30 



who well knew the self-sacrificing nature of M. Provencher 

 sent to the Mission, whenever she could, a little bag of meat 

 by the children. 



M. Provencher recognized the devotion of this woman 

 and when he had nothing to eat at home, which was very often, 

 he would say to the eldest of Madame Lajimoniere's children 

 as she was going home after her lessons, " Listen, my child, 

 tell your mother that I have nothing at all to eat this even- 

 ing." The child would hasten with the message and very 

 soon return through the woods carrying a small parcel of 

 dried meat for the good Fathers. 



The years 1819 to 1823 were years of want and suffering 

 in the settlement. Up to the time when the missionaries arrived 

 in the country there was not any bread in the place even on 

 the table of the Governor of the Company, but they always 

 hoped to have some soon. They had sown their fields and the 

 grain had a very good appearance. Madame Lajimoniere, 

 who for twelve years had been accustomed to do without 

 bread, living only on meat dried by the sun, looked forward 

 with pleasure to the little piece of land which her husband 

 had planted near the house and from which she was to ob- 

 tain this luxury. 



One does not easily lose the taste for bread even though 

 deprived of it for some time, and its value was increased in 

 her eyes by the fact that she looked upon it as a souvenir of 

 her native land. Unfortunately a devastating plague came 

 and in a few hours destroyed the hope of the colony. On 

 the 3rd of August, 1818, a cloud of grasshoppers descended 

 and covered the land, devouring the whole crop. They de- 

 posited their eggs in the earth and the next spring these pro- 

 duced a swarm of small grasshoppers not much larger than 

 fleas, which ruined all vegetation. In July, 1819, having be- 

 come fully developed they rose in the air like a cloud and 

 disappeared so of course there was no harvest at all that year. 



In 1820 every one confident of success sowed their land 

 and the grain came up beautifully, but on the 26th of July 

 a swarm of grasshoppers as great as in 1819 once more de- 

 scended creating the same havoc, they deposited their eggs as 

 before so that in the spring of 182 1 the small grasshoppers 

 coming out of the ground spoiled all hope of a crop. The 

 country was only delivered from them in August. During 

 four years neither grain nor root had been reaped. 



In the spring of 1822 the settlers used up the last of their 

 seed grain and counted on a good harvest, but mice in great 

 numbers came to ravage the fields and caused as much dam- 



