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It/ /»»; .♦f-raK ^ ■ > NEW BRUNSWICK; §LoU^ €ot iSmtatant0< COMPREIIKNDINQTHE EARLY HISTORY.AN ACCOUNT OF THE INniANS, HETTI E MENT, TOPOOUAPHY, STATISTICS, COMMERCE, TIMUKU, M ANUFACTUllE^J, AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, GE0LO(3Y, NATURAL HISTORY, SOCIAL AND POLITICAL STATE, IMMIGRANTS, AND CONTEM- PLATED RAILWAYS OF THAT PROVINCE. /(. I I \\ BY ABRAHAM GESNER, ESQ. SURGEON; rELLOW OP THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON; COURESPONDING MEMBEIl OF THE ROYAL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OP CORNWALL; MEMBER 01' THK LITl.llAltV AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP UUEBEC; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OP NATURAL SCIENCES OP PHILADELPHIA; AUTHOR OF "REMARKS ON THE GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OP NOVA SCOTIA," ETC. LONDON: SIMMONDS & WARD, 6, BARGE YARD, BUCKLERSBURY. 1847. n Pflf^P ■ LONDON : PRINTED BY H. I. STEVENS, PHILPOT LANE, FENCHUnCH STREET. C^' ^^ ^4 PREFACE. ITREET. The Author of the Work now submitted to tlie public was employed by the Government of New Brunswick five years in making a Geological Survey of that Province. During that period, he had the most favourable opportunities of making him- self acquainted with the climate, topography and resources of the country, and also with the habits and industry of its inha- bitants. His Geological Reports, published by the Provincial Legislature, were necessarily devoted to science, and to the description of the mineral wealth of the Province : the present Work embraces all the information acquired during the per- formance of the above public service, and will be found to con- tain, with a brief history, a full description of the Colony. No previous Work of the kind has ever appeared. New Brunswick formed a part of ancient Acadia, or Nova Scotia, until 1784, when it was made a separate Province; and in the general Histories of North America, it has not been noticed in a degree equal to its present importance and value as a part of Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions. With but a very imperfect knowledge of the country, some writers have pronounced its climate to be rather unfavourable to the health of Europeans, its seasons too cold for vegetation, and its atmosphere involved in dense fogs. To correct these and similar errors is an object of much importance, and to lay Ml vl I'RKFACE. before the British Puhlic, for wliom this Work is chiefly de- sif^iK'd, a correct account of tlie Province, the resources of which offer & vide field for Emigration, and the advantageous employ- ment of British capital cannot fail to be useful to the country itself, ar.d to the Empire of which it forms a part. The value and resources of tl;o British North American Colo- nies arc still imperfectly known : their vast extent, the variety of climate, and the almost unexplored forests, will constantly yield some new and valuable objects of enterprise to which the energies of the redundant population and dormant wealth of the Mother-country may be applied, and thereby increase individual happiness and national prosperity. Many of the errors that have been committed in negotiations with Foreign States, and in establishing a system of Colonial policy, have arisen from an imperfect knowledge of the Pro- vinces. To extend sound information of all the Colonies is very desirable, and more especially is it so for New Brunswick, of which comparatively little is known on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Notwithstanding the inhabitants of Great Britain have ex- pended sums almost beyond computation in public improve- ments both at home and abroad, such is the elevated state of the nation, that she still abounds in wealth, and new sources of riches and prospei'ity are yearly unfolding themselves to her subjects. Accumulations of money have been to many the origin of uneasiness, and to discover how they may be safely employed has called forth the exercise of much ability and ingenuity. There can be no doubt that the Colonies offer the best and most productive field for the application of the inactive capital of the Parent-country, and also for her overflowing population. Happily, the value of the British North American Colonies to the Empire is becoming more and more apparent ; nor can they be too highly estimated for affording strength and security \,o the nation, an outlet for her stagnant population and manu- V.1 I'UEl'ACE. ▼u fnctures, or for supplying the elemenis of industry to millions of licT subjects. Willi such views, the Author has been deeply impressed with the importance and responsibility of his task, whicii he has endeavoured to accomplish without bias or par- tiality. The topographical and other descriptions have been derived fi'om personal observation ; and the remarks in reference to Emi- gration are from the same source, and from experience in form- ing new Settlements. The materials for the early history of New Brunswick have been principally taken from Ilackluyt, L'Escarbot, Charlevoi, the History of Massachusetts, and Hali- burton's History of Nova Scotia. Tlie accounts of the first settlements of the English in the Province were involved in much obscurity ; the chapter on that subject was compiled from public documents, authentic narratives, and old manuscripts, a number of which were very kindly supplied by James White, Esq., Sheriff of St. John. The works of Mr. M'Gregor, Mr. Murray, and others, with the writings of Mr. Cooney and the Author of the Notitia of New Brunswick, have also been con- sulted. The tables that refer to the industry, commerce, and resources of the Province have been drawn from works of established authority, and the Journals of the Legislature ; and much pains have been taken to render them correct. The Author has to acknowledge very gratefully the obliga- tions he owes to the Hon. John S. Saunders, Provincial Secre- tary, and to the Hon. Thomas Bailey, Surveyor-General : to the latt.^r he is indebted for valuable information in reference to the quantity of Crown land contained in each county, and the regulations adopted for its disposal. His acknowledgments are likewise due H. Bowyer Smith, Esq., Collector of H. M. Customs at John, and to Beverly Robinson, Esq., Provincial Treasurer, for their assistance in completing the tables of the trade and revenues of New Brunswick. An account of the pre- vin PREFACE. 1 i I vailing diseases of St. John was supplied by Dr. Livingstone of that place : to him and other Gentlemen in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the Author presents his sincere thanks for the interest they have taken in tliis Work. To exhibit the geograpliy of the Province advantageously, a Map has been prepared that embraces Nova Scotia, Cape Bre- ton, Prince Edward's Island, and part of Canada, and which also shows the line between New Brunswick and the United States as established by the late Treaty of L'ird Ashburton. The scenery of the Province, and several subjects, are illustrated by very correct drawings, for which the Author expresses his best thanks to J. E. Woolford, Esq., of Fiedericton. Comprehensive Notes for Emigrants have been introduced in the body and at the close of the Work, and such details have been given as will direct them in their settlement in the Pro- vince. In the topographical descriptions, pains have been taken to convey correct representations in regard to the nature of the climate, soil, fisheries, timber, minerals, sites for manufactures, and other physical resources. Neither Railways nor any other extensive public works have ever been introduced into New Brunswick, although the period has arrived when her population, trade, and industry call for increased facilities of overland transportation. Remarks on the contemplated Railway between Halifax and Quebec, and others, have been offered, and the Author's views respecting the several Lines proposed are the result of actual observation of the coun- try they are intended to intersect. From the nature of the Work, the Chapters on the Geology and Natural History of the Pro^ ince are necessarily brief. The former is condensed from the Author's more voluminous Reports, and both are intended to be practically useful, rather than to appear as scientific descriptions. In 1783, the population of all the British Colonies in North America was only 193,000; in 183G, it was 1,651,500; by care- of PREFACE. IX ful estimation, it is now 2,208,500. Their ca'^'tal has been estimated at £75,000,000, and the public revenue at £1,250,000. The shipping tonnage exceeds 2,000,000 tons, which is manned by 1 50,000 seamen and fishermen. The amount of consumption of British manufactured goods is nearly £7,000,000 sterling per annum. Excepting the most northern parts of this vast terri- tory, which supply fish, timber, and furs, the climate, soil, and resources of the country are equal to those of Great Britain, and tlie Fisheries are the richest in the world. Now that the Atlantic is freely navigated by steam, to unite these Colonies by a line of Railway along the whole British frontier is an object of the highest national importance. Such a work would form a common bond of luiion between each of the Provinces and the Mother-country, and, in any emergency, supply ample means of defence against invasion. The loyalty and attachment of these Colonies to the Parent State is firmly established, and, by a wise system of national policy, it may be long maintained. If to this are added free communications and general improvements, England will be as iirmly established on this side of the Atlantic as on the other, and uo event under the influence of human agency can ever relax her foothold upon the Great Continent. Cornwallus, Nova Scotia, October, 18 IG. Exte Disc CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. REMARKS ON BRITISH AMERICA. Extent and Boundaries. — Claims of the Americans. — Physical Features of the Country. — Relics of Ancient Nations. — Aboriginal Inha- bitants. .. a. .. •• .. .. •• Page. CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF NEW BRUNSWICK, AS FORMING A PART OF ANCIENT ACADIA. Discoveries of Cabot and Columbus. — Expeditions under Baron de Lery — Sir Humphrey Gilbert — Sir John Gilbert — Marquis de la Roche. — De Monts visits Port Royal and the Bay of Fundy. — Settlements captured by the English. — Sir William Alexander. — Country ceded to France, conquered by the Inhabitants of New England. — Capture of Canada and Cape Breton — Restored. — Grants to La Tour. — Fortress on the St. John. — Contests between Charnis!i6 and La Tour. — Heroism, Capture, and Sufferings of Ma- dame de la Tour. — Indians of the Northern Coast. — French Settle- ments. — Disaffection of the French and Indians. — War. — Expulsion of the Acadians. — Capture of Louisburg by the Provincials. — Return of the Acadians. — Conquest of Quebec by General Wolfe. — jrcQCC* •• •■ •• •• •• •• •• I"! ( xii CONTENTS. CHAPTER III. HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OP THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Early French Settlements at Bay Chaleurs — Miramichi. — Fatal Ma- lady of the Colonists — Distress. — Victory of Capt. Byron. — Submis- sion of the Indian Chiefs. — Revolutionary War. — First English Settlement at St. John. — Maugerville. — Attacks of the Americans. — Disaffection of the Indians — Presents — Reconciliation — Peace.— The Landing of Loyalists. — New Brunswick made a separate Pro- vince — Administration. CHAPTER IV. Paok. 43 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Boundaries. — Area. — Disputed Territory. — Claims of the Americans. — Border Difficulties — Threatened War — Settlement of the Dispute. Canadian Boundary. — General Features. — Moimtains — Lakes — Rivers — Cataracts — Icc-barriers — Marshes — Islands — Lagoons. .. CHAPTER V. NATIVE INDIANS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Theories of Origin — Different Tribes — Physical Character — Customs — Powers of Endurance — Oratory — Dress — Wampum Belts — Hiei'o- glyphics — Wigwams — Canoes — Relics — Portages — Wars — Inter- course with Europeans fatal — Former Savage Character.— Indian Confederation — Villages— Pursuits — Anecdote — Languages. lOG CHAPTER VI. TOPOGRAPHY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Southern Counties. 67. John, — Situation — Harbour. — City of St. John — Edifices — Public Institutions — Manufactures — Industry. Carlton. — Musquash. — Harbc ars.— Agricultural Character. — Tim- ber — Fisheries. County of Charlotte. — Towns — St. Andrew's — \y St. Stephen's.— Rivers— Harbours— Islands.— Mills— L\uubering — CONTliNTS. Xlll ty^ Soil— Surface — Agriculture. County of Westmoreland.— ^MwixXaow — Area — Division of the County — Agriculture — Parishes — Rivers — Marshes — Exports — Minerals — Old Fortifications. Kiny's County. — Boundaries — Parishes — Villages — Settlements — Streams — Agri- culture — Lumbering — Successful Immigrants. Queen's County. — Boundaries — Surface — Parishes — Rivers — Lakes — Fish — Soil — Timber. — Gagetown — Scenery — Wild Lands — Immigrants. County of Sunbury. — First Settlement — Extent — Vernal Floods — Intervales. — Agriculture — Losses by Fire. County of York. — Parishes. — Fredericton, the Capital — Site — Public Buildings — In- stitutions — Navigation. — Early Settlements — Military Settlements —^ — Land Company — Boisto wn — Soil — Agriculture — Lumbering. County of Carlton. — Situation — General Features — Mountains — Streams — Lakes — Woodstock — Villages — Military Stations — To- bique River — Aroostook River — American Boundary — Grand Falls — Salmon Fisheries — Madawasca — Acadian French — Impolitic Treaty — Soil — Agriculture — Lumbering. .. ..119 Northern Counties. County of Kent. — Area — Parislies — Early «^' Settlement. — Town of Liverpool — Harbour. — Rivers — Indians — Coal-field — Fisheries — Timber. County of Norlhumherland. — Boundaries — Area — Parishes. — Miramichi Bay — River. — Towns — Newcastle — Chatham — Douglastown — Nelson. — Trade — Manufac- tures — Lumber — Ship-building — Great Fire — Destroyed Forests. County of Gloucester. — Surface — Parishes — Town of Batluirst — Rivers — Falls — Mining — Ship-building. — Pockmouche — Shippegan — Miscou. — Fisheries — Soil — Agricvilture. County of Restigouche. — Situation — Area — Parishes — Settlements — Coast Fisheries — Ri- ^ "^ vers — Mountains. — Towns — Dalhousie — Campbelltown. — Kempt Road — Indian Village — Gasp6 — Great Roads — Bye Roads— Road- making — Bridge-building— Halifax and Quebec Railway. .. 181 CHAPTER Vn. AGRICULTURE. Climate — Soils — Alluviums — Mari — Lime — Peat — Forests— New Lands — Imperfect State of Agriculture — Agricultural Societies — Produc- tions — Wheat — other Grains — Indian Corn — Grasses — Horticulture — Floriculture — Mode of Clearing Wild Lands — Ashes — First Crop — Squatters — Forest Trees — New Settlements — Live Stock — Maple Sugar. — Game — Hunting — Sporting. . . 224 XIV CONTENTS. I Hi i ! lii 1 I ,-- .* CHAPTER VIII. THE FISHERIES OP NEW BRUNSWICK. Historcal Sketch of the Fisheries— Treaties with the French and Ame- ricans — Surrender of British Rights — Aggressions of the Americans — Advances of the Americans in 1845 — Danger of having all tlie Fisheries surrendered — Remonstrance — Deep-sea Fishing — Coast Fishing — Boat Fishing — Offal — Jigging. — Fisheries of New Bruns- wick, their Value and Capabilities — Neglected — Abundance of Fish — Exports — Bounty. Paoz. 265 CHAPTER IX. COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF NKW BRUNSWICK. Colonial System — Colonial Protection — Timber Trade — Lumbering — The Forest — Kinds of Timber — Hard and Soft Woods — Lumbering Parties — Felling — Hewing — Forking — Drawing — Stream Dri\ing — Rafting — Shipping — Saw Mills — Manufactures— Exports of Timber — Rocks and Minerals — Agricultural Produce — Ship-buildmg — Shipping — Imports — Revenue — Banks — Insurance Companies . . 289 CHAPTER X. POPULATION, AND RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL STATE OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Population— Religion — Church of England — Roman Catholics — Pres- V by terians — Methodists — Baptists — Free-will Baptists — Religious Enthusiasm — Education — King's College — Seminaries— Grammar Schools — Sunday Schools— Temperance Societies — Social State — Customs and Manners — Fashions — Amusements — Acadian French — Government— Administration of Justice — Politics — Civil List .. C15 CHAPTER XL QEOLOGY AND M.'NERALOGY O? NEW BRUNSWICK. Rocks — Order of Superposition — Orgiuiic Remains— Coal-field— Fossil Plants — Minerals .. .. .. .. .. .. 340 '/ I CONTENTS. X\ CHAPTER XII. NATURAL HISTORY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Mammalia— Birds— Reptiles— Fishes— Plants. Paoe. .. .355 NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS 369 TATE OF fj »t i 1 1 I ILLUSTRATIONS. I i ( Map of New Brunswick to face Vignette, Group of Indians. Grand Falls of the St. John Indian Wigwams Government House, /redericton Madawasea Perogue Backwoodsman's Shanty .. Page. 72 110 160 180 250 NEW BRUNSWICK. NOTICE. A Map of the Province was intended to have been given with the Work, but, owing to an accident to the Plate while in the hands of the Engraver, it could not be got ready in time, and it was thought impolitic to delay the publication to have a new Map engraved. ucccssur. At a period when the nations of Europe had greatly enriched them- selves by their industry and commerce, and the ambition of their sove- reigns could scarcely be gratified except by encroachments made upon the dominions of each other, the discovery of America was to them the discovery of a New World, and England, France, and Spain began to vie with each other in taking possession of and colonising the ncwly- Ibund continent. The discovery of land in. the Nortliorn Ilomispbero '-.t'envr-d like a new creation. The animals and plants, the climates, the oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes, were found to be diftcrent from those of civili.sed Europe. The heavens displayed new wonders to the astronomer, and B !;i II II ! I I NEW BEUNSWICK. CHAPTER I. REMARKS ON BKITISII AMICRICA. British America comprises a part of the vast continent situated be- tween the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The discovery of a number of the West India IsKinds was made by Columbus in 14{>2 ; but the great continent itself was unknown to Europeans until l-197f when it was visited by Cabot, a British navij^ator, while seeking a Western passage to India. Although Columbus was the first to discover land upon the coast of America, the name of the continent was given by Amevicus Vespucius, who succeeded the first Western navigator, and, by his address, obtained an honour which was justly due to his pre- decessor. At a period wlicn the nations of Europe had greatly enriched them- selves by their industry and commerce, and the ambition of their sove- reigns could scarcely be gratified except by encroachments made upon the dominions of each other, the discovery of America was to them the discovery of a New World, and England, France, and Spain began to vie with each other in taking possession of and colonising the newly- Ibund contiuout. The discovery of ]and in the Xnrthern IlemisiihrM-e ^..eniorl lik.-> a new creation. The animals and plants, the climates, tlie oceans, seas, rivers, and lakes, were found to be diftcrent from those of civilised Europe. The heavens displayed new wonders to the astronomer, and B 1!^: i: O M'.W HHUNSWK.K. all nature pri'sentcd Itself under fomis with which the early voyagers were unac(iuaintc(l. Gold and silver had heen hro»ight from the moun- tains; while the size and strength of the timber, the fertility of the soil, and the abundance of fish in the waters, filled the minds of the first adventurers with wonder and delight. The whole of the immense continent, wherever it was explored, was found to be occupied by numerous tribes of human beings, who were also uidikc the inhabitants of Europe. The title of these tribes to the soil had mver been disputed ; but they were now to be driven back, step by step, until their names and places of abode should nowhere be known. The treachery, injustice, and cruelty with which these simple aborigines were treated by the early Colonists, forms some of the darkest pages in the history of the world ; and although their final niease of the lands of their forefathers, and their almost utter annihila- tion, arc among those momentous events permitted by Providence for the extensicm of human industry and happiness, and for the worship of the true (lod, it is the bounden duty of every civilised nation to lessen their pains, and to hrir^ into peace and contentment the remnants of the tribes they have dispossessed of their unalienable rights, and to whom, in return, they have conveyed the poison of disease and the evilfi of intemperance. The spirit of colonisation had prevailed nearly three centuries, in which period there were numerous conflicts between England and France for territory, which each power claimed as its own. In the same time, British and other European emigrants and their descendants had established themselves along an extensive line of the Atlantic coast, until they gained a power that refused to be restrained by the laws and usages of their forefathers. Revolt from the European Go- vernments commenced. The Britisli Colonists took up arms against the mother-country, and won their independence. Their example has wince been imitated by the inhabitants of Soutli America, where the struggles to throw off the control of foreign sovereignty have scarcely terminated. The Revolutionary War in the British Colonies reflects but little credit upon the British Parliament or the Colonists in Ame- rica ; it has, nevertheless, rendered that part of the continent which still belongs to Great Britain more secure than it would have been if n NKW IJUUNSWICK. S uly voyagers )ni llie luoim- ty of the soil, s of the first such ft rcvohition hnd not taken place ; for the grcnt number of loyalistn that removed from the revolted States to Canada, New Hrunswick, and Nova Scotia, have been succeeded by a population that is firmly attached to the Crown and laws of the Empire. i.xplored, was Ts, who were • tribes to the driven back. Id nowhere be I these simple some of the "h their final Litter annihilft- I'rovidence for the worship of ation to lessen e remnants of [rights, and to scasc and the centuries, in England and own. In the ir descendants ' the Atlantic trained by the uropean Go- arms against example has [a, where the have scarcely lonies reflects Inists in Ame- Intinent which have been if British America includes all th.at part of the Northern Continent which was not given up by treaty to the Ilepul)Iic of the United States at the close of the Revolutionary War, and also all the territory dis- covered and occupied by IJtitish subjects since that period. This region embraces more than one-third of the entire continent. It is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean, and extends westward to the Hist degree of longitude, where it meets the territory of Jlussia, as settled by treaty in 1825. Its northern limits approach nearly the 70th parallel of latitude, and all the islands in the Arctic Sea belong to England by right of discovery. The Atlantic Ocean forms its eastern limits, from the Straits of Fury and Hecla, in latitude 70° North, to the mouth of the St. Croix, in latitude 4r)° 5' North. The islands along the coast also belong to Great Britain. The southern boundary of this immense territory runs along an irregular line from tlu St. Croix to the St. Regis on the .St. Lawrence, sixty miles above Montreal. From thence the river and the great chain of Canadian lakes separate the British from the American Possessions. From the head of Lake; Superior, the line runs to the north-western angle of the liake of the Woods, in latitude 49° 20' North, and thence across the continent to the Rocky Mountains, beyond which it has not been certainly determined. The British Possessions in North America are therefore situated between the parallels of 41" 47' and 78° North latitude, and between the 52nd and 141st of West longitude, and include an area of 4,000,000 square miles. They embrace the Provinces of Canada, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, the regions of Hudson's Bay and Labrador, and the Islands of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward's Island, and Anticosti.* The claims of Great Britain to certain parts of this region have recently been disputed by the American Government. Tiie contention m • " An Historical and Descriptive Account of British Americn," by Hiigli Murray, 3 vols. ICmo, Edinburgh 1839, vol. i. pp. 18, 19. B 'i '1! .li'il I., i t I •:l I'' 4 N1-:W BRUNSWICK. that existed with reference to a tract of wilderness country situated between New Brunswick and the State of Maine, and which was likely to result in a war between the two nations, was settled by treaty, through the mediation of liOrd Ashburton, at Washington, on the 9th of August, 18 J2. This subject will again be adverted to in another chapter. The claims of the Americans to a part of the Oregon Territory, situ- ated west of the R,ocky Mountains, still remain unsettled ; and the longer they continue unadjusted, the greater will be the difficulties in establishing a boundary between the two nations. An example of this kind has been afforded in the delay of fixing the line betAvecn the State of Maine and the British Provinces, by which the Americans have gained a large tract of excellent land upon a comparatively recent claim. The climates of the northern parts of British America are too severe for agriculture, and vast tracts are buried beneath perpetual snows. These northern regions are nevertheless valuable for the furs they pro- duce, and the excellent fisheries along their coasts. In the southern districts of this great territory, the climates are mild and the soil fertile. Almost the entire surface of the earth is still covered with dense forests, which often reach to the tops of the mountains, and ex- hibit all their primeval features, except where fires have swept over the surface ; and even there, the soil is soon replenished with a new growth of forest trees. Along the coasts, rivers, and lakes, the hand of industry has cleared the timber from large tracts of the virgin soil ; and there are wide savannahs, prairies, and bogs, which produce chiefly the grasses, ferns, and sphagneous plants, that supply food for herds of elk, reindeer, and other wild animals still thriving unmolested in their native deserts. But these tracts are very limited in comparison with the immense dis- tricts still covered with wood of gigantic growth. On this wide area civilisation advances but slowly, and century after century vill pass away before it will reach the limits of the productive soil. The light bark-canoe of the Indian is the only vessel that navigr.tes many a noble stream ; and, even in the Province of New Brunswick, steamboats of considerable burden may ply upon rivers, the shores of which have nv'vcr boon granUd by iho C■o^•(>rnmclU, but still (Tisplay NEW BRUNSWICK. ntry situated ch was likely eaty, through th of August, chapter, crritory, situ- led ; and the difficulties in sample of this veen the State nericans have atively recent are too severe •potual snows, furs they pro- . the southern I and the soil 1 covered with itains, and ex- swept over the 1 a new growth try has cleared there are wide grasses, ferns, , reindeer, and native deserts. immense dis- this wide area tury vdll pass that navigr.tcs cw Brunswick, the shores of nt still (fisplav the wild and unchanged scenery of a co)intry where the sounds of a European language are never heard, nor the soil disturbed by the labour of man. ^ Although the mountains of North America are much inferior in alti- tude to those of the South, there is no part of the world where nature presents more sublime and beautiful scenery. Tlie mighty St. Lawrence, with a chain of inland seas — the St. John, that nearly crosses the pen- insula between the Bay of Fundy and Quebec, and other rivers of the inhabited parts of British America, whether considered as channels of navigation or as objects of beauty, always call forth the admiration of strangers, and the scenery along their banks is peculiarly rich and im- posing. The Canadian lakes are the largest and deepest in the world. Lake Superior is 300 miles in length, 140 miks at its greatest breadlh, and 1500 miles in circumference ; and it has been estimated by Capt. Bayfield, that its surface is G27 feet above the level of the Atlantic Ocean. The smallest lakes of the great chain are capable of allbrding space for the movements of large fleets ; and, like the ocean, they are tossed into lofty waves, lluit never cease to roll upoa llieir fertile borders. Then there is the great Cataract of Niagara, where the surplus waters of the great inland basins are poured over a stupendous precipice, pro- ducing a fall that far surpasses any other on the face of the globe. Next in magnitude is the great fall of the St. John. The Falls of Montmorenci, near Quebec, and those of the Nepisiquit, in New Brunswick, although inferior in magnitude, are sublime and beautiful objects. The tides of the Bay of Fundy, which at one place rise no less *than 78 feet, are also remarkable. The Grand Banks of New- foundland, which have evidently been produced by the gulf-stream that runs along the Atlantic coast, and ailbrds the most extensive fishery ever known, may also be reckoned among the wonders of the New World. The accounts given by the native savages and early voyai-crs of the numerous and valuable productions of the country, and its great natural curiosities, were well calculated to infuse a spirit of enterprise in the European nations, who ail seemed eager to reap the advantages oftered by the discovery of a new continent. But the ambition of these powers ' Kl ^i ill I'M! I' :i HI ii I If I ■ h i ! 6 NEW BRUNSWICK. soon precipitated them into wars, which greatly retarded the settlement of the new Colonies in America, and nearly exterminated the native in- habitants of the great continent. The Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada were recently united, and they now form a country whose pro- ductions and population exceed those of the maritime districts. They have long been the resort of emigi'ants from Great Britain, while the climate, soil, and resources of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have been overlooked. The numerous valuable fisheries along the coast and in the bays have also been neglected, and left unprotected from foreign aggression. British America offers perfect relief to the overflowing population of the mother-country, whose manufacturing districts and most productive counties have become so overloaded with the humbler classes, that the least disturbance in the state of trade produces the greatest degree of misery and crime. To remove this monstrous burden from the culti- vated to the uncultivated parts of the British Empire, is a work of great national importance, and one that calls loudly for universal benevolence. The history of the aboriginal inhabitants of North America is in- volved in great obscurity. From tradition, relics, &c., some have sup- posed that the continent was originally peopled from the north-east ; but it is far more probable that it was first occupied by emigrants from Asia, from which America is only separated by the Straits of Bering. The relics of the North American Indians consist chiefly of axes, kr'ves, arrow-heads, anu pots made of stone. These are frequently found in their graves — it being the custom of many tribes to bury with the deceased the implements they had used in their lifetime. A far more interesting class of relics is seen in the tumuli, forts, walls, mounds, hearths, &c., found in North America. It is evident that the people who erected these works were far more civilised, and better acquainted with the arts, than any of the present Indian tribes. Those ancient works are found scattered over the great plains between the southern shore of Lake Eric and the Gulf of Mexico, and along the banks of the great rivers, which in ancient times appear to have had towns and cities along their borders. Many of these mounds and fortifications arc now covered with a lofty growth of timber, and more m he settlement ;he native in- ;r and Lower y whose pro- tricts. They in, while the a Scotia have the coast and I from foreign population of )st productive isses, that the itest degree of rom the culti- e, is a work / for universal NEW BRUNSWICK. 7 llian a thousand years are supposed to have elapsed since they were erected. Dried human hodies, resembling mummies, have also been found in tho caves of Kentucky ; and it is by no means .improbable, that they were contemporaneous with the works of art found in the Western States. Si- milar relics are also discovered in Texas, New Mexico, and South Ame- rica; but it appears that the northern parts of the great continent were in- habited at a later date, for in them these relics of civilisation entirely disappear, and nothing is found that throws any light upon the history of America, except a few rude implements of the savages. The present work is intended to give an account of the Province of New Brunswick, from its rirst settlement up to the present time, and to make its resources better known. The Colony is one of great importance, with regard both to its intrinsic value and the stedfast loyalty of its inhabitants ; and to place it in its true light before the British public, will be the chief object of the following pages. .menca is m- )me have sup- e north-east ; migrants from lits of Bering, iefly of axes, are frequently to bury with me. tumuli, forts, It is evident civilised, and Indian tribes. plains between and along the ir to have had mounds and ber, and more \V' i 1 ' 'i CHAPTER II. HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF NEW BRUNSWICK AS FORMING A PART OF ANCIENT ACADIA. The Province of New Brunswick did not exist as a Colony previous to the American Revolution. The French had always considered it a part of New France, or Acadia, and therefore its history is compre- hended in that of Nova Scotia until 1784, when it was formed into a separate Government. The histories of all new countries, or such as are inhabited by an uncivilised people, must necessarily be very limited, and, from the lack of written records, they can never extend beyond the tradition of the aborigines. From the continued perils and hardships the first settlers in the North American Provinces were compelled to endure, little pains were bestowed by them on the preservation of records which would have been highly useful and interesting to succeeding generations. That part of American history which is- ^lled by an account of New Brunswick is comparatively small ; nevertheless, the following facts, collected from a variety of sources, will doiibtless be of some interest. During the reign of Henry VII., John Cabot, a Venetian navigator, believed in the possibility of finding a western passage to India, and the discoveries previously made by Columbus had excited a spirit of enterprise favourable to an inquiry of so much importance to the East- ern World. Accordingly, on the 5th of March, 1496, His Majesty granted a commission to Cabot and his sons Sebastian, Lewis, and Sacnuis, with full authority under English colours to take possession of all the countries they might discover unknown to Christians. Two caravels and five ships were fitted out by the Western navigator and his friends. These vessels were supplied with articles of trafllc 1 ij ■Mi Mi. \ Hi! NEW BRUNSWICK. 9 A PART OF m by the mcrt-hants of London ;in(l Bristol. With this little fleet anil thre(> hundred men, Cabot and his son Sebastian sailed from Bristol i>arly in May 1497. While piirsuinjr a western course in tht hope of reachin;^ the China Seas without being aiTested in their progress, on the 2-lth of June they were surprised by the appearance of land. The land thus first discovered was evidently a part of Labrador, which they called Prima Vista. Galvanus* says that the land first dis- covered by Cabot was in latitude 45°; and as they coasted to the north- ward, they must have gone into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, in pursuit of the supposed Northern passage. During this part of their voyage, they discovered an island where they first became acquainted with the savages of America. This island they called St. John (now Prince Edward's Island), whence they carried av/ay ten of the natives to England. -f- They then sailed northward to latitude 67" 30"; but being disappointed in not finding the passage he was in quest of, Cabot altered his course, and steered to the south along the coast, to the land now called Florida. From these discoveries, and the actual settlement of two Englishmen by the name of Gilbert on the western side of the Bay of Fundy (now New Brunswick), in 1G07, the English claimed America by right of dis- covery and possession. The discovery of the Western Continent was thus made five years before Columbus had extended his observations -beyond the islands of the Gulf of Mexico. In consequence of the failing of his provisions, and a mutiny that broke out among his seamen, Cabot was compelled to return to England, where it appears the success of the voyage was not such as afforded any stimulus to other adven- * turers. The French were the next to visit the new continent. In 1518, Baron cles of traflic * It was formerly supposed that Newfoundland was the Ih-st-discovered coast on the continent of America; but it appears from the relative positions of the different places named by historians, that the land in qiiestion was Labra- dor, and that the land opposite was Newfoundland, named St. John, and not Prince Edward's Island, as some have believed. The white bears found at Labrador by the voyayeurs decide in favour of that place, as they do not exist on the islands farther south. t lialiburton's History of Nova Scotia, vol. i. payc iv. '*■ !>| (jll'lil ,t ill! i;; IJ |; ■!'l' ili 10 NEW BllUNSWICK. clc Lery, a Frenchman, landed cattle at Isle du Sable, and made an attempt to open a settlement at Canseau ; but in this object he was unsuccessful. In 1525, Varrazzand, a Frenchman, and Gomez, a Spa- niard, coasted the shores from Newfoundland to Florida, and landed in Nova Scotia ; but they made no attempt to settle the country. In 1534, Jacques Carticr landed at Bay Chaleurs, and took possession of the country in the name of the King of France. It is probable that he and his people were the first Europeans who landed in that part of Acadia now called New Brunswick. Cartier fortified Cape Breton in 1541. It was not until 1579 that any attempt was made by the English to extend the discoveries of Cabot, or to establish a Colony in the Western World. In the above year, Queen Elizabeth granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent for discovering, occupying, and settling " such remote heathen and barbarous countries as were not actually possessed by any Christian people." Sir Humphrey lost one of his ships in a storm imme- diately after she had put to sea, and after returning home his circum- stances were so much reduced that he was compelled to sell his estate. On the 11th of June, 1583, he sailed again from Plymouth with five ships and 250 men ; and on the 11th of July he arrived at Newfound- land, of which he took formal possession in behalf of the Crown of England. His commission was read at St. John's before a number of tnerchants who had gone there to trade, and the masters of thirty-six vessels of different nations. Obedience was promised by the people^ and a pillar was erected bearing an engraving of the Queen's arms. Public worship was introduced according to the mode of the Established Church of England. A tax was levied on all the ships, and treasonable* words were to be punished by the loss of ears and the confiscation of th 3 property of the offender.* Sir Humphrey sailed from Newfoundland on the 20th of August, with three ships — the Delight, the Golden Hind, and the Squirrel. The Delight was wrecked on the Isle of Sable ; and the Squirrel, which he commanded in person, foundered in a violent storm, and every soul on board perished. The unfortunate vessel was spoken at the time of * lliililjurtuii, vol. i. i)iigL' 7. :iii i NEW BllUNS /ICK. 11 and made an )bject he was omez, a Spa- and landed in ntry. 3ok possession probable that in that part of Cape Breton the English to in the Western Sir Humphrey ; " such remote ssessed by any a storm imme- me his circum- sell his estate, louth with five at Newfound- the Crown of re a number of s of thirty-six Iby the people^ Queen's amis. [he Established ,nd treasonable* confiscation of |th of August, 1 Squirrel. The ^rrel, which he \d every soul I at the time of her peril. Sir Humphrey was seen sitting with a book in his hand, and he was heard to call out to his companions, " We are as near heaven by sea as by land." During the night, the signal lights of his ship suddenly disappeared, and he, with his whole crew, was buried in the ocean.* Sir Humphrey Gilbert was a man of more than ordinary strength and stature. His appearance at once commanded esteem and veneration. He was celebrated for his genius and learning, courage and patriotism, and Queen Elizabeth had honoured him by peculiar marks of royal favour. With him perished Stephen Permanius, a learned Hungarian whose friendship for the Admiral had induced him to undertake the voyage. Sir John Gilbert, the brother of Sir Humphrey, to whose title he succeeded, was the next to attempt the opening of a settlement on the Norlh American Continent. In 1G07, by the aid of Sir John Popham, he fitted out a fleet, and arrived in safety at the mouth of the Sagada- hock, or Kenebec river, and spent a winter on a small island which con- tained only about eight acres. At this place the nobleman died, and his company, having suffered great distress, returned to England in the following year. In the mean time, the French were jealous spectators of the attempt made by the English to colonise the New World, and Cartier, Rober- val, and other Frenchmen visited Canada, thereby giving France a claim to the teiTitory of the St. Lawrence. By the labours of these persons, a lucrative trade was opened with the natives, an(f the fisheries along the coast had attracted numbers of adventurers from the different na- tions of Europe. Under the protection of Henry IV. the Marquis de la Roche sailed from France in 1598 with a number of convicts, whom he landed on the almost barren Isle of Sable, in the hope of making a settlement. He then proceeded to Nova Scotia ; but having met with several dis- asters, he returned to France, leaving the miserable convicts on the island, where there was neither fresh water, fuel, nor a soil capable of producing anything but thorns and thistles. After these unfortunate people had been upon the island seven years, they were taken off" by I Ilackluyt, vol, iii. p. 1jo-1i'>8. : U NEW IJUUNSWICK. Clu'todt'l, who had boon u pilot to De hi llodK'. Only twelve of the nunilur hmdcd were found alive : these were pardonetl of their offences, and each survivor received fifty crowns from the King. They also recovered heavy damages from Chctodel, who had taken from them all the skins of black foxes and other furs they had secured during their exile. The early attempts to establish Colonics u])on these shores Wc r un- successful, and even calamitous ; yet the value of the fur-trade, the nature of the soil, and tlie liope that always prevails of finding riches in unexplored regions, excited the Jluguenots and other European mer- chants with the spirit of foreign enterprise. Previous to the year 100!), a mariner named Sehavalet is stated to have performed no less than forty voyages to Causeau. In 1578, the number of fishing vessels upon the coast was 330 ; of these 100 were Spani;;h, 30 Biscayans, 150 French, and 50 English. The latter had command of the harbours.* Valuable furs were purchased from the savages for mere trinkets, and the teeth of the sea-horse brought high prices in the European markets. The interesting accounts given by those who had visited the coimtry, had also much influence over the minds of the adventurers. The seas were represented as being alive with fish, the forests with black foxes and other animals with rich furs, and the rocks with gold, silver, and precious stones. All these circumstances combined, produced a spirit of rivalry among the European Powers, and to create undue emulation and strife among their subjects. During the i-eign of Ileni'y IV., a gentleman named De Monts, luider very favourable auspices, made another attempt at colonisation. He received from his Sovereign almost unlimited powers and privileges, and every encouragement to pursiu^ his arduous undertaking. De Monts had accompanied C/hauvin up the St. Lawrence, and had made himself acquainted with a part of tlie Atlantic coast, llis connnission embraced all the territory from the 40th to the 4Gth degree North latitude, or from Hudson's Bay to Virginia ; and he had a monopoly of the fur-trade over that vast tract oi: country, which was then called New France. The Colony was to be established at the expense of pnse. De !|i ii li.ickluyl, vol. iii. \k liJL'. -, if!, I if'-ji i\ NKW lUUNSNMCK. IS ' twelve of the f tluir offoncos, g. Tlu'v also 1 fVoin them all :d during their liorcs wi. •<' iin- fur-tnuli', the luliiisf riehes iu Europenti nier- theyear 1G09, I no less than iig vessels upon Biscayans, 150 the harbours.* • trinkets, and opean markets, d the coiuitry, ers. The seas th blaek foxes Id, silver, and duced a spirit idue emulation Monts, under )nisation. He md privileges, rtaking. De md had made is eonnnission degree North I monopoly of IS then called le expense of individuals, who eheerfully devoted their money to the popular enter- prise. De Monts was a Protestant, and obtained permission for the free exercise of his religion in the country, on the condition of providing for Roman Catholic Missionaries for the conversion of natives. Four vessels were well equipped ; of these two were put under his inhnediate command — the other two were to be employed in protecting and extend- ing his trade. Accompanied by Champlain (an experienced pilot, and afterwards the founder of Quebec), Potriucourt, and a number of respect- able volunteers, De Monts sailed from Havre de Grace, and on the Kith of May, l(i04, arrived at Ilosignol (now Liverpool), on the south side of Acadia. At this place he found one Rosignol, whose nanu^ the harbour h.cd received, trading with the Indians without a licence. He inniiediately seized the vessel and goods of his countryman, and by them enabled himself to carry on the expedition, which otherwise would have failed.* He then sailed westerly about four leagues, to a harbour now called Port Mouton, where he disembarked aiul erected camps, or wigwams, for the accommodation of his companions and seamen. At this place they remained some time, amusing themselves by hunting and fishing, being in daily expectation of receiving supplies from one of the vessels. But Morel, the captain, had not discovered his instructions, which were fixed to a cross at Canseau, and he had been delayed in capturing four French vessels, which he found carrying on a contraband trade. The missing vessel was at last found by a party of the natives, despatched to Canseau for the purpose, and the winter supplies, under the care of Pontgrave, were finally received. From thence De Monts sailed along the peninsula to the westward and northward, and anchored in the Hay of St. Mary. While he was surveying the shores of the bay, lu- discovered a vein of iron ore, and, as it is stated, a mineral containing silver. The vein of iron ore may htill be seen ; but as no silver ore of any kind has ever been found by the inhabitants since, it is probable tliat tlie mineralogist of De Monts was mistaken, ur deceived by the sliiniiig appearance of the specular i * A large lake between Liverpool and Annapolis btill bears the name of Ro'^io-nol. 14 NEW bllUNSVVlCK. I i! !!. ^il! iron still found on Di^^by Nock. At a certain landing-place in the bay, the whole party were nnich dismayed fron» the absence of one Daubre, a highly-respectable clergyman, who on one of his excursions had lost his sword, and, while he was searching for it, lost himself. After every endeavour had been made to find the absent priest, but to no avail, he was unavoidably left on the solitary shore. He sustained himself six- teen days on berries and roots, and, at the end of that period, was accident.idy discovered from a boat em])loyed in fishing. He was much emaciated, and almost luiable to speak, and in this state was carried to his companions, who greatly rejoiced at his providential deliverance. In the mean time, De Monts and his party had sailed into a spacious bay, which they called lia Baye Fran^oise, but since known under the appellation of the Bay of Fundy. They also discovered the narrow channel called Digby Gut. After passing through this channel, they were delighted with the beautiful basin into which it opened, it being surrounded with fine scenery, and hills that poured down streams of fresh water into the level lands of the shore. Potrincourt was so much pleased with the extremity of the basin, and the river flowing into it, that he chose the land at their junction for his residence, and, having obtained a graiit of it from De Monts, called it Port Royal.* The next place visited wa a high cape on the north side of La Baye Fran^oisc. At this place they found native copper, which, from being supposed to contain gold, gave the name of Cape d'Or to that place. At Parrsboro' and Cape Blowmedon, they found various crystals and amethysts, some of which were afterwards presented to the King and Queen. Having altered their course and steered along the northern shore, they found a great river, called by the natives Ouangondy ; but from having disco- vered it on the 24th of June, the day of the festival of St. John the Baptist, they named it St. John. In hopes of finding a sh.>rt communication between La Baye Fran- ^oise and the Bay Chaleurs and Tadousac.f they sailed up the stream, until the water became too shallow for their vessels. Its grandeur and 1^ i ! !5|t| I ;^ I * Since called Annapolis, in honour of Queen Anne. t Haliburton, vol, i, p. IG, Tadousac, situated below Quebec, was the first French settlement made on the St, Lawrence, V 1:1 NKW BRliNSWICK. 15 i St. John the l)pauty — its fish and fowl — its wiUl grapes and ricli meadows, were all ohjects of admiration. The noble river swept slowly and niajestically on its conrse, through groves of lofty elms and maples ; and the shores, although often frequented hy the native savages, were buried beneath thick forests, of which large tracts remain uncleared even to the present day. It has not been ascertained whether De Monts and his compa- nions were the first Europeans who ascended the St. John ; it is never- theless very certain that they were its first navigators in vessels of any considerable burthen. Having examined this river probably as far as the site where Frede- ricton now stands, they followed the shores of the bay until they found an island in the middle of a river, which had been previously explored by Champlain. From a |)eculiar configuration of the river and its tri- butary streams, which suggested the idea of a cross, the island was called St. Croix, and a fort was erected to defend the adventurers from the assaults of the natives, in whose friendship they could have little confi- dence. The island of St. Croix * is situated at the mwith of a river of the same name, which now forms a part of the boundary between New Brunswick and the State of Maine, and within a mile and a half of the present town of St. Andrew's, It was about a mile and a quarter in circumference, and quite low and level, Its southern side was defended hy a few pieces of cannon, and upon its opposite side a fort was erected to command the river. The fort contained the dwelling of De Monts, above which waved the royal standard of France. There was also a magazine and a chapel. The roof of the latter was supported by living trees. Near the magazine were the dwellings of D'Orville Champlain, Champdore, and other gentlemen, with a long covered gallery for exer- cise and amusement in bad weather. The land between the fort and ec, was the first * There has been some dispute in regard lo the river which De Monts called St, Croix. L'Escarbot, in the llistoire de la Nouvelle France, says, " Quittans la Riviere St. Jean, ils vinrent suivant la cote « vingt iieues de la en unc graude rivit>re (qui est proprement mer), ou ils se canip6rent en une petite isle au mi- lieu d'icelle." The mouth of the St. Croix, now so called, is twenty leagues from St. John, and the whole description given by L'Escarbot agrees with the present features of the country. Hi NKW HllUNSWICK. II ^M:||ii|| I = ' liii m battery was laid out in gardi-ns, wliitli, notwitlistaiuling tlic lateness ol the season, were planted and decorated.* As this fort only consisted of a low breastwork, and a ditch opened in loose soil, it has entirely disappeared, and not a fragment of the wooden buildin{,'s now remains. Old French bricks, cannon-balls, and other relics have been found on the island at the place where the fort was erected. Potrincourt having chosen Port Royal for his residence, embarked on board one of the vessels, and returned to France. It was soon disco- vered by the French that tlic site of their encampment was most unfa- vourable. The island afforded scarcely any fuel, and no fresh water ; and as their grain had been planted too late in the season to ripen, on the approach of winter they were compelled to live on salted meat. The scurvy soon made its appearance, and of seventy-six persons, thirty-six died during the winter, and those who survived were reduced to a state of great distress. From these circumstances, De Monts determined to seek a more favourable climate for making a settlement. Accordingly, as soon as the ice had disappeared in the spring, he visited Penobscot, Kenebcc, Casco, Saco, and Malabarre, now called Cape Cod. The aborigines of St. Croix were very friendly, and much pleased with the society of their visitors ; but the Indians of Cape Cod were found to be hostile, and far too numerous to be withstood by the small force of De Monts: he therefore returned to Port Royal. All this period, the whole country, including New Brunswick and the chief part of the State of Maine, was called Acadia. On the approach of autumn, De Monts set sail for France, leaving Pontgrave, Champlain, and Champ- dore in charge of the infant Colony. In the succeeding season, his people raised grain and vegetables ; and an abundant supply of venison was obtained by hunting, or purchase from savages. They also endea- voured to establish themselves farther south ; but, from the strength and hostility of the Indians, they were unsuccessful. De Monts and Potrincourt, after tlicir return to France, were active in making preparations for another voyage, and raising a reinforcement for the little Colony at Port Royal. They sailed from Ilonfleur on the * Ilaliburlou, vol, i. p, 18. Iwhiii r the latent'sn of ditch opened in t of the wooden )all8, and other re the fort was ic, embarked on A^as soon disco- was most unfa- no fresh water ; on to ripen, on )n salted meat, ty-six persons, )d were reduced ces, De Monts ig a settlement, pring, he visited died Cape Cod. ch pleased with od were found the small force At this period, lief part of the autumn, De and Champ- g season, his )ly of venison cy also endea- 1 1 the strength _'e, were active reinforcement on flour on the NEW BRUNSWICK. 17 13th of May, IfiOO, in a vessel of 150 tons burthen, and, after a lon^^ passage, arrived at Canseau. They also visited Port Mouton ; but on their arrival ut Port Royal on the 27th of July, they lamented to find that Pontgrave had departed frouj the place twelve days before. He had been instructed by De Monts to explore the coast southward of Cape Cod, hut was twice compelled to return by contrary winds, and in making a third attempt his vessel was wrecked. After building two small vessels, which he loaded with his provisions and merchandise, he sailed, leaving two of his men in charge of the goods he was unable to remove. After the return of De Monts and Potrincourt, the settlement at Port Royal soon began to revive, and L'Escarbot, a respectable lawyer, devoted his energies to the introduction of agriculture and the importa- tion of domestic animals ; but Dc Monts was still very desirous to establish himself farther to the south, where the climate was milder. On the 28th of August he again returned to France, in company with Pontgrave and Potrincourt ; Champlain and Champdore again made a voyage to Cape Cod, where they were compelled to land in order to repair the rudder of their vessel. Two guns were discharged at the natives, who had stolen a hatchet. Tliis circumstance gave the savages an excuse for declaring war, and acconlingly on the following morning a shower of arrows was thrown among the French, two of whom were killed and several wounded. The dead were buried at the foot of a cross, and during the performance of the burial service, the natives, who had fled into the woods, were dancing and yelling according to their barbarous customs. No sooner had Potrincourt and his men embarked, than they rushed out of the forest, tore down the cross, disinterred the bodies, stripped them of their grave-clothes, and carried them off in triumph. The French commander was afterwards driven by adverse winds into the same harbour, where he caught seven of the savages, and put them to death.* There can be little doubt that it was from acts of violence committed by the first voyagers to America upon the natives, that they were induced I , , yi • Haliburton, vol. i. page 21. w\ 1, i' ll ■ 1 lii 11? '! 4 I la NEW BRUNSWICl . to cherish that spirit of retaliation which was so horribly inanifested afterwards upon whole villages of European settlers, when neither sex nor age was spared from the brutal violence of the tomahawk and seal ping-knife. Alas ! too often was the untutored Indian shot down, for acts which, according to his own laws and customs, were scarcely punishable. Any retaliation made upon a single member of any tribe called forth revenge ; but had those who first landed upon the shores of America been governed by principles of equity, and practised for- bearance, the red men of the forest would have been their friends, and spared the lives of thousands slain to gratify a passion implanted in their bosoms by the barbarous treatment their brethren had received at the hands of the early visitors to the great continent. Being again defeated in establishing a settlement to the southw.ard, Potrincourt returned to Port Royal, where he was received by a pro- cession which accompanied him to his house with much formality. The whole company spent the ensuing winter in great festivity. A water- mill was erected to grind their corn, and they had been successful in fishing and hunting. Several hogsheads of pickled alewives were sent to France, with other productions of the country. But the French Colonists soon began to experience much uneasiness from the encamp- ment of 400 Indians near their little fortress. The Acadian tribes were at last discovered to be at war with the Armouchequois, or Cape Cod Indians ; and the little army, under the command of Mambertou, a celebrated Sachem, departed to join their friends of the Ouangondy, or River St. John, whence they proceeded in their canoes to meet their enemies. In this expedition they were successful, and Indian songs commemorative of the battle fought have been transmitted down to the present generation. The French, after waiting with much anxiety for the return of De Monts, were at last informed, by a vessel from Canseau, that their leader T as in extreme difficulty in France. Complaints had been made that, under the exclusive privileges held by him, he prevented vessels em- ployed in fishing from obtaining necessary supplies, and his monopoly of the fur-trade had given dissatisfaction. The Government, being very- desirous to encourage the fishery, and willing to yield to tlie entreaties of the merchants, cancelled the grant of Dc Monts, giving him the 1 I I J NEW BRUNSWICK. 19 ly manifested when neither omahawk and an shot down, were scarcely r of any tribe )on the shores practised for- ir friends, and implanted in I had received the soiithw.ard, ived by a pro- irmality. The ity. A water- in successful in ivives were sent lut the French m the encamp- Acadian tribes uois, or Cape of Mambertou, Ouangondy, or to meet their Indian songs ;ed down to the return of De hat their leader jen made that, jd vessels em- lis monopoly of int, being very the entreaties ;iving him the paltry sum of 0,000 livres to reimburse him for 100,000 livres expended in founding the Colony. To obtain that small sum, he was authorised to levy a tax upon the peltries of the fur-traders, which, Champlain said, "was like giving him the sea to drink." Although there is reason to believe that he had abused the powers entrusted to him, and had been cruel to his countrymen, yet his abrupt and sudden deprivation was ungenerous and unjust. Potrincourt lamented over the misfortunes of his friend, and resolved to maintain the settlement of Port Royal, where he had a desire to spend the remainder of his days with his family. After gathering the first fruits of his harvest, and different kinds of ores from the rocks, he sailed on the 11 th of August for France, Specimens of the grain and other productions of Acadia were given to the King, who expressed his gratification at the present. Potrincourt succeeded in obtaining a grant of Port Royal, upon condition that he would support ten Jesuits for the purpose of introducing Christianity among the savages. But, although he was a Roman Catholic, he greatly disliked the Jesuits, and endeavoured to get rid of two priests who had volunteered their ser- vices for Acadia, Fearing that they would meddle with his afifairs, it is said that he informed them, " they must leave him to rule the people on earth, and merely guide them to heaven." After their arrival at Port Royal, the priests sent back bitter complaints of their treatment, and sought redress. From their statements, Madame de Gourcherville, in the spring of 1613, despatched a vessel, with a number of emigrants, from Honfleur to La Have, where two priests took pos- session of the harbour, and set up the arras of the pious lady. The vessel then proceeded to Port Royal, and the captain, M. Sausaye, removed the reverend fathers from Potrincourt's settlement to Mount Desert, where, with a few of the Colonists, they erected a cross, cele- brated mass, and named the place St. Saviour. While this settler. ent was in progress, they were attacked by Captain Argall, an Englishman, in a vessel of 14 guns, bound to Virginia. After a spirited contest, in which one of the priests was killed, the French surrendered, and most of them were carried to James' Town. Argall pretended that they were pirates, and accordingly the Governor determined to hang them ; but finding that the matter had assumed a more serious aspect than he had c 2 bM il'ii! ( 1 ■ . ■■ 1 i i if ■ ^ • i::i i;^i! (* ililii f !P!l I m iiijj! i^iii ^ NEW BRUNSWICK. anticipated, tlie Captain acknowledged the facts, from which it appeared that the prisoners were French subjects. As the two nations were at peace, it might have been expected that the Governor at least would have given Argall a severe reprimand ; but, so far was he from being displeased, that he immediately ordered the Captain to attack other French settlements. That officer soon appeared at Port Royal, and captured the place almost without resistance. Some of the inhabitants fled into the woods, others were carried away prisoners, and the whole of the fortifications were thrown down. No complaint was made of these aggressif^ns by France, which was satisfied when the prisoners were restored. At this period the Colonies were considered of no value, and, therefore, they became the prey of almost every armament that crossed the Atlantic. Atadia is said to have been the favourite Colony of Henry lY., but it does not appear that he supported it with any degree of energy ; nor was England, nor any other European Power, active in maintaining her rights, or resenting injuries inflicted upon the early Colonists. In 1621, Sir William Alexander obtained a free grant from James I, of all the country extending from the St. Croix to the St. Lawrence. In his patent this territory is, for the first time, called Nova Scotia, which included New Brunswick and the islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence as far as Newfoundland. Sir William appears to have pos- sessed a variety of talent, and was styled by the King a philosophical poet. Among his poetical works, was one called the "Aurora," a long complaint on his unsuccessful addresses to a young lady. He obtained knighthood in 1G13, and was appointed one of the Gentlemen Ushers to Prince Charles. In 1626, the King appointed him Secretary of State for Scotland. He was also ere ted a Peer of that kingdom in 1630, under the title of Viscount Stirling ; and on the 14th of June, 1633, he was made Earl of Stirling. With the grant of Nova Scotia he also received extraordinary powers, being made Lieutenant- General, Justice-General, High Lord of Admiralty, with power to create titles of honour, appoint bishops, and all other ofl^cers. The only reservation made to the Crown in the patent, was a tenth part of the royai mines of gold and silver, and five per cent, on the imports and exports after the first seven years. '1!! iim^ NEW BRUNSWICK. 21 h it appeared tions were at t least would ne from being attack other rt Royal, and le inhabitants ind the whole was made of jrisoners were lo value, and, t that crossed te Colony of til any degree >wer, active in ipon the early from James I. St. Lawrence. Nova Scotia, le Gulf of St. to have pos- philosophical iirora," a long He obtained lemen Ushers Secretary of t kingdom in 14th of June, Nova Scotia Lieutenant- tli power to ifficers. The tenth part of n the imports a^^ In 1625, Charles I., by a novodamus, renewed this patent,* to which in 1 028 he added another, granting the whole course of the St. Law- rence to the Gulf of California. This grant included Canada and the chief part of the United States. An Order of Baronets was created, " each of whom were to hold jurisdiction over a tract extending three miles along the coast, and ten towards the interior, and to receive in full property 16,000 acres of land. In return, each was bound to fit out six men for the Colony, or to pay 2,000 marks. By an extraor- dinary regulation, they were allowed to take seisin, or legal possession, not on the spot, but on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh, Nova Scotia being included in the county of that name."f The honours, powers, and territories granted to Sir William, called forth much ridicide from his witty contemporaries, who derided his attempt to rise from a poet to a king, and, like Alexander, to rule over a world unknown. There is no account of his ever having visited his extensive territory in America in person ; but in 1622, he fitted out a vessel, with a bodv of settlers, destined for Nova Scotia. From numerous delays, the vessel was unable to proceed beyond New- foundland during that season. In the ensuing spring, they coasted along the shores ; but finding their principal harbours already occupied by the French, who were not disposed to give up their possessions peaceably, they returned to England, where they gave the most favourable reports respecting the continent they had visited. War soon broke out with France, and Sir William, in 1627, despatched a small squadron under his eldest son, accompanied by Kertk, a French refugee, known as Sir David Kirk. The forts at Port Royal, St. Croix, and Pentagoet, were soon captured. At the former place, young Alexander erected a new fortress, and took up his residence as Governor of the country. J During their voyage they captured eighteen French transports, with 135 pieces of cannon, and other valuable stores, destined for the fortifi- • Narrative of Oppressive Proceedings against the Earl of Stirling, by Him- self, 4to. Edinbin-gh 1836, p. 53—75. i Case of the Honourable Baronets of Scotland and Nova Scotia, pp. 10—27. t Deucher, Alexander, (Genealogist,) Memorial from the Stirling Papers, — iM urray. m NEW BRUNSWICK. cations at Quebec and Port Royal. In one of the captured transports was Claude de la Tour, a gentleman of fortune and enterprise, who held a large tract of land upon the St. John, under a grant from the French Crown. Being brought to England, La Tour was introduced to Sir William ; and in order to secure his lands, he agreed to establish upon them a party of Scotch emigrants. Having entered into this new engagement, he repaired to Cape Sable,* where there was a fort held by his son. He employed every kind of entreaty and threat, to induce young La Tour to co-operate with him in his arrangements with the English ; but all was in vain, and his son indignantly refused to take any part in an act which he considered treasonable. An engagement took place between the parties : the son repulsed the father with con- siderable loss ; and the latter, being ashamed to return to England, was permitted to reside at the Cape ; but his son would not allow him to enter the fort. Claude de la Tour returned afterwards to England ; and Lord Stirling, it is said, promised to confirm to him Cape Sable, and a considerable extent of the adjoining coast.-)- It has been represented by some writers, that this was a cession of the whole of Nova Scotia, excepting only Port Royal: such an opinion, however, is exceedingly erroneous. The indenture, dated 30th of April, 1636, was in the possession of Mr. Deucher; but the transac- tion was never completed, J tts will appear from the fact, that La Tour never took any possession of the district referred to, but brought out a party of Scotch emigrants to the west side of the basin near Port Royal (Granville), where he built a fort, the remains of which are still called the Old Scotch Fort.§ At this place thirty of the emigrants died during the winter. In 1629, Kirk took possession of Cape Breton, and conquered Canada. Britain now held, by possession and conquest, all this part of America ; yet no importance appears to have been attached to these Colonies at this period, and by the Treaty of St. Germain's, Charles I. * The harbour where the fort stood is now called Port la Tour, where the remains of the fortification may still be seen. t Historical Account of British America, by Hugh Murray, F.R.S.E., vol. i. p. 12r»; Ilaliburton, vol. i. pp. 43, 44. 1 Deucher, Alexander. § Haliburton, vol. i. p. 45. NEW BRUNSWICK. 23 resigned his right to New France to Louis XIII., and the country was soon taken possession of by the French, who poured into it great numbers of emigrants. Home, who was in command of Nova Scotia at the time of this impolitic measure, received orders to demolish his fort, to remove British inhabitants, and abandon the country. To meet the expenses he had incurred. Lord Stirling received a grant from the Government of £10,000. It was, nevertheless, acknowledged that his patent was still in force. It has been stated by some, that the King considered that he had only given up certain places, oad still possessed a right to occupy parts of the country.* Having obtained possession of Acadia, the French Court sent out Razillai, Commander-in-Chief, having granted to hi.u the Bay and River of St. Croix. On his arrival at La Hav ;, he was so much charmed with the situation, that, with the permission of La Tour, he took up his residence there, and built a fort, Claude de la Tour had obtained a grant of a Isirge tract of country bordering on the St. John. Charles Etienne de la Tour, his eldest and surviving son, had a portion confirmed to him of Isle of Sable, La Have, Port Royal, and Minas, with large tracts of the adjoining lands, and also the country bordering on the St. John, granted to his father in 1627. Monsieur Denys held all the remaining paits of the Province, from Canseau to Gaspe Bay, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Notwithstanding the Treaty of St. Germain's, the English having opened extensive settlements between Florida and Kenebec, were * Case of the Baronets of Nova Scotia, pp. 28, 32, 34 ; Murray, vol. i. pp. 125, 126. At the present time, strong claims, founded on the above grants and transactions, are liefore the Govpvmnent. (See some articles on the sub- ject in "Simmonds's Colonial Magazine," vol. iv. p. 1, and vol. viii. p. 129.) It had been supposed that the titles of the House of Stirling had become ex- tinct ; but his descendants have appeared, and are now seeking the considera- tion of those rights they have derived from their celebrated ancestor. If the heirs of Lord Stirling and the Baronets of Nova Scotia should be permitted to carry out the objects of the original patent, which was the actual settlement of wild landa in America, tlicy would yet find abundant scope for all their energies, as there arc still immense tracts oi excellent land remaining in a wilderness state. 4 I 24 NEW BRUNSWICK. gradually increasing in wealth and population ; whereby they effectually prevented the French from extending their operations beyond the latter river, which was then considered the western boundary of Acadia. Razillai captured Pemaquid, and carried the goods belonging to the English Colonists at Plymouth to La Have. Soon afterwards he died, and the government of the country was assumed by Daubre de Charnisse, who was subsequently appointed Governor by a Royal Commission. Claude de la Tour, and aiuerwards his son, had erected forts and made other improvements on the St. John, which, from being navigable to a great distance, afforded the best channel of commu- nication to Bay Chaleurs and Quebec. Thf^ Indians who frequented this river were also numerous, and with them La Tour carried on a profitable trade. Whether from jealousy arising from those circum- stances, or from other causes, it is not known, but there arose a deadly strife between him and Charnisse, who soon entered into open warfare with his countryman. Accounts of the disturbance having reached France, Louis XIII. addressed a letter to Charnisse, dated 10th February, 1638, and in it defined the limits of the country claimed by the contending parties. Charnisse's territory extended from a line drawn from the centre of the Bay of Fundy, to Canseau on one side, and New England on the other. The remaining part of Acadia was assigned to La Tour. Permission was granted to Charnisse to occupy La Have and Port Royal. La Tour was allowed to hold his own fort on the St. John, and both were required to keep within the bounds prescribed. Reconciliation neverthe- less did not follow ; accusations from both parties were transmitted to the King, who finally sent out an order to Charnisse to arrest La Tour, and send him to France. In the commencement of the quarrel. La Tour obtained aid from the people of Massachusetts ; but his enemy made it appear that he was an outlaw, and for that purpose sent an af^ent to Boston with a copy of the warrant for La Tour's apprehen- sion. This negotiation resulted in an agreement between Endicott, the Governor of New England, and Charnisse, in which the former pro- mised to remain neutral. La Tour had previously chartered four armed vessels and employed eighty volunteers from Boston ; with this aid he returned to the St. John, whence he compelled Charnisse to retreat to NEW BRUNSWICK. Sd Louis XIII. 38, and in it iding parties. centre of the on the other. Permission Royal. La nd both were ion neverthe- ransmitted to est La Tour, quarrel. La it his enemy )ose sent an s apprehen- Indicott, the former pro- 1 four armed h this aid he to retreat to his fort at Penobscot. Madame La Tour had beeji engaged in Eng- land in adjusting her husband's affairs, and having completed her work, she sailed for the St. John ; but the master of the vessel proceeded to the St. Lawrence, and having finished his traffic there, finally set the lady on shore at Boston. For this violation of his charter, and the loss Madame La Tour had sustained by him, she recovered £2,000 da- mages. She then proceeded to the fort on the St. John, and Chamisse having heard of the absence of her husband, pursued her, and attacked her fortress, which, from being commanded by o female, he probably thought would be an easy conquest. But the lady defended the place with great spirit, and her artillery fired with so much precision, that Chamisse's frigate was rendered unmanageable, and he was compelled to draw off beyond the range of the cannon. In the engagement he had twenty men killed and thirte.m A'ounded. Having repaired his vessel, he returned to Penobscot, unoer the humiliating reflection of having attacked a w.man during the absence of her husband, and received at her hands an ample chastisement for his ungallant and cowardly behaviour. From motives of policy, the people of Massachusetts now refused to afford La Tour any farther assistance, and Charnisse seized another opportunity to attack the fort, when he was absent on a trading excur- sion. Having sailed up the River St. John, a siege was commenced, which, from the weakness of the garrison, offered a chance of conquest. But Madame La Tour, with a handful of men, was determined to defend the place even at the risk of sacrificing her own life, and during three days the besiegers were several times repulsed and compelled to retreat. On the fourth day, which happened to be Easter Sunday, she was unfortunate'/ betrayed by a mutinous Swiss, who had gone over to the enemy and communicated information fatal to the safety of the heroic woman. Even under ihis untoward circumstance, her courage did not fail ; and when Charnisse had scaled the wall, she met him in the front of her little garrison, and ready to perish in her husband's cause. Hav- ing reason to fear so brave a person, and having been several times beaten by a woman, Charnisse proi)oscd a capitulation, which Madame La Tour accepted for the humane purpose of saving the lives of the few brave men who had so long defended the place against a superior iM iiiii'i 2(> NEW BRUNSWICK. IPlIti force. liut no sooner had her cowardly adversary signed the articles of capitulation, entered the fort, and observed its defenceless state, than he immediately hanged all the survivors, reserving only one, whom he forced to execute his comrades. Besides this act of fiendish barbarity, he compelled Madame La Tour to witness the revolting and inhuman scene, and also led her to the gallows with a halter round her neck. - All the ordnance, stores, merchandise, furs, and plate of great value were carried away by the cowardly conqueror to Penobscot. The privations and perils Madame La Tour had suffered — the dreadful fate of her family and followers, with the loss of fortune and the danger to which her husband would consequently be exposed, broke with great violence upon the health of this heroic woman, and slie died shortly afterwards, deeply lamented by all who had heard of her name and misfortunes. The above fort* was situated at the mouth of the Gemsec, a deep and narrow channel between the Grand Lake and the main river. 4 I • Mr. Haliburton, in hia History of Nova Scotia, has given a description of the fort at the Gemsec, taken from an original inventory dated 5th August, 1670, as follows : — " First — At the entering in of the said fort, upon the left hand, we found a court of guard, of about fifteen paces long and ten broad, havhig upon the right hand a house of the like length and breadth, built with hewn stone, and covered with shingles ; and above them there is a chapel, of about six paces long and four paces broad, covered with shingles and built with terras, upon which there is a small turret, wherein there is a little bell, weighing about eighteen pounds. "More — Upon the left hand as we entered into the court, there is a maga- zine, having two stories, built of stone and covered with shingles, being in length about thirty-six paces, and ten in breadth ; which magazine is very old, and wanted nnich reparation; under which there is a little cellar, in which there is a little wel). And upon the other side of said court, being on the right hand, there is a house of the same length and breadth the magazine is, being half covered with shingles, and the rest uncovered, and wanted much repara- tion. Upon the ramparts of the said fort are twelve iron guns, weighing in all 21,122-pounds. "More— We do find in said fort six murthcrers, without chambers, weighing 1 ,200 pounds. " More— 200 iron bullets, from three to eight pounds. ■I NEW BRUNSWICK. 27 Under this burden of misfortunes, La Tour applied for aid to Sir David Kirk, who at that time was Governor of Newfoundland. That application was unsuccessful ; but his friends at Boston supplied him with a sum of money, and a vessel, whereby ho was able to revive his trade with the Indians of the St. John and Bay of Fundy. For those two acts of kindness it is said he made them a most ungrateful return. In 1651, Charnisse being dead, La Tour was recalled, and he mar- ried the widow of his inveterate enemy. About this time Chaniisse's sister also died, having bequeathed her property in Acadia to La Tour, whereby he obtained possession of the whole country. But La Tour le Borgne, to whom Charnisse owed a large siun of money, took pro- ceedings against the property of the deceased, and obtained a decree from the Court of France to take possession of the lands owned by the debtor. This individual, evidently with a desire of obtaining the whole Colony, fitted out an expedition, and first attacked Monsieur Denys, whom he took, and having put him in irons, sent him to Port Royal. He then destroyed all the buildings and fortifications belonging to Denys at Chedabucto and La Ha\ e, among which, at the latter place, was a chapel that cost 100,000 francs. La Tour's fort on the St. John still remained uncaptured ; and while Borgne was making preparations for its reductior;, he was preceded by Colonel Sedgewick, who was commissioned by Oliver Cromwell in 1654 to recover Nova Scotia from the French. Having defeated La Tour on the St. John, Sedge- .mbcrs, weighing " Lastly — About thirty or forty paces from said fort, there is a small out- house, being about twenty paces in length and eight in breadth, built with planks and covered with shingles, which do not serve for any use but to house cattle. "il/ore— About fifty paces from said outhouse, there is a square garden, enclosed with rails ; in which garden there are about fifty or sixty trees bear- ing fruit. (Signed) " Le Chevalier de Grand. Fontaine. Jean Maillard. Richard Walker. Isaac Garner. Marshall, Seii/." 1 ' 111 111 II m OS NEW BRUNSWICK. 4 I wick ■attacked Lc Borf^ne at Port Royal, and captured the place, al- most without resistance, notwithstanding it contained a strong garrison, a number of cannon, and plenty of provisions. Pentagoet, or Penobs- cot, was also taken, and the whole country again fell into the hands of the English.* During these struggles in the infant Colony, French settlements were made on the shores of the Bay Chaleurs. In the year 1()38 or 1639, when Acadia was held by Razillai, La Tour, and Denys, Jean Jacques Enaud commenced the clearing and improvement of a tract of land on the northern shore of New Brunswick (now so called). •)• Enaud was a native of Basque in France, whence he emigrated, with a number of families, to America. It does not appear that he obtained a grant of land from the French Government, and therefore it is probable that he was licensed by Denys, or that his district was supposed to belong to Canada. He was related to the Governor of Quebec, and it has been said that he obtained a title to all the lands between Grande Ance and Jacquet River. Enaud appears to have been in r.ffluent circumstances. He had trading establishments at Baie des Vents Island, and other places along the coast ; but his principal residence was at Abshaboo (now Bathurst), at the mouth of the Nepisiquit. From the peculiarity of the situation, in a deep bay, and remote from the settlements made by the French and English on the Atlantic coast, Enaud and his fol- lowers were in some degree exempt from those broils and conflicts that so often disturbed the peace of the southern districts. Indeed, the settlements of these people in Acadia do not appear to have been gene- rally known at the time, as history is almost silent upon the subject. The situation of La Tour's fort, at the mouth of the Gemsec, on the St. John, was such that he could readily have communicated with and obtained aid from Enaud, provided they were on friendly terms ; but the existence of a correspondence between those persons is only tradi- tional. Having carried on an extensive trade in furs, and having • Haliburton, p. 60, 6L f No particular account of Enaud, and the settlements made by him in New France, or Acadia, is found among the historical records of the time. Those accounts have been obtained from letters and MSS. still in possession of the descendants of the Acadian French. NEW BRUNSWICK. iiO cttlements were 1638 or 1639, s, Jean Jacques ract uf land on Ennud was a h a number of ined a grant of robable that he 3d to belong to md it has been "inde Ance and circumstances. and, and other ;is at Abshaboo the peculiarity ttlements made ud and his fol- d conflicts that Indeed, the ive been gene- the subject. Jemsec, on the ated with and ly terms ; but is only tradi- and having by him in New le time. Those ossession of the |)ursued the taking of the walrus, or sea-cow, for several years, dmiiig which time Les Jfabitans had become the occupants of the best situa- tions, and greatly increased in numbers, Enaud married a Mohawk woman, the daughter of a renowned Sachem, or Chief; but, from a quarrel that took place in the family, he was murdered by his v iiV-'s brother. At this period, the Mohawks of Ouspe and Canada were at war against the Micmacs of Acadia. The Nepisiquit was the boundary between the two tribes. The Mohawks were victorious, and such of Enaud's followers as escaped their vengeance were compelled to fly to the Isle St. John. Even to the present time, the Micmacs of the northern shores of New Brunswick are terrified at the long, tremulous whoop of the Mohawk Indian. The French emigrants did not retiirn to their lands until about 1G68 ; and in 1670 they had resumed their settlements at Nepisiquit, Grande Ance, and Caraquctte. In l(>f)2 they were again destined to experience new trials and adversities. The Micmacs, with whom they had long been upon friendly terms, had become jealous of the intrusions made by the white men, whom they now resolved to drive away. Led by a desperate chief, called Ilalion, they attacked the settlements, drove away the cattle, and burned the houses ; and such of the inhabitants as escaped their fury were compelled to leave the country. During all the changes of rulers, the inconstancy of the mother- country, the fickleness of the Indians, and the determination of the English to avenge the disloyalty of the French by banishment, they never altogether abandoned Acadia. The religion of the Roman Catholics, from its numerous and peculiar exhibitions, strikes the mind of the savage with far greater force than the forms of Protestant worship. The French priests found little difR- culty in converting the North American Indians so far to their faith, that they became their temporal as well as their spiritual guides ; and they often led them to battle against the English, who had taken little pains to convert the savages to Christianity. The French Government, in order to obtain allies from 'hese warlike tribes, offered large bounties to such of their subjects as would marry with them. Several of the priests, and many of the French inhabitants, adopted the habits and customs of the Indians ; and the latter took to themselves wives of the ii'iiii I ;'* i 30 NKW BRUNSWICK. red women of the forests. From these hnve sprunpf n monp^rel race, whose mixed features may still be seen in some parts of the Province. It is, therefore, not surprising that the lineage of individuals who now hold respectable situations can be traced to some renowned warrior or wise Sachem of the Etchmins or Abcnakis tribes. Notwithstanding the country was conquered by the English, the increase of the French population, which was scattered in small villages along the coasts and borders of the principal rivers, afforded France a decided advantage when the two nations were at war. Tiittle pains were therefore taken by the English to maintain a Colony that had already been given away several times, and whose lands had frequently been ceded to private individuals. In order to secure his property and trade. La Tour wns ready to submit to any Government into whose hands Acadia might fall ; he therefore urged his claim upon the English, and pk-aded the grant made of Acadia to his father by Lord Stirling. His application was supported by persons of influence in England, and he again obtained the chief part of the country, which he sold to Mr. Temple, afterwards Sir Thomas Temple. This gentleman expended £16,000 in erecting fortifications, and he carried on a lucrative trade ; but by the treaty of Breda, concluded in 1667 by Charles II., Acadia was again given up to France. Temple endeavoured to retain a part of the country, by making o distinction between Acadia and Nova Scotia ; but he was finally ordered to deliver up the whole territory to the French. Even at this period the country was considered scarcely worth being protected, and its inhabitants were exposed to numerous pirates that infested the coast. Among these was the notorious Captain Kidd, whose money, some have believed, is still buried on the shores of New Brunswick. The pirates not only plundered the inhabitants, but actually took the forts at the Gemsec, on the St. John, and at Pen- tagoet. Upon the breaking out of the war that followed the Revolution of 1688, the defenceless state of Nova Scotia rendered her an easy con- quest, and the people of Massachusetts resolved to attempt the achievehient of the enterprise. Accordingly, an expedition was fitted '1;* i NEW HHUNSWrCK. ;n uiit under the command of Sir William Phipps.* Three ahips, heHulon transports and 700 men, appeared heforc Port Royal on the 20th of May, 1690. The garrison consisted of only 80 men. Manival, the French Governor, obtained a very favourable capitulation under the circumstances. It has been stated by Freneli writers, that Sir William Phipps violated the articles upon which Manival surrendered. Having ailministered the oath of allegiance to the inhabitants, he carried away the Governor, 40 soldiers, and two priests. He then proceeded to Chedabucto, occupied by Montorquil, the successor of Deiiys ; and finding the fortification resolutely defended, he set fire to the place, and granted a capitulation to the small but brave g;ir- rison, who were safely conducted to Placentia. Sir William then destroyed the chapel and other buildings of Isle Perce. During this miserable state of the country, two pirates appeared at Port Royal, wliere their crews pillaged the country, set fire to 'the buildings, and burned one whole family in their i welling. Port Royal was shortly afterwards taken possession of by Chevalier Vi'labon, who captured the place by pulling down the English flag, and hoisting French colours in its place. Villabon, who was commissioned by the French Government to take the command of Nova Scotia, recovered a considerable sum of money that had been buried by one Des Gautius previous to the landing of Sir William Phipps, and then proceeded to attack the fort on the River St. John ; but on his passage thither he was overtaken by a pirate, who captured his vessel, which contained, besides a large sum of money, the presents intended to secure the alliance of the savages. Tlie old Charter of Massachusetts having been fbrfeited, a new one wavS granted by William and Mary. One of the provisos in the new charter was, that no land should be granted between the Sagada- hock and the Gulf of St. Lawrence without the special permission of the King, whereby a plain distinction was made between Nova Scotia and Massachusetts. • Sir William Phipps, the son of a blacksmith, was born at Pemaquid, in 1G50. In the early part of his life, he built a vessel, and recovered from a Spanish wreck at Hispaniola £300,000. He was afterwards Governor of Massa- chusetts. ?fl I-. •» i ■(■ ' 18 NEW BRUNSWICK. ' iilii i !i ^ii'i:i!i! !i Although Acadia, which then included within its bounds New Bruns- wick, had been conquered by the English, it was nevertheless in the possession of the French. Villabon occupied the fort* on the St. John, which was the resort of the French and great numbers of Indians. In 1691 he made Mr. Nelson, wl; ' had been appointed Governor of Nova Scotia, a prisoner, and sent hiin to Quebec, whence he was carried to France. From the forts on the St. John the French and Indians were sup- plied with arms and ammunition, with which they made frequent attacks upon the villages of New England. The Government of Mas- sachusetts, therefore, resolved to stop the supplies sent out annually from France to that river. vn armed vessel called the " Sorrel" was sent to cruize in the Bay, und having met the French frigate with the supplies, a desperate engagement ensued ; but she was beaten off, and the'supplies landed in safety. By numerous presents and the influence of the French priests, Villabon was successful in securing the aid of the Indian tribes. He was joined at St. John by Iberville, who arrived from Quebec with a body of soldiers and fifty Micmac Indians ; he was also reinforced by Baron Castine, who had lived many years among the savages and married a squaw. With these forces ViHn' on captured Pemaquid, where the Indians were permitted to murder several of the English prisoners. The people of Massachusetts, being aroused by numerous acts of cruelty committed on their countiymen, sent Colonel Church with 500 men to Nova Scotia, and the country was soon regained, with the exception of the fort on the St. John. He called upon the Acadians to assist him in subduing the Indians ; but they refused their aid, where- upon they were considered enemies, and the soldiers, a^'ier plundering the inhabitants, set fire to their buildings. The situation of the Colo- nists at this period was truly deplorable. They scarcely knew at times to what country or nation they belonged. They were strongly attached to France, and when they refused to be loyal to the British • In regard to the fortifications on the St. John, only the fort at the Gemsec is generally mentioned by historians : but there are remains of other military works along the banks of the river, of which some notice will be taken in another chapter. ;ls New Bruns- •theless in the m the St. John, f Indians. In /^ernor of Nova was carried to iaus were sup- made frequent nment of Mas- it out annually " Sorrel " was frigate with the beaten off, and id the influence Z the aid of the le, who arrived ic Indians ; he ly years among n' on captured several of the nerous acts of Church with f\ined, with the le Acadians to eir aid, where- ver plundering of the Colo- cely knew at were strongly the British at the Gemscc other military ^^ lill be taken in NEW BRUNSWICK. Crown, they were compelled to bear all the penalties of rebellion. The Province remained in the possession of the English until 1696, when, by the Treaty of Ryswick, it was again given to France. The memorable war of Queen Anne commenced in 1702. The vic- tories of Marlborough, and the universal success of British arms, were followed by a desire to improve the Colonies in America. New Eng- land having suffered much from the savages who were allied with the French in Acadia, resolved to gain by war what had so often been lost by treaty. She had solicited the mother-country to relieve her of Acadia, which up to this time had formed a part of the Colony ; but now the success of the English abroad called forth new energies in the people, who were desirous to share in the glories of their countrymen. In 1704, an expedition, commanded by Colonel Church, was sent to Nova Scotia. They arrived at Beau Basin (now Cumberland), where the inhabitants were required to join them in the extermination of the Indians. Upon their refusal to take up arms against their allies, their houses were burned, their dikes opened, cattle destroyed, and their goods plundered. This expedition terminated in producing the greatest possible distress among the Acadian settlers, and reflected but little credit upon the English Provincial troops, or the individual by whom they were commanded. Church returned to Massachusetts, where he was reinforced. He then proceeded up the St. John, and attacked the fort commanded by Villabon ; but the place was so well defended, that he re-embarked his men and retired. Three years afterwards, 1,000 men were sent to complete the con- quest of the country ; but Subercase, the French commander at Port Royal, defended the place with so much ability, that the assailants were compelled to raise the siege. Shortly afterwards, another unsuc- cessful attempt was made by the people of Massachusetts to capture that fortress. In 1710, an expedition was fitted out from Boston Bay, consisting of four men-of-war, two galleys, and fourteen transports, with one regi- ment of marines and four regiments of Provincial soldiers. These forces were put under the command of General Nicholson. The armament arrived at Port Royal on the 24th September, and the troops were landed without opposition. Subercase, the Governor, having a garrison ■»]■ ly 34 NEW BRUNSWICK. I III; i M'l'l '111 of only 260 men, made but a feeble resistance, and soon capitulated. The artillery taken by the English was purchased by the Government for 7,499 livres, and the prisoners were sent to Rochelle. The ex- penses incurred by New England in conquering Nova Scotia at this time amounted to £23,000. This sum was afterwards reimbursed by Parliament. The Court of France, fearing that Acadia would be irrecoverably lost, employed every means, through the medium of the French Mis- sionaries and by presents, to secure the affections of the Acadians and Indians. Castine, with a body of the latter and a few French, defeated a party of the English. He also invested Port Royal, and the Mar- quis d'Ailoigniers was ordered from France in great haste to aid him ; but the arrival of an English fleet in the Gulf of St. Lawrence effectu- ally checked these movements, and Castine's army dispersed. During these operations, the Peace of Utrecht was concluded, be- tween England and France, on the 11th April, 1713. By the articles of the treaty, all Acadia, or Nova Scotia, according to its ancient limits, was ceded to Great Britain, and France was now for ever de- prived of the Colony.* General Nicholson, having conquered the country, was in 1714 appointed Governor. He was afterwards succeeded by General Philips, and Port Royal, the capital of Nova Scotia, was named Annapolis. From the severity of the climate, and dread of the savages, few Bri- tish settlers were disposed to take up their residence in the Province, and the population consisted of French Acadians, of whom there were 4,000 men capable of bearing arms. These people were strongly at- tached to their native country, and always lived in the hope that France would finally conquer and hold the Colony, for which object they were ready to lend their aid. As they were known to be hostile to the British, whenever a war occurred they were called upon to take the oath of allegiance, to which many of them submitted, under the reser- vation that they should not be compelled to fight against their country- men. They were also exempt from the payment of any taxes, and permitted to trade with France. taken * Haliburton, vol. i. p. 92. NEW BRUNSWICK. 35 X capitulated. Government le. The ex- Scotia at this eimbursed by irrecoverably ! French Mis- Acadians and ench, defeated and the Mar- ie to aid him ; irrence efFectu- rsed. joncluded, be- By the articles to its ancient IV for ever de- was in 1714 eneral Philips, Annapolis, rages, few Bri- the Province, om there were •e strongly at- pe that France ect they were hostile to the n to take the der the reser- their country- ,ny taxes, and I 1 From this period the Acadians were called French Neutrals. But the Indians, who had always been attached to the French, were not con- quered, and refusing to become the subjects of Britain, they availed themselves of every opportunity that offered to plunder the English, upon many of whom they inflicted their savage tortures. Being well acquainted with the country, they would pass over it, carrying their canoes upon their shoulders between the rivers with great rapidity ; and being often assisted by the French Neutrals, they bade defiance to the Government, and remained lords of their native soil. In the year 1720, a strong body of the Richibucto Indians, assisted by a party of the Penobscot tribe, made an attack upon Canseau, and other places on the eastern shores of Nova Scotia, and carried off pro- perty to the amount of £20,000. They were commanded by a saga- cious and powerful chief called Argimoosh, or the " Great Witch." In 1723, they captured seventeen sail of fishing-vessels from Massa- chusetts. A number of persons fell victims to this outrage, and many were put to the most cruel tortures. Governor Philips happened to be in the vicinity of Canseau at the time of this outrage, and sent two sloops well prepared, under the direction of Mr. Elliot of Boston, and Mr. Robinson of Cape Ann, in quest of the Indians. Elliot found seven vessels in a harbour called Winnepang, and immediately attacked them. The Indians, seeing him approach, cried out, " Strike, English dogs!" and a desperate conflict ensued, in which the aborigines defended themselves with great bravery for some time, but finally retreated to the holds of the vessels, and fired upwards through their decks. Elliot threw hand-grenades among them, and they then plunged into the sea, where nearh all of them were either drowned or shot. Elliot was severely wcuiiueu , five of his men were killed, and several much in- jured. The crews of the seven vessels thus captured, when they were taken by the Indians at Canseau, amounted to forty ;o arsons : of these, fifteen were rescued, nine had been murdered, and '.'le remainder sent ar slaves to the Indian settlements at Richibucto Mr. Robinson cap- tured ten schooners, and killed a number of the marauders. The crews of the remainder of the vessels were obtained by ransom.* ir Haliburton. I) 2 ■'■! u 36 NEW BRUNSWICK. These Indians and their allies had taken up a strong position at Kenebec, where they occupied a fort defended by artillery. In order to dislodge them, Massachusetts in 1728 sent forward a body of troops. After a desperate battle, the savages were driven out of their fortress, and pursued with great slaughter. Ralle, the French Roman Catholic missionary, it is said, fought with great spirit until he was killed. The fort was demolished, and the victory gained overawed the Indians, v ' o afterwards adopted a more sly but not less deadly system of warfare. The long peace between Great Britain and France terminated in 1744, and war w. s again commenced. Quesnel, the Governor of Cape Breton, at the ^ i? :/ commencement of hostilities took Canseau and laid siege to Annapolis ; but the defence of the latter place was so well con- ducted, that he was compelled to withdraw his troops. New England, in the mean time, with extraordinary zeal and courage, determined upon the capture of Louisburg, which was then the stronghold of the French in America, and consequently well fortified. Four thousand men were raised in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. These were put under the command of Colonel Pepperall, and trans- ports were provided to convey the little army to the field of their intended operations. This expedition was fitted out under the influence of religious enthusiasm, and was considered a kind of crusade against the idolatrous worship of the Church of Rome. A chaplain marched with the troops, carrying a aatchet, to break the im&^cs that might be found ill the possession of the enemy ; and Whitefield, the celebrated Methodist preacher, furnished a suitable motto for the occasion. This enthusiastic armament appeared before Louisburg on the 30th of April, 1745 ; and as its arrival was unexpected by the French garrison, the Provincial troops soon landed and captured a battery, turning the guns upon other parts of the fortifications. After a most unparalleled strug- gle in erecting batteries and making assaults, the garrison of Louisburg surrendered ; and when the assailants had entered the forts, they were astonished at their own success, for the works were capable of defence against a much greater force. But the French had become dispirited from the arrival of English men-of-v/ar ; they had also lost one of their own ships ; and tbe industry and valour of the besiegers were calculated to intimidate them, strong as their position was deemed. NEW BRUNSWICK. 37 The conquest of Cape Breton reflected great credit upon the Provin- cial troops, most of whom were traders and farmers who possessed but little knowledge of military affairs. The capture of St. John (now Prince Edward's Island) soon followed. By hoisting French colours at the captured forts, a vessel from the Soutli Sea and two East Indiainen were decoyed and taken with cargoes which were valued at f 600,000. In order to retrieve these losses, France sent a fleet into the Ameri- can Seas of no less than seventy ships, including eleven of the line, with 3,000 troops, under the command of the Duke d'Anville, who was instructed to take Louisburg iind Annapolis, and, after capturing other forts along the American coast, to proceed to the West Indies. This fleet sailed from Brest in the summer of 1746, and escaped a British sqi'' Iron that was stationed to observe its movements. From a series of disasters and tempestuous weather, it did not arrive at Chebucto until three months afterwards, when four of the ships were rendered unfit for service. Some of the fleet had been driven back by adverse winds, so that the expedition failed altogether. D'Anville, unable to bear so great a disappintment, died suddenly ; and Destourville, the Vice-Admiral, ran a sword through his own body. De la Jonquiere, then Governor of Canada, in the hope of turning the scale of fortune, proceeded against Annapolis ; but in turning Cape Sable, he was met by a tempest — his fleet was broken up, and he was compelled to return to France. The English Colonists believed that these disasters arose from the immediate interposition of Divine Providence, and celebrated the events by a general thanksgiving. So determined were the French to take Nova Scotia, that they des- patched another fleet, of thirty-eight sail, under De la Jonquiere. This fleet was overtaken by Admirals Anson and Warren, who defeated the French, and captured two ships, one of which was an I<)ast Indiaman richly laden. Notwithstanding the great expense of maintaining her power in Ame- rica, by the taking of all the fortifications possessed by the French along the coast, Louisburg was again given up by the British, greatly to the mortification of the Provincials, who had gallantly maintained the mili- tary character of the nation, and driven their enemies from their strong- holds on the American shores. 