Louisbourg, thus interesting historically, is conveniently reached from Sydney by rail. It has a pleasant harbor, free from winter ice, and is a fairly busy little shipping port. The site of the old fortress is at Point Rochefort a few miles distant from the railway station; but from first leaving the train, evidences of Louisbourg’s former greatness may be seen, and relics are in main of the houses in the village. Cannon balls are still found in the surrounding fields, and many of the houses contain stone from the demolished walls of the fortress. The situations of the bastions may still be traced, and some of the casemates used for sheltering the women and children from gun fire during the attacks are now used as shelters by flocks of sheep. That women can rise to any height when emergency demands, is shown by the incident remembered of Madame de Drucour, wife of the French Governor in the second siege, who with her own hands fed the cannon with powder and balls.
Ruins of Fort Louisbourg
No systematic exploration of the ruins has yet been attempted. The graveyard, too, where French, English and Colonial dead lie in hundreds, rests unmarked by stone of any kind. There is a general monument, however, erected on the very spot where the keys of the fortress were handed to General Pepperell when the fortress fell before Colonial arms. It was erected by the Society of Colonial Wars, and bears the simple inscription, ‘To Our Heroic Dead.’
Cod fishing was formerly carried on extensively from Louisbourg. Several of the old-time inhabitants owned thirty or forty vessels each.
There are several small fishing settlements in the neighborhood to which driving excursions may be made, and in summer time a pleasant sailing trip may be taken to several villages on Gabarus Bay to the south.
Leaving the South Shore to be visited from its most convenient centre, St. Peters, the town of Baddeck may next be chosen as a favorable place from which to view the central districts of the Island, as well as those lying along the upper east and west coasts. It will be remembered that steamers leave Sydney for east coast points, and Mulgrave for places on the west coast; and these trips are both enjoyable on fine summer days, affording as they do pleasant views of many a quaint little harbor and village. But for a thorough and intimate acquaintance with the beautiful island scenery, driving trips and walks should be taken from Baddeck, Whycocomagh and Mabou. Baddeck is easily reached from Sydney by Intercolonial Railway to Grand Narrows or Iona, from which places the steamer Blue Hill connects with incoming trains. Baddeck may also be reached by steamer from Sydney.
The town of Baddeck is a pleasant little centre from which to see much of the surrounding country; in addition, it is in itself a homelike and quiet resort where enjoyable days of rest may be spent, varied by drives and walks, and the comings and goings of the several steamers that make this a place of call. It is a fine place for boating and sailing, and it is one of the centres that most tourists prefer, quiet and tranquil, but not deserted, and where some social pleasures with other visitors may be enjoyed. It is undoubtedly one of the best centres from which to see characteristic Cape Breton scenery. The town is on a bay harbor of the upper Bras d’Or Lake, about midway between the northern outlet to the Atlantic and the southern reach that ends in Whycocomagh Bay, being about twenty miles or more from each place.
