NEW BRUNSWICK; 
 
 .WITH 
 
 ' fot iEmiflrantjs. 
 
 COMPREHENDING THE EARLY HISTORY, AN ACCOUNT OF THE INDIANS, SETTLE- 
 MENT, TOPOGRAPHY, STATISTICS, COMMERCE, TIMBER, MANUFACTURES, 
 AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES, GEOLOGY, NATURAL HISTORY, SOCIAL 
 AND POLITICAL STATE, IMMIGRANTS, AND CONTEM- 
 PLATED RAILWAYS OF THAT PROVINCE. 
 
 BY ABRAHAM GESNER, ESQ. 
 
 SURGEON ; 
 
 FELLOW OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OP LONDOK ,* CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE 
 ROYAL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF CORNWALL; MEMBER OF THE LITERARY AND 
 HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF QUEBEC; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE 
 ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA; AUTHOR 
 OF “remarks on THE GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 
 OF NOVA SCOTIA,” ETC. 
 
 LONDON: SIMMONDS & WARD 
 
 6, BARGE YARD, BUCKLERSBURY. 
 

 PREFACE. 
 
 1'he Author of the W^ork now submitted to the 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 
 
VI 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 before the British Public, for whom this Work is chiefly de- 
 signed, a correct account of the Province, the resources of which 
 offer a wide field for Emigration, and the advantageous employ- 
 ment of British capital cannot fail to be useful to the country 
 itself, and to the Empire of which it forms a part. 
 
 The value and resources of the British North American Colo- 
 nies are 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 maybe 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 prosperity 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 ovei-flowing 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 
 to the nation, an outlet for her stagnant population and manu- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Vll 
 
 factures, or for supplying the elements of industry to millions of 
 her subjects. With such views, the Author has been deeply 
 impressed with the importance and responsibility of his task, 
 which he has endeavoured to accomplish without bias or par- 
 tiality. 
 
 The topographical and other descriptions have been derived 
 from personal observation ; and the remarks in reference to Emi- 
 gration axe from the same source, and fiom experience in form- 
 ing new Settlements. The materials for the early history of 
 New Brunswick have been principally taken from Hackluyt, 
 L’Escarbot, Charlevoi, the History of Massachusetts, and Hali- 
 burtou’s History of Nova Scotia. The 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 suppUed 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 to 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 ol the 
 *vade and revenues of New Brunswick. An account of the pre- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 ^dii 
 
 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 this ^Vork. 
 
 To exhibit the geography 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 Lord 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 Fredericton. 
 
 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 Province 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 1836, it was l,6ol,.500; by care- 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 IX 
 
 ful estimation, it is now 2,208,500. Their capital 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 150,000 seamen and fishermen. The amoimt 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 the 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 union 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 
 estobhshed, 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 firmly established on 
 this side of the Atlantic as on the other, and no event under the 
 infiuence of human agency can ever relax her foothold upon 
 the Great Continent. 
 
 CornwalVis, Nova Scotia, 
 October, 1816. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 REMARKS ON BRITISH AMERICA. 
 
 Extent and Boundaries. — Claims of the Americans. Physical Features 
 of the Country.— Relics of Ancient Nations.— Aboriginal Inha- 
 hitants. 
 
 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 
 Charnissg and La Tour -Heroism, Capture, and Sufferings of Ma- 
 dame de la Tour.— Indians of the Northern Coast.— French Settle- 
 menU.— 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.- 
 Peace. 
 
XU 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OP THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 P.1 
 
 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. 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Boundaries.— Area —Disputed Territory.— Claims of the Americans.— 
 Border Diflaculties— Threatened War— Settlement of the Dispute. 
 Canadian Boundary.— General Features. — Mountains— Lakes— 
 Rivers— Cataracts — Ice-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 — Hiero- 
 glyphics — Wigwams — Canoes — Relics — Portages — Wars — Inter- 
 course with Europeans fatal — Former Savage Character.— Indian 
 Confederation— Villages— Pursuits— Anecdote— Languages. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 TOPOGRAPHY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Southern Counties. St. John. — Situation — Harbour. — City of 
 
 St. John— Edifices— Public Institutions— Manufactures — Industry. 
 Carlton. — Musquash. — Harbours. — Agricultural Character. — Tim- 
 ber — Fisheries. County of Charlotte, — Towns — St. Andrew’s — 
 St. Stephen’s. — Rivers — Harbours — Islands. — M ills — Lumbering — 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 Soil— Surface— Agriculture. County of Westmoreland.— ^iiyxaXxon 
 —Area— Division of the County— Agriculture— Parishes— Rivers— 
 
 Marshes — Exports — Minerals — Old Fortifications. King’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. -mrst Settlement— Extent— Vernal Floods— 
 Intervales — Agriculture — Losses by Fire. County of York. 
 Parishes. — Fredericton, the Capital — Site — Public Buildings In- 
 stitutions— Navigation.— Early Settlements— MiUtary Settlements 
 — Land Company — Boistown — Soil — Agriculture — Lumbering. 
 County of Corlton.— 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. 
 
 Northern Counties. County of JSTent.- Area -Parishes -Early 
 
 Settlement.— Town of Liverpool — Harbour.— Rivers— Indians— 
 Coal-field — Fisheries — Timber. County of Northumberland.— 
 
 Boundaries— Area— Parishes.— Miramichi Bay—River.—Towns— 
 Newcastle— Chatham— Douglastown—N elson.— Trade — Manufac- 
 tures- Lumber-Ship-building-Great Fire-Destroyed Forests. 
 County of Gloucester.— Surface — Parishes — Town of Bathurst— 
 
 Rivers-Falls-Mining-Ship-building.-Pockmouche-Shippegan 
 
 —Miscou.-Fisheries-Soil- Agriculture. County of Bestigouche. 
 —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, v. .. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 agriculture. 
 
 Climate-Soils-Alluviums-Marl-Lime-Peat-Forests-New Lands 
 
 —Imperfect State of Agriculture— Agricultural Societies Produc- 
 tions-Wheat-other Grains-Indian Corn-Grasses-Horticul^re 
 -Floriculture-Mode of Clearing WiW Lands-Ashes-First Crop 
 —Squatters— Forest Trees— New Settlements— Live Stock Maple 
 
 Sugar.-Game- Hunting— Sporting. .. 
 
Historical 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 the 
 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. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Colonial System — Colonial Protection — Timber Trade — Lumbering — 
 
 The Forest— Kinds of Timber— Hard and Soft Woods— Lumbering 
 Parties — Felling — Hewing — Forking — Drawing — Stream Driving — 
 Rafting— Shipping— Saw Mills — Manufactures— Exports of Timber 
 — Rocks and Minerals — Agricultural Produce — Ship-building — 
 Shipping — Imports — Revenue — Banks — Insurance Companies 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 POPULATION, AND RELIGIOUS, SOCIAL, AND POLITICAL STATE OF 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Population— Religion — Church of England — Roman Catholics — Pres- 
 byterians — 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 .. 315 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 XV 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Mammalia — Birds — Reptiles — Fishes — Plants. 
 
 NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS .. 
 
 Page. 
 
 .. 355 
 
 .. 369 
 
 
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. 
 
 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 newly- 
 found continent. 
 
 The discovery of land in the Northern Hemisphere seemed like a 
 new creation. The animals and plants, the climates, the oceans, seas, 
 rivers, and lakes, were found to be different from those of civilised 
 Europe. The heavens displayed new wonders to the astronomer, and 
 
 a 
 

NEW BRUNS WICK. ' 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 REMARKS ON BRITISH AMERICA, 
 
 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 Islands was made by Columbus in 1492 ; but the 
 great continent itself was unknown to Europeans until 1497, when it 
 was visited by Cabot, a British navigator, 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 
 Americas 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 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 newly- 
 found continent. 
 
 The discovery of land in the Northern Hemisphere seemed like a 
 new creation. The animals and plants, the climates, the oceans, seas, 
 rivers, and lakes, were found to be different from those of civilised 
 Europe. The heavens displayed new wonders to the astronomer, and 
 
 B 
 
KEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 all nature presented itself under forms ^^ith which the early voyagers 
 were unacquainted. Gold and silver had been brought from the mou^ 
 tains ; while the size and strength of the timber, the ferUhty of he so , 
 and the abundance of fish in the waters, filled the mmds of the 
 
 adventurers with wonder and delight. ^ i j 
 
 The whole of the immense continent, wherever it was exp ore , w 
 
 found to be occupied by numerous tribes of human beings, 
 
 2 .he ilblh.n.e et Tb. of . nbe. .0 ^ 
 
 soil had oeve. been dl.p.fed . b„. .he, «... new “ ^ ^ 
 
 .lep by ...p, «n.ll .heir n»me. .nJ plhcs of .boa. ehoold oo«be,e 1» 
 
 The weehery, ' 
 
 ebori™... wne ....f^l by .be ...1, Coloo...., fore., eon., of .be 
 a.,k... p.«.. i" .he bUloryof .be .orld . end ...hough .he,. «n.l 
 releue of .he l.ndi of .hei. foref.fhen, Mid .hel. eW. u.K. - 
 
 Itr luieug .hbee u.o„e».o«. e,en» pe™>..ed by P»..d.ne. to. 
 
 the exuneiou of bun,.,, indue.,, »d l»ppi»»h .nd 
 
 .he .™ God, i. » .he bounden duty of even, ....heed n.uo. .0 le».n 
 
 .hei, peine, end » bring in., pe... «,d eouUin.n.... .he .»»».. of 
 
 .be .ribee .he, h.ve diepoeenesed of .hei, "f2ud .1 • 
 
 «h.n,, in .heyh.ve ....eyed .he p.».n of d.ee.ee and 
 
 ”Th°."phrore“tai...ion had putvailed ««,.!, .b~ een.n.i.., b- 
 «Jeh 2 d .ben, «e„ n.n,e,ou. eendieb. between Engi.nd » 
 r„„ee2«.ri.o,„ wbiehench powe. e,«n. ” - 
 
 e.n.e rime, Briu.h .nd ..he, E.n.pM,« en„g,M..e ^ILtie 
 
 liad established themselves along an extensive n 
 
 eoast until they gained a power that refused to be restrained by the 
 
 laws ’and usages oT their forefathers. Revolt from the European G - 
 laws an ag R-itish Colonists took up arms against 
 
 vernments commenced. The British coionis j- 
 
 the mother-country, and won their independence. Their examp 
 
 been in,l».ib,ri.e i.h.bi..n.a of S™-. A„e,,e., wh^ the 
 
 -nT rr.r.i:n:;r«tr^-"^ -- 
 
 ”rie upon .be Bri.i.h Itb 
 
 22:::r;2rr.:“^2i.«o.,db...b.enif 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 s 
 
 such a revolution had not taken place ; for the great number of loyalists 
 that removed from the revolted States to Canada, New Brunswick, and 
 Nova Scotia, have been succeeded by a population that is firmly attached 
 to the Crown and laws of the Empire, 
 
 British America includes all that part of the Northern Continent 
 which was not given up by treaty to the Republic of the United States 
 at the close of the Revolutionary War, and also all the territory dis- 
 covered and occupied by British 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 141st degree of longitude, where it meets the territory of Russia, 
 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 45® 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 the 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 Lake 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. The contention 
 
 * “ An Historical and Descriptive Account of British America,” by Hugh 
 Murray, 3 vols. 16mo, Edinburgh 1839, vol. i. pp. 18, 19. 
 
 B 2 
 
^ NKW BEUNSWICK. 
 
 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, throng 
 the mediation of Lord Ashburton, at Washington, on the 9th of August, 
 1842. 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 Rocky 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 between 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 will pass 
 away before it will reach the limits of the productive soil.' 
 
 The light bark-canoe of the Indian is the only vessel that navigates 
 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 never been granted by the Government, but still display 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 the wild and unchanged scenery of a country 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. The 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 360 miles in length, 140 miles at its greatest breadth, 
 and 1500 miles in circumference ; and it has been estimated by Capt. 
 Bayfield, that its surface is 627 feet above the level of the Atlantic 
 Ocean. The smallest lakes of the great chain are capable of affording 
 space for the movements of large fleets; and, like the ocean, they are 
 tossed into lofty waves, that never cease to roll upon their 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, Ihe 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 affords 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 voyagers 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 all seemed eager to reap the advantages offered 
 by the discovery of a new continent. But the ambition of these powers 
 
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 emigrants 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 hays 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, 
 knives, arrow-heads, and 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 Erie 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 are now covered with a lofty growth of timber, and more 
 
tlian a thousand years are supposed to have elapsed since they were 
 erected. 
 
 Dried human bodies, 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 first 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. 
 
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 conddered 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 filled by an account of New 
 Brunswick is comparatively small ; nevertheless, the following facts, 
 collected from a variety of sources, will doubtless 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 traffic 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 9 
 
 by the merchants of London and Bristol. With this little fleet and 
 three hundred men, Cabot and his son Sebastian sailed from Bristol 
 early in May 1497. While pursuing a western course in the hope of 
 reaching the China Seas without being arrested in their progress, on the 
 24th 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 away 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 1607, 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 
 
 • It was formerly supposed that Newfoundland was the first-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 question 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 voyageiirs decide in favour of that place, as they do not exist 
 on the islands farther south. 
 
 t Haliburton's History of Nova Scotia, vol. i. page iv. 
 
10 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 de 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 m 
 Nova Scotia ; but they made no attempt to settle the country. 
 
 In 1534, Jacques Cartier 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 sliips 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 nth of June, 1583, he saded again from Plymouth with five 
 ships and 250 men ; and on the 11th of July he arrived at Newfound- 
 land, of wliich he took formal possession in behalf of the Crown of 
 England. His commission was read at St. John’s before a number of 
 merchants who had gone there to trade, and the masters of thirtj^-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 
 the 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 Squinel, 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 
 
 • llahburlon, vol. i. page 7. 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 her peril. Sir Humphrey was seen sitting with a book in his hand 
 an e was heard to call out to his companions, “ We are as near heaven 
 
 "" “'«”*> '«'■'< of hi> slip 
 
 ol„“ " siT “t “"r iL"''' ™ ‘"o 
 
 ocean. S r Humphrey G.lben »„ . „f „„„ 
 
 • reng and stature. His appearance at once commanded esteem and 
 venemtton He ™ celebrated for his genius and learning, eonrago 
 d patnottsm. and Queen Elisabeth had honoured him by pecufc 
 
 earned Hungnn.n whose Hcndsbip for the AdmM 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 
 North i^encan Continent. In 1607, by the aid of Sir John Popham, 
 e fitted out a fieet, and arrived in safety at the mouth of the Sagada- 
 hock or Kenebec nver, and spent a winter on a small island which con- 
 ^ned only about eight acres. At this place the nobleman died, and 
 
 his company, having suffered great distress, returned to England in the 
 lollowmg 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 territory of the St. Lawrence. By the labours of these persons, 
 a lucrative trade was opened with the natives, and 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 
 rom 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 
 
 Hackluyt, vol. iii. p. 155-158. 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 cL.,, »!.<, w . pilot to D, 1. 
 
 number landed were found alive ; these were p< 
 
 .„a eocu so.ivo, 
 
 o,“" .n. o*o, rots ...ep ..oa t.o„ea auaog thoi. 
 
 Tb. .«ly .ttoropu to cvMA Colony »^n ^ 
 
 successful, and even calamitous ; yet the va 
 --or.bot.il, ..a .be bop.., 
 
 unexplored regions, excited c previous to the year 1609, 
 
 obanb, «... .1.0 .piH. of (o.oll.. on.erp..- ”7 
 
 ..„.m.,...«.a sob.v.i.. is .«.a .0 
 
 :rj. L. 380., o, .bes. .00 : 
 
 French and 50 English. The latter had command of the harbo 
 Valukble furs were purchased from the savages for mere J 
 
 the teeth of the sea-horse brought high prices in the European mar . 
 
 The interesting accounts given by those who had visited the com . 
 
 f!! also much influence over the minds of 
 were represented as being alive with fish, the forests 
 
 and otlmr animals with rich furs, and the rocks with gold, silver, an 
 precious stones. All these circumstances combined, produce a spm 
 Rivalry among the European Powers, and to create undue emulation 
 
 and strife among their subjects. Monts under 
 
 During the reign of Henry IV., a gentleman named De Monts, unde 
 
 very favourable auspices, made another attempt at colonisation. He 
 received from his Sovereign almost unlimited powers and privileges 
 and every encouragement to pursue liis arduous undertaking. 
 
 Monts had accompanied Chauvin up the St. Lawrence, and had made 
 himself acquainted with a part of the Atlantic coast. His commission 
 embraced all the territory from the 40th to the 46th degree North 
 latitude, or from Hudson’s Bay to Virginia ; and he had a monopoly of 
 the fur-trade over that vast tract of country, which was then called 
 New France. The Colony was to be established at the expense of 
 
 Huckluyt, vol. iii. p. 132. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 13 
 
 individuals, who cheerfully 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 unde/his immediate 
 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), Potrincourt, and a number of respect- 
 able volunteers, De Monts sailed from IlavTe de Grace, and on the ICth 
 of May, 1G04, arrived at Rosignol (now Liverpool), on the south side 
 of Acadia. At this place he found one Rosignol, whose name the 
 harbour had received, trading with the Indians without a licence. He 
 immediately 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 and 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 receivmg 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 wdnter supplies, under 
 the care of Pontgrave, w^ere finally received. 
 
 From thence De Monts sailed along the peninsula to the westward 
 and northward, and anchored in the Bay of St. Mary. While he was 
 surveying the shores of the bay, he discovered a vein of iron ore, and, 
 as it is stated, a mineral containing silver. The vein of iron ore may 
 still be seen ; but as no silver ore of any kind has ever been found by 
 the inhabitants since, it is probable that the mineralogist of De Monts 
 was mistaken, or deceived by the shining appearance of the specular 
 
 * A large lake between Liverpool and Annapolis still bears the name of 
 Rosignol. 
 
 i 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 iron still found on Digby Neck. At a certain landing-place in the bay, 
 the whole party were much dismayed from the absence of oneDaubre, 
 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 
 accidentally discovered from a boat employed in fishing. He was much 
 emaciated, and almost unable to speak, and in this state was earned 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 La Baye Franfoise, but since known under the 
 appellation of the Bay of Fundy. They also discov«ed 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 grant of it from De Monts, called it Port Royal.* The next 
 place visited was a high cape on the north side of La Baye Fran?oise. 
 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 short 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 
 
 * Since called Annapolis, in honour of Queen Anne. 
 
 t Haliburton, vol. i. p. 16. Tadousac, situated below Quebec, was the first 
 French settlement made on the St. Lawrence. 
 
-NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 15 
 
 beauty its fish and fowl — its wild grapes and rich meadows, were all 
 objects of admiration. The noble river swept slowly and majestically 
 on its course, through groves of lofty elms and maples ; and the shores, 
 although often fi-equented by 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 peculiar 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 mouth 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 
 by 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 
 
 ♦ There has been some dispute in regard to the river which De Monts called 
 St. Croix. L’Escarbot, in the Histoire de la Nouvelle France, says, “ Quittans 
 la Riviere St. Jean, ils vinrent suivant la cote d vingt lieues de la en une grande 
 riviere (qui est proprement mer), oii ils se campdrent 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 battery was laid out in gardens, wbicli, notwithstanding the lateness of 
 
 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 
 buildings 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 the 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 w’ere 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, Kenebec, 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. At 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 their return to France, were active 
 in making preparations for another voyage, and raising a reinforcement 
 for the little Ccflony at Port Royal. They sailed from Honfleur on the 
 
 * Halibiirton, vol. i. p. 18. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. jy 
 
 13th of May, 1606, in a vessel of 150 tons burthen, and, after a long 
 passage, arrived at Canseau. They also visited Port Mouton ; but on 
 their arrival at Port Royal on the 27th of July, they lamented to find 
 that Pontgrave had departed from the place twelve days before. He 
 had been instructed by De Monts to explore the coast southward of 
 Cape Cod, but was twice compelled to return by contrary virinds, 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*De 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. This circumstance gave the savages 
 an excuse for declaring war, and accordingly 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 
 
 ♦ Haliburton, vol. i. page 24. 
 
18 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 to cherish that spirit of retaliation which was so hombly manifested 
 afterwards upon whole villages of European settlers, when neither 
 sex nor age was spared from the hrutal violence of the tomahawk an 
 scalping-knife. Alas ! too often was the untutored Indian shot down, 
 for acts which, according to his own laws and customs, were y 
 
 punishable. Any retaliation made upon a single member o *^"y ' 
 
 called forth revenge ; hut had those who first landed upon the shores 
 of America been governed by principles of equity, and practise or- 
 hearance, the red men of the forest would have been their friends, an 
 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 southward, 
 Potrincourt returned to Port Royal, where he was received by a pro- 
 cession which accompanied him to his house with much formality. Tlie 
 • whole company spent the ensuing winter in great festivity. A water- 
 miU was erected to grind their corn, and they had been successful in 
 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 Mamhertou, 
 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 
 was in extreme difficulty in France. Complaints had been made that, 
 under the exclusive privileges held by him, he prevented vessels em- 
 ployed in fisliing 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 the entreaties 
 of the merchants, cancelled the grant of De Monts, giving him the 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 19 
 
 paltry sum of C.OOO 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 11th of August for France. Specimens of the grain and 
 other productions of Acadia w^ere 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 affairs, 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 Ilonfleur to La Have, where two priests took pos- 
 session of the harbour, and set up the arms of the pious lady. The 
 vessel then proceeded to Port Royal, and the captain, M. Sausaye, 
 removed tlie 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 settlement 
 was in progress, they were attacked by Captain Argali, 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 earned to James* Town. Argali pretended tliat 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 anticipated, the Captain acknowledged the facts, from which it appeared 
 that the prisoners were French subjects. As the two nations 
 peace, it might have been expected that the Governor at eas won 
 Le given Argali a severe reprimand ; but, so far was he from b mg 
 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 t ® ^ ® ® 
 of the fortifications were thrown down. No complaint was ma e o 
 these aggressions 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. Acadia is said to have been the favourite Colony ot 
 Henry IV., 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 1613, 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 created 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 officers. The 
 only reservation made to the Crown in the patent, was a tenth part of 
 the royal mines of gold and silver, and five per cent, on the imports 
 and exports after the first seven years. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 21 
 
 In 1625, Charles I., by a novodamus, renewed this patent,* to which 
 in 1628 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 lit 
 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 ridicule 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 body 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. Edinburgh 1836, p. 53 — 75. 
 
 t Case of the Honourable Baronets of Scotland and Nova Scotia, pp. 10—27. 
 t Deucher, Alexander, (Genealogist,) Memorial from the Stirling Papers 
 — M urray. ^ 
 
gg 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, w 
 held a large tract of land upon the St. John, under a grant om 
 French Crown. Being brought to England. La Tour was introduced 
 to Sir William ; and in order to secure his lands, he agree to es is 
 upon them a party of Scotch emigrants. Having entered into this new 
 engagement, he repaired to Cape Sable,* where there was a ® 
 
 by his son. He employed every kind of entreaty and threat, to m uw 
 young La Tour to co-operate with him in his arrangemen s wi 
 English ; but all was in vain, and his son indignantly re use ® ‘ 
 any part in an act which he considered treasonable. An engagemen 
 took place between the parties : the son repulsed the father wit con- 
 siderable loss 5 and the latter, being ashamed to return to England, was 
 permitted to reside at the Cape ; but his son would not allow lum to 
 enter the fort. Claude de la Tour returned afterwards to England ; 
 and Lord Stirling, it is said, promised to confirm to him Cape a e, 
 
 and a considerable extent of the adjoining coast.t 
 
 It has been represented by some writers, that this was a cession 
 the whole of Nova Scotia, excepting only Port Royal: such an opinion, 
 however, is exceedingly erroneous. The indenture, dated 30t o 
 April, 1636, was in the possession of Mr. Deucher; but the transac- 
 tion was never completed,]; as wiU appear fi-om 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 buUt a fort, the remains of which are still 
 called the Old Scotch Fort.§ At this place thirty of the emigrants 
 (lied 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. r, „ o v 
 
 t Historical Account of British America, by Hugh Murray, F.R.b.E., 
 vol. i. i>. 125 ; Haliburton, vol. i. pp. 43, 44. 
 
 J Deucher, Alexander. § Haliburton, vol. i. p. 45. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 
 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, and 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 him the Bay and 
 River of St, Croix, On his arrival at La Have, 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 large 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 parts 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 before the Government. (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 lands in America, they would yet find abundant scope for all their 
 energies, as there are still immense tracts of excellent land remaining in a 
 wilderness state. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 2i 
 
 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 
 Chamisse, who was subsequently appointed Governor by a Royal 
 Commission. Claude de la Tour, and afterwards 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. The 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 Chamisse, who soon entered into open 
 warfare with his countryman. 
 
 Accounts of the disturbance having reached France, Louis XIII. 
 addressed a letter to Chamisse, dated 10th Febmary, 1638, and in it 
 defined the limits of the country claimed by the contending parties. 
 Chamisse’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 Chamisse 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 Chamisse 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 
 agent to Boston with a copy of the warrant for La Tour’s apprehen- 
 sion. This negotiation resulted in an agreement betw^een Endicott, the 
 Governor of New England, and Chamisse, 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 Chamisse to retreat to 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 25 
 
 Ins fort at Penobscot. Madame La Tour had been 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 Jja 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 a 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 thirteen wounded. Having repaired his 
 vessel, he returned to Penobscot, under the humiliating reflection of 
 having attacked a woman 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 Chamisse 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 
 flays the besiegers were several times repulsed and compelled to retreat. 
 On the fourth day, which happened to be Easter Sunday, she was 
 unfortunately 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 this untoward circumstance, her courage did not 
 fail ; and when Chamisse 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, Chamisse proposed 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 
 
26 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 force. But no sooner Irad 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 w^oman, and she 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. 
 
 • Mr. Haliburton, in his History of Nova Scotia, has given a description of 
 the fort at the Gemsec, taken from an original inventory dated 5th August, 
 1C70, 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, having 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. 
 
 “ il/ore— 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 much reparation ; under which there is a little cellar, in which 
 there is a little well. 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 murtherers, without chambers, weighing 
 1,200 pounds. 
 
 More — 200 iron bullets, from three to eight pounds. 
 
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 he 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 Chamisse’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 sum 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 Have, 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 reduction, 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- 
 
 “ 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. 
 
 ** More — 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, Secy ,* ** 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 wick attacked Le Borgne 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 1638 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 nof 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 affluent 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 
 
 * Ilaliburton, p. 60, 61. 
 
 t 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. 
 
 39 
 
 pursued the taking of the walrus, or sea-cow, for several years, during 
 which time Les Hahitans 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 wife’s 
 brother. At this period, the Mohawks of Gaspe 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 return 
 to their lands until about 1668 ; and in 1670 they had resumed their 
 settlements at Nepisiquit, Grande Ance, and Caraquette. In 1692 
 they were again destined to experience new trials and adversities. Tlie 
 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 Halion, 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 diffi- 
 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 these 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 
 
30 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 red women of the forests. From these have sprung a mongrel race, 
 whose mixed features may still he 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 Abenakis tribes. 
 
 Notwithstanding the country was conquered by the English, the 
 increase of the French population, which was scattered in smalt villages 
 along the coasts and borders of the principal rivers, afforded France a 
 decided advantage when the two nations were at war. Little pmns 
 were therefore taken by the English to maintain a Colony that had 
 already been given away several times, and whose lands had frequent y 
 been ceded to private individuals. 
 
 In order to secure his property and trade. La Tour was ready to 
 submit to any Government into whose hands Acadia might fall , he 
 therefore urged his claim upon the English, and pleaded 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 a distincUon 
 between Acadia and Nova Scotia ; but he was finally ordered to 
 deliver up the whole territory to the French. 
 
 Even at tliis period the country was considered scarcely worth bemg 
 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, RevoluUon of 
 1688, the defenceless state of Nova Scotia rendered her an easy con- 
 quest, and the people of Massachusetts resolved to attempt the 
 achievement of the enterprise. Accordingly, an expedition was fitted 
 
o 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 31 
 
 out under the command of Sir William Phipps.* Tliree ships, besides 
 transports and 700 men, appeared before 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 French writers, that Sir William 
 Phipps violated the articles upon which Manival surrendered. 
 Having administered 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 
 Denys ; and finding the fortification resolutely defended, he set fire to 
 the place, and granted a capitulation to the small but brave gar- 
 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, where their crews pillaged the country, set fire to the 
 buildings, and burned one whole family in their dwelling. Port Royal 
 was shortly afterwards taken possession of by Chevalier Villabon, 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. 
 
 The old Charter of Massachusetts having been forfeited, a new 
 one was 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 1650. 
 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. 
 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 32 
 
 Although Acadia, which then included witliin 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, who had been appointed Governor of Nova 
 Scotia, a prisoner, and sent him 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. An armed vessel called the “ Sorrel” was 
 sent to cruize in the Bay, and 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 Villabon 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 countrymen, 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, after 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. 
 
iNKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 
 Crown, they were compelled to bear all the penalties of rebellion. The 
 ro Vince 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 
 ollowed by a desire to improve the Colonies in America. New Eng- 
 and haying 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 
 ova 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 
 
 D 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 of only 260 men, made but a feeble resistance, and soon capitulated. 
 The artillery taken by the English was purchased by the Govemmen 
 for 7 499 livres, and the prisoners were sent to Rochelle. T e - 
 « b. New E„g.»a i„ Nov. S«a .. th.. 
 
 time amounted to £23,000. This sum was afterwards reimburse y 
 
 Parliament. . , , 
 
 The Court of France, fearing that Acadia would be irrecoverably 
 
 lost, employed every means, through the medium of the French is 
 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’Alloigniers 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 Anally 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. 
 
 * Halibnrton, vol. i. p. 92. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. oc 
 
 oo 
 
 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 EngUsh, 
 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 nearly all of them were either drowned or shot. Elliot was 
 severely wounded ; 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 persons ; of these, 
 fifteen were rescued, nine had been murdered, and the remainder sent 
 as 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.* 
 
 D 2 
 
 ♦ Haliburtoii. 
 
36 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 These Indians and their allies had taken up a strong position at 
 Kenebec, where they occupied a fort defended by artillery, 
 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. Halle, the French Roman Cathohc 
 missionarj-, it is said, fought with great spirit untU he was killed. 1 he 
 fort was demolished, and the victory gained overawed the Indians, who 
 afterwards adopted a more sly but not less deadly system of warfare. 
 
 The long peace between Great Britain and Franee terminated m 
 1 744, and war was again commenced. Quesnel, the Governor of Cape 
 Breton, at the very commencement of hostilities took Canseau and laid 
 siege to Annapolis ; but tbe 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 tbe 
 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 hatchet, to break the images that might be 
 found in 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 ganrison 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-war ; they had also lost one of their 
 own ships ; and the 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 South Sea and two East Indiamen 
 were decoyed and taken with cargoes which were valued at i£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 
 8,000 troops, under the command of the Duke d’Anville, who was 
 instructed to take Louisburg and 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 
 squadron 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 
 vrinds, 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 C^ada, 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 East 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. 
 
 ✓ 
 
 
38 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 About this period, Nova Scotia began to attract the attention of 
 individuals in Britain, and it was proposed to make a settlement m e 
 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 Chebuc, to— 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 vrith 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 
 Louisbiirg, where the French, under humane pretensions, extorted 
 heavy ransoms. 
 
 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 Come had landed at Bay Verte, 
 with COO 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 3y 
 
 guns, which had been sent out to aid the disaffected portion of th# 
 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 Beau-Sejour. He then 
 proceeded to the St. John ; but the fort at this place 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 
 under 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 
 
 Haliburton, vol. i. p. 142 — 168. 
 
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 
 they 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 law, 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 
 
 Notwithstanding 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.perished by cold and starvation ; others escaped to the 
 French settlements at Richibucto, Miramichi, and other places, and 
 often concealed themselves in the forests until the violence of the 
 dreadful order had in some degree subsided. The lands and dikes of 
 these people were laid waste, their houses were set Are 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 weje 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, with 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 Haliburlon, vol. i, pp. 173, 178, 181. 
 
 / 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 4 ^^ 
 
 Boscawen, and an army under the command of General Amherst, 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 effected 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 
 Rollo, 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 
 Louisbiirg. Quebec was taken, and the country which 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. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF THE EARLY SETTLEMENTS IN 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Having given a general account of the history of Acadia, a brief view 
 may be 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 coasts 
 while the first settlements on the shores of the Baie 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 Baie 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 Baie 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- 
 
u 
 
 44 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 manded the river, and at French Fort Cove the fortifications mounted 
 sixteen guns. At Fawcett’s Point the French had a ship-yard, an 
 armoury, and valuable stores.* 
 
 The Island and Point still hear 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 former cultivation, although 
 the inhabitants were chiefiy engaged in hunting and fishing. Their 
 exports were salmon, furs, moose-skins, &c., and their trade was exten- 
 sive. In 1 757, 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 Baie des Vents River. The remains of 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 hahitans who survived fled to Bay Chaleurs, 
 St. 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 Northex’ii Part of New Brunswick and District of 
 Gasp^, pp. 31, 32. 
 
i 
 
 
 
 V.;. ■ . ■ 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 After the conquest of Quebec, a 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 settlement 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 store-ships, 
 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 Carraquette. The French comman- 
 der, finding that he was pursued, took shelter in the Restigouche, at 
 the town of Petite Rochelle, where there were two batteries. Cap- 
 tain Byron with much difficulty 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. 
 
u 
 
 46 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 fleet, which, besides transports, included the Marchault, of 32 guns ; 
 Esperance, 30 guns; Bienfaisant, 22 guns ; Marquis de Malose, 18 
 guns ; and several sail of small privateers. He then destroyed 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 18-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 been 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 promised 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 promise of loyalty to the King. They also 
 bound themselves, with those they were sent to represent, to appear at 
 Bay Verte in the succeeding spring, to abide by such decision as 
 might be made by the Governor in their case. 
 
 During 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 
 
-1^, k, .jv XV'^^f :*■ k,f^ 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 of Mirainichi ; Dennis Winemowet, of Taboqunkik ; Etienne Abchabo, 
 of Pohoomoosb ; 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 Jul}^ 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 their 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 sai3 to have been the first British settler that landed 
 at that place. At the time of his 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 
 
 • Taboqunkik is the original name of Taboointac, now called Tabosintac. 
 Pohoomoosb is now called Pugmouche, and Gediak alludes to Shediac. Nal- 
 kitgoniash means, Antigonish ; and Kishpugowitk, Kishoubuguaak. 
 
 
■'!l 
 
 ,'ni 
 
 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, ell 
 of war, and bade defiance to the pale faces of the east. They burned 
 tw'o houses, destroyed the cattle, and robbed Mr. Cort s store of 700 
 moose-skins. They declared themselves 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-w’ar, 
 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 afiray 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 the 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 
 

 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 49 
 
 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.-j- 
 
 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 amount 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. 
 
 t The descendants of the old Julian family are still residing at Burnt Church, 
 or Nequaak. 
 
 E 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 50 
 
 Wlien 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 settlements on every side of 
 Bathurst Harbour, at Grande Ance, and Caraquette. In the above 
 year Mr. Charles Doucette established himself on Little River; and it 
 was observed by him and other respectable persons of his day, that 
 many of the French and Acadian settlers were then in very com- 
 fortable circumstances. 
 
 One of the oldest settlements in the County of Gloucester is at 
 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, with a small party of fishennen, 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 Maugcr- 
 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. 
 
 51 
 
 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^y 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 
 
 • Notitia of New Brunswick, p. 107. 
 
 E 2 
 
gg NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 peace they had 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 Sheriff 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 provide 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 Menaquasha, 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 River St. John and its neighbourhood, by Major Stud- 
 holm, in such manner and proportions as he shall think 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 scarlet cloth. 
 
 100 rings. 
 
 200 flints. 
 
 54 yds. riblon. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 53 
 
 During the above period, the Americans had spread disaffection in 
 Nova Scotia ; and even in the infant state of the setUements of the 
 River St. John, an individual was found to guide the rebellious mal- 
 contents of the revolted Colonies tlu-ough 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 
 to 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 
 
 2 \ cwt. shot.Q 
 
 3 pieces blue stroud. 
 
 3 pieces white kersey. 
 
 60 milled caps. 
 
 40 worsted do. 
 
 50 castor hats. 
 
 2i cwt. shot. 
 
 100 yds. embost serge. 
 
 1 barrel gimpowdcr. 
 
 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 the 
 report of the sentinel’s gun, 
 
54 
 
 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 the Acadians, who had been driven from 
 Fredericton, had at last found a resting-place; but in the recent 
 settlement of the Boundary dispute, one part of Madawasca District has 
 been assigned to Great Britain, and the other to the United States ; 
 and the divisional line has placed the same people under two difierent 
 Governments. 
 
 Ill the above year great numbers of loyalists and refugees also 
 removed to the Province, and the general improvement of the country 
 commenced with extraordinary vigour. The Government offered every 
 protection and assistance to those who had left their native homes, 
 and sacrificed in many instances the ties of consanguinity and affection 
 to their King and the British Constitution. 
 
 Each family received a certain quantity of land ; and provisions were 
 supplied to the destitute, until by their labour they should be able to 
 maintain themselves. 
 
 In 1784, New Brunswick was separated from Nova Scotia, and 
 made a distinct Government. General Carlton was appointed Go- 
 vernor on the 16th of August of the same year, and during his 
 administration he made every effort to improve the state of the country. 
 The Government has since been administered by a number of persons 
 styled Lieutenant-Governors, or in their absence or demise by the 
 senior member of the Executive Council for the time being. 
 
