New Brunswick with notes: for emigrants, comprehending the early history, settlement, topography, statistics, natural history, etc

Front matter

NEW BRUNSWICK; WITH Jiotc0 fov -Cnugrent** 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 OP THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OP CORNWALL; MEMBER OF THE LITERARY AND HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF SUEBEC; CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA J AUTHOR OF "REMARKS ON THE GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY OF NOVA SCOTIA," ETC. LONDON: SIMMONDS & WARD, 6, BARGE YARD, BJCKLERSBURY. 1847. LONDON : PRINTED BY H. I. STEVENS, PHILPOT LANE, PENCHURCH STREET.

Preface

The Author of the Work now submitted to tlie public was employed by the Government of New Brunswick five years in making a Geological Survey of that Province. During that period, he had the most favourable opportunities of making him self acquainted with the climate, topography and resources of the country, and also with the habits and industry of its inha bitants. His Geological Reports, published by the Provincial Legislature, were necessarily devoted to science, and to the description of the mineral wealth of the Province : the present Work embraces all the information acquired during the per formance of the above public service, and will be found to con tain, with a brief history, a full description of the Colony. No previous Work of the kind has ever appeared. New Brunswick formed a part of ancient Acadia, or Nova Scotia, until 1784, when it was made a separate Province; and in the general Histories of North America, it has not been noticed in a degree equal to its present importance and value as a part of Her Majesty's Colonial Possessions.

With but a very imperfect knowledge of the country, some writers have pronounced its climate to be rather unfavourable to the health of Europeans, its seasons too cold for vegetation, and its atmosphere involved in dense fogs. To correct these and similar errors is an object of much importance, and to lay

PREFACE.

. VI 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 may be applied, and thereby increase individual happiness and national prosperity. Many of the errors that have been committed in negotiations with Foreign States, and in establishing a system of Colonial policy, have arisen from an imperfect knowledge of the Pro vinces.

To extend sound information of all the Colonies is very desirable, and more especially is it so for New Brunswick, of which comparatively little is known on the opposite side of the Atlantic. Notwithstanding the inhabitants of Great Britain have ex pended sums almost beyond computation in public improve ments both at home and abroad, such is the elevated state of the nation, that she still abounds in wealth, and new sources of riches and 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 overflowing population.

Happily, the value of the British North American Colonies to the Empire is becoming more and more apparent ; nor can they be too highly estimated for affording strength and security to the nation, an outlet for her stagnant population and manu-

PREFACE.

. VII 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 are from the same source, and from experience in forming 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 burton'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 supplied by James White, Esq., Sheriff of St. John.

The works of Mr. M'Gregor, Mr. Murray, and others, with the writings of Mr. Cooney and the Author of the Notitia of New Brunswick, have also been con sulted. The tables that refer to the industry, commerce, and resources of the Province have been drawn from works of established authority, and the Journals of the Legislature ; and much pains have been taken to render them correct. The Author has to acknowledge very gratefully the obliga tions he owes to the Hon. John S. Saunders, Provincial Secre tary, and to the Hon. Thomas Bailey, Surveyor-General : to the latter 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 of the trade and revenues of New Brunswick. An account of the pre-

PREFACE.

. VIII 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 Work. 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 faciKties 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 183G, it was 1,651,500; 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 maimed by 150,000 seamen and fishermen. The amount of consumption of British manufactured goods is nearly £7,000,000 sterling per annum. Excepting the most northern parts of this vast terri tory, which supply fish, timber, and furs, the climate, soil, and resources of the country are equal to those of Great Britain, and 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 established, and, by a wise system of national policy, it may be long* maintained. If to this are added free communications and general improvements, England will be as firmly established on this side of the Atlantic as on the other, and no event under the influence of human agency can ever relax her foothold upon the Great Continent. Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, October, 1846. Page. 1 8 CONTENTS

Chapter I. Remarks On British America

Extent and Boundaries. — Claims of the Americans. — Physical Features of the Country. — Relics of Ancient Nations. — Ahoriginal Inhabitants.

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 Chamisse' and La Tour. — Heroism, Capture, and Sufferings of Madame de la Tour. — Indians of the Northern Coast. — French Settlements. — 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 Geneial Wolfe. — Peace. CONTENTS.

Chapter III. Historical Account Of The Early Settlements Of New Brunswick

Page Early French Settlements at Bay Chaleurs — Miramichi. — Fatal Malady of the Colonists — Distress. — Victory of Capt. Byron. — Submission 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 Province — Administration. •13

Chapter IV. General Description Of New Brunswick

Boundaries. — Area. — Disputed Territory. — Claims of the Americans. — Border Difficulties — Threatened War — Settlement of the Dispute. Canadian Boundary. — General Features.- — Mountains — Lakes — Rivers — Cataracts — Ice-barriers — Marshes — Islands — Lagoons. . . 57

Chapter V. Native Indians Of New Brunswick

Theories of Origin — Different Tribes — Physical Character — Customs- Powers of Endurance — Oratory — Dress — Wampum Belts — Hieroglyphics — Wigwams — Canoes — Relics — Portages — Wars — Intercourse with Europeans fatal — Former Savage Character.— Indian Confederation — Villages— Pursuits — Anecdote — Languages'. 106

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. — Timber—Fisheries. County of Charlotte.— Towns— St. Andrew's— St. Stephen's.— Rivers — Harbours— Islands.— Mills — Lumbering — CONTENTS. XIII Page 119 181 224 Soil — Surface — Agriculture. County of Westmoreland. — Situation — 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. — First Settlement — Extent — Vernal Floods — Intervales — Agriculture — Losses by Fire.

