; but then it is to Ixf Itorne in mind, also, that one-half of the people are Roman catholics and Irish, or of id Intel- lity, ioii- ■ V " There is but very little doubt that the present po- pulation of Newfoundland is 100,000. VOL. I. M 162 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT Irish descent. Those recently from or born in Ireland, have not entirely forgotten the old dis- tinction of Orangeman and papist. Such a society, so constituted, it would na- turally be supposed, nmst aboimd with the vindictive and furious passions which have pervaded Ireland for centuries, and that mid- night murder, ribandism, and every atrocity conceivable would exist, in a country where, Irom the scattered nature of the settlements, the executors of the laws are seldom seen, where a single constable rules over miles of coast, and where the poor fisherman returning from his toil in October has no other resources, ajipiirently, but drink and debauchery, during a six months' winter. So far from this being the case, there has not been a capital punishment for years ; the people are very orderly and respectful to their superiors; temperance has enrolled under its banners the greater proportion, and house- breaking and serious crimes are actually un- known; and it is universally admitted that there is no country in the civilized world where greater simplicity ol' manners or less crime exists, than in Newfoundland. In sum- mer, the pcoi)le are on the wide ocean, toiling SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 103 'ti in Idis- d na- 1 the have ; mid- rocity ^vliere, meuts, seen, Liles of urning ,ourcGs, 1 during !re has rs; the their der its bouse- ,lly nil- d that w( lor le^^ ill sum- toiling i;'-p. for their existence during the winter, and in winter, excepting in the towns or villages, they have no inducements to sin or outrage, simply because they have no intercourse with their neighbours. And even in a city like St. John's, without a regular police, you may walk the streets at all hours of tlie night, not only without danger amongst these excitable Terra- novans, but even without often meeting with iiny of them after ten or eleven o'clock. Amongst the other events of Captain Pres- cott's administration, is one which led to very serious results. Chief Justice Boulton, fresh from the political strife then raging in Upper Canada, had lost his situation as attorney-gene- ral of that province, from an opposition to some views of the home government, respecting a mis- creant who afterwards involved (.'anada in civil war. The colonial minister, however, to lessen the eflPect of his official act, appointed him chief justice of Newfoundland, a situation of honour and trust perhaps greater than the former, but intinitcly less profitable. The war was raging when ('hief Justice Uoulton arrived at St. John's, between the two parties in Newfoundland, composed as we have already stated. He acted with vigoui' M 2 164 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT and extraordinary moral resolution, to put the administration of justice in such a position us he conceived would assist the government, and tend to quash the existing feuds, whilst it would also ensure a tangible and known foi'ni of law, from which no deviation would be ad- mitted by him. He altered, accordingly, tin, scale of jury fees, the L.ng-acknowledged claim of the fisherman's lien foi the payment of lii> wages, and the mode of striking juries ; and then, meeting with unwearied opposition and attack^ l"oni the press, he very boldly, but very unre- fltctingly, doffed the solemn robes of justice, deiicended from his dignified chair of stati'. and on the floor of his own court pleaded befoiu .wo inferior judges, his own cause against lik!^ upon his own public conduct. For these and other acts he was chargel before the Privy Council by the House n; Assembly, with being a corrupter of justice, ;i political partizan, and a magistrate who en- dangered the constitution and the peace of tk communitv. It is extremely interesting to read the pro- ceedings of the Council upon this important case. The speech of that eminent civiUan, Dr. Lushington, is a most forcible appeal to that SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 165 august court. He was employed by the House of Assembly; nor is the speech of his antagonist, Mr. Burge, who guided the case of Chief Justice Boulton, less distinguished or interesting. The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council, after a patient liearing, presented a report to the Queen, which, whilst it exone- rated Mr. Boulton from any corrupt or inten- tional deviation from his duty as a judge, and exi»ressed disapprobation of the language and ('(induct which had been used towards him in liis high office, recommended that he should he removed, for having indiscreetly permitted liimself " so much to participate in the si >;<■,! feelings which appeared unfortunately to have iniluenced the different parties in the colony.'' riiis report was confirmed by the Queen in Council on the 5th July, 1838, and a successor in the person of Mr. J. G. II. Bourne, an Eng- lish barrister, was soon afterwards sent to the colonv. Captain Prescott was destined to be the last • if the original race of naval governors of Xew- fcundlaiul, amongst whom so many had so highly distinguished themselves. His administration was unmarked by anything of a public natui'c 1G6 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT respecting the interniil interests of the colony, as the roads which Sir Thomas Cochrane had so ably coramenced were not continued, nor were the agricultural resources of the island developed, in consequence, perhaps, of the state of parties during his governorship.* A new era dawned upon Newfoundland in the summer of 184-1, as it was known that a military officer of high rank had been offered the government of Newfoundland. At last, the intelligence arrived that Major General Sir John IJarvey, K.C.B., K.C.Il., had accepted this high and important [)ost, and that he had proceeded to England, in one of Cunard's steamers, to receive his instructions. Sir John remained but a short period in London before he again crossed the Atlantic in a steamer, and embarking on board the Vestal Frigate at Halifax, hs arrived at St. John's, on the 16th September 1841. The demonstrations made by the capital to receive his Excellency, who had conducted two neighboui'ing governments, and had been * III the autumn of 1840, a regular sailing packet between Halifax and St. John's, once a fortnight, liad commenced under the orders of the Postmaster-Ge- neral. SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 167 distinguished on the staff during the war in Ca- nada, were great ; the different public societies with their banners and ornaments, the people in mass, and all the clergy of every denomination, the magistrates, merchants, and official gen- tlemen, formed themselves near the Queen's Wharf, — at which hk Excellency landed with his suite, under a salute from the frigate, whose yards, as is usual, were manned on the occasion. Sir John walked up to the Government House, about half a mile distant, followed by a train of many thousand persons, and was immediately sworn in, and then addressed the assemblage; and, in a short time afterwards, held a levee, which was more numerously at- tended than anv which had ever been remem- hered in Newfoundland. It would not be proper for the writer of this work to enter further into the public acts of Sir John Harvey, or to descant on his mea- sures;* it is sufficient to observe that all • All classes here look with the greatest reliance upon the measures which Lord Stanley may bring forward relative to this ancient province of Britain ; and it is singular enough that the government at home have, perhaps, the most easy task relative to this co- lony, of any now in progress for consolidating the 1()8 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT classes of the Newfoundland subjects of her Majesty hailed his ap])earance as the fore- runner of an end to the political and other disunion a^ hich had so unhappily prevailed fnr some yeartj jiast, and which has renewed the feelings of ancient times — feelings that had at one time lapsed almost into oblivion. They hailed it, as the certainty tliat New- foundland had now become one of the colonies of Great Britain; no longer a mere fishing station, but an important and effectual arm of the great power which occupies the foremost rank amidst the nations of the world. To conclude this long historical chapter, I cannot perha])s do better than give the words of his Excellency, in the first public speech made by him in Newfoundland, before the Agri- cultural Society, at its formation — a speech upon a subject which has hitherto been " ta- booed," as relates to this interesting and highly important appendage of the British crown. empire ; for all here are persuaded that notliing vi!I be done without the most mature consideration, and that when done, it will be firmly acted up to in tin colonial department. SETTLEMENT DOWN TO 1842. 169 Speech of his Excellenctf Sir John Hnrvet/f upon the opening of the first Agricultural Meeting in New- fornulland, in his capacity as patron of the society^ and delivered in the Factory^ at St. Johns, on the \4th of January f 1842 : — " Gentlemen, — From tlie moment of my ap- pointment to the government of this ancient iiiul loyal possession of the British crown, it became my duty to identify myself with all its interests, and the cordiality with whicli I was received in the island by all classes of its inha- i)itants, at once converted that duty into a soiu'ce of the highest gratification. I do not affect to conceal from you, however, that I brought with me the impression, which I be- lieve to be universally entertained out of the island, that it possesses but one class of inter- ests — viz., those connected with its trade and fisheries. It was, therefore, with equal sur- jirise and pleasure, that I discovered, as well from my own observation as from the informa- tion of otiiers, that Newfoundland is, in re- ality, somctliing more than a mere ' fishing static>n,' and possesses resources beyond the mere ' rocks on which to dry the nets of the fisberman.' In a word, I saw in it the un- IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) V ^ 5?- /. {•/ yi A^ *: . %" fc' L-c',' [/ 1.0 I.I 1.25 112.8 3.2 It 1^ I. M M 1.8 1-4 IIIIII.6 oS^ V <^ /a O eA ^w J^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 4. ^^ \ rf - that I We receive/*'^"'- ances from the . colonial afli" "f ' "''''"»'"t-ce 'l"'t "e has per„ e n„; ! !"°™ ^'^ >•"- «", l-S«<.^ in any measure wWh i!! f ,'!'^ «''- reasonable prospect of dev ipin'T ) °"' " ■«Stheresourcesoftheil3 "'""■"'" " Gentlemen, —We en a • 'ct "s only be tnie t/ , ''""' "" mo''e; "*• «'e prospe tv l?"^^^.^*-^' «"d the course l)egu„."' ^ *^ "^ ^«'- '^''■'"J is this day ;-'' of the colonia "inLtTr"^"''*- (Lord Stanley,) approv" Tth/ ?"*''"' , """^^ined in this speech TV :''"*">'«"ts d^'vn of a new day to t ^ ^ "' '"'''"^' *''° day to NewfonncUand, and it i. 176 HISTORY FROM FIRST ATTEMPT AT no longer ti high crime and misdemeanour to assert that it is a colony of Great Britain, capable of taking its place with those adjacent to it, and of sustaining a resident population. Lord Stanley's knowledge of colonial affairs, nobody will dispute, or pretend to combat, in such a province, where the poor tisherman would have starved but for the support of the soil during bad fishing seasons ; and that sup- port has only to be brought home to him by small grants of land, to render his existence more sure and happy. "^ndeed, the best of the modern writers who have noticed this colony, echo the sentiments expressed at its first settlement by Hayes and Whitbourne, and the most influential of the merchants have joined the agricultural society, and contributed largely to it. M'Gregor, in his excellent work on the " Colonies," everywhere asserts the capabilities of the soil. Montgomery Martin, in 1834, says:— " Although a great part of the island consists of plains, studded with rocks, and termed ' barrens,' there is a considerable extent of alluvial soil, capable of growing wheat and S£mEM£.VT „o,v.v TO lats. other gi-ains; springs of f,.f..(, '"' ^'^ everywhere, and thesis) HliTvJr 7 ''"""'' 'fie l)asti,n,ge of cattl„ ' "'"'•''1'^^'' '"r '"«1 " barrens,-' I ^ " "■'■''*^' ^'^'''* '^e -ns places dem.ded o^ZtT ."' ^""'''^ l-arrens round St. John's -ire V( i ' "^ *^« ■"'y i» its vicin.v.e an , ,, '' ''' «''"""<> ^f Again he observ:': T\ *''.' ^* onltivated.- i"g annually, and i',, „'^^"™'t'"-e 's e.xtend- ">» toiJ and labour of 21. '?,"' '''™''''<-''I "io"^' husband„>a„. The Lf ' ""'' ""'"'■ extensively useful i„ Z,,'^' "''S'^* ''^ "'"de I'ot.itoes can be raised wift" f'™'' '''"'1 "« -^ ^e fed with sTeii^^^ ''^«n more and more opened" '"'""'^ '^^^ H«e5\: if;fr7^3/^;^-t Library^^ '"■■ters, who have taien ^ ''"''^ """'"e"' --t informatTon tCf? "'"^ *° ^'^'''"■° ^^«e facts are advanced In • '''""'''' '^' *«t -hen the moJefSe "*' "''^ S'^^"' <'<■ tie island sIhII h "^ ''•^^*e™ Portion »■'■« afford nfea t fc r^"^ ^^e^vfouLland I" ftct, the prld '°"'"'«"'=" ^^igration. ''"^-f-tw^rCXSTt^^'^^""'"'- VOL. I. ^ ''^'^^> ^^^^ future genera^ 178 HISTORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. tions will see that the tishery and the soii will combine to render it as important as its better known and better treated sisters. They, too, had to struggle against climate and against prejudice, in the early times of their attempts at agriculture. PART II. NATURAL HISTORV. CIIAPTEJJ III. OEOLOGV A.VD GEOLOGICAL KELATIOXS. There can be nothin f..- ■ I'ens.ve a subject as that of iel" „ : 7''''- of such a work does nnt i,. ' ''* ''""''e'- -Bation which it is i?the "'" "" ""' «'-- 'ogive or to col e t L t,?""'' °' ^''^ ""«'«■• '"^''-.andob ;stS^7''^ '"'"'* ^'«' '^^^ done, " conside „. tt 7'' "'^''* ''''' '""Wes of the writer"" *"' ""'' W"-- '" Canada!' upon Z^'JcLT"^"" ''^' " '^"d"'? pa,...- N 2 ]R0 GEOLOGY* AND In plji('in»]; lu'fore tiio Britisli public a rccciit attempt to draw its attention to the state of CanudiJ, I cliose what I tliouglit the best mode of a(bninistering a dose «>f information nj)oii tliat splendid eolony, ^^hicb it struck me my eoniitrymen were sadly in want of, in order to render their opinions more sound and healthy. In that work I abstained, as I have done in the ])resent, from entering into abstruse poli- tical dissertations, or from closely noticing sul). jects which have arisen from violent party feeling, and which time, and evidently tlic self-interest of the country, can alone subdue. Neither the *' family compact," that bugbear of Upper Canada, nor the somewhat misrepre- sented state of the mass of the Lower Canadian French population, were touched upon other- wise than lightly, and the whole aim was, in as agreeable a manner as possible, to enlighten the British *' at home,'^ by giving them a book which Avas not fiitiguing to read, and might be taken up or laid down at any chapter, whilst it w\as the nucleus of further and more com- prehensive information. In this work, however, the treatment must be somewhat ditferent ; there is not the same field, and there is also so little known of tlie GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 181 3CCVit to of le iviy ckv to ^althy. lone in sc poli- ng snl>- , party tly the subdue, bugbear lisropre- >.inadi'an )n oilier- \ was, in nVigliten 1 a book imigbt be ir, whilst iore com- knt imist the saw^ hvn of tlie natural, niorul, or political history of Nuw- ioiindland, that I must nccossarily ent«»r more largely upon each of these important topics. In the state of present informal i(jn about Newfoundland, there are few or no consultablo works besides those necessarily limited notices of the island in the a])le compilations of Mar- tin, of M'Gregor, and of the ''Edinburgh Cabi- net Lihrary." *' The Legal History," by lleeves, is out of date, and probably o) . of print, and the interest excited by it at the time of its appearance in 1703 is gone by; nor is it now a work of anything more than reference, being confined excbisively to a dry historical legal detail. Lieutenant Chappell, of the Royal Navy, who wrote an account of a voyage in the Ro- samond, in 1818, produced a small book, which contains much desultory observation, and is very amusing, but beyond that offers little to add to the information now sought after. Li 1811), the Rev. Mr. Anspach gave the public a more voluminous work, one of the very best which has been written on the island ; and it was followed by the *^ British America" of M'Gregor, in 1822, and by Montgomery 182 GEOLOGY AND Martin's " British Colonies," in 1834, and other simihu' works of reference, down to the " Edinburgh Cabinet Library," which con- tains the best and most interesting, but very short relations of this colony. None of those writers, however, possessed the requisite facilities, in the colony itself, for developing its resources, and some of them agreed in devoting it to the purposes of a mere fishing station. That Newfoundland possesses merits far be- yond such a destiny, and is about to assume a very important position as a British colony, it is the object of the present writer to prove; and he hopes to interest his countrymen in its welfare, as a vast adjunct to the growing em- pire of Britain, in the adjacent territories. In modern science, nothing is advanced, with any prospect of exciting attention, but that which is founded on fact, *' the art and pratique part of life," being now, happily, " master of the tlieoriquey In order, there- fore, more fully to shew the capabilities of Newfoundland to support a numerous popula- tion, it will be necessary to take a review of the known circumstances relating to its geo- GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 183 4, and L to the jh con- lut very >ossessed tself, for of tliem ses of a ts far be- assume a colony, it to prove; .en in its iwing em- ;ories. advanced, Intion, but le art and happi^y^ ler, tliere- Ibilities of lus popula- I review of to its geo- logy, in combination with those of the neigh- bouring provinces. GEOLOGY. Geology, long totally neglected, having be- come a fashionable science, a military writer may presume to dabble in it, although running the gauntlet of some few ultras, who may choose to designate him as a " picker-up of pebbles." I conceive it very fortunate, howev^er, when the chances of service throw me upon a coun- try whose resources are comparatively unknown, or hitherto unheeded, and more fortunate still, that the bias of my inclinations sways me ever to endeavour to penetrate into the hidden myste- ries of nature. But I neither pretend to ab- struse geognostic knowledge, nor to anything more than having advantageously pursued in- c|uiries into the formations of Canada and the Gulf of St. Lawrence — I say, advantageously, because there are few person^, hitherto, who have commanded the same opportunities ; and having seen and studied the country from Labrador to Upper Huron, it affords me facili- ties to inquire concerning the still less known features of Newfoundland. 184 GEOLOGY AND Hitherto, indeed, except having observed some little of the coasts, I am pretty much in the predicament of all who have written on this island before me, and have not, it is true, ex- tensive local knowledge, — which it is impos- sible to obtain by any one, unless the locked-up interior of the island be opened under the fos- tering care of the British government. But, happily, for the first time since Cassini /isited these shores, to make experiments upon Le Roy's " Timekeepers," as they were then called, in 1768,* a spirit of inquiry has been abroad on this interesting subject, and the legislature of Newfoundland, so recently organized, having adopted it, although with inadequate means, a gentleman from England, now employed simi- larly in South Australia, was actively engaged in investigation during the summers of 1839 and 1840, on various parts of these extended coasts. He was not, however, enabled to penetrate into the vast solitudes of the interior, and, in fact, has been but very little beyond the * See an English translation of " Cassini's Voyage to Newfoundland, in 1768," printed with " Chappe D'Au- teroche's Voyage to California to Observe the Transit of Venus in 1769. 8vo. London, 1778," (somewhat scarce now.) GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 185 ved h ill tliis , ex- ipos- (1-up ; foS- But, isited 11 Le called, ibroad lature .laving pans, a . simi- gaged ; 1839 Itended led to Lterior, md tlie )yage to D Au- Transit imewhat 1 circuit of the shores, excepting a limited excur- sion from St. George's Bay, on the western flank of the island; and he was then, confessedly, not deeply acquainted with mineralogy. Diflfering from Mr. Juke's views, in many particulars, I shall now take his report to the legislative bodies, with everything else upon the subject I can gather, and, condensing all with personal observations, avoid entering upon deeper disquisition, which must be reserved for another opportunity, in a work more exclu- sively devoted to the science, and which will embrace Canada. The island of Newfoundland is divided by Mr. Juke* into two sections, which, in the map accompanying this work, would be shewn by a line drawn from Cape Ray, the south-western angle of the island, to the head of the Bay of Exploits, on the north-eastern central shore. On the south of that line, all, he says, " from Dan to Beershcba," is hopeless and barren; whilst to the north of it there is a land of promise, not flowing with milk and honey, but abounding in forest and fell, in coal and * Mr. Juke's Report on Geology to the Legislature of NewfouTulland, 1839-40. 186 GEOLOGY AND iron, in limestone and livpscous deposits; in short, granite and infertile rocks are the sole l)roductions of the desolation which this writer attrilmtes to one-half of this splendid island and his misgivings are great jibout his visions of the other. I foar, or rather, 1 hope, that Mr. Juke has l>een, as most young authors are, a little too hasty in this generalization, and that whenever the British government may be induced to ]>atronize discovery, much will be found in the interior or central portion, as well as in the south-eastern half, thus somewhat hastily coii- denmed to ever-during sterility, which wiU nut only be fitted for agricultural purposes, but develop likewise mineral treasures and re- sources; for many of the formations in wliicli these exist elsewhere have been also seen here. In the United States, in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, great have been the i)aiiis taken by the respective governments to de- velop the geology of those vast territories, and great has been the result; whilst in C'anada and Newfoundland the crust of the earth re- mains unbroken, and its riches wholly un- known. Canada, it is true, has now the means of GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 187 j; in sole a'itcr ;lsincl isions te has Ic t(io cnevor :,Q{\ to 1 in the in the wiM nut ies, hut ind ve- n whicli n hore. ia aiul c pains to de- les, and ICanada Irth re- in y un- leans o f l)cstirring herself, hy the powers an«l resources jittaincd by the iinited legislative functions; hut Newfoundland must slumber in obscurity, unless the parent state holds out her hand in assistance, and is convinced that it is rather unhecominp^ to be in total ignorance of the nature of an island wliich is the nearest oi' licr colonies to herself, and the stepping-stone to, ;md fortress of, all the rest in transatlantic Britain. Science has derived incilculablc beneiits from the expensive and dangerous expeditions to discover a passage to the Spice Islands and to the tea-growing empire, and to open up a direct communication with India, and thereby enable Russia to get nearer to it ])y the frozen regions of the Arctic circle ; yet one half of the sum required for even one ship on these repeated experiments upon a route which can never be useful, except to Russia, would make the oldest i)rovince of all our colonies in the whole world a source of profit and of renown to Eng- land. But to resume the inquiry. To the east and to the south of Newfoundland there arc, no doubt, a series of undidating ridges, run- ning N.E. and S.W., or thereabouts, in parallel 188 GEOLOGY AND lines to the almost uiivarymg directions of the great intersecting bays. This shews plainly that the disturbing force evidently acted iu that manner, by a series of upheavings, push- ing, as it were, the one before the other, like great waves, and continuing all over the space occupied by the banks and shoals of this part of the Atlantic, and far into the interior of the adjacent continent. On the shores extending to Notre Dame Bay, the rocks are sandstone and slate, of an early class, few or no fossils appearing amongst them, intermixed with trap rocks and with granites and serpentines, with mica-schist, and, in fact, Avith all the early mineral masses ; ex- cepting that there is a deficiency of limestone, and a superabundance of the igneous classes, as might be expected; whilst the alluvial or diluvial covering is arenaceous, intermingled with a few boulders, and spread over with shallow peat bogs, of very small depth, but of great consistency, giving food to an immense variety of coarse mosses, natural grasses, re- cumbent shrubs, and low berry-bearing plants, wherever the secondary stunted forest has disappeared, or has not had soil enough to encourage either it or the larger primeval woods. GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 189 In this large section, or one-half of the island, Mr. Jukes says, " neither minerals of value, ores, lime, nor building stone, will, in all probability, be discovered.''