Reunion to the Royal Domain 71 
     
    
   
   
    
     had to rely for subsistence upon Acadia which had 
     
     sent them forth or upon such doles as could be given 
     
     by the garrison which was itself entirely dependent 
     
     upon supplies furnished indirectly from France 
     
     through Louisburg. 
     
    

    
     But the precarious food supply of the garrison 
     
     was not more trying than the condition of its lodg- 
     
     ings at this time. There was only one barrack at Port 
     
     La Joye, and a small house for the subaltern, that in 
     
     which the Commandant had lived having fallen down. 
     
     These had been built in time of Comte de Saint 
     
     Pierre and had not been repaired since. The King’s 
     
     magazine was almost open to the weather. It could 
     
     only be used by continually plugging up the holes. 
     
     The provisions were in danger of being destroyed, in 
     
     which event the garrison would die of hunger. Here 
     
     too the powder was stored for the garrison as well as 
     
     for the Indians, who came for their supply once a 
     
     year. The year before, when they came for it, it was 
     
     discovered that a whole barrel had been ruined. This 
     
     was a greater tragedy than if the same thing had 
     
     happened to the supply of the garrison; for in Isle 
     
     Saint Jean as in Acadia and Quebec, the French had 
     
     treated the Indians with respect, done all in their 
     
     power to win their affections, and to secure their alli- 
     
     ance against the English. Here the Micmacs from 
     
     Acadia, even those under English rule, were annually 
     
     assembled for the distribution of presents. Here they 
     
     were feasted and provided with powder for the hunt 
     
     or when necessary for war. Recently they had as- 
     
     sisted at a Te Deum which had been chanted for the