'A 'li! i ■I I ^i'i; ill m 38 NEW BRUNSWICK. About this period, Nova Scotia began to attract tlie attention of individuals in Britain, and it was proposed to make a settlement in the Province from the troops that had been disbanded in consequence of the peace. Every private soldier was allowed fifty acres of land, and officers a greater quantity, in proportion to their rank. By the encou- ragement held out by the Government, 3,760 persons, including many with families, in 1749 were landed at Chebucto — since called Halifax, after Lord Halifax, the patron of the expedition. Notwithstanding these settlers enjoyed the fostering care of their sovereign, and their safety and comfort were duly provided for, they were exposed to great privations, and suffered much from the attacks of the Indians, Some of them were made captives, and met with scalping, lingering tortures, and death ; others were held in dreadful captivity, and dragged almost naked through pathless forests and deep snows, until death was preferred to life ; and many were sold as articles of merchandise in the market at Louisburg, where the French, under humane pretensions, extorted heavy rai/soms. At this early period disputes arose respecting the boundary of Acadia, or Nova Scotia. The claims of the French extended from the St. Croix to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and eastward to the peninsula of Chignecto, embracing the present Province of New Brunswick. The Acadians and Indians occupied a fort on the River St. John, and Beau-Sejour at Cumberland. M. La Corne had landed at Bay Verte, with 600 men, from Canada, and commenced building a fort. The Indians were supplied with arms, and the town of Halifax was in danger of being seized. Major Lawrence was therefore despatched with a detachment of soldiers to dislodge the enemy ; but after two attempts to capture Beau-Sejour, he retired, and erected a fort on an opposite point of land, to check the operations of his adversaries. During these violations of the treaty, and the open hostilities of the French Neutrals, the Courts of France made fair promises, but no effectual measures were applied to render the British inhabitants secure, either in their property or persons. In this state of affairs in Nova Scotia, hostilities were again commenced, by the capture of two French men-of-war, on the coast of Newfoundland, by Admiral Bos- cawen. Those ships were the Alceide of 64 guns, and Lys of 52 ii' I': i NEW BRUNSWICK. 39 guns, which had been sent out to aid the disaffected portion of the inhabitants in the Colony. War having been commenced, New England again manifested her usual patriotism, and despatched Lieutenant-Colonel Moncton, who, after a bombardment of four days, reduced Fort Bcau-Sejour. lie then proceeded to the St. John ; but the fort at this placL' was abandoned previous to his arrival.* The Acadians had extended their settlements to all the principal rivers in Nova Scotia. In New Brunswick also they occupied small villages at Bay Verte, Shediac, Richibucto, Miramichi, and other places on the southern shore of the Bay Chaleurs, where the remains of their fortifications are still to be seen. Although they had been greatly disturbed in the settlement of the country, their population now amounted to 18,000 souls. They owned 60,000 head of cattle ; and, by their frugality and industry, they had obtained almost every comfort required in their simple mode of living. They still cherished a warm attachment to their native country, from which if they were frequently separated by war, they were as often restored by peace. Happy would they indeed have been, if they had 'adhered closely to their promises of neutrality, and, in their alliance with the aborigines, had endeavoured to restrain them from those outrages they had com- mitted upon helpless English families. So far from observing the oaths they had taken, many took up arms against the British upon every favourable occasion, and they aided the savages in their cruel warfare against the subjects of their sovereign. Neither the life nor the property of a British subject was safe in the country, which, although it belonged to Great Britain, was really in the hands of the French Acadians and the Indians. The savages themselves were imder the control of the French priests, who lived among them, and frequently adopted their customs. With them the Acadians had intermarried, and two races of people, whose original habits and manners were extremely different, soon became strangely amalgamated ; the one forsaking a part of their civilisation, and the other a part of their barbarity. All the efforts of the English to reconcile those people ii '1 • Halibuiton, vol. i. p. 1 12— 168. Ill«i T I'.- 40 NEW BRUNSWICK. had proved abortive ; and the severe treatment they had received from individuals, afforded them but a meagre apology for their obstinacy and disloyalty. The treaties that had been made with them, they had violated ; and no confidence could any longer be placed in their pro- mises, or even in their oaths of allegiance. Individuals, families, and sometimes whole villages of English settlers were surprised, robbed, scalped — murdered. To guard against the assaults of the Indians was almost impossible. They would creep upon the ground like serpents, or upon all-fours like quadrupeds, hiding themselves in marshes, thickets, and trees, until the silent hour of midnight arrived, when, like wolves, they would spring upon their prey, and, raising the war- whoop, they put all to death, except such as were reserved for their lingering tortures. It was under such circumstances, and by the earnest solicitations of the British Provincials, Admirals Boscawen and Martyn, with Governor Lawrence, held a Council, and, after mature deliberation, resolved to confiscate the property of the Acadians, or French Neutrals, and to drive them from the country. Accordingly, their lands, houses, and cattle were declared to be forfeited ; and they were only allowed to remove the small sums of money and the little household furniture chey had in their possession. In order to enforce the dreadful man- date of the Council, it became necessary to decoy the unwary settlers. The inhabitants of several districts were therefore requested to assemble at certain places on urgent business, the nature of which was con- cealed. At these meetings soldiers were ready to enforce the Jaw, and the order for expulsion was proclaimed. By this act the whole population was plunged into the greatest dismay and distress. Some of them endeavoured to remonstrate, some fled to the priests, and others met their fate with patient resignation. Only a few were allowed to return to their houses to make hasty pre- parations for their departure. So unwilling were they to leave the lands redeemed by their industry, that when they were shipped on board the transports prepared to receive them, the soldiers deemed it necessary to urge them forward with the points of their bayonets. Bitter indeed were the lamentations of these unfortunate people, and many a tragic tale is related of these occurrences in the ballads still chanted by their descendants. NEW BRUNSWICK. 41 Notwithstandiiif; the active and violent means that were employed to prevent the escape of the Acadians, and to secure the transportation of the whole population, only about 7,000 persons were taken and carried away. Many fled with their wives and children into the woods, where numbers penshed by cold and starvation ; others escaped to the French settlements at Richibucto, Miramicbi, and other places, and often concealed themselves in the forests until tbe violence of the dreadful order had in some degree subsided. The lands and dikes of these people were laid waste, their houses were set fire to, and 263 of their dwellings were seen in flames at one time. At Cumberland many of the inhabitants fled into the thickets, from whence they beheld the destruction of their property with patience ; but when they saw their chapel fired, they rushed out, killed thirty of those who were en- gaged in the work of destruction, and then returned to their hiding- places.* Of the 7,000 collected, 1,000 were sent to Massachusetts, where they became a public charge. The quota sent to Pennsylvania were landed in a most deplorable condition, and it was proposed by the Government there to sell them as slaves ; but the Acadians declared themselves to be prisoners of war, and as such they were not bound to labour. Those who were sent to Georgia, set out to return to Nova Scotia ; but Governor Lawrence issued an order for their detention, and, having reached New York, they were compelled to abandon their design. After the peace between England and France that followed, the British Government allowed them to return to their homes ; but of 7,000 that had been expelled, only about 1,300 were ever found to avail themselves of the pardon that was offered them.f In the year 1757, William Pitt began his brilliant ministerial career, and preparations were made to secure to the British Crown the whole of North America. Early in 1758, a strong fleet under Admiral • In 1841, there was living at the mouth of the Peticodiac river, in New Brunswick, a Monsieur Belleveau, who recollected the facts related, witli great clearness. He was at the above time upwards of 100 years of age, and his descendants now occupy a large village bearing his name. t Haliburton, vol. i. pp. 173, 178, 181. 42 NEW BRUNSWICK. i Boscawen, and un army under the command of General ^ !, jr»t, were sent across the Atlantic. The Provincials, being aroused by the solici- tations of the celebrated statesman, cheerfully performed their part in the service, and, on the 2nd of June, an armament of 150 sail of men- of-war and other vessels, with 14,000 troops, appeared before Louis- burg. The place was then very strongly fortified, and defended by a garrison of 3,000 men, six ships of the line, and five frigates. The most dangerous and arduous services were entrusted to the gallant Wolfe, who in the most intrepid manner eftected a landing under a heavy fire of the enemy ; and, having gained an important position, he opened newly-erected batteries with great effect upon the interior works of the garrison. One of the French ships blew up by accident, and the fire having been communicated to other vessels, soon destroyed them. Admiral Boscawen entered the harbour with 600 men in boats, captured one ship, and drove another on shore. The daring exploits of the British, the loss of the French fleet, and the breaking down of the walls by the artillery of the assailants, placed the garrison in a hopeless condition, and on the 26th of July the whole of them, with their commander, surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Shortly after this victory, a body of troops, commanded by Lord RoUo, was despatched to the Island St. John (Prince Edward's Island), where upwards of 4,000 Indians laid down their arms, and promised submission. This successful campaign was followed by another still more brilli- ant in its achievements against Canada. It was put under the com- mand of the brave General Wolfe, who had distinguished himself at Louisburg. Quebec was taken, and the country wliich had so long been the theatre of internal wars, and the scene of much suffering and bloodshed, fell a conquest to British intrepidity and valour. By the treaty of peace concluded at Paris on the 10th February, 1763, France resigned all her claims in North America to Great Britain ; and, not- withstanding the revolt of her own subjects, in a number of her Colonies, during the American Revolution, the Northern Provinces still remain under her maternal care and protection. jL.'Mt, were y the solici- heir part in sail of mcn- ;fore liOuis- fenck'd by a gates. The the gallant ing under a ivnt position, the interior by accident, on destroyed (len in boats, ring exploits cing down of garrison in a f them, with ed by Lord rd's Island), nd promised more brilli- ler the com- |d himself at |had so long suffering and ir. By the 763, France ; and, not- ler Colonies, still remain ■A CHAPTER 111. UISI'ORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN NEW BRUNSWICK. Ha 'INO given a general account of the history of Acadia, a brief view may ':)e taken of the first settlements in New Brunswick. The Fort of La Tour at the Gemsec, and other fortifications on the St. John, with those at Chignecto and Bay Verte, are duly noticed and described by several authors ; but the first attempts at colonisation on the northern side of New Brunswick are scarcely mentioned in history. The atten- tion of England and France, during their struggle to conquer American territory, was directed to the principal ports along the Atlantic coast, while the first settlements on the shores of the Bale des Chaleurs do not appear to have been recognised by either country, and therefore the history of those'settlements is derived more from correct tradition than from any written records on the subject. La Bale des Chaleurs, or Bay of Heats, was discovered by Cartier in 1534 ; but no attempt was made to colonise the northern part of New France until 1638 or 1639, when Mons. Jean- Jacques Enaud emi- grated thither, and occupied a part of the country in the manner already described. Some time in the year 1672 or 1673, and six years after the Treaty of Breda, a number of French families emigrated from St. Maloes in France to the River Miramichi, and opened a settlement at Bale des Vents. About this time small villages began to spring up at Bay Verte, Nequaak, Canadian Point, and other places. A town called Petite Rochelle,with fortifications, was also commenced near the mouth of the Restigouche. At Beaubair's Point on the Mira- michi, there was a town of 200 houses and a chapel. On Beaubair's Island, since owned by Messrs. Fraser, there was a battery that com- i II NEW BllUNSWICK. maiuled the river, and nt Frcncli Fort Cove the fortifications mounted sixteen guns. At Fawcett's Point the French had a HJiip-yard, an armoury, and valuable stores.* The Island and Point still bear the name of Mons. Pierre Beaubair, who was Governor or Superintendent of the Colony. In the vicinity of these several places there are evidences of fonncr cultivation, although the inhabitants were chiefly engaged in hunting and fishing. Their exports were salmon, furs, moose-skins, &c., and their trade was exten- sive. In 1757, the English cruizers on the coast greatly interrupted their commerce. In this season also their crops failed, and in the suc- ceeding winter they were reduced to a state of starvation. In this calamity, they were visited by a dreadful disease. The fatal malady was supposed to have been introduced in a vessel wrecked near the mouth of Bale des Vents River. The remainsof this vessel are still to be seen. The sufferings of these people were still farther increased by the loss of two transports despatched from France with supplies for their relief. Those vessels were taken by the British fleet, which, with the army under General Amherst, captured Louisburg. By the famine and the pestilence eight hundred of the inhabitants died, and the greater number were buried at Beaubair's Point. From the wearing away of the banks of the river, the *graves of many of those unfortunate people have been opened; and in 1842 the bones of the early French emigrants were seen protruding from the soil, where at present a highway descends to the ferry crossing the north- west branch of the river. Among the first victims to the fatal disease, was Monsieur Beaubair himself. Most of the habitans who survived fled to Bay Chaleurs, Si. John s Island, and Memnamcook on the Peticodiac. Many of the Indians also perished. The capture of Louisburg by the British pro- duced a panic among the French and Indians, so that almost every village and wigwam was deserted. Only a few persons remained at French Fort Cove, Canadian Point, and Nequaak, which were the principal rallying points for the savages. • Cooney's History of the Northern Part of New Brunswick and District of Ga8p6, pp. 31, 32, NEW BRUNSWICK. 45 lis mounted ip-yard, an V BciUibair, the vicinity Ml, altlu)U{^h ing. Their « was exton- interrupted I in the suc- . The fatal ssel wrecked liis vessel are still farther France with British fleet, [ Louisburg. 8 inhabitants oint. From of many of 2 the bones om the soil, the north- eur Beaubair ay Chaleurs, VI any of the British pro- most every remained at h were the rid District of After the conquest of Quebec, u vessel having on board the remains of General Wolfe was driven by a gale of wind into Miramichi River. The captain sent a boat and six men on shore to procure water. The boat landed at Henderson's Cove, and while the men were employed, they were surprised by a party of armed Indians and soldiers from the fort, and inhumanly massacred upon the spot. The captain of the vessel, having ascertained through the medium of the pilot that this murderous act had been committed, resolved to retaliate. He first silenced the battery at the Cove, and then destroyed the settlement at Canadian Point, where, it is said, he killed the miserable wretches that had escaped the famine and the pestilence. In proceeding to sea, he landed at Nequaak, and set fire to a large chapel. From this cir- cumstance the se^.tlement has ever since been called Burnt Church. In 1 760, the French Government made an attempt to regain Quebec, and to strengthen their forces in Canada. Twenty-two storc-slups, under a strong convoy, were sent from France, and reached the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where information was received that a British squadron had preceded them up the river. Upon the receipt of this intelligence, the commander of the French fleet took shelter in the Bay Chaleurs, where he was followed by Captain Byron, commanding-oflicer of the British ships at Louisburg. The British squadron consisted of the Fame, Dorsetshire, Achilles, Scarborough, and Repulse. In proceed- ing up Gaspe Bay, the French ship La Catherine was captured, and another vessel was taken near Carraquettc. The French comman- der, finding that he was pursued, took shelter in the Restigouchc, at the town of Petite Rochelle, where there were two batteries. Cap- tain Byron with much difiiculty worked his ships up the river ; and he soon silenced the forts on the shore, and brought the enemy to a general engagement. The French fought bravely, until Monsieur Bourdo, the captain of one of the ships, was killed, and a powder- vessel blew up.* Captain Byron captured and destroyed the whole • During this engagement, two English sailors who were prisoners in one of the French ships jumped overboard and swam to a British ship, unhurt by the musket-balls discharged at them. They immediately went to the guns of their countrymen, and, as might be expected, fought bravely. 1:1 H "'ir iiUl •.1 46 NEW BRUNSWICK. fleet, which, benides transports, included the Marchault, of 32 guns ; Esperance, 30 guns ; Bienfaisant, 22 guns ; Marquis de Malose, 18 guns ; and se\ :ral sail of small privateers. He then destroycl all the fortifications, and burned the town of Petite Rochelle, which contained 200 houses. The remains of two French vessels may still be seen at low-water near Mission Point, where several pieces of cannon are par- tially buried in the sand. Near one of the ancient batteries, a gun was recovered a few years ago by Mr. Robert Ferguson. It is a long French 1 8-pounder, and is now mounted near the residence of that gentleman. At the site of Petite Rochelle, muskets, swords, bomb-shells, with a variety of other warlike instruments, have bet n found ; and among the ruins of the town, china, silver forks and spoons, and other articles of luxury, have been discovered. The walls, cellars, and foundations of houses may still be traced at the site of Petite Rochelle, which, like many other towns and populous villages in America, was sacrificed to secure the country to the British Crown. Great Britain had now obtained by conquest the whole of North America, excepting only a small Colony on the south side of the Mis- sissippi. The Acadians and Indians therefore gave up all hopes of holding Nova Scotia as the subjects of France, and therefore again tendered their submission. The few French settlers that remained at Miramichi, Richibucto, Shediac, Peticodiac, and other places, appeared before Colonel Frye at Cumberland, and prom''sed faithful allegiance to the British Govern- ment. The Rev. Mr. Manack, a Roman Catholic missionary, with a number of the principal inhabitants and four Indian chiefs, signed a formal declaration and \Tomise of loyalty to the King. They also bound themselves, with thi.se they were sent to represent, to appear at Bay Verte in the succeedinj.' spring, to abide by such decision as might be made by the Governor in their case. Dunng the winter, eight more Indian chiefs surrendered themselves ; and the whole Micmac tribe, which then amounted to 6,000 souls, abandoned the cause of France, and became dependent upon the Eng- lish. The following are the names of the Chiefs that signed the obli- gation of allegiance, and their places of abode : — Louis Francis, Chief ¥ NEW BRUNSWICK. 47 of Miramichi ; Dennis Winemowet, of Taboqunkik ; Etienne Abchabo, of Poboomoosh ; Claud Atanage, of Gediaak ; Paul Lawrence, of La Have ; Joseph Algemoure, of Chignecto, or Cumberland ; John Newit, of Pictou ; Baptiste Lamourne, of St. John's Island ; Rene Lamoume, of Nalkitgoniash ; Jeannot Piquadauduet, of Minas; Augustin Michael, of Richibucto ; Bartlemy Annqualet, of Kishpugowitk.* The above Chiefs were sent to Halifax, and on the 1st of July, 1761, Joseph Argimault (or, as he was called by the Indians, Argimooch) held a great talk with Governor Lawrence. The hatchet was formally buried, the calumet was smoked, and all the Chiefs acknowledged King George to be the'r father. The ceremony was conducted with great military display. The officers of the several departments were present, and the inhabitants of the town mixed with the untamed savages of the woods ; the several bands played the national anthem ; the garrison and men-of-war fired royal salutes ; and King George was proclaimed amidst loud acclamations of peace and harmony. The Indians were allowed to retain their possessions, and to exercise their own laws. Thus was the spell that bound these people to the French broken, and the whole continent was subdued by the wisdom of British policy and the power of British arms. Immediately after the above event, settlers from Great Britain and the neighbouring Colonies began to flow into the Province. In 1764, Mr. William Davidson emigrated from the North of Scotland to Mira- michi, and he is said to have been the first British settler that landed at that place. At the time of hib arrival, the houses of the French had been abandoned and destroyed, and the Indians were lords of the soil. In the following year, Mr. Davidson obtained a grant of land from the Government of 100,000 acres, situated on the south-west branch of the Miramichi River. He was afterwards joined by a Mr. Cort, from Aber- deen. These two persons caught from 1,400 to 1,800 tierces of salmon yearly, and soon commenced a profitable trade. They lived upon good terms with the aborigines, until the common cement of the American lit'' * Taboqunkik is the original name of Taboointac, now called Tabosintac. Poboomoosh is now called Pugmouclie, and Gediak alhides to Shediac. Nal- kitgoniash means, Antigonisb ; nnd Kishpugowitk, Kishoubuguaak. :'' ; PIP I, lit"' :i 'l''i 48 NEW BRUNSWICK. Revolution, when the savages, who had previously been restrained by their own treaty of peace made at Halifax, and the exertions of the Missionaries, now displayed their flags, sounded the whoop and yell of war, and bade defiance to the pale faces of the east. They burned two houses, destroyed the cattle, and robbed Mr. Cort's store of 700 moose-skins. They declared therpselves in favour of the American rebels, and opened a correspondence with the Revolutionists. Under these distressing circumstances, Davidson and the few persons belonging to his establishment applied to the Government at Halifax for relief; but up to the summer of 1777 no aid was obtained. The Indians were holding a Grand Council at Bartibog Island, and had resolved upon the death of every individual belonging to the infant settlement. While the Council was sitting, and Davidson and his asso- ciates were making preparations to escape, the Viper sloop-of-war, commanded by Captain Harvey, appeared in the Bay. She had cap- tured the American privateer Lafayette, and in order to decoy the savages, she was sent up the river under American colours. But the Indians were too chary to be deceived by this stratagem, and, by as- suming the character of pirates, they resolved to make a prize of the vessel. Upwards of thirty of them were allowed to come on board. After a desperate struggle, they were overpowered ; and such as were not killed in the affray were put in irons. Among these desperadoes was one named Pierre Martin, whose strength and savage courage were truly characteristic of his tribe. Two marines were unable to bind him, and he nearly strangled two others with whom he was engaged. After he had received several severe wounds, he tore a bayonet from the hands of a sailor, and missing his thrust at one of his opponents, he drove the weapon through one of the stancheons of the vessel. Covered with wounds, the savage at last fell, as was supposed to rise no more ; but even in his dying moments, when his flesh was quivering under deep sabre-cuts, and his body was bathed in blood, he sprang to his feet, and fastened himself upon the throat of one of his companions, upbraiding him with cowardice. He had almost strangled th«. trem- bling Indian, when he was despatched by one of the crew. The wretches thus taken were sent to Quebec, and nine of them were after- wards put on board a vessel bound to Halifax. On her passage the NE;W BRUNSWICK. 40 strained by tions of the jp and yell 'hey bumed store of 700 le American sts. Under ns belonging X for relief ; Island, and to the infant and his asso- sloop-of-war, She had cap- to decoy the rs. But the , and, by as- X prize of the ne on board, such as were desperadoes courage were able to bind was engagscl. bayonet from )pponents, he ;el. Covered ise no more ; vering under irang to his companions, d the trem- crew. The were after- passage the i -I vessel engaged an American privateer. Etienne Bamaly, one of the prisoners, requested leave to fight for King George. Permission was given him — his irons were removed, a musket put in his hands, and he killed at two different times the helmsman of the American cruizer. The English gained the victory ; and when the prize was brought to Halifax, Bamaly was liberated on account of his bravery.* Of sixteen Indians carried away, only six ever returned to Miramichi : among these were two villains called Knives and Tax, who afterwards mur- dered two men and a boy.f On another occasion, the English inhabitants of Miramichi would have been destroyed by the Indians, except for the timely arrival of Monsieur Cassanette, a Roman Catholic priest, who checked them in their diabolical determination. The Julian family also frequently employed themselves in restraining their tribe from acts of violence. ;{; Some time after the taking of Quebec, a Mr. Walker, from Scotland, opened a settlement at Alston Point, on the north side of Bathurst Harbour. Among the persons who accompanied Mr. Walker, was John Young, an Englishman, who a few years ago was still alive, and was then nearly 100 years old. The trade of the settlement consisted of fish, furs, moose-skins, and the hides, oil, and tusks of walruses. This settlement also suffered much from the outrages of the Indians, and during several years the inhabitants kept themselves in readiness for an attack. After the American Revolution had commenced, several privateers entered the Bay, and took and destroyed property to the amoun*- of £10,000. Two of these privateers were afterwards sunk off Roc Perce by two English gun-brigs, the Wolf and the Diligence. Notwithstanding the French and Acadians had from time to time fallen into different hands, and had been more than once driven from their possessions by the British, to whom they had been 'unfaithful, there were always a few families who remained in almost every district. * Cooney, p. 46. t The author has a letter in his possession from Michael Franklin to James White, Esq. corroborating the statement of this affair. X The descendants of the old Julian family are still residing atBmntChmxh, or Nequaak. /! i * . i'',! 50 NEW BRUNSWICK. When troubles arose, they fled into the forests, and lived with the natives ; and in times of peace they returned to their lands, and re- sumed their occupations. Many of those also who had escaped to other places during war, when favourable opportunities occurred, returned to the places they had cleared and cultivated. As early as 1670 there were French settlemcn ;s on every side of Bathurst Harbour, at Grande Ance, and Caraqueile. In the above year Mr. Charles Doucette established himself on Lii.tle River ; and it was observed by him and other respectable persons ^f his day, that many of the French and Acadian settlers v/ere then in very com- fortable circumstances. One of the oldest settlements in the County of Gloucester is ai Caraquette. Two brothers by the name of La Roc, from Lunaire, and two other individuals, named Burton and St. John, natives of Bretagne, began a settlement at that place in 1768. The present Acadian inhabitants of New Brunswick are chiefly descendants of people from Cape Breton, Prince Edward's Island, Cumberland, Minas, and other parts of Nova Scotia. In 1760, James Simonds, Esq. visited the River St. John, with the intention of establishing a fishery at that place ; but the hostility of the Indians and Acadians compelled him to return to New England. In 1764 he was joined by Mr. James White and Captain Francis Pea- body,* who, ^^'ith a small party of fishermen, arrived at the site of the present city of St. John on the 16th April. At this time the whole surface of the country was covered by a dense forest, and scarcely a tree had been felled where the city now stands. Shad, salmon, alewives, and other kinds of fish were then abundant ; and they soon commenced a trade in fish, furs, and moose-skins. The first English settlement made on the St. John was at Mauger- ville. In" 1766 a number of families! in Massachusetts obtained from the Government a grant of a township on the St. John, and imme- diately removed to the above place, now known as the County of Sun- • Mr. Simonds was the father of the present Honourable Charles Simonds. Mr. White was an Ensign in a regiment of foot, and the father of the present James White, Esq., High Sheriff of the City and County of St. John. Captain Peabody afterwards settled at Maugerville, where he left a numerous race of descendants. NEW BRUNSWICK. tfl ed with the inds, and re- L escaped to 3S occurred, every side of ;n the above River ; and it [lis day, that n very com- mcester is at Prom Lunaire, n, natives of The present escendants of Cumberland, ohn, with the e hostility of New England. I Francis Pea- the site of the ime the whole and scarcely a j>had, salmon, and they soon Is at Mauger- lobtained from ^n, and imme- )unty of Sun- larles Simonds. of the present I John. Captain numeroua race bury. At different times during the American Revolutionary War, they were reinforced by families from New England. The first com- mission of the peace^for this new settlement is dated 11th August, 1766, and the Courts of Common Pleas were held in Sunbury until 1783, when Fredericton was made the seat of Government.* Up to this period the above county included the whole of the country now known as New Brunswick. The first inhabitants erected a fort at Oromucto. The sufferings and hardships endured^by these people, from the time of their first landing up to the close of the Revolutionary War, can scarcely be conceived by persons accustomed to civilised life. For many years they were con- stantly exposed to the depredations of the Indians, and their lives were often in jeopardy. It was not until after many years of hard toil and severe suffering had passed, that they were able to live in any degree of peace and comfort. In 1783 they amounted to 800 souls. After the breaking out of the American Rebellion, the Revolutionists pillaged every unfortified village in Nova Scotia. A party of rebels from Machias burned Fort Frederick at the mouth of the River St. John, and on the site of the present town of Carlton. Simonds and White had erected small houses at the foot of the eminence now called Fort Howe Hill : at these houses and their inmates the rebels wantonly discharged a number of cannon-shot, having previously robbed the place of every valuable article they could discover. Next season they induced the Indians to join them ; and the Chiefs of the tribes on the St. John entered into a special contract at Bos- ton to aid their cause, and destroy the British. No less than six hundred warriors assembled near the Gemsec, with hostile intentions. The inhabitants of Maugerville being, therefore, placed in a most perilous condition, took refuge in their little fort at Oromucto. The few families at St. John, who were joined by Mr. William Hazen about this time, were also in imminent danger of being murdered. In this state of things, Mr. Michael Franklin was' despatched from Halifax to the River St. John, and was successful in obtaining the treaty the Indian Chiefs had signed at Boston, and in renewing the articles of ij 'i1 \i\ * Notitia of New Brunswick, p. 107. L 2 5!^ NEW BRUNSWICK. 1.1 iili peace they Imd entered into with the British. Messrs. White and Hazen, who were also engaged in the work of reconciliation, were captured by the savages, and had nearly perished before they were liberated. So faithless were the Indians, that they assembled again in 1779 ; and they were not appeased until they had received promises of large presents.* This was the last attempt of an Indian war. • The following original letter and invoice were presented to the author by James White, Esq. High Sherift'of St. John : — " To the Chief Captains and Principal Indians of the River St. John. " Brethren, — I am much concerned I cannot see you, as I intended, on the 25th of this month ; but Major Studholm will meet you for me, who will tell you the sentiments of my heart. " Brethren, — King George wants masts for his ships, and has employed people to jirovide them on the River St. John, depending on you to protect the workmen in cutting them and conveying them to Fort Howe. " Brethren, — The Governor sends you some presents which Major Studholm will deliver you. They are intended to bind fast your promise, that you will protect the mast-cutters. " Brethren, — King George, my gracious' master, has sent me a large quantity of presents for you; they are on the water on their way to Halifax. When they arrive, I shall deliver them to you in person. " These presents the King gives you for your delivering up to me the treaty you had entered into with the Council of Boston. " I salute you, and am your affectionate Brother, (Signed) "Michael Franklin." •' Windsor, 18th May, 1780." "Invoice of sundry Articles shipped at Windsor the 4th instant, on the schooner Mcnaquasha, Peter Uousett master, for Fort Howe, by order of Sir Richard Hughs, Commissioner of His Majesty's Navy, to be given as presents to the Indians of the Rive; St. John and its neighbourhood, by Major Stiul- holm, in such manner and proportions as he shall thnik proper, to induce the said Indians to protect the workmen and others in providing masts for the King's Navy, viz. : — " 50 pair blankets. 40 shirts. 1 piece blue stroud. 6| yds. blue and soarlet cloth. 100 rings. 300 flints. 54 yds. ribbon. 1: \rhite and ;ion, were they were d again in »romises of e author hy t. John, nded, on the who will tell as employed CO protect the ijor Studholm that you will me a large ly to Hahfax. me the treaty ther, RAN KLIN." [stant, on the order of Sir |en as presents Major Stud- to induce the [ng masts for NEW BRUNSWICK. 53 During the above period, the Americans had spread disaffection in Nova Scotia ; and even in the infant state of the settlements of the River St. John, an individual was found to guide the rebellious mal- contents of the revolted Colonies through the woods, in order to take Fort Cumberland. This expedition failed,* and a scrupulously- humane Government has not remembered the fact against the ring- leader, nor his descendants. The people of Truro, Onslow, and Londonderry, in Novia Scotia, all except five, refused to take the oath of allegiance, and therefore their deputies were excluded from the House of Assembly. In King's County, Nova Scotia, a liberty-pole was cut and made ready tx) be hoisted, when the arrival of a detachment of the King's Orange Rangers put an end to all disaffected movements. With the increase of population there has been an increase of loyalty, although there are many at the present day enjoying the favours of the Government who would not venture to make any appeal to the loyalty of their fore- fathers. On the 21st January, 1783, a treaty of peace was signed between Great Britain, France, and Spain. The war being thus ended, several 2J cwt. shot, 3 pieces blue stroud. .3 pieces white kersey. CO nulled caps. 40 worsted do. 50 castor hats. 21 cwt. shot. 100 yds. embost serge. 1 barrel gunpowder. 100 hoes. 1 cask of wine sent by Mr. Franklin for the squaws, and such men as do not drink rum. (Signed) " Michael Franklin." "Windsor, 18th May, 1780." * One of the party referred to here stole quietly in a dark night up to the walls of the fort, and, being upon all-fours, the British sentinel espied him, and mistook him for a bear. He fired and killed the spy, who was brought in dead next morning. The assailants took to their heels when they heard th« report of the sentinel's gun. 'I :,! M NEW BRUNSWICK. thousands of disbanded troops were removed from New England to New Brunswick. A number of Acadians who had established them- selves at Fredericton were ordered to remove, for the purpose of ac- commodating a body of discharged soldiers. Those poor people, who had long been the sport of fortune, were finally settled at Madawasca, where their descendants now occupy an extensive and tolerably well- cultivated district. It had been supposed that tb : ?afli»Tig, who had been driven from Fredericton, had at last found res a ^place ; but in the recent settlement of the Boundary dispute, oue pa;: istrict has 1 d States ; different ugees also he country fered every 1 ive homes, 4) id affection isions were V be able to 1 ' Icotia, and ■1 )inted Go- i 's^ during his 1 a •5 le country. 1 1 of persons ise by the i •S •2 1 T3 > V O o < H a) o ■< o a o es u a< •J H n3 i Q S8 g 1^ 00 00 00 00 ® i-H — I Q O Q '-^ i-H 00 00 00 00 00 e-» M •* to »— 4 l-H 1-^ ^H 00 00 00 00 -- M e^ 00 00 00 00 00 ?i^ ^ ?5 «5I-- O M OO fa o o o s'^' 00 o t- 00 o o o o o •W .M '^^ 'M .^ 00 00 00 00 00 ■* '.o eo •* i-< 1— I .-I c^ O o O O ■<•' a *•> ■»-> ^^ ^ CO ^ t— ( ^^ cH »-H 00 00 00 00 3 ea D OO 00 * 1^ Oi tD o 3 00=5 o6 00 ob a I— I ^^ f-i -a ^ a S O O o *" o oo^^^ rrt C^ ' O O O '. ^ m O CI] ..^ Cb f ^- ■ M NEW BRUNSWICK. In the year 1809 a duty was laid on Baltic timber, while that of the Colonies was left free. From this circumstance the trade of the Province rapidly increased ; and although the commerce of New Bruns- wick has been occasionally checked by over-trading and rash specula- tions, the country is in a prosperous condition. For the gifts made to the Loyalists, Great Britain has been amply compensated in the commerce of the country, and the loyalty of its inhabitants ; and the hardships and suffering endured by the faithful subjects of the Crown have been rewarded with almost universal prosperity. 1,*^ CHAPTER IV. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NEW BRUNSWICK. New Brunswick lies between 45° 5" and 48° 20" of North latitude, and between 63'' 50" and 08" of West longitude. It extends nearly north and south, and forms an irregular square between Nova Scotia and Canada. It is bounded on tlu> north by the Bay Chaleurs and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which separate it from Gaspe west by the Rcstlgouche River, or boundary of Canada. On the east it also extends to the Gulf, or Northumberland Straits. A narrow peninsula joins it to Nova Scotia on the south-east, and it is separated from that Pro- vince on the south by the Bay of Fundy. On the west it meets the State of Maine. It contains about 26,000 square miles, or 16,500,000 acres: 6,000,000 of acres have been granted ; 10,500,000 remain not granted ; and of that quantity about 9,000,000 of acres are fit for cultivation. Disputed Territory. It was not until after the peace between Great Britain and the United States had been ratified in 1815, that the Americans began to occupy a tract of country situated between the State of Maine and New Brunswick, since known as the Disputed Territory. As early as 1783 the British had settled a party of Acadians at Madawasca, and they had exercised jurisdiction over the country from its first discovery, except at those periods when it was held by the French as forming a part of ancient Acadia, or Nova Scotia. The vague terms employed in the treaties between the two Govern- ments respecting the north-western boundary of the Province began to attract the attention of some of the inhabitants of the Northern States. At first a kind of undefined title was set up to certain lands '> i 58 NEW imUNSWICK. ■outhward of the St. John, and finally their claim was extended north- ward to the high lands that overlook the St. Lawrence. That the framors of the Treaty of 1783, and the treaty itaelf, never contemplated such a claim, is certain ; and it was only by the imperfect phraseology of the article establishing the boundaries, that the Americans hoped to be successful in extending their north-eastern frontier. T le treaty declares that the north-west boundary of Nova Scotia, which then included New Brunswick, shall be " formed by a line drawn duo north from the source of the St. Croix to the high lands which divide those rivers that empty themselves into the River St. Lawrence from those which fall into the Atlantic Ocean, to the north-westernmost head of Connecticut River." The words which form a port of the treaty were written without any knowledge of the country they were intended to dispose of. Instead of one chain of high lands from which the waters fall in opposite directions into the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, there are two, and between them is situated the territory that was in dispute. The British insisted upon making one of those chains the line, and the Americans the other ; and thus a controversy arose that had nearly involved the two nations in a war. All the rivers on the south side of the British line do fall into the Atlantic Ocean ; but on the northern side of that line they flow into the St. John, and not into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The line claimed by the Americans was also at variance with the treaty ; for from one of its sides all the waters fall into the St. Lawrence, and from the other they decend into the Restigouchc, opening into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and into the St. John, opening into the Bay of Fundy. But the treaty contemplated "reciprocal advantages" and "neutral convenience" upon "principles of liberal equality and reciprocity." With such principles the territory in dispute would be assigned to the British ; and the whole history of the country, from its earliest date to the present time, clearly gives Great Britain a just title to all the lands she has now given away to the American States. Even a brief review of the Reports and other works that have been written on the subject would occupy a volume. The Messages of the Governors of Maine had teemed with invective against the British, for holding what they had always possessed ; and the Congress of the NEW BRUNSWICK. 59 United States was yearly pressed with this vexatious question. The intemponite portion of the American press also found in the ** disputed territory" an ample field for animadversion, until the agitation required to be ajjpeased by the final adjustment of the line between the two Powers. Although an able work was written on the subject by a gentleman at St. John, and the press of the British Colonies occa- sionally touched upon the dispute, the Legislature of New Brunswick appeared to view the matter with indifference, until they Ibund it necessary to place a sum of money at the disposal of the Government, to prevent the farther encroachments of the poeple of Maine, and to prepare for a threatened Border war. A Commission was appointed to establish the line, under Jay's Treaty, in 1794. The Commissioners agreed in regard to the identity of the St. Croix, and established the boundary along that river and the Cheputnaticook to its source, and thence to Mars Hill. From that point the American Commissioners insisted upon extending the due-north line to the River Metis, falling into the St. Lawrence. The British declared Mars Hill to ])e the north-west angle of Nova Scotia, and at that point the due-north line should have terminated. From Mars Hill a continuous chain of mountains and hills separates the sources of the Penobscot, Kenebec, and Androscoggin Rivers, which fall into the Atlanfic, from the branches of the St. John, falling into the Bay of Fundy, and the Chaudiere, and other streams, descending into the St. Lawrence. Whatever may be the language of the treaty, these are evidently the high lands to which it alludes as being the boundary. From this dis- agreement the Commissioners abandoned the work, and the question remained unsettled. By the Treaty of Ghent of 18 ' 5, a provision was made for the final settlement of the question ; and the whole matter in dispute was re- ferred to the King of the Nether! nds, who was chosen an arbitrator between the two Powers, After hearing the arguments, and examining the reports on both sides, his Majesty took a common course in such oases, and, to use an American expression, " split the difference " between the contending parties. The line of the award t*xtended from the source of the St. Croix 60 NEW BRUNSWICK. due north to the St. John, thence along the middle of the " Thalweg" (deepest channel of that river) to the St. Francis, and thence along certain lines marked on maps to the north-westernmost source of Con- necticut River.* Notwithstanding the astringent clauses of the Treaty of Ghent to make the decision of the King of the Netherlands binding and con- clusive, it w \s not agreed to by the American Go ernment, and the whole mattvjr ,>eing <'.rown open, soon became a source of strife and contention on the borders, and endangered the peace of the two nations. In the mean time, the Government of the State of Maine spared no pains or expense in obtaining an accurate knowledge of the country. Topographical and geological surveys of the '* disputed territory" were authorised, and the information gained by her own people afterwards afforded the United States a great advantage in the final settlement of the question. In July 1839, Lieu tentant- Colonel Mudge, of the Royal Engineers, and Mr. Featherstonhaugh, were appointed Commissioners to examine and report upon the boundary. The professional celebrity of the former gentleman would attach great weight to the Report made afterwards ; but the time allowed to survey an extensive wilderness region was far too short for him to perform the task, and the work appears to have been assumed by his colleague, who spent a few weeks near the territory in dispute, and then compiled the Report. Although this ex-parte survey cost the Government a large sum of money, it v/as not actended with any good results. Some of the state- ments in the Report were found to be incorrect ; the charge made against the former Commissioners was unfair, and but few of the facts stated were collected by persons employed in the survey. The Americans, ever ready to avail themselves of a favourable circumstance, made the Report a subject of severe criticism, and an instrument to weaken the British claim. While Great Britain was expending large sums of money in negotia- tions, commissions, surveys, explorations, &c., the people of the United * See Map. NEW BRUNSWICK, 61 "Thalweg" hence along irce of Con- of Ghent to g and con- ent, and the jf strife and of the two 16 spared no the country, ritory" were ! afterwards lettlement of 1 Engineers, to examine >f the former afterwards ; ;ion was far ars to have :s near the arge sum of of the state- nade against facts stated Americans, made the to weaken in negotia- the United States were taking possession of the territory in dispute. They crossed the high lands separating the waters that flow into the St. John from those that flow through the American territory into the Atlantic, and pitched their tents upon the Aroostook, where they erected Fort Fair- field. They also built another fort a few miles above Madawasca ; they ganted the lands, made roads, and opened settlements in a tract of country which justly belo.iged to Great Britain. Ir 1842 a Border war was threatened, and Lord Ashburton was despatched to America with power to settle the Boundary Line. After much negotiation, the matter was amicably disposed of, but with a great sacrifice on the part of Great Britain. The line established by the Ashburton Treaty does not differ materially from that awarded by the King of the Netherlands ;* but while it has secured to England a commurication between New Brunswick and Canada, it has yielded to the Americans a vast tract of excellent land and timber, and also the navigation of the St. John, along which munitions of war may be sent by the Republic into the very heart of a British Province previous to the outbreak of hostilities. The President of the United States, in his Message to Congress in 1845, has said in reference to the Oregon question, and the navigation of the Columbia River, that " the right of any foreign power to the free navigation of any of our rivers through the heart of the country was one " he "was unwilling to concede." If such are the views of the President and the people of the United States in regard to a river to which they have no claim, how must Lord Ashburton blush when he considers that he gave away the navigation of the St. John to that same power, and to those who had never claimed it ! The following facts are derived from indisputable authority. " The sentiments advanced by the senators during the secret dis- cussion in the United States Senate, in August 1842, on the question • The territory in dispute between the two Powers contained 12,029 square miles, or 7,697,280 square acres : of these by the Ashburton Treaty the United States obtain 7,015 square miles, equal to 4,489,600 acres, and England 5,012 square miles, or 3,207,680 acres. By the line of tb.e King of the Netherlands, the United States would have had 7,908 square miles (5,061,120 acres), and England 4,119 square miles (2,030,160 acres).— Vide Map. r,--*^ i 1 I NEW BRUNSWICK. of ratifying the Ashburton Treaty for the settlement of the Boundary Lint dispute, have recently been made public, with some of the induce- ments which led to the approval of the Senate. Among these, a most important document was brought forward by Mr. Rives, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations, who stated, that iL was due to the distinguished gentleman (Mr. Jared Sparks, of Bosioi.,) by whom the document referred to was discovered in the Archives of France, while pursuing his laborious and intelligent researches connected with the history of the United States, that the account of it should be given in his own words, as contained in a i immunication addressed by him to the Department of S- ate. The following is a copy of the communi- cation : — " * While pursuing my researches among the voluminous papers relating to the American Revolution in the Archives des Ajfaires Etran- g^res in Paris, I found in one of the bound volumes an original letter from Dr. Franklin to Count de Vergennes, of which the following is an exact transcript : — " ' Passy, December G, 1782. " ' Sir, — I have the honor of returning herewith the map your Excellency sent me yesterday. I have marked with a strong red line, according to your desire, the limits of the United States, as settled in the preliminaries between the British and American Plenipotentiaries. '* ' With great respect, 1 am, &c. " ' B. Franklin. " ' This letter was written six days aficr the preliminaries were signed ; and if we could procure the identical map mentioned by Franklin, it would seem to afford conclusive evidence as to the meaning affixed by the Commissioners to the language of the treaty on the subject of the boundaries. You may well suppose that I lost no time in making inquiry for the map, not doubting that it would confirm all my previous opinions respecting the validity of our claim. In the geographical department of the Archives are sixty thousand maps and charts — but so well arranged with catalogues and indexes, that any one of them may be easily . und. After a little research in the American division, with the aid of the keeper, I came upon a map of North Ame- rica, :v D'Anville, dated 1746, in size about eighteen inches square, he Boundary )f the induce- these, a most. Chairman of I was due to 1.,) by whom !s of France, mnected with )uhl be given issed by him he communi- mous papers faires Etran- riginal letter Hewing is an iber G, 1782. ur Excellency brding to your aries between Franklin. inaries were entioned by tlie meaning e.ty on the lost no time I confirm all im. In the id maps and hat any one le American North Ame- les square, ■'-J NEW BRUNSWICK. QS on which was drawn a strong red line through the entire boundary of the United States, answering precisely to Franklin's description. The line is bold and distinct in every part, made with red ink, and appa- rently drawn with a camel-hair pencil, or a pen with a blunt point. There is no other colouring on any part of the map. " ' Imagine my surprise on discovering that this line runs wholly south of the St. John, and between the head waters of that river and those of the Penobscot and Kennebec. In short, it is exactly the line now contended for by Great Britain, except that it concedes more than is claimed. The north line, after departing from the source of the St. Croix, instead of proceeding to Mars Hill, stops far short of that point, and turns off to the west, so as to leave on the British side all the streams which flow into the St. John between the source of the St. Croix and Mars Hill. It is evident that the line from the St. Croix to the Canadian high land is intended to exclude all the waters running into the St. John. " • There is no positive proof that this map is actually the one marked by Franklin ,; yet, upon any other supposition, it would be difficult to explain the circumstances of its agreeing so perfectly with its description, and of its being preserved in the place where it would naturally be deposited by the Count de Vergennes. I also found an- other m.ap in the Archives, on which the same boundary was traced in a dotted red line with a pen, apparently coloured from the other. •' I enclose herewith a map of Maine, on which I have drawn a strong black line, corresponding with the red one above mentioned. " ' Jared Sparks.' " Not only do this document and the map referred to go directly to prove that the original line claimed by the British was the line under- stood by the Plenipotentiaries of both countries when the treaty of peace was concluded, but this undeniable fact is corroborated by proof from the archives of an American Statesman. — Mr. Rives said — " ' A map has been vauntingly paraded here, from Mr. Jefferson's collection, in the zeal of opposition, (without taking time to see what it was,) to confront and invalidate the map found by Mr. Sparks in the Foreign Office at Paris ; but the moment it is examined, it is found to h;8 : ! 64 N*^W BRUNSWICK. conta-p; 'ry '.he most precise and remarkable correspondence, in every fectDce, the map communicated by Mr. Sparks! The Senator who produced it could see nothing but the microscopic dotted line running off in a north-easterly direction ; but the moment other eyes were applied to it, there was found, in bold relief, a strong red line, indicating the limits of the United States according to the treaty of peace, and coinciding, minutely and exactly, with the boundary traced on the map of Mr. Sparks. That this red line, and not the hardly-visible dotted line, was intended to represent the limits of the United States, accord- ing to the treaty of peace, is conclusively shown by the circumstance, that the red line is drawn on the map all around the exterior boundary of the United States; through the middle of the Northern Lakes, * thence through the Long Lake and the Rainy Lake to the Lake of the Woods, and from the western extremity of the Lake of the Woods to the River Mississippi ; and along that river to the point where the boundary of the United States, according to the treaty of peace, leaves it, and thence, by its easterly course, to the mouth of the St. Mary's on the Atlantic' ** With such evidence of the correctness of the position taken by the British Government in the possession of the American Cabinet, the readiness of these wily statesmen to assent to a proposition by which they would knowingly overreach honest and unsuspecting John Bull is easily accounted for ; and Britain must only blame herself in being so unprepared to defeat the designing trickery of wh.'oii, m the present instance, she has been the subject. We envy not xLj feelings of the American people, however, in the matter : the nations of the world must view with merited indignation and disgust a Government which could stoop to such meanness ; but it appears to be merely an ap- proval, in high places, of the repudiating system adopted by public bodies and States of the Union, — which, it is to be hoped, will yet meet with its reward." In the t,ettlement of the question, the principle that a British sub- ject could never be alienated from his allegiance to his native country has been violated, and the people of Madawasca have been bartered as if thov were common articles of traffic?. Fro. the Pr faction praise reflects thai in\ The been d physica general been e> between and by i diminish In a of Queb rence an along the the St. L the coast rence to Commissi Nov. 21st Act of 17' Chaleurs themselvc! the sea, to i is adhered Sept. 18th April 22nd nors of No Governor c is fixed '• i But from tl Wished, an( accident, or NEW BRUNSWICK, 6.5 in every itor -who running yes were ndicating eace, and I the map lie dotted !, accord- imstance, boundary rn Lakes, the Lake ke of the the point treaty of luth of the icn by the Lbinct, the by which ihu Bull is n being so e present ngs of the tlie world lieut which ;ly an ap- [by jjublic , will yet litish sub- \-e country bartered From a humane desire to preserve peace, the treaty was received in the Provinces with silent coolness, which has been mistaken for satis- faction ; and whatever may be the claims of Lord Ashbiirton to the praise of an enlightened statesman and politician, the above treaty reflects no credit upon his ability, and is disgraceful to the country that invested him with the powers of reconciliation. The boundary between New Brunswick and Canada East has never been determined by actual survey, or with a proper regard to the physical geography of the country, which seldom agrees with the general terms employed in treaties. Now that the American line has been explored and marked, the fixing of a permanent boundary between the Provinces above named is necessary to prevent disputes, and by it the timber revenues of New Brunswick will be increased or diminished. In a proclamation, bearing date October 7th, 1763, the boundary of Quebec is thus described : *' The said line, crossing the St. Law- rence and Lake Champlain in 45 degrees of North latitude, passes along the high lands which divide the rivers that empty themselves into the St. Lawrence from those which fall into the sea, and also along the coast of the Bay des Chaleurs and the coast of the Gulf of St. Law- rence to Cape Rosier." The same boundary is referred to in the Commissions of Governors Murray and Carlton, dated respectively Nov. 21st, 1763, and April 21st, 1767. In what is called the Quebec Act of 1774, the Province is bounded " south by a line from Bay of Chaleurs along the high lands which divide the rivers that wmpty themselves into the River St. Lawrence from those which fall into the sea, to a point in the 45th degree of North latitude." This boundary is adhered to in the Commission of Governor Haldimand, dated Sept. 18th, 1777, and in the Commission of Governor Carlton, of April 22nd, 1786. In several subsequent Commissions to the Gover- nors of Nova Scotia, and also in that of Governor Carlton, the first Governor of New Brunswick, the northern boundary of the Province is fixed '* as far as the western extremity of the Bay des Chaleurs." But from the western extremity of that bay no boundary has been esta- blished, and the River Restigouche has been adopted for the line by accident, or from the expediency of restricting the lumbermen to cer- V 66 NEW BRUNSWICK. ¥■ tain lurJts on both sidos. A dispute hns arisen between the two Provinces, in regard to the boundary between tbeni ; and, after a pro- tracted notfotiation, the matter hiis been n^ferred to tlie decision of the Home Government. During his explorations of thia part ol the Province! m 1842, the writer was directed by the Provincial Go^ ernnient of New Brunswick to examine? the country with relbrence ^o the above line, and )ils report was not favourable to making tbe Jilestigonche the boundary. The stream whicli has generally been understood to be the Restigouehe, at the place where it is divided into two branches, cannot be considered as the main river. The main stream ou some of the maps 13 called the Cadamkiswa, which the inhabitants have changed imto Madam Kege- wick, and finally into Tom Kedgewick, The Micrnac Indian name of this stream h F'c~tam-kedgewee. The southerly branch of the river, above its juni-vion with the larger stream, is called the A-waan-jeet. The former stream is one-third larger than the latter, and is 80 yards wide where it receives the abov? tributary. It rnay be remarked, that when a river is foi iced, the Indians apply a distinct or new name to each ^)vanch. The souices of the Petamkedgewee approach Temiscouta and Metis lakes. If, therefore, this river — the main Restigouehe — should be the boundary between the Provinces, a I'.it greater troct of country, and more excellent timber, will fall into New Brunswick than has been heretofore anticipated. The river is an inconvenient boundary in the present state of the country. Persons may contract debts on either of its sides, and by crossing to the opposite shores be placed beyond the jurisdiction of the law. In 1842, on the Canada side of the Restigouehe there was only one magistrate in a distance of seventy miles of thinly-iidiabited coun- try, and criminal oirnces who seldom punished, except l)y the too common application of whyit is called " club laws." American vessels landed their goods and bart( ^ed their '* notions" for fish without fear of molestation. They could not Lo concrolled by the Collector of Cus- toms on the New Brunswick side of the Restigouehe ; and in the Gaspe district there was no authorised seizing -officer within sixty miles of the mouth f the river. All the timber of the immense interior wilderness mint be brought to the mouth of the Restigouehe, where ' ii' one CO sufficiei Exco sea, ha\ other. the coas well ad Fundy s tides an( grottos, With th craft, or NotM'i are conij coast po5 The la dually d( along the shingle, ■ The wate admit the coast of ( present b There to its sur northwan occupied tainou.5 ai i, of elevatii of cultivai higher gn whie'i bei over beau many larg swamps, \ an ad vane NEW BRUNSWICK. G7 ecn the two , after a pro- ,'cision of the in 1842, the w Brunswick jid Ills re)iovt mdaiy. Tho ■stigoudio, at be consiclerefi s 13 called the ^ladarn Kege- rdian name of of the river, A-ti>aan-jee.t. id is 80 yards emarked, that new name to ?h Temiscouta lestiojouche — reatcr troct of unswick than t state of the sides, and by sdiction of the there was only ihabited coun- pt by the too nerican vessels li without fear Hector of Cus- and in the lin sixty miles :nenRe interior gouche, where one code of laws and one custom-house establishment would be sufficient for the Goveniment ond trade of this part of the country. Except on the west, New Brunswick is nearly surrounded by the sea, having the Bay of Fundy on one side, and the Bay Chaleurs on the other. Although there are no deep bays like those of Nova Scotia, the coasts are indented with fine harbours, which render the Province well adapted for commerce and fishing. The coast on the Bay of Fundy side is rocky and precipitous. The constant operations of the tides and waves have scooped out, at many places, deep caverns and grottos, or left sharp angular masses of rock projecting into the sea. With these there are narrow deep basins, affording shelter to small craft, or open harbours where large ships may ride in safety. Notwithstanding Passamaquoddy Bay is studded with islands, there are comparatively few dangerous rocks or shoals in it, and the whole coast possesses every advantage for maritime pursuits. The lands on the whole northern coast of the Province slope gra- dually down beneath the sea. The water is generally shallow, and along the border of the ocean there are extensive banks of sand and shingle, which are separated from the main land by spacious lagoons. The water in all the river channels is nevertheless sufficiently deep to admit the largest ships. On the northern side of the Bay Chaleurs, or coast of Gaspe, the shores arc of an opposite character, and frequently present bold overhanging cliffs. There is great diversity in the appearance of the Province in regard to its surface. Along the coast of the Bay of Fundy, and extending northward to a distance of thirty miles, there is a tract of hilly country, occupied by deep and narrow ravines, which give the surface a moun- tainous appearance ; but few of the hills attain any considerable degree of elevation, nor are they such as would materially retard the progress of cultivation. Watered by numerous rivulets descending from the higher grounds, the ravines and valleys vent the smaller streams, whic'i being collected in rivers, are frequently poured into the bay over beautiful cataracts or boistervius rapids. In this district there are many large tracts of naked rock, and numerous peat-bogs, or mossy swamps, which could only be reclaimed by a dense population, and in an advanced state of agriculture. Although there arc many fine belts K 2 ■ '4 68 NEW nnUNvSWICK. of intervale* along the streams, and some patches of good soil on the hills this division of the country, like the south side of Nova Scotia, is not well adapted for agriculture. The scenery is wild and picturesque ; the bold cliffs or ragged precipices, the deep valleys, the quiet lake and the dashihg waterfall, are sometimes presented at a single view. The close forests of liill and valley appear in summer like green waves rising in succession above each other. Dotted on their sides by the log-house and clearing of the settler, they declare at once the still- infant state of the Colony, and the slow progress of husbandry. The whole north-eastern side of New Brunswick, from Bay Verte to Bathurst, presents a low and level surface, almost unbroken by hills. The country at many places is uneven ; but there are few steep acclivi- ties, except those that have been produced by the action of water upon the beds of the rivers and other streams. Extensive marshes, inter- vales, and floating peat-bogs are somewhat peculiar to this part of New Brunswick. The above tract extends in a south-west direction to the River St. John. It is the region of the great coal-field of New Bruns- wick, and occupies an area of 5,000 square miles. Although there are numerous parcels of land too light and sandy to be very productive, the soil in general is good, and many tracts are of a superior quality. There is another tr-'ct of country, extending from the Meductic Falls on the River St. Johh to the Acadian settlement at Madawasca, and thence in a north-east direction to the Bay Chaleurs and Restigouche. This district is mountainous, and embraces a part of the chain of high lands to which the Treaty of 1783 referred in reference to the boundary between the Province and the State of Maine. Viewed altogether, the face of the country is greatly diversified, and exhibits almost every variety of scenery. It is indeed difficult to form a correct idea of what the appearance of a wilderness region will be after its surface has been partially cleared of its burden of timber, and its level alluviums changed into fertile meadows. At many places in the wild woods there are noble streams passing through the intervales, and winding along their courses through lofty groves of ash and elm. Standing along the borders of these rich fields of wild grass, there are • An American term, signifying alluvium deposited from fresh water. NEW BRUNSWICK. il on the Scotia, is uresque ; uiet lake igle view. »en waves les by the the still- ■y- f Verte to I by hills, ep acclivi- ratcr upon lies, inter- art of New tion to the ew Bnins- h there are iroductive, quality, uctic Falls vasca, and jstigouche. lin of high ! boundary fsified, and ult to form on will be imber, and y places in intervales, and elm. there are 1i water. sometimes abrupt rocky clift's crowned with spruce and other evergreens; but so close is the forest, that it is only from the summit of some naked eminence that the natural beauties of the country can be perceived, or its future appearance be anticipated. There are but few high mountains in British America ; in Nova Scotia there is not an eminence that will exceed 800 feet in height. A branch of the Alleghany chain of mountains passes through the Northern States. Cataadan, in Maine, is the loftiest eminence on its western borders, being upwards of 5,000 feet above the level of the sea. In New Brunswick there is a ridge of high land which is conti- nuous from the State of Maine to Mars Hill, near the River St. John; from thence it stretches across the country in a north-east direction, and sending oft' a branch to the Restigouche, it nearly reaches the Bay Chaleurs. In this ridge there are a few mountains of considerable ele- vation. There is also another alpine ridge, extending from the St. Croix in a north-easterly direction, across the St. John, at the Nerepis Hills, to Bull Moose Hill, at the head of Belle Isle Bay, where the high lands in that quarter terminate. The mountains of the Cheputnecticook con- nect this ridge with the former, and both are chiefly composed of pri- mary rocks. The broken and elevated country of the Restigouche is united to the Gaspe Mountains. Although the height of these lands does not allow them to be classed with the lofty mountains of other parts of the world, from their per- pendicular flanks, their naked precipices, and sharp outlines, they are as alpine in their general features as the mountains of more elevated districts. The hilly country between St. John and Westmoreland has no mountains ; and the eminence called Shepody Mountain, near the entrance of the Peticodiac River, is only 620 feet above the level of the sea. Mount Pleasant, at the eastern branch of the Magaquadavic, does not exceed 800 feet. Bald and Douglas Mountains, near the Nerepis River, are only about 600 feet in height ; and the conical eminences eastward of the Cheputnecticook Lakes will not exceed 1,000 feet in height. Mars Hill has obtained some degree of notoriety, from being that point where the due-north line of the American boundary, according to the British claim, should have terminated. It is situated about fivt 70 NEW URUNSWICK. '•I : 'I : miles from the River St. Jol-n. It rises in the midst of the forest, and is covered with groves of trees. Its top contains about six acres, a part of which was cleared by the Commissioners of 1794, who erected an observatory on its summit. The height of Mars Hill is 1,700 feet; from it there is a most extensive and ints resting view. The more lofty Cataadan, sixty miles distant, in the State of Maine, is distinctly visible. Moose Mountain, Bear Mountain, and other hiyh lands of the chain, are seen stretching away to the north-cast. The valleys of the Aroostook and Tobiquc are also observed ; but, excepting the American village of Houlton, and a small clearing on the St. John, the view is one of a vast wilderness, whose lorests seem to defy the industry of human beings. The highest moimtains in the Province are situated at the source of the Tobique, Upsalquitch, and Nepisiguit Rivers. Blue Mountain, Ox Mountain, Pot Mountain, and Bald Mountain, of this range, will exceed 2,000 feet in height. This highland district affords some of the most sublime scenery in the Province. The summits of the mountains art- most frequently naked. In some of the deep chasms and ravines, at their northern bases, where the rays of the sun are obstructed, the snow does not disappear during the summer, and in the spring glaciers some- times descend, sweeping the woods before them downwards into the valleys below. The streams pass through narrow and tortuous channels, frequently overhung by stupendous cliffs ; and the water, dashing from fall to fall, is finally lost in wreaths of spray and foam in the more quiet streams of the lower ground. From the mountain tops nothing is to be seen in the foreground but vast masses of shelving rock, which frequently over- hang the tops of large trees tha', ii.ive fastened themselves to the decli- vities, or stand erect from the bottoms of the gorges. In the distance, the eye wanders in vain for some peculiar object in the woody covering of the earth. There is here a tract of country at least 300 miles in circumference upon which there is not a human dwelling ; and the presence of the industrious beaver is evidence that the Indians seldom penetrate so far into the wilderness. A mile and a half above Campbclltown, on the Restigouche River, NEW UUUNSWICK. 71 rest, and acres, a ) erected 00 feet; ore lofty listinctly lands of alleys of iting the ohn, the industry source of itain, Ox 11 exceed the most itains are ivines, at the snow Ts some- jnto the equently 11 to fall, treams of e seen in tly over- ;he decli- distance, covering inference ;e of the ite so far le River, there is n sluirp lolly liill called the Sugar Loaf. It is about 800 feet liigli, aiul the side fronting tlui river is a perpendicular cliif with a slope debris at its base. Its ascent is extremely diilicult and dangerous, except at its eastern side. Near a place called the Flat Lands, there is ano'her conical eminence, called Ben Lomond. From the tops of these hills the '»igh lands of the interior may bo viewed in all their grandeur, and the Tracadegash and other mountains of Gasp6 are seen covering the country to the north with lofty cones of anknown altitudes. South- ward I'f the Sugar Loaf there is a wide area of table-land, which, like the uniidud)ited district of the Tobique, is covered with a living mantle of pine, spruce, and other evergreens. RivcrSf Laket, ^'C, There is perhaps no country in the world of the same extent that enjoys greater facilities of navigation than New Brunswick. All itb large rivers are navigable for ships, and its smaller streams afford safe passage to boats and canoes. The St. John is the largest river of the Province. It was discovered by De Monts on the 24th June, 1004. By the native Etchemins it was called the Looshtook, or Lahstok (Long River), but the Siriquous gave it the appellation of Ouangoudy. It received its present name from having been disco\ cred on St. John's Day. It takes its rise near the sources of the Penobscot and Connecticut Rivers, emptying itself into the Atlantic from the territory of the United States, and in latitude 40° North, and longitude 69° 50" West. By winding its way along the segment of a large circle, it traverses the country to a distance of 500 miles, until it finally empties itself into the Bay of Fundy, in latitude 45° 20" North, and longitude 00° West. The Mittaywaquam from the north-west, and Walloostookwamasis* from the south-west, unite, and having descended about fifty miles through an uninhabited district, are joined by Black Rivers and the Allegash. The latter stream, Fish River, and the Aroostook, flow from the " disputed territory," and those high lands which were in- * Sis and Asis in the Indian language signify "lesser" and "least.' EngUsli this river, therefore, would be called " the Little Waloostook." In ^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) & // .^/ ^>- A .V^ ^ V. 1.0 I.I Ul 12.5 ■^ Ki2 |22 :!f 1^ 12.0 IS m L25 III 1.4 1 1.6 ■• 6" ► V] <^ /2 m ^ ^> f ? Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (7t6) 872-4503 i z !>. ^ :\ \ o 9) 72 NEW BRUNSWICK. it 'i I: <: tended by the former treaty to be the boundary between New Bruns- wick and the State of Maine. They are supplied by numerous lakes and rivulets, and drain a large tract of intervale and other excellent land. Above the Grand Falls, the St. John receives Grand River, Green River, the St. Francis, and the Madawasca. It is here navi- gable for large boats, and its tributaries afford an easy communication for canoes, rafts of timber, &c. i -- ■ The Grand Falls of the St. John are situated 200 miles from its mouth, and 125 miles above Fredericton, the seat of government. Having the bulk of its waters greatly increased by the influx from its branches, the river sweeps through the Acadian settlements at Mada- wasca, and expands itself into a beautiful basin immediately above the cataract. This basin affords a safe landing-place for rafts of timber, boats, and canoes ; but it is suddenly contracted, and the river, afler making a detour to the south, is then poured into a deep rocky gorge only 250 feet wide. From a peculiar excavation in the rock, the water falls into the gorge from the front and from each side, and the river makes a leap of 58 feet over a perpendicular cliff of calcareous slate. Smooth to the shelving brink a copious flood Rolls fair and and placid, where, collected all In one impetuous torrent, down the steep It thundering shoots, and shakes the country round ; .J. ' ' Dash'd in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft '■: . :. A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless tthower ; With wild infracted course and lessen'd roar. It gains a safer bed, and steals at last Along the mazes of the quiet vale. Thomson. In the ascending mist is seen the ever-varying rainbow, and clouds of white spray float over the cataract, whose thundering noise and tremu- lous effects upon the rocks have no remission. On the brink of the Fall the water descends six feet, and it runs so smooth that its surface appears to be oiled. The gorge is three- quarters of a mile long, and is flanked with perpendicular and over- hanging cliffs, from 100 to 150 feet high. It is a narrow and frightful chasm, lashed by the troubled water, and excavated by boiling eddies and whirlpools always in motion ; at last the water plunges in an / i\ r Bruns- lus lakes ;xcellent i River, re navi- iinication I from its emment. : from its at Mada- ,bove the )f timber, ver, after ky gorge rock, the I the river s slate. I- ION. clouds of id tremu- t runs so is three- nd over- frightful ng eddies es in an c > c "i > r t- K c s z ■ml I NEW BRUNSWICK. 73 immense frothy sheet into a basin below, where it becomes tranquil, and the stream resumes its original features. The river seems to be swallowed up by the earth, and again poured forth from a dark sub- terranean channel too narrow to give it vent. In passing along the rocky gorge, the water also decends 58 feet, making the whole fall of the river at this place 116 feet, which is the difference of level between the upper and lower basins. — The descent of a raft of timber over the Falls affords an amusing spectacle. Pieces of pine, 60 feet in length, will sometimes shoot up into the air endwise almost their whole length, and the largest trees are frequently broken. The projecting rocks along the sides of the gorge produce eddies, into which the timber is often drawn, and where it revolves against the rocks until it is much injured, or ground to pieces. Whole rafts are sometimes detained in these eddies greatly to the loss of the timber-dealers. — The Grand Falls of the St. John are only surpassed in grandeur in British America by the magnificent Cataract of Niagara. Immediately adjoining the river at this place there is a little village. The lands on the small peninsula formed by the bending of the river still belong to the Crown. This place has long been the site of a military post ; and since the settlement of the Boundary dispute, our Government has commenced the erection of fortifications, for which the place is admirably adapted. A new township has also been surveyed, and in a few years this locality will be one of much importance. A bridge may be thrown over the nar- row chasm below the Falls, whereby an easy communication will be obtained betv 'een the opposite sides of the river ; and along a ravine that extends nearly across the peninsula, it is practicable *o open a canal, with locks, to avoid the Falls, and render the navigation safe.* At the present time, all the goods, boats, canoes, &c. that ascend and descend the river at this place are transported across a portage,-)- 150 rods between the upper and lower basins. About three and a half miles below the Falls, there are two dangerous rapids. One of these is called Rapid de Femme, from having been • The Grand Falls of the St. John arc on the mail route between New Brunswick and Quebec. f A carrying-place. Ins '. m 74 NBW BRUNSWICK. scaled by a woman. They arise from the confinement of the water between high rocky cliffs. The distance between the cataract and the town of Woodstock is 72 miles. This part of the St. John receives two great tributaries, the Aroostook and the Tobiqiie. Besides these, there are the Pecagomik, opposite the village of Wakefield ; the Shictahank, Monquart, and Munic, which flow in from the northward, having taken their rise near the head of the south-west Miramichi. The Presq* Isle and River des Chutes, two small streams, enter from the north-west. The Aroostook is the largest tributary of the St. John ; its sources are at Lakes Millinoket and Millinoketsis, near the head waters of the Penobscot, in the State of Maine. The distance between one of the tributaries of the Penobscot and the Aroostook is only 186 rods. This river enters the St. John from the westward, eighteen miles below the Grand Falls, and is navigable for boats and rafts of timber 100 miles. In Hs course, it receives ten minor streams. The river and several of its branches run through an expanded valley of excellent soil, and all the streams are skirted with rich intervales. The pine forests will afford for many years a great supply of the best timber, the chief part of which must be transported down the St. John before it can be shipped for market. By the ratification of the late treaty in the settlement of the Boundary question, the whole of the Aroostook territory was transferred to the Americans. Previous to that period the whole district was almost an uninhabited wilderness ; but its excellent soil and timber soon attracted the people of the United States after the termination of the dispute, and improvements of every kind are now rapidly advancing. Fort Fairfield, belonging to the Americans, is situated five miles from the St. John, where the Boundary line crosses the Aroostook. Three miles below the fort, on the British side, the river passes through a narrow gorge, where there is a frightful rapid. At the lower part of this rapid there is a Fall of seventeen feet, and the water descends by two steps into a beautiful basin. A rock situated in the middle of the Falls divides the stream, and the cliffs on each side are forty feet high. These Falls, as well as those of the St. John, have retreated some distance, and both of them are still slowly advancing up the rivers that 1 i m H NEW BRUNSWICK. Vi • 11 •III lie water : and the iivcs two (80, there ctahank, ng taken resq' Isle -west. I sources rs of the ne of the Is. This below the 00 miles, several of il, and all vill afford if part of B shipped Boundary •ed to the almost an attracted dispute, liles from Three through a er part of scends by ile of the feet high, ted some ivers that flow over them. Between this place and the main river, there are two dangerous rapids.* The distance between the Grand Falls and the mouth of the Aroos- took is eighteen miles, and the banks of the river can scarcely be said to be inhabited. The lands on each side are hilly. The soil is never- theless very good, and extensive surveys have recently been made in this quarter in order to facilitate the settlement of the new lands. The Tobique River is the next largest tributary t{ the St. John, and nearly equal to the Aroostook in its extent. Its mouth is twenty miles below the Grand Falls, and two miles below the confluence of th« above river with the main stream. The direction of this river is to the north-east, and about eighty miles from its mouth it is divided into four branches. One of those branches enters from the south-east, and proceeds from three Inkes, the largest of which is about twelve mCes in length. These lakes are situated at the principal sources of the Miramichi. The old Indian portage between the waters of the Mira- michi and those of the St. John was only one mile in length. The other branches extend to the northward, and nearly meet the sources of the Upsalquitch and Nepisiguit, emptying into the Bay Chaleurs. All these rivers take their rise in one district, and in the mountainous region already described. As the Tobique River and its tributaries are uninhabited, and offer a wide field for emigrants, a more extended notice of them may be given than of districts already occupied by settlements. At the mouth of the river there is a considerable tract of terraced intervale, which, with several thousands of acres of excellent upland, belong to the Melecete Indians. The islands in the mouth of the river are very productive. There is here an Indian village of twenty-six houses, a chapel, and 200 souls. It is a sort of depot for timber, where frequently in the spring season three or four hundred men are employed * In one of these rapids the Author was placed in imminent peril in 1842, and, notwithstanding the skill of his Indian guide, his canoe passed over a " pitch " of six feet, and filled with water. A few days nrevious, a stranger " in a log " passed the upper rapid, and was on the brink of the Fall, when, perceiving his danger, he sprang from his canoe, laid hold of a rock, and saved his life. The canoe was dashed to pieces. m >v >{, l( 76 NEW BRUNSWICK. in preparing the rafts to descend the main St. John. The Indians obtain a scanty living by cultivating a few acres of land, rafting timber, fishing, and hunting. In the spring of 1842, two of the Indians were in possession of furs to the amount of £150. They had at that time eighty bear-skins, and thirty pounds of castor. The Indian grant at this place occupies an important situation. As the Melecete tribe do not cultivate their lands, it would be advantageous to this part of the country if an exchange could be made with them, whereby they might enjoy all their privileges, and the trade tliey now possess at the mouth of the Tabique be opened to improvement by emigrants. Care should be taken that the property of these people should be rendered secure, and not to be placed at their own disposal ; for it is a trait in the Indian character, to put a low value even upon the most feicile soil. Ascending the river, one mile above the Indian village, there is a rapid called the " Narrows." The river at this place passes through a chasm a mile long, and upon an average only one hundred and fifty feet w^de, and between perpendicular cliffs from fifty to one hundred feet high. Through this opening the water rushes with great violence, and the projecting masses of rock produce violent whirlpools, so that in times of freshets canoes cannot pass, and rafts of timber are fre- quently broken up by being dashed against the cliffs. The gorge is too narrow to vent the water from above — it therefore rises and rushes through the narrow channel with great impetuosity. The navigation of the river at this place may hereafter be greatly improved, by the erection of dams and locks. It is an excellent site for mills and machinery, and a dam may be constructed in such a manner as not to injure the salmon-fishery of the stream. From the mouth of the river to the *' Red Rapids" the distance is eleven miles. The water runs at a moderate rate, and large boats may be towed up by horses. There are several small islands, and patches of intervale. The banks of the stream are high, and closely covered with a mixed growth of hard wood and hemlock. Red and white clover, wild roses, onions, peas, wild plums, currants, and gooseberries, grow spontaneously. There are also the balsamic poplar, high cranberry, butternut, and thorn, with a variety of other indigenous plants. NEW BRUNSWICK. n he Indiani ing timber, dians vrere t that time [ition. As b^antageous vith them, J tliev now vement by lese people 1 disposal ; ;ven upon there is a s through d and fifty e hundred t violence, s, so that T are fre- le gorge is md rushes navigation d, by the mills and as not to f the river ;er runs at ?. There ks of the lard wood leas, wild •e are also 1, with a The river, by passing over a ledge at the Red Rapids, is again broken. It could, nevertheless, be made navigable for two boats at a trifling expense. In 1837, a number of persons, known as the Tobiquc Mill Company, built a dam across the river and erected ex- tensive saw-mills at this plape ; but before the mills were put in operation, a part of the dam was carried away, and the undertaking abandoned, £27,000 having been expended in the fruitless enterprise. It had been intended by the Provincial Government that the road between Fredericton and the Grand Falls should cross the Tobique at this point, and a large sum uf money was expended between the Rapids and the former place ; but, from a series of objections to this route, the project has been given up.* Twenty miles farther up the river, a tributary flows in from the east, called the V/nnskanegan, from the Indian Aw-kee-auc-waps-ka-nee-gan, which signifies *' a river with a wall at its mouth." This stream runs through a belt of fine intervale and a valley of good upland, and is navigable for canoes twenty miles. Along its banks there is an abun- dance of gypsum and limestone ; these minerals are also abundant on the Tobique. Thirteen miles above the Wapskanegnn there is another large tribu- tary, called by the Indians the Agulquac, which also enters from the east. Between the mouths of those two tributaries, there are Long Island, Diamond Island, and others, consisting altogether of rich alluviums, covered with ash, elm, and poplar. There are also extensive intervales on each side of the river. All ihe uplands in this quarter are of an excellent quality. The soil, i dark-coloured loam, bears a • Near this place, the Author, on the 51 a day of July, 1842, during his ex- ploration of the river, witnessed a most violent tornado. A small cloud rose quickly from the west, and soon spread itself so as to produce almost total darkness. The lightning began to flash from the clouds, and sharp peals of thunder rattled along the valley, accompanied with a shower of pieces of ice as large as musket-balls. The shower of ice lasted five minutes, and was suc- ceeded by the blast of a hurricane and whirlwind, which tore up the trees, and levelled the forest to the ground. The width of the tornado did not exceed half u mile, and in its course to the east it left an open space of fallen trees, distinctly marking its track. Such tornadoes are very rare in New Brunswick. Jf ?i n i ' l-l I 78 NEW BRUNSWICK. heavy growth of sugar-maplo, yellow birch, hemlock, and pine. The Agulquac is navigable for canoes twcnty-fivo miles. It passes through a fine tract of land, and a belt of intervale. A large area in this dis- trict was overrun by fire in 1825. The dreary appearance of the vrildemess after the fire had induced some of the lumbermen to sup- pose that the soil was barren, but there is every evidence of its being fertile. At the base of Blue Mountain the stream is seventy-five yards v/ide, and the intervales are extensive. The whole country from this place to the main St. John is comparatively level; but from that point northward it assumes a new feature, and becomes elevated. Still proceeding northward, the character of the river, with its inter- vales and islands, remains unchanged, and its beauty is increased by the lofty hills seen in the distance. All the lands on the slopes and along the valleys are fit for cultivation, and many tracts are of a superior quality. The alluviums are covered with elm, balsamic poplar, ash, alder, &c. Wild hay is abundant ; and there are indigenous grapes, wild plums, currants, gooseberries, mint, rhubarb, and wild onions. - About eighty miles from its mouth the Tobique is divided into four branches. Where these branches meet, and in the country around them, the lands are still well adapted for settlement. The streams that descend from the lakes to the north-east are blocked up with fallen cedars and "jams"* of trees, which render them altogether unnavi- gable even for light bark canoes. Still farther northward, the country becomes exceedingly mountainous and broken. There are lofty ridges of rock, and fields of granitic boulders, which the industry of man can never render fertile, nor the art of agriculture improve. It is among these mountains, far in the interior, that the native wild animals find a retreat, and the beaver lives in safety within his dwelling. The extreme sources of the Tobique wind their courses among naked and almost inaccessible mountains. Bald Mountain is 2240 feet high, .and is svirrounded by several lofty cones but little inferior in altitude. Immoveable rafts of timber. pine. The ises through in this dis- ancc of the j\en to sup- of its being yards v/ide, Ti this place that point th its inter- iased by the s and along f a superior poplar, ash, ous grapes, onions. - I into four try around breams that with fallen ler unnavi- ountainous of granitic e, nor the , far in the eaver lives es among 1 is 2240 inferior in ,s NEW BRUNSWICK. 79 Formerly there were immenao groves of white and red pine in the vicinity of this stream, but most of these have been destroyed by fires. Spruce, cedar, larch, and hemlock arc still abundant ; and there are fine groves of beech, birch, and maple. In the stream there are seventy islands, all composed of alluvial soil. The river abounds iu salmon, trout, and other kinds offish.* The Tobique is navigable for tow-boats and canoes 100 miles from its mouth. Between its head waters and the Nepisiguit the portage is two miles. The lands in the region of this river still remain ungranted, and they arc better adapted to the circantstances of a respectable class of emigrants and settlers than those of almost any other district in the Province. It would be diflicult to form a correct opinion in regard to the climate of the valley of the Tobique country from the experience of a single exploration. From the nature of the plants and their luxuriance, it is evident that the climate is milder there than nearer the coast. From the 5th to the 20th of July, the average range of the thermometer was from 90° to 95° in the middle of the day, and sometimes the mercury would rise to 100° in the shade. There is a great change of temperature in the forest during the night, when the mercury will frc» quently fall to 50° and even to 46° during the hottest season.'}- In order to facilitate its settlement, the Tobique district might be formed into new counties and townships, and its lands surveyed into lots of 100 acres each; but it is not probable that tlie Provincial Government will make roads through this wilderness country, until settlers have first advanced and taken possession of the lands.;}; A small branch of the St. John, called the Meduxnakeaq, passes * In 1842, a settler living near the mouth of the Tobique killed twelve barrels of salmon with a single spear ; and they were sold for £5 currency per barrel. t The black flies and mosquitoes, so numerous in the woods, cease to sting when the thermometer is at 95, and also when the mercury descends to 55. — 75 may be called the best biting point of those insects. t Between the city of St. John and Fredericton there are daily steam-boats in the summer season, and steam-boats will hereafter ascend to Woodstock. At present families and baggage are removed in tow-boats, plying on the \ ■' n U m m m I m 80 NEW BRUNSWICK. through the town of Woodstock, where it is crossed by a substantial bridge. This river is navigable for rafts of timber and canoes to the distance of twenty miles, and forms a water communication between the above place and Iloulton on the American side of the line. Di- rectly below Woodstock, there is a large tract of supi lior intervale rising from the river by successive steps. Eel River, another tributary, empties itself into the St. John twelve miles below Woodstock. It is about thirty-five miles in length, and proceeds from a beautiful lake to the southward. Between this lake and the north Cheputnecticook Lake, the distance is only three miles. It was along this river and the lakes that the Indians formerly pursued their route from the St. John to the Penobscot. This stream is navi- gable for boats, except near its mouth, and at a fall near the lake ; it passes through a tract of good land, and its banks are skirted with intervales. About ten miles below Woodstock, there is another rapid in the St. John, called the Meductic Falls. The river is narrow, and descends over reefs and boulders of granite, which render the passage of boats difHcult and very dangerous to any except skilful pilots. Between Eel River and Fredericton, a number of small streams enter the main river on both of its sides. The Shogamock and Pokiok* come in from the south ; and the Nackawick, Mactaquack, Keswick, and other rivulets, from the north. The Pokiok is fed from a lake in the interior, and is poured into the St. John through a deep and narrow gorge, and over a beautiful waterfall. The Keswick is skirted by some fine alluviums, and its banks were settled by disbanded soldiers shortly afler the peace of 1763. The scenery between Woodstock and Frede- ricton is bold ; and the valley of the St. John, being gradually expanded, is occupied by extensive intervales. Although the chief parts of these intervales are cultivated, they still bear lofty elms, and their borders are fringed with low shrubbery, Notwithstanding there are numerous fii ? . f ll'NI' river as far up as the Grand Falls. Those boats may ascend the Tobique in the summer time, or canoes may be procured for that purpose at the mouth of the river. • From the Indian Piquihoak, " dreadful place," NEW HUUN8W1CK. 81 fino farms and luxuriant fields along th« flanks of the hills, the surface of the enrth prrsi'uts the aspect of u new country. Fri'dericton, the capital of New Hrunswick, in situated sixty-fivo miles by land and eighty-five by water above the mouth of the St. John, and sixty-four miles below Woodstock. The river is here three- (juarters of a mile wide, and navigable for ships to the sea. Nearly opposite the town there are two streams — the Nashwaak and the Nash- waaksis. The branches of the former nearly meet one of the sources of the Miramiehi to the north. This river also abounds in fertile allu- viums, which are met on each side by sloping? uplands. Between Fredericton and the mouth of the St. John, the main river resembles a lake. The tide flows to Chapel Har, four miles above the capital, and seldom rises over fifteen inches. The noble stream is now spread out into small bays, and inlets communicating with lakes, along its margin. In descending, the valley is greatly enlarged, and its whole area is occupied by extensive tracts of alluvial soil, islands, ponds, and creeks, through which the majestic St. John sullenly winds its way, bearing upon its bosom the steamboats and numerous craft of the river. The alluvial banks, as well as the higher grounds, are extensively ''ul- tivated. The rich meadows are decorated with stately elms and forest- trees, or sheltered by low coppices of cranberry, alder, and other native bushes. Through the numerous openings in the shrubbery, the visitoi*, in traversing the river, sees the white fronts of the cottages, and other buildings ; and, from the constant change of position, in sailing, nn almost endless variety of scenery is presented to the traveller's eye. During the summer season, the surface of the water affords an interest- ing spectacle. Vast rafts of timber and logs are slowly moved down- wards by the current. On them is sometimes seen the shanty of the lumberman, with his family, a cow, and occasionally a haystack, all destined for the city below. Numerous canoes and boats are in motion ; while the paddles of the steamboat break the polished surface of the stream, and send it rippling on the shore. In the midst of this land- scape stands Fredericton, situated on an obtuse level point formed by the bending of the river, and in the midst of natural and cultivated scenery. But how is this pleasing prospect changed in autumn, winter, and o . French and Maquapit Lakes, with the rivulets flowing into them from the north, are discharged into the main stream above Gagetown, a vil- lage near the mouth of the Gemsec. The Grand Lake is about forty-five miles from St. John, and thirty from Fredericton. It is separated from the main river by an alluvial tract * Collections of masses of ice that obstruct the passage of the water in the rivers of North America. t It is an extraordinary fact, that some of the farmers on the St. John ob- tain a crop of vegetables and a crop of fish from the same piece of ground annually. Upon such parcels of land they catch their herring during the freshet season; after the water subsides, they plant then with potatoes or grain, which generally succeed well. ales. The and fertile veeps away moveable : e in danger, the higher ?rs live and lidst of the iven to the 3 is chained lose periods lofty trees, lidst of the ig them in ery is again y sleds and e deluge is een a scene icto, enters d drains a n that the swick, and them from own, a vil- and thirty luvial tract ,vater in the t. John ob- e of ground during the )otatoes or NEW BRUNSWICK. %$ a mile wide, and communicates wit) by the channel called the Gemsec. This beautiful sheet of water is aiso connected with the two lakes just mentioned by free openings, cut through the alluvium of the intervales. All these lakes and channels are navigable, and no obstacle to the passage of vessels is presented, except in the latter part of summer, when the water is low. From the almost constant current down the lakes, the alluvium made upon their shores, ami by the streams emptying into them, is swept onward towards the river ; and it has not only formed extensive tracts of intervale, but also choked up the natural outlets of the water, which is now confined to narrow and deep channels. The Grand Lake is thirty miles long, and from three to six miles in breadth. In it the tide rises six inches. It is not, however, to be supposed that the ocean flows so far up, and into the lake — the effect is produced by the elevation of the sea a few feet above the level of the river at high-water on the coast. The result of that elevation is obvious. The fresh water being prevented from escaping, ac- cumulates, regurgitation takes place, and the lakes and rivers rise, more or less, even a huiJred miles above the d^bouchement of the stream. The common rise at Indian Town, near the City of St. John, is eighteen inches ; in the Grand Lake, six inches : above Fredericton, or one hundred miles from the Bay of Fundy, the rise disappears alto- gether. From the northern extremity of the Grand Lake, the Salmon River, a beautiful stream, comes in from the north-east, where it nearly touches the sources of the Richibucto, emptying itself into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The principal outlet of the Grand Lake is called the Gemsec. It is a narrow but deep channel, three miles in length. Although this place is now the seat of rural industry, and not of war, in the early settlement of the country by the French it was the theatre of several bloody engagements. It was the stronghold of the French upon the St. John, and the resort of the savages, who there obtained arms and ammunition to attack the settlements of New England. It was at this spot where the heroic Madame de la Tour bravely defended her garrison during her husband's absence, and compelled her enemies to retreat, until she was betrayed, when her soldiers were hung and G 2 ] H:^ ••; n UM i u NEW BRUNSWICK. i ■ 1 herself tortured by the hatred of Charnisse, her countryman and cowardly conqueror. Six miles below the Gemsec there is another arm of the river, called the Washadamoak. It is a narrow lake, thirty miles in length. It terminates in a river of the same name. The river springs from the head of the Cocagne, and the banks of both are but thinly in- habited. Belle Isle Bay is also a deep inlet, navigable for ships. From this bay the river turns to the south-west, and runs a direct course to the distance of sixteen miles. The alluviums now begin to disappear, and the stream is confined between hills of considerable altitude. This straight section of the St, John is called the Long Reach, which ter- minates in a noble sheet of water known as Grand Bay. This bay also sends out an arm to the north-east, called the Kenebecasis, which receives the Kenebecasis and Hammond Rivers. From the westward the bay takes in a stream from the Nerepis Hills. There is not a river in America of the same extent that has so narrow an outlet as the St. John. From Grand Bay to the Falls, a distance of four miles, this noble stream passes through a crooked channel, at many places not exceeding two hundred and fifty feet in width, while in the interior of the country the stream will average from one to three miles in breadth. The rocky shores of its outlet have not been worn down and scooped out, as is common to all rivers giving passage to great quantities of ice. On the contrary, they appear to have been separated from each other at a period comparatively recent ; and the gorge through which the river now passes at Indian Town appears like a deep fissure opened by some sudden movement in the earth. It is probable that the St. John uad formerly two mouths, one opening from the Kenebecasis down the present site of the marsh, and the other opening from Grand Bay through the Manawagonish ; but the same causes that opened the ne\ channel have obliterated the old ones. That the whole line of coast westward has been elevated from eighteen to twenty-six feet and upwards, is proved by the marine shells found in the clay and marl beds now elevated the above number of feet above the highest tides. The condition of the Magaguadavic is similar to that of the St. John, whose bed has been raised, and a stream that 1 cowardly 'er, called jngth. It from the thinly ip- From this urse to the ppear, and ide. This which ter- This bay isis, which e westward s so narrow distance of lel, at many hile in the three miles worn down ^e to great n separated the gorge )ears like a irth. It is )cning from the other the same 2 old ones. »m eighteen ■hells found her of feet ic is similar stream that NEW BRUNSWICK. 