* He forgot that granite is a good serviceable article in its way, and that amongst the conglomerates of what I conceive to be the greywackes of this extensive district, tough but excellent blocks may be quarried, whilst amongst such enor- mous masses of sandstones as are connected with this class of rocks, it will no doubt be discovered, that many may yield to the ham- mer and to the chisel or point, without flying into chips or large splinters, as those of the coast of St. John's have been usually found to do. Of slate there is an abundant supply, and whenever this rock, in its alternations with the sandstones and conglomerates of the grey- wacke, reaches the surface, its rapid disinte- gration, under the magic influence of the * He, surely, when putting Mr. Cormack's disco- veries on the map of the island, forgot that that gen- tleman saw and stated the positions of the metallic rocks in the part of the interior he passed over, as well as the red sandstones and serpentines, the sienites and greenstones. 100 (;eolo(;y and severe winter trusts and thaws, nn«l the great beat ot' the short summers, with the rains of i\w hiUw antunin and early spring, causes fertility. That there are ores is certain : much pyri- tieal matter is l\)und to the northof lU)navis(a Uay, and 1 have an exc(>Uent specimen of the red oxide o( iron from near llarhour Grace, in Conception Uay. A copper-mine* was worked, or rather at- * Viilo Jouriml of Houao of Asaoiubly, Appomlix. Manv fruitions attoiupts luwo boon niado to oxtraof tlio ore which is (iis])orso«l in tho rock. Ans^>aoh says tliat Concoi)tion Hay has ahvays born uuilorstood to contain niinos of several sorts, and that at C\\i\\n\ Covo, at tlio hoad of that bay, thoro is a r(>alinin(\ A lin>o-kihi uas also crootod with tol, by some Cornish miners, but has never paid its outlay. Captain Cook, the immortal navigator, assured Dr. For>ter that there were several tine coal-mines on the OROLOnrC'AL RKLATrONM. 1!)1 tomptod to 1)0 w(M*k(Ml, from an eiirly period, at Shojil Buy, nciir IV'ttcy HiirlMmr, ji])out twelve mileM iVoin St. .loliirs; uiid a mcdieal man in tiiis capital, wlio was n Rurf^eon in tlio royal navy, and is now president of the Natives' Society, and takes much int(!reat in tho de- tirst It has ll Dr. lu the islniiil, nnd thnt in HitnntionB whore the coni might he most (ulvaiitagoously shipped on the coont. The; Catalina stonr found b^ wvou Capo Uouavista atul Trinity Harbour in a Holid yellow iron pyrites, nnti was the fire stone of tin* lied Indians, rniittitig sparks uhon struck or rubbed, liko flint. There is ph?iity of it close to St. John's, near Middle Cove, i\l a precipice on tlu; shore, call(;d the ISilver Mine. Irohisher and (iilbert were both deceived by this i;ol(i and silver. The former visited Trinity IJay as early as 1670, and the strait he talks about is tliat hay Mhieh, on the three charts of Ortelius, in the Tlioatro del Orbe cle la Tierra, dated l.'j87,is8o repre- s(-iit(Ml. Sir Hunijjhrey (iilbert, seven years after- wards, notM'ithstanding his having ** an ex))ert Saxon miner" with him, was induced to load his vessel with the tlattering ore. Catalina clitt's, like those at Char- mouth, in Devonshire, often take fire, owing to the «loc(>uii)osition of the pyrites, and probably contain alum shale ; but they have not been investigated by any person capable of describing them. (iood marble, of a pure white, has lately beta brought in specimens from Canada Bay to the north- ward. 192 GEOLOGY AND vclopment of the resource? of this country, has informed me that even on the desoLate coast above mentioned, at a si)ot not twenty miles from the city, between Pouch Cove and FLat- rock, in Torbay, are two considerable ponds, or little lakes, as they would be called in Canada, from the highest of which, in point of level, a little dribbling rivulet discharges its waters into the lower one, and over which the wild path from Torl)ay to Cape St. Francis leads; and that the rocks in the neighbour- hood of this rivulet and the lakes are coated with sulphate of copper, indicating a deposit of that metal, which also scums the waters. This gentleman, Dr. Edward Kielley, dis- -covered also, in 1830, at Log Bay, a small and very romantic fishing station, about four miles from St. John's, a very powerful chaly- beate spring; and, finding the water very efficacious in particular cases, having been, in short, the means of restoring a very debilitated patient, whose vital powers were rapidly sink- ing, to perfect health, he sent a bottle of it to Dr. Herepath, of Bristol, to be analyzed. The opinion of this chemist I have judged it proper to annex, as such a discovery is highly im- (JEOLOGIOAL RELATIONS. 193 portant in the immediate vicinity of this rising city.* * Sample of chalybeate water from Newfoundland : — Specific gravity at 62° Fahrenheit... 1,000016 Solid contents in an imperial pint of 87 50 grains : — 1. Chloride of calcium '0410 2. Chloride of magnesium -0400 3. Chloride of souium (common salt) ... -3984 4. Sulphate of magnesia -0400 5. Sulphate of soda -0713 6 . Carbonate of magnesia '0534 7. Silica 1167 8. Vegetable extractives "1717 9. Bi-carbonate of iron '0450 Decimals of a grain -9384 It will be seen that the total solid contents of an imperial pint of this water do not weigh one grain : this is less than I evir met with in any water. They are alL common to spring water, except the first, eighth, and ninth ; the latter it is which will give a character to the spring. It is chalybeate to rather a greater extent than the water of the King's B-ith, at Bath, England ; the King's Bath is the principal spring of the Bath waters. The Newfoundland spring contains ^ig^j of a grain of this bi-carbonate in a pint, the Bath spring, ^ ^g^ ; and" the chloride of calcium (or muriate of lime when in the water) will contribute to the tonic effect of the iron, while the sulphates of soda and magnesia, although not in sufficient quantity to produce aperient effects, may prove enough to prevent the action which chaly- beates have on some constitutions. Upon the whole, VOL. T. 104 GEOLOGY AND But, MS will readily bo conceived from the geological map which is appended to this W')rk, and which was first constructed moie than a year ago, from the observations and evidences of travellers, and from the report to th(! lltMise of Ass('nd)ly already mentioned, the formations of the Atlantic coast of Newfound- land are certainly, at present, not very pro- mising, though intensely interesting to the specuhitive geologist. It is to the space within the belt (mentioned by his Excellency Sir John Harvey, in his speech to the Agricultural Society) which girds that coast for some few miles; it is to the vast and equally unexplored interior ; it is to the western coast, particularly that of the St. Lawrence; that we must chiefly hope to I should say that tho water might be used witii advan- tage as a general bracer, ii' arrangements could be made tor the accommodation of invalids near the spring ; for it must be remembered, that where iron is sustained in water by carbonic acid, as in this case, there is always a tendency f.)r it to fall down as in- soluble carbonate of iron, leaving the water without its chalybeate properties. William Hera path. Mansion House, Old Park, Bristol, September 9th, 1836. GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 105 draw the attention of the political, geological, or general reaner; — and here we find, on the one hand, that within that mysterious colossal wall which Itounds the eastern and southern shores of Newfoundland, there are vast forests, not, it is true, composed of such splendid tim- ber as in Canada, but still very fine ; and also vast regions adapted to cultivation. On the western side of the island, — as might have been prophesied l)y any, even the most casual, o))server of the formations of Cape Bre- ton and the adjacent countries, of Cook's sur- vey of that coast, or of the conformation of the shores, — exists the secret which is not yet fully unveiled. Here, amidst profound soli- tudes and vast prairies, forests, and innume- rable large lakes, we find the grand mystery almost brought to light; of the continuation of the coal formation of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton, the great coal basin of the St. Law- rence, probably the largest in the world, reach- ing from the Gaspe territory, on the one hand, and covering a vast portion of Newfoundland, on the other. But before we follow Mr. Jukes in liis ob- servations, without attending to his generali- zations, we will take a stride along the island 2 liMP i:)(; (JK0I,OCY AND const, ami iilon^j; his vory short route into tlic interior, by an lnk;, tlie fnM^stones lor biiiMing, and, above; all, good land and i^ood timber, arc stored or exhil)it(!d largely Ikmv; and t\w tish are abundant. At'tiM* passing Cape Kay, the gull' shore of INewtoundland exhibits ranges of mountains, running in the usual direction in this region, N.E. and S.AV., or with little variation from those points, shewing that the same causes of disturbance in their formations exist every- where in the island. These ranges proceeil very far up the western coast, and with occasional lofty olishoots which reach the sea, are usually so distant from it as to leave a belt of comparatively level country, of considerable width, through which the small river-drainage takes efiect. Beyond these ranges, to the eastward and northward, the country is covered with rivers and lakes of great extent, and is of course well (JKOIXMJiCAI, RELATIONS. 1J)7 . the iiiuo 1 the ■oast, and OV(Mi, t;, tlir ijood ibitcd I ore oi' itains, rcp;ion, ii iVoin isos of cvcry- vostcrn wbicli III it as Diuitry. c small ird and rivei'j^ irse \vell (Iniincd by tli'Tii, in a vast ai'ca reaching al- most to the Atlaiitie cliffs on the cast; and tiierc is, therefore, water communication, with few interniptions, both from St. (ieorge's P.ay and th(^ P»ay of Islands, to the northward and eastward, throii;^h St. (leor^^'e's River, tlie (Ireat Ilumber liiver, the (Jrand Tond, the l\ed Indian Tond, and other series of extensive luk(;s (rivers bein^ called brooks, in Ncwfoniul- liuid, and lakes, ponds,) to the Bay of Notre Dame, on tljc eastern shore, and tliat of Ex- ()l()its and White r»ay far noi'thward. )t is within the space thus drained by lakes, rivers, and streams innumera])lo, that tlie greui- coal bjisin ol' Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton, terminates eastward, covering a country of immense extent, abounding with everything requisite for settlement, and })os- scssing a climate far less humid and severe than that of the Atlantic shores of this cele- brated but neglected island. Again, ou the littoral, backed by the chain of coast mountains, extending from Cape Kay to St. George's l>ay, over an average ])readth of twenty miles of a comparatively level belt of land, the coal strata crop out ; and here and there gypsum and limestone, those valuable ■gBW—yimmiiim n \m m. "ff^mmmmmmSmi 198 GEOLOGY AND articles to the farmer, almost totally wanting near the capital, may be obtained in any quantity ; whilst, farther north, about Port-au- Port and the Humber river, marble of ex- cellent quality exists abundantly ;* and there are appearances of the edges of the coal-basin, even in the Bay of Islands, promising a rich deposit. To shew that the coal is similarly situated with that on the opposite side of the gulf, in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, we find the rocks associated with it, and on which it reposes, exactly the same, whilst the quality of the coal, in the specimens I have seen of it, appears to be perfectly alike in all. As is the case in the Nova Scotia and Capo Breton coal-fields, the geologist meets with all the rocks, from sandstone downwards, in the transition and primitive classes, with those of evident igneous origin; so, on the western coast of Newfoundland, where the coal-fields lie in the same axis or line, proceeding from S.W. to N. E., we find the same rocks and the same * This beautiful white marble of the primitive class again comes out on the opposite or Atlantic coast, in Canada Bay, where coal, also, it is said, has been lately observed. GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 199 ting any t-au- ex- therc )asin, , rich appearances, the same gypsums in e(iual abun- dance as in Cape Breton, the same ])riny springs, and the same indication of the ores of iron ; and all this protected from the fury of the whole surging force of the Atlantic, on the south and east, by a bulwark of the great tran- sition and early rocks, amongst which it is frequently difficult to define their limits, or to distinguish them from those which have been forced uj) amongst them by subterraneous action. Indeed, so exactly do these ranges resemble each other in their outward character- istics, that it was not until after many years of study in Canada, that country of trappose and igneous rocks, I was at all led to be- lieve that most of the granitic compounds are of igneous origin; and through the vast extent of country from the eastern shores of Newfoundland to Lake Superior, it may be very questionable whether there exists, in mass, any true primitive and unquestioned granite, or whether the modern scheme of tran- sition and secondary granites may not at once be overturned by yielding to the apparent facts in that immense region, where, although shells have certainly been seen in the granitic rocks, yet they were evidently placed there by ■l i!MI |i !llM l j! | i i n i !.L WO CFOI-OCY ANI> Ihr result of Tusion, and tlio massrs tliry arc io\m«l in at Kini^ston arc as (Evidently not of \\w ]>vinuvval or aiiriont granitic ooni]M)nnds.* It is now well known that many of the iiranitos (sooalUMl") aro oi" a lator ago than thoir vonoraMo jiriniunal 0(|nival(Mits, ami, as tar as 1 havo soon tho ot>ast o( >iowfonndlaml, I am inolint^l io think that tho oarly rooks arc of that olass A\hioh shows itsolf so distinctly amongst tho thousand islands (A^ the St. Law- ronoo and at Kingston. Bonndod, howovor, bv tlu\so imiHMU^tniMo barriers, ovor which tcm]K\st and dolugo, hur- ricane, oarth(|nak<\ and fusion, appear to have united their territic agencies in the tirst ages, and to have swept everything else away, in hollowing out the great channels o( the Uays of Conception. Trinity, Uonavista,Notre-l>amc, and White l^ay, the immense coal-field oi New- foundland has been lelY protected and ready for the hand o\^ man wbenever circumstances may call. Avhich they very soon must do. for • • • the colonization of the western coast and its interior. * 1 hr\vo collected a series of facts on this suhjeot, whicli would iiave been added to the Appendix, but it is too bulky, and will be better in a separate shape. (a:()i.()(;i{'Ai. iitiATK^Ns. 201 nrc )i of ids* the tboir I am arc o( iuotly Ltiw- ?trablo \ h\ir- :o have t agos, \v, in Uays l>aTt\o, ' Ncw- v(^ady stances do. lor and its subject, lix. but it shape. Mr. .lukos r('|)ros(Mits flic littoral chain of mount ainsvm this western coast as rising in s(»ni(', points to a considcrahlc altitndo, and as i'onning a sort ol' ridge composed of gjieiss, mica slate, chlorite, slate, (piartz n»ck, and granite, upon whose vast si(h*s re))ose the su])erior stratified formations, dipping higher or more evenly, as the disturhiiiK causes from ht-low have acted upi>n th em. Tart of the great Newfoundland coal-basin, us Ave hav(» already observed, is situated on the belt south of St. George's liay, between those mountains and the Gulf of St. I^awrence, and the beds of the carboniferous rocks hero preserve a general uinform parallelism with the usual trending or direction of the coast, or N. E. and S. \V.; but at ('ape Anguille they are broken and disturbed, and thence, south- ward, alter their direction to N. and N. W. to the great Godroy Kiver. The sea-shore is here, fj Kay to i>ni I ape ivay to uapc Anguille, steep and dangerously stormy at times, and there arc no good harbours till the Bay of St. George is reached ; so that until this iron-bound shore is better known, it would be fruitless labour to explore the coal which exists up the Godroy Kiver, and in this region commerce must ""mmmmm 202 UFOLOCY AND probably conlinc itscH' tor tho proscnt to tlic gypsums, with which it abounds, or to thn red sand-stones, adapttMJ tor building; tor tho lower bods ot'tlur coal torniiition being well iwhibitedin (!odroy River, we may reasonably expect a good sup])ly of building materials thence, pjirticu- larly as wo know that tine tlagstoues have been met with, of which, with squaroable sandstom^s, the oiistern part of the island near the capital is, to all present appiMiranco, desli- In the centre of the south side of St. George's Bay, near ('rabb's River, the lower portion of the carboniferous rocks runs along the coast, and consists there of alternations of red marl and sandsttmes, the beds usually dij)- ping to tho N. W. at 45"'. But throe miles inland, a ridge has upheaved these beds, and they dip on its inner face in the opposite direc- tion. Mr. Jukes imagines, that owing to this circumstance at least six miles of country in width from the coast nnist bo passed, before it is likely that tho higher beds, in which the coal is deposited, will be reached, lie penetrated this belt of land in various wavs, bv the rivers, but the means and time at his disposal were both inadequate for long land journeys, and he (;k()L()(;icai, kki.ations. 203 found, lit. eight milos (Voni the Guir shore, ii IhmI of coal, alrciidy luiown to the Micinar. Indians, of three feet in thickness, and ol' ex- eeHent quality; and his guides, who were of the Hiuuo tribe, explained that up tlu; Oodroy River, in a, siinihii" parallel, the beds were (Mpiiilly valuable, and that brine was also plen- tiful in several of the adjacent rills. From very fair data Mr. Jukes calculates the extent of this snuill portion of th()4 CKOl.OCY AM) oai'nMo o( giving nny (>|Mni(»n on tho lonnn- ti(Mis who liMs visiU'd tliut singular ivgion; but luM'o iigain his time niui moans taih'd him, and he >vas ol.Iigod to hurry tlirough tlio host, and iu(hvd tho ou\\ part of liis mission which promisos to ho ot' groat intorost horoat'tor. 'V\\v oinintry was so oovoroil by dihivial drhris and hv wunuls, that ho did not ascertain its structun\ liavmg uiMthor »»|>j>(U"t unity nor as- sistance to vloviato tVoni tho Indian ]>ath to tho Lake* Ti\o (irand INmkI, or Lake, was at tirst Ixnindod by gneiss and mica-shito. Tho ishnui, twenty-tive miles Ions;, wliich cuts it, at its western end, into two parallel slips, was com- posed, at the extremity next the St. Lawrence, of chlorite slates: but its central portion, and the main land t>Ti each side, was of granite, or. as 1 rather suppose, irom the dcscripticni giveu. ot' igneous granitic masses, (^i a sienitic cha.'acter. Its northern end wiis a con- gl(>merate, but of what kind or age Ave arc not informed. * If ho bad carried tlie agricultural probo. invcntod by Captain Baddolry, U.E.. >vith him. he might havo ascertained the natu'- ^ of tlie subsoil, however thickly it might have been covered bv leaves or debris. CKOKOr.irAI. UKI.ATIONS. 20: na- on ; •hris liuvci This hi_a,hlv-int(M'(\^fing lake, wliicli, err Ion ir. wii >0 SUITOUIK led by a l)iisy nicr, is sixty inil«\s Ion*!;. I'^or wsiiit of si propci- bircli csmoc, or sonu^ othor (V^umIIv lifijlit and siilr coiivovjuuv, such us those usimI in tho govern- ment explorations in (/unada; tor want ol' tents and bearers; tor want of provisions; in sht)rt, tor want of proper government. snp|)ort, this geoU)o;ist, wlio was meriMy paid a small annnal salary, was nnanie to ex[)loro it, and aj)- pears to htivo luid his exertions paralyzed at the very point wiiere his labours wouhJ have; eommeneed with intense interest. He saw, it is true, iminediatcdy opposite the eastern endot'tiie ishind, — which is no less than twenty-tive miles long, as we liav(» already said, ami is evidently a mere ridge of tin; up- heaved rocks, lying in the usual parallelism, — tliat the main shores wen^ composed of beds of very white rocks, an CJI-niOOV AN!) poison iiM^l lo iiMlroiHunirnl «)l>qrrvn(i«»nM ; !«o \\\'.\\ {\w iMMniMfr^ ol' llic Inko iind roniifiy, ll»'* litlihiiicM mill lon^viiuilrs, rriniiin iiiinoliMl. \( Mf. .hike*! hiiil hud rovi«lr«l l>v f\o\MM*ninou<, in (nninln, lo \\\v olh«'ors o\ osos. lluMvindsMndwiivrM would nolluivrMo- l(MToiir, nnd Iho ('iininliuii rmuH^s livo on tho swell oi' tl«o iniglily Huron;* whilst tho Minnju's who inhnbil. Si. (Joor}.';o's Bny, and olhor ]>nrls o\' Iho consl, nnisl. hv ri\]y,\h\v ol' ni;>nMuing u i'muoo (M|U!illy wrll with Ihoir (\inMdisin brolhnMU ]>!issinLi:, ns ihcy {h\ ihoir wlorsons aoousloiuod lo C'anaiiian bnsli-ranging. ll is nol nior(» llnui * 1 liavo boon iti a ihnM^-rallioin c.nux', or one oiglitoon fort loiij:, with tho Indians, on l.ako llunni, Avhioh rodo ovor wavos of a dinionsion sc^ldoni soon. unloss in storms on th<^ oo«\'\n. with porfcot »fcuri(y , but thoy retjuirp niro niannponiont. (JKniOCM M, HI'I.ATIMNM. i!()7 i\]\v liiii)«li-ril Mini fii'fy or (wo liiindrrd inilrM ill «liH(iiiHM<, with nil llio iKulli-rnsf, im;.';lo orilic hike wcit, round vnrioiiH ]»ir,rcK of (•Old, iind M }»;(mm1 section vvnw virwcil, in vvliic.li somo of tin* rnrltoiiiroro'iH ninttrr n'M<'nil»l<'d the vnliiiilde rtiniH'l r(»id oi' I'ritnin. In tlio I'ivor, or l)ro(»k, n,K the rivriH arc. st yhul in this country, iil)ov(! the lukc, ljir/^c lumps of CXC( Hciit, C(m\ were Mceii, m.ih I tl icl'c wiiH ever indiciilion of thick IxmIm of this tninernl, hut, the counti'v was so densely covenMJ wil,li forest., ;in(l the opportunities niid nieniis so hud, th.'it. nothiiii!; like a fiiir exniiiinntion of it, conlci Im; "btiiined. The. Indiniis, however, know of n, M of coal tlirec foot, tliick on this river. ik're, tlien, tlu; ^nind n»s(Mil, lol iim re Ir.rti lo llio Uny <>r S|. (iooiirc. Norlhwiml \ro\\\ it to tin* l^av ol' Islnmls llio rnnsf is well Ivuown. niul oxhibils \]\o rdViiotory sIihIom niul sMudstoiu^s of tli<' onsi ooasi ol' Ni^vroundliiml, intrrniingUNl willi I ho igiuMuis rooks, wliilsl. nf one ]^l:lOo i\w red swiuUiouo ol' llu' S|. (Joorir tN^:\l-li(^l«l liiis luHMi omsiimIIv iioliood; niui oven \\\M\\ t\w t^iirly (iay.^ ol' tlio FnMioli nnd ol (\'\]>tnin Cook. l]\is oonsl hus luvn iiniigiiiod to Iv stvith tliMl \:\lu!iblo ininiM'Ml. (' s At tl 10 nuMitli i^r th(^ llund)(M' l\iv(M\ vnsi ]Vi\vipioos o( tlio liiiost wlutv inarhK* of llio MMinit no olass ;iiv dist'ovt^riM r tiou? d, nud ii) silii;i too, whoiv tlun- sitlord ljioi!iti(\s lor tiMu (»(n( Ai, nr I aim»nm. o on n «|iinn'irM »»riiiiy ?rui^M»iliiiIr, williiii n ('Miivr?ii»fit. ♦ liMtiiiH'c ((ir Mlii|it)irii< (n v'-MMflH \y\\\y in tlu' IIiiiuIm-i SoiiikI. 'rii«» IIiiiiiImm' Kivn-, InHliiij^ l'» hen- I'ond, or Liik( (', is rruF;MfM|, iMMir ilM riioii III. li y n. ri«l^r ol llir rnily inckM, mimI IIh' lown- «(mI <»r |)jM'i' Poinl is Iwllril by ImIIm olfMH'iMM immI iiik ii sliifr. Al r!iilM»inrrroiiM s<'ri«M dl |Im> N('\vr«Miii(|lnii(l ((Mil rornmtion. Wlu'n»V('i' lliiw roniiiitio'i rojinrirnrrF!, the lniv(dl(Ms niul Imiilrrs liiivr <»|»scrvri| flint tli«'. (MMlIltry |M»KS('MSrM, IIH flll^lll |m' <',\ |M'Ct<'<|, (!V«'fy I'licility for ii)rrir,iilliiriil |MiriKiscM, niid lliiit. wlinrcvcr its viisl. loirsts {idinil (d' (iprnin^'M, (Mllirr IVoin niifnrni or iiccidcnjid cmisfs, (li m luxiiriiint. rovrriMg of grnss. Tlio sotllcrs f^,-.,_-CL ^71.