A journey of 20 to 25 miles may be taken up stream in this way. One in each canoe is best for the upper waters. There are pleasant little settlements all along the shore, and simple refreshment may be obtained, as well as sleeping accommodation, if the canoeist desires to prolong the trip and take time to see the inner country at his ease.
[Illustration: Calling the Ferry, St. John River]
_Fredericton and the Upper St. John River_
No matter how Fredericton may be approached, from north, east, south or west, by land or water, train, carriage, in steamboat or canoe, the impression sure to be received, as the capital is neared, is that of forest depths, great rivers and immense natural resources. A feeling of admiration and awe, akin to that felt by our humble Indian brother as he roamed the depths of these noble forests, casts a spell over the thinking mind. “For,” says Bryant in his ‘Forest Hymn’:—
“His simple heart Might not resist the sacred influences Which, from the stilly twilight of the place, And from the gray old trunks that high in heaven Mingled their mossy boughs, and from the sound Of the invisible breath that swayed at once All their green tops, stole over him, and bowed His spirit with the thought of boundless power And inaccessible majesty.”
[Illustration: ST. JOHN RIVER, above Fredericton]
As is meet and proper, we do not plunge into the hurly-burly of modern life in Fredericton, the capital city of the province. Instead, we reach a peaceful, tree-embowered and altogether delightful forest city. Here is refinement of life and civilization enough to meet all reasonable demands, yet back of all there still reigns the too-quickly-vanishing spirit of rest, the absence of haste, the old-time simplicity. How delightful if all towns and cities were no larger than charming Fredericton, with its modest 8000 inhabitants. No trusts! No cold storage! No horrid skyscrapers! No cars! It sounds too good to be true. And yet at Fredericton no cars are needed; and, as a result, all who visit the homelike capital will know more of it than they possibly do of their own city. Here it is a delight to walk and ramble; and, of course, driving is a great joy with such woodland surroundings and fine river scenery. An inhabitant of Fredericton once actually expressed a desire to live in New York! Incredible! Impossible! you cry. And so say all of well-balanced mind. But mortals do not always know when they are well off; and a fit of temporary insanity sometimes gains a flitting lodgment in the brightest mind.