138 



Historic Sites. 



ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



seem to place it at the mouth of Ruisseau la Chaloupe (Map No. 33) 

 on the north side of the mouth of which old French cellars are known 

 (Compare Coll. N. B. Hist. Soc. II, 370). But it may possibly have 

 been near Pointe Brule, where it is said a very early Acadian 

 settlement was, the residents of which later moved to Shippegan 



Island and became the founders of its 

 permanent settlement. Mr. J. E. Lan- 

 taigne of Caraquet. well versed in local 

 history, tells me he thinks this Settle- 

 ment was near Birch Point, where old 

 cellars are known. Just west of Point 

 Marcelle is said to be a place where the 

 ground has been marked over into 

 squares, of unknown age and meaning. 



299. Caraquet. A document by Sieur 

 Bazagier, in the series mentioned above 

 under St. Simon, states that in 1760 

 there were at Caraquet 36 families (150 

 persons), in 3 villages. This would im- 

 ply small villages at Upper Caraquet (at 

 Little River) at Middle Caraquet (Chen- 

 ards Brook) and at Lower Caraquet. It 

 is, however, curious that Smethurst 

 in his narative of 1761 does not mention 

 any Acadian villages at Caraquet, aside 

 from his implication that "old St. Jean" 

 and his son lived there. Since Bazagier 

 mentions no French at Nepisiguit in his 

 careful enumeration of the French set- 

 tlements here, and since Smethurst 

 shows that the next year there were 

 many French at Nepisiguit, it is possible 

 that the French removed from Caraquet 

 to Nepisiguit in large numbers late in 



1760 or early in 1761, very likely in order 

 to be in a more retired position. 



2C3. Missions at Nepisiguit. An interest- 

 ing new reierence occurs in Archives, 

 1904, 33S. 



300. Nepisiguit. The careful enumeration 

 of the French settlements of this region 

 in 1760 by Bazagier (see under St. Simon), 

 gives no residents at Nepipiguit. Yet 

 Smethurst found a large number in 



1761 (see Coll. N. B. Hist. Soc. II, 365). 

 Hence it would seem that late in 1760 



or early in 1761 Nepisiguit received a large accession of Acadian 

 residents, either from Caraquet (see the preceding) or perhaps from 

 Restigouche after the French had abandoned that post late in 1760. 

 The earliest settlers appear to have settled on the western side of 

 the harbour, where they still occur in the greatest numbers. In this 

 connection an early plan in the Crown Land Office, showing the dis- 

 tribution of their settlement, is of interest (Map No. 35). 



Map No. 35. Western Side of Nepisi- 

 guit Harbour, from an Old 

 Plan ; x ^. 



