ALL AROUND THE BAY OF PASSAMAQUODDY 



By Albert S. Gatschet, 

 Bureau of American Ethnology 



Travelers coming from the south will find in the deeply in- 

 dented coast lands of the state of Maine a type of landscape 

 differing considerably from others previousl}' noticed. Through 

 the fiord-like character of Maine's tidewater section the water 

 element everywhere blends in with terra Jirma, which alternately 

 projects and recedes, and by the well-marked color contrast be- 

 tween the blue ocean and the green or somber-hued earth strikes 

 our sight agreeably. The level shore lands of the southern At- 

 lantic states are here replaced by hills, headlands, and capes of 

 bolder outlines, partly clothed in the fainter green of northern 

 vegetation, while other elevations exhibit therocky, ocean-beaten 

 foundation upon which they are built. The dark-hued pine and 

 fir trees, which in other countries live in the mountains only, 

 here descend to the sea-coast, enlivening the tops and sides of 

 the numerous islands which lie scattered along the coast. The 

 further we proceed northeastward along the coast, the more the 

 scenery assumes a northern character. This is well evidenced 

 by the spare vegetation and the thinness of the humus which 

 we notice everywhere in and around Passamaquoddy bay, an 

 extensive basin, the waters of which are fed by the majestic St 

 Croix river from the north and by the St George or Megigadevic 

 river from the east. The mainland encompasses this bay on all 

 sides, fringing it with rock-bound promontories and some flat 

 sand spits ; only on the southeast side does it open toward the 

 Atlantic ocean, and there a row of islands forms its limit and 

 affords numerous passages suitable for navigation. 



The elevations encircling the bay of Passamaquoddy, though 

 bolder than those we see further south, are mostly flat-topped 

 and of tame outlines. They are nearing an incline of 20 to 30 

 degrees, and therefore the local erosion through the impact of 

 rain is not very considerable. None of the hills or islands in the 

 bay rise above sea level more than about 300 feet. A feature that 

 may be pertinently called the headland shore is prominent here. 



Whenever a portion of the mainland or of one of the larger 

 islands in this region advances toward the salt water it first 



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