IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 |IIIIIM iM m m 2.0 1.8 U 111 1.6 V] /y 'e^. /W7 *k ■ M 8 - 242 250 - 265 276 313 322 - 367 r fe INTRODUCTION. Where is Acadia? It is not down on the maps. Like th'^ simple and i»i'1us- trious yeomanry winch cot ■inrised its ' . abitimts, ifs record is to be searched after in tlie dim atma's of th> past. Were . \ Hot that a poet has att'ned its story to ,er ^e, uiid there- by c.auaed tiiousands of heaits to throb wiUi emotions of niingfled pity and indignrition, and so rendered ifc imm«)rtal, it mi^ht have remained in oblivion. Who iias not heard of Evanyeline ? Her name is a household word over the civ- ilized world, for the translations of the poem are legio'i, so well iidajited is it to stir the dr.'pest sentiments of the soul. To put the question diflferently, Where was Acadia I When France first acqiiired dominion in the New W^orld she gave to her Tiewly acquired tei'ritory the beautiful name, Zi'Acadle, or in its anglicized form, Acadia, By the treaty of Utiecht, in 1713, that power made over to the Queen of England all "Acadia comprised \vithin its ancient bounda- ries." These territorial limits became afterward a great na- tional question, the French claiming that Acadia comprised only the peninsula now known as Nova Scotia, while the Eng- lish maintained it included the surrounding islands and much of the mainland now called New Brunswick. Great Britain had previously undertaken to establish a Scottish Barony in the same territory, giving to the country its present name of Nova Scotia, o: New Scotland. It will an- f %$ ACADIA 8wer our purpose best to make these terms interchangeable in the succeeding chapters. Nova Scotia is bounded on the northwest by New Bruns- wick and the Bay of Fundy, north by the Gulf of St. Law- rence and the Northumberland Straits, and on the other sides by the Atlantic. It has an area of 18,670 square miles, or about double that of the State of New Hampshire. The form of the peninsula has been compared to that of a mitten, the thumb being the isthmus joining it to New Brunswick. No part of Nova Scotia is more than thirty miles from the sea. A belt of rugged rocks stretches along the whole southern shore, and by the Bay of Fundy coast. The inland is rich in minerals, well-wooded, and in many parts, exceedingly fertile. That long line of rocky coast forming the southern bound- ary of Nova Scotia is not unfrequently broken into shapes of picturesque boldness. Sometimes the rocks erect a dark and perpendicular wall, against which the storms of the At- lantic have beaten for ages. At other times, the ocean, pen- etrating far inland, forms interior seas, around which clus- ter the cabins of the fishermen, each with its fish-flalccs and its fishing boat moored near at haud. These bays roseuible In their general features the Norwegian fjords, and give food and occupation to the peasartry ; and except when ag- itated by stornib, suggest nought but fertility and jieace. There comes a change when the tempest breaks over the sea, and the billows dash impetuously among the shoals. The stoutest heart shrinks in awe at the display of Divma pow- er, and happy is the bark that can find a safe harbor whtn old Ocean is once fully roused. The landsman shudders as the gun comes booming ove • the water from the vessel iu distress, calling for the help that tc)0 often is unavailable ; and when morning breaks, and the storm has passed, naught but a broken hull and a few shattered spars are left to tell the talo. Notwithstanding that lighthouses shed their c I* 5 5 g" If M ill 11 1 !■ ■ ■'-•»■'«,-,.» PBEFAOE 13 friendly beams from every jutting headland; and sirens, bell boats, fog trumpets and whistling buoys warn the anxious sailor when the fogs hide the lights, and life-boats, manned by sturdy arms, are ready to brave the dangers of the deep to aid the shipwrecked mariner; — in short, after all that human skill can devise, or humanity suggest, for lessening the dangers to shipping, these irou-bouud coasts and their insatiate shoals continue to demand and receive many a hol- ocaust of human victims. But little is known of Nova Scotia by the average Ameri- can, and that little is closely associated with ideas of a sinister kind. "Ought to be banished to Nuva Scotia!" *'Wish it was in Halifax!" are mild forms of anathetnas to which we have I)een accustomed from childhood. But this terrifory has a just claim on the heart of every citizen of our republic Hundi-eds of brave New Englanders lie sleeping beneath the greensward on Point Rochfort, beneath the once frown- ing battlements of Louisbourg, who lost their lives in the early struggles for the possession of that fortress. The Acadian seas are literally strewn with the wrecks of vessels sent out from New England ports, the fate of whose crews will never be revealed until the sea yields up its dead. The shores of Bedford Basin are hallowed to the memory as the sepulchre of many a Revolutionary hero, who perished there in captivity. It has a place in history as the refuge of thousands of Auierican Lo^'alists, who were there given new homes by the King in whose interest they sufiFered ban- ishment We have alrt:ady referred to the expatriated Aca- dians, who were violently torn from thence, and scattered throughout the English colonies on the Continent. It is al- so the domain of the lisheries, which subject has long been a question of national issue between the two great powers of England and the United States, and which is soon to come before the people for further adjudication or arbitra- If 14 ACADTJI !'i ! ment. It seems almost incredible that the citizens of our country should manifest so little interest in a land who?© varying fortunes have ever been so closely associated with our own. It is emphatically a land of romance. The annals of the early adventurers need not the gilding of fiction to invest them with interest. Its history is made up of bloody strife, startling events, and singular experiences. It has been the scene of miiitai-y victories by sea and land which have illu- minated, in turn, the cities of France, England, and the United States ; and its soil has drank some of the noblest blood of those great nations. It is here that the demon of religious intolerance has been most rampant, and fratricidal wars exerted their most baneful iuflueuce. Here, too, par- ticularly in remote French settlements, superstition hoids powerful sway. The headlands of the coast ai'e haunted with the lost spirits of the victims of the numberless wrecks strewn among the rocks; weird lights flicker about the seas on wild and stormy nights ; strange voices inhabit the air, and foreboding signs appear in the sky ; while the spectral feux-follets, and the dreaded loups-yarous, prowl about the country on the watch for souls. It is here that the passion for the finding of hidden treasures has the strongest hold on the people ; — the fact that the French Neutrals buried much of their treasure at theii* extirpation, being a pre- disposing cause. In marked contrast are the works of Nature as disclosed in this corner of the world. In the proper season, one may ride for fifty miles in the Anuapoiis Valley under the con- tinuous shade of apple orchards in full bloom. No level er spot is there in the wide world, no happier blending of wa- ter, plain and mountain, than at Grand Pre, on the sjores of the Basin of Minas. And yet, within a few hours' ride, are the wateis wherein the current from the Gulf of Mexico and the floods from the Eiver and Gulf of St. Lawrence, im- 1 PREFACE 15 pinge their momentous force against each other; where the iceberg rocks iu the waves, auJ the sea-fog haugs over the deep, imperiliiug the uavigatiou, and seudiug many a weary mariner to his long home. The tides, which here surpass those of any other quarter of the globe, are among the most wonderful features of Nature's exhibit. Says a writer: ''At the head of Cobe- quid Bay, the flood-tide is preceded by an immense tidal wave, or *bore,' which, at spring tides, is sometimes six feet high. At low water, nearly sixty square miles of saud, shingle and mud flats are laid bare; tbe flood rises more rapidly than the water can advance, and the result is the foiujation of a splendid wave more than four miles long, which rolls over the flats and quicksands in a sheet of foam, and with the roar of thunder, washirg away, or burying up everything before it Vessels lying with their broadsides to the bore are rolled over, — their masts are broken, and they Eire left half buried in the shingle : the skill of the pilot is, however, equal to this danger, and accidents seldom occur." It may be said, that few places offer greater inducements to the summer tourist or to the sportsman, than do the seas and mountains of this Acadian laud. The woods are full oi game, and the waters abound in fish ; one may traverse in boats, almost evex'y portion of the country; and the place bas only to be better known to attract the thousands of rest- seekvirs from abroad, Iu the present work no pretensions are made to a full and exhaustive treatise of the subject. It is believed, however, that the more salient points have been touched upon, and sufficient given to shed light on a subject that has long re- mained in obscurity. Though the scope includes the entii'e period succeeding the discovery of Acadia, the expulsion of the French Neutrals is designedly made a leading feature of the volume. In this, as in the other portions, the authoi bas drawn his materials from the must reliable sources. 16 ACADIA Haliburton, a standard authority iu Nova Scotia, referring^ to the absence fi*om the public records of that Province, of the official documents covering the period of the forced ex- tirpation of these people, gives it as his belief that they have been purposely abstracted, with the view to cover up the traces of the deed ; and he wrote more than half a cen- tury ago. Since then the records have been filled up by copies obtained from the state paper office in England, and from tliose at Quebec, primanly obtained from the archives at Paris. Of these the author has availed himself in the present compilation. Extracts are given originally procured from Wiiialow's letter book; the journals of the Colonial Assemblies, and other trustworthy sources, have likewise been freely utihzed. The papers of the French Neutrals having been forcibly taken from them, they cannot be heard in their own behaif, except as they have told the story of their sufferings in two memorials, one to the King of Great Britain, and the other to the Pennsylvania Assembly, cop- ies of which may be found in the Appendix of this volume. The reader can compare the declarations therein contained with the accounts taken from English sources given in the body of the work, and then, in the light of all these facts, judge for himself whether the despoiling of fifteen thousand pastoral people of their farms and firesides, and the dispersion of most of them in indigence among a peo- ple aliens in language and religion, was "a justifiable and necessary measure." rPillLIMINARY DISCOUnSE. To the lover of romance as well as to the student of ver- itable history, no quarter of the world is more rich in inter- est than Acadia — a land which has been poetically immor- talized as " The Land of Evangeline." Whether we turn to the Diisty era of the early " Sea Rovers of the North," the records of whose voyages seem like quaint, legendai-y tales, or to the later historical epoch, when the virgin soil was enriched with the blood of so-called civilized nations in their eager strife for its possession ; or whether we contem- plate the stern and pitiless aspect of Nature as exhibited in the war of the elements raging in fierce grandeur about the rock-bound coasts, or survey her in her milder moods as displayed in sunny seas and glowing laudscapes, — in all there is that which holds the student spell-bound to the sto- ry ol this enchanted land. Previous to the discoveries of Columbus, the country beyond the trackless sea was a fruitful theme of visionary fipoculalion and traditionai*y tale. Plato's imaginary island of Atlantis opposite the Straits of Gibraltar, was by many bciioved to actually exist. Much was said and written of the fabulous Island of St. Brandan,* which for along while * Tlie iiiliftbilftuts of the Cannries fancied they beheld a monntainonE ialuiid l)it^^ far to the westward, visible only at intervals and in perfectly Rorenc tvc f»thcr. They sent severaL expediiions. but every attempt to 'ir ;i i V n HI 18 ACADIA. haunted thp imaginations of the people of the Canarieg; and even the speculative "Island of Seven Cities "f was giv- en a place on the charts of the leai'ned geographers of the time. That the Norse mariners visited parts of Acadia centuries befoie the era of Columbus' discoveiies, is a fact well aui hen- ticiited. Original manuscripts of the voyages of these Sea- Vikings have been carefully preserved in Iceland. They were first published at Copenhagen in 1837, with a Danish and a Latin translation. Within the whole range of the lit- erature ol discovery and adventure, no writings can be found that bear better evidence of authenticity. reach it proved fntile. Still so many had testified to seeing it, and so nearly did their testimony apree as to its form and position, that its ex- istence was believed in, and it was put down on their maps. Traditions were told of some tempest-tossed mariners having at one time landed up- on the island, but were forced to return to their ship by reason of a "harsh wind which arose;" in an instant they lost sight of the land, and could not again find it, nor did they afterwai'ds hear of the two sailors that had been abandoned in the woods. On another occasion it was said a vessel touched at this mysterious island, and anchored in a beautiful harbor at the mouth of a mountain ravine. A number of sailors landed and wan- dered about in various directions. Seeing night approaching, those on board signalled for their return to the ship; scarcely were they on board when a whirlwind came down the ravine with such violence as to carry the vessel out to sea. They never saw more of this inhospitable island. t A popular tradition concerning the ocean, in which seven bishops flee- ing from Spain at the time of the Moorish conquest, landed on an un- known island in the midst of the Atlantic Ocean, burnt their ships to pre- vent the assertion of their followers, and abandoned themselves to their fate. Here they founded seven cities. According to common report some sea-faring men presented themselves before King Henry, of Portugal, stating they had landed upon this island, the dust of which they found to be one-half gold — hoping to secure a reward for their intelUgeuce. They were ordered to return immediately and procure further information, but the seamen, fearing their falsehood would be discovered, made their eB« cape, and nothing more was heard of them. PRELIMINART DISCOUBSB 19 In the year 861, Iceland was discovered by a Norse Rover named Nadodd, and soon became a place of great interest; in two or three centuries we lind its people bad become em- inent among the Norse communities for their intellectual culture, and for their daring and skill in navigation. " Eirek the Red " occupied a prominent place as one of the eai'ly mariuors. The Norse narrative introduces Eirek's voyage of discovery as follows : '* There was a man of no- ble family named Thorwald. He and his son Eirek, sur- named the Red, were obliged to flee from Jadir (in the south- west part of Norway), because, in some feud which arose, they committed a homicide. They went to Iceland, which at that time was colonized." Thorwald died soon after, and the restless spirit of Eirek at length involving him in an- other feud in Iceland, he was a second time guilty of tak- ing the life of a fellow being. The narrative continues: *' Having been condemned by the court, he resolved to leave Iceland. His vessel being prepared, and everything in readiness, Eirek's partisans in the quarrel accompanied him some distance. He told them he was going in search of the land Gunniborn had seen when driven by a storm into the Western Ocean, promising to return if his search proved successful. Embarking from the western side of Iceland, Eirek steered boldly for the west. At length he saw land, and called the place Mldjokul. Then coasting along the shore in a southerly direction, he sought a place more suit- able for settlement. He spent the winter on a part of the coast which he named 'Eaek's Island.' A satisfactory sit- uation for his colony having been found, he remained there two yeai-s." The country discovered and colonized by Eirek was Greenland. Eirek returned to Iceland, and as a result of his repre- sentations of the newly discovered country, " twenty -five ships," filled with emigrants and stores, returned with him to Greenland. This happened, says the ciironicle, "fiiteen f ii I i so ACAr'A KOBMAN 8HIP years before the Christian re- ligion waa introduced into Ice- land," or fifteen years previ- ous to 1000 A. D. Biarni, a chief man anjong these colon- istp, was absent in Norway when they sailed from Iceland. On his return he decided to follow and join the co'ony ; and although neither he nor his companions had ever seen Greenland, or sailed the Greenland Sea, he boldly embarked, and made one of the most remarkable and fearful voyages on record. It must be borne in mind that the "ship" of thofe early times, with its qurint propoitiois and *' dragon prow," was so unsea- worthy, that, in this day of advanced nautical skill, it would be deemed an act of sheer madness to essay an ocean voy- age in so frail a vessel. On leaving Iceland they sailed three days with a fair wind; then arose a storm of northeasterly winds, accompa- nied by very cloudy thick weather. For many days they were driven before this storm, into trackless and unknown waters. At length the weath- er cleared, and they could see the sky. — They sailed west another day, and saw ]and> diflf( rent from any they had formerly known, for it "was not very mountainous." Biarni said this could not be Greenland. They put about and steered in a northrasterly direc- tion two days more. Again they saw Jand which was low and level. Biarni thought this could not be Greenland. For three more days they sailed in the same direction, and came to a land that was " mountainous, and covered with ice." This proved to be an island around KOBSEMAN PREIJMINABY DISOOUBSK 31 ,.->i OLD TC'.WSn -which they sailed. Steering north they sailed four days, and av;ain discovered land, which proved to be Greenland. They were on the southern coast near the new settlement It is manifest that the first laud Biaini saw was Cape Cod ;* the next was the north- ern part of Nova Scotia ; and t le isiaud around which they coasted was Newfoundland. This voyage was made five hundred yc^ars earlier than the first voyage of Columbus. The period of these adventures was during the dark ages, at a time when ignorance and supei'stitioa brooded over the woi'ld like the demon of night. But little was known among the nations of Europe of the voyages of the Norsemen ; and that little seems to have been regarded as " dim, traditionary tales of old Sea-Kiiigs," and only served to deepen a sense of the mystery of the great unknown beyond the sea. Centuries passed away. Gradually the light of intelli- gence began to be shed abroad among the benighted na- tions. Slowly but surely the workl was being prepared for a great event which the guiding hand of Providence was now to bring about. On the 4th of Ma'ch, 1493, a vessel sought shelter in the port of Lisbon. Her coming was unheralded; her seamen were weary and weather-worn ; her sails had suffered the strain and shock of fi('rce tempests; yet that frail, leaky bark was the bearer of tidings that were to work great so- cial and political changes among the nations of the earth • These early Navigators gave the country they hnti discovered the name of "Helluland." They are supposed to hfive erected the old round tower at Newport Certain it is the Indians had no tradition of its origin when the whites first canie amons them. i; i' III i I I lii I ' il i U i. 1 Si ACADIA It was tho caravel of Columbus, returned txom his first vojw age of discovery. The triumphal reception of Columbus by the sovereigns under whose patronage he had sailed, and the agitation pro- duced throughout Europe by the report of his discoveries, are facts in history too well known to need repetition here. Learned men, appreciating what was sure to follow, ^' ex- alted over the fact they were living in an age marked by such an event as the discovery of a New World." Kings and Emperors, anxious to extend their power, or to add to their wealth, became eager patrons of explorers ; doling ad- venturers, anxious to distinguish themselves by some im- portant discovery, or seeking to open up some channel of sudden wealth, undertook expeditions ibto unknown seas ; while not a few, assuming a more religious view of the mat- ter, went among the newJy discovered people for the pur- pose of converting them to the Christian religion. For up- wards of half a century the minds of kings and subjects were occupied with this all-absorbing topic. And now the " vaunted wisdom of antiquity began to pale as the light of discovery broke in upon them," scattering to the winds their learned theories and hypotheses of the wide waste of wa- ters. Says Humboldt — " The fifteenth century forms a transition epoch, belonging at once to the middle ages and to the commencement of modern times. It is tiie epoch of the greatest discoveries in geographical space ; and to the inhabitants of Europe it doubled the works of creation, while it offered to the intellrct *:ew and powerful incite- ments to the improvement of the natural sciences." Men of broken fortunes, and restless spiiits of every class, could now find employment befitling their ambition. Not since the crusades had an event been so opportune. — The golden lure was held out to them, and many clutched at the proli'ered bait. The love of conquest became a rul- ing pabsion : — Cortez, a soldier of infurior rank, suddenly »REUMISABT DI8OO0B8B 13 found himself fired with an ambition which required the blnod of a inillion of native Mexicans to satisfy. Surely it wjis an unlucky day for the races of the new world when the eyp of Europeans first opened upon it. As the vast wealth and resources of the nowly-discoverod land came to uo better known, bitter rivalries sprang up l>e- twoen the European powers for its possession. The relig- ious dissensions then raging throughout Christendom add- ed fuel to the fires of national discord and jealousy. It was uiuler these conditions of political and civil comtuotion that the Acadia of American History had its birth ; and as it not un frequently happens in njcdical practice, the pain is expe- rie* .'dd in one pai't, while the disease that causes the pain is to be sought for elsewhere, so we may read, in the suffer- ings of hapless, helpless Acadia, the vaiied changes in the political phases of the Old World. Ill i s EARLY EXPLORATIONS THE CABOTS. A few years subsequent to the first royage of Columbus, the Cabot s were taking a prominent part in nautical achieve- ments. They were natives of Venice, and of renowned skill in maritime pursuits. They sailed under British colors, and were duly authorized, as their commission read, "to discover and possess the isles, regions, and provinces, of the heathen and infidels." In the spring of 1498, the ship Matthew, in company with three or four smaller vessels, all displaying the proud flag of England, left Bristol and steered westward. They bore John Cabot and his son Sebastian, who, with their followers were essaying the jiassage of the North Atlantic. On the 24th of June they discovered the main land of America, which they named Prima Vista. — The same day they saw an island opposite, which they called St. John, from the day of discovery. Here they found the inhabitants clothed with skins, and they fought with darts, bows and arrows : three of these natives they carried off to England. But meagre records of the voyage have been handed down, yet there are good reasons for supxjosing the lands discovered to be the main land of Labrador, and the island of Newfoundland. They describe the country as sterile and uncultivated, with no fruit. White bears, and stags of unusual hight, were numerous. The waters were full of fish, especially of the kind called by the natives bac- alkoSf