--.i GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 211 ied as a also the lally pose, lircli, ►rtion of the country, about the Huraber, which he visited was densely covered with tine woods. Dr. Chappell, in his voyage to Newibund- land, visited St. George's Bay, and describes the St. George's, or Main Kiver, as a broad and tolerably deep stream, with a heavy sand-bai* across its mouth, over which the sea breaks in a tremendous manner. " Its banks are com- posed of loose earth, covered with various lichens, and surmounted with noble forests of black and white spruce, larch, tir, and birch trees." The river abounds with salmon and trout, and the surgeon of the ship he sailed in says that the country is so healthy, " I do not remember observing any acute or even chronic diseases amongst them." The little colony of whites and Micmac In- dians has now become so numerous that it has attracted attention, uad in the visit of the Cleopatra frigate, commanded by Captain Wyvill, R.N., last year, was found to be des- is of two kinds — one a shrub, two feet high ; the other, about six inches : the first, juniperus commuuis, depressa, the gin juniper ; the other, juniperus sabina, or savine, which grows in the clefts of rocks all over Newfoundland and Labrador, and yields a strong, wholesome, hard berry, used in making spruce beer. p2 ^/gtJmumiO'um 212 GEOLOGY AND titute, not only of religious but of mental instruction, which is about to be applied. From all the information I can obtain re- specting the coast about St. George's Bay and up the Bay of Islands, as well as the interior, which is chiefly known to the Indians and fur seekers, there can be no doubt that that por- tion of Newfoundland is well adapted to sup- port a large population, and to be equally capable of cultivation with the adjacent parts of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, or even more so ; whilst it enjoys a milder climate, and the immense advantage of several water routes of communication with the Atlantic shores of the island, and with the great indenting bays of the north and east. For very many years the Micmac Indians, with their accustomed sagacity, in migrating from the neighbouring continent, have domi- ciled themselves, or rather placed their head- quarters, on the western coast of Newfound- land, or on the south-west shore, where they are sure of support, either from the soil or from the sea, and where by rivers and lakes they can easily penetrate to the interior hunting grounds. They are seldom or never, I believe, observed on the eastern shores, where their GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 213 ital re- and •ior, fur por- sup- lally parts even ;, and •outes res of iDays dians, rating domi- hcad- found- they r from they mting klieve, their hunting would prove more precarious, where the white man chiefly dwells, and where the winter is extremely boisterous, uncertain, and severe. All the persons who have visited the west coast bear testimony to the comparative com- fort in which the settlers, who remain on the French fishing shore, exist. The aspect of their houses puts the traveller in mind of those of the small farmers in England; and yet these simple, industrious, and isolated people are denizens only by French sufferance, instead of being able to claim the birthright of British subjects on a British island. Enough has, I ,^trust, been said, without going into dry, geologic detail, to prove that Newfoundland is capable of sustaining a large population on its western side, and that that side is vastly superior to the eastern, — which is not, however, the barren desert it has been re- presented to be, as will hereafter be shewn ; and that, if both were settled as they ought to be, a mutual trade in the necessaries of life would result ; whilst protection to the fisheries, the command of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and absolute control of the coal •^n^immtmmm iiw^B«w«MWjm 214 GEOLOGY AND fields of Tsova Scotia, Cape Breton, and New- foundland, would be achieved. An enterprising gentleman, of the name of Cormack, penetrated, at a short distance pa- rallel to the coast, into Newfoundland in two directions, on the north-east shore, in October, 1827. He entered the country by the north-west arm of the River of Exploits, and crossed, by a north-westerly direction, through an *' almost uninterrupted forest" for eight days, to Hall's Bay; and thence westward, for five days, to the mountains south of White Bay, and in sight of those which tower over the Bay of Islands, on the east coast of Newfoundland. Here the country began to expand into vast levels for thirty miles ; and the traveller, by the middle of November, thought it time, after taking a most extensive bird's-eye view from the lofty range, to descend to these marshy levels, and during a most laborious transit through them of ten days, discovered the mystic lake of the Red Indian, and returned by the River of Exploits to the Atlantic, the whole journey occupying thirty days, and extending over two hundred and twenty miles. He made no important geological disco- GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 215 veries, being hut very little acquainted with that science; and as he had to subsist upon game, and his object was to see the Red In- dians, in which he failed, tliere is little to in- terest the reader as to the subject of this section of his travels, until we come to treat of the aborigines. Mr. Corraack observed, however, an enor- mous block of Labrador feldspar, nearly four feet and a half in length by three in breadth and thickness. But this gentleman's most extensive jour- ney was made in 1822, when he actually crossed from Trinity Bay to near St. George's Bay, by keeping a nearly parallel line to the south coast, at a considerable distance from it, bO as to avoid the frequent crossing of streams. This was a most perilous undertaking for a person unsupported by government, and at- tended only by two Micmac Indians — one not even met with until he reached the middle of his journey — and provided only with his gun and a pocket compass. He went from Random Island, (not a bad name for his starting point,) in Trinity Bay, at a place called Smith's Sound, early in the month of September, so as to avoid the plague of flies and mosquitoes as much 2 I Cy «;f,(>i,o(;y and ns posj^iMo. nhit'lj is us inlolcrnhle in Now- t'oimtlliuni !H in Cinindii, in Iml \v(m»IIhm'. IIo thou hoMly liUUKrln'tl \\\nm Ins soll'-mloptcd ionrn«»v. Tlio In.liiinM mm*! (ho IrnvoIIiM' wrw o\'\ou put. to gnv«f strsiits lor wwul oT Mnflici^'nl giinio, uh tlioy (lopiMidod (Mnir(^ly for oxislonoo nptnt findino: i( ; ami llioy (Ii«| not wwcU lln* wcsj, ooiist nntil ImIo in NovcmhIxm-, and IIkmi n(»nrly wit)ion( olothiniT, wliirh Innl Iummj dcslrnyod in pom^ratinu; tlio woods. Mr. CorniarU l'o\ind, as (lie map oxliibils, iho W\{ a]ona;tli(^ coast hrokiMi np info nioiin- taii\ ridg(\<, niarslu^, lalu^s, and ituninnMahlo riv(M\s, brooks, and ]>onds, with a shmlcd lorost. \vhi(di s(^(Mns iho gonoral rliaraotor ol' all t\\o oast antl sontli slioros. Altliongh this (MUorprisiiii)" tnivolhM' was no geologist, ho asoortainod that granito — tor hy that torni, no donbt. ho nioant all tho ooin- pounds rosonihling granito — provails cvory- whoro; and that tho oxooptions that prosontod M |jj^ thonisolvos Avoro. porphyry, (pnirtz, gnoiss. sir hnniiilnl ,mM|M»nt iin> iih'nil, tli«i coutro (>r (li(' line o|' liis tnivolM, tioar tln^ liiko he omIKmI .Imiw'Mon'M Liiko, juid nt, .ItirniiMon'K MounJiiifis, Mild also at S(>rjMMil,iii(' Lako. Mr. ( -ormnck dcsrrihr,'; tfic (MiHtdin linlf vrry dilViMcntly IVoin Mr. .Iiikcs, wIid, witJioiil, s«*(;- iii}< if bcyotid I he iiion^ p?'(M',ipi<',cH of l,h«« couhI,, says, it, is liopolcssly lMirn»n. Mr. (lorrnack ()l)sorv(M|, flml, IliulJiair was a, low, |)ic,f,nn'M(jii(? coimlry, in its jriwinral aspcM^t,, travcrmMl hy hills and lakos, and tlio whole; (iivcrsiticd with J'on»st of !in hunihl(» growth. 'I'h«; country to- wards tlu; west, coast, ho lound rnon; rugged and mountainous, wiMi less t'oi'<>st, until witJiirj a tew miles of the shores of tin* (iulf of St. \\v. imaArimMi that th(; mountains iiwrence. L were not in ridges, and that (Mich s(M;med to he isolatiMl, and to have its own particular base. This illusion might easily (h'ceivc; an ini^xfuiri- enced person, as he was, though actually crossing the ridgos in succession. Those who liave visited bite, wl quartz rook, boantiful sorpontitio, and inounfaiuH of it and of tolspar, and iron in abundances witli indicationH of roal iu?ar Stowart'.s Lake, to tlw; north-east of tlie Sorpenti.ie Mountains, and about eighty miles to the north of the Bay of Despair. 218 GEOLOGY AND the singular district culled the Short Hills, in Western Canada, will easily comprehend this illusion ; for there each particular hill is like a great mountain wave suddenly solidified, and, in crossing them, the succession produces just the same effect as the parallel ridges had on Mr. Cormack. There were large tracts of shallow bog, producing a short, wiry grass, along the route, and the traveller conjectured that these, as in Ireland, had once been well wooded, as he discovered trunks and roots of much larger trees under the surface, than any now grow- ing in the explored parts of Newfoundland. Spruce, birch, and larch* composed the woods. Pine was seldom met with, and where * It is to be borne in mind that the larch (pinus pendula), tamarack, or blacit larch (pinus microcarpa), red tamarack (larix Americana of Michaux), do not thrive on a sandstone bed. As soon as the roots pierce to the sandstone, the tree becomes crooked and stunted. The North American larch is deciduous-leaved, cones roundish, few flowered, scales reflected, bracts ellip- tical, and is used in shipbuilding for knees ; its timber for masts or spars is inferior to the white or black spruce, being heavier, but it is straight-grained and strong ; it burns rapidly, and is therefore in request for steamboats using wood fuel. (iEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 219 ;, in this like iiicd, luces 3 had hog, route, 2se, as , as he larger J grovi- land, sed the 1 where ch (pin"^ Tocavpa), s), do not ots pierce d stunted, ved, cones acts ellip- its timber J or black •ained and in request seen, was small ; nor was the mountain ash so frequent as in other parts of the island. The shruhs and procumbent plants bearing eatable berries, such as the whortle berry, pigeon, and blue berry, covered the higher unforested lands; and the Indian tea, called wisha-capucoa, was largely associated with it. This traveller considers the best soil on the south coast to be that which covers the banks of the rivers, and at the ends of the innumer- iible bays and harbours formed by the Atlan- tic ; and he, at a time, too, when it was nearly high treason in Newfoundland to make such an assertion, says, that both the soil and cli- mate of the country explored by him were " well adapted for grazing, and the cultivation of potatoes and green crops ;" but not, as he tliiiiks, for raising grain. Eight miles up the great Barrisois, (a cor- ruption of Brirachois, a boat-river, in the French Newfoundland dialect) near St. George's Bay, Mr. Cormack discovered excellent coal, some salt springs, and a sulphurous spring. He found also red ochre and gypsum* to be abun- dant in that region. * Gypsum, it is said, abounds on the Bay of Bull's shore, near St. John's. 220 GEOLOGY AND As flu's is a chapter on natural history^ and trot exclusivelij i(eoio^fcaiy we may here observe, that Mr. Corniack saw vast herds of Carriboo deer,* which in winter live in the forests of the interior, and in summer browse on- the plains and barren grounds, as all large tracts of unwooded country are called in New- foundland ; the " Barrens" being everywhere amongst the British settlers a recognised term, not denoting sterility, but merely the absence of wood. Beavers have become scarce, but foxes are still numerous along the rivers and sea coast, which indicates the plenty of game. The Micmacs of the south coast live chiefly on venison and iish, and go up, according to Mr. Cormack, from East Bav River on the south * I believe the deer of Newfoundland to be undc- scribed varieties ot the American species ; but I have seen as yet only one young fawn. There are two known kinds, the cervus elaphas, or red deer, (very large and excellent venison,) and the cervus Virginianus, or fallow deer, which feed on moss in winter. The former in this island is the one 1 saw ; it looks like the elk more than the red deer, in its heavy head and long legs, but it ^^ as too young to judge from, and deer are not common near the coast or neighbourhood of St. John's. GEOLOGICAL RELATIONS. 221 lere is of the owsc large "New- wherc term, bsence xes are \ coast, coast, as far as Serpentine T^ake, and thence traverse the vast interior, from lake to lake, in canoes made of basket or wicker work, covered with skins, resembling the coracles of the Welsh, and the boats of the ancient Britons. They never hunt a beaver country oftener than (mcc in three years. Mr. Cormack, moreover, states, that the country might easily be opened in the in- terior, and across the whole of the island ; and in the belt he traversed, so as to admit the passage of cattle and horses during the s\immer. 1 shall not here enter into detail respecting the geology of the country, on the Atlantic shores of Newfoundland, but leave Mr. Jukes to speak for himself, as he is about to publish, on an extended scale, his report to the House of Assembly in 1840-41, by which it 'vill be seen, how very little is yet known about the matter. The only novelties I have seen in the vicinity of the capital are the evident vol- canic action amongst the primary sandstones, and conglomerates ; the evident appearance of jasperized shells in the sandstone rocks; — the crater ponds on Signal Hil, and all over the adjoining country, with the dislocated and contorted slate rock, forming the dan- 222 GEOLOGY, ETC. geroiis coves and formidable bays in Avalon'.s eastern shore, — mixed as they are with con- glomerated masses, varying in nodules, from the size of a man's head to a pea, the por- phyries, and the igneous protusions which have so unceremoniously appeared amongst them. The serpentinous masses of Portugal Cove, and the trachytic evidences everywhere, convince me, that most of the regular forma- tions on the eastern shore are Greywache's, and the associated rocks of a later period than that assigned by Mr. Jukes; and that the confusion which prevents their being accu- rately observed in a mere coasting voyage, is caused by the same power which has heaped up the traps and trachytes of the St. Law- rence, and the whole region of Canada, and the shores of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Labrador, into a vast store- house of everything interesting and valuable to the geologist and to the manufactiu'er, by ex- posing throughout that quarter of the world, those substances which yield the means of continuing civilized life. I will not enlarge any further on this ab- struse subject, but reserve it for a separate work, now in course of preparation. alonV con- from e por- wliicli nongst jrtugal forma- vache's, od than liat the Lg accu- >yage, is 5 heaped 5t. Law- ida, and I Scotiu, Lst store- valuahle T, by ex- e world, cans of this ab- separatc CHAPTER IV. ANIMAL KINGDOM. FIRST DIVISION: QUADRUPEDS, WUALES, BIRDS. One remarkable feature of this island, — equally remarkable with the extraordinary salubrity of a climate which is boisterous to the extreme in winter, hot sometimes to an excess in summer, rainy ' a autumn, in winter, and in early spring, and liable to all sorts oi' sudden changes, marshy exhalations, and the miasma engendered by thick low forest, and fell, and by the putrid manure from seal and fish refuse, — is the total absence of venemous reptiles, and of toads and frogs, which are so abundant on the neighbouring continent. Whether these creatures exist in the unknown interior, has not yet been examined into ; but if they are absent, their place is abundantly supplied by armies, hosts, myriads of vene- mous winged ones ; for mosquitoes and stinging 224 ANIMAL KINGDOM : midges and flies are as rife as in the un- settled swamps and forests of Canada. The larger and more interesting birds and quadrupeds of America are not, perhaps, here so extensive in proportion as on the continent ; but it is said that the entomology of Newfoundland compensates for the paucity of its mammalia and reptiles, as will be shewn hereafter. But so little is known of the interior, that we must confine Ourselves a little on these subjects. We shall now proceed to state that amongst the known wild animals — besides the deer and beaver, the otter, the fox in several varieties, martins, and other usual small American fur- bearing animals — there are the great Labrador hare, the bat,* rat, field-mouse and common * The bat is small, and is probably the vespertilio pruinosus. The black bear is the ursus Americanus, long-legged variety, with a pointed muzzle, of a terrier's spot colour, and grows very large. The weasel is the mustela putorius (vulgaris.) The martin is a weasel, (mustela martes,) affording a fine glossy skin ; the mink, also, (m. visou or late- rola,) and the fisher is a mustela, inhabiting ponds. The otter, Hutra Canadensis,) land otter. The wolf (canis lupus occidentalis) of Richardson, ^rows very large, is frequently traced near the capital, QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 225. vin- 5 and ere so t; but idlatid Qinalia But ^e must Ls. ^Ve ngst the eer and varieties, ican i'ui*- Labrador common tUio vesper trier's spot !;aris.) 5,) affording ,11 or iate- ,g ponds. ir. I Richardson, ir the capital. mouse, Avild cat, seals, weasels, wolves; and some persons assert that the rein-deer are found — which, from the abundance of mosses, is likely. The morse, sea-horse (trichicus rosmarus) formerly abounded in the straits of Belle-isle, and on other parts of the coasts, but has been and does much injury to young cattle ; a price is put by the legislature on its head. The fox is the red and the gray, canis (vulpes) fulvus, canis (vulpes) cinereo argentatus. The beaver (castor fiber) is only found in the interior ponds and marshes, and known scarcely to any of the settlers. I think I have seen the musquash (fiber zibethicus), whose habits are so like those of the beaver, in the three ponds, near St. John's ; its tail, unlike that of the beaver, (which is a trowel,) is like a thick round file. It is called rr;usk-rat, in Canada, from having a musky odour. Several varieties of rat are destructively common, as might be imagined in a country so resorted to by ships. The hare is very large, becomes white in winter, is scarce near St. John's, and is a variety of the lepus Atnericanus. It is falsely termed a rabbit in Canada ; it never burrows, and has ail the habits of the hare, but its fiesh is coarser. The seals are in great variety, but the most nume- rous are phoca vitulina (common seal), and phoca cris- ta ta, (hooded seal.) VOL. I. Q f--VvWlj*.0v*l»*»'»>v 226 ANIMAL KINGDOM : mercilessly destroyed for its blubber and hide, the latter having been eagerly sought after for coach traces and other purposes, in -which the best leather was of less value. The birds of this island are said to be very numerous in the interior ; if so, it is very dif- ferent here than in Canada, at least, as far as forest is concerned, for there the deep woods are not the places in which to seek the feathered tribe. I have observed no eagles since I have been here but the sea-eagle (falco ')ssifragus). The fishing hawk of Newfoundland, is said to be plentifully scattered on the coast, and no '^oubt is migratory, or retreats to the interior. I have not seen the falco leuco-cephalus, or American bald eagle, so common in the United States and in Canada, and which the An: .. ican republic has adopted in the national shield, although its characters are anything but eagle- like, as it lives by stealing the food of the falco halisetus, or Canada fish-hawk, the osprey, which is a visitor of Ne^vfoundland. A falco columbarius (pigeon eagle, or hawk) was shot here in December, 1841, and another seen in January 1842. The hawk tribe appear numerous, particu- larly falco palumbarius, or the gos-hawk, QfADROT£DS, WHALES, BIRDS. 227 and the sparrow-hawk ■ nf ti. large, particularly the ,u.T T. ^^ "'•"'>' ligl't grey owl [J*/"^^-^!"^ owl and the not seen the Six at ■ ""''^' ''"* ^ ''«-« scarcely lar4 Ln ' "^ '"""'^"*»-« «-'- "coasioLl/Xtf i:j7r' -• '^■hich year, the red-backej shrfe .^ f " *'"'^ (lanius coUurio.) ' °' ^'"teherbird, « wlTcoumHL'r '""'*' ''^ '^ — " andtheraC 'IT'r'" *« '"^-ior; ^''e .orid, r ;,:„ r ::Tri *^ '- -an; but I have not heard I f "" °' sounding with their l,„ "^ ^°''est re- -odpeclers X ™tT' ""."^ *"« l>ut there are two ZL ^ settlements, the speckledsort Tht 21^7 ""' "- bHis,perhaps, the rotZf:^^''^ roseus), called a robin here Tr. T ^"^''^ as a blackbird. ' *''°"S'* ^« 'arge In fact, flights of land birds as in r ^ American member of his family, the '.■HiAt^HMI^Mt' ih^S'.'J.-A- i. 228 ANIMAL KINGDOM : blue jay ; but he is here ; — at least, a variety has been seen. The night hawk (caprimulgus) is occasionally observed, but he does not treat us with his vociferous cry of " Whip-poor- AVill,'* and is probably the species, c. Virginianus. I am not very clear about the swallow or the martin, except the sand-martin, (hirundo I'iparia) vt^hich stays about ten weeks in summer, being a frequent visitor on the east coast, but there are several of the family canori, musci- capa, or fly-catcher; icteria, yellow-breasted chatterer; turdus felivox, cat bird; turdus rufus, or ferruginous thrush ; turdus migra- torius, called a robin in Canada, although ten times as large. I think the sylvia autumnalis (autumnal war- bler) visits my garden; but I have not seen that common American species, the undaunted little saxicola (or blue bird) yet. The little wren is occasionally observed, and the yellow willow wren is very common. The humming bird does not deign to appear, probably from the paucity, at present, of flowering trees and shrubs in the gardens, or from the great belt of water between Newfoundland and the con- tinent. The little black-cap titmouse (parus arti- QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 221> bas Ois it us IS. )W or 'undo nmer, ,t, btit [nusci- •easted turdus capillus) lives both summer and winter in Newfoundland, and I see it daily seeking its food in some willows in front of my house, and swinging in the wind on the yielding branches. The snow bird (emberiza, or rather plectro- phanes rivalis,) is very common on all bare grounds and about the fields, but is not sought after as in Canada, as a luxury. It somewhat resembles the ortolan, in a pie. I do not believe that there are any true sparrows in Newfoundland, although there are several fringillas common to North America^ such as f. passerina, yellovv winged sparrow ; Canadensis, tree sparrow; and pusilla, field sparrow. The pinefinch, or grosbeak (coxia enacleater), is common, and the lesser redpole^ fringilla linaria. The dove family do not frequent the woods about the coast, and I am not aware of there being any in the interior. Of the gallinas, I know of no other than the ptarmigan, or white winter grouse, which is brown and white in summer, and is very plen- tiful on the bare highlands, where they are covered by berry-bearing plants. It is a variety of the tetrao lagopus of Pennant, and 230 ANIMAL KINGDOM : is much used for the table, both roasted and in white soups; but they are still dear, the price of a brace being half a dollar, or two shillings and sixpence, currency — of which we shall speak more in a future chapter, when I hope to obtain more information about it. Its summer plumage is a brownish ash grey, mottled and barred with dusky spots; this colour, when the frosts set in, gradually dis- appears, as in the Alpine hare ; and at length, when the snow falls, the bird is pure white. These remarkable changes, effected, as in the northern hare, without loss of substance, lit it admii'ably for its situation, as the sportsman, if he have not a dog used to the game, may almost walk over the bird without putting it up. I have walked here into a covey in latter autumn, and, in Canada, close up to a white hare, in the snow. Of grallae, there are two or three species ; of plover, the golden and the grey; but I have not observed the vociferous, or kildeer, so common in Canada, and which has its name from its repeated note ; neither have I heard the bittern, although it is common, as I am told, in some parts of the country; but the long-billed curlew (numenius) ; the whimbrel, QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 231 L and , the L* two icli we ^hcn 1 lut it- L grey, ;; tbis lly ok is, never to roast a dnck which has a saw bill, or, in ether vvonls, wliose bill IS serra ted. In winter, many of the arctic icebij'ds frc nuent the cmist, but the larije auk or neuijfiiiii ft' (alca impennis, ) which, not tifty years ago, was a sure sea-mark on the eanks, has totally disappeared, from the ruth- less trade in its eggs and skin.* 'S^i * In the " English Pilot," for 171)4, is given tlio foUowing account of this now, perhaps, extinct bird in Newfoundland : — •' There is also another thing to he taken notice of in treating of this coast, that you nu?y know this by the great quantities of fowls upon the bank — viz., shearwaters, willooks, noddies, gulls, penguins, &c., without making any exceptions which is a mistake, for I have seen al'. these fowl? ii hundj.i leagres oti' this bank, the penguins excepted." It is true that all these fowls are seen there in great qua.i- >*;--V. k-ji'ji*'-'K'^ QUADRUPKDS, WIIAI>KM, nillDM. 