﻿NEVIN. 



NEW BRUNSWICK. 



I 



little importance antil the reign of Clovis, in whose time it belonged 

 to the Burgnndiaos. It afterwards came into the bands of the Franks, 

 and was taken and burnt by Hugiies, count of Paris, in 972. It 

 suffered much in the wars of the English under Henry V. and VI., 

 and in the disputes of the dukes of Bourgogne with the kings of 

 France. In the middle ages it was the capital of the county of Nevcrs, 

 which was raised by Franijois I. to the rank of a duchy (1539). The 

 duchy was sold by Charles III. de Oonzagne (Gonzaga), the last duke, 

 to Cutlinal H&zarin, and was (1665) united to the crown of Franca 

 It constituted the province of Nivemais. 



NEVIN. [Caerharvosshibe.] 



NEVIS, one of the Leeward Islands, in the West Indies, belonging 

 to the group called the Lesser Antilles, is pitnated in 17° 14' N. lat., 

 63° 3' W. long. Nevis is about 2 miles S.E. from St. Christopher's, 

 from which it is separated by a channel called the Narrows. The 

 island is about 24 miles in circumference. The area is 20 square 

 miles. The popuktion in 1853 was estimated at 10,200, of whom a 

 very small number were whites. Of the white population there 

 were only 64 adult males. Nevis consists of a single conical mountain, 

 of volcanic origin, which reaches an elevation of 2500 feet. The sides 

 of the mountains are covered with plantations, and the soil is a fertile 

 marl ; the higher parts are rocky and sterile. A forest of evergreen- 

 trees grows like a collar round the neck of the highland where culti- 

 vation ceaaesL The summit is constantly covered with clouds. The 

 exportable produce of the island consists almost wholly of stigar, 

 molasses, and rum. The exports amounted in 1850 to 17,197/.; in 

 1861 to80,284/.; the imports were 16,474i. in 1850; 16,483i. in 1851. 

 Charltttoiim, the seat of government, stands near the south-west end 

 of the island, and has a tolerable roadstead, but is somewhat difBcnlt 

 of approach on account of a shoal which extends from the shore to 

 the distance of half a mile. There are here a oonrt-houw and a jail. 

 Nevis was first colonised by the English in 1628. 



NEVIS, BEN. [INVEBNEMSHIRK.] 



NEW ALBANY. [Induka.] 



NEW AMSTERDAM. [Bkbbice.] 



NEW BEDFORD. [Massachttsetw.] 



NEW BRITAIN is a large island in the Pacific, situated between 

 5° and 7° 30' S. lat, 148° and 153° E. long. It is separated from 

 New Guinea by Dampier's Strait (discovered by Dampicr in 1700), 

 about 40 miles wide ; and from New Ireland by St. George's Channel. 

 New Britain is of a very irregular figure, and its southern shores have 

 a coaat-Iine of more than 350 miles. The surface is estimated at 

 24,000 sqiuire miles, or nearly half the extent of England. The 

 interior of the island contains monntains of great elevation, as may 

 bo inferred from their being seen from sea at a great distance. 

 Carteret observed smoke to ri.se from the highest summit. In several 

 places the mountains come close to the sea, as at Cape Gloucester. 

 Along the shores there are some good harbours. The declivities of 

 the motmtains are generally covered with trees. The island is fertile, 

 and produces the ooooa-nut, sago, and other kinds of palms ; alio 

 bananas, yams, ginger, lugar-eane, the bread-tree, bamboo, and many 

 other plants and trees. Dogs, pigs, turtles, and fish abound. The 

 inhabitants, who appear to be rather numerous, belong to the race 

 of the Australian negroea ; they are stout and well made, of a very 

 dark colour, with curly hair, and go naked. 



NEW BRITAIN. fCoiiNKCTiocT.] 



NEW BRUNSWICK, a British colony in North America, lies 

 between 45° and 48° 5' N. lat, 63° 48' and 67° 53' W. long. It is 

 bounded N. by Canada, from which it is separated by the Ristigouche 

 River and the Bay of C!haleun; E. by the Onlf of St Lawrence, and 

 by Northumberland Strait, which divides it from Prince Edward 

 Island ; S. by Nova Scotia, the Bay of Kundy, and the State of Maine ; 

 W. by the State of Maine and Canada East, the boundary line, except 

 a nnall part in the southern extremity, lying along the meridian of 

 67° 68' W. long. The greatest length of the province, from north to 

 south, is 180 miles, from east to west, 150 miles. Its area is 27,704 

 square miles, or 17,730,560 acres. The population in 1834 was 

 119,457, in 1853 it wu 211,478. 



Surfacf. and Soil. — New Bmnswick may be divided into three 

 regions, the Southern, Central, and Northern. The SoiUKem Region 

 com|i|eheDds the country along the Bay of Fundy, and from 40 to 50 

 mile* inland. It is divided into two unequal portions by the St. 

 John River. The western section contains the greatest part of Passa- 

 maquoddy Bay, an extensive sheet of water, brandling out into 

 ■oreiml inlets, and forming harbours for vessels of considerable size. 

 It reoeivee many rivers, of which the St Croix is the most important, 

 being navigable for large Teasels to St Stephen's, above which place 

 it is interrupted by falls, yet timber is floated down. PassamaquoJdy 

 Bay eontaina lereral i^ands : Campobello, 10 miles long and 2 miles 

 wide, is separated by a narrow deep channel from Maine ; and Deer 

 Island is nearly 7 miles long and 3 miles broad in the widest part. 

