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CIHM/ICMH

Microfiche

Series.

CIHM/ICMH
Collection de
microfiches.

Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques

1980

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D
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ns
la

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Maps or plates too large to be entirely included
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Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre
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d'images n6cessaire. Le diagramme suivant
illustre la m^thode :

GLACE BAY, SHIPPING.
MABOU BRIDGE.

ARICHAT.

PLASTERS, ASPY BAY.
BADDEGK.

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED :

ISTORIC, ipiCTURESQUE AND ^ESCRIPTIVE

By JOHN M. GOW.

ILLUSTEA.TED BY JAMES A. STUBBERT.

Toronto:

WILLIAM BRIGGS, WESLEY BUILDINGS, RICHMOND STREET.

MONTREAL: C. W. COATES.

1803.

HALIFAX: S. F. HUESTLS.

HEX

CAPE NORTH. FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE SHORE.

.■!^- "KU" "

INTRODUCTION.

THE "importance and advantage" of Cape Breton in a military and commercial sense were
early recognized by the contending French and English. Its value was especially appre-
ciated by the former, as it controlled the approach to their ancient colony of Canada. They
employed all their military and diplomatic skill in its defence and for its retention. But though
repeatedly successful in the latter, they ultimately failed in the former. Louisburg, by its
strength and commanding position, drew upon it the invidious regard, and at last the vengeance,
of the New England colonies. Their expedition against Cape Breton was their first national
enterpri'- ,id its result was their first national triumph — and it presaged greater things.
There we*' not wanting those who saw in the downfall of Louisburg the independence of the
America' . . lOnies ; and the prospect was neither new nor uninviting to them. It had occupied
a place in the consciousness of the New Englanders ever since the Pilgrim Fathers set foot
upon Plymouth Rock. The dormant idea of national separation was fanned into flame before
the walls of Louisburg. In this volume it is attempted to account for the American Puritan and
for his progenitor, the English Puritan; to discuss the spirit and the genius of the men before
whom the weak tyranny of kings hopelessly fell. The English and American revolutions were
accomplished by men actuated by principles substantially the same. The ancient town and
fortress of Louisburg is described, and the story of both sieges is told in detail. There is a

• i

INTRODUCTION.

short account of the colonial struggle between France and England, and of its immediate and
remote results — the erection of the United States into a separate nationality, and the formation
of the nucleus of the Dominion of Canada. There is also inserted a short history of Cape
Breton, with a description of its prospective commercial advantages, and a presentation of its
attractions as a summer resort.

The works to which the writer is indebted in the preparation of this volume are : " Brown's
History of Cape Breton," a most valuable and exhaustive work, indicating great research and
accuracy, and written in a clear and genial style ; " Narrative and Critical History of America,"
Parkman's "Montcalm and Wolfe," Belknap's "History of New Hampshire," Hutchinson's
" History of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay," Neale's "Account of the Colonial Wars,"
Parson's " Life of Pepperell," " Massachusetts Archives," State Documents and Records of
Massachusetts, Governor Hutchinson's Diary, " Life of Milton," " Life of Oliver Cromwell,"
General Stewart's " History of the Highland Regiments," " History of America," " Eig'.ty
Years' Progress in British North America," and others.

The history of the development of the English-speaking races in North America is a
subject of great interest. We know what men are by knowing their history ; thence we can
calculate future probabilities. As an honest effort in this direction, and an attempt to present
the claims of the island of Cape Breton, this volume is respectfully presented to the public.

JOHN M. GOW\

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I.-

II.-

III.-

IV.-

V.-

VI._
VII.-
VIII.-
IX.-
X.--
XI.
XIT.
XIII.

—The English Puritan

—The American Puritan

-The Briton a.s an Organizer and a Colonist

-The Fhenuhman as Mlssionary and Colonist

-The Seven Years' War ....

-Description of the Town and Fortress oy Louisburg

-The New England Invasion of Cape Breton

-The First Siege of Louisburg .

-The Second Siege op Louisburg

-The United States

-Cape Breton

-The Dominion of Canada

■Attractions op Cape Breton for Tourists

"AUK

31
58
78
98
126
160
176
230
282
314
368
404

PASSING THROUGH THE LOCKS, ST. PETER'S CANAL.

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Combination Engbavino— p^oe

Glace Bay, Shipping— Plasters, Aspy Bay—
Mabou Bridge- Baddeck-Arichat . Frontispiece
Cape North, from the St. Lawrence Shore Opposite 3
Passing throitgh the Locks, St. Peter's Canal . 7

Map of Cape Breton

Indian River Falls , .

Bird's-eye View of Margaree Valley

Waters of the St. Lawrence

UiSGE Ban Falls

North River Valley ....

Ingonish, looking toward Cape Enfi-me

Combination Engraving-
Lighthouse, LouisnuRG— Sunrise on Battery
Island— New Town, from the East

Co.mbination Engraving —

Bomb-proof Casemate — Black Rock — Hay-
making Scene— Ruins of Barracks— Site of
West Gate— Ditch and Ruined Wall

New Town, fhom Grand Battery

Combination Engraving —

Harbour of LouisnrRo from the Citadel-
Old French Cupboap.d — Interior, (Jrand
Battery— Ruins of Convent and Hospital—

9
24
32
48
65
88
114

128

134
144

Looking toward Green Hills from Citadei,—
Ruined Wall and Ditch from Citadel .

Plan of F'ortifications of Louisburo, 1745

Grenadier Leap

From Lighthouse Point, looking toward Bat-
tery Island and Black Point

Freshwater Cove, Amherst Landing

CoMniNAIIOl; ExiiKAVING —

Wolfe's Landing, looking West- Flat Point
—Sea View from Flat Point— Wolfe's Land-
ing, LooKiNii East— Sea Shore from Light-
HoisK, [.(H)KiN(i East

Sydney ....

Tarhert, St. Ann's

Grand Narrows

Ingonish Beach

Cape Clear

North Sydney

FrusT Passengkfi Car

Lion's Head, North River

Sentinel, Ingonish Island

Cape North, fiiom the Atlantic Shore

Whycocomah Bay .

PAQB

152

176
198

206
231

252
321
336
362
384
400
404
408
410
414
416
421

•*¥— ■■^--■iritr-w ri

w^-

-*^a£#*«%

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

THE ENGLISH PURITAN.

THE English Puritan is a character unique in history. He was the child of England and its peculiar
history. The establishment of the Saxon dominion in England carried with it the maintenance
of a class of freemen, the Saxon bowmen and billmen, the rank and file of their armies, who were
necessary to the existence of the Saxon power, and whose rights and liberties, in consequence of this fact,
were best guaranteed. The State depended upon the Saxon freeman for its strength, and was compelled in
turn to pay the price — the independence of the soldier. The army of Harold represented in a full degree the
condition of liberty existent among the early Saxons, and which had existed from the earliest times among
the tribos who migrated as invading armies from the East. The peoples who crashed through the tottering
ramparts of Rome represented the primitive idea of the liberty of man in a far higher degree than did the
disintegrating power which it was their stern mission to trample under foot. The Goth, as far as the posses-
sion of an inviolate personality was concerned, more nearly resembled the primitive Roman Republican than
he did the enervated citizen of the decaying Empire. The primitive Roman patriot who

" Under an old oivk's domestic shade,
Enjoyed, spare feast, a radish and an egg,"

and the northern barbarian had this much in common, that every individual was a distinct and separate
personality, and went, as a unit, to make up the power of the nation.

Man, while advancing in what is called civilization, loses his freedom unless rescued by religion. True
religion is the only true freedom, or, to put it authoritatively, " If the truth shall make you free, ye shall be

CAPE PRETOX ILLUSTRATED.

free indeed." But how vast and sublime is truth — the whole truth of existence. Our race is but yet in the
faint ji;limmerini];s of the dawn of that truth — truth of life and of being, which is hidden in the Intinite, and
which the Creator has already prepared for the earnest, importunate and loving seeker. The Eternal House-
holder has things new and old to bring forth out of His stockhouse to show His obedient children.

But religion, even the most subl^np and practical the world has ever seen, has not as yet been
able to give force and intensity enough to the current that makes for man's liberty. It is superliuous to say
that this is not the fault of religion, but of the medium through which it is conveyed, and of the men to
whom it comes. As long as religion is misinterpreted and misunderstood it must fail of its mission.

Man's bondage, at first mainly physical and accomplished by physical means, comes at length to be
imposed by other and meaner considerations and inHuences. As man becomes more and more civilized, ana is
taken to pieces, as it were, to face his complex culture in every direction, the primal leg'timate force of his
being is more or less dissipated. The means and instruments of his degradation are more and moi'e multi-
plied, and he falls under numberless, nameless and petty tyrannies, which go to form a raore contemptible
aggregate than that vast and gigantic tyranny to which he was first subjected by those " mighty hunters
before the Lord," of whom we read in. the early history of man. We see their Titanic figures moving across
the background of time in the uncertain primeval light, menacing their victims in the very face of the
Eternal God. We see power, the attribute of the Eternal alone, stolen from Heaven by the puny hand of
man, and desecrated, blasphemed, to the shedding of a brother's blood. Thus is God, the Creator, defied
and His work reversed by that little fiend, man. Thus we see in the far East gigantic and stony memorials of
Titanic empires — unhallowed, heaven-defiant despotisms—which have perished without a name. No man
knows who they were or what they were, that ruled them. The echoes of their har.sh, inhuman voices do not
profane even the sounding corridors of time. They have been stricken into oblivion by the avenging hand of
the Almighty.

But this early tyranny was at least respectable inasmuch as it was mighty and God-defiant. It was all
done " before the Lord." But what shall be said of the thousand and one petty complicated tyrannies of a
so-called civilized life ? The tyranny of Church — for tyranny is never so mean and merciless and cowardly
as when it masks in the alb and stole of the priest — and the tyranny of State ? the tyranny of wealth and
station, j^nd office, and of society generally i the tyranny of coldness, and neglect, and qncharitableness ; of

' >
I

^SS^Sfc*.

rnn english pvritask

ill

dulnoss, and ignorance, and common-place, and respectability, and conventionality, and hoUowness, and
hypocrisy of life ? of the tyranny under which man voluntarily falls in consequence of the complications of
civilized life ? Either give us back the age in which men struck and struck back again with the force of
giants, or else give us a new ar^d stronger and more comprehensive and lasting and mighty and eternal life,
commencing now and ''eaching forth into power and light and a fulness and exceeding weight of glory.

Again, we repeat, the only antidote to all tyranny, manifold and complex, is solid and genuine and intelli-
gent religion, which is the only agency in the universe capable of raising man to an eternal platform of
equality ; and to this the Englishman made some approach in the Puritanic age, an approach harsh, ungraceful,
undignified and unamiable, it is true, but whose influences still remain and serve to show us, perhaps, some-
thing of the capabilities of religion as a liberator of men. Puritanism was something like an iron age of
equality in England for a few years, but in that result we may see indications that religion has in it the possi-
bilities of bringing about a golden age of equality — not for a few years, but for all time a>.d all eternity, too.

The Noruian Conquest perpetuated the idea of liberty in England, beginning, as might be said, with
Magna Charta, the written expression of the Englishman's liberty — that liberty which dwells in the heart of
man. Magna Charta did not create the Englishman's liberty ; the converse is true. The Englishman's liberty
extorted Magna Charta not once only, but twenty-six times from the sovereigns of Britain. The feudal system,
while reducing this liberty to a sort of order, however rude and mechanical and fantastic, still held within it
the element of freedom, and preserved the liberty of the Briton until the Reformation. This movement placed
the liberty of mankind upon an entirely new and higher basis. We now see freedom dressed in a wondrous
garment of more than earthly device, robed in which prince and peasant, serf and noble, gentle and simple are
all alike, and stand arrayed before God in strange and mystic vestment, becoming the children of a more than
earthly kingdom. The invention of printing stimulated the power of thought and discrimination in the
common people ; and the reading of the Scriptures being not only allowed but substantially enjoined, it is easy
to understand how the reading and discussion of these amounted to an education in itself; and as the Scrip-
tures have to do principally with man's innermost and deepest experiences, one can readily .see how by these
means man's personality and experience were deepened and strengthened, and his subjectivity clearly and
sharply defined. It was now and ever impossible to bring the Englishman into the thraldom, either of mind
or body, to which he had been subjected. This education was not free from danger, as we shall see ; yet it

CAPE nRKTOA' ILLUSTRATED.

was preeminently the best that could be broiif^ht into contact with men who already knew something of
liberty, and who were unwittingly arming for the fight against the petty tyranny of kings.

In his new study and contemplation of liberty the Englishman was brought directly into the presence of
the Author and Giver of all liberty — all barriers between the personality and its God were broken down, and
man stood forth disenthralled, regenerated and transformed, the child of a new and imperishable system. The
allegiance of man is now transformed from earth to heaven, or at least to heaven as he understands it.

The Puritan, therefore, represents the religious development of that phase of the English character which
had culminated in the Elizabethan age — an age of magnificent crystallization in the intellectual, moral and
religious world. We have now a strong nation — a strong queen and a strong people ; an age of spontaneous
heroism in private and public life. Men, and women, too, move across the stage of existence sharp and decisive,
strong and nervous, firm and deliberate in voice and gesture. Shakespeare says :

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players."

lu his time they were strong players, and acted their parts well, and there was less in them of the player, too,
than there has been at any time since. If ever

" Life is real, life is earnest,"

it was so in the Elizabethan age. The formative influences which had gone to make up English character had
been working in calm and storm, in peace and war, in tumult and battle, for ages, and now the instant of
crystallization had come, and, lo ! by a process more inscrutable and wondrous than that which meets the rapt
gaze of the physical scientist, men start into separate and distinct and symmetrical individuality, yet clinging
and clustering around a common centre of mystic potency, and that centre is the life and strength and growth
and glory of England. Men were now mighty in word and thought and deed. This was the age of Shake-
speare and Milton and Cromwell and Hampden and Biinyan.

Shakespeare, by sheer force and intensity of intellect and of sympathy, marching through life all uncon-
sciously, speaking in the language of the warrior, the patriot, the hero, the lover, the knave, the mimer,
the murderer, holding spell-bound a world which has not yet been, and never shall wish to be, emancipated
from his influence ; which would consider itself robbed of one of its chief delights were it debarred entrance

^mmce^im^gmiS^^

jgigj;^j«P^aEass*«Sss]^^

TNF nm;rjsfr pukitan.

into that magic world in which we all secretly live, but of which our little and circumscribed lives can express
so little.

Milton, the stern and mighty singer of the North, who in his youth had gone the way of the South and
learned its sweetness ; who, in the morning of life, sang crisp and cool nnd warm and languid woodland lays
to his youthful companions; who rang the Christmas chimes to the snblimcst melody the earth has ever
heard ; whose high and noble soul stood forth to battle for the rights of Englishmen, and awed into silcnco
friend and foe alike by the majestic scorn of his language and his sentiments ; who feared not to marshal to
the light the very hosts of heaven as his trumpet rings through the vaulted deep ; and angels, scarce mightier
than he, own the kindred sound, and condescend to march past before his poor blinded eyes in admiring
obedience ; at last, in comparative poverty and neglect, grinding, like another Samson, at the mill of his own
petty earthly existence.

And Bunyan, the most wondrous and cunning playwright of them all — for it was an age of playwrights —
choosing for his theatre the soul of man, and for his actors the dark and mighty and benignant and benevolent
powers which contend for mastery in our inner and higher citadel of life. What an age of men that must
have been which could thus produce and appreciate this analysis of the hidden life as it struggles and bleeds
on towards God. Enslave men like that ? No ; they may be imprisoned for conscience' sake, but all earthly
bonds fall from their souls as the withes from the limbs of Samson.

And Cromwell, striking wicked authority with one rude blow of his gauntletted hand from its ancient
accustomed seats, now dishonoured and undone, taking his place on the empty throne, and governing with a
firmness and strength, a justice and a moderation, which England has not seen .since.

In that age and in that country the world first saw the strange spectacle of a people rejecting and destroy-
ing an unworthy king and trampling upon all law and precedent in obedience to that instinct which is older
than all kings and all earthly authority — the primeval liberty of man.

An age and a land which produce men like the.se must be great and must have had a great and inspiring
history. And great men never rise singly, but in groups and communities, and are the outcome of those causes
which are continually occurring in the history of a great nation. When the occasion meets the men they rise
in all their glory and all their strength, in obedience to the trumpet blast which .summons them into the arena,

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

' i!

and future generations look backward with admiring gaze, and cannot and dare not relinquish what has been
gained for them in the strife.

The English Revolution was the direct outcome of three distinct factors, the national and historic
instinct of liberty, the Reformation, and the Puritanical sentiment. The first was purely military, and had its
origin, as we have seen, in the constitution of the English armies from the earliest times, and, as the centuries
went by, in the limiting power of parliament in controlling the .supplies. The second factor was at first mainly
intellectual in its nature, but deepened and strengthened as men began to realize the full significance of God's
message to man — to comprehend the nature of their true and inner and better birthright. It was then that
they truly and emphatically refused to be enslaved, and it is then that their record appears in the history of
the nation ; and their record is the record of a revolution. When man becomes worthy his record appears,
but not before.

As far as those two factors resulting in the Revolution are concerned, they have left behind them no
traces of evil, be:5ause, in the nature of constitutional government, they are not liable to abuse. Armies,
either formed directly by the body of the people or through their parliament, were always a chuck on the
absolute power of the sovereign. The freedom acquired by the Briton by serving as a soldier in the middle
ages has never degenerated into military license, for the reason that the whole feudal sy.«*^em has been super-
seded by modern economics, and the soldier no longer exists except as an imperial necessity.

The intellectual impetus which was given to individual life by the Reformation was fraught with no
danger to constitutional government, because men cannot know too much of the revealed hand of God and of
the means and manner of His being made known to man. The study of sacred things is the study of the
highest and best parts of man. We stand in the presence of unfathomable mysteries on every hand, and are
continually in an intelligent, because in a receptive, attitude of mind, and are in no danger of vulgar self-
confidence or ignorant assertion. We know something of the relativity of knowledge ; we recognize ranks
and degrees among seekers after truth in proportion to the experience and ability of the individual ; and
seekers after truth never quarrel — it is self-seekers only who do that. Intellectual or scientific cant is an
impossibility, a contradiction in terms. Cant is emotional or religious weakness or vanity, and finds no place
in the realm of pure intellect or of truth-seeking.

But when we come to the third factor in the product of the English Revolution it is not all good that is

^ «B»«am5Ga39B«6^'-JB!:.l£SKn<E

THE EAgUSH puritan.

to be said ; and this is only to say tliat Puritanism is a human product and has to do with human conditions.
Wherever there is not a commonwealth of letters, in conditions under which men are not intelligently
instructed, tlioro cannot, for any length of time at least, be a community even of the grace of Uod. There is
no department of knowledge or learning, if it can be called learning, in which the unlettered and ignorant
arrogate so much to themselves as in the knowledge of the Scriptures. No book has been so much abused as
the Bible, and the teaching of no book has been so monstrously caricatured as that of the Bible. It has given
rise to more burlesques than all other books combined. Upon their pretended or believed interpretation of
Scripture men have done anything and everything, and believed everything or nothing, as the case might be.
We believe that many men who are wise overmuch would believe more if we had no Bible at all. The Bible
from first to last, takeu all in all, is an account and the only written account we have of man's origin, duty
and destiny. It is the rule, and the only rule, of man's higher faith and morals, and as such it is infalliljle.
It cannot be superseded, because its precepts operate perfectly upon the highest plane of which we have any
conception. But no part of it is to be taken out of proper relativity to the whole of it. The history of its
compilation and development must be understood and confessed, and we have still emphatically remaining an
in.spired solution and rule of individual life. It is the only common-sense analysis and explanation of the
highest life of man that we have. The New Testament shows a perfect way of life. Christ was a perfectly
existing man and teacher. He is the link that binds us to Divinity. His understanding and life were perfect,
and His power infinite in the realm in which He professed to operate. The " Sermon on the Mount" fills the
bill of human existence. The letters of Paul point to a perfect life of love ; and this is the beginning and the
end of it all — love — an intelligent, adequate love of God and of man. But still there is enough of the myste-
rious and inexplicable about the Bible, as there is about ourselves and our own environments — about every-
thing that is worth knowing at all — to keep us humble and receptive and willing to learn. In the study of
the Bible tiiere is no place for conceit and cant ; and, when an untutored mind finds access to some superficial
and mechanical knowledge of the language of Scjpture, we soon see the germs of that hardiness and presump-
tion of judgment which leads from instead of towards God.

When one of Cromwell's soldiers got into the pulpit and exhorted with the same unction and fervour with
which he managed his sabre or pike on the day of battle, it is easy to understand how his exhortation would
not at all times, or indeed at most times, be for the edification of his hearers. A strong hand, especially if it

mmmm

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

be ignorant, has almost invariably the disadvantage of being in the company of a hard head and an unfeeling
heart. The God of the Hebrews, after whom the God of the Puritans was fashioned and conceived, was
always to the great body of the Israelitish people a God of physical force, who waa expected to give them the
victory over their national enemies, and whose ultimate office it was to raise their nation, in some sense largely
physical, over all the nations of the earth. And this was the very rock upon which they split, the ston§ upo.i
which they stumbled, and has sent them over the earth without a home.

But God, "• the light of the t3aching of the New Testament and of Christianity, is preeminently the God
of the heart, of motive, of the soul. He distinctly stands forth as the proprietor, the guardian, the educator,
of the soul. It is not pos.sible that one of Cromwell's soldiers could speak in the spirit of the " Sermon on the
Mount." It v/as foreign to his experience and to his calling and to his place in history. How could he love
his enemies when he was forced to ride them down or thrust them through with his pike in battle ? The
very principle which lies at the root of Christianity — non-resistance — it was the supreme duty of his life to
disobey. He was so unfortunately situated that, however much he knew of the terminology of Hebraism, his
actual life stood in the way of his understanding the spirit of Christianity. He had resisted to the death, and
was ready at a moment's notice to do so again. And whom or what was it his unlucky fate to be compelled
to resist ? Not the direct enemies of his inner and better being. If tho.se had been his enemies he would
have been a saint like Paul ; but he contended against men, his own countrymen, from whom he differed in
matters of church service and fiscal policy, who refused to let him have his own way in matters secular as
well as ecclesiastical. He contended against a system which he had learned to connect, perhaps without
proper discrimination, with all that was light and fickle and immoral and vain and tyrannical — with every-
thing that was fleeting, faithless and unworthy. If the English Puritan had been a milder man himself, he
might have found means to resist the encroachments of arbitrary power in a more rational and Christian
manner than he did. But he had the misfortune to live in an age of violence, and he resisted force with
force.

When the Puritans began to resist the encroachments of the royal power, no doubt there was not a man
among them who would not have shrunk back in horror from the fearful consummation of the struggle. But
the bitterness and ferocity of the contest intensified as time went on, and one act of violence followed another
until all hope of anything but a tragical termination was at an end. The Puritans hurled Scriptural anathemas

ruE Exuusn pufitan.

upon their oppononts' heads, employinjr the hinp;nagc of denunciatory prophets aid dispensers of woe —
hinj^iiage of wiiicli they knew the sound better tlian the moaning or the historical connection; language in
whose use they took a spiritually ridiculous pride, and conceived to some extent that they were the people of
God because they knew how to repeat it. They travelled liack twenty-five hundred years to find language
stern and unforgiving, and in no way applicable to their case, in which to curse those who, many of them,
were contending at the barriers of what they conceived to be the defences of all true civilization. An ancient
writer remarks pathetically on the thousands of English gentlemen whose dead bodies lay stripped on Marston
Moor, and tells us how smooth and white they were. These men died fighting for what they conceived to be
honour and loyalty and patriotism, and so it was to them. Truly we make hideous mistakes in this world, and
progress is bought at a fearful price. Wlien we consider that the denunciatory portions of Hebrew prophecy
again.st the surrounding nations oftentimes never came true, that most of them have been misnamed propl.ecy,
and are to be regarded for the most part a.s highly wrought or rhetorical expressions of national animosity,
and when we consider how dim was the light in which the men of that ancient time lived, and how little they
know of the spirit of the law of the universal Father ; how that the " Light of the world " had not yet appeared ;
how that He who spake as never man spoke had not yet spoken; how that only a viry, very few had begun
to listen in the right direction for His voice, we can hardly conceive it possible that men in the seventeenth
century should go back to the sixth or seventh century before Christ to find language in which to curse tho.se
whom they conceived to be enemies. That there is a certain sort of sublimity and grandeur about this
Hebraistic style of denunciation is doubtless true. There is a boll and book and candle rhythm about it that
has a certain sort of meaning. It is old ; it is respectable and sacerdotal ; it is fierce and high and uncompro-
mising; it is a sort of stamped and legalized cursing anJ swearing which finds no place for the sole of its feet
in Christianity or reason or common sense. Besides, it is in a sense meaningless. It has not the divine
exactitude of the words of Him Vvho superseded all law and went, with an uiierring divinity of analysis,
straight to the heart and motives of man. These old Puritans recognized God, and recognized God to be
working for them ; but the bare possibility of God ever working on behalf of their enemies, or that future
good might come to both parties from the present struggle, was an idea utterly foreign to their faith or their
conception of things.

When Cromwell said of the Scots on the morninjr of Dunbar, "The Lord hath delivered them into our
2

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

hands," we don't believe the Lord did anything of the sort — not in the sense in which Cromwell meant it.
Military ardour and the spectacle of the strategic blunder which the Scots had made, were no doubt the things
most prominent in Cromwell's mind when he used that expression. As for the rest of it, he no doubt would
have been at a loss to explain what he meant bj' the expression. The Presbyterian ministers in the Scottish
camp, who had constituted themselves, not into a presbyterj- but into a council of war, or fanaticism rather,
and had dictated the insane movement which resulted in their destruction, thought, without doubt, that it wjvs
the devil who had delivered them into Cromwell's hands. So here was a ditlerence of opinion sepaiated by
the whole heavens. Providence no doubt had the de\olopment of the British nation, ^as He has all develop-
ment, in view, and permitted the details to be worked out in earthly fashion, with the concomitants of earthly
rewards and punishments. Pride, .spiritual pride esp "cially, mu.st have a fall, and the Scottish Puritans had
theirs at Dunbar, and the English Puritans liad not long to wait for theirs. Their bolt was soon shot, and,
having in its composition only too much of what is of the earth, earthy, and far too little of the temper that
is of the armory of heaven, its force was soon spent and it came to the ground.

Poor old Mause Ileadrig, to the extent that her shrill voice, and the rude trotting of the charg(T upon
which she is bouml, permit her, pipes terrible theological anathemas against the reckless troopers whose
prisoner she i.s. They are to her aggrieved mind living mementoes of their ,s])iritual mother's infidelity, Brats
of Babel, and many other things nameless and horrible, of the meaning of which the poor old woman has no
adequate conception in the world, and she uses the phrases merely because they convey to her n\ind the
extremity of hatred and spiritual contempt. The soldiers, the progenitors of the Scots Creys, who thus igno-
miniou.sly conuuenceil thrir since glorious career, were merely doing their then miserable dutj', in a rough
manner, perhaps : but then they had been provoked beyond endurance by what 'hey conceived to be the con-
tumacy of the people, in refusing to obey what they looked upon as a perfectly reasonable law, and, had it
not been for the spirit of resistance which had been natiu'diiy engendered to .such a diabolical extent, could
have had no reason in the world for persecuting their own eountry-peopl; . This dark demon of religious
malevolence assumes a form yet darker still and more hateful when certain ministers, after some Covenanting
victory, give counsel that the tlefeiicele.ss prisoners who have fallen into their hands be massacred, otherwise
the Lord would never prosper their cau.se. Oh, Religion! what things liave been done and are still doing in
thy name ' Truly the great Teacher said, " I came ilot to send peace on earth, but a swonl," and this is the

THE ENGLtSH PURITAN.

cruellest swonl of all. tt cuts deeper and more mercilessly into broken iiearts than any other. Where is here
the spirit of the great Healer ! Men <;t) about wfth wounds which they think a shame to show, and Chris-
tianity has not one word of comtort. but only words of siieerini:; and self-complacent eondeuuiation.

Puritanism ! Puritanism and its modern desceniiants nt>ver can conquer the world, and never were
dosirjned to do it. The mission of Puritanism was to streui^then men, to educate them in the principles of
civil and political freedom, and to render Britain and America naticmaliy, and perhaps ostentatiously, reiiij;ious;
but it has not enoiiij;h to do with the dissemination of the spirit of Christianity. .\nd the inadiMjuacy lies not
so nuich with Puritiyiism in the alistract as in Puritanism as it was conditioned — in the cireuMistances of its
oriifin and development. It appears upon the .stn<:;e in the attitude of resistance, and wherever its rcdics
subsist it has only in a dejjjree chan<»ed its base, and hence it is not destined to a jicrmanent lib', it cannot
survive ; it is not in the nature of thinijs that it should, because it is not the fittest presentation of '. 'hristianity.
Puritanism occupies a position relative to modern C-liristianity somewhat analogous to that wlilch the Macca-
bean wars sustained to the Me.ssianic idea. The Puritan is just as close to the Phari.see as he is to the " Israelite
indeed." The reli<Tion destined to bo the reliixion of matdviiui is not the nlii;ion of resistance, but of a sublime
H|^nrression. Tt is the relii;ion of no race or ciinie or time, but aj»peals to all and every man. It is n()t sustained
or fostered or kept in life by any rite or ceremony or .system of ritual or doj^ma, but is orii^inated and perpetu-
ated in the soul by the livin<;, active, eternal truth.

The ajre in which the Puritans lived and the land in which they dwelt were a military aj^e and a military
land. Britain shakes betieatb the tread of eontendinu; armies. The clashinijf of misipioted Scripture ami the
cla.shiniT of arms in fratricidal hands result in a confusion worse eoid'ounded. It is not tin* ai:;e in which to
look for .synuuetrical character. There is scarcely any j:;olden mean between an unctions and rabid democracy
and a blind and devoted and dissolute loj'alt)'. Even Bunyan's paj^es are resonant with the din of arms, and
f^l'tter with the flash of contendinij; steel. Christian fights his way to heaven through drawn swords and
giants and lions and such like; even the tenderer women must have a M . Creatheart, sheathed in earthly
panoply, to see them safe ; and the roar of battle about the towi; of Mansoul tells of the belligerent nature of
that tough Kngli.sh .soul which conceiveil and wrote down all these wonder.s. What a noble man was Bunyan !
Wiiat a genius! what an imagination! what an experience! Me is the most wonderful man in English litera-
ture, and is to the religious what Shakespeare is to the secular life.

CA/'K BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

But as David was a man of war and of dark deeds, and so was unfit to build the visible temple on Mount
Moriah, so Purit;inism was not destined to rear that inner and spiritual structure over whose heavenly pinnacles
there fioats the banner of God's everlastinjij and all-embracing love. This temple, made without hands, must
be reared by a calmer, serener and more sympathetic wisilom, which looks keenly but kindly into the woes of
every suffering heart, and tells it that the greater the sin and the sorrow and the suffering, the more abounding
is the wisdom and the strength and the love of Him who built a sanctuary of sorrow for all the wretched, and
transformed it into a city whose " bulwa'-ks glow with jasper, and whose corner-stone is Christ," a living
Christ, dwelling in and guiding the living and sentient soul, and whispering, as the life-and-death storm rages
round our helmless, shattered bark, " Peace ! be still !"

No, Cromwell's Ironsides, sweeping like avenging angels upon Rupert's luckless troopers, or the enamoured
Miles Standish, intent to fight the Indian, are not the messengers of peace and good-will to men. The cursing
of enemies who are really no enemies at all ; the consignment to eternal fire of all who are not of our mind;
the banishment of defenceless women like Ann Hutchinson; the horse-whipping and ear-cropping of Quakei".,
and their banishment under penalty of death, cannot be found in the letters of him who enjoined, " Follow
peace with all men."

Even Milton himself, vho may be said to have been the highest exponent of Puritanism in this its most
prolific age, had the fullest strength of his life, and 'j.specially his declining years, embittered by his contro-
versial attitude. All things are at times thrown out of relativity for him by the very intensity of his power
and the vehemence of his partisanship. He is betrayed into language unworthy of himself and of his magnifi-
cent intellect by the violence and ferocity of the struggle in which he was a participant. He pours upon his
pigmy antagoni' i.j the full measure of his stately and magnificent scorn. There is something humorous even
in the manner in which he uses a blunderbuss to kill a sparrow. He e.xtols his master, Cromwell, to the skies,
and he was a far b'^'-.ter man himself than Cromwell. He reckons him the greatest hero that ever lived, while
in the strict sense of the word he was no hero at all, but simply a strong and stern and forceful character,
pushed into place by force of circumstances, and whose unflinching, fanatical nature still half recoiled in horror
before the thought of what he had done. Milton ungenerously vilifies the Scots, who had it in their mind,
had they been allowed, to be more reasonable and sober-minded than he was himself. The crust that supported
his declining years was not sweetened by the consciousness that it was the gift of those who had forgiven him

^ I '<ir I 'g^'^^

THE EXGLISH PURITAN.

;U'.

much more than would have been necessary had he been true to his own higher and better self. So " Fortune
works great wonders with her wand." This most majestic intellect of his time, forsaken by his friends, sight-
less and joyless, yet towering aloft like some magnificent ruin above his fellowmen, the last of the giants who
overthrew the English monarchy, a sinking Titan mocked at by the shabby details of his domestic life. Well

might he exclaim,

"Oh, dark, d.-irk, dark, amid the l)laze "f iiixin;
Irrecoverably dark ! total eclipse; withmit all Impe of «lay."

Yet it is some comfort to know that he lived in a world of his own, and was seeing and telling " of things
invisible to mortal sight"; that he produced "Paiadise Lost," and received for it the munificent sum of ten
pounds sterling, and that in consecjuence the English language owns the most sublime epic that was ever
written.

As with many others so with Milton. The times made them what they were. The days upon which
they fell gave to them and took from them. Their evenings and mornings came to them laden with strength
and noble daring and majcstj' of character ; but the scjimd of their rushing wings lirought no calnmess, no
moderation, no true dignity — none of the sweet reasonableness of humanity. Almost the only rational man
in those times was Lord Falkland, and he fell at the commencement of the struggle. Humanity, when left
to itself, invariably becomes narrow as it grows intense. Intensity and breadth are in the natural man in
inverse proportion. The mountain torrent, confined within opposing precipices, dashes madly to the sea. It
is only when it has escaped from its confinement and glides into the broa«l and peaceful vale, where all things
grow and live and flouri.sh under the smile of the overarching sky, that the waters bless with a I'ichness ami
an intensity of life wherever they come. It was not Milton's fate or privilege, nor that of any Puritan, pent
up as they were in the narrow lists of English political strife, to ascend the high hills of a wider and nobler
humanit}', and to circumscribe in one sweeping, kindling, ecstatic glance all who dwell beneath the firmament
of God. They were never to stand on Mars' Hill and to proclaim to proud and supercilious Greek and to his
crouching slave, to sneering Sybarite ami hopeless Stoic, that God "hath made of one blood all nations of men
to dwell on all the face of the earth." No ; he who did this said in proud j-et holy humility, that ho was
indebted for his fame to no tribe or race or his doings among them, but to Jew and (ientile alike, to barbarian
Scythian, bond and free ; for he say.s, " We are all one in Christ.' " Ye are our epi.stle, written in our hearts.

CAP/-: BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

known and read of all men." All the intense fervour of this man's Jewish nature was permeated to the inmost
core by a divine humanitarianism which neither height nor depth nor time nor eternity could shake or
abate.

We are told that worlds are summoned from the depths of space ; that first they appear as nebulous clouds
which gather and thicken and thrill with heat under the glance of God until they are fused into a terrific life
containing a mass of liquid fiame ; that they gradually become cooler, and the promised life appears wondrous
and multiform ; then they sicken and die and wheel through space, "reft of their crowd of fools." So it is
with physical life ; but it is not so with the life of which this man speaks, and which it was his mission to
proclaim. Hear what he says : " For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." Let us enter this grim,
unholy Roman prison and hear him furtber. As we enter we see in the dim, uncertain light a figure old before
its time — old by reason of weariness and painfulness and watchings and soul-anxiety for himself and for others,
and cruel mockings and .scourgings and hungering and thirsting and peril and death. He strives in his weak-
ness to welcome his visitor with that divine courtesy which is part of his nature. Those poor hands, manacled
with the felon's chain, have toiled day and night at menial work so that none who were with him might want ;
and he was born and educated a gentleman, and he was the greatest genius and the best man of his time. This
man is absolutely without fear. The hideous thud of the lictor's axe is directly before him, and he knows it,
but he fears it not. The very ecstasy of his long life-struggle, the thought of the good he has done, and of
what sort it is, surfeits his soul with a sense of a hidden glory. His wasted body is as much consumed by
eternal longing as by physical suffering. " I have fought a good fight, I have fini.shed my course, I have kept
the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
.shall give me at that daj-." He longs to be gone; his soul faints under the contemplation of the "exceeding
and eternal weight of glory" which he knows is reserved for him. This man turned the world of his day
upside down, as well he might. He lit a torch which shall guide humanity to its destined goal. This man's
struggle was with no party or race or creed, but with his own weakness and the mad passions and chilling
unbelief of a sunken and sceptical world. His mighty and ardent soul kindled the .spirit of Judaism upon its
own blackened ashes, humbled the haughty brow of Rome, and fixed and deepened and sanctified the light
and wandering glance of the Greek.

„!, i^aMik»i»eij&igibEjgS^

THE ENGLISH PURITAN.

This man's career represents an eternal and universal faith which knows what humanity is worth, and
agonizes in an ecstasy of love over all that is valuable, because all that is permanent, in our nature. He is no
scientist — he speaks in his own crude way of the natural development of being ; but he contradicts no science,
neither can science contradict him, and it does not pretend to. Oppositions of science, falsely so called, can
affect his system as little in our day as they could in his. He is r: 3 moralist any more than his Master was a
moralist ; but he is something far better and higher and nobler. His morals are those of the heavenly and
not of any earthly or transient community. This is the morality which we, in the light of all our knowledge
and experience, in the light of common sense and of science, too, ought to cultivate. It is the only true and
practical way of life; it is the only true conservatism of energy; all else is dissipation, misuse, destruction —
death, he calls it, and so it is.

We have thus far been representing Puritanism as a factor in modern civilization in contradistinction to
the true spirit of Christianity, and we have allowed them both to speak for themselves in the characters and
deeds of their respective exponents and di.sciples. Puritanism has always been essentially contentious and
resistant ; not, as we said, of purpose aforethought, but by reason of its unfortunate attitude and conditions.
It is a significant fact that the two great revolutions which have convulsed the English-speaking world during
the last two hundred and fifty years have been almost directly the result of the Puritanical idea. We .shall
have occasion to discuss this more fully while considering the origin of the struggle which separated Great
Britain from the most important of her North American colonies. We have said that Puritanism is not of
set purpose revolutionary. There have been few forces in the world's history which have been originated for
the purpose which they ultimately accomplished. But such is the natural trend of the passions and interests
of humanity, and such is the uncertainty of the current of human affiiirs, that no man can see results or
prophesy conse(|uences. If we had the same conditions and causes over again, we should, without doubt, have
the same results. The civil war in England began on the part of the Puritans for the purpose of resisting the
arbitrary power of the king and his attempt to encroach upon the constitutional rights of the people ; but
how far-reaching and tremendous the results were to be no one foreknow or contemplated. As the struggle
went on the worst passions of both parties became irreconcilably intlamed. The victory of the Independents
was so complete that the result, in the light of all the circumstances, with a man like (Jromwell at the head of
affairs, was neither moi'e nor less than what might have been expected. That the unfortunate Charles should

CAI'E BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

have been singled out as the victim of the catastrophe is the most tra;:fic and pathetic circumstance in the
whole story, the most revoltin<:f picture in the whole bloody panorama. There is no doubt that the kin<f,
privately and individuallj^ was a good enough man. What he was officially was not his fault. He was the
exponent of a system which had been carried out with impunity and with a high hand in the days of the
Tudors, when kings and ([ueens were stronger, and the people less conscious of their sti'ength and their consti-
tutional rights. The destruction of Charles is certainly the darkest and most signiticant count in the indict-
ment against the sincerity of Cromwell, that is, if we see fit to approach the question of his sincerity at all ;
because thei'e are only degrees of what we conventionally term sincerity ; there is no si cerity in this world —
not perfect sincerit}-. Cromwell was certainly the moving spirit in the destruction of the king. There was
probably no other man living who would have proceeded to this last and ghastly extremity. The best excuse
that can be made for Cromwell in this act is, perhaps, that he was sincerely insincere; as most or all of us are.
There is not nmch reason to iloubt that he coveted the king's place of authority, and this idea possessed his
dark and fanatical min<l until he was compelleil, by the fate of his own brooding and daring ami fanatical
spirit, to do as he tlid. His head was no doubt turned between the position in which he found himself and
his semi-religious enthusiasm; and when a man like Cromwell gets into a situation of that nature, we may
look for portentous results. Before leaving the question of sincerity and insincerity — because it affects not
merely our estimate of Cromwell, but in a less degree all the Puritans on both sides of the water — it may be
remarked that sincerity is not a fixed quantity, and consequently it constantly eludes our estimate and measure-
ment. It is not a fixed quantity either in him who affects to judge, nor in him who is attempted to be judged.
And besides, it is not a practical question. As long as we are affected by men's actions, life is too short to
spend it in the useless effort of attempting to analyze men's motives. Only He who made men knows whether
they are sincere or not, and He commands us to suspend our judgment, to refrain altogether from making it
up. A great amount of time has been wasted in discussing the sincerity of Cromwell, and of other people as
well. What does it mutter to us whether he was sincere or not? He has to answer elsewhere for that. He
is altogether out of ordinary' rule and precedent. He appears like a flaming midnight meteor at the head of
his Ironsides, blazes, and rushes across the startled page of history, and is gone again before the dawn ; and
the won(,lering world learned one les.son at least from the lurid and dark apparition — that there is no power

ttm

INDIAN RIVER FALLS.

M t

I \i

! : 1 \i

■■

t.«iMM£.ifl2iSeS(??»«*****

THE ENGLISH PURITAN.

of misrule, however stupendous, ajrainst which the people have not a summary and avenging resource ; and, in
this regiird, the world is all the better for him.

Sincerity ? To question one's sincerity at all is to admit that there is more or loss of good in the char-
acter. It is only when men begin to emerge into a higher life that we begin to think of thuir sincerity. The
term sincere does not apply to the worthless, the profligate or the ruffian ; but those people have often a great
deal to say about the sincerity of others. We do not make the claim either for Cromwell or the Puritans in
general that they were paragr^ns of sincerity, but they were, without much (juestion, just as sincere, relatively
to their system and pretensions, and the realm in which they moved, as is the ordinary man of society in his
domain, and probably much more so. He had, unquestionably, a high ideal of life, that is, of lite as he under-
stood it. If he was often grotesque and assuming, and out of form, those things were to be expected and may
be forgiven in a man of rude manners, narrow culture, and religious assumption, if you will, who iinds himself
elevated into a place and position for which Nature had not as yet fitted him. Of course, an immen.se amount
of ridicule can be cast upon the Puritan character — no, not character, but manners. There was plenty of cunt
among them. They were rude and unceremor\ious anil supercilious, after their manner, in ad(he.s.s. An
ignorant man, unless he be a very good one, learns those things as soon as he professes religion; and we all
know how hard it is to stand. The Puritans have always and everywhere spoken through their noses.

"Straiuod cole.stiiil themes
Tliroiigh tlie pressed nostril, spuctiiclo l)ostrid."

Why they did so and what is the cause might possibly furnish a problem for the religious evolutionist. Prob-
ably they wept a good deal at their early gatherings, in rehearsals, exhortations, discourses, testifyings, prayers,
psalm singing, and the like, and the attempt or necessity of articulating and weeping simultaneously, might
have produced this unnatural and untoward result. We ourselves have heard a man of puritanical bias admir-
ing his minister because he possessed the somewhat equivocal accomplishment of being able to preach and cry
at the same time. This phase of culture was probably elaborated in a higher degree formerly than it is in our
day. We are glad that it is not so fashionable now as it used to be. The nasal twang is distinctly undesirable
in itself, pure and simple ; but when it affectionately amalgamates with a German or Irish or other foreign
taint, it becomes something alarming and " uncanny."

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The English Puritan, too, suffered somewhat from the fact, as all othi^r Enf]flishmen do, that their nation
is by nature prone to be hard and unsympathetic. All other nationalities know this to be true, except the
English people themselves, and their name is not loved any the better for it. A hard head and a strong hand,
a successful career nationally and individually, and an almost exclusively Saxon and Norman lineage, have
conduced to this result. There is not much of Celtic kindliness in the make-up of the Englishman. He lacks
the imaginativeness, the enthusiasm of the Celt, and hence his quickness and instinctive perception of the
relativity of thing,s. He is very slow, amounting in numerous cases to a certain sort of stupidity. He fights
like a bull-dog, and trades .systematically and grandly ; but he can fight and trade better than he can make a
treaty. He is not unjust except from sheer strength and obtrusiveness ; and he is willing enough to admit
that other people have rights when once he is brought to realize the fact, but he rarely at first thinks of it.
It is (.a.i\ enough to see how qualities like these would lend an element of hardness and unlovableness to the
character of the English Puritan. Where self-confidence and insular ignoring of others are sufficiently
developed already, we can well understand how a religious element of self-esteem added to these qualities
would not be an improvement. To our imagination these three elements of character approach dangerously
near the making up of what we know as a " hard customer "; and this is what the English Puritan very nearly
was. He was hard, and, if he was not unfeeling in general, he was at least so to those who differed from him
in anything. To our minds the Scottish Puritan, if one may term him so, was not so hard as h:s English
brother. He may have been more gruesome in looks and visage, but, if we mistake not, he had a kinder
heart, or had more common sense and moderation. He thought of and considered more than the Englishman ;
and this fact, we take it, arose from the circumstance that, taken all in all, and for all that man is worth, he
had had a better training. The difference between the English and Scottish Puritan mind is best exemplified
for our present purpose in their attitude towards their fallen king. The English seem to have lost all sym-
pathy and regard for their vanquished opponent, but it was not so with the Scots. They t\ung loyally to him,
and only gave him up to the parliamentary army upon being a,ssured that his person was sato ; and they never
at any time entertained the idea of even deposing him from his authority. The old Celtic element of reverence
and loyalty was still present in the Scottish army, and the sacrilege of killing a king was utterly foreign to
their habit of thought and feeling. We see them afterwards standing loyally by their sovereign and to the
hapless house of Stuart, against hope and their own better judgment, for they had suffered more from the

THE ENGLISH PURITAN.

Stuarts than the English had, and had little cause to love them. There is something about the Scottish mind
which clings lingeringly to the sentiment and romance of a situation long after the common sense of it has
crumbled into dust. To this day the singing of a Jacobite song will draw Scotsmen together closer than any-
thing else in the world. When we speak of the Scottish Puritan having the advur uage of a better training
than his English brother, we have in mind the kindly, patriarchal, domestic training which has been traditional
among tlio Scottish people for centuries, the fullest and highest expressions of which we have in Burns' " Cot-
ter's Saturday Night." No one knows what it all means unless he be to the manner born. There is nothing
like this in all English literature. It is unique, not only of its kind, but its kind is unique. It is very di**icult
for an outsider to understand just how or in what .spirit that poor and .struggling family sympathize with
each other in the light against the world. We have here an angel of domestic tenderness hovering over this
heaven-guarded home, but she refuses, like a divine Vashti, to show her face to the garish crowd.

We have attempted to di.scuss the character of the Puritan and to describe his place in the history of
England, and the part which he acted in the development of liberty. He served to break up the old system
of things. England could never again be what it had been. The Revolution had not only shaken the fabric
of government, but had moved it from its place, and the new temple of liberty had to be built on a new plan
and of different materials — a plan more rational and material more fitly prepared, sounder, and well tried and
approved. The revolutionary Puritan was not, in the light of all things, a rational man. In a sense he was
far before his time. The nation and the world were not ready for the form of government whose ideal he
had in mind ; and had the world even been ready for him, he was not ready for the world. He had leaped
with a sudden bound into his place, and the recoil was as sudden as the impact which struck him into his
place of power. But in that age of violence and fierce eruption, it is no wonder that men lost the^r reason and
practical common sense^ and were dazed and confounded by the magnitude and results of the struggle out of
which they had just emerged. It was not until the accession of William and Mary, and the Act of Settlement,
that the British people emerged in something like order from the consequences of the terrible catastrophe of
the great rebellion.

The private character of the Puritan was no doubt in the main immeasurably superior to that of most men
of his time, but his religion was his own, and not meant for anyone else. We are told that after Cromwell
had beaten down all opposition there was quiet and peace in the land, that faithful ministers abounded who

.lutaOai^iltmum

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

zealously dispensed the word of life, and that many souls were converted to God under their ministry. But
after ail, the peace was what the Romans called the peace of "desolation." There was no authority in the
land but the despotic power of the Protector himself; and it was inevitable that it must perish with its
possessor. There was in ctl'ect no people, no parliament, no balancing or adjustment of estates — nothing but
a military despotism which it was useless to think of resisting as long as its dark and determined originator
survived. There was nothing to bind the nation either to the past, the present or the future. The old bul-
warks of power and authority had lieen swept away, the history of the nation had been obliterated, and men
looked blankly into the hopeless future and wondered what would come of it. The illusory and transient
nature of the then exisHng state of things is shown by the avidity with which the people rushed once more
into the reckless life of the Stuarts. They soon became tired of psalm singing and nasal tones and military
exhortations and the haunting presence of CromwcH's Ironsides. The growth of the puritanical element had
not been naturally developed in the constitutional history of the nation. It was a religious monstrosity, and
out of proportion to the general advancement of the country. It was not rooted in the tradition or sentiment
or experience of the English people, and consequently, when tlie abnormal conditions which gave rise to it and
perpetuated it were removed, it perished, as a political power at least, like Jonah's gourd.

But, though Puritanism thus disappeared as suddenly as it had come, as a political power pure and simple,
its influence has by no means disappeared from English life, and doubtless never will. The elements out of
which it was composed have gone ever since, in a large measure, to constitute the politically and religiouslj-
progressive elements in the British nation. The heat engendered by the contlux of warring elements at the
time of the Revolution has since been tempered and .subdued into a miMor flame, under whose moulding and
softening influence English life has become what it is. There would have been, speaking in the natural order
of things, no such reforms as we have had, had it not been for Puritanism — no Toleration Acts, no Bill of
Rights, no Act of Settlement, no Reform Bills. We should probably have had little or no independence of
religious thought. We slioukl likely have had no commonality of people strongly tinctured by the i.-ligious
life. Reforms and movements like those of Whitfield and Wesley could have found no place.

Underlying everything in the British character there has always been a deeply religious sentiment. This
religious sentiment has virtually controlled every public movement since the Reformation, and many important
movements before the Reformation. Though not always present to the consciousness of the nation, it is

ill

THE ENGLISH PURITAN.

always, neverthelesH, operative, and the nation has learned by experience to refer, thoufi;h uncon.sciou.sly, every
important movement to a hij^her tribunal than that of man. Thi.s strong religiou.s instinct is, to our mind, the
inheritance which has come down to us from the Britons of the old Druidical time.s. The attribute of reverence
has always been emphatically present in the Celtic character. And this is not to be wondered at, for the Colts
were overawed and dominated for centuries by the terrible superstitions of the Druidical system, at the time
that our Saxon forefathers. Vikings and Berserkers, were worshippin;^ nothing but the ghosts of their dead
heroes. It ought to be remembered tluit Christianity among the Saxons is not much more than a thousand
years old, and that previous to that time they had virtually no religion at all — no system among them calcu-
lated to foster the attribute of a regulated and masterful religion. Hence to-day the Saxon, as an individual,
is in many respects inferior to the Celt.

To what extent the Celtic — the old Briti.sh element — remained in Britain at the time of the Saxon con-
quest we have no means of accurately knowing, but it is probable that during the long contest which gave
Britain to the Saxons, the races had become partially amalgamated, and it is certain that many Britons
remained in the position of serfs and slaves. We must remember that the Saxons have the telling of the
story, and that their conipiest of Britain was, by their own showing, a long and a doubtful and a bloody
struggle. The ancient Britons were not soon conquered, nor were they extirpated. We must also remember
that religious instincts are the deepest and most abiding and most influential in our nature, and that although
the Celt yielded physically to the Saxon, there are many reasons for believing that the latter yielded much of
his pagan, irreverent nature to the milder and more humane dominion of the Celt. So the Saxon is not essen-
tially England. He was set in it as a rough-hewn diamond, there to be re-cut and ground and polished by
hard and tedious processes in God's noi.sy workshop of the centuries until he was tit to be set in tlie girdle of
that goddess of liberty whose zone now encompasses the earth — the guardian genius of British liberty. That
the ancient British sentiment, at least, is ye*; dominant among us is evident from the readiness with which we
take to our hearts such productions as Cowper's " Warrior Queen," and Tennyson's " Idyls of the King."
There is a sound deeper and truer than the voice of written history that comes to our ears — a feeling more
worthy and reverent than that engendered by a record of battle and conflict and bloody victory — and that is,
that we are children of Britain after all ; and the old mother yet speaks to us in proud and comforting * jues,
across the troubled abyss of two thousand years, shows us what wondrous things have been done in the past,

■■I

^,.- .-wapaTa..^;.=^^^

aiammmmimm

ill:

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

points with kiiullinti; eye to the future, and hids us be stronfj; and of ^ooA comfort, for all <;;ood thinfjs come
to those who know how to wait and how to endure and to work.

That this spirit of liherty in the Puritanic age found the hind too strait for her, and rose in her nii<^ht
and burst the too feeble bonds from her jjjrowing limbs, and whelmed kinj» and throne and lii<fli estate in one
common ruin, is not passing strange. Nor need we withholil our admiration from the men who did those
great things because we do not tind them perfect; nay, because they had many and grievous faults, if it be
that we think so. Let us imitate their devotion and their strength, and avoid, if we may use the term, their
narrowne.ss, bitterness and partial ignorance. The centre of an e.\tinct volcano is no place to look for the
green fields, the verdant pastures, the waving corn fields and vvoodland groves of a picturesque landscape.
No. There we see that mighty primeval forces liaye torn and .shattered antl heaved hither and thitlier the
ribs of the solid earth. We have no beauty, then, except it be the appalling beauty of sublimity. So with
the Puritanic age. In this terrible epoch of national upheaval we need not look for the milder and softer
aspects of humanity. Enough for us that at that time the hidden fire could no longer be re.strained, but
that it broke forth ami cast the fragments of unworthy autiiority in a lurid shower towards an offended
heaven, and that henceforth the dwellers about the mount of liberty could abide in safety. Let us be
thankful for the mission entrusted to these men; let us be thankful for the strength and daring with whicli
they fulfilled that nussion ; and let us be thankful that tho.se things happen not in oui day, but that we are
reaping the good result of what they accomplished.

THE IM ERIC AN PUKJTAN.

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

I-^TNG JAMES I. WHS not, taken all in all, a bad sort of man; at all events lu' <li(l not mean to be. Rut he
^^ was very tar Iroiu beiuijf a ij;o(nl kini;. In tact, he had so many (lualities whieh <i;o to untit a man for
the kingly otHce, that it was very unfortiuiate, humaidy speaking, that I'rovidence ever threw it in his
way. There was nothing about King James which was positively not nice, as there was about many of the
Stuarts. In a way, he was respectable. Me had a loyal and atlectionate soul — what there was of it — and was
too true to worthless an.l incompetent friends. He was, in a sense, a scholar — that is, if a pedant can ever be
called a .scholar. In things whieh were not eminently and lit rally practical, and which lie beyond the reahn of
common sense, he had a great deal of coininon sense. He k'.ew all there was to know, ami a great deal more,
about witches and the powers of the unseen world in pct^v details. He wrote books in elucidation of these
subjects ; and, as he got a great deal of credit for them, no doubt they were very good books — of their kind.
They treated of the causes, origin, historical development, ciiaracteristics, methods, detection and puni-^hiiient
of witches. He provided for the spiritual welfare of his people, according to his light. Having seen the
Scriptures thoroughly translated and revised, and dedicated to himself, as we all read in our Bibles, and
having ordained th.it ail should worship after the methods of the Kstablished Ohurch, his Judgment and
conscience were in tliese matters at rest. He thought that he had done his duty well, never thiidiing that
probably, in the light of the circumstances, he had overdone it. James had, almo.st in a perfect degree, that
phase of intellectual weakness which runs to details and exteriors. He did not, and could not, understand
that the Knglish people, that is, many of them, had passed from iletail and exteriors into a mighty inner
experience and self-consciousne.s.s. In fact, he knew nothing generally of the trui> inwardness of things. The
lately annised con.science of the English people was not to be controlled by petty legislation of an) kiml or
sort whatever. A pigmy is ridiculous as tin; ruler of giants, and such was King James. The people, that is,
the thinking part of them, knew well enough that no form or method was necessary to the projier worshij) of
Uod. James thought that it was, simply Ijjcause he thought .so. Ami he thought it an unreiwonable thing

CAPE liRHTOX ILLUSTRATED.

that the people did not think as he did. The people knew that it had been said, " They that worship God
must worshi]) Hiin in spirit and in truth," and they concluded that this injunction precluded all form ; or at
lenst, that no one had a right to dictate any form. They on their part did not understand that we can
worship God according to a form, and still worship Him in spirit. Their position with regard to form,
as form, was altogether illogical, for they had forms of their own, and stuck to them with unflinching
tenacity, as the king, hi his weak way, did to his. All things earthly must have form. Form, in its highest
and best sense, is the unconscious expression of the spirit. Form is no creator, but spirit is ; form is a result,
not a cause ; it is merely a form and species of language — it is not the life, the soul, the spirit, the genius of
which language is but the expression. If the spirit is right, the form must be all right, and the prayers of the
E[)iscopal Church are all right, both in form and spirit. Probably those who refused to use them in the time
of King James riover asked themselves the question whether they were right or not. To their minds the
king had no right to legislate on the subject, and so they left it ; and hence were persecuted, and some of them
betook themselves out of the land, and went to Holland. But they expected more, both in Holland and
England, than they were willing to concede to others, as .soon as circumstances gave opportunity to prove
them. It was their idea to worship God as they pleased, and make others, and persecute in their turn all who
refused to conform to their way. But if those early Puritans did not consider whether the Episcopal service
were right or not, their descendants have apparently been giving the .subject some consideration, and have
reversed the judgi.^ont, or rather liave made up a judgment where their forefathers had not even considered
the- case ; for a largo part of the Episcopal service is to-day read or sung in many of the churche.s of New
England. And the members of those churches are the lineal descendants of tho.se who made

"Tlie .soumlinr; aisles of the dim wood ring '

With tliu antiioius of tlio free."

Those prayers and this service are not the property of the Episcopal Church alone ; much of this service, and
many of those prayers, belong to times long before the lleformation. They are Uie legacy of British Christian
worship and Chiistian experience. We fail to realize, except from unac(iuaintance with them, how any man
that knows his innermost m.'eds, and the mcanin" of lanjiuage, should fail to n^^ognize and acknowledge the
beauty and simple sublimity of those expressions of devotion and supplication. Why .should we not use

hip God
1 ; or at
we can
to form,
flinchin«f
highest
a result,
enius of
irs of the
the time
linds the
; of them
land and
to prove
n all who
il service
and have
onsidered
of New

rvico, and
Christian
any man
ledge the
e not use

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF MARGAREE VALLEY.

THE AM ericas: PURITAN.

those prayers ii' we see fit, or anything else that says for us simply, concisely and beautifully what we all
ought to say ? The onlj' difference between John Knox's prayer-book and that of Edward the Sixth is that
the latter is much sweeter and more mellow, with the richness, the crimson and golden ripeness, the Christian
culture of the centuries. But the age and the character of James 1. were not for the appreciation of strong
and sturdy and independent minds — of honest and hard-working and earnest craftsmen who feared the
Lord and talked often one to another, and whom the Lord heard, and wrote a book of remembrance for them,
and fijave to them to be the founders t.nd fathers, the framers and sTuides, the educators and formers of
character in a mighty realm beyond the sea, dipping its broad wings, one in the misty Atlantic, and the other
in the blue waters that wash the Golden Gate of the West.

We are told that near Boston, in Lincolnshire, England, there were certain grave and well-reputed men
to whom the ceremonies of the Established Church were an offence. They secretly met at the house of one of
their number, a Mr. Brewster, for the purpose of worshipping in their own way. But their secret meetings
were betrayed to the authorities, and their lives were made bitter by the persecutions which they endured.
Their sympathies became entirely divorced from the king and the government, but they were Englishmen
and loved their native land, and were loath to leave it. Many were the heart-burnings and strivings of spirit
among thenu They were much under the influence of Mr. Robinson, their counsellor and pastor. At length,
so unendurable has life become, that it is determined to go to Holland, that refuge of those who were
persecuted for righteousness' sake — that land whose primitive tribes, defended by wood and marsh, had never
owned the yoke of pagan Rome, whose citizens, now educatcf! and taught in ways of thrift and ii telligence
and freedom, had, after suffering unspeakable horrors at the hands of the merciless Spaniard, in whose heart
there slumbered a demon in human passion, had built and beautified a little republic which has been the
asylum of the oppressed, and a centre of art and learning for tbe last two centuries.

But the sailing for Holland was not easilj' accomplished. They were watched by the authorities, and
their movements had to be maile in secret. At length a Dutch shipmaster is found who is willing to convey
them to their place of refuge, provided they can be got on board. The ship waits at an unwonted spot, and
they are on the sands ready for embarkation. But suddenly dragoons are seen spurring across the sands.
Some are hurried off and others are captured and remitted to prison to teach them not to do .so again. In the
confusion the members of some families have been separated, and women are heard bewailing the loss of their

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

little ones. The Dutch skipper, we are told, swears his national oath, " Sacramente," wei{,'hs his anchor and
puis to sea with his forlorn freight. Arrived in Holland they are joined in time by their relatives and
companions, who have been liberated and find their way singly and by stealth to their friends. In their new
home they work with patient industry at their various handicrafts, and soon earn the reputation of doing
honestly and effectively whatever they profess to do. They are remarked by the authorities as men God-
fearing and worthy, and fit to be followed as examples of good citizenship. But still they feel themselves to
be in a foreign land. Here they can call nothing their own ; and these men are too forceful to be merged
into forgetf Illness and to lose their nationality among the Dutch. The spark of English life, twinkling thus
upon the unromantic shore of Holland, was not destined to be extinguished. It was fated to be led across the
western deep, the guiiling star of millions who should follow in its train, and there to blaze forth in an
inextinguishable flame and enlighten a continent.

The instinct of nationalit} was strong within the pilgrim heart. They could not bear the thought that they
should lose their independent existence. But already their sons and daughters were forming alliances which
threatened this result. They hear of new homes being made by Englishmen beyond the western wave, where
they may be safe from persecuting king and law, and frame laws of their own, and lead what life conscience
approves. Bidding adieu to their Dutch friends, from whom they receive parting words of commendation,
they re-embark for England, and being joined by others, they are to sail in two little ships for America.
One of them being lost, they are all crowded on board the remaining one, the Mayflower. Standing on the
shore, ready to embark, they kneel down and ask the Clod of the exile and the stranger to go with them and
to be their God, and their strength and counsellor. Out upon the gleaming sea lies their ship, her impatient
sails flapping in the morning wind as if in haste to convey her faithful burden to its new and high destiny.
The fate of the New World, perhaps much of the destiny of the whole world, is borne over the waters in that
quaint little ship. She is sorely buffeted by winds and waves as she slowly struggles westward, but holds
steadily on through wind and tempest, the ark of faith and uprightness and freedom. On their voyage the
passengers begin to bethink themselves of their new home, and how and in what manner they are to be
(Toverned. As the thought of rule and order and decent life is ever present with them, they think it behoves
them to draw up a form which shall be to them a fortn of law and justice of life. We are told there are
certain licentious persons on board, who thrcatLU to do as they see fit. in their own eyes when they get on

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

lor and
ves and
eir new
if doing
en God-
ielves to
merged
ing thus
jross the
;h in an

,hat they
es which
^e, where
jnscience
mdation,
America,
ig on the
,hem and
mpatient
I destiny,
■s in that
)ut holds
pyage the
are to be
behoves
,here are

ixet on

shore — and there have been many of like mind since, who have gone seeking a wider field for license among
their descendants. They draw up a constitution in the cabin of the Mayflower, which they all sign, and
appoint one John Carver to be their governor. At length they near the coast of America, but ac a point
much farther north than they had hoped, in con.sequence of contrary winds. It was the middle of November
when they cast anchor in the waters of Cape Cod Bay. What i prospect was this 1 A frowning sea and sky,
a rocky and sterile .shore, scanty means of subsistence, the wintry heavens for a canopy — this wa,s their new
home. Besides, the master of their ship is impatient; he has not u'lde much monej' by their adventure and
he threatens to put them on shore and leave them if they decide not quickly where to go. But how do the
poor souLs know where to go ? It is all alike to them — homeless and dreary and pitilessly cold. Day
after day they coast about the rough, inhospitable .seas, if happily they may find .some spot a little kindlier
than the rest, upon which to .shelter their little ones. The sea dashes its spray over their boat, and they
are mercilessly drenched and frozen, and resemble, we are told, " men cased in armour." At length they are
almost forced to land in a little bay rather more sheltered than elsewhere, and step out upon a rock known
now as the " Pilgrim's Rock," inscribed with the birth-date of New England, 1620; and, except for the high
hearts and deep faith of these men, it is a weak and .sorry and comfortless ushering into life. These men
have for the present nothing but themselves — nothing but what their descendant, the kindly and sympathetic
singer of humanity, has sung,

"Heart within and God o'erhead."

They kneel again to Him who has led them thus far on their way, and thank Him for His protection,
and ask that His strength may be theirs ; and the bleak northern sea, and strand, and wood hearken with
wonder, and seem to grow warmer and ruddier and kindlier, as they listen to the strange and strong outburst
of praise, which proclaims that they have been captured in the name of Him who holds the sea in the hollow
of Hi.s hand, and who counts the nations as a very little thing. The first thing the.se men do is to sing and
give thanks to God, and the New Englanders have ever since always gone to God with their national
perplexities and joys and sorrows, and they have not been turned empty away.

Having landed, they proceeded to provide what shelter they could to protect themselves again,st the
ungenial climate. In the meantime piany of them .sickened, and not a few died from exposure and inadequacy

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

of food. But tlie building of their little town went on. They found that nineteen houses would contain
their diminished mmbers, and these they built. Significant among them was a structure larger than the
rest. This was beneath a church, and above a fort mounted with four little cannons. Indians were near,
and the instinct of the Puritan was not towards conciliation, but defence and resistance. The mildness and
magnanimity of Penn found no place among them. With them was Miles Standish, with visage bronzed and
gnarled by many wars, though with softer possibilities within his dauntless breast, as the romantic traditions
of the colony love to remember with a smile ; he was their military leader, and it was not long ere the rattle
of his musket .startled the forest with the first echo of that hideous strife, which ended only when ^lontreal
surrendered to Amherst. The tale of the Indian wars is a horrible recital from first to last, and is enough of
itself to show that the New England settlers on the frontiers had come through i terrible ordeal of endur-
ance and determined resistance.

Before spring, nearly half their number had succumbed to the exhausting conditions of their existence,
and had found graves in the wilderness. Still they hoped and struggled on and endured. The next summer
brought them a new relay of colonists, and they were sorely taxed to feed them during the following winter.
Such, however, was the desire for freedom, and such the impetus given to emigration and enterprise, that
colonists .soon arrived in large numbers. Eight years after the settlement of Plymouth was formed the
colony of Massachusetts Bay, which proved to be the most important cen*^^re in New England. Sixty years
after the landing at Plymouth, the population of New England was estimated to be forty thousand, and there
were within a radius of thirty miles, with Boston for a centre, thirty or more respectable towns and villages.

While drafting their constitution in the cabin of the Mayflower, we are told that they dutifully acknowl-
edged King James, but left no very large place for his authority. They called themselves Englishmen, as did
their descendants until the time of the Revolution. The colonists always based their complaints of
encroachments of the royal power upon the fact that they were Englishmen. And so they were. The laws
and customs and modes of procedure prevalent in England they adopted among themselves as far as was
convenient. They had a charter from the king allowing them to 'choose their own governor, and to make
what regulations they saw fit for the management of their own affairs. They considered themselves in some
sense dependent upon the mother country, but in what sense or degree it would be impossible at any time in
their history to say. In a real and substantial sense they had the rights of Englishmen ; the bond which

TO MY GANE BILLY'S PORTRAIT.

Oh ! my twin-brother
Ne'er shall another

Caress me or bless me

So fondly as thou ;
Ne'er was that loving e'e
E'er kent to frown on me,
Meekness and truth mark'd thy clear manly brow.

When thou wer't in darkness laid

Wrapp'd in thy Jenny's plaid

An' a her dark tresses laid on thy breast

Lonely an' comfortless

Reft o' a' happiness
Oh, how she longed to share in thy rest !

Years noo have come and gone

Still I am sad and lone.

And I " fade like acloud that hasoutwept its rain."

'Tis life that divides us

I'path will unite us,
Then oh, how I'll cling to my Billy again !

i8go.

Fa+her time, of hoary age,
Appears again upon life's stage,
Withdraws old eighty-nine from view
As ninety makes his grand debut ;
And shouts his prologue to the world
Mid din of bells, and flags unfurled.

Hear our youthful king's ovation.
His promises to every nation ;
He speaks of ending Ireland's ills,
Repeal eviction and coercion bills,
Give back to Ireland national life.
And equal laws to end its strife.

Why should our brethren weep and cower

■ Neath the sad abuse of power?

(God grant ere vengeful thoughts grow strong

And Ireland avenge its hated wrong :)

Ah! from the gulf of gloom Hope's silvery rays

Give a redeeming trace of better days.

Points to the land of the Sitting Sun,
And the mighty brotherhood in one ;
He frowns on " trusts " and combination,
Flavors equal rights and emigration —
The blending of all human kind
In one grand universal mind !

Talks of a " Fraternal Union "
O'er the Almighty's vast dominion ;
In the millennivim era, thi» may be.
When the angel stands on earth and sea.
With uplifted hand the world o'er.
And swears that thne shall be no more.

■^P

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

and it was contented, with a secondary place. The people were brought into direct contact with Divine
authority as they understood it, antl considered themselves more or less absolved from obedience to secular
authority as such ; hence one can easily understand how that a body like the British Parliament, which had
persecuted their fathers, as they thought, and driven them into exile, would be viewed with disfavour by the
New Englander. Hence the feeling subsisting between the authorities at home and the government of New
England was never that of cordiality. On the part of the colony, the feeling was one of distrust and
jealousy ; on the part of the English, that of haughty indifference, accompanied by an ignorance of the true
state of affairs in America. These feelings were not improved as time went by, but kept intensifying as the
relations between the two governments became more and more complicated. There was yet on the part of
the Americans no distinct desire to resist the home government as such ; at least, it had not yet emerged into
consciousness, neither was there a disposition on the part of the Parliament to oppress, but the practical result
was the same as if both those intentions actually existed. There was always more or less of friction and
lack of mutual confidence. The troubled state of affairs in England during the seventeenth century served
to aggravate the feeling of unrest in America. The echo of the terrible conflict in England had come loudly
across the Atlantic and filled men's minds with fear and unrest. The great body of the colonists were no
doubt in sympathy with those of like principles in the mother counti-y who were now engaged in a conflict
which their de,scf;ndants were destined to fight over again in little more than a century. Still it may well be
(|uestioned whether they were much gratified or assured by the tremendous victory of the Parliamentary
party, as it represented a terrible power which they might well know had them aKso at its mercy. Some
loyal men there were who trembled for the fate of the king and the royalist party. One of them speak.s of
the ' Scot;,, iorty thousand strong, hovering like a dark cloud on the northern border," and augurs no good
therefrom for the party of the king. The colonists sent ostentatiously loyal addresses to Cromwell and his
son Richard, and then again, as fitted the turn of events, to Charles II. One might easily question the
political worth or sincerity of these addresses. They are probably nothing more than public documents.
Cromwell, however, seemed well disposed to the colonies, as he was to everything English and making for
English power after he had control of it himself. He sent Colonel Sedgwick, one of his officers, to Acadia
with a detachment of troops, who soon drove the French out of that region.

Two of the regicides, after the Restoration, found a fitful a.sylum in the colonies. Even here they were

w \

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

.'19

not safe. Warrants were out against them, and they were clandestinely hurried about from place to place by
their few friends to escape capture and death. For a year or two they slept in a cave in a wood in the State
of Rhode Island. They still hoped that .some turn in affairs would restore them to their friend.s. But they
hoped in vain. They died, both of them, in the land of their exile. They had .some secret correspondence
with their friends, and a letter from the wife of one of them breathes a spirit of intense devotion and piety.

So matters went on in the colonies until the vacating of the charter of Massachusetts Bay in the reign
of Charles II. The original charter of the colony was annulled, and Massachusetts from lienceforth was to be
not a colony, but was to be constituted into a province of iingland. This act was done on the part of the
authorities at home, from the belief that the colony had not buen su-Hciently under the control of Parliament.
The people viewed the vacating of their charter with dismay and apprehension, and well they miglit. The
government of Charles II. was no government from which to look for much that was good. Their old charter
was gone, which gave almost everj'thing and exacted but little ; and tliey knew not what was to take its
place. At length, after long waiting, the charter of the new province arrived, and was borne with much state
and ceremony to the council chamber. It was not so bad as might have been expected. It was not so
liberal in its provisions as the old charter had been, but then that was not looked for ; and the genera! feeling
was one of relief and satisfaction. Under the new regulations they were not allov.-ed to choose their own
governor ; and this gave rise very soon to serious complications which were not at first foreseen. The salary
of the governor had to be voted by the council, and they steadily refused to make a fixed appropriation.
They merely voted hiui an allowance year by year, and this allowance, precariou<i as it was, was also .some-
times deemed to be insufficient. This power of controlling the salary of a governor whom they had not
appointed, and who was often out of sympathy with them, was a constant source of friction and irritation,
and often caused a dead-lock in the government of the colony. The council frequently refused to vote any
salary for the governor until such time as he had given his a.ssent to some measure which was distasteful
to him. In circumstances like these, it is easy to see that new elements of di.scord had been brought into the
relationships subsisting between England and her province.

Again, as the trade and industries of the colonies began to develop, these were looked upon with a jealous
eye by the merchants of the Old Country, who wished to monopolize the trade of the colonies to themselves.
They had no natural right to the trade of the colonies. It would be difficult to say upon what right of nature

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

the}' based their assumption. se a man lived in Massachusetts, that was no reason why he should not

have been allowed to make, anu ay, and sell, and manufacture as he pleased — that is, so far as any nautral
law is concerned. The English, in obedience to their maritime instincts, had aligned their colonies on the
Atlantic shore ; and very .soon they had extended their commerce in many directions and were beginning to
own many vessels and to engage extensively in the fisheries. Very soon laws were passed by the Parliament
forbidding vessels to carry freight from one colony to another, and prohibiting foreign trade with any country
excepting England. The British Empire legislates not so insanely now. The people were forbidden to
manufacture everything except the coarsest home-made cloth, and in despite went about clad in hodden-grey.
The iron manufacture was prohibited — a nail for a horse-shoe, as has been said, could not be made in America.
One writer says they were like the Israelites when the Philistines prohibited all the smiths, instruments of
iron and the like. All this sounds very ridiculous, of course, and one can hardly believe it is true; but they
are the serious and decorous facts of history for all that. The commercial enterprise of the people could, of
course, not be repressed, and smuggling and evasion of law and corruption of coinmercial morality were the
inevitable result. Perhaps a good deal of what we consider as Yankee indirectness of dealing comes down to
us from this period.

It was impossible but th these unnatural strictures upon trade and commerce .should produce wor;e

complications than any whicii ^d hitherto existed. That the endeavour to administer such laws among
such a people, would sooner or later re;. .1 a crisis, was inevitable. Every tree in the woods over two feet
in diameter was reserved by law as a mast for the King's navy. This was an important branch of business.
The sailing of the mast-.ships for England every year, generally under convoy, was quite a colonial event.
But people often stole the.se trees, and cut them up for logs ; and there was not much wonder. The Imperial
and Provincial interest touched at no one point where there was not irritation and contention. One almost
wonders that such a state of things should have existed at so recent a date in the world's history among
Engli.sh-speaking people. No doubt there were faults, many and grievous, on both sides. Mutual recrimination
is needless. The only sensible thing to do is to admit the unpleasant facts and to profit by experience — that
is, in the first place, to sweep into oblivion all national animosity and antipathy which has descended to us as
an inheritance alongr with these facts.

As long as the Americans were in need of British power to protect them from their enemies, or rather to

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

uld not
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ial event.
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y among
imination
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destroy the power of their enemies, there was naturally a desiro on their part to look for assintance to the
mother country. The more immediate quarrels were partially hushed by the common danger which
threatened America and England alike. No doubt the colonists at least considered themselves loyal to Britain
as long as the strife lasted. They did not then realize how disloyal to British power they had become. Yet
even in the noise of the conflict the jarring voice of jealousy is often heard. Even when they fought in the
same ranks there was no real concord between the Impei'ial and Provincial forces, neither among officers
nor soldiers. The tough, burly English soldier, and the eijually tough and leaner American soldier, did not
amalgamate ; it was not natural that they shou'M They did not know enough, either of them, to admire
each other as companions; and probably there was not very much about either one of them to udmire as a
companion. And among the officers it was still worse ; for they were oftener brought into contact, and there
was more at stake in their relationships with each other than in the case of the common soldiers. The English
officer looked upon his American brother as a man of no lineage nr manners. Very often this was true, for
frequently the colonial officers were chosen for reasons expedient and necessary, as being most popular with
the men, or something of the sort ; for popular feeling was an untoward element and had to be humoured.
Even when an American officer was chosen for his competency or his fighting (lualities, it was not probable
that tho.se qualities as developed in an American would commend themselves to the admiration of ati
average Englishman. The American would, on his part, resent the air of calm superiority a.ssumod by the
Engli.shman, and would regard him as a usele.ss encumbrance who didn't know how to tight. Ar.d for the
most part this was true. The English soldier did not know how to tight in the woods, and in consetjuence
often brought disaster upon himself and the American at the same time. Even Washington, while engaged
in the colonial wars, often complained of the ungracious manner in which he had been treated by his English
allies.

So there was misunderstanding and bitterness of feeling in every department : in the departuient of civil
government, of commercial relatioaships, and of military aflfairs; and the prospect cowards an amicable
adjustment of the difficulties was well-nigh hopeless.

The capture of LouLsburg gave to the New England colonies a prestige which they never before possessed.
Their success in Cape Breton was as important as it was .surprising and unexpected. It was the only victory
of importance gained by Britain in the war, and enabled her to purchase a peace barely honourable by its

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

'-•'.

relinquishment to the French. This was now a national achievement. It taujjht the New Enrjlanders
somethinfif of their own strength. The blood of the younic giant had surged for the first time through his
veins, and he awoke as it were from i trance and stretched his limbs and began to measure with his eye his
destined opponent, and to meditate where he should strike next. There was more than one prophetic eye who
saw in the fall of Loui.sburg the independence of the American colonies. There was a deep and half-uttered
feeling that, once they were freed from the incub\is of French power in America, their next movement must
be for their own independence. All this was publicly deprecated — protestations of loyalty were louder and
more elaborately prepared than ever. Probably they were ashamed of the feeling them.selves, and were sorry
that fate had in store for them a destiny apparently so ungracious. But the inexorable nature of things
swept them onwards, and there was no eluding the natural development of time and circumstance.

Then the giving back of Louisburg to the French added an additional element ot bitterness to their cup.
All their efforts had been in vain ; their blood had been spilt for naught, and hundreds of their youth had
sickened and died beneath the walls of Louisburg. All these things were apparently lightly valued by the
government at home, and their conquest had been regarded, to their minds, as of no account. Besides, their
fisheries and their commerce were in more danger than ever. Louisburg was now stronger than ever it had
been, and would be a continual thorn in their side. What need of attachment to a power apparently unable
to retain what they themselves had conquered ?

Upon the second fall of Louisburg there was again a feeling of jealousy that all the glory upon this
occasion had fallen to British troops, and that they themselves had had no .share in it. They had done as
much as this already, jind besides, they now have no more than their due. Thej- were no better off" than
they had been thirteen years before by their own exertions. In short, the Americans were not in a humour to
be pleased with the British Government. They reviled its reverses and mistakes, and were envious of its
successes. So goes it with human nature when it refuses to be pleased.

The French power in America is now crushed — the colonists have no^w a breathing space in which to
look about them and realize their situation. After a century and a half of v and almost unintermittent

war, they come out of the struggle a nation of hardy soldiers. Their valov endurance has been tried,

and they know that they have not been found wanting. The sword is .sheati. at it moves in its scabbard

at the sound of the word " Liberty." And they feel that they are not free. 'i. y know that they have not

.-•.•.

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

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ermittent
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been dealt with according to the law of nature ; and they will not now, in the consciousness of their strength,
submit to any other law. An ^. we have seen that they have had little cause to love, or perhaps even to
respect the acts of the nation, even though it be their mother who has dealt with them so harshly, according
to their lights. Their safety as colonies being now assured, they next begin to think of their safety as
freemen, and the distraction of foreign war being past, they have now time to think of the less imminent
but equally formidable dangers which threaten them. The permanent feeling of independence, which has
been present among them since their forefathers stepped upon Plymouth Rock, now returns with redoubled
force and vehemence ; and though not ready to strike against the land which gave them birth, they are
determined to submit to no encroachments on their rights as men.

But this is the very time that the Parliament in its view thinks it just and necessary that such encroach-
ments, as the Americans deem them, be made.

And in a sense the Parliament was right — the mother country had no call upon it to defend the colonies
for nothing. She had spent money and blood and valour in defence of these people, ar.d it appeared natural
that in some way they should pay for it. The people of Britain were taxed heavily enough to defray the
expenses of these wars ; why should not America bear part of the burden ? The Americans reply that they
are not represented in parliament, and consequently it is not constitutional that they should be taxed. So,
to their resolve, there is no medium between taxation and nor -representation. They are not represented,
and they never asked to be. It was at that time impracticable, as probably it would still be. We have
never seen that representation in the British Parliament was as much as conceived of at that time, as it has
been in our modern theories of Imperial Federation. To the American mind, representation was inconceiv-
able, and taxation was, therefore, unjust and impossible, and this virtually meant separation, and that is what
they wanted. What national bond could there be between the two countries, if there wero not to be taxation
on the one side and representation on the otlier ( We should merely have the spectacle of two countries
working automatically and independently of each other ; and by what natural right could the people of one
country call upon the other to assist in their defence, except by virtue of a treaty oH'ensive anil defensive '.
The relative position of Britain and her colonies was new to the world. There was no precedent by which
The Romans taxed their provinces with a high and exorbitant hand, and no one dared to ask

to go,

iTi'T*.

f-^ l TT i - ---r-1

CylP£ BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

ill

P' 1

ijuestions. But here was a new political problem to be solved, and the Americans meant to solve it by
separation.

Had the Parliament had its wiy, gross injustice wouM have been done. We should have had the
spectacle of a people restricted and almost paralyzed in trade, and at the same time taxed to support the
Imperial Government, in which they had no representation. And no one now pretends that such a condition
cou'd be anything but enslaving to the minds of men of English training. Except as a field in which the
English merchant could trade as a monopolist, Britain had no financial advantage in retaining the colonies.
The Parliament was unable to force this result, so Britain lost nothing by the separation. The Americans
needed nothing from the mother country but defence, and, after that had been given, and their safety from
foreign encroachment had been secured, there was nothing remaining but loyalty which could form a bond
between them, and loyalty to England had not been a prevalent sentiment amofig the Puritans from the
first — that is to say, loyalty to English authority. The very boast which the Americans made that they
were Englishmen, and which they used in defence of their argument, they urged as a reason why they
.should not obey the Parliament of England. They constantly admitted, in a vague sort of way, the aiithority
of the Parliament, but practically tliey denied it. They had adopted English laws, it is true, because they
came to them traditionally, and because they were the best laws that could be devised, and cost nothing.
They obeyed no law for the reason that it was an enactment of parliament, as the Englishman at home did, but
merely becau.se it suited their case. In fact, the American was in the position of many men before and since
who are not conscious of the spirit in which they obey a law or yield obedience to anything until they are
brought to the test. Our motives, until they are called in question or come up for analysis, are hidden from
us ; in fact, they may be said not to exist at all until created by the character of events. The moti^'e takes
form and substance under the moulding conditions of circumstance. As the posture of events changes, so
does the motive. The same motive that caused the Pilgrim Fathers to leave Holland, and we are told that
that was the instinct of separation, was doubtless present to the American mind all along their history, but
it is not at all probable that it came home to them with full force and significance until circumstances gave
it development. They were really separatists from the first ; they had left England, at all events, that they
might be free from law in a certain sen.se — from any law but their own — and it was natural that this
instinct was always present with them ; and that it was over-borne oi put out of sight only at times when a

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

ry-

common danger, or rather their own danger, drew them nearer to Britain. Indeed, it is difficult to see what
natural right the English king had over the American colonists. They, of course, got a charter from the
king, but why was it necessary ? We presume because Britain claimed and owned the territory upon which
they settled. But the Indians owned the land too, and were indeed the natural and rightful owners. It
may be said that the territory was under the protection of parliament. So it was. But if being under the
protection of parliament implied active defence, if it were necessary, and if defence implied expense, and
expense taxation, and taxation representjxtion, the latter should have been the first thing proposed ; but that
was impossible under the conditions. And so the tie which bound the colonies to England had no substance
or significance from the first. The intelligent, uisinterosted portion of English society had no interest in the
Revolutionary War. The king, the ministry for the most part, the mercantile interest, and the tough, burly
ignorance and adhesiveness of the common people were the forces which went to make up the party who
were determined to conquer America and failed.

The colony of Massachusetts, and especially the town of Boston, took the lead in opposing ministerial
authority. This, from causes already indicated, was natural. Boston was the centre of the oW puritanical
element in America, and, from its frequent intercourse with the Old Country, came often into contact with the
authority of parliament. We have all heard of the Boston Tea Party, and the Boston Massacre, and the
shutting up of the port of Boston, and the revolutionary struggle begun in the vicinity of the town — nay,
it may be said in the town itself. Tea imported into England at that time was chai'ged a shilling a pountl
duty ; this sent to Boston was only charged threepence. In reality, therefore, the English people wisre
paying at the time nmch higher taxes than it was proposed to lay upon the Americans, and those very taxes
were levied to pay the expenses of the war which had rendered the colonies safe from French encroachment.
So it was an unfortunate situation for all concerned. In the sense of absolute right, the Americans should
have borne part of the Imperial burden. It is true hat New England had always been heavily burdened
with her own defence all through the French and Indimi wars, but they had been reimVmrsed for their expense
in the Cape Breton expedition to the amount of £187,000 sterling. The various Briti.sh expeditions to Canada
cost millions of money, and the Americans, in a sense, reaped the benefit of it. They accepted the defence,
and then turned about and said virtually to the ministers, " We have no further need of you ; good day to
you, gentlemen." The facts, just as they stand, look very much like a piece of national sharp practice. Of

rsr%

CA PE BRE TON ILL US TEA TED.

hi I

course, they were not in reality so, but apart from circumstances they look like it. The Boston Tea Party
was, to put it mildly, a very prompt and decided movement, and the Bostonians went to the party quite as soon
as, if not before, they were invited by the circumstances. But Cousin Jonathan has a habit of not waitinfr till
there is danger of being late. The tea, taxed threepence a pound, while the English workman paid a shilling
to help pay for the powder burnt in v^efending his less needy American brother, might have stayed where it
was, or even might have been allowed to be landed. If the Americans feared the indigestible nature of that
tea, they needn't have bought it. But they didn't have representation, and they would drink no taxed tea.
No ! And they didn't want representation, and wouldn't have accepted it had it been offered. Supposing
they had had representation, and their representative had buffeted his way across the Atlantic to take his
seat in parliament, and supposing he had voted for the tax on tea, or voted against it and found himself in a
hopeless minority — what then ? Then we presume the tax would have been all right. No, but it would just
have been as wrong as ever. Representation would not have decreased, but certainly w^ould have enormously
increased, their taxation. And so they knew, and so, we repeat, they did not want it.

The words "Boston Massacre " have a tragic and pathetic sound. Let us explain them. An ill-feeling
had arisen between the soldiers quartered in Boston and the lower grades of the townspeople, as is often the
case in garrison towns. But this was not an ordinary ill-feeling arising from the fact that roughs and soldiers,
having a good deal of leisure on hand, must needs vary the monotony of existence by an occasional row.
This feeling against the soldiers was fermented by those who kept well behind tht scenes, and watched what
would come of it. And something did come of it, and was made the most of. After various preliminary
skirmishes, both soldiers and " townies " happening one night to be in a more than ordinarily belligerent
frame of mind, the mob made an assault with sticks, stones, snowballs, etc., upon the soldiers at the guard-
house, striking at the soldiers' guns, the virtuous street boy calling out, " Fire, you d lobster-backs !

You daren't tire!" and other playful expressions of American confidence. Finally, the soldiers did fire,
and killed four of the mob. Being at once taken into custody, they were tried and liberated, two of them
being branded in the hand. American historians admit that one party in this ati'air was as much to blaine
as the other. Yet these four rioters were followed to their graves by a procession more than a mile in length,
and buried with great pomp and circumstance. Upon their monument are inscribed the words of Samuel
Adams spoken upon that occasion : " From this night we date our Independence," or wonU to that efTect. All

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

[11 nary

trerent

ruarcl-

backs !

(1 tire,

f tliem

blame

length,
jamuel

b. All

these circumstances are significant, and go to show that the Bostonians were looking for something from which
to date tlieir Independence, and tliat underneath the rioting of the soldiers and civilians there lay something
deeper. The anniversary of the "Boston Massacre" was observed for some yeari as the natal day of the Ameri-
can Republic, until it was more worthily changed for the 4th of July. Such was the " Boston Ma.ssacre."

We have rehearsed to us a long list of arbitrary and oppressive acts of government against the inhabitants
of Massachusetts, of which the closing of the port of Boston was only one. But every one of these acts was
in response to some act of disobedience and contempt of authority on the part of the people. In relating one
it is but fair to relate the other. A school-boy relates his grievances without having the candour to explain
them, but men ought to have outgrown that practice.

The result of the struggle in the " War of Independence " is not difficult of explanation. The American
soldier, taken all in all, was a fitter man for the struggle than was the British soldier. In the first place, the
quarrel was his own, he was fighting for hearth and home, he had a better training as a bush fighter, and
probably was just as brave a man as his British antagonist. The British soldier gained little honour or glory
from the American War. He was for the most part poorly led, and he had no heart in the quarrel except to
do his miserable duty. At Concord and Lexington it was impossible for flesh and blood to do anything more
than they did — retreat in comparatively good order before a host of sharp-shooters gathering from all
(juarters, and picking them off from behind walls and fences, and trees and hedges, and other cover. The
Battle of Bunker Hill was more a massacre than was the affair that goes by that name. It is no easy task
(perhaps it is an unmilitary task), for less than 3,000 men to attempt to drive from their position 1,200
resolute men who are well entrenched, without attempting to make any diversion. Prescott said to his men,
"You are every man a marksman ; wait till you see the whites of their eyes, and then let them have it." And
they coolly rested their guns on their entrenchments, and did let them have it sure enough. But they came
on again and again, and British stubbornness won what no other men in the world could have won, and if
General Gage wasn't much of a general that day, he proved himself to be a splendid soldier. But what need
of talk ; let us have facts — unvarnished facts — from which to judge, so that we may understand how it all
went on ; and let us be glad that it is all past and gone. But the cool shooting of men, as it was done at
Bunkei' lill, partakes just as much of the nature of murder as it does of fighting. We hear much uf the
doings of the Constitution, that glorious frigate, "Old Ironsides." She was a ship of 1,653 tons, with a double

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

tier of guns, and was not, in the proper sense of the term, a " frigate " at all. The Americans have a way of
calling big things by little names. A log seventy feet long and fifteen inches in diameter is a " wharf peg."
This habit of speech comes, we imagine, from a certain loftiness of mind peculiar to them as dwellers in such
a big country. All things else are relatively small — except themselves. As a matter of fact, the Constitution
never fought a ship of more than a thousand tons, and she was a frigate, an English frigate — the Java. So,
we see that after all there was not so very much to talk about.

The people of the Old and New England respectively have not been in the habit of regarding each other
with much favour or justice, not to speak of sympathy, ever since the voyage of the Pilgrim Fathers. These
latter "dutifully acknowledged King James, but left no very large place for his authority." This expression
pretty accurately describes their feeling towards England all along their colonial history. And, as we have
seen, it was natural. Man, generally speaking, is natural — he is the result of time and circumstance. But
when we are so unfortunately situated that circumstances compel us to observe and to suffer by each other's
lower and meaner qualities, it is lamentable how unenviable we can mutually appear. It is something like,
only a great deal worse than, bringing into contact the negative poles of a magnet. It has been well said that
none are such bitter enemies as those who have once been fast friends. When brothers fight, they fight worse
than other people. They know so much about each other of which they can make a mean and unworthy use —
and the (juarrel is altogether so unnatural. Men in close relationship have to feel so bitterly before they can
(juarrel at all, that when the bonds of gooil fellowship are once broken, it follows as a matter of course that
they can hardly ever be the same to each other again.

The same sturdy spirit of resistance which was engendered in England at the time of the Revolution was
s't' tantially the same as that which brought about the independence of the colonies. It was all essentially
English ; and i-eligion, as developed in the English Puritan, was the prime factor in the result. Resistance,
pure and simple, was always instinctive with the Puritan everywhere. Anil it was not his fault — perhaps it
was not his misfortune. We might call it his glory if we liked, and not make a very Ijad use of language.
Such has been the unfortunate condition of things in this world, character can only be developed
by resistance. Our race has up to this time learned so little, that religion has been forced into a position
more or less negative. " Thou .shalt not," and " We will not," have been far more in use and want than " Thou
shalt" and "We will." Religion has been debarred from working in her own realm, and has in consequence

WATERS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

been misrepresented and traduced. Puritanism and all forms of resistance, no matter how justifiable and
how noble, are but the half of religion, and consequently, in a perfect sense, no religion at all ; for religion is
perfect according to the injunction, "Be ye therefore perfect." The "Sermon on the Mount," viewed merely
as a philosophical method of life, is perfect. But Puritanism breathes very little of the spirit of the Sermon
on the Mount. As long as we live in a resistant attitude, we are not truly and essentially religiou.s. This is
not to say that there were not among the Puritans many examples of a Christian life — men worthy and
God-fearing, the salt of the earth. But we do say that Puritanism as a political and national factor —
Puritanism as a unit — did not breathe the spirit of Christianity.

Men are not made without a struggle. The world is yet too crude and ignorant and uninformed to permit
them to be. And struggling implies enemies, and enemies imply evil, and evil begets evil ; and it is inevitable
in the struggle against evil that evil qualities must be developed. But Puritanism has produced mighty
results — it has built up the only two free nationalities on earth, the English and the American. The English -
speaking races are two centuries ahead of all other people in this respect. The monarchies of the continent
must either in their turn be revolutionized or destroyed and rebuilt before their political condition is thv
same as in England or America. In these two countries the people see a vast and unlimited territory of
freedom before them which the foot of man has never trod, and there is no impediment in the way of its
exploration and occupation. In Europe it is not so. Political barriers are in the way of the people which
must either be yielded or broken down before the path is clear for freedom.

What matters it, then, on which side of the Atlantic the spirit of freedom has been nurtured ? Why
should children of the same strong mother fight or misunderstand each other ? Can the West conjure more
potently than the East, or the East than the West ? No. With God's mighty wand of liberty in their hands,
they are equally powerful. Cornelia, placing her hands on the heads of her two sons, said, "These are my
jewels." So may freedom stretch forth her time-honoured hands across the mighty Atlantic, and place them
upon the heads of her giant sons, and bid them be reconciled in her name, and for the sake of all that she
has done for them ; reconciled, not only in form and in name, but in heart and in soul. For Freedom has done
much for her children— she has led them through ways of darkness and cruelty and blooa, and has conducted
them in safety and increasing strength and renewed youth into the light of these latter days. As the
centuries roll by in dismal conflict, we see her again and yet again, with ashen cheek and brow like the night-

~^*am

CAPJi BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

born Moera, han<;ing over the bloody bier of the best and noblest of her sons. Yet her eye of pride flashes
contempt upon her own agony, for sh sees in the future her own proud triumph ; she sees her priests clad in
mystic garb of liberty, circling about her altar, chanting their anthem of freedom, and the echo swells and
rises, and grows grander and more sublime until it is lost in the answering echo of that song -.vhose melody
shall melt the universe, and strike a thrilling, enrapturing love into every forlorn and wretched soul.

The Athenian Minerva, fresh sprung from the brow of Jove, equipped with helm and iiogis, looked far
and wide from the Acropolis over the ancient city of learning. The tirst rays of the rising sun were reflected
in splendour from her glittering crest. The mild beam of wi.jdom and philosophy has struck upon the rocky
shores of Greece, to be thence difl'used over Europe. But our guardian goddess surveys a wider and more
glorious scene. Far along and across the mighty deep, from continent to continent, from island to island, her
eagle glance sweeps round and round the world ; .she has girdled the earth with her zone ^f power. The
jewels in her belt are the mighty rocks which tower along the deep, as if flung into the sea by some primeval
hand to be the guardians of her future might ; and from these giant warders the voice of her power thunders
from sea to sea in an endless and sublime concert, and proclaims that man shall be no more a slave. The
plant of liberty, rooted in the soil of Britain, nurtured by happy dews and plenteous rains, made stately and
steadfast by storm and tempest, still spreads and grows with an ever-increasing exuberance of life. More
wide-spreading and beneficent than the banyan tree of the East, it has overarched continents and spanned
the mighty deep until four hundred millions of people tind .shelter under its beneficent shade. Let us thank
God that we are under the shade of its giant limbs. And being made free from the fear of man, let it bo
our ambition to be free from ourselves — free from the weakness and petulance and prejudice of a little and
circum.icribed life. It is not necessary, it is not wise, it is not good, that either Old or New England or
Canada should reitrain or circumscribe our sympathies or regard in these latter days of the earth. We should
have learned enou^^h by this time to have become citizens of the world. Insular prejudice is an unfortunate
thing. The Englishman has always been troubled with it, and wherever he has gone, he has carried it with
him. He is insular by temperament as well as by locality. His constitution is insular. The Saxon is an
insular man. He is not always of the finest tissue ; he is strong and masterful and overbearing. If he has
not too much self-esteem, he does not esteem others sufficiently ; in fact, he seldom seriously considers them
at all, except as curiosities, that, inasmuch and so far as they differ from him, are not of much account,

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

and
or
uld
niite
■with

It is not necessary to live on an island in order to be insular. We find little insular communities, of less
or prreater extent and significance, all over the country and all over the world. Anything which separates
a man from tho .sympathy of his fellowman renders him insular. It need not be the Straits of Dover; it
may be a hill or a bad road, or peculiar ideas about ancestry or religion, or a bad liver, or disappointment,
or envy, or jealousy, or pride, or a thousand and one other things. But whatever the cause, the result is
unfortunate. A man loses so much it does not pay. It warps the judgment, confounds the reason, deadens
the understanding, and hardens the heart. It is next thing to impossible for an insular man to learn; he
knows enough already. He will condescend to teach you, if so be ho takes that much interest in you, but you
can't teach him. The possibility of such a thing never occurs to him. Oh, no !

The New Englander, the descendant of the insular Puritan, and who has been insular all along, has not
got over it j'et. When the barrier which surrounds our prejudices is higher and stronger, and more unsightly
and impenetrable at one place than at any other, we may be sure that just there do we look the worst and
are the worst. The onlooker from the outside is doubtless inclined to laugh as he observes us crouching and
cramping our limbs in a fruitless endeavour to appear uixconscious and comfortable behind our sorry heap
of rubbish. Or, if he be a ^rie ] man, perhaps it hurts him to see us making deformities of ourselves, and he
persuasively represents, to the extent of his eloquence, how much better it would be, iesthetically and
practically, too, to come out of that and stand up straight, and be a man— to look things straight in the face,
and forget that we know anything, for none of us do know much ; and begin with a clean sheet and take
good notes, and form no irrevocable opinion until the clods rattle on our cofiin-lids.

The modern Englishman perhaps doesn't think much about New England for another reason than that
he doesn't think much about other folks — it doesn't come much in his way. He need not go to New England
for anything. He is pretty generally supplied with what he wants nationally, educationally and religiously.
Providence has been good to him in those things. And so he stays at home and becomes a cultured, though
.somewhat prejudiced, man. He sometimes gets books which the Germans, being more leisurely and patient than
he is, have written on theological criticism and remote science, and he goes to hear German music and see the
manliness and power of German painting ; and he drills his soldiers something like the Germans do. But for
strong, practical common sense and wide culture, and useful every-day scientific knowledge and mechanical
skill, and good, .sound sincerity of heart— for a clear understanding of the osteology of things, the Englishman

!f^

CAPE m^ It TON ILLUSTRATED.

need not go anywhere. His " tight little island " holds good store of all these things ; and, if he be not a man
of inagniticent proportions, we must remember that the world has aa yet seen no nationality of magnificent
proportions. Such individuals we have had now and then, God be thanked, or the world would not be what
it is; but no race or nationality has as yet been worthy of such a designation. The nearest approach to it
was made in ancient times liy the Romans, and in modern times — weii, in modern times by the Briton. And
the American Eagle is flapping his wings and poi.sing himself to sweep in the same direction. But his wings
must be pruned, lest he carry with him useless and retarding plumage.

If the Englishman is insular and prejudiced, so is his cousin the New Er?glander — that is, so far as his
regard to his mother country is concerned. The wall of his prejudice is more unsightly just at this point
than at any other. England, as England, the heart and scul of England, has never injured him any more than
he injured England. When we dislike any one, it becomes us to ask ourselves whether we have not first
injured and then disliked — that is, injured in thought, or sentiment, or opinion, or judgment. It is hard to
dislike where we see no cause for injuring. But, such is the pettiness of human nature, that we often feel or
act unkindly towards others, and in unconscious justification of ourselves we fall into dislike. This is of the
very essence of evil — to hate what we have hurt. And we are pretty certain the New Englander does not
give England fair play in his judgment or feeling. This prejudice is happily passing away — fading before the
dawn of a day of better things. The feeling between the two countries was not improved by the attitude
assumed towards the Northern States by too many of the English people during the late rebellion. We may
as well admit that it wa« unworthy and unjustifiable ; for so it was. Slavery is a thing against which the
British conscience should have warred as strenuously as did Farragut's guns or the rifles of Grant. And this
feol-ng against the Northern States was all the more inconsistent in a nation which had a quarter of a century
before liberated its own slaves, and paid £20,000,000 for their liberty. But it takes people and people to
make a country or a world. This unworthiness of sentiment was occasioned in large measure by the greed of
British merchants, who saw an opportunity of making money by running the blockade, and by the relics of
bitterness and jealousy which had been the legacy of the two wars in which the countries had been engaged.

YQung people are more apt to be vain than their elders, but they are not so proud, and so it is with
nations. Pride may have more respectability than vanity, but it is open to the danger of being a greater sin.
A young nation which has done great things may be pardoned for indulging in self-congratulation, and

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

rliffuseness and turgidness of national expression. But, or. the other hand, we ought to pardon the offended
pride of tlie nation J^t whose expense the most of this national repute was gained, and who knows that in
reality the victory over them was more in seeming than in fact. Pride is dark and silent, vanity is light and
expressive, and the two q'.'alities will not readily amalgamate. It is natural that a nation with a history of
two thousand years should be prouder than one whose years number little more than a century ; yet it must
be remembered that national pride, unless it be very high and noble national pride, and founded upon
justice and right, is little better than an unmitigated curse. No national pride is safe unless it be enshrined
in that inner sanctuary where is hidden the eternal law of the God of nations. Let us hope that both
English and Americans have, many of them, a true national pride ; and we know thej' have.

It is an unfortunate thing for a nation to be on ill-terms or out of .sympathy with the land that gave it
birth. It is like a man quarrelling with his mother. One loses so much. Many qualities which go to make
up the best part of the nature are crushed out of existence, or diverted into channels dissipating and
unworthy. " Pemember thy father and thy mother" is of great service to nations as well as to individuals.
And it cannot be said but that Britain is a worthy mother. There is none like her in the world. No British
subject, who is not a felon, would like to be separated in sympathy from his mother country. He would feel
as if half he had to live for would be struck from him at a blow. We are quite certain that Americans
would feel better, and be better, too, if they were in perfect sympathy with England, and if England were
worthy of the sympathy, as in great measure (greater than any other nation in the world) she is.

But the feeling between Great Britain and America has very much improved during the last quarter of
a century. The tone of the American press, and of American magazines and other publications, has bacome
much more candid and appreciative than it was twenty years ago, and this is a pleasant thing to see. The
American always protested before the Revolution that he was an Englishman, and based his claim of rights
upon the fact — and so he is yet. He may be, as Josh Billings would perhaps say, " An Englishman with a
slue." Had there been no Englishmen, there would have been no American, in any sense. Had there been
no England, with the long record of high devotion to duty, its indomitable perseverance, its dauntless courage
and faithful heart, there would be no America. " Blood is thicker than water," and though men of the same
race and lineage may (juarrel, yet when the worst comes to the worst and long before that, they will stick
together after all. Prejudice against England still remains ; in the centres of learning in New England there

mMH

CAPE IlRiriV.X ILLUSTKATED.

yet exists a good deal of silent and indirect prc'judic(3 iij^ainst Enj^lish systems and Enfrlish scholarship — -a
tenden-jj' to put out of sif^ht the thin<fs that are English, and to prefer other things which are not so worthy
instead — hut this will no doubt ho niitigati'd as the years go hy. Wo see Americans yearly becoming more and
more interested in considering the career and character of the me:, who have gone to make up l^nglish
history. We see them lingering with more and more of what shall er»\ long without doubt develop into
fondness, among the scenes which witnessed the development of their and our national life. And this is as it
should he. The beauty and richness of English landscapes, with their more significant richness of historical
association on account of the high deeds and noble character )f the makers of English history ; a
contemplative visit to the high and stately fanes where rest the y it living ashes of the brave, the gifted and
the true — who is not the richer and better for all these things / And who is not the worse, knowing that all
these things are there, and yet from prejudice or national nar iwness, or the remains of unworthj' feeling
that ought to find no j'iace in our time, (hither ignores them or turns coldly away to iind things which are
falsely presumed to be better, ))ut which are not. No oi >er country has more delightful vistiis of contemplation
in all the accessories of domestic scenes and domestic a.ssociation ; in no other country will you (ind as nuich
worth and seriousness and earnestness and reverence — so much order in .social, jiolitical, and in the higher and
nobler life — us in Kngland. There is less inhumanity, and more humanity iit Englarul than in an}- other
country in the world. The true value of an iiuicr and inspiring life, whether in the peasant or the peer,
Bunyan or Milton, Frances Ridli-y Havergal or llavelock, th<' l^airyman'.*^- Daughter or General (Jordon,
Ba: ter or Captain Vicars, McUheyne or Sir John Moore, has all been realized, and pondered over, and
delighted in, an<l taken to the heart aiid life among the English people. it is their best and dearest
inheritance, and forms a bond which .should unite us in a brotherhood stronger, and iii a sympathy deeper,
than words can tell : nay, which for y preciousness and .sacrodness and Hweetne.s,s, words would think
.shame to tell.

We do not hesitate to .say that tln^ remains of prejudice against England yet to be found in Now
England is largely the result of th.j survival of that old puritanical attitude of n^sistance which we havo
seen has been a neces.sary part of the .system. Such is the constitution of earthly things, that all character,
individual and national, must be develojied by resistance, lie who never resists is utterly worthless. 'I'here
must be no compronii.se between right and wrong, as it is conceived. Hut then' ought to come a time, and

\'K

/•///; AMERICAN rURITAN.

conso(iuently there docs come a time, wlien ^e>^i^tlulce finds no place even in human uHairs. We conceive
the historian, who shall live in more boni<i;nant times than ours, shall look hack witli awe and wonder upon
the age when nations crushed and man;^led each other, when wholesale murd' r was heroism, when the
arch-disintoj^rator and destroyer shadowed the earth with his Stygian witifjs. Arres iv^^o, when as yet, as far
as man was concerned, the earth was without form and void, there existed noisome ami pestiU^itial fens
where hideous monsters crawled and splur<jed, and crunchcil and nuimhled each other's hones in lazy and
serpent-eyed destructicm. So have the nations done. But let us hope for the dawn of a better era ; and let
us work for it, too, and s])eak for it, and n^joiee that we see, shimmeri?iL; on the horizon of humanity, a new
and wondrous li^ht which shall shine into the dark places of the earth and consume the hahitations of
cruelty.

There comes a time, we have said, in the coarse of human affairs, in which resistance finds no place,
ilesistance and misunderstandin<j i^radually meri^<? into sym])athy and apjjlieation. If any two nationalities
have api)roached this attitude at the present time, they are the Kn^^dish and American natior\s. There is no
real <;round of quarrel ; their interests, rifjjhtly viewed, do not conflict ; the time of lej»itimate resi.-tance has
passed, and we may now take time to measure antl appreciate each other's jrood qualitit's. All our national
streni^th and resources need not ho spent in watchini; each otlu-r — in yrindin-jj thc^ sword and feeiinjj^ its (mIi^jo,
and lookinjj; askance acro.ss the national frontier. if one-tenth of the iMierj^y expended in our day in
resistance were spent in reconcilement, we .should ere lonji; have the millennitim. It is wonderful how nmch
longer resistance is kept up than is necessary. Man seems curseil with a Iiellish inertia which hindiirs him
from ,st()i)pin<,' and think ioi,' and viewinif things in the ever-increasini,' lii^ht which heaven so lieni^nly sheds
\ipon him. JA't us desire a divine (piickncss, an excellent deftness, a heavenly cuiniin!.f, in tellin<^ our
neii,dihoiu's rede; let us covet an understandinir heart, and may .strength ami virtue he gianteil us to act up
to our knowledge.

In consistency with uli that we have sjvid respecting the character of the Puritan, it remains to he saiil
that from New Kngland has gon(! forth in great measure all that is most ailmirabh^ ami worthy in the
American character. Had there been no New lOngiaml, with its tale of high resistance and daunth^ss
struggle, there woidd have iieen no America such as it is. If it cannot lie saiil that its narrowne.ss and
conservatism have been of use, the (|ui\lities whieh have accompanic'd these and redeemed them have been of

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

use — inestimable use — and to refuse them their fair and honourable meed of praise would be uncandid and
ungenerous.

As the English Puritan in his day offered an inviting subject for caricature, so, in a greater degree, has
the American Puritan. About the modern educated New Englander there is nothing to caricature — simply
nothing. He is a perfectly straight, intelligent and lucid man — of tine learning, quick comprehension,
generous and ready sympathy, with a fine capability of presenting in practical work-a-day and yet refined
and delicate method, the most portentous and abstruse principles that lie at the basis of our humanity. The
dominant practicalness of the American mind has ascended step by step with its possessor, and yet remains
the controlling and regulating factor in the bright and admirable result. He does not make a very long, or
dictatorial, or lugubrious face about anything. " Hero," he seems to say, " are certain things about which it is
possible to know so mu'-h ; let us proceed to discourse how much it is possible tc know ; and, above all things,
let us be cheerful and good-humoured about it." And so you learn and are enter nned at the same time, and
get up from the conference with a greater liking for your subject than ever you had before, with an admiration
and love for your instructor — in short, you go away a wiser and a better nnd a kindlier man. You feel that
you have reached far out into the lealm of humanity — farther than ever you did before; you feel yourself
bound by new and interesting and happy ties to the cesponsibilities of life. You have not been taught, either
directly or indirectly, by dogma or by conduct, that the world is a prison, but a bright and cheerful home of
men with infinite possibilities. A race which produced men like Longfellow, and Whittier, and William
Cullen Bryant, must be a race which has traversed the highest plane of humanity, whore the air is translucent
and the breezes fresh and balmy with the odour of the garden of God ; where the bright stars look benignly
down and sniile approvingly upon the children of men, as they endeavour to unveil the mystery of life which
lies far, far beyond them. An American audience, no matter how sublime the subject under consideration, is
always quivering and vibrating with humour. The English Puritan was never much of a humorist — he was
too solid and immovable, too slow and dull, if you will. His Scottish cousin has always been more humorous
than he. In this attitude, as in others, there is no little similitude between the Scotchman and the Yankee.
In some respects their training has not been dissimilar. New England, for the first century and a half after
its settlement, resembled in some respect Scotland after the Reformation. But the humour of the Scotchman
is more caustic and " pawky " than that of the American ; the .shaft of the latter is seldom barbed — ^it does

THE AMERICAN PURITAN.

not rankle in the flesh. May heaven protect us 1 Those who liave suffered most are generally the most
humorous. Humour is but the reverse side of the tragedy of life. The overborne spirit rushes from one
extreme to the other in the instinctive desire to escape from the grinding tyranny of existence. Humour
resembles the precociousness of a child that has been brought up in a poor and struggling family. It looks
deeply and wisely into the human face, and can't but laugh, tho' the heart be sad and the soul hungry. The
peculiarity of American humour perhaps is that it laughs at itself. Josh Billings, Artemus Ward, and Mark
Twain all laugh more or less at themselves. And when a man laughs at himself he disarms all criticism. It
is besides an amiable sort of vanity. The man is all the time exhibiting himself as more or less of a fool, but
with sense enough to know it ; but he implies at the same time that you are no better otl' than he is, and that
we might as well all laugh about it. We will live just as long, and longer, too, and understand each other
much better.

The uncultured New Englander has, of course, certain qualities which are execrable in a .social sense ; he
is bumptious and profane (the reverse side of his Puritanic descent) ; he has no manners or modesty in his
composition, And these are all natural results. The uncultured of many nationalities are no better, and all
the English-speaking races have it in one form or other. The ignorant who speak English drink and swear
and spend more than any other people on the face of the earth, and this also is natural. They are a masterful
race, and they know it ; and, when they are not sober, and often when they are, they fling themselves and
their oaths and their money right and left after the manner of all prodigals. The ignorant Englishman,
sodden with beer and insensibility and loaded with useless flesh, is not a pleasant picture to look at ; neither
is the lean, insinuating and presumptuous Yankee. Look on this picture and then on that, and tell which
is the best or the worst.

Puritanism — the ancient spirit and power of Puritanism — is ra; idly disappearing in the New England
States. In fact, they are in danger in these modern times of an opposite tendency. But their work has
been done and well done. The most chaste and stable colunms in the American Republic have been reared
by them, and the world only needs the assurance that the American nation shall proceed in its development
along the lines wliich the high character of the Pilgrim Fathers and their descendants indicated, to know
that the destiny of mankind, as it probably to a great extent will be, may.be with safety committed to its
keeping. Only, we wish they lik<^d England better.

ga M !- ,^„< aJ t A i H,VV il| -i»; V p u a lt -AM.

,-iasi: y:j^fn^j' s;^!x:s.^

CAPE liRETON ILLUSTRATED.

I'l!

■4

THE BRITON AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

THE love of organization, order, thorouc^hness are sterling qualities in the make-up of the Englishman.
Performance of duty is the Englishman's ideal of life. Neglect of duty is for him a species of
cowardice, for he goes to his duty as resolutely as he does to a fight. Work for the Englishman is
something that has to be conquered. He is by race and instinct a fighter, and consequently is always in a
militant attitude. And he is traditionally a freeman at the same time, for those very serviceable qaalities
which have made him necessary in times long past, made him necessary to his superiors in rank ; and he
was not paid for his services in money. His reward took the form of a certain sort of freedom. A rough
and barbarous, almost savage freedom, it was at first, but it .served to hold his liberty in solution until other
and mitigating elements were added to society — until new combinations were formed of a better and higher
order ; and thus he was led as a freeman from the station of a primitive warrior to the position now occupied
by the cultured modern citizen.

