[ganong] additions TO MONOGRAPHS 119 



Historic Sites. 



margin of the largest marsh in the region, near the natural landing 

 place, and in the most likely situation for a first settlement. All 

 the evidence is so completely in agreement that I have no question 

 that the church stood here and this was the centre of the French 

 settlement of Shepody. 



I have been told there was a French burial-place on Blueberry 

 Island, the larger (and innermost) of the two small marsh islands 

 between Riverside and Albert (the smaller is called Cranberry Island). 



Perhaps next in interest among the relics of the Acadian period 

 was the burial mound in which were buried the remains of the British 

 soldiers killed in 1755 by Boishébert. The local tradition is that 

 the English landing to destroy the church, were ambushed by Bois- 

 hébert with Acadians and Indians, who, concealed behind the dikes, 

 killed 30 of the enemy and compelled them to retreat. The French 

 afterwards buried the fallen soldiers on the marsh in a gfave so large 

 as to form a considerable mound. I think there is no doubt of the 

 substantial correctness of the tradition, though it may not be exact in 

 details. Thus there exists an account of this affair in a letter written 

 by Boishébert himself to M. Drucourt, Governor of Cape Breton, under 

 date Oct. 10, 1755 (see Report on Canadian Archives, 1887, page 

 CCCL(XXVIII), which reads in abstract; — "In spite of his efforts 

 he was unable to prevent the enemy burning the houses at Chipody; 

 but he pursued them on the following day and compelled them to 

 take to their ships, with a loss of 45 men, left on the field, many 

 drowned and 60 who reached the ship dangerously wounded. " The 

 approximate site of this mound is well known locally, and as shown 

 on Map No. 25; but it no longer exists, since a few years past it was 

 washed away by the sea which is gradually eating into this marsh 

 Some years ago, it is said, the mound was dug into by a Mr. 

 Tupper (afterwards removed to the United States), and various art- 

 icles such as buttons etc. were found, all in agreement with the reputed 

 use of the mound. The situation is precisely adopted to the tradition, 

 for the Five-fathom hole, off the north end of Grindstone Island, ia 

 the natural anchorage for vessels, so that the natural landing-place 

 for an expedition against the church would be in the vicinity of the 

 mound. Some further mention of this expedition, with the names 

 of all the men killed, is given in the Willard Diary of 1755, of 

 which a copy is preserved in the Town Library at Lancaster, Mass. 



The sites of French mills are pointed out at several places. The 

 most interesting is at Tingley Brook (next east of Church Brook), 

 on which, some one-fourth to one-third of a mile north of the high- 

 way, there is a fine little fall of some 7 or 8 feet in a deep ravine. 

 Some 20 yards below it there still lie in the brook-bed the two mills- 

 stones, one of freestone (3 feet 2 inches in diameter and 5 inches 

 thick, with the marks of the iron attachments) and the other, of 

 which only one-half remains, of coarse granite. Traces of an ancient 

 wooden trough which carried water from above the fall to the stones 

 can still be seen. The arrangement was apparently a simple overshot 

 wheel, and probably the tradition is correct that it was French, though 

 of course it could possibly have belonged later. It is said that other 



