Mysterious barricades
(2015)
On November 13, 1874, a decree from the Government of Quebec authorized the granting of “lots for the Indians under Law 32 Victoria, Chapter 11” to the Government of Canada. Lots 27, 28 and 29 of range 12 in the township of Whitworth are thus ceded, without any condition of establishment. On this small patch of forest with poor soil and devoid of watercourses, the Maliseet nomads will spend a winter, then they will go their way. In 2015, the place is still a “reserve”, and the forest is still a forest. Remains on the map the mention of this strange plot of ambiguous destiny.
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Les barricades mystérieuses is a title which recurs from time to time in the history of arts and letters, with apparently a first appearance to be credited to François Couperin who thus named a rondeau intended for the harpsichord (1717). Marc Barbezat * writes that according to the composer, "the mysterious barricades are those strange obstacles which prevent man from fulfilling himself and dry up large parts of his inner nature".
* Laronde, Olivier, Les barricades mystérieuses , file by Marc Barbezat, L'Arbalète, 1990, p. 51.
