ese has been ascertained by the
surveys of Major Graham to be an isolated hill near the peak known as
Quaquajo. The eastern ridges are probably those measured between the
Tobique and the Bay of Chaleurs by the British commissioners. A sketch
of this view from Parks Hill is annexed to the report, and lest any
doubt be entertained of its accuracy it is proper to state that the
unassisted vision was not relied upon, but that the outlines were
carefully delineated by means of the camera lucida.

From this view it might be inferred that the northern part of the
admitted possessions of the United States to the east of the Penobscot
and the disputed territory as far as visible constitute a vast
table-land slightly inclined toward the southeast.

On descending into the valley of the St. John the appearances change.
The tableland is cut to a great depth by that stream, and from its bed
the broken edges of the great plain look like ridges whose height is
exaggerated to the senses in consequence of their being densely clothed
with wood. The same is the case with all the branches of this river,
which also cut the table-land to greater or less depths according to
their distance from the stream into which they discharge themselves.

The want of a true highland or mountainous character in this region is
obvious from the aspect it presents in the two different points of view.
Mountainous regions are most imposing when seen from a distance and from
heights. On a nearer approach, and from the valleys which intersect
them, the elevations, so important in the distant view, are hidden
by their own slopes or lose the appearance of relative elevation in
consequence of the absolute heights of the valleys themselves. In
conformity with this character, the line claimed by the United States
for the most part presents, when seen at a distance, the appearance of
lofty and deeply serrated ridges, while to one who traverses it it is a
labyrinth of lakes, morasses, and short but steep elevations which hide
its peaks from the valleys and streams.

The line claimed by Great Britain, on the other hand, when seen from
a distance is as level as the surface of the ocean, with no greater
appearance of elevation and depression than would represent its billows;
while, seen from its own valleys, the heights assume an importance which
their elevation above the valleys when actually measured does not
warrant. The characteristics of the region through which the