Newfoundland ... its history, ... present condition, and ... prospects ... Illustrated, etc

Front matter

THE HISTORY OF NEWFOUNDLAND. frontispiece. ABOVE WATERFORD BRIDGE — FOUR MILES FROM ST. JOHN'S. NEWFOUNDLAND <Œhe (Dlbcst British Colonij ITS HISTORY, ITS PRESENT CONDITION, AND ITS PROSPECTS IN THE FUTURE. BY JOSEPH HATTON, AETHOE OP " TO-DAY IN AMERICA," "THE NEW CETLON," " JOURNALISTIC LONDON," ETC. AND THE EEV. M. HARVEY, A RESIDENT OF ST. JOHN'S, AND AT7THOE OF " ACROSS NEWFOUNDLAND," ETC. lUusttatctJ FEOM PHOTOGEAPHS AND SKETCHES SPECIALLY MADE FOB THIS WORE ET W. F. EENNI E J. HAIWAED, AND S. H. PAESONS (PHOTOGRAPHER) ; DRAWN BT PERCIVAL SKELTON ; AND ENGRAVRD BY GEO. PEARSON. Supplemented by Artistic Contributions from various other sources. LONDON: CHAPMAN AND HALL, Limited, HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN. 1883. CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.

Preface

. The value of a history of the rise and progress of New foundland depends upon the qualifications which its authors possess for the treatment of the subject, the trustworthy character of the data upon which their treatise is founded, and the literary experience which they bring to bear upon the exposition of the materials they have collected. As these are the first points that seem to challenge criticism, a few words of explanation, as to the character, purpose, and raison d'etre of the present volume, will save time and may prevent misunderstandings. Apart from the many varied sources of knowledge which have been examined in connection with the following pages, I would lay particular stress upon the capabilities of my. collaborator. A scholar and a traveller, he has probably seen more of Newfoundland than any man who has con tributed to the literature of its history.

A resident in the Island for a quarter of a century, he has coasted round it, explored much of it, visited its ports and cities, studied its natural history, mixed in its social, religious, and political movements, and generally mastered the subject " New foundland " in all its bearings. A recognised local authority on all matters pertaining to the history of the country and its future possibilities, the Rev. M. Harvey is known to the learned societies of London and also to the general world of letters.* It will, therefore, be hardly necessary for me to say that, in the literary partnership involved in this history of * Mr. Harvey's contributions to natural history, especially in connection with the gigantic cephalopods, or cuttle fish, which he was the first to discover and describe, excited much interest in the scientific world a few years ago.

He is the author of a popular volume of lectures on literary subjects. He has written the article " Labrador" in the new edition of the " Encyclopædia Britannica," and has in preparation for the Bame work a descriptive essay on Newfoundland.

PREFACE.

. VI Newfoundland, the Rev. M. Harvey contributes the largest share of authoritative work. For myself, I have brought into the collaboration a careful revision of facts and opinions, some special investigations of historical data, and such editorial skill, as is necessary, for the transfor mation of unsystematised MS. into the form and shape of a comprehensive and methodical record. I have to thank the courteous officials of the British Museum for their assistance in facilitating my examination of MSS., maps, and other documents that make up the curious chronicles of the discovery and early government of the oldest British colony. London is the centre of stored knowledge. In the production of this volume it has been found important to have one of its authors engaged within hail of the British Museum ; while the other laboured amidst the scenes to be described, a living witness of many of the facts hereinafter narrated.

On his side, by the courtesy of Sir William Whiteway, the Premier of Newfoundland, Mr. Harvey has had full access to the archives of the local government; on mine I have had London as a Library of Reference. It encouraged me greatly, in regard to the necessity and profit of our joint labours, when the first results of my inquiries about Newfoundland proved to be of a very limited character. I found the Island almost a terra incognita to the majority of the persons whom I should have supposed to be best acquainted with it. The latest history was issued in 1863,* and this, though an excellent work in itself, neither dealt with the fisheries, the agriculture, nor the mineral resources of the country ; nor did it attempt to cover the unoccupied ground of topography, physical geography, and other features of the Island, necessary to a comprehensive treatment of the subject.

