WATER I'OWERS OX MERSEY RIVER, N. S. YORSrON. 653 



water-powers. The main source of the river is in A'nnapolis 

 county, approximately 15 miles from the Bay of Fundy. 

 Branches to the main stream also come from the counties of 

 Shelburne and Digby. The extent of territory drained by the 

 river is GOO square miles, and on the water-shed are to be found 

 many lakes of large size, of which Rossignol, which has an 

 area of 18 square miles, is the largest. In all, about 40 square 

 miles of lakes are drained by the Mersey, and consequently the 

 river is much more steady in its flow than others of our rivers, 

 due to the large area of lake surface on its water-shed. It will 

 readily be seen that this steadiness of flow particularly adapts 

 this river for the development of water-powers, but after all, 

 the chief recommendation of the Mersey river is the fact that 

 in the last sixteen miles of its length it has a total faU of 260 

 feet. The river for this portion of its length is really a suc- 

 cession of many rapids or falls, and as the high ground 

 approaches close to the river, on both banks there are many 

 good power sites to be found, capable of development at a com- 

 paratively low cost. The portion of the Mersey river which I 

 speak of as being specially adapted for water-powers, is the 

 last sixteen miles of its length, from the point where it leaves 

 the lake (known as Indian Gardens) down to tide water, and 

 I intend giving a short description of the water-powers already 

 developed on this portion, as well as the possibilities of the 

 further development and its application to industries 

 particularly suited to the locality. 



In the early days the Mersey river was used by the Indians 

 as a means of communication with the Atlantic coast. The 

 route followed was up the Lequille river to its source in a lake 

 about 14 miles back, and thence by a short portage of about 

 one mile to the head waters of the Mersey, from which point 

 it was comparatively easy to descend by canoe to the ocean at 

 the mouth of the Mersey. That this route was used extensively 

 by the Indians there is abundant evidence in the relics to be 

 found on the shores of some of the lakes on the river, and 