 V 
 
Administration of the Government of the Province of New Brunswick. 
 
 NAME. 
 
 TITLE. 
 
 PERIOD OF ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 Died in the 
 Gov’ment. 
 
 Thomas Carlton, Esq 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Gabriel G. Ludlow, Esq 
 
 Edward Winslow, Esq 
 
 Major-General Martin Hunter 
 
 Lieutenant Colonel George Johnstone 
 Major-General Martin Hunter 
 Major-General William Balfour 
 Major-General Martin Hunter 
 Major-General George Stracey Smyth 
 Major-General Sir Thomas Saumarez . 
 Major-General George Stracey Smyth . 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Harris W. Hailes 
 Major-General George Stracey Smyth . 
 Ward Chipman, Esq. . . . . 
 
 John Murray Bliss, Esq. 
 
 Major-General Sir Howard Douglas, Bart. 
 William Black, Eso. . . . 
 
 Major-Gen. Sir Arch. Campbell, Bt. G.C.B. 
 Major-Gen. Sir John Harvey, K.C.H., C.B. 
 Sir William Macbean George Colebrooke, 
 K.H. • . . . . . 
 
 Capt.-General and Gov.-in-Chief 
 
 Lieutenant-Governor . 
 
 / President of H.M. Council, and \ 
 
 \ Commander-in-Chief . ./ 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 President and Comm.-in-Chief . 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Ditto 
 
 Lieut.-Gov. and Comm.-in-Chief 
 
 President and Comm.-in-Chief . 
 Ditto 
 
 Lieut.-Gov. and Comm.-in-Chief 
 
 President and Comm.-in-Chief . 
 
 Lieut.-Gov. and Comm.-in-Chief 
 Ditto 
 
 j- Ditto 1 
 
 From Aug. 16, 1784, to Oct. 29, 1786 
 „ Oct. 30, 1786, to Oct. 4, 1803 
 
 „ Oct. 5, 1803, to Feb. 12, 1808 
 
 „ Feb. 20, 1808, to May 23, 1808 
 „ May 24, 1808, to Dec. 16. 1808 
 „ Dec. 17, 1808, to Apr. 27, 1809 
 „ Apr. 28, 1809, to Sep. 10, 1811 
 „ Sep. 11, 1811, to Nov. 13, 1811 
 ,, Nov. 14, 1811, to Junel4, 1812 
 ,, JunelS, 1812, to Aug. 16, 1813 
 „ Aug.17.1813, toAug.l3, 1814 
 „ Aug. 14, 1814, to June24, 1816 
 ,, June 25, 1816, to June30, 1817 
 „ July 1, 1817, to Mar. 27, 1823 
 „ Apr. 1, 1823, to Feb. 9,1824 
 „ Feb. 21, 1824, to Aug. 27, 1824 
 „ Aug. 28, 1824, to Mar.29, 1829 
 „ Mar.30, 1829, to Sept. 8, 1831 
 „ Sept. 9, 1831, to May 1, 1837 
 „ May 1, 1837, to Apr. 26, 1841 
 ,, Apr. 26, 1841; now adminis- 
 tering the Government. 
 
 Died. 
 
 Died. 
 
 Died. 
 
 Died. 
 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 56 
 
 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. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 New Brunswick lies between 45® 5" and 48® 20" of North latitude, 
 and between 63® 50" and 68® of West longitude. It extends nearly 
 north and south, and forms an irregular square between Nova Scotia 
 and Canada. It is bounded on the north by the Bay Chaleurs and the 
 Gulf of St. Lawrence, which separate it from Gaspe west by the 
 E estigouche 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 
 
58 new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 southward of the St. John, and finally their claim was extended north- 
 ward to the high lands that overlook the St. Lawrence. That the 
 framers of the Treaty of 1783, and the treaty itself, 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. The treaty 
 declares that the north-west boundary of Nova Scotia, which then 
 ^included New Brunswick, shall be “ formed by a line drawn due 
 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 part 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 Restigouche, 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 
 intemperate portion of the American press also found in the “ disputed 
 territory ” an ample field for animadversion, until the agitation required 
 to be appeased 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 toufched upon the dispute, the Legislature of New Brunswick 
 appeared to view the matter with indifference, until they found 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 be 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 Atlantic, 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 1815, 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 Netherlands, 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 
 cases, and, to use an American expression, “ split the difference 
 between the contending parties. 
 
 The line of the award extended from the source of the St. Croix 
 
GO 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 was not agreed to by the American Government, and the 
 whole matter being thrown 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 ten tant- 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 was not attended 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 tlie 
 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 
 
 States were taking possession of the territory in dispute. Tliey 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 granted the lands, made roads, and opened settlements in a tract 
 of country which justly belonged to Great Britain. 
 
 In 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 
 communication 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 the King of the Netherlands, 
 the United States ^vould have had 7,908 square miles (5,061,120 acres), and 
 England 4,119 square miles (2,036,160 acres). — Vide Map. 
 
62 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 of ratifying the Ashburton Treaty for the settlement of the Boundary 
 Line 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 it was due to 
 the distinguished gentleman (Mr. Jared Sparks, of Boston,) 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 communication addressed by him 
 to the Department of State. 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 Affaires Eir an- 
 ger es 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 6, 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, I am, &c. 
 
 “ ‘ B. Franklin. 
 
 “ * This letter was written six days after 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 confinn 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 found. After a little research in the American 
 division, with the aid of the keeper, I came upon a map of North Ame- 
 rica, by D’Anville, dated 1746, in size about eighteen inches square, 
 
1 ^ 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 map 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 contain, by the most precise and remarkable correspondence, in every 
 feature, the map communicated by Mr. Sparks! The Senator v,ho 
 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 which, in the present 
 instance, she has been the subject. We envy not the feelings of the 
 American people, however, in the matter : the nations of the w'orld 
 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 settlement 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 they were common articles of traffic. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 65 
 
 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 Ashburton 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* alon<y 
 the coast of the Bay des Chaleius 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 empty 
 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 Plaldimand, 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- 
 
 F 
 
G6 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 tain limits on both sides. A dispute has arisen between the two 
 Provinces, in regard to the boundary between them ; and, after a pro- 
 tracted negotiation, the matter has been referred to the decision of the 
 Home Government. 
 
 During his explorations of this part of the Province in 1842, the 
 writer was directed by the Provincial Government of New Brunswick 
 to examine the country w'ith reference to the above line, and his report 
 was not favourable to making the Restigouclie the boundary. The 
 stream which has generally been understood to be the Restigouche, at 
 the place where it is divided into two branches, cannot be considered 
 as the main river. The main stream on some of the maps is called the 
 Cadamkiswa, which the inhabitants have changed into Madam Kege- 
 wick, and finally into Tom Kedgewick. The Micmac Indian name of 
 this stream is Pe~tam~kedgewee. The southerly branch of the river, 
 above its junction 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 above tributary. It may be remarked, that 
 when a river is forked, the Indians apply a distinct or new name to 
 each branch. The sources of the Petamkedgewee approach Temiscouta 
 and Metis lakes. If, therefore, this river — the main Restigouche — 
 should be the boundary between the Provinces, a far greater tract 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 Restigouche there was only 
 one magistrate in a distance of seventy miles of thinly-inhabited coun- 
 try, and criminal offences were seldom punished, except by the too 
 common application of what is called “ club laws.** American vessels 
 landed their goods and bartered their “ notions’* for fish without fear 
 of molestation. They could not be controlled by the Collector of Cus- 
 toms on the New Brunswick side of the Restigouche ; and in the 
 Gaspe district there was no authorised seizing-officer within sixty miles 
 of the mouth of the river. All the timber of the immense interior 
 wilderness must be brought to the mouth of the Restigouche, where 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 67 
 
 one code of laws and one custom-house establishment would be 
 sufficient for the Government and 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 naiTow 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 are 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, 
 which being collected in rivers, are frequently poured into the bay 
 over beautiful cataracts or boisterous 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 are many fine belts 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 dashing waterfall, are sometimes presented at a single view. 
 The close forests of hill 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. 
 
 Tlie 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 tract of country, extending from the Meductic Falls 
 on the River St. John 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. 
 
 
 sometimes abrupt rocky cliffs 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 off 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 five 
 
70 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 miles from the River St. John. 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 interesting view. The more lofty 
 Cataadan, sixty miles distant, in the State of Maine, is distinctly 
 visible. Moose Mountain, Bear Mountain, and other high lands of 
 the chain, are seen stretching away to the north-east. The valleys of 
 the Aroostook and Tobique 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 forests seem to defy the industry 
 of human beings. 
 
 The highest mountains 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 
 9,000 feet in height. This highland district affords some of the most 
 sublime scenery in the Province, The summits of the mountains are 
 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 that have 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 Campbelltown, on the Restigouche River, 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 71 
 
 there is a sharp lofty hill called the Sugar Loaf, It is about 800 feet 
 high, and the side fronting the river is a perpendicular cliff with a slope 
 debris at its base. Its ascent is extremely difficult and dangerous, 
 except at its eastern side. Near a place called the Flat Lands, there is 
 another conical eminence, called Ben Lomond. From the tops of these 
 hills the high lands of the interior may be viewed in all their grandeur, 
 and the Tracadegash and other mountains of Gaspe are seen covering 
 the country to the north with lofty cones of unknown altitudes. South- 
 ward of the Sugar Loaf there is a wide area of table-land, which, like 
 the uninhabited district of the Tobique, is covered with a living mantle 
 of pine, spruce, and other evergreens. 
 
 Rivers^ Lakes, 
 
 There is perhaps no country in the world of the same extent that 
 enjoys greater facilities of navigation than New Brunswick, All its 
 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, 1604. 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 discovered 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 46° 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 66° 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 “leabt.” In 
 English this river, therefore, would be called “ the Little Waloostook. 
 

 I 
 
 I 
 
 ! 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
 I 
 
 (V. 
 
 
 
 1^, »*^**-%#** *• ••* •r#*#>#v>*'V ‘ 
 
 . ^/Av%»y»v> 
 
 
 72 new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 alFord an easy communication 
 for canoes, rafts of timber, &c. 
 
 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 aflbrds a safe landing-place for rafts of timber, 
 boats, and canoes ; but it is suddenly contracted, and the river, after 
 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 ; 
 
 Dash’d in a cloud of foam, it sends aloft 
 A hoary mist, and forms a ceaseless shower ; 
 
 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 between the opposite sides of the river ; and along a ravine 
 that extends nearly across the peninsula, it is practicable to 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,f 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 are on the mail route between New 
 Brunswick and Quebec. f A carrying-place. 
 
 
74 
 
 NEW 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 Tobique. 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 1.86 rods. This 
 river enters the St. John from tlie westward, eighteen miles below the 
 Grand Falls, and is navigable for boats and rafts of timber 100 miles. 
 In its 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 
 naiTow gorge, where there is a frightful rapid. At the lower part of 
 this rapid there is a Fall of seventeen feet, and die 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 
 
X 
 
 I 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. ^5 
 
 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 to 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 the 
 above river with the main stream. The direction of tliis 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 lakes, the largest of which is about twelve miles 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 1812, and, 
 notwithstanding the skill of his Indian guide, his canoe passed over a “ pitch ** 
 of six feet, and filled with water. A few days previous, 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. 
 
 / 
 
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 they 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 fertile 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 wide, 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 wliirlpools, so that 
 in tunes 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. 
 
 77 
 
 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 
 Tobique Mill Company, built a dam across the river and erected ex- 
 tensive saw-mills at this place ; but before the mills were put in 
 I 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 of money w’as 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 Wapskanegan, 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 abim- 
 dance of gypsum and limestone ; these minerals are also abundant on 
 the Tobique. 
 
 Tliirteen miles above the Wapskanegan 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 the uplands in this quarter 
 are of an excellent quality. The soil, a dark-coloured loam, bears a 
 
 • Near this place, the Author, on the 5th 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 ^harp 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 a 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. 
 
78 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 heavy growth of sugar-maple, yellow birch, hemlock, and pine. The 
 Agulquac is navigable for canoes twenty-five 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 
 wilderness 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 wide, 
 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 surrounded by several lofty cones but little inferior in 
 altitude. 
 
 • Immoveable rafts of timber. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 79 
 
 Formerly there were immense 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 are 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 in salmon, 
 trout, and other kinds of fish.* 
 
 The Tobique is navigable for tow-boats and eanoes 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 are better adapted to the circumstances of a respectable class 
 of emigrants and settlers than those of almost any other district in the 
 Province. 
 
 It would be difficult 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 fre- 
 quently fall to 50® and even to 45® during the hottest season.f 
 
 In order to facilitate its settlement, the Tobique district might be 
 fonned into new counties and townships, and its lands surveyed into 
 lots of 100 aeres each; but it is not probable that the Provincial 
 Government will make roads through this wilderness country, until 
 settlers have first advanced and taken possession of the lands. J 
 
 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 dies 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. 
 
 X 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 
 
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 Houlton on the American side of the line. Di- 
 rectly below Woodstock, there is a large tract of superior 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 
 difficult 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 
 after 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 
 
 river as far up as the Grand Falls. Those boats may ascend the Tobiqiie 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 BRUNSWICK. 
 
 81 
 
 fine farms and luxuriant fields along the flanks of the hills, the surface 
 of the earth presents the aspect of a new country, 
 
 Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, is situated sixty-five 
 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- 
 quarters 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 Miramichi 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 Bar, 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 cul- 
 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 visitor, 
 in traversing the river, sees the white fronts of the cottages, and other 
 buildings ; and,' from the constant change of position, in sailing, an 
 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 
 
 G 
 
82 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 spring ! The floods of those seasons cover all the intervales. The 
 valley of the lower St. John, with all its cultivated fields and fertile 
 meadows, is overspread by the water, which sometimes sweeps away 
 houses, bams, stacks of hay, cattle, and everything that is moveable : 
 and when “ ice-jams* * *** occur, the inhabitants themselves are in danger. 
 During the freshet season, some of the people remove to the higher 
 grounds, each having a summer and winter residence. Others live and 
 secure their stock on small islands, or eminences in the midst of the 
 water ; and instances frequently occur when families are driven to the 
 upper stories of their dwellings. At the door of each house is chained 
 a canoe, the only vehicle employed on all occasions. At those periods 
 the valley has a dreary aspect ; the tops of the buildings, lofty trees, 
 and numerous haystacks are seen standing erect in the midst of the 
 inland sea, with steamboats and smaller craft sailing among them in 
 almost every direction. In the middle of winter, the scenery is again 
 changed, and the valley becomes a sheet of ice, traversed by sleds and 
 sleighs to its rem^otest borders. In the month of May, the deluge is 
 withdrawn, and green fields are seen smiling where all had been a scene 
 of desolation. 
 
 Twelve miles below, another stream, called the Oromucto, enters 
 from the south-west. It proceeds from a remote lake, and drains a 
 fertile tract of country. It was at the mouth of this stream that the 
 first permanent British settlement was made in New Brunswick, and 
 the Courts of Justice were held there until 1783. 
 
 French and Maquapit Lakes, with the rivulets flowing into them from 
 the north, are discharged into the main stream above Gage town, 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 83 
 
 a mile wide, and communicates with it by the channel called the Gemsec, 
 This beautiful sheet of water is also 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, and 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 hundred miles above the d^houehement 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 
 
84 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 had 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 new 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 
 
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 common 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 both 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 tradition of the Indians, that the Great Spirit’* once grew 
 angry, and shut 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. 
 
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 
 w^as the one contemplated as being the line of separation between 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- 
 quoddy 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, the water rushes through a narrow gorge, and 
 descends twelve feet. The w^aters 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 
 
 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 of 
 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 of 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 situations, and ten miles at others. They present a series of 
 narrow straits and wide bays, with deep inlets and creeks. The general 
 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. 
 
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 highest 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 stream 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 IIucQ of Sir Humphrey Davy. 
 
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 of 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 w^as 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 cliffs 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, 
 
QQ NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 clifi’s, and makes its dehouchement 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 place 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 it» 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 
 five and sometimes six feet high. The rushing of this overwhelming 
 wave 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 91 
 
 The Memramcook, Tantamarre, Aulac, and Missiquash are 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 Cumberland 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 over 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 difierent 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. Lawrence, 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 the 
 undertaking is estimated to exceed the profit that would arise from it, 
 if the work should be completed. The enterprise, therefore, although 
 not abandoned by its advocates, remains stationar}-. 
 
 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 92 
 
 from the uninhabited country to the south. One of those branches 
 approaches within three miles of the Salmon River, flowing in an oppo- 
 site direction into the Grand Lake, 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 Kouchibouguack River empties itself into the Gulf of St. Law- 
 rence, about twenty miles southward of Miramichi Bay. It is about 
 fifty miles in length, and its waters are discharged into a lagoon that 
 forms a good 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 as they 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 dehouchement 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 from 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 bordefs 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. 
 
 • Miramichi, in the Micmac Indian language, signifies “ Happy Retreat.** 
 
 The savages formerly called this river the Restigouchcsis. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 0<? 
 
 '/li 
 
 Twenty miles above its opening into tlie Bay, this noble stream 
 receives the waters of a large branch called the North-west Miramichi • 
 whose sources extend to the branches of the Nepisiguit farther north. 
 To Its confluence with the north-west branch the river is navigable for 
 large ships, and for small craft to a greater distance. Boats and canoes 
 may ascend the principal streams far 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 the 
 Miramichi and its tributaries has derived its chief importance from the 
 great quantities of valuable red and white pine that formerly stood upon 
 its lauds ; 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 arc two indentations 
 receiving small rivers, and called Big Baie des Vents and. Little Bale 
 des Vents.f 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 con-upted by the inhabitants, who now call the harbours * ** Big 
 Betty Wind” and “ Little Betty Wind.” 
 
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 Chaleurs on 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, Pokemouche, and Cara- 
 quet’te are 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 
 swiftlv, 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 magniHcent cascade. The bed of the stream is granite, whmh, 
 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 d^bouchement into Bathurst 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 them 
 are navigable to any distance, and they require no particular description. 
 
 La Bale des Chaleurs, now called Bay Chaleurs,t which terminates in 
 
 * “ The place where two reside” (Indian). 
 
 t This bay was known to the Micmac tribe of Indians as Eckeetan Ne- 
 machii, which signifies “ a sea of fish. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 95 
 
 the Restigouche River^ 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 Cape Despair twenty-five miles broad. 
 On the north or Gaspe 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 Brunswick 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’s voyage, 
 he called it La Baie 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 Taraisquata, 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 96 
 
 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, Ind 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 the Gaspe side of the Restigouche 
 are high and broken. The river is nevertheless skirted with a few level 
 
 Restigouche,— Big River of the Indians. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 97 
 
 tracts and small collections of alluvium, the largest of which is Mission 
 Point, the former residence of the Missionary to the Micmac Indians. 
 Ihree 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 Hat 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 cliffs 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 also 
 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 
 Pee-tam-kedge-wee, fifty miles above the mouth of the Upsalquitch. 
 The lands here are less mountain^hs, and fit for cultivation. The 
 stream which has generally been understood to be the Restigouche, 
 
 * savages frequently named rivers after celebrated Chiefs and 
 
 other individualg. 
 
 H 
 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 98 
 
 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 Peetainkedgewee ; 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 dehouchement^ 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 lon^ 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 bountifull^upplied 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 
 
 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 sue- 
 cessive steps, and see the aneient 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 tei-raced 
 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 rivers 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 
 
 H 2 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 100 
 
 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 
 rapids 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 mouths 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 the 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. 
 
NEW lUlUNSWiCK. 
 
 101 
 
 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 the 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 Sliepody 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 102 
 
 is low and level. Fishing 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 craft that frequent 
 the coasts and bays. Jouet’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 
 
 wicnt 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 onlv 
 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 number 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 104 * 
 
 Harbour of Shippegan is formed by Shippegan Island on one side, and 
 the main land and Poksudie Island on the other. It has 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; the channel 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 those 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 Resti- 
 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 entrance of the Bay Chtdeurs. Miscou Island is twenty miles in 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 106 , 
 
 circumference, and its northern point is the landmark for vessels bound ! 
 
 to Bathurst and the Restigouche. It was occupied by the French at an I 
 
 early period, and the remains of their former fishing establishments are * | ' 
 
 yet to be seen. It is still the resort of British and American fishing ' 
 
 craft ; and notwithstanding the plain language of the treaty which pre- ‘ 
 
 eludes the latter from the fisheries of the shore, their crews frequently * ^ 
 
 erect fiakes and cure whole cargoes of fish caught within the lines, and ’ 
 
 upon British ground. 1 : 
 
 Shippegan is a low, sandy island, twenty miles in length. On its ' T 
 
 west side there are two settlements of Acadian French — a people who 
 form almost the entire population of this part of Gloucester. Poksudie 
 and Caraquette Islands are small insulae between Shippegan and the 
 main land. ? 
 
 From the great extent of the coasts, bays, and rivers of New Bruns- i ‘ 
 
 wick, fishery should naturally form an important division of labour ; 
 hut 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 Chaleiirs sides of New Brunswick, where that kind of 
 enterprise would be bountifully rewarded. ' 
 
 I 
 
 
 
 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 NATIVE INDIANS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 There has been great diversity of opinion respecting the origin of the 
 aboriginal inhabitants of America. Blumenbach viewed the physical 
 character of the American Indians as corresponding in some degree 
 with that of the Mongnl 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 
 immediately 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 arrow 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. jq,^ 
 
 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 Levites, 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. xui.) They offer a flesh or burnt offering 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 seventy.”* 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’Escarbot in 1609 , the whole of Nova Scotia was 
 
 History of America, by George Jones. Longman & Co., London. 
 
108 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 occupied by the Somiquois (Iroquois); and the ancient French maps 
 of the country all agree in giving a tribe called the Etchemins posses- 
 sion of the southern side of New Brunswick. According to B^ron ^a 
 Houtan, the Indian tribes of ancient Acadia were the Abenekis (Men 
 of the East), Micmacs, Canabas, Malingans, Openagas, Socokes, an 
 Etchemins. By other writers, those tribes were called Algonqums. 
 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 voyageurs. 
 
 At the present time, there are the remnants of two tribes in New 
 Brunswick,-the Micmacs and the Melicetes, or Morrisetes. The 
 former are found in a part of the District of Gaspe, 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 they are 
 xnet by the Penobscots of the United States. The Micmacs speak a 
 dialect of the Iroquois (or language of the Six Nations), Hurons, and 
 other tribes of the North : but the Melicetes, from bemg 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. T ley 
 all have the same copper colour, the straight coarse black hair, hazel 
 eyes, high cheek-bones, scanty beard, and erect carriage, common to 
 all the Northern tribes. Some of the men are upwards of six feet in 
 height, and remarkable for suppleness, activiy, and great powers of 
 endurance, rather than for strength. Individuals among them will 
 travel seventy miles in a day without any apparent fetigue. 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 109 
 
 of the Indian consisted of a cloak. To a strong 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 the male, except that the apron extended 
 down below the knees. Since the introduction of European stuffs, 
 these garments are made of cloth. The mocassin is still made of tanned 
 or un tanned leather. 
 
 All the hair was cut off or pulled out, except a tuft on the crown of 
 the 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 tlie 
 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 
 
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 wigwams^ 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. An 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. 
 
 The 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 is 
 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 curiously 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. 
 
INDIAN WIGWAMS 
 

NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Ill 
 
 gouges, and gimlets of stone. Their kniv^es, 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 fonning 
 a road in the Indian manner, by cutting down the trees, clearing them 
 away, and carefully removing the leaves and branches.” * 
 
 • Historical Account of British America, by Hugh Murray, vol. i. p. 08, 09. 
 
112 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 infonnation through the 
 medium of hieroglyphics. Rocks and trees in conspicuous situations 
 have had figures cut or engraved upon them, which 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 cataract. 
 
 Before the country was discovered, these tribes had been at war, and 
 desperate conflicts had taken place between rival powers. The Etche- 
 
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 spot 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 relics found at the mouth 
 of the Oromucto 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 is said to have been fought between them 
 near the mouth of the Restigouche. 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 Government 
 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 gannents 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 confonn more or less to the present condition of the country, in their 
 social state they remain unchanged, and every effort to bring them to 
 a perfect state of civilisation has proved abortive. As a people, they 
 are ever ready to attach themselves to almost any kind of religion, 
 according to expected gain. Wherever there is any show of pomp or 
 
 1 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 114 
 
 ceremony, they will present themselves ; 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 been 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 has always 
 been the introduction to intemperance, disease, and 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 Lake 
 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 Maguadavic, 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 luring Indians 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 115 
 
 wild routes 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 
 erect 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, they will relate many amusing 
 anecdotes. For their skill in cooking little can be said; but the readiness 
 with which they erect a wigwam or shanty, kindle a fire, prepare the bedol 
 cedar boughs, and attend to die comfort of their employers, makes due amends 
 for their careless habits in preparing food ; and although they may offer tlic 
 sportsman parched trout, (trout roasted in the blaze,) or racoon stewed in 
 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 himter, 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- 
 urn gun, she no go ; I think me all same gone, all eat up. Then me thinkum 
 my old snuffbox ; I take some snuff and throwem in bear’s face, and he rim 
 out; not very much likeum, I guess. Me lay still all night, he no come again. 
 Every leetle while, every time bear he go 0-me sneezeum, over and over great 
 many times. Morning come, me fixem gun and shoot em dead ; he no more 
 sneezeum, no more this time.” 
 
 2 
 
Ilg NEAV BRUNSWICK. 
 
 cil annually at Pleasant Point, on the St. Croix, where they renew 
 their friendship and establish regulations for the public weal. -ac 
 tribe has laws peculiar to itself, and the measures adopted by the Grand 
 Council 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 countrymen. As a people, they 
 still retain their idle, wandering habits, and many of them are frequently 
 in a state of suffering and wretchedness. To this there are nevertheless 
 e.Kceptions, 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 traet 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 
 ng timber during the summer months, others devote the whole of 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 117 
 
 their time to the chace. A few of the Melicetes also reside at Mada- 
 wasca, among the Acadian French : hut 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 are 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 Restigouche, 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 vrith 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 Melicetes, 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-mow-ee tel-mox-se’en tel-e-wee-so- 
 teek. Cheeptooke wee-chee-u leek spum-keektaun e-too-cheesauk-too leek 
 spum-a kay-e'en. Too-eep-nankna-meen kes-e kees-skah-keel wek-a giileek 
 cl-me-kees-kaak keel-mets-min a-woolee. Ma-hate-moo-in ka-tee a-lee-wa- 
 nay-ool-te-ck el mas wc-chee-a keel mccoke-may-keel ue-ma-hatc-hum-to 
 mooin. 
 
118 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ' The Lord's Prayer in the Micmac Language, 
 
 Noorch enen waa-sooke abin, chip-took, talwee-sin me-ga-day-de mek. 
 Waa-soke-te-lee-daa-nen chip-took igga nam-win oo-la ne-moo-lek naa-de la 
 tay se-nen. Naa-tel waa-soke ai-keek chip-took ta-lee-ska-doolek ma-ga-mi 
 guek ay e-mek. Tel-la-moo-koo-he-ne-gal es-nie-a giil opch nega-a-tah kees- 
 took igga-nam-win nes-el-co-iien. Ta-lee a-hik-chik-ta-kaa-chik wa-gai-nee- 
 na-met-nick elk-keel-nees-kaam a-hik chic-toc-in el-wa-wool-ti-jeck. Mel- 
 kee-nin maach win-chee-gul mook-ta-gaa-liii kecs-e-na waam-kil win-choe- 
 gukl ko qui-ak too-ack-too-in . — Quebee V ersion. 
 
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, Sunbury, 
 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 County 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 Comity of Westmoreland. 
 
NEW BRUNSW'ICK. 
 
 120 
 
 beyond the limits of any local authority, and 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 should 
 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 unprofitable to all, except gentlemen 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 Tobique River, and one or 
 two in the District of the Rcstigouche. 
 
 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 fonning the 
 north eoast of the Bay of Fundy, between Cape Knrage 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 
 >vhole 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 meeting- 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 121 
 
 houses ♦ and several ship-yards. This place was first settled by officers 
 and soldiers of the King’s Orange Rangers ; many of whose descend- 
 ants still live in the parish, since called St. Martin’s. 
 
 The Harbour of St. John is safe, but not very spacious, especially 
 at low-water. The tides rise twenty-six feet, and therefore great facili- 
 ties are afforded for repairing and launching vessels ; for during the 
 retreat of the sea, the shores and a number .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 the 
 mouth of the harbour. On it there are a battery, lighthouse, signal 
 station, and hospital for the accommodation of sick emigrants and sail- 
 ors, who are removed 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 are 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 tenninating in a marsh, and a deep ravine that 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 tlie ports of the 
 St. Lawrence — does not accumulate here so as to obstruct navigation ; 
 
 • The houses of worship of the Dissenters arc caUed by the inhabitants 
 meeting-houses. 
 
122 
 
 NEW 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, alewives, and salmon are abundant during the spring 
 and summer months ; the latter fish is sometimes sold as low as three- 
 pence per pound. The fishery is divided into lots, which are annually 
 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 is 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 timber-ponds, booms, and shipyards, 
 which receive the numerous rafts floated down the river. 
 
 The streets have 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 public 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 Sheriff 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 valuable. It is well built, and the whole range 
 of wharves, to the distance of a mile and a half, is lined wdth stones and 
 
 * No emigrant, nor any other person, can sell goods until he first obtain the 
 freedom of the city ; the cost of which is £5 currency. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 123 
 
 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 firont 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-house, 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 place as a private soldier; and he here 
 found his wife, of whom he afterwards published a curious auto-biography. 
 
124 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 the situation, several mercantile establishments have been opened of 
 late, and the appearance of the place much improved. 
 
 Tlie manufacturing industry of St. John has advanced with the growth 
 of the city. It has now three iron-foundries, in which exalted steam- 
 engines and other machinery are made. There are also a number of 
 Hour-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 the 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 would 
 be a valuable ajjpendage 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 post, with 
 a magazine at its base. Portland is the site of a handsome Episeopal 
 Chureh, a Roman Catholic Chapel, two Meeting-houses, and an 
 Academy. 
 
 By the recent exertions of an active company fonned for the pur- 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 alive with ships, steam- 
 boats, and 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 St. John, the great commercial depot of the 
 Bay of Fundy. 
 
 A little more than sixty 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 20,000 souls. 
 Besides the public institutions before mentioned, St. John has a Cham* 
 
12G 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. ‘ 
 
 ber of Commerce, Agricultural and Horticultural 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 any country. 
 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 community 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 
 anonymous 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 
 
 * The Government has appointed M. H. Perley, 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 imUNSWICK. 
 
 127 
 
 from Halifax. The construction of railways in the Provinces would 
 greatly alter and improve the state of Colonial trade, and give to Hali- 
 ax, the capital of Nova Scotia, a larger share of the business of that 
 rovince : ut it is reserved for the chapter on the Commerce of New 
 ninswick 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 
 ^nds 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, with 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 ashore 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 of fish, 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 production of a crop. On 
 the west it is traversed by the great road leading from tlie 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 running 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 
 
128 
 
 NEW BUUNSWICK. 
 
 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 character 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 sufficient magnitude there are one or more saw'- 
 mills. During the winter season, the country inhabitants are engaged 
 in felling and transporting logs of timber for those establishments, from 
 
 ■ 
 
 * Census of New Brunswick, 1810. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 129 
 
 whence 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 
 1 oint Lc Proe, on the shore of the Bay of Fundy, its eastern line 
 touches the before-mentioned district, and the Kings 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, St. 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 dehouchement into Passamaquoddy Bay is two 
 
130 
 
 NEW EHUNSWICK. 
 
 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 Robinstown 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 public 
 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, &e, 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 Cham cook, 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-inills 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 132 
 
 way on the American and a sluice on the British side of the stream 
 convey the lumber from the mills to the basin below, where it is 
 shipped. 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 tovrn. 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, and a 
 friendly intercourse exists between the inhabitants of the opposite bor- 
 ders of the national boundary. During the last war, when a collision 
 between those whose dwellings are within gunshot of each other would 
 have produced the most unhappy consequences, it was mutually agreed 
 upon by the subjects’^of both countries along this inhabited 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. 
 
 133 
 
 and yield good crops. In such situations, there is often a subsoil of 
 clay, and excellent grass lands. Different 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- 
 deguash River, opening into Chamcook Harbour. The stream at certain 
 seasons of the year affords passage for logs and squared timber, and is 
 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 
 E utopia, 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 BRUNSWICK. 
 
 The above parish has an excellent harbour, called L’Etang, which is 
 separated from the mouth of the Magaguadavic by a narrow peninsula 
 projecting into the bay. At this place and on the neighbouring islands 
 there are extensive quarries of limestone. Beaver Harbour, ten miles 
 farther eastward, also affords 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 at Mace’s Bay, a shallow estuary ; and the principal 
 river, the Poclogan, is an inferior stream. The County of Charlotte 
 communicates with St. .Tohn by the main road leading from the latter 
 to St. Andrew’s and St. Stephen’s, and in the summer season by steam 
 along the coast. Another great road has been opened between St. An- 
 drew’s and Fredericton. Those works and the bridges across the rivers 
 have been made by the Province at great expense, and 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 
 ungi*anted, 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 305 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 BRUNSWICK:. 
 
 135 
 
 foliage of some little island. Sometimes himdreds of boats are huddled 
 together, their crews being actively engaged in drawing forth the finny 
 inhabitants of the deep. As soon as the shoal of fish retreats, or the 
 tide is unfavourable, 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 among the cliffs of 
 the shore. Flights of gulls hang 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 amply fitted 
 
1 36 
 
 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 tenants to the proprietor. 
 There are good 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 fishing ; and upwards of eight hundred persons are engaged in the 
 catch along 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. 
 
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 hy 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 W^est- 
 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 
 ih6 Peticodiac, which waters almost the whole of the western parishes. 
 That river is navigable for vessels of a hundred tons burden tliirty-three 
 miles, and the tide fiows 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 the French, Petit Coiidc (Little Elbow), whence is derived 
 Peticodiac, frequently called by the inhabitants Pettycoatjack.*^ 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 138 
 
 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 marshes. 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 there 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 Tantaniarre Marsh is situated on both sides of a river of that 
 name, and is one of the largest collections of fertile sea 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 sluice, 
 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. The work is called an aboiteau. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 139 
 
 This kind of land, when properly drained and brought under the influ- 
 ence of tillage, produces excellent crops of wheat, oats, and grass, but 
 not potatoes : clover grows upon it luxuriantly ; yet from the great 
 quantity of marsh owned by the upland proprietors, extensive lots 
 remain in an unimproved 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 ; tliey 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 either of the two 
 parishes above described ; still it embraces much fertile land, and is varied 
 to meet the purposes of the farmer. The Aulac, 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 140 
 
 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 Moncton in 175o, 
 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 long been proposed to open a canal across 
 the peninsula in the direction 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. I^awrence ; and several surveys have been made of 
 different routes ; but none of them have proved 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. 
 
 TheGaspereau andTignish, 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 soldfbrs 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 Prince 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 Aboushagaii 
 Rivers, are small streams emptying themselves into Northumberland 
 Straits. At their mouths there arc extensive settlements of Acadian 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 141 
 
 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 difierent kinds of 
 maple and birch, is susceptible of cultivation ; many tracts arc of an 
 excellent quality. 
 
 Shediac, another parish on the Gulf shore, is more populous than 
 Botsford, although it has less cleared 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 js 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 feel, 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. Tlie 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 14 ^ 
 
 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 lliver, emptying itself into a harbour of the same 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 afibrds 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 traets 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- 
 ment. 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 nm between Dorchester and St. John, passing the Bend, 
 going and returning on alteniate days. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 143 
 
 remark will apply to Coverdale. 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 tennination 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 th§ west of Grindstone Point and Island, is 
 also a 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 Coverdale Rivers, 
 
144 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Turtle Creek,* and the 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 gieat improvement. At some situations, after 
 they are diked and drained, they settle, until they become lower than 
 the hanks of the rivers where the alluvium is constantly collecting. 
 From those causes, the inner margin of the marsh is overflown by 
 fresh water during a part of the season, and is thereby rendered unpro- 
 ductive. The best remedy for such an effect is to allow the muddy 
 tides to flow in again over the low lands, whereby they will he 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 he quarried in the western parishes ; hut 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 1S43, 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 them to 
 return to their former avocations, and the benevolence of the Government has 
 not obtained its object. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 145 
 
 King's County^ 
 
 •« •!.« n,nh...... 
 
 torawLo '< =»- 
 
 .u. he. rr,::.“r;°:ersT 
 
 n ■'• ■'“p- “1 
 
 on mo parishes are very inconvenient for the inhabitants. A chain 
 
 1 -t- length of 
 
 of the di^t ^7"" “ "‘O'^ntainous aspect ; and almost the whole area 
 
 of the dis net IS interspersed by hills, steep declivities, and narrow 
 ravines waUed in by cliffs. There are, notwithstanding, level valleys 
 
 <0,1 ,a a„ch «„a„oaa i, „o.llc„,. I, i, a,.. 
 ties; and even the tops of the highest hills, except where they are 
 Z7T by rocks, afford rich pastures. The broken and uneven sur- 
 f^c, channelled out in valleys, or indented by the arms of the river 
 affords a great vanety of bold and imposing scenery, and gives a wild’ 
 ness to Its features not to be seen in the eastern disLcts 
 
 About two miles above the Falls, the St. John throws out a beautiful 
 navigable sheet of water called the Kcnebecasis,* eighteen miles long, 
 with a medium breadth of two miles. A river of the same name mecS 
 
 culri 11 n’ 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 Kcnebecasis 
 River IS divided into four small branches,--the MiU-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 
 
 • Little Kcnebec, in the Melicete Indian dialect. 
 
