Show dominion Vo minion of canada will ID retain antiposti Anti costi island no foreign power will control historic spot washington D C no foreign power will control the island of anti costi at the mouth of the st lawrence river prime minister mackenzie king recently assured the canadian house of commons the statement answered an inquiry concerning a reported option of sale given by the islands present holders after a visit from a german delegation of forestry experts including military and naval officers antiposti Anti costi now an island appendage to quebec has changed hands many times in its career points out a bulletin from the national geographic society last leased in 1926 by the anti costi pulp and paper company it has served in reverse order as a pulpwood empire a rich mans social experiment a pirates stronghold and an explorers reward A dramatic biography roughly in the shape of a great whale its tail in the st lawrence rive river r and its head in the gulf of st lawrece antiposti Anti costi island is about miles long and averages 35 miles across it is a sports sportsmans mans paradise with cool brisk summers great forests of spruce bring green down to its very shores game fish fill its streams and flocks of ducks and geese stop off there regularly on lights flights north and south so conspicuously placed and accessible ces sible is it that for the past years this island has been the scene of mans activities and experiments in 1534 jacques carti cartier se seeking eker in 9 that mythical shortcut short cut to the east first officially recorded the island and called it ile he de tion already however basque fishermen familiar with this region from early fishing trips had described it as Ante costa or island before the coast the name which still still sticks slightly changed in spelling in 1630 a grateful king louis XIV of france presented antiposti Anti costi to explorer trader louis joliet for a decade joliet enjoyed fur and fish trade with nearby indians till he and his wife were made prisoners by sir william phipps raiding party in the current french english conflict finally soon after the beginning of the nineteenth century antics oddest character came into the picture called a sorcerer and a pirate louis olivier gamache was also a frenchman with a sense of humor natives believed that demons helped him rob passing craft and told tales of brimstone smells and blue flames that followed his ship over the water colonizing fails there was little humor connected with the enterprises that followed the death of the colorful gamache the island was almost barren of fish and game when menier a french chocolate manufacturer bought it taking possession in 1896 interested in the possibilities of social experiment menier not only built himself a luxurious chateau and turned his domain into a valuable game preserve by importing deer beaver rabbits elk he also planned and developed farming communities lobster factories and a village equipped with hospital school and church he even built a railroad line and a canal later realizing the potential industry in products from his forest land he embarked on wood pulp production which however proved in time to be uneconomic and was finally abandoned in 1926 the island was taken over by its present holder reorganized as the antiposti Anti costi consolidated paper pape r corporation menler menier retaining only his home and certain sporting rights for a while antiposti Anti costi boomed its population rising to more than souls but physical conditions here make lumbering operations hard in winter months ice is a problem communications are uncertain records show that in the last three quarters of the nineteenth century more than ships were wrecked on its treacherous reefs antiposti Anti costi however with its long history of abandoned enterprises is still a graveyard of hopes its population has sunk to mere hundreds mostly lighthouse keepers and their families with a few fishermen and attendants for fox and muskrat farms lately developed |