All human society has hitherto tended towards centralization. As in the physical, so in the social
condition of things. Atoms, and men who are the atoms of society, begin to move around some common
centre. What fixes the centres of motion in the physical world we do not know. We are more conversant
with the social world, as it comes more directly under our ohservation and the observation of history. Men
are not all born equal, despite the assertion of the Declaration of Independence of the United States of
America. In early and rude states of society, when fighting is the most imperative occupation of life, a
community, lai'ge or small as the case may be, gathers around some individual who is a born leader of men,
according to the lights of the time. Under his direction or leadership they fight and conquer, or are
conquered, as the case may be. If they be conquered, it is probable we hear nothing more of them or their
chief. If they concjuer, their leader has gained a certain sort of rude renown ; and those of the defeated
who are left alive are brought under his power, and he is ready for other and bolder and wider enterprises.
So do the first chiefs of men grow. But primitive man is jealous of his rights, such as they are, and is not

THE BRITON AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

disposed to yield them without a struj^gle, as becomes one who has in him the rudiments of the image of
God. Those primitive chiefs were often chosen only for the emergency ; when the crisis had passed, they
were compelled to retire with what grace they could into private life, something like Washington did of his
own accord. The Romans tell us of primitive tribes that they met who were in the habit of doing things
precisely in this way. The ancient tribes of Gaul did it, and so did the Britons, too, but the.se little chiefs
were very jealous of each other, and disagreed among themselves, and so fell an easier prey to the enemy.

Primitive man had another way of asserting his independence besides deposing his war- chief after he
was no longer needed : they allowed no one to possess more land than he could till himself ; that is, that was
the custom of people who dwelt upon arable land. Annual meetings were held, and the land was divided
among them as they in their embryotic wisdom saw most fitting. Such tribal meetings, we are told, were
common among all the Aryan races. Some of the Semitic races must have had a similar practice. The
division of Palestine among the Israelites into tribal territories and individual inheritances sounds very much
as if this had been the method adopted. And we know how sacredly the inheritance of the Israelite was
guarded: "Cursed be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark." The year of jubilee ordered a redistribution
in case of things having got out of order. Here we have something like the feudal system, only every man
held his lands, not of a feudal chief, but of the State, such as it was. The holding of lands was something
similar, but the tenure was different. Henry George sliould have lived in those primitive times ; he was born
too late and too soon. When we have the golden age back again, we shall have a primitive distribution of
lands, but, we are afraid, not before. The primitive man doesn't like the bloated millionaire ; he renders him
homage, it is true, but it is the homage of the mean man — for man is always mean. He envies him, and takes
good care to relievo him of all superfluous appendages. And no law being in his way except the law of
nature, the millionaire is at his mercy, and has no redress- It is hard, no doubt, but perhaps it is honest — a
good deal more honest than many modern regulations we have. Even among the Es(|uimaux, it is said, when a
man forgets himself and acquires an extra kayak, or sledge, or spear, or so, it is thought that he is in the way
of temptation, that his morals are in danger ; and so, as they all love their neighbours, someone borrows the
token of incipient luxury, and forgets to return it, while the State looks on with complacency, and judges
that a good act has been done.

Perhaps man is destined to live in a circle — first an age of primeval e(iuality, then an age of tumult and

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

tyranny and robbery, legal and otherwise, or, in other words, of centralization ; and then again a golden and
final age of equality — an equality of justice, and reason, and culture, and virtue and religion. It seems
sometimes as if man were trending that way now. We hope he is, but it remains to be seen. If the earth
keeps warm enough to support life, as we now know it, for a sufficient length of time to admit of such a
development of the life of man, we shall have, no doubt, this happy .state of things. The religious man
believes that we .shall. If there be a millennium, it is just here where it is. The .scientist doesn't know
about it ; he makes no account of the inner and hidden forces which control the higher life of man. They
lie beyond his realm, he cannot explain them, he cannot explain anything ; it is all mystery to him as well as
to us. But we have straj-ed from our immediate theme, tempted, perhaps, by a love of the above subject.
We mu.st now return to our train of thought.

It is now our business to begin with the ancient Goth and endeavour to show how, in obedience to the
primitive laws above indicated, his liberty, rough and uncouth as it was, was well assured to him at the
beerinning ; and how it followed his descendants through the centuries down to our time. We shall also see
that this liberty was assured to him only by the surrender of a part of it. But the dividing line between
the part which he resigned and the portion which he reserved was always clearly and sharply defined. The
part which he resigned went into the realm of obedience — the part which ht reserved we call independence.
All freedom is baseci upon obedience. The highest liberty is obedience to the highest law. He who knows
no obedience, knows no liberty. He is the vilest and worst of all slaves — he is a slave in rebellion.

The Goth first appears upon the verge of history as an invader. He moved from the northern woods
in dense, organized bands of — well, robbers and murderers. Where he sprang from we don't exactly know ;
and what were the causes which sent hiin from his pristine home in the East we don't exactly know. But
this much we do know. The home of the Indo-European races was somewhere in the West of Asia, as was
also the home of the Semitic races. It was not long, that is, comparatively speaking, before there were found
in the East mighty empires which represented nothing but physical force. Man lost his individuality, and
no doubt it was his own fault. He must have lost his own froedovn before anyone else could enslave him.
He became a groaning, suffering, bleeding machine. Yet his cry went up to heaven to this extent that God
let loose His thunder upon his oppressers ; and, if His lightning did not scatter them, it blasted and killed
them where they stood — blotted them and their story out forever. And so, now-a-days, travellers wande^-

THE BRITON AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

over the East, from the Euphrates to the Cambodia, and stumble upon gigantic figures of serpents, and lions,
and bulls, and the like, many of them with men's heads, indicating that man had turned all the divinity that
was in him to deviltry, and had used it in defiance of high heaven. Some of those empires appear on the
verge of history, and we know enough of them to infer what their predecessors must have been like. We
see, through the mists of time, the Assyrian and the Babylonian and the Ninevite — and we always see their
arm uplifted to smite their brother. These men are as inhuman as the rock in which their forms are
sculptured. It is only when the truth of God begins to glimmer out of this blackness of darkness that we
know anything about man. All that we know of Babylon or Assyria, we know either directly or indirectly
from the Bible.

But the whole race of man was not crushed under this tyranny, else earth would be a desert. Some
found their way to the West. They either escaped as Israel did from Egypt, or were driven out, or spread
themselves by a process of natural dispersion until they looked upon the waters of the Atlantic. And now,
from the primeval forest, curls up the smoke of the firemaker as he cooks his savage fare, or hollows the log
which shall develop into the ocean grey-hound. Development ! Of course we have development. But why
should man not develop inwardly as well as outwardly ? The pioneer in this Western movement was the
Celt — that is, he is in possession when history strikes her first note to sing the tragedy of man. And the Celt
has had a sad history — it is no wonder that he is grown somewhat hysterical, and laughs and cries at the
same time. He still looks westward for freedom, and thinks he finds it across that ocean upon which hia
fathers first looked tliousands of years ago. Caesar, the scholar and the soldier, his tablet in one hand and
sword in the other, has dashed off for us the Celt as he found him ; and such as he was then, so is he yet.
If he be worse now and has developed bad qualities, it is because he has been ill-treated. Man is the product
of his history. A nation or an individual is what his circumstances, past and present, have made him. We
sometimes think our study of history is all wrong — that it begins at the wrong end. Were we to commence
with ourselves and ask, in the light of our failings and virtues, if we have any of these latter, " What are
the causes that make me what I am ? " " What sort of character and history have I personally, and what is
the character and record of my nation ? " — we might be able to recognize the true worth and value of our
good qualities and how we can best cultivate them ; and " What are my bad qualities, and what has my

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

history, individually and nationally, to do with these also," we might thus have a good deal of light thrown
upon the way in which we should walk, and we, who know, might get grace and strength to walk in it.

But the Celt, at the time of the advent of the concjuering Roman, occupied the whole western rim of
Europe, from the Mediterranean to the northern Scottish Isles. The only districts which fell not before
the rusii of the legions were Ireland and the greater part of Scotland. Why the Romans never attempted
to cross the Irish Sea does not appear. Probably the certainty of hard lighting, and the threatening
presence of the Picts and Scots, who continually swarmed over the northern wall, and who certainly were
more or less reinforced from Ireland, were the causes that stopped the flight of the conquering eagles. We
read how Galgacus dashed liis wild valour upon Agricola's trenchant steel. The high soul of Tacitus glows
with a becoming pride as he recounts how his noble father-in-law met the noblest enemy among all the
Britons, and how hard the fight was, and how the Roman general retired after his victory and contented
himself with checking the power of his enemies.

The Celts of the more tamable part of Britain were reduced, or rather elevated, to the condition of
»Roman Provincials, and in the days of a good emperor were well and rationally governed. It has been said
that during the rule of Severus, for example, those parts of Europe which went to make up the Roman
Empire were governed better, and that men were happier in them, than they have been since. But the
military spirit was partiall}' crushed out among the natives of Britain. They were defended by the legions ;
and, though the Romans drafted the legions from their Provincials, the men never served in their own
country. In a century or two came the softening influence of Christianity among the Britons ; and,
while this had a civilizing and improving tendency, it rendered them more unfit to resist their savage
enemies when the protecting power of the legions was withdrawn. Such was the condition of the Britons
at the time when the northern invaders appeared upon the scene.

In the meantime a second movement of the barbarous tribes, numerous and warlike, had passed
westward. They advanced in the course to the northward of those powers which had fringed the
Mediterranean with civilization. As they increased in numbers and powers, they began to surge against
the barriers of the Roman Empire, and finally we see them thundering at the gates of Rome itself, and
levelling its pride in the dust. As the centuries roll by, we see them .setting up kingdoms of more or less
stability and duration upon the ruins of Roman Provinces. France, Spain, -Italy, England, the North of

THE BRITON AS AX ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

Africa, and portions of the Levant were all erected or depressed for the time being into Gothic
sovereignties.

But we have to do with England. We have said that those invad.ng northern hordes were all
organized bodies — that i.s to say, they were organized in a military .sense ai.u for military purposes. They
lived not -so much hy industry as by plunder. Each tribe was an army restless and adventurous, and
continually looking for new fields of conquest and pillage.

We have said that in primitive times the military chiefs were deposed when there was no longer any
need for them. Such was generally the case among the Celts. It was not so among the Goths. The business
of the Celts was not war, as was that of their sterner northern neighbours. They fought only in occasional
(juarrels, and when their rights were invaded by some neighbouring tribe ; hence the occasion of a military
chief was not permanent. The authority which he exercised was hut transient, and could not permeate
thoroughly the constitution of this society. Hence their idea of subordination was but false and Heeting.
Their subjection to a chief did not constitute the basis of their society. Military obedience, and hence a)!
other obedience, was altogether secondary. The independence of the individual was, of course, present, but
that tended to the weakness of the community, as it had not been taught to surrender itself to the direction
of a common mind. Hence the whole Celtic world of that time, thou^jh essentially military, was at the
same time essentially weak. Besides, as we have seen, the Roman occupation had allaji'ed the military spirit
among them. The power which protected them was gone, and they knew not where to look for strength or
counsel. New chiefs had to be chosen, and new combinations and systems of defence adopted, before any
front could be presented to the enemy.

With the Goths it was not so. Their chiefs were men of renown, as they understood it, and upon their
ability and address depended their success in their military enterprises. The chief was a man they could not
do without. And, above and beyond all practical or immediate considerations, the Goth was by nature and
spirit a hero-worshipper. As became a forceful people, who knew nothing of the true God, might and violence
were their deities. The hammer of Thor and the mace of the warrior were the symbols of divinity ; and they
worshipped without stint and with an unfaltering faith at their merciless shrine. Their political and religious
faiths were one. Never were Church and State, if one may use the expression in this connection, more firudy
wedded, The Saxon, for all that he was worth, was an obedient .soldier.

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Besides, he had begun to take part in vast enterprises. He had always moved upon a large scale. He
had addressed himself to the subjugation of nations. His was no petty war of tribe against tribe, local and
transient, but an organized system of conquest ; and the field of his operations widened as time went on.
He thus came t ^ be not a mere fighter, but a fighter with a practical object. He did not beat the air. He
did not tight for glory alone, but for profit and for power. And, as in all military organizations officers and
those in authority are necessarily numerous, he had always at command the means of consolidating and
reducing his power to a .system. Wherever he went, he went to stay. His grip of what he got was not to be
relaxed. He wasn't much given to flitting about after he got what he wanted. His imagination was not
very I'vely, and he was not in the habit of speculating about things that were impracticable. But after all
he was not subject to much temptation in this respect, for he wa,s strong enough to take nearly everything
he could see. He was by race and descent a tremendous man physically. He was tall and broad-shouldered
and big-boned, with great blue eyes and yellow hair. In short, put him alongside the little dark mH,n of the
South and he appeared like a demi-god. When Ciesar's soldiers first saw men of his race drawn up in the
closest and grimmest order of battle, they set to work making their wills, we are told; and, if C.iesar had not
been just the sort of man he wa,s, and laughed them out of their fright, they could not have been brought to
face those phalanxes at all. The Saxon has always liked a close order of battle, and he does yet. It suits
his temperament. There is no shilly-shallying or nonsense about him when he does anything. He is in dead
earnest ; and he likes to have his enemy so close to him that he can strike him with something, and he is
disconcerted and disgusted when his enemy doesn't come close enough to let him do it. In short, ho was and
is what is vulgarly known as a " terror," when you get his somewhat lethargic blood up. He would have
been a more shifty and alert, and a better-looking man, too, if he hadn't eaten such portentous quantities of
pork and other grave diet. Wherever the Saxon was, the pig was — we mean to say he always owned lots of
those unreflecting animals. The swine-herd was his right-hand man ; and, if every one of tho.se officials had
been a prodigal son, it would have required a whole nation of such unfortunates to keep him supplied.

In domestic life the Saxon was n good man. So had his ancestors, the Germans, been long before him.
This was due, of course, to no inherent virtue in the German, but came of climatic influence. The family has
always been a rigid in.stitution among Northern peoples, and this lies directly at the root of their strength.
The family is the unit of the nation. As the family is, so the nation is. It may sound like burlesque to say

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THE BRITON AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

so, but where there are no families there can be no nation. It has been often said that woman owes her
position in modern society all to Christianity. We do not wish to rob Christianity of any of its merits. But
facts are facts. Women among the ancient Germans occupied as influential a position as among ns. The old
German women were grim and determined characters. Like wild Sybils, they often followed their husbands
to battle and urged them on to the fight. We don't wonder the Germans fought so well. The battle-front of
a Roman legion was a mild thing to face compared to a curtain lecture or whatever was equivalent in those
days.

The Saxon then had come of a stern and solid descent, and he justified bin ancestry. He was virtuous,
strong, entirely fearless, masterful, and had in him the rudiments of what we in modern times recognize as
common sense. Only in those rough and tumultuous times it manifested itself in a different realm than that
in which it operates in modern society. He knew how to command when he had to, and he knew how to
obey. An'l he was a freeman because he was wanted as a soldier. He had a thousand years ago the same
qualities which go to make a successful man now-a-days. He was persevering, and he knew the sort of
means it took to accomplish his object. The framework of organization was present in his territory from the
first, and it grew and extended as it was needed.

But he had hardly settled himself in Britain when his more lordly cousin the Dane came to disturb him
in his own unfairly-gotten realm, and then ensued a terrible conflict, in which the fir.st invaders for a long
time got the worst of it. A mutual accommodation was at last reached. The advent of the Dane had not
changed the aspect of affairs for the worse, but rather for the better. He had, and brought with him, the
same system of organization which his cousin the Saxon had. The two races were identical in habits and
pursuits. And the Dane, though in some respects a worse man at first than his predecessor, had in him stuff'
of a finer textu . He was loss gross than his neighbour, having come from a colder and keener climate. He
began to develop ere long, after some refinement, the finely-chiselled, clear-cut features of the Norseman as
we conceive of him. His face was an index of the man ; for his whole nature, all his characteristics, were as
sharply defined as the outline of an iceberg against the northern sky. At first he was an awful heathen ; but
he soon embraced Christianity, and his tall and comely figure ere long found a fit setting under the lofty
arches of the stately Christian temples which now began to spring up in all parts of the country. His is the
figure which novelists love to dwell upon as the high-toned ecclesiastic— chaste and pure in feature, noble in

CAPK BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

bearing, self-contained and dignified in manner, regarding with an unconscious scorn all that is unworthy the
dignity of man. And so the Dane improved England, and gave to her at least the ru'Hments of a higher soul,
and a more scornful regard of the vile and the gross and the commonplace. The impassioned North had set
her seal upon the religious life of England, and changed the dull, unblushing valour of the pagan Norseman
into the milder heroism of an unblemished Christian life. The heroic age of the Saxon and Dane and Norman
all poured the full tide of their youthful strength into England, and Iheir young blood was absorbed into the
life of the nation and contributed to its vigour and vitalit}'. They were no weaklings — men of no race worn
out by age and debility — that now brought their lusty spirit to mingle with the .soul of England. No ; but
the prime races of the earth, quickened to their highest life and developed to their fullest power. It is no
wonder that England has done what she has done, when one comes to think of the elements that mingle in
her history. During these centuries, in the crucible of the ages were commingled the potent constituents
which have produced a life that extends round the world. And through it all there was nothing like
recklessness, but a steady and determined and far-sweeping purpose that held steadily in view the object to
be attained, and knew no rest until the work had been done.

Last of all, we come to the Norman, with his still superior and more highly developed system of
organization — with his mighty yet deftly working military machiii»», which was the wonder and terror of
northern Europe. If the Norman did nothing to increase the true value of the Engli,sh character in an English
and domestic sense — for he hatl little to do with the home-life of England — he accustomed the English mind
to look beyond the narrow limits of their own iiiland. And this he did by his vast j)rojects of con(iuest and
by his insatiable ambition. The Norman kings were not amiable characters. The English people had little
cause to love them. But even the ambition of the Normans indirectly conduced to the liberty of the people.
Under the feudal system, which began to be developed in England as .soon as the Norman power was
established, and which indeed formed the basis of their institutions, the liberty of the franklin or freeman
was distinctly recogn" ed. The feudal baron could not do without him, for it wa.-i only through and by him
that he was a baron. Here we have over again the bond which united the Saxon to his chief. This bond has
now become, we might say, of a higher or more developed order. It was higher in thiit, under the dominion
of the Norman society, it had lost much of its evil, as Burke would say, by losing much of its grossness. The
Norman originally had been a man identical with the Dane who had invaded England. But he was a man

■^^^^^^^

THE BlUTOS AS AN OKGANlZER AXD A COLONIST.

(i7

quick to learn, and ambitious, and he knew about the practical worth and sijjfniticanco of things. He perceived
that the station to wliich his valour had raised him necessitated, in order to its becoming occupation, an
acquaintance and familiarity with the social culture which he saw about him in the land which he had
concjuered. And the savage was subdued and bouiul by the silken yet adamantine thrall of .social necessity —
as he always is. We have now the dawn of chivalry, which for ,so many centuries dominated the social life
of Europe, and which, in all its most desirable elemonts, still remains, and always .-ihall. We do not hesitate
to say that chivalry had its origin in the high regard which the ancient Germans paid to woman. As we
regard a Mohammedan and Crusading army confronting each other in order of battle, we are convinced that
this is the most distinctively marked difference between them. The ancient Goth was not a chivalrous man,
but he had the elements of it in him. And he only needed to be brought into contact with the culture and
imaginativeness of the South in order to its development. Men, as a rule, that is, men as practical and
rational as the ISorthern tribes were, do not light for or worship anything which is unworthy. And the
woman of northern Europe was worthy. The superstructure of society was built upon he good faith, and
the foundation whs nof. found wanting. Man risked the half, and therefore the whole, of his fame and repute
upon her trustworthiues.s, as far as the ideal was concerned, at all events, and it was presumed that his
betrayal was impossible. A breaking of this contract wrought ruin, as we see depicted in the ' Idyls of the
King." All this was good. It indicated an advance in the ideal condition of society upon anything which
had existed before. We had plenty of faith before, but it was rude and boisterous and barbarously tlownright.
We have now a cou oination of faith and gentleness; and, as far as it is realizoil, this is perfection. An
in.stinctive attachment, to whatever is beautiful, or fragile, or defenceless, is one of the noblest elements in our
nature. A happiness in spending and being spent in its service has something in it of Divinity, whose nature
is to express itself in giving in some sense or other. Chivalry, as far as the constitution of society was
concerned, was half a religion in form, and more than the half of it in spirit. It led man from the selHsh and
the gross — it led to what we often miisname "self-.sacrifice." It taught man — and they didn't realize it much
before — that over and around the prosaic, practicnl detail of life there hung a certain spirit which gave to it
all its worth and significance. And this also is of the nature of religion. Anything wliicii idealizes— deiHe^—
is, to the extent of what it means, good. So chivalry benefited England in common with the rest, of
Europe ; and, as in England it was grafted on a more worthy stem than elsewhere, the harvest was of a better

. I

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

quality. It also went to assure the liberty of the subject, in so far as it stimulated the qualities of
independence and courage.

In the meantime learning, a force more potent than all beside, had been confined to centres — the
monasteries. Tlicre, in the quiet scriptorum, the monk patiently transcribed manuscripts representing the
lore of the ages. This learning, soon to be given to the world Wy the invention of printing, was destined to
place the liberty of man upon a basis so sure and lasting that neither time nor circumstance could shake it.
It was natural that power and learning should at first be confined to the few, that forces should be centralized
in order that they might be conserved ; but it was also natural that in course of time a process of diffusion
should occur. Secrets cannot be kept for ever, the benefits of which are to be improved by the few.
Inventions are more likely to fall in t.ie way of the common people than of the rich and the noble ; hence the
forces which control the destiny of society gradually changed their relative position and importance, and
there was a gradual elevation of the masses of the people.

As the importance and independence of the feudal system decreased, the commercial classes were
gradually rising into prominence ; and they ere long virtually controlled the power of the nation as well as
its liberties as they were then developed. Not long after the establishment of the Norman power the towns
began to be represented in parliament. Indeed, the power of the Normans was dependent upon the support
of the commercial classes. Their ambition, at all events, rendered their support necessary. And this is the
origin of our national debt. Expensive foreign wars could not and cannot be carried on without supplies
being voted by Parliament and furnished by the wealthy. And the Norman baron wasn't wealthy in that
sense. Sometimes the unfortunate Jew was forced to disgorge his ill-gotten gains so that armies might
march. But the native citizen could not be so treated. He had become too important and his numbers were
continually increasing. Besides, his suppression or ill-treatment would have been a killing of the goose that
laid the golden egg. So the price at which the king purchased supplies was the ratification of the liberty of
the people. In this way Magna Charta was ratified time and time again. And every time it was ratified it
acquired a new t'jnificance. It gave liberty to an increasing number and a novel set of people — to a class, as
has been said, whom " they of the pointed shield and muscled armour would have despised as slaves." The
contemptuous remark of Napoleon that the British were a nation of merchants was substantially a fact, but
it was a fact which destroyed him and carried him to St. Helena. It is a fact which now more than ever

THE liRITOX AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

I
.?.

'■'ik

before constitutes the direct strength of the British Empire, and enables it to make greater advances in power
relatively than any other nation.

So as power and wealth and learning became more and mote diffused, the liberties of the people were
placed upon a surer and safer basis.

The same method and system which the Briton had learned as a soldier served him in good stead as an
artisan and trader — as a workman and merchant. It is said that some military training does a man good,
and it is, to a certain extent, true. The same thing may be said of the British nation in a wider and more
historic sense. Sometimes, in fact, he has too much detail ; and the American does just as well, or rather
better, with less. Red-tapeism and circumlocution are too frequently hindrances in the way of British
success. Still the Briton ties all his knots, and walks round the intricacies of an enterprise and attains his
object sooner or later.

The era of discovery, which began in the fifteenth century, gave an impetus to Ei Tlish enterprise
which it never before experienced. The soldier now became a sailor, and in the change he retained his
national characteristics. " The men of field and wave " were alike in steady and determined pursuit of their
object. And the insular position of England caused a larger proportion of her people to engage in maritime
enterprises than in any other country in the world. As soon as the people of Europe began to think of
finding homes beyond the sea, the English were the fir^t to entertain this idea, and they, in obedience to their
maritime instincts, always aligned their colonies on the ocean, and this in the future proved a source of
strength. The first idea of the English was not that of conquest, as was the case with Spain, but of
colonization. The first cause which set them upon a career of conquest was the coming into conflict with the
Spaniards and the French. When Mrs. Hemans says of the Pilgrim Fathers,

" Not as the coiKjueror comes, they, tho true-hearted, v-xme,"

she might have said the same of many other bands of British colonists. We sing, " All bail to the day when
the Britons came over," and laid the foundations of maritime Canada. The Briton came over to work, and
so he did. It was not long before he had to fight, but he did not come with that intention ; and when he was
forced to it, he dealt, as he always did, with a strong hand with his enemies.

We have now seen the elements and the facts of history which go to make up the character of the

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Englishman and fit him to be a successful colonizer. We have seen that he had been in preparation for his
destiny in this respect from the time of the Saxon invasion of England. He had had a hard struggle, and a
dear-bought experience, and he had to use it all when he came to America ; he had nothing to spare. The
English crossed the Atlantic as colonists for the most part at a time when individual character was perhaps
at its highest and best, and this fact in itself did much to assist him in repelling his enemies through a long
conflict with a bloody and savage enemy, and in at length triumphing over the French. Il resulted at longth
in the independence of the United States of America. The American may well a&sert that he is an
Englishman ; and he sprang from the parent stem at a time when it was in the full exuberance of life. The
movement which culminated in the English Revolution was in the full tide of its progress when he left the
shores of the mother country, and the education which resulted in that movement he himself had received.

And he carried with him the love of order and method and obedience to authority which was his by
inheritance. As he sailed across the sea to his new home, he drew up laws by which he pledged himself to
be governed ; and he him.self was part of the authority by which those laws were to be enforcced. It would
not be correct to say that the field lay open between him and the centre of authority, as might be said of the
Englishman after the Revolution. No. The American colonist was nearer to authority than that. He was
a unit in the multiple of authority.

It may be said that the government they set up on their landing, and which was developed by those
who immediately succeeded them, was the best government at that time in the world. And the reason of
this was that it was made up of the best material, for it was composed of the people themselves. They had
been so long trained in self-government — that is, in the qualities of steadiness and individual self-restraint —
tha*^ it was perfectly safe to commit their own government into their hands. There was no arbitrary power
anywhere to be seen unless we claim that the power of their religion was arbitrary, and indeed it very soon
came to be so, and this was the only defect in their .system. But it was a grave defect as far as the theory
of government was concerned, and had its cause in the close union between Church and State, and the
arbitrary presumptions of the former. Yet it must be admitted that the very incongruity between some of
the persecuting acts of the New Englanders and the general excellence of their .system is indirect evidence of
the spirit of right in which their order of things was conceived. The failings of the good man are more
jnarkod than those of him who is utterly reckless. The world has expected great things of the Pilgrim

THE BliirON AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

Fathers, and in the main it has not been disappointed. The humorist may laugh and the censorious sneer at
some of their inconsistent ways, but they did nothing worse than was done in every English county at the
same time, and not so bad. So if the New Englander appears worse than the Briton of that time, it must be
because the world presumes that he was on the whole a better man.

The Briton, as we have seen, had had a historical training which well fitted him to be a colonist. He
was sharply defined as an individual, and yet knew well how to obey ; and his national training had all been
in that direction. Authority was to him as his shadow — liberty dwelt in his heart of old. His voice never
had been silent, and is gone forth with him to many a land singing the song of the free. And as he goes '
forth to hew for himself a home in the forest, and to make the wilderness rejoice and blossom as the rose, he
brings his own law with him. There is no impassable gulf between him and his rulers, as was the ca.se with
the French in America. There is no system of extortion and grinding of the poor and of time-serving and
corrupt officials. The mimicry of the French court and the misery of the oppressed peasant did not exist side
bj' side. No ; the mighty heart of England was sending her blood, her .strength, her freedom, her industry,
her hardihood, her determination to succeed, to every individual in her colonies. And so they waxed and
increased in strength, and wrought and conquered as men do. And so they shall yet. Other nations must
go to the school of history for three centuries before they can colonize like England — before the material is
moulded on the running wheel of their fate to form vessels of honour in the new household of nations.
English colonies have been no experiments nor ebullitions of spasmodic national ambitions, but the steady and
systematic outpouring of that sturdy national life which finds its fitting expression in work and system and
vast enterprise. A nation needs a king, or potentate, or government to teach them how to colonize. This
work is so old to the English that it is part of their destiny, and so they recognize it ; the slaves of European
despotism are glad to escape from the tyranny of political mechanisms and come trooping to find a .shelter
and a home among them, and to breathe the new and keener and more e.^hilarating atmosphere of freedom.

They came, as we have seen, across the Atlantic, and there laid the foundations of liberty so deep and so
broad, and stretched its bounds over so wide a realm, that the oppressed of every race and clime have there
found a home. Farther north they disenthralled the Frenchman, half decrepit with worn-out system and the
petty tyranny of rulers who strutted in the cast-off and stolen robes of rapacious kings. Here they are now
inviting to a new Dominion every nationality of man. And there is room and work and bounteous provision

CAPE BRETOX ILLUSTRATED.

for them all. And this realm consents to no narrower limits than its Southern rival. It stretches from the
Atlantic wave thundering against the Cape Breton cliffs away westward, over a gorgeous panorama of stately
forest an ertile tield, queenly river and lakes as broad as seas, prairies spread out by Nature's ancient hand,
laden wi; her children's food, over mountain peak and through winding gorge, until we hear the rushing of
the tumultuous streams that speed to the mighty Pacific. And if intelligence, and hardiness, and industry,
and energy, and shrewd common sense — if all t?iO appliances of modern civilization and advancement, and a
knowledge of their use — if law and order and freedom count for anything, this new land need not fear its
destiny. And the tide of sympathy and homage and love which unites us to the mother land is still wide
and deep and warm. We are no separatists in a physical sense ; in an inner and better and more significant
sense, we are sure we never shall be.

The sails of the British colonist have swept round the ocean capes of the south, and borne thousands
upon thousands of Britain's sons to a sea-girt continent upon which the morning light is just breaking, while
the evening chimes sing out upon the sweet English air. There, even out of the hardihood of crime and the
reckles.sness of the miner, the ancient spirit of Britain has summoned a stalwart race of men — stalwart in
physicjue and jealous of freedom — and these men have reared cities seated like empresses upon the princely
sea, where law, order, thrift and wealth bear witness that even here the Briton has not lost nor forgotten
his ancient birthright.

So we see that the hard school of buffetings in which the Briton was trained has not failed of its
desired teaching. It has borne abundant fruit, and is yet destined to achieve greater results in the future ;
for there is no mechanical invention, there is no truth of science, of philosophy, or of religion, there is no
problem of social or political advancement, there are no means whatever ot man's culture, which are not the
heritage of these people, and they will use it well.

The English-American colonist soon began to develop qualities which, though substantially English, and
of English growth, still were and are characteristic. The conditions of life being different in his new home,
his habits and character had to adapt themselves to his new >invironments. He had been removed from all
authority except that of which he constituted a part of himself. Hence there was little room for the
growth of the quality which we call loyalty. Authority was represented to him by no symbol, or sign, or
token, or personality. It was not represented at all. He himself has the authority, or as much of it as his

THE BJ^ITOX AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

personal importance or ability could secure for him. Hence he did homage to nothing or nobody. It cannot
be said, even yet, that the Americans are loyal to the United States. They u.re vain of their country — they
boast of it, they seem to take it for granted that it is the best and the smartest country on the face of the
earth ; we cannot even say tiu.t they are proud of their country. They talk too much about it, and national
pride lies too deep to talk much about. There is a quiet complacency, and comfortable feeling, and sense of
worthine."ss and power about national pride, but it is not obtrusive or accentuated. We know indirectly that
a man is proud of his country. Somehow or other it is taken for granted, as a great many of our highest
and bes iistincts are taken for granted, and of which it is the worst possible form to say much. ^S'c don't,
as a rulu, like to hear a man say much about his country, unless he says things of a very good kind, and the
things are true. When a man tells you things that let you see he luves his country, you are pleased, and you
begin to entertain a greater respect for him ; for he is not much of a man who does not love his country.
We take it that the English and the Americans are the only ])eoples who oti'end the world in the matter of
their nationality. If the Englishman does not do so expressly, or by what he says, he does so by the manner
in which he acts. A great man, English by education but not by blood, says : " Let an Englishman travel
where he will as a private person, he is generally found to he upright, great-minded, brave, liberal, and true ;
but with all this, foreigners are too often sensible of something that galls them in his presence ; and 1
apprehend it is because he has too much tendency to self-esteem — too little disposition to regard the feelings,
the habits, and the ideas of others." Men do not like to be put down when there is no need of it ; and in
common, every-day life, when every man is behaving himself, there is no need of it. It is presumed that men
when they meet are, as far as concerns the occurrences of a casual meeting, equal ; and the assumption of any
other position, without due and sufficient reason having been .shown, is in effect an infringement on the rights
of other people, and as such it is resented or laugheu at, as the case may be. And so the manner of the
Englishman is viewed by foreigners.

The atmospheric vibrations caused by the American are more offensive to the Englishman than to anyone
else, for the reason that in great part the expansiveness of his language is directly, either nearly or remotely,
against the style and order of things English, and in celebration of the triumph which he conceives his nation
has gained over the Old Country. And besides, the two nations are cousins, and we never saw cousins yet
who did not have a good deal to say about each other's respective families. There is always a cousinly regard

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

and there is always a cousinly jealousy as well. The absurd national vanity and presumption of the commoner
orders of New Englanders is certainly out of place in the commonwealth of nations.

The American colonist soon learned to develop the practical side of his nature. A settler in a new
country, and not having the means and appliances for the prosecution of his work that he had left in the Old
Country, he was obliged to make many things and do many things for himself as he best could. He thus
became thrifty and ingenious in contriving mechanical appliances. He had neither time nor opportunity to
learn a trade in the way of serving a long and tedious apprenticeship. He had to do the best he could for
himself, and to do it as quickly as he could. In this way the early settler, if he were naturally what is known
as a " handy " man, soon became further what is known as a " Jack-of-all-trades." He had no time for over-
much detail — if an implement served his purpose that was all he cared about. He didn't strike an unnecessary
blow if he could help it. Hence he learned to conserve his energy and not let it go to waste, or to lose time
for nothing. So he learned to be practical.

And he learned to be a good deal of a talker also. He had come of an expatiating and exhortative kind.
The Puritans talked a good deal at their meetings, no doubt, and thus got into the fashion of talking a good
deal out of meeting as well, and he talked with some confidence and independence, too, as became a freeman
and one having a religious experience. His religious confidence made him, more than anything else, as good
a man as anybody. And when a man begins to think that he is as good as anybody, he never stops just there.
He completes the comparison he has begun to institute between himself and others by concluding that he is a
good deal better than anybody else. Hence we are advised by a very good and sensible man who lived long
ago, not to "compare ourselves among ourselves, which is not wise." But we are fated to do it — it is part of
the vanity and weakness and littleness of human nature. We are conscious of shortcomings and imperfections
in ourselves ; and, instead of looking to an infinite and eternal standard of right and wrong by which we may
regulate our lives, we studiously enquire whether there be not some neighbour as badly oft" as we are ourselves.
Having discovered some such unfortunate, as we think, we strut and give ourselves airs, and show how we
compassionate our poor brother by pitying him aloud to everyone we meet, and .nisrepresenting him, and rot
telling the truth about him generally; and finally we find ourselves thanking God that we are not as uthjr
men are. The Puritans did this as a body. They did not tell the truth or act the truth about the Cavaliers,
for the simple reason that they did not know it. And, humanly speaking, it was not their fault — it was the

THE BRiro.X AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

result of the unfortunate nature of their position. It takes a good deal of philosophy, reinforced by some
kindliness of temperament, to see much good in an opponent ; and the Puritans were not philosophers, neither
were they distinguished for kindliness of sentiment.

All the training of the New Englander, then, both in a civil and religious regard, tended to increase his
self-confidence. Indeed, it was upon the confidence that man has in himself that their system was fcunded.
They knew that they could make their own living — that they could govern themselves, that no man had any
right to dictate to them in the matter of religion, and these things completed the circle of existence. So
what did they want more ? They had no call to be obliged to anybody. But then, again, this feeling is not
a good thing for a man. We are not self-existent ; we are dependent and finite creatures, and it is better for
us to find it out by our weakness and sin and sorrow than not to find it out at all. The man is not in a good
case who is never brought face to face with his own weakness. It makes him, even in a social sense, not to
speak of anything better or higher, hard, and uncharitable, and bumptious, and offensive in thought and
manner ; and if a religious element be brought into the case, he becomes self-righteous and condemnatory of
others. Thtse truths are exemplified in every-day life as it is seen around us. And what is true of the
individual, is true also of the community or nation.

A .similar climate has perpetuated the same domestic characteristics in the New Englander that he
brought with him across the Atlantic. And his religious life — more religious in exteriors, at all events,
than are the lives of tho.se he left behind him — has intensified domestic relationships. The New Eni^dancler
is as fond of his folk and of his home, perhaps more .so, than the Englishman. But he talks a good deal about
that, too ; in fact, he is altogether more expressive than his English brother. This amiable inclination to show
his feelings is not always pleasant — it is often very much out of place, and amounts sometimes to vulgarity ; in
its worst development it kills the sacredness of life. The strongest and most awe-striking example of this
manner of regarding one's relations with one's kin — the dearest to one on earth — is to be found in the dying
exclamation of the poor fellow who, when struck by a fatal rifle bullet, called out, "My God, I'm .shot;
remember mo to my folks." Comrades, before advancing upon the enemy, would bid each other " Good-bye."
" So long, Jim," " So long, Tom," they would saj . Of course, there is a great deal of humanity about this,
and perhaps it bespeaks a certain sort of hardness not to appreciate it fully; but we are not sure that men
who talk in the above manner have estimated the true sanctity of existence. An Englishman or a Scotchman

CA PE BRE TON ILL US TRA TED.

or an Irishman would never say these things. Perhaps they would not be, and are not, any the better for
not saying them, but they simply wouldn't — it would not sound right to them — there would seem to be a
certain sort of desecration about it. They would feel all the American did, and perhaps a great deal more,
but they would not say anything about it. Vulgarity of emotion, even in extremities of life and death, is
the sign of a somewhat superficial nature.

There is a mawkishness of emotional taste about toe many of the American people. The criminal is,
often to the extent that he is a criminal, too, a hero. The details of his villainy and infamy, of his arrest
and trial and condemnation, and especially of his execution, are dwelt upon with an unctuous relish and
satisfaction. We do not mean to say that people do not talk about these things everywhere, but we do
believe, at the same time, that style of conversation reaches a higher grade of people among the Americans
than it does among others who speak the English language. A sensational press, pandering to the lower
instincts of a large and partially educated population, is responsible in great measure for this. As long as
the showman postures and tumbles in the columns of the newspaper, especially on Sundays, he will, of course,
have an audience. There was something respectable about the cruelty of the old Roman who sat, eagle-eyed,
and looked at gladiators slaughtering each other. Cicero even attempted to justify the practice, saying that
a man needed these things to give him the necessary contempt of life. But we don't want in our days to
contract a contempt of life. And even if we did, the compelling of crime to strut and mouth in a certain
kind of cowardly puppet-show won't bring it about. Men now-a-days ought to be taught the value of
life — not even a dignified contempt of it, much less an inhuman, impish, godless curiosity to dissect the
anatomy of crirae. He is a vile man who can't keep his own questionable doings to himself ; he is tainted
with the same infection who delights in shewing the rawness of other people's lives, and this is exactly what
is done by a large portion, not only of the American press, but that of other civilized and enlightened
nations as well. Crime is crime — there is nothing good in it to hear about ; vice is vice, and there is nothing
nice about nastiness. The Indians tortured their victims at the stake ; how much better are we who torture
in our morbid and diseased imaginations ? Into the fire with such .stutt", and open the window and let us have
some fresh air. When .shall we see the day that criminals, who are unfit to live in society, shall be .silently
removed from the scene in some way or other ? People are often silently removed from narrower circles
when it is found necessary. When shall society learn to do the same thing ? We suppose thrj,t civilised

THE BRITON AS AN ORGANIZER AND A COLONIST.

people are after the prevention of crime, and not after its punishment. Certainly they ought not to refjard it,
as a fitting subject of improving, or elevating, or instructive talk.

The American colonies being aligned on the sea, and the instincts of the people being traditionally
maritime, they soon developed into a sea-loving and commercial people. And this hastened and embittered
the ([uarrel between the colonies and the mother country, for many of the restrictive laws passed by the
Parliament against the trade of the Americans had been necessarily directed against the maritime interests of
New England. Had they been an inland nation of agriculturists, the causes of disturbance would have been
fewer and less irritating. The same quickness and ingenuity and adaptiveness to purpose followed the
colonist into the shipyard that attended him on his farm or in his workshop. He here devised new and
convenient methods of construction and detail. He suited the model and rig of his vessels for the business
which was to occupy them. He has always had more regard to serviceableness than to science, his knowledge of
which is not ecjual to that of his Old Country cousin, but whom, after all, he generally manages to circumvent
in some way or other. In some departments of shipbuilding, the methods and modes of construction marked
a new departure in maritime architecture.

Although the population of the colonies was so very much greater than that of Canada at the time of the
tinal struggle, the disproportion in strength — that is, military strength to be used in an invasion of Canada on
the one hand, and the capability of resistance on the part of the Canadians on the other — was not so great as
appeared. We have seen that the Canadians were all good soldiers for the species of service in hand, and they
were a unit — they were controlled from one centre. With the Americans it was not so. Each colony had its
own government, and there were jealousies and want of unanimity among them. The very liberty which they
enjoyed endangered their unity, for up to this time they had not made common cause against anything, as
they have done four times since. Their greatest dependence was upon the armies of Britain, which struck
the hardest blows at last, and without which they never could have conquered Canada. One cannot help
thinking that perhaps it would have been more natural and have been a quieter way of disposing of their
trouble with Great Britain, if they had agreed to separate before the final struggle with France, and been left
to settle matters as they best could with their Canadian neighbours. The bitterness of seeing a rebellion on
the part of those whom they had just been defending would have been spared to the people of England, and
the shedding of much blood, and much ill-feeling and misunderstanding might have been spared, and no one
would have been the worse ofF. But then we should have had no Dominion of Canada.

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED,

THE FRENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

AT the dawn of history the condition of France, or Gaul, was similar to that of England. It was
occupied by the ancient Celtic tribes. These, as did their neighbours of the adjacent island, fell
under the power of the Romans. The ancient religion of these peoples had been Druidism, and a
dark and terrible system of religion It was. It completely dominated the Celtic mind — it was the strongest
and deepest influence to which he was subjected. So powerful were the Druids among their votaries that
the Romans found it necessary to expel them from Britain. Thence they went to Anglesey, and finally they
took refuge in Ireland. And this event is a factor in the present condition of Ireland. The Roman was a
man who didn't trouble himself much about the religions of the people whom he conquered. He was an
easy-minded man in that way. Being a polytheist himself, he thought it but natural that people should like
to worship their own gods. And so he let them do it. He even went so far sometimes as to allow the god
of some conquered people to take a place among his own. This may have been sometimes of policy, for he
was a man that knew something of tho ways of the world, and at times, when there was occasion for it, he
could compromise as well as he could fight. The only two religions that the Roman had any trouble with
were Judaism and iJruidism, and this fact is significant ; it indicates that these two faiths had taken a firmer
hold upon the minds of their votaries than any others.

France, as well a^- Britain, v/as a Roman province for centuries. When the Empire fell to pieces, the
country became, as was normal in those days, a prey to the northern invaders. Last of all it was conquered
by the Franks, a German tribe, who there set up their kingdom, and from whom the country takes its name.
But the invaders formed a very small proportion of the people. They formed the ancient nobility of France,
and that was all. They had not nearly so much influence upon the characteristics of the peoj-^e as the Normans
had upon England. England is Norman in a far greater degree than France is German. France is not
German at all, and doesn't want to be. The two peoples do not amalgamate — that is, typical specimens of
the respective races do not. Of course, there are Germans with Gallic proclivities, and Frenchmen — no.

THE FRENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

we don't think there are any Frenchmen who are like the Germans. The French Revolution, and Voltaire,
and the French occupation, and dancing, and fiddling, and scraping, and such like have produced the former
result ; the latter, we think, is nowhere visible.

The primitive religion of the Celt had been changed for Christianity during the Roman occupation, and
the country had been well advanced in civilization. And the northern conquero ' was soon converted to the
same faith. Some of those stern warriors were crude Christians. One of them exclaimed, when the death
of Him who suffered for Frank and Gaul alike was first depicted to him, " Would I had been there with a
thousand of my valiant Franks ! They would not have served Him so then." By the way, the name Frank
is said to be derived from a word meaning a " battle-axe." Here we have the Saxon billmen over again.
They were awful men, these old Goths. Howevei, there were not very many of them in France, relatively
speaking, and they soon lost their national peculiarities, more or less, and became identical with what we
know in modern times as French.

The Gaul embraced Christianity with the same fervour and faith that he had placed in Druidism. The
Celt is not anything if not enthusiastic — enthusiasm is the key to his character. It has ofte.'i IhI him, poor
man, to exhibit himself in horrible and grotesque attitudes. And so he was, and has been all along, enthusi-
astic in his religion. And, as he is also fond of display, and does many things for the sake of effect, his
religion also has been clothed with pomp and .show and circumstance. His is a nature not so strong and
abiding and self-contained as is that of the Norseman, but he is readier with his sympathy and with himself.
He is le.^s selfish than the Saxon. He is an older survival of the childhood of our race, and has all the
virtues and failings, the weaknesses and strength — yes, the strength — of a child. If he has not the stern
and high impassioned nature of the North, he, when occasion calls for it, reserves less of what he has and
is for himself. He was always devoted to his Church, as became one of his sentient and emotional nature,
and the descendant of a race that bowed in awful reverence around the Druidical circle. It is true that a
century ago the people whelmed Church and State in one common ruin, but their work of deva.station was
not at first directed against the Church. And the Church, being a human institution, had fallen into that
corruption " which a long succession of ages will bring upon the heft institutions, and the destruction hurled
upon the State was by sympathy extended to the Church." And Jhe people, impulsive and unrettecting as
they were, had been goaded into madness by the wrongs which they had suffered, and, in their blind frenzy,

■'■i

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

struck at everything bearing the semblance of authority. And the movement against the Church was begun
and directed by the atheistical writers who at that time abounded in France — the baneful character of whose
productions are yet visible in our own time. Man continually rebounds from on^ extreme of thought and
feeling to the other. Man, individually, is prone to do this ; when he acts in concert, the danger of such a
result is increased. When the masses of men so circumstancod are men of quick sympathy and unreflecting
minds, who have been ground under the iron heel of tyranny for ages, and who have learned to know their
own strength and to use it according to ohe dictates of the passions which possess them for the time, a result
like that of the French Revolutioii is not surprising. Men — the most rational men — can be taught tw act
with judgment and moderation when they act as individuals. When they act in bodies it is rarely that they
do just so much and no more — they almost inevitably traverse the limit which was at first intended. All
public movements have been proofs of this fact. So when we consider the vivacity and intensity of the
Frenchman's emotions — that is, relatively to the general strength of his nature, for he is not so strong as
his neighbour, the Saxon — and when we consider that the worst and most hideous passions of humanity held
at that time high carnival, the result, as we know, was inevitable. The spectacle of a nation gone mad is
no occasion upon which to look for anything but diabolical resu ts. It is mournful to think of how much
of the wrath of man it takes to praise God ; how man is let loose upon himself, and there is tearing and
rending and blood-shedding, to the sickening of the soul, before any good results follow. Europe had fallen
under tyranny which was but the skeleton of authority masquerading in silken yet heartless attire, and
God's judgment must fall on the sinful nations; the scourge of the Eternal must drive rulers from the
profaned temple of liberty — money-changers who dealt in the blood and agony and starvation, and the
ignorance, and the souls of men ; and the Almighty looks down with avenging glance to see Europe drenched
in blood — to see nations hurled together in mutual mas.sacre, and cliaos holding revel fron^ the Atlantic to
the frozen steppes of Russia. And whj'^ did a kind and merciful Heaven consent to see a,U this ? That some
little good, as we think, might be done ; that a worn-out and soulless and .spiritless .system of government
might be blotted out in Europe forever, and that a new and somewhat better system might be introduced ;
that the poor and ignorant, and the oppressed, might have their condition just a little improved ; that the
signs of a better time might appear. Yes, man, when left to do things in his own way, brings them about
at a frightful cost. He raves, and gibbers, and murders, and de.stroys, and yet the results, as far as any good

THE FRENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

is concerned, are often imperceptible. So has the visible track of man been inarktd with blood and rapine
ever since he had a beinjf ; and. vv^ere it not for the still, small voice within him that be.speaks his divinity,
for that hidden spark of heavenly flame that bids him hope and struggle on, we should despair of our
humanity. Surely man is not so bad as he looks at times, or God'.s avenging hand would strike us from
existence. Good and evil — or what we call good and evil — He so near wi+ihin us ; good has to be purchased at
the pi-ice of .so much violence, and terror, and resistance, and bitterness of heart, that we may well exclaim,
Who will show us any good ? And yet, through it all, man advances now a little and then a little ; here
driven back in bloody defeat, and there advancing in bloody victory ; earning just a little, not b\ the sweat
of his brow, but by his heart's blood, and the long, long wail of humanity goes up to an appurent'y relentless
heaven, across which the silent stars march in awful silence.

To the French nation, instinct with the primeval independence of the Celt, was awarded the lot of
striking down the tyrannies of Europe. Not consolidated into power by a long and worthy legacy of
traditional freedom — with a strength not massive and stately and grand, with full intent upon its purpose —
but with a fire bursting up in volcanic eruption, with the bars of authority wrenched from their ancient places
and clutched in vulture-like, blood-besmeared, bony hands : in such guise do this ancient people turn upon
afl'righted Europe and trample upon all that men deemed honourable. We learn from this awful tragedy of a
continent that the more ancient the people, the more inextinguishable is the spark of freedom. No .system of
government, no secondary or interested motives, can rule a race in whose hearts, deeper than all else, is the
primal instinct of liberty. And to this the Frenchman, in his calmer and soberer movements, is ever returning.
His course is devious, and erratic, and violent, and sometimes grotesque, and again lurid and fiend-like ; but
still he is always making for liberty. The fire and the spirit of freedom are there, guarded by the Vestas of
humanity ; but he has not had the good fortune to be provided with the implements of liberty — of a true and
steady and gradually-developing liberty. With .spasmodic throbbings his heart frantically rebels against the
tjrant and hurls him from his place, and is then ere long displeased with his own handiwork, and must fain
have another king.

The Celt loves effect, in obedience to his old yet youthful nature. He is much affected by magnificence
and display. All excellence for him must have a visible and bodily form. He sets up his idol and regards it
admiringly, and, as its fantastic beauty grows upon his imagination, he nmst perforce dance and caper about
U

CAPE /iRETOA- 1 1.LLSTRATED.

it in an ecstasy of youthful admiration. Yet his heart is in the main in the ri;j;ht place : it has been so
crushed and broken on the wheel of the centuries, that it is no wonder that its utterings should at times be
incoherent and half-delirious. This love of magnificence of his often sadly conflicts with his love of freedom.
He loves empire and renown and the exteriors and trappings of imperial grandeur, and so he must have an
emperor. But ere long the old spirit of freedom asserts itself ; he rebels against his own creation of power
and sweeps it into space. So, since Ids revolution, he continually sways between Imperialism and Democracy,
and hardly knows which to choose. The ancient Celt was never taught the duty of obedience for its own
sake, as was the Saxon, who obeyed for a purpose. The former obeyed for the sake of glory and distinction —
his obedience took the form of loyalty and enthusiasm ; and, to the extent that this is true, the Celt is a more
worthy man at heart than the Saxon. H'e reserves nothing for system — he gives himself all in all to his
cause. A^' an individual, the Frenchman has many qualities superior to the Saxon. There is less of self about
him than there is about the En^ lishman. He is not only more courteous in form, but he is more courteous in
heart — it was from his heart that his courtesy first came. It is natural as well as artificial. He thinks of
you naturally as well as he thinks of himself. The Englishman does not, unless he has been taught to do so.
The Frenchman bar a more lively and .sentient perception of his own personality than the Englishman ha.s,
and consequen'Jy he pays more regard to yours. He is nearer nature than the Englishman, for the reason
that nature has not been educated out of him by his national history, as has been the case with the
Englishman, He is essentially of a more unmixed and ancient and less complex race. He has not taken on
and become a part of and assimilated the hard drill of the world to himself. He is less worldly altogether.
He may be more worldly in economics of a small nature, but yet he does not deal with the world on a settled
and fixed and determined plan as the Englishman does, for the reason that it has never come in his way to be
taught. His personal independence is of a nature diflierent from that of the Englishman. The latter is the
independent member of a conscious and organized system — he belongs to society in some sense or other, and
hence is in danger of falling into the hum-drum and commonplace. The Frenchman is never either one of
these, any more than the Irishman is. His personal independence goes too far back and too deep down to
care whether he be just like anybody else or not. He has al\v.^y.s a vivaeious, and springy, and elastic, and
interesting life of his own, and he is not offended if you are not like him. He does not for any reason in the
world expect you to be. There is nothing of the clown even about the French peasant, His personal

MMMMMMi

THE FRENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

8;i

■1

imlependeiice does not take that form. He is not driven to the necessity of beiny ill-mannered in order to
show that he is as good a man as his superior in rank. And the Irishman is like him in this respect. Pat's
impressive humour comes to his assistance at all times, and leaves him in triumphant possession of the
situation. He cracks his joke, unconsciously or otherwise, over the head of bishop or peer with greater zest
than he would in the case of his ecjuai, as if to say, " What a world this is we live in ! You are so far above
lEe to all appearance, and yet I am just as good and a wittier man than you are." The French peasant has a
hard and bitter, sardonic address as he talks to his superior, accompanied with a lurking and watchful smile,
as if he might be fumbling with the hilt of a dagger concealed beneath his ragged blouse ; for he remembers
what his kind have suffered at the hands of the great, and he knows that a fearful revenge is always within
the reach of the people. The same self-assertive independence is present also in the haughty intonation of
the Scottish Highlander's voice, as he tosses his head and jerks a half-English answer to your (juestion into
the air which seems hardly line enough for him to breathe. He is the darkest and most dangerous Celt of all
when his blood is up, as many. a battle-field can tell. His hatred and revenge are past all believing.

The most distinctive mark of the Celt is, then, his unquenchable personal independence. But the only
practical use he makes of it — or rather the only use he makes of it at all — is to show you that he has it.
It has never been of great practical use to him for the very reason that he surrenders none of it. He has
never been taught, as the Saxon has, to give a part in order that he may use the remainder for his own
interest. Oh, no, not he — and he will not do it. In fact, he does not think much of his own interest, as we
under.stand it. His independence — that is his interest — and the rest of it is only a joke, a farce, or something
to hate with deadly malevolence. He has never been a slave in mind and to himself. Not he. He has
sometimes — pretty often — been apparently a slave, and this has made him all the more dangerous, as he
thinks of it ; but his mind, his sentiments, his love, his hate, his joys, his sorrow::, these he sells to no
man. He hides these in his heart; and were it not for the bright, yet often tearful face, we would
never know what a loyal and tender soul — what a galled and wounded spirit — looks out from it upon a
paltry-souled and time-serving world. The loyal Irish heart, the bonliovile of the Frenchman, a Highland
welcome— all these are distinctly Celtic ; but the knife of the assassin, the dagger and the dirk — these are
the reverse side of the picture, and beware of them. And it is all natural. The Celt is impressible,
unquenchable, wild and wayward as the Cossack, and yet of truer and tiner-tempcred steel than the sword

CAPE BRJtTON ILLUSTRATED.

of Saladin. Beat him down one day, and he is up again the next as lively as ever. In short, he is a survival
of the most ancient time ; he is the true child of humanity ; and he has all the impulsiveness, the
disinterestedness, the tears, the laughter, the goodness and wickedness of a child ; and he looks for sympathy
and expects forgiveness through it all — and gets them. It is the Celtic element in the Scotsman, and which
lies in him deeper than all, that redeems him from being the most morose and untoward clown in the world.
The Frenchman, the Irishman and the Scot can well understand each other ; they are cousins of old — a
thousand years — j-es, we don't know how long before the "heathen came swarming o'er the Northern Sea." The
three countries were long friends and allies in fact and deed, and are still .'so in sentiment. The Celtic element
is present in the English character, though not sutliciently strong to dominate it, except in the realm of
religion. We do not hesitate to say that it is this element which makes Britain to-day a missionary island,
as Ireland was in the time of old. From lona was shed fortli the mild and benignant light which tempered
and sabdued the ferocity of roving clans and savage spoilers of peaceful lands.

And so the Frenchman has always been essentially independent. The early Frankish knight constituted
the ancient nobility of the country, around whom the people gradually centred themselves with characteristic
loyalty and devotion under the feudal system. This old nobility of France was a class unique in Europe, and
in some respects came nearer the ideal of a nobility than any men of whom we read. Bound to their tenants
on the one side, and to the king on the other, and to both by bonds e([ually strong and delicate, France
woald have done well enough in their time had it not been for the vanity and rapacity of the king and
court. The old nobles, bound to the king by the most indissoluble of all ties, that of voluntary service,
lavishly spent their blood and treasure, and that of their vassals, in the royal service. The king among
those old nobles of France was only " primiis inter parca." In point of rank, nobles and king were equal,
and the loyalty of the former was voluntary and unsolicited — at all events this was the ideal towards which
they looked. One can see in the bond of equality between king and nobles how the idea of personal
independence had ascended to the class who clustered about the throne of the king. The insurrection of the
Jacquirie in the middle ages shows that at that time the long-suffering of the people had been over-taxed to
support the vain magnificence of kings. The lower orders of the peasants rose and drenched France with
blood. This was the precursor of more frightful things yet to come. The savage vengeance of the vulgar
had learned its power, and it lurked and lured and waited its time. Richelieu destroyed the power &r the

THE FREXCHMAX AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

the
rl to
:ith
gar
the

old French nobility, centred all authority in the king and court, or rather in himself, and thus hastened the
catastrophe of the Revolution. He was to France a meaner Cromwell — without courage to remove the king,
and -without heart to give liberty to the people ; and tyranny after his time was viler and less respectable
than it had been before.

The independence of the Frciclimaa had its eflect upon the character of the French soldier and upon the
nature of his obedience. This influence can be observed down to the present time. The English soldier obeys
an order because it is an order — he never reflects or discriminates between himself and the order. It is not a
subject for criticism. He merely does what he is bid, and does it to the death. The French soldier, while
equally obedient, is obedient in a different way. He separates himself entirely from the order — he does not
consider that in his inmost soul he has any right to obey it just because it is an order. He obeys not from a
sense of duty, but from a sense of military fitness or for effect, or, better still, from a sense of glory. He
knows when he is well led, and his whole soul goes out in enthusiastic loyalty to the man who can put it in
his way to make a display of himself. The French run very readily to enthusiasm — their public men, or
those who are remarkable among them, are objects of enthusiasm — hence we can understand what a terrible
engine of battle was a French army in the hands of a man like Napoleon. And enthusiasm is of itself a
mental quality. Its excellence or demerit depends entirely upon the nature of its object. It is as liable to
lead into folly and crime as into wisdom and virtue. It can reach into heaven and desctmd to Gehenna, .so let
us be careful what we get enthusiastic about. And the Frenchman isn't careful — not a ))it of it — and so his
'•nthusiasm often brings him into grief.

The Frenchman has a reverent nature. This is the explanation of his enthusiasm. Some one may say
that this statement is notoriously false — that the Frenchman has no reverence in his composition. And this
is so in seeming, but it is not so in fact. Irreverence, of which the Frenchman .seems to have good store, is
but the reverse side of reverence. A man who has not the religions instinct at all is incapable of irreverence.
He is simply in.sensible and mute and .staring in the presence of sacred thing,s. What is there in them to laugh
at for him ? Everything is alike to him — cathedral, convent, -shrine, house and barn, and herds and flocks ;
a convenient and undi.sturbing monotony, an unconscious incubus, rests upon everything.

The reverence of the Frenchman is the inheritance which comes to him from Druidical times. This he
has in conunon with the rest of the Celts. Most of the troubles with the Irish and Hio-hlanders have been of

CAI'F liRETOM ILLUSTRATED.

a religious character; and if it cannot be said the troubles of E'rance have been of a relip;ious nature, they
have nearly always taken or that complexion, either positive or negative. Reverence and irreverence — both
of them — have had nearly everytliing to do with placing France where she is. They have been the pivotal
points upon which the history of France has turned.

The Frenchman has always loved his Church, and does so yet. But this does not go to say that the
Frenchman has been remarkable for elevation and correctness of morals — not at all. Tiic religious instinct
and morality are not one and the same thing. A religious life and morality are inseparable, but morality
may exist where there is no religion at all. Men are moral from climate, temperament, conventionality, and
the like, as the Northern tribes were. But we are religious from instinct, and then only, when instinct has
passed into the higher realm of spiritual life which so dominates the affections and the motives and the soul
that we have Christian morality. It is quite possible, probable — nay, it occurs more frequently than it does
not — that we do not obey our better instincts. He who does not do what he instinctively knows to be right
is an incongruous and u.seless sort of a man. He isn't of much use to himself or anybody else. The whole force
of his inner being, at least, for he may have the means of concealment from the world, is expended in a fight
between his conscience and his life — to himself he is fallen ; and outwardly he ajipears fantastic and out of
form and bad. The French court itself was generally religious in a way, but — . We do not mean to
assert that all the '"'ronch people led immoral lives ; they were only in that danger. We suppose there have
been as many good Frenchmen as good Gernians, or Dutchmen, or Englishmen. When the Frenchnian was
a good man, his .sympathy and enthusiasm led ! :im to give himself h.eart and soul to that sort of a life. Two
centuries ago the Frenchman wa.s a devoted missionary. That he is not so at present must be owing, and
doutless is owing, to the troubles which have fallen upon his Church, to the Revolution, to its causes and
results. The English people came out of their Revolution with their national religion quickened and
strengthened, yet it must be admitted that this religious, national life of the English was not of the highest
order, as we have seen while discu.ssinrr Puritanism.

The Puritans were not, as a body, infused with the missionary spirit. Their position, relatively to the
world, was that of a political body. The French Church, about the same time, was emphatically missionary
in its spirit. The Frenchman, if he be a good man, is a better missionary (ihan the Englishman. His
nature, at least, if not his life, is more of a mission to the world. He is more on a level with humanity. He

THE FRENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

lis

recognized tho sacred brotherhood of the Indian in a manner that we have never done. He curried the cross
in his van from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the delta of tho Mississippi. Tli^ lives of the men who
did this tell a tale of the true heroism of humanity, the like of which England may ' iok for in \.iin during
that period of her co!oii::il history. The tire of religious enthusiasm burnod inten.'cly in the French heart.
The Indian was not a man to be conquered or thrust out of the way; he was a mar to v.hom it was necessary
to tell the story of eternal life. The Frenchman got at this through a love of hi;, kind — through a love of
humanity. He was anxious to tell the Indian all about the sweetness and maicsty of life. His
communicativeness, his sympathy, went out in a strong and worm tide towurds the perishing Indian,
and the Indian paid him back ; .some of those early Jesuit Blathers were loved a, .sincerelv by their converts
as ever men were in the world. Settlements of haptized Indians existed all through the primeval forest,
clustered about tlie wigwam of the missionary, and they often suffered terrible tliing.« at the hands of their
enemies, and they often inflicted terrible things upon their enemies, too. The story of the colonial wars
between the French and English, especially in respect of the manner in which the Indian allies on both sides
were employed, is a horrible picture to look at. One thinks worse of his kind when he reads it. Useless
recrimination does not avail now. One party was not a whit better than the other in the main, and no
worse. English and French thought at that time, becau.se they had different religions, thoy had a right to
be enemies. They did not think, nor do many men now perhaps think, that there is no such thing as a
difference in religion. Religion is one and eternal, and I.; "^ws men's value and appreciates it, and looks to
the far end of things and works with thnt in view.

The French and Engli.sh in America did not fight because they had different forms of religion ; they
fought because they were jealous of each other, and wanted to weaken and destroy each other's power in order
that they might have more themselves. And, bc^'des, they were afraid of each other, and no passion is so
blindly and insanely cruel as fear; in fact, most of the hideous blows that were struck during this contest
were caused by the desire to ensure the safety of those who gave them. Religion was, of course, an element
of bitterness in the struggle, and inakes it appear all the more hideous. But religion, us we have seen — and
it need not of necessity be an insincere religion either, aa men go — can be made to do anything and to say
anything. One of the Puritan ministers, while contemplating with an unctuous satisfaction the bodies of six
poor innocents who had been executed as witches at Salem, said, as he shook his fist at the dangling victim.s,

( •. ; PE liRE /■( > \' Jf.r I 'S TKA TED.

"There hang six firebrands of hell." This man sat not only at the court who condemned them in this world
— he d'd so as a matter of fact — but he tooi< it upon himself to sit in the judgniimt-seat of the Eternal
Himself, who knew what an insane and wicked madman it was who was talking. The English destroyed an
Indian village, and shot the defenceless inhabitants and a Jesuit father named Ralle, and afterwards horribly
mutilated his dead body. Haverhill ami Denlield, in Mas?achu.setts wore destroyed, and the inhabitants
either killed or taken captive l>y the Intlian allies of the French. Money was freely paid for scalps on both
side.s, and the Indians fell at last into a ghastly way of diviiling those hideous trophies so as to make the
business pay better. And this money was paid in coin of France and England by men who were in some
respects good men, religious men — in their way. They worshipped God, and they were loyal to their country
and their families and their frien<ls, and they .said mass or instructed their families in the exact words of the
Westminster Confession of Faith. Man is an awful thing when he takes to fighting, and when he is
frightened of his life, and when he thinks it is a good thing to kill his neighbour, because he reads a prayer
or because he doesn't read one — no. not for that reason, but because he is so circumstanced that he has
learned to hate his neighbour and can't see how wicked it is. From Virginia to the St. Lawrence, and thence
to Nova Scotia, along the frontier of the French and English settlements, for more than a century there was
an almost intermittent scene of midnight massacre and tire and cruel torture that turns the heart sick. There
is no .such recital in all modern civilization. But it was all the result of circumstances. We suppose the.se
men could not help it. They had to do it at last in self-defence. But the.se men commenced wrong; they
came all ready to tight if need be, and they soon found the occasion. A light is found readier than anything
e'se in the world if one looks for it. It is but fair to say that a good deal of this bad blood was stirred up by-
worthless traders, who encroached on what they respectively called their rights. But they had no rights, or
they did not know how to define them if they had. The only result of all this bloody experience was that
the American colonist learned to fight by it, and thereby helped to conciuer the French at last, and then to
gain his independence.

The French being by nature and instinct religious — that is, religious in the widest and most natural sense
— it follows that absence of religion, a refusal to follow its dictates, a rebellion against its form and observance,
must be disastrous to them as a nation. Religion constitutes national ami individual power, espec'ally when
the traditions an<I experience of the nation us individuals have always tended in that direction. A man is

these
; they

NORTH RIVER VALLEY.

THE FRRNClr^rAN AS MISSIONARY AND COr.OXIST.

most succesht'ul, and most naturall}' employed as well, when he finds himself in a position in which it is right
— when it is his duty — to follow out his natural inclination. No man is so bad, so utterly worthless, as one
who oui;ht to be religious and is not. The house, empty, swept and garnished, has been re-tenanted by the
seven devils. In some nations and in some natures there is scarcely any medium between the best and the
worst. Some people must be either very good or very bad. And this is the case with those who are affected
the least by worldly, or what we call practical, considerations. Those whose sympathies are the strongest and
the inclinations best, are sure to go to the bad when these ((ualities fail to meet with a proper degree of use
and cultivation. The best and the worst in us lie so near together that the lapse from the former to the latter
is swift and sudden. The more common, practical, every-day qualities are le.ss liable to abuse. Hence, the
irreligious Sa.Kon is not in so much danger as the irreligious Celt. In fact, the Saxon may be irreligious all
his life, and no one may know very much about it. But it is not so with the Celt — when he is irreligious the
world hears from him in no very good fashion. He does evil as he dnes evervthing else — with all his heart.
He sins, as it were, with a cart-rope. This is what the French did at the time of the Revolution. They
sinned with the guillotine and pillaging and fusilading, and binding books with tanned human skins. Their
ways and doings were as horrible as the gibberings of a grinning death's-head. A moral .shock like that,
and the dethronement of religion from the place which she ought to occupy among the French more than in
either England or Germany, must be a terrific source of weakness in the long ruu. hut the Church in France
is again silently and .surely regaining her power. She will never be strong again until it has done so.
Certainly the enthusiasm and devotion, the culture and f.urength of the French nation, will yet fulfil its true
mi.ssion. We have much to learn of them. The insular burliness of Britain has made us strong, but we are
in many respects an unamiable nation, and defeat our own good intentions by our positive self-assertion and
inability to understand the sympathies and condition of others. Men can't be driven to be good, but they may
be led — and we ai"e better drivers than leaders. We hope the world shall see the day when France .shall have
her religion back again, for she needs it — when there .'^■hall be in France a worthy nation worshipping at the
shrine which her erring sons .so ruthlessly and insanely destroyed. And then, when the great commonwealth
of nations is formed, and each comes with things new and old to decorate the dwelling of the Great
Householder, we are quite sure that France — the bright, and cheerful, and loyal, and true-hearted France —
will not come with empty hands.

CA PR BRE n )<V //. A I 'S TRA TED.

11^

But the Frenchman hail not received the same liistorical training — training to fit him for being a very
successful colonist. He knew very little about that power of order and rule and precedent that charccter-
ized the Pilgrim Fathers. France threw oft' her colonists during a period when there was strife and
contention at home. It may be said, " So did England." But the result of the struggle in England was the
complete emancipation of the people; in France, it resulted in an intolerable subjugation. And the English
colonist belonged to the party which triumphed. Besides, the Frenchman had not ueen long in America
when he was obliged to expend the greater part of his energy in defending himself from his more powerful
and determined enemy. He had not very much opportunity to develop in all tiie necessary qualities of a
colonist from the first. They were under the direct control of the government at home, and a most
unrighteous government it was — that is, in its developments amorg the Canadians. The French colonist
never knew the sound of the word liberty as it was understood among the colonists of Britain. They were
no part and parcel of the governing authority theiii-;elves, or anything approaching to it. They had to
contend against a rigorous climate — they had often insufficient supplies. Englisli cruisers were very likely
to stop them on the way. Ofticials, often incompetent and corrupt, and intent on nothing but making their
own fortunes, were sent out to govern them. The colonist of Canada was intent on nothing but making
his fortune in his own small way, as do the Canadian French of the present day, and as did the Acadian
French, who, if they had known when they were well oft", and taken the oath of allegiance to Great Britain,
might have had as happy a time of it as had the Canadian French after the conquest of their country. The
fate of these people was unquestionably a sad one. But they were by no means the quiet und harmless and
incrtensivv people they are represented to have been in Long^"llow's " Evangeline." They were plainly'
disaft'ected to the British Government. They refused to be perfectly reconciled. They were reoily at any
time to assist against the English, and sometimes did so. They were quarrelsome against thems jlves. The
description of their .settlement at Grand Pre is a perfect idyllic picture, but it is not true to the tacts, for
many of them were poor and destitute. Were the " Evangeline " as good history as it is poetry, we should
have a perfect account of what occurred. But it is not. The colonist in Canada had a hard time of it.
When the struggle began to assume serious proportions, a very large proportion of those who should have
been tilling the ground had to be organized for defence ; at length, every man capable of bearing arms had
to be enrolled, and supplies had to be got from France. It is easy to see what a useless enterprise this was

^^■nai^^l,'.^si^»^jtf^^ptlsdiixi>if^W!li^-

THE FRENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

for the mother country. They had a partly military and partly civil government, and each department was
administered by a separate oiRcer. And these officials always quarrelled. There was no proper definition of
the limits of their respective powers, and this led to perpetual misunderstanding. E/en at the last, Montcalm
and Vaudreuil were not on proper terms, and never had been. When the crisis came at Quebec, the strength
of the French force was ui.ssipated by want of unanimity and concert among the leaders. So notoriously
corrupt were the officials who administered the affiiii's of the colony, and who received the supplies from the
king, that France had, besides the loss of her colony, the humiliation of ordering a general trial of her
Canadian officials, as .soon as they arrived after the surrender. Their villainy and fraud almo.st exceeds belief.
Supplies were received from the king and then sold back to him at twice or thrice their original price; and
these supplies the poor people — poor enough already by reason of war, and famine, and oppression— had to
purchase as they best could. Poor and rapacious officials were sent out from France, the favourites or friends
of those already there, with the express understanding that they would in a few years be provided for for
life. While all this was going on we can readily conceive in what condition the poor people lived, even in
times of peace; and in time of war their hard lot was inteasely aggravated. In view of all these facts, one
cannot help admiring the gallantry of the defence they made against an enemy many times their number,
and superior in military appliances and resources. At the time of the final conflict, the French in Canada
numbered only eighty thousand, while the British colonies contained above two millions of people. But the
Canadians were Frenchmen, and fought with the cheerfulness and courage of their race, and under circum-
stances which would have discouraged any other men. With the chivalrous Montcalm at their head, they
presented a gallanJ, front to the enemy. By their alertness and military address they often foiled their
superior enemy, for the English, as they generally do, maile some terrible blunders during the conflict. But
while this brave defence was being made, it was easy to see that the country was taxed to the utmost in the
eflfort, and that if they lost, all was lost The enemy had come by land and ,sea a thousand miles and more,
and was thundering at their gates. They had swept up the St. Lawrence in a lordly fleet that covered the
magnificent river for miles. By land they had marched through the southern portals of Canada, and fifty
thousand men in all were available if needed in the coming struggle. Through woods already stained for
a century with the blcod of the massacred and the slain, over lakes fringed with French forts already
deserted and destroyed, but yet smiling towards the blue heavens, as if man had never left his fiend-like

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

track upon theix* lovely shores, on marched the grim Saxon ranks to try conclusions once more with the
gallant enemy who had scattered them iii confusion and death before the wooden barricades of Ticonderoga.
Ere they return the French standard shall have ceased to sjjread its lilies to the Canadian breeze — the pathos
of the French story in America shall have gone to be enshrined in the past, and the Dominion of the
prosaic, practical Saxon shall be assured in America forever. To us v '-"o have such a meagre past around
which we may gather and ponder upon its record and feel ourselves bette. nnd kindlier men, the story of the
contest in Canada is filled with interest. Here have the men of a great and gallant nation lived and toiled,
and fought and worshipped. They struggled cheerfully, and hopefully, and bravely against their grim and
determined enemy, and only gave up the contiict when further i-esistance was useles.s. After Quebec, the
talisman of their power, had fallen shattered from the dying hand of the gallant Montcalm, after the
converging armies of the invader had encircled in their relentless grasp Montreal, the centre of the power,
then was signed the treaty which gave North America to the sons of the men who followed the raven
banner of the Norsemen thirteen centuries before, and chose England as their home — a home in which they
were to be hewn and carved and moulded by the centuries, and thence take flight anew westward and
westward, and people a continent of which Hengist never 1"; -^rd, nor the Saxon bard ever sung.

We have above described the weaknesses of the French power in Canada. There was no people, no
body of men who felt that the success and good government of the country depended upon themselves. There
was nothing between the rapacity of government officials and the poverty and necessity of the people. There
was nothing like a steady and energetic colonial life pervading all classes of the people. The avenue through
which power and self-reliance came to the people hail been blocked up ; indeed, it never had existed among
them traditionally. They 'new nothing about it. All these things must inevitably tell before long when
they were to be brought into conflict with men who had long been familiar with the spirit of the system
which they adopted as soon as they set foot upon American soil. It was their ideal of life. So the French,
though organized for defence, had no system of organization behind them. The only strength they possessed
was the front of battle which they presented to the enemy. All the rest of their .strength was imaginary,
unfixed and visionary. Their line of defence was not the product of their own capabilities, but had to be
supported from the mother country, and the contingencies were many that might prevent their ever being of

,. ..^v,.*««.-.^H*W«**«-^4*«*«»*^»^'^

THE FRENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

ch,

Use to them ; and tlicir distribution, as we have seen, was converted into a direct means of ruin to the
country.

But in another sense he was strong — stronger than his heavier antaj]jonist. In the first phice, he held the
position, and he was not easy to reach. By sea, Quebec, the key to his power from the side of the ocean, lay
a thousand miles and more from tlie basis upon which his adversary had to concentrate his attacks. His
vulnerable position on the land side was separated by hundreds of miles of forest, and guarded by forts
erected in commanding positions. And his experience here had taught him — that is, the Canadian colonist —
to look upon the British soldier with contempt. He had learned to say, with some apparent ground of reason,
that one Canadian could beat three Englishmen. This, of course, meant that one Canadian could shoot three
Englishmen when he got behind a tree — and he often did. This avenue of attack lay thick with the bones
of British soldiers. Ignorance of the work in hand, and a determination to keep so, on the part of British
officers, led to this result. The Englishman did not know his work, but the Frenchman made a worse mistake
when he attributed the failure of his enemy to a wrong cause. He thought the Englishman was naturally,
and as a matter of course, an inferior man to himself, and hoped and trusted in the future, as the Frenchman
generally does. Braddock's defeat was only one — the worst and most disastrous, of course — which befell the
British line of march from the sea to the St. Lawrence. There had been many others of a somewhat similar
character. The power of Britain had been almost humbled at Fort William Heniy and Ticonderoga : and it
was hoped that Britain ere long would give up the idea of conquering Canada. The fact that New France
was a single colony, and under the direct control of the home government, brought to it an element of military
strength. What power it had was concentrated. There were not many independent colonies, each with its
own government and interests and jealousies, as was the case with the colonics that lay along the Atlantic
shore, who often quarrelled and were jealous of mutually assisting each other. France for centuries had
learned to throw all her energies into military form, and the miserable people were robbed and despoiled to
support it. The only thing that enabled France to do this was the abundance of her natural resources, and
her amazing power of recuperation. Louis XIV. is said to have had as many men under arms as the Roman
empire had in the da3-s of its greatest strength — nearly half a million.

Canada, being now compelled by force of circumstances to copy the example of the mother country — to
expend all her force in military operations — was more unfortiuiately situated than France had ever been.

CAPIi nRE/'OX It.l.lSTRATED.

She had no resources upon which to draw. Her people were too few in number to allow of any reserve.
When her army was ia the Held, the land lay desolate. What force she had was well used in a military sense,
but it was all the force she had, and even that was not sufficient to protect her from the combined attack of
the Americans and EnofUsh. It was not in the nature of things that it should. They could not conquer
impossibilities ; and their successful defence was, under the circumstances, an impossibility.

Yet the Canadians possessed good fighting material — the best for its requirements in the world. They
had some three or four thousands of French regular troops, who, when an opportunity was presented to them,
and under the leadership of a man like Montcalm, were capable of doing all that soldiers could do. They,
after their manner, had an intense love and admiration of their chief — they were full of the military traditions
of their country, full of enthusiasm for the glory of France in this New World. They had but a few years
before forced back the blind valour of Britain at Fontenoy, and had all through the war of the Austrian
succession well sustained the military reputation of France, so that Britain reaped scant glory from the
conflict. Under Montcalm they had inflicted defeat and discomfiture upon the British, and there were many
reasons for them to hope. The English had seen their long lines of white uniforms, heard the crash of their
musketry, and their exultant shouts of " Vive le lloi ! " " Vive notre Generale ! " and the remembrance was no
reason for congratulation. The fall of Canada was in no sense due to the failure of the French soldier in the
time of her need. He justified the traditions of his race and of his country. If fate preferred the rose to the
lily, it was not his fault that he bore the lily in his standard. It was fate — it was inevitable.

Then the French had on their side the colonist himself, who had been Ion:.; trained in the wars of the
forest. It was he that boasted that he could beat three Englishmen ; and so, in his way, he could. He had
developed into the best bush-fighter of his time. He had long been familiar with the forest ways and modes
of the Indian. They had been companions and friends in a way, and this the English and Indians seldom
were. There was perhaps a certain craft and ingenuity of mind about the Frenchman which the Indian could
recognize and appreciate better than he could the carelessly concealed disdain of the Briton. It was always
more natural for the Indian to fa' ito the French than into the English alliance. The cause of the latter
they espoused more from interest tmd policy than from inclination. The English were better and more honest
traders, for one thing ; and the Indians who bordered on the English territory knew that the latter were tho
stronger and safer party to have to do with, and in these ways the English gained some Indian allies. But

TIE h'RKNCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AXD COLONIST.

icr
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ut

naturally they did not fraternize. If the Englishman did not look over the IntHan's head when he regarded
him — the Indian being rather tall to admit of that manner of ignoring him — he at least looked through him ;
and not observing anything equal to the importance of the English mind, he turned his attention to what he
considered to be things of more consequence.

But the French colonist, though a good man in the field, was no real element of strength to his country
in the same sense that the New Englander was to his. He was no citizen — he was a dependant. He was
dependent upon some very noble things, it is true, but for the best things to which he was loyal he had reason
to be obliged. He was loyal to the ideal of France and all it implied ; he was loyal to his Church ; he was
loyal to the new land which he had come to subdue to himself — and for all these sentiments he was debtor
to nobody. They were part of himself — they were the breath of his life ; and the life which they produced
was cheerful and courageous. He had many things about him to which he had no reason to be loyal — in all
matters of government and civil control, in the manner in which he had to supply his little daily wants, he
was an ill-used man He did not occupy the position of a man. His lot was not just to him. He was a far
better man, loyal soul that he was, than to have met with such unworthy environments. He was true to
France ; but France, not that she meant to be, but through her system of government in the colonies, was a
most unnatural mother to him. The loyal are generally the subjects of abuse — such is the constitution of
things — and the French colonist was no exception to the rule. But he met with a kindly conqueror. It is
not much wonder that just before the crisis at Quebec they deserted in numbers to the English. After the
surrender of Canada, they were permitted the free exercise of their own laws and religion. Very soon after
we find them appealing to Britain against petty and vexatious laws in the administration of justice by their
own oflficials left among them, and their case was not left unheard. We cannot say that their loyalty to
France was transferred to Britain. To all intents and purposes they are French yet, except in the fact of
political connection. To this fact they have always exhibited that loyalty — though it be not of an enthusiastic,
or .sentimental, or national character — which the Frenchman cannot and does not withhold from those who are
kind to him. We have not much to fear from the disloyalty of the Canadian French to British connection.
Had it not been for their adherence to Britain at the time of the American Revolution, the Briti-sh fias would
probably not now be flying over the citadels of Halifax and Quebec. It is not unfitting that our country
should bear the romantic name of their ancient French Province ; that every tin»e we speak of Canada we

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

may think of the story which tells how well and how long they fought, and how much they endured for their
home, their country, and for the sunny memories of France ; we may think of the chivalrous Montcalm,
though mortally wounded, still riding through the streets of Quebec after his glorious defeat, followed by the
weeping people, grieving for their death-stricken hero and protector; and how he found his last resting-place
in a grave which needed scarcely to be dug — for it was a cavity made within the walls of the Ursuline
Convent by an English shell — a fitting grave for a soldier such as he.

But the French colonist, though the best of fighters in the woods, was no match for regular soldiers —
especially British veterans — in the open field. Had he been so, the Plains of Abraham might have told a
different story. Montcalm knew his weakness in this respect, and it made him anxious and uneasy, and kept
Itim within his own lines, and deterred him from throwing down the gauge of battle to Wolfe ; and Wolfe,
with a hawk-like intent upon his prey, was eagerly watching to see him do it, and wore himself out with
ardour and anxiety because he would not ; but they met full soon — for the first and last time.

About the Indian ally of the French not much good can be said. And he had no effect upon the general
result of the struggle. The event would have terminated the same without him, and we .should be spared the
contemplation of many a sickening detail of drunken atrocity and hideous butchery which blackens the
history of man. The French and English would have been nobler enemies had he never existed. But it has
gone into the past — to the judgment of Him who makes and unmakes nations and men, and punishes them
and teaches them by ways that are not seen till long after the event.

If France failed to rule her colony well,' it cannot be said that England ruled hers at all. They
substantially ruled themselves. When an attempt was made to rule them, they refused to obey, and cast off
both allegiance and loyalty. The people of New England had very little loyalty to the motherland, but
they owed to her that spirit which they turned against her. England might have said, as was quoted at the
time, " I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me." England might have
said this in a deeper than in a physical sense. The lusty spirit of the son rebelled against, not the .spirit of
the mother, for then he must have rebelled against himself, but the conduct dictated by the mother. The
bond in which the household lived had never been written out. Two things were needed to complete it —
representation and taxation. The former was neither asked nor oflfered, the second was refused by the
child ; and hence the household was divided against itself.

:v^£s^!m^mm^^^S^^

THE l-RENCHMAN AS MISSIONARY AND COLONIST.

If the New F)nj;Iander was all freedom and no loyalty, as became those of Saxon blood, the Frenchman
was all loyalty and no freedom in the Enjflish sense, and this became those of the more patriarchal and
T>rimitive race of France. They had come from the hearth of their most ancient mother, and were content to
sing her quaint and subtle songs, to wander back through the glory of the centuries, to think of her who
had quickened and civilized, and brightened and softened the heart of heathen Europe ; and they bow their
heads in kindly reverence as her spirit comes to them on the whispering wings of the Canadian evening
breeze ; and they hear the rustling of her stately robes, though they cannot see her face — robes which she
wore in " the most ancient time when God and man were friends " — robes inscribed with wondrous devices,
not of man but of God — with the liberty, the brotherhood, the kindliness, the brightness and the love of man
before he became earth-graded, world-worn, and fierce and hungry. If we in America thought of Britain as
the French-Canadian does of France, how much better we would be !

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

THIS war, otherwise known as the " Boundary War," commenced in the backwoods of North America.
The first shots were tired by some Provincial soldiers under Washington. The French and English iiad
advanced their outposts into the Ohio valley — the former southward, and the latter westward — and
were disputing its possession. In order to secure the way into it, and support their claim to the country, the
English began to build a fort at the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela rivers, where now stands
the city of Pittsburg. The French came and drove them off with a stronger force, and finished the fort.
They named it Fort Du Quesne, in honour of the governor of Canada. George Washington, then a youth in
the colonial service, marched into the country at the head of a small force. He built a rude fort on the
Monongahela, which he named Fort Necessity. The name of the fort suggests that at this time the English
were probably in no very hopeful frame of mind. The presence of a military ardour or spirit is not indicated
by that name. They had had a terrible time of it on the frontiers, and the situation was expressed by a given
literalness. A French officer named Jumonville was sent to meet Washington, and to warn him against
occupying French territory. They said afterwards they had no intention of attacking him. Washington
thought they had, and ordered his men to fire. Jumonville and nine of his men were killed. The French,
greatly enraged at this action, sent a stronger force against Washington, and compelled him to retire from the
Ohio valley. Washington's act was contrary to the rules of war, in a technical sense ; but he did not know
what the French meant, and as things were then going, they might mean anything. There was no open and
declared war between the two nations just at that time, but acts of violence were continually occurring. Both
parties were making armed incursions into what they asserted was their own territory, and what the enemy
asserted was theirs. There was building of defences. There were murdering parties of Indians always
about, who were instigated to acts of atrocity by those who.se interest it was to do it, and who put on
marvellous looVs of innocence when it was brought to their notice. It was the settled policy of the French
to make what encroachments they could, and drive the English as far back as possible under the semblance

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

of peace. Tlioy would not, of course, figlit for what they could <^et by policy, or calm aggression, or stealth.
So Washington was placed in an unfortunate posifion. He knew that the English had often been placed in a
false position by the crafty policy of the French. The man was no doubt provoked, not only by his present
position, but by thought of all these things. Sc he ordered his men to fire, we are told ; they did fire,
and killed ten Frenchmen. 'Phis volley, fired in the backwoods of America, began the Seven Years'
War, and gave Britain the ascendancy among the European nations, established her colonial dominion, gave a
wider horizon to her ambition, and lent a more massive and majestic character to her national enterprises.
From the result of this war the Briton became more of a Briton, and more of a man, too. Ho had crrown
another degree in strength and breadth of conception, in sw-^op, vigour and dignity of purpose. This
war cast the glance of the Englishman farther west and farther east, until it rested on the valley of the
Mississippi on the one hand, and kindled with renewed ardour and ambition as it Hashed upon the land of
the Kohinoor. The Briton had stretched his bounds from the Ganges to the Mississippi. The echoes of
victory had mingled with the roar of Niagara and Montmorency ; had helped to swell the tide of the mighty
rivers of the East, and had been borne upon every breeze towards the white cliffs of England. Triumph had
followed triumph until the nation was sated with glory. But the hour of chastisement was at hand — the
last ray was (juivering upon the disc of a United British Empire. In their exuberance of freedom and
strength, with the flush of victory still upon their brow, her sons turned in .sheer wantonness of might upon
each other, and rent asunder their uniting bond — their bond of nationality — and worse still, the bond of
brotherhood, .sympathy and love ; and it has not been healed into forgetfulness. So do men, and so do nation.s,
deserve and receive punishment.

The man who seated himself upon the throne of all this glory was George III. Upon the signing of the
Treaty of Paris, he said of the country which he ruled, " Never did nation sign such a peace." It is a pity
the peace fell not into kindlier and defter hands — upon a more understanding heart, and a head brighter by
nature and taught in the ways of a wider and more generous humanity. " Born and educated in this
country," he said, " I glory in the name of Briton." But he wasn't educated at all except by people who were
uneducated themselvei — by narrow-minded and prejudiced people. His mental powers were not up to the
average ; and such as they were, they were not expanded but contracted by his instructors. His education
was directed chiefly by his mother, the Princess-Dowager of Wales, and her advLser, the Earl of Bute.

100

CAPE BkETON ILLUSTRATED.

Thackeray says of him : " Ho was a dull lad, brought up by narrow-minded people. The cleverest tutors in
the world could have done little, probably, to expand that small intellect, though they might have improved
his tastes and taught his perceptions some generosity." But he meant to do right after all ; for " we believe
it is by persons believing themselves in the right that nine-tenths of the tyranny of the world has been
perpetrated. Arguing on this convenient premise, the Dey of Algiers would cut oft" twitity heads of a
morning. P^ather Dominio would burn a score of Jews in the presence of the most Christian king, and the
"rchbishops of Tohdo and Salamanca sing Amen ! Jesuits were hung and quartered at Smithfield and witches
burned at Salem ; and all by worthy people who believed they had the best authority for their actions. And
so with respect to George III. Even Americans, whom he hated and who conquered him, may give him credit
for having quite honest reasons for oppressing thorn." He came to the throne just at the time when the Seven
Years' War was beginning to bring in its harvest of glory. It was his fault in great measure that the
harvest was not garnered and laid up in the ancient storehouse of the nation ; that half of it was driven
before the wind of violence and strife from the field of the husbandman, an<l was to sow the seeds of rebellion
and national separation. It is our present business to show how this glory was won in America, and how
that the battlefield at least upon which it was won has been reserved to Britain and converted into the
beginnings of a nation which is destined to be as great as her southern rival, who in the prime of her
youthful strength threw off her allegiance to the mother country. The first shot, as we have said, was fired
by Washington. In this CDutest was he trained to fight and to lead the people who .set up a new empire of
freedom on the west .side of the Atlantic.

While the instinct for war was quivering and vibrating in the valley of the Ohio, events in Nova Scotia
also were rapidly preparing the way for the struggle. The French occupied a fort at the mouth of the St.
John river, and Jonquiere, the governor of Canada, sent a force under La Came to keep guard at the Isthmus
of Chignecto. On a ridge of land in the marsh north of the Missaquash, a small stream separating New
Brunswick from Nova Scotia, La Came built a fort, which he named Fort Beausejour. The French held also
another fort at the head of Bay Verte.

As the produce of the country was all needed at Halifax, the English Government at that place
enacted a law forbidding its export from the Province. This was a natural enactment on the part of the
Government. The Acadians living on British territory and under Briti.^h protection had natural right

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

101

to sell their produce to the power which protected them, provided they were not the losers by the
transaction. But, in obedience to their national feeling, and relying on the protection of La Came at
Beausejour, they sent their grain and cattle by way of Bay Verte to the Louisburg market. Both Acadianv"
and English were encouraged in their opposition to the English by the Abbe La Loutre, who acted as agent
for the authorities at Quebec. Governor Cornwallij sent Major Laurence to Beaubasin with a small body
of soldiers to enforce the laws and to keep the French in check. The British sloops were sent sailing up
the Basin, and the Acadians of Beaubasin set tire to their dwellings and Hed across the river to take .shelter
in the fort. The French and Indians, posting themselves behind the marsh dikes, attempted to prevent the
landing of the English, but were driven from their position, and the landing was effected. Reinforced from
Halifa.K, Major Laurence erected Fort Laurence on the south side of the Missaquash, about two mil3s from
Beau.sejour. The site of Fort Laurence has been erased by the plough, and is (juite near the route of
the projected ship railway between Northumberland Strait and the Bay of Fundy. It occupied ground
so low as to be scarcely distinguishable from the surrounding country. The ruins of Fort Beausejour, on
the opposite side of the river, occupy quite an elevated position. The English, after its capture, changed its
name to Fort Cumberland, and it was held by them until after the war of 1812-14. It was a work of
some importance, as its remains show. The circuit of the ramparts is five or six hundred yards, and they
are yet in comparatively good preservation. There are yet visible the remains of the mafrazine and a
bomb-proof casemate, and the officers' quarters are still standing within the ramparts. This fort is in the
centre of as fair a region as the Maritime Provinces can boast. For miles and miles on every hand there
stretch thousands of acres of fertile marsh, smiling in peaceful security. The busy ringing of the mowing
machine is now heard there instead of the thunder of La Game's guns and the rattle of the Acadian
muskets. ,

The French and Engli.sh were now confronting each other across the muddy tide-fed little Missa-
quash, and there was .soon to be a trial of strength at this little outpost. And the result, in favour of
the English, was destined to foreshow the final result in all Canada. Early in June, 1755, Colonel Mericton,
with a force of nearly two thousand men, fitted out in Boston, landed near Fort Laurence. They forced
their way on shore in spite of the resistance of the French and Indians. They crossed the Missaquash, and,
having got a gun into position on the marsh, opened fire on the French fort. The commander of the ior^,

tmmm

102

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

was Vergar, the same who held command of the guard that kept watch at the head of the steep path by
which Wolfe and his veterans climbad the steeps of Abraham. He had in the interval been tried for
cowardice in this siege, but had' been ac(]uitted, not with much honour, as it appears. His duty at Quebec
was not mucli bettor done than it was here, or Wolfe probably would have experienced more trouble in
ascending to his coveted battle-ground. He now called to his aid the unfortunate Acadians of the
surrounding country. They, poor souls, hid their women and children in the woods, and went in their
weak way to assist the weak Vergar. Some more guns were by this time directed against the fort. A shell
burst into the casemate where some French were breakfasting with an English officer whom they had
taken prisoner, and killed six of the number and their captive. Beausejour struggled but weakly in the
grasp of the English. The Acadians in fear began to desert. Vergar, after the siege had lasted but four
days, surrendered. His soldiers marched out of their little stronghold with the honours of war. The struggle
had not been very severe ; not much bad blood had been excited. They were allowed to retire to Louisburg
to make more trouble and to be a menace to the Enslish interests there. Monckton cb.anged the name of
the fort to Fort Cumberland, and garrisoned it with a small force. The forts at Bay Verte and at the
mouth of the St. John River were soon after taken by the English. The Acadicns ha<l compromised themselves
in resisting their powerful friends, the English, and vengeance was soon to fall upon them for the part they
had taken. They very naturally made excuses for their conduct by saying that they had been forced to
assist against the Engli.sh. But this was not a proper presentation of their case. As long as the dispute
was in suspense, they hardly knew how to act for the be.st. If they at that time had foreknown the result,
they probably would have sworn allegiance to Britain. In this way the English were obliterating the
French line of defence along the north frontier of Nova Scot!"., and were penetrating into New Brunswick,
when occurrences of a more tragic nature were boding in the valley of the Ohio.

Reinforcements had been sent out from England and from France — Baron Dieskau, at the head of three
thousand of the regular troops of France. The Marquis de Vaudreuil, the last of the Canadian French
governors, was .sent at the same time. His presence and admin-stration were no help to Montcalm when the
final struggle came at Quebec. He was a small-minded man and jealous of Montcalm's popularity and
influence ; he was also meddlesome and incompetent in affairs over which he had no legitimate control. And
Montcalm, in his private correspondence, such as it was — for the soldier wa,sn't much of a letter-writer—'

msmm

mmmi^

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

108

alternate]}' laughs and is irritated at the way in which Vaudreuil and evan his wife volunteer to dictate how
the campaign must proceed.

At the same time General Braddock came from England. He had with him two regiments. He stepped
on shore under the full conviction that his eighteen hundred men could beat all the Indians in the woods.
And he talked and acted like a man who believed it, too. Nobody in America knew anything about fighting,
in his judgment and language. He thus itiade himself many enemies even before he began his ill-fated march.
With his name is connected the most humiliating and fearful disavster that ever befell the English arms
in America. The subseijuent defeat at Ticonderoga involved a greater loss, but the disgrace of it was
redeeme'i by the gallant and determined onsut made by the British, the sight of which caused Montcalm to
say, in spite of his present victory, " We are still prepared to find our graves beneath the ruins of the colony."
He saw what these men could do and would do v.'hen opj)ortunity ottered. But Braddock's defeat has no
redeeming feature, e.Kcept the stubborn and unflinching valour of tiie uuin whose fault it was. To him was
assigned the difhcult task of driving the French from the Ohio valley. This he proposed to do in his own
way. He would take no teaching or advice in the nuitter at all. He knew he was a brave man himself, and
that he led brave men — he never considered that the braver they were the more certain was their destruction
if things were managed in his way. They were to march through the woods in solid and soldier-lika ftushion
— when the trees and bushes and rocks permitted them, of course — and bla/e away in platoons at the first
enemy that showed his face ; and the result, to his mind, could not be in the least degree problematical. He
hurled contempt tind profanity at Ben. Franklin, when that judicious personage venturetl to suggest the
advi.sabilit}- of training his men to tight in loose order, and to get behind something before they tired off their
nmskets. He wasn't going to get behind anything, nor should his men do it either, if he could help it And
he did try to help it. Even in the thick of the terrible nuissacre — for it was little else — he beat men with
the flat of his sword and cursed them for cowards, and drove them out from behind trees which the poor souls
had instinctively sought, to save themselves from certain death, lli're was a waste of energy. But the fate
of a continent was at stake in this war, and it could not be decided ofi'-hand. Washington, who had joined
his force with .some companies of militia offered to lead the van with his Americans, who had .some knowledge
of bush-fighting. No doubt he had some sympathy for the brave fellows whom he knew to be marching to
their death, and wanted to do all he could to avert the calamity. In response to his generous oiler ho was

^emma

mmm.

104

CAPE n/CETOJV ILLUSTRATED.

peremptorily ordered to the rear. And so the column, being formed to a military nicety, with standards
uncased, brij^fht uniforms and flashing; bayonets, the order rings out in good old British fashion, " The
column will march." The drums and 'ifes rattle and pipe in martial guise to martial ears, and away the long
column undulates through the silent, grieving aisles of the forest. At first no enemy appeared, but they are
marching, if it can be called marching, to meet them from Fort Du Quesnc. Stealthily and silently, .subtle
Indian and crafty Frenchman is moving to meet them, gliding with snake-like alertness from tree to tree and
from cover to cover, until they see through the trees the gorgeovis front of the English colunm, a helpless
target for their muskets. Swiftly and silently, extending until they have surrounded the head of the hapless
column, still all unconscious of their presence — suddenly, as from the skies, bursts the mad yell of the Indian.
Then the crackle of stray musketry bursts from a thousand directions at once, and down tumble the red-coated
soldiers in scores, with a henv}', lifeless thud, among the fallen leaves. Groans of death, and shouts of helpless
anger and defiance, and useless orders and fiery curses — all in vain. Most of the poor fellows keep their
ranks and fire blank volleys into the blind wood. Still the leaden rain showers death upon them, and they
at length turn and flee in headlong terror ; and wounded, bleeding, half-dead with fright and fatigue and
misery, seek shelter as best they can from the pursuing and bloodthirsty savage. Those who were able to
walk or run or crawl, never halted till they had reached a distance of forty miles from the awful scene.
About a quarter of the men who had marched in that war-like column in the morning answered to the next
roll-call. Washington and his men fared better, as they all might have done if his advice had been followed.
Braddock redeemed his personal character by fighting like a lion. Ht; had five horses shot under him, and
waa at length mortally wounded. Washington narrowly escaped — his coat was shot through in four jilaces.
This was a terrible disaster to the English arms and to the English settlements. The prestige of the British
soldier, in the eyes of the Indian and the French-Canadian, was gone, nor was it restored for several cam-
paigns. The border settlements now lay open to the merciless incursions of the Indian. The French were
in t.'umphant possession of the Ohio valley, and a general panic struck through the hearts of the colonists.

But this terrific disaster was in part retrieved by a success of the English, or rather of the Americans,
near Lake George. The English wished to command the entrance into Canada by way of Lake Champlain.
Two French forts guarded this route — Crown Point on Lake Champlain, and Ticoiuleroga at the foot of Lake
George. This service was entrusted to a force of New England rangers and of Indians, under the command

Hfl

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAK.

105

of General Johnson, who was a groat favourite with the Indians. Johnson, thouifli a <^ood ofTicer in tlie
species of warfare that was requisite, had none of the qualities in social life which coincide with tho Knglish
ideal of an otHcer. ITo was a man of no learning or culture. He had long been familiar with the Indians.
He had married an Indian woman. He was a "hail-fellow well met" with Indian and white men alike, and he
entertained them in his hospitable house or tent as he deemed their tastes and position demanded. Still he
was a brave man, liberal and kindl}^ of heart, and in consequence popular ; and he could not be done without.
He was a born leader of men — that is, of men such as the existing conditions required, and consequently he
found his fitting place.

Baron Dieskau, with an army made up of regidar troops, militia and Indians, met Johnson on the south
of Lake George. A great battle was fought, in which the French were at first victorious. In the end they
were defeated and retreated precipitately to Ticonderoga. Dieskau was severely wounded and taken
prisoner. While in captivity he became the guest of Johnson, and a very good understanding was soon
arrived at between the wounded baron and his rough and ready captor. Johnson, unable to effect anything
more during that campaign, strengthened his position by erecting Fort William Henry, near the ground
where he hail gained his victory. The success of Johnson, in contrast to the disaster of Braddock, did
nothing to cement the true alliance of the English and American forces. The latter ascribed the defeat of
Braddock to incompetency — as indeed was true — and imputed their own victory to a superiority over the
British forces; and in a n>easure the conclusion to which they came was correct. Military re.sults like these
led to invidious comparisons between the colonial and imperial forces, and there were not wanting those who
attributed success or failure to the fact that either the one or the other were employed, as the case might be.
All this had its import in the bringing about of the American Revolution.

France and England had now formally declared war. We have seen that the contest had oiiginated in
colonial affairs, and it was here that the struggle was most .severely felt. We have already described the
condition and resources of both parties. Notwithstanding the comparative weakness of the French, and the
.scarcity of food among them, tho advantage was chiefly on their side, owing to their superior military fitness
for the species of warfare in which they were engaged.

General Montcalm was now sent out as commander-in-chief of the French forces. He belonged to an
ancient family in the south of France. He had the honour and glory of Fiance at heart; he loved the profession

I ii

106

CAPS BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

of arms. He was warm-hearted, impetuous, and well knew the value of friendship. Though not rising to
the emirence of military genius, he was every inch a soldier. His knowledge and dispositions were practicivl,
while the .steady, quiet current of enthusiasm which he himself possessed communicated itself at once to the
soldiers whom he commanded. Under more favourable conditions he would, without doubt, have been a more
enthusiastic soldier than he was. He was lighting against many enemies : want of supplies, an army diificult
of management and conciliation — he often speaks in contempt of the manner in which it was necessary to
dispense courtesy to the Indians — against the jealousy and misrepresentations of Vaudreuil. fie was
struggling against his own inclination, for he longed for home and for France, as his letters to his wife testify ;
and it is sad to think, as we read his bright and atlectionate and half-humorous letters, that he was fated
never to see his home again in fair southern France. He evidently sees something of the irony of fate in his
position, and smiles with a tinge of bitterne.ss as he thinks of his lovely home, and the jarring and meanness
of his present position. But a .sense of honour keeps him where he is. He tights not too confidently ; no
doubt he well knows the forces at his disposal, and knows that he has to struggle with a grim and determined
enemy. He seems to be in the position of one who is determined to resist to the last, and to be cheerful and
uncomplaining in doing it. Still one cannot help thinking that the shadow of his coming fate was always
upon him, and that he knew that he would probably be sacrificed before it was all over. Good and chivalrous
Montcalm I \Yc suspect he was a greater hero than the world ever knew. Poor fellow ! he was a ^ad writer,
as became a soldier, we suppose ; and his letters are made up of little jerky sentences that pitch the thoughts
about here and there, and leave much room for elliptical expression. But no doubt his family understood it
all, and we don't like to think of them when they heard he was killed, and that they should see him no more.
In Canada the little officials, swollen big with unjust gain, held their paltry mimic court, as became
Frenchmen, and Montcalm has evidently a half-amused, half -disgusted time of it between essenced Jacks in
office and their ladies, and the odorous and punctilious Indian.

He destroyed Oswego, an English fort on the south of Lake Ontario, took three hundred prisoners and
much booty, consisting of cannon, war material, provisions and money. These supplies greatly assisted the
French, who had felt the need of them, as they never had too much food, and the loss of Oswego was seriously
felt by the English. He also took Fort William Henry, which had been honourably enough defended by
Colonel Munrn, but who had been crippled in his defence by the non-arrival of reinforcements which should

■'^^!K*E^a?^«BW5||,

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

107

have joined him. This victory was marred by Indian atrocities after the surrender, but it does not appear
that Montcalm was directly responsible. Many of the Indians got drunk, fell upon the English prisoners,
massacred many of them, took others prisoners on their own account, and held them for ransom, while
others sought safety in flight. A drunken Indian is a hard man to manage, and though it is evident
from the facts that some French officers saw what was going on, and did not attempt to prevent it, it is
questionable whether they dared to interfere, or could have interfered with effect.

In 1757 there was a ridiculous failure of an expedition against Louisburg. Lord Loudon, connnander-
in-chief, arrived at Halifax from New York with transports and soldiers, and Admiral Holborne came from
Eiigland with eleven ships of the line and fifty transports, bringing over six thousand soldiers. At Halifax,
Lc udon heard that the French forces at Louisburg were stronger than his own, and he was afraid to attack
th jm. Twice Admiral Holborne sailed down to Louisburg, but he carefully avoided the enemy. The second
time a storm overtook him, shattering and dispersing hh fleet. A hurricane from the south-east came upon
them when they were close in shore, and the whole fleet narrowly escaped destruction. Every ship was
dismasted; some went on shore, and others got round Scutari and drifted up the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Had
not the wind suddenly shifted, every ship must have been destroyed and their crews must have perished.
It seems that the French had been as nmch afraid of the English as the leaders of the latter were of the
French, and were overjoyed at their unexpected deliverance. A Frenchman who was in Louisburg at the
time, but who was not in sympathy with the ways and doings of his fellow-countrymen, plainly saw the
weakness of Louisburg in the joy with which they hailed the destruction of the British fleet. This man,
whose French name was Pichon, but who afterwards went by the name of his mother, Tyneil, was in a
sen.se a very questionable character. He wrote a book descriptive of Cape Breton as it appeared to him in
those days. This book, which was published in both English and French, is of some value. He was in
Luuisburg at the time of the second siege, which he describes. He has not much good to say of the manner
in which the defence was conducted, or of the manner in which the F'rench managed tbeir affairs generally.
And, as far as this goes, he was probably right. He is something of a philosopher in his way, and moralizes
on the wa3s and manners of mankind in general, and his reflections are often just, and his style is that of a
scholar. But all this does not count for nuich when we come to learn that the man was a traitor to his
country. One does not have a pleasant feeling, in reading a book, to know that the author .should have a

-■^m

108

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

halter about his neck. And Pichon richly deserved one. He had been in Fort Beausejour also at the time it
was taken, and had furnished secret information to the British by means of which it fell more readily into
their hands. His treachery seems never to have been discovered, for at Louisburg he was secretary to the
governor. Upon the surrender of the place he went to London, wliere his book was published, and he then
lived, it is said, upon an allowance made him by the Government, and where he went by the name of Tynell.
The sieges of Louisburg we shall reserve for future chapters.

The glory won in Cape Breton was tarnished at Ticonderoga. General Abercrombie, another officer of
the old school, but who lacked the valour and determination of Braddock, had been allowed to remain in
command. He marched from Albany with the finest army yet seen in America-^sixteen thousand strong — to
attack Montcalm, who guarded the gateway of Canada at Ticonderoga. It is mournful to think of the energy
which the British wasted in America. Here was a force which, if properly led, was competent alone to
humble the power of France in Canada; yet in a few weeks it was driven in utter rout before a force only
quarter its number. Marching from Albany, this magnificent army wound its way northward through the
primeval forest. In the pride of its strength, and burning with military ardour, it longed to try its power
with the enemy. It soon approached a region as fair as ever rejoiced the sight of man. Intricacies of wood
and water, rugged bluff and wooded height, stretcheil before thei.. lor fifty miles. In the morning sun, the
limpid waters, running hither and thither like molten gold within a maze of greenery, lay silent as when the
sun first .shone upon them. The blue vault of heaven, without a cloud or stain, looked down in smiling
majesty upon all this beauty of the Maker's handiwork. It seemed as if Nature had here hidden herself
from the sight of man, and had come to lavish all unmolested her wondrous cunning of beauty, .so that
she might come at her will and rest in this summer bower far from the noisome tread of that little fiend, num.
But there is a gentle sigh in the morning zephyr, which has just begun to ripple the surface of the waters, for
even here the destroyer has found her out. At the southern extremity of the lake sixteen thousand men are
answering the bugle notes that swell and echo and re-echo from shore to shore and from islet to islet, and are
marshalling in arms to be voyaged northward on their errand of destruction ; and not far from where they
are waiting to be embarked, four thousand men are busily plying axe and lever, and rolling up a wooden
rampart behind which they may resist to the death their northward progress. At length, battalion after
battalion defiles upon the beach, and is embarked in boat and barge and r^ft They move off slowly acro.ss

iga!^g2^*«S^5?'s^--;-

THIt SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

109

the gleatnino; waters, and are followed by flotilla after flotilla, until the bosom of the lake is covered for seven
miles with the warlike train that to the sound of martial music moves in deep stren£];th across the waters.
At evcninfT they disembark near the scene of the intended strife, while Montcalm has completed his rude
defence and contemplates with a grave earnestness the probable result.

There is little sleep that night, and early in the morning Abercrombie, being advised that Montcalm's
line of defence can be carried by storm, forms his order of attack; and in the meantime the white-unif'^rmed
soldiers of France line their wooden breastwork and await the attack. Abercrombie had a train of heavy
artillery, which had been brought down the lake the day before on rafts. If these had been brought to the
front and directed against the French defences, they could soon have been knocked into splinters and rendered
useless. It is not easy to realize his state of mind at this time. He was not a brave man- -he had not even
the soldier spirit. He had no knowledge of the piece of work he had before him. It is probable he was
actuated by no feeling except a mechanical idea of attack according to fixed rule and formula. This for him
was his duty, and he proceeded to do it. With dilhculty Rogers and his New England rangers are permitted
to lead the way. The French the day before liad felled trees with the tops outwards in front of their
defences, and had placed them close together, and scorched oflf the leaves and twigs, so that they presented an
impassable barrier to an attack in any sort of order, or, indeed, to any attack. If Abercrombie was inert an 1
passive, it was not so with his followers. They knew that they had never faced men that they could not
beat. They had won fame on many a field before, and they longed for a trial of their strength with their
ancient enemy in this new world. At the head of the attacking column stands the 42nd regiment, whose
fame was but twelve years old. It witnessed its beginning at Fontenoy, where all day long they learned that
French nerve and sinew was as chaft' before the rush of their keen steel. Now savage and grim, their pipes
waking strange echoes in this unwonted land, they strain like hounds upon the beach waiting for the spring
upon the quarry. They had come of a warlike race, to whom blood and ferocity and cruel revenge was as a
gorgeous feast, and now they were soon to have enough of it. Montcalm is pacing with steady .step along
his ranks, and exhorts them to be steady, and to think of the glory of France.

At last the English word " Forward " rings out from rank to rank, and the masses of dark waving tartan
and of red coats surge swiftly forward as they best may over the impeded ground. The French level their

CAP "^ BRE TON ILL US TEA TED.

muskets over the parapet through their merciless chevaux-de-frise. War is a mad thing. Here the fiends
hold gleeful carnival, and the guardian angel of man flies in terror f'-nn the scene.

Disdaining to seek, cover, the assailants rush right at the face ot the French defences, until they are met
by the impenetrable hedge of hardened boughs. At the same moment a volley crashes from round the line
of defence and cuts down the foremost of the British. Here they are disconcerted, paralyzed, stricken with
that numbness of spirit which a brave man feels when he knows he can do nothing. He cannot tight, and
he will not fly, but stands to be shot down in sullen apathy. From the French lines come mocking,s, and
gibings, and shouts of "Vive le Roi !" and " Vive notre Generale !" Goaded into fresh fury by the taunts
of the French, the Highlanders fling away their muskets — the musket was always too dull a weapon for the
fiery Gael — seize their broadswords and try to cut a passage through the tough boughs. So, uttering fierce
gutturals of native fury, cutting, slashing, bleeding, struck to death and caught in strange, spasmodic
attitudes of agony upon the blackened boughs, the survivoi's, still consutned by the demon of revenge, strive
to fight their way onward. But the blinding, hissing rain of bullets pours mercilessly upon them, and not
a man, save two, reaches the crest of barricade, where they are instantly bayonetted. Orders for recall qre
unheard and would be unheeded were they heard. For hours is this unavailing struggle kept up, and at
last the bleeding front of the attack is rolled back, and the whole army retires precipitately from the scene,
leaving nearly two thousand men dead and wounded. The 42nd alone lost six hundred men. But although
the reputation of Abercrombie was ruined by this disaster, the reputation of the British soldier in no way
suflered in the eyes of military critics. It was seen what he had done, and what he would do when
opportunity served. Abercrombie had been the only one of the old incapables retained in position upon the
accession to power of Pitt, the " Great Commoner," under whose vigorous and masterful administration
Britain was raised in a few years to the foremost place among European nations. He was well named the
" Great Commoner," for he represented the soul and the spirit of England — her energy, her practical
discrimination of useful qualities, and her vast conceptions of national greatness. He represented the
growth and the sturdiness of the modern English people. Some man was needed to direct and control the
power which had been built upon all that modern England implied — not that power which came of prestige
and precedent and tradition ; and the opportunity and the man had met. The power of the young giant had
fallen into hands too old and decrepit and bound by dull mediocrity, but when it found itself under the

■i i

■ !-^Vii2ii..-->-»':

THE SEVEA- YEARS' WAR.

Ill

guidance of a spirit lilce its own, it recognized the kindred soul and obeyed. His wise measures soon
changed the aspect of affairs. Officers were not left in command because of their rank or their wealth.
Men of courage and ability were appointed to lead th-: army and navy. The.se gained imperishable renown
for themselves and glory for the flag of England, and laid the foundations of the British Empire.

When the spring of 1759 came, the British were prepared to strike the final blow. Their attack was
directed against the vulnerable points in Canada. In the west, Pridcfiux and Sir William Johnson advanced
against Fort Niagara. Along the old battle-ground of the rival nations, which had witnessed more than
once the defeat and disfi;race of the invaders, and which lay thickly strewn with their bones, onward towards
the same lovely stretch o* lake and vrood, Amherst, the commander-in-chief, advanced with a strong column
from Albany against Ticonderoga an^I Crown Point. Amherst was a man of solid and substantial ability, and
not wanting in the more brilliant qualities which go to make up military genius. Prudent, watchful and
cautious he was, and with a grip like the lion whose power he represented and supported. To the devoted
and heroic Wolfe was entrusted the capture of Quebec. Montcalm saw what he had to expect when these
three armies should converge upon his inadequate and partly unreliable force ; he knew the men with whom
he had now to deal. Nevertheless he sighed for home, and prepared to resist to the last.