 L 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Ho 
 
 bay, whence timber, deals, and agricultural produce are transported rn 
 
 ^HTsir "rieb'nrof the St. lobn. con— 
 with the main river twenty-eight mUes above the city. It 
 
 north-east, and receives small streams from Kingston and Spmg^ 
 
 The valley of the Kenebecasis is bounded in Sussex by Piccadilla and 
 pUglh tL eminences that are elevated each 400 feet above the ord. 
 na4 level of the district. Bull Moose Hill, in the parish of Spnngfiel^ 
 islrly 600 feet high, and contains a rich deposit of -- 
 large valky extends from the head of Belle Isle Bay. in a north-easterly 
 dirltion, to the source of the Washadamoak. It wiU average from 
 two to four miles in breadth, and is upwards of fifty miles in leng . 
 
 On the west side of the St. John, in this county, another stream, 
 called the Nerepis, descends from the north-west, and, to the dis ance 
 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 know 
 as a part of Coffin’s Manor. On each side of that stream, t e mo^- 
 tains rise to greater elevation. Douglas Mountain, 
 and other hills of the rocky alpine range, add great sublmii y o 
 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 aLng the hills, and on a branch of the Belle Isle Bay. It as 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 
 refiects credit upon its proprietor. The parish comprises the pemnsula 
 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK 
 
 147 
 
 c i“f P«tf r “w •'»•'“““ Kiv», apd p<«»p,„ Ik. 
 
 nnf I mentioned, called Sussex Vale. This is 
 
 Xer the' t'^^ the 
 
 alon^X “7 the narrow plat of alluvial soil 
 
 s.de, has been brought under cultivation. At the principal village of 
 
 south. The whole surface is closely settled. A wide tract, bounded 
 
 aIom'edT‘r°'''''‘^H^“*’ ^rtile fields and meadows, 
 
 ad med by trees and country seats, that give an ancient appearance 
 
 and St. John. It contains a Post-office, two Churches, and other houses 
 of worship. Two salt springs have been discovered; they supply 
 about fifty gaUons of water per minute. Every hundred galloL yidds^ 
 
 manJXX "T’ i bushels of very pure salt. A small salt 
 
 manufactory has been established at the site; but, from the low price 
 
 foreign salt, it is not profitable, and the works have fallen into 
 ecay. ypsum and limestone are abundant. Roads have been 
 opened to the surrounding new settlements, and improvements are 
 steadily advancing. Between Sussex 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- 
 grant, or young men who are attached to husbandry. A single sprint 
 in this parish supplies sufficient water for a powerful fiour-mill, and 
 p-cat 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 
 Erection from Sussex Vale, and meets the Anagance, a branch of the 
 Beticodiac. 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 
 erti e. Occasionally small tracts of light sand occur, covered with 
 
 L 2 
 
148 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 peat from four to ten feet in thickness. Near the source of the stream, 
 there are two salt springs. 
 
 The Mill Stream, another branch of the above river, after extending 
 through a notch in the hills northward of Sussex, proceeds along a 
 broad^trough until its branches are interwoven with those of the Washa- 
 damoak. This trough-like valley surpasses in size Sussex Vale, and 
 extends from the head of Belle Isle Bay directly across the country to 
 the parish of Salisbury, in Westmoreland, and falls away in the low, 
 level land of the Gulf shore. Between the valley of the Kenehecasis 
 and Belle Isle, there is a moderately elevated tract of land, called 
 Butternut Ridge, running along the parish of Studholm. The soil on 
 this ridge is also of a superior quality, and limestone is abundant. 
 Wheat and other kinds of grain return excellent crops. The forest 
 consists of beautiful groves of beech, birch, and sugar maple, inter- 
 mixed with butternut trees. The lower grounds are occupied by 
 cedar thickets, and along the upland hollows the elm and ash add to the 
 beauty of the forests. The parish of Springfield possesses a soil equally 
 productive ; and, besides a series of fine farms spread along the borders 
 of the hay and rivers, it has some thriving new settlements a little re- 
 mote from the shores. Between the before-mentioned valley and the 
 Washadamoak, there are several new settlements of English and Irish 
 immigrants, who, having overcome the first obstacles of settling in a 
 new country, are now gaining an honest independence.* 
 
 Except on the margins of the largest streams, the population is 
 scattered here and there, according to individual fancy, thousands of 
 acres of the rich lands in this part of King’s County are still ungranted, 
 and scarcely known to any hut the lumberman or the Indian hunter. 
 
 From the highest hill of Springfield, the eye may wander over the 
 wild forests, which, in a north-east direction, are still unbroken. One 
 
 • A number of these immigrants landed in the Province from eight to four- 
 teen years ago, without any means of subsistence. Parents carried their chil- 
 dren upon their backs into the country, and lived in shanties, among the trees, 
 upon the most humble fare. By their industry, they afterwards paid for their 
 lots, cleared away the forest, made farms, and now drive their waggons to the 
 market at St. John loaded with the surplus produce of their fields. 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 vast, rich, and variegated assemblage of forest-trees waves proudly over 
 the earth, like wheat before the harvest. The valley of the Belle 
 Isle, and Studville, with its scattered settlements and farms, shows 
 where the industry of man is employed, and which, from year to year, 
 
 IS notching the dark and silent groves with cultivated fields and rich 
 meadows. 
 
 The Panshes of Norton and Hampton are situated on the south-west 
 Mde of the Kenebecasis Bay, and River. Along the St. John and 
 Halifax Road, and the sides of the rivers, they are well improved. At 
 Hampton Ferry a bridge has been thrown across the river, and a pretty 
 village, with an Episcopal Church, has sprung up within the space of a 
 few years. A larp settlement, with a Church, also appears near Gon- 
 dola Point, opposite Kingston, where the whole shore is a succession 
 of fine farms ; and the beautiful islands at the head of the bay are 
 either under the operations of the plough, qr produce beneath their 
 trees crops of wild hay— the natural produce of all the intervales. 
 Hammond River runs through a fine plat of alluvial soil, skirted vrith 
 some good farms, and rushes through a narrow rocky gorge, a little 
 way above its bridge, and the cultivated district at its mouth. Along 
 
 sides of the stream there are limestone, gypsum, and salt springs. 
 Graphite, or plumbago, of a superior quality, has also been found in 
 the rocks of the hills. 
 
 Westfield and Greenwich are on the west side of the St. John, and 
 contain some of the settlements on the road leading from Carlton to 
 Fredericton. Wherever clearings have been made, roads have been 
 opened, and the cultivated districts are intersected by them in every 
 direction. Salmon and trout are taken in all the rivers. Lumbering 
 IS not carried on very extensively in this county, agriculture bein<T the 
 chief employment of the inhabitants ; and the encouragement affbrded 
 by the markets at St. John has brought a part of the soil into a 
 tolerable state of cultivation. But the cleared land, compared with the 
 whole area of the district, is very limited ; and the wilderness tracts of 
 the county offer to immigrants, or farmers of any capital, a wide and 
 profitable field of labour. 
 
150 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Queen's County 
 
 Joins King’s on the south-east, Northumberland on the north, Sunbury 
 north-west, and Charlotte south-east. It lies on both sides of the St. 
 John, being intersected by that noble stream across the whole of its 
 south-eastern extremity. It contains 961 ,280 square acres of laud, m 
 nine parishes ; namely, Gagetown, Canning, Wickham, Waterborough, 
 Brunswick, Hampstead, Johnston, Petersvdlle, and Chipman. Two 
 important tributaries of the St. John, the Washadamoak and Salmon 
 River, traverse the whole north-eastern part of the county. The 
 former makes its debouchement forty miles above the City of St. John ; 
 the latter empties itself into the Grand Lake, whose outlet, 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 outlet 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 Gulf of St. Lawrence. The front lots on both sides of the lake 
 are chiefly taken up ; but in the rear, the lands are still in a wilderness 
 state, and many tracts remain ungranted. The Parish of Wickham in 
 1840 contained only 168 inhabited houses. On its western side, how- 
 ever, small settlements have been opened, and are now in a thriving 
 state. A large tract of Crowm 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 
 alluvium, very friable and fertile. The river, and some new roads re- 
 cently opened, afford facilities of commuication ; 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 a 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 151 
 
 place the stream is skirted by intervale ; and although the upland 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 river, 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 frequent 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, and thirty miles from Fre- 
 dericton. It is thirty miles long, and from three to nine miles broad, 
 being separated 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 the river, is 
 nearly four miles in length. It is also connected with French and 
 Maquapit Lakes by similar channels, opened 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 the 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 Gage town with coal, Tlie Ocnabog is a small 
 lake on the west side of the St. John, and opens into the river at Long 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 152 
 
 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. 
 
 Gage town is very pleasantly situated on the south bank of a creek, 
 nearly opposite the mouth of the Gemsec, and is the shire town of the 
 county. It contains an Episcopal Church, Grammar-school, Court- 
 house, and Gaol, with a number of handsome buildings and country 
 seats. Passengers 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 sug.ir 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 Ocnabog, the lands are more broken and stony. At 
 Coot Hill, eighteen miles from Gagetown, there is a flourishing settle- 
 ment ; and, a little farther east, 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 
 
NEW BllUNSWlCK. 
 
 153 
 
 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 the 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 bounds ; 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 interesting. Steamboats and small craft are seen gliding over 
 the surfaee 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 still more pleasing by the half-shadowed cottage and the 
 spire of the village church. In winter, when the water is covered by a 
 thick 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 
 amusement. 
 
 The Parish of Waterborough extends along the east side of the Grand 
 Lake, and has a road from the Gemsec to Cumberland Bay. At the 
 outlet of the lake, there is a pretty village with a neat church. The 
 chief part of the inhabitants, however, are scattered about the shore, 
 
NEW BllUNSWlCK. 
 
 154 
 
 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 its lower 
 part, is settled by a number of Scotch families, who are fast increasing 
 in numbers and property. There is also a village, near the entrance of 
 Newcastle Eiver, 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 Jake 
 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 enterprise. 
 
 Maquapit Lake is about five miles in length, and two in breadth. 
 During the fioods 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 St. John, 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 way 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 north- 
 eastern extremity of the county, whose number by the last census was 
 only 220. Almost the entire surface of this parish is shaded by a 
 trackless forest ; and some parts of it have not been visited even by the 
 lumbermen. At the sources of the streams there are patches of inter- 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 155 
 
 vale and large swamps : the 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 abound 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 afford 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 moral and mental improvement. 
 
 County of Sunhury, 
 
 Sunbury, the most limited county 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 Maugerville, 
 Sheffield, Burton, Lincoln, and Blissville. It contains 782,080 square 
 acres, of which about 12,800 acres are cleared. The population by 
 the census of 1840 was 4,2G0. Maugerville is the oldest English set- 
 
156 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 tlement on the St. John. In 1760, a number of families emigrated to 
 that place from Massachusetts, and obtained a grant of the township 
 from the British Government. Their number was afterwards increased 
 by the addition of several families from New England and a few 
 Loyalists. The Commission for holding a Court of Common Pleas is 
 dated in 1770; but after the arrival of the Loyalists in 1783, the Su- 
 preme Court was removed to St. John, and finally to Fredericton, the 
 present seat of Government.* Maugerville and Sheffield, on the north 
 side of the river, contain a large tract of very rich intervale, and em- 
 brace a district of luxuriant fertility. In this county, the St. John 
 washes Oromucto, Middle, Ox, Mauger’s, and other Islands. Mauger’s 
 Island is three miles long; and its well-cultivated farms and neat cot- 
 tages, shaded by forest-trees, afford some of the most delightful scenery 
 of the river. The muddy banks near Ox and Oromucto Islands ren- 
 der the navigation of the stream somewhat intricate in the driest time 
 of summer. Excepting only a few of the highest knolls, all these 
 intervales, and those of the outlets of Grand, Maquapit, and French 
 Lakes, with the islands and river borders above and below, are overflown 
 by the spring freshets, and the whole valley of the St. John is over- 
 spread by the flood. In extraordinary 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 
 stalls, the pig in the sty, and even the wood-pile, a water excursion is 
 necessary. Instances have frequently occurred when the inhabitants 
 have been compelled to flee to the high lands in order to escape the 
 threatening deluge ; and families sometimes live in the upper stories of 
 their dwellings until the water is withdrawn from the lower apartments. 
 The wood employed for fences is collected in the autumn and secured 
 to trees ; but the inconvenience produced by these periodical inunda- 
 tions is abundantly compensated by the rich, muddy sediment, spread 
 annually 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 beneficial is 
 the effect of the flood, that in a few weeks the whole surface is mantled 
 
 Notitia of New Brunswick. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. I57 
 
 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 sheep, 
 which, like all their domestic animals, are well practised in the art of 
 swimming. 
 
 At Maugerville there is an Episcopal Church and Baptist Chapel. 
 The Church of the Seceders at Sheffield is the oldest house of w'orship 
 in the Province : it was erected 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 are 
 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 aflbrds 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 
 
 1 
 
4 
 
 jgg NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 low intervale not 
 uncovered by the water until the middle of summer. It yields great 
 quantities of wild grass, and supplies extensive grazing for catUe in 
 times of drought. 
 
 The south branch, near its sources, passes through a broad expanse 
 of high intervale. That this intervale was 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 160 farms, that seem like a little colony whose inhabitants have 
 been taught the art of self-government, 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 the 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 
 liigh 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 
 
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 devom:- 
 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, 
 are still shaded by the indigenous forest. 
 
 The fine farms that slope towards the principal streams, and the rich 
 intervales attached to them, are favourable 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 country would be but to repeat observations already supplied 
 for other places, and there is a sameness in the features of the district 
 not to be improved by minute description. 
 
 County 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 bounded 
 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, Kingselear, 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 fianked 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 hanks of the river. 
 
 Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick, is in the parish of that 
 name, which reaches from Kingselear to the boundary of Sunbury, 
 embracing a few scattered settlements 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 by 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 160 
 
 ground, a fertile and well-cultivated tract is occupied at its northern 
 extremity by the capital. The streets are wide and parallel to each 
 other, and space is afforded by the abundance and cheapness of land to 
 favour the cultivation of gardens and the planting of ornamental 
 trees, which have added much to the natural beauty of the situation. 
 The inclined surfaces of the hills to the south are 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 spot on the bank of the river, at the western extremity of the 
 town. King’s College is also a substantial building of freestone, and 
 of a chaste architecture. It is 170 feet long and 60 feet wide, con- 
 taining 22 rooms for students, a chapel, two lecture-rooms, and apart- 
 ments for the accommodation of the Vice-President and two Professors. 
 The Province Hall, in which the different legislative bodies assemble, 
 is a plain wooden structure, yet very commodious. The Chamber of 
 the Legislative Council is finished in good taste, and by no means with 
 a very scrupulous regard to economy. The Offices of the Provisional 
 Secretary and Crown-lands departments are built of stone. Besides 
 these, there are an Episcopal Church, Scotch Church, Methodist Chapel, 
 Baptist Chapel, Roman Catholic Chapel, Collegiate and Madras 
 Schools, Baptist Seminary, three 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 thousand infantry and a company ^of artillery. The quarters of the 
 officers open into a pretty square, suirounded 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 Company, 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. 
 
GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 161 
 
 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. 
 The 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 
 
10)2 
 
 NHW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 The merchants of Fredericton obtain their chief supplies of goods 
 from St. John. Tliey 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 lumbermen during their encampment m 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-gaugers 
 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 11th 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 .f q 
 
 From the capital, 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 the rivers of North America. 
 
 f Notitia of New Brunswick. St. John, 1838. H. Chubb & Co. 
 
NEVY BRUNSWICK. 
 
 163 
 
 It first passes the Hanwell settlementi 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 spruce 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 the 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 le"ss 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 W oodstock is on the south side of the stream, 
 
 M 2 
 
1G4 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 which, with its islands and borders of intervale, affords a miniher of 
 ricli views. At the mouth of the Keswick Creek, on the opposite side, 
 there are several beautiful islets, ad'orned 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 unruffled, by ite 
 noisy tributary. Lake George has clearings upon its borders. In this 
 quarter Uiere 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 liUls, to which agriculture 
 might be successfully 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. 
 
r* 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 Mirainichi 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 Pennyauk, 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 coiuitry 
 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 
 counties can ascend the river at St. John every day to Fredericton, where 
 information will be supplied by the Crown Lands’ Officers. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 166 
 
 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 
 seat 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 district opposite 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, which is 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 fight boats. Excellent saw and grist mills have been 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 167 
 
 erecled. They have also a church and resident clergyman, school- 
 house, and an inn for the accommodation of travellers. The officers of 
 the Company reside on the spot, and the village is well supplied with 
 mechanics. The road constructed by the Company has been 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 Resti- 
 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 Goveniment, 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 are 
 attached. 
 
 The early proceedings of the Company were unsuccessful. They 
 brought 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 now vacant.* 
 
 F rom the above and many other untoward circumstances, the pro- 
 spects of the Association wore a gloomy aspect ; but 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. Several very respectable persons from Great Britain have 
 recently taken up their abode upon the lands ; an agreeable society is 
 formed ; and the settlers are performing the task upon which their 
 future success mainly 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 wliich they have ex- 
 pended £100,000. 
 
 The Parish of Queensbury was laid out for the Queen’s Rangers. 
 
 * The Agent of the Company at Stanley will sell lots of 100 acres, with 
 small clearings, for 3s. 6(1. to 6s. currency per acre. 
 
1«8 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Its uplands are hilly, but nevertheless produce good crops of wheat, 
 oats, and Indian com. Within its bounds there are several fine islands 
 of intervale. Almost the whole surface of the parish is occupied by 
 flourishing settlements. Two small streams, the Mactaquack and 
 Nackawick, are occupied by mills. 
 
 Tliere is yet another place on the extreme limits of the County of 
 York, where it meets Northumberland, that deserves notice. On the 
 south bank of the Miramichi, and main road between Fredericton 
 and Chatham, a ^dllage has sprung up called Boistown. It consists of a 
 meeting-house, school-house, inn, stores, saw-mill, mechanics* shops, 
 and about twenty dwelling-houses. This village was founded 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 have 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 Fredericton, 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 forest. 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 settlers 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 I GO 
 
 vast tracts of wilderness land to be found in every quarter of the Pro- 
 vince ? If the imperfect human materials first employed in colonising 
 New Brunswick have been successful, much 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 be 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 of 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 arc 
 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. Tlie 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-cast 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, 
 Perth, Wicklow, Wakefield, Andover, and Madawasca. By the last 
 census (taken in 1840) it contained 13,381 inhabitants. It is esti- 
 mated to embrace 2,592,000 square acres, of which there are 52,000 
 acres of cleared land. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 170 
 
 A range of high land stretches across the northern part of the State 
 of Maine, and enters New Brunswick between Woodstock and the 
 mouth of the Aroostook. Within its borders, near the St. John, are 
 Mars Hill, Bear and Moose* Mountains, and the hills of the Monquart. 
 
 Bold and rugged in its outline, the country has a wild and romantic 
 aspect ; but although much of the surface is elevated and rises into 
 lofty eminences, it is not extensively broken by abrupt precipices, and 
 the slopes are not too steep foi; cultivation. Near the Meductic 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 approach 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 Cheputnecdcook 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 Cheputnecdcook 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 171 
 
 separating those lakes is well covered with birch, maple, and other kinds 
 of hard wood, intermixed with pine and spruce. The soil appears to 
 be strong, but has not been tested by tillage. Farther south, the land 
 at 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 are some good intervales. Finally, Eel 
 River rushes through a rocky and broken channel into the main stream.* 
 Vast tracts 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 Meduxnakeag,')' 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 1841, in con- 
 sequence 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 land 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, lands 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 are 
 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. 
 

 under cultivation to the distance of several miles above the town. The 
 river is navigable for canoes and rafts 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 
 former 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 the St. John, where it will hereafter be navi- 
 gable for steamboats, and the abundance 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 com, potatoes, turnips, and all 
 kinds of garden vegetables. It is also w^ell adapted to horticulture ; 
 
 * Any difficult and laborious work in the Province has received the appella- 
 tion of a “hard scabble.” Just below the village referred to, there is a rapid 
 in the river, which can only be ascended but by a hard scabble : hence the 
 village has obtained its characteristic name. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 173 
 
 but fruit-trees have scarcely yet been cultivated. Directly below the 
 town there is a 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, Houlton, 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 aflbrds 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 
 Ashburton, 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 the 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 different 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. 
 
174 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK.* 
 
 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 pine, 
 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 w^om down the rocks, so that a 
 fall of only ten feet remains. 
 
 Mars Hill, 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 wiiite and yellow birch, beech, and sugar maple. 
 The top of its highest peak w^as cleared by the Commissioners under 
 the Treaty of 179-4, biit is now' covered with an undergrowth. Frag- 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. I75 
 
 ments 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 Aroostook, 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 the rear of 
 the river lots, whose fertility, under proper cultivation, would not be 
 surpassed by any in the 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 
 
176 
 
 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. The 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 countiy^^ 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, also 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 communication 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 177 
 
 resources 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 insuffieient 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 Tobitjue, this stream will 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. 
 
 Tlie 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 were formerly very abundant in this rivulet ; at 
 present they are scarce : but trout and W'hitefish are still numerous. 
 
 A sudden turn in tbe 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 stream, 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 this canal has been made, and it is presumed that the Govern- 
 ment will have a work completed which will greatly add to the strength of the 
 fortifications now in progress. 
 
 N 
 
178 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 river, would confer many advantages 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 Wa*igan a short distance, 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 fiowing 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 debouch ement twenty-five miles above the 
 Falls. This stream is settled several miles from its mouth, and will 
 fioat 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 
 Roman 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 up. The left bank 
 of the Madawasca River is occupied in twelve miles’ distance ; and to 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 179 
 
 Lake Temiscouta, twenty-five miles, there are scattered improvements. 
 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 Madaw'asca Rivers in canoes, 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 are 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 the 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 there is some diversity; but where it has not been worn 
 
 N 2 
 
178 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 river, would confer many advantages 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 distance, 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 dehouchement twenty-five miles above the 
 Falls. This stream is settled 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 
 Roman 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 up. The left bank 
 of the Madawasca River is occupied in twelve miles* distance ; and to 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 179 
 
 Lake Temiscoiita, twenty-five miles, there are scattered improvements. 
 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 Madaw'asca Rivers in canoes, 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 constniction 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. Tlie 
 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. .Tohn 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 are 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 the 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 there is some diversity ; but where it has not been worn 
 
KEW lJUUNSWiCK. 
 
 180 
 
 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 macliinery. 
 
 Tlie 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 1783, 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 com 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 
 hahitans 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. 
 
MADAWASCA pbrooue 
 

NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 181 
 
 whom if there is a iack of information and polish, there is an easy and 
 agreeable manner not always met with in original settlers ; and it is 
 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- 
 ern 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. 
 
 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 
 
NEW BllUNSWlCK. 
 
 IB2 
 
 ))arishes are without inhabitants. The population of the county is now 
 about 9,000 souls. Its earliest settlements w^ere made by the Acadian s, 
 who had a village at the Harbour of Richibucto, and another at the 
 mouth of the Aldoine River. It appears that the extremely savage 
 character 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 1787, Mr. Powel, an American Loyal- 
 ist, settled at Richibucto. There were then only six families of Aca- 
 dians in the county, and eleven families between the Miramichi and 
 Bay Verte. Since that period, the district, when compared with other 
 parts of the Province, has advanced but slowly. The county is 
 w'atered 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 has not its brook or rivulet. 
 
 Liverpool, the shire town of the county, is situated in the Parish of 
 Richibucto, 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, w^hich 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 shore 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 U2)wards 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 183 
 
 respectable mercantile establishment owned by Messrs. Jardin — also 
 the Custom-house, Grammar-school, and a cluster of dwelling-houses, 
 with ship and lumber yards. The river on this side is skirted by farms, 
 whose proprietors appear to be in comfortable circumstances. 
 
 The 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 the 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 Peticodiac. It was proposed by Colonel Cockbuni 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 has 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. 
 
i8t 
 
 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 notvdthstanding 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 outcroppings 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 185 
 
 county and its industrial resources. The Kouchiboiiguacsis takes 
 ^Ats 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 
 the latter a liberal credit is generally given to the steady and industrious 
 settler. 
 
18G 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 sufficient 
 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 
 
187 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 division of the Province into counties, whicli 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 burnt country has been, 
 and still continues to be, manufactured into deals, shingles, laths, &c. ; 
 and, from the vast extent 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 Miramichi 
 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 launched, laden with 
 timber, and despatched 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 
 
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 waters 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 
 Chatham. 
 
 Entering Miramichi Bay from the southward, we find, inside of 
 Point Escuminac, two indentations, known as Great Bay des Vents, 
 and Little Bay des Vents. Bay des Vents River, and Black River, 
 two small streams emptying themselves 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 channel 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, shipyards and stores, and contains a Roman Catholic Chapel. 
 
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 of 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, the 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 Bathurst. 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 stream. 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 shipment 
 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 traflic in furs and fish had declined, and it was not 
 until 1814 or 1815 that the trade in lumber became profitable. From 
 that period the whole district advanced in prosperity, and the exports 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 190 
 
 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 Arne- 
 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, law’S 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 the 
 summer breeze. 
 
 The summer of 1825 in North America had beefi unusually hot and 
 dry, and fires had raged wnth more than ordinary violence in Lower 
 Canada, the State of Maine, and Nova Scotia. In the northern part 
 of New Brunswic]^ also there had been but little rain, and almost every 
 vegetable substance lacked its usual degree of moisture. Fires were 
 raging in the woods at Oromucto, near Fredericton, and at other places ; 
 but from them little danger was apprehended. On the 6th October 
 the heat had greatly increased, and the atmosphere was 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 Bash- 
 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 §very direction ; — the screams of the burnt, burning, and 
 wounded ; men and women carr>dng 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 fioated 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 
 
192 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 only twenty-five 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 ha 
 not been confined to this district ; it had swept over the whole country 
 from the Bartibog to the Nashwaak, a distance of more than one bun- , 
 dred miles. It had rushed across the mountains of the Upper Tobique, 
 upwards of a hundred miles distant, in another direction, and wrapt m 
 flame an area of more than 6,000 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 afibetion 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 Bmnswick 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 Miraniichi, 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 UIUJNSWICK. 
 
 193 
 
 1 he amount of loss incurred by the great fire, according to an 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 personal 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 sufferers; 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, Arcs 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 
 barns 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 Black ville, 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 Nortli-west (Minagua of the 
 
 o 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 194 
 
 Indians) joins the Southern branch. It takes its rise near the Tohiquc 
 Lakes, and high lands at the head of the Nepisiguit. Between the 
 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 affording a passage for the provisions required 
 by tbe 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 ; buf 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 unperfectly 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 maplci It finally makes its 
 
 Indian — “The place of two families or persons.” 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 195 
 
 debouchement into a lagoon opened by a channel of seven feet water at 
 common tides. Timber is prepared for market in this quarter, and 
 transported hence to the Miramichi. It has a village of about sixty 
 families, with saw and grist mills ; but the occupancy of the lands has 
 been retarded from the existence of an Indian reserve at the mouth of 
 the tributary called Cowwesiget, which includes five miles of the river’s 
 bank. In spring, the mouth of the stream supplies plenty of alewives; 
 and in August, salmon, herring, and mackerel frequent the coast — 
 although few* of them are taken, and little advantage is derived from 
 the fishery. From this place there are bad roads to Tracodie and 
 Neguac. Old Indian portages are still travelled between the rivers. 
 Along these streams, and at their sources, there is a wide and advan- 
 tageous field for the introduction of emigrants, thousands of whom 
 might enter upon the lands with advantage to themselves, and benefit 
 to this part of the county, which at present is almost destitute of roads. 
 
 Almost the entire area of Northumberland is within the limits of the 
 great coal-field of the Province. At several places coal has been dis- 
 covered, and at others there are indications of its existence. The lands 
 along the 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, 
 ®PPly til® wilderness country at the sources of the North-west Mira- 
 michi, 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 the 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 he considered favourable for agriculture, fishing, and the 
 ultimate introduction of general manufacture. 
 
 o 2 
 
19G 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 County oj 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 
 Dune River, now constitutes the County of Restigouche. It therefore 
 joins Northumberland on the east and south, Restigouche on the west, 
 and the Bay 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 are, Bathurst, Beresford, New 
 Bandon, 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-i)ort, 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 afibrded between its opposite sides. The east side of Bathurst 
 Point is washed by the mouth of the Nepisiguit. The site of the town 
 is one of the most beautiful 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 hiU, 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 iniUNSWiCK. 
 
 197 
 
 stocks with only sufficient space between them for the workmen to pass 
 from the timber-yards to the shore. The front of the town is often 
 occupied by rafts, and piles of squared timber 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 industry. The great road from the Southern 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 these the 
 most important is the Great Nepisiguit.* This river (which, with its 
 falls, has been briefly noticed in a former chapter) is computed to be 
 one hundred miles in length. The main trunk, and its branches, the 
 Laskoodic, Parbooktic, 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. Probably 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 Tootoogooscj" is a pretty 
 stream flowing from a lake twenty-flve 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 the French 
 into Tete-A-gouche, and frequently called Tattygouch. 
 
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 chiefiy 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 oneUousand souls. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 199 
 
 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 fisliing 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 are 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 
 
200 
 
 NliW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 southern side, is bordered by tracts of marsh and meadow, which pro- 
 duce wild hay abundantly. The fishing season is between tlie 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. 
 
 Tliese 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 tw'elve 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 Micmac Indians, who 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 201 
 
 (luring the early settlement of the country married with these people, 
 such a 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 firom 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, chiefiy 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 parts of the coal-field, and on many of the wilderness tracts 
 they 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 
 
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- sufficient 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 other 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 20S 
 
 County of Restigouche. 
 
 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 nine 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 marl, 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 comfortable conveyance between those towms. 
 In 1842 the road was a series of swamps, partially filled 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 20‘i 
 
 Mr. Rumpoft, a Dutch merchant, who for many years was engaged in 
 ship-building and fishing at that place. 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 the sea has thrown up a bank of sand 
 a mile in length, and the site thus offered for a road 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 fertUe 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 d6bouchement. 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 laud, 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. Wlien they are skinned 
 and dned, 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 lillUNSWICK. 
 
 205 
 
 Other 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 marl 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 arrives, 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 
 
206 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 the spacious harbour at the head of the Bay Chaleurs ; and its tribu» 
 taries irrigate more than five thousand square miles of territory. The 
 main river springs from a lake in Lower Canada, and through branches 
 that approach takes Temiscouta and Metis. Sixty miles from its 
 dehouchement 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 forty 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 cliff’s, 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 ofiTered industry and employment, is the splendid 
 Harbour of Restigouche, which is sufficiently spacious 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 207 
 
 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 worship, a Court- 
 house, Gaol, and Grammar-school. I'he 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 ; hut 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 make their 
 exit into the bay. Upon these cliffs there is a long tract of table land, 
 which skirts the shore, 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, 
 
208 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 washed by the collected mountain 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 Restigouche is navigable for large 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 liave 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 1760. 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 are 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 east 
 
 * Mr. Cooney’s work on New Brunswick and Gaspe, 1832. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ^09 
 
 side. At other places, boulders weighing several tons are easily put 
 m motion, when they roll down the side of the mountam, 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%xtremely grand 
 an beautiful. The chain of mountains, with lofty peaks, running 
 through Gaspe, indents the horizon to the north-east. The Bay Cha 
 leurs and Restigouche, with their infant towns and villages, fill up the 
 scenery below. To the north, there is a wide area of table land, covered 
 by a Jiving mantle of evergreens. 
 
 Three miles above Campbelltown, there is the large estate of Robert 
 Ferguson, Esq., one of the first British settlers on the Restigouche. 
 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 bom 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- 
 tigouche. 
 
 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 upon 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 western side; but 
 on returning it was necessary to descend over some of the cliffs on the de- 
 cayed and partially-fallen trees — by no means a safe expedient. 
 
 p 
 

 
 o 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 level ground. This was the site of the French town Petite Rochelle ; 
 and the shores above 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-au-Bourdo, ^nd twenty-four miles above Dalhousie. This road 
 was intended to open a communication between the settlements on the 
 Bay Chaleurs 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 Resti- 
 gouche, 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 Campbell town and Fredericton, 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 Chaleurs 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 head 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 
 
 I 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ^11 
 
 same time, it would confer advantages upon the inhabitants that can 
 now scarcely be anticipated. From its excellent harbours, numerous 
 rivers, fisheries, timber, and other resources, the northern part of New 
 Brunswick is rapidly rising in importance. The 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 Restigouche 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 Restigouche afibrded 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, Tracadegash, and Caspediac. 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 their 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 found 
 
 * 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 Miramiclii, Richibucto, Bathurst, Restigouche, 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 Fundy 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. 
 
 V 2 
 
21 ^ 
 
 NKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 is 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, which, 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 ungranted lands and timber, and a sum of no less than 
 £171,224 was placed at the immediate disposal of the Legislature. 
 From that time, the opening of new roads, the improving of old ones^ 
 the construction of bridges and other public works, continued until 
 1842, when it was 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 where 
 
 ♦ Accidents frequently happen in the spring when the ice becomes unsound, 
 and whole teams sometimes break through into the water. Compared with the 
 risk and danger, the loss of life is rare. 
 
NJSW BHUNSWICK. 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 office is altogether in the hands of the Members of the House of 
 Assembly, who exert it to 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 bt. John to Fredericton, 6t5 miles j fare, 20s, currency. 
 
 „ St. John to St. Andrew’s, 65 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, 20s. 
 
 „ Fredericton to Woodstock, 60 miles; fare, 20s. 
 
 ,, Woodstock to Grand Falls, 72 miles; fare, 30s. 
 
 „ Grand Falls to Point Levi, Quebec, 220 miles; fare, £5. 
 
 „ Miramichi to Bathurst, 48 miles; fare, 208. 
 
 „ Bathurst to Campbelltown, 71 miles ; fare, 30s. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 214 
 
 Legislature to improve the roads, the whole population from sixteen 
 j-ears 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 aie 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 rubbish 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 in their construction, 
 being often washed away by the freshets produced hy the melting snow. 
 The building of a bridge is frequently let by contract to the lowest 
 bidder; hence the work falls into the hands of persons totally unac- 
 quainted with civil engineering; and if it fall down oris swept away 
 hy the floods, the contractor is looked upon as an unfortunate rather 
 than an unqualified bridge-builder. 
 
 There is a very general post communication tliroughout the Pro- 
 vince. Mails are carried upon the prineipal “ great” roads in passenger 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 2\5 
 
 f 
 
 
 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. Lawrence 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 Sf. 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 
 
 * The sums granted by the Legislature for the improvement of the roads 
 
 1 1846 are — 
 
 For the Great Roads 
 
 . £13,500 
 
 Special Grants .... 
 
 3,070 
 
 Bye Roads 
 
 13,500 
 
 Total . 
 
 . £30,070 
 
21G 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 the winter season ; and were every other cir- 
 cumstance favourable, Nova Scotia and the chief part of New Bnms- 
 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 1843 a survey of the coun- 
 try was made by Captain Crawley, R.E. ; but 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 Ocean, 
 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 218 
 
 the trains to a steamer, and from the steamer to the trains of a 
 railway.* 
 
 Should the magneto-telegraphic wires he laid the whole distance, the 
 Bay of Fundy, in the present state of science, presents an insurmount- 
 able difficulty, 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, by 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 be derived from a railway between Halifax and Quebec. A line 
 from St. John to the Grand Falls would run by the 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 be divided between the trains and 
 the river steamboats which now ply between St. John and Fredericton. 
 Again, from the facilities offered by the river for 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 would 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 
 175 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 219 
 
 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 Shubenacadia 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 Pictou, and all the eastern settlements of Nova 
 Scotia. Besides the ordinary objects of traffic of the above place, 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 richest 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 outcroppings 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 
 
 This is called a mountain, although its altitude seldom exceeds 400 feet. 
 
o 
 
 220 new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 of the country between Sackville and the Bend of the Peticodiac is 
 occupied by flourishing settlements. The number of passengers and 
 amount of railway traffic to and from this wide area would be very 
 great. 
 
 The 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 coal-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 w'hole 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 221 
 
 would afford many advantages ; and the whole ^strict 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 dehouchement 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 tbe 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 contiiining 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- 
 
222 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 way yield so many 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 domestic intercourse. Along the 
 whole course of the anticipated route, 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 part 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 make 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. 
 
 223 
 
 portance in the event of a war \\dth any hostile power. It has also one 
 of the finest harbours in the world, and a dock -yard for naval repairs. 
 Canseau is unfortified, and is also liable to be obstructed by ice at 
 certain periods in the winter. Tt could be taken by a small force of an 
 enemy ; and if the military and naval establishments of Halifax were 
 removed thereto, the Government would sustain a loss nearly equal to 
 the expense of constructing 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 British 
 Parliament and the Colonial Legislature, the enterprise may be 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 undertaking, and they 
 now look forward to the consummation 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. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 AGRICULTURE. 
 
 Climate. 
 
 One of the most striking peculiarities of the climate of New Brunswick, 
 and 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. Edinburgh 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 deflance to the summer heat. From that cause 
 alone, the winds which blow from the north and north-west are cool 
 even in the hottest months of the year ; and in winter they immediately 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 225 
 
 lower the mercury of the thermometer, and occasion intense freezing. 
 Their influence is manifest from Baffin’s Bay to the Gulf of Mexico. 
 From having passed over an expanse of water, a north-east wind brings 
 a damp atmosphere over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and which 
 is severely chilly rather than intensely cold. Frequently also it brings 
 rain or snow, but never fog. 
 
