Beschreibung:

PICHON, Thomas (1700-1781). Lettres et memoires pour servire à l'histoire naturelle, civile et politique du Cap Breton, depuis son éstablissement jusqu' à la reprise de cette Isle par les Anglois en 1758 . The Hague and London: Pierre Gosse and Jean Nourse, 1760. 12 o (168 x 100 mm.) (Some minor spotting.) Contemporary mottled calf, spine gilt (some minor edgewear, small split at head of rear joint). FIRST EDITION OF "ONE OF THE FEW RELIABLE PUBLISHED SOURCES... ABOUT THE FRENCH IN ACADIA DURING THE 18TH CENTURY" (DCB). "Pichon came to Canada from France in 1751 as secretary (till 1753) to the governor of Cape Breton [Jean-Louis de Raymond]; he served in the vicinity till 1758..." (TPL). "Pichon's work, composed in the form of letters written from Louisbourg, beginning in 1752 and ending with the capitulation of that fortress to the English in 1758, constitutes one of the few reliable published sources about the French in Acadia during the 18th century" (DCB). The letters provide a clear and accurate description of Île Royale and Île Saint-Jean (Prince Edward Island), the trade with New England, the manners and customs of the Micmac and Malecite Indians, the French government at Louisbourg, military events and the causes of the war. One of Pichon's major responsibilities during his brief appointment was preparing the governor's reports to France, a task which allowed him to gather much of the valuable information he was to use in the writing of this book. Sent to Fort Beauséjour (Chignecto), in 1753, he succumbed to the bribes of the commanding officer at Fort Lawrence, Captain George Scott, and for more than a year engaged in espionage and subterfuge against the French under the assumed name of Tyrell. The information he sold to Scott apparently enabled Col. Robert Monckton to capture the French fort at Chignecto in 1755. After some time spent as a prisoner of war, Pichon retired to England, where he was awarded a pension. Lande 710; Sabin 62610; Staton & Tremaine/TPL 274.