Publisher's Synopsis
This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1877 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XIII. FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE CENTURY TO THE CLOSE OF THE FRENCH REVOLUTIONARY WAR. 1800--1815. The period which we are now to consider is noted, as that in which the timber trade from Pictou was at its height, though it had begun some years previously, and continued on a diminished scale for some years later. When the first settlers arrived, the whole of the county was covered with timber of the finest quality. Of this the white pine was particularly prominent, but oak and the various kinds of hardwood, were found of large Bize and in great abundance, alike down to the very margin of the sea, and up to the very summits of the highest hills. From the first settlement, this had proved one of the most valuable resources of the inhabitants. From the year 1774, when the first cargo of squared timber was shipped to Britain, the trade in that article had continued to increase, and after the closing of the Baltic against British commerce, the price rose to an unprecedented height, and the trade from Pictou increased proportionally. In the year 1803, about fifty vessels were loaded here with timber i for Britain, and in the period from 1800 to 1820, it was calculated that the exports from Pictou, of which timber was the principal, amounted on an average to 100.00O sterling per annum. It is to be observed, however, that this included trade from the outports as well, Pictou being the only port of entry for the North Shore of this Province. Still it was the centre of the whole trade, and. the larger portion was from the harbour itself. And now the cutting, hewing, hauling, rafting, and shipping of ton timber, became for some years almost the one business of the people of Pictou. The farmer not only spent his time in winter in..."
