Acadian Migration 31

some years before the possibilities of Isle Saint Jean as a source of provisions for Ile Royale were recog- nized and when recognition came it was forced upon the mother-country by the officers of Ile Royale and by the Acadians who sought a new field of endeavor beyond the limits of English rule.

The first step in this direction was taken by the Acadians. Shortly after the capitulation of Port Royal a number of the more energetic habitans crossed over to Isle Saint Jean with their families to try their fortune at fishing and agriculture. On their arrival they found that the entire eastern coast to the depth of six leagues had been granted to Sr. de . Louvigny, Major of Quebec, in 1710, and that this absentee proprietor had been expected by the general Royal edict of July 6, 1711, to place a number of inhabitants there within one year from date, failing which the grant would be revoked and the territory added to the Royal domain. Although the Acadians did not relish the idea of holding lands by feudal tenure, always preferring direct connection with the Crown, they for the time being engaged in the fishery and tested the soil by sowing wheat and peas, the typical Acadian crop.

In the meantime, attention was being attracted to the island from another direction. Immediately after the founding of French power in Ile Royale, de Couagne, an engineer, who with Rouville and La Ronde Denys had been sent to examine Port Dau- phin and the surrounding districts for the officials of Louisburg, wrote the Minister urging a thorough