Niagara sustained but a short siege. Prideaux was killed by the bursting of a shell before it had left the
mortar, but the fort was shortly given up to the English. Amherst had in mind the disaster which
Abercrombie had brought upon the British arms the year before, and advanced cautiously upon Ticonderoga.
But there was not much fighting here. Montcalm, the presiding spirit in the French defence, had gone to
defend the palladium of their power — the rock-built Quebec. So when Amherst approached slowly and
grimly the scene of the former disaster, the French probably knew that the British had learned prudence
from the catastrophe which had befallen them. Before Ticonderoga was formally invested, it was evacuated
by the French, and they retreated to Isle-Aux-Noix, at the northern end of Lake Champlain, where they
hoped to guard the way to Montreal. It was evident the French were being driven in upon their centres of
defence. They should see no more of the Ohio valley or of the scenes of strife along this route, where they
had once hoped to check if not humble the power of Britain. One night, while the army of Amherst lay
within a short distance of Ticonderoga, a suilen roar startled the silence of the night, and a column of livid
lire sprang skyward in the direction of tin <.ort. The French had ruined part of the works before they left ;

I " I n il

112

CAPE BRETON ILLUHTRATED.

and the premature explosion precipitated the destruction which had been intended for the Biitish, who
now passed unresisted over the ground for which they had fought so desperately and so fruitlessly the year
before.

Inus the French power in the west was being rolled backward; and northward, and eastward before the
advancing armies of Johnson and Amherst. Their hold upon the country around the lakes and the upper St.
Lawrence was virtually .shattered. They had now no fortress remaining of sufficient strength to seriou.sly
retanl the advance of the invader. The slow and resolute march of Amherst to Montreal was only a question
of time. Yet he was slow about it, for it took him u year longer than had been hoped. He was a man that
looked carefully backward as well as forward. Wherever he went he built a fort, and viewed the result with
a grim complacency. He looked assiduously to his lines of communication. He would have been a hard
man to cut off. It would not have been possible to assail him in the rear. And so in his firm way he
advanced througli the western portals of Canada. It had been expected that he would have joined Wolfe
from the west in his assault on Quebec. But Wolfe was left alone to fret out his fiei;- soul before the lines
and defences of Montcalm, while Amherst's errand was being but slowly accomplished. But there was good
stutf in Amherst, not untouched with brilliancy, and not every man is a Wolfe.

While the people of Albany witnessed the departure of Amherst's column — of that last army which
should march northward in their defence, and which should ensure that henceforth they should dwell in
safety — the harbour of the already vanquished Louisburg presented a lively .scene. Ships of war bearing
not French, but English colours, were straining their cables for a northward flight, as if conscious of the
impetuous spii'it they were to conduct to a lasting name among the heroes of England. Transports were
being filled with men, grim and war-worn and reckless of danger, who count war a pastime, and care
not when or how they face the enemy, so be it that the odd figure and dauntless soul of Wolfe be among
them. Perhaps the hard and reckless soldier loved Wolfe all the better for that weakly, shuffling figure
of his, for they well knew what a high and disinterested and kindly soul it carried. He was the soldier's
friend as well as the soldier's chief. But an onlooker, as he gazed on the same party of grizzled warriors,
bound upon some desperate adventure, might take the shambling gait of this man who has nothing but a
cane in his hand to be some strange genius of martial proclivities whom they had good-naturedly permitted
to accompany them. But this was Wolfe ; and wherever there was stirring work to be done^ he was there all

*5jr-

,i!i

THE SF.VRN YEARS' WAR.

113

unconscious of liow he looked, unconscious of nnythin<; but a consunung dosire to get at the enemy and
fight it out with them like a n an. He had been the moving spirit in the contest which liad just resulted
in the downfall of Louisburg. After the surrender, he was sent northward to destroy the little settlements
of the French, a service of which he speaks in language befitting — *h.\t is, not very respectable, fur Wolfe
often spoke like a soldier, though he did not look very much like one at a distance. His picture when a
boy represents him as a simpering, open-mouthed, gazing youngster, who had as yet become conscious of
nothing but that it was rather a curious and funny thing to V>e in the world anyway. The soul behind
that face evidently could never learn to be selfish, and it nev(!r did. That soft, simpering look gradually
became harder and keener and more intense as it dwelt upon deeds of greatness which had been echoing
afar oti" in tliat your.g soul, while it smiled at the farce of a commonplace life. Wolfe in his boyhood was
distinguished for nothing but shyness and awkwardness. He joined the army at fiftetn, and saw a good deal
of service on the cc)ntinent, and was present in Scotland at the time of the rebellion of 1745. He .soon began
to develop the qualities for which he was afterwards distinguished. He rapidly rose to the rank of colonel,
which rank he iield when he came to Louisburg. He was in the thirty-second year of his age. In the
classical sense of the term, Wolfe was a pious man — that is, he was keenly alive to all the material instincts
and duties of humanity. He loved his parents, and his home, and his friends; he was emphatically one of
them in every event of their lives. He was fond of everything that hail animate existence, and loved all the
pets about the place. He was .simple and direct in thought and act, and had no secondary motives which
it were better to conceal from the world. In fact, he had nothing to conceal, and the world knew it and
loved him for it. He cannot be said to have been actuated by a motive at all ; he just acted naturally, and,
as was his nature, so were his acts, noble and disintere.sted. His letters to his mother show that he was a
bright and home-loving and .sympathetic son. He was one that everybody liked because he never took the
time or the trouble to like himself, and so they did that for him. He liked his friends and he loved his duty,
and his soul was fiied by the honour and glory of England. In him were combined gentleness and daring,
which go to make up the truly heroic soul, and whose union in the same character has many exemplifications
in British history. He was literally without fear and without reproacii. One cannot imagine Wolfe to be
guilty of a dishonourable act.

Towards the end of June, the British fleet, coasisting of about fifty s-v', anchored ofl' the Island of

114

CAPE nUETOM ILLUSTRATED.

Orleans, in full view of Quebec. They had sailed from Louisbnrg a week or two before, and, as Parkman
says, " the Indian from the summit of Cape Enfumd might havo seen, as he looked far out to sea, the white
wings of the British Heet, as it swept northward on its errand of destruction." They had come tlirough the
channel to the northward of the Island of Orleans, and thus disappointed the expectations of the French,
who, on account of the intricacy of the channel and the danger of its navigation, had left it undefended.
But no surmountable danger could baffle the skill and darinc of the men who now directed the mov'oments
of the British. Captain Cook, the famous navigator, was an officer in the naval force, and to liim was
entrusted the task of surveying the channel, which was done with an accuracy and efficiency which has not
been excelled since. But his .services were not always in demand. The skill and daring of some of the
masters of .ihips made his work in some instances unnecessary. A story is told of the master of one of the
transports, a jolly, rough-and-ready old salt, who ran the channel himself in contempt of all .soundings and
bearings. He seemed to have been gifted with some instinct which told him how deep the water was while
standing in the bows of his ship. The officer who relates the story says, " I was standing beside this son of
Neptune, and, as we passed the surveying boats who were displaying signals for the guidance of the .ships,

and volunteering information, the old fellow would call out, ' All right, my hearty, this is d d dangerous

navigation, isn't it ? Make it as bad as you can now, or you won't get any credit for it in England.' Then
turning to me he would point out where the deep water was, and where it was shallow — he said he knew by
the colour of the water — at the saine time shouting directions to the mate at the wheel. I was in terror for
the safety of our own frigate, which was directly in his wake, but by some means or other we all got safely
through."

Under Wolfe were Generals Moncton, Town.'^.end and Murray. Admiral Saunders had coiwmand of the
fleet, which proved an arduous and irritating duty, and which was performed in an eflicient and vigilant
manner. Now that Wolfe had reached the .scene of his intended operations, the prospect before him was not
encouraging. Standing on the western limit of the Island of Orleans, he saw at about five miles' disttvnce the
city for whose possession he had come to tight. Had he come to view the magnificent prospect, his would
have been a pleasanter mission. Before him and on either hand rolled the stately river, expanding to the
westward into a wide basin .surrounded by shores as grand and imposing as ever rejoiced the sight of man.
But his was a mission sterner than that of a lover of Nature in her magnificent adornments. He had come

INGONtSH, LOOKING TOWARD CAPE ENFUME.

r I

^f(i>

IHHIi

THE snVKN YKARS' WAR.

115

on no mission of peace or meditation, but on that of wav and conipieat and retribution ; and as his practised
eye swept tlu- circuit of the expanse of water before liini, he saw how invuhierable was the position of the
enemy. Counnencing two miles below him on his rifi;ht, at the moutli of tlie Montmorency, and stretchinijf
eij^lit miles up the left bank of tlie river to the moutli uf the St. Charles, extended a continuous line of IVench
batteries and entrenchments crowded with defender,'*. All ahmfx in front of these the water was so shallow
that no landiuij could be effeeted in force suflicient to accomplish any result. The ,shor(> was Hat and mu<ldy,
and dan<fero»is to troops attomptinij an a,ssault, as was afterwards shewn The ■nouth of the St. Chiirles, Ju.st
below the city, was jj;uarded by heavy jruns placed on a jilatform of sunken ve.s,sel.s. liefore him, on the steep
northern bank of the St. Lawrence, tlie city frowned defiance from its rock-built citadel. Above the city, for
about another ei<i;lit miles, as far as (^ape Rou^e, every available landinjif-place was stroniijly fortiiied. I5ehin<l
these entr'Michments, and <j;iiardinij tlit> various approaches to the city, were tliirte(>n thousaml Fr(>nchmen of
all a<;es, from the boy of thirteen to the olu man of seventy. The.se people had left their lields untilled, or to
be tilled by women, and had come to defend their country from the stern aggressors whoso ships darkened
the bosom of their native river. The F> onch had neglected to fortify the western end of the Lsle of Orlean.s,
and Point Levis and the .shore immediately above it were without defence. The reason for this does not
appear. Had these points been protected, it is ditheult to ,seo how the Knglish could have etlecte"' a loflgment
at all in the neighbourhood of Quebec. Hut the French were not in siillicient force to do everj-thing; and
by the time tlieir defences were manned on the north side of the river, their force was spent. They had
dovie all tliat Hesh and blood could do for the defence of tlieir country, and must now trust to themselves
and the skill and devotion of their leader for the result. But the heart goes <mt in .sympathy towards those
lean and half-starved men and boys, manning their parapets as best they could, and fighting and watching
and working day and night through that long and dismal summer, in hope that the relentless invader would
be forced to relax his grasp and sail away again.

The prospect for Wolfe was di.scouraging enough. His force was inadeipiat' to the task before him.
He had only half the armament employed in the reduction of fjouisliurg, a much weaker place. Nothing
could be effected but by .some bold and determined movement; but whore was ho to strike ? The enemy
.shewed him no vulnerable point, and kept carefully within their lines. The expected help from Amherst
was not to arriv<>; he wa? busy building forts in the woods twe. hundred miles distant, ami had not yet

116

CAPE n RE TON ILLUSTRATED.

cleared the way for his advance. So Wolfe was left to his own resources. He landed his seven thousand
men on the point of the island, entrenched them there, and then took possession of Point Levis and the
adjacent shore. By these movements the fleet was secured and anchored out of reach of the enemy's guns
in the lower part of the basin.

But the French meanwhile were not idle. They were devising schemes for the destruction of the British
fleet. One dark night six fire-ships well provided with old cannon loaded to the muzzle with odd scraps of every
kind, with tar and turpentine, and powder and bombs, with slow matches attached, were .set adrift in the
river that they might float down among the English ships and destroy them. Several attempts of this
nature were made, so that it became the duty of the seamen to be on the lookout for fire-ships. The first
attempt was frustrated by the explosion occurring before the flreships reached the neighbourhood of the fleet.
The crash of the explosion and the livid flames that lit up the darkness told what it meant, and the sailors
got into their boats and towed the fragments oiit of the way of doing harm, so that no damage was done.
But this was not the last attempt of the kind. The most formidable of all was the preparation of an iiinnense
float, or raft, composed of old hulks and rafts chained together till it reached a length of seven or eight
hundred feet. This was loaded with combustibles of every nature, set on fire, and sent adrift. Slowly but
.•surely it is making directly for the anchored fleet. But the sailors, seeing that this is the most dangerous
thing of the kind they have yet had to deal with, make the more desperate efforts to tow this floating Erebus
to one side. It is a hard and tough pull, but it is accomplished in safety. One of these tough old mariners,
regarding with a sigh of relief the now harmless engine of destruction, says to his companion, " Hark ye,
Jack ! did.st ever take hell in tow before ? "

From his batteries on the .south side of the river, Wolfe assailed the town with shot and shell. Much of
the town was laid in ruins, and the people who were not engaged in the defence fled into the country. But
this did not help him to the possession of the fortifications. The citadel .still held out against him as stoutly
as ever. He tried to draw the enemy from his entrenchments, but to no purpose. Montcalm had no stomach
for fighting where he had nothing to gain but all to risk. He looked to his defences and hoped to wear out
Wolfe's patience, and to see the British draw off" their forces and sail down the river. And he did in a sense
wear out Wolfe's patience, not to the extent of causing him to give over his enterprise, but his impetuous soul
chafed from day to day under the discouraging and inactive petition in which Montcalm's policy placed him.

THE SEVEN YEARS' IVAR.

117

At length, he landed a body of men below the Montmorency and there encamped them. He had some hope of
attacking Mortcalni by crossing the river and taking their line of defence in flauk. But the attempt was
unsuccessful. The banks of the river were almost inaccessible, and the fords were carefully guarded. Some
attempts were made to cross, but the French and Indians were able to prevent any lodgment being made, and
the attack from this point wis given up as impracticable. Then he resolved upon a more general and
determined movement. While the batteries on Point Levis were cannonading the French lines, to create a
diversion, a flotilla of barges carried a strong force to the Beauport flats, just above the mouth of the
Montmorency. Here there was great difficulty in landing, owing to the shallowness of the water and the soft
nature of the ground. Still, with considerable loss, being under a heavy fire, the troops were landed and
formed upon the slippery shore. It was his object now to attack the French lines directly in front, drive
them from their entrenchments, establish himself there, and then break up their defences in detail along the
bank of the river towards Quebec. The grenadiers, who had been first landed, being under a galling fire
from the French, were impatient of delay, and, eager for the contest, dashed up the steep bank without
waiting for orders, and before the order of attack had been formed. The ascent, difficult at best, was i-endered
more so by a .sudden shower of rain. The men slipped and stumbled, and many of them fell before the
destructive fire which the enemy poured upon them. At last they were compelled to retreat to their boats,
losing four hundred of their number before they were again out of the French fire. Wolfe's sensitive and
ambitious spirit chafed under this disaster. He lay ill of a raging fever from which he did not recover for
days. In his general orders he administered a severe rebuke to the grenadiers, by whose unsoldierly conduct
the disaster was in great measure occasioned ; but that could not remedy what was lost. The French were
now exultant, and thought that the English must give up the contest. They considered themselves safe for
that season at least. But Montcalm himself was not so confident, and did not place the departure of the
Engli.sh at so early a date as did Vaudreuil and others of his countrymen.

For Wolfe the prospect was dismal enough. His reputation was staked upon the result of the expedition,
and to one of his high soul and keen ambition it is easy to understand how keenly he felt this. Three months
had now passed before Quebec, and less than nothing had been accomplished. No man could have done more
than he had done, but Wolfe was a man who thought that even impossibilities ought to bo conquered when
they lay in his way. He had in him no thought of failure — the word was not in his vocabulary ; hence, when

^Kmfm

118

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

he met it, the proud spirit could not accept it. He was so whole-souled in his work, he gave himself so
unreservedly to it, that the cruelty of disappointment was more than he could bear. And so he lay sick,
his followers grew disheartened, and the capture of Quebec seemed to be farther off than ever. All this is
the reading between the lines in a heroic life. Fame reads the poem, or admires the picture, or glories in the
victory, but it knows not the long hours and days and years of trial and suffering and defeat that lead to the
result. "I would give twenty years of my life if I could make a speech like that," said a friend to an orator.
" It has cost me all my life," was the reply. And so is it with all great deeds — they cost a life, and often a
death, as in Wolfe's case.

The end of August was now rapidly approaching. A council of war was called, and it was suggested that
while a portion of the army should engage the attention of the French, the main body should be landed afc
some accessible point, if such could be found above the city, climb the heights and give battle to Montcalm on
the plain above. Who first suggested this plan is not accurately known ; it has been attributed, with a fair
degree of evidence in his favour, to General Townsend.

General Murray's camp was situated on the Island of Orleans ; another encampment had been formed to
the eastward of the Montmorency, and General Moncton with his division was quartered at Point Levis. Part
of the forces were left to man the batteries at Point Levis, and opposite the Beauport shore below the
Montmorency, while the main body were embarked on board the transports, in readiness to be landed where
it .should be deemed practicable. The French, seeing the embarkation, deemed that the English were now
about to depart, and began to breathe more freely ; but they were disconcerted and kept on the alert by a
tremendous cannonade from Point Levis and from the fleet opposite the Beauport shore. They were rendered
still more unea.sy by the movements of the .ships after the troops had been embarked. These kept moving up
and down the river with the tide for a distance of tive or six miles, with the intention of dissipating the
attention of the French from any given point — and the intended result was eflected. The enemy could not
make out what was intended, and Bougainville, who had command of the forces in that part of the defences,
was sorely harassed and perplexed. His men were kept on the alert day and night, and were compelled to
follow the ships up and down the shore in order to properly fulHl the duty assigned to them. At length a
spot was fixed upon at which it was deemed a landing might be eflected and the ascent of the heights made.
It is said that Wolfe himself first discovered the little path at the foot of the height, at the cove which now

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

119

bears his name ; and it was determined to attempt the ascent at this point. The strictest secrecy was observed
in order to conceal the real intention from the enemy.

It often seems that when a thing is to happen, numerous coincidences occur which might have been at
any other time subversive of each other. On the night upon which it was determined to attempt the ascent,
Bougainville had neglected to follow the movements of the ships. His men were tired out ; and the ships
had passed up and down so often before without any result, that he probably conceived that the same thing
would occur again. Consequently the men were allowed to remain in their quarters at their respective posts,
the greater number beiug seven or eight miles above Quebec. This was one circumstance that facilitated
the landing at Wolfe's Cove that night and in the early morning. Again, a convoy of supply boats was to
descend the river that night. It was .seen that it ould be possible to deceive the enemy by answering the
challencje of the sentries for them if the descent of the river could be made before them. And in the third
place, they had learned the countersign from a deserter. So events had conspired to render the ascent of the
bank possible, if ever it were to be possible.

On the 12th of September, the ships had drifted up with the tide to a point nearly opposite the
outermost entrenchments of the French. The following niijht was clear and starlicrht. At nine o'clock the
first division of the army, sixteen hundred strong, began silently to embark in flat-bottomed boats. When
all was ready, they were cast loose and began their fateful passage down the river. Not a word was spoken.
As they floated with the tide, we are told, Wolfe repeated to the officers seated with him " Gray's Elegy in a
Country Cliurchyard." His surcharged soul, no doubt, was seeking e.^pression in some words of deep emotion
other than those of war and its harsh suggestings. A mile above their intended landing- pi ace was a guard
stationed on the heights above. Immediately beneath there walked to and fro a sentinel on the beach. When
the leading boats came gliding through the darkness, his sharp challenge rang out upon the night air. " La
France, ' was the ready response from an officer of the 78th Highlanders. The sentinel took them for the
expected supply boats, and they were allowed to pass without being detected. Arrived at the destined spot,
they were again challenged, and the same answer given, .so that it was some time before the French
understood that they had to deal with enemies. Some of the leading boats, conveying the light company of
the Highlanders, were swept by the current past the foot of the narrow path chosen for the ascent, and
drifted directly ashoiv. The men sprang right at the face of the precipice, and began to scramble up, holding

126

CAPE BRETON JLLUSTRATEt).

A% k

" 1

fi %

on by the rocks and branches of trees. In the meantime other boats had landed at the proper place, and the
ascent was begun. The guard at the head of the path had now become thoroughly alarmed, and began to
comprehend that they had been surprised. In their confusion they offered but slight resistance. They were
commanded by M. Vergar, the same who had surrendered Beausejour to the English, and who had afterwards
been tried for cowardice. He pi'obably remembered that now, for he stood his ground and fired at one of the
leading assailants, but was instantly overpowered and made prisoner. Still he had here neglect<^d his duty.
Of the guard which he commanded, he had allowed a part to go to their homes, and the watch which he kept
was not vigilant. Yet he probably was in the same position that many others were that night who kept
guard upon the heiglits, for the French were all taken V)y surprise as well as he. Wolfe said to an officer by
his side, looking in smiling despair at the dark height towering over their heads, " Do you think we shall ever
get up ? " and addressed his long limbs to the task before hini. Poor fellow ! He had said, after repeating
"Gray's Eltg}-," "I had rather be the author of that beautiful poem than take Quebec." If he had known
what people think now, pcrliaps he would not have said that. There is a wide difference between the
querulous and fame-covetous Gray, who wrote his own epitaph, and this man who thought only of his duty
and of his friends, who fought a battle which, considering the number of men engaged, was little more than
a skirmish, yet ranks among the historic battles of Great Britain.

A sufficient number of men had soon ascended to render their position for the time being secure. They
established themselves in the defences which the French had occupied, and drove off some small parties of
the enemy from the neighbouring points of defence. Meantime the way up the height had bren partially
cleared, and the ascent was easier. All the remainder of the night the men toiled up that narrow path, and
when the sun rose, Wolfe, with nearly five thousand men formed in line of battle, stood upon the Plains of
Abraiiam. His right rested upon the brink of the height, and the line extended landward in a direction
nearly at right angles to the shore. Wolfe's ardent spirit was now satisfied. With that line of grim veterans
he knew that Montcalm would be forced to try conclusions, and he had not much fear for the result. In stern
expectation they awaited further developments. Their line of battle was about a mile from the walls of the
city, and the attack would doubtless come from that direction.

In the meantime Montcalm was all unconscious of their presence upon the Plains of Abraham. He was
with the forces on the east side of the St. Charles, and did not hear of the ascent of the British until after the

The seven years' war.

121

sun had risen. He did not believe that it could be true. Hurrying acro.s.s the St. Charles, he hastily pressed
through the city with all the forces at his disposal, with the determination to attack the Briti.sh lines at once.
On this eventful morning he seems to have lost his usual calmness and self-command. The surprise was so
unexpected, and the sense of his being out-witted was so heavy upon him, that his vehement and reckle-ss
attack can readily be understood. He did not wait for the co-operation of Vaudreuil, who had two thousand
men or more at his disposal farther down the rivor. The British line was between him and Bougainville, who
had an equal number of men in the upper defences, and who might have created a diversion in his favour had
he had time allowed him to collect his thoughts. No ^oubt, if he had judgment and rea.-yn enough left to
think clearly on the subject, he depended upon his regular troops to destroy the British line, for he knew that
the colonists and Indians were comparatively useless in the struggle which was now impending. Issuing
through the western wall of the city, followed by regulars, colonists and Indians, and hastily forming an order
of attack, he advance<l precipitately upon that silent red line which stretched as motionless as a wall before
him. The British lion has long been baffled of his prey, but now he is crouching to the spring, and let these
gay French lilies beware how they approach him, lest they be crushed beneath the sudden stroke of his
vengeful paw.

The colonists and Indians take to cover as they advtiuce, after their usual manner ; but the ground is for
the most part clear, and offers them but scant opportunity'. The regulars, headed bj' Montcalm, advance in
firm and compact order. Anon an incessant fire from the Indians and French skirmishers begins to gall the
British ranks. This fire quickens and thickens as they press their way forward. Anon is heard the more
regular rattle of musketry, as the French regiments come within range, and the firo has now become general
along the whole line.

Still that silent line stands fast and makes no .sign. As the men fall thick and fast out of their ranks,
their comrades move grimly shoulder to shoulder, and stand stern and pale, with the lurid light of battle
gleaming in every war-gnarled face. Wolfe hurries from rank to rank, exhorting the men to stand fast and
reserve their fire until the enemy are within fifty yards. Stationed now at the head of the 28th, he is struck
in the wrist. Wrapping a handkerchief around the wound, he walks again along the line, and the i itense
and anxious look upon his face tells how much he has that moment at stake. But these men will not fail him.
Onward and onward come the Frt^^h, shouting and gesticulating, and in bad order for the most part — till on

122

CAP£ BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

m ^

a sudden there ring out along the British line stern words of command. A clatter of arms is heard. Down
sweeps the line ot bayonets in front, and out rings a volley distinct as a single shot. The old Lion of the Sea
has spruno; '•om his lair at last, with that growl of musketry, and has struck down the power of France with
a single bio That volley placed Britain where she is now. Had it never been fired in such a manner as
it was, she might still have been struggling with France for colonial supremacy.

The French attack suddenly blenched — it fell withered before that terrible volley. The colonists and
Indians had never faced such doings as these, and they turned their backs and Hed. The regulars, with
Montcalm at their head, strove to re-form their shattered ranks and show a front of battle. But it was all in
vain. Another and another shower of deadly hail fell upon them and swept away every formation. The
whole French line now fell back, and, aided by a redoubt, Montcalm .succeeded in once more pre.senting to
the enemy some semblance of a battle-front. But it was useless ; the ardour of the British could no longer
be restrained. They advanced more and more rapidly till they broke into a wild charge and drove the enemy
before them at all points.

In the meantime Wolfe had been struck in the body, this time by a bullet from the redoubt, fired, it is
said, by a deserter whom Wolfe had degraded for cruelty to a soldier. The last wound was mortal. He
reeled and was about to fall, and said to a grenadier officer who was near, " Support me, that my brave
fellows may not see me fall." But presently he sank and was carried to the rear, ana lay back apparently
lifeless save for an 'occasional groan. Seeing the French breaking in disorder and flying in all directions, one
near him exclaimed, " See ! they run ! " Raising him.self as from sleep, the dying man asked eagerly, " Who
run ? " " The French, sir," was the answer ; " they give way in all direction.s." " Then, God be praised ! I
die in peace," said Wolfe, and added, " Go one of you to Captain Burton ; tell him to march the 28th with all
.speed down to the St. Charles river to cut off the retreat." These were his la.st words and his last order.

Montcalm during this time had been also mortally wounded, but still remained on horseback and was
borne with the crowd of fugitives towards the city and through the gate. As he rode through the streets he
was followed by weeping women, to whom he spoke words of comfort and encouragement. We have already
seen how and where he was buried. It is not certain where he died — either in one of the houses of the city
or in the convent of the UrsuHnes. When told that his wound was mortal, he said, "So much the better; I
shall not live to see the surrenler of Quebec." Some of his .subordinates sent to him for orders ; he returned

THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR.

123

for answer that they might manage ati'airs as they pleased ; he had no orders to give, he had things of more
importance to arrange. So died Montcalm, the hero of Canada, nor was he the only hero. The tale of the
French in America is replete with the record of heroism and true devotion, though it is at tlie .same time
sullied with cruel extortion and financial ignominy. The intendant Bigot was tried for injustice and rapacity.
Even during the last struggle with the British, when everyone was called upon to make sacrifices for his
country, this man was enriching himself by swindling the Government and robbing the people whose interests
it was his duty to protect. He had charge of the king's stores. Out of these the army was supplied with
food and clothing. These stores he bought from the people at a miserable price in the king's name. He paid
for these in worthless paper money, and then in his accounts charged the king twice or thrice their original
price. Some accounts he fabricated. He put in his own pocket money intended for the repair of the forts.
When he returned to France after the surrender of Canada he was imprisoned in the Bastilo, compelled to
refund large sums of money, and was finally banished for life. This man's career, and that of many others
like him of less note, presents the weak side of Canada.

Wolfe's body was embalmed and sent to England to be buried in the little Kentish village of Westerham,
where his widowed mother lived and where his father had died but a few months before. The coffin was
escorted by a guard of honour to the shore, minute-guns were fired and Hugs were hoisted half-mast high, and
the veterans followed grieving sincerely for their young friend whose honour they had so well sustained in
battle. There were illuminations, ringing of bells and firing of salutes all over England when tidings came
of the victory of Quebec — everywhere except in his native village. Feelings of mingled joy and grief
agitated the nation : joy for the splendid victory, grief for the dead hero. The military annals of England
present no more interesting tale of heroic self-endurance and dauntless courage in the presence of every
difficulty, than the story of Wolfe's conduct before Quebec.

The French power in Canada was now broken, but it was not destroyed ; yet it was evidont that the end
was not far off. General Townsend, upon whom the comniuiiu now devolved, dragged his artillery up the
banks for an assault upon the walls. The city had been reduced to a mass of ruins by the English
bombardtnent. The people were in a state of starvation. Four days after the battle was fought, the city
.surrendered. The standard of France fluttered sadly down from the citadel of St. Louis, and the blended
crosses of St. George and St. Andrew have been fiodting over that grim fortress ever since, as it thrusts its

':'•=""■ I r ""■-*^*-rr^r^

ifinfeB

124

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

giant fist out into the St. Lawrence, the palladium of Canada. So end.s the ideal, romantic pa.st and begins
the pro.saic, practical present. Still the fancy wanders back to the time when under the French it held high
couuDand over their ancient colony. Here the men of a great and gallant nation have done great and gallant
deeds, and their record is not and never shall be lost.

Quebec was now in English hands, but the remnants of the French armies were hovering near seeking
for an opportunity to recapture it. Those relics of their army and the forces in and about Montreal were all
that remained to them of their power. Early in the following spring De Levi, at the head of seven thousand
men, made an attack upon Quebec. General Murray, who had command in the city, marched out with half
the number of men to meet him in the open field. The half-melted snow lay deep upon the ground, and
Murray's artillery was so impeded thereby that it was useless. The struggle was long and hard, but the
British at last retreated with the loss of all their guns and many men, and took shelter behind the walls.
But the leading spirits on both sides were gone, and the blows which were struck were comparatively feeble
and spiritless. So, with the English in the city and the French hovering in the neighbourhood of Cape
Rouge, it only remained to be seen what developments the spring might disclose. If reinforcements reached
the English first, their possession of the city would be secured. If .succour first reached the French, they might
still recapture Quebec. So the river was anxiously watched to see what flag it would first bear upward on
its bosom. At length the first ship of the season appeared, and hoisted the flag of England. De Levi
hastily retreated and left his baggage behind him, and the fate of Quebec was decided. The ship was the
leading frigate of an English squadron.

As early in the .spring as military operations were practicable, the inflexible Amherst, having looked well
to his forts and to his rear, began to concentrate his forces upon Montreal. Resistance was useless, yet .some
show of it was attempted. Governor Vaudreuil, a theoretic and didactic soldier as he had always been, and
General De Levi gathered all their forces in this last centre of the French power. But a large portion of
their army consisted of militia who now little cared who should be their masters. They had been half-starved
and maltreated under French rule, and deserted in large numbers to provide for their famishing families.
All the outposts were soon taken by the British, and three armies, numbering in all twenty thousand men,
closed in upon them, Vaudreuil, after all his exhibitions of self-importance and vanity, saw at length the

THE SEVEN YEARS' IVAH.

125

desperate nature of his cause, gave up the city, and surrendered the inhabitants as prisoners of war. And
then was signed the capitulation which severed Canada from France forever.

There were in Canada at this time, as has been said, about eighty thousand French people. Their
property, laws, and religion were .secured to them, and they were scarce conscious of the change in their
nationality, except from the fact that they had now better and kinder masters. They therefore transferred
their allegiance with the best possible grace. They had no reason to grieve for the loss of Bigot and his
associates. They had now an opportunity to make themselves freemen if they would.

The war continued in Europe for over two years after it had ended in America. The Briti.sh arms had
been successful in Canada, on the Continent, in the West Indies, and in the far and rich regions of the East.
Now were laid the foundations of the British Indian Empire; and if the loss of her chihlren in America was
impending, there was opening for Britain in India a richer and grander possession. The idea of imperial
extension had struck into the English mind, and served to give to the Briton a wider and more dignified
conception of his nationality, and of the mission of his country to the peoples of the earth.

12G

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

I^:|

DESCRIPTIOIS OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISBURG.

THE Frenchman, since the birth of modern France, has been instinctively a soldier. His love of
country, and his love of glory and distinction, have brought about this result. He is not ambitious
in the same sense that the Briton is ambitious. We are ambitious from a desire of profit, or
a sense of power. The Frenchman is ambitious from a sense of national glory. And he has done
wonderful things under the domination of this passion. France has displayed a vitality, an ever-renewing
youth, an irrepressibleness, a self-sacrifice and self-devotion which no other nation in the world has
approached — and the love of France has done it all. More than once she has stood against a world in arms,
and as from a common centre her armies have diverged and swept to her frontiers, and driven the nations
before her like chaff". Perhaps she will do that again. So the Frenchman is by nature and tradition a
soldier. And he 1ms always understood the art of war. The quickness and ingenuity of the Celtic mind
has mastered the details c" warfare so that he seldom blunders or wastes his strength for naught. He also
loves beauty and effect ' all things and in great. Hence he had an eye for the picturesque and striking,

as well as for the pract all that he did. In obedience to his military instinct, he knew what places

should be the centre of his powc ind influence. He knew a commanding site or position when he saw it,
and did not fail to utilize it, and it »vd,s all the more grateful to him if it was at the same time clothed with
beauty or touched with romance.

The fortified posts which he held in Canada, while occupying convenient and commanding positions,
were all marked with wonderful beauty. The St. John River, Annapolis, La Have, Louisburg, Quebec,
Montreal, Niagara, Champlain and Lake George are all scenes of wondrous natural adornment. The
Frenchman loves beauty everywhere, at home and in the field, in the cottage and in the palace, in grim
fortalice and gorgeous shrine, and it remained for the sons of the Goth and the Viking, the baresark
iconoclasts, if not to ravage, at least to trample upon and ignore, the beauty that he had found. If the good,
the beautiful, and the true are the three desirable things, it must be confessed that the Frenchman always

DESCRIPTION OF THE '
-U„^ht the second of these and so ^^^^^^ ^^"^ FORTRESS oi' loUlSBURa

The? f "' '' '""^ *•» 'l-o teer " '*'"^"""' "" *« yet ,! aU^l °'. ''"'■'"'i'y, o,- tl,e .scant

Tw J ■: r ,;~;':r«^ »»' 'f.^ -s. .ea„t.„, , „ ., ' ' """"' "'' ""^ '™'-'-
"■eir bat;!:iea :::%': r '^ ■»-- °f sx" :f,:°."'"s/"" <.» > iJ^'te tLi't "^™^»

«*. mlr T"' """ °' <'''fc"« a, tA""'""*'' '"y ">« greatei e^rTtv S' T "'r°""™="'"' »'

lO'^Q

128

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

from which Amherst advanced his trenches. But the defence in both case.s was weakly conducted. The
Grand Batteiy, the basis of the whole landward position, was in both cases allowed to fall into the enemy's
hands without striking a blow. The occupation of Lighthouse Point was the next natural object in the
plan of an invader, and thence the Island Battery was easily rendered useless, and the strength of Louisburg
was shattered.

During the second siege the fleet lay idle and dismantle \ in the harbour, much to the disgust of the more
enterprising and courageous of their own officers. Their ships might have done much to impede the besiegers
in their movements. It was found necessary to erect a battery with the special object ot resisting ie little
frigate that kept annoying the intrenching parties. The captain of this vessel, who afterwards mant.^ . the
construction of tire-ships at Quebec, seems to have been an able and daring officer, and swure roundly at the
incapacity of those who directed — or rather failed to direct — the naval movements at Louisburg, They seem
to have taken it for granted that tlie strength of the British fleet and their national prestige upon the sea
gave them the advantage, and they never made an etturt to use their own ships. So the maritime supremacy
of England gave her the advantage in both sieges. But the internal weakness of the French, from causes
which we have already discussed, was the greatest weakness of all. The colonial Frenchman was an
oppressed, spiritless and down-trodden man on the one side, and the colonial official was a mercenary and
corrupt oppressor. We are told the defences of Louisburg cost in our money five or six millions of dollars,
which means about three times that value in our time. But it is not likely that half that value found its wa}'
into the defences of T,v>uisburg. From the condition in which the Americans found the Grand Battery — which
seems to have been > .'air sample of how their work was done — it may be inferred that the fortifications of
Loui-sburg were at the best in no condition to sustain a vigorous bombardment. The design of the works was
magnificent — the military knowledge of the nation ensured that result — but the execution was defective, done
with poor material, and never kept in repair. Money which should have gone to strengthen the defences
found its way into the pockets of weak and ridiculous officials, who danced it away regardless of the king's
and the colony's interests. In fact, we are told that the garrison mutinied because they had received no
pay for work done on the fortifications. This money they must have been promised, or its non-payment
would not have produced a mutiny. There is always some story to tell about the decaying state of the

1. LIGHTHOUSE, LOUISBURG. 2. SL'NRISE ON BATTERY ISLAND.

3. NEW TOWN, FROM THE EAST.

DESCRIPTION or THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISBURG.

129

defences. Just before the English capture of the place, we are again told that Louisburfr was not prepared
for a siege. One fails to understand how this could be, if everyone had been doing anything like his duty.
It had only recently been given back to them ; it had been strengthened and rendered more invulnerable than
ever, we are told ; and besides it was a time of war, and they might expect an attack at any moment — indeed,
the British forces had been threatening them with destruction during the preceding summer or two — and yet
it is said that " the stone-work of the ramparts had in many places fallen into the ditches ; the earthen
embankments were broken down, and " (worse than all) " manj' of the cannon were mounted on carriages so
rotten that they could not bear the shock of discharge." All this sounds very strangely in the case of a
fortress in which the first stone had been laid less than forty years before, and which had been repaired and
strengthened but seven years prev'ously. The quarry from which the French procured their stone is at Black
Rock. Quantities of this material are lying there still, probably very much as they left them. The stones
are broken off in small, irregular masses, and it is evident from the ruins of the walls that they were built of
material of the same description. There was evidently no attempt made to face them with hewn stone of any
size, and we are told that the mortar used in cementing this inconsistent mass of material was of a very
poor quality ; so we can readily believe that the English bombardment brought these crumbling defences
down in ma.sses. On the other hand, it has been said that while the Enixlish had possession of Louisburg, from
1745 to 1749, much labour and expense were incurred in repairing the works, which had sustained but slight
damage during the siege. It is said that the bomb-proof easements were constructed by the Engli.sh. But
this could not have been so. The casements were in existence at the time of the first siege, for we are told
tliat the women and children had been sheltered in them. Again, Louisburg was not a place in the occupation
of which the English ever took much interest, and it is not at all probable that the New Englanders
strengthened the works beyond repairing the damages which their own bombardment had eflfected. The
changes could not have been of sufficient importance to alter the general character of the workmanship.
New France was without doubt labourin under the same disadvantajjes as those which burdened the mother
country. There were dissolute and proiiigate rulers, and an oppressed and indigent people; and the war
department not being under the control of those whose interest it was to strive for its honour and glory, it
was allowed to fall into neglect and decay. The genius and the spirit of French institutions had not developed
9

i) ,, ,-«■ Ji, '

130

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

a race suitable for colonization. In fact, it may be said thai no colonies, not even English colonies, that have
been originated under government control and supervision, have been as vigorous and prosperous as those
which have been founded by the spontaneous energy and enterpiise of the people.

It may be said, then, that though technically Louisburg was a magnificent fortress, in practical detail
it was weak, and the cause is to be found in the want of thoroughness which characterized the colonizing
system of France. The Government of Cape Breton, we are told, was modelled after that of Canada. It
consisted of a Governor or Commandant, a Commissary or Intendant, a Supreme Council, and Inferior
Court or Bailiwick, and a Court of Admiralty.

"The Governor had the direction of all the alFairs relating to the security of the colony, and the
command of the military establishment, consisting of the King's Lieutenant, a Major, and Aid-Major, a
regiment of French regulars, and two companies of the Swiss Regiment of Honour." This was in the j'ear
1740.

" The Intendant had charge of the military chest, ammunition, provisions and stores of all kinds. He
was entrusted with the administration of justice in civil matters, and could at any time call upon the
Governor for the aid of the military to carry out the decisions of the Courts if necessary."

" In many important matters, such as the direction of the police, the granting of lands, the erection of
fortifications, and the maintenance of religion and order, the Governor and Intendant possessed equal and
joint authority. This arrangement, as Pichon justly observes, is suitable only to such countries as are within
reach of the eye of the sov?reign ; for should there happen to be a.iy clashing becween these officers, it would
lay a foundation for a perpetual quarrel and animosity if either oi them should not be thoroughly honest ;
and fur/eh more so, if neither of them was endued with a disposition to promote the public good."

" The Supreme Council was composed of the Governor, the Lieutenant-Governor (or King's Lieutenant),
the Intendant, the Attorney-General, and four or five other persons chosen from among the merchants of
Louisburg. This Council, of which the Intendant was president, was entrusted with the administration of
justice throughout the colony and its dependencies."

"The Inferior Court, or Bailiwick, was composed of a judge, the Attorney-General, a secretary and a
tipstaff. Its jurisdiction was chiefly confined to such matters as came under the cognizance of the police of
the colony."

Description of the town and fortress of louisburg.

131

" The Ailiiiiralty Court consisted of a lieutenant, the Attorney-General, a clerk, and a tipstaff. Its
principal duties were the prevention of illicit commerce, the entry and clearance of merchandise, and visiting
and examining cargoes that arrived from foreign parts."

Six missionaries superintended the spiritual affairs of the colony. These were assisted by six brothers,
or friars, who had charge of the hospital. Nuns from Quebec superintended t)ie education of young females.
The Abb^ Maillard had charge of the Indians of Cape Breton and St. John's Islands, UUva says the Indiana
he saw at Louisburg " not only resemble those of Peru in complexion, but there is also a considerable affinity
betwixt their manners and customs ; the only visible difference is in the stature, and in this the advantage
lies on the .side of the inhabitants of these northern climates. They were not absolutely subject to the king
of France — they acknowledged him lord of the country, but did not alter their mode of living or submit to
his laws. So far from paying tribute, they received annually from France a quantity of apparel, gunpowder,
muskets, brandy, and several kinds of tools, to keep them quiet and attached to French interests. To this
end priests were sent among them to instruct them in the Christian religion and to perform divine service,
and all the other offices of the Church, as baptisms, burials, etc. And as the end to be answered was of the
highest importance to French commerce, the persons chosen for these expeditions were men of parts, elocution,
graceful carriage, and irreproachable lives; and accordingly they behaved with that prudence, condescension
and gentleness towards the Indians under their care, that, besides the universal veneration paid to their
presence, their converts looked upon them as their fathers, and with all the tenderness of filial affection
shared with them what they caught in hunting, and the produce of their fields." These Indians sometimes
hired themselves to the merchants when they came to Louisburg, but the untamable nature of the red man
was then, as now, impatient of restraint. They sought again their wild life, often accompanied by the
faithful missionary from place to place. Yet such are the paradoxes in human nature, that this same
affectionate father often incited them against their enemies, and winked at the most horrible atrocities
committed by them. Pichon says they taught the poor savages that the English " were enemies of God and
companions of the devil, and since they did not adopt the same way of thinking as the French, it was their
duty to do them as much mischief as pcssible." But Pichon is not at all times a candid authority, as becomes
one of his principles, but is at times evidently prejudiced against his own countrymen, and puts their case in
the most unfavourable light. That there were notorious examples of the above conduct is undoubtedly

u — _a_iis^5M^pi

13^

Cape breton illustrated.

true. Thei'e are good and bad in all classes, and, no doubt, examples of both were to be found among the
early French missionaries. We are told that even the Alibo Maillard himself, who had gone to St. John's
Island after the fall of Louisbur^, endeavoured to induce the Indians of that island to go and attack six
English houses which had been built outside the town.

In approaching Louisburg by sea from the westward, the first prominent object that attracts the eye is
Guyon Island, situated a mile or two to the westward of Gabarus Point. The southern shore of Cape Breton
is comparatively tame and uninteresting in its western part, but grows wilder and more rugged as we go
eastward. From Guyon Island to Scatari it is literally a " stern and rock-bound coast." The angry surf is
forever fretting the grim and forbidding shore. The coast, though not high, is extremely rugged and
broken, and as you get nearer and nearer Louisburg, you somehow get the impression that once upon a time
strength and protection sat entrenched behind the barricade of these ocean-beat rocks; you can fancy that
even now the little fishing-craft are gliding in and out of the harbour as if conscious that the protecting hand
of a giant were near — as if the ghost of a departed strength still answers to the eternal voice of old ocean.

We first saw Louisburg on a gray and windy morning in early winter, when the waves were hastening
landward to renew their never-ceasing battle with rugged reef and jagged rock, and all along their line of
strife the roar of old ocean's war raged unceasingly. The great rocks, the battlements that God planted in
the mighty deep, are more invulnerable than were the puny works of man that once blasphemed here the
majesty of the Eternal. The waves fruitlessly seek to invade the bounds set by Him who said, " Here shall
thy proud waves be stayed." The steadfastness of these rocks seems to impart itself to one's conception of
the old French fortalice that once frowned over the Atlantic waves. Far from the ocean outside can yet
be seen the ruins of the citadel. Four ruined casemates on the west Hank of the King's Bastion are in a
line parallel with the shore, and appear at a distance like the ruins of some ancient bridge or causeway.
A vessel is obliged, in making Louisburg harbour from the west, to run well to the eastward before
attempting to enter. Two considerable islands and numberless scarcely submerged reefs occupy more than
half the width of the entrance of the harbour, or rather of the distance between its opposite points. As you
pass inward you leave Green Island on the left hand, and a short distance above it is Battery Island, of
which we hear so much in accounts of the sieges. Between this island and Lighthouse Point on the east is
the entrance to the harbour, only eight hundred yards acro,ss and with a depth of sixty or seventy feet. To

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOC/S/WRG.

133

the eastward of Lighthouse Point the coast extends towards Scatari in a rugged and relentless array of rocks
that suggest no mercy to the hapless vessel that may be hur'.od upon their cruel edges. Upon Lighthouse
Point there stood a lighthouse in the old French times, octagonal, apparently, in form, as the position of debris
indicates. It was situated a little to the eastward of the present lighthouse, and occupied ground somewhat
higher. The French had never fortitied this point, neither the elevated ground to the rear, which, in about
the distance of a third of a mile, rises to the height of two hundrovl and fifty feet. Batteries planted up the
slopes of this height must have made the entrance to the harbour impregnable, and prevented the possil)ility
of an attack on the Island Battery. Leaving the Lighthouse Point, we follow the shore of the harbour in a
northerly direction for seven or eight hundred yards, until we come to an inner point directly opposite the
present Ijouisburg. Here was a caroening-place near the site of the now disused railway terminus. Here
ships of the largest size were taken in close to the cliff and "hove down" to be overhauled. There are extant
two old pictures of Lonisburg as it appeared in ancient times, one of them taken from the entrance of the
harbour outside the '"jhthouse, and another from this careening-place. These pictures are from DesBarres'
coast views. DesBarres \,'as an officer who made a survey of the coast about 1760 ; he was the father of
Judge DesBarres, of Newfoundland. These views are very crude in execution — little attention is paid to
perspective and proportion — but they still are interesting, as they serve to give a general idea of what the
fortifications of Louisburg were like in the old times. In the second view a large man-of-war is careened
near by, and the artist has been standing near her when his picture was made. From this point the shore
turns more to the eastward, and forms the southern side of the English harbour. Following in this direc.jn
about a mile, you come to the extreme north-eastern limit of Louisburg harbour. Proceeding round this arm,
you presently arrive at the spot where the New Englanders burned the storehouses anfl arsenals, the smoke
of which drifted westward and alarmed the French in the Grand Battery to that degree that they precipitately'
deserted it and thereby hastened the fall of the place. These storehouses were situated a little to the
eastward of the present town of Louisburg. Still pursuing our way round the shore of the harbour, we
presently pass through the modern village, turn a little to the southward, again to the westward, and come
upon the ruins of the Grand Battery. These are directly opposite the entrance of the harbour, and about
thirteen hundred yards distant from it, about midway between the eastern and western harbours, and near
the site of the modern Catholic chnpel. The remains hero show that this was a work of great importance,

134

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

It mounted thirty cannon — twenty-eight forty-two pounders and two eighteen pounders. The battery
extended along the shore of the harbour for about a hundred and fifty yards. The phitform upon which the
guns were mounted can still be distinctly traced, as can also the ruins of the magazine and of the towera
wliich flanked tlie battery. This work was impregnable from the sea-side, and had it been properly defended
against an attack by land, would have been a place of great strength. As it was, the " immense sums of
money spent in its construction," as the French themselves say, were wasted. L-^aving the Grand Battery
— the present road runs in the direction in which we are going — we approach nearer and nearer the ruins of
the ancient fortress, and as the massive nature of the ruins begins to impress itself upon the mind, we begin
to realize what Louisburg must have been like when it reposed in its strength upon the neck of land between
the observer and the distant sea.

There is another picture of ancient Louisburg from this direction, taken, it would appear, immediately
after its first surrender. The artist is evidently standing near Hale's barracks, or the site of Tidcomb's battery,
which wrought such execution upon the West Gate, to which it is exactly opposite, but separated from it by
the Barachois, a .salt-water pond at the western extremity of the harbour. This point is about 450 yards
distant from the ramparts. This picture, the original of which is said to be in the possession of a Miss
Howard, of Brooklyn, a descendant of the Pepperell family, is very faulty in execution, and many of the
details have been missed, especially the walls along the shore, and the colouring is obscure and dark. Still,
an idea of the massiveness of the defences is suggested. A ship is burning in the foreground near a bridge
which then crossed the beach at this point, and three or four dismantled ships are lying under the town on
the opposite side of the water, while an English ship is lying near the bridge.

Crossing this bridge in imagination, or proceeding round the head of the Barachois in reality, we
approach directly towards the West Gate. Here, at a distance of 250 yards from this gate, was the advanced
battery of the New Englanders, which they gradually extended westward in the direction of the King's
Bastion, and from which the responsive American, with a grim courtesy, invited the Frenchmen on the
ramparts to breakfast. To the north, and westward of this spot, the ground is still broken by many long
ridges, more or less parallel to each other, indicating where, in both sieges, the trenches and parallels had
been dug while the besiegers were drawing nearer and nearer the doomed town. The British, we are told,
in the last siege advanced their parallels up to the foot of the glacis, and the musketeers fired up at the

BOMB-PROOF CASEMATE.
RUINS OF BARRACKS.

HAYMAKING SCENE.
DITCH AND RUINED WALL.

BLACK ROCK.
SITE OF WEST GATE.

«B«i

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOLISHURG.

135

French who were stationed in the covered wuy, not more than a hundred yards distant. The crumbling
ramparts of Louishurg could never endure so close a bombardment as that. Accordingly, we are told that
the English shot brought the walls down in masses. All over the adjacent ground to the rear, even on the
borders of the marsh, wherever a rising hillock appears, there are indications that behind these cannons had
been placed to batter down the walls. We can form no idea now of the plan of the West Gate from any
traces of it that remain, for there are none of these. The irregular mounds, which are all that English
gunpowder has left of the ramparts of Louisburg, run down to what is no doubt the ancient road into the
city through the West Gate, but that is all that is to be seen. The road is as plain and unobstructed as any
other desolate and almost forsaken road can be. It runs close along the shore into the space of ground that
was onci the city, and between it and <^he harbour there is no trace of any ancient fortification — the sea-wall
has vanished completely. There are visible some ancient piles protruding from the beach just below the spot
occupied by the West Gate, and these may be the remains of the spur which projected into the harbour at
this point, but that is all.

With the memories of the past crowding thick and fast upon ua — thinking how often the light-hearted
sons of France passed and repassed here; how Pepperell's rugged artillerymen marched through here in
triumph, and in a few years after the grim battalions oi the inflexible Amherst; how often Louisburg poured
its joy and sorrow and martial strength along this deserted, grass-grown path— let us enter with kindly and
interested hearts, af t. i' it is all long since past, and see what sort of place this was whose power was felt from
Hatteras to the mouth of the St. Lawrence.

If military strength and engineering skill could avail, Louisburg was indeed strong. Leaving the level
of the streets, and climbing fourteen feet up the inner slope of the rampart, we come to the terre-plein, or
platform upon which the cannon are mounted. This level platform of earth is twenty-five feet in width.
Then going three feet higher, we come upon the banquette, a level space five feet in width. Musketeers
standing here can fire over the top of the parapet, which is a breastwork five feet higher than the banquette.
This parapet is pierced with embrasures through which the guns are pointed. It is built twenty-two feet
above the level of the streets. Then the ramparts slope outwards and downwards, and enable the musketeers
stationed on the banquette to fire across the ditch at an enemy who may have gained a footing in the covered
way. The rampart then slopes downward at a greater angle until it rests upon the wall or escarp. The whole

l8d

CAI'£ Iiia-:TO\ ILLUSTRATED.

of this rampart i'; of earth covered with sods. Then the escarp or wall extends to the bottom of the ditch,
a distance of thirty, and at some places of thirty-six, feet. We next come to the ditch — which at Louisburg
was eighty feet wide — on the opposite side of which is the counterscarp of solid masonry. (Jn a level with the
top of this, and h'wing a breadth of twenty-five feet, is the covered way, upon which a body of troops can be
a.ssembled ready to make a sortie upon the enemy's works, or to form an outer line of defence. This covered
way must be so constructed that men stationed upon tho '■amparts may fire over the heads of those sheltered
in it. We next ascend four feet up the slope of the banquette to the banijuette itself, which is four feet in
width, and finally to the parapet, four feet in height, from wh'f'.h the musketeers in tlie covered way can fire
down the slope of the (jlacis upon the enemy. The glacis i.s a bank of earth gradually sloping outwards until
it meets the level of the ground — presumed to be the same as tha'. of the level of the streets, or basis of the
rampart. The glacis must be sloped at such an t ngle as to have every part of its surface exposed to the fire
from the rampart.s. This describes a .section of the defences of Louisburg.

The West Gate was the principal entrance to the town. It was reached by a drawbridge, and defended
by the guns of the Circular and Dauphin Batteries. Leaving the Dauphin Bastion, and walking along the
rampart in the direction of the sea, we come to the King's Bastion, the most elaborate work in the entire line
of defence, as its ruins 'till testify. Under its west Hank were four bomb-proof casemates, and opposite, on
the east flank, were three. In these the wretched women and children huddled, sickened and died during the
sieges. They were strong subterranean chambers, arched with masonry and covered with several feet of
earth and sods — their ruins can yet be seen. In the gorge of the King's Bastion was the citadel, the most
conspicuous object within the walls. WiUiin the walls and fronting the town, the citadel was provided with
a moat, a covered way and a glacis, and with a parapet for musketeers, but it was mounted with no artillery.
The entrance from the town to the citadel was over a drawbridge. At one end of this drawbridge was a
guard-house, and advanced sentinels were posted on the other. The Governor's apartments, barracks for the
garrison, an arsenal, and a chapel which served as a parish church, were within the citadel ; and under the
platform, or terre-plein, was a magazine. The citadel of Louisburg was a magnificent structure. It was a
fortress within itself, and could have been defended after all the rest of the works had fallen into the
hands of the enemy.

Passing round the rampart of the King's Bastion, and keeping on towards the sea, we next come to the

DESCRIPT/ON OF THE TOIVX AND FOK'TRESS OF LOUISfiURG.

137

Queen's Bastion, a more extensive work tlian the former, but containing no casemates nor any structure within
its gorge. Next in order, and commanding the seaward angle of the wall, is the Princess' Bastion. Every
part of the landward wall was commanded by guns mounted upon the Hanks of these ba.stions. As far as
the design of these works was concerned, there was no stronger fortress in the world than Louisburg. They
were constructed after the " First System " of the celebrated Vauban. Had these works been properly
conf-trncted in detail, and properly defended, they would have been, as the French deemed them to be,
impregnable. There were temporary bridges acro.ss the ditch for the use of the garrison in making sorties
during a siege, and for the general accommodation of the inhabitants. There were sixteen 24-pounder3
mounted at the circular battery near the West Gate, and heavy guns at the bastions, but the exact number is
not known.

From the Princess' Bastion at the sea-side the defences extended northerly along the shore for about two
hundred yards, until we come to the Bourillon Bastion. There was no wall here, the interval being defended
by a palisading and a ditch, and by the shallow water and rocky shoals along the shore. During the siege of
1745, a picquet of planking was raised inside this palisading from the western angle of the Princes.s' Bastion
to the Bourillon Bastion. A hundred yards north of the latter was the Maurepas Bastion, occupying the
north-.tast angle of the entire works, and forming one of the principal harbour defences. Between these two
latter works, and extending across Point Rochfort, the wall, moat, covered way and glacis were continued the
same as in the land defences of the town. From the Maurepas Bastion two wooden bridges extended in a
north-westerly direction across a deep pond for the distance of two hundred yards to the liatterie de la
Oreve, a strong work, mounted with seventeen heavy guns directly facing the harbour. This battery Kunen
considered one of the most serious obstacles in the way of entering the harbour with his ships. The space
between the two latter works had no defence excepting the deep pond referred to ; but its surface could be
swept by a flanking fire from each side, so that there was no danger of an enemy making his way into
the city from this direction. From the Batterie de la Gr^ve, or the north-east battery, we proceed along the
shore of the harbour in a westerly direction towards the West Gate, from which we started. This sea-side of
the town was defended by a strong wall of masonry, with parapet and banquette for musketeers. This wall
was pierced by five gates, leading from the town to the wharves.

Wc have now completed the circuit of the defences of Louisburg, and have come, including the distance

1.S8

CAPE nK^TO.V ILI.USTRATEh.

round the angles of all tha works, over two miles. Piercing this line of defence were one hundred and
forty-eight embrasures for cannon, but it is not accurately known how many were mounted. We can observe
from these facts what a strong and compact fortalice this was ; and had its position been as impregnable as
the works, Louisburg might have been in French hands still.

The town was laiil out in wide and regular streets, crossing each other at right angles, six running in an
east and west, ai.J seven in a north and south dire 'i on. Some of the houses were of brick or stone, but
generally they were of wood with stone foundation. For over twenty years the French Government had
devoted mucli energy and much of its resources to the completion of the fortifications of Fiouisburg. The
English colonies furnished a great part of the material used in its construction. Board.s, timber and bricks
arrived there in quantities from New England. Intermingled with this legitimate trade, there was always
more or less smuggling. A good deal of light is thrown by these facts upon the relations between the
colonies and Louisburg. It was a place with which the colonists had long been familiar, and consecjuently
the idea of possessing it for themselves, no doubt, had become familiarized to their imaginations. And
further, the illicit trade in which they indulged was in direct violation of the regulations of the Hritish
Pailiament, and frecjucnt prosecutions and convictions were the result. All this served to widen the breach
between the colonies ami the mother CJiintry ; so we have here the foreshadowing of future events — the
capture ofi. Louisburg and the independence of the American C()loi\ies. It is said that Hancock, the first
signer of the Declaration of Imlependence, was himself a defaulter to the British Crown to the amount of
half a million of dollars ; so that his signature to that important document was at least as much a memento
of his commercial acumen as of his pure and disinterested patriotisn*. We hear a good deal in Cape Breton
of French bricks from Louisburg Quantities of these have been dug out of the ruins and used in the
construction of the country-people's chimneys. But in all probability these bricks were made by the New
Englanders, and jiaid f' • by French wines, brandy, and other knick-knacks, which it was deemed prudent to
conceal as much a.s po jiule on the homeward vcyage. The Acadians of Nova Scotia supplied the wants of
the workmen, and found it a lucrative businc.s.s. In one year they sent there from three hundred to four
huiulred head of ^attle, besides other provisions, chietiy from Minas and Bay Verte.

We have very little information in the French authors about Louisburg from its foundation, in 1720, to
tli(j date of the first siege, in 1745. The only event of any importance recorded is the wreck of the Cliamcav,

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISBURG.

ISO

a French war-ship of sixty guns. This ship struck on a rock near Louisburg on tlie night of August 2r)th,
1725, on her way from France to Quebec, and not a soul was saved. M. de Chazol, the now Intendant of
Canada; M. de Louvigny, tl\e newly-appointed Governor of Three Rivers ; a son of M. <le Ratue/,ay, the late
Governor of Montreal ; a number of oflicials belonging to the colonj', and several ecclesiastics, were among
the passengers. On the following morning the shore was strewn wica their dead bodies. " This misfortune,"
we are told, " in the course of a single night brought more grief and loss upon the French colonies than they
had suft'ered during twenty years of warfare." The Kronch engineers considered that they could hohl the
whole island by fortifying Louisburg, as it "was so woody that on whatever part the enemy should make a
descent, there was no access to it bj' land." Nevertheless they erected small outlying forts at St. Peter's and
St. Anne's. The former they considered a post of great importance. " Binng no more than eighteen leagues
from Louisburg, and twenty-five from the island of St. John's, it is of course the centre of communication to
the whole island. From thonce one may observe the least motion of the English, either at Canseau or in the
passage of Frousac (Strait of Canso), and advice may be sent to the Commandant at Louisburg in less than
eighteen hours." The Lieutenant-Governor of Nova Scotia noticed the erection of the fort at St. Peter's, and
he informed the President of the Board of Trade in 17.'?.'?, that "the French were very assiduous in carrying
on their fortifications at the island of St. John's, at the Bay of Verto, and at St. Peter's, about six or seven
leagues distant from Canseau."

The French made great efforts to assemble a fixed population at Louisburg and its vicinity, so that from
these settlements a militia might be drawn to assist the garrison in time of need. Distant settlements, for
this reason, did not receive nmch encouragement, but still they were rising uji in localities favourable to
fishing. In 172!) a large church was built at Niganischo (Ingonish), the site of which is still visible. In the
year 1849 a church bell was found there, buried in the sand upon the beach, weighing two hundred pounds,
with the following inscription upon it: "Pour la pavoisse de Niganische, j'ai dtd nomint^e par .lean IVcarette
et par Francjois Urail, pairain et marraine, La Fosse Huet de St. Malo ma faite I'an 17!!V" Regulations were
instituted to prevent a certain proportion of the fishermen who came out from France from returning. Every
ship going to America was obliged to take a certain number of men engaged to stay there. These men,
called "engages," generally remained in the country after their term of service had expired. As it was fouml
difficult to procure the requisite number of men at times, we are told they were sometimes "kidnapped on the

■W(S5!5^J«KB^^H

140

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

coast of Normandy." Pichon says the most of the inhabitants of Louisburg were " enejagds," and that many
of them " made the best figure in the colony." Abbd Prevost says the fixed population of Louisburg when the
war broke out in 1744 was four thousand.

D'Ullva gives some interesting information concerning the commerce of Louisburg in his " Voyage to
South America." He says: "The principal, if not the only, trade of Louisburg is the cod fisherj-, from which
vast profits accrue to the inhabitants, not only on account of the abundance of this fish, but because the
neighbouring seas afford the best of any about Newfoundland. Their wealth (and some persons among them
were in very prosperous circumstances) consisted in their storehouses — some of which were within the fort,
others scattered along the shore — and in the number of fishing barques. Of these more than one inhabitant
owned forty or fifty, which daily went op this fishery, carrying three or four men each, who received a settled
salary, but were at the same time obliged to deliver a certain number of standard fish. So the cod storehouses
never failed of being filled by the time the ships resorted thither from most of the ports of France, laden with
provision ^ and other goods with which the inhabitants provided themselves in exchange for their fish, or
consigned it to be sold in France on tboir own account. Likewise, vessels from the French colonies of St.
Domingo and Martinique brought sugar, tobacco, coflTee, rum, etc., and returned loaded with cod. Any surplus,
after Louisburg was supplied, found a vent in Canada, where the return was made in beaver skins and other
kinds of fine furs. Thus Louisburg, with no other resources than the fishery, carried on a large and regular
commerce both with Europe and America."

The following extract from " Brown's History of Cape Breton " will throw some light upon the species of
traffic maintained between Louisburg and the English colonies:

" The New England trailers, who brought fruit, vegetables, oats, .shingles, bricks, etc., in payment of their
purchases of West India produce, at the same time introduced many contraband articles, such as ttour, meal,
biscuit, dry goods and codfish. Whole cargoes of codfish were sometimes transferred from English to French
vessels, under the cover of night, in Louisburg harbour, whilst at the outports, whore there were no custom-
house officers, and on the coast of Newfoundland, this contraband trade was carried on without an}' attempt
at concealment. The English fishermen, unhampered by hara,s8ing restrictions, and supplied with outfits at
reasonable rates, were able to sell their fish to the French traders at prices much below the current value at
Louisburg. In the year 1740, according to a report sent to the Lords Commissioners of Trade by Captain

bKSCRIPTION OF THE TOIVN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISIWRG. 141

Smith, of H. M. S. Eltham — the guardship at Canso — 48 schooners and ^93 chaloups were employed in
the cod-fisheries of Cape Breton, at the followin;^' places :

Quintals.

" At Louisburg, 48 Schooners which caught 25,200

200 Chaloups " " 40,000

Niganische, 54 " " " 13,500

Sciitari, 6 Schooners '* " 3,000

18 Chaloups " " 4,500

Baleine, 30 " " " 6,000

Loumbre, 12 " " " 2,400

Fourchu, 19 " " " 5,700

St. Esprit, 23 " " " (i.lHX)

Isle Michaux, 5 " " " 1,250

Petit deGnat,18 » " " 4,50o

L'Indienno, 14 " " " 3,500

117,000
The number of fishermen was 2,445."

These were only the local fisheries. Louisburg was the rendezvous of a fishing trade five times greater
than this. " Yet, in spite of this apparent prosperity, we are told by Garneau that the greater part of the
inhabitants languished in misery. Trade and the fi.sheries enriched a few, but thousands lived in indigence,
on account of the high prices charged for salt and provisions, and the exorbitant rate of interest (often as
high as 25 per cent.) imposed upon the succours required by needy fishermen. These had no other resource
to fly to, as the clearing and cultivation of the soil were discouraged by those who wore making large profits
from their ill-requited .services." So France fostered 'or colonj- in Cape Breton, .stole men to people the
islands, and starved them when .she got them there, it was impo>>ible that men should grow and develop
under conditions like these. There was nothing to intervene between a people who had never been taught
to be free and their oppressors — rapacious government officials and the still meaner owner of shallops who
traded in the sweat of his neighbour's brow and in the bitterness of his heart. While this was the way in
which matters were managed at Louisburg, a race of men were visiting their fortress, who, whatever their

*^^'-*-~^-

142

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Hi!

faults, had still been trained to be freemen — a lusty, noisy, stirring, and perhaps unscrupulous race, who had
never known what serfdom meant — who should soon be thundering at the battlements of a towr. that might
have driven them back into the sea had its people been animated by the same spirit which had dwelt of
old in the forefathers of their enemies.

The fortifications of Louisburg had cost, it is said, between 1720 and 1745, the enormous sum of 30,000,-
000 livres, or £1,200,000 sterling, and even this was " vile trash, wrung from the hard hands of peasants,"
as were all the public moneys of France. Corruption and iniquity at home and abroad diverted funds from
their proper channels, even after they had been extorted from the starving peasant, and doubtless much of
that 30,000,000 livres never found its way into the fortifications of Louisburg : a great part of it probably
made the fortune of many a petty and important official ; hence we are told " that the fortifications were still
unfinished, and were likely to remain so, because the cost had far exceeded the estimates, and it was found
such a large garrison would be recjuired for their defence that the Government had abandoned the idea of
completing them according to the original design."

Leaving the old harbour of Louisburg, a quarter of an hour's sail will take you to Battery or Goat
Island, which still retains manifest traces of the use to which it was applied. This rocky islet is about a
hundred and fifty yards in length by fifty in breadth. On the south side the shore is steep and inaccessible.
The only accessible points are a narrow landing-place on the west, and on the east end a precarious and
slippery footing may be gained among the sharp edges of a reef that runs ofl[" in that direction from the
island. The terre-ideln, or platform of the battery, is still distinctly visible, as also the foundations of some
of the buildings that stood within the stronghold. Twenty of its thirty 28-pounders fronted directly
across the mouth of the harbour, while the remainder were mounted on a platforui which fell back so as to
front more to the westward. Acro.ss the west end of the island there ran a stockade fastened to clamps of
iron set into the rock, and the rt.nains of these can yet be seen. One can hardly realize the scenes of
violence which this little islet has witnessed while standing on its level, grassy platform on a fine summer
day, and contemplating the quiet beauty of sea and sky and shore that encircle the beholder like a
panorama. All traces of deadly strife have been so utterly removed that everything seems as if the peace
which now reigns here had never been broken since time began. Yet here occurred that deadly midnight
struggle in which so many of the brave New Hamp.shire men fought their first and last fight. Over this quiet

^/^

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISBURG.

urj

ocean islet, against which the soft summer sea is now hilling itself to rest, there once swept a storm of shot
and shell, tearing and hissing and screaming, while the blenched artillerym, n shrank from their ruined
guns, and crouched behind ledge and cliff to find shelter as best they could. Old ocean at times seems as if he
thinks of what the tiny fiend man has done here, and springs up in fury and smites the hapless bark upon
the cruel rocks, for on the day we first visited the place the wreck of a schooner was lying crunched among
the sharp peaks of the reef, and the sea-bleached debris was lying all about. Her fiag, the Stars and Stripes,
was ignominiously tangled and bedraggled in a mass of hooks and " trawl-gear," no more to sweep aloft
through the pleasant summer air. So it often fares with flags and with nations, too. It's a wonder these
men did not have more respect for their flag than to leave it there. No doubt they thought bumptiously
enough about the " star-.spangled banner " as it flew far over their heads, but now — well, they had no more
use for it, and, no doubt, were glad enough to get ashore with their lives.

Let us now see what there is to see about the environments of modern Louisburg. In the first place,
Louisburg harbour gives one no idea of magnificent heights and distances, nor suggestions of gigantic
strength, such as you receive while sailing up Halifax harbour. When once inside this harbour, it seems
compact, and pretty, and practical. It is a fine elliptical basin three miles long, and about half as wide,
almost landlocked, with good anchorage all over it in si.K or eight fathoms of water. It is perfectly easy
and quick of access — vessels not having to run over a mile out of their coast-wise track to the anchorage
— and it is practically almost free from ice. Taken all in all, it is the best and most conveniently situated
harbour in the eastern part of the Maritime Provinces, as the French well knew. In the spring and fall,
when the wind is tricky and boisterous, it is still flecked with the white sails of coasters and fishermen
waiting for a " chance " to go either east or west ; and now and then you will see a " dory load " of Yankee
fi.shermen going ashore to inspect the ruins of the " old town," and, perhaps, to tread unconsciously upon the
dust of their great, great-grandfathers, who, as like as not, "jit " and afterwards died here, and were buried
among the nameless dead for whom the moaning sea is ever grieving. That " fishery question " has lasted
a long time. Cousin Jonathan, in one form or other, and it is high time we heard no more of it. It brought
your fishermen like a flock of " mackerel gulls " to Gabarus Bay, it girt Louisburg with .smoke and thunder
for six weeks, and then it sowed Point Rochfort thick, thick with the graves of your dead.

Near the site of the old French lighthouse is a modern Canadian lighthouse that throws its bright,

144

CAPE n RE TON ILLUSTRATED.

warning liffht, from a height of 85 feet above the sea, for a distance of sixteen miles out upon the dark
bosom of the heaving Atlantic. It is one of the most important lights on the coast. The site of the French
battery is still to be seen here, and there are numerous knolls and cliffs behind which Wolfe may have
planted his guns when he rained shot and shell upon the luckless Island Battery. Passing to the north-east
we presently come upon the neat and picturesque houses of the inhabitants of modern Louisbiirg, which stud
the .shore of the north-east harbour, leaving behind us a disused railway terminus, of which we shall have
more to say by and by. We are now directly opposite the modern village of Louisburg, and a very pretty
picture it pre.sents, fronted by a Heot of yacht-like fishermen, their white mainsails cheerily waiting for the
capricious Eolus to turn his puffing face in the right direction. Their crews are probably ashore, " talking
ti.sh " by the league, or conten)plating whatever of beauty or anything else there is to be seen or shared ; for
these fi.shermen are a good set of fellows, most of them, when they are good ; and they are plucky,
industrious and neighbourl}'. Th^y know a man when they see him, and respect him, too. They are not a bit
like the Frenchmen who used to go hired in a shallop out of Louisburg a century and a half ago. Not they;
they are free and independent enough, and will soon let you know it, if you manifest a desire to be
informed on the subject. They rate every man at his estimated ability or capacity, and who could be
fairer than that ? The kind reader will excuse this digre.s.sion, but we have a sort of — no, an express
liking for the best type of a modern fisherman, for the simple reason that there is a great deal of native
manliness about him. He has to face danger and perhaps death for weeks together every hour of his life, at
times, and does it without flinching or complaining. He is proud to do it, and so he develops into a man.
He likes to talk himself and to hear others talk, and .so he knows more than you think he does. He lies
sometimes — we haven't a great advantage over him in that respect— and he complicates and bewilders
cabinet ministers occasionally, but very probably he is a more honest romancer than the cabinet minister. The
boys only smile or wink when the " skipper " lies, but cabinet ministers set whole nations by the ears often,
and pocket the proceeds with a resigned and devotional sigh.

The south side of the north-east harbour if, now a beautiful and picturesque locality, dotted all along
the winding road with the neat and comfortable hou.ses of the inhabitants. Rising far above you on the
right are the rugged heights which the French neglected to fortify, and thereby perhaps lost Louisburg.
Pa8.sing again roun4 the head of the harbour, we come to the " New Town," a neat and bright little village.

NEW TOWN, FROM GRAND BATTERY.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISFVRG.

145

Farming in this locality labours under primitive restrictions, consequently the inhabitants here partake of
that aquatic character which prevails everywhere along the sou h shore of Nova Scotia. Cod-fishing is still
the principal industry, as in times of old, and the ancient repu sUon of the place is still sustained, for the
fish caught and cured here and in the vicinity are the best in th; Maritime Provinces. A large proportion of
the people here are seamen, and have seen many men and many climes, and consequently there is a general
air of intelligence about the people and all their appointments, which is a pleasant thing to see. There is a
very well conducted school and an Episcopal, a Methodist, and a Baptist church. The Catholic church is
farther on, quite near the site of the Grand Battery. It is the most conspicuous object yon see as you sail
along the coast, and adds to the impressiveness and suggestiveness of the scene. Very pretty views of the
village and its environments, and of the English harbour, may be had from different points in the neighbour-
hood ; and the tourist may spend days here and experience no sense of weariness or ennui.

Leaving the road and turning to the right soon after passing the Catholic church, and forcing your way
through thick tangle and underbrush for about two hundred yards, you come upon what is known as Wolfe's
Rock, just in rear of the Grand Battery. This is a mass of rock of considerable size, heaving up above the
surface of the ground like an inverted basin. In the centre of it is an aperture in which Wolfe is said to
have planted his flag. Local tradition cannot tell why or upon what occasion. There is an air of mystery
and uncertainty about all these local traditions which disgusts and disconcerts as much as it interests. The
only safe medium of local tradition is intelligence, and that you do not often find ; and the professional guide
has not yet appeared upon the scene at Louisburg, except in a very undeveloped and rudimentary form. Still
we have no objection to believing that Wolfe stuck his flag in that hole; in fact, we should like to believe it,
but it isn't in print, and we are afraid those natives don't know much about it. It was before their time, if
not before their imagination. The rock is sculptured to a liberal extent with the hieroglyphic initials of
travellers strong in faith. The morning we first visited the place, two little girls being our guides, we were
gazing in a fit of mental abstraction at these marks of trust, when we observed the letters " H. I. V." in
rather a suggestive and romantic-looking place, as we imagined. " I wonder whose name that stands for ? "
we fondly jnused, half aloud. " Howard Ingraham Vincent," readily responded our friend to our hungering
emotion. Rather disturbed by the quick answer, we asked sharply " How do you know ? " Our companion
smiled a conscious smile, and so did the larger of the little girls at his side. " What do yov, know about it,

146

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

sis ? " we suspiciously inquired, having a presentiment that we were about to be what is vulgarly known as
" let down." " Why," answered this idyllic damsel, " that there's the name of a little feller wot goes to school ;
he scratched it there the other evening when we druv the cows home." Wolfe's Rock — well, we don't
want to hear any more about it. Our companion had managed to establish a system of telegraphy with
this ber-y-brown maid, hence his previous information, and hence, partially, our disgust.

We have now left behind us the bright and cheery little village of modern Louisburg, and are approaching
the grave of the dead giant that once kept watch and ward over all these parts. All along here were once
clustered thick the houses of the old French, and the shore was covered with stages and fish-flakes; but now
there is nothing but a few solitary sheep nibbling their scanty subsistence from the deserted soil. Here and
there is a depression marking the position of some old cellar, and before long we come upon some long levels
and mounds suggesting that from these points the cannon once belched destruction upon the opposite
ramparts. We approach once more the West Gate, and enter again upon the scene of desolation to see all that
vengeful English gunpowder has left of the once massive fortalice that sat here frowning grimly out over the
Atlantic. The sun has rolled all day westward through thick phalanxes of clouds, and is now verging
towards his dying glory — towards the heavy purple couch which his attendants have spread for their
departing monarch. They now assemble battalion after battalion to do honour to their king, and their edges
burst into crimson fire, delivering their exultant /c?'. de joie as he sweeps past them with his robes of glory ;
and the skirts of his mantle flood with a blood-red light this scene where man once sought for far le at the
red mouth of the cannon. The whole heavens hold high carnival of colour, and the depths of the grey old
sea, as if in response to their mood, seem to light his dark caverns with the stolen glory of the skies. Silent
sky and glossy sea are regarding each other's wondrous beauty with ardent, voiceless look, and seem as if
entranced into changeless ecstasy. But the glory darkens and darkens — sea and sky have ceased their
communing ; and ere we know it the trembling moon comes forth in pale reproof and smites earth and sea
with her wondrous veil of chaster light. Gone is the ardent, nearer glory of the day, but the heavens have
rolled back their gaudy curtain and show us the far and countless hosts of God marching past His awful
throne in silent majesty, and this farther and serener glory has struck again deep down into the depths of
ocean, and star answers star from infinite height and depth. As the moonlight — dreamlight — grows deeper aaid
deeper, the fancy wanders back through the little ceuturies, and ruined wall and bastion and* tower spring up

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISDURG.

147

as they stood of old, solid and massive and sharply defined in the weird moonlight. Here, under the star-lit
Acadian sky, mirrored in the depths of the shi.un.ering, tremulous sea, we can hear the jubilant strains of the
midnight mass pealing from the adjacent chapel, whose site is still distinctly visible. We can see upon the
ramparts the French sentry pacing to and fro, and his startling challenge breaks upon the ear, while the
wavelets lapping on the beach coase for a time their play to listen to the unwonted sound. Deeper and deeper
falls the silence ; nature seems to give a long, throbbing sigh and sinks into absolute rest. So perfect is the
stillness that the beating of the busy, yet weary heart is all we hear — that heart whose longings have come
out of the eternal past and are yearning forward into the eternal future — if perchance it may find speech to
tell the unutterable — to read the sphinx-like riddle of pain and sorrow, and love and hate, and war and woe,
and the changed, rigid face of death. Why was the eternal stillness ever broken ? Why was a suffering,
agonizing, bleeding, dying life breathed into senseless clay ? Why did men here fight and starve and make
each other wretched? For a reason that no longer exists. If "all battle be misunderstanding," what a
race of blockheads pigmy man has been !

But the hot heart grows heavy and weary, and would fain go out into the infinite to learn something of
the grand, solemn silence of eternity. The waves of life are breaking far down in the depths of the soul,
but we hear not what they say by reason of petty care and weakness, temptation and fear. The thousand
hot and hasty and trivial bickerings of earth drown the deep monotone of the everla.sting. Who and what
shall .solve for us the mystery of the " I/im," and unshackle us from the never-ceasing misery and slavery of
wrong-doing ? The Giver of eternal life, the golden path of duty. And what is duty ? Love, the all-
conquering love of God and man. That is all — the highest and best that is revealed to us. With this golden
key we must unlock the treasure-house of the universe, and mingle even here with its height and depth, and
fulness and glory. If we deny or refuse love and its sweet and majestic reign, there is nothing for us but
the blackness of darkness forever. When shall all men — all nations, English, French, American, Canadian —
be bound together in one common brotherhood, and war cease, and sun and moon and the pitying stars of
God no more look upon fields sodden with blood, and flaming cities, and thousands of stark, sightless, upturned
faces, and broken hearts, and fiendish revenge and hellish triumph ? When we have all gone forth by faith
into the infinite, and learned something of its changeless sweetness and strength, and have come back with
the refiex of the eternal glory upon our poor doomed faces of clay, so that the observer may see between the

l48

CAPE JiKETO./V /LI. US 77? A TED.

earth-marks the lineaments of a new and wondrouss light that has begun to pierce the mystery of life, and is
drinking deeply of the love of God. All things belong to the lover of good — past, present and future, height,
depth and breadth — the solution of all mysteries — the plain and evident path of duty — the strength of all
things abiding and eternal.

•' To mingle with the universe, and feel
What I can ne'er express, but cannot all conceal.

No ; we cannot express it, neither can we conceal it. It was the love of the universe that was singing in
Byron's sovtI when he wrote that and thought it. It was the same love, only purer and more disciplined —
more subject to the power of a higher life — that found expression in the words, " Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ ? " — and He is the personified Universe, the knowledj,e of which is, or ought to be, our
highest ambition. But we are digressing again, and must return to the scene we were contemplating.

The only visible living creature is this sentinel pacing his round upon the ramparts. We are, as it were,
for the time being, the sole occupants of all this majesty of silence and time and space, two waifs thrown
upon the sands of time from the vast ocean of the Infinite ; and so we may well commune in thought at
least. He has paused in his round, and seems rapt in contemplation of himself and the fair scene around
him. His thoughts are, perchance, wandering far o'er the bo.som of the dreaning sea to the sunny land of
France. He is once more among the companions of his youth. la the sweet mellow summer evening air, a
rustic company is dancing in the chequered shade. He sees a fair and soothfast face whose look haunts him
forever. The conscript drum, with its hollow sound of glory, has parted him from that face, and now there
is another broken earthly life in France, and his bones shall whiten in the wild wood after some petty bush
light. He dashes his hand swiftly across his eyes, but the next moment he shoulders his musket with
military nonchalance, and pursues his round. And hark ! he is singing :

" Farewell, husbands ; farewell, wives,
Sweetest, dearest, truest lives ;
Farewell, measure and cadence,
Farewell, lightsome land of France,
Since to the war we go."

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AM) FORTRESS OF LOUIS BURG.

149

The ruins of Louisburg are to all appearance the most uninteresting^ and coiiunonplace of ruins. The
environments seem pitifully unattractive and unromantic. Indeed, there was never anything very romantic
about Louisburg ; it was a fishing stronghold, and sat in the most uninviting manner upon its comparatively
flat and unconspicuous site. Its fortifications weve strong and of superb design, and that was all. And
Loui.sburg was never, we imagine, an inspiring place, as Quebec was — no place in which to gather suggestions
of a higher and better life. The necessary conditions were not here present. A fishing population in a state
of semi-serfdom, ruled by greedy merchants and for the most part corrupt officials; a mixed assemblage of
traders, legal and illegal, demoralization of many forms and kinds, malodorous aspects of humanity in senses
physical as well as moral, the presence of a soldiery of a nation by no means exceptional for correctne.ss of life
— all these, doubtless, weakened the i-eal strength of Louisburg and hastened its downfall. Its history,
extending over less than thirty years, is the shortest of episodes in the life of nations. It represented the last
effort of France to maintain her maritime dominion. The Celt has never been at home on the ocean, and
consequently Louisburg fell after only a weak struggle before the fierce sons of the Viking and the Goth.
It is hard to realize the fact, while contemplating these ruins, that great things wero ever done here ; and, as
a matter of fact, the only respectable military achievement that the place ever witnessed was the second siege
as conducted by Amherst and Wolfe and Boscawen. Duchambon's defence was so weak, and the expedition
of the New Englanders so unmilitary in its character, that no great glory was gained on either side. But
Druconrt was a man of much resolution and conduct, and had at his disposal a force four times as great as
that of Duchambon ; and Amherst, as we have seen, was a respectable if not a brilliant soldier, and he led the
best men in the world. His grip of things was sure and fast, and the landing was effected in spite of a
vigorous resistance ; and after a great deal of military labour his batteries closed round the doomed town
swiftly -^nd determinedly as fate, while Boscawen did no more than write letters of remonstrance to the
commander of the land forces.

We have said the ruined ramparts of Louisburg run down to the shore at the West Gate; and so complete
has been the destiuction that one can hardly realize that he is looking upon the remains of a giant fortress —
for Louisburg was a giant fortress, in design at least. The whole line of the landward defences is marked
only by a chaotic mass of mounds that have been thrown hither and thither by the gunpowder of the
engineers to whom the work of demolition was entrusted. Yet the outline of the works can still be distinctly

150

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

■I I;

traced, aiid even their design. Tlie ramparts, the ditch, the covered way and glacis are yet marked out by
ruins. Bosides the natural ponds formin<f part of the ditch, the water has settled into it in several places and
formed little artificial lakes. In the ruins of the King's Bastion the casemates, .seven in all, are .still visible,
and the place of arms and the magazine. The southern part of the gor-^e of this bastion is a level plot of
green sward, across the eastern edge of which extend the ruins of the Governor's apartments, the barracks,
and the parish chapel. These ruins coasist of an undistinguishable mass of stones, extending north and south
along the whole interior of the work. The glacis and moat and parapet can also be distinguished in front of
the citadel. You everywhere get the impression that the design of the works was rpagnificent, but that it
was executed in an inefficient and unserviceable manner. Some of the buildings are said to have been faced
with a fine whitish sandstone brought from France, and there were a year ago a few small blocks of this
stone to be seen in the King's Bastion; but they have almost entirely disappeared, and all the stones to be now
.seen in the ruins are of the smallest and crudest de.scription. The remains of the hospital and aurch and of
the nunnery are distinguisnable among the surrounding ruins. The outlines and position of the streets can
yet be traced by the parallel rows of stones still scattered at intervals over the space within the walls, which
comprises about 100 acres; but these ruins are all of the .same description — they do not contain practically a
single hewn stone. The .sea-wall or (juay-curtain has entirely disappeared, and tlie ^;bore is as smooth and
unobstructed as if no Louisburg had ever stood upon it ; but traco.j of the East Gate and Queen's Gate on the
landward side can yet be distinguished.

The site of ancient Louisburg contains not above a dozen houst i, inhabited by fishermen and farmers.
Farming is in this spot an extremely rudimentary and primitive business. A scanty crop of hay is gathered
nut from among the ruins of this fortalice, which cost probably Si 5,000,000. as money is valued now-a-days.
Fragments of indistinct tradition may be gathered from some of the people living here, of which one can make
something consistent by knowing something of the real historj'. Pieces of bomlt-shells and cannon-shot, and
grape an musket-balls can be had ad libitum among the ruins. The shells ran_,e all the way from eight to
thirteen inches. One of these old thirteen-inch shells must have been a trouble.jome vi.jitor. The iron is
from two to three inches thick, and they must have weighed one hundred and fifty pounds or so ; and even
when fired only from a mortar into the sky, and allowed to fall with little else than t'.-oir own momentum,
they must have made it interesting for everything in the immediate neighbourhood. The mu-sket-balls are

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUISBURG.

161

not of a large size, as the muskets of those days, of which you are now and then shown a rusty and imperfect
specimen, had a small bore. One of the breech-loading swivels, of which there were many mounted on the
defences of Louisburg, can be seen at Sydney. It is in a very imperfect condition, and is a curious relic of
the artillery art. There is not only an air of ruin and dilapidation about the site of ancient Louisburg, but
t!ie modern environments of the place are o.xpressive for the most part of neglect and decay. The people
being for the most part fi.shermen, laey naturally do not take an absorbing interest in farming ; ana even if
they did, the rugged tract of ground which the old town has left behind it is not of an inspiring or thrifty
character. There is an air of "get ulong as best you can" about' everything. The old glory is departed, the
old life gone, and the pulse beats very low. The old fortress sprang skyward in a thunderous succession of
tierce deuth-throes, and now there seems nothing here but the faintest tremour of an expiring life; and there
is no beauty in its death, as there was none in its short existence. It sprang up like Jonah's gourd in a night,
the forced plant of French diplomacy and statecraft, and, having no root in itself, it withered away ; and no
prophet or seer had much rea.son to wish for death because of its early withering. It hatched a brood of
oppressors, and the French fisi ries do that to a large extent still; and were it not for the helpless women
and children pent up in the sickening caseaiates, and the sufferings of the poor fellows who toiled and
laboured for others' profit, the eye of fancy might regard with satisfaction t o storm of shot and shell that
swept it from its place. We ai unable to see the .sense of thousands of people huddling in and around a
fortification to look for dwelling-places — it seems like living under Vesuviu.s. The presence of the non-
combatants certainly hastened the fall of Louisburg in both ca.se.s — they were merely helpless targets for the
enemy's shot. A French officer who writes an account of the siege remarks this fact, and advises that the
coa^u be defended and tho population removed to some interior locality out of harm's way, where they can
live in peace. In the case of many a fortified city now-a-days, the brunt of a bombardment would certainly
fall upon the inhabitants ; the forts seem only incentives to draw an enemy in their direction. But we
hope the day is not far distant when it will be no longer necessary to fortify cities or coasts, so that perhap.s
this question is not worthy of serious di.siussion. Still, we fail to .see how the citadel of Halifax, or Quebec
either, could be any protection to the citizens.

The homeliest and most rustic of " worm " fences now encloses the space that was once defended by the
brave ramparts of Louisburg. How are the mighty fallen ! You now run the risk, not of having your

iiM liiUgJMi

152

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

head shot off by a cannon-ball, but of breaking your neck by a sudden collapse of the fence in your
attempts to enter the once redoubtable King's Bastion. Everything is rustic of the most rustic, and forlorn
of the most forlorn. In the street'' of Louisburg you see not now a brave French regiment — white
uniforms and glittering trappings glistening in the sun — with orifiamrae displayed and gallant footsteps
marching to martial music. All these have vanished like a flitting vision — yvou see now instead a companion-
less ox dragging his winter fodder barnwards on the same vehicle upon v.hieh he solemnly draws home the
winter fuel through the snow drifts. A sled of primitive design and intent serves both purposes, and the
ox seems satisfied and philosophic after his kind. He wouldn't have fought about this Louisburg — he hasn't
sense enough, and if he had, he most probably would have too much to admit of such a folly — that is, if
his respectable behaviour had not left liim at the dawn of his intelligence. So he hauls his own hay and
his master's wood, and chews his cud, and, perhaps, reflectively winks as he thinks men over, and considers
what fools they are. -lere in one of the houses you are shewn an old French cupboard that has been sa^'^ed
somehow ever since the old time — not much to look at except for the associations. It has in it :'. store of
old French knick-knacks — stray pieces and fragments of pottery, an old back-broken musket, keyo, buttons,
bullets, buckles, etc., etc. — a miniature musty-fusty collection of antiques.

When you have seen all the.se things we have talked about, and thought about them to some extent,
)'ou have probably got nearly all the good there is to be had froui the contemplation of ancient Louisburg.
All the events which have happened here seem as if they had never been ; and so uninspiring are the
environments, that it is somewhat difficult to fill and people the past with the deeds and the men that
here lived their little day and warred their little warfare. We have here no vineclad slopes, and castled
crags, and picturesque villages, or lakes set like gems in mountain and wood and rock, or centuries whose
memories throb with deeds of light and darkness ; no grand old Rhine marching in broad column to the
sea, or sunny Loire gliding round his headlands laden with the wealth of France, No, no. A Ashing stage
in but indifferent keeping, charged with reminiscences of old father ocean, a sense of general neglect and
decay upon everything, are depressing to one who is seeking for something to elevate and fortify a common-
place life.

Point Rochfort is a pleasant spot — that i.3, when the day is fine, and you don't think too much of the
New Englanders buried beneath }our feet. Out here near the point, the English expected a battery during

HARBOUR OF LOUISbURG FROM THE CITADEL.

OLD FRENCH CUPBOARD.
INTERIOR, GRAND BATTERY. RUINS, CONVENT AND HOSPITAL.

LOOKING TOWARD GREEN HILLS FROM CITADEL. RUINED WALL AND DITCH FROM CITADEL.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND EORTk'ESS OF LOUISBURG.

153

their short occupation of the place, and you can see some traces of it. On your left are the bright, blue
waters of the harbour dancing and sparkling in the summer sunlight, encircled with its green rim, flecked
towards the north-east with white sails and white houses. On your right the long, white ranks of ocean
warriors are charging and charging again the grim, black rocks, and are dashed into roaring and seething
fragments upon those serried phalanxes that have kept guard there since time began, and shall remain there
fixed and immovable long after their changeful and boisterous enemy has slunk out of sight into his nether-
most caves, and there shall be no ocean to moan over a dead world. What of time — what of the dead New
Englanders — what of Louisburg — what of you and of us — then ? Is there any life within us now that
can live through all th;it ? through the; death of worlds, and suns, and all things visible ? Yes, if we wish
for it, and work for it, and strive for it, and try to understand its ways and methods, and trust, and live
now with all our might, and soul, and strength.

Leaving Point Roclifort, and keepii;g south over the ruined rampart and sea defences, we come out upon
Black Point and the adjacent Black Rock, where, as we noticed, the French had their quarry, if it may
be dignified by that name. Near this place your local informant will tell you that a regiment of
Highlanders are buried, who were cut off to a man at another place called Scotchman's Hollow, in the
direction of Flat Point, and that the French buried them in this spot the next day. In confirmation of this
tragic tale you are shown a number of stones sticking in the ground, which are said to mark the graves of
those unfortunates. This is the steepest story of all, and reflects credit, at least, upon the romancing faculty
of the vague-minded narrators. The facts are that there isn't evidence to show that one " Scotchman " is
buried there — that the French made one night an attack in force upon an advanced post held by the
Grenadiers of the 17th ; that in this affair five men were killed and seventeen wounded on the English side ;
that among the killed was Lord DundorjLald, probably a great-uncle of the famous Lord Dundonald, who
commanded the post. The English lost also two prisoners, and twelve men missing. The loss of the French
was two captains and seventeen men killed, and one lieutenant and four men made prisoners. They carried
off their own wounded, but we do not hear of their >mrying any of the English dead. The French held
possession of the ground near Black Rock at this time, and it was from this point they made their sally
upon the English works ; so, probably, the graves to be seen there are French graves. So much for local
tradition again. It doesn't appear that the 78th Highlanders had anything to do with this affair. The

154i

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Scotch are probably associated with this wonderful story from the fact that the Earl of Dundonald was
killed.

Passinf:f westward along the shore we come to White Point, which stretches out into the sea in the shape
of a finger and thumb. It was in this direction the New Englanders first rowed in order to deceive the
enemy on the morning of their landing, and they did deceive them, sure enough. The shore here in some
parts is covered with loose stones, just big enough to make it embarrassing for a pedestrian, and you move
half a dozen of them every time you put j'our foot down. We don't wonder the Frenchmen that morning
were disgusted and didn't show much of a fight. Any man who tried to run a mile over stuff' like that,
would manifestly be so disgusted with the country that he would not think it worth fighting for. And a
little back from the shore it is still worse. Swamps and thickets and rocks .seem to vie with each other in
making things uncomfortable and harassing to the explorer of old siege-marks ; but j.he bogs have the best
of it, and have next thing to a monopoly of the situation. After you have scratched your face and torn
your — well, after you have been profusely heckled in a thicket, and then bruised and cut as to your shins
by tumbling about the sharp rocks, you can cool off by allowing yourself to subside gracefully into moss and
ooze as deep as — well, as deep as you like. My companion made an early discovery of this latter fact, and
was comforted. He was probably looking about for a picturesque view ; for, armed with camera in one hand
and tripod in the other, he was searching for some point of vantage from which to see as much swamp
as possible at one time — and he did succeed in discovering a good deal of swamp. He stepped off a stone
upon what appeared a reliable piece of ground, and .suddenly about three-fifths of his physique disappeared,
and as suddenly about three-fifths of all the disgust of which he is capable appeared upon his good-natured
face. His arms stuck out at an effortless angle of forty-five degrees, still clinging to the implements
necess iry to depict the attractiveness of the scene, and there he was, for a time at least. He has ever since
manifested a lively sympathy while referring to the manner in which the New Englanders shinned the guns
through that bog. Here, and running in a north-east direction, you may yet trace the marks of Amherst's
epaulement, which he constructed to cover his road, that, with an infinite amount of labour, had been made
across the I og.

Keeping along the difficult .shore, you presently come upon a long line of French entrenchments, which
had been thrown up to the eastward of and around Flat Point Cove. This line of entrenchment is over a

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF LOUIS BURG.

165

quarter of a mile in length, and can be distinctly traced. Here the French had eight guns and two mortars in
position to oppose the landing of the British, but they were never used. Near Flat Poinf , .vhich is a low,
semi-cirCular projection of the shore into the sea, both Perperell and Amherst land; 1 their guns and
munitions of war. Here the drenched and half-frozen New Englanders laid the foundati )n of future fever
— and both armies lost many boats in the wild surf, as they were forced ashore with their unwieldy loads. At
Flat Point Cove runs into the sea the brook along the side of which both armies encamped. From Flat Point
westward the land gradually assumes a higher character, and here and there you begin to come upon a
respectable farm. At one of these farm-houses we called to obtain refreshments and information, if the latter
were available ; the former went without saying, or rather, goes without saying, in all the rural districts of
Cape Breton. Information, unless you can speak and understand the primitive language of the Gael, is not
invariably so easily got. For example, some years ago a traveller looking for the house of a man to whom
he had been directed, inquired of a wayfarer, " How many houses are there between this and the place where
Mr. Ferguson lives ?" " Houses ! tu ye mean houses that people lif in ? " " Yes, houses that people live in."
" Well, there will be chist so many houses." After this lucid explanation, the merest neophyte in topography
should have been at home in the situation. But this dense traveller, after digesting the above difficult morsel,
found that he had been led gracefully round a rhetorical circle, and left standing in precisely the same
po.sition in which those cheering words of explanation had found him. But then he was a very stupid man,
this traveller, a fact which has been painfully and apparently borne in upon him ever since his lamentable
failure to understand the sijjnificance of lamrruajre. Distances in this island would seem in some localities to
be mere objects of the imagination. The nearer you get to a place, the farther you are from it. This is not
a paradox, but a literal fact. You ask the distance to a place as you journey along, and you will be told,
" Five or four miles." With this in your mind as a gauge, you fare hopefully and confidingly on. The old
copy books used to tell us, among othe- interesting and instructive mformation, that ' Hope deferred maketh
the heart .sick." Beginning to feel a little unwell in obedience to this aphorism, you faintly enquire again,
hoping the answer may piuve a restorative, and get for answer, " It will be aicht, or sivin, or seex miles." We
don't care to dwell upon the details of the result ; it's a painful subject. But this is not apropos. Our horse
got his hay, and we were given to drink of the best milk in the world. The way being very rough and
qntoward, my friend started alone, so that he might enjoy a monopoly of the jolting.

1.:

156

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Presently there came towards me a decorous procession of eight or ten of the finest and most respectable-
looking cows I ever saw in my life. Their rear-guard was a man well on in years, and of a grave and reputable
countenance that seemed to realize quite fully the seriousness of existence. Here was the sedate propriety
of the better sort of Celt to perfection — a dignity and reserve just slightly dashed with haughtiness — and
above all things, under the control of an invulnerable respectability. An easy-going familiar address would
never do with this man, so I decorously in(iuired — at least I think I did — " How do you call this wind to-day,
sir, please ? " In a courteous and kindly manner — not a patent manner, but a true manner thousands of
years old — he answered quietly, and with the natural concern of an inherently noble nature, " I can't tell you
in English." We learned to box the compass when we were little boys going to school. I have never heard
it done in Gaelic, and have no ambition to be auditor of such a performance. The compass boxed in Gaelic
would certainly have to be re-magnetized before it could be of any further use. So this high-minded oiil
Scotchman went homewards with his splendid herd, and I followed my artistic friend, musing on the ancient
dignity of the Celt.

The French in their time had a road from Louisburg extending westward along the south side of the
island, and travellers now avail themselves of the rude relics of it which remain in this neighbourhood. We
imagine that very little work is ever done upon it, consequently the getting about from place to place is an
affair of time and patience. Keeping on westward, we soon approach Freshwater Cove, or Landing Cove, as
it is sometimes called. The general name of this place is in our time " Kennington Cove," from the frigate
Kennington, under cover of whose guns the British force effected their landing. Here there are living thirteen
or fourteen very line families, who own good farms and are very comfortably situated. The ground is here
considerably elevated above the sea, and from the hills you can very well observe the difficulties with which
the British had to contend while forcing their way on shore. The shore of the cove sweeps round in a fine
semicircular outline. The head of the curve is occupied by a smooth beach of nearly half a mile in breadth ;
the east and west arms of the cove are defended by rough and high rocks. As you approach the cove from
the road, there are three high successive knolls or hills between you and the sea. Just below the most
easterly of these is the narrow rocky cleft into which Wolfe forced hi« desperate way with the boats, and
where Major Scott so gallantly held his own until the British had concentrated a sufficient for''.e for a dash
upon the flank of the French battery near the shore close by. The level of this battery and the protecting

bESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN ANT> EO/iTRESS OF LOUISIWRG.

157

dartliwork can still be plainly seen. It occupied a most cominanding position, as may be seen from the plan.
The beach in the centre of the cove presented an easy landinj^-place, l)ut it was commanded by the converging
guns of three batteries, besides the one to which we have already referred. The site of all these entrenchments,
near the western arm of the cove, i.s yet to be seen. Still further to the west is the landing-place of
Whitmore's and Summer's divisions, somewhat sheltered from the fire of these batteries by an intervening
ridge of cliff Here General Amherst landed more at his leisure. He was never in a hurry about anything,
but he generally arrived in time.

This cove looks more like a place for a tight than any other spot about these parts. The French were
evidently e:;pecting a crisis here, and they met it, and it was here they lost Louisburg the second time. There
was no stopping Amherst and the industrious Wolfe with their twelve thousand veterans after they got
ashore. Wolfe would have climbed Ararat with his brigade at his heels, and Amherst would have built a
road through the Slough of Despond had it been necessary, and come out on the right side, too. That
Amherst was a tine fellow — he was not majestic in his movements, but he was sure, and he made no fuss about
it afterwards. His report of the siege is a simple, .soldier-like report of what was done, but nothing more.
He might have been in the ranks from all that you hear in this unaffected document.

There are cannon-shot, grape-shot and musket-balls in good store about this locality treasured up by
goor" people who live here, and if you are ambitious to be presented with a 42-pound shot or so, no doubt you
can be gratified by going to Kennington Cove; and you can supplement it, if you feel so disposed, by a dozen
grape-shot and a pocketful of bullets. You must then consider yourself under heavy obligations to your
hospitable entertainers at the cove. But, seriously, these folks will treat you as kindly as ever you were
treated in your life — with that old-time, taken-for-granted hospitality which recognizes the sacredness of the
word " stranger." We never heard the word used outside of the Law of Moses, in this primitive sense, before
we heard it among the Celts of Cape Breton. The idea that a proud and high and sincere courtesy must be
dispensed to a man because he is a stranger is a sentiment too old and too new for our modern world, and
suggests that we had better go backward to look for our true humanity. We go forward to consider the
results of telephones and electricity e id patent ways of adding to our physical comfort and convenience, but
let ML go back to the cool and fresh morning of our race's existence to understand what man was like Vjefore
he was belittled and degraded by the multiform distractions of what wo call civilization. And the record is

158

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

not scanty. There is enouf!;h for us to read and listen to, and take to licart if we will. Man likes to
remember his own nobility, and the Book of the Peerage of Humanity has been well preserved, and we can
all well understand its true significance if we but consent to be taught. And there is a chance for us all in
this record, prince and peasant, gentle and simple alike. There is no respect of persons in this list, but there
is respect of heart and character and life, of devotion and faith and charity.

We were shown on the face of one of those hills the .'^pot where once was a French '' oven," as our
informer told us. This was probably a furnace for heating red-hot .shot. We are told by Pichon that there
were two " furnaces " for this purpose in this locality, and we know that red-hot shot were fired at the British
as they approached the shore. Our guide's description of this contrivance was quite circumstantial ; he
appeared to know its dimensions and construction. It is difficult to ssee why an oven for bread should be out
upon this hill-side, so we had rather believe the cannon-balls were heated here, as the place is not far from the
site of the batteries. A ball — well, it must have been at least a 42-pound shot — was presented to us on leaving
the cove, as a mark of special, personal appreciation (we flatter ourselves), and we made a magazine of our
waggon-box, and in it carefully and affectionately bestowed this symbol of the esteem in which we were held.
I am not certain that the other man didn't hold it to his cheek and pat it before he put it in there. Of
course, it might have knocked some poor fellow into an indistinguishable heap of the relics of humanity a
hundred and thirty-three years ago, but we didn't look at it in that light. We felt rather dignified as we
reflected upon the .subject in all its bearings, and climbed into our vehicle with a decided air of self-importance,
thanked our entertainer and guide for all his goodness to us, and debouched out upon that nightmare of a
French road. There may have been a smile about ten feet behind my neighbour's face, but I am willing to
put that down as the result of a diseased imagination. Off we jogged with one shot in the locker anyway.
We were minus a cannon to fit the shot, and powder to lend it wings, but we were not on a belligerent
excursion, and our shot was for future vanity and adornment. The driver's left pocket felt very hard
and unaccommodating as it came in contact with my person, as it often did when the wheels got into a hole
on my side, and I began to imagine he was loaded with canister. Bump, thump, .systole, diastole, as Carlyle
would .say, on we tumble, till all of a sudden the ghost of some dead Frenchman must have got into that
cannon-ball. It fairly " took charge," as a sailor would say, of that waggon-box. It growled and rumbled and
roared and dashed itself against the sides of our vehicle as if determined to keep no such company as

DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN AND FORTRESS OF T.OVISBURG.

150

we were. I cannot say whether that 42-pound shot ever reached Louisburg or not. I didn't hear any more
of it after awhile, and there was no hole " staved " in the broadside of the waggon next morning, but we can
appreciate just the .same the intention of the giver, who was a very worthy man.

We hatl now spent a week in investigating all that time has left of the history of Louisburg from
Lighthouse Point to Kennington Cove, and the time was by no means unproHtably or unpleasantly spent.
Physically tired we sometimes were, and wet and dirty getting over Amherst's " worst ground that he over
saw," but still there was a satisfaction in being able to comprehend with some degree of clearness the nature
of the military operations that were conducted before Louisburg. These operations and their results were of
intense interest to the people of the British Provinces at the time. One reason why Louisburg has been
alnio.st entirely forgotten is the fact that the importance of the struggle there has been put into the background
by the more momentous conflict of the American Revolution, and by the wai's consecjuent upon the French
Revolution. But the importance of Louisburg at the time may be inferred from the determination of the
French to secure its restoration by diplomacy, and shortly afterwards by the fact that Britain saw it necessary
to send to America a .stronger force, considering the combined strength of the fleet and army, to ett'ect its
re-capture, than ever had been sent across Lhe Atlantic on any other single military enterprise. The most
powerful and suggestive acts in the great drama of the history of America were played at Louisburg ; and
though the actors be all dead and gone, and the stage trappings vanished, and the theatre itself a scene of
uninspiring desolation, the play had, and still has, its full significance for us. A play of Euripides or
Shakespeare lasts long after Greek Olympic and English theatre have gone into the dead past. Much more
may we have in remembrance the stern facts and deeds which lie at the basis of our national existence.

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160

CAPE liRETON ILLUSTRATED.

THE NEW ENGLAND INVASION OF CAPE BRETON.

THE New England expedition against Cape Breton was immediately caused by the breaking out of the
"War of the Austrian Succession." It began in 1741. There were two claimants to the throne of
Austria — Maria Theresa, daughter of the Emperor of Germany, Charles VI.; and Charles the Elector
of Bavaria. England had in reality nothing to do with this quarrel. But George II espoused the cause
of Maria Theresa, while Prussia, under Frederick the Great, and France, under Louis XV., took the side of
Charles. Nothing came of this war, as England and France gave back their conquests to each other at the
end of it. England and Holland had agreed to sustain a document called the Pragmatic Sanction, by which
the Emperor, Charles VI., had settled his hereditary dominions of Hungary nnd Silesia on his daughter,
Maria Theresa. The Emperor died in 1740. Frederick the Great then seized Silesia. The Elector of Bavaria
claimed Hungary. France sustained the pretensions of both against Maria Theresa. A body of English troops
was sent, under the command of Lord Stair, to assist the young queen who was thus being despoiled of her
possessions. In 1743 George II. joined the army in person. This king was a diminutive little man in almost
every way, but he was plucky enough, and it pleased him to ba something like a soldier. And there was a
good deal of method about him. He could not speak English very well ; but the Engli.sh people were led into
war on his account — a war from which they reaped no present glory, but in which they learned to take a hand
in continental affairs, and thereby paved the way to their future eminence among the European nation.s.
George helped to win the victory of Dettingen, charging in front of the cavalry himself. It was the last
time an English king was under fire. His favourite son, the Duke of Cumberland, was there, too, the
butcher who made mince-meat of so many of the misguided Highlanders — of men whom neither he, nor any
of his race, had the brains to understand, and who acted from motives and sentiments altogether beyond the
narrow ken of the inexperienced young prince. Two years later was fought the battle of Fontenoy, in which
Cumberland got a drubbing, but which gave the British soldier a chance to show what he could do, even in the
face of impcssibilities. A column of British forced their way by .sheer instinctive fighting into the very

THE NEW ENGLAND INVASION OF CAPE BRETON.

161

centre of the enemy's position, before they realized where they were. By the rules of the art of war they
had no business to be there, as everybody knew who knew anything about it. But the Duke of Cumberland
did not know, and the column was just on the eve of cutting the enemy's position right in two, when the
French commander jumped out of his litter in which he had been carried about all day, being sick ; and being
indignant at the unmilitary conduct of these burly Islanders, had cannon wheeled right against the front of
the column which was stubbornly fighting its way onward, and tore bloody gaps through it from end to end.
This was more than the men could stand after being hard put to it all day, and they broke in confusion and
retreated pell-mell through the gore through which they had so audaciously come. The Austrian and Dutch
allies were not of -much use, especially the latter, who behaved, we are told, " only so and so," and the British
had been left to advance without proper supports. Still, the French did not, have it all their own way ; the
55th and 42nd covered the retreat, the E'rench being struck with amazement at the roused deviltry of the
latter, who faced about every two hundred paces, and drove the enemy back with their bayonets. The
British soldier was not defeated in this battle — he had won more than half a victory, and all Europe knew
it — but the Duke of Cumberland was defeated because he was a dull, phlegmatic specimen of a man. We
speak of the defeat at Fontenoy in this connection, because it has to do with the fate of Louisburg. If the
allied army had been properly managed that day, in all probability Louisburg never would have been given
back to the French. The English by this defeat were driven out of Holland, and when a treaty was made at
Aix-La-Chapelle, an honourable peace had to be bought by giving Cape Breton back to Jhe French. So, in
a sense, Pepperell and his New Englanders had been fighting for nothing ; it took what they gained to make
up for what Cumberland had lost, and the British soldier had been fighting at Fontenoy for nothing, and
much good blood had been shed — so were British afflairs mismanaged. In fact, Britain got to be Britain, not
by the help, but in spite of the Georges. And if the Americans had been allowed to keep Louisburg, they
might have been British subjects still — who knows ? For the giving up of Louisburg grieved and annoyed
them mightily, and served to aggravate the trouble between the colonies and the mother country. So may
we talk of chances and probabilities.

These were stirring and tumultuous times for British folk everywhere. While the Engli.sh column was
being driven back at Fontenoy, a good part of the Scottish people, the stirring old memories of their
nationality being offended by the aping and strutting of " wee, wee German lairdies," and still attached in
11

162

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

sentiment if not in judgment to their native race of kings, were collecting, unlawfully but enthusiastically,
around a man who was not worthy of them, and the ancient northern kingdom bristled with — well, with
rebellion. France was tampering with Ireland and the Highlands of Scotland. Neither were there wanting
those in England who were willing enough to strike for the Stuarts could they but see opportunity. All was
unrest and uncertainty.

Across the Atlantic, the French from their sea fastness in Cape Breton were fretting the margin of the
English colonies, so that the precarious living of the fisherman was rendered still more precarious ; he was
virtually driven from the haunts where it was his wont to follow his hardy and adveutmous calling. To
make matters still worse, laws .suppressive of American trade had been pa.ssed by an ill-advised Parliament in
England, and the adventurous and gain-loving colonist would not be bound by them, but smuggled all he
could, and traded in ways that were dark. Privateers were sent out against the French, and alternately
smuggled with them ana stole from them. And so things went. The honest trader stood scarcely any
chance, and was forced to disregard the maxim that " honesty is the best policy." The English fisheries were
being outdone by those of the French. Louisburg was bidding fair to become the headquarters of the
northern seas. It had become the centre of an enormous fis}iery and an extensive trade, and the latter
tempted the astute New Eng ander to forget his nationality and make what gain he could under law or
without law by bartering with its mercha,nts. Still these men, while visiting the place for purposes of
present gain, looked askance at the ma.ssive ramparts and frowning batteries, and thought things that they
did not tell. Those old traders and privateersmen — for at times both terms described the same men — were
naturally a tough and hard set. There are many traditional stories told of them that indicate that fact
plainly enough. They had not done much real and systematic fighting, but wherever they were, afloat or
a,shore, they were as lawless as they dared be. These men had something to do with originating the
expedition against Cape Breton. It is even said that Vaughan, of New Hampshire, who is reputed to have
been a smuggler to and from Louisburg, was the first man to propose it. Others give the credit to a Judge
Auchmuty. Others say that the scheme originated in the somewhat fertile brain of Governor Shirley, of
Massachusetts. No doubt it is impo-ssible to tell at this distance of time who had the most to do with it. It
is uncertain if anyone could have told at the time. The New Englanders must have felt all along that
Louisburg was a menace to their comfort and security, and the idea of its capture was probably taking form

THE NEW ENGLAND INVASION OF CAPE BRETON.

163

and consistency among them for some time, and any prominent nan who proposed it, or spoke of it, would
probably come down to us the reputed projector of the expedition. History seldom knows very much about
the real originators of popular movements. The credit i.« given to someone who happens to be in office or
authority at the time, and the reader is satisfied that he knows all about it.

Who the originator of this expedition was in reality is not a matter of much moment. It is enough for
us to inquire into the causes which brought it about. Louisburg, as has been said, was the headquarters of
the French fisheries, and these had grown to gigantic proportions. The revenue arising from the sale of fish
caught by vessels that made Louisburg the basis of their operations, was in the neighbourhood of a million
pounds sterling yearly, and gave employment, from first to last, to fifteen thousand men, it is said. Vessels
came not only from the neighbourhood, and were not only owned in the town iiself, but larger craft from the
b^rench ports fished all the way from Labrador to the southern banks, and came to Louisburg for shelter and
supplies. It was to the French then what St. Pierre is now, and much more. Their fisheries had assumed
such dimensions that they were probably beginning to absorb the English industry. We are told that their
fisheries were declining, and that the New Eiiglanders could sell them fish cheaper than th^y themselves could
catch them ; but we suspect that the true explanation of this is that the French had a larger and more
profitable market than the English, and were able to buy from them and export to more advantage. The
French in those early times had an extensive trade. They had even begun to know the value of the coal-beds
in Cape Breton, for we are told that " there are great (juantities of sea-coal, which can easily be put into
vessels, and which the French convey to Martini(iue and Gaudaloupe, where it is used to much advantage
in the refining of sugars." "Which can easily be put into vessels" — the early French saw how easy our coal
was of tixport. The modern coal exporter might here read between the lines a lesson for himself. The
French, no doubt, had not only their own country for a market, but many other ports of the Mediterranean as
well, for the fish business is odorous and antique, and has the flavour of the centuries about it. The modern
fishery question is but a modification of one of the reasons that dictated the New England invasion of
Louisburg. The French and Englis.. had been disputing the fishing grounds, and the English had evidently
got the worst of it, because France was very strongly posted at Cape Breton. The English had no
corresponding centre or stronghold from which to operate, and felt themselves helpless in the presence of
Louisburg. They had almost been driven from the fishing grounds. So true was this that many fishermen

rf!'

lUWWE;.-

164

CAp£: BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

had decided to stay at home, and had the prospect of an idle summer in the year of 1745. Hence we cah
readily understand with what alacrity these men would enlist in an expedition which not only gai^e them
something to do, but which gave them an opportunity of being able to earn their future bread in peace.
Fishery troubles had then a great deal to do with the planning of this expedition.

