A History of the Island of Cape Breton, with some account of the discovery and settlement of Canada, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland

Front matter

CAPE BRETON london: printed bt spottiswoode and co., new-street square and Parliament street INDIAN COVE. THE LANDING-PLACE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES, JULY 28, 1860. A HISTORY OF THE ISLAND OP CAPE BRETON "WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF THE DISCOVERY AND SETTLEMENT OF CANADA, NOVA SCOTIA, AND NEWFOUNDLAND BY RICHARD BROWN, F.G.S. F.R.G.S. LONDON SAMPSON LOW, SON, AND MARSTON CROWN BUILDINGS, 188 FLEET STREET 1869 (All rights reserved) DEDICATORY EPISTLE TO THE YOUTH OF CAPE BRETON. I dedicate and address to you, my dear friends, this volume of letters upon the History of Cape Breton — compiled and written for your special use — for the following reasons : — • When I first visited the island, more than forty years ago, my professional duties led me into various districts, at that time quite destitute of inns and the ordinary means of locomotion.

Thus I was frequently compelled to ask from the inhabitants both shelter and subsistence, as well as aid in moving from place to place. I need hardly say that in the comfortable houses of the merchants and the farmers — in the log huts of the new settlers — in the wigwams of the wandering Indians — in short, everywhere I received a hearty and hospitable welcome. In later years, during a long residence at one locality, I had the happiness of enjoying the friendship of a wide circle of neighbours of all ranks. And lastly, when failing health and advancing age obliged me to return to my native land, I received so many proofs of the affection and regard of my numer ous friends, that I felt bound to express my acknowledg- |V DEDICATORY EPISTLE VI ments in some more substantial shape than even the warmest thanks for their kind adieux and good wishes.

Having often had occasion to regret the want of a history of the island, it occurred to me that, if I could supply this want, I might thereby be enabled to give proof of the sincerity of my grateful recollections, and at the same time render you an acceptable service. I am aware that you will find, in some recent histories of Canada and Nova Scotia, short accounts of the island, and narratives of the two celebrated sieges of Louisbourg ; but in your case much more than these is required. There are also in many books, both ancient and modern, in European libraries, scattered fragments of Cape Breton history, and in the rich stores of the State Paper Office many valuable documents relating to the island ; but as all these are inaccessible to you, I concluded that I could not occupy my leisure time in a more profitable way than in collecting, from all the sources within my reach, every scrap of intelligence that would be interesting to you, and in arranging it in chronological order.

Letter I. Pagk

Physical Geography of Cape Breton — Supposed Discovery of the Island by the Northmen — Voyages of John and Sebastian Cabot — Basque Fishermen at Cape Breton — First Account of the Natives — French and Spanish Fisheries — Origin of the Name of Cape Breton 1

Letter II

Cortoreal's Discoveries — Baron de Lery's Attempt to make a Settlement — Verazano's Voyage — Voyages of the ' Mary of Gilford ' and ' Sampson ' — John Rut's Letter to Henry VHI. — Thome's Map of the Atlantic — Hore's Voyage to Newfoundland and Cape Breton — Jacques Cartier's Voyages — His Discovery of the St. Lawrence and Canada — Roberval's Voyage — &c. . LETTER in. Parkhurst's Voyage to Newfoundland and Cape Breton — Sir Humphrey Gilbert's Voyage — Captain Strong's Voyage to Ramea Island and Cape Breton — Captain Leigh's Voyage to the St. Lawrence and Cape Breton — The Marquis de la Roche's Expedition — The Sieur Chauvin's Voyage to the St. Lawrence — Des Chastes's Attempt to settle in Canada — Failure of Sir Walter Raleigh's Expedition to Virginia 34

Letter IV

Settlement of Nova Scotia by De Monts — Pontgrave's Voyage to the St. Lawrence — Champlain's Survey — De Monts's Patent revoked — Port Royal abandoned — Champlain's Account of Cape Breton — Settlement of Virginia — Captain Argal attacks the French Settlement at Mont Desert — Destroys Port Royal — Poutrincourt abandons Port Royal and returns to France

