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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdrents Lorsque le documtsnt est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clichd, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 J 4S IS I is I I ) 1 % ^ arried in Que- bec, Three Rivers and Montreal. Since these people were brought to Canada by the organized efforts of a committee we might expect to find some detailed record of their arrival and origin, but as yet no such information is known to exist. We are merely told by contem- porary writers of that period how many arrived at such and such date, and the port of embarkation, that is all. Happily the Church registers, notarial deeds, papers of the Courts of Justice, and several 8 classes of public documents show abundantly the places of origine of those who actually established their families here. VI. In 1673, the King stopped all immigration,, and this was the end or French attemps to colo- nize Canada. The settlers of course remained as they were and in 1H81, the whole population amounted only to 9,700 souls. Double this figure every thirty years and we have the present French population of the Province of Quebec, Ontario and thru of the groups established now in the United States. VII. The bulk of the men who carne during 163^^-1673, were from rural districts and took land immediately on their arrival here. It is no- ticeable that a large number of them had, besides, a trade of their own, such as Carpenter. Cooper, Blacksmith, so that a small community of twenty families possessed between theniGclves all the requirements of that kind that could be useful. No land was given to those who did not show quali*Tlcation for agricultural pursuits and those were placed for three years in the hands of an old farmer before the title of any property was as- signed to them. A few discharged soldiers from the Carignan Regiment, in 1670. swelled the . umber ^ and as these, together with many of the men from Poitou and Rocbelle, came out single, they married the daughters of the previously settled Normars. This accounts for the marked absence i i the pre- 9 sent time throughout the French speaking com- munities of Canada of any but the Norman accent and forms of speech. All other accents had been overcome by that of the Norman mothers and while it is true that the number of immigrants coming between 1662 and 1673 i'ar exceed those of the earlier period yet those first settlers, through their conservative powers and clannish tenacity, could not be overcome by the influx of numbers, but became, on the contrary, the conquerors, and that, too in a very short space of time. After 1674, very few immigrants settled on the banks of the St. Lawrence. There were at most not more than thirty or forty a year, which were absorbed in the same manner into the general population. The wars which prevailed from 1684 to 1713 depleted this annual immigration so that the census of 1681 is taken as the basis for all French Canadian genealogical computation even up to our own time. VIII. In regard to troops disbanded in Canada at various dates much misunderstanding exists. The real facts are as follows : before 1665 no sol- diers, therefore no disbandment ; from 1 665 to 1673 a few isolated cases ; the regiment of Cari- gnan came to Canada in 1665 and left in 1669 with the exception of one company which eventually was disbanded here; from 1673 to 1753 the gar- nisons of Canada consir.ted as a rule of about 300 men in ail, under an Infantry Captain, sometimes called the Major when no longer young. 10 Besides that ''detachment" as it was styled^ an addition of six or seven companies was sent in the Colony during the years 1684-1713, on account of the war. From 1753 to 1760 the regiments sent under Dieskau and Montcalm ( seven year war ) do not seem to have left any number of men in the country. Consequently, the "military element " had very little to do in the formation of our French population. IX. The date of the arrival of most of the heads of families will never be ascertained accurately. In order to face that difficulty with chances of success, I have resorted to the following plan : prepare an alphabetical list of all the heads o^ families and afterwards, when consulting the old archives and various sources of information, be careful in comparing your list with any date or Other indication you may find. In this manner it turns that a man was married in 1664, in Quebec, was a witness before the Court in 1658, made a deed in 1672, in which he states that '* before lea- ving Alen^on in 1652. to come to Canada " The date of " 1652 " and '' Alenc^on " are the very things I want — therefore I erase " 1664 " and " 1658 ", previously entered and keep the most remote date, with the name of the locality. This process is slow, not very sure, but still it is the best yet found to reach a fair approximate estimate. Finally I hope to publish that tabular statement in a couple of years from now. X. We have to deal now with La Hontan, a 11 writer from whom