diff options
Diffstat (limited to '31368.txt')
| -rw-r--r-- | 31368.txt | 22349 |
1 files changed, 22349 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/31368.txt b/31368.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2563ad4 --- /dev/null +++ b/31368.txt @@ -0,0 +1,22349 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Glimpses of the Past, by W. O. Raymond + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Glimpses of the Past + History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784 + +Author: W. O. Raymond + +Release Date: February 23, 2010 [EBook #31368] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GLIMPSES OF THE PAST *** + + + + +Produced by Robin Monks, Dan Horwood and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + + + + + + + + + * * * * * + + + + + GLIMPSES OF THE PAST. + + History + of the + River St. John + + A. D. 1604-1784. + + By + Rev. W. O. RAYMOND, LL.D. + + St. John, N. B. + 1905. + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +[Illustration: SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN. + +Discoverer of the River St. John. The Father of New +France. Born at Brouage in 1567. Died at Quebec, Dec. 25, 1635.] + + + + +PREFACE. + + +Born and reared upon the banks of the River Saint John, I have always +loved it, and have found a charm in the study of everything that +pertains to the history of those who have dwelt beside its waters. + +In connection with the ter-centenary of the discovery of the river by +de Monts and Champlain, on the memorable 24th of June, 1604, the +chapters which follow were contributed, from time to time, to the +Saturday edition of the Saint John _Daily Telegraph_. With the +exception of a few minor corrections and additions, these chapters are +reprinted as they originally appeared. Some that were hurriedly +written, under pressure of other and more important work, might be +revised with advantage. Little attempt at literary excellence has been +practicable. I have been guided by an honest desire to get at the +facts of history, and in so doing have often quoted the exact language +of the writers by whom the facts were first recorded. The result of +patient investigation, extending over several years, in the course of +which a multitude of documents had to be consulted, is a more +elaborate and reliable history of the Saint John River region than has +yet appeared in print. The period covered extends from the discovery +of the river in 1604 to the coming of the Loyalists in 1784. It is +possible that the story may one day be continued in a second volume. + +At the conclusion of this self-appointed task, let me say to the +reader, in the words of Montaigne, "I bring you a nosegay of culled +flowers, and I have brought little of my own but the string that ties +them." + +W. O. RAYMOND. + +ST JOHN, N. B., December, 1905. + + + + +ERRATA. + + +Page 36, line 8. After word "and," the rest of the line should +read--"beautiful islands below the mouth of." + +Page 97, line 31. The last half of this line is inverted. + + + + +GLIMPSES OF THE PAST. + +INCIDENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE ST. JOHN RIVER. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE MALISEETS. + + +The Indian period of our history possesses a charm peculiarly its own. +When European explorers first visited our shores the Indian roamed at +pleasure through his broad forest domain. Its wealth of attractions +were as yet unknown to the hunter, the fisherman and the fur-trader. +Rude as he was the red man could feel the charms of the wilderness in +which he dwelt. The voice of nature was not meaningless to one who +knew her haunts so well. The dark recesses of the forest, the sunny +glades of the open woodland, the mossy dells, the sparkling streams +and roaring mountain torrents, the quiet lakes, the noble river +flowing onward to the sea with islands here and there embosomed by its +tide--all were his. The smoke of his wigwam fire curled peacefully +from Indian village and temporary encampment. He might wander where he +pleased with none to say him nay. + +But before the inflowing tide of the white-man's civilization the +Indian's supremacy vanished as the morning mist before the rising sun. +The old hunting grounds are his no longer. His descendants have long +ago been forced to look for situations more remote. The sites of the +ancient villages on interval and island have long since been tilled by +the thrifty farmer's hands. + +But on the sites of the old camping grounds the plough share still +turns up relics that carry us back to the "stone age." A careful study +of these relics will tell us something about the habits and customs of +the aborigines before the coming of the whites. And we have another +source of information in the quaint tales and legends that drift to us +out of the dim shadows of the past, which will always have peculiar +fascination for the student of Indian folk-lore. + +With the coming of the whites the scene changes and the simplicity of +savage life grows more complicated. The change is not entirely for the +better; the hardships of savage life are ameliorated, it is true, but +the Indian learns the vices of civilization. + +The native races naturally play a leading part in early Acadian +history, nor do they always appear in a very amiable light. The +element of fierceness and barbarity, which seems inherent in all +savage races, was not wanting in the Indians of the River St. John. +They united with their neighbours in most of the wars waged with the +whites and took their full share in those bloody forays which nearly +annihilated many of the infant settlements of Maine and New Hampshire. +The early annals of Eastern New England tell many a sad story of the +sacrifice of innocent lives, of women and children carried into +captivity and homes made desolate by savage hands. + +And yet, it may be that with all his faults the red man has been more +sinned against than sinning. + +Many years ago the provincial government sent commissioners to the +Indian village of Medoctec on the St. John river, where the Indians +from time immemorial had built their wigwams and tilled their +cornfields and where their dead for many generations had been laid to +rest in the little graveyard by the river side. The object of the +commissioners was to arrange for the location of white settlers at +Medoctec. The government claimed the right to dispossess the Indians +on the ground that the lands surrounding their village were in the +gift of the crown. The Indians, not unnaturally, were disinclined to +part with the heritage of their forefathers. + +On their arrival at the historic camping ground the commissioners made +known the object of their visit. Presently several stalwart captains, +attired in their war paint and feathers and headed by their chief, +appeared on the scene. After mutual salutations the commissioners +asked: "By what right or title do you hold these lands?" + +The tall, powerful chief stood erect, and with the air of a plumed +knight, pointing within the walk of the little enclosure beside the +river, replied: "There are the graves of our grandfathers! There are +graves of our fathers! There are the graves of our children!" + +To this simple native eloquence the commissioners felt they had no +fitting reply, and for the time being the Maliseets remained +undisturbed. + +It in not necessary to discuss at length the origin of the Indians who +lived on the banks of the St. John at the time the country became +known to Europeans. Whether or not the ancestors of our Indians were +the first inhabitants of that region it is difficult to determine. The +Indians now living on the St. John are Maliseets, but it is thought by +many that the Micmacs at one time, possessed the valley of the river +and gradually gave place to the Maliseets, as the latter advanced from +the westward. There is a tradition among the St. John river Indians +that the Micmacs and Maliseets were originally one people and that the +Maliseets after a while "went off by themselves and picked up their +own language." This the Micmacs regarded as a mongrel dialect and gave +to the new tribe the name Maliseet (or Milicete), a word derived from +Mal-i-see-jik--"he speaks badly." However, in such matters, tradition +is not always a safe guide. It is more probable the two tribes had an +independent origin, the Micmacs being the earlier inhabitants of +Acadia, while the Maliseets, who are an offshoot of the Abenaki (or +Wabenaki) nation, spread eastward from the Kennebec to the Penobscot +and thence to the St. John. The Indians who are now scattered over +this area very readily understand one another's speech, but the +language of the Micmacs is unintelligible to them. + +The Micmacs seem to have permitted their neighbors to occupy the St. +John river without opposition, their own preference inclining them to +live near the coast. The opinion long prevailed in Acadia that the +Maliseets, were a more powerful and ferocious tribe than the Micmacs; +nevertheless there is no record or tradition of any conflict between +them. + +That the Maliseets have for centuries inhabited the valley of the +River St. John is indicated by the fact that the Indian names of +rivers, lakes, islands and mountains, which have been retained by the +whites, are nearly all of Maliseet origin. Nevertheless the Micmacs +frequented the mouth of the St. John river after the arrival of +Europeans, for we learn that the Jesuit missionary, Enemond Masse, +passed the winter of 1611-2 at St. John in the family of Louis +Membertou, a Micmac, in order to perfect himself in the Micmac +language, which he had already studied to some extent at Port Royal. +The elder Membertou, father of the Indian here named, was, perhaps, +the most remarkable chieftain Acadia ever produced. His sway as grand +sagamore of the Micmac nation extended from Gaspe to Cape Sable. In +the year 1534 he had welcomed the great explorer Jacques Cartier to +the shores of Eastern New Brunswick, as seventy years later he +welcomed de Monts and Poutrincourt to Port Royal. The Jesuit +missionary, Pierre Biard, describes Membertou as "the greatest, most +renowned and most formidable savage within the memory of man; of +splendid physique, taller and larger limbed than is usual among them; +bearded like a Frenchmen, although scarcely any of the others have +hair upon the chin; grave and reserved with a proper sense of the +dignity of his position as commander." "In strength of mind, in +knowledge of war, in the number of his followers, in power and in the +renown of a glorious name among his countrymen, and even his enemies, +he easily surpassed the sagamores who had flourished during many +preceding ages." + +In the year 1605 Pennoniac, one of the chiefs of Acadia, went with de +Monts and Champlain as guide on the occasion of their voyage along the +shores of New England and was killed by some of the savages near Saco. +Bessabez, the sagamore of the Penobscot Indians, allowed the body of +the dead chief to be taken home by his friends to Port Royal and its +arrival was the signal of great lamentation. Membertou was at this +time an old man, but although his hair was white with the frosts of a +hundred winters, like Moses of old, his eye was not dim nor his +natural force abated. He decided that the death of Pennoniac must be +avenged. Messengers were sent to call the tribes of Acadia and in +response to the summons 400 warriors assembled at Port Royal. The +Maliseets joined in the expedition. The great flotilla of war canoes +was arranged in divisions, each under its leader, the whole commanded +by Membertou in person. As the morning sun reflected in the still +waters of Port Royal the noiseless procession of canoes, crowned by +the tawny faces and bodies of the savage warriors, smeared with +pigments of various colors, the sight struck the French spectators +with wonder and astonishment. + +Uniting with their allies of the River St. John, the great war party +sped westward over the waters of the Bay of Fundy and along the coast +till they reached the land of the Armouchiquois. Here they met and +defeated their enemies after a hard-fought battle in which Bessabez +and many of his captains were slain, and the allies returned in +triumph to Acadia singing their songs of victory. + +The situation of the Maliseets on the River St. John was not without +its advantages, and they probably obtained as good a living as any +tribe of savages in Canada. Remote from the war paths of the fiercer +tribes they hunted in safety. Their forests were filled with game, the +rivers teemed with fish and the lakes with water fowl; the sea shore +was easy of access, the intervals and islands were naturally adapted +to the cultivation of Indian corn, wild grapes grew luxuriantly along +the river banks, there were berries in the woods and the sagaabum (or +Indian potato) was abundant. Communication with all arts of the +surrounding country was easily had by means of the short portages that +separated the sources of interlacing rivers and with his light bark +canoe the Indian could travel in any direction his necessity or his +caprice might dictate. + +The characteristics of the Indians of Acadia, whether Micmacs or +Maliseets, were in the main identical; usually they were closely +allied and not infrequently intermarried Their manners and habits have +been described with much fidelity by Champlain, Lescarbot, Denys and +other early explorers. Equally accurate and interesting is the graphic +description of the savages contained in the narrative of the Jesuit +missionary Pierre Biard, who came to America in 1611 and during his +sojourn visited the St. John River and places adjacent making Port +Royal his headquarters. His narrative, "A Relation of New France, of +its Lands, Nature of the Country and of its Inhabitants," was printed +at Lyons in 1616. A few extracts, taken from the splendid edition of +the Jesuit Relations recently published at Cleveland, will suffice to +show that Pierre Biard was not only an intelligent observer but that +he handled the pen of a ready writer. "I have said before," he +observes, "that the whole country is simply an interminable forest; +for there are no open spaces except upon the margins of the sea, lakes +and rivers. In several places we found the grapes and wild vines which +ripened in their season. It was not always the best ground where found +them, being full of sand and gravel like that of Bourdeaux. There are +a great many of these grapes at St. John River in 46 degrees of +latitude, where also are to be seen many walnut (or butternut), and +hazel trees." + +This quotation will show how exact and conscientious the old French +missionary was in his narration. Beamish Murdoch in Ibis History of +Nova Scotia (Vol. 1, p. 21) ventures the observation, "It may perhaps +be doubted if the French account about grapes is accurate, as they +mention them to have been growing on the banks of the Saint John +where, if wild grapes exist, they must be rare." But Biard is right +and Murdoch is wrong. Wild grapes naturally grow in great abundance on +the islands and intervals of the River St. John and, in spite of the +interference of the farmers, are still to be found as far north at +least in Woodstock. Biard visited the St. John River in October, 1611, +and stayed a day or two at a small trading post on an island near Oak +Point. One of the islands in that vicinity the early English settlers +afterwards called "Isle of Vines," from the circumstance that wild +grapes grew there in great profusion. + +We quote next Father Biard's description of the Indian method of +encampment: "Arrived at a certain place, the first thing they do is to +build a fire and arrange their camp, which they will have finished in +an hour or two; often in half an hour. The women go into the woods and +bring back some poles which are stuck into the ground in a circle +around the fire and at the top are interlaced in the form of a +pyramid, so that they come together directly over the fire, for there +is the chimney. Upon the poles they throw some skins, matting or bark. +At the foot of the poles under the skins they put their baggage. All +the space around the fire is strewn with soft boughs of the fire tree, +so they will not feel the dampness of the ground; over these boughs +are thrown some mats or seal skins as soft as velvet; upon these they +stretch themselves around the fire with their heads resting upon their +baggage; and, what no one would believe, they are very warm in there +around that little fire, even in the greatest rigors of the winter. +They do not camp except near some good water, and in an attractive +location." + +The aboriginies of Acadia when the country became known to Europeans, +no doubt lived as their ancestors had lived from time immemorial. A +glimpse of the life of the Indian in prehistoric times is afforded us +in the archaeological remains of the period. These are to be found at +such places as Bocabec, in Charlotte county, at Grand Lake in Queens +county, and at various points along the St. John river. Dr. L. W. +Bailey, Dr. Geo. F. Matthew, Dr. W. F. Ganong, James Vroom, and others +have given considerable attention to these relics and they were +studied also to some extent by their predecessors in the field of +science, Dr. Robb, Dr. Gesner and Moses H. Perley. The relics most +commonly brought to light include stone implements, such as axes, +hammers, arrow heads, lance and spear heads, gouges and chisels, celts +or wedges, corn crushers, and pipes; also bone implements such as +needles, fish hooks and harpoons, with specimens of rude pottery. + +When Champlain first visited our shores the savages had nothing better +than stone axes to use in clearing their lands. It is to their credit +that with such rude implements they contrived to hack down the trees +and, after burning the branches and trunk, planted their corn among +the stumps and in the course of time took out the roots. In +cultivating the soil they used an implement of very hard wood, shaped +like a spade, and their method of raising corn, as described by +Champlain, was exactly the same as that of our farmers today. The corn +fields at the old Medoctic Fort were cultivated by the Indians many +years before the coming of the whites. Cadillac, writing in 1693, +says: "The Maliseets are well shaped and tolerably warlike; they +attend to the cultivation of the soil and grow the most beautiful +Indian corn; their fort is at Medocktek." Many other choice spots +along the St. John river were tilled in very early times, including, +probably, the site of the old Government House at Fredericton, where +there was an Indian encampment long before the place was dreamed of as +the site of the seat of government of the province. + +Lescarbot, the historian, who wrote In 1610, tells us that the Indians +were accustomed to pound their corn in a mortar (probably of wood) in +order to reduce it to meal. Of this they afterwards made a paste, +which was baked between two stones heated at the fire. Frequently the +corn was roasted on the ear. Yet another method is thus described by +the English captive, John Gyles, who lived as a captive with the St. +John river Indians in 1689: "To dry the corn when in the milk, they +gather it in large kettles and boil it on the ears till it is pretty +hard, then shell it from the cob with clam shells and dry it on bark +in the sun. When it is thoroughly dry a kernel is no bigger than a +pea, and will keep years; and when it is boiled again it swells as +large as when on the ear and tastes incomparably sweeter than other +corn. When we had gathered our corn and dried it in the way described, +we put some of it into Indian barns, that is into hole in the ground +lined and covered with bark and then with earth. The rest we carried +up the river upon our next winter's hunting." + +The Indians were a very improvident race, and in this respect the +Maliseets were little better than the Micmacs, of whom Pierre Biard +writes: "They care little about the future and are not urged on to +work except by present necessity. As long as they have anything they +are always celebrating feasts and having songs dances and speeches. If +there is a crowd of them you certainly need not expect anything else. +Nevertheless if they are by themselves and where they may safely +listen to their wives, for women are everywhere the best managers, +they will sometimes make storehouses for the winter where they will +keep smoked meat, roots, shelled acorns, peas, beans, etc." + +Although the Indians living on the St. John paid some attention to the +cultivation of the soil there can be no doubt that hunting and fishing +were always their chief means of support. In Champlain's day the +implements of the chase were very primitive. Yet they were able to +hunt the largest game by taking advantage of the deep snow and making +use of their snow-shoes. Champlain says. "They search for the track of +animals, which, having found, they follow until they get sight of the +creature, when they shoot at it with their bows or kill it by means of +daggers attached to the end of a short pike. Then the women and +children come up, erect a hut and they give themselves to feasting. +Afterwards they proceed in search of other animals and thus they pass +the winter. This is the mode of life of these people, which seems to +me a very miserable one." + +There can be little doubt that wild game was vastly more abundant in +this country, when it was discovered by Europeans, than it is today. +In the days of La Tour and Charnisay as many as three thousand moose +skins were collected on the St. John in a single year, and smaller +game was even more abundant. Wild fowl ranged the coasts and marshes +and frequented the rivers in incredible numbers. Biard says that at +certain seasons they were so abundant on the islands that by the +skilful use of a club right and left they could bring down birds as +big as a duck with every blow. Denys speaks of immense flocks of wild +pidgeons. But the Indian's food supply was not limited to these; the +rivers abounded with salmon and other fish, turtles were common along +the banks of the river, and their eggs, which they lay in the sand, +were esteemed a great delicacy, as for the musquash it is regarded as +the "Indian's turkey." + +A careful examination of the relics discovered at the sites of the old +camping grounds suffices to confirm the universal testimony of early +writers regarding the nomadic habits of the Indians. They were a +restless race of people, for ever wandering from place to place as +necessity or caprice impelled them. At one time they were attracted to +the sea side where clams, fish and sea fowl abounded; at another they +preferred the charms of the inland waters. Sometimes the mere love of +change led them to forsake one camping place and remove to some other +favorite spot. When game was scarce they were compelled by sheer +necessity to seek new hunting grounds. At the proper season they made +temporary encampments for salmon fishing with torch and spear. Anon +they tilled their cornfields on the intervals and islands. They had a +saying: "When the maple leaf is as big as a squirrel's foot it is time +to plant corn." Occasionally the outbreak of some pestilence broke up +their encampments and scattered them in all directions. In time of +peace they moved leisurely, but in time of war their action was much +more vigorous and flotillas of their bark canoes skimmed swiftly over +the lakes and rivers bearing the dusky warriors against the enemies of +their race. Many a peaceful New England hamlet was startled by their +midnight war-whoop when danger was little looked for. + +It is a common belief in our day that the Indians were formerly more +numerous than they now are. Exactly the same opinion seems to have +prevailed when the country was first discovered, but it is really very +doubtful whether there were ever many more Indians in the country than +there are today. In the year 1611 Biard described them as so few in +number that they might be said to roam over rather than to possess the +country. He estimated the Maliseets, or Etchemins, as less than a +thousand in number "scattered over wide spaces, as is natural for +those who live by hunting and fishing." Today the Indians of Maine and +New Brunswick living within the same area as the Etchemins of 1611, +number considerably more than a thousand souls. There are, perhaps, as +many Indians in the maritime provinces now as in the days of +Champlain. As Hannay observes, in his History of Acadia, excellent +reasons existed to prevent the Indians from ever becoming very +numerous. A wilderness country can only support a limited population. +The hunter must draw his sustenance from a very wide range of +territory, and the life of toil and privation to which the Indian was +exposed was fatal to all but the strongest and most hardy. + +One of the most striking Indian characteristics is the keenness of +perception by which they are enabled to track their game or find their +way through pathless forests without the aid of chart or compass. The +Indian captive, Gyles, relates the following incident which may be +mentioned in this connection: + +"I was once travelling a little way behind several Indians and, +hearing them laugh merrily, when I came up I asked them the cause of +their laughter. They showed me the track of a moose, and how a +wolverene had climbed a tree, and where he had jumped off upon the +moose. It so happened that after the moose had taken several large +leaps it came under the branch of a tree, which, striking the +wolverene, broke his hold and tore him off; and by his tracks in the +snow it appeared he went off another way with short steps, as if he +had been stunned by the blow that had broken his hold. The Indians +were wonderfully pleased that the moose had thus outwitted the +mischievous wolverene." + +The early French writers all notice the skill and ingenuity of the +savages, in adapting their mode of life to their environment. Nicholas +Denys, who came to Acadia in 1632, gives a very entertaining and +detailed account of their ways of life and of their skillful +handicraft. The snowshoe and the Indian bark canoe aroused his special +admiration. He says they also made dishes of bark, both large and +small, sewing them so nicely with slender rootlets of fir that they +retained water. They used in their sewing a pointed bodkin of bone, +and they sometimes adorned their handiwork with porcupine quills and +pigments. Their kettles used to be of wood before the French supplied +them with those of metal. In cooking, the water was readily heated to +the boiling point by the use of red-hot stones which they put in and +took out of their wooden kettle. + +Until the arrival of Europeans the natives were obliged to clothe +themselves with skins of the beaver and other animals. The women made +all the garments, but Champlain did not consider them very good +tailoresses. + +Like most savage races the Indians were vain and consequential. Biard +relates that a certain sagamore on hearing that the young King of +France was unmarried, observed: "Perhaps I may let him marry my +daughter, but the king must make me some handsome presents, namely, +four or five barrels of bread, three of peas and beans, one of +tobacco, four or five cloaks worth one hundred sous apiece, bows, +arrows, harpoons, and such like articles." + +Courtship and marriage among the Maliseets is thus described by John +Gyles: "If a young fellow determines to marry, his relations and the +Jesuit advise him to a girl, he goes into the wigwam where she is and +looks on her. If he likes her appearance, he tosses a stick or chip +into her lap which she takes, and with a shy side-look views the +person who sent it; yet handles the chip with admiration as though she +wondered from whence it came. If she likes him she throws the chip to +him with a smile, and then nothing is wanting but a ceremony with the +Jesuit to consummate the marriage. But if she dislikes her suitor she +with a surly countenance throws the chip aside and he comes no more +there." + +An Indian maiden educated to make "monoodah," or Indian bags, birch +dishes and moccasins, to lace snowshoes, string wampum belts, sew +birch canoes and boil the kettle, was esteemed a lady of fine +accomplishments. The women, however, endured many hardships. They were +called upon to prepare and erect the cabins, supply them with fire, +wood and water, prepare the food, go to bring the game from the place +where it had been killed, sew and repair the canoes, mend and stretch +the skins, curry them and make clothes and moccasins for the whole +family. Biard says: "They go fishing and do the paddling, in short +they undertake all the work except that alone of the grand chase. +Their husbands sometimes beat them unmercifully and often for a very +slight cause." + +Since the coming of the whites the Maliseets have had few quarrels +with the neighboring tribes of Indians. They entertained, however, +a dread of the Mohawks, and there are many legends that have been +handed down to us which tell of their fights with these implacable +foes. One of the most familiar--that of the destruction of the +Mohawk war party at the Grand Falls--told by the Indians to the early +settlers on the river soon after their arrival in the country and has +since been rehearsed in verse by Roberts and Hannay and in prose by +Lieut.-Governor Gordon in his "Wilderness Journeys," by Dr. Rand +in his Indian legends and by other writers. + +John Gyles, the English captive at Medoctec village in 1689, relates +the following ridiculous incident, which sufficiently shows the +unreasonable terror inspired in the mind of the natives of the river +in his day by the very name of Mohawk: + +"One very hot season a great number of Indians gathered at the +village, and being a very droughty people they kept James Alexander +and myself night and day fetching water from a cold spring that ran +out of a rocky hill about three-quarters of a mile from the fort.[1] +In going thither we crossed a large interval corn field and then a +descent to a lower interval before we ascended the hill to the spring. +James being almost dead as well as I with this continual fatigue +contrived (a plan) to fright the Indians. He told me of it, but +conjured me to secrecy. The next dark night James going for water set +his kettle on the descent to the lowest interval, and ran back to the +fort puffing and blowing as in the utmost surprise, and told his +master that he saw something near the spring which looked like Mohawks +(which he said were only stumps--aside): his master being a most +courageous warrior went with James to make discovery, and when they +came to the brow of the hill, James pointed to the stumps, and withal +touched his kettle with his toe, which gave it motion down hill, and +at every turn of the kettle the bail clattered, upon which James and +his master could see a Mohawk in every stump in motion, and turned +tail to and he was the best man who could run the fastest. This +alarmed all the Indians in the village; they, though about thirty or +forty in number, packed off bag and baggage, some up the river and +others down, and did not return under fifteen days, and the heat of +the weather being finally over our hard service abated for this +season. I never heard that the Indians understood the occasion of the +fright, but James and I had many a private laugh about it." + + [1] The old Medoctec fort was on the west bank of the River St. John + about eight miles below the town of Woodstock. The spring is + readily identified; an apparently inexhaustible supply of pure + cold water flows from it even in the driest season. + +Until quite recently the word "Mohawk," suddenly uttered, was +sufficient to startle a New Brunswick Indian. The late Edward Jack +upon asking an Indian child, "What is a Mohawk?" received this reply, +"A Mohawk is a bad Indian who kills people and eats them." Parkman +describes the Mohawks as the fiercest, the boldest, yet most politic +savages to whom the American forests ever gave birth and nurture. As +soon as a canoe could float they were on the war path, and with the +cry of the returning wild fowl mingled the yell of these human tigers. +They burned, hacked and devoured, exterminating whole villages at +once. + +A Mohawk war party once captured an Algonquin hunting party in which +were three squaws who had each a child of a few weeks or months old. +At the first halt the captors took the infants, tied them to wooden +spits, roasted them alive before a fire and feasted on them before +the eyes of the agonized mothers, whose shrieks, supplications and +frantic efforts to break the cords that bound them, were met with +mockery and laughter. "They are not men, they are wolves!" sobbed one +of the wretched women, as she told what had befallen her to the Jesuit +missionary. + +Fearful as the Maliseets were of the Mohawks they were in turn +exceedingly cruel to their own captives and, strange as it may appear, +the women were even more cruel than the men. In the course of the +border wars English captives were exposed to the most revolting and +barbarous outrages, some were even burned alive by our St. John river +Indians. + +But while cruel to their enemies, and even at times cruel to their +wives, the Indians were by no means without their redeeming features. +They were a modest and virtuous race, and it is quite remarkable that +with all their bloodthirstiness in the New England wars there is no +instance on record of the slightest rudeness to the person of any +female captive. This fact should be remembered to their credit by +those who most abhor their bloodthirstiness and cruelty. Nor were the +savages without a certain sense of justice. This we learn from the +following incident in the experience of the English captive John +Gyles. + +"While at the Indian village (Medoctec) I had been cutting wood and +was binding it up with an Indian rope in order to carry it to the +wigwam when a stout ill-natured young fellow about 20 years of age +threw me backward, sat on my breast and pulling out his knife said +that he would kill me, for he had never yet killed an English person. +I told him that he might go to war and that would be more manly than +to kill a poor captive who was doing their drudgery for them. +Notwithstanding all I could say he began to cut and stab me on my +breast. I seized him by the hair and tumbled him from off me on his +back and followed him with my fist and knee so that he presently said +he had enough; but when I saw the blood run and felt the smart I at +him again and bid him get up and not lie there like a dog--told him of +his former abuses offered to me and other poor captives, and that if +ever he offered the like to me again I would pay him double. I sent +him before me, took up my burden of wood and came to the Indians and +told them the whole truth and they commended me, and I don't remember +that ever he offered me the least abuse afterward, though he was big +enough to have dispatched two of me." + +The unfortunate conduct of some of the New England governors together +with other circumstances that need not here be mentioned, led the +Maliseets to be hostile to the English. Toward the French, however, +they were from the very first disposed to be friendly, and when de +Monts, Champlain and Poutrincourt arrived at the mouth of our noble +river on the memorable 24th day of June, 1604, they found awaiting +them the representatives of an aboriginal race of unknown antiquity, +and of interesting language, traditions and customs, who welcomed them +with outward manifestations of delight, and formed with them an +alliance that remained unbroken throughout the prolonged struggle +between the rival powers for supremacy in Acadia. + +[Illustration: Indian Encampment and Chief] + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +THE COMING OF THE WHITE MAN. + + +There are yet to be found in New Brunswick forest clad regions, remote +from the haunts of men, that serve to illustrate the general features +of the country when it was discovered by European adventurers 300 +years ago. Who these first adventurers were we cannot with certainty +tell. They were not ambitious of distinction, they were not even +animated by religious zeal, for in Acadia, as elsewhere, the trader +was the forerunner of the priest. + +The Basque, Breton, and Norman, fishermen are believed to have made +their voyages as early as the year 1504, just 100 years before +Champlain entered the mouth of the St. John river. But these early +navigators were too intent upon their own immediate gain to think of +much beside; they gave to the world no intelligent account of the +coasts they visited, they wave not accurate observers, and in their +tales of adventure fact and fiction were blended in equal proportion. +Nevertheless, by the enterprise and resolution of these hardy mariners +the shores of north-eastern America were fairly well known long before +Acadia contained a single white inhabitant. + +Adventurers of Portugal, Spain and Italy vied with those of France and +Britain in the quest of treasure beyond the sea. They scanned our +shores with curious eyes and pushed their way into every bay and +harbor. And thus, slowly but surely, the land that had lain hidden in +the mists of antiquity began to disclose its outlines as the keen +searchlight of discovery was turned upon it from a dozen different +sources. + +While the first recorded exploration of the southern shores of New +Brunswick is that of de Monts and Champlain in 1604, there can be +little doubt that European fishers and traders had entered the Bay of +Fundy before the close of the 16th century and had made the +acquaintance of the savages, possibly they had ventured up the St. +John river. The Indians seem to have greeted the new-comers in a very +friendly fashion and were eager to barter their furs for knives and +trinkets. The "pale-faces" and their white winged barks were viewed at +first with wonder not unmixed with awe, but the keen-eyed savages +quickly learned the value of the white man's wares; and readily +exchanged the products of their own forests and streams for such +articles as they needed. Trade with the savages had assumed +considerable proportions even before the days of Champlain. + +But while it is probable that the coasts of Acadia were visited by +Europeans some years before Champlain entered the Bay of Fundy, it is +certain that the history of events previous to the coming of that +intrepid navigator is a blank. The Indians gradually become familiar +with the vanguard of civilization as represented by the rude fishermen +and traders, that is all we know. + +The honor of the first attempt at colonization in Acadia belongs to +the Sieur de Monts, a Huguenot noblemen who had rendered essential +service to the French king. This nobleman, with the assistance of a +company of merchants of Rouen and Rochelle, collected a band of 120 +emigrants, including artisans of all trades, laborers and soldiers, +and in the month of April, 1604, set sail for the new world. Henry IV +of France gave to the Sieur de Monts jurisdiction over Acadia, or New +France, a region so vast that the sites of the modern cities of +Montreal and Philadelphia lay within its borders. The Acadia of de +Monts would today include the maritime provinces, the greater part of +Quebec and half of New England. + +The colonists embarked in two small vessels, the one of 120, the other +of 150 tons burden; a month later they reached the southern coast of +Nova Scotia. They proceeded to explore the coast and entered the Bay +of Fundy, to which the Sieur de Monts gave the name of La Baye +Francaise. Champlain has left us a graphic account of the voyage of +exploration around the shores of the bay. In this, however, we need +not follow him. Suffice it to say that on the 24th day of June there +crept cautiously into the harbor of St. John a little French ship; she +was a paltry craft, smaller than many of our coasting schooners, but +she carried the germ of an empire for de Monts, Champlain and +Poutrincourt, the founders of New France, were on her deck. + +There is in Champlain's published "voyages" an excellent plan of St. +John harbor which, he says, lay "at the mouth of the largest and +deepest river we had yet seen which we named the River Saint John, +because it was on this saint's day that we arrived there." + +Champlain did not ascend the river far but Ralleau, the secretary of +the Sieur de Monts, went there sometime afterwards to see Secoudon (or +Chkoudun), the chief of the river, who reported that it was beautiful, +large and extensive with many meadows and fine trees such as oaks, +beeches, walnut trees and also wild grape vines. In Champlain's plan +of St. John harbor a cabin is placed on Navy Island, which he +describes as a "cabin where the savages fortify themselves." This was +no doubt the site of a very ancient encampment. + +Lescarbot, the historian, who accompanied de Monts, says they visited +the cabin of Chkoudun, with whom they bartered for furs. According to +his description: "The town of Ouigoudy, the residence of the said +Chkoudun, was a great enclosure upon a rising ground, enclosed with +high and small tress, tied one against another; and within the +enclosure were several cabins great and small, one of which was as +large as a market hall, wherein many households resided." In the large +cabin which served as a council chamber, they saw some 80 or 100 +savages all nearly naked. They were having a feast, which they called +"Tabagie." The chief Chkoudun made his warriors pass in review before +his guests. + +Lescarbot describes the Indian sagamore as a man of great influence +who loved the French and admired their civilization. He even attended +their religious services on Sundays and listened attentively to the +admonitions of their spiritual guides, although he did not understand +a word. "Moreover," adds Lescarbot, "he wore the sign of the cross +upon his bosom, which he also had his servants wear; and he had in +imitation of us a great cross erected in the public place called +Oigoudi at the port of the River Saint John." This sagamore +accompanied Poutrincourt on his tour of exploration to the westward +and offered single handed to oppose a hostile band who attacked the +French. + +According to Champlain's plan of St. John harbor, the channel on the +west, or Carleton, side of Navy Island was much narrower in his day +than it is now. The name Ouygoudy (or Wigoudi), applied by the +Indians to Chkoudun's village on Navy Island, is nearly identical with +the modern word "We-go-dic," used by the Maliseets to designate any +Indian village or encampment. They have always called the St. John +river "Woolastook," but their name for the place on which the city of +St. John is built is "Men-ah-quesk," which is readily identified with +"Menagoueche," the name generally applied to St. John harbor by +Villebon and other French commanders in Acadia. + +[Illustration: CHAMPLAIN'S PLAN OF ST. JOHN HARBOR. + +The figures indicate fathoms of water. A. Islands above +the falls. B. Mountains two leagues from the river. D. Shoals or flats. +E. Cabin where the savages fortify themselves. F. A pebbly point where +there is a cross (Sand Point). G. Partridge Island. H. A., small river +coming from a little pond (mill pond and its outlet). I. Arm of the sea, +dry at low tide (Courtenay Bay and the Marsh Creek). P. Way by which the +savages carry their canoes in passing the falls.] + +Navy Island assumes a historic interest in our eyes as the first +inhabited spot, so far as we know, within the confines of the city of +St. John. In Champlain's plans the principal channel is correctly +given as on the east side of Partridge Island. Sand Point is shown, +and the cross at its extremity was probably erected by the explorers +in honor of their discovery. Groups of savages are seen on either side +of the harbor, and a moose is feeding near the present Haymarket +Square. A little ship rests on the flats, the site of the new dry +dock. + +De Monts and Champlain passed their first winter in America on an +island in the St. Croix river. Their experience was disastrous in the +extreme. Nearly half of their party died of "mal de la terre," or +scurvy, and others were at the point of death. Pierre Biard, the +Jesuit missionary, attributed the fatality of the disease to the mode +of life of the people, of whom only eleven remained well. "These were +a jolly company of hunters who preferred rabbit hunting to the air of +the fireside, skating on the ponds to turning over lazily in bed, +making snowballs to bring down the game to sitting around the fire +talking about Paris and its good cooks." In consequence of their +unfortunate experience during the first winter the little colony +removed to Port Royal. + +The advent of European explorers and traders materially affected the +manner of life of the Indians. Hitherto they had hunted the wild +animals merely for subsistence, but now the demand of the traders for +furs and peltry stimulated enormously the pursuit of game. The +keen-eyed savages saw the advantages of the white man's implements and +utensils. Steel knives, axes, vessels of metal, guns, powder and shot, +blankets, ornaments and trinkets excited his cupidity. Alas, too, love +of the white man's "fire water" soon became a ruling passion and the +poor Indian too often received a very indifferent compensation for his +toil and exposure. + +In the summer time, when the annual ships arrived from France, the +Indians gathered in large numbers at the various trading posts. They +came from far and near, and for several weeks indulged in feasting and +revelry. Pierre Biard comments severely on their folly. He says: "They +never stop gorging themselves excessively during several weeks. They +get drunk not only on wine, but on brandy, so that it is no wonder +they are obliged to endure some gripes of the stomach during the +following autumn." + +The Maliseets frequently came to the mouth of the St. John to trade +with the French; sometimes they even resorted to Port Royal, for these +daring savages did not fear to cross the Bay of Fundy in their frail +barks. + +The chief of the savages of the River St. John, Chkoudun, proved a +valuable ally of the French owing to his extensive knowledge of the +country and of the tribes that inhabited it. Champlain crossed over to +St. John from Port Royal in the autumn of 1605 to get him to point out +the location of a certain copper mine on the shores of the Bay of +Fundy, supposed to be of fabulous richness. Chkoudun readily agreed to +accompany his visitor and they proceeded to the mine, which was on the +shores of the Basin of Minas. The master miner, a native of Sclavonia, +whom de Monts had brought to Acadia to search for precious metals, +deemed the outlook not unpromising, but Champlain was disappointed, +and says: "The truth is that if the water did not cover the mines +twice a day, and if they did not lie in such hard rocks, something +might be expected from them." + +The commercial spirit that has ever predominated in our good city of +St. John evidently goes back to the days of its discovery. Chkoudun +lived at "Menagoueche" in his fortified village on Navy Island when +Champlain invited him to go with the Sieur de Poutrincourt and himself +as guide on a tour of exploration along the coast of New England. They +set out in the month of September, 1606, and the chief took with him +in a shallop certain goods he had obtained from the fur traders to +sell to his neighbors the Armouchiquois, with whom he proposed to make +an alliance. The savages of New England were beginning to covet the +axes and other implements of civilization that their neighbors to the +eastward had obtained from the fishermen and traders who visited their +shores. + +The Indians were now for a season to part with their friends and +allies. In 1607 de Monts decided to abandon his attempt to establish a +colony and Champlain and his associates were recalled to France. +Acadia was once more without a single European inhabitant. Three years +later Poutrincourt, to the great joy of the savages, returned to Port +Royal, and most of the rights and privileges formerly held by de Monts +were transferred to him. + +The summer of 1611 was notable for the arrival of the Jesuit +missionaries, Pierre Biard and Enemond Masse. + +It seems that the French traders did not quietly acquiesce in +Poutrincourt's monopoly of trade, and the masters of certain ships of +St. Malo and Rochelle boasted to the Indians that they would devour +Poutrincourt as the fabled Gougou would a poor savage. This was an +insult our nobleman was not disposed to endure, so accompanied by the +missionary Biard he crossed over to St. John and proceeded along the +coast as far as Passamaquoddy. The offenders were sternly admonished +and compelled to acknowledge his authority. Later it was discovered +that they had carried away nearly all that was valuable of the fur +trade for that season. + +Biard at this time succeeded in reconciling Poutrincourt and the +younger Pontgrave who for some misdemeanor had been banished from Port +Royal and had spent the previous winter among the Indians of the St. +John river, living just as they did. Biard speaks of him as "a young +man of great physical and mental strength, excelled by none of the +savages in the chase, in alertness and endurance and in his ability to +speak their language." + +Early in the month of October a little island in Long Reach called +Emenenic--now known as Caton's Island--was the scene of an exciting +incident of which Biard has left us a picturesque description. It +seems that Poutrincourt's son, Biencourt, wished to exact submission +on the part of a number of traders of St. Malo, who had established a +trading post on the island. Accordingly accompanied by a party of +soldiers and the Jesuit missionary he proceeded to the scene of +operations. Father Biard did not admire, as do our modern travellers, +the "reversing falls" at the mouth of our noble river. "The entrance +to this river," he says, "is very narrow and very dangerous * * and if +you do not pass over it at the proper moment and when the water is +smoothly heaped up, of a hundred thousand barques not an atom would +escape, but men and goods would all perish." + +The party settled on the island of Emenenic included their captain, +Merveille, and young Pontgrave. Biard in his narrative terms them "the +Malouins"--or people of St. Malo. "We were still," he says, "one +league and a half from the island when the twilight ended and night +came on. The stars had already begun to appear when suddenly towards +the northward a part of the heavens became blood red; and this light +spreading little by little in vivid streaks and flashes, moved +directly over the settlement of the Malouins and there stopped. The +red glow was so brilliant that the whole river was tinged and made +luminous by it. This apparition lasted about five minutes and as soon +as it disappeared another came of the same form, direction and +appearance. + +"Our savages, when they saw this wonder, cried out in their language, +'Gara, gara, maredo'--we shall have war, there will be blood. + +"We arrived opposite the settlement when the night had already closed +in, and there was nothing we could do except to fire a salute from the +falconet, which they answered with one from the swivel gun. + +"When morning came and the usual prayers ware said, two Malouins +presented themselves upon the bank and signified to us that we could +disembark without being molested, which we did. It was learned that +their captains were not there but had gone away up the river three +days before, and no one knew when they would return. Meanwhile Father +Biard went away to prepare his altar and celebrate holy mass. After +mass Sieur de Biencourt placed a guard at the door of the habitation +and sentinels all around it. The Malouins were very much astonished at +this way of doing things. The more timid considered themselves as +lost; the more courageous stormed and fumed and defied them. + +"When night came on Captain Merveille returned to his lodgings, +knowing nothing of his guests. The sentinel hearing him approach +uttered his "qui voila"--who goes there? The Malouin, thinking it was +one of his own people, answered mockingly, 'who goes there thyself?' +and continued upon his way. The sentinel fired his musket at him in +earnest and it was a great wonder (merveille) that Merveille was not +killed. But he was very much astonished and still more so when he saw +some soldiers upon him with naked swords who seized him and took him +into the house; you may imagine how soldiers and sailors act at such +times, with their cries, their theats and their gesticulations. + +"Merveille had his hands bound behind his back so tightly that he +could not rest and he began to complain very pitifully. Father Biard +begged Sieur de Biencourt to have the sufferer untied, alleging that +if they had any fears about the said Merveille they might enclose him +in one of the Carthusian beds, and that he would himself stay at the +door to prevent his going out. Sieur de Biencourt granted this +request." + +"Now I could not describe to you," Biard goes on to say, "what a night +this was; for it passed in continual alarms, gun shots and rash acts +on the part of some of the men; so that it was feared with good reason +that the prognostications seen in the heavens the night before would +have their bloody fulfilment upon earth. I do not know that there was +one who closed his eyes during the night. For me, I made many fine +promises to our Lord never to forget His goodness if He were pleased +to avert bloodshed. This He granted in His infinite mercy. * * +Certainly Captain Merveille and his people showed unusual piety for +notwithstanding this so annoying encounter, two days afterwards they +confessed and took communion in a very exemplary manner, and at our +departure they all begged me very earnestly, and particularly young du +Pont, to come and stay with them as long as I liked. I promised to do +so and am only waiting the opportunity, for in truth I love these +honest people with all my heart." + +The missionaries, Biard and Masse, were anxious to cultivate the +friendship of young du Pont, knowing that he could greatly assist them +in learning the Indian language, a knowledge of which was essential to +the work they hoped to accomplish amidst the forests of Acadia. +Inspired by their motto "ad majoram Dei gloriam," they shrank from no +toil or privation. Father Masse passed the winter of 1611-12 with +Louis Membertou and his family at the River St. John with only a +French boy as his companion, his object being to increase his +knowledge of the Indian language. He suffered many hardships, was at +one time seriously ill, but eventually returned in safety to Port +Royal. He describes the winter's experience with the savages as "a +life without order and without daily fare, without bread, without +salt, often without anything; always moving on and changing, * * for +roof a wretched cabin, for couch the earth, for rest and quiet odious +cries and songs, for medicine hunger and hard work." + +The missionaries found immense difficulty in acquiring the language of +the natives. The task was not so difficult so long as they sought to +learn the names of objects that might be touched or seen, but when it +came to such abstract words as virtue, vice, reason, justice, or to +such terms as to believe, to doubt or to hope, "for these," said +Biard, "we had to labor and sweat; in these were the pains of +travail." They were compelled to make a thousand gesticulations and +signs that greatly amused their savage instructors who sometimes +palmed off on them words that were ridiculous and even obscene, so +that the Jesuits labored with indifferent success in the preparation +of their catechism. Their work was still in the experimental stage +when the destruction of Port Royal by Argal in 1613, and the capture +and removal of the missionaries brought everything to a stand and put +an end to all attempts at colonization in Acadia for some years. + +The Indians, however, were not forgotten; the Jesuits had failed, but +in 1619 a party of Recollet missionaries from Aquitaine began a +mission on the St. John. These humble missionary laborers had no +historian to record their toils and privations, and unlike the Jesuits +they did not become their own annalists. We know, however, that one of +their number, Father Barnardin, while returning from Miscou to the +River St. John, in the year 1623, died of hunger and fatigue in the +midst of the woods, a martyr to his charity and zeal. Five years +afterwards, the Recollets were compelled to abandon their mission +which, however, was reoccupied by them before many years had passed. +Meanwhile the fur traders established a post on the River St. John as +a convenient centre for trade with the Indians. + +The French, with young Biencourt at their head, still kept a feeble +hold on Acadia. Biencourt had as his lieutenant, Charles de la Tour, +who had come to the country many years before when a mere boy of 14 +years of age. Biencourt and la Tour--such was their poverty--were +compelled to live after the Indian fashion, roaming through the woods +from place to place. In this rude life la Tour acquired an extensive +knowledge of the country and its resources, and in all probability +became familiar with the St. John river region. Biencourt at his death +left him all his property in Acadia. + +The destruction of Port Royal by Argal was the first incident in the +struggle between England and France for sovereignty in Acadia, a +struggle that for a century and a half was to remain undecided. + +The next attempt at colonization was made on the part of the British, +but it proved as futile as that of de Monts. James I. of England, in +the year 1621, gave to Sir William Alexander, under the name of Nova +Scotia, the peninsula which is now so called, together with a vast +adjacent wilderness as a fief of the Scottish crown. For several years +this favored nobleman seems to have contented himself with sending +annually a ship to explore the shores of his domain and to trade with +the Indians. Later he devised a scheme to facilitate the settlement of +a colony by the creation of an order of baronets of Nova Scotia, each +of whom was to receive an estate six miles in length and three in +breadth in consideration of his assistance in the colonization of the +country. In the course of 10 years more than 100 baronets were +created, of whom 34 had estates within the limits of our own province. +To that part of Nova Scotia north of the Bay of Fundy, now called New +Brunswick, Sir William gave the name of the Province of Alexandria. +The St. John river he called the Clyde and the St. Croix, which +divided New England and New Scotland, he not inaptly called the +Tweed. + +When war broke out between England and France in 1627, young Charles +la Tour found his position in Acadia very insecure. However, he was +naturally resourceful and by his diplomacy and courage continued for +many years to play a prominent part in the history of affairs. He +sought and obtained from Louis XIII. of France a commission as the +King's lieutenant-general and at the same time obtained from Sir +William Alexander the title of a Baronet of Nova Scotia. He procured +from his royal master a grant of land on the River St. John and +obtained leave from Sir William Alexander to occupy it. + +By the treaty of St. Germain, in 1632, Acadia was ceded to France. +Immediately after the peace de Razilly came to the country at the head +of a little colony of settlers, many of them farmers, whose +descendants are to be found among the Acadians of today. With de +Razilly came d'Aulnay Charnisay, who was destined to become la Tour's +worst enemy. De Razilly died in 1635, leaving his authority to +Charnisay, his relative and second in command. Charnisay made his +headquarters at Port Royal and nobody disputed his authority except la +Tour, who claimed to be independent of him by virtue of his commission +from the crown and his grant from the Company of New France. The +dissensions between la Tour and Charnisay at length culminated in war +and the strife was long and bitter. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE RIVAL FEUDAL CHIEFS. + + +Charles de Menou, Seigneur d'Aulnay Charnisay, came of a distinguished +family of Touraine. He married Jeanne Motin, a daughter of the +Seigneur de Courcelles. She came to Acadia with him in 1638. They +resided at Port Royal where Charnisay in his log mansion reigned like +a feudal lord. + +Charles St. Etienne de la Tour was probably of less conspicuous +lineage than his rival, although in legal documents he is called "a +gentleman of distinguished birth." He married Frances Marie Jacquelins +who, according to the questionable testimony of his enemies, was the +daughter of a barber of Mans. She was a Huguenot and whatever may have +been her origin her qualities of mind and heart have deservedly won +for her the title of "the heroine of Acadia." Never had man more +faithful ally than Marie Jacquelins proved to Charles la Tour. + +As early as the year 1630 la Tour had be concerned in a project to +erect a strong fort at the mouth of the St. John river in order to +ward off the incursions of hostile adventurers and secure control of +the far trade of the vast wilderness region extending from the mouth +of the river nearly to the St. Lawrence. It was not, however, until +the 15th of January, 1635, that the Company of New France granted him +his tract of land at St. John, extending five leagues up the river and +including within its bounds "the fort and habitation of la Tour." + +The French government endeavored to establish a good understanding +between la Tour and Charnisay. A royal letter was addressed to the +latter in which he was cautioned against interference with la Tour's +settlement at the River St. John. La Tour received a like caution as +regards Charnisay's settlement at Port Royal. Charnisay was +commissioned the king's lieutenant-general from Chignecto to Penobscot +and la Tour was given like jurisdiction over the Nova Scotian +peninsula. Thus la Tour's settlement and fort at St. John lay within +the limits of Charnisay's government and Charnisay's settlements at La +Have and Port Royal lay within the government of la Tour, an +arrangement not calculated to promote harmony on the part of the +rivals. + +It is rather difficult to get at all the facts of the quarrel that now +rapidly developed between la Tour and Charnisay. The statements of +their respective friends are very diverse, sometimes contradictory, +and even the official records of the court of France are conflicting. +Nicolas Denys, the historian, had reason to dislike Charnisay, and +perhaps some of his statements concerning Charnisay's barbarity should +be received with caution. On the other hand the friends of Charnisay +have cast aspersions an the character of Lady la Tour that seem +entirely unwarranted.[2] The fact remains that Acadia, large as it +was, not large enough for two such ambitious men as Charles la Tour +and d'Aulnay Charnisay. + + [2] See "Feudal Chiefs of Acadia," by Parkman in Atlantic Monthly of + January and February, 1893. + +The exact site of la Tour's fort at the mouth of the River St. John +has been the subject of controversy, Dr. W. F. Ganong, a most +conscientious and painstaking student of our early history, has +argued strongly in favor of its location at Portland Point (the green +mound near Rankine's wharf at the foot of Portland street); the late +Joseph W. Lawrence and Dr. W. P. Dole have advocated the claims of +Fort Dufferin, but the site usually accepted is that known as "Old +Fort," on the west side of the harbor opposite Navy Island. It seems +probable that la Tour resided at one time at "Old Fort," in Carleton, +and his son-in-law the Sieur de Martignon lived there afterwards, but +whether this was the site of the first fort built by la Tour and so +bravely defended by his wife is at least a debatable question. + +In the absence of positive information as to the exact location of la +Tour's first fort, it is perhaps unadvisable to disturb popular +opinion until a thorough search of the records in France shall have +been made in order if possible to settle the question. + +Upon his arrival at St. John, la Tour speedily surrounded himself with +soldiers and retainers and established an extensive traffic with the +Indians, who came from their hunting grounds when the ships arrived +laden with goods for the Indian trade. Doctor Hannay gives a graphic +picture of la Tour's situation:-- + +"A rude abundance reigned at the board where gathered the defenders of +Fort la Tour. The wilderness was then a rich preserve of game, where +the moose, caribou and red deer roamed in savage freedom. Wild fowl of +all kinds abounded along the marsh, and interval lands of the St. +John, and the river itself--undisturbed by steamboats and unpolluted +by saw mills--swarmed with fish. And so those soldier-traders lived on +the spoils of forest, ocean and river, a life of careless freedom, +undisturbed by the politics of the world and little crossed by its +cares. Within the fort, Lady la Tour led a lonely life, with no +companions but her domestics and her children, for her lord was often +away ranging the woods, cruising on the coast, or perhaps on a voyage +to France. She was a devout Huguenot, but the difference of religion +between husband and wife seems never to have marred the harmony of +their relations." + +In the struggle between the rival feudal chiefs, Charnisay had the +advantage of having more powerful friends at court, chief among them +the famous Cardinal Richelieu. + +Representations made concerning the conduct of la Tour led the French +monarch in 1641 to order him to return to France to answer the charges +against him. In the event of his refusal, Charnisay was directed to +seize his person and property. The commission of la Tour was also +revoked. + +The contest now entered upon an acute stage. La Tour claimed that the +royal order had been obtained through misrepresentation, and +absolutely refused to submit to Charnisay. The latter, not daring to +attack la Tour in his stronghold, repaired to France where he +succeeded in fitting out five vessels and in obtaining the services of +500 soldiers to compel his rival to submission. He also procured +another and more definite order from the king, directing him to seize +la Tour's fort and person and to send him to France as a rebel and a +traitor. + +Meanwhile la Tour was not idle. His friends at Rochelle sent out to +him a large armed vessel, the Clement, loaded with ammunition and +supplies and having on board 150 armed men. When the vessel neared +St. John, it was discovered that Charnisay had established a blockade +at the mouth of the harbor and that entrance was impracticable. In +this emergency la Tour resolved to seek aid from the people of New +England, whose trade and friendship he had begun to cultivate. Boston +was then but a straggling village, in its 13th year, with houses +principally of boards or logs gathered around its plain little meeting +house. Eluding the vigilance of the blockading squadron, la Tour and +his wife succeeded in getting safely on board the Clement, and at once +repaired to Boston, where their arrival created some consternation, +for Boston happened to be at that time in a particularly defenceless +position. Governor Winthrop remarked: "If la Tour had been ill-minded +towards us, he had such an opportunity as we hope neither he nor any +other shall ever have the like again." However, la Tour had come with +no ill intent, and after some negotiations, which he conducted with +much skill and discretion, he was allowed to hire from Edward Gibbons +and Thomas Hawkins, four vessels with 50 men and 38 guns. He also +obtained the assistance of 92 soldiers. With these he hurried back to +the relief of his fort. Charnisay was compelled to raise the blockade +and retire to his defences at Port Royal, where he was defeated with +loss by the united forces of la Tour and his allies. + +While at St. John, the Bostonians captured a pinnace belonging to +Charnisay, laden with 400 moose and 400 beaver skins; their own +pinnace went up the river to Grand Lake and loaded with coal. This +little incident shows that the coal mines of Queens county were known +and worked more than 250 years ago. + +As the struggle with la Tour proceeded Charnisay became more and more +determined to effect the destruction of his rival. La Tour's resources +were nearly exhausted and his situation had became exceedingly +critical. He dared not leave his fort and yet he could not hold out +much longer unaided. His brave wife was equal to the emergency; she +determined herself to go to France for assistance. This was indeed an +arduous undertaking for a woman, but her spirit rose to the occasion, +and neither the perils of the deep nor the difficulties that were to +confront her at the court of France served to daunt her resolute soul. +Fearlessly she set out upon the long and dangerous voyage and in the +course of more than a year's absence endured disappointments and +trials that would have crushed one less resolute and stout hearted. +Her efforts in her native country were foiled by her adversaries, she +was even threatened with death if she should venture to leave France, +but setting the royal command at defiance she went to England and +there chartered a ship to carry stores and munitions of war to St. +John. The master of the ship, instead of proceeding directly to his +destination, went up the River St. Lawrence to trade with the Indians. +When, after a six months' voyage, they at length entered the Bay of +Fundy some of Charnisay's vessels were encountered, and the English +captain to avoid the seizure and confiscation of his ship was obliged +to conceal Madame la Tour and her people and proceed to Boston. Here +his own tribulations began for Madame la Tour brought an action +against him for violation of his contract and after a four days' trial +the jury awarded her two thousand pounds damages. With the proceeds of +this suit she chartered three English ships in Boston and proceeded +to St. John with all the stores and munitions of war that she had +collected. The garrison at Fort la Tour hailed her arrival with +acclamations of delight for they had begun to despair of her return. + +Charnisay's attempt to reduce la Tour to subjection was foiled for the +time being, but his opportunity came a little later. In February, +1645, he learned of la Tour's absence and that his garrison numbered +only fifty men. He determined at once to attack the fort. His first +attempt was an abject failure. The Lady la Tour inspired her little +garrison with her own dauntless spirit, and so resolute was the +defence and so fierce the cannon fire from the bastions that +Charnisay's ship was shattered and disabled and he was obliged to warp +her off under the shelter of a bluff to save her from sinking. In this +attack twenty of his men were killed and thirteen wounded. Two months +later he made another attempt with a stronger force and landed two +cannon to batter the fort on the land side. On the 17th of April, +having brought his largest ship to within pistol shot of the water +rampart, he summoned the garrison to surrender. He was answered by a +volley of cannon shot and shouts of defiance. + +The story of the taking of Fort la Tour, as told by Nicholas Denys, is +well known. For three days Madame la Tour bravely repelled the +besiegers and obliged them to retire beyond the reach of her guns. On +the fourth day whilst she, hoping for some respite, was making her +soldiers rest a miserable Swiss sentinel betrayed the garrison, and +when the alarm was given the enemy were already scaling the walls. +Lady la Tour even in so desperate an emergency as this succeeded in +rallying the defenders, who bravely resisted the attack, though +greatly outnumbered by their assailants. She only surrendered at the +last extremity and under condition that the lives of all should be +spared. This condition Charnisay is said to have shamefully violated; +all the garrison were hanged, with the exception of one who was spared +on condition of acting the part of executioner, and the lady commander +was compelled to stand at the scaffold with a rope around her neck as +though she were the vilest criminal. + +It is but fair to state that our knowledge of the gross indignity to +which Lady la Tour was subjected is derived from Denys' narrative, and +its authenticity has been questioned by Parkman. Nevertheless accounts +of the transaction that have come to us from sources friendly to +Charnisay admit that he hanged the greater number of his prisoners, +"to serve as an example to posterity," and that Madame la Tour was put +into confinement where, as Charnisay's reporter somewhat brutally +observes, "she fell ill with spite and rage." The Lady la Tour did not +long survive her misfortunes. Scarcely three weeks had elapsed after +the capture of the fort she had so gallantly defended when she died +and was laid to rest near the spot consecrated by her devotion, the +scene of so many hopes and fears. + +There will always be a peculiar charm for us in the story of our +Acadian heroine. Fearless, energetic, resolute undoubtedly she was, +yet who shall say that the motives that actuated her were other than +pure and womanly? A heart more loyal and true never beat in a human +breast. She gave her life to protect her husband, her children and +the humbler dependents that followed their fortunes from the hands of +a bitter and unscrupulous enemy. + +The capture of his stronghold and the death of his faithful wife +involved la Tour in what appeared to be at the time irreparable ruin. +He found himself once more, as in his younger days, an exile and a +wanderer. + +The booty taken by Charnisay was valued at L10,000 sterling and as it +had been accumulated in traffic with the Indians we may form some idea +of the value of the trade of the St. John river at this time. + +When the capture of la Tour's fort was known at the court of +Versailles the young king was well pleased. He confirmed Charnisay's +authority in Acadia and even extended it--on paper--from the St. +Lawrence to Virginia. He could build forts, command by land and sea, +appoint officers of government and justice, keep such lands as he +fancied and grant the remainder to his vassals. He had also a monopoly +of the fur trade and with Fort la Tour, the best trading post in +Acadia, in his possession, the prospect for the future was very +bright. Charnisay possessed the instincts of a colonizer and had +already brought a number of settlers to Acadia. Everything at this +juncture seemed to point to a growing trade and a thriving colony; but +once again the hand of destiny appears. In the very zenith of his +fortune and in the prime of manhood Charnisay was drowned on the 24th +day of May, 1650, in the Annapolis river near Port Royal. + +With Charnisay's disappearance la Tour reappears upon the scene. His +former defiant attitude is forgotten, he is recognized as the most +capable man of affairs in Acadia and in September, 1651, we find him +again in possession of his old stronghold at St. John. The king now +gave him a fresh commission as lieutenant-general in Acadia with ample +territorial rights. Disputes soon afterwards arose concerning the +claims of the widow of d'Aulnay Charnisay; these disputes were set at +rest by the marriage of the parties interested. The marriage contract, +a lengthy document, was signed at Port Royal the 24th day of February, +1653, and its closing paragraph shows that there was little sentiment +involved: "The said seigneur de la Tour and the said dame d'Aulnay his +future spouse, to attain the ends and principal design of their +intended marriage, which is the peace and tranquillity of the country +and concord and union between the two families, wish and desire as +much as lies with them that in the future their children should +contract a new alliance of marriage together." + +There is no evidence to show that la Tour's second marriage proved +unhappy, though it is a very unromantic ending to an otherwise very +romantic story. His second wife had also been the second wife of +Charnisay who was a widower when he married her; her maiden name was +Jeanne Motin. Descendants of la Tour by his second marriage are to be +found in the families of the d'Entremonts, Girouards, Porliers and +Landrys of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. + +La Tour and his new wife were quietly living at St. John the year +after their marriage when four English ships of war suddenly appeared +before the fort and demanded its surrender. These ships had in the +first instance been placed at the disposal of the people of +Massachusetts by Oliver Cromwell for the purpose of an expedition +against the Dutch colony of Manhattan (now New York); but on the eve +of their departure news arrived that peace had been made with Holland. +It was then decided that the expedition should proceed under Major +Robert Sedgewick's command to capture the French strongholds in +Acadia. This was a bold measure for England and France were then +ostensibly at peace. La Tour at once saw that resistance was useless +and surrendered his fort and the flag of Britain was hoisted over the +ramparts. However, la Tour's address did not desert him; he went to +England and laid before Cromwell his claim as a grantee under the +charter of Sir William Alexander. He proved as skilful a diplomatist +as ever and obtained, cojointly with Thomas Temple and William Crowne, +a grant which practically included the whole of Acadia. + +La Tour, now more than 60 years of age, was sagacious enough to see +that disputes were sure again to arise between England and France with +regard to Acadia, and not wishing to be the football of fortune, sold +his rights to Sir Thomas Temple his co-partner, and retired to private +life. He died in 1666 at the age of 72 years and his ashes rest within +the confines of his beloved Acadia. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +FRENCH COMMANDERS OF ACADIA. + + +After the capture of Fort la Tour by Sedgewick's Massachusetts +invaders in 1654, Acadia remained nominally in possession of the +English for twelve years. Half a century had elapsed since the attempt +of de Monts to establish his colony, yet little progress had been made +in the settlement of the country and the valley of the St. John +remained an almost unbroken wilderness. The first English trading post +on the river, of which we have any knowledge was that established in +1659 by Sir Thomas Temple at the mouth of the Jemseg. + +As related in the last chapter, la Tour, Temple and Crowne received +from Oliver Cromwell a grant that included nearly the whole of Acadia, +and la Tour soon after sold his right to Temple, his co-partner. The +latter decided to establish a fortified post at the Jemseg as more +convenient for the Indian trade and less exposed to marauders than the +fort at the mouth of the river. There can be little doubt that Temple +would soon have enjoyed a flourishing trade, but unfortunately for his +prospects, Acadia was restored to France by the treaty of Breda, in +1667. He attempted to hold possession of his lands, claiming that they +did not fall within the boundaries of Acadia, but at the expiration of +three years, during which there was considerable correspondence with +the home authorities, he received the peremptory orders of Charles II. +to surrender the fort to the Sieur de Soulanges. In the formal deed of +surrender the fort is termed "Fort Gemisick, 25 leagues up the River +St. John." It was a palisaded enclosure, with stakes 18 feet high +connected by cross pieces fastened with nails to the stakes and firmly +braced on the inside with pickets nine feet high leaned against the +stakes. The gate of the fort was of three thicknesses of new plank. It +was evidently a frail defence, but sufficient for the Indian trade. +The armament consisted of five iron guns, varying in weight from 300 +pounds to 625 pounds, mounted on wooden platforms. Within the palisade +was a house 20 paces by 10, two chimneys, a forge, two sheds and a +store house. The fort stood on a small mound near the top of a hill, +less than 100 yards from the bank of the Jemseg river. It commanded an +extensive view both up and down the River St. John. A fragment of the +rampart is still visible, and numerous relics have from time to time +been dug up at the site or in the vicinity. The fort site is now owned +by Mr. Geo. F. Nevars. + +After the treaty of Breda the Chevalier Grand-fontaine was appointed +to command in Acadia, with Pierre de Joibert, Seigneur de Soulanges et +Marson, as his lieutenant. One of the first acts of Grand-fontaine was +to have a census taken, from which we learn that there were then only +a little more than 400 people in Acadia, very few of whom were to be +found north of the Bay of Fundy. Grand-fontaine was recalled to France +in 1673, and Chambly, who had been an officer in the famous Carignan +Salieres regiment, succeeded him as commandant. The control of affairs +in New France was now transferred to Quebec, where a governor-general +and intendant, or lieutenant-governor, resided. + +About this time large tracts of land were granted as "seigniories" by +Count Frontenac and his successors. The seignior was usually a person +of some consideration by birth and education. He received a free +grant of lands from the crown on certain conditions; one of these was +that whenever the seigniory changed hands the act of "faith and +homage" was to be tendered at the Castle of St. Louis in Quebec. The +tendering of faith and homage was quite an elaborate ceremony, in +which the owner of the land, divesting himself of arms and spurs, with +bared head, on bended knee, repeated before the governor, as +representative of the sovereign, his acknowledgement of faith and +homage to the crown. Provision was made in all seignioral grants for +the reservation of oaks for the royal navy, of lands required for +fortifications or highways, and of all mines and minerals; the +seignior was also required to reside on his land or to place a certain +number of tenants thereon and to clear and improve a certain portion +within a stated time. From the year 1672 to the close of the century +as many as 16 seigniories were granted on the St. John river, besides +others in various parts of New Brunswick. The first in order of time +was that to Martin d'Arpentigny Sieur de Martignon. It included a +large tract at the mouth of the River St. John, on the west side of +the harbor, extending six leagues up the river from Partridge Island +(Isle de la Perdrix) and six leagues in depth inland. This seigniory +would now include Carleton and the parishes of Lancaster, Musquash and +Westfield. The owner of this valuable property is described as "an old +inhabitant of Acadia." He married Jeanne de la Tour, only daughter of +Charles la Tour by his first wife: she was born in Acadia in 1626. It +is stated in his grant that he intended to bring over people from +France to settle his seigniory, also that he was a proprietor of lands +on the River St. John "from the River de Maquo to the mines of the +said country of Acadia."[3] + + [3] Dr. Ganong is probably correct in identifying the "River de + Maquo" with Maquapit and the "mines" with the coal mines at + Newcastle in Queens county. In this case the sieur de + Martignon owned the lands on the north side of Grand Lake + including the site of the old Indian village at Indian point + where so any relics have been discovered. It is quite possible + that the sieur de Martignon and his wife, Jeanne de la Tour, + may have lived there for a time. + +After la Tour's death his son-in-law, the Sieur de Mantignon, +seems to have taken up his abode at the old fort on the west side of +the harbor, which in Franquet's map of 1707 is called "Fort de +Martinnon." + +In the little world of Acadia, Pierre de Joibert, sieur de Soulanges, +played a leading part during his eight years residence. He was a +native of the little town of Soulanges in the old French province of +Champagne. He had served as lieutenant in Grand-fontaine's company of +infantry and came with that officer to Acadia. It is said that "he +rendered good and praiseworthy service to the king both in Old and New +France." As a recognition of those services he was granted, October +20, 1672, a seigniory at the mouth of the St. John on the east side of +the river a league in depth and extending four leagues up the river; +this seigniory seems to have included the present city of St. +John--Carleton excepted. The Sieur de Soulanges, however, did not +reside there but at the Jemseg. This is evident from the fact that the +document that conveyed to him his St. John seigniory gave him in +addition "the house of fort Gemesik," which the great states "he shall +enjoy for such time only as he shall hold his commission of commander +on the said river in order to give him a place of residence that he +may act with more liberty and convenience in everything relating to +the king's service." The wife of Soulanges was Marie Francoise, +daughter of Chartier de Lotbeniere, attorney-general of Quebec. Their +daughter Louise Elizabeth was born at "Fort Gemesik" in 1673. + +The sieur de Soulanges did not long enjoy peaceable possession of his +place of residence; disturbance came from an entirely unexpected +quarter. A band of Dutch marauders under their leader Arenson in the +summer of 1674 pillaged and greatly damaged the fort and seized and +carried off its commander, but soon after set him at liberty. As a +recompense for this misfortune Soulanges received the grant of a large +tract of land at the Jemseg, two leagues in depth and extending a +league on each side of the fort. It is stated in the grant that "he +had made various repairs and additions to the fort in order to make it +habitable and capable of defence, there having been previously only a +small wooden house in ruins surrounded by palisades half fallen to the +ground, in fact it would have been better to have rebuilt the whole, +for he would yet have to make a large outlay to put it in proper +condition on account of the total ruin wrought by the Dutch (les +Hollandois) when they made him their prisoner in the said fort two +years ago." + +The little daughter of Soulanges, whose infant slumbers were disturbed +by these rude Dutch boors, was afterwards the marchioness de +Vaudreuil, the wife of one governor general of Canada and the mother +of another. + +It is evident the authorities at Quebec knew little of the value of +the lands on the St. John river or they would hardly have granted +them with such prodigality. The Sieur de Soulanges seems to have been +highly favored by Frontenac for the three seigniories granted to him +included an area of more than a hundred square miles. The one at +the mouth of the river possessed all those natural advantages that +have made St. John the leading commercial city of the maritime +provinces. That at the Jemseg was for a short time the head +quarters of French power in Acadia and in its modest way the +political capital of the country. The third seigniory--at the very +heart of which lay the site of Fredericton--remains to be described. +In the grant to Soulanges it is termed, "the place called Nachouac +(Nashwaak), to be called hereafter Soulanges, upon the River St. +John 15 leagues from Gemesk, two leagues on each side of said river +and two leagues deep inland." The grant was made in consideration +of the services rendered by Soulanges and to encourage him to continue +those services; it was made so large because little of it was +thought to be capable of cultivation. This seigniory would include at +the present day the city of Fredericton and its suburbs, the town of +Marysville, villages of Gibson and St. Mary's and a large tract of the +surrounding country; the owner of such a property today would be +indeed a multi-millionaire. + +Upon Chambly's appointment as governor of Granada he was succeeded as +governor of Acadia by the Sieur de Soulanges who did not, however, +long enjoy the honors of his new position, for he died about the year +1678 and his widow and children soon afterwards removed to Quebec. +Count Frontenac's interest in the family continued, and on March 23, +1691, a grant of a large tract of land on the River St. John was made +to Marie Francoise Chartier, widow of the Sieur de Soulanges. Her +seigniory included the larger portion of Gagetown parish in Queens +county, the central point being opposite her old residence or, as the +grant expresses it, "vis-a-vis la maison de Jemsec." + +The seigniories granted to Soulanges and his widow proved of no value +to their descendants; either the titles lapsed on account of +non-fulfilment of the required conditions, or the lands were forfeited +when the country passed into the hands of the English. + +Louise Elizabeth Joibert, the daughter of Soulanges, who was born on +the River St. John, was educated at the convent of the Ursulines in +Quebec. At the age of seventeen she married the Marquis Vaudreuil, a +gentleman thirty years her senior. She is described as a very +beautiful and clever woman possessed of all the graces which would +charm the highest circles; of rare sagacity and exquisite modesty. She +was the mother of twelve children. Her husband, the Marquis de +Vaudreuil, was for twenty-two years governor general of Canada, and +her son held the same position when the French possessions passed into +the hands of the English; he was consequently the last governor +general of New France. + +La Valliere succeeded the Sieur de Soulanges and was for six years +commander of Acadia. He cared little for the dignity or honor of his +position provided he could use it for his own benefit. He established +a small settlement at the River St. John and engaged in fishing and +trading. Many complaints were preferred against him by rival traders. +They alleged that he encouraged the English to fish on the coasts, +granting them licenses for the purpose, that he traded with them in +spite of the king's prohibition; also that he robbed and defrauded the +savages. + +These charges seem to have been well founded. An Indian captain named +Negascouet says that as he was coming from Neguedchecouniedoche, his +usual residence, he was met by the Sieur de la Valliere, who took from +him by violence seventy moose skins, sixty martins, four beaver and +two otter, without giving him any payment, and this was not the first +time la Valliere had so acted. + +In 1685 la Valliere was replaced by Perrot whose conduct was, if +possible, even more reprehensible than that of his predecessor. He was +such a money making genius that he thought nothing of selling brandy +to the Indians by the pint and half-pint before strangers and in his +own house, a rather undignified occupation certainly for a royal +governor of Acadia. + +Examples such as these on the part of those in authority naturally +found many imitators, indeed there was at this time a general +disposition on the part of young men of the better families in New +France to become "coureurs de bois," or rangers of the woods, rather +than cultivators of the soil. The life of a coureur de bois was wild +and full of adventure, involving toil and exposure, but the possible +profits were great and the element of danger appeared in the eyes of +many an additional fascination. The rulers of New France from time to +time enacted stringent laws against these "outlaws of the bush" but +they were of little avail. The governor of Quebec felt compelled to +represent the conduct of the Canadian noblesse in unfavorable terms to +his royal master. "They do not," he writes, "devote themselves to +improving their land, they mix up in trade and send their children to +trade for furs in the Indian villages and in the depths of the forest +in spite of the prohibition of his majesty." + +The rapid progress of New England caused Louis XIV to express +dissatisfaction at the slow development of Acadia, and he desired a +report of the condition of the colony to be transmitted to Versailles. +Monsieur de Meulles, the intendant, accordingly visited Acadia in 1686 +where he found the French settlements "in a neglected and desolate +state." He caused a census to be taken which showed the total +population to be 915 souls, including the garrison at Port Royal. +There were at that time only five or six families on the St. John +river. Bishop St. Vallier made a tour of Acadia the same year, +visiting all the Indians and French inhabitants he could find. The +Marquis de Denonville in a letter to the French minister of November +10, 1686, announced the safe return of the bishop to Quebec after a +most fatiguing journey and adds: "He will give you an account of the +numerous disorders committed in the woods by the miserable outlaws who +for a long while have lived like the savages without doing anything at +all towards the tilling of the soil." + +[Illustration: ESTAT PRESENT DE L'EGLISE ET DE LA COLONIE FRANCOISE DANS +LA NOUVELLE FRANCE + +_Par M. L'Eveque de Quebec_ + +A PARIS, Chez ROBERT PEPIE, rue S. Jacques, a l'image S. Basile, au +dessus de la Fontaine S. Severin. + +M. DC. LXXXVIII.] + +Many interesting incidents of the tour of Mgr. St. Vallier are related +in a work entitled "The Present State of the Church and of the French +Colony in New France," printed in Paris in 1688. A fac-simile of the +title page of the original edition appears opposite. As this rare +little volume contains the first published references to the upper St. +John region some extracts from its pages will be of interest. The +bishop was accompanied by two priests and five canoe men. They left +the St. Lawrence on the 7th of May and proceeded by way of the Rivers +du Loup and St. Francis to the St. John. + +"Our guides," the bishop says, "in order to take the shortest road, +conducted us by a route not usually traveled, in which it was +necessary sometimes to proceed by canoe and sometimes on foot and this +in a region where winter still reigned; we had sometimes to break the +ice in the rivers to make a passage for the canoes and sometimes to +leave the canoes and tramp amid snow and water over those places that +are called portages (or carrying places) because it is necessary for +the men to carry the canoes upon their shoulders. In order the better +to mark our route we gave names to all these portages as well as to +the lakes and rivers we had to traverse. + +"The St. Francis is rather a torrent than a river; it is formed by +several streams which descend from two ranges of mountains by which +the river is bordered on the right and left; it is only navigable from +the tenth or twelfth of May until about the end of June; it is then so +rapid that one could make without difficulty twenty to twenty-five +leagues in a day if it were not crossed in three or four places by +fallen trees, which in each instance occupy about fifteen feet of +space, and if they were cut out, as could be done with very little +expense, the passage would be free; one would not suppose that it +would cost 200 pistoles to clear the channel of these obstacles which +much delay the traveler. + +"The River St. John is of much greater extent and beauty than that +just named, its course is everywhere smooth and the lands along its +banks appear good; there are several very fine islands, and numerous +tributary rivers abounding in fish enter its channel on both sides. It +seemed to us that some fine settlements might be made between Medogtok +and Gemesech, especially at a certain place which we have named +Sainte Marie, where the river enlarges and the waters are divided by a +large number of islands that apparently would be very fertile if +cultivated. A mission for the savages would be well placed there: the +land has not as yet any owner in particular, neither the king nor the +governor having made a grant to any person." + +The place here referred to by St. Vallier afterwards became the +mission of Ekouipahag or Aukpaque. A mission for the Indians has been +maintained in that vicinity, with some interruptions, to the present +day. The islands which the bishop mentions are the well known and +beautiful islands below the mouth of the Keswick stream. There is no +mention by St. Vallier of the Indian village at Aukpaque, which was +probably of rather later origin: there may have been a camping ground +in that locality, however, for the Indians had many camping places on +the islands and intervals, particularly at the mouths of rivers, to +which they resorted at certain seasons. The name Ekouipahag or, as our +modern Indians call it, Ek-pa-hawk, signifies "the head of the tide," +or beginning of the swift water. The charms of the place have excited +the admiration of many a tourist since St. Vallier's day. At the time +of the Acadian expulsion a number of fugitives, who escaped their +pursuers, fled for refuge to the St. John river, and took up their +abode at this spot where they cultivated the intervals and islands +until the arrival of the Loyalists in 1783, when they were again +obliged to look for situations more remote. + +The progress of Bishop St. Vallier coming down the St. John river was +expeditious, the water being then at freshet height. At the mouth of +the Madawaska, which he named St. Francois de Sales, he met a small +band of savages, who pleaded for a missionary. The day following, May +17th, he came to the Grand Falls, or as he calls it "le grand Sault +Saint Jean-Baptiste." His book contains the first published +description of this magnificent cataract[4]. The rapidity of the +journey is seen in the fact that the bishop and his party slept the +next night at the Indian village of Medoctec, "the first fort of +Acadia," eighty miles below the Grand Falls. Here they found a hundred +savages, who were greatly pleased when informed that the bishop had +come for the purpose of establishing a mission for their benefit. This +promise was fulfilled soon after by the sending to them the Recollet +missionary Simon, of whom we shall hear more ere long. It is evident +that the French adventurers the bishop encountered in the course of +this wilderness journey led a pretty lawless life, for he observed in +his narrative: "It is to be wished that the French who have their +habitations along this route, were so correct in their habits as to +lead the poor savages by their example to embrace Christianity, but we +must hope that in the course of time the reformation of the one may +bring about the conversion of the other." + + [4] "Nous vimes l'endroit qu'on appelle le grand Sault Saint + Jean-Baptiste, ou la riviere de Saint Jean faisant du haut + d'un rocher fort eleve une terrible cascade dans un abime, + forme un brouillard qui derobe l'eau a la veue, et fait un + bruit qui avertit de loin les navigateurs de descendre de + leurs canots." + +Medoctec was undoubtedly the principal Indian village on the St. John +at this time; it was situated on the right bank of the river, eight +miles below the Town of Woodstock. Here the Maliseets had a palisaded +fort and large cabin, similar to that described by Lescarbot at the +village Ouigoudy on Navy Island, where de Monts was welcomed by +Chkoudun in 1604. The only other fortification constructed by the +Indians on the St. John river, so far as known, was that at the mouth +of the Nerepis, at Woodman's Point, called by Villebon, in 1697, "Fort +des Sauvages de Nerepisse." It was evidently merely a palisaded +enclosure, and on Southack's map of that period is marked "Wooden +Fort." + +Hitherto the Indians of Acadia had lived peaceably with the whites, +but the closing years of the seventeenth century were destined to +witness a sad transformation. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +KING WILLIAM'S WAR. + + +There lived at Quebec in the latter part of the seventeenth century +one Charles le Moyne, seigneur de Longueil, who is called by +Charlevoix the Baron de Becancourt; he was of Norman extraction, but +his sons were natives of New France. As was the custom with the French +noblesse each son adopted a surname derived from some portion of the +ancient family estate. At least five of Becancourt's sons were +prominent in the affairs of Acadia; they are known in history as +Menneval, Portneuf, Villebon, d'Iberville and des Isles. + +In 1687 Menneval replaced Perrot as governor of Acadia, and as the +conduct of Perrot had given rise to grave dissatisfaction his +successor received elaborate instructions concerning his duties. He +was to rebuild the defences of Acadia, to resist the encroachments of +the English, to suppress the lawless trade of the Coureurs de bois, to +deal kindly and honestly with the savages, taking care to promote +their conversion to the Christian faith, and to restore to the crown +all seigniories and granted lands that had not been occupied or +improved. + +The year that followed Menneval's appointment was notable for the +outbreak of the most dreadful Indian war in the annals of Acadia. All +the tribes east of the Merrimac took part in it, including the +Maliseets and Micmacs. This war is known in history as King William's +war, from the name of the English monarch in whose reign it occurred. +It lasted with little intermission for ten years, and during its +progress the settlers of eastern New England suffered the most fearful +outrages at the hands of the infuriated savages. Every settlement in +Maine save Wells, York, Kittery and the Isle of Shoals was over run, +and a thousand white people killed or taken prisoners. + +As in the case of other wars which the Indians have waged with the +whites, the latter were responsible for its origin. About twelve years +before it broke out, Major Waldron treacherously seized a band of +Indians at Dover in New Hampshire and sent them to Boston, where +several of them were hanged for alleged complicity in Philip's war[5] +and others sold into slavery. This despicable act the Indians never +forgot nor forgave. + + [5] This war broke out in 1675 and was confined chiefly to the + tribes of Massachusetts. It was of short duration; the Indian + Sagamore Philip was slain. + +The immediate cause of King William's war, however, was the ill +considered act of Governor Andros of pillaging the trading post of +Baron de St. Castin, at Penobscot. St. Castin had formerly served in +the Carignan Salieres regiment under Frontenac, but for twenty years +had lived in this region, where he had married a daughter of the +Maliseet chieftain Madockawando and was highly esteemed by the +savages. + +It was at the instigation of St. Castin and Madockawando that the +Indians determined to take the war path. The first notable incident of +the war was the destruction of Dover, where Major Waldron and +twenty-two others were killed and twenty-nine taken prisoners. This +occurred in June, 1689, and the story of the affair, as told by the +St. John river Indians to their English captive, John Gyles, is in +substance as follows:-- + +There was a truce with the Indians for some days, during which time +two squaws came into the garrison. They told Major Waldron that a +number of Indians were not far away with a considerable quantity of +beaver and would be there to trade with him the next day. The weather +was inclement and the women begged leave to lodge in the garrison. +Some of the people were much opposed to this, but the major said: "Let +the poor creatures lodge by the fire." The defences of the place were +of the weakest kind, the gates had no locks but were fastened with +pins and the garrison kept no watch. The squaws had a favorable +opportunity to prosecute their design. They went into every apartment +observing the number in each, and when all the people were asleep +arose and opened the gates, gave the signal agreed upon and the other +Indians came to them and, having received an account of the state of +the garrison, they divided their forces according to the number of the +people in each apartment and soon took or killed them all. Major +Waldron lodged within an inner room and when the Indians broke in upon +him he cried out: "What now! What now!" and jumping out of his bed +seized his sword and drove them before him through two or three doors, +but upon his turning about towards the apartment he had just left, an +Indian came up behind him and knocked him on the head with his +hatchet, which stunned him and he fell. They then seized him, dragged +him out, and setting him up on a long table in his hall, bade him +"judge Indians again." Then they cut and stabbed him and he cried out +"O Lord! O Lord!" They called for his book of accounts and ordered him +to cross out all the Indian debts, he having traded much with them. +Then one and another gashed his naked breast, saying in derision: "I +cross out my account." Then cutting a joint from a finger, one would +say: "Will your fist weigh a pound now?" This in allusion to his +having sometimes used his fist as a pound weight in buying and +selling. And so they proceeded to torture him to death with every +refinement of savage cruelty, after which they burned the garrison +post and drew off. + +A few days after this tragic event a number of people were killed by +the Indians at Saco, and in the month of August the important post at +Pemaquid, midway between the Kennebec and Penobscot rivers, was taken +and the adjoining settlement destroyed. According to Charlevoix a +large number of St. John river Indians participated in this exploit. +Among their prisoners was a lad named Gyles whose experience during +the nine years he lived in captivity on the St. John river is told in +his very interesting narrative published in Boston in 1736. We shall +have more to say about Gyles and his narrative further on, but it may +be observed in passing that we are greatly indebted to him for the +knowledge we possess of the life of the Indians of the River St. John +two centuries ago. As Doctor Hannay well observes: "By the light of +such a narrative we are able to perceive how wretched was the lot of +an Acadian Indian, even during the period when his very name carried +terror to the hearts of the settlers of Maine and New Hampshire. +Modern civilization may have degraded him in some respects but it has +at least rescued him from the danger of starvation and also from the +cruel necessity of abandoning his kindred to perish when unable longer +to supply their own wants or endure the constant journeys necessitated +by the nature of their nomad life." + +Early in 1690 Count Frontenac dispatched an expedition from Quebec +to ravage the New England settlements; their leader was Portneuf, +brother of Menneval and Villebon. There were fifty French and +seventy Indians in the original party, which was afterwards joined by +thirty-six French and a large band of Maliseets from the St. John, +also by the Indians of Passamaquoddy and Penobscot, making a war +party of five hundred men. On the 26th of May they attacked the town +of Falmouth--now Portland. The inhabitants fled for protection +within the ramparts of Fort Loyal. At the expiration of four or five +days the garrison was obliged to surrender and Portneuf promised the +vanquished quarter and a guard to the nearest English town. The +terms of surrender were shamefully violated, Fort Loyal and Falmouth +were reduced to ashes and over one hundred men, women and children +murdered by the savages. From May to October their bodes lay +exposed to the elements and wild beasts but were finally buried by +Major Benjamin Church as he passed on an expedition to the eastward. + +To revenge themselves on the French, whom they regarded as the +instigators of this savage warfare, the New Englanders fitted out an +expedition under Sir William Phips which captured Port Royal and +carried Menneval, the governor, away a prisoner. His brother Villebon, +who suceeded to the command, concluded to abandon Port Royal and to +re-establish the post at the mouth of the Jemseg on the River St. +John. + +Villebon, with all his faults, is one of the most picturesque +characters in the history of Acadia. He was greatly admired by the +savages who deemed him to be every inch a chief. Diereville, the poet +historian, saw him at St. John in 1700 and describes him as "a great +man of fine appearance and full of energy." Having served for several +years in a subordinate capacity at Port Royal he was now called upon +to fill a difficult position and it must be confessed he acted with +zeal and ability. Adverse fortune embittered him at the outset. Two +pirate vessels came to Port Royal while he was absent preparing for +his removal to the St. John river. These marauders burned the houses +and killed the cattle; they even hanged two of the inhabitants and +burned a woman and her children in her own dwelling. What was still +worse for Villebon they captured the ship Union, just arrived from +France with merchandize, provisions, ammunition and presents for the +savages. + +Villebon was well fitted for such an emergency as this; he assembled +his dusky allies, explained the loss of their presents and offered +himself to go to their great father, the King of France, for more. The +Indians pledged their fidelity and promised him one hundred and fifty +warriors the next spring to aid him in his designs against the +English. + +At the court of France Villebon was favorably received and returned +with a commission from the king to command in Acadia. Soon after he +abandoned the Jemseg Fort and moved up the river to the mouth of the +Nashwaak where in the upper angle formed by the junction of that river +with the St. John he built in 1692 a new fort which he called Fort St. +Joseph. It was an ordinary palisaded fort about 120 feet square, with +four bastions, and had eight cannon mounted. In the old French +documents of the period it is usually called Fort Nachouac, with many +varieties of spelling, such as Naxoat, Naxouac, Natchouak, etc. The +older French maps place the fort on the south, or Fredericton side of +the river, but there can be no doubt as to its proper location in the +upper angle formed by the junction of the River Nashwaak with the St. +John. The greater portion of the site has been washed away, but traces +of the ramparts were visible within the memory of those yet living and +many cannon balls and other relics have been found in the vicinity. + +Villebon had now been some years in Acadia, for Bishop St. Vallier +says that he was in command of the garrison at Port Royal at the time +of his visit there in 1686. He had ample opportunity of becoming +familiar with the country and its native inhabitants, and was in this +way fitted to second the ambitious designs of the French, which +embraced the destruction of New York and the conquest of New England. + +When Count Frontenac came out to Quebec in 1689, to fill for the +second time the position of Governor and Commander-in-Chief of New +France, he was in his seventieth year, yet his old time vigor and +determination were unabated. It was part of his plan to avail himself +of the hostility of the savages to wear down and discourage the +English settlers and so to pave the way for French supremacy. He had +no abler lieutenants in the work he had undertaken than the sons of +Charles le Moyne, of whom Villebon, Portneuf and d'Iberville were +particularly conspicuous in the Indian wars. Immediately after his +arrival, Frontenac encouraged the savages to begin those operations +against the English settlements known in the history of New England as +the "winter raids." Montague Chamberlain tersely describes the +situation thus: "Frontenac decided that he could only succeed in +holding Canada for the French crown by enlisting the aid of the +savages, and to secure that aid he must permit them to make war in +their own savage way, and so from all the doomed hamlets came the same +horrifying tale--houses burned, men, women and children slaughtered or +carried into captivity." + +It is difficult at this distant day to conceive the horrors of the +savage warfare that prevailed at this time on the New England +frontiers. The Indians roamed over the country like wolves, and the +white settlers never knew when their appalling war whoop would ring in +their startled ears. It was an age of cruelty and the outrages +perpetrated provoked reprisals on the part of the New Englanders. The +close alliance between the Indians and the French, and the fact that +in several of the raids the savages were led by French officers, led +to a bitter race hatred and mutual distrust between the descendants of +the Saxon and the Gaul, which lasted for generations. + +In the course of the desultory warfare that followed the destruction +of Falmouth, more than 200 houses were burned in various parts of the +country, and Frontenac himself speaks of the ravages of the savages as +"impossible to describe." On the 5th February, 1692, they raided the +frontier settlement of York, which they left in ashes after killing +about seventy-five persons and taking 100 prisoners--among those +killed was the venerable Mr. Dummer, the minister of the place. + +With the opening of the spring time Villebon received a delegation of +100 warriors of the Kennebec and Penobscot tribes at his fort. The +visitors were welcomed with imposing ceremonies; there was the usual +interchange of compliments and speeches by the chiefs and captains, +presents from the king were distributed and the inevitable banquet +followed with its mirth and revelry. It was agreed at this conference +to organize a great war party. Couriers were dispatched to summon all +the tribes of Acadia and the response was general. The site of what is +now the village of Gibson, opposite Fredericton, was dotted with the +encampments of the Indians, and as the warriors arrived and departed, +arrayed in their war paint and feathers, the scene was animated and +picturesque. The Maliseets of the St. John sent their delegation from +Medoctec, the Micmacs of the Miramichi arrived a few days later, and +then came another band of Micmacs from Beaubassin (or Chignecto), +accompanied by Father Baudoin, their priest. Speeches of welcome, +presents and feasts were made in turn to all, and each band proceeded +by the old and well known route[6] to the rendezvous on the Penobscot, +near Oldtown (Maine.) Here there gathered a war party of at least 400 +men, including a score of Frenchmen. Their first attack was made on +the little village of Wells, where there were only some thirty men to +resist the attack, but they were led by Captain Converse, a very +courageous and determined officer, who had already tried the mettle of +the savages and who was not to be overawed even by overwhelming +numbers. The attacking party advanced with hideous yells, firing and +calling on the English to surrender, but the bullets of the defenders +was the only answer they received. Even the women of the settlement +took part in the fight, passing ammunition to the men, loading their +guns, and sometimes themselves firing on the enemy. + + [6] The route was up the St. John to the Medoctec village, thence by + Eel river and the chain of lakes to the Mattawamkeag and down + that river to the Penobscot. + +The savages became discouraged and offered favorable terms to the +garrison, Converse replied: "We want nothing but men to fight with." +An Indian, who could speak English, shouted, "Don't stay in the house +like a squaw, come out and fight like a man!" Converse replied: "Do +you think I am fool enough to come out with thirty men to fight five +hundred?" The Indians at length abandoned the attack and retired +greatly crest fallen. Thus a few determined men foiled one of the most +formidable bands that ever took the war path in Acadia. + +Same of the horrors of Indian warfare almost pass description and if +Villebon did not sanction he at least did little to hinder the +atrocities of his savage allies. He writes in his journal, "An English +savage was taken on the lower part of the St. John river; I gave him +to our savages to be burned, which they did the next day; one could +add nothing to the torments that they made him suffer." + +From time to time the Indians appear to have grown weary of fighting. +Their failure at Wells, the rebuilding of Fort Pemaquid and the +erection of other fortifications by the now thoroughly aroused New +Englanders, the desire for the ransom of relatives held by the enemy +as hostages, and a suspicion that the French were making use of them +in their own interest inclined them to make peace with the English. +Villebon was obliged to exert all his influence to keep them on the +war path. He flattered and feasted the chiefs, made presents to the +warriors, provided powder and shot for their hunting and finally +adopted Taxous, one of their most famous chiefs, as his brother and to +honor the occasion gave him his own best coat. + +The journals and correspondence of Villebon are full of interest to +the student of affairs on the St. John. At this time there came +annually to St. John harbor--then known by its Indian name, +Menagoesche--a French man of war with supplies for Fort Nachouac and a +variety of articles for the Indians. An inventory now in the Boston +Public Library, dated 1693, shows that in that year the frigate +"Suzanne" brought out for the "Malecites" a supply of powder, lead, +guns, bayonets; also shirts, blankets, laced hats, etc. The arrival of +the annual warships was eagerly looked for by the Indians and Villebon +was able to make good use of the articles he received. The reference +made by John Gyles in his narrative to the arrival of the ships from +France is of interest. "There came annually," he says, "one or two men +of war to supply the fort which was on the river about 34 leagues from +the sea. The Indians (of Medoctec) having advice of the arrival of a +man of war at the mouth of the river, they about forty in number went +on board, for the gentlemen from France made a present to them every +year, and set forth the riches and victories of their monarch, etc. At +this time they presented the Indians with a bag or two of flour with +some prunes as ingredients for a feast. + +"I, who was dressed up in an old greasy blanket without cap, hat or +shirt, (for I had no shirt for six years, except the one I had on at +the time I was made prisoner) was invited into the great cabin, where +many well-rigged gentlemen were sitting, who would fain have had a +full view of me. I endeavored to hide myself behind the hangings, for +I was much ashamed, thinking how I had once worn clothes and of my +living with people who could rig as well as the best of them.... This +was the first time I had seen the sea during my captivity, and the +first time I had tasted salt or bread. My master presently went on +shore and a few days later all the Indians went up the river." + +In connection with Villebon's endeavors to keep the savages loyal to +the king of France there are items in the accounts transmitted by him +to the French minister that are quite interesting and suggestive, as +for example the following: + +"To the wife of Nadanouil, a savage, for making two pairs of snowshoes +for the King, tobacco 2 lbs." + +"Jan., 1696. To 2 savages come from the river of Medoctic to bring +some letters of Father Simon to Mon. de Villebon, flour, 12 lbs.; +tobacco, 8 oz. + +"July 10, 1696. M. Thury, missionary, having arrived with Taxous, +chief of the Canibas and other savages from Pentagouet; brandy, 1 +gallon; tobacco, 2 lbs." + +The garrison at Fort Nashwaak was always small, comprising only about +forty soldiers besides an armorer, gunner and surgeon. There was also +a chaplain of the Recollet order, Father Elizee, who is described as a +man so retiring by nature as to meddle with nothing outside his +ministerial duty. This was not the case with the other missionary +priests, however, who influenced by patriotic motives and encouraged +by the French authorities took quite an energetic part in helping on +the warfare against New England. The French owed much of the aid +afforded their cause, including the co-operation of their Indian +allies, to the zeal of the missionaries settled on the different +rivers, Ralle on the Kennebec, Thury on the Penobscot and Simon on the +St. John. The only woman who lived within the ramparts of Fort +Nashwaak seems to have been the wife of the armorer. She was deemed +one of the garrison and received her daily allowance with the rest. + +In spite of Villebon's energy and ability and of his zeal in the +service of his country very serious complaints were made against him +by some of the French people living on the St. John river. They +asserted that his threats and ill usage had caused several of the +settlers to abandon their habitations and remove to Quebec with their +families; that he tried to monopolize the fur trade, sending his +brothers Portneuf and des Isles into the woods to engage in unlawful +traffic with the Indians; that the former was guilty of gross +immorality and the latter traded the peltry obtained from the savages +with one John Alden, an Englishman, by whom it was carried to Boston. +This John Alden was, by the way, the eldest son of the famous John +Alden of the "Mayflower," the Plymouth magistrate, by his wife +Priscilla, the Puritan maiden immortalized by Longfellow. He made many +trading voyages to the Bay of Fundy and on several occasions narrowly +escaped capture by the French. + +That there was some ground for the charges preferred against Villebon +seems likely from the fact that most of the missionaries censured him +and confirmed the reports of the inhabitants concerning the misconduct +of his brothers. The chaplain at Fort Nachouac, however, spoke +favorably of Villebon, although he was silent with regard to Portneuf. +In his letters to the authorities in France, Villebon vigorously +replies to his accusers and brings counter charges; he is seemingly +very indignant with the d'Amour brothers of whom we shall hear more in +another chapter. + +In consequence of the charges preferred against him Portneuf was +superseded by Villieu, an officer of reputation whom Count Frontenac +sent to Acadia in October, 1693, to lead the savages against the +English. This new lieutenant spent the winter at the Nashwaak fort and +as soon as the ice was out of the river went in a canoe to Medoctec, +where he assembled the chiefs who promised to assist him. He then +proceeded to Penobscot resolved to put an end, if possible, to the +parleys that the savages had been holding with the English and to +incite them to renew the war. After a week's negotiation, in which he +was aided by the powerful influence of the missionaries Bigot and +Thury, he returned to Fort Nachouac with a delegation of the Indians +to receive the presents which the King of France had sent to them, and +at the same time to secure the assistance of some of Governor +Villebon's soldiers. The governor, however, piqued by the dismissal of +Portneuf, contented himself with entertaining the delegates. He +declined to furnish provisions or supplies, and kept his soldiers from +joining the expedition. Father Simon, the Recollet missionary on the +St. John, also displayed little sympathy with Villieu and kept many of +the Indians from joining him. However, with the help of the Penobscot +and Kennebec tribes a band of 250 warriors was at last collected and +Villieu placed himself at their head arrayed in the war paint and +feathers of an Indian chief. It was decided to strike a blow at the +settlement of Oyster River, twelve miles from Portsmouth, New +Hampshire. The English settlers, having been informed that peace had +been made with the Indians and that they could now work with safety on +their farms, were totally unprepared for an attack. Among their +unprotected houses the carnage was horrible. One hundred persons, +chiefly women and children, half naked from their beds, were +tomahawked, shot, or killed by slower and more cruel methods, twenty +seven were kept as prisoners. + +After engaging in some minor depredations Villieu proceeded to +Montreal accompanied by several of the chiefs where they presented a +string of English scalps to Count Frontenac as a token of their +success and received his hearty congratulations. Villieu thus summed +up the results of the campaign: "Two small forts and fifty or sixty +houses captured and burnt, and one hundred and thirty English killed +or made prisoners." He had done his work all too well and had sown +such seeds of distrust between the English and the Indians as to +render it almost impossible to re-establish peace between them. The +enmity lasted for generations and almost every year witnessed some act +of hostility even though the crowns of France and England were +themselves at peace. + +In the midst of their triumphs an appalling pestilence swept away +great numbers of the Indians. On the River St. John more than one +hundred and twenty persons died, including some of the most noted +warriors and their chief. The pestilence scattered the savages in all +directions and for a time their town of Medoctec was abandoned. A +party of warriors who went with Montigny, an officer of Villebon's +garrison, to assist their brethren to the westward was sent back to +Medoctec on account of the contagion that had broken out among them. +The nature of the disease it is impossible at this distance of time to +determine. It could scarcely have been smallpox, according to the +description of John Gyles, who says: "A person seeming in perfect +health would bleed at the mouth and nose, turn blue in spots and die +in two or three hours." The first outbreak of the pestilence was in +the autumn of 1694. A year later Mon. Tibierge, agent of the company +of Acadia, writes that "the plague (la maladie) had broken out afresh: +there had died on the river more than 120 persons of every age and +sex." + +The pestilence, however, did not put a stop to the Indian warfare. +In June, 1695, Villebon assembled at his fort a general representation +of the tribes of Acadia, including fourteen chiefs and their +attendants; the conference lasted three days and the proceedings are +reported at length in his journal. After the customary feasting +and distribution of presents a standard of prices for the purchase and +sale of goods was agreed upon more favorable to the natives than +heretofore. The chiefs departed firmly resolved to continue the war +against the English. Their opportunity did not come until the +following summer when a combined effort on the part of the French +and Indians resulted in the destruction of Fort William Henry at +Pemaquid. This fortification had just been rebuilt by the colony of +Massachusetts at a cost of L20,000 and was the strongest work the +English colonists had up to that time erected in America. The walls +had a compass in all of 747 feet and were of solid masonry, varying +from 10 to 22 feet in height. Eight feet from the ground, where the +walls had a thickness of six feet, there was a tier of 28 port +holes. At one corner was a round tower 29 feet high. The fort was +well manned and provisioned and was thought to be impregnable. + +The leader of the enterprise, which resulted in the destruction of +Fort William Henry, was Villebon's brother d'Iberville, whose romantic +career has earned for him the description of "the Cid of New France." +D'Iberville's Indian auxiliaries included Micmacs from Cape Breton, a +large band of Maliseets and many of their kindred of Passamaquoddy, +Penobscot and Kennebec. Two warships lately arrived from Quebec, +accompanied the expedition. + +Villebon left his fort on the 18th June to go to "Menagoesche" to +await the coming of the French ships. On his arrival there he +discovered the British ships Sorlings of 34 guns and Newport of 24 +guns cruising near the harbor and sent information to d'Iberville in +order that he might guard against surprise. Soon after entering the +Bay of Fundy the French vessels sighted their antagonists and an +engagement ensued in the course of which d'Iberville in the Envieux +dismasted the smaller English vessel, the Newport, and obliged her to +surrender. Favored by night and fog the Sorlings managed to escape +after a combat with the Profond lasting three hours. The next day, +July 15, 1696, the vessels put into St. John harbor, where they were +welcomed by Villebon and Father Simon and a band of Indians. Before +proceeding to the attack of Pemaquid an attempt was made to capture +John Alden at Port Royal but with his usual good luck he sailed thence +just before the arrival of the French. Villebon with Father Simon's +assistance contrived to collect 150 Indians--Maliseets and Micmacs--to +join the expedition under his brother, which was further reinforced by +a small vessel owned and commanded by the Sieur de Chauffours, an +inhabitant of the St. John river. + +The start of the expedition was not a very auspicious one, for on +leaving the harbor of St. John (or "havre de Menuagoesche," as +Villebon calls it) at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of the 2nd of August, +d'Iberville ran the Envieux upon a reef; however, the damage was not +serious as the ship floated when the tide rose. At Penobscot Baron St. +Castin joined the expedition with 130 Indians. The French priests +Simon and Thury, as the event proved, were no mere figure heads; they +actively assisted in the operations of the siege and at the same time +restrained the passions of the savages. Batteries were erected within +half cannon shot of the fort and it was summoned to surrender. Captain +Chubb, the commander, proved to be a weak man for so responsible a +position. He at first replied that though the sea were covered with +French ships and the land with Indians he would not surrender unless +compelled to do so, but the very next day ignominiously pulled down +his flag. D'Iberville sent the garrison to Boston in the vessel +belonging to the Sieur de Chauffours which he had brought from the St. +John river. The people of New England were greatly vexed at the +destruction of Pemaquid and enraged at the cowardly conduct of its +commander. Father Simon got back to Fort Nachouac on the 29th August +bringing the news of d'Iberville's success. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +NACHOUAC AND MENAGOUECHE. + + +It was now proposed by the French authorities to re-establish the +stronghold at the mouth of the St. John. The old fort of four bastions +so far remained that it could readily be restored; the ditches needed +to be deepened, the parapets to be raised and new palisades +constructed. It was thought that 150 men would suffice to garrison the +post as well as that at the Nashwaak. The fort was needed to protect +French privateers and French commerce. Many English vessels were +brought to Menagoueche at this time by the privateersmen Baptiste and +Guyon. The company of Acadia, with Tibierge as their agent, continued +to develop a thriving trade, and it seems, too, that the forest wealth +of the country was beginning to attract attention for Villebon, a year +or two later, sent home to France a mast, as a specimen, 82 feet long, +31 inches in diameter at one end and 21 at the other. + +The French privateers were not allowed to ply their vocation with +impunity, they often had spirited encounters with the British ships in +which there were losses on both sides. + +In 1694 one Robineau of Nantes, who had taken several English vessels, +was forced to burn his ship in St. John harbor, in order to escape +capture by an English ship, and to defend himself on shore. The +vessels employed as privateers evidently were small, for they +sometimes went up the river to Villebon's fort. The prisoners taken +were kept at the fort or put in charge of the French inhabitants +living on the river, and from time to time ransomed by their friends +or exchanged for French prisoners taken by the English. Villebon +informs us that in June, 1695, an English frigate and a sloop arrived +at Menagoueche (St. John) on business connected with the ransom of +eight captives who were then in the hands of the French. Messages were +exchanged with Nachouac and the captain of the English ship, a jovial +old tar, expressed a wish to meet Governor Villebon and "drink with +him" and to see Captain Baptiste, whom he called a brave man, but his +overtures were declined. + +The ships Envieux and Profond, before proceeding to the attack of Fort +Pemaquid, had landed at St. John a number of cannon and materials of +all sorts to be used in the construction of the new fort. This project +was not viewed with complacency by the people of New England, and +Lieut.-Governor William Stoughton, of Massachusetts, thus explains the +line of action proposed against the French in a communication +addressed to Major Benjamin Church, the old Indian fighter, who had +been sent from Boston in August, 1696, on an expedition against the +settlements of Acadia: "Sir, His Majesty's ship Orford having lately +surprised a French shallop with 23 of the soldiers belonging to the +fort (at Nashwaak) upon St. John's river in Nova Scotia, together with +Villieu, their captain, providence seems to encourage the forming of +an expedition to attack that fort, and to disrest and remove the enemy +from that post, which is the chief source from whence the most of our +disasters do issue, and also to favor with an opportunity for gaining +out of their hands the ordnance, artillery, and other warlike stores +and provisions lately supplied to them from France for erecting a new +fort near the river's mouth, whereby they will be greatly strengthened +and the reducing of them rendered more difficult." + +Before the order from which the above extract is quoted was placed in +Major Church's hands he had arrived at St. John, having previously +devastated the French settlements at Chignecto. Being desirous, if +possible, to surprise the men engaged upon the new fort Church landed +at Manawagonish Cove, a little to the west of the harbor; what +followed we shall let him tell in his own quaint fashion. "Next +morning early the Major, with his forces, landed to see what discovery +they could make, travelled across the woods to the old fort or falls +at the mouth of St. John's river, keeping themselves undiscovered from +the enemy. Finding that there were several men at work, and having +informed themselves as much as they could, returned back (the enemy +being on the other side of the river could not come at them). But +night coming on and dark wet weather with bad travelling, were obliged +to stop in the woods till towards next day morning and then went on +board. Soon after the Major ordered all the vessels to come to sail +and go into the mouth of the river, the French firing briskly at them, +but did them no harm, and running fiercely upon the enemy they soon +fled to the woods. The Major ordered a brisk party to run across a +neck to cut them off from their canoes[7] which the day before they +had made a discovery of. So the commander, with the rest, ran directly +towards the new fort they were building, not knowing but they had some +ordnance mounted. The enemy running directly to their canoes were met +by our forces who fired at them, and killed one and wounded Corporal +Canton, who was taken. The rest threw down what they had and ran into +the woods. The prisoner Canton being brought to the Major told him if +he would let his surgeon dress his wound and cure him he would be +serviceable to him as long as he lived. So being dressed he was +examined and gave the Major an account of the twelve great guns which +were hid in the beach, below high water mark--the carriages, shot, and +wheelbarrows, some flour and pork all hid in the woods. + + [7] These canoes were probably lying in the cove at Indiantown just + above the falls. + +"The next morning the officers being all ordered to meet together to +consult about going to Vilboon's fort, and none amongst them being +acquainted but the Aldens, who said the water in the river was very +low so that they could not get up to the fort; and the prisoner Canton +told the commander that what the Aldens said was true * * so concluded +it was not practicable to proceed. Then ordered some of the forces to +get the great guns on board the open sloops and the rest to range the +woods for the enemy, who took one prisoner and brought him in. * * Now +having with a great deal of pains and trouble got all the guns, shot, +and other stores aboard intended on our design which we came out first +for. But the wind not serving, the commander sent out his scouts into +the woods to seek for the enemy. And four of our Indians coming upon +three Frenchmen undiscovered concluded that if the French should +discover them they would fire at them and might kill one or more of +them, which to prevent fired at the French, killed one and took the +other two prisoners. And it happened that he who was killed was +Shavelere (Chevalier), the chief man there." + +Major Church's design was to make a raid on the settlement of Baron +St. Castin and his Indians at Penobscot by way of retaliation for the +destruction of Fort William Henry at Pemaquid, but as he was sailing +down the bay he met a small squadron having on board a reinforcement +of 100 men under Colonel Hawthorne. The command now passed to +Hawthorne as the senior officer, and it was decided to attempt the +capture of Fort Nachouac. This was against the advice of Major Church, +but as the expedition now numbered about 500 men, Hawthorne was +unwilling to return to Boston without striking a blow at the chief +stronghold of the French in Acadia. + +Villebon was on the alert: he had stationed his ensign, Chevalier, +with five scouts at the mouth of the river and on the 4th of October +he learned of the presence of the English at Menagoueche. Chevalier +was at first alarmed by the appearance of Church's ships off Partridge +Island, and sent word directly to Fort Nachouac; a day or two later he +was killed by some of Church's Indians as already related. Villebon +sent his brother Neuvillette down the river to continue the look out +and in the meantime made every possible preparation for a siege. His +garrison, numbering about 100 soldiers, was busily employed in +throwing up new intrenchments and mounting additional guns, word was +sent to the French inhabitants of the vicinity to repair to the fort +and assist in its defence, and Villebon, on the 11th October, sent an +urgent message to Father Simon, the missionary at Medoctec, to get the +Indians to come down as soon as possible if they wished to fight the +English. He lost not a moment and having sent out word on all sides +(the Indians being then dispersed upon the river) he arrived the +afternoon of the 14th, with thirty-six warriors and expressed his +desire to remain at the fort as the chaplain was absent. Two days +later Neuvillette returned to the fort and reported that he had seen +the enemy in great force about a league and a half below the Jemseg. +The last preparations were now hurriedly made and on the evening of +the 17th, Villebon caused the "generale" (or assembly) to be beat and +all the garrison being drawn up under arms he addressed them in +stirring words, bidding them to maintain the honor of their country +and the reputation of French soldiers, adding that if any should be +maimed in the approaching combat the king would provide for him during +the rest of his life. This speech created the greatest enthusiasm and +the cry of "Vive le roy" awoke the forest echoes and was borne over +the waters. The same evening a dozen Frenchmen who lived in the +vicinity arrived at the fort. Among them were the brothers Mathieu and +Rene d'Amours and the privateersman Baptiste. Villebon assigned to +Baptiste and Rene d'Amours the duty of heading the Indians and +opposing the landing of the English. + +The sketch on the next page, based upon a plan in the archives de la +Marine, Paris[8] will serve to give an idea of the general character +of Fort Nachouac. The space of ground enclosed by the palisade was +about 125 feet square; the site, as already stated, lay in the upper +angle formed by the junction of the Nashwaak with the river St. John, +nearly opposite the Cathedral in Fredericton. The general arrangement +of the buildings is shown in the plan. At the rear of the enclosure is +the commandant's lodging, on the right hand side the guard house and +on the left the soldiers' barracks; at the front is the gate and in +the lower left hand corner the bake oven; cannons were placed at each +corner. A small room in the left end of the commandant's lodging was +fitted up as a chapel. The ditches and ramparts that surrounded the +enclosure added considerably to the strength of the position. The +bastions were so arranged that the space outside the walls was +entirely commanded by the musketry fire of the defenders. The +loopholes at the corners from which the fire was delivered are shown +in the sketch. + + [8] The author is indebted to Dr. W. F. Ganong for his kindness in + furnishing the sketch from which the accompanying plan of + illustration has been made. It is not, of course, a copy of + the original, but gives an idea of the general character of + the fortification. + +[Illustration: FORT NACHOUAC, A. D. 1696.] + +Everything being now in order for the defence of his fort Villebon +ordered the garrison to pass the night under arms, as from the barking +of the dogs it was believed the enemy was drawing near. The next +morning between eight and nine o'clock, whilst Father Simon was +celebrating mass in the chapel, a shallop filled with armed men +rounded the point below, followed by two others. The alarm was at once +given and every man repaired to his post. The sloops approached within +the distance of half a cannon shot when the guns of the fort opened on +them and they were forced to retire below the point where they +effected a landing. Villebon did not deem it prudent to oppose the +landing as his men would have had to cross the Nashwaak river to do so +and this would have been very imprudent. The English took up a +position on the south side of the Nashwaak stream and threw up an +earthwork upon which they placed two field guns from which they opened +fire on the fort; a third gun of larger size was mounted soon +afterwards nearer the fort, but not being sheltered it was not much +used. The beseigers hoisted the royal standard of England and there +were cheers and counter-cheers on the part of the combatants. The +cannon fire was heavy on both sides but the guns of the fort being +better mounted and well served had rather the advantage. There was +also a sharp exchange of musketry fire, the St. John river Indians, +from the bushes along the shore, engaging in a vicious fight with +Church's Indians on the opposite side of the stream. When darkness +ended the day's struggle the English had made little or no progress. +The following night being very cold they made fires to keep themselves +from freezing, but this afforded a sure mark for the French cannon, +which opened on them with grape shot, and they were obliged to put +them out and suffer the inclemency of the weather. Major Church's men +being almost bare of clothing from their long service, suffered +extremely and were ill disposed to continue the siege. At daybreak the +musketry fire from the fort recommenced and about 8 o'clock the +English again got their guns into operation, but la Cote, who had +distinguished himself the evening before by firing rapidly and +accurately, dismounted one of their field guns and silenced the +other. + +It was now apparent that the fort could not be taken without a regular +investment and in view of the lateness of the season this was not +deemed advisable. The Massachusetts historian Mather quaintly +observes, "The difficulty of the cold season so discouraged our men +that after some few shot the enterprize found itself under too much +congelation to proceed any further." And so the following night +the New England troops re-embarked after lighting fires over a +considerable extent of ground in order to deceive the French. When the +morning dawned their camp was deserted and soon after Neuvillette, +who had been sent down the river to reconnoitre, reported that after +he had gone three leagues he found them embarked in four vessels +of about 60 tons and going down the river with a fair wind. On +their return towards the mouth of the river the invaders burned the +house and barns of Mathieu d'Amours at Freneuse, opposite the +Oromocto, and laid waste his fields. The sieur de Freneuse was +himself so much injured by exposure during the siege that he died +shortly afterwards. Major Church took back with him to Boston a +Negro man of Marblehead, who had been taken prisoner by the French +and kept amongst them for some time. He was probably the first of +his race to set foot within the borders of New Brunswick. + +In the siege of his fort Villebon lost only one man killed and two +wounded while the English loss is said to have been eight soldiers +killed and five officers and twelve soldiers wounded. + +The effect of the capture of Pemaquid by d'Iberville and the +repulse of the English by Villebon greatly encouraged the savages of +Acadia in their hostility and the following summer another raid on +the English settlements was planned. A large number of Micmacs came +from the eastward, some of them from the Basin of Minas, with St. +Cosme, their priest, at their head. They were entertained by +Villebon, furnished with ammunition and supplies and sent on to the +rendezvous at Penobscot. Father Simon and 72 Maliseets were sent in +the same direction soon afterwards with instructions to pick up the +Passamaquoddies on their way; they departed in high spirits with +the intention of giving no quarter to the enemy and Villebon +encouraged their animosity, exhorting them "to burn and to destroy." +This advice they followed to the letter for the Governor wrote in +his journal shortly afterwards, "the missionary, M. de Thury, +confirms the report I already had received of four small parties of +our Indians having killed fifteen or sixteen English and burnt one of +them alive on account of one of their chiefs being slain." The +vindictiveness of the Indians is further illustrated by an incident +that happened at the Medoctic village in the time of King William's +war, in which John Gyles and James Alexander, two English captives, +were cruelly abused. A party of Indians from Cape Sable, having +had some of their relatives killed by English fishermen, travelled +all the way to Medoctec in order to wreak their vengeance upon any +English captives they might find. They rushed upon their unfortunate +victims like bears bereaved of their whelps, saying, "Shall we, who +have lost our relations by the English, suffer an English voice to be +heard among us?" The two captives were brutally beaten and ill used +and made to go through a variety of performances for the amusement of +their tormenters. Gyles says: "They put a tomahawk into my hands +and ordered me to get up, sing and dance Indian, which I performed +with the greatest reluctance and while in the act seemed determined to +purchase my death by killing two or three of these monsters of +cruelty, thinking it impossible to survive the bloody treatment.... +Not one of them showed the least compassion, but I saw the tears run +down plentifully on the cheeks of a Frenchman who sat behind." The +tortures were continued until the evening of what Gyles might well +call "a very tedious day." Finally a couple of Indians threw the +two wretched men out of the big wigwam, where they had been +tormented; they crawled away on their hands and knees and were +scarcely able to walk for several days. + +The experience of Gyles was, however, nothing in comparison with that +of his brother and another captive taken by the Indians at the same +time as himself. This unfortunate pair attempted to desert, but failed +and were subjected to the most horrible tortures and finally burned +alive by the savages. + +The people of the frontier settlements were now so on the alert that, +although the Indians roamed over the country like wolves, they were +usually prepared to meet them. Every little village had its block +house and sentinels, and every farmer worked in his fields with his +musket at his side. Nevertheless tragic events occasionally happened. +In February, 1698, Captain Chubb, of Pemaquid notoriety, and six +others were killed by the Indians at Andover, several of the +inhabitants were captured and many houses burned; Major Frost was +slain at Kittery and a number of people at Wells; Major Marsh had a +sharp fight near Pemaquid, in which he lost twenty-five of his men, +but succeeded in putting the savages to rout. This was the last blood +shed during King William's war. The Indians were becoming weary of +fighting and the peace of Ryswick deprived them of the open assistance +of their French allies. For a brief season peace reigned in Acadia. + +The expedition under Church had interrupted the rebuilding of the fort +at St. John and shown the correctness of Villebon's prediction in a +letter written to the French minister in 1696 that it was impossible +with the few men at his disposal to attempt a work which, though easy +to repair could not be completed as quickly as the enemy could get +ready to destroy it. In the same letter he speaks of making plank near +Fort Nachouac for the madriens, or gun platforms, of the fort at +Menagoueche. As there were mills at this time at Port Royal, it would +be possible from this incident to frame a theory that Villebon had a +saw mill a short distance up the Nashwaak, say at Marysville, but it +is more probable the planks were cut in saw pits by the soldiers of +the garrison. The plan of the fort at St. John was agreed on in 1698, +and 3,000 livres granted for its construction. Villebon paid his +workmen 30 sous (about 30 cts.) a day, his laborers 20 sous, and the +soldiers 4 sous a day over their pay and a weekly allowance of 1 qr. +lb. tobacco. The walls of the fort were laid in clay and mortar, 24 +pounders were placed on the bastions and 36-pounders could be placed +there three on each bastion. By the end of the year Villebon was able +to report the fort in a condition to do honor to whoever should defend +it. He had left Nachouac just as it was, leaving only two men to see +that nothing was spoiled by the savages. + +A plan in the Marine Archives at Paris, made by Villieu in 1700, +shows that "Fort de la Riviere de St. Jean," or Fort Menagoueche, was +built at "Old Fort Site," behind Navy Island in Carleton. The +general plan was the same as that of Fort Nachouac, but it was +considerably larger, nearly 200 feet square. Within the enclosure +were barracks for the soldiers, a residence for the governor with +small chapel adjoining it, a house for the officers of the garrison, +lodgings for the surgeon, gunner and armorer, a small prison and a +well, and just outside the gate were two bake-houses. The water +supply of the fort seems always to have been inadequate. The +sieur des Goutins, who disliked Villebon, complains in a letter of +23rd June, 1699, "the Governor keeps the water within the fort for +the exclusive use of his kitchen and his mare, others being obliged +to use snow-water, often very dirty." Diereville, who visited St. John +during his short stay in Acadia describes the fort as "built of +earth, with four bastions fraised (or picketed) each having six +large guns." A new industry was now coming into existence, namely +the shipping of masts to France for the King's navy; Diereville sailed +to France in the Avenant "a good King's ship," mounting 44 guns which +had brought out the ammunition and provisions that Placentia and the +Fort on the River St. John received annually. This ship took on board +a number of fine masts that 14 carpenters and mast makers in his +majesty's service had manufactured at the River St. John. The +vessel left Acadia on the 6th of October and reached France in 33 +days. + +The period of Governor Villebon's residence at St. John was of about +two years' duration. He died on the 5th July, 1700, and was buried +near the fort. The life of this devoted son of New France went out +with the century and with his death the seat of government of Acadia +was again transferred to Port Royal. + +Brouillan now succeeded to the command. He found the fort at St. John +in good order, as was to be expected, it having been just rebuilt, but +in the opinion of the new governor it was of little use for the glory +of the King or for the preservation of the country. He condemned the +situation as being commanded on one side by an island at the distance +of a pistol shot, and on the other by a height at the distance only of +a hundred and odd fathoms (toises), and with a very insufficient water +supply. He therefore caused the fortifications to be razed, demolished +the houses, and carried away the guns and everything else of a +portable character to Port Royal. The inhabitants living on the River +St. John were left without protection and they seem almost without +exception to have removed, some to Quebec and others to Port Royal. +The valley of the St. John was thus left as deserted and desolate as +it had been previous to the arrival of Champlain. The Indian might +wander at will among the ruins of forts and dwellings abandoned to his +care, or left to be converted into hiding places for the wild beasts +and wonder at the folly of the white man who had forsaken the finest +river in all Acadia with its wealth of forest and stream and its +fertile lands awaiting the hands of industry and thrift. + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE BROTHERS D'AMOURS. + + +Among the young adventurers who came to Acadia towards the close of +the seventeenth century were four brothers, sons of Mathieu +d'Amours[9] of Quebec. The father's political influence as a member of +the Supreme Council enabled him to obtain for each of his sons an +extensive seigniory. That of Louis d'Amours, the eldest, included a +tract of land of generous proportions at the Richibucto river; the +grant was issued September 20, 1684, but the seignior had already +built there a fort and two small houses, and for two years had been +cultivating a piece of land. His sojourn was brief, for in a year or +two we find him living on the River St. John, where his brothers +Mathieu and Rene were settled and where they were not long after +joined by their brother Bernard. + + [9] This gentleman married in 1652 Marie, the eldest daughter of + Nicolas Marselot of Quebec; she was a very youthful bride, + being only 14 years old at the time of her marriage; she was + the mother of 15 children. + +As mentioned in a previous chapter, it was customary among the French +noblesse for each son to take a surname derived from some portion of +the family estate; accordingly the sons of Councillor d'Amours figure +in history as Louis d'Amours, sieur de Chauffours; Mathieu d'Amours, +sieur de Freneuse; Rene d'Amours, sieur de Clignancourt and Bernard +d'Amours, sieur de Plenne. + +After his arrival at the River St. John, Louis d'Amours fixed his +abode on the banks of the Jemseg and became the proprietor of the +seigniory formerly owned by the sieur de Soulanges. His brother, and +nearest neighbor, Mathieu's seigniory included all the land "between +Gemisik and Nachouac," two leagues in depth on each side of the river. +The wives of Louis and Mathieu d'Amours were sisters, Marguerite and +Louise Guyon of Quebec. + +To Rene d'Amours, sieur de Clignancourt, was granted a seigniory +extending from the Indian village of Medoctec to the "longue sault." +The longue sault was probably the Meductic rapids twelve miles below +the village of Medoctec, although it may have been the Grand Falls +eighty miles above. The sieur de Clignancourt fixed his headquarters a +few miles above Fredericton at or near Eccles Island, which was +formerly called "Cleoncore"--a corruption of Clignancourt. An old +census shows he lived in that vicinity in 1696, and this is confirmed +by a statement in an official report of the same year that he lived a +league from Fort Nachouac. Rene d'Amours had an extensive trade with +the Indians, he was unmarried and lived the life of a typical "coureur +de bois." + +Bernard d'Amours, the youngest of the quartette, came to Acadia +rather later than his brothers and was granted a seigniory at +Canibecachice (Kennebecasis), a league and a half along each side of +the river and two leagues in depth.