[g.ajjong] 



ADDITIONS TO MONOGRAPHS 



95 

 Historic Sites. 



253. Somewhat over a mile east of Kouchibouguac Village, there empties 

 into the Kouchibouguac River on the south side a small brook, at 

 which apparently, is marked on an old plan in the Crown Land 

 Office the words "Indian Portage," while the brook itself is called 

 " the brook at the Indian Portage " in a grant of 1809. Since this place 

 Is within tide waters, it cannot indicate a portage along the river; 

 but it may mark the beginning of an old portage to the Kouchibou- 

 guacsis. Possibly this was part of the route from the Aldouane to 

 the Miramichi mentioned by Denys. 



255. The Miramichi-Nepisiguit route along the remarkable lagoons of this 

 coast is mapped and described in some detail in my edition of 

 Smethurst's Narrative of 1761 in the Collections of the N. B. His- 

 torical Society, II, 370, 373. But since 

 that work was published I have gathered 

 much additional information upon the 

 subject, and have been able again to visit 

 this interesting region, (travelling, as was 

 appropriate, by canoe), and to inspect in 

 person the route of nearly all of the port- 

 ages. 



From Miramichi Bay to Tabusintac 

 the route along shore inside the "beaches" 

 is entirely unobstructed, so that no port- 

 age is there needed. But I believe that a 

 portage, or at least a trail, existed from 

 the vicinity of the important Indian settle- 

 ment of Church Point through to Stymest's 

 Millstream, which is near to another im- 

 portant village site at Cains Point. Thus 

 I have been told by an Indian at Burnt 

 Church that such a route started up Re- 

 serve Brook and ran from Neguac to 

 the little brook now called Portage 

 Brook on some plans* (Stymests Mill- 

 stream being the next stream to 

 the westward). I find, however, that 

 the earliest map of this river, that 

 of 1804, applies the name Portage 

 River, to Stymests Millstream, leaving 

 the present Portage Brook unnamed, while the Stymest grant of 1814 

 speaks of the Millstream as " commonly called Portage River ". 

 Hence it seems altogether likely that the Indian was correct and 

 the white man in error, and that the portage really ran to Stymests 

 Millstream, though it is of course possible that it had a branch to 

 Portage Brook. The name Portage was probably transferred to the 

 brook after the Millstream acquired its present name. The topo- 

 graphy of the region would, however, seem Lo favour Negauac Brook 

 rather than Reserve Brook as the starting point of the route, in 

 which case the portage would have followed the general route of 

 the present highway road. 



From Tabusintac to Tracadie there were at least two routes, 

 (a) that through the ponds inside the beach, including Grand Lake, 



mi 



Map No. 11. From Plans by Harley 



AND BY FaIRWEAIHEK ; X /,. 