succeeding- historians based their assertions as to the questionable character of many of the immigrants that were sent out by the Committee (see V). La Hontan, who came to Canada in 1684, wrote heme to his friends descri- bing the country and his experiences. These letters got collected and afterwards were publi- shed in book form. In some of these ommuni- cations he describes the marrying scenes of newly arrived girl immigrants, and other spicy traits which never took place in Canada, and as it is that kind of matter that takes the eye and remains longer in the mind, this odd letter is the one most quoted. Now La Hontan in many of his writings describes with accuracy what occured under his own eyes and must be believed, but this particular letter is so untruthful that there is little doubt that it was never written by La Hontan, especially as many of the incidents therein referred to indi- cate the scenes as having occured in the West Indies and at a time, we know, quite distinct from that of the immigration alluded in paragraph V. Let us remember also that the facts in ques- tion happened nearly twenty years before La Hon- tan's arrival in the country, and that he places them about 1653. He is all wrong. The statements, too, from other sources, that Canada was peopled by discharged pris;oners is quite untrue, for the Supreme Council of Canada exercised the greatest care in the selection of settlers, and the whole details of this case are 12 found noted in the deliberations and correspon- dence of this Council. Such items as — "two needle makers having- come out with the last party of immigrants are not desirable settlers ", are constantly to be found. A small number of persons of doubtful character are noted in the same archives for the next vessel who will return- to France. The utmost precautions were taken in this priest ridden colony to ejecc the objectiona- ble immigrants. These are glaring facts not to be disputed. XI. On the subject of uniformity of language which is so remarkable amongst the French Cana- dians we may observe that it is the best language spoken from Rochelle to Paris and Tours and from there to Rouen. Writers of the 17th Century have expressed the opinion that French Canadians could understand a dramatic play as well as the elite of Paris. No wonder to us since we know that theatricals were common occurences in Ca- nada and that the Cid of Corneille was played in Quebec in 1645 ; the Tartuffe of Moli^re in 1677, and so oi\ during the two following centuries. The taste of music and the love for songs are cha- racteristics of the French Canadian race. The facility with which they learn foreign languages is well known in America^ where they speak Indian, Spanish and English as well as their own tongue. Was there any patois used by the original set- tlers ? Probably some. A word or an expression styled ''patois" in the French language is one 13 that has no place in the authorized dictionary of the race. We have none of that class now. An- cient words, though, are often employed, even by the educated people, but they are only obsolete ; they belong to the dictionary of the 17th century and, therefore, rank as correct terms. In fact, they add to the picturesque of the language and duplicate the ressources of the tongue. As a rule, the women that came from France could read, and a large number of them knew how to write. That accounts for the schools intended solely for girls which were established so early as 1639, whilst the boys only got theirs a long time afterwards, and not too regularly either. The slang, the patois, must have disappeared under the above influences, coupled with that of the clergy at the first generation. XII. There now remains to be considered only the question of the half-breeds, with regard to which there need be little doubt for the civil as well as the religious authorities were ' strongly opposed to inter-marriages with the Indians. Then, too, there exists at the present day such a com- plete record of the genealogy of each family, showing clearly that rarely did such marriage take place. Of course those who removed to the North West are not taken into account when speaking of mixed marriages, for far from forming part of the Canadian population they were altogether lost to it. Indian half-breeds of all periods are 14 looked upon as distinct in race from the white population. In this brief glance at the origin of the French Canadian-, nothing has been said of Scotch, English and Irish elements which have been in many cases since about one century absorbed by the original Norman stock and have become part of the race. The conclusion which may be arrived at from this argument is that the French Canadian type is Norman, whether its origin be pure Norman, mixed Normand, Gascon or French-English. Benjamin Sulte, F. R. S. C. Author of Histoire des Canadiens-Fran^ais, eight vols. 4 to, of 160 pages each, 1882 ; Les Canadiens-Fraticais depuis trots Siicles, a sequel of the former, to be published in 1898-1900, in -three vols. 4 to. Ottawa, July 1897.