which poetical name has since degenerated into sim- EARLY EXPLORATIONS 96 pie "cod." Proceeding northward tbey encountered those terrojs to navigators of noithern waters — icebergs. Be- coming alarmed, they turne.l helm, and coasted southward as fai- as Fiorida, The voyages of the Cabots gave to Great Britain her claim to the New World. GASPAR DE CORTEAL. Two years later [15C0] Gaspar de Corteal, a Portuguese navigator, sailing from the port of Lisbon, touched at the coast of Labrador, which he named Terre Verde. He sur- passed the English in disregarding the rights of the abo- rif,'ines — capturing fifty-seven of them, which he afterward sold as slaves in Europe. The country from whence these unfortunates were taten is described as abounding in im- mense pines, tit for masts, which would prove the land could not have been far to the noith. It was thickly peo- pled; the natives used hatchets and arrowheads of stone; they lived in rudely constructed huts, were elad with the skins of wild animals, and were a well-made and robust race. This description might well apply to the Indians of Acadia. Encouraged by tlie sut-cdss attending his first un- dertaking, Corteai set out in the following year for anoth- er cargo of timber and slaves. But neither himself nor any of his crew were ever heard of more. His brother Michael de Corteal fitted out two ships and went in search of him, a)id he, too, shared the fate of his relative. "The avenging spirit overwhelmed them on the trackless deep, and they were never permitted to again see the shores they had pol- luted with the curse of human trafGic." VERAZZANI. Nearly a quarter of a centuiy elapsed when the King of France determined on sending an expedition to discover new worlds for him, imitating the example of the crowned heads of Englanil, Spain, and Ji'ortugal, who, during this ir I 'il i I ■! I li 26 ACADIA time, had been adding to their possessions "by right of dis- covery." Disrcgardful of the authority of Pope Alexander to bestow all newly-discovmed lands on Spain and Portu- gal, the French monarch fitted out the ship, Dol2)fiin, with a crew of fifty men and piovisions for eight months, and sent it out in command of Verazzani on the 17th of Janua- ry, 1524. The expedition touched at North Carolina, sailed northward as far as the 50fch degree of north latitude — or that of Newi'oundland,-r— and gave to the country its third a^jpellaliou — " New France." Verazzani made a srbsequent voyage from v.hich he never returned. Of his fate nothing Cv-itain is known; but there is an old French tradition to the effect that he landed near the present town of Cape Bre- ton, an the island of that name, and attempted to found a fortified settlement. But being suddenly attacked and overpowered by the Indians, himself and his entire command were put to death in a cruel manner. Says Bancroft — "Ve- razzani advanced the knowledge of the country, and gave to France some claim to an extensive territory on the pre- text of discovei-y." Previous to the expedition of Verazzani, France appears to have taken '.ittle national interest in the New World. — Hitherto every French vessel that had visited America came on a commercial errand only, and the trade of that people in the foreign products of fish and peltries was considera- blt\ We may except the iii&t;ance of Baron de Lery, who, in 1518, attempted to found a settlement under French pat- roiiage in Acadia. The Baron was a man of courage and lofty aspirations : with a company of colonists, and stores necessary to commence life in a new country, he embarked in the enterprise ; but unfavorable weather, and other ad- verse incidents, caused the project to miscarry. With the last expedition of Verazzani, l^ieuch interest in America again declined. For a number of yeai's that war- EArL" «iXPl.OKATIONS 37 hMTa^seJ people had enough to occupy their attention at home. At lengi.h the adviaers of the French King urged upon him the advautages of founding a colony in America, and 8 iggpsted that the most appropriate place to colonize woukl be the nearest nortaeastern region, inasmuch as na- tive Basque and Norman barks had for twenty years fre- quented Acadiua waters in quosL of tish. An expedition was determined on, a knowledge of whicn coming to the Kings of Spain and Portugal, those potentates entered a protest against it us au encroachment on their territorial rights. The French King answered sarcastically, "I should like to see that clause in Adam's will that gives to theui alone so vast au inheritage ! " The grand admiral of France gave command of the expedition to Jacques Carlier, of iSt. Malo, a reputed skillful mariner and hardy seaman. Cartier sailed from St. Malo, a seaport of Brittany, in the spring of 1534, with two vessels, neitlier of wiiich ex- ceeded sixty tons burden, and whose united crews amount- ed to but one hundred and twenty-two meii. During tiiis his first voyage, Cartier made no impoiiant discoveries. The more salient points of the Laurentian Gaif were already well known to his countrymen, who habituaLy fished in these waters ; but he was the first to carefully examine the "arid and desolate sea-margin of Labrador." He came up the Newfoundland coast, and entered the Gulf of St. La\v^ rence by the Strait of Bellisle. Skirting along the western coast of Newfoundland as far as Cape St. George, he then sailed northwest, and on the Both of June came in sight of the coast of Acadia. Tiie first land seen by Cartier is now known as Point Escuminac. — Carlier thus records his impressions: "AVe went that day ashore in four places to see the goodly and sweet-smelling trees that were there. We found them to be cedaiss, ewe- trees, pines, white elms, ashes, willows, with many isoiLs of tiees to UB unknown, but without any fruit. The grounds r^ ¥ 1 i 88 ACADIA where no wood is are very fair and all full of peason, white aud red goosebeiiies, strawberries, blackberries, and wild corn like unto rye, which seemeth to have been sown and plowed. The country is of better temperature than other that can be seen, and very hot. There are ujauy thrushes, stock-doves, and other birds ; in short, there wauteth noth« ing but good harbors." He says of Newfoundland : " If the soil were as good a9 the harbors are it were a great commodity, but it is not to be called New Land, but stones and wild crags, and a place fit for wild beasts, for in all the North Island I did not see a cart load of good earth. Yet I went on shore in many places. In short, I believe this is the laud God allotted to Cain." Cartier entered a spacious basin which he named Bay of Chaleurs, on account of the extreme heat at the time. — Landing on its coast he took formal possession of the ter- ritory in the naiue of the French King [Fran- cis I], setting up a cross thirty feet high and suspending thereon a shield bearing the Jieur-de-lis, and an inscription, as eml^lematic of the new sovereignty of France in America. This typical act of incorporating the territory into the empire of France was ingeniously performed so as to appear to the natives as a ABMs OP FKANCK rellglous ccremouy. The old chief seems to have had his suspicions aroused that something more than worship was intended, and visited the ship to remonstrate with Cartier. He was assured that the cross was erected merely to serve as a landmark to guide the white visitors to the entrance of the harbor on their next voyage. On leaving the shores of the Gaspe, as this land was called by the Indians, Cartier carried oflf two sons of the chief, wljom he decoyed on board. As the season was now far advanced, 'i EARLT EXPLORATIONS 29 he delermine.l on returning to France, and set sail in time to avoid the autumnal storms which yearly visit the coast. The favf^able report given by Cai'tier encouraged the French to further attempts^ accordingly another expedition was fitted up and placed under his command. Conforming to the prevailing custom of the day, Cartier repaired with bi:i men in solemn procession to the calhedral of St. Malo, whej the blessing of Heaven was evoked in aid of their en- terprise. This religious service concluded, and the fare- wells spoken, for hia crews were mainly composed of the husbands and sons of St. Mnlo, they repaired to the ships. The squadron, consisting of three vessels, having on board 11 J hands and provisions for tnree months, departed with a favoring breeze from the port of St. Malo in May, 1535. (':vtier, as Captain General, hoisted his pennant on the Le Oraw'e Ilertidne, a vessel of little moi'e than 100 tons bur- don. Several persons of gentle blood accompanied the ex- pedition as volunteers. Unfavorable weather was soon ex- perienced ; the passage jiroved tedious, and adverse winds separated the vessels. Cartier had provided for this emer- gency by appointing a rendezvous on an island between Labrador and Newfoundland, which they all at length reached safely. After a brief season of rest, they put to sea. Sailing about among the numei'ous islands, on St. Lawrence day they "entered the bay forming the embouchure of the no- ble river now bearing that naaie." This stream for a por- tion of its course at the mouth, has a wild and saddening aspect. The numerous rocky points obstructing its course, the dense fogs, the furious blasts that ply over its bosom, the eddying and whirling of the tides among the numer- ous islets, are well calculated to appal the spirit of the voy- ageur. Passing up the river, the adventurers entered the deep and gloomy Saguenay,* but were prevented from ex- * The Sagueuuy is uot properly a river. It is a tremendous chasiq. 80 ACADIA ploring it by the lateness of the season. Early in Sepfem ber they reached an island abounding in hazel bushes, to which in consequence they gave the name Isle ctux Cou- dres. The river, "so vast and sombi'e in its lower expanse, DOW became a graceful and silvery stream." Cartier began to look about him for a good harbor in which to \. =iss the winter, and decided upon one at the mouth of the river now known ai the St. Charles. Close at hand was the Huron town of Stadacona. This Indian village was situated on a hjg j bluff which projected far into the river, and so narrowed its passage that it was forced into a rapid current. To this passage the Indians had given the name of Kepec, which name, slightly modified, has since been bestowed on a more pretentious modern city that has sprung up on the site of the Indian town, a city that has become iliustrious in the history of the American Continent. " Quebec needs not the gilding of roma- ^e to invest it with interest. The rock upon which it stands will not be more enduring than the fame of the achievements that have been there enacted. Where stood the fragile huts of the simple Algonquins, there have arisen parapeted walls, bat- cleft for sixty miles through the heart of a mountain wilderness. Every tiling is hard, naked, steru, silent. Dark gray eliffa rise from the pitch- black water; lii-s of gloomy green are rooted in their crevices and frin^'e their summits; loftier ranges of a dull indigo hue show themselves in tiie background, and over all bends a pale, northern sky. The water beneaiJi us was black as night, and the only life in all that savngc solitude wjw, now and then, the back of a white porpoise, in some of the deeper coves. The river is a reproduction of the fiords of the Norwegiiin coast. (Uayard Taylor.) Sunlight and clear sky are out of place over its black waters. Any- thing which recalls the life and suide of nature is not in unison with the huge, naked cliffs, raw, cold and silent as the tombs. It is with a sense of relief that the tourist emerges from its sullen gloom, and look back upon it as a kind of vault,— Nature's sarcophagus, where life or sound eeeiuB never to have entered. (Louduu Times.) . I ■ifi' ■ABLT EZPLOBATIONS 81 Wements and fortifications, — emblems of militai'y prowess. For a century and a half this was the seat of the capital of the French Empire in America, whose authority extended from the stern and rocky coasts of Labrador to the«delta at the mouth of the Mississippi. Its name h>iis been oiiiinous of bloodshed ; and it has successively been the scene of tri- umphs which illuminated every city in the great nations of United States, Great Britain and France. From it bloody edicts went forth which gave over the border settlements of New England into the hands of the merciless savage, and his still more merciless white-coadjutor, and which «hi ouded her villages in mourning. On this barren rock was achieved the famous victory which gave the vast territory of Cauadaf to the Bi'itish crown." Cartier still pushed on, impatient to reach Hochelaga, the site of the present city of Montreal. He found there an In- dian town of about fifty wooden dwellings, begirt with a triple enclosure of a circular form, and palisaded. He re- quested to be taken to a mountain top a mile distant ; en- chanted with the view from this lofty peak, he gave to the hill itself the name Mount Royal, — words which have since been modified into MontreaJ, and become the appellation of the fair city on its southern declivity. The squadron re- turned down the river and occupied the place selected for winter quarters. Scurvy broke out among the company ; the cold became inteuse, and increased day by day ; out of more than one hundred men composing the three vessels' crews, for some time not more than three or four men were free from disease. Too weak to open a grave for the dead the survivors yet able to crawl about deposited the bodies under the snow. At length, after twenty-five of their num- ber had perished, and when most of the others were ap^jar- » s fThe natives iutiinated to Cnrtier of a collection of wigwams further up streaiu which wfts called Kauuata, from which word the country prob- , ably derived itd uame. I 1 i :. 1 1 82 ACADTA ently at death's door, a native told them of a remedy whiclfi was resorted to with the effect of curing every ailing French- man within a few days. When spring returned, Cartier set Bail for France, signalizing his leave-taking by an act oi treachery. Inviting the King and three or four of the prin- cipal chiefs on board, he imprisoned them and carried thenk to France. The lamentations of the Indians were of no avail, and none of the expatriated savages ever saw their native soil again. While he was still at Quebec a number of London mer chants sent out two vessesls on a trading voyage to the coast of America. They spent some time in Acadian wateis, but found the natives so shy that they w ere unable to trade with them. Coming short of provisions, they for a t>rae subsisted on herbs and roots j at last they were reduced to the extremity of cas'iing lots to see who should die to afford sustenance for the remainder. At this critical moment a French vessel appeared, laden with provisions. This they immediately seized, and appropriating its cargo, thus pro- vided for their wants. France and England being then at peace, the Frenchmen complained of the outrage to the Eng- lish sovereign, Ilenry VIII. The King, on learning the great straits to which his countrymen had been reduced, forgave them the offense, and generously compensated the Frenchmen out of nis own private purse. The failure of Cartier to discover gold (that great desideratum), and the Bufferings his men had undergone, together with the fo- ment in which he found his native country on account of religious dissensions, caused the project of colonizing the new world to be temporarily abandoned. The very exist- ence of Canada seems to have been ignored. Not until the year 1541 was public attention again turned toward Acadia. The anticipated profits of the traffic in pel- try and the fisheries were sufficient to induce many to brave the dangers of the deep and the rigors of a northern winter; ¥ BARLT BXPLOBATIOKS 88 accordingly in that year another expedition was prepared by King Francis, who bestowed the chief command on Ro- berval, making him his lieutenant and viceroy in Canada. Gartier was appointed Captain- General of the fleet. The latter without waiting for hie superior who was detained, set out with five ships early in the summer of 1541 ; ascend- ing the St. Lawrence he cast anchor Ai, Quebec which he had left five years previously. Notwithstanding his act of treachery toward the natives, he was allowed to remain in peace through the winter; but in the spring, their man- ner being changed, he knew they only waited an oppor- tunity to attack him, and he embaiked his colonists to re- turn home. He set sail for France at the same time Rober- val was leaving there with three ships, with two hundred colonists on board. Boberval had been prevented from joining Cartier the yeai' before. The two squadrons met at St. Johns, Newfoundland. Cai'tier >\'as commanded by bis superior to return with him to Canada: but he, having had enough of Canada experience, weighed anchor under cover of night and departed for France. Roberval proceed- ed to Can^a, took possession of Cartier's forts, and there spent the winter, having first dispatched two vessels to France, to inform the King of his arrival, and requesting that provisions be sent him the next year. The scurvy broke out, and not having the remedy used by Cartier, fifty of the colonists died before spring. The chronicle informs us, that during the winter "one man was hanged for theft, several others were put in irons, and many were whipped, by which means they lived in qui- et." The next spring Roberval made an exploration into the interior, during which one of his vessels sunk and eight of his men were drowned. During the summer he return- ed to France with what remained of his colony. In 1549 Boberval organized another expedition, and again set sail for Canada, accompanied by his brother A.chille and a band f ifji ('! i : 1 '' M AOAOU of brave adventurers. Their fate is one of the secrets of the sea. Canada had reason to lament the event, for the loas of that expedition retarded the settlement of the ooun< try for more than half a century. ! ■! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^S^ BnP.,\f\ ^ #ir*' li ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^' =="'' i ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^'^^'^ -■^^^^^■l i^^^^l M ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ■■ 1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H ilHHHIHH^HHHI ATTEMPTS AT COLONIZATION. For a period of about forty years succeeding the ill- starred expedition of Boberval, the colonization of Acadia was not attempted. This period was fully occupied by the vai'ious European powers in conflicts with each other, and in the more Hanguinary domestic wars of religion. It must not be supposed there was no intercourse during tiiis period between the old world and the new. The Nor- mans, the Basques, the Bretons and others, "continued to fish for cod, and join in the pursuit of whales that frequent- ed the embouchure of the St. Lawrence and the neighbor- ing waters." In 1578, one hundred and fifty-seven French vessels repaired to Newfoundland alone, in addition to the vessels of other nationalities. These hardy fishermen were continually widening the limits of navigation. Another im- portant branch of industry, the traffic in peltries, began to grow up, and proved to be nearly as profitable as the deep- sea fishing. Their vessels ascended the St. Lawrence, and dotted the picturesque rivers and bays of Acadia. But these expeditions were planned and executed by private en- terprise, and therefore possessed none of the interest and importance of national ventures. England was the first to break this period of inaction. She came late into the field, yet it was her province, in the end, to eclipse all others in tne race for territory in the new world. In 1683, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, brother of Sir If 91 AOAOU Walter Raleiph, set out to found a colony ander British patronage, with a fleet of five vessels. Two hundred and sixty men accoiiiptuiied the expedition, including many car- penters, sbipwriglits, masons and blacksmiths. Nothing seems to have been omitted that was thought necessary to the success of tlie enterprise. The little fleet had been but two days at sea when the largest vessel turned back on account of a contagious dis- ease which had brolcen out among its crew.* After a foggy and disagi'eeablc passage, tlio remainder o/ th-? fleet reached Newfoundland in sai'ety toward the close of July. The first sight of this desolato coast, — a bleak stretch of lofty rock loouiing through a dense fog — was disheartening to the storm-tossed mmitiors. They soou re:iched the haibor of St. John, wJxere they were churmei"! with the fresh green foliage, bright flowcr.s, and nn abiindaucc of berry-beaiing bushes. Hero tJiey found thirty-sis ships of vaiious na- tions, with who)n they exchanged civilities. Gilbert at once lauded and took fonnal possossion in the name of the Queen, amid a salvo of t)rd)iauco from the shipping in the harbor. The suninier was spent iu examining the creeks Rnd bays, noting the soundings, and sui-veving the coasts at grent risk of destruction. Evidences of rich mineral de- posits wore found, v/luch eontributefl much to tae satisfac- tion of the crew. One night, toward the close of August, there were signs of an approaching storm. It was after- wai'd romenibered, that " like the swan that singeth before her death, they in the Delight continued in the sounding of drums and trumpets and tifes, also the winding of cor. nets and hautboys, and in the end of their jolhty, left with the battoll. and the ringirjg of doleful bells." Soon after, the storm broke upon then The JJelight, the largest of the vessels, struck and w';nt down among the breakers oflf I I * tk>me say it was a case of desertion. ATTBMfTS AT COLONIZATION 89 Cape Breton, in full view of the others, who were unable to rentier any help. A large store of provisions, and Gilbert's papers, were lost The Golden Hind and the /Squirrel nar- rowly escaped, and were now left alone. The weather con- tinued boihterouM: the rigors uf wii;ter had set in early; provisions run short; and Gilbert found himself with no al- ternative but to abandon his explorations and return to England. But he spoke hopefully of future expeditions to Newfoundland, and did his best to cheer the drooping spu*- its of his men. Gilbert shifted his flag to the /Squirrel, a mere boat of ten tons burden, against the entreaties of those in the other vessel. Shortly after, the sky became dark and threatening. The sailors declared they heard stiange voices in the air, and beheld fearful shapes flitting around the ships. When in Mid-Atlantic a severe gale arose, and destruction appeared inevitable. The /Squirrel labored heavily, and several times in the afternoon of the 9th September, was near cast away. Gilbert, sitting abaft with a book in his hand, as often as the Golden Flind came within healing, cried out — " We are as near Heaven by sea as by land ! " At midnight the lights of the Squirrel went out: — the elements had swallowed up both her and her hapless crew. The Golden Hind survived the storm, and bure the tidings of the disastrous fate of the expedition to England. At leiigth, France having obtained a respite from her ex- haustive wars, and her King [Henry IV] firmly established on his throne, the spirit of adventure began to revive, and attention was again directed to the New World. The strong arm of the government was no doubt called in requi- sition the sooner on account of difficulties between rival traders, who carried their animosities so far as to burn each other's bai'ges or coasting vessels. The nephews of Car- tier, believing that they were entitled to some consideration on account of the services of their illustrious relative, asked ^1 vW i ' I 't: 88 ACADIA for a renewal of the privilege accorded to him. Letters patent were granted them in 1588 ; but as soon as the mer- chants of St. Malo were apprised of this, which amounted to a prohibition on all other traders, they lodged an appeal before the privy council, and obtained a revocation of the grant. This did not serve their purpose, however, for a third competition arose, in the person of the Marquis de La Boche, who obtained a royal confirmation of himself as "lieutenant-general," or viceroy of Canada, Acadia and the lands adjoining. The Marquis was authorized to impress any ships or any mariner in the ports of France, that he might think needful for his expedition : he was empowered to levy troops, declare war, build towns, promulgate laws and execute them, to concede