2nr> 1 it ii}:5iiro«l; out goose ol* >\is, from the lie goosiiiulor, ivor or loon, vzor-MU ;— all ,v lake ^vsvter / tishy. ^^'»^' ^or to v«)ust a u ( ther wonls, :ic icel)irc ips, extinct binl iM iiothor thing to b.' Is coast, tluit YOU ties of fowls upon ks, nodilies, gnUt», exceptions vvUicb e foNvl? .• bun'l ■! excepted." ^^ ''^ ,ere in great quaa- Uut ns the reader may wish tor nvm', ]v,\r- tieular information respecting the watcr-binls titio.i, but nonn arc h<, iniicli lo be niimlcd as tlx; pen- guins, for tlu.'sr n«»v»'i ;;«) without the bank, as others do, \'ur thoy are always on it or within it, several of Ihein togetluM*, sometimes more*, sometinies less, but never less than two together ; they are large 'owls, about the bigness of a goose, a coal-black head and ])aek, with a white belly, and a milk-white spot uridiT one of their eyes, which nature has or'leriHJ to be under the rij^ht eye — an extraordinary mark. l''or my part, I never saw any with such a spot umler their hit eye, Thesi' birds never lly, for their winj^s ari«.>».4.-?»«*«Mw,7v.'.'?.V ^in.H ANIM \1, RINfinoM ! HO ri>vorrv «t iumiiv i»'t't (loop, orution in Nowronmllum), in iUo sumo wny MQ tl\o ^nano tlnn^ on tho ronsis ol' fho |ott«m- pnoili*'. winoli forn\s n \f n»l»ininjar tln^ » Ininvtns of tho nunnnnfvrons inlml»itiint ot'tho onrtli, with (lio'^«» ol' (l\o donizon'^ ol' llio oooun, witlionf biMno; rtmplnl>ions. tln^ mMis ol" Nowfonmllnnd Inrnislv iniuiv divorsitioq. ri»oro is no hrnno'i of tnitnrnl hi^forv nioro intoivstitig. thnn tho stndy ol' tlio ootjio(»oiis :n\irni\ls. Tho l»londing of a mild nnd limn) )ov;c nions<t' tho doo]). whioh thrniMl',«»H nnni with oil. nnd with a sinirnlar snbstanoo ntdiho Ix^no. or "iUy othor ]>rodnotiou of nnininl lifo. In whioh tho orontmv li voh. and hnn Ihm being, and whioh sorvo hinv to proonrc IiIm i\MM\ in i^laoo «>f teoth, with atiothm' spocics fonvious in thv^ o\ti\mu\ with a cavcrnouM miMith. odtml with forniidablo teoth: tho v.i- rioty in tho sizo of the difforont kinds, and yet n v'^hapc common to all, with tho gnwl attribute? of that maternal caix^ evinced by all •^iiMMHfprnR, wiiAi,rp. niiif»R. VV.) wny [Aw ol' \\ ox M!).inMlfl flpiivinp llmir fitPf rioiirisliffipnt. fVoru llip iuoIIhm 'cj liionql : — fill tlM"4n ♦irriirrmtMrMoe? hmkIci \\\o iiiilii^p nf|i| rmfiifps of tlip rf»fnrnoi|t4 (lilio, mIijiu'Im f»t iiil:priqi» iiitrrrMf : wfiilat liy pur Miiin^ tliis Rfiuly, nn nrrivn nt llip ronr|i|c;ion, Hint n liirp;n prnpdrtinti (il'tliis sifiiriilnr rpfMififin JM VfM nnUnown, ninl that iiif»fpn,»l of l»f>in^ ffMi liiHMl ill thi'ir f'tMMl fo tlip riiinnh' nTid rfiirro- ^ro pir, iiisiM'lF' <>r jIm> m«'m, t)in vvIimI«'m fir«' ^rnrM Hilly tli'VTmnMfl nl' Inr^p lisfi, fi,ri(| nrn i\r(\f\i\ri\ Itolli IV<»in ilinir Mir.f* fUifl Ihnir v«»rn(ify, by nioqf dl' thn inlmliitanlR of tho, vmf rlnop in wli it'll tlipy ronm. Tlic l)p5it iiKMliMti nfcMiiintfl ot f\\(} norflirrn wliuloFi tliiit I hnvc, Ihmmi hI»I»" fo ^aUioj-, nr»i llios(^ (if Smrrflliy nml Dowhiiiflt, arifl hnvint/ Immui in fMuly youMi hi^h rnoiip^li nortfi to s»;p llic constntit, fiUn lof works to^rthnr, nnd to (diMiMvo tlin whiilo tirtlirrR, I hfiv(i notrnl down iniiiiy oliflnrvations upon tliiH chiHR, hotli in tlH- iiniilicru HoaR of Europe, Atuericu, jui'l the giviil (iult'of St. Ljiwrtmcc, iind Ijiihrndor. The coast urul ^ulf whale fishery in now IxMMunin^ of nnieh value to Nowfoundlnnfl, :iii(l it will therefore not be uninteresting to state the description of fish which arc likely 240 ANIMAI, KINGDOM : to (Migngr those ('(Mist tisliors, as the iKirtliorn ico tisliing is Inst Iniling. Of those AYO will ooinnionco with tho tiiio bnhiMiJV, tlio toothh'ss whalos; and tirst, with b. mvstiootiis, tho groat ooininon oil whalo ol' tho iiorthorn ooomii, or groat (Jroonlaiid whiilo, whioh oooasioiially visits thoso rogions; not, liowovor, so lVo(|uontly as to Ibrni an objoct of ohaso. Of this oImss, tho niysticotns lives on nio- aUisjo aninialoiiho, snch as actiniie, sopia', cliones oanori, holioa\ and oocasionally even s(|nilho(tho shrinq)), and there arc throo well- known kinds — the mysticetns, or great whale- bone whale, the ieelandiea, and the gi])bar, or razor-tish, so named from a sharp dorsal tin. They vary in size, from forty-five to seventy £{}Ct, and tho quantity of oil is ]>ro|>ortionedt(> the length of the ))aleen, or longest blade of whale- bone — one foot giving one gallon and a half, i\nd twelve feet, twenty-one gallons; the mys- ticetus being the best, and its jaws or head bones affording the ])urest oil. The infeiior jaw-bone sometimes measures twenty-five feet. the animal has a black skin on its back. The Iceland whale, grey "vvhale, (nordeaj>oi' le of SCV15V, (JIIADRIIPKHS, WMALKS, BIRDS, 24 f of Ljicopest common of this class in the Newfoundland seas, is balrenoptera jubarte«, or pike-headed tinner, its dorsal fin being two feet and a half high. It lives on capelin, lance- fish, and argonautica arctica, a species of clio or sej)ia. When it opens its mouth to receive food, the plaits or folds of the belly unfold, and assume in the fore part or throat, an ele- gantly striped red colour. The rorqual, b. rorqual of Lacepede, is another variety, being what is usually called the broad-nosed whale ; it attains a huge length, its back is blackish and marbled, and belly of a white hue; but as it is very swift, and yields less oil than the other large whales, it is not much known or sought after. The next order is the predentate, or those with teeth in the anterior part of the jaw, and embraces the monodons or narwhales, the unicorns of our whales, which, instead of uniform teeth, are fui'nished with a tusk, piercer or sword, and are therefore called sword-fish. They are not very common on these shores, excepting North Labrador, and ms- ,011 the two lance- f cUo eceive mtold, an ele- motlicr ed the length. \)clly oi' ft, aiul QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 243 are divided into two species, the single-sworded, and double sworded; the former being from thirteen to sixteen feet long, the latter, from twelve to twenty-five. They appear to live on sepiae or cuttle-fish ; some of these creatures are of a separate tribe on the Labrador coast, and have one or two small, crooked teeth in the lower jaw. The Esquimaux find them dead occasionally, and call them arnanak, or the aperient fish ; they are very rare, and are valued by those blubber-eaters, for the ape- rient quality of their flesh and oil. The subdentate cetacea, have teeth only in the lower jaw, and are remarkable for the size of the head, which frequently occupies nearly one half, or more than a thu'd of the whole animal. These are the cachalots, and arc of various species, such as physeter, macrocephalus, ceta- don, trumpo, cylindricus, and microps. They furnish ambergris and spermaceti. The first attains an enormous and almost incredible length, 'but is usually about sixty feet. It is said, on good authority, that it has reached 144 feet; it feeds on lump-fish, cuttle-fish, the dog fish, and even swallows the small shark. It is sometimes seen on these coasts, r2 244 ANIMAL KINGDOM : but its usual habitation is higher north, as well as the lesser cetadon, or small spermaceti whale. The seat of the spermaceti is below the nose or snout, and its oil, as is well known, is su- perior to all other animal oil for the lamp. The trumpo, or blunt-headed cachalot, is oftener observed in these seas, and is called the New England cachalot; its head is enor- mous, and nearly divides the body into half, it attains sixty feet in length; the upper jaw is live feet longer than the lower, and round at the nose. The teeth are dispersed, eighteen in number, and fit into cavities of the upper jaw; it has an observable pro- minence on the back, instead of a dorsal fin, and the pectoral fins are small. It is very ugly, and very bold and swift, opening its huge jaws in fight, like the hippopotamus. Its oil is contained in cells near the brain, and is got at by boring the skull. It is also productive of a very pure and tine oil from the blubber, of which it yields an ample supply. The physeter cylindricus or round-backed spermaceti whale, has a hunch eighteen inches liigh on its back, jaws nearly equal, head one- third of carcase, and teeth twenty-five, curved and sharp, in each lower jaw. It is of an uni- mrjjiAJ'W'OHi*'' QUADI.UPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 245 well bale. nose s su- ). 3t, is called cnor- ) half, upper r, and persed, ties of e pi'o- dorsal It is )pening tamus. brain, is also il from supply, backed , inclies ad onc- curved an uni- form black colour, and about fifty feet in length by thirty-six in girth. It frequents many por- tions of the North Atlantic. The next is microps or the small-eyed sper- maceti whale, the black-headed variety, and one of the most dangerous of the whole tribe. Its teeth are long and formidable; they are conical, and set in two-thirds of the length of the lower jaw, and are about forty in number. It is about the size of the preceding, and is re- markable for a high dorsal fin which is acutely ])ointed. This fierce whale attacks porpoises, and also fights with those of its kind, tearing lamps of blubber from their bodies. Of course it is rarely caught, but its flesh is prized by the Labrador Esquimaux. It yields a great (piantity of spermaceti, and very little oil. Occasionally the physeter malar, or great- finned cachalot, an inhabitant of the North Seas, is seen, and immediately known by its huge back fin, which stands up like the mast of a ship, and by three hunches succeeding this fin on the lower part of the back. Like its congeners, it is fierce and wild, and seldom captured ; its teeth are obtuse, and vary from eight inches to SIX the longest being in front; garious. it IS gre- 246 ANIMAL KLVGPOM: The p. bidens or two-toothed satin wh^ie, has a remarkable skin, reflecting light strongly, and looking as if it were cut into streaks. It is smaller than the others and has only two bony lateral teeth, with a sharp muzzle. A commoner toothed kind in this part of tlu; ocf" \, >f this family, is th«: hunrhe'l w chf ' ' ^f J . ^i^ibbosa. it resembles the com- LiOTi wiAiile, but is much smaller, and has its back furnishwJ with more tubercles or hunches, hence called the hunchback. By this account, carefully extracted from the best authorities, and the result of observa- tion, the commonly-received opinions that the whale is a poor, harmless creatiu^e, with a throat that would choke with a hazle nut, vanishes like a long-cherished superstition. Three-fourths of the whole family are fierce, vindictive animals, voracious, and capable of swallowing large fish. Any body who has crossed the Atlantic may have seen the terror of porpoises, and all smaller fry, when pur- sued by these monsters, who rarely shew them- selves in the chase above water, and this full) accounts for so few being captured, excepting in the icy seas, where they are, as it were, hemmed in ])y the ice and the ships. Those QUADRITEDS, WHALES, DIRDS. 247 eaks. f two art of e.'l '^■ e com- has its anchos, cetaceous animals which afford us oil, are gene- rally of the toothless or milder temperament, whilst the biti)>sj species armed by natui'c with offensive weapons, are seldom captured, and yield us chiefly spermaceti and spermaceti 0.1. It is t' e former which engage the small and irregular whale fishery of the Newfound- laud coast, and that principally on the harbour coasts of the south, and in the gulf. No- thing can be more common in sailing up or down the St. Lawrence, either in the v; v.; region of Labrador, or in the smaller on.> c' Gaspe, than to see whales of all sizes, from he largest finner to the smallest porpoise or •. jI- phin, and the extent to which this fishery is carried on by the citizens of the United States, and by our colonists, is much greater than has been imagined. In my journal off the Bay of the Seven Islai. Is, I find repeated mention of seeing the black and grey whale in 1831 ; and since that time, I have observed that these are of all the various cetacea common on the coasts of Newfoundland. A gentleman of my office here, has assured me that he has seen the huge-headed spermaceti whale playing like a porpoise, or perhaps pursuing his prey, in 248 ANIMAL KINCJDOM : the very mouth of the narrows of St. John's harbour. In a voyage of two months' duration, from London to St. John's, in the summer of 1 840, I kept an Atlantic journal, and find, that on approaching this coast I saw, on the 3()th of June, a shoal of porpoises alongside in a heavy sea. and with them seven or eight bottle-nosed whales, almost touching the ship on the lee side; on the ord of July, a dolphin in a tumbling sea, with porpoises and a large sper- maceti or big-headed whale ; on the Gth, in a high sea, an immense shoal of porpoises, with three large birds hovering over them, and small fish jumping up; the porpoises Jumped high out of the w^ater ; and, again near sunset, ano- ther shoal and a large whale. Soon after this we saw a heavy shoal of bonitos jumping out of the sea, and two whales; on the 21st, after having long buffeted against contrary winds, we saw a Baccalao bird, a proof of being near the banks, nad many whales; on the 22nd, in latitude 48°, longitude 48" 55', in a great swell, in -cold but fine weather, we observed many birds ; and many blunt or bottle-nosed whales of the smaller kinds. On the 23rd, just before we made Baccalao QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 249 tin's from 840, t on l:b of leavy nosed he lee in a } sper- h, in a s, with Island, at the entrance of Conception Bay, the land which was first discovered, as it is said, by Cabot, we saw a pike-headed whale about twenty-five feet long, which came alongside and played about under-water for some time, evi- dently in pursuit of prey. He had a brown back, and very white sides and belly, and the tin or dorsal projection was in the centre of his back ; his muzzle was very acute, and had two blow-holes; which shews him to have been a true whale, and not of the dolphin kind. His fin or bump was in the middle and not at the caudal end of the back, — thus he was a new species, not analogous to th rostrata. On the 24th, we made the Bay of Concep- tion, Baccalao being about five miles off, the fog suddeidy clearing, most fortunately for us. Here we saw whales innumerable, some very large indeed, and continued to observe them in running down to St. John's, all along the coast. This is mentioned to shew that these valuable fish abound here, as well as to state my belief, that whenever the porpoises, dol- phins, bonitos, or other fish appear unusually agitated, they are pursued by these cannibals, if I may so term a class of fishes preying on their own species. Frequent observations on 250 ANIMAL KINGDOM: the coast of Labrador, in the Bay of Chaleui% and in the great estuary of the St. Lawrence, convince me of the fact. The ambidentate cetacea are those which have teeth in both jaws, and form the family of dolphins, porpoises, and grampuses. The dolphins sometimes attain the length of twenty- five feet, and have only a single blow-hole, with a row of conical teeth in both jaws, and a dorsal fin. The porpoise (delphinus phoceana communis) is remarkable for having its pectoral fins, in their processes, constructed like a human hand. It is well furnished with teeth, but seldom is longer than seven feet, and differs from the dolphin in having a shorter nose or snout. Its skin is tanned after being rasped or shaved. It burrows or roots in sea-weed and sand, like a pig, and lives on small fishes. The dolphin of the ancients has been already often described, but, as it is interesting, its cha- racteristics are giver in a note.* Of the other * Delphinus didelphis, delphinus antiquorum ; cor- pore longo subtenti, rostro longo, acuto,— the oye do mer, dauphin vulgaire, of Lacepede. Body, nearly oval; length nine or ten feet ; head ends in a muzzle like a bird's beak, with a transverse fold of skin QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRD3. 251 ucc, .mily The enty- -liole, 5, and uunis) ms, ui a hand. Idom i» om the It. Its shaved. ind, lili^ dolphins, the grampus is the largest; they differ little from the porpoise, but have a blunter snout, a little recurvated, and the dor- sal fin large and high, with forty teeth in the two jaws. They are twenty or twenty- five feet long, bulky, and ferocious, and eat even their congeners, the dolphin and por- poise*. The sword grampus, or d. gladiator, has a most singular scimitar-shaped high dorsal fin, long, bony, and broad at the base. He grows to thirty feet, and is a fierce and untiring per- secutor of the milder whale and of the harmless seal. There is also a species of dolphin in the across the upper part of the snout ; cylindrical teeth, a little pointed, and one inch and a half above the gum, varying in number according to age, as many as ninety or ninety-six having been counted ; mouth, wide ; dorsal fin, high, and placed nearer the tail, and curved near extremity backwards ; pectoral fins, low and oval-formed ; tail, semi-lunar, and has two lobes falling over each other; upper surface, black; chest, white ; white ray passes beneath eyes towards pectoral fins. Master Arion must have had an un- easy seat on this fish. The splenf^^'l dolphin of the Atlantic is much the same in shape and size, but blue and green, and in- describably coloured. 252 ANIMAL KINGDOM : north<^rn seas, which has only two teeth in the lower jaw, grows to forty feet in length, with a spear-shaped tin on his back, near the tail : his upper jaw is beaked like a duck's. The wild dolphin (d. ferus) has twenty teeth in each jaw, but is not very common here. It is known by its head being rounded and nearly on a level with the back, very thick at the crown, ♦md suddenly dimiuisliing to the muzzle, where it ends in a short, round nose. The jaws arc equal, and it is usually about fourteen or fifteen feet long. Thetursioislike it, but has a curved dorsal tin, flat beak, and tlie lower jaw the longest, with tAventy-one cylindrical teeth in each. Its dorsal tin is like tliat of the splendid dolphin, being a regular series of high and spiny pro- cesses along the back, rising in an inclined plane, and incurvated near the tail, where another projection rises, and stretches to the caudal tins, which consist of two semi-lunar lobes. He is black above and white below, and is re- markable as floating high when swimming. Besides these, there is another recent divi- sion of the whale family, hyperoodon, ur delphinus 'deductor, being the common species known in the North Atlantic as the calling or QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 253 he ith 111: jetli It jarly cnvn, vliere IS arc ifteen dorsal ongest, b. Its olpliin, ,y pro- nclined where to tlie ir lobes, .d is re- ling. ,nt divi- Idon, ^'^ species ca-ing whale, or bottle-nose, bottle-head, tloiin- der's-head, beaked whale, and heading whale. I saw once in Shetland, when a youth, in 1810, one huniked and thirty of these whak\s killed, in a voe, or small sound in Unst, and there was something remarkable about the event. I was walking on the shore with the soi> of Mr. Mouat, a large proprietor in that Ultima Thule, before dinner, when we came upon some whalebones, and he told me that about one hundred years before, if I remember cor- rectly, an immense drove of whales had visited that coast, and that seven years previously an- other smaller drove had come ashore there, and had been captured, the bones being their relics. I observed that I almost wished I had been alive at that time, to have witnessed such a scene as the capture of such an enormous drove must have been in a small narrow bay, almost land- locked. We returned to dinner, and whilst sitting at table with the magnate of Unst, a person came in hastily, to inform the lord of die manor that a drove of ca-ing whales were in the bay, or voe. Not much time was lost ; weapons and boats of every kind were in re- (fiiisirion ; the whole population poured fortli^ dV mg ov __i-^ — - 254 ANIMAL KINGDOM : and a little smack which was lying there for us, with her guns ossisted to drive the unfortunate visitors on shore. A scene of blood and con- fusion, of uproar and agony ensued: the old whales guarded their young w^th affectionate solicitude, kept to sea-ward of them, stove a boat, and, after a lengthened struggle, man as usual prevailed. The bay was a sheet of blood ; the wild fishermen in ecstasy ; and I saw a scene seldom to be witnessed by any one, for a hundred and thirty were slain. The largest measured from twenty-two to twenty-five or thirty feet in length. This fish is distinguished from the grampus by the shortness of the dorsal fin and snout, length and narrowness of the pectoral fins, form and number of teeth, and in its colour, the whole body being almost black, and the belly only blackish, and the skin of a smooth, shining, oily substance, like oiled silk; head obtuse, upper jaw projecting some inches over the low^er, ending in a blunt process. That it is a dolphin, or allied to that species, is shewn by the single blow-hole, or spiracle. It lias two-and-twenty conic teeth, a little hooked; and the female has tw^o breasts, or teats, larger QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 255 rus, nate con- e old onate ,0V e a Lian as leet of ilsaw e, for a largest •live or than a cow's ; its food is small fish, and it yields good oil ; its body is thick, and about twenty feet long. The next division is delphinapterus, and the species of these seas, d. beluga, or the white whale, which quits the frozen north for tide rivers in cold weather. It lives on cod and flat fish, and varies from eighteen to twenty feet, but is more usually about twelve. This fish is very beautiful at a distance, being dazzlingly white. Its head is small and long, both jaws equal, with nine or ten small blunt teeth in each, unequally placed, the largest in front near the muzzle; the mouth is small. In- stead of a dorsal fin, this dolphin has only a longitudinal projection on the back. The pec- toral fins are oval, broad, and thick. The .spiracle is in the front part of the head, with a lump near it, which causes the water ejected to fall backwards. The eye is small and pro- jecting. This is the white porpoise of Labrador and the St. Lawrence, always found only in particular parts of the river, or gulf.* Of amphibious creatures, or those frequent- \m both elements, the seal and the sea horse. * Vide "The Canadas in 1841." 256 ANIMAL KINGDOM : the otter, the beaver, and the musk-rat, arc also included in this division of animated nature. We shall only mention the family of the seals. There are several varieties in the Newfound- land seas :* the common seal (phoca bitulina), the hooded seal (p. cristata); the former, yel- lowish grey, or brownish with yellow spots, becomes white from age — from three to live feet long. The other, seven or eight feet in length, and dark, with a piece of loose skin on its head, which can be inflated and drawn over the eyes, and is nearly musket-proof; the nostrils are also distensible, so as to give it a formidable look. These animals are too well known to need a particular description, and the sea horse (tri- chicus rosmarus) resembles them, excepting in size and in the head, and in having two enormous canine tusks in the upper jaw, point- ing downwards, and sometimes two feet long. * M. de la Pilage sent a specimen of the calo- ceplialus (lagurus) of F. Cuvier frciii Newfoundland ; and the leonine seal, (stemmatopus cristatus,) called tlic hooded seal, and p. cristata, becomes very large then; ; but the seal family is not yet well known, even to our naturalists, for Fischer describes this as a separati' species, and calls it mitrata. QUADRUPEDS, WHALES, BIRDS. 257 re. lis. nd- va), yel- [)OtS, five et ill Au ou 1 over r, tUc vc it ii I need ft se (tri- :cepting n.r tNVO , poUit- et lonj;. the calo- called tin' irge tlv-n' . kven to ouv It has been seen here as big as the hirgest ox, and twenty feet long, covered with a short yc;!- lowish hair. As akeady observed, it wns for- merly abundant, but is now nearly, if not quite, extinct in Newfoundland. The beaver and the musk-rat have been also already noticed; nor should we have men- tioned the seal tribe again, but that they arc so obvious a link between the land quadruped and the sea mammalia. The seals are pisci- vorous, as well as the walrus, which, it is :?aid, however, lives chiefly on sea-plants, such as fucus digitatus, and thus constitutes anotheir link in the great chain which connects the herbivorous amphibia with the fish-eating ce- taceous family, the intermediate family being the manati, or sea-cow of the tropical regions.