I do not offer these remarks as any reflection upon an admirable work, but only to emphasise the fact that its scope was limited, and that, even as an historical record, the chronicle ended with 1860; while to the last decade belongs the most important advance which Newfoundland has * The " History of Newfoundland," by the Rev. Charles Pedley. London : Longmans, 1863.

PREFACE.

. VII made during its long and singular existence as a dependency of the British Crown. The story of Newfoundland is one of the most remark able episodes in the history of the British Empire. It presents U3 at our worst and at our best. Strange in stances of official tyranny blur the chronicles of the Island's rise and progress. On a smaller field Freedom has had almost as hard a battle in Newfoundland as that which was necessary to establish her supremacy at home. Not that the islanders fought and bled for the privileges they now enjoy- They did not win their liberties with pike and gun. The pomp and circumstance of war flung no halo of glory about their political achievements. Toiling and suffering, they bore their many ills with a patient loyalty to the Home Govern ment that deserved the quick reward which it did not receive.

To-day, however, no English ministry can look back upon the maladministration of the country, without a desire to redeem a past of cruelty and neglect, by a present con ciliatory watchfulness over Newfoundland's future interests. The special grievances of the people, the unique position of the colony, the attempt to make it a mere fishing station and training ground for the Navy, the curious anomalies of the local and imperial laws under which the people laboured ; all these subjects are considered and illustrated in the following pages. In the active efforts that were made, for more than a century, to suppress the colonisation of Newfoundland, coercive laws were supplemented by libels on its climate and soil. The English merchants, who used it as a fishing station, published it abroad as a land given over to sterility and fog.

Officials of the Home Government encouraged these reports. When, in spite of them, infatuated emigrants found their way thither, they were forbidden either to build on the land, or to obtain any proprietary rights in the soil. Every summer the Fishing Admirals took possession of the Island, with incontestable power to use or to destroy any huts, stages, or buildings, which the inhabitants might have erected near the coast. In the autumn the fishing fleets sailed away. On arriving in the English ports the captains

PREFACE.

. VIII were punished if they did not bring home again as many men as they had taken out. During the pleasant days of summer the Fishing Admirals and their crews made the country a howling wilderness. Winter found it a solitude and a desolation. Yet, strange to say, there were people who clung to its inhospitable shores. Such Law and Justice as existed there at all, went away every autumn, with the migratory merchants and admirals. The Freedom of Licence reigned one half the year, the Tyranny of Irresponsibility the other. Justice was held in greater respect, when Law was absent, than when ignorant and interested skippers administered it on the quarterdecks of their commercial ships. Men flying from troubles at home, unfortunate traders, exiles for conscience sake, adventurers to whom settled government means chains and shackles; these and such like found shelter in Newfoundland.

By degrees, as the laws relaxed in regard to settlement, and the tyranny of the Fishing Admirals waned, the population grew from a few hundred families to a few thousands. With the broadening of the opportunities of labour and enterprise, it increased, from eighty thousand in 1814, to something approaching, at the present time, two hundred thousand. Little better than a mere fishing village up to the end of the last century, Newfoundland is to-day a thriving community. The time is not far distant when it may rival, in wealth and status, the most important of England's colonial possessions. Discovered three hundred years ago, Newfoundland has only, in these latter days, been explored. The result of scientific investigation proves that it is endowed with all the possibilities of mineral and agricultural wealth.

The geological survey, conducted over a period of seventeen years, dissipates the libels of those conspirators of the past who wished to keep the Island as a mere curing stai^e for cod. Rich in useful minerals, Newfoundland has fertile belts second to none in the New World. Seventy years ago it was unlawful to build a house on the Island with out Government permission. It is within quite a recent date that settling there and cultivating the soil have been PREFxACE. IX tolerated. Half a century ago there were no regularly constructed roads in the country, and hardly a house worthy of the name, from an English point of view. It is within a score of years that anything like commerce, outside the fish trade, has made a mark on the rising towns and cities ; and it is little more than a year ago that, in a journalistic capacity, I had the satisfaction of cabling from New York to London the first news of the closing of a definite agreement for providing the Island with the one great factor of commerce which her organisation required.