[10] He married Jeanne le Borgne, +and their son Alexander was baptized at Port Royal in 1702 by a +Recollet missionary. + + [10] The grants of Louis d'Amours at Richibucto, and of Mathieu and + Rene on the St. John river are of the same date, September 20, + 1684; that of Bernard on the Kennebeccasis is dated June 20, + 1695. + +The brothers d'Amours were in the prime of life when they came to +Acadia; the census of de Meulles taken in 1686 gives the age of Louis +as 32 years and that of Mathieu as 28. All the brothers engaged in +hunting and trading with the Indians and were in consequence disliked +by Governor Villebon, who viewed them with a jealous eye and mentions +them in unfavorable terms in his official dispatches. Villebon's +hostility was no doubt intensified by a representation made to the +French ministry in 1692 by Louis d'Amours that the Governor of Acadia, +to advance his own private fortune, engaged in trade, absolutely +prohibited by his majesty, both with the natives of the country and +with the people of New England. + +Frontenac and Champigny at this time filled the offices respectively +of governor and intendant (or lieutenant governor) of New France, and +the king in his message to them, dated at Versailles June 14, 1695, +refers to matters on the River St. John in the following terms: + +"His Majesty finds it necessary to speak on the subject of the grants +obtained by the Sieurs d'Amours, which comprehend an immense tract of +land along the River St. John. It is commonly reported that since they +have lived there they have not engaged in clearing and cultivating +their lands, that they have no cattle nor any other employment than +that of a miserable traffic exclusively with the savages; and as his +Majesty has been informed that the lands in those parts are the best +in the world, watered by large rivers and in a situation more +temperate and pleasant than other parts of Canada, the sieurs d'Amours +must be compelled to establish themselves upon a better footing; and +those people who are to have new grants of land are directed to this +part of Acadia where, as his Majesty is informed, the sieurs d'Amours +pretend to have exclusive possession of about thirty leagues of +country." + +That the sentiments of this royal message were inspired by Villebon is +evident from the tenor of the letters he addresses to the French +ministry at this time. In one of these he says of the brothers +d'Amours: "They are four in number living on the St. John river. They +are given up to licentiousness and independence for the ten or twelve +years they have been here. They are disobedient and seditious and +require to be watched." In another communication he scornfully terms +them "the pretended gentry" (soi disant gentilhommes). Writing to the +French minister the next year he observes: "I have no more reason, my +lord, to be satisfied with the sieurs d'Amours than I previously had. +The one who has come from France has not pleased me more than the +other two. Their minds are wholly spoiled by long licentiousness and +the manners they have acquired among the Indians, and they must be +watched closely as I had the honor to state to you last year." + +Fortunately for the reputation of the brothers d'Amours we have +evidence that places them in a more favorable light than does the +testimony of Governor Villebon. M. de Champigny, the intendant at +Quebec, wrote to the French minister. "The sons of the sieur d'Amours, +member of the supreme council at Quebec, who are settled on the River +St. John, apply themselves chiefly to cultivating their lands and +raising cattle. + +"I sent you, my Lord, the census of their domain, which has been made +by Father Simon, the Recollet, who is missionary on the same river, in +which you may have every confidence, he being a very honest man. It is +very unfortunate, my lord, that any one should have informed you that +they lead a licentious life with the savages for I have reliable +testimony that their conduct is very good. It seems as if all who +live in that locality are in a state of discord; the inhabitants make +great complaints against the Sieurs de Villebon and des Goutins. Some +who have come to Quebec say they are constantly so harrassed and +oppressed that if things are not put upon a better footing they will +be compelled to abandon the country." + +That the inhabitants living on the river were turning their attention +to agriculture is shown by a communication to Frontenac or Champigny +in 1696, in which the writer, probably Villieu, says: "I informed you +last year, Monsieur, by the memo that I did myself the honor to send +you, that the inhabitants of this river begin to cultivate their +lands. I have since learned that they have raised some grain. M. de +Chouffours, who had sown so considerably last year, has not received +anything in return, the worms having eaten the seed in the ground; M. +de Freneuse, his brother, has harvested about 15 hogsheads of wheat +and M. de Clignancourt very little; M. Bellefontaine, about 5 +hogsheads; the Sieur Martel very little, as he has only begun to +cultivate his land during the last two years; the other inhabitants +nothing at all, unless it is a little Indian corn. The Sieurs +d'Amours, except the Sieur Clignancourt, have sown this year pretty +considerably of wheat and the Sieur Bellefontaine also, the Sieur +Martel some rye and wheat and much peas. The other inhabitants have +sown some Indian corn, which would have turned out well only they have +sown too late on account of their land being inundated." + +Baron la Hontan visited Fort Nashouac about 1694. He describes the St. +John as "a very pleasant river, adorned with fields that are very +fertile in grain." He says that two gentlemen of the name of d'Amours +have a settlement there for beaver hunting. + +The census made in 1695 by Simon, the French missionary, shows that +there were then ten families, numbering forty-nine persons, on the St. +John river, besides the garrison at Fort Nachouac. Their live stock +included 38 cattle and 116 swine; there were 166 acres of land under +cultivation and 73 in pasture; the crop of that year included 130 +bushels of wheat, 370 of corn, 30 of oats, 170 of peas. + +The testimony of John Gyles, who spent three years in the family of +Louis d'Amours at the Jemseg, conclusively disproves Villebon's +assertion that the d'Amours tilled no land and kept no cattle. He +speaks of a fine wheat field owned by his master, in which the +blackbirds created great havoc and describes a curious attempt made by +a friar to exorcise the birds. A procession was formed, headed by the +friar, in his white robe with a young lad as his attendant and some +thirty people following. Gyles asked some of the prisoners, who had +lately been taken by privateers and brought to the Jemseg, whether +they would go back with him to witness the ceremony, but they +emphatically refused to witness it and when Gyles expressed his +determination to go, one of them, named Woodbury, said he was "as bad +as a papist and a d--d fool." The procession passed and re-passed from +end to end of the field with solemn words of exorcism accompanied by +the tinkling of a little bell, the blackbirds constantly rising before +them only to light behind them. "At their return," says Gyles, "I told +a French lad that the friar had done no service and recommended them +to shoot the birds. The lad left me, as I thought, to see what the +friar would say to my observation, which turned out to be the case, +for he told the lad that the sins of the people were so great that he +could not prevail against those birds." + +A story analogous to this is related in Dr. Samuel Peters' history of +Connecticut, of the celebrated George Whitefield, the New England +Independent minister and revivalist: "Time not having destroyed the +wall of the fort at Saybrooke, Whitefield, in 1740, attempted to bring +down the wall as Joshua did those of Jericho, hoping thereby to +convince the multitude of his divine mission. He walked seven times +around the fort with prayer and ram's horn blowing, he called on the +angel of Joshua to do as he had done at the walls of Jericho; but the +angel was deaf to his call and the wall remained. Thereupon George +cried aloud: 'This town is accursed and the wall shall stand as a +monument of a sinful people!'" + +Mathieu d'Amours, Sieur de Freneuse, seems to have thought seriously +of leaving the St. John river on account of the difficulties and +discouragements of his situation, for on the 6th August, 1696, he made +out to one Michel Chartier, of Schoodic, in Acadia, a lease of his +seignioral manor of Freneuse, consisting of 30 arpents (acres) of +arable land under the plough, meadow, forest and undergrowth, with +houses, barns and stables thereon, a cart and plough rigged ready for +work; also all the oxen, cows, bullocks, goats, pigs, poultry, +furniture and household utensils that might remain from the sale which +he proposed to make. Chartier was to enjoy the right of trade with the +Indians through the whole extent of the manor except where lands had +been granted by the Sieur de Freneuse to private individuals. The +lease was to be for a term of five years beginning with the first day +of May following, and the lessee was to pay the Sieur de Freneuse 600 +livres annually, half in money and half in small furs, such as beaver, +otter and martins. + +It is not likely that this transaction was ever consummated, for less +than three months after the lease was arranged and six months before +Chartier was to take possession, all the buildings of the Sieur de +Freneuse were burned, his cattle destroyed and his fields laid waste +by Hawthorne's expedition returning from their unsuccessful seige of +Fort Nachouac. The original lease, a very interesting document, is now +in possession of Dr. W. F. Ganong and a fac-simile of the signature of +the Sieur de Freneuse is here given.[11] + + [11] A copy of the original lease of the Seigniory of Freneuse, with + translation, and remarks by Dr. Ganong, will be found in Vol. + I., p. 121, of Acadiensis, printed at St. John by D. R. Jack, + to whose kindness and that of Dr. Ganong I am indebted for the + signature given above.--W. O. R. + +[Illustration: Signature of Sieur de Freneuse] + +The seigniory included both sides of the St. John river in Sunbury +county, and the most fertile portions of the parishes of Maugerville, +Sheffield, Burton and Lincoln. The name Freneuse is found in most of +the maps of that region down to the time of the American Revolution. +The residence of the Sieur de Freneuse stood on the east bank of the +St. John opposite the mouth of the Oromocto river. + +Mathieu d'Amours, as already stated, died in consequence of exposure +at the siege of Fort Nachouac. Sixty years later the lands he had +cleared and tilled and the site of his residence were transferred to +the hands of the first English settlers on the river, the Maugerville +colony of 1763. His widow, Madame Louise Guyon, went to Port Royal, +where her indiscretion created a sensation that resulted in voluminous +correspondence on the part of the authorities and finally led to her +removal to Quebec. + +Rene d'Amours, during his sojourn on the River St. John, was much +engrossed in trade with the natives. He made periodical visits to +their villages and was well known at Medoctec, where Gyles lived as a +captive, and it is not unlikely the Frenchmen living at that village +were his retainers. He seems to have made little or no attempt to +fulfil the conditions necessary to retain possession of his seignioral +manor, for to his mind the charms of hunting and trading surpassed +those of farming. His visits to Medoctec to purchase furs and skins +when the Indians had returned from their winter hunts were of doubtful +advantage to the poor savages, for Gyles tells us that "when they came +in from hunting they would be drunk and fight for several days and +nights together, till they had spent most of their skins in wine and +brandy, which was brought to the village by a Frenchman called +Monsieur Sigenioncor" (Clignancourt). + +The latter portion of the narrative of John Gyles throws light on the +course of events on the St. John during Villebon's regime, and +supplies us with a particularly interesting glimpse of domestic life +in the home of Louis d'Amours on the banks of the Jemseg, where Gyles +spent the happiest years of his captivity. The wife of the Sieur de +Chauffours, Marguerite Guyon[12], appears in an especially amiable +light. Her lonely situation and rude surroundings, the perils of the +wilderness and of savage war, amidst which her little children were +born, evoke our sympathy. Her goodness of heart is seen in her +motherly kindness to Gyles, the young stranger of an alien race--the +"little English," as she calls him. But with all her amiability and +gentleness she possessed other and stronger qualities, and it was her +woman's wit and readiness of resource that saved her husband's +fortunes in a grave emergency. The story shall be told in Gyles' own +words. + + [12] Louis d'Amours married Marguerite Guyon in 1686, about the time + he settled on the St. John river. They had three children. + +"When about six years of my doleful captivity had passed, my second +Indian master died, whose squaw and my first Indian disputed whose +slave I should be. Some malicious persons advised them to end the +quarrel by putting a period to my life; but honest father Simon, the +priest of the river, told them that it would be a heinous crime and +advised them to sell me to the French." + +The suggestion of father Simon was adopted and Gyles, now in his +sixteenth year, went with the missionary and the Indians to the mouth +of the river, the occasion of their journey being the arrival of a +French man-of-war at Menagoueche with supplies for the garrison and +presents for the Indians. + +"My master asked me," continues Gyles, "whether I chose to be sold +aboard the man-of-war or to the inhabitants? I replied with tears, I +should be glad if you would sell me to the English from whom you took +me, but if I must be sold to the French, I chose to be sold to the +lowest on the river, or nearest inhabitant to the sea, about 25 +leagues from the mouth of the river; for I thought that if I were sold +to the gentlemen aboard the man-of-war I should never return to the +English. * * My master presently went on shore and a few days after +all the Indians went up the river. When we came to a house which I had +spoken to my master about, he went on shore with me and tarried all +night. The master of the house (Louis d'Amours) spoke kindly to me in +Indian, for I could not then speak one word of French. Madam also +looked pleasant on me and gave me some bread. The next day I was sent +six leagues further up the river to another French house. My master +and the friar tarried with Monsieur De Chauffours, the gentleman who +had entertained us the night before. Not long after father Simon came +and said, 'Now you are one of us, for you are sold to that gentleman +by whom you were entertained the other night.' + +"I replied, 'Sold!--to a Frenchman!' I could say no more, but went +into the woods alone and wept till I could scarce see or stand. The +word 'sold,' and that to a people of that persuasion which my dear +mother so much detested and in her last words manifested so great +fears of my falling into; the thought almost broke my heart. + +"When I had thus given vent to my grief I wiped my eyes, endeavoring +to conceal its effects, but father Simon perceiving my eyes swollen, +rolled me aside bidding me not to grieve, for the gentleman he said to +whom I was sold was of a good humor; that he had formerly bought two +captives of the Indians who both went home to Boston. This in some +measure revived me; but he added he did not suppose that I would ever +incline to go to the English for the French way of worship was much to +be preferred. He said also he would pass that way in about ten days, +and if I did not like to live with the French better than the Indians +he would buy me again. + +"On the day following, father Simon and my Indian master went up the +river six and thirty leagues to their chief village and I went down +the river six leagues with two Frenchmen to my new master. He kindly +received me, and in a few days Madam made me an osnaburg shirt and +French cap and a coat out of one of my master's old coats. Then I +threw away my greasy blanket and Indian flap; and I never more saw the +old friar, the Indian village or my Indian master till about fourteen +years after when I saw my old Indian master at Port Royal, and again +about twenty-four years since he came from St. John to Fort George to +see me where I made him very welcome. + +"My French master had a great trade with the Indians, which suited me +very well, I being thorough in the language of the tribes at Cape +Sable[13] and St. John. I had not lived long with this gentleman +before he committed to me the keys of his store, etc., and my whole +employment was trading and hunting, in which I acted faithfully for +my master and never knowingly wronged him to the value of one +farthing. They spoke to me so much in Indian that it was some time +before I was perfect in the French tongue." + + [13] The Micmacs, as distinguished from the St. John river Indians or + Maliseets. + +It was in the summer of the year 1695 that John Gyles was purchased of +the Indians by Louis d'Amours, having been nearly six years in +captivity at the Medoctec village. The strong prejudice against the +French instilled into his mind by his mother, who was a devout +puritan, was soon overcome by the kindness of Marguerite d'Amours. + +The goods needed by the Sieur de Chauffours for his trade with the +Indians were obtained from the man-of-war which came out annually from +France, and Gyles was sometimes sent with the Frenchmen in his +master's employ to the mouth of the river for supplies. On one of +these trips, in the early spring time, the party in their frail canoes +were caught in a violent storm as they were coming down the +Kennebeccasis--having crossed over thither from Long Reach by way of +Kingston Creek, the usual route of travel. They were driven on Long +Island opposite Rothesay and remained there seven days without food, +unable to return by reason of the northeast gale and unable to advance +on account of the ice. At the expiration of that time the ice broke up +and they were able to proceed, but in so exhausted a state that they +could "scarce hear each other speak." After their arrival at St. John, +two of the party very nearly died in consequence of eating too +heartily, but Gyles had had such ample experience of fasting in his +Indian life that he had learned wisdom, and by careful dieting +suffered no evil consequences. + +In the month of October, 1696, the quietude of the household at the +Jemseg was disturbed by the appearance of the Massachusetts military +expedition under Hawthorne and Church. + +"We heard of them," says Gyles, "some time before they came up the +river by the guard that Governor Villebon had ordered at the river's +mouth. Monsieur the gentleman whom I lived with was gone to France, +and Madam advised with me; she then desired me to nail a paper on the +door of our house containing as follows:-- + + 'I intreat the General of the English not to burn my House or + Barn, nor destroy my Cattle. I don't suppose that such an army + comes up this River to destroy a few Inhabitants but for the Fort + above us. I have shewn kindness to the English captives as we were + capacitated and have bought two Captives of the Indians and sent + them to Boston, and have one now with us and he shall go also when + a convenient opportunity presents and he desires it.' + +"This done, Madam said to me, 'Little English; we have shewn you +kindness and now it lies in your power to serve or disserve us, as you +know where our goods are hid in the woods and that Monsieur is not at +home. I could have sent you to the Fort and put you under confinement, +but my respect for you and assurance of your love to us have disposed +me to confide in you, persuaded that you will not hurt us nor our +affairs. And now if you will not run away to the English, who are +coming up the river, but serve our interest I will acquaint Monsieur +of it at his return from France which will be very pleasing to him; +and I now give my word that you shall have liberty to go to Boston on +the first opportunity, if you desire it, or that any other favor in my +power shall not be deny'd you.' + +"I replied:--'Madam, it is contrary to the nature of the English to +requite evil for good. I shall endeavor to serve you and your +interest. I shall not run to the English; but if I am taken by them +shall willingly go with them and yet endeavor not to disserve you +either in your persons or goods.' + +"This said we embarked and went in a large boat and canoe two or three +miles up an eastern branch of the river that comes from a large pond +[Grand Lake] and in the evening sent down four hands to make +discovery; and while they were sitting in the house the English +surrounded it and took one of the four; the other three made their +escape in the dark through the English soldiers and came to us and +gave a surprising account of affairs. + +"Again Madam said to me, 'Little English, now you can go from us, but +I hope you will remember your word!' I said, 'Madam, be not concerned, +for I will not leave you in this strait.' She said 'I know not what to +do with my two poor little Babes.' I said 'Madam, the sooner we embark +and go over the great Pond the better.' Accordingly we embarked and +went over the Pond. + +"The next day we spake with Indians, who were in a canoe and gave us +an account that Chignecto-town was taken and burnt. Soon after we +heard the great guns at Governor Villebon's fort, which the English +engaged several days, killed one man, and drew off and went down the +river; for it was so late in the fall that had they tarried a few days +longer in the river, they would have been frozen in for the winter. + +"Hearing no report of the great guns for several days, I, with two +others, went down to our house to make discovery, where we found our +young lad who was taken by the English when they went up the river; +for the general was so honorable that, on reading the note on our +door, he ordered that the house and barn should not be burnt nor their +cattle or other creatures killed, except one or two, and the poultry +for their use, and at their return ordered the young lad to be put +ashore. + +"Finding things in this posture, we returned and gave Madam an +account. She acknowledged the many favors which the English had shown, +with gratitude, and treated me with great civility. The next spring +Monsieur arrived from France in the man-of-war, who thanked me for my +care of his affairs, and said that he would endeavor to fulfil what +Madam had promised me." + +At the expiration of another year, peace having been proclaimed, a +sloop came to Menagoueche with ransom for one Michael Coombs, and +Gyles at once reminded the Sieur de Chauffours of his promise. That +gentleman advised him to remain, offering to do for him as if he were +his own child, but Gyles' heart was set upon going to Boston, hoping +to find some of his relations yet alive. His master then advised him +to go up to the fort and take leave of the Governor, which he did, and +says the Sieur de Villebon spoke very kindly to him. Some days after +he took an affecting leave of Madame d'Amours and his master went down +to the mouth of the river with him to see him on board. A few days +afterwards he arrived safely in Boston and was welcomed by his +relatives as one risen from the dead. + +[Illustration: Signature of John Gyles] + +After Villebon's death his successor, de Brouillan, dismantled Fort +Nachouac and the fort at the mouth of the St. John river and +transferred the garrisons to Port Royal. The French families living on +the river soon followed, as they found themselves without protection +and did not care to remain in a situation so exposed. The houses +abandoned by these settlers had been built upon the interval lands on +the east side of the river between the Nashwaak and the Jemseg. The +soil was very fertile, entirely free from rock or stone and little +incumbered by forest. But the situation had its disadvantages--as it +has still. In the spring of the year 1701 the settlers had a most +unhappy experience in consequence of an extraordinarily high freshet. +This event increased Brouillan's aversion to the St. John, and he +writes: + +"The river is altogether impracticable for habitations, the little +the people had there being destroyed this year by the freshets +(inondations) which have carried off houses, cattle and grain. +There is no probability that any families will desire to expose +themselves hereafter to a thing so vexatious and so common on that +river. Monsieur De Chauffours, who used to be the mainstay of the +inhabitants and the savages, has been forced to abandon it and to +withdraw to Port Royal, but he has no way to make a living there for +his family, and he will unhappily be forced to seek some other retreat +if the Court pays no consideration to the services which he +represents in his petition, and does not grant him some position in +order to retain him in this colony." + +The next year France and England were again at war and in the course +of the conflict the fortunes of the d'Amours in Acadia were involved +in utter ruin. The gentle spirit of Marguerite Guyon d'Amours did not +survive the struggle, and with the close of the century she passed +from the scene of her trials. Louis d'Amours, while serving his +country in arms, was taken by the English, and for more than two years +remained a prisoner in Boston. His brother, the Sieur de Clignancourt, +served in various expeditions against the New Englanders and for +several years is heard of in connection with military affairs. +Eventually most of the surviving members of the d'Amours family +removed from Acadia leaving behind them no abiding record of their +sojourn on the St. John river. + +Two of the daughters of Louis d'Amours were married at Port Royal +while very young. Perhaps they possessed their mother's winsome +manners, perhaps, also the scarcity of marriageable girls in Acadia +may have had something to do with the matter; at any rate Charlotte +d'Amours was but seventeen years of age when she married the young +baron, Anselm de St. Castin. Their wedding took place at Port Royal in +October, 1707, just two months after young St. Castin had greatly +distinguished himself in the heroic and successful defense of Port +Royal against an expedition from New England.[14] The event no doubt +caused a flutter of excitement in the then limited society of Port +Royal. The officiating priest was Father Antoine Gaulin, of the +Seminary of Quebec, at which institution the young baron had finished +his studies only three years before. Among the witnesses of the +marriage were the Chevalier de Subercase, governor of Acadia; +Bonaventure, who had for some years rendered signal service as +commander of the "Envieux" and other warships; Mon. de la Boularderie, +a French officer who had been wounded in the recent siege, and the +bride's farther, Louis d'Amours--who, signs his name D'Amour +D'Echofour. + + [14] The mortification of the Bostonians at the failure of this + expedition was extreme. So confident of success were they that + preparations were made for a public rejoicing on the + anticipated capture of Port Royal. The young baron St. Castin + was wounded in the defence of Port Royal. His conduct in + leading the defenders on several critical occasions was + characterized by such dash and intrepidity that Governor + Subercase in describing the siege wrote to the French minister + at Versailles that if it had not been for the presence of the + Baron St. Castin he knew not what would have been the result. + See Murdoch's Hist. Nova Scotia, vol. I., p. 289. + +A few years later the Marquis de Vaudreuil entrusted to St. Castin the +command of Acadia. After the treaty of Utrecht he retired to his +ancestral residence on the banks of the Penobscot, where he lived on +amicable terms with the English and kept the Penobscot Indians from +making encroachments on their neighbors. His sister, Ursule de St. +Castin, married his wife's brother, a son of Louis d'Amours, a +circumstance of interest not only as being a double marriage between +the families of St. Castin and d'Amours, but also from the fact that +the familiar titles of the d'Amours family seem to have been retained +in this, the oldest branch of their family. In proof of this fact, the +distinguished Acadian genealogist, Placid P. Gaudet, has shown that +among the Acadians residing at the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon +in 1767 (according to the census of that year), were Ursule de St. +Castin, widow of the only son of Louis d'Amours, then 71 year of age, +who resided with her son Joseph d'Amours, deChauffour, and his family. +Joseph d'Amours was at that time 49 years of age, and his wife, +Genevieve Roy, 44 years of age. They had seven children and the oldest +sons were Joseph d'Amours, aged 19 years; Paul d'Amours de Freneuse, +aged 16 years, and Louis d'Amours de Clignancourt, aged 13 years. As +the father himself retained the title of de Chauffours it is evident +that on his decease it would fall to his oldest son, Joseph. + +Marie d'Amours, sister of the young Baroness de St. Castin, married +Pierre de Morpain, the commander of a privateer of St. Domingo. It +chanced that he had just brought a ship load of provisions to Port +Royal when it was attacked in 1707, and he was able to render good +service in its defence. Two years afterwards he was again at Port +Royal and in the course of a ten days' cruise took nine prizes and +destroyed four more vessels. Being attacked by a coast-guard ship of +Boston a furious engagement ensued in which the English captain was +killed with one hundred of his men and his vessel made a prize and +taken to Port Royal. The commander, Subercase, highly commended +Morpain's bravery and persuaded him to remain at Port Royal where, on +August 13, 1709, he married Marie d'Amours de Chauffours. + +Louis d'Amours, Sieur de Chauffours, returned to Port Royal in 1706 +after a two years captivity at Boston. On the 17th January, 1708, only +a few weeks after the marriage of his daughter to St. Castin, he took +to himself a wife in the person of Anne Comeau. The marriage was +witnessed by Governor Subercase and other officials at Port Royal, +also by his daughter Charlotte and her husband, the Baron de St. +Castin, and by the widow of his brother the Sieur de Freneuse. It +seems probable that his health had suffered through his long +imprisonment, for very shortly after his second marriage he was +stricken with an illness which proved fatal. The Recollet missionary, +Justinien Durad, records in his parish register the burial in the +cemetery of St. Jean Baptiste at Port Royal on May 19, 1708, of "Louis +d'Amour d'Echauffour, aged not far from sixty years [should be 54 +years], after an illness of three months, during which he received the +sacraments with great edification." And this brings us to the last +incident in the romantic story of the brothers d'Amours. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE OLD MEDOCTEC FORT. + + +Twelve miles below the town of Woodstock there enters the River St. +John, from the westward, a good sized tributary known as Eel River. It +is a variable stream, flowing in the upper reaches with feeble +current, over sandy shallows, with here and there deep pools, and at +certain seasons almost lake-like expansions over adjoining swamps, but +in the last twelve miles of its course it is transformed into a +turbulent stream, broken by rapids and falls to such an extent that +only at the freshet season is it possible to descend in canoes. The +Indian name of Eel River is "Madawamkeetook," signifying "rocky at its +mouth." + +[Illustration: Plan of Old Medoctec Village] + +The Medoctec Fort stood on the west bank of the St. John four miles +above the mouth of Eel River. It guarded the eastern extremity of the +famous portage, five miles in length, by which canoes were carried in +order to avoid the rapids that obstruct the lower part of Eel River. +The rivers were nature's highway for the aboriginal inhabitants and a +glance at the map will show that Madawamkeetook, or Eel River, formed +a very important link in the chain of communication with the western +portion of ancient Acadie by means of the inland waters. + +In early days the three principal villages of the Maliseets were +Medoctec on the St. John, Panagamsde on the Penobscot and Narantsouak +on the Kennebec. In travelling from Medoctec to the westward the +Indians passed from the lakes at the head of Eel River, by a short +portage, to the chain of lakes at the head of the St. Croix from +which there was communication by another short portage with the +Mattawamkeag, an eastern branch of the Penobscot. In the course of the +stirring events of the war-period in Acadia the Indian braves and +their French allies made constant use of this route, and the Medoctec +village became a natural rendezvous whenever anything of a warlike +nature was afoot on the St. John. But Medoctec possessed many local +advantages; the hunting in the vicinity was excellent, the rivers +abounded in salmon, sturgeon, bass, trout and other fish, and the +intervals were admirably adapted to the growth of Indian corn--which +seems to have been raised there from time immemorial. + +The reader by examining the accompanying plan will have a better idea +of the situation of the old fort. + +The site of this ancient Maliseet town is a fine plateau extending +back from the river about fifty rods, then descending to a lower +interval, twenty rods wide, and again rising quite abruptly sixty or +seventy feet to the upland. The spring freshet usually covers the +lower interval and the elevated plateau then becomes an island. The +spot is an exceedingly interesting one, but, unfortunately for the +investigator, the soil has been so well cultivated by the hands of +thrifty farmers that little remains to indicate the outlines of the +old fortifications. It is impossible to determine with absolute +certainty the position of the stockade, or of the large wigwam, or +council chamber, and other features commonly found in Indian towns of +that period. The only place where the old breast-work is visible is +along the south and east sides of the burial ground, where it is about +two feet high. The burial ground has never been disturbed with the +plough, the owners of the property having shown a proper regard for +the spot as the resting place of the dead. It is, however, so thickly +overgrown with hawthorn as to be a perfect jungle difficult to +penetrate. Many holes have been dug there by relic hunters and seekers +of buried treasure. + +At the spot marked A* on the plan, between the grave-yard and the +river, there is a mass of ashes and cinders with numberless bones +scattered about. This is believed to be the site of the old council +fire. Here the visitor will find himself in touch with the events of +savage life of centuries ago. Here it was Governor Villebon harangued +his dusky allies; here the horrible dog feast was held and the hatchet +brandished by the warriors on the eve of their departure to deluge +with blood the homes of New England; here at the stake the luckless +captive yielded up his life and chanted his death-song; here the Sieur +de Clignancourt bargained with the Indians, receiving their furs and +peltry and giving in exchange French goods and trinkets, rum and +brandy; here good Father Simon taught the savages the elements of the +Christian faith and tamed as best he could the fierceness of their +manners; here too when weary of fighting the hatchet was buried and +the council fire glowed its brightest as the chiefs smoked their +calumet of peace. + +Some have supposed the old Medoctec fort to have been quite an +elaborate structure, with bastions, etc., but it was more probably +only a rude Indian fortification with ditch and parapet surmounted by +a stockade, within which was a strongly built cabin, in size about +thirty by forty feet. Parkman in his "Jesuits in North America," gives +a good description of similar forts built by the Hurons and other +tribes of Canada. The labor originally involved in the erection of the +palisade must have been very great, and nothing but stern necessity is +likely to have driven so naturally improvident a people to undertake +it. The stout stakes were cut, pointed and firmly planted with no +better implement than the stone axe of prehistoric times. + +In the lower right hand corner of the plan will be found the spring +referred to in the opening chapter[15] as the scene of the ludicrous +Mohawk scare. Its distance from the old fort is about half a mile, and +the situation and surroundings correspond so exactly with Gyles' +description that there is not the slightest doubt as to its identity. +The water that flows from it never fails and is very clear and cool. + + [15] See page 13. + +At the back of the lower interval is a curious gully, something like a +broad natural roadway, which affords an easy ascent to the upland. +This no doubt was the commencement of the famous portage by which +bands of savages in ancient days took their way westward to devastate +the settlements of eastern New England. + +The small stream which enters the St. John a little above the old +village site is known as Hay's Creek, but in some of the early maps +and land grants is called "Meductic river." About a mile from its +mouth there is a very beautiful cascade; the volume of water is not +large but the height of the fall, 95 feet perpendicular, is +remarkable, surpassing by at least ten feet the Grand Falls of the +River St. John. + +Our knowledge of the village Medoctec, and the ways of its people two +centuries ago, is derived mainly from the narrative of John Gyles, the +English lad who was captured at Pemaquid in 1689 and brought by his +Indian master to the River St. John. At the time of his capture Gyles +was a boy of about twelve years of age. He seems to have met with +kindly treatment from his master though not from all the Indians. His +first rude experience was at Penobscot fort where upon the arrival of +the captives, some fifty in number, the squaws got together in a +circle dancing and yelling, as was their custom on such occasions. +Gyles says, "An old grimace squaw took me by the hand and leading me +into the ring, some seized me by my hair and others by my feet, like +so many furies; but, my master laying down a pledge, they released me. +A captive among the Indians is exposed to all manner of abuses and to +the extremest tortures, unless their master, or some of their master's +relatives lay down a ransom, such as a bag of corn, a blanket, or the +like, which redeems them from their cruelty for that dance." + +After a long and wearisome journey the little captive at length neared +his destination, the canoes were paddling down the Madawamkeetook (or +Eel) river. When they reached the rapids they landed, and we shall let +Gyles tell in his own words the story of the last stage of his journey +and of his reception at Medoctec. He says: "We carried over a long +carrying place to Medoctock Fort, which stands on a bank of St. John's +river. My Indian master went before and left me with an old Indian +and three squaws. The old man often said (which was all the English he +could speak), 'By and by come to a great Town and Fort.' So I +comforted myself in thinking how finely I should be refreshed when I +came to this great town. + +"After some miles travel we came in sight of a large Corn-field and +soon after of the Fort, to my great surprise; for two or three squaws +met us, took off my pack, and led me to a large hut or wigwam, where +thirty or forty Indians were dancing and yelling round five or six +poor captives. * * I was whirled in among them and we looked at each +other with a sorrowful countenance; and presently one of them was +seized by each hand and foot by four Indians, who swung him up and let +his back with force fall on the hard ground, till they had danced (as +they call it) round the whole wigwam, which was thirty or forty feet +in length. * * + +"The Indians looked on me with a fierce countenance, as much as to say +it will be your turn next. They champed cornstalks, which they threw +into my hat as I held it in my hand. I smiled on them though my heart +ached. I looked on one and another, but could not perceive that any +eye pitied me. Presently came a squaw and a little girl and laid down +a bag of corn in the ring. The little girl took me by the hand, making +signs for me to come out of the circle with them. Not knowing their +custom, I supposed they designed to kill me and refused to go. Then a +grave Indian came and gave me a pipe and said in English, 'Smoke it,' +then he took me by the hand and led me out. My heart ached, thinking +myself near my end. But he carried me to a French hut about a mile +from the Indian Fort. The Frenchman was not at home, but his wife, who +was a squaw, had some discourse with my Indian friend, which I did not +understand. We tarried there about two hours, then returned to the +Indian village, where they gave me some victuals. Not long after I saw +one of my fellow-captives who gave me a melancholy account of their +sufferings after I left them. + +"After some weeks had passed," Gyles continues, "we left this village +and went up St. John's river about ten miles to a branch called +Medockscenecasis, where there was one wigwam. At our arrival an old +squaw saluted me with a yell, taking me by the hair and one hand, but +I was so rude as to break her hold and free myself. She gave me a +filthy grin, and the Indians set up a laugh and so it passed over. +Here we lived on fish, wild grapes, roots, etc., which was hard living +for me." + +Where the one wigwam stood in 1689, there stands today a town of 4,000 +people. The stream which Gyles calls Medockscenecasis is the +Meduxnakik and the town is Woodstock. On the islands and intervals +there, wild grapes and lily roots, butter-nuts and cherries are still +to be found, and many generations of boys have wandered with light +hearts in quest of them without a thought of the first of white boys, +who in loneliness and friendlessness trod those intervals more than +two hundred years ago. + +It seems to have been the custom of the Indians at the beginning of +the winter to break up into small parties for the purpose of hunting, +and Gyles' description of his first winter's experience will serve to +illustrate the hardships commonly endured by the savages. + +"When the winter came on," he says, "we went up the river, till the +ice came down running thick in the river, when, according to the +Indian custom, we laid up our canoes till spring. Then we traveled, +sometimes on the ice and sometimes on land, till we came to a river +that was open but not fordable, where we made a raft and passed over, +bag and baggage. I met with no abuse from them in this winter's +hunting, though I was put to great hardships in carrying burdens and +for want of food. But they underwent the same difficulty, and would +often encourage me by saying in broken English, 'By and by great deal +moose!' Yet they could not answer any question I asked them; and +knowing very little of their customs and ways of life, I thought it +tedious to be constantly moving from place to place, yet it might be +in some respects an advantage, for it ran still in my mind that we +were traveling to some settlement; and when my burden was over heavy, +and the Indians left me behind, and the still evening came on, I +fancied I could see thro' the bushes and hear the people of some great +town; which hope might be some support to me in the day, though I +found not the town at night. + +"Thus we were hunting three hundred miles from the sea and knew no man +within fifty or sixty miles of us. We were eight or ten in number, and +had but two guns on which we wholly depended for food. If any disaster +had happened we must all have perished. Sometimes we had no manner of +sustenance for three or four days; but God wonderfully provides for +all creatures. * * * + +"We moved still farther up the country after the moose when our store +gave out; so that by the spring we had got to the northward of the +Lady Mountains [near the St. Lawrence]. When the spring came and the +rivers broke up we moved back to the head of St. John's river and +there made canoes of moose hides, sewing three or four together and +pitching the seams with balsam mixed with charcoal. Then we went down +the river to a place called Madawescok. There an old man lived and +kept a sort of a trading house, where we tarried several days; then we +went further down the river till we came to the greatest falls in +these parts, called Checanekepeag[16], where we carried a little way +over land, and putting off our canoes we went down stream still, and +as we passed the mouths of any large branches we saw Indians, but when +any dance was proposed I was bought off. + + [16] The Grand Falls of the St. John river, which the Indians still + call Chik-seen-eag-i-beg, meaning "a destroying giant." + +"At length we arrived at the place where we left our canoes in the +fall and, putting our baggage into them, went down to the fort. There +we planted corn, and after planting went a fishing and to look for and +dig roots till the corn was fit to weed. After weeding we took a +second tour on foot on the same errand, then returned to hill up our +corn. After hilling we went some distance from the fort and field up +the river to take salmon and other fish, which we dried for food, +where we continued till the corn was filled with milk; some of it we +dried then, the other as it ripened." + +The statement has been made by the author in the opening chapter that +exaggerated ideas have prevailed concerning the number of Indians who +formerly inhabited this country. The natives of Acadia were not a +prolific race and the life they led was so full of danger and +exposure, particularly in the winter season, as not to be conducive +to longevity. An instance of the dangers to which the Indians were +exposed in their winter hunting is related by Gyles which very nearly +proved fatal to him. + +"One winter," he says, "as we were moving from place to place our +hunters killed some moose. One lying some miles from our wigwams, a +young Indian and myself were ordered to fetch part of it. We set out +in the morning when the weather was promising, but it proved a very +cold cloudy day. + +"It was late in the evening before we arrived at the place where the +moose lay, so that we had no time to provide materials for a fire or +shelter. At the same time came on a storm of snow very thick which +continued until the next morning. We made a small fire with what +little rubbish we could find around us. The fire with the warmth of +our bodies melted the snow upon us as fast as it fell and so our +clothes were filled with water. However, early in the morning we took +our loads of moose flesh, and set out to return to our wigwams. We had +not travelled far before my moose-skin coat (which was the only +garment I had on my back, and the hair chiefly worn off) was frozen +stiff round my knees, like a hoop, as were my snow-shoes and shoe +clouts to my feet. Thus I marched the whole day without fire or food. +At first I was in great pain, then my flesh became numb, and at times +I felt extremely sick and thought I could not travel one foot farther; +but I wonderfully revived again. After long travelling I felt very +drowsy, and had thoughts of sitting down, which had I done, without +doubt I had fallen on my final sleep. My Indian companion, being +better clothed, had left me long before. Again my spirits revived as +much as if I had received the richest cordial. + +"Some hours after sunset I reached the wigwam, and crawling in with my +snow-shoes on, the Indians cried out, 'The captive is frozen to +death!' They took off my pack and the place where that lay against my +back was the only one that was not frozen. They cut off my snow-shoes +and stripped off the clouts from my feet, which were as void of +feeling as any frozen flesh could be. + +"I had not sat long by the fire before the blood began to circulate +and my feet to my ankles turned black and swelled with bloody blisters +and were inexpressibly painful. The Indians said one to another: 'His +feet will rot, and he will die;' yet I slept well at night. Soon after +the skin came off my feet from my ankles whole, like a shoe, leaving +my toes without a nail and the ends of my great toe bones bare.... The +Indians gave me rags to bind up my feet and advised me to apply fir +balsam, but withal added that they believed it was not worth while to +use means for I should certainly die. But by the use of my elbows and +a stick in each hand I shoved myself along as I sat upon the ground +over the snow from one tree to another till I got some balsam. This I +burned in a clam shell till it was of a consistence like salve, which +I applied to my feet and ankles and, by the divine blessing, within a +week I could go about upon my heels with my staff; and through God's +goodness we had provisions enough, so that we did not remove under ten +or fifteen days. Then the Indians made two little hoops, something in +the form of a snow-shoe, and sewing them to my feet I was able to +follow them in their tracks on my heels from place to place, though +sometimes half leg deep in snow and water, which gave me the most +acute pain imaginable; but I must walk or die. Yet within a year my +feet were entirely well, and the nails came on my great toes so that a +very critical eye could scarcely perceive any part missing, or that +they had been frozen at all." + +We turn now to the consideration of the state of affairs on the St. +John after the removal of the seat of government from Fort Nachouac to +Menagoueche and subsequently to Port Royal. + +After the retirement of the French from the river, at the close of the +seventeenth century, our knowledge of that region for the next thirty +years is small. We know, however, that the Maliseets continued hostile +to the English. War parties from the St. John united with the +neighboring tribes, roaming over the country like hungry wolves, +prowling around the towns and settlements of New England, carrying +terror and destruction wherever they went. The resentment inspired by +their deeds was such that the legislatures of Massachusetts and New +Hampshire offered a bounty of L40 for the scalp of every adult male +Indian. + +For sixty years Indian wars followed in rapid succession. They are +known in history as King William's war, Queen Anne's war, Lovewell's +or Dummer's war and King George's war. In nearly every instance the +Indian raids were instigated or encouraged by their French allies, who +feared that otherwise the English would win them and thereby gain the +country. + +Civil and ecclesiastical authority in France were at this time very +closely united. The missionaries of New France were appointed and +removed by the authorities at Quebec and received an annual stipend +from the crown, and however diligent the missionary might be in his +calling, or however pure his life, he was liable to be removed unless +he used his influence to keep the savages in a state of hostility to +the English. The Maliseet villages on the St. John, the Penobscot and +the Kennebec rivers were regarded as buttresses against English +encroachments in the direction of Canada, and the authorities at +Quebec relied much upon the influence of the missionaries to keep the +savages loyal to France. + +The first missionary at the Medoctec village, of whom we have any +accurate information, was Father Simon, who has already been +frequently mentioned in the extracts from John Gyles' narrative. He +belonged to the order of the Recollets, founded early in the 13th +century by St. Francis of Assissi. The missionaries of that order +began their labors on the St. John as early as 1620; they came to +Acadia from Aquitane. Father Simon was a man of activity and +enterprise as well as of religious zeal. He did all that lay in his +power to promote the ascendency of his country-men in the land they +loved to call "New France," but his influence with the Indians was +always exercised on the side of humanity. On this point Gyles' +testimony is conclusive. He says: "The priest of this river was of the +order of St. Francis, a gentleman of a humane generous disposition. In +his sermons he most severely reprehended the Indians for their +barbarities to captives. He would often tell them that excepting their +errors in religion the English were a better people than themselves." + +We have no exact information as to the number of years Father Simon +labored at Medoctec, but he died near the close of the century. +Governor Villebon in December, 1698, wrote, "Father Simon is sick at +Jemseg," and as his name does not again appear in the annals of that +time it is probable that his sickness proved mortal. He was succeeded +in his mission by one of the Jesuit fathers, Joseph Aubery, who came +to Medoctec about 1701, remaining there seven years. He then took +charge of the Abenaki mission of St. Francis, where he continued for +46 years and died at the age of 82. Chateaubriand drew from his +character and career materials for one of the characters in his well +known romance "Atala." + +The next missionary on the River St. John was Jean Baptiste Loyard, +who was born at Pau in France in 1678, and came out to Canada in 1706. +He remained almost constantly at his post, except that in the year +1722 he went to France to obtain aid for his mission. His position was +a difficult one, for the letters of the Marquis de Vaudreuil show that +in addition to his spiritual functions he was regarded as the +political agent of the French on the St. John. + +By the treaty of Utrecht, in the days of Queen Anne (A. D. 1713), "all +Nova Scotia, or Acadia, comprehended within its ancient boundaries," +was ceded to the Queen of Great Britain. But the question immediately +arose, what were the ancient boundaries? The British were disposed to +claim, as indeed the French had formerly done, that Acadia included +the territory north of the Bay of Fundy as far west as the Kennebec +river; but the French would not now admit that it included anything +more than the peninsula of Nova Scotia. + +In 1715, Governor Caulfield endeavored to have a good understanding +with Loyard, assuring him that he would not be molested, and begging +him to say to the Indians of his mission that they would receive good +treatment at the hands of the English and that a vessel full of +everything they needed would be sent up the river to them. + +But other and more potent influences were at work. On June 15, 1716, +the French minister wrote the Marquis de Vaudreuil that the King, in +order to cement more firmly the alliance with the savages of Acadia, +had granted the sum of 1,200 livres, agreeably to the proposal of the +intendant Begon, to be expended in building a church for the Indians +on the River St. John, and another for those on the Kennebec. The +Indians were wonderfully pleased and offered to furnish a quantity of +beaver as their contribution towards the erection of the churches. In +the years that followed the king made two additional grants of 1,200 +livres each, and in 1720 the Marquis de Vaudreuil had the satisfaction +of reporting that the churches were finished; that they were well +built and would prove a great inducement to the savages to be loyal to +France. + +The probable site of the Indian chapel on the banks of the St. John is +shown in the plan of the Medoctec Fort and village near the north west +corner of the burial ground. A small stone tablet was discovered here +by Mr. A. R. Hay, of Lower Woodstock, in June, 1890. The tablet is of +black slate, similar to that found in the vicinity, and is in length +fourteen inches by seven in width and about an inch in thickness. + +It was found quite near the surface, just as it might naturally have +fallen amid the ruins of an old building, covered merely by the fallen +leaves; the inscription is in an excellent state of preservation and, +without abbreviation, reads as follows: + +[Illustration: SLATE-STONE TABLET. + +A relic of the Indian Chapel of Saint Jean Baptiste. Found +at Medoctec, June, 1890.] + + DEO + Optimo Maximo + In honorem Divi Ioannis Baptistae + Hoc Templum posuerunt Anno Domin + (MDCCXVII). + Malecitae + + Missionis Procurator Ioanne Loyard Societatis Iesu + Sacerdote. + +The translation reads:--"To God, most excellent, most high, in +honor of Saint John Baptist, the Maliseets erected this church A. D. +1717, while Jean Loyard, a priest of the Society of Jesus, was +superintendent of the mission." + +The inscription is clearly cut, but not with sufficient skill to +suggest the hand of a practised stone engraver. It was in all +probability the hand of Loyard himself that executed it. The name of +Danielou, his successor, faintly scratched in the lower left-hand +corner, is evidently of later date; but its presence there is of +historic interest. + +The Indian church of St. John Baptist at Medoctec, erected in 1717, +was the first on the River St. John--probably the first in New +Brunswick. It received among other royal gifts a small bell which now +hangs in the belfry of the Indian chapel at Central Kingsclear, a few +miles above Fredericton. The church seems to have been such as would +impress by its beauty and adornments the little flock over which +Loyard exercised his kindly ministry. It is mentioned by one of the +Jesuit fathers as a beautiful church (belle eglise), suitably adorned +and furnished abundantly with holy vessels and ornaments of sufficient +richness. + +The chapel stood for fifty years and its clear toned bell rang out the +call to prayer in the depths of the forest; but by and by priest and +people passed away till, in 1767, the missionary Bailly records in his +register that the Indians having abandoned the Medoctec village he had +caused the ornaments and furnishings of the chapel, together with the +bell, to be transported to Aukpaque, and had caused the chapel itself +to be demolished since it served merely as a refuge for travellers and +was put to the most profane uses. + +The Marquis de Vaudreuil in 1718 wrote to the English authorities at +Port Royal protesting against English vessels entering the River St. +John, which he claimed to be entirely within the French dominion. He +encouraged the French to withdraw from the peninsula of Nova Scotia, +promising them lands on the St. John river on application to the +missionary Loyard, who was empowered to grant them and in the course +of time a number of families resorted thither. + +When Loyard went to France in 1722 he represented to the home +government that the English were making encroachments on the "rivers +of the savages"--meaning the St. John, Penobscot and Kennebec. "Why is +this?" he asks, "if not for the purpose of continually advancing on +Canada?" He points out that France has not cared for the savages +except when she has had need of them. The English will not fail to +remind them of this fact, and will perhaps by presents more valuable +than the missionaries can offer soon succeed in winning them. Loyard +recommends the court to increase the annual gratuity and to provide +for each village a royal medal to serve as a reminder of the king's +favor and protection. His advice seems to have been followed, and for +some years an annual appropriation of 4,000 livres was made to provide +presents for the savages, the distribution being left to the +missionaries. + +[Illustration: BELL OF OLD INDIAN CHAPEL. (A. D. 1717.)] + +Port Royal, under its new name of Annapolis, was now become the +headquarters of British authority and efforts were made to establish +friendly relations with the Indians of the St. John river. In July, +1720, nine chiefs were brought over to Annapolis in a vessel sent by +Governor Philipps for the purpose; they were entertained and addressed +and presents were made to them and they went home apparently well +pleased. However the English governor did not count much upon their +fidelity. He states that he was beset with Indian delegations from +various quarters; that he received them all and never dismissed them +without presents, which they always looked for and for which he was +out of pocket about a hundred and fifty pounds; he adds, "but I am +convinced that a hundred thousand will not buy them from the French +interest while the priests are among them." + +Governor Philipps' lack of confidence in Indian promises of friendship +and alliance was soon justified, for in Lovewell's war, which broke +out in 1722 and lasted three years, the Indians surprized and captured +a large number of trading vessels in the Bay of Fundy and along the +coast, and a party of 30 Maliseets and 26 Micmacs attacked the Fort at +Annapolis, killing two of the garrison and dangerously wounding an +officer and three men. In retaliation for the loss of Sergt McNeal, +who was shot and scalped, the English shot and scalped an Indian +prisoner on the spot where McNeal had fallen, an action which, however +great the provocation, is to be lamented as unworthy of a Christian +people. + +Lovewell's war was terminated by a notable treaty made at Boston in +1725 with four eminent sagamores representing the tribes of Kennebec, +Penobscot, St. John and Cape Sable; Francois Xavier appearing on +behalf of the Maliseets of the St. John. The conference lasted over a +month, for the Indians were very deliberate in their negotiations and +too well satisfied with their entertainment to be in a hurry. The +treaty was solemnly ratified at Falmouth in the presence of the +Lieutenant-Governors of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Nova Scotia, +and about forty chiefs. The formal assent of the St. John Indians does +not appear to have been given until May, 1728, when three or four +sachems, accompanied by twenty-six warriors, came from Medoctec to +Annapolis Royal to ratify the peace and make submission to the British +government. Governor Armstrong with the advice of his officers made +them presents, entertained them several days and sent them away well +satisfied. + +The ministry of Loyard was now drawing to a close. He seems to have +been a man of talents and rare virtues, esteemed and beloved by both +French and Indians, and in his death universally lamented. He +devoted nearly twenty-four of the best years of his life to the +conversion of the Indians, and when summoned to Quebec for the +benefit of his health, which had become impared by toil and +exposure, he had hardly recovered from the fatigue of the journey +when he requested to be allowed to return to his mission, where his +presence was needed. It was while in the active discharge of his duty +among the sick that he contracted the disease of which he died in the +midst of his people, who were well nigh inconsolable for their +loss. The obituary letter announcing his death to the other Jesuit +missionaries contains a glowing eulogy of the man and his work. +His disposition had nothing of sternness, yet he was equally +beloved and revered by his flock; to untiring zeal he joined +exemplary modesty, sweetness of disposition, never failing charity +and an evenness of temper which made him superior to all annoyances; +busy as he was he had the art of economising the moments, and he +gave all the prescribed time to his own spiritual exercises; over his +flock he watched incessantly as a good shepherd with the happy +consolation of gathering abundant fruit of his care and toil; he +was fitted for everything and ready for everything, and his +superiors could dispose of him as they would. The date of his death, +June 24, 1731, suggests some remarkable coincidences. The 24th of +June is St. John Baptist's day; Loyard's name was Jean Baptiste; the +church he built was called St. Jean Baptiste; it was the first +church on the banks of a river named in honor of St. Jean Baptiste +(because discovered on 24th June, 1604, by Champlain); and it was +fitting that the missionary who designed it, who watched over its +construction and who probably was laid to rest beneath its shade, +should pass from the scene of his labors on the day that honors the +memory of St. Jean Baptiste. By a pure coincidence the author finds +himself penning these words on St. John Baptist's day, 1903. + +[Illustration: Jean Loyard Fac-simile, A. D. 1708.] + +Loyard's successor was Jean Pierre Danielou, whose presence at +Medoctec is indicated by the occurrence of his name on the memorial +tablet. After his arrival at Quebec in 1715 he was employed for some +years as a teacher, but took holy orders about 1725. Danielou had been +but a short time in charge of his mission when he received a sharply +worded letter from the governor of Nova Scotia, ordering the Acadians +settled on the River St. John to repair to the port of Annapolis Royal +and take the oath of allegiance. The governor says that their settling +on the river without leave was an act of great presumption. A number +of the settlers accordingly presented themselves at Annapolis, where +they took the required oaths and agreed to take out grants. + +The little French colony were settled at or near St. Anns (now +Fredericton) for a census made in 1733, for the government of France, +gives the number of Acadians on the river as 111, divided into twenty +families, and fifteen of these families, numbering eighty-two persons, +were living below the village of Ecoupay (or Aukpaque). Two families +lived at Freneuse and three at the mouth of the river. + +The story of the old Medoctec village in later times will be told +incidentally in the chapters that are to follow. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +INCIDENTS IN KING GEORGES WAR. + + +After a long interval of peace from the time of the treaty of Utrecht +in 1713, war was declared between France and England in 1744. The +Indians of the St. John river, who had been fairly quiet for some +years, took the warpath with great alacrity. The war that ensued is +known as "King George's," or the "Five Years" war. At its commencement +the Maliseets played rather a sharp trick upon the English which Paul +Mascarene and Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts, remembered +against them when peace was proclaimed five years later. On that +occasion Count de la Galissonniere wrote to Mascarene to inquire if +the Maliseets were included in the peace, "in which case," he says, "I +entreat you to have the goodness to induce Mr. Shirley to allow them +to settle again in their villages, and to leave their missionaries +undisturbed as they were before the war." The French governor +suggested that a reply might be sent through the missionary by whom he +had sent his own letter. Both Mascarene and Shirley replied at some +length to the letter of de la Galissonniere. They stated that when a +renewal of the war with France was daily expected, a deputation of the +St. John river Indians came to Annapolis professedly to make an +agreement to remain on friendly terms with the English in the event of +war with France. They were well received in consequence. But they had +come in reality as spies, and three weeks afterwards returned with +others of their tribe, the missionary le Loutre at their head, +surprised and killed as many of the English as they caught outside the +fort, destroyed their cattle, burnt their houses and continued their +acts of hostility against the garrison till the arrival of troops from +New England to check them. "For this perfidious behaviour," Shirley +says, "I caused war to be declared in his majesty's name against these +Indians in November, 1744, and so far as it depends upon me, they +shall not be admitted to terms of peace till they have made a proper +submission for their treachery." + +During King George's war the Maliseet warriors did not, as in former +Indian wars, assemble at Medoctec and turn their faces westward to +devastate the settlements of New England, the scene of hostilities was +now transferred to the eastward, Annapolis Royal, Beausejour and +Louisbourg became the scene of hostilities and Aukpaque, not Medoctec, +the place of rendezvous. + +Immediately after the declaration of war Paul Mascarene set to work to +repair the defences of Annapolis Royal. The French inhabitants at +first showed every readiness to assist him, but they retired to their +habitations when the Indians, to the number of about three hundred +fighting men, appeared before the fort. Among the leaders of the +savages was young Alexander le Borgne de Bellisle, who himself had +Indian blood in his veins, being the son of Anastasie de St. Castin. +The Indians failed in their attack and retired to await the arrival of +troops from Louisbourg under Du Vivier. + +Some weeks later the united forces again advanced on Annapolis +but, after a siege lasting from the end of August to about the 25th of +September, they were obliged to retire without accomplishing +anything. Mascarene conducted the defence with prudence and energy +but honestly admits, in his letter to Governor Shirley, that it +was largely "to the timely succours sent from the Governor of +Massachusetts and to our French inhabitants refusing to take up arms +against us, we owe our preservation." + +The people of New England cherished no good will toward the savages of +Acadia. The horrors of Indian warfare in the past were yet fresh in +their memories, and stern measures were resolved upon. Governor +Shirley, with the advice of his council, offered premiums for their +scalps, L100 currency for that of an adult male Indian, L50 for that +of a woman or child, and for a captive L5 higher than for a scalp. + +After the failure of the French attack on Annapolis Royal, Shirley +planned an expedition against Louisbourg, "the Dunkirk of America." +This was indeed a formidable undertaking, for the French had spent +twenty-five years of time and about six millions and a half of dollars +in building, arming and adorning that city. The walls of its defences +were formed of bricks brought from France and they mounted two hundred +and six pieces of cannon. The leader of the expedition was William +Pepperell, a native of Kittery, Maine, a colonel of militia and a +merchant who employed hundreds of men in lumbering and fishing. His +troops comprised a motley collection of New Englanders--fishermen and +farmers, sawyers and loggers, many of them taken from his own vessels, +mills and forests. Before such men, aided by the English navy under +Commodore Warren, to the world's amazement, Louisbourg fell. The +achievement is, perhaps, the most memorable in our colonial annals, +but a description of the siege cannot be here attempted. After the +surrender of Louisbourg a banquet was prepared by Pepperell for his +officers, and Mr. Moody of New York, Mrs. Pepperell's uncle, was +called upon to ask a blessing at the feast. The old parson was apt to +be prolix on public occasions, and his temper being rather irritable, +none dared to suggest that brevity would be acceptable. The company +were therefore highly gratified by his saying grace as follows: "Good +Lord, we have so many things to thank Thee for that time will be +infinitely too short to do it. We must therefore leave it for the work +of eternity. Bless our food and fellowship upon this joyful occasion, +for the sake of Christ our Lord. Amen." + +The capture of Louisbourg greatly relieved the situation at Annapolis, +and probably saved Acadia to the English. It acted as a damper on the +ardor of the Indians of the St. John river, who, under Marin, a French +officer from Quebec, had taken the warpath. They were encouraged in +their hostile attitude by their missionary Germain, lately come to +Aukpaque as Danielou's[17] successor. + + [17] Jean Pierre Danielou died at Quebec, May 23, 1744. His + successor, Father Charles Germain, came to Canada in 1738 and + a few years later, probably in 1740, was sent to the St. John + River. + +While the stirring events just mentioned were transpiring at +Louisbourg, Governor Mascarene was doing his best to place Annapolis +Royal in a proper state of defence and the chief engineer, John Henry +Bastide, was busily engaged in strengthening the fort. Early in the +summer of 1745 the Sieur Marin appeared before the town with a party +of six hundred French and Indians--the latter including many from the +River St. John and some of the Hurons from Canada. They captured two +Boston schooners, one of which was named the "Montague." Her captain, +William Pote, of Falmouth (now Portland) Maine, was taken to Quebec by +the Huron Indians, via the St. John river. He remained in captivity +three years. He contrived to keep a journal describing his capture and +subsequent adventures; this was concealed by one of the female +prisoners who restored it to Captain Pote after he was released. The +journal had a remarkable experience; it passed through many hands, was +discovered at Geneva in Switzerland about a dozen years ago by Bishop +John F. Hurst, and has since been printed in a sumptuous volume by +Dodd, Mead & Co., of New York. Thus after a century and a half of +obscurity this remarkable old document has at length seen the light. + +We learn from its pages that Captain Pote was taken by land to +Chignecto at the head of the Bay of Fundy, where he found the captured +schooner "Montague" already arrived. The Indians called a council to +decide whether it was better to go to the River St. John in the +schooner or by land, but finally thought it better to go by land. +Accordingly on the 26th June, the "Montague" sailed with several +prisoners, including two of Pote's men and the master of the other +schooner taken at Annapolis and one of his men. Pote entreated the +Indians to be allowed to go in the schooner, but could not prevail. He +was taken by way of Shepody Bay up the River Petitcodiac in a small +schooner belonging to one of the "neutral French." The next day's +journey brought them to the carrying place between the Petitcodiac and +the Canaan river, which they crossed and encamped. + +The events of the day following--Sunday, June 30--are thus recorded in +Pote's journal: + +"This day in ye morning we had Intelligence that there was a priest +from ye River of Saint Johns expected to arrive at this place in a few +minutes, ye Indians made Great preparation for his Reception and at +his arrival shewed many symptoms of their Great Respect. Ye Priest was +conducted to ye Captain's camp, where after having passed many +compliments, the Priest asked ye Capt. of ye Indians who I was, and +when he Understood I was a prisoner, he asked me if I could speak +French. I told him a Little, and asked him concerning one Jonathan a +soldier that was a passenger on board of our Schooner when we was +taken, and was then at ye River of Saint Johns. Ye Priest gave me an +account of him, and told me to content myself in ye Condition that I +was then in, for I was in ye hands of a Christian nation and it might +prove very Beneficial both to my Body and Soul. I was obliged to +concur with his sentiments for fear of displeasing my masters. Ye +Indians built him a Table against a Large Tree, where he said mass, +and sung (louange au bon Dieu pour leur conservation jusqu'au present) +after they had concluded their mass, &c., the priest gave them +Permission to commence their making Connews and Took his leave of us. +This Day we was Imployed in making Connews of Elm and ash Bark." + +The priest here mentioned was no doubt the Jesuit missionary, Charles +Germain, for the Governor General of Canada, the Marquis Beauharnois, +in his letter to the French minister, dated at Quebec 27 September of +this year, writes: "M. Germain, missionary on the lower part of the +River St. John, arrived here yesterday with the chief and 24 Indians +of his mission, the most of whom served in Mr. Marin's party." + +The Indians with Capt. Pote made seven canoes, and in these they +proceeded down the Canaan river to Washademoak lake, thence up the St. +John river to Aukpaque. On the way several rather curious incidents +occurred. For example, on one occasion they caught some small fish, +which Pote attempted to clean, but the Indians snatched them from him +and boiled them "slime and blood and all together." "This," said Pote, +"put me in mind of ye old Proverb, God sent meat and ye D----l cooks." +On another occasion, he says, "we Incamped by ye side of ye River and +we had much difficulty to kindle a fire by Reason it Rained exceeding +fast, and wet our fire works; we was obliged to turn our connews +bottom up and Lay under them; at this time it thundered exceedingly, +and ye Indians asked me if there was not people in my Country +sometimes distroyed by ye Thunder and Lightning, yet I told them I had +known several Instances of that nature, they told me yt never any +thing hapned to ye Indians of harm neither by thunder nor Lightning, +and they said it was a Judgment on ye English and French, for +Incroaching on their Libertys in America." + +On their way up the River St. John Mr. Pote and his companions passed +several French houses, and at some of these they stopped for +provisions, but found the people so "exceeding poor" they could not +supply any. When they arrived at Aukpaque, on the evening of the 6th +July, they found the schooner Montague had arrived some days before +with the other prisoners. + +Pote and his friends met with an unexpectedly warm reception at the +Indian village, which we shall allow him to relate in his own quaint +fashion: + +"At this place ye Squaws came down to ye Edge of ye River, Dancing and +Behaving themselves, in ye most Brutish and Indecent manner and taking +us prisoners by ye arms, one Squaw on each Side of a prisoner, they +led us up to their Village and placed themselves In a Large Circle +Round us, after they had Gat all prepared for their Dance, they made +us sit down In a Small Circle, about 18 Inches assunder and began +their frolick, Dancing Round us and Striking of us in ye face with +English Scalps, yt caused ye Blood to Issue from our mouths and Noses, +In a Very Great and plentiful manner, and Tangled their hands in our +hair, and knocked our heads Togather with all their Strength and +Vehemence, and when they was tired of this Exercise, they would take +us by the hair and some by ye Ears, and standing behind us, oblige us +to keep our Necks Strong so as to bear their weight hanging by our +hair and Ears. + +"In this manner, they thumped us In ye Back and Sides, with their +knees and feet, and Twitched our hair and Ears to such a Degree, that +I am Incapable to express it, and ye others that was Dancing Round if +they