28 DARKNESS OF THE NIGHTS. 



Leaving Little Tracadi, we drove for three miles 

 through a pleasant hardwood forest, to the ferry of Big 

 Tracadi, where we crossed another wide arm of the same 

 lagoon. Thence to the mouth of the Tabusintac River, 

 which falls into a similar large lagoon, we passed over 

 twelve miles of a light sandy nearly barren surface, 

 covered with scrub, or Prince s pine, (Pinus inops^ and 

 sweet fern, (Comptoma asplenifolia.} Of the latter I have 

 already spoken on several occasions. Both are emi 

 nently characteristic of the soils on which they grow 

 th e sweet fern of a dry poor sandy soil, not altogether 

 incapable of producing certain crops, and the scrub pine 

 of a poor gravelly barren. 



We were now travelling south-west, and had begun 

 to round the mouth of the Miramichi Bay. Generally, 

 along the coast-line at least, this is not a district which 

 invites the attention of the European settler. After 

 crossing the ferry of the Tabusintac, we rode for fifteen 

 miles over poor and sandy land, till we came successively 

 to the small rivers Naguac and Burnt Church, upon each 

 of which we found small French settlements, and some 

 land better than the generality of the country. We 

 passed also through some miles of good unappropriated 

 mixed hardwood land, forming an Indian reserve, of 

 considerable value. 



Dark night came upon us while still ten miles from 

 Douglastown. We therefore gladly accepted the 

 hospitable invitation of a Mr Davidson, who occupies a 

 farm on the Miramichi River about this distance from 

 Douglastown and refreshed ourselves and horses by an 

 hour s delay, in the hope that the thick darkness would 

 pass away. This was not the case, however, and we 

 started again, groping our way through the woods, and 



to their homes. What is the happiest result of all, the disease is no 

 longer considered incurable, and those who have it are not under the 

 Bamc inducements to conceal it. 