At that time Newfoundland had no railway. As material on which to base prediction of future success, and as an example of the rapidity of modern progress, I am informed that at the date of these introductory words to an interesting historical record, forty-five miles of road are open and at work. Furthermore, it is probable that the time is not far distant when this hitherto neglected English colony will be the half way house of ocean-travel between the Old World and the great industrial centres of the New. The resting-place of the first Atlantic cable, there is every reason to believe that it is destined to be the junction of sea-travel and land-transit between England and America, shortening the ocean voyage to four days, and discounting the present time between England and New York by forty-eight hours.

Given these probabilities and the certainties which are already historical, it will be seen that the Newfoundlanders are on the high road to that good fortune which every intelligent traveller, uninfluenced by political interests, has promised them. As a field of emigration, more particularly for investment of labour and money in agricultural pursuits, Newfoundland has advantages which are set forth on the authority of practical surveyors, mineral and agricultural, in succeeding pages. There is no doubt as to the excellence of the soil, in the interior, for the cultivation of agricultural products; while the value of the grazing lands, that are scattered here and there over thousands of acres of fertile valleys, is equally beyond question. All that is necessary to their development is the completion of the railway system now in course of con struction, which will bring Newfoundland farms nearer, by X

PREFACE.

. several days to the markets of England, than any other competing districts of the American continent. The mineral prospects of Newfoundland are not behind those of agriculture. It is already the fifth on the world's list of copperexporting countries. Holding a foremost place among fishing industries, its coasts are the theatre of exciting adventures belonging to the garnering of the ocean harvests. Ardent sportsmen seek its forests and streams in pursuit of " fin and f nr." The geologist is busy among its hills and valleys. Mining prospectors are examining the tracks of the Government surveyors. The first locomotives are running from the capital to the adjacent towns. A tide of emigration is evidently on the eve of setting in upon its shores. No complete survey of its history and condition, its jfl.ysical geography, its fishing and other industries, its mineral and agricultural resources, its government, its laws, manners and customs in the past and present, its prospects in the future, has ever before been attempted.

The book now presented to the reader is therefore a cultivation of hitherto unoccupied ground. The result may not be in all respects satisfactory. But as a pioneer volume it is entitled to friendly consideration. Apart from studies made for it upon the spot, almost every known work, printed or in manuscript, relating to Newfoundland has been consulted in the course of its preparation for the press. These have included Parliamentary papers and Government dispatches in the archives of the British Museum and Record Office, journals of the House of Assembly and Customs returns at St. John's, newspaper records, and private letters. No source of possible information has been overlooked. To gather the facts thus collected into an interesting shape, and within reasonable compass, has been no light task ; with which suggestion of excuse for any shortcomings the authors present to the world this new history of England's oldest colony. JOSEPH HATTON. London, January, 1883. CONTENTS. Part I. HISTORICAL RECORD.

Chapter I. From The Discovery Of The Island To The First Attempt

AT SETTLEMENT. [1497-1533.] page Discovery of Newfoundland — The Cabots and Columbus — Unrecorded adventures — Royal parsimony — Sebastian Cabot's last hours — Holbein's portrait of the great navigator — Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition — Taking possession of the island in the name of Elizabeth — Fatal conclusion of the enterprise — Loss of the Squirrel with Sir Humphrey Gilbert and all hands 1

Chapter II. Early Struggles In Peace And War

[1583-1697.] Famous adventures on sea and land — Raleigh and Drake — Lord Bacon declares the Fisheries to be " more valuable than all the mines of Peru " — Whitbourne's " Discourse and Discovery of Newfoundland " — Lord Baltimore's settlement — Curious association of. a myth of the Middle Ages with the New World — Sir David Kirke clears the French out of Newfoundland and captures Quebec — Settling under difficulties — Barbaric laws — Struggles between the resident and floating populations — French and British rivalry — " Between two fires " CONTENTS.

