Big Baddeck

<p>Big Baddeck is the name given to the Baddeck River Valley stretching from the Highlands to the Bras d'Or Lake Pitu'paq the long dish of salt-water in the middle of Cape Breton Unama'ki unceeded territory of the Mi'kmaq People.</p><p></p><p>This little history tells stories of how people have lived in Big Baddeck over the last 450 or so years starting with descriptions of the lifestyle of the First Nations Mi'kmaq as observed by an early European adventurer-trader.</p><p></p><p>A blanket an axe and a birch-bark canoe. War between the French and the British. Shipwreck and rescue. Newcomers from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Just five houses and no others for miles. Rain sleet bad roads scarce hay. Father made our shoes. Two ruts and a gully almost as good as level. Potatoes rotten like sin. Missionaries in Korea. Accidentally drowned. Spinning wheel and handloom. Teacher at age 16. Bright sunbeam of a girl. Wartime valour and tragedy. Bucksaw and crosscut. Queen of the cookies.</p>