The general trade of the New England States suffered as well. Their vessels were always liable to
capture or molestation, and the maritime situation was uncomfortable and precarious. The fact that the
New Enp,landers were in great part a maritime people, and that the way to Louisburg lay open and direct
before them, was an incentive to engaging in this enterprise. Their position on the sea gave them strength
as invaders, as it did to their old ancestors the Goths. They had a fleet of fishing vessels which could easily
be transformed into little transports, and a throng of hardy fishermen, with nothing on their hands, eager to
enlist as volunteers.

Then there was the ancient national enmity between the English and the French. They had been rival
colonists — enemies — from the beginning, and the natural enmity had been intensified in America by a
century of cruel and bloodthirsty warfare. In act, in sentiment, and in religion they had seen the worst
side of each other. There could now be no peace between them. Their interests were conflicting on sea and
land ; from New England to Labrador, and from Virginia to the St. Lawrence, and thence again to the Bay
of Fundy. It was inevitable that a trial of strength must come sooner or later, and it was destined that
New England should be the first to strike a decisive blow in her own defence.

As the Puritans were always a race of contenders and fighters when opportunity served, the warlike
instinct was strong within them. Their religious enthusiasm took upon it tue form of a missionary spirit,
but it was the spirit of Mohammed as much as of the great Teacher. The musket was as much their
weapon as was the Bible. It does not even appear that they were ever proselytizers; it was not their instinct
to convert, but to beat down — " to hew down the idolatrous images of Baal," so they said. And recent
events had tended to intensify the fervour of these people. A hot wave of sectarian enthusiasm had surged
over New England, all tne hotter and more violent for the narrow channels in which it was confined. Men
thought deep and bittor and unforgiving thoughts about things which, in a rational and scientific sense, had
no significance. They fought about nothing, and, as a consequence.. *ought all the worse. Still, in this

-.at

•a

THE NEW ENGLAND INVASION OF CAPE RRETON.

165

contest, known in New England as the " Great Awakening," was engendered much of the semi-roligious
zeal that thundered against the ramparts of Louisburg, and thought it did God service.

So, the New England invaders were forceful men — each type after its kind. Sailors, fighters, woodmen,
ploughmen, di,scourser.s, exhorters, zealots — forceful all of them. They only knew of themselves — that i.s,
the greater part of them — they knew very little of the relativity of things, or of men, or of nations, and
conseque itly were filled for the most part — well, with an overweening self-confidence.

And their national relations — that is, as far as the colony of Massachusetts was concerned — were with
a man who was by nature exactly fitted to give point and direction to their national characteristics ; and
this man was Governor Shirley. He was an Engli.sh barrister, who had come out and settled in the colony
some years before, and who had immediately begun to seek for himself a place and position by ways in
accordance with his character. Governor Shirley was a good scholar and a man of considerable literary tuste
which he liked to display ; of courteous and affable demeanour ; a great deal, if not all, of a courtier, and
gifted with a fine, complaisant regard of himself ai d of every project which he devised — and he devised a
good n.any, but they all had the disadvantage of being more or less impracticable. He was an assiduous
castle-builder, but, excepting the expedition to Cape Breton, the result and .success of which were in no way
owing to him, his castles came to the ground. He was constantly planning military operations on a grand
scale, but they either t'aileu in detail, or the details had to be reversed in order to success. About war he
knew no more than an average lawyer might be expected to know, and he did not know of his ignorance.
He was wanting in firmness and dignity of character — he could and did dissimulate upon occasion with
unblushing sw'^eetness and urbanity, and his face, as we see it in his portrait, is a faithful index of the man.
His was Ihe fate of many who seek ^or honour and applause. He afterwards fell into ill-favour with the
people, and went back to England. Finally he had to content himself with the governorship of the Bahamas.
He had two sons, both of whom he lost in early life. One of them, Jack, was with the ill-fated army of
Abercrombie. Some of his letters are preserved — notably one to Pepperell, his fathers friend. He seems to
have been a generous and open-hearted youth. Soon after the writing of this letter he sickened and died.
But to Shirley must be given the credit of directly originating the expedition against Cape Breton. When
news of the war reached America, Du Quesnc, the Governor of Louisburg, sent l)u Vivier with a strong
force against Nova Scotia. The settlement at Canso was destroyed, and the garrison sent to Louisburg.

ittHMHttitt

166

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

While ther>. detained as prisoners of war, they had an opportunity of observing the strength and weakness
of the place, and they made keen and invidious use of their eyes. When they were released and allowed
to go home, they reported what they had seen. They said that the fortifications were in very bad repair,
that the wall was in places falling into the ditch, that the cannons wore very poorly mounted, and that the
garrison was weak, dissatisfied and mutinous, and that the place, if taken by .surprise, might easily be
captured ; so talk ran among the New Englanders. Early in January, 174.5, Governor Shirley communicated
to the Massachusetts Assembly that he wished to advise with them respecting a subject upon which he
desired the strictest secrecy to be observed. An oath of secrecy having been administered to them, the
proposed plan of an expedition against Louisburg was submitted to them for their approval. The enterprise
seemed to them so difficult of accomplishment that the proposal was rejected, and it was thought that no
more would be heard of it. But the Governor was not yet content. After influencing individual members
to the best of his ability, both by personal representations and the persuasions of others, they were asked to
reconsider their vote. They were requested to hear the testimony of persons who had been at Louisburg, in
regard to the werkness of the place, and the state of the fortifications and the garrison. At length, after
much discussion, upon a reconsideration of the question, the vote was again taken, and the number of votes
for and against the prosecution of the enterprise were found to be equal. It is said that an equality of votes
could not even have been obtained had it not been for the voluntary absence of a few members who were
averse to the enterprise, but who did not wi.sh to commit themselves to either side. Another member, who was
known to be in opposition to *;,he scheme, is said to have fallen and broken his leg on the way to the
Assembly, and for that reason his vote was lost to the opposition party. The casting vote was now to be
given by the chairman, who decided that the expedition should be prosecuted. The strictest secrecy as to
these proceedings was still observed. The public as yet knew nothing of what had been going on. The
business is said to have come to light through the prayers of a devout member of the Assembly having been
heard as he wrestled with the Great Disposer of all events for the success of the enterprise. These old men
were devout in everything — as devout in knocking their neighbours on the head as in praying for their
wives and children. It is no wonder they believed they were always right, and that they were always under
the protection of heaven. Thomas Prince, the worthy old divine who preached the thank.sgiving sermon
«(,fter the surrender of Louisburg, heard in the church the wind rattling the windows, and prayed that that

77/ Ji JVEIV ENGLAND INVASION OF CAl'K HRETON.

1(57

wind mif^ht shatter D'Anville's Heot, which was then nearinj^ the American shore on its mission of destruction,
and, as a matter of fact, that very gale did so. There was no contending with a people like that ; they
couldn't be got at, no matter how it was arranged.

The vote having once passed the Assembly by this weak majority, there was no longer any dissension or
hesitancy. The great body of the people addressed themselves to the requisite preparations with the utmost
energy The other colonies were applied to for aid, but all refused excepting New Hampshire, Coiniecticut
and Rhode Island. Volunteers were called for, and rapidly enlisted. Vessels were hired as transports ; and
as we have seen that many flshermen expected to be idle, this part of the preparations was not very diflicidt
of accomplishment. There were many vessels of from Kfty to a hundred tons owned in the northern colonies,
that hail found employment as traders, and they also were available. Craft like these could easily be fitted
up to accommodate from forty to eighty men — not luxuriously, of course, but then they wero not a luxurious
people that intended to sail in them ; they had been accustomed to rough it all their lives, and sea-siekness,
the result of tossing waves and odours ancient and indescribable, was all they had to dread. The risk which
the owners of these little vessels would manifestly have to run was the next ditliculty that had to be met. It
was found at last that the government of the colony would have to assume the risk and insure the vessels,
and the venture seemed very precarious ; and so it was. There was danger of wind and sea, and, most of all,
of the enemy. One French line-of-battle ship might have caught them penned up in a harbour and destroyed
them all, in spite of all the little tleet that the colonies could bring for their protection. It was known that
Commodore Warren was at the Leeward Islands with a squadron of four .ships, and Shirley had asked for
his co-operation in the expedition. He had returned for answer that he had no orders to that effect ; and that
as he had already lost one of his ships, he did not feel justified in detailing ".r.y of his weakened force to
assist the New Englanders. And so to many it seemed a desperate and foolhardy adventure to attempt the
enterprise unsupported. The hearts of many began to sink as they conmienced to realize more and uiore fully
the dangerous nature of the undertaking. Be>*ides, the expense was swelling up to an amount altogether
unforeseen, and it was argued that the colonies would never be able to bear the burden. Even if the enterprise
succeeded, which now seemed very doubtful, the country would be burdened with a debt which it never
could pay; and if it failed, absolute ruin stared them in the face. So said the faint-hearted ; but these were
not tke majority. The greater part went busily on with the warlike preparations, and held days of prayer

168

CAPE nKETON ILLUSTRATED.

and fasting and supplication, and cleaned the'r muskets, and got the little vessels ready, and moulded bullets,
and collected all the powder and munitions of war and provisions they could. Everything necessary for the
army was taken from those who had it at a valuation fixed by chosen authorities, and of these they got much
more than had been expected. It seems, according to their own account, that not a single circumstance of
importance occurred from Hrst to last to hinder the furtherance of their design. We are told that if any one
thing had happened .0 a.ssist the French or retard or defeat the movements of the New Englanders, the result
must have been fatal, .so dependent were they upon the special Providence which they sought, and so much
had they to fear from the ordin.-;-'. course of events. The autumn preceding had been very .stormy, and
prevented the arrival of expected supplies from France, .so that the defence of Louisburg was thereby
weakened. The winter was now exceptionally fine, so that out-door work could be prosecuted with as much
facility as in summer. The harbours along the coast were all open, so that communication could be kept up
and supplies received from all the outposts. Had this not been .so, the expedition could not have proceeded,
for if its departure had been delayed until store-ships and men-of ;ar arrived at Louisburg, the attempt
against it would have been abortive. Shirley had communicated with <he home government, asking for naval
a.ssistance, and in consequence Warren had been ordered to proceed northward and jncert measures with
the Governor of Massachusetts for the gord of the colonies. He was therefore now on his way to their
assistance, though they did not as yet know it.

But one of the principal conditions involving the success of the enterprise was the appointment of a
suitable commander. This was no easj' task. A force such as was now being raised would have to be
commanded by some one who above all things was popular. This has always been the first consideration in
the choice of American officers — at all events, previous to the Revolution. Military experience, especially in
the species of service now to be undertaken, was not to be expected. No man "'n America knew how to
conduct a formal siege, and no one was sanguine, except Shirley himself, perhaps, that his plan of a surprise
would ever take effect. The force now enlisting was held together by no military or national bond. The
.several quotas of men were voluntarily raised by the .several colonies, and individually they were volunteers.
The bond which united them must therefore be one of their own choosing, or at all events of their own
liking, and this bond must be represented in the person of the ofHcer who commanded. At last the choice
fell upon William Pepperell, a native and a resident of Kittery, in Maine — a gentleman who represented the

THE NFAV ENGLAND /NVASION OE CAPE nKETON.

169

best and most worthy development of colonial life. H^^ had grown with the country, had extensive interests
in it of different kinds, and was known to be a man of unhlemished character and fine executive ability.
His father, a native of Cornwall, had emigrated to America, and had connnenced life in the fisherie.s. At
first he built and owned small fishing craft, and, by his prudence and ability, gradually acijuired a com-
petency and became one of the most substantial men in the country. His .son William inherited his good
qualities, and, following in his father's steps, added largely to the fortune which had been left him. The
choice of the New Englandcrs seems to have been well and iudiciously made. One seldom meets with a
character who appears to have combined so many good qualities as Pepperell. While controlling large
interests in maritime affairs, and in landed property as well, and while he was what is generally known as a
successful man financially, he seems to have had no enemies, and to have oppressed no one. Of a kindly and
benevolent presence, and of bright and practical, if not brilliant qualities, he was the sort of man to make
the most of every situation in which he found himself. He knew how to coiiciliace and rule and lead
men without making them feel the power that directed them. He was thoroughly affable, upright, and
conscientious, and, from all that we know of him, he seems to have merited the name, aside from all
cant and pretence, of a Christian gentleman. Making the acquaintance of a man like this, in the
midst of somewhat sequestered early colonial life, comes upr . one with a sort of pleasant surprise. He
had never been well educated, but he had a fine tact and quick perception, and a nati-e goodness
and kindliness of manner, and had dealt sufficiently with the world and with men to remedy in great
measure these early defects. No one ever thought of considering Pepperell an inferior after making his
acquaintance. He was naturally a sincere, a judicioi.- and a kind man, and those qualities were taxed to
till; utmost in the arduous and hazardous enterprise in which he was about to embark. He was thoroughly
loyal to England, and on the best of terms with all Englishmen with whom he ever met. One cannot be
sorry that he passed away before the unnatural struggle between the colonies and the mother country
co'iimenced — that he was saved the bitterne.ss of seeing men arrayed against each other whom it had been
his lot to lead to succe.s.s, while making common cause against the enemy. He was no pretender — he never
strove for effect like Shirley. He knew p rfectly the extent and value of his own knowledge, and there was
about him no vanity or ill-humour to prevent him making the most of it. We do not see men like him in
America now — he forms, as it were, a connecting link between the Old Country and the New, and he was

170

CAJ'K HKETON ILLUSTRATED.

thoroughly loyal to both. While courteously deferring to the opinions of those who might be expected to
have more acquaintance with the military art than he had, he yet presented with dignity the claims which
his own performances merited.

There was probably not another man in existence who could have done with those four thousand New
Englanders just what. Pepperell did. It was to this man that the safety and success of the first national
enterprise iii America was committed, and he playcJ his part naturally and well, and there was no
gasconading over the re.sult on his pait. The slight misunderstanding between him and Warren, if over
there really was any at all, was more the fault of Shirley than of me principal parties concerned. With
his usual suave duplicity, Shirley ofl'ored the command of the expedition to Wentworth, of New Hampshire,
after it had been accepted by Pepperell, wi.shing thereby to ingratiate himself with the former. Wentworth
had been lamed by rheumatism, and Shirley imagined that the possibility of accepting the position could
never occur to the halting invalid. He would make a graceful offer, and it would cost nothing. But he was
somewhat disconcerted when Wentworth flung away his crutch and professed his eagerness to go. He was
then compelled to assure his New Hampshire friend that upon a reconsideration of the matter it was found
that the success of the eat rprise depended upon the appointment of Pepperell, and that any different choice
would be ruinous. He placed the provincial armed vessels under Pepperell's comiuand, and afterwards
transferred them to the direction of Warren. In fact, he assures Warren that nothing could have given him
greater pleasure than to have placed hii ii command of all the forces by land and sea. Indeed, it
appears Warren considered himself in a sense to be in that position, and if both he and Pepperell had not
been men of sense and good judgment the results might have been disastrous. Though there was some
little jarring between the two commanders towards the end of the siege, and after the surrender, the results
did not remain. They were afterwards fast friends until the end of their lives. Warren was a capable and
efficient officer, vho knew his duty and was impatient under the conception that other people were not doino-
theirs. He knen^ nothing and could realize nothing of the difficulties of the situation in which Pepperell was
placed. He heird the thunder of the cannonade as he lay outside in the fog day after day. He had
opportunity of communicating with Pepperell Qnly at intervals. The capture of the Vigilant was the only
enterprise which varied the monotony of the siege for him, and he naturally grew impatient under what
.seemed to hin^ culpable delay. Warren seems personally to have been a very good sort of man. When the

THE NEW ENGLAND INVASlOrj OF CAPE BRETON.

171

colonies were afterwards indemnified for their expense in the expedition to Louisburj;, Warren exerted his
influence with the ministry to have it paid. The amount paid was £187,000 sterling. It was received in
coin, and carted through the streets of Boston with great gusto. Warren gave his commissions on this
tran.saction, amounting to £750, to be appropriated to the founding of a charity .school. He had married an
American wife, and he evidently took much interest in the colonies and the colonists. A correspondence was
maintained between his family and that of Pepperell until the death of Warren in 1753. His .services at
Louisburg were not his only claim to distinction. Shortly afterwards he helped to win a great naval victory
over the French, and was raised to the rank of admiral.

While the expedition was in preparation, the fertile and ingenious New England brain was wisely
employed in devising plans for the capture of Louisburg without going to the trouble and danger of doing
it. The snow, it was said, lay very deep against a certain part of the ramparts, and it was thought the
troops might march over the hardened crust right over the wall ; but this, of course, could only take effect in
the event of a surprise. If the French knew they were coming, they certainly would .shovel away the
snow ; everyone saw this, so that too much dependence was not placed upon that method. The ingenious
minds that suggested the former probability suggested also the latter, and conseciueritly they were left where
they were found. Then a flying bridge was projected, borne upon canvas wings at one end, while the other
was kept stationary upon the ground. The meci:anical structure of this engine of war it is diflScult at this
distance of time to describe with any degree of accuracy, and probably it always was liable to this disadvantage.
At all events, it was intended to fly over the ramparts, and its convenience wrs such that, having overcome that
trifling difficulty, a thousand men could prance over in four minutes, two thousand in eight minutes, and so on.
The result to the unfortunate French it was not difficult to imagine. But Louisburg, by this method, could
be assaulted successfully only in a gale of wind — a dead calm meant paralysis — and it was possible that
some .shearing cannon-.shot might strip this military contrivance of its pinions if taken upon the wing, and
so the utility of the bridge was gravely questioned. It is a pity that ingenuity is a double-edged weapon —
it creates and destroys ; it forms a plan., and then agonizes over the probabilities of its defeat. We are all
just like the New Englanders in this respect. Again, it was known, or at least suspected, that the glacis
of Louisburg was mined in certain parts. A method of detection was sugges^.ed by one whose proper calling
it was to warn men against underground mischiefs in general — a worthy minister. Two men were to

172

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

proceed to a suspected spot, the one armed with that bucolic implement, a beetle. The other iadividual was
to lie down with his ear to the ground, while the first delivered blows upon its surfaca. If the sound
produced h'»d any vacuity about it, that par'iicular spot was to be avoided, lest the Hying bridge and its
manipulators should all fly heavenwards prematurely, and defeat any practical results. So people planned
and worked, and got ready just the same in more sensible ways.

Before lecving, Governor Shirley saw Li, as became his position and ability, and the responsibility
attaching to t.^e-se, to deliver to Pepperell a lengthy and detailed programme of instructions. He was to
take command of the expedition by authority vested in him by the Governor, and proceed with all possible
speed to Canso. Here he was to land, drive the French thence, build a small fort, mount it with eight
cannon, and garrison it with eighty men. He was then to chase the French away from St. Peter's. All
these things were done to the letter. Then, as soon as opportunity .served, he was to set .sail some tine
morning with a strong and fair wind, taking care all the while that the French knew nothing of his
presence in those parts, and make directly for Gabarus Bay, arriving there about nine o'clock n*'. night —
no sooner, for fear of being discovered, and no later, for fear that the night should be found too short for
the intended operations. Some of the little cruisers should be sent in the meantime to blockade the harbour
of Louisburg, and cut off communication. This part of the work had been done, and it appears the French
never knew that the New Englanders had been at Canso at all. The men, who were to be divided into
detachments of four and six hundred men each, were to be immediately landed, and each division was to
have its particular duty assigned to it. Two or three hours were allowed for the landing, a couple of hours
Tiore for forming an order of attack, and then the business was to commence in earnest. One division was
to mai'ch directly to the Grand Battery, a distance of four or tive miles, through b"»'j and bush and mire,
.scramble over rocks and through thickets tliat one only knows after having been there, through the
darkness and in a strange country. Having arrived at the battery, they were to deliver an immediate
as.sault, and take it before the French had time to dre.ss, for the enemy were all supposed to bo asleep.
Another division 'ai to occupy itself with an attack upon the West Gate, another upon the citadel, while a
divi.sion or two j to act as supports, and cover any reburt' that the.se insane projects might sustain. It is
lucky the invtders did not get on .shore, as intended, in the night. They would probably have come to such
grief as -.vould have made a short story of the siege of Louisburg. The wind died out on the day tliey left

THE NEW ENGLAND INVASION OF CAPE BRETON.

173

■%

Canso, and they did not arrive at Gabarus Bay until the following? morninpf, when the hope of .surprise had
vanished with the darkness. The intended attacks upon the different points were to come off according
to orders, at daylight in the morning. It was thought by the sagacious G'lvernor that the several parties
'vould have arrived before their respective points of attack about that time. The French, it is said, had
a grand party on thi.s very night — an "eve of Waterloo" affair Had they known the design which the
truculent Shirley had projected jigainst them, they would not have felt much like dancing.

The Vicei'oy of Canada seems to have feared that the hastile acts of the French would provoke reprisals
on the part of the English, and that Louisburg would be singled out as an object of attack. He had
accordingly offered to send a reinforcmnent to ",tr'^ngthen the garrison. But the Governor of Louisburg seems
not to have had thv .slightest suspicion that the attacks on Annapolis and Canso would produce this result.
He probably considered himself too secure in his forcres:: to tear any hostile enterprise on the part of the
Engli.sh. But Duchambon v/as soon to be undeceived.

On botiid the litf ie tran sports now lying becalmed in sight, of the ramparts of Louisburg, on Monday
morning, the 30tl. of April, were 3,2.50 men that hail been raised in the colony of Massachusetts, which then
included the district of Maine. New Hampshire had sent 300 men, Connect' ~ut ."jOO, and Rhode Islant) 300.
The last did not arrive until after the place had surrendered. Hutchinson remarks that they waited until
"circumstances enabled them io make a better judgment of the event." The New Hampshire writers resent
this criticism, and endeavour to explain the delay. Pennsylvania sent a supply of provisions, bat no men.
Each of the provinces had at that one or two little armed vessels, and there wa.« a .so-called frigate of twenty
guns upon the stocks. She was launched and named the MdHsachunetts, and was commanded by Capt. Edward
Tyng, who was made connnodore of the little fleet. Two armed vessels from Rhode Island were hired. So,
when the little .squadron was all collected, it was found to number fourteen ves.sels, each carrying from ten
to twenty guns — in all about two hundred. This fleet was a composite force in naval design ; it consisted of
a "snow," a galley named the Shirley, anti(iue-iooking sloops and little corvettes or frigates, but they were
all plucky enough, and manned by fellows who were well used to risky things at sea. A " snow " appears to
have been a v'wo-masted vessel with a flush deck, upon which guns were mounted fore and aft. There was
no commissary-general. Instead, a committee was chosen composed of members of the Legislature.

174

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The Massachusetts men had heen divided into eight regiments, commanded by Colonels Bradstreet, Waldo
(who was second in command of the expedition), Dwight, Moulton, Willard, Hale, Richmond and Gorham.
After the surrender of Louisburg, Bradstreet was appointed Governor of Newfoundland. The New
Hampshire regiment was commanded by Colonel Moore, and the Connecticut men by Colonel Burr. Colonel
Wolcott, of New Hampshire, acted as major-general, and Colonel Waldo, of Massachusetts, a^ brigadier-general.
Colonel Gridley, who afterwards marked out the redoubt at Bunker Hill, commanded the artillery. Vaughan,
of New Hampshire, who afterwards proved so enterprising and serviceable, went as a volunteer, with the
rank of lieutenant-colonel. The whole force consisted of 4,050 men, exclusive of officer^. The number of
transports was ninety. They had all assembled at Nantasket Roads, where the armed cruisers had joined
them, with the exception of a few who had been sent early in March to cruise off the harbour of Louisburg.

Before the sailing of the expedition, there was observed a day of fasting and prayer, as became an
enterprise partaking of the nature of a crusade. One Parson Moody it is said, carried with him a hatchet
with which to " hew down the idolatrous images of Baal." What particular significance the worthy parson
attached to the term " Baal," we fail to understand. Probably he had no distinct conception of his own
meaning. If he had used his hatchet, as some symbolical spiritual weapon, to hew down the " high
imaginations" within himself, he would have been occupied in a work fully as commendable as that which
he had in conteraplution.

The conduct of Duchambon previous to the siege was severely criticized by the French. His rejecting
the offer of reinforcements, it is said, " was the first, but not the last error, to which his disgrace for the loss
of Louisburg may be imputed, as with the succour offered he would have found himself at the head of a
body of men more than sufficient, not only to defend himself, but to sally out and drive before them the raw
and undiscip.ined multitude which had come against him." The provincial cruisers had been seen sailing
up and down outside, and had been ob.served from Main-a-Dieu by some soldiers and lumbermen wintering
in the woods. No attempt was made to discover who they were, until Warren's squadron appeared in the
offing, when a citizen and soldier were sent with an Indian to guide them through the woods to the Strait of
Canso, " to take prisoners," but more likely to seek intelligence respecting the strange vessels. Duchambon
tells us that this party took four prisoners who rose upon them while asleep in the night. Pepperell took a

THE NEW ENGLAND INVASION OF CAPE BRETON.

few prisoners near Canso, from whom some information respecting Louisburg was obtained Tf ,'« r,nf -A
whether these belonged to the neighbourhood, or were spies sent out by DuchamZ It is almn.f i . ^l
that no intimation of their approaching danger should have reached Lou sbur^ A fl^ T' , ?

vessels had lain for more than three weeks at Canso. within sight of the etZenf of Iricl at'w
ships, It is said, were first taken for French men-of-war waiting f^. the ice to cLT !ff in n . Tw'

Lomsburg^ But on April 27th a large merchant-ship got into^ort Ind ::prrtet;;af s fe hltb ^c Wd
by a squadron and fired upon. Yet even this information does not seem to havp rnn«p^ iC T T
apathy, nor to have induced them to take proper measures for resislg the landinro/ a^^^^^^^^^^^ ''"'

176

CAPE BRETOJ ILLUSTRATED.

THE FIRST STEGE OF LOUISBURG.

THERE bad come on board of the transports one Seth Poraeroy. He was a gunsmith of Northampton,
and had now been chosen major of Willard's Massachusetts regiment. The New Englanders uncon-
sciously adopted the plan of Napoleon : they had a uick eye for the practical, and cho^e men
for ofBce who possessed practical qualifications. Nothing else counted with them. This man had the
soldier instinct strong within him. He afterwards fought in the battle of Lake George. When the
revolutionary troubles broke out, and war rumours came thick and fast from Boston, he borrowed a
neighbour's horse, rode to Boston, and reached Cambridge on the morning of the battle of Bunker's Hill. He
carefully bestowed his horse in safety and walked over Charleston Neck, which was then swept by the fire of
the British ships of war. The regiments were just forming for the attack. Israel Putnam, Pomeroy's old
comrade in the French war, who wa« in the breastworks the Americans had thrown up, saw the white-haired
veteran hastening up the hill with bni musket. He shouted, with an oath " Pomeroy, you here ! A cannon-shot
would waken you out of your grave ! " Those Puritans had long been making a bad use of their theology.
A certain type of New Englander is to-day the most accomplished swearer in the world. We often misuse
our gifts.

The fleet of fishing vessels, transformed into transports, did not escape on their passage what one may
surely expect on that coast in that season of the year — a iiorth-east snowstorm. They had evidently a
rough time of it ; and, as they lay to in the gale, were rolled about in such manner that the qualms of
sea-sickness drove, frr the time being, all heroic thoughts out of their heads. This Major Seth Pomeroy kept
a journal of the siepe, in which he writes at this time, " Sick day and night, so bad that I have not words to
set it forth." Many a one since has been silent on this subject from the isame cause. The gale continued, and
the Massachusetts fleet were scattered in a " Very fierse Storme of snow, som Rain, and very dangerous
weather to be so nigh ye Shore as we was, but we escaped the rocks and that was all." On Friday, April 5th,
1745, Pomeroy's vessel entered the harbour of Causo, about seventy miles from Louisburg. Here was the

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THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISIWRG.

177

English fishing settlement which the French iiad destroyed, and whose people had been sent to TiOuisburg
as prisoners, where they mused on their hard fate, looked askance at the defences of the place, and
meditated revenge upon the Frenchman. According to Shirley's instructions, this place was taken. A
wooden fort was also built in accordance with the arranged plan, and mounted with eight cannon. There
were left here two companies to garrison the place, with Captain Ammi Cutter in command. Before many
days sixty-eight of the transports had arrived at Canso. They had all come safely through the storm, and
had converged to their destination. Many of them on the way had anchored and found shelter at White
Head, as has been the manner of coasters ever since. The movements of this warlike fleet of fishermen have
a quaintly familiar sound coming from those old times.

Sunday brought to these homely warriors their wonted exhortation and religious exercises.
Parson Moody preached from the text, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power." What a
narrow thing is human nature. These Puritans were willing to drive the French out of the country and off
the Banks. Their sincerity in this respect was perfect ; in other regards it was an unknown quantity. We
are told that devotion only partially occupied the attention of the neophyte soldiery, for this martial son of
Vulcan confesses : " Several sorts of businesses was going on, som a exercising, som a Hearing Preaching."
Aaron held up his hands while Moses fought, or prepared to fight. There may be room here for the satirist,
but it was not the worst way of doing things after all. The homespun heroes marched and stumbled and
countermarched, and heard in fantastic medley military shouts of command and enraptured bursts of
Hebraistic eloquence.

About the middle of March some of the Provincial cruisers were sent to watch Louisburg *o prevent
communication and to cut off supplies. This was efficiently done. They presently brought in six vessels
that had been making for the harbour, laden with supplies. But Louisburg harbour and the shore to the
Avestward were blocked with ice, so that no landing could as yet be attempted. There was nothing for it but
to wait at Canso and have more drill and more preaching. These they had, and no doubt were the better
for both. But this delay involved serious possibilities. Ships of war might arrive, and they had no force to
keep them out. One did appear. On Thursday, the 18th of April, there was heard heavy firing out at sea.
It was the little sloops, pluckily attacking the Renoummee, a French frigate of thirty-six guns. They
badgered her into a running fight, but she got away from them, being a faster sailer than they, or, as she is
13

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178

CAPE nRETON ILLUSTRATED.

called in quaint provinf'i.il talk, "a smart ship." She had despatches for the Governor of Louisburg, and made
several attempts to run thj plucky little blockade, but failed, and at last sailed back to France to report wliat
she had seen. But a piece of great fortune was in store for these adventurers, without which they might as
well have reembarked and made the best of their way back to New England. On Monday, the 22nd, her
white sails swelling with a high north-wester, there swept into the harbour of Canso the English frigate
Eltham. She had been about to sail as convoy to the fleet from Portsmouth, when she was met off the
harbour by orders from Commodore Warren to proceed to Cape Breton and render what service she cuuld
there. Her convoy was accordingly ordered back into port, and she proceeded on her mission, bringing the
welcome news that Warren himself would follow in a few days. He had received orders, while at the
Leeward Islands, with the Su,perbc,Lawnceston and Mermaid, to proceed to Boston and there concert measures
with Governor Shirley for the good of the colonies. At sea, off Boston, he fell in with a fishing vessel, from
which he learned that the expedition had already sailed. Out of this vessel he took an excellent pilot, who
had gone fishing to escape impressment, and without whom Warren, it is said, would not have ventured to go
to Louisburg. So the yards were again squared, and off this old sea-dog swept to the help of the New
Englanders. On the 23rd, much to their delight, his ship, accompanied by her two consorts, sailed into the
harbour of Canso. There was now some certainty that Louisburg would be effectually blockaded. Warren,
after communicating with Pepperell, sailed to cruise off the harbour. The Provincial cruisex's, by the orders of
Shirley, were also placed under his command.

But still the ice clung about the coast. The transports had to wait in Canso nearly three weeks. The
men in the meantime had more drilling; they were formed into divisions of four and six hundred men each,
in accordance with the requirements of Shirley's patent for the reduction of Louisburg. At last they heard,
on Friday, the 26th, that Gabarus Bay was free from ice. They had to wait till the morning of the 29th for a
fair wind. There was now to be no more exhortinar and drilling. There is much heaving of windlasses and
Happing of sails, and the bows of the little vessels are turned one by one in the direction of the doomed town.
They should arrive there at nine o'clock at night, according to the contract, so they must have been naturally
anxious about the wind. And, as is usual in such cases, it failed them ; and Shirley's elaborate instructions
were now of no use, excepting the last clause, which directed Pepptrell to act according to his judgment and
discretion in case of anything going wrong. Next morning they were four or live miles from the town, and

lilHI

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISIWRG.

179

separated from it by a stretch of the most difficult ground one can well imagine — swamp and rock, and
tangled undergrowth and matted shrubbery. "The worst ground it was," Amherst said, thirteen years
afterwards, " chat ever he saw." Louisburg never presented a very imposing spectacle ; the site was not
elevated, and the massive walls that encircled them hid most of the buildings from sight.

The defences of Louisburg were formidable enough, consiilering the ridiculously light train of artillery
which the little transports were bringing to be directed against them. The embrasures, without counting
those in the outworks, numbered 148. The number of cannon in position is not accurately known.
Pomeroy says that after the surrender a little above ninety were found, and a " great number of fiwivels."
Others place the number of cannon at seventy-six. The Grand Battery and Battery Island mounted sixty
heavy pieces more. The New Englanders brought against this formidable armament but thirty-four cannons
and mortars, of much inferior weight. But they hardly expected to use these at all when they left New
England. Shirley nmst have meant them as mere embellishments, and indeed they were little else.

They were under orders to capture the place " while the enemy were asleep." The New Englander must
certiiinly have learned a good deal of his natural presumption from Governor Shirley. They had borrowed
ten 22-poundors from New York, which was the only respectable battery they had. But with characteristic
confidence they brought with them a good store of 42pound balls to be used in the cannon of the Grand
Battery — after they had taken it. This, as Governor Hutchinson pertinently remarks, " was too manifest
a disposal of the skin before the bear was caught."

A French resident says that at this time the garrison consisted uf 560 regular troops. Of these two or
three companies were Swis'^. There were also some 1,300 or 1,400 militia, inhabitants partly of the town
and partly of the neighbouring settlements. The regulars were discontented ; they had worked, we are told,
on the fortifications, and got no extra pay for it. They were dissatisfied with their rations, consequently
they had mutinied early in the winter. Order had again been restored ; but the result was that the officers lost
confidence in the men, and this event proved disastrous to the defence. They were afraid to send then, out
upon a sally lest they should desert to the enemy. Duquesnet, the Governor, had died in the autumn. He
was succeeded by Chevalier Duchambon, who, if not diificient in abilit}', was lacking in deci-sion of
character. It is said, though it scarcely appears credible, that he expected an attack. "We were informed
of the preparations from the first," says the Habitant de Louisburg. Some Indians who had been at Boston

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

carried to Canada the news of what was going on there ; but the story was thought so improbable that it
excited no alarm. It was not so at Louisburg, where, observed the same writer, " We lost precious moments
in useless deliberations and resolutions, no sooner made than broken. Nothing to the purpose was done, so
that we were as much taken by surprise as if the enemy had pounced upon us unawares." This was, then,
the nature of the surprise — the surprise which comes upon a man who knows his danger and meekly puts
the evil day afar off.

The garrison first saw the provincial cruisers hovering on the horizon about the 25th of March. The
Americans say the French took them for privateers in search of their prey, but this does not compare with
the statement that the French knew of the intended attack. If they had known of it, it is almost incredible
that they should have left the landing-places in the defenceless condition in which the New England men
found them, except upon the presumption that Duchambon had reached the sublimity of apathy. The little
men-of-war appeared at intervals off the coast until the morning of the 30th of April. Then was seen the
whole fleet of transports, like a flock of sea-birds, standing in towards Flat Point, which juts out into the sea
three miles west of the town. A feeble and ridiculous attempt was made to oppose the landing. Morpain,
a famous buccaneer, accompanied, it is said, by an ofhcer named Bouladire, was sent with eighty men to
drive off the invaders. Forty men more were on the watch near the spot where it was suppo.sed the enemy
would land. The firing of guns and the ringing of bolls in the town gave the alarm to the militia in the
neighbourhood.

The critical experiment of landing was tried without delay. It was managed with much judgment and
skill. The men were full of ardour and enthusiasm, and this, of course, was not lessened by the sight of the
feeble resistance that would apparently be offered to their landing. The rocks and the surf presented the
greatest dangers. One finds it difficult to understand what the French could have been doing while the boats
and men were floundering in the surf. They were outwitted, however, and the New Englanders probably
gained a footing on the shore before they had a shot fired at them. The way it was d Dne was this : Several
boats filled with men rowed towards Flat Point to decoy Morpain and his men in that d'rection. On a given
signal they rowed back again, and Morpain and his men thought they had been frightened off. American
astuteness was perhaps new to Morpain. On reaching the flagship the returning boats were joined by others
that had lain concealed behind the vessels, containing men enough to make a hundred in all, and off they

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

181

clashed for another landinff-place called Freshwater Cove, or Anse de la Corniorandiere, now called Kennington
Cove, two miles farther west. There was now a race between the boats on one side, and Morpain and his
men on the other. But the water, though somewhat uneven from the swell, was not so rough as the bogs
and rpeks across which the Frenchmen had to flounder and scramble. The tough arms of the fishermen
sent the boats flying through the water, and they got there flrat, as our solemn but humorous cousin
generally does. No doubt many of the New Englanders were hardy privateersmen, and others men
of the woods who had often faced Indians and the like, and they were eager for a set-to. Probably it was
for them a graver sort of lark. Excited by hard pulling and the thought of danger, and the seething surf
and the hard scramble out of the boats and up the steep and slippery .shore, they rushed upon the grimacing
and gesticulating Frenchmen, no doubt thoroughly bemired and beaten out by this time, like hounds upon
the deer. There was not the ghost of a chance for Morpain. Six of his men were killed, six more taken
prisoners, among whom was Bouladire, and the rest took to their heels. The invaders did all this at the expen.se
of two men slightly wounded. Further resistance was useless, for a crowd of boats now came dashing against
the steep and rocky beach, and the men kept floundering through the surf all day. By night two thousand
mv-^n had landed. Bigot, the French Intendant, says that six thousand were landed the first day. This was
two thousand more than the whole New England force. It was a lucky thing for the invaders that the
French constantly overestimated their number. In fact, the French were bewildered generally. They were
not at all able to comprehend the number, the method, the daring confidence of the men they had to deal
with. The whole thing was a new military, or rather unmilitary development for them, and they gave it up.
The remaining two thousand men landed at their leisure the next day. So the New Englanders got ashore
without much fighting. It was not so afterwards with the British — they encountered a spirited and well-
organized resistance, and had a hard struggle before they eflected a lodgement on the shore at all.

Two days after the landing, Vaughan led four hundred men through the woods to the rear of the town
and saluted it with three cheers as tliey passed, much to the di.sgust of the Frenchmen. There was much
more of energy and bustle than order in the crowd that followed Vaughan. Of the last the French say
there was none. The next movement of Vaughan and his New Hampshire mast-cutters startled the French
still more. They kept at a .safe distance from the Grand Battery, and pas.sed in its rear till they came to the
north-east harbour. Here were large magazines of naval stores. These they set on fire, and the wind blew the

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182

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

dense black clouds of resinous smoke right across the Grand Battery. The French fell into a fright, thinking
that under cover of this odorous canopy the New Englanders meditated an assault upon them. Nothing
is so awe-inspiring as that which is invisible, and nothing was to be seen. The lively Gallic imagination
doubtless filled this smoke with thousands of enemies, and so they thought it^siiust to leave this niagiuHcent
battery to take care of itself. Vaughan was returning the next morning with a few men, sixteen in
number. From behind the hills he could see when he came opposite the Grand Pattery that there was
neither flag on the staff nor smoke from the chimney. It certainly had a curious lOok — What did it mean ?
There is with him a Cape Cod Indian who has learned the value and delights of alcohol ; and Vaughan, in
his present need, takes advantage of the fact. Vaughan had a flask of brandy — some saj' New England
rum — in his pocl'et, and the Indian is bribed with it to go and see what is going on in the battery. The
Indian pretended to be drunk — which was an unnecessary exhibition of himself if he had known all — and
meandered towards the battery to investigate. There was nothing moving. He climbed in past the muzzle
of one of the 42-pounders, and found nobody. Dr. Belknap explains that, though Vaughan had the
means, just as it happened, to bribe the Indian, he never drank himself. Of course it is an orthodox
explanation.

The rest of Vaughan's party entered the battery. One of them, William Tufts, of Medford, a boy of
eighteen, climbed the staff. He held in his hand his red coat, which he nailed to the staff as a flag. This
drew the fire of the batteries of the town upon them, but no one was hurt. Vaughan then, Csesar-like, sent
this brief notice to Pepperell : " May it please your honour to be informed that, by the grace of God and
the courage of thirteen men, I entered the Royal Battery about nine o'clock, and am waiting for
reinforcements and a Hag." The grace of God had certainly more to do >vith this business, so far, than the
courage of his thirteen men. A great degree of courage was not requisite to take possession of an empty
battery. But their courage was soon to be more effectually tried, for presently four boats were seen
approaching from the town, filled with men intent upon driving out the courageous occupants and hauling
down their extemporized symbol of British occupation. They wanted, perhaps, also, to save the munitions
and stores, and more effectually to render the cannon useless. Vaughan and his thirteen men — it does not
appear what had become of the other three — stood upon the open beach, under the fire of the town and the
Island Battery, and plied the approaching boats with musketry, keeping them off. Presently Lieutenant-

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THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUtsnURG.

183

Colonel Bradstreet approached with reinforcements, and the French pulled back to the town. The French
themselves make the somewhat strange confession that they did not leave the battery in a panic. It is
difficult to understand wliut other reason they could have had By their own shewins; they did not them-
selves know. So it probably must be set down to sheer fright and incapacity. The Ifabifant dc Louinburg
says : — " A detachment of the enemy advanced to the neighbourhood of the Grand Battery." This was
Vaughan's four hundred men, whom the excited Frenchmen probably magnified to four thousand — doubtle.ss
they made noise enough to justify such an estimate. " At once we were seized with fright," the writer
declares, "and on the instant it was proposed to abandon this magnificent batter}', wliich would have been
our best defence if our commanders had known how to use it. Various councils were held in a tumultuous
way. It would be hard to tell the reasons for such a strange proceeding. Not one .shot had yet been fired
at the battery, which the enemy could net take except by besieging it, so to speak, in form, making regular
approaches as if against the town itself. Some persons remonstrated, but in '• mu ; and so a battery of
thirty cannons, which had cost the King immense sums, was abandoned before it was attacked."

Duchambon says that soon after the landing of the English he received a letter from Thierry, the officer
commanding at the Grand Batter}', advising that the cannon be spiked and the works blown up. It is
difficult to understand what the battery was there for at all in the light of this fact. On receipt of this letter
a council was held. A vote was passed to follow Thierry's advice. It vras said that the fortlrlcations of the
work were in bad condition, and that four hundred men could not hold it against three or four thousand.
The number four hundred is probably an error, as there were not above two hundred men in the battery.
The blowing up of the works was opposed, and they were left untouched. Thierry and his men left in boats.
They had hastily spiked the guns, but did not stop to knock off the trunions or destroy the carriages. Their
loose gunpowder they threw intr^ the well, leaving for Vaughan and his men a goodly number of cannon
cartridges, 280 large bombshells, and other ordnance stores.

The only use of the Grand Battery was to defend, in conjunction with the Island Battery, the mouth of
the harbour, which was at a distance from it of thirteen or fourteen hundred yards. If properly defended, it
might further have sustained a siege in itself. Its water-front, guarded by a high and steep ascent, and
swept by thirty heavy guns, was impregnable. It would have been a more serviceable work had it been
mounted with cannon on the landward side, defended by a deeper and wider moat, and above all, kept in

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184

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

repair ; but it was not. It would then have rendered necessary an organized and determined assault in order
to its capture. But the defences on ihe land side, though formidable enough, consisted only of a loop-holed
wall of masonry, a ditch ten feet deep and twelve feet wide, and a covered way and glacis, forming a line of
outer defence similar to the works at Louisburg itself. Even these are described as unfinished. This was a
fatal oversight, but is in accordance with the unthorough way in which everything was done among the
colonial ITrench. As long as the King's louis d'ori went into the pocV'^ts of villainou: officials and stayed
thert, of course the forts had to suffer, and did sdfter, and so fell an ea.sy prey to the English. From first
to last, duiing either siege, not a shot was fired in defence of the Grand Buttery.

It is said that at this particular juncture the rear works of the fcrt had been partlj' demolished, with a
view to reconstruction. The two towers Hanking the rear wall, Duchambon says, had been destroyed ; but
the New Englanders testify that swivels were still mounted on them, and that " two hundred men might
have held the battery against five thousand." But two hundred men could not have done anything of the
sort, practically without cannon and with a ditch in front of them only ten feet deep and twelve feet wide.

Brigadier Waldo was now sent to occupy the battery with his regiment, while Vomeroy, the Northampton
gunsmith, went to work upon the spiked cannon. The bear being now caught, they proceeded to utilize
the skin. Pomeroy and twenty soldier mechanics are drilling away a.ssiduously at the touch-holes of the
42-pounders. No doubt they look askance at the walls of the town, and wish it were done. There were in
the battery twenty-eight 42-pounder3 and two 18-pountlers. Some of the French writers call the heavy guns
3G-pounders. The English say they were 42-pounders, and no doubt they were, for the 42-pound shot sent
from Boston fitted them. Pepperell landed his cannon near Flat Point. This place was four miles from the
Grand Battery. Across this space of bog and tangle and rock and underbrush, the guns would have to
be dragged in order to operate against the Grand Battery. This, no doubt, would have taken a long time,
even for the New England log-rollers. But a determined assault would have taken the Grand Battery in the
condition in which it then was, without the help of cannon, if Pepperell had men who had ever seen such
a thing done. It is said : " The Grand Battery might have ht'd out long enough to save the munitions and
Stores, and eflfectut'lly disable the cannon which supplied the English with the only artillery they had
competent to the work before them." But how the Grand Battery could have disabled cannon attacking
it from the lundward side does not appear, as it had no artillery armament on that side. Doubtless the

THE FIRST SIEGE 01- LOUISBURG.

185

French had some reasons for evaonating the fort, the principal one being the conscious weakness of their
position on the land si(ie. A battery taken in the rear is not capable of much resistance.

Some of the captured cannon had recovered their usefulness by the next morning, thanks to Pomeroy
and his assistants, and soon opened fire upon the town, distant about a mile; and now began the miseries
of the wretched inhabitants. The shot " damaged the houses and made the women cry," writes a .soldier.
Says the Hahitant de Louixbitrff : "The enemy saluted us with our own cannon and made a terrible tiro,
smashing everj-thing within range." This is overdrawn. The New Englanders had only a few guns cleared ;
and, according to their own account, they " threw several shots into the town, one of which went through the
roof of the Citadel." After this there we:e often artillery tights between the battery and the town, and the
latter got the worst of it, as it had more to suH'er and was a better mark.

On the night after tiieir latiding, the New Englanders ho 1 scant acconnuodation. They slept, if they
slept at all, in the woods. Some had blankets, others had none. In the morning they set to work encamping
with such soldierly belongings as they had, and they were not many. There was a child-like and easy-going
dependence upon Providence, or something else, about these men that the world had never seen before,
and probably- never will again — of the same sort. A brook ran into the sea about two miles from the town.
The ground on each side was rough but dry, and here the regiments made their quarters — on the e»ust side,
Willard's, Jdoulton's and Moore's ; on the west side. Burr's and Pepperell's. Some extended themselves on the
east towards Louisburg, among the low, rugged hills on the border of the marsh, but were soon warned
back by the cannon shots from the ramparts that came tearing among them. There were not nearly tents
enough. Some were reduced to the use of old sails stretched over poles. The use of these was natural to
these semi-aquatic invader.s. We are told that all the spare canvas in New England had been u.sed up in
making tents, but still there were not enough. On the low, rough hills near Louisburg, rendering more
rugged and ditheult the surface of the ground, are yet to be seen numerous rudimentary stone-girt
depressions, which are doubtless the sites of huts built by the New Englanders as shelter from the weather.
These huts were built of turf, with the spruce boughs lapping overhead. Here for these Puritan warriors
was a .sort of Feast of Tabernacles. Bark could not be used to cover their huts, as at this early season it
would not peel from the trees. All this was wretched at this time of the year in Cape Breton, and no other

186

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

men could have come through it all and have hoen ahle to work. And there was hard and killinjr work to
do. The guns, munitions and stores had to be landed on a rough, surf-beaten beach. In this service they had
many boats destroyed, and so had Amherst afterwards at the same place, .tiltogether, it was a terrible plac 3
in which to toil at siege-making. To land the guns, large flat boats, brought from Boston, were used. The
men waded through the icy surf waist-deep, carrj-ing loads of powder and the like on their heads all daj' long.
Then they slept on the ground during the chill and foggy nights, and laid the foundation of future pains and
cramps. But the lively and hardy New England spirit, the sympathy of numbers, and it may be allowable
to add, New England rum and French brandy, bore them through it all, and they worked like beavers, and
somewhat under tl>e same amphibious conditions. It was all one to them — surf or mud waist-high, and
often more so, was nothing to these fellows, who had come to .see what soldiering was like; and, as far as
pulling, and lugging, and liftmg, and getting wringing wet and " powerful " muddy was concerned, they saw
enough of it. The author of the " Importance and Advantage of Cape Breton," says : " When the hardships
they were exposed to come to be considered, the behaviour of these men will scarcely gain credit. Tiiey
went ashore wet, haii no dry clothes to cover them, were exposed in this condition to cold, foggy nights, and
yet cheerfully underwent these difficulties for the sake of executing a project they had voluntarily
undertaken."

But the worst was yet to come. The guns must be got across the marsh — (the writer and his friend
have somewhat oozy reminiscences of that mar.ih) — to the broken ground on the north-west of the town, on
a series of low heights that approach near the ramparts. It was necessary to get within striking distance.
This was a distance of more than two miles, and the French thought the way was impassable. But
it was not — not to New England ingenuity and endurance.

O*' course the first cannon that was respectably trundled off on its wheels behaved with becominrf an-l grim
decorum until it came to the edge of the marsh. Here down it went, .slowly but determinedly; first the
carriage, and then the piece itself, in silent but effectual protest against the siege of Louisburg. But among
the disconcerted spectators was one Lieutenant-Colonel Meserve, a New Hampshire man. Ho was, by trade,
a ship-builder, but had now exchanged the broad-axe for the sword. No doubt he had often got timber out
of the woods over soft places, and there were plenty of men about who had helped him do it, as there were
scores of others who had worked at cutting and handling masts for the king's navy. It was a difficult thing

"••^

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

187

to stick these men, especially in a bog. That little cannon could not do it anyway. It was not so
cumbersome or unwieldy as an unhewn mast for a line-of-battle ship, and if it would not go of itself it must
have a mud-shoe put under it and be made to go. So sledges of timber were made — they were sixteen feet
long, we are told, and five feet wide. Meserve had, no doubt, his rule on his thigh and his pencil between his
teeth. A cannon was triumphantly lashed upon one of these and dragged ignominiously through the moss
and ooze by a long row of two hundred men yoked with rope traces and breast-straps, fioundering through
mud and water like big lizards in a primeval fen. Laughing and shouting and getting blissfully dirty, as big
schoolboys like to do, they trail the guns over the swamp day and night, and in thick fogs, for at last they
have to look out for the enemy's fire. Horses or oxen would have fared like the first cannon did, even if they
could have been had. They could not go the same way very often. The path had to be changed, and so in
time the most of the marsh was worked into the consistency of what these men were familiar with a.< " hasty
pudding." Thirteen years after, Amherst, in his matter-of-fact way, made a passable road over this same
swamp ; but he had all the material at hand to do it with. It was a hard piece of work even for him and his
engineers and eleven thousand old soldiers. After his road was made he covered it from the enemy's tire
by an epaulement, or bank of earth at the side. But the New Englanders, we are told, " laughed at zigzags
and cpaulements, aiid went on, void of art, in their own natural way." They could not make these things —
they had never seen them. But they could make a timber sledge, which served the same purpose, and they
were not too lazy to haul it through the mud.

Pepperell was much gratified with the behaviour of his men," under almost incredible hardships." They
wore out their shoes and clothing till many went in tatters and barefooted, yet they worked on with uncon-
querable spirit. Within four days they broke ground and planted a battery of six guns on one of the
Ureen Hills, about a mile from the King's Bastion. A week after they had dragged four 22-pound cannon
and ten coehorns to within a thousand yards of the ramparts. These last Pomeroy affectionately calls
" cowhorns." Two of the 22-pounders burst — a catastrophe which often befell fiom the practice of double-
shotting and overloading — and they were replaced by four more, and a large mortar sent by Shirley
from Bostoi.. The mortar soon burst, and Shirley was petitioned for another. This was slow siege work.
Meanwhile the invaders had stolen their way forward and fixed a battery of coehorns on a hillock within four
hundred and fifty yards of the West Gate. This battery greatly annoyed the French ; but they were to bo

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annoyed still more. On the next night the indefatigable New Englanders appeared behind an advanced
battery of fascines, just opposite the same point and within two hundred and fifty yards of it. This by the
old historians is gravely called a " machine " battery.

The West Gate was the principal entrance of Louisburg, and communicated with the high, firm ground
that lay round the head of the harbour, and on the left of the besiegers. At the extreme head of the harbour,
and separated from it by a beach, lay the barachois, a generic name given to all ponds of that nature, and
around the head of this little lake the besiegers were now working their way, still intent upon mischief. On
the north-west of this arm of the harbour, the ground rose to a good height and presented fine opportunities
for entrenching. Here, on the 20th of May, a fifth battery, and the most formidable of them all, was planted.
It mounted at first but two of the 42-pounders taken in the Grand Battery, but three others were soon
added. These five guns had all been dragged to their positi<5n by a file of three hundred men from the Grand
Battery, a distance of over a mile. This was called the North-West, or Tidcomb's Battery, and, it is said, soon
beat down the West Gate and the adjacent curtain, This Major Tidcomb was a brave and efficient officer.
He fell afterwards in Braddock's defeat, shot through the head while fighting from behind a tree like a
common soldier.

The French wt-e amazed as well as terrified by these proceedings. The New Englanders were so active
and shewed themselves in so many different positions that they were thought to be many times more
numerous than they really were. So re tless were they day and n'ght, so energetic and full of confidence —
one might almost call it martial effronteiy, military imp'udcpce — t'.iat the defender-s were bewildered in the
presence of such an absence of soldierly form and etiquette. Some say that Bastide, the English engineer,
tried to improve their manners somewhat in this respect. But this could not have been. Bastide was not
here. His post was at Annapolis, and he did not reach Louisburg until the siege was nearly finished and the
batteries completed. Besides, what could Bastide have done ? Those fellows were irrepressible — that was
their strength ; and to have taught them, even had that been possible, would have been to spoil them. A
French writer makes the odd statement that it was their minister who taught them how to fight, and there
is just as much truth as humour in the Frenchman's mistake. If the minister did not teach them to fight,
the system which he represented was that which made the New Englander the manner of man that he was —
it gave him his courage and confidence, and sense of doing as he liked, and practical intelligence, and so on,

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The minister has always made mistakes when he has played officer. It is not his forte — his work lies deeper
and farther back than that.

So the French were perplexed in presence of the .self-satisfied confidence of the besiegers. But it was
somethine: to be taken advantage of if Duchambon had been a different sort of man. He and the officers
immediately under him were afraid to make sorties, lest the soldiers should desert. But the danger of
this seems to have been but .small. A more courageous and capable commander would not have stood idle
while the cannon were first removed from the Grand Battery. The risks of making a sortie were great, yet
not so great as was imagined. The New Englanders were always vulnerable enough had everything been
known. So many of them were sick at one time that there were scarcely any men in reserve ; they were all
needed to man the batteries. " Both troops and militia eagerly demanded a sortie," says the Intendant Bigot,
" and I believe it would have .succeeded." One or two weak and ineffectual sallies were indeed made ; one on
the 8th of May, when the advanced battery was attacked, but the French were repulsed with little loss on
either side.

The Habitant de Louisbarg writes : " The enemy did not attack us with the least regularity, and made
not the least entrenchments to cover themselves." This last is notably incorrect. Men could not have
endured in the batteries, so close as they were to the ramparts, without being under cover. The Frenchman
probably means thut they did not advance under cover — they " had no zigzags or epaulements " — but the
batteries them.selves were certainly well enough constructed. They advanced under cover of the night or of
thick fog. But still, when the danger to which they were exposed, and the apparently reckless manner in
which they presented themselves as a target to the enemy, and the close and concentrated fire of the French
batterie.s, are considered, the smallness of their loss seems almost incredible.

These militia-men were not skilled in gunnery. This was one of the greatest hindrances with which
they had to deal. The same confident recklessness with which they acted generally led them to overload
and double-shot the guns. Pepperell continually complains of the scarcity of powder, and borrows time and
again from Warren, who no doubt thinks there ought to be great doings ashore, but does not in reality think
so as a matter of fact. Warren is also repeatedly asked for gunners — it is explained at one time that of those
previously sent, one has been killed, and another has lost u leg. One can hardly understand how a great

-Jit'
%

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

many more Were not killed. The guns, of course, had to be loaded under the fire of the enemy, under cover
of voUej's of musketry, and still the loss was comparatively trifling at the batteries.

The advanced battery was commanded by Captain Joseph (or Josiah) Sherburn. He tried to get as many
gunners as possible. In a day he had enlisted six, of whom Warren sent one. He went with these and a
number of raw men to his post of danger, where he found " a very poor entrenchment. Our best shelter
from the French fire, which was very hot, was hogsheads filled with earth." Their target was the West Gate,
but before they could get a good view of it, they had to shoot away some intervening fish-flakes. Captain
Pierce was killed by a cannon-shot — he was almost cut in two, we are told, and only lived long enough to
say, " It's hard to die." Thomas Ash was killed by a " bomb," others by musketry. This was the hottest
work the}' had yet seen. The battery must have been better defended than is represented. Casks filled
with earth make a very good barricade, otherwise they must all have been destroj'ed, being within 250 yards
of the Circular Battery, and the guns flanking the West Gate and those on the west face of the King's
Bastion. By the next day their defences were improved and three guns more were mounted — two 42's and
one 18-pounder. These guns had been dragged round the head of the barachois, from the Grand Battery, a
distance of nearly two miles. There was a con.'itant fire of musketry kept up between this advanced battery
and the ramparts, the fire from which was well directed. A soldier mounted the battery and stood on the
parapet for an instant in bravado, and was shot dead with four bullets. The men kept bantering each other
in such language as they could mutually command — in grim humour drinking each other's health and
desiring the honour of each other's company to breakfast. This sounds like the French and English guards
at Fontenoy.

Sherburn's diary informs us ; " Sunday morning. — Began our fire with as much fury as possible, and
the French returned it as warmly from the Citadale, West Gate, and North East Battery, with Cannon,
Mortars, and continual showers of musket-balls ; but by eleven o'clock we had beat them all from their guns."
This seems to have been a fair trial of strength and endurance, and the French got the worst of it. The men
in the battery had to cease firing at noon for want of powder, and Sherburn went with his gunners to get some.
While he was gone, it is said that Yaughan came with a supph'. Two of the 42-pounders were then
loaded carelessly and fired. One was dismounted and the other burst. Two men were killed and two
wounded by the blowing-up of a barrel and a-half of powder. " Wednesday. — Hot fire on both sides till

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191

the French were beat from their guns. May 2yth. — Went to the Two-Gun (Tidcorab's) Battery to give the
gunners some directions ; then returned to my own station, where I spent the, rest of the day with pleasure,
seeing our Shott Tumble down their Walls and Flagg Staff." This seems to have been sharp practice, though
managed with a good deal of bungling.

Bigot says of the New England fire : " The enemy established their batteries to such purpose that they
soon destroyed the greater part of the town, broke the right flank of the King's Bastion, ruined the
Dauphin's Battery with its spur, and made a breach at the Porte Dauphine (West Gate), the neighbouring wall
and the sort of redan adjacent." '^'^'- battery on the right flank of the King's Bastion was rendered useless,
the New England fire being so hot that the guns could not be served, and the embrasures were knocked to
pieces. When they were repaired they were destroyed again. Nobody could keep his stand behind the wall
of the quay, which was pierced through and through and completely shattered. The town was in ruins from
the effects of the cannon-shots. The streets had been raked from end to end, nearly all the houses damaged,
and the people had been driven into the stifling casemates for shelter. These were fearful results of a
bombardment directed by novices in artillery practice. The frequent bursting of guns was occasioned by the
practice of overloading and double-shotting, as has been said. There was no rule or regulation observed in
anything. Zeal, a confident and impetuous zeal, was everywhere when there was work to do. There was
no thought even of duty or lesponsibility, there was no calculation of forces or events ; these men seem to
have been under .some better sort of infatuation, and it seemed as if everything conspired to remove difficulties
out of their way. They listened to a thanksgiving sermon preached from the text, " The Lord hath done
great things for us, whereof we are glad." They were doubtless glad, and it cannot be denied that they did
their own part more than manfully.

It is said that not a man was punished during the siege. This is cited as a proof of the good conduct of
the men. But Pepperell himself is entitled to as much credit as anyone for this result. No better man in the
world could have been found to lead such an expedition, or rather to be at the head of such an enterprise.
If Pepperell's profession was not that of arms, his whole life and training and character were such as to fit
him for his present position. The camp over which he was supposed to rule was a rough and tumultuous
one — in a military sense, at all events — and would have driven the conventional soldier stark mad. The
condition of the camp is described by Dr. Douglas as resembling a "Cambridge Commencement." The opening

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

day at this institution of learninff no doubt resembled, but surpassed in riotous noise and good-natured
rowdyism, similar scenes in the British universities. As there was more license and life and spirit in the
Colonies than in England, doubtless the fact manifested itself everywhere — in Church and State and in the
halls of learning ; and as the opening of a college is an occasion of uproar, and perhaps excusable horseplay
everywhere, one can easily imagine the kind of scene thn* ''am bridge presented upon those occasions. It was
no doubt a babel of babels. We are informed that disorderly crowds, black and white, bond and free, swarmed
among the booths on Cambridge Common, and, in sympathy with the boys, and knowing no doubt that many
a misdemeanour would be winked at upon that day which would have been punished at any other time, went
in " for a time," and had it too. Young America, in all its independence of mischief, was there and then in its
glory. This same Dr. Douglas was no friend of the expedition. He describes it as an " enterprise planned by a
lawyer, headed by a merchant, and composed of farmers, fishermen and mechanics." But we judge by results.
The orthodox and judicious Dr. Belknap settles himself punctiliously in his chair and proceeds to inform
us: "Those who were on the spot, have frequently in my hearing laughed at the recital of their own
irregularities, and expressed their admiration at the almost miraculous preservation of the army from
destruction." The immediate connection between the irregularities so-called and the destruction of the army
does not distinctly appear. We suspect that the reverend gentleman thought it strange that the judgment
of heaven did not visibly descend upon the perpetrators of these irregularities. The stings of the Anathema
Maranatha were perhaps in his heart. We fail to see what these men could have done that was so very bad.
It appears that when they got to be old men they laughed at the pranks they used to play; so, as they were
removed from the opportunity of indulging in monstrous vice, they doubtless did no more than a set of wild
lusty fellows might have been expected to do under the circumstances. We are told that " while the cannon
were bellowing in the front, frolic and confusion reigned in the camp, where the men raced, wrestled, pitched
quoits, fired at marks " — these are not danming sins — " and ran after the French cannon-balls " — it appears
they were paid for these — " which were carried to the batteries to be returned to those who sent them."
Further, we are told that at one time fifteen hundred of them lay sick, and it took all the available men to
man the .batteries ; so while this was the case, it is difficult to see how those who had such hard work to do
could find time over and above what was necessary for rest and sleep. The Puritan minister and the soldier
in camp were at the opposite poles of existence, and the worthy divine no doubt looked on with stern dismay

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193

at the antics of the boys. A deep emotional wave had just passed over New England, and had stirred the
hearts of the people to the very core. It is said the Anglo-Saxon races are subject to such periodic stirrings
of spirit. This religious movement was called " The Great Awakening," and was occasioned by religious
contention and discussion, in which Whitefield took a prominent part. This movement, no doubt, had a good
deal to do with the invasion of Cape Breton. When Pepperell asked Whitefield's counsel and advice in the
matter, the latter gave no positive counsel, but advised his friend if he went at all to go " with a single eye."
We do not understand by this, of course, that Whitefield counselled a Cyclopean invasion of Cape Breton.
Nevertheless his suggestion of a motto for the Hag, " Nil desperandum Ghristo Duce," was adopted. So here
was a miniature crusade. Parkman says very well and very truly : "The New England soldier, the product
of sectarian hotbeds, fancied that he was doing the work of God, and was the object of His special favour.
The army was Israel, and the French were CanaanitLsh idolator.s. Red-hot Calvinism, acting through
generations, had modified the transplanted Englishman ; and the descendant of the Puritans was never so well
pleased as when teaching somebody else his duty, whether by pen, voice or bombshell. The rugged
artilleryman, battering the walls of papistical Louisburg, flattered himself with the notion that he was a
champion of Gospel truth."

But all their enthusiasm could not save them from the effects of fatigue and exposure, which were more
than flesh and blood could endure. Rapidly and in great numbers they were prostrated with diarrhoea and
fever, till out of four thousand men Pepperell reports only twenty-one hundred fit for duty. But they nearly
all recovered. The weather was wonderfully good. No rain of any consequence fell all the while the siege
lasted, though fogs were prevalent enough. Had the season been wet, as it generally is at that time in Cape
Breton, they must inevitable' have perished under their miserable tents and huts. The fact that the rain
came on and continued incessantly for ten days after the surrender was looked upon as another special
intervention of Providence in their favour. While the siege was in progress, and so many lay sick,
reinforcements were asked for, but none came until they were no longer needed.

Pepperell's character coincided entirely with the position to which he was called in this expedition. He

well knew the men with whom he had to deal, and perhaps it was well that his know'?dge of military affairs

was not greater than it was. Detail and technique of war were not here needed. We can well believe that

not a man under his command was afraid of hard work or of danger, or refused to perform whnt in the

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATE').

regular soldier is called " duty ;" and in this sphere the men were at their beat. Pepperell seems to have been
a good man in the theological sense. It would be very harsh to conclude or suspect that his expressions of
dependence upon Divine Providence were mere conventionalities, or gotten up for the occasion. His letters
breathe an unmistakable spirit of what we know as piety. And about his general conduct there is a " sweet
rea.sonableness," a patience in the presence of trial and difficulty, and an utter absence of that selfishness or
haughtiness which so readily takes offence or ignores the rights or opinions of others. He always adopted a
conciliatory tone in his correspondence with Warren, who at last got impatient hanging about in the fog
without being able to see very well what he was about, or what was going on ashore. The somewhat haughty
and dictatorial style of the Commodore would have elicited a corresponding reply from any ordinary man, and
thereby mischief might have resulted. But Pepperell patiently explains everything, and is never tempted
beyond the limits of affability or of courteous language. He probably felt that he was uot an officer in the
regular service, and for that reason deferred to Warren's often unjust criticism, but in a smaller man this
feeling would have produced the opposite result. Those cf the British officers who knew him best spoke
highly of his services. He spent, it is said, ten thousand pounds of his own in the expedition, and he
afterwards applied to the British Government for compensation. He kept a bountiful table, to the support of
which he was voted a hundred pounds by the Council of Massachusetts at tlic outset of the expedition. His
officers were his friends ; and his judicious and kind behaviour soothed their jealousies and allayed their
disputes and quarrels.

During the siege Pepperell was assailed by petty annoyances of every kind and degree. Complaints and
requests of the most ridiculous and unsoldierlike kind poured in upon him from all quarters. The men
complained they had neither clothes, shoes nor rum. This latter was the New Englander's elixir. Everybody
drank it and thought no harm ; it made them spry and smart, and doubtless helped to spirit the guns over the
marsh, and contributed to many of the irregular ities of which the worthy Dr. Belknap speaks. Wives and
fathers sent letters entreating that husbands and sons might be sent back. A captain, after the surrender,
" humbly begs for leave to go home," because he lives in a dangerous coi^ntry, and his wife and children are in
a " declining way " without him. We do not doubt that he lived in a dangerous country, and there is no
room for wonder that his wife and children were in a declining way while bands of blootl-thirsty Indians
were, doubtless, prowling about the woods. Two entire companies, raised on the frontiers, asked for their

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISHURG.

19i

discharge on the same ground. Sometimes one company complained that they had had more than tlicir share of
work assigned to them. He was beset with requests for favours and promotion. One Morris, of Camhridge,
had a slave, Cuffce, who had joined the army. He writes a melting petition that he be restored to his master.
But the most ridiculcus for its cool impudence and stupid ignorance of the fitness of things comes from John
Alford. He sends the General a packet of the Rev. Mr. Prentice's late sermon for distribution, assuring him
that " it will please your whole army of volunteers, as he h»s .^hewn them the way to gain by their gallantry
the hearts and affections of the ladys." So the Rev. Mr. Prentue was an instructor in the lighter and tenderer
departments of knight-errantry. He might possibly have been the producer of "Courtin' on Sunday Night;"
but we don't believe, out of respect to Mr. Prentice's memory, that he dictated either that or any otlier
expression of homespun chivalry. Mr. John Alford should have been tried for libel. Gallantry to ladies
and Puritanic severity, it must be acknowledged, are .shocking incongruities, ami Mr. John Alford should,
we think, ^r.'^■■^c certainly have been set astride the wooden horse for a week. Pepperell received budgets
of congratulatory epistles after the siege, all of Puritanic impress, whether from clerk or layman ; and if he
had not been a man gifted with the grace of humility heretofore, he certainly was now in a position, if he
improved his opportunity, to graduate with honours in that department. " The Lord hath done groat things
for u.s, whereof we are glad," preached the Puritans. But when a man begins to think that " the Lord hath
done great things for him," he is in danger ; he has historically been in danger, and often came to grief
through that very conviction. He is so apt to think that he deserved it all, and that he was chosen as an
object of favour because he de.served it. The worthy merchant-soldier is continually reminded that he is but
an instrument in the hands of Providence ; but no doubt he had sen.se enough to read between the lines, and
estimate the true import and value of conventionalities of speech.

One of his most indefatigable and inspiring correspondents is his son-in-law, Nathanael Sparhawk. This
Mr. Sparhawk was a thriving trader, and his letters are an amusing mixture of domestic and filial speech, and
of grave commercial calculation, with a decided emphasis laid upon the latter. His lengthy and formal
epistles usually begin with an elaborate report of " Mother Pepperell's " health and general comlition. His
father-in-law's emotional proclivities being thus recognizetl and appreciated, the prudent Nathanael burdens
the future baronet with some commi,ssion of a more or less mercenary nature. There are French prizes
being brought in, and the doting father-in-law is requested to keep his eyes open and buy a cargo now and

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

then if it is to be had cheap ; and we read : " If you could procure for me a hogshead of the best claret and
a hogshead of the best white wine, at a reasonable rate, it would be very grateful to me." These are
soothing words to a man who hears a hundred cannon thundering in his ears, and has four thousand ragged,
hungry and thirsty men to look after, with fiftoen hundred of them lying sick, and guns bursting, and
countless irregularities to guide and restrain, and letters to read that, in number and form, would drive an
ordinary man from his tent into a lunatic asylum. After torturing his parent-at-law with other commissions
of dignity and interest, he informs him " the General's children (Andrew and Betsy) send their proper
compliments " — who ever heard of an improper compliment ? — and then comforts his ati'ectionate relative by
concluding with antique phrases peculiar to the patent lett«>r- writer, " With all possible respect, Honoured
Sir, Your Obedient Son and Servant." We can hear the sigh of relief with which the worthy merchant
militant folds up his letter, and turns round to see some frow.sy artilleryman striding into his tent, and
declaring that times are as dry as a powder-horn. The masters of transports gave him great trouble — the
maritime population of New England, what between smugglers and privatecrsmen, and perhaps worse, were a
hard lot about these times. He says : " The unaccountable, irregular conduct of the.se fellows is the greatest
fatigue I meet with." Of course, family dignity demanded that he should make an exception in the case of
his son-in-law, Mr. Nathanael Sparhawk.

There is preserved quite a lengthy correspondence between Pepperell and Warren which was kept up
during the siege. Warren's duty was arduous and harassing, and at the last he beg^n to manifest signs of
impatience. The fleet under his command had now increased, including the captured Vigilant, to eleven
ships; and as soon as the batteries of the enemy had been reduced sufficiently by the bombardment, it was
his intention to enter the harbour with his ships and assist in a general assault upon the town ; and to this
end he began with some impatience to look. The Island Battery was the most formidable obstacle in the way
of this result. He is not willing to risk the King's ships within range of this heavy battery as long as it is in
the hands of the enemy, or in an efficient condition, and he asks in rather a peremptory tone why attempts
upon it have not been made, and insinuates that the land forces have not been doing all that might be
expected, and that if they are not deficient in courage, they must at least be so in energy and decision.
But Pepperell was not to blame, as he takes pains to patiently explain. Five attempts had been made upon
the Island Battery, and the last one had resulted disastrously for the New Englanders. It was the only

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reverse of importance tliey sustained during the whole siege. The first four attempts were altogether
abortive, but resulted in no loss. The surf was raging around the rocky islet so wildly that no attempt to
land was made. The operation of landing at this point was, in the face of the least resistance, a formidable
task. There was a narrow beach at the west of the island, but only practicable for a boat or two at a time,
and it was swept by the western face of the battery. At the north-east, among the sharp and .slippery
ledges of rock, there was a landing-place, accessible only in the smoothest weather. There were two hundred
defenders in the battery, part of whom, at least, appear to have been Swiss, and an assault upon the place
was a matter for grave consideration. The only hope, while the guns of the battery remained effective, v/as
in a surprise. The Lighthouse Point, directly opposite and distant about eight hundred yards, had been
taken possession of by the English, and a battery placed in position, which was soon strengthened by
some cannon which they discovered had been thrown down the rocks into the water. There weie thirty
of these cannon, we arc told, ranging from 4-pounders to 12-pounders. There were now trials of strength
between these guns and those on the island, and, according to accounts, the garrison of the latter had
frequently a serious time of it. We read that they were repeatedly driven from their guns, and had to take
to the water upon one occasion for shelter, so thickly were the shot and shell flying about their ears from
the guns at the point. However this may be, no regular assaulting party had as yet set foot upon the island.
But a more determined and .systematic attempt was now made, probably in response to Warren's somewhat
unjust insinuations and remonstrances. " For God's sake," he had .said, " let us be doing something, and not
waste our time in idlenes.s." He was idle because he could not help it, and because he was averse to risking
the King's ships into the harbour, as he said ; but Pepperell had not been idle — his guns had been thundering
away manfully, and bursting with vehemence ; and, besides, it was open for Warren himself to make a sea
attack on the Island Battery in boats from the ships, had he so desired. Consequently, the captious language
he uses in addressing Pepperell does not seem justifiable under the circumstances.

Four hundred men left the Lighthouse Point in boats one dark night. They were volunteers who had
determined to try conclusions with the garrison at the Island Battery. They are led by one Captain Brooks,
of New Hamp.shire, a brave and determined man. The sea is not so smooth as had been hoped. As they
near the frowning battery in the darkness, they can hear the rush of the surf upon the ragged .shore and the reefs
near it ; still they are determined to make the attempt. While yet a good way from the narrow landing-

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

place, the shouts of the garrison and the dashing of musketry in the darkness tell them that their mission is
no longer a secret. Still amid the hissing of bullets they force their way shore wards through the broken
surf and sharp rocks. The boets surge inwards and backwards, and some are crushed upon the jagged points
of the sunken reefs. Hotter and hotter grows the enemy's fire, and many are killed before they get on shore.
At length Brooks and some of the party have splashed and stumbled out of the water, and are engaged in a
desperate hand-to-hand fight with the garrison. Still the assailants press their way forward, and Brooks, it is
said, had reached the flag-stafi" when his skull was cleft by a Swiss soldier. His followers, being dLshe^^rtened,
are forced back to the beach and into their boats, trampling upon their dead and wounded comrades. They
still keep up a useless fire upon the French, wnich is obstinately sustained for some length of tine. At last
they draw off and leave behind them sixty killed and over a hundred prisoners. This was the only success
the French met with during the siege, and they made the most of it, as Frenchmen do. There were cheers
and shouts of exultation all round their line of defence the next morning. At Battery Island, the garrulous
fisherman, swollen big with local tradition, will shew you what he calls the leap of "Captain Grenadier."
This is at the spot where the English boats landed. "Captain Grenadier" probably stands for Captain
Brooks. You are shewn the point at which this somewhat mysterious personage jumped ashore. The
distance between the two partially submerged rocks which he is supposed to have leaped over is about thirty
feet. So if this tradition will hold water at all, the agility of Captain Grenadier was at least equal to his
courage, or the fond imagination of the fisherman is greater than either. We do not believe that any ordinary
mortal ever jumped over there ; he could not do it. And the Colossus of Rhodes was not at the mouth of
Louisburg Harbour. He might, whoever he was, have jumped off the outside rock into the water, for
there it is only about five feet deep, and then waded a distance and scrambled up on the other one — he might
have done that, but no man with a normal allowance of legs ever jumped across there. Even New England
never produced a pair of legt; equal to an emergency of that nature. But local tradition tells you strange
things at times. History, stilted on tradition, is hardly recognizable.

But poor Captain Brooks was killed, as were many of his party, and the grim Island Buttery still keeps
guard over the mouth of the harbour, and Commodore Warren frets and fumes, and swears some, and the
patient Pepperell tells him how it all went. They don't see very much of each other, these two commanders,
while the siege lasts. Of course they all meet at intervals, do the officers, and hold Councils of War, and

GRENADIER LEAP.

THR FIRST STHGE OF LOUISBURG.

199

deliberate as to what it is best to do ; but Peppercll finds it difficult to ofet on board the Commodore's ship, for
which he courteously expresses his rej^ret, and Warren does not often get ashore, so the consultations are few and
far between. Powder is often wanted at the batteries, for Pepperell's boys like to be emphatic with their guns,
and Warren lends it, wondering with a grave face where it all goes. The Commodore is not wanting in
expedients; he has plenty of time on his hands and no doubt looks at the situation from every side. He gives
Pepperell the following counsel : They have as pri.soner the captain of the captured ship Vigilant, M. de
Maissonforte. It is rumoured that certain English prisoners have been ill-treated by the French. It is
proposed to send this captured officer to his countrymen with a letter of remonstrance, and at the same time
to infoi-m the Commandant ct Louisburg that his ship has been taken, and that consequently there is less
chance of a successful resistance. The Vigilant, the most powerful ship now in the fleet, was in f.act ready
to be manned by an English crew. Captain McDonald, of the Marines, an officer in whom Warren seems to
have much confidence, accompanies the messenger, and, pretending not to understand French, hears all that
their officers have to .say about this misadventure; and it is evident that they are very much discouraged.
This piece of policy had probably an efll'ct in hastening the surrender.

But the Island Batterj' is occupying more and more seriously the attention of the besiegers. Warren is
anxious to get into the harbour with his ships, but does not care to risk too much. The battery is bombarded
from the Point, but all its guns are not silenced yet. There is some little trouble just now in the councils of
the besiegers. Warren asks for six hundred t-ten from on shore to man the Vigilant, and for a strong force
besides to reiinforce the crews of the other ships, with the view of entering the harbour and attac!:ing the
batteries from the seaward side. A New Hampshire sea captain volunteers to find men to man the French
prize and to lead the attacking fleet. It does not appear that Warren proposed to do that himself. Pepperell
objected at first to have his force weakened to the extent that the Commodore's demand involved. This is
no matter for surprise. The land forces were weak enough already, and, as they were expected to make an
as.sault by land in conjunction with the attack by sea, it is evident that Pepperell was justified in his
hesitancy. At length an accommodation appears to have been reached. Six hundred men are to be sent to
man the Vigilant, the crew.s of the other ships are to be reenforced to render their batteries more efiective,
and Captain McDonald is to go ashore with a party of marines, and direct the a.ssault upon the land face of
the works. In all these dispositions Warren appears to have adopted a dictatorial demeanour, and seems to

200

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

assume that Pepperell and his force are under his direction, while it must be admitted that he had done very-
little himself except capture the Vigilant and blockade the harbour. One cannot help thinking that Nelson
would have gone in there with those eleven ships and knocked the remnants of the batteries into splinters.
The North-East Battery, we are told, was the most formidable in the place — it mounted seventeen guns in two
tiers, but they were dismounted and useless, all but three or four, it is said. It is difficult, however, to
understand how this could be the case, as that battery was not immediately exposed to the fire of the New
Englanders. But it is evident that the Circular Battery at the West Gate was nearly demolished, and that the
Island Battery was very much crippled. Still it took some time for the besiegers to decide upon a general
assault. It was proposed to assail the Island Battery from the ships of war by taking it in the flank, but there
was difficulty about getting the ships near enough to attack with effect from that direction. At length pilots
were found who were willing to undertake the risk, and it was determined to attempt it.

The besieged meanwhile had not been idle. Inside the West Gate, and in front of the breaches near it,
they had erected barricades bristling with cannon and swivels. They had planted guns at the west flank of
the King's Bastion ; and, where the sea defence was only a palisade, they had added to its security by erecting
wooden defences twenty feet high, so that some went so far as to say that the place was as strong as ever.
But this was not true. The batteries had evidently been reduced to at least half their original strength. The
town was riddled with shot and shell, the inhabitants were in a wretched plight, the women and children
were pent up in the .sickening casemates, their supplies were cut off, and Warren's fleet was sufficient to
intercept any force that would be sent from France that summer ; so that the surrender of the place was
inevitable, in the ordinary course of events. On the other hand, it is not certain that the intended assault
would have taken place on the day intended, nor that it would have been successful if it had been attempted.
It does not appear that any px-acticable breach had been made in the walls, nor that the New Englanders had
either the means or the discipline to carry the place by storm. It was well, probably, for both parties that
Duchambon and his advisers were not men of more courage and conduct than they were, and that they gave
up the struggle before much needless blood had been shed.

It cannot be said that any day had been fixed upon for the final assault. Preparations had been ma^'e for
it, in the fleet at all events, and the French expected it. Quantities of moss and oakum had been sent off to
pack 4/he boarding-nettings of the ships, and to protect them as much as possible from the fire of the batteries.

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISDURG.

201

It was Warren's intention to make for the harouur the first favourable wind — so he wrote to Pepperell — and
he desires the latter to make " three smoaks " as a signal that he is ready for the assault. On seeing this
signal, Warren promises to be ready in half an hour to begin the attack, and desires Pepperell to " march
towards the town with drums beating and colours flying." But all this sounds just as much like a
demonstration in force as it does like a serious attack. It does not appear that the transfer of men had been
made according to the prearranged plan. However, the assault was never made, as the surrender of the town
rendered it unnecessary.

While the siege had been in progress, it was necessary to protect the rear against marauding parties of
French and Indians. Rumours were continually afloat of large bodies of the enemy being on the march to
assail the rear of the English, but they never appeared in any force. Meanwhile parties of men were sent
out to destroy the French settlements on the island at Niganische, St. Ann's, and at Spanish Bay (Sydney),
where there was a small fort. The settlement at St. Peter's had been destroyed and the inliabitants driven
away. This wanton destruction of property dl ^. more harm than good, while it unnecessarily distressed the
people of those settlements. The .surrender of Louisburg was not by this means hastened, for the wretched
people, thus driven from their homes, helped to swell the marauding parties who were continually threatening
to harass the rear of the besiegers.

On May 10th, we are told, a scouting party of twenty-five men was sent from the Grand Battery,
Under the command of James Gibson, a .subaltern of Brigadier Waldo's detachment. Their object was to
obtain information respecting the movements of the Indians. They came to a harbour on the north-east
coast, after marching twenty-five miles — this must have been either Cow Bay or Glace Bay — and were
plundering some houses, when they were set upon by 140 French and Indians. Nineteen of the party were
killed and three taken prisoners. Gib-son and two others concealed themselves in a house, and escaped during
the night to the Grand Battery. They saw from their place of concealment th^j Indians executing their war-
dance, and then murdering all the prisoners in cold blood. Among these was a sergeant named Cochran, who
had his fingers and tongue cut off" while still alive. Gibson returned with a party next day to avenge this
disaster. They buried their murdered comrades, and burned every house in the settlement, including the
chapel and several stores. They " hewed down the idolatrous images of Baal." About one hundred boats
and all the fishing stages were destroyed, and forty of the inhabitants made prisoners. This act of vengeance

202

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

seems to have friffhtened the Indiana. Nothing: more was heard of them for a little time. After the
.surrender, Gibson, at the request of hi3 brother officers, wrote an account of the siege. It was published in
London in 1745. He had held a commission in the royal regiment of Foot Guards at Barbadoes, and had
volunteered in this expedition without pay or allowance. He left Louisburg on July 4th, with the ships that
carried the French prisoners to Rochelle, and received the thanks of his brother officers before he left for
his journal, so it must have been written or finished directly after tb° events which it records. Parliament
granted him £550 sterling for his services.

Warren, with his own fleet and the colonial cruisers, had in the meantime kept up a .strict blockade.
Not a single vessel had been able to enter the harbour. At length, on the night of May 13th, a brig from
Bordeaux ran in with an easterly wind, and grounded opposite the King's Gate. She was laden with stores
for the fishermen. A schooner fitted up as a fire-.ship was sent against her, but the scheme failed. One of
the crew of the .schooner was killed and several wounded by the musketry from the citj'.

To Colonel Gorham was entrusted the construction of the battery at the Lighthouse Point. To do this,
artillery had to be dragged from the Grand Battery a distance of three or four miles. He was fortunately
assisted in the work by the discovery of the submerged cannon near the careening wharf. Duchambon says
in his report: "The lieutenant of artillery came to inform me that the enemy had discovered many cannon
left as a reserve near the lighthouse ten years ago ; that he had reported to former governors many times
how an enemy might easily transport them to the lighthouse, and turn them against the vessels passing in
or out, and might also attack the Island Battery. Upon advice so important, and the enemy having already
made a breastwork there, I sent one hundred men to surprise them and stop their works. They landed from
three shallops, north of the harbour, and next day approached the lighthouse, but they were repulsed by two
hundred of the enemy stationed there." The English say that a sharp fight occurred, in which the enemy
lost five or six men killed, and several prisoners. The rest escaped in their .shallops. There was no further
attempt made to interrupt the work at the Lighthouse Point.

On the .same day that the advanced battery opened fire, an event occurred which Pepperell says
"produced a bur-st of joy in the army, and animated the men with fresh courage to persevere." It was
customary to send a vessel from Brest to Louisburg with supplies early in the spring, in order to reach her
destination as soon as po.ssible after the clearing away of the ice. The ship detailed for this service in

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

203

1745 cautrht fire in Brest harbour and was consumed. There was no other ship in the port ready to take
her place. On the stocks was a sixty-four-gun ship, the Vujilant. She was finished and sent on this
errand with all possible haste. She ought to have reached Louisburg before the arrival of Warren's
squadron, but owing to the detention she did not appear before the city until the 18th of May, and then
in a thick fo^. While beating about, waiting for the fog to clear away, she was seen by the frigate
3Iermald, Captain Douglas. She was too powerful an antagonist for the frigate, but Douglas kept his
wits about him. He made all sail towards Louisburg, in the direction of Warren's squadron, closely
pursued by his adversary. The fog dearie g off just then, the captain of the Vvjilant found that he had
been entrapped. This vessel was so deep in the water that she was unable to use her lower tier of guns ;
but M. De Maissonforte, who was a brave and able officer, though surrounded by numerous enemies, and
greatly over-matched, made a gallant defence. After a sharp encounter, and having lost many men, the
Vigilant gave up the unequal contest, and struck her colours.

The Abbe Prevost, in his innocent boasting, says that this ship was nearly a match for the whole
English fleet. He says : "The Vigilant was at first attacked by the frigate, by which Maissonfor e had been
misled ; then by two ships, one of fifty, the other of sixty guns, and in the end by the whole scjuadron. The
fire, which began two hours after mid-day, was terrible on all sides. Maissonforte and his people performed
prodigies of valour. The victory wavered till nine p.m. nearly, when the French, having their rudder broken,
all their rigging cut up, and their forecastle shattered to pieces, saw that their ship was near sinking, and
yielded with more honour than their enemies could claim for their victory." That is true — one ship cannot
tight a squadron.

The Vigilant was deeply laden with various stores, including the rigging for a line-of-battle ship. Her
crew were distributed round the fleet as prisoners of war, and New England carpenters were engaged upon
the work of repairing.

The French say that the capture of this ship occasioned the fall of Louisburg. It might have appeared so
to their view. It was the heaviest blow they had as yet received, and greatly discouraged them. But it was
a result that they might have expected. It was, in the nature of things, impossible for one .ship to force her
way in past Warren's squadron, increased, as it now was, to eleven ships. They assert that if the Vigilant
had not been captured, the New Englanders would have been beaten ofT; but there were no signs of their

204

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

being beaten off. There was, of course, great rejoicinji; when the ship was taken, but the bombardment had
been kept up with great vigour all along, and there was no thought of giving over the struggle on the part
of the English.

At first, Warren had good cause for uneasiness. He had as yet been joined by none of the ships he had
ordered from Newfoundland, and he had heard that a squadron of four line-of-battle ships and two frigates
were at Brest ready to sail for the relief of Louisburg. He was, in consequence, eager to get into the
harbour and attack the town from the seaside before this aid should arrive. If he should suffer a defeat
outside the harbour, the transports in Gabarus Bay must inevitably be destroyed, the communication
between Boston and the army would be cut off, and they would have been compelled to surrender as
prisoners of war. Hence his anxiety to force a way past the Island Battery. We have seen that his first
proposal was rejected by Pepperell, but the latter in the meantime continued the bombardment with the
utmost vigour.

On the night of the 24th, Lieutenant Gibson and five men towed a fire-ship from the Grand Battery,
which drifted against the King's Gate. When the flaming vessel became a mark for the enemy's guns,
Gibson and his men had to row close under the sea-wall past the muzzles of the cannon, until they had
passed the W^est Gate. " The fire-ship," we are told, " burnt three vessels, beat down a pinnacle of the King's
Gate, and a great part of a stone house in the city. . . . Being done in the dead of the night, it caused
great consternation."

On May 25th, a detachment of 153 men was sent out towards Mir^ to intercept a party of Indians and
French who were said to be on the move from that direction. Gibson tells the story thus : " We marched to the
west by north-west part of the Island, about twenty-five miles from the Grand Battery. Found two fine farms
on a neck of land that extended nearly seven miles in length. First, we came to a very handsome house,
with two large barns, two lar^e gardens and fine fields of corn. In this house we took seven Frenchmen and
one woman prisoners. Not more than five hours before our arrival, 140 French and Indians had been
killing cattle here, and baking bread for provisions on their march against our men who held the Lighthouse
Battery. This was the very same band that murdered nineteen of our men at the North-East Harbour, on
the 10th. The other was a fine stone edifice, .six rooms on a floor, and well finished. There was a fine walk

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

203

before it, and two barns contiguous to it, with tine gardens and fields of wheat. In one of these barns were
fifteen loads of hay, and room sufficient for sixty horses and cattle. At our departure from the first farm,
we set it all on fire. Turning back at a considerable distance, we saw some hundreds of the enemy hovering
round the flames. Here we took three men in a boat laden with provisions and sailing down to Louisburg.
The last house was situated at the mouth of a large salmon fishery, which was some few rods wide, and
about half a mile above it was a large pond of fresh water which was nearly four miles over. On the 27th
the scout returned to Grand Battery all well and in high spirits." These farms were probably near the
junction of the Salmon and Mire rivers.

The disaster of May 10th, before alluded to, would have produced much discontent among Pepperell's
men had any of them been disposed to be in that frame of mind. But there were no signs of anything of
the sort, though it was well known that Pepperell had been forced into making the movement against his
own better judgment. But the men never lost confidence in their leader, nor doubted the result. They were
as ready as ever to go upon any dilficult or dangerous enterprise. They loved to be sent on scouting
expeditions in pursuit of French and Indians, w'.io were reported to be assembling in great numbers. And
they had plenty of this work to do. Pepperell tells Warren, on May 28th, that " six hundred of his men
had gone in pursuit of two large bodies of French and Indians to the eastward and westward of us."
Douglas says these men, " 900 ragamuffins, Canadians, other French and Indians," had appeared before
Annapolis in the beginning of May. "They '.aptured two Boston schooners laden with provisions. They
could make no impression on the fort, and retreated on the 24th to Minas. There they met with a messenger
from Duchambon, asking them to go to the relief of Louisburg. About 400 of them embarked for that
purpose, but were attacked and dispersed by two provincial cruisers near Cape Sable." Here is another
account that Gibson gives of an expedition to Scatari : " On May 28th, a scout of 400 men marched towards
Scataree, upon information that a great number of French and Indians were coming towards our camp, in
order to cut them off! As our scout was; marching down a hill at the North-East Harbour, they came all on a
sudden on 160 French and Indians. A .skirmish took place, '.n which the enemy had r'.iirty-seven killed and
forty-one wounded, as we were told by the French captairis wi^e, whom we took prisoner. They killed only
ten of ours. Enemy made ofi^ without burying their dead. This was the same company that was on the
west by north-west neck of land on Sunday, tiie 26th. We took their shalloways laden with provisions. On

206

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

the 29th, the scout marched to Scataree, where we burnt several houses, and took six men and three women
prisoners. Last night wo (for I was among them) lodged in the woods. The French and Indians drew off.
On the 30th we returned to the Grand Battery in great spirits."

The attention of all was ultimately turned towards the Lighthouse Battery. From that point the Island
Battery had to be silenced, in order that the ships might force an entrance into the harbour. Until this was
accompli.shed, the reduction of the place seemed as far off as ever. The submerged guns were difficult to
raise. It was the 10th of June before Gorham was ready to open fire upon the island. As these cannon were
only of moderate calibre, heavier cannon and a large mortar had to be transported from a cove more than a
mile to the eastward of the lighthouse, and dragged by hand through bogs and over rocks. Stores and
ordnance were sent from Oabarus Bay in the face of the Island Battery. On the 11th, three 18-pounders
were mounted. This being the anniversary of the King's birthday, a grim celebration was resolved upon. A
tremendous tire from all the batteries opened at noon, and continued till night-fall. The English had only
three guns at the lighthouse, but the French were driven from their guns at the island into the water, it is
said, while six guns were dismounted which had been planted the night before near the West Gate.

On June 2nd the French laid a boom from the West Gate to the Batterie de la Grt^ve, to keep out
fire-ships and to prevent an assault in boats upon that part of the city. There was brought into Gabarus
Bay, on the 5th, a French prize of three hundred tons, and mounting fourteen guns, laden with provision for
the fishery. On the 7th all the French prisoners, numbering about one thousand, including the crew of the
Vigilant, were sent to Boston in transports and prize-ships. They were convoyed by two of the Provincial
cruisers. Two Swiss deserters came into the English camp on Sunday, the 9th. They reported that the
garrison was kept constantly on the alert — that they expected an assault every night. This goes to show
that the English bombardment had been terribly effective; that if help did not arrive soon, they would be
compelled to surrender ; that they were short both of provisions and ammunition, and that they were
apprehensive of the effect of the fire from the Lighthouse Battery. Two rich prizes were taken on the same
day, and sent to Boston, and a sloop of one hundred and ten tons from Canada, with provisions, was chased
ashore behind the lighthouse, by one of the cruisers, when the crew made their escape. These made in all
twenty prizes that had been taken.

Warren had by this time been reenforced by three additional large ships. The fleet now comprised the

■Mill

■I

!^(f

■;M'

FROM LIGHTHOUSE POINT, LOOKING TOWARD BATTERY ISLAND AND BLACK POINT.

'}i '\

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOU IS BURG.

207

Superhe, Sunderland, Canterbary and Princess Mary, of sixty guns each ; the Vifjilant, of sixty-four guns ;
jind the Launceston, Chetiter, Meiinaid, Hector, Lark, and Eltham, of forty guns each. It appears lio now
felt himself strong enougli to run the Island Battery and attack the town in front. Scaling ladders were
put on board the boats and into the ailvanced battery, ready to be carried to the walls, and the ships, cleared
for action, were paraded off the mouth of the harbour to shew their strength. The camp and stores
were surrounded with a palisade to protect them while the a.ssault should be made. Meanwhile the tight
between the Lighthouse and Island Batteries was constantly growing hotter. One of the Swiss deserters
said that a mortar at the Lighthouse Battery would greatly annoy the besieged. Acting upon this suggestion,
a large mortar was brought from Gabarus Bay. This, with four more guns, was ready for use on the morning
of the 14th, and a brisk tire was opened upon the Island Battery. The French were driven from their guns,
and compelled to take shelter under the cliff on the south side of the island. Several guns were dismounted,
and the barracks almost demolished. Colonel Gridley, under whose direction the battery bed been erected,
said that out of nineteen shells tired in the course of the day, seventeen had fallen inside the fort, and one
burst on top of the magazine.

On the 14th, everything, it is said, being ready, Warren went ashore to confer with Pepperell. The
troops, being paraded, were in stirring speeches exhorted by both commanders to show their valour and
heroism in the designed attack.

During the last few days Ducharabon had observed the significant preparations which were going
forward. He saw that in the ordinary course of events he, in a very short time, would literally be between
two fires, and he knew that he was not strong enough to resist both at once. While resisting a land attack,
the fleet would demolish the sea-face of the works ; and while repelling the ships of war, the walls would
have to be left comparatively defenceless. 3o Duchambon reasoned ; anc' reasoning in this manner, he
resolved to surrender. While Warren was ashore on the afternoon of the 15th, Duchambon communicated
with Pepperell, proposing a suspension of hostilities until terms of capitulation could be agreed upon.

The following answer was issued at once :

To GovERWOK Duchambon: Camp, \bth June, 1745.

We have yours of this date, proposing a suspension of hostilities for such a time as shall be necessary for you to
determine upon the conditions of delivering up the garrison of Louisburg, which arrived at a happy juncture to prevent

208

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

the effusion of Christian blood, as we were together, and had just determined upon a general attack. We shpill comply
with your desire till eight o'clock to-morrow morning ; and if, in the meantime, you surrender yourselves prisoners of
war, you may depend upon humane and generous treatment.

We are, your humble servants,

Peter Warhen,
William Peppebell.

The conditions upon which Duchambon propo-sed to surrender were conununicated to V/arren and
Pepperell the nixt morning. They were deemed inadmissible, and they sent him their ultimatum as
follows :

To Governor Duchambon: Camp before Louisburg, \^th June, 1745.

We have before us yours of this date, together with the several articles of capitulation on which yo.. have propof,pd
to surrender the town and fortifications of Louisburg, with the territories adjacent under your govei " t, to His
Britannic Majesty's obedience ; to be delivered up to his said Majesty's forces now besieging said place under our
command, which articles we can by no means accede to. But as we are desirous to treat you in a generous niaiinev, we
do again make you an offer of the terms of surrender proposed by us in our summons sent you May 7th, last ; and do
further consent to allow and promise you the following articles, namely :

1. Tiiat if your own vessels shall be found insufficient for the transjtortation of your persons and proposed effect.s to
France, we will supply such a number of oiher vessels as may be sufficient for that purpose; also any provisions necessary
for the voyage whicii you cannot furnish yourselves with.

2. That all the commissioned officers belonging to the garrison, and the inhabitants of the town, may remain in
their houses with their families, and enjoy the free exercise of theii religion, and no person shall be suffered to misuse or
molest any of them, till such time as they can conveniently be transported to France.

3. That the non-commissioned 'Officers and soldiers shall, immediately upon the surrender of the town and
fortresses, be put on board His Brit:innic Majesty's ships till they all be transported to F;ance.

4. That all yo'ir sick and wouiided shall be taken care of in the same manner as our own.

5. That the . oiamander-in-chief, now in garrison, shall have the liberty to send off covered waggons, to be inspected
only by one office, f ours, that no warlike stores may be contained therein.

6. That if there be any persons in the town or garrison which may desire not to be seen by us, they shall be
permitted to go off masked.

7. The above we do consent to and promise, upon your compliance with the following conditions :

(1) That the said surrender, and due performance of every part of the aforesaid promises, be made and completed
AS soon as possible.

(2) That, as a security for the punctual performance of the same, the Island Battery, or one of the batteries of the

III

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

209

town, shall be delivered, together with the warlike stores thereunto belonging, into the possession of His Britannic
Majesty's troops before six o'clock this evening.

(3) That the said Britannic Majesty's ships of war, now lying before the port, shall be permitted to enter the
harbour of Louisburg, without any molestation, as soon after six of the clock this afternoon as the commander-in-chief of
such siiips shall think tit.

(4) Tliat none of the officers, soldiers nor inhabitants in Louisburg, who are subjects of the French king, shall
take up arms against His Britannic Majesty, nor any of his allies, until after the expiration of thu full term of twelve
months from this time.

(f>) That all subjects of His Britannic Majesty, who .<,re now prisoners with you, shall be immediately delivered up
to us.

In case of your non-compliance with these conditions, we decline any further treaty with you on the affair, and
shall decide the matter by our arms, and are, etc..

Your humble servants,

P. Warukn.
W. Pki'pkrell.

Duchanibon had no alternative but surrender. He sent a hostage with a letter to Pepperell on the
same day, accepting the terms proposed, stipulating to surrender the town and fortresses and territories
adjacent, only reciuesting that the troops be allowed to march out of the town with their arms, and colours
Hying, which should be given up immediately afterwards. This retjuest was complied with, and Pepperell
sent a hostage on his part for tlie faithful fulfilment of the conditions of the surrender. Duchambon evidently
Conceived that he had no alternative but a surrender. This is eviden ; from his report to the Minister of War,
in which he says: "On the 15th, the fleet drew up in a line oft" White Point, two leagues from the fort, and
piles of brushwood were made on Green Hill for signals. The fire of the enemy from cannon and mortars
was without cessation from the begirining of the siege; the houses of the city were perfectly riddled with
balls ; the ftank of the King's Bpstion was demolished ; the wooilen and turf embrasures, that had been
frequentl}' repaired, were destroyed ; a breach was made in the West Gito, through which an entrance was
now practicable, by the help of fascines, which the enemy had been bringing forward for two days in their
trenches ; and all this had been done in the face of our cannon and musketry, which was served with an
activity and vigour beyond expectation. This was proved, Monsieur, by the fact that of 67,000 kegs of
powder we had at the connnencement of the siege, there remained on the 17th June only forty-seven in the
city, which quantity was absolutely necessary on the eve ot capitulation. We had also expended all our
]4

^■1

210

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

shells of nine and twelve inches. I ought, in justice to all the soldiers and officers of the garrison, and the
inhabitants generally, to say that they have all endured the fatigue and privation with intrepidity unequalled,
passing all their nights without undressing, and sleeping on the bare ground ; and those stationed on the
ramparts found no repose, since the enemy's cannon-balls reached every part of the city. Everyone was worn
out with fatigue and watching, and of the 1,300 men at the beginning of the siege, 50 were killed and 95
wounded, and many more were sick from the hardships they endured. On the 16th June, the inhabitants
sent me a petitioi , stating that, as the forces of the enemy were augmenting daily by sea and land, without
any prospect of the arrival of succours for us, nor any hope of our being able to hold out much longer, it
would be better to capitulate with the English commanders to save the few lives tliat remain. This petition
touched me with the deepest emotion. To think of surrendering Louisburg, which had cost the King such
immense sums of money ; that there were a number of inhabitants with families who were about to perish
immediately or to lose the fruits of their labour since the commencement of the colony — these thoughts
were uppermost in my mind. But here was a practicable breach made in the wall by the enemy and thirteen
large ships all ready to join in an attack. In a conjuncture so critical, I directed the chief engineer, Mr.
Venior, to render an account of the fortifications and of the place, and the officer charged with the artillery
to give a report of the munitions of war; and upon their report I held a council of war, which decided
unanimously that, considering the forces of the enemy, and the state of the garrison and the place, it was
necessary to capitulate."

In a letter written by Duchambon to the minister, after his arrival in France, he states that the English
had 15,000 land and sea forces (about 5,000 more than the real number), while he had only about 1,800. He
may have been deceived as to the number of the land forces. Belknap observes, " The ground was so uneven,
and the people so scattered, that the F'rench could form no estimate of their numbers." The New Englander.s
were so enterprising and energetic, and turned up at so many different places at once — displayed such a
puzzling and au<iacious ubiquity — that we can well believe the French imagined them to be twice or thrice
as numerous as they really were. I'liis enterprise was the initiation of the American into military life, and
the young and lusty candidate hardly knew what to do, or how to conduct him.seli in his novel environments,
except to be as noisy and busy and reckless as he thought the occasion warranted. The puzzled and
gesticulating Frenchman looked in wonder at the assiduous, unconscious, cheeky New Englander, and

ii-,.\

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURC.

211

evidently considered himself in presence of n nystery. The Frenchman could not understand his ene- ly, and
his enemy never stopped to consider him at all. The Yankee never does that ; he has inherited a certain
lack of sympathy from his English forefathers, and he has grown so smart and so busy that other people's
ways, manners, and habits are to him more a matter of ridicule than anything else.

The general tone of Duchambon's report, however, is that of a man who is endeavouring to palliate his
own weakness. He knew — if he did not know the numbers of the English — that he had more than 1,300
defenders. He knew that he had surrendered 1,960 prisoners of war before he left Louisburg. He must
have known that they had not used 67,000 kegs of powder during the siege, which, at the lowest computation,
must have been fifteen tons a day. Pepperell, on the other hand, says that his men fired into the city 9,000
cannon-balls and 600 bombs. Allowing twenty pounds for each charge, and that is a liberal allowance,
considering the general weight of his artillery, the New Englanders did not use more than one-third of a ton
each day. Duchambon's deliberate inaccuracies are those of weakness, The means of defence within his
reach ware not, indeed, of the 'jest, but he made the weakest possible use of them. His principal errors, as
has been pointed out, were the following :

1. He refused succours offered by the Viceroy in the autumn of 1744.

2. He took no steps to ascertain the character of the vessels that were seen off the coast early in the
spring.

3. He took no mea»sures to gain information from Canso.

4. No vigorous attempt was made to resist the landing of the English.

5. The Grand Battery was given up without firing a shot in its defence.

G. No vigorou3 sorties were made upon the English. No valid excuse can be offered for this neglect. It
has been said the men could not have been trusted beyond the walls, but this does not appear from the
circumstances. Duchambon himself does not offer this as an excuse, and the fidelity of the garrison is
apparent from the small number of deserters — in fact, there seems to have been only one, for, of the three
that found their way within the English lines, two were Swiss. But there were other causes of weakness to
Louisburg beside the weakness and vacillating nature of the Governor. As has been said, the whole system
of colonial management under whir^i it was placed was weak; the fortifications were neither well built nor

wt^

iit

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

in good repair ; the Lighthouse Point and the heights in its rear were left unfortified, and so, when once d,
landing had been effected, Louisburg was vulnerable enough.

But the capture of Louisburg marks an era in the history of the New England Colonies. It taught them
to unite in a common cause. They had been eminently, and, as the better part of them thought, providentially
successful, and from both these reflections they acquired a confidence in themselves which they never had in
the same sense before. They were inclined, as was natural, to magnify their own exploit, and to ignore or
depreciate the aid which Britain directly and indirectly had given them. This very feeling of jealousy
served to widen the interval that separated them in sympathy from the mother countrj'. There were not a
few, as has been said, who saw in this successful enterprise the premonitions of the complete independence
of the Colonies. The instinct of separation had previously been in the air, and it only needed some tangible
event to give to it form and consistency. From the naturalness with which men took to these imaginings, it
is plain to see how inevitable was the result. Belknap says, " The enterprising spirit of New England gave a
serious claim to the.se jealous feai's which had long predicted the independence of the Colonies; and that great
pains were taken in England to ascribe all the glory to the navy, and lessen the merit of the army." This is
certainly one presentation of the ca.se, but it is not the most correct one. The instinct of separation and
jealou.sy of the mother country were certainly more prevalent in the New England Colonies than any feelings
of the same nature towards them were prevalent in England. It was well known that the co-operation of
Warren had been essential to the success of the expedition ; that the New Englanders would have been
powerless and exposed to the mercy of the enemy had he not been present ; and it was natural that the
English people should under-rate the services of the Americans, because they were a people about whom they
knew very little, e-specially in a military sense. And again, the exploit of the New Englanders had very
generally been highly extolled in the mother country, and they wire held up in the public periodicals of the
day as an example to the regular soldiers, who had lately suffered serious 3verses on the Continent. This
odious comparison was, we may say in passing, very unjust to the regular soldiers, for the reverses with
which they had met were in no way their own fault.

The manner in which the success of the Americans was oflBcially received may be best expres.sed by the
following extracts from the Duke of Newcastle's reply, of August 10th, to General Pepperell's despatches : " I
laid the despatches immediately before the Iiords Justices, who had the greatest joy in an event which does

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

213

so much honour to His Majosty's arras, and may be attended with such happy con^equences to the trade and
commerce of His Majesty's subjects ; and their Excellencies recommend to me, in a particular manner, to
assure you of the sense they have of your prudence, courage and conduct, which contributed so greatly to the
success of the expedition. As I lost no time in transmitting copies of j'our despatches to my Lord
Harrington at Hanover, to be laid before the King, I have now the pleasure to acquaint you that the news of
the reduction of Louisburg was received by His Majesty with the highest satisfaction, which the King has
commanded should be signified to all the commanders and other officers, both of land and sea, who were
instrumental therein. . . . It is a great satisfaction to mi to acquaint you that His Majesty has thought
fit to distinguish the commanders-in-chief in this expedition, by conferring on you the dignity of a Baronet of
Great Britain (upon which I beg leave most sincerely to congratulate you), and by giving a flag to Mr. Warren.
. . . I am persuaded it is unnecessary for me to recommend it to you to continue to employ the same
zeal, vigilance and activity you have already exerted in doing everything that .shall be necessary for the
security and preservation of Louisburg, in which the Lords Justices are persuaded that you and Mr. Warren
will have the hearty concurrence and assistance of General Shirley, who has had so great a share in the
forming and carrying into execution this enterprise. As the perfect union and harmony which has happily
subsisted between you and Mr. Warren has so eminently contributed to the success of that undertaking, the
Lords Justices have the firmest confidence that the same good agreement will continue between you, and that
you will employ your joint endeavours for securing in the most effectual manner the valuable acquisition
that has been made by His Majesty's forces under your command." This does not sound like the language of
jealousy or coldness. In fact, it had not occurred to the minds of the English people to be jealous of the
Colonies, in a military sense, at all events. The strongest root of bitterness that had as yet sprung up
between them was caused by the commercial restrictions which had been laid upon the Colonies, and this was
felt most among the mercantile classes. As Thackeray says of George III., " It was lia, with the people to
back him, that made the war with America."

According to the terms of the surrender, Warren sent a party of marines to take possession of the Island
Battery on the afternoon of June 17th. The fleet and all the transports then sailed into the harbour. About
the same time Pepperell led the army through the South-West Gate into the city. The troops were paraded
in the gorge of the Citadel, the French and the English being drawn up in parallel lines. The amenities of

214

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

military courtesy being dispensed, the keys of the place were delivered to Pepperell. The pale flag of France
fluttered down from its lofty place of power, and amid the thunder of cannon from the men-of-war and the
batteries of the besiegers, the blood-red flag of England waved over the Citadel oi Louisburg.

Thomas Prince, whose thanksgiving sermon, dedicated to Governor Shirley, recounts the wonderful manner
in which Providence had made all things work together for the success of the expedition, says : " When our
forces entered the city, and came to view the inward state of the fortifications, they were amazed to see
their extraordinary strength and device, and how we had like to have lost the limbs and lives of a multitude, if
not have been all destroyed. And that the city should surrender when there was a great body of French and
Indians got on the island, and within a day's march to molest us." The reverend gentleman's remarks do
not appear to be perfectly logical. The " extraordinary strength and device " of the fortifications did not
count for much if there was, as many assert, a practicable breach at the West Gate ; neither do we have any
authentic account of his " great body of French and Indians." The sermon of Thomas Prince is, for the time,
an elaborate literary production, as became so important a document. The imposing superstructure is
founded upon the text, " This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." The discourse opens with
a disquisition upon the laws of the material world, and the evidence of design in all visible things ; then it
passes into the realm of the unseen and the spiritual, and demonstrates the superintendence of Providence in
that department, and the climax is reached by enumerating all the wonderful concurrent events which
happened to ensure the success of the New England expedition. Dr. Chauncey also preached a thanksgiving
sermon upon this occasion. Indeed, clerical influence is everywhere visible, as was befitting the occasion and
the country. There appears to have been some little misunderstanding as to whom the custody of the keys of
the city by right belonged. Apparently Pepperell had them at times, and at other times they were in the
hands of Warren, but the report had got about that the latter had taken absolute possession of them. This
rouses the ire of Dr. Chauncey, and he indignantly demands of Pepperell that he allow no such goings on ;
that he being the rightful owner of the keys, they must by no means be allowed to fall into any other
hands. There is a good deal of heat and virulence in the reverend gentleman's language, as became his fervid
and somewhat narrow environments, and it is to this feeling, which is here so apparent, that we owe, more
than to any other cause, the American Revolution.

The French troops, consisting of 650 regulars and 1,310 militia, were sent on board the English ships on

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISRURG.

215

the same day that Pepperell entered the city. They were to wait until the transports could be got ready to
sail for France. There were found in the city, according to the most reliable accounts, seventy-six cannon
and mortars, a large amount of valuable property, and six months' provisions. The loss of the English
during the whole siege did not exceed one hundred and thirty men. Duchambon, as we have seen, reported
fifty killed on the French side, but they are supposed to have lost more than three hundred.

Captain Bennett was sent on June 18th with despatches to Governor Shirley, to announce the victory.
The news reached Boston at one o'clock in the morning, on July 3rd. "The people of Boston," says
Clmuncey, " before sunrise, were as thick about the streets as on an election day, and a pleasing joy sat
visibly on the countenance of everyone met with. We had, last night, the finest illumination I ever beheld
with my eyes. I believe there was not a house in town, in no by-lane or alley, but joy might be seen
through its windows. The night also was made joyful by bonfires, fireworks and all other external tokens
of rejoicing. The tidings soon spread through the adjoining provinces. All New England was exultant.
The ringing of bells, fireworks and illuminations testified to the joy with which this young nation celebrated
its maiden victory."

Belknap says : " The news of this important victory filled New England with joy and Europe with
astonishment.' T'^o frigate Mermaid, Captain Montague, arrived in England on July 20th, carrying
intelligence of the important achievement. The Shirley galley. Captain Rouse, also arrived with duplicates
on the 27th. The Lords of the Admiralty presented Captain Montague with a purse of 500 guineas, and
Captain Rouse was raised to the rank of Commander. In 1748 he was promoted to the command of the Albany
sloop of war, and was afterwards employed on the Halifax station. In 1753 he commanded the little fleet
that bore the Germans to their new home at Lunenburg, where there is a hill near the spot at which they
landed still called by his name. He commanded the Sunderland, of fifty guns, at the second siege of
Louisburg.

"At night," we are told, " London was illuminated, and bonfires were made at many conspicuous places.
In every city and large town throughout Great Britain, similar demonstrations of joy were exhibited, and
when the King returned from Hanover, congratulatory addresses poured in from all quarters. . . . General
Pepperell was directed to acquaint the officers and men of the New England army with His Majesty's
gracious approbation of their services. Shortly afterwards, commissions were sent out to Pepperell and

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTkATED.

Governor Shirley to raise and command two regiments of the line in the colonies, as a reward for their
services in promoting, organizing and executing the enterprise with such signal success.'

While this was the state of feeling in England, we are told that the New Englanders were regarding
their success as the first step towards separation from the Old Country ; and we are further told that when,
fourteen years afterwards, Louisburg was taken by the regular forces — an enterprise four times as difficult as
its capture by Pepperell and Warren — the victory was looked upon with cohlness by the New Englanders,
because it had been won by imperial troops, and because they themselves had had no share in it.

The navy of France was at this time in a very efficient condition. It was therefore expected that an
attempt would soon be made to recapture Louisburg. Warren and Pepperell were acting as joint governors.
To resist the expected attack, the defences of the place were repaired. The breaches in the walls and
ramparts were built up, and some of the houses which had been least injured by the bombardment were
partially repaired for the accommodation of the .soldiers, until barracks could be provided. It is said, " All
the houses in the city (one only excepted) had some shot through them more or less ; some had their roofs
beat down with bombs ; as for the famous Citadel and hospital, they were almost demolished by bombs and
shot." The English batteries were all levelled, and their guns brought into the town. The 42-pounders
were taken back to the Grand Battery. The guns of the TMunceston frigate were also mounted upon the
fortifications, as that ship had been sent home with the transports By tliese means 2G6 cannon were soon
mounted upon the ramparts, and the place was in a better state of defence than it had ever been.

