Free Jeanne Dugas of Acadia by Cassie Deveaux Cohoon Page B

father-in-law had that sometimes verged on bitter arguments. Le Maigre, like Joseph, was not well suited to the life of a farmer. He was unable to acquire land of his own at Port Toulouse, although he managed to acquire twenty-five cows and ten chickens during the three years he received his stipend from the crown.
    The settlers now in Port Toulouse were Acadians returning to their homes or displaced from other areas. One family they met, that of Pierre Bois and his wife Marie Coste, were originally from Ardoise in Nova Scotia. They had first settled in Port Toulouse decades ago, and they remembered Joseph Dugas père and his wife Marguerite Richard. Jeanne was touched to meet someone who had known her parents and she became friends with the family.
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    The first two years in Port Toulouse went by quickly, preoccupied as they all were with adjusting to living in reduced circumstances. Once in a while, if she had a quiet moment, Jeanne would take her blue gown out of its bundle and run her hands over the soft silk. Then she would unwrap the portrait the Louisbourg artist had painted of her. She marvelled at how innocent she looked, her face unblemished, her hands soft. Now, only a few years later, her complexion was dark from exposure to the sun as she worked in the garden and the barnyard, and her hands were red and roughened. I am barely twenty years old , she thought, but soon I will look like an old woman .
    One day Joseph caught her by surprise as she was looking at the portrait. She must have looked sad. He said, “Jeanne, you’re just as beautiful now.”
    She shook her head and could not help the tear that escaped and ran down her cheek. “I’m all right, Joseph,” she said. He looked stricken.
    â€œJeanne, you can go back to Grand-Pré, you know,” he said quietly. “You’ve done so much for us, but we can manage now. I’ll take you back.” But Jeanne knew that sailing to Grand-Pré at this time was dangerous, especially for Joseph. He and his father-in-law were known to be French supporters. The British authorities in Acadia did not trust Acadians who supported the French cause, any more than did the Mi’kmaq.
    It seemed to Jeanne that Joseph was particularly concerned about his relations with the Mi’kmaq. There was a lot of communication between the Acadians at Port Toulouse and the Mi’kmaq while they were camped by the ocean in the summer. And Joseph kept in close touch with Jean Sauvage. He was older than Joseph, and Jeanne’s brother respected and looked up to him. Joseph said one day that he admired the way the Mi’kmaq lived – off the intelligence of the land – and the way they respected that land and all of God’s creatures on it.
    On one of his frequent visits to the Dugas habitation, Jean Sauvage brought his nephew with him. Martin Sauvage was a few years older than Jeanne, and she thought he must be the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was tall and slim, with strong, regular features set in the serious expression of the Mi’kmaq. Only when he smiled or laughed did his expression change, and it had the effect of a bright sun breaking through clouds. Jeanne surprised herself with this image, and chided herself for thinking such thoughts. Sometimes Martin came to visit on his own, but always for a purpose – to bring a gift of berries or a fish he had caught.
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    Life went on. Joseph and his father-in-law continued to talk about the political situation and how they could take advantage of events to return to their lucrative cabotage activities. Le Maigre had no ship, and no means to buy one, but Joseph still had one schooner.

Chapter 15
    T he news from Nova Scotia was worrisome. The Acadians were once again concerned about their status in the now-British colony. In 1749, after the return of Île Royale to the French, the new British governor, Edward Cornwallis, had arrived in the colony with plans