lands with feudal privileges, and regulate colonial trade at discretion. No trader, there- fore, dare set up against this monopoly. La Roche set sail in that year taking with him forty- eight convicts from the French prisons. Fearing that his people might desert him, he landed them on Sable Island, a barren sand-bank, one hundred and twenty miles to the south and east of Nova Scotia, while he went to find a suit- able place for a settlement. He visited Acadia and was re- turning for his colonists when he was caught in a tempest, and was driven before it, in ten or twelve days' time, to the French coast. Scarcely had he set his foot in France when he was thrown into prison, and not until five years after- ward was he able to apprise the King of the result ot his voyage. King Henry, compassionating the condition oi the unfortunates on Sable Island, dispatched the pilot of La Roche to learn their fate. That island which is of crescent- like configuration, arid and of rude aspect, bears no trees nor fruit; its only vegetation is sea-matweed, growing around a lake in the centre, and in places along the shore. When the pilot arrived he found their condition truly de- plorable. Of the whole band, forty-eight in numbei*, only *!ii ATTFMfrS AT COLOKIZATIOW 39 twelve remained. Left to their own discretion thay became utterly lawless ; evil passions being in the ascendant, each man's hand was turned against his neighbor, and many were horribly murdered. Ill-supplied bodily wants will tame the fiercest passions ; and the surviving few had latterly led a more tranquil life. A vessel had been wrecked on the breaker3 abounding on the shores of the desolate isle ; of tjje wood that had driven ashore they had constructed huts. Theii* food had consisted chiefly of the flesh of a few do- mestic animals which they had found on the island, of a species that had probably been left there by Baron de Leiy mora than eighty years before. Their clothing was com- posed of the skins of seals they had captured. The Kin^ desired to have them presented before him accoutred just as they had been found. Their hair and beard was in wild disorder, and their countenances had assumed an expres- sion unlike that of civilized man. The King so cpiiuuis- erated their condition that he gave ea;;h dfty crowns, and promised oblivion to p,ll the evil deeds they had committed afo' etima La Eoche, who had embarked his whole fortune in the enterprise, lost the wliole of it in succescliiifj' misfor- tune's through its inbfci umeutality, and died of a brokea heait. If f! \ m !i i i[ ■ ! J ! I! HIP ••I'll \ 1! (Ml PERMANENT SETTLEMENT, We are now arrived at a period we may desi^ate as tBe permprjent colonization of Acadia. Settlements had been establislied in Florida for nearly a quarter of a century, and blood liad already been shed for possession of that territo- rv ; Holland had founded the New Netherlands ; England had established a foothold in Jainestov/n ; France had di" rected her attention toward Canada and Acadia; hi a word, it seemed that every nation in Europe was reaily to cross swords with her neighbor over the division of ter- ritoi'y in America. Pont-Grave, a rich merchant of St. Malo, formed a plan of securing a monopoly of the fur trade in Acadia. His first step was to obtain a royal grant of all the powers and priv- ileges of La Roche ; the next, to cause a trading society to be foi'med of the leading merchants of Rouen, Under their patronage an expedition was fitted out and sent to America in command of Samuel Champlain. "With three barks of twelve to fifteen tons burden, that navigator set sail in 1603, p ad safely arrived in Acadian waters. The King was so ♦veil pleased with the account Champlain gave of the voy- age on his return that he promised royal aid Another expei!iii;)n was determined on, and four ships were manned and victualled for the enterpi'ise. The chief command was given to De Monts, a placeman at the French court, and distinguished as ever zealous for the honor of his country. Both Huguenots and Catholics were to ac- 'W: PERUAMSNT SBTTLEUENT 41 t* company the Bhips, the former being allowed full freedom in their religious worship, but were to take no part in na- tive proselyting, — the privilege of converting the heathen being exclusively reserved to the Catholic priests. Two of the vessels were to commence the traffic for the company at Tadousac, thence to range the whole seaboard of New France, and seize all vessels trading in violation of the roy- al prohibition. The two remaining vessels, having on boai'd a few emigrants, were to seek some favorable locality and form a settlement. De Monts sailed from Havre-de- Grace in March, 1604, and stood for Acadia, which he preferred to Canada on ac- count of its milder climate, the variety of its sea-fish, the abundance of harbors accessible at all times of the year, ani the friendly character of the natives. De Monts came upon the coast near La Heve, now Halifax. In the lirst harbor he entered he seized and confiscated a vessel which he found violating his monopoly, perpetuating the memory of the event by naming the port after the master of the cap- tured vessel — Port Rossignol. Cruising westward, he en- tered another harbor which he named Port Mouton in hon- or of another victim — that of an unfortunate sheep which fell overboard. De Monts, becoming alarmed at the delay of the vessel that was to bring out provisions for the win- ter, sent out exploring parties along the coast ; the ship was happily discovered near Canso, and her stores brought to him by aid of the Indians ; he then ordered h^. saptain to proceed to Tadou::ac in aid of the colony there. De Monts continued to coast to the westward around Cape SiiUe, and entered the Bay of Fundy* which he called, "la Bale Franc,>aise." He next entered St. Mary's Bay; finding it a pleasant country, he advanced and sent out exploring ^artien. On board ship was a priest named Aubrey, who 'Foud de U Bale uu old French maps. c 111 ! m •ti ACADIA went on shore with the company as was his custom. When about to return to the ship, he could not be found; they fired guns to attract his attention, but were forced to return without him. Cannons were fired from the vessel to guide him in case he were near, and for four days they searched the woods without avail. Then a suspicion was aroused in the minds of the friends of the missing man, that something was wrong. One of the party in company with Aubrey was A Protestant, and their voices had been heard in high dis- pute on religious matters while in the woods, and it was feared violence had been done him. To the credit of the com I ony be it said, no action was taken against the suspect- ed p.; ■.•■' ' "d with sad hearts they sailed out of St. Mary's Bay. I. ig along the coast they discovered a naiTow channel it. 'nginto a capacious basin, around which were modest slopes cleft with deep water-courses, and bordered with verdant meadows. This was Annapolis Basin. The spa- ciousness and security of the harbor caused them to name it Port Royal. A large stream flowed into the basin from the eastward, up which they sailed fifteen leagues, as far as the boats would go. and named it River de I'Esquille, from a fish of tliat name with which it abounded. M. de Poutrincourt, a gentleman of Picardies who accom- panied the expedition, was so well pleased with the beauty of Port J^oyal and its surroundings, that he obtained a grant of it from De Monts, which grant was afterward con- firmed by the King. Leaving Port Royal, they pursued their way further to the east. Soon coming in sight of Cap© Chignecto, they called it the "Cape of Two Bays," because it separated Chignecto Bay from the Basin of Minas. To the lofty island which lies off the cape they gave tho natne of Islai.(.l Ilaaty on account of its great elevation. They landed on it/b solitary beach, which to this clay is seldom profened by the foot of njan, and Ciimbed to its summit, where liXMf y. !lll PERMANJiNT SETTLEMENT 43 fo\ind a spring of water. They next sai'ed eastward until thfc-y discovered the river by which the Indians reached the Basil) of Miuas from Tracadie, Miraraichi, and other parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Chaaiplain seems unfavora- bly impressed with the forbidding aspect of the rock-bound coasts. Crossing the liay of Cliignecto, the voyagetrrs came to a spacious bay with three islands and a rock, two bearing a league to the eastward, the other at the mouth of a river, the largest and deepest they had yet seen. This they named the lliver St. John, on account of the day it was discovered. By the Indians it was called Ouangont^y, signifying a higli- way. Champlain, the historian of the expedition, describes the River St. John that the falls being passed, the river en- lai'ged to a league in certain places, and that there were three islands, near which there were a great quantity of meadows and handsome woods, tiuch as oaks, beeches, but- ternuts, and vines of wild grapes. The inhabitants went to Tadousac, on the great River St. Lawrence, and had to pass but little land to reach the place. Leaving the St. John, they sailed to the west and carae in sight of four islands now called "The Wolves," but which he named Isles an Margos, from the great number of birds be found on them. He presently found Himself sailing among islands, many of them very beautiful, and contain- ing numerous harbors, situated in a cul de sac; the waters abounded in fish. The season being far spent, De Monts fixed upon an island at the mouth of the St. Croix River as the most suitable place to commence a settlement. He immediately be'^^an the erection of suitable buildings, in the meantime dispatch- ing one of his vessels to St. Marys Bay to examine some ores The attention of the sailors was attracted one day to the signal of a white handkerchief attached to a stiok and waved by a person on shore; immediately landing they 4i ACADIA IS i. I. .11 were overjoyed on finding the missing Aubrey, who had been absent seventeen days, subsisting on berries and roots. He had strayed from his companions, and being unable to retrace his steps, he wandered he knew not whither. De Monts built his fort at the end of the Island ; outside of this were the barracks. Within the fort was the resi- dence of De Monts fitted up with " fair carpentry work ;" close at band were the dwellings of his officers. A. covered gallery, for exercise during bad weather, a storehouse, a large brick oven, and a chapel, completed the structures for the use of the colony. "Nearly two hundred years after- ward, t je stone fount'ations of these buildings were brought to light. Five distinct piles of ruins were discovered on the north end of the island, and the manner in which the woik had been done showed the builders iut<:!i:ded the fort should be a permanent one.''* Wbilc the colonists were thus occupied, Poutrincourt took his departure for France : he went for the purpose of re- moving his family to the home he had chosen at Port Roy- al, and to bear a message to the King that his subjects had at last founded a colony in Acadia. Scarcely had they completed their labors before the rig- ors of winter btu'st upon them in all their fury. The colo- nists weio appalled at the depth of the snows, and the fury of the blasts ; the river became a black aud chilly tide, and the cold was more severe than they had ever before experi- enced. De Monts had not chosen the position wisely, there bf iug no wood near. Before spring thiity-six of his people died of scurvy.f •Hanney. tChamplain describes this disease as follows: — During the Trinter » certain disease broke out among many of our people, ciiUed ute diRease of the country, otherwise the scurvy, as I have since heard learned men sny. It originated in the month of those who have a large amount o£ dabby and superfluous flesh, (causing a bad putrefaction,) whioh inoreas** VEBHANENT SETTLXnENT it who bad nd roots, inable to ir. ; outside the resi' y work;" S. covered ehouse, a :ture8 for ars after- e brought )vered oa svhich the I the fort 3ourt took )se of re- i*ort Roy- ejects had 9 the rig- The colo- l the fury tide, and re experi- sely, thei'e his people ;li« Trintar a ixie disease earned men ) amocnt ot liehinflreaa* On the return of spring, De Monts armed his pinnace, and taking the remnant of colonists on board, hastened to ■quit the island. They sailed southward as far as Cape Cod; not finding a more eligible place for settlement, they turned helm and steered for Acadian waters, where they met with an expedition just arrived from Frau'ie, with fresh supplies and forty emigrants for the colony. This accession stimu- lated their drooping spirits, and they at once set out for Port RoyaL On their way they stopped at the solitary island which had been the scene of so much suffering, and where so many of their companions lay bui'ied. Before leaving, some of the colonists sowed grain on the island: on visiting the place years later, they found and reaped a heavy crop of rya *' A solitary lighthouse now warns the manner to avoid its bleak and inhospitable shores." The site chosen for settlement at Port Royal was oppo- site Goat Island, on the Granville side of the basin, about six miles from the present town of Annapolis. The position was admirably adai^ted to the purpose. The giound gent- ly sloped from the bank; the long line of hills in the rear warded off the bleak north winds ; timber of the best qual- ity was abundant ; the fisheries were close at hand ; there es to such au extent thnt tbey can scarcely take anyibing, unless it is al- most liquid. The teetli Iwcome quite loose, and they can be extracted by the fingers without cnusin;.; .tny pain. The superfluity of this flesh re- quires to be cut nwiiy, auci this causes a violent bleeding from the mouth. They are afterward seized with great pain in the legs and arms, which swell up and become very hard, all marked as if bitten by fleas, and they are unable to walk from contraction of the nerves, so that tliey have no strength left, and suffer the most intolerable pain. They have also pains iu the loins, the stomach and intestines, a very bad cough, and shortness of breath; in short, they are in such a state that the greater part of those seized with the complaint can neither rp^se nor move themselves, and if they attempt to stand erect they fall do\ u senseless, so that of seventy- Dine ot us, tbirty-five died, and more than twenty barely escaped death. IK K ACADIA wei'e mai'sh lands of ioezhaustible richness ^ the climate here was milder than in most of the peninsula ; — in short, nothing was wanting that Nature could oestow to render the location desirable^ The colonists once more set to work. Dwellings were erected, storehouses built, and a small palisaded fort was constructed^ as a means of defense against an enemy. And here the first water-mill was put up, an expedient that saved the colonists a great amount of the severest labor. As soon as this work was fairly inaugurated^ De Monts departed for France to provide for the provisioning of the new settlement, leaving Pontgrave in command during his absence. He left them under very auspicious circumstances and anticipated a speedy return with the needed stores. — The natives were pacific through the winter, and provided the colonists with an abundance of fresh meat, and opened a brisk trade with them in peltries. The settlers were free from epidemic during the whole season. On return of spring [1606} Pontgrave, not yet satisfied, resolved to find a warmer climate for his colony. He fitted out a barque and set sail for Cape Cod. Twice was he driv- en back to Port Royal by stress of weather -, at the last at- tempt the little vessel was injured at the mouth of the har- bor, and permanently disabled. Pontgrave set to work to build another ; in the meantime the season waned, and D© Monts did not arrive from France. On the 25th of July, Pontgrave left Port Royal in his new vessel, leaving two men in charge of the stores, and, with the hope of falling in with some fishing vessel, coasted along as far as Canso, Bailing through the Petite Passage, between Long Island and the Main. At this time De Monts was hastening to the aid of Port Royal in the Jonas, and happening to pass out- side of Long Island, the vessels missed each other. De Monts had been detained in France by some unforeseen cir- ciuustauce, but finally succeeded m uettiii^ out with a fresh 1 !i PmmANlETr SETTI.RMmuT 47 aiipply of provisions and men, Poutrincoiirt arrcompanying hiin. Pontgiave fell in with a shallop left on the Canao ooast bv De Monts, and rpoeived information that the Jo- nas bad arrived. He retraced his course with all haste, and on the 31st of July, rejoined his companions at Port Royal. In honor of the event Poutrincourt op-^ned a hogs- head of wine, and the night was spent in Bacchanalian rev- elry. Althonpfh the season was far advanced, they sowed vege- tables and prain. Most of the colonists would have bfen c< ntent to remain, but De Monts wanted to make another t'ffoit further south. Accordingly Poutrincourt set sail on the 28th of August in search of another location in which to fix their settlement. On the same day the Jonas put to 8ea with De Monts and Pontgrave, who were to return to France. Poutrincourt's voyage began with diflScnlties, and ended in disaster. After being twice turned back by storms, he coasted as far as Cape Cod : here his vessel was dama<7ed among the shoals. Some of his men who went ashore, caMie in collision with the natives, who here appeared to be of a savage, warlike disposition. Poutrincourt ordei*ed \\\a men on board ; but five of them who neglected to obey, were sur- prised, two killed outright and others wounded — two mor- tally. A party were sent on shore, and the slain were buried, and a cross erected over their graves. The Indians soon appeared, tore down the cross and dug up the bodies. Pou- trincourt replaced the cross and bodies, and bore away for Port Royal, where they arrived on the 14th of November. The following winter was spent in comfort and cheerful- ness. They made an arrangement, for each colonist to be- come steward and caterer for the day in his turn ; it became a point of honor with each one, as his day of providing came, to have the table well served with game, which he procured from the forest or else purclias* d of the Indians. In conse- quence they faied sumptuously all winter. Painful to re- i ) H1|' y i:-i I I I w%. 4S ACAOTA cord, though bread and game were abundant, their wine be- gan to fall short, — the festive Frenchmen were reduced from three quarts a man, daily, to an inconsiderable pint. The Micniacs were their constant Tisitors through the winter. Mernberton, chief of all the clans from Gaspe to Cape Sable, was a frequent guest. He recollected the vis- it of Cartier to the Bay of Chaleurs over sixty years befoie. In the spring the work of improvement was renewed. The fisheries were prosecuted vigorously, and all available land was prepared for receiving seed, and fortune seemed to Bmile on the little colony. One morning in May the Indians brought in word that a vessel was moving up the Basin. Poutrincouvt set out in his shallop to meet her ; — she proved to be a small barque from the Jonaii, then lying at Canso, She brought the dis- heartening intelligence that the company of merchants was broken up, and that no further supplies weie to br) furnished the colony. Nothing now remained but to leave Port Roy- al, where so much had been expended to no purpose. Pou- trincourt determined to take visible tokens of the excellen- cies of Acadia back to France with him ; to do so he must stay until corn was ripe. Not to sacrifice the interests of the merchants at whose charge the vessel had been sent to take the colonists back to France, he employed the barque in the meantime in trading with the Indians at St. John and St. Croix, and at Minas. A war having broken out between the Indians of Acadia and the tribes west of the Penobscot, the whole available force of the Micmacs was called into requisition. Port Royal was the rendezvous, and early in the summer Mem- berton took his departure for Saco with four hundred war- riors. This savage pageant, warlike, novel and imposing, greatly interested the whites ; as the flotilla swept past the eettleuient the Frenchmen'.* guns thundered forth a grand salute which reverberated far and wide over the water — by f. '■ll ON THE ] ducod : such was the tragic end of this great savage war, and Memberton returned triuuipl ant to Fort Royal before the colonists leiy. The grain having ripened, Foutriucourt set sail on the 11th of August. He left Memborton ten hogsheads of meal and all the standing grain, enjoining the Indians to sow more hi the spring. The natives appeared sincerely grieved at the departure of the colonists, manifesting the intensity of their feelings even to teax's. Foutiincourt promptly waited on the French Monarch, showing him upcoimens of wheat, barley and oats grown in AcaJia : also five living wild geese hatch 1 nfjar Port Royal. Tho King was much pleased with the specimens, and urged Foutrincourt to continue the settlement. He ratified the grant of Fort Royal made him by De Monts, and desired him to procure the services of the Jesuits in converting the Indians, and offertd t vo thousand livres ft r their support. Two yeai's subsequent, Ohampdore visited Fort Roy a., and found the grain growing finely and the buildings ail in good order ; he was received by Memberton and his people with demonstrations of welcome. Foutrincourt was detained in France much longer than lie anticipated : he did not visit Fort Royal until June, 1610. This time he brought wiih him a Catholic priest named Josse Flesche, who prosecuted the work of converting the Indians. At Fort Royal twenty-five were baptized — xVlem- berton being one of the number. This great Sachem was 80 full of zeal that he oflFered to make war on all who should refuse to become Christians : this savored too much of the Mohammedan system of conversion, and was declined. — Poiitrincoui't, who was somewhat of a connoisseur in music, vr AOAriA composed times for the hymns and chants used by the In- dian converts in the ceremonies of the church. A band of novel worshipers they were, celebrating in their rude church the solemn rites, with maimers yet untamed. I*oatrincourt had sent his son to France for supplies ear- ly in July, and also to carry the news of the conversion of the natives, with instructions to return in four months. Winter having set in, and the expected succor not arriving, the colonists became seriously alarmed; but their experience in Acadian life enabled them to depend on their own exertions for supplies svifficient to wai'd off starvation. Biencourt had presented himself at the French coui't, and was desired by the Queen to take two Jesuit missionaries. Fathers Bl- are] and Mass^, with him on his return, the ladies of the court providing liberally for the voyage. Biencourt's ves- sel was to sail from Dieppe in October, but some Hugue- not traders who had an interest with Bieucourt refused to allow any Jesuits to go in the vessel. To this he was obliged to submit : Madame de Guercheville, a lady of the court, collected money sufficient to buy out the traders, and the missionaries were allowed to embark. Biencourt, with a company of thu'ty-six persons, and a Bmall craft of but sixty tons buiden, essayed a winter voy- age across the stormy Atlantic. They sailed in January, 1611, but were socn forced to take shelter in an English harbor. The voyage lasted four months : at one time they were in great danger from icebergs ; they reached Port Roy- al late in May. Much of the stores that were to supply the colony had been exhausted on the voyage, and they were forced to seek provisions elsewhere. A temporary supply having been ob- Uiined of some fishing vessels at the isiand of Grand Me- nan, Poutrincourt set sail for France, leaving Port Eoyal in command of his son. The coiouy consisted of twenty- two persons, including thd Jesuit MiBsiouMies. F»thttr PERMANENT SETTLEMEKl' 61 ira=!sJi took up his abode in the Micmac village at the mouth of the St. John ; Father Biard united himself with Indians ai Port Koyal, accompauying Biencourt on his oc- casional tvips to points along the Bay of Fundy. About thit time, the chief, Membeiton, being near his end, a disputt arose between the Jesuit priests and Bien- court as to his piace of burial. Biencourt wanLeJ him to be buried among his own people, agreeably to a promise he had made the dying chief ; the Jesuits insisted he should be buried in consecrated ground. Biencourt curtly told them they might consecrate the Indian burial ground, but he should see that Memberton's request was carried out. The old chief consented to be buried with the Christians, and he was accordingly interred in the burial ground at Port Royal. Meanwhile the colonists were getting short of provis- ions ; but late in January [1G12] a vessel arrived with sup- plies, sent out by an arrangement Poutrincourt had made with Madame de Guercheville, who had exerted herself strenuously to promote the mission of the Jesuits. This lady was hkely to become an ally that would fain be his own master ; it being her ambition to form a spiritual des- potism in Acadia, in which the Jesuits were to be the rul- ers, and herself the patroness. All of Acadia except Port Royal belonged to De Monts ; having obtained a release of his rights, and a grant from the King for herself, she de- pended on Poutriucourt's necessities to force him to relin- quish his portion. The latter did not return to Port Roy- al, but sent a vessel in charge of Simon Imbert, a servant iu whom he had entire confidence, Madame de Guerche- ville sent another Jesuit named Du Thet, in the guise of a paHseuger, but really as a spy in hej- interest. Soon after tLeir arrival, serious difftu-eiiees arose between the priests and the colonists. It is said that Uiencourt was actually oxcommuuicatod by the Jesuit pridsba ; ho uooUy iuformed 1 m i; ■31 If i. ;l!li • < I' 03 ACADIA them, that however hij^h their s])iritual authority mipfht be, he was their ruler un earth, aud that he would be obeyed by all in the colony, even to the point of compelling obedi- ence with the lash. Biard and Mass6, who appeared sin- crt'ely desirous of converting* the savages, were suffered to remain in the colony ; bnt Du Thet, whom Eieiicourt sus- pected of not coming out as a missionary, and who was all the while creating dissensions, was sent l-- -^- to France.