saw any man falter, and did not hold up his Neck, they Dached ye +Scalps In our faces with such Violence, yt every man endeavored to +bear them hanging by their hair in this manner, Rather then to have a +Double Punishment; after they had finished their frolick, that lasted +about two hours and a half, we was carried to one of their Camps, +where we Saw Some of ye Prisoners that Came in ye montague; at this +place we Incamped yt Night with hungrey Belleys." + +Unpleasant as was the reception of Pote and his fellow prisoners at +Aukpaque they were fortunate in being allowed to escape with their +lives. It chanced that the previous year Capt. John Gorham had brought +to Annapolis a company of Indian rangers--probably Mohawks--as allies +of the English. Paul Mascarene justified this proceeding on the ground +that it was necessary to set Indians against Indians, "for tho' our +men outdo them in bravery," he says, "yet, being unacquainted with +their sculking way of fighting and scorning to fight under cover they +expose themselves too much to the enemy's shot." Gorham's Indian +rangers, it appears, had killed several of the Maliseets, and Pote +learned the day after his arrival at Aukpaque "That the Indians held a +counsell amongst ym weather they should put us to Death, and ye Saint +Johns Indians almost Gained ye point for they Insisted it was but +Justice, as they Sd there had been Several of their Tribe, murdered by +Capt. John Gorham at anapolis. Our masters being Verey Desirous to +Save us alive, Used all ye arguments In their power for that purpose +but could not prevail, for they Insisted on Satisfaction; howsoever +our masters prevailed so far with ym, as to take Some Considerable +quantity of their most Valuable Goods, and Spare our Lives; this Day +they Gave us Some Boill'd Salmon which we Eat with a Verey Good +Appetite, without Either Salt or Bread, we Incamped this Night at this +afforsaid Indian Village Apog. (Aukpaque.)" + +Evidently the Indians had retained the practices of their forefathers +as regards their treatment of captives, for Pote's experience at +Aukpaque was just about on a par with that of Gyles at Medoctec rather +more than half a century before. But it is only just to remember that +this was a time of war and (as Murdoch well points out) Indian laws of +war permitted not only surprises, stratagems and duplicity, but the +destruction and torture of their captives. These practices being in +harmony with the ideas and customs inherited from their ancestors did +not readily disappear even under the influence of Christianity. And +yet it is well to remember that the Indians often spared the lives of +their captives and even used them kindly and however much we may +condemn them for their cruelty on many occasions we must not forget +that there were other occasions where men of our own race forget for a +season the rules of their religion and the laws of humanity. + +Captain Pote's unhappy experience at Aukpaque caused him to feel no +regret when the Huron Indians took their departure with their captives +the next day. They had now come to the "beginning of the swift water" +and their progress became more laborious. The party included +twenty-three persons. One of the prisoners, an Indian of Gorham's +Rangers, taken on Goat Island at Annapolis, Pote says + +"Was exceedingly out of order and could not assist ye Indians to +paddle against ye Strong Current that Ran against us ye Greater part +of ye Day, his head was So Exceedingly Swelled, with ye Squaws beating +of him, yt he Could Scearsley See out of his Eyes. I had ye Good +fortune to be almost well in Comparison to what he was, although it +was he and I was Companions, and Sat Next to Each other, In ye Time of +their Dance, and him they alwas took for my partner to knock our heads +Together. Ye Indians asked me In what Manner ye Squaws treated us, +that his head was So Exceedingly Swelld, I Gave them an account, at +which they feigned themselves much Disgusted, and protested they was +Intierly Ignorant of ye affair, and Said they thought ye Squaws +Designed Nothing Else, but only to Dance round us for a Little +Diversion, without mollisting or hurting of us In any manner." + +As they ascended the river the party encountered occasional rapids +which caused some delay, particularly the Meductic rapids below the +mouth of the Pokiok, where they were obliged to land and carry their +baggage over clefts of rocks, fallen trees and other obstacles. The +Indians told Pote they would shortly arrive at another Indian village +and he asked, with some anxiety, if the Indians there would use them +in the same manner as those at Aukpaque. This question led to an +immediate consultation among the Hurons, and, Pote says, + +"I observed they Looked with a Verey Serious Countenance on me; when I +Saw a Convenient oppertunity I spoke to this affect, Gentlemen You are +all Verey Sensible, of ye Ill Usage we met with at ye other Village, +which I have Reason to believe, was Intierly Contrary to any of Your +Inclinations or permission, and as you Call your Selves Christians, +and men of honor, I hope you'l Use your prisoners accordingly, But I +think it is Verey Contrary to ye Nature of a Christian, to abuse men +In ye manner we was at ye other Village, and I am Verey Sensible there +is no Christian Nation yt Suffers their prisoners to be abused after +they have Given them quarters, In ye manner we have been; the Indians +Looked verey Serious, and approved of what I said, and Talked amongst +themselves in Indian, and my master told me when we arrived to ye +Indian Village I must mind to keep Clost by him." + +On the second morning after they left Aukpaque, the party drew nigh +Medoctec, passing as they proceeded, several small spots where the +Indians had made improvements and planted corn, beans, etc. Pote +says:-- + +"We arrived to ye Indian village about Noon, as soon as Squaws, saw us +coming In Sight of their Village, and heard ye Cohoops, which +Signified ye Number of Prisoners, all ye Squaws In their Village, +prepared themselves with Large Rods of Briars, and Nettles &c., and +met us at their Landing, Singing and Dancing and Yelling, and making +such a hellish Noise, yt I Expected we Should meet with a worse +Reception at this place that we had at ye other. I was Verey Carefull +to observe my masters Instructions, yt he had Given me ye Day before, +and warned ye Rest to do Likewise." + +The first canoe that landed was that of the captain of the Hurons who +had in his canoe but one prisoner, an Indian of Capt. Gorham's +Company. This unfortunate fellow was not careful to keep by his +master, and in consequence + +"Ye Squaws Gathered themselves Round him, and Caught him by ye hair, +as many as could get hold of him, and halled him down to ye Ground, +and pound his head against ye Ground, ye Rest with Rods dancing Round +him, and wipted him over ye head and Legs, to Such a degree, that I +thought they would have killed him In ye Spot, or halled him in ye +watter and Drounded him, they was So Eager to have a Stroak at him +Each of them, that they halled him Some one way and Some another, Some +times Down towards ye water by ye hair of ye head, as fast as they +could Run, then ye other party would have ye Better and Run with him +another way, my master spoke to ye other Indians, and told ym to take +ye fellow out of their hands, for he believed they would Certainly +murther him, In a Verey Short time." + +The squaws advanced towards Pote, but his master spoke something in +Indian in a very harsh manner that caused them to relinquish their +purpose. The prisoners and their Indian masters were conducted to +the camp of the captain of the village who, at their request, sent to +relieve the poor Mohawk from the abuse of the squaws, and he was +brought to them more dead than alive. At this place Pote met a +soldier that had been with him on the schooner "Montague" when she +was captured who told him how the Indians had abused him at his +arrival. Captain Pote did not entirely escape the attentions of the +"sauvagesses," witness the following entry in his journal:-- + +"Thursday ye 11th. This Day we Remained In ye Indian Village called +Medocatike, I observed ye Squaws could not by any means Content +themselves without having their Dance. they Continued Teasing my +master to Such a Degree, to have ye Liberty to Dance Round me, that he +Consented they might if they would Promis to not abuse me, they +Desired none of ye Rest, but me was all they aimed at for what Reason +I cannot Tell. When my masters had Given ym Liberty, which was Done in +my absence, there Came Into ye Camp, two Large Strong Squaws, and as I +was Setting by one of my masters, they Caught hold of my armes with +all their Strength, and Said Something in Indian, yt I Supposed was to +tell me to Come out of ye Camp, and halld me of my Seat. I Strugled +with ym and cleard my Self of their hold, and Set down by my master; +they Came upon me again Verey Vigorously, and as I was Striving with +them, my master ordered me to Go, and told me they would not hurt me. +At this I was obliged to Surrender and whent with ym, they Led me out +of ye Camp, Dancing and Singing after their manner, and Carried me to +one of their Camps where there was a Company of them Gathered for +their frolick, they made me Set down on a Bears Skin in ye Middle of +one of their Camps, and Gave me a pipe and Tobacoe, and Danced Round +me till the Sweat Trickled Down their faces, Verey plentyfully, I +Seeing one Squaw that was Verey Big with Child, Dancing and foaming at +ye mouth and Sweating, to Such a degree yt I Could not forbear +Smilling, which one of ye old Squaws Saw, and Gave me two or three +twitches by ye hair, otherwise I Escaped without any Punishment from +them at the time." + +While he was at Medoctec one of the chiefs desired Pote to read a +contract or treaty made about fourteen years before by his tribe with +the Governor of Nova Scotia. He also had an interview with one Bonus +Castine,[18] who had just arrived at Medoctec, and who examined him +very strictly as to the cargo of the Montague and took down in writing +what he said. Castine told Pote that the Penobscot Indians were still +at peace with the English and he believed would so continue for come +time. Pote thought it not prudent to contradict him, though he was +confident there were several Penobscot Indians in the party that had +captured the Boston schooners. At his master's suggestion he remained +close in camp, as the Indians were dancing and singing the greater +part of the night, and Castine had made use of expressions that showed +his life was in great danger. + + [18] In his journal Pote terms him "Bonus Castine from Pernobsquett;" + there can be little doubt that he was a descendant of Baron de + St. Castin, already mentioned in these pages. + +The following day the Hurons resumed their journey and in due time +arrived at Quebec. At times the party suffered from lack of food, +though fish were usually abundant, and on one occasion they caught in +a small cove, a few miles below the mouth of the Tobique, as many as +fifty-four salmon in the course of a few hours. + +Having considered, at greater length than was originally intended, the +adventures of Captain Pote, we may speak of other individuals and +incidents which figure in King George's War. + +Paul Mascarene, who so gallantly and successfully defended Annapolis +Royal against the French and Indians, was born in the south of France +in 1684. His father was a Huguenot, and at the revocation of the edict +of Nantes was obliged to abandon his native country. Young Mascarene +was early thrown upon his own resources. At the age of 12 he made his +way to Geneva, where he was educated. Afterwards he went to England, +became a British subject and entered the army. He was present at the +taking of Port Royal by General Nicholson and, after serving with +credit in various capacities, was appointed Lieut.-Governor of Nova +Scotia in 1740. He eventually rose to the rank of a major general in +the English army. + +Mascarene preserved his love for his native tongue and was always +disposed to deal kindly with the Acadians. Two very interesting +letters written by him in French to Madame Francoise Bellisle +Robichaux have been preserved. This lady came of rather remarkable +ancestry. She was the granddaughter of the Baron de St. Cactin, and +had as her great-grandsires on the one hand the celebrated Charles la +Tour, and on the other the famous Penobscot chieftain Madockawando. + +In view of the fact that the Belleisle family lived for a considerable +time on the St. John river, where their name is preserved in that of +Belleisle Bay, it may be well to trace the lineage in fuller detail. + +The eldest daughter of Charles la Tour by his second wife, the widow +of d'Aulnay Charnisay, was Marie la Tour, who was born in St. John in +1654.[19] She married when about twenty years of age Alexander le +Borgne de Belleisle, who was eleven years her senior. Their son +Alexander, born in 1679, married December 4, 1707, Anastasia St. +Castin, a daughter of the Baron, de St. Castin by his Indian wife +Melctilde, daughter of Madockawando, and as a consequence of this +alliance the younger le Borgne obtained great influence over the +Maliseets. Lieut.-Gov. Armstrong alludes to this circumstance in a +letter to the Lords of Trade, written in 1732, in which he observes, +"Madame Bellisle's son Alexander married an Indian and lived among the +tribe, being hostile to the British government." This statement is +hardly fair to Anastasie St. Castin, for, while her mother certainly +was the daughter of an Indian chief, her father was the Baron de St. +Castin and she herself a well educated woman. The genealogist of the +d'Abbadie St. Castin family, however, uses rather grandiloquent +language when he styles the mother of Anastasie St. Castin, "Mathilde +Matacawando, princess indienne, fille de Matacawando, general-en-chef +des indiens Abenakis."[20] + + [19] Marie la Tour, widow of Alexander le Borgne was living at + Annapolis Royal in 1733 at the age of 79 years. + + [20] See Transactions Royal Society of Canada 1895, p. 87. + +In spite of the supposed hostility of Alexander le Borgne de Belleisle +to British rule in Acadia, he came before the governor and council at +Annapolis and took the oath of allegiance. He also presented a +petition requesting the restoration of the seignioral rights of his +father as one of the la Tour heirs; this was ordered to be transmitted +to the home authorities. For several years the sieur de Belleisle +lived with his family at Annapolis and the governor and council +regarded him with favor, but failed to obtain the recognition of his +seignioral rights. After a time the la Tour heirs got into litigation +among themselves, and one of their number, Agatha la Tour, who had +married an officer of the garrison, Ensign Campbell, seems to have +outwitted the other heirs and to have succeeded in selling the rights +of the la Tour family to the English crown for three thousand guineas. +This naturally was displeasing to Alexander le Borgne de Belleisle. He +retired to the St. John river about the year 1736 and settled near the +mouth of Belleisle Bay. He had a son Alexander (the third of the +name[21]), who married Marie Le Blanc and settled at Grand Pre, where +he died in 1744. Francoise Belleisle, who had the honor of being a +correspondent of Lieut.-Governor Mascarene, married Pierre Robichaux. +The wedding took place at Annapolis Royal, January 16, 1737, the +officiating priest being St. Poncy de Lavennede. The contracting +parties are described in the old church register as "Pierre Robichaux, +aged about 24 years, son of Francois Robichaux and Madeleine Terriot, +and Mademoiselle Francoise de Belle Isle, aged about 22 years, +daughter of Sieur Alexandre Le Borgne de Belle Isle and Anastasie de +St Castin of the Parish of Ste Anne." The bride signs her name +Francoise le Borgnes. It is evident that the "Parish of Ste. Anne" was +the parish or mission of that name on the St. John river from the fact +that two years later a second daughter of the Sieur de Bellisle +married a Robichaux and in her marriage certificate she figures as +"Marie Le Borgne de Belle Isle, daughter of Alexandre Le Borgne de +Belle Isle and of Anastasie St. Castin of the River St. John." + + [21] The name "Alexander" descended through at least two more + generations, as I am informed by Placide P. Gaudet, who is by + all odds the best living authority in such matters. Alexander + le Borgne de Belleisle, mentioned above, left at his death a + widow and seven children, of whom six were transported with + their mother to Maryland at the time of the Acadian expulsion. + The remaining child Alexander Belleisle (the fourth) went to + L'Islet in Quebec, where he married Genevieve Cloutier in 1773 + and their first son, Anthony Alexander, was baptized the year + following.--W. O. R. + +The brothers Robichaux settled after their marriage near their +father-in-law on the St. John river and it was from them that the +little settlement of Robicheau, above the mouth of Belleisle Bay, +derived its name.[22] + + [22] See Ganong's Historic Sites in New Brunswick: Transactions of + the Royal Society of Canada for 1899, p. 271. + +[Illustration: (_From the Calnek-Savary History of Annapolis, by +permission of the Hon. Judge Savary._)] + +Francoise Belleisle Robichaux wrote to Paul Mascarene early in 1741 +respecting her claim to some property in dispute with her relatives at +Annapolis. The governor in his reply gives her some information and +advice, adding, "I think you too reasonable to expect any favor of me +in what concerns my conduct as a judge; but in every other thing +that is not contrary to my duty I shall have real pleasure in +testifying to you the esteem I have for you. Let me have your news +when there is an opportunity, freely and without fear." + +When the war with France began, three years later, the sieur de +Belleisle and his son Alexander took sides with their countrymen. The +father evidently cherished a hope that in the course of events Acadia +might revert to France, in which case he expected to obtain the +recognition of his seignioral rights. Young Alexander le Borgne was, +as already stated, a leader of the Indians in the attack on Annapolis +early in 1744, which attack failed on account of the energy and +bravery of Mascarene. The following letter of the Lieut.-Governor to +Frances Belleisle Robichaux is of interest in thin connection. + + Annapolis Royal, Oct. 13, 1744. + + Madame,--When I learned that your father, in the hope of + recovering his seigneurial rights, had sided with those who came + to attack this fort, I confess I was of opinion that the whole + family participated in his feelings; and the more so, as your + brother was with the first party of savages who came here last + summer. I am agreeably surprised, however, and very glad to see by + your letter that you did not share in those sentiments, and that + you have remained true to the obligations which bind you to the + government of the King of Great Britain, I am unwilling that the + esteem which I have entertained for you should be in any manner + lessened. + + With respect to the protection which you ask for your establishment + on the river St. John, it is out of my power to grant it. We + cannot protect those who trade with our declared enemies. Therefore + you must resolve to remain on this [the English] side during the + continuance of the present troubles, and to have no intercourse + with the other. Should you come and see us here, you will find + me disposed to give you all the assistance that you can reasonably + expect. + + Be assured that I am, Madam, + + Your friend and servant, + + P. MASCARENE. + +The next glimpse we get of the name of Belleisle on the River St. John +is in connection with a notable treaty made with the Indians in 1749. +In the summer of that year, peace having been proclaimed with France, +Capt. Edward How went to the St. John river in the warship "Albany," +and had several interviews with the Indian chiefs, who agreed to send +deputies to Halifax to wait upon Governor Cornwallis and renew their +submission to the King of England. Accordingly on the 12th of August, +Francois Arodowish, Simon Sactawino, and Jean Baptiste Madounhook, +deputies from the chiefs of the St. John river, and Joannes +Pedousaghtigh, chief of Chignecto, with their attendants, arrived at +Halifax to pay their respects to the new governor, and to agree upon +"articles of a lasting peace." + +Great must have been the wonder of these children of the forest at the +busy scene that met their eyes on landing at old Chebucto. A colony of +two thousand five hundred persons had settled on a spot hitherto +almost without inhabitant, and the Town of Halifax was rising, as if +by magic, from the soil which less than eight weeks before had been +covered by a dense forest. The sound of axes, hammers and saws was +heard on every hand. + +Two days after their arrival the Indians were received on board the +man-of-war "Beaufort" by Cornwallis and his entire council. The +delegates announced that they were from Aukpaque, Medoctec, +Passamaquoddy and Chignecto, and that their respective chiefs were +Francois de Salle of Octpagh, Noellobig of Medoctec, Neptune +Abbadouallete of Passamaquoddy and Joannes Pedousaghtigh of Chignecto. +They brought with them a copy of the treaty made with their tribes in +1728 and expressed a desire to renew it. After the usual negotiations +the treaty was engrossed on parchment and signed by the Indians, each +man appending to his signature his private mark or "totem." Eleven +members of the council also signed the treaty as witnesses. + +A few days later the Indians returned with Capt. How to the St. John +river, where the treaty was duly ratified, and thirteen chiefs signed +the following declaration:-- + +"The Articles of Peace concluded at Chebuckto the Fifteenth of August, +1749, with His Excellency Edward Cornwallis Esq'r, Capt. General +Governor and Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's Province of Nova +Scotia or Acadie, and signed by our Deputies, having been communicated +to us by Edward How Esq'r, one of His Majesty's Council for said +Province, and faithfully interpreted to us by Madame De Bellisle +Inhabitant of this River nominated by us for that purpose. We the +Chiefs and Captains of the River St. Johns and places adjacent do for +ourselves and our different Tribes confirm and ratify the same to all +intents and purposes. + +"Given under our hands at the River St. Johns this fourth day of +September, 1749." + +At first glance it would seem that the interpreter, Madame Belleisle, +must have been Anastasie St. Castin, wife of Alexander le Borgne de +Belleisle, but as she was then more than sixty years of age it is +possible the interpreter may have been her daughter, Francoise +Belleisle Robichaux. That the latter had a position of some influence +with the Indians is shown by the fact that when the chiefs of the +River St. John went to Halifax in 1768 (nearly twenty years later) +they complained that the ornaments of their church "were taken by +Francoise Belleisle Robicheau and carried to Canada by her, and that +she refused to give them up." The natural presumption is that the +ornaments were intrusted to her care by the missionary, Germain, when +he left the mission of Ste. Anne, and that she took them with her for +safe keeping. + +The English colonial authorities congratulated Cornwallis on the +treaty made with the Indians. "We are glad to find," say they, "that +the Indians of the St. John river have so willingly submitted to His +Majesty's government and renewed their treaty, and as they are the +most powerful tribe in those parts, we hope their example may either +awe or influence other inferior tribes to the like compliance." + +Cornwallis in reply said, "I intend if possible to keep up a good +understanding with the St. John Indians, a warlike people, tho' +treaties with Indians are nothing, nothing but force will prevail." + +Alexandre le Borgne de Belleisle was living on the River St. John as +late at least as 1754 and was regarded by the Nova Scotia authorities +as "a very good man." The site of his residence is indicated on +Charles Morris' map of 1765 and there can be little doubt that a +settlement of four houses in the same vicinity, marked "Robicheau" in +the Morris map of 1758, was the place of residence of Frances +Belleisle Robichaux. + +The name Nid d'Aigle, or "The Eagle's Nest," is applied to this +locality in Bellin's map of 1744, D'Anville's map of 1755 marks at the +same place "Etabliss't Francois," or French Settlement. The place is +nearly opposite Evandale, the site of the well known summer hotel of +John O. Vanwart. Here the St. John river is quite narrow, only about a +five minutes paddle across. The British government during the war of +1812 built at Nid d'Aigle, or "Worden's," a fortification consisting +of an earthwork, or "half-moon battery," with magazine in rear and a +block-house at the crest of the hill still farther to the rear, the +ruins of which are frequently visited by tourists. The situation +commands an extensive and beautiful view of the river, both up and +down, and no better post of defence could be chosen, since the +narrowness of the channel would render it well nigh impossible for an +enemy to creep past either by day or night without detection. There is +some reason to believe that the French commander, Boishebert, +established a fortified post of observation here in 1756. + +[Illustration: OLD FORT AT WORDEN'S] + +It is altogether probable that the name "Nid d'Aigle" was given to the +place by the sieur de Belleisle or some member of his family, and one +could wish that it might be restored either in its original form, or +in its Saxon equivalent, "The Eagle's Nest." + +Colonel Monckton, by direction of Governor Lawrence, ravaged the +French Settlements on the lower St. John in 1758, and in the report of +his operations mentions "a few Houses that were some time past +inhabited by the Robicheaus," which he burnt. It is possible that +Francoise Belleisle Robichaux went with her family to l'Islet in +Quebec to escape the threatened invasion of which they may have had +timely notice, but it is more probable the removal occurred a little +earlier. The situation of the Acadians on the River St. John in 1757 +was pitiable in the extreme. They were cut off from every source of +supply and lived in fear of their lives. The Marquis de Vaudreuil says +that in consequence of the famine prevailing on the river, many +Acadian families were forced to fly to Quebec and so destitute were +the wretched ones in some instances that children died at their +mother's breast. The parish records of l'Islet[23] show that Pierre +Robichaux and his wife lived there in 1759. + + [23] A child of Pierre Robichaud and Francoise Belleisle his wife was + interred at l'Islet, December 10, 1759. + +Francoise Belleisle Robichaux died at l'Islet January 28, 1791, at the +age of 79 years, having outlived her husband six years. They had a +number of children, one of whom, Marie Angelique, married Jean +Baptiste d'Amour, de Chaufour, and had a daughter, Marguerite d'Amour, +whose name seems very familiar to us. + +The parish records at l'Islet give considerable information concerning +the descendants of the families d'Amours, Robichaux and Belleisle, but +the space at our disposal will allow us to follow them no further. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +RIVAL CLAIMS TO THE ST. JOHN RIVER. + + +The St. John river region may be said to have been in dispute from the +moment the treaty of Utrecht was signed in 1713 until the taking of +Quebec in 1759. By the treaty of Utrecht all Nova Scotia, or Acadia, +comprehended within its ancient boundaries, was ceded to Great +Britain, and the English at once claimed possession of the territory +bordering on the St. John. To this the French offered strong +objection, claiming that Nova Scotia, or Acadia, comprised merely the +peninsula south of the Bay of Fundy--a claim which, as already stated +in these pages, was strangely at variance with their former contention +that the western boundary of Acadia was the River Kennebec.[24] For +many years the dispute was confined to remonstrances on the side of +either party, the French meanwhile using their savage allies to repel +the advance of any English adventurers who might feel disposed to make +settlements on the St. John, and encouraging the Acadians to settle +there, while the English authorities endeavored, with but indifferent +success, to gain the friendship of the Indians and compel the Acadians +to take the oath of allegiance to the British crown. The dispute over +the limits of Acadia at times waxed warm. There were protests and +counter-protests. Letters frequently passed between the English +government at Annapolis and the missionaries on the St. John--Loyard, +Danielou, and Germain, who were in close touch with the civil +authorities of their nation, and were in some measure the political +agents of the Marquise de Vaudreuil and other French governors of +Canada. + + [24] In a letter to the French minister, written in 1698, Villebon + observes "J'ai recu par mons'r de Bonaventure qui est arrive + ici le 20 Juillet la lettre de votre Grandeur et le traite de + Paix fait avec l'Angleterre [the treaty of Ryswick]. * * Comme + vous me marquez, Monseigneur, que les bornes de l'Acadie sont + a la Riviere de Quenebequi." [Kennebec]. etc. + +It is possible that the Marquis de Vaudreuil felt special interest in +the St. John river country, owing to the fact that his wife Louise +Elizabeth Joibert, was born at Fort Jemseg while her father, the Sieur +de Soulanges, was governor of Acadia. At any rate the marquis stoutly +asserted the right of the French to the sovereignty of that region and +he wrote to the Lieut. Governor of Nova Scotia in 1718, "I pray you +not to permit your English vessels to go into the river St. John, +which is always of the French dominion." He also encouraged the +Acadians of the peninsula to withdraw to the river St. John so as not +to be under British domination, pledging them his support and stating +that Father Loyard, the Jesuit missionary, should have authority to +grant them lands agreeably to their wishes. + +Lieut. Governor Doucett, of Nova Scotia, complained of the aggressive +policy of the Marquis de Vaudreuil, asserting that he was entirely +mistaken as to the ownership of the St. John river, for it was "about +the centre of Nova Scotia;" he was satisfied, nevertheless, that the +Acadians believed it would never be taken possession of by the +British, and if the proceedings of the French were not stopped they +would presently claim everything within cannon short of his fort at +Annapolis. + +The policy of the French in employing their Indian allies to deter the +English from any advance towards the St. John region was attended with +such success that the infant colony of Nova Scotia was kept in a +constant state of alarm by the threats and unfriendly attitude of the +Micmacs and Maliseets. There were, however, occasional periods in +which there were no actual hostilities, and it may be said that the +peace made at Boston in 1725, and ratified by the St. John river tribe +in May, 1728, was fairly observed by the Indians until war was +declared between England and France in 1744. + +During this war the St. John river was much used as a means of +communication between Quebec and the French settlements of Acadia, +smart young Indians with light birch canoes being employed to carry +express messages, and on various occasions large parties of French and +Indians travelled by this route from the St. Lawrence to the Bay of +Fundy. The Indian villages of Medoctec and Aukpaque afforded +convenient stopping places. + +In the year 1746 a great war party, including the Abenakis of Quebec +as well as their kinsmen of the upper St. John, arrived at Aukpaque. +Thence they took their way in company with the missionary Germain to +Chignecto. They had choice of two routes of travel, one by way of the +Kennebecasis and Anagance to the Petitcodiac, the other by way of the +Washademoak lake and the Canaan to the same river. As the war +proceeded the Maliseets actively supported their old allies the +French. Some of them took part in the midwinter night attack, under +Coulon de Villiers, on Colonel Noble's post at Grand Pre. The English +on this occasion were taken utterly by surprise; Noble himself fell +fighting in his shirt, and his entire party were killed, wounded or +made prisoners. From the military point of view this was one of the +most brilliant exploits in the annals of Acadia, and, what is better, +the victors behaved with great humanity to the vanquished. + +The missionaries le Loutre and Germain were naturally very desirous of +seeing French supremacy restored in Acadia and the latter proposed an +expedition against Annapolis. With that end in view he proceeded to +Quebec and returned with a supply of powder, lead and ball for his +Maliseet warriors. However, in October, 1748, the peace of Aix la +Chapelle put a stop to open hostilities. + +Immediately after the declaration of peace, Captain Gorham, with his +rangers and a detachment of auxiliaries, proceeded in two ships to the +River St. John and ordered the French inhabitants to send deputies to +Annapolis to give an account of their conduct during the war. + +Count de la Galissonniere strongly protested against Gorham's +interference with the Acadians on the St. John, which he described as +"a river situated on the Continent of Canada, and much on this side of +the Kennebec, where by common consent the bounds of New England have +been placed." This utterance of the French governor marks another +stage in the controversy concerning the limits of Acadia. He stoutly +contended that Gorham and all other British officers must be forbidden +to interfere with the French on the St. John river, or to engage them +to make submissions contrary to the allegiance due to the King of +France "who," he says, "is their master as well as mine, and has not +ceded this territory by any treaty." + +The governors of Massachusetts and of Nova Scotia replied at some +length to the communication of Count de la Galissonniere, claiming the +territory in dispute for the king of Great Britain, and showing that +the French living on the St. John had some years before taken the oath +of allegiance to the English monarch. + +The Acadians on the St. John, whose allegiance was in dispute, were a +mere handful of settlers. The Abbe le Loutre wrote in 1748: "There are +fifteen or twenty French families on this river, the rest of the +inhabitants are savages called Marichites (Maliseets) who have for +their missionary the Jesuit father Germain." His statement as to the +number of Acadian settlers is corroborated by Mascarene, who notified +the British authorities that thirty leagues up the river were seated +twenty families of French inhabitants, sprung originally from the Nova +Scotia side of the bay, most of them since his memory, who, many years +ago, came to Annapolis and took the oath of fidelity. He adds, "the +whole river up to its head, with all the northern coast of the Bay of +Fundy, was always reckoned dependent on this government." + +Both Mascarene and Shirley strongly urged upon the British ministry +the necessity of settling the limits of Acadia, and a little later +commissioners were appointed, two on each side, to determine the +matter. They spent four fruitless years over the question, and it +remained undecided until settled by the arbitrament of the sword. +Shirley was one of the commissioners, as was also the Marquis de la +Galissonniere, and it is not to be wondered at that with two such +determined men on opposite sides and differing so widely in their +views, there should have been no solution of the difficulty. + +The period now under consideration is really a very extraordinary one. +Ostensibly it was a time of peace. By the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in +1748 England gave back Cape Breton (or Isle Royale) to France and +France restored Madras to England, but there remained no clear +understanding as to the boundaries between the possessions of the +rival powers in America. + +So far as the French and English colonies were concerned the treaty of +Aix-la-Chapelle scarcely deserved the name of a truce. It was merely a +breathing time in which preparations were being made for the final +struggle. The treaty was so indefinite that a vast amount of territory +was claimed by both parties. The English were naturally the most +aggressive for the population of the English colonies was 1,200,000 +while Canada had but 60,000 people. + +Count de la Galissonniere, the governor-general of Canada, though +diminutive in stature and slightly deformed, was resolute and +energetic; moreover he was a statesman, and had his policy been +followed it might have been better for France. He advised the +government to send out ten thousand peasants from the rural districts +and settle them along the frontiers of the disputed territory, but the +French court thought it unadvisable to depopulate France in order to +people the wilds of Canada. Failing in this design, the Count +determined vigorously to assert the sovereignty of France over the +immense territory in dispute. Accordingly he claimed for his royal +master the country north of the Bay of Fundy and west to the Kennebec, +and his officers established fortified posts on the River St. John and +at the Isthmus of Chignecto. He at the same time stirred up the +Indians to hostilities in order to render the position of the English +in Nova Scotia and New England as uncomfortable as possible, and +further to strengthen his hands he endeavored to get the Acadians in +the peninsula of Nova Scotia to remove to the St. John river and other +parts of "the debatable territory." His policy led to a counter policy +on the part of Shirley and Lawrence (governors respectively of +Massachusetts and Nova Scotia) namely, that the Acadians should not be +allowed to go where they liked and to do as they pleased but must +remain on their lands and take the oath of allegiance to the English +sovereign or be removed to situations where they could do no harm to +the interests of the British colonies in the then critical condition +of affairs. + +Ostensibly there was peace from the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle until +war was declared between the rival powers in 1756. But in the meantime +there was a collision between them on the Ohio river, where the French +built Fort Duquesne on the site now occupied by Pittsburg. The +governors of the English colonies held a conference and decided on +rather a startling programme for a time of peace. Gen. Braddock was to +march on Fort Duquesne and drive the French from the Ohio valley; +Shirley, of Massachusetts, was to lead an expedition against Niagara; +William Johnson, was to take Crown Point and secure control of Lake +Champlain; while, in Acadia, Colonel Monckton was to attack the French +position at Fort Beausejour. In every instance the English were the +aggressors but they justified their action on the ground that the +places to be attacked were on British territory. This the French as +emphatically denied. Braddock's attempt resulted in a most disastrous +failure, Shirley's expedition was abandoned, William Johnson won a +brilliant victory at Lake George and Colonel Monckton captured +Beausejour. + +The course of events on the River St. John and in other parts of +Acadia harmonizes with the general situation of affairs in America at +this time. + +As the period under consideration is one of which comparatively little +has been written, it may be well to make use of the information +contained in the voluminous correspondence of the French ministers and +their subordinates in America. + +Early in the summer of 1749 the Count de la Galissonniere sent the +Sieur de Boishebert to the lower part of the River St. John with a +small detachment to secure the French inhabitants against the threats +of Capt. Gorham, who had been sent by the Governor of Nova Scotia to +make the inhabitants renew the oath of allegiance to the English +sovereign, which de la Galissonniere says "they ought never to have +taken." The Count expresses his views on the situation with terseness +and vigor: "The River St. John is not the only place the English wish +to invade. They claim the entire coast, from that river to Beaubassin, +and from Canso to Gaspe, in order to render themselves sovereigns of +all the territory of the Abenakis, Catholics and subjects of the king, +a nation that has never acknowledged nor wishes to acknowledge their +domination and which is the most faithful to us in Canada. If we +abandon to England this land, which comprises more than 180 leagues of +seacoast, that is to say almost as much as from Bayonne to Dunkirk, we +must renounce all communication by land from Canada with Acadia and +Isle Royal, together with the means of succoring the one and retaking +the other." The Count further argues that to renounce the territory +in dispute will deprive the Acadians of all hope of a place of refuge +on French soil and reduce them to despair, and he apprehends that the +English, having no reason to care for them, will suffer them to have +no missionaries and will destroy at their leisure their religion. "It +is very easy," he adds, "to hinder the English establishing themselves +on these lands. They will have to proceed through the woods and along +narrow rivers, and as long as the French are masters of the Abenakis +and the Acadians are provided with arms and supplies from France the +English will not expose themselves to their attacks." + +Both sides began to consider the advisability of taking forcible +possession of the disputed territory, but the French were the first to +take action. In June, 1749, Mascarene reported two French officers +with twenty or thirty men from Canada and a number of Indians had come +to erect a fort and make a settlement at the mouth of the river, and +that two vessels with stores and materials were coming to them from +Quebec. On receipt of this information, Cornwallis, who had just +arrived at Halifax, sent Captain Rous in the sloop "Albany" to St. +John to ascertain what works were in course of erection by the French, +and to demand the authority for their action. He also issued a +proclamation in French prohibiting the Acadians from making a +settlement on the St. John. + +When the "Albany" arrived no one was found at the old fort and for +some time no inhabitants, either French or Indian, were seen. At last +a French schooner entered the harbor, laden with provisions. Captain +Rous took her, but offered to release her provided the master would go +up the river and bring down the French officers. The master +accordingly went up the river in a canoe, and the next day a French +officer with thirty men and 150 Indians came down and took position, +with their colors flying, at a point on the shore within musket shot +of the "Albany." The commander of the French was Pierre Boishebert. He +had fixed his headquarters ten miles up the river at the place now +known as Woodman's Point, just above the mouth of the Nerepis, where +in Governor Villebon's time there had been an Indian fortress. + +Captain Rous ordered the French to strike their colors; their +commander demurred, and asked to be allowed to march back with his +colors flying, promising to return the next day without them. Rous +ordered the colors to be struck immediately, which being done, the +officers were invited on board the "Albany." They showed their +instructions from the governor of Canada, Count de la Galissonniere, +by which it appeared they had at first been ordered to establish a +fortified post, but afterwards the order had been countermanded and +they were required merely to prevent the English from establishing +themselves till the right of possession should be settled between the +two crowns. + +The letter of Captain Rous to Boishebert, upon the arrival of the +former at St. John harbor, is rather quaint reading. The original is +in French. + + From the River St. John, 3 July, 1749. + + Sir,--I am directed by the King, my master, to look into and + examine the various ports, harbors and rivers of His Majesty's + province of Nova Scotia, and am now here for that intent. Being + informed that you are upon this river with a detachment of + soldiers of the King of France. I should be pleased to know by + what authority and with what intention your are engaged in a + similar procedure. It would afford me much pleasure if I could + have the honor of a personal interview in order to convince you of + the rights of the King, my master. + + I shall be delighted to see some of the Indian chiefs in order to + inform them of the peace and of the harmony that prevails between + the two crowns, also to confer with them. + + Until I shall have the honor, as I hope, of seeing you, + + I am very truly, etc. + +In the subsequent interview with the savages, Father Germain and +Captain Edward How acted as interpreters, and the missionary wrote an +account of the interview to the governor of Quebec, in which he +mentions the fact that Cornwallis, the governor of Nova Scotia, +claimed jurisdiction over the St. John river region and beyond it to +Passamaquoddy, deeming it a part of Acadia according to its ancient +limits. Boishebert, in his letter to the Count de la Galissonniere, +says that one of the best reasons the English had for laying claim to +the territory north of the Bay of Fundy was that the commission of +Subercase, the last French governor who resided at Annapolis Royal, +fixed his jurisdiction as far west as the River Kennebec. In the +spirit of a true soldier, Boishebert wishes that war might speedily +recommence, and that France might be more fortunate as to the conquest +of Acadia than in the last war. Meanwhile he had arranged with Capt. +Rous to remain undisturbed on the River St. John until the next +spring, on the understanding that he was to erect no fortification. + +The St. John Indians having made peace with the governor of Nova +Scotia at Halifax, it was decided that a present of 1,000 bushels of +corn should be sent "to confirm their allegiance"; and it seems their +allegiance needed confirmation, for a little later Father Germain +warned Captain How that an Indian attack was impending. Nor was it by +any means a false alarm, for on the 8th of December about 300 Micmacs +and Maliseets surprised and captured an English officer and eighteen +men and attacked the fort at Minas. + +Father Germain evidently was a warrior priest and had used his powers +of observation to some purpose; he strongly recommended the erection +of a fort for the defence of the river at the narrows ("detroit") +about a league and a half above where the river enters the sea. The +English, he says, could not pass it with 600 men if there were but 60 +or 80 men to oppose them. + +The Marquis de la Jonquiere, who succeeded as governor general this +year, at once displayed anxiety in regard to the St. John river +region--"Being the key of this country," he says, "it is essential to +retain it." He confides his policy to the minister at Versailles, in +his letter of October 9, 1749. "It is desirable," he writes, "that the +savages should unite in opposing the English even at Chibuctou +(Halifax).... The savages must act alone without co-operation of +soldier or inhabitant and without it appearing that I have knowledge +of it. It is very necessary also, as I wrote the Sieur de Boishebert, +to observe much caution in his proceedings and to act very secretly in +order that the English may not be able to perceive we are supplying +the needs of the said savages. It will be the missionaries who will +attend to all the negotiations and who will direct the proceedings of +the said savages. They are in very good hands, the Rev. Father +Germain and the Abbe Le Loutre being well aware how to act to the best +advantage and to draw out all the assistance they can give on our +side. They will manage the intrigue in such a way that it will not be +known. They will concert in every instance with the Sieurs de la Corne +and de Boishebert. If all turns out as I hope it will follow,--first +that we will hold our lands and the English will not be able to +establish any settlements before the boundaries have been determined +by the two crowns, and second that we shall be able to assist and +gradually to withdraw from the hands of the English the French of +Acadia." + +It is not necessary for us to criticize too harshly the policy of the +French governor and his subordinates, but we need not be surprised +that in the end it provoked resentment on the part of the governors of +Nova Scotia and Massachusetts and was one of the causes of the Acadian +expulsion. That it was in a measure successful is proved by the reply +of Lawrence a few years later to the suggestion of the Lords of Trade, +who had been urging upon him the importance of making settlements: +"What can I do to encourage people to settle on frontier lands, where +they run the risk of having their throats cut by inveterate enemies, +who easily effect their escape from their knowledge of every creek and +corner?" + +Boishebert, prevented from immediately establishing a fortified post, +seems to have moved freely up and down the river. At one time he +writes from "Menacouche" at the mouth of the river, at another +from "Ecoubac"--the Indian village of Aukpaque--at another he is at +"Medoctec," the upper Indian village. He organized the few Acadians +on the river into a militia corps, the officers of which were +commissioned by Count de la Galissonniere. + +Meanwhile the Abbe Le Loutre was employing his energies to get the +Acadians to leave their lands in the Nova Scotian peninsula and repair +to the St. John river and other places north of the isthmus. To such a +proceeding Cornwallis objected and Le Loutre then wrote to the French +authorities an earnest letter in behalf of the Acadians, in which he +says, "Justice pleads for them and as France is the resource of the +unfortunate, I hope, Monseigneur, that you will try to take under your +protection this forsaken people and obtain for them through his +majesty liberty to depart from Acadia and the means to settle upon +French soil and to transport their effects to the River St. John or +some other territory that the authorities of Canada may take +possession of." + +The French still cherished the project of establishing a fortified +post at the mouth of the St. John and, as they had opportunity, sent +thither munitions of war and garrison supplies. In the summer of the +year 1750, the British warship "Hound," Capt. Dove, was ordered to +proceed to St. John in quest of a brigantine laden with provisions +and stores from Quebec, and said to have on board 100 French +soldiers. Before the arrival of the "Hound," however, Capt. Cobb in +the provincial sloop "York" got to St. John, where he found the +brigantine anchored near the shore at the head of the harbor. She +fired an alarm gun on sight of the "York." The English captain +brought his vessel to anchor under the lee of Partridge Island and +sent a detachment of men in a whale boat to reconnoitre. They were +fired upon by the French and Indians, and the French commander, +Boishebert, insisted that Cobb should quit the harbor, as it belonged +to the French king, and threatened to send his Indians to destroy +him and his crew. Nothing daunted, Cobb proceeded up the harbor in +his sloop until he discovered "a small fortification by a little +hill," where the French were assembled and had their colors hoisted. +Boishebert's forces included fifty-six soldiers and 200 Indians. He +summoned to his aid the inhabitants living on the river and they +responded to the number of fifty or sixty. The governor of Canada +had lately commissioned Joseph Bellefontaine, an old resident, to be +"major of all the militia of the River St. John,"[25] and it is to +the presumed he was active on this occasion. Cobb allowed himself to +be enticed on shore under a flag of truce, and was made a prisoner +and compelled to send an order to his vessel not to molest the French +brigantine. His mate, however, pluckily declined to receive the +order, and announced his determination to hold the French officers +who had come with the message until Cobb should be released. This +Boishebert was obliged to do and the commander of the "York," by way +of retaliation, took six prisoners from the French brigantine and +brought them to Halifax. + + [25] The date of Joseph Bellefontaine's commission was April 10, + 1749. + +Capt. Dove did not reach St. John with the "Hound" until after the +"York" had left. He did not enter the harbor but sent his lieutenant +in a whale boat to investigate the state of affairs. The lieutenant's +experience was similar to that of Cobb. He was induced by Boishebert +to come on shore, was made a prisoner and only released on promising +that the six prisoners carried off by Cobb should be set at liberty. + +In the autumn of the year 1750 Captain Rous, while cruising in the +"Albany," fell in with a French man-of-war and a schooner off Cape +Sable. The schooner had been sent from Quebec with provisions and +warlike stores for the Indians on the River St. John. Rous fired +several guns to bring the enemy to, but in response the ship cleared +for action and when the "Albany" ran up alongside of her, poured in a +broadside. A spirited engagement ensued, which resulted in the capture +of the French ship, but the schooner got safely into St. John. One +midshipman and two sailors were killed on board the "Albany," and five +men on board the Frenchman. + +Governor Cornwallis reported this as the second instance in which the +governor of Canada had sent a vessel into a British port with arms, +etc., for the Indian enemy. The governor of Canada, the Marquis de la +Jonquiere, however, viewed the matter from a different standpoint and +demanded of Cornwallis an explanation in regard to the vessel +captured. He again asserted the right of the French king to the lands +occupied by his troops, and by his orders four Boston schooners were +seized at Louisbourg as a reprisal for the brigantine taken by the +"Albany." + +The correspondence between the Governor of Quebec and the French +colonial minister supplies some interesting details of the sea-fight +in the Bay of Fundy in the autumn of 1750. It seems that Boishebert +and the missionary Germain had sent an urgent request to the Quebec +authorities for provisions for the women and children of the Indian +families, during the absence of the men in their winter hunting, and +for supplies needed by the French garrison on the St. John. +Accordingly Bigot, the intendant, fitted out the St. Francis, a +brigantine of 130 to 140 tons, to escort a schooner laden with the +required articles to the mouth of the St. John river. The St. Francis +carried 10 guns and had a crew or 70 men, including 32 soldiers, under +command of the sieur de Vergor. + +On the 16th of October, as the brigantine and schooner were entering +the Bay of Fundy, Captain Vergor noticed, at 11 in the morning, an +English frigate, which put on all sail and came after him. A quarter +of an hour afterwards the frigate fired a cannon shot and displayed +her flag. Vergor immediately hoisted his own flag and responded with a +cannon shot, continuing on his way. The English frigate continued the +chase and a half hour later fired a second shot followed by a third, +which went through the little top-mast of the St. Francis. Vergor then +made preparations for the combat, the frigate continuing to approach +and firing four cannon shots at his sails. When within speaking +distance Vergor called through his trumpet that he was in command of a +ship of the King of France carrying provisions and munitions to the +troops of his majesty. The English captain in reply ordered him to lay +to or he would sink him. Vergor repeated his announcement in English, +but, for answer the frigate discharged a volley of all her guns +damaging the ship and killing two of his men. He in turn now fell upon +the frigate, discharging all his guns and musketry. The fight lasted +nearly five hours, at the expiration of which the St. Francis was so +crippled by the loss of her mainmast and injuries to her sails and +rigging that Vergor was obliged to surrender. His long boat having +been rendered unserviceable, the English captain sent his own to +convey him on board. Vergor found the frigate to be the Albany, of 14 +guns and 28 swivel guns and a crew of 120 men, commanded by Captain +Rous. The Albany did not pursue the schooner, which proceeded to St. +John, but sailed for Halifax with her prize, where she arrived three +days later. + +Vergor was sent on shore and confined to a room in the house of +Governor Cornwallis. The governor treated him courteously, heard his +version of the affair and called a council meeting the next day to +inquire into the circumstances of the case. + +Vergor's official report conveys the idea that Cornwallis was rather +doubtful as to whether Rous had acted in a legitimate manner. The +council held five or six meetings without coming to any decision. +Meanwhile, with the governor's approval, Vergor had a new main-mast +cut and drawn from the woods by the crew of the St. Francis and +arrangements were made to repair the damaged sails and shrouds. +However the matter was soon afterwards taken out of Cornwallis' hands +by Captain Rous, who brought the case before the Admiralty Court, +where the St. Francis was confiscated for engaging in illicit commerce +in the province of his Britannic Majesty. + +The French authorities took up the matter and sent a spirited +remonstrance to the British ambassador, claiming that the transaction +was opposed to every kind of law and demanding the restoration of the +captured vessel with exemplary punishment of Captain Rous and the +admiralty officers at Halifax, as well as orders on the part of his +Britannic Majesty to all officers in his ships and colonies to observe +the peace and to undertake nothing contrary thereto. A demand was also +made that the English should in no way hinder the migration of the +Acadians from the peninsula of Nova Scotia to the mainland or +elsewhere. It is needless to say that the British government did not +comply with these demands and here was one of the many grievances that +led to a renewal of the war a little later. + +The Sieur de Vergor and the crew of the St. Francis were sent to +Louisbourg, and the brigantine retained at Halifax as a prize on the +ground that she was engaged in furnishing warlike munitions to the +Indian enemy and interfering with British rights on the River St. +John. + +Cornwallis evidently felt the difficulties of his position very +keenly. Halifax was yet in its infancy and in a comparatively +defenceless state; Louisbourg and Quebec were supporting the French on +the St. John and he had neither the men nor the money to oppose their +proceedings. It seems, too, that he had been called to account for the +large expenditure he had made in Nova Scotia. In his letters to the +Lords of Trade he expresses himself as distracted between his desire +to lessen expenses and his fears of losing the province. He was +doubtful if, with the forces at his disposal, he could prevent the +French from fortifying St. John and Beausejour, and he observes, with +some irritation, that it has been said, "What has he to contend with? +Three or four hundred Indians: it is a time of peace and no other +enemy to fear." So far from this being an adequate representation of +the situation, he claimed the facts were that the French had taken +possession of all Nova Scotia north of the Bay of Fundy, and had +obliged many of the Acadians of the peninsula to remove thither and +swear allegiance to the king of France; that the governor of Canada, +through his emissary le Loutre, had offered a premium for every +prisoner, head, or scalp of an Englishman; that the French had sent a +ship of thirty-six guns and 300 men to the Bay of Fundy and had not +only incited the Indians to hostilities but had behaved as if there +were open war. + +The French at Quebec, in view of the difficulty of keeping in touch +with their posts on the north side of the Bay of Fundy, endeavored to +improve the route of communication via the River St. John. During the +previous war they had made a road from Riviere du Loup to Lake +Temisquata, but the woods were growing up again and deep holes began +to render it impracticable. Bigot, the intendant, therefore spent +600 or 700 livres in improving it, and in consequence couriers were +able to come to Quebec in ten or twelve days from Shediac, and in +eight from the River St. John. For the convenience of travelers +three magazines of supplies were established, one at Riviere du Loup, +one at Temisquata and one at the head of Madawaska river. The Marquis +de la Jonquiere anticipated great advantages from the overland route +of communication. He says in a letter to France, dated May 1, 1751: +"We have made a road and are going to make some flat-bottomed +conveyances so that in winter we will be able to transport by hauling +over the snow the things most needed for the River St. John, and in +summer we shall be able to make the transport by means of carts and +flat-bottomed batteaux. These arrangements will be very useful +supposing that the English continue to stop the vessels we send +there." + +"As the English have boasted that they are going to establish +themselves at the River St. John," continues the Marquis, "I have +given orders to the Sieur de Boishebert, who commands there, to repair +the old fort named Menacoche (Menagoueche) at the mouth of the river +and to make there a barrack for the officers and 100 men in garrison +with necessary magazines. The whole will be built of logs and I have +very expressly recommended Boishebert, to have it done without expense +to the King, or at least very little, and to that end he is to employ +the soldiers and militia." + +This fort stood in Carleton opposite Navy Island on the point at the +foot of King street, still called "Old Fort." The Marquis la Jonquiere +says the terraces of the fort were about twenty-five feet high outside +and twelve inside and the defences were such as would enable the +garrison to withstand a lively attack. + +It was intended to place four cannons of 8 L. to cannonade any ships +that might attack it. The chief difficulty of the situation was the +scarcity of water. The fort was quite indispensable for if the French +were to abandon the lower part of the St. John river the English would +immediately take possession. The savages were instructed to annoy the +English on all occasions and to plunder any of their ships that landed +on their shores. The Marquis even went so far as to suggest that some +of the Acadians, dressed and painted like the savages, should join in +the attacks upon the English in order that the savages might act with +greater courage. He says he cannot avoid consenting to what the +savages do in keeping the English busy and frustrating their advance +since the French were restrained from open hostilities by the peace. +"I beg you to be assured, Monseigneur," the Marquis continues, "that I +will manage everything so as not to compromise myself and that I will +not give up an inch of land that belongs to the king. It is time the +limits should be settled and that we should know positively what we +are to hold, so as to put an end to all hostilities and to avoid the +immense expense that is occasioned." + +La Jonquiere, in the month of February, sent on the ice a detachment +of fifty Canadians to strengthen the garrison at the mouth of the +River St. John, and as the services of Boishebert were required +elsewhere, the Sieur de Gaspe,[26] lieutenant of infantry, was sent to +replace him and remained two years and a half in command. + + [26] Ignace Philippe Aubert, Sieur de Gaspe, was born at St. Antoine + de Tilly near Quebec in 1714. He was an ensign in Acadia under + de Ramezay in 1745 and was with Colombier de Villiers in the + attack on Minas the following winter. He died at St. Jean, + Port Joly, in 1787. He was grandfather of the author of the + "Anciens Canadiens." + +The situation of the Acadians on the St. John at this time was a very +unenviable one. Fort Boishebert, at the Nerepis, was a frail +defence, and they were beginning to be straitened for supplies on +account of the vigilance of the English cruisers. Father Germain +wrote to the commandant at Annapolis Royal for leave to buy +provisions there for the French living on the river, but the +governor and council objected on the ground that French troops +occupied the place and the Indians there were hostile. We gather +some interesting information from a letter written at this time to +the French minister by the Sieur de Gaspe, who was in command of +the fort at the mouth of the Nerepis.[27] + + [27] I am indebted to Placide P. Gaudet for a copy of the original + letter of which a translation is given on next page. It is one + of the many interesting documents that have never yet been + published.--W. O. R. + + Fort de Nerepice, 16th June, 1751. + + Monseigneur: On my arrival at this post on the River St. John, to + which I am sent by my general, the Marquis de la Jonquiere, to + relieve M. de Boishebert, the commandant of the place, I found at + anchor the frigate "Fidele," commanded by M. Maccarti, who was + landing the provisions and other supplies sent for this post. The + coming of this ship, Monseigneur, convinces me that you wish to + hold possession of this post. + + I have only just arrived here. I learn that the English threaten + to come and build a fort at the mouth of the river near that which + the Marquis de la Jonquiere has caused to be begun and has ordered + me to continue. I will do my best to carry out his orders so far + as circumstances permit, and the governor will furnish you with an + account of his intentions. + + In order to fix ourselves here we must keep up communication by + way of La Baie Francaise [the Bay of Fundy] so as to furnish + provisions; for the place cannot be supplied by land, especially + if we must afford subsistence to those families of Acadians who + are obliged to seek refuge on the river, as has been stated to me. + I will receive them, Monseigneur, in order to settle the country, + which at present has only twenty-eight French inhabitants,[28] who + can give no assistance in providing for the support of others, + not having as yet enough cultivated land for themselves. + + M. Maccarti, commander of the frigate, has taken note of the + harbor [at St. John] on the other side of the fort, and of the + other advantages, or disadvantages, we must encounter in this + place, where I will endeavor to maintain the rights that we have + and to oppose the Englishman if he attempts to build here. + + I am with very profound respect, Monseigneur, + + Your humble and very obedient servant, + + GASPE. + + [28] This refers, I imagine, to the Acadians on the lower St. John + and does not include the colony at Ste. Annes.--W. O. R. + +[Illustration: WOODMAN'S POINT. (The Star shows the site of Fort +Boishebert.)] + +Resolute attempts continued to be made to withdraw the Acadians from +the peninsula of Nova Scotia, both by threats and persuasions, and the +Marquis de la Jonquiere issued a proclamation to those living within +the bounds of what is now New Brunswick, declaring that all who did +not within eight days take the oath of allegiance in the militia +companies would be considered as rebels and driven from their lands. +The companies of militia were ordered to drill on Sundays and Feast +days and to hold themselves in readiness to defend themselves at any +moment. A few months later the governor of Canada was able to report +that all the Acadian inhabitants who were upon the lands of the king +had taken the oath of fidelity. Twelve blank commissions were sent +from Quebec to be issued to those most capable of fulfilling the +duties of officers in the militia. + +At Fort Menagoueche the work did not progress as fast as anticipated. +The workmen had no tools except axes, and the Sieur de Gaspe +complained that he had not been able to make the soldiers of the +garrison work. He says "they are very bad subjects" and he dared not +compel them to work apprehending their desertion. The fort was +surrounded by four bastions and, in addition to the barracks and +magazines, it was proposed to construct a building of logs, squared +with the axe, to accommodate the chaplain and surgeon and to serve as +a guard house. + +Fort Boishebert, at Woodman's Point on the Nerepis, was a difficult +post to maintain owing to the insufficiency of the troops at de +Gaspe's disposal. He complains that the savages had broken in the door +of the cellar and he thought it advisable to abandon it altogether. +The Marquis de la Jonquiere ordered him to consult with Father Germain +on the subject and meanwhile to double the guard. The missionary wrote +he was of the same opinion as the Sieur de Gaspe, and permission was +accordingly given to abandon the fort and to transport the supplies +wherever they might be needed. + +The Jesuit missionary at Penobscot, Father Gounon, proposed to spend +the winter at "Nerepisse" with his Indians, but the governor of Canada +did not at all approve of it, fearing that if the savages were to +abandon their village the English would advance from the westward +towards the River St. John. He apprehended that if only a small number +of Indians remained at Penobscot, and these without a missionary, the +enemy would win them to their side and, as a direful result, the +English would presently establish themselves at Matsipigouattons, +advancing to Peskadamokkanti (or Passamaquoddy) and so by degrees to +the River St. John. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +THE FRENCH ANXIOUS TO HOLD POSSESSION OF THE RIVER ST. JOHN. + + +The situation on the St. John had now become a matter of international +interest in view of the boundary dispute. The deliberations of the +French and English commissioners began in 1750 and lasted four years. +In preparing the French case the Marquis de la Galissonniere summoned +to his aid the Abbes de L'Isle-Dieu and Le Loutre, who were both well +informed as to the situation of Acadia and also filled with intense +zeal for the national cause. We learn from letters of the Abbe de +L'Isle-Dieu, written at Paris to the French minister early in the year +1753, that the two missionaries, in consultation with the Count de la +Galissonniere, prepared several documents to elucidate the French +case. Copies of these very interesting papers are now in the Canadian +Archives at Ottawa, and have been published at Quebec in 1890 by the +Abbe Casgrain in "Le Canada Francais." The three most important of +these documents are entitled: + +1. Memorandum on the necessity of determining the limits of Acadia. + +2. Plan for the settlement of the country in order to hasten the +determining of the aforesaid limits. + +3. Representation of the present state of the missions, French as well +as Indians, in the southern part of New France in Canada. + +In the first of these documents the following references are made to +the River St. John: + +"This post, so important to retain for France, has as commandant M. De +Gaspe at Fort Menagoeck, built at the mouth of the river. The +missionary on the river is Father Germain, Jesuit, who makes his +residence at Ekauba (Aukpaque), distant about forty leagues from Fort +Menagoeck. + +"The savages of Father Germain's mission are Marechites, and he has in +addition the care of some French families settled on the river. + +"Since the month of August last, Father Audren has been sent as +assistant to Father Germain, but his assistance will be much more +hurtful than beneficial to the mission if, in accordance with the plan +of the Jesuit provincial, it is decided to recall Father Germain to +Quebec to fill the office of superior general of the house of the +Jesuits in Canada. This is not merely a groundless surmise, for the +destination and nomination to office of Father Germain are already +determined, at least Father Germain himself so states in his last +letter to the Abbe l'Isle-Dieu, and he adds that he has made every +possible representation to at least delay his recall. The Abbe +l'Isle-Dieu, who perceives all the consequences of his removal, has +already endeavored to prevent its being effected by the Provincial, +and it is thought that, under the present circumstances, the court +should as far as possible employ its authority to hinder the +retirement of Father Germain from his mission, where the esteem and +confidence, the respect and authority, that he has acquired over the +savages and the few French who are found in his mission, give him a +power that a young missionary could not have. Besides Father Germain +joins to a disinterestedness without example, to piety the most +sincere, and to a zeal indefatigable, consummate experience. All this +is necessary in connection with various operations that are now to be +undertaken, in which a man of such qualifications can be of great +assistance. + +"At a distance of eighteen leagues from Father Germain's post of duty +is another called Medoctek, which is dependent on the same mission and +served by the Jesuit father Loverga, who has been there nine months, +and who has the care of a band of Marechites; but, in addition to the +fact that Father Loverga is on the point of leaving, he would be +useless there on account of his great age and it would be better to +send there next spring Father Audren, since this mission is daily +becoming more important, especially to the savages whose chief +occupation is beaver hunting. + +"The French inhabitants of the River St. John have suffered much by +different detachments of Canadians and Indians, to the number of 250 +or 300 men, commanded by M. de Montesson, a Canadian officer, whom +they have been obliged to subsist, and for that purpose to sacrifice +the grain and cattle needed for the seeding and tillage of their own +fields. In the helpless position in which these inhabitants find +themselves, it is thought that in order to afford them sufficient +relief it would be advisable that the Court should send them +immediately at least 1,000 barrels of flour, and the same quantity +annually for some time, both for their own subsistence and for that of +the garrison and the Indians. It would be well also to send them each +year about 250 barrels of bacon; this last sort of provision being +limited to this quantity because it is supposed, or at least hoped, +there will be sent from Quebec some Indian corn and peas as well as +oil and fat for the savages." + +The reference to the St. John river region in the document from which +this extract is taken, concludes by strongly recommending that the +supply of flour and bacon should be sent, not to the store houses at +Quebec and Louisbourg, but directly to St. John, where it would arrive +as safely as at any other port and with less expense to the king and +much more expedition to the inhabitants. + +It may be well now to pause in the narration of events to look a +little more closely into the situation on the River St. John at the +time of the negotiations between the rival powers with regard to the +limits of Acadia. + +The statement has been made in some of our school histories, "Acadia +was ceded to the English by the treaty of Utrecht, in 1713, and has +remained a British possession ever since." The statement is, to say +the least, very misleading, so far as the St. John river country is +concerned, for the French clung tenaciously to this territory as a +part of the dominions of their monarch until New France passed finally +into the hands of their rivals by the treaty of Paris in 1763. + +There was no part of Acadia that was more familiar to the French than +the valley of the River St. John, and the importance attached to the +retention of it by France is seen very clearly in a memorandum, +prepared about this time for the use of the French commissioners on +the limits of Acadia. There can be no doubt that the Abbes de +L'Isle-Dieu and Le Loutre had a hand in the preparation of this +document, which is an able statement of the case from the French point +of view. They assert "that the British pretensions to ownership of the +territory north of the Bay of Fundy have no foundation. That the +French have made settlements at various places along the shores of the +Gulf of St. Lawrence, where they have always lived peaceably and +quietly under the rule of the French king. This is also the state +there at present, and the English desire to change it, without having +acquired any new right of possession since the treaty of Utrecht, and +after forty years of quiet and peaceable possession on the part of the +French. It is the same with regard to the River St. John and that part +of Canada which adjoins the Bay of Fundy. The French, who were settled +there before the treaty of Utrecht, have continued to this day to hold +possession under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the King of +France, enjoying meanwhile the fruit of their labors. It is not until +more than forty years after the treaty of Utrecht that the English +commissioners have attempted, by virtue of a new and arbitrary +interpretation of the treaty, to change and overturn all the European +possessions of America; to expel the French, to deprive them of their +property and their homes, to sell the lands they have cultivated and +made valuable and to expose Europe by such transactions to the danger +of seeing the fires of war rekindled. Whatever sacrifices France might +be disposed to make, in order to maintain public tranquility, it would +be difficult indeed for her to allow herself to be deprived of the +navigation of the River St. John by ceding to England the coast of the +continent along the Bay of Fundy." + +Continuing their argument, the writers of the document state: "That it +is by the River St. John that Quebec maintains her communication with +Isle Royal and Isle St. Jean, [Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island], +and also with Old France, during the season that the navigation of the +River St. Lawrence is impracticable; and as this is the only way of +communication for a considerable part of the year, possession of the +route is indispensably necessary to France. All who have any special +knowledge of Canada agree on this head, and their testimony finds +confirmation in an English publication that lately appeared in London, +entitled 'The Present State of North America,' in which the writer +sounds the tocsin of war against France and, although partiality, +inspired by love of country, has led him into many errors, he does not +seek to disguise how important it is to deprive France of the right of +navigation of the River St. John, which affords the only means of +communication with Quebec during the winter. 