"The 200 or 300 Acadians who came back or who had remained in hiding gathered such stray cattle and such grain as they could, and managed a miserable existence by means of fish and game. During the first decades of British rule they lived in a state of fear and trembling;' (The Acadians of P.E.I. , J. Henri Blanchard , page 70). Louis Gallant , grandson of Michel Hache- Gallant, is thought to have been the first settler in Rustico . The story is told that Louis Gallant lived there in seclusion for two years. One evening in 1765, he saw two men approaching his cabin. Fearing it was the English coming to harass him, he met them at the door with a shotgun. Only when he recognized their voices as those of his brothers did he put away his shotgun. (The Daily Examiner, July 23, 1883, page 3). A map in the Department of Public Lands in Charlottetown shows that in 1765 there were no houses in Rustico , only five or six winter cabins. A census taken by the British in 1768 gives the Acadian population of Rustico as 25. The first settlers of the territory now making up Stella Maris Parish came from the of Miquelon in approximately 1793. Several Acadian families refused to swear allegiance to the new French constitution and with their parish priest, Jean - Baptiste Allain , made their way to the . From there they made their way to Arichat, and on to Rustico . These families were those of Jean - Baptiste Gauthier and Barbe Lavigne ; Pierre LeClair and Rosalie Belliveau ; Louis Blacquiere and Modeste Comeauu , Joseph Pineau and Charlotte Doucet . (Acadiens de 1-Isle-du- Prince - Edouard , J. Henri Blan ¬ chard, page 40). Rosalie, Modeste and Charlotte had a number of relations already settled at Rustico . The census of 1798 gives the Island Acadian population as 675 in the three communities of Rustico , , and Malpeque . About 237 of these lived in Rustico ; the community continued to expand, especially towards the west and towards the north. The century following the deportation is a period of isolation for the Island Acadian lost in an English colony, surrounded by people with different customs, not speaking their language and by times hostile to their religion. Clinging against all odds to their precious heritage, the Acadians established themselves here and there in a few small communities seeking to make a living by fishing and farming. The economic status of the Island Acadian has always been considered very low. Like many other Islanders, they were the victims of absentee landlords and their agents. A few privileged individuals managed to buy their lands but the largest number remained tenants most often indebted to their proprietors. Things became worse with each generation. The farms were subdivided to make way for young families resulting in very small farms where it was very difficult to make a living.