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BULLETIN OF THE NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY. 
73. — Th5 Physiographic History of the Oromocto River. 
Read November 3, 1903. 
One of the most remarkable of New Brunswick rivers, both 
in its own features and in its relations to neighboring waters, is 
the Oromocto. In July last, in company with Dr. G. U. Hay, I 
visited the Northwest Oromocto Lake and descended the Oromoc- 
to River to its mouth in the St. John. The observations I was 
able to make, together with certain conclusions drawn from them, 
are presented below. 
The development of our knowledge of the river may be briefly 
traced. As it formed a part of an important ancient Indian por- 
tage route from the St. John to Passamaquoddy and the Penob- 
scot, it was early know and markedon the maps. It is indi- 
cated, as Ramouctoii, crudely on the Franquelin-de Meulles map 
of 1686, and is given with remarkable accuracy on the still un- 
published de Rozier map of 1699, which, with many others later, 
call it the Medocta.^ Its modern representation begins with a 
fair sketch on Sproule’s map of the southwest part of the Pro- 
vince, of 1 786, in which the lake is probably represented from 
a sketch by Lieutenant Lambton, who crossed it in his winter trio 
from Fredericton to St. Andrews in 1785, while the lower part 
up to the Forks is laid down from surveys made in connection 
with Loyalist land grants. The Northwest Lake was carefully 
surveyed in 1831 by O’Connor, whose very detailed map is the 
original of all down to the present, including that accompanying 
the present paper, the topography of which is photographically 
reproduced from an exact tracing of his original manuscript.* ** *** 
* An error of which the origin is explained in Trans. Royal Soc, Canada, II, 1896, ii, 250; 
III, 1897, ii, 372. 
** Published in Trans. Royal Soc. Canada, VII, 1901, ii, 412. 
r!;^***The Magaguadavic on this map is reduced photographically from the very detailed 
and accurate map made in 1797 for the International Boundary Commission, of which the 
original Ms. Field-book is nowin possession of Rev. Dr. Raymond, of St.John, to whom I 
am indebted for its use. The old Indian portage path, now apparently unknown locally, is 
marked at two ends very accurately on these two maps [O’Connor’s and the Survey of 1797,] 
and its intermediate course may be inferred from the fact that itmusthave followed the low 
place in the ridge a little north of a direct line between the two ends. It is of interest to 
note that by far the finest camping place on the lake is at White Sand Cove, near the 
Oromocto end of this portage. For other facts about it, consult Trans. Royal Soc. Canada. 
V, 1899, ii, 241. A reported Indian carving from this river was found by us not to be genuine, 