 Before the bay lies Grand Man^ Island, about 14 miles long and 6 

 or 7 miles wide. The coast of tnis section is rocky. The Biirface is 

 much broken, but as the rocks are generally covered with a deep 

 layer of earth, it is clothed with high forest trees, and when c<iltivated 

 yields good crops of grain. The most elevated part of this tract is 

 WtOMoted by several lakes. That part of the Southern Region which 

 IIm east of the St John River is rather rocky and sterile. The 



rocky and elevated coast runs off in an almost continuous line, so 

 that the inlets along it may rather be called coves than harbours. At 

 the back of this iron-bound coast tho country rises with a rather steep 

 ascent, and then extends in an uneven and broken plain. The soil of 

 thin tract is very stony, and generally shallow. When cultivated it 

 produces moderate crops of rye, barley, oats, and potatoes, but not 

 wheat. There are however several fine valleys, in which the rivers 

 flow, mostly to the St. Johil. The lower part of the valleys is occupied 

 by lakes, as Kencbekasis, Belleisle, and Washademoak. These valleys 

 are covered with large timber-trees, and when cultivated produce 

 excellent crops of grain. In climate this tract is somewhat less cold 

 than the country farther northward, but much more humid, and 

 exposed to thick and frequent fogs when the winds blow from the 

 Atlantic. 



The Central Region is divided from the Northern by a line begin- 

 ning on the west, on tho banks of the St. John River at Presqueisle, 

 and running thence in a north-eastern direction to the mouth of the 

 Little Nipisighet River in the B ly of Chaleurs. The shores of this 

 r^on are low, and the rivers have sand-bars across their entrance, 

 though there is usually a considerable depth of water on them. There 

 are no deep harbours except at the mouths of the rivers. Thj country 

 begins to rise at from 12 to 20 miles from the shores, and continues 

 to rise till about 60 miles, where it begins to descend rather rapidly 

 towards the St John Kiver at a distance of about 30 miles from its 

 banks. Low hills with gentle slopes occur in several places. Their 

 whole surface is covered with a continuous forest of heavy timber. 

 Along the bonks of the St. John extends a flat country, which on tho 

 east begins at the mouth of the Washademoak, and extends west to 

 Meductic, and thence north to Presqueisle. "The eastern portion is 

 nearly a level, and contains the most fertile and best settled part of 

 the colony. 



The Northern Region is very hilly, and even mountainous, especially 

 on the banks of the river Ristigouche, and in that tract where the 

 rivers Tobique and Nipisighet originate. This tract forms an elevated 

 table-land, exceeding 2000 feet in height, and thickly studded with 

 lakes. The interior of this region is little known, except the country 

 along t^e river Tobique, which is covered with fine forest red pine. 

 There is a settlement on the Bay of Chitleurs, the sestuary of the 

 Ristigouche, where the inhabitants live to a great extent on the 

 produce of their fishing. 



Riven. — The largest river is the Looshtook, or St. John Rivor, 

 which rises far in the west, and flows for above 200 miles through 

 the State of Maine, and along the boundary between it and Canada. 

 It enters New Brunswick near 47° N. lat, and soon afterwards forms 

 the Great Falls. By the most northern fall the river de><cends a 

 perpendicular height of 53 feet This is followed by some smaller 

 falls, 80 that in about three-quarters of a mile the water descends 116 

 feet Up to the foot of tlie.se falls the river is ascend' d by flat- 

 bottomed boats of 20 tons burden. Below the falls the river often 

 runs between abrupt banks, and its rugged bed renders navigation 

 dangerous in many places. Several rapids occur, of which the most 

 difficult are those called Meductic Falls, situated where the river 

 begins to run eastward. The last of the rapids occurs 6 or 7 miles 

 above Fredericton, at Saraye Islands. Where the river bends again to 

 the south it is connected by narrow channels with several lakes, 

 among which the largest is Grand Lake, whose channel joins it 

 opposite Gagetown. This lake is 30 miles long and about 3 miles 

 wide. The other lakes, Washademoak, Belleiale, and Kenebekasis, 

 ore somewhat smaller. All of them, as well as the rivers which fall 

 into them, are navigable for sloops. Sloops can ascend the St. John 

 River to Fredericton. About a mile above the town of St. John are 

 the Rugged Narrows, where the river is interrupted by huge rocks, 

 over and among which the waters roll and foam, and which render 

 the navigation, except for four short diurnal periods, impracticabla 

 The great rise of tide, which here attains from 25 to 30 feet, so far 

 overflows these rapids that when the flood rises 12 feet at the foot of 

 the town, sloops and schooners pass in safety for about 20 miuutes, 

 and for the same time when the tide ebbs to 12 feet The whole 

 course of the St. John Kiver exceeds 400 miles, of which 220 lie 

 within this colony. It receives many rivers from Maine. The most 

 important is the Aroostook, which joins the St. John a little above 

 the confluence of the Tobique. In the seasons of flood the Aroostook 

 has a river and lake navigation of 400 miles. 



The Petitcodiac, whicli falls into Shepody Bay, the western branch 

 of Chignecto Bay, is about 70 miles long, and the tide flows up 

 40 miles. The Mirauiichi, the most important river next to the St. 

 John, has two main branches, the North-West and the South-West 

 Miramichi, which, with their numerous head streams, drain the middle 

 of the Central Region. The Miramichi falls into the Oulf of St. Law- 

 rence, after a course of more than 100 mile*, and is navigable for 

 large ships for about 40 miles. There is a sand-bar across its entrance, 

 but the clianncl over it is broad, and has water for ships of from 600 

 to 700 tons. The Nipisighet River, which drains the Northern Region, 

 and runs nearly 100 miles, is much broken by falls and ropids, and 

 does not appear to be navigable to any extent The Riotigouche has 

 its source in the Canadian and New Brunswick highlauds, and runs 

 along the northern boundary of the province. On approaching the 

 Bay of Chaleurs it widens into a spacious barboiu-, 24 miles long by 



