-66- 1840, except that the white nouses would be fewer and there would be unbroken stretches of dark spruce- In that year, postage stamps were first introduced to the world. Queen victoria became a wife and mother, the first steamship crossed the to a Canadian port, Prince Edward Is ¬ land passed an Act authorizing the building of a lunatic asylum, and Souris held its first Pair. Nearly a hundred years before 1840, Souris had its first white inhabitants when several Acadian families set¬ tled near the site of the present town in 1745-1748. This early settlement was probably abandoned immediately follow¬ ing the capture of Louisburg in 1758. Not till early in the nineteenth century was Souris reborn, when some Acadian French moved in from adjoining Lots, at the same time as sev¬ eral old country French families arrived by way of ¬ ton- To Souris river came English and Irish settlers in 1810-1812 drawn by the good wages paid in the shipyards which were established on the West side Of the river. In Souris East and east of that, the MacDonalds, MacAulays, and other Scotch farmers were on long farms with their feet in water frontage, and their heads set snugly in valuable timber landav The waterfront would scarcely be recognizable to- day. There may have been a small private wharf at Souris West at' this time, but there was no bridge; a ferry provided transport across the river. A beach road was on the sand flats and was nice travelling at low tide. A Post Office had yet to be established—people went to Charlottetown for their Bjail, or some obliging traveller brought it out. Souris West had all the bigger stores, and the main business connected with the building of ships and the loading of them with farm produce or pine deals for their maiden voyages and jsale in some foreign port, was all transacted in Souris West . Donald Beaton , Souris East , Mw. Kickham, Souris West ,were in business; John Knight came to Souris in 1835; about 1840 he still had a small store in Souris West , later moving to Souris East , where he established a large and thriving busi¬ ness; at his death about 1875, be owned about 35,000 acres of Co* He was not interested to any great extent in agriculture in contrast to his contemporary John MacGowan. MacGowan was the son of Peter MacGowan , Charlotte- town, one of the first attorneys-general appointed "on the Island (1800). A licensed retailer to sell spirituous liquor was Wm. McKay & Co. John Coughlin had the only licensed tavern. In early Charlotte Town history, church services