they were not unwilling to arbitrate their differences.
They 'had none who were bred mechanics; every farmer was
his own architect and every man of property a farmer.'
'The term Mister was unknown among them.' They took pride
in their appearance and wore most attractive costumes,
in which black and red colours predominated. Content with
the product of their labour and having few wants, they
lived in perfect equality and with extreme frugality. In
an age when learning was confined to the few, they were
not more illiterate than the corresponding class in other
countries. 'In the summer the men were continually employed
in husbandry.' They cultivated chiefly the rich marsh-lands
by the rivers and the sea, building dikes along the banks
and shores to shut out the tides; and made little effort
to clear the woodlands. 'In the winter they were engaged
in cutting timber and wood for fuel and fencing, and in
hunting; the women in carding, spinning, and weaving
wool, flax, and hemp, of which their country furnished
abundance; these, with furs from bears, beavers, foxes,
otters, and martens, gave them not only comfortable, but
in some cases handsome clothing.' Although they had large
herds of cattle, 'they never made any merchantable butter,
being used to set their milk in small noggins which were
kept in such order as to turn it thick and sour in a
short time, of which they ate voraciously.' [Footnote:
Public Archives, Canada, Brown Collection, M 651a, 171.]

The lands which the Acadians reclaimed from the sea and
cultivated were fertile in the extreme. A description
has come down to us of what was doubtless a typical