38 HISTORICAL SKETCH OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND 
     
    
   
   
    
     The beasts are principally bears, foxes, otters, wild cats of a very large 
     
     size, hares, martins, squirrels and mice. The bears in some parts destroy 
     
     the sheep, and the mice this year are so plenty that they have in most 
     
     places destroyed the liltle which was attempted to be raised. The inhabit- 
     
     ants say this appearing in such numbers is periodical, once in every seven 
     
     years. My opinion is, it depends entirely on the sort of winter we have, as 
     
     I am informed the last was an uncommon one, the snow falling before the 
     
     frost came on, by which means the ground was kept soft, and the mice, in 
     
     place of being partly destroyed by the frost as is commonly the case, bred 
     
     under the snow; they are in size something between our mice and rats in 
     
     England. 
     
    

    
     This side of the Island is but indifferently off for fish except in the spring, 
     
     when, I am told, we may have a small kind of cod, mackerel, trout, bass, 
     
     smelts and several sorts of flat fish pretty plenty. At present there are only 
     
     lobster and oysters, neither very good. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The climate, since I have been here, has been very fine, not much 
     
     warmer than that of England and so little rain that my laborers have been 
     
     prevented working out of doors by it only three days since my arrival and 
     
     I expect we will have good weather until near the latter end of November. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The winters, I am told, are so mild in the woods that the inhabitants, 
     
     during that season, make all the frames for their houses, saw boards and do 
     
     almost all their wood-work. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The French inhabitants have, for some years past, been mostly main- 
     
     tained by a few British subjects here, who have employed them during the 
     
     summer in the Fishery and have been paid their wages in Cloaths, Rum, 
     
     Flower, Powder and Shot, with the last articles they kill as many Bears, 
     
     Seals and Wild- {owls as serve them for meat. The Seal Oyl they call their 
     
     butter and use it as such. By this means Agriculture has been so much 
     
     neglected there 1s not one bushel of corn raised by all the French Inhabi- 
     
     tants on the Island. 
     
    
   
   
    
     There are a few British farmers who have raised some ; from whose 
     
     accounts and from what I have seen myself I form my opinion of what may 
     
     be done ; and I really think this Island, if well nursed in its present Infant 
     
     State, may be made as useful to Great Britain and as plentiful within itself 
     
     as any country of its size in North America, but to bring it to that, we will 
     
     require Your Lordship s countenance and influence to procure some assist- 
     
     ance for us from our Mother Country. 
     
    
   
   
    
     There have arrived here this summer about 120 families, part sent by 
     
     Mr. Montgomery, the Lord Advocate of Scotland, the rest by a Mr. Stewart 
     
     of that country , the last arrived about three weeks ago at Prince Town, 
     
     but very unfortunately, for want of a pilot, this vessel ran on shore, at the 
     
     entrance of the harbor, and is entirely lost and part of her cargo, but no 
     
    
   
   
    
     lives. 
     
    
   
   
    
     I have been obliged to give Mr. Duport our Chief Justice, leave to 
     
     return to Halifax for this winter , as he had neglected to lay in provisions 
     
     for himself and family during the summer; they must otherwise have been 
     
     starved. 
     
    
   
   
    
     I am in daily expectation of a ship from London with passengers; 
     
     and one from Ireland with Mr, DesBrpisay’s family; though I dread the