The day after the surrender, a 20-gun store-.ship of 300 tons was taken oft" the harbour by one of the
men-of-war. On the 27th, a number of French came in from Scatari, and gave themselves up to the English.
On July 4th, the inhabitants and the French prisoners, in all 4,130 persons, sailed for Rochelle in fourteen
transports. The Commandant and officers with their families sailed in the Launceston frigate on the .same day.

In order to decoy French ships into the harbour, the French flag was kept flying for some time after the
surrender. This was probably one of Warren's expedients, for it was he and his men who profited by the
results. On July 23rd, a large East Indiaman, the Charviante, and a few days after another, the Heron,
ran into the harbour and were caught. They had been ordered to touch at Louisburg on their homeward
voyage, in order to be convoyed thence to France. It appears that ships both from the East and West Indies
were in the habit of making Louisburg a port of call on their homeward voyage, probably for the above

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

217

reason, and because the north-east trade winds carried them near the American coast. The value of these
two ships and cargoes was estimated at £175,000 sterling. There was a richer bonanza yet to come. On
August 23rd was captured the Notre Dame de la Deliverance. Don Antonio D'Ullva was a passenger on
board this ship, and has given us an account of her capture, which is of much interest: On August 12th (old
style), at 4 p.m., they first made land, which, on the following morning, at 6 a.m., they found to be " the
island of Escatari, which lies about five leagues north of Louisburg." On the .same morning we saw a
brigantine plying along the coast for Louisburg. The Deliverance on this hoisted a French ensign, which was
answered by the other firing two or three guns. This gave us no manner of uneasiness, concluding that the
brigantine, suspecting some deceit in our colours, had fired these guns as a warning to the fishing barks
without to get into the harbour ; and they put the same construction on this firing, immediately .showing the
greatest hurry in getting to a place of safety. An hour afterwards, being nearly eight o'clock, we saw coming
out of Louisburg two men-of-war, which we immediately took for .ships belonging to a French squadron
stationed there for the security of that important place, and that they had cotne out on the signal from the
brigantine that a ship had appeared \n sight, lest it might be some Boston privateer with a design on the
fishery. Thus we were under no manner of anxiety, especially as they came out under French colours, and
one of them had a pennant, and all ohe forts of Louisburg, as well as all the ships in the harbour, which we
could now plainly distinguish, wore the same di,sguise. . . . Having un.shotted his guns, the captain of
the Deliverance was preparing to salute the men-of-war, when they hoisted English colours and fired a shot
which carried away his foretopsail halyards. The two ships proved to be the Sunderland, Captain Brett,
and the Chester, Captain Derrell. This UUva was a Spanish savant, who seems to have known n<ixt to
everything. He was taken to England in the Sunderland, and lived some time in London, where hv^ was
elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. All his papers were handed to him when he left for Spain.

The Dt^liverance was ostensibly laden with cocoa, under which there were stoweo away 2,000,000 Peruviaii
dollars, and a large amount of gold and silver in ingots and bars, amounting in all to the value of £800,000
sterling. She had two consorts, which were captured off the Azores by the privateers Prince Frederic and
Duke. The booty amounted to 3,000,000 dollars. Forty-three waggons were employed to transport it from
Bristol to London. When it was divided, each sailor received 850 guineas for his share. All this sounds iike
a tale from the " Arabian Nights," but it is all true, neverthele.ss. What nation could stand losses like these ?

S18

CAPK BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Louisburg.

Their ships often called at

The French East India Company were ruined by the fall of
Louisburg to collect the furs, of which they enjoyed a monopoly.

The division of this prize money caused much discontent in the army, and proved to be another cause of
jealousy between the New Englanders and the naval forces. Even the provincial cruisers got none of it,
except the Boston Picket, the " brigantine " that the Deliverance had seen in the morning, and had iired the
signal guns for the men-of-war. The division was made according to the usual practice, but it bore hard
upon the New Englanderi. They were told that their share had to be gathered from the land ; but even so, it
was manifestly unfair to deprive the cruisers of their just rights. The land forces received a mere trifle
arising from the sale of clothing and provisions taken in the town. From what had been told them, we
are informed that they got the impression that "they had acquired a right to the whole Island and its
dependencies, which it was proposed to divide between the officers and men, until thty were undeceived by
Governor Shirley."

Through the summer many of the New England troops were sick and unfit for duty. In the
beginning of July, 700 of them were sent home. Their places were filled by the Rhode Island men who had
not arrived till after the surrender, and by a reenforcement from Massach;.aetts. The troops were all anxious
to get home. The pay of the Massachusetts men was less than that of the men of other provinces, and this
occasioned great discontent. Governor Shirley was invited to proceed to Louisburg and assuage the difficulty,
and it was a mission that very well befitted his important and compromising character. He was received
with great state and coremoiiy, and no doubt found himself in a congenial situation. He reached Louisburg
about the middle of August. The pay of the men was advanced to forty shillings a month. They had
been in a state of mutiny, but were now quieted.

Two regiments of the line had been ordered from Gibraltar to garrison Louisburg. There had been
some delay in providing tra isports, and the passage was long, owing to boisterous and contrary winds. They
did not, in consecjuence, arrive upon the coast until winter had set in, and were then driven south and
compelled to winter in Virginia. At Louisburg, when Shirley left in September, there were 2,740 men in
j/arrison. But, we are told, " after we got into the town, a sordid indolence or sloth, for want of discipline,
induced putrid fevers and dysenteries, which at length, in August, became contagious, and the people died
like rotten sheep ; this destroyed or rendered incapable of duty one-half of our militia." Wading through

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

219

ice-cold surf and muddy bogs, sleP;>",ng on the ground without proper shelter, changed habits of life, a
reaction after the excitement of the siege, and some add, too free a use of rum and brandy, produced this
result. The disease increased in virulence as the winter approached. On December 10th, Pepperell writes:
" It has been a .sickly, dying time among us ; upwards of 400 men have died since wo came into the city."
On January 28th, 1,100 men were sick, 561 hud died, and there were only 1,000 men fit for duty, but the
deaths had decreased to from three to five per day. They had at one time ranged from fourteen to
twenty-seven.

These men are buried on Point Rochfort — the narrow strip of green sward running out between the
harbour and the sea. Here you may .see hundreds of depressions of a darker green than the surrounding
grass, some in regular succession, others scattered about everyway, with here and there a mound rising a
short distance above the level of the ground. These are the graves of the New Englanders. It seems as if
some malignant giant had stepped about hither and thither, as if to crush farther into the earth the poor
relics of humanity that lie beneath. Perhaps some curious visitor haM dug into one of these hollows or
mounds, and you will see fragments of bones about — all that remains of some poor fellow who was sadly
missed in a far New England home.

A few French families who had lived in Louisburg went to join their friends ir Nova Scotia. The
rest were sent to France. Upon taking the oath of allegiance, those living in the outposts and fishing
stations were allowed to remain. The missionary, Father Mallard, was allowed to reside at St. Peter's. Three
hundred aieii were sent in September to take possession of St. John's Island, but the French inhabitants
were not disturbed.

All the ships of war left for England in the month of October except the Vigilant, Chester, and a
fire-ship to guard the port.

Warren and Pepperell remained all winter as joint governors. It was found necessary to govern by
martial law. Louisburg must have presented a sad scene that winter, riot and disorder apparently side by
side with the sick and dying. Crowds of traders had flocked to Louisburg and mingled with the disorderly
troops. Both the governors were compelled to sit in court three days a week to try offenders.

The Gibraltar troops arrived on April 2nd, 1746. They comprised Fuller's and Warburton's regiments,
each numbering 815 men, and 245 men of Frampton's regiment — in all 1,875 men. The New England forces

220

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

were now enabled to return home. Pepperell had contracted rheumatism durinj» the winter. He had been
quartered in a partially repaired house, and the drafts and chills of a Cape Breton winter left traces of
disease in his system from which he never fully recovered, and which in all probabilitj' shortened his days.
Warren was appointed governor, and received his commission on April 2nd. Before the New Englanders left
he addressed them, congratulating them on the prospect of being united to their families and friend.s.
But there was many a poor fellow over wnose grave the sea was moaning its sad, never-ceasing requiem.

Warren and Pepperell embarked in the Chester, Captain Sprj% for Boston, ubout the middle of May.
Commodore Knowles was left in charge of the government. He had just arrived from the West Indies with
two ships of the line, the Cavterhvry and Norwich. Colonel Warburton acted as lieutenant-governor.
Salutes from the batteries and ships of war in Boston harbour greeted them on their arrival. On June 24th,
they were thanked by the House of Representatives for the services rendered to Hi.s Majesty's subjects in
general, and to the people of New England in particular. Warren soon afterwards left to take command of
a squadron in the channel. Sir William Pepperell retired to his home at Kittery, in Maine, his progress
homeward resembling a triumphal procession. Ovations, congratulatory addresses and the tiring of salutes
greeted him in every important place through which he passed. He was a man whom the people delighted
to honour, and he deserved it all.

LouisBURG From 1746 to 1749.

The French Government were exasperated at the loss of such an important fortress as Louisburg. No
doubt the presumed in.'- :gnificance of the enemy through whom it had been lost added to their chagrin and
to their desire of revenge. They accordingly at once directed to be prepared an armament greater than any
which had yet beea sent to America. An expedition was fitted out during the winter and spring of 1746,
consisting of eleven ships of the line, thirty frigates, two fire-ships, and thirty transports carrying 3,150
soldiers. The fleet was commanded by M. de la Rochefoucauld, Due D'Anville, and the troops by Adjutant-
General M. de Rommeril.

The British Government was well informed of what was going on. Admiral Martin was sent to
blockade the port of Brest ; but the French fleet escaped and sailed for America, and, though pursued, was

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOU IS BURG.

221

hot overtaken. In the beginning of the summer of 1746, a mixed force of regulars, Canadian militia and
Indians was collected at Bay Verte, under the command of M. de Ramsay.

This alarming news reached Boston early in the summer. " England," says Hutchinson, " was not more
alarmed with the Spanish Armada in I088, than Boston and the other North American seaports with the
arrival of D'Anville's Heet in the neighbourhood. His instructions were to retake and dismantle Louisburg,
to reduce Nova Scotia, to destroy Boston and ravage the coast of New England, and then to procv-^ed to the
West Indies to harass the English sugar islands. A series of unparalleled disasters alone prevented the
accomplishment of this design. At all events, so it was believed at the time. The fleet, in consequence of
westerly gales, did not reach the American shore until September 2nd, when a heavy storm dispersed nearly
all the ships. Two line-of-battle ships bore up for the West Indies, one returned to France, and several of the
transports went ashore on Sable Island. D'Anville arrived at Halifax on September 10th, with only two
.ships of the line and a few transports. There he expected three ships of the line and a frigate from the
West Indies, under the command of M. de Conflans. But this officer, having met with more favourable
winds, arrived on the coast in August, and, having cruised along shore for some time, and hearing nothing of
the fleet, returned to France in accordance with his orders.

A few transports arrived at Halifax during the next five or six days. Such misfortune crushed the
spirit of D'Anville, and he fell suddenly ill, and died, it is said, in a fit of apoplexy, on September 16th. Three
ships of the line had arrived on the same day under Vice-Admiral D'Estournelle, who now succeeded to the
command; and M. de la Jonquiere, a naval officer, who had been appointed Viceroy of Canada, was now second
in rank.

D'Estournelle held a council of war on the 18th. He proposed an abandonment of the enterpri-se ; but
Jonquifere and most of the land and sea officers contended that Annapolis at least should be taken. After a
long debate, it was decided that this should be attempted. The Vice-Admiral now in turn fell into a fever
and delirium, in which he imagined himself among the English, and r^n himself through with his sword.

Scurvy had broken out among the fleet during the long voyage across the Atlantic, and 1,200 men had
perished. The sick men landed and encamped on the shores of Bedford Basin as the ships arrived. A great
number of French and Micmacs who had come to join them died here. It was a dreadful scene. The English
enemy looked on in terror from a distance ; the horrors of war had been outdone by the horrors of pestilence.

^SBsgmiigKi

222

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

" Nothing," says Garneau, " could be imagined more mournful than the situation of this fleet, enchained to
the shore by the plague. A sombre despair seized upon all. Admiral Townsend, from Cape Breton, where
he was with his squadron, looked with terror on the ravages which destroyed his unfortunate enemies."

At length, however, the malady was stayed by fresh provisions. Several of the missing ships dropped
in from day to day ; and Jonquiore, now in command, prepared to reembark the troops and proceed to the
attack of Annapolis. The most of De Ramsay's force were on their way back to Canada, but four hundred
of his Acadians inarched to Annapolis to await the arrival of the ships. On the 13th they set sail with five
ships of the line and twenty frigates and transports. But their ill-luck had not left them. Off Cape Sable
they met a heavy gale, which .scattered the fleet and f )i 3ed them to return to France. Only two of the ships
got as far as the mouth of the Annapolis Basin, where, seeing some English ships in the harbour about to
make sail, they made the best of their way ofi" after putting a messenger on shore to inform De Ramsay of
what had occurred. He accordingly broke up his camp and went to Beau Basin, where he wintered. The
disi\sters which fell upon this ill-fated expedition did not end even here. The Mars, the ship which had been
driven to the West Indies, was captured on her \vay home, as was also the Namur, a hospital ship. We are
told that when Maurepas, the French Minister of Marine, heard of all these disasters, he made this simple
and noble response, " When the elements command, they can easily diminish the glory, but not the deeds or
merits of the Chiefs."

The people of all the British Colcuies had been in a terrible state of alarm and excitement for more than
three months, uncil they heard from Annapolis of the departure of the last ship of D'Anville's fleet. Tempest
and plague had shattered and annihilated the mighty armament that, intent upon their destruction, had
bufietted in vain with the mightier Atlantic, and was doomed to pass under the shadow of the death-angel's
wing. Fasts and prayers now took in New England the place of rejoicing and thanksgiving. What a
self-confident, and vain, and weak, and dependent thing is man, and yet how strong when he knows he is
weak! What had New England to boast of now? Nigh a thousand of the flower of their people had
helplessly sunk beneath the sods of Point Rochfort, and the grim old Ocean should call with his hoarse voice
to them in vain until there be no more sea. For them the eastern horizon was now dark with omens of ruin
and death, and they ki to Him who had beard their fathers, and He sent out His lightnings and scattered

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

223

their enemies; and even while they knelt, He won for them a greater victory than they have ever won
before or since.

Less alarm was felt in Louisburg than in New England, because the place was well defended. Indeed, it
is difficult to see what impression D'Anv'Ue's land forces could have made upon it. There were in the garrison
2,000 regulars and a corps of provincials; there were in the hai-bour nine men-of-war, and these, with the forts
and batteries, would have given the whole of D'Anville's force some serious work to do. Yet the garrison
was kept all summer on the alert. Strenuous efforts had been made to put the works in thorough repair, and
a new barracks had been built, in which, and in the hospital, the garrison was comfortably quartered.

In 1747, another attempt was made on the part of the French Government to recover Nova Scotia and
Cape Breton, in spite of the disastrous result of the former expedition. The armament intended for this
purpose consisted of fourteen ships of war and twenty-two transports and store-ships, under the command of
M. de Jonquifere. The fleet was first to land a large quantity of stores and ammunition for a body of French
and Indians assembling at Bay Verte for an attempt upon Nova Scotia, and then they were to proceed to
attack Louisburg. About April 28th, De Jonquiere sailed from Rochelle. In addition to his fleet there were
with him two ships of war convoying six large ships bound to the East Indies. These forces were to keep
company for mutual protection until off" the coast. Vice-Admiral Anson and Rear- Admiral Warren were sent
to intercept this armament with sixteen ship.s. Hearing of the movements of the enemy, Anson and Warren
made for the coast of Spain, and fell in with the combined squadron of the French on May 3rd, off' Cape
Finisterre. After a hard struggle the French were defeated. Nine ships of war, all the East Indiamen, and
several transports and store-ships, with property on board valued at £1,500,000 sterling, fell into the hands
of the victors. Over 4,000 prisoners were taken, including Jonquifere, the commander-in-chief. For this
gallant action Anson was made a peer and Warren a baronet. Thus the Colonies were again saved. For the
remainder of the year France had enough to do to guard her own coasts. De Rain.say had remained all
winter at Chignecto. He had scouts constantly on the look-out to gain the earliest intelligence of Jonquibre's
arrival. When he heard of the defeat of the expedition, he went back to Canada.

Governor Knowles, at Louisburg, was overjoyed to hear of De Jonquiere's discomfiture. He was not
prepared to resist a powerful enemy; the garrison was in a state of mutiny, owing to an attempt to enforce an

224

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

order respecting some trifling stoppages from the pay of the men. He was obliged to suspend this order
until further instructions from England.

Sir William Pepperell visited Louisburg in the month of August. All the troops were ordered to be
discharged except those necessary for the defence of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton. Seven companies were
retained for that service. Shirley and Pepperell were ordered at the same time to fill up all the vacancies in
their regiments of the line. The latter, having settled the aflains of his regiment, embarked in Commodore
Knowles' squadron for Boston, where he arrived on October 2nd. Lient-Colonel Hopson was left in charge
of the Government of Cape Breton.

While the squadron was lying in Nantasket Roads, on November I7th, Knowles sent a press-gang up to
Boston. They seized as many seamen as could be found on board outward-bound vessels, and a number of
carpenters and labourers to replace men whom, it is said, the townspeople had induced to desert. This was a
common practice in those old days, and we often find warrants issued by the Assembly for the impressment
of men. The present proceeding was universally resented, chiefly, it appears, from the character of the men
who had been impressed. A mob attacked the Council Chamber and insisted upon seizing the commanders
of the ships who were in town. The militia refused to act, and Knowles was compelled at last to release most
of the impressed men. He was a brave and efficient officer, but of a harsh and overbearing disposition, and
probably acted on shore in the same manner that he would havi done on the quarter-deck of his ship.

During these years there was a harassing, petty warfare kep^ up by the French and their Indian allies,
which created much uneasiness and anxiety. The English, during their occupation of the Island, obtained
their coal at Burn. Head (now Bridgeport) and Little Bras D'Or. The principal colliery was at the former
place. For this reason it was necessary to erect a fort at Burnt Head. It was garrisoned by fifty soldiers
under the command of a lieutenant, to protect the workmen engaged in coaling the vessels. An officer
and a few soldiers were also stationed at Little Bras D'Or. The workmen, who can hardly be called miners,
as the coal was taken out of the cliff", no shafts being needed, were mostly Frenchmen who had stayed
in the country and taken the oath of allegiance. Some were engaged in mining, others in cutting wood, and
others in coasting. In the beginning of July, forty Frenchmen made a raid upon the little French settlements
at L'Indienne and Bras D'Or, burnt their houses and 2,000 cords of wood, and captured three small vessels.
Coste, the leader of these ragamuffins, carried off twenty-four men and women from L'Indienne (Singan), and

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

225

an English officer and soldier from Bras D'Or, to Canada, where he arrived on July 29th. These daring
outrages alarmed the peaceful French, and they fled for protection to Louisburg, where they were kindly
received by Governor Hopson.

There were some French refugees at Tatamagouche, who had fled from Gape Breton. These were about
to proceed to the vicinity of Louisburg to plunder and harass the English settlers. The Viceroy of Canada
sent M. Morin, with forty men, to join them with as many Indians as he could muster. He hoped by this
means to disgust the English with the Island, so that they might be induced to restore it to France at the
peace which he knew to be near at hand. This Morin started for (^ape Breton, and reached the neighbourhood
of Louisburg, where he fell in with a party of officers and ladies who were out, it is said, upon a pleasure
excursion. He signalized his heroism by capturing four ladies, three officers, and four soldiers of the garrison.
Then, hearing that hostilities between England and France had been suspended, he released the ladies,
but carried ofl" the officers and soldiers to Nova Scotia. They were all afterwards released, except a Swiss
soldier, who had deserted from the garrison of Louisburg in 1745. Him he carried to Quebec.

This petty warfare created much uneasiness and anxiety, as it was never known when an attack would
be made. The prospect of a general peace was therefore regarded with much satisfaction by the Colonies.
The finances of France were exhausted, and she had suffered many reverses at sea. She therefore expressed
a desire for peace. This was favourably received by Great Britain and her continental allies. Plenipotentiaries
of all the belligerent powers met at Aix-la-Chapelle, in the month of March, to arrange the terms. The
preliminary articles were signed on April 30th, but the definite treaty was not executed until October 18th.
According to the fifth article of this treaty :

"All conquests which have been made since the comm- ncement of the war, or since the signing of the
preliminary articles signed on April 30th last, either in Europe or in the East and West Indies, or any other
part of the world whatever, shall be restored without exception."

This settled the fate of Cape Breton. Haliburton says : " A memoir was sent by the French court to
the Count St. Severin, its Minister at Aix-la-Chapelle, upon the indispensable necessity of Cape Breton to
France, and upon the fatal consequences of leaving that island in the hands of the English, in relation to the
free trade of Canada and Louisiana, and the general ' '-ade of the other powers of Europe. He was desired
to show merely a moderate wish to recover the islan 1, as it wa'' known that England had it not at heart to
16

226

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

retain her conquest." But New England had it at heart to retain her conquest, and this indifference of
England in regard to her American policy, which has been more or less apparent ever since, tended to lessen
the sympathy between Brioain and her colonies. " He was also requested to give the Earl of Sandwich to
understand that the loss of Cape Breton was less important in itself, than on account of the stress laid upon
it by the public opinion in France, and that the King did not attach so much consequence to the matter
itself, as not to prefer an equivalent in the low countries." r>ut this was not all ; for the ninth article of the
treaty stipulates that " while it is impossible, from the distance of the country, that what concerns America
can be effected in a short time. His Britannic Majesty therefore engages, on his side, to send to the Most
Christian King, immediately after the exchange of the ratifications of the present treaty, two persons of
rank and condition, to continue in France as hostages till such time as they have certain and authentic advice
of the royal isle called Cape Breton, and of all the conquests that the arms or subjects of His Britannic
Majesty may have made, before or after the signatures of the preliminaries, in the East and West Indies.
Their Britannic and Most Christian Majesties oblige themselves likewise to remit, on the exchange of the
ratMication of the present treaty, the duplicates of the orders given to the commissaries respectively
appointed, to restore and receive all which may have been conquered on each side, in the East and West
Indies, conformable to the second article of the preliminaries. . . . Provided, nevertheless, that the royal
isle of Cape Breton shall be restored, with all the artillery and ammunition found therein on the day of its
surrender."

So Cape Breton was restored to France, hostages being given for the fulfilment of that article of the
contract. And the conduct of the British Ministry appeared in a still more unfavourable light from the
following circumstances. Only a year before the Dutch Government had wished that Cape Treton might be
restored to France in order that better terms might be made for themselves. The British Governmeni then
declared " that there might indeed be good reasons for giving up Capo Breton if France had made any
conquests upon Great Britain or any of the British dominions ; but the case being quite otherwi.se, take this
matter in what light soever, it must appear highly to the dishonour of the Crown of Great Britain to make a
patched up peace by the restitution of Cape Breton ; and the Dutch Government may be assured that His
Majesty will never listen to any accommodation of whicli that cession is to be the basis, it being well known
to be contrary to the sense of all the people of Great Britain." And further, a certain noble Duke, supposed

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

227

to be the Duke of Newcastle, In the ardour of his zeal had declared, " that if France was master of Portsmouth,
he would hang the man who should give up Cape Breton in exchange for it."

So the British Ministry spoke, and so differently they acted but a year afterwards. If the restitution of
Cape Breton was known to be " contrary to the universal sense of all the people of Great Britain, how much
more must this have been the case with regard to the people of New England. Cape Breton was their own
special conquest, and its retention was necessary to their peace and security, and now it was recklessly gi\ en
up in exchange for a petty factory (Madras) in the East Indies, belonging to a private company, whose
existence had been deemed prejudicial to the Commonwealth." Some of the most obnoxious laws which were
imposed on the Colonies were in favour of this very East India Company, so that it is easy to understand the
bitterness of feeling that ensued when their own conquest was given back to France in the interest of the
same company. Yet it must be remembered that the same act which restored Cape Breton to France laid
the foundations of the British Indian Empire, and that if the wave of British power was receding upon the
American continent, it was accumulating its force to overrun rich and vast territories in the East.

The compensation which the Colonies received for their expenses incurred in the expedition did not heal
the breach which the neglect of their deeper and more significant interests had occasioned. It appears to
have simply been looked upon with greedy eyes by the New En<j;landers as so much money, and as in no
sense a coa)pensation for their wounded honour and slighted interests.

The victorious Puritan muse had sung in exalted if not melodious strain the triumph of her arms in

Cape Breton:

*' Bright Hesperus, the harbinger of day,
Smiled gently down on Shirley's prosperous sway ;
The prince of light rode in his burning car,
To see the overtures of peace and war,
Around the world ; and bade his charioteer,
That marks the periods of each month and year,
Rein in his steeds, and rest upon high noon,
To view our victory at Cape Breton."

So sang the frenzied bard. We presume he was .so excited by the divine afflatus at the time, that .slight
inaccuracies of rhyme impinged not upon his tympanum, or were regarded with a lofty scorn if they did.

228

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

They had great reason for congratulation, however, and consequently we are prepared for the mournful
outburst in which the same bard agonizes when Louisburg is again lost to them :

" This shining laurel George's crown upon,
Great Britain's gem. New England's trophy's gone ;
The 'Mericans' garland with much blood was won,

But now.
All these are lost by losing Cape Breton."

The muse is evidently feeling worse, and growing reckless of fame and character.

Here, again, is an extract from " A Short Hint, by way of Lamentation, on thfj Restoring of Cape Breton
to the French." This, for emphasis and expressiveness, equals the proverbial Irishman's hint :

" What gloomy star beclouds this Western clime,
From Orient realms and counsels so sublime 1
Daylight's to darkness turned ; our joys are gone,
Sorrows succeed for loss of Cape Breton.
That daring cou(iuest, which demands renown
Through distant lands and ages yet to come,
A bulwark of defe .ce, a mart of trade,
And wealth of seas — are vanished as a shade.
The crown and kingdoms of Great Britain were
By it enlarged, in triumph took their share ;
New England's glimpse of glory, trade's advance,
Lament the change that it's resigned to France.
When tidings reached each loyal listening ear
That Louisburg was won, enlightened was the air ;
The British Empire, in its compass round,
With gladdening acclamations did resound.
All ranks unite with pleasure to declare
New England's sons' success in feats of war,
While Bourbon's race and vassals all deplore
Their loss sustained on the Nov' Scotian shore.
Shall the benign smiles of Heaven, shining on

THE FIRST SIEGE OF LOUISBURG. 229

" The nations made and conquering Cape Breton,
Be now extinguished and esteemed mere chance,
That shocked the pride and stunned the King of France 7
Shall loyalty profound and victors f,'reat,
Now hide their heads, ingloriously retreat.
Vanquished by peace, that, heroes like, withstood
Loud thundering cannon, mixed with streams of blood %
The Gallic's triumph ; their recess so short.
Joyful returned to that late-conquered fort.
These monuments of English arms will show.
When time may serve we will our claims renew,
Now England's fate insult ! — the day is yours.
Constrained, we yield the conquest that was ours."

" Lacrimarium flumine, sic piget."

— Sanrnel NUes.

Doubtless the homespun heroes of Louisburg read these effusions with great gusto, and felt all the
sorrow and indignation which this bucolic muse endeavours to express. These at all events, if not specimens
of finished verse, serve to show the state of feeling al that time prevalent in New England. There is
little more to tell about Louisburg at this period. Its evacuation by the British caused much disappointment
and distress among the numerous civil and military officials. We are told that " many persons had found
Cape Breton a desirable place of abode, and were very much chagrined at being obliged to leave it."

M. Desherbiers, the new French Governor, arrived at Louisburg early in the summer of 1749, with two
eighty-gun .ships, twenty transports, and troops for the garrison. He found there Governor Hopson, with the
two Gibraltar regiments, waiting for transports to take them to Halifax. The French were, no doubt,
anxious to get rid of them as soon as possible. Their offer to transport the two regiments to Halifax was
accepted, Hopson and the two regiments left in July to lay the foundations of a stronger fortress than
Louisburg ever was in the days of its glory, and the French flag once more floated over the Citadel of
Louisburg.

" After four years of warfare in all parts of the world, after all the waste of blood and treasure, the war
ended just where it began."

230

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

THE second siege of Louisburg was a bold, soldier-like achievement, as became the men by whom it
was conducted. No more powerful armament ever crossed the Atlantic than that which invested the
eastern fortress of France in America. No such competent British leaders as Amherst and Wolfe ever
conducted in conjunction a military enterprise on this continent. Hence Louisburg, though strong by position,
strongly garrisoned and respectably defended, struggled but weakly in their firm grasp; and the presence of
Boscawen and his powerful fleet paralyzed all naval effort on the part of the besieged. Among the French
themselves, authorities differ as to the internal vigour of the defence which was made. Pichon says there
was continual disaffection and dissension, and consequent weakness ; others say there was constant unanimity
and a determination to resist to the last. Probably the mean between these two extremes is true. The
internal affairs of Louisburg, from causes which have already been discussed, were never in a harmonious
condition ; and, in the presence of an overpowering force of the enemy, before which many must have felt
that they must ultimately succumb, no doubt this state of things did not improve. On the part of the
military, the defence must have partaken of a mechanical and professional character, without considering
results. It was their business to defend Louisburg, which they did with credit ; and their defence, if not
bloody and determined, was at least conducted with some spirit. But the movements of the besiegers were
both .spirited and determined, and also in the highest degree professional ; and there was no such thought as
dissension or disaffection, so we may presume that the French were weaker in this respect than the English.
After the landing had been effected, the fate of Louisburg was only a question of a short time. The desertion
of the Grand Battery was at this time more excusable, if it was excusable at all v/ithout having first sustained
an assault, than it was during the first siege. A man like Wolfe si.ould certainly have quickly brought an
irresistible force against it, no matter how well it might have been defended, or in whatever condition of
defence it might have been. The necessity of its capture might have cost many lives, and weakened, in a
degree, the concentrated force of the besiegers for a brief time, but the final result would have been the same,

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tup: second siege of louishurg.

231

Still, one cannot help admiring the courage of Drucour, and of his heroic wife, who in this crisis played the
part of a genuine Frenchwoman. There is as much of that spirit which strives for etlect and romance in her
conduct as of courage and devotion ; and there is a great deal of hoth. Her figure, as she moves daily round
the ramparts, aninating the soldiers at their work, is one of the most attractive in colonial history. She
is said with her jewelled hands to have fired off three guns every day, while shot and shell were flying about
her ears. We are not informed why .she did not fire off five or six guns instead of three. There is something
a little too exact and circumstantial about that number three. It has not that captivating vagueness about it
which goes best with romance. We wish the historian had not known the number of guns she fired, or that
his memory for numbers had failed him when he came to this episode. Still, no doubt she was a brave
and noble-minded, and courteous and dignified woman. A cessation of hostilities having once occurred
during the siege, presents were exchanged between Boscawen (we think it was) and this lady ; she sending
wine, and he pineapples or .some such befitting delicacy. These courtesies having passed each other on
their amicable errand, and been duly received, the batteries roared again, and Madame Drucour pursued her
round upon the ramparts, lighted match in hand, despatching very dififerent messages to her late friends.

Amherst no doubt stepped ashore with his bright face — for he had a bright face — determined to make no
swamp-shoes for his cannon, //is guns must move upon a military road, defended by an orthodox epaulement,
if it took till December to make it — and he did make it, and finished it in ten aays. He would commit
no military heresy, and iie would do nothing undignified. All went on like clock-work. The clock ticked
pretty fast when Wolfe was about, b,;t nothing ever went seriously wrong ; no pin or wheel ever collap.sed
and alarmed the auditors by sounds abnormal and disastrous. Wolfe must have talked in an expressive way
about the difficult ground near Louisburg. If Amherst called it the " worst he ever saw," Wolfe must have
found a more emphatic name for it. Here as everywhere he was always or the move, always intent upon
mischiet ; his long legs floundering through brake and swamp, or climbing over rocks and cliffs ; and behind
him were those who could do anything that men could do. Before long he had encircled the harbour, driven
the French from their inefliective defences at Lighthouse Point, and was pounding the Island Battery to pieces.
Afterwards he is always seen at the advanced trenches, as the end of the parallel surely and steadily advances
towards the ramparts, the earth heaving up from the busily-iworking spades, and flj'ing about in .showers from
the rapid thud, thud of the enemy's converging fire. Now and then he makes an awkward and sudden da.sh

232

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATE^.

forward, followed by many willing feet, and seizes upon some advantage in the ground right iu face of the
enemy's fire ; and so eagerly do they work that the earth is heaped up high enough to defend them before
the enemy's surprise is over, and ere long the cannon are thundering from this new place of vantage. Louis-
burg vainly strove against such a man.

The commanding position of Louisburg was its danger as well as its advantage. Its influence against
their interest drew upon it the vengeance of the New Engianders, and now it incurred the enmity of Britain
from special causes, besides the fact that it formed part of the French dominions in America. The French
were jealous of the establishment of Halifax, which had been settled but a few years before. No doubt the
fact that Louisburg and Halifax were now rivals on the Atlantic ,sea-board turned the special attention of
the British Government to the former place. The Viceroy of Canada was dissatisfied with the peaceful
disposition of the Acadians and Indians of Nova Scotia. The Indians were instigated to harass the settlers,
and Louisburg was the headquarters of this petty and often atrocious warfare. It was thought by these
means that the English would be di.sgusted with their attempts to colonize the country. All this was carried
on under the semblance of peace. It was not safe to work at a distance from the settlements, except in
parties. Stragglers were either murdered or made prisoners by the Indians. Halifax itself was once
attacked, and Dartmouth was ravaged and some of the inhabitants killed. Vessels were seized and carried
to Louisburg, but M. Desherbiers, the Governor, had the prisoners taken back to Halifax. " These atrocities
at last became so frequent, and were executed with such audacity, that the Governor was obliged to rai.se a
body of volunteers to .scour the country, to drive the Indians from their hiding-places, and to offer a reward
of ten guineas for their scalps." Nearly two thousand Gern ..ns had come out in consequence of induce-
ments offered by the British Government, and were quartered in that part of Halifax known as " Dutchtown."
Some of these the authorities at Louisburg endeavoured to enti.:e thither by offering three years' provisions,
fifty acres of land, cows, horses, oxen, and everything they needed for three years. The Viceroy of Canada
sent 600 men, under La Corne, to Bay Verte, to take possession of the isthmus of Chignecto, in order to
secure communication between Canada and Cape Breton by the overland route. It had been agreed at the
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle to leave the settlement of this disputed territory to commissioners appointed by
the two crowns. These had gone to Europe in the month of September, 1749, for that purpose, but their
conference had proved of no avail. The claims of each country were widely at variance, and the Com-

AloFimaisaBviav^W

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

288

missioners separated in 1753 without coining to any agreement. The French occupation of the isthmus of
Chignecto Great Britain quickly resented. In the spring of 1750, Major Laurence was sent with a body of
troops to dislodge the French. Finding his force insufficient, he withdrew to Halifax till he could obCu,in
reinforcements. In the .^onth of August he returned with a stronger force and built Fort Laurence, as
we have seen in the account of the Seven Years' War.

We are told that " the Indians, encouraged and supported by the presence of the French garrisons on the
isthmus, waged incessant war during the next three years upon the English settlers at Chebucto and its
vicinity. While Uesherbiers was Governor of Louisburg, the barbarous atrocitii ^ of the savages were, in some
measure, checked; but when Count de Raymond succeeded him, in 1751, the latter pursued a different policy,
and instead of discountenancing their proceedings, strove by every means in his power to induce them to
harass the English in their settlements and on the coast. Pichon, who came out to Cape Breton in the
capacity of secretary to Count Raymond, and ought to have been well informed upon the subject, aays " that
when it was rumoured that the Abenaquis Indians had made peace with the English, the Count called a
meeting of the Micmacs at Louisburg, and urged them in most violent and exciting language to continue the
war ; also, that ho employed the missionaries to persuade the Abenaquis to violate the treaty they had made."
It may be said in passing, that all this comes very meanly from the pen of Pichon. In his book is qi^ite an
elaborate address made by Count Raymond, and we are informed that the document was not the work of the
Count himself. The inference is very strong that it was prepared by his .secretary ; in fact, we are told
indirectly, with quite a display of vanity, that such was the case. In this address the Count, as Pichon .says,
tells the Indians to consider the English as their natural enemies ; and yet, shortly afterwards, he reprehends
his countrymen in general for being guilty of such a practice. Facts like these, taken in connection with
Pichon's character as a traitor, leave no pleasant impression upon the mind. The Count proved a troublesome
neighbour to the English whilst he administered the government of Cape Breton, but he did not neglect the
more important duties of his office. He opened a road from Louisburg to St. Peter's, eighteen leagues in
length, at an expense of 100,000 livres, of which traces still remain at various points along the coast; and in the
spring of 1752 sent a party of officers to survej^ the coasts of the island, and to collect statistical information.
Pichon, who accompanied the officers, gives in his "Memoirs" some interesting information concerning the
places they visited.

^immmm.

>4bb;«b

234

CAP/^ BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The party left Louishurg early in February, an(i travelled along the coast to Gabarns and Fourche, where
they found a few inhabitants engaged in the cod-tishery. A large settlement had existed at Fourchd before
the war. This had been destroyed by the English, but a large storehouse was still standing. Then they
went to St. Esprit, which they found was, "notwithstanding all that it had suffered during the late war,
recovering itself apace." They next reached L'.VrJoise, " where there is a slate quarry, from which it takes
its name." They found only 180 inhabitants between Louisburi'" and St. Peter's, some of whom lived very
comfortably, and ethers indifferently ; but they fare I test towards Gc.barus, where there is plenty of game,
and where the woodcocks are "so extiemely tame that you ma_y knock them down with stones." Pichon
justly speaks in admiration of the natural advantages of St. Peters yPort Toulouse). There were here 280
inhabitants, " exclusive of the King's otHcers anc' troops, chiefly employed in summer in building boats and
small vessels, and in the winter cutting firewood and timber." Ho says : '■ They were a very industrious
people ; tilled the earth, and kept a sufficient (juantity of cattle and poultry, which they sold at Louisburg.
. They were the first that brewed an excellent sort of antiscorbutic of the tops of the spruce fir;" and
they had a number of maple trees from which they extracted a sap in the spring, " most agreeable to the
taste, of the colour of Spanish wine, good for the breast, a preventive against the stone, and in no way hurtful
to the stomach. They boil it and make sugar from it." St. Peter's was at this time a place cf much
importance, as it was thither " the savages of Cape Breton and Acadie brought all the furs to exchange them
for European commodities." He considers St. Peter's a valuable ndlitary post, being so near to the " island of
the Holy Family in the Labrador, where almost all the savages live in a body with their missionary, and
within easy distance of the settlements of Madame, Petit de Grat, Ardois, St. Esprit, and the River Inhabitants.
At the least appearance of danger, all these people, collecti^d in a bodj', would make a small army, and with
the assistance of a few fortifications would render St. Peter'.' impregnable." Pichon .says the co.il-pit which
the English had opened at Burnt Head " took fire in 1752, and entirely consumed the fort." We are told that
"traces of this fire may still be seen along the outcrop of the seam, as far as Little Glace Bay." At Baie des
Espagnols some Acadians had settled and begun to clear the land. Pichon says there were beds of limestone
and building stone on the banks of the river, am! two coal-pits. From thence the party visited the two
' atriinces to the Labrador, "which are separated by the island of Verdonnc, wliich belongs to M. Le l\nipet
do la Boulardine." There were a considerable number of settlers upon the little entrance of Labrador. Kuius

'r^iliSSr^S^^S^:

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

235

of their old homesteads may yet be seen at many places in the woods on both sides of the strait, and a large
burying ground on the northern shore, where, a few years ago, the sites of the graves, designated by wooden
crosses, were covered by a dense growth of spruce trees. Pichon says the Labrador was the most populous part
of the island. An extensive cod-tishery was carried on at Niganische, but the vessels " were obliged by King's
ordinance to retire to Port Dauphin (St. Anne's) towards the 15th August, because of the storms that rage in
that season." There were at this time very few inhabitants at Niganische, and none whatevei between that
place and Just'au Corps (Port Hood).

The " island of the Holy Family," before referred to, is now called Chapel Island. It is situated about
eight miles from St. Peter's, '''his place is the scene of an annual festival, held on the 26th of July, in honour
of St. Ans The Micmacs who still inhabit these parts regard this island as their ecclesiastical centre, and
assemble from all n^rts to take part in the celebration, and to perform the ceremonies and exercises of the
Church. Numbers of visitors resort to the island upon this occasion, interested spectators of and earnest
participants in the devotions of these poor people who.se fate has been such a sad one. It is not unfitting
that devotion should take a lingering farewell of the relics of a race over whom and over us there broods
the .same " Groat Spirit."

The total population of Cape Breton in 1752 was said to be 4,125, of whom 2,4S^ resided in Louisburg
and its environs. The nMnainder lived in other parts of the island. St. John's Island and Canada sent at
this time considerable a;;ucultural produce to Louisburg, but its wants were supplied chiefly by the merchants
of New England and New l^ork. One of the complaints against the unfortunate Acadians was that they
persisted in sending their produce to Louisburg by way of Bay Ve.te, contrary to the regulations of the
British Government, who ii .juired that it should be sent to Halifax. The English colonists also preferred to
trade with Louisburg, perhaps for the sane reason that may have partially actuated the Acadians, namely,
tliat they could often smuggle home rum and molasses from Louisburg in exchange for their products. So
' yuisburg was a double source of annoyance to the British — it served to disatfoct both Acadians and New
Englanders, the former directly and the latter indirectly. Governor Cornwallis complained to the Board of
Trade that in 1751 no less than 150 English vessels visited Louisburg, and that the trade was rapi<lly
increasing, insomuch that sometimes thirty Boston ves.sels might be seen in that port at the same time. But
events were happening in the Ohio valley that were soon to bring this contraband trade to a close. The French

236

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

were encroaching upon English territory in a manner that could not fail to bring about an open rupture before
long. The fiftieth article of the Treaty of Utrecht stipulated thht " the subiects of France, inhabitants of
Canada and elsewhere, should not disturb or molest in any manner whatever the five Indian nations which
were subject to Great Britain;" yet, in spite of this, they were extending a line of posts southward to cut
off the English communication with the Five Nations, and to connect the valleys of the Ohio and the
Mississippi. The Frenchman had begun to dream of an empire extending from the mouth of the St. Lawrence
to the Gulf of Mexico. His heroic pioneers, bearing the flag of France and the Cross of Nazareth, and both
with equal fortitude and daring, had already traversed that distance. In 1682, the intrepid La Salle voyaged
down the Illinois till he reached the Mississippi, and followed it to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed
the valley of the river for the crown of France, naming it Louisiana in honour of Louis XIV. The Viceroys
of Canada claimed the Alleghanies and the isthmus of Chignecto as their true boundaries, in spite of the
Treaty of Utrecht ; and as they were aware that their mother country was making great preparations for
renewing the war, the Marquis du Quesne, in 1754, seized several strong points on the Ohio, and strengthened
the defences at the i.sthmus of Chignecto. M. du Chambon de Vergar was sent to Beausejour as Commandant.
He had been recommended to the appointment by the notorious Bigot, who is said to have written to him :
" Profit, mj' dear \ .-rgar, by your place ; cut, clip — you have every power— in order that you may soon come
and join me in France and buy an estate in my neighbourhood ; " so in this way was New Franco governed.
This De Vergar, whom we have twice noticed already, was the son of du Chambon, who had been Governor
of Louisburg during the first siege. Under the tutelage of Bigot, the son bade fair to be a bad edition of the
father, as he probably was. The father, Louis du I'ont du Chambon, a lieutenant in the army, was married
at Port Royal in 1709. We have already noticed the siege of Beausejour in the history of the Seven Years'
War, and the weak defence that Vergar made there. The prisoners taken upon the fall of Beausejour were
sent, as we have already noticed, to Louisburg, there to make further complications for the British Government.
An exception was made in favour of our ambiguous acquaintance, Pichon. He was allowed to go to Halifax,
ostensibly as a prisoner of war, but no doubt with an object. He mingled freely while there with the French
officers, who were hona fide prisoners of war, and caught from them valuable bits of information which he
straightway confided to the British Government He was never once suspected of treachery, nor does his

THE SECOND SIEGE OE LOUlSBURG.

237

biographer, M. Louis Dubois, seem to have been aware of the fact. The following is his account of Pichon,
in his " Universal Biography " :

" Pichon (Thomas) was born at Uire, on the 30th April, 1700. He was for a short time employed in the
Bureau, where, had he remained, he might have distinguished himself. In 1741 he was appointed by M. de
Breteuiel, Minister of War, Administrator of Hospitals of the French Armies on the Danube and in Bohemia.
Being made prisoner of war while on this service, Pichon was appointed by the Empress Maria Therese on a
commission for settling the accounts of the French army. Having returned to Franc about the year 1743,
he was appointed Inspector of the Administration ' des fourrages' in Alsace, and, in 1745, Director of the
Hospitals of the armj- of the Lower Rhine, until the beginning of 1749. Some injustice that he experienced,
which was probably exaggerated by his suspicious character, induced him to leave France. He left for
Canada in the capacity of Secretary to Adjutant- General Count Raymond, appointed Governor of Isle Royal
or Cape Breton, with whom he remained a short time. He was then appointed by the Intendant of Louisburg
to the office of Intendant Commissary at Fort Beausejour, which he filled for two years. This fort having
been taken by the English in 1755, he went to England, where he remained until his death in 1781. He
resided in London under the name of Tyrrell (the name of his mother, who was an Englishwoman), devoting
himself to literary pursuits. In 1756 he made the acquaintance of Madame le Prince de Beaumont, whom he
married and by whom he had six children. This lady some years after left England, and having established
herself in Savoy, in vain endeavoured to induce Pichon, who was a very obstinate man, to join her and their
children. (There was good reason for his apparent obstinacy.) He was in correspondence with many learned
men in London, where he compo.sed several works, of which the greater part have remained in manuscript,
such as a voluminous treatise ' de la Xatihre' etc. His best work was the ' Memoirs of Cape Breton,' but we
do not find in this curious and instructive book the memoirs promised by the title. Pichon bequeathed to his
native town a good, well-furnished library, which since 1783 has been opened to the public, and is much
frequented. It seems that he was of a .suspicious character, which rendered him fanciful and capricious. His
marriage with Madame le Prince de Beaumont, although apparently well assorted, was not a happy one ;
there was little sympathy in their characters. Pichon did not consult the happiness of a sensible and spininal
woman, who, notwithstanding the great difference of thei- religious opinions, never ceased to love him with
much disinterestedness, even after they were separated."

238

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Pichon's oook was, no doubt, "curious and instructive" to the readers of his time. His style Is somewhat
pompous and dignified, and his periods grave and lengthy. He attempts to describe a phenomenon common
in Cape Breton, which must bo what we know as a "white frost," but appears to him utterly incomprehensible.
His scientific mind, for he apparently had one, judging from the title of his " treatise," is utterly at fault in
presence of this wonder that seems so commonplace to us. His description of the Indians is not without
humour and picturesqueness. Oratory among the savages seems to have arrested his fancy, on the part both
of the Indian ladies and gentlemen, and he recounts word for word the exuberant rhetoric in which they
addressed the assembled tribe on an important occasion. One old squaw is made to saj' that she is not so
handsome as she once was, and Pichon makes some very ungallant criticisms for a man who was half a
Frenchman. He says, if we remember rightly, that this was the oidy authentic expression in the old lady's
harangue ; and, at the risk of endorsing Pichon's statement, we have r o doubt that he spoke the truth.

While M. de Vergar was besieged at Beauscjour, he had sent to Louisburg for assistance, and had
received for answer that none could be furnished him, as an English fleet was blockading the port. War had
not yet been formally declared, but the crisis was evidently approaching, and the British were only doing
openly what the French had been doing quietly for years all along the frontier. They had been pushing on
their encroachments on the frontiers of New York and Pennsylvania ; they were strengthening their posts
in Canada; it was their intention to recover Acadie, and to connect under their sway the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and the Gulf of Mexico. France, during the summer of 1754, had been endeavouring to deceive
the English Government, in the hope of gaining time. The English Ministry had good reason to know the
intentions of the French, and applied to Parliament for a large vote of money to augment the army and
navy. The crisis was now come. The French Government saw that nothing further could be gained by
clandestine encroachment and dissimulation. The two giants, enemies of old, confronting each other across
the English Channel, were about to close in their last grapple for colonial supremacy and the empire of the
seas ; and we know the result. The old ocean island had matured a race too steady of purpose and strong of
arm to be resisted by the gay and volatile sons of France. Though in the beginning of the contest the grim
islander experienced more than one hard fall, these served but to anger his uprising strength, and, casting
from him the bonds of precedent and prestige and useless birth and name, he sought for methods and means
more becoming his grown nerve and sinew ; and, grasping his weaker antagonist in resistless and relentless

meaass

ms&

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

239

grip, hurled him again and again in the dust, and took from him all the foreign gems with which he had
adorned his strength. The first volley that flashed from the British line on the Plains of Abraham rang
in the birth of two mighty dominions extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. While it secured the
safety of the more southern colonies, and left them free to work out their heart's desire, their independence,
it formed the nucleus of our own Dominion, gave to the loyal sons of France a milder and firmer rule,
and opened the mighty West to the shrewd, hardy sons of Britain.

The French Ministry ordered a powerful armament to be fitted out for America. At Brest, Rochelle
and Rochfort, twenty-five ships of the line were got ready. They were to convey 6,000 troops to augment
the garrisons of Louisburg and the forts on the Great Lakes and the Ohio. The frigate Diana was sent
out early in March to announce their coming. The British Government, on their part, were not idle.
Admira'. Boscawen had been despatched, on April 22nd, with eleven ships of the line and one frigate, and
two infantry regiments. Vice-Admiral Holborne, with six ships of the line and one frigate, followed on
May 11th. They had orders to attack the French fleet wherever they should find it. The French fleet
sailed on May 3rd, but after clearing the mouth of the Channel, nine of them returned to France. Of the
sixteen that kept on their way, it is .said that ten were only partially armed, being fitted out as transports.

Boscawen's and Holborne's squadrons joined company on the passage. They were beating about the
banks of Newfoundland, to intercept the French fleet, when the Dunkirk and Defiance, of sixty guns each,
got separated from the rest of the ships in a fog. Two of the French ships were m the same situation —
the Alcide, a sixty-four, and the Z?/s, one of the partially disarmed line-of-battle .ships, and mounting only
twenty-two guns. These ships being close to each other, the captain of the Alcide hailed the Defiance, as
they were slowly approaching, with the question, " Is it peace or war ? " " Peace, peace," was the answer
that came from the British ship. But when they got abreast of each other, the Englishman poured a
broadside into the Alcide, and a smart action ensued between the four ships, which lasted five hours. The
Dunkirk lost ninety men, but the two French ships were captured. The conduct of the British seems on
the face of it, on this occasion, to be reprehensible. Yet it was well known that both fleets had left on a
warlike errand, and the British were under orders to attack the French fleet wherever they met it. The
Alcide and the Lys were merely pursuing the policy which their nation had followed for a year or two,
both by land and sea, to deceive the British and get oft" without a fight, for they knew they were the weaker

240

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

force. The BritisVi commander no doubt returned what the dd sailor called an "evasive answer;" but then
he knew that the Frenchman was trying to deceive in reality, if not technically, for war had not been
declared when the fleets left. The French fleet left on May 3rd, and England did not formally declare war
until the 18th ; so it is difficult to see how the captain of the Alcide could have known of it. This action was
fought on June 8th, and there was not time between May 18th and that date to allow of the intelligence
being carried to France, and sent after the fleet and overtaking it before the 8th of June. Yet Pichon, who
is naturally not at all times reliable, says that it was known by the French, and justifies the action of the
British, even in a technical sense. In any case, no great injustice was done ; but the French, as was their
wont, made a loud outcry of injured innocence. The Lys was a valuable prize ; sho had on board £80,000
and four hundred troop.s. The captured ships were sent to Halifax, and Boscawen and Holborne sailed to
blockade Louisburg, where they prevented succours being sent to Beausejour. It was rumoured that four
line-of-battle ships and two frigates, with 1,000 troops on board, had got safely into Louisburg, and Boscawen
sailed up the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the hope of falling in with the rest of the French fleet on their way
to Canada. But the French Admiral, under cover of the fog, had entered by the Strait of Bellisle, and
reached Quebec, where he landed 3,000 men under Baron Dieskau, who, as we have seen, was afterwards
defeated and taken prisoner by General Johnson. The Indian who was said to have captnred him in the
fight, was exhibited in England, as the contemporary sensational press advertises in the Public Advertiser :

" Just arrived from America, and to be seen at the N<^w York and Cape Breton Coffee House, in Sweeting's
Alley, from 12 to 3, and from 4 to 6, to the latter end of next week, and then will embark for America in the
Genercd Webb, Captain Boardman, a famous Mohawk Indian warrior ! The same person who took Mr.
Dieskau, the French General, prisoner, at the battle of Lake George, when General Johnson beat the French,
and was one of the said General's guards. He is dressed in the same manner with his native Indians when
they go to war, his face and body painted, with his scalping knife, tom-axe, and all other implements of war
that are used by the Indians in battle. A sight worthy the curiosity of every true Briton. Price one
shilling each person.

" The only Indian that has been in England since the time of Queen Anne."

When intelligence of the capture of the Alcide and the Lys reached England, the Government perceived
that nothing could now prevent open rupture with France. The French merchant ships in British ports were

•

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

241

seized and their crews imprisoned. M. Rouille remonstrated strongly against these acts, stating that "the King,
his master, considered the capture of two of His Majesty's ships in the open sea, without a declaration of war,
a public insult to His Majesty's flag ; and the seizure of French merchantmen, in contempt of the law of nations,
in his judgment an act of piracy; and demanded restitution of all the ships, guns, stores and merchandise,
and all the officers and men belonging to them." The British Government replied that nothing had been done
which the constant hostility of France had not rendered just and indispensable. War could, in the light of
these communications, be no longer avoided. Campbell, in his " Lives of the Admirals," says : " The
French had openly and flagrantly broken the bonds cT peace by their audacious encroachments in America,
but for the credit of England a formal declaration of war should have preceded the first act of hostility on
our part,"

In November Admiral Boscawen returned to England, and the French ships left Louisburg about the
same time. The people of England hailed the declaration of war with joy. " Certainly the sound of war
never echoed with more satisfaction than at the present conjuncture. It was the general request of the nation."
It was hoped that the war would result in a permanent settlement of all disputes respecting boundaries which
had kept the Colonies in a state of turmoil for a century, and England felt her strength and longed to measure
it with her ancient antagonist. The conduct of the lat3 war had not represented her strength, and the Treaty
of Aix-la-Chapelle met with a storm of indignation throughout the land. England ha<l been betraj^ed in the
field and at the council board, and it was felt that greater things could be done than had yet been done.
The last hour of French supremacy in foreign lands was about to strike.

Commodore Holmes, with seven ships of the line and two sloops, was sent to cruise on the coast of Cape
Breton in the summer of 1756. One French ship of war, the Arc-en-Ciel, of flfty guns, and a store-ship,
the Amitic, of 300 tons, were captured off Louisburg by the Centurion and Success, and taken into Halifax.
The influence and importance of the latter place was beginning to be felt as a British naval rendezvous,
and it was evident that a crisis must soon come between the rival powers represented in the two Atlantic
strongholds. On July 27th another action was fought ofi" Louisburg by Commodore Holmes in the Grafton,
seventy, accompanied by tn j Nottingham, seventy, and Jamaica sloop, on the British side. The French force,
with M. Bcausier in command, consisted of the He'ros, seventy-four, the Elustre, sixty-four, and two frigates
of thirty-six guns each. The light began in the afternoon and lasted until dark without any decisive result.
16

242

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Holmes wished to renew the action next morning, and kept his men all night at their quarters, but at
daybreak the French ships were seen bearing away with a fair wind for Louisburg. The French say that
Holmes kept at a respectful distance next morning, that it was impossible to reach him, and that therefore
they made for Louisburg. They had eighteen men killed and forty-eight wounded. The loss on the British
side was six men killed and twenty-one wounded. This does not say much for the vigour with which these
ships had been broadsiding each other. These occurrences were a poor offset to the reverses which the
British had suffered during this season in the interior. Braddock's defeat had occurred but me year before,
and during this suuimer occurred the disasters at Oswego and Fort William Henry. The strength of Britain
was not being exhausted, but her anger was fast rising, and there was a general clamour for able leaders
by land and sea. But the cup of England's mortification was not yet full. The next season was destined to
be the most disastrous of all. The British squadron blockaded the harbour of Louisburg, however, so that no
vessels could get in with supplies. Boats, it is said, could not even go out to fish to supply the garrison, who
had to live for a time on condemned codfish.

In the month of January, 1757, it was determined to assemble at Halifax a powerful land and sea force
for an attack on Louisburg. The fleet consisted of eleven ships of the line and some frigates under the
command of Admiral Holborne, and fifty t'-ansports conveying 6,000 troops under Viscount Howe. The
armament did not sail from Cork until May 8th. Information of the departure of this expedition and of its
destination " had been furnished to the French Government by a spy, one Dr. Henacy, who had established
himself in London as a physician, and thus gained admission into society, where he picked up such information
as he thought would be useful to his employers." Orders for the equipment of this expedition had hardly
been issued whdn active preparations were begun in Brest and Toulon for getting a fleet ready to go to the
relief of Louisburg. Five ships sailed from Toulon, and arrived at Louisburg on June 4th. Fourteen left
Brest and arrived on the 29th. On the same day Loudon arrived at Halifax with 6,000 regular troops from
New York, convoyed only by three small frigates. Holborne arrived at the same place with all his .ships and
transports on July 9th. The united force now consisted of fifteen ships of the line, eighteen frigates and
sloops, and 12,000 effective soldiers. They wasted nearly a month at Halifax in reviews and sham fights,
accustoming the men to various movements which they would never have to use, instead of proceeding against
the enemy. The troops were at last embarked for Louisburg on August 1st, when intelligence was brought

•>•

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISIWRC.

24d

tlicncc tliat a larj^e French fleet had arrived there. There was then much uncertainty as to whether it were
advisable to pioceed with the enterprise. An English ship arrived from the coast of Newfoundland with
French despatches from Louisburg, which she had captured. From these it appeared that, in addition to a
garrison of (5,000 regulars, there were in the place 3,000 militia and 1,300 Indians, and seventeen sail of the
line and three frigates in the harbour. A council of war was now held, and all uncertainty was soon over.
It was decided to give up any attempt upon Louisburg. Three battalions were left at Halifax, two were sent
to the Bi\y of Fundy, and Loudon returned with the remainder to New York.

Holborne now sailed in the direction of Louisburg with fifteen ships of the line, four frigates and a
fire-ship. But his movement can hardly be dignified even with the name of a naval demonstration. He was
probably too weak to decide to remain where he was, and he certainly could have had no determination to
make an attack upon the enemy. He stood in within a couple of miles of the French batteries, when, seeing
the fleet in the harbour beginning to unmoor, he wore round and made all sail for Halifax. He reported that
the French fleet consisted of nineteen ships and five frigates, and considering these more than a match for his
own, he retired. A French writer tauntingly says : " M. du Bois made ready to put to sea as soon as the
enemy arrived. Our people had all one heart and one voice to attack the enemy ; but this famous and
long-expected M. Holborne took it into his head that our number was nearly equal to his, and therefore he
made the best of his way back to Halifax." One can but unwillingly believe that British ships were ever
masqueraded up and down the sea by men like that. Loudon and Holborne appeared to vie with each
other in striving for the palm of incompetency. Under the feudal system the nobility of Britain had
been at least soldiers, nor had they lost their martial character at the time of the great rebellion.
There were not wanting men among them eveu now who were capable of leading the fleets and armies of
England, could they have been rightly discerned. But the Ministry, capable only of the routine of office, were
content with routine, when there should have been a spirit equal to the vigour and atrength of modern
England. But the hour of deliverance was at hand, and Britain was soon to find a man who could measure
and direct her latent power.

Being joined at Halifax by four ships from England, Holborne again sailed in the direction of Louisburg,
and cruised off" the harbour until he met with the disaster which has already been recorded.

The reault of British effort in 1757 was as follows : The failure of the projected attack on Louisburg, the

244

CAPE H RE TON ILLUSTRATED.

loss of Fort William Henry, and the failure of a night attack on Ticonderoga. " The English had been
driven from every cabin in the basin of the Ohio ; Montcalm had destroyed every vestige of their power in
that of the St. Lawrence. France had posts on each side of the lakes, and at Detroit, at Mackinaw, at
Kaskaskia, and at New Orleans. ... As the men composing the garrison of Fort Loudon, in Tennessee,
were but so many hostages in the hands of the Chcrokees, the claim of France to the valleys of the Mississippi
and the St. Lawrence seemed established by possession. . . . America and England were humiliated."
Pitt, in the House of Commons, when censuring the conduct of Loudon, in 'Ignantly exclaimed, "Nothing
was done, nothing was attempted. . . . We have lost all the waters, we have not a boat on the lakes.
Every door is open to France." To such straits was British prestige brought at the close of the campaign of
1757. Pitt, who had previously been a short time in office, but had been compelled to resign by unworthy
influences brought against him, was reinstated in office as Secretary of State, though too late to avert the
calamities of this disastrous year. The people now looked with hope to the future. Nor were they
disappointed. Notwithstanding the disastrous commencement of the war, it resulted in a peace which caused
George III., as we have seen, to exclaim, "Never did nation sign such a peace!" But the glorious character
of the peace was not due to him or the system which he represented.

Parliament met on December 1st, 1757. The King declared in his speech that "it was his firm resolution
to apply his utmost etibrts for the security of the kingdom, and for the recovery and protection of the
possessions and right of his crown in America and elsewhere, as well by the strongest exertions of our naval
force as by all other methods." Both Houses signified an earnest desire to afford all the assistance in their
power for the accomplishment of these objects. Pitt set about the work with his accustomed vigour. Active
measures were taken without a moment's delay. It was determined not only to recover the forts which
Loudon's incompetency had lost, but to eff'ect the reduction of Canada. Louisburg, Ticonderoga and Crown
Point were the three objects of attack. The possession of these was necessary to open the way for the
invasion of Canada. A combined naval and military force would be required for the first enterprise, ready to
commence operations as soon as the season would permit. Admiral Boscawen, an officer of great experience,
and General Amherst, who had greatly distinguished himself in Germany, were appointed to command the
expedition.

The defences of Louisburg had been much improved since the siege in 1745. New batteries had been

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THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

245

erected, and the garrison was fully four times as stroncr as at that period. Roads had been constructed to the
various outposts by Count Raymond. The population cf these places had been considerably augmented by
a number of Acadians from Nova Scotia, and these could be depended upon to strengthen the garrison. It
was therefore computed that an army of 12,000 men and a fleet of twenty ships of the line would be recjuired
to reduce it. The lateness of the expedition of the previous year had been one of the causes of its failure.
It was determined now to remedy this defect, and preparations were commenced early in the winter. Such
was the expedition with which the armament was equipped, that it was ready to sail from Spithcad on the
8th of February. The Government of France was informed of these movements through the spy Henacy.
He had kept up a correspondence all winter with a friend employed in ('. ofl^ce of the Secretary of State
at Paris, until he was arrested in London on the 9th of March. " For this illicit correspondence with the
enemy of our country," we are told by Entick, " in time of open war, Dr. Henacy was tried, convicted and
condemned to be executed, as in case of high treason ; but after several reprieves, he obtained His Majesty's
pardon, not for any discovery, as the world was made to believe, but by an extraordinary foreign inter-
position, which would not have had the same weight at a court that properly resented the disappointment
the nation met with in the expeditions against Louisburg and Rochfort." The French Government being
thus aware that the destination of the expedition was Loui.sburg, made great exertions to send out reinforce-
ments to that place. Two squadrons were fitted out, one at Toulon and the other at Rochfort. M. du Quesne
commanded the one, and M. de la Cloue the other. The first consisted of .six ships of the line and one frigate,
the second of six ships of the line and two frigates. They were to join company at Rochfort, where M. du
Quesne was to take command of the united squadrons,, and they were to convoy forty transports with 3,000
troops to America. The vigilance of Pitt, however, succe.ssfully frustrated this plan. A squadron was
stationed, under Admiral Osborne, in the Straits of Gibraltar, to intercept the fieet from Toulon. Admiral
Hawke was ordered to the Basque Roads, to watch the Rochfort squadron. Admiral Osborne was completely
successful. Not a French ship was permitted to pass through the Straits, and two of the finest ships in the
squadron were captured while attempting to join M. de la Clone's force in the Spanish port of Carthagena.
" The capture of the Fourdroyant, of eighty-four guns, with a crew of 700 men, by the Monmouth, of
sixty-four guns and 470 men, was the most gallant naval exploit of the Seven Years' War. When Admiral
Osborne fell in with the French fleet oflT Carthagena, on February 27th, he made signals to the Monmouth,

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246

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Swiftsure, and Hampton Court to chase the Fourdroyant ; but the Monmouth was the only one that could
overreach her. Having come within gunshot at 5 a.m., Captain Gardiner began the action, but finding that
he could make no impression upon her at that distance, he laid his ship on the quarter of the enemy at
7 a.m., within pistol-shot, when a terrible contest ensued, in which both ships lost their mizzenmasts and
sustained great damage in their hulls. At nine o'clock the gallant Gardiner fell mortally wounded by a
musket-ball in the head, but his lieutenant, with equal bravery, fought out the action until one o'clock, when
the Fourdroyant struck." On April 3rd, Admiral Hawke fell in with the Rochfort squadron, a few leagues
from the shore, shortly after it had sailed for America. By a favouring shift of the wind, the whole French
fleet got safely into St. Martin's, except one brig, which was driven on shore and burnt. Most of the men-
of-war and transports ran ashore in their fright behind the Isle of Aix, where the English ships could not
follow them. They threw overboard guns, ammunition and stores, and contrived to get afloat and warp up
to the mouth of the Charente, and thus escaped the English boats sent after them. None of the ships were
taken, but they had lost their armaments, and the damaged vessels could not be repaired in time to be of any
use at Lcuisburg for that sea.son. Still, five ships of the line and two frigates escaped, with sixteen transports
carrying 550 men of the regiment of the " Voluntaires Etrangers," and 600 men of the regiment of " Cambise,"
and a large supply of provisions and munitions of war. These arrived safely at Louisburg on the 12th of
March, long before the English fleet arrived on the coast of Cape Breton. The ships were the Prudent and
Entreprenant, seventy-fours; the Bienfaisant, Capricieux, and CeUhre, sixty-gun ships; and the frigates
Apollo and ComUe, of thirty guns each. All of these ships were taken or destroyed during the siege, except
the ComUe, which got out a few days after the troops landed. Wolfe apparently thought little of the
reinforcements which had been able to reach the French. " If they had thrown in twice as much," he says
in one of his letters, " we should not hesitate to attack them ; and for my part, 1 have no doubt of our
success. If the French fleet comes upon this coast, the campaign will, I hope, be decisive."

The English fleet set sail from Spithead on February 19th. The Invincible, of seventy-four guns, one
of the finest ships in the navy, r .i ashore upon the Dean Sand, and became a total wreck. The officer second
in command. Sir Charles Hardy, arrived off" Louisburg on April 2nd with a few ships, but the whole of the
men-of-war and transports did not reach Halifax until May 9th. Here all the ships of war on the station
joined the fleet. Bragg's regiment arrived from the Bay of Fundy, and 200 carpenters also under Colonel

r 'BMrwarir""" " '' n

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISE URG.

247

•*»

Meserve (our old friend of the swamp sleds) and 538 Ranpfers or provincial troops, from Boston. On May
28th, when the expedition sailed for Louisburg it comprised the following sea and land forces : The Namur,
ninety guns, Admiral the Hon. E. Boscawen, Capt. Buckle; Royal William, eighty, Rear- Admiral Sir Charles
Hardy, Capt. Evens ; Princess Amelia,, eighty. Commodore Philip Derrell, Capt. Bray ; Terrible, seventy-four,
Capt. Collins ; Northumberland, seventy, Lord Colville ; Vanguard, seventy, Capt. Swanton ; Oxford.
seventy, Capt. Spry ; Burford, seventy, Capt. Gambler ; Somerset, seventy, Capt. Hughes ; Lancaster,
seventy, Capt. Edgecombe ; Devonshire, sixty -six, Capt. Gordon ; Bedfoi'd, sixty -four, Capt. Fowke ; Captain,
sixty-four, Capt. Amherst ; Prince Frederic, sixty-four, Capt. Mann ; Pembroke, sixty, Capt. Simcoe ;
Kingston, sixty, Capt. Parry ; York, sixty, Capt. Pigot ; Prince of Orange, sixty, Capt. Ferguson ; Defiance,
sixty, Capt. Baird ; Nottingham, sixty, Capt. Marshall ; Centurion, fifty, Capt. Mantell ; Sutherland, fifty,
Capt. Roas ; the frigates, Juno, Gramont, Nightingale, Hunter, Boreas, Hind, Trent, Port Mahon, Diana,
Shannon, Kennington, Scarborough, Squirrel, Hawk, Beaver, Tylor and Halifax ; the Etna and Lightning,
fire-ships, and one hundred and eighteen transports, carrying the following land forces : 1st Regiment, Royals,
854 men ; loth Regiment, Amherst's, 763 ; I7th Regiment, Forbes', 660 ; 22nd Regiment, Whitmore's," 910 :
28th Regiment, Bragg's, 027 ; 45th Regiment, Warburton's, 852 ; 47th Regiment, Lascelles'. 856 ; 48th
Regiment, Welle's, 932 ; 58th Regiment, Anstruthers', 615 ; 60th Regiment, 2nd battalion, Monckton's,
925; 40th Regiment, Hopkins', 655 ; 35th Regiment, Otway's, 565 ; 60th Regiment, 3rd battalion, Laurence's,
814 ; 78th Regiment, Fraser's, 1,084. Besides these there were five companies of Rangers, a brigade of
artillery and engineers, and 200 carpenters; altogether exceeding 12,000 men, exclusive of officers.

General Amherst had not arrived from Germany when the fleet sailed from Spithead. Admiral Boscawen,
therefore, commanded the army as well as the navy, so that no time might be lost at Halifax. Accordingly,
the fleet and transports sailed from that port on May 28th, numbering 157 sail in all. General Amherst met
the expedition in the Dublin, seventy-four, Captain Rodiiey, at the mouth of the harbour, and immediately
went on board the Namur flagship.

The troops were now organized into three brigades : The first, consisting of the 1st, 22nd, 40th, and 48th
regiments, and the second battalion of the 60th Rifles, under Brigadier-General Whitmore ; the second, of the
15th, 28th, 45th, 58th, and 78th regiments, under Brigadier-General Laurence; and the third, of the 17th,

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

35th, and 47th regiments, and the third battalion of the 60th Rifles, under Brigadier-General Wolfe. Pitt
had himself chosen these officers to command brigades. Wolfe was at that time one of the youngc-t colonels
in the army. " He had," we are told, " on the 23rd September previous, endeavoured to instil som(' life and
vigour into the expedition against Rochfort, fruitless though his efforts were rendered by the pusillanimity of
the chiefs, and this caused him to be singled out as one likely to redeem the military reputation of England."
There is a story told of Wolfe, which, probably, like most other stories, has some foundation in fact. It is
said that after his appointment to command in America, Pitt and he flined together. Wolfe, probably from
his impetuous nature, somewhat alarmed the Secretary of State by drawing his sword and cutting various
expressive antics, loudly declaring that he was the only man in the world who could save America. Pitt
looked on in some bewilderment, and said, after Wolfe had retired, " My God, is that the man into whose
hands I have entrusted the safety of the British Empire in America ? " But Wolfe was one of the verj^ few
men in the world who could honestly blow his own trumpet. In this expedition he was the youngest of the
brigadiers in rank, and the most active part of the service fell to his lot. How well fitted he was for this
position the sequel showed. If Pitt had known it, there was no ground for uneasiness because of Wolfe's
demonstrativeness.

The armament meanwhile proceeded on its voyage. It met a high wind on the 30th, and many of the
transports were dispersed. The men-cf-war, however, kept well together, and arrived off Gabarus Bay on
June 1st. Captain Rous, of the Suthe-land, had been reconnoitering Louisburg harbour, and he reported
to the Admiral that there were thirteen ship of wars in the port, two of which only arrived on May 30tli.
The fleet and about one-third of the transports came to anchor in Gabarus Bay on the morning of June 2nd.
On the following day they were joined by the remainder. Amherst, Laurence and Wolfe got into a boat
the same evening, and rowed along the shore as near as the surf would permit, to reconnoitre the French
entrenchments and battei-ies, and to select the most suitable place for landing. The troops were prepared to
land on the 3rd, but the wind and surf prevented the attempt on that day. And so it was for four or five
days. On the morning of the 6th, there seemed to be a lull in the storm, and the men were ordered into the
boats, but the wind and sea again rising, they were compelled to go back to the ships.

As the ships lay tossing on the stormy sea, and the surf raged along the shore, and the French were
lining their long aeries of entrenchments, and the English veterans were looking grimly ashore from the decks

msam

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISRVRG.

^49

of the transports, it was evident that neither invaders nor defenders had a very easy task before them. The
shore, all the way from Freshwater Cove to Louisburg, was quite inaccessible in a heavy surf such as had
been raging for the past few days. Even in moderate weather thee were only a few points at which a
large body of men could readily effect a landing in a reasonable time. A part of this shore is inaccessible
in itself, but for the most part it is difficult of approach and ascent. The most vulnerable points were at
the base of White Point, to the eastward and westward of Flat Point, and, most accessible of all, at
Freshwater Cove ; and these points were all well entrenched, and defended by cannon and mortars. There
were eight guns and mortars near White Point, eight guns and two mortars near Flat Point Cove, and at the
head of Freshwater Cove, where a gravel beach five or six hundred yards in length afforded the easiest
landing, masked batteries, mounting eight guns, had been erected. These batteries were concealed by felled
trees packed closely together, with their points directed outwards, so that the nature of the work could not
be observed from the sea. The rugged rocks betwotiU these armed points were deemed inaccessible, and were
therefore left, in a great measure, unguarded ; but these rocks were not at all points perfectly inaccessible to
determined men, as the French discovered to their cost. The Engli.sh say that behind these entrenchments,
on the morning of the landing, there were 3,000 defenders. The French admit that there were 2.000
regulars, besides large bodies of militiamen and Indians, and that only 300 were left in Louisburg. The
Governor of Louisburg, the Chevalier de Drucour, had taken what he conceived the most effective measures
to prevent a landing, and, had the defence been determinedly maintained, and the point at which the first
boats of the English landed been properly guarded, the landing must have been effected at great cost
of life.

These were the difficulties that confronted the English as they lay waiting for an opportunity to
di.sembark. And the French must have known that they were awaiting the attack of 12,000 trained soldiers
of a nation whom they had learned to fear, and they must also have known that they had opposed to them
two able commanders, and that they could not, in the light of these facts, .successfully oppose the landing
without a sharp and determined struggle. From these causes, it is evident that neither party had a light
task in hand.

By referring to the annexed plan, the reader will observe the position of the guns and swivels which
were employed to oppose the landing :

250

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

El One 20-pounder and two 6-pounders.

L
K
N

Two 6-poundera.

Two

Two 12-pounders.

Q Two 6-pounders.
R Two 12-pounders.

At the head of Freshwater Cove :
C One Swivel.
D Two Swivels.
E Two C-poundrirs.

Near Flat Point and Flat Point Cove:
G One seven-inch Mortar.

One eight-inch "
H Two Swivels.

Near White Point :

O Two 6-pounder3.
P Two 24-pounder8.

The position at Freshwater Cove was defended by the regiments " Dauphine " and " Cambise," under
M. de St. Julien, and a band of Indians under a celebrated chief. The latter was killed in the contest which
ensued. " He was a stout, well-made man, and exhibited great daring and intrepidity. He had been
rewarded for former services by a medal, which he wore round his neck. It was handed to Admiral
Boscawen."

The troops were told otf for landing in the three following divisions : The first, or right brigade,
composed of detachments of the 1st, 17th, 47th, 48th, 58th and 60th regiments, led by Brigadier-General
Whitmore, Colonels Barton and Foster, and Majors Prevost and Darby ; the .second, or centre brigade,
compo.sod of detachments of the 15th, 22nd, 35th, 40th, 45th and GOth regiments, under Brigadier-General
Laurence, Colonel Wilmot, Lieutenant-Colonel Handfield, Majors Hamilton and Hussey ; the third, or left
brigade, composed of the 78th Highlanders, five companies of Rangers, twelve companies of Grenadiers, and a
corps of Light Infantry* composed of 550 of the best marksmen to be found in the different regiments, led

* " Our Light Infantry, Highlanders and Rangers the French termed the Em/lish savages, perhaps in contradistinction to their
own native Indians, Canadians, etc., the true French savages. . . . Some were dressed in blue, some in green jackets and
drawers, for the brushing easier through the woods, with ruffs of black bearsk'n round their necks ; the boards of their upper
lips, some grown into whiskers, others not so, but all well smutted on that part, with little round hats like several of our seamen.
. . . The Rangers are a body of irregulars, who have a more savage, cut-throat appearance, which carries in it something of
natural savages ; the appearance of the iiight infantry has in it more of artificial savages."

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

251

by Brigivdier-General WoJfe, Colonels Frazer, Fletcher and Murray, and Majors Scott, Murray and
Farquharson.

The ?ight division was ordered to proceed towards White Point, and the centre towards Flat Point, as if
with the intention of landing at these places. These two movements were meant as a feint to draw off the
French forces from Freshwater Cove, where the real attempt to land was to be made by Wolfe's brigade.

The Kennington frigate, after whidi the cove is now generally named, and the Halifax corvette, were
anchored oti the shore to cover the landing of the troops ; the Gramont, Dia-a and Shannon, frigates, off
Flat Point ; aid the Sutherland, fifty guns, and Squin-el, frigate, off White Point, to mislead the enemy and
annoy the troops stationed at those places. The 28th Regiment was embarked in a fleet of small .sloops, and
sent under convoy past the mouth of the harbour towards Lorambec, a small harbour three miles to the
eastward of Louisburg, to make a show of landing, but not to attempt to do so without further orders.

In Wolfe's brigade was the VSth Highlanders. These men were especially adapted for a pieo of work
such as landing among the rough cliffs of the shore before thera. Agile as goats, and animated by the fierce
daring of their race, they were just the men to make a rush at a battery. The first Hi^I.Ii ad regiment that
had ever been in action in a British line of battle was the 42nd at Fontei'oy. On that day the value of
their intrepidity was fully recognized by friend and foe alike. After the pacification of the Highlanders
that followed the last Jacobite Rebellion, inducements were offered for the raising of regiments in that part
of Scotland. There were thousands of high-spirited youths who eagerly joined these bodies of men in
obedience to the military instinct of their race. Nor were thej' of the lower or commoner orders of the people.
Sons of gentlemen were often found in the ranks eager to uphold on every battle-field the military reputation
heir ancestors. And besides, there were no common people, in a sense, among the ancient Highlander-s.
i-. ery man was a gentleman, according to a certain standard of judging, tnd every man felt it incumbent
' him to act like one as a soldier. The high and haughty spirit was unquenchable in these men ; and
hence, when properly led — when commanded by officers who knew the material with which they had to deal,
they have, ever since 1745, been the right hand of British armies in the field. Pitt, with his accustomed
sagacity, discerned the use to which these men could be put, and encouraged the raising of regiments in the
Highlands. A sheer love of fighting had as much as anything else to do with the Jacobite disturbances in the
Highlands, and the force that had continually threatened the peace of Britain, and tended more or less to

252

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

veaken it, directly and indirectly, was now exercised in its behalf. The Hit^hlanders have been a wild, a
turbulent, and an ill-used race. For the last century and a-half they have been the most faithful servants of
Britain on the battle-Held, and Britain has made them but sorry recompense. A petty shooting-box, the
property-in-law of some drivelling upstart, now holds sway over a district where once lived a race possessing
many noble qualities of which this individual never dreamed. The bleating of the sheep alone breaks the
silence where once lived a race high of thought and loyal of character, who, whatever their faults, and
these were of teaching and circumstance, were faithful to the death to whomsoever and whatsoever they
espoused. Tlie " land ' .lestion " has wrought more injustice in the Highlands a hundred times over than ever
it did in Ireland. Henry George marvels that men who behave like lions abroad should so submit to be
treated like sheep at home; and com^v-i to the conclusion that it nuist be their religion that keeps them quiet.
He is right. The Highlander is awed in the presence of authority because there is something awful in
himself of old ; and when it l^reaks out, it points the keenest steel in Europe. The men who swept as
steadily as a living wall up the heights of Alma, went home, some of them, after the war to find their homes
blotted out forever. Natural right is often cruelly transgressed in this petty worldly machine. But good
comes of evil in most cases, and so good comes to the child of the anc'pnt Gael wherever he goes. Wherever
the English tongue prevails, he is rising to places of trust and honour and dignity — and above all things the
Highlander loves the latter. Dignity ! Three centuries ago, in his tattered plaid, he wc . as dignified as an
earl. You cannot wound his dignity — it is invi.IneraHe — and his loj'alty is grave and firm as adamant.
Perhaps it is a .satisfaction to know that the first men th'it sprang up the rocky cliff's near Kennington Cove
in the tierce ardour of battle were of the race who have found so many of their homes in Cape Breton.

The Fight at Kennington Cove.

On the morning of June Nth, Commodore Derrell was sent before daylight to examine the coast. He
reported that though the surf was still heavy, a landing was practicable. The order v.as then pas.sed to get
into the boats before daylight, and to hold themselves in readiness to take their places in their respective
positions. When all was ready the frigates opened a brisk fire upon the enemy's works, and kept it up as
long as it was safe. Wolfe's division, the left, pulled in swiftly toward the shore, while the other divisions
moved more slowly toward Flat Point and White Point, with *^be intention of deceiving the enemy and

1. WOLFE'S LANDING, LOOKING WEST.
2. FLAT POINT. 3. SEA VIEW, FROM FLAT POINT.

4. WOLFE'S LANDING, LOOKING EAST. 5. SEA SHORE FROM LIGHTHOUSE, LOOKING EAST.

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISIWRG.

253

drawing them in thoso directions. But this ruse failed of its purpose?. The enemy perceived their intention
and kept to their entrenchments ut Freshwater Cove. Here was a warlike scone : the huge ships of war
looking grimly on in the ofting, and the smaller frigates, nearer at hand, pounding away at the French
batteries; the unwieldy transports, that had just disgorged their red-coated freight, and hundreds of boats,
laden with bright uniforms and eager faces, ploughing towards the shore in long lines as if conscious of the
stern errand on which they were bent. The gesticulating Frenchman, with lighted match, stands at the breach
of cannon and swivel — of course he was gesticulating ; English ball and bayonet would have been superfluous
if he had not been — and he aims in his excitement at the boats that are ru.shing madly towards him ; now
he thinks he will fire, and then he thinks he won't — not yet. All of a sudden some one more mercurial than
the rest does fire, and then anothe'- and another, and presently there is a pattering of musketry all along the
entrenchments. The surf roars and seethes on the beach and dances its foamy waltz among the rocks, but
still the boats drive the more swiftly towards it, and those grim faces in the boats look sadly disgusted.
They are not upon their element. Oh, for a firm footing a.shore, and then woe be to those Frenchmen with
their popping of musketry. The cannoneers have caught all too .soon the prevailing excitement, after the
manner of their nation, and the roar of their guns drowns the pettier noises all about, and a storm of red-hot
shot, grape and round-shot is sent in the direction of the rushing boats. But the Frenchman has fired too
soon — he always does so in the time of his dire necessity. The boats are yet too far distant to receive much
damage ; had it not been so, and had the Frenchmen waited until they were close in shore, and under the
converging fire of their four batteries and of two thousand muskets, it must have fared badly with those
huddled groups of warriors with red and green and bright waving tartan, and grenadiers' caps. Many a
boat would have sent her living freight, like mimic ship in Eoman arena .sent its uiotley crew of strange
animals, swimming and sinking and drowning in all directions, and many a hundred of these brave men had
never touched the shore alive. Pichon says they fired too soon, and ridicules this national propensity
on the pan of his countrymen. No doubt he manages to tell the truth this time. The English had not
known of the masked batteries, but now they were emphatically audible and visible to all. The French had
solved their own riddle, and sent it fiaming and roaring, and hissing and whizzing at their enemies' heads,
and their cunning was spent. The English wanted no more such solution of enigmas. No doubt they felt
glad that this one had been read so soon. It is said that Wolfe waved his hat as a signal to the leading boats

■■Milk

264

CAPE JiRETON ILLUSTRATED.

t(i withdraw. At all evonts, the advancinj^ line of boats had been divided into vo sections, as it were, to
avoid the tire which was directly in their front, and had diverged to the right and left in some confusion, but
still with intent to seek some less dangerous landing-place. It is said that Wolfe's signal of recall was
mistaken by Lieutenants Hopkins and Brown and Knsign Grant of the leading boats. These oilicers led the
attack with 100 men of the Highlanders and CJrenadiers, and kept dashing on towards the shore until they
ran into, or rather were forced into, a rugged gully with a narrow beach oidy wide enough for a boat or bwo
at a time, and with a jigged and precipitous ascent to the more level ground at the top. We doubt if the
foregoing description c' the advance of the boats be correct. They must have been at least half a mile from
the shore v.'hen the French Hr.st opened fire, if it be correct that the loading boats still dashed on after seeing
Wolfe's signal. If they had been at close range with the batteries, they woidd have ha<l to swerve at right angles
from their courae, and be exposed to a close fire from the battery at E, before they could reach the narrow
cleft in the rocks at tlie left. The true explanation seems to be that the French fired much tuo soon, and that
the boats were instinctively dellected to the right and left before they received any damage worth recording —
for we do not hear of a single boat havinu been sunk before they crunched against tlie rocks — and that tho.se
on the right kept on their way to look for a rougher but at the same time a safer lahiling-place. The leading
boats found this cleft in the rocks and dashed into it, dragged backwards and forwards by the sweltering surf,
while their occupants leaped and scrajnbled into the treacherous sea, struggling and cursing, and stund)ling
forward, some losing their muskets and others swept off their feet antl drowned before they ctmlil .secure a
footing on the rock.s. Still the greater part land with their lives and arms, and <la.sh up the opposing rocks,
led by the gallant subalterns, and form upon the more level ground above, although exposed to a Hanking fire
from the enemy.

Observing the sriccess of this dating movement, Wolfe ordered the other boats to advance in support of
their comrailes who had already landed, and was himself (me of the first to leap out of his boat into the
raging surf, and clamber, in his awkward way, u|i the rocks to get out of the fire which was directed upon
the entrance of the gap by which they had entered. The fire from the batteries couM not reach them after
they lm(' landed, for thev were sheltered bv int'^rvening ledges of rocks : but immediately in front the ground
was extremely steep a 'ifHcult of ascent, and was defended by a party of French and Indians, though not in
sutlicient force o.* ot' Su.ncient courage aad conduct to oppose for any length of time the advance of the British.

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

255

All French writers coiideinn the nof^lect or want of courage whicii rondereil the resistance at this point so weak.
There were 2,000 Fronclunon within half a mile, and it is almost incredible that no more vigorous attempt
was made to oppose tlie landing at this place, especially when tlicj' saw the leading hoats diverging in this
direction. A French oflicer writes that this danger had huen foreseen, and that tii'ty determined men could
have preventt (1 the landing of any force at this point ; and, as you look at the place, you feel that he spoke
the truth. I'ichon relates the gallant conduct of Major Scott at this spot : "Being ordered to go with his
men to the support of those who had landed, and his own boat, which arrived tirst, being stove the instant
he landed, the Major climbed up the rocks by liimself, in hopes of joining the hundred men ; but finding no
more than ten, he, with this small band, reached the summit of the precipice " (there is no precipice at this
point, merely a steep and rugged ascent), " where he found himself in front of seventy Frenchmen and ten
Indians" (it is dillicult to und-.Tstand how they had been employed), "from whom he was separated only by a
small copse of tir trees. Nevertheless, he would not abandon a post on which the success of the whole
enterpri.se depended. Two of his men were killed and three wounded ; throe balls were lodged in his own
clothes ; still he held his ground until seconded by the arrival of a support. The English troops, perceiving
that this was the only chance of succeeding, followed his example, and, notwithstanding the surf which
<lrove back the boats and dn)wned great numbers, landed here in defiance of tlie French batteries, which
played upon them most vigorously." But these batteries could annoy them only from a distance of half a
mile or so — the nearest battery was hidden from view, as we have said, by intervening rocks. The main
defect in the French defence was the neglect to HU the heights above this rocky mlet with nnisketeers. Thj
rattle of musketry and the shouts of the combatants came thick and fast from the dense cover and rough
ground above the landing-place ; but it was soon evident that the French wen* relaxing their grasp of the
position and were grailually being driven landwards. The boats were now forcing their way in numbers
against the foamy rocks, and tha men vied with each other in ru.shing up the height to take part in the
fight. We are told " that canncm and musketry were not thei" worst antagonists; the .sea, which hail grown
more boisterous since they set out, now lashing the coast, dashed them against the rocks, shattering several
of the boats, upsetting others ; and many a brave fellow, who hoped ere night to win renown on the tielil,
found an instant watery grave." Wolfe was soon followed by the whole of his brigade, and they speedily
maile a dasli at the battery nearest to them and drove the Kreneh out at the point of the l)aj'onet. Thi'
other batteries were attacked and captured in ([uick succession, and the whole line of defence was in the

256

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

possession of the invaders. Meanwhile Laurence's and Whitmore's divisions had rowed along the shore, and
landed at a point to the westward of the Cove, where they were sheltered from the fire of the batteries by a
ridge of rock that rose to some height. The French, being driven from their defences, and caught between
the victorious division of Wolfe and those of Laurence and Whitmore, fied precipitately, one body along the
shore, and the other to the woods in the rear. One French writer says, that fearing to be cut off from
Louisburg, they formed themselves into regular order, with fixed bayonets, determined to cut their way
through the British, who suffered them to pass unmolested. It is probable the British were content with the
advantage they had already gained, and that, owing to the dense cover, it was impossible to follow the
movements of the enemy after they were out of sight. At all events, it is certain that o.OOO French regulars,
besides large parties of Indians and militia, fled precipitately and never halted till they were safe behind the
ramparts of Louisburg. All their guns, stores, ammunition and implements fell into the ha' ds of the
victon. The whole of the guns were captured by a party .sent in pursuit along the shore. As the puri^uers
approached the town, the shot from the ramparts began to fall among them, and this shewed +he English at
what distance it was safe to pitch their tents. This is cited by Pichon as another instance of the weak and
impassible nature of his countrymen. He lets no opportunity pass of dealing a blow at this unfortunate
quality of the French. Probably he had some contempt of his father's nation by reason of his English
mother, and this, coupled with the fact that he considered himself to have suffered some injustice in France,
may perhaps ace >unt for his unfaithfulness to that nation, though it certainly can neither excuse nor palliate
the exerci.se of treachery.

Amherst has now his grip of the situation, and the fate of Louisburg is sealed. With Amherst as
director, and Wolfe as executor of the military movements, and with 12,000 of the best soldiers in the world,
the result could not long be doubtful. After the fight at the shore and at the batteries, there was no more
resistance. Men like these British soldiers, led as they were, so long pent up in the transports, and eager for
a fight, being roused into fury by the difficulties of landing, were not men that the French could face at
the bayonet point ; consequently the resistance was short and feeble. The thin line of defence along the
shore was all upon which they had to depend. When that was carried, there was no defensible point upon
which they could fall back. The loss of the British was comparatively trifling considering the difliculties of the
movement which had to be effected, and the number of their opponents. It is almost incredible that it should
have been accomplished with so small a sacrifice of life. The loss was as follows : Captains, one killed, none

msm

THE SECOND S/EGF 0.' LOUISBVRG. v."??

wounded ; lieutenants, two killed, five wounded ; ensigns, one killed, none wounded ; sergeants, four killed, two
wounded ; corporals, one killed, one wounded; privatej, ^'orty-one killed, fifty-one wounded; total, fifty killed,
fifty-nine wounded. The officers killed were Captain Bailie and Lieutenant Cathbc-rt, of the Highlanders ;
Lieutenant Nicholson, of the 15th; and one ensign of the Rangers. Two ciptains, two lieutenants and
seventy privates of the enemy were taken prisoners, but the number of their killed and wounded is not
known. Pichon says they lost two hundred killed and takt'i prisoners.

The French had now abandoned all their outworks, and retired '"ithin the walls of Louisburg. It is
continually presented as an excuse for the double downfall of Louisburg that it was not in a proper state of
defence. Consequently we are told that the works had never been repaired since 174.') ; that the stone- work
was in iiiany places falling into the ditch, and many of the cannon mounted on carriages so rotten that they
would not bear the shock of discharge. It is ilifiicult to understand how this could be true ; and even if it
were true, there is no military reason why it should have been so. Louisburg was presumed to be a strong,
almost an impregnable, fortification, and if its defences were allowed to crumble away in the presence of a
large and idle garrison, the reason alleged for its downfall is the worst of all. It is certain that Louisburg
was weakened by want of organization, and Ity neglect and public corruption ; Init it is at the same time
certain that the Engli.sh had repaired the results of the bombardment in 174"); that after it reverted to the
French thej^ had constructed a half-moon battery, mounting twenty guns, at Point Rochfort ; that a curtain
of masonry was built between the right flank of the Bonrillon and the left flank of the Princess Bastions,
which formerly had been occupied merely by a palisading ; and a bastioned curtain erected between the
Queen's and Princess Bastions' to give additional strength to the ditch.

The garrison of Louisburg, when the English landed, consisted of twenty-four

companies of Infantry and two companies of Artillery, the usual force, in all. . . . 1,200

The Second Battalion of the Regimeht of V'oluntaires Etrangers 600

Artois 500

" " " Burgoyne 450

" " " " Cambise 650

Total 3,400

258

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

In addition \o these, there were 700 burgher rnilitia and a, band of Indians, and in the harbour the
following ships ^i war :

Le Prudent 74 guns.

L'Entreprenant 74

Le Capricieux 64

Le Celebro 64

Le Bienfaisant 64

L'Apollon 50

La Chevro 10 guns.

La Biche 16 "

Le Fidaio "•'P' "

L'Echo 32 "

La Diana 36 "

L'Arethuse 36 "

On the sane day upon which the British landed, the Bizarre, sixty-four, es ned out of the harbour, and
a few days after the ComUe, in spite of the vigilance of Sir Charles Hardy. Many of the officers and
crews of the ships were landed to assist on the shore, and the French fleet was practically useless. The
French Commodore, indeed, had wished to leave Louisburg with his ships, but was prevented by the
Governor.

On account of the rough weather and heavy surf, very little progress was made in landing artillery and
stores for many days. The lighter equipments were landed daily, but the heavy artillery and ammunition
could not be got on shore before the 20th. Meanwhile an encampment had been formed on the same site
which the encampment of Pepperell had occupied, on a low range of undulating hills on both .sides of the
rivulet that runs into the sea at Flat Point Cove. But the space occupied by this encampment was much
greater than was covered by that of the New Englanders. It extended in the segment of a circle two miles
back from the shore. The headcjuarters were midway between the northern and southern extremities. A
road was constructed from Flat Point Cove along the whole length of the camp. The quarters of the
several regiments are indicated by the corresponding numbers on the plan. These redoubts were thrown up
half a mile in advance of the camp to protect its front. These are marked R. 1, R. 2 and R. 3. Two
block -houses, B. H. 1 and B. H. 2, were erected in rear of the quarters of the Light Infantry and the
Highlanders. These occupied con..nanding sites. A sharp lookout was maintained to guard against surprise
by Indians or Canadians from the interior. The sites of these may still be distinguished, and if the
investigator is emulous of tearing his way through the thickest growth of brush and bramble that ever
disconcerted a neophyte woodsman, he may be gratified by standing on the spot from which the keen eyes

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

259

of Amherst's videttes swept the mass of woods to the north and west. If it has not cost too much of your
equanimity and philosophy to get there, if you are not disgusted with yourself and all things visible, you
may, perhaps, in a way enjcy the prospect, too. There is a sense of weirdness and desolation about it that
is not altogether unattractive ; and if you have scratched yourself and your way to this dreary spot on a
sombre autumn day, as we did, you may see the melancholy old sea away to the south, and the still more
melancholy ruins of Louisburg trying to see you through the long stretch of swamp and bush and brake
and hillock and scrubby wood that intervenes. If you do not come down from that spot a first-class
penitent, you will not be able to blame Nature for not doing her best to bring about such a desirable result,
for no doubt you need it. Scratched ! Two of us had temporarily lost an eye and a half before we got
there, and the other person's nose rivalled Pompey's Pillar in hieroglyphic adornment, while fragments of
coats and pants were viciously displayed upon the spiteful thorns all along the way. They call this soothing
locality " Wolfe's Lookout " now-a-days. They say he had a flag here, too. There is a little moss-grown
cairn on the summit of this eminence, and between the stones at the top, a half-decayed, disreputable-
looking trunk of a little fir-tree was sticking. Had we been accompanied by a guide, we should probably
have been informed that this was " Wolfe's flagstafi"."

The army having now been put into quarters and the safety of the can)p provided for, and having
learned from some deserters that the French had dismantled and abandoned the Grand Battery and burned
every house within two miles of the town, General Amherst sent Wolfe round the head of the north-east
harbour, with 1,200 men from the Highlanders, Grenadiers, Light Inf->xntry and Rangers, to take possession of
the Lighthouse Battery. This battery commanded the Island Battery and the shipping. Artillery, tools and
provisions were sent by sea to Lorembec for their use. This service v/as performed the same day. The
enemy abandoned all the po.st • along the route and two camps at Lorembec, in which were found a quantity
of provisions, dry fi.sh and wine. They found the Lighthouse Battery deserted and the guns spiked. A camp
was established on Lighthouse Point for the main body of the troops, 800 men were posted at Lorembec to
maintain communication with the fleet, and 300 more, under the cot miand of Major Ross, at the head of the
north-east harbour. There was still a wide interval between Major Ross' post and the quarters of the Light
Infantry. A block-house was therefore erected about a mile to the eastward of the latter, marked in the plan
B.H. 3. Tills block-hou.se was upon the Mire road, and was meant to intercept succours from that place and

260

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

secure communication between the nor<-h-east harbour and the camp. A detachment of Lij^lit Infantry and
Rangers was also posted about half way between the camp and the north-east harbour, which completed th"
communications of the main body of the army with the troops stationed at Lorembec and the lighthouse.
Amherst had thus, after his sure way, secured his hold of the whole country from Freshwater Cove — for a
detachment was stationed there — to the Lighthouse Point, and effectually guarded against annoyance in the
rear. Boscawen's strong armament prevented communication by sea, and thus Louisburg was eflectually cut off
from all succour. Batteries were now erected on the high ground near the Careening Cove, and on the low
ground between that cove and the lighthouse, for the purpose of destroying the shipping. These were armed
with 24-pounders, 12-pounders and mortars. These works being all completed, fire was opened upon the
ships on the night of the 18th, which compelled them to haul over nearer to the town. Wolfe was now busily
employed in making a road from Lorembec, for transporting heavy gnns to the Lighthouse Battery.

Operations at Flat Point Cove were in the meantime progressing very slowly. From the 13th to the
10th no heavy guns could be landed on account of the high wind and sea. Accordingly, the men were
employed in completing the defences in the rear of the camp, and the redoubts in front. The enemy, on their
side, were not idle ; a heavy fire from the town was directed upon these works while they were in process of
constructio'^, and 300 men were sent in open day to attack redoubt R. 3, but were repulsed by the Light
Infantry sent out by Brigadier Laurence, the commanding officer on the left of the camp. Pichon informs us
that the men within the town could not be got upon a sally or any other special service without being first
made half drunk. This does not speak well for the nature of discipline maintained within the garrison, and
indicates that the defence was not generally conducted with much unanimity or resolution. We are told that
the garrison had all along been in a state of partial insubordination, and probably they had been further
demoralized by the rout which they experienced at the landing-place. The defence which they maintained
must, after that event, have been more or less hopeless, and mostly mechanical. Pichon's statement receives
confirmation from the fact that we are told that the prisoners whom the English took in the encounter
referred to were drunk.

On the 17th, Amherst reconnoitercd the ground in front of the town, accompanied by the oflficers of the
artillery and engineers, to select the most suitable ground for opening trenches. The ground to the south and
south-west of the barachois consists of u series of low, rolling hills, upon which the ground is firm and dry,

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

261

and attains to a greater elevation than the site of the town itself. This approach was the most vulnerable
feature in the defences of Louisburg. Trenches could here be opened a quarter of a mile or more in length,
and forced up to the West Gate and the west flank of the King's Bastion without any impediment. They
decided that the ground between the barachois and an eminence to the south-west called Green Hill, was the
most suitable point to serve as a basis for their operations. This spot was only eight hundred yards from the
ramparts, and is not the locality known by that name in the first siege. The outline of the trenches all
along this rising ground is still distinctly visible, and one can readily understand how these ridges of low
hil!.; presented a raos^ inviting field for the operations of the English engineers. A road was marked out
from the landing-place at Flat Cove, with branches to the artillery camp and headquarters, for the transmission
of the heavy siege guns, ammunition and stores. These roads were made with great labour and difficulty,
from the broken and swampy nature of the ground, and in consequence of the heavy fire kept up on the
men as they worked. Indeed, it is difficult to see how roads capable of sustaining the weight of heavy
cannon could have been made in so short a time ; but Amherst was a man who believed in work, and he had
men and material to do it with, and accordingly it was done. The construction of these roads, and of a
redoubt upon Green Hill, took ten day.s. Th'ise preparations for a determined attack, we are told, so alarmed
the Governor that he determined to send the frigate Echo out of the harbour at all risks to apply to the
Viceroy of Canada for assistance. This vessel got out of the harbour in a thick fog, but she was seen from
the lighthouse. Information was accordingly sent to the Admiral, who sent the Sutherland and Juno in
pursuit. She was overtaken and brought into Gabarus Bay on the 19th.

Meanwhile Wolfe was busy on his side of the harbour. From the careening place to the lighthouse,
batteries had been erected at intervals. He had not yet made much impression upon the shipping. Heavy
guns were brought from Gabarus Bay, and mounted at the lighthouse, and fire was opened upon the Island
Batter}' on the night of the 19th. And now en.sued an artillery duel between these batteries on the one side
and tliose at the Island Battery and Point Rochfort and the .shipping on the other. This was kept up with
great spirit on both sides for five days, at the end of which time the Island Battery was a mass of ruins, the
guns silenced, the embrasures destroyed, and the parapet demolished. Having secured everj'thing at the
lighthouse, and mounted more guns, Wolfe left the north side of the harbour well guarded, and returned
with the rest of his force to headquarters.

282

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The Island Battery being destroyed, the way was now open for the British ships to proceed into the
harbour. To prevent this, four ships of war were, under cover of a fog, sunk in the narrowest part of
the entrance, in a line between Battery Island and the Nag's Head Rock. These ships were the Ajwllon,
of fifty guns ; the Fidhle, of thirty -six guns ; and the Ghlvre and Biche, of sixteen guns each. They were
fastened together by strong chains, and their masts cut off below the surface of the water. Only five ships
of the line and one frigate were now left in the harbour. The investment being completed in front of
the town by means of the redoubts, block-houses and military posts on the one side, and by the fleet on
the other, the engineers proceeded to mark out the entrenchments. The first parallel was drawn from the
vicinity of the water's edge near the barachois to its southern extremity, midway between the King's Bastion
and Green Hill, at a distance of 600 yards from the ramparts, and extending in length for the distance of 700
or 800 yards. This parallel was begun with the intention of attacking from it the Dauphin and King's
Bastions. It is marked T. T. 1, T. 2 on plan. The only access to this parallel was across the bog from Green
Hill. It was therefore necessary to construct an epaulement or rampart to protect the road which was made
between these points. This is marked on the plan E. P. This defence was constructed of fascines and
gabions mixed with earth and turf. The width of the epaulement was sixty feet, its height nine feet, and
its length a quarter of a mile ; and it was a work requiring much time and labour. The road from Flat Point
was now finished, and large quantities of fascines and gabions were brought forward to Green Hill to be used
in its construction. Here another redoubt, R. 4, was completed on June 2oth. All the men that could now
be spared were employed in the construction of the epaulement. The body of carpenters under Colonel
Meserve were found very useful in this work ; but the small-pox unfortunately broke out among them, and
ninety-six men, including the Colonel and his son. fell victims to the malady in a few days. The loss of these
men was much felt at this time ; their place was but ill-supplied by two hundred men drawn from Freshwater
Cove, whose place had been supplied by two hundred marines. Most of this work had to be done in the
night time, consequently the men suffered much hardship, not only from sickness, but from the fire of the
town and shipping. One frigate, the Arethuse, moored close to the mouth of the barachoi.«, annoyed the men
exceedingly while at their work. This was the only one of the French ships employed to any purpose
during the siege. Her movements seem to have been directed by the personal bravery and ability of her
commander. So persistently and determinedly was her fire kept up, and so annoying did it prove to the

i. . ^^tu.-^- r-

r//Ji' SECOND SIEGE OF LOU/S/iUA'G.

263

besiegers, that it was necessary to erect a battery with the express purpose of driving her from her position.
Her captain seems to ha^'e had a great contempt for the conduct of his brother naval officers during the siege,
and rated them in no measured language at a council of war, declaring that they were of no use in the world,
and swearing that, if they would but give him a line-of-battleship, he would be able to effect very much more.
This officer, as we havo before noticed, directed the preparation of the fire-ships at Quebec during the following
summer.

On the morning of July 1st, a sortie was made by the enemy in the direction of the barachois, but Wolfe
drove them back into the town with a corps of Light Infantry. Profiting by the confusion, he seized an
eminence on the north side of the harbour, and before he could be dislodged began to erect a battery and redoubt,
R. 5, which soon opened a destructive fire on the town and shipping, and drove the Are'thuse from her position.

Up to this time the attention of the besiegers had been directed solely to the preparation of the works
meant for an attack rpon the Dauphin and King's Bastions. The men were busy pushing on the construction of
the epaulement and the road across the bog. Until these were completed, nothing could be effected in the way
of a bombardment from this direction. It was now determined to approach the town between Green Hill
and the shore, along which there is a firm, though rugged, belt of ground. This movement was intended to
draw ott" part of the garrison to the defence of the south front of the city, and thereby weaken the defence
on the west and north. Accordingly, on July 1st, a body of troops were pushed forward to the right, which
forced the enemy back towards Black Point. On the 3rd, Wolfe threw up a redoubt near the shore, R. G,
within si.K hundred yards of the ravelin of the Queen's and Princess' Bastions. Nothing worthy of note
occui'red from this time until the 9th, all the disposable force being employed in making the road across the
bog, and in making fascines for the epaulement. This work employed 500 men. No doubt Amherst had
them accurately told off, and looked with much satisfaction at the progress the work was making. Wolfe in
the meantime was busy out along the shore mounting guns and mortars in the batteries. On the night of the
9th occurred the serious accident at Redoubt 6 to which we have already referred, in which Lord Dundonald
was killed. The site of Redoubt 6 occupies the spot now known to local tradition as " Scotchman's Hollow."

Intelligence had come from Halifax that a considerable number of French-Canadians and Indians had
left St. John's Island for Louisburg early in June, and several small bands of Indians had been .seen hovering
about the camp. These French and Indians were under the command of M. de Boishebert, an officer, we are

liJ

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

told by Pichon, " who prided himself more on his bravery than his humanity." Nothing was seen of them
until the night of July 11th, when a large fire was seen to the northward of the block-house, B. H. 3, on the
Mir(^ road. This fire was supposed to have been made by the Canadians to notify the Governor of Louisburg
of their arrival. A waggoner, who had been taken prisoner on the north side of the harbour on the 11th, but
had made his escape during the night, confirmed this supposition. He had been taken to their camp in the
woods, and reported that there were 250 men. If Boishebert had conducted his men between the English
posts to the harbour during the night, it is probable that he might have been taken in boats into the town.
Instead of doing this he made an attack upon Major Sutherl nd's detachment, stationed upon the Mird road.
Wolfe's Grenadiers and the Light Infantry, aroused by the smart firing on their left, were soon at the scene
ot: action. The latter, under Major Scott, went in pursuit ; but the Canadians, favoured by the darkness of
the night, eft'ected their escape. A deserter stated that there were only 100 men in the party which had
attacked Major Sutherland's post, and that there were still 300 men at Wvci ready to cx'oss the river with
boats.

On the same night the Are'thuse got out of the harbour in a thick fog, and made her escape. Pichon
observes that " probably her departure gave more pleasure to the English than to us." This vessel was
captured the following summer on her way from Brest to Rochiort, by the Engli.sh frigate^ Thames and
Venus. The road and epaulement being finished on the 14th, heavy siege-guns and mortars wore brought up
to Green Hill, and the first parallel was commenced on the right. It was to be armed v/ith twenty 24 pounders,
seven mortars and some 12-pounders. The men set to work with great vigour, and soon had one face ready
to receive part of this armament. The enemy directed a heavy fire upon the trenches while these works were
in progress, wishing to destroy the magazine, the position of which had been pointed out to them by a
deserter. This man, luckily for himself, was killed on board the Prudent on the night of the 2.5th, and thus
escaped the ignominious fate which was his due. The enemy's pickets still held the glacis and the ground
immediately in front of the West Gate, from which they kept up an incessant fire upon the trenches. Wolfe,
on the evening of the 16th, made a dash forward with a strong force and drove them within the walls, and
took possession of the ground to the south of the barachois. Here he efifected a lodgement in spitf of the
enemy's shot and shell, and in a few days is seen burrowing his way forward on the left, closer and closer
towards the Uauphin Bastion. A terrible fire was now opened upon the works near the West Gate from these

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISIiVRG.

265

batteries, which were now armed with heavy siege guns and mc 'tars. The bombardment, we are told,
brought the walls down in masses, and the West Gate and the curtain adjoining were soon in ruins.

And now an incident occurred which ruined what little naval strength the French had left in the harbour.
On the evening of the 21st, the magazine of the Entrepvcnanf blew up, and the blazing fragments of the
brave ship, as they fell upon the waters, set tire to the two .ships near her, the Gapricieux ami CeUbre.
No assistance could be rendered the burning ships from the town, as they served as a beacon to draw upon
them a terrific concentrated tire from the Engli.sh batteries. Pichon terms this a " night of horror and
desolation," and no doubt it was ; the terrific glare of the burning ships lighting, with a fierce red glow, the
whole scene of destruction — shattered tower and rampart and battlement — and dyeing with crimson hue
the bosom of the glassy sea, the black smoke shutting out as with a pall the fair face of heaven ; the
fast-Hashing batteries of the English girdling the harbour with a rim of fire, thundering needless destruction
upon the ships, tortured, as it were, by the writhing flamos that shoot up far into the sky, and shew every
mast and yard stretched as though in helple.ss agony. Then gradually they disappear, and the crash of their
fall is echoed by the dull thunder of the loaded guns firing their own death-salute, while the enemy's shells
rush and .scream through mid-air towards them, as if to hasten the work of destruction. At last comes the
final and terrible outburst; and once, twice, the storm of blazing fragments is heaved towards heaven, and falls
upon the hissing and seething waters ; the reddened faces of the fiendishly eager cannoneers are awed for a
moment by the terrific explosion, and then the darkness of desolation settles upon the scene. No wonder
the French thought it ' a. night of horror and desolation." We see them, soldiers, citizens, women, children,
standing upon their ruined ramparts and looking with terror-stricken faces upon the destruction they were
powerless to help, while the relentless guns of the English roar in fierce exultation. Poor people ! struggling
for life, and home, and country — war is thus foreshadowing their fate in his fierce, red hieroglyphics.
As this man Pichon portrays the awful scene, we feel drawn towards him, traitor though he has been ; for
men in lire extremities of life and death forget differences of crime and shame and fame, and are merged in
one common brotherhood of helpless misery. When shall we bo merged in one brotherhood of exaltation,
and honour, and duty, and love ? When wars, private and public, shall have ceased ; when the intensity of a
true life shall have ^struck wide and deep as humanity itself ; when gunpowder shall no longer blast, nor
cannon roar ; when merciless steel shall no longer drive into the life-blood of the creature made in God's

26(5

CAPE liRRTON ILLUSTRATED.

image, and .such things be reckoned honour ; when the victor shall be led, clothed and in his right mind, at
the golden chariot wheels of Him who once trod, in sh'ime and suffering and contempt, the thorny path
of life and death.

The trenches were pushed on with great rapidity during the next few days. The second parallel, T. 3,
T. 4, commencing at Wolfe's post, near the barachois, wu i pushed on to the right a distance of nearly GOO
yards, and at the end of this another oblique trench, T. 5 and '1. 0, was extended towai-ds the left.
On the extreme right, towards the sea-shoro, two bitteries of thirteen 24-pounder.^ and seven mortars
were raised. The enemy '.s skirmishers still held the g.'ound outside the walls near Black Point. O" the
22nd, the Citadel was set on fire by the shells of the bcsieger-s, and on the following night the barracks,
which burned with great violence. There was now a terrilic scene within the wretched town. There was
no .shelter anywhere from the shel.s of the besiegers. Thej burst even in the hospital among wounded men,
scattv- ..g havoc and death everywhere. When a surgeon wus amputating a limb, there would often be heard
the cry, " Garde le bomb!" Th.^ barracks being destroyed, there was now no shelter for the troops. They
consequently had to find protection as best they could under temporary sheds of timber, which artbrded but
partial protection from the iron storm. The helpless women and children were crowded together in the
sickening casemates. On the 25tli, the French, apprehensive of an assault, kept up a vigorous fire of .shot,
.shell, scraps of old iron, or anything they could pick up, upon the trenches, especially upon a branch trench
which had been forced within sixty yards of the glacis of the King's Bastion, and whence the British
musketeers fired up at the French in the Covered Way. The crisis was evidently near at hand. The Britisli
were closing with a firm grip around their prey. Amherst was now determined, as he said in his despatches,
to " make quick work of it," and got 400 seamen from the fleet to assist in working the guns, sending an
additional force of 300 miners to assist in pushing on the approaches towards the West Gate, where the
besiegers were already so near that the skirmishers frequently drove the artillerymen from the ramparts.

While the besiegers were thus reduced to such hard straits on the land side, it was determined on the
part of Admiral Boscawen to destroy or capture the Prudent and Bievfaisani, the only ships which the
French had left. To divert the attention of the besieged, it was ordered that a vigorous cannonade be kept
up from all the batteries, and that scaling ladders should be sent to the front, to induce the belief that an
assault was intended. All the afternoon barges and pinnaces were sent in twos and threes alongside Sir

■>^_-.-

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG.

267

Charles Hardy's squadron, which lay off the harbour. These boats were manned by full crews armed
with muskets, cutlasses, pole-axes, and pistols, and under the command of a lieutenant and mate. There
were GOO men, divided into two squadrons, one commanded by Luforey, and the other by Balfour, the two
senior masters of the fleet. They started at midnight and rowed into the harbour in perfect silence, going
close past the Island Battery and the front of the town, without being oberved. Rowing up to the ships
and ascertaining their position, the men gave three cheers and sprang after their leaders, boarding the ships
on each bow, (juarter, and gangway, Laforey's division choosing the Priulenf, and Balfour's the lile iifaisiint.
The enemy were so surprised and confused by this sudden attack that they made but little resistance. Both
ships wore taken, with the loss of only one officer and three or four seamen.

The report of firearms and the cheers of the sailors soon let the enemy know that their .ships were in
danger. A heavy fire was brought to bear upon them from the town and from Point Rochfort, regardless of
friend and foe alike. But the sailors were not to be cheated of their prey. The French crews were secured
below. The prizes had now to be towed off under the fire of the French batteries. The long lines of boats
are strung out ahead, and these brave and reckless men cheer and tug and pull with might and niain,and the
captured ships move slowly off across the harbour, followed by the shot and .shell of the enemy. The
Bicnfdisant is towed off in triumph to the head of the north-cast harbour, out of reach of the enemy's
.shot and under cover of Wolfe's batteries. The Prudent got on shore and was set on fire, and a large
schooner and her own boats were left alongside of her, .so that her crew might escape. For this gallant
service Mr. Balfour was made cotnmander of the Bienfaisant, and Mr. Laforey of the Echo, of thirty-six
guns, captured on June lOtb.