Letter V

De Monts obtains Patent to trade in Canada— Sends Champlain to select a Site for a Settlement — Champlain lays Foundation of Quebec — De Monts'a Patent revoked — Duke de Montmorency appointed Viceroy of New Erance — Appoints Champlain his Lieutenant — Acadie, or Nova Scotia, granted by James I. to Sir William Alexander — Sends out Settlers — Quebec surrendered to Sir David Kirke — Lord Ochiltree settles at Baleine in Cape Breton — His Fort taken by Captain Daniel — French Fort built at St. Anne's — Memorial of Lord Ochiltree to James 1 X CONTENTS. 140

Letter VI. Page

Tragical Occurrence at St. Ann's— Fort is abandoned— Peace of St. Germans— Canada, Acadie, and Cape Breton restored to France— Death of Champlain— Acadie granted to several Persons — M. Denys obtains Eastern Part of Acadie, including Cape Breton— Quarrels of the Seigneurs —Le Borgne takes possession of St. Peter's— Denys goes to France- Reinstated in all his Rights— Copy of Denys's Patent— Sedgwick takes Port Royal by Orders of Cromwell— Le Borgne seized and carried to Boston— Denys's Trouble with La Giraudiere— His Establishment at St. Peter's destroyed by Fire— Retires to Bay Chaleur— Returns to France- Publishes his Book— &c 8*

Letter VII

Acadie restored to France at Treaty of Breda— Rapacity of Governors of Acadie — War breaks out in 1689— First Settlement of Newfoundland- Island granted to Lord Baltimore — Sir David Kirke takes charge of it — History and Progress of the Country — Progress of Canada — French Raids upon Frontiers of New York and New England— Port Royal and Chedabouctou taken by Sir William Phipps — Failure of his Expedition to Quebec — Loss of his ships .......... 105

Letter VIII

French Expedition from Quebec to drive English out of Newfoundland — DTbberville at Baie des Espagnols — Defeat of English Squadron in Bay of Fundy — Ships sent from Boston — French retreat with Loss — Failure of Attack upon Plaisance — St. John's, Newfoundland, taken by the French — Coasts ravaged — St. John's retaken — Trade and Population of Newfoundland — Treaty of Ryswick — French form Settlement at Norridgewock — French and Indian Incursions — Colonel Church ravages French Settlements on Bay of Fundy — Colonel Marsh's unsuccessful Attacks on Port Royal — Is taken by General Nicholson — St. John's destroyed — Failure of Admiral Walker's Expedition against Quebec — Admiral Walker at. Spanish River 124

Letter IX

Treaty of Peace signed at Utrecht— Nova Scotia and Newfoundland ceded to England— France retains Cape Breton— MM. Raudot's Report — French Garrison and Inhabitants of Plaisance remove to Cape Breton— French Government decide upon erecting a Fortress at Louisbourg— Grants in Cape Breton— Some French Inhabitants leave Nova Scotia for Cape Breton— Colonel Phillips appointed Governor of Nova Scotia— Foundation of Louisbourg— English Colonists forbidden to trade with Louisbourg CONTENTS. XI TAUE 205 225

Letter X

Indian Tribes of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton — Their Manners and Customs — Conciliated by the French— Indian Wars— Attack upon Canceau — Garrison established there — Vessels seized by Indians — Outrages in Gut of Canceau — Atrocities committed by them in New England — Indian Village of Norridgewock destroyed by English Troops — The Jesuit Ralle killed 154

Letter XI

Progress of Canada — Trade and Population of Nova Scotia — Forts erected in Cape Breton — French Trade with New England — Wreck of ' La Chameau ' near Louisbourg — Ulloa's Account of Trade, Fisheries, &c, of Louisbourg — Influence of French Missionaries over the Indians — General Description of Louisbourg — Its Forts, Streets, Churches, &c 168