'The French,' says the +English author, 'have often sent supplies and merchandise from Old +France to Quebec, both in time of peace and of war, by the River St. +John, so as to avoid the difficulties and risks of navigation by the +River St. Lawrence. * * If we suffer them to remain in possession of +that river they will always have an open communication between France +and Canada during the winter, which they could have only from May to +October by the River St. Lawrence.' + +"This testimony makes us feel more and more how essential it is for +France to keep possession of the River St. John so as to have +communication with Quebec and the rest of Canada during the seven +months of the year that the St. Lawrence is not navigable. The +communication which the English pretend they require by land between +New England and Nova Scotia, along the coast of the Etchemins[29] and +the Bay of Fundy, is only a vain pretext to mask their real motive, +which is to deprive France of a necessary route of communication. + + [29] The country of the Etchemins, or Maliseets, included eastern + Maine, and the western part of New Brunswick. + +"Considering the length of the road by land from New England to Port +Royal and Acadia, the obstacles to be encountered in the rivers that +fall into the sea along the coast, which will be more difficult to +cross near the mouth; all these circumstances render the communication +by land a veritable chimera; the more so that the way by sea from the +remotest part of New England to Port Royal is so short and so easy, +while that by land would be long, painful and difficult. We may be +perfectly sure that if the English were masters of all the territory +they claim they would never journey over it, and the only advantage +they would find would be to deprive the French of a necessary route of +communication. We do not fear to say that the object of the English is +not confined to the country they claim under the name of Acadia. Their +object is to make a general invasion of Canada and thus to pave the +way to universal empire in America." + +It is little to be wondered at that the French nation should have been +very reluctant to part with their control of the St. John river. From +the days of its discovery by Champlain it had become of increasing +importance to them as a means of communication between the widely +separated portions of New France. But more than this the river was in +many of its features unrivelled in their estimation. Its remarkable +falls near the sea, its massive walls of limestone at "the narrows" +just above--which the French called "cliffs of marble"--its broad +lake-like expansions, its fertile intervals and islands, the fish that +swarmed in its waters and the game that abounded in its forests, its +towering pines and noble elms were all known to them and had been +noted by their early explorers. Champlain, L'Escarbot, Denys, Biard, +La Hontan, Cadillac and Charlevoix had described in glowing words the +wealth of its attractions. It is worth while in this connection to +quote the description which Lamothe Cadillac penned in 1693--just two +hundred and ten years ago: + + _River St. John._--"The entrance of this river is very large. Two + little islands are seen to the left hand, one called l'Ile + Menagoniz (Mahogany Island) and the other l'Ile aux Perdrix + (Partridge Island), and on the right hand there is a cape of which + the earth is as red as a red Poppy. The harbor is good; there is + no rock and it has five or six fathoms of water. + + _Fort._--There is a fort of four bastions here, which needs to be + repaired. It is very well situated and could not be attacked by + land for it is surrounded by water at half tide. Less than an + eighth of a league above there are two large rocks, perpendicular, + and so near that they leave only space sufficient for a ship + cleverly to pass. + + _Gouffre._ Just here there is a fall, or abyss (gouffre), which + extends seven or eight hundred paces to the foot of two rocks. + There is a depth of eighteen fathoms of water here. I think that I + am the only one who has ever sounded at this place. The falls are + no sooner passed than the river suddenly expands to nearly half a + league. It is still very deep and a vessel of fifty or sixty tons + could ascend thirty leagues, but it would be necessary to take + care to pass the falls when the sea is level, or one would + certainly be lost there. It must be conceded that this is the most + beautiful, the most navigable and the most highly favored river of + Acadia. The most beautiful, on account of the variety of trees to + be found, such as butternut, cherry, hazel, elms, oaks, maples and + vines. + + _Masts._--There is a grove of pine on the boarders of a lake near + Gemseq (Jemseg), fifteen leagues from the sea, where there might + be made the finest masts, and they could be conducted into the St. + John by a little river which falls in there. + + _Pewter mine._--Near the same lake there in a mine of pewter. I + have seen the Indians melt and manufacture from it balls for their + hunting. + + It is most navigable, by reason of its size and depth and the + number of lakes and rivers that empty themselves into it. The most + highly favored, by reason of its greater depth of fertile soil, of + its unrivalled salmon fishing, and of its reaching into the + country to a depth of eighty leagues. The bass, the trout, the + gaspereau, the eel, the sturgeon and a hundred other kinds of + fishes are found in abundance. The most highly favored, also, + because it furnishes in abundance beavers and other fur-bearing + animals. I have ascended this river nearly one hundred and fifty + leagues in a bark canoe. I pass in silence other attractions that + it possesses for I must not be too long. + + One single thing is to be regretted, which is that in the most + beautiful places, where the land and meadows are low, they are + inundated every spring time after the snow melts. The continuance + of this inundation (or freshet) is because the waters cannot flow + out sufficiently fast on account of those two rocks, of which I + have spoken, which contract the outlet of the river. It would not + be very difficult to facilitate the flow of the waters. It would + only be necessary to mine the rock that is to the right hand on + entering, and which seems to want to tumble of itself. It is + undeniable that the waters would flow forth more freely, and the + falls would be levelled, or at least diminished, and all this flat + country protected from inundation. + + _Forts of the Micmacs and Maliseets._--Thirty leagues up the river + there is a fort of the Micmacs,[30] at a place called Naxouak, and + at thirty leagues further up there is one of the Maliseets. This + latter nation is fairly warlike. They are well made and good + hunters. They attend to the cultivation of the soil and have some + fine fields of Indian corn and pumpkins. Their fort is at + Medoctek. + + At forty leagues still farther up there is another fort which is + the common retreat of the Kanibas, or Abenakis, when they are + afraid of something in their country. It is on the bank of a + little river which flows into the St. John, and which comes from a + lake called Madagouasca, twelve leagues long and one wide. It is a + good country for moose hunting." + + [30] Cadillac seems to have so termed Villebon's fort because the + Micmacs of eastern New Brunswick and Nova Scotia often made it + a rendezvous; perhaps also it was a fanciful distinction by + way of comparison with the Maliseet fort at Medoctec. + +In another edition of his narrative Cadillac says that Madawaska lake +and river turn northward so those who journey from Acadia to Quebec go +across the portage from the lake to the River St. Lawrence, opposite +Tadoussac. This route was from very early times considered by the +French as the easiest and best and was greatly valued by them as a +means of communication both in time of war and in time of peace. + +Cadillac's idea of protecting the low lying lands of the St. John +river from inundation during the spring freshet, by enlarging the +outlet at the falls, has been revived on more than one occasion. For +example, sixty years later we find the following note in the statement +prepared by the missionaries Le Loutre and de L'Isle-Dieu for the use +of the commissioners engaged in the attempt to settle the boundaries +of Acadia--: + +"The River St. John is very extensive and the soil is excellent, +easily cultivated, capable of supporting at least 1,000 families, but +there exists an inconvenience which up to the present prevents the +place from being inhabited as it should be. This inconvenience is due +to the frequency of the floods occasioned by a fall where the waters +do not discharge themselves fast enough and in consequence flow back +upon the lands above, which they inundate. But if the proposed colony +be established at this place it would be possible to give vent to the +flood by removing a small obstruction [portage][31] less than an +eighth of a league wide; this would certainly prevent the inundations, +dry up the lands and render cultivation practicable." + + [31] It would be interesting to know the exact location of the + "portage" referred to above. Was it the rocky neck between + Marble Cove at Indiantown and the Straight Shore? Or was it + the comparatively slight obstruction at Drury's Cove that + prevents the river finding an outlet by way of the Marsh Creek + into Courtenay Bay? See on this head Dr. George F. Matthew's + interesting paper on "The Outlets of the St. John River:" Nat. + Hist. Society bulletin No. xii., p. 42. + +A bill was once introduced into the House of Assembly for the purpose +of enabling the promoters to remove, by blasting, the rocks that +obstruct the mouth of the river and thus allow the waters to flow more +freely. It was claimed that many benefits would follow, chiefly that +the lumbermen would be able to get their logs and deals to market more +expeditiously and at less cost, and that the farmers, of Maugerville, +Grand Falls and Sheffield would be saved the serious inconveniences +occasioned by the annual freshet. However, popular sentiment was +strongly opposed to the project. People speedily realized that not +only would the beauty of the river be destroyed but that navigation +would be rendered precarious and uncertain. The project, in fact, +would have changed our noble St. John into a tidal river, unsightly +mud flats alternating with rushing currents of turbid waters, while so +far as protection of the low-lying lands goes the remedy would in all +probability have proved worse than the disease, for instead of an +annual inundation there would have been an inundation at every high +tide. Moreover the harbor at St. John would have been ruined. There +can be no secure harbor at the mouth of a great tidal river where +swirling tides pour in and out twice in the course of every +twenty-four hours. + +Cadillac mentions the convenient route to Quebec via the River St. +John. The Indians had used it from time immemorial and the French +followed their example, as at a later period did the English. The +missionaries Le Loutre and de L'Isle-Dieu in the statement prepared by +them in 1753, already mentioned, say:-- + + "It is very easy to maintain communication with Quebec, winter and + summer alike, by the River St. John, and the route is especially + convenient for detachments of troops needed either for attack or + defence. This is the route to be taken and followed:-- + + "From Quebec to the River du Loup. + + From the River du Loup by a portage of 18 leagues to Lake + Temiscouata. + + From Lake Temiscouata to Madaoechka [Madawaska.] + + From Madaoechka to Grand Falls. + + From Grand Falls to Medoctek. + + From Medoctek to Ecouba [Aukpaque], post of the Indians of the + Jesuit missionary, Father Germain. + + From Ecouba to Jemsec. + + From Jemsec, leaving the River St. John and traversing Dagidemoech + [Washa demoak] lake ascending by the river of the same name, + thence by a portage of 6 leagues to the River Petkoudiak. + + From Petkoudiak to Memeramcouk descending the river which bears + that name. + + From Memeramcouk by a portage of three leagues to Nechkak + [Westcock]. + + From Nechkak to Beausejour." + +By this route the troops commanded by the French officers Marin and +Montesson arrived at Beausejour in less than a month from the time of +their departure from Quebec, the distance being about 500 miles. + +In the war of 1812 the 104th regiment, raised in this province, left +St. John on the 11th day of February and on the 27th of the same month +crossed the St. Lawrence on the ice and entered Quebec 1,000 strong, +having accomplished a march of 435 miles in midwinter in sixteen days +and, says Col. Playfair, without the loss of a man. + +In the year 1837 the 43d Light Infantry marched from this province to +Quebec in the month of December in almost precisely the same time, but +the conditions were distinctly more favorable; the season was not +nearly so rigorous, roads and bridges had been constructed over the +greater portion of the route and supplies could be obtained to better +advantage. Yet it is said the great Duke of Wellington observed of +this march of the 43d Light Infantry, "It is the only achievement +performed by a British officer that I really envy." How much greater a +feat was the march of the gallant hundred-and-fourth whose men, poorly +fed and insufficiently clad, passed over the same route on snowshoes +in the middle of a most inclement winter, a quarter of a century +before, to defend Canadian homes from a foreign invader? + +During the negotiations between the French and English commissioners +on the boundaries of Acadia, the suggestion was made by the Abbes de +L'Isle-Dieu and Le Loutre, that if it should be found impossible to +hold all the lands north of the Bay of Fundy for France the St. John +river region should be left undivided and in possession of its native +inhabitants. As early as the year 1716 the Marquis de Vaudreuil had +stated to the French government: "The English wish to seize upon the +lands that the Abenakis and Indians of the River St. John occupy, +under the pretext that this land forms part of Acadia ceded to them by +the king. The Indians so far from withdrawing on this account have +answered that this land has always belonged to them, and that they do +not consider themselves subjects of the French, but only their +allies." + +Vaudreuil admits that he encouraged this idea, and that his proposal +to build a church for the Maliseets at Medoctec had as one of its +principal objects the cementing of their alliance with the French and +providing them with another inducement to cling to the locality where +their church stood, and not by any means to abandon their old fort and +village. + +In 1749 Charlevoix, the well known Jesuit historian, writes the French +minister at Versailles not to delay the settlement of the boundaries, +for the English, who are colonizing and fortifying Acadia, will soon +be in a position to oppress their Indian allies, the Abenakis +(Maliseets), if steps are not taken in season to prevent them and to +guarantee to the Indians peaceable possession of their country, where +it is necessary they should remain in order to defend it against the +English, otherwise there would be nothing to hinder the English from +penetrating as far as the French settlements nearest Quebec; besides +where would the Abenakis go if they were obliged to abandon their +country? "In short," Charlevoix adds, "it seems to me certain that if +time is given the English to people Acadia before the limits are +agreed on, they will not fail to appropriate all the territory they +wish, and to secure possession by strong forts which will render them +masters of all that part of New France south of Quebec; and if this +should be done it will certainly follow that the Abenakis will join +them, will abandon their religion, and our most faithful allies will +become our most dangerous enemies." + +Of all the leaders of the French in Acadia, none was more active and +influential than the Abbe Le Loutre. But while his energy, ability and +patriotism are undoubted, his conduct has been the subject of severe +criticism not only on the part of his adversaries but of the French +themselves. He did not escape the censure of the Bishop of Quebec for +meddling to so great an extent in temporal affairs, but the Bishop's +censure is mild compared to that of an anonymous historian, who +writes: "Abbe Loutre, missionary of the Indians in Acadia, soon put +all in fire and flame, and may be justly deemed the scourge and curse +of this country. This wicked monster, this cruel and blood thirsty +Priest, more inhumane and savage than the natural savages, with a +murdering and slaughtering mind, instead of an Evangelick spirit, +excited continually his Indians against the English. * * * All the +French had the greatest horror and indignation at Le Loutre's +barbarous actions; and I dare say if the Court of France had known +them they would have been far from approving of them." + +It is only fair to the Abbe Le Loutre to mention that the officer who +criticizes him in this rude fashion was the Chevalier Johnston, an +Englishman by birth and a puritan by religion and as such prejudiced +against the French missionary. Johnston, however, served at Louisbourg +on the side of France with great fidelity in the capacity of +lieutenant, interpreter and engineer. + +Father Germain, the missionary to the Indians and French on the St. +John, was a man of courage and of patriotic impulses. He deemed +himself justified in making every possible effort to keep the English +from gaining a foothold north of the Bay of Fundy, but it does not +appear that he ever incited the Indians to indulge their savage +instincts, or that he was guilty of the duplicity and barbarity that +have been so freely laid to the charge of the Abbe Le Loutre. It is +evident, moreover, that the Marquis de la Galissonniere and his aides +were particularly anxious to retain the services of Germain. He had +been twelve or fourteen years in charge of his mission on the St. +John, and during most of that time had labored single handed. Recently +Father Loverja had come to stay with the Maliseets of Medoctec in +consequence of their urgent request for a missionary, their village +being eighteen leagues from Aukpaque, where Father Germain was +stationed. Another missionary named Audren (or Andrein) had just +arrived to replace Germain, who had been nominated superior of the +house of Jesuits at Quebec. The Abbes de L'Isle-Dieu and Le Loutre +endeavored to convince the French minister that it was very +undesirable, under existing circumstances, that Germain should be +removed, as he was valued and beloved by his people--French and +Indians alike--and his services could not well be spared. There was +no chaplain at the fort, lately re-established at the mouth of the +river, and Loverja's age and infirmities would oblige him shortly to +remove to Quebec. The two missionaries would then have sufficient +occupation, especially as they would have frequently to repair on the +one hand to Medoctec, and on the other to the garrison of Fort +Menagoueche. In consequence of these strong objections to his +retirement it was decided by Father Germain's superiors to allow him +to remain at his mission. + +The Abbe de L'Isle-Dieu wrote the French minister, early the next +year, that there was neither priest nor chapel at Fort Menagoueche, +and that a missionary was needed on the lower part of the river. +Father Germain had now for a long time been missionary to the +Maliseets at Aukpaque (l'isle d'Ecouba) and having more than eighty +families under his care found the fort too far removed to give due +attention to the wants of the garrison. + +The situation on the St. John at this time was not viewed with +complacency by the authorities of Nova Scotia and New England. On the +18th October, 1753, Governor Hopson, of Nova Scotia, wrote the Lords +of Trade and Plantations that he had been informed by Governor +Shirley, of Massachusetts, that since the arrival of a French +missionary at the River St. John the conduct of the inhabitants had +altered for the worse; the French had now 100 families settled on the +river, had greatly strengthened the old fort at its mouth with guns +and men, and had built a new one. Fort Boishebert, some miles up the +river armed with twenty-four guns and garrisoned by 200 regulars. He +also says a French frigate of thirty guns lay behind Partridge Island +waiting for a cargo of furs, and that the French seemed to be entirely +masters of the river. + +It is not unlikely this statement is exaggerated, for the following +summer Lieut.-Governor Lawrence says the French had at St. John only a +small fort with three bad old guns, one officer and sixteen men; while +of Indians there were 160 fighting men. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE ACADIANS BECOME THE FOOTBALL OF FORTUNE. + + +As time went on the Acadians became impatient at the delay in settling +the limits of Acadia. In vain they were annually told the boundaries +would soon be determined, all negotiation proved fruitless. Those who +had crossed the isthmus into what is now the County of Westmorland +found themselves undecided as to their future course. Their +inclination--a very natural one--seems to have been to return to the +fields they had abandoned, but the Abbe Le Loutre urged them to remain +under French rule as the only way of enjoying unmolested the +privileges of their religion. For their encouragement and protection +Fort Beausejour was erected. + +In the month of January, 1754, Lieut.-Governor Lawrence informed the +Lords of Trade that the French were hard at work making settlements on +the St. John and were offering great inducements to the Acadians of +the peninsula to join them. He could not prevent some families from +going, but the greater part were too much attached to their lands to +leave them. In the opinion of Lawrence it was absolutely necessary, +for the development and control of Acadia as an English colony, that +the forts of Beausejour and the mouth of the River St. John should be +destroyed, and the French driven from the settlements they were +establishing north of the Bay of Fundy. Although the Indians had +committed no hostilities for two years, he believed no dependence +could be placed on their quietude so long as the French were allowed +to exercise their disturbing influence among them. + +Lawrence now began to consult with the Governor of Massachusetts, Sir +William Shirley, about the removal of the Acadians from Chignecto and +the River St. John. He proposed that two thousand troops should be +raised in New England, which with the regular troops already in Nova +Scotia would be sufficient for the business, the command of the +expedition to be given to Colonel Robert Monckton. It was intended the +expedition should sail from Boston about the 20th of April, but it was +delayed more than a month awaiting the arrival of arms from England, +and it was not until early in June that it arrived at Chignecto. To +aid the expedition Captain Rous[32] was sent with a small squadron to +the Bay of Fundy. The details of the seige of Fort Beausejour need not +here be given, suffice it to say that after four days' bombardment the +Sieur de Vergor was obliged, on the 16th June, to surrender to Colonel +Monckton. + + [32] Capt. John Rous in his early career commanded a Boston + privateer. Having distinguished himself in several minor + expeditions, he commanded the Massachusetts galley "Shirley," + of 24 guns, at the first seige of Louisbourg, and bore the + news of the surrender to England, where as a reward for his + gallant services he was made a captain in the Royal Navy. He + commanded the Sutherland of 50 guns, at the second seige of + Louisbourg, and was with Wolfe in 1759 at the seige of Quebec. + It was from his ship Wolfe issued his last order before + storming the heights. Capt. Rous died at + +Captain Rous, with three twenty-gun ships and a sloop, immediately +sailed for St. John, where it was reported the French had two ships of +thirty-six guns each. He anchored outside the harbor and sent his +boats to reconnoitre. They found no French ships and on their +appearance Boishebert, the officer in command of the fort, burst his +cannon, blew up his magazine, burned everything he could and marched +off. The next morning the Indians invited Captain Rous ashore and gave +him the strongest assurances of their desire to make peace with the +English, saying that they had refused to assist the French. + +A few weeks after Boishebert had been thus obliged to abandon Fort +Menagouche there occurred the tragic event known as the "Acadian +Expulsion." The active agents employed by Lawrence and Shirley in this +transaction were Colonel Monckton and his subordinates, of whom +Lieut.-Colonel John Winslow and Capt. Murray were the most actively +engaged. These officers evidently had little relish for the task +imposed on them. Winslow in his proclamation to the inhabitants of +Grand Pre, Minas, etc., says: "The duty I am now upon, though +necessary, is very disagreeable to my natural make and temper." The +hostility of the New England troops to the Acadians added to the +difficulties of their officers. Murray wrote to Winslow: "You know our +soldiers hate them, and if they can find a pretence to kill them they +will." + +Of recent years there has been much controversy concerning the +expulsion of the Acadians and widely differing opinions have been +expressed on the one hand by Parkman, Murdoch, Hannay, Hind and Aikins +and on the other by Casgrain, Richard, Porier, Gaudet and Savary. Upon +the merits of this controversy it is not necessary to enter, and it +will be more in keeping with our present subject to refer to the +Acadian Expulsion only as it concerns the history of events on the +River St. John. + +The position of the Sieur de Boishebert after the capture of +Beausejour and the fort at St. John was a very embarassing one. His +letter to the Chevalier de Drucour, who commanded at Louisbourg, is of +interest in this connection. + + "At the River St. John, 10 October, 1755. + + "Monsieur,--As the enemy has constantly occupied the route of + communication since the fall of Beausejour, I have not had the + honor of informing you of the state of affairs at this place. + + "I was compelled to abandon the fort--or rather the buildings--that + I occupied on the lower part of the river in accordance with + orders that I had received in case of being attacked. I have beaten + a retreat as far as the narrows (detroits) of the river, from + which the enemy has retired, not seeing any advantage sufficient + to warrant an attempt to drive me from thence. + + "I have succeeded, sir, in preventing the inhabitants of this + place from falling under the domination of the English. + + "Monsieur de Vaudreuil, approving this manoeuvre, has directed me + to establish a temporary camp (camp volant) sit such place as I + may deem most suitable. Even were I now to go to Quebec he could + not give me any assistance, all the troops and militia being in + the field. + + "I received on the 16th of August a letter from the principal + inhabitants living in the vicinity of Beausejour beseeching me to + come to their assistance. I set out the 20th with a detachment of + 125 men, French and Indians." + +Shortly after his arrival at the French settlements on the Petitcodiac, +Boishebert had a sharp engagement with a party of New England troops +who had been sent there to burn the houses of the Acadians and who +were about to set fire to their chapel. The conflict occurred near +Hillsboro, the shiretown of Albert county, and resulted in a loss to +the English of one officer and five or six soldiers killed, and a +lieutenant and ten soldiers wounded, while Boishebert's loss was one +Indian killed and three wounded. He returned shortly afterwards to +the River St. John accompanied by thirty destitute families with whom +he was obliged to share the provisions sent him from Quebec. + +Evidently the Marquis de Vaudreuil relied much upon the sagacity and +courage of his lieutenant on the St. John river in the crisis that had +arisen in Acadia. In his letter to the French colonial minister, dated +the 18th October, 1755, he writes that the English were now masters of +Fort Beausejour and that Boishebert, the commander of the River St. +John, had burnt his fort, not being able to oppose the descent of the +enemy. He had given him orders to hold his position on the river and +supplies had been sent him for the winter. He hoped that Father +Germain, then at Quebec, would return without delay to his Indian +mission and act in concert with Boishebert. The marquis summarises his +reasons for wishing to maintain the post on the River St. John as +follows:-- + + "1. As long as I hold this river and have a detachment of troops + there I retain some hold upon Acadia for the King, and the English + cannot say that they have forced the French to abandon it. + + 2. I am assured of the fidelity of the Acadians and the Indians, + who otherwise might think themselves abandoned and might yield to + the English. + + 3. Mon. de Boishebert will rally the Acadians from far and near + and will try to unite them and their families in one body. These + Acadians, so reunited, will be compelled for their own security + actively to resist the enemy if he presents himself. + + 4. Mon. de Boishebert will in like manner be engaged rallying the + savages and forming of them a body equally important, and by + corresponding with M. Manach, the missionary at Miramichi, will be + able, in case of necessity, to unite the savages of that mission + to his own in opposing the advance of the enemy. + + 5. He will be able constantly to have spies at Beausejour and + Halifax, and to take some prisoners who will inform him of the + situation and strength of the English. + + 6. He will be able to organize parties of Acadians and savages to + harras the enemy continually and hinder his obtaining firewood for + the garrison at Beausejour (Fort Cumberland). + + 7. By holding the River St. John I can at all times have news from + Louisbourg." + +The Marquis adds that even if France failed to establish her claim to +the territory north of the Bay of Fundy and should be forced to +abandon it he hoped, by the aid of Boishebert and the missionaries, to +withdraw the Acadians and their Indian allies to Canada. The Acadians +north of the isthmus he estimated were about two thousand (perhaps +3,000 would have been nearer the truth) of whom seven hundred were +capable of bearing arms. "It would be vexatious," adds the Marquis, +"if they should pass to the English." + +After Boishebert was forced to retire from the mouth of the River St. +John he established himself at a "detroit," or "narrows," up the +river, where he constructed a small battery, two guns of a calibre of +2L., and twelve swivel guns. The following summer he entertained no +fears as to his security. He had made an intrenchment in a favorable +situation and hoped if the English should venture an attack to have +the best of it. "I have particularly recommended him," writes the +governor, "not to erect any fortifications which might in case of some +unfortunate event be hurtful to us, to retain always a way of retreat +and to use every effort to harass the enemy ceaselessly, day and +night, until he shall have reduced him to the stern necessity of +re-embarking." + +There are but two places on the lower St. John to which the word +"detroit" could apply, namely the "Narrows" just above Indiantown, +near the mouth of the river, and the narrows at "Evandale," a little +above the mouth of the Bellisle[33]; the latter is the more +probable location. The situation as a point of observation and for +defence of the settlements above could not be excelled, while at the +same time it was not sufficiently near the sea to attract attention on +the part of an English cruiser. It is therefore quite probable that +the old fort at Worden's, erected during the war of 1812, the remains +of which are in a fair state of preservation and are often visited by +tourists, was built on the site occupied by Boishebert's "Camp +Volant" of 1755, afterwards fortified by him and for some little time +his headquarters. + + [33] See under "Nid d'Aigle," Ganong's Place-Nomenclature of New + Brunswick, p. 257. D'Anville's map of 1755 shows here + "Etabliss't. Francois," signifying French Post or Settlement. + See observations already made at page 91. + +From the month of October to the end of December, 1755, nearly seven +thousand of the unfortunate Acadians were removed from their homes and +dispersed amongst the American colonies along the Atlantic seaboard as +far south as Georgia and the Carolinas. A fleet of two ships, three +snows, and a brigantine, under convoy of the "Baltimore" sloop of war, +sailed from Annapolis Royal on the morning of the 8th December. On +board the fleet were 1,664 exiles of all ages whose destinations were +Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and South Carolina. One of the +snows[34] had her mainmast broken in a heavy gale just before her +arrival at Annapolis and Charles Belliveau, a ship-builder and +navigator of experience, was employed to replace the broken mast, +which he did in a workmanlike manner; but upon his claiming payment +for the job the captain laughed in his face. Belliveau, indignant at +such treatment, seized his axe to cut down the mast and this brought +the captain to terms. + + [34] A snow was a vessel similar to a brig; the Marquis de Vaudreull + says the one above referred to was a Portuguese vessel. + +It chanced that shortly afterwards Belliveau and a number of his +unfortunate compatriots (32 families, 225 persons in all) were placed +on board this vessel to be transported to South Carolina. The +"Baltimore" only went as far as New York and the snow, with Belliveau +and his friends on board, was left to pursue the rest of her voyage +unattended; not, however, without a parting caution on the part of the +commander of the "Baltimore" to her captain to be careful, for amongst +his captives were same good seamen. This advice was not heeded as the +sequel will show. + +The voyage proved a tedious one and from time to time small parties of +the Acadians were allowed on deck for air and exercise. A plot was +laid to seize the ship. Accordingly six of the stoutest and boldest +lay in readiness, and when those on deck were ordered below and the +hatchway opened to allow them to descend, Belliveau and his friends +sprang from the hold and in the twinkling of an eye were engaged in a +desperate struggle with the crew. Reinforced by those who followed, +the master of the vessel and his crew of eight men were soon +overpowered and tied fast. + +Belliveau, the leader of the spirited encounter, now took the helm and +the course of the ship was reversed. Under full sail she careened to +the wind until her former master cried to Belliveau that he would +certainly break the main mast. He replied: "No fear of that; I made it +and it is a good one." + +In due time the vessel reached the Bay of Fundy without other +adventure than a trifling conflict with an English privateer, which +was beaten off without loss. The French soon after released and put on +shore the English captain and his crew, and on the 8th day of January +anchored safely in the harbor of St John.[35] + + [35] The incident related above is mentioned by several writers, + French and English, but the details were gathered by Placide + P. Gaudet about twenty years ago from an old Acadian of + remarkable memory and intelligence, whose grandfather was a + brother of Charles Belliveau. + +The names of most of the families who arrived at St. John in this ship +have been preserved, including those of Charles Belliveau, Charles +Dugas, Denis St. Sceine, Joseph Guilbault, Pierre Gaudreau, Denis St. +Sceine, jr., M. Boudrault and two families of Grangers. + +Charles Belliveau, the hero of the adventure just related, was born at +the Cape at Port Royal about 1696; he married in 1717 Marie Madeleine +Granger and had eight children whose descendants today are numerous. + +On the 8th of February, 1756, an English schooner entered the harbor +of St. John, under French colors, having on board a party of Rangers +disguised as French soldiers. Governor Lawrence writes to Shirley: "I +had hopes by such a deceit, not only to discover what was doing there +but to bring off some of the St. John's Indians. The officer found +there an English ship, one of our transports that sailed from +Annapolis Royal with French Inhabitants aboard bound for the continent +(America), but the inhabitants had risen upon the master and crew and +carried the ship into that harbor; our people would have brought her +off, but by an accident they discovered themselves too soon, upon +which the French set fire to the ship." + +We learn from French sources that on this occasion the captain of the +English vessel made some French signals and sent his shallop on shore +with four French deserters, who announced that they had come from +Louisbourg with supplies and that other ships were on their way with +the design of re-establishing the fort at the mouth of the river and +so frustrating a similar design on the part of the English. The story +seemed so plausible that an unlucky Acadian went on board the ship to +pilot her to her anchorage, but no sooner was he on board than the +captain hoisted his own proper flag and discharged his artillery upon +the people collected on shore. Belliveau and the people who had lately +escaped transportation to South Carolina were living in huts on shore +and perceiving that the English were approaching with the design of +carrying off the vessel in which they had escaped, they succeeded in +landing some swivel guns and having placed them in a good position +made so lively a fire upon the enemy that they soon abandoned the idea +of a descent and returned to Annapolis Royal. + +The sole result, of this bit of strategy seems to have been the +capture of one poor Frenchman from whom the English learned that the +Indians had gone, some to Passamaquoddy and others with Boishebert to +Cocagne, also that there was "a French officer and about 20 men +twenty-three miles up the River at a place called St. Anns." + +The Indians who had gone to Passamaquoddy managed to surprise at night +a large schooner lying at anchor in Harbor L'Elang, bound from Boston +to Annapolis Royal with provisions for the garrison. The schooner +carried six guns and had on board a crew of ten men besides her +captain and an artillery officer of the Annapolis garrison. The vessel +was carried to St. John and hidden on the lower part of the river. The +savages pillaged her so completely that on her arrival there remained +only a small quantity of bacon and a little rum. The prisoners were +sent by Boishebert to Canada along with others captured on various +occasions. + +The Acadian refugees continued to come to the River St. John in +increasing numbers, and Boishebert and the missionaries soon found +themselves reduced to sore straits in their endeavors to supply them +with the necessaries of life. The Marquis de Vaudreuil was determined +to hold the St. John river country as long as possible. He wrote the +French minister, June 1, 1756: "I shall not recall M. de Boishebert +nor the missionaries, nor withdraw the Acadians into the heart of the +colony until the last extremity, and when it shall be morally +impossible to do better." It was his intention to send provisions and +munitions of war to the Acadians and Indians. + +Boishebert was endeavoring at this time, with the approval of the +Marquis de Vaudreuil, to draw as many of the Acadians as possible to +the River St. John and to induce them to oppose any advance on the +part of the English. The French commander, however, soon found his +position an exceedingly difficult one. After sending many families to +Quebec and to the Island of St. John he had still six hundred people, +besides the Indians, to provide for during the winter, and many +refugees from Port Royal and elsewhere desired to come to the River +St. John. The number of Acadians dependent on him received additions +from time to time by the arrival of exiles returning from the south. +In the month of June five families numbering fifty persons, arrived +from Carolina and told Boishebert that eighty others were yet to +arrive. + +The difficulties surmounted by these poor people in the pathetic +endeavor to return to their old firesides seem almost incredible. A +small party of Acadians of the district of Beaubassin, at the head of +the Bay of Fundy, were transported to South Carolina. They traveled +thence on foot to Fort Du Quesne (now Pittsburg) from which place they +were transported to Quebec. One might have thought they would have +been well satisfied to have remained there, but no, so great was their +attachment to their beloved Acadia that they would not rest content +until they had arrived at the River St. John. + +The idea that dominated the Marquis de Vaudreuil in providing these +unfortunates with the necessaries of life seems to have been to +utilize their services for the defence of Canada. "It would not be +proper," he says, "that they should be at the charges of the King +without giving tangible proof of their zeal for the service of his +majesty." The governor not being able to provide for all the refugees +at the River St. John, on account of the difficulty of transporting +supplies by way of Temiscouata, gave directions to the Sieur de +Boishebert to send to Miramichi the families he could not subsist on +the St. John. The number of Acadians at Miramichi soon amounted to +3,500 persons. + +The ensuing winter proved most trying to the destitute Acadians. The +harvest had been extremely poor. In some cases the old inhabitants had +nothing to live upon but the grain needed for seeding in the spring +time. The conditions at Miramichi were probably not more wretched than +on the River St. John. Of the former the Marquis de Vaudreuil writes +in the following plaintive terms:---- + +"This part of Acadia holds out for the King although reduced to the +most wretched state. Although ourselves in want, M. Bigot has sent a +vessel with provisions to Miramichi, but she has unfortunately been +delayed on the way by head winds. The misery of the Acadians there is +so great that Boishebert has been compelled to reduce their allowance +to ten pounds of peas and twelve pounds of meat per month, and it +would have been further reduced had not forty bullocks been brought +from Petitcodiac. This was the allowance for the month of January and, +the fishery being exhausted, he could not hope to have the same +resource the months following. In a word the Acadian mothers see their +babes die at the breast not having wherewith to nourish them. The +majority of the people cannot appear abroad for want of clothes to +cover their nakedness. Many have died. The number of the sick is +considerable, and those convalescent cannot regain their strength on +account of the wretched quality of their food, being often under the +necessity of eating horse meat extremely lean, sea-cow, and skins of +oxen. Such is the state of the Acadians. + +"The intendant, M. Bigot, is going to send a ship, as soon as the ice +breaks, to carry such supplies as we can furnish them. Unless some +assistance is sent by sea, the lands, cattle, and effects hidden in +the woods must all be sacrificed, and the Acadians obliged to go +elsewhere." + +At the beginning of the year 1756, the governors of Massachusetts and +Nova Scotia discussed the situation of affairs on the St. John river, +and agreed that steps must be taken as soon as possible to dislodge +the French. + +In one of his letters to Governor Lawrence, Shirley observes, "I look +upon dispossessing the French of the St. John River, and fortifying +it, to be necessary for securing the Bay of Fundy and the Peninsula +against attempts from Canada. * * * If I am rightly informed, nothing +hath yet been done towards it, except making a visit up the River as +far as the lower Fort, near the mouth of it, upon which the French +abandoned it, having first destroyed the stores and burst the cannon, +and there still remain the settlements they have above that Fort, by +means of which they keep the Indians inhabiting it in a dependence +upon them, and have a passage across a carrying place into the River +Patcotyeak (Petitcodiac) whereby a communication may be maintained +between St. John's River and Cape Breton across the Gulf of St. +Lawrence." In another letter Shirley wrote that it was essential the +French should be dislodged from the St. John and their settlements +broken up, since, if suffered to remain, they would soon be very +strong and able to maintain communication by the river with Canada, +depriving the English of the fur trade upon it and maintaining +absolute control of the Indians. + +The Indians were at this time decidedly hostile to the English and +Lawrence determined to wage against them a merciless warfare. +Accordingly, with the advice and approval of his council, he issued a +proclamation offering a reward of L30 for every Indian warrior brought +in alive, a reward of L25 for the scalp of every male Indian above the +age of sixteen years, and for every woman or child brought in alive +the sum of L25; these rewards to be paid by the commanding officer at +any of His Majesty's Forts in the Province on receiving the prisoners +or scalps. + +This cold-blooded and deliberately issued proclamation of the chief +magistrate of Nova Scotia and his council can scarcely be excused on +the plea that the Abbe Le Loutre and other French leaders had at +various times rewarded their savage allies for bringing in the scalps +of Englishmen. As for the savages, they had, at least, the apology +that they made war in accordance with the manner of their race, +whereas the proclamation of the Governor of Nova Scotia was unworthy +of an enlightened people. Nothing could be better calculated to lower +and brutalize the character of a soldier than the offer of L25 for a +human scalp. + +About this time, two of the New England regiments were disbanded and +returned to their homes, their period of enlistment having expired, +and the difficulty of obtaining other troops prevented anything being +attempted on the St. John for a year or two. Lawrence and Shirley, +however, continued to discuss the details of the proposed expedition. +Both governors seem to have had rather vague ideas of the number of +the Acadians on the river and the situation of their settlements. +Shirley says he learned from the eastern Indians and New England +traders that their principal settlement was about ninety miles up the +river at a place called St. Annes, six miles below the old Indian town +of Aukpaque. He thought that 800 or 1,000 men would be a force +sufficient to clear the river of the enemy and that after they were +driven from their haunts the English would do well to establish a +garrison of 150 men at St. Annes, in order to prevent the return of +the French and to overawe the Indians. He also recommended that the +fort at the mouth of the river, lately abandoned by Boishebert, should +be rebuilt and a garrison of 50 men placed there. + +During the years that followed the expulsion of the Acadians +occasional parties of the exiles, returning from the south, arrived at +the River St. John, where they waited to see what the course of +events might be. Their condition was truly pitiable. Some had +journeyed on foot or by canoe through an unexplored wilderness; +others, from the far away Carolinas, having procured small vessels, +succeeded in creeping furtively along the Atlantic coast from one +colony to another until they reached the Bay of Fundy; and thus the +number of the Acadians continued to increase until Boishebert had more +than a thousand people under his care. Some of them he sent to Canada, +for his forces were insufficient for their protection, and his +supplies were scanty. + +The locations of the French settlements on the river at this period +are described in detail in Dr. Ganong's "Historic Sites in New +Brunswick." The largest settlement, and that farthest up the St. John, +was at St. Annes Point, where the City of Fredericton stands today. +Here the Acadians had cleared 600 or 700 acres of land and built a +thriving village with a little chapel (near the site of Government +House) and probably there was a sprinkling of houses along the river +as far up as the Indian village of Aukpaque, six miles above. Their +next settlement was at the mouth of the Oromocto, where 300 acres of +land had been cleared. A very old settlement existed near the +abandoned fort at the mouth of the Jemseg, but its growth had been +retarded by the annoyances of the spring freshets and many of the +inhabitants had been obliged to remove. There was an important +settlement on the site now occupied by the village of Gagetown and +houses were scattered along the river for several miles below. Another +small settlement existed above the mouth of the Bellisle, and there +may have been a few inhabitants at the mouth of the Nerepis where +stood Fort Boishebert. At St. John the French had cleared some land on +the west side of the harbor, and in Bruce's map of 1761 the places +cleared are marked as "gardens," but it is probable that the +inhabitants abandoned them and fled up the river in 1755 when their +fort, "Menagoueche," was destroyed by Captain Rous. + +In the year 1756 England declared war against France and the capture +of Louisbourg was proposed. The governor of Canada ordered Boishebert +to hold himself in readiness to aid in its defence, and he accordingly +proceeded to Cape Breton with a force of 100 Acadians and Canadians +and about 250 Indians, many of them Maliseets of the River St. John. +The latter did not go very willingly, for they had been reduced to so +great a state of misery in consequence of not receiving the supplies +they had expected from the French that they had entered into peace +negotiations with the English. However by means of harangues and +promises Boishebert contrived to bring them with him. + +The Chevalier de Drucour, the commander at Louisbourg, urged the +French minister to send at once presents and supplies for the savages. +"These people," he observes, "are very useful in the kind of warfare +we are making, but unless we act towards them as they have been led to +expect I will not answer that we shall have them with us next year." +He urges the French minister to send him some medals for distribution. +The distinction of possessing one was very highly prized and often +retained the fidelity of a whole village of the savages. + +The expected assault of Louisbourg did not take place until 1758 and +Boishebert, who had retired to Canada, was ordered to repair thither. +The Marquis de Montcalm wrote from Montreal to the French minister, +April 10th, "Monsieur Boishebert, captain of troops of the colony, +leaves in the course of a few days, if the navigation of the St. +Lawrence is open, to proceed to the River St. John and thence to +Louisbourg with a party of 600 men, including Canadians, Acadians and +savages of Acadia." + +The governor and other officials at Quebec seem to have placed every +confidence in the courage and capacity of Boishebert, who, it may be +here mentioned received this year the Cross of St. Louis in +recognition of his services in Acadia. "It is certain," writes the +Marquis de Vaudreuil, "that if, when the former siege of Louisbourg +took place, the governor there had agreed to the proposal to send +Marin thither with a force of Canadians and Indians the place would +not have fallen, and if Boishebert were now to collect 200 Acadians +and 200 St. John river Indians and the Micmacs he would be able to +form a camp of 600 or 700 men, and Drucour could frequently place the +besiegers between two fires." + +The expectations of Montcalm and de Vaudreuil as to the usefulness of +Boishebert's detachment in the defence of Louisbourg were doomed to +disappointment, for Boishebert did not arrive at Louisbourg until near +the end of the siege and with forces not one-third of the number that +Drucour had been led to expect. Two depots of provisions had been +placed in the woods for the use of the detachment, but the fact that +Boishebert had only about 120 Acadians and a few Indians in addition +to a handful of regulars, entirely frustrated Drucour's design of +harrassing the attacking English by a strong demonstration in their +rear. About twenty of Boishebert's Indians were engaged in a skirmish +with the English and two of their chiefs having fallen the rest were +so discouraged that they returned to their villages. Boishebert +himself had a few unimportant skirmishes with outlying parties of the +English, and then came the news of the surrender of Louisbourg. He +immediately sent away the sick of his detachment, set fire to a +thousand cords of wood and a quantity of coal to prevent its falling +into the hands of the enemy, and on the 29th July set out on his +return to the St. John river. The English made a lively but fruitless +pursuit. + +Boishebert left his sick at Miramichi, and having sent sixty +prisoners, whom he had taken on various occasions, to Quebec, he then +took part in an expedition against Fort George, on the coast of Maine, +where he gained more honor than at the seige of Louisbourg.[36] He +returned to Quebec in November, and about the same time there was an +exodus from the River St. John, both of Acadians and Indians, the +reason for which the next chapter will explain. From this time the +Sieur de Boishebert ceases to be an actor in the events on the St. +John, and becomes merely an on-looker. + + [36] The Chevalier Johnson writes, "Boishebert came early in the + Spring to Louisbourg with several hundred men, 12 Canadian + Officers and 6 others from the garrison of Louisbourg; and he + kept his detachment with such prudence so concealed at Miry + during the siege, five leagues from Louisbourg, that neither + the English nor the garrison had ever any news of them." + +[Illustration: MAJOR GENERAL ROBERT MONCKTON.] + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE ENGLISH TAKE POSSESSION OF THE RIVER ST. JOHN. + + +The territory north of the Bay of Fundy, which now forms the Province +of New Brunswick, was for nearly half a century a bone of contention +between the French and their English rivals. It might indeed be said +that from the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 to the Treaty of Paris in 1763 +the controversy continued to disturb the peace of Europe. Sometimes +the points at issue were warmly debated at the council board, where +the representatives of either nation vainly tried to settle the limits +of Acadia, and sometimes they were yet more fiercely disputed amidst +the clash of arms and bloody scenes of the battle field. + +But as years passed on, and the growing power of the English colonies +began to overshadow that of "La Nouvelle France," it seemed that the +Anglo-Saxon race must in the end prevail. The policy of the governors +of Nova Scotia and New England became more and more aggressive. In +vain did the valiant Montcalm, as late as the year 1758, represent to +his country that in fixing the limits of New France it was essential +to retain possession of what the English claimed as Acadia as far as +the Isthmus of Chignecto, and to retake Beausejour; also that France +should keep possession of the River St. John or, at least, leave the +territory there undivided and in the possession of its native +inhabitants: no such compromise as this would now satisfy the +English. + +Louisbourg surrendered to General Amherst on the 26th July, 1758, and +a few weeks later Colonel Monckton was sent with a body of troops, +flushed with their success, to drive the hapless Acadians from their +settlements on the River St. John. The particulars connected with this +expedition are found in an unpublished document, of which the original +is in the Public Record Office in London, entitled "Report of the +Proceedings of the Troops on the Expedition up St. John's River in the +Bay of Fundy under the command of Colonel Monckton."[37] + + [37] For a copy of this valuable paper I am indebted to Dr. W. F. + Ganong. The name of Monckton is preserved in that of the + second largest town of the province. + +As Monckton was the principal agent in an event of such historic +importance to us as the permanent occupation of the St. John river, a +few words may very properly be devoted to him. + +Robert Monckton was the second son of John, first Viscount Galway, by +his wife Lady Elizabeth Manners, youngest daughter of the Duke of +Rutland. He began his military career in Flanders in 1742, where he +fought in several battles. Later he came out to America, and in 1752 +we find him in charge of the garrison of Fort Lawrence, keeping watch +over the French stronghold of Beausejour, across the Misseguash. A +little later he was commandant of the garrison of Annapolis Royal. He +commanded the English forces at the reduction of Beausejour, in June, +1755. The year following he was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nova +Scotia. He commanded the 4th battalion of the 60th regiment, or "Royal +Americans," at the siege of Louisbourg, and in 1759 served as second +in command to Wolfe at the taking of Quebec, on which occasion he was +conspicuous for his bravery and was severely wounded. A year or two +later he was Governor of New York. In the course of time he attained +the rank of lieutenant-general in the army, and at his death, in 1782, +was a member for Portsmouth in the British Parliament. + +Among those who, in a subordinate capacity, rendered essential service +in the expedition to the River St. John none was more conspicuous than +our old friend, Captain Cobb, of the Province sloop "York;" a few +words may fittingly be devoted to him. + +Sylvanus Cobb was born in Plymouth, New England, in 1709. Shortly +before the capture of Louisbourg by Sir Wm. Pepperrell, in 1745, he +raised a company in his native town for Colonel Gorham's regiment and +served with credit during the operations of the seige. He was +subsequently in command of a small armed vessel employed by +Government to cruise in the Bay of Fundy. After Halifax was founded, +in 1749, he was employed by Governor Cornwallis and his successors +for nearly ten years as master of the Provincial armed sloop "York." +When at Louisbourg in 1758 he was selected by Monckton to conduct +Wolfe to reconnoitre the fortress previous to an assault. As they +sailed up the harbor no one was allowed to stand on deck but Wolfe at +the fore-sheet and Cobb at the helm. The shot flew thickly around +them, and Wolfe at length signified that they had approached as near +to the fortifications as was necessary, but Cobb made yet another +tack, eliciting Wolfe's admiration and the remark, "Well, Cobb! I +shall never again doubt but you will carry me near enough." Capt. Cobb +lived for some years at Liverpool, N. S. He died of fever in 1762 +while serving in an expedition against Havana, and is said to have +expressed his regret that he had not met a soldier's death at the +cannon's mouth. His descendants in Queens county, N. S., are +numerous. + +The troops that accompanied Colonel Monckton to the River St. John +included several New England companies of Rangers under captains +McCurdy, Brewer, Goreham and Stark, a detachment of artillery, the 2nd +battalion of the Royal American Regiment[38] and the 35th regiment of +light infantry. The troops embarked on board the transport ships +"Isabella," "Wade," "Alexander the Second," "Viscount Falmouth," "Lord +Bleakeney," the sloops "York" and "Ulysses" and other vessels, under +convoy of the "Squirrel" man-of-war. Vessels and troops had lately +returned from the siege of Louisbourg. + + [38] The Royal American Regiment, or 60th Regiment of Foot, was + raised in America about 1756 or 1757. It was commanded by Maj. + Gen. James Abercrombie, who was succeeded by Gen. Sir Jeffrey + Amherst in February, 1758. The corps included four battalions + each of 1,000 men. Robert Monckton was appointed colonel in + the regiment Sept. 28, 1757. (See Murdoch's Hist. Nova Scotia, + Vol. 2, p. 329.) + +The fleet sailed from Halifax on Monday the 11th September and on the +18th anchored off Partridge Island sending in Cobb and Rogers[39] with +their sloops to reconnoitre. They proceeded up the harbor and on their +return reported that they had seen only two or three people. However, +Monckton learned later that there were more than two hundred Indians +in ambush at the mouth of the river when the English landed, but +their chief, overawed by the strength of the invaders, would not +suffer them to fire and retired with them up the river, and "upon +their return to Oauckpack (their settlement about two leagues above +St. Anns) Pere Germain, their priest, expecting, as he termed it, +'Quelque coup de Trahison' from them, marched them off for Canada." + + [39] Capt. Jeremiah Rogers commanded the armed sloop "Ulysses" in the + pay of the Government of Nova Scotia, as early as January, + 1751. + +The next day the fleet anchored in the harbor and Monckton sent Cobb +with his sloop to Chignecto for some Acadian prisoners to serve as +pilots up the river, also for some whale boats and Captain Benoni +Danks company of Rangers. + +We come now to a day worthy to be held in remembrance--the memorable +20th of September, 1759--when the control of the River St. John passed +finally into the hands of Great Britain and a permanent English +settlement was made upon the shores of our harbor, Monckton's journal +contains a brief record of the event: + + "Sep'br. ye 20th.--Made the Signal for Landing about nine and soon + after landed near the Old Fort, with as many Men as the Boats + could take, being about 400. Met with no opposition. The 2d. + Division being landed I sent off Maj'r Scott with about 300 Light + Infantry and Rangers to make discovery and advanced the two + companys of Grenadiers to support him in case of necessity. The + Maj'r returned, having been above the Falls; he found some few + Tracks but not the least signs of any Road or Path--the woods very + thick and bad marching. The troops being all landed I ordered the + Tents to be got on shore and encamped the two regiments just at + the back of the Fort. The Light Infantry and Rangers under Maj'r + Scott encamped on the Hill above." + +The next few days were spent in getting provisions and supplies on +shore. The detachment of artillery and three field pieces were also +landed. A number of exploring parties were sent out and all agreed +that it was impracticable to proceed with the expedition by land. +Monckton had already sent word by Capt. Rogers to Annapolis and by +Capt. Cobb to Fort Cumberland to press into the King's service any +sloops or schooners available to transport provisions and stores up +the river, as the majority of his vessels were too large to attempt +the passage of the falls. Meanwhile he determined to repair the old +fort and work was begun upon it on the 24th September. "My reasons," +writes Monckton, "for fixing on this spot, though somewhat commanded +by the Hill on the back were, that it was so much work ready done to +our hands, the command it would have of the Harbor, the conveniency of +landing our stores, and the great difficultys that would have attended +its being erected further from the shore having no conveniency of +moving our stores but by men. Besides, as the season was so far +advanced and we had still to go up the River, I thought it best to fix +on what would be soonest done. And in regard to the Hill that has some +command of it, it is only with cannon, which the enemy would find +great difficulty in bringing, and this may hereafter be remedy'd by +erecting some small Work on it." + +In the construction of the works at the fort 600 men were employed +daily until the 24th October, when the number was reduced to 300 in +consequence of the departure of the expedition up the river to destroy +the Acadian settlements. Capt. Cobb returned from Fort Cumberland the +last day of September with Danks' company of Rangers, five whale boats +and nine French prisoners. From the latter Monckton learned that it +would have been almost impossible to have gone up the river by land, +and that it would have been dangerous to attempt to pass the falls +with such vessels as they had with them. Their opinion, as to the +difficulty of passing the falls, was confirmed by observations and +soundings made by Capt. Willock and the masters of the transports. + +While the fort was building, Monckton was engaged in collecting +military stores, provisions and supplies of various kinds for which he +sent vessels to Fort Cumberland, Annapolis, Halifax and Boston. The +officers' barracks at Fort Frederick were erected on the 2nd of +October and the work of building the fort made rapid progress, but it +was not until the 21st of October that the expedition was in a +position to proceed up the river. Even then the start was not a very +auspicious one as we learn from Monckton's journal, in which he +writes:-- + + "Having got together several sloops and schooners and victual'd + them, I order Cobb & Rogers to pass the Falls to cover the other + vessels as they might be able to get through. They accordingly get + under way. Cobb being the headmost passes the Narrows, but is too + late to get over the Falls and obliged to come too in a little + cove below. The Ulysses, Capt. Rogers, in passing the Narrows + strikes on a Rock, and is drove by the Tide into a creek above + Cobb where the vessell sunk in a short time, and it was with great + difficulty the Light Infantry who were in her and crew were saved. + Upon hearing this and that Cobb did not lay very safe I ordered + him down again and very luckily for at Low Water he would have + struck on the Rocks." + +The captain of the man of war "Squirrel" endeavored to raise the +"Ulysses" but was forced to abandon the attempt and she proved a total +wreck. + +Having at length got all the smaller vessels safely above the falls +and the troops on board, with provisions for a fortnight, Monckton +himself embarked in Capt. Cobb's sloop "York," leaving Captain Bellen +of the 35th regiment in command of the troops left behind. The force +that proceeded up the river numbered about 1,200 men. + +To understand the subsequent proceedings of the expedition the reader +will do well to refer occasionally to the accompanying plan[40] based +on that transmitted by Monckton, along with his report, to Major +General Amherst. + + [40] The original of this plan, which is in the British Museum, was + made by Major Charles Morris, Surveyor General of Nova Scotia. + He was with Monckton at the River St. John. + +On the morning of the 30th October the little fleet got under sail but +the wind being contrary little progress was made; indeed the ordnance +sloop was very nearly sharing the fate of the "Ulysses," and only +escaped by casting anchor in a rather perilous position just above the +falls. Next day the vessels succeeded in crossing Grand Bay and +anchored off "Pointe aux Tourtres,"[41] about two leagues above the +mouth of the Nerepis. On their way they observed the remains of the +fort built by Boishebert at Woodman's Point. + + [41] This place is known as Salmon Point, but in the plan is given as + Pidgeon's Point. + +[Illustration: Sketch of St. John's Harbour, and a Part of the River.] + +[Illustration: "ISLE AU GARCE," OR "EMENENIC." (Now Called Caton's +Island, in Long Reach.)] + +On November 1, the wind being contrary, little progress was made, and +in the evening the "York" anchored off an island called "Isle aux +Garces." Monckton landed on the island, which he describes as "a verry +fine one--the wood Oak, Beech, Birch, and Walnut, and no underwood." +This island was none other than the famous Emenenic, where some +traders and fishermen of St. Malo had a small settlement in the year +1611--probably the first European settlement within the confines of +the province. It was here the Jesuit missionary, Father Biard, held +the first religious service on the St. John river of which we have any +record. As mentioned in a previous chapter, the Indians still call the +island "Ah-men-hen-ik," which is almost identical in sound with +Biard's "Emenenic," thus proving that the old Indian name has +persisted for well-nigh three hundred years. The name "Isle au garce," +found in the plan of the river, is not easy of explanation. "Garce" +may possibly be a misprint for "grace," and the name "Isle of grace" +would harmonize very well with the French missionary's visit and +religious services in October, 1611, but Placide P. Gaudet--who, by +the way, is no mean authority as regards the French regime on the +River St. John--is disposed to consider the word "garce" as +signifying a "merry maiden." If so, the name is suggestive of an +untold story and there is material for a romance in connection with +our historic "Isle au garce." The island is now owned by County +Secretary George R. Vincent. The soil is fertile, well wooded and +excellent spring water is abundant; fine oaks grow there as in +Monckton's day. A little cove, which may be seen in the view of the +island a little to the right of the wood-boat, affords an excellent +landing place. + +The plan of the river accompanying Colonel Monckton's report is of +special interest on account of the curious admixture of French and +English names. This feature is quite in harmony with the epoch which +was one of transition. Instances today are not infrequent where the +existing name has been translated from the French, a familiar example +being that of the island at the mouth of St. John harbor, called by +the French "Isle au Perdrix" and translated into the English +"Partridge Island." Another familiar instance occurs in connection +with Oak Point in Long Reach. Describing their progress up the river +Monckton says, "We came too off Point aux Chaines to sound." Point aux +Chaines in English means Oak Point, and the identity of the situation +of Oak Point and of Monckton's Point aux Chaines is clearly shown in +the plan of the river. + +Monckton describes the country along the lower part of the River St. +John as "verry Mountainous and Rocky," but above the Bellisle +comparatively flat and well timbered. + +On the evening of the 2nd November the sloop "York" came to anchor +"under an island called the Great Island," or Long Island. Some of the +party landed on the island where, Monckton tells us, they found +walnuts (or butternuts) much like English walnuts. + +The expedition was now approaching one of the principal Acadian +settlements and Captain Benoni Danks was sent with a party and a guide +to try to take a prisoner in order, if possible, to obtain further +information, but the Acadians evidently received timely warning of +their danger and had abandoned their village. + +It may be mentioned, in passing, that there are some very uncomplimentary +references to Captain Danks and his Rangers in Rev. Hugh Graham's letter +to Rev. Dr. Brown, written at Cornwallis, N. S., in 1791.[42] See for +example the following: "A considerable large body of the French were at +one time surprised by a party of the Rangers on Petitcodiac River; upon +the first alarm most of them threw themselves into the river and swam +across, and by this ways the greatest part of them made out to elude the +clutches of these bloody hounds, tho' some of them were shot by the +merciless soldiery in the river. It was observed that these Rangers, +almost without exception, closed their days in wretchedness, and +particularly a Capt. Danks, who rode to the extreme of his commission in +every barbarous proceeding. In the Cumberland insurrection (1776) he was +suspected of being 'Jack on both sides of the bush,' left that place +in a small jigger bound for Windsor, was taken ill on the passage, +thrown down into the hold among the ballast, was taken out at Windsor +half dead, and had little better than the burial of a dog. He lived under +a general dislike and died without any to regret his death." + + [42] This letter will be found in the Collections of the Nova Scotia + Historical Society, Vol. II., pp. 135-145. Many of Mr. + Graham's remarks savor of exaggeration and in reading the + extract above this fact should not be lost sight of. + +Saturday, the 4th of November, was an unhappy day for the poor +Acadians living at the little village of Grimrose--the site of the +modern village of Gagetown. The story shall be told in Monckton's own +words:-- + + "Nov'br ye 4th,--The party returns without any Prisoner, having + been at the Village of Grimrose which they found had been but + lately deserted by the inhabitants. + + "Give orders for landing. Having got a body of about 700 Men on + Shore, we march to the further end of the Village, being about a + league. From whence, by the tracks we found, we judged that the + Inhabitants had but lately retired and drove off their cattle. + Here we found the Lime that had been taken in a schooner in the + spring, which they had landed as our Pilots supposed to lighten + the schooner, to get her higher up or to hide her in some + Creeke--as they supposed that they would certainly have carry'd + the Lime up to St. Anns would the depth of the River have admitted + of it. + + "It being late in the day I gave orders for Burning the Houses & + Barns, being in all about 50, and for destroying all the Grain, of + which there was a good deal, and everything else that could be of + the least service to the Inhabitants hereafter. Having Burnt and + destroyed everything we marched backe and reimbarked. + + "As we were disembarking in the morning some canoes were seen + crossing the head of Grimerose River [Gagetown Creek], and near + where we landed there had lately been some Birch canoes made. Much + cleared Land here--Fine Country. This Village was settled by the + Inhabitants of Beausejour, when drove off from thence in 1755." + +The day following the expedition continued up the river to Isle +Mettis, or Grimross Island. The pilots now refused to take charge of +the vessels any higher, as they did not think there was sufficient +water to pass. The accuracy of their judgment was soon evident. In +attempting to proceed Capt. Cobb ran his sloop aground, and several of +the transports had a like experience, but the bottom being sandy all +soon got off again without damage. Monckton sent Capt. Rogers, late of +the sloop "Ulysses," and a mate of the man-of-war "Squirrel," who had +accompanied the expedition, to take soundings but they could find no +practicable channel. + +The commanding officer now reluctantly abandoned the idea of +proceeding on to St. Annes. He might perhaps have attempted it by +means of whale boats if the season had not been so far advanced and +his provisions so nearly expended. After enumerating in his journal +the difficulties that confronted him in the event of proceeding +further he writes, "I therefore determined to return and destroy +everything we could on our way down." Meanwhile, by Monckton's orders, +Captain McCurdy had been scouring the country with his rangers and had +succeeded in killing some cattle which were divided among the +transports. + +Captains Danks and Brewer were sent with their companies to burn some +houses near what is now Upper Gagetown. After burning the houses they +marched their troops down the "Neck" towards the village of Grimrose +and on their way came across three or four Frenchmen who were driving +off about forty head of cattle. The New Englanders made a dash for +this prize, the Acadians escaped, but most of the cattle were +destroyed. + +Captain McCurdy was sent by Monckton across the river to Jemseg to +destroy all the houses and grain that he might find in that quarter +and to kill the cattle, and these orders were duly obeyed. Monckton +burnt the little settlement called Villeray's (about three miles below +Gagetown), and as he came down the river sent a small party on shore +to burn the historic settlement of the Sieur de Belleisle and his +sons-in-law, the brothers Robichaux, just above the mouth of Belleisle +Bay. On the 8th day of November, after an absence of ten days, he +arrived at the place above the falls where the troops had embarked. + +Colonel Monckton evidently was not very much elated at the success of +his expedition, for a few days after his return he wrote to Lieut. +Governor De Lancey of New York: "I am sorry I can't give you a better +acct. of our Proceedings up this River. But it was attended with so +many unavoidable delays and impediments that we were only able to go +up about 23 Leagues, which is above 10 Leagues short of St. +Annes--where, if we had been able to have reached, it is by very +certain accounts of no consequence, being only a Village and not the +least signs of a fort. + +"We burnt one village and some straggling Houses and destroyed +everything that could be the least serviceable to them, so that I +should think that they will in the spring be obliged to retire to +Canada. The River, after passing the Falls, is as fine a River as ever +I saw, and when you get up about 10 Leagues the country is level, with +fine woods of Oak, Beech, Birch and Walnut, and no underwood and the +land able to produce anything. We have just finished a pretty good +fort here, where the old French Fort stood, which will be a footing +for anything that may be thought proper to be undertaken hereafter." + +The Marquis de Vaudreuil, governor general of Canada, was not ignorant +of Monckton's operations on the River St. John, but he was in no +position to make any effectual resistance. In his letter to the French +minister of November 5, 1758, he states that the English were engaged +in rebuilding the old Fort at Menagoueche; the Indians of the River +St. John had retired with the Rev. Father Germain, their missionary to +Canada, where Bigot, the intendant, had provided for their wintering, +and the greater part of the Acadians had also retired to Canada. + +During Colonel Monckton's absence up the river work was continued at +the fort, so that it must have been nearly finished at the time of his +return. It received the name of Fort Frederick, and the remains of its +ramparts may still be seen at "Old Fort" in Carleton. + +In the plan of St. John harbor made by Colonel Robert Morse of the +Royal Engineers in 1784, there is an outline of Fort Frederick very +nearly identical as regards situation and general form with the sketch +of Fort Menagoueche (or "Fort de la Riviere de St. Jean") made in +October, 1700, by the Sieur de Villieu.