Chapter III. Tyranny By Act Of Parliament

[1691-1728.] A government of skippers— A colony regarded as a ship— The British Ministry advised to exclude women from the island —The baneful Act of William III.— The first sea-captain PAGE arriving at the fisheries to be admiral — The population increases in spite of unjust laws and venal judges—Inter position of commanders of the Royal Navy — Appointment of the first governor— French attacks on the country and capture of St. John's— The Treaty of Utrecht— Supremacy of England throughout Newfoundland — Fishing rights conceded to the French — Standing grievances 41

Chapter IV. The Fishery Eights Of France

[1728-1793.] Fifty years of agitation — The pioneers hold their ground — Establishment of a Court of Oyer and Terminer — Warlike operations against the French in North America — End of the Seven Tears' War — Social disorders and religious persecution — British and French concurrent rights of fishing — The condition of Labrador — The war between England and America and its influence on Newfoundland — The Peace of 1782 — Chief Justice Reeves — Disputes over the Treaty of Versailles — Land grants and mining licences . . .53

Chapter V

"THROUGH THE FIRE." [1793-1861.] The last French attack on the island — Newfoundlanders not allowed to acquire land or build houses — Strange examples of the rigour of the law of William III. — Refugees from Ireland — Roman Catholic disabilities — Mutiny of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment — A landmark of improvement — Houses built without imperial permission — The first newspaper — The Red Indians — A tragical expedition — Governor Duckworth's enlightened administration — The rise of St. John's — A period of inflation — The treaty of Paris — The great fire of 1816 — Proposals of depopulation — Agitation for local legislative power — Expansion of popular ideas — Representative government conferred on the island in 1832 • — Hostility between the two Chambers — Religious and political rancour — The fire of 1846 — Twelve thousand people homeless — The proposed Anglo-French Convention of 1857 — Riot and tumult — Peace and progress . . . .77 CONTENTS. XIII PAGE 115

Chapter VI

"AFTER DARKNESS— DAWN." [1861-1882.] Demoralising systems of pauper relief — Proposed confederation of Newfoundland and Canada — Important discovery of copper ore — Geological survey of the island — Mr. Alexander Murray's reports — Important revelations — Opposition and defeat of the projected union with Canada — Establishment of steam communication with England — Development of mineral and agricultural resources — Proposed railway — Sir John Glover on the possibilities of the country — Government charter granted to the Newfoundland Railway Company — Turning of the first sod and construction of the first part of the first railway in 1881 — Prosperous condition of the colony — Final settlement of the French Fisheries Question — New railway projects, with perspective plans of increased rapidity of transit between the Old World and the New- New fields for emigration — A country one-sixth larger than Ireland, with a population less than two hundred thousand . CONTENTS. XIV ftart H. PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY AND TOPOGRAPHY.

Chapter I. Situation, Mountains, And Rivers

PAGE A stepping-stone between the Old World and the New — Rank of Newfoundland among the islands of the globe — Breeding-ground of the cod — An iron-bound shore with a fertile interior — Picturesque waterways — Long range and other mountains — The Exploits River — The Grand Falls — The Humber and Bay of Islands — Lakes and ponds — Grand Lake with an area of one hundred and ninety-two square miles — Great pine forests — Red Indian Lake — Virgin lands or " forests primeval "........ 132

Chapter II. St

JOHN'S, THE CAPITAL OF NEWFOUNDLAND. The site of the city — The Narrows — Character of the local buildings — The new dock — Water supply — Protection against fire — Churches and chapels — Government offices and banks — Population and its religious denominations . 147

Chapter III. Bays And Harbours

St. John's — The Narrows — Round about the island — Placentia Bay — Burin and St. Pierre — Fortune Bay — The Penguin Islands — Cape Bay — On the banks of Bay St. George — Discovery of lead and other minerals — Marble beds in the Humber — The Straits of Belle Isle — The Bay of Notre Dame and Bett's Cove— " The Beautiful Conception Bay " . .158 CONTENTS. XV PAGE 168 178