Letter XII

War between England" and France — Canceau taken by the French — Alarm in New England — Feasibility of taking Louisbourg proposed — General Assembly of Massachusetts adopts the Proposal — Forces raised for the Purpose — Expedition under General Pepperrell sails for Louisbourg — Compelled to remain some time at Canceau by the Ice — Is joined by Commodore Warren with a Squadron from the West Indies — Fort at St. Peter's destroyed — Expedition arrives at Gabarus Bay . . . .186

Letter XIII

Dismay at Louisbourg — State of the Garrison — English land at Flat Point Cove — Burn Warehouses at Head of Harbour — French abandon the Grand Batteries erected by the Besiegers — Enemy makes a Sortie — Particular Account of the Progress of the Siege — Battery erected at Lighthouse Point. — ' Vigilant ' captured — Sickness in the English Camp — Scouting Expeditions — Failure of attack on the Island Battery — Great Loss of Men .

Letter XIV

English Squadron reinforced — Lighthouse Battery finished and armed — Enemy driven from their Guns at Island Battery — Preparations for a General Assault by Sea and Land — Governor of Louisbourg proposes a Suspension of Hostilities — Seeing no Prospect of Relief he capitulates — Remarks on Siege — English take Possession of Louisbourg — Great Rejoicing in England and the Colonies — Chief Occurrences at Louisbourg after the Siege — Don Antonio D'Ulloa's Account of the Siege, &c. — Garrison left in Louisbourg — Troops arrive from Gibraltar — Warren and Pepperrell sail for Boston — Commodore Knowles Acting Governor . CONTENTS. PAGK 248 265

Letter XV

Attempt of France to recover Louisbourg — D'Anville's Expedition — Its Misfortunes and Failure— Commodore Knowles Governor of Louisbourg — La Jonquiere's Fleet defeated— Colonel Hopson appointed Governor of Louisbourg— Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle— Cape Breton restored to France — M. des Herbiers appointed Governor of Louisbourg

Letter XVI

Foundation of Halifax — French and English at Chignecto — Count Raymond Governor of Louisbourg — His Account of Cape Breton — French Encroachments on the Frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania — Affairs on the Isthmus of Chignecto — Expulsion of the Acadians from Nova Scotia .

Letter XVII

Freneh Encroachments — Preparations for War by both Nations — Capture of 'Alcide ' and ' Lys ' — War declared — Hostilities on the Frontiers of Canada — Commodore Holmes's Action off Louisbourg- — Admiral Holborne's Proceedings before Louisbourg — Heavy Gale, and Wreck of the ' Tilbury ' — Pitt sends out an Expedition under Admiral Boscawen and General Amherst to America — Arrives in Gabarus Bay ....... 281

Letter XVIII

English Troops land, led by Wolfe — French defeated — French Forces in Louisbourg — Progress of the Siege of Louisbourg in detail — French Ships taken in the Harbour — Preparations for a general Assault — Governor of Louisbourg proposes to capitulate — Submits to Terms demanded by the Besiegers ............. 300

Letter XIX

M. Drucour's Account of the Siege — St. Anne's and Espagnol occupied — St. John's Island taken —Wolfe destroys French Settlements at Bay Chaleur — Defeat of Abercrombie at Ticonderoga — English Garrison at Louisbourg under Brigadier Whitmore— Rejoicings in England at the Fall of Louisbourg — Vote of Thanks passed by House of Commons to the Commanders — Wolfe promoted ........... 317

Letter XX

Pitt's Preparations for the Conquest of Canada— Wolfe appointed General of the Land Forces — Expedition sails from Louisbourg aud arrives at Quebec —Battle on the Heights of Abraham— Death of Wolfe— Conquest of Canada — Fortifications of Louisbourg demolished — Commodore Byron at Bay Chaleur— French Fisheries in Cape Breton— St. John's, Newfoundland, taken by the French— Retaken by the English— Treaty of Peace signed at Paris— Canada and Cape Breton ceded to England— State of Canada and Nora Scotia— Trade of Newfoundland — St. John's Island . CONTENTS. XIII PACK 420

