The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1901-06-23

/, on the Nova Scotian shore. where there Is
a distance Of twelve miles between high and
low water mark. so that II is possible to
run vessels far up this river on tho flood.
leave them high and dry between tides and
repair them as II in dry dock.
The most impressive OF the remarkable
! tidal phenomena of the Bay Of Fundy Is
the Reversing Falls of st. John, a phenom-
enaon which hardly seems credible until act
ually seen. But the Bore" at Moncton, Is
the most widely known tidal exhibition con-
nected with the Bay OF Fundy. To begin
with. dispel any Illusion which may have
been caused by the statement that the tidal
rise at Moncto1 is seventy feet. This does
rot mean that the Bore is seventy feet
high. but that to reach Moncton at all the
tide must have come up seventy feet from
the sea level.
The day I saw the Bore I reached the
point Of view a few minutes before the phe-
nomenon was expected. There was not the
elightest suggestion Of any approach Of
tide. The river was a broad stretch of ooze.
with q narrow. muddy rent in the middle.
These ooze stretches are locally known as
the FLATS" or ''quicksands." At certain
points . thin crust forms over them, where
one can drive or walk rapidly. Were you to
stand still. however. you would begin to
sink in less than a minute. and II you sank
only above your ankles the ooze beneath
the crust is so sticky that you could be ex-
tricated only with great difficulty.
A I was looking out upon those broad
stretches Of mud-a river without water
there vas q distant roar. and suddenly
around the bend Of the river. a short dis
lance below Moncton. there swept a muddy
wave. some 1--WE feet high. I should say.
whose crust ~overhung. but never broke.
Pest tho wharf 1t surged. and as I gazed
cut to sec what It had left I'm its track 1
saw q series Of muddy fluctuations known
as The working OF the quicksands." and n
few minutes afterward that stretch Of ooze
from shore to shore was converted into a
smooth but rapidly running river. 1t is
considered great sport by the dwellers along
the shore to launch a boat upon the tide
which follows upon the wake Of the Bore
and be carried up the river without doing
anything except steering. and then come
down on the ebb. The force Of the Bore
II very great. Vessels at Moncton always
must moor so that the wharves completely
protect them.
A vessel. the stern Of which protruded be-
"&C ~
ings by the Bore" her anchor cable was
snapped. her bow smashed out. and she her
self carried up under a bridge. and her
masts broken to Understand all this in a
river which a few minutes before had been
nothing but glistening mud. I was told that
q French Canadian who was upset in the
wake Of the Bore. and could touch bottom
nevertheless. was carried five miles up the
river before he could gain a firm footing.
The Bore il most effective on quiet. MOON
light nights. when its roar can be heard
far down the river and its angry crest seen
Offering In the white light.
The explanation Of the Bore seems to be
that the river broaden out considerably
below the bend. and that when the swift
tide - contracted between the narrow
shores Of the bend the waters become
heaped up. and with their own impetus ad-
vance like q solid wall.
Imagine . perfectly placid surface Of
water, % placid that It mirrors al the sur