St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1884-09-11
French Canadian Farm Life.

CiH illNiNS tel WITHOUT guide
board when we come to Canada" This
sentence have heard over and over
again from persons coming into this
province, and have been Obliged to ad-
NIT the humiliating fact ; for fact it is,
that the difference in houses and their
surroundings, in methods of culture
and appearance of the people is so pro-
nOunced that there is no need of being
told, .'This is Canada" or "'rhis is the
United States" 1t is true, that along
the borders, influenced by their neigh
bors, there is more of thrift and energy,
but along the st. Lawrence. and in all
French Canadian settlements, there is
a contented apathy SO long as "fetes"
abound and the church is there Il never
failing recreation so long us there are
fish in the rivers, and Il little corn
patch to hoe, the happy "Baptiste" re-
qures no more. 81 should like to be a
little Canadian girl" said my yonng
daughter and when asked the reason
for this unusual ambition, she replied,
"Because they have nothing to do but
fish and dance and go to church-they
have lots of fun"
The statement was childlike, but
covered the whole situation. 1t is an
idle, desultory life, though many earn
their living 10y the rod, and it is a COM
mon thing on the market boats to see
the front of the deck covered with fish
from the fresh water lakes. The farms
Gfrs saHf6 nEdssrResglhd Uaaa fms, Wave oee6
divided and redivided, giving each
member of each succeeding family a lot
fronting on their beloved river; the
result is IA collection of small, white
washed huts, anything but agreeable to
the eye, except that they are as clean
as it is possible for lime and scrubbing
| to make them. The meadow and pas
ture fields are stony and rough, the
gardens and corn plot are worked with
the ''pioche" or hoe, and these are the
chief agricultural possessions of the
people. Nowhere else is ignorance
such "bliss.n
But worst of all, this apathetic con-
tentment prevents any advancement in
any locality where they are the major
| ity. Always polite to his neighbOrs,
urbane and hospitable to all, there is
simply no use talking to the French
Canadian of improved roads, or i'm
proved methods of farming, or of as
sisting in the county shows. The anti
quated ideas of the people, and their
utter ignorance of even the elements of
education, are an armOr against which
no neighbOr can prevail. Yet their
lives are pure and simple; quarrels are
rare there is no element of rowdyism
in their composition, unless when they
imbibe too much ''fire- water" and even
then they are more orderly than any
other drunken men.
Here and there, among these happy
go-lucky people, are the thrifty and
hard farmers, who have taken
Gus magnates who owned large tracts
under the old regime. To them are
still paid tithes-in some localities ten
cents on every acre, and in others, a
bushel and Il quarter of wheat. The
land was bought on these terms. TIC
me this seems a curious custom, and
always feel like rebellion when the man
of business presents his little bill, fol
the English-speaking people prefer
paying the tithe in cash. The English
speaking farmer is alive to all the
modern improvements. He. plants or
chards and vineyards he tills his land
with view to the rotation of crops
and prides himself on having good
horses and good implements. Work
ing early and late, during the short
season, he acquires "A hurried manner
in marked contrast to the repose of hi.
French neighbOr; but he keeps his
fences in repair and his roadway pass
able. The bishop makes the round %
the diocese every three or four years
and before his visit every stone is re
moved, every hole in the road is tillet
up, and the paths are made straight
So when the Frenchmen's roads ar,
particularly bad, we pray for the visi
tation of the bishop.
The thrifty countryman tolerates hi
thriftless, happy neighbor, and blame
his superstition instead of himsel
for his want of success; but it is
drawback to social and agriculture
advancement. Like many other thing
both would be better if their char;tc
. teristics were more evenly divided.
the overworked English farmer wonlt
take little more ease, and the lazy
!, indolent French fisherman had littl
more energy, the country wOnld be
, gamer, and so would the people,
Letter to Rural New Yorker.