Letter XXI

Cape Breton and St. John's Island annexed to Nova Scotia — Surveys — Grants — Coal Mines — Indians troublesome— Cape Breton erected into a County of Nova Scotia — Members returned to serve in House of Assembly rejected — Grants of Land and Leases of Coal Mines — Garrison withdrawn from Louisbourg — State of Louisbourg — Inhabitants, &c 351

Letter XXII

Settlement of St. John's Island — Cape Breton represented in Assembly by the Members for the County of Halifax — Coal Smuggling on the Coasts — Population of the Island — Trade — American Revolution — Militia embodied — French Cruisers on the Coast of Cape Breton — Naval Action off Spanish River — American Privateers defeated at Petit de Grat — Peace between England and United States . 372

Letter XXIII

Cape Breton separated from the Government of Nova Scotia — Lieutenant- Governor appointed— Civil List voted by Parliament — Major Desbarres's Services — Loyalists arrive — Garrison established at Sydney — Civil Officers and Council — Dissension between Lieutenant-Governor and Commander of Troops — Its Consequences — Desbarres recalled — Colonel Macormick Lieutenant-Governor — Prince William Henry visits Sydney — Convicts landed on the Island — Garrison reduced — Trade of the Island — Grants, &c. &c. ............. 386

Letter XXIV

Declaration of War by France — St. Pierre and Miquelon taken — Dissensions at Sydney — Lieutenant-Governor Macormick resigns — Senior Councillor administers the Government — State of Sydney — Discontent of the People — Brigadier-General Ogilvie appointed to administer the Government — Is succeeded by Brigadier-General Murray — His Proceedings — Coal Trade — Dr. McGregor's Visit to Sydney 406

Letter XXV

Major-General Despard appointed President of the Council— His Doings- Duties imposed — Peace — Population, &c. — Immigrants arrive from the Highlands of Scotland — Causes of Immigration — Renewal of War with France — Civil Changes — General Despard is succeeded by General Nepean Coal Trade and Commerce — Civil Changes — Outrage committed by Captain Evans — Inhabitants petition King for a General Assembly — General Swayne is appointed Administrator of the Government — His Proceedings and Resignation — General Ainslie appointed Lieutenant-Governor Trade — Government bring Action for Recovery of Duty on Rum — Decided against the Government — Ainslie reports on the disorganised State of the Island — Law Officers of the Crown confirm Decision of the Court CONTENTS. PAGE 436 452

Letter XXVI

Occurrences in Cape Breton— Re-annexation of the Island to the Government of Nova Scotia — Inhabitants remonstrate against it — Lord Bathurst's Despatch to Sir James Kempt — Proclamation — Members returned to the Assembly — Land Grants — Sir James Kempt's Visits to Cape Breton — People of Sydney petition House of Commons for Repeal — Petition to the Queen in Council — Despatch announcing the Decision of the Privy Council .............

Letter XXVII

Progress of the Coal Trade— Lease of the Mines to the General Mining Association — Association give up their Claims to unopened Mines — New Mines opened— Abstracts of. the Census Returns of 1861— Present Condition of the Island — Visit of the Prince of Wales— Conclusion . LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. Landing-place of the Prince of Wales .... Frontispiece Thorne's Map of the Atlantic .... To face page . . 22 Mercatok's Map of Gulf of St. Lawrence . „ 48 Chatmplain's Map of Cape Breton . „ 60 Denys's Map of Cape Breton „ . . 103 Profile of the Walls of Louisbourg ... „ . . 181 City and Fortifications of Louisbourg . . „ . 185 Louisbourg Harbour and Vicinity ... „ . 206 Plan of Second Siege of Louisbourg ... „ . . 297 Map of the Island „ . . HISTORY OB CAPE BRETON etc

