New Brunswick Scenery. 15 



mud banks, and patches of cultivation, or the eternal same- 

 ness of the desert. This, however, should not perplex the 

 student of nature. 



The St. John derived its name from the early voyagers, 

 but the circumstances under which it was so designated 

 are not altogether clear.* To the natives it was known by 

 the name Wollastook, or Awolostook, which signifies " big 

 river." It is indeed a grand and noble river, for, independent 

 of its navigability, there is an annual inundation like that of 

 the Nile, at the spring freshets, when the low or carse lands 

 become flooded, and settlements insulated, so that when the 

 retrocession takes place, irrespective of irrigation, there has 

 been a deposit of fertilizing mud thrown down, which serves 

 to nourish the grass, and produce remunerative hay crops, 

 especially on the islands. It takes several hours to steam up- 

 river, and there are many turnings and twistings which open 

 up some varieties of woodland scenery. Near Fredericton 

 are " the narrows," a sudden bend in the river's course to 

 be particularly referred to in the sequel ; then the spire of 

 the handsome cathedral comes in view ; and finally a pretty 



* Mr. Hind writes : " One of the earliest historical notices of the 

 River St. John dates from 1598, when it was called i Riviere de la 

 Grande Baie/ or ' La Baie Francaise,' as the Bay of Fundy was formerly 

 designated. This occurs in the letters patent confirming the appointment 

 of the Sieur de la Roche, Lieutenant-General au Canada, Hochelaga, 

 Terre-Neuve, Labrador, Riviere de la Grande Baie (St. John in the Bay 

 of Fundy), Norembegue (the present State of Maine), et les terres adja- 

 centes. — (L'Escarbot.) In the admirable Report by the late Dr. Robb on 

 the Agriculture of the Province, reference is made to the discovery of the 

 St. John by ' Champlain, on St. John's Day, in the year 1604;' and 

 in Monro's New Brunswick there is a quotation from Haliburton's Nova 

 Scotia, in which the name St. John is stated to have been given to it 

 because it was discovered on the 24th of June, the day of. the Festival of 

 St. John the Baptist. Mr. Munro says also that this noble river was 

 discovered by Dee Monts. It is clear from L'Escarbot, that the river was 

 known previously to 1598. But in 1604 Sieur de Monts visited La 

 Riviere de la Grande Baie, and changed its name to the St. Jean." — 

 Report on Geology of New Bru?tswick, page 28. 



