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INTRODUCTION
Take a tour of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada ~
the Celtic Heart of North America, with the island's very own Gaelic
songstress, Mary Jane Lamond. The video features the Celtic Colours
International Festival, Celtic Music Interpretive Centre, Colaisde Na
Gàidhlig (Gaelic College), Highland Village / An Clachan Gàidhealach,
Glenora Inn & Distillery, Cape Breton Centre for Craft and Design and
more.
To learn more about Cape Breton Island - the Celtic Heart
of North America, go to http://www.CelticHeart.ca.
THE beginning of this
twentieth century the eyes of the world have been directed towards Cape
Breton, as a result of the important developments which have taken place
in the coal, iron and steel industries at and in the vicinity of the
Sydneys. Not only from an industrial, but from many other points of
view, is the island worthy of careful study.
Situated at the extreme
outpost of the American continent, Cape Breton has the heritage of a
history of absorbing interest, indissolubly connected, as it is, with
the triumph of British arms in the New World and the gradual growth of
the Great Dominion. Vestiges still remaining bear witness to its early
struggles and its wars. Louisburg, no less than the Plains of Abraham,
must forever figure in the story of that heroic struggle which resulted
in the establishment of Anglo-Saxon supremacy in North America.
Since the final
overthrow of French dominion, Cape Breton has enjoyed a period of
profound peace, during which its hardy people have tilled the soil,
followed the sea, and delved the mine, acquiring many noble and enduring
qualities in the stern school of toil and hardship.
Its enormous deposits
of coal constitute Cape Breton’s best possession. Mined and exported
with profit for years, their full value was not realized until the
formation of the Dominion Coal Company led to the present great and
increasing output. With coal at tidewater, and limestone in abundance,
it needed only the discovery of the easily-mined and cheaply-shipped
iron ore of Bell Island, Newfoundland, to make Cape Breton the seat of a
prosperous iron and steel-making industry. The chief iron-producing
districts of this continent are far inland; hence the industry is
burdened by arbitrary and heavy freight charges. Water transportation,
the natural highway of commerce, solves forever the question of
freights, inasmuch as it is open to universal competition. Herein is
Cape Breton’s supremacy. This is the impregnable position which insures
the prosperity and the greatness of its commercial life. As its
industries flourish, its commerce must increase. Cape Breton has, in
these stirring times, begun a new warfare. It is not to devastate and to
destroy, but to create and build up. To-day the greatest bravery is
shown, not by armies in deadly conflict, but by the heroic and
invincible hosts of labor in the fields of peace. Cape Breton, so long
untouched by the onward march of commercial progress, is now alive with
productive activities, and its own people, as well as hundreds who have
come to its favored shores, are beginning to reap the fruits of its
prosperity. Furthermore, Cape Breton, already famous for the beauty of
its scenery of sea and mountain, lake and hill, deserves that the
brightness of its skies, the invigorating properties of its pure air,
the splendor of its crystal waters, and the loveliness of its landscapes
should be still more widely known and appreciated.
The object of this
book, therefore, is to set forth briefly the history of the island, to
tell the story of its industrial development, and to describe its
present condition, its resources and prospects, its busy towns and
charming country districts, its glorious hills and its limpid rivers and
lakes. To this end the publishers have spared no expense and no labor in
the preparation of the illustrations; and the author has endeavored,
while striving to avoid exaggeration, to make the book as widely
interesting as possible.
In the preparation of a
work so comprehensive in character, it is necessary that outside sources
should be widely drawn upon. The author especially desires to
acknowledge his indebtedness to the excellent works on the history of
the island by the late Richard Brown, F. G. S., and the late Sir John
Bourinot, to Mr. Richard Brown’s “History of the Coal Trade in Cape
Breton,” to Dawson’s “Acadian Geology,” to Gilpin’s “Ores of Nova
Scotia,” to blue-books of the Dominion and Provincial Governments, to
Bell’s “Mining Manual,” to special editions of the Toronto Globe,
Montreal Star, Morning Chronicle (Halifax), and Halifax Herald; to an
exceedingly able article on “Steel Making in Cape Breton,” by E. W.
Hanna, M.E., which appeared in the Cape Breton Magazine; and finally, to
a host of friends who, by letter and word of mouth, and by the loan of
books, pictures and manuscripts, supplied much interesting information
and many valuable suggestions.
C. W. VERNON.
North Sydney, November, 1902.
You can read this book here in
pdf format
Great E.A.R.T.H. Expeditions - Nova
Scotia's adventure tour specialists take you on a journey through Cape
Breton Island. Once rated as the #2 island destination in the world by
National Geographic Explorer. Truly one of the most peaceful and
beautiful places on earth and the jewel of the east coast of Canada.
See
Alastair's 2 week holiday in Cape Breton |
