Page:Tourist's Maritime Provinces.djvu/280

230 sea, and drops down shore to the capacious harbour of Sydney.

The first call is at North Sydney on the North West Arm of the harbour. The steamer then crosses 5 miles to Sydney, situated on the high bank of South Arm.

by rail, 17 miles via the Junction. A steam ferry-boat traverses the harbour.

The Sydneys and Louisbourg.

North Sydney is a squalid port through which the traveller will flee as hurriedly as time-tables permit—to Newfoundland, St. Pierre—Miquelon, Louisbourg, Arichat, Bay St. Ann, Ingonish, Aspy Bay or Bay St. Lawrence by steamer (see foregoing paragraphs in fine print); or south by rail over the Intercolonial's line. The ill-favoured streets of the town are excused by the presence within 3 miles of Sydney Mines, the great bituminous coal plant of the Nova Scotia Steel Company. The Sydney Coal Field has an area of available coal estimated at 300 square miles with a capacity of 14,000,000,000 tons. Besides numerous small ones, there are ten seams three to twelve feet in thickness. The shipment of coal from this harbour began nearly two centuries ago. In 1839, 70,000 tons were produced by Sydney Mines, which then had a working force of "500 men, three steam engines and ninety horses." The present yield is