46 KOADS AND KAILWAYS. 



lands of tlie interior for colonization or in developing the 

 natural resources of the Island. As the })eople inci eased in 

 nundjers and tlieir views and asjtirations hegau to widen, the 

 question presented itself : Were tliey doomed to cling fore^•er to 

 the rocky shores and content themselves with a jirecarious sub- 

 sistence derived from the stormy dee]) ? Was -it not possible to 

 turn to some profitable account their huge territory of 42,000 

 square miles, and not leave it furever to the bears tlie wolves, 

 and the deer ? Must the inteiior remain furevei' an unpeopled 

 solitude where so many of the population were finding the pro- 

 ducts of the fisheries inadequate to give tliem daily bread ? If 

 it be true, as so many have reported, that there are in the in- 

 terior noble forests, rich mineral deposits and fertile lauds, must 

 these all remain as nature has place<l them and be turned to no 

 human use ? 



DOUBTERS AND SCOFFERS. 



Still there were inany who doubted or denied the existence of 

 any such natural resources in tlie interior, and clung to the old 

 belief that nothing was to be found but alternations of b(jgs, 

 rocks and swamps, with little if any forest growths or lands fit 

 foi' settlement. As to minerals, they scoifed at all reports of 

 their existence as mere fables, propagated Ijy wild enthusiasts or 

 designing imposters. 



ANOTHER GREAT STRIDE-GEOLOGICAIi SURVEY. 



Happily there was sufficient faith among men of intelligence 

 in the resources of the country to secure the organization of a 

 Geological Survey in 18G4. Sir William Logan, the eminent 

 Cteologist of Canada, was applied to, and he nominated Mr. 

 Alexander Murray, who had been his assistant for twenty years, 

 to take charge of the work. He prosecuted the survey Avith 

 commendable zeal and energy for over twenty years, and it has 

 been continued by his able assistant, Mr. J as. Howley, till the 

 present time. Noav, for the first time, the resources and caj)- 

 abilities of this neglected and misrepresented country Avere ex- 

 amined and reported on by competent scientific men whose 