— Thus was Port Eoyal once more brou^ .. to a tranquil state.* Biencourt now set to work to prevent the influence of the Jesuits from becoming predominant in the colony : this de- termined the Lady de Guercheville to establish there a col- ony of her own. At Honfleur she fitted out a vessel of one hundred tons burden, aud gave the commi nd to M. de La Saussaye, with forty-eight persons and pi ^visions for one year, — the Jesuit Fathers Du Thet and Qua itin accompany- ing the expedition. The vessel was bettev provided with stores and implements than any previously sent to Acadia ; cai'rying horses, goats for milk, tents and munitions of war. She wrote a letter commanding that Fathers Biard and Mass^ be allowed to leave Port Boyal. The vessel sailed in March, 1613, reaching Cape La H6ve in May, where they held high mass, and erected a cross with the arms of Marchioness de Guercheville as a symbol that they held possession of the country for her. They next visited Port Royal; taking Fathers Biard and Massd on board, they stood for Peutagoet. When off Grand Me- nan, a thick fog arose which lasted ten days: ^en they put into a harbor on the east side of Desert Island. This they chose as a site for a settlement, naming the town St. Sauveur. All were speedily engaged in clearing ground. La Saussaye was advised by the principal colonists to build •Honoajb '■■m i^- VXBHANXNT BISTTLEUEHT 53 « BwfficTent fortification before proceeding to cultivate the soil : he merely raised a small j^aiisaded structure, and was perforce little prepared to meet the storm that was about to fall upon the uususpecting little colony. A fleet of VI ssels from Virginia, convoyed by an armed vessel under command of Captain Samuel Argali, came into Acadian waters for fish. Learning there was a French set- tlement in Mount Desert Harbor, with a vessel, he resolved to attack. All the French were ashore except ten men who did not understand the working of the ship. At the second discharge of Argall's musketry, Du Thet fell back mortally wounded ; four others were seriously injured, and two mea jumped overboaid and were drowned. Argali proceeded to the new settlement on the shore, and informed them they were on English territ''.y, and that they must remove. He said to La Saussaye s he could prove he was acting under commission from ' xie Crown of France, he would treat them icjulerly. T.r. Liaussaye could not show his commission, as it was among the jjapers which Argali had abstracted from the ship's chest while plundering the captured vessel. Ai'- gall now assumed a very haughty tone, — called them a set of freebooters and pirates— uud to show his authority, car- ried away fifteen of the colony in chains to Vii'ginia, mag- nuuimously allowing the remainder to take a shallop and go in search of some French fishing vessel in which to return to France. Argali arrived in Vuginia, with his bound French cap- tives. His perfidious theft of La Saussaye's commission was likely to cause his prisoners to be executed as pirates } to save them he produced the filched document: but this, while it saved the lives of one set of Frenchmen, ruined the rest of Acadia. Argali was furnished with two armed ves- sels, and set sail on a mission to destroy all the French set- tlements in Acadia. He was accompanied by Fathers Biard and Qusntin. Argali first visited St. Sauveur, wheie he de> 64 ACADTA m stroyed the cross the Jesuits had set up, and erecCed tCDoth" er in its place with the name of the British King on it ; then firing the buildings he sailed £<»* SL Croix Island, where he destroyed a quantity of salt stored there by fishermen. He then crossed to Port Royal, piloted, it is said, by an Indian ;; but some suspected, and it was generally believed, that Fa- ther Biard did this favor. Arrived at Port Royal, the fort was found to be without an occupant — all the people were at work in the fields, five miles distant. The first intimation the poor Frenchmen had of the presence of strangers, was the smoke of their burn- ing dwellings. Argall proceeded to destroy the fort, to- gether with a great quantity of goods stored within it, and even effaced with a pick, the arms of France and the names of De Monts and other Acadian pioneers, engraved on a stone in the interior. He is said to have spared the mills and barns up the river, only because he did not know they were there. The piratical Ai'gall, having completed the de- struction of the colony, departed for Vii'ginia, having, by the act, rendered his name notorious in American annals. The despoiled inhabitants quitted the place, some taking refuge in the woods around with the Indians, and others emigrating to a distant settlement on the river St. Lawrence- History says, that while the ^struction was going on, Biencourt made his appearance, and requested a confeience. The parties met in a meadow ; Biard endeavored to persuade the colonists to abandon the country and take shelter with tho invaders. The advice was received badly. Biencourt proposed a division of the trade of thecountry ; Argall would not accede to this — his mission was to dispossess the French, ar.d nothing short of that would suffice. When Argall left Port Royal, that settlement, on which more than 100,000 crowns had been expended, lay in ashes ; — a place more desolate than the most dreary desert could have been. No . more wanton destruction could be imagined, perpetrated iq PERMAIfE:?! SETTLEMENT 5S a time of peace, — the only claim that England could lay to the territory being, that the Cabots, more than a century before, had touched somewhere upon these shores while sailing under British authority. No remonstrance ever came from France for this piratical outrage — that power evident- ly preferring to recognize the colony in the light of a pri- vate venture, and not giving the afiair the importance of a national issue. Poutrincourt, who attributed all his misfortunes to the Jesuits, took no further part in the affairs of Acadia; he was killed soon after the events just related, in the military ser- vice of the King. Bieiicourt never returned to France, but maintained him- self and a few faithful companions the rest of his life in Acadia; sometimes living with the savages, and at other times residing near Port Royal. Of his adventurous life in the remote Acadian wilds, but little has come down to us in history. Doubtless were it written, it would rival the most romantic production of fiction. ■gpmwwr I ! THE LA tours: Although the destruction of Port Eoya! by Argall was complete, it does not appear that many of the inhabitants returned to France. In 1619, two French trading compa- nies were formed ; one to carry on a shore fishery with a rendezvous at Miscou on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the other a trade in furs with a depot at the mouth of the Riv- er St. John. To provide for the religious wants of the ad- venturers, three Recollet missionaries were sentj through their instrumentality many of the natives were induced to embrace the Christian religion. During all this time the English continued to assert their right to Acadia by reason of the discovery by the Cabots a centui-y before, and were fain to consider the French as interlopers. At the court of King James was a Scottish gentleman^ Sir Williain Alexander, standing high in royal favor, to whom was granted in September, 1621, a j)iece of territory including the whole of Nova Scotia, New Bi'unswick and the Gaspe peninsula, to be held at a quit-rent of one penny Scots per year, to be paid on the soil of Nova Scotia on the festival of the Nativity of Christ, if demanded. The pro- prietor was endowed with enormous powers for the gov- («:nmcnt of his territory, the creation of titles und officers, and the maintenance of fortifications and fleets. In pursuance of his broad plans, in 1622 Alexander fitted out a vessel, and sent it to his new dominions. It was late r THE LA T0UB3 67 irgall waft nhabitants ng compa- jry with a ce, and the )f the Riv- of the ad' t; through induced to 9 time the by reason and were iB'entleman, favor, to f territory swick and one penny otia on the The pro- the gov- d ofiScers, nder fitted i was late Mi in the season when it reached Newfoundland, where the win- ter was spent. The following spring the expedition sailed to Cape Sable, where some time was occupied on the coast ; finding the French in full possession, it returned to Scot- land. In 1625, Alexander obtained a confirmation of his title to Acadia ; and to expedite its settlement, an order of Baronets was created. This, it was thought, would promote emigra- tion by the introduction of the English custom of landed es- tates into the new territory : probably that result would have been accomplished, had the plan been vigorously carried out. While this effort at the colonization of Acadia by English subjects was going on. Cardinal Richelieu formed a strong company to accomplish a similar purpose under French patronage, to which was given the title of the Compa- ny of New France. By the terms of the charter, Richelieu was bound to settle 200 persons the first year, and at the end of fifteen years the number to be augmented to 4000 — every settler to be of French birth, and a Catholic. The French monarch gave the company two vessels of war, with aims and munitions : the wealth and standing of the members of the .company seemed to insure success. Twelve of the settlers received patents of Nobility ; the company were granted free entry into France of everything produced in Acadia, — thus having a monopoly of the fur trade, hunt- ing and shore fishery; and were clothed with the power of declaring peace or war. Thus were two powerful compa- nies fitted out by two European nations, who were destined to prey upon each other in the Acadian land. War between England and France having broken out, this circumstance was highly favorable to the strife of the colonists. It is at this period of Acadian history that the name of La Tour comes into notice — a name associated with stirring and romantic incident, and occupying a prominent place in the annals of the country. Claude La Tour, the elder, was H \] ih . i 1 III > I i'l i ;i :; llliriil 68 ACADIA a French Hivruenot, who had lost the greater part of hia estate in tlio civil war. He was what njight be termed a broken down nobleman; and not having means to preserve tlie style of living to which his family had been accustomed, his nUention was diverted to the new world. He came to Acadia in 1609, accompanied by his son Charles, who was then twelve years old. He was engaged in trading when the settlement at Port Royal was broken up by Argall: he was afterward dispossessed, by the Plymouth Colony, of a fort which he had erected at the mouth of the Pembocet. Charles La Tour, the son, allied himself to Biencourt, and was made his Lieutenant ; and in 1623, when he was twenty-six years old, he was bequeathed Biencourt's rights at Port Boyal, and thus became his successor. He married a Huguenot lady, who afterward became the most remark- able character in Acadian history. Charles had removed from Port lioyal soon alter his marriage, and had built a fort at what is now Port La Tour, near Cape Sable. His quick perception showed him that, in the war that had brok- en out, the French were in danger of losing their title to the territory; to provide against such an occurrence, his father sailed for France to obtain arms and ammunition. On the voyage back with the supplies, several of the vessels were captured by a British squadron in command of Sir David Kii'k, and Claude La Tour was sent to England as a prisoner of war. Kirk took possession of Port Royal, left a few men in charge of the works, and gave orders to pre- pare for the reception of a colony in the spring. Out of the fleet coming to the aid of Charles La Tour, eighteen ves- sels were captured, together with one hundred and thirty- five pieces of ordnance, and a vast quantity of ammunition- When tidings reached him of the disaster to the fleet, he summoned all the French in Acadia into his fort. In the meantime the elder La Tour, being designedly treated with especial favor at the English court which held ^ Hi 'I THE LA TOURS 69 ,rt of Ilia termed a preserve •ustomed, I came to who was ing when iryali: he [ony, of a nbocet. 3iencourt, n he was L-t's rights .e married it reiuark- l removed id built a ible. His had brok- ir title to rence, his imunitiou. le vessels nd of Sir land as a ioyal, left to pre- Out of iteen ves- ud thii'ty- imuiiition- fieet, he lesiguedly bich held rs him prisoner, and, moreover, forgetful of Lady La Tour, who lay sleeping in her lowly grave at Rochelle, became en- amored of a Protestant lady, whom ho married, and so fell away from his allegiance to his native country. Ho became iutciestcd in Sir AVilliara Alexander, and was created a Bar- onet of Nova Scotia, — his son Charles receiving the same honor. The two La Tours were granted a tract of territo- ry from Yarmouth to Lunenburg, fifteen leagues inland tow'iud the north, the laud to ba held under the Crown of Scotland. They were invested with power of building forts and towns, togethei- with the rights of Admiralty over the whoUi coast. For this munificent gift the elder La Tour undtMtook to plant a colony of Scotch in Acadia, and also to obtain jKisnession of his son's fort at St. Louis for the King of Great Britain. He accordiiigly set sail in 1630, with two vessels well pro- vided, and landing at Fort La Tour, waited on his son. Notwithstauditjg all the persuasions the father could offor, with promiacs of wealth and the favor of the Crown of Gioat Britain, the son could not be setluced from his allegiance to France, and boldly declared himself incapable of betraying the contidence leposed in him. Overwhelmed with mc^rti- fication, the elder La Tour retired on board ship, where he addressed him a letter setting forth the advantages that would accrue to both ; he next attempted to intimidate by menaces, in all of whicli he was disregarded: driven to des« peration, he disembarked soldiers and a number of seamen, and attempted to carry the fort by assault. His attack was received by the son with spirit, and he was driven back with loss ; the next day he directed another assault, with no better success. La Tour urged a third attempt but ia this his intention was thwarted by the commanding officer, who would not permit any more men to be sacrificed. Claude La Tour was now in a bad plight. He was a trait- or to his country ; he had broken his promise to the English ; 1 1.1 ?!!!! 1 M I'i.i 1' n I'M I 1 .1 iliill -11 1^1 !l 60 AOADIA he had nowbere to turn for comfort or succor. He told hiB wife he bad countpd on introducing her to a life of luxury and ease in Acadia, but found himself instead, reduced to beggary, and offered to release her and allow her to return to her family; she refused to desert him at his misfortune, peif erring to share with him his trials and troubles. He finally took up his abode at Port Royal, where a colony ^torn- posed chiefly of natives of Scol and had been established by a son of Sir William Alpxiuider, who had built a fort on the Granville shore opposite Goat Island, on the site of the French works destroyed by Argall. Little is known of the colony, and that kittle is a record of misfortunes. Thirty out of seventy colonists died the first winter : the anival of La Tour's ves'-'^ls revived their drooping spirits. Quebec having been captured by the English forces, the French determined to regain that stronghold, and also to strpngtben the defenses of what possessions still remained to them in America. Two vessels were fitted out with sup- plies, arms, and ammunition, and arrived sal'ely after a 'ovg and stormy passage. Captain Marot, who had command of the expedition, brought the younger La Tour a letter from his patrons, enjoining him to remain steadfast in the King's cause, and expressing the confidence of the company in his patriotism ; also informing him that the vessels with the arms and ammunition were at his service. Charles La Tour induced his father to come from Port Royal and live near him, — building a house for his accon)modation near the walls of the fort. The older La Tour brought information that the Port Royal colonists intended to make an attack on Fort La Tour. This information led to the evacuation of that fortress and the building of another strong fort at the mouth of the St. John, which would serve the double pur- pose of repelling the attacks of the English in that direc- tion, and command the peltry trade of the Indians of the TMt wilderness extending to the River St. Lawrence. Arti- I I measm-es it were best to adopt. — Mutual jealousies and iaisunderataudings pervaded the council, and the conferenie fell through without arriving at any decision. Giriing's snip was soon withdrawn, and tho French were left in uni]is*;urbed possession of the mouth of the Penobscot for several years. The last grant of importance made by the Company of New France was to Charles de La Tour, — that of the fort and habitation of La Tour on the River St. John, with lands adjacent. This fort was destined, in after years, to be the theatre of the most stirring events in Acadian history. ) I THE LA TOmtS 65 In 1676, Isaac de RaziUy died in the midst of plans for the colonizatiou of Acadia. The young colony soon became merged in dissensions ; instead ot engaging in the work of providing for their wants and improving their surroundings, thoy .separated into contending factions, and carried on then* quarrois with the most bitter animosity. As a legitimate result, after foii,y years had elapsed, scarcely a family had been added to the population of Acadia: during all this pe- riod New England, being more united in sentiment, was rapidly increasing in wealth and population After the death of Kazilly, it would seem that Charnisey was permitted, by the rightful heirs, to enter into posses- sion of his estates, though the deed of transfer was not given until some yeais later. One of his tirst acts was to take possession of Port lioyal, erect a new fort there, and remove thither a portion of the colonists at La Heve. He added to their number twenty families emigrating from France. Charles La Tour was occupying the fort at the mouth of the St. John Eivor, and his father Claude La Tour was holding the fortification at Port La Tour. A feud grew up between La Tour and Charnisey, exceeding in bit- terness and diiefui consequences the wari'are previously mentioned, against their English neighbors : as contentions between kindred are apt to be of the most hostile kind. The site of La Tour's fort was on the west bank of the St. John, at its mouth, on a gentle rise of ground commanding the bay and river. On the west side of the harbor, opposite Kavy Island, remains of earthworks may yet be seen, mark- ing the locations of the bastions of the fort.* Traces of it however, are rapidly disappearing,— the rapidly growing town of Carleton having already utilized most of its site. The fort was one hundred and forty feet square, compris- ' I'he author was siiowu these nmrkings in the summer of 1880 through the wurteey of Mr. J. Hanuny, the gcutlemanly resident historian, who luui given much utt«ntiuu to ituiin in Acuilian hibtory. E'i 66 A0AO1& MV . i' ing four bfisfions, and was enclosed by palisades, according to the prevai:ing custom of those early times. It was strong-- ly built of stone, and contained two houses, a chapel, mag- azine, and stables for cattle. Twenty cannon composed the heavy ordnance of the fort. In this savage retreat lived Charles La Tour, affecting a style and show of military power emulating the baronetcies of the old world. The woods, the sea and the streams, furnished an abundance of the choicest viands, and the yearly ship brought such luxu- ries and necessities as the new country did not afford. A course of military drill was kept up, botli as a display and as a means or self-preservatiou, — in addition to which, trad- ing with the Indians gave employment to the men. Sur- rounded by dense woods oi' iir and larch, full of howling beasts and wild natives, within sound and yet secure from attack ; but more suspxious of their white neighbors ucrosa the foggy Bay of Fundy : — the seasons came and went in their accustomed rounds : doubtless no ruier was ever more absolute in his authority, or moie careless of what was tran- spiring in the outer world. Hunters and tiappers, both white £ind Indian, frequented the fort, to dispose of their peltries and procure the necessities of life. Many an even- ing was spent in the juidst of a \igorou8 northern winter, by the roaring tire-places, by the wild fellows of tue forest, smoking their pipes, telling of tights with the red man, of encounters with roaming beasts and other dangers of the woods. Romantic and wild must such a life have been — as nearly the realization of the dream of an adventurer as could well be surmised. Lady La Tour must iiave lea a lonely life, with no society but that of her husband and chiidten. Once a year the ship came in — the only tie that bound lier , to her native land — and brought h( r news from iiome, and awakened memories of her native Ciimt. La Tour and Charuisey eacli held u u'onimission as Lieu- tenant from the King of France : both had large territories THB LA TOtTBS 67 and were engafjed in the same trade. To complicate mat- ters, Charuisey's fort nt Port Royal was in the tract grant- ed to La Tour, while La Tour's fort at St. John was in the limits of land under government of Charnisey, and also commanded the whole of the St. John River territory — a tract rich in furs and abounding in fish. It was not un- natural that Cliurnisey should inake an effort to disposs^re his rival ; his first attempt was by diplomacy before the court of France. He succeeded so well at the French capi- tal, that before La Tour was aware of what Charnisey had been doing, he received an order from the Kiug to embark immediately for France to answer sundry serious charges against him. A letter was sent by the Kiug directing Char- nisey, in case La Tour failed to obey the oi'der, to seize his person and make an inventory of his eff-^cts. To accom- plish this he was empowered to exercise all the means at his disposal, and to jiut La Trur's fort in the hands of persons well disposed to do the King's service. By one fell stroke, withont being allowed the privilege of defense. La Tour wan to be robbed of his possession'^, and sent a prisoner to franco. Not long after this he was still farther degraded by havuig his commission of Governor revoked — a commis- sion he liad held with credit for half a score of years. A vessel was sent to Acadia bearing these letters to La Tour, and was intended by the King to convey La Tour a prisoner to France. The latter, not without reason, aver- red that these papers were obtained from the King through misrepresentation; and though by refusing to obey the royal mandate he was aware he made himself liable to a charge of treason, he boldly declined giving up his property. His fort at St. John was in such a state of defense that Charnisey dare not attack ; the vessel was sent back with- out its prisoner. La Tour had maintained himself in Acadia, by his energy and tact alone, for many years ; he was of a cast of mind to 1 1 • fl'l ''!