 Along the whole Atlantic coast, and especially in Nova Scotia, a 
 south wind is always warm. The heat imparted to the atmosphere by 
 the gulf-stream which sweeps the southern border of the continent, 
 greatly increases the temperature of the coasts. A south-west wind, 
 from passing along the land of the American Continent, is warm and 
 agreeable, except on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, where its vapour 
 is condensed in thick fogs, which prevail during the summer. These 
 fogs lie along the shores, and do not extend to beyond fifteen or twenty 
 miles into the interior, where, by the increased heat of the air, they are 
 quickly dispersed. 
 
 From having a cold continent on one side and a warm sea on the 
 other, a shifting of the wind in New Brunswick produces a great change 
 of temperature, which has been known to rise or fall sixty degrees in 
 twenty-four hours. The clearing of the land of its dense forests greatly 
 mitigates the severity of winter and the heat of summer. The unbroken 
 wilderness woods retard the melting of the snow in spring, and accord- 
 ingly, as they are cleared away, so will the season for vegetation be 
 prolonged. On the 10th day of June, 1842, there were snow and ice 
 among the mountains of the Upper Tobique, and a few patches remained 
 unmelted at Madawasca; while in the more cleared and cultivated parts 
 of the Province, the meadows and wheat-fields were clothed in green 
 and luxuriant vegetation. On the 11th of the same month, snow fell 
 along the valley of the Aroostook and Upp^r St. John ; at Fredericton 
 and in the older agricultural districts, there was rain ^vithout snow : 
 although this snow fell directly upon the newly-risen grain, it did not 
 retard its growth, and the warm weather that immediately succeeded 
 brought all kinds of plants forward with astonishing rapidity.* On the 
 
 * These summer snows are called by some of the inhabitants white poultices^ 
 and are supposed to promote the growth of wheat and other grain. 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 12th day of September of the same year, while the Author and his son 
 were exploring the sources of the Restigoiiche River, ice was frozen 
 half an inch in thickness in their canoes during the night ; while at the 
 mouth of the stream no frost had been seen, and rich crops of wheat 
 were in full harvest. 
 
 The gradual amelioration of the climate produced by exposing the 
 earth to the direct rays of the sun is demonstrated by past experience. 
 In 1783, when the Loyalists landed in New Brunswick, snow was lying 
 on the coasts in June ; and during several following winters the cold was 
 excessive, and the snow fell to far greater depths than it does at the pre- 
 sent time. In 1816, there was a fall of snow on the 7th of June ; and 
 it has been stated that there were frosts in every month of that year.* 
 The later years have been milder, although not free from intense cold 
 in winter, and the vicissitudes common to almost every climate. 
 
 There is a considerable difference between the climate of the coast 
 and that of the interior. The fonner is characterised by humidity, and 
 the latter by a dry atmosphere. The extreme degree at 
 
 Below Above 
 Zero. Zero. 
 
 St. John is from 23° to 88° Coast. 
 
 Ricbibucto . 22 — 94 Coa.’st. 
 
 Fredericton . 35 — 95 Interior. 
 
 The extreme heat in some situations, and during a few hours in the 
 day, will raise the mercury to 100°. From the 5th to the 20th of July, 
 in 1842, along the Tobique River, the average of the thermometer in 
 the middle of the day was from 90° to 95°; and frequently the mercury 
 would rise to 100° in the shade. There is a great change of tempera- 
 ture in the forest during the night, when the heat will often fall to 50° 
 and 45°. ^ ^ 
 
 The severe cold of the winter commences about the 1st of January, 
 and continues until the 20th of March, in which time the thermometric 
 indications in the interior are as low as 20°, occasionally 30°, and rarely 
 35°. The cold snapsy as they are called, are relieved by thaws, and 
 days of clear, cloudless skies, in which the inhabitants, wrapt in furs. 
 
 • Notitia of New Biiinswick. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 221 
 
 turn out for sleigh-riding, and vehicles of every model and colour are 
 put in motion on the rivers and turnpikes. The atmosphere is often 
 loaded with a frosty vapour, which, from shaving keenly, is called the 
 ar er. us light, fngid powder is spread over the whole face of the 
 country, and clothes the traveller and his team with the most delicate 
 crystals of ice. Then there are the driving storms, piling up the snow 
 into hills, burying the cottage, filling the roads, and covering the earth 
 in robes of white. In calm weather, the buildings and trees crack with 
 the frost, and give out sounds like the explosions of gunpowder. The 
 ice breaks, and sends a long rumbling noise almig the river valleys 
 tvery process of vegetation stands still, and nature seems to rest from 
 her labours. In such days of intense frigidity, the population are by 
 no means inactive, and the men are stimulated to acts of gallantry. Nor 
 IS the business of the country permitted to languish : the axes of the 
 lumberman and backwoodsman are employed among the brittle woods 
 of the forest, and preparations are made to meet the labours of summer ; 
 the farmers are employed in threshing their grain, and cutting and 
 sledding fuel, and poles for the repair of their fences. The snow, of 
 which many Europeans have a great dread, is extremely useful ; upon 
 It the heavy timber of the forests is hauled along by oxen and horses to 
 t le rivers, and the stacks of hay are removed from the marshes and 
 mtervales. A long winter with a deep snow is viewed as being most 
 avourable for the crops of the succeeding season : it is also considered 
 most healthy, and the snow is said to » keep the earth warm.” In the 
 spring following such a winter, there is little frost in the ground, and 
 frequently the grass begins to spring beneath the deepest snow-drifts. 
 Yet, with all its industry, winter is the season of gaiety and amusement: 
 the gentlemen are more than ordinarily attentive to the ladies, and 
 courtships are more frequent than in the sultry months of summer. 
 
 From the 20th of March to the 20th of April, the thermometer 
 ranges between 35* and 45» in the middle of the day. From the 15th 
 of April there is a great increase in the temperature: notwithstanding, 
 it sometimes freezes before dawn in the morning. 
 
 June, July, and August have very similar temperatures ; the ther- 
 mometer averaging at mid-day from 70“ to 85“. After the 15th of 
 September, the mornings begin to grow cool ; and from the middle to the 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 228 
 
 25th of November, it again begins to freeze a little in the mornings. 
 Frost is seen some years at Fredericton in seven months of the twelve, 
 and fire is required in sitting-rooms from 210 to 230 days in the year. 
 Frost frequently destroys the tops of the potatoes about the first of 
 October ; but there is a great diversity in the seasons, and in some 
 years the spring opens three weeks earlier, and the autumn is later than 
 in others. 
 
 In the latter part of April, the rivers and lakes break up, and the 
 snow is melted ; yet the winds are cool, and there is much unpleasant 
 weather, with sleet and rain. The prevailing summer winds are from 
 the west, south-west, and south. In May the weather becomes settled 
 and fine, and the uplands may be planted. The intervales which are 
 overflowed are not planted until June. 
 
 The climate of New Brunswick differs but little from those of the 
 State of Maine, Lower Canada, the northern shores of Lake Huron, and 
 part of the Michigan territory. In the summer, twilight is seen after 
 nine o’clock in the evening, and day begins to break at two in the 
 morning. The aurora borealis is very brilliant at all seasons. 
 
 In Nova Scotia the winter usually commences about the last of No- 
 vember, and continues to the 20th of April, which ushers in a cheering 
 spring. From a series of observations made in both Provinces in 1842, 
 we noted that the spring of that year was twenty-one days later on the 
 St. John above Woodstock than it was at Cornwallis and Windsor, in 
 Nova Scotia ; and twelve days later than at Westmoreland and Sussex 
 Vale, in New Brunswick. On the 2nd day of May of that year, in Nova 
 Scotia wheat was four inches high, and gaspereau and smelts had en- 
 tered the river ; on the 12th, swallows had arrived ; on the 23rd, plum, 
 cherry, and apple trees w^re in full blossom, and the boblink had begun 
 to sing, which is the signal for planting maize, or Indian com : on the 
 14th of June the above trees opened their blossoms, and the songsters 
 had begun their carol between Fredericton and Woodstock. 
 
 In consequence of being very cold, and having the border of its Bay- 
 of-Fundy coast covered by fog in the early part of summer, the climate 
 of New Brunswick has been unsparingly condemned by some writers 
 and geographers. The whole country has been represented as being 
 involved in fog during the summer months, the remaining part of the 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Q29 
 
 year being intensely cold ; it has also been stated to be unfavourable 
 to European constitutions and unfit for agriculture : but such declara- 
 tions have been made without any sound knowledge of the Province, 
 its climate or resources. 
 
 From the foregoing account, it might be supposed that the season of 
 vegetation is too limited for the ripening of grain, vegetables and fruit, 
 or that the heat of summer would occasion droughts equally unfavour- 
 able to agriculture ; but the shortness of the season is abundantly com- 
 pensated by the almost miraculous rapidity of vegetation, and the short 
 period necessary for ripening the productions of the country. Only 
 ninety days are required to grow and ripen wheat, rye, barley, and oats, 
 under a medium temperature of 52® : pulse, peas, and a number of 
 garden vegetables, are brought to maturity in a much shorter period. 
 It has also been said that New Brunswick has only two seasons — the 
 hot and the cold — and that the country has neither spring nor autumn. 
 To such as entertain that opinion, the verdure of May, with its early 
 fragrant fiowers, has no charms. Even before the ground is altogether 
 cleared of deep drifts, along the lanes and fences vegetation begins to 
 spring, and the trees put forth their leaves. Before June arrives. 
 Nature, in myriads of forms, begins to display her beauties ; the over- 
 flown streams begin to retreat within their summer bounds, and the 
 whole country is enlivened by the music of the sweet songsters of the 
 forest. The beauty and serenity of the autumn in North America are 
 unrivalled in any other part of the world. After a few sharp night- 
 frosts, as the season advances, the boundless verdure of the forest and 
 of the coppice wood on the borders of the rivulets is transformed into 
 every tint of colour : the leaves of the maple are stained scarlet ; the 
 fluttering poplar is of a sombre brown ; and other trees display rich 
 dresses of red, violet, and yellow, glittering in endless variety : the firs, 
 and other evergreens, always prepared for winter, alone resist the change 
 by which the mountain forests appear to be decorated in holiday attire 
 before the period arrives when their trunks and limbs are to be loaded 
 with ice, and their gay leaves scattered to the piercing winds. 
 
 Before the frost begins to be severe in November, a delightful inter- 
 val occurs, called the Indian summer. The weather is calm, the air 
 bland and warm, and there is universal serenity. The Indians, who 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 2S0 
 
 liave been wandering over the country during the hot months, improve 
 this season by removing to their winter quarters, and are seen upon the 
 lakes and rivers in canoes, with their poppooses,* dogs, guns, camp 
 bark, and the few culinary utensils required in their simple mode of 
 living. A single canoe generally contains a family and all the personal 
 property of the establishment. At this period the aurora is remarkably 
 brilliant, and snipe, woodcock, and other birds of passage, take their 
 flight to the south. No very satisfactory explanation of the phenomena 
 of this peculiar season has yet been given. It is probable, however, 
 that its chief cause is the rapid decomposition of the fallen leaves, and 
 other vegetable matter, hastened by night-frosts and the heat of the 
 sun at mid-day. The great quantity of gases thus evolved doubtless 
 effect important changes in the atmosphere and its temperature. The 
 electricity of the earth, from being greatly increased, may also promote 
 the expansion of the aurora at the time. 
 
 Under a general view, the climate of New Brunswick is decidedly 
 healthy, and there is no disease peculiar to the country : still, it is 
 proper to speak of it with some degree of circumspection in reference 
 to the Bay-of-Fundy coast. The humidity of the atmosphere and fogs 
 of this shore induce coughs, influenzas, rheumatism, and pulmonary 
 consumption ; yet, those diseases are not more frequent here than they 
 are at New York, where one-seventh of the deaths are from pulmonary 
 complaints. The intermittent fever, an acknowledged drawback on the 
 settlement of Upper Canada, and the terror of the inhabitants of more 
 southern latitudes, is unknown in the Province — indeed, it cannot exist 
 there, and patients who are affected by it are soon restored to health 
 after landing upon her shores. 
 
 In the interior, the diseases are few and comparatively simple. 
 Fevers of a typhoid character are most prevalent, but they are gene- 
 rally mild. When the intervales and marshes of the country shall have 
 been drained, and the rising of miasma thus checked, such fevers will 
 in a great degree subside. From the vicissitudes of the weather, and 
 the exposure of many of the inhabitants, especially the lumbermen, in 
 rafting timber upon the waters, inflammations are not unfrequent ; but 
 
 • Children. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 231 
 
 the agricultural population are remarkably healthy, and there are few 
 country practitioners of medicine who ever obtain more than a comfort- 
 able living, — a fact to be ascribed to the salubrity of the climate, rather 
 than to their moderate charges. 
 
 The most fatal diseases are those brought into the Province by passen- 
 ger-ships and vessels from foreign ports, which frequently introduce the 
 smallpox, measles, and other contagious disorders. Vaccination is neg- 
 lected, except in the towns. Diseases of the alimentary organs (or dys- 
 pepsia)^ are common, although not very fatal : they are induced among 
 the lower classes by a poor diet, bad cooking, and frequently oily food, 
 such as fried fat salted pork, which is much eaten by fishermen and 
 lumbermen. Calculous diseases are unknown among persons who have 
 been born in the country. The free use of ardent spirits has destroyed 
 many ; but since the introduction of Temperance Societies, the use of 
 strong liquors is much diminished, and there is an evident improvement 
 in the health and morals of the labouring communities. With a view 
 of the above facts, we agree with Mr. McGregor, who considers the 
 climate as healthy as that of England. 
 
 Shocks of earthquakes occurred in the Province in the years 1663, 
 1827, and 1839 : of these notice will be taken in treating of the Geo- 
 logy of the Province. The aurora borealis is sometimes extremely 
 brilliant, and rises to the zenith : on the 7th of November, 1835, at 
 seven p.m., it gave a red light, which afterwards changed to a blue, and 
 then to a green colour; — on the 25th of January, 1836, at eight p.m., 
 the sky was of a deep red colour, which lasted until half-past nine. 
 Meteors are common at all seasons of the year. 
 
 In Agriculture, under a proper climate, the first ai}d most important 
 objects of consideration are the soil, and the means whereby its fertility 
 can be improved, where naturally meagre, or impoverished, by continued 
 cropping. In the topographical description of the Province, we have 
 made some general remarks on the soils of different districts ; but to 
 enter into a detailed account of each variety would quite exceed the 
 limits of this work — they are too numerous and varied, and at present 
 they have been insufficiently tested to admit of a full description in 
 regard to their virhies. Some of the most important characters of soils 
 
2S2 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 are, however, discovered by a knowledge of the geology of the tracts 
 upon which they rest — by reference to the sources whence they have 
 been derived, and the agents to which they are exposed. 
 
 All the different kinds of soil have had their origin in the rocks — 
 the solid framework of the globe. The rocks may be divided into two 
 great classes — one of which has been formed through the agency of 
 water, and the other by the operations of heat. Each of these classes 
 is divided into groups or formations, which differ from each other in 
 chemical composition, and consequently by disintegration afford differ- 
 ent kinds of soil. As the character of the rocks may be ascertained 
 from the soil resting upon or near them, so may the qualities of the soil 
 be discovered by reference to the rocks, each variety of which produces 
 a kind peculiar to itself. Geology is therefore of the first importance 
 to agriculture, and a geological map of every country is a chart of its 
 soils. 
 
 The surface of New Brunswick presents an assemblage of apparently 
 heterogeneous substances, thrown together in great confusion ; but, 
 upon inspection, it will be found that not only the rocks, but the soils 
 reposing upon them, succeed each other in regular order, and their 
 boundaries may be traced upon a map. First the naked rock will be 
 seen protruding through the soil, or lifting itself into lofty mountain 
 ranges, where its nakedness defies the arm of industry : yet, the opera- 
 tions of heat, frost, moisture, and other meteoric agents, are constantly 
 reducing the flinty mass, and forming a fertile mould, which, if not 
 retained in the shallow basins of the table lands and slopes, is carried 
 downwards to the valleys, to render them more favourable for the pro- 
 duction of plants. ITien there are collections of rounded masses of 
 rocks, called boulders, as unproductive as the solid mountain cliff. To 
 these succeed extensive beds of gravel, sand, and clay, above which 
 there is a covering, varying in thickness, called the soil, differing only 
 from the general deposit beneath it in being reduced to a finer state, 
 and by containing the remains of plants that have flourished upon it. 
 Again, there are extensive deposits of alluvial matter, which are col- 
 lecting daily from the disintegration of the rocks and previously- formed 
 beds. These are the most fertile soils; for the more finely mineral 
 matter is divided, tlic better it is adajited to vegetation — the most recent 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 233 
 
 productions of the earth’s chemical and mechanical agents are best 
 fitted for the support of vegetables. 
 
 It is very evident that the whole surface of North America, at some 
 period of the earth’s history, has been submerged beneath the ocean, 
 and exposed to violent currents. By the operations of these currents, 
 and ice, the rocks have been transported, in boulders, gravel, and sand. 
 The beds of clay and fine materials have been produced by the falling 
 of sediment in situations where the waters were tranquil. 
 
 From the operations of powerful currents, the deirital deposits are 
 not always confined to the surfaces of the rocks whence they were 
 derived, but are frequently spread abroad over other rocks, and thus 
 the hard and unyielding strata have been covered by rich diluvial 
 matter. In the districts of the Grand Lake, Sussex Vale, Westmore- 
 land, and other places, the red and claret-coloured soils of the sand- 
 stones have been scattered over rocks that would have yielded a covering 
 far less productive or favourable to vegetation. The direction of the 
 currents that have produced these effects can still be ascertained in 
 many situations : in general, they have proceeded from the north to- 
 wards the south ; but there are many local variations from their general 
 course, and consequently in their results. 
 
 In North America, the chains of mountains and hills in general run 
 from the south-west towards the north-east, seldom varying farther 
 than north-north-east and east-north-east. Those are also the courses 
 of the stratified fonnations which lean against the mountain ranges. 
 We therefore find belts or tracts of soil running in those directions, 
 and resting on the slopes or in the valleys. The diluvial currents have 
 scattered the soils of each group of rocks southward of their original 
 sites, but not so far that the belts of those soils may not be traced along 
 the country. We have, then, a geographical distribution of soils, a 
 knowledge of which is highly important in the settlement of a new 
 country. 
 
 In the counties of Charlotte, St. John, and King’s, large tracts of 
 land are occupied by granite, syenite, and trap rocks. Granite also 
 abounds in the wilderness part of Gloucester, and syenite appears in 
 the southern parishes of Westmoreland. The soil on these rocks is 
 peculiar, and very different from the mellow covering of Kent and Sun- 
 
232 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 are, however, discovered by a knowledge of the geology of the tracts 
 upon which they rest — by reference to the sources whence they have 
 been derived, and the agents to which they are exposed. 
 
 All the different kinds of soil have had their origin in the rocks — 
 the solid framework of the globe. The rocks may be divided into two 
 great classes — one of which has been formed through the agency of 
 water, and the other by the operations of heat. Each of these classes 
 is divided into groups or formations, which differ from each other in 
 chemical composition, and consequently by disintegration afford differ- 
 ent kinds of soil. As the character of the rocks may be ascertained 
 from the soil resting upon or near them, so may the qualities of the soil 
 be discovered by reference to the rocks, each variety of which produces 
 a kind peculiar to itself. Geology is therefore of the first importance 
 to agriculture, and a geological map of every country is a chart of its 
 soils. 
 
 The surface of New Brunswick presents an assemblage of apparently 
 heterogeneous substances, thrown together in great confusion ; but, 
 upon inspection, it will be found that not only the rocks, but the soils 
 reposing upon them, succeed each other in regular order, and their 
 boundaries may be traced upon a map. First the naked rock will be 
 seen protruding through the soil, or lifting itself into lofty mountain 
 ranges, where its nakedness defies the arm of industry : yet, the opera- 
 tions of heat, frost, moisture, and other meteoric agents, are constantly 
 reducing the flinty mass, and forming a fertile mould, which, if not 
 retained in the shallow basins of the table lands and slopes, is carried 
 downw'ards to the valleys, to render them more favourable for the pro- 
 duction of plants. ITien there are collections of rounded masses of 
 rocks, called boulders, as unproductive as the solid mountain cliff. To 
 these succeed extensive beds of gravel, sand, and clay, above which 
 there is a covering, varying in thickness, called the soil, differing only 
 from the general deposit beneath it in being reduced to a finer state, 
 and by containing the remains of plants that have flourished upon it. 
 Again, there are extensive deposits of alluvial matter, which are col- 
 lecting daily from the disintegration of the rocks and previously- formed 
 beds. These are the most fertile soils; for the more finely mineral 
 matter is divided, the better it is adajUcd to vegetation — the most recent 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 233 
 
 productions of the earth’s chemical and mechanical agents are best 
 fitted for the support of vegetables. 
 
 It is very evident that the whole surface of North America, at some 
 period of the earth’s history, has been submerged beneath the ocean, 
 and exposed to violent currents. By the operations of these currents, 
 and ice, the rocks have been transported, in boulders, gravel, and sand. 
 The beds of clay and fine materials have been produced by the falling 
 of sediment in situations where the waters were tranquil. 
 
 From the operations of powerful currents, the detrital deposits are 
 not always confined to the surfaces of the rocks whence they were 
 derived, but are frequently spread abroad over other rocks, and thus 
 the hard and unyielding strata have been covered by rich diluvial 
 matter. In the districts of the Grand Lake, .Sussex Vale, Westmore- 
 land, and other places, the red and claret-coloured soils of the sand- 
 stones have been scattered over rocks that would have yielded a covering 
 far less productive or favourable to vegetation. The direction of the 
 currents that have produced these effects can still be ascertained in 
 many situations : in general, they have proceeded from the north to- 
 wards the south ; but there are many local variations from their general 
 course, and consequently in their results. 
 
 In North America, the chains of mountains and hills in general run 
 from the south-west towards the north-east, seldom varying farther 
 than north-north-east and east-north-east. Those are also the courses 
 of the stratified formations which lean against the mountain ranges. 
 We therefore find belts or tracts of soil running in those directions, 
 and resting on the slopes or in the valleys. The diluvial currents have 
 scattered the soils of each group of rocks southward of their original 
 sites, but not so far that the belts of those soils may not be traced along 
 the country. We have, then, a geographical distribution of soils, a 
 knowledge of which is highly important in the settlement of a new 
 country. 
 
 In the counties of Charlotte, St. John, and King’s, large tracts of 
 land are occupied by granite, syenite, and trap rocks. Granite also 
 abounds in the wilderness part of Gloucester, and syenite appears in 
 the southern parishes of Westmoreland. The soil on these rocks is 
 peculiar, and very different from the mellow covering of Kent and Sun- 
 
234 
 
 NEW BllUNSWlCK. 
 
 bury, trom the disintegration of granite, silex, clay, lime, magnesia, 
 and potash result ; and the syenite yields almost the same constituents. 
 The soil derived from trap rock contains much potash, and almost 
 always produces hard wood, such as beech, birch, maple, oak, ash, and 
 butternut. The granite and syenite are also favourable to the growth 
 of those trees ; but, frequently, where there is a sufficient depth of 
 earth and tlie land is sandy, white and red pine grow to great size. 
 Upon those rocks the soil is frequently scanty, and there are large plats 
 of hard, stony ground by no means productive ; yet, wherever the soil 
 is finely pulverised and abundant, wheat, oats, and potatoes grow well, 
 and Indian corn is remarkably successful. Along the coast of the Bay 
 of Fundy, grauwacke, hard, argillaceous, and talcose slates, with lime- 
 stones, are predominant. These rocks are chiefly covered by groves of 
 cedar, spruce, fir, hackmatack, and small pines, with laurel bushes and 
 cranberry bogs, except where there are deep beds of gravel or sand : 
 their surface is unfit for cultivation, and the best of the soil is soon 
 impoverished, unless freely manured and well tilled. The high and 
 low intervales on the streams are very fertile. ** 
 
 The coal-field of New Brunswick occupies an area of no less than 
 10,000 square miles. It embraces the chief part of Westmoreland, the 
 whole of Kent, three-quarters of Northumberland, the northern part of 
 Gloucester, a part of King’s, nearly the whole of Queen’s and Sunbury, 
 and more than one-half of York — counties along its southern border. 
 Near Studholm’s Midstream, at Butternut Ridge, Sussex Vale, Hills- 
 borough, and Sackville, there are thick deposits of limestone and 
 gypsum. The prevailing deposits are conglomerates, red marly sand- 
 stones, and shales. The soil derived from those rocks is extremely 
 fertile, and presents much variety, even on a single tract. The clays 
 are of every degree of tenacity, from the plastic mortar to the light 
 and friable mould that crumbles before the plough. Then there is the 
 red marly loam, often deep, and resting on a subsoil of clay, with a 
 good proportion of humus. These soils resist the drought of summer, 
 and produce abundant crops of wheat, oats, rye, barley, buckwheat’ 
 flax, potatoes, turnips, and all kinds of culinary vegetables ; but they 
 are less congenial to Indian corn than the more light and sandy earths. 
 In the valleys the soil is still more mellow, being of a daik brown 
 
 \ 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 235 
 
 colour, and abounding in humus : with these there are patches of light, 
 fine, red and yellow sand, beds of coarse sand and gravel, and occa- 
 sionally bogs of peat, and swamps covered by alders, and a stunted 
 growth of other trees, with laurel, uva ursi, and cranberry vines. The 
 alluviums forming the best intervales are a dark brown mould, from one 
 to twenty feet in thickness, which from being annually irrigated, like 
 the banks of the Nile, are always fertile. Some of these intervales have 
 resulted from the labours of the industrious beavers, which, until they 
 were destroyed, constructed dams across the rivulets to supply water, 
 in which they were protected from their enemies. They are now called 
 beaver meadows. 
 
 It has been already observed, that 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 the surface at different places has also 
 been noticed : it may, however, be remarked that the soil on this great 
 tract differs from that of the calcareous 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 uncovered 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, red and w^hite sand, collections of gravel and boulders. The 
 blue clay and white sand predominate in the tracts called Barrens, Car- 
 riboo, 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 
 hi any 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 the production of wheat. 
 
 Extending from the American frontier across the River St. John, 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 23G 
 
 between Woodstock and Madawasca, in a north-east direction, to the 
 Restigouche and Bay Chaleurs, there are extensive groups of calcareous, 
 argillaceous, and silicious rocks. They embrace thick strata of Silurian 
 limestones, from which the soil has evidently derived a due quantity of 
 calcareous matter, to render it active, and fit it for the cultivation of 
 wheat and other grain. The superiority of this kind of soil has been 
 proved at Woodstock, Wakefield, Belle Dune, and on the banks of the 
 Restigouche, where it bears heavy crops of wheat at its first tillage, 
 and is afterwards readily renovated by manure. The best soils in the 
 Province are those containing certain proportions of silex, lime, alu- 
 mina, and humus. It is exceedingly difficult to point out the exact 
 proportions of those substances which should be present, under all cir- 
 cumstances, for general productiveness. Those proportions should be 
 regulated by climate, temperature, and more especially by the peculiar 
 nature of the plants the farmer is desirous to grow. The facilities by 
 which some earths absorb water and retain moisture are much greater 
 than others ; and as water performs an important office in vegetation, 
 the soils that are placed upon declivities, and are therefore speedily 
 drained, require a larger quantity of retentive clay than such as are 
 placed in lower situations. Sand permits the water to escape by ab- 
 sor})tion, and more readily by evaporation, than a clayey loam ; and if 
 there be anything peculiar in the soils of New Brunswick generally, it 
 is the almost universal existence of an argillaceous subsoil, which is of 
 the first importance in dry seasons. 
 
 All the upland soils have been derived from the disintegration of the 
 rocks beneath. Even the alluviums, so often mentioned, can be traced 
 to their birth-places, whence they have been transported by the freshets 
 of spring and autumn ; and the terraced borders of the rivers owe their 
 origin to currents of water. 
 
 The facilities for obtaining manure are by no means limited in New 
 Brunswick. The shores abound with marine plants, and at many 
 places oyster-shells may be calcined and applied to tlie soil with great 
 advantage. This kind of lime is employed at Shediac, but seldom at 
 other places. Peat is abundant, and is occasionally used as a manure, 
 under the name of black mud, or black muck ; but, in its simple and 
 unfermented state, or when carted from the bog directly upon the land. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 2S7 
 
 in most cases it is worthless. It is only when this substance has been 
 drained of its acidulated water, mixed with other manure, or thrown 
 into composts, that it becomes a stimulus to the soil. Limestone is 
 widely disseminated in the Province, and gypsum may be cheaply ob- 
 tained in a number of the districts ; yet little of the former is used in 
 agriculture, and the virtues of the latter remain almost untried. Excel- 
 lent marls have also been discovered along the coasts. 
 
 A few years ago, marsh mud or sea alluvium was applied to grass 
 lands and sandy soils in Nova Scotia, and proved to be very beneficial. 
 The practice has extended, and found its way into New Brunswick, and 
 fine crops of wheat are raised in both Provinces by mixing it freely 
 with the upland sands. From the great numbers of sea-birds that fre- 
 quent the islands along the coasts, it was supposed, after its discovery 
 in other countries, that guano could be procured in the Province ; but 
 the climate, heavy rains, frosts and snows, prevent the accumulation of 
 that kind of manure in North America. 
 
 Great quantities of ashes remain upon new lands after the timber has 
 been felled and burned. Although the first crops of grain are good 
 upon such lands, it is not certain that the ashes are of any advantage, 
 and they are injurious to the quality of potatoes. It is remarkable 
 that those ashes are not manufactured into potash in New Brunswick, 
 in the manner they are employed in Canada. 
 
 On many kinds of soil, the burning of timber has a beneficial ejffect, 
 which may be ascnbed to the agency of heat, and the potash supplied 
 from the ashes. I have observed, that granitic soils are not improved 
 by burning, and some of them are injured by powerful fires. Perhaps 
 this may arise from the quantity of alkali being increased beyond what 
 is necessary for the support of vegetation. The burning, notwithstand- 
 ing, destroys the seeds of noxious plants, and leaves the earth in a 
 state whereby all its energies are devoted to the planted crop. The 
 finest potatoes are raised on new land whose heavy timber has been re- 
 moved, as it sometimes is, for fuel, and where only the decayed leaves 
 and small branches are consumed upon the ground. 
 
 The period is rapidly advancing when agriculture must form the 
 essential pursuit of the chief part of the population of New Brunswick. 
 The demand for timber has heretofore led thousands of the most active 
 
2SS 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 inhabitants into the forests, and saw-mills for the manufacture of wood 
 for exportation have been erected by them upon almost every stream 
 and rivulet. The facilities of procuring timber, the abundance of fish 
 on the coasts and in the rivers, and plenty of game, directed the atten- 
 tion of the early inhabitants aw'ay from the tillage of the soil, and agri- 
 culture has been considered an inferior occupation. It is natural 
 enough in all new countries, that the objects of commerce most readily 
 obtained without the aid of science or skill, and such as meet with a 
 ready demand, should first employ the inhabitants. The system of 
 industry is only changed by necessity ; and no sooner will the pineries 
 of New Brunswick disappear, or the lumbermen be driven so far 
 from the rivers that their employment will cease to be profitable, or 
 an unfavourable change take place in the timber market, than he will 
 leave his occupation and engage in another. 
 
 It has been supposed by many, that by drawing the population away 
 from husbandry, lumbering pursuits have been disadvantageous to the 
 country. To certain limits, such an opinion may be in some degree cor- 
 rect ; but it should be considered, that the lumbermen have discovered 
 and explored new districts ; they have opened the winter roads, cleared 
 the rivers of obstructions, and been the pioneers of many flourishing 
 settlements. From the timber trade, a number of small towns have 
 sprung up, commerce has received its chief support, and the Province 
 derived a large revenue. Any attempt to check the enterprise of the 
 people, or to turn it from one pursuit to another, would be fruitless ; 
 they will direct their labours into channels that seem to them most 
 inviting and profitable. Every country has its epochs of industry : 
 the present, in New Brunswick, is the timber period, which will be 
 follow^ed by the agricultural, fishing, and, finally, the manufacturing 
 eras. 
 
 The scientific Sir Howard Douglas was among the first to discover 
 that New Brunswick was capable of a high degree of agricultural 
 improvement, and of affording a substantial and comfortable subsist- 
 ence to a large farming population. In February 1825, that gentleman, 
 who was then Governor of the Province, assembled the Members of 
 the Legislature and other individuals at Fredericton, and addressed 
 them in an eloquent speech, in which he strongly urged the necessity 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 239 
 
 of extending agriculture and improving the excellent waste lands. 
 Agricultural and Emigrant Societies were immediately formed, a Sav- 
 ings Bank 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 ploughing-matches, exhibitions of stock, and the 
 distribution of premiums. The impulse thus given to husbandry has 
 had a lasting effect, and resulted in many improvements. 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 still firmly attached to the old system 
 of their forefathers, and the Acadian French are not readily moved to 
 adopt modem 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 effect on the surrounding country soon becomes manifest : whatever 
 is gained by observation is immediately 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 Colebrookc, 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- 
 tages, have not been altogether unsuccessful. But New Brunswick 
 still requires a vast addition of industrious emigrants to its population ; 
 and before the fertile lands can be very extensively and properly culti- 
 vated, there must be an increase of labour and science. Annual grants, 
 from £25 to £100, have been made by the Legislature to Agricultural 
 Societies in different counties ; it being generally required that each 
 
 • The reports from eight different counties in 1842 show extensive improve- 
 ments m the raising of wheat, some of which weighed 70 lbs. per bushel ; and 
 a Committee^ of the House of Assembly declared, that the “ old cry, ” that 
 New Brunswick is not a wheat-growing country, was practically contradicted 
 every year by those farmers who pay due attention to the mode of cultivation. 
 
2iO 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Society shall raise a sum by subscription equal to their grant. Yet 
 the timber interest, as it is called, sometimes 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 many of the 
 low wilderness districts wild hay is plentifully dispersed, and a variety 
 called “ blue joint” makes excellent fodder for young cattle. 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, lucerne, 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 different kinds of 
 grain cultivated for bread are wheat, summer rye, winter rye, oats, 
 Indian corn, barley, and buckwheat. The soil in general is w’ell 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 bushels per acre. It should be sown about the first of September. 
 
 Oats thrive well upon almost every soil, and as the crop is generally 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 241 
 
 sure they are extensively cultivated, and give from twenty to fortv 
 
 “‘"“'■‘“"<'“8 i> return, , ,,,y p„|iabl. 
 
 manure: after the ground has been well prepared, furrows should be 
 run across ,t three feet apart; a shovelful of stable manure that has 
 been carefully kept over the preceding season, or the same quantity of 
 rnanure from the hog-sty. should be put beneath each hill, into which 
 
 To s? > ”r nT r ’ ‘*^"^** of 
 
 Pumnk ’ ' f™m weeds. 
 
 Pumpkms are frequenUy planted with the com. which yields from 
 thirty to sixty bushels per acre. 
 
 Flax and hemp grow well, and are abundantly stocked with the 
 fib ous coating. It is remarkable that they are not more extensively 
 ^luvated upon the dry intervales, which are admirably fitted for their 
 
 In the first settlement of the country, flax was raised by almos*t 
 every farmer, and linens formed an important part of domestic manu- 
 acture; but since the introduction of cotton cloth, which is now so 
 Cheaply .manufactured in Great Britain, the country females have laid 
 aside their spinning-wheels, and the good, durable linen tablecloths of 
 their grandmothers are supplanted by the varnished cotton of their 
 Amencan 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 xVew 
 Brunswick Different kinds of turnips, beets, carrots, parsneps, man- 
 ge -wurtzel and other roots, are chiefly raised in gardens, and are not 
 >et planted in fields. Of all the nutritious roots, potatoes are of the 
 
 • The old American rule is, to drop in each hill of corn— 
 
 One for the cut-worm, 
 
 One for the crow, 
 
 One for the grub, 
 
 And three for to grow. 
 

 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 greatest importance, as they supply an important article of food to a^ll 
 classes, and are a most useful auxiliary in the maintenance of catt e 
 through the long winters. They are raised universally both upon old 
 land and new, 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 m the day of want. 
 Potatoes yield a most certain and valuable crop, and may be considere 
 the most staple article of food, and the best substitute for bread m the 
 Province. The mode of cultivation is by planting cuttings in dnlls 
 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. Subsequently, 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 beneath the 
 roots of the trees, which appear to be no impediment to their growth. 
 The potatoes raised on newly-cleared land are of superior dryness and 
 flavour. The produce on old lands is from 150 to 400 bushds per 
 acre ; and on new ground, where a part of the surface is occupied by 
 stumps, from 100 to 250 bushels per 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 
 (1845) 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 midkiff 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 teds and kidneys, until the London ladies bore away the palm. 
 
 \ 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 243 
 
 Ae decay was the excess of „.oisture in almost every kind of the vege- 
 
 Poito 7^“' be the most effectual remedy. 
 
 Potatoes planted on dry and meagre soil in general escaped the malady, 
 
 so 1, r r ' of 
 
 falls mst\L^T ^ calamity, and one that 
 
 falls most heavily upon the poor, who have been thus deprived of a 
 substantial article of diet. ^ 
 
 for^" 7 ? except 
 
 o the table, will yield as well as it does in England. Small q;antiti 
 
 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 
 jport of stock during the winter. The Aberdeen, white stone, and 
 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, parsneps, 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 will apply to peas and 
 beans in their several varieties. 
 
