The Minister of the Marine, Rouillé, was not entirely convinced by Raymond's arguments. The plan, he noted, would be very expensive to implement, while shortages of grain in both France and Canada would make it difficult to supply sufficient seed. However, the biggest obstacle to the minister's concurrence was his inability to accept such a positive appraisal of Ile Royale's agricultural potential. All previous testimony had indicated that there was not enough land of sufficient quality to support such an ambitious undertaking. Raymond was instructed to grant land to anyone who would put it "en valeur", and to assign soldiers to clear some land on both Ile Royale and Ile St. Jean. [2]

In September 1752 Raymond reported that he and an expert in argiculture had toured the Miré region. After seeing the harvest reaped by some settlers that year they were convinced of the excellence of the land and of its ability to meet the colony's needs. [3] He permitted 22 soldiers to marry and establish themselves near the Grand Lac de Miré. They were given rations from their former companies, as well as tools, utensils and nails with which to build a new community. Commissaire-ordonnateur Prévost believed this endeavour would amount to nothing. The soldiers, he said, were essentiallv freeloading. [4] In a rather blatant move to win ministerial approval, Raymond called the new settlement "Village Rouille" in the minister's honour.

The new settlers were apparently not sufficiently established to be mentioned by La Roque in his 1752 census. In 1753, however, the census taker reported that the former soldiers seemed well disposed to fulfill their promise to His Majesty. They had cleared the land and planted several species of grain and légumes. These had done very well for the first year. Included among the residents of the village were:

• Jean Adelin dit St. Brieu and wife
• Jean Henry Argon - surgeon
• Denis Bertrand dit La Gloire and wife
• Jean Bissaud dit Clermont and wife
• Jean Collin dit La Framboise, wife and two children
• Adam Deau dit La Planche, wife and two children
• Arnold Despiet dit Delorier and wife
• Philippe Duque dit Brise Bataille, wife and one child
• Pierre Etourneau dit Dumarteau and wife
• M. de Garcement
• François Garrand dit Garrand, wife and one child
• Joseph La Rose dit La Rose and wife
• Louis Liard dit Belleville and wife
• Jean Longevin dit Bellerose and wife
• Jacques Martin dit Le Saveur, wife and one child
• Laurent Migon dit St. Amant and wife
• André Pébeau dit Brisefort, wife, 4 children and one domestic
• Jean Petit dit Le Vent
• Pierre Roy dit L'Aimement [5]

In addition to the Village Rouillé, Raymond authorized a second settlement along the road to Miré. Composed of German-speaking people from the Palatine and Ruhr regions of Europe, this settlement was known as the Village des Allemands. It was located a short distance east of the Village Rouillé, from which it was separated by yet another Montagne Du Diable. [6]

The commissaire-ordonnateur, Prévost, felt that the choice of the location had been a mistake. The village's potential for success, he wrote, would have been far better on the opposite shore of the "lac". The land at the chosen site was unfruitful, capable of producing only hay. Wheat stood no chance of success, in Prévost's opinion, and "menus grains" might succeed the first year but would suffer for the next two or three seasons. Even at the Miré, he pointed out, the climate was a problem since there were only two recognizable seasons on the island -winter and spring. [7]

Raymond had charged that Prévost failed to provide seed for the settlements. This, Prévost declared, was a malicious lie. He had tried to find the needed grain, but none was available. There had been 18 barriques of grain in the magasin at Louisbourg which the governor sent to Baie Verte. Had this been retained in Louisbourg, Prévost was certain there would have been sufficient seed for the cleared areas. Lack of seed was not holding the villages back, Prévost charged. The problems were due to the direction given by the military officers placed in charge of farming operations. These officers organized the residents into corvées which performed their work as a service to the king. Prévost found that he had no voice at all in what was decided because the people listened only to the officers who "judge the inhabitants, punish them, rule on their interests and, in a word, have established themselves there as the Lords in each village ..." [8]

The census taker offered no assessment of the quality of land in the German village in 1753. He did, however, list the following residents:

• Florant Buckler, wife, two children
• Jean Chenek, wife
• Andrée Cobb
• Jean Dubois, wife
• Michel Geyler, wife
• Andrés Christian Greff
• Jean George Kuely
• Louis Le Roy, wife, one child
• Benedict Mayoffer, wife, one child
• Abraam Millet
• Andrée Pfisterer, wife, one child
• Jean George Schotter
• Jean Jacob Schuman, wife
• Jacob Slutts
• Andrés Staas
• Frederich Stan [9]

By 1756 the outlook for the two villages was not bright. Governor Drucour wrote that the Village Rouillé had all but disappeared. Most of the soldiers who had accepted his predecessor's offer were either aged or bad specimens drawn by the promise of three years free rations. These men had married the "catins et les ivrognes" of the colony, settled near the Miré and did little work. [10] His view was supported by a report of the chief engineer a year later which listed only five families remaining in this village. The soil there was not as good as at the German village, Franquet declared, but they could have raised gardens. Used to the lazy life of troops, he said, they preferred hunting to working the land. Soon the village would be deserted, but for the moment it was occupied by: 

• André, his wife and two sons 
• Framboise, his wife and three sons 
• Paveur, his wife, a son and two daughters 
• Savory and his wife 
• St. Brieux and his wife

Though Franquet noted that all five had been residing in the village for five years, only two, Framboise and St. Brieux, appear on the 1753 census. [11]

The population of the German village had also dropped by 1756, though not as drastically. Although Franquet said that the soil there would produce grain and vegetables, little was actually produced. Even the yield from the gardens was disappointing, due mostly to the climate. There was, however, a "moliere" in the middle of the community which was "un grand avantage par le qualité de foin qu'elle produit". A sawmill, built by Le Roy on the stream which flowed from Lac Majeur, was abandoned sometime before 1756 because wood suitable for boards and planks had been exhausted in the vicinity of the mill. Erected hastily, the sawmill, moreover, had been in need of extensive repairs. The residents of the village included:

• Andrea, his wife and son
• Beaumond and his wife
• André Cob, his wife, a son and a daughter
• Jacob Cob, his wife and son
• Jacob, his wife and daughter
• Michel Keiler, his wife and son
• Le Roy, his wife and daughter
• Benedict Meiovre (Meyoffer), his wife and three daughters
• Joseph Rouf, his wife, 2 sons and a daughter
• Seins, his wife, a son and a daughter
• Testalier, his wife, a son and a daughter [12]

In May 1757 Charles Violet, who resided at Louisbourg, took Benedict Mayhein to court when his cow, which had wintered at Mayhein's property, died while giving birth. The calf could not be saved. Mayhein and several witnesses on his behalf were said to be inhabitants of the Village Rouillé, yet most spoke only German. Mayhein's name does not appear on the 1753 census or on Franquet's list four years later. The names of the witnesses, however, are included on these lists as residents of the Village Des Allemands, not the Village Rouillé. [13]