[43] We have further proof of +an interesting nature that the situation and general plan of the new +fort was identical with the old French fort in one of the letters of +the Marquis de Vaudreuil, in which he tells us that about the time +Fort Frederick was nearing completion a French Canadian, kept there +as a prisoner, made his escape, and on his return to Canada described +the new fort as exactly the same size as the old but much stronger, +the terraces being at least ten feet in thickness, and upon the +terraces were palisades ten feet high in the form of "chevaux de +frise." The Frenchman had counted 18 cannons mounted of a calibre of +18L., and the English had told him they expected to mount in all 30 +cannons of 20L. and of 18L. + + [43] The plan of Villieu appears in Dr. Ganong's Historic Sites in + New Brunswick, p. 279. + +On the 11th November Colonel Monckton sent Major Scott to Petitcodiac +with the Light Infantry and Rangers in quest of a French privateer +that had been at the St. John river and which, with one of her prizes, +was said to have taken shelter there. He was directed to seize the +vessels and bring them off, together with any of the Acadian +inhabitants he could find, and to burn and destroy all the houses, +barns, cattle, grain, etc. On his return he was to send Captain Dank's +company to Fort Cumberland. + +Major Scott certainly acted with promptitude, for barely a week had +expired when he returned to St. John with the privateer schooner and +prize sloop, which he had found in two different creeks up the +Petitcodiac river. The parties sent out by the Major destroyed upwards +of 150 houses and barns, much grain and a good many cattle. They +captured 30 prisoners, including women and children. The Acadian seem +to have made some resistance, however, and a Lieutenant McCormack and +three men of Captain McCurdy's Company and two men of the Light +Infantry were captured by them. + +The troops that had served in the St. John river expedition were now +distributed among the garrisons at Fort Cumberland, Windsor, Annapolis +and Halifax, with the exception of McCurdy's, Stark's and Brewer's +companies of Rangers and a small detachment of artillery, ordered to +remain at Fort Frederick under command of Major Morris. This was a +more considerable garrison than could well find accommodation there +during the winter, but such was not Monckton's intention, for he +writes in his journal: "The Fuel of the Garrison not being as yet +lay'd in, I leave the three companies of Rangers, viz., McCurdy's, +Stark's, and Brewer's, and have ordered that Captain McCurdy's company +should Hutt and remain the Winter, the other two after compleating the +wood to come to Halifax in the vessels I had left them." + +Monckton sailed for Halifax in the man-of-war "Squirrel" on the 21st +of November, and with him went the 2nd Battalion of the Royal American +Regiment of which he was the commander. + +In the month of January following, a tragic event took place at or +near St. Anne's, an account of which has been left us by our early +historians, Peter Fisher and Moses H. Perley, in substance as +follows: + +After the winter season had fairly set in, a party of the rangers at +Fort Frederick, under Captain McCurdy, set out on snow-shoes to +reconnoitre the country and to ascertain the state of the French +settlements up the river. The first night after their departure they +encamped at Kingston Creek, not far from the Belleisle, on a very +steep hillside. That night Captain McCurdy lost his life by the +falling of a large birch tree, which one of the rangers cut down on +the hillside--the tree came thundering down the mountain and killed +the Captain instantly, Lieutenant Moses Hazen[44] succeeded to the +command, and the party continued up the river to St. Ann's Point (now +Fredericton), where they found quite a town. They set fire to the +chapel and other buildings, but a number of the French settlers +gathered together, whereupon the Rangers retreated, and, being hotly +pursued committed several atrocious acts upon the people who fell in +their way, to prevent their giving information. By reversing their +snow-shoes and making forced marches they got back safely to St. +John. + + [44] Moses Hazen was an older brother of William Hazen, who settled + at St. John. He distinguished himself under Gen. Wolfe on the + Plains of Abraham. In the American Revolution he fought + against the British, raised a corps known as "Hazen's Own," + and became a Major General in the American army. + +This story, considerably modified in some of its details, finds +confirmation from a variety of sources. (1) Sir Jeffery Amherst, +commander of the forces serving in America, writes in a letter to +Governor Lawrence, "You will have heard of the accident poor Capt. +McCurdy met with as likewise of the success of his Lieutenant in +demolishing the settlements at St. Anne's: on the recommendation of +Major Scott I have preferred Lieut. Hazen to Capt. McCurdy's Company." +In a subsequent letter Amherst says: "Major Morris sent me the +particulars of the scouting party and I gave a commission to Lieut +Hazen, as I thought he deserved it. I am sorry to say what I have +since heard of that affair has sullied his merit with me as I shall +always disapprove of killing women and helpless children. Poor McCurdy +is a loss, he was a good man in his post." In another letter Amherst +describes this sad affair more fully. See Appendix. + +(2) Further confirmation of the charge of barbarity is found in the +journal of Rev. Jacob Bailey[45] of Pownalboro, Maine. This gentleman +had occasion to lodge at Norwood's Inn, in the town of Lynn, +Massachusetts, on the night of Dec'r 13, 1759, and speaking of the +company he found there says: "We had among us a soldier belonging to +Capt. Hazen's company of rangers, who declared that several Frenchmen +were barbarously murdered by them, after quarters were given, and the +villain added, I suppose to show his importance, that he 'split the +head of one asunder, after he fell on his knees to implore mercy.' A +specimen of New England clemency!" + + [45] Rev. Jacob Bailey was a prominent loyalist during the American + Revolution, and afterwards Rector of Annapolis. N. S. + +(3). A statement is to be found in a dispatch of the Marquis de +Vaudreuil, dated May 8, 1759, that a number of Acadians living at the +River St. John were surprised on the night of the 27-28 January, 1759, +by a detachment of New England troops who burned their houses, carried +off twenty-three prisoners and killed two women and four children, +whose scalps they bore away. + +(4). Still further light is thrown upon this transaction by some notes +appended to the names of certain Acadians, who had served as officers +of militia in Acadia, and who were living in 1767 at Cherbourg. We +learn that the Sieur Joseph Bellefontaine had once owned a large tract +of land on the River St. John, near St. Anne's, and that he was +appointed Major of the militia on the river by order of the Marquis de +la Galissonniere, April 10, 1749, and always performed his duties with +fidelity until made a prisoner by the enemy. At the time of the +mid-winter raid on St. Anne's he had the misery of seeing one of his +daughters with three of her children massacred before his eyes by the +English, who desired by this act of cruelty and the fear of similar +treatment to compel him to take their side. On his refusal he barely +escaped a like fate by his flight into the woods, carrying with him +two other children of the same daughter. The young mother so +ruthlessly slain was Nastasie Bellefontaine, wife of Eustache Pare. +The other victims of this tragedy of the wilderness were the wife and +child of Michel Bellefontaine--a son of Joseph Bellefontaine. This +poor fellow had the anguish of beholding his wife and boy murdered +before his eyes on his refusal to side with the English. + +The village of St. Anne's was left in a state of desolation. Moses +Perley says that when the advance party of the Maugerville colony +arrived at St. Anne's Point in 1762, they found the whole of what is +now the Town plat of Fredericton cleared for about ten rods back from +the bank and they saw the ruins of a very considerable settlement. The +houses had been burned and the cultivated land was fast relapsing into +a wilderness state. Nevertheless the early English settlers reaped +some advantage from the improvements made by the Acadians, for we +learn from Charles Morris' description of the river in 1768, that at +the site of the old French settlement at St. Anne's Point there was +about five hundred acres of cleared upland in English grass from +whence the inhabitants of Maugerville got the chief part of their Hay +for their Stock. "They inform me," says Mr. Morris, "that it produces +about a load and a half to an acre." He adds, "The French Houses are +all burnt and destroyed." + +An interesting incident connected with the French occupation was +related many years ago by the grandmother of the late Judge Fisher to +one of her descendants. This good old lady came to St. Anne's in the +fall of 1783 with the Loyalists. Not very many months after their +arrival, there was so great a scarcity of provisions that the +unfortunate people in some cases were obliged to dig up the potatoes +they had planted and eat them. As the season advanced their hearts +were cheered by the discovery of some large patches of pure white +beans, marked with a black cross. They had been planted by the French, +but were now growing wild. In their joy at this fortunate discovery +the settlers called them "the staff of life and hope of the starving." +Mrs. Fisher says she planted some of these beans with her own hands +and that the seed was preserved in her family for many years. + +The close of the year 1759 brought its anxieties to Colonel Mariot +Arbuthnot, who had succeeded Major Morris as commandant at Fort +Frederick. Quebec had fallen and the long and costly struggle between +England and France for the possession of Canada and Acadia had +terminated in favor of England. + +The Massachusetts troops in garrison at Fort Frederick expected to be +now relieved, as their period of enlistment had expired and the crisis +of the war was over. But unfortunately for them, General Amherst at +Crown Point found the force at his disposal insufficient, he could not +spare a man, and Monckton, who commanded at Quebec, was in precisely +the same predicament. Lawrence at Halifax had no troops at his +disposal. Unless, therefore, the Massachusetts men remained Fort +Frederick would be left without a garrison. In this emergency the +Massachusetts legislature took the responsibility of extending the +period of enlistment of the troops of their colony, at the same time +voting money necessary to provide them with beds and other comforts +for the approaching winter. General Amherst strongly commended the +patriotic action of the legislature, and wrote to Governor Lawrence, +"They have judged very rightly that the abandoning any of the +Garrisons may be attended with most fatal consequences to this +country; and as they have made a necessary provision for the men to +continue during the winter, if the men do not stay and serve +voluntarily, they must be compelled to it by force." + +Evidently the men remained with great reluctance, for the following spring +we find the Governor of Massachusetts writing to Governor Lawrence, "I +find our people who are doing duty in your garrison--notwithstanding +the favor and attention this Province has shown them for continuing their +services through the winter, and notwithstanding the great encouragement +given to those who would continue--have worked themselves up to such a +temper of dissatisfaction that they have long ago threatened to come off, +if not relieved." + +This threat was not meaningless for the governor goes on to say +"already seventy men in one schooner and about eighty in another have +openly come off from Fort Frederick at St. John's." + +The conduct of these Massachusetts rangers was a source of mortification +to Lieut. Governor Hutchinson, who speaks of "the unwarrantable +behaviour of the garrison at St. John's River, all of whom have +deserted their post except 40 men and the continuation of those forty +seems to be precarious." Steps were at once taken to enlist a fresh +detachment for service at Fort Frederick. + +The conduct of the garrison was not unnatural, although from a +military point of view it was inexcusable. The men had enlisted for a +great and, as the event proved, a final struggle with France for +supremacy in North America. With the downfall of Louisbourg and Quebec +the crisis had passed. The period of their enlistment had expired, +what right had the Assembly of Massachusetts to prolong it? Why should +they remain? So they reasoned. Meanwhile garrison duty at Fort +Frederick was found to be extremely monotonous. The country was +deserted, for the few habitations that once existed in the vicinity of +the fort had been abandoned and destroyed when the French fled up the +river, and no English settlers had as yet appeared. Amidst their +privations and the loneliness of their situation the charms of their +own firesides seemed peculiarly inviting. Most probably, too, the fort +and barracks were little more than habitable in consequence of the +havoc wrought by a terrible storm on the night of the 3-4 November, +1759. This storm was the most violent that had till then been known, +and from all accounts must at least have rivalled the famous "Saxby" +gale of 1869. The tide attained a height of six feet above the +ordinary, and huge waves, driven by the storm, broke through the dykes +at the head of the Bay of Fundy, flooding the marsh lands reclaimed by +the Acadians. Much damage was done along the coast, thousands of trees +were blown down all over the country, while near the coastline the +forest was levelled as with a scythe. A considerable part of Fort +Frederick was washed away by the storm and Lieutenant Winckworth +Tonge, of the Engineers, was sent with a party of men to repair it and +put it in the most defensible state the situation would allow, taking +such tools and materials from Fort Cumberland as were needed. He found +the condition of the fort even worse than he had anticipated. Governor +Lawrence consulted General Amherst as to what should be done, and in +answer the general wrote: "By Lt. Tonge's report to you of the state +of the works at Fort Frederick, it must doubtless undergo great +alterations to put it in a proper state of defence, but as this will +require many more hands than you can provide at present, we must for +the time being rest satisfied with the work you have ordered, +especially as the line of strong Pallisadoes you mention will secure +it against any insult for the present." + +Colonel Arbuthnot's anxieties were not confined to tidal waves and the +discontents of his garrison. About the end of October a party of some +two hundred Acadians came down the river to Fort Frederick and +presented to him a certificate of their having taken the oath of +allegiance to the English sovereign before Judge Cramahe, at Quebec; +also an order signed by General Monckton giving them permission to +return to their former habitations. Whether these Acadians were old +inhabitants of the river, or fugitives who had taken refuge there at +the time of the Expulsion is not very clear. Lawrence surmised that +the certificates had been obtained from Judge Cramahe on the +supposition that the people belonged to some river or place in Canada +known as St. Johns, and not to the River St. John in Nova Scotia, and +that they never could have had any sort of permission from Monckton to +settle in Acadia. + +The Abbe Casgrain comments severely on the course pursued by Governor +Lawrence on this occasion: "Not being able," he says, "to dispute the +genuineness of the letters of Monckton and Cramahe, Lawrence claimed +that the Acadians could only have obtained them by fraud, and he +decided with his council, always ready to do his bidding, that they +should be regarded as prisoners of war and transported as soon as +possible to England. He took care not to disclose this resolution in +order to keep them securely at the fort, and to have them ready to his +hand when ships should arrive to transport them. This precaution was +almost superfluous for the Acadians, having exhausted their last +resources, were no longer in a state to return to the woods where they +would have died of hunger." + +Evidently it was part of the settled policy of Lawrence and his +advisers to keep the Acadians out of the province and to people it +with English speaking inhabitants, and with this policy General +Amherst seems to have been in accord, for he wrote the Governor of +Nova Scotia, "The pass you mention the two hundred Inhabitants of St. +John's River to have from Mr. Monckton, was by no means meant or +understood to give the French any right to those lands; and you have +done perfectly right not to suffer them to continue there, and you +will be equally right in sending them, when an opportunity offers, to +Europe as Prisoners of War." + +And yet it was very natural that, after the surrender of Quebec, the +Acadians should believe that upon accepting the new regime and taking +the oath of allegiance to the king of Great Britain they would be +treated in the same way as the French Canadians. The Abbe Casgrain +says, not without reason, that the Acadians had an even greater right +than the Canadians to clemency at the hands of their conquerors as +their sufferings were greater: ["Ils y avaient d'autant plus de droit +qu'ils avaient plus souffert."] + +The expulsion at so late a period as this of two hundred Acadians from +the Valley of the River St. John, where they had vainly hoped to +remain in peace, is an incident of some importance. There is an +unpublished letter of the Jesuit missionary Germain to the Marquis de +Vaudreuil, written at Aukpaque on the River St. John, under date +February 26, 1760, which is of some interest in this connection. "I +arrived at the River St. John," writes Father Germain, "on All Saints +Day (Nov. 1, 1759), where I unfortunately found all the inhabitants +had gone down to the English fort with their families, which made me +resolve to go and join them, as I did eight days afterwards, with the +intention of accompanying them wherever they might be sent in order to +help them--some to die as Christians in the transport ships and others +to be of good cheer in the calamity that has befallen them as it did +their brethren who are exiles in New England. But by a stroke of +Providence, Monsieur Coquart, missionary to the French, arrived, and I +desired the commandant to give me leave to retire which he granted +together with a passport permitting me to remain at the priests' house +in my mission where I am now."[46] + + [46] I am indebted to Placide P. Gaudet for the above extract. Father + Germain was the missionary of the Indians, while Coquart + seems to have ministered to the Acadians. The latter was a + "secular priest," or one not connected with any religious + order.--W. O. R. + +Colonel Arbuthnot had reported to Governor Lawrence that the Acadians +begged leave to remain upon their lands on their promise to be +faithful and true to His Majesty's Government. To this he made answer +that they must come down to the Fort and remain there till he could +apply to the Governor to know what should be done; they came down +accordingly, and were to remain at the Fort until his excellency's +pleasure should be known. The poor Acadians were represented to be in +a starving condition. Their case came before the Governor and Council +for consideration on the 30th November, at a meeting held at the +Governor's house in Halifax, and the decision arrived at was this: +"The Council are of opinion, and do advise that His Excellency do take +the earliest opportunity of hiring vessels for having them immediately +transported to Halifax, as Prisoners of War, until they can be sent to +England; and that the two Priests be likewise removed out of the +Province." The resolve of the council seems to have been carried into +effect. In the month of January, Lawrence sent to the River St. John +for the French inhabitants who, to the number of 300, were brought to +Halifax until he could send them to England. Colonel Arbuthnot was the +agent employed in collecting these unfortunate people and sending them +to Halifax, and being a gentleman of a humane disposition he doubtless +found his task a most uncongenial one. Among his assistants was Joseph +Winniett,[47] a member for Annapolis Royal in the Nova Scotia House of +Assembly. + + [47] This gentleman afterwards received an order from Mr. Bulkeley, + the provincial secretary, to take for his own use one of the + French boats "forfeited to the Government by the Acadians that + were at Annapolis," as a reward for his services in going up + the River St. John and assisting Colonel Arbuthnot in bringing + in the French. Winniett had a violent altercation with Captain + Sinclair of the Annapolis garrison about this boat. See + Murdoch's Hist. of N. S., Vol. II., p. 409. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +AUKPAQUE, THE VILLAGE AT THE HEAD OF THE TIDE. + + +On the west bank of the St. John, about six miles above the City of +Fredericton, is the site of the old Indian village of Aukpaque. It +looks out upon a charming panorama of interval and islands, amidst +which the river creeps lazily with many windings. In the background +across the river there rises the steep slope of Currie's Mountain, +volcanic in its origin. Weird legends connected with this mountain +have been handed down from ancient days, which the Indian guides will +sometimes rehearse when they find appreciative listeners. + +The surroundings of Aukpaque are indeed very beautiful, and as long +ago as 1686 they won the admiration of Monseigneur St. Vallier, who, +after describing the extent and varied scenery of the river, its +smoothly flowing waters and fertile islands embosomed by the tide, +says: "Some fine settlements might be made between Medoctec and +Jemseg, especially at a certain place which we have named Sainte +Marie, where the river enlarges and the waters are divided by a large +number of islands that apparently would be very fertile if cultivated. +A mission for the savages would be well placed there; the land has not +as yet any owner in particular, neither the King nor the governor +having made a grant to any one." + +Evidently there was not at this time any Indian village at Aukpaque, +but it is probable the place was occasionally used as a camping +ground. In the course of the next half century, however, there grew +into existence a village that rivalled and in time eclipsed the more +ancient village of Medoctec. Doubtless the presence of the French on +the lower St. John, and the establishment of Villebon's fort, at the +mouth of the Nashwaak, served to draw the savages in that direction. + +At the time of Monseigneur St. Vallier's visit they were beginning +very generally to embrace Christianity. The Indians and the Acadians +were visited occasionally by Claude Moireau, a Recollet missionary, +who went up the river as far at least as Fort Jemseg where, in July, +1680, he baptized nine Indian children of ages varying from five +months to nineteen years. Their names, with those of their parents and +sponsors, are duly recorded in his register. One or two of the entries +are here inserted as of historic interest:-- + + "The year of grace 1680, the 7 July: I have baptized at Jemseg, + according to the forms of our Holy Church, Claude, son of Soksim, + savage, and of Apolline Kedekouit, Christian, aged 18 years, and + named at the font Claude by Claude Petipas, notary royal, and + Isabella Petipas, his sponsors. + + [Signed] Claude Moireau, Recol. + + "The same day baptized Marie, sauvagesse, aged one year, daughter + of Tobuk and of Marie Noktomkiache, Christian, and named at the + font Marie by Rene Lambert and Catherine Bugaret, her sponsors. + + [Signed] Cl. Moireau, Recol." + +Two baptisms in the following year, one at Jemseg and the other at St. +John, are of equal interest:-- + + "At Jemsek, the year of grace 1681, the 25 May, have baptized + according to the forms of our Holy Church, Marie Anne Denis, aged + 4 months, daughter of Sieur Richard Denis, Esquire, and of Anne + Partarabego, sauvagesse, and has been held at the font by + damoiselle Marie Chartier, dame de Marson, her godmother, who has + named her Marie Anne. + + [Signed] Claude Moireau, Recol. + + "At Menagoueck, the year of grace 1681, the 2 June, have baptized + according to the forms of the Church, Jeanne Guidry, child of + Claude Guirdy dit la Verdure and of Keskoua, sauvagesse, who has + been held at the font by Claude Petipas and Jeanne de la Tour, + wife of Martignon, her sponsors, who have named her Jeanne. + + [Signed] Claude Moireau, Recol. + +A little later Father Simon of the Recollet order became the +missionary of the Indians on the river with headquarters at Medoctec. +Some account of his interesting personality and of his zealous labors +will be found in a previous chapter. After his death the work among +the Indians passed into the hands of the Jesuit missionary, Joseph +Aubery, and his successors Jean Baptiste Loyard, Jean P. Danielou and +Charles Germain. The whole river was included in the mission and the +priest had many journeys to make, but Medoctec, as the principal +village, was for years the headquarters of the mission. This was so +down to the time of Loyard's death. His successor, Danielou, +ministered to the Indians of Medoctec, also, as is shown by the +presence of his name on the slate-stone tablet of the Medoctec chapel. +But it is probable that Danielou was frequently at Aukpaque, and he +certainly had the spiritual oversight of the Acadians at St. Anne's +Point. + +[Illustration: Inscription on Medoctec Stone] + +The Indians of the River St. John were regarded by the English as the +most powerful and warlike tribe of Acadia and the Governor of Nova +Scotia endeavored to gain their good-will, and to induce them to +adhere to the treaty made with the eastern tribes by the authorities +of New England and Nova Scotia in 1725. In the year 1732 Lieut. +Governor Armstrong of Nova Scotia sent Paul Mascarene to Boston to +treat with Governor Belcher about the erection of a "truck-house" for +the Indian trade on the St. John river, and Mascarene was instructed +to recommend the lands on the St. John to the people of Massachusetts +as a very desirable place of settlement. Belcher expressed the opinion +that unless the crown would build a fort at the mouth of the river, +the "truck-house" project would fail, but in case of its erection +Massachusetts would probably send a sloop with goods to the Indians +Spring and Fall. However the idea of an English post at the mouth of +the St. John remained in abeyance until the surrender of Beausejour. + +So far as known to the author, the first mention of the Indian village +of Aukpaque occurs in connection with the census of 1733 which states +that fifteen French families reside below the "Village d'Ecoupay." +From this time onward there are frequent references to Aukpaque, some +of which are indicated in the foot-note below.[48] + + [48] Probably the name of no place in New Brunswick has appeared in + so many varied forms as that of this Indian village. The list + that follows does not pretend to be exhaustive, but will + suffice for illustration:-- + + (1.) Ecoupay--Census, 1733. (2.) Ocpaque--Lt.-Gov. + Armstrong's letter, 1735. (3.) Apoge--Capt. Pote's Journal, + 1745. (4.) Octpagh--Treaty proceedings at Halifax, 1749. + (5.) Ekauba--Report of Abbe de L'isle-Dieu, 1753. (6.) + Ocpaque--Letter of James Simonds, 1765. (7.) Aughpack--Map + of Charles Morris, 1765. (8.) Ekouipahag--Register of l'Abbe + Bailly, 1767. (9.) Aughpaugh--Letter of James Simonds, + 1768. (10.) Ekoupahag--Indian negotiations at Halifax, 1768. + (11.) Okpaak--Report of Rev. T. Wood's, 1769. (12.) + Augpeake--Letter Lt. Gov. Franklin, 1777. (13.) Auque + Pawhaque--Letter of Indians to Major Studholme, 1778. (14.) + Aupaque--Letter of Gen'l Haldimand, 1782. Oak Park--Letter of + Sam'l Peabody, 1782, also report of Exploration Committee to + Major Studholme, 1783. (16.) Ek-pa-hawk--Modern Indians. + +The little colony of fifteen families mentioned in the census of 1733 +seems to have settled in the vicinity of St. Anne's Point a few years +previously. It was a typical Acadian hamlet. Its people were of simple +habits and wished to live in peace. Naturally they were loyal to their +mother country and devout members of their mother church. But +France--sunny France--with all her marvellous resources and splendid +opportunities, proved an unworthy mother. And what has been the +result? A colonial empire shrunken almost to insignificance. And even +if her colonial empire were today what it was in the days of Louis +XIV, the colonies would be as empty cradles for which there are no +children. The progress and development of the Acadians of the maritime +provinces and of the French Canadians of the Dominion tell what France +might have been if her people had been true to high ideals. + +The colony of New France was never supported as it should have been. +While New England was making rapid progress and the tide of +immigration set strongly in that direction, Canada was left to take +care of itself. After the days of Frontenac the governors of Quebec +were haunted by the fear of encroachments on their territory on the +part of the people to the south. It became their policy to employ the +Indians and Acadians as buttresses against the inflowing tide of the +Anglo-Saxons. The Acadians would fain have lived in peace but, alas +the trend of events left little room for neutrality. + +The Maliseets of the St. John were naturally disposed to resent the +intrusion of the whites on their hunting grounds, and the French +encouraged this sentiment as regards any advance made by the English. +In the year 1735, Francis Germaine, "chief of Ockpaque," with one of +his captains came to Annapolis Royal to complain of the conduct of +some English surveyors, whom they seem to have regarded as trespassers +on their lands. For some reason they missed seeing the governor, but +he wrote them a very friendly letter, assuring them of his favor and +protection. This, however, did not satisfy the Indians, for a few +months afterwards they interfered with the loading of a vessel that +had been sent to St. John for limestone by the ordnance storekeeper +at Annapolis and robbed the sailors of their clothes and provisions, +claiming that the lands and quarries belonged to them. Not long +afterwards the Governor of Nova Scotia addressed a letter to "The +Reverend Father Danilou, priest of St. John's River," complaining that +a party of Maliseets under Thoma, their chief, had surprised, Stephen +Jones, an English trader, as he lay sleeping aboard his vessel at +Piziquid [Windsor, N. S.] and robbed him of goods to the value of L900 +and of his book of accounts valued at L700 more, and he hoped the +missionary would use his influence to induce the Indians to keep the +peace and, if possible, obtain redress for the unfortunate man they +had robbed. + +Two of the principal Acadians, living at or near St. Ann's, Mich'l +Bergeron and Joseph Bellefontaine, had an interview with Governor +Armstrong in 1736, and by request gave him a list of the Acadians then +living on the river, numbering in all 77 souls, besides the missionary +Jean Pierre Danielou. The governor ordered the Acadians to make their +submission to the British government and not to receive any missionary +without his approbation. It does not appear, however, that he was on +unfriendly terms with Danielou, who came to Annapolis the next year +and exercised the functions of his ministry. + +Under the care of Danielou's successor Germain, the Acadians and their +savage allies had a chequered experience indeed, but this has been +already related in the previous chapters. + +At the time of Monckton's invasion of the river in 1758 most of the +Indians abandoned the village of Aukpaque and retired with their +missionary, Germain, to Canada, but they returned after the capture of +Quebec and some of their chiefs went to Fort Frederick and took the +oath of allegiance to the English monarch. Colonel Arbuthnot was +directed to encourage them to come to Halifax and make a treaty of +peace and such arrangements as were necessary for trade with the +English. + +During the session of the House of Assembly held at Halifax in the +winter of 1759-60, Governor Lawrence urged the House to make provision +for the establishment of "truck-houses" for the Indians; he also +recommended legislation for the purpose of preventing private trade +with them, and the Assembly soon afterwards passed an act for that +purpose. + +On the 11th of February, Colonel Arbuthnot came to Halifax from Fort +Frederick, with two Indian chiefs of the Passamaquoddy tribe, to make +peace on the basis of the old Indian Treaty of 1725. Representatives +of the St. John river tribe arrived a few days later. The Indians +appeared before the Governor and Council with an interpreter. They +were received with every courtesy and presented with gold lace +blankets, laced hats, etc. It was agreed that the treaty should be +prepared in English and French, that the chiefs should be sent back in +a vessel to St. John, and that Col. Arbuthnot should accompany them, +taking the treaty with him to be ratified. After a fortnight's +deliberation the treaty was signed, on the 23rd February, by Ballomy +Glode, chief of the St. John Indians, and Michel Neptune, chief of the +Passamaquoddies. The treaty was based on those of 1725 and 1749, with +an additional engagement on the part of the Indians not to aid the +enemies of the English, to confine their traffic to the truck-house at +Fort Frederick and to leave three of each tribe there as hostages to +ensure performance of the articles of the treaty. + +In order the better to carry out the provisions of this treaty, and of +similar treaties made at this time with the different tribes of +Acadia, Benjamin Gerrish was appointed Indian commissary. Gerrish +agreed to buy goods and sell them to the Indians for furs, he to +receive 5 per cent on goods purchased and 2-1/2 per cent on furs sold, +and the prices to be so arranged that the Indians could obtain their +goods at least 50 per cent cheaper than hitherto. + +At their conference with the Governor and his council the Indians +agreed upon a tariff of prices[49] for the Indian trade, the unit of +value to be one pound of the fur of the spring beaver, commonly known +as "one beaver," equivalent in value to a dollar, or five shillings. +Under the tariff the following articles were to be sold to the Indians +at the following prices: Large blanket, 2 "beavers"; 2 yards stroud, 3 +"beavers"; 14 pounds pork, 1 "beaver"; 30 pounds flour, 1 "beaver"; +2-1/2 gallons molasses, 1 "beaver"; 2 gallons rum, 1 "beaver"; and +other articles in proportion. + + [49] This tariff of prices is given in full in Murdoch's Hist. of + Nova Scotia, Vol. II., p. 395. + +Furs and skins sold by the Indians at the "truck-house" were to be +valued by the same standard: Moose skin, 1-1/2 "beavers"; bear skin, +1-1/3 "beavers"; 3 sable skins, 1 "beaver"; 6 mink skins, 1 "beaver"; +10 ermine skins, 1 "beaver"; silver fox skin, 2-1/2 "beavers," and so +on for furs and skins of all descriptions. By substituting the cash +value for the value in "beavers," we shall obtain figures that would +amaze the furrier of modern days and prove eminently satisfactory to +the purchaser, for example: Bear skin (large and good), $1.35; moose +skin (large), $1.50; luciffee (large), $2.00; silver fox, $2.50; black +fox, $2.00; red fox, 50cts.; otter, $1.00; mink, 15 cts.; musquash, 10 +cts. And yet these prices, ridiculously low as they appear, were +considerably better than the Indians Had received from the French +traders. It was no doubt on such terms as these that Messrs. Simonds, +White and Hazen traded with the Indians after they came to St. John. + +Benjamin Gerrish soon afterwards took steps to establish the +"truck-house" promised the Indians, and by order in council of July +19, 1760, Captain Doggett was instructed to proceed directly to the +River St. John and deliver the stores that Mr. Gerrish had shipped on +board his vessel for the truck-master at Fort Frederick. + +Colonel Arbuthnot reported that the Indians behaved well and came to +the fort to trade. The delegates from the River St. John, who went to +Halifax, seem to have acted in accordance with the advice of their +missionary Germain, who accepted the logic of events after the fall of +Quebec and advised the Indians to submit to their conquerors. The +establishment of a "truck-house" at St. John was of advantage to them +and the missionary determined to cultivate friendly relations with the +English. + +Governor Lawrence reported that he had induced the Assembly of Nova +Scotia to pass a law, with severe penalties, against private trading +with the Indians. The provisions of this act, however, found little +favor with the Lords of Trade, by whom it was considered "an improper +and unreasonable restraint upon trade." Their objection found +expression in the proclamation of George III., at the Court of St. +James, Oct. 7, 1763:-- + + "We do by the advice of our privy council declare and enjoin that + the trade with the said Indians shall be free and open to all our + subjects whatever, provided that every person who may incline to + trade with the said Indians do take out a license for carrying on + such trade from the governor or commander-in-chief of any of our + colonies where such person shall reside, and also give security to + observe such regulations as we shall at any time think fit to + direct or appoint." + +The proclamation required the governor to issue such licenses without +fee or reward, the license to be void and the security forfeited if +the person to whom it was granted failed to observe the regulations +prescribed. + +We have now arrived at the period when the first permanent English +settlement was to be made on the St. John river, but before +proceeding to the consideration of that event a glance at the +general situation on the river is necessary. The only foot-hold the +English had as yet obtained was at Fort Frederick on the west side of +St. John harbor. A considerable number of Acadians still lingered +furtively in their hiding places up the river, the majority of them +near the Indian village of Aukpaque. For their benefit, as well as +that of the savages, the missionary Germain desired to remain at his +post. He accordingly made overtures to the Nova Scotia authorities +to be allowed to continue his ministrations, promising to use his +influence in the interests of peace. To this proposition the +Governor and Council cheerfully assented, promising the missionary +a stipend of L50. A year or two afterwards he wrote acknowledging +the receipt of his salary and stating it was his desire to inspire +the Indians with the respect due to the government. He complained +of their irregularities and says that in spite of his efforts to +promote harmony he feared "they will shortly pay no regard to what he +says." + +In Kidder's "Military operations in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia +during the Revolution," the statement is made that Aukpaque signifies +a beautiful expanding of the river occasioned by numerous islands, +but, while this is perfectly correct as descriptive of the locality, +it is more probable that Aukpaque--or its Indian equivalent +Ek-pa-hawk--means "the head of the tide," or beginning of swift water. +Kidder speaks of the site of Aukpaque as "almost unknown and difficult +to locate." Commenting on this statement, the late Sir John C. Allen +(whose grandfather, Colonel Isaac Allen, purchased of the Indians the +site of the village of Aukpaque), makes the following remark:-- + + "It is an error to suppose that there is any difficulty in + locating Aukpaque. It is laid down, under the name Opack, on a + plan in the Crown Lands office in Fredericton of a survey of land + in the old Township of Sunbury while this province formed a part + of Nova Scotia. In addition to this there are several persons + living who can point out the place that was used as the Indian + burial ground and who remember that a large piece of cleared land + adjacent to it and separated from it by a deep ravine, being a + part of the tract of land reserved for the Indians, was formerly + known as the 'Chapel Field'--no doubt from the fact that the + chapel of the Indian settlement had stood upon it. There is also + further evidence in the plan of the survey of the lands in the + Parish of Kingsclear, the grant of which issued in 1799, upon + which a cross is marked on this lot of land, which is well known + to indicate the site of a church or chapel. There is very little + doubt that at the time of the survey the chapel, or the remains of + it, were standing, as the Indians had been in occupation of the + land till within a few years of that time." + +We may add that the claim of the Indians to the lands in the vicinity +of their village was early recognized by the Government of Nova +Scotia, and when the first grant of a large tract of the surrounding +country was made in 1765 to Thomas Falconer and sixty-six other land +speculators, there was expressly reserved for the Indians "500 acres, +including a church and burying ground at Aughpack, and four acres for +a burying ground at St. Ann's point, and the island called Indian (or +Savage) Island." This island is probably that mentioned in 1753 by the +Abbe de L'Isle Dieu as "l'isle d'Ecouba," the residence of the +missionary Charles Germain. + +The situation of Aukpaque is shown in the accompanying sketch:-- + +[Illustration: PLAN OF AUKPAQUE AND ITS SURROUNDINGS.] + +Although the Indians were ostensibly at peace with the English they +viewed them with suspicion, and were jealous of any infringement of +their aboriginal rights. After the erection of Fort Frederick they +seem, for the most part, to have abandoned the lower part of the +river, and Charles Morris tells us that about the year 1760 they +burned much of the timber along the Long Reach and on both sides of +the Washademoak and probably at other places. + +When the exploring party of the Maugerville colony arrived at St. +Anne's point in 1762 and were about to begin their survey, a large +party of Indians came down from their priest's residence, with his +interpreter, their faces painted in divers colors and figures, and +dressed in their war habits. The chiefs informed the adventurers that +they were trespassers on their rights, that the country belonged to +them, and unless they retired immediately they would compel them. + +The chiefs claimed that they had some time before had a conference +with Governor Lawrence and had consented that the English should +settle the country up as far as Grimross. The surveyors promised to +remove their camp towards Grimross. This answer did not appear to +fully satisfy the Indians, but they made no reply. The settlement of +the New England people, in consequence of the attitude of the Indians, +did not embrace St. Anne's Point as originally intended. + +Plans of the River St. John were made by the Hon. Charles Morris, +surveyor general of Nova Scotia, as early as the year 1761. A little +later he wrote an interesting description of the river. He describes +"Aughpack" as about seven miles from St. Anne's, and says the Acadians +had settlements upon the uplands between the two places but drew their +subsistence from the cultivation of the intervals and islands. At +Aukpaque was the Indian church and the residence of the French +missionary. Their church and buildings adjoining had been demolished +by the Indians themselves. The island opposite Aukpaque, called Indian +Island, was the place where the Indians of the river made their annual +rendezvous. + +"On this island," adds Mr. Morris, "is their town, consisting of forty +mean houses, or wigwams, built with slender poles and covered with +bark. In the centre of the town is the grand council chamber +constructed after the same manner as the other houses." + +The reason for the destruction by the Indians of their church we need +not go far to seek. In the summer of the year 1763 three chiefs came +to Halifax to inquire why Father Germain had been removed from his +post. They were told that he had gone of his own accord to Quebec and +had been detained there by General Murray, and that the government of +Nova Scotia were not responsible for it. They then desired Lieutenant +Governor Belcher to provide them with another priest, which he +promised to do. The Indians were satisfied and departed with their +usual presents. The intention of the lieutenant governor was +frustrated by an order from the Lords of Trade forbidding the +employment of a French missionary. Governor Wilmot regretted this +action as likely to confirm the Indians in their notion of the English +as "a people of dissimulation and artifice who will deceive and +deprive them of their salvation." He thought it better to use the +Indians generously and mentions the fact of their having lately burned +their church, by direction of the priest detained at Quebec, as a +proof of their devotion to their religious guides. + +The site of the old church at Aukpaque was in all probability the old +"chapel field" mentioned by Sir John C. Allen. Hard by, on the other +side of a little ravine, is the old burial ground of the Acadians and +Indians. One of the descendants of the Acadians, who visited the spot +a few years ago, writes mournfully of this little cemetery: + +"Not a stone, not a cross, not even an enclosure to divide it from +other fields; here in this corner of the world, remote and almost +unknown, repose the ashes of some of our ancestors, the first +cultivators of the soil of Madawaska. Freed from all the troubles and +vicissitudes of the past they hear only the gentle, harmonious murmur +of the waters of La Riviere St. Jean, the river they loved so well +even in the days of their misfortune." + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +THE FIRST ENGLISH SETTLERS. + + +The erection of Fort Frederick, in the autumn of 1758, gave the +English a permanent foothold on the River St. John, which possibly was +rendered a little more secure by the destruction of the Acadian +settlements at Grimross and St. Annes, and the subsequent removal by +Colonel Arbuthnot of a large number of the French inhabitants. + +Shortly after the Acadian expulsion, the Lords of Trade and +Plantations urged Governor Lawrence to re-people the lands vacated by +the French with settlers from New England. The idea was quite in +accord with the governor's own mind, but he was obliged to defer it +for a season. In the existing state of affairs he could not spare the +troops necessary to defend new settlements, and nothing was +practicable until the country should be possessed in peace. However, +very shortly after Monckton's occupation of the St. John River +Lawrence issued the first of his celebrated proclamations, offering +favorable terms to any industrious settlers from New England, who +would remove to Nova Scotia and cultivate the lands vacated by the +French, or other ungranted lands. The proclamation stated that +proposals on behalf of intending settlers would be received by Thomas +Hancock at Boston, and by Mesrs. De Lancey and Watts at New York, and +by them transmitted to the Governor of Nova Scotia. + +This proclamation had the effect of directing attention to the River +St. John. Young and adventurous spirits soon came to the fore anxious +to be the pioneers of civilization in the wilds of Nova Scotia. But +first they wished to know: What terms of encouragement would be +offered? How much land each person would get? What quit-rents and +taxes would be required? What constitution of government prevailed, +and what freedom in religion? + +In answer to their inquiries a second proclamation was issued, in +which it was declared that townships were to consist of 100,000 acres +(about 12 miles square) and were to include the best lands, and rivers +in their vicinity. The government was described as similar to that of +the neighboring colonies, the legislature consisting of a governor, +council and assembly and every township, so soon as it should consist +of fifty families, would be entitled to send two representatives to +the assembly. The courts of justice were similar to those of +Massachusetts, Connecticut and the other northern colonies, and full +liberty of conscience was secured to persons of all persuasions, +"papists" excepted, by the royal instructions and a late act of the +Assembly. As yet no taxes had been imposed or fees exacted on grants. +Forts garrisoned with troops were established in the neighborhood of +the lands it was proposed to settle. + +The Lords of Trade approved of Governor Lawrence's proceedings in +settling the province, and at the same time desired that land should +be reserved "as a reward and provision for such officers and soldiers +as might be disbanded in America upon a peace." This led the governor +to desist from making further grants of the cleared lands to ordinary +settlers. He did not, however, anticipate much benefit to the +province in consequence of the attempt to people it with disbanded +British soldiers, and he wrote to the Lords of Trade: + +"According to my ideas of the military, which I offer with all +possible deference and submission, they are the least qualified, from +their occupation as soldiers, of any men living to establish new +countries, where they must encounter difficulties with which they are +altogether unacquainted; and I am the rather convinced of it, as every +soldier that has come into this province since the establishment of +Halifax, has either quitted it or become a dramseller." + +Soon after the treaty of Paris, a proclamation of George III. (dated +at the Court of St. James, Oct. 7, 1763) signified the royal sense and +approbation of the conduct of the officers and soldiers of the army, +and directed the governors of the several provinces to grant, without +fee or reward, to disbanded officers and soldiers who had served in +North America during the late war and were actually residing there, +lands in the following proportions:-- + +To every field officer, 5,000 acres. + +To every captain, 3,000 acres. + +To every subaltern or staff officer, 2,000 acres. + +To every non-commissioned officer, 200 acres. + +To every private man, 50 acres. + +Like grants of land were to be made to retired officers of the navy +who had served on board a ship of war at the reduction of Louisbourg +and Quebec. + +Petitions and memorials of retired officers of the army and navy who +were desirous of obtaining lands in Nova Scotia as a reward for their +services, now flowed in upon the provincial and imperial authorities. +The desire to obtain land on the River St. John became so general that +government officials, merchants and professional men joined in the +general scramble. The result was not only detrimental to the best +interests of the country, but in many cases disastrous to the +speculators themselves. + +The ideas of some of the memorialists were by no means small. For +example, in 1762, Sir Allan McLean applied for 200,000 acres on the +River St. John to enable him to plant a colony; and in the same year +Captains Alexander Hay,[50] John Sinclair, Hugh Debbeig,[51] Alex. +Baillie, Robert G. Bruce and J. F. W. DesBarres applied for another +immense tract on behalf of themselves and 54 other officers. + + [50] Capt. Alex. Hay is said to have saved the life of the Duke of + Cumberland, during the rebellion of 1745. + + [51] In Des Barres' splendid chart of St. John harbor, published + according to act of parliament in 1780, the well-known Reed's + Point is called "Point-Debbeig." + +War with the French and Indians had been so constant previous to the +peace of 1763, that a large proportion of the young men of New England +had seen service in the "provincial regiments." To those who had held +commissions the inducements contained in Lawrence's proclamations were +especially attractive. + +Among the retired officers of the Massachusetts regiments, who became +interested in the River St. John at this time were Francis Peabody, +William Hazen, James White, James Simonds, Nicholas West and Israel +Perley. Captain Francis Peabody was somewhat older than the others; +he had served with distinction in the late war, and is mentioned in +Parkman's "Wolfe and Montcalm" [p. 428]. From the active part he took +in settling the township of Maugerville, as well as from his age and +character, he must be regarded as the most prominent and influential +person on the St. John river while he lived. He died in the year 1773. +Three of his daughters married respectively James Simonds, James White +and Jonathan Leavitt. + +A few years ago the writer of this history had the good fortune to +find, in an old rubbish heap, a letter of James Simonds detailing the +circumstances under which he came to take up his residence at St. +John. + +"In the years 1759 and 1760," he says, "proclamations were published +through the colonies which promised all the lands and possessions of +the Acadians, who had been removed, or any other lands lying within +the Province of Nova Scotia, to such as would become settlers there. +In consequence of these proclamations I went through the greater part +of Nova Scotia, in time of war, at great expense and at the risk of my +life, in search of the best lands and situations, and having at length +determined to settle at the River St. John, obtained a promise from +Government of a large tract of land for myself and brother Richard, +who was with me in several of my tours." + +The attention of Mr. Simonds may have been particularly called to St. +John by the fact that his cousin, Captain Moses Hazen, commanded the +garrison at Fort Frederick in 1759. It may be noted, in passing, that +this post was occupied for the first two years after it was rebuilt by +Monckton, by the Massachusetts troops. They were relieved by a company +from one of the Highland regiments. In 1762 the post was garrisoned by +a detachment of the 40th regiment of foot under Lieutenant Gilfred +Studholme. The fort afterwards continued to be garrisoned by a company +of British regulars under different commanders until 1768, when the +troops were withdrawn and the fort remained for several years under +the nominal care of Messrs. Simonds and White. + +About the time James Simonds decided to settle at St. John, the harbor +was carefully surveyed by Lieut. R. G. Bruce of the engineers, whose +plan is reproduced in the accompanying illustration. A glance will +suffice to show that the rocky peninsular on the eastern side of the +harbor, where the business part of the city stands today, was at that +time uninhabited. The military post at Fort Frederick imparted a +little life to the immediate surroundings but on the other side of the +harbor everything remained in its virgin state, except at Portland +Point, where there was a small clearing and the ruins of a feeble old +French Fort. The few Acadians who once lingered there had fled before +the English invaders, and only when some wandering savage pitched his +wigwam on the shores of "Men-ah-quesk," as he called it, was there any +tenant save the fox, the bear or other wild forest creature. The rocky +peninsular of east St. John with its crags and swamps was considered +of so little value that it remained ungranted up to the time of the +landing of the Loyalists. In the words of James Simonds it was "the +worst of lands, if bogs, morasses and rocks may be called lands." + +[Illustration: PLAN OF THE HARBOUR OF ST. JOHN IN NOVA SCOTIA, Surveyed & +Sounded in September 1761 BY R.G. BRUCE ENGR. Scale 300 yds to an inch] + +The circumstances under which James Simonds made choice of the Harbor +of St. John, as the most promising place for an extensive trade, are +detailed at some length in his evidence in the famous chancery suit +which arose about the year 1791 in connection with the division of the +lands of Hazen, Simonds and White, and occupied the attention of the +courts for more than twenty years. It is chiefly from this source we +learn the particulars that follow. + +James Simonds was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, in the year 1735. +After the death of his father, Nathan Simonds, and the settlement of +his estate, finding the property falling to him to be inconsiderable, +he set out in company with his younger brother Richard to seek his +fortune. In the course of the years 1759 to 1762, different parts of +the old province of Nova Scotia were visited, including the River St. +John, with a view of ascertaining the most advantageous situation for +the fur trade, fishery and other business. Finding that the mouth of +the St. John river was an admirable situation for trade with the +Indians, that the fishery in the vicinity was excellent, and that +there was a large tract of marsh land, and lands that afforded great +quantities of lime-stone adjacent to the Harbor of St. John, Mr. +Simonds eventually gave the preference to those lands on account of +their situation and the privileges attached to them, and having +previously obtained a promise from Government of a grant of 5,000 +acres in such part of the province as he might choose he with his +brother Richard took possession. In the month of May, 1762, they burnt +over the large marsh (east of the present city) and in the ensuing +summer cut there a quantity of wild hay. It was their intention +immediately to begin stock raising, but they were disappointed in +obtaining a vessel to bring from Massachusetts the cattle they +expected. They accordingly sold or made a present of the hay to +Captain Francis Peabody, who had recently come to St. John and built +himself a house at Portland Point. This house is said to have had an +oak frame, which was brought from Newburyport. In 1765 it became the +property of James Simonds (Captain Peabody having moved up the river +to Maugerville) and later it was owned by James White. It was not an +elaborate or expensive building[52] but it had the honor of being the +first home of an English speaking family on the St. John river. + + [52] When the affairs of Hazen, Simonds and White were wound up some + twenty-five years later the house was valued at L40. + +The situation of the new-comers at Portland Point would have been very +insecure had it not been for the protection afforded by Fort Frederick +across the harbor. The Indians had not yet become accustomed to the +idea of British supremacy. Their natural allegiance--even after the +downfall of Quebec--was to "their old father the King of France." +Their prejudice against the English had been nurtured for generations +and embittered by ruthless warfare, and we need not wonder that the +coming of the first English settlers was viewed with a jealous eye. +Even the proximity of the garrison at Fort Frederick did not prevent +the situation of James Simonds and his associates from being very +precarious, when the attitude of the Indians was unfriendly. Richard +Simonds, who died January 20, 1765, lost his life in the defence of +the property of the trading company when the savages were about to +carry it off. + +While the brothers Simonds were endeavoring to establish themselves at +St. John, a settlement upon a more extensive scale was being projected +by a number of people in the County of Essex in Massachusetts. An +advertisement appeared in the "Boston Gazette and News-Letter" of +September 20, 1762, notifying all of the signers under Captain Francis +Peabody for a township at St. John's River in Nova Scotia, to meet at +the house of Daniel Ingalls, inn-holder in Andover, on Wednesday, the +6th day of October at 10 o'clock a. m., in order to draw their lots, +which were already laid out, and to choose an agent to go to Halifax +on their behalf and to attend to any matters that should be thought +proper. The advertisement continues: "And whereas it was voted at the +meeting on April 6th, 1762, that each signer should pay by April 20th, +twelve shillings for laying out their land and six shillings for +building a mill thereon, and some signers have neglected payment, they +must pay the amount at the next meeting or be excluded and others +admitted in their place." + +The agent chosen at this meeting was Captain Francis Peabody.[53] + + [53] Beamish Murdoch in his History of Nova Scotia, Vol. II, p. 428, + refers to the settlement made at this time at Maugerville and + observes, "A Mr. Peabody was the principal inhabitant and + agent for the English settlers." + +According to the late Moses H. Perley, whose well known and popular +lectures on New Brunswick history were delivered at the Mechanics +Institute in 1841, the government of Massachusetts sent a small party +to explore the country east of Machias in 1761. "The leader of that +party," says Mr. Perley, "was Israel Perley, my grandfather, who was +accompanied by 12 men in the pay of Massachusetts. They proceeded to +Machias by water, and there shouldering their knapsacks, they took a +course through the woods, and succeeded in reaching the head waters of +the River Oromocto, which they descended to the St. John. They found +the country a wide waste, and no obstacles, save what might be +afforded by the Indians, to its being at once occupied and settled, +and with this report they returned to Boston." + +The result of this report is seen in the organization of a company of +would be settlers shortly afterwards. + +There is in the possession of the Perley family at Fredericton an +old document that contains a brief account of the subsequent +proceedings:-- + +"In the year 1761 a number of Provincial officers and soldiers in New +England who had served in several campaigns during the then French war +agreed to form a settlement on St. John's River in Nova Scotia, for +which purpose they sent one of their number to Halifax, who obtained +an order of survey for laying out a Township in mile squares on any +part of St. John's River (the whole being then a desolate wilderness). +This Township called Maugerville was laid out in the year 1762, and a +number of settlers entered into it, encouraged by the King's +proclamation for settling the lands in Nova Scotia, in which, among +other things, was this clause, that people emigrating from the New +England Provinces to Nova Scotia should enjoy the same religious +privileges as in New England. And in the above-mentioned order of +survey was the following words--viz., 'You shall reserve four Lots in +the Township for Publick use, one as a Glebe for the Church of +England, one for the Dissenting Protestants, one for the maintenance +of a School, and one for the first settled minister in the place.' + +"These orders were strictly comply'd with, but finding difficulty in +obtaining a Grant of this Township from the government of Nova Scotia +on account of an order from England that those lands should be +reserved for disbanded forces, the settlers did in the year 1763 draw +up and forward a Petition or memorial to the Lords of Trade and +Plantations."... + +In this memorial were set forth the services that Captain Peabody and +his associates had rendered to their country in the late war, the +expenses they had incurred and the inducements offered by the +government of Nova Scotia to them to settle on the lands they had +surveyed. The memorial was signed by Francis Peabody, John Carleton, +Jacob Barker, Nicholas West and Israel Perley on behalf of themselves +and other disbanded officers. This memorial was submitted by Mr. +Peabody to the Governor and Council at Halifax, who cordially approved +of the contents and forwarded it to Joshua Mauger,[54] the agent for +the Province in London, expressing their opinion that the officers and +disbanded soldiers from New England, settled on the reserved lands on +the St. John River, ought not to be removed. They would be of great +use and their removal would cause their total ruin. The settlers +earnestly solicited the influence of the agent in England to obtain a +speedy answer to their memorial. He took the liveliest interest in +their cause and largely through his efforts the Lords of Trade on the +20th December, 1763, recommended that the memorial of the disbanded +officers of the Provincial forces be granted, and that they be +confirmed in possession of the lands on which they have settled on the +St. John River. The matter was finally settled in the Court of St. +James, the 10th day of February, 1764, by the adoption of the +following resolve on the part of King George the III. and his +Council: + +"Whereas the Lords Commissioners for Trade and Plantations have +represented to His Majesty that a memorial has been presented to him +on behalf of several disbanded officers of His Majesty's provincial +forces in North America, setting forth that induced by several +encouragements they have sold their lands in New England and settled +themselves and families upon the St. John River in His Majesty's +province of Nova Scotia at the distance of 200 miles from any other +settlement and praying that the possession of the lands upon which +they have settled themselves at a very great expense may be confirmed +to them by His Majesty: The Governor of Nova Scotia is ordered to +cause the land upon which they are settled to be laid out in a +Township consisting of 100,000 acres, 12 miles square, one side to +front on the river. Also to reserve a site for a town with a +sufficient number of lots, with reservations for a church, town-house, +public quays and wharves and other public uses; the grants to be made +in proportion to their ability and the number of persons in their +families, but not to exceed 1,000 acres to one person. That a +competent quantity of land be allotted for the maintenance of a +minister and school-master and also one town lot to each of them in +perpetuity." + + [54] Joshua Mauger was a merchant from England who made his + residence at Halifax shortly after its founding by Cornwallis + in 1749. He traded extensively in Nova Scotia and had + contracts with government. He returned to England in 1761, + became agent there for the Province of Nova Scotia and held a + seat in Parliament. + +For months the settlers of Maugerville remained in a state of suspense +and in much anxiety as to the fate of their memorial. They were +naturally greatly relieved when the order of the King in Council +arrived confirming them in possession of the lands they had settled. +The kindness and generosity of Joshua Mauger, who bore the expense of +their appeal and exerted himself in their behalf, were fully +appreciated, and as a tribute of respect and gratitude to their patron +the settlers gave to their township the name of "Maugerville." + +The Township of Maugerville was laid out early in the year 1762 by a +party under Israel Perley their land surveyor. In the survey Richard +Simonds acted as chain bearer and James Simonds, who was one of the +patentees of the township, also assisted, receiving the sum of L40 for +his services. + +The first published account of the founding of the Maugerville +settlement is that of Peter Fisher,[55] printed by Chubb & Sears at +St. John in 1825, and a very readable account it is as the extracts +that follow will show. + + [55] Peter Fisher was the father of the late Judge Fisher and of L. + Peter Fisher (for many years mayor of Woodstock), and + grandfather of W. Shoves Fisher of St. John. His penmanship + was superior to that of some of his descendants, judging from + the fac-simile of his signature that appears above. + +[Illustration: Signature Peter Fisher] + +Under the title "A narrative of the proceedings of the first settlers +at the River St. John, under the authority of the Government of Nova +Scotia," Mr. Fisher tells us that "In the year 1761, a number of +persons from the County of Essex, province of Massachusetts, presented +a petition through their agent (Francis Peabody), to the Government of +Nova Scotia, for the grant of a township twelve miles square at the +River Saint John; they received a favorable answer and obtained full +authority to survey a tract of that dimension, wherever it might be +found fit for improvement. In consequence many of the applicants +proceeded in the course of the winter and spring following to prepare +for exploring the country and to survey their township; they provided +a vessel for that purpose and on the 16th May, 1762, embarked at +Newburyport and arrived in three days at the harbor of Saint John. * * +* * + +"The exploring and surveying party proceeded to view the lands, round +the harbor and bay of Saint John in a whale boat they brought with +them, for they could not travel on the land on account of the +multitude of fallen trees that had been torn up by the roots in a +violent gale of wind nearly four years previous.[56] The same gale +extended as far up the river as the Oromocto, and most of the country +below that place was equally incumbered with the fallen trees. + + [56] The exact date of this gale was Nov. 3, 1759. + +"After making all the discoveries that could be made near the harbor, +it was the unanimous opinion that all the lands near that part of the +country were unfit for their purpose and in about ten days from their +first arrival they set out to view the country as far as Saint Anne, +ninety miles up the river, where they expected to find an extensive +body of cleared land that had been formerly improved by the French +inhabitants. On their way they landed wherever they saw any appearance +of improvement. All such spots as far up as Mill Creek[57] were +supposed not to exceed one hundred acres, most of which had been very +roughly cleared. + + [57] Just below the town plot of Fredericton. + +"On the arrival of the exploring party at St. Anns, they lost no time +in making a shelter for themselves nearly opposite the river Nashwaak +... and they commenced their survey at the small gravelly point near +Government House, with the intention of surveying a township to +terminate twelve miles below that place, but after surveying the +courses of the river about four miles downward, a large company of +Indians, came down about nine miles, from their Priest's residence +with his Interpreter, all having painted faces of divers colours and +figures and dressed in their war habits. The chiefs, with grave +countenances, informed the adventurers that they were trespassers on +their rights; that the country belonged to them and unless they +retired immediately they would compel them." + +"The reply made to the chiefs was to this effect: that the adventurers +had received authority from the Governor of Halifax to survey and +settle any land they should choose at the River Saint John; that they +had never been informed of the Indians claiming the village of Saint +Anne, but as they declared the land there to be their property (though +it had been inhabited by the French, who were considered entitled to +it, till its capture by the English) they would retire further down +the river. + +* * * The surveying party removed their camp, according to their +promise, almost as far down as the lower end of Oromocto Island on the +east side of the river, whence they finished their survey twelve miles +below the first mentioned bounds and returned to Fort Frederick." + +The circumstances that led to delay in procuring the grant from +government have already been mentioned in this chapter. + +There can be no doubt that Mr. Fisher's statement--corroborated by +Moses H. Perley--that the township was laid out in lots in the earlier +part of 1762 is correct, for on Sept. 2nd a meeting of the intending +settlers was advertised to be held for the purpose of drawing the lots +which were described as "already laid out." But the statement of Mr. +Fisher (in which he is again followed by Moses H. Perley) that one or +two families from Newburyport accompanied the surveying party in the +month of May, and brought with them the frame of a small dwelling +house and boards to cover it, together with a small stock of cattle, +and that on the third day after their arrival the house was finished +and inhabited--is probably a misapprehension resulting from the +confounding of incidents, which occurred in the course of the same +year but were separated by an interval of several months. At any rate +the late John Quinton, who was born in 1807, states most emphatically +in a letter to Joseph W. Lawrence that it was not until the 28th day +of August that his grand-parents, Hugh and Elizabeth Quinton, Capt. +Francis Peabody and family, James Simonds and others came to reside at +the River St. John. He says that accomodation was provided for +Quinton and his wife, Miss Hannah Peabody and others in the barracks +at Fort Frederick, where on the very night of their arrival was born +James Quinton, the first child of English speaking parents, whose +birth is recorded at St. John.[58] The remainder of the party encamped +on the east side of the harbor at the site of an old French Fort, the +place since known as Portland Point, or Simonds' Point, where they +erected a dwelling into which the Quintons and others in Carleton soon +afterwards removed. Hannah Peabody was at this time about twelve years +old: she afterwards became the wife of James Simonds. + + [58] John Quinton says he heard this story many times from his + grandmother's lips. She was a woman of remarkable memory and + lived until the year 1835. It would seem very improbable she + could be mistaken as to the date of such an event. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +PROGRESS OF THE MAUGERVILLE SETTLEMENT. + + +The township of Maugerville, as described in the grant of October 31, +1765, began "at a Pine Tree on a point of land a little below the +Island called Mauger's Island," extending 12-1/2 miles up the river +with a depth of nearly 11 miles. It embraced the principal part of the +parishes of Maugerville and Sheffield, including Oromocto Island and +"the Island lying off Wind-mill Point called Middle Island." In the +grant the "Rights" or "Shares" were fixed at 500 acres but the +surveyor-general of Nova Scotia, Charles Morris, had intended that the +grantees should have 1,000 acres each on account of their being the +first adventurers and also on account of the large proportion of +sunken lands and lakes within the limits of the township. + +At the time the Maugerville grant was made out the obnoxious Stamp Act +was about coming into force in America and the Crown Land Office at +Halifax was besieged with people pressing for their grants in order to +save the stamp duties. In the hurry and confusion existing Mr. Morris +says that the shares of the township were inadvertently fixed at 500 +acres each, whereas it had been his intention to lay out one hundred +farm lots, each forty rods wide and extending one mile deep into the +country, and to give each grantee the balance of his 1,000 acres in +the subsequent division of the rest of the township. It is quite +likely the Maugerville settlers were glad to accept the smaller shares +allotted them in view of the fact that they had been so near losing +the whole by the decision of the British government to reserve the +lands for the disbanded regulars of the army. + +By the terms of the grant it was provided that all persons who failed +to settle on their lots, with proper stock and materials for the +improvement of their lands, before the last day of November, 1767, +should forfeit all claim to the lands allotted them. The township was +supposed to consist of 200 shares but only 61 shares were included in +the grant of 1765. At least two other grants were passed prior to the +coming of the Loyalists--one in 1770, the other early in 1783; but +there were still some vacant lots which were gladly taken up by these +unfortunate exiles. For their accomodation also a grant was made Dec. +22, 1786, of the rear of the township and such men as Samuel Ryerson, +Justus Earle, Joseph Ryerson, Wm. Van Allen, Abraham Van Buskirk, +Samuel Tilley and Lodewick Fisher[59] were among the grantees. + + [59] Samuel Tilley and Lodewick Fisher were the progenitors + respectively of Sir Leonard Tilley and Hon. Charles Fisher, + the one came from Long Island, N. Y., the other from New + Jersey. It is curious they should have settled on adjoining + lots in view of the intimate relations of their distinguished + grandsons in the battle for responsible government. The other + names given above are those of officers in Lt.