Letter I. To The Youth Of Cape Breton

I am aware, my dear friends, that you, who have the happiness of calling Cape Breton your home, are well acquainted with its vast natural resources ; but as there are many persons, both in England and the United States, deeply interested in their successful development, I hope you will not consider that I am neglecting the special object of these Letters in here giving a short account of the physical geography of the island for their information. I am the more inclined to adopt this course, because I hope it will be the means of dispelling some very erroneous notions which have been widely circulated respecting the soil, climate, and capabilities of your highly-favoured island. If you refer to a map of North America, you will observe that the island lies between the parallels of 45° 27' and 47° 3' north, and the meridians of 59° 47' and 61° 32' west; and is bounded on the north-east and south-east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south-west by George's Bay and the Gut of Canso, and on the north-west by the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Its length from north to south is 110 miles, and its width from east to west 87 miles. On the south it is separated from Nova Scotia by the Gut of Canso — a navigable strait 15 miles in length, and about 1 mile in width. Cape St. Lawrence — its B most northern extremity — is about 70 miles from Cape Ray in Newfoundland. The whole circuit of the island, with the exception of the north-west coast, is indented by deep bays and inlets, often terminating in excellent harbours. A great portion of the interior is occupied by an estuary, or arm of the sea, called the Bras d'Or Lakes, which communicates with the ocean by means of two narrow channels opening into Spanish Bay on the north-east coast. These lakes divide the island into two un equal parts, or peninsulas, united by an isthmus less than half a mile in width.

Few countries of the same limited extent present such varied natural features as the island of Cape Breton. In the western division, the great promontory extending from Margarie and St. Ann's to Cape St. Lawrence, covering an area of 1,100 square miles, is one vast plateau or table-land, elevated in some places more than 1,200 feet above the level of the sea. It is bounded on three of its sides by a coast line of bold rugged bluffs and lofty precipices, furrowed by deep clefts and gorges, partially covered by scrubby spruce and pine. Three ranges of hills, as you will observe by referring to the map at the end of this volume, branch off from the fourth side of the table-land in a southerly direction. The first range ex tends from St. Ann's to Great Baddeck, being bounded on the east by the Baddeck river, and on the west by the Wa gamatcook; the second or middle range extends from the source of the east branch of the Margarie river to Why-co comah; and the third from Margarie river to Mabou, between Lake Ainslie and the sea-coast.

Neither the middle nor the western range is continuous, the first being separated from the table-land by the Maro-arie river, and the second by a deep gorge or ravine running at right angles with the course of the Wagamatcook, from near its source to the Forks of the north and south branches of the Maro-arie. Another large tract of highlands lies between St. Georo-e's Bay and Why-co-comah, which throws off two branches one running easterly, between the basin of the river Denys and GEOLOGICAL FORMATION. 3 the West Bay, the other southerly, between the Gut of Canso and the valley of the river Inhabitants. Proceeding easterly, we find a detached range of elevated land, about ten miles in length, between St. Patrick's Channel and the Straits of Barra ; and still farther, in the same direction, a lofty range, between St. Ann's Harbour and the great entrance of the Bras d'Or Lakes, which terminates in the rocky promontory of Cape Dauphin.

All the high lands in the western division, except the southern end of the range lying between the Gut of Canso and the valley of the river Inhabitants, consist of syenite, gneiss, mica slate, and other metamorphic rocks of old date. A coarse conglomerate, the basis of the carboniferous system, rests upon the flanks of many of the hills, which in some places attain an elevation of 600 feet. Between Port Hood and Margarie, the upper beds of the carboniferous system, containing some workable seams of bituminous coal, occur in the cliffs, being the eastern margin of an extensive coal field lying under the waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Similar beds of coal also occur in the low country, between the Gut of Canso and St. Peter's, but they are of small economic importance. The valleys, and the low country generally, intervening between the hills above mentioned, consist chiefly of sandstones, shales, limestone, and gypsum, of the lower car boniferous system.

