fire for some days, but not to an alarming extent until the 7th of October, when it came on to blow furiously from the westward; and the inhabitants along the banks of the river were suddenly surprised by an extraordinary roaring in the woods, resembling the crashing and detonation of loud and incessant thunder; while at the same instant the atmosphere became thickly darkened with smoke. They had scarcely time to ascertain the cause of this awful phenomenon, before all the surrounding woods appeared in one vast blaze; the flames ascending from one to two hundred feet above the tops of the loftiest trees, and the fire, rolling forward with inconceivable celerity, presented the terribly sublime appearance of an impetuous flaming ocean. In less than an hour, Douglas Town and Newcastle were in a blaze, and many of the wretched inhabitants, unable to escape, perished in the flames. The following account was obtained and printed in the papers for public information a few days afterwards:

"More than a hundred miles of the shores of Miramichi are laid waste, independent of the northwest branch, the Baltibog and the Nappan settlements. From one to two hundred people have perished within immediate observation, while thrice that number are miserably burnt, or otherwise wounded; and at least two thousand of our fellowcreatures are left destitute of the means of subsistence, and thrown at present upon the humanity of the Province of New Brunswick.

"The number of lives that have been lost in the remote parts of the woods, among the lumbering parties, cannot be ascertained for some time to come; for it is feared that few are left to tell the tale.

"It is not in the power of language to describe the unparalleled scene of ruin and devastation which the parish of Newcastle at this moment presents. Out of upwards of two hundred and fifty houses and stores, fourteen of the least considerable only remain. The court house, gaol, church, and barracks; Messrs. Gilmour, Rankin, and Co.'s, and Messrs. Abrams and Co.'s establishments, with two ships on the stocks, are reduced to ashes.

"The loss of property is incalculable; for the fire, borne upon the wings of a hurricane, rushed on the wretched inhabitants with such inconceivable rapidity, that the preservation of their lives could be their only

care.

"Among the vessels on the river, a number were cast on shore; three of which, namely, the ships Concord of Whitby, and Canada of North Shields, together with the brig Jane of Alloa, were consumed; others were fortunately extinguished, after the fire had attacked them.

"At Douglas Town, scarcely any kind of property escaped the ravages of the fire, which swept off the surface every thing coming in contact with it, leaving but time for the unfortunate inhabitants to fly to the shore; and there, by means of boats, canoes, rafts of timber, timber logs, or any article, however ill calculated for the purpose, they endeavoured to escape from the dreadful scene, and reach the town of Chatham: numbers of men, women, and children, perishing in the attempt.

"In some parts of the country, the cattle have all been destroyed, or suffered greatly; and the very soil is in many places parched and burnt up, while scarcely any article of provisions has been rescued from the flames.

"The hurricane raged with such dreadful violence, that large bodies of timber, on fire, as also trees from the forest, and parts of the flaming houses and stores, were carried to the rivers with amazing velocity, to such an extent, and affecting the water in such a manner, as to occasion large quantities of salmon and other fish to resort to land; hundreds of which were scattered on the shores of the south and west branches.

"Chatham at present contains about three hundred of the unfortunate sufferers, who have resorted to it for relief, and are experiencing some partial assistance; and almost every hour brings with it great numbers from the back settlements, burnt, wounded, and in the most abject state of distress."

Great fires raged about the same time in the forests of the river St. John, which destroyed much property and timber, with the governor's residence, and about eighty private houses at Fredericton. Fires raged also at the same time in the northern parts of the province, as far as the Bay de Chaleur.

It is impossible to tell how many lives were lost, as many of those who were in the woods among the lumbering parties had no friends or connections in the country to remark their non-appearance. Two hundred have been computed as the least number that actually perished in the flames.

The destruction of bears, foxes, tiger-cats, martens, hares, and other wild animals, was very great. These, when surprised by great fires, are said to lose their usual sense of preservation, and becoming, as it were, either giddy or fascinated, often rush into the face of inevitable destruction. Even the birds, except

those of very strong wing, seldom escape; some, particularly the partridge, become stupified; and the density of the smoke, the rapid velocity of the flames, and the violence of the winds, effectually prevent the flight of most others.

If the benevolence and charity of mankind were ever manifested in a more than common degree of feeling for the sufferings of unfortunate people, it was assuredly on this memorable occasion. No sooner did accounts of the calamity arrive in the neighbouring colonies, than clothing and provisions were collected and sent, with the utmost expedition, to ameliorate the distress of the sufferers; and the governor, Sir Howard Douglas, crossed the country, without any delay, to ascertain personally the extent of the calamity. Subscriptions, for the relief of all those subjected to want, were raised, to an amount hitherto unexampled in Great Britain, in the United States, and in all the British Colonies; and the funds placed for distribution under the management of Sir Howard, and a committee appointed for the purpose in the province. Two hundred pounds, which remained in the hands of the committee at Liverpool, was afterwards appropriated in aid of a school at the scene of the calamity.

Miramichi may now be said to have completely surmounted the misery and loss occasioned by the ravages of so terrible a visitation. Newcastle has not only arisen from its ashes, but contains as many and much better houses, and as great a population, as formerly. The country laid waste by the insatiate element, is of much less value, it is true, when compared with its former worth. The majestic timber trees, which acquired their gigantic size by many ages of growth, have been destroyed, and a smaller species, originally common to sterile soils, and scarcely ever fit for the timber of commerce, have sprung up in their room.

I have often heard it maintained in England, by people unacquainted with America, that the lands must become much more valuable by being cleared of the woods by fire, as immense labour and expense in clearing the forest-lands would consequently be saved. No opinion can be more erroneous. Settlers, who understand the value of wilderness lands, always choose those covered with the heaviest trees, of promiscuous kinds; and the strongest objection that can be made to a plot of land is, its having been previously subjected to fire, which kills and hardens the standing trees, and leads to the exhaustion of fertility in the soil, by its producing afterwards two or three tall crops of weeds, which require as much nourishment as the same number of corn crops would. From the nature of those plants, very little of the sustenance drawn by them from the ground is again returned to it, as they wither, standing, into dry hollow stalks; and their juices, escaping gradually by exhalation, and mixing with the surrounding atmosphere, are carried off by the winds.

If the burnt lands, as they are termed, were, immediately after being overrun by fire, brought under cultivation, they would then be of exactly the same value as those cleared in the usual way; but even in this case they are objected to, as the great fires scour over the surface with such rapidity, that the trunks of the large trees are only very partially destroyed, and scarcely ever levelled; while, by losing their sap, they soon become much harder, and more