 Horticulture has been much neglected. In Nova Scotia, apples of 
 he best kinds and finest flavour are grown in great quantities, and the 
 ordinary pnee of the best cider is only eight shillings per barrel. 
 Quinces, pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, and other fruits, including 
 he Isabella grape, are also produced in the open air.f 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, goos eberries, strawberries, and 
 
 • In 1840, the Author observed half an acre of cucumbers in a new clearimr 
 on the right bank of the Washadamoak River. They were planted in hill! 
 among the stumps of trees, over which the vines had ascended, as well as over- 
 spread the TOd The cucumbers were picked when they were small, and 
 sold for pickles in the market of St. John. 
 
 t These fruits, with a number of others indigenous between the Tropic.-! 
 are raised to great perfection by the Hon. C. Prescott, of Cornwallis, Novil 
 Scotia, who IS the father of horticulture in the western part of that Province. 
 
NKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 !2U 
 
 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, Fsq., and Mr. Watt, have 
 proved the capabilities of the country and 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 in 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 {faccinium 
 corymhoswm), blue whortleberries {Vaccinium frondosum), wdld cherries, 
 plums {Prunus Americana), grapes {Vitis borealis), and other indigen- 
 ous fruits, are all gathered at different seasons of the year. With these 
 are Labrador tea {Sedum laiifolium) and chocolate root, with other 
 native plants, that yield by decoction wholesome and pleasant beverages. 
 Butternuts and hazelnuts are gathered at many places ; and beechnuts 
 are often so plentiful, that svnne maintain themselves upon them in the 
 forests during the winter months ; but the pork fattened on these nuts 
 is soft and oily. The 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. 
 
 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 differs a little from that pursued in Canada. 
 A tract of ground having been selectedj 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 the closer 
 they lie to the ground, the better will they afterwards burn. The trees 
 
NEW UllUNSWlCK. 
 
 Slo 
 
 are sometimes felled in ^vindrows (long heaps of fallen timber)-a plan 
 
 which operates against the equal burning of the surface and the distri- 
 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 m 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 yoorf 6„rn. 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 
 ogether 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 man collects his neighbours, if he have any, and makes a 
 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, when the whole ’sur- 
 face IS in a blaze, and the anxious settler remains up all night to roll 
 the ignited logs together. 
 
 In Canada, the ashes are carefully 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 are no asl^eries in New 
 Brunswick, and the alkali is allowed to mix with the soil. 
 
 Choppings are sometimes made in the winter, and burned in the 
 spring : in such instances, the 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 is 
 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 af 
 

 JSEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 wheat 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 and three years following. 
 
 With the wheat, timothy and clover seed are sown ; the first crop is 
 therefore succeeded by grass for hay, the value of which is much in- 
 creased by the demands of the lumber parties, who frequently pay as 
 liigh as £5 per ton for the fodder of their oxen. The ordinary price of 
 wheat is 7s. 6d. per bushel. 
 
 Besides potatoes, these new lands produce turnips, cabbages, and all 
 kinds of vegetables, and also the leguminous plants, without the aid of 
 mapure. Over and above paying the expense of clearing the land, the 
 cost of seed, the labour of sowing and harvesting, the first crop yields 
 a profit. Many settlers and squatters, therefore, prefer clearing a new 
 piece every year, to the cultivation of tracts from which the timber has 
 been already removed. In consequence of this propensity to level the 
 forest, large fields are seen in every quarter overrun by raspberry 
 bushes, sprouts, and a young growth of trees, the land having been 
 abandoned as soon as the first crop was secured. These results are 
 also favoured by the cheapness and abundance of land, and, all taken 
 together, have produced a very remarkable class of persons called 
 squatters. 
 
 These men will remove their families into the deep recesses of the 
 forest, w^here, to use their own phrase, they “ knock up a shanty,’* and 
 commence chopping. They are all expert hunters, and at fishing quite 
 au fait. Their stock consists of a cow and a pig. The former, during 
 the summer, finds her own living, and wears a large bell upon her neck, 
 to inform the dairymaid of whereabouts in the wilderness she is feeding. 
 When the little stock of pro visions is nearly exhausted, deer, partridges, 
 or salmon and trout, are quickly supplied. Maple sugar is exchanged 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 247 
 
 for flour, which is sometimes drawn over the snow on toboggans* to 
 great distances. The squatter is also a trapper, and, during the winter, 
 collects a quantity of fur. The crop raised by one of these men and 
 family in a season will more than supply them with food for a year ; 
 and their clothing is purchased with the proceeds of the furs, maple 
 sugar, brooms, axe-handles, and other articles of their own manufac- 
 ture. If the owner of the land appear to meddle with his affairs, the 
 squatter looks upon him with cool indifference, or leaves his residence 
 to repeat the same operation in another quarter. The Government 
 seldom interferes with these men when they fix their abodes on Crown 
 lands ; and if their clearings are taken up by persons who obtain 
 grants, an allowance is made to them for improvements. Their num- 
 ber in the Province is about 1600 , exclusive of persons wdio have made 
 partial payments for their lands. 
 
 Viewed under any light, the squatter is a useful man : he is the true 
 pioneer of the forest — the advanced guard of the agricultural army ; and 
 often, from his knowledge of the country, skill, and kindness, he proves 
 to be the benefactor of the disheartened immigrant. We stop not here 
 to inquire into the lawfulness of his pursuits, knowing that they have 
 resulted from the humanity of the Government, and that they will be 
 given up to steady industry when the country shall be widely in- 
 habited. 
 
 In seven or eight years, according to the nature of the timber, the 
 stumps are sufficiently rotten to be removed, when they are collected 
 and burnt upon the ground. The surface of the land is frequently very 
 uneven, from the presence of cradle hills,f which should be ploughed 
 lengthwise rather than across. The soil in the hollows is very rich, and 
 care should be taken in the ploughing to keep it on the surface as much 
 as possible. By felling a certain number of acres every year, the settler 
 obtains a crop from the burnt groimd, while the lands previously cleared 
 afford pasture and hay until the stumps are decayed, when the plough 
 may be put in operation. It is remarkable that the trees of the forest, 
 whenever they are destroyed by fire, or cleared away by the 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 and frost. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 U8 
 
 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 w'hite 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 occupy the ground. 
 This rotation of crops seems to be a law 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 surface, 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 
 useful seeds and berries over the great North American Continent. 
 
 Several writers on Canada have laid much stress on the discovery of 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 Us 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, ,s generally succeeded by another of a different kind; and 
 therefore, in judging of the quality of theTsoil 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 sugar maple, beech, birch, butternut, &c., grow upon dry or 
 we 1-drained land, and the evergreens upon the more moist grounds 
 Itisaeommon 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 
 ^d ash. Of the soft woods, pine not only flourishes on a rich bottom, 
 but also in yellow sand, and frequently among boulders of granite. 
 
 racts 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 which 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 the timber, yet it is certain that by careful 
 observation, much information of the nature of the soil may be obtained 
 by this kind of inquiry ; but persons who have Uttle 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 ean be raised, and the entire surface of the earth is covered bv 
 innumerable trees, that have stood for ages, and still seem to bid 
 
250 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 defiance even to armies of axemen. The axe must be applied to every 
 tree ; for every attempt to root them out, except by cutting, and their 
 subsequent decay, has proved abortive. The trunk is cut from two to 
 three feet above the ground — the tree staggers, and falls with a loud 
 crash. The axeman watches the direction taken 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 the 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 clean parks and 
 groups of ornamental trees, the cleared 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 very many in- 
 stances, clumps of trees might have been permitted to stand, on account 
 of the value of their timber, shelter, or as being ornamental. 
 
 From the great extent of water communication in the Province, much 
 of the common timber on the wild lands is valuable, as it may be 
 readily transported and sold for fuel. The St. John and other rivers 
 are navigated by numbers 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, and the inhabitants firequently 
 bestow their labour gratuitously for the construction of the necessary 
 dams. The best pine and spruce are made into shingles, or sawed into 
 boards to cover their houses. 
 
 It is interesting to observe the rising of a settlement, and the ad- 
 vancement of cultivation in the wilderness. At first, perhaps, a soli- 
 tary settler builds his shanty, amidst the stumps, and frequently by 
 the side of a rivulet. The walls of his dwelling are large logs piled 
 upon each other, and dovetailed at the comers, with a square hole cut 
 through for a door, and another for a window ; the cracks are stopped 
 
backwoodman’s shanty 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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, &e. 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 dwelhng-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 schoolhouse, with a 
 cob chimney,* has been built, and well filled with children : a saw-mill 
 and a ^ist-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 in the almost 
 
 forlorn hope of winning a livelihood by a little farming and a Uttle 
 practice. 
 
 The time in which all these operations are performed 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 
 
 • 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. 
 
252 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 are the comforts enjoyed by the inhabitants less than the appearance of 
 their lands would indicate. Thousands of those who earned 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 
 hogs are redeemed to the plough, 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 afterwards carried to the barns on 
 sleds in the winter. The upland hay is generally 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 hams. 
 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 : 
 
NKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 253 
 
 young stock remain in the fields until December, when all the animals 
 are 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 are good 
 swummers, and, from the bad state of the fences, are apt to become 
 hreechy. 
 
 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 
 Acadian French, wdio 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 United States, improvements have certainly been made 
 in the size and appearance 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 
 purposes, 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 fann-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 sheep has been much improved by the agricultural 
 
254 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Societies and individuals. Fonnerly 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 squeeling propensities 
 are almost insupportable. The general introduction of Berk shires 
 w'ould 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 advantage 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 {^Acer saccharinum). 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 auger, 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 calces 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 
 
maple have been felled. The tree is very valuable for its saccharine 
 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 modem 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 bams 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.** 
 
S5r> 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 quently devote their labour and money to trifling 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 would be 
 greatly increased by the more generous support of the Legislature, and 
 the establishment of a few well-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 supposed 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 wants are sometimes relieved. 
 
new BRUNSWICK 
 
 257 
 
 aJl^r V ““d other wild 
 
 -m h are so plenUful in America, that the hunter has only to w k 
 
 mto the forest, where he can get a view of them as he would of the 
 
 annuals m a menagerie. But although there is still much game in the 
 
 lah "1' mountains, it is seldom obtained without 
 
 mammoth of the Northern Continent 
 ^ valuabk for food as beef. In the winter, when the earth is covered 
 
 weirl disturbed. Thdr ' 
 
 whenit^''^ “d ‘brough very deep snow; and 
 
 ticable tTJT ^ ^ pursuer is imprac- 
 
 vered the h ^"d snow-shoes, having disco- 
 
 vered the haunt, enters U and shoots down the harmless herd. If any 
 
 emp to escape, they are soon exhausted in the deep snow, and 
 bemg followed, are cut down by the tomahawk or axe. As the yards’ 
 of the moose are only found at places remote from the settlements 
 jch of their flesh has been left in the forests. In the early settlement 
 f the country, the Indians, being jealous of the white inhabitants 
 oped 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 reflect 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 
 •ind 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-walk. The 
 animal does not always bound away when he discovers his pursuer, but 
 turns round, and elevates bis lofty antlers, apparenUy pleased with the 
 atal novelty. They have been known to stand a few moments after 
 
 * 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 258 
 
 the first shot was fired; but, if unhurt, they seldom wait for the second 
 discharge of the gun. 
 
 In this kind of forest sport, the hunter carries a gun, axe, blanket, 
 a wallet of provisions, and fireworks. At night, he kindles a fire, 
 makes a bed of spruce or cedar boughs, rolls himself 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, all6ws 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 are re- 
 warded by a view of the long-looked-for moose in liis 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 are 
 frequently caught alive ; but, from the difficulty of leading them out of 
 

 the thickets, the hunter usually I'iiio 4.1. • 
 
 herd, i„ the Wgi„.i„g „ 1 
 
 ereens Th»,r ’ “ “bowses upon mosses and ever- 
 
 .ha„ moo.. v.„ro„™nid '* f" 
 
 ..MOO, ■ Serieg tb. cold 
 
 ehi.«y*!3'rrmlXyb“'™d'^tarer T”"" 
 
 of earriboo ar. „.o i m X "I .uX’ X 
 
 hooXdXT:x:riixxr’ r:"- r “"‘■ 
 
 rriTz; ::™. x » - 
 
 . rail a foo. ioXh Tb 
 
 •idea of a pair of ™ ', bo T“' '>>’ •'>' 
 
 ■b. r«l d J, . bo, i„ ,!i|o T- 77"“' “ iehabiunt,. 
 
 Il, «..h i, „o, highly vI‘TT‘‘r7'™“ 
 
 and^, 7"" "• ■‘"■-'•iek pnorToTsTs • 
 
 twilight, deer frequently enter <-hr» j & > 3,t 
 
 young domestic cattle. 
 
 The skins of the moose, earriboo, and deer are valuable and fh 
 are frequently employed for covering sleighs, ’ 
 
 Foxes are sometimes hunted by a single hound or beagle which 
 
 but away 
 
 ut performs a wide circuit in the forest. The hunter conceals himse^ 
 
 on the Ime of h. circle, and fires upon him as he passes; and The 
 
 take the ground, he is dug out. The state of the country will It 
 allow hunting with a pack. ^ 
 
 Beaver have become very scarce, being only taken by the Indians 
 
 Re:;::r " - - - — - 
 
 Notwithstanding the bounties offered by the Legislature for their 
 
 s 2 
 
2G0 
 
 NISW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 destruction, bears are rather numerous. They are hunted occasionally 
 hymen and dogs, but most frequently they are caught m fall-traps 
 made of wood. They are not ferocious, except when their cubs are in 
 
 danger, or they have been wounded.* 
 
 Among the carnivorous animals of the Province, wolves are the most 
 destructive, and they are yearly growing more numerous and trou e- 
 some. It is now not unusual to hear of a whole flock of sheep being 
 destroyed by these nocturnal depredators ; they are not much hunted. 
 
 and but seldom is a wolf killed. 
 
 The lynx, or wild cat, affords some sport ; and when any number of 
 them assemble together, they are very formidable. As soon as a cat is 
 discovered, if a good dog be put on the track or scent, the animal will 
 « tree” immediately : he generally selects the loftiest spruce, and clim s 
 to the very summit. 1 have killed several in such situations, and one 
 of them, a large male, after he had been pierced by a ball from my rifle, 
 and fallen through the limbs upwards of seventy feet, beat o two 
 powerful dogs and nearly killed a fine spaniel : he was finally despatched 
 by another shot. On another occasion, I shot a very large lynx, and 
 supposing that the animal was dead, hung him up to a tree ® 
 letrs, until I should return and carry him off: in a short time the ca 
 revived, and began scratching the tree with his fore paws. A tme 
 Hibernian, who had very recently arrived in the country, chance to 
 pass the new road where the creature hung, and supposing it to be the 
 crreatEvil Spirit, fled into the woods : being missed in the evening, a 
 search was set on foot, and the lad was found again ; but the poor 
 
 * In 1842, Poulcis, an old deaf-and-dumb Indian, had killed a deer among 
 the Nerepis Hills, but being unable to carry the whole of the flesh away at once, 
 a part of it was left, and for which the Indian returned on the following day, 
 when he found that a bear had eaten up a part of the venison. The old man, m 
 returning to his wigwam with the remainder of the deer on his back, sudden y 
 felt a heavy paw upon his shoulder; he immediately turned round and raised 
 his tomahawk ; the bear and the Indian stood face to face some time, unUl t e 
 former sullenly retired, but afterwards followed him to some distance. Poulcis 
 and Nuel Gable, an expert hunter, immediately set a trap for brum, and he 
 was caught and brought to the Writer. He was very old, much scarred, and 
 w&igbed 400 lbs. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 SGI 
 
 fellow always maintained tliat he saw a squirrel as large as a horse 
 trying to go up a tree tail foremost. 
 
 The Felis concolor, panther, painter, or catamount— better known in 
 the Province as the Indian Devil — although a small, is a very dangerous 
 animal ; they are very rare, yet sometimes a single skin is brought into 
 the market. 
 
 Hares are plentiful; and they are frequently shot, or taken in 
 snares. 
 
 Among the birds, the wild geese afford some profitable sporting. In 
 the month of April they arrive in large flocks, and light in the open 
 parts 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 fine 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 afford some fine duck-shooting, and 
 ill certain seasons pigeons are 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 ( Tetrao umhellus) : 
 another variety, which resembles the quail, is called the spruce partridge 
 {Tetrao Canadensis); it is less palatable, and sometimes rendered un- 
 wholesome 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 ruflled 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 close covers of grey birch, cedar, larch, 
 and 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 snii)es are 
 
262 
 
 HEW 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 out 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 caught in steel traps ; martins, ermines, and minks are taken in 
 “ dead 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 stem 
 of his bark, or “ log,” with a long pole, on one end of which is a spear, 
 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 Tobique River by the Writer in August 1842, 
 his son and an Indian loaded a canoe with salmon and whitefish in a few hours, 
 and it was with difficulty the natives could be restrained from killing the fish 
 after the whole supply of salt had been applied for their preservation. Salmon 
 are also plentiful in other rivers : they rise freely at a proper fly, and will afford 
 the angler admirable sport. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. ^gg 
 
 Trout are exceedingly numerous in almost all the streams, and sup- 
 ply no inconsiderable quantity of food to the backwoodsman. 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 numbers by hooks baited 
 with fat pork. A warm and mild day is chosen for ice-lishing. 
 
 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 Cheputnecticook River, where it runs through the unfre- 
 quented forest, the trout are so numerous that they may be swept on 
 shore by seines. I 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 the 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- 
 michi, Nepisiguit, Upsalquiteh, and Restigouche abound in trout ; and 
 the angler is only perplexed by the weight of his load, and the diffi- 
 culty 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 Cheputnecticook 
 Lakes, there is a kind of salmon called “ togue,” and sometimes “ tu- 
 ladi.” It is the Salmo lacustris, 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 are 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- 
 
264 
 
 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. 
 
 O 
 
 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 
 It.. 
 
 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 
 reat Bntain 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 
 o onial 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 
 
 nghts that still goes on unpunished, and is unparalleled in the records 
 of modem 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. AU nations 
 resorted to the banks and coasts of that island until the reign of 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 266 
 
 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 of 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.’ 
 American 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 thjee. 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 1 783 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 nothing 
 
267 
 
 NEW BHL'NSWICK. 
 
 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 Colomes 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 declaration of war in 1812, were unexpeetedly 
 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 
 by 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, 
 Amencan, and foreign fishermen from the narrow seas and waters of 
 these northern Colonies ; stating that her inhabitants procured a living 
 by 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 
 wish of these Colonies to be completely British— their surest defence 
 
 at heart but 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 by the cunning and crafty course of the American Di- 
 plomatists, and gave away fisheries to which the Republic had no equitable 
 claim. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 9 
 
 i 
 
 268 
 
 and greatest blessing ; and that the intercourse permitted by that fatal 
 article of the definitive treaty was detrimental and ruinous. 
 
 “ The United States dissented from the doctrine maintained by 
 Great Britain, and, after protracted negotiation and various proposals, 
 the Convention of 1818, under which the inhabitants of this Colony 
 have been a second time stripped of their natural rights, was agreed on; 
 and, disregarding the voice of the people, the Minister of that day con- 
 sented that the United States should have for ever, in common with 
 British subjects, the liberty to fish on the southern coasts of Newfound- 
 land, from Cape Rae to the Raman Islands, on the western and northern 
 coasts of Newfoundland, and from that Cape to the Querpon Islands, 
 on the shores of the Magdalen Islands, and on the coasts, bays, har- 
 bours, and creeks from Mount J olie, on the southern coast of Labrador, 
 to and through the Straits of Belisle, and thence indefinitely along the 
 coast northerly, but without prejudice to the exclusive rights of the 
 Hudson’s Bay Company ; and that the American fishermen should also 
 have liberty for ever to dry and cure fish in any of the unsettled bays, 
 harbours, and creeks of the southern coast of Newfoundland, as above 
 described, and of the coast of Labrador — subject, after settlement, to 
 agreement with the proprietors of the soil. In consequence of the 
 above stipulation, the United States renounced for ever the liberty of 
 fisliing within three marine miles of any part of the British coasts of 
 America, or of curing or drying fish on them ; but American fishermen 
 were to be permitted 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 neces- 
 sary to prevent abuses. Thus, in the face' of the decisions of our Courts 
 — of petitions from Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the merchants of 
 London interested in the Colonies, the foregoing fatal treaty was pro- 
 posed, agreed on, and completed with such marked secrecy, that none 
 were apprised of its terms until it appeared in the public prints, and 
 the people of this Province deprived of their most valuable birthright, 
 the fisheries, 
 
 “ The advantage conferred on the citizens of the United States of 
 America by the foregoing policy, was received by them, not as a boon, 
 but as a right. Although the war of 1812 had abrogated the Treaty of 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 269 
 
 1783, the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States, who nego- 
 dated and settled the new convention, to use his own language, said, 
 It was by our act that the United States renounced the right to the 
 fisheries not guaranteed to them by the convention. We deemed it 
 proper under a threefold view, — 1st, To exclude the implication of the 
 fisheries secured to us being a new grant ; 2nd, To place the rights 
 secured and renounced on the same footing of permanence ; 3rd, That 
 it might expressly appear that our i*enunciation was limited to three 
 miles of the coasts. This last point we deemed of more consequence, 
 from our fishermen having informed us, that the whole fishing-ground 
 on the coast of Nova Scotia extended to a greater distance than three 
 miles from the land, whereas on the coast of Labrador it was universally 
 close in with the shore. To the saving of the exclusive rights of the 
 Hudson’s Bay Company we did not object ; the charter of that Com- 
 pany had been granted in 1670, and the people of the United States 
 had never enjoyed rights in that bay which could trench upon those of 
 the Company. Finally, it is to be remarked, that the liberty of drying 
 and curing on certain parts of the coasts of Newfoundland, as secured in 
 the article, had not been allotted to the United States, even under the 
 old Treaty of 1783.’ 
 
 “ When the convention was made public, the article on the fisheries 
 was assailed by complaints from all quarters, and none more loud or 
 just than those from Nova Scotia. Galled by the recollection of the 
 Treaty of Paris in 1814, the Colonists felt that Great Britain, when 
 flushed with conquest, and wearing the laurels of victory, had yielded to 
 the intrigues of the vanquished, and alienated the rights of her subjects ; 
 they felt the utter hopelessness of breaking the treaty — that the fate 
 of the fishery was sealed, and were lulled into submission by the in- 
 timation of the Alinistry, that bounties would be granted upon their 
 fish, to compensate for the disadvantages inevitably imposed. In Nova 
 Scotia, the information produced gloom, distrust, and despair. They 
 were, however, still composed by the assurance of the Government, 
 that their remaining rights should be protected — that the naval force 
 would repel infringers of the treaty, and the flag of England would 
 insure safety to the industrious class engaged in the laborious pursuits 
 of the fishery ; and the Colonists were assured, that the vigilance of 
 
270 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 made by the Treaty of 1783, pre- 
 vious to and during the war of 1812, Great Britain enjoyed the chief 
 fisheries of the 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 Restigouche, 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. McGregor, the exports in 1814 were — 
 
 1,200,000 quintals Fish, at 40s £2,400,000 
 
 20,000 ,, Core do., at 12s 12,000 
 
 6.000 tuna Cod Oil, at £32 192,000 
 
 156,000 Seal Skins, at Ss 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 500 
 
 400 puncheons Berries.. 2,000 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 271 
 
 maintained, and through the fisheries an inexhaustible source of wealth 
 was opened to the Provinces, a boundless field was offered for training 
 seamen, and the maritime resources of the Colonies promised suflicient 
 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 many 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 our spirit of reciprocity, we had given 
 to the Americans an unlimited right 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 Uberal 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 any 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 
 
 • Cobbett, vol. xxiii. p. 451. 
 
272 
 
 new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 of their eagle over the land and water of the whole continent ; 
 are now entertained that the Oregon Territory still m dispute will be 
 yielded up to the avariciousness and jealousy of the “n Con^ 
 For the leniency of the parent-country towards the people the Un 
 States, an apology has been found in 
 
 paternal affection towards the inhabitants of the New , 
 
 I feeling ceases to be a virtue when it is exercised ^ 
 
 the rebellious and undutiful, and is prejudicial to the faithful^a 
 
 “^Fr2^ 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 adv^Uges 
 of the great fisheries are. in a great degree, lost to the subjects of Great 
 Britain The French and American Governments give bounties an 
 other encouragements to their fisheries on the coast. The fish token 
 by the French and Americans can therefore be sold on 
 terms in the market than those 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 must have the effect 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 ^vith great address and firmness for those maritime resources, not 
 only for the support of their trade, but also for a profitable emp oy- 
 ment. by which thousands of their subjects were annually trained to 
 the sea. and thereby affording the elements of a powerful navy. Of 
 the men employed in this branch of industry, at least onc-fourrii were 
 landsmen, or persons unacquainted with the sea; ‘‘and by this trade 
 they bred up from 4.000 to 6.000 seamen annually.” f 
 
 In 1829. France employed from 250 to 300 vessels in the fis enes 
 on the British American coasts, and 25.000 sea-going fishermen, who 
 by treaty are not permitted to beeome residents. Their vessels are 
 from 100 to 400 tons burthen, and carry from 40 to 120 men each. 
 
 • Memorial of the inhabitonte of Newfoundland to Earl Bathurst, 
 t McGregor’s British America, vol. i. p. 241. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Since that period the number of men and vessels has 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 b^ond 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 right 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 circumstances 
 which, by their operation, should sap the very vitals of our naval 
 strength, we could not more effectually 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 1 783 ; 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 liberUes granted to the above Powers have greatly depre- 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK, 
 
 274 
 
 dated the value offish in foreign markets, and diminished the political 
 importance and real value of the fisheiies. From the extraordinary 
 privileges granted to the American Republic, and the humiliating sur- 
 render of Colonial rights recognised by each successive treaty, it is not 
 surprising that, during the past year, they should again endeavour to 
 obtain by negotiation the few remaining fishing rights of the Colonies, 
 and seek a novel interpretation of^he language of a treaty that, in its 
 plain meaning, had already given them far beyond their just claims. 
 By force and “ management,” they have compelled France, Spain, and 
 Russia to make room for them at three different points of the compass. 
 Texas has been taken by their charm. They have coaxed Great 
 Britain to extend their north-eastern^ 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 275 
 
 promptly sent to the Colonial Secretary against a measure that would 
 surrender the remaining fishing rights of the people to foreigners, who 
 had 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 the American Minister been complied with, the present sound 
 loyalty of the Colonists would have had a worm placed at its root, or 
 begun to falter under a burden fixed gratuitously upon their resources. 
 Fortunately, the active measures employed by the different Local Go- 
 vernments had a salutary effect, 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 J"' In the despatch of Lord Stanley 
 to the Governor of Nova Scotia, of 17th September, 1845, 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 harbours 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 2 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ^7G 
 
 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. During 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 277 
 
 in obtaining bait, they draw and unload the nets of the inhabitant. 
 
 who, by remonstrating, are almost sure to have their nets afterward, 
 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 frequenUy 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 fishhig 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 flake, 
 and salting-tubs of the shoremen empty. The fishermen of our shore, 
 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 
 fruite of his labour, is defrauded, and the revenue of the Province is 
 diminished, by an unlawful traffic. Again, many of our young men are 
 
1 
 
 278 
 
 NKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 I 
 
 fii 
 
 
 enticed away, and the bounties offered by the 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 Gr 
 Manan. They are scattered along the sho^:es of the Bay o un y, 
 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 ha 
 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 5tb of June last, an American fisherman was seized while lying 
 at anchor “ inside of the lighthouse, at the entrance of Digby Gut, near the 
 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 Legislature, Appendix to Journals of the House 
 of Assembly of Nova Scotia, 1837. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 279 
 
 But the inquiry immediately arises, Why are not these aggressions 
 prevented by our men-of-war and cruisers 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^novements of a cruiser are well understood by an Ameri- 
 can fisherman, who, 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 passage 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 the 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 w ere a number of small iron rods, 
 with a hook at the end of each, being attached to a long and light 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 poheegari. While 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 cutter’s away, — 
 
 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 bronze-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!” The schooner now lay driving to leeward, at a 
 
^80 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 they are occasionally taken, and compelled 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 rate, when a hogshead of poheegan was thrown into the sea, and soon 
 covered the surface of the water with oil and small fragments of fish. The 
 mackerel rose immediately, and formed a close shoal more than three miles in 
 circumference. 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 upon 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, then 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 cowhom, (these 
 cowhoms are employed to wet the sails, and are called spouting-homs). 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 
 during tbe passage. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 281 
 
 five shillings per quintal on dry fish, and from one to two dollars per 
 barrel on pickled fish. The duty imposed on American 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 afforded to the citizens of the 
 United States by the treaties, and their ready mode of evading the 
 stipulations of the convention, their 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 experienced 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. 
 
 Ihe 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- 
 
 Dcspatch of the Governor of Nova Scotia to Lord Stanley, 1845, 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 28 ^ 
 
 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, are calculated to destroy the inshore fisheries alto- 
 gether. It is a very general practice for them to throw all the ofial of 
 the fish they take overboard. When such offal is thrown into the sea 
 at a distance of threer 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 ofial of several 
 days’ fishing has accumulated, the Americans wait 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 ofial 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 un frequently to be driven away from their 
 lawful inheritance.*!' 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 efiectually 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 ofial are sickly and unfit for use. 1 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 283 
 
 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 
 carried 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 
 Sweeps are also made by large seines. It frequently 
 
 • These are circular enclosures of strong stakes, driven into the beaches near 
 low-water mark, and interwoven with brushwood. At high-water they are 
 covered by the sea. When the tide recedes, the fish are enclosed in the ware, 
 and left dry. The enclosure is sometimes made with strong nets. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 284 
 
 happens that a much larger quantity of herring are taken in a single 
 tide than can be secured by the fishermen, or perhaps more than their 
 stock will cure. In such instances, great quantities of dead fish are 
 washed away, and which, with the olfal thrown into the water, are no 
 doubt a great injury to the fisheries ; yet little attention is given to this 
 abuse of one of the best temporal gifts of Providence. Five hundred 
 and even one thousand barrels of herring are sometimes taken in one of 
 these wares in a single night-tide. I have never known an instance on 
 the shores of the Bay of Fundy, where the proprietors of one of these 
 wooden cages were prepared to secure a large catch, or “ haul,” as it is 
 frequently called. 
 
 These wares, erected in the commencement of the fishing season in 
 almost all the bays, harbours, and creeks^ are frequently leased to the 
 Americans, who catch, cure, and smoke the fish upon the shores by the 
 consent of the inhabitants, and in direct violation of the Treaty of 1783, 
 and the Convention of 1818. In Passamaquoddy Bay, they fish for 
 cod within a quarter of a mile from the British islands. The advan- 
 tages of the people are thus sacrificed, often for small supplies of Ame- 
 rican goods, which are called for by their pressing necessities, the 
 offspring of their idleness, and the relinquishment of their rights. 
 
 That the fisheries are capable of supporting an extensive trade, and 
 of affording ample remuneration to individual exertion, is certain, from 
 the success that always attends the labours of those who pursue them 
 with activity and energy.* 
 
 Many of the inhabitants of the coast and islands engage in the dif- 
 ferent employments of agriculture, fishing, and lumbering; but, as 
 
 * In 1839 (which was an unfavourable season for fishing), William Gubtail 
 purchased for his son a boat of eleven tons burthen, for which he paid £100. 
 With this small vessel, the son, wdth four men whom he had hired, not only 
 cleared the expenses and purchase-money of tlie vessel, &c., but supported the 
 whole of his father’s family during the whole of the winter. Between the 
 months of May and October of 1840, he made three trips to the deep-sea fish- 
 ing, and caught 250 quintals of codfish. Twice he went to the hen*ing fishing, 
 and landed 170 barrels. He also made a third voyage for herrings. Thus, in 
 less than six months, he cleared double the value of his vessel, paid his ex- 
 penses, and supported his family . — Report on the Fisheries of the Bay of Fundy, 
 by Captain Robb, K.N. 1840. St. John: Henry Chubb & Co. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 285 
 
 might be expected, they are unsuccessful in each of those branches of 
 abour They plant a few potatoes, and fish in boats during the sum- 
 mer. In they embark for the forest, shoot, or remain idle. 
 
 Many who take large supplies of fish during their season, are compelled 
 to purchase them from the trader during the cold months at a high 
 pnce. These observations wDl not, however, apply to the whole fish- 
 ing population, of whom exceptions are to be made for a few individuals 
 wio live comfortably, and have, by their industry, gained an honest 
 in epen ence. The present degraded and unprofitable state of the 
 fisheries has resulted from the violations of the convention by the 
 American fishermen, who obtain bounties on fish taken and cured upon 
 ntish shores, and the indifference of the coast settlers, who remain 
 contented with a precarious subsistence, the result of idleness, rather 
 than earn a comfortable competency. As natural consequences, poverty, 
 and sometimes absolute misery, is too often seen among them, and 
 
 t e resources of both the sea and the land are unproductive in their 
 hands. 
 
 Mackerel may be taken in the Bay of Fundy from the 1st of May to 
 the middle of October. They are taken by hooks, or on jigs ; nets are 
 seldom employed. Mackerel fishing is not followed with much enter- 
 pnse, and is therefore seldom profitable. The principal shad fisheries 
 'are those of the St. John and Peticodiac. Salmon are taken in the 
 small bays and large rivers in nets, or speared during the dark hours of 
 the night. Shad and gaspereau are caught in nets. A fish called 
 menhaden, which resembles a smaU shad, although plentiful, is not 
 deemed profitable. Porpoises are shot by the Indians during the sum- 
 mer for their oil. Lobsters and other shellfish are abundant. Whales 
 are seen upon the coast at all seasons, but no attempts are made to cap- 
 ture them. 
 
 The Mechanics’ Whale Fishing Company, and C. C. Stewart, Esq., 
 of St. John, are engaged in the whale fishery of the Pacific Ocean. 
 The exports of whale oil from the Province average about 100,000 
 gallons, and of sperm oil 50,000 gallons, per annum. 
 
 The fisheries on the north-east or Gulf-of-St. Lawrence coast of New 
 Brunswick are not in a more prosperous state than those of the Bay of 
 Fundy, except at Caraquette, which exports from 8,000 to 10,000 
 

 NEW HHUNSWICK. 
 
 ik : 
 
 286 - , 
 
 quintals of dry fish annually. The encroachments ^ 
 
 trade of the American fishermen are even more danng 
 
 on 0- 
 
 .™ ofeod f«. Sh.,e-«.hlng. H.dao*^««A 
 halibut are very numerous at certain seasons , 
 
 immense shoals of herring. Caplin are someUmes carted on the field 
 for manure. Salmon frequent all the rivers ; but since the erection 
 saw-mills their numbers have decreased. Gaspereau an 
 taken in the principal streams ; and sea trout enter the lagoons. 
 
 Ickerel Ly ' e taken in the Gulf of St Lawrence jnd B^^ 
 Chaleurs from May to October, and large catc es are m 
 American fishermen. In summer the mackerel are , 
 autumn they are remarkably fat and of large size, 
 and other shellfish are plentiful. Oysters are shippe 
 parts of the shore to Ouebec, Halifax, St. John, and °ther Plac^ ^ 
 the early settlement of the country, walruses were taken, and y 
 lecasLally seen. There are two varieties of seals. Whales pursue 
 the fish into the Gulf during the summer, but no attempts are ma e 
 
 a;lethem. From the rapid increase of population it would natur^y 
 
 Jultthat theexportsof fish wouldbe enlarged; yet, fromcauses already 
 adverted to, the fisheries advance but slowly, and unless t^^y a« PJ"’ 
 tected by the Government, they will be altogether m 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 
 
 ""^Thetxportation of the produce of the British fisheries in 1830 was, 
 of — 
 
 .. •• 21177 barrels. 
 
 BckUdfish.. .. .. .. .. •• _ 
 
 „ c”, .. .. 4952 boxes. 
 
 5350 number. 
 
 r -1 ” .... 12302 Gallons.* 
 
 Fislioil 
 
 • Colonial System, by Henry Bliss, Esq., p. 58. London, 1833. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 28 
 
 1834. 
 
 Dry cod, 26595 quintals 
 Wet Cod, 693 barrels .. 
 
 Herrings, 3653 boxes, 365 barrels , , 
 
 Mackerel, 3014 banels * . , 
 
 Salmon, 869 barrels 
 
 Other sorts , . 
 
 Train Oil . . . . , , 
 
 Value £15188 
 
 „ 583 
 
 709 
 
 „ 2564 
 
 n 1787 
 
 „ 5564 
 
 „ 9577 
 
 Total 
 
 £35972 
 
 1835. 
 
 Fish, dried 
 
 „ pickled 
 
 ft smoked . . * 
 
 Oil, Cod liver 
 
 ,, Seal 
 
 „ Whale .* 
 
 Value £12894 
 
 „ 21269 
 
 » 1944 
 
 849 
 
 M 1088 
 
 „ 10988 
 
 Total 
 
 £49032* 
 
 1839 
 
 Fish, dried, 
 
 „ pickled, 
 
 „ smokedj 
 Oil, Whale, 
 
 „ Sperm, 
 
 ,, Cod, 
 Whalebone, 
 
 23594 quintals 
 16656 barrels 
 6242 kits 
 14365 boxes . , 
 78327 gallons 
 15877 gallons 
 12827 gallons 
 236 cwt, . . 
 
