were stationed to dole out supplies. At Quebec alone in
March 1784 one thousand three hundred and thirty-eight
'friends of government' were being fed at the public
expense. At Sorel a settlement was established similar
to that at Machiche. The seigneury of Sorel had been
purchased by the government in 1780 for military purposes,
and when the war was over it was turned into a Loyalist
reserve, on which huts were erected and provisions
dispensed. In all, there must have been nearly seven
thousand Loyalists in the province of Quebec in the winter
of 1783-84.

Complete details are lacking with regard to the temporary
encampments in which the Loyalists were hived; but there
are evidences that they were not entirely satisfied with
the manner in which they were looked after. One of the
earliest of Canadian county histories, [Footnote: _Dundas,
or a Sketch of Canadian History_, by James Croil, Montreal,
1861.] a book partly based on traditionary sources, has
some vague tales about the cruelty and malversation
practised by a Frenchman under whom the Loyalists were
placed at 'Mishish.' 'Mishish' is obviously a phonetic
spelling of Machiche, and 'the Frenchman' is probably
Conrad Gugy. Some letters in the Dominion Archives point
in the same direction. Under date of April 29, the
governor's secretary writes to Stephen De Lancey, the
inspector of the Loyalists, referring to 'the uniform
discontent of the Loyalists at Machiche.' The discontent,
he explains, is excited by a few ill-disposed persons.
'The sickness they complain of has been common throughout