* * I have been very particular about the whales, i^c ., 03 it is an extremely interesting subject to the natives of Newfoundland, and the young men here are turning their attention to natural history. VOL. I. CHAPTER V. ANIMAL KINGDOM. — SECOND DIVISION: AMPHIBIA, Fl.HES. Natvre, in her wonderful adaptations of means to an end, has placed in the cold, de- solate, and stormy regions of the north, an inexhaustible supply of riches, vastly superior, ' consequence of their effects upon man, to the pearls, diamonds, and precious stones of the E:istern and warm countries of the globe. r)y a singular train of geognostic revolu- tions, the bottom of the ocean in the vicinity of Newfoundland has been formed into a vast series of submarine hills and valleys, the abode of a separate class of animated beings, deriviiiir their subsistence from each otlier, and afford- ing to tlie courage and enterprise of man oceanic mines of wealth, exceedinf]^ the iiii-r I '^^J sanguine measure of belief. I ha^ e been greatly struck, in the course I't' thi /(!]• ■'Uid k iti AMPHIBIA, FISHES. 259 J ous of )ld, (le- rth, *^ii^ uperior, ^1, to the of the be. Ito a V' the ivh' of 1^^''- the ni»' course m.'iny voyages across these vast banks, at (»b- s(!rving the truly Avonderful fecundity of the lesser animals upon which, and by which, the voracious and all-devouring cod, an animal as various in his choice of food as omnivorous man, chiefly subsists. The incredible shoals of hince, a small, elongated, silvery, eel-like crea- ture; the interminable armies of migratory her- rings ; the hosts of capelin, which are met witli in their several seasons, cause the seas to boil iiiid glitter in their rapid paths, producing the effects of currents upon the bosom of the tranquil deep. The locusts, in their march of devastation, have darkened the sky as tlipy flew, and rendered the earth invisible -^ •' whole countries when they settled to feed ; but these are as nothing in numbers to the pe- riodical journeyers of the Newfoundland seas. Could we see the hills and valleys of th.e Great Bank, and the neighbourhood of the ii'on-bound shores of the island on its Atlantic •oastt-, how vast would appear their population , for they must be, in favourite places, literally covered by the cod dwelling on these dowiisj, iiiid by the cuttle-fish, which, with otlier iiiol- liisca, the cod uses as common food ! It is sufficient, liowever, merely to get upon s2 mp 260 ANIMAL KINGDOM: any elevated spot near the city of St. John's, and cast the eye over the stages upon which cod-lish are di'ying, to convince oneself that nature has rendered that description of the aliment of man a source from whence the rail- lions and myriads of the globe might draw their sole nutriment without even insensibly diminishing the supply.* In short, the northern fishes, not excluding whales and mammalia of the cetaceous kinds, * AnspacI), who re-jtled in Conception Bay, de- scribes the scene of the capelin schule, or shoal, arriv- ing: — " It is impossible to conceive, mucli more to describe, the splendid appearance, on a beautiful moon- light night, at this time. Then its vast surface is completely covered with myriads of fishes, of various kinds and sizes, all actively engaged, either in pursuing or avoiding each other : the whales, alternately rising and plunging, throwing into the air spouts of water; the cod-fish, bounding above the waves, and reflecting the light of the moon from their silvery surface ; the capdins, hurrying away in immense shoals, to seek a rofugp on the shore, where each retiring wave leaves multitudes skipping upon the sand, an easy prey to the women and children, who stand there with barrows and buckets ready to seize upon the precious and plentiful booty, whilst the fishermen, in their skiffs, with nets made for that purj)ose, are industriously em- ployed in securing a sufficient quantity of this valuable bait for their fishery." 'St. .h AiMrniBIA, FISDES. 261 :,hat the mU- ilruw isibly udvng kinds, are, as is well known, most plentiful on these coasts. But, excepting the cod, fishermen trouble themselves very little about tiiem; and the market of a city containing nearly twenty thousand people is scarcely supplied with any other sort of sea produce. Nay, such is the disgusting manner in which these fish are laid out for sale, and such little pains are taken in killing and preparing them, that the first sight I noticed on landing, was whole rows of lanky cod laid in the dirty streets on the ground, whilst a dog was carrying aAvay one in his mouth. It gives a fastidious stomach some trouble to reconcile itself to cod-fish after this. The butchers also hang the bleeding skins of the animals they slaughter before their shops. Altogether, in these respects, less care is taken of public propriety in St. John's than probably ill any British town in the civilized world. There should be a regular fish market and stalls ; butchers ought not to kill in the city nor iit their shops ; and, in fact, ^here must some day or other be a corporation to regulate such matters, for however cheap fish may be there, it would be decent to sell it properly. The British reader will scarcely credit me \\hcn I say, that no fresh fish is to be had in St. John's in winter, and that it comes occa- mmmimHm mmmamSmSnSSSSfSa 262 ANIMAL KINGDOM: siorially frozen, from Halifax, from private friends of the merchants and otliers; and yet the harbour \s almost always open or free from ice. A fe». trout are sometimes brought in from the Bay of Bulls, or other outports ; but the people exist generally on salted meat and salted fish. It is a wonder they remain s». Tree from cutaneous diseases. The rich live much as elsewhere, with respect to fresh meat, and now procure beef and mutton all the year round, which was not the case ten years ago. That they should not have bestirred them- selves, to estaldish a market to procure fresh fish in the long winters, and to increase their comforts by encouraging agriculture, shews plainly what has formerly been the state of society in this capital, whilst lal ouring under the stigma of Newfoundland being a men' fishing station. The veil is soon lifted. Except the persons attached to public colonial offices, wh<> h;i, llmost alto- .e settlors ; whilst the native-born pride themselves upon their birthplace, an«l much is doing, and much has already been done, to improve not only the tone of society, but the comforts of the po(n' and the attainment of luxuries by the rich ; but still their city wants a corporation, or something analogous to one, to make it what it ought to be. But to return to the cod-tish again. It is so common, that nobody has thought it worthwhile to detail its genera or species. The principal fish caught differs a little from the gadus morrhua* of Linnoeus, or ash-coloured cod ; and I have neither seen nor tasted any fish here at all to be compared to that excellent British variety, — probably, owing to the way in which it is * Gadus squamis majoribus (Bloch); morrhua (Belon) ; molva vel inorrhus of Rondelet ; cablia (Strom); see Arctic fishes of Dev\ hurst. Many spe- cies, all sea-fish, never frequenting rivers, except the barbot, live ou crabs, whelks, herrings, and other fish, and are so greedy as to eat their own young ; they cast up whatever they do not digest, like birds of prey, but their digestion is very rapid, as a strong bait of haddock has been digested in six hours. Twice, on crossing the banks, I found large stones as big as a goose-egg in the stomach of cod ; in fact, nothing comes amiss : they may be called the sea-ostrich. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) v] i9 /}. /a '<^. e. % ^J f. ^1 % ;v O 7 /A 1.0 I.I 1.25 If: ilM 1: I4£ 1.4 Photographic Sciences Corporation |M III 2.0 II™ 1.6 % A> ^ Fl7 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. MS80 (716) 872-4503 w h 264 ANIMAL KINGDOM : caught and prepared, or rather unprepared, for sale. It has neither the firmness nor the flakiness of the London fishmongers' article. The other largely-dispersed kind is the gadus carbunarius, the sey-fish of Norway, or coal-tish, — so called from the black colour it sometimes partially assumes. It is the best for alimentary purposes, and yields elsewhere, which is not attended to here, ichthyocolla, or isinglass; and it is a much more elegantly shaped fish than the common kind, and some- times weighs twenty or thirty pounds. The best specimens I have seen of this variety were caught in the Bay of Chaleur. The coal-fish is pickled in brine, and exported in barrels, but the common cod is the kind usually salted in bulk. In this town the bank-fish, or those caught on the banks, are supposed to be supe- rior in quality to the shore-fish, or those caught near the coast.* * Gadus callarius, tommy cod ; g. rupestris, rock cod ; g. arenosus, shoal cod, are also inhabitants of these seas, as weW as the following : — Gadus mer- luccius, merluccius vulgaris of Cuvier, the hake; gadus brosme, g. vulgaris of Cuvier, the torsk, or tusk ; gadus aeglefinus, the haddock, which is some- tiuies brought to market ; gadus pollachius, the pollock. AMPHIBIA, FISHES. 265 ired, : the le. the )\\r it e hest where, 3lla, or 3gantly i some- =. The jty were al-fish is els, hut salted in or those be supe- or those 3stris, rock abitants of iadus mer- the hake; torsk, or ;h is sonie- Lchius, the Of the genus scomber, the mackerel is best known here; but although a good deal is caught for exportation, principally in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, scarcely any come to St. John's market. It is curious, that out of twenty-two known kinds only one should fre- quent the arctic regions. The horse mackerel (s. plumbeus), common (s. scombrus) and blue mackerel (s. maculatus), (s. vernalis) spring mackerel, (s. grex) chub mackerel, (s. chryseus) yellow mackerel, are found, and are supposed to cross over the Atlantic from the African coast. They abound in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where the American fisher- men principally engross the fishing of them, to our prejudice. Scomber thynnus, the gigantic mackerel, or tunny-fish, also occasionally visits the coast, one having been caught lately near Portugal Cove,^ in Conception Bay. The mullet (mullus barbatus et ruber) are also seen, as I am told, for I have only seen the red kind. Of the genus salmo, there are many and excellent kinds in the rivers and seas of this island, and the Labrador shore attached to its government. I shall enumerate a few, and 266 ANIMAL KINGDOM : shall begin with the salmo Greenlandicus, or Greenland salmon, the salmo arcticus of Pen- nant, but which is, I believe, the real Green- land variety, and is here of immense value to the fisheries, as bait. The real salmo arcticus, which inhabits the stony rivers in the Frozen Ocean, is a little fish like a grayling. This fish, the capelin, rarely exceeds seven inches in length; its colour is a very pale green, with a tinge of brown above the abdomen, and its sides are silvery. Its most remarkable feature consists in the male fish having a rough fascia, beset with minute pyramidic scales, standing upright like a pile of plush above the laterals. When the female seeks the shore, for the purpose of depositing spawn, she is taken between two of these ridged males, and they all violently rush onwards, the com- pression excluding the ova; two, three, and even as many as ten, have been observed thus glued together by these villous crests. They deposit their eggs amongst the smaller fuci and confervoe, on which they feed, as well as on minute crabs, etc., and are extremely good eating, both fresh and salted, being reckoned a great luxury at home. Their shape is elongated, contracting rather AMPHIBIA, FISHES. 267 or en- en- i to cus, )zen even pale men, kable ng a midic plush I seeks pawn, males, com- and d tluis They tr tuci well as Ly good oned a rather 3, suddenly towards the tail ; the dorsal fin in the middle of the back, and the lins generally, rather large for the size of the tish ; tail forked, and scales minute. In taste it resembles the smelt, and migrates to Newfoundland about the middle of June, when it is so numerous as to cause the week or two after the 20th of that month to be called the " capelin season," the wind being then easterly. The masses are so great, that a boat may be filled in a couple of hours, by two men with a landing-net. It remains on the coast for about six weeks, and, according to Dr. Chappell, does not deposit its spawn, or reach Labrador, before August or September; which must be a mistake, as it would be fatal to the fishery if they came not sooner. They cover the surface of the ocean for miles, and probably are driven from the arctic seas by their enemies, the whales and other fish ; the cod devours them by myriads, and the beaches of Labrador and Newfoundland are covered with their bodies to an incredible extent. A capelin school, schule, or shoal, is eagerly looked for as the real commencement of the cod fishery. 268 ANIMAL KINGDOM : So delicious is this little salmon reckoned, ^^at a small keg of them well cured is a pre- sent for European friends. The best I ever observed were in the Bay of Chaleur, where more pains are taken to preserve them. In Newfoundland they scarcely care about them, and do not think them much worth exporting, us a whole sackful dried may be had for a trifle. In ray note-book I find that the salmo salar, or common salmon, is chiefly caught in these regions in Labrador, whence it is a principal article of the export trade. In Newfoundland, the fisheries are in Gander Bay, White Bay, Exploits and Bonavista Bays, with several on the western part of the south shore, but the island trade is not considerable; and in St. John's, fresh salmon is almost as dear and as scarce as in London, whilst the cured fish used ■comes from Labrador, — so all -absorbent is the cod fishery, on a coast abounding with such a variety of edible denizens of the ocean. There are many varieties of this fish here, but little is known respecting their habits. In Labrador they are taken from June to August, -in stake nets, placed at the mouths of rivers, in bays and harbours, and are split and salted in AMrillBIA, riSllES. 20!) ed, »re- ;ver lere In lem, ting, for a salar, these ncipal dland, eBay, jral on )ut the in St. and as ish nsed is the such a Ish here, lits. ^^ I August, fivers, in malted ia large tubs, with stones put over them to press the pickle in. They are then resalted, and packed in tierces of two hundred pounds each. Tlie salnio trutta, sahnon trout, and salmo fariu, common trout, with a variety called mud trout, are also plentiful in rivers and ponds ; and the little smelt is taken on some parts of the coast, answering to the osmerus eperlanus of Britain. Of the genus clupea, c. harengis, the common herring is well known, and vast num'oers are taken in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and in all the Newfoundland bays. They migrate from Europe, in the way so often described, and arrive on these coasts about the beginning of May, and continue until the end of June. Their fii'st appearance is hailed with delight on the east coast, about Conception Bay, as they are the first bait used for cod ; the next being the lance, or sand-eel ; the third, the capelin or best bait ; and the last, the cuttle-fish or squid, in the beginning of August.* * The lance is a long thin fish like a sand-eel, and is of the eel kind ; it is the amnodytes tobianus. I have seen on the banks the sea alive with this little creature, pursued by its voracious enemies, and rushing to the side of the ship. The squid, or cuttle-fish, is the sepia arctica, or Greenlandica , it is taken at the bottom bv lines calleci' 7 y 270 ANIMAL KINGDOM : Clupoa vernalis, the alewife, and c. luiiiima, the brett, are caught in tlie CJulf. Of eels there are angnilhi iimra3na, tlie eoni- mou eel, and tlie conger (conger murajna of Ciivier). The former are caught in almost every pond and stream, and the inhabitants place eel-baskets, sunk in the brooks at their outlets into the sea, for their reception. I jicsrers, or double hooks placed back to back, with lead, shaped like a fisii, on the shank ; and whole Heets of boats may be seen in the beginning of August, fish- ing for cuttle-fish, which are caught by jerking or ji^^i^ing the line. They are well known, from their curious property of exuding an inky fiuid, and from the use to which its shell is applied in polishing. Hundreds of tons of these mollusca are thrown up where there are beaches by the sea, and produce an intolerable stench by their decomposition ; in fact, throughout the island, it takes some time before one's olfactory nerves can endure the various powerful odours arising from rotting seal blubber in the oil vats, from decomposing seals' flesh and cods' heads, and ofi'al, used as manures ; and it appears very strange that such a perfect nui- sance as that of permitting seal blubber and cod offal to melt into oil in huge cisterns by solar heat can be now endured in a city numbering twenty thousand inhabitants. Surely these processes, disgusting in the extreme, might be carried on in situations away from dwelling houses. The town is unendurable in autumn to strangers ; but such is the force of habit, that tlie AidrillBlA, fJSJIES. 271 ma, .'.0111- :ia of most tants tlieir n. 1 k, with If rteets St, fish- king or 111 their Voni the undretls re there olerablc lout the V nerves ng from mposing laniires ; 'ect nui- coil otial can be Ithousanil icT in the •ay from \\ autumn that the have not seen any ol' the species so dosely i-e- sembling eels, ]ietromyzon murinus or Ihivi- atilis, sea or river himprey, ])ut lx,'lieve they are to be IbunJ. iMy notes furnish me, in sea-fisli, -svitliout attending to regiihir classification, with some of tlie pleuronectjs, as platessa llessus; the lioinuler, or dab of 8t. Lawrence, is so abund- people, even tlie gentry, become reconciled to live in an atmosphere of stifling stink. Now an agricultural society is formed, manure of sea-fish bones will be used instead of the exhausting blubber and cods' iiead manure, which impoverishes the soil after a season, is extremely expensive as well as oH'ensive, and breeds innumerable tiies and maggots, which ])rey upon all vegetable substances. I will only cite one year, 1840. I had to sow many garden culinary seeds four or live times, and even then without success, from a devastating grub, which preyed on the vitals of the land ; nay, such was the voracity of insects that there was not a currant-bush, not a flower, not a tree, nor a plant of any kind, Avhich was not unleaved by them. The nuisance of flies in St. John's is as bad as Hum- boldt's "plaga de las moscas," the plague of Hies, in the savannas of the Orinoco. Their fishy odour is worse than their numbers, and they devour every- tliing; they hybernate, too, and every cupboard and crevice of a house are filled by them in winter, to swarm again in spring. The most intense cold has no effect on this seven-sleeping race. 27:: ANIMAL K I NT. DOM : jint in Lulu'nilor, tluit I luivo boon ocoupiod, whilst dctiiiiiod by :i to^i^, in ji l)ojit oil >sliuro, in s|)(^!iring thoni us fast us I ciuild uso the woMpon. Tho tnrbot (p. niuxinms) is vory ruro, but tho hulibut (tho hyppoghis.sus vul- garis of Cuvior) is common enough to ombur- russ tho fisliormon, '"dio dotost it tor tho troublo it givos. It attuins un enormous sizo, and wlion cuught by tho ood-hook und brought to tho surfuco, ro(piiros groat powor to bring it aboard. Chappoll, I think, states that tho cruel tishers put a piece of wood across tlu^ gills, so as to prevent it from sinking, and then lot it go. They call this spritsail-yarding a halibut. This immense fish is coarse, and rarely used, excepting by hungry sailors. The sole, I am convinced, notwithstanding tho asser- tions of American naturalists, is very rarely soon in those seas. The only one I ever ob- served, after many days' lishing in the Gulf, was a very small one, dead in the belly of a cod. The real plaice, also p. platessa, is either not sought after or is rare, but there is a variety sometimes brought in to St. John's, strongly resembling it, and the mouths of all the harbours abound with the species. It is said that the rays are also common, A Mm IBM, FISHES. 273 M'vy viil- ibviv- )\i\)U'. , and rlit to lUg it it tlic ass tUc .. iind 10 asscr- ,' rarely ver o\)- l\\e Oult; elly ^>^' '^ is eitliev lore i* '^ Jolui's. ofolUlic se, such astlic tlujriiback (raia clavata) und the skate (raia hatis), Init I caiinot speak t'nmi observation concerning tlicni, nor of the j>erehes, wliich, liowcvcr, abound in tlie gulf rivers. Tlie |)onds and streams near inliabited phices are chiefly tenanted by trout. 01' tlie sea fish, I have seen lophius piscato- rius, the frog-lish ; and squalus caniculus, the (log-iish, dreaded by the people using nets, from the mischief it does. It is remarkable for its singularly placed mouth. The sharks of this tribe alxMuid, and even I'ender the few bathing places there somewhat unpleasant. Of these, sc^ualus zygaena, the hammer head; carcharius niaximus, the blue shark ; selache maximus, the ba,- king shark ; carcharius vulgaris, the great white or common shark ; and c. vulpes, the fox or thrasher, are the best observed. The latter is a great enemy to the small whales. I have seen the little fellow persevere in his attacks iil)on the huge animal, until the whale sprap.g out of the water, and made the sea foam with tlie torment or irritation he endured. The little pipe fish (sygnathus typhle) I have caught upon the banks, as well as exocetus mesogaster, the North Atlantic flying-fish ; and ec'heneis remora, the sucking fish, is frequently VOL. I. T 274 ANIMAL kNGDOM. observed. I have also watched with great in- terest in these latitudes the assiduities of the pilot tish (centronatus y the suh- > ocean is )undance, • orreat n^" °u by the CHAPTER VI. ANIMAL KLVGDOM. — THIIID DIVISION : INSECTS, MOLLUSCA, CRUSTACEA, ..RACFINIDF.S, ANNULATA, AND ZOOPHYTES. It would be a most onerous tusk for the most experienced naturalist to give a catalogue of the animals embraced in this division, wliicli inhabit Newfoundland and its seas, — the inte- rior being unknown, and the coast difficult and dangerous of access, unless very well provided with pilots and means. The mollusca, or soft animals, are very nu- merous in the waters of the neiglil)ouring ocean, and the most varied family appears to be that of the cephalopoda, of which the sepia or cuttle- fish is used as bait by the fishermen, as has been already noticed in the last chapter. The little argonauta, or Portuguese man-of- war, belongs to this class, and is frequently seen sailing about in his tiny boat, with his purple T 2 mmm MHIP^ '■).U> ANUMI UIN^rr\(Ml linn llip iMtiih^ iit o\ <1h'\ itn- !ip)M i>!»t'lH'tlini«\ «'in» mIVoiiI n moic iiHrrct;! in^> yinlii thninji. tl)o Alliinlio vovnjrt'. Ilimi !•> '^•'c llirt:p ^in<'nl;n (M»':Hino4 rini'^'iiu}'; on llio ln|m ol |||t> inn \\;)\r^. snhl o\(>n sonul inu'^ vmlniinf, \\ lirn tli<'s«'Ms !n(' rismi),, 1<> sport flint lilllo b.nlvs n]W'n ihrni. 1 lu^ «>rpli!ilo|hM|;i )i^o llioij nnnM lor wiillunji!; :ilono «\4, nliuM'd on ojirli sido ol" n\on <^thor IvMlios. niMlliov ran ni; or«^M of I)h h Hl< i>t !\*ll\ |iM(lv cfiih j)| ^ c;|,n,,||y niii\ n|iil(>(| Inil. iiimI i-^ lodi/cfl ii I !i vr r y tlnrr mIu'II, wliii'li i^ i|c;»w| n< ii IkdiI Ity llic uii'\u\u] Tl H' W lllll •' IM MMI' I I n Itlrhr 1,1 II S'»l I ol ^(■(1 Riniil jM((|(i, Kfiiiil iiii(| filiijf Ininl'^, (liiMf IMC ycvpiiil. Itodi Id || ir M»Mi ; jif|( |t'»ii(l^, iiDil iti lli< ('III I li •»( N('\vrMini(||)iri«l, m»iri»' vvilli iiiiil nlliPi-: uilliMiil, «lrrrfmivr mIm'IIs, or willi oitlv (lip nnliiiK'nl'; <»(' tlicm. Tlii^ JR !i very hirin" Ijimily, !iiin>«ii l(» {icc.iinicy, l»iil. in.iy fjh; lilfinorliiM, IvmiiMMi, pliysii, tinlm, |»!ilii(iiii!i, crcpiiliilii, liclix, ImiccIiiiiiii, jiMtclhi,, .'irwi (Jiiloii. or lli(» iircpliiilii or liciwIlcMH tiiollimc,!!, pro vidoil \\'\\h n tcstiicroiis iii.'uitJf, nil IIm' l.'ivjilvfiH, iind s(»tMo (»r lilt" imihiviilvrH, fire fncmlcrH ol' the I'lU'c, flic moMl imporlnrit. of wliicJi is the, (\vsfor: und in ronscfpiciKM; of tlis, this is cither toliilly wiinljii;^ in Ncw- toimdhmd, oi- i>xist,s only on the western c(),'ist,H;. piclon, iinoniiii, urc.ii, inytilns <;(liilis, the cdihh; 278 ANl^lAL KINGDOM: tnnsclop, nlxnind in tlic luirboiirs and rocky shores; also ancuUtnta, nnio, cardita, cardiuni, cyclas, tellina, lucina, voiias/niya, teredo, (tlie ship worm, -which is very destructive to tlie wharfs in tlic harbour,) pliolas, the excavator, and solcn, tlie razor-lish, wliich buries itself in the sand, and of wliich 1 observed a plentiful sup]>]y on the sandy beaches on the Lal)rador coast ; hiatella, patella, and crepidula. Of the cirrh(»poda or filamented mollusca, whose abdominal lilaments answer as feet or tins, by which they affix themselves to foreign bodies, — the anatifa areAvell known as adhering to bottoms of ships, to rocks, piles, or, in short, to any substances ex])osed to the sea, as also does the balanus, of which there are many va- rieties in these seas. These arc both called by sailors barnacles, and tliey tirmly believe that tliey turn into barnacle geese. Of the animalia articulata of Cuvier, there are serpula spirorbis on the seaweed, serpula vermicul'iris, and s. contortuplicata in abund- ance, covering 'every inanimate thing in the sea. as well as some shell-fish; terebella, that curious animal which forms a tubular house of grains of sand and minute pieces of broken sea- shells. I picked up on the Labrador coast some most INSECT?