Chapter IV. The Interior

The harvest of the sea — The Geographical Survey — Vast tracts of country still unexplored — An adventurous traveller — First impressions of a new country — Cormack's description of the new-found country — Extinction of the aboriginal Indians — Abundance of game — Beaver aud venison — A paradise for the sportsman — A vast grazing country — A friendly mountaineer — The island crossed from east to west

Chapter V. Geology

Jukes, Logan, and Murray — Eighteen years of surveying — Coal deposits — " The Quebec group " — The great ancient rock systems represented in Newfoundland — More than half the island found to be Laurentian, and the highest series of rocks carboniferous — Geological demonstrations of the capacity of the country to sustain a large population

Chapter VI. Climate

Popular fictions — The Gulf Stream and the Arctic current — Fogs almost unknown in the interior — Compared with Canada and the United States — Meteorological observations — Average temperature and rainfall — "A silver thaw" — The robustness of the people quoted by authorities iu favour of the climate 188

Chapter VII. The Aborigines

Human relics — The American Indian skull — " Survivals " — The Bethuks — Cartier on the natives of his day — Whitbourne's description of " The Natural Inhabitants " — Early experiences of the settlers — Invasion and retaliation — British intervention — Indians captured and taken to St. John's — Disappearance of the native tribes — Modes of sepulture — Cormack's expeditions — Wigwams and deer traps — Indian vocabulary CONTENTS. PAGE 222 230

Chapter VIII. Manners And Customs

Two famous races — Physical and social characteristics — An orderly and amiable people — The middle aud upper classes — Life among the fishermen — " The credit system " — Amusements and pastimes

Chapter IX. Animal Kingdom

The caribou, wolf, and black bear— The " Wolf -Killing Act" — The beaver — "Newfoundland dog" — The seal tribe-^ Eagles, hawks, and pigeons — The American bittern — The great auk — The gigantic cephalopod, or devil fish

Chapter X. Vegetable Kingdom

Forest trees — Evergreens — The Labrador tea-plant — Wild berries — Flowering plants and ferns — Wild flowers and vegetables 244 CHAPTER XT. NEWFOUNDLAND AS A SPORTING COUNTRY. Fishing and shooting — The willow grouse, or ptarmigan — Opening of the season — The wild goose and black duck — Deer-stalking — Caribou shooting — Lord Dunraven on exploration and sport — The moose and the caribou . . . CONTENTS. XVII Œitrt EBE. THE FISHERIES.

Chapter I. The History And Condition Of The Cod-fish Industries

PAGE Export comparisons — The earliest fishermen on the Newfoundland coasts — The West of England men — Driving out settlers — The rivalry of France and England — French and American fishing enterprises supported by bounties — Statistical records of population — The rise and progress of the cod fishery — The Great Banks — Want of organisation and scientific observation — Number of persons engaged in the staple trade — Value of the fisheries to France aud England — The American catch of cod-fish on the Banks — Newfoundland and the Dominion of Canada — European cod-producing countries — The "catch" in Norway — Newfoundland compared with the principal sea fisheries of the world . . 259

Chapter II. Natural History Of The Cod, Its Distribution, Movements, Spawning, And

MODE OF CURE. Cold-water seas and the Arctic current — Nature's laws of compensation — Food of the cod — The Labrador current — An old theory exploded — A submarine plateau — The fishing season —Caplin and squids — Process of curing the cod — Operators at work — Cod-liver oil — Fishing tackle and methods of taking the cod ... .... 280

Chapter III. The Seal Industry

Ancient methods of taking seals — Perils and hardships of the hunters — The beginning of the season — Steamers and sailing vessels — Battling with the ice — Impressive scenes — The Aurora Borealis — How a sealing ship is fitted — The hunters at work — How the seals are killed and packed for port — Converting the seals for market — Oil and leather . 295 A* CONTENTS.

