New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1856-03-03

extent to the State Of Eirginiaso little Is genelahy
known that the suboined account of it, from the pen
: of Lanman will possess interest for many OF our
readers: .sr.r 5ysyt &&
10 The Editors Of the Nationa! Intelligence e.,
When upon my last pscatorial expedition TO Notthe
New Brunswick, had the pleasure OF throwing tle
fly, for severaldays, III company with highly intel
liaent gentleman from Newfoundland IhWarted as
had lust been in my plans fora visit to that !sand
and having from childhood ever looked upon it as q
n most interesting region, must confess that we'll
nigh fell in love with my new acquaintance. When
not talking about the salmon we were now and then
capturing devoted myself to asking questions and
the substance of the replies received, together with
few historical facts, propose to embody in this
1 letter. And now that this British dependency has
recently become party to the reciprocity treaty my
statements will naturally be more interesting TO the
| public than they might otherwise have been.
Newfoundland was discovered by John and Sebas-
tan Cabot in 1897. BY them it was named Prima-
vista, or frstseenand, and hence its present Angli
| cised name It was first colonZed by masters of
fishing vessels in 1915 and is the Oldest British colony
in the Western world The second attempt to plant
colony there vas made by Sir George Calvert, after
wards Lord Baltimore, in 1922 and when he
| abandoned it for a more genial cline it contained
three hundred and fifty families. 1t was in 1855 that
Charles l, granted the French permission to cure and
dry fish in Newfoundland and the British fishery was
first encouraged, by all exemption from tax Or toll in
1868. From that year until l72S, when the first
Governor was appointed, there was no such thing as
law or order on the island, owing to the constant
luminosity existing hetween the settlers and the nier
chant adventurers and its subsequent history only
proves that it was looked upon by England merely as
nursery for hardy seamen, and its manifold natural
resources almost wholly neglected.
With regard to the physical aspect Of Newfound-
land its average length may be roughly stated atfour
hundred and fifty miles, and its breadth two hundred
miles although at one point it may be three hundred
miles wide its area, therefore being somewhat larger
island has been scientifically explored only to very
limited extent, and many Of the roads, socalled are
mere Indian trails paths worn by the wild animals
4he following facts have been established: Itabounds
in rivers and lakes of moderate size, and the surface
of the country is about equally divided between high
hills Or mountains and low, level land some of the
former attaining elevation of twelve hundred feet,
at some points pushing boldly into tile sea, while the
low country is composed of peatbogs and nalshy bar
rens, Or covered with woods, in which boulder rocks
are abundant Various species OF the spruce, the fir
and the pine grow everywhere, but seldom attain a
greater height than thirty feet, and very slender
While in the northern portions they so very
low and their branches SO matted together that
Of the smaller animals have been known to travel
considerable distance on the tops of the stuned trees
The most useful tree indigenous to the island is the
tanlarac or larch the timber (which is employed in
building small vessels. The elm the maple, and the
beech are rare and the oak unknown. The birch is
found abundantly in some situations and is said to
have been used by the abolignes not only in making
their Canoes but certain tender portion of as food
The variety of recumbent and trailing evergreens is
immense and all the berries peculiar to northern lati
tudes are SO abundant as to be an article of export
On leaving the wilderness and approaching the habi-
tations of man. at the proper season. it is found that
oats and potatoes thrive we'll also the best of grasses
| and clover; also the more common vegetables, such
as beans, peas and cabbages. Indian corn will not
mature, and wheat only thrives in the interior.
With regard to flowers, both cultivated and wild
the varieties very numerous, and, though beauti
full, very few of them have any fragrance It would
appear, therefore, from these few particulars that the
soil of the country is sufficiently fertile to make agrl
culture profitable; and when are told by the geol
ogists that coal in large quantities, 50 important in
cold country where wood is not abundant with many
other minerals are to be found embosomed under its
surface, cannot but discern the benetcent hand of
Providence. As to the climate of Newfoundland, it
only differs from that Of Canada and New Brunswick
in its extreme ycissudes 1t is not so very cold but
unpleasant; very foggy, but not unhealthy.
