[GANoNG] DOCHET (ST. CROIX) ISLAND 139 
if not of extreme, severity. This, without doubt, more than anything 
else, determined the abandonment of the St. Croix as the site of a 
settlement. Had the first, and the few later winters, been as mild 
as are often experienced in this vicinity, it is quite likely that this 
region, if not the island itself, would have remained the centre of 
French settlement and power in Acadia, in which case its later history, 
and perhaps its status to-day, would have been markedly different. 
Natural History The natural history of the island presents 
nothing peculiar, so far as I can find. No attempt has yet been made 
to list the plants or animals. The plants which naturally occur 
there are the common trees of the vicinity, pines, spruces, firs, maples, 
birches, mountain ash, cedar, and (formerly) oak, thus comprising 
the most useful trees native to the region. With these grow certain 
shrubs and many common herbs, including a fringe of the common 
salt plants around the margin of the salt water, together with many 
plants of cultivation in garden and field. On the rocks between tide 
marks grows a great profusion of the brown rock weed, and many 
other forms of the seaweeds, or Algæ, occur there. 
Of animal life there is little on the island, but much in the waters 
around it. The larger land mammals are wanting, and probably,. 
owing to the lack of fresh water, never regularly lived there. In the 
sea around the island, however, the porpoise is frequently, and the 
whale occasionally to be seen, as in Champlain’s day, and seals also 
occur, and breed on the ledges about the island. The common birds 
of the neighbourhood, the sea-gulls and the song birds, of course, are 
present, but no game birds of any importance now occur there. Rep- 
tiles appear to be quite absent, with the possible exception of small 
newts. Of the fishes, of course no fresh-water forms occur, but 
about the island swarms an extreme abundance of all the valuable 
salt-water food fishes of the region, cod, pollock, haddock, halibut, 
mackerel, salmon, etc., so that from the early days of the permanent 
settlement the island has been a valuable fishing station, and there 
is a weir for herring upon it at the present day. Amongst the 
fishes occurs the useless but rather striking sculpin, which seems to 
have attracted the attention of Champlain, for he represents it upon 
his map (Fig. 8). Without doubt, this abundance of fish in its waters 
was one important factor in determining its adoption by de Monts as 
the site of his settlement of 1604. Passing now to the lower groups 
of animals, the common field and garden insects occur on the island, 
though none of them are of especial importance. The mosquitos 
which so troubled de Monts’ party in 1604 are now well-nigh absent 
and never troublesome in the cleared condition of the island. Of 



1 See his map, Fig. 8. 
