30 ORES AND IRON-WORKS ON BEAR RIVER. 



I heard many complaints of the excessive drought in 

 this part of the province. Parties who are badly off for 

 hay are in the habit, in ordinary years, of sending to 

 those who have hay to spare, three cattle at the begin- 

 ning of winter, to receive back two in spring. This year 

 five were already spoken of to get back three, and higher 

 payments might become necessary. 



The Bay of Annapolis is about twenty miles long, and 

 at the foot of it stands the town of Digby. Several 

 rivers flow into it from the South Mountains, among 

 which the Moose river is distinguished by the occurrence 

 of deposits of iron ore a few miles above its mouth. 

 Another deposit of the same ore occurs on the Nictau 

 river, which descends from the same mountains into the 

 valley, about half-way between Cornwallis and Annapolis. 

 Both ores are very rich, and that of Nictau abounds in 

 casts of Silurian fossils. 



Some years ago a company was formed for the purpose 

 of mining and smelting these ores ; and buildings were 

 erected at the mouth of Bear Biver, where the manu- 

 facture was established and carried on. But differences 

 arose among the partners, and the works were stopped. 

 The site of the works is ten or twelve miles below Anna- 

 polis ; and I was indebted to the kindness of Dr Leslie — 

 a Scotchman possessed of the 'perfermdum ingenium of 

 his country both in heart and head — for driving me to 

 the spot. The site appeared to be well chosen, especially 

 for convenience of shipment. There were also heaps of 

 ore, and many tons of unfinished blooms, lying in the 

 crumbling buildings, showing how summarily operations 

 had been stopped. The furnaces and workshops were 

 already falling to ruin, for want of that stitch in time 

 with which masons, as well as tailors, can keep things in 

 repair at a small expense. The locality is admirably 

 adapted for the supply of iron to the markets of the two 

 provinces, and of thex4.tlantic States ; and if the adjoining 



