LXXVIII. harbours. BOOK was exempted from all taxes for the space of ten years; every man was obliged to pay, after this period, an annual impost of a shilling on his estate. Ten acres were besides given to every member of their families, and they were promised a farther augmentation, in the event of their having more children, or by showing themselves worthy of it, by the proper cultivation of their ground. These colonists did not fulfil the expectations that were formed of them. Cities and The excellent harbour of Halifax is now of the utmost importance. Its great utility has proved that the sum of L.4000, which was annually expended in building it, for a period of twenty years, has not been unprofitably laid out. The advantages of its position were rendered apparent in the different American wars, when this port, which commands in some respect the Atlantic Ocean, served as a station for the fleets of Great Britain, and as a place of refuge for her merchantmen. The town is well fortified, and contains from 15,000 to (a) 20,000 inhabitants. It is the residence of the governor of the provinces, and of a court of admiralty, whose jurisdiction extends over the whole of the English possessions in North America. The islands of St. John and of Cape Breton, are subject to Nova Scotia. Annapolis, another convenient harbour, formerly called PortRoyal, is situated on the Bay of Fundy, nearly opposite to Halifax; but the town itself is as yet little larger than a village. The city of Shelburne is built on the south-side of Port-Roseway Bay; it contained only fifty inhabitants at the beginning of the first American war, but its population. at present may amount to 9000 (b) or 10,000 souls. (a) [This is an exaggerated statement, as will appear from the following extract from a "DESCRIPTION OF NOVA SCOTIA," published at Halifax in 1823. "During the war, Halifax was thought to contain about 12,000 inhabitants, and in 1818, 10,000, but the population, at present, does not exceed 9000."-AM. ED. (b) [Shelburne for several years after it was first settled, increased rapidly, and is said to have contained in 1783, upwards of 10,000 inhabitants; but it has since declined. In the publication just quoted, it is stated that "in 1816, there were only 374 persons in the town and suburbs, and that number has since decreased."-AM. ED. ton. Royal Island or Cape Breton, is separated from Nova BOOK Scotia by the Straits of Canso or Fronsac. It was said LXXVIII. by the French to be the key of Canada, yet its harbours are Islands, frequently blocked with ice. The climate is subject to vio- Cape Brelent tempests, and the atmosphere is darkened by dense fogs; it frequently happens when these mists are congealed in the winter season, that they leave on the ground a thick covering of hoar-frost. The quantity of ice taken from the rigging of one of the ships employed in blockading the island in 1758, was said to be not less than seven tons; what is more remarkable, it is affirmed that this prodigious mass froze in the month of May. Although the greater part of the soil is unfruitful, there are some oaks of a very great size, and many pines that are used in making the masts of ships; a small quantity of corn, lint, and hemp, is cultivated on the island. The mountains and forests are stored with wild fowl, and particularly with a sort of large partridge, which resembles the pheasant in the beauty of its plumage. This country is at present almost completely abandoned, although there is a considerable quantity of coal at no great depth under its surface. isburg. Port Louisburg is built on the south-east coast of the isl- Port Louand, the French began to fortify this place in 1720; it was taken from them by the English in 1745, and restored by the peace of Aix la Chapelle in 1748. It was again reduced by Boscawen and Amherst in 1758, and added finally to Great Britain by the treaty of 1763; since that period its fortifications have been demolished. St. John's Isle, now called Prince Edward's Island, is in St. John's the vicinity of Cape Breton, and surpasses it greatly in fer- Isle. tility and in the beauty of its scenery. The French called this Island the store-house of Canada, because it supplied that country with grain and cattle. The numerous rivers that water its fields, afford the inhabitants plenty of salmon, eels, and trouts, and the adjacent sea abounds with sturgeons and a great variety of shell-fish. It possesses a convenient haven for its fishing vessels, and every kind of wood BOOK that is required for building ships. In 1789, the population, LXXVIII. which is still increasing, amounted to 5000 persons. Island of va or New The Island of Anticosti is ninety miles long and twenty Anticosti. broad, it is covered with rocks, and has no convenient harTerra No- bour. The large Island that is called by the English Newfoundland, foundland, and by the French Terre-Neuve, shuts up the northern entrance into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The perpetual fogs which cover it, are probably produced by the currents that flow from the Antilles, and remain for a time between the great bank and the coast, before they escape into the Atlantic Ocean. As these streams retain a great portion of the heat which was imbibed in the tropical regions, they are from fifteen to twenty degrees of Fahrenheit warmer than the surrounding water at the banks of Newfoundland. Whenever, therefore, the temperature of the