Baddeck 
Inlet at the southeast corner of the Great Bras 
d'Or Lake comes within half a mile of break- 
ing through the land into the sea at the south. 
What nature did not quite accomplish, man 
did ; and a ship canal, cut through the isthmus, 
has divided Cape Breton into two main islands, 
besides converting the Bras d'Or lakes into 
a safe water-way for vessels wishing to pass 
between the north and the south coasts. 
The country of the easternmost island thus 
formed has a very broken coast and is by far 
the best known. On its northern coast is 
Sydney Harbour, said to be one of the finest 
in the world, only that it is blocked by ice for 
several months in the year. Near the mouth 
of the harbour are the coal mines that have 
made this part of the country profitable and 
have drawn to it a comparatively large popu- 
lation. At the head of the harbour is the 
flourishing town of Sydney, and southeast of 
that on the coast is the site of the famous town 
of Louisburg that played so important a part 
in the wars between France and England. 
Louisburg was built by the French shortly 
after the Treaty of Utrecht, its location on a 
point of land to the south of a fine harbour 
159 
