319 



consumption, this route of communication will 

 prove not much inferior in consequence to that 

 by the River Richeheu. 



St. FRANpois (the seigniory of), on the 

 south side of the St. Lawrence, in the county 

 of Buckingham, has Yamaska on the south- 

 w^est, Lussaudiere on the north-east, and De 

 Guir and Pierreville in the rear: it is one league 

 in front bj^ nearly two in depth ; granted Oc- 

 tober 8th, 1678, to Sieur de Crevier, and is 

 now the property of Mons. Le Gendre, and 

 some families of the Abenaqui Indians. This 

 seigniory, like the preceding one, is low towards 

 the Lake St. Peter. The Bay of St. Franfois, 

 and some others, indent it rather deeply, and 

 occasion large tracts of marsh land along their 

 shores; a little removed from them are some 

 very fine meadows, and further to the interior 

 the soil is good, in most parts rather light and 

 sandy. The timber is but of indifferent quality, 

 and consists more of spruce fir, hemlock, and 

 cedar, than any other ; on the driest land there 

 is a little maple and beech. The River St. 

 Francis, with a few smaller streams, water it 

 very well. About one half of this grant is in a 

 state of cultivation ; the best settled and most 

 improved parts lie on each side of the St. Francis. 

 At the descent of this river into the St. Law- 

 rence are several islands that are attached to the 



