336 THE WAR IN ACADIA. [1670-90. 



placed its western boundary at the little River St. 

 George, and sometimes at the Kennebec. Since 

 the wars of D'Aulnay and La Tour, this wilderness 

 had been a scene of unceasing strife ; for the Eng- 

 lish drew their eastern boundary at the St. Croix, 

 and the claims of the rival nationalities overlapped 

 each other. In the time. of Cromwell, Sedgwick, a 

 New England officer, had seized the whole country. 

 The peace of Breda restored it to France : the 

 Chevalier cle Grandfontaine was ordered to reoccupy 

 it, and the king sent out a few soldiers, a few 

 settlers, and a few women as their wives. 1 Grand- 

 fontaine held the nominal command for a time, 

 followed by a succession of military chiefs, Chambly, 

 Marson, and La Valliere. Then Perrot, whose mal- 

 practices had cost him the government of Montreal, 

 was made governor of Acaclia; and, as he did not 

 mend his ways, he was replaced by Meneval. 2 



One might have sailed for days along these 

 lonely coasts, and seen no human form. At Can- 

 seau, or Chedabucto, at the eastern end of Nova 

 Scotia, there was a fishing station and a fort ; Chi- 

 buctou, now Halifax, was a solitude ; at La Heve 

 there were a few fishermen ; and thence, as you 

 doubled the rocks of Cape Sable, the ancient haunt 

 of La Tour, you would have seen four French 

 settlers, and an unlimited number of seals and sea- 



1 In 1671, 30 garqons and 30 Jilles were sent by the king to Acadia, at 

 the cost of 6,000 livres. Etat de Dfyenses, 1671. 



2 Grandfontaine, 1670; Chambly, 1673 ; Marson, 1678 ; La Valliere, 

 the same year, Marson having died; Perrot, 1684; Meneval, 1687. The 

 last three were commissioned as local governors, in subordination to the 

 governor-general. The others were merely military commandants. 



