THE TRAP MINERALS OF NOVA SCOTIA—GILPIN. 283 
ArT. VIII—TuHE TRAP MINERALS oF Nova Scotia. By Epwin 
GiuPIn, A. M., F.G.S., Government Inspector of Mines. 
(Read March 7th, 1881.) 
WE cannot now say positively who first sailed the Bay of 
Fundy, but as soon as the attention of the early European adven- 
turers was directed to America we find numerous references to 
its tides and treasures. 
We know, however, that for nearly one hundred years before 
the early part of the seventeenth century, its shores were visited 
by numerous daring sailors lured by the charm of the unknown, 
and the hope that they might acquire fortunes by a lucky dis- 
covery of mines of gold and silver. 
In the patent granted by King Henry of France in 1603 to 
DeMonts, he is directed to carefully seek and mark all sorts of 
mines of gold, silver and copper, the tenth part of which was to be 
paid in royalty to the King. In 1604, DeMonts, Pontrincourt and 
Champdor visited Minas, and among other treasures deemed of 
value, they found at Blomidon great store of jasper, agate and 
amethyst. A nuinber of these amethysts were carried to France 
and presented to the King, who ordered the choicest to be cut 
and set in some of the state crowns and swords. I believe that 
some of these jewels are still to be seen in the Paris museums, 
and they form an interesting memorial of those bold spirits who 
fondly dreamed that they were destined to found asecond France 
on the American continent. 
During the same day Champdor visited St. Mary’s Bay with a 
mineralogist, and it is related that they found “ pure copper,” 
probably at Cape D’or. 
Lescharbot found in 1606 “steel” in the rocks near St. John, 
which was smelted and made into:knives, He also found “mar- 
casite of copper” at LaHave. Writing in 1609, he speaks of the 
native copper of the Bay of Fundy as being “very pure in the 
stone,” and adds, “many goldsmiths have seen it in France, 
which do say that under the copper mine there might be a gold 
mine, which is very probable.” 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert and others among the more celebrated 
