THE ST. MAURICE FORGES. 85 
The company made repairs and erected buildings at a cost of £4,500, and turned out a 
great quantity of iron, strictly adhering to the French system of working in use before the 
Conquest ; beyond this there is no reliable information about Pellissier and Company’s 
management until the invasion of Canada by the Americans in 1775, when Trois Riviéres 
seemed to be a sort of headquarters for the enemy, who were continually passing to and 
from Quebec, till their final overthrow at La Croix Migeon, near Pointe du Lac, by 
General Carleton, in 1776. 
The following interesting and reliable.information about the forges under Pellissier’s 
management is taken from the “Mémoires de Laterriére,” written by a young French 
gentleman, Pierre de Sales Laterrière, who having come from France in 1766, and been 
appointed agent at Quebec for the St. Maurice Forge Company in 1771, sold their 
manufactures at their store, situated in front of the lower town market, facing Notre 
Dame Church. 
In February, 1775, he was appointed inspector of works, under the managing director, 
Christophe Pellissier, and resided at the forges, in the big house, with a competent salary 
and one-ninth interest in the company. His description of the works is as follows :—“ On 
the banks of the Riviere Noir or St. Maurice, nine miles from Trois Riviéres, one arrives at 
the forges, very pleasantly situated in a seigniory of twelve square miles, called the Fief 
St. Maurice. The country is flat, of a yellow sandy soil, containing many swamps and 
brälés, where the iron ore is found. This ore contains sulphur and earthy matter, and 
yields about thirty-three per cent. of pure iron. The only fuel used is charcoal, that for 
the furnaces is made from hard wood, and for the refinery, from soft wood. There are from 
400 to 800 persons employed in the woods, mines, quarries, workshops and offices of the 
Company, including the managing director, inspector, book-keeper, foreman, six furnace- 
men, two stokers, one caster, eight moulders, with as many assistants. At each forge there 
worked, besides six men, two stokers, four smiths, four carpenters, and sixteen laborers.” 
The works employed eight boatmen, four prospectors of mines, forty carters, and others such 
as wood-cutters, charcoal burners, miners, road-makers, firemen, and eight men busied in 
the saw mills. For the convenience of the employés and their families, the company kept 
a store for the sale of provisions and other merchandise, and also did a considerable trade 
with the Téte de Boule Indians, who came down the River St. Maurice. Around the 
forges and big house, where the manager and his staff resided, quite a village of work- 
men’s houses had sprung up, some 130 in number, neat and clean, with pretty gardens 
and parterres. The gross proceeds of the forges were from £10,000 to £15,000 in the 
working season or campagne, as it was called, of seven months, being about £50 per day 
each from the furnaces and foundry, and £50 per week from each forge. The working 
expenses consumed about two-thirds, leaving one-third to be annually divided among those 
interested. The works were carried on with energy and success, and yielded a good profit.” 
Owing to the incursions of the Americans mentioned before, Trois Riviéres was a 
stirring place, but rather dangerous than pleasant to live in. “General Montgomery passed 
here with his army to his fatal and unsuccessful attack on Quebec. Pellissier’s loyalty to 
King George was of a very frail nature, and, from his sympathy with the enemy, he 
passed freely through their lines, and had an interview with Montgomery at his head- 
quarters at Holland House, near Quebec. He also materially assisted the Americans by 
furnishing them with stores, provisions, etc. to the extent of some £2,000. By his 
