CAPE BRETON ISLAND. A rocky island of irregular form in British North Anteriea, miles long by 85 miles broad, between latitudes 45° and 47° N., and between longitudes Ow and 61° 30' W. (Map: Nova Scotia, H 3). It de rives its name from a cape at its eastern extrem ity. It is separated from the peninsula of Nova Scotia by Chet:net° or Chedabucto Bay and the Cut of Canso, and is prat-tit-all': divided in two by the land-locked Bras d'O• Lakes and the canal of Saint Peter's Isthmus. It, contain: 3120 square miles. Its picturesque scenery and bracing summer climate attract an annually in creasing number of tourists. The principal ex ports are pine, oak, birch, maple. fish, iron, and coal. Though the island produces maize and other grains, it depends for its breadstuffs chief ly on the United States. It is divided into the four districts of Cape Breton, Inverness. Vic toria, and Richmond. The towns are Sydney,
Ariehat, and Port flood, the once famous Louis bourg, stripped of its fortifications. having be come a mere village. Cape Breton, originally a French possession, was taken by the English in 1745; but being subsequently restored to France, it was again captured in 1758 and ced ed to England in 1763. After having been for a time a distinct colony, it now forms part of the Province of Nova Scotia. Population, in 1891. S6.850: in 1901, 97,200. With the exception of some 600 Micmac Indians and 15,000 French Acadians, the inhabitants are of Scotch high land descent. See : R. Brown, History of the Island of Cape Breton (London, 1869), and Coal Fields of ('ape Breton (London, 1871) ; Sir J. G. Bourinot. Historical and De.ewrihtire rrOunt of the Island of Cape Breton (Montreal, 1892).