210 NOTICES OF FRENCH INHABITANTS 



French, who settled in this part of the country about the year 

 1670. They still retain the language, appearance, and many 

 of the customs of their ancestors. Like the Lower Canadians, 

 they seldom engage in commerce or manufactures, and settle 

 together on long narrow lots of land, in streets or villages, 

 and cut down every forest tree. In Lower Canada the French 

 population have no orchards, except on the sides of the 

 mountain at Montreal, but here almost every settler on the 

 Detroit river has an orchard. I did not observe in the gar 

 dens of the French a single pear, plum, or peach-tree, but 

 apples were very abundant, and cider-presses frequently met 

 with. The inhabitants do not seem so light-hearted or polite 

 a people as those of the lower province. They do not notice 

 strangers in passing, and I only observed two boys bow to 

 me at Sandwich, while every man, woman, and child does so 

 in the neighbourhood of Montreal. The houses are generally 

 brick, and occasionally frame, but seldom with the stone 

 basement of the lower province. The beds of the inhabitants 

 are sometimes without, and sometimes with, posts and cur 

 tains, and, in every case which came under my notice, very 

 clean. 



On some parts of the river Detroit, Lake St Clair, and on 

 the Thames, many people reside literally amongst water, 

 passing to and from their houses on planks. 



The French Canadians are said to be averse to clearing 

 forest land, and perhaps as population increases, they prefer 

 occupying swamps to clearing dry land. The appearance of 

 the inhabitants residing in such situations was unhealthy. 

 Around Lake St Clair, the inhabitants seem to be employed 

 in preparing firewood for the town of Detroit. 



The French inhabitants have a great dislike to service of 

 any kind, and more especially to females going out as cooks. 

 The women seem industrious, and often drive the produce of 

 the farm to market in carts. Some children were seen run 

 ning about in their shirts, as in Lower Canada, even when 

 the weather was cold. 



The French seem to have little system in their farming, 

 growing wheat, Indian corn, and grass. They plough with 