85 was formerly in all probability very rapid has become like a lake, from the narrowness of its mouth, which has been changed by causes alto- gether geological.* The Harbour of St. John is neither very spacious nor commodious. From its shallowness and the violence of the current, large ships can- not enter it at low-water. Those disadvantages are in some degree compensated by the elevation of the tides, which are very favourable to shipbuilding and the transportation of timber. The debouchement of the river is between perpendicular walls of limestone, where the channel is only one hundred and fifty yards wide. Its deficiency in space is made up in the violence of the current, which runs with inconceiva- ble swiftness, the waters rushing down a frightful rapid called the " Falls." The ordinary tides of the harbour rise below the Falls twenty-six feet ; above the Falls, their cominf^n elevation is only about eighteen inches : therefore, the height of the fall outwards is twenty-four feet six inches. But the entrance of the river at the gorge is too narrow to admit the sea on the flood-tide to flow in freely, and therefore there is the singular occurrence of a fall inwards at high-water, and a fall out- wards at low-water. The time for vessels to pass through the narrow opening, or Falls, is fixed at three quarters of an hour at each ebb and flood, or when the sea and river are l )th at the same level. The fall outwards has been estimated at twenty feet, and at high tides the fall inwards at high- water is fifteen feet, making the whole height of this double fall thirty-five feet. The accumulated waters of this extensive river here rush through a narrow chasm, and descend down a rocky slope into the sea. The current is in some degree checked by two small islands in the basin above. Having passed those islands, the water plunges forward with tremendous fury ; but on the flood-tide the scene is reversed : the ocean spreads its mantle over the cataract ; and, by flowing inwards, it • There is a trivdition of the Indians, that the " Great Spirit " once grew angry, and ahut up the Looshtook, or St. John. Some of the natives still believe that a gigantic beaver appeared on the earth, and in a single night built a dam across the river, so that all the country above was overflowed. ;!;|-« ''\-\ t li ftll;, III 86 NEW BRUNSWICK. silences the noisy rapid, closes the tide-lock of the Falls, and, in its turn, rolls inwards upon the river. Having passed the Falls, the stream turns suddenly to the eastward, and the water, covered with fleecy masses of foam, mingles with the sea. The next river of much importance emptying itself into the Bay of Fundy is the St. Croix, which forms the boundary between the Province and the United States to its eastern source ; although its western branch was the one contemplated as being the line cf separation betv/een the two countries ; for as early as 1621, in the grant made to Sir "William Alexander, that river, to its most remote western spring, was declared to be the boundary of Acadia, or Nova Scotia. The Indians always called this river Schoodic, or Schoodeag, which signifies " low and swampy ground." The stream itself emerges from land of that description. The St. Croix, which has already been noticed in the early history of the Province, after passing along the western side of the County of Charlotte, empties itself into Passama- qnoddy Bay, at the town of St. Andrew's. It is here a mile and a quarter wide, and near its centre is the little island upon which De Monts and his party wintered in the early discovery of the country. About ten miles above St. Andrew's, the river diverges to the west, and a beautiful sheet of water called Oak Bay extends to the north. These, with a small cove and rivulet to the east, are supposed to have given to the first discoverers the idea of a cross, from which the river received its name. It is navigable for large ships to St. Stephen's, seventeen miles above St. Andrew's, where it is broken by a fall. At this place and at Milltown, three miles above, the stream is occupied by powerful saw-mills. After running a very irregular course, the river turns to the north- west ; and, about forty miles from its mouth, it is again interrupted by a cataract. The Falls are separated into upper and lower ; between them the water passes over an inclined plane, and rolls over a broken cliff. At the upper Fall, i,he water rushes through a narrow gorge, and descends twelve feet. The waters of the Schoodic and Cheputnecticook Rivers, descending from lakes in the interior, rush over these Falls and the rapid between them with great fury. Large pieces of timber and logs are frequently elevated high above the water, and plunged into the NEW BRUNSWICK. 87 n its turn, earn turns masses of he Bay of : Province ;rn branch itv/een the ir "William ,s declared ;ag, which erges from eady been along the Passama- d a quarter Monts and About ten a beautiful ise, with a iven to the •eceived its iteen miles i place and y powerful the north- rrupted by between r a broken gorge, and itnecticook e Falls and imber and ed into the pool beneath. Large trees are sometimes broken in pieces while passing the gorge ; and the sound produced by the concussion of the logs against each other and the rocks is like the noise of distant artillery. From be- ing confined between the cliffs and to a narrow channel, the water rushes forward with frightful impetuosity, until it is poured into the more tranquil part of the stream, the surface of which is always concealed beneath beautiful waves of white foam. Frequently the mouth of the rapid is blocked up with the rafts of the lumbermen, so that the timber cannot pass, and a *' timber jam " is produced : the clearing away ^f such jams is the most dangerous and difficult part of the stream-driver's ♦ employment. Directly above the upper Fall, there are two small islands, situated at the confluence of the Schoodic, or St. Croix, and the Cheputnecticook Rivers. The average breadth o^ the streams at this place is sixty yards. The Schoodic branch extends westerly into the country recently con- firmed to the State of Maine. Two miles above, on the other branch, there is another dangerous rapid, known as the Cheputnecticook Falls. The whole country in this quarter is uninhabited, and seldom visited except by the lumbermen, and the Indians in search of game. Along the river there are small tracts of low intervale, bearing wild grass suitable for fodder, and very useful to the settler on wild lands. The uplands, which were formerly covered with groves of pine, are fit for cultivation. The Cheputnecticook is a very boisterous river, and broken by numerous rapids and several falls besides those already mentioned. From the mouth of the St. Croix to its first lake, the distance along the stream is upwards of seventy miles. The Cheputnecticook Lakes are about forty-five miles in length ; their breadth is very irregular, being not more than a quarter of a mile at some sit'-^tions, and ten miles at others. They present a series of narrow straits and wide bays, with deep inlets and creeks. The gene»j.i course of the chain is about north-west ; and on its northern side there are a great number of deep inlets, all running in the direction of the * Men who float timber down the rivers. i'l\ 88 NEW BRUNSWICK. main lake. Those inlets, numerous islands, and narrow passages, render the navigation of this beautiful inland basin very intricate. Notwithstanding the water is very deep, and may be navigated by vessels of considerable burthen, vast white granitic boulders rise above the surface, and are also seen at various depths beneath the transparent water. The shores are also lined with boulders, which at many places form natural wharves, with twenty and even forty feet of water around their perpendicular sides. The hills slope gradually down to the shores, where the blocks of white granite appear like solid masonry, and ex- hibit a degree of neatness seldom seen on the borders of lakes in the wilderness. The numerous islands are covered with cedar, hemlock, spruce, and birch. The mountains and hills of the shore bear lofty groves of pine, hemlock, and larch ; elm, ash, and cedar being the pro- ductions of the lower ground. In general, the soil is strong and fertile. Universal gloom and stillness reign over these lakes and the forests around them. From the tops of the higliest hills no appearance of a clearing nor any signs of cultivation can be seen — not even the " log- road" can be traced far from the water, and the only indications of human industry are the naked poles of the lumberman's deserted camp, and the ancient trails of the Indians. Ornamented with islands and branched with placid bays, the Che- putnecticook is stretched out before the traveller, who here views the country as it was before the European set his foot upon the soil, or the native savage had been deprived of his wild inheritance. At present, these inland sheets of water are the summer resort of numerous species of ducks and other wild fowl. Their shores are also frequented by droves of moose, carriboo, Virginian deer, bears, wolves, and other ani- mals ; and the water abounds with the finest trout, perch, and a species of salmon called togue,* weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds. From the extremity of the Grand Cheputnecticook Lake there is a narrow passage, a mile long, communicating with the North Lake, into which a streain enters from the northward called Monument Brook. Its source was the site from which the due-north line was taken by the Commissioners under the Treaty of 1814 to settle the boundary. The * Salmo IIuco of Sir Humphrey Davy. ;s, render gated by ise above ansparent iiiy places er around he shores, , and ex- ices in the , hemlock, bear lofty g the pro- ad fertile, the forests ranee of a the •' log- ications of rted camp, the Che- views the oil, or the U present, >us species uented by other ani- d a species nds. there is a L,ake, into nt Brook, ten by the arv. The NEW BRUNSWICK. 89 Monument, as it has been called, is a marked cedar'tree. Between the North Lake and Eel River Lake, emptying itself into the River St. John, the distance is only three miles. This was a portage of the In- dians long before the country was discovered by the English. In passing from the St. John to the Penobscot, the natives ascended Eel River, crossing the above portage with their canoes into the before- mentioned lakes, whence another portage of three miles brought them to a branch of the Penobscot. Along this route they transported their arms and provisions from the fort at the Gemsec into New England, to attack and destroy the villages of the British inhabitants. These ancient trails are narrow paths winding among the trees and along the sides of the hills ; and so long have they been travelled, that the solid rocks are now furrowed by the mocassins of the native tribes. Some of the extreme branches of the St. Croix nearly meet the sources of the Magaguadavic, and almost the whole of the interior of this part of the Province may be traversed in a light bark canoe. The Digdeguash is a small rapid stream, not navigable beyond the harbour at its mouth. The Magaguadavic extends from the coast of the Bay of Fundy in a northerly direction across the country almost to the St. John, and the lakes whence it issues nearly communicate with the Shogamock, a small tributary cf the latter river. In its course through the uninhabited country, it presents alternate distances of smooth and rapid water, with several falls ; and having passed through a wide plain of intervale at the base of the high lands, it reaches the sea, and opens into a beautiful harbour of the same name. That the site of this intervale was at some remote period a lake, there is the most satisfactory evidence. At the chief village, the bed of the river is nearly one hundred feet above the highest rise of the tide, into which the river falls by five successive steps, and through a' chasm averaging thirty feet wide and a hundred feet deep. The saw-mills fastened to the sides of the clifTs have greatly modified the appearance of this remarkable spot. Having swept slowly along the valley above, the accumulated water is thrown into the deep and narrow opening, where, spouting from cliff to cliff, and twisting its foaming column to correspond with the rude windings of the passage. U :• 1*1 1* >■. 4il I I '■•>■■ ^■' 'V) \.':..i 90 NEW BRUNSWICK. I it falls in a torrent of foam into the sea ; or, passing beneath the wheels of the mills, its fury is scarcely abated as it mingles with the spray floating above. The river then advances along a narrow passage be- tween rugged cliifs, and makes its debouchement into the Bay. The Poclogan, Le Proe, and Musquash are minor streams fed by lakes. At the mouth of the latter there is one of the best harbours in America ; the stream above is bordered by a large tract of marsh. The small streams emptying themselves into the Bay between the Harbour of St. John and Shepody require in this p'ace no particular description. The Peticodiac takes its rise near the sources of the Kenebecasis, and having run in a north-easterly direction forty miles, turns at a right angle, called the Bend.* It then runs to the south twenty miles, and discharges its waters into Shepody Bay. It is navigable for vessels of a hundred tons burthen thirty miles from its mouth, and large ships are laden at its curve. Here the tide flows in and ebbs off in six hours, and runs at the rate of seven miles an hour. The flood-tide is accom- panied by a splendid " bore," or tidal wave, which at spring-tides is f ve ai.d sometimes six feet high. The rushing of this overwhelming lyave is accompanied by a noise like distant thunder, and affords an interesting spectacle. At low-water, extensive flats of fine sand and shingle are laid bare. From venturing too early on the flood, or too late on the ebb, there is much danger to vessels. In the former case, they are sometimes overrun by the tide and stranded in the quicksands ; and if they resist the fury of the *' bore," the water washes away the sand from their leeward sides, they roll over before the current, break- ing their masts, and finally filling with shingle, they are buried in the same. These dangers are all avoided by good pilots, and persons who are acquainted with the river seldom meet with accidents. • The tides rise in the Peticodiac as follows : — At the Bend, common tides, 22 feet 8 inches ; highest tides, 28 feet 8 inches. At Dorchester Island, common tides, 36 feet ; highest tides, 42 feet. It is three hours flood before the tide reaches the Bend ; and from rushing along the river to the distance of twenty miles, it rises higher here above the lowest level of the sea at Grind- stone Island than it does at Dorchester Island. The difference of level between Grindstone Island and the Bend may be estimated as follows: — Common tides, 45 feet 4 inches ; highest tides, 57 feet 4 inches. ilk A e wheels 16 spray jage be- y. The kes. At America ; he small irbour of pt'on. ebecasis, it a right ilea, and ressels of ships are ix hours, 3 accom- ;-tides is vhelming ffords an sand and i, or too ner case, cksands ; away the break- ed in the ;ons who ion tides, Island, od before istance of it Grind- of level oUows : — NKVV BRUNSWICK. })1 The Memramcook, Tantamarre, Aulac, and Missiquash arc small rivers which, like the Peticodiac, pass through very extensive marshes. The Great Tantamarre Marsh is situated on both sides of the river of that name. It is about twelve miles long, and, upon an average, four miles wide, being one of the most extensive collections of alluvium formed by the sea in America. In the Parishes of Sackville, Dorches- ter, and Moncton, 4,900 acres of marsh have been rescued from the sea by dikes and embankments. All the streams emptying themselves into Shepody and Cum- .'Hand Bays are skirted with alluvial deposits, which are more productive than any other lands in the country. At the eastern extremity of the Tantamarre Marsh, a large tract is occupied by peat, floating bogs, and small lakes. The whole of this extensive area was once open to the sea ; but, from the vast quantities of alluvial matter brought inwards by the tides and winds, the mouth of the estuary has been filled up, and raised several feet above the level of the lands in the interior, which can now only be reclaimed by open- ing canals, and allowing the sea to flow oyer them. It has long been proposed to open a canal between some of these rivers and Bay Verte or Shediac, the average distance being only fifteen miles, and several surveys have been made of the different lines pro- posed. The last exploration and survey of a line of canal to connect the waters of the Bay of Fundy with those of Northumberland Straits, in the Gulf of St. Ijawrence, was made by Captain Crawley, R.E. From the report of that gentleman, it would appear that there is not a sufficient quantity of water during the summer season to supply a canal at its summit level. It is also apprehended that the opening of a free passage for the tides from one side of the peninsula to the other would be attended with unfavourable consequences ; and the expense of thr undertaking is estimated to exceed the profit that v/ould arise fron ■;■- if the work should be completed. The enterprise, therefore, althou. ;i not abandoned by its advocates, remains stationarj*. On the north-eastern shores of New Brunswick, a number of small streams open into Northumberland Straits, between Bay Verte and Richibucto ; and the Shediac, Cocagne, and Buctouche have excellent harbours at their mouths. The Richibucto River has four principal branches, which descend 1: . .V I ^\^: 1 I.I I I ^^'f M NEW BllUNSWlCK. from the uninhabited ». ry to the south. One ot" tlioso branches approaches witliin three n; . ^ of the Salmon River, flowing in an oppo- site direction into the Graiid Lalce, the waters of which are discharged into the St. John. It is navigable twenty-five miles from its mouth, where there is a safe and convenient harbour. The Kouehibouguuck River empties itself into the Gulf of St. Law- rence, about twenty miles southward of Miramichi Bay. It is about fifty miles Ui length, and its waters are discharged into a lagoon that forms a gcod harbour for small vessels. The Miramichi* is the second river in extent and importance of the Province. Its branches, which are very numerous, drain a vast tract of wilderness country, and, by being united ..c Jiey approach the sea, they form a stream of considerable magnitude. Some of its north-western branches approach the St. John, and almost touch the Nashwaak ; others reach the lands of the lower Tobique. Three of the north-west branches spring from a chain of lakes in the upper Tobique country. Having descended with considerable rapidity from its principal sources, and traversed the forests of the south-west nearly two hundred miles, the branches of the Miramichi unite and become navigable for large ships ; and finally, the river makes its debouchement into a spacious bay of the same name, in lat. 47° N., and long. 64° 53" W. The banks of the main stream are settled one hundred miles from the Bay, and the moUths of some of the principal branches are also thinly inhabited ; but remote frf)m the larger tributaries, the country is in its original wilderness state, and millions of acres of land capable of suc- cessful cultivation are covered by dense forests, and even the fine tracts of intervale on the borders of the streams to a great extent remain uncleared. Miramichi Bay is twenty miles wide at its mouth ; and although the waters along the coast are shallow, there is a ship channel in the estu- ary from two to four miles broad, and from five to eight fathoms deep. The Bay is decorated with seven islands, and the low sandy shores are inhabited by the descendants of the Acadian French. ; 1,1 I,. * Miramichi, in the Micmac Indian language, signifies " Happy Retreat." The savages formerly called this river the Hestigouchesis. .t'trcat. NEW BRUNSWICK. Twenty miles above its opening into the Bay, this noble stream receives the waters of a large branch called the North-west Miramichi,* whose sources extend to the brandies of the Ncpisiguit farther north. To its confluence with the north-west bianch the river is navigable for large ships, and for small craft to a greater distance. Boats and canoes may ascend the principal streams fur into the interior. It was on the point of land between the main river and its north-west tributary, that Monsieur Beaubair established himself in the first settle- ment of the country, and a great number of the early French inhabit- ants fell victims to famine and disease in 1758. Along the banks of the river, there are numerous wharves and landing-places, depots for timber, &c. ; but the principal business of the country is carried on at Chatham, Douglas, Newcastle, and Nelson — four small towns situated within a distance of five miles. The extensive district bordering upon tho Miramichi and its tributaries has derived its chief importance from the great quantities of valuable red and white pine that formerly stood upon its lands ; but in 1825 this part of New Brunswick was visited by a most awful and calamitous fire that consumed the forests like stubble, and besides destroying a number of the inhabitants, involved the whole population in ruin and distress. From the great annual exports also, the timber is growing scarce, and more difficult to be obtained ; so that the period is fast approaching when the great number of persons employed in lumbering will engage in the more permanently profitable occupation of husbandry. On the south side of Miramichi Bay, there are two indentations receiving small rivers, and called Big Bale des Vents and Little Bale des Vents. -|- Settlements were made at those places by the first French inhabitants, and they are now rather thickly populated. Neguac, or Burnt Church River, is a small stream opening into a lagoon on the opposite side of the Bay. It is still a resort of the Indians, who formerly assembled there in great numbers to hold councils preparatory to their sanguinary attacks upon the European settlers. • Minaqua of the Indians. t Like many of the old Indian and French words, these two names have been strangely corrupted by the inhabitants, wlio now call the harbours " Big Betty Wind" and " Little Betty Wind." [■■. V ■< ■UH i, 1r f ii| ii 94 NEW BRUNSWICK. From the entrance of the Miramichi, the coast extends in a north-east direction. A part of the County of Gloucester is situated on a cape that extends into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, having Miramichi Bay on one side, and Bay Chaleurson the other. This cape has several large islands at its northern extremity, and is penetrated by a number of small rivers, bays, and inlets. The Taboosintac,* Tracadie, Pokemouchc, and Cara- quette arc the largest rivers along this part of the coast : the two former streams open into lagoons formed by bars of sand and shingle, and the two latter into bays where there are good harbours. The Nepisiguit descends from a number of lakes situated near the head waters of the Tobique, from which it is separated by a short port- age. These lakes are at the bases of some of the highest mountains in the Province, and in an elevated tract of country. The river is about one hundred miles in length, and throughout its whole course runs swiftly, being frequently broken by falls and rapids. Its upper part winds its way between perpendicular cliffs and through a mountainous wilderness. Its principal branches are Silver River, Lascoodich, Par- booktich, and Pabineau. About twenty miles above the mouth of the Nepisiguit, the river presents a magnificent cascade. The bed of the stream is granite, which, at the Falls, forms a perpendicular cliff one hundred and forty feet high. Over this precipice the water descends by four leaps or steps, and comes thundering down wrapped in clouds of spray. Next to the Grand Fall of the St. John, it is the greatest cataract in the Province, and its height exceeds any waterfall in New Brunswick. Below the cataract, the stream glides through a narrow channel, and be- tween high cliffs. Above its ddbouchement intoBathurst Harbour, it again rolls over a bed of large granitic boulders, which render the river unna- vigable, except for canoes and single pieces of timber. A great many minor streams empty themselves into the Bay Chaleurs, on the coast between Bathurst and the Restigouche ; but none of Ihem are navigable to any distance, and they require no particular description. La Bale des Chaleurs, now called Bay Chaleurs,f which terminates in • " The place wliere two reside" (Indian). f This bay was known to the Micmac tribe of Indians as Eckeetan Ne- machii, which signifies "a sea offish." "ii!*i lii T - NEW BRUNSWICK. 95 lorth-east cape that ly on one ge islands all rivers, and Caro- wo former , and the I near the hort port- untains in .T is about lurse runs upper part )untainous idich, Par- the river ite, which, feet high, and comes jract in the (runswick. ;1, and be- ar, it again iver unna- Chaleurs, le of them escription. minates in teetan Ne- the Restigouche RIvor, is a large arm of the sea, extending in a westerly direction from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, being one hundred miles long, and between Point Miscou and Cupc Despair twenty-five miles broad. On the north or Ciaspu side of the Bay, the coast is bold ; and a few miles from the shore, the country rises into lofty mountains ; while on the New IJrunswitk side, the land ascends gradually from the border of the sea to the mountain range at the sources of the Tobique, Nepisiguit, and Upsalquitch Rivers, already described. This bay was visited by Jacques Cartier in 1534, previous to his entering the St. Lawrence ; and from the great heat of the weather at the time of that navigator'u voyoge, he called it La Bale des Chaleurs, or Bay of Heats. It was previously known to the Spaniards. It is a beautiful sheet of water, surrounded by harbours, and abounding in all kinds of fish, notwithstanding in winter its whole surface is covered with a crystal garment of ice. The principal sources of the Restigouche are situated in a mountain- ous range that extends through the whole District of Gaspe. The course of the river, from its mouth to the distance of sixty miles, ascending, is to the south-west ; it then turns at a right angle to the north-west. Extending towards the St. Lawrence, one of its branches reaches to within a short distance of the Metis Lake ; and another approaches Lake Tamisquata, on the portage between the St. John and Quebec. Another large branch runs from the south-west, and nearly meets the streams that flow into the St. John. The whole length of the river, along its several courses, is estimated to be two hundred miles. The Upsalquitch, a large tributary, descends from the south, where it meets the heads of the Tobique and Nepisiguit. The Bay Chaleurs, having extended deeply into the country, finally terminates in this fine river, which opens a wide district to all the advantages of trade and internal communication. The banks of the Restigouche are not settled more than thirty miles above its mouth. The upper part of the noble stream, and all its branches, pass through a dense wilderness, and the whole interior of the country is unin- habitable. It was up to that branch of the Alleghanies which extends into the District of Gaspe that the Americans laid their claims, before the ques- tion of disputed territory was settled by Lord Ashburton ; and until 1 -1 11 96 NKW BRUNSWICK. .Mi 1. i 'r ! that period, the Restigouche had formed a temporary boundary between New Brunswick and Canada. Since the termination of that dispute, another of less importance has arisen respecting the boundary between the two Provinces. It is evident that the range of mountains sepa- rating the rivers that flow into the St. Lawrence from those that fall into the Bay Chaleurs, the Restigouche, and the St. John, would form the best divisional line between New Brunswick and Canada. Such a line would give to each Province all the rivers that flow and open into their respective districts ; it would agree with the physical geography of the country, and accord with the ancient limits of each Colony, until the whole of the Provinces should be united. The Restigouche* and its branches pass through a tract of country differing in its principal features from any other part of New Brunswick. This division of the Province is alpine in its scenery, being varied with lofty hills and deep valleys. Mountain behind mountain rises in the distance, and the horizon is indented with lofty eminences of surpassing grandeur. It is only along the shores of New Brunswick and Gaspe that any settlements have been made : a short distance from the coast on each side of the Bay Chaleurs, the country remains unexplored and unknown. It nevertheless appears, from the accounts given by the Indian hunters, that even among those mountains there are fine table- lands and alluviums capable of cultivation. The town of Dalhousie is situated on the south side of the mouth of the Restigouche, which is three miles wide. The harbour is very spacious, and sufficiently deep to float the largest ships of the navy. The mountainous character of the country on the opposite side of the river — the wide bay above the town, terminating in the deep valley of the Restigouche, render the scenery very bold and picturesque. Campbelltown is situated sixteen miles above Dalhousie. Here the lands on each side of the river are high, and frequently broken and rocky. There is, nevertheless, a narrow flat of good soil along the edge of the river, which still continues wide, and is navigable for the largest class of ships. The lands on tl.e Gaspe side of the Restigouche are high and broken. The river is nevertheless skirted with a few level ifi< * Restigouche, — Big River of the Indians. >>'*'■> NKNV 1! RUNS WICK. !)" letween lispute, )etween s sepa- that fall lid form Such a pen into ;ograpliy ny, until ' country unswick. iried with }es in the iurpassing md Gaspe the coast ilored and en by the fine table - mouth of |ir is very the navy. ide of the valley of e. Here the roken and along the ble for the estigouche a few level tracts and small collections of alluvium, the largest of which is Mission Point, the former residence of the Missionary to the Micmac Indians. Three miles above this place is Point au Bourdo, the site of the ancient town of Petite Rochelle, destroyed by the fleet under the command of Captain Byron in 1760. The tide flows about six miles above Campbellton, where the river becomes narrow, and is studded with upwards of twenty small islands. The current is now rapid, and the water remarkably limpid. The Flat Lands are ten miles above Carapbelltown. At this place the settlement on the river may be said to terminate, notwithstanding there are a few families scattered along the banks of the stream still higher up. The Flat Lands are 500 acres of excellent terraced intervale. Two miles above, a large stream enters the Restigouche, called the Matapediac. It takes its rise from lakes on the St. Lawrence side of Gaspe, and descends through a chain of mountains, and between per- pendicular cliff's of rock ; its principal branches are the Us-men-ta- qua-gum, Ca-soups-coult, and Me-la-ga-na-took.* Tow-boats may be drawn up the Matapediac. There is but little intervale on the sides of the stream, and the whole district is broken by high hills and deep ravines. Six miles above the mouth of the Matapediac, the Upsalquitch enters the Restigouche from the New Brunswick side. It proceeds from the mountains at the head of the Tobique and Nepisiguit, being a very rapid stream, with numerous branches. Many of its tributaries als>o run between perpendicular cliffs, which greatly increase the danger and difficulty of procuring the pine timber still remaining along its borders. The Patapediac is a stream of considerable size. It descends from the north-west, and lands in the vicinity of Metis Lake. The same general features that have been described prevail upwards to the Pet-tam-kedge-wee, fifty miles above the mouth of the Upsalquitch. The lands here are less mountainous, and fit for cultivation. The stream which has generally been understood to be the Restigouche, * The native sav^ages* frequently named rivers after celebrated Chiefs and other individuals. II I um KEW BRUNSWICK. and is so called by the English inhabitants, is only a branch of the main river. The main river on some maps is denominated the Cadam- kiswa, and the lumbermen give it the appellation of Tom Kedgewick ; but the original Indian name is Peetamkedgewee ; and the south- westerly branch of the river, above its junction with the larger stream, is called by the Micmacs, A-waan-jeet. The former stream is one- third larger than the latter, and is eighty yards wide where it meets its chief tributary. The distance from the mouth of Grand River, emptying itself into the St. John at Madawasca, along the Awaanjeet, or south-west branch of the Restigouche, to its debouchement, is one hundred and fifty miles. The Restigouche and its south-west tributary are navigable for tow- boats and rafts of timber one hundred and fifty miles ; the Matapediac, fifty miles ; and the Upsalquitch, seventy miles. All these streams are situated in an uninhabited and unexplored country ; and when the ex- tent and resources of this part of New Brunswick are considered, it may appear surprising that it has so long remained in its present state : but it can never be supposed that any district will ever be settled while its natural advantages and the nature of its soil remain unknown. The principal lakes of New Brunswick have been already noticed. Most frequently those lakes are situated at the sources of the rivers, and, therefore, they greatly extend the facilities of internal communi- cation. The numerous streams flowing in all directions through the Province are separated from each other by portages varying only from one to four miles in length. Every township has its river ; and so ex- tensively is the country irrigated, that there is scarcely a half square mile that has not its brook or rivulet. Even the highest tracts abound in springs ; and the whole face of the country is abundantly supplied with water, necessary for its animals and plants, and which, by being collected into rivers, greatly promotes the transportation of its produc- tions, and affords power to carry machinery. The advantages thus bountifully supplied by nature were well known to the aborigines, and the present Indians still follow the old portage trails of their more numerous ancestors. With their light barks, they can ascend the streams remote from the sea to their sources, whence they carry their canoes upon their shoulders to the tributaries descend- NEW BRUNSWICK. 99 anch of the the Cadam- Kedgewick ; the south- irger stream, earn is one- i it meets its tself into the jst branch of , fifty miles. ble for tow- Matapediac, ! streams are vhen the ex- onsidered, it resent state : settled while tnown. ady noticed. f the rivers, communi- through the » only from and so ex- half square acts abound tly supplied h, by being its produc- well known old portage barks, they ces, whence es descend- ing to other districts ; and the facilities with which such passages are made are truly remarkable. From the St. John, the Melicetes will quickly cross the country to the St. Lawrence, Restigouche, and Bay Chaleurs, or to the Penobscot and Kennebec. Their skill in making these quick and sudden movements rendered them dangerous enemies to the early inhabitants, thousands of whom were surprised and cut off while they supposed themselves in safety. The same river channels that aided the savages in their sanguinary enterprises, now afford pas- sage to the native pine, or their waters turn saw-mills that prepare deals for the British market ; and they will continue to be highly im- portant to the agricultural and manufacturing industry of the country. The effects of changes of level in the bed of the St. John and other rivers of New Brunswick are seen in the terraces along their borders. These terraces are admirably displayed at Woodstock, and between that place and the Grand Falls. We here ascend from the stream by suc- cessive steps, and see the ancient shores of the river rise in regular order by a series of steep embankments, like the steps of a stairway. The Miramichi, Restigouche, and other streams, also have their terraced alluvial borders, which, from the regularity of their embankments, have been mistaken for ancient Indian fortifications. They are from six to twenty feet in height, and always consist of beds of gravel or alluvium. The channels of the St. John and other river of New Brunswick have had their beds excavated and lowered by powerful vernal and autumnal currents. In the freshets of spring, the broken ice, for many miles, will move forward until its progress is arrested by projecting banks, or narrowness and shallowness of the stream ; an ice-barrier is formed across the river, and the country above is immediately inun- dated. These barriers, called " ice-jams," are sometimes very alarming in their consequences. The ice, urged along by the current, and col- lected in enormous masses, grinds against the bottom and sides of the river ; the earth trembles beneath the burden, and the pent-up water extends far and wide, not unfrequently sweeping away cattle, buildings, and everything within its reach ; logs, trees, and the rubbish of the shores are also borne along, and aid in forming the obstruction. The alarmed inhabitants of the intervales fly to the high grounds in canoes, whence they witness the destruction of their cattle and buildings. But ll2 '^■^' I \i I . .' :■-■■< 100 NEW BllUNSWiCK. f' m at length the jam breaks, the barrier gives way, and the flood rushes along the valley in a mighty wave, overflowing the lands which during the summer months were covered with a luxuriant vegetation. At the sites where these obstructions take place, the channel of the river is frequently deepened, and great changes are produced in the shoals and rapiJs below. Large masses of rock, detached by the frost, are fre- quently transported down the stream ; acres of intervale are torn away, and the whole aspect of the river is greatly modified. Such ice-floods are common to all the large rivers of the northern part of the American Continent ; and, with the constant wearing down by the currents, whereby lakes are sometimes drained, they account for the changes of level in the streams, and consequently for the forming of terraces along their margins. At the moutlis of all the rivers emptying into Chignecto Bay, there are extensive collections of alluvial matter, called salt marshes. As these deposits are chiefly made by the operations of marine currents, they are only found in great quantities in situations where there is a high elevation of the tides, and where those currents are violent. The tides in the estuary of Cumberland Basin rise from fifty to sixty feet, and every flood brings into the river-channels great quantities of alluvial matter, which is derived from the soft rocks along the coast. Clayey sediment is swept into the rivers by every flood ; before the water re- cedes, it falls, and the spring-tides overspread the highest marshes with a fine alluvial covering The Tantamarre Marsh is stated to contain upwards of 25,000 acres ; of that quantity about 5,000 acres have been rescued from the sea by dikes and embankments, and called Diked Marsh. All Mie streams flowing into Cumberland Basin are skirted at their mouths with these rich alluviums, which afford excellent crops of hay and wheat. Large trees of different kinds, collections of shells and bones of fish, are found buried at different depths in these marshes. The vegetable productions have evidently been drifted, and the marine animals have been enve- loped by the muddy water. The rapidity with which the alluvium collects is proved by the discovery of pieces of cord-wood cut by the French Acadians in the early settlement of the country. Indian har- poons, made of stone, and other relics of the aborigines, have been found ten feet below the surface. I) I t , NEW lUlUNSWICK. 101 i rushes ring the At the ( river is oals and are fre- •n away, je-floods imerican currents, langes of ;es along ay, there bes. As currents, there is a nt. The ixty feet, f alluvial Clayey water re- shes with OO acres ; \e sea by ; streams ith these t. Large are found oductions ;en enve- alluviufn ut by the dian har- ave been r In the great marsh of the County of Westmoreland there are layers of stumps of trees standing in their natural positions, and situated above the alluvium in a manner that proves Jie fact of their having from time to time been buried and succeeded by new growths. These circum- stances only occur near the margin of the upland, where vegetables of the higher ground have been driven back by the slow but certain increase in the elevation of the tide. The whole of the southern coast of the Province, from the River St. Croix to the entrance of Chignecto Bay, is bold and rocky ; it is, nevertheless, indented by a number of fine harbours, and small deep bays, in which the largest ships may ride in safety. The mouth of the St. Croix, Chamcook Bay, and L'Etang are spacious basins. Beaver Harbour is also sufficiently capacious to contain a large fleet. Mace's Bay is unsafe in a gale from the south-west, and on its eastern side the water is shallow. Dipper Harbours are convenient openings for vessels of medium tonnage. Musquash Harbour is spacious, and safe in gales from every point of the compass. The Harbour of St. John has been noticed in the description of the river of that name. Between the estuary of the St. John and Shepody Bay, there are no harbours for ships, and but few inlets where small vessels can be secure in unfavour- able weather. At the mouths of the Peticodiac and Memramcook Rivers there are fine harbours, and large ships may ascend the former stream on the flood-tide to the distance of twenty miles : the numerous small creeks and coves along the coast render it extremely well adapted for shore-fishing. Passamaquoddy Bay is studded with islands of various dimensions. Grand Manan is situated about twelve miles south of Campo Bello and West Quoddy on the American side of the line ; it is twenty-five miles long, and upon an average five miles in breadth. The north-west side of the island is uninhabited, and terminates in lofty headlands : it pre- sents a bold front of overhanging cliffs and lofty mural precipices of trap-rock. Between the main land and the island there is a very strong current on the ebb and flood-tide. When the wind and the tide are opposed to each other, a heavy sea is soon produced, which, with the influence of the currents, is constantly undermining the rocks, and they frequently fall in vast masses into the sea. The south side of the island 1 ■I '.■ •J n (I • "\ ■ W- ■ 10J3 NEW BRUNSWICK. '.<> IV, :•! is low and level. Fi8hing has been the principal employment of the inhabitants, who have not until very recently directed their attention to agriculture. Along the south side of the main island there are a num- ber of small islands which afford shelter for vessels at all times. Grand Manan is a very valuable fishing station ; but, from being exposed to the constant aggressions of the American fishermen, its prosperity has been greatly retarded.* Campo Bello Island is upwards of eight miles long, and two miles in breadth ; and is valuable on account of its harbours, fisheries, and timber. Deer Island is twelve miles long, and about three in breadth. Its south side is sheltered by a number of smaller islands, and there are numerous harbours for small vessels and boats. The inhabitants are employed in fishing along the shores, and in small crafl that frequent the coasts and bays. Jouct's Island, a custom-house station, contains only about four acres of land, and is within two hundred yards of the American shore. L'Etang, White, Spruce, Green, Cherry, and Casco Bay are also small islands ; besides these, there are others that still remain uninhabited. During the summer season, Passamaquoddy Bay is almost covered with fishing-boats ; of which several hundreds are sometimes huddled together over shoals of cod, haddock, or pollock, common in these waters. The whole north-eastern coast of New Brunswick, where it is bounded by Northumberland Straits, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Bay Chaleurs, is low, and the shore waters are comparatively shallow. The currents and waves have thrown up narrow banks of sand and shingle, and formed shoals at the mouths of almost all the principal streams. Between the sandbanks raised above the sea and the main land, there are lagoons with open channels, which receive the rivers and afford shelter to small vessels. Bay Verte was much frequented by French vessels in the first settle- • The number of American vessels fishing within three miles of the island, at certain seasons of the year, has been estimated at 500 ; while of British bottoms there are only about 100. \ NEW BRUNSWICK. 103 ment of the country. It affords safe anchorage, except during a south- east gale, and there is not sufficient water for large vessels at the ex- tremity of the inlet : the latter circumstance has been one of the objec- tions to opening a canal into it from the head of Cumberland Basin. The Harbour of Shediac is safe and convenient ; its channel being sufficiently deep to admit large ships at high-water. At its mouth there are two pretty islands. On the smallest of these, there are the remains of an ancient French fort, which is supposed to have been erected by the Acadians immediately after the conquest of Quebec by General Wolfe. Cocagne Harbour has ten feet water upon the bar at its mouth at low- water, and fourteen feet at high-water. At spring-tides these depths are increased about two feet. At these places the common tides rise only four feet, and the time and duration of high-water are much influenced by the winds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The entrance to the Buctouche is between two bars of shingle, and the depth of the water rather exceeds that of the Cocagne. A number of square-rigged vessels are loaded at this place annually for Great Britain, and a ship of 1,000 tons was built on the banks of the river emptying into the harbour. The tide flows inland twelve miles. The Harbour of Richibucto, at the mouth of the river of the same name, is twenty miles farther north. It is a spacious haven, with six and seven fathoms of water. The entrance is between two long bars of sand, with a depth of eighteen feet at high-water. The next, and one of the most important harbours on the coast, is Miramichi Bay and River. The safest entrance to the harbour is between a shoal of sand and shingle, and Point Escuminac, between which the distance is three miles, with five to seven fathoms water. This passage opens into a fine basin twelve miles long and eight miles broad, and terminates in the river already described, which is also navigable for the largest class of vessels upwards of twenty miles. The towns and villages situated on the sides of the bay and river render the scenery lively and interesting, and the great exports of timber to the British market employ a great numbe; of fine ships. The lagoons of Taboosintac and Tracadie, and the inlet of Pock- mouche, are safe retreats for vessels of moderate tonnage. The splendid i I 1:. 104 NEW miuNswicK. r:.^ I WM Harbour of Shippegan is formed by Shippegan Island on one side, and the main land and Poksudie Island on the other. It lias from five to seven fathoms water, and will admit the largest ships of the navy. Its entrance is from the Bay Chaleurs ; the passage into the Gulf has only six or seven feet of water. Little Shippegan Harbour is a small bay between Miscou and Shippegan Islands; tho 'hannei is two miles wide, with four fathoms of water. Caraquette Harbour has a good entrance, between Poksudie and Caraquette Islands. From each of these islands large shoals extend into the Bay ; but between them there is a safe channel of four and five fathoms. The Harbour of Bathurst is about forty-five miles westward of Cara- quette. Its entrance between Alston and Carron Points is about three hundred yards : outside of thoije points, a bar of sand reduces the depth of the water to fifteen feet. Large vessels take in parts of their cargoes of timber on the Bay side of the bar, where there is plenty of water and good anchorage. The basin of the harbour is three miles long, two miles wide, and perfectly sheltered from all winds. "Westward of this port, the Bay Chaleurs extends eighty miles, hav- ing a medium breadth of twenty miles . it may of itself be considered an immense haven, without a rock or a shoal to obstruct its navigation. The coast on the New Brunswick side meets the shore with a low bor~ der ; but on the opposite coast of Gaspe, there are high rocky cliffs and abrupt precipices fronting the Bay. At a short distance from the shores, the country rises into lofty eminences, separated by deep ravines and narrow gorges, through which mountain torrents descend. The Bay, at its remotest point, forms the Harbour and receives the River llesti- gouche, already described. There arc a number of small bays, lagoons, and inlets, that do not require any particular description, notwithstand- ing they are highly important in the prosecution of the inshore fisheries. In all the bays, harbours, and rivers, fish of various kinds are abundant, and vast quantities are taken and shipped annually by the inhabitants scattered along the shores : but a more extended notice of the fisheries is reserved for another chapter. The principal islands on the coast are situated on the south side of the mtrauce of tho Bay Chaleurs. Miscou Island is twenty miles in NEW liJlUNSWICK. 10.0 circumference, and its northern point is the landmark for vessels bound to Bathurst and the Rcstigouche. It was occupied by the French at an early period, and the remains of their former fishing establishments arc yet to be seen. It is still the resort of British and American fishing craft ; and notwithstanding the plain language of the treaty which j)re- cludes the latter from the fisheries of the shore, their crews frequently erect flakes and cure whole cargoes of fish caught within the lines, and upon British ground. Shippegan is a low, sandy island, twenty miles in length. On its west side there are two settlements of Acadian French — a people who form almost the entire population of this part of Gloucester. Poksudie and Caraquettc Islands are small insula; between Shippegan and the main land. From the great extent of the coasts, bays, and rivers of New Bruns- wick, fishery should naturally form an important division of labour , but it is only at a few places where that branch of industry has been actively pursued. The fishing establishments of Shippegan have been successful ; and there are many other situations, both on the Bay of Fundy and Bay Chaleurs sides of New Brunswick, where that kind of enterprise would be bountifully rewarded. '4.' ..■ n > I M : <■ i 1 ;M «^ ! 9 i CHAPTER V. liATIVE INDIANS OF NEW BKUNStVICK. There has been great diversity of opinion respecting the origin of the aboriginal inhabitants of America. Bhimenbach viewed the physical character of the American Indians as corresponding in some degree with that of the Mongul race, who inhabited that part of Asia which approaches nearest to the American Continent ; and there are many reasons for entertaining the opinion that this vast territory was peopled by emigrants from the Old World. It has been maintained by Mr. Jones, that the native tribes of this quarter of the globe have descended from the Tyrians and ancient Israelites. That writer contends that the former established themselves upon the southern part of the continent '.mmediately after the conquest of Alexander of Macedon, in the year 332 before the birth of Our Saviour. In proof of the Jewish origin of the Northern tribes, he states that " the Northern aborigines have a tra- ditional knowledge of the Deluge, and the ' dove of peace,* which to them, under the name of ' medicine ' or ' mystery bird,' is sacred from the aiTow of the hunter. They have their ark of covenant, in which is deposited some mystery seen only by the priests of the tribe. It is said to be a shell, and supposed to give out oracular sounds. This is an analogy to the book of the law placed in the ark of the covenant by Moses preceding his death on Mount Nebo^the oracular wisdom of which has guided civilisation to this day. The ark is never suffered to touch the earth, but is always raised on a stand of wood or stone : it is invariably carried by a tribe when they march to battle ; a similitude is here to Joshua at the siege of Jericho. When it is in their peaceful encampment, it is surrounded by twelve stones, indicative of the origi- nal number of the tribes of their ancestors. This is strictly in analogy iffi NEW BRUNSWICK. 107 It m with the twelve statues (probably rude blocks of stone) erected by Moses around the altar of the covenant to personify the twelve tribes of Israel. Joshua also, after the passage of Jordan, erected twelve stones in his encampment at Gilgal, and the same number in the river at the place of passage. They select their ' medicine men ' (i. e. priests or prophets) from among a portion of the tribe not warriors : here is a custom of the Lcvites, or descendants of Aaron, being in the sacred office of the priesthood, for with the Israelites they were not to be taken from the ranks of the soldiery. These aborigines • dwell in booths,' as when • brought out of the land of Egypt,* for they are still wanderers (Lev. xiii.) They offer a flesh or burnt oifering from the chace, which is first cast into the flames before a starving family may eat. They have their corn and harvest feasts, also one in observance of every new moon, another in festivity of the first fruits, and the great feast in direct analogy with the Hebrew Passover, even to the blood being stained upon the posts and lintels, and the mingling of the most bitter herbs : then their fastings and purifications are practised with the great- est severity."* The analogy between the Israelites and their supposed descendants might be carried much farther ; but as the comparison belongs not to the object of the present work, the inquiry is assigned to others. From whatever origin the natives of America may have sprung, they were at the time of their being discovered nearly as far advanced to- wards civilisation as the Europeans were at the early periods of their history. Among them were warriors, statesmen, orators and priests, and communities bound together by principles of equity, and customs that were equivalent to laws. When Canada was first discovered by Europeans, it was found occu- pied by three Indian nations, — the Hurons, the Algonquins, and the Iroquois. The first of these great tribes held the northern bank of the St. Lawrence. The country of the Hurons joined that of the Algon- quins, and extended to Lake Huron. The Iroquois claimed a vast tract of land on the southern side of the St. Lawrence. According to a map published by L'Esearbot in 1609, the whole of Nova Scotia was • History of America, by George Jones. Longman & Co., London. Mir \\ rill ■II fiW i' 1 ^: . I^Hu' • H'* 1 , )«i4, HI',! 1 ' ' i 1 108 NKW nilUNSWICK. occupied by the Souriquois (Iroquois)'; and the ancient French maps of the country all agree in giving a tribe called the Ktcliemins posseH- sion of the southern side of New IJrunswick. According to Haron La lloutun, the Indian tribes of ancient Acadia were the Abcnekia (Men of the East), Micmacs, Canabas, Malingans, Opcnagas, Socokes, and Etchemins. By other writers, those tribes were called Algonquins. From the peculiar habits and patriarchal form of government of the North American Indians, new tribes were frequently formed ; and the lesser tribes or families, although bound to some greater community, received distinct names from the early voyageura. At the present time, there are the renmants of two tribes in New IJrunswick, — the Micmacs and the Melicetes, or Morrisetes. The former are found in a part of the District of Oaspe, on the whole coast from the Restigouche to Bay Verte, and on the entire surface of Nova Scotia. The latter reside chiefly along the valley of the St. .lohn, on the banks of the St. Croix, and the country westward, where liiey are met by the Penobscots of the United States. The Micmacs speak a dialect of the Iroquois (or language of the Six Nations), IL.ron8, and other tribes of the North : but the Melicetes, from being descended from the Delaware stock, speak a dialect of that people which is scarcely understood by the descendants of the Iroquois. The physical characteristics of those people are not dissimilar. They all have the same copper colour, the straight coarse black hair, hazel eyes, high cheek-bones, scanty b( ard, and erect carriage, common to all the Northern tribes. Some of the men are upwards of six feet in height, and remarkable for suppleness, activity, and great powers of endurance, rather than for strength. Individuals among them will travel seventy miles in a day without any apparent fatigue. Such feats are often performed under heavy burdens, and without any kind of food. Bears, deer, moose, and other wild animals are sometimes pur- sued by them and overtaken. The skill and agility they display in ascending and descending the dangerous rapids on many of the rivers, in their canoes, has never been attained by Europeans ; and the quick- ness of their perceptions in discovering the trails and footsteps, and even the scent, of men and animals, is truly surprising. Previous to the arrival of the Europeans in the country, the clothing NKW UKUNbWICK. loy ' of the Indian consisted of a clonk. To n «tronf^ girdle or belt around the waist were suspended two aprons, one before and the other behind, which were used as pockets. A long stocking was sewed around the leg from the middle of the thigh to the ancle ; and the whole foot was covered with a piece of soft leather ingeniously stitched up behind, and sewed to a top piece across the instep. This kind of shoe, called the mocassin, is light and agreeable, and better adapted for travelling in the forests and in snow than any other. These simple articles of dress were made of the skins of wild animals. The dress of the female dif- fered but little from that of tlie male, cxeept that the apron extended down below the knees. Since the introduction of European stull's, these garments arc made of cloth. The mocassin is still made of tanned or untanned leather. All the hair was cut off or pulled out, except a tuft on the crown of tlie head, which was ornamented with feathers, pieces of bone, and shells. The hair of the females was permitted to grow, and flowed around their shoulders, decorated with rude trinkets. It does not appear that the Micmacs were much attached to the custom of tattooing ; although the chiefs sometimes recorded in their skins, by hieroglyphic figures, certain victories, and other events. The warrior, in preparing for battle, painted on his body the most frightful forms ; the face was coloured with stripes of red and black, in such a manner as to offer to his foes the most terrific expression of countenance, and his motions were those of menace and defiance. From their resemblance to war, hunting and trapping were the favourite employments. Every hunting occasion was preceded by fastings, dreamings, and superstitious cere- monies ; and the destruction of droves of wild animals was celebrated with enthusiastic joy. The great warmth and beauty of the skin of the beaver gave that animal a share in their affections ; and in their songs, the knowledge, industry, and usefulness of that harmless creature were extolled. Upon the females devolved all domestic duties : they erected the huts or wigwams, cultivated the ground, made canoes, caught fish, and provided for their offspring. They were wives and servants to the lords of the forest. This custom prevails, in some degree, to the pre- sent day; and it is no uncommon thing to see a squaw bent down beneath a heavy burden, and her stately lord marching before her with i' il- 1^ 110 NEW BRUNSWICK. nothing but a gun at his shoulder. The introduction of civilisation has greatly ameliorated the condition of the native female. Near the villages, maize, or Indian com, and sometimes pulse, were cultivated in small patches. From the former, they obtained a scanty allowance of bread kind : the maize was pounded and boiled, or made into a kind of cake, and eaten with dried venison. From the migratory disposition of these people, they seldom erect comfortable habitations. Their huts, called wigtoams, consist of a ring of poles, set up from the ground and covered with the bark of trees, except at the top, which is left open to allow the smoke to escape : when completed, the whole fabric resembles a cone resting upon its base. A village of these singular dwellings, situated on the bank of a river, and sheltered beneath a grove of lofty trees, is almost the climax of American scenery. The Indians display more skill and workmanship upon their canoes than on any other fabric. The frame consists of the strongest and lightest kinds of wood, bent in their hoops to the approved model : over this is laid the entire bark of a large white birch tree, which is often found of sufficient size to cover the whole exterior of the vessel, and being cut and fitted to the framework, is finally sewed at the ends and to the gunwale with the tough roots of the spruce ; the bars, or cross- pieces, are also sewed in. These vessels are not only well adapted for shallow and rapid streams, but, from their lightness and buoyancy, they are safe amidst the stormy waves and breakers. A.n Indian will trans- port from river to river on his back a canoe capable of carrying ten persons in safety, together with a paddle, a gun, a hatchet, blanket, and kettle. I'he model of the canoe of the Melicete differs from that of the Mic- mac. It is somewhat in the style of an English barque, and has a very graceful appearance upon the water ; but the canoe of the Micmac id rather the safer vessel in an open sea in stormy weather. The culinary utensils of the aborigines consisted of pots made of chlorite and other kinds of soft stone, and a few vessels of baked clay. Pipes curiouily carved were also made of the same materials. Their axes were hard stones ground sharp ; around the middle was bent a piece of wood which served for a handle. They also had chisels, if : civilisation • pulse, were led a scanty led, or made eldom erect ist of a ring irk of trees, e to escape : ing upon its le bank of a t the climax their canoes Tongest and model : over lich is often vessel, and he ends and rs, or cross- adapted for )yancy, they 1 will trans- carrying ten et, blanket, of the Mic- 1 has a very e Micmac iii ts made of baked clay, als. Their was bent a lad chisels. ! o il k f.- NEW BRUNSWICK. Ill gouges, and gimlets of stone. Their knives, points of arrows, spears, &c. were frequently made of jasper, agate, and homstone. The instru- ments employed in warfare were also those of the chace, and upon them they bestowed much labour. Those relics are found in the graves of these people, with whom it was a custom to bury with the deceased all the goods he possessed at the time of his death. Notwithstanding their passionate love of orna- ment, the Indians often bestowed their beads, rings, bracelets, and other showy appendages to decorate the dead, whose remains are now found in the earth covered with the gaudy trinkets of their survivors. The social condition of these people was like that of the Canadian tribes. The independence of every individual to do whatever he pleased was maintained as a right, and that principle has not been weakened by their intercourse with European communities. They will enter the dwellings of the rich and sit at the tables of persons of rank with an air of dignity and self-possession, and their powers of imitation remove every kind of awkwardness. Their attachment to their tribe, and their patriotism for its honour and welfare, were not exceeded by the Greeks or Romans. They still maintain that the " Great Spirit" has permitted the "pale faces" to come upon their grounds to kill their game, catch their fish, and cut down their trees ; but they are the lords of the soil, and the rightful owners of the water, the land, and the sky. Every political circumstance calls forth the powers of oratory, and every important act of diplomacy is accompanied by a speech, or "great talk." On every emergency a council of the tribe is called, when the aged and wise hold long deliberations for the public weal. In their diplomatic discourses, each proposition is prefaced by the delivery of a wampum belt, which is made to represent the different parts of the treaty, and preserved as a record of the conference. The proposals of the orator are accompanied by appropriate actions. ** If he threatens war, he wildly brandishes the tomahawk ; if he solicits alliance, he twines his arms closely with the chiefs he addresses ; and if he invites friendly intercourse, he assumes all the attitudes of one who is forming a road in the Indian manner, by cutting down the trees, clearing them away, and carefully removing the leaves and branches." • • Histovical Account of British America, by Hugh Murray, vol. i. p. G8, 69. - 1 '' • M i'j ! H ^^'. a] 112 InKW Bl'iUNSWICK. The acuteness of the Indian is almost supernatural ; he can follow an animal by indications imperceptible even to an American back- woodsman. His powers of observation are so perfect, that he can trace on a piece of bark, with a bit of charcoal, the geography of the country he has traversed ; and he will take a direct course to a place hundreds of miles distant, without the aid of a compass. It has been supposed by some writers that the savage tribes of North America had no means of recording events. The wampum belt was generally applied to the different parts of a speech, or the different articles of a treaty ; and on great occasions, when these belts were brought forth, individuals were found who, from memory or tradition, could explain each section of the precious girdle : but, besides this mode of record, the Micmacs and Melicetes had pictorial representa- tions of certain events, and communicated information through the medium of hieroglyphics. Rocks and trees in conspicuous situations have had figures cut or engraved upon them, whi'^h convey to the Indian traveller in concise terms the knowledge necessary for his safety and comfort. During his geological survey of the Province, the Writer, with two companions and three Indians, were much embarrassed in not being able to discover in the wilderness an old Indian portage be- tween the head waters of the St. Croix and Eel River Lake. From this difficulty they were relieved by observing some rude hieroglyphics marked upon an old cedar-tree. The representations were that of an Indian carrying a canoe, and the direction of the figures corresponding exactly with that of the portage path, which had been obscured by grass and fallen leaves. A hunter with his gun levelled at two deer, indi- cated that those animals were plentiful : this, and other information con- veyed in a similar manner, was found to be correct. In another in- stance, when the same party was descending Eel River, and their lives were in jeopardy on the brink of a fall, a large drawing of two Indians, with their heels uppermost and their canoes capsized, was seen executed in durable black ink upon a broad piece of cedar secured to a post : this warning was immediately understood, and a landing was effected before the canoes and the whole party were plunged down the catoract. Before the country was discovered, these tribes had been at war, and desperate conflicts had taken place between rival powers. The Etche- t |i NEW BRUNSWICK. 113 H!^ mins and Iroquois had each struggled for supremacy, and the tortures they inflicted upon their captives forms a dark page in the traditional history of those people. At Meductic Point, eight miles below the town of Woodstock, on the east bank of the St. John, a great battle was fought between the Melicetes and Penobscots. In making a new road at the sjiOt a few years ago, a number of skeletons and instru- ments of war were discovered ; and songs are still chaunted by the natives commemorative of the event. — The rel'Vs found at the mouth of the Orom.ucto River are evidently those of a public cemetery, as the skeletons at that place were ornamented and enveloped in beaver skins. In 1639, the Mohawks of Canada were at war with the Micmacs of Acadia, and a bloody battle :"s said to have been fought between them near the mouth of tha Resiij^rouche. The former were victorious, and the warlike character of the tribe was such that the war-whoop of the Mohawk was to their enemies the signal for flight. Even at the pre- sent day, the Indians of New Brunswick have a superstitious dread of the spirit that led the "hungry wolves of Canada" to battle. The early French Colonists soon discovered that they could never carry On a successful war against so brave a people ; they therefore endeavoured to make them their allies. They adopted their mode of living, and even some of their barbarous customs. Their Governmen.. offered rewards to any who would marry a native, until the two races were so blended together that they could not be separated. The priests of the Jesuits lived with the savages, and all became the avowed ene- mies of the English, who claimed the country by discovery and posses- sion. The Indians readily laid hold of the firearms, axes, and knives of the French, which were employed in the awful massacres of the infant settlements in the Colony. Their dress was also made to imitate the fTariiiciits of their visitors, and has since become a mixture of English, French, and Indian fashions ; but although their outward appearance has undergone alteration, and necessity has compelled them to conform more or less to the present condition of the c 1 -' r i ■1 ', •(• ' . '-i. '- ■:{ '.'I m I i • 1 ■ jK i f- i. Ill < <:> l^".i 114 NEW BRUNSWICK. ceremony, they will present themsclve? ; and their last friendly visitor is always their idol, especially if he be lavish in the distribution of presents. In all their negotiations, there is little sincerity. The Indian naturally despises the refinements of civilisation ; he looks upon the forest as his home, and even longs for wild adventure. Much pains have been taken to improve the condition of these people. Young children have beer taken, with their parents, and educated with much care. They have been instructed in the arts and agriculture : but no sooner were they liberated from their masters, than they returned to the haunts and habits of their forefathers, and became the most de- praved of all their race. By associating and labouring with the inha- bitants of the Province, they have advanced slowly in agriculture, and a few families may be found who support themselves comfortably by their own exertions. But their intercourse with the whites his ajways been the introduction to intemperance, disease, -Xixdi idleness ; and if we judge by the rapid decline in their numbers since the country was colonised, there is reason to fear that the day of their arrival at an ordinary degree of civilisation will not long precede the day when the names of their races will be blotted from the page of American history. The great number of lakes and rivers in the Province afforded the aborigines great facilities of water communication. The distances be- tween those lakes and the sources of the rivers by land are short, and are called portages, which in the forests are only narrow and obscure paths. On some of the ancient Indian trails, the solid rocks have been worn out by the mocassins of the native tribes. A natural water com- munication is open almost from the Schoodic or St. Croix River across the country to the St. John at the Meductic ; thence the aborigines passed along the River St. Francis, or Tuladi, northward of Ln^ j Temiscouta, to the St. Lawrence. This was one of the routes from Passamaquoddy to Quebec. Portages were made between the Oro- mucto Lake and the Magaguadavic, thence to the waters of the Cheput- necticook and the eastern branches of the Penobscot — also from the Tobique to the Nepisiguit, from the Grand Lake to the Richibucto, and from the Grand River to the Restigouche.* It was along such * To persons who are fond of hunting, fishing, and wild scenery, pleasant excursions may be made during the summer and autumn, by hiring Indians ;ndly visitor stribution of The Indian ks upon the Much pains pie. Young id with much ;ure : but no ■ returned to the most de- ith the inha- riculture, and mfortably by 3s his ajways ss ; and if we countrj was arrival at an iay when the ican history. ; afforded the distances he- re short, and { and obscure iks have been il water com- River across le aborigines ard of La^ j routes from een the Oro- if the Cheput- ilso from the e Richibucto, is along such enery, pleasant hiring Indians NEW lillUNSWICK. 115 wild ro\ites the Indians travelled to make their attacks upon the early settlers of New England and Acadia ; and the quickness of their move- ments from one place to another filled the minds of the early Colonists with the greatest consternation. In the dark and silent hours of the night, when the peaceful inhabitants of the villages were wrapt in slumber, or when the sentinel trusted to the distance between himself and the enemy, the savages were creeping upon them like serpents, sometimes drawing their bodies on the ground, at other times standing erent and imitating the appearance of trees or other common objects, until the war-whoop was raised, when all rushed forward to the indis- criminate and diabolical slaughter of men, women, and children. These fiendish acts, and the terrible tortures they inflicted on their prisoners, formed the dark pages of Indian history, until British arms and civilisa- tion swept from the continent the barbarities of its primeval inhabitants. All the Northern tribes are now upon friendly terms. The Chiefs and Delegates of the Penobscots, Micmacs, and Melicetes hold a Coun- with their canoes, and traversing the rivers in the interior. The aborigines when thus employed are active and industrious, and while poleing, or paddling the stranger up the rapids in quest of game, ^hey will relate many amusing anecdotes. For their skill in cooking little can be said ; but the readines» with which they erect a wigwam or shanty, kindle a fire, prepare the bed of cedar boughs, and attend to the comfort of their employers, makes due amends for their careless habits in preparing food ; and although they may offer the sportsman parched trout, (trout roasted in the blaze,) or racoon stewed ii. bear's grease, they will seldom urge him to partake of their viands to excess after he has paid a due compliment to their culinary ability. The following story is given to illustrate the humour of a Melicete Indian hunter, who was much addicted to taking snufF. In broken English, he says — " One time I go huntem moose ; night come dark, rain and snow come fast ; no axe for makum wigwam ; gun vet, no get um fire ; me very tired, me crawl into large hollow tree ; I find plenty room, almost begin sleep. By and bye me feelem hot wind blow on my face: me know hot bear's breath. He crawl into log too; I take- um gun, she no go ; I think me all same gone, all eat up. Then me thinkum my old snuff'box ; I take some snuff and throweni in bear's face, and he run out; not very much likeum, I guess. Mc lay still all night, he no come again. Every leetle while, every time bearhegoO-mc sneczeinn, over and over great many times. Morning come, mc fixeni gun and shoot em dead : he no more sneezeum, no more this time." I 2 '' 1 ^?A. i \-V\ 1 .) 116 NEW BRUNSWICK. 'i- fij i cil annually at Pleasant Point, on the St. Croix, where they renew their friendship and establish regulations for the public weal. Each tribe has laws peculiar to itself, and the measures adopted by the Grand Covincil prevent collision in hunting and fishing. Their politics are neutral. They are now a harmless and, with due allowance for their customs, an honest people, with whom a Provincial or a European is as safe as he would be with his own coimtrymen. As a people, they still retain their idle, wandering habits, and many of them are frequently in a atate of suffering and wretchedness. To this there are nevertheless exceptions, and a few families not only enjoy many comforts, but have small sums of money at their disposal. The Provincial Government has made many efforts to ameliorate the condition of these people. Commissions have been appointed in differ- ent parts of the Province to watch over their interests ; and small sums of money are granted by the Legislature, from time to time, to pur- chase seeds, and otherwise assist them when they are in distress. Four- teen tracts of land, containing 61,273 acres, have been reserved in dif- ferent parts of the Province for their use, and which they are permitted to occupy during pleasure. Encroachments have been made upon those lands to a great extent, and some of the best tracts have been settled by squatters. As the title is not in the Indians, they have no power to prevent trespasses; and the result has been, that the lands set apart for their benefit are plundered of their most valuable timber, and the most fertile pieces of ground occupied by unauthorised persons. There is a village of the Melicetes on the right bank of the St. John, about twelve miles above Fredericton. At that place there is a chapel, six comfortable dwelling-houses, and sometimes fifteen wigwams. The Indians obtain a scanty subsistence by cultivating potatoes, making baskets, hunting, and fishing. A few families also reside occasionally at Meductic Point, an ancient station of the tribe. A large tract of land at this place was granted by the French Government to Rene d' Amour, Sieur de Clignancourt, as early as 1684. At the entrance of the Tobique River, 16,000 acres of land have been rescued for the Indians. The village there consists of twenty-six houses and wigwams, and a population of 120 souls. Some of the males are employed in rafting timber during the summer nionths, others devote the whole of NKW URUNSWICK. 117 tlicir time to the chacc. A few of the Melicctes also reside at Mada- wasca, among the Acadian French : but a number of families have no fixed place of residence, and are seen wandering over the face of the country in poverty and wretchedness. A number of Micmac families arc settled on the Indian reserves of the Miramichi, Richibucto, and other rivers of the northern coast. The most extensive village of that tribe is at Mission Point, sixteen miles from the mouth of the Restigouehe, on the Canada side. This place was the residence of a missionary. The village contains a large chapel and mission-house, and a population of 200 families. Lumbering, hunting, and fishing are the chief employments. All these tribes were converted to Christianity by the labours of the Jesuits, and they still adhere to the Roman Catholic faith ; but their attachment to that church is not greater than it would be to any other denomination, whose missionaries should carry with them a bountiful supply of presents for the use and benefit of their proselytes. In 1841, Sir William Colebrooke, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, appointed M. H. Perley, Esq. a Special Commissioner for Indian Affairs, by whose labours much information was obtained of the condition of the two tribes, and the state of their lands. According to the Report of the Commissioner, the number of Melicctes, male and female, is 442 ; of Micmacs, 935 : total number of Indians in the Pro- vince, 1,377. There was a time when those tribes could muster more than four times that number of warriors, exclusive of other population ; and they now believe that the diseases of the Europeans, and ardent spirits, have been more fatal to them than the arrows and scalping- knives of all their enemies. Notwithstanding the Micmac and Melicete tribes both inhabit one district, it is singular that the language of one cannot be understood by the other. The Lord's Prayer in the Melicete Language. Me-tox-sen-aa spum-keek ay-e-en saga-mo\v-ee tel-naox-se'en tel-e-wec-so- teek. Clieeptooke wee-chee-u leek spum-keektaun. e-too-cheesauk-too leek spum-a kay-e'eu. Too-eep-nankna-mecn kes-o kecs-skah-keel wek-a gulcek cl-mc-kecs-kaak keel-mets-min a-woolee. Ma-hate-moo-in ka-tee a-lec-wa- nay-ool-tc-ck el mas we-cliee-a keel mecoke-niay-kcel ne-ma-hate-hum-too- mooin. i. \ I W' -J! 118 NEW BRUNSWICK. Tht Lord's Prayer In the Micmac Language. Noorch enon waa-sooke ubiii, chip-took, talwcc-.siii me-Kn-day-dc tnek. Wan-8oke-te-lec-(laa-nen chip-took igga imm-win oo-hi ne-iiioo-lek naa-de \v tay ae-tien. Naa-tel waa-soke ai-kcek chip-took ta-lee-ska-doolek ma-ga-ini guek ay e-mek. Tcl-la-inoo-koo-be-ne-gal es-nic-a gul opcli nega-a-tah kecs- took igga-nam-win nes-cl-co-nen. Ta-lce a-bik-chik-ta-kaa-cliik wa-gai-iiec- na-inet-iiick elk-kecl-nccs-kaain a-bik chic-toc-lii cl-wa-wool-ti-jcck. Mol- kce-nin inaach win-chcc-gul mook-ta-gaa-lin kecs-e-na waain-kil win-cUee- gukl ko qui-ak too-ack-too-in. — Qtiebea Version. I>»R CHAPTER VI. TOPOGRAPHY OF NEW BRUNSWICK — SOUTHERN COUNTIES. In the general description of the Province some of the most important features of the country were described, and a brief survey of the Colony is, perhaps, all that is necessary for historical purposes ; but as emigra- tion from the mother-country is an object of high importance, it appears to be expedient to supply such topographical details as may serve to guide the stranger in the choice of a situation where he is to establish him- self for life on shores remote from his native home. It has been a subject of much complaint that the Province is scarcely known in Great Britain, and that this wide field for the industry of the British emigrant has been overlooked. It is therefore proposed to give in the two fol- lowing chapters a sketch of each county, and to notice the particulars of each district. With those objects in view, it is necessary that the extensive resources of the Province should be considered ; and as they vary in different sections of the country, they may be briefly mentioned in the course of topographical description. The inhabited parts of New Brunswick are divided into twelve coun- ties : St. John, Charlotte, Westmoreland, King's, Queen's, Siinbury, York, Carlton, Kent, Northumberland, Gloucester, and Restigouche.* The Seigniory of Madawasca has also been under the jurisdiction of the Province. The counties have been laid out with great irregularity ; during the early progress of cultivation, villages frequently sprang up • The County of Westmoreland has recently been divided, and a new county, called the Coimty of Albert, has been set off on the west side of the Peticodiac; but as the divisional lines are not yet established, we have included the whole in the description of the County of Westmoreland. 1.1 ii m 120 NKW BUUNSWICK. beyond the limits of any local authority, nnd new counties were laid out for the accommodation of such settlements, and apparently without any view to the physical features of the country, or to future conveni- ence. A glance at the map of New Brunswick will satisfy the most casual observer of the improvements that might be made by proper surveys, and a general equalisation of land between the counties. The County of Northumberland, although it has been twice divided, has more than its share of territory ; and several counties cross the St. John River, which forms a natural and convenient boundary. Some of the parishes also, where they are laid out at all, are very inconvenient to the inhabitants. King's County should have touched the Bay of Fundy eastward of Quaco, and the County of Westmoreland shoidd have been bounded by the Peticodiac. The surveys of land have also been conducted in an irregular manner, and by giving rise to disputes have been improfitable to all, except gertlemen of the legal profession. Each county is subdivided into parishes; the total number of which, including districts and cities, is 95. As the population increases, new counties will be laid out. There is still sufficient space for a county in the vicinity of the Grand Falls, one on the Tobiq^ue River, and one or two in the District of the Restigouche. County of St. John. The County of St. John, situated at the mouth of the river of that name, occupies a long and narrow belt of land forming the north coast of the Bay of Fundy, between Cape Enrage and Mace's Bay ; being upwards of eighty miles in length, and upon an aver- age not more than ten miles in breadth. It contains the parishes of Portland, Carlton, Lancaster, St. Martin's, and Simonds. The whole shore is rocky, and frequently bounded by precipitous and over- hanging cliffs. Eastward of St. John there are no harbours of im- portance ; but vessels of considerable burthen may enter Black and Quaco Rivers, Ten-mile and Gardner's Creeks, at high- water. Mispec River has a very pretty haven at its mouth. On all these streams there are saw or flour mills. The saw-mills at Salmon River, with the lands attached thereto, cost upwards of £20,000 currency. The coast is thinly settled ; but at Quaco there is a large village with two meetitig- j ::S NEW BRUNSWICK. 1121 houses* and Bcvcral ship-yards. This place was first settled by ofllcers and sohliers of the King's Oran{:j(; Rangers ; many of whoso descend- ants still live in the parish, since culled St. Martin's. The Harbour of St. John is safe, but not very spacious, espcci at low-water. The tides rise twenty-six feet, and therefore great faciii ties arc afforded for repairing and lau.iching vessels; for during tho retreat of tlu^ sea, the sliorcs and a nunib'.'r of docks are left dry. At such periods there is a strong outward current in the harbour, which, during the flood, is easy of access for the largest ships. From the great quantity of fresh water that descends from the river during the freshets of spring and autumn, a strong and favourable breeze is necessary to enable ships to enter; in calm weather and head-winds they are fre- quently towed in by steamers. Partridge Island is situated at tho mouth of the harbour. On it there arc a battery, lighthouse, signal station, and hospital for the acconunodution of sick emigrants and sail- ors, who are remo\ d from vessels on their entering the quarantine station. Between the island and the main land westward there is a long narrow bar, dry at low water. A beacon on the bar is crowned by an excellent light, and offers a good mark for vessels entering at night : there arc buoys on a shoal on the opposite side of the entrance. At the lower extremity of the city a long pier has been erected, and is rapidly filling up by the ballast discharged from the timber-ships. At high -water large vessels pass the Falls, near the city, and navigate the river above. Eastward of the harbour there is a broad and shallow estuary terminating in a marsh, and a deep ravine tVat runs westward, and separates the town of Portland from St. John. As the latter con- tains an abundant supply of clay, it is the site of a number of brick- yards, which are more useful than ornamental to the environs of the city. The Harbour of St. John has an important advantage over almost every other port in the Province, in being open at all seasons of the year. The ice — the great obstacle to navigation in all the ports of the St. Lawrence — does not accumulate here so as to obstruct navigation ; • The houses of worship of the Dissenters are called by the inhabitants meeting- housci. ^, 111 122 NKW BRUNSWICK. and during the coldest months of winter, vessels are loaded and despatched to foreign countries without much risk or inconvenience. The harbour and offing afford a most valuable fishery : cod, halibut, pollock, and other kinds of fish, are caught at all seasons of the year ; shad, herring, alewivesj and salmon are abundant during the spring and summer months ; the Letter fish is sometimes sold as low as three- pence per pound. The fishery is divided into lots, which are anuually drawn for by lottery, each citizen having a right to a ticket. The prizes, or best lots, are afterwards leased for £50, and even £100. The market where the fish are offered for sale is small and filthy, and calls for improvement. St. John s built upon a rocky peninsula of very uneven ground, that slopes in opposite directions from a central ridge. A great deal of labour has been employed in cutting down the hills and levelling the streets ; several of which are still steep, and the ice in winter sometimes renders them dangerous. That division of the city which is nearest the entrance of the harbour is called Lower Cove. The principal wharves, docks, and warehouses are situated farther to the north, and extend around the head of the basin to within a short distance of the Falls. The whole shore is lined with timb •-•.londs, booms, and shipyards, which receive the numerous rafts floated down the river. The streets Jiave been regularly laid out, and two pieces of ground, King's Square and Queen's Square, near the centre of the town, have been reserved for pubUc accommodation. The city, which includes within its boundaries a town on the western side of the harbour, called Carlton, consists of six wards. It is incorporated,* and governed by a Mayor (who is appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor), a Recorder, six Aldermen, six Assistant Aldermen, a Sh nff'.of the County, a Coroner, Common Clerk, Chamberlain, High Constable, six Marshals, and sixteen inferior Constables. The revenue of the city amounts to about £5,000 per annum. A part of the public property still remains unleased, and is yearly growing more ■''aluable. It is well built, and the whole range of wharves, to the distance of a mile and a half, is lined with stones and • No emigrant, nor any other person, can sell goods until he first obtain the freedom of the city ; the cfKt of which is £5 currency. # NEW BRUNSWICK. 123 loaded and anvenience. >d, halibut, r the year ; the spring IV as three- *e annually cket. The noo. The r, and calls !n ground, eat deal of veiling the sometimes learest the 1 wharves, 3d extend the Falls, shipyards, f ground, )wn, have includes ur, called rned by a Jrder, six Coroner, d sixteen t £5,000 ised, and 3le range ones and ibtain the large piles of deal, and other kinds of lumber, destined for the British market. The principal buildings are made of stone and brick, and a number of the shops are not excelled in beauty in much older cities. . ' On the 14th of January, 1837, a destructive fire broke out and consumed 115 houses and stores, which were equal at the time to one- third of the commercial part of the city. The loss was estimated at £250,000. Several severe fires have occurred since, and whole streets, including the north and south market wharves, have been laid in ruins, with a new market-house at the foot of King Street. The extreme point of the peninsula belongs to the Crown, and is occupied by two batteries, military stores, and barracks, capable of containing two regi- ments. In front of the barracks there is a spacious parade-ground, which affords a fine promenade in summer for the public, who are admitted without distinction. The principal public buildings are three Episcopal Churches ; two Presbyterian, one Roman Catholic, two Me- thodist, one Baptist, one Covenanter, one Christian Band Chapel ; a Grammar School, a Methodist Sunday-school, Court-hovse, Gaol, Poor- house, two Hospitals, a Mechanics' Institute, Mayor's and City Office, three Banks, Market-house, Custom-house, St. John Hotel, and Peni- tentiary. A number of private houses are tastefully built, and the residence of the Chief Justice, situate in a small park, is quite in European style. The low wooden buildings that formerly occupied the suburbs are yearly replaced by handsome cottages, and the city is rapidly increasing in magnitude and population.* Carlton, on the west side of the harbour, forms two wards of the city ; it almost surrounds a large pond supplying water to saw-mills during the recess of the tide. It has several handsome streets, an Episcopal Church, Meeting-house, and extensive wharves. A steamboat plies between the shores, which are a quarter of a mile apart, every fifteen minutes. The fishing is excellent ; and, from the convenience of * General Arnold, who made a conspicuous figure in the American Revolu- tionary War, resided in the city after the peace, and the house built by him in King Street still remains standing. The celebrated and notorious William Cobbett was once stationed at this phice as a private soldier; and ho here Vound his wife, of whom ho afterwards published a curious auto-biography. n i&Vi im ■ 'I 124 NEW BRUNSWICK. tho situation, several mercantile establishments have been opened of late, and the appearance of the place much improved. The manufacturing industry of St. John has advanced with the growth of the city. It has no at three iron-foundries, in which exalted steam- engines and other machinery are made. There are also a number of flour-mills, turned by steam and water, for the manufacture of foreign grain ; but, from the present abundance of timber, the sawing of logs into deals, scantling, shingles, and laths, has called forth tlin greatest amount of capital : several steam saw-mills are employed in this busi- ness, and others are contemplated. The descent of the river at the Falls has given rise to the St. John Mills and Canal Company ; and machinery for sawing and grinding grain is propelled by the stream, as it rushes down the frightful rapid towards the ocean. At a site below the Falls where the river is very narrow, an attempt was made a few years ago to erect a bridge between Carlton and the opposite shore. The work was nearly completed, when, from the lack of engineering science, a part of it fell into the stream, and a number of workmen, with a mass of timber, were plunged upwards of one hundred and fifty feet into the river below : of the men only a few were saved, and the event is among the painful records of the loss of life which has been but too frequent at and below the cataract. Formerly there was an Indian village a furlong above the Falls, and the spot is still called Indian Town. The river steamers and small craft generally land here, and a little town has sprung up within the space of a few years. The distance to the city is a mile and a quarter, and the street runs through the thriving town of Portland, which should be united to St. John, instead of being a separate parish. The whole shore of Portland is occupied by timber-docks and ship-yards, and, except for its lack of cleanliness and frequent disorder, it wouM be a valuable appendage to the city. Northward of Portland stands Fort Howe Hill, which commands the upper part of the harbour. The hill is the site of a military '^ jst, with a magazine at its base. Portland is the site of a handsome Episcopal Church, a Roman Catholic Chapel, two Meeting-houses, and an Academy. By the recent exertions of an active company formed for the pur- i pose, ii broughtl water id conduct! are verj by the The tion. nences, consist blockhc Althouf known sions ri't 1 opened of 1 the growth ilted steam- i number of e of foreign "ng of logs tlie greatest n this busi- ■iver at the ipany; and ! stream, as I site below nade a few )site shore. 3ngineering workmen, id and fifty !d, and the h. has been Falls, and and small within the a quarter, ind, which L-ish. The ihip-yards, •, it wouU mands the r JSt, with Episcopal i, and an the pur- NEW DIIUNSWICK, 125 pose, the principal streets of St. John are now supplied with water, brought from a small lake situated a mile and a half northward. The water is elevated by forcing-pumps to the highest ground, and then conducted through pipes to its several places of destination. The streets are very imperfectly lighted, and an effort to introduce gas was resisted by the Corporation of 1842. The situation of St. John is by no means unfavourable for fortifica- tion. Batteries on Partridge Island, Fort Howe Hill, and other emi- nences, would defend the haven and city. At present the defences consist of three small batteries on the east, and a stone tower and blockhouse on the west side of the harbour, and a fort on the island. Although those works are not in a state of perfect repair, the well- known spirit of the Militia, with the expertness of their artillery divi- sions, would render the approach of an enemy even with a strong force very hazardous. The uplands in the vicinity of St. John are rocky. The soil is scanty and meagre. There are, nevertheless, fine fields and meadows, which, by industry and patience, have been rendered fertile. A marsh con- sisting of 1500 acres, eastward of the city, has been rescued from the sea by an embankment, and, by good cultivation, produces hay, pota- toes, and oats abundantly. The surrounding country is thickly covered with cedar, larch, hemlock, and spruce. Viewed from any of the emi- nences flanking the harbour, the scenery is bold and picturesque. The river at low-water, dashing forward in columns of spray, is seen rushing through a narrow gorge into the harbour, spreading the surface of the water with wreaths of foam. Cultivation is driving back the forest, and the whole basin of the river appears to be aiive with ships, steam- boats, anr* small craft. In the rear, Fort Howe Hill, overlooking the busy scenes below, forms an interesting object. In the midst of this scenery stands the city of Si. John, the great commercial depot of the Bay of Fffndy. A little more than si"" 'y years ago, the site of the city was a rocky headland covered with cedar thickets. It was then the refuge of Ame- rican Loyalists, by whose patience and industry the foundation of a flourishing city was established, and which now contains 2G,000 souls. Besides the public institutions before mentioned, St. John has a Cham- f^, '^ 'it ¥■ r : I * I I / lllll -1 f ^9 i ! ! n 1 \ i 126 NEW BRUNSWICK. ber of Commerce, Agricultural and HorticultunJ Society, Emigration Society,* Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Religious Tract Society, Church-of-England Sunday School Society, Ladies' Benevo- lent Society, Library, Sacred Music Society, St. George's Society, St. Andrew's Society, St. Patrick's Society, Albion Union Society, Orphan's Benevolent Society, Temperance Society, Total Abstinence Society, and three Fire Clubs. Some writers and travellers have charged the inhabitants of St. John with a lack of civility, and a want of harmony in their social character. In all commercial cities which rise rapidly, the constant influx of per- sons of different pursuits gives rise to jealousies ; but such feelings seldom exist among the better classes at St. John, than whom a more kind and benevolent people can scarcely be found in an^' :;ountry. Again, it frequently happens that men in the humbler walks of life, and with little education, by their industry obtain wealth, and conse- quently more or less influence : such persons seldom acquire the accom- plishments of those who have had greater advantages of refinement, and it would be wrong to condemn a whole eonnnunity for the rudeness or incivility of some of its members. The licentiousness of the press has created unhappy divisions, and given to strangers an unfavourable opinion of the state of society ; but the remarks of promiscuous and ai.mymous writers, who delight to record every supposed evil, take no hold upon the public mind, and time and the more general diffusion of correct principles will purify the corrupt portion of the press from its present tainted and disgusting personalities. Besides being open to foreign trade, the situation of St. John is very favourable for Colonial traffic. The timber and other resources of the interior of the Province — and, since the settlement of the Boundary dispute, a part of the State of Maine — are transported down the river to the city, which commands the business of the towns and settlements above. It has also taken the traffic of the Bay of Fundy, and through that channel continues to draw away the productions of Nova Scotia i ' * The Government ha? appointed M, H. Perlcy, Esq., an Emigration Agent at St. John, who will be found ready to afford advice and assistance to any respectable emigrant who arrives at the port. NEW BRUNSWICK. 127 y, Emigration eligious Tract idies' Benevo- >rge's Society, nion Society, :al Abstinence ts of St. John cial character. influx of per- such feelings whom a more anv ,'ountry. walks of life, h, and conse- ire the accom- of refinement, r the rudeness s of the press I unfavourable imiscuous and i evil, take no ral diff'usion of press from its :. John is very sources of the the Boundary ;lown the river nd settlements ', and through f Nova Scotia ligration Agent sistance to any from Halifax. The construction of railways in the Provinces would greatly alter and improve the state of Colonial trade, and give to Hali- fax, the capital of Nova Scotia, a larger share of the business of that Province : but it is reserved for the chapter on the Commerce of New Brunswick to treat more largely on this subject. Seven miles westward from St. John, a small bay, called Mana- wagonis, affords shelter for vessels during the prevalence of certain winds. Musquash Harbour, farther to the south-west, is a safe and beautiful haven, two miles long and half a mile wide. It is easy of access, wit^ deep water and good anchorage. During the early settle- ment of the country, a French armed brig was chased into Musquash Harbour by a British cruiser. The former was run ashoie and de- serted by her crew, and a part of the wreck may still be seen at a place called Frenchman's Creek. At the head of the haven, there is a tract of marsh, intersected by Musquash River, which extends into the parish and village of Lancaster. On the northern branch of the stream, superior saw-mills have been erected by the Lancaster Mill Company, at an expense exceeding £20,000. The exports from those mills have been equal to £10,000 per annum. Dipper and Little Dipper Harbours are frequented by coasters, and they are very convenient basins on a shore which, in general, is bold and rocky. In all these harbours, and along the intervening coast, there is a plentiful run offish, of which comparatively few are taken by the inhabitants, who, like those on many other shores, divide their time between agriculture, lumbering, and fishing. The whole District of St. John may be said to be rocky and broken. The soil in general is scanty and meagre, requiring at the hands of the husbandman much care and diligence in the pi-oduction of a crop. On the west it is traversed by the great road leading from the city to St. Andrew's, upon which a stage or mail coach passes every day. Be- sides the main road, extending from the city towards the eastern section of the Province and Nova Scotia, there is another rvmning to Quaco, passing by a beautiful sheet of water called Loch Lomond. Roads have also been laid out and improved along the shores, and to the remotest settlements ; but many of them are in a bad state, and few Hi »' ''1il il 128 NEW DUUNSWICK. can be travelled with speed or comfort. The liberal grants made annually by the Legislature for the improvement of internal communi- cation will soon multiply the facilities for travelling. The best forests of this county have been felled, and it is only at places remote from the roads or open streams that good timber can now be produred. The chief advantages of the country inhabitants are the proximity of a market for their produce, the fisheries, and facilities for ship-building. The county contains 427,650 acres, of which only 19,134* acres are cleared : large blocks of land still remain ungranted ; but, from their mountainous and rocky character, they scarcely invite settlement. Notwithstanding, there are many small tracts that would compensate the industry of the steady farmer. Limestone is abundant, and, by judicious management, would greatly improve the state of agriculture. A considerable part of the surface is occupied by tracts of barren soil, producing only stunted spruce and moss ; and bogs of peat are numerous. The appearance of the almost sterile spots is rendered less dreary by numerous small lakes and rivulets, resting quietly between the hills, or winding their way to the rivers and bays. The abrupt ■ (laracter of almost every eminence also contributes to render the scenery interest- ing. Although much of the land presents to the farmer a forbidding aspect, villages and settlements are springing up in almost every quarter. Of these, Quaco, in the Parish of St. Martin's, has become important, on account of its peculiar advantages for ship- building. The Parish of Lancaster is also rapidly improving in husbandry and domestic manufacture. This county is better adapted for emigrants who have trades, or have been brought up to fishing, than for those who follow the tillage of the soil. The small harbours, bays, and creeks offer suitable sites for shore or deep-sea fishing, which might be carried on with profit. On every stream of sufiicient magnitude there are one or more saw- mills. During the winter season, the country inhabitants arc engaged in felling and transporting logs of timber for those establishments, from * Census of New lirunsAvick, IS 10. 11 NEAV BRUNSWICK. 