*, MOLLUSCA. 279 diuui, , (the to the ivator, tsclf in ientiful il^rador tollusca, feet or ) foreign adhering in short, X, as also ivany va- called hy CYC that ier, there d, scrpula in abund- mg in the )ella, that ir house of n'oken sea- MJnguhir domiciles of creatures of this class, formed exactly like a depressed lamp globe with an overhanging broad lip, entirely of grains of micaccons sand, which adhered firmly enough to enable me to remove them on boiird ship, but their fragile nature prevented even- tual preservation. The earth-worm, lumbricus terrcstris, ap- pears, like the crow, to inhabit all climates; it is plentiful, even in the barren soil near St. John's, and there are several species. 1 do not know whether the leech, hirudo, inhabits the ponds, and creeks, and stagnant waters here, but I think that the medicinal kind cer- taiidy will not be found. Of the Crustacea, or calcareous shelled arti- culated animals, Ne"wibundland produces crabs,* but none very large on the coasts near St. John's, being generally minute and not edible. Lobsters (astacus marinus) are innumerable \vlierever the shore affords them a resting-place, * Cancer granulatus, sand crab, is comraon to all those seas, and the pelagicus, or Gulf-stream weed-crab, is a minute species seen here occasionally. The cancer Arcticus, and c. pusillus, or North Sea crab; c. ampulla, or bottle crab ; c. nugax, c. pulex, and c. medusarum, are also observed, all minute animals. I some 280 AMMAL KINGDOM : ami so little sought after that they are scareely thought of sufficient importance to bring to market. The tishermen's wives from Portugal Cove and Broad Cove sometimes carry a sack- ful to the city when they arc in season, and sell them from a penny to four or five pence a-piece, according to the size, but owing to want of precaution in catching them they are gene- rally watery and soft. The largest lol^ster 1 ever saw in any part of the world is found here, and they are equally plentiful in ChahMir Bav, Gaspe Bav, and alonu- the Labrador shore, so much ; ^ that the ca[)ture is effected by boys simply thrusting a pointed stick inlo the holes in the rocks or under st()nes. I do not think good shrimps are found, althougli astacus (crangon) and pala^mon, the connnon shrimp, and the praw^n, or varieties of them, are plentiful. Squillo?, and ganuuarus an; scarcely separated from these by some modern w^riters, and still less from the cancer tribe. The whale feeds greatly on them, and his sto- mach is often found full of gammarus mysti- cetus, the whale shrimp. Of the oniscus or wood-louse and whale-louse, there are different species, both of the terrene and marine kinds, here, and the lobster has INSKOTS, MOIJ.USCA. 281 Li'ooly lir to 'tui2;al sack- \, and ponce (> want 3 j2;eue- \)st('r I i toll ml JhaliMiv abradoi' effootod iok iul» lUliough ooiuuion )f tlicui, inis arc modern or tribe. his sto- s my^ti- iile-lonse, terrene )ster Uas also a parasite which is very tn)ul)l(\s()n\e to liini, nicotlnn' astaci ; indeiMl almost all tlie lislics are similarly troubled, particularly tin' salmon, with animals peculiar to tluMuselves; of these the cod is sometimes dre'idf'ully infested with lernce bronehiatis, a woini two inches lon<^^ and others are troubled with intestinal vmi- mies, in the various forms of ascarides, echino rhiueus, ta3nia, and sipunculus lendix. I shall not attempt to enumcrat<3 the fami- lies of arachnides found in this island, as I am am wholly unaccpiainted with tlicir varieties. They are, however, extremely numerous; otherwise we should be devoured by tin; flies, which are, even by their aid, kept umkr with difficulty in houses near the fishing establish- ments. For a similar reason the attempt to eata- loiijue or describe tluj entomoloojical division INSECT A, as found in this island, would prove a failure ; and T have to observe that this omission will be of the less moment, as a gentleman quite competent to the task has been residing here for nearly two years, whose profession is that of a naturalist, and who has been sent by the Swedish government for the purpose of collecting materials in this island, and the 282 ANIMAL KINGDOM: neighbourhood, to form a work upon zoology, aiul all the subjects connected with natural history. I understand the entomology of New- foundhuid is very rich in new kinds. I shall therefore merely remark that I have observed only some different species of cocci- nelliadse, ladybirds ; some of the locustiada^, or diurnal grasshoppers; an immense variety of those destructive microscopic insects the a})hi- dia% which, in the summer of 1840, attacked every green thing that had a branch, and so thickly covered the stems and leaves of the vegetable marrow plant as to destroy its vi- tality. The cocciadas were not less numerous, and really devoiu'ed the shrubs and currant bushes, preferring the red kind to the black, and co- vering and destroying all the rose bushes. Of the neuroptera, I have seen some fine specimens of libelluladae or dragon-flies about the streams. In hymenoptera, there are a few formiciadai or ants, but not nearly so numerous as in Canada, nor so large nor courageous. Wasps are more plentiful, and build their pear-shaped nests of a substance resembling whited brown paper, as large as a man's head, in the trees. The solitary and social bees, INSECTS, MOLLISCA. 283 ie^v- ivave occi- [e, or ty of aplii- ackcd and so of tbe its vi- iis, and bushes, nd co- os. ne fiii-G about re a few iimerous ous. ild their embliug Li's head, ial hees, IS andreniada3 a.^d apidae, arc very numerous also; of the latter, arc xylocarpa victirua, the wood-cutter; the leaf-cutter, megalichile latimana; and hombus Americanus, the large humble bee. In lepidoptera, are a great variety of butterflies and moths, thougli I have not seen any that equal, either in splendour or size, those of Upper Canada; but here I cannot pass over a singular diurnal moth, which par- takes of the characters of a butterfly, of a inoth, and of a humming-bird. It is of the sphinx species, has the incessant quivering mo- tion of the humming bird, flies from flower to flower in the same way , inserts its honey -gatherer, in the same manner as the humming-bird does its beak, into the flower, and altogether looks so like that tiny bird, that at first I thought it was a habitant of Newfoundland. Its general colour is a rufous brown, and it has the faculty of defending itself against its enemies, by raising the fan-like tail, and eject- ing, with some force, in a straight line, a volume of liquid. They are not very common, and I chiefly observed them about the lilac flowers in the early summer, and afterwards about the white rockets. 2S1 ANIMAL KINiiDOM : 'y\\r CMtorpillMrs in Bomltyoiud.T imd Arc- \\:u\iv !in> wvy uinncioiis imd di'slnictivc, [^'irlicularly {iirti.'i !i«'t»rt«tr, tin' niidimniil wol); as well ns in noiiniuhr, tho^c [)os(s to a iianK'n, tlu* n. priniordiMis, or cut-worni, atid, in iiooniotradir, thv ca!ik(>r-\V(>rni. In tact, such is tin* ahundaiK'c of ralcr- |>illars, or insivts und(>r that I'orni, that gardens ari' sonu'tiin(\s ])lant(Ml thrico, and ovon more, luMoro llu^ plants can bo ijrown ; and the tnrnij), ily and ('abb!iu:o-lly oauso constant troubK' and t'ailnn^ in the crops. The diptcrons insot'ts arc also great nui- sances luM-e, troni the niosipiitocs (culicida') down to (he gnat, and tVoni the horse-tly thr()ngh a l(\irien of species generated l)y [)utrid tish and seal's olVal.* This inipertoct sketch must be concluded * On the poplar treos, Loinbanly poplar, in niv gartl«Mi. last year, was an insoet of a vory peculiar kind, black, about as largo as a small ladybird, with- out winajs. and with a lonti bodv and small head. I noglectcd to gather it until too late, as I was watching its transformation ; but, on seeking it, it was shrivelled ; when touched, it instantly struck many milk-whii(> dots all over its back, and then smelt so intolerably ol' creosote as to render it very otiensive ; perhai)s it is the larva of a species of chrysonela populi. INSKCTM, MOI,MiSf'\. 285 re- :,o iv nvc-l\y i\o \iuIih1 |r, in n\v Iril. ^vitl>- Ihviv t^lUil ; |\oval)\y of •h;H)s it. i^ with such <>i' tln' I'MdijittMl jiiiirnals, !is luivo Ikh'Ii (>hs('rv('(l h«Mo. or tliosc nstorins spiunsuM, tho scii-stni"; (M'himis u;riuiul!itus, the scii-c^r^, hcd/iiuh <•][!:, or urchin ; scutclhi ]M'nt[i]>li(>r;i, and trilnriii, th(; shicM-slicIl, 1 have jtickcd up scvond, cithi^r here, or oil (lie Lal>ra(h>r sliorc. \\\ the acaleplui djiss, the seii-netth; (me- dusa), or sca-hluhl)er, is a]s(» coniiuoii, and of the ]^«»ly]>i, actinia, nia(lre])ora, and spoiif^na, are in existence^; the latter was found, liow- (>ver, in the bay of Clialeur.* * IMr. Anspacli, in liis work on Newroundland, in(Mi(i"tarent mouth or jiperture near the summit, and nearly trans- parent, with a sort of sinus visible in its in- terior ; to its inferior extremity it had a long llexible tube, something resend)ling the wind- pipes of a quadi'uped, which was garnif-hed witli iihiments, exactly of the form of threaded sea-wccd. This process was attached iirndy to a rough shell, of large size, Init unlike any other 1 have seen, and very unshapely, being a mass of calcareous roughened matter ex- ternally. The shell adhered to a piece of grauitous rock. It was impossible to pre- serve the specimens, as the weather was hot, and their odour rendered it necessary to throw them overboard as quickly as possible. This stench came, I believe, from the inhabitant of the shell, which died, and was so firmly ad- herent to the piece of rock as not to be de- tached without destroying the whole. In conclusion, it is strongly to be urged on the newly-formed agricultural society of New- twice oil of , uiul t was , of a ith or trans- its iii- a long wind- ni^Uo^l roadod tirmly kc any , being ter ex- liece of to pre- ras liot, throw I. This itant of •mly ad- Do be de- irged on of New- 'n '■""•-lli.n.l. that pains ,,,„,,,, . ^, P"".- -r groat gr..,,, whi.,, StV 1, "' *"- potato ann-^ -lucl. dostr.,: tl tX'" n ' '"'""« "^''«'' plants to such an e.t ' «' ""'''' ''""' j^-ne"nheco5:i r;;i:r^- npi'oarnnce a;: the a f,i,.., ' ^ *'"' """'"-■ 't i« very active and v^l ''"" "'' ""^"'•• 'iko H black J ^ """"*"■ ""'^ »I'P«"» =in^:t?T"r^"-!=' .i.vi,se a r ' "! ■' ^''""'^ «-'"« t!.em to s ; iiiid for llic siiiDi^ rrason-^ not imirh MlliMilinii lins Immm) |t!ii (^Ml'-OtMll 1\ (MMMS^lllCnti'tll, MS 1 lu' IMMthMS IlilXC Imtii lo|>nnMil of ils V(\uo1mI>1o UingdouK The \vovs on I lie (\'ist(>rn Miul SOUtluMU «'OMSt,s JirC SIHmIKm' lljMn lllOS(> of till' MdJMOonl nniinlMud, l»ii(. vcwrh n considcr- mMv^ sizi^ on tluMvoshviird. norlli-onsj, und in till' inttMior, nnd i]\o soil Mnd ('liniMto prodnco uilli the snnio i)r(il"nsion Mnd rM[)idity nniny ol" ihc luMTV-boarino; slirul>s. That troos siro tliioklv sown Mnd MttMiii m « rosj)ootal>lo isizo, uot\\itlistMn u\\ jisscition to tlu^ coutrarv, i> (^vinoiMl h\ i\\o lacl tliMt i\w lino class o( bi'igs njwigatiug lK't\voon \ho inolhor country j\nd tho island, are, in most instauoos, bnilt in tho provinco, iVoiu tinduM- prodiiood in it : tho tMoniahao or hiivh ])oino" chiollv used, an^l tho only loiviun slull ivtiuiivd being planking, nhioh is obtained at a choapor rate tVom tho continent than can be procured horo. Fi,,\Nrs. 21)1 nr\v M'Ol uuw^y \\ico il M\\\\\ '^ \\\o\\ llSSi O.u W Kvoow \t^ in u^*^^ \\\ vo WMIU I IV I \ il c l\oi\\ H>V 1 VOCIU'O' \ WitlKMil roll.iwinir !iny (Icrmitc iirrMiiirrmrnf , il will now lie (Uir Imsiiu'S' to cxjiiuijH" (lie lorcsi, Mild ol>s«M"V(' uli.'il trees Jire jn'oiliiced tliere in siillieient jilMiiiilimee I'or reoiioinie purposes. or the eciiirei.'e lainily, the nio-;! protiiinnit, nuMulters !ire tlie spniees,* of whieh piiiir> h;il- MMineii, tlu' (*Mii(i<]!i hiilsinn spiiiee, is one o|" lh(* prineipiil, whieh reiiehes, here, in iiinny plnees, th(5 usual heiirjit ol' its species, or nhoiil thirty tVct, It is eiisilv reeo-rnised in the >Yoo(ls hy its spire-like jorni, iind the jentheiy !i!>tur(* of its loliaue. It is not, howevei*, ol niiieh use as n timher. Its haNaiii is a, lmiiii exudinui; from the hark, and is a vnhieiary a . W(dl as u varnish. The varnish, when aj>pli<'d on deep water-colour drjiwini!;s, i^ives them the api>earaiu'e of oil paintin.us. The ])inns nigra oi' hhadv spiiuM', is also not, a very largo tree, neither in Canada nor in this * Th(^ Mliile spnire was srcii by Franklin in (JS" />:]' N.Ii., s(n-on tret in eircnuit'orcnci! at tour tVrt tioin tln^ ground ; this tree, the hneh, the )i()]ilar birch, ami u i(- h»\v. a))|>i'av to bravo tlic ricjonrs ot'vintor in lii;;!i lati- tutb^s bott(M' tlian any other plants. Currant bM->h<'H ir. full viijour wore soen near tho mouth of the? M'Ken/ie in b;)^ N. L. U L> 21)2 VKCKTAIU K RINCDOM : ooiintry, but altains a coiisidorablc size (»ii the wost coast, about 8t. George's IVaid and tlio J^ijy ol' Islandt!. It is used lierc tor fences, [)osts,* an(' otlier small w(»ik, as "vvell as in sliij) building in parts n(»t ex})osed. Fi'oni its boughs or s])rays, essence ol' spruce, in Canada, and spiuce beei", the connnon beverage here, aie made. The process is very sim])le, consist- ing of nothing nu^rc than boiling the s])rays and smaller branches, adding molasses and yenst, and letting the '.vhole ferment for a day ov t>vo. When bottled and ke]>t, this liquor forms a very ]>leasant summer drink, but the Euro])ean ]>alate requires to be accustomed to it. There can be no d(>nbt that it is highly saaitary to persons living so nnich on salt fish jis the * Fences here arc made in two niodcs : one, by iplacing pickets, or small sticks, close alongside of eadi other, Avith the ends in the ground, and then nailing a riband over the whole, at about two feet, or so, from tlio top ; these fences are called, in " the vernacular," picket-fences ; they do not last long, as the pine rots near the ground. The other mode is to set up a strong stick every eight or ten feet, and then to nail three or four longer ones of less diameter to them ; this is ealled a longer fence, and the poles of spruce are called " longers." !^ PLANTS. 29.'^, the tiic uccs, \s in m its luula, bero, iisist- ;])rays s aiui a clay .»rms a ,ro]>oau There ary to as the iii one, by e of each ailing a from tlie nacular," i>ine rots a strong three or ; this is ruce are fiiruicrs and tishermeii here do, and no resp(?ct- uble farm-lioiisc should ever b(^ without it, the only expense being that of the molasses and the time required to make th(i b(;verage. About ten gallons of good spruee beer may l)e manu- faetured for half a dollar, or a little more than two shillings. The pinus alba or white spruee, is very abundant, and grows to a good size on the western coast, and even on the south-east, in the interior, from nine to eleven miles from the sea, for wherever settlement has taken ettect jdong the eastern and southern shores,, trees have vanished very speedily ; a respect- able sized log is not now to be had nearer than nine miles from St. John's. This gives the country a very naked aspect; and one writer on it says, the tirst impression on seeing the district round the capital is, that it has been- mowed with a giant's scythe. Fires in the woods in dry summers are also very freciuent, owing to the carelessness of the settlers and wood cutters, and devastates whole regions covered by trees, producing so inflammable a material as those of the pine tribe do. Nothing can exceed the grandeur of thesS VKia/rAIU-E KINGDOM : troo st!it(\ is tlio ivd (VmIm of AnKM'ioii, ( jimi- ponis Virij:iniiin!i) alMindiinf, in TpniM' ('jiiindM, and woU known lor its nearly in(lcs(rn('til)Io and odorous wood. Wo liavo miMitioncd tlio slirnb junipors and Ihoir nsos. Tlioy !iro very ahnndaiil in iSow- lonndland. Tlio in)n or lovor-wood (ostrya A'irginioa) (^xists o\] stony lands. It is kncnvn Itv its lio]i-liko tl«>wor, or tVnit ; and tlioro aro soni(^ of tlio oarytns tribo, rosondding tlio Amorioan hazlo, with obn-liko loavos. 1 ljav(> not scon any oak, oi* any of the ((uorons taniily. Tlio bcccli is also raro, as well as tlio olni ; but 1 am told that a. spooios of nia]do grows noar tlio Hay of l>nlls, thongh 1 oannot say that in any o\' my forest rainblos 1 havo vot so(Mi any of the acers. The pyrns Anioricaiin, or Amorioan moun- tain ash, is very oonimon in some situations, and grows to about tiftoouor twenty feet high. Its woll-l:nown scarlet berries arc greedily de- voured by the birds, the buds and bark have the taste of bitter almonds from the acid con- tained, ami which it is stated renders them ilt tor making noyeau. The birches, betula excelsa, b. glaiidulosa, ri,ANTM. \riu- tiblc iuicn) Uy its (>r tl\c !\1V, us S|HH'it'S uitions, ',t higli- Illy (lo- k luivc •id cou- liein lit iidiilosa, ]) Iriilii, I). jtojMllilnliil, Mild l>. IMllirn, — tlir, yellow, shnil)l»y, MiK'k, wliitc, iiiid ixm| l)ircli — HIT ;ill tollllM, Mild SOllK Iviiid s nrc very coiii- inoM ; but I \\{\\o iidt ti'Mccd 1). ])!ij>yrii('Ofi, ov tlic true liirgf, riiiinc l)!irk, l»ircli ol' ( "iiiiiidii, wlii(di imist, Iiowcvcr, exist, lis the IJcd Iiidi.'ni liiid it Jul' liis ejiiior, Mild ns<'(| its inner l>Mrk, us well MS tliMt oft lie spruce, for breiid. The 1)mIsmiii )»<>|»lMr ( jxtpiiliis ])Mlsnniit*enis), tlie t^. dilMtutn, tlio LomliMrdy jtoplMr, (loii- rislies pretty well in tlic ;i;Mr(leiiP. The salix, or willow tiiniily,* ms iuioine size for m biisli, and is very i»lent,il'ii]. IS * The willow near the Arctic circle only ^rows a few inches high, but tlicro Dr. Richardson louncl a Imndrcil and scviMity species of |)ha'iio^aniou'', or llowering ])lants ; the grasses, peats, and rushes, sprang up rverywherc, and the crucil'erous, or cress tribcp, w(>re very numerous ; the shril)s were also juniper, two si)ecies ot" willow, dwarf i)irch, connnon alder, liippoplue, a gooseberry, the red bearl)erry, Lab)-ad(^r teaplatit. the Lapland rose (rhododendron kapj)oricuin) whortlc berry, crowberry, oxyria, orsoval, &c. 300 vegetabm: kingdom : I have not yet seen the myrtus cerifera, or caiidleberry wax myrtle, which is so abundant in the St. Lawrence within the influence of the. sea air, and yields an intianimable substance closely resembling wax, but have been in- formed that it does grow in Ne^vfoundland. The myrica gale, or Dutch myrtle, commonly called in Canada sweet gale, from its fragrance, is one variety. The Canadian yew (taxus Canadensis), a recumbent shrub, sometimes of a considerable size and spread, is mixed here with the re- cumbent juniper, which it much resembles, and bears white or dark berries according to its varieties. I cannot say whether the hop (humulus lupulus) is a native of the country, but it is very common near all gardens, and thrives ex- tremely well. The shepherdia Canadensis, a spreading shrub, so common on the coasts of the 8t. Law- rence, is also found here. It bears a red berry, sheds its leaves, which are ovate, acute, light green with brown spots, and silvery hairs on the under surface. The rose, of which three species, according to " Hooker's Flora," are natives, is very FF.ANTS. iJOl , or aiit 'the. LUce iii- and. lonly ance, 3rable le re- s, and to its mulus it it is es ex- ^eading ;. Law- a red acute, ly hairs wording IS very beautiful in this country, from the profusion in which it groAvs. Ihe small, shrubby, Hudson's Bay variety (rosa blanda), with its slender, pur}»le-red branches, covers the vicinity of streams. The rosa parviflora, or little rose, with its armed yellow branches, re- sembles the dog-rose of England, and enamels the oj)en places in summer. The moss, and other varieties of cultivated roses, such as the damask, maiden's blush, and Provence rose, thrive very well in the gardens. The sweet brier, so common in Upper Canada, only grows as an introduced plant. The moose-wood, or heather-wood shrub, (dirca palustris,) pi'oduces yellow flowers and a small ye How berry ; it is so flexible, and its bark so strong, that it serves infinitely better than withes for tying packages, or for other purposes, where rope is not to he had. Of the evergreens there are many kinds in Newfoundland and Labrador, the most cele- brated being the Labrador tea plant (ledum latifolium), which sometimes grows three feet high. Its leaves are oblong, replicate on the margin, of a browuiish green above, and iron- rust colour beneath, five stamens equal in lentrth to the corolla. Its habitation is in 302 VEGETABLE KINGDOM : fiwaiups, with which the country {il)oii»i(ls, and it is used by the Indians and iiuntors chietiy. There is also anijther variety (ledum pahistre), distinguished by having ten stamens longer than the corolla, and by being of humbler growth. Its leaves are rather narrower than the former, and, instead of being folded back on the edges, they are doul)lo(l or rolled over. Jt is very common in marshy places.* The ground laurel (epiga^a repens) is also a low running shrub, with leaves nearly two inches in length on long stalks, rough, leathery, and of an ovate form, and shining. Its white, fra- grant flowers grow at the ends of the branches. * Cassini, who visited the island of St. Pierre, in 17G8, on a scientific mission concerning tiie longitude, says that the tea plant resembles the French rosemary, and was the most common plant on that island ; they had another they called " annise," and used both as infusions in boiling Mater ; Cassini liked the '• annise'' the best of the two. Chinese tea is so cheap now that very few, excepting the Indians and old settlers, use the Labrador tea, which is a poor "-bstitute. It is boiled over night, and being thus w „41 steeped, is used warm next mornini?, and is said to be very wholesome and pleasant by those who like it or are obliged to use it. The ledum palustre was found universally spread near the Arctic circle by Richardson, and supported the party for some time with tripe de roche, or rock tripe. PLANTS. 'M):\ {ind tre), ugor iblcr than back over. The a low inches y, and e, iVa- luches. erre. in eit\ule, eiuary? ; they both as annise'' ow that ers, use . It is is used olesome d to use y spread ipported or rock It thrives best in roeky, dry situations amongst the lofty hills. The kalmia family is very plentifully dis- persed, particularly k. angustifolia, or the narrow-leaved, and k. glauca, or glaucous kal- mia, both beautiful evergreens, nearly two feet high, the hitter being usually the least. It loves swampy ground. The beautiful clus- ters of red flowers on the former, and the paler rose-coloured ones mi the latter, strike the eye of the observer, in his country walks, almost everywhere. The rhodora, with its crimson crowns, and the andromeda, are occasionally seen in the same localities. There is an immense variety of recumbent and trailing evergreens. The black crow- berry (empetrum nigrum), with its matted and intertwisted branches, with a fruit like elderberries, grows near the sea. Amongst this class of winter greens, the oxycoccus fa- mily are numerous. 0. macrocarpus, or cran- berry, a trailing evergreen; o. palustris, the small cranberry, also a trailer, both love swamps amidst the mosses. Some of the dryas tribe have also been seen. The berry -bearing shrubs form one of the lea- :\()\ \ I (;i TMU 1 KI\(JlH»M (inrs of thr cmmf 1 V ; llicv «'li>lli(M>v('ry swiinij) iiiul cvci'v ojMMi rcrkv triict. Tltrv, in Isicf, i'nrpct tlir soil in dcsorf ]»lii(M's, Ol' these, llio uln>]tlelt(M'ry Ijiniilv ( vjuciniuin), huvc nniny Kinds: — v. rcsin-'min, MiK'k uliorHclxMi y ; V. ('orvnilt»»snni, mil wlioiflcbcrn ; v. nliui- nosjiin, tli<' Mom, (M* Mno Ix-rry ; tlic linrtlc- lu'irv. or, ;is tlirv iwv m11 cmIKmI, tin* lini't, jMcIrr sw:un]>y \)\:wv ri w 1 (>nnsvlv!ini mm. or MiU'k-Mn*^ nliortlclx'rrv, Mllrcts drier jrronnd nnd r^u'lvv sitn.'itions. The e«^vhonv (v. vi(is ida\'i) is i\ small, ('ree|unir ev(M\urartridge Ix n-y (gnaltheiia ]troenm- h(Mis) is also a]>nndant. Indeed. tluMvild and *ies(M't solitndi's ot' th(\s(^ regions an* anqtly sn|)- |>li(d with the tood o\' hinls and ot'the berry- (\\tinir aninuds: and this amazinii; t'eennditv is turned to simuo account l>v man, as the her- vies arc now an article ot' ex]>(>rt, both iVoui l.ahrador and Xewtoundland. I'ut the cj)iga'a n*]>cns. May-tlower. ov trailint:: arbutus, is oii(> o( the most beaut it'ul flowering }>lants of the oonntrv. » Kqually with the continental provinces, the ri.ANTB. ;o »u.> , the (M-ry ; uV\gi- nvtlo- huvt, Iviiui- Icasant as th'" 1(1 niul i>ly M»^>- luM'vy- litv i^ [ho hor- [h tVoiw is oi\o f tl lu Is o icv \0 t'orcMlsor NowIoiiikIIuikI |)r<»(liiC(',sp()n(im(Miiisl\ , (hcr.'isplx'rry ( I'lihiis strii!;omis ) jhkI stinwhrnv, iiii'l II siniill kiny ailjacenf lenccs, wh' re they attained a V(>ry hirge size, hikI piu(hic(-(l ail al)ii!uhmt cro[», Asa vvall-'Vnil, IIk- cheiiy (joes not (h) so well, pi'ohal)ly iVoin tlw intense heiit •)!' sninn\er, ansend>ling currants, first of a (lark red, ;ind wIkmi ri|»e of a, black colon)', phvisant, hut astringent to the taste, and de- voiiretl greedily hy the birds. 