Chapter IV. Natural History Of The Seal

PAGE Mother and cubs — Maternal instinct— Teaching the young to swim— The hood seal and the harp — The " dog " seal under attack — Migrations of the harps and hoods — Localities where they are found— On the march — Danger of extermination — Statistics of the take of seals since 1805 . . 310

Chapter V. Salmon

Occasional abundance of fish at St. John's — Want of efficient regulations for protecting the fisheries — Commander Knowles recommends active measures on the part of the Government — The law of the salmon — Suggestions for improving the fisheries — Local laws and proclamations — Other " game fish " 317

Chapter VI. The Herring And Other Fisheries

Movements of the herring — Bait for cod — Frozen fish exported to America — The Labrador herring and the Shore herring — Chief seats of the fishery — Statistics of the average catch — Exports and annual value — Mackerel, halibut, haddock, and lobsters 323 CH.APTER VII. THE FISHERIES AS AFFECTED BY INTERNATIONAL TREATIES. Privileges of the French — Concurrent rights — Unfounded claims — Sir William Whiteway's mission to London — Settlement of the " French Shore " question — Fishery rights still in dispute — Lord Palmerston and the French Government — England and the United States — Various interpretations of American rights — " The Reciprocity Treaty " and the Treaty of Washington 329

Chapter VIII. Labradob

The Fisheries — Boundaries — History of Labrador — Climate — Population — Belle Isle — The legend of the Isle of Demons — Picturesque scenery — Immense cod-fishing grounds — Esquimaux and Indians — Berry-bearing plants — Mineral products .... ... . CONTENTS. XIX jpart m. AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES.

Chapter I. The Geographical Survey

PAGE Difficulties of the past — The vagaries of Governor Milbanke — Value of the laud now under cultivation — New discoveries of fertile belts — Lands suitable for settlement — Two million nine hundred and seventy-six thousand acres awaiting cultivation 360

Chapter II. The Codroy Valleys On The Western Coast

A well-wooded country — Wild grass — Grazing lands — A winter in Codroy Villa — Experiences of local farming — Building stone and minerals — Emigrants going west — A fertile oasis en route hitherto unknown 366

Chapter III. The Bay Of St

GEORGE AND THE WESTERN COUNTRY. Capabilities of the district for settlement — Mr. Murray and Mr. Jukes on the productiveness of the soil — Vast tracts of unoccupied lands — Monsignor Sears gives the result of a settler's experiences — Room for thousands of farms on " The Barrens " — Dr. Bell on the climate — The Bay of Islands and the Humber district XX CONTENTS. PAGE

Chapter IV. Notre Dame Bay And The Eastern Districts

The future of the plain that will one day unite the Humber district with Notre Dame Bay — A splendid stretch of country — Scenery equal to that of the English and Scotch lakes — Large and small game — Red Indian Lake and White Bay — The fertile belts of the Gander and Gambo country — A wilderness that might be " settled " — The unpeopled valley of the Exploits — Gander River 384

Chapter V. On The Prospects Of Land Investments And Emigration

Authoritative opinions and reports — Newfoundland compared with the most favoured provinces of North America — Summers and winters — Newfoundland as a grazing country — "Vegetable productions — The district of St. John's — Pish as a fertiliser — Wheat, barley, and hops — Report of the Joint Committee of the Council and House of Assembly — The peninsula of Avalon — The present condition of agriculture — Customs returns — Markets for farm produce — Forest timber: pine and spruce — Area of forest lands — The lumbering regions CONTENTS. XXI PAGE $ati $. MINERAL RESOURCES.

Chapter I. Pioneer Work And Prospects

Opening of the first mine — Mr. C. F. Bennet and Mr. Smith MacKay— Tilt Cove and Bett's Cove 409

Chapter II. Metalliferous Deposits And Coal Areas

The Quebec group of the Lower Silurian series — Mr. Murray on the ore deposits of Tilt Cove — Areas of the Serpentine series — Newfoundland as a copper-producing country — Professor Stewart's report — The auriferous rocks of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland — Mr. Selwyn's opinion — Discoveries of precious metals — Mr. Murray on the prospects of gold-mining — Lead, gypsum, and slate — Mr. Jukes on the coal seams of St. George's Bay and up the Codroy River — Conditions on which land licences are granted — Exports of copper and nickel CONTENTS. XXII $ari m. POPULATION, GOVERNMENT, ETC.