-Col. Van + Buskirk's battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers who were of + Dutch descent. + +Nearly all the original settlers in the township of Maugerville were +from Massachusetts, the majority from the single county of Essex. Thus +the Burpees were from Rowley, the Perleys from Boxford, the Esteys +from Newburyport, while other families were from Haverhill, Ipswich, +Gloucester, Salem and other towns of this ancient county which +antedates all others in Massachusetts but Plymouth. These settlers +were almost exclusively of Puritan stock and members of the +Congregationalist churches of New England. + +The list of the grantees of the Township of Maugerville, alphabetically +arranged, includes the following names:-- + + Benjamin Atherton, + Jacob Barker, + Jacob Barker, jr., + Thomas Barker, + Richard Barlow, + Benjamin Brawn, + David Burbank, + Joseph Buber, + Jeremiah Burpee, + Jonathan Burpee, + James Chadwell, + Thomas Christy, + Joseph Clark, + Widow Clark, + Edward Coy, + Moses Davis, + Jos. F. W. Desbarres, + Enoch Dow, + Joseph Dunphy, + John Estey, + Richard Estey, + Richard Estey, jr., + Zebulun Estey, + Joseph Garrison, + Beamsley P. Glazier, + William Harris, + Thomas Hart, + Geo. Hayward, + Nehemiah Hayward, + Jeremiah Howland, + Ammi Howlet, + Samuel Hoyt, + Daniel Jewett, + Richard Kimball, + John Larlee, + Joshua Mauger, + Peter Moores, + William McKeen, + Elisha Nevers, + Jabez Nevers, + Phinehas Nevers, + Samuel Nevers, + Nathaniel Newman, + Daniel Palmer, + Moses Palmer, + Jonathan Parker, + Francis Peabody, + Oliver Peabody, + Richard Peabody, + Samuel Peabody, + Stephen Peabody, + Asa Perley, + Israel Perley, + Oliver Perley, + Humphrey Pickard, + Moses Pickard, + Hugh Quinton, + Nicholas Rideout, + Thomas Rous, + John Russell, + Ezekiel Saunders, + William Saunders, + Gervas Say, + John Shaw, + Hugh Shirley, + James Simonds, + Samuel Tapley, + Giles Tidmarsh, jr., + Samuel Upton, + James Vibart, + John Wasson, + Matthew Wasson, + John Whipple, + Jonathan Whipple, + Samuel Whitney, + Jediah Stickney, + John Smith, + Johnathan Smith, + Charles Stephens, + Isaac Stickney. + +The majority of the surnames in the above list will seem wonderfully +familiar to the residents of the St. John river counties where their +descendants today form a large and influential element in the +community. + +In his lecture on New Brunswick history delivered in 1840, Moses H. +Perley says that in the year 1763 the Maugerville township was settled +by 200 families, comprising about 800 persons, who came from +Massachusetts in four vessels. There cannot be the slightest doubt +that Mr. Perley has greatly over-estimated the number of the original +settlers. We have every reason to believe that the population of the +township continued steadily to increase and about two years later +(Dec. 16, 1766), a census was submitted to the government of Nova +Scotia by Lieut. Governor Francklin showing that there were then +living at Maugerville 77 men, 46 women, 72 boys and 66 girls, a total +of 261 souls; and it may be added that during the year 17 new settlers +had arrived and 14 children were born, while the number of deaths was +but 3. That the new settlers were anxious to fulfil the conditions of +their grants is shown by the fact that they already possessed 10 +horses, 78 oxen and bulls, 145 sows, 156 young cattle, 376 sheep and +181 swine. Their crop for the year included: Wheat 599 bushels, Rye +1,866 do., Beans 145 do., Oats 57 do., Pease 91 do., Flaxseed 7 do. A +grist and saw-mill had been built and two sloops were owned by the +settlers. Some attempt had also been made at raising flax and hemp. + +The settlement at Maugerville was visited by Hon. Charles Morris, the +surveyor general of Nova Scotia, in 1767, and it is not improbable the +census taken by order of Lieut. Governor Franklin was made under his +supervision. Mr. Morris was evidently much surprised at the progress +the settlers had made, for in a letter of the 25th January, 1768, he +says:-- + +"Opposite to Oromocto River, upon the northerly side of the River St. +John's, is the English settlement of disbanded soldiers from New +England, consisting of about eighty families, who have made great +Improvements, and are like to make an established Settlement there. +And by some tryals they have made of hemp upon the intervale it +succeeded beyond their expectation. I measured myself Hemp that was +nine feet high, that had not come to its full growth in the latter end +of July. They generally have about twenty bushels of Maze and about +twenty bushels of Wheat from an acre of land, that was only cleared of +its woods and harrowed without ever having a Plow in it. When I was on +the River last year, I saw myself eighty bushes of Indian Corn raised +from one acre of land that had been ploughed and properly managed. I +would observe that the Corn raised on this River is not the same kind +as the Corn in New England; neither the climate or soil would be +suitable to it; they get their seed from Canada and they sow it in +rows about three feet distant as we do Pease in our gardens; it takes +about a bushel to sow an acre; the ears grow close to the ground as +thick as they can stick one by another, pointing outwards like a +Cheveaux de Frise upon each side of the rows; the richness of the +soil, the manner of sowing it and of its growing, may account very +easily for its producing so much to the acre. Some of the old French +Inhabitants of the River have informed me that they have raised, in a +seasonable year, near one hundred bushels of Indian Corn per acre." + +The alluvial character of the soil of Maugerville, its freedom +from stone and from dense forest growth, no doubt attracted the +first English settlers and decided the choice of their location, +just as the same features attracted the brothers d'Amours and +others of the French nearly a century before. The French, too, +recorded as the principal drawback of the location, the losses and +annoyances consequent upon the inundation of their fields and +premises by the spring freshets.[60] A short experience convinced +the English settlers that the complaints of their predecessors +were well founded. + + [60] See previous chapters, pp. 63, 110. + +As Maugerville divides with Portland Point the honor of being the +first permanent English settlement at the River St. John, it is proper +to describe in some fulness of detail the movements of its founders. +They were a sturdy and adventurous race. The great majority had seen +active service in the "old French war"--some of them had fought under +Wolfe at the taking of Quebec. The Indian war-cry was a sound not +unfamiliar to their ears, and so their interview with the savages of +Aukpaque, upon their arrival, taught them the dangers of their +situation. It really required more hardihood to plunge into the +wilderness than to settle under the protection of Fort Frederick at +the river's mouth. + +The proximity of the Indian town of Aukpaque; a few miles above, +probably induced the majority of the Maugerville people to settle in +the lower part of the township. At any rate for some years no one +resided farther up the river than lot No. 57, about five miles below +the Nashwaak, where lived the Widow Clark, a resolute old dame whom +nothing could dismay. + +It is interesting to note that Simonds and White contemplated at one +time the erection of a Truck-house at Maugerville for their Indian +trade, and a frame was prepared for the building, but before it was +raised some difficulties arose between the Indians and the Whites and +the matter was deferred for a year or two. The frame was then sent up +the river in the sloop "Bachelor" and landed on lot No. 66, belonging +to Mr. Simonds, "near the then upper settlement of Maugerville." This +was the only place available as none of the settlers desired to have +the Truck-house near them. However the carpenters found the frame so +warped as not to be worth setting up and the project was abandoned. + +The first band of settlers came to Maugerville in 1763, probably in +small vessels hired for the occasion. From time to time the colony +received additions from New England. The later comers usually took +their passage in some of the vessels owned by Messrs. Hazen, Simonds +and White, which furnished the readiest means of communication. There +are many interesting items in the account books[61] kept by Simonds +and White at their store at Portland Point in connection with the +Maugerville settlers. For example Captain Francis Peabody is charged +with the following items, under date January 15, 1765:-- + + "To passage in schooner of 4 Passengers from + New England at 12s. L 2 8 0 + Freight of 9 Heiffers at 12s. 5 8 0 + Club of Cyder for 5 men at 13s. 6d. each 3 7 6 + 5 Tons of Hay for cattle on passage 10 0 0 + Freight of sheep 3 6 0 + + [61] Several of these books are now in my possession.--W. O. R. + +In the same schooner there came Jacob Barker, jun., Oliver Perley, +Zebulon Estey, Humphrey Pickard and David Burbank, each of whom paid +twelve shillings passage money from Newburyport to St. John and 13s. +6d. for "his club of Cyder" on the voyage. David Burbank brought with +him a set of Mill irons, which is suggestive of enterprise, but his +stay appears to have been but brief, for on the 20th April, 1767, he +sold his land (about five miles below the Nashwaak) to William Brawn, +the son of an original grantee of the township, and the deed was +acknowledged before John Anderson, Justice of the Peace at Moncton[62] +the 29th of April. + + [62] John Anderson was one of the first magistrates of the original + county of Sunbury, appointed Aug. 17, 1765. He had a trading + post, which he called "Moncton," just above the Nashwaak on + the site of the modern village of Gibson. The deed referred to + above is one of the earliest on record in the province. + +The upper boundary of the Township of Maugerville now forms a part of +the dividing line between the Counties of York and Sunbury. The lower +boundary of the township began near the foot of Maugers' Island, about +two miles above the Queens-Sunbury county line. Middle Island, which +occupies a middle position between Oromocto Island above and Mauger's +(or Gilbert's) Island below, was in a sense the centre of the +township, and it must not be forgotten by the reader that what was in +early days the principal section of the Township of Maugerville is now +the Parish of Sheffield. The lots are numbered beginning at Middle +Island and running down the river to No. 39, then starting again at +the upper end of the grant, at the York county line, and running down +the river to Middle Island, so that the last lot, No. 100, adjoins the +first lot. The oldest plan of the township in the Crown Land office +shows the state of settlement at a date subsequent to that of the +original grant, and during the interval a good many changes had +occurred. The early grantees were about eighty in number. + +Reference to the accompanying plan of the river will show the +locations of the early settlers of Maugerville; they will be mentioned +in order ascending the river. + +The lower ten lots of the township and Mauger's Island were granted to +Joshua Mauger. Just above were the lots of Gervas Say, Nehemiah +Hayward, John Russell, Samuel Upton, Zebulon Estey, John Estey, +Richard Estey and Edward Coy. + +At the head of Mauger's Island were the lots of Matthew Wason, Samuel +Whitney and Samuel Tapley. + +Between Mauger's Island and Middle Island the lots were those of +Jeremiah Burpee, Jonathan Burpee, Jacob Barker, Daniel Jewett, Ezekiel +Saunders, Humphrey Pickard, Moses Pickard, Jacob Barker, jr., Isaac +Stickney and Jonathan Smith. + +Opposite Middle Island, in order ascending, were Thomas Barker, John +Wason, Daniel Palmer, Richard Kimball, Joseph Garrison, Samuel Nevers, +Peter Mooers, Richard Estey, jr., Jabez Nevers, Enoch Dow and Hugh +Quinton. + +Between Middle and Oromocto islands were Thomas Christie, Elisha +Nevers, Jedediah Stickney, Stephen Peabody, Capt. Francis Peabody and +William McKeen. + +Opposite Oromocto Island were Israel Perley (at the foot of the +island), Lt.-Col. Beamsley P. Glasier, John Whipple, Nathaniel +Rideout, Capt. Francis Peabody, Alexander Tapley, Phineas Nevers, +Joseph Dunphy, William Harris, Ammi Howlet, Samuel Peabody and Oliver +Peabody. + +Above Oromocto Island we find the lots of Asa Perley, Oliver Perley, +George Munro, James Simonds, Joseph Buber, Joseph Shaw, Benjamin +Brawn, Daniel Burbank, Thomas Hartt and the Widow Clark. Thence to the +upper boundary of the township, a distance of two miles, there were at +first no settlers, but in the course of time Richard Barlow, Nehemiah +Beckwith, Benjamin Atherton, Jeremiah Howland and others took up +lots. + +[Illustration: PLAN OF MAUGERVILLE, INCLUDING SHEFFIELD.] + +The names of the majority of the Maugerville grantees appear in the +account books kept by Simonds and White at their store at Portland +Point and a lot of interesting family history might be gleaned from +the old faded pages. There are other items of interest in the records +of the old County of Sunbury. + +In nearly all the early settlements made on the River St. John some +encouragement was offered for the erection of a mill, and when the +signers under Captain Francis Peabody met at Andover in April, 1762, +previous to their leaving Massachusetts, it was agreed that each +signer should pay six shillings towards erecting a mill in their +township. The streams in Maugerville are so inconsiderable that it may +be presumed some difficulty would arise on this head. This is +confirmed by the fact that in the grant of 1763 the point of land +opposite Middle Island is called "Wind-mill Point." However an old +deed shows that Richard Estey, jr., had on his lot No. 100 (opposite +Middle Island) a mill built on what is called Numeheal creek, of which +the first owners were Mr. Estey and his neighbor, Thomas Barker. This +mill was sold in 1779 to James Woodman and was employed in sawing +boards and other lumber for the Loyalists at St. John during the +summer of 1783. + +Not all of the grantees of the Township of Maugerville were actual +settlers. Of several we know little more than the names. This is the +case with James Chadwell, whose name appears first in the grant, and +with Moses Davis, Thomas Rous, Jonathan Parker, Hugh Shirley, +Nathaniel Newman and James Vibart. + +Two other non-resident grantees were men of influence and in their day +made sufficient stir in the world to claim further notice. The first +bore the imposing name of Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres. This +gentleman is believed to have been a native of Switzerland. He +obtained a commission in the English army and served with distinction +under Wolfe at the siege of Quebec. At the time the Maugerville +settlement was founded he was a lieutenant in the 60th Regiment, but +being an excellent engineer, had lately been engaged by the Board of +Admiralty to make exact surveys and charts of the coasts and harbors +of Nova Scotia. In this work DesBarres was employed a good many years. +Nearly two seasons were spent in making a careful survey of Sable +Island--the grave-yard of the Atlantic--where DesBarres tells us the +sands were strewn with wreckage and thousands had already perished for +want of known soundings. Some of the results of his prolonged labors +may be seen in the three huge volumes of the Atlantic Neptune (each as +large as a fair sized table) in the Crown Land office at Fredericton. +Commenting on the length of time spent in his surveys DesBarres +remarks: + +"Interruptions from fogs and precarious weather, unavoidably made +tedious a performance in which accuracy is the chief thing desired, +and rendered many years necessary to complete it for publication; but +when the author reflects that the accuracy and truth of his work will +stand the test of ages, and preserve future navigators from the +horrors of shipwreck and destruction, he does not repine at its having +employed so large a portion of his life." + +The engrossing nature of his occupation as engineer did not hinder +DesBarres from being an ambitious land speculator. In 1765 he +obtained, in conjunction with General Haldimand and one or two others, +a grant of the Township of Hopewell, comprising 100,000 acres on the +Petitcodiac river. But he derived little benefit from his lands, as +he was unable to fulfill the conditions of settlement, and eventually +they reverted to the crown. + +In 1784, Des Barres was appointed Lieut. Governor of Cape Breton, and +afterwards Lieut. Governor of Prince Edward Island. He died at Halifax +on the 27th October, 1824, and was honored with a state funeral at +which the attendance was great and the interest felt very remarkable. +This was due, in some measure, to the fact that had he lived another +month he would have attained the extraordinary age of 103 years. +Beamish Murdoch observes: + +"Colonel DesBarres' scientific labors on our coasts, and his repute as +one of the heroes of 1759 under Wolfe at Quebec, gave him a claim on +the gratitude and reverence of all Nova Scotians." + +This sentiment was not shared by the Acadians of Memramcook, who found +difficulty in resisting the claims of the heirs of DesBarres to the +lands they had settled. Two Lots in the upper part of the Township of +Maugerville were granted to Governor DesBarres and had he settled +there he would have been the next-door neighbor of the Widow Clark, +but there is nothing to show that he made any attempt to improve his +lands in that quarter and so his connection with the settlement is +nothing but a name. + +Joshua Mauger, the other non-resident grantee to whom reference has +been made, was an English merchant who came to America as a contractor +under government for furnishing supplies to the army at Louisbourg. +When Cape Breton was restored to France, in 1749, Louisbourg was +evacuated and Mauger came with the troops to Halifax. Shortly after +his arrival he and other merchants asked permission to build wharves +on the beach for the accommodation of their business. In 1751 he was +appointed agent for victualling the Navy. Grog was at that time freely +dispensed in the army and navy, and Mauger erected a distillery where +he manufactured the rum required for the troops and seamen. As the +business was lucrative he soon accumulated much property in and around +Halifax, including the well known Mauger's Beach at the entrance of +Halifax harbor. He had also shops at Pisiquid and Minas--or, as they +are now called, Windsor and Horton--where he sold goods and spirits to +the French and Indians. He returned to England in 1761 and was +appointed agent for the Province of Nova Scotia in London. The year +following he was elected a member of Parliament. + +Joshua Mauger in his position as Agent for the province was able to +render it essential service, and in the year 1766 the legislature +of Nova Scotia voted the sum of L50 for a piece of plate as a +testimonial of their appreciation of his "zeal and unwearied +application" in their behalf. As already mentioned, it was chiefly +due to his energy that the Massachusetts settlers on the River St. +John were confirmed in possession of their township. For his +services in this connection, however, he was not unrewarded; not +only was the township named in his honor, but the large island, +since known as Mauger's or Gilbert's Island, was granted to him, +together with ten lots, at the lower end of the township. When the +Loyalists arrived they looked with somewhat covetous eyes on these +interval lands which were settled by tenants at a yearly rental of +L3 for each lot. Mauger's Island was purchased by Colonel Thomas +Gilbert, the well known Loyalist of Taunton, Massachusetts, and by +him bequeathed to his eldest son, Thomas Gilbert, jr. The latter +writes so entertainingly and so enthusiastically of his situation, +in a letter to his sister and her husband, that we venture to depart, +for a moment, from the chronological order of events in order to +give some extracts. + + "On Board Major's Island, Sept. 30, 1799. + + Dear Brother and Sister,-- * * * I have made great improvements on + board this island. Three summers ago I built a large house, the + Carpenter just as he had finished the work took a brand of fire by + accident and burnt it all to ashes with three hundred pounds of + property in it. It happened the 15th of November, winter set in + next day. I fled to a small house I had on the island. Ice making + in the River there was no passing, but my Neighbors knew my + situation and assembled of their own good will[63]--in four weeks + put me into a good framed house forty feet long twenty wide with a + good chimney, where I lived the winter very comfortably. In the + spring I went to work and built a House 38 by 36 and set it on to + the other, which occupies the same ground that the other did, and + I finished it to a latch from top to bottom. * * * * The summer + past I have built me a barn 80 feet by 34 completely finished and + said to be the best in the Province. + + 'I wonder you don't come yourself or send some of your family to + help us enjoy this fine country. We feel no war nor pay any tax. + Our land brings forth abundantly; it is almost incredible to see + the Produce; it makes but little odds when you plant or sow, at + harvest time you will have plenty. This last spring was late, the + water was not off so that I could plant till the 21st of June, and + so till the 26th we planted, and you never saw so much corn in any + part of the States to the acre as I have got, and wheat and + everything to the greatest perfection. I wonder how you and my + Friends can prefer digging among the Stones and paying Rates to an + easy life in this country. Last year I sold beef, pork and mutton + more than I wanted for my family for three hundred Pounds, besides + two colts for forty pounds apiece. A few days ago I sold four + colts before they were broke for one hundred and ten pounds and I + have sixteen left. I have a fine stock of cattle and sheep--butter + and cheese is as plenty here as herrings are at Taunton--a tenant + lives better here than a Landlord at Berkley. I am blesst with the + best Neighbors that ever drew breath--they are made of the same + stuff that our forefathers were that first settled New England. * + * * * I live under the protection of the King, and I am stationed + by his Laws on this Island, the finest farm in the Province. I + don't intend to weigh my anchor nor start from this till I have + orders from the Governor of all things--then I hope to obey the + summons with joy and gladness--with Great Expectation, to meet you + in Heaven where I hope to rest." + + [63] He means that intercourse with the shore was cut off in + consequence of floating ice but that his neighbors had seem + the misfortune and, realizing the need of prompt action, of + their own good will met together and began to prepare the + frame and materials for a new dwelling. + +Benjamin Atherton removed to St. Anns about 1769 where at the time the +Loyalists arrived he is reported to have had a good framed house and +log barn and about 30 acres of land, cleared in part by the French. +This land was near the Government House, and here in early days, +Messrs. Simonds & White established a trading post to which the +Indians and Acadians and some of the English settlers resorted. The +store was managed by Benjamin Atherton who had an interest in the +business. Mr. Atherton was a man of ability and good education and +filled the office of clerk of the peace of the county of Sunbury--at +that time including nearly all New Brunswick. + +Hugh Quinton, Samuel Peabody, Gerves Say and William McKeen removed at +an early date to the mouth of the river and we shall hear more of them +in connection with that locality. + +Edward Coy, Thomas Hart and Zebulun Estey removed to Gagetown. Some +facts concerning Edward Coy are related in a curious old book +published at Boston in 1849 entitled "A Narrative of the Life and +Christian Experience of Mrs. Mary Bradley of Saint John, New +Brunswick, written by Herself." From this source we learn that the +Coys were originally McCoys but that the "Mac" was dropped by Edward +Coy's grandfather and never resumed by the family. The Coys came from +Pomfret in Connecticut to the River St. John in 1763 and the family +removed from Gagetown to Sheffield in 1776. One of Edward Coy's +daughters is said to have been the first female child of English +speaking parents born on the St. John river. The curious "cul de sac" +in the river opposite the mouth of the Belleisle known as "The +Mistake" was formerly called "Coy's Mistake"--the name doubtless +suggests the incident in which it had its origin. Many a traveller +since the time of Edward Coy has incautiously entered the same +cul-de-sac, thinking it the channel of the river, and, after +proceeding two or three miles, found he too had made a "mistake" and +retraced his way a sadder and a wiser man. + +Zebulun Estey and Thomas Hart went to Gagetown while the war of the +Revolution was in progress. The sentiments of the two were diverse +during the war. Mr. Hart was one of the committee who helped to +organize the party that went with the Americans, under Colonel +Jonathan Eddy, against Fort Cumberland, in 1775. He is described in +Major Studholme's report as "a rebel." Zebulun Estey on the other hand +is described as "a good man and his character very loyal." + +Naturally the large number of those who removed from Maugerville on +account of the inconveniences of the spring freshets went across the +river to the Township of Burton, in some cases still retaining their +property in Maugerville. Among those who so removed were Isaac +Stickney, Israel Estey, Moses Estey, John Larlee, Amos Estey, John +Pickard, Benjamin Brawn, Edward Barker, Israel Kinney, John Shaw and +Thomas Barker. These were chiefly original grantees or their sons, who +all removed to Burton during the progress of the Revolution, excepting +John Larlee and Israel Kinney who went there in 1767. John Larlee was +one of the old time doctors, a man highly respected whose descendants +now are chiefly residents of Carleton county. Israel Kinney was +probably the first blacksmith in the community. + +Among those not included in the original band of settlers at +Maugerville, but who arrived there shortly afterwards, was Moses +Coburn, who came from Newburyport to St. John in the schooner Eunice +early in 1767. This little vessel had quite a number of passengers for +the River St. John, including James Simonds, Oliver Perley, Alexander +Tapley and Stephen Hovey, but the voyage is of special interest from +the fact that there was a bride on board, the young wife of James +Simonds, formerly Hannah Peabody--a bride of sixteen. The Eunice had a +fine passage and arrived at St. John on the 26th April, 1767. + +Moses Coburn settled on lot No. 23, not far below the present +Sheffield Academy. The lot had been drawn by Edward Coy, one of the +original grantees of the township, who took up his residence in +Gagetown, but afterwards removed to Maugerville. + +Alexander Tapley was one of the passengers in the Eunice. He lived at +Maugerville prior to April 22, 1765, for on that date he sold 8-1/2 +lbs. of Beaver to Simonds & White for the sum of L2 2s. 6d., and +purchased in return a number of articles including a pair of women's +shoes at 5 shillings, and a pair of "men's pomps" at 7 shillings. A +curious incident in connection with Alexander Tapley is to be found in +the old court records of the County of Sunbury. It seems that having +been appointed constable he declined to qualify and take the oath of +office. In consequence he was summoned on the 20th May, 1774, to +appear before Israel Perley and Jacob Baker, two of the magistrates, +"to give a reason (if any he hath) for the refusing to serve as a +constable for said town of Maugerville." To this citation Tapley paid +no regard, whereupon the magistrates, in high dudgeon, fined him forty +shillings and issued a warrant to Samuel Upton, constable, who "took a +cow of the said Tapley to satisfy the fine and costs, which sum was +ordered to remain in the said constable's hand till called for." + +Giles Tidmarsh was one of the transient settlers of Maugerville. The +account books of Simonds and White show that he lived on the river at +least as early as October, 1765--the first item charged in his acount +is: "Oct. 23d, To 1 Fusee, L2." On July 23, 1767, Tidmarsh was granted +1,000 acres in the township of Maugerville. Some years later his name +appears as a Halifax magistrate, and in the year 1775 he was a Planter +in the Island of Grenada. On Nov. 30th of that year he sold to Jacob +Barker, jr., the half of lot No. 11, in Upper Sheffield, about 250 +acres, for L32. + +The descendants of the early settlers on the River St. John will find +some very interesting information in the old accounts of Simonds & +White as to the date and manner of the arrival of their forefathers in +this country, and something too as regards their way of living. + +In the early days of Maugerville it was quite a common occurrence for +an intending settler to leave his family in New England till he had +succeeded in making a small clearing and had built a log house for +their accommodation, and a hovel for such domestic animals as he chose +to bring with him. This in some measure explains the fact that while +according to the census of Michael Francklin there were 77 men in +Maugerville at the close of the year 1766 there were only 46 women. +Here is an example from the account books of Simonds & White which +will serve for illustration in this connection; it appears under date +August 18, 1769:-- + + Nehemiah Hayward to Simonds & White, Dr. + + To his passage to Newbury in the Polly last March. 20s. + His and wife's passage to this place 20s. + 1 Cow, 10s.; 1 Child, 5s. 15s. + +Evidently Mr. Hayward had made a home for his wife and child on the +banks of the St. John and had now gone to bring them on from +Newburyport. His farm was in the lower part of Sheffield. + +Most of the live stock for the Maugerville people was shipped from +Newburyport to St. John in the vessels of Hazen, Simonds and White. +One of the first horses in the settlement was owned by Ammi Howlet, +who paid L2 as freight for the animal in a sloop that arrived in May, +1765. + +It is manifestly impossible to follow the history of every family +represented in the grantees of Maugerville. Of the 261 souls that +comprised the population of the township in 1767, all were natives of +America with the exception of six English, ten Irish, four Scotch and +six Germans. The majority were of Puritan stock and members of the +congregationalist churches of Massachusetts. Scarcely had they settled +themselves in their new possessions when they began the organization +of a church. Dr. James Hannay in his very interesting paper on the +Maugerville Settlement, published in the collections of the New +Brunswick Historical Society, gives a copy of the original church +covenant certified as correct by Humphrey Pickard, the church clerk. +The covenant is signed by Jonathan Burpee, Elisha Nevers, Richard +Estey, Daniel Palmer, Gervas Say, Edward Coy and Jonathan Smith. The +opening paragraph reads: + + "We whose names are hereto subscribed, apprehending ourselves + called of God (for advancing of His Kingdom and edifying ourselves + and posterity) to combine and embody ourselves into a distinct + Church Society, and being for that end orderly dismissed from the + Churches to which we heretofore belonged; do (as we hope) with + some measure of seriousness and sincerity, take upon us the + following covenant, viz.:-- + + "As to matters of faith we cordially adhere to the principles of + religion (at least the substance of them) contained in the Shorter + Catechism of the Westminister Assembly of Divines wherewith also + the New England Confession of Faith harmonizeth, not as supposing + that there is any authority, much less infalibility, in these + human creeds or forms; but verily believing that these principles + are drawn from and agreeable to the Holy Scripture, which is the + foundation and standard of truth; hereby declaring our utter + dislike of the Pelagian Arminian principles, vulgarly so called. + + "In a firm belief of the aforesaid doctrines from an earnest + desire that we and ours may receive the love of them and be saved + with hopes that what we are now doing may be a means of so great + an happiness; we do now (under a sense of our utter unworthiness + of the honour and privileges of God's Covenant people) in solemn + and yet free and cheerful manner give up ourselves and offspring + to God the Father, to the Son the Mediator, and the Holy Ghost the + instructor, sanctifier and comforter, to be henceforth the people + and servants of this God, to believe in all His revalations, to + accept of His method of reconciliation, to obey His commands, and + to keep all His ordinances, to look to and depend upon Him to do + all for us, and work all in us, especially relating to our eternal + salvation, being sensible that of ourselves we can do nothing. + + "And it is also our purpose and resolution (by Divine assistance) + to discharge the duties of Christian love and Brotherly + watchfulness towards each other, to train up our children in the + nurture and admonition of the Lord: to join together in setting up + and maintaining the Publick worship of God among us, carefully and + joyfully to attend upon Christ's Sacrament and institutions; to + yield all obedience and submission to Him or them that shall from + time to time in an orderly manner be made overseers of the flock, + to submit to all the regular administrations and censures of the + Church and to contribute all in our power unto the regularity and + peaceableness of those administrations. + + "And respecting Church discipline it is our purpose to adhere to + the method contained in the platform or the substance of it agreed + upon by the synod at Cambridge in New England Ano. Dom. 1648 as + thinking these methods of Church Discipline the nearest the + Scripture and most likely to maintain and promote Purity, order + and peace of any. + + "And we earnestly pray that God would be pleased to smile upon + this our undertaking for His Glory, that whilst we thus subscribe + with our hands, to the Lord and sirname ourselves by the Name of + Israel; we may through grace given us become Israelites indeed in + whom there is no Guile, that our hearts may be right with God and + we be steadfast in His Covenant, that we who are now combining + together in a new church of Jesus Christ, may by the purity of our + faith and morals become one of those Golden Candlesticks among + which the Son of God in way of favor and protection will + condescend to walk. And that every member of it thro' imputed + righteousness and inherent grace may hereafter be found among that + happy Multitude whom the glorious head of the Church, the Heavenly + Bridegroome shall present to Himself a glorious church not having + spot or wrinkle or any such thing." + +No date is attached to this church covenant, but it was in all +probability drawn up within a year or two of the date of arrival of +the first settlers. Jonathan Burpee, whose name comes first in the +order of signers, was a deacon in the church, and for some years the +leader in all church movements. He lived in that part of Sheffield +just above the Academy and was the ancestor of the Hon. Isaac Burpee, +who was minister of customs in the Mackenzie government, and of many +others of the name. His son, Jeremiah Burpee, lived beside him and a +grandson, David Burpee, was another neighbor. + +It was not until some years after the organization of the church that +there was any settled minister on the St. John river and those +desirous of entering the holy estate of matrimony were obliged like +James Simonds to proceed to Massachusetts or to follow the example off +Gervas Say and Anna Russell, whose marriage is described in the +following unique document:-- + + "Maugerville, February 23, 1766. + + "In the presence of Almighty God and this Congregation, Gervas Bay + and Anna Russell, inhabitants of the above said township enter + into marriage Covenant lawfully to dwell together in the fear of + God the remaining part of our lives, in order to perform all ye + duties necessary betwixt husband and wife as witness our hands. + + Daniel Palmer, Gervas Say, + Fras. Peabody, Anna Say. + Saml. Whitney, + Richard Estey, + George Hayward, + David Palmer, + Edwd. Coye. + +Gervas Say was one of the signers of the church covenant as also were +three of the witnesses, Richard Estey, Daniel Palmer, and Edward Coye, +and it may be assumed that the marriage was regarded as perfectly +proper under the circumstances and it is not improbable that, in the +absence of a minister, this was the ordinary mode of marriage. Gervas +Say was afterwards a magistrate of the county and a man of integrity, +ability and influence. + +During the earlier years of the settlement at Maugerville there was no +resident minister, but the place was occasionally visited by a +clergyman. It is said that the first religious teacher there was a Mr. +Wellman who came to Maugerville with some of the first settlers but +did not remain. There is nothing to show that when the church covenant +was signed, in the year 1765, there was any resident minister. The +Reverend Thomas Wood of Annapolis, a Church of England clergyman, +visited the River St. John in the Summer of 1769, and on Sunday, July +9th, landed at Maugerville, where he held service and had a +congregation of more than two hundred persons. He stated in his report +to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, that owing to the +fact that the congregation was composed chiefly of Dissenters from New +England, and that they had a Dissenting minister among them, only two +persons were baptised by him, but, he added, "if a prudent missionary +could be settled among them I believe all their prejudices would +vanish." + +The next year the little settlement had a minister, Zephaniah Briggs, +who remained from May to August, preaching on Sundays at the houses of +Daniel Palmer, Jacob Barker, Hugh Quinton, Jonathan Smith and Elisha +Nevers. After a while came a Mr. Webster who, like his predecessor, +seems to have been an itinerant preacher and did not tarry long. + +It was not until the arrival of the Rev. Seth Noble[64], in 1774, that +the church had a resident pastor, but in the intervals religious +services were held on the Lord's Day at private houses, conducted by +the deacons and elders of the church, consisting of prayer and +exhortation, reading of a sermon and singing. Among the early deacons +were Jonathan Burpee, Samuel Whitney, John Shaw, and Humphrey Pickard. +The elders were chosen annually. + + [64] The Rev. Seth Noble was grandfather of the Rev. Joseph Noble who + at this date (1904), is the oldest Free Baptist minister in + the Province. For this information I am indebted to H. G. + Noble of Woodstock, N. B.--W.O.R. + +The records of the church, which are yet in existence, show that the +promise, made by the signers of the original covenant, to maintain +"Brotherly watchfulness toward each other," was by no means lost sight +of for many of the entries in the church records are devoted to +matters of discipline. In September, 1773, for example, two rather +prominent members of the church, Israel Kenny and Benjamin Brawn, were +called to account, and after due acknowledgment of their faults before +the congregation were "restored to their charity again." One of the +two offending brethren, who had been charged with "scandalous sins," +was elected a ruling elder of the church less than two years +afterwards. + +The year 1774, gave to Maugerville its first settled minister, the +Rev. Seth Noble, and the circumstances connected with his appointment +are thus stated in the minutes of the clerk of the church, Daniel +Palmer: + + "At a meeting held by the subscribers to a bond for the support of + the Preached gospel among us at the House of Mr. Hugh Quinton + inholder on Wednesday ye 15 of June 1774. + + 1ly Chose Jacob Barker Esqr. Moderator in Sd. meeting. + + 2ly Gave Mr. Seth Noble a call to settle in the work of the + ministry among us. + + 3ly to give Mr. Seth Noble as a settlement providing he accept of + the call, one hundred and twenty Pounds currency. + + 4ly Voted to give Mr. Seth Noble yearly salary of sixty five + pounds currency so long as he shall continue our Minister to be in + Cash or furs or grain at cash price. + + 5ly. Chose Esqrs., Jacob Barker, Phinehas Nevers, Israel Pearly, + Deacon Jonathan Burpee and Messrs. Hugh Quinton, Daniel Palmer, + Moses Coburn, Moses Pickard a Committee to treat with Seth Noble. + + 6ly Adjourned the meeting to be held at the House of Mr. Hugh + Quinton on Wednesday ye 29 Instat, at four of the clock in the + afternoon to hear the report of the committee. + + Met on the adjournment on Wednesday ye 29 of June 1774 and voted + as an addition to the salary of Mr. Seth Noble if he should except + of our Call, to cut and haul twenty five cords of wood to his + house yearly so long as he shall continue to be our Minister. The + meeting dissolved." + +[Illustration: THE CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH AT SHEFFIELD.] + +The call having been accepted by Mr. Noble, the people the following +year set about the erection of a meeting house, which was to serve +also as a residence for their pastor. In January, 1776, it was so far +advanced that the exterior was nearly completed, for in David Burpee's +book of accounts, under that date, there is a charge for work done by +Messrs. Plummer and Bridges in "clapboarding one third of the east end +of the meeting house." When finished the building was doubtless a very +unpretentious little structure not at all like a modern church edifice +and very unlike its successor, the Congregational church in Sheffield, +but it was the first Protestant place of worship erected on the River +St. John. + +In the order of survey of the Township of Maugerville, made by the +Government of Nova Scotia in 1761, were the words "You shall Reserve +four Lots in the Township, for Publick use, one as a Glebe for the +Church of England, one of the Dissenting Protestants, one for the +maintenance of a School, and one for the first settled minister in the +Place." + +In accordance with this arrangement Lot No. 15, where the Sheffield +Congregational church now stands, was fixed on in the year 1764 as a +glebe for the "Dissenting Protestants." Improvements were made upon +the lot and a part of it used as a burial ground. The first meeting +house, however, was not built there. It probably stood on lot 13, the +property of Jeremiah Burpee and later of his son, David Burpee. In the +church records we have the following minute bearing upon the subject, +the meaning of which, however, does not seem perfectly clear:-- + + "At a meeting of the Subscribers for the support of the Preached + Gospel held at the meeting house in Sheffield on the 15th day of + December, 1788-- + + Chose Mr. Daniel Jewett Chairman. + + "2ndly. Voted that the meeting house be set on the public lot in + Sheffield. + + "3rdly. Voted to remove the meeting house in Maugerville to the + public lot in Sheffield if the proprietor thereof consents + thereto. + + "4thly. Chose Messers. Nathan Smith, Silvanus Plumer, Eben Briggs, + Elijah Dingee and Jacob Barker, Esq., managers to remove the + same." + +The meeting house was removed early in the spring, placed upon a stone +foundation, a steeple erected, and many improvements made. + +If the Rev. Seth Noble had remained he would doubtless have had a +grant of the lot reserved for the first settled minister in the +township, but his removal in the year 1777 not only lost him the lot +but caused it to pass eventually to the Rev. John Beardsley, rector of +the church of England congregation. + +Some years after he left Maugerville Mr. Noble wrote to his former +congregation respecting this lot but they gave him rather a tart +reply: "You was indeed told," said they, "that there was a lot of land +in Maugerville reserved by Government to be given to the first settled +minister in fee simple, and had you continued as such undoubtedly you +would have obtained a grant of it. But when you left this country you +then (in the eyes of the government) forfeited all pretentions to that +privilege and the man that would ask for it in your behalf would only +get abuse. By your leaving us the dissenters have lost that privilege +and the Church of England minister gets the lot. Though we must +observe that during Mrs. Noble's residence here she had the +improvement of it which was worth about five pounds per annum."[65] + + [65] The lot here referred to was No. 60 in Upper Maugerville, now + owned by Alexander and Walter Smith. Rev. Seth Noble was a + warm sympathizer with the revolutionary party in America and + in consequence was obliged to leave the River St. John in + 1777. His wife remained at Maugerville for more than two years + afterwards. + +Lot No. 90, reserved as a glebe for the Church of England, is that on +which Christ Church in the Parish of Maugerville stands today. The +Congregational and Episcopal churches, at the time New Brunswick was +separated from Nova Scotia, represented respectively the Puritan and +Loyalist elements of the community, and their relations were by no +means cordial. Mutual antipathy existed for at least a couple of +generations, but the old wounds are now fairly well healed and the +causes of discord well nigh forgotten. + +The intercourse between the Maugerville people and the smaller colony +at the mouth of river was so constant that it is difficult to speak of +the one without the other. For a few years the people living on the +river were in a large measure dependent for supplies upon the store +kept by Simonds and White at Portland Point, and the names of the +following Maugerville settlers are found in the ledger of Simonds and +White in the year 1765 and shortly after, viz.: Jacob Barker, Jacob +Barker jr., Thomas Barker, Jeremiah Burpee, David Burbank, Moses +Coburn, Thomas Christie, Zebulun Estey, Richard Estey, jr., John +Estey, Col. Beamsley Glacier, Joseph Garrison, Jonathan Hart, William +Harris, Nehemiah Hayward, Samuel Hoyt, Ammi Howlet, Daniel Jewett, +Richard Kimball, John Larlee, Peter Moores, Phinehas Nevers, Elisha +Nevers, Samuel Nevers, Capt. Francis Peabody, Samuel Peabody, Israel +Perley, Oliver Perley, Daniel Palmer, Humphrey Pickard, Hugh Quinton, +Nicholas Rideout, Jonathan Smith, John Shaw, Gervis Say, Isaac +Stickney, Samuel Tapley, Alexander Tapley, Giles Tidmarsh, John +Wasson, Jonathan Whipple and Samuel Whitney. + +In return for goods purchased the settlers tendered furs, lumber, +occasionally an old piece of silver, sometimes their own labor and +later they were able to supply produce from their farms. Money they +scarcely ever saw. Very often they gave notes of hand which they found +it hard to pay. The furs they supplied were principally beaver skins +at five shillings (or one dollar) per pound. They also supplied +martin, otter and musquash skin, the latter at 4-1/2 pence each. The +lumber supplied included white oak barrel staves at 20 shillings per +thousand, red oak hogshead starves at 20 shillings per thousand, "Oyl +nut" (Butternut) staves at 16 shillings per thousand, clapboards at 25 +shillings and oar rafters at L2 per thousand feet. Considering the +labor involved--for the manufacture was entirely by hand--prices seem +small; but it must be borne in mind that 2s. 6d. was a day's pay for a +man's labor at this time. + +The Indians had for so long a time enjoyed a monopoly of the fur trade +that they regarded the white hunter with a jealous eye. Indeed in the +year 1765 they assembled their warriors and threatened to begin a new +war with the English. The settlers an the river were much alarmed and +the commandant of Fort Frederick, Capt. Pierce Butler, of the 29th +Regiment, doubled his sentries. Through the persuasion of the +commandant, assisted by Messrs. Simonds and White and other leading +inhabitants, the chiefs were induced to go to Halifax and lay their +complaints before the Governor. One of the most influential +inhabitants on the river accompanied them, whose name is not stated +but it was very probably James Simonds, at least he writes to his +partners at Newburyport in November of this year, "The dispute with +the Indians is all settled to the satisfaction of the government as +well as the Indians." + +At their first interview the chiefs insisted that the white settlers +interfered with the rights of the Indians by encroaching on their +hunting grounds, clamming that it was one of the conditions of a +former treaty that the English settlers should not be allowed to kill +any wild game beyond the limits of their farms and improvements. They +demanded payment for the beavers, moose and other animals killed in +the forest by the settlers. The inhabitants of Maugerville were able +to prove that the charges brought against them were greatly +exaggerated, most of the wild animals having been killed not far from +their doors, while the aggregate of all animals slain by them was much +less than stated by the Indians. In the end the chiefs seemed to be +satisfied that they were mistaken and appeared ashamed of their +conduct in alarming the country without reason, but they still +insisted that the young warriors of their tribe would not be satisfied +without some compensation for the loss of their wild animals. The +Governor gave his decision as follows: "That although the grievances +the Indians had started were by no means sufficient to justify their +hostile proceedings, yet to do them ample justice, he would order to +be sent them a certain amount in clothing and provisions, provided +they would consider it full satisfaction for any injuries done by the +settlers; and that he would also send orders to restrain the settlers +from hunting wild animals in the woods." The chiefs accepted this +offer and the Indians remained tranquil until the American Revolution +some twelve years later. + +One of the results of the conference seems to have been the +reservation to the Indians in the grant of the Township of Sunbury of +"500 acres, including a church and burying ground at Aughpack, and +four acres for a burying ground at St. Ann's Point, and the island +called Indian Island." The well known Maliseet chief, Ambroise St. +Aubin, was one of the leading negotiators at Halifax as appears by the +following pass furnished to him by Governor Wilmot: + + "Permit the bearer, Ambroise St. Aubin, chief of the Indians of + St. John's river, to return there without any hindrance or + molestation; and all persons are required to give him all + necessary and proper aid and assistance on his journey. + + Given under my hand and seal at Halifax this 7th day of September, + 1765. + + M. WILMOT. + RICH'D BULKELEY, Secretary." + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +AT PORTLAND POINT. + + +When the attention of James Simonds, was directed to the River St. +John, by the proclamation oaf Governor Lawrence inviting the +inhabitants of New England to settle on the vacant lands in Nova +Scotia, he was a young man of twenty-four years of age. His father had +died at Haverhill; August 15th, 1757. The next year he went with his +uncle, Capt. Hazen, to the assault of Ticonderoga, in the capacity of +a subaltern officer in the Provincial troops, and shortly after the +close of the campaign proceeded to Nova Scotia in order to find a +promising situation for engaging in trade. The fur trade was what he +had chiefly in mind at this time, but the Indians were rather +unfriendly, and he became interested along with Captain Peabody, +Israel Perley and other officers of the disbanded Massachusetts troops +in their proposed settlement on the River St John. His future partners +of the trading company formed in 1764 were, with the exception of Mr. +Blodget, even younger men than himself. William Hazen, of Newburyport, +had just attained to manhood and belonged to a corps of Massachusetts +Rangers, which served in Canada at the taking of Quebec. Samuel +Blodget was a follower of the army on Lake Champlain as a sutler. +James White was a young man of two-and-twenty years and had been for +some time Mr. Blodget's clerk or assistant. Leonard Jarvis--afterwards +Wm. Hazen's, business partner and so incidentally a member of the +trading company at St. John--was not then eighteen years of age. + +While engaged in his explorations, James Simonds obtained from the +government of Nova Scotia the promise of a grant of 5,000 acres of +unappropriated lands, in such part of the province as he should +choose, and it was under this arrangement he entered upon the marsh +east of the city of St. John (called by the Indians "Seebaskastagan") +in the year 1762 and cut there a quantity of salt marsh hay and began +to made improvements. + +Mr. Simonds says in one of his letters: "The accounts which I gave my +friends in New England of the abundance of Fish in the River and the +convenience of taking them, of the extensive Fur trade of the country, +and the natural convenience of burning Lime, caused numbers of them to +make proposals to be concerned with me in these branches of business, +among whom Mr. Hazen was the first that joined me in a trial. +Afterwards, in the year 1764, although I was unwilling that any should +be sharers with me in the Fur trade, which I had acquired some +knowledge of, yet by representations that superior advantage could be +derived from a Cod-fishery on the Banks and other branches of +commerce, which I was altogether unacquainted with, I joined in a +contract for carrying it on for that year upon an extensive plan with +Messrs. Blodget, Hazen, White, Peaslie and R. Simonds." + +Early in 1763, James Simonds and William Hazen engaged in a small +venture in the way of trade and fishing at St. John and Passamaquoddy. +They had several men in their employ, including Ebenezer Eaton, master +of the sloop Bachelor, and Samuel Middleton, a cooper, who was +employed in making barrels for shipping the fish. Among others in the +employ of Simonds and his partners, several seem to have had a +previous acquaintance with St. John harbor; Moses Greenough, for +example, was there in 1758, and Lemuel Cleveland in 1757, when he says +"the French had a fort at Portland Point where Mr. Simonds' house was +afterwards built." + +The following is a copy of what is probably the first document extant +in connection with the business of Hazen and Simonds:-- + + Passamaquada, 26th July, 1763. + + Sir,--Please pay unto Mr. Ebenezer Eaton the sum of Five pounds + one shilling & four pence Lawfull money, half cash & half Goods, + and place the same to the acct. of, + + Yr. Humble Servant, + Jas. Simonds. + + To Mr. William Hazen, + Merchant in Newbury. + +The success of their first modest little venture encouraged Hazen and +Simonds to undertake a more ambitious project, namely the formation of +a trading company to "enter upon and pursue with all speed and +faithfulness the business of the cod fishery, seine fishery, fur +trade, burning of lime and every other trading business that shall be +thought advantageous to the company at Passamaquoddy, St. Johns, Canso +and elsewhere in or near the province of Nova Scotia and parts +adjacent." + +Evidently the project was regarded as in some measure an experiment, +for the contract provided, "the partnership shall continue certain for +the space of one year and for such longer time as all the partys shall +hereafter agree." Examination of the document shows that when first +written the period the contract was to continue was left blank and the +word "one" inserted before "year," evidently after consultation on the +part of those concerned. + +Shortly before the formation of the trading company, James Simonds +went to Halifax to procure a grant of land at St. John and a license +to trade with the Indians, but did not at this time succeed in +obtaining the grant. However the governor gave him the following +license to occupy Portland Point: + + "License is hereby granted to James Simonds to occupy a tract or + point of land on the north side of St. John's River, opposite Fort + Frederick, for carrying on a fishery and for burning lime-stone, + the said tract or point of land containing by estimation ten + acres. + + [Signed] "MONTAGU WILMOT." + + "Halifax, February 8, 1764. + +Upon this land at Portland Point the buildings required for the +business of the company were built. The partnership was in its way a +"family compact." Samuel Blodget, was distantly related to Wm. Hazen +and the latter was a cousin of James and Richard Simonds; Robert +Peaslie's wife was Anna Hazen, sister of Wm. Hazen, and James White +was a cousin of Wm. Hazen. It was agreed that Blodget, Hazen and James +Simonds should each have one-fourth part in the business and profits, +the remaining fourth part to be divided amongst the juniors, Messrs. +White, Peaslie and Richard Simonds. + +Blodget and Hazen were the principal financial backers of the +undertaking and agreed to provide, "at the expense of the company," +the vessels, boats, tackling, and also all sorts of goods and stock +needed to carry on the trade, also to receive and dispose of the fish, +furs and other produce of trade sent to them from Nova Scotia. The +fishery and all other business at St. John and elsewhere in Nova +Scotia was to be looked after by the others of the company, and the +junior partners were to proceed with James Simonds to St. John and +work under his direction, so far as to be ruled by him "at all times +and in all things which shall relate to the good of the concerned +wherein the said White, Peaslie and R. Simonds shall differ in +judgment from the said James Simonds, tho' all parties do hereby +covenant in all things to consult and advise and act to the utmost of +their power for the best good and advantage of the Company." + +It is evident that the plans of our first business concern at St. John +were not drawn up without due consideration. + +There is no evidence to show that any of the partners except the +brothers Simonds had been at St. John previous to the year 1764. The +statement has been frequently made that James White visited the harbor +in 1762 in company with James Simonds and Capt. Francis Peabody, but +his own papers which are still in existence clearly prove that he was +almost constantly engaged in the employ of Samuel Blodget at Crown +Point during that year. + +William Hazen and James Simonds were undoubtedly the prime movers in +the formation of the trading company that began its operations at St. +John in 1764. By their joint efforts they were able to organize a firm +seemingly happily constituted and likely to work together harmoniously +and successfully. As a matter of fact, however, the company had a very +chequered career and at length the war of the Revolution seemed likely +to involve them in financial ruin. This seeming calamity in the end +proved to be the making of their fortunes by sending the Loyalists in +thousands to our shores. But of all this more anon. + +The financial backers of the company at the first were Hazen and +Blodget, who carried on business at Newburyport and Boston respectively. +These towns were then rising into importance and were rivals in +trade although it was not long until Boston forged ahead. The goods +required for trade with the Indians and white inhabitants of the +River St. John and the military garrison at Fort Frederick were +conveniently supplied from Newburyport and Boston, and these places +were good distributing centres for the fish, furs, lumber, lime and +other products obtained at St. John. The furs were usually sold in +London; the other articles were either sold in the local market or sent +to the West Indies. + +The Company having been formed and the contract signed on the 1st day +of March, 1764, the Messrs. Simonds, James White, Jonathan Leavitt and +a party of about thirty hands embarked on board a schooner belonging +to the Company for the scene of operations. The men were fishermen, +laborers, lime burners, with one or two coopers--a rough and ready +lot, but with one or two of superior intelligence to act as foremen. +Comparatively few of the men seem to have become permanent settlers, +yet as members of the little colony at Portland Point and almost the +first English-speaking residents of St. John, outside of the Fort +Frederick garrison, their names are worthy to be recorded. The +following may be regarded as a complete list: James Simonds, James +White, Jonathan Leavitt, Jonathan Simonds, Samuel Middleton, Peter +Middleton, Edmund Black, Moses True, Reuben Stevens, John Stevens, +John Boyd, Moses Kimball, Benjamin Dow, Thomas Jenkins, Batcheldor +Ring, Rowley Andros, Edmund Butler, John Nason, Reuben Mace, Benjamin +Wiggins, John Lovering, John Hookey, Rueben Sergeant, Benjamin +Stanwood, Benjamin Winter, Anthony Dyer, Webster Emerson, George +Carey, John Hunt, George Berry, Simeon Hillyard, Ebenezer Fowler, +William Picket and Ezekiel Carr. + +The Company's schooner, with William Story as master, sailed from +Newburyport about the 10th of April, arriving at Passamaquody on the +14th, and at St. John on the 18th. The men set to work immediately on +their arrival, and the quietude that had reigned beneath the shadow of +Fort Howe hill was broken by the sound of the woodsman's axe and the +carpenter's saw and hammer. Among the first buildings erected were a +log store 20 feet by 30 feet, a dwelling house 19 feet by 35 feet, and +a building adjoining it 16 by 40, rough boarded and used as a cooper's +shop, kitchen and shelter for the workmen. + +Portland Point lies at the foot of Portland street at the head of St. +John harbor--the locality is better known today as "Rankin's Wharf." +Before the wharves in the vicinity were built the Point was quite a +conspicuous feature in the contour of the harbor. The site of the old +French fort on which James Simonds' house was built, with the +company's store hard by, is now a green mound unoccupied by any +building. The place was at first commonly called "Simonds' Point" but +about the year 1776 the name of "Portland Point" seems to have come +into use. Nevertheless, down to the time of the arrival of the +Loyalists in 1783, the members of the company always applied the names +of "St. Johns" or "St. John's River" to the scene of their operations, +and it may be said that in spite of the attempt of the French governor +Villebon and his contemporaries to perpetuate the old Indian name of +Menaquesk, or Menagoeche, and of Governor Parr in later years to affix +the name of "Parr-town" to that part of our city to the east of the +harbor, the name given by de Monts and Champlain on the memorable 24 +June, 1604, has persisted to the present day. The city of ST. JOHN, +therefore, has not only the honor of being the oldest incorporated +city in the British colonies, but traces the origin of its name to a +known and fixed date three hundred years ago. Indeed as regards its +name St. John is older than Boston, New York, Philadelphia or any city +of importance on the Atlantic coast as far south as Florida. + +However the first English colonists who established themselves on a +permanent footing at "St. John's" thought little of this historic +fact. It was not sentiment but commercial enterprise than guided +them. + +Among those who came to St. John with Simonds and White in April, +1764, none was destined to play a more active and useful part than +young Jonathan Leavitt. He was a native of New Hampshire and at the +time of his arrival was in his eighteenth year. Young as he was he had +some experience as a mariner, and from 1764 to 1774 was employed as +master of one or other of the Company's vessels. He sailed chiefly +between St. John and Newburyport, but occasionally made a voyage to +the West Indies. He received the modest compensation of L4 per month +for his services. In the course of time Mr. Leavitt came to be one of +the most trusted navigators of the Bay of Fundy and probably none knew +the harbor of St. John so well as he. In his testimony in a law suit, +about the year 1792, he states that in early times the places of +anchorage in the harbor were the flats on the west side between Fort +Frederick and Sand Point, which were generally used by strangers, and +Portland Point where the vessels of the Company lay. It was not until, +1783 that vessels began to anchor at the Upper Cove (now the Market +Slip), that place being until then deemed rather unsafe. Jonathan +Leavitt and has brother Daniel piloted to their landing places the +transport ships that carried some thousands of Loyalists to our shores +during the year 1783. + +Jonathan Leavitt gives an interesting synopsis of the business carried +on at St. John under the direction of Simonds and White: "The +Company's business included Fishery, Fur trade, making Lime, building +Vessels and sawing Lumber, and they employed a great number of +laborers and workmen in cutting wood, burning lime, digging stone, +cutting hoop-poles, clearing roads, clearing land, curing fish, +cutting hay and attending stock. The workmen and laborers were +supported and paid by the partnership and lived in the outhouse and +kitchen of the house occupied by Simonds and White. There was a store +of dry goods and provisions and articles for the Indian trade." + +When he was at St. John, Leavitt lived in the family of Simonds and +White who lived together during the greater part of the ten years he +was in the Company's employ, and when they separated their families he +staid sometimes with one and sometimes with the other. Simonds and +White were supplied with bread, meat and liquors for themselves and +families from the store, and no account was kept whilst they lived +together, but after they separated they were charged against each +family; the (workmen also were maintained, supported and fed from the +joint stock of the store, as it was considered they were employed for +the joint benefit of the company, but liquors and articles supplied on +account of their wages were charged against the individual accounts of +the men. Part of the workmen and laborers were hired by William Hazen +and sent from Newburyport, others were engaged by Simonds and White at +the River St. John. + +About the year 1772 Jonathan Leavitt married Capt. Francis Peabody's +youngest daughter, Hephzibeth, then about sixteen years of age, and +thus became more closely identified with James Simonds and James +White, whose wives were also daughters of Capt. Peabody.[66] + + [66] The concluding part of Capt. Peabody's will is of interest in + connection with the above: + + "Item, I give to my daughter Elizabeth White thirty + dollars to be paid by my two eldest sons in household + goods. + + "Item, to my daughter Hannah Simonds five dollars to be + paid by my two eldest sons. + + "Item, to my daughter Hephzibeth I give three hundred + dollars to be paid by my two eldest sons in household + goods on the day of her marriage. + + As to my household goods and furniture I leave to the + discretion of my loving wife to dispose of, excepting my + sword, which I give to my son Samuel. I appoint my dear + wife and my son Samuel executors of this my last Will and + Testament. + + As witness my hand, + FRANCIS PEABODY, Sr. + + Delivered this 26th day of October + the year of our Lord 1771, + In presence of us + + ISRAEL KINNEY, + ALEXANDER TAPLEY, + PHINEHAS NEVERS. + + BENJAMIN ATHERTON, Registrar. + + This Will was proved, approved, and registered this 25th + day of June, 1773. + + JAMES SIMONDS, + Judge of Probate. + +When Jonathan and Daniel Leavitt had for several years been engaged in +sailing the company's vessels, it is said that they became discouraged +at the outlook and talked of settling themselves at some place where +there was a larger population and more business. James White did his +best to persuade them to remain, closing his argument with the +exhortation, "Don't be discouraged, boys! Keep up a good heart! Why +ships will come here from England yet!" And they have come. + +In addition to the Leavitts and the masters of some of the other +vessels, who were intelligent men, nearly all at St. John were +ordinary laborers: however, the company from time to time employed +some capable young fellows to assist in the Store at the Point. One of +these was Samuel Webster, whose mother was a half-sister of James +Simonds. He remained nearly four years at St. John, during which time +he lived in the family of Simonds and White. While he was at St. John +goods were shipped to Newburyport and the West Indies by the Company +in considerable quantities. There were he says at times a very +considerable number of workmen and laborers employed, and at other +times a smaller number, according to the time of year, and as the +nature of the employment required. The laborers were fed, supported +and paid out of the store, and lived in a house only a few rods from +Mr. Simonds' house. Emerson spent most of his time in the store, +buying and selling and delivering small articles. He generally made +the entries in the Day Book. + +Another lad, Samuel Emerson, of Bakerstown, Massachusetts, came to St. +John with James Simonds in April, 1767, as a clerk or assistant in the +store, and remained nearly four years in the Company's service. + +At the expiration of the first year several changes occurred in the +Company. Richard Simonds had died on the 20th January, 1765. Robert +Peaslie seems not to have come to St. John, although it was stipulated +in the contract that he should do so, and early in 1765 he withdrew +from the Company. In the autumn of 1764, Leonard Jarvis, a young man +of twenty-two years of age, became associated with William Hazen as +co-partner in his business in Newburyport and became by common consent +a sharer in the business at St. John. So far as we can judge from his +letters, Mr. Jarvis was a man of excellent business ability. The +accounts kept at Newburyport in connection with the Company's business +are in his handwriting and he attended to most of the correspondence +with the St. John partners. + +The writer of this history has among his historic documents and papers +a number of account books in a very fair state of preservation, +containing in part the transactions of the company during the years +they were in business at St. John. One of these, a book of nearly 100 +pages, ordinary foolscap size with stout paper cover, is of special +interest for it contains the record of the initial transactions of the +first business firm established at St. John a hundred and forty years +ago. At the top of the first page are the words + + Day Book No. 1. + 1764. St. Johns River. + +The book is intact and very creditably kept. The entries are in the +hand writing of James White. The accounts during the continuance of +the partnership were kept in New England currency or "Lawful money of +Massachusetts." The letters L. M. were frequently employed to +distinguish this currency from sterling money and Nova Scotia +currency. The value of the Massachusetts currency was in the +proportion of L1 sterling to L1. 6s. 8d. L. M.; the Nova Scotia +dollar, or five shillings, was equivalent to six shillings L. M. It is +a fact worth recording, that the Massachusetts currency was used in +all ordinary business transactions on the River St. John down to the +time of the arrival of the Loyalists in 1783. This fact suffices to +show how close were the ties that bound the pre-loyalist settlers of +the province to New England, and it is scarcely a matter of surprise +that during the Revolution the Massachusetts congress found many +sympathizers on the River St. John. + +While accounts were kept according to the currency of New England, the +amount of cash handled by Simonds and White was insignificant. For +years they supplied the settlers on the river with such things as they +required often receiving their payment in furs and skins. In securing +these the white inhabitants became such expert hunters and trappers as +to arouse the jealousy of the Indians and to give rise to the +pseudo-nym "the bow and arrow breed," applied to them by some of the +half-pay officers who settled among them at the close of the American +Revolution. With the Indians the trade was almost entirely one of +barter, the staple article being the fur of the spring beaver. + +The fur trade assumed large proportions at this period. The account +books of Simonds and White that are now in existence do not contain a +complete record of all the shipments made from St. John, but they show +that during ten years of uninterrupted trade from the time of their +settlement at Portland Point to the outbreak of the Revolution, they +exported at least 40,000 beaver skins, 11,022 musquash, 6,050 Marten, +870 otter, 258 fisher, 522 Mink, 120 fox, 140 sable, 74 racoon, 67 +loup-cervier, 8 wolverene, 5 bear, 2 Nova Scotia wolf, 50 carriboo, 85 +deer, and 1,113 moose, besides 2,265 lbs. of castor and 3,000 lbs of +feathers, the value of which according to invoice was L11,295 or about +$40,000. The prices quoted are but a fraction of those of modern days +and by comparison appear ridiculously small. Other traders were +engaged in traffic with the Indians also, and if Messrs. Simonds and +White sent on an average 4,000 beaver skins to New England every year, +it is manifest that the fur trade of the river was a matter of some +consequence. + +James White was the principal agent in bartering with the Indians who +had every confidence in his integrity. Three-fourths of their trade +was in beaver skins and "a pound of spring beaver" (equivalent to 5 +shillings in value) was the unit employed in trade. Mr. White was +usually called by the Indians "K'wabeet" or "Beaver." It is said that +in business with the Indians the fist of Mr. White was considered to +weigh a pound and his foot two pounds both in buying and selling. But +the same story is told of other Indian traders. The Indians were fond +of finery and ornaments. Among the articles sent by Samuel Blodget in +1764 were nine pairs of green, scarlet and blue plush breeches at a +guinea each; one blue gold laced jacket and two scarlet gold laced +jackets valued at L3 each; also spotted ermine jackets, ruffled +shirts and three gold laced beaver hats (value of the latter L8 6s. +4d.) These may seem extravagant articles for the Indians yet their +chiefs and captains bought them and delighted to wear them on special +occasions.[67] It was customary in trading with the savages to take +pledges from them, for the payment of their debts, silver trinkets, +armclasps, medals, fuzees, etc. In the autumn of 1777 a Yankee +privateer from Machias, whose captain bore the singular name A. Greene +Crabtree, plundered Simonds & White's store at Portland Point and +carried off a trunk full of Indian pledges. This excited the +indignation of the Chiefs Pierre Thoma and Francis Xavier who sent the +following communication to Machias: "We desire you will return into +the hands of Mr. White at Menaguashe the pledges belonging to us which +were plundered last fall out of Mr. Hazen's store by A. Greene +Crabtree, captain of one of your privateers; for if you don't send +them we will come for them in a manner you won't like." + + [67] Col. John Allan, of Machias, had a conference with the Indians + at Aukpaque in June, 1777, and writes in his journal: "The + Chiefs made a grand appearance, particularly Ambrose St. + Aubin, who was dressed in a blue Persian silk waistcoat four + inches deep, and scarlet knee breeches: also gold laced hat + with white cockade." + +The goods kept in the store at Portland Point for the Indian trade +included powder and shot for hunting, provisions, blankets and other +"necessaries" and such articles as Indian needles, colored thread, +beads of various colors, a variety of buttons--brass buttons, silver +plated buttons, double-gilt buttons, scarlet buttons and blue mohair +buttons--scarlet blue and red cloth, crimson broadcloth, red and blue +stroud, silver and gold laced hats, gilt trunks, Highland garters, +silver crosses, round silver broaches, etc., etc. + +The old account books bear evidence of being well thumbed, for Indian +debts were not easy to collect, and white men's debts were harder to +collect in ancient than in modern days. In point of fact the red man +and the white man of the River St. John ran a close race in their +respective ledgers. For in a statement of accounts rendered after the +operations of the company had lasted rather more than two years, the +debts due were as follows: From the English L607 11s. 9d. and from the +Indians L615 7s. 9d. Old and thumb-worn as the account books are, +written with ink that had often been frozen and with quill pens that +often needed mending, they are extremely interesting as relics of the +past, and are deserving of a better fate than that which awaited them +when by the merest accident they were rescued from a dismal heap of +rubbish. + +In their business at Portland Point, Simonds and White kept four sets +of accounts: one for their Indian trade, a second for their business +with the white inhabitants, a third for that with their own employees, +and a fourth for that with the garrison at Fort Frederick. + +In glancing over the leaves of the old account books the first thing +likely to attract attention is the extraordinary consumption of West +India spirits and New England rum. This was by no means confined to +the Company's laborers, for at that time the use of rum as a beverage +was almost universal. It was dispensed as an ordinary act of +hospitality and even the preacher cheerfully accepted the proffered +cup. It was used in winter to keep out the cold and in summer to keep +out the heat. It was in evidence alike at a wedding or a funeral. No +barn-raising or militia general muster was deemed to be complete +without the jug, and in process of time the use of spirits was so +habitual that Peter Fisher was able to quote statistics in 1824 to +prove that the consumption of ardent liquors was nearly twenty gallons +per annum for every male person above sixteen years of age. While the +use of rum may be regarded as the universal custom of the day, at the +same time tobacco was not in very general use. The use of snuff, +however, was quite common. + +In the course of a few years the variety of articles kept in stock at +the company's store increased surprisingly until it might be said they +sold everything "from a needle to an anchor." The paces at which some +of the staple articles were quoted appear in the foot note.