ST. JOHN: SABLE ISLAND. 15 



Turf and the Sea brings them Wood; so they are not deprived of the 

 Necessaries of Life, nor without Profits of several Sorts; besides their 

 having the pleasure of saving many Men's Lives, according to the 

 motto of the Island, viz Destruo & Salvo. When I took Possession 

 of the Island there was no four-footed Creatures upon it, but a few 

 foxes some red and some black (some of which remain to this Day) 

 now there are I suppose about 90 Sheep, between 20 or 30 Horses in- 

 cluding Colts, Stallions and breeding Mares, about 30 or 40 Cows 

 tame and Wild, and 40 Hogs. There are all sorts of Utensils for 

 Farming and trying Fat, several Boats and six or seven small Houses 

 and Warehouses. The advantages which do acrue or may acrue from 

 the Improvement of that Place are so great that I would not easily 

 part with it if I was so skilful in Navigation and Shipping as is nec- 

 essary: That Ignorance of mine induces me (not any Defect in the 

 Island itself) to part with it. If any Person desires to purchase it, 

 and to know further about it, they may see at my House a Map and 

 Plan of it, or if they live at a Distance by letters sent (Postage free) 

 they may enquire about any Thing, they want to be satisfied in, and 

 I will endeavor to give them all the Light they desire. I must know 

 their Mind within 2 or 3 Months, that the Crew now upon the Is- 

 land, may be disposed of accordingly." 



" Boston, the 5th Day of Andrew Le Mercier, 



" February, 1 763 Pastor of the French Church. ' ' 



It does not appear that Le Mercier found a purchaser. He died on 

 March 31st, 1764, and his will, drawn on the 7th of November, 1761, 

 does not mention Sable Island. At least in 1760, the island was un- 

 inhabited and a certain Boston merchant, Thomas Hancock 1 , desir- 

 ing to relieve the sufferings of those shipwrecked, fitted out a schooner 

 with "Horses, Cows, Sheep, Goats, Hogs and Animals likely to live 

 on the Island. They were landed there and generally answered very 

 well." 



In 1760, a vessel with a part of the 43d regiment returning from 

 the capture of Quebec, was wrecked on the island. The evidence of 

 this was found long afterward. "In the year 1842, during a severe 

 gale, an old landmark in the form of a pyramid, said to be one hun- 

 dred feet high, was completely blown away, exposing some small huts 

 built of the timbers and planks of a vessel. On examination they 

 were found to contain quite a number of articles of furniture, stores 



1 Kept, on Canadian Archives, 86 (1895). 