< ;i!!lll» ' I I , ■' C8 ACADIA maintain himself as long as he had power to do so. Legal documents, usually so all-powerful, were not much feared where there was uo force to back them. Charnisey knew he could not dispossess his rival without aid from France, and .scon returned to that country to make another effort against him. La Tour \\as well aware that Charnisey had powerful friends at Court — and further that he was an accomplished diplomatist. lie began therefore to prepare for the strug- gle thai he knew was sure to come. He had openly defied th<< authority of the King, and he must expect the conse- queiicefs of his disobedience, unless he could devise means of escape. He determined to seek help from his neighbors of New Eng.iind, with whom he was then on good terms, and in November, 1641, sent as messenger a Huguenot named Roeliette to Boston to confer with them. Rochette proposed a treaty between Massachusetts Bay and La Tour. Governor "Winthrop informs us the treaty was to embrace three points : 1. — Free commerce. 2. — Assistance against Charnisey, with whom La Tour had war. 3. — That La Tour might make return of goods out of England through the merchants of Boston. The first condition was immediately granted ; the other two were rejected because Rochette brought with him no letters or commission from La Tour, and, therefore, no evi- dence had been offered of his official capaiity. Rochette was courteously entertained by the people of Boston duiing his stay. In October of the following year. La Tour sent liis lieu- tenant to Boston with a shallop and foiu'teen men. This time he bore letters from La Tour to Governor Winthrop, highly complimenting his Governorship, and requesting the THE LA T0ITR8 69 people of New England to assist him against his enemy, Charnisey. These Frenchmen were grandly entertained by the Bostonians ; the best of feelings sprang up between them — e?en the Catholic French attended the Protestant chinches — but no measures were taken to grant the assist- ance asked for. La Tour's lieutenant, while in Boston, formed an ac- quaintance with the merchants, and proposed the opening up of a trade. In conformity therewith the mercliants sent a pinnace to Fort La Tour, laden with goods. This was the beginning of a trade with them which lasted as long as La Tour remained in Acadia. La Tour sent a letter to Gov- ernor Winthiop, thanking him for tlie courteous manner in which his lieutenant had been treated. On the way back the vessel stopped at Pemaquid. Here La Tour's messen- gers met with Charnisey — the latter gentleman told them the letter was from a rebel. He sent a printed copy of the order for La Tour's arrest to Governor Winthrop, and threatened, if the merchants of Boston sent more vessels to trade with La Tour, he would seize them as lawful prizes. This order of arrest was the result of Charnisey's last voyage to France. He had succeeded in securing title to large territories in Acadia, on which title he had borrowed large sums to enable him to cari-y on war against La Tour. He was now determined on one great effort, a.id had secur- ed means to employ iive ships and a force of five hundred armed men in this bitter feud. In the meantiiue La Tour was not idle. He dispatched Rochette to France to obtain aid. His cause was espoused with ardor by the Rochellois, who determined on going to his rescue. They fitted out a large armed vessel, the "67«m- «?«<," loaded her with ammunition and other supplies, pi;ton board one hundred armed Rochellois, and sent her with all speed to La Tour's fort. Thus was civil war in Acadia fed ou both sides from Fiance — swords being shaped at Ro- '1 [)^ ■ k TO AOADIA chelle aud at Paris with which to carry on this^ frafrlcidal strife. Clouds of fate, dark and o.ninous, brooded over the future of La Tour, yet he continued to maintain the strug- gle with courage unabated. Early in June, 1643, an armed vessel suddenly appeared in the harbor of Boston. Scarcely was her presence noted until she had passed Castle Island and she had thundered forth a salute which echoed long and loud over the little Puritan town. There was no response — the Governor's garrison being withdrawn, A boat filled with armed men was seen to leave tiie ships side^ and was rapidly rowed to Governors Island, landing at Gov. Winthrop's gai'den. The boat was there met by the Governor and his two sons, who found tlie passengers to be La Tour and a party of his fol- lowers, come to solicit aid. Early in the spring Charnisey had appeared before Fort La Tour with several vessels of wai' aud five hundred men. "Unable to carry the works by assault, blockade was resurt- ed to, until such time as the necessities of the garrison should force a capitulation. In a few weeks the Cltintnt appealed off St. John harbor, with men and supplies for La Tour, but was unable to enter on account of the blockade. Under cover of night La Tour stole out of the fort and boarding the Clement, crowded sail for Boston^ where he airived after a speedy passage. Gov. Wintbrop hastily called together such of the Mag- istrates as were at hand, and gave La Tour a formal hearing before them. The papers of the Clement showed La Tour was still styled "her majesty's lieutenant general in America,^* which was regarded as an offset to the order for his aries) showed by Charnisey. He was informed by the Governof and Couucil, that while no aid could be opeuiy granted without the advice of the other members of the Govern- ment, he was at liberty to hire such men and shij^s as were in Boston. The Boston meicbants were aware that their TRK LA toxma 71 trade would be injured by the destruction of La Tour, and the latter found no difiSculty in secuiing the assistance he wanted. He hired four vessels of the firm of Gibbons & Hawkins, the Srahri'lge, Philip and Mary, Increase, and the Greyliound, together with fifty-two men and thirty- eight pieces of ordnance; enlisted ninety-two men to aug- ment the force on beard his vessel, provided all with arms and supplies, and was about to set sail with his flotilla for Acadia, when a new danger beset him. By the articles of agreement, the shijjs were not required to undertake any oflfeusive operations. It was stipulated they were to go as near Fort La Tour as they could con- veniently ride at anchor, and join with the Clement in the defense of themselves or La Tour, in case Charnisey should assault, or oppose their approach to the fort. Any addi- ticnial assistance was to be a subject of further negotiation, the agent of the Boston owners accompanying the expedi- tion for the purpose. Doubtless the wily Frenchman sur- mised, that in case of open hostilities, the heat of the strife ■would cause them to forget the precise terms of the agree- ment, and induce them to join with him in annil '-^ting the enemy. The newM soon spread, however, that VVinthrop had formed an allifj"oe with the French Papist, and many lei.ters of warning iiid deprecation were showered upon the Governor. Sevend ministers referred to the matter from their pulpits, and even went so far as to prophesy that the streets of their town would yet run red witn blood, in con- sequence of this alliance with La Tour, and public senti- ment ran so high that it seemed the expedition would be broken up altogether. In the midst of this clamor, Gov. V;inthrop called another council, to whom he stated the condition of afiFairs, which had been grossly misrepresent- ed, and the question was fully discussed. Thu Puritans regarded the Old Testament as their guide. Que party claimed, by the examples of Jehoshaphat, Jonas 72 ACADIA "Jill m II I ," ^r'irfl!ll!i ha fi '' IMIIII!!!! I|!i IIHIIIIIlll ill I ' M and Amaziah, that it was wrong for righteous persons to as- sociate with the ungodly in any way. The other side con- tended that the censure applied only to the particular cases in which it was given, and were not general in application ; otherwise it would be unlawful to help a wicked man in any case. The latter party seems to have had the best of the argument, and the expedition was allowed to pi'oceed. La Tour bore away from the port of Boston about the middle of July, having made a host of friends during his slay. He made all speed for Acadia, and there was reason for haste, for during this entire period Charnisey had cut i)ff all supplies from La Tour's fort, supposing his enemy to be within. When La Tour's fleet of five ships came in sight off St. John, Charnisey's vessels were lying alongside Partridge Island. Suspecting the true state of affairs, Charnisey did not care to measure strength with the allied powers, but stood straight for Port Royal, and running his vessels aground, he and his men betook themselves to the shore, where they proceeded to put the mill in a state of defense. The enemy pursued; Captain Hawkins sent an officer on shore bearing an apologetic letter explaining the pres- ence of the New Englanders. Charnisey refused to receive it because it was not addressed to him as Lieutenant of Aca- dia. When the messenger returned, he reported great ter- ror among the French, the friars included, and all were do- ing their best to put themselves in a position of defense. La Tour urged Hawkins to send a force ashore and attack the mill ; this the latter declined to do ; if any of the New Englanders chose to go of their own accord, he would do nothing to prevent it. About thirty Bostonians availed themselves of the permission, and the united forces marched to the attack of Charnisey at his improvised fortress. After a sharp engagement, during which the besieged suffere.l the loss of three men killed and one taken prisoner, and three THE LA TOVRS 79 of La Tour's men were wounded, Charnisey was driven from the iiiill. The New Englanders escaped without the loss of a man. The allied forces now returned to Fort La Tour, where we may conjecture their victory was duly celebrated. Dur- ing the period they were lying there, a pinnace belonging to Charnisey was captured, having on board fom* hundred moose hides and a like number of skins of the beaver. This was a rare prize ; the booty was divided between the New England owners and crews, and La Tour. Hawkins was evidenth' willing to rob Charnisey, if not to fight him. La Tour paid off the vessels and crews that had been hired, and the New Englanders reached home in thirty-seven days from the time they had left Boston, in high spirits, without the loss of a man or ship. The good Puritan elders were shocked at the piratical seizure of the French pinnace, and claimed the expedition had done too much or too little ; — thty ought either to have remained neutral in the war, or else taken measures to effectually crush out the rival of La Tour. Charnisey, not disheartened, commenced the erection of a new fort at Port Royal,* and returned to France for fur- ther aid. He there heard of the arrival of Lady La Tour, who had sailed for France to further her husband's interests and procure supplies. Charnisey obtained an order for her ai'rest on the ground that she was equally a traitor to the King with her husband ; before the order could be executed she fled to England. Here she soon made many warm friends, and found means to freight a ship with supplies in London, ando forewarn her husband of the danger he was in from the efforts of Charnisey. For many weeks La Tour, almost desparing, waited by • 1 assume that Charnisey 's old fort was on the site of Champlain's fort, opposite Goat Island, and that tlie new fort was built on the now ruiuod CortificationB of Annapolis. (Hannay.) I If ' ;, t 74 ACADIA the River St. John for the return of his wife. He finally sailed for Boston where he made known to Endicott his difficulties. A meeting of the magistrates was called ; a few were unwilling to operate in favor of La Tour, and the rest would not act without the consent of all ; La Tour was forc- ed to return without the coveted assistance. All the New Eiiglanders did was to send a letter of remonstrance to Cha)'nisey. La Tour left Boston early in Sei^tember, hav- ing spent two months to very little purpose. He boarded his vessel on training day, and all the training bands were made guard for him to the ship's boat ; as he sailed out of the harbor the Eiigiish vessels saluted him. He was accom- panied bj' a Boston vessel laden with provisions for St. John. La Tour happeniug to delay on the way, by that means narrowly escaped capture by an armed vessel that Charnisey had sent to cruise the Bay of Fundy on the watch for him ; but which, on the supposition he had escaped, had put into port. Scarcely had the pennants of La Tour's vessels sank be- low the distant horizon, before a vessel displaying English colors came into Boston Harbor. Among her passengers were Roger Williams and Lady La Tour. This notable lady had left England six months before together with sup- plies on board this vessel, with a destination at Fort La Tour. The master had spent some time trading on the coast ; it was September when they reached Cape Sable ; as the vessel was entering the Bay of Fundy it was captured by an armed ship in the employ of Charnisey. It was found necessary to secrete Lady La Tour and her party, and to con- ceal the identity of the vessel — the master pretending she was bound direct for Boston. Charnisey, little suspecting the valuable prize he had in his possession, let them go, contenting himself with sending a message to the Governor of Massachusetts expressing a desire to be on good terms with that c<.'louy. The vessel was therefore forced to change TBI LA TOUSS n le finally licott his )cl ; a few 1 the rest was f orc- the New lauce to ber, hav- boarded ads were d out of IS accom- } for St. by that !ssel that ;he watch [iped, had sauk be- English isseijgcrs notable vith sup- Fort La y on the able ; as laptured as found d to con- ling she specting em go, overnor i terms change '■&y the destination of her voyage to Boston. This change in the voyage, added to unreasonable delay, was made the basis of an action at law brou^4ht by Lady La Tour for dam- ages. She was awarded two thousand pounds; seizing the cargo of the ship, she, with the money thus acquired, hired three vessels to take the cargo and herself home, where she safely arrived uiter an absence of more than a year. When Charnisey was apprized of Lady La Tour's safe arrival at her fort, and her friendly treatment at Boston, his rage knew no bounds. He directed an insulting letter to Governor Eudicott, accusing him of dealing with a lack of honor ; threatening him with the dire vengeance of the King of France. Charnisey soon disji^ayed his vindicative spirit in a practical way ; a small vessel sent out from Boston with I'AUTUIUliJi 181, AND. supplies for Fort La Tour was captured, and the crew all turned loose upon Partridge Island, in deep snow, without fire, or scarcely a shelter, where they wftie kept close pris- oners ten days. Charnisey then gave them an old shallop in which to return home ; after stripping them of most of their clothes, and allowing them neither gun nor compass, they were suffered to depart for Boston, which they at last reached in sorry plight. The New Englanders were highly incensed at this out- rage. The Puritan Governor dispatched a messenger in a vessel to Charnisey bearing a letter full of spirit; he said his people meant to do right, and feared not the King of France. Charnisey told the messenger he would retuiu no I'' hi I IF 7B AOADU answer, and would not permit him to enter the fort — ^lodg- ing bim without the gate. He, however, dined with him every day to show the messenfjer it was only as the bearer of Endicott's letter that he disowned him. Finally he in- dited a letter to Gov. Kndic-ott, couched in high language, requiring satisfaction for the burning of his mill by the New England anxiiiavies of La Tour two ycais previous, and threatening vtiigearice in case his demands were not met. At the time the crew of the Boston vessel were fighting cold and hunger at Partridge Isla.id, two friai's hailed Char- nisey's ships from the mainland and desired to be taken on board. They came from Fort La Tour, and had been turn- ed out for showing signs of disaffection. Had Lady La Tour hung thexn instead, the sequel to this story might have beeu different. They told Charnisey that was the time for him to attack; that La Tour was absent, the fort rotten, with only fifty men to guard it, and susceptible of an easy reduction. On their i*epresentations Chai^nisey drew up his armament, ranged the vessels in front of the fort, and open- ed a brisk cannonade. The fire was returned with such vigor that Charuisey was obliged to warp his vessel behind a point of land out of range, and lost twenty men killed and thirteen wounded. This was in Februaiy, 1645. In April of the same year Charnisey made another attack from the land side. La Tour was still absent — his mission to New England to secure aid had proved fioiitless, and he could not reach home on account of armed cruisers waiting to capture him. Three days and nights the attack contin- ued ; the heroic lady commandant was resolved to hold out to the last ; the defense was so well conducted that the be- siegers were forced to draw off with loss. Treachery accom- plished what heroism could not. Charnisey found means to bribe a Swiss sentry while the garrison were at prayers, who allowed the enemy to approach the fort without giving the alarm, and who were scaling the walls before the besieged i hi THE t\ Tonns 77 fort — ^lodg- i with him the bearer ally he in- 1 language, by the New BviouH, and not met. re lighting lailed Char- e taken ou been turu- 1 Lady La might have le time for ort rotten, of an easy hew up his , and open- with Buch sel behind killed and her attack is mission s, and he 8 waiting k contin- hold out at the be- ^ry accom- nd means prayers, )ut giving besieged were aware of the attack. But even then the heroism of Lady La Tour repulsed them, and CLuiniHoy lost twelve men killed and iminy wounded, while fighting within the fort. Charuisty now propoised terms of cttpitiilntion ; Lady La Tour, despairing of successful resistance, acce^ited, and the besiegers were given possession. No sooner did Cliarnisey find himself master of the place than he disciosad all the baseness of his character. On pre- tense that ho had been deceived, he caused all the garrison to be hung but ouc, whuui he spared on condition thiit he should be the executioner of his comrades. Lady La Tour Butfeied the indignity of being forced to be present at the execution witli a rope about her neck, by way of shov.'iug that he considered her as deserving of hanging as were the others, but that hei' life was spared only by his gi'acious for beaiance. This broke the spkit of this remarkable lady ; she surviv- ed the fall of the fort only about three weeks, when she waa laid to rebt on the banks of St. John. This noble wife and mother left behind a little ehild which was sent to France ; but as no further mention is made of it^ the supposition ia thur. it died young.* The booty taken by Charnisey in La Tour's fort amount- ed to more than £10,000. Thi.s loss ruined La Tour; and Charnisey had become so much involved by the expense of the war, that he could not hope to liquidate his own indebt- edness. Thus were both men ruined by a useless and fool- ish war again'- 1 one another, when both otherwise might have become wealthy. La Tour was in Boston wheii the news of the reduction of his fort and the death of his wife reached him. Being by nature of a hopeful spiiit, he was not the man to yield to misfortune ; his addiess procured friends wherever he * Uaimay. i 7S ACADIA :(■■ I i ti; iliii' P (i':- went ; in his greatest straits ue never wanted for mcmey t>J supply bis immediate necessities. He applied to Sir Duvid Kirk, Governor of Newfoundland, who express -d a willing- ness to render the required aid, but whose r-roiiises were not fulfilled : towards Sj ring the merchantB of Boston fit- ted him out with supplies for a trading voyage to the east- ward. In the summer of 1646, we hear of La Tour in Quebec, where ho was received with marked honors. The guns of the citadel thundered forth a salute ; the gan iaon was drawn up to receive him in a manner worthy of one of high rank ; the whole populace turned out to behold the man oi whom they had heard so much ; in short, the civic and nulit;iry vied with each other in their expressions of hosi'itality and vespect. How stran^w and unaccountable are the woi'kiii!' 8a ACADIA I I' recovering her possessions. This agreement having- receiv- ed the sanction of letters patent from the government of France, the skies of La Tour'^s prosperity began to be dark- ened by portents of a coming tempest. The matter was righted without the shedding of blood by a mutual agree- ment between the principals in the quarrel r that is to say^ La Tour married the widow of Charnisey, and united their varied inteiests into one. Articles of agreement were drawn up with great minuteness of detail^ and the marriage was Boleranized in the presence of many august witnesses. La Tour had now passed his fiftipth year, and no doubt rejoiced at the prospect of peace, in which, however, he was doomed to further disappointment. This adverse fortune was embodied ia the person of Le Eorgue, a mcrt'Jiant of Ruchelle, who had obtained judg- n»cnt in the courts against Cliarnisey for money advanced him, to the amount of IGO.OOO livres, and who had come out to Acadia to take possession of Charnisey's estate, which he understood embraced all of Acadia. LeBorgne bc{;an operations by plundering the settlements on the Laurentian Gulf belongiug to Nicolas Denys, as Charnisey had done before him, capturing vessels and car- goes, and taking Denys and his men prisoners. They oanio by way of La Hcve, where they burned all the buildings, not sparing even tiie chapel, Denys was placed in a dun- geon at Port Royal, but was pfterwards liberated, when bo returned to France ; he was in due time restored to his rights, and eventually to his possessions, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, from which he had twice been ruthlessly torn. Le Borgne's success in this warlike exploit emboldened him to undertake another — no less than the capture of Fort La Tour. This he attempted to do by strategy, but a slial- lop having secretly left Port Royal with information of Lo Bor{,no"8 intentions, the enterprise failed. Before the \\:ir could be carried further an English fleet appeared upon the ' Pf •• I THE LA TOURS 81 Bcpne, and both La Tour and Le Borgne capitulated to the superior force of the enemy. The seizure of Acatlia was welcome news to the New Eng- landers, who had looked with alarm at the growth of a ri- val colony in the new world. Cromwell seems to have jus- tified the act, and a government was organized for the con- trol of affairs in the new territniial acquisition. It was arranged that whosoever traded with the colony should pay enough for the privilege to support the garrison ; Massa- chusetts was asked to enforce the law, and assist the Eng- lish in Acadia if necessity reqiiircd. La Tour resolved on one more grand effort to retrieve his fortunes. Hasten-ng to England he laid his cause be- fore Cromwell, showing how, as co-grantee and heir of his father, he was entitled to large possessions in Acadia by grunt of the British Crown through Sir William Alexander; his well known plausibility and address secured for him a triumphant success. The Acadian diplomat, having asso- ciated with hiiu Thomas Temple and William Crowne, and secured a large grant of territory, next sold out his interest to his partners, probably fearing the dissensions that would sooner or later occur. He evidently regarded a title of an estate in Acadia as very precarious property, so much in dispute, and so frequently changing masterf. La Tour lived about thirteen years after this, dying at the ripe age of 72, and was buried in the beloved Acadian land which had been hi.s home from his boyhood. Temple was made Governor of the forts at St. John and Penobscot, and commenced the expenditures of large sums of money in improvements. In the meantime, the home government having been changed. Temple was in danger ot losing his title. He was obliged to compronjise witli a Frenchman named Thomas Elliot, by an annual payment of six hundred pounds. He found it necessary also to return to England to defend his interests, one Captain Breodoa 11 !1 I: i; j ■ ' I li ; l! 1.