 Value £16227 
 
 ” }• 19812 
 
 I, 6054 
 
 » 7720 
 
 » 3969 
 
 •> 1727 
 
 „ 1323 
 
 Total 
 
 £57632t 
 
 * Colonial Tables, Murray, vol. ii. page 250. 
 
 t In the Custom-house returns of the Outports of New Brunswick, the articles 
 exported in 1839 are not specified ; the table therefore only refers to the ex- 
 ports of the Port of St. John for that year. 
 
^88 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 1844. 
 
 Pickled Salmon , • 
 
 Smoked do. 
 
 Mackerel 
 
 Dried Fish . . • 
 
 Alewives and Shads, salted.* • 
 
 Codfish, pickled 
 
 Herring, salted 
 
 „ smoked . . * • • • • 
 
 Seal Oil 
 
 Cod Oil •• • 
 
 2479 hrls. 6419 kits. 
 406 boxes. 
 
 24 barrels. 
 
 12405 quintals. 
 
 16346 barrels. 
 
 214 „ 
 
 1754 „ 
 
 7308 boxes. 
 
 240 galls. 
 
 5744 „ 
 
 The above return does not include the Port of St. Andrew’s and its 
 
 outbays. 
 
 1845. 
 
 Fish, dried, 8842 quintals . . 
 
 „ salted, 17923 barrels*. * 
 
 „ smoked, 10058 boxes . * 
 
 „ oil, 71 barrels.* * 
 
 Total 
 
 Value 
 
 It 
 
 tt 
 
 tt 
 
 £5526 
 
 13444 
 
 2514 
 
 213 
 
 £21697 
 
 The Legislature of the Province have recently oflfered 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 he observed to he on the decline. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 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 
 or 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 happiness. 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 
 Bntain 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. 
 
 # 
 
 u 
 
290 
 
 NEW BKUNSWICK. 
 
 In the vast trade between Great Britain and her Possessions abroad. 
 New Brunswick holds a conspicuous position. The navigation of the 
 Atlantic by steam, and the increased facilities of communication, have 
 already effected a change favourable to the Colonies ; and the happy 
 results of the contemplated railway between Halifax and Quebec, ex- 
 tending through the centre of New 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 also 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 Atlaiitics 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 Colonies obtained the privileges in regard 
 to trade that w’ere 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 circumstance caused 
 an immediate decline in the "West India trade of the Colonies, which 
 decreased in 1831 from 95,205 tons to 58,540 inwards, and from 
 95, 196 to 75,896 outwards. The American tonnage rose at the same time 
 from 5,366 to 48,845 tons. The trade is still continued ; and were the 
 fisheries free from foreign aggression, and improved by zeal and in- 
 
NEW BHUNvSWICK. 
 
 clustry, 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, convinced the British Parliament that it 
 was necessary to cherish enterprise and industry in the North American 
 Colonies, in order to obtain those supplies which had been received 
 rom 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 292 
 
 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 hanks 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 wildeniess 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. Although 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 hear. The gloom of 
 the deep forest and its scenery is relieved by its sweet songsters, espe- 
 cially the yellow-winged 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 the spa- 
 cious hall of the mansion. During the first night of his confinement, he struck 
 his wild notes, O ho, O ho. The 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 203 
 
 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 noctumd 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 (^Pinus strohus), 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 fonns the shingles, clapboards, doors, and wrindows 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, 
 w^hen well seasoned, is not liable to contract by being exposed to heat 
 
 for action, they were 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. 
 
291 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 or dryness. The pine of St. John has been considered superior to that 
 from Quebec, and the Miramichi timber better 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 rigida) 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 sglvestris), 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 Lngland 
 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 shipped, for 
 lath wood. Its hark 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; 
 hut 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 
 
295 
 
 NKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 liable to decay.-The white cedar {Cnpressus 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 be 
 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, which for ’their 
 strength and flexibility are valuable woods. The young saplings of 
 these trees are made into brooms ; yellow birch and white hazle are 
 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 other 
 furniture. It is also employed in ship-building. 
 
 Of the maples, the Acer saceharinum is the most valuable, both for 
 its 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 autumn, 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 w^inter they are transported over the ice. Hay for their 
 teams is procured from the nearest settlements, and is frequently pur- 
 chased at £6 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, wliich 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 lumbermen rest at night. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 296 
 
 A hovel is also built for the 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 are 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 individual ; but since the introduction of Temperance Socie- 
 ties, the practice is less common. 
 
 The avocation of the lumberman is not altogether free from danger. 
 Many lives have been lost by the falling of trees, and the business of 
 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, wdth heavy 
 rains, swell the streams and produce freshets. The lumbermen com- 
 mence “ stream-driving.” The timber on the rivulets is now floated 
 downw^ards 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 
 
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 of 
 the weather, and the 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, “wing 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 
 
2DS 
 
 MEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 as little disposition to engage in agriculture as those who have been 
 employed as sailors or fishermen. 
 
 The timber and logs having been collected, are formed into large flat 
 rafts, and floated down to their place 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 employed. 
 
 In 1831, the number of saw-mills was 229 £320,030 3,798 
 
 1836, 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 320 
 
 420,000 
 
 4,200 
 
 1840, 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 574 
 
 740,000 
 
 7,400 
 
 1845, 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 640 
 
 900,000 
 
 8,400 
 
 The present flourishing state of the trade has arisen from the high 
 duties imposed on Baltic timber. In 1791, when the export of timber 
 from New Brunswick had only commenced, the duty on Baltic timber 
 was only 6s. 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 
 
 Report on Timber Trade. 
 
NEW BUUNSWICK. 
 
 5299 
 
 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 2s. 
 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 10th 
 of October following, and the apprehensions of its injurious effects upon 
 the trade of the Colonies have proved to be groundless. The removal 
 of all duty on Baltic timber would almost annihilate 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. 
 
 Cargoes of Timber, &c. from British America and the Baltic for last 12 years. 
 
 
 British America. 
 
 Baltic. 
 
 Year end- 
 ing Feb. 1, 
 
 Vessels. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Vessels. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 1835 
 
 335 
 
 117996 
 
 94 
 
 27394 
 
 1836 
 
 420 
 
 163284 
 
 102 
 
 29545 
 
 1837 
 
 328 
 
 143481 
 
 66 
 
 18900 
 
 1838 
 
 275 
 
 135072 
 
 63 
 
 19000 
 
 , 1839 
 
 302 
 
 160294 
 
 72 
 
 23116 
 
 1840 
 
 339 
 
 170591 
 
 58 
 
 17415 
 
 1841 
 
 230 
 
 133400 
 
 48 
 
 14000 
 
 1842 
 
 318 
 
 174948 
 
 40 
 
 11923 
 
 1843 
 
 165 
 
 91179 
 
 32 
 
 11239 
 
 1844 
 
 311 
 
 154518 
 
 61 
 
 17253 
 
 1845 
 
 369 
 
 189414 
 
 51 
 
 14144 
 
 1846 
 
 453 
 
 239854 
 
 112 
 
 33792* 
 
 The eq^ualisation of the duties on timber has afforded a subject of 
 much discussion and debate— and certainly 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 the 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 argu- 
 
 Rcports on British Commerce, 1846. 
 
300 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ment 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-mills 
 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. Ihe 
 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 
 roost 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 1835. 
 
 Squared timber 
 
 .. £291,817 
 
 Boards 
 
 13,437 
 
 Deals .. .. 
 
 104,150 
 
 Staves 
 
 12,969 
 
 Shingles 
 
 1,905 
 
 Handspikes . . 
 
 52 
 
 Oars . . 
 
 478 
 
 Lathwood 
 
 4,966 
 
 Trenails 
 
 157 
 
 Spars . . 
 
 94 
 
 Total sterling 
 
 .. £430,023 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 301 
 
 The following arc the exports of wood from St. John in 1839. 
 In the returns from the outports, the quantity shipped is not spe- 
 cified. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Squared timber . . 
 
 .. 255, frir tons .. .. 
 
 
 Boards 
 
 . . 0,622 ms. feet . . 
 
 16,641 
 
 Deals 
 
 . . 75,969 do. do. , . 
 
 .. 189,252 
 
 Staves 
 
 .. 1,858 thousand .. 
 
 8,318 
 
 Shingles 
 
 . . 4,504 ditto 
 
 3,346 
 
 Handspikes . . 
 
 . . 2,474 n» 
 
 
 Oars 
 
 .. 6,715 n® 
 
 
 Lathwood • . 
 
 . . 4,095 cords 'k 
 
 
 Sawed Laths . . 
 
 .. 129 thousand i 
 
 4,282 
 
 Masts and Spars .. 
 
 . . 8,864 n® 
 
 2,407 
 
 Ship-knees 
 
 538 If’ 
 
 
 
 Total sterling . , 
 
 .. £502,076 • 
 
 For 1845 — 
 
 Squared timber . . 
 
 .. 244,84610113 .. .. 
 
 O/I *440 
 
 Boards - 
 
 10,537,000 feet 
 
 Deals 
 
 127,860 ms. feet .. 
 
 . . 319,650 
 
 Staves 
 
 .. 1,008 thousand .. 
 
 4,.530 
 
 Shingtfes 
 
 . . 8,371 ditto 
 
 6,278 
 
 Oars 
 
 .. 2,117 no. .. . 
 
 1 
 
 Lathwood 
 
 . . 4,206 cords \ 
 
 4,342 
 
 Sawed Laths . . 
 
 .. 1,805 thousand) 
 
 Masts and Spars . . 
 
 . . 2,602 n° 
 
 
 
 Total sterling .. 
 
 
 The following is a comparative statement of the number of vessels 
 
 entered inwards from and cleared outwards for Great Britain, British 
 
 Colonies, the United States 
 
 1, and Foreign States, 
 
 at St. John, in the 
 
 years ended 30th September, 1841, and 1842, with their tonnage and 
 men ; — 
 
 Custom-liouse Returns, 1840. 
 

 i !i 
 
 
 I t 
 
 30 !^ 
 
 NHW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 
 Great 
 
 Britain. 
 
 British ! United 
 Colonies States. 
 
 For. 
 
 Sts. 
 
 Total 
 
 Vessels. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Inwards. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In 1841 
 
 439 
 
 1469 
 
 317 
 
 31 
 
 2256 
 
 299518 
 
 14283 
 
 In 1842 
 
 275 
 
 1212 
 
 254 
 
 21 
 
 1762 
 
 221050 
 
 12643 
 
 Less in 1842. . . . 
 
 164 
 
 257 
 
 63 
 
 10 
 
 494 
 
 79368 
 
 1640 
 
 Outwards. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 In 1841 
 
 671 
 
 1522 
 
 227 
 
 4 
 
 2424 
 
 352306 
 
 16114 
 
 In 1842 
 
 427 
 
 1199 
 
 220 
 
 9 
 
 1855 
 
 257395 
 
 12421 
 
 Less in 1842.. .. 
 
 244 
 
 323 
 
 7 
 
 .. 
 
 569 
 
 94911 
 
 3693 
 
 More in 1842 
 
 •• 
 
 •• 
 
 •• 
 
 5 
 
 • • 
 
 • • 
 
 • * 
 
 Comparative Value, in Sterling, of the Imports and Exports in the Years 
 ending 30th September, 1841, and 1842. 
 
 
 Great 
 
 Britain. 
 
 North 
 
 America. 
 
 West 
 
 Indies. 
 
 Else- 
 
 where. 
 
 United 
 
 States. 
 
 Foreign 
 
 States. 
 
 Total. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 In 1841 
 
 718067 
 
 251508 
 
 1340 
 
 236 
 
 213911 
 
 16674 
 
 1201736 
 
 In 1842 
 
 214484 
 
 145505 
 
 1773 
 
 685 
 
 137456 
 
 4896 
 
 504799 
 
 Less in 1842. . 
 
 503583 
 
 106003 
 
 . . 
 
 .. 
 
 76455 
 
 11778 
 
 696937 
 
 More in 1842 
 
 . . 
 
 .. 
 
 433 
 
 449 
 
 • • 
 
 •• 
 
 •• 
 
 Exports. 
 
 In 1841 
 
 461020 
 
 90816 
 
 19524 
 
 83 
 
 15905 
 
 3740 
 
 591088 
 
 In 1842 
 
 280840 
 
 59116 
 
 15711 
 
 3260 
 
 23441 
 
 1259 
 
 383627 
 
 Less in 1842. . 
 
 180180 
 
 31700 
 
 3813 
 
 .. 
 
 .. 
 
 2481 
 
 217461 
 
 More in 1842 
 
 •• 
 
 •• 
 
 •• 
 
 3177 
 
 7536 
 
 •• 
 
 •• 
 
 New Vessels. 
 
 Tonnage. 
 
 
 No. 
 
 New. 
 
 Old. 
 
 New Ships registered in 1841 
 
 .. 118 
 
 48,779 
 
 46,166 
 
 Ditto ditto in 1842 
 
 .. 73 
 
 19,282 
 
 19,018 
 
 Less in 1842 . . 
 
 .. 45 
 
 29,497 
 
 27,148 
 
 
f. — 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Ship-buildiiig has been followed with much spirit, and still forms an 
 important branch of industry in New Brunswick. An opinion has 
 prevailed in Great Britain, and not without just foundation, that the 
 ships built in the Province are imperfectly constructed and insufficiently 
 fastened. Ships are frequently built by contract for from £4 to £7 
 per ton ; the result has been that many of them have not been faithfully 
 and substantially put together, and the discovery of their imperfections 
 has injured the reputation of all the vessels of the Colony. Since 1840, 
 a successful effort has been made to improve the ship-building, and the 
 vessels now built by the merchants under proper inspection are equal. 
 If not superior, to any ever launched. The abundance and good quality 
 of the wood give New Brunswick an advantage in the building of ships 
 and other vessels. 
 
 The total tonnage of the Province did not exceed in 
 
 1782 . . 250 tons: the tonnage of St. John in 
 
 1795 was 4,000 „ 
 
 1824 „ 16,000 „ 
 
 1836 „ 59,663 „ I„ 1835, the total tonnage 
 
 of the Province was 80,876 tons: in 1839, the tonnage of St. John 
 alone was 80,830 tons, exclusive of the outports ; in 1845, it was 
 71,843 tons — of Miramichi, 6,182 tons. 
 
 The number of new vessels registered at St. John, 
 
 In 1831, was 48, measuring 
 
 1836, „ 75, „ 23,010 „ 
 
 ,, Built for owners in Great Britain 6 1,669 „ 
 
 „ Built at Miramichi . . , , g 3 147 
 
 lotal 27,826 „ 
 
 In 1839, 108 new vessels were registered at St. John : of these, 
 22 were built in Nova Scotia. Total tonnage, 30,576 tons. Built at 
 Miramichi, 26 vessels : tonnage, 9,827 tons. Total of new vessels at 
 St. John and Miramichi, 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 Miramichi the year ending 31st December, 1845, was, 
 vessels, 77 ; 27,446 tons. 
 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 304 
 
 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 manufacture of 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 machines, 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 tables of trade show, that the exports being the productions of the 
 Province are 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 w^ealth ; coal and iron are 
 abundant : besides these, manganese, copper, lead and other ores have 
 been discovered, and limestone, gypsum, and freestone, of the best 
 kinds, occur in certain districts ; yet the home consumption and ex- 
 portation of those objects are extremely limited. Manganese has been 
 exported to England from Gloucester, and from Quaco to the United 
 States. Small quantities of coal 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 gypsum, 
 freestone, and grindstone, are made from Westmoreland to the United 
 States. — Exports of rocks and minerals in 
 
 1830. 
 
 Gypsum and limestone 
 Grindstones . . 
 
 Lime 
 
 Manganese 
 
 1,748 tons. 
 14,437 number. 
 550 hhds. 
 137 cwt. 
 
 1836. 
 
 Gypsum 
 
 Grindstones 
 
 Lime . . « • . . • . 
 
 Coals . . 
 
 Limestone 
 
 1,015 tons. 
 
 250 „ 
 
 805 hhds. 
 
 12 chaldrons. 
 90 tons. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 305 
 
 Gypsum 
 Grindstones 
 Lime .. 
 
 Gypsum 
 Grindstones 
 Lime . • 
 
 1839. 
 
 1845 
 
 7,991 tons. 
 1,182 „ 
 858 hhds. 
 
 2,034 tons. 
 
 657 „ 
 
 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 ill 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 find 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. 
 
 Imports and Exports at the Port of St. John in the year 1782. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Linens .. 2 trunks 
 
 Oysters 
 
 Exports. 
 
 1 barrel 
 
 W oollens 
 
 .. 
 
 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 bushels 
 
 Do. .. 
 
 .. 
 
 4 hogsheads 
 
 Do. do. 
 
 2 casks 
 
 Brandy 
 
 •• 
 
 40 gallons 
 
 Cod fish 
 
 7 quintals 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 306 
 
 Imports and 'E^^or\s— continued. 
 Imports. 
 
 VTine 
 Molasses 
 Do. 
 
 Cod fish 
 Iron . . 
 
 Leather 
 Sugar 
 Cordage 
 Tea .. 
 
 Twine 
 
 Indigo 
 
 Flour 
 
 Scythes 
 
 Hoes.. 
 
 Pewter 
 English goods 
 Salt . . 
 Grindstones. . 
 Onions 
 Bricks 
 Axes . • 
 
 Scythe handles 
 Pork . . 
 
 Pease 
 Oats . . 
 
 75 gallons 
 
 5 barrels 
 
 1 hogshead 
 32 cwt. 
 
 800 lbs. 
 
 10 sides 
 58 cwt. 
 
 4 coils 
 
 1 chest 
 
 2 bundles 
 1 box 
 
 6 bags 
 49 No. 
 
 26 „ 
 
 1 cask 
 
 4 trunks 
 53 bags 
 44 No. 
 
 100 bushels 
 300 No. 
 
 6 „ 
 
 24 „ 
 
 5 barrels 
 
 2 bushels 
 
 4 „ 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Buckwheat.. 22 bushels 
 Hides 
 Sheep 
 Oxen 
 
 English goods 
 Scythes 
 Hoes.. 
 
 Axes 
 
 4 No. 
 104 „ 
 
 26 „ 
 
 1 Trunk 
 48 No. 
 
 12 „ 
 
 12 „ 
 
 Clapboards .. 1,500 feet 
 
 Pewter 
 Cross-cut saws 
 Grindstones 
 Potatoes 
 Cabbages . . 
 Old iron 
 Rum .. 
 Moose skins 
 Steel . . 
 Merchandise 
 Beef . . 
 
 I cask 
 9 No. 
 
 28 „ 
 
 4 hogsheads 
 100 heads 
 1 hogshead 
 1 tierce 
 25 No. 
 
 , 1 faggot 
 13 packages 
 12 quarters 
 
 Household furniture | 
 
 An Account of Vessels entered and cleared at the Port of St. John 
 
 Rosanna 
 
 Entered. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 17 
 
 Cleared. 
 
 Rosanna 
 
 Tons. 
 
 17 
 
 Betsy . . 
 
 
 10 
 
 Pef?gy 
 
 8 
 
 Escape 
 
 
 10 
 
 Betsy .. 
 
 10 
 
 Polly . . 
 
 
 10 
 
 Escape 
 
 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 Tom 
 
 « . . . 
 
 30 
 
 Little Tom . . 
 
 30 
 
 Total tonnage 
 
 144 
 
 Managuash . . 
 
 Total tonnage 
 
 20 
 
 165 
 
 * From Uie first record of the Customs at St. John, supplied by James White, Esq., High Sheriff 
 of St. John, and son of James White, Esq., who was the first Collector of Customs at that port. 
 
1 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 307 
 
 •e imports into the Province are various, and, besides all kinds of 
 provisions, t ey include the necessaries and many of the luxuries of 
 re ne society, hrom the slow advance of agriculture, the Province is 
 in a great degree, dependent upon the United States and the neigh’ 
 bounng Colonies for bread. The imports of « bread stuffs” in 1834 
 
 rcringth*'' £228,655, which, after de- 
 
 ducting the exports-£25,839, leaves the consumption for the latter 
 year of bread kind, £202,816. ^ ^ 
 
 fol;. I'””" Th. ™pom i„ .839 wi „ 
 
 Amount £1,433,474 0 0 
 
 »> 46,513 0 0 
 
 « 14,034 0 7 
 
 »> 5,500 8 4 
 
 » 11,962 10 0 
 
 £1,511,483 18 11 
 
 Extracts or Imports and Exports at the Port of St. John and Outbays 
 for the year 1845. 
 
 Into St, John . , 
 tf St. Andrew’s 
 tf St. Stephen’s 
 ,, Magaguadavic 
 tf Welchpool ., 
 
 Flour wheat 
 Rye flour. . 
 
 Com meal 
 Bread . , 
 Indian corn 
 Wheat .. 
 
 Hye 
 Oats 
 
 Pork, salted 
 Beef „ 
 
 Rice 
 
 Meats, fresh 
 Butter and chees 
 Coffee 
 Dried fniits 
 Tea 
 Sugar 
 
 refined 
 
 Salt 
 
 Tobacco, manufa 
 n leaf 
 
 Imports. 
 
 63,171 barrels 
 12,756 „ 
 
 40,632 „ 
 
 5,144 cwt. 
 50,322 bushels 
 263,752 „ 
 
 2,226 „ 
 78,664 „ 
 
 11,885 barrels 
 2,661 „ 
 1,881 cwt. 
 
 488 „ 
 
 hsn „ 
 
 1,424 „ 
 
 1,907 „ 
 502,686 lbs, 
 14,565 cwt, 
 1,679 „ 
 318,056 bushels 
 32,036 cwt. 
 
 343 .. 
 
 Flour wheat 
 ft rye 
 Indian meal 
 Beef and pork 
 Rickers . . 
 
 Butter and cheese 
 Trenails .. 
 
 Tea.. .. 
 
 Sugar 
 „ refined 
 Salt 
 Furs 
 
 Fish, dried 
 „ salted 
 „ smoked 
 M oil . . 
 Tobacco, manufa 
 Hides 
 Soap 
 Wine 
 Brandy , 
 
 Exports. 
 
 5,263 bushels 
 1,976 „ 
 
 1,133 „ 
 
 2,614 „ 
 
 5,113 „ 
 
 123 cwt. 
 
 64 mds. 
 21,430 lbs. 
 
 1,793 cwt, 
 
 401 „ 
 
 107,151 bushels 
 33 packages 
 8,842 quintals 
 17,923 barrels 
 10,058 boxes 
 71 barrels 
 807 cwt. 
 13,605 „ 
 
 333 „ 
 
 2,428 gallons 
 563 „ 
 
 X 2 
 
 
 
Brandy . . 
 
 Geneva . . • • 
 
 Rum 
 
 Whisky . . 
 
 Ale and porter . . 
 Molasses . . 
 
 Cider 
 
 Vinegar . . 
 Earthenware 
 Glass manufactures 
 Oakum .. 
 Cordage . . 
 Sailcloth .. 
 
 Deals 
 Trenails . . 
 Dyewoods . . 
 Wooden ware .. 
 Iron, wrought, un-' 
 wrought, cast, 
 and pig 
 Copper . . 
 
 Lead 
 Nails 
 Hardware 
 Gypsum .. 
 
 Naval stores 
 Coals 
 Paint 
 „ oil .. 
 
 Indigo 
 Hemp 
 Guano 
 
 32,870 
 76,968 
 11,167 
 25,525 
 348,575 
 94,380 
 19,935 „ 
 
 2,266 crates 
 1,939 cwt. 
 3,688 „ 
 16,132 „ 
 347,318 yards 
 3,480 feet 
 92,000 „ 
 
 140 cwt. 
 7,893 dozens 
 
 5,333 tons 
 
 1,554 cwt. 
 1,012 „ 
 
 6,607 „ 
 11,830 „ 
 
 2,165 tons 
 1,032 baiTels 
 20,191 chaldns. 
 3,226 cwt. 
 21,395 gallons 
 18,117 lbs. 
 3,467 cwt. 
 
 412 tons 
 
 Geneva . . 
 
 Rum 
 
 Whisky . . 
 Molasses . . 
 Cordage . . 
 Oakum . . 
 Sailcloth .. 
 
 Oil, black whale 
 sperm 
 Timber . . 
 Boards 
 Deals 
 Staves 
 Shingles . . 
 
 Oars 
 
 Lathwood 
 Laths, sawn 
 Masts and spars 
 Iron 
 
 Copper . . 
 Nails, iron 
 Gypsum .. 
 Grindstones 
 Naval stores 
 Coals 
 Paint 
 
 » oil 
 
 Lime 
 
 1,735 
 
 . 7,806 
 1,435 
 . 28,338 
 
 883 
 207 
 . 14,940 
 
 63,954 
 . 13,370 
 
 . 244,846 
 10,537,000 
 . 127,860 
 
 yards 
 
 gallons 
 
 tons 
 
 feet 
 
 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 
 
 cords 
 
 mds. 
 
 bushels 
 
 chaldns. 
 
 cwt. 
 
 gallons 
 
 hhds. 
 
 Total official value of Imports 
 Do. do. Exports 
 
 £1,050,794 0 0 
 £723,094 0 0 
 
 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, 
 14,467. Outwards: 2,261 vessels ; 322,200 tons ; 14,556 men. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 309 
 
 An Account op Vessels entered Inwards and cleared Outwards at the Port 
 of St. John and its Outbays in the year ending 5th January, 1837. 
 
 
 Imwabds. 
 
 Outwards. 
 
 Vessels. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Vessels. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Great Britain 
 
 467 
 
 142396 
 
 
 605 
 
 193724 
 
 
 British Colonies 
 
 1773 
 
 100220 
 
 • • • • 
 
 1638 
 
 89380 
 
 
 United States 
 
 292 
 
 43225 
 
 t • • • 
 
 141 
 
 14488 
 
 
 Foreign States 
 
 17 
 
 3789 
 
 .... 
 
 5 
 
 535 
 
 .... 
 
 Total 
 
 2549 
 
 289610 
 
 14091 
 
 2389 
 
 298127 
 
 136.^5* 
 
 The same for the year ending 5th January, 1840. 
 
 • 
 
 Inwards. 
 
 Outwards. 
 
 Vessels 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 Vessels 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Men. 
 
 United Kingdom . . . . 
 
 540 
 
 198034 
 
 7805 
 
 770 
 
 270935 
 
 10270 
 
 Guernsey and Jersey. . 
 
 2 
 
 131 
 
 14 
 
 2 
 
 147 
 
 13 
 
 Brit. West Indies . . . . 
 
 41 
 
 7163 
 
 330 
 
 62 
 
 9278 
 
 468 
 
 Brit. N. A. Colonies .. 
 
 1595 
 
 81984 
 
 5421 
 
 1482 
 
 71964 
 
 4999 
 
 Foreign Ships 
 
 .. 
 
 .... 
 
 .... 
 
 4 
 
 553 
 
 23 
 
 Foreign Europe 
 
 23 
 
 6168 
 
 226 
 
 1 
 
 112 
 
 9 
 
 British Africa 
 
 . . 
 
 .... 
 
 .... 
 
 1 
 
 121 
 
 8 
 
 U. States, Brit. Ships. . 
 
 287 
 
 35397 
 
 1&31 
 
 196 
 
 15421 
 
 1049 
 
 Foreign Ships 
 
 93 
 
 11778 
 
 490 
 
 87 
 
 11046 
 
 464 
 
 Cuba 
 
 7 
 
 739 
 
 46 
 
 
 
 
 Porto Rico 
 
 3 
 
 507 
 
 21 
 
 
 • • . • 
 
 
 St. Eustacia 
 
 2 
 
 230 
 
 16 
 
 .. 
 
 
 
 Brazil 
 
 1 
 
 280 
 
 14 
 
 
 • • . • 
 
 
 St. Andrew’s 
 
 198 
 
 24476 
 
 • • • • 
 
 181 
 
 24179 
 
 
 St. Stephen’s 
 
 155 
 
 17679 
 
 806 
 
 144 
 
 20552 
 
 1041 
 
 Magaguadavic 
 
 50 
 
 9324 
 
 • • • • 
 
 82 
 
 10914 
 
 
 Welchpool 
 
 180 
 
 7278 
 
 576 
 
 174 
 
 5973 
 
 520 
 
 Total 1 
 
 1 
 
 3177 
 
 401068 
 
 17586 
 
 3186 
 
 441195 
 
 18864^ 
 
 " Notitia of New Brunswick. f Custom-House Returns for 1840. 
 
310 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Number of Vessels entered Inwards and cleared Outwards for the 
 year ending 31st Dec. 1845. 
 
 IkWARDI. OUXWARDi. 
 
 Vessels. Tons. Vessels. Tons. 
 
 2,455 390,792 2,434 425,638 
 
 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, and 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 sum 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 £5,600 ; in 1835 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 311 
 
 it was £46,000; in 1837. £31,832; in 1839. £18,154; in 1840. 
 £24,299; and m 1845, £11,705 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 
 ranch of the Colonial Government, that the whole sum, with the 
 annual revenue of Uie 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 , , 
 
 liStiinated 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 1 1 
 
 £115,969 8 6 
 35,128 0 0 
 
 £80,841 8 6* 
 
 £148,582 18 2 
 77,212 18 2 
 
 Under these unpleasant circumstances, it was necessary to obtain a 
 loan, the amount 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 .. 
 
 £9,460 0 
 5,746 17 
 20,000 0 
 16,786 0 
 72,000 0 
 
 Total Debts 
 
 . £123,992 17 6 
 
 Journals of the House of Assembly, 1843. p. 56. 
 
312 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Assets. 
 
 Bonds for loans and interest 
 St. John Water Company’s bonds . . 
 Balance due Bank of New Brunswick . . 
 Balance at Outbays 
 
 £12,362 0 0 
 .. 6,000 0 0 
 
 .. 18,493 16 2 
 
 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 
 
 1831 „ 
 
 1832 „ 
 
 1833 „ 
 
 1834 „ 
 
 1835 „ 
 
 1837 „ 
 
 1838 „ 
 
 1839 „ 
 
 1840 „ 
 
 1841 „ 
 
 1842 „ 
 
 1843 „ 
 
 1844 „ 
 
 1845 „ 
 
 £49,670 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 28,196 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 37,518 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 35,661 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 45,220 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 60,316 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 51,988 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 65,439 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 84,289 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 109,942 
 
 17 
 
 7 
 
 110,983 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 55,904 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 59,498 
 
 13 
 
 Oi 
 
 92,333 
 
 14 
 
 2 
 
 127,753 
 
 1 
 
 9if 
 
 * Journals of House of Assembly, 1846, p. 53. 
 
 t The following table shows the sources from which the revenues are de 
 rived : — 
 
 Abstract of the Revemues of New Brunswick for five years, ending 
 31st December, 1845. 
 
 
 1341. 
 
 1842. 
 
 1843. 
 
 1844. 
 
 1845. 
 
 
 £ s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 8 . 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 8 . 
 
 d. 
 
 Loan Fund 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 1304 
 
 19 
 
 
 6331 11 
 
 1 
 
 8631 12 
 
 2i 
 
 Ordinary Revenue.: 
 
 65205 14 
 
 9 
 
 19426 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 24998 
 
 8 
 
 
 40147 12 
 
 7 
 
 53668 18 10^ 
 
 Export Duty 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ... 
 
 
 
 8675 7 
 
 0 
 
 20162 9 
 
 10 
 
 Casual Revenue 
 
 21974 12 
 
 0 
 
 17847 
 
 15 
 
 6 
 
 11980 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 8378 15 
 
 7 
 
 11705 10 
 
 4 
 
 Reed, from H.M.^s Customs 
 
 25764 18 
 
 8 
 
 11905 
 
 17 
 
 4 
 
 14322 
 
 2 
 
 9 
 
 21519 18 
 
 
 25304 14 
 
 9 
 
 Auction Duties 
 
 763 16 
 
 5 
 
 271 
 
 24 
 
 9 
 
 540 
 
 17 
 
 10 
 
 615 17 
 
 
 403 1 
 
 1 
 
 Passenger Duties 
 
 1762 0 
 
 10 
 
 1954 
 
 14 
 
 2 
 
 342 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 567 5 10 
 
 1372 6 
 
 8 
 
 Lighthouse Duties 
 
 3675 17 
 
 3 
 
 3033 15 
 
 7 
 
 4083 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 4444 17 10 
 
 4454 19 
 
 8 
 
 Sick & Disabl. Seamen’s do. 
 
 1836 10 
 
 10 
 
 1464 11 
 
 6 
 
 1926 
 
 13 
 
 H 
 
 1652 8 
 
 5 
 
 2049 8 
 
 H 
 
 Totals 
 
 110983 10 
 
 9 
 
 55904 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 59498 13 
 
 oi 
 
 92333 14 
 
 2 
 
 127753 1 
 
 H 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 313 
 
 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 Americans. Since that period, it has been pro- 
 posed to call upon the Imperial Government to be reimbursed for the 
 loss. 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 1835 and 1840, Joint-stock Companies were 
 formed, whose united 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. 
 
 The Bank of New Brunswick £100,000 
 
 Commercial Bank 150,000 
 
 City Bank 50,000 
 
 Branch Bank of British North America, of . . 1,000,000 
 
 Of St. Andrew’s — 
 
 St. Andrew’s Bank £15,000 
 
 Fredericton — 
 
 Central Bank £35,000 
 
 Branch of Bank of British North America. 
 
 St. Stephen’s — 
 
 St. Stephen’s . . . . £25,000 
 
 Branches have been extended to Miramichi and Woodstock. No 
 
314 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 interest is allowed on deposits ; but, as the stock is worth 6 per cent., 
 capital may be safely invested. 
 
 The Local Insurance Companies are very respectable. They are, at 
 St. John — 
 
 The New Brunswick Fire Insurance Company 
 New Brunswick Marine Insurance Company . 
 Fredericton Central Fire Insurance Company . 
 
 Capital. 
 
 £50,000* 
 
 50,000 
 
 50,000 
 
 Agencies for these and some of the London and United States Offices 
 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 Company .. .. 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. 
 
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 estimation. 
 
 was . . 
 
 •• 
 
 
 • • 
 
 .. 11,457 
 
 1817 
 
 ♦ . 
 
 
 . . 
 
 . . 35,000 
 
 1824, by census 
 
 • . 
 
 
 . • 
 
 .. 74,176 
 
 1834, by census 
 
 • • 
 
 
 . • 
 
 .. 119,457 
 
 1840, by census 
 
 • • 
 
 
 • . 
 
 .. 156,162 
 
 1845, by estimation 
 
 . • 
 
 
 . • 
 
 . . 192,867 
 
PoPULiTioK of New BRUSswrcK in 1640, according to the Census taken by airecrion of the Pro'-inciat Legislature 
 
 1 CoUNTlBa. 
 
 o 
 
 u 
 
 p 
 
 K 
 
 '5 
 
 -S 
 
 ■K 
 
 1 
 
 d 
 
 >* 
 
 s 
 
 1 
 
 '=■ 
 
 as 
 
 « 
 
 P 
 
 C 
 
 K 
 
 ■di : 
 
 Whitss. 
 
 People of i 
 CoLoun. \ 
 
 
 Places of 
 W oBSHtP. 
 
 Mills. 
 
 0 
 
 >» . 
 
 Stuci:. 
 
 Xi 
 
 c 
 
 "2 
 
 p 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 S 
 
 o 
 
 s 
 
 .5 
 
 C 
 
 eS 
 
 0 
 
 > 
 
 c 
 
 Xi 
 
 bS 
 
 s 
 
 0 
 
 -§ 
 
 c 
 
 « 
 
 0 
 
 ta 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 ,3 
 
 et 
 
 s 
 
 ■3 
 
 9 
 
 isi 
 
 h 
 
 0 
 
 C 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 *3 
 
 1 '£ 
 
 1 01 
 
 I In: 
 
 «■ 
 
 0 
 
 > 
 
 0 
 
 •d 
 
 i '5- 
 S 
 
 1-1 
 
 -p 
 
 p 
 
 p 
 
 IK 
 
 0 
 
 a 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 <& 
 
 <5 
 
 £ 
 
 p 
 
 Ji 
 
 ”3 
 
 a : 
 
 ■u 
 
 Pk 
 
 n 
 
 fi 
 
 0 
 
 H 
 
 > 
 
 a 
 
 |4 
 
 ■< 
 
 1 ^ 
 
 0 
 
 H 
 
 rs 
 
 a 
 
 ’S 
 
 f4i 
 
 ■u 
 
 1 
 
 s' 
 
 1 
 
 s 
 
 JS 
 
 0 
 
 -5 
 
 1'^ 
 
 
 0 ; 
 
 £ ■ 
 
 ■c- 
 
 a 
 
 la 
 
 3 
 
 S 
 
 •a 
 
 M 
 
 ■B 
 
 0 ! 
 
 .s 
 
 <5 
 
 cf 
 
 m 
 
 11 
 
 !rt3 
 _ CJ 
 
 0 d 
 
 ■ 
 
 E ^ 
 
 13 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 XJ 
 
 ’S 
 
 ■0 
 
 A 
 
 D 
 
 ‘ Jp 
 m 
 
 « 
 
 c 
 
 % : 
 
 DQ 
 
 li 
 
 0 
 
 Acres. 
 