In the eastern division of Cape Breton there are only two ranges of hills of considerable elevation : one running parallel and near to the shore of Bras d'Or Lake, from St. Peter's to the head of the East Bay ; the other from Long Island, nearly to the Straits of Barra. These hills consist chiefly of syenite, granite, and metamorphic rocks. From St. Peter's to Scatari the coast-line is generally low, with occasional bluffs of clay and gravel, and small lakes at frequent intervals, separated from the sea by barriers of sand and shingle. The land on this coast rises gradually from the sea towards the interior, presenting a swelling and undulating outline, but it nowhere reaches a greater elevation than 300 feet, except at the head of Gabarus Bay. A low but uneven tract of great extent B occupies the interior between these undulating hills nnd the range bordering on the East Bay, through which flow the Grand, the Salmon, and the Mira rivers.

The low hills on the coast consist chiefly of metamorphosed Devonian and upper Silurian rocks — the low country in the interior, of sandstones, shales, and limestones, of the carboniferous system. From Scatari to the great entrance of the Bras d'Or Lakes, the numerous bays and harbours which indent the coast are bounded by cliffs varying from 20 to 100 feet in height, with here and there long beaches or dunes of sand produced by the abrading action of the ocean. The land rises very gradually from the coast towards the interior, to a height rarely exceeding 250 feet. The cliffs, composed of sandstones and shales of the upper carboniferous formation, exhibit in many places valuable seams of bituminous coal. They constitute the northern land boundary of the Sydney coal field, which occupies an area of 250 square miles.

As the general dip of the strata is north east or seaward, this great area of productive coal measures is in all probability The segment of a vastly greater area ex tending under the sea. The country occupied by the upper and lower members of the carboniferous system rarely attains an elevation of more than 300 feet ; so that if the whole island were depressed to that depth, there would remain only an archipelago mostly com posed of long narrow islands of igneous and metamorphic rocks. The principal rivers of Cape Breton are the Denys, the Baddeck, and the Wagamatcook, which flow into the Bras d'Or lakes; the Margarie, the Mabou, the Inhabitants, the Grand, and the Mira, which discharge their waters into the sea. Small freshwater lakes are very numerous, both in the lowlands and the great plateau at the northern end of the island ; the largest is Lake Ainslie, the source of the southern branch of the Margarie river, which covers an area of twenty five square miles.

Excellent harbours abound on the north-east, the south-east, and the south-west coast; the harbours of St. Ann's, the great entrance of the Bras d'Or, Sydney, Louisbourg, Arichat, Hawkesbury, and Port Hood, are navigable by ships of large SCENERY OF THE LAKES. burden ; those of the little entrance of the Bras d'Or, Lingan, Menadou, Baleine, Fourche, L'Ardoise, Inhabitants, Mabou, and Margarie, are only suitable for vessels of a light draught. The most remarkable feature in the physical geography of Cape Breton is the Mediterranean Sea, called the Great and Little Bras d'Or Lakes, which occupies an area of 450 square miles in the very heart of the island. These two lakes are united by a narrow channel — the Strait of Barra, — and commu nicate, as has already been mentioned, with the ocean by two entrances, one of which has sufficient depth of water for ships of large burthen.

All the basins, creeks, and inlets of the lakes, can be navigated by vessels of a similar class. In the middle of the Little Bras d'Or, between Boisdale and Boular darie, there is a depth of 114 fathoms, showing that the lake bottom at that spot is depressed just as much below the surface of the water as the opposite hills of syenite are elevated above it. The scenery of the lakes is exceedingly striking and diversified. Long rocky cliffs and escarpments rise in some places abruptly from the water's edge ; in others, undulating or rolling hills predominate, fringed on the shores hy low white cliffs of gypsum or red conglomerate; whilst the deep basins and channels, which branch off in all directions from the central expanse of waters, studded with innumerable islets covered with a rich luxuriant growth of spruce and hemlock, present views the most picturesque and diversified imaginable.