129 vrhence the deals are shipped in the ensuing spring. This kind of in- dustry cannot be pursued in the best agricultural districts of Canada and Nova Scotia, where the cold months of winter bring around the season of gaiety, amusement, and matrimony. The soil, when properly cultivated, produces fine crops of excellent potatoes, turnips, oats, barley, flax, grass, &c., for which it is better adapted than for wheat or Indian corn. The fogs that hang over the coast, during the early part of summer, are very unfavourable to the production of the latter kinds of grain. A hardy breed of cattle find sufficient grazing on the uncleared lands during the vegetating months. But the whole county partakes of the coast climate, which is far less favourable to the growth of plants than the warmer and less humid atmosphere of the interior. The total population of the County and City of St. John, at the present time, is about 35,000 souls. County of Charlotte. The County of Charlotte, if not the most extensive in area, is next in population and trade to the County of St. John. Commencing at Point Le Proe, on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, its eastern line touches the before -mentioned district, and the King's and Queen's Counties. On the north, it meets Sunbury and York ; on the west, it extends to the River St. Croix, or Schoodic, the boundary of the United States ; and on the south, it is washed by the waves of the Bay. It contains ten parishes, — namely, St. Andrew's, St. Stephen's, St. David's, 3t. George's, St. Patrick's, St. James', Pennfield, Grand Manan, West Isles, and Campo Bello. Whether those names were applied on all Saints' Day, or not, is of little consequence ; the parishes, nevertheless, border on the St. Croix, and are situated to the westward of St. John and St. Martin's. St. Andrew's, the principal town of this county, though not equal to St. John in magnitude, is of commercial importance, and would soon increase rapidly were it not for its rival St. Stephen's, a new town situated farther up the St. Croix, at the highest point to which vessels can ascend. The site of St. Andrew's, the shire town, is upon a peninsula on the east side of the mouth of the River St. Croix, or Schoodic, which at its debouchement into Passamaquoddy Bay is two ■I'fi'^' ;;■ n r' » >■■■ ;' 11 130 NEW BRUNSWKJK. miles wide. The river opposite the town is divided by the small island upon which De Monts and his party wintered in the early discovery of the country. This frontier town, situated nearly opposite to Rohinstown on the American side, is built upon level ground, or an inclined plane, that slopes gently down from swelling ridges of land eastward to the border of the river. Streets running parallel to the harbour, and a chain of wharves occupied by stores, are intersected by other streets at right an- gles ; the buildings in general are good, and the town, with its surround- ing meadows and cultivated fields, presents a beautiful landscape. Being one of the oldest places in the Province, it is well provided with piiblic institutions ; the principal of which are a Chamber of Commerce, Bank, Savings' Bank, Bible Society, Agricultural Society, Geological Society, St. Patrick's Society, together with an Academy and Printing Office. The public buildings are an Episcopal Church, a Presbyterian Meeting-house, a Methodist Chapel, Court-house, Gaol, Record Office, Barracks, &c. A number of the private houses are built in handsome style, and impart an air of neatness to the whole place, which, although not extensive, contains much wealth and respectability. The safe and commodious harbour is favourably situated for foreign traffic and fish- ing, although it is sometimes obstructed by ice in the winter season. Heretofore, the West India trade, and exports of timber to Great Bri- tain, have been pursued with success. The town is surrounded, except on its harbour side, by well- cultivated farms, which reach across the peninsula to Chamcook, at a medium distance of a mile and a half eastward. About four miles northward of St. Andrew's stands Chamcook Mountain, associated with a number of cone-shaped hills, which add much to the grandeur of the scenery of the district. At the base of the former eminence are situated Chamcook Lake, River, and Harbour, opening out on the eastern side of the peninsula. At this place, exten- sive saw and grist mills, with a spacious wet dock, have been erected by John Wilson, Esq., by whose enterprise this part of the county has been much improved. A mail crosses the line to and from the United States at St. An- drew's, and there are ferry establishments on both sides of the river for NEW BRUNSWICK. 131 the accommodation of travellers. Steamboats also ply between the St. John and the St. Croix during spring, summer, and autumn. A few years ago, an Association was formed at St. Andrew's, called the St. Andrew's and Quebec Railroad Company ; and the inhabitants of that town, it appears, were the first to propose a railway from the Atlantic to Canada through New Brunswick. In 1836, the Govern- ment granted £10,000 towards the accomplishment of the object, and that sum was expended in exploring a proper route. The Company obtained an act of incorporation, and proposed a capital of £750,000 : the distance is 270 miles, chiefly through a dense wilderness, until it approaches the Grand Falls on the St. John. The line explored ex- tends in nearly a straight line from St. Andrew's to the Parish of Woodstock ; thence to the valley of the Aroostook, in the District of the Upper St. John, which it crosses, and then proceeds to the St. Lawrence near Quebec. This route is practicable ; but the giving away of a part of the territory of New Brunswick to the Americans in the settlement of the Boundary dispute has materially changed the features of the undertaking, and would now increase the engineering difficulties of a line run on British ground. The unsettled state of the American claim, and difficulty of obtaining the requisite capital, pre- vented it from being constructed at the time, and the railway now pro- posed between Halifax and Quebec will no doubt check its farther advancement, unless it be deemed expedient to make this a branch of the great line intended to intersect the Lower Provinces. Next in importance in the County of Charlotte is St. Stephen's, sixteen miles from St. Andrew's, and at the head of ship navigation. This thriving little town has one Episcopal Church, two Meeting- houses, a Bank, Whale-fishing Company, and other public institutions. Between it and St. Andrew's, the river throws out a beautiful sheet of water called Oak Bay, around which the scenery is very bold and inter- esting. The waters of the united Cheputnecticook and Schoodic Rivers, with their extensive tributaries and lakes in the interior, make their final descent over a fall into the sea at St. Stephen's. Here, and also at Milltown, two miles above, advantage is taken of the rapid current, and saw-mills are kept in constant operation, being supplied with tim- ber floated down the lakes and rivers by the freshets of spring. A rail- K 2 4 ' ■! -i 132 NEW BHU: .»ICK. way on the American and a sluice oii t\\v British side of the stream convey the lumber from the mills to the basin below, where it is ■hipped. The quantity of boards, deals, and other lumber thus pro- duced has given rise to a brisk trade with Europe and the West Indies, and rendered the upper town a place of active business. A large vil- lage called Milltown has also sprung up from lumbering industry, and is rapidly assuming the features of a flourishing town. Of late, agri- culture has engaged the attention of many of the inhabitants, and the country around exhibits the extension and improvement of husbandry. Directly opposite St. Stephen's is situated the town of Calais, on the American side. A bridge has been thrown across the river, a/»d a friendly intercourse exists between the inhabitants of the opposite tr>r- ders of the national boundary. During the last war, when a collision between those whose dwellings are within gimshot of each other would have produced the most unhappy consequences, it was mutually agreed upon by the subjects of both countries along this mhabited part of the line, that no attack should be made on either side, and the authorities effectually restrained the violence that sometimes springs from rash and intemperate men. From Calais there are stages running to different places in the State of Maine ; and if there is a single character that would distinguish the American from the British border, it is the greater number of houses of worship and denominations professing Christianity on the side of the former. The population of the Parish of St. Stephen's in 1840 was 3,405 ; it will soon exceed 4,000. A tract of elevated and broken land extends from the County of St. John in a south-west direction to the American boundary. Within its range are the Mountains of the Nerepis, and the high lands of the Digdeguash and Magaguadavic, with the eminences that skirt the shore and stretch away into the interior. This range crosses the County of Charlotte, having Chamcook Mountain a little advanced towards the seaboard. The parishes already described, and those of St. James, St. David, and St. Patrick, at their northern extremities, are therefore broken and stony ; and, from the nature of the rocks, they partake of the character of mountainous districts. On their southern margins, where they approach the river, the slopes and valleys are cultivated, NEW BRUNSWICK. and yield good crops. In such situutiuns, there is often a subsoil of clay, and excellent grass lands. Dift'erent kinds of grain thrive well ; but the dense fogs that envelop the coast during the warm season are unfavourable for the ripening of wheat, which at places a little more remote from the sea yields a substantial harvest. The Parish of St. Patrick is traversed by the lower part of the Dig- (h'guash River, opening into Chamcook Har)>our. The stream at certain seasons of the year affords passage for logs and squared timber, and ii occupied by saw-mills. The chief part of the soil is dry and stony. St. George's Parish is intersected by the Magaguadavic, also empty- ing into Chamcook Bay. At its mouth there is a very beautiful har- bour, and the river is navigable for boats and rafts of timber to the Lower Falls, a distance of ten miles. At the termination of the navi- gable part of the stream, the river falls, by five successive steps, one hundred feet, and through a chasm averaging only thirty feet wide. The sides of the narrow gorge are occupied by six saw-mills of great power, which cling to the rocks like eagles' nests ; and the lumber manufactured by them is carried along sluces into a small, deep basin below, where the water is in constant revolution. Above the Falls, the river passes through a level wide plain of intervale ; and, after pur- suing a very tortuous course, it reaches Loon Lake, and communicates with the Shogamock, a small tributary of the St. John. From the river, its lakes, and a branch called the Piskehagan, there has been an abun- dant supply of logs, and the exports of lumber from the harbour are still very considerable. The little town of St. George, situated at and above the Falls, is a neat village with a number of good buildings : the main road from St. John to St. Andrew's passes through it. Lake Eutopia, surrounded by hills, separates it from the intervale above mentioned. The village, the cataract, the lake, and the elevated wil- derness to the north, render this part of the country peculiarly pictu- resque : indeed, the neighbourhood of St. George, the Digdeguash, Chamcook, and the lower St. Croix, present the traveller with some of the finest scenery in America. Forty miles up the Magaguadavic, the wilderness country is still more elevated. In the chain of high lands in this quarter, Mount Pleasant is the most conspicuous among the nume- rous hills of the district. # 134 NEW UllUNSWICK. I "i The above parish has an exccllunt harbour, calk-d li'Rtang, which is separated from the mouth of the Magaguudavic by a narrow peniiisula projecting into the bay. At this place and on the neighbouring islands there arc extensive quarries of limestone. Ik-aver Harbour, ten miles farther eastward, also aftbrds safe anchorage for small vessels. In regard to soil and scenery, the parish of Pennfield is similar to St. Patrick's. It fronts the sea it Mace's Bay, a shallow estuary ; and the principal river, the Poclogan, is an inferior stream. The County of Charlotte communicates with St. .fohn by the main road leading from the latter to St. Andrew's and St. Stephen's, and in the summer season l)y steam along the coast. Another great road has been opened between St. An- drew's and Fredcricton. Those works and the bridges across the rivers have been made by the Province at great expense, end require annual grants to keep them in repair. Every settlement has its road ; but many of them are hilly and bad : they are too numerous to be kept in good repair by a scattered population. Almost the whole of the northern part of the County of Charlotte remains in a wilderness state. It is true that advances upon the forest are made yearly ; but much time must elapse before the descendants of the present inhabitants will be sufficiently numerous to clear and occupy the whole area of the district. Although the interior is broken by mountains and hills, there are good tracts of land, with fertile inter- vales along the courses of the streams. Many such tracts still remain ungranted, and might be cheaply obtained by emigrants. The industry of the mainland parishes is divided between agriculture, lumbering, and fishing. The former of those pursuits is most safe and certain in its reward. The remaining parishes include the British islands on the coast. The whole of Passamaquoddy Bay is studded with islands, which are said to be 3G5 in number. Many of these islands are merely rude masses of rock, or small eminences covered with moss and stunted spruce. The larger ones have a soil of medium quality, and produce excellent potatoes, barley, and oats. During the summer or fishing season, the bay presents an interesting spectacle. Boats and vessels becalmed are swept away by the rapid tide. At one instant they are hidden by some blackened rock, at another they are seen gliding from behind the green NEW URUN8W1CK. 135 foliage of some little island. Sonietiineu hiuidrods of boats are huddled together, their crews being actively engaged in drawing forth the linny inhabitants of the deep. As soon as the shoal of fisli retreats, or the tide is imfuvourftble, they disperse, and the surface of the water is decorated with their white and red sails. The Indian, in his frail bark canoe, without a rope or anchor, is also there, and the report of his gun, discharged at the rising porpoise, is re-echoed umon^ the cliffs of the shore. Flights of gulls hung over the glassy surface of the water, which is here and there broken by a shoal of herring, or the spouting grampus in search of his prey. Grand Manan, one of the parishes of the County of Charlotte, is an island situated twelve miles south from the main land of the American State of Maine, in latitude 44° 46' North, and longitude 66° 49' West. It is twenty-five miles long, and, upon an average, five miles in breadth. Its north side presents a bold front of perpendicular precipices, from two to four hundred feet in height. The opposite side slopes gradually down to the sea, and is occupied by small villages, farms, and fishing establishments. The higher part of the island is not inhabited, but affords excellent timber for ship-building and other purposes. Along the south side of the main island, there are a number of small islands, sometimes connected with each other by reefs of rocks or bars of sand that are covered by the sea at high- water. The open spaces between the islands afford safe harbours for vessels. The soil in general, al- though scanty, is fertile, and produces good crops of grain and pota- toes. The shortness of the season is compensated by the quickness of vegetation. Wheat ripens in the month of August. On the island there are a church, two meeting-houses, a lighthouse, besides several small mercantile establishments. There are 3,000 acres of cleared land, and a population of upwards of 1,200 souls. Fishing is the principal employment of the inhabitants, and Grand Manan is a most valuable island for that branch of industry. Never- theless, the business is not pursued with much spirit, and ten times the present number of English vessels and fishermen might be advantage- ously employed. From the abundance of fish, the Americans frequent the island and its fishing-grounds in great numbers. Their vessels are an)ply fitted 136 NEW BRUNSWICK. out, and the superior skill and energy of their crews give them a great advantage over the British inhabitants, upon whose rights they encroach with impunity. This subject will be treated of more at large in the chapter on the Fisheries. Campo Bello, another island parish, is separated from the American town of Lubec by a narrow passage. It is about eight miles long, and upon an average not more than two miles wide. It has two fine har- bours — Harbour De Lute and Welchpool. At the latter place there is a pretty village. The island is owned by Capt. Owen, R. N., and contains about 800 inhabitants, who are terants to the proprietor. There are gt.>od herring-fisheries upon the shores. Cod, pollock, had- dock, and other kinds of fish are taken, and often carried over the Line and sold to the Americans in an uncured state. The great facilities for smuggling along this part of the American line are not overlooked by the inhabitants. A third parish comprises the remainder of the inhabited islands, and is called West Isles. Deer Island is twelve miles long and three miles in breadth, and partially cultivated. Indian Island has a good fishing establishment. Jouet's Island, the residence of a Collector of Her Majesty's Customs, contains only four acres. The Wolves are six small islands, situated about ten miles from the coast ; one of them is occupied by a single family, and the group is well known for having been the scene of many shipwrecks. The White Horse is a lofty mass of trap rock ; and the White, Green, Spruce, Cherry, and Casco Bay Islands are small eminences of little importance. A number of vessels are owned at the inhabited places above mentioned, and employed in deep- sea fisling; and upwards of eight hundred persons are engaged in the catch alo ig the shores. But, with all the apparent industry of the scat- tered population, there is evidently a defect in their system of employ- ment, and the fisheries of the bay and islands contribute far less to the commerce of the Province than might be expected from such valuable resources. Lighthouses have been erected on the principal headlands of the coast and islands, but their lights are less brilliant than those along the American shores. ■ ■ t'S a great ncroach in the NEW BRUNSWICK. 137 < - County of Westmoreland. This extensive county is bounded on the south by Chignecto Bay and Cumberland Basin, and joins Nova Scotia on the south-east by a narrow peninsula. It extends along the shore of Northumberland Straits to the north-east. Northward it meets Kent, and westward King's and Queen's Counties. It contains eleven parishes, the bounda- ries of which have not been properly defined. The present population is not less than 19,000. There are 100,000 acres of cleared land, in- cluding 7,590 acres of diked marsh. The county contains 1,312,000 acres. A new county has lately been set off from Westmoreland, called Albert ; but as its boundaries are not yet settled, I have included its description in that of the ancient district. The general features of West- moreland are very different from those of the Counties of St. John or Charlotte. Excepting the eminence called Shepody Mountain, it is not elevated ; the surface being varied by swelling oval ridges, gentle slopes, and wide shallow valleys. The lands of the eastern parishes are low and level. There are a few small lakes, and occasionally peat bogs and swamps ; beyond these and a few small tracts of sandy ground, the entire surface is capable of being rendered fertile, and the chief part of the whole district is covered by a rich and productive soil, to which are added large tracts of marsh that have been rescued from the sea by embankments. The south side of the county is deeply in- dented by Shepody Bay and Cumberland Basin ; the former receives the Peticodiac, which waters almost the whole of the western parishes. That river is navigable for vessels of a hundred tons burden thirty-three miles, and the tide flows inland thirty-six miles. Twenty-six miles from its mouth, it makes a sudden turn at a right angle called the Bend,* where the tide flows in and ebbs off in six hours. The flood- tide makes its first ingress in a tidal wave, or bore, which, at high tides, is sometimes six feet in elevation. Timber and deals are exported from the Peticodiac, and large ships are built near the Bend for the English market. The river also affords a good shad-fishery. The Tantamarre and Aulac are smaller streams, whose estuaries have been filled up by allu- vial matter now forming the great marshes of that part of the country. * Named by tlie Frencli, Petit Coude (Little Elbow), whence is derived Piticodiac, frequently called by tha inhabitants Pcltycoatjuck. II Vn n '■■ t i: ii 138 NEW BRUNSWICK. The Parish of Dorchester, the shire town, is stretched along the east side of the Peticodiac, between the Bend and Sackville. It is thickly populated on the banks of the rivers and borders of the ri.arshes. A large village, with an Episcopal Church, Court-house, and several hand- some private buildings, stands on the side of a hill sloping towards the mouth of the Memramcook, where tnere is an excellent harbour with a Custom-house. The public business of the county is transacted at the above village. The exports from the harbour are very limited. Both banks of the Memramcook were originally settled by French Acadians, whose descendants still enjoy the possessions of their forefathers. On the west side of the stream they have a large chapel, and the place is the resort of a few families of Micmac Indians, who receive instruction and aid from the resident Roman Catholic Missionary. The east side of the Peticodiac, to the distance of twelve miles above its entrance, is also occupied by these people ; and a pretty village has received its name in commemoration of Monsieur Belleveaux, who lived to the advanced age of one hundred and ten years. The parish contains valuable quar- ries of gypsum, freestone, grindstone, and strata of coal ; and its fine alluvial marshes and strong uplands are favourable for the pursuits of husbandry. The Parish of Sackville is situated between Dorchester and the Parish of "Westmoreland, and borders upon Cumberland Basin. Its southern part was first settled by the French. After they were driven from their possessions here, and other parts of Acadia, their lands were immediately occupied by the British, and they are now densely populated. The great Tantamarre Marsh is situated on both sides of a nver of that name, and is okj of the largest collections of fertile s i alluvium in "British America, being twelve miles in length and four miles wide. Its appearance in autumn, when dotted over with haystacks, is very novel to the European visitor. The overflowing of the sea is prevented by dikes thrown up on the margin of the rivers and across the creeks.* * The creeks are filled with alternate layers of brushwood and marsh mud, secured by piles. Through the lower part of the construction there is a shiice, with a swinging gate or valve on the side next the sea, and which is closed by the tide at its influx, and opened by the fresh water above after the tide has retreated. Tlie work is called an aboilcau. ng the east t is thickly jirshes. A /eral hand- owards the )our with a cted at the ted. Both I Acadians, ;hers. On lie place is instruction le cast side mtrance, is id its name B advanced lable quar- md its fine pursuits of the Parish s southern from their imediately ted. The er of that luvium in lies wide. 1, is very prevented creeks.* larsli mud, is a sluice, closed by e tide has NEW BRUNSWICK. lao This kind of land, when properly drained and brought under the influ- ence of tillage, produces excellent crops oi wheat, oats, and grass, but not potatoes : clover grows upon it luxuriantly ; yet from the great quantity of marah owned by the upland proprietors, extensive lots remain in an iminiproved state. The whole area is capable of producing, under proper culture, five times the quantity of wheat or hay it now yields. The uplands along the border of the marsh are chiefly under cultivation ; they produce wheat, rye, oats, barley, Indian corn, and potatoes, in great abundance. From the great supply of grass and hay, the inhabitants raise many cattle ; their dairies also supply excellent butter for the Halifax and St. John markets. At the head of the marsh there is a tract of peat bog, floating bog, and small lakes, eight miles long and two miles wide. The farms are laid out in ranges running parallel to the marsh, and the whole face of the country presents a suc- cession of flourishing villages, and a wide scene of agricultural industry, adorned by the natural beauties of the place. In the richest part of the district, the Methodist denomination have erected a large academy, which, by the liberal donations of its supporters, is kept in useful operation. The mercantile establishments at Sackville of Messrs. Crane and Allisons, and others, also add to its importance. At Cape Meran- guin there are valuable quarries of freestone and grindstones ; the latter are shipped to the United States. New settlements are succeeding each other in the more remote parts of the parish ; although wild lands may still be purchased at a low rate, or from five shillings to ten shillings per acre. The Parish of Westmoreland extends from the boundary between Nova Sotia and New Brunswick, in the form of a triangle, and across the peninsula. It is less important and populous than cither of the two parishes above described ; still it embraces much fertile land, and is varied to meet the purposes of the farmer. The Auu j, a small stream, is also skirted by marsh. A swelling ridge of land, called Point de Bute, separates that river from the Misseguash, forming the boundary line between the Provinces. Fort Beau-Sejour, now called Fort Cumber- land, was erected on the south-western termination of the ridge, where it commands the entrance of both streams. On it stand a church and chapel, surrounded by fine farms and rich marshes. A certain locality in i '•*. I ,• : ^ i. > l^il ii A.; .a 11 140 NEW BRUNSWICr. is called Bloody Ridge, from a sanguinary conflict that took place be- tween a few loyalists and a party of rebels during the Revolutionary war. The little fortress that was deemed so important in the early history of the Province, and which was taken by Colonel Monctonin 1755, is still preserved by the Government ; while Fort Moncton on the oppo- site side of the latter river, its ancient rival, has been permitted to crumble into decay. It has icng been proposed to open a canal across the peninsula in the directioii of one of those rivers, from the head of Cumberland Basin to Bay Verte, uniting thereby the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; and several surveys have been made of dilferent routes ; but none of them have prrved satisfactory, and the contemplated introduction of railways into the Provinces will, no doubt, draw away the attention of the people from that object. Bay Verte, on the Gulf side of the Province, is a narrow and shallow estuary, especially at its inner extremity. The Gaspereau and Tignish, two small rivers emptying themselves into the Bay, are frequently dry in the summer season. Those streams have singular terraces thrown up along their borders by the pressure of the ice during the floods of spring. Near the mouth of the former river are still seen the remains of the fort built by M. La Come, who was sent from Quebec with six hundred French soldiers to aid the Indians in their attack upon the British settlements. The Bay terminates in a tract of marsh, and a large settlement with fine farms is spread around the head of the estuary. There are also two mercantile establishments which conduct the trade of the place. Between Bay Verte and Sackville there is a good road passing through the fine village of Joli Coeur; the northern part of the parish is thinly settled, and the roads are bad. Both wilderness and cleared lands may be purchased at low prices. Fish are plenty along the shores. Botsford Parish occupies the extreme north-eastern point of the Pro- vince, called Cape Tormentine, which approaches Pr.nce Edward's Island within a distance of twelve miles. Near the Cape there is a large settlement, and scattered villages occupy the road that runs along the coast. Great and Little Shemogne, and Tedish, and Aboushagau Rivers, are small streams emptying themselves into Northumberland Straits. At their mouths there are extensive settlements of Acadian , « ti NEW BRUNSWICK. 141 ok place be- evolutionary in the early jtonin 1755, on the oppo- permitted to canal across 1 the head of if Fundy and een made of ory, and the ;es ■will, no ject. and shallow jmselvps into streams have Lire of the ice •iver are still as sent from ians in their in a tract of ind the head nents which ckville there Coeur ; the ds are bad. low prices. of the Pro- 2 Edward's : there is a t runs along ^boushagau humberland of Acadian French — a quiet and industrious people. Their farms are small, yet they are well cultivated ; and all their close villages, including the spacious chapel and comfortable residences of the French clergy, have an air of plain neatness. Agricultural and occasional fishing are the chief pursuits of these contented people. The interior of the parish is unsettled, except along the roads, which are bad. The surface is watered by numerous small streams, and the soil, that bears spruce, hemlock, and different kinds of maple and birch, is susceptible of cultivation ; many tracts are of an excellent quality. Shediac, another parish on the Gulf shore, is more populous than Botsford, although it has less cleai-J land. It reaches from the harbour of that name to the Bend of Peticodiac, and touches the County of Kent to the north. The rivers are but small streams ; the land, low and level. It is interspersed with small bogs, swamps, and sterile sands ; yet there are some rich loamy tracts highly productive under ordinary culture. Some pine still remains unfelled ; but spruce is obtained in large supplies, and manufactured in saw-mills, of which there are fifteen in operation. The Harbour of Shediac is very safe and convenient ; but ships of large size must enter it at full sea, on account of the shallowness of the water. The tide rises four feet, and is much influenced by winds in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Near the entrance of the spacious basin there are two beautiful islands. On the smallest of these are seen the remains of a fortification and breastwork thrown up by the French immediately after the capture of Quebec by General Wolfe in 1759. The west side of the harbour is occupied by a series of thickly-populated villages, the largest of which may be called the town. In one of the settlements there are upwards of two hundred families of Acadians, and the largest Roman Catholic Chapel in the Province. The English inhabitants occupy the front of the harbour, where there is an Episcopal Church, Meeting-house, two inns, stores, and a number of good private build- ings. The trade of the place is limited, and the fisheries along the coast make but a small return in proportion to their value. Oysters, of excellent quality, are abundant, and form an article of export to Canada and Nova Scotia. From the advantages enjoyed by the inhabit- ants, and their frugality, the place is in a thriving condition ; and t i : I ,4 1 f! 1 r "I: ri 'Si'- .«!■" '.: liii 142 NEW BRUNSWICK. although it partakes of the tameness of flat and level districts, the scenery is very pleasing. Agriculture is pursued with some diligence, and the employment of sea manure with calcined oyster-shells is highly advantageous to lands naturally stubborn and meagre. Wild land may be obtained from three to six shillings per acre. A line for the before-mentioned canal has been proposed to run between the Bend of the" Peticodiac and Shediac, and the character of the country is favourable for the undertaking. The next two parishes, Moncton and Salisbury, are situated north- ward of the Peticodiac, above the Bend. A ridge of rather high land extends through them from the south-west. They are intersected by the Cocagne River, emptying itself into a harbour of the sam.e name in the County of Kent. They have several fine new settlements, and the former contains 2,000 acres of diked marsh. At the Bend there is a small town, and the shipment of timber to Great Britain, with ship- building, renders it a place of some. importance. Some of the farms along the side of the river are well cultivated, and the main post-road to St, John aftbrds facilities of communication with that place and the western districts of the Province.* In the above parishes there are large tracts of unoccupied lands, and sufficient space for 1,500 settlers. Hillsborough is situated on the west and south side of the Petico- diac, and drained by Coverdale River, Turtle and Weldone Creeks. At the mouths of those streams there are large tracts of marsh, and towards their sources they pass through fine intervales. A belt of marsh also skirts the main river. This parish contains some land of a superior quality, and the wilderness districts at the sources of the creeks and on the border of Hopewell are admirably adapted for settle- mt nt. They are most frequently covered with a heavy growth of hard wood, in which is the maple, affording domestic sugar. Limestone and gypsum are inexhaustible, grindstones are cut near the mouth of the river, and coal appears at several localities. A succession of settlements have been opened along the border of the Peticodiac, and, from the fertile character of the soil, the parish is rapidly improving. The same • Stage-coaches run between Dorchester and St. John, passing the Bend, going «nd returning on alternate days. NEW BRUNSWICK. 1445 strlcts, the e diligence, Is is highly Wild land A line for n the Bend country is ated north- r high land jrsected by me name in its, and the I there is a with ship- f the farms n post-road ace and the s there are DO settlers, the Petico- ine Creeks, marsh, and A belt of )me land of rces of the i for settle- wth of hard le stone and Duth of the settlements from the The same g the Bend, remark will apply to Coverdjile. In Harvey the lands are more gra# velly and stony. Of late this wilderness part of the country has been brought into notice on account of its excellent lands, and new villages are beginning to be extended into the deep recesses of the forest. The Legislature has endeavoured to remedy to some extent the great inconvenience of the settler — the lack of roads ; yet many years will elapse before all the good lands in this quarter will be taken up, unless they are sought for by immigrants, many of whom have preferred heretofore to wander through the United States, rather than make a resting-place upon the best lands of New Brunswick. The remaining parish of the county is Hopewell, which reaches along the shore of Chignecto Bay until it meets the County of St. John at Salisbury Cove. Its largest and most populous settlements are at Shepody. The broad marsh on the sides of a river of that name con- tains 5,000 acres, and a rapidly-increasing population are clearing higher up the slopes, the bases of which belong to the older inhabitants and their senior descendants. North of the largest village is an eleva- tion called Shepody Mountain, the termination of a ridge of high ground extending along the boundary of St. John from the south-west. Shel- tered from the north winds by an elevated tract in the rear, and pos- sessing a rich soil, this extensive settlement, with its marshes and new clearings, presents a wide rural plain not surpassed in beauty by any district in America. The Shepody River terminates in a pretty lake. An opening has been made between the lake and the sea, in order to allow the tide to flow in and cover a large boggy tract with alluvium. New Horton, situated to the west of Grindstone Point and Island, is also ^ fine settlement. No parish in the Province is in a more flourish- ing condition than Hopewell, and none offers scenery more interesting to the visitor. The exports from the district consist of grindstones and flagstones, sent to Boston and New York ; and butter, cheese, beef, pork, and agricultural produce, to the market at St. John. Cape En- rage, at the southern extremity of the parish, is a bold promontory..-''^/ with a lighthouse on its summit. There still remain in the county large tracts of ungranted land. The best of them are situated at the heads of Pollet and Covcrdale Rivers, ■/ i ' mi 144 NEW BRUNSWICK. Turtle Creek,* and tlie sources of the Washadamoak. The soil at those places, in general, is a sandy loam. The high and low intervales are alluvial. There are also fertile wild tracts in the eastern parishes. The marshes are capable of great improvement. At some situations, after they are diked and drained, they settle, until they become lower than the banks of the rivers where the alluvium is constantly collecting. From those causes, the inner margin of the marsh is overflown by fresh er d'lnng a part of the season, and is thereby rendered unpro- ductiv. Th : Hest remedy for such an effect is to allow the muddy tides to iiow in ix n'n over the low lands, whereby they will be elevated through the falling down of alluvial matter contained in the salt water. This plan of renovating diked marsh has been pursued at Sackville with success. Within a few past years, it has been discovered that sea allu- vium, or marsh mud, is an excellent manure for dry sandy lands : its application to such lands has become very general in Nova Scotia, where it produces fine crops of wheat, potatoes, and grass. Limestone and gypsum may be quarried in the western parishes ; but they have not been employed generally as manures, and improvements in agricul- ture are but slowly introduced. The great number of streams that penetrate the whole district not only water its surface, but afford great facilities for manufacturing objects. The present number of grist-mills in the county is 56 ; saw- mills, 190 ; coal, limestone, gypsum, freestone, grindstone, with man- ganese and other minerals, have been discovered. With all those resources, the County of Westmoreland possesses the elements of in- dustry capable of sustaining twenty times its present population, and whether considered in reference to its agricultural advantages, manu- facture, or fisheries, it is an important and valuable district. • In 1843, large tracts of these lands were surveyed into lots of 100 acres each, and a credit on 50 acres was offered to every actual settler, the price of the land being 3s. 3d. currency per acre. From a depressed state of business at St. John, upwards of 100 mechanics and the same number of common la- bourers started for the woods, and commenced clearings : but an increased demand for their labour in the city afterwards induced a number of thein to return to their former avocations, and the benevolence of the Government has not obtained its object. NKW UIIUNSWICK. 145 Dil at those ervales are ishes. The tions, after lower than collecting, erflown by ;red unpro- the muddy be elevated : salt water. 3kville with lat sea allu- f lands : its [ova Scotia, Limestone t they have s in agricul- district not mufacturing is 56 ; saw- with man- all those nents of in- flation , and iges, manu- of 100 acres the price of e of business common la- an increased r of the in to vernment has I King's County ^ Situated northward of St. John, joins Westmoreland on the north-cast. Queen's on the north-west, and Charlotte on the south-west. It con- tains 819,920 square acres, of which upwards of 70,000 acres arc cleared. The population in 1840 was 14,404; at the present time it will exceed 15,000. It contains nine parishes, — Kingston, Sussex, Hampton, Norton, Westficld, Springfield, Greenwich, Studholm, and Upliani. The lines of the pari->hes have not been surveyed. A part of the county lies on the west side of the River St. John, which at short periods in every year cannot be crossed in safety. 1 sV ^pe and divi- sion into parishes are very inconvenient for the inhabita its. A chain of high lands extends from the south-west through tue entire length of the county, giving it a mountainous aspect ; and almost the whole area of the district is interspersed by hills, steep declivities, and narrow ravines walled in by clifl's. There are, notwith nding, level valleys between the mountains and hills, affording space for easy cultivation. The soil in such situations is excellent. It is also good on the acclivi- ties ; and even the tops of the highest hills, except where they are occupied by rocks, aftbrd rich pastures. The broken and uneven sur- face, channelled out in valleys, or indented by the arms of the river, affords a great variety of bold and imposing scenery, and gives a wild- ness to its features not to be seen in the eastern districts. About two miles above the Falls, the St. John throws out a beautiful navigable sheet of water called the Kenebecasis,* eighteen miles long, with a medium breadth of two miles. A river of the same name meets the Peticodiac, and having descended westward through a beautiful cultivated valley, its divided mouth surrounds Darling's Island and opens into the bay. Hammond River, another stream, comes in from the south-east, and waters a tract in that quarter. The Kenebecasis River is divided into four small branches, — the Mill-stream, Smith's Creek, Salmon River, and Trout Creek : all those streams afford faci- lities for the transportation of timber, and sites for flour and saw mills. There are several shipbuilding establishments on the border of the ; i * Little Kenehec, in the Meliecte Indian dialect. I' ' ! i f ;!■ !" ii 'leii I 'Vf i'^l : 'I lllii' ii J:,; I ^ II ! I I i ' ! I I i /i H« NEW IJllUNSWiCK. bay, wliencc timber, dcala, and !i<^ricultnral produce are transported in large boats to Indian Town and St. John. Belle Isle, another lake-like branch of the St. John, connnunicates with the main river twenty-eight miles above the city. It extends to the north-east, and receives small streams from Kingston and Springfield. The valley of the Kcncbecasis is bounded in Sussex by Piccadilla and Pisgah, two eminences that are elevated each 400 feet above the ordi- nary level of the district. Bull Moose Hill, in the parish of Springfield, is nearly GOO feet high, and contains a rich deposit of iron ore. A large valley extends from the head of Belle Isle Bay, in a north-easterly direction, to the source of the Washadamoak. It will average from two to four miles in breadth, and is upwards of fifty miles in length. On the west side of the St. John, in this county, another stream, called the Nerepis, descends from the north-west, and, to the distance of twelve miles, passes through a belt of intervale and marsh. A large tract of this land was owned by the late General Coffin, and is known as a part of Coffin's Manor. On each side of that stream, the moun- tains rise to greater elevation. Douglas Mountain, the Eagle Cliff's, and other hills of the rocky al])ine range, add great sublimity to the scenery of the Nerepis. There are also many small lakes scattered over the surface, and frequently situated far above the level of the rivers. One of the most remarkable of these is the Pickwaakeet, a few miles eastward of Kingston. Its character is that of an extinct crater, and the adjoining rocks are of volcanic origin. Kingston, the shire town, is a romantic and very pretty village, situ- ated among the hills, and on a branch of the Belle Isle Bay. It has a Church. The Court-house and Gaol are built of granite. The land in its vicinity is much broken. The soil is nevertheless good, and the district well improved. Near the village is a cloth manufactory, which reflects credit upon its proprietor. The parish comprises the peninsula between the Kenebecasis and Belle Isle Bays. A road encircles this point of land. The shores are settled ; and many fine farms have been cleared, and are now cultivated, in the interior of the parish. There is an extensive settlement at Milkish Creek, and others opposite Gondola Point, also eastward of Kingston village. Sussex, the most populous parish of the county, was first settled by isportefl in mnunicatcs ends to the Springfield, jcndillii and /c the ordi- Springfield, •on ore. A irth-casterly veragc from in length. ;her stream, the distance 3h. A large nd is known , the moun- Eaglc Cliffs, limity to the cs scattered cvcl of the aakeet, a few xtinct crater. ^y village, situ- It has a The land in od, and the ictory, which le peninsula encircles this ns have been n. There is site Gondola rst settled by NEW nUUNSU'ICK. 147 the American Lf)yftlistH, and contains not less than 2,500 inhabitants. It is situated on both sides of the Kenebecasis River, and occupies the chief part of the valley before mentioned, called Sussex Vale. This is one of the best agricultural districts in the Province. In ascending the river, the traveller readily perceives the narrow plat of alluvial soil along the course of the stream, which, like two rising grounds on each side, has been brought under cultivation. At the principal village of Sussex, the valley widens, and sends out branches to the north and south. The whole surface is closely settled. A wide tract, bounded by the forest-covered hills, is occupied by fertile fields and meadows, adorned by trees and country seats, that give an ancient appearance, and indicate u degree of case and comfort not always seen in a new country. This village is intersected by the main road between Halifax and St. John. It contains a Post-office, two Churches, and other houses of worship. Two salt springs have been discovered ; they sui)i)ly about fifty gallons of water per minute. Every hundred gallons yields, by evaporation, a hundred bushels of very pure salt. A small salt manufactory has been established at the site ; but, from the low price of foreign salt, it is not profitable, and the works have fallen into decay. Gypsum and limestone are abundant. Roads have been opened to the surrounding now settlements, and improvements arc steadily advancing. Between Siissex Vale and the head of the Peti- codiac River, there is a large tract of excellent land still remaining un- settled ; and other parts of the parish offer many advantages to immi- grants, or young men who are attached to husbandry. A single spring in this parish supplies sufficient water for a powerful flour-mill, and great masses of beautiful crystals of sulphate of lime are daily forming in a piece of low swampy ground. Smith's Creek, a branch of the Kenebecasis, runs in a north-east direction from Sussex Vale, and meets the Anagance, a branch of the Peticodiac. It passes through a tract of fine intervale. Walled in on each side by high hills, after it diverges from the main stream, it winds its way through a narrow valley, having Mount Pisgah at its confluence with Salmon River. The soil in this quarter is very fertile. Occasionally small tracts of light sand occur, covered with L 2 %m o NliW BRUNSWICK. .5: i \ If 11 ■I t Queen s Count// Joins Kiiif's on tlie soutli-cast, Norlliunibcrland on tlu; north, Sunbuiy nortli-wcst, and Charlotte sonth-cast. It lies on both sides of the St. Jolin, bfing intersected by that noble stream across the whole of its south-eastern extremity. It contains 901,280 square acres of land, in nine parishes ; namely, Gagetown, Canning, Wiekham, Watcrborough, Brunswifk, Ilampstcad, Johnston, Petersville, and Chipman. Two important tributaries of the St. John, the Washadamoak and Salmon River, traverse the wliole north-eastern part of the county. The former makes its dcbouchement forty miles above the City of St. John ; thelattcr empties itself into the Grand Lake, whose otitlet, the Gemsec, is about eight miles higher up. The lower part of the Washadamoak, from the stillness of its waters, may be called a lake, which is thirty- five miles long, with an average breadth of half-a-mile. The o\itlet is a narrow but deep channel, on the south side of the Musquash Island, a flat intervale bearing lofty trees of maple, ash, and elm. It is navi- gable for large vessels to the above distance. In the spring and autumn, boats and rafts of timber descend the lake and river from a distance of sixty miles, or from the head of Cocagne River, which empties itself into the Qulf of St. Lawrence. The front lots on both sides of the liikc are chiefly taken up ; but in the rear, the lands are still in a wilderness state, and many tracts remain ungrantcd. The Parish of Wiekham in 1840 contained only 1G8 inhabited houses. On its western side, how- ever, small settlements have been opened, and are now in a thriving state. A larf'^e tract of Crown land is not surveyed, nor even occupied by the squatter — the best pioneer in a new country. The soil is a red sandy loam, frequently reposing on clay, or a dark chocolate- coloured alluvitim, very friable and fertile. The river, and some new roads re- cently opened, aflford facilities of conmuiication ; yet these lands are un- occupied, merely because the population of the Province is too limited to cultivate even the richest ground, and too scanty to cultivate well what is already cleared of its native timber. Nearer the sources of the river, there is a flourishing settlement called New Canaan.* At that * This is a favourite name for n village in the Provinces ; but its frequent application has rendered it inconvenient, as the land of Canaan is now to be found in almost every part of the country. lilf !ii NEW BRUNSWICK. 151 Simbury )f the St. ole of its f land, in rl)orougli, m. Two d Salmon :y. The \ St. John ; ) Gem sec, adamoak, is thirty- 3 outlet is i\\ Island, [t is navi- [1 autumn, listance of ties itself f the lake tvilderncss ickliam in iide, how- a thriving I occixpied >il is a red > coloured • roads re- ds are un- 00 limited ivate well CCS of the At that ts frequent s now to be l)lace the stream is skirted by intervale ; and although the xipland soil is light and sandy, it is by no means unproductive. The whole surface is low and level, excepting a few gentle undulations along the courses of the brooks and rivulets. At the head of the riv«r, where it ap- proaches the Cocagne, there are wide carriboo plains and peat bogs, surrounded by tracts bearing groves of pine and spruce. The above settlement was commenced upwards of forty years ago, and it is now a thriving village. Salmon and shad frecjuent the river at certain sea- sons — trout remain all the year. The eastern route from Fredericton to St. John is continued across the lake by a ferry nine miles from its outlet, and, after passing through an Irish village, it proceeds to Belle Isle Bay. The next valuable channel of inland communication is the Grand Lake, with its supplying stream, Salmon River. This beautiful sheet of water is forty-five miles from St. John, ard thirty miles from. Fre- dericion. It is thirty miles long, and from three to nine miles broad, being seporated from the main river by a collection of alluvium a mile wide, and communicating with the St. John by a narrow and deep channel, the Gemsec, which, by running obliquely to e river, is nearly four miles in length. It is also connected with French and Maquapit Lakes by similar channels, oiJcned through the alluvium forming the intervales. All these lakes and channels are navigable. The Gemsec and its fort were objects of much interest in the early history of tiie country, the latter having been an arsenal for the French and Indians, and the theatre of several desperate conflicts. The Salmon River extends from the northern extremity of the Grand Lake, in a south-east direction, to the sources of the Richibucto. It is navigable at its mouth for vessels of considerable size, and for canoes and timber rafts to its sources, extending through a level tract of wilderness land. Only a few clearings have been made at its lower part, notwithstanding the stream is much frequented by lumbermen. Coal mines have been worked at its mouth, by a Company formed at St. John for the purpose ; but they are not very profitable at the present time. A mine is also open at the mouth of Newcastle River, and sup- plies Fredericton and Gagetown with coal. The Ocnabog is a small lake on the west side of the St. John, and opens into the river at Long if .^i '1 152 NEW BRUNSWICK. Island. With such advantages of water transit, the county is des- tined to increase in value, and to supply from its fertile uplands and intervales great quantities of agricultural produce, and from its forests timber for exportation. Gagetown is very pleasantly situa*^'Hl on the south bank of a creek, nearly opposite the mouth of the Gemsec, and is the shire town of the county. Tt contains an Episcopal Church, Grammar-school, Court- house, and Gaol, with a number of handsome buildings and country seats. Passcngt's from the river steamers are landed in boats. From the town, roads diverge across the country to Fredericton, Oromucto, Nerepis, and other places ; and it is a shipping place for the produce of the district. The banks of the St. John are here pretty thickly popu- lated, and in the rear there are a number of thriving villages. But, notwithstanding clearings are made annually, and patches are cultivated on the road-sides, there are large tracts of unoccupied land, being between Gagetown and the Oromucto, and Gagetown and the Nerepis, or main post-road leading from St. John to Fredericton. Parts of those tracts have been surveyed by the Government into lots of 100 acres each ; and, from their proximity to Gagetown, Oromucto, and St. John, they are advantageously situated for settlement. The soil in general is a brown or yellow loam, mixed with sand or gravel, and frequently covered with vegetable mould : beds of sand and gravel sometimes occur. The forests are not dense, nor altogether uninter- rupted by plats of intervale, and small open meadows bearing wild grass. The timber, for the greater part, is pine and spruce- ; yet there are strips bearing sugar maple, birch, elm, ash, and a few oaks. The Nerepis Road is settled along a considerable part of its line, and has a Roman Catholic Chapel and two Meeting-houses. Near the Oromucto, it passes through a pine forest that has been destroyed by fire. Tracts have also been surveyed southward of the Nerepis Road, and a few of the lots are occupied by Irish immigrants. Towards the Nerepis Mountains and Ocnal)og, the lands are more broken and stony. At Cooc Hill, eighteen miles from Gagetown, there is a flourishing settle- ment ; and, a little farther cast, a village called New Jerusalem. The hill contains a thick deposit of iron ore. A few families clustered to- gether will be found on different parts of the unsettled districts. Shirley ri NEW 1411UN:SW1CK. 1 '''^' bo is dcs- nds and s forests a creek, n of the , Court- country From romucto, oduce of Ly popu- s. But, ultivated A, being Nerepis, 3 of tliose 00 acres and St. e soil in ivel, and a giavel uninter- rnig wild et there The d has a oniucto, Tracts a few of Nerepis ny. At ir scttle- The tcred to- Shirley n and Gordon are fine clearings ; but they bear a diminutive proportion to the extent of the wilderness lands around them. The surveys made of Crown tracts will no doubt promote th*^ occupation of good lands, which may be purchased from the Government for 3s. 3d. per acre currency. The increase of the present scanty population is altogether inadequate to general improvement ; and, unless by the introduction of immigrants, the district will long remain without having its resources improved. With this view of the western part of Queen's County, efforts have been made by the Provisional Government and individuals to extend agriculture beyond its present 'jounds ; but the lack of a proper class of settlers has retarded their operations, and the advances of husbandry against the wilderness are slow in their progress. Between Gagetown and the head of the Long Reach, the sides of the St. John are pretty thickly settled and well cultivated. The river runs smoothly along, and encircles Long Musquash and other fine islands of alluvium, the most elevated of which are under cultivation, and pro- duce admirable crops, although they are not planted until after the subsidence of the spring freshets. At the upper part of that straight and narrow portion of the river called the Long Reach, and near the line between King's and Queen's Counties, valuable quarries of granite were discovered during the geological survey of the Province ; and roofing-slate may be obtained at situations a little remote from the shore. The scenery of this part of the St. John during the summer is ex- tremely interestiiig. Steamboats and small craft are seen gliding over the surface of the water, and seem to be sailing through groves of trees, and, in autumn, among the stacks of hay scattered over the intervale — which is made sdll more pleasing by the half-shadowed cottage and the spire of the village church. In winter, when the water is covered by a thi^k garment of ice, the route of the steamboat is taken up by sleighs and sleds of every description, and the river seems to be the scene of ammement. The Parish of Waterborough extends along the cast side of the Grand Lake, and has a road from the Gemsec to Cumberland Bay. At the outlet cf the lake, there is a pretty village with a neat church. Tlie chief part of the inhabitants, liowever, are scattered about the shore. ■■•J^.*^. Jtl ' h> iii k 151 NEW BRUNSWICK. and in the neighbourhood of Coal Creek. The whole country north- ward is almost in a wilderness state, and the lands are ungranted : the forests are thick, but not altogether unbroken ; opening rather at some places into tracts of wild meadow, or grounds relieved of underbrush. Canning embraces the lands of the opposite shore, which, at it", lower part, is settled by a number of Scotch families, who arc fast increasing in numbers and property. There is also a village, near the entrance of Newcastle River, where a stratum of coal has been worked for several past years. Although the soils are fertile, the northern extremity of the lake is but thinly settled, and the back lands are ungranted. The lake supplies salmon, shad, bass, and gaspereau, during the months of May and June. Upon its borders there are two Episcopal Churches and three Meeting-houses. Almost every stream is occupied by a saw-mill, and there are plenty of logs to keep them in operation. It has been proposed to run a line of railway between this inland water and Richi- bucto, or to convert the Salmon and Richibucto Rivers into a canal by the construction of locks : partial surveys have been made for those objects ; but the contemplated railway between Halifax and Quebec will materially change the prospects of such an enterpri:?;'. Maquapit Lake is about five miles in length, and two in breadth. During the floods of spring and autumn, it overflows ; and French Lake, a mile farther west, with the Grand Lake, and all the intervales that separate them from the Si, ,;ohn, in the drier months of summer are covered by water. The passages between those lakes are sufficiently deep to admit large boats and rafts of timber. The channel, called the thoroughfare, between Maquapit and French Lakes, is three miles long, and wends its Avay through a grove of large elm, birch, and maple trees. The white oak that formerly grew on the shores of these lakes has been cut down, and almost wantonly destroyed. The uplands are light and sandy, or in the low spruce ground the soil is too wet for general cultivation. The Parish of Brunswick contains the few settlers at the na'th- .^astern extremity of the county, whose number by the last censui? was only 220. Almost the entire surface of this parish is shaded by a trackless fore; ■, ; and some parts of it have not been visited even by the lumbermen. At the sources of the streams thcK! arc patches cf inter- ■^^m■i:'/^im <^' the P ■ 4ii'AV.C/'^^-'^^ -t :;'/■;", JiJ^P:^^ BiBMS^Wfit' y north- ted : the at some [crbrush. its lower icreasing trance of »r several ity of tbe The lake s of May robes aiul saw-niiU, has been lid Ricbi- i canal by for those d Quebec 1 breadth, lid French intervales If summer ;ufRciently called the liles long, |aple trees, has been light find or general Lhe na'th- Icnsus was jided by a ven by the vf inter- I) NEW liRUNSWlCK. 155 vale and large swamps : tlie higher grounds, so far as they have been examined, appear to be a mixture of alluvial clay, loam, and sometimes sand. The timber grows in alternate belts of the hard and soft woods : of the former, there is much yellow and white birch ; the latter consists of pine, spruce, hemlock, larch, &c. The swamps aboimd in black and white ash and elm. From the abundance of wood, the scattered inhabitants of the remote divisions of the county are principally engaged in felling and transport- ing squared timber and logs, for which the number and extent of the rivers and lakes aftbrd great facilities. This kind of industry is always opposed to agriculture, which is much neglected in such districts. It is only along the main St. John, and upon its rich alluviums, that the husbandry of Queen's is pursued with much care and skill. If the capabilities of the soil in the newer settlements can be judged of under an imperfect system of clearing and tillage, it must be very productive, as it seldom fails to return a good crop when the seed is planted at the proper season. The fresh-water fisheries afford luxuries rather than objects of traffic ; and although carriboo deer and other kinds of game are plentiful, the best farmers are neither fishermen nor hunters. The great tracts of intervale and other grass lands in the county fit it for the breeding of cattle and sheep, and some pains have been taken to im- prove the breed of those animals. It will appear from the foregoing descriptions, that the situation and physical resources of this part of the Province are highly favourable to agriculture, and other kinds of industry ; but it is here as elsewhere — too much is expected to be performed by a scanty population, which, were it increased tenfold, would be more wealthy in proportion to number, and happier in regard to the institutions necessary for moival and mental improvement. County of Sunbury. Sinibury, the most limited comity in the Province in regard to area, is situated between Queen's on the south-east, and York on the north- west, and, like them, crosses the St. John. Its parishes are IMaugerville, Shefiield, Burton, Lincoln, and Blissville. It cou^ains 782,080 square acres, of which about 12,800 acres are cleared. The pojjulation by i^ic 'lensus of 1840 was 4,260. Maugerville is the oldest English y^*- . ! «! i:. wmmm I f^'\ 150 NEW BRUNSWICK. tleinent on the St. Joliii. In ] 70'<', a iiunibtv of families einij^'ratcd to that place from Miissaclnisctf.3, ur\d obtained a grant of the township from tlu; .British Government. Thoir nunihcr wiis afterwards increased hy tlie addition of several families from New England and a few Loyalif ts. Tlie Commission foi' holdinf,' a Court of Common Pleas ya dat'^a in 1770; but after the arrival of the Loyalists in 1783, the Su- preme Court was removed to St. John, and finally to Frederieton, the present seat of Go^'ernment.* Maugervillc and Sheffield, on the north side of the river, eontain a largo tract of very rich intervale, and em- bi-ace a district of luxuriant fertility. In this county, the St. John washes Oromucto, Middle, Ox, Manger's, and other Islands. Mauger's Island is tliree miles long; and its well-cultivated farms and neat cot- tages, shaded by forost-trees, afford some of the most delightful scenery of e river. The muddv bunks near Ox and Oromucto Islands ren- der the navigation of ilic stream somewhat intricate in the driest time of summer. Excepting only a few of the highest knolls, all these intervales, and tliose of the outlets of Grand, Maquapit, and French Lakes, witli the islands and rivev borders above and below, are overflown L) the spring freshets, and the whole valley of the St. John is over- spread by the flood. In extrnordinary risings of the river, trees, logs, rubbish, and sometimes stacks of hay and barns, are floated away. A boat or canoe is attached to every house ; and to visit the cattle in their stalh, the pig in the sty, and even the wood-pile, a water excursion is necessary. Instiuices have frequently occurred when the iiduibitants have bee;: compelled to flee to the liigh lands in order to escape the threatening deluge ; and iamilics sometimes live in the upper stories of their dwellings until the water is withdrawn from the lower apartments. The "ivood employed for fences is collected in tliC autumn and secured to iues ; but the inconvenience produced by these periodical inunda- tion'^ is nbundantly compensated by the rich, muddy sediment, spread annual]} over the land, which, like the borders of the Nile, is periodi- cally irrigated ; and although the labours of the farmer are sometimes retarded by the presence of the water until June, yet so beneficifd is the eiFect of the flood, that in a few weeks the whole suritxce is mantled * Notitia of New Brunswick. NEW BRUNSWICK. 157 with exuberant vegetation. The islets that stud the river-bed are also enriched ; and from the abundance of grass and hay thus produced by them, the land proprietors feed large stocks of cattle and slioep, which, like all their domestic animals, are well practised in the art of swimming. At Maugerville there is an Episcopal Church and Baptist Chnpel. The Church of: the Seceders at Sheffield is the oldest house of worship in the Province : it was ere cted at the former place, and afterwards removed on the ice to its present site. The Methodists also have Chapels in these parishes. French and Maquapit Lakes are separated from the St. John by a belt of intervale, through which there are openings that give passage to boats, and the produce of the country. At French River there is a settlement of thirty families, with a Church and Schoolhouse ; and clearings are in progress at the mouths of the lesser streams. Gaspe- reau, or alewives, and bass, are abundant in these waters. Salmon arc now rare ; but trout of excellent flavour may be caught at any season of the year. The northern portions of these parishes are in a wilderness state — only a few small tracts have been granted. Much of the soil is good, and well covered with pine, spruce, and other kinds of timber. The principal river or tributary of Sunbury is the Oromucto, which empties itself into the St. John twelve miles below Fredericton. At its mouth it is deep and sluggish, affording thereby an excellent site for shipbuilding. The stream takes its rise from two lakes in the County of York, being navigable for small vessels to a distance of twenty miles, and for canoes much farther. Being divided into several branches, it waters a large tract of country, and affords many facilities for the transportation of the natural productions of the wilderness. In other seasons, the before-mentioned kinds of fish are plentiful. At the mouth of the Oromucto, there is a large village, which is one of the oldest permanent settlements in the country. The place was originally a resort of the Indians, whose graves, with the relics they contain, are sometimes exposed by the operations of the plough. Ships of heavy burthen are built at this place, and the erection of a bridge across the river, on the line of the main post-road between St. John I i'! 158 NEW D RUNS WICK. and Fredericton, with the consequent increase of traffic, has greatly added to its importance. At the lower part of the river, there is a tract of law intervale not uncovered by the water until the middle of summer. It yields grejit quantities of wild grass, and supplies extensive grazing for cattle in times of drought. The south branch, near its sources, passes through a broad expanse of high intervale. That this intervale wiis once the site of a lake, is satisfactorily proved by the strata of fluviatile shells found in the soil and underlying marly clay, which for their fertility are equal to any in America. In and bordering upon this beautiful spot, there are upwards of HJO farms, that seem like a little colony whose inhabitants have been taught the art of self-f;overnmcnt, and who, if not disturbed by the petty political jarrings of the world beyond the forests around them, will long enjoy rural happiness and contentment. A rude path extends from this settlement between the Nerepis Mountains to the main post- road, and in its course passes a waterfall of one hundred feet. The rugged alpine cliffs are piled up on every side, and dark and deep gorges, overhung by leaning trees, render the pass one of exciting interest. Between the south branch settlement and the Nerepis Road, there is a large tract of wild land, in part surveyed, and which might be conveniently intersected by a cross road, and thereby opened for settle- ment. A part of the woods has been destroyed by fire, and, from the gloomy appearance of f'^e surface. It has been shunned by settlers : nevertheless, the soil, of medium quality, has been fairly tested at the Geary settlement. Between the south branch, through the Rusha- gonis and Maryland settlements, to Hartt's Mills, and thence to Fre- dericton, there is a good road, and agriculture is beginning to succeed the more precarious business of lumbering. From Hartt's Mills there is an obscure path through the wilderness to the Magaguadavic. The high mountainous ridge previously noticed is here very conspicuous. At its base there were formerly fine forests of pine ; but these also have been destroyed by fire, and the lofty trees now stand leafless, decayed, and ready to fall to the ground. A light growth of birch and has greatly itervale not yields great for cattle in oad expanse >f a lake, is 1 in the soil al to any in are upwards litants have irbcd by the d them, will ath extends ; main post- [ feet. The k and deep of exciting Road, there h might be d for settie- d, from the )y settlers : ested at the the Rusha- nce to Fre- to succeed Mills there avic. The onspicuous. these also nd leafless, f birch and NEW BRUNSWICK. 159 elder is succeeding them. Thus the district has suffered irreparable loss, and much of its original beauty has faded away before the devour- ing element. The south-west branch, with its pretty lake, has a fine settlement ; but the remote parts of the southern parishes, like those of the north, arc still shaded by the indigenous forest. The fine farms that slope towards the principal streams, and the rich intervales attached to them, arc Divourable for pastures ; hence the produce of the dairy, with beef, mutton, and pork, are sent in consi- derable supplies to the market of St. John. A more extended notice of this couiilry would be but to repeat ol'sorvations already supplied for other places, and there is a sameness in the features of the district not to be improved by minute description. Count!/ of York. Still ascending the river, we come to the County of York, a more extensive district than either of the two last described. It is boiuuled on the south-east by Sunbury, south-west by Charlotte, north-west by Carlton, and north-east by Northumberland. Its parishes are Frede- ricton, St. Mary, Douglas, Kingsclear, Queensbury, Prince William, Southampton, and Dumfries. Notwithstanding a part of this county is rather level, the valley of the St. John passes across it with a dimi- nished breadth, being flanked by higher hills than those below. The features of the country are ruder in their outlines, and a thinning off of the population is manifest on the banks of the river. Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, is in the parish of that name, which reaches from Kingsclear to the boundary of Sunbury, embracing a few scattered settlement, in its vicinity. It was formerly called St. Ann's, and was made the seat of Government by Sir Guy Carlton in 1785. It is eighty-five miles from St. John by water, and was supposed to be at the head of navigation. Fredericton is ex- tremely pleasantly situated upon a beautiful level and obtuse point of land, formed bj' a bold curve on the south side of the stream, com- manding a view of the river and the Nashwaak. A range of moderately elevated hills bends around the southern side of the plain, two miles long and half a mile wide. Thus encircled by the river and high 'il Isaa, nn i I^B 1 JH -■j^^H ^li ■1 1" ■! ir 1 1 li IN • IGO NKW IIKUNSWICK. ground, n fertile and well-cultivated trnct is occupied at its northern extremity by the capital. The streets arc wide and parallel to each other, and space is alf'urdcd by the abundance and cheapness of land to favour the cultivation of gardens and the j)lanling of ornr. mental trees, which have added much to the natural beauty of the situaiirn. The inclined surfaces of the hills to the south arc also partially culti- vated, and occupied by the College and a number of handsome cottages. From these hills there is a fine view of the river, its intervales, and the fields bordering upon the evergreen forest. Several of the public buildings are of the best class. The Government House, the residence of the Lieutenant-Governor, is a spacious stone building, situated at a beautiful sjjot on the bank of the river, at the western extremity of the town. King's ColU'ge is also a substantial building of freestone, and of a chaste architecture. It is 170 feet long and GO feet wide, con- taining 22 rooms for students, a chapel, two lecture-rooms, and ajTirt- ments for the acconnnodation of the Vice-President and two Professors. The Province Hall, in which the dilferent legislative bodies assemble, is a plain wooden structure, yet very conrnodious. The Chamber of the Legislative Council is finished in good tuste, and by no means with a very scrupulo\is regard to economy. The Offices of the Provisional Secretary and Crown-lands departments are built of stone. Besides these, there arc an Episcopal Church, Scotch Church, Methodist Chapel, Baptist Chapel, Roman Catholic Chapel, Collegiate and Madras Schools, Baptist Seminary, iliree Banks, an Hospital, Almshouse, Court-house, Gaol, and Market-house. The principal Barracks are situated on the bank of the river, in the town ; they will accommodate one fnousand infantry and a company of artillery. The quarters of the officers open into a pretty square, surrounded by stately trees. Fre- dericton has been visited by several conflagrations; in 1825, the Government House, with one-third of the town, was laid in ruins. The public institutions are three Banks, a Fire Insurance Comi)any, two Mill and Manufacturing Companies, Public Library, Society for Pro- moting Christian Knowledge, Church Society, Bible Association, Wesleyan Missionary Society, Temperance and Abstinence Societies; Societies of St. George, St. Andrew, and St. Patrick ; Savings' Bank, Infant School, and other charitable associations. " 111 its nortlu'ni lU'l to each ss of land to orn;' mental ic situalin. rtially ciilli- me cottages, [lies, anl the ' the publie ;he residence jituated at a •eniity of tlie eestone, and ; wide, con- i, and npart- 3 Professors, ies assemble, Chamber of ) means with Provisional ic. l^esides )dist Chapel, md Madras Almshouse, 3 arracks are iccommodatc larters of the trees. Fre- \ 1825, the ruins. The jmpany, two iety for Pro- Associrition, ;c Societies ; vings' Bank, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 ■50 ys Uk ti, ^ ■ 2.2 Z 1^ 12.0 u i MtUu Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 l/j tal; i? , ; t NEW BRUNSV/ICK. 161 o U u o M ce If u 01 S O s H Z u S >s es u > o u It was supposed by Governor Carlton, after New Brunswick was separated from Nova Scotia, that Fredericton, from its central position. Was the most eligible site for the seat of Government, and head-quar- ters of the military ; but the contemplated advantages of the places have never been realised. From its peculiar situation, it is almost incapable of being fortified ; and while it offers little protection against invasion across the frontier, its distance from the coast would prevent it from sending succour to repel an attack upon the seaboard. The opinion is yearly strengthened, that St. John should now be the capi- tal ; and if the Provinces be united into one principality — which is most desirable for their future security, it is probable that the centre of the local administration for New Brunswick would be at this place. St. John will continue to command the trade of the whole river. I'he lumberman, when once fairly embarked on his raft of timber, con- tinues to descend the stream until he reaches its mouth ; and the sur- plus agricultural produce of the rural districts will be carried to the brisk market of a seaport town, whence exportations are made with every facility. From such and other like causes, St. John is rapidly advancing in wealth and population, wliile Fredericton remains almost stationary, and in some degree dependent upon the money that flows from the military chest. Remove from the capital its warlike establishment, the Legislature, and the public functionaries of high salaries, and it would soon be a plain country village, whose inhabitants would have to look to agricultural and manufacturing pursuits for their support. If columns of British infantry are terrible on the fields of an enemy's country, they are also to be dreaded in a Provincial village among their friends and countrymen. It is true that their officers may impart a degree of taste, etiquette, and gentlemanly deportment to certain classes ; but more frequently are their errors imitated, and habits intro- duced unfavourable to that industry by which alone a new Province can be redeemed from a wilderness state, or rendered a fit abode for a civilised people. The growth of the imperial, moustache, or copious whisker is but too often cultivated by those whose better interest it would be to bring to perfection the nutritious and valuable productions of the country. M I:. if ; y' H '-■<■ liW ■i\'-: ii r 1 102 NKW BHUNSWICK. The merchant3 of Frederlcton obtain their chief supplies of goods from St. John. They are brought up in steamers plying daily upon the river — except during the winter, when the communication is maintained by sleds drawn by horses over the ice. The large supplies of provi- sions required by the hunbcrmen during their encampment in the woods are also chiefly purchased at the same place ; and the prepon- derance in favour of lumbering pursuits is so great, that the laborious agricultural population, under the present system of husbandry, are unable to supply their own wants and those of the timber-gaugcrs employed in the wilderness. Fredericton stands upon beds of diluvial sand and gravel, which, although several feet higher than the alluvial intervales, are not alto- gether free from the danger of inundation. A partial overflowing took place on the ilth of April, 1831, from the occurrence of an ice-dam* in the river below, by which the front streets were submerged. The whole plain had been swept by the water and ice a short time before the Loyalists landed in the country.-)* From the capita], roads diverge to St. John, Nova Scotia, Mira- michi, Madawasca, St. Andrew's, and other places ; and, by the aid of legislative grants, internal communication has been greatly improved of late. Stage or mail coaches ply on the above roads, whereby the tra- veller finds a ready conveyance to any part of the Province. A steam- boat has ascended the river to Woodstock, sixty-four miles farther up the stream ; but until some large rocks are removed from the Meductic and other rapids, the extension of steam navigation to the upper coun- try will not be considered safe. Provisions and merchandise of all kinds are towed upwards in large boats drawn by horses ; the more domestic trade is carried on in canoes, which are exceedingly numerous on the stream. The ferry-boats between Fredericton and the opposite side of the river are also propelled by horses. The principal settlements in the rear of Fredericton are scattered along the road running thence through the wilderness to St. Andrew's. * Ice-dams, or "ice-jams," as they are frequently called, are common in many of tlie rivers of North America. t Notitia of New Brunswick. St. John, 1838. H. Clmbb ^' Co. es of goods ily upon the s maintained es of provi- Tient in the the prepon- he laborious sbandry, are iber-gaugers ravel, which, are not alto- •flowing took an ice-dam * lerged. The t time before >cotia, Mira- by the aid of r improved of reby the tra- e. A steam- OS farther up the Meductic upper coun- andise of all ;s ; the more y numerous the opposite are scattered t. Andrew's. re common in NEW BRUNSWICK. 103 It first passes the Hanwell settlement, containing about twenty Irish families, who, from the stubbornness of the soil, are compelled to labour hard for their support. Near Irina Lake the quality of the land is better, and a few settlers are making improvements. The land is generally of the hemlock and sprace kinds, being interspersed with swamps and plats of almost barren sand. Tracts of Crown land have been surveyed, and successful efforts made by gentlemen residing at Fredericton to settle parts of them with poor Irish emigrants. The Harvey settlement, still farther south, was made by English and Scotch emigrants, who were unable to succeed under the system of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company, and were established upon their present lands by the Government, as an experiment in colonisation. After having endured many hardships, they have redeemed the soil, and now live in comfort and prosperity. The Harvey settlement bor- ders upon a fine tract of hard wood land of good quality ; but it is owned by absentees and rich land proprietors, who will doubtless let it remain in its present state until its value is increased fourfold by the roads and surrounding clearings of the poor backwoodsmen. The St. Andrew's Road passes near the Oromucto Lake, a pretty sheet of water abounding in trout and other kinds of fish. The side of this lake was chosen by a Mr. Ensor, an eccentric English gentleman, for a farm and residence ; but his clearing and house have been aban- doned. There is a scattered but striving little band of forestmen on the upper part of the Magaguadavic at the Brockway settlement, and a few families from the North of Ireland are established farther down the river. Scattered clearings are also seen on >'he roadside to the Digde- guash and Warwig, in the County of Charlotte. Try on and other tracts have been surveyed, and hundreds of lots are for sale ; still, there is a lack of settlers, and the work of removing the forest and introducing cultivation advances at a tardy rate. Excepting the intervales of the stream, it is necessary to speak with circumspection in regard to the general quality of the lands. Many tracts are fit for little else but pasturage. The ranges suitable for tillage are less common than may be found in other parts of the Province. Returning again to the St. John, it will be observed that the road from Fredericton to Woodstock is on the south side of the stream, M 2 !3 !i4 164 NEW KllUNSWICK. Si 'i? which, with its islands and borders of intervale, afTords a mimber of ricli views. At the mouth of the Keswick Creek, on the opposite side, there are several bcautifVii islets, adbrned by nature with lofty trees and low coppices. In the Parish of Kingsclear, first settled by the New Jersey Volunteers, the uplands rise to greater height, and the valley of the stream is less expanded. At the place called the French Village, there is a very fertile bed of alluvium. This is the site of an Indian encampment and a Roman Catholic chapel. The lands of Prince William, first settled by the King's American Dragoons, are very hilly, and the intervales more limited in their extent. The parish contains several inland basins of water. The largest of these is Lake George. The settlement at the lake contains two saw-mills, a flour and oat mill. From it descends a rapid stream called the Pokiok. Having passed over a rocky bed, this rivulet plunges into the St. John through a chasm twenty-five feeet wide, seventy feet deep, and a fur- long in length. The water falls over a perpendicular ledge, and bounds from step to step to step, through a dark channel, until it is lost in the more tranquil water of the main river, which glides along unruifled, by its noisy tributary. Lake George has clearings upon its borders. In this quarter there are also two other thriving settlements, Magundy and Pokiok. Still farther south, the whole surface of the country over a wide expanse is in its natural state, and since the destruction of the beaver it is seldom visited, even by the Indians. Moose, carriboo, Virginian deer, bears, and wolves, are plentiful. The district is inter- rupted by the chain of high and broken lands ; yet there are fine val- leys and slopes among the mountains and hills, to which agriculture might be succesefully applied. Opposite Fredericton, there is a considerable stream, known as the Nashwaak, and a lesser one, called the Nashwaaksis. The St. John is here about half a mile wide, and on its left bank there is a small en- campment of Indians. The branches of the Nashwaak extend to the northward, and nearly meet the tributaries of the Miramichi. At its lower part, it passes through fine intervales, and is navigable for canoes and rafts to some distance in the interior. The uplands are occupied by a tier of farms on each side of the valley, which presents one of the prettiest views in the Province. ■^'■:s ill NEW BRUNSWICK. 165 A few years since, an Association was formed at Fredericton, and incorporated, under the name of the Nashwaaksis Manufacturing Com- pany, with a proposed capital of £50,000. The operations of the Company were devoted to the creation of an extensive brewery, an iron-foundry, opposite Fredericton, and mills for the manufacture of flour and for sawing. The enterprise has not been successful, and some of the works are falling into decay. Extensive mill establish- ments on the Nashwaak have also failed in returning any profit to their proprietors. The main road from Fredericton to Miramichi follows the deviation of this stream, and crosses on the line of an old Indian port- age to the south-western branch of that river. On the northern side of the tributary called the Pennyaul', there is a great tract of wilderness country, which is decidedly superior to many of the wild lands of the southern parishes.* The Parishes of Douglas. Queensbury, and St. Mary are situated on the north side of the St. John. The former is intersected by a stream called the Keswick. It was settled by disbanded soldiers of the New York Volunteers and Royal Guides in 1783, and whose descendants have made very extensive improvements of the tracts given to their ancestors by the Crown. It contains two Episcopal Churches and two Meeting-houses, and new clearings are advancing yearly into the re- cesses of the forest. Keswick Ridge, and other villages adjacent to the stream, are all in a flourishing condition. The Nashwaaksis is occupied by grist and saw mills, and upon its borders there is a large Welsh settlement called Cardigan, the country residence of Dr. Jacob, Principal of King's College. This settlement extends to Tay Creek, where the soil has also been improved by a respectable body of inhabitants. At the close of the Revolutionary War, a number of the soldiers of the gallant old 42nd Regiment settled in this quarter. Very few of them are now alive ; but the large village occupied by their children and successors commemorates their patience and industry. There are a number of other small settlements and * Any person who is desirous of examining the wild lands of the middle comities can ascend the river at St. John every day to Fredericton, wliere information will be supplied by the Crown Lands' Officers. ' i\ i\'M' 166 NEW BRUNSWICK. clearings in this part of the country, but they do not require particular description. The district is steadily advancing in agricultural improve- ment ; the success attending husbandry as practised by a few gentle- men of capital has exerted a beneficial influence over a wide area, and wrought many improvements fti the moral and industrial character of the people. This part of York has been rendered more interesting from being the ■eat of the operations of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company. This Association, incorporated by Royal Charter and Act of Parliament, purchased from the Crown 550,000 acres of land in the County of York. Their tract is chiefly situated between the St. John and South-west Miramichi. It embraces the Cardigan settlement ; but over it the Company exercise no control, the land having been granted previously to their purchase. Much of the soil is of a good quality, but there are some light and meagre tracts of little value. Nor is the situation of the district most favourable for extensive industry and traffic. Its distance from the St. John, or any stream of free naviga- tion, is a drawback upon the natural privileges of the inhabitants, as it would be also on the exports of the country after its population has become numerous. Since, however, a railway has been contemplated between Halifax and Quebec, the most favourable considerations may be entertained of its situation. That railway, if constructed, will no doubt cross the lands of the Company, or approach very near them, and thereby open a channel of communication of the first importance to the complete success of their enterprise. It had been proposed by the Provincial Government to open a road from the Mstrict ipposite Fredericton direct to the Grand Falls, and a large sum of money was expended in making the survey and in open« ing its lower extremity ; but the site was most injudiciously chosen, and the Royal Road, as it was designated, has been abandoned, a part of it only being completed. The Company have opened a road from the Royal Road, eight miles from Fredericton, to Stanley, the centre of their operations, whichrts twenty-four miles from the capital, Stanley is situated on the borders of the Nashwaak, thirty-five miles above its confluence with the St. John, where the navigation is limited to canoes or light boats. Excellent saw and grist mills have been ■f NEW iniUNSWICK. 167 i .' erected. They have also a chuToh and rosldi-nt clergyman, school- house, and an inn lor the accommodation of travellers. The olFiccrs of the Company reside on the spot, and the village is well Hiipplicd with mechanics. The road constructed by the Company has bevn extended from Stanley to the South-west Miramichi, seventeen miles, and thereby a large tract has been opened for settlement. Roads have also been made to the neighbouring villages, and the facilities of communication are rapidly improving. The construction of a road from the south-west branch of the Miramichi, near Boistown, to Campbelltown on the Rcsti- gouche, would promote internal improvement, and open an immense wilderness to the labour of the farmer ; but until a sound and extensive system of immigration, fostered by the Government, is brought into operation, the work is unnecessary, for few of the present scanty popu- lation are disposed to remove far from the societies where they arc attached. The early proceedings of the Company were unsuccessful. They brougjit upon their lands a number of settlers from the Isle of Sky, who were principally fishermen, or persons unacquainted with agricul- ture. These people finally dispersed, and many of the lots once occu- pied by them are new vacant.* *' From the above and many other untoward circumstances, the pro- spects of the Association wore a gloomy aspect ; bnt by perseverance their affairs have begun to improve, and ultimate success may be con- templated. The town of Stanley is yearly increasing in population and prosperity. Severa. very respectable persons from Great Britain have recently taken up ' neir abode upon the lands ; an agreeable society is formed ; and the settlers are performing the task upon which their future success ma nly depends. The extravagant views attending all such enterprises have been corrected, arid the Company may look for- ward with encouragement to the progressive settlement of the tract, and a favourable result of an undertaking upon which they have ex- pended £100,000. The Parish of Queensbury was laid out for the Queen's Rangers. • Tlio Agent of the Company at Stanley wiil sell lots of 100 acres, with small clearings, for Ss. 6d. to 6s. currency per acre. •11 ■hi' 4k' 1G8 NEW iniUNSWICK. a *i !! . .r'. ItB uplands are hilly, hut nevertheless produce good crops of wheat, oats, and Indian com. Within its hounds there are several fine islands of intervale. Almost the whole surface of the parish is occupied hy flourishing settlements. Two small streams, the Mactaquack and Nackawick, are occupied hy mills. There is yet another place on the extreme limits of the County of York, where it meets Northumherland, that deserves notice. On the south hank of the Miramichi, and main road between Frederieton and Chatham, a village has sprung up called lioistown. It consists of a meeting-house, school-house, inn, stores, saw-mill, mechanics' shops, and about twenty dwelling-houses. This village was foimded by a Mr. Bois, an enterprising American, whose labours, for the benefits they have conferred upon the country, are worthy of praise and imitation. We hove been thus brief in the description of York for reasons already mentioned. Viewed generally, it must be considered as a part of the Province that is admirably fitted for agriculture and manufacture. Taking Frederieton, the most improved and cultivated part of the county, for the centre, the progress of settlement has not been rapid, owing only to the scantiness of the inhabitants. From the parent town, and the old military villages planted in the forest around it, set- tlements have gradually expanded, and spread themselves in almost every direction. Still, a stranger, in making a hasty visit to the St. John, would imagine that on every hand the country, excepting its shores, was an impenetrable wilderness, alike gloomy and inhospitable. The history of the county would afford a practical refutation of some fanciful theories now cherished by high authorities. We have here a flourishing county, originally settled by soldiers and Loyalists, whose early habits of life were not favourable to subduing the for.^st. It is admitted that these were not the best men to engage in the improve- ment of a new Colony. Sixty years ago, almost the entire surface of New Brunswick was an unbroken wood, and the first settters carried a musket in one hand to protect themselves from the assaults of the Indians, and an axe in the other to clear away the trees. If the results already noticed have followed the military settler, what may be expected from the introduction of a respectable class of British farmers upon the B>i"«iwnw»w^ NKW HllUNSWiClv. KiU of wheat, liic islatuin Tiipicd by [uuck and County of On the ^rcdoricton msists of a ics' shops, ulcd by a ic benefits iraisc and or reasons 1 as a part mufacture. art of the jeen rapid, the parent nd it, set- in almost to the St. cepting its hospitable, n of some lave here a ists, whose .'St. It is '■ improve- surface of s carried a ilts of the the results e expected upon the vast tracts of wilderness land to be fitund in every (juarter of the Pro- vince ? If the imperfect human materials first cmployedin colonising New Brunswick have been successful, nnich may be fairly looked for from a class of emigrants who have been trained to steady labour and the cultivation of the soil. For such there is still abundant room, and it is only by the influx of willing industry from the mother-country that the forests of New Brunswick can bo subdued, and the Province be made to rank with the neighbouring States. At present the industry of the county is applied to the opposite and different branches uf labour, agriculture and lumbering. The system of husbandry, although gradually improving, is still imperfect. It is true that, from the example and by the influence of a few individuals, a better mode of culture than ordinary makes its way among the farmers ; yet they are slow to forsake established customs, and to take advantage of modern discoveries. The principal minerals of the county are iron ore, coal, and ochres. In the valley of the Keswick there are mineral springs which evolve sulphuretted hydrogen gas. County of Carlton. The county of Carlton at present includes all the upper part of the St. John, so far as it flows through British territory. The old Acts of the Government made the southern boundary of the Province of Quebec the northern line of Nova Scotia, but that line has never been defined. Since the settlement of the North-western Boundary of the Province by the Ashburton Treaty, disputes have arisen in regard to the line between Canada and New Brunswick, which line should be speedily deter- mined. Accordingly, Carlton is bounded on the north by Canada, on the west by the State of Maine, east by York, and north-east by Gloucester and Restigouche. Much confusion exists in regard to the divisional lines between the counties and parishes of the Province, and no map has ever been published on which they are all delineated. Carl- ton contains nine parishes — Woodstock, Northampton, Kent, Brighton, Pertli, Wicklow, Wakefield, Andover, and Madawasca. By the last census (taken in 1840) it contained 13,381 inhabitants. It is esti- mated to embrace 3,592,000 square acres, of which there are 52,000 acres of cleared land. 111 I-: »! I I 170 NEW nnUNSWlCK. A rungo o( high land Htretches ncross the northern part ol' the Stale of Maine, and enters New linmHwick between Wo()il«t»)fk and the niuutli of the Aroostook. Within its borders, near the St. John, are Mars Hill, Hear and Moose* Mountains, and the hills of the Moncjuart. Bold and rugged in its outline, thr country has a wild and ronuuitic a8])ect ; but although much of the surface is elevated and rises into lofty cniincnecs, it is not extensively broken by abrupt precipices, and the slopes arc not too steep for cultivation. Near the Mcduetic Rapids, the St. John changes its direction, descending from the north towards the south, and leaving a narrow strip of land between its waters and the American boundary. The banks of the river, heretofore closely populated and skirted by broad intervales, begin to aj)proach each other, and to be shaded by the native woods ; while the belts of intervale become more and more narrow, being beautifully terraced by successive deposits of alluvium. Cultivation seems to have been driven in from the green forest, and the settlements are chiefly confined to the banks of the stream, except at Woodstock, or on the roads leading into the Boundary State. Commencing with the streams below, and describing their settlements as we ascend the main river in the county, the Shogamock may be seen coming in from the westward five miles above the Pokiok. This small stream takes its rise near the Palfrey Mountains, on the border of the Great Cheputnecticook Lake. It also communicates with Megadawga- wagum or Loon Lake, at the head of the Magaguadavic. It is navi- gable for light canoes, and runs through some belts of good land, sepa- rated by low swamps and small lakes. A large clearing has been made between this stream and Eel River, called the Howard Settlement, which contains upwards of forty families. Eel River is about thirty-five miles in length, and descends from a beautiful lake ; between it and the North Cheputnecticook the distance is only three miles. The river is navigable for boats, excepting at the rapids near its mouth, and the Ledge Falls near the Lake. The land • This eminence, viewed at a distance, has a perfect resemblance to the body and hornless head of a moose— whence its name. Bear Mountain also resembles the head of a bear. ■4't NKW nilUNSWICK. 171 lepnmting those lakes in well covered with hirch, maple, and other kinds of hard wood, intermixed with pine and spruce. The soil appears to be Htron<^, but has not been tested by tillage. Farther south, the land nt many places is partially occupied by boulders of granite, and several tracts are too rocky for cultivation. The river, abounding in trout, perch, and eels, runs smoothly from the lake at its outlet, but is shortly interrupted by a fall of six feet. From the Fall downwards, to the dis- tance of twelve miles, there ore some good intervales. Finally, Kel River rushes through a rocky and broken channel into the main stream.* Vast tnicts of excellent land still remain ungranted in this part of the county. The fears that were entertained by the first settlers upon the river in regard to early frosts have been removed. Indian corn ripens well ; and all kinds of grain, potatoes, and garden vegetables, grow luxuriantly. The Meduxnakeagif a rapid stream, takes its rise within the Ameri- can territory, and, after passing through Jacksontown, a fine new farming village, is discharged into the St. John at the town of Wood- stock, where it is crossed by a dam and bridge. Its mouth is occupied by excellent saw and grist mills. The lands on the sides of the river have been granted, and being of an excellent quality, they are now * From the distress that prevailed at St. John in the winter of 1811, in coii- scqnence of destructive fires and a sudden prostration of business, twenty tradesmen and labourers, most of whom were penniless, encouraged by the benevolence of Sir William Colebrooke, the Lieutenant-Governor, embarked for Eel River. Fifty acres of Crown lond were offered to each man on credit, and fifty more were reserved to be granted to each settler when the first fifty should be paid for, at 3s. .'3d. currency per acre. The Legislature also granted a small loan to supply provisions and seeds, until a crop could be raised^ The Writer accompanied the little party to their lands, and erected camps amidst the deep snows. To them the wolves made nightly visits, howling in terrific discord. Through many difficulties, londs were cleared, and produced a good crop in the ensuing season, and the settlement has been in some degree pro- sperous. It has not proved, however, that advances of land or provisions arc advantageous to the Government or the settler, as they are apt to induce idle- ness and tempt the profligate. Other tracts have been surveyed in this quar- ter, and are being slowly filled up. The quality of the soil is unexceptionable. t Miductsiniciek of the Indians. ''^t'-.f 't ■i I I II P ' til I J ^ 172 NEW BRUNSWICK. under cultivation to the distance of several miles above the town. The river is navigable for canoes and lufts of timber twenty miles, and it fonns a water communication from Houlton, a small town and military post twelve miles west of Woodstock, on the American side of the line. Woodstock embraces three villages, which are very advantageously situated on the west bank of the St. John. Of these, the upper one, containing the Court-house and Gaol, is known by the singular name of Hard-scabble.* The town contains an Episcopal Church, Presby- terian Church, Methodist Chapel, Roman Catholic Chapel, a Bank, Grammar-school, and a number of handsome private buildings, with a population of two thousand inhabitants. From being situated at the extremity of the road to Houlton, in the State of Maine, and from its advantageous position in regard to the local timber traffic, it has ra- pidly grown into a place of importance, and, from being surrounded by a fine agricultural country, its steady advancement is certain. The villages of Jacksontown and Richmond, with the clearings extending from them in every direction, give this parish a venerable aspect ; but, thirty years ago, its surface was covered by a dense wilderness. In the f'jrmer village, and two and a half miles from Woodstock, there is a valuable bed of iron ore, the total thickness of which is seventy feet. This river is situated in a very fertile district, near the State of Maine, where it has a communication with New Brunswick by the Houlton Road. Its proximity to tht jt. John, where it will hereafter be navi- gable for steamboats, and the abimdance of wood to supply fuel for smelting and manufacturing purposes, will render it valuable hereafter to this part of the Province. The soil in this quarter is a calcareous loam, interspersed with argil- laceous and silicious knolls and hollows. It produces abundant crops of wheat, rye, barley, oats, flax, Indian corn, potatoes, turnips, and all kinds of garden vegetables. It is also well adapted to horticulture ; f^.f ■jf! * Any difKciilt and laborious woi'k in the Province has received tlic appella- tion of a "hard scfibble." Just below the village referred to, there is u rajjid in the river, which can only be ascended but by a hard scabblc : licncc the village has obtained its characteristic name. town. The m NEW BRUNSWICK, 173 but fruit-trees ^'^ve scarcely yet been cultivated. Directly below the town there is ;. large tract of high terraced intervale of a superior qua- lity. This intervale and the uplands adjacent are in a good state of cultivation. Opposite the town, also, there are rich alluviums which might be rendered highly productive. From Woodstock there are roads to Fredericton, Iloulton, the Grand Falls, and all the neighbouring villages ; and a mail-coach runs three times a-week to the capital and the upper territory. From the rapidity of the current, transportation downwards is easy ; but British manufac- tured goods and other merchandise are towed up the river in large flat- bottomed boats drawn by horses. Rafts of timber descend to Fre- dericton (sixty-four miles) in a day, and an excursion on one of these floating masses of wood, or in a canoe, is by no means unplea- sant, and affords an excellent opportunity of viewing the scenery of the river. In consequence of disturbances that took place upon the frontier previously to the settlement of the Boundary dispute, Woodstock was made a military post, and barracks have been erected for the accommo- dation of a regiment of soldiers ; but since the final Treaty of Lord Ashburtun, by which a valuable part of the Province was assigned to the Americans, the necessity of maintaining a warlike force at that place has been rendered unnecessary, so long as there is peace between the two Powers. ■ Both banks of the St. John are partially settled from Woodstock to the mouth of the Tobique, fifty miles above. A number of tht settle- ments are, however, only in their infancy, and there are distances of several miles where clearings have only been commenced. A few miles above the town, the intervale becomes narrow and scanty. It is terraced along the whole course of the stream : some- times five diff'erent steps are seen on the shores, whereby the same number of changes in the level of the river are clearly indicated. The valley through which the stream passes is diminished in breadth, and it runs between banks of sand and gravel from thirty to fifty feet in height. Great numbers of logs and pieces of pine timber are collected during the winter, and piled upon the brink of the water. In the spring they are launched into the river and floated to market. 11 ♦ ■J). i,-> . vm 1 . ( Mi i fr^ >>^l * * 174 NEW BIIUNSWICK. M i " ' si' !; I'l Vi iff The village of Wakefield, twelve miles above Woodstock, is very beautifully situated. It contains and is surrounded by excellent farms, and roads have been opened to Jacksontown and other new settlements remote from the river. The soil is of the most fertile kind, and its cultivation is rapidly improving. The river, with its wooded islands and high terraced border, surmounted by cultivated uplands, is well calculated to strike the eye of the traveller after he has ascended from the tamer scenery below. The St. John is here a furlong wide, and the stream runs smoothly along at the rate of six miles an hour. The timber on the uncleared lands consists of spruce, fir, cedar, and ])ine, intermixed with birch and maple. The islands are covered by the different varieties of hard wood and butter-nut. The ungranted lands are situated from three to six miles from the river, and they are gene- rally of an excellent quality. Restricting our observations to the west bank of the St. John, the above description will apply still farther upwards to the Parish of Kent. The Presqu' Isle is a considerable stream ; but, from the number of its rapids, it is scarcely navigable for canoes. It is useful in affording a channel wherein timber is floated down to the main river. One of its branches bends around the base of Mars Hill, and receives the brooks descending from the side of the mountain. It was formerly a military post, and the lands adjacent were settled by disbanded West India Rangers and New Brunswick Fencibles. River Des Chutes is a small stream. Excellent saw-mills have been erected at its mouth, where, at some former period, there was a fall of sixty feet. The water and frost have worn down the rocks, so that a fall of only ten feet remains. Mars H 11, celebrated for being on the Boundary line claimed by the British, is five miles from the St. John — southward of Des Chutes River, which passes along its northern base. As the whole surface of the country is here shaded by a thick growth of lofty trees, the hill cannot be seen at any great distance from the valley of the river. Notwithstanding the sides of the mountain are steep, they are covered by a heavy growth of white and yellow birch, beech, and sugar maple. The top of its highest poak ^vas cleared by the Commissioners under the Treaty of 179-1> b\U is now covered with an undergrowth. Frag- )ck, is very client fanns, settlements ind, and its )ded islands nds, is well :ended from g wide, and hour. The •, and pine, :red by the •anted lands !y are gene- t. John, the ish of Kent, imber of its . affording a One of its the brooks fr a military West India have been ?as a fall of , so that a med by the )es Chutes surface of ss, the hill the river, ii-e covered gar maple, lers under 1). Frag- NEW BRUNSWICK. 