Canadian Scenery, Volume 2 (of 2)Willis, Nathaniel Parker
History
Canadian Scenery, Volume 2 (of 2)
Willis, Nathaniel Parker
Canada -- Description and travel; Canada -- History
In no part of Nova Scotia are so many natural and artificial curiosities
to be met with as in the neighbourhood of Annapolis,—of these, the most
singular are, the natural ice-house, a deep ravine wherein ice may be
found throughout the summer,—the lake on the summit of the
mountain,—the point of land on the Granville shore, opposite to Goat
island, where the first piece of ground was cleared for cultivation in
this colony by the French, and where is still shown the stone on which
they had rudely engraved the date of their settlement, (1606,) as a
memorial of their formal possession of the country,[11]—the iron mines,
on the Moose river,—and, not the least interesting, THE GENERAL’S
BRIDGE, a romantic spot, about two miles from Annapolis, which I visited
during my brief stay in this neighbourhood. The walk to it was most
delightful: first, through the pretty suburbs of the town, and then, by
a road through luxuriant woods, till I came suddenly upon the secluded
valley, embosomed amongst undulating hills, through which rushed a rapid
stream, dancing and sparkling in the bright beams of an early sun. An
old wooden bridge, thrown across the brawling current, formed a striking
object in the picture; while, nearer to us, the wigwams of a party of
Indians, who had encamped on a slip of intervale land, completed the
picturesque character of the scene. While the artist who accompanied me
was engaged making his sketch of the place, I entered one of the wigwams
of the Indians, and learnt that they were journeying from Annapolis to
Liverpool, by way of the Rossignol Lakes, which, with the exception of
two short portages, form, it is said, a continued chain of navigable
water across the whole province, but rarely travelled, except by the
Indians. Having purchased from the squaw a pair of slippers, ornamented
very ingeniously with small glass beads and porcupine quills, and a fan
formed from the skin of some fish, tastefully dyed with various colours,
all of Indian manufacture, I rejoined my companion, who had completed
his sketch, and returned to Annapolis. The road from Annapolis to
Windsor runs parallel to the course of the Annapolis river, along that
high ridge which stretches from the Digby Gut to the Bason of Minas, an
extent of seventy miles of coast, without the intervention of a single
harbour. This tract, notwithstanding this disadvantage, is settled by
industrious families, who have, in general, excellent and
well-cultivated farms. The towns are clean and thriving; but we meet
none worthy of particular notice, until we reach KENTVILLE, a prettily
situated village, containing several handsome private residences, a
court-house, gaol, and a good grammar-school. The views in the vicinity
of Kentville are remarkably fine, and the formation of the land such as
to present the greatest diversity of landscape; the chief charm of which
consists in the unusual combination of hill, dale, woods, and cultivated
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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