NEW BRUNSWICK.
Object of the Chapter.—Description of St. John's River.—First Falls.—Contiguous Country.—"Mars Hill."—Prospect.—Grand Falls. —The Acadians, curious Facts respecting them.—The Mirimachi River.—Immense amount of Timber shipped.—Riots.—State of Morals.—The great Mirimachi Fire.—Hurricane.—Destruction of Human Life.—Area of the Fire.—Vessels in Harbor.—Painfully disgusting Sights.—Destruction among Fish.—Fire, rapidity of Progress.—Curious instance of Escape.—Ristigouche River, its Length.—Capacious Harbor.—Appearance of the Country.—High Banks.—Groves of Pine.—A Statistical Table.
With a view to give a general outline of the immense capacities of the strip of country lying east of the St. Lawrence, between the latitudes of 42° and 44° north, I shall include (as the terminus of Maine, not regarding geographical lines) that part of the country known as the province of New Brunswick, whose lumber in quality has, in years past, quite outrivaled that of Maine.
The River St. John's, the Mississippi of the East, "has a course of nearly six hundred miles from its source, near the Chaudière, in Lower Canada, to where it falls into the Bay of Fundy. At its entrance into the harbor the river passes through a fissure of solid and overhanging rock, exhibiting every appearance of having been formed by some convulsion of nature. The volume of water collected in a course of so many hundred miles, being here compelled to pass through so narrow a passage as thirteen hundred feet, occasions what are called the Falls of St. John's, which are merely a sluice on a grand scale. At times of great floods, the appearance from the overhanging precipices is truly wonderful, and the noise tremendous, particularly on the ebb of tide. The ordinary rise of the tide above the falls is only six feet, and then only when the river is not swollen. The tide must flow twelve feet below before the river becomes passable for vessels; the time for such passage lasts about twenty minutes after the rise of tide creates a fall from below; on the returning tide the water becomes level for the same space of time, and thus only at four times in the twenty-four hours can vessels enter St. John's harbor, in which the rise of tide is from twenty-five to thirty feet. Above the falls the river widens, and forms a bay of some magnitude, surrounded by high and rugged woodland. Passing up the bay, huge calcareous rocks, and vast, dark pine forests stretch up the sides of lofty hills and promontories."
From the city of St. John's, which is contiguous to the falls, up to Fredericton (the seat of government), ninety miles distant, there is much to admire in the bays and beautiful islands which dot its limpid waters. A great portion of the land skirting its banks is alluvial, running back to beautiful ridges which swell up in the distance, and "the result is a luxuriant landscape." "For one hundred and thirty miles further the river flows through a fertile wooded country." "Sixty-three miles above Fredericton are the towns of Northampton and Woodstock. The next conspicuous place we reach is Mars Hill, about five miles and a half west of the River St. John's, and one hundred from Fredericton. This town has considerable interest attached to it from the circumstance of its being the point fixed on by the British commissioners as the commencement of the range of highlands forming the boundary of the United States. The mountain is about three miles in length, with a base upward of four miles, an elevation of two thousand feet above the sea, and twelve hundred above the source of the St. Croix. Near the summit it is almost perpendicular. As it is the highest point in its vicinity, the prospect commands a great extent of territory. Immediately beneath stretch the vast forests of which the adjacent country is composed, whose undulatory swells, 'clothed with the somber evergreen of the Fir, Spruce, Hemlock, and Pine, and the lighter green of the Beech, the Birch, and Maple, resembling, while they exceed, the stupendous waves of the ocean.' About twenty-five miles north, on the St. John's, we come to the Grand Falls, where the river passes, greatly contracted, between rugged cliffs, overhung with trees, sweeping along a descent of several feet with fearful impetuosity, until the interruption of a ridge of rocks changes the hitherto unbroken volume into one vast body of turbulent foam, which thunders over a perpendicular precipice, about fifty feet in height, into a deep vortex among huge black rocks, when the St. John's rolls out impetuously through a channel still more confined in width over a succession of falls for about a mile, the cliffs here overhanging the river so much as to conceal it."
