Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-08-26
At ST. JOHN.
Interesting Description Of Visit to This
Enterprising City.


Association, have been received. The
bulletin contains a lengthy account of
the tour of the association in June, and
in it is the following:
AT ten o'clock A. NJ, we had left
Portland OH a special train over the
Maine Central railroad for twelve
hours ride across the state. to ST. John,
n. B.
This days travel took US along the
shores OF beautiful CaSco Bay as far as
Brunswick. where Bowdoin College is
located, after which the railroad runs
for many miles parallel with the state
ly Kennebec river. crossing the old
Penobscot, and passing through Au-
gusfa. the State capital. Bangor, Lin
coin, and other towns of note. We
reached st. John on the Bay of Fundy,
at about ten o'clock that night.
ST. John is the largest and most pro-
gressive city in the Atlantic provinces
of Canada. 1t has population of
about $4,000, is substantially built
and is the centre of attraction for
summer tourists. 1t is situated at the
mouth of the great st. John
river which extends $50 mile
inland, and is a great numbering
and manufacturing city as well as
seaport. The citizens gave us very
cordial greeting here and on Wednes-
day took tie party for ride about the
city where we were shown the princi-
pal places of interest, among which
were the famous Reversible Falls Of
the ST. John river, where the water
luns down stream in the morning, anG
oh spsn rrlH-
turns and runs the other way. There
is only one other place in the world
where this phenomenon may be OBJ
served. that being upon one of the riv-
ers in China. The st. John Falls are
i'm a narrow and high walled gorge Cat
one point less than 500 feet wide).
through which the waters of this great
river. $50 miles long, pour into the
harbor and Bay of Fundy. The falls
are at the head of the winding gorge.
When the tide is at low ebb there is
fall of about Is feet toward the harbor.
When the tide returns, it moves up the
gorge, overcomes the river current and
causes a fall in the opposite direction.
At half tide the surface is smooth and
vessels go up and down the river in
safety. The suspension bridge over
the gorge, has span of $40 feet. The
Cantilever railroad bridge beside it has
span of ATT feet and is seventy feet
above the highest tide. The tide GIBBS
and flows a height of q feet at this
Point twice in twenty-four hours. The
best time to see the falls is when the
tide is lowest and or guests very gra-
Ciously selected that hour for our visit.
In the afternoon we were taken in
the pretty little passenger steamer
Elaine for trip some fifteen miles M
the river, passing en- route the beauti-
ful summer home of Alexander Bell.
the great magnate of the Bell Tele-
phone Co. The river is broad and deep
above the falls and navigable for large
sized river steamers. The amount OF
logs brought down this stream yearly
for manufacture into lumber is some
thing immense. TIE bluffs along the
shores are well wooded and at this sea-
son of the year present beautiful APP
pcarance. the brilliant green of the
timber land and occasional stretches
of fragrant meadow contrasting har-
moniously with the greenish blue OF
the river waters.
The officers of the Elaine. in common
with members of the city council, rep
resentativcs of the New Brunswick
Tourist Association and other leading
citizens, were unremitting in their at
tentions and courtesies during the trip up
the river and return. and some warm and
lasting friendships between those of
Michigan and New Brunswick were that
day formed.
At the approach to the Long Reach,
from which one gets a view OF several
miles up the silvery stream. stretching
away to the nOrthward between precipic
touS and verdure clad shores. the line OF
vision ending amid the purplinG mist OF
the distant hills. the steamer turns and
retraces its way down the stream upon
to our hosts. Street cars land US at our
hotels for supper and that night we are
aboard our Pullman cars on a speclal
train headed for Nova Scotia -
On this train we form our first init.
mate acquaintance with that prince OF
good fellows. J. B. Lambkin. assistant
colonial railway. for we are now upon
one of the lines of that great system.
which covers to such great extent
Eastern New Brunswick. Nova SCOTIA
and PRINCE Edward and o Gape e Sse sr..
at Halifax and it is to him that the mem
bers of this excursion owe mucn IN inc
planning and carrying out Oh Tue uet Tho
Intercolonial is operated by the govern
meIrt
All railroad business on this line Is done
on the 24-hour system OF time-that IS
they do not recognize any a. m or p m
in their computations; so as we left st
John at about nine o'clock evening by
regular eastern time which is. two hours
earlier than Michigan time: the .. eondIc-
one o'cjock." At midnight It would be "a
O'clock and at an hour past midnight it
would again be one o'clock; the same as
by the ordinary system OF t haine nrenared
on our pullman cars that evening. so
that several members Of the party were
yet awake When our Of the msh Ths
S onr,s in the town IS the Of
the nrovince Of New Brunswick. and
destined to hs a %pere t f%
famous tidal bore of the Petitcodiac