County of York. — Parishes. — Fredericton, the Capital — Site — Public Buildings — In stitutions — Navigation. — Early Settlements — Military Settlements — Land Company — Boistown — Soil — Agriculture — Lumbering. County of Carlton. — Situation — General Features — Mountains- Streams — Lakes — Woodstock — Villages — Military Stations — To bique River — Aroostook River — American Boundary — Grand Falls — Salmon Fisheries — Madawasca — Acadian French — Impolitic Treaty — Soil — Agriculture — Lumbering. Northern Counties.- County of Kent. — 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 — Nelson. — Trade — Manufactures — 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 Restigouche. — Situation — Area — Parishes — Settlements— Coast Fisheries — Rivers — Mountains.— Towns — Dalhousie — Campbelltown.— Kempt Koad— Indian Village— Gaspe— Great Roads— Bye Roads— Road-making— Bridge-building— Halifax and Quebec Railway.

Chapter VII. Agriculture

Climate— Soils— Alluviums— Marl— Lime— Peat— Forests— New Lands —Imperfect State of Agriculture— Agricultural Societies— Productions — Wheat— other Grains— Indian Corn— Grasses— Horticulture —Floriculture— Mode of Clearing Wild Lands— Ashes— First Crop —Squatters— Forest Trees— New Settlements— Live Stock— Maple Sugar.— Game— Hunting— Sporting. .. CONTENTS. XIV Page. 265 289 315 340

Chapter VIII. The Fisheries Of New Brunswick

Historical Sketch of the Fisheries— Treaties with the French and Americans—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 Brunswick, 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 — Presbyterians — 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 . .

Chapter XI. Geology And Mineralogy Of New Brunswick

Rocks— Order of Superposition— Organic Remains— Coal-field— Fossil Plants — Minerals CONTENTS. XV

Chapter XII

natural history of new brunswick. Page. Mammalia — Birds — Reptiles — Fishes— Plants. .. .. .. 355 NOTES FOR EMIGRANTS ILLUSTRATIONS. Page. Map of Mew Brunswick to face Vignette, Group of Indians. Grand Falls of the St. John 72 Indian Wigwams 110 Government House, Fredericton Madawasca Perogue 160 180 Backwoodsman's Shanty ..

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 Americus 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 all nature presented itself under forms with which the early voyagers were unacquainted. Gold and silver had been brought from the moun tains ; while the size and strength of the timber, the fertility of the soil, and the abundance of fish in the waters, filled the minds of the first adventurers with wonder and delight. The whole of the immense continent, wherever it was explored, was found to be occupied by numerous tribes of human beings, who were also unlike the inhabitants of Europe. The title of these tribes to the soil had never been disputed ; but they were now to be driven back, step by step, until their names and places of abode should nowhere be known.

The treachery, injustice, and cruelty with which these simple aborigines were treated by the early Colonists, forms some of the darkest pages in the history of the world ; and although their final release of the lands of their forefathers, and their almost utter annihila tion, are among those momentous events permitted by Providence for the extension of human industry and happiness, and for the worship of the true God, it is the bounden duty of every civilised nation to lessen their pains, and to bring into peace and contentment the remnants of the tribes they have dispossessed of their unalienable rights, and to whom, in return, they have conveyed the poison of disease and the evils of intemperance. The spirit of colonisation had prevailed nearly three centuries, in which period there were numerous conflicts between England and France for territory, which each power claimed as its own.

In the same time, British and other European emigrants and their descendants had established themselves along an extensive line of the Atlantic coast, until they gained a power that refused to be restrained by the laws and usages of their forefathers. Revolt from the European Go vernments commenced. The British Colonists took up arms against the mother-country, and won their independence. Their example has since been imitated by the inhabitants of South America, where the struggles to throw off the control of foreign sovereignty have scarcely terminated. The Revolutionary War in the British Colonies reflects but little credit upon the British Parliament or the Colonists in Ame rica ; it has, nevertheless, rendered that part of the continent which still belongs to Great Britain more secure than it would have been if 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 Hugri Murray, 3 vols. 16mo, Edinburgh 1S39, vol. i. pp. 18, that existed with reference to a tract of wilderness country situated between New Brunswick and the State of Maine, and which was likely to result in a war between the two nations, was settled by treaty, through the mediation of 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, situated 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 districts 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 ■> 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 altitude 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 peninsula 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 027 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. The Falls of Montmorenci, near Quebec, and those of the Nepisiquit, in New Brunswick, although inferior in magnitude, are sublime and beautiful objects. The tides of the Bay of Fundy, which at one place rise no less than 78 feet, are also remarkable. The Grand Banks of New foundland, which have evidently been produced by the gulf-stream that runs along the Atlantic coast, and 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 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 bays have also been neglected, and left unprotected from foreign aggression. British America offers perfect relief to the overflowing population of the mother-country, whose manufacturing districts and most productive counties have become so overloaded with the humbler classes, that the least disturbance in the state of trade produces the greatest degree of misery and crime.

To remove this monstrous burden from the cultivated 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 supposed that the continent was originally peopled from the north-east ; hut 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 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 than a thousand years are supposed to have elapsed since they were erected. Dried human bodies, resembling mummies, have also been found in tha 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 considered it a part of New France, or Acadia, and therefore its history is compre hended in that of Nova Scotia until 1784, when it was formed into a separate Government. The histories of all new countries, or such as are inhabited by an uncivilised people, must necessarily be very limited, and, from the lack of written records, they can never extend beyond the tradition of the aborigines. From the continued perils and hardships the first settlers in the North American Provinces were compelled to endure, little pains were bestowed by them on the preservation of records which would have been highly useful and interesting to succeeding generations. That part of American history which is 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.