CHAP. XXV. THE BAT OF CHALEUKS. 67 



by the narrow diaiiiiel, named the Gut of Canso, that 

 divides Cape Breton from Nova Scotia. The names on 

 its coasts afford a chie to its history,* whetlier of man or 

 the animal hfe it sustains, or the natural features which it 

 displays, from the gently shelving beach to overhang- 

 ing cliffs a thousand feet high. It may, therefore, be 

 not without interest to mention some of the most im- 

 portant. 



The magnificent Bay of Chaleurs, without rock, reef, or 

 shoal, so swarms with fish during the summer months 

 that the Micmacs have for aQ:es named it the Eck-e-tuan 

 Ne-ma-a-chi, or ' The Sea of Fish.' The scenery on its 

 coast is in keeping with the teeming hfe which breathes 

 in its waters. Grand wave-worn cliffs are near its 

 entrance, and among these the Perce Eock, 288 feet 

 high, is a noted object. It belongs to a range of cliffs 

 on the south-west side of Mai Bay, and is remarkable on 

 account of two large holes which have been worn tlirough 

 it by the waves, and through one of which a boat can 

 pass at high water. Mont Perce, in the rear, rises to the 

 height of 1,230 feet above the sea, and can be seen at 

 sea from a distance of forty miles, f 



The Bird Eocks. — These are islands of sandstone with 

 perpendicular chffs on all sides, in which every ledge and 

 fissure is occupied by gannets. The white plumage of 

 these birds gives to these rocks the appearance of being 

 capped with snow, and renders them visible, through a 

 night glass, in a clear and moonhght night, from the 



* See Appendix. 



t The measurement and many facts given in the text are from Admiral 

 Bayfield's Sailing Directions for the Gulf and River St. LaiLirence. 