175 mentg of the old observatory still remain, having engraved upon them the hostile expressions of the borderers. The soil is a rich loam, containing lime. In consequence of the large grants made to individuals, these grounds remain uncleared, and the general improvement of the country is greatly retarded ; for few settlers will approach a large grant whose proprietor will not improve his land, nor contribute to the opening of roads, by which the value of such property is greatly increased. The mountain chain of which Mars Hill is only an insulated point pursues its course to the northward, leaving within its range Bear Mountain and Moose Mountain. Blue Mountain, near the Tobique, is the next eminence of any considerable altitude in this division of the Alleghany chain. The surface of the country between the River Des Chutes and the mouth of the Atcoatook, and from thence to the Grand Falls, is very uneven, being traversed by the long parallel ridges common to the flanks of the chain alluded to. Notwithstanding the high undulations of the surface, the lands are of a substantial quality, and the admixture of lime in the soil fits them for the raising of wheat and other kinds of grain. There is still a large quantity of ungranted land in th*. rear of the river lots, whose fertility, under proper cultivation, would not be surpassed by any in ihe Province. On the east side of the St. John, the Pekagomik enters from the north-east, ten miles above Woodstock. Upon its branches there are a few tracts of good intervale, and the stream is skirted by flourishing settlements. Canoes may ascend this river to the distance of sixteen miles. In the rear of the improved lots the land is yet ungranted, and the whole district to the north would be an eligible site for population. The Shictabank is twenty-two miles from Woodstock. Its sources spring near the South-west Miramichi. The river runs through an unsettled and ungranted tract, and is only frequented by lumber- men. At the close of the last war, a number of disbanded soldiers settled between its mouth and the Tobique, where they have cleared fine farms, and by their industry redeemed a considerable tract from its primitive unproductive state. The Monquart resembles the latter ;! i lb i i t| If' ;i iMi iS^ii ^;i; ■ !?■■ * ' i,- ■ f! ir, .1 m 17G NEW BRUNSWICK. Stream ; its borders near the St. John are inhabited, and sUch of the lands as have been examined are worthy of cultivation. The Tobique River has been described in a previous chapter. The red and white pine growing upon its borders and along its tributaries have for some years past attracted the attention of the lumbermen, who, aided by the stream and its contributing branches, bring down immense quantities of timber annually. The intervales and uplands now unoc- cupied would sustain a very numerous population, whose main channel of transport would be to the St. John. The mouth of the river is at present occupied by an encampment of Melicete Indians, who have a claim to 16,000 acres of land at this place. Tlie site of their huts and wigwams would be most advantageous for a town, and the contiguous rapids offer every inducement for the erection of powerful machinery : but it would be necessary to protect these people by an exchange of land, which should be effected before any attempt is made to improve their district ; and before any town or place of manufacture and traffic could be established there, the wilderness country above must first be improved by the industry of settlers, which cannot be supplied by the Province in the next century. There is here sufficient space for a new county ; but until a district shall be inhabited, it has not been consi- dered necessary, heretofore, to make any very extensive surveys. The constant changing of county and parish lines at present is extremely inconvenient for the purposes of description, and until some general plan is adopted, it is better that they should remain in the new dis- tricts under their present almost undefined limits. The Aroostook, jilso before briefly described, descends through the once-disputed territory, having its mouth within the British line two miles above the debouchement of the Tobique. This river, its branches and contiguous lakes, will afford a water commu-iication equal to four hundred miles in extent. In the wide area thus opened, by natural channels of transport, there are vast tracts covered with pine and other kinds of valuable timber. Its agricultural capabilities also, so far as an opinion can be formed by the kinds and size of the forest-trees, and a few tried clearings, are great. The timber, the first article of export of the Aroostook country, must pass down the St. John, and hereafter its agricultural produce will follow the same course. Aware of the ^M NEW BRUNSWICK. 177 reso\irces of the district, American settlers are fast hovering on the borders of the streams, where they prepare the great supplies of timber yearly floated into the St. John. At present all the produce raised by the agricultural part of the inhabitants of the Aroostook, as well as of those of the whole Upper St. John, is insufficient to supply the lum- bermen, and importations of provisions are made upwards against the currents at a great expense. Being much farther advanced towards improvement than the Tobique, this stream wilt speedily supply the elements of a town, at the site where it enters the main stream. This result has been hastened by the termination of the Boundary dispute, since which period the Americans have advanced with great ardour to occupy the lands gained by their calculating diplomacy. The St. John, at the mouth of the Tobique, runs at the rate of eight miles an hour, and is broken a little way below the Falls by two power- ful rapids. The lands on each side are hilly ; the soil is nevertheless fertile. Extensive surveys have recently been made in this quarter, in order to facilitate the settlement of the wild surface. Fifteen miles above the Tobique, and five below the Falls, another small stream enters the St. John from the eastward, called the Salmon River. It traverses some fine table land, and a few families are settled at its mouth. Salmon werd formerly very abundant in this rivulet ; vX present they are scarce : but trout and whitefish are still numerous. A sudden turn in the river at the Grand Falls forms a little penin- sula, at which there is a very pretty village, whose scenery is rendered extremely wild and romantic from being on the border of the cataract. Mills were constructed on the side of the Fall by the late Sir John Cauldwell, formerly Receiver-General of Lower Canada; and a wooden railway was laid across the peninsula to transport the lumber from the saws, and to avoid the boisterous rapids of the stref>m, in which it was in its descent much injured : but the establishment has not been suc- cessful. A town has recently been laid out at this place, which, from its peculiar situation, commands the trade of the upper country ; and a canal* cut across the little peninsula, to complete the navigation of the • A survey of tliis canal haa bean made, and it is presumed that the Govern- ment will have a work completed which will greatly add to the strength cf the fortifications now in progress. N !:■■ ' '1 ' il {'■ I I 178 NEW nUUNSWICK. river, would confer many advantaf»cs upon the inhabitants, and greatly facilitate the trade of the district above. The isthmus of the Falls is one of the oldest military posts in the Province ; and since the settle- ment of the Boundary strife, the Government has commenced the erec- tion of fortifications and the clearing of land, in order to protect this part of the frontier. Having noticed the principal features of the lower parishes of Carl- ton, we now enter the District of Madawasca, or Upper St. John. About twelve miles above the Falls, Grand River enters the main stream from the north-west. This is a quiet rivulet, navigable for inland transport twenty miles. It passes through narrow belts of alluvium, and some good upland. After ascending the stream about twenty miles, and one of its branches called the Waagan a short di'itance, there is a portage of three miles to a branch of the Restigouche also called by the Indians Waagan. The portage is over a somewhat elevated ridge which divides the waters flowing into the St. John from those that fall into the Restigouche. The wilderness here has been overrun by fires, and the surface presents a very gloomy aspect. The Shiegash and Squisibish are small streams. Green River, so called from the green colour of its water, makes its debouchement twenty-five miles above the Falls. This stream is sc tied several mileS from its mouth, and will float canoes and timber thirty miles from its sources. Green Mountain, near its border, is an eminence of considerable altitude. The principal settlement of Madawasca borders upon a river of that name, and on both sides of the St. John, from the Grand Falls to the mouth of the St. Francis, upwards of forty miles. There are a few groups of farms and clearings beyond these limits, and the population is rapidly thickening and expanding. There is, however, far from being a dense population even in the more advanced parts of the dis- trict. The tract around the Madawasca River is the chief seat of busi- ness and cultivation. The population of the whole district in 1840 was 3,963 : it will now probably exceed 4,500. There are three Rouian Catholic Chapels in the parish : one of them is opposite the mouth of Green River, one four miles below Madawasca River, and the third at the Chataguan settlement, still higher i^. The left bank of the Madawasca River is occupied in twelve miles' distance ; and to NKW BRUNSWICK. 179 I, i^l and greatly the Falls is e the settle- ced the erec- protect this hes of Carl- ;r St. John, rs the main )le for inland of alluvium, bout twenty 'itance, there Iso called hy levated ridge lose that fall run by fires, Shiegash and m the green es above the th, and will n Mountain, river of that Falls to the re are a few e population er, far from s of the dis- seat of busi- ;rict in 1840 re are three opposite the , River, and he left bank nee ; and to Lake Tomiscouta, twenty-five miles, there are scattovod iinprovomcnts. Before the American claim was extended to the St. John, it was in- tended that the post- road should proceed from Woodstock, on the west side of the stream, to Green River, thence from the opposite bank to Trout River, whence it now proceeds to the Lake, and is continued over a portage of thirty-six miles to the River Du Loup, emptying itself into the St. Lawrence. The extremities of the parish have no roads, and the mail and passengers to and from Canada are poled and paddled along the St. John and Madawasca Rivers in chnoes, which advance against the currents at a tardy rate. Her Majesty's Govern- ment has recently made a survey of this part of the country, in order to open a road from Quebec to the Grand Falls, and onward to Nova Scotia ; but the construction of the railway now contemplated between Halifax and the St. Lawrence would at once consolidate all these iso- lated villages, and pour into the forests thousands of emigrants. The report of Sir James Alexander, R.E., who was engaged in the above service, is favourable to the enterprise. The extreme branches of the St. John glide through a dense wilder- ness ; but since the Americans have obtained the west side of the river along the Madawasca settlement, they are rapidly advancing to the pine-timber districts, and immigrating to the banks of the principal rivulets. Between the River St. Francis and the Merumplicook, the St. John washes a number of beautiful islands, and intervales arc com- mon on all its upper tributaries. Fish River enters from the westward a few miles above the Merumplicook. Here the Americans erected a small fort, and maintained a military establishment, during the disturb- ances on the border. The State of Maine also commenced the opening of a road from the Mattawamkeag, a branch of the Penobscot, to the mouth of the above stream. The Americans have commenced a settle- ment about twelve miles above Madawasca River ; and the river -shore, now confirmed to them by tht late treaty, will soon be occupied by enterprising farmers. The Madawasca District is separated into three divisions : the upper, called St. Emelie ; the middle, St. Basil; and the lower, .Bruno. The lands in general are level or gently sloping ; abrupt heights are rare. In the soil tliere is some diversity : but where it has not been worn N 2 ,1,; '1 i m m I i 180 KEW BilUNSWlCK. out by continued or imperfect tillage, it is fit for the plough. It is well watered, and the tributaries, with their branches, present numerous sites for machinery. The inhabitants are French Acadians and Canadians, among whom are mixed a few Provincials and Americans. After the former had been driven from Nova Scotia, they commenced a settlement along the St. John in the neighbourhood of Fredericton. From that place also they were destined to be exiled ; and on the arrival of the American Loyalists in 1733, and the disbanded soldiers of the Revolutionary War, they were compelled to retreat ; and finally, they found a resting- place at Madawasca, where they are now established. The national relations of a part of these people have again been disturbed by the Ashburton Treaty, which, by granting to the Americans the west side of the St. John along the whole of the above district, has placed them under two different Governments, and thrown a considerable popula- tion of British subjects into a Republican State. If the forefathers of these people were considered as neutrals, it can scarcely be expected that the present generation would be very loyal to a Government by whom they have been driven from forest to forest, and finally, after fifty years of uninterrupted good feeling towards the Crown, a part of them are unceremoniously disposed of to another nation. The social condition of these people will be noticed in another chapter. Notwithstanding the parish produces excellent Indian corn or maize, wheat, barley, oats, and other kinds of grain, the system of tillage is imperfect, and there is a lack of agricultural enterprise seldom seen among English settlers. The exports of the district consist of timber, a small quantity of wheat, furs, and maple sugar. Of the latter article several tons are made annually for home consumption. The trade is with Quebec, Woodstock, and Fredericton. To the latter places the Jmbitans travel in batteaux and perogues,* which are transported over the isthmus at the Falls, and poled against the rapids with much dex- terity. The inhabitants of Madawasca are mainly its own offspring, among • Canoes made by hollowing out large pine logs, which are shaped accord- ing to an approved mode. Some of these log canoes will carry twenty persons. ilMM )Ugh. It 18 nt numerous ,mong whom former had nt along the at place also he American evolutionary nd a resting- rhe national irbed hy the the west side placed them able popula- forefathers of be expected vernment by finally, after wn, a part of The social r. jm or maize, 1 of tillage is seldom seen list of timber, 1 latter article The trade is er places the n sported over ;h much dex- pring, among ;haped accord- venty persons. c a e cr ■\ i '•t?% rt'. r )■,' i' III NRW DRUNSWICK. 181 >nrhom if there is « lack of informntion and polish, thoTC is an easy and agreeable manner not always met with in original settlers; and it i» pleasing to observe that among the young there is a growing desire for education, and the engrafting of greater enterprise than characterises the early pioneers of the remote wilderness. The Madawasca country has begun to attract the attention of men of enterprise, and small trading establishments are introduced among the Acadians. The timber of the immense forests on the American side of the boundary will descend the St. John, to which the right of navigation was yielded, with the valuable tract of country on its west- em sources. Much of the British portion of the territory also abounds in marketable wood, and offers a wide and inviting field for new settle- ments. The abundance of fish in all the rivers and lakes is of no little importance to the pioneer of the backwoods, and the sugar cheaply obtained from the sugar maple also contributes to his comfort. The advantage of having moose and deer is not so manifest, as a hunter is always neglectful of the soil, and does not cherish the steady habits necessary for every adventurer in a new country. ! '^^1 NORTHERN COUNTIES. County of Kent. Having now surveyed the counties bordering on the Bay of Fundy, and the long line of settlements upon the St. John and American fron- tier, we proceed to the coasts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Bay Chaleurs, to describe the counties of that part of the Province. Kent, formerly a part of Northumberland, is a small county when compared with the adjoining districts. It comprises fifty miles of coast on the north-east, being bounded on the west by Northumberland, and on the south by Westmoreland. On the coast, it reaches from the entrance of Miramichi Bay to the haven of Shediac, and contains seve- ral fine harbours. Its area embraces 806,400 square acres, of which only 5,000 are cleared. The parishes are— Richibucto, Carlton, Wel- lington, Dundas, Weldford, Huskinson, and Harcourt. The two latter IS^ Ni;vv niiuNswicK. parishes nre witljout inlmbitunts. The popuhition of the county is now iilxtut 9,000 souls. Its earliest settlements were innde by the AeadiaiiH, vlio had a village at the Harbour of Ilichibiicto, and another at the mouth of the Aldoinc lliver. It appears that the extremely savaj^e eharactcr of the Richibucto Indians, who were formerly very numerous, retarded the occupation of this part of New Brunswick by European inhabitants. In the latter part of the year 1787f Mr. Powel, an American Loyal- ist, settled at Riehibucto. There were then only six families of Aca- dians in the county, and eleven families between the Miramiehi and IJay Vorte. Siiu-o that period, the district, whin compared with other parts of the Province, has advanced but slowly. The county is watered by a number of fine streams, whose branches are extended in every direction, so that there is scarcely a tract of a thousand acres that bus not its brook or rivulet. Liverpool, the shire town of the county, is situated in the Parish of Riehibucto, on the western side of the river of that name, and four miles above its mouth. It contains about one hundred dwelling- houses, a Court-house, Gaol, and several mercantile establishments. A Presbyterian Church stands on the bank of the river, a mile and a half from the principal village, which is built upon a low and level tract that scarcely commands a view of the harbour. The whole popu- lation of the parish, including the inhabitants of the town, in 1840 was only 2,088. The exports of Liverpool are mainly lumber and fish, and shipbuilding is pursued to considerable extent. The fisheries on the sbore are not carried on with spirit, notwithstanding they are capable of affording an ample return for the industry of the inhabitants. Agriculture has received more attention, and a number of farms are well cultivated. On the east side of the harbour, there is a settlement of Acadians, consisting of upwards of seventy families, who have a handsome Chapel and Mission-house. The desire to settle in compact villages, and to cultivate small farms, is as manifest in this village as in others occupied by the French generally. The inhabitants are em- ployed in the different pursuits of fishing, farming, and lumbering. The soil, although light and rather sandy, yields good crops under proper tillage. About three miles farther up the river, there is a u NKW WRUNSWICK. IB3 rcBpcctnble mercantile establishment owned by Mes>n. Jardin— also the Custom-house, Orumnmr-school, and a cluster of dwelling-houses, with ship and lumber yards. The river on this side is skirted by farms, whose projjfietors appear to be in comfortable circumstances. Tlie main road from Shediac to Miramichi crosses the river by ferry between the town and upper villages. From the latter place, new roads have been opened to Buctouche, fifteen miles, and to a few flourishing new settlements in the rear. Among these is tiie Galloway village, containing forty families. About twelve miles farther up the stream is the termination of a road that was surveyed a few years ago, from thence to the I'eticodiac. It was proposed by Colonel Cockbum to open a communication through the forest from the Richibucto across the Buctouche, Cocagne, and Shediac Rivers, and thereby prepare the way for a little colony of British settlers ; but it is to be regretted that the enterprise failed. The land is of good quality, bearing a mixed growth of hard and soft woods. A few settlers and squatters are slowly advancing upon the line of the intended road ; still, many years will elapse before the present population will reach the centre of the tract. A road lias also been laid out from this stream to the Grand Lake, in Queen's County ; but, without the aid of inhabitants, such routes can- not be kept free from windfalls, nor broken through in the deep snows of winter. The Richibucto is navigable for ships fifteen miles, and the tide flows inland twenty-six miles. In that distance it is a sluggish stream. It has five branches, — the St. Nicholas, South branch, Aldoine, Molus, and Bass. The three latter streams flow from the north, and wash fine level tracts of good land. The Indians have a tract reserved for them at the mouth of the Molus River, where they have a small encampment. Being unable to maintain themselves by fishing and hunting, many of the males have put on the dress of the lumberman, and employ them- selves as labourers in the common industry of the country. There is a flourishing settlement on the South branch, and a few scattered clear- ings are also seen near the mouths of the other tributaries ; but the rear of the parish, although favourable for agriculture, is in a wilder- ness state. Great quantities of timber and sawed lumber are yearly floated down the Richibucto, and thence shipped to Great Britain. m ri i;U M: i |; P' ' ■ ■. ; H' 1 ■?- Kj. ! > } H i. \ 1 , ^ t'.l 184 NEW BRUNSWICK. All the streams in this quarter abound with salmon and trout ; and cod, pollock, haddock, herrings, and other kinds of sea-fish, with lob- sters, are plentiful beneath the tide. Pine and other kinds of valuable timber have been abundant ; yet the large exports of wood from the river, during a few past years, have reduced the quantity, and com- pelled the lumbermen to extend their operations into the more inac- cessible forests. As much of the timber is only squared before it is shipped, saw-mills are not very numerous, and the flatness of the coun- try is unfavourable for great water-power, except near the sources of the rivulets, where the descent is more considerable. The Parish of Wellington adjoins Richibucto. Its coast is indented by the beautiful harbour of Buctouche, which is twenty miles from Liverpool. This estuary receives two streams. Great and Little Buc- touche Rivers. The tide flows up the larger one twelve miles. The sides of the harbours and mouths of the rivers are thinly inhabited by a mixed population of Acadians and English. The lesser stream, called by the Indians Mehalawodiak, at the head of the tide turns mills, and upon its banks there are a few fine farms. The harbour affords an excellent site for shipbuilding, and from it vessels of the largest class are despatched laden with timber and sawed lumber. • In the Parish of Dundas, Cocagne is also a safe harbour, with a wide mouth. Its exports, as usual, are ships and timber. The river of the same name is occupied by mills, and the scanty population are chiefly English. A number of the settlements along the coast are intersected by the main road from Shediac to Miramichi and Restigouche. The number of inhabitants on the immediate seaboard is very limited. The rivers of these parishes also afford salmon, bass, alewives, and other fish : oysters are abundant near the harbours. The interior and unsettled districts have contained noble groves of red and white pine, with other kinds of timber ; and notwithstanding much valuable wood has been removed, there still remains a good supply at a distance from the streams hitherto employed to float down the produce of the forests. There are several ou'croppings of coal in this part of the country, yet mining forms no part of the industry of the population. We may now proceed to notice the parish of Carlton, situated to the north, and then take a more general view of the agricultural features of vV NEW BRUNSWICK. 185 I trout; and ish, with lob- s of valuable Dod from the y, and com- i more inac- before it is of the coun- e sources of t is indented ' miles from Little Buc- miles. The nhabited by ream, called s mills, and r affords an largest class with a wide river of the are chiefly intersected iche. The nited. iwives, and nterior and white pine, aable wood stance from the forests, untry, yot ited to the features of the county and its industrial resources. The Koucliibouguccsis takes its rise from a lake upwards of fifty miles in the interior, and empties itself into the Gulf thirty-six miles southward of the Miramichi. It meanders through a low and level tract, having its banks towards its mouth thinly settled. The largest village on its banks is situated about ten miles from the outlet of the stream, and contains upwards of seventy families of Acadian French, who devote their attention chiefly to hus- bandry. They have a large Chapel, and visiting Roman Catholic Missionary. There is a valuable unimproved fishery at the mouth of the river. The mouth of the Kouchibouguac is six miles northward of the Kouchibouguacsis, and admits the tide to the distance of seven miles, and to the place where it is crossed by the great road of the north coast. There is here a small village, with saw and grist mills. This stream extends into the country upwards of forty miles, and is pretty well settled from its mouth to the great road, between which and the shore there is a convenient ship-yard, where a number of fine vessels have been built by Messrs. J. Cunard & Co. of Miramichi. The lands along the upper part of the stream are ungranted. Timber of the kinds before mentioned is still plentiful, and the lands are equal in quality to those of the southern parishes. From the foregoing descriptions, it will be observed that only a very limited part of the county has been disburdened of its native forests, and brought under cultivation.* The unoccupied parishes of Huskin- son and Harcourt, together with the whole rear of the county, is a close wilderness, in which there is yet to be found much excellent timber. It is true that fires have overrun some tracts, and destroyed the best wood upon them ; yet there are wide fields that have been protected by the evergreen plants, and still contribute to the resources of the district. The principal kinds of soft timber are white and red pine, larch, or, hackmatack, spruce, hemlock, and fir: of the hard varieties, there are birch, sugar maple, soft maple, ash, and beech. * In almost every part of the County of Kent, good wild land may be pur- chased from the Government or individuals for 3s. 3d. currency per acre. By tlic latter a liberal credit is generally given to the steady and industrious settler. 18G NEW lillUNSWICK. The whole county is remarkably level, and, upon an average, its elevation above the sea will not exceed twenty feet. Every acre of its surface is upon the great coal-field of New Brunswick, and the coal itself appears, at numerous localities, accompanied by sulphureous springs. Being derived from the red and grey sandstone beneath, the soil partakes of the character of the rocks, and the description of one square mile would nearly apply to the whole surface. In general, it is a red marly or sandy loam, interspersed with gravelly patches, and beds of friable or stiff clay. The marly and silicious loams are capable of most successful cultivation ; and also the gravelly soil, when mixed with a due proportion of vegetable matter, produces good crops. With these fertile tracts, there are many low alder plats, capable of being made good grass lands — and, again, swamps and peat-bogs, which can only be redeemed in an advanced state of husbandry. The numerous streams abound in usual fish ; about the harbours, there are oysters, lobsters, eels, flatfish, smelts, &c. The coast affords very valuable fisheries of cod, pollock, haddock, halibut, herring, alewives, and mackerel. Herring and lobsters are sometimes so abundant, that they are very improperly taken and employed as manure for the soil. But, to improve these numerous and valuable resources far exceeds the powers of the present limited population ; nor will their descend- ants a hundred years hence be sufficiently numerous to bring them into active operation. This part of the Province has heretofore only been known as a lumbering district ; but, far from being its most valuable object, lumbering has retarded the safer employment of agriculture, and led to the neglect of the fisheries, which of themselves are suflScient to sustain a population a hundred fold greater than that now scattered about the bays and rivers. County of Northumberland, This county formerly included Kent and Gloucester ; but even since the separation of these two districts, it is one of the largest counties in the Province. Northumberland is bounded on the south by Kent, King's, Queen's, and Sunbury ; on the west by Carlton, north-west and north by Gloucester, and north-east by the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Its shape is very irregular, and quite characteristic of the imperfect ♦i NEW BRUNSWICK. 187 I . !' ^ division of the Province into counties, which have been laid out with- out much regard to regularity or the general convenience of the inha- bitants. It contains nine parishes, — Newcastle, Chatham, Ludlow, Northesk, Alnwick, Blissfield, Glenelg, and Nelson. The area is 3,200,000 acres, of which only 27,000 acres are cleared. The popula- tion in 1840 was 14,600: that number has since been increased to about 18,000. The chief river of this county, already briefly described, rises in numerous branches in the northern wilderness of Carlton, being sepa- rated from the St. John and the Tobique by short portages. In de- scending, its tributaries water a vast tract of country. Two of them unite about fifty miles above the harbour ; and lower down, a larger branch from the north-west forms a junction, and the united streams become navigable for large ships. Forty years ago, the resources of this part of the Province were almost unknown, except along the seaboard. The banks of the main stream, and those of its branches, were found to abound in groves of red and white pine, of which very extensive shipments have been made to the mother-country. Much of the valuable timber has been re- moved, and a still greater quantity was destroyed by an awful con- flagration in 1825. Some of the timber on the burn?, country has been, and still continues to be, i anufactured into deals, shingles, laths, &c. ; and, from the vast extern of the pine tracts, great exports are still made in squared and sawed lumber. The principal ports of shipping are situated at the head of Miramielii Bay, or on the sides of the river near its mouth ; yet there are several very important mercantile establishments as high up as the division of the stream into the North-west and South-west branches. The advan- tages afforded for ship-building have been improved, and a great num- ber of merchant- vessels of the largest class are la ;r.ched, laden with timber, and desjiatched annually to Great Britain. The salmon-fishery also was formerly of much consequence ; but the erection of saw-mills prevents the fish from ascending the streams to deposit their ova, and they are rapidly declining in numbers. It will appear from this outline, that the county forms a most valu- able part of the Province. Its situation on the sea-coast, its fine bay ■|;lli i ;.1i I '■ i: 1 11 iii) 188 NEW BRUNSWICK. and navigable river, its facilities for the timber trade and numerous streams for machinery, render it a district of much importance. But to these there is the drawback of having the v^aters frozen up in winter, whereby navigation closes ; yet, at that season, the lumbermen are actively employed in the woods, in preparing the timber for spring exportation, and drawing the logs over the snow to the numerous saw-mills. Viewing the mouth of the Miramichi as the chief seat of business and population, we shall proceed to describe the different sections of the county more particularly. The first that naturally strikes our atten- tion is that on the south shore of the bay, and river on the lower part of its course, embracing parts of the parishes of Glenelg, Nelson, and ChatViam. Entering Miramichi Bay from the southward, we find, inside of Point Escmninac, two indentations, known as Great Bay des Vents, and I jttle Bay des Vents. Bay des Vents River, and Black River, two small streams emptying theniselves into the former, are occupied by saw-mills. At the mouth of Bay des Vents River, there is also a pretty village : Black River has a large Scotch settlement. The lands are remarkably low, but by no means unfit for cultivation. The great road already mentioned crosses these streams about seven miles from the shore, being thinly settled. The road along the margin of the river also passes through scattered clearings to the villages above mentioned. The town of Chatham is situated on the south bank of the river, about ten miles above its junction with the bay, and upon ground that slopes gently towards the stream, the c^^annel of which runs close to a chain of wharves and timber-booms, where the largest ships are laden with ease and safety. Chatham contains the usual accommodation in houses of worship, a printing-office, post-office, market-house, public seminary, and iron-foundry, with a number of respectable mercantile houses and ship-yards — also a superior stone steam saw-mill, owned by the Hon. Joseph Cunard. The population of the town and parish will probabably exceed 4,000. Nelson, in the parish of that name, is a snug village, fronted by wharves, slvjpyards and stores, and contains a Roman Catholic Chapel. the It . . ■ '' l' '^i'' 'i ' ' ■ ^ ; Mji m : 1 ^'1 NEW BRUNSWICK. 189 Between it and Chatham the border of the river is occupied by fine farms and handsome cottages. Two miles above the latter place, on the opposite side " the river, stands Douglastown, a compact village, containing the stores and other buildings of the extensive trading depot long known under the firm of Gilmour, Rankine, & Co., to whom the place owes its existence. The sawing machinery below Douglastown, owned by Alexander Rankine, Esq., and the establishment of Wm. Abrams & Co., are also worthy of some notice. Still farther up the stream, in the parish of the same name, is Newcastle, thv^ shire town of the county, standing on a level point of land at the base of a declivity. It also comprises a number of mercantile establishments, storehouses, a Presbyterian Chapel, Methodist Chapel, Court-house, Gaol, Record Office, Bank, &c., and is a place of active and general business. From it there is a good road to Fredericton, and another to Ba^ ...st. The population of the parish is about 3,500. The banks of the Miramichi in this quarter are pretty well settled, and agriculture has not been neglected. Cargoes of timber are also shipped from landing-places near the mouth of the streani. At Beaubair's Island, at the bifurcation of the river, was the commercial depot of D. Fraser & Co., the oldest trading establishment in the county, and for many years the most extensive of any in the Province. All these places are encircled by wharves, timber-ponds, warehouses, and saw-mills ; and the shore is frequently lined with piles of timber, deals, and other kinds of lumber. It is much to be regretted that the towns and villages on this part of the Miramichi had not been united, whereby a large and respectable town would have been formed, which would have been equally advan- tageous to the inhabitants on both sides of the river, between whom serious feuds and jealousies now often arise. Such a town would also have afforded greater convenience to the lumbermen, and the sliipment of the vast supplies of wood brought down from the interior. In treating of the early history of the Province, some account has been given of the first settlements made by Europeans on the Mirami- chi. Its early traffic in furs and fish had declined, and it was not imtil 1814 or 1815 that the trade in lumber became profitable. From that period the whole district advanced in prosperity, and the exports i:i. m *Si 4 u , t wmrt n ,1 I I 190 NEW BRUNSWICK. rapidly increased until 1825, when the northern side of the river, with its towns, villages and settlements, was doomed to be consumed by a fire that swept over the face of the country, and spread devastation and ruin far and wide. The forests of pine, spruce, fir, and other resinous woods in Ame- rica, are very liable to be consumed by fire, and there is scarcely any part of the Northern Continent that has escaped conflagration, either before or since the Continent was taken possession of by a civilised people. The different tribes of Indians have traditions of fires even more destructive than the one it is now our painful duty to record ; and the charred forests buried in peat-bogs or alluviums bear testi- mony to the occurrence of those vast surface burnings, that are more to be dreaded than the floods of liquid lava that buried the cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The great heat and frequently dryness of the summer months cause the resinous juices to exude from balsamic plants, whereby they are rendered very inflammable ; and were it not for the almost universal admixture of the hard woods, whose juicy leaves resist the spreading of the lashing flame, such catastrophes would be more common, and far more general in their operations. In every American State and Colony, laws have been enacted to prevent the firing of the woods in the summer and autumn ; but where the clearing of land by burning the timber is an essential occupation, it cannot be surprising that accidents will happen, or by carelessness the devouring element gains the mastery, and rushes forward with devouring energy. Again, dry trees are sometimes fired by lightning ; and the fire remains unextinguished until the moisture of the passing- shower is dried, when it spreads abroad, being fanned into fury by tlie summer breeze. The summer of 1825 in North America had been unusvially hot and dry, and fires had raged with more than ordinary violence in Lower Canada, the State of Maine, and Nova Scotia, In the northern part of New Brunswick also there had been but little rain, and almost every vegetable substance lacked its usual degree of moisture. Fires M'ere raging in the woods at Oromucto, near Fredcricton, and at other places ; but from them little danger was ajij^rcheiuled. On the Gth October the heat had greatly increased, and the atmosphere was clouded by • !s tlie river, with :onsumed by a levastation and woods in Ame- is scarcely any agration, cither by a civilised s of fires even luty to record ; ims bear testi- that are more :d the cities of ntly dryness of from balsamic .nd were it not s, whose juicy strophes would IS. )een enacted to nn ; but where tial occupation, by carelessness 5 forward with [ by lightning ; of the passing nto fury by the isually hot and lence in Lower ! northern part d almost every c. Fires were ;t other places ; le Gth October as clouded by NEW BRUNSWICK. 191 smoke, which rose in dense columns from different parts of the horizon. On the 7th the heat was still unabated, the heavens had a purple tint, and clouds of black smoke hovered over the devoted district. There was during the day a perfect calm and a peculiar sultriness, which is said to have thrown the inhabitants into a state of great lassitude. The cattle on the pastures became terrified, and collected in groups ; and the wild animals of the forest rushed out and sought refuge among the tamer breeds. These fearful signs gave little alarm to the people, who, although warned by a few individuals, confided in their distance from the forest and the tranquil state of the atmosphere. Little preparation was therefore made for the approaching calamity. At seven o'clock P.M. a brisk gale sprung up, and the greatest darkness prevailed, except over the line of the fire, the light of which could be seen at times flash- ing among the clouds of smoke. At eight, the wind increased to a swift hurricane from the west ; and soon afterwards a loud and most appalling roar was heard, with explosions and a crackling like that of discharges of musketry. The air was filled with pieces of burning wood and cinders, which were driven along by the gale, igniting every- thing upon which they fell. The roaring grew louder, and sheets of flame seemed to pierce the sky. It was then the agonies of the dis- tracted inhabitants appeared, and horrors of the most awful description were seen in every direction ; — the screams of the burnt, burning, and wounded ; men and women carrying their children, the sick, aged, and infirm, through clouds of smoke and showers of fire that threatened in- stant destruction. Many believed that the day of final judgment had arrived, and gave themselves over to despair. The piercing cry of " To the river ! " was not unheeded. Some plunged into the water, others collected in boats and scows or rafts, or floated on logs, for pro- tection. Domestic and even wild animals, uttering mournful cries, mingled with the people, the former dragging their half-burnt bodies through the cinders of their burning stalls. The whole surface of the earth was on fire, and everything of a combustible nature united in sending up the last broad flame, that laid the country, with its towns, villages, and settlements, in heaps of smouldering ashes. In the space of a single hour, Newcastle, Douglastown, and the villages along the northern side of the river were consumed ; of five hundred buildings I ^,i i, .'.!; >l 1:1 K I' 192 NEW BRUNSWICK. only twcnty-ftvc remained. The Barracks, Court-house, Presbyterian Church, Hospital, and upwards of 240 houses and stores were des- troyed at the former place. Three ships with their cargoes were burnt in the harbour, and two more upon the stocks. But the great fire had not been confined to this district ; it had swept over tlie whole country from the Bartibog to t ^ Nashwaak, a distance of more than one hun- dred miles. It had rus»htu across the mountains of the Upper Tobique, upwards of a hundred miles distant, in another direction, and wrapt in flame an area of more than 0,000 square miles ; and it is still painful to reflect upon the horrors experienced by many new settlers and lumbermen, who with their families perished in the burning wilderness, and whose remains were afterwards found in those attitudes of filial and paternal affection that are so fully exhibited in the hour of afflic- tion and danger. A number of lumbermen preserved their lives by wallowing in the brooks until the fire had subsided, and a few families were preserved by similar expedients. So intense was the heat at places where the forest hung over the streams, that thousands of salmon and other kinds of fish were killed and cast upon the shores. Great numbers of wild animals were also destroyed ; and it is stated by an eye-witness, that birds were drawn into the flames by some singular fascination. A more melancholy scene can scarcely be imagined than this part of New Brunswick presented on the following day. The whole forest was a blackened mass of leafless and still-burning timber. Every vegetable, including the crops of the husbandman, was burnt up, and the entire surface of the cleared land was shrouded in a black mantle. Along the northern borders of the Miramichi, groups of half-naked and houseless inhabitants were to be seen bewailing the loss of husbands, wives, children, and friends. With them were the burned and wounded, receiving the kind aid of those who had escaped unscorched. The suf- ferings of these people were indeed of the most painful character ; but they were promptly relieved by the inhabitants of the opposite side of the river and the Province generally, whose charitable associations and benevolent ladies supplied money, clothes, and provisions ; and, by generous contributions, the losses sustained under a painful dispensa- tion of Divine Providence were greatly reduced. ■(■■ NEW miUNSWICK. 103 'ITie amount of loss incurred by the great fire, according to nn ac- count laid before Sir Howard Douglas, then Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, and made up at Miramichi, was £227,713 13s. 6d. That sum only included j)ersonal property, goods, buildings, crops, &c. destroyed. £39,259 7s. lOd. was nobly contributed in New Bruns- wick, Nova Scotia, Canada, the United States, and Great Britain, and applied to the immediate relief of the stifFerers ; but the calamity had extended almost beyond the bounds of calculation, and the Province sustained an irreparable loss in her forests of timber, which has been estimated at £500,000. The towns and villages destroyed have since been recovered, and are now more extensive and better built than they were before the conflagration. It is not a little remarkable, that on the same day the District of Miramichi was laid in ruins, fires broke out in the County of York, and near the Oromucto. At the former place, while the inhabitants were engaged in subduing the devouring element a mile from Frederic- ton, a fire took place in the town, and consumed eighty-nine buildings and other property to the amount of £50,000. Twenty houses and bams were also burnt in the neighbourhood of the Oromucto. The number of persons burnt and drowned at Miramichi was 160; build- ings destroyed, 595 ; cattle destroyed, 875. — But we turn from this painful record to describe the remaining part of the county. The South-west branch of the river receives a number of minor streams. Of these are, Barnaby River, extending into the parish of Glenelg ; the Renous stream has a pretty settlement near its mouth. The Etienne reaches into the Parish of Blackville, where there are several flourishing new clearings, occupied chiefly by Irish emigrants. The banks of the main stream are also thinly settled from Newcastle to Boistown ; and even above that place a number of families have established themselves upon the wild lands. There is much good soil in this quarter — although some tracts have an uneven surface, and are rather stony. Between the main South-west branch, towards its sources, and the St. John, will be found an immense tract of land whose soil is better than ordinary, and few places in the Province offer greater encouragement for extensive agricultural operations. About a mile above Newcastle, the North-west (Minagua of the • o #■ IIM 1^ 194 NEW BRUNSWICK. Indians) joins the Southern hianch. It takes its rise near the Tobiqiie Lakes, and liigh lands at the head of the Nepisignit. Between tlie two streams there is a portage to the Falls of the latter. The North- west branch is perhaps eighty miles in length, and its chief tributaries are Tomoganops and Sevogle. All these rivulets are navigable for light canoes, unless at the places where they are broken by falls ; and they are very useful in afTording a passage for the provisions required by the lumbermen, and for floating down the timber. A few adven- turers have commenced the clearing of land on their lower banks. The main branch is well populated on both of its sides to the dis- tance of twenty miles from its mouth ; and at a short distance from the stream there is a thriving settlement of Welsh Methodists, who, with the Roman Catholics and the Baptists, have commodious chapels in the principal villages. The mouth of the North-west branch is navi- gable for ships, and the tide flows up its channel fifteen miles. Saw- mills are very numerous, and the stream sends down great quantities of manufactured lumber annually. A small river called the Bartibog empties itself into Miramichi Bay. It runs through an Irish settlement containing about forty families, and 'turns several saw-mills. It was formerly well timbered ; but its pineries were destroyed, and the surface presents a gloomy aspect since the occurrence of the great fire. From Newcastle to Burnt Church there is a passable road, bordered by a succession of farms. This place, formerly called Neguac, is an ancient camping-ground of the Indians, who still occupy a reserve of several hundred acres, and resort to it in the fishing season. The lands are light, and but imperfectly tilled by the few inhabitants scattered along the shore. Extensive sand-bars have been driven up along the coast ; but beyond these there are some excellent fishing-grounds, which are seldom visited by the inhabitants, who prefer lumbering to almost any other pursuit. Taboosintac,* the only remaining river to be noticed in the county, springs from numerous branches in low tracts of land remote from the shore, and wends its way through some good belts of intervale and upland, covered by the pines, birch, and maple. It finally makes its • Indian — " The place of two families or persons. " NEW BRUNSWICK. 195 deltouchement into a lagoon opened by a cliannel of seven feet water at common tides. Timber is prepared for market in tbis quarter, and transported bcnce to tbe Miraniiclii. It bas a village of about sixty families, witb saw and grist mills ; but tbe occupancy of tbe lands bas been retarded from tbe existence of an Indian reserve at tbe moutb of tbe tributary called Cowwesiget, wbicb includes five miles of tbe river's bank. In spring, tbe moutb of tbe stream supplies plenty of alewives; and in August, salmon, berring, and mackerel frequent tbe coast — altbougb few of tbem are taken, and little advantage is derived from tbe fisbcry. From tbis place tbere are bad roads to Tracodie and Ncguac. Old Indian portages are still travelled between tbe rivers. Along tbese streams, and at tbeir sources, tbere is a wide and advan- tageous field for the introduction of emigrants, thousands of whom migbt enter upon tbe lands witb advantage to themselves, and benefit to tbis part of the county, which at present is almost destitute of roads. Almost the entire area of Northumberland is within tbe limits of tbe great coal-field of the Province. At several places coal bas been dis- covered, and at others tbere are indications of its existence. The lands along tbe coast, like those of the eastern districts, are very low, and at the distance of fifty miles from the seaboard they are scarcely raised forty feet above the tide level. This observation will not, however, apply to the wilderness country at the sources of the North-west Mira- niichi, where there are mountains of considerable altitude. In the soils there is considerable diversity. The intervales along the streams are chiefly fine dark-coloured alluviums, which produce good crops of grain : the higher terraces contain more sand and gravel, and produce excellent grain of different kinds, also potatoes and garden vegetables. Having resulted from the disintegration of tbe sandstones beneath, many of the upland soils are of a dark, red, or chocolate colour, and the marly varieties will endure several croppings without the applica- tion of manure. With these are the gravelly and sandy loams most frequently reposing on thick beds of detritus. They are more porous and less fertile, and do not retain their moisture in seasons of drought. Independently of its timber and fisheries, the county, under a general view, must be considered favourable for agriculture, fishing, and the ultimate introduction of general manufacture. o 2 Mi '■ ( IOC NEW BRUNSWICK. County of Gloucester. The County of Gloucester was divided by an Act of the Provincial Parliament in March 1837, and all its former western part, from Belle Dime River, now constitutes the County of Restigouche. It therefore joins Northumberland on the east and south, Restigouchc on the west, and the Ray Chaleurs on the north. It contains 1,037,440 square acres, and the latter has a population of about 9,000 souls on 12,000 acres of cleared land. The parishes arc, Rathurst, Ueresford, New Handon, Caraquet, and Saumarez. From the great extent of the sea- coast and the number of its rivers, Gloucester possesses great facilities for navigation, fishing, and lumbering. Bathurst (formerly called St. Peter's), the shire town and a flourish- ing sea-port, is situated at the head of a beautiful bay of that name. This place was the boundary between the Mohawk Indians of Canada and the Micmacs of Nova Scotia, and several sanguinary conflicts have taken place between those tribes in its vicinity. It is supposed to have been occupied by Monsieur Jean- Jacques Enaud as early as 1638. The town is built upon two somewhat elevated points of land, which are separated from each other by a shallow estuary. Across this estu- ary a bridge has been constructed upon piles, whereby a ready commu- nication is afforded between its opposite sides. The cast side of Bathurst Point is washed by the mouth of the Nepisiguit. The site of the town is one of the most bciutiful spots in the Province. It commands a view of the bay and islands, and the villages and clearings on their borders, being more than ordinarily healthy. The town is laid out in a regular manner, and contains a number of handsome dwelling-houses, warehouses, mercantile and ship-building establishments, an Episcopal Church, Methodist Chapel, Custom-house, Court-house, and Gaol. At the western extremity of the bridge are the mercantile houses of Francis Ferguson, Esq. ; and a cluster of buildings are stretched along the base of a hill, which is surmounted by a spacious and handsome Roman Catholic Chapel and Missionary residence. The little basin is also bordered by good farms and comfortable cottages. The town plat at its eastern side is the principal site for ship-building, and frequently from five to ten merchant-ships of the largest class rest upon their NEW nUUNSWlCK. 197 I j )f the Provincial part, from Ik'lle ic. It therefore chc on the west, ,037,440 square souls on 12,000 Bcresford, New ctent of the sea- is great facilities n and a flourish- \y of that name, idians of Canada iry conflicts have b is supposed to as early as 1638. its of land, which Across this estu- a ready conimu- t side of Bathurst ! site of the town It commands a earings on their wn is laid out in dwelling-houses, Its, an Episcopal )use, and Gaol, pantile houses of 3 stretched along s and handsome 'he little basin is The town plat <;, and frequently rest upon their stocks with only sufllcient space between them for the workmen to paw from the timber-yards to the shore. The front of the town is often occupied by rafts, and piles of squared timl)er and deals. A number of ships are annually loaded in the harbour and at the bar for the British market, and during the summer season the whole scene is enlivened by active iiulustry. The great road from the Soiithern Counties is conti- nued across the Nepisiguit at Bathurst by a ferry. A bridge over this stream is still a desideratum. Four rivers empty themselves into Bathurst Harbour. Of those the most important is the Great Nepisiguit.* This river (which, with its falls, has been l)riefly noticed in a former chapter) is computed to be one hundred miles in length. The main tnmk, and its branches, the iiaskoodic, Parbooktie, and Pabineau, descend from the western wil- derness, and through dense forests of white and red pine, interspersed by belts of beech, birch, maple, and other kinds of hard wood. It is thinly inhabited to a short distance from its mouth. Timber may be floated down this stream from a great distance, although the Falls, twenty miles from Bathurst, present an obstacle of no ordinary magni- tude. Timber in descending this cascade is frequently hurled into the air and broken by its fall, or, being forced against the projecting angles of rock, is much splintered and otherwise injured. Proliably a sluice might be constructed wherein it would pass endwise over the precipice, and fall in the same position into the deep water beneath. Middle River and Little Nepisiguit are small rivulets partially occu- pied by settlers on their lower borders. The Tootoogoose f is a pretty stream flowing from a lake twenty-five miles distant. At its mouth there is an extensive and valuable farming estate, the property of Hugh Munroe, Esq. Seven miles above, there is a flourishing Scotch settlement gradually expanding itself into the forest. In 1837, the Provincial Government granted a lease for fifty years to a Company, called the Gloucester Mining Association, of all such mines and minerals as they should discover, open, and work in the * Called by the Indians, Winkapiguwick; signifying, "boisterous or trou- bled water." t Tootoogoose, "Fairy River" of the Indians; corrupted by tlie French into Tetc-^-gouche, and frequently called Tattygouch. M' •'*,■ •' ' : ■< Hi \ I '■'- 'h : 1 1 i i . ! I 198 NEW BRUNSWICK. term of five years from that date. In the latter period, the Company expended much labour and money in searching for copper at the mouth of the Great Nepisiguit, and in boring for coal, at the Capes, eighteen miles below Bathurst. In both of those undertakings they were un- successful ; but in exploring for copper on the Tootoogoose River, an ore of manganese was discovered, and proved to be of good quality. The mine is situated in the bank of the above stream, eight miles from Bathurst, in the side of a cliff 150 feet high. The river at this place falls twenty-five feet, and the water has been ingeniously turned to propel the machinery required for cleansing the ore, several hundred tons of which have been shipped for England. The Company have expended upwards of £10,000 in the enterprise ; but, unfortunately, they have not yet received any interest from the outlay, notwithstanding the zeal and ability of William Stephens, Esq. their Agent, and the undertaking is likely to be abandoned. All these rivulets descend through tracts of good soil ; but at their sources the land is rather broken and hilly : yet even in such situations there are many tracts worthy of cultivation. The soils in the neigh- bourhood of Bathurst are generally productive, and agriculture has advanced rapidly during the last few years. Francis Ferguson, Esq. has upwards of eighty acres under cultivation, and by applying com- post manure, formed chiefly of lime and peat, he has raised abundant crops of wheat and other kinds of grain. That gentleman and others in the town have done much to improve the agriculture of the county, and the district may now be looked upon as a proper resort for a large population. Leaving Bathurst, we may return to the coast, and examine the Parish of Saumarez, which embraces the headland, with its islands, situated between Miramichi and Bay Chaleurs. At the mouth of Tracadie Rivers, there is a lagoon twelve miles long, with an average breadth of a mile. Through the sand-bar forming the basin, the channel is too shallow to admit large vessels ; and from the constant shifting of the shingle beaches, the pilotage is rendered difficult. These are small sluggish streams, and the lands are rather sandy. Red and white pine are still to be obtained in considerable supplies. There are here several large and compact settlements of Acadian French, containing altogether not less than one thousand souls. NEW BRUNSWICK. 199 the Company er at the mouth Capes, eighteen they were un- oose River, an f good quality, ight miles from er at this place usly turned to al hundred tons have expended ely, they have anding the zeal he undertaking 1 ; but at their such situations 3 in the neigh- agriculture has Ferguson, Esq. applying com- aised abundant man and others of the county, jsort for a large d examine the ith its islands, n twelve miles nd-bar forming sels ; and from ige is rendered ands are rather in considerable settlements of thousand souls. About fifty boats and shallops are employed in fishing; and cured fish are annually shipped to the markets of Miramichi, Halifax, and Gaspe. Agriculture is pursued by a part of the population. At Great Tracadie there is a handsome Chapel, and many of the inhabitants are in very independent circumstances. Pockmouche is a broad and shallow stream, not exceeding thirty miles in length. Its borders have been well timbered, and there are some intervales near its sources. Small plats of salt marsh at its mouth produce wild hay. The uplands are very low, and often light and sandy. The population of Pockmouche is about five hundred persons, Acadians and Irish, who are chiefly employed in fishing, hewing tim- ber, and farming. The principal village has its Chapel and School, and mills have been erected on the stream. The Harbours of Shippegan and Caraquette have been already described. From their peculiar situation at the extremity of a cape projecting deeply into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, they afford many advantages for fishing, and ample security to the trade and shipping of the coast. The Islands of Shippegan, Miscou, and Poksudie, also, from being indented by numerous small coves or bays, are especially adapted for fishing stations. The former of these is twenty miles long. The soil, where it is sufficiently elevated to be tilled, is a light sandy loam, not unfavourable for cultivation with sea-manure. It produces small birch, fir and spruce, with cranberries, whortleberries, and other wild fruits. On the western shores of the island there ure two settlements, called Big and Little Amacque. The oysters of this island are considered excellent, and cargoes of them are annually shipped to Halifax and Quebec. Miscou Island, forming the extremity of the cape, is twenty-one miles in circumference. Its northern point is in lat. 47° 58', and in long. 64° 30'. Previous to the conquest of Canada, the French had an extensive fishing establishment at this place, owned by the " Com- pany of Miscou." The remains of their buildings are still to be seen. It was afterwards occupied by Campbell, a disbanded Highland soldier, and his family, three of whom were drowned in an attempt to cross to Shippegan in a boat. Mall Bay, a convenient indentation on its m 'iTi H a !!i ii' 200 NEW BRUNSWICK. southern eide, is bordered by tracts of marsh and meadow, which pro- duce wild hay abundantly. The fishing season is between the 1st of June and the 10th of July, at which time the boats and vessels of Cara- quette, Shippegan, and Gaspe hover around the shores, and take from fifteen to twenty thousand quintals of cod, pollock, and haddock annually. These islands, with those of Poksudie, Miscou, and Caraquette, are inhabited by foxes ; and upon them wild geese and ducks bring forth their brood. The Americans fish in these waters with impunity. Opposite Big and Little Amacque, on the main land, is the settle- ment of Shippegan, whose population, with that of the island, will exceed 900 souls. The inhabitants are chiefly Acadian French, who devote their time almost exclusively to the cod-fishery, in which they employ upwards of fifty boats and a number of small shallops. The latter craft also fish in the Gulf, and on the banks of Prince Edward's Island. The soil of Shippegan might be successfully cultivated ; but, until of late, its capabilities have not been tested by experience. Rafts of timber are sometimes poled along the shore to Miramichi. The exports of fish and lumber from this place have increased rapidly during the last few years, and now amount to £20,000 per annum. The principal business has been transacted by the Agents of Messrs. Robin & Co., and Le Boutillier & Brothers, of the Island of Jersey, and who are also extensively engaged in the fisheries of Gaspe. The settlement of Caraquette stretches along the shore to the distance of twelve miles. At its head is the site of an old Roman Catholic Chapel, one of the most beautiful spots in the Province. On one of its sides, a stream of water gushes from the rock ; and on the other is a plat of greensward, surrounded by a rich forest of birch and maple. It also commands a view of the bay and harbours below, and the distant mountains of Gaspe. The present chapel is a handsome stone building, of dimensions suitable to contain 800 persons, and its interior is highly decorated with paintings and sculpture. The land is fertile, and, under careful culture, produces grain and the vegetables common to the country in abundance. The population will amount to 1,500. They are nearly all Acadians — among whom may be observed the complexion and features of the Micniac Indians, who M'' W ! NEW BRUNSWICK. 201 ■it (luring the oarly settlement of the country married with these people, such u union being encouraged by the French Government from motives of policy. They send upwards of a hundred boats and a number of schooners to the fisheries, and from them derive their domestic sup- plies, and a surplus for exportation. About thirty families are scattered along the shore to Grand Ance, where there is also a chapel and several mills. Still farther westward, there is a group of upwards of eighty families, chiefly Irish from Ban- don near Cork : hence their village is called New Bandon. The whole of the lands forming this cape, with its adjacent islands, are very low, being seldom elevated above the sea more than sixteen feet. Its level is only interrupted by the channels of the river and brooks, many of which have their beds but a little lower than the sur- face. The drier tracts are not the less fertile on that account ; but, from the lack of a quick drainage, bogs and swamps are more common than they are in higher districts. The soils are not dissimilar to those of other paits of the coal-field, and on many of the wilderness tracts thoy will be found strong and well adapted for wheat and other kinds of grain. We have seen that this tract of country, containing at least a thou- sand square miles, is only occupied by clusters of inhabitants at the mouths of the rivers and sides of the harbours : even along the borders of the coast, the native green forest extends to the brink of the sea, being but partially indented by clearings. In general, only the first tier of lots has been granted ; the remaining part of the soil the Go- vernment is ready to dispose of to industrious cultivators. All the streams abound in trout and eels at all times : salmon, bass, gaspereau or alewives, and other kinds of fish, are readily taken in their season. In the deeper waters, are cod, pollock, haddock, halibut, &c. ; and oysters and lobsters are remarkably plentiful. Wild geese, ducks of various kinds, curlew, plover, partridges, and other birds, are still numerous. This part of the county may be considered to be still in a wilderness state, and almost without any facilities of communication except by water. A road is marked on several maps as running along the whole coast ; but it has no real existence, nor are there any bridges across « m f I! U '. '■;:i M.!;" I' 202 NEW BRUNSWICK. many of the numerous streams of the parish. The making of roads and the introduction of agriculture would lead to the more vigorous prose- cution of the fisheries ; but until there are settlers to occupy the lands, the opening of roads in the wilderness is of doubtful expediency. Proceeding along the south shore of Bay Chaleurs from Bathurst to the mouth of the Restigouche, a distance of seventy miles, we find a few scattered villages and settlements upon the immediate border of the sea. The interior country is but little known, except by a few Indian hunters and lumbermen. It abounds in lakes and rivulets. The latter descend from the mountainous chain already noticed, and which termi- nates at the sources of the principal tributaries of the St. John, and the rivers falling into the Gulf and Bay. Much of the soil is evidently good, and there are tracts of table land admirably adapted for the plough. The surface is greatly diversified by hill and valley, and pre- sents a scene of unusual wildness and solitude. A few miles northward of the Nepisiguit, there is a settlement called Petit Roche, comprising two hundred families of French Acadians, whose ancestors fled from Nova Scotia during its early troubles. The farms and buildings of these people are small, and lack the neatness sometimes seen in French villages. They have a large Chapel. The threefold objects of farming, fishing, and lumbering, pursued by the inhabitants, are suflScient to account for their slow advancement. Lime- stone is calcined in this village, and shipped to Prince Edward's Island. At Belle Dune there are some good farms. The wild lands are chiefly covered with beautiful groves of birch, and otner kinds of hard wood. Cedar and spruce are common on the lower tracts ; limestone is abundant ; and caplin and herring come in such multitudes, that they are caught and carted upon the soil for manure. The application of fish for manure should not be tolerated ; and it has been discovered, that although they increase the growth of a few crops, the lands are ultimately injured by them, and require annually the unnatural stimu- lus. The settlers are chiefly Irish Roman Catholics, who have a Chapel and the occasional services of a Missionary. Francis Guitan, one of its earliest inhabitants, was one of the dragoons who conducted Robes- pierre to the guillotine, and served with Bonaparte at Marengo and Lodi. \ i J of roads and gorous prose- ipy the lands, diency. 1 Bathurst to les, we find a border of the a few Indian I. The latter which termi- ohn, and the is evidently pted for the ley, and pre- ement called ih Acadians, ubles. The the neatness hapel. The sued by the lent. Lime- rd's Island. Id lands are inds of hard limestone is 5, that they plication of discovered, le lands are ural stimu- vc a Chapel tan, one of ted Robes- irengo and NEW BRUNSWICK. County of Restigouche. 203 > .i Still advancing along the coast, we enter the District of Restigouche. This county is bounded on the south-east by Gloucester, south-west by wilderness lands, and north by the Bay Chaleurs and Restigouche, or the boundary between New Brunswick and Canada. It contains 1,266,560 square acres. Jacquet River, about nhie miles from Belle Dune, descends from the mountains to the south. It is a rapid stream, scarcely navigable for canoes. The lands near its mouth are of good quality, and may be rendered very fertile by the application of lime and murl, of which there is an abundant supply on the shore. At a short distance from the sea- board they are still ungranted. This part of the Bay-side is sheltered by Heron Island and Black Point, which form a safe harbour. The population is scattered. It is very desirable that the new road between Bathurst and Dalhousie should be completed, and the erection of a bridge over Jacquet River is necessary to a safe and co.nfortable conveyance between those towns. In 1842 the road was a series of swamps, partially fiUed by short logs, or projecting masses of rock, ever threatening a capsize to the passenger. The traveller is sometimes relieved of these obstacles by being driven along a narrow path to the very brink of the sea-wall — or among the soft sand, and slippery kelp, and driftwood of the shore, where both horse and driver are sometimes greeted with a shower of spray from every wave. The bridges across the gullies are like those built by children, after a heavy shower, except that some of them are upon a larger scale, and more deserving of the appellation of horse-traps. To add to these impediments, the inhabitants, where the ground is level, have encroached upon the pathways, leaving only the length of a cart- axle between the fences for the accommodation of the voyageur, who at almost every step is saluted by the kind " Prenez-garde" of the watch- ful Acadians. At Nash's Creek, there is a small settlement a mile and a half inland: from it to Dalhousie the distance is nineteen miles. Benjamin River, North and South Rivers Charlo, are small rapid streams. New Mills, formerly called Merloguish, was first occupied by a I i 204 NEW BRUNSWICK. ?N' Mr. Rumpoft, a Dutch merchant, who for m.any years was engaged in ship-building and fishing at that phacc. The establishment was since occupied by Wm. Fleming, Esq., who erected grist and saw mills upon the stream. Heron and a cluster of smaller islands afford good shelter for vessels, and the inshore fishery is still valuable. The margin of this part of the Bay is very thinly settled. The popu- lation consists of Provincials, Scotch, Irish, and Acadian French, who appear to live together in great harmony. Some fine fields have been cleared ; and since the attention of the inhabitants has been directed to husbandry, their labour has been rewarded by substantial crops. Wheat, although late in ripening, often yields from twenty to thirty bushels per acre ; oats produce a certain crop ; and all kinds of vegetables may be successfully cultivated. Across the mouth of Eel River Tne sea hes thrown up a bank of sand a mile in length, and the site ♦^Iius offered for a i oad has been improved. A bridge has been erected to connect the sand-bar with the opposite side of the stream. The remainder of the distance to Dalhousie is four miles, and the road passes over three sharp ridges of trap rock. Eel River is a long, narrow stream : it commences near the Upsal- quitch, and traverses a fine level district of fertile land almost sur- rounded by mountains. An opening has been made upon a tract recently surveyed, called the Colebrooke Settlement, in honour of Sir William Colebrooke. There are also settlements on each side of the river near its debouchement. Still, a great quantity of these lands are ungranted, and there are few localities where a respectable class of settlers would meet with greater encouragement. The Indians have a grant at this place of 400 acres, and they resort to it during fishing and shooting seasons. Their la..d, however, is very low and swampy, and scarcely fit for tillage. The sea-wall thrown up across the estuary has formed a large shallow basin, with a muddy bot- tom, which affords one of the best fisheries for eels in the Province. The eels are taken by the Indians at all seasons of the year, and supply them with an important part of their food. When they are skinned and dried, they are by no means unpalatable ; and when fresh, they are considered by many to be very delicious. It is rather singular, that cod-fish in quest of food enter this and NEW BRUNSWICK. ;>05 I otlier shallow estuaries along the coast during the winter season. The Indians cut holes through the ice, and strike them with spears. Eels are taken in the same manner. Trout, smelts, and flatfish are also numerous ; and in spring and autumn the little bay is the resort of wild geese and other kinds of water-fowl. The shores, bays, and inlets between Bathurst and Dalhousie afford excellent fisheries for cod, pollock, haddock, halibut, herring, sea-trout, smelts, eels, and other varieties of fish. Caplin are so numerous, that they are often applied to the soil for manure. This destruction of the small fish reduces the quantity of food intended by nature for the larger ones, and, if continued, will greatly injure the fisheries. Provi- dence never intended that any of her gifts should be thus abused ; and in a district where limestone and arl are abundant, the practice is inexcusable, and should be prevented by law. Seals of different kinds are frequently seen in considerable numbers in the Bay. They were taken by the first inhabitants of this part of the Province, who carried on a considerable trade in seal-skins and oil. At present the seal-fishery is not attended to. Whales of the humpback variety frequent the coasts, and are taken at the mouth of the St. Lawrence and in the Gulf. They also visit the Bay Chaleurs ; but the inhabitants are not prepared to encounter them, although they are readily captured by export whalers. These waters abound in wild geese and ducks of various kinds. Of the former, flocks containing thousands feed upon the shores during the autumn, until the season of their migration l tIvcs, when they depart for warmer latitudes. The County of Restigouche is divided into five parishes, — namely, Dalhousie, Addington, Durham, Colbourne, and Eldon. The popula- tion in 1840 was 3,161, exclusive of about 1,200 persons who were supposed to be engaged in the woods, in lumbering, at the time the census was taken. At that period, the Parish of Eldon contained only eight dwelling-houses and twenty- seven acres of cleared land. The whole quantity of cleared land in the county at the present time will not exceed 6,500 square acres, and therefore a particular account of each parish is unnecessary. The Restigouche is a majestic and very beautiful river, falling into i- I' } 1^ 20G NKW BRUNSWICK. ' >.■ the spacious harbour at the head of the Bay Chaleurs ; and its tribu- taries irrigate more than five thousand square miles of tenitory. The main river springs from a hike in Lower Canada, and through branches that approach Lakes Temiscouta and Metis. Sixty miles from its debouchement into the bay, the river turns from a south-west to a north- west course, and receives a large branch that nearly approaches the St. John. A large tributary, called the Upsalquitch, also enters from the south-east, about fi>rty miles above the head of the bay. The whole length of the main stream is about two hundred miles, and the waters that are navigable for canoes and rafts will exceed a distance of four hundred miles. The river and its tributaries descend through a tract of country of varied resources and beautiful scenery. They drain a part of that spur of the Alleghany Mountain that crosses the St. John, and occupies the central parts of the District of Gaspe. Its appendant tributaries rush from the mountain ravines with great impetuosity, and throw themselves into frightful rapids, or over falls, until they reach the narrow valley of the main stream, whence they are sufficiently tranquil to admit of being navigated in safety. Upon the borders, and remote from these water- courses, red pine, white pine, and other kinds of valuable wood are abundant ; and, by the skill of the lumberman, the timber is launched down the steep declivities and perpendicular cliffs, through the rapids and over the falls, until it floats in the tide. This part of the Province has been spared from those devouring fires which have been so destructive to the timber in the District of Mira- michi, and other parts of New Brunswick ; and a century will elapse before the forests of Gaspe and Restigouche will be exhausted of their timber resources. The valuable fisheries of the Bay, under proper management, would supply the elements of a very extensive trade ; and the valleys, slopes, and table lands of the interior wilderness are capable of being advantageously cultivated. In the centre of this great theatre of offered industry and employment, is the splendid Harbour of Restigouche, which is sufficiently sjiacious to contain the whole navy of Great Britain, and rivers upon which the first produce of the country can be cheaply transported. The entrance of the River or Harbour of Restigouche is between i. -1 :■ Ii ^ m NKVV IJllUNSWICK. and its tribu- nitory. 7'he ugh branches liles from its ;st to a north- )proache8 the o enters from e bay. The liles, and the a distance of 3f country of t of that spur occupies the butaries rush w themselves row valley of 3mit of being these water- )le wood are r is launched ;h the rapids vouring fires ict of Mira- 7 will elapse sted of their nder proper ? trade; and Idemess are itre of this he splendid contain the t produce of is between J>()7 Magashua Point on the north, and Bon Amie's Rock on the south. The distance between these two headlands is three miles ; and there are nine fathoms of water, without a bar or shoal to interrupt the naviga- tion of the port's mouth. Dalhousie, the shire town of the county, stands at the base of a high ridge of trap rock on the south side of the river, a little above its mouth. It contains about one hundred and thirty buildings, among which are the usual number devoted to religious worshij), a Court- house, Gaol, and Grammar-school. The principal mercantile establish- ments front the river, which is lined by wharves, ship-yards, and timber- booms. The site of the town is on an inclined plane ; but the entrance to it from the eastward, by land, is over a steep hill, which might be avoided by giving the road another direction. In the harbour there are two small islands, surrounded by deep water, and affording shelter for vessels of the largest class. The opposite side of the river, which is uninhabited, expands into a beauti- ful bay, bordered by high cliffs of red sandstone. A very extensive timber trade is carried on from this port to Great Britain ; fish is also an article of traffic. The supplies of provisions are chiefly received from Quebec. During a decline of the timber trade, the attention of a number of the inhabitants was directed to agriculture; and the Agri- cultural Society of Restigouche has given an encouragement to hus- bandry which will not lose its effect now that commerce has again revived. The scenery of the town, with its harbour and islands, is very in- teresting ; but it is tame when compared with a more extended view. The whole District of Gaspe presents bold and precipitous eminences, flanked along the shore by perpendicular cliffs of brick-red sandstone and other rocks, which are cut through where the streams ma'e their exit into the bay. Upon these cliffs there is a long tract of table land, which skirts the siiore, while in the rear it rises into mountains of the most striking and picturesque character. From the hill in the rear of Dalhousie, the Tracadegash and other mountains of Gaspe are seen rising in great grandeur ; and the whole country northward is covered with majestic cones, which are wooded to their very summits. Between the sharp alpine ridges, walled in by cliffs, there are narrow valleys, m :.;■,, 208 NEW nilUNSWiCK. r^liii 1 'H' 1 1 JSl ' li 111 H:' '•..1 fi washed by the collected luotmtain torrents in their rapid descent to- wards the sea. This, the north-eastern extremity of the Alleghany chain, maintains its bold features to its termination near the mouth of the St. Lawrence, and offers to the eye a view of an unknown moun- tain wilderness. The llestigouclie is navigable for h«rge ships eighteen miles ; in that distance its average breadth is nearly two miles. Its southern bank is occupied by a scattered population. The soil is of medium quality ; and the surface, a little remote from the river, is broken by closely- wooded hills and ravines. Point Aninnipk, eight miles, and Point Le Garde, twelve miles above Dalhousie, on the Gaspe side, are bold prominences, and were military stations during the struggles of France to regain the Colony. Battery Point, two miles higher up, was also occupied by a French fort. Seve- ral pieces of cannon have been found in the sand ; and muskets, pistols, swords, and culinary utensils have been dug up from the remains of this fortification. A few years ago, a bottle of molasses and a small case of wine were also recovered from among its ruins.* This fort was destroyed by Captain Byron in 1700. It is now covered by a growth of forest-trees. The Gaspe side of the river at this place also is un- inhabited. Campbelltown is situated sixteen miles above Dalhousie. It is a compact village, with several trading-houses, docks, and timber-ponds. A number of ships arc annually loaded at this place, and it maintains a brisk trade with the lumbering parties in the forests. The lands on each side of the river are rather broken and rocky. There is, neverthe- less, a narrow flat of good soil along the edge of the stream, which still continues wide and navigable for ships. In the rear of the town there is a conspicuous eminence called Sugar-loaf Mountain. It is 844 feet high, and nearly three miles in circumference at its base. The side fronting the river is a perpen- dicular cliff, from which a collection of enormous boulders extend around the eminence. It can only be ascended in safety on the cast • Mr. Cooney's work on New Brunswick and Gasp4, 1832. sidi in tree loft and thrc by til NKW HRUN8WICK. 209 side.* At other places, boulders weighing several tons arc easily put in motion, when they roll down the side of the mountain, crushing the trees at its foot. From its top, it appears to rise from a valley like a lofty tower. The view from the summit of this hill is extremely grand and beautiful. The chain of mountains, with lofty peaks, running through Gaspe, indents the horizon to the north-east. The Bay Cha- leurs and Restigouehe, witli their infant towns and villages, fill up the scenery below. To the north, there is a wide area of table land, covered by a living mantle of evergreens. Three miles above Campbelltown, there is the large estate of Robert Ferguson, Esq., one of the first British settlers on the Restigouehe. His establishment is situated upon a tract containing two hundred acres of intervale, the chief part of which is under cultivation. Mrs. Fergu- son was the first English child born in this part of the Province. The sons of the above gentleman are still engaged in the timber trade of the county. The example and industry of this family, and a few others, have mainly contributed to the improvement of this part of the Res- tigouehe. The lands on the Gaspe side of the river at this place are high and broken. The stream is skirted by a few level plats, and small collec- tions of marsh alluvium. The largest of these level tracts is Mission Point, the former residence of the Roman Catholic Missionary to the Micmac Indians. It contains upwards of one thousand acres of good land, which reposes vipon a coal-field, and at an admirable site for a town. The Point belongs to the Indians, two hundred families of whom are settled upon it. They have a large Chapel and Mission-house, and small parcels of land under cultivation. These people are visited annu- ally by a Commissioner of Indian Affairs from Quebec, from whom they receive an {allowance granted by the Government. In general, they are honest and industrious, and derive a living from lumbering, fishing, and agriculture. At Point-au-Bourdo, three miles higher up, there is also a tract of • We reached the summit of the Sugar-loaf in 1842 by its westevn side ; but on returning it was necessary to descend over some of the cliffs on the de- cayed and partially-falkn trees— by no means a safe expedient. I I I il' !S>IO NEW BRUNSWICK. >- > »ii ii' i 1.1 ' if- ■:! y. '[I level ground. This wos the site of the French town Petite Rochcllc ; nnd the shores nbovc and below that place were occupied by French villages, until they were destroyed by Captain Byron. They are now shipping-places, and the margin of the river is skirted by a number of large and very valuable estates. The entrance of the Metis or Kempt Road is about a mile above Point-!VU-Bourdo, and twenty-four miles above Dalhousie. This road was intended to open a communication between the settlements on the Bay Chalcurs and Canada, and to form a part of the military route between the Provinces first proposed by Sir Howard Douglas ; but it has never been opened to any great extent, notwithstanding it is the only land communication between the Bay and the St. Lawrence, The mail was formerly carried up the south-western branch of the Tlesti- gouchc, and across a portage to Grand River and the St. John. It now passes once a week over the Gaspe Mountains. The mail-carrier rides on horseback about sixty miles, from the Restigouche to the Patape- diac Lakes, where he feeds his horse on wild hay ; he then walks upwards of forty miles, to the Metis River. This route is uninhabited, and the path followed by the postman is over a mountainous and broken tract of wilderness country. The distance between Campbelltown and Fredcricton, along the pre- sent circuitous road, is upwards of two hundred miles, while on a direct route it would scarcely exceed one hundred miles. The necessity of opening a communication between those two places is yearly growing more urgent, and a free opening between the Bay Chalcurs across the country to the St. Lawrence is equally desirable. Since it has been proposed to construct a railway between Halifax and Quebec around the heac^ estuaries of the Bay of Fundy, the inha- bitants of the southern border of the Lower St. Lawrence have ex- pressed an earnest desire to run the line across the Restigouche, and thereby unite the towns and settlements of the Bay Chaleurs with those of Canada. It is certain that such a line must necessarily pass through the mountainous districts already described ; it may nevertheless be quite practicable. The opening of the railway as already proposed, to approach the Grand Falls of the St. John, would materially change the sites of the common roads between these two Provinces ; but, at the iDi I NEW nilUNSWlCK. 311 ;ite Roclicllc; zd by French rhey ure now / a number of a mile above e. This road inicnts on the military route luglas ; but it (ling it is the iwrcncc. The of the Tlesti- John. It now il-carricr rides to the Patape- \ie then walks is uninhabited, )us and broken along the pre- lilc on a direct e necessity of early growing urs across the tween Halifax ndy, the inha- nce have ex- tigoiiche, and uvs with those pass through cvcrthejess be y proposed, to Uy change the but, at the same time, it would confer advantages upon the inhabitants that can now scarcely be anticipated. From its excell • hours, numerous rivers, fisheries, timber, and other resources, t ihern part of New Brunswick is rapidly rising in importance. 'l,io opening of the rail- way, or the roads already alluded to, would render accessible to the emigrant and settler vast tracts of valuable country, and bring into operation much of the natural produce of the districts at present unoc- cupied. The upper part of the Uestigouche and its tributaries, all flowing through wild forests, have been described with the other rivers of the Province. For many years after its first discovery, the Restigouchc afibrdcd a most profitable salmon-fishery ; but since the waters have been visited by crowds of lumbermen with their rafts, tow-boats and canoes, and saw -mills have been erected on the smaller rivulets, it has declined : and there is an annual decrease in the number of salmon that frequent the stream. On the Gaspe side of the Bay Chaleurs, there are a number of flou- rishing settlements : among them are the villages of Nouvelle, New Richmond, Tracadcgash, and Caspcdiac. The inhabitants are a mixed population of Acadians, Irish, and Americans, many of whom are occu- pied in the different employments of fishing, lumbering, farming, and hunting. The remoteness of their situation from the seat of Govern- ment, and the want of a land communication to the St. Lawrence, have retarded the advancement of tho'T civil and moral institutions ; and too frequently there is a reckless disregard of the laws of the country, which heretofore have been very imperfectly administered among them.* The facilities of communication by water had a material effect upon the construction of roads in the Province during its early settlement — and, indeed, until a few years ago, a good road could scarcely be foimd * It is necessary that emigrants, or persons in any part of Great Britain who intend to settle in the northern parts of New Brunswick, should embark on board vessels bound to Mirainichi, Uichil)ucto. Bathurst, Rpstignuche, or some port on the south side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence or Bay Chaleurs. If they take shipping to any of the ports on the Bay of Fiuuiy side of the Province, they will incur the expense of travelling over a land route of perhaps two hun- dred miles, which is very considerable. r 2 & , 'j; fit 212 NliW BRUNSWICK. i y! i If.: II! 't * Ifii I'll in New Brunswick. Steamers, sloops, batteaux, and canoes traverse the principal streams in summer. In winter, sleds and sleighs, drawn by horses and oxen, pass over the ice, and transport ponderous loads of wood, hay, and agricultural produce to the markets, returning with all kinds of merchandise into the interior country. Many of the roads used in summer are abandoned in winter, and the inhabitants prefer travelling upon the ice rather than on roads liable to deep snow-drifts.* Excepting the lines between Bathurst and Dalhousie, Fredericton and St. Andrew's, St. John and Shepody, there are tolerable roads dur- ing the summer between all the towns and principal villages. In spring, when the frost i^ escaping from the earth, and during the late autumnal rains, some of them are rendered almost impassable, and no established system of road-making has yet been introduced, even upon the post- roads. In the first settlement of the country, the pathways, which were afterwards improved as roads, mounted some of the highest hills, and, to avoid bogs and swamps, the routes taken were frequently very cir- cuitous. The altering and levelling of such roads, and the construction of new ones, have required the expenditure of large annual grants by the Province, ■'•^.'■h, although not always economically applied, have greatly improved the country. By the settlement of the vexed question of the payment of the Civil List in 1827, the Crown surrendered to the Province its future reve- nues from nngranted lands and timber, and a sum of no less than £171,224 was placed at the immediate disposal of the Legislature. From thot time, the opening of new roads, the improving of old ones, the construction of bridges and other public works, continued until 1842, when it w; s discovered that the treasury was exhausted, and the Province involved in debt. A flourishing revenue has since relieved the embarrassment in some degree, and grants of money for every ob- ject are now made with more inquiry and caution. During the "golden days," as they were called, expensive surveys were made in laying out roads across the forests in all directions, and in many situations whore • Accidents frequently happen in the spnng when the ice bec^omes unsound, and whole teams sometimes break through into the water. Compared with the risk and danger, the loss of life is rare. H NEW BRUNSWICK. 213 the best turnpikes would, from the lack of population, have remained untravelled. Large sums were expended on routes that were afterwards abandoned, and a system of reckless extravagance prevailed that was. unprecedented in the history of the Colony. The roads are divided by the Legislature into two great classes- Great roads, and Bye roads, as they are termed. The former, from extending between towns through the principal settlements, and by giving passage to the mails, are the most important. A number of them are travelled by mail-coaches, or carriages, at a rate but little inferior to the ordinary rate in England.* The management of these roads is entrusted to supervisors who reside in different counties. The bye roads extend from the great roads to the remotest settle- ments and clearings, being opened, improved, and repaired by legisla- tive grants of money and the labour of their inhabitants. Those grants are from £5 to £100 and upwards, and their whole number, and for similar objects, in some years has exceeded six hundred. For each grant or appropriation a Commissioner is appointed, and the patronage for oiRce is altogether in the hands of the Members of the House of Assembly, who exert it tc no small extent for electioneering purposes. It therefore happens that the most active partisans of the successful candidate are duly honoured by Road Commissions, and for appropria- tions greater or less according to their ability in canvassing, rather than for road-making. Besides the grants of money made annually by the • The following are the principal great roads, with distances, and the fares required from passengers who travel upon them by post: — From St. John to Fredericton, 65 miles ; fare, 203. cuvrency. „ St. John to St. Andrew's, G5 miles ; fare, 20s. „ St. John to Miramichi, via Bend of Peticodiac, Shediac, and Richibu 206 miles ; fare, 60s. ,, St. John to Miramichi, via Fredericton, 172 miles; fare, £3. „ Fredericton to St. Andrew's, 60 miles; fare, 2Gs. ,, Fredericton to Woodstock, 60 miles; fare, 20s. „ Woodstock to Grand Falls, 72 miles; fare, 308. ,, Grand Falls to Point Levi, Quebec, 220 miU's ; fare, £5. ,, Miramichi to Bathurst, 48 miles; fare, 208. ,, Bathurst to Canipbelltown, 71 miles; fare, 30». !■■?■': 'i ill I i 214 NEW BRUNSWICK. Int ' '' ill 1 i in ' ! 1 1! I ! ;i I. ! \< I 'II :|i; ^1 ^i! !P Legislature to improve the roads, the whole population from sixteen years and upwards are compelled by law to perform statute labour per- sonally, or to pay an equivalent in money. The amount is from two to twenty days, including the labour of oxen and horses, according to the circumstances, property, or income of the individual. The whole system of road-making is decidedly objectionable. In the swamps of many of the new roads, large logs are cut, from ten to fourteen feet in length, and rolled into the mud and water, and left uncovered by earth: these are called *• cross-ways" (causeways), bet- ter known to the traveller in America as corduroy bridges. Draining is much neglected, and often the centre of the road is covered with wet clay, peat, and rotten wood, through which it is next to impossible for a horse to draw a pair of wheels, should he not stick fast in the at- tempt. The statute labour is generally performed in June ; and for several weeks after it is completed, travelling is greatly retarded, and sometimes rendered dangerous. Stones, rush-bog, masses of hard clay, heaps of earth, and mud from the bottoms of the ditches, are often thrown upon the turnpike roads. The maxim of the workmen is, ** We will throw on the materials, and leave the levelling thereof to the public." The result is, that, to avoid such impediments, the traveller turns from side to side, and along a straight line of road the path is a serpentine track, with a ditch on one hand, and heaps of riibbish on the other. Many of the ** bye" roads are intolerably bad, especially in the spring, when the frost is escaping from the earth. Yet, with this representation, it is proper to remark, that at almost every season there are some good roads, and during the summer a great number of them may be travelled with ease and satisfaction. Hitherto the bridges have been very imperfect "n their conotr'!rti'>n, being often washed away by the freshets producF J by the melting snow. The building of a bridge is frequently let 'jy contract to the lowest bidder ; hence the work falls ii.to the hands of persons totally unac- quainted with civil engineering ; "ind i+' It fall down or is swept away by the floods, the contractor is looked upon as an unfortunate rather than an unqualified bridge-builder. There is a very general post communication throughout the Pro- vinc«. Mails are carried upon the principal " great" roads in passenger !■ '>' III KEW BHUNSWICK. 215 coaches, and to the chief* settlements there are post-riders.* The rate of postage is high, and very generally complained of. The news from England by the Atlantic steamers arrives at St. John from Boston earlier than it does from Halifax, where they touch and land the New Brunswick Mail before they proceed to the United States. The Legis- lature and the Chamber of Commerce at St. John have endeavoured from time to time to promote the more speedy despatch of the Mails, for which the Province pays liberally ; but their labours have been baffled, and so long as the highest office of the Post service is made an hereditary endowment, regardless of ancestral embezzlement and defalcation, rather than a gift to merit, intelligence, and activity, the cause of the present complaints will scarcely be removed. Halifax and Quebec Railway. The first proposition to construct a railway between any part of the Atlantic or Bay of Fundy and the St. I^awrence had its origin at St. Andrew's, and a Company was formed and incorporated, called the " St. Andrew's and Quebec Railroad Company," at that place, with a proposed capital of £750,000. The distance between the two places is 270 miles, chiefly through a wilderness country, a part of which is not very favourable for cultivation. In 1836, the sum of £10,000 was granted by the Government, and expended in making the survey. After leaving St. Andrew's, the line was to run almost direct to the River St. John, between Woodstock and Houlton ; it then made a curve until it reached the valley of the Aroostook — thence, with several deviations, to the St. Lawrence, opposite Quebec. Since the above survey was made, a part of the country over which the line was to pass has been given to the Americans by the Ashburton Treaty, in the settlement of the Boundary dispute. If a new line were ,:* n. 1 • '^.16 sums granted by the Legislature for the improvement of the roads in 1646 are — For the Great Roads .... £ 13,500 Special Grants 3,070 Bye Roads 13,500 Total £30,070 .J' I !: 21G NEW BRUNSWICK. •'111 ■^^ ; |i: f f M [! !!■ ! i to be established upon British ground, it would be objectionable, on account of being very near and running parallel to the American fron- tier, whereby it could be readily interrupted in the event of any colli- sion between the inhabitants of the borders, or in time of war between the two countries. Nor could such a line form a continuous route between Great Britain and Canada, as the harbour of St. Andrew's, is sometimes ice-bound in v le winter season ; and were every other cir- cumstance favourable, Nova Scotia and the chief part of New Bruns- wick would derive no advantage from it whatever. The construction of a canal between the head waters of the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, at Bay Verte or Shediac, had been in contemplation many years, and in 184o a survey of the coun- try was made by Captain Crawley, R.E. ; b'- the report of that engi- neer was unfavourable to the enterprise, and of late the undertaking is seldom noticed. The idea of opening a free channel of communication through the Lower Provinces to Canada, and thence onward to the Pacific Ocsan, presented itself to MacTaggart. The report of the late Lord Durham contains a similar suggestion. Dr. Rolph, in his work on Emigration, has also detailed some of the leading advantages of a railway between Halifax and Quebec. In 1845, a Provisional Committee was formed in London, in order to undertake the great work : prospectuses were cir- culated in the Provinces, and a general interest has been excited in favour of the undertaking. Persons deeply interested in the welfare of the Colonies have brought the subject to the notice of the Home Go- vernment, and the Colonial Legislatures have expressed a willingness to promote the noble national enterprise. Surveys and examinations of the country are already in progress, and thousands of Colonists are looking anxiously forward to the time when the work shall be com- menced. The original proposed line of railway communication was between Halifax and Quebec, passing around the estuaries of the Bay of Fundy, that the route might be rendered continuous or uninterrupted. The Chamber of Commerce and inhabitants of St. John have made objections to such a line, as it will not approach their city. They propose to lay a railway between St. John and Fredericton and the Grand Falls, and NEW BRUNSWICK. 217 to continue the route across the Bay of Fundy by steamers to Digby Strait, whence a railway may proceed to Halifax. In the present state of the country, such a line, when constructed, would remove all neces- sity for a railway in the other direction. In reference to the western route, it is practicable to run a railway from Halifax to Digby Strait, the only accessible point for a steamer in the winter season. From Digby to St. John, across the Bay of Fundy, the distance is forty-five miles. From St. John to the Grand Falls, the continuance of this line must be on the west side of the river ; on the east side it would be almost impracticable, from the extent of Kenebe- casis. Belle Isle, and Washadamoak Bays, and their intervening high and broken lands. The line, therefore, would run from Carlton, oppo- site St. John, in the direction of the present post-road to Fredericton. From Carlton to the Grand Falls, by this route, there are no insur- mountable difficulties. From some point near the Grand Falls to the River du Loup, and thence to Quebec, the routes of both lines would be the same. From Carlton to the Oromucto, a distance of fifty-four miles, the railway would pass through a thinly-populated tract of country, the soil of which is rather below medium quality, and the inland transport inconsiderable. Several blocks of wilderness land have been surveyed in this quarter by the Government ; but the good tracts that could be obtained to meet the objects of emigration are very limited, compared with those that would be intersected by the eastern line. From the Oromucto, through Fredericton to the mouth of the Aroostook, the borders of the St. John are well populated, and there are a number of settlements a little remote from the river. Between the Aroostook and Madawasca there are only a few inhabitants, except at the small village of the Grand Falls — a military station. The distance from Halifax to Quebec, by the present mail route, along the proposed western line and across the Bay of Fundy, is 614 miles : estimated distance by the railway, 575 miles. The objections that may be made against this route are, the risk of crossing the Bay of Fundy at certain periods in the winter season, and the delay of embarking and disembarking passengers and goods from 5^ !' U »V;f i J I' ■ I Si !i 1 M V.;: iJ i ii I II 5 i . ! Il 18 1 ;: ' Il I! ; 218 NEAV BKUNSWICK. the trains to a steamer, and from the steamer to the trains of a railway.