LOT 44 CHAPTER I Early Footprints Sour is West The Name Souris : In the mid nineteenth century, the settlements at the mouth of Souris River , which flows into , were called Souris East in Lot 45 and Souris West in Lot 44. From 1867 until 1967 the Souris Post Office went under the name Souris East . Not until 1967 was the word East officially dropped from the name. The generally accepted belief is that the name Souris , which is French for mouse, is a relic of the grim plagues of mice which devastated the crops of the early inhabitants. The mice swarmed over the land in great numbers until they reached the sea and drowned. The story is told that a French vessel passing by the bay in the early 1700s was forced to cut through the waves of drowned mice and so gave the name to the area. From Public Arch: Courtesy Pictures of the Past by Leards Early French Map - 1757