Those who visit here from the great manufacturing and mining centres of the United States will, of course, be familiar with coal mining and steel plants; but many others who come from other industrial centres will find it both interesting and instructive to visit the works of the Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company and collieries, etc., in the neighborhood. The various industries of this kind hereabouts will soon rival the giant industries of Pennsylvania; and all interested in such industries should spend some days in seeing the many novel sights they offer. Those who have never seen a similar sight should by all means see a cast made at the Dominion Steel Works. The coal industry is now an immense one. In these days of coal at seven dollars a ton it seems strange to read that at the time of the inglorious Quebec Expedition under Admiral Walker, coal in quantities was taken from the Sydney cliffs with iron crow-bars.
A Cape Breton Road
The Marconi “Wireless” Station at Table Head, Glace Bay, with its four towers, is sure to be an object of interest to all who go near this part of the coast.
That giant fish the Albacore, or leaping-tuna, weighing from 500 to 800 pounds and over, is caught along the North Atlantic coast in certain favored spots. At Lockeport and other places on the South Shore of Nova Scotia they are caught in great trap nets. They are also caught off the Cape Breton coast; and as the honor of catching the first of these monstrous fish with rod and line not far from Sydney fell to the well-known sportsman, Mr. Ross, of Montreal, a description from Patillo of a hand-line expedition for albacore is here given.
“Stout cod-lines were used, 32 fathoms long. The hook was of steel, three-eighths of an inch thick. It was eight inches wide, and had a three-inch shank. A stiff, moderately low boat was used, and the lines were attached to swivel reels to run them on and off. Herrings were taken for bait. We started off and soon reached the fishing ground. Presently one of the fishermen casting nets nearby called out to us, ‘Halloa, boys! here’s a fellow!’ meaning an albacore, followed by a shout from another, and still another that they were about their boats; so we slowly moved outside the range of the boats, throwing over a herring every few yards to toll them along with us. When far enough away we secured the reel to the boat athwart, for we were a bit afraid of the fish we expected to grapple with. Then I threw over a herring to see if there were any albacores near us, and to our delight a monster rushed for it just under the surface, so I threw another loose herring, and then one attached to the hook. He rushed for the first one, whirled and took hold of the other, and we had hold of him. Then for a few minutes we had a good imitation of the antics of a wild prairie horse when first haltered. He jumped his full length out of the water, which gave us a very vivid idea of the monster we were attached to; then he started at an awful pace across the harbor. The line was running out swiftly, so that we had to move as quickly to get it into the notch in the stern, which we had wisely thought to make. Then I seized an oar and placed it for steering, while we both got positions to trim the boat. We feared something might break if the boat remained motionless; so to obviate this my friend succeeded in grasping the line partially, and thereby gradually started the boat, while I helped by sculling, so that by the time it was all off the reel, she was moving faster than ever she did before. The fish kept up the pace for at least ten minutes, towing us directly into the harbor; then he made a jump, turned and took us straight back to the fishing grounds. The men in fishing boats had been watching us with great interest, not supposing for a moment they were to have any part in it; but when they saw us going directly for them, the shouting and hooting and swearing that suddenly started from them would have been laughable to disinterested spectators. We could see plainly that if he continued the course he was then taking us, nothing short of a collision with one or more of the boats would follow.
“Pandemonium appeared about to reign. The boats were very near. We were all greatly excited, for we realized there was danger of foundering. I jumped with my knife to free the fish. In the rush my foot slipped, and I went headlong on my mate, the knife flying overboard. Before anything could be done to free the albacore, we ran into a boat with a heavy crash, filling it with water, and upsetting most of their herring. The sudden resistance caused the albacore to spring again, when, to save ourselves from being spilled out, one of the men cut the line.
“Then the boats were baled out and work resumed. After the danger was over we all roared with laughter, scream after scream.
“The freed albacore paraded all around the harbor that day, jumping out of the water dozens of times with our line still attached to him.
“Seeing so many around, we decided to try for another. The fishermen, however, hesitated about supplying us with bait, fearing a repetition of the peril if we hooked another. After coaxing, we got what we wanted and started off again, throwing herrings as we went. When we thought ourselves well out we stopped to make ready for another strike.