40 



joiuod tog'cthor, or placed one abovii tht> other, arc all suitablt3 for cultiva- 

 tion. We may gro still further and say that the whole region as far us the 

 St. John River is of remarkal)le fertility ; its soil is especially adapted for 

 the growth of cereals and there are iiue iields of wheat and buckwheat ; 

 besidi's, where the |)lough has not yet passed, there are forests of great 

 conun.rcial value. The iKuish of Notre-Dame du Lae in partii-uiar is 

 remarkably fertile ; it is tlic largest of all the parish'-s in th*^ r^ar part of 

 Temiseouata ; its poi)ulation is about sixteen hundred , it has several 

 concessions in a perfect stale of cvdtivatioii and a mission, called Si. Husebe, 

 which contains at least five hnndr^'d people and whose soil is renowned 

 for its fertility throughout the surrounding country Coni|)laints are made 

 that previous (roverunients would never do anything for colonization, 

 nor open roads nor aid settlers. It is consequently said that, owing to 

 this fatal abandonment, tiu' mission of St. ICuseb' has not increased one- 

 half as much as ii should liavi' done under belter cir(,'unstances aiul with 

 the aid of a Governmeiu havinur at heart the development of the country. 



The parish of ?\otro-])ame du Lac iuis not been in existence more 

 than twenty live years, it ]n'ecedes on the New-Urunswick road the 

 parish of Ste. Rose du Degele, from whii'h it is separated by a distance of 

 nine miles. 



Tliis is (juite a new parish erected only since 188"). It was formerly 

 a mission, with a. smail chapel built, in 18t)l<. Adjoining the chapel was 

 what was call 'd liie pai'sonage, a poor miserable dwelling i welve feet 

 square, which reseml)led a pioneer settler's cabin more than anything 

 else. At present tliis modest building has become the residence o!' the 

 beadle. The ciiap'd has remained the same, as jxior-looking as ever, with 

 this diliereuce, however, that the present i-itrc. Rev. Mr. Tliibault, has suc- 

 ceeded in eiilaro'ing the interior a little by ])ushing back a wall which 

 has o'ivi'ii enough space lor twelve mort^ pews, eaidi of which yields a 

 revenue often dollars. On the other hand. th(> worthy ])riest has had a 

 real parsonage built, in which he has lived for two years. lie has built 

 it witlnnit any assessment on hiii ])arishioners, without any plan and 

 with only the a^si^■.tance of a workman nivmed N'adand. i^lverybody has 

 choerlully contributed to his work. The Temiseouata Railway transi^orted 

 lime lor him free of charge, his parishioners worked voluntarily for him 

 and linally Sir .Tosei)h llickson, the n)anager of the (Jrand Trunk iiailway, 

 who owns a splendid farm iiot very far olf. iwo miles in width, where 

 his family comes to spt-nd the summer with all its household, its carriages 

 and a niimber id' servants, gave the priest, llfty dollars for his parsonage, 

 which does not prevent his bi'ing a good Protestant. He has also 

 given plenty of work to the people cd' the i)la'e whom he employs on his 

 farm and has also li'iven the priest a new bell for his ehaixd until th(^ 

 latter is replaced by a church. 



This is the country for buckwheat ; the r«/-^gets nearly two hundred 

 bushels a year for his tithes ; (juite a eonsidera])le amount for a parish 

 with a population of eight hundred souls. 