The way into the harbour being now clear, the Admiral went on shore next day and informed the
General that it was his intention to enter the harbour with .si^ of his largest ships and bombard the town
from the north side. This movement proved unnecessary. While the two commanders were conferring, a
letter arrived by a messenger from the Governor, offering to capitulate on the same terms that had been
granted to the English at Port Mahon. To this communication the following reply was sent :

In answer to the proposal I have had the honour just now to receive from your Excellency by the Sieur Loppinot,
I have only to tell your Excellency th.at it Iiath been determined by Admiral Hoscawen and myself, that his siiips shall
go in to-morrow to make a general attack upon the town. Your Excellency knows very well the situation nf the army

268

CAPE BRETOX ILLUSTRATED

and the fleet, as well as of the town ; and as the Admirn!, as well as myself, is v«'ry anxious to prevent the effusion of
l)lood, we give your Excellency one hour after receiving this, to doterniino either to capitulate as prisoners of war, or to
take upon you all the bad conse(iuences of a defence against this fleet and army.

M. de Drucour, in consideration of tlie gallant defence ho had made, tliought himself and the brave men
under his command entitled to the liononrs of war. A council of war was immediately held, and it was
determined to defend the town to the last extremity. Accordingly, the following answer wiia returned to the
General and Admiral :

To answer your Excellencies in as few words as possible, 1 hive the, honour to repeat to you, that my resolution
is still the same, and tiiat I will sustain the attack and suffer the ccnsequences you speak i. .

As soon as this determination became known in the town, the principal inhabitants and trailers sent a pt^tition
by M. Prevot, the Intendant of the Colony, earnestly imploring him to accept the terms proposed, and spare
them and their families the horrors of a general assault. M. IWvot was himself convinced that any attempt
to pursue the defence further was useless, and would be attended with the loss of niany valuable lives, and
he strongly supported the prayer of the petitioners. The Governor, satisfie<l that he had done all in his
power to defend the place entrusted to him by his sovereign, at length yielded to the arguments of the
Intendant, and M. Loppinot was sent to inform General Amherst that he was ready to accept and sign the
articles of capitulation demanded.

Soon after M. Drucour arrived in England, and while a prisoner of war at Vndovcr he wrote the foil- wing
letter to a friend in Paris, in justification of his conduct at Louisburg. This letter was translated in the
Annual Register for 17r)eS :

Infandxim, rcrfitia, jul>rs. \ wish, sir, I could erase from my memory tiie four years 1 passed in Ijouisburg. The
bad state of the place, the impossibility of making it better, the subsistence! of a garrison and inhal>itants supported there
at the King's rixpense, and threatened witii famine once a month, gav(! no little un<'asiness and anxiety to all who were
charged therewith. This situation — tiicinet aUa mento n'/iontiiiii. !\Iany old otlicers, from all the provinces of the kingdom,
have biM'n witnesses of my conduct, and I dare assert it was never impeached, liut be who views objects iit a dist.inee
may judge dill'erently. 1 hope, sir, that this was not your case ; l)ut that you said, -'It must have been inii)ossil)le for
Drucour to have acted dillerently.' Of this I cannot so easily convince you till 1 have the piiMsure of seeing you. .Mean-
wliih', know that twenty-three ships of war, eighteen frigates, sixteen thousand land forces, with a proportionate train
of cannon and mortars, came on June the 1st, and landed on the 8th. To oj. iose thom wo had at most two thousand
five hundred men of the garrison, and three hundred militia of the liurghers of the town and of St, dohn's Island, a f'ortifi-

iliMUWii&ia i xa gg^^iyi

THE SECOND SIEuE OE I.OUISBURG.

26!)

cation (if it could dcservo tiid luiinc) cruinljling down in ovory tliinlc, faco and contour, except the right tlank of tin-
icing's Txistion, which was icmountcd the lirstyonr after my arrival. The ('overed Way was covered as nuich as it coidd ho
and yet was connnanded and enHlnded throughout, as well as the Daujihin's ami King's Bastions. In the harliour wim'o
tivc nien of war. This was our force. 'J'he succours 1 expected from Canada did not arrive till tlie end of tiie siege, and
consisti'd of ahout three hundred and (ifty Canadians only, including ui.xty Indians.

The enemy was at (list v(>ry slow in making his rpproadies, for on the \'.iK\\ tJuly he was three iiundred toises from
(lie place. lie was emjiloyi'd in securing his camp l>y redouhts and er>auleiiients, thinking we had many (^madiaiis and
Indians behind him. \Vi', on our part, used every eli'ort to retard ana destroy their work, Ixitli liy tlu^ tire oi the place
and that of tlie ships in the liarbour. The commodore of these ships warndy solicited leave to cpiit the place ; but, knowing
tl.J importance of their stay to its safety, I refused it. It was our liusiness to defiM- the determination of our fi.te as long
as possible. IMy accounts from tJamida assured mo tiiat M. de .Montcalm was marching to the enemy, and would conio
up with him liclween the l^th and llOth of July. I .said thtMi, " If the shijis leave the harbour on the 10th of June (as
they desire), the I'lnglish admiral will enter it immediately after," and we should have been lost before the eml of the
montli, which would have put it in the power of the j,eneral.s of the bi!siegers to have employed the nu).iths of July and
August in sending succours to tlui troops nuircliing against (Canada, and to liav(( entered the River St. Lawreni'c at the
proper season. This object alone s-euicd to nu' of sullicient importance to retjuire a council of war, whose opinion was
the sanu' with none and confornuibie to th(> King's intentions. The situation of the ships was not less criti<'al than ours.
l<'our of them were l)urnt, with t.wo corps of caserns, by the enemy's bombs. At last, on tin- Itilii of July, no ships being
left, and tiie place being open in diU'erent parts of the King's, the Dauphin's, and the (.^)uecn's Mastions, a council of war
determined to ask to ca|iitulate.

I projiosed much the same ai'tides as were granted at Port Mahon, but the generals would listen to no proposals
but our being nuule prisoiu-rs of war. 1 annex tiieir letter and my answer, by which you will see that 1 was resolved to
wait the general assault, when M. I'rt'-vot, Commissary-(h'n(>ral and Intenrlant of the ('olony, brought m<^ a petition from
th(> traders and iidi.abitants which determined me to send l)ack tlu^ olliccr who carried my former letter to mak(! our
submissions to thi^ law of force, a subudssion which in our case was inevitable. This conditi(ni was such that for eight
days the oilicers had not, any more tlian the private nuui, oiu) moutent's rest. In all Ix^sieged towns tliere are intrench-
meiits, where those who ar(> not on duty nuiy retire aiul be covered from the eiu'iny's lire; but at liouisburg we had not
a safe place e\t'n for the wouiuleii, so that they were almost as much exposed every ndnutt' of the four and twenty hours
as if they had lieen on the Covered Way. Xcvertheless, tlu^ men did not muinuir in tiie least, nor disio\cr the smallest
discontent, which was owing to the good (>xample and exact di.si'ipline of their ollicers. None deserted but foreigiu>r8,
(Jermans, one of whom prevented an intt>iuled sally. As he had gone over to the enemy two hours before, it was not
thought jirudent to make it. Tlu^ burning of the ships and caserns (barracks) of the King's and l,>ueen's Hastions
prevented our making anothci-. A third had not betl(>r success. We proceeded no further than tli(> ijUwU of the
Covered Way, lia\ing missed tlieipniy of a small jiassagc w-liii h it behoved us to turn in ordei' to take the enemy in flank ;
so that, of four sallies which were inteiuhid, only one succeeded, in which we made thirty grenadiers and two ollicers

270

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

prisoners, besides those that were killed, among whom was a captain. We had about three hundred and thirty killed
during the siege, ini'luding otUcers. Tlie crews of the King's ships are not comprehended in that number.

As to the landing, it must have been effected by sacrificing lives in one part or another — it being impossible to
guard such an extent of coast with a garrison of 3,000 men, and leave men in the place for daily duty. We occupied
about two leagues and a-ha!f of gronnd in the most accessible parts, but there were some intermediate places we could
not guard, and it was piecisely in one of these the enemy took post.*

The captain of a ship strikes when his vessel is dismasted, his rigging cut to pieces, and several shot received
between wind and water. A governor of a town surrenders the place when the breaches are practicable and when he
has no resource, by intrenching himself in the gorges of bastions, or within the place. Such was the case of Louisburg.
Add to this that it wanted every necessary for such operation. General Wolfe himself was obliged to place sentinels on
the ramparts, for the private men aid the settlers entered through the breaches and gaps with as much ease as if there
had been only an old ditch. Of tifty-two pieces of cannon which were opposed to the batteries of the besiegers, forty
were dismounted, broke, or rendered unoprviceable. It is easy to judge what condition those of the place were in. Was
it possible, in such circumstances, to avoid being made prisoners of war \

I have the honour to be, etc.,

Le Chevalier de Drucour.

It was of course inevitable thai Louisburg must fall before the overwhelming force against it, and no one
ever denied that Drucour made a gallant defence. But still this letter is a piece of special pleading for
himself, and hardly one of the counts in it is put fairly. The most creditable thing that Drucour did, and
that which led to the most practical results, was the protracting of the defence until it was too late for the
besieging force to co-operate with the army from the west in an attack upon Quebec. But on the other hand
it may be said that the circumsttinccs were all natural. The sea was so rough for manj- days that no heavy
siege guns could be landed, and .imherst very deliberately threw up defences all around his camp, and spent
a good deal of tine in road-making. After the investment o^ the place was completed, the real siege did not
last above a month, and Drucour surrendered as soon as his defences were destroyed, as any other sensible
man would have done. One cannot help feeling sorry that the French were not allowed the honours of war
in the surrender. It would not have made much difference in the final result of the struggle, and would have

^ Til's is not strictly true. They had a force of 2,000 men at and near Freshwater Cove, and four liatteries, and the particular
spot ai which the Britisii forced a landing was oujy a few hundred yards from the most eastorjy of tliDso liatteries, and coidd have
boon defcndod by a very small force against any num)>ur of assailants ; but it was almost defenceless, thougli the boats of the
English Wore soon to be making in that direction.

■"■^a"

THE SECOND SIEGE OF I.OUISBURG.

271

taken nothing from the repute of the British commanders. But Amherst was a man in whom the romance of
war did not find much place. In this respect the Englishman does not contrast favourably with the
Frenchman. Amherst was probably contemplating with complacency his redoubts and epaulements and his
numerous roads across the swamp, while the average Frenchman would have had more .sympathy with the
honour of a fallen enemy who had done his best to defend himself. The condition upon which M. de Drucour
laid the greatest stresr, vvas, " That all the honours of war be granted the garrison on their surrender, such as
to march out with their Hre-locks on their .shoulders, drums beating, colours flying, with twenty-four charges
for each man," etc., etc., which had been granted by Marshal Richelieu to Governor Blakeney and his garrison
at Port Mahon, in 1756, with the observation, " The noble and vigorous defence which the English have
made, having deserved all the marks of esteem and veneration that every military person ought to show to
such actions; and Marshal Richelieu being desirous also to shew General Blakeney the regard due to the
brave defence he has made, grants the gai'ri.son all the honours of war that they can enjoy," etc. It is a pity
that Madame de Drucour did not ask for this condition, for Pichon informs us: "The Admiral has .shown
all the respects to Madame de Drucour as were due to her merit ; every favour she asked was granted. True
it is that such behaviour does honour to the discernment of the gentleman that shewed it. This lady has
performed such exploits during the siege as must entitle her to a rank among the most illustrious of her sex,
for she fired three cannon every day to animate the gunners."

Drucour undoubtedly exaggerated the bad condition of the fortifications. That they were inefficiently
constructed and of poor material is without doubt true ; but, such as they were, they must have been in a fair
state of repair at the commencement of the siege. But no matter how solidly they had been built, they must
have succumbed before long to the close and hoavy bombardment to which they were subjected. Drucour's
.statement respecting the naval force ia also mi.sleading. There were seven ships of the line and six frigates
in the harbour on the 1st of June, though Drucour was not directly responsible for the cowardice and
supineness exhibited on the part of the naval commander. In the Oentleman's Magazine for April, 1760, it
is stated : " We are informed by private letters that the Maniuis de Gouttes, who commanded the French
squadron at Louisburg when taken by the English, has been degraded from his rank, his patent being burnt
by a common han}.'man, and condemned to twenty-one years' imprisonment."

Wolfe appears to have had a very contemptuous opinion of the Micmac Indians. He says, in one of

272

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

his letters, " The Indians of the island gave us very little trouble. They attacked one of my posts, and
were repulsed, and since that time they have been very quiet. I take them to be the most contemptible
canaille upon earth. Those to the southward are much better and braver men ; these are a dastardly set of
bloody rascals. We cut them to pieces wherever we found them, in return for a thousand acts of cruelty and
barbarity."

The following were the conditions imposed by General Amherst and Admiral Boscawen :

"Articles of Capitulation between their Excellencies, Admiral Boscawen and Major-General Amherst,
and His Excellency, the Chevalier Drucour, Governor of the Island of Cape Breton, of Louisburg, the Island
of St. John, and their appurtenances,

" I. The garrison of Louisburg shall be prisoners of war, and shall be carried to England in the ships of
His Britannic Majesty.

" II. All the artillery, ammunition, provisions, as well as the arms of any kind whatsoever, which are
at present in the town of Louisburg, the Islands of Cape Breton and St. John, and their appurtenances, shall
be delivered, without the least damage, to such commissioners as shall be appointed to receive them, for the
use of His Britannic Majesty.

"III. The Governor .si: ''.11 give his orders that the troops which are in the Lsland of St. John, and its
appurtenances, shall go on board such ships of war as the Admiral shall send to receive them.

" IV. The gate called Port Dauphin shall be given to the troops of His Britannic Majesty to-morrow at
eight o'clock in the morning, and the garrison, including all that caiiied arms, drawn up at noon on the
Esplanade, where they shall lay down tiieir arms, colours, implements and armaments of war. And the
garrison shall go on board, to be carried to England in a convenient time.

" V. The .same care .shall be taken of the sick and wounded that are in the hospital, as of those belonging
to His Britannic Majesty.

" VI. The merchants and their clerks that have not carried arms, shall be sent to France in such manner
as the Admiral shall think proper.

" (Signed)
" (Signed)
" (Signed)

" Louisburg, 26th July, 1758."

Le Chevalier de Drucour.
Edward Boscawen.
Jeffrey Amherst.

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUISBURG. 273

Three companies of Grenadiers, under Major Farquhar, took possession of the West Gate on the
following morning. The jrarrison were drawn up at noon on the Esplano,de, and their arms and colours were
delivered up to Brigadier Whitmore. Many of the soldiers, we are told, threw down their arms with tears
of mingled grief and rage. The poor fellows might have been allowed to keep them ; they were brave
men, but badly led. The arms were sent out of town, and strong guards were posted over the stores
and magazines and upon the ramparts. The following is a list of the guns and munitions of war found
in the place : 218 pieces of iron ordnance, 11 iron mortars, 7 brass mortars, 7,500 muskets and accoutrements,
13 tons of musket balls, 80,000 musket cartridges, 600 barrels of powder, 9,600 round shot, 1,190 grape,
case and canister shot, 1,053 shells, 12 tons of lead, 6 tons of iron, besides many hundreds of wheelbarrows,
shovels, pickaxes and other implements. The number of prisoners of war was :

Military officers 214

Soldiers fit for duty , 3,374

" sick and wounded 443

4,031

Naval officers 135

Sailors and marines fit for duty 1,124

" " sick and wounded 347

1,606

Total 5,637

The prisoners of war sailed for England on August 15th, in transports, under convoy of the Burford and
Kingaton. The other inhabitants, to the number of about 4,000, were sent to France. On July 30th, the
Shannon sailed for England with despatches from the General and Admiral.

Amherst now proposed to sail for Quebec with his army to co-operate with Abercrombie's movements, in
order to complete, as was designed, the conquest of Canada. But hearing of the disastrous failure of the
latter before Ticonderoga, and considering the season too far advanced, he embarked with six battalions for
Boston, and marched overland to the British camp on Lake George, arriving too late to be of any use that

274

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

season. Major Balling was sent on August 7th, with a detachment, to take possession of St. Ann's and
Sydney ; and the 35th and two battalions of the 60th were sent to occupy St. John's Island. It is said there
were 4,100 inhabitants on the island, most of whom gave up their arms. Lord RoUo, who commanded this
expedition, says that on the i.sland there were 10,000 horned cattle, and that from this place the Quebec
market was largely supplied with beef; and that some of the farmers raised 1,200 bushels of corn every j'ear.
A le.ss agreeable circumstance is referred to in the statement that the house of the Governor was found
decorated with the scalps of murdered Englishmen — embellishments which the French owed to the artistic
proclivities of their Indian allies. These adornments are said to have been the trophies of massacres
committed in Nova Scotia.

Wolfe was sent north commissioned to destroy the French settlements on the Gulf of St. Lawrence —
Miramichi, Bay Chaleur, and Gaspd — with orders to carry off or disperse the wretched people. This was
work for which he had no taste, and he speaks in his letters in unmeasured contempt of such a service. He
had not been wont to make war upon defenceless fishermen and women and children. There was nothing of
the heroic in this business, though Wolfe uses heroic language to describe it. This expedition was a powerful
one. There was Sir Charles Hardy with seven ships of the line and three frigates, and Wolfe had under him
three regiments and some artillery. But this display of force was not meant alone for the work in hand ;
it was intended to create a diversion in favour of the forces which were advancing upon Canada from the
West, and to prevent reinforcements being sent from Quebec in that direction. Besides, though the above
settlements were unimportant in themselves, they served as lurking places for a set of villains and cut- throats,
who, whenever a chance offered, made raids upon Nova Scotia. The odious work was soon done. Fish,
provisions and merchandise to an immense amount were destrcj d. Wolfe writes to General Amherst:
" Your orders were carried into execution as far as troops could carry them. Our equipment was very
improper for the business ; and the numbers, unless the squadron had gone up the river, quite unnecessary.
We have done a great deal of mischi^-f — spread the terror of His Majesty's arms through the whole Gulf — but
have added nothing to the reputation of them."

The 22nd, 28th, 40th and 4oth Regiments were established as a garrison at Louisburg, and Brigadier
Whitmore was appointed Governor. Ten of the line-of-battle ships were sent to winter at Halifax, in
readiness for the projected expedition against Quebec in the spring. The rest of the Louisburg fleet sailed

«i«»e<asH™ESS£S

i*a=«asg;«K£«^^j;^

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUIS BURC.

276

for England. The Namiir, the Royal William and the Bienfaisant arrived at Spithead on November 1st.
When oft' Land's End, on October 27th, they fell in with six or seven French ships of the line and two
frigates on their way from Quebec. Boscawen, with his three ships, offered to fight them. Wolfe, who was
on board the Namw, says : " Boscawen did his utmost to engage them." A few shots were fired as night
was closing in, but next morning the enemy were nearly out of sight. This was supposed to be the squadron
that failed to get into Louisburg in the spring, commanded by M. de Chaufireil. Wolfe says that if they
had effected their purpose, " they would inevitably have shared the fate of those who did get in, which must
have given an irretrievable blow to the marine of France, and delivered Quebec into our hands, if we chose to
go up and demand it."

The Shannon arrived in England on August 18th, with the first intelligence of the fall of Louisburg.
The news was received with much rejoicing. Captains Amherst and Edgecombe, when they presented theii
despatches to the King, received each ^ gratuity of £500. A great triumph had been won at a comparatively
trifling sacrifice of life. A strong fortress, defended by a powerful garrison, had been reduced ; 5,G00
prisoners, 240 cannon, and 7,500 stand of arms had been taken ; and the English loss was only 21
commissioned and non-commissioned officers, and 150 privates killed; and 30 commissioned and non-
commissioned officers, and 320 privates wounded. Thanksgivings were offered in all the churches in London,
and throughout England. Eleven sets of colours were presented to the King at Kensington Palace. They
were then carried with great pomp to St. Paul's Cathedral. The cannon roared, the multitude shouted, and
these warlike trophies were deposited among the triumphal insignia of the nation. Congratulatory addresses
poured in upon the King. The following ia a copy of the address presented by the Mayor and Corporation of
London :

Most Gracious Sovereign,

Amidst the joyful acclamations of your faithful people, permit us, your Majesty's most dutiful and loyal subjects,
the Lord Mayor, Aldermen and Commons of the City of Loudon, in common council assembled, humbly to congratulate
your Majesty on the success of your arms in the conquest of the important fortress of Louisburg, tlie reduction of the
Islands of Cape lireton and 8t. John, and the blow thus given to a considerable part of the French navy.

An event so truly glorious to your ilajesty, so important to the Colonies, tride and navii^ation of Great l?ritain, and
so fatal to the commercial views and naval power of France, afibrds a reasonable prospect of the recovery of all our rights
and possessions in America, so unjustly invaded, and in a great measure answers the hopes we formed when we beheld

lii

>.H

2?6

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

tliR French power weakened on the coast of Africa, their ships destroyed in their ports at home, and the terror thereby
spread over all their coasts.

May those valuable acquisitions, so gloriously obtained, ever continue a part of the British Empire, as an effectual
check to the perfidy and aml)ition of a nation whose repeated insults and usurpations obliged your Majesty to enter into
this just and necessary war ; and may these instances of the wisdom of ycur Majesty's councils, of the conduct and
resolution of your command".'s, and the intrepidity of your fleets and armies, convince the world of the innate strength
and resources of your kinf;''...:Tjs, and dispose your Majesty's enemies to yield to a safe and honourable peace.

In all events, we shall most cheerfully contribute, to the utmost of our iiower, towards supporting your Majesty in
the vigorous prosecution of measures so nobly designed and .so wisely directed.

Admiral Boscawen, beinfj a member of Parliament, received the thanks of the Commons for his services to
his King and country, and the same recognition of his services was conveyed to General Amherst, then in
America. Wolfe was promoted to the rank of major-general.

The significance of the fall of Louisburg to the British mercantile community is indicated by the fact
that during the few previous years insurance on vessels bound to America had been effected at twenty-five or
thirty per cent. It immediately fell to twelve per cent.

The campaign of 1758 had, on the whole, been disastrous to France. The defeat of Abercrombie at
Ticonderoga was the only success her arms achieved. In despite of this brilliant achievement, Montcalm,
who was nobly striving to uphold the honour of his country, saw the ruins of French power looming in the
future. The power and system of the English were things which he knew it would be useless in the end to
resist. " For all our success," he says, " New France needs peace, or sooner or later it must fall, such are
the numbers of the English, such are the difficulties of obtaining supplies ; yet we are still prepared to find
our graves beneath the ruins of the Colony." And there he did find his.

In the following spring Louisburg was the rendezvous of the final expedition against Quebec. Seven
thousand troops, under Major-General Wolfe, sailed from Portsmouth on February I7th for Louisburg, where
contingents from the provinces were expected to arrive. The flagship Neptune, in which Wolfe had
embarked, arrived with most of the fleet off Louisburg on April 21st ; but the harbour being blocked up with
ice, they proceeded to Halifax. The missing ships having all joined the fleet, and six companies of Provincial
Rangers being taken on board, the expedition left for Louisburg, where it arrived on May 18th. Here they
had to wait for the arrival of more provincial troops. A brigade was chosen from the garrison of Louisburg,
from the Grenadiers oi the 22nd and the 40th and 45th Regiments.

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUIS BURG.

>77

All the expected reinforcements had arrived during the last of April. The land forces now consisted of
ten battalions of infantry, six companies of Rangers, three companies of Louisburg Grenadiers, and a detach-
ment of artillery and engineers — in all 9,000 men. The coast was not yet entirely free of ice, and it took
some days for all the ships to get clear of the shore. We are told, " As each transport sailed out of the bay,
the soldiers, who crowded the decl:s, rent the air with shouts of joy, while the prevailing toast of the othcers
was, ' British colours on every French port, fort and garrison in America.' "

Fearing that the French would make a determined effort to recover their lost possessions in America, and
judging from the importance which France had attached to Cape Breton in her diplomacy, that her first effort
would bo an attempt to recapture Louisburg, the British Government determined to demolish its fortifications.
Besides, British power was now being concentrated at Halifax, which was a more convenient centre, being
nearer the English colonies, and the maintenance of two strongholds on the North Atlantic coast was
unnecessary. As long as Louisburg remained fortified, it served only as an object upon which an enemy
would be tempted to concentrate an attack. It was determined to demolish Louisburg in the winter of 1760,
but the order did not reach Governor Whitmore until May 31st. Engineers were sent out from England to
superintend the work. In the coarse of six months all the fortifications were utterly demolished, the walls
and glacis were levelled mto the ditch, leaving nothing but a chaotic succession of mounds to mark their
po.sition. " On October 17th, 1760, the last blast was given to the compbte demolition of the fortifications of
that important fortre.ss, the whole being by that time reduced to the houses of a few fishermen."

The Treaty of Paris was signed on February 10th, 1703, the 4th Article of which stipulates that "His
most Christian Majesty renounces all pretensions which he has heretofore formed, or might form, to Nova
Scotia or Acadia, in all its parts, and guarantees the whole of it, and with all its dependencies, to the King
of Great Britain. Moreover His most Christian Majesty cedes and guarantees to His said Britannic Majesty,
in full right, Canada, with all its dependencies, as well as the Island of Cape Breton, and all the other islands
and coasts in the Gulf and River St. Lawrence, and, in general, everything that depemls on the said countries,
lands, islands and coasts, with the sovereignty, property, possession, and all rights acquired by possession or
otherwise, which the most Christian King and the Crown of France have had till now over the said countries,
islands, lands, places, coasts and their inhabitants, .so that the most Christian King cedes and makes over the
whole to the said King, and to the Crown of Great Britain, and that in the most ample manner and form,

nil

iHI» II III

278

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

without restriction and without any liberty to part from the said cession and guarantee, under any pretence,
or to disturb Great Britain in the possessions above mentioned."

So Cape Breton was finally settled in the possession of the Crown of Great Britain. For half a century
it had been a special object of desire to the Government of France. It was the only strong and convenient
position on this side the Atlantic which they had been able to retain, and all their trans-Atlantic commerce,
and the vast extent of their fisheries, had here their centre. While the British possessed a sea-coast of two
thousand miles in length, with their commerce aligned along its v/hole extent, the French were confined to
this one j»ort. Hence the busy scene which Louisburg, during its short e.xistence, presented ; hence the
miscellaneous and often questionable nature of its commerce. It was, as has been said, a double injury and
menace to British interests. It affected the safety of the British mercantile marine in these waters, and it
tempted British subjects to engage in a species of trade in direct violation of the regulations of Parliament.
But Cape Breton was of much more importance to the French than ever it could have been to the English,
and its significance to the latter arose from the fact that it was a hostile stronghold — and the only one — on
the Atlantic coast. Many contemporary tracts were written, discussing the importance and advantage of
Cape Breton to the English Crown, but this importance and advantage r^itained its full significance only
while the colonial wfirs lasted, and while Louisburg remained a menace to English power.

The head waters of the St. Lawrence, and the chain of water communication between the Colonies and
that river by way of Lakes Champlain and George, were the vulnerable points of Canada from the west and
south ; Quebec and Louisburg were its bulwarks on the east, and the last was the most offensive of all to
British interest and infiuence, and consequently drew upon it, in the sense of the law of utility and force,
merited distinction. Though Louisburg be in itself nowadays the most uninteresting of places, though it have
no romance of situation or ardour of heroic deeds about it, though it is hard to realize the fact that here
momentous issues were ever tested, the fact still remains that this is the most important centre, next, perhaps,
to Quebec, round which the strife for colonial supremacy raged ; and when we take into account the causes,
nature and results of its double downfall, and the men who were concerned in it, there is no such suggestive
point of thought on the continent of America as Louisburg. There the New Englanders learned to think of
the possibilities of their united strength, there the maritime dominion of France on the western Atlantic was
crashed ; and, as we gaze eastward from the ruined Citadel of Louisburg over the blue waters, fancy can see

THE SECOND SIEGE OF LOUtSBURG.

27t)

the faces of thousands and millions pressing westward to find homes under the assured dominion of the
Saxon, and to found two mighty realms governed by laws and protected by a spirit of freedom of which
France was never capable. The fittest survives, and so the genius and power of Britain for the present
survives, in obedience to the law of physical and moral force. What milder and more benignant forces may
yet subdue all the nations of the earth to themselves we cannot, perhaps, foresee ; nor the direction from which
they are to come. France has hac' too long and too interesting a history to pass out of sight into the silent
past. Her life is as exuberant, though her strength be not as great, as ever, by reason of the giants that have
grown up around her. Britain, with her strong hand and strong common ,"eLse, has for the last century led the
world, but we are convinced there is an enthusiasm, a loyalty, a fineness and delicacy of thought, an innate
spirit of humanity in France, which, if rightly educated, chastened and glorified, is capable of doing more for
the world than Britain ever has done. And perhaps her day is yet to come — not a day of war and massa'^re
and horror, which her mad frenzy has oftb.i dealt upon herself and upon the world. Her fight has beon for
earthly glory and for earthly freedom ; she may yet learn to strive for that which alone makes free, and for a
glory that fades not away — for the glory that dwells deep down in the soul of man, of which all earthly
glory is but the faint and distorted expression.

France has often been fiendishly bad — her wickedness has assumed the devilish ingenuity of which only
the French temperament is capable — but she has never been brutally bad. To meet brutality, pure and
simple, in men and women, we must cross the Atlantic and get into England, and into the Scotch maritime
towns. We need hardly look for it in Ireland. The Irishman's wrongs have been similar to those of the
Frenchman, and if he had had the power, no doubt he would have avenged them in a similar manner. The
primitive Celtic agriculturist, tilling with rude implement his half-subdued field in the far-ott' time, sitting at
eve among his prattling barbarians, and thinking gentle thoughts of Him who spread the bright overarching
heavens — the god of the Aryans — knew that he was a freeman ; he knew nothing else ; he had no need of a
chief or of a man greater than himself, and he would suffer none such, except from dire necessity, and for the
time being ; and this man he helped to choose. He was as much of a freeman, and much more so, than the
modern American or Canadian or English elector. His chief was, for the time being, his representative, and
a far more honest one than his modern counterpart. What wonder that the descendants of these men, crushed
out of the form of humanity century after century, should shew the result of the tyrant's handiwork ? In

i80

CAPE nRETOy ILLUSTRATED.

the olden time, no hell-born power had as yet appeared with the strcnpfth or the motive to enslave him ; and
the first of his con(|uerors, though the sternest, was yet the mildest. The Roman — that is, the good Roman,
he who represented the true genius and inspiration of Rome — had no thought of tyranny, but only of powor
and authority, and moderation, and inflexible justice. Then came the northern barbarian, undoing for centuries
all that Rome had done, the results of whoob work still remain. The nnliions of France have been crushed
and starved and tortured out of human shape, and all the recompense they received was the glory cf rusiiing
to battle in countless thousands, to be scorched and shrivelled in the red mouth of the dragon of war, and to
shout with their last breath, " Vive la France ! " Yet they were the first people of Europe to break their
bonds, and they cast their fragments with fiendish glee in the face of Heaven, and perhaps Heaven accepted
the sacrifice and pardoned those who oflered it. They taught all Europe to look for freedom, and sowed
seeds of liberty which are germinating and upheaving the soil from the Atlantic to the wilds of Siberia. The
first-fruits of this sowing will probably be an uprising, the sweeping away of ancient landmarks, and a
carnival of blood, for the path of freedom is stained with the blood of millions ; but the final result cannot be
doubtful. England taught herself and her children freedom by a long and gradual and natural process. The
seeds of liberty had been in the history and conditions of the people. This was a freedom strong and self-
contained, and comparatively inexpressive, as all strong things are ; and yet Britain was drenched time and
again with her own blood before that liberty was fixed upon a sure basis. The Englishman's freedom in all
time marched abroad in open day, and looked the world straight in the face, and was big, and burly, and
self-reliant, and grew and strengthened with the growth and strength of the country. The history of
England, as we read between the lines, is the history of the liberty of the people.

The history of France, till we are plunged into the awful vortex of the Revolution, is the history of
their enslavement. The liberty of the ancient Gaul was forced for twelve hundred years to skulk along
byways and shades and glooms, and it waxed lean and ragged and hungry, and fierce and ghoul-faced, while
the blood of his forefathers was boiling and beating a hot revenge within his heart. And so the son of the
Gaul hammered and rolled and bored his ploughshares into musket barrels, and moulded them into cannon
and blasted with them far and wide, and beat his pruning-hook into daggers and pikes and bayonets, and
struck sure and .sharp and deep. And that after which the peasant trudged with his clouted blouse and
sphinx-like face ia now reddened with the blood of the people's enemies from the Mediterranean to Moscow.

V Oi»4»«^blM«^

THE SECOND S/EGE OF LOUIS BURG.

281

Yes, France has done great thing?! in the past, but her strength, like herself, has often been spasmodic and
self-destructive. She has often expended her enthusiasm upon the spectres and nightmares and ghosts of
"ober realities. She needs to work in a realm in which enthusiasm can never be too ardent or consuming,
and perhaps there is that in her destiny. There are some individual characters who wore never made for
this world, as we say ; that are too bad or too good ; so it is evident that France was never made for the
ordinary humdrum life of nations. Worldliness, in the common acceptation of the term, has never been the
predominant feature in her policy ; and unselfishness, no matter what form it may assume, has always in it
the possibilities of good ; and we all know what the ultimate good is. It is what we must call, from the
world's point of view, unselfishness ; but, looked at from the other and the true side, is the highest cultivation
and enhancement of self. Living for others is the only true life. No one ever accomplished anything who
had not previously reached this plane of action. Franco has, unconsciously at least, lived for the world,
despite all her failings and — well, let us say, her crimes. She has taught the world grace and taste, and valour
and patriotism, and freedom and fidelity, and faith — yes, taith — faith in sentiments and ideals. She has
suffered enough to earn her right to a truer glory than she has ever yet sought after ; and if the day should
come when she shall see and understand this, let us give her her befitting place with that sublime courtesy
which recognizes the true worth and dignity of humanity.

i I

^82

CAJ'E BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

THE UNITED STATES.

THE result of the New England expedition against Cape Breton was the fir^t circumstance which tested
and approved, if not the strength, at any rate the fighting material of which the colonial forces were
composed. The expedition had no strength in itself. Its strength, or rather its success, lay in the
weakness and ignorance of the enemy, the presence of a strong British naval force, and a combination of
fortuitous circumstances, anj' one of which, had it happened to the contrary, must have ruined the enterprise.
This was the first united colonial effort, and as it was the first united colonial triumph, it was made the most
of, as the majority of colonial triumphs have ever since been. The gravity of the doubts which they had
entertained of their own success is, perhaps, pretty accurately manifested by the exuberance of exultation
over their victory. Poets sang, not very melodiously, as we have seen, but with extreme unction, the succtiss
of their arms, and thanksgivings more or less formal and general were everywhere held ; for the Puritans were
always an audibly thankful people. They were audible in every department of life, and are so yet.

As they were likewise a young and vigorous and hopeful people, with the exterior po.ssibilitiea of their
national life directly before them, and as they were also alert of mind and of a shrewd insight into the
significance of things, after the manner of their race, and as there had never existed among them a perfect
sympathy with the idea of connection with the mother country, it is easy to understand how they began to see,
glimmering on the horizon of their destiny, the complete independence of the colonies, when they came to
contemplate this their first military achievement. The religious element among them had much indirectly to
do with this feeling, as we have seen in tracing their history, and it had a great deal directly to do with it.
The clergymen were the oracles of the people ; they were the mouthpieces through which public, and no doubt
private, thanksgivings were offered ; they wei\'. patriotic men according to their lights, consequently we find
them standing up for the honour of the colonies v^henever they considered it impeached or infringed upon by
any power from across the water ; and we find them in their private correspondence at this time especially

wja B ra W !

.^J*»-"

THE UNITED STATES.

283

referrincjf to the prospective independence of the colonies. No such idea found much place in public utterances.
Congratulatory adc'res.ies were pouring thick and fast between the Old Country and the New, and the interests
of both were identical in resistance to the common enemy ; but it must have been evident to anyone who knew
the pulse of public sentiment, that the relationship of the Old Country to the New was a problem that would
soon come up for solution.

Hitherto it had been the northern colonies only that had been in much danger from French encroachment,
but shortly after this time those situated fartb-ir south began to share in the common danger. The more
southern colonies had refused to join in the expedition against Cape Breton, probably from the fact that they
did not consider themselves in great danger from disturbance by the French. But the latter were ambitious
to connect their settlements in Canada with the mouth oC the Mississippi, and to extend a line of posts
all along the rear of the English colonics. They had begun to occupy the Ohio valley with this object
in view, and were encroaching on English territory under the semblance of peace ; and consequently the
colonies of Penn.sylvania and Virginia began to feel the danger. As a barrier between themselves and the
French, it was thought necessary on the part of the colonies to secure the allia.ice of the Indians of the territory
now known as New York — the Iroquoi.s, or Six Nations Accordingly, a convention of delegates from the
various English colonies met at Albany to make a treaty with these tribes, and to arrange some j)lan of defence.
The importance of union of all the colonies for purposes of defence was urged upon them at this conference,
but owing to jealousies and ditierences of interes , any arrangement of this kind was not at that time secured.
The different colonies were aligned along the i*l,lantic shore for a distance of a thousand miles and more, and
it was difficult to secure anything like unanir.ity of action. Occasionally they formed political combinations,
but it was not until the opening of the Seven Tears' War that any common danger had menaced them
sufficiently to eft'ect a combination of their energie.s. . But now the contiict between England and France
had becotue a struggle for life or death in colonial supremacy. Accordingly, all the colonies from Virginia to
Maine contributed forces to aid in the contest. From the commencement of the French war dates the
generalization of colonial history, and it is a significant fact that the first shot which ushered in this contest
was fired, as we have .said, by Washington, on the confines of Virginia and Pennsylvania — by the man who
was destined to lead and direct the united colonies in their struggle for independence. Massachusetts had
always been the leading colony in organizing means foi her own defence, as her situation was more expo.sed

284

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

to the enemy than that of any of the others, and because there was more of the belligerent spirit among the
Puritans than among the people of the other colonies. In the State House, in Boston, are yet preserved the
muster-rolls of the regiments raised to assist in this struggle against the French. All of them do not appear to
have been very efficiently armed. Some of the men had bayonets, other.-* had none, and there is an account of
so many baj'onets bought by an officer and furnished to the regiment at seven .shillings apiece. These weapons
-seem to have been a scarcity among the early colonists. They had few or none at Bunker Hill. It is claimed
that if they had been so armed, the British never would have gained possession of the height.

The impending danger which threatened Britain and the colonies alike now drew them together, and '
there were not many outward and visible signs of strife between the Old Country and the New. The energy
and strength of both had to be exerted to the utmost in order to resist their active and powerful enemy.
Still there never was perfect unanimit}' between the British and colonial forces, as we have already indicated.
The lirst campaigns of the Seven Years' War resulted disastrously for the British arms, and the.se disasters
were rightly attributed in the main to the ignorance and incompetency of British commanders. What
minor successes were achieved were gained mostly by colonial troop.s. These facts led to invidious comparisons
between the respective merits and valour of Provincial and British .soldiers. It is true that after competent
men had been chosen as leaders, the last and decisive blows were struck by the English, and they were blows
such as the colonists never could have struck themselves ; but, apart from the advantage which accrued to
themselves from these successes, there existed among the colonists a feeling of jealou.sy as well as of admiration
at the successes of Amherst and Wolfe. Although Briton and colonist were righting in the same ranks side
by side during the Seven Years' War, the breach between them was in reality growing wider and wider —
that is, on the part of the American, at all events. Haughtine.ss on the one side produced a feeling of
separation on the other. Men naturally and instinetively withdraw from those who are overbearing and
supercilious of demeanour, as many of the British officers were. This feeling, prevalent in all grades of the
army, a:3siste ' in bringing about the catastrophe of the American Revolution.

The conditions of the quarrel between France and Englaml in thfi west may be stated as follows : France
claimed the River St. Lawrence and the adjoining territories by virtue of the explorations of Cartier, and
because he claimed the region for his King. The rirst French settlement was attempted by De la Roche, of
Breton, who obtained from Henry IV. a patent similar to tho.se granted in England to Gilbert and Raleigh.

THE UNITED STATES.

285

This nobleman was made Viceroy of Canada, Acadie, and the adjoining territory, and he possessed the sole
right of carrying on the fur trade within the bounds of his dominion. He was allowed to take convicts from
the public prisons to make up the required number of colonists. While searching for a suitable place for
settlement, he left forty convicts on Sable Island. Afterwards he was driven back by a violent storm to the
coast of France, and the mi.^^erable convicts were left to shift for themselves as best they could. De la Roche,
through the influence of rivals, was imprisoned for seven years, and his commission cancelled. While he lay
in confinement, tho:<e miserable men strove with one another, and with cold and hunger and disease, until
only twelve survived. At last the King heard how they had been left, and sent De la Roche's pilot to bring
them home. On their return the recital of their sufferings excited such '•ompassion that they were pardoned,
tind each received a gift of fifty crovns from the King.

" Now France " promised great advantages to an enterprising nation, by virtue of a lucrative fur trade
and valuable coast fisheries; and though De la Roche's enterprise proved a failure, and De Monts was
subsequently unsuccessful, the idea of colonizing America was not abandoned. Champlain, the father of New
France, or Canada, undertook the next attempt at settlement. The story of his life is the history of the
infant dominion of the French in America. After exploring the countrv, he built and fortified Quebec, and
gained the alliance of two powerful Indian tribes, the Hurons and Algonquins. This, however, involved him
in war with the Iroquois, who were the allies of the English, and thus the infant colony became involved in
sanguinary wars, which brought it to the verge of extinction. Champlain's charter was soon after made void,
and another substituted, the aim of which was to erect Canada into a colony of the first importance. The
jealousy of the English was thereby excited, and they drove the French out of Acadie and captured Quebec;
but in 1632 both were restored to France. Then succeeded thirty years of prosperity; and during this time
the settlers began to hear of a mighty river to the we.st, larger than the St. Lawrence, and emptying into an
unknown ocean. Supposing this to be the long-sought way to the golden regions of China and India, the
French made every exertion to discover it. Two of the colonists, Joliet and Marquette, sailed in two little
Indian barks, carrying each three men, to explore the unknown region. As they .sailed onward.s, they learned
that the river entered the Gulf of Mexico ; and fearing *o fall into the hands of the Spaniards, they returned.
But in 1682 La Salle followed the Mississippi to its mouth, and in 1699 D'Iberville founded Louisiana. New
Orleans was settled in 1717. and in I7-S0 a.ssumed .so promising an aspect that other .settlements extended up

286

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

the Mississippi. Then it was that, having control of the northern lakes, and the mouth of the Mississippi in
the south, and having considerable military strength in Quebec, Montreal and other settlements, the French
first conceived the grand scheme of extending a line of military posts along the Ohio and Mississippi, to
keep the English colonies to the eastward of the AUeghanies. As a commencement they built Fort Du Quesne,
at the contluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers, as a means of commanding the communication
between Montreal and New Orleans. Just at this point in colonial history we can see at a glance the
conditions of the contest. The French had a long and comparatively weak line of communication extending
from the mouth of the St. Lawrence to the delta of the Mississippi. It was now their desire to strengthen
and secure this line of communication, and to confine the English to the seaboard. But the French position
was weak by reason of the difficulty of communication and the want of supplies. The English, being more
compact, and many times more numerous, and situated on the seaboard, had every advantage in a contest
that should elicit the natural strength of their resources.

The charters held by the English colonics from the King extended the grants of land from the Atlantic
to the Pacific The French encroachments upon the Ohio valley they therefore considered as violations of
their rights, which they were determined to resist. The territory round Fort Du Quesne was claimed by a
British society called the London Company, three of whose servants were taken by the French and sent to a
second fort on Presque Isle. Soon after this the French built two other forts, in the endeavour to complete
their line of communication.

These proceedings were considered by Lieutenant-Governor Dinwiddle, of Virginia, as so many acts of
aggression. Accordingly, with the approbation of the Assembly, he despatched Washington with a letter to
the commandant at Fort Du Quesne, ordering him to evacuate. In this expedition Washington suffered many
hardships, and came very nearly losing his life, besides failing in the object of his mission. Resolving to expel
the French by force, the Asseuibly raised a regiment and placed it under the connnand of Washington.
Then occurred the incident which gave riae to the Seven Years' War. A convention of delegates met at
Albany, after having effected a treaty with the Five Nations, and reported a plan of colonial union, to be
governed by a general assembly of delegates, and a governor appointed by the Crown. Here we have
the nucleus of the United States of America. A common danger was drawing the colonies together both
in a political and military sense. The system of proposed union was, however, disapproved by England

THE UNITED STATES.

287

and Massachusetts, and did not go into effect. A plan was finally adopted to carry on the war with British
troops, aided by such forces as the colonies could supply. So disastrous were the first attempts to humble
the power of France, in consequence of the incompetency of the English ministry and of the commanders
chosen by them, and so determined was the spirit of the people to uphold the honour of Britain in America,
and ensure the safety of the colonies, and such the adequacy of the resources at the connnand of the Empire,
that, in the spring of 1758, 50,000 men, colonial and imperial, were ready to move upon Canada. Pitt, the
grea>. War Minister of England, was so popular in America that, in answer to a requisition for troops, three
colonies raised in a short time 15,000 men.

Thus, so long as British interests were menaced by a common danger, it is easy to understand how all
minor quarrels would be hushed, and all minor differences reconciled by the imminence of the impending
danger. The instinct of separation from the mother country, for the time being, lay dormant ; the operation
of the obnoxious regulations passed by Parliament were less severely felt, and fell into partial disregard
during a time of war. Yet, on the other hand, and marking surely and steadily the different steps in the
process of .separation, was the growing dislike and jealousy between the imperial and colonial soldiery.
There were the beginnings of unity, both political and ni.litary, among the colonies ; and the population of the
country was being trained to a military experience exactly suited to the species of warfare to which they
were ere long, in the course of events, to be called. Hence there was developing among the colonists the idea
of national unity, and a consciousness of military strength and resource ; but so successful on the part of the
English had been the Seven Years' War, and so glorious the treaty by which it was terminated, and by
which peace and safety were given to the subjects of the Empire, that no thought of disunion or quarrel
inunediately appeared.

But a new political problem was in waiting for solution — a problem which had never been presented to
the world before; and even had the statesmen of both Britain and America been entirely unprejudiced, and
prepared to approach the difficulty from a purely .scientific direction, it is hard to see how the relationships
subsisting between the mother country and the colonies could, in the light of all history and precedent, have
been satisfactorily established. But when we take into account the fact that the instinct of .separation lay at
the foundat'on of the New England colonies, that religious and social life in these colonies tended to widen
the breach, that unjust and iniquitous commercial regulations had been passed by the Parliament at the

^ -immm

288

CAP£ BRETON ILLUSTR.'^TED.

dictation of English monopolists, that evasion and disobedience had been everywhere prevalent, as was
natural, and that punishment had followed this evasion and disobedience, we cannot be surprised that the
basis of the connection between the colonies and the mother country was incapable of a satisfactory
settlement. The modern connection between taxation and representation the world had never conc^'ved in
ancient times. This principle had been the outgrowth of English institutions, and had its origin in the time
of Simon de Montfort, when the burgesses were first represented in Parliament. The Americans, therefore,
in connecting taxation and representation, were advocating no principle unfamiliar to the English mind
— it was quite well known and appreciated ; and English statesmen — that is, those who approached the
question in an unprejudiced and scientific attitude — recognized the difficulty with which they had to deal.
Representation never seems to have been thought of for the American colunies. The three thousand inter-
vening miles of ocean, and the uncertainty of communication, were inseparable barriers to that obviation of
the difficulty ; and it was never asked for nor desired on the part of the Americans. Taxation, on the same
basis as that of the mother country, did not enter into their contemplation. And this also was natural.
They managed their own local affairs, they had contributed largely towards their own defence, they had all
along professed loyalty to the mother country, but exactly what that loyalty embodied was a question that
they had never seriously and practically considered ; nor had they seriously and practically considered in
what manner or form Britain was to be repaid for defending them. The existence of a field for his operations
was all that the British monopolist considered ; outside of this the honour and integrity of the Empire was all
that had to be taken into account. Burke correctly described the bond that united Englishman and colonist
when he called it " strong as steel, but light as air." Honour and affection unite men more closely than
any other motives ; when interest comes in as a discordant element, there is a continual struggle — a balancing
and disturbance of motive. But when there has been little cause for the existence of the two former
principles, and every cause to produce the latter, the result must be inevitable. After more than a century of
constitutional experience and of colonial government, we have only to consider the somewhat vague and
visionary projects discussed in the matter of Imperial Federation in order to comprehend the impossibility of
uniting the colonies and the mother country at the era of the American Revolution. Except as a theme for
post-prandial eloquence, or as a wide and magnificent field upon which the Briton may display his ideas of
national power and grandeur, the practicability of Imperial Federation may well be questioned. Her subject

THE UNITED STATES.

289

races Britain keeps under by sheer force of moral and physical superiority— her own children are united to
her by affection, and honour and interest as well, and long may it continue so to be. If, therefore, under the
most favourable circumstances, and with the best possible mutual understanding, legislative union be considered
impracticable between the constituent parts of the British Empire, how could such an idea have been realized
under conditions such as existed between England and the American colonies ? Special legislation on the part
of the British Parliament, with reference to the colonies, could not, in the nature of things, take effect. The
Parliament had no natural right to legislate specially for the colonies, especially when such legislation was of
a restrictive or prohibitory character. When the Americans acknowledged the supremacy of Parliament, as
they always persisted formally in doing, they doubtless understood, in a vague sort of way, that Parliament,
being a British institution, was the guardian of their liberties as Englishmen. This they took to be the true
function of Parliament, as far as they were concerned, and they steadily protested against regulations which
interfered with their interest or autonomy. But if the chief function of Parliament in a constitutional
government be the taxing of the people, and if the Amerii.\ns denied it this function, it is harJ to see what
relationship could possibly subsist between the Parliament and the colonics. The ancient idea of taxation,
which had been confined to England for centuries, and carried out in a rude sort of way, was now sought to
be extended out of the country to its dependencies ; but it was not provided that representation, its ancient
warrant and basis, should accompany it ; and so, in the light of history and precedent, it was impracticable.
Viewed in regard to English national experience, the present relationship subsisting between Britain and her
dependencies is merely a ')nochis vivendi. The British Parliament is supposed, in theory, to rule every British
subject alike, and over the same area and in the same realm ; but it does not. In every concession which the
Parliament makes to the dependencies of the Empire, which tends to their autonomy, it relinquishes so much
of its ancient right, so far as history and experience have any teaching to give. Except in our relationships
to foreign powers, we are, to all intents and purposes, free and independent States; and it is hard to see what
purpose could be served by a closer union, except for commercial, or military or defensive purposes. It would
be hard to induce the commercial or ii'anufacturing element in the British dependencies, especially in the
Dominion of Canada, to agree to a union from the first of these motives ; and the second is now fulfilled as
adequately as if the closest possible unio'i existed between all the constituent parts of the Empire, only we
have the advantage of not having to pay for it. Whatever might be alleged against Britain previous to the
10

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290

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

American Revolution, it must now be admitted that her generosity extends further, much further, than her
fiscal legislation. Her arm is stretched out to guard and protect, and her hand is not ready to grasp the paltry
profits of enforced commercial restrictions. She has learned to know that there is no profit in commercial
restrictions, not even in a primary sense. She would invite to her the trade of her colonies, and indeed of
all the world. She fears no competition, and flourishes and prospers by the sheer wisdom and practical
common sense of her policy, in spite of the jealousy of her rivals. We are living in a practical age, and
lo3'alty no\ lays ought to take a practical form. It becomes those, therefore, who advocate Imperial
Federation on the ground of loyalty to the integrity of the Empire, to be foremost in advocating a commercial
union. Loyalty that is mere sentiment, and consists in taking everything and giving nothing, is liable to be
put to the proof and put to shame at every turn — that is, if false loyalty has any shame.

Questions and problems similar to these brought on the American Revolution. The loyalty of the
American colojiists — that is, of the vast majority of them — was a mere figment, something utilized as a
mere decoration, and not as a means of life ; and the useless talisman fell shattered at the first impact of
commercial and financial interest. Peace was no sooner assured to the colonies, and the Parliament had no
sooner opportunity to turn its attention to the fiscal administration of the Empire, than the right to tax
the colonies was not only insisted upon, but put into practice. Plans for taxing the colonies had been
successively proposed to Walpole and Pitt, bub those wise and cautious ministers, realizing the difficulties of the
situation, had declined the experiment. But Grenville, being bolder, or of a narrower and less comprehensive
mind — for boldness is almost invariably the result of ignorance, or want of comprehension — after causing
duties to be imposed on several articles of import, succeeding in carrying the famous Stamp Act in March,
1765. This Act, imposing a tax on the paper used in notes of hand, bills of exchange, and other documents
used in the ordinary transactions of business, was regarded by the colonists as unreasonable and tyrannical.
It was a most unfortunate and awkward beginning. Taxation was here presented in a most obnoxious
and irritating form. The measure was received throughout the country with a burst of indignation. The
colonial assemblies generally passed resolutions denouncing the Act in strong terms. The Massachusetts
Assembly passed a resolution summoning a congress of delegates, who met in New York, in October, 1765,
to consult on the grievances under which the colonies laboured in consequence of the late enactments of the
British Parliament. All the colonies were represented, with the exception of New Hampshire, Virginia,

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North Carolina and Georgia. A declaration of rights and a specification of grievances were voted, a petition
to the King was drawn up, and a memorial to both Houses of Parliament, firmly remonstrating against the
oppressive Acts of Parliament, was prepared. This being done, the congress dissolved on the 2oth October.

The storm of popular indignation still continued, and serious riots occurred in Boston and in other parts
of the country where the Act was attempted to be enforced by the authorities. The people would now have
no taxed paper nor anything else that was taxed, and resolutions were passed forbidding the use of articles
subject to such impositions. Various modes and expedients were employed to excite the popular feeling
against the ministry and Parliament, and some of these were of a character that one might expect from the
ingenuity and inventiveness of the New England mind. We are told that the celebrated Dr. B'ranklin and other
American agents in London did their best to bring about a repeal of the Stamp Act. We have some shame
in confessing that that illustrious personage was not always employed in a manner so commendable or
honourable. Governor Hutchinson, who was Governor of Massachu.setts at the breaking out of these
disturbances, occupied a position which we can well imagine was not very easy to fill with dignity or effect.
Many hard things have been said about him which are, in the ligh' I the circumstances, unjustifiable. He
was by birth and sympathy an American ; but he was a loyal subject, and, as men go, honourable enough.
It was his duty, as a matter of course, to see that the regulations of Parliament were carried into effect ; and
he thereby brought upon himself the odium of the people, who one night in a paroxysm of popular fury burnt
his house and destroyed its contents. Governor Hutchinson was a man of the world, and was persistently
doing the best he could to reconcile the contending parties ; and from all that we know of his character in his
correspondence and his diary, nothing dishonourable can be charged against him. He was obliged to leave
his position when Boston was placed under military law, and General Gage took his place. Of course he
had private opinions, as every man has, with which, in his official capacity, the public had no concern. Being
a government official, and having fallen upon times troubled as those of the Revolution were, it is to be
inferred that his sympathies were with the power which he represented, and that this fact would be apparent
enough in his private correspondence. Benjamin Franklin, by some means or other which have never been
discovered, gained possession of Governor Hutchinson's private letters, and had them printed and circulated
among the" people in order to inflame their minds against the authority of the Governor and of the
Parliament.

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

In orrler to pave the way for the repeal of the Stamp Act, the ministers introduced what they called the
Declaratory Act. This affirmed the right of the King and Parliament to make laws binding upon the
colonies nnd people of America, in all cases whatsoever. As soon as this bill was passed, a measure for the
repeal of the Stamp Act was introduced. Pitt, although dangerously sick, supported the cause of thecolonies
with vehement and masterly eloquence, as became the breadth and intensity of his convictions. He was
no mere partisan, contending as a special pleader for the views or prejudices or wounJuJ pride of a party.
His ideas of Britain, and of British policy and of British connection, were based upon tho principles of
political science. They were humanitarian and world-wide, and pigmies were " squeaking and gibbering," and
trampling upon rights and principles upon which this giant hesitated and refused to tread. After violent and
protracted debate, the bill at length passed the House of Commons by a vote of 27.5 to 167. It was got
through the Lords, notwithstanding a still more violent opposition and the forwarding of two protests. It
received the King's approval and became law, March 19th, 1766.

The success of the bill for the repeal of the Stamp Act was received with the liveliest demonstrations
of joy by the inhabitants of London, where the church bells were rung and the houses illuminated. In
America such an event had not been hoped for ; a feeling of gloom and despondency had pervaded the
colonies since the pas,sage of the Act. Men saw what was boding in the future, and, though determined to
resist, yet shrank back from the contemplation of the struggle which they knew was impending, of
which no man could tell the result, and which must involve such fearful and unnatural consequences. The
colonists were glad of a respite, for to their excited minds this respite appeared as a reconciliation, and the
good news came upon them with a glad surp. i^e. " The intelligence," we are told, " produced a transport of
surprise, exultation and gratitude." " Thanks were voted by the legislatures to Lord Camden, Pitt, and
others who had befriended the colonial interests "

But this was only a burst of good feeling. Yet it served to shew that bcth parties knew it was a
wrong and unnatural thing to be placed in such a dangerous and menacing attitude as they had both
recently occupied. Though the colonists saw in the dim distance their own independence, they forebore to
utiink that it had to be reached by a path of blood and of violence ; and the people of England were
doubtless glad the ostensible cause of disagreement with the colonics had beea removed. No doubt there
were violent, worthless and self-.seeking men on both sides, and there was a class that was slavishly and

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unreflectingly loyal to their respective* parties ; but there was a great middle class on lio*jh sides who were
really concerned that right and justice should be maintained in the relationship between the colonies and the
mother country. But the voice of a middle party is never heard at a time of political convulsion. It is
drowned in the passionate outcry of the existing crisis ; the dictates of sober reason are never attended to.

The burst of good feeling which followed this conciliatory measure was ere long alloyed by the
Declaratory Act, in which the right of the Parliament to tax the colonies was still maintained. And, besides
this, acts of violence had been committed which deserved punishment in the eye of public law and justice.
Indemnity for damage done by the rioters was demanded ; troops were ordered to be quartered on the citizens
— in short, many oppressive acts, of which complaint is made in the Declaration of Independence, were the
direct result of violence committed by the colonists. The grievances are there stated, but not the acts of
violence that caused them. The authorities had either to assert themselves or become nonentities ; and as it
was always the loyal who suffered, and there were many such in Boston, they were the persons who were
always clnniouring for redress. Meanwhile the Declaratory Act was being practically insisted upon. The
weakness of the ministry is here apparent enough. Declaring it to be their right to tax the colonies, they
yet repeal an Act based upon that right, and the ink is hardly dry upon the document before they pass an Act
imposing duties on glass, paper, pasteboard, white and red lead, painters' colours, and tea (June 29th, 17G7\
and new regulations for collecting the revenue were vigorously enforced. This conduct on the part of the
ministry seemed like child's play. There seems to have been little more present to the minds of the mirustry
than a blind instinct to tax the colonies ; and what was more, this instinct was evidently directed and
developed by the monopolizing spii'it of the Briti.sh trader and manufacturer. These measures were passed
under Townshend, as Prime Minister, and caused continual irritation between the royal governors and
colonial assemblies, and between the people and the government officials. Townshend died in I7(i7, and
was succeeded by Lord North.

The seizure of the sloop Liberty, owned by John Hancock, led to a serious riot. This vessel had been
convicted of smuggling, and had been taken by the authorities. The quartering of troops in the
representatives' chamber, the court house and Faneuil Hall was regarded as an outrage. And so under
ordinary circumstances it would have been. Under the present conditions it was an act of retaliation and is
to be justified to the extent that this is a justification. The laws had been publicly broken and violated, the

294

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

property of private citizens bad been destroyed, and all compensation refused, and the assembly and governor
had come to a dead-lock. Hence the action of the authorities. These proceedings were not gratuitous insults,
as we are sometimes taught to believe ; they were not scandalous and premeditated a.ssaults upon the dignity
and liberties of a free peoble. Men's blood was up — each party in the light of its own fancied wrongs and
grievances — and it is a p it the commercial greed and vacillating and untlignified counsel which gave

rise to those disturbances i not to stand in the gap themselves, and bear the brunt of the mischiefs which
they had excited. The official, both civil and military, had his duty to do ; it was not done coolly and
dispassionately, as was to have been expected, but with more or less of feeling and animosity, as was
inseparable from human nature.

Non-importation agreements were entered into by nearly all the colonies, on the part of the Americans.
And these, but for the principle at stake, were carried to extreme and ridiculous lengths. The people would
drink no tea, or wear no English cloth. The English weaver plied his busy shuttle in yain for the colonists'
behoof and benefit. The American citizen masqueraded in homespun, and thus invested himself in the
primitive garb of liberty. So numerous were cases of disobedience to law, and so difficult was it to obtain a
jury to convict, that trial by jury was in many cases virtually abolished, and a proposition was entertained for
trying American offenders in England. In Boston the presence of the British troops gave occasion to what is
known as the " Boston Massacre," to which we have already referred.

In Rhode Island, the destruction of the British armed schooner Gasjpe, in consequence A her firing upon
a merchantman suspected " breaking the revenue law, was one of the acts which marked the spirit of the
times. A reward of i and pardon to the informer was offered, but failed to elicit any information

respecting the persons cu,. .ed in this affair.

The colonists were determine ■> resist the importation of tea sent out by the East India Company ; they
had already) come into collision with the interests of this company in the West India trade. This difficulty
led to the most serious riots. The resistance here made, outside of the jealousy of the colonial merchants, was
to the principle of taxation, not to the price of the article in question. The tea was exported from the Old
Country in bond by the East India Company, and was only charged threepence a pound going into the
colonies, while tea consumed in Britain was charged a shilling a pound ; so that tea thus imported by the
East India Company was in reality ninepence a pound cheaper than that imported in the ordinarj' way from

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295

England. The complaint was against the monopoly of the East India Company, and against the tax in itself,
and in both cases was well grounded. Cargoes of this tea were sent to New York, Philadelphia, Charleston
and Boston. The ships were sent back from New York and Philadelphia, and " they sailed up the Thames
to proclaim to all the nation that New York and Penn.sylvania would not be enslaved." At Charleston the tea
was unloaded and stored in damp cellars, where it was spoiled. At Boston every measure was tried to send
back the three ships which arrived there, but without success. The agents of the East India Company, of
whom a son of Governor Hutchinson was one, refused to release the masters of the vessels from their obligation;
in consequence of this they could not be cleared at the Custom House, and the Governor would not permit
them to pass Castle William, a fort in the harbour, without a clearance. The ships lay some days at the
quay, watched by a strong guard of citizens. A town meeting was called and peremptory orders were
despatched to the ship masters not to land their cargoes. At length the popular rage could no longer be
restrained ; the consignees, in alarm, took refuge in the fort. On the 16th December, a number of men,
dres.sed and painted like Mohawk Indians, boarded the vessels, seized upon the chests of tea, smashed them
to pieces, and threw the tea into the dock. Next morning it lay in a ridge along the shore. Three hundred
and forty-two chests were destroyed, valued at £18,000 sterling.

On the 31st March, 1784, in retaliation for thisact of audacity, as the ministry considered it, was passed
the "Boston Port Bill." It was now becoming more and more evident that the Parliament was determined to
coerce, and that the colonists were determined to resist. The hope and desire for reconciliation were rapidly
vanishing. The opposing parties were now bent on their own ends, regardless of conjsequences. The Boston
Port Act forbade the landing and unloading of goods and merchandise at that port after the 1st of June, until
the return to obedience, and until such time as indemnification should be received for the tea destroyed. All
these proceedings were natural and inevitable. To enforce the enactments of this bill, four ships of war were
ordered to virtually blockade the port of Boston. The town was placed under martial law, and General Gage,
the commander-in-chief in America, was appointed Governor of Massachusetts Bay, in .iie room of Mr.
Hutchinson, who sailed for England. General Gage was authorized to remit forfeitures and grant pardons.
He arrived on the 13th of May.

But the British ministry mistook the temper of the colonists. It was natural that these measures should
produce the opposite effect from that which was intended. A masterful and generous hand might have

296

CAPE BKETOX ILLUSTRATE I).

done something to command peace among the many discordant elements which were now rushing headlong
together, but there was no such strong and friendly hand to be found in Britain. It was not in the King,
who was incapable of understanding or appreciating the situation ; what little judgment and sympathy he
had were all enlisted against the cause of popular freedom. It was not to be found in the nobility as a class.
Many of them were inclined individually to be fair to the colonists, and some of them even strenuously
upheld tlieir cause ; but the greater part were either ignorant of, or indifferent to, colonial affairs. It was
in vain to seek for it among the masses of the people, who, as far as they understood anything, understood
only that England was being defied and resisted. They were pretty much on a level with the King in
intelligence and enlightenment, and determined, as ho did, that all opposition to their manner of doing things
must, as a matter of course, be roken down. Tliore was no help to be expected from the manufacturing and
commercial cla.sses, for it was in their interest that all the stringent and restrictive regulations of Parliament
had been enacted. These were for the most part the English influences which brought about the American
Revolution. On the American side, the fiery heart of Puritanism would not be repressed, restrained or coerced ;
and all along the Atlantic coast, conunercial injustice on the one side, and ingenious evasion on the other, had
been so rampant for more than one generation, that the hope of a permanent reconcilement could find no place.
The ministry, by making an example of Boston, hoped thereby to produce disunion among the colonies, and
create a diversion in favour of their policy ; but the very opposite effect was produced. Instead of being
divided and intimidated, they were united and emboldened.

The necessity of a general congress was soon recognized, and the measure was gradually as,sented to
from New Hampsliire to South Carolina. On the 4th of September, delegates from eleven colonies appeared
at Philadelphia, and the next day the first continental congress met at Carpenter's Hall, in Chestnut Street.
Delegates from North Carolina arrived on the l-ttli, and thus twelve colonies were repre.sented. It was
resolved that each colony should have one vote, whatever might be the number of its representatives. A
declaration of rights was made ; an address to the King was drawn up ; a memorial for presentation to the
people of British America, aiu^ inother to the people of Great Britain, was prepared. These papers had a
great effect, both in England aad America. On the one hand, they inspired the people with confidence in
their delegates, and their firmness and moderation commanded a feeling of respect among the people of
England.

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General Gage, in the meantime, was evidently anticipating a resort to arms. The supplies of powder
and provisions in the neighbourhood of Boston were seized, and ^.oxbury Neck was begun to be fortitied.
The representatives of the people of Massachusetts assembled in convention. A remonstrance was drawn up
against these proceedings ; a committee was appointed to prepare a plan for the defence of the province ;
a number of the inhabitants were enlisted to be in readiness at a ininiUeH iu(irnln(j, and hence called
minute-men, and three general officers, Peeble, Ward and Pomeroy, were appointed to command them. At a
subsequent session, in November, measures were taken for enrolling the militia, and two moi'e officers,
Prescott and Heath, were appointed. Twenty thousand men were raised with the co-operation of New
Hampshire, Rhode Is' and and Connecticut. In Rhode Island anil New Hampshire, the people seized upon
the ordnance and amumnition for their own use.

The British ministry, when apprized of these acts, disregarded the attempts of Chatham and Burke to
have the grievances of the colonies removed. Massachusetts was declared to be in a state of rebellion. An
Act was passed restricting the colonial commerce and fisheries. These measures, besides being ill-advised and
ill-timed, were beyond the constitutional right of Parliament, which had no legitimate authority to pass laws
of a prohibitory or restrictive nature binding in any particular part of the Empire. British subjects, identical
in their relationship to the goveri)ing power, had a right to ask for identical legislation, and the passing of
laws favouring one locality, to the disadvantage of another, was not within the spirit of Briti.sh institutions.
Meanwhile the colonists, by means direct and indirect, honourable and dishonourable, as we have seen, were
stimulated to the most determined resistance. A resolve on the part of both parties to gain their point was
speedily bringing matters to a crisis. It was evident that both parties wre con.scious of their strength,
and were, in vulgar parlance, inwardly " spoiling for a tight." The head vnd centre of opposition to the
encroachments of Parliament had always been found in the New England States, anil especially in
Massachusetts. This part of New England, tirst as a colony and then as a province, iiad always made the
most vigorous and systematic efforts in her own defence, and had s])ared neither men nor money in warding
off the attacks of the French and ludian.s. In these eflbrts she had developed a race of hardy and energetic
soldiers, selected from the better class of the people, and who, other things being eijual, might be nresumed
to be the best soldiery in the world. Massachusetts had never been really in sympathy with the mother
country, as was perfectly natural in the light of its origin, settlement, development, and of its financial,

298

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

political and religious history. Hence it was fitting that the first blows which resulted in the severance of
the colonies from Britain should be struck in Massachusetts, and in the vicinity of the town which, by its
more than spirited resistance to ministerial authority, had drawn upon it the vengeance of Parliament. Both
colonists and soldiery — the latter the only authority that Britain had now left to her in the country — were
willing enough for a trial of strength, and, as is usual in .such cases, they had not long to wait.

There had for a long time been little love between the Americans and the British soldiers. The latter
had been posted among them as a punishment and menace to their freedom, and it is probable the colonists
had little reason to love or respect them. Whether they actually feared them or not remained to be soen.
That the Americans did not ei gage in this conflict for national life or death without sore misgivings is evident
enough. Tboy knew something of the strength with which they would be brought to contend, and had that
strength been skilfully directed at first, they could not have failed to have met with a severer punishment
than actually befell them. Still they knew their own strength as well, and there was for them no election —
" no retreat but in submission and slavery," and they had come of a race who despised these alternatives.
The fiat had gone forth that England and America should be severed, and no power could now unite them,
or cause them to render each other justice, either in sentiment or act. In their own words, " they had
petitioned, they had remonstrated, they had prostrated themselves before the throne, and had implored its
interposition to arrest the tyrannical hands of the tainistry and Parliament, and it had been all in vain."
" In vain, after these things," says Patrick Henry, " may we indulge in the fond hope of peace and
reconciliation. There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free — if we mean not basely to
abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged — we must fight ; I repea*^ it, sir, we must
fight. An appeal to arms and to the God of nations is all that is left us. They tell us, sir, that we are weak,
unable to cope with so formidable an adversary ; but when shall we be stronger ? Will it be the next week
or the next year ? Shall we gatiier strength by irresolution and inaction ? by lying supinely on our backs
and hugging the delusive phantom of hope until our enemies have bound us hand and foot, and when a
British guard shall be stationed in every house ? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those
means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Thrrv millions of people armed in the holy cause
of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible against any force which our enemy
can send tgainst us. Besides, sir, we shall not have to fight our battles alone ; the God of rations will raise

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up friends to fight our battles for us. The victory, sir, is not to the strong alone ; it is to the vigilant, the
active, the brave. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death."
These are stirring wci'ds, and, in the light of the existing circumstances, no doubt they were true words, and
represent the judgment and the sentiment of the betior class of Americans at the outbreak of the American
Revolution.

Negotiations being now practically at an end, there was everywhere a tacit understanding that the next
appeal would be to arms ; where or how the blow would be struck was the only uncertainty. The
Provincials being determined to resist to the death, the first and most natural thing for them to do was to
look about for the means of resistance. Stores of arms and provisions were secretly collected in readiness for
the use of the people. Some of these had been collected at Concord ; this had come to the knowledge of the
British authorities, and the first serious collision between the colonists and the British troops was destined to
occur in an attempt to destroy these stores. For the execution of this design, General Gage sent, on the night
preceding the 19th of April, Lieutenant-Colonel Smith and Major Pitcairn, with eight hundred Grenadiers
and Light Infantry. At eleven o'clock at night they embarked in boats at the bottom of Boston Common,
crossed Charles River, and commenced a silent and expeditious march for Concoid. Measures had been taken
to intercept any expresses that might be sent from Boston to alarm the country, yet some messengers from
Dr. Warren eluded the Briti-sh patrols and gave the alarm, which" was rapidly spread by church-bells, signal-
guns and volleys. When the troops arrived at Lexington, six miles below Concord, they found about seventy
men of the minute-company of that town on the parade, under arms. Major Pitcairn galloped up to them
and called out, " Disperse, disperse, you rebels, throw down your arms and disperse ! " The minute-men
evincing no disposition to obey his order, he advanced nearer, fired his pistol, flourished his sword, and ordered
his men to fire. The soldiers cheered and immediately fired ; .several of t]\e Provincials fell, and the rest
dispersed. It is useless to criticize the details which gave the signal for the outbreak of the Revolutionary
War — the crisis was certain, sooner or later. Yet it is evident that Major Pitcairn, from his standpoint, was
technically right enough in the course which he pursued. He had found rebels with arms in their hands ;
they had refused to disperse, and so .sufl^ered the consequences. The British continued to discharge their
muskets after the dispersion, and a part of the fugitives stopped and returned the fire. Eight Americans were
killed, three or four of them by the first discharge of the British, the rest after they had left the parade.

i ■
j \

• 1

- 1

300

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The British now pressed forward to Concord, and destroyed the stores. The exasperated people had risen
in a mass, and surrounded them on all sides. There was a serious conflict at Concord bridge. The retreating
soldiers were harassed by a galling fire from behind stone walls, trees, hillocks and bridges, by an enemy
they were unable to reach, and against whom it was useless to contend. The Provincials were excellent
marksmen, and their knowledge of the country enabled them to cut off the British troops at every turn of
the road. At length they reached Lexington, where they were joined by Lord Percy, who, most opportunely,
had arrived with nine hundred men and two pieces of cannon. The British, now amounting to nbout
eighteen hundred men, having halted an hour or two at Lexington, recommenced their march. But the
Provincials had, in obedience to the given signals, assembled from all parts of the country, and their fire
became hotter and hotter. There was nothing for the soldiers but to make good their retreat, which they did
in good order, notwithstanding the mischievous fire to which they were exposed. This was an unfovtunate
affair for the British and for the prestige of the British arms. There was here no opportunity for valour or
united action on the part of the troops, so they pursued their dogged way as best they could, while every
bush and brake and inequality of ground was spitting revengeful fire. One New England stripling, after the
affair was over, boasted that he had shot three grenadiers. Perhaps he did — it was no greater exploit under
the circumstances than to shoot three woodcocks. Similar acts of valour were no doubt performed by others.

As they retreated the British continued to fire on the militia and minute-men, but with no great effect.
A little after sunset they reached Bunker Hill, exhausted with fatigue, where they remained during the
night under the protection of the Somcri^et man-of-war, and the next morning went into Boston. Of the
Americans, fifty were killed and thirty-four wounded. The British lo.ss was sixty-five killed, or.o hundred
and eighty wounded, and twenty-eight prisoners. We are told that the Americans behaved with great
kindness to their wounded prisoners, and apprised General Gage that he was at liberty to send his own surgeons
to attend to them. This affair of Lexington was the signal for war. The Assembly of Massachusetts met
the next day after the conflict, and determined on the number of men to bt raised, and the payment of the
troops ; voted an issue of paper money ; drew up rules and regulations for an army ; and every means was
taken to conduct the defence of the country in a systematic and business-like manner,

A rush of volunteers towards the scene of action from the surrounding colonies followed the news of
the outbreak of hostilities. Twenty thousand men were soon assembled, and formed a line of encampment

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from Koxbury to the Mystic River, and the British army was thus besieged in Boston. In May, Generals
Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton arrived in Boston with reinforcements for the besieged garrison. The v/hole
Province of Massachusetts was now declared under martial law, but a pardon was oftered to nil who would
lay down their arms, excepting John Hancock and Samuel Adams. In the month of June, the Provincials
determined to occupy and fortify Bunker Hill. Accordingly, on the evening of the 16th, twelve hundred of
the minute-men, under Colonel Prescott, furnished with intrenching tools, moved silently from Cambridge
under cover of the darkness. A redoubt was marked out by Richard Gridley, who had served at Louisburg,
as we have seen, and eagerly and steadily the men worked all night. Stone tablets on Bunker Hill now
mark the extremities of this redoubt. At daybreak the colonists were observed at their work from the
Lively sloop-of-war, and from a battery of six guns on Copp's Hill, at the north end of Boston. A smart fire was
immediately opened upon the American works, but Prescott's men still worked hard and fast, and soon had a
respectable defence thrown up. From the redoubt to the bottom of the hill, near the Mystic, a breastwork of
earth and whatever material came nearest was thrown up. A wooden rail fence packed with new-mown hay
formed part of the defence. The Americans, in the meantime, had been expecting reinforcements, but with
the exception of trifling accessions, increasing the number of men behind their defences to about fifteen
hundred, none arrived. From their own accounts, they appear to have been for a time in no very determined
state of mind to resist the force which they saw assembling to attack their position, and it required all the
moral force and example of Prescott to animate them to their duty.

The possession of Bunker Hill would have rendered Boston untenable by the British troops. A good
part of the day passed without anything decisive being attempted on the part of the British commander-in-
chief. The ships of war and the battery on Copp's Hill continued to assail the American intrenchments, but
without eflfect. The work still went on until the redoubt was completed, and a respectable line of defence
was constructed from it to the shore of the Mystic River. It was now d^tefiuined to dislodge the Americans
by a more determined and systematic attack. Accordingly, about noon, ten companies of grenadiers, ten of
infantry and some artillery were landed at Morton's Point. Here they waited for reinforcements until three
o'clock. Then they moved to the attack with nearly three thousand men, under cover of the fire from the
ships of war, and supported in a slight degree by their own artillery. The town of Charleston had been set
on fijc by the British, in fulfilment of a threat that this would be done in the event of any attempt on the

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30^

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

part of the colonists to intrench themselves in its neighbourhood. The flames of the burning town added a
fitting background to the warlike picture. The British uttack was not well concerted nor skilfully planned.
The battle of Bunker Hill was, on their part, a soldiers' battle, and nothing more. Besides lack of foresight
or sagacity on the part of the British commanders, there was a general impression that the colonists, when
brought to the test, would not fight. They were soon to be undeceived. Both parties had been exasperated
beyond measure, and were filled with a mutual semi-contempt, so were willing enough to try their strength
in this stern adventure of battle. The Americans were ably commanded and held well in hand by Prescott,
who, if his &iatue on Bunker Hill be a correct representation of him, must have been a magnificent specimen
of manhood. A stern reiteration of the old-fashioned British caution about the whites of the enemy's eyes is
credited to him on this occasion. He looks like a man who would use it. Probably the word was common
enough among the Americans that day, for it is put into the mouths of Putnam and Warren as well. At all
events, the expression had been so common in the British army, that no great boast can be made of its use
here. If Prescott had even courteously doffed his hat, and gracefully bowed, and desired the British to fire
first, he would no more than have equalled the grim deviltry of the Grenadiers who were advancing against
him ; for such fantastic courtesy had passed between them and the Fi*ench at Fontenoy. If the disposition
of the British was not skilful or masterly, they were well enough led as soldiers. General Gage had made a
speech to them, asking them to behave like men, and have respect to their duty and to their King, and told
them that he would ask no man to follow where he did not lead. He was as good as his word, and,
wonderful to relate, came out of it all un.scathed. While admiring the pluck and determination of the
Americans, and the cool manner in which they aimed and fired for home and country, we cannot help grieving
for the hundreds of brave men who fell uselessly on that day, and for the haste and temper of their brave
general. Had he possessed a quicker military eye and cooler military judgment, had every advantage been
taken by the British of their disposable force, the Americans might have been driven from their position with
a comparatively trifling loss. They were blankly advancing agamst the front of the American defences,
whereas the latter might have been enfiladed by the ships of war for the greater part, and a diversion might
have been created by assailing the redoubt in the rear. But this was not done ; and the contemplation of
those deadly volleys crashing into the close ranks at only a few yards' distance is not pleasant for anyone who
has been nurtured in the honour and respect of British soldiers. For less than three thousand men to attack

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808

fifteen hundred marksmen well intrenched was a military mistake, and it entailed the inevitable consequences.
The British fell in whole ranks before the first volley, like the new-mown grass upon which they trod. They
had been led bravely enough, but not with much spirit or skill, to the attack. The ground was somewhat
obstructed in places ; the heat of the summer afternoon was intense, and there was intermittent firing of
musketry and cannon as they approached the American position. So shattered was the British formation by
the fire of the Provincials, that they broke and retreated precipitately to the landing-place from which they
had come.

By the exertions of their officers, the men were again brought to the attack, supported by a heavier
artillery force, but with a result similar to the former. The Provincials reserved their fire until the ranks
were within thirty or forty yards, and the Briti.sh were again put to fiight.

The ammunition of the Americans now began to fail. They had in nowise spared it. One old man,
in after years, solicited the consideration of the American Government from the alleged fact that he had that
day discharged his piece thirty times. The "'British got some guns to bear, which enfiladed the inside of the
American breastwork. The fire from the ships, batteries and field-artillery roared with redoubled vehemence,
and the redoubt, attacked on three sides at mce, was carried at the point of the bayonet. The Americans,
though a retreat was ordered, still clung to the redoubt, and defended themselves as well as they could with
the butts of their musket"- But the soldiers were infuriated by their former losses ; they poured in ma.sses
over the intrenchment and u. /ve the colonists before them. The redoubt being carried, the intrenchment
leading to the shore, which had been assailed by the Light Infantry, was also abandoned, and the retreat of
the Americans became general. They had lost very few men until the redoubt was entered, as might be
supposed. They had been too well protected by their intrenchments. But they fell fast before the bayonets
of the soldiers, and rapidly retreated towards Charleston Neck, which was completely raked by the Glasgow
man-of-war and two floating batteries. Putnam, who commanded the rear, effected the retreat in comparatively
good order. General Warren fell near the redoubt, upon a spot now occupied by Concord Street. A tablet
near the place commemorates his fall.

The New Hampshire troops, under Stark, Dearborn and others, were in the battle, near the rail fence.
They were marching towards Cambridge, and, though without orders, came voluntarily upon the scene of
action. The loss of the British, in killed and wounded, was nearly a thousand men ; of the Americans about

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304

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

four hundred and fifty killed, wounded and missing. The British held and fortified the eminence wLich they
had gained. The Americans maintained their original line of investment, and Boston was besieged as before
the battle. Washington joined the army at Cambridge on the 2nd of July. He found fifteen thousand men
encamped round Boston, ill-armed, undisciplined and disorderly. They were deficient in ammunition. The
British occupants of Boston were at the same time well supplied with the munitions of war. The terms of
enlistment of many of the Americans had elapsed, and their number was at one time less than that of the
British army. Active operations seemed impracticable ; but on the 2nd of March, 1776, and on the succeeding
nights, a heavy bombardment was kept up on the British lines. On the 4th, General Thomas, with a .strong
detachment, took possession of Dorchester Heights. During the night, with the aid of fascines, they erected
works sufficient for their defence. General Howe was determined to dislodge the Americans. Two thousand
men were sent to Castle William in transports, but a storm scattered them, and they failed to reach their
destination. Before long the British decided to evacuate the town. At ten o'clock on the morning of the l7th
of March, the royal troops and their adherents left Boston, and Washington entered the city in triumph. Thus
ended the investment of Boston. The Briti.sh withdrew to Halifax, and Washington proceeded to New York,
judging that that place would be the next point of attack. •

So the revolutionary struggle was begun in New England, precipitated by the resistance of the children
of the Puritans to the encroachments of Parliament. It was now plainly seen from a British standpoint
what temper they were of, and of what material they were made. The New England States have ever since
been distinctively un-British in sympathy and attitude, and the comparative narrowness and conservatism of
the New Englanders has perpetuated this feeling. The character of the Puritan, as developed in the people
of the New England States, lies, of course, at the base of all that is most estimable and reliable, and all that
is most humanitarian, too, in the American character. There is no more estimable people in the world than the
people of New England, and their merits, and also their demerits, are the result of their historical experience.
We are all the creatures of history, both nationally and individually ; and, in a philosophic sense, it is stupid
to quarrel with people for being what they are ; in a practical sense, it is a mistake ; in a humanitarian sense,
it is unmanly ; and in a religious sense, it is sinful and criminal. Nothing human is perfect, and where there
are mora! excellences existing in classes or types of men, we may naturally look for concomitant defects.
The true spirit of humanity is not yet abroad — perhaps it is as yet but vaguely understood. We have as yet

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305

for the most part, but the forms and mannerisms of national and religious, or non-religious, or individual and
class education. And the more narrow and restricted the«field in which that education has been imparted,
and in which it takes eH'ect, the further we depart from the true spirit of humanity. The most striking
example of this tendency is to be observed in the history of the Jews — the more intense their national
education became, the more did they become separated, and are separated, from the nations. Intense national
and individual education is a species of resistance, and resistance cannot conquer ; it is doomed to
disappointment and failure. To the extent that the New Englanders are narrow and conservative, they have
separated themselves in sympathy from the rest of the American people. The Puritans of New England, as
well as those of Old England, had their day and their mission, and a worthy, and, on the whole, a grand and
honourable mission it was. Though the lustration was of the blood of brethren unnaturally shed, it purified
and renovated the political atmosphere ; and men, by virtue of the American Revolution, rose to a higher
realm of freedom than they had ever before occupied. Britain learned les.sons that will never be forgotten,
and British colonists to-day owe their strong yet flexible connection with the mother country to principles
for which Prescott and his minute-men contended at Bunker Hill. Lot us render honour where it is due.
We should be engaged in a much more practical and improving occupation wei we to consider and value
each other's good qualities, and what we owe to them, than in remarking each other's weaknesses and failing.?.
Mutual appreciation is strong and constructive and edifying — the world will be built up along these lines as
time advances and as men ascend above the level of the hills that encircle their social, or religious, or national
landscape. Aeronauts tell us that as they ascend, the horizon, as it grows wider and wider, ascends all around
them ; so, the higher we ascend the heights of humanity, the higher do man and his possibilities ascend.

Resistance has its use and mission in the world. Such is the nature of things, that character has been
developed and strengthened by resistance. But he who i.-: found to spend all his life in an attitude of
resistance, is pent up within the narrow lists in which the battle has to be fought, and must of necessity
become a more or less prejudiced man. While we, as British colonists, owe in some degree the mildness
and stability of our system of government to the American Puritan, it must he confessed, on the other hand,
that we have often Tound him a captious, fault-finding, and bumptious neighbour. The relations between
Britain and America have probably been none the more friendly because of the fact that we have the New
Englanders next to us. The boundary dispute, for example, caused a good deal of uneasiness for a time, and
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.'J06

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

the fishery question has come down to us in a modified form ever since the old P'rench tunes. Commercial
selfishness and jealousy have had a good deal to do with the building up of hostilt tariffs and restrictions.
There has been an amount of mutual criticism and unfairness, and at times the old animosity seems ready to
be fanned into a flame. Red-hot Republicanism is not the most friendly element towards Great Britain to be
found in the United States, and all this is natural and traditional. Had we to deal with the more cosmopolitan
element in the middle States, or with the freer and older and more chivalrous life of the South, or the broader
and more expansive life of the v/est, we should probably get along more smoothly ; but yet, perhaps, not so
well, for a smooth life is not always the best. To have good, smart neighbours keeps one alive, and it develops
characteristics and powers that otherwise might never have been called into action. No manner of doubt, we are
all the better Canadians for having the down-easters as neighbours. We might be in danger of losing our
national characteristics — for we have national characteristics — were it not for the stimulating proximity of our
energetic cousins across the frontier. It is not yet time to safely lose our national characteristics. In the
bosom of the nation we yet have to be fostered as men and as citizens , in this school must be learned the
discipline that shall fit us for the wider citizeaship of the world. If charity begins at home, so is it with
charity in its higher and more significant sense — first the family, then the nation, then the world. If we
develop national characteristics diverse and yet substantially the same, it is perfectly in order that we
.should note each other's differences, and learn and profit by them. There is nothing left for us to fight
about. The fishery quarrel is about dead and gone. It resembles in our day a dispute about goats' wool,
and it is hardly becoming the dignity of the two greatest nationalities on earth to quarrel about a few seals
pufling and snorting amid the northern ice. Commercial differences and hindrances will no doubt adjust
themselves as time goes by, and as they are left to the common, practical sense of those who are directly
concerned, and who best understand what thoy need. The time ought to have gone by that admits of any
rabid politician introducing and succeeding with some measure that, to employ a vulgarism, " cuts ofiT his
nation's nose to spite its face."

The Americans, it seems, are becoming ambitious to see their flag flying side by side with the British
flag wherever it is seen. The American has a wide country and broad idea.-:, but his commercial methods
must becorie wider and grander yet before this result can be reached. Their present fiscal policy was formed
to liquidate the war-debt and to manufacture for thenjselves, and now a goodly part of its proceeds is

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307

Utilized to support an army of importunate pensioners, and another part of its results appears in the form of
white cruisers, to which the cill/cns make gifts of silver services and libraries; while in the English Channel
you may see on a day of naval parade a procession of thirty or forty of the most formidable ironclads in the
world, moving like guardian giants along the coabfc, capable, as they move through the Straits of Dover, of
throwing a 1,500-pound shell on either shore. It does not occur to the English people to make little gifts to
those tremendous iron batteries. They have cost a million pounds apiece, and that is enough ; they are
expected to uphold the honour and prestige of England, and they do it. They represent the power which
pursues a magniHcont and world-wide policy, and makes Britain the centre of the commercial world. The
Americans are great within themselves, but they have not yet learned to be great outside of themselves;
and their present policy will never bring about such a result. The English manufacturing cities are growing
as fast as the American cities, and from very different causes. The latter have grown up by virtue of
their localtion, and as they have become vast warehouses for the storing and distribution of the products
of the country. Nature has made them, as well as the country in which they are situated, great. It is
not so with the British cities, which for the most part are centres of industries, and of the commerce
arising from them. London, or Liverpool, or Manchester, or Sheffield, or Birmingham, or Glasgow, or
Greenock, represent more enterprise and method and system than any American city ; and the immen.se
interests which they control could never be sustained under a policy similar to that pursued by the
Americans. London is the commercial centre of the world, and is growing as rapidly and steadily as any
city in either England or America. Two-thirds of the carrying trade of the world is in the han<ls of Great
liritain, and its focus and centre is in London. In this age of stupendous physical development, when
new fields are openir^ jp every week for the employment of money and of enterprise, Britain is ready
with both to meet every advantage as it appears, and the power and prestige of the British Empire
is weekly increasing; and this is all based upon British intelligence and common sense. Her coffers are
filling every year to overflowing with the profits of a trade more honourable than that of any other
nation, because there is less of monopoly in it than there is in the commerce of other countries. The modern
British millionaire earns his millions in a more honourable manner, and there is less suffering and unfairness
caused by his getting rich, than in the ca.se of the American in similar circumstances ; and he helps the
country in general with his money more than the American does. The British man of wealth, of wealth

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308

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

honestly gained in the ways of skill and enterprise, is no financial figure-head, stuffed and painted with the
ill-gotten harvests of wheat corners, or the unholy mammon of gigantic railway monopolies. He is no
money-god for the people to fulsomely worship, and whose name is remarkable for nothing else than that he
has »aoney, and has got it by some specially smart or indirect method. The British man of wealth is part
and parcel of the nation. He has grown steadily with its growth, and prospered with its prospo)-'*-y, and
forms one of a rapidly increasing class who know all there is to know about the commercial relationships of
the world, and depends upon his own energy and intelligence for the successful prosecution of his enterprises,
He neither asks nor needs any monopoly ; he keeps in the front rank by his own exertions, and knows that he
has to do it in order to live.

And there is more of steadiness and reliability about cotTimercial life, and indeed about all life, in Britain
than in America. In the latter country, it is quite common for one generation of a family to be millionaires
and the next to be beggars — the idea of a business concern being in tlie hands of a familj' for generations is not
to be found in America. Life, in the financial centres at all events, is a wild game of chance and uncertainty.
There is a rabidness about life — an unholy worshipping of exteriors in their meanest and pettiest forms — that
must ere long prove a source of weakne.ss. When everything about a people takes the form of a money
value, it shows, unmistakably, that there is nothing linking them to the past, and, as a consequence, that
there is nothing to project them into the future. It follows that such a people can be of no significance in
the life of a nation. The better growth of an individual, as of a nation, must be continuous ; when a link in
the chain of upward events is broken, the process of advancement must be begun over again, or the nation
mu.st advance along other paths — must choose worthier means of advancement. A generation of men who have
simply made money, and done nothing else ; who.se ideas of individual and national life are all centred in
money ; whose talk is all of shop, or outward show or circumstance — such men are of no use in the true life
of a nation. It is only an inward life which is strong and continuous. We can reasonably look for true and
noble national life and action only from a people who have traditions — whose life has come from the past.
Hence both the wars which so roused the spirit of the American people had their origin and significance
by virtue of principles maintained by the people of the. New England States ; and the cause of man's
liberty was the cause for which they fought in both case.s. The value of true worth is not learned in one
day, nor in one generation. Men who spring up in a day have nothing but their own interest, such as it is, tc

i i i ii i w ii t- firi in ii i i nifi r Mjtiwnr i Mai'^'eiag i '^

■'.JliiSSfflMSKI?" -

THE UNITED STATES.

309

consider; and they and their interest perish toLjether. In the war of 1.S12-14 the people of the New
England' States had not much heart ; it arose from questions of fancied national honour and dignity. There
was no great question at stake ; but in all the great questions of humanity the heart of the New Englanders
had always beaten steady and true, and they have spared neither their blood nor money to see justice done.
The more cosmopolitan spirit of the Middle States is in many respects a more agreeable thing to contemplate
than the narrow and more severe spirit of the North ; the high and free spirit of the South is not so
difficult, and perhaps it is more attractive than the conventionalisms of Massachusetts ; and the wide and
generous life of the West has greater possibilities than any of these. But, if we are seeking for all that is
most worthy in the American public and private character ; if we are seeking for the principles which have
guided the American nation in the best things they have ever done, we shall have to go to New England — to
the men whose ancestors sang Psalms — yes, sang Psalms — through their noses, and feared God, and knew no
other fear; who fought savage Indians, and wily Frenchmen, and stubborn Britishers, and slave-owning
Southerners, and beat them all ; and, what is more, they have in all these things been on the side of right.
Their ways, of course, are not as our ways, and their sympathies are not as our .sympathies. An Englishman
makes a poor New Englander, and a New Englander is out of place when he poses as an Englishman. For
the last two hundred and fifty years, the time through which the history of New England goes back, it may
be said that the Englisii on both sides of the water started together in the race of liberty. The rivals in the
race on either side of the water were of the same blood and temper and principles, and they h£.,ve both
wrought g! eat and almost identical political and religious results ; the form may be somewhat different, but
the spirit is the same. The average British subject is to-day as free a man, taken all in all, as the American
citizen. It is idle to talk about the United States being " the sole, the last, the greatest repository of human
freedom." This is mere rhetoric, it is not fact. Twenty-nine years after the Pilgrim Fathers left England,
the head of Charles I. rolled in the dust for his tyranny ; and greater men did this daring deed than America
ever saw. Britain bought her own slaves and set them free thirty years before America declared hers
" contraband of war." Sheridan said, nigh a century ago : " I speak in the spirit of British liberty,
which makes liberty inseparable from and commensurate with British soil, which proclaims to the prisoner
Qnd the captive, that the moment he touches the sacred soil of Britain he is free ; the chains burst from his

f!-

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

unfettered limbs — the altar and the god of slavery sink together in the dust — and he stands forth redeemed,
regenerated, and disenthralled by the genius of universal emancipation,"

The Englishman on the east side of the Atlantic has been handicapped in his race for freedom by privilege
and prestige and class distinctions, and the now useless accretions and accunnilations of centuries ; but these he
has partly overcome, and is fast overcoming them all. Nor have these elements of prestige and privilege been
altogether useless, nor are they useless yet. The caricature into which they often fell was useless and worse
than useless, but the true dignity of rank and station is never useless. Men must have some centres of respect
and loyalty round which they may cluster, as bees aroun<l their queen. If the nobility had perished in the
Middle Ages, all had perished. The nobility of England have often not only been noble in name, but in deed ;
and have been, and are "et, the ornaments and pride of the n .tion. Ami men have learned from the idea of
nobility, at all events, how to be noble in thought, and sentiment, and act. The sentiment of nobility,
preserved fur us throujrh the centuries, has been transferred, and is being transferred daily, to the hearts and
lives of the people. Men are continually being made noble in an outward and visible sense, us a reward for
noble thoughts and words and deeds, and deservedly take their place among the most ancient names in the
land, who are proud to have these names enrolled among them ; and the people look on and worship with n
glad and worthy devotioM. True nobility is recognized as much, yes, more, in England than in America.
Money will take you farther on the west side of the Atlantic than on the east, and along meaner avenues of
greatness, too.

The New Englander w&s retarded in his march toward freedom, for the first century of his national
existence, by the acts of a parliament unable and unwilling to grapple with the new political problem
pvesented to it for solution, and who acted under the dictation of monopolists ami dullards. Then came the
great and sudden outburst of freedom in America. Since then, the trouble of the American has not been with
what is old, but with what is new. The only old institution that gave him trouble was slavery. That gave
him trouble enough, and bade fair to rend his fair and broad realm in twain. The seeds of the mischief
still remain, and no man can tell what the harvast yet will be.

But the American has had many and divers new problems with which to deal, or with which he has not
yet dealt. He has had a w" ' and recklese semi-civilization all along his western frontier and in the south,
which brings no real streng a to the nation — that is, no strength which has in it the element of stebility.

,jw. '■■ '■ ' ■ ' j. i :.t.»Mie i !<i'! r."

THE UNITED STATES.

311

There are districts and communities in the United States which are more lawless than any other part of the
civilized world. Society in the South, ever since the Civil War, has been in an amorphous condition, and the
process of reorganization has not yet conmienced in the presence of the negro population, and there seem to
be grave misgivings in the minds of many as to future developments. There is in the United States an
agglomeration of races to whom the possession of liberty is a novelty, a new luxury. Those races find in
America a wide and untrammelled avenue of liberty stretching before them, but it remains to be seen with
what safety and honour to the commonwealth this path of freedom will be traversed. That a mixed popula-
tion, manyof theiii ignorant of liberty and of much besides, should adjust themselves naturally and becomingly
to their new environments is a problem which yet remains for solution. The United States is a country with a
great deal of everything on hand, a great deal of liberty, a vast territory xnd resources which have not yet
been half developed, and although the theory of liberty has been well-developed on paper, in the constitution
of the United States, in practice the average American citizen is more under the control of political and
conniiercial monopolies than is the subject of Great Britain. The policy of the American is circumscribed by
home influences and home interests. His object is to make his country self-sustaining and independent of all
otliers for its supplies. By a high tariff" wall he keeps out British manufactures, and pays twice the price of
the latter for his own ; and thus, though the wages of the American workman are in some cases twice or
thrice that of the British workman, ho has no more money in his pocket at the year's end. If he is paid better
than the English workman, he is far more heavily taxed in every way. He pays an exorbitant rate of
taxation on everything which is not an American product, and on everything which is an American product
as well. His local taxes are also a burden grievous to be borne, so that in some cases, it is said, a man pays a
tax for the watch he carries in his pocket. Besides, the average man who lives by days' works, spends all he
gets, and we very uuich doubt if the American workman is a better man for the money he spends, or is
presumed to have to spend. In the spending of the money he learns a good many things, directly or
indirectly, which are not very good for him, and which do not go to make up a thorough-going or solid man.
There are a million men, more or less, employed in the British .ship-yards. We doubt if there are an
etpuil number of men in the United States, in a similar .social position, who are worth as much, taken all in
all, as these men are. This magnificent industry alone gives rise to a class of men possessing a niechanical
and scientific skill, ar intelligence and moral nerve and strength, and a realization of the significance of all

312

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

things British, that form a vp'y important factor in the strength of the Empire. The Bricish workman con-
stitutes a part of a world-wide system, and lie knows it, and is keenly alive, not only to the requirements
of his particular calling, but also to the great questions which concern the stability and development of the
British Empire. Britain, from end to end, is an immense factory and machine-shop ; all her policy is shaped
with the intent and purpose that she obtain her material at minimum prices, and that she provide the means
of distributing her manufactures to the world at as low a rate as possible. Hitherto she has been so
successful against all competitors, that she may be said to have a monopoly of both these things. If the
Americans are ambitious to see their flag flying alongside of the British flag in every sea, they must first be
in a position to do as Britain does ; and their present policy, as a nation, is not tending in that direction.
McKiuley bills and the like will never open the world to American commerce, nor convince the world of
anything but the fact that the great spirit of the American people does not find proper nor adequate
expression in the public administration of the affairs of a frecborn and mighty nation by monopolists or
empirical tricksters. There is one thing in which lies the safety and hnpo of the American nation, and
that is that the better part of the people have abstained from participating in the ordinary politics of
the country, and thereby constitute a standing protest against the public inicjuity which is everywhere
committed. Sudden riches are subject to peculiar and barbarous temptations. The worship of mammon
strikes at the root of all that is genuine in humanity. Whe. the auctioneer invades the province
of all that is nicest and holiest in human relationships; when eve. /thing is rated at its money value;
when Barnum offers to hire Spurgeon to perform side by side with Jumbo ; when there is a public dissecting
of the vitals of social and reverential ideas, it augurs no good for the future strength of the nation or of the
national character. There are so many things that go, or ought to go, for granted in the make-up of our
humanity, that the mere talking about them indicates that tlie talkers are only learning the alphabet of a
true and proper life. Every disagreeable or trivial incident of life ought, in propriety, to be kept as much
as possible out of sight. We ought to live, as far as is practicable, unconscious of the disagreeable or nasty
things there are in the world. The raw edge of life is not fit for presentation, and it is very often presented
among the American people. The semi-barbarous civilization of the West, the mammon worshipping of the
great cities, the lawlessness of the South, are not elements of strength. Education, the means of general
improvement, and the appliances of civilization have all come, where they have come, even yet, very far

\ \m

THE UNITED STATES.

313

behind the influx of population. The Canadian North- West has this advantage, that those things have all
come in advance of the people. The means of communication, the appliances of a right life, are there laid
ready to the hand of the immigrant, and life and property are everywhere sacred and safe ; indeed, the
better class of the Canadian people may be said to be at the frontiers of the country. The public policy of
Canada is not without its faults and its dangers, but it is, at all events, forceful and national. So
heterogeneous are the elements of whioh the United States are composed, and such is the complication of
monopolies and conflicting elements, that it is difficult to say whether they have a settled policy or not.
They have had no occasion for a well-developed foreign policy, and this, no doubt, has contributed to belittle
the American mind in presence of foreign complications. They have been so preoccupied in the glorification
of the American Republic, in amassing wealth and .spending it, and in presuming that they are the smartest
people in the world, that half as much room has not been left for true national growth as they imagine.

It is necessary that the Americans as a nation become more .sober, just and wise before they acquire in a
proper degree the elements of a true national strength, A tremendous physical strength they could, at short
notice, develop — they could do this by rea,son of their numbers and their wealth — but the strength which
comes from high national character, from a unity of purpose and of principle, is still in the future for them.
National effort and struggle and suffering elevate and sanctify ; so the Americans have been a wiser and more
moderate people ever since the Southern rebellion. Character is always the result of struggle. Character
cannot be formed by boasting, getting rich and being proud of a thing because it cost so much money ; nor
in the coddling of sharpers and criminals. The vegetation of the earth's surface grows without effort — men
and nations grow as the result of effort, either voluntary or enforced. We cannot be wise or good or great
without a struggle in these directions. Men and nations, in order to know anything which is valuable or
far-reaching, must be disciplined. The undeveloped future may show some shorter and easier way to truth
and righteousness, but the past experience of the race has gone to prove that all things stable and lasting are
the result of effort and conflict only. The struggle of the American people may not be a physical struggle
among themselves, nor against any foreign power; but an inner and a deeper and a nobler struggle against
lightness, immorality, dishonesty, and vulgarity ; and, when the test does come, as it is continually coming
and being applied, we doubt not there are true and substantial elements sufficient among the American people
to bring their nation triumphantly out of the struggle.

314

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

CAPE BRETON.

DURING the heroic age of the Northmen, they not only swept down upon the soft and fertile plains of
the south, but pushed their adventurous colonies far north into the regions of snow and ice. They
battled with the icy waves of the north as with the effeminate races of the Roman empire, and
conquered both. They struck terror into the Esquimaux and the sorry northern Indian, as well as into the
degenerate subjects of Valens and Odoacer. The former they contemptuously denominated " skraelings," or
shrivelling.s. Little respect nad the.se old " Baresarks" for .scraggy Indian or dumpy kayaker. "Skraelings"
to this day means, in the Scotti-sh dialect, the scraps that remain after tallow has been fried out. So to these
grim old vikings the aborigines of the north appeared like the pitiful residue of humanity ; and so probably
they were and are.

These Northmen occupied Iceland and colonized Greenland and Labrador. The form^sr they still occupy ;
in the two latter their influence is yet felt. But the heroic age of the Northman has gone, his glory is
departed, and his colonies have dwindled and sickened almost to the death.

Manuscripts preserved in the University of Copenhagen inform us, with a fair amount of credibility,
that about the year 1000, Eric the Red sailed southward from Labrador as far as Martha's Vineyard. Nova
Scotia they are said to have called " Markland." They sailed south until they came to an island where they
found the dew in the morning to be sweet. It is claimed that this island must have been Martha's Vineyard,
where this phenomenon is said to occur. They had with them two swift-footed Scots — gentlemen of some
experience in cattle-lifting, possibly — and these they sent to see what was to be seen on the island ; but,
if we remember correctly, they saw no " skraelings." Perhaps in that locality they had been all " nipped and
frizzled " to nothing. A good many learned people believe that the Norsemen made freijuent voyages to the
northern shores of America five or six hundred years ago, and it is probable enough that they did. People
adventurous enough to reach Iceland and Greenland could easily go farther south, where the condition.?
of voyaging were more favourable than in the parts which they had .already traversed. It is probable, then.

BHBHSS^

CAPE BRETON.

815

that the first Europeans who set foot upon Cape Breton or Nova Scotia were Norsemen. Columbus is said to
have visited Iceland in 14V/, and to have learned there of the existence of the American continent.

At all events, the wonderful discovery of Columbus stimulated other adventurous spirits. It was a time
of enterprise and discovery. The revival of learning and the invention of the mariner's compass conduced to
effect this result. This age was in a way an epoch in the world's history. Men began to direct their ingenuity
and hardihood in battling against the elements instead of employing them in mutual destruction. The deck
was their " field of fame," in a better than a warlike sense, and " the ocean was the grave " of many a thousand
of them. But the New World was discovered, and there man has learned lessons of freedom which he never
knew before.

John Cabot, we are told, went in a ship from Bristol in quest of new islands, sailed 700 leagues thence,
and discovered " Terra Firma." He coasted for three hundred leagues, and saw no human beings whatever. He
was three months on the voyage. Coming back, he saw two islands to starboard. These were probably sand-
hillocks on Sable Island. We are told, " Vast honour is paid him, and he dresses in silk ; and the English run
after him like mad people, so that he can enlist as many of them as he pleases, and a number of our own rogues
besides. The discoverer of these places planted on his new-found land a cross, with one flag of England and
another of St. Mark, by reason of his being a Venetian ; so that the Venetian banner has floated very far
afield." Cabot therefore certainly saw, and very probably visited Cape Breton, in 1497, more than a year
before Columbus first reached the mainland of South America.

In the following year Sebastian Cabot coasted along the shore of America from fifty-eight to thirty-eight
degrees — from Hudson Bay to the Delaware River. He is said to have first given the name of " Baccalaos "
to the countries ailjoining the fishing grounds. It is said, " He named these lands Baccalaos because in
the seas thereabout he found such an immense multitude of large fish, like tunnies, called baccalaos by the
natives, that they actually impeded the navigation of his ships." But Fournier says : " It cannot be doubted
this name was given by the Basques, who alone in Europe call that fish baccalaos or bacallos." The Indians
of Cape Breton are said to call a codfish " pahshoo " at this day. Peter Martyr says : " The Brytons and
Frenche men are accustomed to take fish on the coastes of these landes, where is found great plenty of tunnies
which the inhabitants caul baccalaos, whereof the land was so named." We thus see that the codfish has in
these regions an ancient and an honourable name. He may well flip his tail and whisk his fins with some

■iHi

ttMfei

316

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

dignity as he reflects upon his old and unctuous record. He is the most reputable aristocrat in America, if
there be any repute in antiquity; so that the title, "codfish aristocracy," is no mean designation. Spaniard,
Portuguese, French, English, Canadian and Yankee have fought and wrangled and disputed about him all in
turn ; and the dispute is not yet out of presence or out of mind.

It appears, however, that the English were the last to profit by the fishing-groundu, as their attention
was at that time directed to the coast of Iceland, and on account of the intrigues and jealousy of the Spanish
court.

But immediately after the discovery of the Baccalaos, which embraced the territory now comprised
within Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and Newfoundland, the fishermen of the north and west of France began
to frequent these parts. It is generally supposed that the name " Cape Breton " was given to the eastern
point of this island by the Basque fishermen in honour of Cape Breton, in France. It has been asserted,
though with no show of credit, that the Basques discovered and named the Island of Cape Breton a hundred
years before Columbus discovered America. The first Europeans, with the exception of the Norsemen, who
landed upon Cape Breton, were probably John Cabot and his son Sebastian. In the year 1506, Thomas
Aubert excited great wonder in France by bringing home two natives of the New World, whom Warburton
supposes were brought fi-om Cape Breton.

Shortly after Columbus discovered America, Pope Alevander VII. granted the whole of the New
World and the East Indies to Spain and Portugal. Louis XII. of France and Henry VII. of England appear
to have respected this decree. Not so did their successors, B'rancis I. and Henry VIII. "What!" said Francis
of France, " I would fain see the article in Adam's will that be(iueathes all this vast inheritance to them." As
the clause in this document could not be pointed to, he sent out an expedition to explore and take possession of
America. What between papal bulls and claims preferred by virtue of priority of discovery, the tenure
under which these parts were held in early times was often mythical and indefinite. Francis, wishing to lay
claim to his part of Adam's unclaimed estate, sent out Giovanni Verazano, a native of Florence. It is
interesting to note what a prominent part these navigators of tlie free Italian cities took in the discovery of
new lands. Their sails, which had long whitened the Mediterranean, and swept its commerce from Smyrna
to Tangiers, and connected with their mercurial wand the east and the west, now, guided by " the needle
twinkling on its card," glided between the " Pillars of Hercules," and, filled with the piping winds, went

CAPE BRETOM.

817

westward, and skirted a new world from Labrador to the Orinoco. Italy has had more than one heroic age
during her long history, and this age of heroic discovery was in a sense the noblest of them all. The ancient
spirit of Rome, " clad with wings," triumphed on many a sea " where Ciwsar's eagles never Hew."

Verazano had four ships, but three of them sustained .so much damage in a gale that he sent them back,
and proceeded in the Dolphin alone. He first made Carolina, and coasted to the northward until he arrived
at Cape Breton. By virtue of this discovery, France laid claim to all this territory, " all which and much
more," says Parchas, " had long before been discovered by Sir Sebfisfcian Cabot for the King of England."

But Henry VIII. was not behind his brother of France. " He sent out," we are told, " two faire ships,
well-manned and victualled, having in them divers cunning men to seeke strange regions ; and so they set
forth out of the Thames the 20th day of May, in the nineteenth yeere of his reigne, which was the yeere of our
Lord 1527. And whereas Master Hall and Master Grafton say, that in these ships there were divers cunning
men, I have made great enquirie of such as by their yeeres and delight in navigation might give me any light
to know who the.ie cunning men should be, which were the directors in the aforesaid voyage. And it hath
been told me by Sir Martin Frobi.sher and M. Richard Allen, a Knight of the Sepulchre, that a canon of St.
Paul, in London, which was a great mathematician, and a man endued with wealth, did much advance the
action, and went therein himself in person ; but what his name was I cannot learn of any. And further, they
told me that one of the ships was called the Dominus Vobiscivm, which is a name likely to be given by a
religious man in those days ; and that sayling very far north-westward, one of the ships was cast away as it
entered a very dangerous gulph, about the great opening between the north parts of Newfoundland and the
country lately called by Her Meaistie ' Meta Incognito ' (Labrador). Whereupon the other ship, shaping her
course towards Cape Breton and the coastes of Arambec (Nova Scotia), and oftentimes putting her men on
land to search the state of these unknown lands, returned home about the beginning of October of the yeere
aforesaid ; and thus much (by reason of the great negligence of the writers of these times, who should have
used much care in preserving of the memories of the worthy acts of our nation), is all that hitherto I can
learn or Hnd out of this voyage." So records Hakluyt in his " Collection of Voyages."

The next English voyage of discovery to America was made in L536. It was undertaken by lawyers
and private gentlemen, and had a consistent result. It gives little information respecting Cape Breton.

Cartier, on his second voyage, instead of returning through the Straits of Belle Isle, sailed eastward

318

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

until he made Brion Island, which he had previously discovered and named, and found a promontory on his
left hand which he named Cape Loreine (Cape Ray), and another on the starboard, which he named St.
Paul's (Cape North, in Cape Breton). Carticr wa,s the first to make known the existence of a passage
between Cape North and Cape Ray into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

In 1578, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, having taken formal possession of Newfoundland in the name of Queen
Elizabeth, left St. John's with three ships, the Golden Hind, the Squirrel, and the "Admiral" (as the
principal ship was then called) the Delight. The commander of a fleet in those days was called the General —
he superintended the fighting, and had nothing to do with the working or navigation of the ships. Hence the
distinction still observed in the English service between the Captain and the Master. The Delight was lost
on Sable Island, after the ships bad been beating about for eight days trying to get to Cape Breton. The
crew of this vessel, consisting of nearly a hundred men, perished, except sixteen who got into a boat.
These men, having only one oar and no water, were driven at last upon the south coast of Newfoundland,
where they were rescued by a Spanish ship. The crews of the other two .ships had witnessed the destruction
of their consort. They beat about all that day and the next, but could learn nothing of the fate of the men
of the Delight. So the design of going to Cape Breton was abandoned, and on August 31st, Sir Humphrey
bore up for England, but never reached it. On leaving St. John's he had gone on board the Squirrel, of
only ten tons burthen, " the same being most convenient to discover upon the coast, and to search into every
harbour or creek, which a great ship could not do. , . . Twice, on their homeward voyage across the
Atlantic, he went on board the Hind, but would not li.sten to the entreaties of her oflicers to remain in her,
saying, 'I will not forsake my little company going homeward, with whom I have pa.ssed .so many storms
and perils.' " On September 9th, they passed the Azores, where the "Squirrel was neere cast away, oppressed
by waves, but at that time recovered ; and giving forth signs of joy, the General, sitting abaft with a book
in his hand, cried unto us in the Hind, so oft as we did approach within hearing, ' We are as near to heaven
by sea as by land,' " And " about twelve o'clock, or not long after, on the same night, the frigate being ahead
of us in the Golden Hind, suddenly her lights were out, whereof as it were in a moment we lost the sight,
and with all our watch cried, ' the General was cast away,' which was too true ; for in that moment the
frigate was devoured and swallowed up of the sea." So died Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

In 1593, the Marigold, Captain Richard Strong, came looking for Ramea Island in search of seals. He

CAPE BRETON.

says, " We beat about a very long time, and yet missed it, and at length overshot it, and fell in with Cape
Breton. Here divers of our men went ashore upon the very cape where, at their arrival, they found the spits
of oak of the savages which had roasted meat a little before ; and as they viewed the country they saw divers
beasts and fowls, as black foxes, deers, otters, great fowls with red legs, penguins and certain others, and having
found no people here at this our first landing, we went again on shipboard and sailed further four leagues to
the west of Cape Breton, where we saw many seals ; and here, having leed of fresh water, we went again on
shore, and passing somo what more into the land, were found certain 'ound ponds, artificially made by the
savages, to keep fish in, with certain weares in them to take fish. T j these ponds we repaired to fill our
casks with water. We had not been long here, but there came one i^- .'age with black, lonj: hair han<Tiii
about his shoulders, who called unto us, waving his hands downwards towards his belly, using these words,
" Calitogh, calitogh ! " As we drew towards him one of our men's muskets unawares shot oft'; whereupon
he fell down, and rising up suddenly, again he cried thrice with a loud voice, " Chiogh, Chiogh, Chiogh ; "
thereupon nine or ten of his fellows, running right up over the bushes with gi-eat agility and swiftness, came
towards us, with white staves in their hands, like half pikes, and their dogs, of colour black, not so big as a
greyhound, followed them at their heels, but we retired into our boat without any hurt at all received.
Howbeit, one of them broke a hogshead, which we had filled with fresh water, with a great branch of a tree
that lay on the ground. Upon which occasion we bestowed half a dozen musket shots upon them, which they
avoided by falling flat on the earth, and afterwards retired themselves to the woods. One of the savages,
which seemed to be their captain, wore a long mantle of beasts' skins hanging on one of his shoulders. The
rest were all naked. . . . After they had escaped our shot, they made a great fire on the shore, belike to
give their fellows warning of us. The kind of trees that we noted to be here were goodly oaks, fir trees of a
great height, a kind of tree called of us Quickbeame, and divers others kinds to us unknown, because we stayed
not long with diligence to observe them, and there is great show of resin, pitch and oar. We found in both
the places where we went on land, abundance of raspberries, strawberries, hurtes and herbs of good smell, and
divers good for the scurvy, and grass very rank and of great length. We saw five or six boats sailing to the
southward of Cape Breton, which we judged to be Christians which had some trade that way. We saw also,
while we were on shore, the manner of their hanging up their fish and flesh with withes to dry in the sun,
and also lay then* upon rafts and hurdles and make a smoke under them, or a soft fire, and so dry them as

HMMHWiMW

820

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

the savages do in Virginia." Thence they coasted along to the latitude of 44i degrees, and " saw exceeding
great store of seals and abundance of porpoises, whereof we killed eleven. We saw whales also, of all sorts,
as well small as great ; and here our men took many bearded cod, with one teat underneath, which are like
to the north-east cod, and better than those of Newfoundland." The point of land upon which these men
landed was evidently Point Rochfort, near the site of Louisburg.