The scenery on the southern coast, from Port Hood to Scatari, and on the north-east coast, from Scatari to the Bird islands, is generally tame and uninteresting ; but a sudden change occurs when we reach the rugged promontory of Cape Dauphin. From hence to Cape North, the coast-line exhibits steep ascents covered with scrubby spruce and pine, and rocky precipices rising abruptly from the sea to heights varying from 600 to 1,200 feet. Grand and very beautiful are the rocky gorges and ravines which furrow these hills and precipices between St. Ann's and Ingonish, when first the golden rays of the rising sun light up their deep recesses, and in an instant make all clear and distinct, which just before was hid in the dark shades of twilight. Equally grand and picturesque is the red Syenitic escarpment of Smoky Cape, capped with the cloud from which it derives its name, with many a lofty head land in the background, and the peak of the Sugarloaf mountain just peeping above the far distant horizon.

On the western coast, from Cape St. Lawrence to Margarie, scenery of a similar character occurs ; but it is the setting, not the rising sun, which reveals all its hidden beauties. Cape Breton comprises an area of 2,650,000 acres, exclusive of the lakes in the interior. About one-half of this area is supposed to be fit for cultivation, which, before the island was settled, was covered by dense forests of pine, spruce, hemlock, birch, maple, and ash, with a few oaks and elms. The great northern plateau, and the hills composed of igneous and altered rocks, were then, as now, partially covered with a stunted vegetation of spruce, rock maple, and birch. The soil of the first region is generally good, yielding abundant crops of grass, wheat, barley, oats, potatoes, stone fruits, and garden vegetables.

On the banks of some of the larger rivers there are extensive tracts of rich alluvial soil of great fertility. Although lying within the temperate zone, the climate of Cape Breton is marked by wide extremes of heat and cold ; but, owing to its insular character, and its proximity to the Gulf Stream, the cold of winter is not so intense, nor the frost so continuous, as in Canada. During the summer the mercury has occasionally been observed as high as 92°, but it does not often exceed 75°. In winter it has only once fallen, in the course of the last forty years, to 30°, but it has frequently been seen as low as 20° below zero. Snow lies upon the ground from December to April, but the atmosphere during that period is generally bright and clear. In the spring the drift ice, in its passage from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the ocean, is often driven upon the north-east coast by the easterly winds which prevail at that season, chilling the atmosphere and retarding the operations of the farmer, but it generally clears off before the middle of April, although it sometimes does not leave the coast until the first week in May.

The summers of Cape Breton, say from May to October, may challenge comparison with those of any country within the temperate regions of the DISCOVERT OF CAPE BRETON. 7 world. During all that time there are perhaps not more than ten foggy days in any part of the island, except along the southern coast, between the Gut of Canso and Scatari. Bright sunny days, with balmy westerly winds, follow each other in succession, week after week, whilst the mid-day heats are often tempered by cool refreshing sea breezes. Of rain there is seldom enough ; the growing crops more often suffer from too little than too much. The rainy season, which sets in upon the breaking up of the summer, is of brief duration, seldom extending beyond the middle of November ; and even this, the most disagreeable season of the year, is often shortened by an intervening week or two of warm balmy weather, known by the name of ' the Indian Summer.' The discovery of Cape Breton now demands our attention.

Owing to the prominent position of the island, it may reasonably be inferred that it was discovered quite as soon, if not sooner, than any of the other countries bordering on the At lantic. According to certain ancient Icelandic manuscripts, or Saga (as they are called), the whole of the eastern coast of America, from Greenland to Nantucket, was discovered by Norweigan rovers in the tenth century, soon after the settle ment of Iceland and Greenland. The country called Hellu land, or Slateland in the Saga, was evidently Newfoundland ; that called Markland, or Woodland, was Nova Scotia and Cape Breton.1 It is stated in the Saga that frequent voyages were made during the eleventh and twelfth centuries to various parts of the newly-discovered countries, and that, in 1347, a vessel returning from Markland with a cargo of wood was wrecked on the coast of Iceland.