atmosphere is colder than that of the currents, a vapour must necessarily arise from them, which obscures those places with a moist and dense air. The island, with the exception of the banks of the river, is barren and unfruitful. It contains, however, different kinds of trees, that are principally used in the numerous scaffolds which are erected along the shore for the purpose of curing fish. The glades in Newfoundland afford occasionally good pasturage for cattle. In the interior there is a chain of lofty hills, intersected with marshes, which give a wild and picturesque aspect to the country. The forests afford shelter for a great many wolves, deer, foxes, and bears. The rivers and the lakes abound with salmon, beavers, otters, and other amphibious animals. But all these advantages are of little consequence when compared with the great profit that has been obtained from the fishing of the neighbouring seas. On the east and on the south of the island there are several banks of sand that rise from the bottom of the river, the greatest of which extends nearly ten degrees from south to north. The stillness, and Produc tions, climate. comparatively mild temperature of the water in their vicinity, attract so many shoals of cod, that the fisheries which are established there, supply that article to the greater part of Europe. These animals quit the banks about the end of July, and during the month of August. BOOK The fishing season begins in April and ends in October. LXXVIII. The length of the cod seldom exceeds three feet, and the conformation of its organs is such as to render it nearly indifferent to the choice of its food. The voracity of its appetite prompts it to swallow indiscriminately every substance which it is capable of gorging; glass, and even iron have been found in its stomach; by inverting itself, it has the power of discharging these indigestible contents. The fishermen range themselves along the side of the vessel, each person being provided with lines and hooks. As soon as a fish is caught they take out its tongue, and deliver it over to a person, in whose hands, after having undergone a certain degree of preparation, he drops it through a hatchway between decks, where part of the back bone is cut off, and the cod, in order to be salted, is thrown through a second hatchway into into the bold. Whenever a quantity of fish sufficient to fill one of the vessels has been taken and salted, she sails from the banks to the island and unloads her cargo. The ship returns again to her station, and in the course of the season completes four or five different freights. The fish are dried on the island, and larger vessels arrive from England to convey them to the European markets. Much care and attention are required in packing this article; the greatest precaution is used to preserve it from the moisture of the atmosphere. A person, denominated a culler, or inspector, attends the loading of each vessel, in order to see that all the fish are completely cured before they are put into the cargo, which might otherwise be soon damaged. The price of dried cod at Newfoundland is commonly fifteen shillings the quintal, and it is sold in Europe for about a pound Sterling. In a vessel, with twelve men, there must be 10,000 fish caught, salted, and brought into market from the middle of April to July, else the owners will be excluded from all claim to the established bounty. Such a crew, however, takes usually during the season more than double that quantity. BOOK The English merchants who are engaged in these fisheries, LXXVIII. supply the sailors upon credit with whatever they stand Newfound in need of, and are repaid at the end of the year with the produce of their industry. Several hundred thousand pounds are thus annually advanced on an object of commerce before it is taken from the bosom of the deep. About 400 ships, amounting to 36,000 tons burthen, and 2000 fishing shallops, of 20,000 tons, are usually employed during the fishing season. Twenty thousand men from Great Britain and Ireland are engaged in this trade, and several thousands of them who remain on the island during the winter are occupied in repairing or building boats and small vessels, or in erecting the scaffolds for drying the cod. The persons that are not seafaring men have been distinguished by the appellation of planters.* Among the animals of Newfoundland, there is a particular land dog. kind of dog, remarkable for its size, its fine glossy hair, and especially for its excellence in swimming. Some writers have supposed that this breed was originally produced from an English dog and a native she wolf. It is ascertained, at all events, that these animals did not exist at the time of the first settlers. Popula tion. The Bermudas. This Island, which was so long considered the inhospitable residence of fishermen, has within a few years doubled its population and industry. The towns Placentia and St. John, since their embellishment and extension, have assumed a European aspect. The population of Newfoundland was estimated in 1789 at 25,000 inhabitants, it contains at present about 75,000 souls. The predictions of Whitbourne and Gilbert have been verified, and the activity of the British nation has added another fine colony to the civilized world.‡ We cannot give more properly an account of the Bermudas Islands than in this place. That group, situated Heriot's Travels. 1 Whitbourne, Discourse and Discovery of Newfoundland. |