(1 k J 82 AOADIA having been appointed Governor in his place. In July, 1667, the famous treaty of Breda was signed, by which insti'iiment England ceded to France all the province of Acadia. Temple was ordered to deliver up Pentagoet, St. John, Port Royal, Cape Sable and La Huve, to the person appointed to receive tbein. After some delay the forts were formally deliver- ed up — Chevalier de Grand-fontaine having been commis- eioned by Louis XIV to receive them. A careful inventory of the forts and their contents was taken, evidently with a view of establishing a claim for indemnity in Temple's be- half. He estimated his expeiiditures in Acadia at £10,000, but neither he nor his heirs were able to recover any j»ait of this vaat sum irom tke Ciown Oi ET^^'aud. :)"V FROM Gr.AND-FONT-^INE TO MENNEVAL. At tne time Grand-fcntaine had established himself on the Penobscot there were less than five-lniiidred white people living in all Acadia. Though nearly three-fourths of a cen- tury had elapsed since De Monts formed the first settlement at St. Croix Island, the time had been so fully occupied in attending to their quarrels among themselves, and so much property wasted in the wars with their English neighbors, that the real interests of the Province were neglected. The prime motive that actuated the promoters of colonization, was thirst for gold- A'-.count.s of the vast quantities of the precious metals that the cruel and rapacious S;ianiards \TOre acquiring in Mexico and Pei'u, were being industriously cir- culated throughout Europe with favorable exaggerations : a country that did not abound in gold was apt to be consid- ered worthless. Acadia, notwithcitanding all the wealth of her natural resources, came under the universal ban, and capitalists were unwilling to take the trouble and risk ex- cept the prospect of sudden wealth was held out to tliera. Besides, the government of the colony was continually le verting from one power to the other; plunder and pillage 'as the order of the day; the resources of the soil had iu)t been developed, nor were the locations for settlement at all times wisely chosen ; the go^'er«ors appointed to look alter the welfaie of the colonisslb, were more apt to look after 84 AOADIA :| I their own interestp> to the detriment of the public ; in a word, so many were the disaJ vantages, that we cease to wonder the growth of Acadia was so slow. The brief sov- ereignty grained to Giaud-fontaine, was not without the difficulties that usually beset the rulers of Acadia. The encroachments of his English neighbors, the jea'.ouiies of his French associatt-s in Aiadiu, and the umcbinations of enemies at heme, kept him fully occupied. During his ad- ministration a few colonists repaired to Chignecto, " whoi'e an enonauus area of maish laud awaited but the cai'e of man to yield its licnes," A few years later Piere Theriot, Claud and Autoine Landry and Ker>& Le Blanc began settlement at Minas, whieli finally ^rew to be the most rich and popu* lous in Acadia. In 1673 Grand-fontaiue was succeeded by Ohambly. During the summer of the following year, a^ Chambiy with his garrison of tbirty men were at tlieir usual duties aboat the fort at Penobscot, tiiey were startled by the uppearuuce of a Dutch wai' vessel on the river. Louis XIY was then at war with Holland, and while his generats were winning glory for him in Europe, the Dutch thought they migUtaid in the cause by attacking the French in .Imerica. The ves- sel was heavily armed and carried a force of o;je hundred and ten men ; after a brief combat, during which sevei a1 of the garrison were killed, Chambiy capitulated. The Frenub fort at Jemeeg, on the Hi. John iiiver, likewise was taken by the Hollanuer, who made ma effort to hold on to the forts ao easily captuied, but was coaaMnt with plundering them oi their valuables. The French made no further attempt tc occupy the fort at Penobscot, and it was suffered to fall into decay. In the summer of 1676 the Dutch again visited Penobscot and undertook to restore and garrison the fort. The French were too weak to offer resistance ; but the English, uuwii* ling to see a Dutch colony established on their northern bo>> FROM OHAND-FONTAINE TO ME^mEVAI, 85 (lers, dispatched two or three vessels from Bo^toa, and the invaders were driven off. The Enfjlish quitted the place as »oon as they had dispossessed the Dutch, not cai'lng to main- tain a {garrison there. Pentagoet, as this fort was afterward calle.l, was not suf- fered to remain tenantless. Bai on de St. Castiu, ati Indian chieftain of French birth and education, imimnliata^j' oc- <'upied it with his savao;e subjects. This man ligu ed large- ly in th« events transpiring in Acadia and the adjacent New England provinces. His character and disposition has been made the subject of much adverse criticism, and also of com- ioendation, by various historians who have written of him. He married among the Indians (some say he had but one wife), and according to good authorities he was always friendly to the Englisii, and used iiis influence to keep the savages at peace. Other authorities, entitled to equal credence per- haps, aver he lived a life of licentiousness among the In- dians, and that he incited them to acts of plunder and ra- pine against the English settlements, and that he even went so far as to direct tlie savages in person, in their maraud- ing incursions. Sutlice it to say, that at one time the name of Baron St. Castiu was a terror tlu'oughout New England, and he received the credit of planning all the Indian massa- cres that desolated the country. Was the community star- tled with the tidings of another frontier village laid waste by the midnight torch, and women and children tomahawk- ed and scalped? — '* The Baron St. Castin "* was hui'led from every tongue with bitter execrations. 'The BaroD St. Castin, a uative of Oberon amouK the Pyrenees, hay- ing lived ainoiiM the savages fur above tweuty yearb, is looked upon by theiu us their tutelar god. Jie nmiried anioug thciu after thoir fasliion, and preferred the forests of Acadia to the Pyrcuiau MouMtaius that en- compass the place of his nativily. The savages made him their Rreat chief or leader, aud by decrees ha has* worked himself into such a fortune, which nay/ man but he would have made such use of, as to draw out ot ) 1 I i i 86 AOADIA lit If li 1 i 'Ww ''^m ' 1 ' 'ill 1 ill' jn 11 Lauveigait, writing to Father La Chasse, says of the sons of the Baron : — " The insolenc? of the Messrs. de St. Castin has come to be so excessive, that they no longer set bounds to it, in their conduct towards me or before God. Tlie elder, who does not care to marry, and not satisfied with spreading corruption through the whole village, in addition to that, now makes a business of selling brandy, openly, in company with his nephew, the son of M. de Bellisle. They have been the means of one man being drowned alrealy on account of it, and are like to be the destruction of many otljers. The younger of the Messrs. de St. Castiii never comes to the village without getting drunk in public, and putting the whole village in an uproar," Mrs. Williams, in her excellent work on the Neutral f rench, pictures the home of Bai'on St. Castin as the abode of refinement which is in ill keeping with the siniste." char- acter imputed to him by the English. As to his constancy, she goes on to say, one fact alone should set this matter at rest. The Baron had immense possessions in France, and many connections there, and his son by the daughter of Madocawando, chief of the Tarratine tribe, had no difficulty in establishing his claim to his father's title and estates. He must, too, have been united to this woman by the rites of the Catholic Church, to make his claim good. It was known that he usually had a missionary of that denomina- tion in his house. In 1721 a son of Baion St. Castin was decoyed on boaid tlie country above two or three hnndred thonsnnd CTo^vns, which he has now ill hia pocket, in good thy gold. Kut nil tlie nse he makes of it is to buy up j^oiuls for preseuts to his fellow snvaf^ea, who uiron their return from luintiuf;, present him with benver skins to treble their value. The Governor-Ceneriil of Catiada keeps in with him, and the Governor of New Eufiland is afraid of him. He has several daughters, who are all of i!iem m.inied very handsomely to Frenchmen. He has never changed his wife, by which means he intended to give the savages to understand, tliat God does not love incoastaitl folks. (La Houtao.) FltOU ORAMD-F0>TAIRE TO MEXNEVAL 87 an English vessel in the hai'bor at Pentagoot, taken to Bos- ton and cast into prison. This proceediug was tlie occasion of much unfavorable comuieut in I\Iassacliu- i. 94 ACACtt neval was advised ta remove his garrison and stores tip the- river ; the brigantine lying at hand, was brought near the fort and the soldiers commenced loading her with provisions- and ammunition. While this was going on^ two priests — Petit and Trouve — arrived, and they induced Mennevai to« change his plan. They persuaded him he would only in- ciease his difficulties by abandoning his forDr and tliat he might make an advantageous cajjitnlation, Accordingiy, the foi.owint day, as the New England fleet appeared in Port Koyal Basin, Phipps sent his trumpeter to summon the garrison tu surrender. Mennevai detained him and sent Petit to arrange terms of capitulation. Sir William demand- ed an uncoiiilitional surrender. This was peremptorily re- fused by the Priest, who proposed the following ai'ticies of capitulation: — 1st, That the soldiers with their arms and baggage, should be transported to France, in a vessel to b& provided by the English. 2nd, That the inhabitants should be maintained in peaceable possession of their properties, and that the honor of the women should be preserved. 3d, That they should be permitted to enjoy the free exercise of their religion, and that the property of the chmch should be protected. Sir William agreed to these conditions, but refused to commit them to writing, stating as a reason that his word as a General was better than any document whatever. Men- nevai was obliged to content himself with this assurance, and the keys of the fortress were given up. Upon exami- nation the English were surprised at the weakness of the place, and regretted giving such favorable terms. A slight misunderstanding occurring, Phipps used it as a pretext to annul the conditions ; he disarmed the soldiers and impris- oned them in the church ; he confined Mennevfvl in his own house and robbed him of his money and effects, and gave up the place to general pillage, from which neither the Priests nor the Church were exempted. He sent a force to reduce FEOM Gr.ASD-FO>iT.\TN'E TO MENNEVAL m La Hcve and Chedabucto, where a quantity of goods belong- ing to the lishing company were taken : from thence it i^ro- cetded to Isles Perco*and Eonaventure, v.'here the crews sacked and burned all the houses and destroyed the churches, firing 150 gunshots through the picture of St. Peter. The losses the I'reuch incurred through Phipps' expedition ex- ceeded fifty thousand crowns. •The snramitof the Perce Sock covers about two acres, and is divid- ed into two great districts, one of which is inhabited by the gulls, and the cormorants dwell on the other. If either of these trespass on the other's territory (which occurs every fifteen minutes, at least), a battle ensues, the shrill cries of hundreds or thousands of birds rend the air, great clouds of combatants hover over the plateau, and peace is only restored by the retreat of the invader. When the conflict is between large flocks, it is a scene worthy of close notice, and sometimes becomes highly exciting. Many years ago the Rock was ascended by two flshermen, and the way once being found, scores of men clambered up by ropes nnd carried away the egfjs and young birds, finding the older ones so tame that they had to be lifted off the nests. This vast aviary would have been depopulated long ere this, but that the Perce magistrates passed a law forbidding the ascent of the Bock. 1 If VILLEBON ON THE ST. JOHX. ^ot long after the events related in the last chapter, and ivhile, as we may suppose, the hapless, helpless Acadians were broouing over their misfortunes, a French ship, the Union, sailed into Port Royal harbor. She had on board a notable Frenchman named Villebon, a brother of Menne- val. He had come to place himself at the head of th« In- dian tribes. The vessel also brought out fifty stand of arms, some recruits for the garrison, and a quantity of preS" ents for the savages. "Villebon, having been told the story of the capture of the fort, and learning the English were still on the coast, and might return if they heard of his ar- rival, he, after consultation, decided that his best plan was to proceed to the River St. John, and occupy the Oid fort at Jemseg, He accordingly crossed to St. John, and sailed up that I'iver to prepare Fort Jemseg for the goods entiusted to Jus rare, leaving orders for the Union to follow in a few drtys. Scarcely had Villebon left Port Royal when two "piratlo- a1 ships" made their appearance before the fort, the orews of which landed and commenced to pillage the piace. Near the entrance of the basin on the Granville side, they burned ftixteen liouses: at the fort they set tire to twelve houses, (slaughtered the cattle, hanged some of the inhabitants, and deliberately burned up one lamily wnom they had shut up r,o prevent their escape. Seizing all the piuuder they could VILLEBON OX THE FT. JOHN n gather, including the Union and her cargo, the "piratical vessels" sailed away. In this emergency Villebon acted with vigor and discre- tion. Having collected the Indians, he told them of the capture of the presents intended for them, exhorted thetn to bo faithful to the French King, and promised to embark for France at ciice, and would return again in the Spring with better presents than those be had lost. To this they replied that Onanthio (the name they had given to the King of France), having already supplied them with ammunition, they were perfectly satislied, and that they were more griev- ed for the loss of the vessel and stores on his account, tlian for the presents destined for them ; and promised that dur- ing his absence they would give a good account of the Eug- Jish. At this time a squadron was fitted out against Quebec, consisting of thu'ty-five sail, and Sir Wm. Phipps was nouii- i:ated to command the expedition. Two thousand militia- laen embarked in it. The spirit and enterprise of wliich this expedition was the result, was remarkable, and its war- like ai'ray made the Bostoniaus exuitant : the wildest hopes '.vere entertained of what it was capable of accomplishing. The Boston land expedition under Winthrop, which was to await the arrival of Phipps in middle Laurentiau waters af- ter the expected capture of Quebec, arrived at Lake George and encamped on its picturesque banks : the plan of opera- tions being for the two forces to ascend conjointly to Mon- treal. But an epidemic broke out among Winthrop's has- tily raised corps, which speedily spread to his savage allies, and there being, too, a lack of canoes in which to transport the men, there was no alternative but to beat a retreat. The Bostonian fleet appeared in sight of Quebec on the morning of the 16th of October. Sir William Phipps sent au ofl&ccr and flag with a summons to surrender. " He was met ou the tshore, and led blindiold through the city, by a 1 I ! 1 f " •■i ■ ] i- iMi III! 98 AOADTA i 'J 1''! I I i!l:i long and devious course to the castle ; tlie men on duty taking care to ma^re as much clangor with their weapons as possible." M. de Froutenac returned the following for an- swer: '• Tell your master thau the mouths of my cannon will forthwith bear my answer to the summons he has aent me.'* The batteries of the lower town soon opened on the fl^ot. Some of the tirst shots brought down the flag of Philip's own vessel, which was fished up by the French, and after- ward suspended to the ceiling of the Quebec ca« as irtl-eylmd bet'ii in a con(]i;cr('d countiy." He ulso ukig *'lliat iimny of tho people, distrusting his promisun, rofusel to Huriendor, -imd thut it was foiiu'ia.e they did so, for an order of Frontiiiac, the Governor of Cnuala, having' been aoon after discovered posted up in the c'.iap9i, tha English troated tiieni as rebe^.s, — set live to the church, and rediiocHl to ashes the few houses they had previously spared." It la -ear relieved of his command ' M II 104 ACAjnA by M. de Brouillony formerly Governor of Flacentfa. Tlifa last named governor commenced his administration with a great show of zeal and activity, demohshed the fort at the mouth of the St. John River, recommended the fwt at Port Royal to be built of atone. iv.lvoeated the erection of a re- doubt at the entrance of the Basin, besides proposhig other plans lor the better establishment of the French authority in Acadia. What is now kuown as Queen Anne's War was begun in 1702, otherwise called the war of the- Span'&'i suc- cession, which involved many of the leailing nations of Europe. England and France could not remain long at war without their respective colonies in America finding a pre- text to open hostilities with one another. Brouillon was accused of encouraging piracies against the English ship- ping, — La Hove being made the headquarters- of the free- booters, — and of using the proceeds in instigating the na- tives to acts of hostility against the people of New England. An armament was fifed out in Boston, comprising three men-of-war and I'ourteeii transports^ having on boai'd 550 soldiers, under command of Colonel Church, for the purpose, as Haliburtou puts it, "of ravaging the French settlements in Nova Scotia ! " The instructions given to Church by the Massachusetts authorities, after authorizing him to take command of the force destined for Nova Scotia, orders him '• to have prayers on ship daily, to sanctify the Sabbath, and to forbid all profane swearing and drunkenness." The next article authorizes him to burn, plunder, destroy, and get )>poil wherever he could effect a landing. The Puritan fathers also ofllered a bounty of one hundred pounds for each male Indian over twelve years of age, if soalped: one hun- dred and live jjounds if taken prisoner ; fifty pounds for each woman and child scalped, and fifty pounds when brought in alive ! * *T)k> (U'prcp of rofinenieiit which chnrficterized these early wars, is fui'tbcr illu^tralvd in the following: "Villieu, atone time Governor of FAT.L OF PORT llOTAL 105 Church first sailed up the river Penobscot, where he took a number of prisoners, among them tlie daughter of Baion St. Castin and her children. From thence the boats proceeded up the Passamaquoddy, destroying the settlements and per- petrating several acts of outrage upon the unolVending in- habitants. Here the expedition was divided — the men-of- war steering for Port Pioyal, and the whale boa":; for Minas (now Horton). At the latter place the inhabitants offerea some resistance, and the EngHsh thereupon totally destroy- ed the populous village, plundered the inhabitants, broke down the dikes, made several prisoners, and joined tlieniiiiii force in the harbor of Port Royal. After some ineffectual attempts to carry the place, the project was abandoned, Church evidently having little taste lor hard fighting, and BO bore away to Chignecto, which country he had ravaged eight years before, and whose reduction involved less mill- tary force. Here he burned twenty houses, kiLed ojie hun- dred and twenty horned cattle, and did the uniortumita in- habitants all the harm in his power. Then he returned to Boston to receive the thanks of the Legislature for his ser- vices. An inc>!^cent illustrating the character of these expeditions is given id Chur.ii's own words, in his dispatch to the Gov- ernor. A E'jHill island on Passamaquoddy Bay was invaded by the forces under Col. Church, at night. There was no resistance, the inhabitants all gave xi\j. "But, lookiijg over a little run, 1 saw something look black just by me : stopped and heard a talking ; stepped over and saw a little hut or wi<;wam, with a crowd oi people round about it, which was contrary to my former directions. I asked them what they M'ere doing ? They replied, there were some of the enemy in a house, and would not come out. I asked what house ? Acndin, presented to Frontenac, the Governor of Canada, a string of English Bcalps;— a flue prt'sent for one French geutlcmau to bestow up. on another." It' I Hi ^ Ht 11 h ti il 1 I ill 1'^ !