De Pensens and Duchambon 107

the early years of his administration serving as a deterrent, in addition to the difficulties of clearing the land. Duchambon had been negotiating with several and had promised assistance in food and equipment for the first year. Eleven other families agreed to come in the following spring.** This year also a beginning was made in raising tobacco, although Bigot did not wish to encourage the indus- try lest it might lead to the neglect of wheat. The wheat crop, which was promising, was damaged by rust and some of the settlers had to eat their seed, although a few peas were sold to the garrison.”®

In 1742, 1500 bushels of grain were sown and the returns were satisfactory but in June a disastrous fire occurred at St. Peters in which much property and woods were destroyed and two families of thir- teen persons lost their lives.

In 1743, which again yielded a good crop, eight Acadian families of fifty or sixty persons settled at Malpeque, preferring that to Three Rivers as they did not wish to pay rent to a seigneur.

The story of 1744 repeats that of 1743. The colo- nists had now enjoyed three successive years of pros- perity and were gradually increasing in numbers by immigration from Acadia. This migration was pro- ceeding in a healthy manner, the younger Acadians moving over only after carefully spying out the land, and not in numbers too great to be easily absorbed. Plans were afoot for placing leaders in each of the

22 F, Vol. 155, pp. 22, 155. 23 F, Vol. 156, p. 193.