Another voyage was made by Captain Leigh in 1597. He sailed from Gravesend on April 11th, in
command of the Hopewell, of 120 ton.s, and the Chauncewell, of seventy tons, on a fishing and trading
expedition to the St. Lawrence. "On June 11th, at sunsetting," he writes, "we had .sight of Cape Breton.
On thb 12th, by reason of contrary winds, we cast anchor under the north-east end of the Island of Monego
(St. Paul's) to the north of Cape Breton ; and on the 14th came to the two i.slands of birds." But they had
lost their consort, and returned to the eastward looking for her. On his arrival at the Island of Raniea, he
got into trouble with four Frenchmen lying there, and was saluted " by a bullet out of a great piece of
ordnance." Leigh now shaped his course for the river of Cape Breton (perhaps Sydney), supposed to be
about forty leagues distant. " The 24th June we sent our boats on shore in a great bay upon the Isle of Cape
Breton for water. The 2.5th, we arrived on the west side of the Island of Monego, where we left some casks
on shore on a sandy bay, but could not tarry for foul weather. The 26th, we cast anchor in another bay
upon the main of Cape Breton. The 27th, about ten of the clock in the morning, we met with eight men of
the Chauncewell, our consort, in a shallope, who told us that tneir ship was cast away upon the main of Cape
Breton, within a great bay eighteen leagues within tiie Cape (St. Ann's), and upon a rock within a mile of the
shore, upon the 23rd of this month, about one of the clock in the dfterno'nn, au(i that they had cleared the
ship from the rock ; but being bilged and full of '.vr,oer, they presently did run her up into a sandy bay,
when she was no sooner come on ground, but presently there came aboard many .shallops with great store of
Frenchmen, who robbed and spoiled all they could lay their hands on, pillaging the poor men even to their
very shirts, and using them in savuge manner ; whereas they should rather as Christians have aided them in
their distress. ... So presently we came into the road where the Chauncewell lay ; where also was one
ship of Sibiboro, whose men had holpe to pillage the Chauncewell, and were run away into the woods, but
the master thereof, who had done very honestly with our men, stayed in his ship and came aboard of us ;
whom we used well, not taking anything from him that was his, but only such things as we could find of our

!^SSSBB

SYDNEY.

CAPE BRETON.

321

own. And when wo had despatched our business, we gave him one good cable, one old cable and an anker,
one shallop with mast, sails and other furniture, and other things which belonged to the ship. In recompense
whereof he gave us two hogsheads of cider, one barrel of pease and twenty-five score of fish.

" The 29th, betimes in the morning, we departed from that road, toward a great BUcaine (a Basque ship)
some seven leagues off, of 800 tons, whose men dealt most doggedly with the Cliauncewell's company. The
same night we anchored at the mouth of the harbour where the Biscayan was. The 30th, betimes in the morning,
we put into the harbour, and approached near their stage ; we saw it uncovered, and so suspected the ship to
be gone ; whereupon we sent our pinnace on shore with a dozen men, who, when they came, found groat store
of fish on shore, but all the men were fled ; neither could they perceive whither the ship could be gone, but,
as they thought, to sea. This day, about twelve of the clock, we took a savage boat, which our men pursued;
but all the savages ran away into the woods, and our men brought their boat on board. The same day, in
the afternoon, we brought our ship to anchor in the harbour, and the same we took three hogsheads and a
half of traine, and some 800 of green fish. ALso in the evening three of the savages, whose boat we had,
came unto us for their boat ; to whom we gave coats and knives, and restored them their boat again. The
next day, being the first of July, the rest of the savages came unto us, among whom was their king, whose
name was Itary, and their queene, to whom also we gave coats and knives and other trifies. The savages
called the harbour Cibo (Sydney). In this place are the greatest multitude of lobsters that ever we heard of;
for we caught at one haul with a draw net above 140.

" The fourth of July, in the morning, we departed from Cibo. And the fifth we cast anker in a
reasonable good harbour called New Port (Puerto Novo or Baleine), some eight leagues from Cibo and within
three leagues from the English Port (Louisburg). At this place, in pursuing certain shallops of a ship of
Rochelle, one of them came aboa''d, who told us tliat the Biskainer whom we sought was in the English Port,
with two Biskainers more and two ships of Rochelle. Thereupon we sent one of our men in the Rochelle r's
shallop to parle with the Admiral and others our friends in the English Port, requesting them aid for the
recovery of our things which the other ship had stolen from the Cfiaunceivell. To which they answered, that
if we would '•ome in unto them in peace, they would assist us what they might. This answer we had the
sixth day." After a good deal of squabbling the Englishmen, it appears, got back some of their stolen gear.
Resolving to sink the Frenchmen for the part which they dishonestly retained, thp weather did not servo
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.132

f^/V'; HRI'.TON I' '.USTRAlKn.

thoir purpose, so thoy bore up for Newfoundland, where thoy gratitiod tlieir revenge by captnriiig n
Frcnehinan of 200 tons burden, and forty int^n. Tlicsc wrrn rough old tiiuos. The pertinacity of tliis old
Captain Leigh is sornetliing to admire, lie was determined to get satisfaction, and he got it at last

Upon Cape lUeton he landed in five places — at St. Ann's, at Sydney, at Scatari, Baleine and Louisburg.
lieigh is the first who calls Cape Breton an island. The oldest map upon which the Strait of ('an.s;; is laid
down is that of Mercator, piiiilishcd in I ')(!•),

Through the international troubles of th(^ sixti^enth century, the coasts of C'ape Breton were considered
neutral ground by the Kuropean (isherinen. Tht^y frei|uented the sauie harlxxn's and prosecuted their
adventurous calling in peace, except in such cases as the plundering of the Chaanccwdl ; and the small valu<!
of thi^ fisherman's cargo saved him from molestation on his homeward voyage*. St. Ami's was the favourite
resort of the Krench, iiouisburg of tlu; Knglish, and Sydney of Ww Spani.sli fishermen, in KiOI} more than
200 Knglish ve.s.sels were eiigagcMl in th(! N«(wfoundlanil and ('ape I'.reton iisherie.s.

Krom 1518 to IHOH no attempt was made by the Kniiich to take po.ssession of any part of tlu^ coast of the
Oulf of St. liawrence. In the latter ytsar the Mar((ui-i ile la Uo>'h(! was s(>nt out with a number of })er.sons,
among whom were forty convicts, to found u colony in New France. Tim convicts were landed on Sable
Island luitil a suitable place could bo found for a settlement. The Manpiis was driven by a storm back to
France, and the.se unfortunate men were left to their fate. Seven years after only twelve w re left alive.
They had subsisted chiiifly on the progeny of tin- cattle left then* by Baron de Luy eighty years before.

lUit the period of organized and .sustained coloni/ution was apprcat^hirig. We now have the names of
Cliauvln, I'ontgrave, W\ Monts and (Jhamplain, who are ,so intimately coniu'eted with the t^arl}' history of this
country. C!hauvin was a ca])tain in the French navy. I'ontgrave wns a master mariner who had made a
voyage up the St. Lawrence. Sieiir de Mojits was a gentleman of great inliiiencre at tlu- coiirt of Henry l\'.,
who, in l(iO.'{, hr.il obtaincMl a grant from the King of all the land between the fortieth and forty sixth degrees
of north latitude. This territory was calh^d l^a Cadii', or Acadie, in his eoumiission, and (!xtende<l from
Pennsylvania to the St. Lawrence. By his grant he was to i-njoy a monopoly of the .soil and the sole right to
the fur trade, to engage in which many had abandoned their interest in the fi.shi-ries and were suppli(id by
tlu! merehaiirs of the Krench maritime towns with , luh articles as wt^re desired by the Indians. The
fuv-trad( rs j<ow sought every crecik and hr.rliour along the coast as they plied their trade. Cape Breton soon

^?S99B8B^^BS

flees

CAi'i-: /^A'A'/rW.

32:i

ln'Ciiinc u favourito resort of thcso tralUckcrH. In \M)\, ll(!nry May .sayH, "On tlin 20th May wo f«!ll in with
tlio land near to Cape lircton, wlicro we ran into a fresh water river, whereof there ho many, pnd took in
water, wood and hallast. And here the ptsoplci of the country' eame unto u.s, l)ein}^ clotlxid all in fiir.s with tlie
furred side unto their .skins, anil lirout;ht with them furs of sundry sorts to sell, hvsides j^reat store of wild
dueks ; so sonio of our company, ha vinj^ saved some snuill heads, houjjjht some of their dueks." C'hamplain,
also a eaptain in tin? navy, was horn in l.">()7, at Hruaj^e, on the I {ay of Hiseay. lie had soon important
ser\ 're and was a hravci and expcrieiieed otlieer. lie* had heen employed for three or four y<'ars in survey!
tht? coasts of A;'ii,die an<l CJapi! |{reton, and had j;one up the St. Lawrenee as far as tlu^ Sault St. ijouis rapitl.s.
When his friend \)k\ Monts ohtained |H>rmi.ssion, in KiOS, to trado with the Indians and to estahlish a
seltlemciit on the St. Lawrence, as a compensation for the ntvocation of his ^rant of Aoadie in the [)revious
year, Ohamplain was selected to conduct tin enterpri.se. ('hamplnin arriviid at the Island of Orleans on .luiy
;{rd, KiOH. lie j)lanted his settlement on a pictures(pu;, vvooiled hill, called hy the natives " Keliec," whicrli is
.said to si^rnify a strait, from tint narrowness of the river in that part. Krom this date hei^ins tht) romantic
and cheipiered history of ('anada. Tht? history of Champlain's life is a hravt ln.y, not without its mistakes
and indiseretions, Imt marked hy heroic endurance and seli'-tlenial, so that his is one of the most honoiu'ablu
names in the history of America.

The attempts to eoloni/e America previous to thi.^ date had all boon unsuccessful. At the end of tlio
sixteenth century thert! was not a sinjjie I'jurop(!an from Florida to Lal)rador, except the niiserahle convicts
left liy l)e la lloeht! on Salile, Islatei The inciting,' eause of tlu^ new era of colonization was the fur trade.
The fishermen, as we have .said, l)e;finnin^' to harter knives, heads and sueh like with i\w native.s, soon
developid into tradc^rs, whose! avocation canu; before lonj^ to he plii^d upon land, am' lot upon the .st-a,

A loud outcry was raised aj^ainst tiie monopoly of l)e Monts. This ho could assuage only^by >?ivin^ the
malcontents a share in his exclusive rij^hts, and tln^n he lost no time in takinj^ pos.se.ssion. in the spriiifj; of
l(j()i two ships weri! fitted out. On thitse einl)arked a motley compan}' consistinj^ of " ^(snlJemen volunteers,
( Jatholie prit-*,^^ iluj^uenot ministers, a^i'iculturists, artisans, soldiers, and some pt^rsons of less reputable
character, taken from the ^aols and j»alley.H. J)e Monts .sailed from Havre de (Jrace on April 7th, 1()()4, in tho
first shi[), of which Captein Timothy was master; Hieneourt, l*outrincourt, C'hamplain, M. d'Orville, M. do
(Miampdore, and " other men of reckoninj^ " accompanied him. De Monts and many of his associates wore

r r~8 '» r a-atf g!^-L

"•II iiii»*liin

3r» 4
^1

C'^/^iE' BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Huguenots — " Eidgenossen of France." The Edict of Nantes had put an end to the disastrous wars which
for thirty-six years had desolated that kingdom, and the Huguenots wiie allowed the free exercise of their
religion, upon condition that the Indians should be instructed in the Catholic faith. But the priests and
ministers fell out over the tenets of their respective faiths, and during the voyage there were unseemly
quarrels, " sometimes ending in blows." Champlain says he "did not know who had the best of it" — and
probably he cared very little — but that he heard the minister of what he calls "the reformed religion"
complain to De Monts that he had been beaten by the priest.

Pontgrave sailed a few days after De Monts, in the second ship, commanded by Captain Morell. They
were to meet at " Catnpseau." De Monts first made the land at Cape La Heve, Pontgrave at Louisburg.
Here he was detained, as Lescarbot says, " for two causes — the one that wanting a cocke-boat, they employed
their time in building one on the land where they arrived first, which was the English Port ; the other, that
being at Campseau Port, they found there four ships of Baskes, or men of St. John de Luz, that did truck
with the savages, contrary to the said inhibitions (De Mont's patent), from whom they took their goods, and
brought the masters to the said De Monts, who used them very gently."

Champlain gives a short description of Cape Breton, accompanied by a map which is far from
accurate. The harbour of ;Sydney is completely ignored, and Bras d'Or Lake communicates with Ingonish
Bay. He goes on to say, "Between Canseau and Cape Breton there is a great bay which runs nine
or ten leagues inland, and forms a passage between the island and the mainland. It commun".i;ates
with the great Bay of St. Lawrence, leading up to the fisheries at Gaspe and Isle Perceo. The
passage is exceedingly narrow. Large ships cannot pass through it, although there is suflBcient depth
of water, on account of the changing tides and rapid currents. For this reason we have named it 'Le
Passage Courant.' It lies in the latitude of 43J degrees. Cape Breton Island is of a triangular form, eighty
leagues in circuit, and is generally mountainous, though in some parts very pleasant. In the midst of the
island there is a kind of lake communicating with the sea on the north-east and south-west. In the lake
there are a number of islands, abounding in game; shell-fish of various kinds are found, including oysters
of poor flavour. In this island are several harbours and fishing-places — namely, Port aux Anglois, about
three or four leagues from the Cape ; and Niganis, eighteen or twenty leagues turther north. The Portuguese

CA/Vi liRETON.

325

formerly made a settlement on this island, but the cold and rigorous climate forced them to abandon it."
This is Champlain's account of Cape Breton in his time.

In 161;^, the French were expelled from Acadie by Captain Argol, the basis of whose operations was the
English colony at Jamestown, Virginia. In 1621, Sir William Alexander, Secretary of State for Scotland,
obtained a grant from the King of all the land to the northward of that held by the Virginia and Plymouth
companies. This led to the first British settlement of Cp.pe Breton. His grant utterly ignored the right and
title of France to any and all territories lying south of the St. Lawrence. It runs thus : " To commence at
Cape Sable, and thence follow the coast of Acadie to St. Mary's Bay ; thence to cross the Bay of Fundy to
the mouth of the St. Croix River ; thence to run northerly to the great river of Canada ; thence along the
said river to Gaspd ; thence south-easterly through the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Isle of Baccalaos or
Cape Breton, leaving the same on the right hand and Newfoundland on the left ; thence to the promontory
called Cape Breton ; and thence along the coast of Cape Breton and Acadie to the starting point of Cape
Sable." This territory was to be called " Nova Scotia in America."

In August, 1622, a ship sailed from London to carry out a party of emigrants to settle the country. In
the middle of September they were " near to Cape Breton," when they were driven back by a heavy gale.
They then put into St. John's. Here they stayed all winter, and .sent a ship home " for a supply of ^leedful
things." In the .spring of 1628 the ship arrived at St. John's, on June 10th, but halt the intended colonists
had hired themselves to ti.shermen. The minister and the smith had died during the winter, " boih, for
spiritual and temporal respects, the two most neces.sary members." Ten of the principal persons, therefore,
concluded to go in the ship to New Scotland, " to discover the country, and make choice of a place of a
habitation against the next year." They accordingly sailed from St. John's on June 23rd, and saw " the most
part of Cape Breton on the Sth July." " Having discovered a good part of the country," they went back to
Newfoundland, " where the .ship was to receive her loading of Hslies." Although their account of the country
was good, no further attempts were made to colonize the territory until 1627. Sir William Alexander had
in the meantime got his grant confirmed, and a tract extending from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of
California n-as added to it. But his means were small, and he had to associate others with him in his vested
rights. David Kirke was sent out to " plant and trade " in New Scotland in 1627, but it is not certain where
he planted his colony.

•\ '!

326

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Sir William Alexander had permission from the King to divide " New Scotland " into 100 parcels, "and
to dispose of them with the title of Baronet to purchasers, for their encouragement to improve the colony."
Each purchaser had to pay £200 stevling to Sir William Alexander, and very few persons applied for allot-
ments. Among these few wu» a Scotch nobleman, Lord Ochiltree, son of the Earl of Arran, better known by
the name of Sir James Stewart. This nobleman equipped two small vessels, and went out with sixty
emigrants to " seat a colony " in Cape Breton in the spring of 1629. He arrived at Baleine on July 1st.
Some land was cleared and a fort built for the protection of his people. Though his chief object was to
"seat a colony," he undertook to levy tribute on the foreign fishermen. This bred serious trouble, and
resulted in the destruction of Ochiltree's colony by one Captain Daniel, who had been sent out to succour
Champlain at Quebec, but who had been separated from his consorts, and found his way to the coast of Cape
Breton. He says : " On August 28th, I entered the river, called by the savages Great Cibou (St. Ann's), and
on the following day despatched a boat with ten men along the coast, to discover some savages, and learn
from them the condition of the settlement oi" Quebec. On their arrival off Port Baleines, they found there a
vessel from Bordeaux, the master of which was named Chambreau, who informed them that James Stewart,
a Scotch lord, had come there about two months previously with two large ships and an English cutter, that
he had met in the same place Michael Dihurse, of St. Jean de Luz, engaged in fishing and drying cod; that
the said Scotch lord had seized Dihurse's ship and cargo, and had permitted his men to pillage the crew.
Also, that shortly after the said lord had sent his two largest ships, with that taken from Michael Dihurse,
to found a settlement at Port Royal, and had with part of his men constructed a fort at Port aux Baleines.
Further, that Stewart had given him a document, signed with his own hand, purporting that he would not
grant permission to him or any other Frenchman to fish in futurn on the said coast, or to traffic with the
savages, unless the tenth part of the profits were paid over to him ; and that his commission from the King
of Great Britain authorized him to confiscate all vessels attempting to proceed to the above-named places
without permis.sion. These matters being reported to me, I considered that it was my duty to prevent the
said lord from usurping the country belonging to the King, my master, and from exacting tributes from his
subjects, which he intended to appropriate to himself. I therefore ordered fifty-three of my men to be well
armed, and provided myself with ladders and other necessary materials for the siege and escalade of the said
fort. Having arrived on September 18th, at Port Baleines, T landed at aboqt two in the afternoon, and

CAPE BRETON.

327

ordered my men to advance towards the fort, according to the instructions 1 had given them, whith were to
attack on several sides with hand and pot grenades and other combustibles."

The fort, in short, was taken. Another fort was built at St. Ann's, and a garrison of forty Frenchmen
left in it, with two Jesuit Fathers, Vimond and Vieuporet.

This is Captain Daniel's account. Lord Ochiltree tells a different story in the following document :
" The barbarous and perfidious carriage of the French towards the Lord Ochiltree, in the Isle of Cape Breton,
proved in the Court of Admiralty at Dieppe " :

" About the 10th of September, or thereby, one Captain Daniel, Indweller in Dieppe, accompanied with
threescore sailors and a certain number of .savages in six shallops, came to the coast of Cape Breton and
surprised two shallops and six fishermen in them, who were at fishing for the entertainment of the said Lord
Ochiltree his colony, in that part settled by virtue of the King of Britain his commission. Having surprised
the shallops, he seized upon the fishermen, and enclosed them in a West Island without meat, drink, fire,
houses, or any shelter from the rain or cold. Thereafter, with his sailors and si.x shallops entered the
harbour, the said Lord Ochiltree and the greater part of his men being abroad at business.

" The said Lord Ochiltree perceiving them, entered his fort, and with the few that were in it, esteeming the
said Captain Daniel and his people to have been savages, caused the discharge of .some muskets at the shallops,
to make them discover who they were which did so fall forth, for they immediately did approach the fort,
and the said Lord Ochiltree, finding by their apparel that they were not savages, did demand of them who
they were. They answered they were French. He said the French and they were friends becau.se of the
peace betwixt the two kings. They replied that they were frientls, and that they did know of the peace,
and were their friends. Then he said, in their hearing, that they were welcome. How soon they did
enter (expecting no wrong usage after the words which had passed), they did seize us all unarmed, possessed
themselves of all their goods, expelled the poor people out of the fort, and exposed them without shelter,
or cover, or clothes, to the mercy of the rain and cold wind which did exceed at that time, so that the
poor people, whereof a great number of them were old men, and women with child and young children at
their breasts, they, I say, were forced to turn down the face of an old shallop, and to creep in under it to
save their lives from the bitterness of the cold and rain, which was most extreme in that place."

Here is palpable contradiction and evident perversion of facts on both sides. In Lord Ochiltree's report.

■p^

328

CAPE R RE TON ILLUSTRATED.

there folloVs a long list of grievances and hardships suffered at the hands of the French after the fort was
taken. The taking of the fert itself was, in any case, no "great exploit," as it has been termed. We are told
Ochiltree's company consisted of but sixty persons, men, women and children, while the attacking force
consisted, according to Daniel's own account, of fifty-three men. The colonists had been in possession only
two months, so it is not probable that the so-called fort was a very formidable work.

One Captain Constance Fenar, who was with Ochiltree, states in a petition, that on September 10th they

. ere " treacherously surprised and taken prisoners " by Captain Daniel, who landed them in England, but

that Lord Ochiltree and seventeen others were taken prisoners to France. He prays that the French

Ambassador may be instructed to apply for their release, and for restitution of above £10,000 damages.

But it does not appear that this petition ever took effect.

The garrison at St. Ann's, which Captain Daniel had left, was attacked towards spring by scurvy, which
carried off nearly one-third of their number. This colony was not a success. It had disappeared before
Nicholas Denys obtained a grant of Cape Breton, a few years afterwards.

According to the Treaty of 1632, England relinquished all right to Cape Breton, and Champlain returned
to Quebec in the capacity of Lieutenant-Governor. If he had been allowed to carry his plans into execution,
Charlevoix 8ay.s, " That New France would have consisted of more than an establishment in the Island of
Cape Breton, the fort of Quebec surrounded by a few miserable huts, two or three cabins on the Isle of
Orleans, as many more, perhaps, at Tadoussac and some other places on the St. Lawrence, for the con-
venience of trade and the fisheries, a few habitations at Three Rivers, and the ruins of Port Royal."

Immediately after the peace, Isaac de Razilly, a captain in the navy, was appointed Lieutenant-Governor
of Acadie. With him were associated the Sieur d'Aulnay de Charnisay, Charles Etienne La Tour, and Nicholas
Denys, Sieur de ITrousac. To Denys was apportioned the eastern part of the territory. At St. Peter's, in
Cape Breton, he had a large fishing establishment, defended by a fort mounted with cannon, near the spot
where the canal now is, and he built a road over the isthmus. He had a fort at St. Ann's, also, and wherever
he went he had considerable land under cultivation. He frequently traversed the Bras d'Or Lake, and
probably upon one of these passages he discovered and named the river which bears his name. In 1053 he
obtained a grant of all the country to the eastward of Canso. In 1654 Acadie was taken from the French
by Major Sedgwick, one of Cromwell's officers, but Denys seems to have been undisturbed in his portion of it.

CAPE R RE TOM.

829

But shortly afterwards the whole of his buildings at St. Peter's were destroyed by fire. He then abandoned
Cape Breton, and retired to his only remaining .settlement at Bay Chaleurs. His own account of this calamity
is as follows : " I was obliged to remove to Cape Breton, where I would doubtless have recovered from my
losses, through meeting with some savages, yet unknown, who came to seek me, bringing two long boats full
of fur.s, worth about 25,000 francs, had not a iire unfortunately broken out (the cause of which could never
be ascertained) in a loft, where fire was not usually carried, and burnt down all my dwellings All my wares,
furniture, pjnmunition, victuals, flour, wine, arms, in short all that I possessed in that place, was consumed
without being able to save anything ; and all my people were obliged, as well as myself, to escape from the
violence of the fire with no other covering but our shirts. The only things saved were half a cask of brandy,
with about 500 sheaves of wheat, which were withdrawn with great difficulty from a barn which the fire had
not yet reach'^d, without which we should all have been compelled to have sought a subsistence in the woo'ls
with the savnges until the coming spring."

The date of this calan^ity is uncertain, as is the time of Denys' departure for Cape Breton. The Company
' New France, or, as it ',»^as sometimes called, "the Company of One Hundred Associates," was dissolved in
l(j63. A new company in the following year confirmed M. Denys in the possession of all his territory, upon
condition of his sending out fifty emigrants every ten years. From this date he is only incidentally noticed.
It is likely that he went back to France before 1672. In that year liis book was published. His sons were
left in charge of the settlements. We are told, " the coal mines of Cape Breton began at this time to attract
attention. Duchesne, the Intendant of New France, i.s3ued an ordinance, dated August 21st, 1077, which
recognizes and establishes the right of M. Denys to exact a duty from all persons who took coal from Cape
Breton, or plaster from the Straits of Canseau, as grantee of the land by patent in 1654, Governor, etc. This
document fixes the duty at thirty sous for each ton of plaster, and twenty sous for each ton of coal. Persons,
also, who trade in furs within the limits of Denys' grants and government, which embraced the Islands of
St. John and Cape Breton and the whole gulf shore from Canseau to Cape Rosiers, are declared liable to
confiscation of their goods employed, and to a fine of 200 livres, unless they have license from Denys." So
much for old-time monopolies. Denys appears, however, to have been a very worthy sort of man, with a
kindly interest in the country and its development. Wherever he went he endeavoured to cultivate the land,
and contemplates, with an innocent satisfaction, the result. His settlement at Nipisiguit, the last one left to

330

CAPE liKETON ILLUSTRATED.

him hy contention and jealousy, seems to have been in a flourishing condition. The aroma of Denys' fruits
and vegetables, in which he took so much interest, comes to us with a grateful sense through the petty
savagergss and cruelty of these primitive pioneer times. At Chedabucto (Guysborough), he had 120 men
employed erectii\g buildings and working on tho land, of which he had thirty arpents under cultivation. At
St. Peter's he had eighty arpents of arable land. At St. Ann's he had several fields and a fine orchard of
apple trees; and at Nipisiguit there was "a large garden in which vegetables flouri.shed admirably; an
orchard planted with apple and pear trees, which withstood the cold, fend peas and beans grew passably well."

Denys' book contains much valuable information concerning Acadie and Cape Breton. We have minute
and graphic accounts of the fisheries, drawings of store-house.s, fishing stages, and all appliances in use in
that industry down to a fish barrel. The sixth chapter of his book is devoted to a description of the rivers
and harbours of the island. He begins at St. Peter's and goes all round the island. His description of St.
Ann's is naturally very accurate ; the description of some of the harbours is evidently from hearsay. We
are interested in the information that at Bale des Espagnol, " there is a mountain of very good coal four
leagues up the river." Party heat and political fermentation must have ignited and consumed this magazine
of caloric long years ago.

Both Champlain and Denys had an utter contempt for topography when they came to embody their
descriptions in a map. In this respect M. Denys bears away the palm from Champlain. The sublimity with
which he disregards the facts of locality is something awe-inspiring. M. Denys was, no doubt, a good and
a worthy man, but his map renders the fate of Ananias of no moral use whatever. A man that could
make a map like that and call it " Cape Breton," and then come to a peaceful end, is a moral phenomenon.
But then the good Denys meant well, and he never saw many of the places of which he attempts to make a
picture ; and no more worthy Frenchman than Denys ever set foot upon Cape Breton. He gives a very
good description of Sydney Harbour, but according to his map there is no such place. St. Ann's, he says,
will hold a thousand vessels ; and so it will. The little harbour of Baleine, he states, can only hold about a
dozen, and yet those harbours are represented as of equal size. But map-making was then in its infancy,
and M. Denys' profession was not that of marine surveying. Of the country, he says, " people might live
in Acadie or Cape Breton with as much satisfaction as in France itself, provided the envy of one did not
ruin the best intended designs of another, and that land cleared and cultivated by one should not be taken

•ii

CAPE BRETON.

331

from one and given to another." This had often happened in his own experience. The tact and the courage,
the patience and perseverance, the generosity and kindness which he exhibited even towards his enemies in
their hour of need, are worthy of a place in the annals of Cape Breton.

In 1656 letters patent were granted by Cromwell to Sir Charles St. Stephen, Lord Delatour, Thomas
Temple, and William Crowne, "of all those lands in America called Acadie, and that part of the country
called Nova Scotia." For the exclusive right of trading with the savages, they rendered yearly twenty moose
skins and twenty beaver skins to the -Lord Protector, or his successor. Under this grant. Colonel Thomas
Temple was appointed governor. In 1662 this arrangement was confirmed by Charles II., who refused for a
long time to give up the country to the French. At length he yielded to the influence of the French court,
and, ignoring the rights of Temple and his acsociates, restored the whole of Acadie to France at the Treaty of
Breda, in 1667. So much for the conduct of Charles II. While this treaty was signing, he and his mistresses
were probably chasing moths around the table.

England had nominally been in possession of the country from 1654 to 1670, but the French inhabitants
had not removed, except in the vicinity of the forts. Tho population of the country at this time did not
exceed 400. The governments of Acadie and Cape Breton were made subordinate to that of Canada, and
it was thought that under a royal government law and order would improve ; but the expectation was not
realized. In seventeen years there were no less than five governors, and these frequent changes were the
cause of much mischief. French peculation and corruption had already begun on the part of officials. We
are told, " the French governors look upon their place as a gold mine given them in order to enrich themselves,
so that the public good must always march behind private interest. M. Perrot was broke with disgrace for
having made it his chief interest to enrich himself. . . . His chief business was to go in barks from
place to place to traffic with the savages. . . . Monsieur de Menneval suflfered the English to possess
themselves of Port Royal, because the place was covered only with single palisades. But why was it not
better fortified ? I can tell you the reason : he thought he had time enough to fill his pockets before the
English would attack it." We are told that M. Bergier, who resided at Chedabucto, " having gone to the
Island of Cape Breton with three men, to collect furs from the savages, was attacked and robbed by
Beaubas'in, a son of De Valliere, who entered his cabin at three o'clock in the morning, accompanied by six
men armed with fusils, drawn swords and pistols ; and an Indian chief also, who was coming to Chedabucto,

.4PM

332

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

was met by De Valliere himself, and robbed of the skins of seventy moose, sixty martins, four beavers, and
two otters. Now, De Valliere was governor of Acadie at this time. These facts, therefore, need no comment.
The report that all the French settlements were in a state of ruin and desolation is, therefore, no matter for
surprise. In 1686 the population of Acadie was said to be 912 ; in less than three years it had diminished

to 806. In Cape Breton there was not a single family of
European descent.

Upon the failure of Sir Hovenden "Walker's ill-fated
expedition against Quebec, it was determined at a council
of war to proceed to Spanish Bay, in Cape Breton, as the
most convenient rendezvous in case of the Heet beinc
dispersed. On September 4th, the most of the ships
reached Sydney Harbour, and anchored directly off" what
is now known a? Lloyd's Cove. In a few days all the
ships had arrived. There were forty-two sail — probably
the largest fleet ever seen in Sj'dney Harbour. The
valorous Admiral, who had signalized himself by nothing
but drowning nearly 1,000 men in the St. Lawrence,
thought it a pity that such a squadron and such a body
of land forces should leave America without doing some-
thing against the enemy in some part or other," . . .
and " being informed by several officers who had been
there, that a cross was erected on the shore with the
names of the French sea officers who had been here,
which I looked upon as a claim of right they pretend to
for the King, their master, the island having always been
in the times of peace used in common both by the
English and the French for lading coals, which are
extraordinary good here, and taken out of the cliffs with

In nomine

Patris, Filh et Spieitus Sancti

Amen.

Omnibus in Chkisti Fidklibus Salutem.

Anna Dei Gkatia

Mao. BuiTANNii*:

FnANCIiE ET HlBERNI^ ReOINA

ToTiusQUE Aaiericve Septentrionalis

Domina Fidei Defen.sok, &(,'.

Cdjus harum Insularum vuloo

Cape Breton.

Proprietatis

Et Dominii

Tjs.stimonium

Hoc

Erexit Monumentum

Su.K Maje.statis Servits

Et Subditus fidellssimus

D. HOVENDEN WALKER, Eques Amatus

Omnii'm in A.merica Novium Reoalium.

Profectcs et Thalas.siarcha

Monte Septembris

Anno Salutis

MDCCXI.

CAPR HRRTOM.

888

iron crows only, and no labour, I thought it not amiss, therefore, to leave something of that kind to declare
the Queen's right to the place, and having a board made by uue carpenter, and painted, I sent him ashore to
fix it upon a tree, or in some convenient place where it might easily be seen, with the inscription following."
((See opposite i>age.)

The poor carpenter must have been taken with lock-jaw if he attempted to read all this, unless, indeed,
the danger were everted by an inward smile at the valour and absurdity of his chief. This was Sir
Hovenden Walker's conquest of Cape Breton. So, somewhere in the vicinity of Lloyd's Cove, in that month
of September, 1711, was to be seen nailed to a tree, likely, according to directions, this sole exploit of one of
the most disastrous enterprises on record. Ill-luck followed this adventure to the bitter end. On October
16th, the Edgar, flagship, of seventy guns, blew up in Portsmouth Harbour, and not a man out of 470
was saved.

Before the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht, there was much diplomatic controversy relative to the
possession of Cape Breton. It was proposed on the part of Queen Anne, " that the subjects of His Majesty
Louis XIV. should enjoy, in common with the Queen's, the Island of Cape Breton, upon condition that His
Majesty s'.ould not raise, or suffer to be raised, any fortifications on the island," the Queen binding herself to
the same condition. In his reply, the French Minister stated that " experience has made it too visible that
it was impossible to preserve peace in places possessed in common by the French and Engli.sh nations, so
that this reason alone will suffice to hinder His Majesty frora consenting to the proposition of leaving the
English to possess the Island of Cape Breton in common with the French ; but there is still a stronger
reason against this proposition : as it is but too often seen that the most amicable nations may become
enemies, it is prudence in the King to reserve to himself the possession of the only isle which will hereafter
open an entrance into the River of St. Lawrence." He also claims the right of erecting what fortifications
he may deem necessary. Accordingly, Acadie and Newfoundland fell to Great Britain unconditionally, with
the exception of the French fishery rights, and Cape Breton was assigned to France.

Cape Breton had been abandoned and neglected ever since Denys had left it. The capabilities and
resources of the island were well known by the French. It is called by M. De la Pothurfe, a French officer,
" a beautiful island on the coast of Acadie, where there are plains and prairies, vast forests filled with oak.

.%*

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

maple, cedar, walnut and the finest fir-trees in the world. If apples and stone fruits were planted, it would
become a second Normandy ; hemp grows wild everywhere ; hops flourish well ; the wheat is better than in
Quebec. For the chase there are bustards, partridges of France, deer, hens of the wood, turtledoves, plover,
teal and every sort of water fowl. The fishery can be carried on with less risk than at Newfoundland, the
fishing grounds being close in shore." Others of the French regard with apprehen.sion the loss of Acadie
and Newfoundland, " the portals of Canada snatched from the feeble hands of Louis XIV."

England, as befitted her maritime supremacy, had Jiow gained possession of the whole Atlantic coast from
Florida to Hudson Bay. It therefore became necessary for France to fortify Cape Breton, in order to command
the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The need of this had been clearly shewn by M. Randot, Intendant
of Justice, Police and Finance and Aff'airs in General, and his son, the Intendant of Marine, in Canada. Those
able and judicious officers submitted a memoir to the court of Paris, containing a complete synopsis of the
state of New France and many valuable suggestions calculated to advance its prosperity. They urged seven
principal considerations in virtue of which the claims of New France should commend themselves to the regard
of the home government:

1. That the fur trade, which had at first been the sole object of forming settlements in North America,
must gradually decline, and could not, therefore, long sustain a great colony.

2. That the total income derived from the fur trade and fisheries, and the sums expended by the govern-
ment on the troops, seminaries and pensions, amounting altogether to 050,000 livres, was quite insufiicient for
the support ol a colony of twenty or twenty-five thousand souls.

3. They recommended that the commerce of the colony should be established on a broader and more
healthy basis, by encouraging the trade in timber, planks, pitch, tar, salted meats, whale and seal oils, codfish,
flax, hemp, etc., commodities which could be produced in abundance. The opening up of these resources, it was
argued, would r' luce the price of European manufactures, which were now sold at exorbitant prices, because
the colony would pay for them in produce of its own ; at the same time, many of the inhabitants who now
wasted their time in running about the woods in quest of game, would find useful and profitable employment
upon their own farms.

4. To carry out this object, it would be necessary to have some convenient entrepot on the seaboard,
somewhere between Canada and France, open at all seasons of the year, where the productions of Europe and

CAPE R RE TON.

335

the West Indies could be stowed ready for shipment to Canada; and where, in like manner, the productions
of Canada might be collected for transhipment to all parts of the world. No fitter place for this purpose
could be found than the Island of Cape Breton, which, besides, could furnish codfish, oils, coal, plaster and
timber of its own production.

5. The smaller class of Canadian vessels employed in the fisheries of the gulf could then store their
cargoes in Cape Breton ready for reshipment to Europe and the West Indies, thereby avoiding the risk of a
voyage up and down the St. Lawrence, and saving at the same time a great and unnecessary expense.

6. Wine, brandy, linens, silks and other French products, could be more easily supplied to English vessels
at Cape Breton than at Quebec, for transmission to the British North American provinces and the West India
Islands, which would bring a great deal of hard money into the cofiers of the French merchants.

7. The whale fishery in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and on the coast of Labrador could be prosecuted with
more advantages from ports in Cape Breton than from Quebec, and ships could be built there at a less cost
than in France.

Lastly, that a fortified harbour in Cape Breton would afford a safe refuge for vessels chased bj* an enemy,
or driven in by storms or want of provisions. In time of war it would form a suitable rendezvous for cruisers
and privateers ; and France might monopolize the cod fishery on the coasts of Acadie by means of a few
small frigates always ready to sally out and drive off foreign fishermen.

These last reasons for a fortification at Cape Breton were doubtless the most ooj^cnt, and because Louisburg
so well realized the expectations of the French in these particulars it drew upon itself its destruction. The
French were not strong enough to defend their purpose. The above representations were made in 1708, but
they were not immediately acted upon. The war with Great Britain absorbed the attention of France. But
when the Treaty of Utrecht definitely deprived her of the whole Atlantic coast, the above project became
indispensable.

As Newfoundland pas.sed to Britain under the treaty, the French inhabitants were sent as quickly as
possible to Cape Breton, so that the summer's fishing might not be lost. The garrison and inhabitants were sent
to Louisburg, to the number of about 180 persons, consisting chiefly of fishermen and their families. A few of
these settled at the out-harbours, but most of them at Harve h I'Anglois. Bale des Espangnols (Sydney) was
well known to be the best in the island, and the most easy of accoss ; but its entrance was too wide to be

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

defended by the artillery of that time. Besides Sydney, there were St. Ann's and Lonis^iurg, both capable of
being easily defended. It was urged in favour of St. Ann's that it could be protected by a single fort, that
vhe land position could not be turned, that it was in the centre of the finest fisheries and abounded in timber ;
but it was blocked with ice five months in the year.

Louisburg does not seem at first to have been very much in favour. Probably there existed a prejudice
against it on account of its being frequented mostly by the English. By some unaccountable mistake or
intentional misstatement, it was asstrted that there were only three fathoms of water at the entrance, whereas
there are from sixty to eighty feet, while there are only three fathoms on the bar at St. Ann's.

But the advantages of Louisburg were at length clearly seen. To mark the value .set upon Cape Breton
it was called Isle Royal, which it retained until its conquest in 1758. St. Peter's and St. Ann's were also
changed to Port Toulouse and Port Dauphin, but these names have long been forgotten.

Several French officers now applied for grants of land in Cape Breton, among others M. de la Roude
Denys, grandson of Nicholas Denys, M. de Rouville, a captain of infantry, and M. do la Boularderie, to whom
was granted the island which bears his name. The Acadians, from the vicii.ity of Port Royal, were invited to
remove to Louisburg, but very few accepted the offer, for it is asserted " that they had been well used by the
Engli'jh governois." They had been tenderly dealt with in respect of the oath of allegiance, lest they should
remove to Cape Bicton and strengthen the French power. The fishermen, however, went in numbers to
Louisburg, where they were robbed and cheated by merchants and traders.

The population of Louisburg increased very slowly until the fortifications were commenced in 1820.
Then arrived a large body of officers, mechanics, and labourers engaged in the construction of the works, and
traders employed in supplying necessaries. The New Englanders soon discovered the utility of Louisburg as
a market, and thence commenced the intercourse which resulted in its capture. All this trade was illegal,
being forbidden by the Treaty of Neutrality in 1686. But the French authorities winked at a traffic which
suited their convenience and tended indirectly to strengthen their influence ai^d power. But Shute, the
Governor of Massachusetts, endeavoured to press the strict enforcement of treaty. He was met by evasion
and denial on the part of the Legislature of the Province, though there is every reason to believe that some
of the legislators themselves had been engaged in the traffic. Meanwhile the construction of the fortress
went on.

TARBERT, ST. ANN'S.

Ra»3aasat3iaffiaMi«dHMHH

CAPE BRETON.

337

A lonsf peace followed the Treaty of Utrecht, during which the French and English colonies in America
made rapid progress. Nova Scotia and Cape Breton felt the beneficial effects of the peace. The people of
New England carried on a tishery at Canso, which employed from 1,500 to 2,000 men during the summer
season. We are told that in the year 1733 the exports of dry fish from that place amounted to 45,000
quintals. From these facts we can estimate the bitterness of feeling with which the Now Englanders
regarded the destruction of this settlement by the neighbouring French at Louisburg. The whale fishery had
also been established at Canso, and gave great promise of success.

The Viceroy of Canada had not given up all hopes of recovering Acadie, for returns were made of the
number of French inhabitants in every parish. Besides their works at Louisburg, which they were pu.ihing
on with great vigour, they had military posts at St. Peter's and St. John's Island, commanding the coasts of
Nova Scotia and the communication between Canso and Bay Verte. On the other hand, the English had
only two weak garrisons at Canso and Annapolis, numbering altogether less than 300 men. The position
of the Governor of Novp Scotia at this time was not an enviable one. The French population was disaffected.
The Indians were at any time ready to break out upon the English. There were no British subjects to aid
the Governor in the time of need. In 1739, the English had only one-third of the force possessed by the
French in Acadie. Colonel Armstrong sank under the weight of all these complications, and committed
suicide, December 6th, 1739. Under the administration of Major Muscarene, who succeeded, the aspect of things
did not improve. The Indians became more insolent. A warlike crisis was evident'y approaching, which
brought on the capture of Canso by the French, and resulted in the New England Invasion of Cape Breton.

After the Peace of 1763, Cape Breton and St. John's Island were annexed to Nova Scotia. Free grants
of land were offered to officers and soldiers who had served in the war, as inducements to settle in the
country. No grants, however, were made at this time 'n Cape Breton, in order to prevent monopolies and to
encourage the fisheries. A surv.y of the island was made, which occupied several years, and retarded the
settlement of the country. Licenses to occupy fishing lots were given, but without any other legal title.

About 1764, the valuable coal fields of Cape Breton appear to have attracted the notice of speculators.
Brigadier-General Howe, and other officers who had served in the late war, petitioned the King for a grant of
land on the east shore of that island, extending from Mir^ to Bras d' Or, extending seven miles inland,
and containing about 55,000 acres, as estimated. They offered to pay two shillings for every chaldron exported.

3B8

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Rival applicants soon came forward. Sir Samuel Fludj'ers and others applied to the Lords of %Trade for
a "1( ase of all the coals in the Island of Cape Breton." Neither of these applications, it would seem, were
favourably received by the ministry, but they thought it desirable to grant leases of the coal mines, as it
would lower the price of coal in England, as large quantities were then exported to America ; would assist
the colonies, where fuel was becoming scarcer, and would be likely to yield a large revenue.

On December 10th, 17(55, it was ordered by the Governor and Council of Nova Scotia that Cape Breton
(should be erected into a distinct county, "comprehending the Islands of Madame and Scatari, and all islands
within three leagues, and that a writ .should be issued for choosing two representatives ; and further, that
the freehclders should be at liberty to choose non-residents." John Grant and Gregory Tuwn.shend were
accordingly elected, and they took their seats in the Assembly at Halifax, on June 3rd, 1766. But the
validity of their election was called in question on the ground that they had been appointed by the
inhabitants of Cape Breton. It appears there was not one qualified freeholder in the island. And here,
on a small scale, came in the question of taxation without representation, which served as the piecursor of
the storm which was to burst all over British America. We find the people of Cape Brecon petitioning
against this state of things while the survey was in progress, and before the allotment of land was legally
perfected.

In 1765, a design was again set on foot " for establishing a company to work to advantage the coal
mines." It was said, " There will be no occasion for digging under the ground or making drains to carry off
the water, as in England, for the mines consist of immense mountains of coal, and are sufficient to supply all
the British plantations in North America for ten centuries." Nicholas Denys had said more than a century
before, " that there was a mountain of very good coal four leagues up Spani.sh River."

In 1767, Lord William Campbell, the Governor of Nova Scotia, strongly advised that land be granted
to the people of Louisburg, who were, " since the island was annexed to Nova Scotia, obliged to pay the
duties of excise and import established in that province, which they considered a great hardship, as they had
not any lots of land or houses granted than these." Notwithstanding this, it does not appear that any grants
were pa.ssed until some years afterwards.

Up to this time Louisburg retained something of its former importance. A garrison of 300 men had
been maintained there. But in 1768 the whole of the troops were recalled. General Gage, the commander-

CAPE BRETON.

339

in-chief ia America, had ordered in all the troops from the outposts to be concentrated at Halifax, in
readiness for embarkation to Boston. What work there was for them there we have already seen. A host
of small traders had been living on the disbursements of the garrison. These took their departure with the
soldiers, and the population of the place was in consequence very much reduced. Those who remained were
assured of the " tenderness with which His Majesty considered, and the attention that would be paid to the
irnprovements they had made under the temporary licenses which had been granted to them by the Govern-
ment of Nova Scotia."

In 1768, there were 142 houses standing in Louisburg, of which, it is said, only thirteen were in good
repair. Nineteen were built of stone, all the rest of wood. On August 10th, only twenty-six houses were
occupied. Lord William Campbell at this time writes : " The removal of the 59th Regiment from Louisburg,
without leaving even a sergeant's guard there, has been partly, and it is feared will be attende<] with a total
desertion of the inhabitants from that place, for want of the appearance of a military protection ; and it
must follow that the coal mines in that neighbourhood, which are particularly recoinir. ended from home not
to be touched, may uninterruptedly be worked by any people who think proper to go there, as the prohibition
proceeded before from a fixed guard of troops there."

The survey of the island was at last completed in 1768, and instructions were received to issue grants
to applicants. A regular government was also established on the island. These measures soon attracted a
number of settlers from Nova Scotia, New England and Scotland. The tide of immigration from the latter
country yearly increased, and the whole island was soon settled by Highlanders. " The settlers at Louisburg,
however, were still denied the right of obtaining any other title than licenses of occupation to the lands they
had improved." They, therefore, could not send representatives tc the Assembly, because they were not
freeholders. To remedy this grievance, the House passed a resolution on April 2nd, 1770, ' That no writ
shal. issue to the Isle of Breton, because of the want of freeholders to make an election, and that the said
isle be deemed to be represented by the members for the County of Halifax, into which it was resolved and
became a part thereof as heretofore." This was an utterly unconstitutional remedy, and had nothing to do
with the principle at stake.

The coal mines were at this time wholly in the hands of smugglers and unauthorized person.s. " A
proclamation was therefore issued, forbidding all persons to dig or carry away coals from any part of

' T r ' mmi"iiV WB

^40

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Cape Breton. Five hundred tons of coal dug at one of the mines was seized and taken to Halifax for the
use of the troops."

Major Legge, of the 46th Regiment, succeeded to the governorship of Cape Breton in June, 1774. The
population of the island at this time consisted of 502 persons of French origin, 280 Indians and 509 of
English orifi;in.

On the breaking out of the War of Independence, light infantry companies were ordered to be raised
throughout th Province, The number ol: men called for was 1,010, of which Cape Breton was to furnish
200, or five times as many proportionally as the rest of the Province. In 1781 an action was fought off the
mouth of the Spanish River between two French frigates and a squadron of small English ships of war
'engaged in convoying sixteen vessels to the mines to ])rocure a supply of coal for the troops at Halifax. The
English squadron consisted of the Charlestown, a frigate of 28 guns ; the sloops AUei/'mnce and Vulture, of 16
guns each ; the transport Vernon, with some troops of the 70th Regiment on board, going to work at the coal
mines, and the cutter Little Jack, of 6 guns. Having neaily reached the harbour on the evening of July 21st,
they were seen and chased by two French frigates, L'Adree and L'lhrviione, of 44 guns each. Captain
Evans found it impossible to get out of the way with his clumsy convoy, .so, covering their escape into Sydney
Harbour, he formed his little squadron in order of battle, and awaited the attack »f the French frigates. The
Little Jack, having been .separated from her consorts, was captured ; but at dark the Frenchmen sheered off,
taking their prize with them. Captain Evans was killed, but the second in command on board the GhaiieHtown,
Mr. Mackay, continued the action with great skill and bravery. The British had sixty-one killed and
wounded and their ships badly cut up. The night proved very dark. The English made all possible sail
to the eastward. At daylight, the enemy being out of sight, they bore up for Halifax, where they arrived in
safety. A French writer says the English squadron was composed of six ships of war, and carried in all 150
guns ; that the Charlestown and Little Jack were captured ; that the other four made their escape, and that
the convoy was dispersed. But the British had in all but seventy-five guns ; the Charlestown was not
captured, and the convoy was not scattered, but reached Sydney Harbour in safety.

At the close of the American War of Independence, Cape Breton was separated from the Government of
Nova Scotia. Upon the establishment of peace, a great number of Loyalists removed to Nova Scotia. Free
grants of land were given to them all, as well as other allowarioes, but no grants of land were given in Cape

CAPE BRETON.

^41

Breton "upon any pretence whatever." This unaccountable policy waa persevered in until 1784, when Lord
Sydney was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies. The policy relative to Capo Breton was now
reversed, and a Lieutenant-Governor was appointed over the island. The order prohibiting the passing of
grants was revoked, and full instructions were given respecting the condition of all future grants ; one being,
that " reservations shall be made to us, our heirs and successors, of all coals, and also all mines of gold, silver,
copper and lead, which shall be discoverecl upon such lands. Free grants were to be given to reduced officers
of the army and of Provincial corps, who had served in the United Stotes."

On May 29th, 178», Governor Parr was notified by Lord Sydney that a Lieutenant-Governor, with a
suitable civil establishment, would be placed upon the Island of Cape Breton, and on July 7th following, that
Major Frederic Wallet Desbarres had been appointed by His Majesty to that office. The sum of £1,750 was
voted in Parliament for " defraying the charges of the civil establishment of His Majesty's Island of
Cape Breton."

Major Desbarres first came to America in 1756 as a lieutenant in the 60th Regiment, and served with
distinctio!! in the Seven Years' War. In 1758 he distinguished himself at Louisburg, where he seized one of
the French batteries at Kennington Cove, and thereby greatly facilitated the la 'd'ng of the army. With
great judgment and promptitude he pushed an intrenchment up to the edge of the glacis. Such were the
merits of his services that Wolfe brought them to the notice of the King, and the result was that Major
Desbarres attended Wolfe as an engineer it Quebec. He was just rep'^rting an order to his general upon the
Heights of Abraham, when the latter fell mortally wounded. He afterwards served in Canada, Nova Scotia,
and under Amherst in Newfoundland. For ten y^'ars, commencing in V,k>^, he was employed in surveying
the coast of Nova Scotia and Cape Bx'eton, and for the next ten years, in preparing the result of his work for
publication. In consideration of his valuable servi- =<, he was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Cape Breton.
There are still extant two view;^ of the harbour of Louisburg sketched by this officer. Having a perfect
knowledge of the geography of Cape Breton, he at once selected Sydney as the site of his capital, and named
it in honour of the Secretary of State. This event finished the ruin of Louisburg. Since that time the old
town has been gradually obliterated, and 1' i tie else remains save a scene of desolation.

As soon as it was known that grants of land would be issued in Cape Breton, there appeared numerous
applicants for them. A number of persons, calling themselves the "Associated Loyalists," sailed in three

342

CAPK BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

vessels for Cape Breton. Of these there were about 140. They were furnished with clothincj and provisions
by the British Government, and were under the charge of Captain Jones and Alexander llaire. Some of
these people were settled neat St. Peter's, others at Baddeck, and the rest went to Louisburg, and were there
met by a Mr. Cuyler, a prominent Loyalist, who had formerly been Mayor of Albany. A few of these
Uiimigrants .settled at Louisburg, but the most of them went with the Governor in the following spring to
Sydney The woods being cleared, the town was tnarUeil out by Mr. Tait. Barracks were erected for the
accommodation of six companies of the 33rd Regiment, who were to be stationed here as a garrison. The
military staff comprised a Town Adjutant, Barrack Master, Connnissary of Stores and Provisions, Chaplain,
Surgeon, Assistant Surgeon and Commissary of Musters. All of these had to camp out all winter with the
troops.

About 800 persons arrived and settled in various parts of the island during the summer. Governor
Desbarres issued a proclamation September 1st, setting forth the natural advantages of the island, and offering
provisions for three years to immigrants, with clothing for them.selves and families, lumber and materials for
farm buildings, and tools ^nd implements for clearing land. It is said that 3,3!)7 persons speedily accepted
this generous offer. But i.he very liberal terms offered were not an unmixed good. Among the rest, a
number of dissolute, idle characters were attracted, who were well satisfied to live upon the bounty of the
Government, instead of exerting themselves for their own maintenance. A coancil was sworn in to advise
the Lieutenant-Governor in all important matters. It consii:ted of the following members : Richard Gibbons,
Chief Justice, President ; David Matthews, Attorney- General ; William Smith, Military Surgeon ; Thomas
Moncriett', Fort Adjutant ; J. E. Boisseau, Deputy Commissary of Musters : Rev. Benjamin Lovell, Military
Chaplain. Two of these, Moncrieff and Lovell, resigned, and their places were filled by Alexander Haire and
George Rogers. Thomas Uncle, William Brown and John Wilkinson were added to the number, and the
council was thus made complete according to the royal instructions.

The officers of the civil establishment were as follows : Richard Gibbons, Chief Justice, late Attorney-
General of Nova Scotia ; David Matthews, Attorney-General ; Abraham Cuyler, Clerk of Council,
Provincial Secretary and Registrar of Grants, etc. ; Thomas Hurd, Surveyor-General ; William Brown,
Comptroller of Customs ; George Moore, Naval Officer ; Thomas Uncle, Postmaster, and a Provost Marshal.
The coal n^ines on Spanish River were reopened on Government account.

il.'^^^'m

CAPE BRETON.

343

The young colony suffered greatly the first winter from lack of food. It is said a supply was asked from
the Governor of Nova Scotia, and was refused, because he was " averse to the measure of erecting Cape
Breton, formerly included within the jurisdiction of his province, into a separate government, anil, together
with some officers of the civil establishment and mercantile men, being long used to enjoy a monopoly of trade
in Nova Scotia, seemed hurt by its dismemberment, expecting that their perquisites and exclusive profits
would be reduced. Accordingly, in order to frustrate the i/ieasure, they depreciated the natural advantages of
the island, discouraged the accession of settlers, intercepted the supplies for its support, and predicted that
the infant colony would be broken up the first winter." It is asserted that 40,000 rations were sent out from
England in the ship President, intended for the relief of the settlers, in the autumn of 1785, and that Colonel
Yorke, in consequence of orders from Halifax, had refused to allow the provisions to be taken out of the
military storehouse, under the pretext that no provisions were to be given out except to the troops, or such
Loyalists and disbanded soldiers as should have orders to receive them from the Governor of Nova Scotia.
Whoever was to blame, great hardships were suffered during the winter. A vessel was found with a cargo
of provisions, ice-bound in Arichat Harbour ; she was got round to Louisburg, and her cargo vi^as taken to
Sydney on sleds. The staivation of the people was thus prevented. Still there was trouble about the
supplies of the infant colony. Bills drawn upon the authorities in England by the Governor were dishonoured,
because it was asserted that a large quantity of provisions had been served out to persons not entitled to
receive them.' This was probably true enough. The " idle and dissolute " persons, being once in the colony,
could not be allowed to starve, nor could they easily be sent away in the depth of winter. Mr. Gibbons, the
Chief Justice of the island, went to England to represent the Governor's cause ; but after all explanations
had been given, the authorities still asserted that " charges were inserted of a nature which, consistently with
your duty to the public, you ought to have discountenanced instead of promoting, and that purchases of
provisions and other supplies were made by you for the use of persons whose situations did not entitle them to
such as an indulgence, whereby a considerable expense has been unnecessarily incurred." Governor Desbarres
evidently resembled the guest of the Douglas — he of the " stout heart and open hand." If he did feed many
worthless and undeserving characters in Cape Breton with too liberal a hand, he no doubt knew that the
resources of the Empire were often spent in worse ways. The red-tapeism of a little government colony — and
there was plenty of it then in Nova Scotia, the traces of which still remain — was utterly averse to the spirit

■ikl

f-nrnw iitjM

•AU

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

of the free-hearted soldier. He soon saw that his day in Capo Breton was drawing to a close, so he improved
it according to his light?;. His gifts, scattered right and left, made him a popular man. An address was
presented to him, approving of his conduct, and censuring his treatment by the military authorities. The
Acadians of Isle Madame thanked him for his consideration of their spiritual wants, so it is said. Thoy asked
him for a renii.ssion of taxes upon their .shallops. It was graciously conceded to them. The people could not
help liking a man like that. A number of grants had been previously promised to settlers. The.se were now
issued in various parts of the island to Loyalists, disbanded soldiers and others. The Mira grant of 109,000
acres was issued to Jotham White and 120 families of Loyalists from New Hampshire. The greater part of
this grant was never taken up, and relapsed to the Crown. Previovis to Uovernor Desbarres' departure from
Cape Breton, the 42nd regiment arrived to replace the 38r(l. Archibald C. Dodd was appointed to the
clerkship of the Council ; Alexander Haire to the otKce of Surveyor-CJenei-al ; Patrick Rooney Nugent to bo
l3aputy-Surveyor of the island ; Abraham Cuyler to be Comptroller of Customs ; and the Reverend Ranna
Cassit to the incumbency of St. George's Church, for the erection of which Xr^liO was granted by the
Parliament. An ordinance was now passed for the establishment of a militia in the island. Lieut.- Colonel
McCormick, who had been appointed to .succeed Desbarres, arrived in Sydney on October 11th, 1787. The
retiring governor attempted tor a long time to get reilress for his grievances, but never succeeded. He
subsequently removed to Halifa.x, where he died October 27th, 1824, in the lO.Srd year of his age.

In the same year arrived the ship Providence, from Cork, with eighty convicts. Her destination had
been Quebec, but the season being too far advanced to get up the St. Lawrence, she returned through the Gut
of Can.so, and ran to the eastward. The captain landed his unfortunate freight about two miles from
Mainadieu, where they were left without food upon the beach. It being the month of December, .some of
them perished from exposure. On the very night they landed, such was the desperate nature of these
ruffians, that a poor old man of their number was murdered by two others for the sake of a little money he
was supposed to have about him. Thoge two villains were condemned to death, but broke from gaol and
esca' 1.

me change.9 were made in the staff of the Civil iilstablishment previous to the year 17!)<1. Thomas
Uncle was made Collector, and William Plant, Comptroller of Customs, in 1788. Archibald C Dodd, lugraluim
Bill and Thomas Crowley were appointed to the Council ; Mr. Storey to the oiHce of Postmaster, and David

■iwii m n n i M i f riii i M W W W

CAPE HRETON.

.'145

Tait to that of Provost Marshall, in 1780 ; aid William McKinnon fco the offices of Provincial Secretary and
Clerk of ^hc Council, in 17!>2.

The 42nd Highlanders left Sydney for filngland in 17>Si), and were replaced by two companies of the 21st
Rej];iinent. This reduction of the j^arrison caused great uneasiness in the island. The presence of the
soliliers was necessary to act as a police, to enforce the revenue laws, to protect the settlors from the savages,
and to prevent the wholesale destruction of tht; moose, upon which the people depen<led for a supply of fresh
venison. The civil power, armed only with the ordinances of the Council, were powerless against this
combination of dangcr.s.

One of Covcrnor McCormick's first measures was to lease the coal mines at Sydney to Thomas Mo.\ley,
who held them until his death in 1791. They were then let to Messrs. Tremaine and Stout for a term of
seven years. They were to pa^ a royalty of Hvo shillings a chaldron. In 1792 the mines at Cow Bay and
Sydney were the only ones worked in Capo Breton. The former had been abandoned by the contractor, who
left without paying the dues. The mines at Spanish River hail been apportioned to the oommandiiig otlicer
of the troops stationed at Sydney before the settlement of the town. Il<! was paid half a guinea a chaldron
for all coal raised for the use of the garrison at Halifax. Any superfluous coal formed a p(>rquisite of the
commanding ollicer. It was sold to merchants and traders at the rate of U).s. Cd. per chaldron. On the with-
drawal of the troops in 1784, Governor Desbarres worked ti<e mines on Government account, and .sold the coal
at IGs. per chaldron ; the price was afterwards reduced to l.'Js. (!d. per chaldron, but this did not pay. The
old practice of stealing coals from the clills upon the sea-coast was still prevalent. Three ves.sels had been
.seized loading at Cow Bay, and three more escaped.

In the early part of McCormick's administration, a number of grants were passed in various parts of the
Island, but chie'iy in the nc ighbimrhood of Sydney Harbour, the Louisburg Roail, tiie fiittlc Bras d'Or,
Baddeck, Margaree, .ludicpie, * jlieticamp, Arid it. Port Hood, the River Inhabitants, ami on the Gut of
Canso, where, we arc told, in the year 1787, there was not a single inhabitant on the Cape Breton aide
of the strait. It was at this time that the Indians built their chapel at the Tndian Islands, near St. Peter's.
They obtained loa.se, upon their personal application, to build a chapel on the Island St. Viilemai in the Bras
d'Or L:ike, near to the portage of Mount Grenville, for the exorcise of divine worsiiip agreeable to the rites
and C(;remonies of the Roman Catholic religion, and to pos.sess the same during His Majesty's pleasure.

■-•'srwmMwaaMfc

346

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

In 1793, when the French Natlaaal Conv:.'ntion declared war against England, it was feared that Cape
Breton, the old seat of French power, would be attacked and harassed by the enemy.

As the garrison had been reduced to a subaltern and twenty men, the danger in which the island was
placed is easily understood. Many settlers left their homes and went to seek protection elsewhere. The
Governor at length ordered the militia to be enrolled without delay. Of these it appears there were only 423
at this time. They were .supplied with 300 stand of arms sent from Halifax. A redoubt near St. Peter's,
armed with eight guns, was occupied; the remains of it may still be seen. To add to the general alarm, it was
rumoured that a French frigate of forty-four guns was lying in Boston intending to make an attack upon
Cane Breton, and that a privateer of ten guns was lying at Tusket. But t.iese alarms were groundless.
France had more than .she could do to protect her own fishing stations in Newfoundland against a small force
sent against them from Halifax. The islands of St. Pierre and Miquelor. were captured and held by a small
English garrison. In 1793-94 some hundreds of returned Acadians settled in various parts of Cape Breton,
principally on Isle Madame and Little Bras d'Or. These prjple gave no trouble, and their descendants may
now be ranked among the most peaceable and industrious inhabitants of the island. In 1794 fifty men of the
Royal Nova Scotia Regiment arrived, and a battery of four guns was erecl >d on the eminence in front of the
Presbyterian Church at Sydney Mines, then called Peck's Head. A guard-hi.^se and magazine were built near
South Bar, and these slight works and the trifling defences at Sydney were respectively dignified in the plan
which Governor McCormick sent to the home Government as Forts Ogilvie, Edward and Dundas.

Governor McCormick left Cape Breton on May 27th, 1795, on leave of absence, leaving David Matthews,
Attorney-General and Senior Councillor, to administer the government in his ab.sence.

It is said that Sydney at this time contained but eighty-five houses, and that one-third of them were in
ruins ; that the number of inhabitants was only 121, and that twenty-six of these were preparing to emigrate;
and that when these should have left, there would not 1 " a mechanic — not even a washerwoman — left in the
place. This appears to have been the gloomy side of the picture. Another account says r "The persons who
had left Sydney were chiefly dealers in .spirituous liquors, who were following the .same traflic in Halifax, and
that if a regiment were sent down they would all come back." It is added : " The condition of the country is
now more satisfactory than heretofore, being based upon agriculture, which is progressing."

In 1797 General Ogilvie, the commandant at Halifax, was sent to mediate in certain "unfortunate divisions

iill

CAPE BRETON.

347

and jealousies which predominated in Cape Breton " among the officials of the civil administration. We are
told " that his mission to Cape Breton as a peacemaker was not very successful, for his successor, Brigadier-
General Murray, on his arrival at .Sydney, June 21st, 1799, found all the old animosities subsisting in full
force." General Murray's administratioi: came to a close at the end of the century.

Major-General Despard, the successor of Brigadier-General Murray, arrived at Sydney on June 17th,
1800. He did not enter upon his duties as President of t^e Council until September 16th, as Murray refused
to surrender the Civil Goverinnent, assertii:j? that Dcspaid had been sent to command the troops only.
Murray, who apparently had rendered himself obnoxious to all parties, expected to be reinstated in his office.
He despatched Mr. Baker to lay his case before the Secretary of State. In a letter dated December 18,
General Despard charges Murray with remaining at Sydney for the purpose of causing trouble among the
inhabitants and embarrassing his Government. So unpopular had he become, that the principal inhabitants
forwarded an address to the King thanking him for his removal.

The population of the island at this time amounted only to 2,513 persons, according to official returns.
The sudden influx of population during Desbarres" administration must have been greatly overstated or over-
estimated.

About this time began the immigration from the Highlands of Scotland. This movement may be said
to have been the direct outcome of the rebellion of 1745. The Highlanders were, for the first time, effectually
subdued at Culloden. The old feudal system of clanship was broken up. Stringent laws were passed
forbidding its maintenance, and even the wearing of the Highland garb. Roads were made through the
country, and forts built in commanding positions to keep the district in subjection. No passion is so selfish
as fear — the people of the south had been thoroughly frightened, and vengeance fell with a heavy hand upon
the misguided Highlanders. Their old national spirit was broken, yet their military courage remained
unbroken. It was seen of what soldier-like stuff they were made, and regiments were raised among them,
often consisting largely of men from the same district or clan, who learned to emulate the deeds of their
ancestors. Britain was thus greatly assisted in her struggle with France during the contest for colonial
supremacy, and afterwards in her death grapple with her gigantic enemy. Napoleon. Instead of the
Highlands being a vantage-ground from which France could operate at will against England, there now
poured from its glens a fiery and loyal swarm of native soldiers, whose fierce valour supported the cause

CAPE BRETON JLLUSTHATED.

which they had formerly been ready to assail. The population of the Highlands at this period rapidly
decreased ; thousands of the youth of the country perished on British battlefields. The newly-raised
regiments were often almost decimated in consequence of their fierce and headlong valour, and as quickly
filled up by willing and emulou.j lecruits.

In the meantime the patriarchal institutions of the country had disappeared — the romance of the past
was gone. The old bond subsisting between chieftain and retainer had well-nigh been severed. The age of
"economists and calculators " had succeeded for the Highlands, nd tht semi-barbaric glory of thee! in had
departed. From a utilitarian standpoint, many of the estates wl^'c unprofitable. The Celt was never much
of a worker — he loves to fight and to study, but is utterly averse to being a lirudge. Besides, the bone
and sinew of the country now had their attention turned in a warlike direction, and the poor little farms
could not be forced to satisfy the claims of a landlord who, from a Highlander's standpoint, under the new
order of things, had nothing to give them in return for their homage. The Highlander, under the
domination of a sentiment of loyalty, could live, and did promlly live, on nothing or next to nothing ; it was
not in the nature of things that the bond should subsist between him and a caricature of his former warlike
chief — a bejewelled and betartaned popinjay, who fizzed and fluttered in so-called society, and expected his
proqd and poor retainer, from whom Ids world had been blotted out, to " pay the piper." In this connection,
one might paraphrase the words of Burke : " Never, never more shall we behold that dignifietl obedience, that
proud submi-sion of the heart, which kept alive, even in servitude itself, the spirit of an exalted freedom.
The age of chivalry has gone, and that of sophisters, economists and calculators has succeeded, and the glory
of the Highlands (such ambiguous glory as it was) has departed forever."

In short, the Highland estates did not pay — the too reluctant workers were yelling the slogan in the
battle-front, fi.nd leaving their bones to bleach and whiten from Canada to Calcutta — and it was thought .sheep
would pay better. If these Highlanders had ever done wrong, now was the hour of their chastisement.
Their proud and dauntless spirits done to death, blasted in the blinding lightning of battle, or packed off in
unresisting troops to find a home, if they could, beyond the stormy waves that lashed the lofty cliffs of the
West. Yet underneath it all there was a quiet, stern spirit of endurance which, in the end, conquered —
conquered trial and difficulty, and poverty and banishment; there was that old, old feeling of natural
religion, yes, and of respect for revealed religion, which carries man triumphantlj' through impossibilities.

■Wlin^

inw««n

CAPE BRETON.

349

In the course of the twenty or thirty years following 1773, whole estates were turned into sheep farms,
and hundreds of families were driven from their homes, such as they were. The way to a new home had
been paved for them. Disbanded Highland soldiers had found homes in Canada, Nova Scotia and St. John's
Island. They found their new homes so advantageous in contrast wich those they had left, that many of
their friends prepared to follow them as soon as po.ssible, and voluntarily left their native country. In some
cases the population of whole districts was almost literally banished ; their houses were unroofed before their
eyes, and they were made to go on board a ship bound for Canada. Their passage money was, of course,
paid, after the manner of coolies and convicts and such like, but that was a sorry compensation for the
wrongs they were suffering. " An obscure sense of wrong was kindled in heart and brain. It is just
possible that what was for the landlord's interest might be theirs also in the long run, but they felt that the
landlord had looked after his interest in the first place. He wished them away, and he got them away ;
whether they would succeed in Canada or not was a matter of dubiety."

The first Scotch settlers went to St. John's Island in 17G9. They were some officers and men of Colonel
Eraser's Highland Regiment. These reported so favourably of their new homes that a steady tide of
immigration set in, which spread eventually over the whole island, and the opposite shoie of Nova Scotia, in
what is now Pictou County. They gradually spread eastward along the Gulf shore, and, crossing the Strait
of Canso, settled upon the nortli-west shore of Cape Breton, as far as Margaree. Shortly afterwards they
settled about Judique and Mahon. Thence they ere long found their way to the .shores of the Bras d'Or Lake,
where were presented inimitable facilities for settlement. The immigration agents were accordingly induced
to .send the ships directly to this quarter. The first ship on this route arrived at Sydney on August 16th,
1802, with 299 passengers. From this time until 1817 the infiux of immigrants kept on increasing; it then
gradually' declined. The last immigrant ship arrived in 1828. Twenty-five thousand persons are said to have
come in those years from Scotland, and they have given a distinctively Scottish character to the population of
Cape Breton. In their new home, in the north and west parts of the island especially, they have formed a
miniature Highlands. Hill and glen, cliff and torrent, rugged rock and sounding sea, arms of the sea rending
the rocks asunder in all directions, sequestered lakes reflecting the tremendous upheavals of primeval times —
all are suggestive of the Highlands.

In 1803 hostilities were renewed with France, and General Despard was instructed to detain all French

350

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

vessels in Cape Breton ports. This was not easy to do, as the garrison at that time consisted only of a
subaltern and twenty men. Despard's administration closed in 1807. The chief occurrence.s up to that time
were the appointment of Mr. Woodfall to the office of Chief Justice in 1804. At his death he was succeeded
by Archibald C. Dodd, in 1806. On February 1st, the Council consisted of the following members: George
Moore, A. C. Jodd, R. Stout, William Cox, William Campbell, David Tait, Thomas Crowley and J. B. Clarke.
The want of lighthouses was severely felt, and wrecks were of frequent oecurrence.

Brigadier-General Napean succeeded General Despard in 1807. The coal mines, in the same year, were
leased to William Campbell, the Attorney-General, for a term of seven years, at 7s. per chaldron royalty.
But this arrangement did not pay, as the coal realized only 18s. a chaldron. The Government then took the
mines on its own account. The .shipment of coal for the next seven years averaged 4,722 chaldrons per
annum. The exports from the French district of Arichat were in the meantime increasing.

Dissensions and controversies among the civil officials again ensued. Indeed this seems to have been the
curse of the early history of Cape Breton. In consequence of these dissensions the Council was reconstituted
as follows : Brigadier-General Napean, President ; A. C. Dodd, Thomas Crowley, C. E. Leonard, Rev. William
Twining, William Brown, jun., P. H. Clarke and Ronan Cassit. A host of officials out of all proportion to
the requirements and resources of the colony was maintained. The total revenue of the island, with £2,000 a
year additional voted by Parliament, was swallowed up in the payment of their salaries. The offices
were, in many cases, sinecures, and nothing was left to build roads or construct public works. The salaries
amounted to £3,475, exclusive of that of the Governor, which was said to be £800 per annum. At this time
the population of the island did not exceed 4,000 or 5,000 souls. In the meantime the coal mines had only
yielded a profit of Is. 8d. a chaldron to the State.

Brigadier-General Swayne assumed the Government in 1813. He had scarcely been a week in office
when he forwarded to the Secretary of State an account of the deplorable condition of the i.sland. Virulent
animosities still prevailed among the Government officials. The Governor had been scarcely three years in
Sydney when he applied for leave to return to England — on the pretext, most probably, of foiling health.

Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzherbert was then sent out to administer the Government until the arrival of
Major-General Ainslie, who had b-^en appointed Lieutenant-Governor. During Fitzherbert's administration

mmm

nanmanninranOTiwn

CAPE BRETON.

361

the island enjoyed comparative qniet, and trade made som.e progress. The imports at this time amounted to
£83,724 7s., and the exports to £38,783 8s. 3d.

And now trouble arose relative to the validity of laws enforced by the Imperial authorities in Cape
Breton. The payment of coal duties was resisted by the lessees of the coal mines, Leaver and Ritchie, on the
ground of its illegality. When Cape Breton was erected into a separate government, it was ordered " that
nothing be passed or done that should in any way tend to affect the life, limb, or liberty of the subject, as the
imposing of any duties or taxes." An action was brought against the lessees to recover the duty. Chief
Justice Dodd decided in favour of the defendants. This decision placed the whole legislation of the island
then in force liors de combat. Every ordinance that had been passed since 1763 was illegal; no impost could
be laid in future ; no statute labour enforced ; no militia called out ; no prisoner put in jail. The opinion of
the law officers of the Crown confirmed the decision of the Chief Justice, so the island was practically without
a government. The only method of overcoming the difficulty was either to convene a House of Assembly or
to reannex Cape Breton to the Government of Nova Scotia. The British Ministry decided upon the latter
alternative.

The relations between Governor Ainslie and his council proved to be in no degree more satisfactory than
those which had existed in the case of former governors. In fact, matters grew worse. We are told that he
made enemies of almost every person of respectability in Sydney. " He closed his career in 1820 with a
scurrilous, intemperate letter to the Under-Secretary of State, denouncing the inhabitants general Ij^ as a set
of deceitful, unprincipled aliens, endued with the Yankee qualities of the refuse of the three kingdoms." The
British Ministry, therefore, harassed by complaints from all parties of the rulers set over them, decided, as
the only means of ensuring tranquility to the island, to annex it to the Government of Nova Scotia. There
had been an unintermittent period of strife and turmoil ever since the separation in 1784. The causes of the
trouble are probably to be found in the arbitrary temper of the military officers who acted as governors, and
in the fact that the host of salaried oflScials could have had little else to do except to fight, and evidently
improved the time.

But the people of Cape Breton at that time were separatists. The idea of being merged in Nova Scotia,
and losing their separate political existence, was repugnant to them, as was natural. Three months after
intelligence of the intention of the British Government reached Sydney, " they forwarded a petition to the

352

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Prince Ref];ent, praying him to convene a General Assembly, as the only constitutional remedy, in their
opinion, for the evils under which they had so long laboured. No answer was sent to their petition." They
then presented a strong remonstrance to Lord Bathurst, in which they expressed their grief and astonishment
at the proposed measure of annexation, stating that the island would be swamped by the Legislature of Nova
Scotia, that its interests would be neglected, and that the distance of the island from Halifax, the seat of
Governrtient, wouUL cause great inconvenience to the inhabitants. They further stated, that as the island
now contained a population of 8,000 or 9,000 souls, which was rapidly increasing by immigration, and was
capable of raising a sufficient revenue, the time had come for calling together an Assembly, as promised in
the instructions sent out to Governor Parr, in 1784, when Cape Breton was erected into a separate
government. Finally, they prayed that his Lordship would adopt such measures as would secure to them the
blessings to which, as loyal British subjects, they were entitled. This address was signed by men of all
parties in Sydney and the north-eastern districts, but it was not heeded by the Colonial Secretary, who
instructed Sir James Kemp, then about to sail for Halifax to assume the Government of Nova Scotia, to
carry the annexation into effect immediately upon his arrival in that colony.

Soon after the annexation had been duly proclaimed, writs were issued for the return of two members
for Cape Breton. Richard John Uniacke, jun., and Laurence Kavanagh were elected, and took their seats
in the Assembly of Nova Scotia.

In 1820, an Act was passed by the Legislature extending the laws of Nova Scotia to Cape Breton. The
Officers of Customs, the Surveyor-General, and some subordinate officers of the Courts of Justice, were
continued in office. Others of the principal officials retired on half pay.

The system of granfing lands had always been a prime source of dissatisfaction. Sir James Kempt
visited the island in 1820, and collected much valuable information concerning the wants of the people. The
Surveyor-General now for the first time received reasonable and definite instructions. He was to lay off lots
of 100 acres each to single men, and of 200 acres each to married men. " Settlers were permitted to occupy
these lots, under tickets of location, until they were prepared to pay for grants, but no absolute title could
be given except to honajide settlers who had actually made improvements." Several persons were allowed
to acquire titles to their respective lots in one grant, to save expense. The quantity of land taken up in
Cape Breton up to this time was 685,640 acres, It was held under different titles, as follows :

GRAND NARROWS.

CAPE BRF.TOh\ S8S

Grants in Fee Simple 220,220 acreR.

( 'rown Lenses 98,600 n

Tickets of Location or License 15,000 ii

Warrants of Survey, Petitions and by Squatters 342 820 u

A weekly post was established between Halifax ami Sydney in 1821, and £1,000 was voted by the Legis-
lature for roads and bridges. The people at this time are represented as being contfnted, thriving and happy,
with the exception of a few malcontents about Sydney, to whom re-annexation was distasteful, because it
deprived them of their local importance and sinecure offices.

We are told that " Sir James Kempt took a great interest in the affairs of Cape Breton, and did every-
thing in his power to reconcile the inhabitants to the new order of things." The people in general appear to
have been very well satisfied with re-annexation. Sir Jnmes .says : " A very strong address to this effect was
presented to me at Arichat by the principal inhabitants of that district, by far the most populous and
important in the island."

A professional judge was appointed to reside in the island, as a legal adviser to the mugistrates in all
cases of difficulty, and to preside at the Inferior Courts of Common Pleas. Mr. J. G. Marshall, a Master of
Chancery and a member of the Assembly, was the person chosen to this office. His salary, voted by the
Legislature, was £500 per annum. This appointment gave general satisfaction.

But all did not approve of annexation. In December, 1820, a petition was sent to the House of
Commons praying that a bill confirming the union might not be allowed to pass. Biit the Ministry
entertained no idea of consulting the House on the subject. The Government decided that Cape Breton
should be annexed, and it was done — there was no further or more general appeal.

Afterwards, in October, 1823, annexation was denounced at a public meeting. A committee was
appointed to " present a petition to Parliament and to take measures for carrying their plan of separation
into effect." Sir James declares his belief that most of the principal inhabitants of Sydney, especially the
merchants, were averse to the change, while the great body of the people were well enough satisfied.
A very grave assertion is made respecting the above petition. Although it was said to have about 500
signatures, it is asserted that many persons whose names were subscribed never saw the petition.

The petition is couched in untruthful and extravagant terms, and Mr. Hume, by whom it was pre.sented
•23

354

CATF. BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

to the House of Commons, used in its support intemperate and extravagant language. In fact, the petition
and the manner in which it was supported spoiled its own case. The Under-Secretary of State was pleased
indeed to reply, as he did to a former petition, that it was " a tissue of falsehoods," and did not represent the
wishes of the people. Mr. Hume, on the other hand, pledged himself to retire from Parliament if he failed to
prove, during the next .session, that the annexation was illegal. No further notice of the matter was taken
during that session of Parliament. Mr. Wilmot Horton, however, who appears to have been in doubt as to
the legal propriety of annexation, applied to Mr. Stephen.s, the law adviser of the Crown, for his opinion.
This gentleman replied : " I am of opinion that His Majesty's Government could not do otherwise than revert
to the principle e.stabli.shed by the Proclamation of 17G3, and that the petition, when collated with the
documents to which it refers, does not suggest .'ny sufficient reason for changing the system under which the
Island of Cape Breton has been governed since the year 1820."

Notwithstanding this decision, the question was often agitated by a party in Sydney, but no decisive
action was taken until 1843. At a public meeting, it was then decided to prepare a petition to the Queen
upon the subject. In this document the petitioners contended that " after the conquest of Canada and Cape
Breton, His Majesty George III., by proclamation on October 7th, 1763, annexed the island to the government
of the Captain-General and Governor of Nova Scotia, and not .to that Province as an ivfegral ^)a?'^ thereof;
and that, although no Lieutenant-Governor was sent to Cape Breton at that time, a commission to that effect
was addressed, in 1784, to Joseph F. W. Desbarres, who immediately proceeded to the island and organized a
government ; and that it continued to be governed by a succe-ssion of Lieutenant-Governors or Presidents of
Council for thirty-five years, independent of the Council and Assembly of Nova Scotia. Also, that the
Governor of Nova Scotia was re(juired by his Commission of Septeinbei* llth, 1784, to summon an Assembly
to be elected by freeholders in the island, but in a subsequent instruction informed that, whereas the
situation of Cape Breton did not then admit of calling an Assembly, he was in the meantime to make such
rules and regulations, by the advice of the Council of our said island, as shall i ppear necessary for the peace,
order and good government thereof ; and in a later instruction was ordered to take due care that in all
laws, statutes and ordinances passed in our province of Nova Scotia, that the same do not extend, or be
deemed or construed to extend, to our Islands of Cape Breton or Prince Edward : that our said Islands are
included in this our Commission to you as parts of our Government of Nova Scotia," The petitioners

CAPE BRETON.

dtf&

submitted that " a constitution once granted by the Crown could not be revoked except by the consent ot the
people, or by an act of the Imperial Purliament ; in proof of which the case of Granada was cited, in which it
was decided by Lord Mansfield that " the King was bound from the date of his Conunission to cull an
Assembly ; and that, though not convened, yet that His Majesty could not, after the date of the Grant or
Commission to call an Assembly, by his sole act annul the stme."

The following answer was returned by Mr. Gladstone, the Under-Secretary of State, in the subjoined

letter of June 2nd, 1846 :

Downing Street, June 2nd, 1846.
My Lord,

With reference to your Lordship's despatch of the 16th May, with its enclosure, on the question of the legality of
the annexation in 1820 of the Island of Cape Breton to Nova Scotia, and to previous dospatclies on the sanie subject,
I have now to inform your Lordship that the ]>etition addressed to tiie Queen-in-Council by certain inhabitants of
Cape Breton, praying for the separation of that Island from Nova Scotia, having by Her Majesty's commands been
referred to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the hearing was brouglit on on tlie 1st of Apiii, and was
continued to the "infl, 6th and 7tli of tliat month, wlien counsel were iicard on behalf of tlie petitioners, and the Attorney
and Solicitor-General were likewise heard on lielialf of the Crown. A report has sinc^ been made which Her .Majesty
was pleased to approve on the 19th May, by and witii the advice of the Privy Council, stating that " the inhal>itants of
Cape Breton are not by law entitled to the constitution purported to be granted to them by the I^^tters Patent of 1784,
mentioned in the above petition." I have to request that you siiould make known this decision to the iniiabitants of
the colony under your charge.

This despatch settled the (juestion of repeal. The military government established in Cape Breton for
thirty-five years was a merely provisional arrangement, a Tuodus vivendi. It had its basis in the fact that
the island was for the time being under peculiar conditions. It was intended to be reserved for the same
purpose for which the French had used it, viz., as a headquarters of the fisheries, and for the working of the
mines. Hence, as we have seen, no absolute title to grants of land was for a long time allowed ; consequently
the inhabitants were not frr "holders or electors, and were disqualified from sending representatives tn a
constitutional assembly. It was in view of this fact that special legislation was allowed for Cape Breton.
There were no taxes, as we have seen, except the royalty on coal (and that fell only upon those who worked
the mines), and a shilling a gallon on rum. But as soon as the people were elevated to the dignity of
freeholders, and became qualified electors, there remained no reason whj^ any special legislation should take
eft'ect in Cape Breton.

356

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The coal mines, (Uiriiifi; the separate govorniuent, were workeJ either by the Qovernnient on its own
account, or b}' private indivithials, to whom they were leased at royalties varyini,' from five to seven shillings
per chaldron. From 17S4 to 1.S20 the annual sales advanced only I'rom 1,190 to (5,000 chaldrons. In 1N22 the
mines were leased to Messrs. T. S. v^ W. It. Hown, at a roj'alty of .seven shillings and sixpence per ehaldron. In
1827 the mines came into the posse.ssion of thu CJeneral Mining A.ssociation. In all grants of land tlte Crown
re.served a right to the mines and minerals. '' In 182(5 the reserve "^ions were leased to the Duke of York, by
whom they were transferred to Messrs. Rundell, Bridge & Rundell, who organized a company, styled ' The
General Mining Association,' for the purpose of working the mines of Cape Breton and Nova Scotia." Hut
the best coal mines in the country were already lea,sed, and the condition of the Duke of ^'ork's lease was
that it should not include any mines already occupied. The lea.se of the Messrs. Bown expireil in December,
182(5. The Association then made an arrangement to work them at the same rate of royalty paid by the
former lessees ; and, before the year had expired, they had concluded an arrangement with the British
Government on terms yet more advantageous, and for the same tinie over which the Dnke of York's lea.se
extended. It was now necessary to sink deeper shafts, and construct a railway to a suitable point of
shipment. Tliese arrangements having been completed at great expense, no profits from the working of the
mines accrued for manj years, chiefiy for want of a market. This difficulty was, how jver, in time overcome,
but a cry of monopoly was soon raised, and the legal right of the As.sociation was (juestioned. The .subject
was discu.ssed with much acrimony year after year in the House of A.s.sembly, until the session of 1857,
when, finding they could not annul the just claims of the Association, it was decided to send delegates to
England to confer with the Directors of the (leneral Mining Association, for the purpo.se of ed'ecting, if
possible, an amicable arrangeine!\t. The re.sult was that the Directors agreed to give up all the'r claims to
the unopene<l mines in the Province, provided they received an undisputed title to certain coal areas in Cape
Breton, Pictou and Cumberland.

Under the exclusive possession of the General Mining As.sociation, during thirty years, the sales of coal
advanced from 12,000 tons in 1827 to 120,000 toji.s in 18')G. When they relinquished their claim to the
unopened mines, in 1857, .several new companies obtained leases from the Government, and the sales rapidly
increased. This increase was due, in great measure, to the lleciprocity Treaty which had. been negotiated with
tlie United States. In 18(57 the .shipments of coal amounted to ;jyi),64iJ tons, of which 145,728 tons were
.shipped by the General Mining Association — the remainder by the new com|)anies. "The sales would

CAPE RNHTON.

n57

undoubtedly have been much larger in 18G7 had not the Reciprocity Treaty been abrofijatcd in the preccdintj
year. II' the treaty be renewed, as is generally expected, all the inincH of Cape Breton will, 1 trust, tind ready
markets for their produce in the cities of the great llepuhlic." So, twenty-three years ago, wrote Mr.
Brown, to whose " Hi,story of Cape Breton " we are indebted for this suinni>iry of the history of the coal
industrj' in this island and in Nova Scotia. The question of a coal market still agitates Cape lireton and
determines its politics. It is now the general opinion, whether it be well and intelligently founded or not, that
reciprocity in coal would ruin the provincial mines.

In the south-west parts of the island, the population of Capo Breton consists of French, many of them
the descendants of returned Acadians. Tiie.so are among the niost industrious and |)r()spi'n)us people in tha
country. Then we have the de.scendants of the old .settlers of Sydney and Sydney Mines people of a lino
traditional culture and an easy and hearty appreciation of men and things. A society, somewhat hiiI (/cveris,
grew up in each of our government colonies, of which we have had live or six in Nova Scotia, and of these
that of Sydney is the most d sinible. In .some of these old colonies there existed a terrible grinding of the
poor, which has not y'>t died out in its re.sults. There was less of this in ('ape Breton than (elsewhere, and
there is a reciprocal kindliness and regard between all clay.ses of society here which is uni(|ue in America. In
fact, kindliness is the air you breathe in Cape Breton, except where, among tlu; more unh^ttered, prejudice
takes effect; !>nt even prejudice is the reflex of kindliness, ami is something better than in<liflerenco or
hearMessness — it is a positive (juality an<l implies that .some intert^st has been taken in humanity for its own
sake. But the island is, as a whole, distinctly Scottish — that is, Highland Scottish allowing for the lapse and
changes nf a generation or two. In the west and north-west of Cape Breton there are n.en who have lost
the staid respectability of the ancient Highlander, for the irrepressible <leviltry of the old Highlander had in
it a deep and grave and respoctalile turn. Some of the.se men are the wildest and hardest in the world.
They will yell an<l rave and drink and light all day long, and go raving mad iKseause there is no more lighting
to do. Sir (Jarnet Wol.seley says that men who like to fight make good soldiers. We are dispo.sed to
think that the liest fighters are the men who are too gooil to fight— unless tliisy must -and then, " Smive qui
pent!" The Highlander wants to be appreciated, and perhaps, in a way, petted. He is still .sympathetic
and clannish enough for that. For this reason, perhaps, the Highland regiments never <liil what they might
have done under the I)uke of Wellington, or under any Kngli.sh oflicer. It takes a man like Sir John Moore

368

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

or Sir Colin Campbell to take out of the Highlander all there is in him. He is no mere machine : he can ue
all the machine you want, as steady as a clock and as firm as a rock, but behind all the machinery of the
soldier there is a deep and fervent spirit of loyalty that is ever ready to blaze out upon the battle-field in
historic splendour ; but it takes a potent and sympathetic conjurer to call it forth.

Loyalty is the attribute upon which the ancient Highlander was matured, and it is yet the key-note of his
character. An appreciation and love of personality are what they have habitually shed their blood for without
stint; and there are traces of this loyalty and devotion still distinctly marked among their descendants
in Cape Breton. To say that this loyalty — that loyalty of any kind or sort — is not an unalloyed good,
is only to say that it is human. When men are loyal in masses, they are only on the way to a true and a
higher loyalty which appreciates what is good for its own sake, because it is really and intrinsically excellent.
The attribute of lo3'alty had to be preserved through the ages in certain forms and manners, so that in these
later times it might still exist and find a more rational and excellent way. We have yet not half learned to
be loyal. The selfishness of the world cannot learn the alphabet of loyalty. The loyalty of the Highlander,
by reason of his isolated position and his narrow environments, confined within a narrow glen or surf-beaten
island, lost in breadth what it gained in intensity. " Men fight best in a narrow ring," it is said. We don't
know about that; but we know from frequent observation that they fight worst in a narrow ring — fight the
most unworthily and meanly, and without any practical result except the fact that man has to develop by
fighting — at least so history has informed us, and history is the only truth-teller. Lithe and brawny limbs
are not produced upon beds of roses. "Freedom's massive limbs are strong with struggling." The quiet,
calm endurance of the Norwegian or Swedish sailor is but the toning down of the fierce and big! spirit of
the Viking. The deep, serious, apparently unemotional, intensely respectable demeanour of the Highlander, is
the lineal descendant of that high and unquenchable spirit which faced the legions on the southern slopes of
the Grampians eighteen centuries ago, and poured forth its blood for a worthless cause upon Culloden Moor.

"Remember your forefathers and your children," were the words with which Galgacus hurled his
desperate native valour upon Agricola's trenchant steel. The high soul of Tacitus glows within him as he
depicts in his own inimitable, epigrammatic language the high and warlike spirit of the Caledonians. Of
course, the speeches made by Agricola and Galgacus are the result of the historian's own rhetoric, but he
knew the spirit which dwelt within the.se men, and sets it forth in fitting language. The noble and generous

i.»mi 1iilWl » I JI » »u »

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359

'of all tines and climes recojfiiize each other. The Roman was strong enough to be generous, and he was
always generous to a noble enemy. Agricola was a Roman soldier of the highest type, and his son-in-law
was the noblest and most cultured of all historians ; and Galgacus, we are told, was the noblest of all the
Britons. Tacitus stands amid the ruins of decaying Rome like a noble column of some ruined temple,
rebuking, by the majesty of its presence, its strength and the magnificence of its style, *-he desolation by
which it is surrounded. There is a terrible pathos in the manner in which he remembers the dignity and the
purity of ancient Rome in contrast with the nameless horrors and corruption of his own age. He refuses
to be defiled with the contact of his own times, and the nerve and terseness and vigour of his style rings
out in stern but unavailing rebellion against the inevitable fall of his country. It is some comfort to him
to tell of the deeds and the character of his father-in-law. In the Caledonian exp';dition, family priile and
dignity, the high and martial spirit of old Rome, and the valour of the contemling parties, all conspire to
lend an additional glow to the ruddy page of Tacitus.

The army of Agricola is approaching the verge of the height that overlooks the site of modern Perth —
the Roman Bertha. We can hear in fancy the tramp, clank, of the Roman march, the shrill piping of their
Hutcs, playing some martial air of old Rome. On a sudden, as they reach the crest, the trumpets call a halt,
and the brass-clad ranks stand fast, as the war gnarled faces line the southern rim of the valley which shall
mark the northern limit of their conquests. As the men fall out of their ranks they unconsciously cluster
about their standards, like bees around their queen, for in this savage, indomitable country their eagles are none
too safe. The red, angry rays of the setting Caledonian sun smite, as if in tierce derision, the golden wings
of the imperial bird of Rome, for he has nearly reached the limit of his flight. Away in the northern
distance towers the jagged rampart of the Grampians, their buttressed cliflTs thrown into burning relief, or
cast into black shadow by the evening glory. And that stern line of defence has rolled back the tide of
southern invasion for fifteen centuries, and nurtured a race whose steel has gleamed and reddened on many
a battlefield where the Roman legions never stood. At their feet flows the lordly Tay, winding, like a
serpent of gold .set between his emerald banks, to the distant sea; for even in these primitive times the
margin of the river is fringed with its green wealth of growing corn. Some Roman officer, gazing upon the
magnificent panorama before him, sees in the river at his feet some likeness to his native Tiber, and calls out
" Ecce Tiber!" The cry is taken up by his companions in arms, and soon the shout runs along that warlike

360

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

front, " Ecce Tiber!" Dr. Beattie, by the way, is infinitely disgusted that those buniptious Romans should
compare the princely Tay to the muddy Tiber. In these modern days we have not much reason to be
grateful for the comparison.

Behind the inaccessible mountains, the impassable morasses, within the impenetrable forests of the earth,
the freedom of man has found a home. There has grown, like some mountain plant, the tree of liberty ; and
there, where the primitive instinct of man's religion has been in a measure undisturbed, has been developed
the highest and most intense religious life. The Swiss, amid his mountain fastnesses, has been, from time
immemorial, practicall}' free ; and from his country has gone forth the religious thought which has animated
the most powerful freedom-loving peoples in the world. Holland has been a centre of religious and intel-
lectual thought, and an asylum for the oppressed for the last three centuries, while there is a depth and
intensity about Scottish piety — a seriousne.ss and solemnity in the presence of existence — which cannot be
found elsewhere. Switzerland and Holland and Scotland have all been centres of intellectual anu religious
thought. Had these countries been overrun time and again by the conqueror, it would not have been possible
for religion t>. take a firm hold of the national mind. The religion of a country is always disturbed by its
conquest. Sometimes the national religion disappears entirely, and at other times it is so firmly rooted in
the national consciousness that it conquers the conquerors and subjects them to its milder rule. The northern
barbarians were all in turn conquered by Christianity; to a morality already purer and nobler than that of
the south, they added the .spiritualizing inHuence of Christian warrants and precepts. But the new religion
a.ssumed different phases and developments in accordance with the national temperament and condition of
the particular tribes to whom it was applied.

In the first place, Christianity took on an exterior grandeur and development in .sympathy with the
magnificence of the Roman Empire ; and this constituted for the time being its strength and its weakness.
It led to its extension, and at the same time to its corruption. As soon as the old Roman Christianity had
ceased to purify and exalt, it was laid aside ; and the northern races were sent to absorb into their young and
healthy blood the principles which could no longer take ettect upon the emasculated and nerveless life of
decaying Rome. Gibbon blames the fall of Rome upon Christianity. How do we account for the fall of the
prehistoric empires — of Assyria, and Babylon, and Nineveh, and Greece, and Egypt, and Persia ? We presume
that the inference from Gibbon's statement is that but for Christianity ancient Rome would still exist in all

CAPE BRETON.

861

her strength. But nothing could be farther from the fact. Rome had fallen from her primitive purity
before she came in contact with Christianity — the lapse from good to bad had gone on for centuries before
Christianity appeared upon the stage as a national religion ; we say, appeared upon the stage, for Christianity
has oftentimes been little more than a stage religion.

A recent French writer says that we should read Shakespeare more and go less to see him played. The
gauds and tinsel of stage garniture are the common adornments of many lesser men than Shakespeare.
The worth and significance of Shakespeare depend not upon theatrical contrivances. The ornamentations of
the theatre have an entirely new and different significance when they are made the medium through which
the master mind of the great depictor of humanity speaks to the people. We think not of the exterior
trappings, but of the terrible farce and the tragedy of life. To the great expositors and artists of a true
humanity we owe it that humanity has not fallen into an infantine or barbarous or idiotic wonderment at
all things that are. Shakespeare and his like can shew us, and keep us from forgetting what most of us in
our own consciousness know — how deep men can plunge and how high they can soar, how they can suffer
and how they can rejoice ; how they can love and how they can hate. Humanity is at the bottom of it
all ; and men laugh or cry, or stand in awe of themselves, or of what they might be and would be under
the requisite conditions.

The most commonplace of books which deal, or affect to deal, with the great , problems of life and
morals which lie at the basis of our humanity are eagerly sought after and talked about by the multitude.
Not that the.se books solve any mystery for u.s, or make us any stronger in presence of the burden of life —
the books in themselves may have no moral or spiritual point or teaching ; and one of their offices may be to
shew the weakness of the author, and his or her mawkish craving to be philosophic or famous at the expease
of nicety or decency. Loss of faith works ruin. So it always has and does, and always will. We are shewn
in these books the loss of faith and all its consequent ruin ; but we are not pointed to a higher and a clearer
and a closer faith. Humanity is in need of the builder and not of the destroyer. To shew how men are
ruined for want of faith, and at the same time to be in partial sympathy or in weak condolence with these
men, is, not to speak of its being effeminate and sinful, of no practical use, but goes to undermino the whole
superstructure of intellectual and moral and spiritual life. We are unblushingly shown how men and women
transgress the laws of morality and society in a certain direction, and yet we are called upon to sympathize

362

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

with these people ; we are never asked to sympathize with the thief or the defamer or the murderer — those
people are ostracised from society as unfit to belong to it. But because a certain class of sins can be
committed probably without being followed by immediate or direct punishment — sins which sap the
foundations of all honour and morality — thousands of people who lack the moral courage to do wrong are
thereby attracted like moths around this ignis fatuus — this noisome exhalation from some decaying
emotional pen, and those things are made the talk of people more or less strong, or more or less feeble, as the
case may be. Public and private conversation goes flirting about the edge of things which had better not be
named at all. It may be argued in defence of this kind of literature, or rather in condemnation of the
sacred Scriptures, as it often is, that such stories are recited in the latter. So tliey are. But let us answer
that in the first place these stories have become part of the sacred traditions of the race. Placed even upon
the same basis, and judged by the same standard as the modern novel, the former would be respectable from
their antiquity alone if for no other reason. Again, in the Bible we are always shewn the humiliation and
repentance of the sinner — his attitude towards Jehovah is what the writer is always regarding. The
fatherhood of God is everywhere present, and is continually brought into prominence. " Against Thee, Thee
only have I sinned " is the tone if not the language of all transgressors. And, more than all, faith — an
all-subduing and unfaltering faith — runs like a framework of adamant through the whole of the sacred
Scriptures — it is the foundation upon which tney are built. The faith of man, despite his weakness and his
sin, and the faithfulness and love of God, are the themes of the old Hebrew literature. Sin was a terrible
reality in times of old. Men and women did not roll sweet yet forbidden little tit-bits of unwholesomaness
under their tongues, and grope feebly after a mawki.sh and uncertain faith, nor fall into the apathy of despair,
nor into empty and cynical criticism. It remained for the little minds of modern times to loiter round the
vestibule of the temple of impurity — there is an aroma about these precincts that seems grateful to the modern
sense. The patriarchs knocked boldly at the portals of the sanctuary of the Most High, laden with sin and
sorrow as they were — and they were never refused an entrance — and their passport was repentance and
faith. The little ephemeral society novel no more resembles the sacred Scriptures than a ces.spool resembles
the mighty earth-engirdling ocean. The only faith for the modern world is a strong and pure and simple
and direct faith. God and man must be in intimate and direct union.

One's ideal of life is one's religion. Modern society seldom or never hears or listens to even the faint

CAPE BRETON.

368

and far echo of a true life. Social life is for the most part in direct antagonism to religion, so mawkish and
frivolously sentimental is it at its best. The religion of every age and race and clime is not what is
professed, but what is lived up to. Religion — the religion of a people — is their prevailing rule of life,
whatever that may be. Among a people of deep and strong emotions, religion partakes of a deep and awful
character. Religion in a sense is nothing extraneous to man, but is part and parcel of himself, and the deepest
and most significant part : and the attribute of reverence being the primal instinct of the Celt, we may
naturally look for a powerful religious development among Celts of a specially intensified character. And
such are, or rather were, the Scottish Highlanders. The ancient race of the Highlanders was exclusively
Celtic. At the time of the Gothic invasions it became tinctured with a Scandinavian element — an element
strong enough to achieve the somewhat difficult task of eflPecting a lodgment among them — and this element
added an additional strength to the race, both in physique and in character. By reason of this Norse
admixture, the Highlander, though gifted with all the fire and enthusiasm of the Celt, is still frequently the
steadiest and quietest and most enduring of men, and exhibits qualities the very reverse of those we might
naturally look for in the Celt. There is about the Highlander a gravity, a steadiness, and a quiet endurance
under the monotony or privations of existence, which we look for in vain in the men of any other nationality.
Their gravity arose from a sense of dignity as well as from a sense of danger. In ancient times every man
among them went armed ; and an insult meant not a disfigured face, but a deadly thrust ; hence the
proverbial gravity of the Scot as well as of the Spaniard. They early embraced Christianity, under the
ministration of the Culdees, the centre of whose system was at lona, whence the light of the new religion
was "diffused among the roving barbarians of the North." Through the middle ages their religion
maintained the same dark and fierce characteristics which marked the general character of the people. The
fiery cross was the fitting emblem of the Highlander's religion. Blood and flame blasphemed the sacred
emblem of Him who wept in secret places for our impotent and cursed pride. Sir Walter Scott's Brian the
Hermit is a fitting presentation of the ancient Highlander's religion :

" Barefooted, in his frock and hood.
His grisled beard and matted hair
Obscured a visage of despair ;
Bis naked arms and legs, seamed o'er,

364

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The scars of frantic penance bore.

Not his the mien of Christian priest,
But Druid's, from the grave released,
Whose hardened heart nd eye might brook
On human sacrifice to look ;
And nuich, 'twas said, of heathen lore
Mix'd in the charms he muttered o'er.
Ti.o hallowed creed gave only worse
And deadlier emphasis of curse ;

Ho prayed, and signed the cross between,
While terror took devotion's mien.

The cross, thus Tormed, he held on high,
With wasted hand and haggard eye,
And strange and mingled feelings woke.
While his anathema he spoke.
' Woe to the clansman who shall view
This symbol of sepulchral yew
Forgetful that its branches grew
Where weep the heavens their holiest dew,

On Alpine's dwelling low I
Deserter of his chieftain's trust,
He ne'er shall mingle with their dust.
But, from his sires and kindred thrust,
Each clansman's execration just

Shall doom him wrath and woe.'

' Woe to the wretch who fails to rear
At this dread sign the ready spear !
For, as the flames this symbol sear,

CAPIi H RE TON.

365

His home, the refuge of his fear,

A kindred fiite shall know ;
V&T o'er its roof the volunied Hume
Clan-Alpine's vengeance shall proclaim,
While maids and matrons on his name
Shall call down wretchedness and shame,

And infamy and woe. '

' When flits this cross from man to man,
Vich- Alpine's summons to his clan,
Burst be the ear that fails to heed !
Palsied the foot that shuns to speed !
May ravens tear the careless eyes,
Wolves make the coward heart their prize I
As sinks that blood-stream in the earth,
So may his heart's-blood drench his hearth 1
As dies in hissing gore the spark,
Quench thou his light, Destruction dark,
And be the grace to him denied.
Bought by this sign to all beside ! ' "

This is the ferocity of reverence. A feeling similar to this was prevalent up to the time of the
destruction of the ancient clan institutions. In modern times the Highlanders long adhered to their ancient
faith.

Narrowness broeds intensity. But this intensity, in obedience to the law of conservation of energy,
is projected into an J farried n'ong the history of humanity, to do its legitimate work and fill its proper place
in the development of the race. Grecian intellect to-day enlightens the world. Roman character yet
strengthens the nations. Jewish fervour, transformed into Christian zeal, has saved and regenerated
Europe, and is destined, let us hope, to save the world. Ancient characteristics are everywhere to be
found among the nations — characteristics as valuable as they are interesting.

The good and the evil go side by side. Narrowness of sympathy has its criminal as well as its
virtuous side. To be sectarian or clannish is human ; to be humane is divine, and comes only of divine

i: '

866

CAFE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

teaching. Yet, as memory retains only what is pleasant in life, so the consciousness of the race has enshrinerl
in its temple the virtues and characteristics of primitive times, and does reverence at the altar of bygone
excellence. Whatever of value there is in modern character may be aaid to be the result of all history — of
the universal experience of the race. From the Celt wo learn personal sympathy and personal respect ; from
the Saxon, perseverance and determination ; from the Norman, a higher organization and a higher social
development. Modern society is the outcome of the experience of the race, and every bygone nationality
has brought its tribute to the treasure-house of humanity.

And it is pleasant, as well as interesting, to note the survival of national characteristics which make for
the good of the race. In Cape Breton, for example, you will find traces of primitive hospitality : people will
treat you with that old-fashioned courtesy and hospitality for which we have to seek in patriarchal times.
Because you are a stranger, they will take you in; and in some instances the Celtic matron will stand by your
elbow while at table to see that you want for nothing, with i".n air of proud and disinterested kindness that is
a special thing to see ; and which produces in you, if you have any sympathy at all, a feeling of dignified
gratitude. You ma> smile perhaps inwardly at this primitive bohaviour of your hostess, but you come away
from her house with an improved opinion of your kind. You begin to think v/hat man would be like were he
not tormented with the thousand and one imps of modern civilization. The kindly and noble impulses of the
human heart are fine things to see, no matter where we meet them. A real manly or womanly act is a precious
performance. The Master said : " A cup of cold water, given in the name of a disciple." Kindness bestowed
in the name of, and for the sake of, our common humanity partakes of the same spirit, and a genuine survival
of this spirit you will find among the Highlanders of Cape Bx'eton. Almost the first time we heard the Gaelic
language was from the lips of a tall and commanding Highland woman, who stood thus at her table intent
upon our wants. She was speaking in tones of command to her children, and they seemed to realize the
fitness of the language as a medium of expressed authority, for they stepped around like soldiers in obedience
to her imperative tone and gestures. And then she would address herself again to her tea-pot and her bread
and butter, with all the kindness and dignity of the genuine loaf-giver, as they say that " lady " originally
meant. Dignity ! Your modern society woman is merely a sibilating and minueting lay figure beside one of
these Gaelic matrons. And the latter may listen to a Gaelic " grace before meat " (what they call it in Gaelic
we do not know, and have not much curiosity on the subject either) fifteen minutes long, and prayers and

CAPE BRETON.

367

Psalm-singing in proportion, yet we warrant her children will grow up to be better and worthier specimens of
humanity than the youngsters who are taught to pose and strut and to retain their infantile lisp, when they
have more need, if their stomachs could digest it, of the meat that makes strong men. Again, permit us to
exclaim, Dignity ! If you want to see true dignity, either in man or woman, or if you want to meet with
Nature's ladies and gentlemen, come to Cape Breton. Of course, there are antiquated ways and old customs
and all that to laugh at, if you have the complaint distressingly had ; but then, perhaps, you have some new-
fangled notions and ways that are just as laughable- -it least as ridiculous and valueless as the old. Or
perhaps you have no ways at all to speak of, and that is the saddest thing of all. Come along, anyway, and
if you see any old mode or custom or habit of thought that you do not understand — and it is probable you
will — they can perhaps be explained to you. These old customs and habits are most likely the survivals of a
time which was, in some respects, better than ours. But be sure to come, and we assure you of kindly
treairnent ; and, if you want to criticize, let your criticism be as kindly.

368

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

AT the conclusion of the Seven Years' War, the French iu Canada lost nothing by their change of masters.
As we have seen, the French colonies had been under wretched management. The same tyranny and
oppression existed in New France as disgraced the mother country previous to the Revolution. The
French colonists had little cause or interest in the contest between the power which oppressed them and
the English ; and towards the end of the struggle they came to see it. With the British conquest, the system
which had been their financial and economic ruin was at once swept away. The battle of the Plains of
Abraham was the emancipation of Quebec ; it ushered in, in a sense, a French revolution on this side of the
water. The French in New France, ever since the conquest of Canada, have had a better time of it than
their brethren at home. And, as is natural, they have been loyal to their liberators; not with an enthusiasm
of loyalty, of course — the conditions for that are not present — but with a knowledge that under British
rule political life is as easy for them as it well could be.

Immediately after the Conquest they began to appeal to the British sense of justice, and not in vain.
The details of their law courts, which had been preserved to them, were full of petty annoyances and iniquities,
and loudly called for redress, which was not withheld. The French colonial official seemed inseparable from
corruption and oppression ; and as long aa he survived, there was no change in his record. The people had
nothing to do with his appointment, and be never imbibed the idea that they had anything to do with the
manner of his administration. He was not the representative of an automatic and self-appointed government.
He was the worst outcome of a pampered and iniquitous system, a system which had driven the peasant of
old France to madness and desperation, and which in its rebound shook the foundations of authority all over
Europe. These foundations have not regained their stability yet, and never will until we have a new and
regenerated order of things. Man, in his contempt of authority, and of order and tradition and precedent,
has become more or less wicked ; and his true freedom can come only when he becomes better and more
self -reverent. If man has learned to despise all law, he must learn to become a law unto himself. Law is

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

369

the order of nature, and without order there must be destruction. But law among intelligent beings must
be law which is understood and loved and made the conscious order of the being. The law and the instinct
of life must bo one and the same. This law is written in the heart of rnan when the heart is once reached.
But the rubbish and litter of time, perversity and selfishness have so hidden the heart of iiran from himself
that he never even considers the good of which he might be capable.

If the doctrine of liberty, equality, fraternity or death was never promulgated in New France; if rabid,
frenzied republicanism never swept in a murderous tide by the lordly St. Lawrence, the English conquest of
Canada brought to it at least a inll share, and rather more than a full share, of all the rights which Englishmen
had hitherto traditionally enjoyed. And, as we said, the situation was accepted on the j)art of the French
from a necessitarian or utilitarian standpoint, and no doubt it was all the better for Catiada that \\i was so.
The Englishman has governed the French-Canadian better than he could have governed himself. The instinct
of liberty, fer ae, may be stronger in the Frenchman than in the Englishman, and no doubt it is ; but its
very eagerness is oftentimes self-destructive and subversive of all order and decency, and humanity as well.
So it was well for the Frenchman in Canada that he was enabled to take his liberty coolly and dispassionately,
without strutting or posturing or self-glorification. As far as is possible, the Frenchman has been allowed to
construct Lower Canada according to the ideals of his race. The Province of Quebec is sirnply natural, and
nothing more, as men in masses always are. The s .pnthy of numbers produces a concentration of interest
or passion, or traditional instinct, and the result is unerring and valid.

The keynote of government in Quebec is, as might be expected among a people of Celtic descent, the
religious element. For the rest of it, and often through the medium of the former, the province studies its
own interest, as we all do. The Frenchman, though not the equal of the Briton in w< rid-wide economics, is
his superior in inner or domestic economy. He does not know the true an.l legitimate value of money as
well as the Englishman, but he hugs it closer to him. He does not take any pleasure in life from Hinging it
pompously or recklessly about. His genial climate, the sun and the wine of France give him all the physical
enjoyment he needs, and it does not cost much. Enjoyment costs more in an average mean temperature of
forcy degrees thar in one of sixty degrees, and consequently it is more reckless, at the same time that it costs
more physical and mental effort to earn it. Thus the Frenchman has leaiao.I traditionally to husband his
pleasures and his money. So he secretes his little hoard because money is a ihing that glitters, and it is
24

370

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

respectable to have a little money. The Frenchman is more respectable in many ways than the Englishman.
His love of effect makes him proper, except when the ebullition of the moment or the period floods in upon
him, and then he is grotesque and often horrible. But there has been no call for these latter developments
among the French in Canada.