* Should the magneto-telegraj hie wires he laid the whole distance, the Bay of Fiindy, in the present state of science, presents an insurmount- able difliculty, and one that does not exist in a route altogether over- land. The western line must necessarily pass a long distance near the boundary of the Americans, who, hy the Ashburton Treaty, have a right to navigate the St. John. The eastern line would be separated from the boundary by the river, and therefore it would be safer from inter- ruption in the event of any outbreak or disturbance upon the border. There is another consideration in regard to the actual profits that would he derived from a railway between Halifax and Quebec. A line from St. John to the Grand Falls would run by tlie side of a fine navi- gable river. The traffic between those two places is in British manu- factured goods and provisions upwards, and great quantities of timber and agricultural produce downwards. From the speed of railway travelling, the chief part of the upward carriage of passengers and light goods, during the winter season especially, would be upon the rails ; but in summer that carriage would ■ e divided between the trains and the river steamboats which now ply between St. John and Fredericton. Again, from the facilities offered by the river foi: transporting lumber downwards with the current, the old, cheap, and natural channel of transport of all wood kind would be on the water, and not upon the rails. Yet, a railway to St. John and the Grand Falls would cross a * If both lines were laid and in perfect operation, and locomotives, with trains attached, start at the same instant from Halifax, in each direction, with an equal velocity, at the moment the western trains would be at Digby, 148 miles from Halifax, the eastern trains would be at a point within twelve miles of the Bend of the Peticodiac. Now, five hours would be the least time that woidd be required for a steamer running ten miles an hour to cross the Bay from Digby and make a landing at St. John. During those five hours, the trains on the eastern route would have advanced at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour, or ] 75 miles. By having run a more direct course, they would be 200 miles in advance of the western cars, or be at Madawasca when the western trains would be ready to leave St. John. Time is distance in railway travelling, and the difference of time in favour of the eastern route is of much importance, I' i I f i! 'ill M NEW BRUNSWICK. 219 the trains of a portion of the great New Brunswick coal-field, and approach beds of iron ore at Coot Hill and Woodstock ; other minerals might also be developed by its construction, and promote its successful operation. The eastern line between Halifax and Quebec would follow the almost level line of the abandoned Slmbenacadia Canal, from Halifax to Truro, the distance being sixty-five miles by the post-road. It would pass through a settled country, and form the main channel of transport from and to Pietou, and all the eastern settlements of Nova Scotia. Besides the ordinary objects of traffic of the above pl.ve, coal, limestone, gypsum, sulphate of barytes, and other minerals, might be transported to Halifax advantageously. The line would then pass through the populous and thriving villages of Onslow and Londonderry, and having passed through a gorge in the Cobequid Mountains, it would enter the County of Cumberland. I have recently examined an immense deposit of iron ore recently discovered at the Londonderry Mountain :* it is one of the most extensive iron beds in America, and the ore, of the ichest variety, is situated at a spot where there is abun- dant water-power to propel machinery, and both wood and coal for fuel. Fortunately, this valuable site for the manufacture of iron is not embraced by the monopoly of the General Mining Association, who have prevented the opening of mines in Nova Scotia, and is so pecu- liarly situated that it would supply all the iron required for the railway. In Cumberland the railway would approach Tatmagouche, Wallace, and Waterford Harbours ; and before reaching the Bend of the Peticodiac, it would pass through the fine agricultural districts and populous villages of Amherst, Fort Cumberland, Sackville, Dorchester, and Memramcook. The coal-field of Cumberland would be intersected at points where it is productive, or near the outeroppings of Springhill and River Philip. At the former place, one of the coal strata is twelve feet in thickness ; the coal being of a superior quality. There are also in this district inexhaustible supplies of limestone, gypsum, freestone, and grindstone, with salt springs. The population of the County of Westmoreland is now equal to 20,000. In that county and in Cumberland there are 10,000 acres of diked marsh yielding wheat and hay. The whole face i' :f :. * This is called a moimtain, although its altitude seldom exceeds 400 feet. hi! i m €■ l|',it "■'11 .'I 220 NEW BRUNSWICK. of tlie country between Sackville and the Bend of the Peticodiac is occupied hy flourishing settlements. The number of passengers and amount of railway traflic to and from this wide area would be very great. Tlie railway would run directly from the Bend to some point north- ward of the Grand Falls (140 miles), touching Boistown on the Miramichi, and in the direction of the military road surveyed by Sir James Alexander and a party of Royal Engineers in 1844. In that distance it would cross the -loal-field of New Brunswick to the distance of 120 miles, and would be over a country remarkably level and favour- able for the enterprise. Excepting only a few new settlements and clearings, this part of the line would be through vast tracts of ungranted land. The surface in general is very level, or gently undulated. At the sources of the streams there are belts of intervale, and other exalted lands ; the higher grounds have a red loamy soil, interspersed by spots of sand and gravel. The tillage surface is variable in regard to quality : swamps, bogs, and patches of almost barren sand are not uncommon ; but they bear a small proportion to the quantity of surface fit for cul- tivation, and which is frequently covered by fine belts of hard wood, spruce, pine, and other kinds of timber. In moist situations grow the ash and elm, and the swamps are occupied by white maple and alder. The whole of this woody region is watered by the branches of the rivers, a part of which empty themselves into the St. John, and the others into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, or Bay Chaleurs. The main South-west Miramachi and the Tobique are navigable for boats and rafts of timber far above the sites where they would be crossed by the railway, and it is at the sources of the streams that the best timber in the Province is now obtained : the groves that stood near the most navigable rivers having been felled and shipped to Great Britain, the railway would, therefore, give a new impetus to the timber traffic, and open forests of pine, and other kinds of wood, which have hitherto been considered almost inaccessible. The country between the Peticodiac and Bois- town contains coal, iron ore, gypsum, limestone, freestone, marble, &c. ; and, excepting coal, these minerals are found as far west as the valley of the Tobique. A geological survey is about to be commenced of Prince Edward's Island, to which isolated province the contemplated railway t NEW BRUNSWICK. 221 I ' would afford many advantages ; and the whole district under considera- tion is one of great resources and capabilities, and offers comfort and independence to tens of thousands of industrious emigrants. Not less than 5,000 square miles of wilderness land remain unoccupied in this part of New Brunswick, where the physical advantages of the country are equal to any of the other parts of British America. The Grand Falls of the St. John have been mentioned as being situated on the route of the railway ; but it is by no means probable that the line would touch that point, — it would rather run farther north. Here, again, another vast tract of country, abounding in excellent timber and fine intervale and uplands, would be laid open to the emigrant and settler. The Tobique is navigable for boats and rafts 100 miles from its mouth : all the lands from its debouchement into the St. John to the base of Blue Mountain (50 miles), to the north, are capable of successful cultivation, and many of them are superior in quality. From the region of the Tobique the railway may extend to Madawasca, and thence to River du Loup, and the banks of the St. Lawrence ; but the difficulties to encounter in this quarter are greater than on any other part of the line, on account of the elevations and unevenness of the surface. It has been stated that provisions and West India goods passed along this part of the proposed line in 1845, to lumbering parties in the neighbourhood of Lake Metis, to the amount of £50,000. It will then run upon favourable and almost level ground to Quebec, and through an agri- cultural district containing upwards of 100,000 inhabitants. The whole distance between Halifax and Quebec by this route is stated to be between 500 and 550 miles. The estimated expense of constructing the railway over the latter distance, at £5,000 per mile, is £2,750,000 currency : of that sum it has been proposed that the Government shall advance £1,000,000, in return for the transportation of mails, troops, and military stores ; the remainder being supplied by the Legislatures of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, and stock taken by an incorporated Company. On the completion of the great line, branch railways would com- municate with it at different points. The most important of these branches would extend to St. John, Miramichi, and from Truro to Pictou in Nova Scotia. In no part of New Brunswick would a rail- ! 4 tm i i!" ' i m r ■i;il; I It' :''^l 22^ WEW BllUNSWICK. way yield i.^ ^nany advantages to that Province as the one lastly re- ferred to ; it would lay the country open through its centre, and give it all the benefits of foreign and doiuestie interoours^ . Along the whole course of the antieipated roi'te, various kinds of timber are abundant, and may be cheaply obtained, even in the most populous villages. At numerous places it may be felled at the sites where it would be required- Along the entire line as above proposed, the country contains numerous rivers and small streams, capable of afford- ing almost unlimited water-power. The value of those streams would be enhanced if the atmospheric system should be adopted, and they give the cheapest means of carrying machinery for manufacturing pur- poses. White and red pine, spruce, hemlock, larch, yellow birch, and other trees, still bring remunerating prices in Great Britain : now, the railway would render accessible the timber of the interior, and not only supply a necessary article in its own construction, but, by being carried forward to the commercial ports, its profits would quickly re- turn a pa. c of the great outlay required for the new mode of transit. In America, there is no branch of industry that receives more benefit from railways than agriculture, to which they transfer a great amount of time and animal strength, and afford a cheap and expeditious con- veyance for the surplus produce of the farmer. It is particularly for- tunate that the proposed line will pass through a country whose climate and soil are highly favourable for agriculture, and whose timber and mineral resources are not surpassed in America. The line throughout is perfectly practicable for the ordinary kind of railway ; but should the atmospheric system bear the test of experience, it will doubtless be better adapted to the climate and country than any other yet dis- covered. A proposition has recently been made to muke the Atlantic terminus of the railway at Canseau, in Nova Scotia, instead of Halifax, the former port being nearer Great Britain than the latter.* The terminus at Halifax is very strongly fortified — a circumstance of the highest im- * The idea was originated by Capt. Owen, R.N., at present engaged in making a survey of the Bay of Fundy, and author of a work in defence of the doctrines and principles of the well-remembered Johanna Southcoate. NEW BRUNSWICK. 2)^3 I • portance in the event of a war with any liostilo power. It haa also one of the finest hat hours in thf world, and a dock -yard for naval repairs. Canscau is unfortified, and is also liable to be obstructed by ice at certain periods in the winter. It could be taken by a small force of an enemy ; and if the military and naval establishments of Halifax wore removed thereto, the Government would sustain a loss nearly equal to the expense of constructinj^ a railway between the Atlantic and the St, Lawrence. But at whatever place the railway may commence, it should be viewed as a national work. By the support and aid of the Ilritish Parliament and the Colonial Legislature, the enterprise maybe rendered perfectly safe both to the Government and individuals, and thereby call forth the capital required for its completion. Its magnitude and objects are beyond the grasp of private speculation, and should be secured against jobbing by legal enactments. Millions of Her Majesty's subjects are already interested in promoting the xmdertaking, and they now look forward to the consununation of a scheme which would cement the British North American Colonies together in one impregnable mass, alike for strength and durability, and for ever secure their loyal attachment to the mother-country. ' : ( ! « ! la ii |l ii ■ ' ll'nt i M-'ittn * CHAPTER VII. AQKICUI'TURE. W '4 Climate. One of the most striking peculiarities of tlie climate oi" New Brunswick, unci indeed of all North America, is its low mean annual temperature, and greater extremes of heat and cold, compared with places in corres- ponding latitudes in Europe. The changes of temperature are perhaps not more capricious than they are in Great Britain ; yet they run to a greater extent, and exert an influence over vegetation scarcely known in that country. Edinhurgh is nine degrees farther to the north than Quebec, yet its mean annual heat is six degrees higher than that of the latter place. The burning sands of Africa, a northern sea, and a vast surface of cleared and cultivated land, all have a tendency to elevate the medium and check the extremes of temperature in the Old World. Between the Pole and the inhabited parts of North America, there is a wide area of land, whose mountains and valleys are covered with almost perpetual snows, by which the temperature of the whole Northern Continent is greatly lowered. The relative quantities of land and water, the posi- tions of continents and islands, altitude and longitude, modify the dis- tribution of solar heat, and exercise important operations in the climates, of which no correct data can be drawn from their mere distances from the polar point. From the great breadth of the American Continent towards the North Pole, a vast surface is overspread by snow and ice, which almost bids defiance to the summer heat. From that cause alone, the winds which blow from the north and north-we,;t are cool even in the hottest months of the year ; and in winter they immediately \s: \ NEW lUlUNSWICK. jisr* lower the mercury of the thermometer, and occasion intense freezing. Their influence is manifest from Baffin's Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. From liaviny passed over an expanse of water, a north-cast wind hrinjjs n eir enemies. They are now called beaver meadows. It has been already observed thai all the lands upon the coal-field are remarkably low and level, especially so on the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence ; the character of i^e surface at difFerent places has also been noticed : it may, however, be remarked that the soil on this great tract differs from that of th<. -alcareous and gypsiferous district above described. On the coal-field it partakes of the characters of the rocks beneath, such as the conglomerates, sandstones and shales, and it is evidently less fertile than in those situations where the limestones and gypsums are present. The silicious soils are most abundant in the coal region : there are, nevertheless, beds of red and blue clay, forming a subsoil ; when the latter is imcovered by any other kind of earth, it is quite sterile. The red soil from the red sandstones, and the blue soil from the grits of that colour, are frequently very favourable for culti- vation. With these argillaceous beds there are tracts of red sandy loam, r?d and white sand, collections of gravel and boulders. The blue clay and white sand predominate in the tracts called Barrens, Car- rihoo, and Blueberry Plains, which, in their present state, are worthless for tillage. With all these drawbacks, the whole area of the coal dis- trict, under a general view, offers a wide field of good tillage land, and many tracts are capable of being rendered remarkably fertile. The crops raised upon these lands, so far as they have been cleared and cultivated, do not differ materially from those of the southern division of the Province ; yet the scanty proportion of lime in the soil renders it less favourable for tlu' production of wheat. Extending from the American frontier across the llivcr St. John, \.i \mm "4 'i ii3C> NEW BRUNSWICK. 'S*^ i.'«) ^ I lutiiro of wood t cvorv strojiM iiulanc'o of fish did the ntteii- soil, ami agri- It is natural I' most readily IS meet with a ri\i' system ol' ill the pinerie.s driven so far profitahle, or ;'t, than he will ipulation away ta^'eous to the me degree cor- lave diseovored roads, elcared any flourishing dl towns have [I the Province terprise of the 1 be fruitless ; to them most is of industry : which will be manufaeturinsr rst to discover jf agricultural rtable subsist- lat gentleman, e Members of md addressed the necessity (if extending ag.iculturc and improving the exa-Uent waste lands. Agricuhural and I'iinigrant Socioties were inuncdiately form"d, a Sav- ings Hank was established, and the most improved breeds of animals were ordered from Great Britain. Ploughs and other instruments of husbandry were also brought into the Province for models ; and emu- lation was excited in i)loughiiig-matelus, ' •wliibitions of stock, and the distribution of premiums. The impulse thus given to husbandry has had a lasting .-Ifect, and resulted in many improvcuu-nts. Agricultural Societies are still in operation in each of the counties,* and there are a number of gentlemen who, by their influence and example, are endeavouring to amend the system of tillage, and to improve the dif- ferent breeds of domestic animals. A great number of farmers are Ftill (irmly attached to the old system of their forefathers, and the Acadian French are not readily moved to adopt modern improvements. Nothing short of the plainest facts will turn such from their accustomed habits. When the crops and stock of any individual are increased by the introduction of a new system, the ell'ect on the surrounding country soon becomes manifest : whatever is gained by observation is inuncdiately acted upon, while the demon- strations of science are disregarded. It is chiefly on this account that experimental farms would be advantageous to the Colony. His Excellency Sir William Colebrooke, the present Governor of the Province, has made some exertion to promote the settlement of the poor on wild lands, and to infuse a spirit of industry into the humbler classes ; and his labours, although performed under many disadvan- liigcs, have not been altogether unsuccessful. But New Brunswick still lequires a vast addition of industrious emigrants to its population ; and before che fertile lands can be very extensively and properly culti- vated, there must be an increase of labour and science. Annual grants, from jP25 to £100, have been made by the Legislature to Agricultural Societies in different counties ; it being generally required th!\t each * The reports from eight different counties in 1812 show extensive improve- ments in the raisuig of wlieat, some of wliich weighed 70 lbs. per bushel ; and a Committee of the House of Assembly declared, tha* e "eld cry," that New Brunswick is not a wheat-growing country, was ] tically contradicted every year 1)y those firmers who pay due attention to tlu' mode of cultivation. if ftf 240 NEW BRUNSWICK. Society shall raise a sum by Bubscription equal to their grant. Yet the timber interest, as it is called, sonietimes operates against the appro- priation of the public money to agricultural purposes, and there is a lack of energy among a part of the farming population. The soil of the Province is well adapted for grass. In mrny of the low vv'ilderness districts wild hay is plentifully dispersed, and a variety called " blue joint" makes excellent fodder for young cttlc. The seeds dropped from loads of hay carried into the forests by lumbering parties spring up, and the track of the forest-men may be traced in the wood by lines of clover. The principal upland grasses are red and white clover, timothy, luceinc, and a few indigenous varieties. The intervales and meadows that have never been under the plough, and are reserved to supply hay, produce many kinds of wild grass, which on the drier grounds are mixed with the clovers. The difterent kinds of grain cultivated for bread are wheat, summer rye, winter rye, oats, Indian corn, barley, and bu'^kwheat. The soil in general is well adapted for wheat : even along the Bay-of-Fundy coast its growth is strong ; but from the moisture of the atmosphere it is liable to rust, which pre- vents it from ripening. It is generally sown broadcast, on land ploughed in the autumn, or early in the spring : the produce is from fifteen to thirty bushels per acre. An improvement has been made in Nova Scotia of late in the culture of wheat : the land (either diked marsh or upland) is ploughed in the autumn ; in the month of August, when the surface has become starved to the depth of three or four inches, and is in a peculiar dry and crumbly state, it is sowed : by this method the grain yields a better crop, and ripens before the season of rust has approached. The same method might be pursued in New Brunswick generally with success. The application of marsh mud to dry sandy soils is also very favourable to the growth of wheat. Winter wheat is seldom raised, and but few sound experiments have been made in the cultivation of its different varieties. Summer rye is sown in the spring upon the poorer kinds of land, and yields from fifteen to twenty bushels per acre. Winter rye, which is much superior for bread, is seldom cultivated. Upon good old land, or burnt ground, it will return forty bushelrj per acre. It should be sown about the first of September. Oats thrive well upon almost every soil, and as the crop is generally NKW BRUNSWICK. 241 leir grant. YcL :ainst the appro- , and there is a In mnny of the !cl, and a variety ig cfttlc. The its by lumbering be traced in the ses are red and varieties. The I plough, and are grass, which on fterent kinds of i'inter rye, oats, 1 is well adapted owth is strong ; rust, which pre- adcast, on land produce is from as been made in id (either diked onth of August, f three or four sowed : by this ire the season of )ursuod in New if marsh mud to ' wheat. Winter have been made e is sown in the iftcen to twenty or for bread, is id, it will return it of September, rop is generally sure, they are extensively cultivated, and give from twenty to forty bushels fv.m the acre. The raising of maize, or Indian corn, has been neglected for several years, notwithstanding it returns a very profitable crop in most seasons. It requires a light, warm soil, and plenty of inamu'e : after the ground has been well prepared, furrows should be run across it three feet apart ; a shovelful of stable manure that has been carefully kept over the preceding season, or the same quantity of manure from the hog-sty, should be put beneath each hill, into which six * kernels of corn should be dropped and covered with fine earth to (he depth of nearly two inches, according to the dryness or moistness of the soil ; it should be hoed throe times, and kept free from weeds. Pumpkins aic frequently planted with the corn, which yields from thirty to sixty bushels per acre. Flax and hemp grow well, and are abundantly stocked with the fibrous coating. It is remarkable that they are not more extensively cultivated upon the dry intervales, which are admirably fitted for their growth. In the first settlement of the country, flax was raised by almost every farmer, and linens formed an in )rtant part of domestic manu- facture ; but since the introduction > i cotton cloth, which is now so cheaply manufactured in Great Britain, the country fema'es have laid aside their spinning-wheels, and the good, durable linen tablecloths of their grandmothers are supplanted by the varnished cotton of their American neighbours. Buckwheat is sown about the last of June, and the crop is sometimes injured by early frosts. Barley thrives well, yet it is seldom sown. Almost all the culinary roots raised in Europe flourish in New Brunswick. Different kinds of turnips, beets, carrots, parsneps, man- gel-wurtzel, and other roots, are chiefly raised in gardens, and are not yet planted in fields. Of all the nutritious roots, potatoes are of the The old American rule is, Jo drop in each hill of corn- One for the cut-worm, One for the now, One for the grub, And tlu'ee for to grow. 242 NKW BRUNSWICK. ■'SM 1 1' ^M' \fm greatest importance, as they supply an important article of food to all classes, and are a most useful auxiliary in the maintenance of cattle through thr long winters. They are raised universally both upon old land and ne^^ , and always occupy plats in the gardens of the wealthy : they cover the fields of the farmer, and are the first produce of the backwoodsman, who brings them forth from amidst the stumps of his clearing, and treasures them up as his safety-fund in the day of want. Potatoes yield a most certain and valuable crop, and may be considered the most staple article of food, and the best substitute for bread in the Province. The mode of cultivation is by planting cuttings in drills from one to two feet apart. In old ground, the land is marked by shallow furrows from eighteen inches to two feet asunder, and the seed being dropped along each furrow, is afterwards ploughed in, or covered by the hoe. Subseqiiently, the plough is run between the furrows, and the plants are hoed twice. On new or burnt land, the planter drops the seed upon the surface, and then covers it with earth : the plant is seldom hoed in such ground. At the time of dragging, the potatoes are seen protruding from the earth, and are found even bencatli the roots of the trees,^ which appear to be no impediment to their growth. The potatoes r*aised on newly-cleared land arc of superior dryness and flavour. The produce on old lands is from 150 to 400 bushels per acre ; and on new ground, where a part of the surface is occupied by stumps, from 100 to 250 bushels ^ ^r acre. Eight hundred bushels of potatoes may be raised on an acre of land. The inhabitants of New Brunswick suppose that the potatoes of their Province are superior to those of Nova Scotia; but there is little ground for their partiality:* Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward's Island are equally favourable to those roots. The crop of the last year (1S45) was affected by the same disease that spread itself over the whole American Continent and the chief part of Europe. By it nearly three- quarters of the whole crop were destroyed. The most obvious cause of * The names of potatoes are as various as their kinds. The old m'uUdff and Spaniard varieties have been succeeded by blacknoses and bluenoses ; these in their turn have been compelled to make room for the Boston blues, calicoes, long leda and Icidiiejis, until the London ladies bore away the ptilni. I NEW BRUNSWICK. 2i3 le of food to all pnance of cattle r both upon old of tlic wealthy : produce of the le stumps of his he day of want, ay he considered for bread in the uttings in drills d is marked by er, and the seed 3d in, or covered the furrows, and ;he planter drops rth : the plant is ing, the potatoes ven beneath the to their growth, 'rior dryness and 400 bushels per is occupied by mdred bushels of potatoes of their re is little ground Prince Edward's p of the last year :If over the whole y it nearly three- obvious cause of The old mUUciff and bluenoscs : these In slon blues, calicoes, c pulni. the decay was the was the excess of moisture in almost every kind of the vege- table : careful drying was found to be the most effectual remedy. Potatoes planted on dry and meagre soil in general escaped the malady, while those of rich land vverc nearly all destroyed. The destmction of so valuable a part of c-dinary food is a severe calamity, and one that falls most heavily upon 'he poor, who have been thus deprived of a substantial article of diet. The ruta baga, or Swedish turnip, although seldom raised, except for the table, will yield as well as it does in England. Small quantities are grown in gardens ; but the abundance of potatoes has retarded the cultivation of that valuable root, which, from its great yield, would be highly advantageous in the fattening of cattle and sheep, and for the support of stock during the winter. The Aberdeen, white stone, and all the European varieties of the turnip, also thrive well. Neither mangel-wurtzel, beets, nor carrots have been introduced into field- culture ; yet those roots, onions, parsnejis, cabbages, cauliflower, cu- cumbers,* melons, squashes, and all the common culinary vegetables of the Old Country, are cultivated with success — and are good, provided attention is paid to them. The same remarks Avill apply to peas and beans in their several varieties-. Hortioidture has been mtich neglected. In Nova Scotia, apples of the best kinds and finest flavour are grown in great quantities, and the ordinary price of the best cider is only eight shillings per barrel. Quinces, pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, and other fruits, including the Isabella grape, are also produced in the open air.-j- An idea has prevailed that even the interior climate of New Brunswick is less favourable for fruits than that of Nova Scotia ; but, from what I have observed, I believe that fruit-trees will flourish and bear as well in one Province as the other. Plums, currants, gooseberries, strawberries, and • In 1840, the Author observed half an anre of cucumbers in a new clearing ou the right bank of the Washadaniouk River. They were planted in hills among the stiunps of trees, over which the vines had ascended, as well as over- spread the groiuid. The cucumbers were picked when they were small, and sold for pickles in the market of St. John. t These fruits, with a numher of others indigenous between the Tropics, are raised to great perfection by the Hon. C. Prescott, of Cornwallis, Nova Scotin, who is the father of horticulture in the western part of that Province, K 2 I ft ■il -14^ 244 NliW BRl'NSWICK. other small fruits, are cultivated in New Brunswick ; and at Frederic- ton, horticulture has received some attention of late. Floriculture has also been cherished at the above place, and the gardens of Colonel Shore, L. A, Wilmot, Esq., and Mr. Watt, have proved the capabilities of the country aad climate in this delightful branch of husbandry. Within a few years, the windows of the cottages throughout the Province have become decorated with beautiful native and exotic plants, and a better taste begins to prevail iu the style of the farmers' gardens. The wild fruits of the Province contribute, in no inconsiderable de- gree, to the comfort of the new settler, who, with the aid of maple sugar, renders them very palatable. Of these fruits the wild straw- berries, which abound in June, are the most delicious. Cranberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, great whortleberries {Vaccinium coryvibosum\ blue whortleberries {I'accinium fronclosum), wild cherries, plums {Prunus Americana), grapes {Fitis borealis), and other indigen- ous fruits, are all gathered at different seasons of the year. With these are Labrador tea {Sedum latijoliurn) and chocolate root, Avith other native plants, that yield by decoiiion wholesome and pleasant beverages. Butternuts and hazelnuts are gathered at many places ; and beechnuts are often so plentiful, that swine maintain themselves upon them in the foresvs dirring the winter monUis ; but the pork fattened on these nuts is sou nnii oily. 1'he fruits natural to the country, with the fish in the streams, and partridges and other game in the woods, all aid the back- woodsman, to whom a supply of provisions is of the first importance, during the growing of his first crop. tl L Having given a sketch of the productions of the older cultivated grounds, we may, before closing this chapter, notice the clearing of new lands, and the first crops produced from the virgin soil. The system of clearing in New Brunswick diflers a ilttle from that pursued in Canada. A tract of ground having been selected, all the under-brush is first cut away — this is most easily done when the ground is frozen — and it is de- sirable also to remove such small trees as are suitable for making the fences. The large trees are then felled and "junked up" (cut into logs) from ten to fifteen feet in length, the limbs are lopped off, and •■Ik; closer they lie to the ground, the better will they afterwards burn. Thf- trees I at Frefleric" lace, and the r. Watt, have his delightful >i' the cottages avitiful native he stvie of the nsiderahle de- aid of maple le wild straw- CranbeiTies, ies (^Vaccinium wild cherries, other indigen- With these ot, with other sant beverages, and beechnuts )on them in the I on these nuts 1 the fish in the 1 aid the back- rst importance, )ldcr cultivated clearing of new The system of med in Canada, rush is first cut ;n — and it is dc- for making the " (cut into logs) ft", anil tlu; closer urn. The trees NEW BRUNSWICK. 'Ua are sometimes felled in windrows (long heaps of fallen timbei}— «, piuii which operates against the equal burning of the surface and tuo ciislri- bution of the ashes. The time for chopping varies. It is generally admitted that the under-brush should be cut in the beginning of winter, and the large trees in the ensuing spring, before the sap has ascended to the branches. In August or September the chopping is fired, and much labour is saved by obtaining a r/ood burn. Most frequently the fire consumes all the brushwood and limbs, and nothing remains but the charred logs and extinguished brands. In the autumn, these are rolled together with handspikes, or drawn by oxen, into large piles, where they are burned. This work is most frequently performed by a number of settlers, who unite and assist each other in the laborious task. Almost every n:an collects his neighbours, if he have any, and makes a pilinff frolic. After the labour of the day is ended, and the company have partaken of the refreshments prepared by the females, it is not uncommon to hear the fiddle strike up, and the party engage in the merry jig and reel. This system of mutual assistance is considered beneficial ; it removes little jealousies in society, and cheers the heart of the settler amidst his struggles to redeem the soil ; yet I have observed, that men who plod on alone and single-handed are as suc- cessful as those who adopt the other course. After the piling, the heaps of wood are fired, generally in the evening, %, i\en the whole sur- face is in a blase, and^he anxious settler remains v, all night to roll the ignited logs together. In Canada, the ashes are carefiilly collected while they are dry, and safely stored in water-tight log-sheds until winter, when they are carried to the potash manufactory and sold. There arc no asheries in New Brunswick, and the vilkali is allowed to mix with the soil. Choppings are sometimes made in the winter, and burned in the spring : in such instances, ilie labour of "clearing off is greater, but a crop is obtained in the same season. After all the timber has been consumed, or drawn off to make the fences, the surface of the earth h broken by a crotch-harrow, drawn by horses or mules. The harrow is in the shape of the letter V, with a row of teeth in each side. The wheat, or other grain, is then sown broadcast. About two bushels nf 24^ NKW BllUNS^VICK. v/hoat are required for an acre. Some sow the grain upon the unbroken surface. The harrow is again applied, and hacks are employed to cover the grain around the stumps. The price of clearing an acre of land ready for the harrow is from. £2 10s. to £4, currency, according to the quality and growth of the timber upon it. The wheat sown as above almost universally yields a good crop. At the time of harvest it is stacked, unless the proprietor has erected a bam for its reception. Two crops of wheat are seldom taken from the same piece of ground in two successive seasons, although potatoes are sometimes planted on the same field two a>id three 3'ears following. With the wheat, timothy and clover seed are sown ; the first crop is therefore succeeded hy grass for hay, the value of which is much in- creased by the demands of the lumber parties, who frequently pay as high as £5 per ton for the fodder of their oxen. The ordinary price of wheat is 7s. fid, per bushel. Bes!ire»t, whenever they are destroyed by fire, or ekared away by tht agricul- * Hand sleds, with broad flat runners, which do not sink into the snow. t These are small eminences produced by the roots of the trees ajid frost. !! ■> W: 248 NEW lillUNSWlCK, turist, and the land afterwards neglected, of whatever kinds they are, do not spring up again ; but a new growth of other trees succeeds them. The land, cleared of its lofty pines and spruces, is soon covered by the white poplar, maple, hackmatack, fir, wild cherry, cedar, and blue whortleberries. Sugar maple, beech, and birch, are frequently succeeded by red pine, red and white spruce, sumach, raspberry, and gooseberry bushes. Hemlock land is soon overspread by cedar or alder. The original kind of trees do not appear in the second growth ; but after the second growth is removed, they again occui)y the ground. This rotation of crops seems to be a la^k' of nature, from which the farmer may derive a valuable hint. The surface of the earth in its natural state is covered by decayed leaves and seeds ; but so long as the earth is shaded by the luxuriant foliage of the forest, those seeds cannot vegetate. The fire destroys the seeds that lie on the sunace, or such as have fallen from the pre-existing trees ; and therefore, after the grove is removed, it might be expected that the soil would be incapable of bringing forth any vegetables, except such as were sown upon it by the farmer. But the seeds of plants are deeply buried in the soils of North America ; these cannot grow until heat and light are let down upon the earth. No sooner, therefore, is the forest taken away and its reproductive powers destroyed by fire, than the deeply-buried seeds begin to germinate and to cover the earth with a new and different crop. To many it has been matter of surprise, that when a clearing is made in the most remote parts of the wilder- ness, and where nothing is to be seen but lofty trees, the wild berries spring up, and not unfrequently the Canada thistle, sorrel, and other noxious weeds. As bears, foxes, and other animals feed upon wild berries, it is not surprising that their seeds should be widely dissemi- nated. The seeds of the thistle have wings, and are driven along by the winds ; and thus the distribution of seeds may be accounted for. Hawks, and other birds, which do not destroy the germs of seeds by digestion, also carry them from one place to another. The feathered tribes have been chiefly instrumental in establishing vegetation upon the newly- formed coral reefs of the Pacific Ocean, and in transplanting many UScfLd seeds and berries over the great North American Continent. Several writers on Canada have laid much stress on the discovery of H NEW BRUNSWICK. 2VJ kinds they are, trees succeeds is soon covered rry, cedar, and are frequently raspberry, and d by cedar or second growth ; py the ground. rom which the red by decayed y the luxuriant ire destroys the the pre-existing ^lit be expected j;etables, except Is of plants are nnot grow until ;r, therefore, is stroyed by fire, cover the earth tter of surprise, of the wijder- ;lie wild berries nrrel, and other feed upon wild widely dissemi- en along by the edfor. Hawks, Is by digestion, red tribes have lon the newly- planting many Continent. be discovery of the quality of the soil by the kind of timber growing upon it. It is evident that certain trees are, in some degree, confined to particular districts ; but this not only depends upon the nature of the soil, but also upon its dryness or moisture. It should also be remembered, that a growth of one kind of wood, when it has been cut down, or destroyed by fire, is generally succeeded by another of a different kind ; and, therefore, in judging of the quality of the soil by the timber standing upon it, it is necessary to consider whether the trees are of the primary, or second crop. In general, the hard woods, which drop their leaves in autumn, such as the sxigar maple, Ixceh, birch, butternut, &,o., grow upon dry or well-drained land, and the evergreens upon the more moist grounds. It is a eonnnon opinion, that the hard woods occupy the best land ; but I have observed that beech frequently covers beds of dry and meagre gravel. Oak is found on a dry, rich loam, and also in soil of a light, sandy description. The intervales afford the favourite sites of the elm and ash. Of the soft woods, pine not only flourishes on a rich bottom, but also in yellow sand, and frequently among boulders of granite. Tracts bearing larch, or hackmatack and hemlock, have been con- demned, until experience has proved them fertile : the former usually grows on flat, sandy soil, underlaid by clay and marl, and Mhich is often capable of being made very fertile. A mixture of clay and yellow birch is an indication of strong land, and such as is favourable for grass. Butternut and basswood prefer calcareous soils, and such as are esteemed for the cultivation of wheat. Although it has been denied by some that any indication can be de- rived from the quality of tlie timber, yet it is certain that by careful observation, much information * f the nature of the soil m.ay be obtained by this kind of inquiry ; but persons who have little experience in such matters, and who desire to purchase, will do well to examine the soil and subsoil by opening them at a number of places, and not trust too much to the appearance of the timber. To the immigrant, the vast forest presents at first a gloomy spec- tacle. When he enters upon his ground, he finds not a spot where food can be raised, and the entire surface of the earth is covered by innumerable trees, that have stood for ages, and still sofin to bid ii50 NEW HRUNSW1CK. ! Tt" l'(( 1' "■:'- I i; 'I iv defiance even to arniirs of axemen. The axe must be applied to every tree ; lor every attempt to root them out, except by cutting, and their subsequent decay, has proved abortive. The trunk is cut from two to tlircc feet above the ground — the tree staggers, and falls with a hiid crash. The axeman watches the direction ^.aken by the falling wood, calling to his companions, if he have any, to " stand by." Here " man appears to contend against the trees of the forest as though they were his most obnoxious enemies; for he spares neither the young sapling in its greenness, nor tlic ancient trunk in its lofty pride — he wages war against the forest with fire and steel." To the visitor who has been accustomed to view cle;ui parks and groups of ornamental trees, the clcaretl part of the country appears naked, as few trees are spared on account of their beauty. The reason of this is, that such as grow in forests are too tall and slender for orna- mental purposes, and when allowed to stand away from the shelter afforded by the grove, they are blown down, or they are destroyed by the heat of the fire at the time of burning. Yet, in M-ry many in- stances, clumps of trees might have been permitted to stand, on account of the value of their Limber, shelter, or as being ornamental. From the great extent of water communication in the Province, much of the con.mon timber on the wild lands is valuable, as it may be readily transported and sold for fuel. The St. John and other rivers arc navigated by n\imbers of wood-boats, which supply the towns with great quantities of cheap wood. The bark of the hemlock tree, exten- sively employed in tanning, is also an object of some importance. The erection of a saw and grist mill in a new settlement is always looked forward to with much anxiety, anleaii parks and country appears ty. The reason lender for orna- oni the shelter re destroyed by I very many in- ;and, on account ntal. Province, much , as it may be nd other rivers the towns with )ck tree, exten- iportancc. mcnt is always ants frequently ' the necessary 3, or sawed into t, and the ad- )erhapH, a soli- frequently by arge logs piled quare hole cut ks are stopped > n o > H -i«!»>' ■ ■• It IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1 1.0 ^us ys lu I&2 |22 I.I i:^ m M 1.25 I 1-4 1.6 y%^/ ^ /}. ^l '> :> M >> 'W V Photographic Sciences Corporation m i\ o °<^>. ^-^^ '^'^^ ^.^' ;\ 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 I i L-J . ' r- ■ i 1 ' ' |! 1 If 1 ^ « ; ^ liii i 4. t PI \ kA— houst The ] shop. dash Missi the V fori 01 pract Tl tivel « trv s • ' , sort cob < h " ■ ■"■-■■■'■■■ NEW BRUNSWICK. 251 with moss. This fabric is covered with the bark of the fir, secured by long poles and withs. Upon the corner of the house hangs a scythe ; and axes, iron wedges, &c. are seen sticking in the logs. The grind- stone frame is secured to a stump. A hovel is also built for the cow, and a sty for the pig. A few dunghill fowls and geese are also pro- vided with shelter. The dwelling-house is sometimes built in better style than has been described. The logs are hewed and carefully jointed, and a substan- tial roof is covered with shingles ; it also contains several apartments ; and when the exterior is whitewashed, it has a very pretty appearance. In such a dwelling, occupied by a Colonel of Militia, I once dined most sumptuously, and spent several pleasant hours. As season succeeds season, so the clearing is enlarged, until the plough is put in motion, and field after field is seen bearing a crop. In the mean time, other adventurers have taken up the surrounding lands, and a wide gap is made in the forest. A log schtjolhouse, with a cob chimney,* has been built, and well filled with childie". • a saw-mill and a grist-mill have been erected. The first log-house is now con- verted into a pig-sty, its proprietor having removed to a neat framed cottage, covered with clapboards and shingles, and perhaps painted red — a very favourite colour for houses in the country. The log school- house has been succeeded by a more spacious and comfortable building. The roads have been levelled, and a country trader has opened a little shop. The old toboggan has been laid aside, and sleighs or waggons dash along the streets. A house of worship has been erected, and a Missionary is called for. The sound of the post-boy's horn is heard in the village. Finally, the medical man makes his debut, in the almost forlorn hope of winning a livelihood by a little farming and a little practice. The time in which all these operations are perfoi ned is compara- tively short, and the changes they produce in the features of the coun- try seem like the work of magic rather than of ordinary industry. Nor ih'i • The tops of the chimneys in the log cabins are built of sticks, forming a sort of framework, which is thickly covered with clay mortar. These are called cob chimneys. ri52 NEW imUNSWICK. iiri iisii I .n: are the comforts enjoyed by the inhabitants less than the appearance ol' their lands would indicate. Thousands of those who carried their first supplies into the woods upon their shoulders, now enjoy all the com- forts and many of the luxuries of life. Even the once most destitute emigrant, who upon his arrival in the country was unacquainted with its peculiar mode of industry, has gained an honest independence, and many of such have lived to see their children established around them upon valuable farms. By such operations, the forests are levelled, and their solitudes are cheered by the light of day ; the swamps and bogs are redeemed to the plougli, the scythe and the sickle, and hill and valley resound with human labour and happiness, — until the land is filled with villages, towns and cities ; turnpikes, canals and railways succeed, and transmit the rewards of labour for the support of com- merce — the command to " increase and multiply" is obeyed, and many of the objects for which man was placed upon the earth are fulfilled. Wheat and oats are seldom sown in New Brunswick before the 10th of May, and the sowing is continued on the north coast to the 15th of June. Barley will ripen if sown as late as the 20th of June. Potatoes are planted from the 1st May to the 15th June ; and in the new settle- ments, the planting is continued to the 1st of July; but the late potatoes do not always ripen before their tops are destroyed by the frost. Gardening commences early in May, and turnips are planted through June to the middle of July. Hay-making commences in the latter part of July, when the weather is generally dry. The hay of the large intervales and marshes is dried and stacked upon the ground, being afterwai 1j carried to the barns on sleds in the winter. The upland hay is goiicrally put away under cover. The harvest of wheat, rye, and oats commences about the 10th of September ; and the grain of the old farms is secured in barns. The reaping is frequently performed by a scythe, attached to a light frame called a cradle, which is quite unknown in England. Potatoes are left in the ground until the middle of October, when they are dug and carted to the cellars. Parsneps are most delicious when they are permitted to remain in the ground all winter. Cows, horses, fat and working cattle, are stabled in November : NEW JmUNSWIOK. o^,' ,1 !ie appearance of larried their first joy all the com- ;e most destitute lacquainted with ependence, and i(;d around them its are levelled, he swamps and sickle, and hill —until the land als and railwavs support of corn- eyed, and many are fulfilled, before the 10 th t to the 15 th of une. Potatoes the new settle- ; but the late ->stroyed by the jlanted through len the weather narshes :s dried to the barns on ut away under about the 10th ured in barns. :hcd to a light md. Potatoes n they are dug when they are n November : voung stock remain in the fields until December, when all the animals arc collected and housed, except sheep, which pass the winter better in the open air, being protected from the cold winds and snow-drift by thickets, or brushwood, placed against the fences of the barn-yard. The cattle are of a mixed breed, and in general much smaller than those in England. The common ox weighs about 700 lbs., yet there are a few which sometimes weigh 1,000 lbs. Usually, the beef is good. Almost all the oxen have been worked before they are fatted for market. Now, labour increases the strength and elasticity of mus- cular fibre ; it is therefore not surprising that the beef of such oxen should be less tender than that of the English ox, which is seldom hampered by the yoke, and grazes in rich pastures, or feeds upon tur- nips. The cattle pastured along the banks of the rivers arc good swimmers, and, from the bad state of the fences, are apt to become breech y. Excepting instances where stock has been imported from England and mixed with the breeds of the country, the ordinary run of cows is small ; still, they are far from being bad milkers. The horses are a mixed race from the old Normandy or Canadian breed. The original stock were introduced into the country by the AcadJfin French, who still retain them. In general they are small, but capable of great endurance, and a lasting spirit during the most protracted journeys. From the introduction of horses from Great Britain and the Unitec. States, improvements have certainly been made in the size and appea* ^nce of that valuable animal. It is true that occasionally a handsome and swift horse appears in the market; yet the whole race, when taken together, cannot be compared with the horses of Europe, and a good number of them are unsound in wind and limb. The great number of horses required for drawing timber, and for other ])urposes, has led many farmers to increase their stock ; and it is com- mon to see a number of horses, of all ages, and in the most unsightly state, around the farm-yards during the winter. In country places, every man must have a horse, old or young, sound or unsound. Pe- destrianism is in disrepute. Horses and dogs seem to be the favourite animals of the Colonial farmer. The breed of shcc^p has been much improved by the agricultural r- 4 ! 254 NEW BRUNSWICK. m t ■; ! il I Societies and individuals. Formerly they were small, and the wool was not of the finest quality. The mutton of the present stock is usually fat and tender. Swine thrive well ; but, until of late, little pains have been taken to procure the most profitable kinds. A great proportion of the hogs have long ears, legs, and snouts ; and during the summer months, they are very lean and mischievous. From their thin and gaunt ap- pearance, they have been called shad, and their squealing propensities are almost iiv;upportable. The general introduction of Berkshircs would be a boon to the country. Poultry is raised by all classes of the inhabitants ; and the markets are frequently filled with the finest description of domestic fowls — also partridges, wild ducks, and other game. With the general advancement of agriculture, there has been an im- provement in the implements of husbandry. The importation of a few ploughs, drilling and winnowing machines, from England and Scotland, has afforded models, and the ingenuity of mechanics has been exercised to advi-xntage in the construction of those instruments. Axes, hay-forks, rakes, measures, &c., are imported from the United States, notwith- standing they could be as cheaply manufactured in the Province as elsewhere. The inhabitants of a number of districts derive considerable advan- tage from the manufacture of maple sugar. This is obtained from the sap of the hard, or rock maple {Jeer saccharimm). In the spring of the year, generally in March, when the frost is leaving the ground, and especially at that period when it freezes at night and thaws during the day, an incision is made in the tree — or, what is better, a hole is bored with an augei, and the sap contained abundantly in the trunk is carried off by a small spout into troughs of fir, or vessels made of birch bark : at evening, it is collected and evaporated in pots or boilers, and stirred off into sugar. In one of the best sugaries, eight hundred trees are tapped, and a ton of sugar is produced annually. It is cast in moulds of bark, and the cakes weigh from ten to twenty pounds. Besides a wholesome sugar, a delicious syrup is made, which is usually eaten with pancakes ; and at the close of the season, the sap, by fermentation, pro- duces good vinegar. It is to be regretted that so many groves of sugar ■iiS ''>-,.:■!''- NEW BRUNSWICK. 255 lall, and the wool e present stock is lave been taken to )rtion of the hogs summer months, lin and gaunt aji- eeling propensities ion of Berkshircs by all classes of ed with the finest ducks, and other re has been an ini- iportation of a few land and Scotland, has been exercised . Axes, hay-forks, d States, notwith- a the Province as onsiderable advan- obtained from the n the spring of the ig the ground, and i thaws during the 3r, a hole is bored le trunk is carried de of birch bark : oilers, and stirred hundred trees are is cast in moulds unds. Besides a sually eaten with ermentation, pro- 7 groves of sugar maple have been felled. The tree is very valuable for its saccliarine properties, and the sap may be extracted from it without any injury to its growth. In parts of the United States, the inhabitants have begun to plant the maple in orchards, for no other object than its sugar ; and almost every settler who has felled those trees in New Brunswick has since been sorry for the act. The sap of the grey birch yields a sub- stance resembling manna.* The science of agriculture is still in its infancy in New Brunswick. The system of clearing land is in itself very simple, and, from the suc- cess of the old and established method, few attempts are made to improve it. In the older cultivated districts the modern improvements of tillage might be readily introduced ; but, even here, the first princi- ples of the art are not generally understood. Until very lately, few farmers have had any idea of the rotation of crops. The same kinds of grain or potatoes have been raised from the ground several years in succession, until the soil has become exhausted ; and numerous fields have been abandoned, and will remain useless, until by long repose the soil shall be restored to fertility. Formerly, in the new settlements, heaps of stable manure and rotten straw were allowed to remain from year to year, the owners sup- posing that the expense of spreading them on the soil would not be repaid in the crop ; and instances have occurred where barns have been removed from site to site to avoid the accumulating nuisance of the stable. In other instances, the manure has been thrown into rivers, or disposed of in pits and swamps : even at the present time little pains are taken to prevent it from being washed away by the rains, and the ap- plication of liquid manure is almost unknown. It is a common practice to lay the best stable dung in small heaps upon the soil in the autumn ; during the long winter it is exposed to alternate freezing and thawing, and ere the spring arrives, and it is spread and ploughed in, its volatile and fertilising matter has chiefly disappeared. But, however absurd such practices may appear to the British farmer, they are scarcely less unwise than many followed by respectable immigrants, who refuse to adopt a somewhat rude and hurried plan of cultivation, and too fre- * Pic-nic parties frequently visit the siigaries, where they are treated to a kind of candy called "long-lick." :'^ r '■ p :■ .' 1 SoC. 'H ^^ liii; !'(' I ■ li|*' i ' NKVV nRUNSWICK. qucntly devote their labour and iiiouoy to trifliiifj objects, overlooking the " main chance," so called by the experienced and chary American villager. With these remarks, it is proper to add, that a zeal for im- provement begins to appear in the more intelligent inhabitants. Hus- bandry is getting rid of the odium that was formerly cast upon it, and persons of the first respectability have engaged in the occupation. Agri- cultural Societies are also doing good ; but their usefulness woidd be greatly increased by the more generous support of the Legislature, and the establishment of a few v.ell-conducted experimental farms would be found highly beneficial in forming a basis for the future industry of the country. With a correct view of the climate and soil of New Brunswick, it might be su])poscd that she is capable at least of supplying her in- habitants with food : so far, however, from being able to meet her own wants, the provisions annually imported from Great Britain, the United States, Canada, and Nova Scotia, amount to a sum that far exceeds the yearly revenue of the Province. This great deficiency in the supply of the necessaries of life arises from the timber trade, which sends a large part of the population away from the fields into the forests, and the low state of agriculture, now managed with a lack of its most necessary elements, skill and labour. Before closing the present chapter, we may be permitted to take some notice of hunting, trapping, and fishing, — not because they form common branches of Provincial industry, but from their relation to the natural resources of the country. Mr. Murray observes, that among the expectations which lure the British settler to America, one of the most attractive appears to be the almost unlimited scope for hunting in a country of wild woodland, where no game-laws embarrass the sports- man, and where he may expect to derive an agreeable addition to his supply of food. But the farmers of New Brunswick well know that the chasing of wild animals through the woods is incompatible with ease, and in general very unprofitable. Hunting is therefore confined to a few individuals in the new settlements, and more especially the Indians, who cherish the pursuits of their ancestors, and follow the chase, by which their pressing w.ints are sometimes relieved. NEW lUlbiNSWlCK. 257 !cts, overlooking chary American it a zeal for im- labitants. llus- last upon it, and cupation. Agri- ulness ■would be Legislature, and 1 farms would be uture industry of w Brunswick, it ipplying her in- to meet her own itain, the United that far exceeds leficiency in the )er trade, which ! fields into the ed with a lack of ermitted to take scause they form ir relation to the ves, that among erica, one of the pe for hunting in irrass the sports- e addition to his . well know that [icompatible with lerefore confined re especially the , and follow the it'vc'd. It has often been imagined by the emigrant, that deer and other wild animals are so plentiful in America, that the bunter has only to walk into the forest, where he can get a view of them as he would of the animals in a menagerie. But although there is still much game in the wild forests and among?, the mountains, it is seldom obtained without labour and perseverance, and, excepting the bear, all animals are very shy and timid. The elk, or moose deer, the mammoth of the Northern Continent, offers the greatest inducement to hunting, the flesh of the animal being as valuable for food as beef. In the winter, when the earth is covered by a white mantle, a drove of these animals forms what is called a •' yard," — which is merely a small tract of ground over which they feed, and beat dowti the snow with their feet in gathering the herbage. In such a yard they will remain all winter, if not disturbed. Their weight prevents them from travelling through very deep snow ; and when it is covered by a crust of ice, escape from the pursuer is imprac- ticable. The hunter, with mOccassins and snow-shoes, having disco- vered the haunt, enters it and shoots down the harmless herd. If any attempt to escape, they arc soon exhausted in the deep snow, and, being followed, arc cut down by the tomahawk o." axe. As the yards of the moose are only found at places remote from the settlements, much of their flesh has been left in the forests. In the early settlement of the country, the Indians, being jealous of the white inhabitants, hoped to drive them away by destroying the game- Nor were the first settlers careful to preserve those valuable animals: thousands were killed for their skins alone, and it is painful to r fleet upon the wanton waste of life that once sported over the soil. In this kind of hunting there is no amusement : it is rather a savage kind of butchery, from which a true sportsman would turn away in disgust. In light snows, when the moose can travel, the hunter fol- lows the track, in the most noiseless manner, until he overtakes his game. The Indians are remarkably subtle on a moose-waUc. The animal does not always bound away when he discovers his pursuer, but turns round, and elevates his lofty antlers, apparently pleased with the fatal novelty. They have been known to stand a few moments after s l« I* ' I ' :. . ■■ 258 NEW miUNSWlCK. tlif first shot was fired; but, if unhurt, tlicy Hchloni wait for the sccoikI jlischarj^e of the gun. In this kind of forest sport, the hunter carries a gnn, axe, blanktt, a wallet of provisions, and fireworks. At night, he kindles a fire, makes a bed of spruce or cedar boughs, rolls i^imself in his blanket, and lies down in repose : but in the morning he is likely to find him- self almost in a perpendicular position ; the fire having melted away the snow at his feet, allows them to fall, while the head remains ele- vated. As soon as the dawn appears, he wends his way over hill and valley on the well-known track of his game, ever excited by hope and continued qui vive. And certainly all his toil and privation arc re- warded by a view of the long-looked-for moose in his stately pride and majesty. At the foot of some great tree, or behind a root or windfall, he watches with steady eye his unsuspicious prey, and creeps upon him with the slyness of a serpent ; and, when within range, even the " oldest hands" tremble, and the bosom flutters, as the gun is levelled. If the hunter be a '• green one," the moose generally escapes unhurt ; but the bullet of the experienced marksman brings him to the ground. The moose is not a fleet animal, and when alarmed, runs with a shambling gait, striking his hoofs against each other, and frequently stumbling. "When hotly pursued by dogs, he will often turn and take them up on the points of his horns and toss them into the air. In the latter part of September and first of October (the running season), they are decoyed by the Indians, who having placed themselves in ambush, employ a rude instrument known as the moose-call, by which they imitate the peculiar looing of the animal, that approaches the decoy without fear, and is shot. They are also sometimes ensnared by a noose in the end of a strong rope. The ordinary moose weighs about 1000 lbs., and largest ones 1,500 lbs. The moufle or loose muscular covering of the nose is considered by epicures a great dainty. The reindeer, or carriboo, is a smaller animal, the largest weighing 400 lbs. They are very swift ; but when there is a deep snow covered by a crust, they are soon overtaken by men and dogs. And they arc frequently caught alive ; but, from the difficulty of leading them out of ': , lit for tlic sccoinl 11, axe, blankit, D kindles a fire, f in his blanket, sing it to be the 1 the evening, a 1 ; but the poor lied a deer among flesh away at once, the following day, . The old man, in lis back, suddenly round and raised ime time, until the distance. Poulcis for bruin, and he lucli scarred, and NKW HRUNSVVICK. QUI fellow always maintained that he saw a s(]iiirrel as largo us a horse trying to go up a tree tail foremost. The Fetis >lor, ithi conco(oi\ panther, iiaintcr, or catamount — better known in the Province as the Indian Devil — alth(jugh a small, is a very dangerous animal : they are very rare, yet sumutinies u suigle skin iti brought into the market. Hares are plentiful ; and they are frequently shot, or taken in snares. Among the birds, the wild geese ailord some profitable sporting. In the month of April they arrive in large flocks, and light in the open jiarts of the rivers. They are very numerous on the coast of the Bay Chaleurs. In the night-time, and during the April snow-storm, canoes are sometimes paddled among them, when the birds are killed by clubs. In line weather they are very shy, and as soon as the sports- man approaches them, the sentinel, an old gander, sounds the well- known caa-hoouk, and away they fly ; they are sometimes killed, and the largest weigh from twelve to fifteen pounds each. The numerous rivers and lakes aflbrd some fine duck-shooting, and in certain seasons pigeons arc numerous. To the new settler, none of the feathered tribes is of more value than the common partridge, as it is called, although the bird is the ruffled grouse {Tetrno umbellua): another variety, which resembles the quail, is called the spruce partridge {Tetrao Canadensis) ; it is less palatable, and sometimes rendered uii- v.'holesome by feeding upon laurel leaves. Both kinds are exceedingly tame, and the latter may be caught in a noose suspended at the end of a long pole. A covey of the rufiied grouse, or birch partridges, in situa- tions where they have not been disturbed, will remain on a tree until each individual is shot : the birds on the lower limbs should be shot first, as the falling of the upper ones will disturb those situated beneath them. Snipe and woodcock afford some fine shooting in their season : the former are very numerous on the intervales and borders of the great marshes ; the latter frequent ?lose covers of grey birch, cedar, larch, ■' - alder. The Esquimaux curlew are as large as English partridges, but not numerous. Plover are sometimes plentiful in September. Cock and snipe shooting are not much practised, except in the neigh- bourhood of St. John and Fredericton. In the interior the snipes are r-'^T lilll'f' 'U I i 2()2 MEW BRUNSWICK. frequently called " mudsuckers." Gulls and other sea-birds are killed on the shores for their feathers. Notwithstanding game is in some degree plentiful, farmers and set- tlers on new land are seldom seen sporting. When they sport at all, they shoot for the pot, and not for amusement. A considerable number of wild animals are taken annually for their furs, by the Indians and a few trappers. The bear is readily taken in a large wooden cage, across the door of which a heavy piece of timber is fixed, with a trigger. Bait is placed in the cage. These traps are dangerous to dogs and other domestic animals, and men have been severely injured by them. " A trapper went trit to catch a bear, where The trapper was caught, and not the bear, there." Moose, carriboo, and the Virginian deer are sometimes ensnared ; foxes are cauglit in steel traps ; martins, ermines, and minks are taken in " de d falls :" muskrats, or musquashes, which are very plentiful, are generally shot. There are ample materials for another pursuit — namely, lake and river fishing. The old Indian system of taking salmon is still pursued by the natives, and has been adopted by the whites. To take this valuable and delicious fish, a canoe is launched into the stream, in the darkest hours of the night, having a luminous torch of birch-bark or pine-knots burning over the prow. The fisherman stands in the stern of his bark, or " log," with a long pole, on one end of which is a speai*, and with the other end he " poles" the canoe in the required direction. The light afforded by the torch enables him to see the salmon dis- tinctly, which he strikes and secures with great dexterity. Besides what are taken in nets, great numbers of salmon are killed annually by the spear.* • During the exploration of the Tohique River by the Writer in August 1842, his son and an Indian loaded a canoe with salmon andwhitefish in a few hours, and it was with difficulty the natives could be restrained from killing the fish afiur the whole supply of salt had been applied for their preservation. Salmon are also plentiful in other rivers: tiiey rise froely at a proper fly, and will afford the angler atlniirablo sport. \/i'iM>\ •birds are killed r. armers and sct- ley sport at all, inually for their eadily taken in piece of timber These traps are men have been nsnared ; foxes cs are taken in ry plentiful, are imely, lake and I is still pursued To take this e stream, in the f birch-bark or nds in the stern vhich is a speav, [uired direction. ;he salmon dis- terity. Besides killed annually r in August 1842, 3h in a few hours, 1 killing the fish rvation. Salmon ^, and will afford NEW BRUNSWICK. i»r>3 Trout are exceedingly numerous in almost all the streams, and sup- ply no inconsiderable quantity of food to tl oackwoodsman. They are taken by children, with a baited hook attached to a piece of twine on the end of a light pole, also in nets. In the month of March, holes are cut in the ice, and the trout are taken in great niunbers by hooks baited with fat pork. A warm and mild day is chosen for ice-fishing. To those who are fond of the piscatorial art, the rivers and lakes of New Brunswick offer abundant and varied sources of sport and amuse- ment. In the Chcputnecticook River, where it runs through the unfre- quented forest, the trout are so numerous that they may be swept on shore by seines. 1 have seen the bottom of the river covered by them ; and no sooner does the artificial fly touch the water, especially the red hackle, than numbers of mouths are open to receive it, and the trout frequently spring into thf! air with the deceptive bait deeply gorged. Their ordinary weight is from half a pound to three pounds : the largest will weigh six pounds, and even more. Among them is a white trout called by the lumbermen " shiners." The Tobique, Aroostook, Mira- niichi, Nepisiguit, Upsalquitch, and Restigouche abound in trout ; and the angler is only perplexed by the weight of his load, and the diffi- ciUty of rightly disposing of the produce of his sport. In the lesser streams, the fish are smaller in size and inferior in flavour to the large and more highly-coloured varieties. Sea-trout may be taken on the north shores of the Province. In the Chcputnecticook Lakes, there is a kind of salmon called " togue," and sometimes " tu- ladi." It is the Salmo laaustris, a large fish weighing from fifteen to thirty pounds. Cuvier supposed that this variety of salmon was pecu- liar to the Lake of Geneva ; but it is found in many of the large collec- tions of fresh water in North America. It is caught with bait in the deepest water, in June and July, and the fishing is performed in canoes. Whitefish arc plentiful in the above lakes, and are annually taken in nets by the Americans, who do not hesitate to cross the boundary and fish in British water. The same fish are also numerous in the Tobique : they are about the size of large herrings, but far preferable for food. Bass, herring, and gaspereau also frequent some of the rivers at certain seasons : their particular resorts have been already mentioned. Stur- ( J Tl^f: 26'i< NEW BRUNSWICK. geon are very common in the St. John ; and gizzard fish, perch, suckers, chub, and others of the small fry, are also obtained in that river. It is not probable that these fresh-water fisheries will ever be objects of a peculiar branch of industry ; for before markets for their produce will be formed, the quantity of fish will be much reduced. They are rather resources to which the emigrant may direct some attention, in order to increase his stock of provisions ; but they should never be pursued to the neglect of the tillage of the soil. u i '!'■;!; i'lj 'j,' ; . i I ;ard fish, perch, obtained in that II ever be objects for their produce uced. They are »me attention, in should never be CHAPTER VIII. THE FISHERIES OF NEW BRUNSWICK. Next in importance to agriculture are the fisheries, which, under proper protection and management, would supply the elements of vast export and wealth. Of all the branches of our Provincial resources, this has been the most neglected. Among the negotiations carried on between Great Britain and foreign Powers, none have been more injurious to the interests of the Northern Colonies, nor displayed less wisdom and judg- ment, than those that have been applied to this essential portion of Colonial resources. The indiscreet negotiations between Great Britain and the United States of America, and the utter disregard of the existing treaties by the latter, have not only injured the fisheries, but have checked the spirit of enterprise among the Colonists, who turn away from their inherent rights to avoid the insults and depredations of the people of the neighbouring Republic. In giving a sketch of the history of the fisheries, we quote from an able Report of a Committee of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia, made in 1837, which, with the evidence connected with it, exhibits a system of invasion upon British rights that still goes on unpunished, and is unparalleled in the records of modern times. " The cod-fishery of Newfoundland and Canso, on the peninsula of Nova Scotia, commenced soon after the discovery of the former by Sebastian Cabot, in the reign of Henry the Seventh, 1497. All nations resorted to the banks and coasts of that island until the reign rf Eliza- beth, when Sir Humphrey Gilbert took possession, and claimed sove- reignty under the right of original discovery : Newfoundland acknow- ledged that right. The French Government disputed the claim to the fishery of Canso, until Nova Scotia was ceded by treaty in 1749, and 266 NEW BRUNSWICK. HI jfi! i»S I I I ■) -, Ml il Cape Breton conquered in 1758; from •which period, British subjects pursued the fisheries on Brown's Bank and the banks of Nova Scotia exclusively, and on the banks of Newfoundland in common with the subjects of every European nation : the Colonists also, with British subjects only, resorted at pleasure to every part of Newfoundland, and to the Labrador coasts, after the expulsion of the French from Canada in 1759> to which Government Labrador then belonged, leaving the French accommodated with the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, and the northern side of Newfoundland.* At the peace of 1783, a treaty was entered into between the United States and Great Britain, by the third article of which the people of the former obtained the right * to take fish on the Grand Bank and all other banks of New- foundland, in the Gulf < f St. Lawrence, and all other places in the sea where the inhabitants of both countries had been used to fish before, and the liberty to fish on such part of the coast of Newfoundland as British fishermen used (but not to dry or cure fish there), and on the coasts, bays, and creeks of all other British dominions in America.' Ameiican fishermen also obtained liberty to dry and cure fish in any unsettled bays, harbours, and creeks of Nova Scotia, Magdalen Islands, and Labrador ; but as soon as any of them were settled, this liberty was to cease, unless continued by agreement with the inhabitants. ** By this inconsiderate article of the treaty -f- (to speak of it in the • The encroachments of the French upon the fisheries of Newfoundland have become a subject of general complaint by the inhabitants of that island. Being supported by bounties, the French have a decided advantage over the British, and the supply of bait they receive from the islanders, contrary to the treaty, has made them most successful competitors. From encroachments and violations of the rights of British subjects, St. John, that formerly sent one hundred sail of vessels to the Banks, in 1844 sent only thiee. No sooner is a British vessel anchored on the Bank, than she is surrounded by Frenchmen, who set their bultoes and draw away all the fish. t The Provisional Treaty of ]7!53 was framed by Mr. Oswald, the Plenipo- tentiary of Great Britain, and Franklin and Jay on the part of the United States. On the return of the former to England, the merchants of London waited upon him and remonstrated against the concession he had made, of which it has been said he acknowledged his ignorance and wept. Franklin, in a letter from Paris, stated that Mr. Oswald appeared to be "so good and reasonable a man, that he should be loath to lose him — he seems to have nothiii^ NKW iilUJNSWlCK. 267 British subjects s of Nova Scotia common with the Iso, with British 3wfoundland, and nch from Canada ged, leaving the e and Miquelon, eace of 1783, a id Great Britain, ner obtained the r banks of New- places in the sea i to fish before, Newfoundland as lere), and on the ons in America.' cure fish in any fagdalen Islands, tied, this liberty inhabitants, speak of it in the of Newfoundland ants of that island, dvantage over the ;rs, contrary to the encroachments and formerly sent one •;e. No sooner is a ed by Frenchmen, wakl, the Plenipo- )art of the United rchants of London 1 he had made, of 1 wept. Franklin, > be "so good and :'mstohavenothii.„ mildest terms), a source was opened from which flowed a torrent of misfortune to the inhabitants of this Province : by it the harbours of the Atlantic Colonies were thrown open to the vessels of the United States ; the native fishermen subjected to a hostile rivalry, with which they were unable to compete, and from which no prospect was afforded of escape ; while liberties of no ordinary character were ceded to the United States, affording profitable fields for commerce, and fostering a race of seamen conducive to national wealth in peace, and to defence and glory in war. Writhing under difficulties thus heaped on them, the Colonists, by the declaratin of war in 1812, were unexpectedly relieved, and exerted themselves to retain their restored rights. Fish- ing vessels of the United States were ordered off by British naval forces, or captured and condemned, on the ground that the treaty no longer existed, maintaining that the Treaty of 1783, not having been confirmed hy the Treaty of Ghent, was annulled by the war of 1812. At this period warm and energetic remonstrances went from the Colonies, soliciting the protection of their rights ; and on the subject of the fisheries. Nova Scotia was foremost. By memorial, on the 8th of October, 1813, she entreated His Majesty's Ministers to guard against the hateful article of the Treaty of 1783, and to exclude the French, American, and foreign fishermen from the narrow seas and waters of these northern Colonies ; stating that her inhabitants procured a living hy their industry on those shores, which unquestionably belonged to Great Britain. She urged, that if American citizens were to obtain the right of entering the gulfs, bays, harbours, or creeks of these Colonies, there would be no security against illicit trade, and the numerous evils attending such intercourse : that the sentiments, habits, and man- ners, both political and moral, of the lower order of Americans were dangerous and contaminating : that it was the first and most fervent wisli of these Co". ,nies to be completely British — their surest defence at heart hut the good of mankind, and putting a stop to mischief. Mr. Oswald, an old man, seems now to have no desire but that of being useful." From these, and a variety of other facts, it is plain that the British Ambassador was completely outwitted hy the cunning and crafty course of the American Di- plomatists, and gave away fisheries to which the Ilei)ublic had no ccjuitablc ) 'i ' ■,}4 If^ the naval force would shut out the dangerous rivalry of foreigners, at least in the fishery within three marine miles of the coast of Nova Scotia. How far their anticipations and hopes have been realised will appear in the sequel."* Notwithstanding the concessions mude by the Treaty of 1783, pre- vious to and during the war of 1812, Great Britain enjoyed the chief fisheries of tlie Banks of Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia, New- Brunswick, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. f The mackerel, herring, and gaspereau fisheries were then not pur- sued with much ardour, as other fish were considered more valuable. At Perce and Paspediac, there were several extensive fishing establish- ments, and also at Shippegan and other places along the northern coast of New Brunswick. The salmon fisheries of the Restigouehc, Mira- michi, and Richibucto were then of much consequence, and thousands of tierces of them were shipped annually to a foreign market. The whole shore at certain seasons was lined by the finny tribes, which, from the offal thrown overboard by the Americans, have since been reduced. Through the medium of her Northern Colonies, Great Britain then had the command of the Spanish, Portuguese, Madeira, West Indian, Mediterranean, and South American markets, which she supplied with fish, and each returning ship was laden with the produce of other countries, whereby a most active and flourishing trade was steadily • Journal of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1837. t According to Mr. M'Gregor, the exports in 1814 were — 1,200,000 quintals Fish, at 403 £2,400,000 20,000 „ Core do., at 12s 12,000 6,000 tuns Cod Oil, at £32 . . . . . . . 192,000 156,000 Sealskins, at 5s 39,000 4,666 tuns Seal Oil, at £36 167,976 2,000 tierces Salmon, at £.5 10,000 1,685 barrels Mackerel, at 30s. . . .. .. 2,527 4,000 casks Caplin Sounds and Tongues . . 2,000 2,100 barrels Herring, at £25 2,525 Beaver Skins and other Furs 600 Pine Timber and Planks 600 400 puncheons Berries 2,000 1 '! Iri , it m 'lili'i' NEW JJIIUNSVVICK. Ji7i yr of foreigners, at \c coast of Nova been realised will aty of 1783, prc- enjoyed the chief »Jova Scotia, Now ;re then not pur- 5d more valuahle. fishing establish- the northern coast estigouche, Mira- ce, and thousands gn market. The iny tribes, which, have since been Jreat Britain then jira. West Indian, she supplied with produce of other ade was steadily 7. 22,400,000 12,000 192,000 39,000 167,976 10,000 2,527 2,000 2,525 600 500 2,000 maintained, and through the fisheries an inexhaustible source of wealth was opened to the Provinces, a boundless field was oilcrcd for training seamen, and the maritime resources of the Colonies promised sufiicicnt support to render them a powerful rival of the whole American Re- public. These advantages existed even under the Treaty of 1783, which had ceded away numy British rights. The third article of that treaty was assailed in the House of Commons by Lord North, who, in a noble speech, declared that " in om- spirit of reciprocity, we had given to the Americans an unlimited rignt to take fish of any kind on the Great Bank, and use all the other banks of Newfoundland. But this was not sufficient. We have also given them the right of fishing in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and at all other places in the sea where they have heretofore, through us, enjoyed the privilege of fishing. They have also the power of even partaking of the fishery which we still retain. We have not been content with resigning what we promised, but even of sharing of what we have left. The United States have liberty to fish on that part of the coast of Newfoundland which British fishermen shall use. All the reserve is, that they are not to dry and cure fish on the same island. This is certainly a striking instance of that liberal equity which we find in the basis of the provisional treaty ; but where shall I find an instance of that reciprocity which is also set forth in the pre- amble ? We have given the Americans the unlimited privilege of fish- ing on all the coasts, bays, and creeks in our American dominions ; but where have they, under this principle of reciprocity, given us the privilege of fishing on sny of their coasts, bays, and creeks ? I could wish such an article could be found, were it only to give a colour to this boasted reciprocity."* If British Statesmen are indeed celebrated for their skill in diplomatic affairs, and for wisdom and justice in their negotiations with foreign Powers, Her Majesty's subjects have seldom discovered them on this side of the Atlantic, in former treaties or in those now existing, by which our fisheries have been given away, or thrown open to encroach- ments and endless cavillings. A part of New Brunswick has been assigned to a grasping commonwealth, who would fain spread the wings !^.^'L^ 1: * Cobbett, vol. xxiii. p. 451. ?l't J^Tsi M'^W BRUNSWICK. of their cap^lc over the land i -vater of the whole continent ; and fears are now entertained that th'.; Oregon Territory still in dispute will l)i> yielded up to the avariciousness and jealousy of the Anieriean Congress. For the leniency of the parent-country towards the people of the United States, an apology has heen found in the fact that there is a strong paternal allection towards the inhabitants of the New World ; but such a feeling censes to be a virtue when it is exercised with a partiality to the rebellious and undutiful, and is prejudicial to the faithful and obedient. From the rights of fishing granted to the French at the close of the last war, and to the Americans by the Treaty of 1818, the advantages of the great fisheries are, in a great degree, lost to the subjects of Great Britain. The French and American Governments give bounties and other encouragements to their fisheries on the coast. The fish taken by the French and Americans can therefore be sold on much lower terms in the market than tliose caught by British subjects. If they be not put on an equal footing with the subjects of those Powers, the ad- vantages they possess over the British miist have the eft'ect of sapping the foundation of the trade, and subverting the fisheries altogether.* The French had always attached a high degree of importance to the fisheries on our coasts, and after Louisburg and Quebec, their strong- holds in America, had been taken from them, they continued to nego- tiate with great address and firmness for those maritime resources, not only for the support of their trade, but also for a profitable employ- ment, by which thousands of their subjects were annually trained to the sea, and thereby affording the elements of a powerful navy. Of all the men employed in this branch of industry, at least one-fourth were landsmen, or persons unacquainted with the sea; *' and by this trade they bred up from 4,000 to 6,000 seamen annually." f Tn 1829, France employed from 250 to 300 vessels in the fisheries on the British American coasts, and 25,000 sea-going fishermen, who by treaty are not permitted to become residents. Their vessels are from 100 to 400 tons burthen, and carry from 40 to 120 men each. * Menioi'ial of the inhabitants of Newfoundland to Earl Bathurat. t M'Gregor's British America, vol. i. p. 241. NEW mUJNSWICK. 273 inent ; and fears dispute will ho erican Congress. )le of the United there is a stronti: V'orld ; hut sueli th a partiality to ;he faithful and the close of the the advantages uhjects of Great fc bounties and The fish taken on much lower cts. If they he Powers, the ad- ;ftect of sapping 5 altogether.* nportancc to the 'c, their strong- 1 tinned to nego- e resources, not >fitahle employ- ually trained to ul navy. Of all one-fourth were id by this trade in the fisheries fishermen, who heir vessels are 120 men each. ithurst. Since that period the number of men and vesnels hns been increased, but to what extent I have been unable to determine. In the above year the Americans employed in these fisheries 1,500 vessels, manned by 15,000 men, and took 1,000,000 quintals of fish and 3,000 tuns of oil. The total number now employed exceeds 2,500 vessels and 25,000 men. At the lowest estimate, one quarter of these vessels fish in British waters, and beyond the bounds prescribed by the treaty. The whole quantity of fish taken in British-American seas is now equal to 2,000,000 quintals annually. It is justly observed by Mr. M'Gregor, that " in ceding to France the fight of fishing on the shores of Newfoundland from Cape John to Cape Ray, with the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, we gave that ambitious nation all the means that her Government desired for man- ning a navy ; and if we now determine to lay a train of circiunstances which, by their operation, should sap the very vituls of our naval strength, we could not more ell'eetually have done so than by granting a full participation of those fisheries to France and America." Mr. Rush, in his work, has given a history of the negotiations on the sub- ject of the fisheries, and has endeavoured to defend the principles laid down in the Treaty of 1783 ; but in this his failure is very manifest, and it has been repeatedly decided by the best authorities that the claims of the Americans could not be sustained by law or equity. The fears of the Colonists at the time] when the last treaty was made are proved to have been but too well founded, and they now realise all the evils, and even more than they then anticipated. It is not possible that the framers of those treaties on the part of Great Britain could have foreseen the result of the concessions made to France and the United States, by which the Colonies are now oppressed, and the right reserved for them intruded upon, either by stealth or open violence. Among the unwise and impolitic concessions made to the French and Americans, are those that allow them to enter the Gulf of St. Lawrence, which is encircled by British territory, and whose vast and almost un- inhabited shores cannot be protected against aggression by fishermen. The prohibition not to approach within three marine miles of the shore is so easily evaded, that it is an invitation to land rather than a restric- tion, The liberties granted to the above Powers have greatly depre- r' ':'■■ 1' I' I .. : . • ■1 j ft j; i Ij 1 ^ ''. i i j - \i i t [! ft f 1. ,,(■'■; J ,■1 i «i .in Ni:w HIIINSNVK'K. dated the vnliic offish in forci<^n iiiarkcts, nnd diminished the politiral importance and real value of the fisheries. From the extraordinar)- jirivileges granted to the Anu'riean Uepublie, and the humiliating Hur- rcnder of Colonial rights recognised by each successive treaty, it is not surprising that, during the ])ast year, they should again endeavour to obtain by negotiation the few remaining fishing rights of the Colonies, and seek a novel interpretation of the language of a treaty that, in its plain meaning, liad already given theni far beyond their just claims. By force and ** management," they have compelled France, Spain, nnd Russia to nmke room for them at three different points of the compass. Texas luis been taken by their charm. They have coaxed Great Britain to extend their north-easteni boundary upon the lands of Canada and New Brunswick. The aboriginal tribes of America have been driven back, regardless of justice or humanity, until, to use the language of one of their chiefs, " their faces are towards the great icy ocean, where their homes will be with the white bear in the mountains of snow, until the Great Spirit shall take them all away to the land where the pale-faces never come." They claim the Oregon country, first discovered and occupied by British subjects, and begin to anticipate the possession of the whole continent. To them the remaining fisheries of the Colonists are unimportant, except that they are an object which will serve to perpetuate a system of constant acquisition they have always maintained, and to which the parent-country has but too often submitted, at the sacrifice of the interests of her faithful subjects. In 1845, despatches were sent from the Colonial Office by Lord Stanley, then Secretary for the Colonies, to the Governors of the several North American Provinces, respecting the fisheries. The despatch to Viscount Falkland dated 19th of May states, " that, after mature deliberation. Her Majesty's Government deem it advisable, for the in- terests of both countries, to relax the strict rule of exclusion exercised by Great Britain over the fishing-vessels of the United States entering the bays of the sea on the British North American coasts." This in- telligence was received in the Provinces with the deepest regret and anxiety. The danger of being brought to a further degree of humilia- tion, and of having every cove and inlet lined by American fishermen, aroused all classes of the inhabitants, and strong remonstrances were NF.W nilUNSNVHJK. |)romi)tly sent to the Colimiul Si'i-ri'tary iigainst a nicaHiirc timt woiild surrender the rcnwiining (i.sliin{j ri<^lits of the people to foreipfncrd, who hud trampled upon the restrictions of the Treaty of 1818, and many of whom had put both National and Provincial law at defiance. Had the request of tlie American Minister heen cou)pliud with, the present sound loyalty of the Colonists would have had a worm placed at its root, or hegun to falter under a burden fixed gratuitously ujjon their resourcen. Fortunately, the active measures employed by the diflercnt I^ocal (lo- vernments had a salutary eflect, and the American Minister was defeated in his main object ; but not until he had declared, that the Provincial law relating to the fisheries possessed " none of the qualities of the law of a civilised State except its forms." In the despatch of Lord Stanley to the Governor of Nova Scotia, of 17th September, 1815, the former states, that, '* respecting the policy of granting permission to the fisher- men of the United States to fish in the Bay of Chaleurs, and other large bays of a similar character on the coasts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, and apprehending from your statements that any such general concession would be injurious to the interests of the British North American Provinces, we have abandoned the intention we had enter- tained upon the subject, and shall adhere to the strict letter of the treaties which exist between Great Britain and the United States rela- tive to the fisheries in North America, except in so far as they may relate to the Bay of Fundy, which has been thrown open to the Americans under certain restrictions." Here, again, a gradual yielding to the citizens of the Republic is as manifest as ever, and which, if it be not speedily and permanently checked, will lead to consequences most dis- astrous to the welfare of the Colonies. The Convention of 1818 allowed the people of the United States to fish along all the coasts and harboiirs within three marine miles of the shore, and to cure fish in such bays and harbours as are not inhabited ; but if inhabited, subject to agreement with the proprietors of the soil. It also permits them to enter bays or harbours on the prohibited coasts for shelter, repairing damages, and purchasing wood and obtaining water, and for no other purpose whatever — subject to restrictions, to prevent abuses. It has been decided by eminent lawyers, that, according to the plain ■ t: n; ii» je7C NEW BRUNSWICK. and obvious construction of the convention, the citizens of the United States cannot fish within three marine miles of the headlands of the coasts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick ; and that they have no right to enter the bays, harbours, or creeks, except for shelter, or for the objects before mentioned — and then only on having proved that they left their own ports properly equipped for their voyages : but it has been abundantly proved, by the most unquestionable authority, from time to time, and the fact is notorious, that they frequent our shores as freely as they do their own, or as if they had a confirmed right to them. Having given a very brief view of the rapid advances made upon our fisheries by the Americans under the Treaties of 1783 and 1818, and their pretensions to still further liberties, we may turn to the practical effects of those treaties, and examine a little into their ultimate con- sequences. Not only do the American fishermen visit our shores, contrary to the terms of the Convention of 1818, but they land and purchase bait from the inhabitants. In numerous instances, they set their nets in the coves and harbours of the Province, and not unfrequently compel the inhabitants, by force, to submit to their encroachments. They land on the Magdalen Islands, and take the fish as freely as British subjects, who, by superior forces, are sometimes driven from their own ground. Early in April, schooners, shallops, and other craft, are fitted out in almost every harbour of the Western States and despatched to the fisheries. They are amply supplied with provisions, salt, empty casks, seines, nets, lines, hooks, jigs, and every article necessary for taking all kinds of fish. Such as are intended for a shore or " trading voyage" carry a stock of pork, flour, molasses, tobacco, gin, and other goods adapted to the wants of the Provincial fisherman and his family. As the season advances, the banks and best fishing-grounds are covered by these craft, and whole fleets may be seen engaged in drawing up the finny inhabitants of the sea. Very many of these vessels anchor and fish within three miles of the shore. Daring the evening, they will enter the small bays and inlets, set their nets, and, by early dawn on the following morning, are seen moving off with the fish taken in the dark hour of night. Even farther, when they have been unsuccessful A NEW BRUNSWICK. !c>77 in obtaining bait, they draw and unload tlie nets of the inhabitants, who, by remonstrating, are almost sure to have their nets afterwards overhauled or destroyed. Upon the slightest pretext, they take advantage of the humane in- tentions of the treaty, and enter the harbours, rivers, and creeks, to obtain wood and water. On such occasions they frequently set their nets on the shore, and anchor as near the land as safety will admit. Meanwhile their crews are actively employed in fishing. The vessels, sent out for the twofold object of fishing and trading, boldly enter the harbour, into which they pour their casks of water ; they have sprung a mast or boom — one of the crew is sick — or some disaster has happened, whereby they draw forth the sympathies of the inhabitants ; but no sooner is the vessel safely moored, than a traffic commences. Green, salted, and half-dried fish are all taken for American goods ; which being landed free of any Colonial duty, are given to the fishermen at a lower price than those obtained from the established merchant. The work of the smuggler is completed in a few hours ; and as he makes his visit at those periods when the fish are most plentiful, he generally departs richly freighted, leaving the flakes and salting-tubs of the shoremen empty. The fishermen of our shores seldom resist these temptations, and they are often deceived by the declaration, that their accommodating visitors are true Englishmen. Should a British cruiser appear, or an officer with proper authority take cognizance of the act, some exigency, embraced by the terms of the treaty, are immediately brought to his notice, and duly supported by the solemn declaration of the crew ; or if the vessel should be seized according to law, the matter becomes a subject of grave con- sideration between the two Powers, and, forsooth, a war may be threatened by the apprehension of a foreigner taken in the act of carry- ing on an illicit trade ! Thus the resources of the country are nefari- ously taken away, and the morals of its people corrupted by the intro- duction of practices which are abhorred by every honest inhabitant. The merchant who pays the duties on his goods, and advances them to the fishermen of his district under a promise of payment from the fruits of his labour, is defrauded, and the revenue of the Province is diminished, by an unlawful traffic. Again, many of our young men ar« t'n- ■ ^ i378 NEW BRUNSWICK. enticed away, and the bounties offered by tlie Americans to their fisher- men are held out as a temptation for them to depart with their chary and cunning visitors. Such aggressions are not limited to any particular part of the coast, nor to the thinly-populated districts.* Throughout the fishing season, their vessels enter the harbours, and surround the Island of Grand Manan. They are scattered along the shores of the Bay of Fundy, and enter the harbours, bays, and inlets of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward's Island, Magdalen Islands, and coast of Labrador, passing into the Gulf of St. Lawrence through the Strait of Canseau, which, to the distance of fifteen miles, is not to exceed a mile and a half wide. Their vessels are very numerous in the Gulf, and occupy the best fishing stations on the banks between Prince Edward's Island and New Brunswick, the Magdalen Islands and coast of Labrador, to the exclusion of British fishermen. In the summer season, they line the north coast of New Brunswick, enter the Bay Chaleurs with im- punity, and frequent the excellent fishing-ground at Miscon Island, and those of the Gaspe coast. As the Gulf and its bays are almost unprotected by cruisers, they not only fish upon the shores, and carry on an illicit trade, but sometimes drive the inhabitants away by force, take their bait, destroy their nets, and go on shore and plunder the harmless settlers. f Such are the operations of the Convention of 1818, which was, as an American fisherman compared it to the Writer, " a net set by the British to catch the Yankees ; but the meshes were so large, that a fishing craft of a hundred tons burthen might pass through it without touching." * On the 5th of June last, an American fisherman was seized while lying 4it anchor "inside of the lighthouse, at the entrance of Digby Gut, near tlic town of Digby, about a quarter of a mile from the shore, his nets lying on the deck still wet, with scales of herring attached to the meshes, and having fresh herring on board his vessel. The excuse sworn to was, that rough weather had made a harbour necessary ; that the nets were wet from being recently washed, but that the fish were caught while the vessel was beyond three miles of the shore." — Despatch of Lord Falkland, 1845. t See evidence taken by the I/Cgisluture, Appendix to Journal* of the Iloutv of Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1837. N!:\V lUlLN.^NVlCK. iiial* of flie riou«« But the inquiry inuncdiately arises, Why are not these aggressions prevented hy our men-of-war and eruisers on the North American station ? To this it may be replied, that none but the smallest class of vessels are suitable for such a service, and of such there are but few employed on the coast. The whole length of the coasts to be guarded, including their bays and indentations, will exceed 2,000 miles, and therefore protection could scarcely be afforded, except by a large fleet of small vessels adapted for running into narrow estuaries and shallow bays. The movements of a cruiser are well understood by an Ameri- can fisherman, w^ho, when his vessel is boarded, has sufficient ingenuity, with the aid of the large meshes in the treaty, to " get clear off"."* Yet • In 1839, I had occasion to take piissage in a small American mackerel fishing craft, from Eastport to Grand Manan ; and, in consequence of the vessel having struck a shoal of mackerel, I was detained twenty-four hours. The " General Jackson " was filled to the hatches with salt, empty barrels, and provisions ; along the deck were ranges of empty puncheons and casks, and for each man four mackerel lines, completely fitted, were attached to the inside of the bulwarks. The hook employed is about tlie size of that used in fishing for salmon, with a conical piece of pewter ingeniously cast on the shank, and kept bright by scouring with the dogfish skin. This is called a jig, and in the water resembles the small sepia, or a kind of shrimp, upon which the mackerel feed. Besides these jigs, there were a number of small iron rods, with a hook at the end of each, being attached to a long md liglit spruce handle. Nets are sometimes used. Several casks were filled with small her- ring and other fish, in a state of putrefaction — these are used for bait. There is a curious machine called the bait-mill, consisting of a cylinder studded with sharp pieces of iron, and turned in a box, also occupied with knives and wooden pegs. The bait is thrown into the box, the crank turned, and out of a spout comes the ground fish, which is called poheegan. Wliile we were dashing along in a pleasant breeze, the crew were employed in preparing bait and cleaning the jigs. Happy in his prospects, one of the fishermen sang " Jim Crow," and another chaunted, ''Come, little mackerel, come along, Come listen to the Yankee's song; See, the day is fine, the cntter's awiiy, — Oh, come along and with us play." After closely observing a large flight of gulls that hung over the water for some time, the old bronzj-faced Captain spoke in a mild tone, " Make no noise. Seth, haul the jib-sheet to windward. Aaron and Washington, small pull main-sheet. Steady, now !" Tlie schooner now lay driving tti leeward, at a i| ■~-^ \ H;''-:ii h gso NEW BRUNSWICK. they are occasionally taken, and comp.elled to submit to the law of the land. Strong remonstrances have been made from time to time by the different Legislatures to Her Majesty's Government, calling their atten- tion to the state of the fisheries. They have not, however, resulted in much improvement in the prevention of the evils complained of. A few fast-sailing schooners, properly equipped for the service, would soon repel the invaders of our rights. The Americans are far more successful in fishing than the inhabitants of the British Provinces, and supply their fish at a lower price than will remunerate our own people. This fact has its origin in a variety of circumstances. Their Government affords great encouragement to this branch of industry. A tonnage bounty is given to their fishing vessels, which secures the fisherman against any serious loss in the event of the failure of his voyage. He has also a privilege in the importation of salt, and is protected in his home-market by a duty of gentle ri.te, when a hogshead of pohceyan was thrown into the sea, and soon covered the surface of the water witli oil and small fragments of fish. The mackerel rose immediately, and formed a close shoal more than three miles in circimiference. Scarcely a word was spoken ; and, during three hours, all hands displayed the greatest activity in hooking, jigging, and drawing in the fish, which sported in millions around the vessel ; nor could I remain an idle spectator to the interesting scene. In an instant the mackerel disappeared, and the vessel was put ir m her course, having her deck, cabin floor, and every unoccupied space covered with the dead and dying fish, the whole quantity of which was estimated at twenty-five barrels. This fishing took place within three miles of the northern head of Grand Manan. Before leaving the hos- pitable Captain, I inquired how he avoided the British cutter, t'len stationed on the coast? To which he replied, — "Oh, we know how to work them critters to a shavin'. Don't you see, there are about three hundred of us here ; every one of us has a little kind of a signal. When any one sees the cutter of your Woman King, up goes the signal ; and when the fog is so thick you can cut it into square pieces with a splitting-knife, toot goes the coMhorn, (these cowliorns are employed to wet the sails, and are called spouting-horns). You see, this island is twenty-five miles long; when -the cutter comes to one eend, we go to t'other; and when she comes to t'other, we go to t'other. Why, friend, we bow-peep 'em." My voyage terminated, I was landed by the Captain, who very politely offered me as many fish as he supposed I had taken (hiring the passage. NEW BRUNSWICK. 