elder root
According to legend, the river was named by a distraught Micmac chief whose son was killed while leading an expedition against the Mohawks who were poaching salmon. The chief opposed the battle plan and when the entire Micmac party was massacred on the banks of the river, he named it "he who disobeys his father".
Both the Restigouche branch of the Micmac nation whose emblem was, naturally, a salmon. and the Maliseet people who lived on the banks of the Saint John River used the Restigouche corridor for transportation and relied upon the rich natural resources of the area for their survival. The Micmacs travelled from their headquarters on the Bay of Chaleur at Tjigog (Atholville) down the Restigouche to the Saint John River as well as up to the Matapedia and then on to the St. Lawrence.
When French explorer Samuel de Champlain sailed from Gaspe to Miscou, he learned from the Restigouche Micmacs that there was a passage through the Gulf of St. Lawrence by way of the Matapedia River through a short portage. Champlain was followed by French missionaries and furtraders who depended on the natives for guidance.
The Restigouche was also the site of one of the most important battles between the French and English in 1760. The French Fleet was destroyed on its way to Quebec City. After the defeat, British fur traders settled in the area as did officers posted to the region to defend the Crown's territory. These men, who had time on their hands, discovered the joys of salmon fishing. So did a number of Scotsmen who worked as pilots on English ships. They sent word back to Scotland and, in 1773, eight men, including Robert Ferguson and Samuel Lee came to the Restigouche area from Aberdeen to establish a fishing industry. Scottish settlers were also among the first to clear land for agricultural purposes on the banks of the river but because of the rough terrain and harsh weather, agriculture was a difficult way of life and many of the farmers turned to other methods of earning a livelihood, such as fishing. At that time, salmon were so plentiful in the river that it was considered the most productive in North America. Huge quantities of fish (four million pounds a year) were shipped across the Atlantic. An Anglican archdeacon travelling in the region in the early 1800's complained that he had difficulty crossing the river because of the salmon nets.
keen crypt
night geyser
storm grove
hybrid dagger
hearty current