But the animal kingdom Of this huge island is even
more peculiar!and interesting than the vegetable
Swedish naturalist, who spent two years there, re-
ported it to contain less than five hundred species
Of birds. The water birds particularly numerous,
the interior lakes aordng breeding places for
the wild geese, and the rocky coasts afording tvora
BILE situations for the elder ducks. The wall Of the
loon is heard on every sheet of WATER and white
headed eagle has his watchtower in every valley.
Ptarmigan abundant, but partrdges are unknown.
The snowy owl boots to his teew by the light of the
aurora and at midsummer the hunming-bird ap-
pears for few days to make the children glad. Snpe,
plover and curlews are abundant. Of the larger
quadrupeds, the cariboes or American reindeer are
most numerous, and the only animals of the deer
country like sheep-walks; they not domescated,
but hunted only for food. The black bear is found in
the wilder parts of the country, and iceberg occa-
sionay comes floating down from the Arctic bearing
a white bear as passenger. The wolf and the fox,
the hare the MARTINI the beaver, the otter and the
muskrat found throughout the interior, and the
entire coasts with varieties of the seal and the
morse Or sea horse is sometimes found.
Of domestic animals, the horse, sheep, cattle and
swine all reared to limited extent; but this island
is particularly famous for its dogs They are of two
kinds, brown wiry.haired and woltish animal i'm
ported from Labrador, and the curly-hared New
foundland species The best of them are perfectly
black, and genuine specimens always be known by
the inside of his mouth being black. They are not
large, but powerfully built; they subsst entirely upon
fish, and are not particular as to whether it is raw
sailed Or putrid, and have fashion of catching their
own fish. They are aitectionate in disposition, and
are quite as much at home in the water land.
They are very numerous in the island, and when re-
moved to warmer climate are subject to gandular
swelling in the which often proves fatal. One
specimen that was sent to the Hon. Mr.. Champion in
1858 died slddenly,a was supposed merely from the
effect of hot weather.
AS to reptiles, not snake Or a lizard a frog or a
toad has ever been seen in the country As he did in
Ireland, st. Patrick some other benevolent saint
seems to have banished all the varmnt" from this
region In regard to the lnny TRIBES the species
not abundant might be supposed, but their i'm
mense numbers cannot be computed In the inland
lakes and rivers nothing but salmon and trout are ever
found but with nets they are taken by the ton. Few
and far between however, the tlyiishing streams
which have yet been discovered More numerous by
far are the varieties Of fish found in the surrounding
sea- such as the whale and porpoise the dolphin and
herring, the mackerel and capolin but the Goldfish
outnlmbers them all in local favor and commercial
importance This fish is found in certain localities all
around the island but the chief fishing grounds are
off the southeast coast. The Great Bank to the
southeast of the island, is the most extensive sub
marine plateau yet discovered, being about six hun
bred miles long by two hundred wide, with depth
of water varying from twenty-five to nnety-iye
fathonns Upon this watery plain Do the hardy fisher
men of at least five nations annually. meet to follow
their laborious and venturesome business
| The resident population Of Newfoundland is now
estimated at more than one hundred thousand, and
transient visitors at about the same figure 1t is GOV
erned by Representative Assembly Of fifteen mem
bers with an Executive Council of twelve members ap-
pointed like the Governor, by the Crown of England.
The colony has recently been erected into Protestant
see, but most of the inhabitants are Roman Catholic.
That every body is, in one way other, connected
with the fishing or seahunting business, is matter
of course, and there is also great variety of nation
alities represented by the population. Generally
speaking the inhabitants simple in their Manners
and have but few educational opportunities. They
toll without ceasng, and are cOntented with the
cessaries of life and those who habitualy leaYe home
for business pleasure have scmi-monthy opportu-
mites of taking sailing packets to England, and a
steamer plies regularly between the cities Of st. John
and Halifax
And now, after few remarks about the Indians of
rf,1 cl,,Jn