CHAPTER I. POPULATION AND TRADE.

PAQB Statistics of 1654— Gradual increase of population— Religious denominations— Celtic and Saxon— Exports and imports- Charges on revenue and the Customs returns 428

CHAPTER IL GOVERNMENT.

The constitution — Executive and public officers — The electoral districts — Salaries of officials — The judicial department — Constitution and character of the law courts 443

Chapter III. Roads, Railways, And Steam Communication

The first highway — Postal roads and mail routes — Preliminary survey for the first railroad — Subsidy of money and lands offered by Government for construction of the road — Progress of the work — Turning of the first sod, and running of the first locomotive 448 CH.APTER IV. EDUCATION. Rise and progress of educational movements — Legislative enactments — Denominational appointments — Government grants — The Colonial and Continental Church Society 457

Chapter V. Religious Denominations

Protestant and Roman Catholic settlers — The Church of England — The early missionaries and the first bishopric — Wesleyan Methodism and Congregationalism — Progress of Presbyterianism 464

Chapter VI. The Post-office, Constabulary, Lighthouses, Banks, Etc

The mail service— Cost of the postal department — The police force — Thirty-two lighthouses and beacons — The light dues — Bank statistics LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Above Waterford Bridge— Four miles from St. John . Frontispiece. Section of the Mapamundi of Sebastian Cabot, 1544 ... 7 John Cabot in London 10 Sebastian Cabot 12 Jacques Cartier 13 Sir Humphrey Gilbert Reading his Commission ... 17 Sir Humphrey Gilbert 19 Wreck of the Delight 21 Sir Walter Raleigh 25 James I. 32 Heart's Content Harbour and Village 136 Rocky River Bridge 139 Wigwam Point, Exploits River 142 On the Barrens Facing p. 145 City of St. John's, Newfoundland .... „ 147 Roman Catholic Cathedral, St. John's 153 Government House, St. John's ' . . 155 Entrance to St. John's Harbour — Looking Seawards . Facing p. 158 Placentia 160 Bett's Cove Harbour, Notre Dame Bay 164 Conception Bay.

Topsail, Newfoundland. Great and Little Belle Isle in the distance LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. PAGE Horns of the Caribou Facing p. 230 A Newfoundland Fishing Fleet before the days of Steam . . 281 Fish-flake. Cod spread out. Boat Landing Cod . . . 290 St. John's Harbour — Fish-curing .... Facing p. 291 Cod-fishing with Hook and Line 293 A Newfoundland Seal-Fishery Expedition — Hunters at Work Facing p. 304 Lumberman's Camp in Winter „ 407 Copper Mine, Bett's Cove 411 First Excursion Trip on the Newfoundland Railway ; " Train about to start " NEWFOUNDLAND THE OLDEST BRITISH COLONY fart I. HISTORICAL RECORD.

Chapter I. From The Discovery Of The Island To The First Attempt

AT SETTLEMENT. [1497-1583.] Discovery of Newfoundland — The Cabots and Columbus — Unrecorded adventures — Royal parsimony — Sebastian Cabot's last hours — Holbein's portrait of the great navigator — Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition — Taking possession of the island in the name of Elizabeth — Fatal conclusion of the enterprise — Loss of the Squirrel with Sir Humphrey Gilbert and all hands. At daybreak on the 24th of June, 1497, the welcome cry of " Land ho ! " from the masthead of The Mathew of Bristol proclaimed the discovery of what is to-day England's oldest colony. The warning of the look-out was responded to by a round of British cheers from the deck below. The tight little pioneer ship, not more than two hundred tons, was manned by West- Country sailors. Her com- B mander was John Cabot.