It would not be an exaggeration to say that Newfoundland, although it is the most ancient of the British Colonies, is less known and understood in Great Britain than any of her oversea possessions. It is generally believed that Newfoundland is somewhere in the Arctic Circle; that the inhabitants are clothed in furs, live in snow huts, feed on codfish; and that for six months of the year the island is unapproachable on account of barriers of ice and impenetrable fogs. This is altogether untrue. If you consult a map of British North America, you will see that Newfoundland is an island a little to the north-east of Nova Scotia, in Canada. It stretches right across to the entrance of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, its south-western projection being only sixty miles from Cape Breton, from which point Canadians may reach the island in about six hours by crossing the Cabot Straits. The eastern coast of Newfoundland Upon first looking at the map of the Colony, you are at once impressed by the similarity of its physical features to England or Scotland. If you were to cut off the two peninsulas at the south-east corner, from Trinity Bay to Fortune Bay, the remaining land would not be at all unlike England. The coast of Newfoundland is extremely rugged, and you will get an idea of the number and size of the bays if you bear in mind that the coast-line at present, measured from headland to headland, is about 1,000 miles; whereas, if the bays were straightened out, there would be a coast-line of probably 2,000 miles. Some of the bays are very deep, and the huge, high rocks towering above them present a picturesque and majestic appearance. There is, perhaps, no country in the world that has such secure natural harbours. These land-locked harbours are a great boon to the fishermen, for when the long, rolling waves of the Atlantic are eager to devour any vessels that may be in their way, the slender craft of the fishermen are securely nestled between a couple of immovable jutting headlands. Although there are no very lofty mountains in the island, there are numerous ranges of high hills, the Long Range extending for quite 200 miles in a north-easterly direction from Cape Ray. In the winter the hills present a beautiful appearance, with their innumerable white heads peering above the clumps of spruce and fir trees, the charm of the bright blue being greatly enhanced by the contrast. But they are most beautiful in autumn, when the undergrowth begins to change its colour, and the leaves of the wild berries put on their glamorous robes of scarlet. However, as a chapter will be devoted to the scenery of this ancient island, we will pass on to an account of the early races, together with the present inhabitants, their mode, of living and the means by which they obtain a livelihood. |