156 OVER ON THE ISLAND

The town was the chief fishing centre under the French, but it had to depend on Louisburg for its salt and other supplies. The result was that the fishermen paid exorbitant prices for everything—when they could get them at all. St. Peter’s became so important that, at one time, the advisability of making this fishing village the capital of the Island was seriously discussed. It was the most thickly settled, the richest commercially, and the best fishing centre of Prince Edward Island, but the talk amounted solely to talk, and nothing was done.

At one time the French settlers were even forbidden to fish, as it was thought that they were neglecting the agricultural resources of the colony.

We walked along the streets of the fishing village and watched the fishermen unloading their catch from their boats. For a while the whole place took on the air of Newfoundland.

As Franquet saw St. Peter’s, in 1751, the fishermen’s houses were clustered along the slope. On the summit stood the church dedicated to St. Peter. At the foot were the stores and warehouses. The farmers’ houses stood far apart owing to the extensive land grants, and, in their fields, so newly reclaimed, grew some of the finest crops of the new world.

As we saw the town nearly two hundred years later, houses were still clustered around the slope. Fisher- men's homes and establishments still dotted the town, and, in the evening, the boats piled up in the very heart of the village, seemed like a picture cut out of a Dutch novel.

We took a room for the night on the main street. Our window looked out over the bay. Below us in the street the town prepared to enjoy the twilight