| • ,1:1 1 till ' 106 AOADIA They said, *a bark house.' I hastily bid them pull it down, and knock them on the head, never asking whether they were French or India)is, they being all enemies alike tofne." There were some in Boston Avho did not approve of the acts of the Squaw-killer, for his historian says, " after Church came home, some evil-minded person did their endeavors to injure him for taking away life unlawfully." In the year 1704 an expedition from Canada, consisting of French and Indians, under Major Rouville, attacked Deer- field, on the Connecticut River, applied the torch, killed forty of the inhabitants, and carried one hundred and twelve away to the wilderness. Among the captives was Rev. John Williams, the village pastor, whose little daughter, after a long residence with the Indians, became attached to them, and married a Mohawk Chief. The minister's wife, and some others, who were not able to travel as rapidly as suit- ed the Indians, were killed. On his arrival at Canada, Mr. Williams was treated with respect by the French, and was afterward ransomed and allowed to return home. The chief object of the attack on Deerlield seems to have been to carry ofif the bell that hung in William's Church. That bell was purchased, the previous year-, for the Church of Saut St. Louis, at Caughwanaga, near Montreal. The vessel in whi(!h it was brought over from Havre was captured by a New JhJngland privateer, and the bell was purchased for the Deer- field meeting-house. Father Nicholas, of Caughwanaga, accompanied the expedition, and the bell was carried in tri- umph to its original destination, where it stiil remains. Brouillon, the Acadian Governor, went to France in 1704, and Bonaventure was left in command. Brouillon's time iu France seems to have been occupied in justifjinghisown conduct while in Acadia, and in making accusations against others. Ho set out on his return late in the following sura- mer, but died on boai-d ship off the harbor of Chebucto His body was committed to the deep, but his heart was car- FAT.T, OP PORT BOYAI, 107 ried to Port Royal, where it was inteviTd with military hon- ors. Such was the hatred with which this man was held, that it was said of him "the public were unable to conceal theu' joy at his loss." In 1706, M. de Subercase was appointed Governor of Ac- adia, and arrived at Port Royal. He proved the opposite in character, to Brouillon, and was much belove.I; for the iSrst time, in many a long year, harmony reigned in the co!ony. Says Hannay: "The ponderous volumes which contain the correspondence from Acadia at that period, afford a curious illustration of the condition of a small t'ommunity, isolated from the rest of the world, outside of the great movements of the age, and whose main business seems to have been to plot against and slander each other. The French minister, who had charge of Acadian affairs, re- ceived letters from governors, judges, officers, priests and private citizens, and there is scarcely a letter from the time of Menneval to that of Subercase, which is not filled with complaints of the conduct of others. One of the most com- mon complaints against the Governors of Acadia, was, that they traded secretly with the English But no class of men in Acadia had more charges perferred against them than the priests No doubt a false zeal frequently led them to mingle in temporal affairs with which they had no concern, but every one will desire to believe that their con- duct was generally exemplary, and that they had the real interests of the people at heart." There was great activity at this time among the privateers, both French and English, and the number of prisoners on each side became burdensome. Frequent voyages were made between Boston and Port Royal for the exchange of prisoners; it was surmised that this was made a pretext for carrying on an unlawful trade with the enemy. Even Gov- eiDOj Dudiey did v.ot escape being accused of implication, but v/as exonuiatcd by the Legislature. b' I' El El '< i 1 i if" 108 AQADIA Governor Dudley now determined to show his zeal for the interests of New England by a strong eflfort for the capture of Port Royal, and with it all Acadia. Massachusetts had long coveted this beautiful country, and therefore procured the assent of the parent government to raise a force SLiffi- cient for the conquest, and a pledge that if conquered, it phou'd never a;ain be ceded to France. Accordingly, in 1707, one thousand men were raised in Massachusetts, New Hampshii'e and Hhode Island, and the chief command given to Colonel March ; and on the 17th of May of that j'ear, they arrived before Port Roya", under convoy of two men-of-war. Subercase proved himself an active and efficient officer, and so disposed the forces under his command as to check the English in every attack. In this he was assisted by a son of Baron St. Castin, who was tiiere to command the Indians. The siege was abandoned after it had lasted eleven days, during which no susceptible progress had been made. Col. March wrote from Canso of the failure of the expe- dition, tidings of which had already reached Massachusetts. Gov. Dudley was determined that another effort should be made before so fine a body of troops should be allowed to disperse. He ordered that no soldier should land from the transports under pain of death ; and sending Mai'ch one hundi'ed new recruits, with three commissioners to super- vise the conduct of the expedition, directed an immediate return to Port Royal. The place was the second time in- vested on the 20th of August. The English " unfortunately fell into several ambuscades, in which they suffered severe- ly;" u violent epidemic disorder broke out among them, and it was dolermiued in general council, to make good their re- 1 reat before they wpre so weakened as to render embarka- tion a malter of difficulty. On the 1st of September the New England troops embarked, and sailed away from Port Itoya], where they twice met with such a mortifying want of II PALL OP PORT BOTAL 109 SQccess. But, as the sequel will show, the wai'like spuit of the Puritan fathers was still undauuted. During the year 1709, Captain Vetch, who had been fre- •quently to Acadia on trading voyages, went to England to solicit the aid of the parent government in reducing that province. He xeturned home with the assurance that a fleet would be sent out to co-ope rate with the colonies in an expedition against Quebec, and bore a command from Her Majesty, Queen Anne, that they should enlist troops for that purpose. Five regiments were to be sent out from Englanu, with a squadron of ships, to be joined by twelve hundred colonists at Boston, — the united forces to proceed against Quebec ; an additional force of fifteen hundred men were to march by way of the lakes and attack "NIonLreEd. The latter force advanced to the place of rendezvous on Lake Champlain, and the New England troops were assem- bled at Boston at the appointed time, but the promised Eng- lish fleet did not appear. The vessels had been put in read- ness, and the British regularn were on the point of embark- ing, when the exigencies of the European war diverted the troops to another destination. Great was the disap- pointment to the Colonists, and the necessary expenses of the proposed expedition bore heavily upon the impov- «hsbed state of their finances. Another expedition was resolved upon the following year, having for its object the reduction of Port Royal, which was deemed a more feasible enterprise than the capture of Quebec. Accordingly, on the 18fch of September, a squad- ron of four men-of-war, and twenty-nine transports, set sail from Boston under command of Col. Nicholson, aiiiving at Port Royal on the 24th of the same month. The troops consisted of one regiment of Marines from Europe, and four regiments of Provincials raised in New iiingiaud, but commissioned by the Queen, and armed at the royal expense. At the entrance of the haibor of Port Roy- 110 ACADM I : i al one of the transports was wrecked, and twenty-six men^ with all the stores on boaiu, were lost. The English forces were landed without opposition, Subercase, the Governory had but two hundred and sixty eflfectual men, and most of these he was utraid to trust out of the fort, lest they should desert to the English. As Col. Nicholson was mai-ching up toward the fort, several soldiers were shot by the inhabit- ants from behind lences ; and for several days, while pre- liminaries to the siege were being made, the French contin- ued to thj'ow shot and shell from the fort On the 29th, Subercase sent out a flag of truce, praying that the ladies of the i'ort might leave to a place of greater safety. By the 1st of October, three batteries were opened within one hundred yards of the fort. The English contin- ued to work in their trenches, though severely cannonaded by the French, until the evening of tiie 10th, when they be- gan to tire bombs, two of which fell into the fort. During the night fii'ty oi' the inhabitants and several soldiers desert- ed: those remaining presented a petition to Subercase, ask- ing; him to surrender. He resolved to call a council of hia officers to consider what should be done. "A council of war never fi;>hts ; " a cessation of arms was agreed upon, and the terms of capitulation soon settled. On the 13th of October the articles were signed, sui-rendering the fort to Her Majesty, Queen Anne of Great Britain. The garrison were permitted to march out with their arms and baggage, with drums beating and colors flying, and were to be pro- vided with transportation to Kochelle, in France. The officers were allowed to take with them all their effects ; the Canadians had leave to retire to Canada; the furniture and ornaments of the chapel were to be respected, and the in- habitants within cannon shot of the fort were to be protect- ed. This article was probably intended to protect those of the people who had tired upon the English on their ap- proach to the fort, and afterward became the subject oi cou- ITAM, t)/ POHT RAVAL HI «derable cojitro^ ersy. The English lost only fifteen mea in their expedition, beside the twenty-six who were wrecked on the transj^oi t Col. Nicholson left a gavriaon of two hundred and fifty volunteers, under the coiinntind of Col. Vetili, who had been appoinlcd Governor of that country, una returned with the fieetaiid army to Boston, where he arrived on the 26 ih of October. Thus was the tri-color of France torn from the fortress of Port Roj'al, above which it had waved for more than a hundred years, over which it was ■destined never more to float as an emblen> of authority. The expense incurred by New England amounted to wJ3,- 000, which was afterward reimbursed by Parliament. The easy success of the English forces at Port Eoyal caused an expedition to be fitted out against Canada. Fif- teen hundred colonial troops, exclusive of a large body of Indians, were placed under command of Colonel Nicholson, who were to march against llontrea'.. At the same time an English fleet, comprising fifteen men-of-war, and forty trans- ports containing 5,000 veteran soldiers, under Admiral Walk- er, was to operate against Quebec. During a terrible Au- gust storm, while they were ascending the Gulf of St. Law- rence, the fleet drove down on the Egg Islands. The frig- ates were saved from the shoals, but several transports were wrecked with 1,500 men on board, and 900 brave fellows, who had x^assed scathless through the sanguinary battl-s of Blenheim and Eamillies, perishf'd miserably on the desolate shores of the St. Lawrence. This disaster was the cause of the total failure of the expedition.* • The rreiich ships, which visited the Islands soon after, found the wreck.* of ei^'ht vt«!sels, and the bodies of nearly three thousjmd drowned pertjou"'. lying along the shore. They recognized whole companies f>f the Queen's Giiards. distinguished by their red coats; and several Scotch fam- iUes, aiucng them seven women, all clasping each other s bauds. The French colony could but recognize a Providence which watched singu- larly ovtsc it*} })rostuvation, and which, not satisfied with rescuing it from ' \l •i ' Mi v> nsr ACADIA Colonel Vetch sent a deputation to Vandri*!?, Governor of Canada, with the message "that if he did not restrain the- savages under his control from further incursions into New England, the English would take revenge for every act of hositility comiuitted by them upon the defenseless Acadiatis now in their power." The French Governor returned an- swer — "if these threats were put in execution, nothing should prevent him from delivering up every English pris- oner hito the hands of the Indians. "^ The court of France at last began to awaken to a sense of the real va'.ue of the province they had lost. The King could not find a person willing to take ciiarge of an expedi- tion for its recovery. Vandrieul had appointed Baron St. Castiii* to the command of the Indians of Nova Scotia, with instiuctions to preserve their loyalty to the French King as far as possible. This personage raised a considerable body of Indians, and had successfully attacked an English party in what is now New Brunswick, and was mai'ching to the attack of Port Koyal. The commanding British officers at Port Royai, took three priests and five of the prin .-ipal inhabitants and shut them up as hostages, proclaiming that *'upon the least insurrectionary movement, he would execute these innocent persons in retaliation." As an additional measure of safety, he undertook to force the dispersed in- habitants to swear allegiance to the English. This was peculiarly distasteful to the French Acadiaus, and they re- Bo.ved not to submit. A body of sixty men was sent out under Captain Pigeon, to enforce this regulation, and re- duce the uisaflfected to obedience. They bad not proceeded far when they were surprised by a body of Indians, who the lEtiejvtest dnnger it had yet run, had enriched it with the spoils of an eneiHv whom it had not the pains to conquer; hence they rendered him most heartfelt thanks. (Charlevoix. ) * This was the Baron's half-breed son. VALL OF PORT ROTAL m "killed tho fort major, the engineer, ami all the boat's crew, and took from thirty to forty English prisoners. The scene of this disaster is ahnost twelve miles from the fort, on the road to Halifax, and is still called Bloody Creek. The suc- cess of this tempted the inhabitants to tike up arms, and five hundred of them, with as many Indians under St. Cas- tin, embodied Uiomselves to attack the fort." Bui not hav- ing an efficient officer to takf chief command, they had to abandon the interprise and disperse. On the 11th of April, 1713, the treaty of Utrecht was signed, and France and England were once raoie at peace. By this treaty it was stipulated that "all Nova Scotia, or Acadia, comprehfnded within its ancient boundaries, as a'.so the city of Port Royal, now called Annapolis," were yielded and made over to the Queen of Great Britain and to her crown forever. h i ir «i [ ■ i: i, •H ''ill 1 TROUBLES OF THE FRENCH. By the trenty of Utrecht, Acadia and Newfoundland were ceded to Eujiflund, — France retaining Cape Breton, Prince Edward's and other islands in the St. Lawrence Gulf. The way was thus left clear for France to erect other military establishments by v/ay of retaining practical control of the fisheries of those waters, — an oi^portnuity of which she was not slow to avail herself in the founding of a great fortress on the shores of English Harbor, on the island of Cape Bre- ton, which afterward became the widely-famed and potent Lonisbour^' • The population of " Acadia"' at this time was in all about two thousand five hundred souls. It was composed, al- most exclusively, of French who were strict adherents to the Roman Catholic faith. By the stern decrees of war, military domination had passed into the hands of a fon-ign power, and the French of Nova Scotia beheld a fortress in their very midst, that had been built by French capital, now gar- risoned with English soldiers, to whom they must bow sub- missively, and aid in their support. This wi < at that peri- od of the world's history when the sanguinavy wars of i e- ligion were fiercely raging, and when the bitter jealoiui 'S and antagonisms of the contending factions were at tbfir hight. Both Romanist and Protestant professed to believe that they would do God service by desiiovin-; all who would not give assent to their form of reugion — which contributed T^ TROUBLES OF THE FRRNCa 116 an incrcasccl rancor to the contoHt. We have, then, a Prot- estant En^jliKh garrison liokling military domination by con- quewt over u French Catholic Bubjugated people; that there Hhould be a lack of unity of feeling and interest, and • mutual distviiHt and hatred of one another, is not strange. Though nominally the subject sof Great Britain, the Aca- dinns could not be ^xpeeted to forget the land of their fathers. A continued intercourse was kept up between An- napolis, Minas, Chignccto, and the adjacent settlements, — each locality having its Popish priest, who was largely en- trusted with tlio guidance of their temporal affairs. The influence that tliese priests exercisod over the simple Acadiaijs is admitted to have been very great. They acted under orders from a central power at Quebec ; but a full cogi;izance i the nature of the instructions that emanated from the Cathe.lial of Notre Dame was never given to the outside world. Our information is deiived mostly irom English sources, poisoned with a jealousy of conflicting inter- ests, and prejutliced with a belief in Papist i)erfidiousiiess. There is abundant evidence that some of the charges against the priests were well founded ; and the English seem to have adopted the principle that the guilty in part, were as a natural sequence, guilty of the whole. The mistaken zeal and shortsightedness of such of the clergy as, forgetful of their higher calling, stooped to instigate measures against the English, only wrought injury and final ruin on the peo- ple for whom they plotted. A short time subsequent to the signing of the treaty of "Utrecht, Queen Anne wrote to Nicholson, then Governor of Nova Scotia, as follows : — "Whereas our good brother the most Christian King, hath, at our desira, released from imprisonment on buuid his gaiiey, tiuch ol his subjects as were detained there on account of their proiessiug the Piotesiant religion ; We being willing to show by some mark oi our favor towards i 1 1 •i! I ! \ i I , :. i ! 1 Ml IS I 'P. 116 AOAUIA his subjects how kind we take his compliance therein, have therefore thought t^t hereby to signify our will and pleasure to you, that you permit sucli of them as have any lands or teneiuents in the places under our government in Acadia and Newrouudlaud, that have been or are to be yielded to us by virtuo of tlie late Treaty of Peace, and are willing to continue our suujects, to retaui and enjoy theii- said lauda and tenements ^vltllout any mo:ehtation, as i'uily and freely as other of our subjects do, or may possess their lands or estates, or to sell tue same ii they shall rataer cuuose to re- move elsewhere. And for so domg this siiall be your war- rant." When Port Koyal was taken it was stipulated that such as lived within a league of the i'ort should remain upon their estates two years, oa takiug the oatn of allegiance. By the treaty of Utrecht the subjects of the King of France were to " liave liberty to remove themselves within a yeai" to any other place, with all their niov able efl'ects. But those who are willing to remain, and to be subject to the Kuig of Gi'eat Britain, are to enjoy the free exercise of their religion ac- cording to the usage of the Church of Kome, as fai* as the laws oi Great Britain do allow the same." In 1714 Governor Nicholson proposed to the Acadiana either to become subjects of the British Crown, or remove in compliance with the terms of the treaty. Upon every ap- plication that was made to them for that purpose they firm* ly refused to take the oath of allegiance. They however ex- pressed their readiness to accept an oath that would not re- quire them to take up arms either against the King of Eng< land or France, or against the Indians. The following is from Paul Mascerene to British Lords of Trade: "Canso Island has been found so convenient and advantageous for catching and curing codfish, that of late it has been the resort of numbers of the English, as it was of French before the seizure made by Captain iSmart. This stroke was so grievous to the I'repch, who were cou- i TBOUBLES or THE FREMOS 117 oemed in this loss, tliat seeing that they could not obtain the satisfaction they demanded, they have been at work all this spring, and incited the Indians to assemble at Canso and to surprise the English who were securely fishing therci and having killed and wounded some, drove the rest off the sea. By means of this hurry and confusion whilst the In- dians were plundering the dry goods, the Freiich weie rob- bing the fish and transporting it away, till the English, hav- ing recovered themselves, sent after them, and seized several of their shallops laden with English fish and other plunder, and made the robbers prisoners." Governor Phillips, residing at Annapolis, writing to Board of Trade, complains " that the French councils tend toward exciting the ludiiins into a general war, but that the Indiana (who are not without cunning) cannot be brought to a dec- laration of war because the French cannot openly join them and are determined to defer it to another opportunity." On Sunday, the 25th of September, 172G, Lieutenant- Governor Armstrong met a deputation of the inhabitants oi Annapolis at the Flag Bastion. His Honor, the Lieutenaot- (iovernor, •' told them he was glad to see them, and hoped they had so far considered their own and their children's future advantaf,es, that they were come with a full resolu- tion to take the oath of fidelity like good subjects Whereupon, at the request of some of the inhabitants, a French translation of the oath required to be taken was read to them. Upon which, some of them desired that a clause whereby they may not be obliged to carry arms, might be inserted. The Govei'nor told them that they had no reason to tear any such thing as that, it being contrary to the lawa of Great Britain, that a Iloinan Catlioiic should serve in the army. His Majesty having so many faithful Protestant subjects first to provide for, and that all His Majesty re- quued of them was to be faithful subjects, not to join with any enemy, but tor theii- own iuterMSt to diseover ail trait- i *r. ■t )! /I 118 ACADIA orous and evil designs, plots and conspiracies, any wise- fovmdl against Hi« Majesty's subjects and government, and so peaceably and quietly to enjoy and improve their estates. But they upon the motion made as aforesadd still refusing, and desiring the same clause, governed by the advice of the Council granted the same to be writ upon the margin of the French translation in order to get them over by de- grees. Whereupon they took and subscribed the same both in French and English."* AVe may add that this paper did not receive the approval of the Secretary of State, and the act of Armstrong was annulled ; and also the singular fact that neither the original document nor a copy of it can be found. In consequence of this exemption they were after- wards known as the '* Neutral French," Governor Aim strong subsequently sent Captain Bennett to iliiias and Eusigu Phillips to Beaubassin, two of the principal settlements, to administer oaths to the inhabitants. "They are both returned," he says in his report to the Sec- retary of State, "with the sail iuhabitauts answers and res- olutions not to take any oath but to their Notre Bon Roy ile France^ as they express it." Enough has been said to show the causes at work, which were, in a quarter of a century, to end in the utter overthrow of the French people in Acadia ; — the distrust of the Eng- lish in the protestations of innocence on the pait of the French, and the determination of the latter not to subsci-ibe to any oath binding themselves to take up ai'ms against their own country and kindred One of the most singular accusations bi'ought against the French at that time was, that " they had told the Indi- ans the English were the people who crucified our Savior." This story was current thioughout New England at that * Nova Scotia Archives. I- good King of France. TROUBLES OP THE FRENCH 119 day, and the cruelties of the Indians often attiibuted to it. Halibuiton claims there is nothing to support such a charge. About this time there existed on the banks of the Kenne- bec a beautiful Indian village named Novridgwock. An aged missionary resided among them, who had been their teacher for a period of forty years. The village contained a fhapel, and was defended by a rude fortification. This Romanist was highly accomplished, and his life liteially one long martyrdom ; being a correspondent and friei}d of the Governor of Canada, the English believed he might be the instigator of hostilities of the Indians. Under this impres- sion they fitted out a force from Massachusetts, consisting of upwards of two-hundred men, with orders to attack the village. This force arrived at Norridgwock, completely tak- ii.g the Indians by surprise. Charlevoix relates that the Priest Ralle, though unprepared, was unintiniidated, and showed himself at once in front, in hopes of diverting the attention of the enemy to himself and screen his be.oved flock by the voluntary offering of his own life. As soon as he was seen he was saluted with a great shout and a shower of bullets, and fell together with seven Indians who had rushed out of their tents to defend him with their bodies. When the pursuit had ceased, the Indians returned to find their Missionary dead at the foot of the village cross, his body perforated with balls, his scalp taken, his skull broken with IjIows of hatchets, his mouth filled with mud, the bones of his legs broken and otherwise mangled. The Indians buried him on the site of the chapel,* that edifice having been hewn down with its crucifix, and whatever else the au- sai.ants considered emblems of idolatry. They had likewise destroyed the buildings and pillaged the encampment. Now beneaih its ruins, was interred the body of him who had the ;i ' •The bell of Fatber Rnlle's little chapel escaped, and is still preserved ill the cabinet of l^owdoiu College, Maiue. i,: !( 120 ACADIA evening before celebrated the rites of his religion within its walls. " The death of Balle caused great rejoicing in Mas- sachusetts, and when Hai'mon, who was senior in command carried the scalps of his victims to Boston — ^this string of bloody trophies, including the scalps of women and children and an aged priest — he was received as if he had been some great general, fresh from the field of victoi-y." A certain Captain John Lovewell, emulous of Harmon's fame as a taker of scalps, and with a patriotism fired by the lai'ge bounty offered by Massachusetts for that kind of ar- ticle, gathered a baud of volunteers, and commenced scaliv hunting on the borders of New Hampshire. They killed one Indian for whose scalp the company received £100. He started next year with forty men, surprised ten Indians by their camp tire at Salmon Falls, whose scalps netted £1000. In a subsequent fight he lost his own scalp, as did thirty- four of his men.