 County of Y ork 
 
 2005 
 
 2294 
 
 91 
 
 82 
 
 ST4f 
 
 3294 
 
 3341 
 
 3158 
 
 104 
 
 116 
 
 143' 
 
 92 
 
 13995 
 
 10 
 
 9 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 2 
 
 1 
 
 22 
 
 31 
 
 , 44818 
 
 : 2037 
 
 i 
 
 7445 
 
 i 
 
 150i7 
 
 6415 
 
 
 Carleton 
 
 mr 
 
 2090 
 
 131 
 
 93 
 
 3553 
 
 3520 
 
 2979 
 
 3278 
 
 22 
 
 11 
 
 10 
 
 8 
 
 13881 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 27 
 
 22 
 
 49953 
 
 2570 
 
 9028 
 
 16187 
 
 8904 
 
 tf 
 
 St John 
 
 mi 
 
 5044 
 
 216 
 
 290 
 
 8993 
 
 ^ jm 
 
 9223 
 
 j 6896 
 
 183 
 
 L58 
 
 231 
 
 145 
 
 32957 
 
 8 
 
 ‘ 2 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 49 
 
 19134 
 
 893 
 
 3383 
 
 2907 
 
 3111 
 
 
 King’s 
 
 2m 
 
 230f> 
 
 lOS 
 
 351 
 
 3836 
 
 363? 
 
 3490 
 
 3307 
 
 58 
 
 43 
 
 43 
 
 30 
 
 14404 ' 
 
 11 
 
 • 3 
 
 0 
 
 12 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 43 
 
 63 
 
 09452 
 
 2396 
 
 15672 
 
 24072 
 
 9408 
 
 
 Queen’s....^ ...... 
 
 1J6^ 
 
 1 1235 
 
 63 
 
 113 
 
 ! 2215 
 
 1954 
 
 1908 
 
 2061 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 23 
 
 25 
 
 8232 
 
 s! D 
 
 1 
 
 7 ' 
 
 2 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 28 
 
 43089 
 
 1342 
 
 8335 
 
 13302 
 
 4859 
 
 
 Sunbury 
 
 5?r 
 
 OJE 
 
 33 
 
 42 
 
 1105 
 
 1094 
 
 935 
 
 1001 
 
 4 
 
 3 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 4260 
 
 1 2 ' I 
 
 T 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 3 
 
 0 
 
 IS 
 
 ; 12262 
 
 839 
 
 3901 
 
 6081 
 
 1 2311 
 
 
 Westmoreland.-. 
 
 2467 
 
 272S 
 
 130 
 
 103 
 
 4436 
 
 4600 
 
 4170 
 
 4360 
 
 15 
 
 IS 
 
 14 
 
 23 
 
 17680 
 
 4 
 
 
 11 
 
 13 
 
 ; 6 
 
 9 
 
 53 
 
 ISl 
 
 99922 ' 
 
 3421 
 
 20754 
 
 27553 
 
 16545 
 
 
 N orthumberiand 
 
 ■ 203T 
 
 22S2 
 
 85 
 
 147 
 
 4360 
 
 3398 
 
 j 3286 
 
 3500 
 
 11 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 14629 
 
 4 9 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 8 
 
 1 
 
 IS 
 
 33 
 
 25323 
 
 1542 
 
 6003 
 
 8B3J 
 
 1 6125 
 
 
 Kent 
 
 ! me 
 
 IISS 
 
 63 
 
 III 
 
 21B9 
 
 IT32 
 
 1676 
 
 1876 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 0 
 
 7477 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 0 ! 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 13 
 
 31 
 
 20413 
 
 881 
 
 3579 
 
 6684 
 
 4923 
 
 
 Gloucester 
 
 1 loas 
 
 1103 
 
 50 
 
 36 
 
 203^ 
 
 2003 
 
 1773 
 
 1941 
 
 0 
 
 . 0 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 7751 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 0 
 
 9 
 
 0 
 
 18 
 
 7 
 
 llOSl 
 
 811 
 
 3219 
 
 6236 
 
 1 3643 
 
 
 Re^-tigouche 
 
 1 402 
 
 462 
 
 56 
 
 225 
 
 1235 
 
 705 
 
 581 
 
 027 ' 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 3161 
 
 0 
 
 j3 
 
 i " 
 
 0 
 
 1 
 
 
 3 
 
 6 
 
 5579 
 
 426 
 
 1118 
 
 1698 
 
 .1 1325 
 
 
 Charlotte 
 
 ’ 2022 
 
 1 
 
 2910 
 
 135 
 
 9? 
 
 4637 
 
 4578 
 
 4473 
 
 4436 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 24 
 
 5 
 
 18173 
 
 11 
 
 i 5 
 1 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 16 
 
 193 
 
 35135 
 
 1133 
 
 : 7825 
 
 11759 
 
 4286 
 
 
 Grand Total... 
 
 20SH 
 
 24368 
 
 11S5 
 
 1690 
 
 42470 
 
 17593 
 
 37807 
 
 36501 
 
 439 
 
 3SS 
 
 549 
 
 334 
 
 150162 
 
 oijss 
 
 !4^ 
 
 61 
 
 r 
 
 21 
 
 247 
 
 ^574 
 
 435861 
 
 18282 
 
 902ec 
 
 ) 14105; 
 
 171915 
 
 R£HABXS.—€oirfff^ 0 / In the estitaatien of <he elea«d land, the town plot of Prederieton is not included: there are in die Parish of Douglas 
 
 mills. County of Curteiou — There is in the Parish of Northampton one oat-mill not included In the abonre relnnu Coiinfy of Wetimoreland The Parish of Dor- 
 chester has Aree first-rate oat-mills. Of the estimated quantity of cleared land, 4S9 1 acres are diked marsh. The Pansh of Sackville — Of the estimated qu^ti^ 
 of cleared land, T65 acres are diked marsh. The Parish of Moncton— Of the estimated quantity of cleared land, 1934 acres are diked marsh, <7eif niy of iJerli- 
 atJucAe— No return has been made of the population of the Lumbering Districts or of a very large portion of the labouring class in this county, which may be 
 safely «timated at from 1200 to 1500 males aboTS sarteen years of age. County of CAurfoMe — Nearly 200 of the male population of the Parish of West Isles were 
 at sea at the time of taking the ceosnsj and are consequently not imtiuded in the above return. 
 
 NEW BEUNSWICK, 
 
Comparative Statements of tlie Increase of the Population since tbe year 1824. 
 
 Cow STI ES. 
 
 a 
 
 o 
 
 is 
 
 L 
 
 o 
 
 York 
 
 10972 
 
 St. John ! 
 
 12907 
 
 King’s 
 
 7930 
 
 Queen’s 
 
 4741 
 
 Snnbury 
 
 3227 
 
 Westmoreland. 
 
 9303 
 
 Nortbumberlaud . 
 
 15829 
 
 CODWTIES, 
 
 3 ^ 
 
 a 
 
 ki 
 
 1 u 
 
 a 
 
 CocnSTTlES. 
 
 u 
 
 o 
 
 ^ «> 
 
 ■» 
 
 n 
 
 « 
 
 O 
 
 =s 
 
 l-t 
 
 
 York 
 
 13995 
 
 3517 
 
 
 Carleton 
 
 3 3381 
 
 3888 
 
 8999 
 
 
 32957 
 
 12289 
 
 7763 
 
 King s 
 
 14464 
 
 2269 
 
 4265 
 
 1 Queen's 
 
 8232 
 
 1028 
 
 2463 
 
 Sunbury 
 
 4260 
 
 422 
 
 611 
 
 Westmoreland 
 
 17686 
 
 3481 
 
 4902 
 
 Northumberland ...... 
 
 14620 
 
 3450 
 
 
 Kent 
 
 Gloucester 7751 
 
 Restigouche * 3161 
 
 7477 
 
 1446 
 
 9695 
 
 — 
 
 10912 
 
 2589 
 
 6585 
 
 Charlotte 
 
 18178 
 
 2326 1 
 
 45231 
 
 Grand Total in 1340. . 
 
 156162 
 
 36705 
 
 Charlotte 
 
 Grand Total in 1824. 
 
 9267 
 
 York 10178 
 
 Caileton 9493 
 
 St. John 
 
 King’s 
 
 Queen's 
 
 Sunbury ............ 
 
 W estmor eland ...... 
 
 N ortliuinberland . . 11170, 
 
 Kent 6031 
 
 Gloucester 8323 
 
 Charlotte , 
 
 19971 
 
 20668 
 
 12195 
 
 7204 
 
 3833 
 
 14205 
 
 25524 
 
 15852 
 
 74176 
 
 Grand Total in 1834. . 119457 45231 
 
 NEW BIIUNSWICK. 
 
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 the Province annually is about 6,000 ; of these, 
 not less than 2,500 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 northern 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 
 England, 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 319 
 
 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 320 
 
 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 Bishoprics 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 who 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 difierent 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 ministers 
 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 ministry. He is paid 
 by the Society in England, and by the contributions 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 baptisrfi, and allow none but 
 adults to be partakers of that sacrament. They are governed by strict 
 
 • Notitia of New Brunswick, p. 247. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 321 
 
 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 government, 
 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 Universalists, 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 
 
 * Curiosity once led me to attend one of these meetings, 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 with 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 platform was erected for the preachers, and le 
 tout-ensemble formed a most singular and striking spectacle. The preachers 
 on the platform relieved each other from time to time, and the whole of the 
 exercises were vehemently pathetic, and admirably calculated to work upon 
 the passions of the low and untutored ; but to the well-informed, many of them 
 were disgusting and profane. Hymns of fifteen verses were sung occasionally, 
 and the well-known airs of ‘‘ Days of Absence ” and Auld Lang-syne ” were 
 worn threadbare. In reply to the remark, that those airs were adapted to 
 common songs, it was replied by a spirited bystander, that Satan had had them 
 long enough, and the meeting had determined upon consecrating them to 
 
GQ2 
 
 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 Brunswick 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 long as the Home Govern- 
 ment bestows the principal offices 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 through the 
 grove, headed by a party of singers. At the platform, the excitement would 
 sometimes become general, and singing, praying, crying, 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 hours of night, and 
 after I had retired from the theatre of their enthusiasm. It was stated by one 
 of the speakers, that the meeting was intended to produce a revival and general 
 religious excitement; and certainly the latter object was fully realised. 
 
MEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 323 
 
 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 year 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 
 Professors became a proselyte to the Episcopal Church. 
 
 T 2 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 32i 
 
 The Charter of the College has, from time to time, been assailed by 
 petitions to the Legislature, and the subject is now under the conside- 
 ration of the Home Government. The impossibility of uniting different 
 religious denominations in colleges has been fairly proved in the United 
 States and Nova Scotia ; and where a university has once been esta- 
 blished by the labour of any division of the Christian world, and 
 especially when such an institution does 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 
 Fredericton College : but having done so, on what was considered at 
 the time very liberal principles, the effect has been that the tests on 
 matriculation were abolished 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 sufficient for the actual educational wants of 
 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 the wants of an infant Colony, has not 
 been very extensive. 
 
 The Methodist Society have an Academy, in a very delightful situa- 
 tion, in the populous Parish of Sackville. The handsome and spacious 
 building was completed in 1843, by private subscription, and a large 
 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 are, the classics, mathematics, 
 natural philosophy, moral philosophy, and divinity. It receives a 
 small grant from the Province annually, has from fifty to eighty 
 
NEW EIIUNSWICK. 
 
 325 
 
 students, and bids fair to be very useful in the general dilTusion of 
 knowledge. 
 
 The Baptists have a seminary of learning at Fredericton. 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 1836. 
 The 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, male 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 inhabitants who 
 live remotely from them as the objects of partiality and favouritism. 
 
 The parish or common schools have been found to be the most 
 generally beneficial in the diffusion of the first principles of learning 
 among all classes. They are scattered over the whole 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 each 
 school district are managed by three trustees, appointed by the Go- 
 vernor. A school thus established receives from the bounty of the 
 Legislature from £10 to £30 per annum, according to the number of its 
 scholars or merits, as determined by School Commissioners, who are also 
 appointed by the Government to manage the affairs of the schools in 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 S26 
 
 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 the introduction of abuses that could not be tolerated. The present 
 Lieutenant-Governor, Sir William Colebrooke, has been active in the 
 improvement of the 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 Provincial funds in 
 1843, the grant made by the Legislature to common schools in that 
 year was 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 
 ©f 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK, 
 
 327 
 
 Province, and, by the laudable exertions of individuals, they are well 
 supplied with teachers and with books : in them all denominations of 
 Christians cheerfully unite, and their beneficial effects are very apparent 
 in the morals and infonnation of the inhabitanta. 
 
 Before we take leave of the religious, moral, and educational institu- 
 tions of the country, 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 of elections, 
 and even upon liberty of conscience. The teetotallers, or total absti- 
 nence men, and those who allow the moderate use of wine, have done 
 no harm — the great objects of both parties being similar. Although 
 objectionable rules have been adopted by some of these bodies, yet, it 
 must be acknowledged that, taken altogether, Temperance Societies have 
 done much good in the cause of moral reform. Since their introduc- 
 tion, the exhibition and drinking of strong liquors have become more 
 and more unfashionable ; many intemperate persons have been re- 
 claimed, and intemperance is viewed with greater abhorrence than it 
 was in former times: nor can there be a doubt, that if the simple 
 object of abstinence from intoxicating liquors is steadily maintained, 
 its salutary effect will appear still more manifest in the next and suc- 
 ceeding generations. But there is much reason to apprehend that these 
 Societies will, in the course of time, altogether disappear. From their 
 own influence, the necessity for active operations has been rendered less 
 imperative, and the excitement created by their novelty has nearly dis- 
 appeared : it therefore remains to be discovered whether the ordinary 
 means of maintaining good morals, as taught by the Christian religion, 
 are not more permanently efficacious in preventing any kind of crime 
 than any system that can be devised by human agency. 
 
 In treating of the social state of New Brunswick, the inhabitants 
 may be divided into three classes. The early British settlers, the 
 American Loyalists (of which only a few remain), and emigrants from 
 Great Britain and their descendants, form the first class : besides these, 
 
S2S 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 there are the Acadian French and Indians. In the spring succeeding 
 the Peace of 1783, 3,000 persons arrived at St. John from Nantucket : 
 in the following autumn these were joined by upwards of 1,200 more, 
 and to them were added a number of families from Nova Scotia, with 
 disbanded soldiers of Provincial regiments. All these persons were 
 comprehended under the name of Loyalists, who, from their attachment 
 to Great Britain, exiled themselves from their native country after its 
 independence was acknowledged by the Parent State. The first settle- 
 ment on the River St. John was made at Maugerville in 1762, by a 
 few families from New England, who, in 1783, numbered about 800 
 souls. These persons and the Loyalists formed the basis from which the 
 chief part of the present population have descended. The difficulties 
 experienced by the early settlers were truly formidable and discou- 
 raging : they were frequently harassed by the Indians, who were only 
 appeased by the payment of large sums as a compensation for the wild 
 animals killed by the English. 
 
 Many of the Loyalists had forsaken their comfortable homes in 
 highy-cultivated parts of the revolted States, and were compelled to 
 live in huts in a wilderness inhabited only by savages and wild animals. 
 The climate to them was untried ; and the winters, which were far more 
 severe than they have been since, struck them with astonishment and 
 dismay. Many were reduced to the greatest necessities for food and 
 clotliing, and “ a few roots were all that tender mothers could at times 
 procure to allay the importunate calls of their children for bread.”* 
 
 During the severity of the cold, a part of the family kept watch, and 
 supplied the fire in the hut with fuel to keep the others from freezing. 
 Boards were heated and applied to the children of families who were 
 destitute of bedding, and a scanty allowance of food was drawn over 
 the snow and ice on toboggans sometimes to the distance of 100 miles. 
 These were the persons who, through toil and poverty, surmounted every 
 obstacle, removed the forest, and have finally covered the banks of tho 
 noble St. John with rich fields, villages, and cities. 
 
 The elements of the best society at St. John, Fredericton, and the 
 smaller towns are very respectable : the principal officers of the Go- 
 
 M‘Gregor*s British America. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 3 ^ 
 
 vernment and military, professional men, and merchants mix freely, 
 but not unanimously, in the same circles. In the best classes there is 
 a due regard to politeness, courtesy, and decorum. Persons of rank 
 and some degree of eminence are, however, looked upon as forming a 
 kind of aristocracy, which always maintains its superiority above the 
 inferior orders, who eagerly aspire to the society they condemn as being 
 unjustly exclusive. The medium ranks are generally stiff and cere- 
 monious ; yet their kindness is unalloyed by ostentation, and their 
 hospitality, when bestowed, is extravagant. 
 
 There is a constant struggle between the aristocratic principle and 
 the spirit of freedom and equality characteristic of the Americans. 
 Persons who have risen from the lower ranks, and have arrived at afflu- 
 ence, are apt to overrate their importance ; and such as have the advan- 
 tages of birth and education are frequently supercilious. It is to be 
 regretted that, from these causes, endless jealousies and bickerings arise, 
 and society is divided into small circles and parties. A degree of cool- 
 ness and formality pervades the whole mass, and is but too frequently 
 exhibited to strangers, who, through these defects, are unable to perceive 
 the real virtues of the community. The unhappy divisions of society 
 have been increased by the licentious portion of the Press, which, from 
 time to time, pours the lowest abuse upon the most distinguished 
 individuals in the Colony; even the Judges of the highest Courts, than 
 whom there cannot be found men of greater integrity and benevolence, 
 and Her Majesty’s Representatives, do not always escape from newspaper 
 insult, and persons who have long been held up to the public as 
 notorious offenders have afterwards been proved guiltless. The law 
 against the publication of libellous articles has been but seldom applied ; 
 
 ' for the offending parties are scarcely ever able to pay a fine, and their 
 imprisonment always calls forth sympathy — the last hope of the guilty. 
 
 The inhabitants of the northern coasts of the Province are less hos- 
 pitable and courteous than those of the south ; while the people of St. 
 Andrew’s and the County of Charlotte excel in their civility to strangers. 
 The great mass of the people are not free from the censure of being 
 jealous of their Provincial brethren and visitors. Many view the 
 country as being the rightful inheritance of the Loyalists and their 
 descendants, and they are therefore opposed to emigration ; but such 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 330 
 
 views will disappear as the intercourse with other countries becomes 
 extended. 
 
 It is a common remark, that the customs and manners of the inhabit- 
 ants of New Brunswick are more similar to those of the people of the 
 United States than to those of any other British Province. This can- 
 not be surprising, when it is considered that its early settlers emigrated 
 from the revolted Colonies, and, from being situated along the frontier, 
 the frequent intercourse with their American neighbours has had some 
 effect upon the social state of the people ; but tlie inhabitants are uni- 
 versally loyal, and firmly attached to the laws and institutions of Great 
 Britain. A very happy state of society exists in the country villages; 
 although these are not altogether free from that party spirit that mars 
 the ^happiness of the citizen. 
 
 The inhabitants of New Brunswick are very generally kind and hu- 
 mane to persons in distress, and the number of their charitable institu- 
 tions, and the means provided for the diffusion of knowledge, at once 
 proclaim their benevolence, morality, and sound policy. The founda- 
 tion of. their great enterprise and perseverance was laid in the early 
 struggles and toils of their forefathers, upon which they have raised a 
 noble superstructure, alike creditable to themselves and advantageous 
 to the successors. 
 
 Persons who travel rapidly through the country, or make a cursory 
 visit to one or two of its towns, frequently, from hasty observation, 
 entertain erroneous notions. From the declaration of a New Sporting 
 writer, it might be inferred that the ladies of St. John amuse them- 
 selves in winter by “ riding down hill upon hand-sleds with the 
 gentlemen ! ** There might have been one or two of the above writer’s 
 acquaintances who would engage in that rustic sport ; but during a 
 residence of five years in that city, I never witnessed an instance of the 
 kind, and can affirm that the ladies of New Brunswick have as high a 
 sense of decorum as those of the most refined societies in England. 
 Generally speaking, the ladies of St. John, Fredericton, and the whole 
 Province, are fair and handsome ; many of them are well educated and 
 highly accomplished. In their appearance, the gentlemen can scarcely 
 be distinguished from the natives of Great Britain ; they are generally 
 intelligent, and airdently devoted to their professions or business. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 331 
 
 The fashions are British, with an occasional mixture brought in from 
 the United States. There are few places of public amusement, and 
 there is not an established theatre in the Province. Sometimes a band 
 of theatrical performers will pass through the Provinces ; and during 
 the summer season, menageries of wild animals, troops of horses, with 
 tumblers, jugglers, and rope-dancers, from the United States, will visit 
 all the towns and large villages. To such exhibition? the people are 
 much attached, and any kind of excitement calls forth the multitude. 
 Of late, the inhabitants of St. John and Fredericton have directed a 
 share of their attention to scientific objects ; and the establishment of 
 Mechanics' Institutes at those places has made an essential improve- 
 ment in the pursuits of young men of different classes, and especially 
 the mechanics, who are rapidly advancing in knowledge and respect- 
 ability. 
 
 During the winter, a few public assemblies are given at St. John, 
 and private balls and suppers are not unfrequent. It is a peculiar 
 feature of these establishments, that they are always made upon the 
 largest scale, and the building of the kind host is crowded to a degree 
 that often deprives his guests of every kind of enjoyment. These 
 parties often create much angry feeling among the excluded, notwith- 
 standing the invitations are given in the most cautious manner. Small 
 parties are much less common than they are at Halifax, where the in- 
 habitants are more sociable, and intent upon the enjoyment of solid 
 comfort. At this season, skating and sleigh-riding are common amuse- 
 ments ; and during the coldest days of winter, the ladies, thickly clad 
 in furs, are transported over the turnpikes and rivers in defiance of the 
 biting north-wester, or the sweeping drift that clothes the surface in a 
 mantle of white. In the country, small parties, weddings, frolics, and 
 courtships are enjoyed by young and old, and the season is hailed as 
 one of festivity 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 amusements, yet, upon any extraordi- 
 
NEW BHUNSWICK. 
 
 
 33 ^ 
 
 nary occasion, they all turn out and celebrate the day with great zeal 
 and much display. 
 
 But we must here contrast the pleasures enjoyed by the rational part 
 of the community with the outrages committed by the lower classes at 
 St. John, in defiance of the authorities and the laws of the land. In 
 this city, the seat of much natural sobriety, there are frequently mobs 
 and riots of appalling magnitude. These chiefly originate among the 
 lower classes of the Irish, who are organised as Orangemen or Ribbon- 
 men, and the display of an orange-coloured flower is sufficient to raise 
 a tumult. From time to time, mobs and riots occur that are disgrace- 
 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 sacrificed on the unholy altar of 
 party strife. 
 
 The emigrants from Great Britain have become so amalgamated with 
 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 French, on account of 
 their disaffection to the British Government, were expelled from Nova 
 Scotia by Major Lawrence, who succeeded to the administration of that 
 Province in 1764. 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 Fredericton, whence they were compelled 
 to retire to make room for the Loyalists and disbanded soldiers of 1783, 
 and afterguards established themselves at Madawasca. These people 
 have greatly increased in population, and now occupy a number of ex- 
 tensive villages. 
 
 The habitans 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 
 brunettes, with sparkling eyes and fine glossy hair. Their fashions arc 
 those of the old French peasantry. They frequently wear mocassins, 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 333 
 
 and wooden shoes are not out of use. The ordinary dress of the female 
 consists of a petticoat and short loose 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 
 appearance, 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 
 the entire population of a village, who feast, sing, and dance several 
 days in succession in honour of the newly-married pair. Sunday is 
 made a day of gaiety and pleasure ; and after the ordinary worship is 
 concluded, 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 all their 
 villages there is a perfect confidence of peace and safety. The hahitans 
 are civil and polite in their address, through which they 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 virtues, 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 system 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 sufiicient space to apply their industry to husbandry ; and it 
 is seldom an individual aspires to more than the cultivation of a few 
 acres of land, or such a quantity as will meet the actual wants of his 
 family. Heretofore, they have been altogether uneducated ; but, of 
 late, schools have been introduced ; and it is now not uncommon, on 
 entering the plain log cottage, to find its proprietor engaged in perusing 
 
33i 
 
 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 i^ractitioners are numerous. 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 be 
 in his economical tour. 
 
 The Constitution and Government of New Brunswick do not differ 
 materially from those of Nova Scotia or Canada. The Executive power 
 is invested in an officer 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- 
 merly, 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 
 
 Brunswick. Although the people have power to check an unsatis- 
 factory Administration by an appeal to the Court of Queen’s Beneh, 
 the usual course of remedy against a Governor in such a case is, by 
 address of the House of Assembly to the Crown, The Government of 
 the Province is intended, so far as circumstances will admit, to re- 
 semble that of the Parent State, and the Lieutenant-Governor 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-eountry. The Go- 
 vernor has extensive power, and formerly he was Commander-in-Chief 
 and Vice-Admiral. Of late the command of the 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 eScpe- 
 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 direets 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 eease to 
 be useful, and they must resign. In cases where the Governor stands 
 opposed to the majority 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, 
 
f 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 I 
 
 T 
 
 336 
 
 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 rulers than 
 those of the British American Colonies. 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 disaffected by the 
 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 Governor, 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 Restigouche 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 be elected by 
 the inhabitants of the latter district. 
 
 The Legislature of the Province meets at Fredericton during the 
 
 winter season, and generally continues its sitting two months. By it 
 
 the varied business of the country is managed — laws are enacted and 
 amended — the claims or abuses of public officers, from the Governor 
 downwards, are freely discussed, and the revenues of the country, over 
 
 which the Assembly hold the sole control, are appropriated 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 learned and best qualified men of 
 the Province, for it seldom happens that any member is elected on 
 account of his abilities as a legislator. The debates are sometimes 
 
 conducted with great spirit, and strong parties arrange themselves on 
 
NKW URUNSWICK. 
 
 337 
 
 different sides of the house. It would not be a difficult 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 year it 
 would be useless^ 
 
 The ^powers of the Legislature are unlimited and incontrovertible 
 within the Province ; but they cannot enact any law that interferes 
 with tlie Acts of the Imperial Parliament, and none of their Statutes 
 can be put in operation until they have received the assent of the 
 Governor 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 the 
 duties of Queen’s Bench, Common Pleas, and Exchequer in England. 
 Tliis Court sits four times a-year at Fredericton, twdee a-year at St. 
 John and St. Andrew’s, and annually in the remaining counties. 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 
 iand for granting Letters of Administration. The Governor and Judges 
 of the Supreme Court ede term hie all cases of piracy and other offences 
 on the high seas. 
 
 In each county there is held an inferior Court, or General Sessions 
 of the Peace, coiTesponding to the Court of Quarter Sessions j 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 fire pounds are sued for and reco- 
 vered by a single Magistrate, of whom there are great numbers in the 
 Province. In every county there is a High Sheriff, appointed by the 
 Governor- Constables and ofher parish officers are appointed by tlie 
 General Session* ©f tlhe Peace^ 
 
 The following is ifise Civil List of the Province, as established in 
 1827, when the Legislature granted £14,500 to be paid annually for 
 .the support of the Provincial Government, in exchange for the QiveenTs 
 
338 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 casual and territorial revenues. Since that period, the salary of the 
 Surveyor- General and Commissioner of Crown Lands has been re- 
 duced, and the excess of the grant is applied to other objects. 
 
 Sterling per annum. 
 
 Salary of Lieutenant-Governor £ 3,500 
 
 Chief-Justice .. •• .. .. .. .. 950 
 
 Commissioner of Crown Lands .. .. .. 1,750 
 
 Provincial Secretary .. 1,430 
 
 Three Puisne Judges, each £650 1,950 
 
 Attorney- General .. 550 
 
 Solicitor-General 200 
 
 Private Secretary to the Governor 200 
 
 Auditor- General 300 
 
 Receiver-General 300 
 
 In-door Establishment of Crown Lands Office .. 900 
 
 King’s College .. 1,000 
 
 Presbyterian Minister 100 
 
 Emigrant Agent, St. John 100 
 
 Annuity to late Surveyor-General 150 
 
 Indians 54 
 
 Total ie 13,443 
 
 The following was the Civil List of the Province for the year ending 
 1st of .January, 1846 : — 
 
 Salary of Lieutenant-Governor .. .. £3,461 10 8 
 
 Private Secretary 230 15 4 
 
 Chief- Justice 1,096 3 0 
 
 J ustice of Supreme Court 740 0 0 
 
 Ditto Ditto 740 0 0 
 
 Ditto Ditto , . . . , . 740 0 0 
 
 Surveyor- General .. .. 1,200 0 0 
 
 Auditor-General . . . . . , . . 346 3 0 
 
 Receiver-General . . . . . . . . 346 3 0 
 
 Attorney-General .. .. .. 634 12 0 
 
 Solicitor- General .. .. .. .. 230 15 4 
 
 Donation to King’s College .. .. .. 1,111 2 0 
 
 Indians 60 0 0 
 
 Annuity to Anthony Lockwood, Esq. .. 173 4 o 
 
 Acting Emigrant Agent 115 7 8 
 
 Provincial Secretary .. .. .. .. 1,599 11 0 
 
 Total for the year . . £ 12,855 4 4* 
 
 Amount of Civil List . . , . 14,500 0 0 
 
 Sm-plus of the year .. .. £1,644 15 8 
 
 * Sic in 3f 5 .— Printer. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 339 
 
 The taxes are so light in New Brunswick, that they are scarcely felt. 
 The taxes for keeping the 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 places are 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. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 The objects of the present work will not admit of giving an extended 
 account of the geology of the Province. A Geological Survey of the 
 chief part of New Brunswick 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 
 .embarrassed 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 agriculture, manufactures, and navigation. The gradual 
 ^advancement of the arts, and their application to useful objects, have 
 closely followed the development of those materials, upon which the 
 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, by 
 the operations of manufacture upon the minerals taken in their natural 
 
 ♦ The Author is now preparing a Geological Map of Nova Scotia, New 
 Brunswick, and Prince Edward’s Island. His sketch of a Geological Map of 
 the former Province was published by the Geological Society of London in 
 .1845. 
 
N^:w imuNswicK. 
 
 Sit 
 
 state, is almost incalculable. The Ordnance Geological 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 Geo- 
 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 resourees. Since the 
 commencement of that survey, similar ones have been instituted in 
 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 country. 
 
 The navigation of the ocean by steam, and the vast extension of rail- 
 roadsj 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 east -south-east to north-east. These are 
 
N15W BllUNSWICK. 
 
 the general courses of all the principal formations of North Amenca, 
 and which afford evidence of the upheaval of vast anticlinal ridges 
 along the continent in the direction of its south-eastern coast. 
 
 A branch of the Alleghany chain of mountains passes through the 
 Northern States. Cataadan, in Maine, is the loftiest eminence in its 
 eastern range, being 5,300 feet above the level of the sea. This 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 north-easterly direction to the 
 sources of the Miramichi, Nepisiguit, Upsalquitch, and Tobique Rivers, 
 gradually disappearing as it approaches the Bay Chaleurs ; another 
 branch penetrates the District of Gaspe, and slopes off towards the St. 
 Lawrence ; a somewhat elevated ridge crosses the Schoodic River and 
 the Cheputnecticook Lakes, presenting a number of beautiful eminences 
 in its course to the Nerepis River and to Bull Moose Hill, in King’s 
 County. These elevations form anticlinal ridges, against which the 
 stratified masses lean, or they border immense troughs containing the 
 secondary and tertiary formations. They are chiefly composed of 
 granite, syenite, trap rock, and porphyry. 
 
 Granite.— h ridge of granite 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 the Long 
 Reach. Along its southern 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 
 Calais. 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, and 
 runs into the unexplored and mountainous country northward. Granite 
 also appears at the entrance and on the banks of the Nepisiguit, and 
 occupies the great tract of wilderness land in the interior of Northum- 
 berlaiid and Gloucester. 
 
 Syenite , — A belt of syenite and trapi)caa jocks reaches from the 
 

 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Kenebecasis 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 
 Bay of Fundy. These rocks also appear at other places, and frequently 
 pass into the true granitic rock, 
 
 2 rap Rock. A tract of trap rock reaches from Chamcook in a north- 
 east direction, embracing the mouth of the Digdeguash, Lake Utopia, 
 Red Rock Lake, and, crossing the St. John at the Reach, includes the 
 Parish of Kingston and part of the 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. 
 
 Metamorphie Rocks . — Succeeding the above, we find extensive de- 
 posits of metamorpliic rocks, consisting of gneiss, micaceous, horn- 
 blende, talcose, cblorite, and argillaceous slates, with crystalline lime- 
 stone, quartzite conglomerate, grauwacke, and grauwacke slate, in 
 which scarcely any regular order of succession can be traced. These 
 are frequently broken through, interrupted, and pierced by dikes and 
 veins of trap rock, porphyry, and serpentine. A group of these beds 
 skirts 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 discovered 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 are 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-east direction across the St. John, 
 embracing the Keswick and Mactaquack Rivers, thence across the coun- 
 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 Cheputnecticook, and also a part of the 
 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK!. 
 
 34i 
 
 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 ‘Uransition*’ was formerly ap- 
 plied. The same rocks occupy the chief part of the coast between 
 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 an 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 Nackawdck, this group 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 BRUNSW'ICK. 
 
 Sin 
 
 dikes are well displayed in the banks of the Tlestigouche and other 
 rivers, where they have produced changes only referable to the heat 
 that accompanied their protrusion. They are sometimes of great tliick- 
 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 
 alre 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 hasaltiforme, columns of 
 encriniteSf and casts of productce^. The following is the result of a 
 section made on the Restigouche and Bay Chaleurs in descending 
 order : — 
 
 Strata. 
 
 Impure grey and blue limestone . . . 
 Calcareous and argillaceous shales . . . 
 
 Earthy rotten shale 
 
 Wenlock limestone. 
 
 Compact blue limestone. 
 
 Friable sandstone. 
 
 Shelly limestone. 
 
 Compact blue and grey impure limestone 
 in black, blue, and red shale ..../• 
 
 Grey and brown sandstones 
 
 Compact limestone 
 
 „ sandstone j 
 
 Argillaceous and calcareous slates . . 
 
 Coralline marbles 
 
 Conglomerates 
 
 Clay slate 
 
 > Organic Remains. 
 
 Producta spirifera, orthocera, trilobites. 
 Crinoidea, Cyathophyllum turbinum. 
 
 { Atrypa aspera, with numerous testacca 
 and corals. 
 
 Producta, terebratula, Cyathophyllum 
 turbinum, Cyathophyllum hexagonunt. 
 Encrinal remains. 
 
 Tentaculites ornalus, producta, terebra- 
 tula, corals. 
 
 Encrinal remains. 
 
 Corals. 
 
 No organic remains. 
 
 No organic remains. 
 
 From the great extent and thickness of the strata, my opportunities 
 only allowed me to take a cursory view of them, and the fossils most 
 readily recognised; among which are the Caienipora escharoidest 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, 
 
316 
 
 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 Ocnabog 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. 
 
 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 wdth the great 
 coal formation. By some persons, and among them several American 
 geologists, the same rocks in similar situations in Nova Scotia have 
 been considered to be the equivalents of the new red 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 
 two 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 contradictory 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 
 
 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 the 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 examinations 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 26,000 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. 
 
NEW RRUNSWICK. 
 
 34-8 
 
 The north-east side of the coal district is bounded by the Gulf of St. 
 Lawrence ; and its sandstones and shales, sometimes associated with coal, 
 arc 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 extenMvely 
 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 kvel 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 auebec 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 
 carboniferous 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, abound in the remains and im- 
 pressions of plants— many of which were of great size. In general. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 849 
 
 every vestige of their leaves has disappeared, and nothing remains but 
 the simple impression ; but sometimes the leaf is seen in a thin paper- 
 like lamina of coal, and even in the centre of clay-ironstone 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 originifl 
 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 been 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 which 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. 
 
 Sligmaria are very numerous; and they are frequently found with 
 their leaves attached and extending in all directions from their trunks 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 350 . . 
 
 into the shales and sandstones. L^idodendra, calamiles ngtUana, 
 
 strata there are sometimes thin layers of limestone containing she! . 
 which the modioZa and cypris are most common; * em ossi 
 
 rllfbemi found : these remains are of fresh-water. and occasionally of 
 
 marine origin. Sulphurous springs J troVcuUeous 
 
 their waters are used by the inhabiUnts in the 
 
 ''Themd marly sandstones of Butternut Ridge. Westmoreland, and 
 the Tob t. contain beds of limestone and gypsum ; hut the organi 
 Plains Ud in the formation have been too few and imperfect to 
 afford any very correct information in regard to its relative age. 
 
 m ■ n —At Lubec. in the state of Maine, on the shores 
 
 of thTslodfc. at Chamcook. Mace’s Bay. Manawagonis. St John 
 
 Mispeck Emerson’s Creek, and other places along the coast of the Bay 
 of Fund’v there are beds of sand, marly clay, and marl, forming ow 
 
 I aJj. 1=-1 »»». -P-"* “ 'T’T"' Trr 
 
 sol distance on the shore. The marl and marly clay contain the re- 
 mains of marine animals and plants, often in profusion ; yet the deposits 
 Z which they are buried are now situated from ten to forty feet above 
 the highest Lei of the tides. The shells, including the testacea an 
 11 exceed twenty in number: of these, the chief part are found 
 irabitin; the present ocean ; but a Pecten obUqus of the marl and two 
 oler bivalves appear to be extinct, as they are not found on any pari 
 of the coast Above these several beds and the relics contained i 
 
 II rre am deposits of sand and gravel, from ten to fifty feet in 
 thickness. There is abundant evidence to prove that the ancien 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 
 Li to thirty feet above their ancient level, in situations where the marl 
 and clav 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 
 
NEW BKUNSWICK. 
 
