The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1867-07-09
Among the "Dlue Noses"
HALIrAX, Nova Scotia, }
July 1st, 1867. (

notes by the WaySlde are often more IN
teresting to the author than to the public,
still | venture 10 offer for the columns of
the REGISTER some ''notcs' of that cha~
acter taken, while travelling aurosa .,ov..
Scotia AMI about this city. In crossing
the Bay Of Fundy, the last we see of the
New Brunswick coast and the first of
Nova Scotia arc the high bluffs presenting
TO the water wall of solid rock with the
seemingly unbrokcn forests stretching back
from their SUBMITS. But on entering
Miners Basin, which extends twenty
miles into the peninsula, tie view quite
suddenly changed. Near its shores are
some Of the most fertile portions of Nova
Scotia. More beautiful fields or fertile
Land we have never seen in New Eng
land The farmer plow-, or the cattle
Craze down to the very beach where the
tide comes up TO meet them, while fur
ther back on the gently rising land are
the large and thrifty orchards of plum
and apple Beautiful little villages dot
the shores at frequent intervals, and all
about them looks thriving and prosper.
Gus. From these shores and extending
south is said TO be the garden of Nova
Scotia" The situation suggests some
historic scenes 1t was from these shores
the Acadlans were taken, a hundred
years ago, and by order of the English
scattered among the different Provinces.
causing untold sntfGrings. This is the
scene of the first part of Longfclow's
"EvanEelne," and as we look upon the
beautiful shores we wonder when the poet
would locate his little village of Grand
Orc, the home OF Gabriel and Eyaorel
ism, and when on this bank were those
two faithful hearts, the representatives of
hundreds of others, so cruelty separated
We land at Windsor, II handsome VILLAGE
Of about three thousand inhabitants,
where the cars and boat make the con-
neciion between st. Johns and Ha!if.x
The steamer can lie at this wharf only
an hour at high tide, for at low tide there
is no water within a quarter Of a mile of
the landing Large piles Of gypsum are
lying about on every side awaiting trans
poriation, and half mile out of the vii.
lage we come to one of the numerous
quarries which are worked in his vicinity
They are not deep like our marble
quarries, but look more like large rail-
way cat. Beginning at one end of a
ledge, the workmen clear away the slight
covering of earth, then the rock is brok en-
up with powder blasts and drawn out in
horse carts. X little farther on may be
seen river which Is guided in its course
by high walls OF solid gypsum. Following
along the old port road towards Halifax
the appearance of the country begins to
change. The houses are smaller and
poorer, the land roughcr and less fertile,
covered with forests, or overgrown with
bushes to great extent, with now and
then little isolated districts which are
under cultivation, Coming to very
small church which bore Indications of
being occupied as Il school room, we
vcntured III going to the door and intro
ducing ourselves as Yankee school
masters we found there about u dozen
colored children being taught by Il young
white girl The furniture OF the room
consisted of "a narrow desk on each side 4;
the seats were planks set up on four
sticks, without backs, and high enough to
keep the chiIIren's feet off the floor
while the inside of the door painted lead
color served for blackboard. We
pronounced this barbareous, to which the
teacher assened. The schools are sup.
ported by the government, and in these
small places they seem TO be sadly neg
Iected but in the large towns there are
some very fine schools. There is n
marked want among the masses here of
that shrewdpess and intelligence which
seems almost intnitive to Yankee
Some ludicrous illustrations might he
given, if space permitted Within fifteen
miles of Halifax are the Waverly gold
mines, This in appearance is a most
uninviting place. Rocks and lodges
principally compose the uneven surface;
the little houses of the mines are placed
about in the most sheltered situations, and
on each side of the road for about mil c
are the shafts. A large part of the dis
tance they are sunk within five or six
rods ofeach other, some of them to the
depth of hundred and fifty feet, and each
one is covered with little shed. These
are worked night and day, the being
elevated by horse power. The miners
tell us that the business Is not as profit
able now as formerly, and the deeper
they 60 the poorer the quartz. There are
three quartz mills in continual operation
one propelled by steam, the others by
water. 1t is very interesting to trace
out the whole process of gold mining
from observation, and satisfies a long
standing curiosity, while at the same
time it banishes any lingering desire we
may have had to engage in the business
Not many miles north from these mine:
are the celebrated Pictou coal mines
The gold mines are worked almost entirely
by Germans. Approaching Halifax from
the northwest late in the afternoon, we
find it enveloped in one IF those dense
fogs which are seen only on the sea coast;
but fortunately it cleared away with tn,
breeze and sun in the morning. Halifax
is city Of 10000 inhabitants and is tn,