photo by Cory Morrow
We’ve all driven along Route 1 toward Saint John and noticed the small cove to the right of the highway in Letang, halfway between the backside of St. George and Pennfield. Many older locals will remember it as the one that used to have a very particular odor….
Well, have you ever wondered what it’s called? Because the name is pretty interesting! And the story behind it is even more interesting. And honestly, kind of funny. I kid you not, the official name of that body of water is actually “Pull and Be Damned Narrows“. I know, seems preposterous. But have a look at Google Maps!
The name dates back to the early days of the local fishing industry. In fact, the name of nearly every body of water in our region of New Brunswick has one of two roots – either an old Native name, or a name related to logging & fishing. In the case of the latter, the monikers often come from the names of lumberman or fisherman that worked in the area, descriptions of the bodies of water, it’s obstacles or the surrounding areas – or warnings of incidents that befell them. Or as they would have put it: “some adventure, or misadventure”. This is why we have names like Burns Brook, Mill Cove, or Long Lake.
photo by Cory Morrow
This is where we come to the name of the cove in question. With the Letang River being a tidal river thanks to its connection to the Bay of Fundy, which famously has the highest tides in the world, the cove used to experience an incredible amount of force before a causeway was built, as over 100 billion tonnes of seawater flowed in and out of the bay every twelve hours. Thus creating powerful currents in that particular straight, which frustrated fisherman in rowboats who would row (aka “pull”) with all their might against the current and not go anywhere (be damned). Basically – a warning to others not to waste their time trying to paddle it!
So, next time you’re driving along that stretch of highway with a friend, you can ask “hey, do you know the name of that body of water?” and then amuse them with the story of “Pull and Be Damned Narrows”!