If Britain was generous to the French from motive" of policy and necessity, she was repaid at the
outbreak of the American Revolution. Canadian trance foimed the nucleus of the Dominion of Canada.
Had the French colonists not remained steadfast to Britain, the English flag would probably not now
be flying over tlie citadels of Halifax and Quebec. The defenders of Canada at this time were the old French
colonists, and the Indians who lived around the military posts of the West. Though Montreal fell into the
hands of the Revolutionists for a time, and an attempt was made upon Quebec, the posts upon the lakes,
though one hundred years old, were surrounded by savages hostile to the cause of the insurgents. Upper
Canada was then in the possession of the Northern Iroquois, a confederation of the most warlike of the
native tribes. Although manifestoes were sent to the northern colonies, inviting them to join in resistance
to British authority, four of the seventeen provinces maintained their allegiance to England — Nova Scotia,
St. John's Island, Newfoundland and Quebec. The achievement of their independence by the revolted
colonies expatriated all those whom loyalty to their King had placed upon the losing side. It was fortunate
for these plundered fugitives that there yet remained for them upon this continent an asylum to vvhich they
could retire from the tierce persecution of tl;e triumphant republicans. Quebec still guarded the eastern
approach of the country, and the forts of Oswego and Niagara were refuges to which the adherents of the
King might flee under the guidance and protection of the i'-iendly Mohawk. This northward emigration
penetrated Canada by Lake Cluimplain on the east, by Oswego and Kingston in the centre, and by Niagara
on the west. Some of these had come from as fai south as the Carol inas. They had been denouncoil as
enemies of the American Commonwealth, their property had been confiscated, and in some cases they were
obliged to remove to British territory for safety. Great Britain, from motives of necessity and policy, doalt
generously with the Loyalists. Parliament voted a large sum of money for their relief, an<l provided them
with food, farming tools and seed, and free grants of land. It is estimated that thirty thousand of these
people came at this time to Canada. Many of those who entered by the eastern route moved westward to a
milder climate, and to join those of their own language, faith and municipal institrtions. The English people

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

371

oi Canada had never been satisfied witli the French laws, and now, increased in numbers and strengthened
in infiuence by the Loyalists, they began an agitation for the repeal of the Act which had been passed for
the settlement of Canada after the Conquest. The French, on "^he other hand, were clamorous for the
retention of their ancient laws. Finally the "Constitutional Act" was passed, by which the Province of
Quebec was divided into two provinces — Upper Canada and Lower Canada — separated for the most part by
the Ottawa River. Each province had its own Governor and Legislature, including an Assembly and a
Council. Lord Dorchester was continued as Governor-General and Governor of the Province of Lower
Canada, Colonel Simcoe was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada. The population of Lower
Canada was at this time (1791) about ? 50,000; that of Upper Canada, 20,000. In both provinces, the
Governors selected and maintained their Councils without the acknowledgment that the confidence or the
House of Assembly was a constitutional necessity, until their reunion in ISll.

The war being over, the people of the British provinces were able to give their attention to the develop-
ment of the resources of the country. Many of the Loyalists were men of character and culture, and exerted
a salutary infiuence on public afi'uirs and private life. Many of the people's representatives wouii' have
graced the legislative halls of any English-speaking country. This intelligence and interest in public matters
resulted in frequent discussion and disturbance in the machinery of government. There ensued a constant
struggle of the new with the o d — the representatives of the people urging the rights of their constituents
against privilege and prestige, against governors and councils.

The form of governni«:nt in the provinces was modelled after that of Great Britain. The Governor
represented the Sovereign, and the Parliainent comprised two houses, tiie Council and the Assembly. The
former was appointed by the Governor on behalf of the Sovereign. The Bishop of the Episcopal Church
and the Chief Justice were ex officio members of the Council. Besides these Wu,s an Executive Council,
whoso function it was to advise the Governor in the administration of the government. This Council was
appointed by the Crown, and held office for life. Neither the people nor their representatives had any direct
influence over the men who administered the government. This constitutional grievance led to an agitation
which resulted in responsible governvievt. Matters connected with the government did not proceed very
amicably in Lower Canada. Jealousies of race were added to other difiiculties. The sitting of judges in the
Legislature was a subject of much violent dispute. Bills passed by the Assembly were often rejected by the

,, ; !.

872

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

Council, and the Governor-General arbitrarily dissolved the House. The Legislature of Upper Canada met
first at Newark, a village near the mouth of the Niagara River. General Simcoe afterwards selected York
(Toronto) — a place at that time with scarcely a house or inhabitant — as the capital of the Province.

In June 18th, 1812, war was declared by the United States against Great Britain. The Legislatures of
both Upper and Lower Canada voted large sums of money to carry on the war, and the militia was prepared
for active service. The number of regulars in Canada at this time did not exceed 4,500.

During the first j'ear of the war Canada was invaded at three points. An army under General Hull
crossed from Michigan into the western peninsula ; another, under Rensselaer, crossed the Niagara River
from New York ; and a third, under Dearborn, came against Lower Canada by way of Lake Champlain.

General Hull led an army of 2,500 men. With American hopefulness he stated that he had a force that
would " look down all opposition," and offered freedom from " British tyranny to all who would accept his
protection." General Brock, the Governor of Upper Canada, advanced against him with 700 men, accom-
panied by Tecumseh, at the head of 600 Indians. Hull, hearing of the capti ire of Fort Mackinaw by a small
British force, retreated to Detroit. Brock pursued him and captured the city and the entire army. On
his return, Hull was tried for cowardice, and sentenced to be shot, but was pardoned on account of former
services.

Six thousand Americans, under Rensselaer, were mas.sed on the Niagara frontier. The garrisons of the
forts on the Canadian side amounted to only about 1,500. A .strong detachment of the Americans crossed
from Lewiston and captured Queenston Heights. General Brock, seven miles distant at Fort George, hurried
to the scene of action, and arrived early in the morning, just as the enemy had gained the heights. Being
joined by the garrison from Fort Chippewa, and Tecumseh with his Indians, he rallied the retreating forces
and gallantly led them to the attack. The heights were re-captured, and 900 of the enemy, with several
officers, were taken prisoners. But the victory was dearly bought. General Brock fell, in the first of the
fight, mortally wounded. His name is one of the proudest in Canadian history. A monument marks the
place where he fell.

An army of 10,000 men, called the " Army of the North," under General Dearborn, threatened the
frontier of Lower Canada, but retired without a single spirited movement.

In the campaign of 1813, the Americans had the advantage in Upper Canada. They took York,

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

373

captured a British fleet on Lake Erie, and drove the British from Detroit and from Fort George. On the
other side, the British gained the battle of Stony Creek, compelled the Americans to abandon Fort George,
and uaptured several important places on the frontier. In the east the Canadians repelled two invading
armies sen!^i to take Montreal, and gained the battles of Chrysler's Farm and Chateauguay with forces greatly
inferior to those of the enemy.

Commodore Chauncey sailed early in the spring from Sackett's Harbour, with fourteen armed vessels
bearing two thousand soldiers under General Dearborn. .These forces made an easy conquest of York, and
burned the principal buildings. The fleet then proceeded to Niagara, General Vincent, the commander of
the British forces in this quarter, finding himself greatly outnumbered by the enemy, and seeing that his
position was untenable, abandoned Fort George, and retreated in good order to Burlington Heights with
about sixteen hundred men.

He was closely pursued by Generals Winder and Chandler with over three thousand men. Hearing that
the Americans had lialteJ and were resting in an unguarded manner at Stony Creek, about six miles distant,
he sent Colonel Harvey with seven hundred men to surprise them by a night attack. Stealing softly upon
them at midnight, the British drove tliem from their position at the point of the bayonet. Not wishing to
expose the weakness of his force, Harvey withdrew before daylight, having captured four guns and a hundred
and twenty prisoners. Sir John Harvey was afterwards Governor of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

In the meantime, taking advantage of the absence of Chauncey's fleet. Sir George Prevost, the Governor-
General, attacked the Americans at Sackett's Harbour, an important naval station on the east of Lake Ontario,
but owing to his lack of courage and decision, he ordered his forces to retire and wait for artillery, and thus
gave the enemy time to strengthen their position.

In this year occurred the well-known capture of the Chesapeake. But this naval glory was offset by
the defeat of the British sijuadron on Luke Erie. An English squadron of six vessels under Captain Barclay
encountered the enemy's fleet of nine vessels under Lieutenant Perry. The United States flagship was named
the Laurence, and inscribed on her flag were the words, " Don't give up the .ship." During the engagement
the Laurence was disabled, but getting into an open boat, Perry carried his flag to another ship. Having
captured the entire British fleet. Perry reported briefly to his superior officer, " We have met the enemy and

374

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

they are ours." This defeat on Lake Erie is not to be wondered at. The comparative weakness of the British
fleet, and the want of maritime skill on the part of the Canadians, are sufficient to account for this disaster.

By the loss of the Hoet, General Proctor was left without means of communication, and was forced to
abandon his position in the west. Having dismantled Amherstburg and Detroit, and destroyed his stores, he
retreated rapidly, and without proper precaution, along the valley of the Thames. His force consisted of
about eight hundred men, besides five hundred Indians under Tocumseh. Closely followed by General
Harrison, at the head of three thousand five hundred men, he was forced to halt and give battle at Moravian-
town. He sufiered & disastrous defeat. Three-fourths of his army were taken prisoners, and he tied with the
remnant to Burlington Heights. The brave Indian chieftain, the faithful ally of the English, was killed.
Proctor was afterwards disgraced for his cowardice.

The Americans, elated by this success, were now bent upon the capture of Montreal. For this purpose
two large armies were set in motion. General Hampton moved down the valley of the Chateauguay with five
thousand men. General Wilkinson collected an army of ten thousand men near Kingston, at the foot of Lake
Ontario. The rendezvous was St. Regis. This was a dark outlook for Lower Canada, the defence depending
only on a few militia.

Hampton, marching through a wood, was surprised by Colonel De Salaberry with four hundred Canadian
voltigeurs and Indians. And now the traditional repute of the Canadian sharpshooters stood them in good
stead. Intrenched behind a breastwork of felled trees, they opened a telling fire upon the advancing
Americans. The latter, in confusion, turned their fire upon each other. De Salaberry had buglers posted
at different points, who, at a given .signal, sounded the advance. The enemy, thinking these came from
diff'erent bodies of troops advancing to attack them, turned and fled. Hampton collected his scattered troops
and marched back to Plattsburg.

Wilkinson, unaware of Hampton's defeat, began to descend the St. Lawrence a few days later. From
the banks of the river and from gunboats in his rear, he was incessantly annoyed by a destructive fire. At
last he landed over two thousand men at Williamsburg to beat off the assailants. After two hours' hard
fighting at Chrysler's Farm, the Americans were driven to their boats. Arrived at Lake St Francis,
Wilkinson heard of Hampton's defeat. He .scuttled his boats and retired to winter quarters. So fifteen
t,hoi;sand men were, by most insignificant forces, turned hack the way they came, and the heart of the

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

376

invas'on of Canada was broken ; for the Americans, learning the disasters which had befallen their armies on
the St. Lawrence, at once withdrew their forces from British territory on the Niagara frontier, and retired
to their own side of the river. Not a single American soldier remained upon Canadian ground. Before
crossing the Niagara they burned the village of Newark, turning the inhabitants out into the street on a cold
winter's night. Indignant at this outrage, the British pursued the enemy into their own territory, and in
retaliation burned the American towns of Lewiston, Manchester, Black Rock and Buffalo.

Early in the spring of 1814, General Wilkin.son attempted another invasion of Lower Canada, but with
no more success than in the former year.

A British force of about five hundred men, under Major Handcock, took refuge in a stone mill at La
Colle, near the foot of Lake Champlain. Wilkinson, with ten times as many men, tried to break down the
thick walls ; but his cannonade of five hours' duration making but slight impression, he retired with heavy
loss to Plattsburg.

The Americans, having again crossed the Niagara, captured Fort Erie, gained the battle of Chippewa, and
plundered the neighbouring country. Then was fought, within sound of Niagara Falls, the battle of Lundy's
Lane, the bloodiest of the whole war ; in which five thousand Americans were defeated by sixteen hundred
British under General Drummond. This battle began about six o'clock in the evening, and continued until
midnight. In some places it was a hand-to-hand struggle, the Americans losing about nine hundred men
and the British nearly as many. The former were compelled to retire and take shelter in Fort Erie.

During this war Sir John Sherbrooke, the Governor of Nova Scotia, .sailed from Halifax, and took
possession of a district on the coast of Maine, between the Penobscot and the St. Croix, which was held by
the British until the close of the war. The funds derived from the collection of customs in this district were
appropriated to the founding of Dalhousie College at Halifax.

In September, Sir George Prevost, with eleven thousand men, marched against Plattsburg, on Lake
Champlain. His force was vastly superior to that of the enemy. . i small fleet that was co-operating with
him having been defeated, Sir George became alarmed and ordered a retreat. His men we i enraged, and
many of the officers in shame and anger broke their swords. Sir George was afterwards court-martialed to
answer for his conduct, but died before the court was convened.

During the early period of the war, privateers did much damage in Nova Scotia, plundering the coast

iimifi-op-iirmitiiin

376

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

settlements and capturing vessels engaged in trade and fishing. Hall's Harbour, on the coaist of the Bay of
Fundy, was the headquarters of a band of pirates, who made frequent raids upon the Cornwallis Valley,
plundering houses, stores and farm-yards.

On the day before Christmas, 1814, was signed the Treaty of Ghent. Hostilities were continued some
time after the peace was concluded, as the news of the peace did not reach America for some time. All
territory seized during the war was restored, and the disputed matters which caused the war were not even
referred to in the treaty. Neither party had gained anything. Peace was welcomed both in the United
States and the Provinces. The quarter of a century which followed the American War were times troubled
by stormy political agitation, and were, in the main, struggles for responsible government. The Reformers in
Canada, as well as in Nova Scotia, demanded that the Executive Council should hold office only .so long as its
policy was sustained by a majority of the Assembly. They also insisted that the Legislative Council should
be elected by the people, instead of being appointed by the Crown for life. The control of the public revenue
by the Governor and Council al.so produced much agitation. The duty on imports, imposed by the British
Government, and the funds arising from the sale of Crown Lands, were appropriated by the Governor and
Council, who refused to submit even a statement of expenditure to the Assembly.

In Lower Canada the .struggle was largely a struggle of races. The people of English descent, though
comprising no more than a fifth of the entire population, virtually ruled the country, holding nearly all the
seats in both Councils, and the principal offices under the Government.

The Governors habitually drew funds from the treasury without the authority of the Assembly ; and,
during the administration of the Earl of Dalhousie, Sir John Caldwell, the Receiver-General, who had charge
of the public money, became a defaulter in the sum of £96,000; and as the Government bad neglected to
take any sureties, a large loss was sustained by the Province. Public sentiment was outraged still further by
the fact that Sir John was still permitted to retain his seat in the Executive Council.

Louis Papineau was the leader of the Reform party in Quebec, and Speaker of the Assembly. He
denounced the Earl of Dalhousie in the severest terms. When Papineau was again elected Speaker, the
Governor refused to accept him. The Assembly then refused to elect another Speaker, and a deadlock ensued.
A petition, with eighty-seven thousand signatures, setting forth political grievances, was sent to the Imperial
Government at London. Some concessions were now made. Papineau was accepted as Speaker of the

"tt — ■.-—ir-irrr—ii— •-•••'" """*■"

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

877

Assembly, some Reformers took seats in the Council, and most of the public funds were placed under the
control of the Assembly. But these were only half measures, and served to still more excite the people.
Violent speeches were made, and strong resolutions passed, denouncing British tyranny, and threatening
rebellion if the rights of the people were not respected. A royal commission was appointed to adjust
difficulties, but without reisuit.

The struggle in Upper Canada was between the new settlers and the old. The ruling party was
composed chiefly of United Empire Loyalists, and their opponents of recent settlers. When the discussion
of grievances was commenced by the Assembly, the Governor summarily prorogued the House. Writers
criticizing the acts of government ' ere prosecuted for libel, fined and imprisoned. Meetings for the discussion
of political matters were prohibited, and anyone criticizing the existing state of things was branded with
the epithet, " rebel."

William Lyon Mackenzie soon becanie the recognized leader of the Opp. ition in Upper Canada. In his
paper, the Colonial Advocate, he attacked the Government in no unsparing manner. His press and type were
de.'-troyed by riotous friends of the Government party. This awakened popular sympathy. Mackenzie
recovered large damages, and was shortly afterwards elected a member of the Assembly. He now exceeded his
former boldness in advocating reform, and was several times expelled from the House for violation of privilege,
and as frequently reelected by his constituents. In 1834 he was chosen as the first mayor of the city of
Toronto.

In 183G, Sir Francis Bond Head was sent out as Governor-General by a Whig ministry, and hopes were
entertained that he would govern the country according to the principles of his party in Great Britain. But
in this they were mistaken.

Extreme measures were now adopted by the popular party. The Assembly sent an address to the King,
censuring the action of the Governor ; and they refused for the first time to vote supplies. A coalition was
formed between the Reformers of both provinces. The Governor dissolved the House, and so influenced the
elections that in the new Assembly two-thirds of the members were in .sympathy with himself. The Reform
leaders were themselves defeated. Sir Francis refused even to carry out the measures of reform recommended
by the Colonial Secretary. The Reformers then turned their thoughts toward rebellion.

The British Parliament now authorized the Governor-General to take £142,000 from the treasury and

',1 I

iiii I I i

smmmmamsMim

378

CAPE n RE TON ILLUSTRATED.

pay the arrears of the civil list, without the authority of the Assembly. This measure excited the utmost
indignation throughout the country. The people were urged to rebel and free themselves from British power.
Meetings were held in various parts of the province, and the passions of the people were appealed to in
violent and seditious language. The Governor-General ordered troops from the other provinces, and prepared
to meet the approaching crisis.

The first outbreak was a riot in the streets of Montreal, but the rebels were dispersed without loss of
life. Warrants being issued for the apprehension of the leaders of the rebellion, Papineau fled to the United
States. In a sharp encounter at St. Eustache, one hundred rebels were killed and one hundred taken
prisoners. In 1838 the Earl of Durham, an able statesman of the Liberal party in England, was sent to
Canada, invested with the double office of Governor-General and High Commissioner, to report on the state of
affairs in Canada. The Legislature of Lower Canada was for the time set aside, and a special Council was'
appointed in its .stead. The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, and martial law proclaimed. The Earl of
Durham, desirous of conciliating the people, pardoned all except the principal leaders, choosing as the day for
the exercise of this clemency the coronation day of Queen Victoria, June 14th, 1838. Dr. Nelson and eight
others were banished to Bermuda; Papineau was proclpiiiied an outlaw, and forbidden to return 'to the
country on pain of death.

In the aiitnmn of 1838 the insurgents of Lower Canada, aided by adventurers from the United States,
again sought to fan the smouldering embers of rebellion into a flame ; but they were dispersed without much
loss.

The outbreak in Upper Canada began later than in the lower Province. A body of about four hundred
insurgents gathered near Toronto, and under cover of night marched towards the City Hall, where four
thousand stand of arms were stored ; but they retired without risking an attack. Within a few days there
ensued a fight near the city, and the rebels were defeated with heavy loss. Mackenzie was proclaimed an
outlaw, and XI, 000 was off'ered for his head. He and his followers, to the number of about 1,000, took
possession of Navy Island, in the Niagara River, about two miles above the Falls. This " Patriot Army " had
a flag which bore two stars, one for each of the Canadas. During the following year the " Patriots," crossing
over from the United States, attacked various places near the borders, but were everywhere repulsed.

The rt bellion being over, it only remained to deal with those who had taken part in it. One hundred

THE DOMINION O'- CANADA.

379

and eighty were sentenced to be hanged. Some of these were executed; some were banished to Van
Dieman's Land ; while others, on account of their youth, were pardoned and sent to their homes.

After a few years of exile those who had been outlawed or transported were pardoned, and permitted to
return to Canada. Even Papineau and Mackenzie were allowed to come back and enjoy the full privilege of
citizens. Both held seats in the Assembly after their return.

The elections came off in Nova Scotia on the 5th of August, 1847, the first time in the history of the
Province when all the votes were polled in one day. When the House met in the following January, it was
found that the Reformers had a majority of seven. A Liberal Government was formed, with Joseph Howe
at its head.

The year 1848 was remarkable for the triumph of Reform principles. The New Brunswick Legislature,
by a large majority, adopted responsible government, the Conservative leaders voting with the Reformers.
In Canada, also, the principles of responsible government were more fully recognized and established. The
voice of the people was now recognized as the supreme authority. Liberals and Conservatives alike
addressed themselves to the working out of the principles of reform.

Thus was the milder revolution of the British colonies accomplished; wrought not entirely without
violence in the Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada ; bloodlessly and constitutionally in New Brunswick
and Nova Scotia. The idea of separation from England lay not at the basis of the existence of these colonies.
Canada had been taken under Briti.sh protection rather than conquered, and the lower colonies had always
been essentially loyal ; so we have arrived at the great fact of government by the people without the violence
of a conflict which should bear the fruits of prejudice and national ill-feeling, as was the case with the
thirteen southern colonies.

The events of four political epochs mark the development of Canada : The British Conquest, the
Revolutionary War, the struggle for responsible government, and the Confederation of the Provinces.

By the first the French were emancipated from the thraldom of their own political and financial system.
It vas possiMe for a comparatively free and industrious population to reap the fruits of their labour only
after Canada fell into the hands of the British. And war was now at an end. The long struggle whica had
exhausted the resources of the colony was brought to a close, and peace and liberty combined to enable
the colonist to work for his own advantage.

380

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

The American War of Independence brought a double strength to Canada. It brought an influx of
Loyalist population, and it served to originate and give form and substance to a national spirit, without
which a nation is nothing. Canada, after the Revolutionary War, was distinctively British in a political
sense. Valuable characteristics are the result of struggle, and valuable national character comes not
spontaneously, but of necessity and stern conflict.

The struggle for responsible government in the Provinces of Canada formed the last phase of the great
movement which swept from Florida to the St. Lawrence, and finally adjusted the relationships which were
to subsist in future between Bi-itain and the colonies which had gone forth from her or which she had subdued
to herself. So violent was the rupture for the most part that the political bond between the Old Country and
the New was severed forever. Mutual accommodation was neither asked nor given. But the Frenchman
in the north, being still under a grateful sense of deliverance from his own system, and seeing a protector
and not a tyrant in the Biiton, refused to be cajoled into rebellion, and steadfastly maintained his loyalty to
his deliverer. And the question of taxation without representation never came sharply up for solution in
Canada, although in reality it was substantially the grievance which caused all the friction between the
people and the manner in which they were governed. Taxation by representation is only developed to its
perfection when the officials whu have the spending of the public moneys are directly responsible to the
people. The levying of taxes and voting of supplies are only a part of a free financial system of
government. If the people have no control over the object and detail of expenditure, they are as far from
taxation by representation as ever. Those having the control of expenditure must in effect be the
representatives of the people, as well as those who legislate in financial affairs, before it can truly be said
that the people are the ultimate power of the nation. In the case of the American colonies, the conflicting
forces met point blank, and there were no compensating or ameliorating circumstances to break the violence
of the concussion. The pomp ani the prestige and privilege of Parliament, and the sullen, fiery spirit of
the people, advanced upon each other like thunder clouds from opposite poles of the heavens, and their
collision dissipated itself in the smoke and flame of revolution. But the result was a milder and more
temperate political atmosphere ; and the fragments of political strife, which had gone muttering oflT to the
distant horizon, returned in less lurid and portentous guise to refresh the earth in a new era of colonial
freedom. British colonial reform has kept pace with British domestic reform, until we in the colonies have

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

381

indeed greater privileges than the people of the mother country. And the whole of this political agitation
has its cause and its warrant in the fact that intelligent people have a right to govern themselves — to say
how much money they shall spend, and how they shall spend it.

The Confederation of the British provinces in North America brought together and unitied forces which
had been engendering and developing for ages, after the manner of all potent forces. The Canadians — that
is, the British Canadians — have been from the first p lorceful people, with all the strength and failings of a
forceful people. This power has produced, in twenty-five years, unparalleled results, and will no doubt
produce unparalleled results in the future. The Canadians have had a unique country — unique in its
adaptability for developing the energy and resources of its people, provided they should come of a fitting
race ; and they have come of a fitting race. To their country Nature has given magnificent gifts — a bracing
and invigorating climate, a fertile soil, a superb waterway into the heart of the American continent, and, in
a measure, for purposes of local transportation, almost across it. But this waterway was impeded with just
enough of difficulty to call forth the resources and energy of the people in overcoming it. The same
masterful spirit which carved the docks of Liverpool and Glasgow out of the river-banks has conquered the
difficulties of navigation from the St. Lawrence to Lake Superior. The public works of Canada have from
the first been on a magnificent scale, as befitted the obstacles which they were designed to overcome, and their
importance to the country. Besides, the energies of the people have been stimulated by the fact that on their
frontier was a nation of ten times their wealth and population, against whose mere weight and numbers and
convenient commercial position it was necessary to struggle intelligently and persistently ; and this struggle
has not been without good results.

The Canadian to-day is more busied in developing the resources of his country, auJ in devising and
perfecting means of communication by which the commerce of his country may be protectea from foreign
aggression, and by which he may carry his enterprises even into the territory of his neighbour, than hb is 'n
manipulating iniquitous games of financial chance, as is too often the employment of his southern neighbour.
We do not mean to say that the Canadian does no fin. ncial iniquity. Oh, no. He does plenty of it, and of
a bad kind, too ; but his financial iniquity has this redeeming feature, that it is always, or noarly always, in
the direction of the development of the country. Its moral eflfect upon the national character we shall arrive
at and correct by and by, before it has time to result in absolute disaster. A country of magnificent

3ijaU i Il i JiJLiLiiM i *Mifjiii iiii

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CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

resources, and for tbr*^ reason of splendid credit, and borrowing capacity ad injinxinvx ; a perfect system of
public wo '■ in deinan \, \ order to be up to the re(|uireinents of the age and the country ; an army of poor
politician the Canadians are not nch, and caimot afford to study national measures as a pure science),

intelligeni,, striving and hard-headed public men and statesmen — these are the conditions in Canada ; and the
result could be told even if we did not know it. Still we are as good as our neighbours in that respect.

It has been said that public peculation is more respectable in Canada than anywhere else ; that a man
can be a deacon, or an elder, or at the head of some ultra-respectable organization — that he can look the
public in the eye with an austere, reprimandatory countenance — and still be smiling inwardly at the clink of
public gold in his pocket. It has been asserted that the Canadian, especially the Scottish-Canadian, has
beaten the world's record in this line of conduct. It is claimed on the part of the Americans that in the
United States the political sharper is known and recognized as a distinct and undesirable class of society—
that he is ostracized from the better sort of people, and that the best people in that country have nothing
whatever to do with the politics of the nation ; while it is asserted that our worthiest folk are either engaged
in, or wink at, the despoiling of the public funds. But then, on the other hand, it is not a good thing for a
■country when its politics are so utterly and intensely bad that its best people are forced to keep away from
them. > country in that unenviable position must soon lose all sense of public justice and uprightness, and
the ab.'' of the finer touch of humanity must be discernible in all its public acts ; and we imagine this is
but toi ly visible in the general character of the United States policy — towards Britain, at all events.

It is r ae enr jgh that the best of our people are swept into the vortex of politics, but then the worst of
our politics hp.'^ u .thy side. The development of the country is a worthy object ; and if Canada nowadays
presents the picture of a joint stock company for the borrowing of money to efiect this purpose, the common
sense of the people — and the Canadians have as much common sense as any people in the world — knows that
this system is fraught with its dangers, and public corruption does not go by without at least the criticism
that a correct public sentiment has to offer. The heart of the people of Canada is true and sound, for the
very reason that they have come of a respectable people and have had a respectable training. They know
full well the difference between public and private right and wrong. The .ast majority of them are
hard-working and practical people, and no doubt are largely influenced by the British worship of success.

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

888

And they have theinselves been successful. Taken all in all — for all the purposes and ends of modern
civilization — the Dominion of Canada has been, during its short history of twenty-five years, the most
successful national enterprise in the world. It is true that our prosperity is as yet but outlined. There may
be some truth in the statement that we represent, not a country with public works, but public works with a
country ; but then it was impossible to have stopped short of our present development in order to compete
wit.i our great southern rival in offering inducements to intending settlers. It has been .said that our railway
system, from Cape Breton to Vancouver, is a vast political machine — a gigantic government monopoly. So,
peiliaps, it is; but it is a monopoly always subject to criticism, and it is virtually in the hands of people who
directly or indirectly reap the benefits. The railway sy.stem is part and parcel of the country's growth, and
so far it is a good thing. And the work has been well and efficiently done. We have the best and quickest
line of communication between Britain and the east coast of Asia, and have thereby added immensely to the
strength and prestige of the British Empire. Britain has now a double interest in preserving our integrity —
or rather, her interest and honour are both concerned in us. The rapid rise of the United States has never
ceased to attract the notice of the civilized world, and has partially diverted attention from her younger
neighbour in the north ; yet the history of Canada since the Conquest has been to the full as replete with
interest and enterprise and haidihocl as the history of the American Republic. The disadvantages under
which Canada laboured have proved aids to her success. Holland would not be the country she is to-day if
her people had not had energy enough to reclaim her from the sea. Scotland laboured under disadvantages
at the time of her union with England, but by virtue of these obstacles, and Scotsmen being the sort of men
that they are, the country is better off now than if these disadvantages never had existed. Britons are not
the men to go under in the presence of difficulties, and Canada will never fail of success because she may have
difficulties to encounter. The same energy and perseverance which ov^ercome difficulties do not stop short
immediately the victory has been gained ; these have been exerted fv^. a purpose, and that purpose has been
kept steadily in view, and is worked out with a will and strength that have gained intensity by their
discipline and exercise. So after Canada has been sufl!iciently developed, though it is hard to tell where in
this complex age that particular point is fixed, the people will have time to turn their attention to the
correction of abuses, and to attend to the proper settlement of the country. If immigrants are not swarming
in upon us, we are getting those of the better class; and they find order and .safety and civilization

384

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

everywhere within reach ; they find themselves surrounded by people who have right and sensible views of
life. The growth of population will no doubt be rapid by natural increase alone. As the appliances of
civilization are perfected, and the conditions of life become ameliorated during the rigorous winters of the
North-West, we shall doubtless have an increasing influx of population. Life in the North-West is not
nearly so hard to the settler now as it was to the early colonist in the New England States and in the
Maritime Provinces.

The militarj' and political despotisms of Europe v'ill doubtless drive many of their people to seek homes
beyond the Atlantic. This tide of emigration will certainly go on at an ever-increasing ratio, as socialistic,
not to . 'ly revolutionary ideas permeate more and more the hearts of the people. It is conmion to meet
with young men who have fled from almost every European country to cijcape service in the army, to the
maintenance of which every other consideration is made to bend. While boasting of the organization, the
culture and the power of their'respective countries, it is evident enough that they hate he iron authoiity by
which these are maintained. Feelings like these cannot be kipt under forever ; and if a tragedy of univer.'^al
revolution is not in store for the tyrannies of Europe, there will doubtless be violent agitation, the easiest and
readiest escape from which will be emigration. Who would not rather be a freeholder in the Norih-West,
with as much of liberty as any modern man can have, surrounded by a sensible and intelligent civilization,
than spend half the energy of life in upholding the claims of some privileged family, or the civilization and
peculiarities of some particular nationality or race ? The world, let us hope, is destined to become one great
commonality. Nation.s, and national intensity and peculiarity, have all had their use. They are not of much
account nowadays. The man who expends his time asd his sentiments in extolling his own nation and
depreciating others, is, to the extent that he so occupies himself, a fool. The great heart of humanity is the
same the wide world over. Men are everywhere asking, " Who will shew us Jiny good i " — a good place to
live in, and a good government to live under, or at least a place where a man has some chance of helping to
make tV. ; (;overnment. And it will be the fault of the people themselves if Canada be not a good country to
live in — . Canada be not a country in v/hich men are politically and financially as free as in any land under
the sun. The people of our country have common sense enough to be patient and enduring ; but when the
time comes in which it is absolutely necessary to strike at abuses, no doubt they will strike ; and the

INGGNISH BEACH.

wmmmm

;if>; 1 9 t^^Tf: '^"^ ■"*

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

385

destinies of Canada, to the extent of making it a desirable country in which to make a home, may with
safety be loft, to the intelligent and free spirit of her citizens.

Perhaps it may be said that m^n is not yet good enough to live respectably in a tropical climate. When
that happy period arrives, the heart of Africa and the valley of the Amazon may be filled with a teeming and
happy population. In the meantime, the farther north we can get, as long as we can be made to stand
it, the better. Virtue and vigour and strength, and rightly directed sentiment and passion, are in the north.
In the Old World the North conquered the South. In the New World wo do vut expect or desire a physical
conquest. The fertile plains of Canada may yefc be the home of the purest and most robust nationality
the world has yet seen, for all the conditions are there present. There are no unmanageable tyrannies to
break, no revolutions to be accomplished ; the people have nothing to do but to elaborate and systematize
the liberty which they already have. The children of our own citizens, and the emigrants we are likely to
receive into our land, shall have been well trained to habits of order and discipline, and will naturally fall
into line with the institutions of the country.

The baresark and the iconoclast will never issue from the north of the western hemisphere, but the
destroyer of false a-^d weak ideals of humanity, the confjueror of a tawdry and cringing and purse-proud way
of life, may yet save the New World from destruction, as the Vandal and the Goth saved the Old from
the effeminacy of fallen Rome.

" The true appreciation of the progress of any country, in any branch of its industry, depends upon the
conditions under which that progress has been made." The travel and transportation system of Canada
presents the most interesting features of that of any country in the world. The railway and canal .systems
of Canada are on a m'\gnificent .scale, for the reason, as we have said, that tremendous obstacles had to be
overcome, and on account of the rivalry of the United States. The canals have cost over 830.000,000, and an
energy and perseverance were expended in their construction which finds no parallel in the history of water
communication in any 'other country.

"Previous to 1851, Canadian .securities had no status of their own in England, the canal loans having
been negotiated under an imperial guarantee. When provincial bonds had no regular quotations, it is not
surprising that as late as 1851 the bonds of the city of Montreal were sold in London at thirty per cent,
discount. At the great exhibition of 1851, Canada made her debut so favourably that the keen frequenters

886

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

of ' 'Change Alley ' consented to champion the interesting stranger, confident that a good thing could be made
out of so virgin a reputation, especially after the Imperial Government had a second time proposed to
indorse for her."

So much for the credit of Canada previous to 1851. Colossal railway contractors, the modern and
unique results of the railway era, launched the doubtful project of the Grand Trunk Railway. To
recommend the enterprise in the London market, the proportions of the line were extended from the 500 miles
originally projected between Quebec and Hamilton, to upwards of 1,000 miles extending from Lake Huron to
the Atlantic. The scheme was successfully launched by the contractors just before the Crimean War. The
prospectus showing a probable dividend of eleven per cent., the stock soon rose to a premium. But it
rapidly fell to a discount, which increased on the breaking out of the war. This Vjecame hopelessly confirmed
as soon as the British merchants read the postscripts of their Canadian correspondents. Notwithstanding
this early disrepute of the stock, the character of the subscription list and the wealth of the contractors
carried on the work until 1855, when the company came begging before the Canadian Parliament. This was
repeated in 1856, when for the first time their contracts were .submitted to public inspection. A grant of
£900,000 .sterling was voted in 1855 to enable them to go on ; and in 185G the province gave up its position
as first mortgagee, in order that the company might fill the vacated space with preference bonds. In 1857
the company declared its inability to pay the interest even upon the GoverD'nent loan.

As section after section of the line was opened, and no indications of the promised 111 per cent,
presented themselves, the difficulty was accounted for, first by the want of western connections, then by the
non-completion of the Victoria Bridge ; and, lastly, by the want of rolling stock. When at last all ettbrts
failed, the conviction forced itself upon the hitherto infatuated proprietors that the anticipated traffic was not
to be had upon any Canadian land route.

Canadians have been blamed for this disastrous failure, but the moral responsibility rests with those
contractors and speculators in the Old Country who had almost the exclusive execution and management of
the undertaking. The Canadian railway route between Detroit and Boston was an attempt to traverse the
arc of a circle in competition with the straight line through Albany. The scheme did not contain the
elements of success, either as a whole or in its parts ; its failure was therefore inevitable, and in proportion to
its extension. It does not rest with the English public to charge upon Canada all the disastrous results of

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

387

the Grand Trunk. The prospectus was not prepared in the Province, nor did any member of her Government
see it until it was issued. Canada was not a stock -holder in the Company ; but as the indorser for it, not of
it, put four of hor ministers on a board composed of eighteen directors, of whom six were in London and
twelve in Canada, eight of the latter being really nominees of the English contractors. The Canadians, as
novices in railway matters, could not be censured even if they believed all that they were told by the promoters
of the railway ; nor could they be worse than other people if they gave it a trial without believing in it ; but
there must have been many men and many editors in London, well versed in railways, not only English, but
American, who thoroughly appreciated the scheme as one originated and promoted for the money which could
be made out of it by men whose mission it was to prey upon their fellows.

Thos. C. Keefer, author of the " Philosophy of Railroads," cites, as one of the causes which emphasized
the failure of the Grand Trunk, circumstances which are not without their significance in our own time, viz.,
" the general extravagance and blundering in its management, and the ridiculous presumption of some of its
officials in a community in which there is so little of a real aristocracy and so little room for a sham one.
The effects of princely salaries to chief officers was to establish a general scale of extravagance, and a
delegation of duties and responsibilities, so as to turn the head of the recipients, and involve the Company in
needless outlays and losses greater than all the salaries paid upon the line. The railway satrap .lent out
by the London Board, whose salary is only exceeded by that of the Governor-General, naturally considers
himself the second person in the Province ; and, as a con.sequence, the special commissioner sent out from the
same source, with the salary of the President of the United States, to obtain more money from the Province
under the veil of a postal subsidy, would deem himself the second person on the continent, and therefore
assume a position connnensurate with his importance, and indulge in ti.reats of destroying the credit of the
Province. The salary of this commissioner is reported at $25,000, his charge for expenses 812,000, and the cost
of his special trains at .S6,000, making a total of S4'.'},000 on account of one year. If only half of this be true,
it is sufficient to prevent Canadians increasing their own taxes in order to afford the Company the means of

continuing such extravagance The bi.shops, and the judges of assize ; the most venerable

and respectable inhabitants of the country, as well as tourists of the highest rank, are content to travel by
ordinary trains and in the ordinary carriages; but the upper servants of the railway company have burned the
fuel, worn the rails and rolling stock, deprived their fellow employees of the needed Sunday's rest, and thrown

388

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

the whole freight traffic of a single line out of time (thus jeopardizing life and property), in order that they
may phow their little brief authority. Passengers have been turned out of a sleeping car in the dead of the
night by the breaking of a wheel, and crowded into the only remaining carriage of the train except one,
which, though large enough for fifty, was sacred to a few railway magnates whose duty it was, and whose
pleasure it should have been, to treat the ejected passengers as their guests, but who resolutely kept out the
vulgar herd. It seems absurd in such nabobs to plead poverty before our legislature, or expect the men whose
wives and daughters have been so treated to support their petitions."

From 1852 to 1857 were the years to be remembered as those of financial plenty and the saturnalia of
nearly all classes connected with railways. The Province was invaded by an army of railway men from
England, and on the west by a more noxious swarm of contractors from the United States, " bred in that
school of politics and public works which brought New York to a dead stand and Pennsylvania to the goal of
repudiation." These practical men had built State canals, with Senators and even Governors as silent
partners, and were ver,sed in all the resources peculiar to a democratic community. The convergence of these
two systems brought about an education of the Canadian people more rapidly than the most sanguine could
have hoped for. One bold operator organized a system which virtually made him ruler of the Province for
several years. In the United States, railway morality was no better. One man. declared to be the spokesman
of a band styled " the forty thieves," was expelled from the House of Representatives for voting for a
" consideration." Nor was this state of things peculiar to this side of the Atlantic. Smiles, in his " Life of
George Stephenson," reveals a similar history in English railways. " Folly and knavery were, for a time,
completely in the ascendant. . . , Then was the harvest time for scheming lawyers, parliamentary agents,
engineers, surveyors and trafllc-dealers, who were alike ready to take up any railway scheme, however
desperate, and to prove any amount of traffic where none existed."

" Among the characters brought prominently into notice by the mania was the railway navvy. He was
now a great man. He had grown rich, was a landowner, a railway shareholder, sometimes even a member of
Parliament, but he was a navvy still."

The proposal to unite the British North American Colonies by a railway was the suggestion of Lord
Durham, the imperial commissioner sent out in 1838 to inquire into the Canadian Rebellion. Different schemes
were projected for the carrying out of this plan. For the final revival of the project we are indebted to the

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

389

exigencies of the Grand Trunk Company, aided by the re-establishment of the good feeling between the
Colonies and the Colonial Office, consequent upon the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales ; by
the civil war in the United States, and especially by the Trent affair. The Grand Trunk, at its wit's end to
raise more money, sought to revive the intercolonial project in order to transfer to it as much of the unpro-
ductive sections east of Montreal as possible, and therefore the influential owners of this road brought about
another Colonial conference, which resulted in the construction of the road.

The construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway has done more to consolidate the strength of the British
Empire than any other public work ever constructed within its bounds. The long line of iron from Cape
Breton to Vancouver has bound together a scattered nucleus of Provinces which were scarcely sensitive to
each other's touch — bound them together not only physically, but in sentiment and nationality and loyalty to
Britain. Britain can now feel that she has access co her remotest dominions, over seas of which she is
practically the mistress, and territory every mile of which is her own.

Hitherto the markets of China and Japan, New Zealand, Australasia, India and the Pacific coast of South
America have been closed to Canada, but she now has access to them under advantageous conditions, being
nearer to them than is Great Britain or any European nation. The fast steamships of the Canadian Pacific
Railwo.y Company, subsidized by both the Dominion and Imperial Governments, constitute the best and most
expc.>'*-ious route across the Pacific. Canada has a large mercantile fleet on the Atlantic coast, and there is
no reason why a similar prosperity and marine enterprise and development should not take place on the
Pacific.

Important as this line is to Canada, forming, as it were, the back-bone of the country, it possesses even
greater importance as an Imperial work. Considering the complications of the Eastern question, and the
probable danger of the Suez Canal in times of war, the importance and significance of a .shorter and safer
route to Britain's East Indian possessions cannot be overestimated. And it has cost the Imperial Government
nothing, although its cost to Canada has been £24,000,000 — equal to an annual burden of nearly £1,000,000 —
and about 18,000,000 acres of land. Hence, though we are not directly taxed for our defence, the interest of
the money expended in the construction of this road may be viewed in that regard, as the Canadian Pacific
Railway is one of the strongest links in the chain which clasps the power of Britain round the world. Troops
can be conveyed from Great Britain to China or ijapan more quickly than by any other route, to Australia as

390

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

quickly as by the canal, and to India in a very few days more. The British fleets command both ends of the
line. The war-ships of Britain are thundering hoarse signals of watch and ward to each other across four
thousand miles of fertile plain, and stately forest, and quiet inland stream, and majestic river, and sounding
torrent. In the deep gorges of the everlasting hills, upon their snow-clad, steadfast peaks, the echoes of
power from the east and west seem to mingle in stern and joyous concert, and tell us thac Britain has set her
talisman of might upon our land.

The Canadians have expended altogether on public works the sum of S233,380,4'73. These works have
been, as we have seen, on a magnificent scale from the first, ov, 'ng to the circumstances of the country and
the conditions of its development. The expenditure of all this money, and the energy and hardihood of
character necessary to the prosecution of these gigantic enterprises, have, as is natural, not been unattended
with evil. Unscrupulousness and corruption have existed, but it has not primarily been the fault of Canadians.
We have seen the beginnings of railway morality (so called) in Britain and in America. In Britain the
financial atmosphere in this regard has been purified — cleared from the mists and vapours which enveloped
an unknown load of speculation — and men now tread upon the firm ground of financial reality and directness.
In the United States the railway system is one which in many respects cries aloud for redress and punishment.
In Canada, if over-expenditure and corruption still exist, we have as a corrective and safeguard a virtuous
and healthy public opinion — a public opinion which is the legacy of the rectitude of our forefathers — and
the destinies of Canada may, with safety, be committed to its trust.

Taxation, as represented by the customs and excise, amounts to about 24s. per head, as compared with
41s. in the United Kingdom, and 62s. in Australia. Municipal taxation is very light. This is not such an
iniquitous shewing as some people would have us believe. When we put our public works, and the energy
and rapidity with which they have been completed, against the maintenance of a standing army and an
overpowering navy, we have as much value to show for our money as the Englishman has for his. And the
experience and energy developed in the construction of these works is a national education in itself. It
tends to develop a national spirit and a national character.

All who live within the bounds of the Dominion are prouder of it to-day than ever. Some of this
feeling may, no doubt, be due to the British worship of success. To the average British mind there is no
crime like failure, while the ambiguous policy of a successful man is winked at with a Spartan-like

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

891

forbearance. We are all proud of our late Premier, and of what he did to further the growth of a national
feeling among us, and of the prestige that Canada gained under his administration. We take it for granted
that, for political ability, the North American continent never saw his equal. A year or two ago we heard an
American and a Canadian chaffing each other on the relative merits and advantages of their respective
countries. The latter, as a loyal Canadian, was, of course, extolling the ability and success jf Sir John
Macdonald, and waxed so eloquent under the inspiration of his theme, that the poor American hadn't a word
to say for himself, excepting : " What will you do when he's dead ? " " We'll stuff him," replied the
enthusiastic Britisher with a vigorous expletive.

And so in a sense he has been stuffed. Not after the manner of an Egyptian mummy, dusty and dumb
and recordless, but as a real live being, full of energy and address and patriotism, and above petty or sordid
selfishness at all events. The future Canadian cannot but feel kindly towards the man who taught us to be
proud of Canada, and to love her too, and who gave us a warrant for this love in the fact that we are now
more firmly bound to the British Empire than ever.

The educational system of Canada is excelled by none in tl ^ world. It was commonly asserted, and the
assertion was received without question, that in the United Siates, previous to the Civil War, education was
more generally diffused, and was in a more flourishing condition than in any other part of the world. It has
also been somewhat confidently stated that the institutions of the United States are more favourable to
educational success than those in any other part of the world. But the conviction is forcing itself upon the
public mind that a highly popularized yet efficient system of public instruction is entirely compatible with the
working of free colonial institutions. A prominent American educationist, nearly forty years ago, said :
" So much has been written and said about the Prussian system of schools, that well-informed teachers have
become familiar with most of its prominent features ; but a system of education in some respects more
complete and more imposing than that of Prussia has .sprung up on our own borders, wl ich appears to have
attracted less general attention among us." Since then the educational system of Canada iias been developing
with the country ; and it is not only that the system of education has been elaborated i<,nd provided for —
that the means of education have been provided — but that none of t'.iis system or elaboration goes to waste
in weak or mawkish or unpractical culture. Every one of these means is utilized. CanadiaiiS are a clear-
headed and busy people. " They have not much time to entertain weak sentimentalisms or scientific fads or

S9S

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

patent theories about anything. We believe there is more practical mental directness in Canada than any-
where else in the world. In this respect the Scottish and the Canadian mind — and the latter is very strongly
influenced by the former — very closely resemble each other. In England there is higher culture than in
Scotland, but in Scotland what culture there is is alert and marketable. The Scotsman seeks culture that he
may make money, or at least a livelihood, with it ; for he is generally poor, and has to work for a living with
whatever of ability he has. There is an old-fashioned homeliness about him that he ha'- learned as a
child in the domestic circle, that looks straight into the heart of things, that can scan at a glance the practical
side of a subject, and discard all unnecessary detail or flimsy ornamentation. Wealth and leisure lead to
superfluities of culture which are more of a hindrance than a help to the world's progress. But the same
shrewdness and energy which go to make the Scotsman's fortune, render him unwilling to stop there — he goes
on adding to it — and his last will and testament is also a testimony to his financial ability and mental acumen.
Scotland has come over a difficult road ; and so, in a degree, has Canada in the realm of her physical
development. And her moral development she already had to start with ; her people had come of the
right race. There are no people in the world made of better stuff" than the people of Ontario. The average
Canadian is much more of a " hustler " than i)? the Yankee ; V.'- ^a less tolerant of humbug, and deals less in
that commodity.

So in the reception of his education the Canadian youth is always in a practical attitude of mind. What
is the use of this, and what is the use of that — where the utility of this dogma or of that demonstration,
of this theory or of that scientific truth — what power or influence, or how much money will it bring me ? or,
if he be a good fellow, he may perhaps ask, " What is there in this for humanity ? What good will it do my
fellowmen ? " And he generally knows what is good for his fellowmen, and what is not. He has been well
enough trained to know that.

In Canada ^here is more of detail than in the United States, and less than in England— perhaps just
about enough for solid practical work. In acquiring an education, the mind is sufficiently registered and
trained; and yet its originality, if it possess any, is not buried under a useless mass of formula and precedent.
There is not much fear in Canada of a man being educated from the world, instead of being educated towards
it, as is the case in England ; nor have we any patent methods of learning things, as in the United States.
Five-dollar diplomas or their equivalent are not common in Canada, nor is it common to meet with a mR,n

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

898

who has a head full of knowledge without knowing how to use it. Incongruities or absurdities in the
educational world are scarcely to be met with. We have no feminine professors of national polity, for
example. We have not maiiy men who are capable of filling .such a chair, if we have to be candid about it.
We do not make an everlasting talk about what is merely empirical. British sagacity and soliditj' have been
transfused into Canadian brawn and sinew, and nerve and brain, and the result is not a survival but a
development of the fittest. We have an immense country to develop, and in which to be developed. There
is an urgent call for higher specialists of all kinds, and our system of education is rapidly conforming itself
to the requirements of the country in this respect. The modern world is in need of special education, and
there is no such field as Canada for its exercise. And there is no country in the world in which, in the
development of the country, the government, the educational .system, and the great body of the people are
so much at one. The professed object and the interest of all are the same. If extent of territory enlarges
the mind, we ought to be as large-minded as any people in the world. If the consciousness of power is of
any national use, we know that we form an integral part of, and one of the most important links in, the most
powerful empire the world has ever .seen. Our free institutions, our popular government, the strong and
intelligent spirit of liberty, the scope and energetic character of our national enterprises, and our direct
de.scent from, and entire sympathy with, the people who have built up the British Empire — all these are a
warrant that we need not fear for the future of our country.

We have the strength of a man who is at peace with his father's house, with all his mother's children.
In this respect we can look upon our past with no bitterness, and upon our future with a high and
•jtiwavering confidence. Whatever of strength there is in Britain — in any sense whatever — belongs to us, and
nothing has occurred to interrupt the continuity of development. We have neither been weakened by
prejudice, nor disconcerted by disturbances in which men shew to each other their worst sides. The strongest,
the best and the highest impulses of Britain pour into us without diminution or adulteration, and our
future national well-being is assured to us, provided we appreciate and improve our heritage.

The French history of Canada is a romantic story of devotion and endurance, but from a prosaic,
practical standpoint there was but little of good in it. In 1759, the disastrous year which witnessed the fall
of Quebec, the expenditure rose to £1,100 sterling; but this vast outlay did not increase the trade of the
country. Military operations, glory and extravagance consumed it all. The number of ve.ssels engaged in

394

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

W I

foreign trade with the colony in 1754 only amounted to fifty-three. The imports were valued at £216,769,
and the exports at £75,560, leaving a balance against the colony of £141,209 sterling.

But after the fall of Quebec trade increased and assumed a healthy tone; the imports no longer exceeded
the exports. In 1764 only 5,496 tons of .shipping arrived at Quebec; in 1861 it had increased to nearly
800,000 tons.

The fur trade was the all-absorbing interest for more than one hundred and fifty years. The beaver was
the most important fur-bearing animal, though beaver skins are now comparatively valueles.s. The Hudson
Bay Company was incorporated in fbe year 1670, under a charter of Charles II. They were granted certain
territories in North America, with exclusive privileges of trade and other rights and advantages. During the
next twenty ye^rs the profits of the Company were so great that, in spite of enormous losses through the
aggressions of the French, they paid a dividend of fifty per cent., and a further payment in 1689 of twenty-
five per cent. In 1690 the stock was trebled without any call being made, and a dividend of twenty-five per
cent, was paid on the newly-created stock. In 1720 they again trebled their stock, with a call of only ten
per cent, on the proprietors, on which they paid dividends averaging nine per cent, for many years. During
a period of one hundred and ten years they paid sixty or seventy per cent, on the capital actually paid up.

Soon after the valley of the St. Lawrence came under British sway, the merchants of Montreal, among
whom were many Scotchmen, .seeing the advantage of united action, formed themselves into a company in
1784, and assumed the title of the North-West Company of Montreal. In 1821 a union between this company
and the Hudson Bay Company took place under the name of the latter. " History does not furni.sh another
example of an association of private individuals exerting s.i powerful an influence over so large an extent of
the earth's .surface, and administering their affairs with such consummate skill and unwavering devotion to
the original objeci.j of their incorporation." Their monopoly is now gone. They trade as an independent
company, engaged in open competitive rivalry with all who choose to engage in that diflScult and precarious
traffic. But they have the means of commanding the most lucrative branches of the fur trade for many years
to come. In the North- West, Section No. 8, and three-quarters of Section No. 26, in the greater number of
townships, are reserved to this Company, together with certain lands surrounding their trading posts.

In 1752 only ten ve.s.sels, of forty to one hundred tons, were built in Canada. The French were in the
habit of purchasing vessels from the enterprising New Englanders. But under British rule ship-building

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

896

rapidly increased at Quebec. The largest ship ever built on the continent was built in Quebec in 1825 — the
Baron of Renfrew, measuring 5,294 tons. One had been built in 1824 measuring 3,690 tons ; but neither of
these huge wooden craft was a success.

There is no country in the world with a mure important and lucrative lumber and timber trade than
Canada. Britain imports more timber from Canada than from all other countries put together; and the
markets of continental Europe have been opened to our traffic, as well as tliose of the United States, the
Australian Colonies and South America, The Canadian saw-mills are among the most numerous and best
appointed in the world.

The Canadian fisheries are the largest in the world, embracing 5,600 miles of sea coast, be.sides inland
seas and innumerable lakes and rivers. The exports from the products of the fisheries in 1888 amounted to
$17,418,510, besides an estimated home consumption of 100 pounds per inhabitant, giving S13,000,000 more;
thus giving a total of 831,000,000 as the yield from the partially developed Canadian fishevies. The sea
fisheries are well-nigh inexhaustible. The feeding ground of the fish consists of deposits brought down by
the Arctic currents and deposited north of the Gulf Stream, while the seas swarm with myriads of minute
creatures that have their origin in the northern seas. In 1888 Canada had 61,000 men engaged in the
fisheries, and the total value of the fishing plant was nearly $7,000,000. The fisheries of Canada, being a
school in whi^'i so large a proportion of her people are '^rained to maritime pursuits, form an important
element in the prestige of the British Empire. Our fisherraen are among the most enterprising and skilful in
the world, and would doubtless give a good account of themselves in the hour of Britain's need. This, taken
with the fact that tho mercantile marine of Canada has increased to nearly 8,000 vessels, aggregating over
4,000,000 tons, with a value of over $30,000,000, points emphatically to the importance of Canada as a maritime
country. The sea-going, inland and coasting trade employed, in 1888, 164,419 vessels, with a tonnage of
24,006,587 tons, and carrying 1,517,865 men. It may be stated that forty-two per cent, of the total number of
vessels, and seventy-two per cent, of the total tonnage, were steamers, and that seventy -five per cent, of the
whole ocean trade was done under the British flag.

The domestic financial prosperity of Canada may be indicated by the fact that, from the year 1868 to
1889, the bank assets increased from $77,872,257 to $255,765,631, while the liabilities had not proportionally

396

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

increased. The deposits swelled from $32,000,000 to $123,000,000. The paid-up capital invested in banking
on the 30th of June, 1889, was $60,236,451.

The deposits in the savings banks increased from $1,422,047 in 18G8, to $41,371,058 in 1888; the number
of depositors being then estimated at 120,000. This is a certain indication of the prosperity of the working
classes of Canada. Besides these tliere are investments in various loan and building societies, all of which
shew great development. The high quotations of the stock of the leading Canadian banks go to shew that
some of these are the most succe.ssful financial enterprises in the world. In fact, there is less money wasted
in wild and visionary speculation in Canada than elsewhere, for the reason that there is plenty of practical
wo"k to do, and plenty of clear-headed en 1 practical men to do it. And we have no dollars hoarded in vaults
or invested in time-honoured but sluggish enterprises, yielding but a nominal rate per cent. No, all the
money we have is swept into the current of the development of the country, and every dolhir of it does good
to some one or other. Successful finance is especially characteristic of Canada. The same energy, address and
organization which made the Hudson Bay Company a triumphant success amid the frozen regions of the
North is applied to all the public enterprises of Canada, and they are bound to succeed. We are not in
danger from the vices and lotus-eating of a more southern climate. We have no Southern Europe civilization
transported into a Californian wilderness of roses, and geraniums, and hyacinths, and godlessness. The keen
air of Canada infuses a" energy and elasticity into the physique and the intellect which men of Saxon
lineage have never experienced before ; and the Canadian, considering his lineage and traditions, must be a
peaceful man in spite of himself. We believe chere is no more enterprising community in the world than that
in the Province of Ontario. Most of its towns during the last decade have grown as rapidly as tliose in any
part of the modern world, and most of this growth is not due so nmch to locality as to the enterprise of the
people. If Toronto has doubled herself during the last ten years, she may quadruple herself in the next
decade. The projected Hurontario Ship Canal, intended to make Toronto the centre of communication
between the great West and the sea, has doubtless in it the elements of success, forming, as it will, a link in
one of the principal commercial highways of the world. And no doubt the work will be prosecuted with the
energy, ■■♦^d will result in the success, that belongs to Ontario.

In ool, the manufactures of Canada represented an investment of $100,000,000, with a yearly product of
$300,000,000. The investments in saw-mills and flour mills, with the amount of their products, come first, and

iTiTiiiTi'ninwnrtwrft'flBr

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

897

are of the most importance as representing the staples of the country. The next in order come foundry
works, tanneries, boots and shoes, wool, cloth, and so on. Since 1878, the development has been more marked
than during any previous period in the industrial history of Canada. A partial investigation, made in 1884,
shewed that during the six years previous, in the older provinces, there had been an estimated increase of 75
per cent, in the number of hands employed, in the amount of wages paid, and in the capital invested in
Canadian manufactures ; while the products had increased in value 93 per cent.

So the physical development of Canada seems to be well assured ; and in moral and intellectual progress
we are moving abreast of the foremost nations in the world. We are not, of course, without our national
foiiings. Energy and financial ability are prone to deteriorate into craft and unscrupulousness and disregard
c I the rights of others ; but the freedom of the peopl is the best safeguard against these things. The correction
(if abuses is in the power of the people whenever they rise in their strength and exercise that power, and
])erhaps, taken all in all, we have fewer abuses than any other nation. Our only dangers lie in the direction
tf financial and religious tyranny ; and these, let us hope, will disappear as the intelligence and good-feeling of
the people increase. We have no discordant nationalities to harmonize save one — and that is not violent or
dangerous; no rabid and brutal cowardice or pestilential semi-civilization to wash and cleanse and fetch up
into line with the rules of decent life. Perhaps we rather need to be cured of our respectability, to learn to
be what we seem to be, to take that thought and care and consideration of life which our exteriors would
indicate. We hardly know whether the Canadian, as a Canadian, has as yet earned a reputation for kindliness
or not. As one considers it, we rather think he has. We believe that he is just as good a fellow as you
will meet. He has been well brought up, he knows the difference between real right and wrong, he has that
sort of kindliness that one learns in a good home, and cannot learn anywhere else, which one can read some-
where, somehow, between the lines ia all that the grown and strong man does. A people like that must
survive ; there is no killing them ; they will survive the shocks of intrigue and politics and petty ambition,
and come out on the right side somewhere. They must do it ; they cannot help it. The warm and kindly
hand of nature, with the good Providence of God, will surely lead them onward and upward until they
emerge upon a wide and healthful plain of humanity. The patriotic Canadian has many reasons for thank-
fulness and for hope. The .sacredness of the domestic circle, a regard for the proprieties and principles of
religion, free political institution.s, the overshadowing protection of Britain, with all her high traditions

398

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

of life and character — all these are our heritage, and it will be our own fault if they are not turned to
good account.

That we shall have political problems to solve, and political difficulties with which to grapple, there can
be no manner of doubt. But we have this advantage, that their nature is already pretty clearly indicated.
We know from what direction our danger is likely to advance upon us. Our political combinations, by virtue
of their origin and in spite of their magnitude, are infinitely more respectable than the " Tatnmany ring "
variety of political abominations. The development of the country is in itself a worthy object. If the funds
utilized for that purpose have been recklessly or lavishly or selfishly spent, the conditions which brought
about this result have all been perfectly natural, such as may have been expected under the conditions of the
case. And all this was done either directly or indirectly by the delegated power of the people. An
overwhelming majority of the people sanctioned and ratified time and again what had been done, and it is
presumed that they, with their many interests at stake, know in the main what is best for the country.

In theory, every elector represents a fractional part of the commonwealth, and a fractional part of the
authority necessary for its government. And he is also suppo.sed to be an autonomous unit ; he is presumed
to be able to judge for himself in these matters. On the strength of this presumption, the right is given him
to vote. But no sooner is he placed in posses., on of this right than some countervailing infiuence — the very
government perhaps which gave the right, or some other interested influence — endeavours to take it from
him, so that he is left where he has been found, a political cipher, a national nonentity. The only proper
remedy for all this is, of cour.se, to be found in the education of the people ; for it is presumed that an
educated man knows how to make his own living, and hence be independent, and that he knows also what
is best for the country. A responsible government on one side, and an independent electoral unit on the
other side, represent the only true theory of government. As soon as any individual makes a compact,
expressed or otherwise, with another elector to vote on the same side, his attitude to the governing power is
falsified, and we have the beginnings of an im.j)rrium in imperio. And as soon as the government, either
directly or indirectly, brings an influence to bear upon any one elector, the theoretical compact is broken, and
the rights of man have to be re.sumed. Political combination has often been necessary, but it is only
justifiable in self-defence. It is only when the governing power is held in proper solution, when there is no
crystallization around certain centres, that the whole body of the people can be well and legitimately

iuaiLMtJa a

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

899

governed; as it is only under such conditions that the people can be said to be governing themselves. That
this theory of government will ever be realized in practice is not at all probable — it is perhaps impossible.
As long as men have different natures and different gifts, there must be kings and rulers of men in different
departments in the realm of politics as well as in other spheres. The utmost that we can hope for is that
men shall be wisely and justly led — that the future leaders of men shall be above petty selfishness and
narrow personal ambition.

The proper government of the people and the right administration of public affairs ought, in these
enlightened days, to be a matter of pure science ; the domestic legislation of a country ought to be above all
individual interest, above all feeling or passion. For all party heat or political ferment the intelligent citizen
has no place. Modern politics, in English-speaking countries at all events, are not worth fighting about. The
old-fashioned conservatism which clings tenaciously to prestige, which circles gracefully around personality
or rallies around a dead past, may be an agreeable and a loyal thing to contemplate ; but it certainly is not
practical, and may become politically dangerous in combination with elements which ought to be purely
utilitarian or economic. The ultra-radicalism which puts the financial and political and intellectual beggar
ahorseback, and makes him think that he is as good as other people just because he is not, is far worse than
the former. One man is not as good as another until such time as he has made himself so by his mental
and physical industry.

But whatever be the basis or centre of the political organization, it is always dangerous to the welfare
and safety of the commonwealth unless it be checked, and this can be done only by combining against it ; so
political combination is always an evil and a mischief. Yet, as man is constituted, it is the only condition
of advancement. Man, inert and passive in the dark ages, emerged from a dead and effortless political unity,
and appears worthily upon the page of history battling for his rights, combining against the physical forces
which kept him down for centuries — and so the battle has gone on. But he is working toward another and
a better unity and equality — a unity and equality of knowledge and comfort and virtue ; and the triumph
of most political organizations and the defeat of others tend to this result. Man's progress resembles the
track of a ship in a head wind ; at best he advances only ui an oblique direction, and often is driven back by
the opposing forces in the midst of wJiich he lives. But inactivity — rest — is destructive, annihilative to all
things living — to all life. Life Is a • onstant struggle with death: so, as long as man exists, ho must ol

I ■ — ■ JJiB > nag . 7VW iaaM«;-n

400

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

necessity be struggling ; but some time in the future the struggle will be transferred to a higher and nobler and
more sublime region — men will then be struggling to make themselves and each other better than they are.

Political combination is well parodied in the remark of the Irishman who stood with a companion watching
the working of a steam-shovel. " Begorra," said the friend, "look at the cratur, Pat, it's doin' the work of a
hundred of us." " Arrah, whist — the baste hasn't got a vote," was the answer. But, ten chances to one, the steam-
shovel, or the forces behind it, controlled a thousand votes, though not in so obtrusive and blatant a manner as
Pat paraded his. The Irishman soon learns to combine when he touches the sacred soil of America ; political
influence is something refreshingly new to him, and he hardl}' knows how to deport himself amid the exhilara-
tion of his new surroundings. He has a vote, yes, but he is far too noisy about it ; and the quiet, inexorable
financial conditions of the country render Pat powerless after all. The Jew is a thousand times more powerful
in the civilized world than the Irishman, though there are few of us ever think so. It matters very little who
are our aldermen or petty local officials, while Shylocks are at the head of the world's finances, and have it in
their power to say when there shall be war and when there shall be peace among the nations of the earth. Yet
the Celt is not always noisy and demonstrative. He has a quiet, respectable, gain-loving way about him too,
and it is then that he begins to be really powerful. But then he becomes more intelligent, and understands
something about the true interest of the country, as being his own interest, and conducts himself accordingly.
His material interest is certainly the first considei'ation in the average man's politics ; and, in a general way,
it is right that it should be so. That is what the State is for, to look after the material interest of the citizen,
to see that his life is hampered by no unjust conditions. It is the business of the State to see that every man
is enabled to make the most of his own industry. Whenever it becomes necessary for the State to interfere in
a higher realm than this, there is inevitable friction and class feeling. Whenever the Church and State invade
each other's territory, then results trouble for the nation ; and as soon as it is necessary to appeal to outward
authority for direction in those things which .should be controlled fr m the heart and the conscience, the
government of a country is invading a realm which does not of right belong to it. A man can perform his
duties as a citizen, and indeed all his other duties, only in the light of eternal truth and justice, and he must
be intelligent and good enough to know something about eternal truth and justice. If every man knew what
was right, and had moral courage enough to do it, we should be in no danger from political combination — it
could find no place.

CAPE CLEAR.

I i

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

401

Canada has had many advantages : A long colonial history, as interesting in its early romance and
self-devotion as in its modern hardihood, intelligence and enterprise. The St. Lawrence is the most romantic,
as well as the most magnificent river in North America. The early touch of French idealism yet redeems
Canada from the prosaic and the commonplace, did not the magnificent scenery, the superb waterway into
the heart of the country, bearing on its bosom the commerce of half a continent, render that unnecessary. A
land like Canada needed no romantic setting — a land of river and lake, fertile field and majestic forest,
of thundering torrent and limitle.ss prairie, of peaceful, winding stream and snow-clad mountain peak, was
romantic enough in itself. But when we call to mind the many heroic, devoted lives that were sacrificed
in the achievement of her destiny, we are led to exclaim. What manner of men were the pioneers of Canada !
When one contemplates the hardy and enduring men who faithfully served their masters in the interests of
adventurous trade from Labrador to Alaska, and helped to give tone and stability to the early commerce of
the country, we can surely conclude that Canada had no weaklings for her founders. The best, the hardiest
and choicest of earth's blood had to do with her beginnings. The devoted Jesuit father, the hardy voltigeur,
the patient, enduring fur-trader, the chivalrous Montcalm, the heroic Wolfe, the inflexible Amherst, the thrifty
and adventurous merchant, the staid and industrious English and Scotch farmer, the scholar and the scientist,
have all combined to lay the foundations of Canada deep and strong. We have seen how the natural
difficulties of their magnificent country called forth and systematized the energies of the people, and taught
them to grapple with kindly nature in that contest to which she invites the industrious and the persevering,
with the sure promise of victory. And that victory has been gained. Nature quietly reposes amid her
exuberant wealth and smiles upon her sons who have solved her rede.

That we have discordant elements to be reconciled is indeed true ; that we have the ideas of different
races and epochs to harmonize, and to be taught habits of consideration and patience and forbearance, is only
too apparent. That these diflerent ideas lie at the very basis of man's existence, and may have far-reaching
and serious results, is also true. Yet it may be that these diff'erences survive among us in order that we may
be taught temper and moderation, and a real respect for the different opinions and convictions of humanity.
That our politicians often take advantage of these diflferences of race and belief in order to advance their own
interest, and thereby aggravate the evil and accentuate the difficulties that lie in the way of a mutual
accommodation, is also an uninspiring fact. Differences of race and tradition and religious views, can
26

[

Ii I

402

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

never be settled in the political arena. They can be thus aggravated, but not appeased. Reconciliation can
only come from the intelligence, the wisdom, and the real goodness of men. The sense of justice is a
diotinctive quality among us, and no doubt the same strong and even hand which has heretofore dealt kindly
with conflicting opinions and ebullitions of religious or party spirit, will continue to rule with moderation,
and, when needed, with firmness.

So Canada, with her magnificent and varied resources, her skill and energy, need not fear for the future.
Canadians are naturally of forceful and energetic character. It cannot be said that we have as yet
developed any qualities which are distinctively national, and perhaps we never shall. The day for the
formation of distinctively national character may have gone by forever ; and indeed this may not be a
cause for regret. Perhaps — it is almost certain — the world suffers to-day more from national character,
so called, than it gains by it. The cause and the warrant of national differences are fast disappearing. There
will soon come a time when, national differences — that is, differences productive of strife and turmoil and
mutual destruction — will be meaningless. The less of the nation there is about us in these modern days, in
a sense, the better ; all of good that the nation has hitherto taught us, all of humanity and intelligence and
intensity — for all these we are responsible. They are implements with which to work in the wider field of
the world. As it is almost impossible to tell the nationality of a perfectly cultured man — of one who,
Ulysses- like, has seen many men and many climes — so it is impossible to traverse the higher fields of humanity
without divesting oneself of national narrowness and national prejudice. Daniel Deronda, a Jew by birth,
an Englishman by education and culture, goes to the Ea.st on a mission of humanity. Burns affects the
heart of humanity, not because he was a Scotsman, but because he was a true .son of Nature. We once heard
a young American saying, "I admire Longfellow — he was a grand fellow — he was a true American." No
doubt he was a patriotic American, if that is what the young man meant ; but America did not give him
his heart. In so far as he speaks truly to men and women, he is no American at all, any more than he is an
Englishman, or a German, or a Frenchman. Homer and Virgil and Demosthenes and Tacitus are as excellent
to us as to the ancients. Milton is sublime to the Italian, and so is Dantd to the Englishman, and Shakespeare
can hold spell-bound the whole of Europe. The first thing the pioneers of Christianity had to do was to
unlearn Judaism ; but it was hard work, and perhaps they did not all triumphantly master the difficulty.
Jesus of Nazareth was less a Jew than any son of Abraham that ever lived. Humanly speaking, He under-

THE DOMINION OF CANADA.

stood the Jewish cult; He was a Jew in that respect. He was the only being of His age who did understand
it, who comprehended its true significance ; and He taught men to make a right, and not a perverse use of it.
So, while distinctively British and British-Canadian, let us strive to be cosmopolitan as well. We are
inviting to our land men of many nationalities ; let us see to it that we provide them with a large place;
But let us remember that breadth and scope are apt to degenerate into laxity and the confounding of moral
distinctions; for the purity, the vigour, the intens'r/ that keep men right we have to look above all nationality
— beyond the age of nations and of worlds.

404

CAPE HKETON ILLUSTRATED.

I ii

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPE BRETON FOR TOURISTS.

THE eastern part of Cape Breton lies nearer to Europe than any other part of the continent south of
the St. Lawrence. If this island, in our age of rapid transit and modern development, possesses any
of its ancient " importance and advantaj^e," it must consist in this fact.

The Canadian Pacific Railway is the shortest of the three great trans-continental lines, the distance from
Montreal to Vancouver being six hundred miles less than that from New York to San Francisco. Montreal
lies almost directly west of Sydney or Louisburg, so that a direct line of railway, almost on the same parallel
of latitude, could be built from the east coast of Cape Breton to that city. Sydney or Louisburg is closer to
Europe by five or six hundred miles than is Boston or New York ; and, reckoning the distance from Halifax
to Truro by rail, almost three hundred miles nearer than Halifax. An express train runs at double the speed
of the fastest ocean steamship. The sooner, therefore, the traveller can get on shore, the better. So without
cjuestion the route from Europe to the Pacific Coast, via Cape Breton and Montreal, is the shortest of any
south of the St. Lawrence.

The shortest sea-voyage from Britain to America is certainly to the east point of Labrador. But thi.s
coast is accessible for only f /ur months of the year, and sometimes not that ; the length of the voyage, too,
would be uncertain and the danger great. The harbour of Sydney, the ancient resort of the Spanish fishermen,
though one of the finest sheets of water and one of the most splendid anchorages in the world, is closed to
navigation, generally speaking, for four or five months in the year. The drift ice in the spring is the most
serious impediment, sometimes extending forty or fifty miles off the shore — occasionally the entire passage
between Cape Ray and the Island of Cape Breton is obstructed. During the early winter months the local ice
would present less difficulty. The harbour of North Sydney, at all events, could be kept open for the purposes
of an important commerce. But the harbour of Louisburg is the only one in Cape Breton which is perfectly
safe, easy of access, and practically free from ice. It is almost entirely land-locked, easier of access from the

NORTH SYDNEY.

'I ;

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPE BRETON FOR TOURISTS.

405

east than any other harbour on the Atlantic coast; and, with the exception of an occasional blockade of drift-
ice in the spring, practically free from obstruction. A steamship making for Halifax or Boston is nearly as
much under the necessity of avoiding drift-ice in the spring as if she were bound for Louisburg. By kpeping
to the south on n^.eeting with any such obstruction, and then steering directly for Louisburg, there would
rarely, if ever, ba any difficulty in effecting an entrance, as the ice very seldom is found on the south shore of
Cape Breton in masses sufficiently formidable to arrest the movements of a powerful steamer.

The distance from Liverpool to Japan and China is shortened by the Canadian line, as it now exists, by a
thousand miles, and would be still further shortened by the proposed route via Cape Breton. So, in forming
a link in the chain of rapid transit round the world, and conseciuently in facilitating the passage from Britain
to her East Indian dominions, this route possesses manifest advantages over any other during all seasons of
the yuar.

The claims of Louisburg to be selected as the winter port have been often enough before the public, and
hp.ve been embodied in w^hat has been said above. But for purposes of rapid communication, Louisburg, as
we have said, possesses manifest advantages in summer as well as in winter, occupying, as it does, a point in a
more direct line from Britain to Montreal than that traversed by any other route.

The Maritime Provinces, in consequence of geographical facts, were left out in the cold at the time of
Confederation. The commerce of the Dominion — of the northern parts of the continent — sweeps past us to
the North and South. That we should have an outlet of trade ever our territory competent to compete with
the magnificent waterway of the St. Lawrence in summer i.i, of course, not in the nature of things. To the
west of us, and communicating with the American shore at easy distances, is a system of railway and river and
canal that put the long, roundabout route of the Intercolonial out of the question for any quantity of heavy
articles of exportation. The Intercolonial was to have made Halifax the wharf of the Dominion ; it is as far
from that enviable distinction as ever, and never can be the wharf of the Dominion. It is not natural that it
should be so. Halifax has not fared well under Confederation. The Canadian "drummer" has inundated
the Maritime Provinces, and brought dull times upon Halifax, where there is not much manufacturing done.
A protective policy does not do the Halifax people much good. We are not going to say whose fault it is, but
these are the facts. The Upper Provinces had the start of us in manufactures. We are just learning to creep
in this department in the Maritime Provinces. But we are not at all in despair. Some of our little towns

400

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

are doing very well, and would make a good shewing iri comparison with towns of like size in any part of
the world.

The Intercolonial road, at the same time, was not without its uses. It served a good purpose in a
military sense : it unified the provinces, and first opened communication by rail between them. But it has
not done what was promised for it, and it never can.

It is not probable that the bulk of import O'- export from Canada will ever move through the Maritime
Provinces. Commerce will follow its natural channels. But, for purposes of x-apid transportation, it does not
appear that there is any railway terminus so eligible on the east coast of North America as Cape Breton. It
is rumoured that the Canadian Pacific Railway syndicate are consi<iering the advisability of ac(|uiring the
management of the railway between Truro and Sydney. This movement, we believe, would be the making of
Cape Breton, and would realize the dreams of many of her people. There is no doubt that passengers and
the lighter articles of a multifarious coi^merce could be moved by this route faster than by any other. In
fact, one cannot conceive the Canadian Pacific Railway doing a wiser or more consistent thing. It naturally
would seem to be a part — a necessary part — of their gigantic and comprehensive policy. They might just as
well have fast steamers from Cape Breton as from Vancouver, and thus complete a magnificent system of
communication from Britain to Japan and China. Steamships now exist that could make the run from
Liverpool to Cape Breton in about four days ; and, no doubt, the time will yet be reduced to three days. It
is difficult to see how these statements can be invalidated, or what is to prevent their accomplishment.

So much for the " importance and advantage " of Cape Breton as a terminus in the line of rapid com-
munication round the world — as a point in the shortest route from Britain westward to the East Indies — the
shortest and most convenient route practicable all the year round. Thus fai- these remarks have been purely
theoretical, and without reference to locali; ms or local interest ; but, viewed from a Cape Breton standpoint,
the claims of this island might be put in a more urgent and emphatic manner.

Were the terminus of the C. P. R. extended to Cape Breton, the steam tonnage which would naturally
be attracted in this direction w'ould afi^brd an outlet for our coal. In these days of keen competiti n it seems
to be a problem where we are to find a profitable market for this, the most important product of the island.
In many other minor ways the location of an important railway terminus here would certainly conduce to
the prosperity of this eastern outpost of the Dominion. In th(! presence of the rerjuisite facilities, trade and

ATTI^ACThhVS OF CAPE nKETOh' FOR TOURISTS.

407

travel spring up we know not liow, and railways arc often rendered profitable in districts wliere it had been
difficult to see where the trade was to come from. For example, fresh fish might be sent from iiere into the
heart of the Dominion, and tlnis an impetus be given to our local fislieries, and Cape Breton made an
important centre of the deep-sea fishery, as it has been already in its history.

Our farmers are everywhere complaining that local markets are too small and unimportant for their
products ; and, as a consequence, that industry is languishing all over the island — dragging out a dying
existence. To the monotony of farm life is added the crtishing disadvantage that .o <loes not pay. Some of
tht! (ine.st farming districts in the Dominion are in ('ape lireton, but they are now doing V(!ry little. The
young people will not farm. The conditions of a farmer's life in this country are tof) hard for them. They
arc going off literally in troops to the States. It is difficult to find a hotise ir Cape Breton from which
from one to half a dozen of its members are not in New England. Many of these are forced to go in order
to live. They knuw not what else to do. And many of them are helping to sup])ort their relatives from
there too, and are .sending them home money. This is a hard ease for the country, but it is true. It is no
wonder that the island is becoming Americanized. It is natural that it should. Men do not generally
quarrel v/ith their bread and butter, if they can help it.

Cape Breton men abound in the American fisheries. They could work as well and better from home if
they had the proper incentives, and they would save more money, and be far better men. Lunenburg is
now the ua prosperous fishing town in the world, yet thirty years ago the grass was threatening to invade
its streets. AH that our people need is just a connnencement. They have enterprise and daring enough, as
is very well known, and they only need to imbibe the idt that they can lie profitably used at home.

Our Qo\ rmicnt has ])een fiinging money broadcast, east and west, north and south, for the development
of the country, yet certain portions of our country have been arrested in their development for want of
means and appliances. It is surely not too much to expect that a right proportion of these resources, which
have been .spent directly or indirectly for the development of the country, .should find their way in our
directinii, in order thai, the development of these districts, where they are capable of development, may b<>
carried on from the point at which it has been arrested. If a goverinnent has anything to do with the growth
of a country, if it has any function at all in that direction, it is surely its duty to prevent its people from
becoming denationalized and expatriated.

408

CAPE BR ETON ILLUSTRATED.

111

I X I

The delights and blandishments of American civilization have their attractions for our younor people,
sometimes to their ow^n undoing. Young people do not like to farm when they can do anything which they
think better. Now, if we had more of the means and appliances of modern civilization at home, occupations
and employments of different sorts and kinds would be created, and our young folks could find work here.
The people of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton have always been great wanderers — like the people of old Scotia,
and for the same reason ; we have been out of the track of the world's commerce, and our people have
increased faster than our industries. If the Maritime Provinces had retained their natural increase of
population, and been able to find employment for them, we should by this time have had some millions
of a population.

It is true that we have now in Cape Breton a railway through the centre of the island, from the Strait
of Canso to the harbour of Sydney. And this railway is a great convenience. You can now travel from
Sydney to the Strait in three or four hours. Formerly the journey in winter time sometimes occupied as
many days. The snow banks used to be .somewhat obtrusive, and impeded the liberty of the subject. The
locomotive now bowls merrily along where the di.sgusted horse used to be winking with his ears — the only
visible part of his anatomy — out of the snow-drifts. This taste of railway has only whetted the appetite of
the people for more. They .say now they need a railway along both the south .".nd north shores — the former
within reach of Arichat and the settlements along the south shore as far as Louisburg and Main a Dieu ; the
latter to Port Hood, Mabou, Marijaree to Badilock, and thence down the north shore to the neighbourhood of
Cape Smoke. It is said that the system of railways in Cape Breton would then be complete. There is quite
a population along the.se districts, and no doubt the presence of a railway would stimulate intercourse and
benefit all these settlements which are now comparatively isolated. The very fact that people are clamouring
for railroads, and feeling the want of them, indicates that use would be made of them were they constructed.

But, apart altogether from the consideration that Cape Breton is a desirable eastern terminus for the
rapid transit trade of the continent, the island stands unrivalled in the eastern part of America as a summer
resort. The scenery, the climate, the position, and the historic interest attaching to this part of the Dominion,
are unequalled. This is just beginning to be known, or, at all events, to be realized. And it cannot be said
that the people have done a great deal to make it known. Strangers have come in some way or other to find
it out for themselves, apparently. Tourists have been flocking in considerable numbers to the island during

HRST PASSENGER CAR.

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPE BRETON FOR TOURISTS.

409

the present summer, many of whom were unable to remain for want of suitable accommodation. We have
here no hotels such as people of that description require. The localities where our finest scenery, our moat
desirable summer resorts, are found, are entirely destitute of any such modern conveniences. Every house
is, of course, a private hotel, and the folks will take you in with primitive, matter-of-fact hospitality ; but that
does not do. As a country for tourists and health-seekers, the island needs development as much as in other
departments, and more so. We are positively unequipped and unfurnished ; we haven't begun to keep house
in that way yet. But the demand will create the supply, and no doubt before long we shall have first-class
hotels in our best localities. And these places are not easy of access. The way to them must be a perfect
puzzle and labyrinth to anyone who does not know the country. You can reach some of these places only by
dint of hard work and determination. The whole country needs to be opened up and brought within the
limits of rational and convenient travel.

Everyone, of course, knows how to get to Halifax, or if he doesn't he can easily find out. After you
reach Halifax, you can get to Sydney or North Sydney in a day, after a rather tedious journey and a good
deal of unnecessary delay. So far so good ; but then what ? Why, if you want to see the finest scenery in
the island, and to spend the pleasantest and most invigorating holiday you ever had in your life, yoi must
get a team at North Sydney — the stronger it is the better — and start for Ingonish or Cape North, a
distance of a hundred miles or so. "What," you .say, "drive a hundred miles ?" Now, don't get angry and
kick things about, even if you are a Conservative. We told you the country wasn't developed, even if it is
in Canada, and if you want to see things in Cape Breton you have to woi-k for it ; and we take it for granted
you are a hardy sort of fellow, and not given to minding trifle.s. Well, you drive to Little Bras d'Or, a
distance of four miles, where you will see some of the most picturesque .scenery of its kind you ever beheld —
some of these landscapes cannot be excelled anywhere. Then you drive across the magnificent Island of Boular-
darie to the Great Bras d'Or ferry. Here the scenery begins to be grand and magnificent. A long battalion of
majestic green hills stretches away on your right as far as you can see, rising almost precipitously out of the
turbid blue waters, for the current here runs strong and sometimes plays strange antics with the unwary boat.
Nothing can be grander ^han the sight of this endless, solid wall of living green. Here and there the cliffs
jut out from the mass of vegetation with which they are covered, suggestive of the strength of vhe everlasting
hills, while their green heads, garlanded with delicate tracery of deepest emerald, are sharply defined against

410

CAPF. P.RETON ILLUSTRATED.

the sapphire sky. Or see these hills on a day of mist and wind and rain. The vapour hang.s in a solid curtain
half way down the height, as if their tops held .secret and awful converse with Him who settled their deep
foundations. This is a fitting home for the children of the Gael. The hills of " Loch na Gar " are here
reproduced, with their steep, frowning glories. Surely the ".shades of the dead," with whom the strong and
dark spirit of Byron loved to converse, have followed their sons across the western wave, and are now keeping
watch and ward among these eternal hills.

Leaving Great Bras d'Or you scramble along a wretched road by the water-side (the country not being
developed) for two miles. Then you urge your refractory steeds up a diagonal ascent to a height of six
or seven hundred feet, and pass over a table-land for about four miles, and then the weight of your wagon
shoves the apparently unwilling horses down to St. Ann's (Englishtown). Tl is was the ancient resort of
the French fishermen, and no wonder ; it is one of the most magnificent sheets of water in the world, but the
entrance is not deep. Here you can cross by ferry if you like; but if your object is to see the country, and
no doubt it is, you will drive all round the harbour of St. Ann's. You will stop your team every hundred
yards or so, to observe some kaleidoscopic change in the gorgeous panorama around you. If you do not
happen to think of it, if you should be musing about your sins or something else, your horse will glance
around with a look of reproach, as much as to say, " Don't you see that ? " and then, doubtless, you' will see
it. Keeping round the head of St. Ann's Bay, and down the west side, y )u come to the North River. Do not
pass that, but drive up the river as far as you can go, which is about nve or six miles, and you will be
repaid. Here arc landscapes which can scarcely be surpassed. If you have the eye and the hand and the
touch of an artist, you will want to stay here a week, and will cast a " longing, lingering look behind " when
you leave. Here are intervales of intensest green, sentineled by fantastic conclaves of mighty hills, riven
by tremendous gorges through which rush the tributary brooklets of the North River, which winds and
gleams and glitters between its emerald banks to the distant .sea. Do not forget to see the " Lion's Head,"
a majestic eminence re.sembling a "lion couchant," keeping watch, as it were, over this enchanted land.

Leaving the North River you can drive, if you like, through a back settlement called Tarbert. Here
are some splendid, secluded woodland views, little green flats surrounded by ever-varying groups of mighty
hills, beneath whose .shelter there nestles some tiny homestead, accentuating by its littleness the grandeur of
its environments. Coming out again to the sea, you presently arrive at Indian Brook. At the outlet of

LION'S HEAD, NORTH RIVER.

ATTRACTIONS OP CAPE BRETON FOR TOURISTS.

411

this brook there is a magnificent scene visible as you pass along the highway. The banks of this brook are,
for the most part, precipitous heights ; in some places the Titanic cliffs rise sheer overhead to a height of
two hundred feet. A couple of miles up this stream is a waterfall, buttressed by tremendous jagged rocks,
between which the water rushes down into a natural basin. This is a grand and stately spectacle — there
is nothing moi'e sublime in the Maritime Provinces — but it is hard work getting here. You procure a guide,
and you climS up and tumble down over wooded steep, and fallen tree, and jagged rock, until at last you
find yourself, if your ^uide hasn't lost himself, two hundred feet directly over the base of the cataract.
Then you begin to climb, or slide, or tumble down, whichever you can do the best, holding on to trees and
twigs, until at last you find yourself upon the stony bed of the shrunken brook, for it is summer time, and
then you can see what a grand and majestic scene towers above and surrounds you.

Leaving Indian Brook you drive along what is known as the North Shore for a distance of twenty
miles or so. This place is settled all along by fanners and fishermen. On your left, at some distance from
the road in most places, runs a continuous ridge of hills from 800 to 1,000 feet high. These present a grand
and imposing appearance. They form one of the ribs of the north-east part of Cape Breton, and terminate
in Cape Smoke, which tumbles suddenly down into the Atlantic from a height of 1,100 feet. What convul-
sions of nature there must have been about here in olden times ! The material of which Cape Breton is
made has certainly been heaved about in chaotic fashion. Just look at it on the map. It does not look quite
so remarkable now, of course, as it did in the hands of the old geographers, but it is remarkable enough yet,
and always will remain so. But a look at the map of Cape Breton gives one no idea of the manner in which
nature has tortured her ingenuity in devising picturesque and grand surprises for her children. Why, in
Little Bras d'Or the water at one point, about a quarter of a mile from the .shore, goes sheer down to a depth
of two hundred fathora.s. What an awful hole ! The imagination creeps to think what there might be down
there. And then, not far off, there is a hill five or six hundred feet high ; so here is a difference of level of
nearly two thousand feet. It seems as if nature had here realized one of her wild, fantastic dream.s — had
turned it into substance for the wonderment of her worshippers — ami smiles with her glorious sun upon the
triumph, or anon spreads over all the witching mystery of the moonlit night, half concealing yet revealing
infinitely more than she has done.

But we are approaching " Smoky," as it is now familiarly called. It sounds more dignified d la

:Lt::r^r m,f^-^^.am*

412

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

I I

Francaise, " Cap Enfumd." The road winds up the southern side of the promontory for a distance of a
mile or more before you reach the table-land at the top. This is a tliousand feet or more above the level of
the sea, which lies directly at your feet. We crossed here for the first time on a silent, moonlight night, and
we shall never forget the .scene. The stars never seemed so clo.se to us as froin the top of this height, owing,
no doubt, to the absence of vapour in this upper atmosphere. Our thoughts wandered far back to the spring-
tide of humanity, when Eastern sages watched their flocks by night and saw the .silent stars of God go by,
and pondered of Him and His ways and His dealings with men ; to the days when life was earnest and
without hurry, because it was linked to God ; when faith was real and passion dignified ; when the soul of
man did not fritter itself to nothingness in the petty vices of an empty civilization. Men love strength, and
so the fathers of the nations are represented as men who loved and hated, who sinned and sorrowed,
who struggled and trusted like giants, and came triumphantly through it all. Men like to regard them
now as a " great cloud of witnesses," viewing the same fight in which so many of them lost present life and
name and fame, and won a lasting name before God and man. Far beneath and around lies the dreaming,
moonlit sea, stretching away to the limitless horizon, for sky and ocean are blending in a hazy silver sheen.
The soft moonlight floods athwart some deep and shaggy gorge that yawns down and down and down,
directly at your feet, where hundreds of feet below, and through its gigantic portals, you see some far new
vista of gleaming sea.

This Cape is one of the eastern bulwarks of North America, and proudly he lords it over the Atlantic
wave. The mighty deep, lashed into fury by the eastern tempest, thunders in vain against this eternal
rampart. But now the restless giant lies sleeping under the misty veil of night, and the languid wavelets
whisper caressingly to the black, jagged rocks, which but yesterday they rushed on in endless phalanx to
assail. Such is the way of the unstable sea. This proud ocean-mountain has seen many sights from his
lofty watch-tower since he first descried the quaint little ships of the early discoverer.^ timorously creeping
along the far horizon. Many a time has he seen the hostile fleets of France and England sweeping north or
south, eager-winged, charged with the thunder of battle. This promontory derives its name from the fact
that in dull weather, and often in fine weather too, its summit is concealed by a cloud of vapour, like a pillar
of cloud guarding this eastern outpost of Canada. Should you cross " Smoky " on one of his misty days
you will not have very much for your pains except the cHrob and a thorough wetting.

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPE liRETON FOR TOURISTS.

4in

But what is the use of talking ? Come and see these things for yourself, and then you will know. The
eye and the soul alone can do justice to them. After crossing two or three miles of table-land — these Cape
Breton mountain ridges are all Hat on tho top — you find that you have passed over the mighty shoulders of
this giant promontory, and you begin to descend on the Ingonish side. And now take your hat ofi', or whatever
headgear you have on — take care you don't catch cold — for you are about to see the finest sight in the Maritime
Provinces. Yes, we will repeat it and stick to it; and so will you, after you see it. From the northern
shoulder of " Smoky," about half way down the descent, the settlement and harbour of Ingonish and the
distant outline of the Cape North range of mountains, burst upon the view. The prospect has hitherto
been obstructed by trees. There are, in fact, three harbours at Ingonish — a north, a south and an inner
harbour. Directly at your feet lies the village, built for the most part upon a broad beach which forms a
natural breakwater to the inner harbour. The north and south harbours are separated by a rugged ridge
of land extending seaward, at the extremity of which is Ingonish Island. From this point you rannot see
" Smoky," of course. The Cape is away on your right, hidden bj' the woods. But the scene to the front and
left of you is one of surpassing grandeur. Away in the distance extends the long line of hills which
suddenly fall into the ocean at Cape North. Thin layers of mist are reposing on the declivities of these
hills, above which you see the long line of their summits. Nearer at hand is the opposite shore of the north
harbour, well cultivated and sprinkled with the white houses of the inhabitants. Still closer is the uneven
barrier which separates the north and south harbours. The latter is directly below you — a sheet of water
extending two or three miles in each direction. But the inner harbour is the most striking feature in the
landscape. It is a landlocked basin, hemmed in by rugged, precipitous hilts, heaving up their huge masses to
a height of twelve or thirteen hundred feet. The entrance to this basin is very narrow, and is guarded by a
picturesque-looking lighthouse. It was recently defended by a breakwater ; but old Ocean, in one of his
tantrums, knocked this to pieces, and there is little of it remaining. The inner harbour is as quiet as a
mill-pond the most of the time, though subject to sudden gusts of wind that rush furiously between the
mountains. The hills recede from its northern shore for some distance, and the lower space of deepest green
is dappled with isolated masses of plaster cliff and the neat little white cottages of the fishermen. The view
seaward from this point is one of wonderful beauty on a calm summer evening. In the foreground is the
molten glory of the sea, reflecting shaggy mountain and crimson sky and lighthouse and strand and village

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414

CAPE BRETON iLLVStRATED.

and white cliiF and cottage with a distinctness and reality that makes you doubt which is the substance and
which the shadow.

Away in the distance on your right is the huge ' le of the promontory, rising out of the translucent sea.
On your left the rugged yet soft beauty of cliff and cotw/e and verdant field and picturesque knoll. The sun
is resting for a moment on the verge of yon shaggy height, so that ere he departs he may flood all with a
partirg glow of glory. Ere long the witching moonlight will steal wistfully and tremblingly upon the
unconscious earth, and hold him spellbound beneath the weird magic of her mystic veil. Now step into some
tiny boat and move slowly up this inner harbour as far as you can go, perhaps about two miles, between those
dark and silent mountains. At the head of the waters the sea creeps up into a narrow creek between the
stupendous hills, as if he had come here to mood and grieve over his mad passions. We seem to hear at
intervals the long, deep sigh of the night, and all is still again. Nature seems comforting her weary forces
with the premonitions of eternal rest. Here is perfect and utter isolation — no one is here to see — and you
can confess to tjie spirit of the night what perhaps she knows only too well already, and grieves to know it,
and would fain send you home shriven and strengthened for the battle of life.

Before leaving Ingonish you should visit the island. Here is a lighthouse 237 feet above the sea, near
which are tremendous cliffs rising sheer out of the water. At the mouth of a rocky gorge in these cliffs
towers an isolated pillar of rock to the height of nearly a hundred feet. It is the most striking object on the
coast of the provinces. Go and sec it. If you are living hundreds of miles from Cape Breton it will pay you
to come and spend here — at Ingonish we mean — your summer holiday. There is positively no place like it
for this purpose on the Atlantic coast. People go nowadays first to the sea and then to the mountains. Go
to both together — come to Ingonish. If you want to spend eleven weeks or seven weeks or three weeks, or
three months or two months, as the H'ghlandmen say, come to Ingonish. You can walk and you can drive —
there are splendid drives about — and you can climb and you can tumble and roll down some hundreds of feet
if you like, and get up again all the better for it. You can sail and row and fish and bathe, and breathe the
purest and most invigorating air in America^ and see the finest ocean scenery on the continent. Yes you can.
There is not the slightest doubt about it. If you happen to be — no, it's most likely you are — a benedict, bring
your wife along with you, and get a tent and some things somewhere, and commence house-keeping anew.
There is a tremendous mountain here called " Franey's Chimney." It Is thirteen or fourteen hundred feet

SENTINEL, INGONISH ISLAND.

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPE BRETON FOR TOURISTS.'

415

high. Mrs. Franey (we never knew the woman) was never debilitated by stove heat. Neither will your wife
be if she gets up there. It would be a tiptop place to do your cooking. You would have a fine appetite for
your meal by the time you got up there, and you would have it finely digested by the time you got down.
It would take you ths most or all of your time to get backwards and forwards to your meals, and to eat
them, for you would develop a portentous appetite ; and " Franey 's Chimney " would doubtless be kept
smoking a good part of the time, much to the wonderment of the natives of the country. The worst of these
Cape Breton mountains is that there is no path to the top of them. They are not used to it ; and you are
apt to lose j'ourself going up, and just as apt to lose yourself coming down. This is, indeed, quite a serious
business. The mountain side is so steep and rugged, and so matted with underbrush, that you need to be
constructed something like an ironclad in order to get through. Ingonish was quite a settlement in old French
times. There was a chapel here, the bell of which was found on the beach some years ago, as we have seen.
As two hundred militiamen were said to be available, there must have been quite a population at that
place. Fishing is still the principal occupation, but our shore fisheries are failing fast, and consequently the
outlook is not very promising. The fishermen here are smart and determined-looking fellows, and it is a pity
they are not doing so well as formerly.

But you may ask : " How am I to get to Ingonish ? Must I drive sixty or seventy miles from Sydney
to get there ? " Well, the steamer Harlaw calls there once a fortnight, we think it is ; and there is a little
packet that goes from Sydney once a week or so, and these are the only present means of getting there,
except yod drive. By-and-by we .shall, no doubt, have a proper steamer service from Sydney to Ingonish
and Cape North — probably it would pay well in the summer time. As soon as tourists begin to find out
what sort of a place it is, doubtless suitable accommodation will be provided.

Leaving the south settlement of Ingonish, you drive round the head of the south, and then of the north
harbour, until you come nearly opposite Ingonish Island, where you strike off" to your left for Aspy Bay,
twenty-four miles distant. You soon begin to ascend a high ridge of land, up and up and up almost as high
as " Smoky." Across this plateau you traverse a region of chaotic wildness, where the road is in places simply
desperate. Twelve miles ahead is " Half-way House," built by the Government for the accommodation
of travellers. A mile or more from this point, upon the .shore, is Neil's Harbour, a fishing settlement.
Pushing onward six or seven miles farther, you come ouj upon the .southern settlements in the neighbourhood

416

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

of Aspy Bay, which at its head is divided into three separate harbours (so called). You now see close at hand
the long barrier of mountains which ends abruptly in Cape North, and forms the northern backbone of Cape
Breton. Cape North itself, from this point of view, though so wild and rugged, plunges not altogether
ungracefully into the depths of the Atlantic. Its stern and majestic outline conforms somewhat to the line
of beauty .Five or six miles inland from the Cape can be distinguished the " Sugar Loaf," the highest land in
these parts. You can readily perceive its superior height, but it has not the grandeur of many of its majestic
companions. It has a narrow, contracted look, and shoots up in a sharp, unsymmetrical, pyramid-shaped peak
into the sky. In fact, it has a mean, ugly sort of look, and breaks the majestic outline of the chain of hills
of which it is a member. But it is the first thing that attracts your notice when you approach Aspy Bay,
and while in this region you seem to see it all the time. Driving around Aspy Bay, you pass some very
beautiful landscapes. This is a variegated district — land and sea, fertile intervale and wooded mountain, grove
and meadow, field and stream, gigantic white plaster cliff and thrifty farm studded with sleek and beautiful
cattle, and abounding in the richest of milk and Celtic respectability and gravity and hospitality. How grave
and hospitable these people are ! Such rolls and cake and milk ! And all as grave and stately as a Spanish
feast of state. A Gaelic grace from ten to twenty minutes before you begin — by this time you are famishingly
hungry — and another, five minutes long, at the end. If you are tired climbing up and rolling down hill all
day long, and go to bed early, you will probably hear, before you go to sleep, a Gaelic psalm sung and the
Scriptures read and prayer of primitive length offered. Probably the mother has a fine voice, and leads with
clearness and confidence the family choir. The father accompanies in somewhat tardier bass notes, while
the little ones follow in what order and at what intervals they best may. We hardly know how to express it,
but a soldier would say, " They sing in echelon." But they are very worthy people, a little narrow-minded
and penurious, perhaps, but where are the faultless ? People are the outcome of their history and traditions
and environments — we would all be about alike were we under like conditions.

Pa.ssing down the north side of Aspy Bay, you at last near the Sugar Loaf, which grows more and
more imposing as you approach it. The road through or over this range of hills, which winds round the
east flank of the Sugar Loaf, is not half so high as that over " Smoky," The hills are not so densely packed
just here, and you can get between them. Of course, one has to "do" the "Sugai Loaf," and the Sugar Loaf

CAPE NORTH, FROM THE ATLANTIC SHORE.

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPE BRETON FOR TOURISTS.

417

does you, to some extent, before you have done with it. No guide was available just at the time we wanted
one, so we had to start without that advantage. The first part of the ascent is ea.sy, up a steep grade of
comparatively uiiencumbered ground ; but all of a sudden you reach the base of the pyramid, and its sides
shoot up over youi head at an angle of forty-five degrees or so, and the ground is obstructed with rocks
and pitfalls, and ur.iderbrush, and unseen holes. Slowly and laboriously you force your zigzag way up, and
as you look skyward you see some defiant peak hundreds of feet above your head ; this, you think, must be
the top. You make for it in a feeble, straggling sort of way, toiling and perspiring, and — not feeling too
devotional ; sometimes going upon your head, sometimes on your feet, at other times on all fours, and
occasionally tumbling ignominiously on your back into some treacherous hole that you are quite sure
viciously winks as you fall into it. Presently we were quite lost. The only thing to do was to make
hopefully and laughingly for the highest point we could see. This we did, but we could not see very far,
the bushes were so thick. After an hour or so of this species of diversion, we could see more land very
much above us. We had reached a little plateau, the shape and extent of which we could pretty well
divine, but the stunted wood was still so thick that we could see nothing. Moving presently to the northern
edge of it, we could see the giant shoulders of Cape North away in the distance, the broad, flat summit, and
both sides falling suddenly downwards. We thus got a splendid idea of the nature of these Cape Breton
mountain ranges, and we could see at the same time that we were a good deal higher than Cape North.
Well, t'lis was all we could see as yet ; so we floundered about, trying to get a satisfactory glimpse of
some!. through the trees, and presently emerged upon the southern verge of the summit — and here we

were r- aid for our climb, thanks to a recerxt fire which had denuded this side of the mountain of its
veget*" .. . Aspy Bay, with all its intricacies of sea and shore, suddenly lay at our feet. We were 1,300
feet dbove level green fields which were not more than half a mile from us. Thg shape of every corn patch
and field was as distinctly marked as the chequers on a board. You could almost see down the people's
chimneys. So steep is this side of the hill that one is almost afraid of tumbling down. Far away to the
west you see the interminable range of hills swelling grandly down towards you. The Sugar Loaf's next
neighbour is a splendid fellow ; not so high as he is, but much larger and more stately and majestic.
But to the north and east you can see nothing. The woods must be cleared away from the summit and 9,

418

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

path made up the mountain — and then for the tourists ! We lost ourselves coming down the mountain, too,
worse than in going up. We got bagged in a thicket so close that a fox with his nose sharpened could
scarcely have got through it. Then we had to skirt the mountain-side a long distance northward, and tinally
got down, hungry but satisfied.

From the Sugar Loaf you ke"'- on northward two or three miles, leaving the promontory of Cape North
on your right. You have left the Atlantic behiiid you, and presently there bursts into view, between two
mountains, the waters of Bay St. Lawrence. We first saw it just after a storm, and a wild, dreary expanse of
water it was. The Gulf of St. Lawrence, except at midsummer, is an inhospitable sheet of water anyway ;
and, after a northerly gale, when it is piling its masses of surf against Cape North and Cape St. Lawrence and
the intervening rock-bound coast, it is suggestive of anything but comfort. It looks so merciless and cold,
and it is cold and mercile.ss too. Its pallid, wrinkled face looks up to the pitiless sky as if expecting no
pity ; and it gets none, and so its foam- crested waves roll and rush landward to wreak their vengeance upon
the black, unrelenting rocks that fling them back shattered and shelterless. The mountain scenery of Cape
North district is the rival of Ingonish ; for grandeur and sublimity it is its superior. At Bay St. Lnwrence
you will see some magnificent mountain scenes. Close to the shore is a lake surrounded by bold green banks,
and in the background rises a majestic amphitheatre of mighty hills, that seem as if marshalled here to see
that the command to the mighty deep, " Hitherto shalt thou come, and no further," is obeyed. The mighty
rampart of Cape North, with its three bastions, for it is a triple headland, holds out its huge fist in defiance to
its old enemy advancing in attack from the east and north and west. It seems as if nature, that oldest and
most skilful of engineers, had designed this tremendous fortalice to resist an attack from every possible
direction. The western spur of Cape North is called " White Point " — from the lightish colonr of the clitF, we
imagine — and a grand sight it is, sloping to the depths of ocean from a height of fifteen hundred feet. This
point is quite close to the level ground at Bay St. Lawrence — not a mile distant — but you cannot get to it by
land, as the shore is almost a sheer precipice. You can, however, distantly admire it, and we hope you will
before you have ceased your earthly pilgrimage. For positively you must come to Cape North. It is not
very difficult, in a way, for there is a passably developed path — yes, really across the promontory — leading to
the lighthouse, which is built about a mile inside the southern spur of the Cape, which is called " Money
Point." Well, you leave Bay St. Lawrence, traversing at first some level green fields, and make for the foot of

Attractions of cape breton for tourists.

4i9

this path. The mountain towers overhead more and more mcnaringly as you approach. The path is
unobstructed, however, but very steep, an'^ encumbered in places with looso stones. AH you need here is, as
the Scotch say, "a .stout heart to a stey brae"; so you give a final look upwards — you know the hill would be
laughing in its sleeve it' it had one — you stiffen your lower extremities, and up you begin to go. If you
happen to have a weak heart or siicrt breath, you will sit down after you have got about two hundred feet
up and reflect what a humbug this world is. But, in turning round, you have caught a grand view of Bay
St. Lawrence, with Black Point and Cape St. Lawrence opposite, and this diverts your attention.

Being thus rested, you faci the steep again. This is worse than the Sugar Loaf climb in one way ; it is
so monotonous — tramp-r-r-r-r-sh, as your feet slide back among these loose stones. But don't give it up,
you will be repaid before coming back. Well, up at last, you sit down again and smile in an inane
sort of way, and then try whether you can laugli or not; and presently you are looking down that
hill in a mood of mingled malice and triumph, and laughing as heartily as ever you did in your li''j. Now
cross a level space for about four miles, over a rich, dark loam, covered with a vegetation almost tropical
in its luxuriance — we wonder if these plateaux will ever be cultivated — and you come to the brow of the
height overlooking the Atlantic. Here is one of the grandest sights in Cape Breton. From a heigt t of a
thousand feet or so you are looking seaward through a gorge between two mountains upon a vast extent of
ocean. The sides of this stupendous gorge, which cuts sheer dotvn nearly to the water's edge, incline at a
sharp angle towards each other, and are covered with a dense mass of the greenest vegetation, contrasting in
gorgeous relief with the intense blue of the limitless ocean, .^.nd the milder hues of the over-arching sky.
Do you think you can pa:^ it ? Have you cunning and craft wit., brush and colour? Have you a soul to
which the mighty .soul of things will whisper it • secrets, and you vvould like to tell what it says, and can
not ? If you cannot express it in words, come here and try to put it into form and colour, and impress the
soul of it in with the varnish. If Turner had ever been in Cape Breton he would be alive still — that is, in
the landscapes he would have painted. But come and see it, and bring your easel and brushes and colours,
and take care you do not tumble down the hill in the excess of your admiration.

Now you must get down to the Lighthouse. P rhaps you think it is not hard work to climb down
a mountain. Just try to climb down the roof of a barn a thousand feet high, for practice, and you will see.

CAPE BRETON ILLUSTRATED.

If it were not for the merciful friction which the ground presents, you could not got down at all, unless you
slid down and shot thirty fathoms deep into the water. But you will get down in time if you stop once in
a while to rest an ' exchange condolences with your companion, or companions, as the case may be. The sea is
getting nea er and nearer, and presently you turn of!" towards the Lighthouse, which soon makes its appear-
ance. At the same time you see St. Paul's Island in the distance, looking high, narrow, hazy and uncertain,
as if it had just comt to have a look at the country, and were undecided whether to stay or no. It is
twelve miles distant, and the day is somewhat hazy. Leaving the hospitable light-keeper, you go out towards
Money Point, from which the " hill " of the Cape is to be seen. Along here there is a level green space
between the sea and the mountain, extending round Money Point and then abruptly terminating, so that Cape
North is practically inaccessible by laud ; and we had not time to go round in a boat. No doubt you could get
to it by forcing your way through the thick vegetation of the plateau, and then clambering down the face of
the steep ; but we had not the time for that either, and perhaps not the inclination. At all events, we saw it
at a distance of a quarter of a mile. In outline it presents the appearance of a convex joined to the concave
arc of a circle before it disappears beneath the ocean. Its southern side is almost a sheer, rocky precipice,
known as the " Shag Rock," where sea-birds have their nests in great numbers, and whose restless flight and
hoarse, multifarious screaming add to the loneliness and desolation of the scene.

Ju.st where we are standing, it is said, a French ship was cast away on her way home after the surrender
of Quebec, and all hands lost. Some people of quality were among the passengers. We were told that
many coins have been gotten here at different times. But we imagine they have all been found bj' this time.
A good deal of ingenuity is said to have been exercised in fishing them up. A long pole was daubed at the
end with pitch, and, when the water was very clear, they were pulled up in this adhering style. Hence the
place is called " Money Point."

We take a long, last look at Cape North, and oay good-bye to it. Perhaps we shall never see it again.
No matter, we have seen it once, and it is worth seeing and remembering too. Man and ocean shall soon
cease their fretting. What shall come out of the vast, eternal silence ? Shall we only then gather speech, or
shall we be dumb forever ?

This, of course, is only one of the jaunts you can take in Cape Breton in order to view the scenery and
to breathe its health-giving air. It is the hardest journey and the longest ; but perhaps it is the best, for all

WHYCOCOMAH BAY.

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPR I^RRTON FOR TOURISTS.

421

that. Tf you want to sec the IJras d'Or lake, there are steamers plying about to diirorcnt points of interest,
from which you can easily sail or drive to the most picturesque and attractive localities. You can spend a
month on Bras d'Or lake and not sec it all or tire of it. You have land and water, hill and dale in ever-
new and interesting variety. If you are an adventurous boatman, you may gratify your taste ad lihitrtm.
There is no better place in the world for yachting than the Bras d'Or lake. It is sometimes windy enough,
but no doubt you will not object to that. There arc Great and Little Bras d'Or, and Baddeck, and the Grand
Narrows, and St. Peter's, and VVhycocomah, and East Bay, and West Bay, all competing with one anotlicr in
internet and beauty. It would take you weeks to explore them all. And many a splendid sail you would
have. Or, you could get off the train at Orangcdale, or River Denys, and drive out to Mabou and down
through Margaree and Whycocomah, and be equally delighted with the scenery. You will find many things
in Cape Breton new (to you) and old — things traditional and antique and unique as well ; but that will make
it all the more entertaining. If you take an interest in human nature — and who does not ? — you will find
phases of it here that you never encountered before, and cannot encounter anywhere else in Uie world ; and
it will do you good.

Or from Sydney you can drive twenty-five miles down to Louisburg and smell gunpowder in imagination,
or the healthful Atlantic breeze in reality. We believe the only thing that is the matter with Cape Breton
is that it has not been developed as a country for tourists. We fail to see how they can help coming when
they once know of it, and when the facilities for travel are provided, as it is to be hoped they before long
will be. Recreation, rest, recuperation, is, in these days of wear and 'ear and hurry, a nece.s'iity, a business.
And the providing for it in all sensible and legitimate and energetic ways ought also to be made a business;
but this has .'scarcely yet begun in Cape Breton. We have been too far out of the world's track, and for that
very reason people should want to come here to enjoy rest and quiet and to breathe a healthful and
invigorating air. The central and northern parts of the island are free from the fogs and vapours of the
Atlantic, and that is an advantage in itself. The legacy left by the Gulf Stream to the southern shores of
New England and the Provinces is not a good thing for invalids or weakly people. The air coming off the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, in midsummer at all events, is much more bracing and invigorating.

If the C. P. R. should assume control of the Cape Breton Railway, no doubt the facilities for travel will
be at once and materially increased. The Strait of Canso will be bridged, and communication with the

422

CAPE BRItTON lU.'JSTRATED.

island will be much more rapid and convenient, and the people of New England and the Upper Provinces
will not imagine they are going to the end of the world when they come to Cape Breton.

Should the claims of Louisburg as the " rapid transit " port of the Dominion be recognized and made
practical, a new era of prosperity would at once dawn upon the whole island. The coal trade is at present
in an unsatisfactory condition. Our exports of this article up the St. Lawrence are met and successfully
resisted by imports from the American frontier. Anthracite coal is imported free of duty, and consequently
our coal, owing to this fact and the low rate charged upon other American coal, receives but r partial
protection after all. These facts indicate that we have not sufficient political, that is financial, interest, to
ensure that our coal be adequately protected. We have to put up with half measures, which are no measures.
This is only one phase of the unsatisfactory trade relations subsisting between this country and the United
States. The cheap transportation of coal is only beginning to be developed. What possibilities are in it no
one as yet knows. Had we reciprocity or its equivalent — an equal tariff — in coal, we might be able to place
coal in the American market at a cheaper rate than the Americans can produce it. Should this be among
the possibilities of the future, Louisburg would be made a point of export for coal all the year round. A
railway was built some years ago connecting Louisburg with one of the mines, but it has lapsed into disuse,
owing to the fact that there iu little or no coal trade with the United States. But the claims of Louisburg as
a natural terminus for a railway are being revived in more than one direction, and it is more than probable
that before many years that place will have recovered some of its ancient importance.

Communication v ith Cape Breton is yet difficult and mysterious for the average tourist Pleasure
seeking — recreation — is yearly becoming more and more a business, and a necessary business. So many
people and so many localities are catering to the public in this regard, that a resort for tourists stands no
chance in the keen competition which exists, unless its advantages are made Known to the public, and com-
munication with it be made rapid and convenient, and unless, also, suitable accommodation be provided. There
is no question but Cape Breton stands unrivalled in this part of America as a summer resort. The hand of
nature has been lavish in its endowment, and it only remains that this shall be seconded by aruficial
development to ensure a steadily increasing movement of tourists to its shores in the summer months. We
have had more visitors among us this season than ever bofore ; and these are, no doubt, but the advance guavd
of greater numbers who will soon follow, provided fitting arrangements be made for their accommodation.

ATTRACTIONS OF CAPE BRETON FOR TOURISTS.

423

A tent for a house, and " Franey's Chimney " for the estiblishment of a cuisine, will not suit all the world.
We do not wish to see that mountain transformed into an incipient volcano, or to see Cape Breton dotted
with the tents of a migrating army. Doubtless a good deal of money will be needed to fit Cape Breton in
proper style for the reception of all who will want to come ; L ut time will bring its own developments, and,
as iu every other department, the demand will create the supplj-.

We have thus attempted to set forth the "importance and advantage" o" Cape Breton m a historic,
pictur3sque and commercial sense. We should like to see the claims of this island recognized in the public
policy of the country, and in that of the Canadian Pacific Kail way ; and in the appropriation and expenditure
of public moneys. We believe that Cape Breton may be of as much consequence to modern commercial
Cauada as it was to ancient military Canada. The nearest accessible point to Europe, it juts out like a huge
coal wharf into the Atlantic ; and, in these days of steam communication, no more need be said.