BEAUTY OF THE HAMMOND RIVER. 131 



day was fine, and, maugre the greasy goose, I enjoyed 

 this drive along the Hammond River very much. 

 Though the breadth and majesty of the St John was 

 wanting, yet, for its extent, it struck me as more full of 

 varied natural beauty than any river-scenery I had 

 visited in New Brunswick. If it be not already for want 

 of accommodations which are found necessary at a dis 

 tance of thirty-five miles it is sure to become one of the 

 most favourite places for rural leisure and enjoyment to 

 the future inhabitants of St John. Along the six miles 

 which bring us to Kilpatrick s the twenty-four-mile 

 house from St John we passed many nice, tasteful 

 white houses of good size, signs of good land and pros 

 perous farmers, which gave an additional charm to the 

 natural attractions of the country. 



Before reaching Kilpatrick s, we had ascended from 

 the water-side to the high ground above the river, had 

 crossed an outcrop of the red conglomerate, and were 

 now on grey sandstone poorer and stonier land. But 

 after two or three miles we descended again by a steep 

 bank, crossed the Hammond River by a bridge, and 

 came immediately into a new country, both geologically 

 and agriculturally. Igneous rocks here appeared to 

 prevail the first I had seen since I left the falls of the 

 Nepisiguit Biver, above Bathurst a dark trappean rock 

 intermingled with a greyish and a very striking greenish 

 felspar porphyry. The river appears to separate the 

 stratified from these crystalline rocks, which form nearly 

 all the boulders, and, mixed with slate-drift, produce 

 the poor spruce and other soft-wood soils which prevail 

 for the next six miles. 



These igneous rocks introduce a new character into 

 the scenery. Instead of taking the nearest way to St 

 John, I had crossed the river, and w T as now following a 

 longer route, that I might see the romantic sheet of 

 water, and the mountain overhanging it, to which the 



