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up the Valley of the Exploit:'! beyond the last r e s i de nt At Uppe r Sa ndy Point. It
vas t here ~ n the eeme condition vhe n Cabot sighted our shores nearly four centur i es
ago-the home of t.he dee r , the beever , the a e r-t en , a nd the aborigina l Beothfc , I t
is t rue 'We have l ong s i nce i mproved the lat tor off the fa ce of t he earth, but, un-,
like our co nt i nen t a l nedghbora , 'We have not occupied hfs place. Another dusky
de ni ze n of the f or-esbc-- t.be
se!lli-ei vilh.ed Hicmllc from Cape Br eton- has usurped his
birthright find still pursues, unt.r-aereeIed; the objects of the cha se over t he wide
ex panse of territoryJ destined to be s ome day t he homea of thousands of human beings
enga ge d in the more
stepde occupation of agri cu l ture , l umbering a nd various manufectarr
e s ,
Geographi cal}
Descriptions)
etc. }
In describi ng t he river prope r I ha ve thought it best to reverse
the order by co:nroen cing with t he s ource or bee d-veters , a nd then
tra ce it downwards t o i t s junction \li t h the bay at Upper Sandy Point .
The River o~ Exploits i s by f a r the largest end most i mportan t of t he drainage
systems of this gr eat i sland. The extent an d magnificen ce of its forests, fert_
i lity of its soil , grandeu r of i t s sce ne r -y, end the histor i cal r ernini:-eence s CO:'Ul ­
ect ed vith it, of the on ce- proud aborfirn !ll Beothfc, vho r-oe eed et viTI alon~ i t s
vooden margins, or
paddled his frail canoe up an d down its noble waters , place it
before all others in th8 ~_ielaAd i A poi nt of intere-st. Hetaphor i ca l ly speaking , _ '" =;
.,'; - -:- - . -~'-- -=:.._.". r, ~ . ~
the river i t self may be lIkened to the aorta of t he hUlMft body, 'pr-oceedf eg a s it -
ver-e from or through 'the hea r-t of t he country. Taking its r-Lse in the high bare
tablelands of the s out her n coast r-enge , and at a comper-atdveLy shor t di ~~n ce from
t he he ad of t he Day of LaPoile , I t f lows t hen ce in a gen eral course about N. E. by
E . t o the sea , wher-e i t e mbogue s a t t he he ad of t he bea utiful Bay of Exploits, one
of the deepest inde nt ations of Not r e Da me Bay. It ~ t.ct.aI length Ls nothing under
200 mile s, a nd it drains an i mmen fl.e 8r~8 of t he ce nt ral i nterior , pr-cbeb ky not 'le as