'I'he stone is :d»oul half as large as that of an iCngli.^li (dierry, and with the fruit contains so much onus a Very orn;i r .1 11; th riissic iieid as to give a liig.i llavour tospiii vol.. I. X 306 VEGETABLE KINGDOM : and to make the best cherry brandy. The bark also contains much of the acid, is very smooth, and of a slaty brown colour. It is occasion- ally used as a vulnerary in Canada, where the tree is very common also. I have several in my garden, but the people here have a preju- dice against the fruit. The prunus Pennsylvanica, or small red cherry, is found, but I have not seen actually indigenous specimens ; the only one I know of being in my garden. The fruit is very acid. The bark yields a fine reddish gum in great plenty. The prunus depressa is a very low shrub, with a small l)lack uneatable fruit. The wild plum, pruiuis Americana, is a de- nizen of the woods, but, as far as I can learn, not very common. The plum, damson, and pear do not thrive well in the gardens, probably from the want of due care and cultivation ; neither does the apple, although there are occasionally some of the green and brown varieties seen in St. John's. The pyrus melanocarpa, or black pyrus, is a small shrub with dark green shining leaves, and white flowers tinged with red, and pro- PLANTS. 307 bark 30th, ,sion- e the •al in >reju- l red tually low of f acid, great shrul>7 s a clc- 1 learn, lid pear ly from neither sionally seen in 'US, is a leaves, nd pro- ducing a very sharp astringent little black fruit.* The thorn or hawthorn is also found, and hedges of the English whitethorn or May have been introduced, and would thrive extremely well if it were not for the great difficulty at- tendant upon their protection from cattle and goats. In winter these fences are exposed also to plunder, as no wood grows near the city, and the really heavy cost of fencing appears so lightly valued, that no law has hitherto been made to protect them, though every boy who takes his dogs to the woods to di'aw home fuel on a sledge or catamaran, as it is called, very unceremoniously wrenches a stick or so out of the first fence in his way, and will even * The aspen, the alder (common), and the elm and beech, are all, according to Anspach, natives of this island. The aspen, poplar, and the alder, certainly are plentiful in some parts of the country, but I liave never yet seen the elm or the beech, excepting ulmus montana, the wych hazel, or elm, which is very ex- tensively used in frames of vessels and in the prin- cipals of roofs. It Avorks smooth, is tough, and very strong and lasting, and grows all over the island. The frame of the fine vessel, Mary Hounsell, built this year at St. John's, was cut on Belleisle, in Conception Bay, X 2 .SOS VLilLTABLC lilNCPOiM : (loUborately cut down ji whole pauuol or lengtli, if tlieiv is a hotter road to be had throuii:h a field than the eomnion highway. llavinar thus briellv noticed the useful trees and shrubs, it will take us but little trouble to mention those plants of a more humble charac- ter within our reach, which either aibninister to that EuixUsh necessity, comfort, adorn the (h>sert here, or ornament the garden. Cucumlwrs and the vegetable marrow arc raised without much difficulty, and I have suc- ceeded by care in rearing even the tender to- mato. The melon is also reared, but from the transiti()ns of the climate will not stand the open ground so well as in U[)per Canada, and is very expensive in manure. Tohitoes thrive everywhere, and from one rowan potato, cut into pieces, I have had a crop oi^ one hundred and eight good-sized tubers. Cabbages, caubflowei's, brocoli, let- tuce, spinach, cress, the American evergreen cress, wliicli tastes like Avater-cress, beet, par- snips, carrots, peas of all kinds, Windsor bean, kidney and French beans, and thyme, mint, sa- vory, in short, all the British culinary plants and herbs, grow as well here as in (.Canada. The garden strawberry and raspberry of every TLANTS. :\o\) l\ a rccs le to istor 1 the 7 arc i sne- er to- rn tlie 1(1 tlie I, and in one had a l-slzod II, let- M'greeu ;t, par- V bean, lint, sa- plauts aiiada. )t' every variety thrive without more than the usual care. Amongst the ornamental flowering plants, native to the eounti'y, and introdueed in gar- dens, is the gnelder-rosedeaved s])irtTa, which much resembles the guelder rose, only that its white flowers are more spread and ojicn. There arc also other s})ira\a, as toinentosa, and salici- folia. Of the common stingless nettle, urtica Canadensis, there are many pretty varieties. In the tribe di' lilies (lilium), Sulomon in all his glory exceeded not the l)eauty oi' those produced in this unheeded wilderness. J^iliuni IMiiladelphicum is idmost the same in appear- ance as the common orange lily. L. superbnm ornaments some of the ponds, and is orange with dark blue spots. L. Canadense also grows in wet pLaces, and has a loose collection of yelloAV or reddish flowers, maculatelaocs. Tlio little " wee bonny daisy" is v(MT common near gardens and fields, and lias prol^aMy been introduced with liny an«r-wood, but not the maple guelder rose (viburnum accrifolium) ; the latter, however, is, as far as I know, only seen in gardens. The aselepias or milk-weed is common. Of the convolvulus family are several species, II rLAM8. 815 lisy" nnd iirti- is one I iioM :s root lildnMi anul)li!- sonie tenant of the garden. The poa family is nunierous here, and so are the cyperaceaj in carex, or sedgy grass; and eriophoriini Wv- ginicum, cotton-grass, or a variety of that kind, nods over all the bogs and swamps. The rnshes, scirpus, and shajnus, are equally well spread over these regions. In the cellulares, or tiowerless plants, there are several kinds (jf equisetum, ov horse-tail rush ; maideu-hair, already noticed ; aspi- diuni, or the brake fern ; ophioglossum vul- giitum, or adder's tongue fern ; pteris aquiliua, common brake, etc.; and many, no doubt, not hitherto described. Of the lycopodiums, 1. apodum, or club- moss, and complinatum, or ground pine, chera flexilis, and vulgaris, or featherbed plant. The lichens, amongst which are negro- hair (alectoria jubata), the shield lichen (par- melia), many mosses, said to amount to a])ove a hundred, and the alga?, or marine plants, are not hitherto described, and aiford a fine field for the botanist. On reflecting upon the paucity of informa- tion contained in a section of a work like this, :i|M M . \\^ il iq, rxplPS'^ly {n flic llllllllill hi'^tnry "!' n now nninfrv, if i^ Mor«"oa(n y In ol>mMvi> \]\\\t nrillicr fiiiip nor n|»|Mit hinil v '•'!• i>lli»M' ihnn \\\o niitMl rn'>MnI nhfl»'iviiliMii Iijim l»0(>M i)lV qiijrMiin Imh Ihsmi loo lirjpr, !inrK oI'm njim's lil*' lo ullhifi. \\v Irflsi llinl lin i'4 nwrcly i»m m wnndorot- in flio |iti()i. Ifo Inm Mtrnrk npon n !)voinl roml, uliirli iq now nviiil- mMo !'or Ihoqo wlio mny st^nnrnfclv 'Icvnio Hi»M\i^(Ivrq lo «dn(M)tnn' lo he am lin/'^oly (li^^lrilMilt (I o\rr N»MvronnilIiiinI ; nnorn Monl l»v HnH nofllMMii I'ovorn- nuM\l lo llJM iqlnnd, lor scionlillo |)nri»os(>M, Mnd idso (o (^Nutnino n lilllo into llic inodo (tf t'ondnolinir \\w «'\lonsiv(^ niid Inniifivc lisli- tMMcs^, li!H n^tMMi.'uncM;, din'nis' ti rcMidrnco o| \W\\\ Iv 1 wo vonr^. \M llionl iHMiolnitinir llio vjinf. ;nul liiddt'n inlorior, llinl llirro m'o fivo linn- dud '<|>c«'i(N of tlic Itii'ds id« no inlinlutin,!!: of ml III III sli Mill •VI vi\sm. \'.) IMill V 1«» UH chrM, I t) ir in Mu ivnil- Vnt<1 ! wrll ,Iiri«ly liirii w rn liMt, ini lisli- IK'i' n ir V list hiin- lUir nr *? illfl "•m(iiiijai v'ly f<'w; Imi^, wt 'loiibt sill tlc' f/unri- friiilii) of HinJ chicy, r|*'niz''Tm of \ju]nn,i[nr '.\n(\ l-'Mvr ('(iriiKln, will \>" fonfMl Ik/p. I linf. III'! rf(tfil«'4 ^li'.iiM (ip {li/^fFif, pr'-Mif^ (' r«'M(iirM im»inf.Mjlnr ns Mini"!' InJuri'l, whicfi, ••xr< |ifii)^r ill f'ljfiinf", Nf'wrnnndhMi'l rmirfi f- ^'.^'inMcM,- in it^ hrokrff (i,ii»l irf»n-lioiirir| 'on^f, in it"^ vnf'«|)irif, (trtiirirM nr. I lK.;,nry snv'ijiruifi'^, ill Mi«' nliFHirn of v« ly h;r^/n hrnlMf, in ifq ^♦nrniypfMm ttii«| plpfitiriil sii|»|il)r of lisli, wliil-^f, i(!.ent (hid this ltird,ti;e norlhcni liure,th' ,-(':il. J^ :V20 VECKTABLE KlNdDOM tho white boar, the v/euscl, jukI several otlier ereatures, should he proteeted, not only iVoin man and the deadly gun, hut hy having their clothing adapted to the seasons, and hy tin is heing secured tVoui the voracious talcon, the hawk, and the prowling beast of prey, and should be rendered capable of securing tlieir own food better bv a resend)lance to the snow and ice in winter and to the barren moo'* in suninier, is truly an adaptation of means to an end whieli must strike the most thouufhtless ol)server with v,onder, at the manifestation of all-iiervadiuii: Wisdom, which constantly passes under our n( intelligence that has been -^o graciously allotted {() man ought ever to inspire him with. r think it was White, that anuable reasoner, Avho passed a happy life in observing nature in a sn\all and secluded English parish, almost unknown to the rest of the world, who retlected upon this provision for the safety of the grouse and fur-beariuiT creatures, and assiu'us one. cause of great consequence for this great boon to them, bv shewinu' that it conduced to their comfort as well as to tlieir security. lie cites, as a philosophical fact, that bodies of a wliite ri-ANTS. 321 •om iiL'ir :1ms o\iUl CO in er, is v'hioh • with ailing V onr Id do, cU tlio lottoil sonov, lUtlU'C iihnost tlecte(i iH'OllSO i\s one it lKu>n ■to their le c a ^^■ ite; hue pjirt from their hitent heat by radiation very sh)wly, l>ut that they reflect heat qnickly ; and that dark snl)stances reflect heat slowly, and ])art from that contained in them rapidly. Puit White did not go far enough. The grouse, and the fur-hearing creatures of cold regions, obtain a new garment, not only "vvhite, jis "winter api)roaches, but niore hair-like iind close. The grouse gets clothed down to its toes with haii*y feathers, and all the i'ur crea- tures, !ind even the dog, get a close waistcoat of short down, in addition to their usual hair, or pelt coating. Now, if two creatuix'S, one black or dark coloured, and the other white or nearly white, be j)laced in a temperature of a higher degree than that of their own bodies, the heat will im- mediately enter the body of the black one, and elevate its temperature very much above that of the other; but alter their position, and put them in a temperature lower than that of their bodies, the white one will very slowly indeed part with its natural heat, and the black one will very quickly give out almost all it has by radiation to everything near it culdei' than itself. T have seen this law so cui'iously developed VOL. 1. Y 322 VEGETABLE KINGDOM : in Canada, that, in riding in a sleigh with a stout person, where both were exposed on a long journey, in an open vehicle, to a frost several degrees below zero, my friend, whose natural temperatui'e was much greater than that of my own spare habit, felt exceedingly cold, whilst I was unconscious of its intensity. I had on a white great coat, and he a blue one ; and my friend being a good-humoured, excel- lent fellow, he jocosely remarked, that he would never go a long winter journey in a sleigh with me again, as I abstracted all his caloric. But such reflections lead us still further to inquire into the mysterious operations of na- ture. It is not in the lesser animals alone that we sec the effects of such a wise provision, for it renders a fact clear to the senses which appears at the first blush to be anomalous. The world we inhabit is peopled by a variety of races, of every shade of colour, from almost a dazzling white to an equally resplendent black. The hotter regions are usually inhabited by the latter, and the colder ones by the former. The copper-coloured American and the equally dark Tartar are not exceptions, but variations from the general arrangement ; and whilst the American Indian can go perfectly naked with- PLANTS. 323 ith a on a frost vhose than lingly nsity. 5 one ; excel- would h with tlier to of na- tie that ion, for which )US. variety dmost a fc black, ted by former, equally iriations hilst the ed with- out inconvenience in summer, he protects him- self usually in winter by furs, and by rubbing hk body over with grease and paint. So did our British ancestors: they coloured them- selves with blue pigments to avoid the ex- tremes of climate; and hence, perhaps, as much as from vanity, so inherent in human nature, arose the custom of tattooing. What a surprising beneficence, then, has been extended to such inferior animals as the ptarmigan and the hare, when an increase of plumage and an extra coat of fur, with a cor- responding change of colour, tend to render their being happy, by limiting the loss of vital heat, and enabling the creature, by forming its home in the snow, to counteract the in- creased demand for that internal warmth which the season requires ! The black bear, and other dark animals, re- tire from the influence of the atmosphere, and by another still more curious law, sleep away a period which would be fatal otherwise to their existence, either by their incapacity to procure food, or to maintain the vital principle. The very dog, in this and other cold climates, gets the short close fur in winter, and is moreover generally housed at night, when the tempera- Y 2 324 VEGETABLE KINGDOM : ture is the lowest; and it has struck me forcibly, that from a similar necessity, the ventral regions of almost all animals, whether birds, beasts, or fishes, are either white or of a lighter colour than the body, thus protecting the vital parts when the animal rests on the ground, flies in the sun's rays, or swims in the water. The soles of the feet and the palms of the hands of a negro, are also lighter than the rest of his skin ; and the chest of a white man exposed to the air, is soon covered with hair. The changes in the furs of animals and in the feathers of such birds as the snow-bird of America, do not occur rapidly; they are gradual, and they gradually prepare them for the season they are fitted for.* * After this work was completed, on the 9th April, 1842, some small farmers from Outer Cove and Tor- bay brought me a large white bear to look at, which they had killed about two hours before, at a distance of five or six miles from St. John's. This animal is now seldom or never seen in the explored parts of New- foundland, and I could not help being struck in view- ing it, at the singular fact of the white bear being endowed with the faculty of remaining in a state of action during the severe polar winters, whilst his other congeners of the black or brown kind sleep away a season in which, from their colour, they would be ex- posed to intense suffering from cold. I afterwards went to trace for several miles the PLANTS. 325 t rae , the ether or of acting n the m the ims of m the e man lair. md in PT-bird ly are 3m for The more, in fact, we search into nature, the more we are surprised by the admirable arrangement and simplicity of its operations. track of this animal on the snow, and it appears to me that he must have landed from the ice near tlie capital, on the south shore, the ice being then in endless fields floating from the northern regions, and that he was, when killed, making his way by a natural instinct across the country to the northward, to get into the cold climate of the icy sea again. He was very wliite, very large, and very fat, and had alarmed all the dogs on his night march in passing the scattered farms, many of which he passed close to the doors. His skin, a very fine long-haired one, was purchased by his excellency, the governor. 1 April, id Tor- , which distance ] is now >f New- in vievv- ir being state of bis other away a J be ex- liles the I PART III. PHYSICAL HISTORY. CHAPTER VIII. CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. There is nothing in which the climate of Newfoundland* differs more from that of Ca- nada and the adjacent provinces, than in its extreme vicissitudes. Spring comes more slowly than in Canada, the summer is shorter, the autumn less certain, the winter a series of storms of wind, rain, and snow; the last rarely remains on the ground for any con- siderable length of time, and the frost is * The spring of 1842, as far as May 3rd, has been unusually severe, and the climate is not to be judged by it. A snow storm happened on that day un- paralleled for its force and intensity ; I never suffered MLit of doors in any winter in Canada so much as oh that tiay, but this is almost unprecedented. 328 CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. never, or very rarely, so intense as it is in Upper Canada, many degrees more to the south. All this may, perhaps, be accounted for by its insularity, and its lying at the embouchure of the great valley of St. Lawrence, whilst the frozen and desolate regions to the north-west of Labrador and Hudson's Bay, cause the prevailing winds to sweep over it, loaded with a varying and reduced temperature of the air ; and then in the early spring vast masses of ice from Hudson's Straits and East Green- land, are forced along its Atlantic coast by a southerly current, where they consolidate or grind, until they are eventually forced oif by milder air and by the increasing warmth of the ocean, where they are sunk in the tepid waters of the gulf stream. A remarkable circumstance occurred this winter (January, 1842),* when it was proved * In fact, this whole winter has been a curious one, and is not even yet finished, on the 22nd April, 1842, for we have to day a hot sun and deep banks of snow, whilst a vessel just arrived, gives the following curious account of the largest iceberg which has probably been ever seen, being > iry near St. John's. I copy his state- ment from the " Newfoundlander," of April 1842 : — " Captain Hardy, of the brig, Lady Turner, arrived CLIMATE AND METi:OR0I,0OY. 320 IS m 1 the for by icliure ist the h-west ;e the d with he air; sses of Greeii- st by a late or off by mth of le tepid led this proved lious one, •il, 1842, of snow, curious ibly been lis state- 842 :— Ir, arrived by a master of a ship, who had had King expe- rience, that the gulf stream waters had di- varicated from their usual course, or rather, perhaps, had spread out until they reached very nearly to St. John's; the water of the ocean having been so warm in the early part of that month, that the sailors in his vessel felt a positive pleasure from ablution in it, although the thermometer on shore was then frequently at zero, and the winds very chilling from the north or south-west. If the laws of climate were regulated by the thermal zones which philosophers have drawn, round the globe, Newtbundland would be an abode for man, equally free from great heats from Cadiz on Saturday last, reports that, on the day previously, the Bay of Bulls bearing about V/.N.W., distant twelve miles, he saw an immense iceberg, lying S.E. and N.W., which, from the length of time it took him to pass it — viz., three hours, going at eight to- nine knots — could not have been less than twenty -five to twenty-seven miles long, and wore the appearance of the high land to the north of the Bay of Bulls. " We believe this iceberg to be of unheard-of size ; but there can be no doubt of the correctness of the report, as it was seen by the Euphemia and Mary Anne, whose masters fully confirm Captain Hardy's account." 330 CLIMATE AND .METEOROLOGY. and from intense cold, as it lies in neai'ly the same parallels as France; whereas, it has the general temperature of the European countries situated fifteen or twenty degrees higher than the northern shores of that fertile country. Various attempts have l)een made to account satisfactorily for this seeming anomaly be- tween the climates of the old and new world. Kirwan, with great justice, admits that the latent and retained heat of the earth is a powerful agent, after that of the solar radia- tion, and that elevation above the ocean, the size of large tracts of water, and the nature of the soil, operate very powerfully in contri- buting to those vicissitudes of the atmospheric regions which we denominate winds. It is very probable therefore that the sun, in its survey of the ecliptic, diifuses equal warmth in the ratio of his distance between the torrid and the frozen zones, but that his influence is counteracted by the shape and nature of con- tinents and oceans. America, moreover, is covered with a mantle of forest, and is girt on its whole western frontier, from Patagonia to Behring's Straits, with a belt of lofty and rocky mountains, reaching, in most cases, CLIMATE AND MLTEOROLOGY. 331 y the IS the iitries than y- ^count y be-- world, at the 1 is a radia- m, the turc of contri- pheric It is in its varmth torrid ence is of con- ver, is is girt tagonia fty and cases, above the regions of the air where eternal frost is know^. to reign. The covering of trees prevents the access of solar heat. The ice-clad mountains pervade in North America, not only the Pacific littoral, but occupy the whole continent of America, in its broadest part, from that coast to the wild regions of Labrador and the frozen North. The east coasts of Labrador are amongst the most lofty of sea mountains, or perhaps in equal extent, the most lofty in the world, clad with snow and ice, and visible for upwards of one hundred and twenty miles at sea. The colour of ice and snow also tends to assist in modifying the circumambient air. The theory of winds is still, however, in its infancy, but that they are affected in their passage over such howling wildernesses, can- not be doubted. In Canada, and everywhere in North America, a wind from the north-west invariably lowers the thermometer, and in winter causes excessive cold. Canada, La- brador, and Newfoundland, are the regions of lakes; and these, when frozen, of course in- crease the fury and bitterness of a storm from that quarter; but although Newfoundland is but little removed from Labrador, the coldest 332 CLIMATE AND METEOUOLOlrV. country in the world, and from Cape Breton and Nova Scotia, where frost reigns in all its vigour in winter, it is not so cold as other parts of the American continent lying many degrees further to the south. The thermometer rarely falls to zero in winter, which lasts from the beorinnini? of December until the middle of April ; January and February being the coldest months, and the latter cue most st'^rmy. The mi . remarkable feature of its climate is the preponderance of severe gales on the land, not extending far over the ocean, but sweeping with irresistible force over the broken countrv, either from the north or the south- west. The winter of 1842 has been remark- able for this phenomenon. Scarcely a day passed in January without a gale which in England would have been deemed serious ; yet such is the conformation of the land, that, stretching into mountainous hills and deep valleys from north-north-east to south-south- west, these storms are broken in their force, and do comparatively little damage, whilst they very fortunately blow oflf a coast dan- gerous enough in itself at all times. The north-east winds are also very heavy CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. 333 ii'cton [ill its other many n*o in Lns of inuary IS, and climate on the in, but broken ; south- reaiark- a day hich in )us ; yet i, that, d deep -south- |ir force, whilst ,st dan- heavy but less frequent; they are cold, but not so cold as the former, for they have to traverse a vast extent of open sea after leaving the frozen regions of Europe before they reach us, and in consequence expend much of their cold in im])arting it to the surface of the ocean. The forests of the American continent and of Newfoundland, although they operate against the climate, by preventing the solar heat from reaching the soil, and by the immense evapora- tion necessary to their existence, have also an advantage not sufficiently appreciated by the industrious emigrants and dwellers in these new territories. They assist to modify the excessive rigour of the winds, and to keep up an artificial heat, as it were, by multiply- ing the obstructions which impede the action of the air with the earth's surface, so that the ground retains its latent heat, much as an animal clothed in fur does; and in summer, vegetation is preserved and assisted by this veil of foliage in its insensible perspiration, which the sun's heat increases and converts by evaporation into a temperature cool enough to answer the well-being of the plant. It is a sort of rage in America, particulai'ly 334 CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. in Canada and Newfoundland, to destroy the forest as rapidly as possible. The fact is, the poor emigrant coming from Europe, where wood is very valuable, and where he never probably owned a good walking-stick, con- scious that the treasure thus placed at his unlimited disposal is inexhaustible, with- out much reflection, proceeds to clear the wilderness for the cultivation of his farm. The incalculable benefit that would arise to his cattle and to himself, by leaving patches of forest trees here and there, never troubles him ; he uses the trees as men use the water of a river, merely because there is plenty of it, and he forgets that the ponds or rivulets which are to supply the fainting beasts with beverage, in the exhausting heats of a transatlantic summer, will soon dry up when deprived of the support and protection of the forest. Although it will not at all surprise the natu- ralist, yet it is useful to inform the emigrant to these regions that mankind in general are not aware of the vast influence of trees on climate, and that they are actually chemical instruments, for the formation and distillation of dews and rain. This is peculiarly the case with those growing on elevated situations, and in countries P t] CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. 