26 CARBONIFEROUS OF CAPE BRETON—GILPIN. 
It is to be regretted that the records of the thousands of dol- 
lars spent in exploratory work in this district have been almost 
entirely lost. The field geologist, confined to natural exposures 
and outcrops, finds that the notes of a borehole or of a shaft 
frequently supply the very information desired to show the 
nature or dip of an important piece of ground. However, Mr. 
Fletcher has compiled all that is available above and below 
ground, and has furnished information of great value to future 
explorers. From a review of what is known about this district 
it may be said that there is a strong probability of workable coal 
seams being found in those portions lying Jess disturbed than the 
sections opened at Seacoal Cove and Little River. The fact that 
an almost continuous winter shipment can be carried on will help 
to forward the development of any discoveries. 
At Glendale, on the upper waters of the River Inhabitants, 
there is a small isolated coal field, the exact horizon of which is 
doubtful. If the idea of there being two unconformable series 
of measures as suggested in Mr. Fletcher’s report be adopted, the 
coal of Glendale and of the mouth of the River Inhabitants may 
be assumed to correspond, and the limestones of Glendale and 
Plaster Cove are identical. However, further search into the 
relationship of the Little River coal and plaster is needed before 
the structure can be clearly made out. The Glendale coal field 
as yet boasts of only one seam about 20 inches thick, as reported 
by Mr. Fletcher, there is said to be another seam about three 
feet thick underlying it. However, the total extent of ground 
apparently underlaid by coal is limited, and at present scarcely 
tempts exploration. 
The extent of the Carboniferous of Victoria and Inverness 
Counties can be readily understood by any one at all familiar 
with the geography of the island. If a line be drawn from the 
mouth of the Cheticamp River tothe mouth of Middle River the 
country to the east of it will be found to be almost exclusively 
occupied by the pre-Cambrian measures, and on the west side are 
met the Carboniferous with a few outlines of the older measures. 
The western shore of the Bras d’Or Lake from Baddeck through 
the Grand Narrows and West Bay to Hawkesbury complete the 