* Meanwhile the administration of Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong, at Annapolis Royal, was meeting with oppos- ition. At a council held at his house in September, 1727, at which time the inhabitants were ordered to assemble to take the oath, an answer was read, but not being subsciibed, "it was returned to the three deputies who presented it, who were ordered to attend at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, together with the inhabitants, and then adjourned the board to that time. .... The Deputies being admitted, again presented the afoi'esaid paper subscribed by almost seventy of the inhabitants. The Board resolved that the said paper is insolent, re- bellious, and highly disrespectful to his Majesty's authori- ty and government, that his Honor would please to tender the oaths to the inhabitants, and in case of refusal to com- mit the leaders to prison. It was "ordered that the three * Hannay. ON THE FISHING BANKS. II ■ V i ! y I ti TROUBLES Of "B". Fr.TSNCH 121 deputies, for their contempt and disrespect to his Majesty's government and authority, be committed to prison, and that the other inhabitants for having refused the oaths shnli bf debarred from fishing upon the British coasts until his Maj- esty's further pleasure shall be known concerning them. Governor Phillips obtained an oath from the people of Annapolis River in the winter of 1730, of which the Lords of Trade complained as not having been explicit enough.* Gov. Armstrong writes from Annapolis Roya' to the Duke of Newcastle : "I am sorry this Province should be in such a poor condition as it is really in, after having been so long as upwards of twenty-one years (which may be said imagin- ary only) under the English government ; for the inhabit- ants here being all French and Roman Catholics, are more subject to our neighbors of Quebec and Caiie Breton than to his Majesty, whose government by all their proceedings (notwithstanding of their Oath of Fidelity) they seem to de- spise, being entirely governed by their most insolent priests, who, for the most part come and go at pleasure, pretending for their sanction the treaty of Utrecht, without taking the least notice of this Government, in spite of all endeavors used to the contrary. I must also inform your Grace that the Indians aie employed in the affair, and use for an argu- ment that although the English conquered Annapolis, they never did Minas, and other parts of the Province, and in consequence of such arguments instilled into them, they have actually robbed the gentlemen of the Colliery by Chickenectua. destroyed their house and magazine built there, through pretense of a rent due them for the land and I 1 i :* i. iM i 1 •The following was the form of the oath : " Je promets et Jure Sin- oerement en Foi de Chretien que Je serai eutierenient Fidele, et Obeirai Vraiment Sa Majeste Le Roy George le Second, qui Je reconnoi pov.t L« Souvitiin Seigneur de L'Accadie ou Nouvelle Ecosse. Ainsi Dieu m« SoitenAide." ! .Ul I u I' III 1 11 i II 1'^ 122 ACADIA liberty of digging ; being advised, as I am informed, by Governor St. Ovid, that if they permit such designs of the English to succeed, that the Province will be entirely lost." Also a letter from the same at a later date: "Your Grace will be informed how high the French Government cairies her pretensions over their Priests' obedience, and the people of the Province, being Papists, are absolutely governed by their influence. How dangerous this may prove, in time, to his Majesty's authority and the peace of the Province I know not, without we could have roissionavieB from some place in- dependent of that crown, but this will prove a considerable expense which the French King beai's at present with alac- rity for very political reasons. Itis most certain there is not a missionary neither among the Frencli nor Indians who has n't a pens'on from that crown." Still another source of trouble to the Acadian Governors seems to have arisen, the nature of which will be seen by the following extract of a letter from Paul Mascarene, now Governor at Annapolis, to the Secretary of State : — " The increase of the French inhabitants calls for some fresh instructions how to dispose of them. They have divid- ed the lands they were in possession of, and which his ATaj- esty was pleased to allow them on their taking the oaths of allegiance, and now they apply for new grants, which ihe Governor did not think himself authorized to favor them with, as his Majesty's instructions on that hoad prescribe the grant of unappropriated lands to Protestant subjects only. This delay has occasioned several of tiie inhabitants to settle themselves on the skirts of this Province, pietty far distant from this place, notwithstanding proclamationa and orders to the contrary have been often repeated, and it has not been thought advisable hitherto to dispossess tbh-m by force. If they are debarred from new possessions they must live here miserably and conseque) tly be troublesome, or else they will continue to possess new tracts contrary to orders, or they must be made to withdraw to the neighoor- ing French colonies of Cape Breton or Canada." TROrET.ES or THE PT^FVCH 123 Another complaint Governor Mascarene has to make is told in the followinff letter to Des Ens'aves, parish priest at Annapolis for many years : " You mention the spiritual to be so connected with the temporal as sometimes not to be divided. This proposition requires some explanation Under pretence of this connection the missionaries have often usurped the power to malie themselves sovereign judges and arbiters of all causes amongst the people. For exam- pie : A parishioner complains to the priest that his neigh- bor owes him, and the priest examines the neighbor in the way of a confession. The man denies his owins:. The p'.iest doth not stop where he should, but examines wit- nesses, and then decides in a judicial manner and condemns the party to make restitution ; and to oblige him thereunto reiuses to administer the sacrament by which means the man is in a woful case, and must i-ather submit to be de- prived of his goods than to incur damnation, as he believes, by not receiving absolution from the priest. Consider how this tends to render all civil judicature useless." In 1742 it was publicly ordered that "no Romish priest of any degree or denomination shall presume to exercise any of their ecclasiastical jurisdiction within this his Majesty's Province." The French Acadians in their objections to taking the oath of allegiance, gave as a reason that they were at'raid of the Bavages, unless the English had a force at hand able to pro- tect them. This reason has been scoffed at by some histor- ical writers, as a specious sort of argument, that 18,000 peo- ple should be over-awed by a few hundred Indians ; assert- ing that this feai' was the work of the French leaders, who Avished to preserve the loyalty of the Acadians to the King of France. The condition of these poor inhabitants was in- deed truly deplorable, whose fears and interests were con- tinually worked upon by both the Frenca and English powers. The following will go to show whether the feai's mn II; i' 1 ■ : Mi 5) ;1^ H- i 124 ACADIA of the inhabitants, as to the acts of the Indians were they to take the oath, were groundless or not. It is a copy of an order to the inhabitants of Minas and vicinity (Grand Pre of Longfellow) by M. Du Yivier, Captain under Du Quesnalf commandant at Louisbourg ; — " The inhabitants of Minas are ordered to acknowledge the obedience they owe to the King of France, and in con- Bequonce are called upon for the following suj^plies : the paiisli of Grand Pre, eight horses and two men to drive them, that of the liiver Canard, eight horses and two men to drive tlieiu : that of Piziquid, twelve horses and three men to drive them ; as also the jjowder horns possessed by the said inhabitants, one only being I'eserved for .each house. The whole of the above must be brought to me at 10 o'clock on ijaturday nioniing, at the French Aug which I have had hoisted, and under which the deputies from the said paiishes sijnil be assembled to i^ledge fidelity for thembelves and all the inhabitants of the neighborhood who shall not be called HAiiy from the labors of the harvest. All those for whom Ihu pledge of fidelity simll be given will be held fully res- ponbible for said pledge, and those who would contravene tiie present order shall be punished as rebellious subjects, and delivered into the hands of savages as enemies oi the dtate, as we cannot refuse the demand which the savages make for all those who will not submit themscives. vVe enjoin also upon the inhabitants who have acknowledged their submission to the King of France to acquaint ua promptly with the names of all who wish to screen tiiem- teives trom the said obedience, in order that faithful sub- jects shall not suffer from any incursions which the savages may make." The following is the reply of the deputies to the order: 2'o M. De Ganne : — We, the undersigned humbly representing the inhabit- ants of Minas, iiiver Canard, Piziquid, and the surrounding rivers, beg that you will be picasea to consiuer, that wnuai there would be no di&cuity, by vatue oi tiie stroiig forcQ TR0TTBLE8 OP TBB FREHOI 125 which you commanci, in supplying yourself with the quau- tiiy of grain and meat you and Du Vivier have ordered, it would be quite impossible for us to furnish the quantity you demand, or even a smaller, since the harvest has not been so good as we hoped it would be, without placing ournelves in great peril. We hope gentlemen that you will not plunge us aud our families into a state of total loss ; and that this consideration will cause you to withdraw your savages and troops from our districts. We live under a mild and tranquil government, and we have all good reason to be faithful to it Youi' very obedient servants, Jacques Le Blano, and others. Minas, October 10th, 1744. I am willing, gentlemen, out of regard for you to com- ply with your demand. De Ganne. 0< tober, 13th, 1744. By a letter of the same date. Governor Mascarene writes to the deputies, highly commendatory of the action of the peop'e of Minas and vicinity, for remaining "true to the allegiance which they owe to the King of Great Britain, their legitimate Sovereign, notwithstanding the efforts which have been made to cause them to disregard it." The peo- ple of Chignecto appear to have behaved with less loyalty, and received the following menacing notice: Deputies of Chignecto : — I send yott these lines to inform you that I am in a po- sition to execute what I have so often said would happen to you if you failed in the allegiance you owed to his Britannic Majesty. If you wish therefore to avoid the danger which threatens you, do as the other departments have done — send your deputies, give an account of your conduct, and show the submission to which your oath of allegiance to the gov- li [ \ iff' i i •J ! . f t .(■i I;.; •ill l?ff ACADiyi ornment of the Kinjj of Great Britain binds vou. In tl)»4 case you shall still have in me a friend ar.il servant. P. Maboarknb. The above instrument will be better underBtood after a few explanatory words. In March, 1744, France iniulo a declaration of wair against England. News of this event did not reach Boston until June ; but intelligence was con- veyed to Cape Breton much earlier, by a fast bailing vessel dispatched for that puiposo. M. Du Quesnal, the Govern- or of the Island, had received instructions not to attempt the capture of any post in Nova Scotia until further oiderrs, under the apprehension that such expeditions might alarm the neighboring English colonies, and cause them to retali- ate on Louisbourg, then unfinished and unsufficiently garri- soned. Du Quesnal was well aware that the English posts of Can- so and Annapoiis were in a ruinous condition and poorly garrisoned, and was firm in the belief that there were four thousand French Acadians ready to throw off the English yoke ; he made up his mind to strike a sudden blow upon the unsuspecting English before they would have time to prepare for defense, and then trust to the effect of a bril- liant victory of French arms to allay the censures of his gov- ernment for his disobedience. He found an active and zeal- ous partisan in the person of Du Yivier, a great-grandson of Charles La Tour, to whom he gave command of the ex- pedition. The armament consisted of two sloops and sev- eral smaller vessels, with eight guns and other small arms, with about two hundred and fifty lien. At Canso they were joined by two hundred Indians, which place was im- mediately invested. Captain Hovon the English command- ant, having only one company of men in garrison, and de- prived of the assistance of the man-of-war belonging to the station, with no better defense than a log block -house built TRirnr: P.T of tttk KTiF\rn 127 lonp before by the fishermen, was forced to capituiute. TLe guniaou of eighty brave men therefore surreiulei'ed, the con- ditions beiri'i; that they shouhl be taken to Loiiiabourg, an poudence already referred to. Du Yivier had not been gone many days when a large French frigate, an armed briguu- tine. and a sloop, appeared before Annapolis. This was a part of the naval force intended to operate in the reduction of the fort. Throughout this whole affair the French ap- pear to have been exceedingly unfortunate : for had any two of the three bodies acted in concert, Annapolis must have fallen. Mascarene acknowledged tliat much of his success was due to the conduct of the French Acadiaus, who with a few exceptions gave no willing aid to the enemy. CAPTURE OF LOUISBOURG. The capture of Louisbourg was planned, and the details carried forward, by the merest novices in war, under cir- cumstances unfavorable in the extreme; and the attempt, all things considered, would have been pronounced foolhar- dy and reckless by the best military minds. The complete success of the enterprise, where there were so many contin- gencies either of which would have proved fatal to the pro- ject, effected at so small a loss and in so brief a periou, has caused the taking of Louisbourg, the " Dunkir^c of America," to be rated as among the most remarkable military triumphs on record. At this periof"" the New England colonists were suffering severely from privateers sailing under French colors. These vessels were sent out from the port of Louisbourg ; to which place they likewise retreated when pursued, or to dis- pose of their booty. It was, therefore, a mattor of dire exigency on the part of the colonists that this naval station should be broken up, — a measure that would result in driv- ing French privateers from American wafers. The cai^tive garrison of Canso, which had been sent home from Louis- bourg, conveyed information lo the Governor of Massachu- setts that induced him to determine on an attempt ugamst that place. This hated French fortress was situated on a buy on the southern coast of the Island of Cape Breton. Its gloomy < I ! i ^ « ;:; II If ' 11 ■I % 130 AOADIA I M walls gave shelter to the Jesuit; the crafty aboriginal, with his belt of scalps, fresh from his Ent;lish victims, found a secure asylum there ; and the gay soldier of France could here plot and scheme and draw supplies with which to carry on the war. Over the parapet was opened to the breezes the flaunting tri-color of Fiance, waving a defiance against her competitor for the possession of the New World. Over thirtj' millions of livres had been drawn from the French royal treasury, and expended on the fortifications of Louisbourg; and numerous cargoes of building ston'^ were sent hither from France. For a quarter of a century bad the government devoted its energy to the completion of the fortress ; and no v its sombre walls, " whose towers rose like giants above the northern seas," menaced the authority of tlie military rival of France. The town was more than two miles in circuit, and was surrounded by a rampart of stone from thirty to thirty-six feet high, and a ditch in front eighty feet wide. There were six bastions and eight batteries, con- taining embrasures for one hundred cannon, and eight mor- tars. Two additional batteries — one at the entrance of the harbor and the other on a high cliff opposite — contributed to the strength of the place. The citadel was in the gorge of the King's Bastion. In the centre of the town were the stately stone church, the nunnery, and the hospital of St. Jean de Dieu. The streets crossed each other at right an- gles, and communicated with the wharves by five gatss in the wall next the h irbor. The houses were constructed, partly of wood and p irtly of stone or brick, and partook of the general substantial appearance of the place. Governor Shirley, of Massachusetts, must be accredited as the originator of the gx'and scheme of the reduction of this almost impregnable fortress. In the autumn succeed- ing the capture of Canso [1744], Shirley had written to the British ministry, making known his plans and soliciting as- sistance: he conjectured that by surprising the place early CAPTURE or LOTTISBOrRQ 131 in the spring before their siiocora had arrived from France, it would full b?fore a determined attacl:. Without waiting a reply from Great Britain, Shirley communicated his pro- ject to the general court, under an oath of secrecy. The scheme appeared so wild and visionary to most of the mem- bers, that it was rejected; but a petition fortuitously arriv- ing from the n:f;rchants of Boston, Salem and riTarb'.ehead, complaining of the great i'.ijuries they had received from the privateers harboring at Louisbourg, Shii*ley was enabled to liave the vote rtconsidered, which \.as finally earned by a majority of one voice. Circulars were imraeJiately adareis- cd lO the colonies as far south as Pennsylvania, requesting their assistan(?e, and that an embargo be laid ou all their j.orts. All excused themselves from taking a part in so des- ] ' -ite a venture, except Connecticut, New Hampshu'e and iihode Island. The latter State missed its «hare in the l^lory of the affair, hovAe -ar, by the tardy arrival of the three iumdrcd soldiers it had undertaken to c;>ntrib;ite. Four thousand and seventy troops were en.isted, victual- ed and equipped, in two months' time, and early in March tills force w&s tibsenibled in Boston, ready to embark. Of tliid nuijibcr JIassacluisctta contributed three thousand two hundred and lifty men, Connecticut five hundred and six- teen, and New Hampshire three hundred and four. Tlie four coloiios furnished thirteen armed vessels carrying in all two hi.:-'Jved cannon. New York contributed artil.ery, and Peati } ' ania sent provisions, in aid of the project. Goveciior &hi?-ley applied to Commodore AVarren, comman- der o' tht; i^ '1 on the West India Station, soliciting his aa- Eiacance ah t -: j-operation : that commandar detained to act ou the giC.iu : . of having uo orders from England, and that tuo oipedition was whoily a Provincial affair, undertaken without the assent, and perhaps without the knowledge, of the iiiniatry. Tins was a severe disappointmeut to Shirley. l)Ul, concealing the iuformatiou from the troops, on the 4th 1 [ j f i 1 1 ! n '■! ' 1 1 ini .'■ ; ■ I •Jf i till Vi 182 ACADU of April the whole were embaiked, and the expedition bore away for Canso. The command of the aimament was given to William Pep- perell, a Militia Colonel, of Maine, a uian of agreeable man- ners and unblemished character, and very popular through- out New England. This reniaikable enterprise partook greatly of the nature of a religious crusade. In waging war against these Pa- pists, the Provincials thought they were doing God service. Gei ige Whitefield, one of the founders of Methodism, was then in New England!, animating the people with his impas- sioned eloquence, a: ^^ 'I'^ri they applied for a motto to in- scribe on the banner o expedition. Wlntefuli selected theioUowing: '■'■Nil dts/j >ncluni Chrlsto auce,"' — We des- pair of nothing Christ being our leader. A chaplain of one of the regiments carried on his shoulders a hatchet, with which, he proclaimed, it was his intention to destroy tiie images in the Papist chapels. Previous to sailing, religious services wei'e held in all of the churches throughout New England, invoking the blessing of the Almighty on the un- dertaking, and committing to His keeping their fathers and brothers who were embarked in the hazardous enterprise. The whole affair was inaugurated in a manner so extraordi- nary, and rested so much on fortune for its success, that in no way can we explain their action other than that they be- lieved the God of Battles would signally bless an undertak- ing, having His own glory for its prime object. Not one of those composing the expedition, from the highest to the lowest, knew how to conduct a siege, and few had ever heard a " cannon lired in anger ;" yet they abounded in the wild- est enthusiasm, and even went so far as to enter into pre- liminaries for celebrating a triumphal relurn. Providence smiled on them from the start. They aiTived at Canso, the place of rendezvous, early in April. The en- tire coast of Cape Breton was secuiely blocked by a barrier CAPTURE OF LOmaBOURO 133 of floating ice: it was certain no intimation of the intended attack had been received at Louisbouif>'. A richly laden vessel from Martinique, thus early bound with supplies for the fortress, fell an easy victim to the Provincials. A few t V 140 ACADIA I .1 '. i h North American station, and might be hourly expected. An exjjiess was dispatched to inform M. de Bamsay, who had al- ready invested Auuapolis, that the fleet would immediately sail thither. Three of the veslsels were sent home with the Indians ; the rest of the fleet numbering thirty-seven sail, put to sea and bore away for AnnapoUs. They were doomed to a combination of disasters that had continued to befall them ever since the armament had le^^ France. When off Cape Sable, they encountered another of those terrifc storms, which so weakened and dispersed the vessels that they returned to Europe. Tidings of the fieei's first disaster having reached France by some of the returned vessels, two men-of-war were immediately sent oat to join the fleei;, with orders to take and hold Annapolis at all hazards ; bat the fleet had sailed three days before their arrival on the coast. M. de Ramsay, who hid encamped before Annapolis, retired to Chebucto, where he placed his men in winter quarters, in readiness to opeiate with anoth- er Fj ench squadion which was to be sent out the following spring. The armament of the Duke D'Anville, which had excited such high expectations in France, and which had struck such terror throughout the English colonies, by a train of fortuitous circumstances as marked as those contribiitin? to the fall of Louisbourg, was doomed to niUr failuie. One half of the vessels were lost or disabled, and more than one half the troops died from disease, without having had an opportunity of measuring strength with the enemy. These continued disasters to the French were regarded by the people of New England as special interpositions of Provi- dence in theii' favor. Public thanksgivings were everywhere offered ; towns wore illuminated ; and no one doubted the right of the English to the whole of Acadia. Though the fleet had left the coast, Ramsay still remained on the Peninsula, which caused Mascareue much uneasiness CAPTUBE OF LODISBOURd 141 lest the French soldiery, aided by the Acadians and Indians, should attack Annapolis. Governor Masearene wrote fre- quently to Massachusetts, noting the extremely hazardous position of the English in Acadia, and soliciting help. Ha ei:piessed it as his opin on that a i-einforcement of one thou- sand ti-oops would be sufficient to dislodge the enemy from Acadian soil. He also suggested, as a politic maneuver, by quartering the soldiers among the inhabitants, they would consume all the provisions, and so leave the couiitry destitute of the means of supporting an invading enemy: and further, that their presence and intercourse among tlie Acadian French would have a good effect in confirming them in their allegiance.* These representations had the designed effect: Massa- chusetts sent five hundred men, Rhode Island three hun- dred, and New Hampshu'e two bundled, for this service. The contingent from Rhode Island was shipwrecked near Martha's Vmeyard; the armed vessels of New Hampshire went as fai- as Annapolis, but immediately returned to Ports- mouth ; and the troops from Massachusetts, not behig able to reach Minas by water on account of the inclemency of the weather, were landed on the 4th day of December, on the shore of the Bey of Fundy. Each man was furnished with fourteen days' provisions, and the party made a winter journey to Minas, through the snow and the interminable forests, and in eight days' time they reached Grand Pie in safety, though having suffered much from cold and fati^^ue. This detachment was quartered for the winter in the vil- lage of Grand Pre. Supposing the rigor of the season and the difificulty of threading the pathless woods to guarantee h i'^i' • Mascarenc