281 to the law of the e to time by the calling their atten- )wever, resulted in complained of. A he service, would lan the inhabitants I lower price than origin in a variety encouragement to n to their fishing serious loss in the a privilege in the arket by a duty of to the sea, and soon ments of fish. The 3 than three miles in ing three hours, all and drawing in the Id I remain an idle ckerel disappeared, ibin floor, and every lie whole quantity of J took place within ore leaving the hos- Litter, t'len stationed how to work them hundred of us here; le sees the cutter of : is so thick you can the cowhorn, (these uting-horns). You comes to one eend, to t'other. AVhy, was landed by the pposcd I had taken five shillings per quintal on dry fish, and from one to two dollars per barrel on pickled fish. The duty imposed on \merican fish imported into the Colonies is much less, and no bounty is offered to their fisher- men, whose markets are limited and fluctuating.* In consequence of the great advantages aflbrded to the citizens of the United States by the treaties, and their ready mode of evading the stipulations of the convention, f'..eir whole system of taking and curing fish has been rendered superior to that followed by the people of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. They have also the advantage of obtain- ing provisions at a much lower rate, a greater sea-going population, and, from long experience, a better knowledge of the most productive fishing-grounds. On the coast of the Eastern States, half-a-dozen '* neighbours " will build a fishing-schooner during the winter, and send her out manned by a few young men, with an exj)erienced captain and pilot. The proceeds of the voyage are divided among the whole company. If a merchant or any other person send out a vessel, he supplies nets, and the crew find provisions, hooks, lines, &c. On her return, the cargo, or ** catch," is divided, each of the crew having the share agreed upon (usually five- eighths of the whole). Under these agreements, every man has a direct interest in the success of the enterprise, which stimulates him to industry. The crews of British fishing-vessels, although equally active, are most frequently hired by the month, and, consequently, they have less interest in the profits of the voyage. Nor is it a rare case that they become disheartened by the threats and insults heaped upon them by their more numerous rivals. To encourage the fisheries, it has been recommended to admit every article required for them duty-free — a privilege now granted by the Government of Nova Scotia, but one which has been found open to abuses little better than smuggling. A bounty on tonnage, or on every quintal of dry and every barrel of pickled fish, would be returned to the revenue by an increase of trade ; and the advancement of agricul- * Despatch of the Governor of Nova Scotia to Lord Stanloy, 1845. 4 ill' • K»Oo» NKW UHUNSWlClv. ture would supply the provisions now imported for the fishing part of the population. Many of the practices of the Americans, while they add nothing to their own interest, arc calculated to destroy the inshore fisheries alto- gether. It is a very general practice for them to throw all the offal of the fish they take overboard. When such offal is thrown into the sea at a distance of three miles from the land or bays, and in deep water, the consequences are far less injurious than when it is cast overboard near the shore. With a knowledge of this fact, after the offal of several days' fishing has accumulated, the Americans vait a leisure time and throw it into the sea within the range of boat-fishing. The whole mass of " garbage " is immediately devoured by the fish near the land, and to which it is extremely destructive.* Nor will codfish take the baited hook freely at places where offal has been thrown. By the practice of jigging mackerel, many fish are wounded and finally die, and the living ones always retire from the dead of their own kind. Many undue advantages are also taken of the Colonial fisher- men, who, from inferiority of numbers, are compelled to submit to threats and insults, and not unfrequently to be driven away from their lawful inheritance.-j- The result has been, that French and American fishing-vessels are rapidly increasing in numbers, while the British fishermen are on the decline ; and if the encroachments of those two Powers are not speedily and effectually checked, the subjects of Great Britain will be deprived of a most valuable branch of national industry, and the Government will discover when it is too late, that a most im- portant part of her Colonial resources has been taken away by the aggressions of foreign Powers. The fisheries of New Brunswick, if duly protected, and pursued with • The sharp bones of the spines and heads of fish, when taken by a living fish, penetrate the maw, produce diseases of the liver and death. Fish that feed on offal are sickly and unfit for use, I have frequently taken white stones from the maws of healthy codfish, than which there is scarcely a more voraci- ous animal. t See Report on the Fisheries, Journals of the House of Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1837. ! ■•.( NKVV BRUNSWICK. j-'sri the fishing part of ley add nothing to lore fisheries alto- irow all the offal of rown into the sea and in deep water, is cast overboard ■ the offal of several I leisure time and The whole mass near the land, and ish take the baited are wounded and 3 dead of their own le Colonial fislier- illed to submit to m away from their !nch and American while the British tients of those two subjects of Great national industrj'^, 3, that a most im- ken away by the and pursued with ken by a living fish, th. Fish tliat feed taken white stones cely a more voraci- Assenibly of Nova f energy, would form one of the principal sources of her wealth and pro- sperity. The coasts, indented by numerous harbours, bays, and rivers, afford every facility for shore and deep-sea fishing ; and although the practices of the Americans have annually reduced the numbers of the finny tribes, they are still sufficiently numerous to render the employ- ment, under proper management, profitable. But, from causes already adverted to, the demand for timber, and a scanty population, the fisheries are not pursued with energy, and the fishermen lack the stimulus of the bounties given to the Americans, with whom they are unable to maintain a competition. The whole number of fishing-vessels belonging to the ports and harbours of the Bay-of-Fundy side of the Province, in 1840, was only sixty-five. Their burthens were from ten to thirty tons each. The present number, including twenty belonging to Grand Manan, will not exceed seventy, exclusive of shore fishing-boats. That island alone, with a proper population, could employ advantageously one hundred, and the whole coast six hundred. The number of fishing-vessels be- longing to the United States, and fishing in the same waters, is as ten to one. The fishermen of the Province, with few exceptions, are far less persevering and industrious than the Americans, or even the people of Nova Scotia. The larger vessels fish for cod on the banks. The shore-fishing is curried on in boats : but they are often very imperfectly supplied with fishing-tackle, and the catch is limited. There is an annual decrease in the number of codfish along the shores, while the haddock are quite as plentiful as they were in former years — a circumstance arising from the fact that the "garbage" thrown into the sea is more destructive to cod- fish than to haddock. Halibut, hake, and other kinds of fish, are taken by the baited codfish hook ; pollock are trailed for in swift water. Herring are taken in nets, but the greatest quantities are caught in *' wares."* Sweeps are also made by largnt all the rivers ; but since the erection of saw-mills their numbers have decreased. Gaspereau and smelts are taken in the principal streams ; and sea trout enter the lagoons. Mackerel may be taken in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Bay Chaleurs from May to October, and large catches are made by the American fishermen. In summer the mackerel are lean, but in the autumn they are remarkably fat and of large size. Lobsters, clams, and other shellfish are plentiful. Oysters are shipped from different parts of the shore to Quebec, Halifax, St. John, and other places. In the early settlement of the country, walruses were taken, and they are occasionally seen. There are two varieties of seals. Whales pursue the fish into the Gulf during th3 summer, but no attempts are made to capture them. From the rapid increase of population, it would naturally result that the exports of fish would be enlarged ; yet, from causes already adverted to, the fisheries advance but slowly, and unless they are pro- tected by the Government, they will be altogether in the hands of the French and Americans. These inexhaustible maritime resources are neglected, and a general apathy prevails towards the improvement of those blessings Providence has so abundantly dispensed in the waters of the coast. The exportation of the produce of the British fisheries in 1830 was, of— Dried fish 27825 crots. Pickled fish 21177 barrels. ,, „ 2783 kegs. Smoked fish 4952 boxes. ,, ,, 5350 number. Fish oil 12302 Gallons.* • Colonial System, by Henry Bliss, Ksq., p. 58. London, 1833. In i i fnjiTrB itf n iii Ba i. - Ni:\V urn NSWKMw sm »nts and contraband ring in the Gulf than nks and shouls, and ddock, pollock, and kvith tliese there arc 1 carted on the fields since the erection of eaii and smelts are the lagoons. Lawrence and Bay s are made by the re lean, but in the . Lobsters, clams, pped from different id other places. In taken, and they are Is. Whales pursue ttempts are made to 1, it would naturally from causes already inless they are pro- in the hands of the itime resources are he improvement of ensed in the waters tieries in 1830 was, !5 crots. 7 barrels. t3 kegs. i2 boxes. number. 2 Gallons.* iondon, 1833. Dry cod, 26.595 quintal Wot Cod, OfKJ burrols Herrings, tlGM boxes, 3(55 barrels Mackerel, .'5011 barrels Saimon, 809 barrels Other sorts Train Oil 1831. » Viihic £1.1188 583 709 2.')G-t 1787 ... ,, 55(H ... „ 9.')77 Total £35972 1835. Fish, dried Value £12891 „ pickled ,, 212G9 ,, smoked Oil, Cod liver „ Seal „ Whale Total 1941 819 1088 10988 £19032» 1839. Fish, dried, 2.3.')91 quintals Value £16227 • 11 J f 16656 barrels ^ " P"^'^^' 16242 kits ;; } '''''' „ smoked, 14365 boxes ,, Oil, Whale, 78327 gallons „ Sperm, 15877 gallons ,, ,, Cod, Whalebone, 12827 gallons 2.36 cwt. . 6854 7720 3969 1727 1323 Total £57632t * Colonial Tables, Murray, vol. ii. page 250. t In the Custom-house returns of the Outports of New Bmnswick, the articles exported in 1839 are not specified ; the table tliercfore only refers to the ex- ports of the Port of St. John for that vear. 288 NEW DUUNSWICK. 1844. Pickled Salmon 2170 hrU. 0419 kits. Smoked do. 40G boxes. Muekerel 21 barrel:*. Dried Fish 12105 (jiiintals. Alewives and Shads, aalted 10.110 barrels. Codfish, pickled 211 „ Herring, salted 17.54 ,, ,, smoked 73U8 boxes. Seal Oil 240 galls. Cod Oil 5744 „ The above return does not include the Port of St. Andrew's and its outbays. 1845. Fish, dried, 8842 quintals Value £5520 „ salted, 17923 barrels „ 13144 ,, smoked, 10058 boxes , 2514 „ oil, 71 barrels „ 213 Total £21097 The Legislature of the Province have recently offered a small tonnage bounty on fishing-vessels ; but the whole sum granted for that object was too small to have any beneficial effect upon fishing industry, which will be observed to be on the decline. f I 1 -T I l)rU. G419 kits. )o>a'8. jiirrels. liiintulH. xirrcU. M )t )OXC8. Andrew's and its ! £5526 13444 2514 213 £21697 [1 a small tonnage ;d for that object 5 industry, which ciiAP'rEii IX. COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY 01* NEW IJUUNSWICK. The safety and prosperity of all the Provinces mainly depend on the policy pursued by the parent country, or the perfection of the Colonial system. The history of the North American Colonies is remarkable for sudden and ruinous depressions in trade, and for speedy revivals, according as the Acts of the British Parliament have been favourable or unfavourable to their commerce. Instead of bounties and prohibitions, protecting duties are now sufficient to encourage Colonial industry, which, with enterprise and frugality, is capable of extending the na- tional power, civilisation, and happmess. Of late, the advantages of the Colonies have become more manifest, their resources better known and rendered more available. By the ingress of emigrants and the rapid increase of the native inhabitants, the population, although still very scanty, have begun to develop the physical advantages of the country, and, under a sound system of Colonial policy, will demon- strate the value of the Colonies to the great Empire. The shipping between Great Britain and her Colonies in British America at present exceeds the aggregate foreign shipping of Great Britain with the whole of Europe. The population of Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, in 1841, was about 1,300,000, and the immigration into those Colonies in 1842 was 54,123 souls. The united population may now be estimated at nearly 2,000,000. The total value of imports is equal to £4,000,000, and the exports upwards of £3,000,000.* • Simmonds's Colonial Magazine, August 1845. *,. I - 'if!: 290 ^'r.^V ]iRUiN\SVvlCK. In the vast trade between Great Britain and licr Possessions abroad, New Brunswick holds a conspicuous position. The navigation of tlic Atlantic by steam, and the increased facilities of communication, h;ivt; already effected a change favourable to the Colonies ; and the happy results of the contemplated railway between Halifax and Qui'bec, ex- tending through the centre of Xew Brunswick, can scarcely be too lightly estimated : yet, to render the prosperity of the Provinces per- manent, and to make them a more powerful adjunct to the United Kingdom, their commerce must be protected, their fisheries kept free from the encroachments of foreigners, and their resources left unshackled by close monopolies. The interests of the people must fxlso be united to their loyalty, which they are willing for ever to maintain. Thus will they form a wall of defence along the Arctic Continent that can never be thrown down, and a bond of union that cannot be broken ; nor ■would the breadth of a thousand Atlantics ever alienate their affections from the laws and institutions of the land of their forefathers. The commerce of the British Colonies was for a long time retarded by impolitic restrictions, and they were viewed as being only useful in the consumption of manufactured goods, and for certain natural pro- ductions, rather than for being a part of the Empire entitled to fair and equal advantages. Wiser views are now entertained, and relaxations in the restrictive principle have been mutually advantageous to the parent country and her Transatlantic Possessions. Permission to ship timber and fish to the Mediterranean and West Indies was followed by the Act of 1825, by which the Colonics obtained the privileges in regard to trade that were given to other parts of the kingdom. For some years the Provinces enjoyed an exclusive trade with the West India Islands, and until the Americans withdrew certain prohibi- tions which had, until 1830, excluded them from British ports in that quarter. Since that period, their commodities, fish excepted, were allowed to be imported into those islands. This circmnstance caused nn immediate decline in tlie West India trade of the Colonies, which decreased in 1831 from 95,205 tons to 58,540 inwards, and from 95,19G to 75,8t.'(j outwards. The American tonnage rose at the same time froiu 5,360 to •1>S,8]5 tons. The trade is still continued; and were the fisheries irec Irom foreign aggression, and i\nproved by zeal and in- NEW BRUNSWICK. 291 (lustry, it would rapidly increase, fish and lumber being the chief exports from the Provinces. The Continental System of France, up to 180C, and the American Non-intercourse Act of 1807, convmced the British Parliament that it was necessary to cherish enterprise and industry in tlie North American Colonies, in order to obtain those supplies which had been received from foreign Powers, and which were ever liable to be withheld, or supplied at an exorbitant rate. After the struggles of war and many attacks upon her commerce, Great Britain had experienced the danger of foreign dependence ; the Colonial system was restored, and the trade of the Provinces immediately revived. The timber trade with the Northern Colonies took its rise from these causes, and has been con- tinued with almost unabated vigour up to the present time, meeting with occasional checks from an over- supplied market, or the relaxations common to the commerce of all countries. The home trade affords the best and surest markets for the staple productions of the Provinces, whose inhabitants consume British ma- nufactured goods to a vast amount. The productions of one part of the Empire are now exchanged for those of another, and thereby the advan- tages are mutual. Any change in the present system would drive the Colonists to manufacture for themselves, and to withhold from the mother-country the necessary commodities now sent to her ports. The industry of the inhabitants of New Brunswick is therefore applied to agriculture, the fisheries, and lumbering. The valuable mines that have been discovered, have not yet been opened ; nor is it probable that they will become objects of enterprise, until the exportable timber has been felled, and the capital necessary to work them has accumu- lated in the Province, — unless they should be taken up by persons in England. The trade of the Province is with the United Kingdom, the British North American Colonies and West India Islands, South America, the whale-fishery of the Pacific Ocean, Africa, the United States, St. Do- mingo, Porto Rico, and Cuba. The exports are timber, deals, boards and planks, shingles, staves, masts and spars, poles, handspikes, oars, lathwood, trenails ; dry, pickled, and smoked fish ; oil, oysters, lime, grindstones, and furs. V 2 4 ':\\' fi92 NEW BRUNSWICK. il - Next to husbandry in importance is lumbering, in which occupation the Province employs annually about 8,000 men. Almost the whole surface of the country is covered by the forest, which is only interrupted by cultivation along the banks of some of the principal streams. The vast woods planted by the hand of Nature in the virgin soil supply to man a harvest where he has not sown, and afford him the means of procuring a subsistence before the earth is prepared to administer to his wants. Their beauty and grandeur at many places are beyond descrip- tion, and the solemn stillness of the wilderness is calculated to strike the mind with awe and reverence. The lofty pine that has stood for ages, towering far above his indigenous associates, is leafless, except at the very summit. Altliough far superior in its dimensions, its trunk resembles the stately mainmast of a ship ; yet it bends before the gale, and waves its umbrella-shaped head to the passing breeze. Many of these trees are eighteen feet in circumference at their bases, and taper gradu- ally to the height of one hundred and fifty feet. In their fall, they crush down the smaller wood ; and, by striking uneven ground, they are sometimes broken. The spruce, although lofty, is of smaller dimen- sions, and is recognised at any distance by his cone-shaped top and drooping branches. The foliage of the larch and hemlock is very beau- tiful. All these trees, with the fir and cedar, exceed in altitude the hard woods standing among them ; their tops appear like an extra growth above the level of the forest. In the wilderness regions, the unwieldy moose still roams at large, and herds of deer wander over the pathless mountains, suffering no alarm except from the prowling wolf or hungry bear. The gloom of the deep forest and its scenery is relieved by its sweet songsters, espe- cially the yellow-vi.'^ged sparrow, whose piping note is echoed among the hills. At night, in calm weather, every sound ceases, except the hoot-hoo of the owl,* and the terrific bowlings of droves of wolves, * In the winter of 1843, I presented a large white owl {Strix nyctea) to the lady of a military gentleman. It was duly caged, fed, and placed in tlie spa- clous hall of the mansion. During the first night of his confinement, he struck his wild notes, O ho, O ho. 'Ihe gentleman, his family, and all the servants were soon alarmed, and called to quarters, under the supposition that daring robbers had entered some part of the house. As they paraded the hall ready IS Vim which occupation Almost the whole is only interrupted pal streams. The •gin soil supply to him the means of administer to his re beyond descrip- alculated to strike that has stood for leafless, except at ensions, its trunk 3s before the gale, ze. Many of these , and taper gradu- fn their fall, they ven ground, they of smaller dimen- le-shaped top and lock is very beau- 'd in altitude the 3ar like an extra !1 roams at large, iins, suffering no '• The gloom of t songsters, espe- is echoed among ases, except the roves of wolves, trix mjctea) to the placed in tlie spa- iiement, he struck d all the servants sition that daring led the hall ready NEW BRUNSWICK. jiorj which, as he rests his weary limbs on the bed of cedar-boughs before the dying embers, brings apprehension to the stoutest-hearted traveller, and deprives him of his slumber. If he seize his gun, he is unable to discover his nocturnal visitors, unless by the flashing of their eager eyes, which sometimes enables him to take a deadly aim. The low bellowing of the moose seems rather friendly, although their ignorant inquisitiveness at night is unfavourable to repose. These and other wild scenes are familiar to the lumberman, who spends the long and cold winter amidst the deep snows, to prepare timber for the British market. The whole expanse of the wilderness is claimed by the native In- dians as their rightful inheritance, and many persons have viewed the forest as being an impediment to agriculture and civilisation. But the lofty groves of massive trees supply materials for commerce, and the demands of refinement and luxury ; they afford the important articles timber and fuel, with juice yielding sugar ; the flesh and furs of their wild animals contribute both food and clothing to the human race, and the annual crop of leaves enriches the soil. Of the numerous forest-trees, we will here mention such as are at present employed for domestic uses, and form staple articles of export. Of the coniferous tribe, the white pine {Pimis strobus), before described, constitutes the chief article of the timber trade. Formerly it was very abundant, and it is still procured in remote situations. Some trees are hewn to a length of eighty feet, and will measure eight tons and up- wards after they are squared. Much of this timber will command a market under any competition. Although it lacks strength, it is free from knots, and most easily worked by the mechanic. In the Colonies, it forms the shingles, clapboards, doors, and windows of the exterior, and all the fine work in the interior of houses. From the great size of the trees, the boards are admirably adapted for pannelings, and every purpose where breadth is required. It receives a fine polish, and, when well seasoned, is not liable to contract by being exposed to heat for action, they v/ere saluted by O ho, O ho, which, to their great consterna- tion, was spoken by the owl. The lady soon gave the grave-looking bird away ; and after he had passed through several hands, he was liberated on account of his nightly orations, and permitted to return to his native woods. i r p Ipf'. ' V i ■ 'l < I' ' ^^y ' ii 294 NEW BRUNSWICK. or dryness. The pine of St. John has been considered superior to that from Quebec, and the Miramichi timber bettor than any other. At present, the wood brought down the St. John, from its large tributaries, is equal in quality to any ever shipped from the Province. Pitch pine {Pinus rigidd) is a durable wood ; the trees are of mode- rate size, and generally grow on dry ground. The red pine, sometimes called yellow pine {Pinus sylvestris), is from four to six feet in circumference near the ground, and grows tall. It appears to be identical with a variety of pine imported into England from Norway. The wood is strong and durable, except the exterior portion of the tree, called the sap, which is generally removed by hewing. Hemlock {Pinus Canadensis) is a durable wood, but cracks much in " seasoning :" it is therefore sawed into blocks, split, and shii)ped, for lathwood. Its bark is used for tanning, for which it is well adapted. It is very abundant, and its groves are the favourite resort of the por- cupine. Nails, when driven into hemlock, will not rust ; and beneath water, the tree and its bark are almost imperishable. Granaries built of this wood will not be entered by mice. Three varieties of the spruce are employed for various purposes. The black spruce {Pinus nigra) is a lofty tree, and its spear-shaped top rises far above the forest level. The essence of spruce is extracted from its leaves, and the branches are boiled in the domestic manufacture of spruce-beer. The wood is tough and elastic. — The white and red spruces, so called from the colour of their barks, are of a similar cha- racter, except that they are not employed in brewing. The fir {Pinus halsamea) is also tall and of considerable diameter ; but the largest trees are frequently hollow, or decayed at the heart. It is very useful for making fences, and rives so easily that a log four- teen feet in length, and fifteen inches in diameter, is readily split into twelve pieces by two men with axes. It makes good staves for fish- barrels and lime-casks. The tree yields a white transparent balsam, applied by the inhabitants and Indians to fresh wounds. It is also taken in diseases of the chest. The larch {Pinus larix), or hackmatack, is a beautiful and lofty tree, seldom more than two feet in diameter. The wood is strong, and not NKVV lUlUNSWlCK. >)( i)5 •ed superior to that an any other. At ts large tributaries, )vince. trees are of mode- sylvestris), is from and grows tall. It orted into England xcept the exterior rally removed by JUt cracks much in t, and shipped, for it 7S well adapted. ! resort of the por- rust ; and beneath !. Granaries built various purposes. s spear-shaped top pruce is extracted nestic manufacture rhe white and red 2 of a similar cha- derable diameter; yed at the heart, 'y that a log four- readily split into •d staves for fish- insparent balsam, unds. It is also ful and lofty tree, 5 strong, and nut liable to decay. — The white cedar {Cvprcssus thyoides) is also a fine tree, and the wood is exceedingly durable. At present it is not much employed, except for fencing and other domestic uses. There can bo no doubt that it would make light and strong vessels. Oak is scarce. Staves are sometimes made of the beech tree ; but the principal supply is from black and white ash, whicli for their strength and flexibility are valuable woods. The young saplings of these trees are made into brooms : yellow birch and white liazle arc also employed for this purpose. Of the birches, the only kinds shipped are the yellow and black ; and the exports of these are limited. The latter is a noble tree ; the wood receives a fine polish, and is much esteemed for tables and olher furniture. It is also employed in shl]^-building. Of the maples, tlie Acer sacchurinum is the most valuable, both for ita wood, and its sap yielding sugar. The woody fibres are sometimes beautifully waved or curled : the curled and bird's-eye varieties are admired for furniture. They receive as fine a polish as mahogany. The butternut and cedar are also used by the cabinet-makers. The wood of the wild cherry resembles the dark-coloured mahoganies. Witch-hazle, or hornbeam, and white and black thorn, are employed in agricultural implements. The felling and hewing of the timber for the British market are generally performed by parties of men hired by the timber-merchant or dealer for the purpose. In the autunm, they are despatched into the woods, with a supply of provisions, axes, horses, or oxen, and every- thing requisite for the enterprise. Their stores are conveyed up the larger streams, in tow-boats drawn by horses, or in canoes paddled by men ; and in winter they are transported over the ice. Hay for their teams is procured from the nearest settlements, i.iid is frecjuently pur- chased at £G per ton. The site for operations having been selected by the leader of the party, a camp is erected, and covered with the bark of trees. The floor of the shanty is made of small poles, and a sort of platform is raised for the general bed, which is composed of evergreen boughs or straw. The fireplace is opposite the sleeping-floor; and that part of the smoke that escapes, ascends through a hole in the roof. In this rude dwelling the food is cooked, and the hunbermen rest at night. \.. Wm \\ 29G NEW BRUNSWICK. A hovel is also built for tlie oxen, and the hay secured against rain. The party is usually divided into three gangs : one cuts down the trees, another hews them, and the third draws the timber to the nearest stream. They begin their work at daylight in the morning, and seldom return to the camp until evening, when they find their supper prepared. During the night, the fire is replenished with wood by the cook and teamster ; and it is a common remark among them, that while the head is freezing, the feet a i burning. I have passed several nights with these people in the backwoods, and always found them remarkably kind and hospitable. They are ever cheerful and contented ; and a more hardy, laborious, and active class of men cannot be found in any part of the world. Formerly, a certain quantity of rum was supplied to each individval ; but since the introduction of Temperance Socie- ties, the practice is less common. The avocation of the lumberman is not altogether Tree from danger Many lives have been lost by the falling of tree:., and the business oi' forking timber is sometimes very hazardous. In the mountainous districts, it is necessary that the timber should be conducted over the steep precipices and high banks along the bor- ders of the rivers. Having been collected on the tops of the cliffs, the square blocks are launched endwise, over rollers, either into the water below, or on the ice, which is frequently broken by the concussion. In its descent, the passage of the timber is occasionally arrested by trees or brushwood : the lumberman then descends, and, holding on to the brushes of doubtful foothold, he cuts away the impediments. This mode of launching timber is called " forking," — from which may have originated the substitution of the phrase " forking over," for the pay- ment of a debt, as expressed by some of the inhabitants. By the latter part of April, the melting ice and snow, with heavy rains, swell the streams and produce freshets. The lumbermen com- mence *' stream-driving." The timber on the rivulets is now floated downwards to the deep rivers; each log is launched, and, when stranded, it is again rolled into the current — and their manner of urging the enor- mous pieces of pine over the rapids is alike creditable to their courage and patience. Still pushing the rafts of timber downwards, and moving with the current that daily transports the bark that covers their movable sured against rain. Its down the trees, the nearest stream, and seldom return supper prepared. by the cook and liat while the head everal nights with them remarkably contented ; and a 't be found in any •um was supplied emperance Socie- iree from danger id the business oi' the timber should 'S along the bor- i of the cliffs, the ler into the water the concussion, arrested by trees lolding on to the •ediments. This which may have -r," for the pay- s. low, with heavy umbermen com- s is now floated , when stranded, urging the enov- to their courage rds, and moving rs their movable NEW BRUNSWICK. 297 camps — stung by swarms of insects both day and night, these men possess more patience under their hardships and sufferings than those of any other class in the country. Half-a-dozen of them will frequently navigate the stream astride a log of timber, which they paddle along with their legs in the water ; and they will force the light skiff or canoe up a perpendicular fall of three feet, where the roaring of the water is truly deafening, and where there there is constant danger of being plunged into some whirlpool, or dashed against the rocks. Although they are frequently rendered giddy by the revolving motion of the eddies, they fix the poles upon the bottom, and move away against the foaming torrent, or cross the stream on slippery blocks of pine. Such is the force of habit, that these men view the forest as their home, and the river as their turnpike : constantly exposed to the inclemency f the weather, and Uie water of the rivers, they appear contented, and seem to regret when the labour of the season is ended. In situations where the water is more tranquil, a singular spectacle is sometimes pre- sented : each of the drivers mounts a log or piece of timber, and, with their pikes in hand, the party move along like a floating regiment, until some fall or rapid warns them to re-embark. Not unfrequently, a rapid is blocked up with timber in such quantities, that it refuses to pass. This is called a "jam." The clearing away of these jams is the most dangerous part of the stream-drivers' employment, and who are sometimes thrown down a fall or rapid into the boiling pool beneath. The quantity of timber in one of these drives is enormous : its pro- gress along the river where the timber gets entangled among the rocks is therefore slow, especially when the summer is advanced, and the volume of the water consequently diminished. In order to deepen the water, "win"" dams" are sometimes constructed on the sides of the most troublesome rapids. The depth and velocity being thus increased, the floating timber passes along more readily : but these dams greatly impede the passage of canoes in ascending the streams. Like the em- ployment of the sailor, the work of the lumberman is peculiar : he requires much practice and experience ; and it may be safely asserted, that should any unfavourable change take place in the home timber trade, thousands of men will be thrown out of employment, who have > I;* '■ 5K)8 NEW UKUNSNViCK. ,i ■■ ^' as little disposition to cTi{:jage in agriculture as those who have been employed as sailors or fish'.rnien. The timber and logs having been eollected, are formed into large flat rafts, and floated down to their plaee of shipment, or to saw-mills, where the logs are manufactured into deals, boards, planks, &c. The lumber- men then receive their pay, which they too often spend in extravagant festivity, until the period arrives when they again depart for the wil- derness : yet there are many who take care of their money, purchase land, and finally make good settlers. Timber is collected by farmers, new settlers, and squatters, who also procure great numbers of logs for the saw-mills ; but the greatest supplies are brought down by the lumbermen from the interior forests. Mills for the manufacture of timber have greatly multiplied within a few past years. The removal of the exterior parts of the logs, by saws, is favourable to the preservation of the wood, and by it a great saving is effected in the freight. The saws, however, are chiefly ap- plied to spruce, while the pine is shipped in squared logs. Value. Persons eniployoil. In 1831, the number of saw-milla was 229 1836, — — — 320 1810, _ _ _ 574 1845, __ _ _- G40 The present flourishing state of the trade has arisen from the higli duties imposed on Baltic timber. In 1701, when the export of timber from New Brunswick had only commenced, the duty on Baltic timber was only Gs. 8d. per load ; that duty was gradually raised, and in 1812 amounted to £2 14s. 8d. per load. In 1820 it was £3 5s. per load ; but in 1821 it was reduced to £2 15s., and, for the first time, a duty of 10s. per load was laid on American timber.* By the financial system of Sir Robert Peel introduced into Parliament in 1842, it was proposed to reduce the duty on foreign wood to 30s. on squared timber, and 35s. per load on deals, according to their cubic contents ; and after one year, to make a farther reduction to 25s. and 30s. respectively, and to levy Is. a load upon timber and 2s. a load on Colonial deals. The £320,030 3,798 420,000 4,200 740,000 7,400 900,000 8,400 * Rupoit on Timber Trade. NliW lUlUNSWICK. £>99 lose who have been rmed into large ilat to saw-mills, where , &c. The lumbor- lend in extravagant depart for the wil- r money, i)urchasc llected by farmers, lumbers of logs for ight down by the multiplied within rts of the logs, by and by it a great 'er, are chiefly ap- logs. e. Persons cniployoil. 3,798 4,200 7,400 8,400 030 000 000 DOO sen from the high e export of timber y on Baltic timber aised, and in 1812 £3 5s. per load ; irst time, a duty of ic financial system 2, it was proposed lared timber, and Its ; and after one spectively, and to jnial deals. The tidings of this movement were met in the Province by strong petitions and remonstrances against the measure, which was afterwards carried by a large majority, with a change in favour of Colonial deals of 2h, per load of 50 cubic feet : the duty on foreign being 38s., and on Colonial 2s. This change in the timber duties took place on the lOlh of October following, and the apprehensions of its injurious eifects upon Elie trade of the Colonies have proved to be groundless. The removal fall duty on Baltic timber would almost aunihilute the Colonial trade. The effect of these duties has been very manifest in the trade between the two countries, as will appear by the following table. 9 Cauqoes of Timber, &c. from British America and the Baltic for last 12 years. Uritisu Ameuica. Baltic. Year end- ing I'cb. 1, Vessels. Tonnage. Vessels. Tonna^^'c. 1835 335 11799G 91 27394 183G 420 163284 102 295 15 1837 328 143481 06 18900 1838 275 135072 63 19000 1839 302 1G0291 72 23116 1840 339 170591 58 17415 1841 230 133400 48 14000 1842 318 171948 40 11923 1843 165 91179 32 11239 1841 311 151518 61 17253 1845 309 189414 51 14144 184G 453 239S54 112 33792* The equalisation of the duties on timber has afforded a subject of much discussion and debate — and certair y the gradual extension of the principles of free trade is very desirable : at present the British consumer is paying a higher price for his timber than it would be sup- plied for if tlie duties on foreign timber were removed. The import- ance of the article for ship-building, machinery, and the ordinary pur- poses of life, for which vast quantities are required, form a strong aigu- Ileports on British Comnicrco, 1846. 1 ■ ill i 300 NliW BRUNSWICK. mcnt in favour of allowing it to be imported from all countries duty- free ; yet it must be conceded that, under the present Colonial system, a great amount of capital has been invested in the erection of saw-mi'ls and machinery, which would be rendered almost valueless by a sudden reduction in the protective duties of the British Colonial subject. Many thousands of men would also be deprived of employment ; and although some of them would engage in agriculture, a great number of this part of the labouring population would depart for the United States. The Colonial trade, as it now exists, trains a great number of hardy seamen, who in any emergency would be ready for defence or conquest. The consumption of British manufactured goods is also far greater in the Colonies than it would be in a decline of the timber trade, which now enables the inhabitants to pay not only for the necessaries, but likewise for many of the luxuries of life. The timber trade has been the handmaid of emigration ; and although the greater number of immigrants into New Brunswick by the timber ships depart for the United States, the few that remain are greatly aided in the settlement of wild lands by the ready market created by the lumberman and timber-dealer. The changes of duty on the Baltic timber, and the high prices given in Great Britain, in 1824, gave rise to great speculations. The market was soon overloaded with Colonial ships and timber. The result was, that the price of wood fell one-half — many persons were ruined, and the most cautious merchants sustained severe losses. The exports of timber and ships at the present time are merely remunerative, and any unfa- vourable change in the duties would be disastrous to the whole trade. Value of the Exports of Wood in 183S. Squared timber Boards Deals . . Stiives .. Shingles Handspikes . . Oars Lathwood Trenails Spars . . Total sterling £291,817 13,437 104,150 12,909 1,905 52 478 4,966 157 94 £430,023 I countries duty- Colonial system, tion of saw-mi'ls elcss by a sudden al subject. Many nt ; and although mber of this part ted States. The of hardy seamen, ■ conquest. The ir greater in the trade, which now ries, but likewise •n ; and although k by the timber are greatly aided i created by the ligh prices given lis. The market The result was, e ruined, and the xports of timber ^, and any unfa- le whole trade. ^ 291,817 13,437 104,150 12,<)(J9 1,905 52 478 4,96G 157 94 ; 430,023 NEW HllUNSWICK. 301 The In the cified. following :uo the exports of wood from St. John in 1839. returns from the outports, the quantity shipped is not spe- Squart'd timber . . . ■ 255, frl? tons . . Boards (5,022 ms, feet Deals 75,9(J9 do. do. Stavi'S 1,858 thousand Shingles 4,504 ditto Jiaiulspikes 2,474 n°. Oars 6,715 n°. .. Luthwood 4,095 cords Sawed Laths 129 thousand Masts and Spars .. .. 3,804 n°. Ship-knees 538 n°. Vultio, £ 277,998 10,041 189,252 8,318 3,340 117 550 4,232 2,407 109 Total sterling £ 502,970 [ For 1845— Squared timber Boards 10,537,000 feet .. Deals 127,800 ms. feet Staves 1,008 thousand Shingles 8,371 ditto Oars 2,117 n°. Latliwood 4,200 cords Sawed Laths 1,805 thousand. Masts and Spars . . . . 2,602 n°. .. 244,846 tons jg 275,451 26,342 .. 319,650 4,530 0,278 158 4,312 1,951 Total sterling £ 038,708 The following is a comparative s\ itement of the number of vessels entered inwards from and cleared outwards for Great Britain, British Colonies, the United States, and Foreign States, at St. John, in the years ended 30th September, 1841, and 1842, with their tonnage and men : — * Custom-house Returns, 1840. 'f \;-i ! no^a NKW nHUNSVVlCK. Onnt lirituin, llritiiili Uiiileil ColonliH 8tatei4. For. 8tH. 31 21 10 4 9 Totiil TonnuKO. Men. Inwards, In 1811 In 1812 Less in 1842.... OuTWAUDM. In 1841 In 1842 Less in 1842 More in 1812 .. 430 275 1109 1212 317 251 2250 1702 491 2124 1855 299518 M2S3 221050 , 12013 KM 071 427 257 1522 1199 03 227 220 79308 352300 2573iJ5 1010 1011 1 12121 244 323 • • 7 ■ • •• 5 509 94911 3093 Comparative Value, in Sterling, of the Imports nnd Exports in the Years ending 30th Sejjtembcr, 1841, nnd 1812. (ireat Jiritain. North America. We.st Indies. Klse- whero. United Status. Foreign States. Total. Imports. In 1811 In 1842 Less in 1812.. More in 1842 Exports. In 1841 In 1842 Less in 1842.. INIorc in 1842 718007 211481 £ 251508 145505 1340 1773 £ 230 085 £ 213911 137450 £ 10074 4890 11778 • ■ 3710 1259 £ 1201730 501799 503583 401020 280810 10G003 90810 59110 433 19524 15711 • • 449 83 3200 70455 • • 15905 23411 090937 591088 383027 180180 31700 3813 3177 7530 2481 • • 217101 New Vessels. New Ships registered in 1841 Ditto ditto in 1812 Less in \8Ui .. No. 118 73 45 TOVVAOE. New. Cld. 48,779 46,100 19,282 19,018 29,497 27,148 ll , .:,,'ijf i i m yiji8 10.'iO Moil. 1128;} i2fii;j 2;joo link} 10 lU loni 12121 iOU :ic,m ports in the Years Foreign Status. £ 1GG71 489(3 11778 3710 1259 Total. 12017.'3ri .'30179!) 2481 (mo;]7 59I0S8 ;]8;jG27 2171G1 N'KW lUllJNSWICK. rXAOE. Cld. 4(5,1 (if) 19,018 27,148 rm Sliip-biiildiiig hn.s hcon Collowud will) inucli npirit, and still forms an iinpiirtant branch of industry in New llrnnswick. An opinion lias prevailed in Great Hritain, and not without just foun(hition, that the siiips built in the Province are iniperfoclly constructed and insullicienlly fastened. Ships are frequently built by contract for from £'i to £7 per ton : the result has been that many of them liave not been faithfully and substantially j)nt to{,'ethtr, and the discovi-ry of their imperfections lias injured the rrputution of all the vessels of the Colony. Since 1H4(), a successful effort has been made to improve the ship-building, and the vessels now built by the merchants under proper inspection arc equal, if not superior, to any over launched. The abundance and good quality of the wood give New IJrunswiek an advantage in the building of ships and other vessels, 'I'lic total tonnaj'e of the Province did not exceed in 1782 250 tons : the tonnage of St. John in 1795 V. as 4,000 1824 „ 10,000 1830 „ .59,003 „ In 1835, the total tonnage of the Province was 80,870 tons: in 1839, the tonnage of St. John alone was 80,830 tons, exclusive of the outports ; in 1815, it was 71,843 tons — of Miraniichi, 0,182 tons. The number of new vessels registered at St. John, In 1831, was 48, measuring loot), ,, /J, ,, •• •• .. ,, Built for owners in Great Britain (5 ,, Built ut Mirumichl .. .. 8 Total 7,0-19 tons. 23,010 „ i,(i(;9 „ 3,M7 .. 27,826 In 1839, 108 new vessels were registered at St. John : of these, 22 wore built in Nova Scotia. Total tonnage, 30,570 tons. Built at Miramiclii, 20 vessels : tonnage, 9,827 tons. Total of new vessels at St. John and Miramiehi, 40,199 tons. In 1841, 85 ships were built in the Province — 33,991 tons. The number of new vessels registered at St. John and Miramiehi the year ending 31st December, 1845, was, vessels, 77 ; 27,440 tons. ! '1 il(il» 304. NEW BRUNSWICK. Excepting the mills and machinery employed in sawing wood, the manufactories may all be called domestic, as none of their productions are exported. The iron and coal employed in the foundries are im- ported from Great Britain, notwithstanding both of these articles are abundant in the Province. The operations of the foundries are con- fined to the manufccture or such articles as are required by the country. The number of grist-mills in the Province in 1840 was 247. Besides these, there are a few maehines, of simple construction, for carding wool and fulling cloth. In the larger towns, there are breweries, tanneries, and small establishments for making soap and candles ; but the tabief of trade show, that the exports being the productions of the Province ire objects in their natural state, or such as have only under- gone the preparatory process of manufacture. Mining scarcely forms any part of Provincial labour, even since the more perfect development of the mineral wealth of the country by a geological survey of a part of the Province. Lumbering and the tim- ber trade continue to bind the capital and enterprise of the country. New Brunswick contains great mineral wealth ; coal and iron are abundant : besides these, manganese, copper, lead and other ores have been discovered, and limestone, g •,'Oum, and freestone, of the best kinds, occur in certain districts ; yet the home consumption and ex- portation ot those objects are extremely limited. Manganese has been exported to England from Gloucester, and from Quaco to the United States. Small quantities of co.l are raised annually on the borders of the Grand Lake for the supply of Fredericton, and small cargoes are sometimes sent down to St John. The principal exports of gypsvnn, freestone, and grindstone, are made from Westmoreland to the United States. — Exports of rocks and mineru's in 1830. Gypsum and limestone . t Grindstones . . Lime . . MangaP';oe Gypsum Grindstones Lime . . Coals . . Limestone 1836. 1,748 tons. 4,437 number. 550 hhds. 187 cwt. 1,015 tons. 256 „ 805 hhda. 12 chaldrons. 90 tons. NEW BRUNSWICK. S05 sawing wood, the )f their productions foundries are im- )f these articles are foundries are con- red by the country, was 247. Besides uction, for carding ere are breweries, J and candles ; but productions of the IS have only under- our, even since the f the country by a aering and the tim- se of the country, coal and iron are nd other ores have Bstone, of the best isumption and ex- langanese has been uaco to the United y on the borders of 1 small cargoes are exports of gypsum, iland to the United tons, number, hhds. cwt. tons. >> hhds. chaldrons, tons. 1839. Gypsum . . . . , . . . 7,991 tons. Grhidstones 1,182 ,, Lime 858 hhds. 1845. Gypsum 2,034 tons. Grindstones 657 „ Lime 1,369 hhds. Of the produce of agriculture the Province makes no export, but, on the contrary, imports largely from the United States, Great Britain, and the Colonies. The imports of potatoes and other vegetables into St. John in 1839 alone were 163,671 bushels. This may seem an extraordinary fact, especially as the soil has been represented to be fer- tile and favourable for tillage ; but it is in part the result of the timber trade, which has taken away the bone and muscle from husbandry, and rendered it incapable of supplying the rural population, the towns, lumbering parties, and fishermen. The state and produce of the fisheries have been treated of in a pre- vious chapter. Among the exports we fiiid horns of cattle, furs, hides, and bricks. The table of exports contains many articles that had been previously imported ; but a much greater amount is always brought in than is shipped away, and, including the staple articles of fish and lumber, the former greatly exceeds the latter. Impokts and Exports at the Port of St. John in the year 1782. Imports. Exports. Linens 2 trunks Oysters 1 barrel Woollens 5 packages Fire-arms . . 1 chest Raisins 1 cask Wheat 31 bushels Glass 3 boxes Pease 41 „ Tin ware 1 box Beaver skins 222 lbs. Brimstone 1 cask Musquash skins 767 No. Cider 24 barrels Racoon skins 13 „ Do. .. 7 hogsheads Salt .. 100 bushels Apples . 327 bushels Rum . . . . 238 gallons Tobacco . 330 lbs. Wine 40 „ Do. 8 barrels Turpentine . . 7 barrels Do. 1 hogshead Glass 1 box Turpentine 16 barrels Tobacco 350 lbs. Rum . . 40 barrels Indian corn.. 664 buslicls Do. .. 4 hogsheads Do. do. 2 casks Brandy 40 gallons Cod libh 7 quintals X 'k' -^x. !( r I. i'i ■i Jl rii 'i ■■■■,' 30G NEW BRUNSWICK. Imports and Exports — co7itinued. Imports. Exports. Wine 75 gallons Buckwheat . . 22 bushels Molasses 5 barrels Hides 4 No. Do. 1 hogshead Sheep 104 „ Cod fish . . 32 cwt. Oxen 26 „ Iron .. 800 lbs. English goods 1 Trunk Leather 10 sides Scythes 48 No. Sugar 58 cwt. Hoes.. 12 „ Cordage 4 coils Axes 12 „ Tea .. 1 chest Clapboards . . 1 ,500 feet Twine 2 bundles Pewter I cask Indigo 1 box Cross-cut saws 9 No. Flour 6 bags Grindstones 28 „ Scythes 49 No. Potatoes 4 hogsheadM Hoes.. 20 „ Cabbages . . 100 heads Pewter 1 cask Old iron 1 hogshead English goods 4 trunks Rum .. 1 tierce Salt .. 53 bags Moose skins 25 No. Grindstones. . 44 No. Steel . . 1 faggot Onions 100 bushels Merchandise 13 packages Bricks 300 No. Beef.. 12 quarters Axes.. 6 „ Scythe handles 24 „ Pork . . 5 bai-rels Pease 2 bushels Oats .. 4 „ Household furniture An Account of Vessels entered and cleared at the Port of St. .John in the year 1782.* tjN TERED. Cleared. Tons. Tons. Rosanna 17 Rosanna 17 Betsy .. 10 Peggy . . 8 Escape 10 Betsy . . 10 Polly .. 10 Lscape 10 Sally .. 10 Polly .. 10 Lark . . 18 Sally .. 10 Ranger 12 Lark . . 18 Prosperity 10 Ranger 12 Unity .. 10 Prosperity 10 Speedy 7 Unity .. 10 Little Toin . 30 Little Tom 30 Managuash 20 Total. tonnage U4 Total tonnage 165 I * From the first record of the Customs at St. John, siiiiplied by .lames White, Esq., High Shirid' of St. John, and son of Jiimes Wliite, Esq., wlio was Die first Colleotor of Customs at that [lort. ■)UTS. 22 bushels 4 No, 104 „ 26 „ 1 Trunk 48 No. 12 „ 12 „ ,500 feet I cask 9 No. 28 „ 4 hogshead". 100 herals 1 hogshead 1 tierce 25 No. 1 faggot 13 packagres 12 quarters Port of St, .John RED. Tons. 17 8 10 10 10 10 18 l-j iO 10 30 20 tonnage 1C5 ) White, Esq., High Slu'iill' f Customs at that port. NEW BRUNSWICK. 307 Tho imports into the Province are various, and, besides all kinds of provisions, they include the necessaries and many of the luxuries of refined society. From the slow advance of agriculture, the Province is, in a great degree, dependent upon the United States and the neigh- bouring Colonies for bread. The imports of "bread stuffs" in 1834 amounted to f 80,240, and in 1839 to £228,655, which, after de- ducting the exports — £25,839, leaves the consumption for the latter year of bread kind, £202,810. In 1831, the imports into St. John were £577,000 currency; in 1835, the imports were £1,040,000. The imports in 1839 were as follows : — Amount £1,433,474 46,513 14,034 7 5,500 3 4 11,962 10 ntc ) St, John Amo >i St, Andrew's *i >> St, Stephen's >> >) Magaguadavic M >j Welchpool . . »> £1,511,483 18 11 Extracts of Imports and Exports at the Port of St, John and Outbays for the year 1845. I MPORTS. j Exports. Flour wheat , , 03,171 barrels Flour wheat 5,203 bushels Rye flour . . 12,750 „ „ rye 1,976 „ Corn meal 40,632 „ Indian meal 1,133 „ Bread . . . . 5,144 cwt. Beef and pork . . 2,614 „ Indian corn 50,322 bushels Rickera . . 5,113 „ Wheat . . 263,752 „ Butter and chces'e 123 cwt. Rye . . 2,226 „ Trenails . . 61 mds. Oats 78,661 „ Tea 21,430 lbs. Pork, salted . . 11,885 barrels Sugar 1,793 cwt. i ei ,, 2,601 „ ,, refined 401 „ Rice . ■ 1,881 cwt. Salt 107,151 bushels Meats, fresh 488 „ Furs 33 packages Butter and che ese 1,371 „ Fish, dried 8,842 quintals Coffee . . ,. 1,424 „ ,, salted 17,923 barrels Dried fruits ■ • 1,907 „ „ smoked 10,058 boxes Tea • • 502,086 lbs. „ oil .. 71 barrels Sugar a • 14,565 cwt, Tobacco, manufac. 807 cwt. ,, refined 1,679 „ Hides 13,605 „ Salt 318,056 bushels Soap . . . . 333 „ Tobacco, manufac. 32,030 cwt. Wine 2,428 gallons ,, leaf • . 313 „ Brandy . . 563 „ X 2 I • II illif ■:!: ' ' 308 NEW BRUNSWICK. Extracts of Imports and Exports — continued. I MPORTS. 1 Exports. Hides, raw 8,992 cwt. Geneva . . 1,735 gallons Tallow . . 2,215 „ Rum 7,806 „ Soap 3,991 „ Whisky . . .. 1,435 „ Candles . . 422 „ Molasses . . .. 28,338 „ Wine 21,478 gallons Cordage .. 883 cwt. Brandy . . 4G,712 „ Oakum . 207 „ Geneva .. 32,870 „ Sailcloth . .. 14,940 yards Rum 76,908 „ Oil, black whale 63,954 gallons Whisky .. 11,167 „ ,, sperm .. 13,370 „ Ale and porter 25,525 „ Timber . . .. 244,846 tons Molasses . . 348,575 „ Boards 10,537,000 feet Cider 94,380 „ Deals .. 127,860 „ Vinegar .. 19,935 „ Staves 1,008 mds. Earthenware 2,266 crates Shingles . . 8,371 „ Glass manufactures 1,939 cwt. Oai's .. 2,117 Oakum . . 3,688 „ Lathwood 4,200 cords Cordage . . 16,132 „ Liiths, sawn 1,805 mds. Sailcloth .. 347,318 yards Masts and spars. . 2,602 Deals 3,480 feet Iron .. 21,804 cwt. Trenails .. 92,000 „ Copper . . Ill » Dyewoods 140 cwt. Nails, iron 729 „ Wooden ware - 7,893 dozens Gypsum .. 2,034 tons Iron, wrought, un..> Grindstones 657 „ wrought, cast. 5,333 tons Naval stores 243 bushels and pig ..J Coals 2,011 chaldus Copper . . 1,554 cwt. Pai'it 116 cwt. Lead 1,012 „ „ oil 1,046 gallons Nails 6,607 „ Lime . • 1,309 hhds. Hardware 11,830 „ Gypsum .. 2,165 tons Naval stores 1,032 barrels Coals 20,191 chaldns. Paint 3,226 cwt. „ oil .. 21,395 gallons Indigo 18,117 lbs. Hemp 3,467 cwt. Guano 412 tons Total official value of Imports Do. do. Exports £1,050,794 £ 723,094 In 1835, the entries of vessels inwards at the Port of St. John and its outbays were 2,467 ; number of tons, 298,993 ; number of men, 14,407. Outwards : 2,361 vessels ; 322,200 tons ; 14,556 men. NEW BRUNSWICK. 309 xponrs. tons 10,537,000 feet 1,735 gallons 7,806 1,435 28,338 883 207 14,940 63,954 13,370 244,846 >» >i >y CWt. »> yards gallons 127,860 1,008 8,371 2,117 4,206 1,805 2,602 21,864 111 729 2,034 657 243 2,011 116 1,046 1,369 mds. cords nids. cwt. tons »» bushels chaldns. cwt. gallons hhds. ),794 ^094 •t of St. John and number of men, 14,556 men. An Account of Vessels entered Inwards and cleared Outwardu at the Port of St. John and its Outbays in the year ending 5th January, 1837. Inwards. Outwards. 1 Vessels. Tons. Men. Vessels. Tons. Men. Great Britain British Colonies United States Foreign States Total 467 1773 292 17 142396 100220 43225 3789 • • • • t • • • • • ■ • 605 1638 141 5 193724 89380 14488 535 ■ t • • • . • • 2549 289010 14091 2389 MSI 97 136S5* The same for the year ending 5th January, 1840. Inwards. United Kingdom . . . . Guernsey and Jersey.. Brit. West Indies . . . . Brit. N. A. Cvjlonies . . Foreign Ships Foreign Europe British Africa U. States, Brit, Ships.. Foreign Ships ........ Cuba Porto Rico St. Eustacia Brazil > St. Andrew's St. Stephen's Magaguadavic Welchpool Vessels Tons. Men. 540 2 41 1595 • • 23 • • 287 93 7 3 2 1 198 155 50 180 Total 3177 198034 131 7163 81981 6168 35397 11778 739 507 230 280 2447G 17679 9324 7278 401 008 7805 14 330 5421 228 • • • • 1831 490 46 21 16 14 • • • • 806 576 1758G Outwards. Vessels. 770 2 62 1482 4 1 1 196 87 181 144 82 174 3186 Tons. 270935 147 9278 71964 553 112 121 15421 11046 24179 20552 10914 5973 441195 Men. 10270 13 408 4999 23 9 8 1049 464 1041 520 188611 ' Notitia of Nuw lirunswick. t Custom-Houso lU'turns for 1840. 11 310 NEW BRUNSWICK. Number of Vessels entered Inwards and cleared Outwards for the year ending 31st Dec. 1845. Inwards. OVTWAHOI. Vessels. Tons. Vessels. Tons. 2,455 390,792 2,434 425,638 8 The ordinary revenue of New Brunswick is derived from imports, generally moderate, on goods imported from all countries. A peculiar feature in the Provincial Tariff, is the taxation of the productions of the Sister Colonies. Besides large quantities of* deals, staves, and other wood. Nova Scotia sends great quantities of beef, potatoes, apples, cider, and other agricultural produce, to St. John, which has heretofore afforded a market for such articles. Wood has generally been per- mitted to enter duty-free, while agricultural commodities are taxed ; even eggs, which are shipped in great numbers from Digby, have been made the objects of duty, and the counting of barrels of the ovarious articles by the officers of the revenue has given rise to some very ludi- crous scenes. Previous to 1785, the two Provinces were united, anu no sound argument can be found for a system which produces many evils, besides engendering smuggling. Upon the principle of retaliation, the Nova Scotia Authorities, in 1843, laid a poll-tax upon every person landing in the Province from New Brunswick. Such taxes are calculated to disturb the friendly feelings of the Colonists towards each other, and lead to evasion of their laws. Besides the revenue arising from duties on imported goods, the Pro- vince receives a large annual sum from the disposal of Crown timber and lands. In 1837, a Bill passed the different branches of the Legis- lature, to provide for the Civil Government of the Province. After much negotiation with the Home Government, this Bill received the Royal sanction, whereby the King's casual and territorial revenues were surrendered to the Province, whose people agreed to pay an adequate Civil List. The sura transferred by this measure from the Crown to New Brunswick was no less than £171,224, exclusive of the succeeding annual income from the above source. In 1830, the amount of this revenue was only £5, GOO ; in 1835 Ml -•>■ If I'-'i; NEW BRUNSWICK. 311 )utwards for tlic Tons. 425,638 ived from imports, intries. A peculiar e productions of the staves, and other atoes, apples, cider, ich has heretofore enerally been per- lodities are taxed; ' ^jgby. Iiave been ils of the ovarious to some very ludi- ed, anu no sound many evils, besides taliation, the Nova sry person landing are calculated to Is each other, and d goods, the Pro- of Crown timber :hes of the Legis- Province. After Bill received the rial revenues were ' pay an adequate m the Crown to of the succeeding 5,G00; in 1835 it was £46,000; in 1837, £31,832; in 1839, £18,154; in 1840, £24,299 ; and in 1845, £i 1,705 10s. 4d. Notwithstanding the large sum that was thus placed at the disposal of the Legislature by the transfer of the Crown revenues, such was the system of extravagance followed by the House of Assembly, and every branch of the Colonial Government, that the whole sum, with the annual revenue of the Province, was soon swallowed up, and the country involved in liabilities it was altogether unprepared to meet. Some just claims remain unpaid up to the present day. On the 31st day of December, 1842, the financial state of the Province was as follows : — Total amount of liabilities Estimated value of assets Balance against the Province . . Amount of urgent demands . . . . Available assets .. Balance of urgent demands By another statement — The total existing demands for 1843 were And the excess of demands £162,571 13 3 87,905 12 2 £ 74,666 i 1 £115,969 8 6 35,128 £80,841 8 6* £148,582 18 2 77,212 18 2 Under these unpleasant circumstances, it was necessary to obtain a loan, the emount of which, from an increase of the ordinary revenue, has been reduced, and the liabilities of the Province diminished. The following is a statement of the finances of the Province, 1st January, 1846 : — Debts. Warrants in the Treasury not called for . . Appropriations for which warrants have not passed Due to Savings Bank Debentures for loans, and interest thereon Balance of Province Loan . . . . Total Debts .. £9,460 issed 5,746 17 .. 20,000 .. 16,786 ,. 72,000 4 2 ..£123,992 17 6 Journals of the House of Assembly, 1843, p. 56. n\ ■1 ( imm I m 312 NKW 13IIUNSW1CK. ASBETS. Bonds for loans nnd intereet £12,.'3G2 St. John Water Company's bonds.. .. .. 5,()00 Balance due Bank of New Brunswick .. .. 18,493 16 2 Balance at Outbays 7,363 17 7 £43,219 13 9 Amount of Debts per Treasurer's Accounts .. £80,773 3 9* In exchange for the Queen's revenues, the Province grants the full payment of the Civil List, or £14,500 per annum. The ordinary revenue of the Province in 1830 was £49,670 1831 28,196 1832 , 37,518 1833 „ 35,661 1834 „ 45,220 1835 ,, 60,316 1837 „ 5) ,988 1838 „ 65,439 1839 „ 84,289 1840 „ 109,942 17 7 1841 110,983 10 9 1842 „ 55,904 2 1843 „ 59.498 13 OJ 1844 , 92,333 14 2 1845 „ 127,753 1 9it • Journals of House of Assembly, 1816, p. 53. t The following table shows the sources from which the revenues are de- rived : — Abstract ov the Revenues of New Brunswick for five years, ending 31st December, 1845. 1341. 1842. 1843. 1844. 1845. Loan Fund. .*.. £ 8. d. 55205 14 9 21974 12 25764 18 8 763 16 5 £ 8. d. 19426 5 2 17847 15 6 11905 17 4 271 2 9 1954 14 2 3033 is 7 1464 11 £ s. d. 1304 19 7i 24998 8 4^ 11980 14322 2 9 540 17 10 342 6 8 4083 4 5 1026 13 4^ £ 8. d. 6331 11 1 40147 12 7 8675 7 8378 15 7 21519 18 5i 615 17 4i 567 5 10 4444 17 10 1052 8 5 £ 8. (i. 8631 12 2| 53668 18 10^ 20162 9 10 11705 10 4 25304 14 9 403 1 1 1372 6 8 4454 19 8 2049 8 4i Casual Revenue < Reed, from H.M/s Customs Auction Duties *... Fassenorer Duties 1762 10 3675 17 3 1836 10 10 Sick & Disabl. Seamen's do. Totals 11098J 10 9 55904 2 59493 13 0^ 92333 14 2 127753 1 'Ji 'i'f ■ \i . i I NEW BRUNSWICK. 313 S12,3G2 5,()00 18,493 16 2 7,363 17 7 243,219 13 9 '80,773 3 9« ce grants the full 1. The ordinary 1 17 7 10 9 2 13 OJ 14 2 1 9H e revenues are de- r», ending m. 1843. s. d. £ 8. (1 11 1 8631 12 2i 12 7 S3C68 18 lOJ 7 20162 9 10 15 7 11705 10 4 18 5i 25304 14 9 17 4i 403 1 1 5 10 1372 6 8 17 10 4454 19 8 8 5 2049 8 4i 4 2 127753 I 9^ Formerly, the Legislature complained that they had not enough power over the revenues of the country, and in 1837 Delegates were sent to England to represent their grievances. In that year all cause of complaint was removed, and the resources of the Province were put under the control of the Legislature. Large grants are made annually for the construction and repairs of roads and bridges. The remaining part of the funds is applied to education and other branches of Colonial improvement. This settlement of a vexed question was called *' a boon to the country ;" and so it really was, until, by the treaty of Lord Ash- burton, a valuable part of the Province, and its chief timber districts, were given away to the Ameiicans. Since that period, it has been pro- posed to call upon the Imperial Government to be reimbursed for the los3. From having gained a full treasury, a high degree of extrava- gance followed, until the Province became involved in debt and diffi- culty : but since 1843, there has been more care and economy, and with an increase of trade the Colony is rapidly advancing. The increasing commerce of the Province has been accompanied with much enterprise. Between 183.0 and 1840, Joint-stock Companies were formed, whose iinited stocks amounted to £2,000,000. It is true, that of these Companies, not all have gone into operation; yet some of them have made extensive improvements. The Banks of St. John are — Capital Stock. . £100,000 150,000 50,000 1,000,000 The Bank of New Brunswick Commercial Bank .. City Bank Branch Bank of British North America, of Of St. Andrew's — St. Andrew's Bank Frcdericton — Central Bank Branch of Bank of British North America. £15,000 £35,000 St. Stephen's — St. Stephen's £25,000 Branches have been extended to Miramichi and Woodstock. No .;:■'■, *i ji HH NEW r ."NSWICK. interest is allowed on deposits ; ^^ ■ ns the stock is worth per cent., capital may be safely invested. The Local Insurance Connpanies are very respectable. They are, at St. John — The New Brunswick Fire Insurance Company New Brunswick Murine Insurance Company . Fredericton Central Fire Insurance Company , Capital. 50,00() 50,000 Agencies for these and some of the London and United Stales Ofliccs are established in different parts of the Province. There are a number of Companies for other objects : of these, we may mention Capital. The St. John Water Company £20,000 St. John Mechanics' Whale-fishing Company . . 50,000 St. John Mills and Canal Conipan- . . . . 40,000 St. John Mills and Manufacturing Company . . 20,000 At St. John, there is a Chamber of Commerce, composed of a number of active merchants and shipowners. This Board watches with a careful eye over the vicissitudes of trade, and communicates with the Govern- ment on subjects connected with the commerce and general improve- ment of the country. * Now dissolved. mm III ; ,' \ : 1 1 k I'i' '' iHl^ ^ worth a per cent., able. They are, at CHAPTER X. POPULATION, AND RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL STATE OF NEW BRUNSWICK. The population of New Brunswick has increased, perhaps, more rapidly than that of any other British Colony excepting Canada. The great influx of Loyalists in 1783 has been followed by a steady flow of emi- gration from the neighbouring Colonies and Great Britain ; and, from the healthiness of the climate, the rate of increase is high. It has been justly remarked by Mr. M'Gregor, that a suspicion prevails among the working classes all over America, that the taking of a census implies the levying of a poll-tax, and therefore the real numbers of many families are withheld. Such an opinion is still common in New Brunswick. In 1783, the population of New Brunswick, by est was . . 1817 .. 1824, by census 1834, by census 1840, by census 1845, by estimation mation, 11,457 35,000 74,170 119,457 156,162 192,867 31G NKW BllUNSVVICK, PI M m a en •a 'G .2 o HI o o '.a u a> a at c bo _c ti o u u cd o" 00 u IB s u •o >«■ « 00 91 — >0 9 J *J > 1 to 1 •au|Ms 9 il 51 3 ;; :; •♦ N to r» ■«• N 5 S 2 5> 2 1 • r« l« «4 »4 - « fO ' ' « > 00 c k , n ■ J ■daam^ I-. 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(» o u u c H y, u u < u > x; S o 'oiH.uaui U: ?g a S g ?! i? ^ ?! fi 2 ^ 00 1^ s w 00 5i iuuxjoil JO iii|<>X H H g o b •ogDoiauj O 1- ^ I ;< J^ S 8 !* ?1 •+ X f I- ^ t> S 00 o o u S o (3 vt 'a bo I' •5 s G 3 c/2 tid O' c« 5 •- s i >f5 «0 o 3 o bo <1> ^ 1/1 >^ ui ;3 ::; Id O ^ «3 C2 1-1 ^M 5: so 05 CO --I o c^ I- s^i f o m 1» l^ ■<»" c>J ^ suosjod JO [Oiox b o u SUOSJOd JO IBJOX CO '^ :c o -r 1^ O CTi O .. ^ Oi O .— 'M 03 l?l o o n t^ O t" Pi (N F-l CI 15 irj 00 1-5 irj Ct r-l 1^ o> C3 O o ca »^ n CI MO 3 C bo <" 3 S3 u to *^ CO oi u 3 O . .5 3 S " o S ^ CI »^ Oi o j^ o 1-H t^ eci Ci O '.1 'ti CI O CI cj cj »- CI eo X CI l-» Tt< W 05 O CO CI O) o 3 * ui -% ."> 'b 3 o o 4-* o 6 317 o 8 CI o o 3 o X CI I- o 3; s? o H O CO CI X o c CS l-> ij %\ 318 NEW BRUNSWICK. The rapid increase of population may be ascribed in some degree to the employment created by the timber trade. The average number of emigrants that arrive in che Province annually is about 6,000 : of these, not less than 2,ri00 depart annually for the United States and other places, leaving 3,500 as the actual annual number of British emigrants who remain in the Province. A few settlers and lumbermen come in from the United States, and they arrive from Nova Scotia in consider- able numbers. The chief body of the population are descendants of the first American settlers and the Loyalists, who, although they are to be found in every part of the Province, are chiefly scattered along the banks of the St. John. The descendants of the Acadian French occupy villages bordering upon the great marshes of Westmoreland, and scattered settlements along the whole nortuern coast from Bay Verte to the Restigouche : they also occupy the banks of the Upper St. John at Madawasca. The Irish immigrants are found in the new and remote clearings of every part of the country, and their present population is not only augmented by an ingress from the old country, but also by a remarkable natural increase. An addition was made to the number of negroes by an inju- dicious importation from the Southern States during the last war with America : in general, they are idle and improvident ; nearly one-third of their number are at and near St. John, where they are a tax upon humanity and a burden to the country. The number of Indians is on the decline, and every attempt to improve their condition by civilisation has proved abortive. Church of England, — The early British and American inhabitants of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were firmly attached to the Church of Engit nd, which in the infant state of the Colony was established by law, but not so as to put any restraint upon liberty of conscience, or to deprive other denominations from enjoying free and liberal privileges. At the present time, every denomination or sect is not only tolerated, but permitted to enjoy equal patronage and support from the Govern- ment. Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were formed into a Bishop's see by letters patent from the King, and the latter was included in the Diocese of Nova Scotia (now under the charge of the venerable and talented Bishop Ingles) until 1845. In that year, the Province was 1.1 NEW BRUNSWICK. 319 in some degree to average number of t 6,000 : of these, States and other ' British emigrants mbermen come in jcotia in consider- descendants of the Jgh they are to be mattered along the villages bordering ttered settlements the Restigouche : Madawasca. The clearings of every 3t only augmented •emarkable natural egroes by an inju- f the last war with ; nearly one-third ey are a tax upon 'r of Indians is on ion by civilisation can inhabitants of I to the Church of as established by ' conscience, or to liberal privileges, ot only tolerated, from the Govern- 1 into a Bishop's IS included in the he venerable and the Province was formed into a separate bishopric, and the Rev. Dr. Medley, appointed Bishop of Fredericton, is now engaged in the spiritual charge. The greater number of the clergy are rectors of parishes, and have very respectable churches and congregations. As the population is much scattered, there are generally two churches in a parish, in the settled parts of the country, in which the clergyman officiates on alternate Sundays in the morning and evening of the same day. This beneficial system greatly increases the labour of the pastor, who frequently rides, or travels in a boat or canoe, from ten to twenty miles between each service. The interests of the Church have been promoted by an association called the Church Society, who have sent missionaries to remote places, aided in the instruction of catechists and schoolmasters, Sunday schools, and the distribution of approved tracts. The members of the Church are more numerous than those of any other denomination, and its pre- sent flourishing state is highly cheering to all those who are attached to its services. The temporalities of the Establishment are vested in the Sovereign, and the Bishop decides upon the qualifications of all candidates for holy orders. The clergy derive their chief support from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts ; the contributions of the people are limited. In consequence of the great demands upon the liberality of the Society, fears are entertained that their grants will be withheld, when the whole maintenance of the clergy will fall upon their congregations. The livings at present are from £200 to £300 currency per annum, yet often much less in parishes where the pastor is under the necessity of keeping horses and a carriage to enable him to perform his arduous duties. There are about ninety parishes, and at present sixty-five churches, capable of containing twenty thousand persons. The number of clergymen is only thirty. Double that number could be advantageously employed, and the energies of the venerable Church are loudly called for to meet the demands of this wide field of Christian labour. Roman Catholics. — The Roman Catholics are very numerous in the Provinces. Nearly all the Acadian French, and the chief part of the Irish population, belong to their communion ; and as a large majority 320 NEW BRUNSWICK. 'i of the immigrants who arrive annually belong to the Roman Church, their numbers will soon exceed those of any other denomination. The whole of North America has been divided into Bishopric; by the Court of Rome, whose missionaries are scattered over the entire continent. New Brunswick and Prince Edward's Island belong to one diocese. The residence of the Bishop is at the latter place ; the clergy in the Province being two vicar-generals and sixteen priests, who are supported by subscriptions, fees, pew-rents, and tithes. Presbyterians. — The first Presbyterians wiio settled in the Province were chiefly Seceders. Since 1817, missionaries have been sent out by the Established Church of Scotland, and a synod has been formed, called the Synod of New Brunswick, with a presbytery at St. John and an- other at Miramichi. They have churches in the different counties, and very respectable congregations. The ministers, sixteen in number, are in general men of piety and learning ; they enjoy salaries from £200 to £300 per annum, derived from pew-rents and subscriptions. Of the changes that have taken place since the recent secession in the Scottish Church, I am uninformed. Besides the above, there are three minister^ and as many congregations of the Reformed Church of Scotland. Methodists. — The Society of Methodists are also a respectable body. The number of members belonging to their church, as long ago as 1838, was 2487.* They have upwards of twenty preachers, and good chapels in many of the principal settlements. They hold an annual Conference, at which regulations are made for each succeeding year. The salary of each preacher is according to the number of his children, if he be mar- ried, and the length of time he has served in the miiiistry. He is paid by the Society in England, and by the contributio '. of his hearers. The salaries are as ample as those of the Church of England, and the ministers are zealous and indefatigable. Baptists. — The Baptist denomination embraces a considerable part of the population ; they have descended from the " New Lights" of the celebrated Whitfield, and have now an established faith contained in seventeen articles. They denounce infant baptism, and allow none but adults to be partakers of that sacrament. They are governed by strict * Notitiaof New Brunawick, p. 247. NEW BRUNSWICK. 321 the Roman Churcli, denomination. The lopric: by the Court ntire continent. New ) one diocese. The lergy in the Province 10 are supported by tied in the Province ive been sent out by s been formed, called at St. John and an- ifFerent counties, and :teen in number, are alaries from £200 to bscriptions. Of the ission in the Scottish •e are three minister^ h of Scotland, a respectable body, as long ago as 1838, rs, and good chapels I annual Conference, i^ear. The salary of Idren, if he be mar- iiiistry. He is paid io . of his liearers. f England, and the considerable part of New Lights" of the 1 faith contained in and allow none but e governed by strict rules, and in general are an orderly class of Christians. At an annual association, they adopt regulations for the preservation of harmony in the Society, and of late they have become advocates for the diffusion of learning. Their ministers, upwards of twenty in number, are supported by their hearers and members of the church. The Free-will Baptists have no regular form of church goveniment, and small congregations are frequently collected under different names, such as Christians, New Dispensationers, &c. With these may be classed a few itinerary preachers, generally from the United States, who travel through the country, calling themselves missionaries, but who never fail to remain wherever they can obtain a comfortable living from the people. Among them, we find Univcrsalists, Swedenbourgians, Millerites, Latter-day Saints, and other names characteristic of wild enthusiasm and religious frenzy. Some of these wandering stars and fanatical luminaries have been discovered to be the basest hypocrites, whose excesses have compelled them to fly before public indignation to the American " far West," where they have thrown off the mask that concealed their true characters, and become the revilers of all religion. These people and their followers, with the excitable portion of the Baptists and the unstable of other denominations, sometimes hold camp- meetings,* at which thousands assemble from zeal or curiosity. That * Cui'iosity once led me to ritteiul one of tliese mcetin^js, held near a small frontier town of the United States. About two thousand persons of all ages and sexes had assembled in a beautiful grove of pine, with all kinds of provi- sions, beds, and bedding. The road was lined wi*'\ vehicles of every descrip- tion, and an allowance of grass and hay was supplied to the immense drove of horses secured to the trees in every direction. Tents were made of sheets, blankets, and carpets — a large platfona was erected for the preachers, and le tout -ensemble formed a most singular and striking spectacle. The preachers on the platform relieved cacli other from time to tin' and ibe wliolt- of the exercises were vehemently pathetic, and admirably calculated to work upon tlie passions of the low and untutored ; but to tbe well-informed, many of tlieni were disgusting and profane. Hymns of fifteen verses were sung occayionally, and the well-known airs of " Days of Absence " and " Auld Lang-sync " were worn tbreadbare. In reply to the remark, tiiat those airs were ndiiphd to common songs, it was rc])lied by a Hjiirited by.-tandcr, tlial Satan had bad tlieni long f'uough, and tbe mectiu'^ bad dcternunod upon consecrating them to ii22 NKW BRUNSWICK. such meetings have an injurious rather than a beneficial tendency, has been proved by experience : but these and other vagaries will be dis- pelled by the dissemination of sound religious instruction, and the advancement of education will withhold from the pages of future history the records of acts that now disgrace a civilised people. The inhabitants of New Brv\nswick have heretofore been considered illiterate ; that opinion having prevailed from the limited means of obtaining information enjoyed by the early inhabitants. It is a com- mon remark in this Province and in Nova Scotia, that it is in vain to cultivate the higher branches of learning, so lorg as the Home Govern- ment bestows the principal ofBces and best pecuniary situations in the Colonies to persons from the Mother-country, who are sent out to fill them. That this feeling has operated against education, there can be no doubt ; and the unfair distribution of patronage has the still farther evil effect of severing the affections of the Colonial subjects from the Parent State. Notwithstanding this and other discouragements, a sufficient number of institutions have been provided by the Province to impart all the higher divisions of learning, and scientific information necessary to fit the student for any avocation that may open in the Colony. Common schools are also liberally supported. King's College, at Fredericton, was established by Royal Charter in 1828, when Sir Howard Douglas was Governor of the Province. Its object, as expressed in the Charter, *' is the education of youth in the principles of the Christian religion, and their instruction in the various branches of literature and science." The instruction is given by the divine worship. A sort of procession would occasionally move througfh the grove, headed ly a party of singers. At the platform, the excitement would sometimes become general, and singing, praying, c-ying, and shouting were all mingled together in wild confusion. In the rear, all was a scene of festivity. At evening, numbers retired beneath the tents in the most promiscuous manner ; and I heard the loud vociferations of the zealots in the dark liom-s of night, and after I had retired from the theatre of their enthusiasm. It was stated by on. of the speakers, that the meeting was intended to produce a revival and general religious excitement; and certainly the latter object was fully realised. NEW BllUNSWICK. 323 icial tendency, lias igaries will be dis- struction, and the es of future history le. re been considered limited means of nts. It is a com- lat it is in vain to the Home Govern- y situations in the are sent out to fill ition, there can be las the still farther subjects from the I sufficient number to impart all the on necessary to fit Colony. Common J Royal Charter in the Province. Its on of youth in the tion in the various )n is given by the r move through the le excitement would nd shouting were all I a scene of festivity. )romiscuous manner; khom-sof night, and It was stated by o\u I revival and general idly realised. Rev. Dr. Jacob, Professor of Classical Literature, Moral Philosophy and Divinity, and who is also Vice-President and Principal of the Institution ; a Professor of Mathematics, and another of Natural His- tory. Candidates for matriculation are required to be acquainted with the Latin and Greek languages, and the rudiments of algebra and geo- metry. No restrictions are imposed in reference to age, place of birth, or education, or religious profession. The instruction is devoted to the classics, mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, and natural his- tory ; intellectual philosophy, logic, and the evidences of religion natural and revealed; moral philosophy, general history, Hebrew, theo- logy, and French. The academical ye^r has four terms ; and there are short vacations at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsuntide, to the end of June. Four years are required for the degree of Bachelor of Arts ; but actual attendance is not required for a longer period than three years. For superior degrees, the terms and exercises correspond with those of the English Universities. The religious exercises are those of the Esta- blished Church of England, and all the candidates for degrees in Divinity are required to subscribe to the Thirty-nine Articles of that church. The College is very pleasantly situated, and the expense of tuition and board is about £34 currency per annum. Scholarships of £20 and £25 have been founded, and are given to students of merit. At Fredericton there is also a Collegiate School, in which boys pur- sue all the studies necessary to qualify them for matriculation. The endowments of the College are ample. They consist of a tract containing 6,000 acres of valuable land near the town, a grant from the Crown of £1,000 sterling per annum, and a grant of £1,000 ster- ling from the Provincial Legislature annually. After the College was erected, and opened for the admission of stu- dents of all denominations, complaints arose from the Presbyterian Clergy that the Charter was too exclusive, and did not allow them a due participation in the management of its affairs. To remove this complaint. Sir Archibald Campbell, after he had retired from the Go- vernment of the Province, in 1837, sent out from Scotland two Presby- terian Professors, in the hope of allaying all feelings of jealousy on the part of that body. This had a salutary effect, until one of the new I'rofessors became a proselyte to the Episcopal Church, Y 2 m>-^^ 321 NEW miL'NSWlCK. rr- ■a i if. h The Charter of the Collcgo has, from time to time, been assailed hy petitions to the Lcgishiture, and the subject is now iirder the conside- ration of the Home Government. Tlie impossibility of uniting different religions denominations in colleges has been fairly proved in the United States and Nova Scotia ; and where a university has once been esta- blislied by the labour of any division of the Christian world, and especially when such an institution docs not exclude any from its benefits, it would be unfair and injudicious to enter upon a system of change at once rendered subservient to all the vicissitudes of sectarian- ism in a new country. These difficulties, and the means employed to remove them, have had a tendency to prevent the useful operation of the establishment. Had not the Charter of the Nova Scotia College at Windsor been so exclusive as, by tests on matriculation and all graduation, to prevent it from being resorted to generally as an institution for educational pur- poses, Sir Howard Douglas would probably not have established the Fredcrictoii College : but having done so, on what was considered at the time very liberal principles, the effect has been that the tests on matriculation Avere ;ibolishcd at "Windsor College, and those on gradua- tion, excepting in Divinity, no longer exist. It is now too late to urge the fact, that one college is sufRcieut for the actual educational wants cf both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, as no less than six have been erected ; but, of that number, only three are in useful operation. Not- withstanding the learning and ability of Dr. Jacob, and his earnest endeavours to promote the welfare of King's College, the institution has not responded to the expectations of its friends, and its practical usefulness, as being adapted to tlie wants of an infant Colony, has not b^cu very extensive. The Methodist Society have an Acuuciiiy, in a very delightful situa- tion, in the populous Parish of Sackville. The handsome and spacious building was completed in 1813, by private subscription, and a lane donation from Charles F. Allison, Esq. of that place. A Committee of Ministers belonging to that denomination attend to all the affairs of the institution. The branches taught ,".re, the classics, mathematiey, naturiil philosophy, moral philosophy, and divinity. It receives a snjall grant from the Province annually, l.as from fifty to eighty NEW BRUNSWICK. ;325 , been assailed by Lirder the conside- jf vuiiting difrercnt 3ved in the. United .s once been esta- •istian world, and ude any from it,i upon a system of tudcs of sectarian- "•move them, have the establishment. ; Windsor been so ation, to prevent it r educational piir- ive established tlie vpas considered at 1 that the tests on d those on gradiia- ow too late to urge iucational wants cf than six have been d operation. Not- b, and his earnest ge, the institution ., and its practical it Colony, has not ry delightful situa- Isome and spacious •iption, and a lfir!.-e ice. A Committ^^e to all the affairs of 3sics, mathematics, ty. It receives a >ni fifty to eighty students, and bids fair to be very useful in the general diffusion of knowledge. The Baptists have a seminary of learning at Frcdericton. This insti- tution was established by private subscription, and is under the super- intendence of the Baptist Association of New Brunswick, who appoint a local committee for its management. It was opened in January 183G. Tlie instruction comprises the classics, English education, and mathe- matics. It does not enjoy any permanent revenue, and its maintenance is dependent on the support of the Legislature and the contributions of the denomination. The number of pupils, nude and female, averages from fifty to one hundred, and the expense of board and tuition is about £30 per annum. There is in each county a grammar-school, supported by subscrip- tions, tuition fees, and a grant from the Province extending from £50 to £100 per annum. Each school is governed by trustees : instruction is given in the classics and the common branches of English education. These schools are situated in the towns, or most populous villages ; and although some of them have sustained a good reputation, others have declined into common schools, or, from having their influence con- fined to certain districts, they have been viewed by the inhabitrmts who live remotely from them as the objects of partiality and fnvoxivilism. The parish or common schools have been foimd to be the most generally beneficial in the diffusion of the first ])rinciples of learning among all classes. They are scattered over the A\ho]e inhabited face of the country, from the thickly-settled village to the remotest clearings. It is usual for the inhabitants, within certain limits, in the rural dis- tricts, to erect a school-house, which at first is made of logs and covered with the bark of trees. A teacher is then employed, and who, in order to obtain the Provincial allowance, must submit to an examination and obtain a licence to teach from the Government. The affairs of ea'. Ii school district are managed by three trustees, appointed by tlie Go- vernor. A school thus established receives from the bounty of llio TiCgislature from £10 to £30 per annum, according to the number of its scliolars or merits, as determined by School Commissioners, who are also appointed by the Governm.ent to manage the affairs of the schools in 1,i 3'26 NEW BRUNSWICK. each county. — £12,000 was granted by the Legislature for the support of the parish schools for 1836. Formerly many of the teachers of common schools were very incom- petent, and not unfrequently men of dissolute habits were entrusted with the important office of instructing youth : this evil was permitted to exist until the consequences became apparent in the morals of the rising generation, and the energies of the well-informed were aroused by tl .'n d":Hion of abuses that could not be tolerated. The present Lieutei ' i-Gj>-^mor, Sir "William Colebrooke, has been active in the improvement of • '\ parish school system, in which a reform is now manifest. By these schools education is carried to the door of the humblest villager, and instruction is placed within the reach of the remotest settler. In consequence of the depressed state of the Provi.icial funds in 1843, the grant made by the Legislature to common schools in that year waa only £1,200; since that time the annual grant has been increased, and in the present year no less than £12,000 has been sup- plied towards the encouragement of the parish schools, agreeably to a law of the Province. During the winter season these places of in- struction are well filled with boys ; but in the summer they are with- drawn to engage in the common industry of the country, and frequently female teachers are employed to instruct small children of both sexes. A Madras School has been established at St. John. Among the trustees of the institution are the Lieutenant-Governor, the Chief Jus- tice, and the members of Her Majesty's Council. In it a great number of poor children are taught, supplied with books, and sometimes clothed gratuitously. Besides the above sources of instruction, there are in the City of St. John several respectable private schools, where a liberal education may be obtained at a moderate expense. These schools are well adapted for the preparation of boys for college, and their annual ex- aminations are open to the public. There are also private boarding- schools for young ladies, who are taught French, music, drawing, and embroidery. Sunday Schools have been very generally introduced throughout the ire for the support I were very incom- its were entrusted evil was permitted the morals of the med were aroused ited. The present )een active in the a reform is now the door of the the reach of the rovi.icial funds in on sehools in that i\ grant has been 000 has been sup- ools, agreeably to these places of in- mer they are with- try, and frequently en of both sexes, ohn. Among the lor, the Chief Jus- 1 it a great number ;s, and sometimes are in the City of a liberal education ; schools are well id their annual ex- private boarding- usic, drawing, and :ed throughout the NEW llllUNSWICK. 327 Province, and, by the laudable exertions of individuals, they are well .upplicd with teachers and with books : in them all denominations of Christians cheerfully unite, and their beneficial effects are very apparent in the morals and information of the inhabitants. Before we take leave of the religious, moral, and educational institu- tions of the countrj', the means employed for the suppression of intem- perance deserve some remarks. Temperance Societies have been very generally introduced and encouraged. The chief objection raised against them is the political or sectarian character they sometimes assume ; the resolutions of some Societies having been found to extend beyond their primary object, and to bear upon the freedom if elections, and even upon liberty of conscience. The teetotallers, Ox tot ! absti- nence men, and those who allow the moderate use of w' e, h.tivity and amusement. Hunting is also practised, and can- didates for backwood honours leave their warm firesides, and sleep amidst the snow, in quest of the watchful deer and carriboo. In summer, there are races at St. John and Fredericton, steamboat excursions, pic-nics, regattas, shooting, angling, and a variety of amuse- ments for those who are not engaged in active business. Although few of the inhabitants pursue these anmsements, yet, upon any extraordi- 332 NEW BllUNSVVlCK, nary occasion, tUoy uU turn out and celebrate the day with great zeal and much display. But A'c must here contrast the pleasures enjoyed hy the rational part of the community with the outrages committed by the lower classes at St. John, in defiance of the autliorities and the laws of the land. Tn this city, the seat of much natural sobriety, there are frequently mohs and riots of appalling magnitude. These cliiefly originate among the lower classes of the Irish, who are organised as Orangemen or Ribl)on- men, and the display of an orange-colouicd flower is sufficient to raise a tunudt. From tiuu' to time, mobs and riots occur that are dis'jjrace- ful to a civilised country. Upon any outbreak, thousands of both parties assemble with bludgeons, and even fire-arms, and, before the riot can be quelled, lives have been saciificel on the imholy altar of party strife. Tlie emigrants from Great Britain have become so amalgamated witli the original inhabitants, and have so far adopted their customs and manners, that their social state does not require a separate description. The ancestors of the present race of Acadian Fre'ich, on account of tlieir disaireetion to the British Government, were expelled from Nova Scotia by Major Lawrence, who succeeded to the administration of that Province in 176 1. A few families escaped to Memramcook, Shediac, and other places on the north side of New Brunswick. A number also settled at the present site of Fredcricton, whence they were compelled to retire to make room for the Loyalists and disbanded soldiers of 178.3, and afterwards established themselves at Madawasca. These people have greatly increased in popidation, and now occupy a number of ex- tensive villages. The habilans are all strongly attached to the Roman Catholic religion, and have their priests supplied from Canada. Their customs and manners are similar to those of the Canadians. The men in general are lean, and of less weight than the British Provincials. The com- plexions of both sexes are very dark — a fact that may be ascribed, in some degree, to the admixture of the race with the Indians in the early settlement of the country. Among the girls there are many pretty brvmettes, with sparkling eyes and fine glossy hair. 'Their fashions arc those of the old French peasantry. They frequently wear mocassins, ly with great zeal y the rational part le lower classes at of the land. In e frequently mobs iginate among the femen or Ribbon- sufficient to raise that are disgrace- liousands of both I, and, before the le unholy altar of xmaigamated witli heir customs and irate description, ich, on account of pellcd from Nova inistration of that imcook, Shediac, A number also 'V were compelled soldiers of 1783, u These people a number of ex- Catholic religion, leir customs and men in general cials. The com- ly be ascribed, in :lians in the early are many pretty riieir fashions are wear mocassins, NE\Y nilUNSWICK. srAi and wooden shoes are not out of use. The ordinary dress of the female consists of a petticoat and short ' )Ose gown, or mantelet : the former is made of blue woollen cloth, of domestic manufacture. The hair is sometimes tied in a club behind, and some of the men wear long queues. On particular occasions they dress more in the style of the English, but always display a variety of fanciful colours. Although they are mostly clean in their persons, and the exterior of their buildings has a neat ;>• oearance, they are not always very tidy in-doors. They are remark- ably moral, orderly, and frugal. Their ordinary diet consists of light food and soups ; but on their jours gras, or feast-days, their tables are covered with a profusion of the richest dainties. They are passionately fond of music and dancing, and every wedding is attended by almost tlie entire population of a village, who feast, sing, and dance several d;.ys in succession in honour of the newly-married pair. Sunday is made a day of gaiety and pleasure ; and after the ordinary worship is coiicludfHl, the remainder of the Sabbath is frequently spent in horse- racing, canoe-racing, carriole-driving, and a variety of amusements, from which dancing and playing at cards are not always excluded. Flagrant crimes are almost unknown among them, and in nil their villages there is a perfect conlidence of peace and safety. Tb Iiabitans are civil and polite in their address, through which th'jy display much of their national character. They are hospitable to strangers, maintain their own poor, and are generous in relieving the wants of the dis- tressed. With all their virtue'^, the Acadians are not an enterprising people. It is scarcely possible to wean them from the customs of their fore- fathers, and improvements in the sys'em of agriculture are very slowly introduced among them. The out-door clay oven, and the lofty well- pole, employed by the first French inhabitants in America, are still in use. Their houses are often clustered together, so that the inhabitants have not sufficient space to apply their industry to husbandry ; and it is seldom an individual aspires to more than the cidtivatiou of a few acres of land, or such a quantity as will meet the actual wants of liis family. Heretofore, tliey have been altogether uneducated ; but, of late, schools have been introduced ; and it is now not uncomuion, on entering the plain log cottage, to find its proprietor engaged in perusing ^1' '1';, miM^^ : V % *.^ ...W^tmBTm^SW mi-y lll{l ^1 'I t \ ' 334 NEW BRUNSWICK. a French newspaper. With the English settlers they live in perfect friendship, and the Legislature bestows its bounties upon them as freely as upon other subjects of the Crown. Medical practitioners are nur:orous. There are no laws to protect the profession, and empiricism is practised with impunity. Few people in the world live better than the farmers of New Bruns- wick. By their industry, they raise an abundance of agricultural pro- duce ; and they have been censured for their extravagance in consum- ing the food that would bring a high price in the market, and by the sale of which their gains would be increased : but they reply, that none have a better right to enjoy the fruits of the earth than those who toil for them. Three bountiful meals are provided every day, and these are often followed by a hearty supper. Their tables are generally well supplied with beef, pork, mutton, and fowls, with pickles, and a variety of vegetables. Salmon and other kinds of fish are also provided ; with these there are tea, coffee, cakes, pies, gingerbread, and almost every luxury it is possible for the country to afford. They are not very social in their habits, and their manners are unpolished ; but if a friend or stranger put himself in the way of their hospitality, he will find good fare and a hearty welcome : indeed, any person of respectable address and appearance, who can tell a good story, sing a good song, and play the fiddle, may travel through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick free of expense ; nor will he always lack the means of a comfortable convey- ance from place to place, or hose or mittens when the weather is cold ; and the farther he keeps from the towns, the more successful will he bo in his economical tour. 1 f The Constitution and Government of Ncav Brunswick do not difier materially from those of Nova Scotia or Canada. The Executive power is invested in an omcer called the Lieutenant-Governor, who is sub- ordinate to the Governor- General of Canada ; but the latter does not exercise civil jurisdiction beyond the limits of his own Province. For- Tierly, the Governors of Canada were advanced from the Administra- tion of Nova Scotia. Sir John C. Sherbrooke, the Earl Dalhousie, and Sir James Kempt, all served an apprenticeship in that Province, and Sir John Harvey was promoted from Prince Edward's Island to New NEW BRUNSWICK. 335 ley live in perfect poll them as freely no laws to protect inity. jrs of New Bruns- f agricultural pro- igance in consum- arket, and by the ly reply, that none lan those who toil ry day, and these are generally well kles, and a variety io provided ; with , and almost every 'hey are not very d ; but if a friend , he will find good espectable address od song, and play Brunswick free of mfortable convey- J weather is cold ; ccessful will he be: i^ick do not differ Executive power :rnor, who is sub- le latter does not 1 Province. For- ; the Administra- rl Dalhousie, and liat Province, and 's Island to New Brunswick. Although the people have power to check an unsatis- factory Administration by an appeal to the Court of Queen's Bench, the usual course of remedy against a Governor in such a case is, by address of the House of Assembly to the Crowr, The Government of the Province is intended, so far as circumstances will admit, to re- semble that of the Parent State, and the Licuionant-Govemor is con- sidered to be the representative of Her Majesty. The different branches of the Legislature and the Judicature also follow the British model, and closely adhere to the systems of the mother-country. The Go- vernor has extensive power, and formerly he was Commander-in-Chi<^f and Vice-Admiral, Of late the command of ti.e army and navy has been given to distinguished officers of those departments ; but he is Chancellor, Ordinary, President of the Board of Marriage and Divorce, &;c. He is aided and advised by an Executive Council, composed of nine members, who are appointed by Royal mandamus. He is not bound to be governed by the opinions of his Council ; yet, from expe- diency and necessity, his general acts must be sanctioned by them, or he cannot carry on his Government, and must consequently retire from it. All his acts are submitted for the consideration of the Colonial Minister, who directs him in the decision of all matters of importance. It is evidently the duty as well as for the interest of the Governor to receive and respect the advice of his Council ; but he is not bound to be ruled by that advice contrary to his own conviction. He is only ruled by the instructions of his Sovereign, to whom he is responsible for all his acts. If he refuse to consult his advisers, or reject their counsel, he does so at his own risk, and they must be able to sustain their position in the popular branch : but if not, their offices cease to be useful, and they r.uist resign. In cases where the Governor stands opposed to the irajority of his advisers and the House of Assembly, an appeal to the Home Government is always promptly met by a deci- sion, which so far has always restored tranquillity. Of late years, there has been a constant effort of the popular branch to advance upon the rights and privileges of the Sovereign, and which in Canada was carried to an alarming extent. To maintain the prero- gative of the Crown, which by the Constitution cannot take away the liberties of the people, and to secure to the subject his just rights, kU I iWj NVAV lUlUNSWICK. should be the aim of the Government ; and there are perhaps no peo- ple in the world who have less cause to complain of their rukrs tlian those of the British American Colonics. If there be any who have reason to be dissatisfied, they are those who are most scrupulously loyal, and firmly attached to their Sovereign and country ; for the practice has too long prevailed of overlooking the merits of such men, while attempts are made to secure the favour of the disalFected by tlic best gifts and richest livings the Administration can afford. Up to 1834, the Executive and Legislative Councils were united in one body. Since that period, the Legislative Council constitutes a separate branch, and contains nineteen members. The Legislature, therefore, now consists of three branches, — the Goveriior, the Legisla- tive Council, and the House of Assembly. The members of the latter, since the passing of the " Quadrennial Bill," are elected by the people every four years. They are thirty-three in number. The Counties of York, St. John, Charlotte, and Westmoreland each send four members — Northumberland, Sunbury, King's, Queen's, Kent, Gloucester, Carle- ton, and the City of St. John each send two members— and the County of Restigouehe one member, to the Provincial Parliament. Now that the County of Westmoreland has been recently divided, and the new County of Albert set off, another member will probably he elected by the inhabitants of the latter dis'rict. The Legislature of the rro>ince meets at Fredcricton during the winter season, and generally fjianues its sitting two months. By it the varied business of the country is managed — laws arc enacted and amended — the claims or abuses of public olficei's, from the Governor downwards, are freely discussed, and the revenues of the country, ovi'r which the Assembly bold the -sole control, are appi-o]iriated to the public service. The House of Assembly generally contains a large proportion of lawyers, and in the whole body there are a number of intelligent and rather eloquent men ; yet a stranger would decide erroneously, were he to suppose that those were the most icarned and best qualified men of the Province, for it seldom happens that any member is elected on account of hi ^ abilities as a legislator. The debates nre sometimes conducted with great spirit, raid strong parties arrange themselves on ■^■i rJ^ f;-:;¥l NEW lillUNSIVICK. ii- porliaps no pco- heir rulers Dmii any who have :>st scrupnlously ountry : for the its of such moil, saifected by the brd. s were united in il constitutes a 'he Legislature, or, the Legishi- ers of the latter, d ])y the people The Counties of four members — [oucester, Carle- -and the Countv icnt. Now that :d, and the new y he elected by cton during^ tlie months. By it ire enacted and n the Governor le country, over o]u-iated to the ^ proportion of intelligent aiul eously, were he ualified men of is elected on f^re sometimes tlieinselves on different sides of the house. It would not be a difiicult task to notice briefly the prevailing political opinions of any one particular time ; but these and their advocates are so liable to change, that the description would scarcely apply to a single season, and in the succeeding yoar it would be useless. The powers of the Legislature ai'e unlimited and incontrovertible within the Province ; but they cannot enact any law that interferes Mith the Acts of the Imperial Parliament, and uone of their Statutes can be put in operation until they have received the assent of the Ciovernor and the Royal sanction. For the administration of Justice, there is a Supreme Court, consist- ing of a Chief Justice and three Puisne Judges, who discharge all tlie duties of Queen's Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer in England. This Court sits four times a-year at Fredericton, twice a-year at St. John and St. Andrew's, and annually iu the remaining couuties. The Judges are esteemed as men of the highest qualifications and soundest integrity. There are lawyers of all grades, and, from their numbers, many are unable to obtain a respectable livelihood by their profession. The Court of Chancery consists of the Chancellor and the Master of the Rolls. The Governor and Council form a Court for determining cases of marriage and divorce. Besides these, there are a Court of Vice-Admiralty, and in every county a Court for the Probate of Wills and for granting Letters of Administration. The Governor and Judges of the Supreme Court determine all cases of piracy and other oifences on the high seas. In each county there is held an inferior Court, or General Sessions of the Peace, corresponding to the Court of Quarter Sessions in Eng- land. Two or three Justices preside, all the Magistrates, and the Grand Jury of the County attend and aid in regulating the local affairs of every district. Debts of less than five pounds are sued for and reco- vered by a single Magistrate, of whom there are great numbers in the Province. In every countj' there is a High Sheriff, appointed by the Governor. Constables and other parish officers are appointed by the General Sessions of the Peace. The following is the Civil List of the Province, as established in 1837. vt'hen the Legislature granted £14,500 to be p.ud annually for tilt support of the Provincial Government, in exchange for the Queen's z 338 NEW BllUNSWiCK. casual and territo?ial revenues. Since that period, the salarj' of the Surveyor-Generai and Coinmissioncr of Crown Lands has been re- duced, and the excess of the grant is applied to other objects. Salary of LieMtenant-Goviivnor Chief" Justice . . Commissioner of Crown Lamia Provincial Secretary Tlirse Puisne Judges, eacli £650 Attoruey-fieiicral Solicitor-General Private Secretary to the Governor Anditor- General Receiver-General In-door Establishment of Crown Lai King's College .. Presbyterian Minister . . Eiuigivmt Agent, St. John Annuity to Itite Surveyor-General Indians s Office Total SterlinR per annum. .. jea,5oo 950 ,. i,7r)0 i,4;}0 .. 