Village Squire, 1977-06, Page 31smells and sounds authentic.
So the soldiers of the Compagnies
Franches de la Marine are scruffy and
quarrelsome, ill -paid and harshly -discip-
lined. Their locally -woven woollen jackets
are patched and torn. their living quarters
fetid and overcrowded. their mood sullen
after a raid on the English fort at Canso. In
December of that year, in fact. they
mutinied.
"We had one 'soldier' last summer, a
college student," grins a Parks Canada
staffer, "who spent his whole summer
perfecting a really loud belch. People
would come into the barracks here and look
around. not realizing he was 'sleeping' in
an upper bunk, and suddenly he'd let fly
one of these great belches. I guess he
startled a lot of people over the summer.
But that's good -- that fellow had really
made the role his Own."
Bill O'Shea. Head of Operations. neatly
demonstrates some of the curious effects of
a long involvement with Louisbourg: he's a
little unsure which century he's living in.
and he's passionate about accurate detail.
in the de G:mncs house. v. here Jeannette
Haley worked. the household is complete
except for its master. Captain Michel de
Gannes de 1-.ilaise himsc11
"Well. v.c don't have :o1 one available
v. ho looks like de G:urne'.• O'Shea
explains.
How docs he knrnw v. hat do Gannes
looked like?
"He '.as one of four officers buried
under the ih:!pel here." says O'Shea.
. and . hen %.e were ese t'. acing the site we
found the lour skeletons. We could identify
three of !hem. Uugtesnel. for instance,
who v.as the Commandant here in the
summer of 1744. had lost a leg in battle.
plus three toes on the other foot so we
could tell v: hich one v. as him. He was
actually dying that summer; he had
advanced arthritis. and a huge abscess in
his teeth that .was draining into his sinus
cavity. Everyone in town talks about how
bad-tempered he was. especially when he
was drinking. but my God. who wouldn't
be? The man must have been in agony."
"Anvv.ay, the fourth skeleton was de
Gnanes. He was about 5'11", with heavy
features. He had arthritis, and a dislocated
shoulder..."
I rernember O'Shea giving a training
lecture to his animators. standing in de
Gannes' kitchen and talking about the good
captain's birth in Acadia, where his father
was a French officer; about his arrival in
Louisbourg in 1725 and his rapid progress
in the army. in society and in trade. He
owned the house next door and rented it to
the merchant Rodrigues he married the
daughter of Gideon Catalogne, whose
name still marks the site of his farm a few
miles from town. The had six children, five
of whom were living in 1744, and --
antique scandal! -- de Gannes had had
another child out of wedlock prior to his
marriage. His brothers became priests and
officers, his sisters married officers, and
probably his influential family connection
kept him from being disgraced after he
botched the French attack on Annapolis
Royal in 1744. He eventually became the
King's Lieutenant in Trois Rivieres...
"Anyway." Bill O'Shea is saying, "if we
don't have someone available who looks
like de Gannes, we'll have to do without de
Gannes."
But if you put in someone who looked
different, who would know? Only a handful
of your colleagues.
"I guess that's true," says O'Shea,
turning the thought over as though it were
entirely novel. But it's obvious he isn't
satisfied. introducing a "de Gannes" who
didn't resemble the real de Gannes would
be a false note, and he isn't going to do it.
"We feel we know these people
personally," remarks John Fortier. "We
know some things about them that they
didn't know about thcrosehes -- for
instance. weknov. ho'. they v. ere regarded
by their superiors and colleagues. because
v:e have the conlidlcnti.11 reports and
correspondence . Wt knor. them better
than v.c know some o1 our o\. n neighbours.
In fact I sometimes :otiose myself by
imagining '.. hich people in the town of
Louisbourg today resemble particular
characters 'ierc 2:0 %ears ago. There's a
certain fellow r. ho reminds Hie of Etienne
Vcrricr. the engineer. and another who
could pass for Pierre Lorant who ran the
cabaret."
When unt go to Lorant's cabaret in the
Hotel de la Marine you can't get coke with
your rune. and you won't get a knife unless
you ask for one. You'll get wine and cool
ale. and authentic 18th -century fare served
on pewter plates. But the sailors and
soldiers and fishermen who frequented this
tavern brought their own clasp knives, and
4e ce.itAe e i1C,le.
Yah
Sebringvife Opp. Post Office
Open daily
'Til 9 p.m.
Sundays 12 to
6 p.m.
LOVELY THINGS FROM ALL
OVER THE WORLD.
Father's Day...
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ON HIS SPECIAL DAY JUNE 19
Choose a gift that will be appreciated
from our huge selection of summer
skirts, slacks, ties, socks, belts,
blazers and shorts
HANNA'S MEN'S & BOYS' WEAR
Wingham, Ontario 357-1865
VILLAGE SQUIRE/JUNE 1977, 29.