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    It is of little use to detail here the growth of each French village year by year, and we shall only provide the main features of the evolution of Cape St. George, Mainland, and to a lesser degree, Black Duck Brook. Cape St. George and Black Duck Brook appear for the first time in the 1874 census, while Mainland is not recognized until 1884, ten years later.

    The 1874 census joins Black Duck Brook to 'Port-au-Port Bay: the total population of which is 127. As in the 1857 census, Newfoundland and British colonies are the only sources of ethnic origin mentioned. On the other hand, Cape St. George, where only 21 souls are noted, indicates two persons born in 'Foreign or other countries: and one may conclude that the foreign countries include France. Ten years later, in 1884, the census does not mention Cape St. George but talks of Green Gardens, which has a population of 147.

    These figures underscore the difficulty of interpreting censuses in the region. Until 1921, communities are very poorly defined. It seems likely that the 1884 census included the present village of Cape St. George, designated as "Green Gardens," as well as the neighbouring villages of Degras and Red Brook. It is even more interesting to note that in a total of 147 inhabitants, only four people are given as being born in a foreign country .One must suspect that this figure and others like it are not exact. It was obviously not to the advantage of deserters to admit they were French, as they justifiably feared capture by French authorities and a return to France, as the oral testimony noted earlier telling of a manhunt at Mainland in 1900 reminds us.