"When the sun's rays fall upon the mists and spray perpetually rising from the cataract, a gorgeous iris is seen floating in the air, waving its rich colors over the white foam, and forming a beautiful contrast with the somber rocks, covered with dark cedars and pines, which overhang the abyss."
"The St. John's is much broader above the falls than it is below; and there are but few rapids, and none of them dangerous to navigate." About thirty miles above the falls we come to the 'Madawaska settlement, the population of which is estimated at three thousand souls.' "Most of the settlers are French neutrals or Acadians, who were driven by British violence from their homes in Nova Scotia (called by the French Acadia) on the 17th of July, 1775. These people at first established themselves above Fredericton, and subsequently removed above the Grand Falls, and effected this settlement. The Acadians are a very peculiar people, remarkable for the simplicity of their manners and their fidelity to their employers. Although they are said to be 'sharp at a bargain,' they are remarkably honest, industrious, and respectful, and are polite and hospitable to each other and to strangers. It is curious to observe how perfectly they have retained all their French peculiarities. The forms of their houses, the decorations of their apartments, dress, mode of cookery, &c., are exactly such as they originally were in the land of their ancestors. They speak a kind of patois, or corrupted French, but perfectly understand the modern language as spoken in Paris. But few persons can be found who can understand or speak English, and these are such as, from the necessities of trade, have learned a few words of the language. None of the women or children either understand or speak English.
"The Acadians are a cheerful, contented, and happy people, social in their intercourse, and never pass each other without a kind salutation. While they thus retain all the marked characteristics of the French peasantry, it is a curious fact that they appear to know but little respecting the country from which they originated, and but few of them have the least idea of its geographical situation. Thus we were asked, when we spoke of France, if it were not separated from England by a river, or if it were near the coast of Nova Scotia; and one inquired if Bethlehem, where Christ was born, were not a town in France!! Since they have no schools, and their knowledge is but traditional, it is not surprising that they should remain thus ignorant of geography and history. I can account for their understanding the pure French language from the circumstance that they are supplied with Catholic priests from the mother country, who of course speak to them in that tongue. Those who visit Madawaska must remember that no money passes current there but silver, for the people do not know how to read, and will not take bank-notes, as they have often been imposed upon, since they are unable to distinguish a £5 from a $5 or five shilling note. As there are no regular taverns in this settlement, every family the traveler calls upon will furnish accommodations, for which they expect a reasonable compensation, and he will be always sure of kind treatment, which is beyond price. I have been thus particular to speak of the Acadian settlers of Madawaska, because little is generally known of their manners and customs, many people having the idea that they are demi-savages, because, like the aboriginal inhabitants, they live principally by hunting."[ [24]
There are several important tributaries to the St. John's, and among them mention may be made of the Aroostook, which, from its historical associations with the boundary question between the States and Great Britain, has become familiar to all. "This river is a broad and beautiful stream, having a gradual descent, free from obstructions, so that a raft may run to the falls at its confluence with the St. John's," a distance of over one hundred miles. "Its bottom is composed of pebbles for the principal part of its course, and there are a few low islands in its midst." The soil varies on different sections of the river as you pass down, sometimes being of a "chocolate brown" or "yellow loam," the latter being in some places covered with "a black vegetable mold several inches deep." The country around is covered with a majestic grove, composed of towering Pines, Rock-maple, and the various Birches, Spruce, Fir, &c. Where the attempt has been made, the soil is found to be exceedingly productive. Its principal products are square timber, hewn from the giant Pines found upon its borders, and sugar, produced from the sap of the Rock-maple, magnificent groves of which grow upon its banks. Beds of iron ore are found in its vicinity, and in some places limestone abounds; 'and, from indications, it is highly probable that beds of anthracite coal will, when necessity shall prompt investigation, be found in its vicinity.' In an agricultural point of view, it has been remarked, by competent judges, that "there were never greater natural advantages offered to the farmer than are to be found upon this river," and that it "will" in time "become, as it is destined by nature to be, the granary of the North."