1,950 200 200 300 300 900 1,000 100 100 150 54 £ 13, 143 The following was the Civil List of tlie Province for the year ending ibt of January, 1846 : — Salary of Lieutenant- Cu.'vernor Private Secretfiry Chief-Justice <. Justice of Supreme Court Ditto Ditto Ditto Ditto Siuvcyor-Gcneral Auditor-General Receiver-General Attoiney-Gcneral SoHcitor-General Donation to King's College "Indians A nniity to Anthony Lockwood '.clnig /jinigrant Agent Provincial Secretary Total for the year Amount of Civil List Siu'plus of the year Esq £3,461 10 8 230 15 4 1,090 3 740 740 740 1,200 0- 340 3 316 3 634 12 2.'30 15 4 1,111 2 60 173 4 115 y 8 1,599 11 £12,855 14,500 4* £1,644 15 8 * Sic in MS, — I'KIM'EH. NEW BRUNSWICK. .'Jii9 I, the salary of the ands lias been rc- !r objects. SterlitiR per anrmni. .. JG 3,500 050 - 1,750 - 1,430 1,950 550 200 200 300 300 900 1,000 100 100 150 54 £ 13, 143 for the year ending 3,461 JO 8 230 15 4 I,09(i 3 740 740 740 1,200 0- 34G 3 346 3 634 12 2.30 15 4 ,111 2 60 173 4 115 7 8 ,599 11 855 4 4* 500 1 1 644 15 8 1 The taxes are so light in New Brunswick, that they are scarcely felt. The taxes for keeping tlie roads in repair are paid in labour in the country upon the roads, and the amount is regulated by the amount of property possessed by each inhabitant. There are also light taxes for keeping county buildings in repair, and for other local objects. The General Sessions of the Peace appoint assessors, who levy rates for the support of the poor. All these taxes are very inconsiderable, when brought into comparison with those of other countries. The highest taxes are paid by the citizens of St. John ; and they are likely to be much increased at that place, in order to defray a heavy debt in which the city is involved. The whole cost of defending the Colonies is defrayed from the Impe- rial finances, and amounts to from £130,000 to £160,000 per annum. The General Government has commenced a chain of fortifications of the strongest description along the line of the American frontier, and the opening of a military road from Nova Scotia to Quebec. It is now proposed to make the latter a railway, which would at once afford great power in the event of a war, unite the Provinces, and open a vast field for commerce, emigration, and Colonial industry. The number of Militia in 1834 was 30,000: it is now upwards of 55,000. They are regularly organised, and a number of volunteer companies at St. John, Fredericton, and other jilaces arc armed and trained. The habits of shooting have made many of the country Mili- tia very expert marksmen, and, in a new country, they would be found dangerous adversaries to an invading enemy. iiilit :•.«: CHAPTER Xr. OEOLOOY AND MINERALOGY 01' NEW BRUNSWICK. I' I I; The objects of the present work will not admit of giving an exteiulod account of the geology of the Province. A Geological Survey of the chief part of New Bmnswick was made by the Author between the years 1838 and 1844, by the order of the Colonial Government, and a full description of the rocks, minerals, and fossils is given in the Reports published by the Legislature. It is to be regretted that the enibarrassed state of the finances of the Province prevented the com- pletion of that work, especially as the exploration of another year would have rendered the Geological Map* of the whole country perfect, and discovered the resources of a large and, at present, almost unknown tract. The mineral wealth of Great Britain has greatly contributed in elevating the nation to its present exalted position ; it has imparted an extraordinary impulse to mechanical genius — has aroused her in- habitants to unceasing exertion, and produced the most favourable revolutions in agricultur.>, manufactures, and navigation. Th.e gradual advancement of the arts, and their application to useful objects, have closely followed the development of those .materials, upon which tlie industry of the people has been exerted with the most admirable re- sults. The annual amount of the raw mineral produce of Great Britain exceeds £20,000,000 sterling. The increase of that sum, hy tlie operations of manufacture upon the minerals taken in their natural * The Author ia now preparing fi Geological Map of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward's Island. Ilia sketch of a Geological Map of the former Province was published by the Geological Society of London in 1810. :«... NEW BRUNSWICK. 341 NSWICK. ^jiving an extciulctl ;ical Survey of the iitlior between the 1 Ccverniiient, and lis is given in the regretted that the irevented the com- a of another year )le country perfect, .t, almost unknown ,t]y contributed in 1 ; it has imparted IS aroused her iii- e most favourable ;ion. The gradual iseful objects, have s, upon which the lost admirable re- produce of Great se of that sum, by :en in their natural Nova Scotia, New a Geological Map of lociety of London iu slate, is almost incalculable. The Ordnance Oeological Survey of England has proved of much utility to the mining and agricultural interests of the country, and opened a new era in the science of (Jco- logy. The United States have completed geological explorations of almost every section of their territory, nor have the benefits derived from them been less numerous than those of Europe. Of the British North American Colonies, New Brunswick was the first to undertake an examination of her mineral resources. Since the commencement of that survey, similar ones have been instituted iu Newfoundland and Canada. Prince Edward's Island has also followed the example. Nova Scotia would have engaged in such a work long ago, were not her mines and minerals sealed up by a close monopoly, which withholds from the inhabitants any participation in the mineral wealth of the countrj'. The navigation of the oce.an by steam, and the vast extension of rail- roads, have greatly increased the value of coal and iron. New Bruns- wick, as well as Nova Scotia, contains an abundant supply of those necessary minerals. Great Britain has, therefore, inexhaustible re- sources of coal and iron on both sides of the Atlantic, and thereby her power as a maritime nation is almost unlimited, while the Colonies themselves are of inestimable value to the Empire. The opening of a railway between Halifax and Quebec would bring these resources into operation immediately, and in every way contribute to the security and prosperity of these Colonial Possessions. The progress of mining is always slow in a new country, where all the capital is employed upon such objects of trade as may be most readily obtained ; but, by open- ing free channels of communication, enterprise would soon be directed to mineral as well as to timber resources — foreign capital would be introduced, and the country would hold a position in some degree equal to its physical capabilities. Having described the general features of the Province in a previous chapter, we may proceed to notice the situations and characters of the rocks, fossils, and minerals. The general direction of the rocky strata is from the south-west towards the north-east, or vice versa, or on lines parallel to the border of the Atlantic Ocean ; the strata also runs in that direction, varying from cast-south-east to north-east. These are U,i NliW BRUNSWICK. the general courses of all the prhicip.il formationn of North America, and which afford evidence of the uphcaviil of vast anticlinal lidgcs along the continent in the direction of its south-eastern coast. A branch of the Alleghany chain of mountains passes through tho Northern States. Cataadan, in Maine, is the loftiest eminenc in its eastern range, being 5,300 I'cct above tlie h^vel of the sea. Fhis spur of the Alleghanies crosses the St. John, and entering New Brunswick, embraces Mars Hill, Moose and Bear Mountains, near Des Chutes River; the same chain extends in a nonh-easterly direction to tliu sources of the Miramichi, N( pisiguit, Upsabpiitch, and Tobique Rivois, gradually disappearing as it approaches the Bay Chalcurs ; anotlu'r branch penetrates the District of Gaspe, and slopes off towards the St. Lawrence ; a somewhat elevated ridge crosses the Schoodic Kiver and the Cheputnecticook Lakes, presenting a number of beautiful eminences in its course to the Nerepis River and to Bull Moose Hill, in Kinj^'s County. These elevations form anticlinal ridges, against which the stratified masses lean, or they border immense troughs containing tin.' secondary and tertiary formations. They are chiefly composed of granite, syenite, trap rock, and porphyry. I Granite. — A ridge of granice crosses the Cheputnecticook River and Lakes, intersects the Digdeguash and Magaguadavic Rivers, and sends off a branch that finally reaches the St. John, at the head of tlie Long Reach. Along its southci ti side, it is associated with syenite and trap. Detached elevations of the same rocks appear at the sources of Mus- quash, Le Proe, and Poclogan Rivers ; also near St. Stephen's, and at fju^ais. Another branch of the ridge extends in a north-east direction, and embraces the country between Magadawawaagum, or Loon Lake, and Eeel River Lake. It crosses the St. John at a point ten miles below the mouth of the Nackawick and the mouth of Eel River, ami runs into the unexplored and mountainous country northward. Granite also appears at the entrance and on the banks of the Ncpisiguit, and occupies the great tract of wilderness land in the interior of Northum- berland and Gloucester. Syenite. — A belt of syenite and trappcan rocks reaches from the of North America, t anticlinal litlyes .■rn coast. passes through the ,'st tMuinenc in its he sea. Thi^ spur ig New IJriinswick, near Des Chutes y direction to tlie nd Tol)ique Rivers, Chaleurs ; anotlier off tovards the St, Sehoodic Kiver and beautiful eniinenccs oose Mill, in Kinji;'j against which tlie ighs containing the liefly composed of aecticook River and c Rivers, and sends e head of the Long th syenite and trap. he sources of Mus- t. Stephen's, and at north-east direction, ini, or Loon Lake, it a point ten miles I of Eel River, and lorthward. Granite the Ncpisiguit, and iterior of Northum- > reaches fron; the NKW bllUNSWlCK. n I.J Kcnebecasls along the northern boundary of the County of St. John to the Parish of Hopewell, in the new County of Albert. On an average, it is ten miles wide, and is situated a distance of ten miles from the Hay of Fundy. These rocks also appear at other places, and frequently pass into the true granitic rock. Trap Rock. — A tract of trap rock reaches from Chanicook in a north- east direction, embr icing the mouth of the Digdeguash, Lake Utopia, Red Rock Lake, and, crossing the St. John at the Reach, in<'ludes the Parish of Kingston and partof tlie Parish of Springfield, where it is met by the coal-field. It is associated with the granite and syenite, into which it sends numerous dikes, veins, and intruding masses. Metamorphic Rocks. — Succeeding the above, we find extensive de- posits of metamoij)hlc rocks, consisting of gneiss, micaceous, horn- blende, talcose, chlorite, and argillaceous slates, with crystalline lime- stone, quartzite conglomerate, grauwacke, and grauwaeke slate, in which scarcely any regular order of succession can bo traced. These are frequently broken through, interrupted, and pierced by dikes and veins of trap rock, porphyry, and serpentine. A group of these beds skirfs the whole shore from Salisbury Cove to Chamcook Bay, on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, averaging about eight miles in breadth. No fossils have been dijcovered in these rocks. Resting upon the upper part of the series, near St. John, the compact sandstones contain the fossilised remains of large coniferous trees; but these, and a variety of terebratula, evidently belong to the imperfect coal-measures, of which there avc several instances in the Province. Extending from the State of Maine, there is a belt of clay slate and grauwacke, which runs in a north ast direction across the St. John, embracing the Keswick and Mactaquack Rivers, thence across the conn - try to the main South-west Miramichi, into the unexplored District of Northumberland. These rocks skirt the granite of Charlotte County, and the Plutonic ridge of the Chcputnecticook, and also a part of tlie coal-field on the south side of the River St. John. No fossil remains have yet been discovered in them, and they may be properly referred to the Cambrian system. ^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I Uim |2.5 ■^ Uii |22 ^ 1^ 12.0 II iiiim = 1 1.4 III 1.6 -< 6" ► ^/ ^^'ji^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 ^ k "^ d ^ z r^ /. ^ >^ ^\ <> '9> :* ■i ^ 'H i : h^i'^'fi U'%''' :'.n ' /'•'..: 344 NEW BRUNSWICK. Silurian Rocks. — Between the head of the Meductic Rapids and Madawasca, on the St. John, and occupying a large tract of country on each side of that river, there is a vast group of argillaceous, calcareous, and silicious rocks, to which the term " transition" was formerly ap- plied. The same rocks occupy the chief part of the coast hetween Bathurst and Dalhousie, and both sides of the Restigouche : they also appear at Port Daniel and other places in the District of Gaspe. The St. John passes through this group to the distance of upwards of one hundred miles, running obliquely across the strata. The distance across the whole series, at right angles to the strata, so far as they have been explored, in the wilderness, is upwards of seventy miles. This may be qn approximation to the probable breadth of the belt near the American boundary ; but in the interior country of York, Carleton, and Gloucester, the breadth of the formation is evidently greatly dimi- minished by the protrusion of granitic and trappean mountains. This broad tract of rocks enters the State of Maine, occupies the valley of the Aroostook, in the territory formerly disputed, and probably reaches Canada in the District of Montreal, and also the State of New York. In their tithological characters, these rocks may be represented as being red and dark-coloured flags and slates, sandstone, freestone, shelly and compact limestone, black and lead-coloured shales, concretionary limestone, and grey micaceous sandstones. At the Meductic, Eel River, and at the head of the Nackawick, this groiTT of strata is found reposing upon and dipping from granite. At the sources of the Upsal- quitch and Nepisiguit Rivers, granite, trap, and other rocks of volcanic origin, form anticlinal ridges, or axes, where the lower members of the above group, being non-fossiliferous, may be considered as belonging to the Cambrian system. The direction of this great system of rocks is from the south-west to the north-east, and the strata in general are highly inclined. From the general agreement of its divisions with those of the Silurian group of parts of England and Wales described by Profes- sor Sedgwick and Mr. Murchison, I have adopted the names employed by those gentlemen, which have been sanctioned in Europe and in the United States, and their descriptions will apply very generally to the Silurian rocks of New Brunswick. The above group is also penetrated by great numbers of dikes of trap, and occasionally serpentine. These NEW BRUNSWICK. 345 dikes are well displayed in the banks of the Restigouche and other rivers, where they have produced changes only referable to the heat that accompanied their protrusion. They are sometimes of great thick- ness, and near mountain masses of the Plutonic rocks they are seen in broad shelving sheets. The Silurian rocks frequently abound in organic remains, yet they are not universally distributed in the strata. At Flannagan's Hill, below the mouth of the Presqu' Isle, the strata consist of dark-coloured slates, with impure limestones : in the latter there are large and very beautiful specimens of the Cyathophyllum basaltiforme, columns of encrinites, and casts of productce. The following is the result of a section made on the Restigouche and Bay Chaleurs in descending order : — Strata. Organic Remaini. Impure grey and blue limestone . . . Producta spirifera, orthocera, trilobites. Calcareous and argillaceous shales . . . Crinoidea, Cyathophyllum turbinum. Earthy rotten shale / ^^''^P^ ^"P^"' ^'*^ ^i^merous testacea i and corals. Wenlock limestone. Compact blue limestone. Friable sandstone. Shelly limestone. Compact blue and grey impure limestone ■» Producta, terebratula, Cyathophyllum in black, blue, and red shale . . . . / turbinum, Cyathophyllum hcxagonum. Grey and brown sandstones Encrinal remains. Compact limestone "i Tentaculites ornalus, producta, terebra- „ sandstone / tula, corals. Argillaceous and calcareous slates . . . Encrinal remains. Coralline marbles Corals. Conglomerates No organic remains. Clay slate No organic remains. From the great extent and thickness of the strata, my opportunities only allowed me to take a cursory view of them, aiD^. the fossils most readily recognised ; among which are the Catenipora escharuides, or chain-coral. Some of the corals are of great size, and near Dalhousie they fall from the cliffs and are rolled upon the beach by the waves. During the examination, I was at once struck with the similarity of these fossils to those of the Silurian system of Great Britain and the United States, and especially to those from Lockport, near Niagara, R r ■-V : 346 NEW BRUNSWICK. described by Mr. J. Hall and Mr, T. A. Conrad, who were employed in the Geological Survey of the State of New York.* Old Red Sandstone. — This rock is not very extremely developed in the Province, unless the lower conglomerates along the southern border of the coal-field may be classed in its group. It is intersected by the St. John just below the Ocnaoog River, and opposite both sides of Long Island, and stretches along the border of the coal-field from that place to Min Creek. The strata consist of a dull brick-red-coloured sandstone and a compact conglomerate. They are pierced by dikes of trap, and the formation reposes on the clay slate farther south. Old Mountain or Carboniferous Limestone, — We find here also the carboniferous limestone immediately succeeding the Devonian strata. This formation reaches away in a south-west direction, and on the east side of the river, making a gentle curve to the north-east. It contains a few echnida and crinoidea. The Spirifera glabra of Sowerby are very abundant, and also a variety of producta. The whole thickness of the formation will not exceed a thousand feet. li Carboniferous Group. — In the description of this series of rocks, for the sake of convenience we will include the deposits of red marl and sandstone, limestone and gypsum, of Butternut Ridge, Sussex, and Westmoreland, as they are in some degree associated with the great coal formation. By some persons, and among them several American geologists, the same rocks in similar situations in Nova Scotia havo been considered to be the equivalents of the new *ed sandstone and lias of England. This opinion was not entertained by Mr. Lyell after his visit to that Province, and it has since been receded from by one or tv/o local inquirers. Mr. Lyell has been disposed to class those rocks with the Devonian system, or the Permean rocks of Russia. As gyp- sum is found both above and beneath the coal, and the best discovered sections afford rather contradictoiy evidence in regard to the actual position of those rocks, the question must remain undetermined until • Sec Report of the Geological Survey of the State of New York, 1840. NEW BRUNSWICK. 347 f were employed more extensive observations are made, or better opportunities are af- forded to arrive at a just conclusion. . The great coal-field of New Brunswick occupies a vast tract of coun- try of a triangular form. Commencing at Bay Verte, and crossing the isthmus between tlic two Provinces, its southern boundary follows the shores of Cumberland Basin and Shepody Bay. It then extends from the north side of Shepody Mountain to Sussex, and mantling around the trap rock of Kingston and Springfield, reaches the St. John at Long Island, where it nests the old red sandstone and carboniferous limestone already described. From thence it makes a gentle curve to the south, and runs westward to a point eight miles westward of the Oromucto Lake, in the County of York. Its south-western boundary has been followed thence to the St. John between Fredericton and the mouth of the Keswick : from this point its north-western side remains almost unexplored ; but, from examinations made along the tributaries of the Miramichi, it is known to extend to Bathurst Harbour, curving to the westward in the Counties of York and Northumberland. It occupies the whole of the Counties of Kent and Sunbury — the chief part of Queen's, York, and Northumberland — a part of the County of Albert, and almost the entire area of Westmoreland. The length of the southern side of this coal-field is 145 miles — of its north-eastern side 110 miles. The distance from the Oromucto Lake to Bathurst, following the margin of the coal-field, is upwards of 170 miles. From the earliest observations, I had estimated its area at 7,500 square miles ; but the more recent exaL'inations show that its surface is equal to 10,000 square miles, and, including the Cumberland coal-field of Nova Scotia, which belongs to the same carboniferous deposit, the whole area of the united coal district is computed to be 12,500 square miles! ! ! The Province has been estimated to contain 20,000 square miles ; and when it is considered that more than one-third part of that area is a coal-field, with a due proportion of productive coal-measures, the quan- tity of coal will appear inexhaustible. The south side of this district is met by coarse red sandstones and conglomerates, to the distance of sixty miles. Southward of the Washadamoak, it is met by the trap rocks of King's County. Between the Oromucto Lake and the St. John above Fredericton, the millstone grit apparently meets the slates. ; '^' Hi' ;,f:.3 1i! .|.' !, 1 1 t ■ ■ i|* 1^ r It:?;:. I m m :■:■] •i^Wt, f ! St ' ;' 348 NRW nnuNswiciT. The north-cast side of the coal district is bounded by the Gulf of St. Lawrence; and its sandstones and shales, sometimes associated with coal, are seen in the low cliffs of the shore. But, besides the extensive area of the coal-field of New Brunswick, the same carboniferous district ex- tends into Nova Scotia, beyond Cumberland, and is scarcely interrupted between that county and Pictou, where the coal itself is extensively worked by the General Mining Association of London. I have ex- amined 200 miles of coast on the Straits of Northumberland and Gulf, and have found that all the rocks in that distance belong to the car- boniferous series. Upon an average, the surface of the New Bruns- wick coal-field is not elevated more than forty feet above the level of the sea : it presents an expanded low and level surface, excavated by water channels rather than broken by hills. The contemplated railway between Halifax and Quebec would intersect the great coal-field to the distance of 140 miles, and open a tract of 5,000 square miles of excel- lent land to the industry of emigrants and settlers. The rocks of the caiboniferous series are conglomerates, sandstones, shales, limestone, clay-ironstone, coal, and trap, similar to those of the coal-fields of Great Britain. Along the coast, the strata are nearly horizontal : in the interior, and especially in the County of Westmoreland, they are inclined at angles of twenty degrees, and sometimes forty degrees, from the horizon. The productive coal-measures appear to be near the middle portion of the series, although thin seams of coal occur in almost every part of the field. Many of the strata would afford superior free- stones for architectural purposes ; others are employed for grindstones, whetstones, &c. The coal, so far as it has been discovered, is of the bituminous kind. A variety of cannel coal is found in the new County of Albert. The principal known outcroppings are at the streams of the above county, Aboushagen and Tedish Rivers, Cocagne, Buc- touche, on the banks of the Richibucto River, Bartibog, New Bandon, Bartholomew's River, the Grand Lake, Salmon River, and on the banks of the Oromucto. Thin strata of coal also appear in many other parts of the coal-field. The fossils of this coal-field are very numerous. The sandstones, shales, fire-clays, and conglomerates, aboand in the remains and im- pressions of plants — many of which were of great size. In general. M. ' V- NEW BRUNSWICK. 349 every vestige of their leaves has disappeared, and nothing remains but the simple impression ; but sometimes the leaf io seen in a thin paper- like lamina of coal, and even in the centre uf clay -iron stone balls every fibre of the original vegetable texture is beautifully delineated. The fossil trees are of different kinds, and occur under a variety of circumstances. At the South Joggins, on the shore of .Cumberland Basin, and in the face of a cliff, they are situated at right angles to the planes of stratification, or stand perpendicular to the strata ; and as their roots are sometimes found attached, they evidently flourished on the spot. The only relic of the former living tree is the bark, which has been converted into coal, and still bears the original flutings, fur- rows, and leaf-scars of the plant. The cylindrical trunks have been filled up with sandstone, shale, &c., and now represent the origiual trees in solid Stony columns, from twenty to sixty feet in length, and sometimes upwards of four feet in diameter. In New Brunswick these fossil trees lie prostrate in and between the strata, so far as they have yet been observed . In some instances they have been changed into coal ; in others, this change has beo". partial ; and parts of many trunks on the shores of Chignecto Bay are composed of sandstone, iron pyrites, sulphate of barytes, and other minerals. At Bathurst, Carriboo River, and other places, the trees have been mineralised by copper, and their trunks have been worked out of the rocks and disposed of for copper ore, yielding 75 per cent, of pure metal. Large stems are found composed altogether of sandstone, apparently run in a mould like that of the iron-founder. In some of the large stems the ligneous fibre remains perfect and distinct : these are often mineralised by sulphate of barytes, or calcareous spar ; they resemble rotten ash, and split lengthwise very readily. There is still another variety of large fossil trees in ^hich the whole of the trunk has been changed into a compact lignite : the original bark now appears in coal, and when removed from the fossil, the tree resembles a pealed oak. With these are the common fossil plants of coal-fields, only a few of which require description. ■i^ii m] 'I •VJ 'I 'Ml Stigmaria are very numerous ; and they are frequently found with their leaves attached and extending in all directions from their trunks !:i ..;« \ ',v v.. 350 NEW BRUNSWICK. into the shales and sandstones. Lepidodendra, calamites, aigillaria, asterophi/lliteM, Pecopleris lonchilica, and other well-known fossils, are abundant. The fire-clays beneath the coal are most frequently loaded with stigmaria, as observed by Mr. W. E. Logan in South Wales, and in the underlays of the coal of Pennsylvania. Among the coal-bearing strata there are sometimes thin layers of limestone containing shells, of which the modiola and cypris are most common ; with them fossil fish have been found : these remains are of fresh-water, and occasionally of marine origin. Sulphurous springs are common in the coal-field, and their waters are used by the inhabitants in the cure of cutaneous diseases. . The red marly sandstones of Butternut Ridge, Westmoreland, and the Tobique, contain beds of limestone and gypsum ; but the organic remains found in the formation have been too few and imperfect to afford any very correct information in regard to its relative age. Tertiary Deposits. — At Lvbec, in the State of Maine, on the shores of the Schoodic, st Chamcook, Mace's Bay, Manawagonis, St. John, Mispeck, Emerson's Creek, and other places along the coast of the Bay of Fundy, there are beds of sand, murly clay, and marl, forming low and almost level tracts, exposed to the sea, and frequently extending to some distance on the shore. The marl and marly clay contain the re- mains of marine animals and plants, often in profusion ; yet the deposits in which they are buried are now situated from ten to forty feet above the highest level of the tides. The shells, including the testacea and Crustacea, exceed twenty in number : of these, the chief part are found inhabiting the present ocean ; but a Pecten obliqus of the marl and two other bivalves appear to be extinct, as Ihey aio not found on any part of the coast. Above these several beds and the relics contained in them, there are deposits of sand and gravel, from ten to fifty feet in thickness. There is abundant evidence to prove that the ancient sea- beach has here been raised far above the highest tides of the present period, and the water-worn pebbles of the former shore are elevated from ten to thirty feet above their ancient level, in situations where the marl and clay of the tertiary beds are absent. It is obvious that a whole line of coast on the north side of the Bay of Fundy has been, within m NEW BRUNSWICK. 351 amitea, tigillaria, nown fossils, are requently loaded outh Wales, and the coal-bearing taining shells, of 1 them fossil fish d occasionally of e coal-field, and ire of cutaneous istmoreland, and but the organic ind imperfect to tive age. 18, on the shores gonis, St. John, :oast of the Bay larl, forming low itly extending to / contain the re- yet the deposits forty feet above the testacea and f part are found iie marl and two iind on any part cs contained in to fifty feet in the ancient sea- of the present •e elevated from where the marl us that a whole las been, within a period comparatively recent, railed from the sea. There ii also evi- dence of submersion. On the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and in Mirumichi Bay, large peat-bogs have been buried beneath water, and are now broken up by the waves. One of the most remarkable instances of recent submersion was ob- served at the Island of Grand Manan, where a tract of land, twenty miles in length, and several small islands, have been depressed to the depth of eighteen feet. This depression took place before the island was inhabited : still there are Indians alive who remember the tradition of the " great island having rolled over towards the sun." The stumps of many trees — the pine, hemlock, and cedar — still remain firmly secured by their roots in the sunken earth ; the buried forest is now covered by each succeeding tide, and the anchors of vessels are frequently held by the roots and stumps rf trees that formerly stood above the ocean's level. In the northern counties, there are tertiary deposits similar to those already noticed. The collections of marl in the Counties of Resti- gouche and Gloucester may he called upper tertiary. They consist of strata of yellowish-white marl, most frequently covered by peat and the trunks and roots of decayed trees. The marl is a very pure carbonate of lime, and closely resembles chalk. It abounds in the remains of fresh-water shells, all of which still exist in the Province. The sites of these deposits were evidently fresh-water lakes. Diluvium, — Almost the whole surface of the fertile parts of the Pro- vince are overspread by beds of diluvial sand and gravel. These deposits, which might properly be called ancient alluvium, are of two kinds — the stratified and the unstratified. The strati ied beds were evi- dently produced by the action of currents of water, which have at some former periods swept over the entire surface, from the north towards the south. Diluvial grooves and scratches are found on the surfaces of the hardest strata, and even granite, in every quarter, and which, no doubt, are the marks of the passage of boulders carried forward by the impetus of water, or icebergs containing heavy masses of rock. The valleys of denudation also bear evidence of submersion beneath active currents ; but to enter upon a full account of the operations of which, It 'i^ ri'ir M 'ili 1 1^^ 'I. 1 rl i ^ k ■ ■i hi: 352 NEW BRUNSWICK. ' 'f although it affurds much interesting prouf of the theory proposed, foritis no part of the object of tlic present work. Above the Btratified beds of sand and gravel, there are numerous irregular deposits of sand, pebbles, and detached pieces of rock, which bear no evidence of having been transported and worn by the iinmediuto operations of water. Wherever such deposits arc found at the bases of mountains, their collection might be accounted for by the application of the glacial theory, but which theory cannot be sustained by reference to the detrital heaps found on level plains, far trom any hill whence they could have been launched by the descent of glaciers. With these unstratified collections of debris, there are numerous boulders of rock. That these boulders have been transported from the north is evident, for they are always found to the south of their birthplaces, or where the parent mass is in situ. Erratic blocks of granite, syenite, and trap rock are scattered over the whole surface of the coal-field of New Brunswick ; and the nearest fixed masses of those rocks are in the mountains of Gaspe, on the north side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is therefore reasonable to presume, that in a former condition of the continent, and before the country was elevated above the sea, those Loulders, and beds of sand and gravel, were carried along in floating masses of ice, as we now see them in the icebergs of the North, and in those of the Bay of Fundy and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The passage of those •' ice-cakes," forced onward by the currents and loaded with stones, over the rocks of the shores, open grooves across the strata similar to those that appear beneath the diluvium of the dry land. m&: ii I ill 1:1 (IRjI 1 \ Alluvium. — In the topographical account of the several counties, the situations of the fertile alluviums have been spoken of. They are of two kinds — the fresh-water and the marine. The former is the result of meteoric action upon the rocks, which causes rapid disintegration ; the particles detached by the frost, heat, and moisture are carried down wards by the rains, and transported by freshets of water along the val- leys and river sides, where they form the fertile intervales, and extend the surface capable of producing plants. The niaiine alluviums are carried inwards by the rapid tides, and spread on the sides of the rivers, y proposed, f(,rms ire are numerous OS of rock, which by the immediate' id ut the bases of 'y the application ■ined by reference any hill whence ers. With these moulders of rock, north is evident, places, or where syenite, and traj) )al-field of New rocks are in the i£ St. Lawrence, condition of the e the sea, those iilong in floating ■ the North, and jawrence. The le currents and » grooves across diluvium of the ral counties, the f. They are of ler is the result disintegration ; 2 carried down • along the val- es, and extend alluviums are !s of the rivers, NEW BRUNSWICK. 853 whence in the course of time they become grass-bearing mftrshcs, ond being rescued from the sea by embankments, finally produce wheat and clover. The following are the principal useful rocks and minerals of New Brunswick : — Granite Syenite Roofing Slate Porphyry Mica Slate Talcose Slate Limestone Hydraulic Limestone Marble Alum Slate Coal Grophite, or Plumbago Ochres Iron Ores (abundant) Manganese Ores Galena, or Lead Ore Grindstone Freestone Sulphuret of Copper Amethyst Agate Jasper Springs — Salt Sulphurous HoniBtone Thompsonite Stilbitc Apophyllitc Hornblende Feldspar Chlorite Garnets Talc Asbestus Magnesite Carbonate of Lime Sulphate of Barytes Gypsum Potter's Clay Fire Clay Sulphate of Iron Tourmaline Serpentine Iron Sand. Iserine Carburetted Hydrogen Ferruginous The following is a return of the produce of the mines and quarries in 1842, since which period there has been but little improvement in them :— • 2 a •'.i 1' h ; . ti l-^* i|:, ■!'! \ I 'Al :'? 354 NliW HRUN8W1CK. - ." i» It ..' Number, Nnmi'. Sltuiiticin, nnd l)e^cri|itl(>ii uf till- Min»i* unit Uuurru'H. Cliurlotte County. 1 Quarry at L'lCtang Island 1 Do. do. Ilurbuur St. John County. 19 Quarries Westmoruland. 7 Quarries 2 Do 1 Mine 2 Quarries King's County. 1 Salt Manufactory 1 Quarry, Flagging .. .. Queen's County. 2 Mines, Grand Lake .. .. 4 Quarries 1 Quarry Sunbury County. 2 Quarries York County. 3 QiKirrics Carleton County. iNllllU! Il( tlu' MilK'lIll Huli^liiiic'u. 2 Quarries • • at • t 1 Quarry Northumberland County. 4 Quarries . . . . 2 Quarries . . . . Gloucester County. 1 Mine 1 Quarry, Slate 3 Quarries . . . . Kent County. 3 Quarries . . . . Linicstonc Do. Do. Grindstones Freestone Coal Gypsum . . Salt . . . . Freestone Coal Freestone Granite . . Freestone Freestone Limestone Freestone Freestone Grindstones Manganese Slate Freestone Freestone (Juntitily prucjiiceit. Vnhiu in SU'iling, 1000 hlids. eiOO 1000 „ '100 0000 „ 2100 2000 stones 350 1000 tons 500 Just commenced. 500 tons 125 500l)iisliels 400 tons 500 chakl. 1000 tons GOOO „ 100 „ 500 „ 300 hhds. 50 tons 1000 tons 100 stones 100 tons 100 „ 500 „ 400 „ 50 100 500 250 120 25 125 200 12 10 250 12 10 800 100 125 100 .' ty Vnhiu In .SU'tliiiK. ds. €100 1 '100 » 2400 ncH 350 IS 500 con unenced. 18 125 liels 50 s 100 .1(1. 500 H 250 •120 25 125 Is. 200 3 12 10 S 250 les 12 10 s 800 100 125 100 CHAPTER XII. NATURAL III5T0UY f)F NEW BRUNSWICK. In treating of the Natural History of the Province our remarks must necessarily be very brief. A full account of the zoology or botany of any part of America would of itself occupy a volume. The distribu- tion of animals and plants has no reference to the arbitrary boundaries of nations and states, and the description of the productions of a sinj^le province would apply to almost the whole of the northern part of tlic great continent. Few have ever made any attempt to collect, classify, and describe the natural productions of Nova Scotia and New Bruns- wick : to the labours of others, in other quarters, we therefore add a few of our own observations on this wide field of inquiry. In the "Edinburgh Cabinet Library"* there are some excellent " Descriptive Sketches of the Natural History of the North American Regions," and a number of other works have contributed to a general knowledge of the natural history of the northern part of the New World. -j" We can, therefore, do little more than give catalogues of such productions as we are acquainted with ; and in their arrangement the system adopted by Dr. Emmons, of William's College, and other American naturalists, has been found most convenient. • No. IX. t See De '^tive Sketches of the Natim ■ History of the North American Regions; Riv nurdson's Fauna Boreali Americana; Pennant's Arctic Zoology; Audebon's Ornithological Biography ; Animals and Plants of Massachusetts, in Hitchcock's Geological Reports by several Authors; Silliman'a Journal; Philadelphia Journal of Natural Sciences. 2 A 2 i(. i ! : 1 I f vm '' { Hi 356 NEW BRUNSWICK. ANIMALS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. MAMMALIA. Order I. Carnassiers. VespertilHo Pruinosus, Say. — Common Bat. Scalops Canadensis, Cuvier.— Mole. Condylaria cristata, Desmarest. — Star-nose Mole. Ursus Americanus. — Black Bear. Procyon lotor, L. — Racooin. Gulo luscus, L. — Wolverine ; Cacajou, or Indian Devil. Mustela veson, L. — Mink. vulgaris, L. — Weasel. erminea, L. — Ermine, Martis, L. — Martin. Canadensis, L. — Fisher. Mephitis Americana, Desmarest.— Skunk. Lut'ra Canadensis. — Otter. Canis (Lupus) Occidentalis, Richardson. — Wolf. (Vulpes) fulvus, D.— Red Fox. Virginianus. — Grey Fox. Nigra.— Black Fox. Felis concolor. — Congar ; Catamount— very rare. Canadensis. — Lynx, or Wild Cat. Phoca vitulina. — Common Seal. cristata. — Hooded Seal. Castor Order II. Rodentia. Fiber fiber, L. — Beaver. Zibethicus, L.— Musquash, or Muskrat. NEW BRUNSWICK. 357 MU8 decumanus, Pallas.— Brown Rat; Wharf, or Water Rat. rattus— Black Rat. inusculus. — Mouse. leucopus.— Field Mouse. GerbiUus Canadensis. — Jumping Mouse. Arctomys monax, Gmelin. — Woodchuck. Sciurus Hudsonius.— Red Squirrel. striatus. — Striped, or Ground Squirrel. Pteromys volucella, L. — Flying Squirrel. Hystrix pilosus. — Porcupine. Lepus Americanus, Gmelin. — Hare. Order III. Ruminantia. Cervus Virginianua.— Common, or Fallow Deer. Tai-anaus. — Reindeer, or Carriboo. Alces. — Elk, or Moose. \ , Order IV. Cexacea. Delpliinus Delphis, L. — Porpus. (Phoceana) gladiator. — Sword-fish. Bale n a mystecetus, L. — Common Whale. The inhabitants of New Brunswick generally believe that there are two kinds of bears in the Province — the long-legged and the short-legged ; but I have never seen more than one variety, which is the common black bear of Canada : it is not very carnivorous, and feeds during the summer chiefly on berries. The bear is seldom disposed to attack man ; yet the female with cubs, or a wounded animal, will rush to an encoun- ter with great fury. The bear dens and commences his winter sleep in December, and creeps forth from his hiding-place in the latter part of March : in the intervening period he (^ats nothing ; but he is said to •ip •nijr •ill '' ■ \ 1 i; 1 ipv ■1 .i 11 t 1 n l< h li s- ' i ^ : 358 NEW BRUNSWICK. suck the thick part of his paw. Their retreats have been found in the Avinter season, and four animals have been found in a single den. They are very sullen and stupid, and persons who have accidentally fallen into their places of coiiccalment have found them disposed to be on good terms rather than fight : and men arc to be found who will volun- tarily enter a bear's den and with a long knife attack its inmates. During the summer, bears are sometimes destructive among young cattle, sheep, and hogs ; and the Province offers a bounty on every " bear nose." It is remarkable that t!'.'; fallow deer {Cervus Virginianus) was not seen in New Brunswick prior to the year 1818, at which period wolves als'^ appeared ; nor has it yet reached Nova Scotia on its march to the south. This beautiful animal has evidently been driven ir'o the Pro- vince by droves of wolves, which are now extending themselves far beyond their former limits. Before the above time, a wolf had not been seen in New Brunswick ; but they are now so common, that they some- times destroy whole flocks of sheep, and even attack the larger stock of the farmer, and the Legislature have offered a high bounty for their destruction.* In 1845, a wolf was seen in Nova Scotia, on the road between Halifax and Truro ; and during the past winter (1846) two have been killed in this Province, and carried through the country for exhibition. The Legislature has now also offered a bounty on every wolf that is killed. The wolverine or cacajou, commonly called the " Indian devil," is seldom killed, although it follows the tracks of the trappers in the forests, and frequently destroys their game. The Indians are afraid of this animal, and state that when it is hard pressed by hunger, it climbs the trees and springs upon them in r manner that renders them ex- * In the winter of 1812, I had occasion to make an excursion on the ice of Eel River and its hike, in a sleigh, and t1i ore observed the remains of tlu-ee deer and a cairiboo that had been dragged upDU ihe ice and devoured. A pack of eleven wolves crossed the head of tlie lake during my visit; but the thinness of the ice prevented mo from venturing far from the shore, and I could only salute them with a brauc of balls, which, from the distance being too great, took no effect. The bowlings of these animals around my camp at night were trnlv terrific. NEW BKUNSWICK. 359 been found in the single den. They accidentally fallen disposed to be on id who will volun- ttack its inmates. ive among youn<»' bounty on every rginianus) was not hich period wolves n its march to the riven iii'o the Pro- ng themselves far wolf had not been n, that they some- the larger stock of I bounty for their id between Halifax lave been killed in exhibition. The folf that is killed. 'Indian devil," is e trappers in the idians are afraid of ' hunger, it climbs renders them ex- ursiou on tlie ice of lie remains of tliree I devoured. A pack it; but tlie thinness ;, and I could only ;e being too great, :ami) at niglit were tremely dangerous enemies. Foxes are very numerous ; and although distinctively classed in regard to colour, there is but one kind in which the colour varies from red to black. Red, grey, and black foxes have been seen in the same litter. Lynxes are less common ; yet they sometimes assemble in the hem- lock groves in packs. When pursued by dogs, they immediately climb to the tops of the highest trees, where they may be shot. A contest between a wild cat and a porcupine is very amusing : the latter depends upon his bristly armour and the strength of his tail, while the lynx parades around him with great ceremony, ever endeavouring to seize his opponent under the throat. Otters are frequently killed in moderate weather ; during the winter they travel from river to river, over the snow, in quest of fish, of which they destroy great quantities. The beaver is still found in the remote lakes and rivulets — at the sources of the Miramichi, Tobique, Nepisiguit, and Restigouche Rivers — and they are sometimes taken by the Indians in considerable numbers ; but the indiscriminate destruction of old and young, and the cutting away of their dams, has had a very injurious effect upon this valuable race of animals. Muskrats are very numerous in the St. John, and all the quiet streams ; and, during the autumn, they erect curious houses of sticks and flags upon many of the bars and low intervales. The Indians derive considerable profit from the sale of their skins. The deer tribe of North America has been well described by several authors. The graceful forms, strong but light proportions, and great activity of these animals, render them the most rtoble objects of the chase, and their flesh is esteemed by many as being very delicious. To the backwoodsman or settler they are sometimes valuable, and often supply him with food in his pressing necessities. The elk, or moose, is the most noble and valuable animal of the genus. It has been stated by some writers, that he does not inhabit any country farther south than the Bay of Fundy : but moose are more numerous in Nova Scotia than in New Brunswick. In the latter Pro- vince they are seldom found, except in the western territory — the herds of the east having been destroyed by the early inhabitants. The '■w :1! i if 1 ■ \ i ? jl 1 ] I u 860 NEW BRUNSWICK. m- m w w mm i ordinary mooso stands six feet high, and weighs 1,000 lbs. ; the largest are upwards of seven feet high, and will weigh 1 ,600 lbs. The Cervus Tarandus, or carriboo, are quite numerous ; and the flesh, which is not very palatable, is sold in the markets of St. John and Fredericton. Both the moose and the carriboo can be tamed, and taught to draw loads like oxen ; and it is singular, that while the in- habitants of the North of Europe have made the reindeer serviceable, he has not been domesticated in America. Although they are exposed to the ferocious wolves, Virginian or fallow deer are very plentiful. They are frequently driven from their folds in winter, and occasionally travel along the turnpikes. In remote and isolated clearings, I have seen them feeding and gambolling in the fields with the domesticated cattle of the farmer. The weasel, which is brown in summer, becomes perfectly white, or of a light cveam colour, in winter. The hare also puts on a snowy-white dress ; but the mink and otter are of a more glossy black in the cold season than in summer. Falco Strix BIRDS. Order I. — Accipitreb. leucocephalus, L. — Bald Eagle, halisetus, L. — Fish Hawk. Sparverius, L. — Sparrow Hawk. Columbarius, L. — Pigeon Hawk, velox, Wilson. — Slate-coloured Hawk, borealis, Gmelin.— Red-tailed Hawk, hieinalis, Gmelin. — Winter Hawk. fiammea, Lin. — Barn Owl. nebulosa. — Barred Owl. funerea. — Hawk Owl. Virginea. — Great-horned Owl. Otiia, L. — Long-eared Owl. Acadica, Gm.— Little Owl. nyctea, L.— Snowy Owl. Asio, L. — Screech Owl. Cucidus Americanus, Bonaparte Ordkr II.—Passeres. Tribe 1. — Scajtsores. Cuckoo. NEW BRUNSWICK. PicuB erythrocephalus, L. — Red-headed Woodpecker. Carolinua, L. — Red-bellied Woodptcker. villosus, L. — Hairy Woodpecker, pubescens, L. — Downy Woodpecker. 961 !1| IVibe 2. — Amhulatores. Alcedo Alcyon, L. — Belted Kingfisher. Sturnus Ludovicianus, L. — Meadow Lark. Icterus Phoeniceua. — Red-winged Starling. Pecoris, L. — Cow Bunting. Quiscalua versicolor, Vieillot. — Grackle. ferrugineua, Bon. — Rusty Grackle Corvus Corone, L. — Crow. Corax. — Raven. cristatus, L. — Blue Jay. Bombycilla Carolinensia, Briss. — Cedar Bird. Caprimulgua vociferus, Wila. — Whip-poor- Will. Virginianua, Brias. — Night Hawk. Cypselus Pelasgiua, Temminck. — Chimney Swallow. Hirundo purpurea, L. — Purple Martin. rufa, Gm. — Barn Swallow. riparia, L. — Bank Swallow. fulva. Muscicapa tyrannus, Br' ". — Tyrant Fly-catcher. crinita, L. — Crested Fly-catcher. ruticilla, L. virens, L. Cooperi. — Olive-sided Fly-catcher. . Lanius septentrionalis, Gm — Butcher Bird. i 'M\ M{\ h i I5!" ;!!■ 362 WEW BRUNSWICK. y : \ ■■ len. ■^'(^^::.n '*■;■■ 'fl! Turdos felivox, Vieill. — Cat Bird. , , . . migratorius, L. — Robin. rufus, L. — Femiginous Thrush. minor, Gm. — Hermit Thrush • . ; . Sylvia coronata, Latham. — Yellow-rumped Warbkr. magnolia, Wila. — citrinella, Wils. — Blue-eyed Yellow Warbler. petechia, Wils. — Yellow Red-polled Warbler. pusilla, Wils.— Blue Yellow-backed Warbler. solitaria. — Blue-winged Yellow Warbler. Certhia familiaris, L.— Brown Creeper. Troglodytes tedon — Wren. Sitta Carolinensis, Bria. — Nuthatcli. Canadensis. — Red-bellied Nuthatch. varia, Wils.— Red-bellied Black-capped Nuthatch. Anthus spiuoleUa, Bon. — Brown Lark. Alauda alpjstris, L. — Shore Lark. Trochilus colubris, L. — Humming Bird. Emberiza nivalis, L. — Snow Bunting. Fringilla hiemalis. — Snow Bird. melodia, Wils. — Song Sparrow. Canadensis, Latham. — Tree Sparrow. pusilla, Wils. — Field Sparrow. passerina, Wils. — Yellow-winged Sparrow. illiaca. — Fox-coloured Sparrow. tristis, L.— Yellow Bird. pinus, Wils. — l."ch. Cardinalis, Bon. — Cardinal Grosbeak purpurea. — Purple Finch. Pyrrhula emiclator. — Pine Buliinch. flamingo, Lath. ,. NEW BRUNSWICK. SGS Curvirostra leucoptera, Wils. -White-winged Crossbill. Americana, Wils. — American Crossbill. Corvus Canadensis. — Canadian Jay, or Moose Bird. OiiDEn III. — Gallin*. Columba migratoria, L.— Passenger Pigeon. Carolinensis, L.— Tm-tle Dove. Tetrao umbelhis, L. — Birch Partridge. Canadensis, L.— Spruce Partridge. Ordeh IV.— Grall^. Charadius htaticula, Wils. — Ringed Plover, pluvialis, Bon. — Golden Plover, apricarius, Wils. — Black -breasted Plover, calidris, Wils.— Sanderling Plover, rubidus, Wils.— Ruddy Plover. Ardea herodius, Wiis. — Great Heron, minor, Wils. — American Bittern. Numenius Hudsonicus. — Esquimaux Curlew. Scolopax fedon, Wils.— Great Marbled Godwit. gallinago. — Snipe, minor, Bon. — Woodcock, semipalmata.— YeUow-lea:!fcd Snipe, Noveboracensis, Wils.— Red-brc:ist'jd Snipe. Tringa pusilla, Wils.- Little Sandpiper. Rallus Virginianus, L -^Virginian Rail. Carolinus, Bon. — Rail. Fulica Americana, Gm. — Common Coot. ,m \ n 4\ hi- V.., 364 f ^U'\: m !i , I i t 4mm NEW BRUNSWICK. Order V. — Ansereh. Sterna LaruB hirunda, L.— Great Tern, niinuta. — Lesser Tern. CanuB, L.— Common Gull, capistratUB. — Grey Gull. Anus CanndeusiB. — Wild Goose. glacialis, Wils. — Long-tailed Duck. Americana. — American Widgeon. sponsa, Wils. — Wood Duck. marilla. — Scaup Duck. perspicillata. — Black, or Surf Duck. discors, L. — Blue-winged Teat. obscura, Wils. — Dusky, or Black Duck. histrionica, W'ils. — Harlequin Duck. molissima, Wils. — Eider Duck., Mergus goeander, Wils. — Sheldrake. cucuUatus. — Hooded Merganser. Anser bernicla, Bon.— Brant. Podiceps cristatua, Latham.— Crested Grebe. minor, Latham. — Little Grebe. Uria alle, Wils.- Little Auk. Sula Bassana. — Solon Goose, or Gannct. Colymbus glacialis, L. — Great Northern Diver. septentrionalis, L. — Red-throated Diver. Phalacrocorax graculus, Dumont. — Shag.* The whole number of birds that frequent the Province is probably 200 ; of that number not more than 100 breed in the country, and • The preceding mammalia and birds have been examined by the Author ; but there are a number of birds in the Province that have not yet been captured. '11 Bt NEW BRUNSWICK. 365 many of them only remain a few days on their annual migratory vfeits to the north and south. FISHES. The following fishes are known to exist. The arrangement is that of V. C. Smith, M.D. :— Class I.— Cariilaoinouj Fishes. Order 2.—Cycloatomi. Petromyzon marinus.— Lamprey Eel. fluviatilis.— Freshwater Lamprey Eel. Carchariaa glaucus.— Blue Shark. vulpus. — Thrasher. Raia clavata. — Thomback. batis. — Skate. Orders. — Sturiones. Acipenser sturio. — Sturgeon. CtASs IL— Osseous Fishes. \ Order 4t.—Plectognathi. Ostracion triquetor.— Trunk Fish. Order 6. — Malacopterygii-abdominalii. Salmo ■alar. — Salmon, trutta.— Salmon Trout, fario. — Common Trout, huco.— Hunchen Trout ; Togue. Osmerius eperlanus. — Smelt. Clupea harengus.— Herring. ipenhaden. — Menhaden. alsosa. — Shad. vemalis.— Alewife, or Gaspereau. minima.—Brit. ill'. i/" iniu iV :'!i III ill*' :il) I' if 3 !ti ' 1/ *"i F-^'t . i I Mi; am Rsox NEW DRUNSWKJK. lucius. — Pickerel. belone. — Sen Pike. Cyprinus auratus.— Golden Curp. crysolcncas. — Shiner. ntronasus. — Minnow. oblongu8. — Chub. teres. — Sucker. Leuciscus vulgaris. — Roach. cephalas.— Small Chub. Silurus Horn Pout. Ord^r 7.~Malacopteri/gu Subrachiati. GaduB morrhua. — Common Codfish. rupestris. — Rock Cod. arenosus. — Bank Cod* merluccius. — Hake. taucaud. — Tom Cod. fuscus. — Frost Fish. Brosm as vulgaris. — Cusk. Morrhua oeglefinus. — Haddock . Mcrlangus vulgaris. — Whiting. Polachius. — Pollock. Platessa vulgaris. — Flounder. Hypoglossus vulgaris. — Halibut. Cyclopteras lumpus. — Lump Fish. minutus. Order 8. — Malacopterygii-apodes , Anguilia vulgaris. — Eel. Congor mursena. — Conger Eel. NEW HRUNSWICK. iJ(J7 Orrfer 9.— -rYrrt«/Ao//cntiim. — Snapping Turtle. Pennsylvanica. Coluber ■Irtalia. — Garter Snnkc. vcrnalis. — Green 8nuku. liana pipiens, L.— Bull Frog. flavi-viridis.— Spring Frog. Toads, two varieties. Salamanders, three varieties. The insects are very numerous ; but they have never been collected nor arranged. The same remark is applicable to the botany of New Brunswick, and we must refer our readers to other works for an account of the plants of British America.* * See Edinburgh Cabinet Library, No. IX. ; also, An Historical and Descrip- tive Account of British America, by Hugh Murray, 1839, vol. iii. p. 304. I ': r Pii' NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. !ver been collected 10 "botany of New orks for an account storical and Descrip- vol. iii. p. 304. EMIGRATION. However great may be tbe difTiculties to be encountered by the emi- grant in removing from his native land to the forests of British America, and of supplanting the wild woods by Qultivation, whence he is to derive his support, he has one cheering fact held out for his encourage- ment, namoly, that all the industrious, frugal, and sober persons who have gone before him have been successful, and that almost every instance to the contrary has arisen from misfortune, sickness, or, what is far more common, idleness, intemperance, or mismanagement. Thousands of families who have landed in New Brunswick penniless, have, by their own labour, obtained and paid for tracts of land which they now live upon in comfort and independence. This plain fact is enough to show, that the transfretation of the redundant population of the mother-country to the unoccupied lands of her North American Colonies is not only a work of national importance, but also one of exalted benevolence. There should, indeed, be no delay in relieving Great Britain of a superabundant and starving population, while she has millions of acres on this side of the Atlantic that, by the labour of that same population, would afford them subsistence, comfort, and happiness, and by whom the resources of the country would be rendered more generally useful. The attention of the Government has long been directed to the dis- covery of a sound system of emigration, and much has been written on the subject ; but it is remarkable that no general plan has been followed out, and the practical operations of many apparently judicious schemes have proved to be imperfect. Pauperism, in all its frightful aspects, 2b ii'llli: % m f :i is;: J,. • 370 NEW BRUNSWICK. still prevails in the United Kingdom, and frequently to an alarming extent ; yet still the almost interminable forests that overshadow the fertile lands of British America are scarcely indented, except along the borders of the principal rivers ; and even there, the population is often very scanty. In the Old Country, early marriagos are discouraged, because they contribute to an increase of numbers, and, consequently, of misery. In these Colonies they are viewed as being advantageous, from the acces- sion they make to the population ; and the birth of a child in the back- woods is hailed with more than ordinary natural joy, because, by the labour of his offspring, the capital of the Colonial settler is increased. It has been maintained by some, that, under such circumstances, emigration should be conducted at the expense of the Government, — or, at least, that all who desire to remove to the Colonies should be trans- ported gratuitously, and afterwards supplied with provisions for a certain period. To land a body of pauper emigrants upon the shores of Ame- rica without previous preparation for their future maintenance, would be but tf) increase their misery, or to throw upon the established in- habitants a burden they would be unable to sustain. Others, again, are of opinion that emigration should go on in the " natural way," and be left to the choice and the unaided efforts of the individuals who embark in it. Emigration conducted by public Companies has hereto- fore seldom been very successful, and has often been the cause of much disappointment and distress. To supply the settler in New Bruns- wick with a free passage, necessary implements of husbandry, and pro- visions until his first crop could be secured, would not be found ex- pedient or politic, and such a system would be liable to many abuses. Such are the frailties of human nature, and the effects of bounties be- stowed upon the ignorant of the lower classes, that gifts like these are apt to render them inactive and improvident. So soon as many receive the bounty or gift of the Government, or that of a public Company, they begin to cherish the feelings of the soldier or sailor, who serve and fight for their maintenance ; and some really suppose that the hand that freely administered to their wants in the first instance, is bound to supply them in indolence afterwards, or they lose the proper pride and energy so necessary to enable them to provide for themselves. NOTES FOR EMIGIIANTS. 371 ly to an alarming lilt overshadow the d, except along the population is often iged, because they itly, of misery. In us, from the acces- child in the hack- r, because, by the tier is increased. :ch circumstances, Government, — or, 2S should be trans- visions for a certain he shores of Ame- aintenance, would he established in- Others, again, are mtural way,'' and e individuals who panics has hereto- the cause of much r in New Bruns- sbandry, and pro- not be found ex- to many abuses. ;s of bounties bc- ifts like these are n as many receive public Company, lilor, who serve suppose that the first instance, is ' lose the proper le for themselves. To this rule there are, indeed, many honourable exceptions ; but that the instances of gratitude and actual advantage are sufficiently numer- ous to recommend the general bounty of the Government to the lower classes of emigrants, is a question worthy of much consideration. The greatest limits to which the General or Local Government can extend its encouragement to settlers from Great Britain appear to be In the removal of the common obstacles that stand in their way. Before the emigrant leaves his native country or port, he may in some degree be made acquainted with the climate, peculiarities, advantages and dis- advantages of the land he desires to adopt as his future home; and thus will he be freed from the disappointments that so frequently follow the representations of persons whose only object is to obtain " passage- money." His passage may be rendered safe and healthy, and protec- tion may be afforded against the impositions of unprincipled and design- ing speculators. And wherever emigration is carried on upon an exten- sive scale by a public Company, the freest communications should be made between those who have advanced to and those who intend to remove to the country. Agents shoiald be employed who will devote the whole of their time and attention to the assistance of emigrants at the ports where their arrival is at all numerous ; and when, through sickness or any unforeseen cause, they are reduced to a state of distress, the bounty of the Government may be administered to their relief. Every facility should be afforded to enable the emigrant to obtain a lot of land without delay, if he possess the means of paying for it ; and the price should never be fixed so high as to check the progress of indus- trious settlers. The scheme of granting the emigrant an outfit neces- sary to enable him to commence operations, the amount of which he binds himself to pay by instalments, or at the expiration of a certain number of years, is not politic. In some, this debt depresses the spirits ; in others, it is viewed us a demand of the State, which the ignorant seldom feel bound to pay ; and the humanity of the Govern- ment has ever been too great (and may it ever be!) to allow her officers to strip the shanty and hovel of the backwoods settler for the payment of a few acres of wild land upon which the subsistence of a whole family depends. Emigration by public and incorporated Companies is very practi- 2 B 2 ill lii- !: ?'i.. IP 1 1; It! i'i M' Wh Ufap^'.' mM W- \ . mrf. 1 !| 1'. ' •, m 372 NKW BllUNSWICK. cable ; and the construction of the contemplated railway between Hali- fax and Quebec, through the central forests of New Brunswick, would open a wide field for the operations of sucl; bodies. A due regard should always be had to the habits and kind of industry the immigrants have been trained to. Serious blunders have been committed, by locating people who had been brought up to fishing, in the forests remote from the sea, — and also by establishing families •who had been bred to husbandry, iipon a coast or river, where a part of their subsistence must necessarily be drawn from the water. The adopted home of every family brought across the Atlantic should correspond as nearly as possible with their former residence, and their pursuits should deviate as little as possible from those to which they are accustomed. Many families of the lower classes of Irish have suffered great hard- ships upon their first landing in New Brunswick, notwithstanding hospitals are provided for the sick, and the Provincial Govei'nment and the inhabitants have been generous in their endeavours to prevent distress. Too often, poor emigrants linger about the sea-ports in the hope of obtaining employment, until all their means are exhausted, and they are reduced to pauperism and led into crime : yet, many such families have fairly begged their way into the country places, and finally become independent and steady settlers. The above evils might be remedied by the judicious management of an Emigration Company, the chief objects of which should be to trans- port the poor emigrant to a place where, by his own industry and frugality, he could win a livelihood ; but any attempt to hasten his operations by very free advances of money or provisions will generally meet with disappointment. It is the spirit and energy of the settler — it is the hope of final success and independence, that is to stimulate him to exertion, and such as do not possess this necessary ambition are not wanted in the country. Of the great number of emigrants who land in New Brunswick from the returned timber-ships, only a few remain and establish themselves in the Province, where there are as many advantages for the agricul- tural or maritime settler as can be found in any part of America. The current of emigration flows into the diff'erent parts of the American Continent in proportion to the amount of employment offered to the NUTKS Foil KMIU RANTS. way between Ilali- Brunswick, would ablts and kind of ions blui'ders have xvM up to fishing, stablishing families •er, where a part of vatcr. The ado])ted lould correspond as eir pursuits should are accustomed. ufFered great hard- , notwithstanding incial Government eavours to prevent he sea-ports in the ins are exhausted, e : yet, many sucli )untry places, and JUS management of should be to trans- own industry and mpt to hasten his ions will generally ?y of the settler — at is to stimulate ssary ambition are w Brunswick from tablish themselves •s for the agricul- of America. The of the American cat offered to the labouring classes. A great number of tlie immigrants into Canada during several past yeai-s have found employment on public works. From the great number of public works carried on in the United States by the inhabitants, and by the expenditure of much British capital, employment has been given to thousands of Irish immigrants, who have finally become settlers. The vast sums of money advanced by persons in England to construct canals, railways, and other public works in the Republican States, have not only been the means of extending every kind of improvement in that quarter, but have also increased and strengthened the population of a foreign Power. In New Brunswick there are no public works that require such labour. The chief part of the immigrants that land in the country soon depart for the United States, and the few that remain are of the most indigent class. Thousands of tradesmen who land in the Province also depart to the American towns, where tliey find employment in their particular occupations. The progress of manufacture in all new countries must be slow ; and so long as the price of land remains low, and soil fit for tillage can be obtained by the industry of a labouring man, the price of labour will check manufacturing enterprise. The total number of immigrants that arrive in the Province from Great Britain is about 8,000 per annum : of that number not more than 2,000 become resi- dents. Tradesmen, lumbermen, and farmers also come in from the United States and the neighbouring Provinces. The number of these will not exceed 1,000 per annum. And when there is c ly check applied to the timber trade, emigration from the Province proceeds rapidly. The foundation of emigration into the North American Colonies is laid by the first visitors to a district, who, when they arc successful, inform their relatives and friends " at home," as it is always called, and accessions are made to their numbers yearly. This, and causes before adverted to, has given rise to the floods of emigration that are annu- ally poured into Canada and the United States ; but New Brunswick, from being less, or scarcely at all, known in Great Britain, retains but few of the emigrants that land upon her shores, and her population therefore remains too scanty to act eflSciently upon her resources. lii I ' It il ^ '»•: 374 NEW BRUNSWICK. Note A. i • ; in. ii- r , m i-.-' r Emigration hy Incorporated Companies. When it is intended to promote the work of emigration through the medium oi a public Company formed for the purpose, it is necessary that, before any famib'es are sent out from the Old Country for the object of opening a new township, the requisite quantity of land should be carefully selected, and its outlines defined, by some person who is well acquainted with the Province. Application may then be made to obtain the land upon the most advantageous terms, to have the payments made by instalments, and the Company incorporated by an Act of the Imperial Parliament or the Provincial Legislature. The Government^[have ever been ready to promote immigration upon an extended scale, and little [difficulty need be apprehended in obtaining land upon very moderate conditions, and the Hon. T. Bailey, the Sur- veyor-General of the Province, will be found ready to supply informa- tion, plans, and descriptions, to any who desire to obtain lands for actual settlement. The New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Com- pany is the only body of the kind who have taken up lands in the Province : they obtained 500,000 acres between the Nashwack and the Miramichi, and at present their settlement is in a flourishing state. The Government will order the required tract to be surveyed ; this work should be performed by perse ' fully competent to the task. The tiers of lots should be laid out with due regard to the physical features of the country, rivers, future roads, and railways. An improper survey will retard the improvement of a whole settlement. The quality of the soil — its timber, fisheries, minerals — the future prospect of a market — the situation of the tract, in reference to water, or railway carriage — its proximity to a seaport, advantages for mills, its in- tervales, and many other circumstances, must be duly considered. Above all, the quality of the soil must be unexceptionable ; and this cannot always be determined by the timber growing upon it, as the primitive wood has, at many places, been destroyed by fire, and sue- NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 375 es. •ation through the se, it is necessary- Country for the quantity of land , by some person tion may then be terms, to have the icorporated by an ^legislature. The ligration upon an ided in obtaining . Bailey, the Sur- 3 supply informa- obtain lands for Icotia Land Com- up lands in the rashwack and the flourishing state, ^eyed; this work I task. The tiers ysical features of improper survey The quality of ! prospect of a ater, or railway r mills, its in- •uly considered, nable ; and this upon it, as the y fire, and suc- ceeded by trees very different from the original growth. The situation of the settlement having been decided upon, the land surveyed in lots of one hundred acres each, with reserves for religi^^us and educational objects, and the necessary arrangements made with the Provincial Go- vernment, a party of emigrants may be sent out and put under the direction of a qualified agent ; by whom arrangements will be made for their reception, and to aid them in taking up their lots : provisions, and the necessary quantity of seed, grain, and potatoes, having been procured, according to the circumstances of the immigrants, and the regulations of the Company. Emigrants who intend to settle in New Brunswick should arrive in the Province about the first of May, if possible ; for by clearing away a few trees and some underbrush on their lands in that month and to the 25th of June, crops of potatoes (early bluenoses), turnips, oats, and buckwheat, may be raised in the same season. Time will also be afforded to build comfortable log-houses before the approach of winter. J. G., in the County of Gloucester, took possession of a lot of lard on the 16th of May, 1832 : in the same season, he cleared groimd from which he raised eighty bushels of potatoes, ten bushels of turnips, and ten of buckwheat; with these, and the fish he took upon the shore, and five bushels of wheat, paid for in labour, he maintained his family (a wife and two children), until the second, and a much larger crop, was obtained. In the first year, he built a log-house, and a hovel for a cow, and chopped eight acres ; in 1843, he raised eighty bushels of wheat, one hundred of oats, five hundred of potatoes, ten of barley, twenty-five tons hay, kept ten head of horned cattle and two horses, and was in independent and most comfortable circumstances. Many other similar cases might be quoted. In some districts, wild hay may be procured to supply a few cows with fodder during the winter. In opening a settlement, even upon the most extensive scale, it is desirable that only a limited number of immigrants should at first amve and commence operations : these should be young single men, or persons with small families ; with these there should be a few active men of the Province, or backwoodsmen. After the villages are opened, immigrants may arrive at any time, and i. :i J ; Tiff- 376 NEW BRUNSWICK. persons who have a capital of £50 may also advance to the settlement at any season of the year ; yet the one we have named is the most favourable, as it affords sufficient time to prepare for the succeeding ■winter. The advanced party, after they have provided shanties for themselves, may be employed by the agent in erecting log-houses and clearing for the Company. Eight men will build a comfortable log- house in two days ; the roof will be covered with bark which *' peels well in June," or broad cedar shingles, when they can be obtained. A cellar may be dug under the house after it is built, or opened near the cabin, and covered with brushwood and earth. The log-houses are built by felling the trees, (spruce and fir are preferred,) cutting them into blocks from fifteen to twenty-five feet in length, and laying them toge- ther with dovetails at the ends ; a spacious fireplace is made of stones, when they can be procured, and the chimney is composed of short sticks, thickly plastered with clay mortar : the floor is made, in the first instance, of pieces of wood hewed on the upper side ; openings are cut through the logs for a window and a door, and the open spaces or cracks between the logs are carefully filled with moss, and then plas- tered over with clav. The New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land Company offer for sale a great number of lots on their tract near Stanley, and within thirty miles of Fredericton. Lots may be purchased from the Company upon which log-houses have been erected, and clearings of several acres made. Wilderness tracts of one hundred acres each are offered by them for £31 sterling, payable by instalments in eleven years without interest. The lands in general are good, and roads have been opened, in different directions, across them. Tiie Company have a church and resident clergyman, a school, and saw and flour mills, and their lands may be reached in twenty-four hours after leaving St. John. The following table shows the contents in acres of each county of the Province, the number of acres which have been granted or located by the Crown, and the quantity of land still remaining vacant and at the disposal of the Provincial Government. NOTKS FOR EMIGRANTS. 377 to the settlement med is the most )r the succeeding ided shanties for ig log-houses and comfortable I02- ark which " peels be obtained. A r opened near the houses are built uiting them into aying them toge- 3 made of stones, mposed of short is made, in the de ; openings are le open spaces or s, and then plas- any offer for sale nd within thirty e Company upon of several acres I are offered by en years without ive been opened, ive a church and and their lands John. ch county of the id or located by acant and at the County. Restigouche • . Gloucester Ncn-thuiiiberland Kent Westmoreland St. John Charlotte . . . . King's.. .. .. Queen's .. .. Sunbury . . . . York Carleton . . . . Totals Vucaiit. ncrc3. 1114500 71.'H40 221GOOO 552100 532000 12G00O 480000 211000 470000 4i;J000 1280000 2088000 (irnntcd and Ldcutoil. 10129400 acres. 152000 324000 984000 3.')4000 780000 288720 303300 G05920 491280 3G9080 921 GOO 504000 Conli'iits. G0779G0 acres. 12G(i5G() 1037140 3200000 806400 1312000 414720 7833G0 849920 9G1280 782080 2201G00 2592000 1G2073GO There are upwards of 20,000 acres of land fit for settlement surveyed in each county. The first six counties border upon the sea, and abound in harbours and fishing stations, and they are well adapted for emigrants from the coasts of Great Britain. The chief part of the emigrating population are persons without capital, and many of them are very poor. The greatest struggles of these people, in all cases where they have no relatives in the country, are after they arrive and before they can obtain labour or land whereby they can maintain themselves ; and being ignorant of the country, its localities and soil, they are unable to select a place of settlement : their choice also is liable to be very injudiciously made. These, and many other evils, would be prevented by a Company, and each indi- vidual and his family would be able to proceed immediately to their lands, where they would receive such assistance as would enable them to make themselves comfortable, and to commence the clearing of their farms without delay. Much, however, would depend upon the system of the Company, and the qualifications of the agents employed, who should be well acquainted with the country and its peculiarities. Mii '■ •^V'^r: 378 NEW BRUNSWICK. i '! . M M i; Note B. Emigration by Associaiions. Persons wlio have capital of £25, £50, or £100 eafh, would Und it to their advantage to form an association previous to i ":\x embarkation from Great Britain. By it, individuals of the same habits and manners would be united and afford mutual assistance to each other. They might send an agent in advance, to examine and purchase from the Government the necessary quantity of land ; and by opening a settlement of thirty or forty families, they would obtain their lands upon more favourable terms, receive a grant from the Legislature to open roads, and an allowance for schools, &c. As soon as the lands have been surveyed, the immigrants have taken possession, and shanties have been built, each settler will commence clearing by felling all but the largest trees, and rolling the logs into piles at the side of his field : the branches, and even the logs, may be burned. Upon the ground thus cleared, potatoes and other vegetables are to be immediately planted : wheat, Indian corn, oats, and buckwheat may be tried, if the season be not too far advanced. If the immigrant take possession of his lot on the first of June, he will be able to clear an acre, including a small kitchen- garden. Thousands of families who have settled upon wild lands in this manner, have, in a few years afterwards, abandoned the shanty of logs and bark, and moved into houses neatly painted ; their barns and other outhouses, their live stock, &c., being the best testimonials of their industry, comfort, and independence. In travelling through these new villages, it is common to see a small log-ho\ise, and upon the same farm a large framed barn. At the fine springs of water, home-made linen is put out to bleach, stocking-yarn hung out to dry, a large wood pile for fuel, crotch harrows, carts, sleds, a grindstone — all indicating that the inhabitants are people of business " in doors and out." The articles required by the "new settler" are a comfortable supply of good clothing, a few culinary utensils, a spade or shovel, a sickle, scythe, the iron part of a plough ; twenty-five harrow teeth, each ten inches long ; two axes, one plane, three chisels, one drawknife, one NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 379 hamisaw, one gouge, three augers from ^-inch to Ij-inohes bore ; one hammer, four gimlets, five lbs. nails, a supply of leather, a few awls, a pair of pincers. He must have ingenuity enough to make shoes and mocassins ; he must be a carpenter, blacksmith, tanner, and cooper ; his wife and daughters must know how to spin, weave, knit, and make clothes — also to cook economically, and manage a dairy ; his son must swing the axe. In every village of ten families, there should be a cross- cut saw and a whip saw : a gun is occasionally useful ; but a hunting farmer is always a poor farmer. The rule should be, to shoot for the pot and fish for the pot. Every settlement should have its fiddler or piper : music, and occasionally a little innocent recreation, cheers the mind of the emigrant amidst his early struggles and privations. To show the practicability of settlement upon this plan, we might mention numerous instances where the poorest class of Irish emigrants have congregated and squatted upon Crown lands, and after miich toil and many privations, they have paid for those lands, and now drive their waggons drawn by fine horses to market ; and besides enjoying the common comforts of life, many of them have considerable sums of money "laid past." The inhabitants of the Province do not, however, desire the farther introduction of this class of emigrants, as occasionally, from idleness and intemperance, they become a burden upon society; and should they arrive at independence, they assume airs of importance seldom observed among the immigrants from other parts of the mother- country. The following are the latest regulations for the disposal of the wil- derness lands : — Regulations for the Disposal of Crown Lands in the Province of New Bruns- wick. (By order of His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor in Council, 11th May, 1843.) Whereas it is considered that much expense and trouble will be saved by persons who are desirous of purchasing Crown lands, especially in remote parts of the Province, by authorising local sales thereof to be held in con- venient places ; and as it is expedient to prescribe certain regulations respect- ing applications for, and sales of, such Crown lands; it is therefore ordered, — 1st. That in future, public sales of Crown lands .will be held, as occasion f-^rr. 'I- 1» 380 NEW miUNSWlCK. may require, on the first Tuosd ay in every niunt]i,by a Deputy-Survcyov there- unto Kpecliilly appointed for each county. 2nd. That all applications l)e addressed by petition to His E-xcollency the Lieutenant-Ciovernor, and transmitted either by the applicant or throujjh the Local Deputy, under cover, to the Surveyor-dencral, and accompanied by a Report from the Local Deputy, describing the land, and setting forth whether it is required for actual settlement, together with such other information as he may deem necessary to be communicated. 3rd. That if the application be approved of, and the land applied for be not already surveyed, a warrant will forthwith issue to authorise the survey to be executed, on guarantee to the Surveyor for the expenses of survey, according to such regulations and at such rates as may be prescribed for surveys in the department of the Surveyor-General; and where the applications for land in any locality may be numerous, care will be taken that the charges be pro- portionately reduced. 4th. That on the return of the survey duly executed, the description of the land, the time and place of sale, and the upset price, will be announced in the Royal Gazette, and also by handbills to be publicly posted in the county where the land lies, at least twenty days previous to the day of sale; and the charges for all such surveys shall be paid down by the purcliaser or his agent at the time of sale, in addition to such part of the purchase-money as will be required, or the sale to be deemed null and void. 5th. That if lae land applied for should have been previously surveyed, the like notice of the time and place of sale, &c. be forthwith publislitd, and three- pence p<„r acre, survey-money, paid down by the pmchaser or his agent at the time of sale, in addition to the part of the purchase-money required as before, or the sale to be null and void. Gth. To facilitate these arrangements, outline maps of the several counties are to be made as soon as practicable, for the use of the Surveyor-General and Deputy-Surveyors, and for the information of the public, on which are to be recorded the situation and limits of tlie lands when surveyed and advertised for sale. 7th. The upset price of all Crown lands for actual settlement is to be not less than three shillings per acre, exclusive of the charge for surveying the same. Twenty-five per cent, of the sale price to be paid down, and the remainder to be payable in three equal annual instalments, to be secured by bond of the purchaser; each instalment to bear interest at six per cent, per annum, from and after the day the same becomes due. Purchasers who may pay down the full purchase-money at the time of sale will be allowed a deduction or discount of one-fiftli for prompt payment. — (Note. No person is allowed to hold more than one hundred acres, payable by instalments.) 8th. That in future no consideration or allowance whatever will be made I m NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 381 ty-Sm-vcj'or tlu-re- lis lixcoUeiicy the ant or tliroiigh t!io accompaiiied by ii ting forth whether inf'onnatioii as he applied for be not the survey to be survey, according or surveys in tlie lications for land c charges be pro- description of the announced in the I the county where ; and the charges his agent at the swill be required, usly surveyed, the ilishcd, and three- or his agent at the equired as before, ! several counties Surveyor-General :, on which are to ?d and advertised it is to be not less •veying the same, the remainder to I by bond of the )er annum, from ay pay down the ction or discount I'ed to hold more jr will be uuide on account of unauthorised improvements on Crown lands which shall not have been commenced or made on or before the Ist day of May of this present year ; but tlie allotments, with such improvements, will he sold in the same manner as other Crown latids. 9th. That in cases of the sales of land where improvements may have been made prior to the Ist of May, and where the occupier is not the purchaser, the Surveyor-General or Deputy-Surveyor will value the same, subject to an appeal by petition to the Governor in cases of objection to such valuation ; and the purchaser shall be required to pay such valuation on the day of sale to the person entitled thereto, or, in cases of a))peal, to deposit the same, in addi- tion to the purchase and survey money, as hereinbefore provided. 10th. That all Local Deputies making sales under these regulations be re- quired to make a return thereof (as well as of all instalments received within the previous month for sales formerly made by such Deputy) to the Surveyor- General, within fourteen days after such sales respectively, and of all bonds which he may have taken for securing the payment of instalments. 11 th. That every such Deputy be also required to transmit, within fourteen days after such sales respectively, a duplicate of the said n turn to the Re- ceiver-General, and to remit to him all monies received on account of such sales (and also for instalments on former sales made by him, ond surveys made at the expense of the Crown), except the sums paid for surveys ond deposited for improvements, of which he is to render an account; and he will be allowed to retain for his remuneration a commission of five per cent, of the purchase-money so received — such pcr-centage in no ease to exceed in the whole the sum of £100 per annum. And the Receiver-General shall, within six days after his receipt of such return and remittance, render to the Surveyor- General a copy of the return duly authenticated. 12tli. That where the purchase-money has been paid down under the con- ditions of the 7th clause, a grant will immediately pass to the purchaser ; but in other cases an occupation-ticket will be issued to him on the day of sale, signed by the Surveyor-General : such ticket will not give any power or authority to the occupant to cut and remove from his allotment any timber or logs until all the purchase -money is paid; but all timber and logs so cut shall be liable to seizure, unless paid for according to existing regulations for t! e disposal of Crown timber and lumber; in which case the amount so paid shall be carried to the credit of the purchaser and towards the liquidation of the in- stalments which remain due or unpaid for the said allotment. 13th. That every Deputy authorised to perform the foregoing duties will be required to give a bond to the Queen, with two approved securities, in the penaLsum of £400, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duty. 14th. That no Deputy shall be permitted, either directly or indirectly, during Ii ill' If* i. 382 NEW iniUNSWICK. ! t ft : i II ^.ll tho coiitinuancb of hi» ofBcial omployinent, to pUichuHc or bt in ony maimer intercHted in any Crown lands wiiatsocver. 15tlj. That where large parties of settlers may associate anil make applica- tion for the purchase of tracts of wilderucsH lands in situations distant from uijy settlements already formed or in progress, and to which conununications may not have been opened through the forest, they will set forth in their peti- tions, and the Surveyors in their reports, all such particulars ; and when the difHculties to be overcome may require greater facilities than arc provided for in the foregoing Regulations, the case will be reserved for the special consideration of the Lieutenant-Governor and Council ; and when buch parties may engage to defray the charges of surveying their locations, and also of the bye-roads required to be opened to and through tlieir settlement, and to which they are willing to apply tlieir own labour, the Deputy-Surveyors will be authorised to execute such surveys. In laying out such locations, the Surveyors are to attend to the tith clause of the Regulations of the second of December last, in reserving lines of road, and allotments for schools and places of worship, which reserves will not be allowed to be broken or sold. p(-( gai ovt bet fOl Ell SCil grd iUU Note C. Emit/ration by Individuals or Families. Emigrants to New Brunswick may be divided into two classes — those who have some cai)ital, and those who upon their landing have no means to support themselves, nor to obtain land. The first will have com- paratively few difficulties to encounter. In every part of the Province there are farms for sale, of every description ; the prices of which are from £30 to £1,000. Their value is estimated by the nature of the soil, quantity of cleared land, intervales, dike or marshes, proximity to market, pleasantness of situation, and facilities for trade and manu- factures. The purchase-money is paid by instalments, and security is held upon the properly by mortgage. Any individual with sufficient means may, therefore, establish himself as a farmer ; yet there are many circumstances to be considered in the purchase of a farm, and much time may be lost before the purchaser is suited. Respectable immigrants will not find it to their advantage to take expensive lodgings in the towns ; but, rather, they should proceed at once into some country village, and commence an examination of the farms for sale in the district ; and they must bear in mind that many of the NOTES rOU EMIGRANTS. 88a bo ill any iiiaiiiier ul inuk« opplica- tiuiiH (liMtHiu from I coiiiinunicutioiis orth in tlu-ir peti- irs ; and when tlie ban are provided d for the special and wlien such ir locatioiiH, and I tliL'ir Hettlfincnt, Jepiity-Surveyors ich locations, the of the second of for schools and ok en or sold. 3 classes — those 1 have no means will have com- of the Province es of whicli are 2 nature of the lies, proximity ade and manu- and security is with sufficient yet there are )f a farm, and antage to take •uld proceed at ination of the lat many of the people of New Brunswick value themselves for being *' keen for u bar- gain," and some are apt to make the stranger pay the highest price for everything be wishes to purchase. Many persons of ample funds have been ruined by unwise speculation, extravagance, or by what is more common, an attempt to introduce the expensive system of farming in England, where wages are low, into u new country, where labour is scarce and very dear. Indeed, the immigrant who has money is in greater danger than he who has none ; one having everything to lose, and the other everything to gain. Persons desirous of settling upon wild lands should proceed imme- diately into the interior country after they land, or to the shores if they are destined for the fisheries, where they will always find employment, especially during the summer season. The Deputy-Surveyors in each county will give them information in regard to ungranted lands, which they can visit previous to making a purchase. The improvements of squatters may sometimes be purchased upon moderate terms, and a grant of the land may be taken at the Crown Lands Office upon the payment of the fixed price. The following table is taken from the Ofticial Reports of 1842 :— Adstkact of Pehsons supposed to be settled or squatted on Crown Lands witliout any authority. COUKTV. Charlotte .... St. John King's Queen's Suubury York Carleton Restigonche . . Gloucester . . Northumberland .. Kent Westmoreland .. Total . . No. 112 GJ 115 i;59 95 112 122 82 199 174 1.32 IGG Aches. 1,600 1 1,1200 0,200 14,.')00 i;j,900 9,500 11,200 12,200 8,200 19,900 17,400 13,200 16,000 100,000 Amount. .t'2,130 930 2,175 2,085 1,425 2,130 1,830 1,230 2,985 2,610 1,980 2,490 i;24,000 Young or unmarried labouring men will always find employment in the Province, and the rate of wages is invariably high ; but during a 884- NEW BKJNSWICK. Si! year or two after their arrival, and before they arc made acquainted with the work of the country, their wages are below the ordinary rate. By hiring with a farmer, or embarking as a lumberman, a steady and careful man may, at the end of four or five years, save enough of his earnings to purchase a hundred acres of wild land, and to establish him- self upon his own property. In cases of this kind, the settler usually labours with a farmer, or a lumbering party, during the summer, when the wages are high, and improves his own lot by chopping in the win- ter, until he is able to maintain himself without " working out," when he usually marries. This is the system pursued by the young men of the Province. Young women also find employment, both in the towns and in the country, and their wages are from 10s. to 15s. currency per month. Boys and girls also obtain labour in the country villages. It has been stated already that the chief part of the immigrants that arrive in New Brunswick are of the poorer classes. They are princi- pally Irish, and the greater number of them proceed to the United States, where they find employment on public works. Those who in- tend to remain in New Brunswick, upon their arrival should apply to the Emigrant Agent of the Port for advice. Emigrants with families who have no means to obtain land, nor to maintain themselves, except by their labour, should come out under the care and direction of a Com- pany, and not expose their families to want and misery, or throw them upon the charity of the community. There are no persons who are more successful in New Brunswick than steady mechanics. In general their wages are very high, and they have full employment. The fol- lowing instance is quoted fv-r illustration. W. S., a tailor from London, of small stature, now owns a snug farm in the County of Albert, ten miles from Shepody. About twelve years ago, he commenced working at his trade, going from house to house in the village : five years afterwards, he purchased from the Government two hundred acres of land, nine miles from any inhabitant, and he car- ried his first seed, potatoes, and grain into the forest, where there was no road, that distance upon hisback. During the five years, his wife and daughter by their industry more than maintained the whole family, and the eaiiiings of S. ^/ere devoted to the clearing of his land. I was at this man's house in 1843 : his farm was in a good state of cultivation ; ;ri'- *ii J ment. The fol- NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 335 he had four cows, one yoke of oxen, six young cattle, a horse, and plenty of pigs and poultry ; his house was filled with the best provi- sions, and he had wheat for sale ; upon his shelves there were cheese and numerous large cakes of maple sugar, and he acknowledged that he had put aside a little " cash for a rainy day." He said, independence and contentment had been his motto ; he longed to see the steeple of St. Paul's once more, and maintained that after all there was " no place like Lunnun, although the forest of Shepody had been good to him." His land is of a superior quality. Wages in New Brunswick, 1846 : — Average Wages per Average Wages per diem, without board annum, with board Trade or Ocoupatiou. and lodging. and lodging. Currency. t. d. £ I. d. Blacksmiths 5 0.. .. 40 Bakers 3 6.. .. 25 Butchers 35 Brickmakera 4 6 Bricklayers 6 3 Curriers 6 3 Carpenters and Joiners 5 to 6 3 40 Cabinetmakers 6 3.. .. 40 Coopers 5 0.. .. 35 Cooks (Females) 20 per month Dairywomen 12 10 Dressmakers 1 3 Farm-labourers 25 Grooms 2500 Millwrights 7 6 Millers 30 Painters . . 6 3 Plasterers 6 3 Shoemakers 40 Shipwrights () 3 Stonemasons 3 to 7 6 SaUmakers 6 3 Tailors 4 6 to 5 Wheelwrights 5 Whitesmiths 4 Lumbermen and Sawyers receive from £3 to £5 per month, and Foremen of the different branches 10s. per diem. 2c 'i ' 'I ' IV { ■«ji 4; II : /i:|i 386 NEW DUUNSWICK. Prices of Agriciiltiiral Produce and Farming Stock in New Bruns- wick : — Articles. Price— Curioiicy. Wheat £0 8 Barley T) Rye 5 Indian Corn .5 Oais .. ..023 Peaa 080. Beans 10 Hay, per ton (in the country) . . . . 2 to £4 A good Cart Horse 20 Saddle Horse 30 A Yoke of Oxen 15 to 20 Sheep, per head .. .. 10 A Milch Cow 5 to 7 10 AbreeduigSow 2 to 3 10 Pigs, sucking, each 5 Farmer's Cart 7 10 A Waggon 12 10 A Plough 3 A Harrow (double) 3 A narrow Axe 08 Abroad Axe 15 A log Canoe 1 10 Beef, per quarter 4 per lb. Fresh Povk 4 „ „ Veal 3i „ „ Mutton 4J „ ,, Venison 4 ,, Butter 10 „ Eggs 9 per dozen. Potatoes usually Is. 3d. ixr bushel. In 1845 great quantities were destroyed by the prevalent disease of that year, and the price has been raised in country places to 2s. 6d. per bushel. The price of clearing an acre of land varies from £3 lOs. to £4 10s. currency, according as it may be heavy or light timbered ; or for Chopping £1 10 Piling and burning off 1 00 Fencing 100 £3 10 1 -'.fi .s:. i5iiMi««' lit NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 387 k in New Bruns- :4 !0 7 10 3 10 ozen. t quantities were le price has been lOs. to £4 10s. ;d; or for ei 10 1 1 ^3 10 A man will chop an acre of land in six days. , The price of the labour of a yoke of oxen is 2s. 6d. per day ; oxen and driver, 5s. ; horses and waggon, 10s. per day. The prices of British manufactured goods are from 50 to 75 per cent, higher than they are in England. West India produce is comparatively low. Emigrants are brought to New Brunswick from different ports in Great Britain in the timber ships, of which there are a great number employed in the trade. Before their departure, the time of their sailing and destination are advertised. Emigrants for any part of the Northern Counties or Coast of the Province should ship for Miramichi, Bathurst, Dalhousie, or Richibucto ; and all those who intend to remain in the Southern Counties should embark for St. John or St. Andrew's : the neglect of this precaution has involved a number of emigrants in much unnecessary expense in travelling from one place to another. The communication from those places along the rivers in steamboats and towboats to the interior is cheap during the whole of the summer and autumn. The cost of passages from the following different places is as follows : — Places. Cabin. Cost including Provisions. Steei.age. Cost witli Cost without Provisions. Provisions, £ £ £ s. £ £ e. £ s. London , . .. 15 to 20 . . 6 to 7 . . 3 5 to 4 5 Liverpool .. 12 „ 15 . 3 10 . 2 10 Greenock.. .. 15 . 3 10 . 2 10 Dublin .. 13 „ 15 . 4 10 . 2 10 Londonderry .. 10 „ 12 • . 2 10 Cork . . . . .. 12 „ 16 .. 4 10 ..3 0* The average passage from Great Britain to St. John is forty days ; to the Northern Ports, forty-five days. Passengers are entitled by law to be supported on board the vessel forty-eight hours after their aiTival. A tax of five shillings currency is required from the master of every passenger ship for each adult brought from the United Kingdom. Two children between seven and fourteen, and three children under seven years of age, are reckoned as an adult. * Siuimonds'a Colonial Magazine. 4 \ n\ Ijl h.f^fr. '- 388 NEW BRUNSWICK. ! r as* m No ftind has ever been provided upon which the immigrant has any claim ; he must, therefore, depend upon his own means and exertions after he has landed in New Brunswick. Until he has been some time in the Province, and has made himself acquainted with the labour of the country, his services are not of much value ; he should, therefore, be careful not to refuse even very moderate wages at first. Many have suffered severely by holding out for high wages on their first arrival. I have seen hundreds of Irish labourers, whose families were starving, stand idle in the streets of St. John, from week to week, rather than work for less than sixpence an hour ; and when any individual would engage for a less sum, he was immediately caught and beaten by his companions. Note D. Currency. The pound sterling is twenty-four shillings and fourpence currency. The pound currency contains 4 dollars ; 1 dollar contains 5 shillings ; 1 shilling, 2 sixpences ; 1 sixpence, 6 pennies ; 1 penny, 2 coppers. The value of the pound currency is about 16s. 5^d. ; the dollar, 4s. \\d. ; the shilling, 9|rf. ; the sixpence, nearly 5d. sterling. In ordinary dealing in New Brunswick, the current coins of Great Britain are usually paid away at the following rates : — sovereign, 24s. Qd. ; crown, Gs. \d. ; half-crown, 3s. O^d. ; shilling, Is. 2d. ; sixpence, 1\d. These rates are liable to some variation. The principal Emigrant Agent, M. H. Perley, Esv^., resides at the City and Port of St. John. That gentleman is well acquainted with the Province, and assiduous in his duties. The Deputy Treasurers act as agents at the several outports. 'm THE END. I r, j i 1 I n. I. STEVENS, PRIKTEB, PlIILPOT LAKE, LONDON. migrant has any ins and exertions s been some time (th the labour of should, therefore, irst. Many have their first arrival. ies were starving, '^eek, rather than individual would nd beaten by his urpence currency. itains 5 shillings ; r, 2 coppers. The ^ dollar, 45. llrf. ,- ng. In ordinary Britain are usually / crown, 6s. Id. ; ^d. These rates 1; resides at the i acquainted with ity Treasurers act NEW COLONIAL WORKS PUBLISHED BY SIMMONDS & WARD, LONDON; And to be had of all Booksellers. THE FOLLOWING WORKS ARE JUST PUBLISHED. One Vol. demy 8vo., price 5s. THE EMIGRANT: A TALE OF AUSTRALIA. BY W. H. LEIGH, ESQ., Autlior of" Reconnoitring Voyagea and Traveli in Soulh Australia, Cape of Good Hope," 8[C. One Vol. demy 8vo., price 5s., with Illustrations, ST. LOUIS' ISLE, OR TEXIANA; BEING ADVENTURES AND EXPERIENCE OF TEXAS. BY CHARLES HOOTON, ESQ., Author of " Colin Clink," "Bilberry Thurland," %c. Sic. Two Vols. 8vo. REMINISCENCES OF CUBA OR, THE SMITHS AT THE HAVANNA. BY CHAS. F. ELLERMAN, ESQ., Ani\xotot"TheAmnetty,"%e. PHEPARING FOR EARLY PUBLICATION, A NEW HISTORY OF BARBADOS, With large Map, and Views of the Island Scenery. To be published by Subscription. Price SOs. Dedicated to SIR CHAS. GREY, Governor-General of Barbados. By SIR ROBERT H. SCHOMBURGK, K.R.E., Chairman of the Barbados General Railway, &c. ^