335 the , the ^here never con- it his with- r the farm, to his hes of 'oubles 5 water '.y of it, ^ which verage, tlantic ved of • e natu- rrant to are not climate, uments, ews and :h those ountries subjected to mists. Trees demand a Uirge sup- ply of moisture for their organic development, and this is again given off by perspiration from their leaves, which an?;w2r the same purposes as the human ski'.i. Experiments have been carefully made, to prove that a small tree, weighing not more than seventy pounds, ab- sorbed tifteen pound of water in six hours, and that branches ot only an inch in diameter, and five feet long, took up from fifteen to tAventy-five ounces in twelve hours, when in full leaf; but, deprived of their leaves, the ab- sorption was not more than one ounce in twelve hours. It is, in fact, perfectly surprising how much water a single tree will distil in the course of a night. This applies chiefly to those forest trees which shed their leaves annually, — for ever- greens, as they are called, which shed their leaves also annually, but imperceptibly, such as the fir tribe, do not imbibe so much water by the leaf as they do by the trunk and branches. In short, forests are always humid from this property of imbibition, perspiration, and con- densation, which checks the evaporation from the earth. xu\ nnwrv. \^v wvnoumocy Notliing rnn prove llirs«' fniMs nio?i' rI»Mi?ly i\\'.\\\ 1o (>l>stM\o in (Unsnlii lln' sliitc oj' those povlions oj llio r(Mmsrv\«>(l iho Im'iIs ol' iDo.l nvors s1von!\<«. \vln«'h \\onl(l hnvo neon om in l'n^l)U\(l. MtuI nlnoh Immo nil tho Irnrrs ol liininii broil sninll oMlnrMrts- j'oimorlv, ooni- )>1(M<'lv (Ivinl wy : mxl it hii's Inv-n roniMrkod, tliMt mTiov m f'orost hns l>oon tnlvon olV olovntoi) jrroiind. tbo ^pinntity ol' rni?) in iho noi^hlionr- hood «on';iMy lossoiis. povlinj^'j in oon«o(pionoo «^t lluM'o b« in^ loss (^l(^irio sUtrnotioii botwoon llio olonds Mud tli(^ uronnd. ^t\lrvMV ol>«r. AVviiik^ ui sn lis ]\\r(b AnuM'ioa, ( 1,1 MAT r, AND Ml ri,()iinl,(n;Y. 'I M I.) I \v 1«' w^ M'.\tUM\S \Vvnno w\ tbi \^ s\vo \l\UM'\Ol\, bill lliiif it iM owitjiT \n ||i(> ^n>!il (>x(onl (if i(,K iMiri'Mt solitinl'-s;, ilf^ inckH juhI inunnlnins, mikI r«M»j)I(' in NowfoimdlMnd nh(» |»i'i'<'<'i\(\ llml the "ItnrronM," iim (»V(M'y wimtf irrl»vi()UR. iVnin llir iimI mill (MHiMfN mIm»V(> rif(M|. 'Vho \c\ windM swtM'p n\'or tln'in iniicsislcd. Uuf fhni NowrniiiidlMiid is! iimI m cold < ounhv in i\w AnuMicun ppns<' ol' fl)(« word, w'M lir pnnod l)y iMcfs. Any I'JirojxMin !inivin shuck il" 1\(^ widUs !il»!'v ni'e nmde more bitter by tho strong swtM'ping winds. If the. VOL. 1. / X\H rilMATE AND MKTFOROLOnV. oold w(Tr ns iiitiMiso ;ip it is in Wcstrni ("aiinda, n <'«nintry mnrli InrtluM' soiitli, and tlic sanir winds prcvnilcd, tlu^ n|u'n ]»!n'ts (»f' the conntry wonld 1h' ju'tnally nninhnbitable. Tlir tVdst, moiTovrr, docM Tiot [)onotrate the irrov.iid hnv !is it «lorp tlirre, whore it has horn knoAvn to iro thrco tort down ; liorc it is rarely mow tlmn n lew inoh(v«, and sooii breaks n|». 'rh(- worst weatlior is wIumi a strong nortii- (^rlvor Avestorly wi]jdis aoeornpaniod by a sovei'c^ snow st(M in, whieh is nsnallv the ease when t lie snow tails tor any length oftime. Then the iey partieles are driven abont so tiereely and so tliioklv that it is almost inipossible to see or even to brcnitiio tVe(>ly. These states of the atmosphere are, however, not vt^ry Ireipient, and V(My litth^ snow lies on eleariMl plaees, in oonsoipienee ot' the strong win^ls, and the ten- d(Mu\v to inoistnre and rain in winter. Another phenom(^non,seld(tm seen in Caniula, is the silver thaw, as it is eallod in Newtbnnd- land. Ivain in heavy t«MT(Mits in Febriiarv, aoeom]ianied by a low state of the thermometer near the earth, eanses a regular de])osition of ire round all the branches and twigs of the ]>lants and trees, and every substance ca])al)le of rciHMvinu: it. This sroes on iiicreasinii- until kx^-' CMMATF. AND METKOUOLOOY. lUl, itry tl\e hron ively nrti\- 'lit ho \c ioy ll\t\ BO SCO or >f the liicnt, tos, in t(Ml- l\l\!l« la, Ifownd- [nv.wy, oinotcv of It ion lof the hlo apa hi until II liiycr of ice, (invflitps the* smallest twigs, till it iittiiiiis II dianictcr of lialf an int'li, aiid sitiiK'tinicP more. The. Iraflcsw trrcs [) siml Im'jhI their strongest lutnglis towards the eartli, to w])icli, if tliey roach it without breaking fr<»m the ononnons weight they have to sustain, tliey hceouje frozen. I Inive seen wiliows, whose hranches wore as thick as a man's thigh, break olV iind(!r this pressure. The wind ge- nerally rises s(M»n al'terwards, and tliru the clatter and destruction may be conceived. I can c(tmy)are the appearance of a tree thus nnweh'omely adorned to nothing in nuin's art nearer than to a, vast chandelier oi'the purest crystal, and the ]day of the light is i'ldly e<|ual to that from myriads of prisms, when the sun shini'S. Fruit trees and shrubs are seriously injured by this silver thaw, which very f(»rtunately is rare. In th(> winter of 1841 (February) it did great mischief. Not having yd seen any extensive forests {){' the deciduous trees in this island, I cannot judge whether an appearance exists liere, which very much excited my attention in (-anada, both as respected the hard wood trees of that z 2 ■^y :, 340 CLIMATE AiND METEOROU)r;y. class, and tlio soft evergreens, or firs. There are, in tact, no opportunities, until extensive roads are opened here, for observing it. When riding in a low sleigh, particularly in Western Canada, along a line of country long cleared, one is struck, as the vehicle moves rapidly along, by observing a continued straight line on the edge of the uncleared forest land, at a he'ght of :- -ei ^ " » 'ght ix^?t abo -e the ground. This lui* i • v clearly defined in the evorjzreens that it .'.X ti '^ struck me it was c;iusets, as high as their heads could reach, and thus leaving the trees branchless to that height. But then again, it was too constant for one to belicn-e that that was the cause, particularly as they would not browse on many of the fir kind. It is effected by frost, which destroys the foliage and young shoots near the surface in the younger states of the plant; as it is nov^ clearly proved that cold has a more serious effect upon veiretatiou, within a few feet of the earth's surface, than at a distance above it; but I had no notii 'i that it could have reached uni- formly to fieven or eiglit feet, until I read in an English work, that such has been observed *.K^ - '.'^ 'JlWMHHIvVl ''■vVt'i CLIMATE AND METEOROLOOy r,4i riierc ?nsive ijlarly •vjitry moves raight ■> land, 76 the in the it was ill the ^h, and leight. one to irly as kind. s the in the clearly t upon earth's but 1 d uni- ead in served r in England in very severe frosts, in a space of sevei'al .acres, where tho buds !)f tlie oak wei'c cut off to that height, and the rest of the open- ing fo];. •<;;« uninjured, whils*^ the frost appeared always co have inju'ed or destroyed garden shrabs <' nd plants in low situations more tlian it did n higher ones. The evaporation was '•airieu on more n-pi^!'/ in one instance than the other. In Newfoundland, it is surprising how gar- den i)lanis, anil insects which feed c>n them, bi'ave the winter, and the effects of the sudden thaws, for here, in winter, the transition from severe frost to torrents of rain is sudden. The snow, too, where it lies deep, which it seldom does r'^ar the coast, excepting in drifts, begins speedily to feel the latent heat in the ground, and decays first at the bottom layers; whilst the warm air dissolves its upper crust, so that volumes of fluid are soon generated, and a river which has been closed the evening before solidly enough to bear a horse upon it, is found next morning running in foam and fury. In the woods and rocky places, the snow remains much longer, and, in spring, vege- tation is often checked by t^e sudden appear- 342 CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. aticc oft' tlu' coast of an iinnirnso bolt of ice iVoin tho l^olur rogions, and by stationary ioc- luM'gs, which grouml on tlic v^hallows. The gnunul, us l)otore observed, does not freeze to any depth,* and therefore, some out- of-d(^or excavations can generally be niad(! for bnildinu; or other pnr|»oses, provided the place chosen is not where rock is near tlie snrfuce, ii\ wliich case the earth will iVec/.e to ten inches or a foot in depth, the porous sandstone under it acting as an excellent ice-nuiker. We find that the extremes of temperature in Newf(Mindland are trilling, when compared to those of ('anada. There, the thermoim^ter falls jis low as 27 degrees below zero, and even lower at times in winter, and rises to \M) degrees in summer; here, the lowest tem- perature in winter scarcely exceeds zero, or 8 or 10 degrees below it, excepting upon rare occasions, and in the height of sununer does not attain more in conuuon years than 70 dcirrees. * As a proof of this, jvarsnipsand potatoes will remain in tlio ground all winter, ami bo tit to eat in the spring, as I have twice experienced, and it is a com- mon practice to let the parsnips remain out all winter, purposely to have a supply in spring. CLIMATE AND METE0KOLO<;V, ;h:3 )f ice y ice- 's not e out- do tor irt'uoe, to ton (IstoiH' n'. .Tatuiv in pa rod louiotor \), and isos to ist tom- ;oro, or lou rare er does iuuv 70 |U remain it ill the Is a coin- Ill V inter, Winter may really be said to coiniuencc- here towards the latter end ol* Noveud)er oidy, tliou'^h fires are eomt'ortable adjuncts during most of that month, and its severity begins lifter Christmas, runs through danuary and February, and becomes less and less stern, until the middle of April, when it ceases alto- gether. In the winter of 1(S40, ploughing was going on after Christmas. This winter 1841-1812, has been unusually changeable, and deluges of rain, storms of wind, and some share of snow have characterized it; although the latter has not enabltMl the hewers of wood to bring their supplies in, until very late in the season. March has also been very cold month, and chan».cterized by an unusually furious snow-storm.* * On tlio evening of Good Friday, March 25tlj, with tlie thermometer at 30", and wind north-east, a most unusual appearance was exhibited at sunset, about twenty minutes past six. The western sky was in a blaze of roseate and tire-coloured angry light after the sun dipped, which was reflected on tlie eastern or sea sky to a great extent, and just as the sun had dis- appeared behind the hill, a perfect bow appeared in the east, having, not the usual rainbow hues, but modifications of red from the fiery to the roseate; it was a perfect arcii of the usual size and lieight of ;m4 CMMATE AND MrTFOUOIXKiV It is gciuMully supposed in ICiiglimd, llmt Nowt'oundlsnuliscitnstnntly r]iv('l<>|»(.Ml in t'ogatid >v('t mist ; nothing, Ijowovit, ctm hv t'urtlier iVoni till' trutli. '\\\v snnnnors niv trccjucntly S(» hot and so drv, that lor want of niin the grass pcrisbos; tho suniinii ol' 1S4(> was oiu» K)( thoso ; — and the nights arc usually sulondid ; whilst, in wintor, fog is vory rardy st'cn. The l\>g hoing gonoratod at sea, by causes which do not oj»orato upon tho land, is a true soa-niist, which may ho ohscrvcd in a voyage across the Atlantic, all the way from the west coast o( Ireland, by keej)ing in a liigh latitude, until the vessel reaches Newfoundland. I was nearly two months in making this transit, owing to having ke])t s(» high, }>rol)ably from the course lying in that vast cuirent oi water rainbows at sunset. The previous rv( ning, the eastern sky at sunset was heautifuUy e(»Ioured with purple and rod, down to the horizon, whilst the western was not ; the tluTniometer varied only two or three degrees above or below freezing all the time: jet both these apj)earanccs were succeeded by only siig^U tlu'nvs ; there was a vast quantity of snow on the gri)ui'id, and the sea was covered with white ice near the shores^ but neither rain nor snow fell. There were slight auroras both nights. 1 think the bow n)ust have been a reliection from the sea ice. (LI M ATI, AM) MKil.OUOIlHiY. .»' Ihat tg '.ind irtlior uMitly III tlic as Olio I'lulid ; I. CiUlSCS ji true voyage le west ititude, I was transit, IVom ^^ ater oastern •pie and as !nit ; (Ifgrcrs th these tliaws ; \ud, and e slight ive been which cxiK'tids itself, by turning from tlic^ luinks of Newfoundland, towards the Pohir regions, and crossing over to ICurope; there the water would generally he wanner than the air, because the current of air coming from the Arctic Circle, is fj-aught at all times of the year with cold; the opposition of the two, makes fog, which is perceptibly saline. Again, along tiie coasts of Hudson's J»ay, Labrador and Newfoundland, there is a south- erly set or current, which runs very rapidly from ICast Greenland, ajid the adjacent seas, bringing with it waters much colder than those natural to the latitude of the Newfoundland seas ; so that when the temperature of the air near the shores is greater than that of this broad current, fog again forms; and thus both in summer and in winter, the space (►f ocean, fr(»ni the outer edge of the shallow water of the banks to the easteiTi and southern sliorcs of the island, — is frequently enveloped in fog, a provision (»f nature which probably increases the security and multiplication of the endless stores of fish and marine animals treasured in that gloomy region. Dr. Kelly, K.N., a vcy able observer of 3 U\ CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. luituro, ^vh() is uttaclied to the yiirvcyiug scr- vioo ooiuliiolcd by Oaptiiiii BayfieM, has writton much in the transactions of the Quo- bee Literary and Historical Society, upon the atmospheric phenomena of the St. Lawrence, where the same fogs prevail for the same reasons, as far as the tide-waters of the oncau ascend that father of rivers. Dr. Kell) observes, that the temperature of the St. Lawrence dilfers greatly at dillerent seasons, but that the changes in the winter arc botli graiUial and slow, compared to those of the incumbent air, which are very sudcal ►r. Kelly of the Iweutlier, was, in the middle of the estuary, as high as (JO degrees on th(^ surfuee. A freezing westerly wind l)lew all uight, and on the morning of the 9th, the surfaee-water had sunk to »>!) de- grees, the air being affeeted no ni(ue than from ()4 to 02 degn^es. He experinient(^d upon the temperature of the water at dilVerent depths during these changes, and found, as is well known, that the gulf and river water at certain depths was uniformlv cold. When the surface was at <>() degrees, 3(> fathoms only beneath it was at 35 degrees; and at 50 fathoms only 84 degrees. On the IHh, when the wind ceased, a calm en- sued, which immediately raised the surface- water to 57 degrees, and then the lower strata were successively found to average at one fathom, 44 degrees; at 10 fathoms, 38 de- grees; and 100 fathoms, 35 degrees. By other experiments. Dr. Kelly found that part of the river little intluenced by tides, to maintain, during the maximum in September, an average temperature of 62 degrees, which was very constant ; whilst he also found the river when frozen over, to sink to 32 degrees. H(.'nce he argues, that in calm tine weather, the warm fresh water of the river and its tributaries :ms ("MMATF AND MF,TK(MiOI,()(iY flouts (Ui tho siirinci'; h\\\ whvu it is npitntrd h\ i^i (»rin, it s(>(»n minirlos \\'\ itii t) W \)VV\\\ll- lU'TJtly cold w;itrr t>t'tli«^ lonrr strata. The (Vjstcrlv izalcs also, ho says, cool tho iriilt' \vat(^rs nuioh inoro than tho wostorlv onos, toi* an <»hvitins reason, that thoy aot ovor tho haso o1 tho trianiilo t'orniod l>v Nowtonntlland, and tho shoros ot' tlu^ irnlf, uhilst tho others only jmss over a long strinir (»t' livor eonnootod with tho a]»e\. Hnt no doubt th(^ easterly ninds are jdso I >OW(M ■till i )th roiu another eaii>e tl ioy brinjj: tlu perniancMitly eold water ot"th(> Straits ol Uollo- isl(\ where i^'eherirs I'lanu all tho year: and they also brinir th(^ eold water of' the Sonth shoros ot' Nowt'oundland, and the e(tasts ol" Ci\])c Breti^n more ]>oweit'ully into tho i:;nlf'. riio t\\irs <»!' tho St. 'L:nvronoo are torniod, thert^toro, t'n>ni thos(> ditVoHMit states of tho sea, v>t'th( tide ]y,\vt o( tho river, and of tho air, nunirlod with a rotlux (»f tho tidal Avsivo, which fiMvos np to tho snrt'aoc in tho narrows oi tho river mnch o( tho cold oct>anic water. Thus tho th>od tido at certain j^lacos is colder than tho ol»b, and tho whole titlal part of tho rivor and gulf has a coniparativo low torapcraturc throughout tho year. (MMATK AM) mi:tkoiioijm;v ;M!) TIlC ir\V',it iutlrilUL^Ilt ol'llic Sll;iits of iirllc- isl(\ n'lnlcrs the iiorfhcifj juirt ul' Nnwloiiml- liuitl iniH'li IcMy lif for liMhifafitMi* fliiiii llic OMMtcrii, the sti'itlHTfi, •>!• the wcsh'rii sliuics; tor hero thorr Mppcurs to Ix* an iumu of the great CMiTciif iVniii the iVozcii iioitli, siickrd in, as if were, f'nmi the mai?i ImmIv. wliidi proccctiM ith :i]< \h ifs of N('\vt'< il, so.irn Miofiir I He coasrs oi >\('wioinniiami, innl is ill all likelilxMxi a pail of that iniiiicnsr oceanic river, il' tlic tciin may Im' nsccl, \vlii«'h ilows tVoin ilic I'olc fo the c(|ii)if(»r. Thus, the real t'resh-water stresMii (il" the St. I.awnaice, l»efore it liiDilly niinu;h's in the sjilt wave, lies over their coMer strata, an iiDTth shore <•(' Ni'wtoutiilliiiKJ, wliicli rciMlt'ts tlic watt rs warmor on that shorn than on the Lahradoi oou'^t opposito, ah)ng vhich the polar current runs. 350 CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. round the east and south shores of Newfound- land, and hetween them and the banks, the i'ormation of fog is upon a more ccmstant, de- veloped, and extensive scale, thus causing uni- formity ; whilst on the west side of the island, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence and its estuary, the combinations are constantly changing, and producing new features. The effects of mirage there are intensely interesting, but very dan- gerous to the mariner, and arising obviously Irom the condition of the strata of air imme- diately over tiie water. Sometimes the fog is very high and thick; at others, low and thin; again, a mere and almost invisible line of light vapour. Thus ships are distorted into most grotesque shapes, the horizon is altered, and both near and distant objects are seen in totally (litTerent forms and positions, as the rays of liglit are refracted through tlie different media, or reflected from the fog. No doubt the immense variation between the warm equatorial waters of the gulf stream, over which clouds constantly hang at a low eleva- tion, and the cold seas above the great banks of Newfoundland, may arise from two circum- stances, — the one, from a branch of the Frozen Ocean, or }>olar current, reaching the banks ; CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. vfound- iks, the ant, (Ic- ing uni- 2 island, estuary, ing, and f mirage ery dan- )bviously ir imme- the fug is and tliin ; e of liglit into most ired, and in totally 3 rays of it media, twecn the l^am, over i)W eleva- ?at banks circum- lie Frozen lic banks ; the other, from the influence of the submarine mountains of which those banks are composed, which, rendering the seas shallow, lessen the temperature of the waters above them. Hum- boldt and many other philosophers have ob- served, that the ocean is subject to great varia- tions of temperature wherever there are shoals, or where the land is near, and that it generally lost some portion of its heat in tliose cases, which were usually, however, confined to comparatively deep water. Thus the great Bank of Newfoundland tlirown up, as it were, and forming a part of the great channel through which the polar current passes, and limiting also that of the equatorial, or gulf stream, has its waters not only cooled by radiation, but also by confining, on the western side, the icy current also, which thus neces- sarily comes to the surface, assists in lessening the temperature of the adjacent ocean in lati- tudes which, but for this and the great eva- poration thus caused, would otherwise be warm. The cold St. Lawrence also throws its mighty stream into the ocean near these banks, and the prevailing winds come cooled, over an immense and frigid continent, for a great por- tion of the year. In summer, when the air is warm, over the 352 CLIMATE AND MFTEOROLOOY. banks, constant, dense, impenetrable tog reip;ns, unless driven off by gales of wind or an equalized state of the air ; and so unwilling is the atmo- sphere to retain this clou>0 I imeter Bar. 29.3 29.3 20.3 29.2 28.9 28.9 ; island 1, from iter fell ,m 29.8 ,est and ,oiith in 2, the lud the S.8 and 10 most at rain, OUl oZ ?a, it has u) places evel, and cean. Such is the salubrity of this climate, that Mr. M'Grcgor relate.s, there was living, in 1829, at Marasheen island, in Tlacentia Bay, Martin Galten, more than 100 years old, in excellent health, and who caught, with his brother, in that year, nine quintals of cod- fish, lie piloted Captain Cook into Placentia i>;iy more than seventy years before that time. In the same place, lived Nancy Tibeau, mother of foiu' living generations; and a Mrs. Tait, who died there in 1819, was 125 years old, and was, with lier third husband, at the siege of Quebec by Wolfe. A woman died lately at Torbay, near St. John's, 125 years old, and before her death she sentfor a friend of mine (the medical gentle- man already noticed) to see what was the matter with her poor child, who was sick, — the said poor child being then about ninety. The most remarkable ieatures in the climate of Ne^vfoundland are, the fogs on its banks, — wliich do not extend to the shores or inland, there frequently being a clear space (»r belt next the coast, — and the prevalence of heavy winds. These latter attain their height in Februaiy, and seem almost local, but blow with unmitigated m ^0'j ^%S ^%.. <> ^ ,,,. ^^^<> ^.-v^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I '-IIIIIM IIIIM :~ 1^ 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" _ ► I V] 66 CLIMA"-^. AND METEOROLOGY. Canada and Newfoundland, which has been for some time preparing, still to enter more fully on these subjects than the pages of a work expressly intended for general reading, and whose object is to impress upon the British public generally the great importance of this long-neglected appendage of the empire, will permit. The most cursory glance at this chapter will, I trust, prove that Newfoundland is not so very cold, not so very foggy, nor so very everything-that-is-bad a climate, (changeable as it undoubtedly is, ) as it has been represented to be by those whose invariable interest it for- merly was to prevent its settlement, and which circumstance no doubt also, in former days, somewhat influenced the government in tamely i)Xi(l tacitly acquiescing in the surrender to the French of the finest portion of the coast ; so that no other interest than that of the fishery could arise, by a division of the population into dis- tinct cities and districts, in a territory capable of highly assisting that interest in the small capital of St. John's. Nor can any one blame the adventui'ers for pursuing that undeviating course ; for look at India, and see how carefully colonization from CLIMATE AND METEOROLOGY. ?A\7 Europe has been guarded against there. While the interests were purely mercantile, it was right that mercantile men should use every lawful means to ensure their profits, and a return for the vast capital afloat; but when the same end can be achieved with the aid of colonization, such a course should necessarily cease, as it has done very nearly here ; and now that tl e fishermen are a native-born and resident population, their welfare is of para- mount importance. END OF VOL. I. T. C. SaviJ], Printer, 107, ^t. Martin's Lane.