 351 
 
 a. .h. rr„d'“'G,* r.iT.han”L'".’’rf to” r t 
 
 Cr:;;£;:irxL:r 
 
 y their roots m the sunken earth; the buried forest is now covered bv 
 each succeeding tide, and the anchors of vessels are frequent y he d bv 
 U« and stumps of trees that formerly stood Ze Z ollt 
 
 In the northern counties, there are tertiary deposits similar to those 
 already noticed The collections of marl in tL Counties orRtti! 
 
 strata of yellowish-white marl, most frequently covered by peat and the 
 ™nks and roots of decayed trees. The marl is a very p^uL carbonl 
 f lime, and closely resembles chalk. It abounds in the remains of 
 resh-water shells, all of which still exist in the Province. The sites of 
 these deposits were evidently fresh-water lakes. 
 
 Almost the whole surface of the fertile parts of the Pro- 
 vince are overspread by beds of diluvial sand and gravel. These 
 deposes, which might properly be called ancient alluvium, are of two 
 inds the stratified and the unstratified. The stratified beds were evi- 
 denUy produced by the action of currents of water, which have at some 
 former periods swept over the entire surface, from the north towards 
 e south. Diluvial grooves and scratches are found on the surfaces of 
 
 doubt 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. 
 
•352 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 .Uh.u8h it aM, »«.!. i«l"8 P'O"' 
 
 “T Se..' s„vo,, — 
 
 T to°f h“L; w'™. »y ‘X- 
 
 E'H:.r:rr:r;z:?:=5= 
 
 they could have been launched by the descent o ^ f i- 
 
 unstratifled collections of debris, there are numerous boulders of rock 
 C these boulders have been transported from the north ts evident. 
 L they are always found to the south of their birthplaces, or where 
 ,ke p.„„t 1. i. .if- Ertatio block, of 
 
 »i.tt.rod oce, the »holo .orfocc ot U.e cool-ScU of 
 Brunswick; and the nearest fixed masses of those rocks are 
 
 t ins of Gaspe on the north side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
 “fore re— to presume, that in a former condition of the 
 continent, and before the country was eleyated above the sea^ thos 
 boulders, and beds of sand and gravel, were f 
 
 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 
 Laded with stones, over the rocks of the shores, open ^ooves across 
 the strata similar to those that appear beneath the dduvium o . le 
 
 dry land* 
 
 the topographical account. f the several counties,, 
 situations of the fertile alluviums have been spoken of. They of 
 rrhinds-the fresh-water and the marine. The former is the result 
 of meteoric action upon the rocks, which causes rap:d d.smte^ation ; 
 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- 
 levs and river sides, where they form the fertile intervales, and extend 
 the surface capable of producing plants. The ma.ine aUuviums are 
 carried inwards by the rapid tides, and spread on the sides of the rivers. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 353 
 
 whence in the course of time they become grass-bearing marshes, and 
 
 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 
 
 Graphite, or Plumbago 
 Ochres 
 
 Iron Ores (abundant) 
 Manganese Ores 
 Galena, or Lead Ore 
 Grindstone 
 Freestone 
 
 Sulphuret of Copper 
 
 Amethyst 
 
 Agate 
 
 Jasper 
 
 Homstone 
 
 Thompsonite 
 
 Stilbite 
 
 Apophyllite 
 
 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 
 
 Springs — 
 
 Salt 
 
 Sulphurous 
 
 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 
 
new BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Number, Name. Situationj^and Description 
 of the Mines and Quarries. 
 
 do. H arbour 
 
 Charlotte County. 
 
 1 Quarry at L’Etang Island 
 
 1 Do. 
 
 St. John County. 
 
 19 Quarries 
 
 Westmoreland. 
 
 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 
 
 Sunhury County. 
 
 2 Quarries . • • • 
 
 York County. 
 
 3 Quarries . • • • 
 
 Carleton County. 
 
 2 Quarries . . • • 
 
 1 Quarry 
 
 Northumberland County. 
 
 4 Quarries . . • • 
 
 2 Quarries 
 Gloucester County. 
 
 1 Mine 
 
 1 Quarry, Slate 
 
 3 Quarries . • • • 
 
 Kent County. 
 
 3 Quarries . • • • 
 
 Limestone 
 
 Do. 
 
 Do. 
 
 Grindstones 
 
 Freestone 
 
 Coal 
 
 Gypsum . . 
 
 Salt.. .. 
 
 Freestone 
 
 Coal 
 
 Freestone 
 Granite . . 
 
 Freestone 
 
 Freestone 
 
 Limestone 
 
 Freestone 
 
 1000 hhds. 
 1000 „ 
 
 6000 „ 
 
 £400 0 0 
 400 0 0 
 
 2400 0 0 
 
 2000 stones 350 0 0 
 
 1000 tons 500 0 0 
 
 Just commenced. 
 
 500 tons 
 
 500 bushels 
 400 tons 
 
 500 chald. 
 1000 tons 
 6000 „ 
 
 100 „ 
 
 500 „ 
 
 300 hhds. 
 50 tons 
 
 Freestone 
 
 1000 tons 
 
 250 0 0 
 
 Grindstone 
 
 s 100 stones 
 
 12 10 0 
 
 Manganese 
 
 100 tons 
 
 800 0 0 
 
 Slate 
 
 100 „ 
 
 100 0 0 
 
 Freestone 
 
 500 „ 
 
 125 0 0 
 
 Freestone 
 
 400 „ 
 
 100 0 0 
 
 125 0 0 
 
 50 0 0 
 100 0 0 
 
 500 0 0 
 250 0 0 
 420 0 0 
 
 25 0 0 
 
 125 0 0 
 
 200 0 0 
 12 10 a 
 
CHAPTER XH. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY OF 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 single 
 province would apply to almost the whole of the northern part of the 
 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. f 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 Descriptive Sketches of the Natural History of the North American 
 
 Regions; Richardson’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’s Journal; 
 Philadelphia Journal of Natural Sciences. 
 
 2 A 2 
 
356 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ANIMALS OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 MAMMALIA. 
 
 Order I. Carnassiers. 
 
 Vespertillio 
 
 Pniinosiis, Say. — Common Bat. 
 
 Scalops 
 
 Canadensis, Cuvier.— Mole. 
 
 Condylaria 
 
 cristata, Desmarest. — Star-nose Mole. 
 
 Ursus 
 
 Americanus. — Black Bear. 
 
 Procyon 
 
 lotor, L. — Racoon. 
 
 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. 
 
 Lutra 
 
 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. 
 
 Order II. Rodentia. 
 
 Castor 
 
 fiber, L. — Beaver. 
 
 Fiber 
 
 Zibethicus, L. — Musquash, or Muskrat. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 357 
 
 Mu8 
 
 decumanus, Pallas.— Brown Rat; Wharf, or Water Rat. 
 rattus— Black Rat. 
 musculus. — Mouse. 
 
 Icucopus. — Field Mouse. 
 
 Gerbillus 
 
 Canadensis. — Jumping Mouse. 
 
 Arctomys 
 
 inonax, Gmelin.— Woodchuck. 
 
 Sciurus 
 
 Hudsonius. — Red Squirrel, 
 striatus. — Striped, or Ground Squirrel. 
 
 Pteromys 
 
 volucella, L. — Flying Squirrel. 
 
 Hystrix 
 
 pilosus. — Porcupine. 
 
 Lepus 
 
 Ameiicanus, Gmelin. — Hare. 
 
 Order III. Ruminantia. 
 
 Cervus 
 
 Virginianus.— Common, or Fallow Deer. 
 Tarandus. — Reindeer, or Carriboo. 
 Alces. — Elk, or Moose. 
 
 Order IV. Cetacea. 
 
 Delphinus 
 
 Delphis, L. — Porpus. 
 
 ( Phoceana) gladiator. — Sword-fish. 
 Balena 
 
 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 eats nothing; but he is said to 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 358 
 
 suck the thick part of his paw. Their retreats have been found m the 
 winter 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 concealment have found them disposed to be on 
 good terms rather than fight : and men are to be found who will volun- 
 tarily enter u bear*s den and witli 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 the failover deer {Cervus Virginianus) was not 
 seen in New Brunswick prior to tlip year 1818, at which period wolves 
 also appeared ; nor has it yet reached Nova Scotia on its march to the 
 south. This beautiful animal has evidently been driven into 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 a manner that renders them ex- 
 
 * In the winter of 1842, I had occasion to make an excursion on the ice of 
 Eel River and its lake, in a sleigh, and there observed the remains of three 
 deer and a carriboo that had been dragged upon the ice and devoured. A pack 
 of eleven wolves crossed the head of the lake during ray visit; but the thinness 
 of the ice prevented me from venturing far from the shore, and I could only 
 salute them with a brace of halls, which, from the distance being too great, 
 took no effect. The bowlings of these animals around my camp at night were 
 truly terrific. 
 
IQEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 359 
 
 tremely dangerous enemies. Foxes are very numerous ; and although 
 distinctively classed in regard to colour, there is hut 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 noble 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 
 
360 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 ordinar;^^ moose stands six feet high, and weighs 1,000 lbs. ; the largest 
 are upwards of seven feet high, and will weigh 1,500 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 flelds with the domesticated 
 cattle of the farmer. The weasel, which is brown in summer, becomes 
 perfectly white, or of a light cream 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. 
 
 BIRDS. ® 
 
 Order I. — Accipitres. 
 
 Falco 
 
 leucocephalus, L. — Bald Eagle, 
 haliaetus, L. — Fish Hawk. 
 
 Sparverius, L. — SpaiTow Hawk. 
 
 Columbarius, L. — Pigeon Hawk, 
 velox, Wilson. — Slate-coloured Hawk, 
 borealis, Gmelin. — Red-tailed Hawk, 
 hiemalis, Gmelin. — Winter Hawk. 
 
 Strix 
 
 flammea, Lin.— Barn Owl. 
 nebulosa. — Barred Owl. 
 fimerea. — Hawk Owl. 
 
 Virginea. — Great-horned Owl. 
 
 Otus, L. — Long-eared Owl. 
 
 Acadica, Gm. — Little Owl. 
 nyctea, L. — Snowy Owl. 
 
 Asio, L. — Screech Owl. 
 
 Order II. — Passeres. 
 
 Tribe 1. — Scansores. 
 
 Cuculus 
 
 Americanus, Bonaparte. — Cuckoo. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Picus 
 
 erythrocephalus, L. — Red-headed Woodpecker. 
 Carolinus, L. — Red-bellied Woodpecker, 
 villosus, L. — Hairy Woodpecker, 
 pubescens, L. — Downy Woodpecker. 
 
 Tribe 2. — Ambulatores. 
 
 Alcedo 
 
 Alcyon, L. — Belted Kingfisher. 
 
 Sturnus 
 
 Ludovicianus, L.— Meadow Lark. 
 
 Icterus 
 
 Phceniceus. — Red-winged Starling. 
 Pecoris, L. — Cow Bunting. 
 
 Quiscalus 
 
 versicolor, Vieillot. — Crackle, 
 ferrugineus, Bon.— Rusty Crackle 
 Corvus 
 
 Corone, L. — Crow. 
 
 Corax. — Raven, 
 cristatus, L. — Blue Jay, 
 
 Bombycilla 
 
 Carolinensis, Briss.— Cedar Bird. 
 Caprimulgus 
 
 ^vociferus, Wils. — Whip-poor- Will. 
 Virginianus, Briss. — Night Hawk. 
 
 Cypselus 
 
 Pelasgius, Temminck. — Chimney Swallow. 
 Hirundo 
 
 pur|)urea, L. — Purple Martin, 
 rufa, Cm. — Barn Swallow, 
 riparia, L. — Bank Swallow, 
 fulva. 
 
 Muscicapa 
 
 tyranmis, Briss. — Tyrant Fly-catch«r. 
 crinita, L. — Crested Fly-catcher, 
 ruticilla, L. 
 virens, L. 
 
 Cooperi. — Olive-sided Fly-catcher. 
 
 Lanius 
 
 septentrionalis, Cm. — Butcher Bird. 
 
362 
 
 NKW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Turdos 
 
 felivox, Vieill. — Cat Bird, 
 migratorius, L. — Robin, 
 rufus, L. — Ferruginous Thrush, 
 minor, Gin. — Hermit Thrush 
 
 Sylvia 
 
 coronata, Latham.— Yellow-rumped Warbler, 
 magnolia, Wils. — 
 
 citrinella, Wils.— Blue-eyed Yellow Warbler, 
 petechia, Wils.— Yellow Red-polled W'arbler. 
 pusilla, Wils.— Blue Yellow-backed Warbler, 
 solitaria. — Blue-winged Yellow Warbler. 
 
 Certhia 
 
 familiaris, L. — Brown Creeper. 
 
 Troglodytes 
 
 sedon — Wren, 
 
 Sitta . , 1 
 
 Carolinensis, Bris. — Nuthatch. 
 
 Canadensis.— Red-bellied Nuthatch, 
 varia, Wils.— Red-bellied Black-capped Nutbatcli. 
 All thus 
 
 spinoletta. Bon. — Brown Lark. 
 
 Alauda 
 
 alpestris, 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.— ^Finch. 
 
 Cardinalis, Bon. — Cardinal Grosbeak 
 purpurea.— Purple Finch. 
 
 Pyrrhula 
 
 enuclator. — Pine Bulfinch. 
 flamingo. Lath. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Curvirostra 
 
 leucoptera, Wils. — White-winged Crossbill. 
 Americana, Wils.— American Crossbill. 
 
 Corvus 
 
 Canadensis. — Canadian Jay, or Moose Bird. 
 
 Order III. — Gallin.®, 
 
 Columba 
 
 migratoria, L. — Passenger Pigeon. 
 Carolinensis, L. — Turtle Dove. 
 
 Tetrao 
 
 umbellus, L. — Birch Partridge. 
 Canadensis, L. — Spruce Partridge. 
 
 Order I V.— Grallje. 
 
 Charadius 
 
 heaticula, 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, 
 tninor. Bon. — Woodcock, 
 semipalmata. — Yellow-legged Snipe. 
 Noveboracensis, Wils.— Red-breasted Snipe. 
 
 Tringa 
 
 pusilla, Wils. — Little Sandpiper. 
 
 Rallus 
 
 Virginianus, L — Virginian Rail. 
 
 Carolinus, Bon. — Rail. 
 
 Fulica 
 
 Americana, Gin. — Common Coot. 
 
364 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 Order V.— Anseres. 
 
 Sterna 
 
 hirunda, L. — Great Tern, 
 minuta.— Lesser Tern. 
 
 Larus 
 
 Canus, L.— Common Gull, 
 capistratus. — Grey Gull. 
 
 Anus 
 
 Canadensis. — 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, Wils. — Harlequin Duck, 
 molissima, Wils. — Eider Duck.. 
 
 Mergus M 
 
 gosander, Wils. — Sheldrake. U 
 
 cucullatus. — Hooded Merganser. 
 
 Anser 
 
 bernicla, Bon. — Brant. 
 
 Podiceps 
 
 cristatus, Latham. — Crested Grebe, 
 minor, Latham. — Little Grebe. 
 
 Uria 
 
 alle, Wils. — Little Auk. 
 
 Sula 
 
 Bassana. — Solon Goose, or Gannet. 
 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. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 365 
 
 many of them only remain a few days on their annual migratory visits 
 to the north and south. 
 
 FISHES. 
 
 The following fishes are known to ^xist. The arrangement is that 
 of V, C. Smith, M.D. ; — 
 
 Class I. — Cartilaginous Fishes. 
 Order 2. — Cyclostomi. 
 
 Petromyzon 
 
 marinus. — Lamprey Eel. 
 fluviatilis. — Freshwater Lamprey Eel. 
 Carcharias 
 
 glaucus. — Blue Shark, 
 vulpus. — Thrasher. 
 
 Raia 
 
 clavata. — Thomback . 
 batis. — Skate. 
 
 Order 3. — Sturiones. 
 
 Acipenser 
 
 sturio. — Sturgeon. 
 
 Class II. — Osseous Fishes. 
 
 Order 4. — Plectognathi. 
 
 Ostracion 
 
 triquetor. — Trunk Fish. 
 
 Order 6. — Malacopterygii-abdominaUs, 
 
 Salmo 
 
 salar. — Salmon, 
 trutta. — Salmon Trout, 
 fario. — Common Trout, 
 huco. — Hunchen Trout ; Togue. 
 
 Osmerius 
 
 eperlanus. — Smelt. 
 
 Clupea 
 
 harengus. — Herring, 
 menhaden. — Menhaden, 
 alsosa. — Shad. 
 
 vemalis. — Alewife, or Gaspereau. 
 minima. — Brit. 
 
366 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Esox 
 
 lucius.— Pickerel, 
 belone. — Sea Pike. 
 
 Cyprinus 
 
 auratus. — Golden Carp. ^ 
 crysolencas. — Sliiner. 
 atronasus. — Minnow, 
 oblongus. — Chub, 
 teres. — Sucker. 
 
 Leuciscus 
 
 vulgaris. — Roach . 
 cephalas. — Small Chub. 
 
 Silurus 
 
 Horn Pout. 
 
 Order 7. — Malaeopterygii Subrachiatu 
 
 Gadus 
 
 morrhua. — Common Codfish, 
 rupestris. — Rock Cod. 
 arenosus. — Bank Cod. 
 merluccius. — Hake, 
 taucaud. — Tom Cod. 
 fuscus. — Frost Fish. 
 
 Brosmus 
 
 vulgaris. — Cusk . 
 
 Morrhua 
 
 oeglefinus. — Haddock. 
 
 Merlangus 
 
 vulgaris. — Whiting. 
 
 Polachius. — Pollock . 
 
 Platessa 
 
 vulgaris.— Flounder. 
 
 Hypoglossus 
 
 vulgaris. — Halibut. 
 
 Cyclopteras 
 
 lumpus. — Lump Fish, 
 minutus. 
 
 Order ^,—Malacopterygii~apodts 
 
 Anguilla 
 
 vulgaris. — Eel. 
 
 Congor 
 
 muroena. — Conger Eel. 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 3G7 
 
 Order 9. — Acanthopterygii, 
 
 Anarchicas 
 
 lupus.— Wolf Fish. 
 
 Labrus — Tautog 
 fusca. 
 
 macula tus. ^ 
 
 Scorpsena 
 
 Porcus. — Sculpiii. 
 
 gibbosa. ^ 
 
 Perea 
 
 fluviatilis.— River Perch, 
 labrax. — Striped Bass. 
 
 Bodianus 
 
 pallidus. — White Perch. 
 
 Cottus 
 
 gobio.— River Bullhead, 
 quadricomus.— Sea Bull. 
 
 Scorpius. — Sculpin. 
 calaphractus. — Armed Bullhead. 
 
 Scomber 
 
 gex. — Chubbed Mackerel, 
 vernalis. — Spring Mackerel, 
 plumbeus. — Horse Mackerel. 
 
 Scomber. — Common Mackerel, 
 thynnus. — Funny. 
 
 Chrysotosis 
 
 Luna. — Moon Fish. 
 
 Xiphius 
 
 gladius. — Sword Fish. 
 
 Fistularia 
 
 tabacaria. — Tobacco-pipe Fish. 
 
 Of shells, the number of species collected is 131 ; crustacese, 27. 
 These have been arranged according to the system of Lamarck, by 
 T. A. Green, Esq., of New Bedford, and appear in the Catalogue of 
 the Animals of Massachusetts. The edible kinds have been already 
 noticed. 
 
 The principal reptiles are the 
 Testiulo 
 
 Scabra. — Turtle. 
 
368 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Testudo 
 
 serpentina. — Snapping Turtle. 
 Pennsylvanica. 
 
 Coluber 
 
 sirtalis. — Garter Snake, 
 vemalis. — Green Snake, 
 
 Ran a 
 
 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. lii. p. 304. 
 
 
Vi 
 
 
 ' ' ^ ' 
 
 
 
 NP . 
 
 NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 
 
 emigration. 
 
 However great may be the difficulties 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 cultivation, whence he is to 
 derive his support, he has one cheering fact held out for his encourage- 
 ment, namely, 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 wliich 
 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. 
 
 2 B 
 
 
 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 370 
 
 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 marriages 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 to 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 EMIGRANTS. 
 
 371 
 
 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 should 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 as 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 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 372 
 
 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 such 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, upon 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 Government 
 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 different parts of the American 
 Continent in proportion to the amount of employment offered to the 
 
NOTES Foil EMIGRANTS. 
 
 31S 
 
 labouring classes. A great number of the immigrants into Canada 
 during several past years 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 w'ho land in the Province also depart 
 to the American towns, where they 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 any 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 are successful, 
 inform their relatives and friends “ at homey' 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 eflBciently upon her resources. 
 

 
 374 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 
 Note A. , 
 
 Emigration by Incorporated Companies. 
 
 When it is intended to promote the work of emigration through the 
 medium of a public Company formed for the purpose, it is necessary 
 that, before any families 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 persons 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 
 
 » 
 
 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 religious 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 land on 
 the 16th of May, 1832 : in the same season, he cleared ground 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 homed 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 arrive 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 
 
 
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 tl^e 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 clay. 
 
 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. The 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. 
 
NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 
 
 377 
 
 County. 
 
 Vacant. 
 
 Granted 
 
 and 
 
 Located. 
 
 Contents. 
 
 Restiffouche 
 
 acres. 
 
 1114560 
 
 acres. 
 
 acres. 
 
 1266560 
 
 
 1 0.6UUU 
 
 Gloucester 
 
 713440 
 
 
 1037440 
 
 
 
 Northumberland 
 
 2216000 
 
 QQ4nnn 
 
 ‘)OA/"kAAA 
 
 
 «/0 lUUv/ 
 
 O^UUUUU 
 
 Kent 
 
 
 
 806400 
 
 
 OO^niKA/ 
 
 . OO'IUUU 
 
 Westmoreland 
 
 632000 
 
 
 
 
 1 ouuuu 
 
 XolzOOO 
 
 St. John 
 
 126000 
 
 
 414720 
 
 
 
 Charlotte 
 
 480000 
 
 
 
 
 oUuoOU 
 
 7o3J60 
 
 King’s 
 
 244000 
 
 
 849920 
 
 
 Ov/Ol/^v/ 
 
 Queen’s ^ , 
 
 470000 
 
 ACit OCA 
 
 961280 
 
 
 
 Sunbury 
 
 413000 
 
 O^AAQA 
 
 782080 
 
 
 ooyuou 
 
 York 
 
 1280000 
 
 QOl AAA 
 
 
 
 yjiouu 
 
 2201600 
 
 Carleton 
 
 2088000 
 
 *\A4AAA 
 
 2592000 
 
 
 OlriUUU 
 
 Totals , . 
 
 10129400 
 
 AA77QAA 
 
 
 
 ou / / you 
 
 iD^U/tioU 
 
 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. 
 
378 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 Note B. 
 
 Emigration by Associations. < 
 
 Persons who have capital of £25, £50, or £100 each, would find it to 
 their advantage to form an association previous to their 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-house, 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 
 
 handsaw, one gouge, three augers from |-inch to Ij-inches 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 much toil 
 and many privations, they have paid for those lands, and now drive their 
 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, 1813.) 
 
 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 
 
380 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 may require, on the first Tuesday in every month, by a Deputy-Surveyor there- 
 
 unto specially appointed for each county. 
 
 2nd. That all applications be addressed by petition to His Exce ency 
 Lieutenant-Governor, and transmitted either by the applicant or through the 
 Local Deputy, under cover, to the Sun-eyor-General, 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. , , ^ ,• j r i » 
 
 3rd. That if the application be approved of, and the land app le or 
 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. , , , ... r 
 
 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 he 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 purchaser 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 the land applied for should have been previously surveyed, the 
 like notice of the time and place of sale, &c. be forthwith published, and three- 
 pence per acre, survey-money, paid down by the purchaser 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. 
 
 6th To facilitate these arrangements, outline maps of the several counties 
 are to he 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 the lands when surveyed and advertised 
 
 for sale. . 1 . 1.1 
 
 ■ 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 
 he 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-fifth for prompt payment.— (N ote. 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 
 
NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 
 
 381 
 
 on account of unauthorised improvements on Crown lands which shall not have 
 been commenced or made on or before the 1st day of May of this present 
 year ; but the allotments, with such improvements, will be sold in the same 
 manner as other Crown lands. 
 
 9th. That in cases of the sales of land where improvements may have been 
 made prior to the 1st 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 appeal, 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. 
 
 nth. That every such Deputy be also required to transmit, within fourteen 
 days after such sales respectively, a duplicate of the said return 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, and surveys 
 made at the expense of the Crown), except the sums paid for surveys and 
 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 per-centage in no case 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. 
 
 12th. 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 ti 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 wull be 
 required to give a bond to the Queen, with two approved securities, in the 
 penal sum of £400, conditioned for the faithful performance of his duty. 
 
 11th. Tliat no Deputy shall be permitted, either directly or indirectly, during 
 
382 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 the continuance of his official employment, to purchase or be in any manner 
 
 interested in any Crown lands whatsoever. 
 
 15th. That where large parties of settlers may associate and make apphca- 
 tion for the purchase of tracts of wilderness lands in situations distant from 
 any settlements already formed or in progress, and to which communications 
 may not have been opened through the forest, they will set forth m their peti- 
 tions, and the Surveyors in their reports, all such particulars ; and when the 
 difficulties to be overcome may require greater facilities than are provided 
 for in the foregoing Regulations, the case will be reserved for the special 
 consideration of the Lieutenant-Governor and Council; and when such 
 parties may engage to defray the charges of surveying their locations, and 
 also of the bye-roads required to be opened to and through their settlement, 
 and to which they are willing to apply their own labour, the Deputy -Surveyors 
 will be authorised to execute such surveys. In laying out such locations, the 
 Surveyors are to attend to the 6th 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. 
 
 Note C. 
 
 Emigration hy Individuals or Families, 
 
 Emigrants to New Brunswick may be divided into two classes those 
 who have some capital, 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 £50 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 property 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 fann, 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 FOR EMIGRANTS. 
 
 383 
 
 people of New Brunswick value themselves for being “keen for a bar- 
 gain/’ and some are apt to make the stranger pay the highest price for 
 everything he 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 a 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 
 Official Reports of 1842 : — ' 
 
 Abstract of Persons supposed to be settled or squatted on CroAvn Lands 
 
 without any authority. 
 
 County. 
 
 No. 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Amount. 
 
 Charlotte 
 
 M2 
 
 14,200 
 
 £2,130 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 St. John 
 
 62 
 
 6,200 
 
 930 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 King’s 
 
 145 
 
 14,500 
 
 2,175 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Queen’s 
 
 139 
 
 13,900 
 
 2,085 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Sun bury 
 
 95 
 
 9,500 
 
 1,425 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 York 
 
 142 
 
 14,200 
 
 2,130 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Carleton 
 
 122 
 
 12,200 
 
 1,830 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Restigouche 
 
 82 
 
 8,200 
 
 1,230 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Gloucester 
 
 199 
 
 19,900 
 
 2,985 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Northumberland 
 
 174 
 
 17,400 
 
 2,610 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Kent 
 
 132 
 
 13,200 
 
 1,980 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Westmoreland •• 
 
 166 
 
 16,600 
 
 2,490 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Total 
 
 1,600 
 
 160,000 
 
 £24,000 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Young or unmarried labouring men will always find employment in 
 the Province, and the rate of wages is invariably high ; but during a 
 
384 . 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 year or two after their arrival, and before they are 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 10 s. to 15 s. 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. Ihey 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 fur 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 his back. During the five years, his wife 
 and daughter by their industry more than maintained the whole family, 
 and the earnings of S. were 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 ; 
 
NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. 
 
 385 
 
 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 eheese 
 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 Lxinnm, although the forest of Shepody had been good to him.” 
 His land is of a superior quality. 
 
 Wages in New Brunswick, 1846 : — 
 
 Trade or Occupatiou. 
 
 Average Wages per 
 diem, without board 
 
 Average Wages per 
 annum, with board 
 
 and lodging. 
 
 and lodging. 
 
 
 Currency. 
 
 
 
 
 
 s. 
 
 d. 
 
 £ 
 
 $. 
 
 d. 
 
 Blacksmiths 
 
 
 0 .. 
 
 .. 40 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Bakers 
 
 
 6 .. 
 
 .. 25 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Butchers 
 
 Brick makers 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Bricklayers 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 Curriers 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 Carpenters and Joiners . . 
 
 
 0 to 6 
 
 3 40 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Cabinetmakers 
 
 
 3 .. 
 
 .. 40 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Coopers 
 
 
 0 .. 
 
 .. 35 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Cooks (Females) «. .. 
 
 . . . . 20 
 
 0 per month 
 
 
 
 Dairywomen 
 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 Dressmakers 
 
 Farm-labourers 
 
 .. .. 1 
 
 3 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Grooms 
 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Millwrights 
 
 Millers 
 
 
 6 
 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Painters 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 Plasterers 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 Shoemakers 
 
 Shipwrights 
 
 
 3 
 
 .. 40 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Stonemasons 
 
 .. .. 6 
 
 3 to 7 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 Sailmakers 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 Tailors 
 
 
 0 to 5 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 Wheelwrights 
 
 .. .. 6 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 Whitesmiths . . . . . . 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 
 Lumbermen and Sawyers receive from £3 to £5 per month, and Foremen 
 of the different branches lOs. per diem. ^ 
 
 2 c 
 
NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 386 
 
 Prices of Agricultural Produce and Farming Stock in New Bruns- 
 
 Articles. 
 
 Price — Currency. 
 
 
 00 
 
 o 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 Indian Corn 
 
 
 0 
 
 
 ..0 2 
 
 3 
 
 
 ..0 8 
 
 0 
 
 
 
 0 
 
 Hay, per ton (ip the country) . . 
 
 ..2 0 
 
 0 to £4 0 0 
 
 A good Cart Horse 
 
 
 0 
 
 Saddle Horse 
 
 .. 30 0 
 
 0 
 
 A Yoke of Oxen 
 
 .. 15 0 
 
 Oto 20 0 0 
 
 Sheep, per head 
 
 .. 0 10 
 
 0 
 
 A Milch Cow 
 
 ..5 0 
 
 0 to 7 10 0 
 
 A breeding Sow 
 
 ..2 0 
 
 0 to 3 10 0 
 
 Pigs, sucking, each 
 
 ..0 5 
 
 0 
 
 Farmer’s Cart 
 
 .. 7 10 
 
 0 
 
 A Waggon 
 
 .. 12 10 
 
 0 
 
 A Plough . . 
 
 
 0 
 
 A Harrow (double) 
 
 ..3 0 
 
 0 
 
 A narrow Axe 
 
 ..0 8 
 
 0 
 
 A broad Axe 
 
 .. 0 15 
 
 0 
 
 A log Canoe 
 
 .. 1 10 
 
 0 
 
 Beef, per quarter 
 
 
 4 per lb. 
 
 Fresh Pork 
 
 ..0 0 
 
 4 „ 
 
 „ Veal 
 
 
 3i „ 
 
 „ Mutton 
 
 
 4§ „ 
 
 „ Venison 
 
 
 4 „ 
 
 Butter 
 
 
 0 ,, 
 
 Eggs 
 
 
 9 per dozen. 
 
 Potatoes usually Is. 3d. per bushel. In 1845 great quantities were 
 destroyed by the prevalent disease of that year, and the price has been 
 raised in eountry places to 2s. 6d. per bushel. 
 
 The price of clearing an acre of land varies from £3 10s. to £4 10s. 
 currency, according as it may be heavy or light timbered ; or for 
 
 Chopping £1 10 0 
 
 Piling and burning off •• •• 1 0 0 
 
 Fencing 1 0 0 
 
NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS. ..o- 
 
 oot 
 
 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 
 
 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 
 follows : — _ 
 
 Places. 
 
 Cabtk. 
 
 Cost including 
 Provisions. 
 
 £ £ 
 
 London . . 
 
 .. 15 to 20 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 .. 12 „ 15 
 
 Greenock. . 
 
 .. 15 
 
 Dublin 
 
 .. 13 „ 15 
 
 Londonderry 
 
 .. 10 „ 12 
 
 Cork.. .. 
 
 .. 12 „ 16 
 
 Cost with 
 Provisions. 
 £ s. £ 
 6 0 to 7 
 3 10 
 
 3 10 
 
 4 10 
 
 4 10 
 
 Steehaoe. 
 
 Cost without 
 Provisions. 
 £ *. £ 
 
 • • 3 5 to 4 
 .. 2 10 
 .. 2 10 
 .. 2 10 
 .. 2 10 
 .. 3 0* 
 
 5 
 
 John is forty days ; 
 
 Tlie average passage from Great Britain to St. 
 to the Northern Ports, forty-five days. 
 
 Passengers are entitled by law to be supported on board the vessel 
 forty-eight hours after their arrival. 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! 
 
 * Simmonds’s Colonial Magazine. 
 
 i 
 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 
388 
 
 NEW BRUNSWICK. 
 
 No fund 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 165. ^\d, ; the dollar, 4s. \\d, ; 
 the shilling, 9|c?. ; 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. 6d, ; crown, 6s. Id, ; 
 half-crown, 3s. 0\d, ; shilling, Is. 2d, ; sixpence, 1\d, These rates 
 are liable to some variation. 
 
 The principal Emigrant Agent, M. H. Perley, Esq., 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. 
 
 THE ENJ). 
 
 II. I. 8TEVEKS, PRINTER, PHILPOT LAKE, LONDON. 
 
NEW COLONIAL WORKS 
 
 PUBLISHED BT 
 
 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., 
 
 Author of*' Reconnoitring Voyages and Travels in South Australia^ Cape of Good Hopef* ^o. 
 
 One Vol. demy 8vo., price Ss., with Illustrations, 
 
 ST. LOUIS’ ISLE, OR TEXIANA; 
 
 BEING ADVENTURES AND EXPERIENCE OF TEXAS. 
 
 BTr«irsni:ES'^6TON, esq.. 
 
 Author of" Colin Clink** ** Bilberry Thurland,'* %c. ^c. 
 
 Two Vols. 8 VO. 
 
 REMINISCENCES OF CUBA; 
 OR, THE SMITHS AT THE HAVANNA. 
 
 BY CHAS. F. ELLERMAN, ESQ., 
 
 Author of " The Amnesty** %c. 
 
 PREPARING FOR EARLY PUBLICATION, 
 
 A NEW HISTORY OF BARBADOS, 
 
 With large Map^ and Views of the Island Scenery, 
 
 To be published by Subscription. Price 30s. 
 
 Dedicated to SIR CHAS. GREY, Governor-General of Barbados. 
 
 By SIR ROBERT H. SCHOMBURGK, K.R.E., Chairman of the Barbados 
 General Railway, &c. 
 
New Colonial Works, published by Smmonds Ward. 
 
 POPULAR WORKS NOW READY. 
 
 Demy 12mo., price 5s. 
 
 A R A B I N ; 
 
 OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A COLONIST. 
 
 BY THOS. M‘COMBIE, ESQ., 
 
 Editor of the Port Phillip Gazette, and Author of in » Simmonds'e 
 
 Editor or tno r Magazine.” and “Tait’s Magazine, &c. fee. 
 
 « May be commended for some agreeable sketching of character, and some 
 useful information.” — Athen(Bum. 
 
 “ This work, we doubt not, will attract a goodly share of the attention of the 
 nublic. The tale is simple, but interesting; the characters are well sketched , 
 the adventures, without being unnatural, are stnking, and tend to chain the 
 attention of the reader ; and the various descriptions of Australian society and 
 ^life in the bush ’ convey a truth-like portrait of life m that outlandish 
 the world Mr. M'Coinbie is evidently a man ot much observation, and one 
 who can turn his talent to the best account.”— Herald. 
 
 “ Vigorous and life-like pictures of Australian scenes.”— Northern Star. 
 
 “ \ plot full of interest, and a variety of lively characters to rivet the reader’s 
 attention and carry him on with impatience to the sequel. The 
 a charm which we may look for in vain in works of pure fiction. 1 he work is 
 written in a popular and pleasing style, and full of incident and adventure. 
 Colonial Magazine. ^ v it r 
 
 “ From his connexion with the periodical press in New South 'W ales, Mr. 
 M‘Comhie has been enabled to gather together m^^ch cimous information re- 
 lating to the humbler livers in the Bush and elsewhere in that 
 contributed entertaining papers about them to Simnionds s Colonial Map- 
 zine ’ ‘Tail’s Magazine,’ and other publications. Collected, they make a 
 very characteristic volume, in^which we read of many things generally un- 
 noticed in more systematic productions, such as adventures among log-huts, 
 and descriptions of the habits of the poorer settlers, their little rogueries, and 
 occasionally more serious offences. We may therefore say, that there is a new 
 scene for these domestic and internal concerns, which, as they differ from our 
 home affairs of a similar kind, may divert an idle hour with the vanorum ot 
 wandering Literary Gazette. 
 
 THE BEST AND MOST RECENT WORK ON NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 One Vol. demy 8vo., price 8s. 
 
 NEW ZEALAND AND ITS AFFAIRS; 
 
 Forming a Complete History of the Colony. 
 
 BY DR. MARTIN, 
 
 Late a Member of the Legislative Council, and Magistrate of the Colony. 
 
 “ A very interesting and elaborate work. The letters in this book are well 
 written and instructive, and the narrative contains a great deal to excUe 
 n«fnniQbment Few books upon Colonial matters contain more useful 
 
 information.”— Advertiser. rp, i ^ r vr 
 
 “ This work is replete with interest and novelty. The history of New 
 Zealand is copiously narrated ; its government measures recorded ; the settle- 
 ments graphically pourlrayed, and the aborigines and settlers sketched both