GUSTAVE FOURNIER.
 



	A prominent citizen of Saskatoon is Gustave Fournier, Deputy Regis-
trar of Land Titles, who came to this province in the early days and has
been a dominant factor in promoting its development and improvement.
He is a man of culture and refinement and his friends in this section of the
country are legion.  He was born in Rigaud, Quebec, on the 15th of
January, 1870, a son of Eugene Napoleon and Sarah (Garnot) Fournier,
natives of Quebec. The father was a notary public and agent of the
Segneurie de Vaudreuil, holding the latter office the greater part of his
life. His death occurred in 1878, and Mrs. Fournier passed away in 1917.
To them seventeen children were born, three of whom died very young.
Tancrede died while he was private secretary to Menier, the chocolate
king; Dr. E. N. Fournier, of St. Jerome, has resided there for some forty
odd years; Louis Henri is living in Winnipeg and is an employe of the
Dominion government in the public works department; Arthur is living
in Montreal, where he has been connected with L. Chaput & Company,
wholesale grocers, for forty years; Ernest lived in San Francisco, Califor-
nia, for many years; Marie Louise married Thomas Fletcher, head ac-
countant of the Bank of Clark & Larrabee, Butte, Montana, which position
he has held for forty years; Caroline is the wife of L. LaB ne, secretary-
treasurer of the J. D. Rolland Paper Manufacturing Company, Montreal,
a position he has held for forty-five years; Osine died in Butte, Montana,
in 1888; Sarah resides with her brother, Dr. E. N. Fournier, of St. Jerome;
and Noemi, the other sister, is now a resident of Los Angeles, California.
	In the pursuit of his education Gustave Fournier attended the college
at Bourget, Rigaud and the Ecole du Plateau School of Montreal and
subsequently the college at St. Vincent de Paul in Quebec, near Montreal.
Upon the outbreak of the Rebellion, having a cousin in Saskatchewan,
Mr. Fournier came west, arriving in this province on the 8th of December,
1885. He came over the Canadian Pacific Railroad's main line, which at
that time had reached Moose Jaw and he completed his journey by stage
to Fort Qu'Appelle and thence across the prairie to Batoche, which he
reached some ten days later. There he met his cousin, whom he had never
seen before, and remained with him for three months. At the termination
of that time he became an employe of Mr. Batoche, a fur trader, and for
the sum of one hundred dollars he took complete charge of the
fur post at Fort a la Corne, from fall until spring.  Mr. Fournier could not
speak a word of English.  In the summer months he was in charge of
Mr. Batoche's pool room at Batoche, besides working in his store and doing
the chores-attending to four horses, the cows, etc.  In the fall of the
following year Mr. Batoche offered him an increase of twenty dollars over
the previous year to take charge again of his fur trading business at Fort
a' La Corne. It was there he acquired a knowledge of the Cree language
and become thoroughly familiar with the different kinds of fur. The next
year Mr. Fournier, being eighteen dollars in debt, decided to break away
from the fur trading business and he drove to Prince Albert, a distance
of fifty miles. There he noticed the name of a French druggist and imme-
diately applied for a position.  He was hired and was paid thirty-five
dollars a month, with board and room.  In this connection Mr. Fournier
had his first chance to learn the English language and he applied himself
diligently to the mastery of it. One year later he entered the employ of
John Stewart, merchant, and nine months later accepted a position with
Senator T. 0. Davis.  In 1891, he became an agent for the Massey-
Harris Company, remaining with the firm for three years at Duck Lake
and then for four years he worked in Prince Albert for the same firm.
	At the termination of that time he returned to Duck Lake and became
general agent for the company.  In 1906 he resigned his position and
became manager of a local store for a few months. He then entered the
service of the Provincial government and has since been in its employ.
Since 1908 he has been stationed in Battleford, Saskatoon and Humboldt.
He returned to Saskatoon in 1917 and was made Deputy Registrar of
Land Titles. In this position he has gained prominence and he discharges
the many duties devolving upon him to the complete satisfaction of all.
	Mr. Fournier is a consistent communicant of the Roman Catholic
church. He has traveled throughout the province of Saskatchewan and
has been a dominant factor in its continued development and improvement.
Mr. Fournier speaks three languages fluently. He is a devotee of the
French language and his hobby is teaching the language to his manyfriends.


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