De Pensens and Duchambon 105

wheat in Acadia.** Duchambon reported that the habitans, who had worked hard and deserved a better fate, were much elated over the help that they were getting ; but Dubuisson, who was in closer touch with the feelings of the people, said that the years 1736- 1738 were “years of great suffering, the habitans came to him in a crowd dying of hunger,” and that he had spent 1100 livres out of his own pocket, which was now empty, to save them from starvation. His letter is a tribute to his humanity but a melancholy indictment of the government which gave him the miserable salary of 600 livres and forced him to wait so long before reimbursing him for his outlay.

In spite of the plague and suffering of the pre- ceding year, Duchambon’s enthusiasm was still high in 1739. He reported that 66934 bushels of wheat and 150 bushels of peas had been sown and that there was land cleared for sowing half as much more. Of the 819°4 bushels, 653 had been provided by the King. Owing to summer rains which were general throughout Canada the yield had been only nine to one, but this had made the colony self-sufficing. This year two ships came direct to St. Peters from St. Malo. Though they were too late to do business they promised to return next year. But on the other hand he was having trouble with the Indians who were dissatisfied with their presents and said that he should not summon them only to make them suffer hunger, that the English would treat them better though they were not their allies. It was only by lay-

18 F, Vol. 162, p. 87.

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