[68] Among +other articles in demand were fishing tackle, blue rattan and +fear-nothing jackets, milled caps, woollen and check shirts, horn and +ivory combs, turkey garters, knee buckles, etc. Among articles that +strike us as novel are to be found tin candlesticks, brass door knobs, +wool cards, whip-saws, skates, razors and even mouse traps. Writing +paper was sold at 1s. 3d. per quire. The only books kept in stock were +almanacks, psalters, spelling books and primers. + + [68] Flour pr. bbl., L2 2 6; Indian corn pr. bushel, 5 shillings; + potatoes do., 2s. 6d.; apples do., 2s. 6d.; butter pr. lb., + 9d.; cheese pr. lb., 6d.; chocolate pr. lb., 1s.; tea per lb., + 7s.; coffee per lb., 1s. 3d.; pepper pr. lb., 3s.; brown sugar + 7d., per lb.; loaf sugar, 1s. 2d. per lb.; raisins, 9s. per + lb.; tobacco, 7d. per lb.; salt, 10d. per peck; molasses, 2s. + 6d. per gallon; New England rum, 1s. 6d. per quart; West India + do., 2s. 6d. per quart; beef, 4d. per lb.; pork, 6d. per lb.; + veal, 3-1/2d. per lb.; cider, 12s. to 18s. pr. bbl. + + Boots, 20s.; men's shoes, 6s.; women's do., 5s.; men's pumps, + 8s.; mittens, 1s. 6d. hose, 4s.; beaver hat, 20s.; black silk + handkerchief, 6s. 9d.; check handkerchief, 2s. 6d.;. + broadcloth, 10s pr. yd.; red stroud, 8s. per yd.; scarlet + German serge, 8s. per yd.; scarlet shalloon, 3s. 9d. per yd.; + English duck, 1s. 9d. pr. yd.; white blanket, 13s. 3d.; 1 oz. + thread, 6d.; 1 doz. jacket buttons, 7-1/2d.; pins, 1 M., 9d. + + Axe, 6s. 3d.; knife, 1s.; board nails. 1s. 2d. per C.; ten + penny nails, 50 for 8d.; double tens, 1s. 7d. per C.; shingle + nails, 6d. per C.; 1 pane glass (7 by 9), 6d.; pewter + porringer, 1s. 8d.; looking glass, 16s.; steel trap, 15s.; + powder, 2s. 6d. per lb.; shot, 5d. per lb.; buckshot, 1s. 3d. + per lb.; 6 flints, 6d. + +Still though the variety at first glance seems greater than might have +been expected, a little further inspection will satisfy us that the +life of that day was one of extreme simplicity, of luxuries there were +few, and even the necessaries of life were sometimes scanty enough. + +One hundred and forty years have passed since James Simonds and James +White set themselves down at the head of Saint John harbor as pioneers +in trade to face with indomitable energy and perseverance the +difficulties of their situation. These were neither few nor small, but +they were Massachusetts men and in their veins there flowed the blood +of the Puritans. The determination that enabled their progenitors to +establish themselves around the shores of the old Bay States upheld +them in the scarcely less difficult task of creating for themselves a +home amidst the rocky hillsides that encircled the Harbor of St. +John. + +Today the old pioneers of 1764 would hardly recognize their ancient +landmarks. The ruggedness of old Men-ah-quesk has in a great measure +disappeared; valleys have been filled and hills cut down. The +mill-pond where stood the old tide mill is gone and the Union depot +with its long freight sheds and maze of railway tracks occupies its +place. "Mill" street and "Pond" street alone remain to tell of what +has been. The old grist mill near Lily Lake and its successors have +long since passed away. It certainly was with an eye to business and +not to pleasure, that Hazen, Simonds and White built the first roadway +to Rockwood Park. Could our pioneers in trade revisit the scene of +their labors and note the changes time has wrought what would be their +amazement? They would hardly recognize their surroundings. Instead of +rocks and crags covered with spruce and cedar, with here and there an +open glade, and the wide spreading mud flats at low tide they would +behold the wharves that line our shores, the ocean steamships lying in +the channel, grain elevators that receive the harvests of Canadian +wheat-fields two thousand miles away, streets traversed by electric +cars and pavements traversed by thousands of hurrying feet, bicyclists +darting hither and thither, squares tastefully laid out and adorned +with flowers, public buildings and residences of goodly proportions +and by no means devoid of beauty, palatial hotels opening their doors +to guests from every clime, institutions for the fatherless and the +widow, the aged, the poor, the unfortunate, the sick the insane, +churches with heaven directing spires, schools whose teachers are +numbered by the hundred and pupils by the thousand, public libraries, +courts of justice and public offices of nearly every description, +business establishments whose agents find their way into every nook +and corner of old-time Acadie, railways and steamboats that connect +the city with all parts of the globe, splendid bridges that span the +rocky gorge at the mouth of the St. John where twice in the course of +every twenty-four hours the battle, old as the centuries, rages +between the outpouring torrent of the mighty river and the inflowing +tide of the bay. + +A few years since the writer of this history in an article in the New +Brunswick Magazine endeavored to contrast a Saturday night of the +olden time with one of modern days.[69] + + [69] New Brunswick Magazine of October, 1898, p. 190. + +[Illustration: A COTTAGE OF TODAY.] + +"Saturday night in the year 1764--The summer sun sinks behind the +hills and the glow of evening lights the harbor. At the landing place +at Portland Point, one or two fishing boats are lying on the beach, +and out a little from the shore a small square sterned schooner lies +at her anchor. The natural lines of the harbor are clearly seen. In +many places the forest has crept down nearly to the water's edge. +Wharves and shipping there are none. Ledges of rock, long since +removed, crop up here and there along the harbor front. The silence +falls as the day's work is ended at the little settlement, and the +sound of the waters rushing through the falls seems, in the absence of +other sounds, unnaturally predominant. Eastward of Portland Pond we +see the crags and rocks of the future city of the Loyalists, the +natural ruggedness in some measure hidden by the growth of dark spruce +and graceful cedar, while in the foreground lies the graceful curve +of the "Upper Cove" where the forest fringes the waters edge. We may +easily cross in the canoe of some friendly Indian and land where, ten +years later, the Loyalists landed, but we shall find none to welcome +us. The spot is desolate, and the stillness only broken by the +occasional cry of some wild animal, the song of the bird in the forest +and the ripple of waves on the shore. + +The shadows deepen as we return to the Point, and soon the little +windows of the settlers' houses begin to glow. There are no curtains +to draw or blinds to pull down or shutters to close in these humble +dwellings, but the light, though unobstructed shines but feebly, for +'tis only the glimmer of a tallow candle that we see or perhaps the +flickering of the firelight from the open chimney that dances on the +pane. + +In the homes of the dwellers at St. John Saturday night differs little +from any other night. The head of the house is not concerned about the +marketing or telephoning to the grocer; the maid is not particularly +anxious to go "down town;" the family bath tub may be produced (and on +Monday morning it will be used for the family washing), but the hot +water will not be drawn from the tap. The family retire at an early +hour, nor are their slumbers likely to be disturbed by either fire +alarm or midnight train. And yet in the olden times the men, we doubt +not, were wont to meet on Saturday nights at the little store at the +Point to compare notes and to talk over the few topics of interest in +their monotonous lives. We seem to see them even now--a little +coterie--nearly all engaged in the company's employ, mill hands, +fishermen, lime-burners, laborers, while in a corner James White pores +over his ledger posting his accounts by the light of his candle and +now and again mending his goose-quill pen. But even at the store the +cheerful company soon disperses; the early-closing system evidently +prevails, the men seek their several abodes and one by one the lights +in the little windows vanish. There is only one thing to prevent the +entire population from being in good time for church on Sunday +morning, and that is there is not any church for them to attend. + +Then and now! We turn from our contemplation of Saturday night as we +have imagined it in 1764 to look at a modern Saturday night in St. +John. No greater contrast can well be imagined. Where once were dismal +shades of woods and swamps, there is a moving gaily-chattering crowd +that throngs the walks of Union, King and Charlotte streets. The +feeble glimmer of the tallow candle in the windows of the few houses +at Portland Point has given place to the blaze of hundreds of electric +lights that shine far out to sea, twinkling like bright stars in the +distance, and reflected from the heavens, serving to illuminate the +country for miles around. Our little knot of villagers in the olden +days used to gather in their one little store to discuss the day's +doing; small was the company, and narrow their field of observation; +and their feeble gossip is today replaced by the rapid click of the +telegraph instruments, the rolling of the steam-driven printing press +and the cry of the newsboy at every corner; the events of all the +continents are proclaimed in our streets almost as soon as they +occur. + +And yet from all the luxury and ease, as well as from the anxiety and +cares of busy modern days, we like sometimes to escape and get a +little nearer to the heart of nature and to adopt a life of rural +simplicity not far removed from that which once prevailed at Portland +Point, content with some little cottage, remote from the hurry and din +of city life in which to spend the good old summer time." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +ST. JOHN AND ITS BUSINESS ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY YEARS AGO. + + +The circumstances under which the trading company of Blodget, Simonds, +Hazen, Peaslie, White and Richard Simonds was organized in 1764 have +been already described. The original contract is yet in existence and +in a very excellent state of preservation. It is endorsed "Contract +for St. Johns & Passamaquodi."[70] A fac-simile of the signatures +appended to it is here given. + + [70] The contract was drawn with much care and has been preserved in + the Collections of the N. B. Historical Society, Vol. I., p. + 187. + +[Illustration: Signatures] + +A short account may be given of each member of the partnership. + +Samuel Blodget was a Boston man, somewhat older than the other members +of the company, careful and shrewd, possessed of some money and little +learning. He had been associated with William Hazen in contracts for +supplying the troops on Lake Champlain in the recent French war; there +seems to have been also a remote family connection between Samuel +Blodget and James Simonds. Mr. Blodget's connection with the company +lasted a little more than two years. During this time a considerable +part of the furs, fish, lime and lumber obtained by Simonds and White +at the River St. John were consigned to him at Boston. In return +Blodget supplied goods for the Indian trade and other articles needed, +but his caution proved a source of dissatisfaction to the other +partners and Hazen & Jarvis at the end of the first year's business +wrote to Simonds & White, "Mr. Blodget tells us that he never expected +to advance more than a quarter of the outsets. We think in this he +does not serve us very well, as we can't see into the reason of our +advancing near three-quarters and doing more than ten times the +business and his having an equal share of the profits. Pray give us +your opinion on that head. You may rest assured that we will not leave +one stone unturned to keep you constantly supply'd and believe, even +if we should not have the requisite assistance from Mr. Blodget, we +shall be able to effect it." To this James Simonds replies, "With +respect to Mr. Blodget's not advancing more than precisely 1/4 part of +the outsets is what I never before understood; I am sure by his +situation that he can do but a little part of the Business and +therefore think he ought to excell in his proportion of Supplys rather +than to fall short." + +A second year of the partnership passed and Samuel Blodget became +exceedingly serious about the ultimate outcome of the venture. He +wrote a letter on the 18th March, 1766, to Simonds & White of which +the extract that follows is a part: + + "I have been Largely concerned in partnerships before Now but + Never so Ignorant of any as of the present, which I am willing to + Impute it to your hurry of Business, But Let me Tell you that + partners are in a high degree guilty of Imprudence to Continue a + Large Trade for Two years without Settling or knowing whether they + have Lost a hundred pounds or not--although they may be ever so + Imersed in Business, for the Sooner they Stop the better, provided + they are Losing money--as it seames in Mr. Hazen's oppinion we + have Lost money--perhaps you may Know to the Contrary. But then + how agreable would it be to me (who have a Large Sum in your + hands) to know as much as you do. Pray Suffer me to ask you, can + you wonder to find me anxious about my Interest when I am so + Ignorant what it is in? I am sure you don't Gent'n. I am not in + doubt of your Integrity. I think I know you Both Two well. But + common prudence calls Loudly upon us all to adjust our accounts as + soon as may be. I have not the Least Line under yours and Mr. + White's hands that the Articles which we signed the first years, + which was dated the First of March, 1764,--which was but for one + yeare--should Continue to the present Time, nor do I doubt your + onour, but Still mortallety Requiyers it to be done and I should + take it Coind to Receive Such a Righting sent by both of you." + +Mr. Blodget's uneasiness as to the outcome of the business was set at +rest very shortly after he wrote the above, for on April 5th Hazen and +Jarvis tell their partners at St. John:-- + + "We have purchased Mr. Blodget's Interest, for which we are to pay + him his outsetts. We are in hopes that we shall be able to carry + on the Business better without than with him. * * We must beg you + would be as frugal as possible in the laying out of any money that + benefits will not be immediately reaped from, and that you will + make as large remittances as you possibly can to enable us to + discharge the Company's debt to Blodget, for we shall endeavor all + in our power to discharge our obligations to him as we do not + chuse to lay at his Mercy." + +Thus it appears that if Samuel Blodget's two years connection with the +company was not greatly to his advantage, it did him no material +injury. From this time he ceases to have any interest for us in the +affairs at Portland Point. + +James Simonds, whose name is second among the signers of the +business contract of 1764, may be regarded as the founder of the +first permanent settlement at the mouth of the River St. John. His +most remote ancestor in America was William Simonds of Woburn, +Massachusetts. This William Simonds married Judith Phippen, who came +to America in the ship "Planter" in 1635. Tradition says that as +the vessel drew near her destination land was first described by +Judith Phippen, which proved to be the headland now called "Point +Judith." Among the passengers of the "Planter" were the ancestors +of many well known families in America, bearing the familiar names +of Peabody, Perley, Beardsley, Carter, Hayward, Reed, Lawrence, +Cleveland, Davis and Peters. In 1643 Judith Phippen became the +wife of William Simonds. The house in which they lived at Woburn, +Mass., and where their twelve children were born, is probably yet +standing--at least it was when visited a few years since by one of +their descendants living in this province. William Simonds' tenth +child, James, was the grandfather of our old Portland Point pioneer. +He married Susanna Blodget and their sixth child, Nathan, was the +father of James Simonds, who came to St. John. Nathan Simonds married +Sarah Hazen of Haverhill, an aunt of William Hazen, and their oldest +child James (the subject of this sketch) was born at Haverhill, +December 10, 1735. + +James Simonds, as mentioned in a former chapter, served in "the old +French war" and was with his cousin Captain John Hazen in the campaign +against Fort Ticonderoga. His subsequent career we have already +touched upon and he will naturally continue to be a leading character +in the story of the early history of St. John. He was evidently a man +of stout constitution and vigor of body, for he not only survived all +his contemporaries who came to St. John, but he outlived every member +of the first New Brunswick legislature and every official appointed by +the crown at the organization of the province. He passed to his rest +in the house he had built at Portland Point at the patriarchal age of +95 years. His widow Hannah (Peabody) Simonds died in 1840 at the age +of 90 years. + +Of James Simonds' large family of fourteen children several were +prominent in the community. Hon. Charles Simonds was for years the +leading citizen of Portland. He was born the same year the Loyalists +landed in St. John, and was a member for St. John county in the +House of Assembly from 1821 until his death in 1859, filling during +that time the positions of speaker and leader of the government. +Hon. Richard Simonds, born in 1789, represented the county of +Northumberland in the House of Assembly when but twenty-one years of +age and sat from 1810 to 1828, when he was appointed treasurer of the +province. He filled for a short time the position of speaker of +the assembly, and from 1829 until his death in 1836 was a member of +the Legislative Council. Sarah, one of the daughters of James +Simonds, married (Sept. 10, 1801) Thomas Millidge, the ancestor of the +Millidges of St. John; her youngest sister Eliza married (Aug. 9, +1801) Henry Gilbert, merchant of St. John, from whom the members of +this well known family are descended. + +William Hazen, the third of the signers of the partnership contract, +was born in Haverhill July 17, 1738. His great-grandfather, Edward +Hazen, the first of the name in America, was a resident of Rowley, +Massachusetts, as early as the year 1649. By his wife Hannah Grant he +had four sons and seven daughters. The youngest son Richard, born +August 6, 1669, inherited the large estate of his stepfather, George +Browne, of Haverhill. This Richard Hazen was grandfather of James +Simonds as well as of William Hazen; he married Mary Peabody and had a +family of five sons and six daughters (one of the latter was the +mother of James Simonds.) The third son, Moses Hazen was the ancestor +of the Hazens of New Brunswick. + +The wife of Moses Hazen was Abigail White, aunt of James White who +came to St. John. Their sons John, Moses and William have a special +interest for us. John, the oldest distinguished himself as a captain +of the Massachusetts troops in the French war. He married Anne Swett +of Haverhill, and had a son John, who came with his uncle William to +St. John in 1775 and settled at Burton on the River St. John, where he +married Dr. William McKinstry's daughter, Priscilla, and had a family +of twelve children. J. Douglas Hazen, of St. John, M. P. P., for +Sunbury County, is one of his descendants. + +Moses Hazen, the second son has been mentioned as commander of one of +the companies of the Fort Frederick garrison in 1759; he became a +Brigadier General in the American army in the Revolutionary war. + +William Hazen, the third son and co-partner of Simonds and White, was +born in Haverhill, July 17, 1738. He married, July 14, 1764, Sarah Le +Baron of Plymouth. + +Their family was even larger than that of James Simonds and included +sixteen children. Of these Elizabeth married the elder Ward Chipman, +Judge of the Supreme Court, and at the time of his death in 1824 +administrator of government; Sarah Lowell married Thomas Murray +(grandfather of the late Miss Frances Murray of St. John, one of the +cleverest women the province has ever produced) and after his early +decease became the wife of Judge William Botsford--their children were +Senator Botsford, George Botsford and Dr. Le Baron Botsford; Charlotte +married General Sir John Fitzgerald; Frances Amelia married Col. +Charles Drury of the imperial army, father of the late Ward Chipman +Drury. + +Among the more distinguished descendants of William Hazen by the +male line were Hon. Robert L. Hazen--popularly known as "Curly +Bob"--recorder of the city of St. John, a very eminent leader in +our provincial politics and at the time of his death a Canadian +senator; also Robert F. Hazen who was mayor of St. John and one of its +most influential citizens. + +The elder William Hazen died in 1814 at the age of 75 years. His +eldest daughter, Mrs. Chipman, died at the Chipman House May 18, 1852, +the sixty-ninth anniversary of the landing of the Loyalists and her +son, Chief Justice Chipman, died November 26, 1851, the sixty seventh +anniversary of the organisation of the first supreme court of the +province. The widow of Chief Justice Chipman died the 4th of July, +1876, the centennial of the Declaration of Independence. And finally a +William Hazen, of the fourth generation, died June 17, 1885, the same +day on which his ancestor left Newburyport for St. John one hundred +and ten years before. + +The first three signers of the articles of partnership under which +business was undertaken at St. John in 1764, viz. Samuel Blodget, +James Simonds and William Hazen, had each one-quarter interest in the +business, the junior partners, Robert Peaslie, James White and +Richard Simonds had only one-twelfth part each. The articles of +partnership provided that James Simonds and the three junior partners +should proceed to St. John as soon as possible, and there do what +business was necessary to be done during the co-partnership, and that +Samuel Blodget and William Hazen should remain at Boston an +Newburyport to forward supplies and receive what might be sent from +St. John or elsewhere by the company. For some reason Robert Peaslie +did not go to St. John. He married Anna Hazen, a sister of William +Hazen, and settled in Haverhill, retiring not long afterwards from the +company. Another of the junior partners, Richard Simonds, lost his +life, as already stated, on the 20th January, 1765, in the defence of +the property of the company when the Indians were about to carry it +off. + +In the autumn of the year 1764, Leonard Jarvis, then a young man of +twenty-two years of age, entered into partnership with William Hazen +at Newburyport and became, by common consent, a sharer in the business +at St. John. He was a man of ability and education. The accounts kept +at Newburyport in connection with the business are in his handwriting, +and he conducted the correspondence of Hazen & Jarvis with Simonds & +White in a manner that would do no discredit to a modern business +house. In a letter of the 3rd April, 1765, Mr. Jarvis informs James +Simonds that "Mr. Peaslie has determined to settle down in Haverhill +and to leave this concern, and as by this means and the death of your +Brother, in which we sincerely condole with you, one-eighth part of +the concern becomes vacant, we propose to let Mr. White have +one-eighth and to take three-eighths ourselves--this you will please +consult Mr. White upon and advice us. * * * We must beg you will send +all the accts. both you and Mr. White have against the Company, and +put us in a way to settle with Mr. Peaslie." + +James White, the fifth signer of the articles of partnership, was born +in Haverhill in 1738, and was a lineal descendant of the Worshipful +William White, one of the well-known founders of the place. He served +as Ensign or Lieutenant in a Massachusetts regiment, but after the +fall of Quebec retired from active service and entered the employ of +William Tailer and Samuel Blodget, merchants of Boston, at a very +modest salary, as appears from the following:-- + + "Memorandum of an agreement made this day between William Tailer & + Co., with James White, that we, the said Tailer & Co., do allow + him the said James White twenty dollars pr. month as long as the + said White is in their service at Crown Point as Clark. + + "William Tailer & Co. + + "Test: Geo. Willmot. + "Crown Point, July 1st, 1762." + +James White's papers, now in possession of a gentleman in St. John, +show that he was engaged in the business of Tailer and Blodget at +Crown Point continuously from September, 1761, to July, 1763; +consequently the statement, commonly made, that he came to St. John +with Francis Peabody, James Simonds, Hugh Quinton and their party in +1762 is a mistake. + +In the early part of 1764 James White was employed by Samuel Blodget +in business transactions in Haverhill, New Salem and Bradford. The +first occasion on which he set foot on the shores of St. John was +when he landed there with James Simonds and the party that established +themselves at Portland Point in the month of April, 1764. The +important part he played in the early affairs of St. John will +abundantly appear in these pages. He was one of the most active and +energetic men of his generation and filled several offices in the old +county of Sunbury, of which county he was sheriff. This office seems +to have had special attractions for the White family, for his son +James was sheriff of the city and county of St. John for more than +thirty years, and one of his daughters married Sheriff DeVeber of +Queens county. Mr. White was collector of customs at St. John when the +Loyalists landed. The emoluments of this office were small, for in the +year 1782 only a dozen vessels entered and cleared at St. John, the +largest of but 30 tons burden. James White spent the closing years of +his life on his farm at the head of the marsh about three miles from +the City of St. John. His residence was known as Gretna Green, from +the fact that a good many quiet weddings were celebrated by the old +squire, who was one of the magistrates specially commissioned to +solemnize marriages. He died in 1815 at the age of 77 years. + +Having now spoken of the individuals composing St. John's first +trading company, the nature of the business pursued claims a little +attention. The task that lay before James Simonds and James White was +no easy one. Difficulties, many of them entirely unforseen, had to be +faced and the great diversity of their business rendered their +situation arduous and sometimes discouraging. At one time the fishery +claimed their attention, at another bartering with the Indians, at +another the erection of houses for themselves and their tenants, at +another the dyking of the marsh, at another the erection of a mill, at +another the building of a schooner, at another laying out roads and +clearing lands, at another the burning of a lime-kiln, at another +furnishing supplies for the garrison at the fort, at another the +building of a wharf or the erection of a store-house. + +Communication with New England in these days was slow and uncertain +and often the non-arrival of a vessel, when the stock of provisions +had run low, caused a good deal of grumbling on the part of the hands +employed. This was particularly the case if the supply of rum chanced +to run out. The wages of the laborers employed by the company were +generally 2s. 6d., or half a dollar, a day and they boarded +themselves. As a rule the men took up their wages at the store and the +item most frequently entered against their names was New England rum. +The writer had the curiosity to examine the charges for rum in one of +the old day books for a period of a month--the month selected at +random--when it appeared that, of a dozen laborers, four men averaged +half a pint each per day, while with the other eight men the same +allowance lasted three days. Tea, the great modern beverage, was +rather a luxury and appears to have been used sparingly and rum, which +retailed at 8 pence a pint, was used almost universally. Human nature +was much the same in the eighteenth as in the twentieth century. The +men often drank to excess, and some of them would have been utterly +unreliable but for the fact that Simonds and White were masters of the +situation and could cut off the supply. They generally doled out the +liquor by half pints and gills to their laborers. On one occasion we +find Mr. Simonds writing, "The men are in low spirts, have nothing to +eat but pork and bread, and nothing but water to drink. Knowing this +much I trust you will lose no time in sending to our relief." + +At various times the privations were exceedingly great and even after +the little colony had been for some years established at Portland +Point they suffered for lack of the necessaries of life. Mr. Simonds +thus describes their experience in the early part of 1770: + + "Most difficult to remedy and most distressing was the want of + provisions and hay. Such a scene of misery of man and beast we + never saw before. There was not anything of bread kind equal to a + bushel of meal for every person when the schooner sailed for + Newbury the 6th of February (three months ago) and less of meat + and vegetables in proportion--the Indians and hogs had part of + that little." + +He goes on to say that the flour that had just arrived in the schooner +was wet and much damaged; no Indian corn was to be had; for three +months they had been without molasses or coffee, nor had they any tea +except of the spruce variety. + +In one of his letters, written a few months after the commencement of +operations at St. John, Simonds urges the careful attention of Blodget +and Hazen to their part of the business, observing: "I hope if I +sacrifice my interest, ease, pleasure of Good Company, and run the +risque even of life itself for the benefit of the Company, those who +live where the circumstances are every way the reverse will in return +be so good as to take every pains to dispose of all effects remitted +to them to the best advantage." + +The first year of the Company's operations was in some respects +phenomenal. On the 30th September, 1764, a very severe shock of an +earthquake occurred at St. John about 12 o'clock, noon. The winter +that followed was one of unusual severity with storms that wrought +much damage to shipping. Leonard Jarvis wrote to James Simonds on +April 3, 1765, "There has not been in the memory of man such a winter +as the last and we hope there never will be again." Mr. Simonds in his +reply says "The winter has been much here as in New England." + +In the same letter just referred to Mr. Jarvis says: "We hope in +future, by keeping the schooner constantly running between this +place and yours, that we shall be able to surmount our greatest +difficulties. At present we can only say that nothing shall be wanting +on our parts (and we are well assured that you will continue to +endeavour) to make this concern turn out in the end an advantageous +one. It would give us great pleasure could we ease you of part of +your burden and know what difficulties you have to go through * * We +have sent you by this schooner some table linen and what other table +furniture we thought you might have occasion for. If there is +anything more wanting to make you not only comfortable but Genteel, +beg you would advise us and we will furnish you with it by the return +of the schooner Wilmot." + +In reply to this Mr. Simonds writes, "I am obliged to you for sending +some furniture, for truly none was ever more barely furnished than we +were before. Gentility is out of the question." + +The business of Simonds and White was not confined to St. John, +they had quite an important post for the Indian trade and the +fishery on an island adjacent to Campobello, now known as Indian +Island. And it may be observed in passing that this was an island of +many names. James Boyd, a Scotchman who lived there in 1763, called +it Jeganagoose--evidently a form of Misignegoos, the name by which +it is known to the Indians of Passamaquoddy. A French settler named +La Treille lived there in 1688, and this explains the origin of the +name Latterell Island, applied to it in early times. In the grant of +1765 it is called Perkins Island. This place owing to its proximity +to New England had been the first to attract Mr. Simonds' notice. +The smaller vessels of the Company, such as the sloops "Bachelor" and +"Peggy & Molly" and the schooners "Eunice" and "Polly," were for +several years employed in fishing at Passamaquoddy from April to +October. The masters of the vessels received L4 per month for their +services. The crews employed were for the most part engaged by Hazen +and Jarvis and at the close of the season returned to their homes in +New England. It was the custom for a year or two for one of the +partners, Simonds or White, to attend at Passamaquoddy during the +fishing season. From 1765 to 1770 Isaac Marble of Newburyport was +their principal "shoresman." The partners had a keen eye to +business; on one occasion they purchased a whale from the Indians +and tried out the oil, but this seems to have been merely a stray +monster of the deep for, in answer to the query of Hazen & Jarvis, +James Simonds writes, "With respect to whaling, don't think the sort +of whales that are in Passamaquada bay can be caught." + +It was from Passamaquoddy that the first business letter extant of the +company's correspondence was written by James Simonds to William Hazen +on the 18th August, 1764. The business was then in an experimental +stage, and Mr. Simonds in this letter writes, "If you & Mr. Blodget +think it will be best to carry on business largely at St. John's we +must have another house with a cellar; the latter is now dug and +stoned & will keep apples, potatoes & other things that will not bear +the frost, for a large trade; this building will serve as a house and +store, the old store for a Cooper's shop. If the lime answers well we +shall want 150 hogsheads with hoops and boards for heads; also boards +for a house, some glass, etc., bricks for chimney and hinges for two +doors. I think the business at St. John's may be advantageous, if not +too much entangled with the other. We can work at burning Lime, +catching fish in a large weir we have built for bass up the river at +the place where we trade with the Indians, trade with the Soldiers and +Inhabitants, etc. Next winter we can employ the oxen at sleding wood +and lime stone, Mr. Middleton at making casks; don't think it best to +keep any men at Passamaquada [for the winter]." + +It was the intention of Simonds & White to bring the hands employed at +Passamaquoddy to St. John in a sloop expected in the fall with goods +and stores, but on the 16th December we find Mr. Simonds writing to +Blodget & Hazen, "Have long waited with impatience for the arrival of +the sloop; have now given her over for lost. All the hopes I have is +that the winds were contrary in New England as they were here all the +fall; that detained her until too late and you concluded not to send +her. We had a fine prospect of a good trade last fall, and had the +goods come in season should by this time have disposed of them to +great advantage; but instead of that we have missed collecting the +greater part of our Indian debts, as they expected us up the river +and have not been here on that account.... I have not heard from +Passamaquada for six weeks, but fear they have little or no +provisions, and am sure they have no hay for a cow that is there. She +being exceeding good, shall endeavor to save her life till you can +send hay for her. I shall go there as soon as the weather moderates +(it has been intensely cold lately) and employ the men there as well +as I can, as they are confined there contrary to intention for the +winter, and return here as soon as possible." + +The non-arrival of provisions for the men and of hay for the oxen Mr. +Simonds deplores as likely to overthrow all pans for the winter. They +had intended to use the oxen to sled wood and lime-stone--a much +easier way than carting in the summer. He says, "We have stone dug for +500 hogsheads of lime and near wood enough cut to burn it; that must +now lay till carting, and we shift as well as we can to employ our men +so as not to have them run us in debt. * * can think of nothing better +than to make a resolute push up the river with our men, employ some of +them at making lumber, others at clearing land and fitting it for +grain in the spring." + +The Company had some formidable rivals at Passamaquoddy for the next +spring we find James Simonds telling Hazen & Jarvis, "There is such a +number of traders at Passamaquoddy that I don't expect much trade +there this spring: have prevailed with the Commandant at Fort +Frederick to stop them going up this river: there has been no passing +the falls till now (May 27th) by reason of the freshet. Shall go over +this afternoon and proceed directly to Ocpaque, an Indian village +eighty miles up the river." + +Notwithstanding the favor shown them by the commandant of the +garrison, Simonds & White found rivals in the Indian trade even an the +River St. John. Among the earliest were John Anderson and Captain +Isaac Caton. The minutes of the council of Nova Scotia show that on +August 9, 1763, license was granted Mr. Anderson to occupy 50 acres of +any lands unappropriated on the St. John river, and under date June 7, +1765, we have the following:-- + + "License is hereby granted to John Anderson to traffick with the + Tribes of Indians on St. John's River and in the Bay of Fundy, he + conducting himself without Fraud or Violence and submitting + himself to the observance of such regulations as may at any time + hereafter be established for the better ordering of such commerce. + This license to continue during pleasure." + +Anderson selected as his location the site of Villebon's old Fort at +the mouth of the Nashwaak, where he obtained in 1765, a grant of 1,000 +acres of land, built himself a dwelling house and established a +trading post convenient to the Indian village of Aukpaque, a few miles +above. He had the honor to be the first magistrate on the River St. +John, his commission dating August 17, 1765; the next appointed was +colonel Beamsley P. Glacier, on 15th October, same year. John Anderson +obtained his goods and supplies of Martin Gay, merchant of Boston, and +one Charles Martin was his bookkeeper and assistant. He called his +place "Monkton," a name it retained for many years.[71] Early in 1768 +Anderson had the misfortune to lose a vessel laden with goods for +the India trade. James Simonds mentions this incident in a letter to +Hazen & Jarvis and remarks: "We imagine the loss of Mr. Anderson's +vessel will cause more trade to come to us than we should have had if +she had gone safe." + + [71] The ferry between Fredericton and the Nashwaak was called in + early times Monkton ferry. + +Captain Isaac Caton was granted a licence "to traffick with the +Indians on Saint John's river and the Bay of Fundy," on Nov'r. 9, +1765. He probably made his headquarters at the old French trading post +on the historic Island of Emenemic, in Long Reach, of which he was a +grantee about thus time, and which has since been called Caton's +Island. + +Simonds and White did not find the Indian trade entirely to their +liking and after a few years experience wrote (under date June 20, +1767), "The Indian debts we cannot lessen being obliged to give them +new credit as a condition of their paying their old debts. They are +very numerous at this time but have made bad hunts; we have got a +share of their peltry, as much as all the others put together, and +hope soon to collect some more. There is scarcely a shilling of money +in the country. Respecting goods we think it will be for our advantage +not to bring any Toys and Trinkets (unnecessary articles) in sight of +the Indians, and by that means recover them from their bankruptcy. +They must have provisions and coarse goods for the winter, and if we +have a supply of those articles, by keeping a store here and up the +River make no doubt of having most of the Trade. Shall have a store +ready by September next, and hope to have it finished by the last of +that month." + +[Illustration: ICE-JAM ABOVE GOVERNMENT HOUSE, FREDERICTON, MARCH, 1902.] + +The store was built near the site of Government House and according to +Moses H. Perley it was carried away by one of those periodical +ice-jams for which the vicinity of St. Ann's Point has been noted from +time immemorial. See illustration on preceding page of a recent +ice-jam at this place. + +Another store was built and Benjamin Atherton took charge of it. In +addition to trade with the Indians he did business with the white +settlers under the name and title of Atherton & Co. Furs and produce +were frequently transported to St. John from the post at St. Anns in +summer in gondolas and in the winter on ice by means of horses and +sleds. + +The volume of business in the aggregate was quite large for those +days. In addition to the exportation of furs and peltry to the value +of $40,000, the company sent to New England and the West Indies large +quantities of pollock, mackerel and codfish taken in the Bay. The +gasperaux fishery at St. John was also an important factor in their +trade; in the seven years previous to the Revolutionary war Simonds & +White shipped to Boston 4,000 barrels of gasperaux valued at about +$12,000. They also shipped quantities of bass, shad, salmon and +sturgeon. Perhaps their profits would have been even greater had not +many of the men who were at other times in their employ engaged in +fishing on their own account. The community was not an ideal one for +Mr. Simonds writes: "In the spring we must go into the Weirs every +tide to keep our men from selling bait to the fishermen for rum, which +is not only attended with the loss of the fish so sold, but of the +men's time who would drink so to excess as not to be able to do +anything." + +In the Champlain's map of St. John harbor and its surroundings a lake +or pond is shown at the spot where the Union depot and freight sheds +stand today. At the outlet of this pond a dam and tide mill were built +by Simonds and White in the year 1766. The mill was put in operation +the next season and from that day to this lumber has been one of St. +John's staple articles of export. Primitive as was this saw-mill some +difficulty was experienced in procuring proper hands to run it. James +Simonds in his letter of June 20, 1767, to Hazen & Jarvis writes: + + "The sloop Bachelor did not return from up the River before this + morning. We have but few fish; the men that undertook the weirs + were very slow and unfaithful, and not only neglected the + fisheries but the Mill also, for which reason we have not a full + load for the Sloop. The Mill we have not nor shall be able to keep + at work without more and better hands; have four less than we + ought to have for different branches of work, if all of them was + good boys, and with those that are bad must make a bad figure. We + have promised 30 to 40 hogsheads Lime to Mr. Best of Halifax and + hourly expect a vessel for it, and have encouragement of a + contract for the King's works there; expect nothing but to + disappoint him as that rascal negro West cannot be flattered or + drove to do one fourth of a man's work; shall give him a strong + dose on Monday morning which will make him better or worse, no + dependence can be put on him. * * We want three men, one that + understands tending a mill and two teamsters, which we beg you + will send in next vessel." + +The correspondence of the partners shows that the manufacture of lime +continued to engage their attention. The first kiln was built in rear +of the store and dwellings at Portland Point near the base of Fort +Howe hill. When James Simonds visited Halifax in September, 1764, he +wrote a very interesting letter to Samuel Blodget in which he says: "I +have been with the King's chief Mason; have shewn him a sample of our +lime; he likes it well and gives me encouragement that he will take +all of me that he wants either for public or private use (he is the +only dealer in town) at a rate that will net at St. John's three +dollars or more pr. hogshead." + +Several coopers were sent from Newburyport by Hazen & Jarvis to +manufacture hogsheads for the lime business, one hogshead being +considered about as much as a man could make in a day. With the view +of securing a more desirable class of employees the company began at +this time to take into their service married men with families for +whose accommodation they built comfortable log houses. Yet even here +there were disappointments, as we learn from another of Mr. Simonds' +letters in which he says: "Our help mostly failed us last fall, and +the hay season was the wettest that was ever known, which prevented +our having a sufficient quantity of lime-stone dug and wood cut to +employ the teams to good advantage. * * Old Abbot (the cooper) did not +do one day's work for sixty days after his wife arrived; no dependence +can be placed on him, and as Stevens goes a fishing in the Spring on +his own account we shall want another cooper and three labourers. It +will make a material difference if these men are of a tractable +disposition." + +The lime manufactured was shipped to Halifax, Boston and the West +Indies, and on one occasion a cargo was sent to Newfoundland. + +There is in possession of the Hazen family an inventory of the +property of the company at St. John, dated the 12th of February, +1767, which will give the reader some little idea of the nature of the +Company's business and the condition of their trading post at Portland +Point at this time. The inventory is as follows: + +LIST OF COMPANY EFFECTS AT ST. JOHN. + + Dwelling House 19 by 35, part finished L 90. 0.0 + 1 Building 16 by 40, Rough boarded, improved for + Cooper's Shop & Kitchen 15. 0.0 + 1 Log Store 20 by 30, without floor 20. 0.0 + 1 Barn 24 by 35 16. 6.0 + 1 Log house 14 by 18, occupied by Black 6.12.0 + 1 House 16 by 20, occupied by Bradley 7.10.0 + 1 Well 15 feet deep 1.10.0 + 1 Necessary House 1.10.0 + 1 Lime Kiln 14. 0.0 + 1 Gondalo 10. 0.0 + 1 Wherry 1. 0.0 + 2 Large Seines 14. 0.0 + 1 Cart 100s., 2 Sleds, 18s. 5.18.0 + 1 Drag 9s., 1 Harrow 15s. 1. 4.0 + 2 Iron bars 20s., 1 Crow-bar 10s 1.10.0 + 3 Stone Hammers @ 7s. 1. 1.0 + 4 Spades @ 6s. 8d., 3 Shovels @ 3s. 1.15.8 + 1 Broad Axe 12s., 6 Narrow Axes @ 6s. 2. 8.0 + 15 Old Axes @ 3s. 2. 5.0 + Whipsaw 40s., 1 Cross cut do. 30s. 3.10.0 + 4 Augers 12s., 3 chisels 6s. 18.0 + 2 Iron Squares, 8s., 3 pitch forks 12s. 1. 0.0 + 7 Hoes @ 2s. 8d. 18.8 + 1 Set Cooper's Tools 2. 5.0 + 2 Nail hammers 3s., 1 plough 18s. 1. 1.0 + 2 Scythes @ 6s., 2 pick axes @ 5s. 1. 4.0 + 7 Chains 4.10.0 + 1 Beetle 1s. 6d., 2 Wedges 3s. 4.6 + 160 Hogsheads Lime stone at ye Kiln @ 5s. 4d. 42.13.4 + 50 Hogsheads at the Quarry dug @ 1s. 2.10.0 + 50 Cords wood at Kiln @ 3s. 6d. 8.15.0 + 80 Cords wood in ye Woods & 1s. 6d. 7. 6.8 + Wire 60s., Spruce Logs at the Water 80s. 7. 0.0 + 84 Pine logs at the falls worth 22. 8.0 + 119 Pine logs scattered in ye River @ 3s. 17. 7.0 + 8 Oxen worth at St. John 60. 0.0 + 3 Cows 14. 8.0 + 1 Pair 3 year old steers 9. 0.0 + 1 Bull 54s., 1 do. 30s. 4. 4.0 + 6 Sheep @ 18s., 7 Hogs @ 16s. 11. 0.0 + 1 Burch Canoe 1. 0.0 + 2 Carpenter's adzes @ 7s., 2 drills @ 6s. 1. 0.0 + 4 Pairs Snow Shoes @ 7s. 6d. 1.10.0 + 2 Steel plated handsaws @ 8s. 16.0 + 1 Set mill irons 7. 0.0 + 2M Staves shaved and joined 4.16.0 + ---------- + L451. 4.10 + +There is also an inventory of the goods in the company's store at this +time, which were valued at L613. The goods were such as were needed by +the white settlers up the river as well as for the Indian trade. There +was quite a varied assortment, yet the many deficiencies indicate the +simplicity of living then in vogue. + +The list of household goods and chattels, the property of Simonds and +White, was a very meagre one indeed. The more common and necessary +articles of furniture such as bedsteads, tables, benches, etc., were +probably manufactured on the premises by means of the carpenter's axe, +adze, hammer and saw. In addition they had a small supply of bedding, +6 camp chairs, 1 desk, 1 writing desk, 1 lamp, 4 iron candlesticks, 1 +ink stand. + +Dishes--4 pewter plates, 2 pewter platters, 2 pewter porringers, 2 +metal teapots, 8 stone plates, 1 stone platter, 1 stone jug, 1 earthen +teapot, 3 china cups and saucers, 2 quart basons, 2 punch bowls. + +Cutlery, etc.--1-1/4 doz. case knives and forks, 1-1/2 doz. spoons, 1 +large spoon, 6 silver tea spoons. Kitchen utensils--2 frying pans, 2 +tea kettles, 1 chafing dish, 1 cullender, 4 iron pots, 1 brass kettle, +2 quart pots, 2 two-quart pots, 3 pints, 2 tin kettles, 1 pail, 1 pair +dogs, 1 shovel and tongs, 1 tea-chest, 1 coffee mill, 2 pairs steel +yards, 1 beam scale, 2 sets weights. + +The total value of household articles was but L33, 17, 5, and it is +doubtful whether the personal belongings of Simonds and White would +have added much to the common stock. No wonder James Simonds observed +with grim humor, as he described life at St. John in those days, +"gentility is out of the question." + +William Hazen was afraid the business during the first year had been +unprofitable, and at the end of the year called for a settlement of +accounts in order to find out the exact state of affairs. James +Simonds wrote: "We are sensible of the necessity of settling our +accts. soon, but have always been obliged to work so much abroad as +not to be able to have our books posted up, besides the necessity of +taking an exact acct. of all goods on hand and making an exact +computation of the cost of all buildings and works cannot be hurried +over and would require time. We could have had all those things ready, +but must have neglected completing preparations for the winter's work, +which we think would be far greater damage to us than the accts. +remaining unfinished for a few months and for us to finish them in the +winter evenings." + +Doubtless the winter evenings were entirely at their disposal. There +were no social engagements to fill, no societies to attend, no places +of amusement to while away the hours. The church, the lodge room, the +club were reserved for coming generations. Even the satisfaction to be +derived from good, general reading was wanting for an inventory of +household effects made in 1775 shows that Mr. Simonds owned a Bible +and Prayer Book and Mr. White a Bible and a copy of Watt's psalms and +hymns, and the only other book of which mention can be found is an +almanac. It would seem that one at least of the partners was fond of +fiction, for Samuel Blodget writes in a letter to James White--the +latter then at Crown Point--Dec. 8, 1762: "I confess I was a little +surprised att your opinion of Roderick Random, for it is allowed by +all that I ever heard judg of it, that it is a well wrote Novell." + +No account of the business of St. John during the period of the +operations of its finest trading company, would be complete without +some mention of its shipping. Naturally it was the day of small things +with the future "winter port" of Canada. The ship that bore de Monts +and Champlain to the Bay of Fundy in the month of June, 1604, was a +little vessel of 150 tons, smaller than some of our coasting schooners +of today; but the vessels employed in the business of Hazen, Simonds +and White and their associates, were smaller still, ranging from ten +to eighty tons burden. + +The qualities essential to successful navigation--pluck, enterprise +and skill--were admirably displayed by the hardy mariners of New +England, the pioneers of commerce in the Bay of Fundy. In their day +there were no light houses, or beacons, or fog-horns and even charts +were imperfect, yet there were few disasters. The names of Jonathan +Leavitt and his contemporaries are worthy of a foremost place in our +commercial annals. + +The following list of the vessels owned or chartered by Hazen, Simonds +and White in their business at St. John, A. D. 1764-1774, is probably +as complete as at this distance of time it can be made: + + Names of Vessels and Masters. + + Schooner Wilmot, William Story. + " Polly, Jon. Leavitt, Jas. Stickney, Henry Brookings. + " Eunice, James Stickney. + " Betsy, Jonathan Leavitt. + " Seaflower, Benjamin Batchelder, Jonathan Leavitt. + " Sunbury, Jonathan Leavitt, Daniel Leavitt. + " Essex; Isaac Marble. + + Sloop Bachelor, William Story. + " Peggy & Molly, Henry Brookings + " Merrimack, Jon. Leavitt, Samuel Perkins, Daniel Leavitt. + " St. John's Paquet, Richard Bartelott, Hen. Brookings, + Joseph Jellings. + " Speedwell, Nathaniel Newman + " Dolphin, Daniel Dow. + " Woodbridge, David Stickney. + " Sally, Nathaniel Newman. + " Deborah, Edward Atwood. + " Kingfisher, Jonathan Eaton. + +Of the vessels enumerated the schooners Wilmot, Polly, Eunice and +Betsy and the sloops Bachelor, Peggy & Molly, Merimack and St. John's +Paquet were owned by the company. + +For some years the company paid insurance at the rate of 3 per cent. +on the vessels and their cargoes, but the insurance was obtained with +difficulty and after a time was discontinued on the ground that the +business would not bear the expense. + +When the partnership was formed in 1764, the company owned the +schooner Polly of 20 tons, the sloop Bachelor of 33 tons, and the +sloop Peggy & Molly of 66 tons. The same year Isaac Johnson of +Newburyport built for them the schooner Wilmot of 64 tons and James +Simonds paid L180 as his share of her hull. Samuel Blodget purchased +in Boston a quantity of yarns, strands and cordage, which were +delivered by Wm. Hazen to Crocker, a ropemaker of Newburyport, to be +worked up for the schooners Polly and Wilmot, the sloop Bachelor and +the sloop Peggy & Molly. The company afterwards bought or built the +schooners Eunice and Betsy and the sloops Merrimack and St. John's +Paquet. The sloop Merrimack was a square sterned vessel of 80 tons, +built at Newburyport in 1762. She was hired for the company's service +in 1767 and purchased for them in 1771 by Hazen & Jarvis for L150. +James Simonds says she was then a mere hulk entirely unfit for sea, +but after being repaired was employed in coasting to St. John and in +carrying lumber to the West Indies. William Hazen and his family had +good reason to remember the Merrimack, for it was in this vessel they +embarked for their new home in St. John in the month of May, 1775. +They were cast away on Fox Island and in addition to the discomfort +experienced, many of theirs personal belongings and some valuable +papers connected with the company's business were lost. The crew and +passengers were rescued and brought to St. John in a sloop of Captain +Drinkwater's, the captain consenting to throw overboard his load of +cordwood to make room for the rescued party and their possessions. +Most of Mr. Hazen's valuables and the rigging and stores of the +Merrimack were saved. + +The sloop St. John's Paquet was another vessel that had an unfortunate +experience. She made occasional voyages from St. John to St. Croix in +the West Indies. In the year 1770 she sailed from St. John with a +cargo of lime for Newburyport, having on board William Hazen, who had +been on one of his periodical business trips to St. John. Simonds and +White asked to have the sloop and cargo insured, but Hazen says the +reason they gave, namely, that the paquet was "an unlucky vessel," did +not make any impression on the minds of himself or Mr. Jarvis, and, as +it was a good season of the year, they did not effect it. The vessel +unfortunately proved true to her reputation. She got on the shoals at +Newburyport and taking "a rank heel" got water amongst her lime, which +set her on fire. The sloop and her cargo were sold in consequence for +L300 where she lay. The vessel was afterwards hired by Hazen & Jarvis +and again sent to St. John to load for the West Indies. + +The Wilmot proved unfit for the company's business and on May 23, +1766. Hazen & Jarvis wrote their partners: "We have purchased a very +good and valuable cargo for the schooner Wilmot. It consists of oxen, +cows, calves, flour, cyder, boards and bricks, and we have sent her +under care of Captain Beck to Newfoundland for sale. We hope we will +get a good price for her." This hope was not realized, for the +schooner lost her deckload of cattle in a storm and the voyage was +unprofitable. + +During the earlier years of the partnership the schooners Eunice and +Polly, sloop Peggy & Molly and other small vessels were employed from +April to October in fishing in the Bay of Fundy and at Passamaquoddy. +The correspondence of the company contains many references to this +important branch of business, a few of which are to be found in the +footnotes below.[72] + + [72] "The sloop Bachellor is now ready to sail; the contents of cargo + 251 quintles Cod and Pollock of her crew's catching, 30 do. of + Hunt's. The great sloop arrived ten days ago; has made but an + ordinary fare, said to be 300 quintles. Will sail with dry + fish in about a fortnight. * * Pollock will sell best in the + country, pray sell as many that sort as is possible." [Letter + of James Simonds written from "Passamaquada," 18th August, + 1764.] + + "Leavitt in the Polly has just arrived from Annapolis; he says + he has lost a fare of fish for want of sufficient length of + cable to ride at anchor, and that he must have one by the + middle of August or he shall lose one or two fares more at + Grand Manan." [Letter of James Simonds of 22nd June, 1768] + + "We have put Lovitt in skipper of the schooner Polly and have + given Stickney the schooner Eunice. We have sent down four + fishermen for the whale boats. (Mr. Marble and three + labourers.) * * Mr. Marble does not chuse to have any + connection with the delivery of stores [rum, etc.] to the men + at Passamaquada, and indeed we think with you that his + discipline is too moderate for such a sett of men as fishermen + for the most part are." [Letter of Hazen & Jarvis of 5th + April, 1766.] + +The company, finding the fishing at Passamaquoddy declining on account +of the multitude of their rivals in that locality, determined to +dispose of some of their smaller vessels, and Mr. Jarvis writes to +Simonds & White, under date May 23, 1766: "If you think we would be +likely to sell the "Peggy & Molly" at Halifax, please to advise us * * +* We look upon it in general to be the better way to, sell all vessels +when they come to be old and crazy, as we find by experience that old +vessels are great moths. Therefore if you can dispose of the sloop +Bachelor and schooner Polly, we think you had better do it, provided +you can obtain their worth, and we could build such vessels as you +shall think will be most advantageous." + +Hazen and Jarvis sold one half of the Eunice for L133 to a Frenchman +named Barrere, who sailed with her to the West Indies, where he was +detained until the outbreak of the Revolution in America, and this was +the last of her so far as the Company was concerned. + +Of all the company's vessels none seems to have done more excellent +service than the little schooner Polly. For twelve years she bore an +almost charmed life, and in that time was employed in a great variety +of ways. At one time a fishing at Annapolis or Passamaquoddy, at +another trading with the Indians up the River St. John, at another +transporting settlers and their effects from Massachusetts to +Maugerville, at another on a voyage to the West Indies. + +Hazen & Jarvis for the accommodation of their trade had hired the Long +Wharf at Newburyport and the stores on it at an annual rental of L70. +In the month of March, 1765, Leonard Jarvis writes of the occurrence +of a tremendous gale which was as severe as was ever known and which +did great damage to the wharves and shipping. He adds: "We had the +schooner Polly drove on one of the wharfs from whence we had to launch +her." + +While returning from the West Indies in July, 1776, the Polly was +taken by an American privateer sailed by one O'Brien and sent to +Newburyport. She was claimed by William Hazen and after some little +delay restored to her owners and brought to St. John where she +discharged her cargo. Not long after she was again captured and +carried to Falmouth, where her super-cargo Peter Smith again succeeded +in obtaining her release. + +The first vessel built and launched at St. John was the little +schooner "Betsy," the construction of which was undertaken by Simonds +& White at Portland Point in 1769. Little did her designers and +builders imagine that they were the pioneers of an industry that would +one day place St. John in the fourth place among the cities of the +British empire as a shipowning port and lead her to claim the proud +title of "the Liverpool of America." And we may note in passing, that +at the time of the turning of the first sod of the Intercolonial +railway in 1853, employes from seventeen shipyards--1,090 men in +all--marched in the procession and shipbuilding had not then attained +its greatest development. It was an important industry indeed in its +day. + +The materials used in building, the Betsy were cut almost upon the +spot, and the rigging was sent from Newburyport by William Hazen, +while about half the iron was taken from one of the company's old +vessels. One Michael Hodge agreed to build the schooner for 23 1-3 +shillings per ton. Adonijah Colby was his assistant. The schooner was +launched in the autumn of the year 1769 and named the Betsy in honor +of Miss Elizabeth Peabody, who about this time was married to James +White. The little vessel sailed for Newburyport with her first cargo +on the 3d of February following, Jonathan Leavitt going in her as +master. She was sold the next year for L200, and Mr. Simonds expressed +his satisfaction at the price as better than he had expected. + +This first venture in the line of shipbuilding was followed in due +course by others. Jonathan Leavitt and Samuel Peabody in 1773 built a +schooner which they called the "Menaguash," in honor of the old Indian +name of St. John, and the following year William Hazen made an +agreement with James Woodman and Zebedee Ring to build a vessel at St. +John, Woodman's wages to be art the rate of 4 shillings a day, and the +payment in part to be one hundred acres of land at two shillings an +acre. The land referred to was situated in the old township of Conway +opposite the Indian House--probably at Pleasant Point. + +With a view to pursuing the business of shipbuilding William Hazen at +the time he settled at Portland Point brought with him one John Jones, +a master ship-builder. The outbreak of the Revolutionary war put a +stop to every kind of business, but it is said that Mr. Jones' +employers paid his wages for some time in order to retain his services +under the expectation that the war would soon be over and they would +be able again to build ships. Mr. Jones improved the waiting time by +taking to himself a wife, Mercy Hilderick, who had come to St. John on +a visit to her sister, the wife of Samuel Peabody. There being no +clergyman at hand the ceremony was performed by Gervas Say, a Justice +of the Peace for the county of Sunbury, who then lived on the west +side of the Harbor in the Township of Conway. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +THE OLD COUNTY OF SUNBURY AND ITS TOWNSHIPS. + + +A great impetus was given to the settlement of the wilderness parts of +Nova Scotia by the proclamations issued by Governor Lawrence in 1758 +and 1759 offering free grants of lands to those who would become +settlers. In consequence of these proclamations attention was directed +to the St. John river. The fertile lands along its borders greatly +pleased the men of Massachusetts who explored it, and led to their +founding the Township of Maugerville, while, almost simultaneously, +Messrs. Simonds and White established their little colony at Portland +Point. + +The Royal proclamation, issued at the Court of St. James in October, +1763, offering grants of lands to officers, non-commissioned officers +and soldiers that had served in the late French war, in token of his +majesty's appreciation of their conduct and bravery, had the effect of +creating a species of land-hunger which ere long led to a general +scramble for the possession of all lands that were of value and were +not already appropriated. However, up to the year 1765, only three +land grants on the St. John river were recorded at Halifax. Then came +the deluge! In the course of the month of October some twenty grants +were issued, comprising nearly 750,000 acres of the best land on the +River St. John, and immense tracts were granted in other parts of Nova +Scotia. Charles Morris, the surveyor general at this time, explains +that the vast number of applicants for land and their importunity were +due to the fact that the obnoxious "stamp act" was about coming into +operation and those desirous of securing lands were pressing hard for +their grants in order to avoid the stamp duties. + +This land boom, if we may so term it, had the effect at first of +stimulating the settlement of the country, but it is, to say the +least, very doubtful whether subsequent growth and development were +not retarded by the rashness of Governor Wilmot and his council in +giving away the unsettled lands from the power of the crown and the +people in so prodigal a fashion. + +The land grants of this period were usually made under the following +conditions: + +First--The payment of a yearly quit rent of one shilling sterling to +be made on Michaelmas day for every fifty acres, the quit rent, to +commence at the expiration of ten years from the date of the grant. + +Second.--The grantee to plant, cultivate and improve, or inclose, +one-third part within ten years, one-third part within twenty years +and the remaining third part within thirty years from the date of the +grant, or otherwise to forfeit such lands as shall not be actually +under improvement and cultivation. + +Third.--To plant within ten years one rood of every thousand acres +with hemp, and to keep up the same or a like quantity during the +successive years. + +Fourth.--For the more effectual settling of the lands within the +province the grantees shall settle on every five hundred acres one +family at least with proper stock and materials for improvement of +the said lands within two years of date of grant.[73] + + [73] The last of the conditions above quoted was a somewhat variable + one, and is sometimes found in this form, "The grantees shall + settle one-fourth part within one year, in the proportion of + one family of Protestants (to consist at least of four + persons) to every thousand acres, one-fourth part within two + years, another fourth part within three years, and the + remaining fourth part within four years, otherwise the lands + remaining unsettled to revert to the crown." + +The arrival of so considerable a number of English speaking +inhabitants as came to the River St. John in the course of a few years +after Lawrence had published his proclamations, rendered it necessary +that measures should be adopted for their government. When Nova Scotia +was divided into counties, in 1759, what is now New Brunswick seems to +have been an unorganized part of the County of Cumberland. For a year +or two the settlers on the River St. John were obliged to look to +Halifax for the regulation of their civil affairs, but this proved so +inconvenient that the Governor and Council agreed to the establishment +of a new county. The county was called Sunbury in honor of the English +secretary of state, the third Earl of Halifax[74] who was also +Viscount Sunbury. + + [74] It was after the same English secretary of state that the city + of Halifax was named in 1749. + +The first intimation we have of the formation of the new county is +contained in a letter of James Simonds to William, Hazen, dated at +Halifax, March 18, 1765, in which the former writes: "I am just +arrived here on the business of the inhabitants of St. Johns. * * I +have seen Captain Glasier, who informs me that he is getting a grant +of a large tract of land at St. Johns for a number of officers and +that your brother is one of them. St. Johns is made a county [Sunbury] +and I hope will soon make a formidable appearance." The decision of +the government in this instance seems to have been consequent upon the +visit of Mr. Simonds, who doubtless was supported in his advocacy of +the new measure by Capt. Beamsley Glasier. The latter was elected one +of the first two representatives of the county in the Nova Scotia +legislature, with Capt. Thos. Falconer as his colleague. The +announcement contained in Mr. Simonds letter anticipated the action of +the governor and council, for it was not until the 30th April, six +weeks later, that the matter was carried into effect by the adoption +of the following resolution, viz: "That St. John's River should be +erected into a county by the name of Sunbury, and likewise that Capt. +Richard Smith should be appointed a justice of the peace for the +County of Halifax." The terms of this grotesque resolution are +suggestive of the idea that in the estimation of his excellency and +the council of Nova Scotia the appointment of a Halifax J. P. was +about as important a matter as the organization of the County of +Sunbury, although the latter was as large as the entire peninsula of +Nova Scotia. + +The County of Sunbury did not, as has been commonly supposed, include +the whole of the present province of New Brunswick. Its eastern +boundary was a line starting from a point "twenty miles above Point +Mispeck, up the Bay of Fundy, being the eastern point of Head Land of +the Harbor at the mouth of the River Saint John, thence to run north +by the needle till it meets the Canada Southern boundary." + +Captain Beamsley Perkins Glasier was a very important and influential +person at this time in the affairs of the new county. He was an +officer in the 60th or Royal American Regiment, and subsequently rose +to the rank of Lieut.-Colonel. On the 14th December, 1764, Capt. +Glasier on behalf of himself, Capt. Thomas Falconer and others, +presented a memorial to the governor and council at Halifax for a +tract of land to include both sides of the River St. John and all the +islands from the lower end of Musquash Island to the Township of +Maugerville, and if there was not in the tract any river proper for +erecting mills then "as settlements can't be carried on without, the +memorialists pray for any river that may be found fit for the purpose +by their committee, with a tract of 20,000 acres of timber land as +near the mills to be erected as possible." Application was made at the +same time for a Point or Neck of land three-quarters of a mile from +Fort Frederick with 60 acres adjoining to it "for the making and +curing fish." It was ordered by the governor and council that the +lands on the river should be reserved for the applicants, but that the +point and sixty acres adjoining, situate near Fort Frederick, should +be a matter for further consideration. It is not improbable the point +referred to was the peninsula on the east side of St. John harbor, on +which the principal part of the city stands today. Had it been granted +to the applicants at this time it is hard to say what might have been +the effect on the future, but very likely St. John, as the "City of +the Loyalists," would have had no existence. + +Capt. Beamsley Glasier and Capt. Thomas Falconer were the active +agents of an association or society, composed of more than sixty +individuals, who designed to secure and settle half a million acres of +land on the River St. John. The association included Governor Thomas +Hutchinson of Massachusetts, General Frederick Haldimand (afterwards +governor of Quebec), Sir William Johnson of New York, Capt. Isaac +Caton, Capt. William Spry, Capt. Moses Hazen, William Hazen, James +Simonds, Rev. John Ogilvie, Rev. Philip Hughes, Rev. Curryl Smith, +Richard Shorne, Daniel Claus, Philip John Livingston, Samuel Holland +and Charles Morris. The membership of the association represented a +very wide area for among its members were residents of Quebec, +Halifax, Boston, New York and the Kingdom of Ireland. A little later +the association was termed the Canada Company probably because General +Haldimand and some of its most influential members lived in Quebec. + +The company obtained in October, 1765, a grant of five townships on +the River St. John known as the townships of Conway, Gage, Burton, +Sunbury and New-Town, of which all but the last were on the west side +of the river. The first three were named in honor of Gen. Henry S. +Conway, Secretary of State; Gen. Thomas Gage, who was one of the +grantees; and Brig. Gen. Ralph Burton, who was stationed in Canada at +the time. The location and extent of the townships may be generally +stated as follows: + +1. Conway, 50,000 acres, included in its bounds the parish of +Lancaster and a part of Westfield extending from the mouth of the +river up as far as Brandy Point. + +2. Gage or Gage-town, 100,000 acres, extended from Otnabog to Swan +Creek and included the present parish of Gagetown. + +3. Burton, 100,000 acres, extended from Swan Creek to the River +Oromocto, including the present parish of Burton and part of the +adjoining parish of Blissville. + +4. Sunbury, 125,000 acres, began at Old Mill Creek, a little below +Fredericton, and extended up the river as far as Long's Creek, +including the City of Fredericton, the parish of New Maryland and the +parish of Kingsclear. A part of this grant (20,000 acres) was added a +little later to the Township of New Town on the opposite side of the +river. + +5. New Town extended about eight miles up the river from the Township +of Maugerville on the east side opposite Fredericton and at first +contained 20,000 acres, afterwards increased to 40,000. + +It is an interesting circumstance that the site upon which Alexander +Gibson's mills at Marysville stand today, was selected by Beamsley +Glasier and his associates in 1765 as the most desirable mill site +along the St. John river. We even know the names of the pioneers of +milling in that locality. + +In the month of July, 1766, the sloop, "Peggy and Molly" sailed from +Newburyport for St. John and on the way she called at Portsmouth and +took on board Capt. Beamsley Glasier and five mill-wrights, Jonathan +Young, Hezekiah Young, Joseph Pike, Tristram Quimby and John Sanborn +each of whom paid Simonds & White 20 shillings passage money. Soon +after their arrival they framed and erected the first saw mill on the +Nashwaak, probably the first built by English hands in the province. +In September, same year, the "Peggy and Molly" brought a large +consignment from New England for Capt. Glasier, including all the mill +gear, a quantity of seed corn, barley and garden seeds, some live +stock and fowls, household utensils and provisions. Capt. Glasier says +in a letter to Wm. Hazen written in August, 1766, "Young and all the +Carpenters intend to stay and settle here and he begs you'll be so +good as to acquaint his wife and family of it." No permanent +settlement, however, seems to have been made at the Nashwaak at this +time other than Anderson's trading post at the mouth of that stream. + +Shortly after obtaining the grants of their townships the Canada +Company appointed Nathaniel Rogers of Boston their treasurer, and +Colonel Beamsley Glasier their agent, and levied a tax of one hundred +dollars on each member of the company to defray the expenses of +management. The conditions of the grants required the grantees to +settle one-fourth part of their lands in one year in the proportion of +four Protestant[75] persons for every 1,000 acres, one-fourth part in +the same proportion in two years, one-fourth in three years and the +remainder in four years, all lands remaining unsettled to revert to +the Crown. + + [75] This word was designed to exclude the Acadians as settlers. + +An immediate attempt was made by Col. Glasier, Capt. Falconer and the +more energetic of their associates to procure settlers and improve the +lands, but the task was a gigantic one and settlers of a desirable +class by no means easy to obtain. The difficulties the Company had to +encounter will appear in the references that will presently be made to +some very interesting letters and documents that have been preserved +respecting the settlement of the townships. + +As early as the 27th of January, 1765, the plans of the Canada Company +had so far developed that Captain Falconer sent one Richard Barlow as +storekeeper to the River St. John, where the company's headquarters +was about to be established under the supervision of Colonel Glasier. +Barlow was promised a lease of 200 acres at a nominal rent, and at +once removed with his family to the scene of operations. There were +frequent business transactions in the course of the next six years +between Simonds & White and the agents of the Canada Company, who +figure in their accounts as "Beamsley Glasier & Co.". In the years +1765 and 1766, for example, Mr. Rogers, the treasurer of the Canada +Company, paid Hazen & Jarvis L146 for certain goods supplied by +Simonds & White at the River St. John. + +The value of the lands on the River St. John had not escaped the +notice of the keen-eyed pioneers at Portland Point, and in the first +business letter extant James Simonds writes to Wm. Hazen, "the lands +are very valuable if they may be had." Again on the 16th December, +1764, he writes, "I have been trying and have a great prospect of +getting one or two Rights [or shares] for each of us concerned in our +company, and to have my choice in the townships of this River, the +land and title as good as any in America." Hazen & Jarvis manifested +much interest in the matter and soon afterwards obtained a footing +among the proprietors and promoters of the scheme. + +The arrival of Colonel Glasier with his millwrights and carpenters in +the fall of 1766 has been already mentioned. The progress made in +settling the townships during the first two years was, however, slow +and the mills on the Nashwaak were some time in being completed. +Simonds & White on the 20th June, 1767, wrote to their partners in +Newburyport, "When Col. Glasier left this place he was in such a +hurry, the vessel being bound directly to sea, that we could not make +a complete settlement, not having the people's accounts up the River +that had worked on the mills, logging, etc. We have inclosed his order +for what could be settled. The lots in Gage Town are drawn, Moses and +William Hazen Nos. 53, 54, Mr. Simonds No. 12, none of them either the +best or the worst in the Township. * * If young cattle are cheap at +your place we recommend sending some every opportunity; the growth of +them is profitable, and the King's Instructions to the Government are +that three cattle be kept on every fifty acres of land granted." + +The manner of laying out and drawing lots in the townships, as first +agreed on, did not work very well and led to a vigorous remonstrance +on the part of Capt. William Spry, which is dated at New York, April +11th, 1768. The "remonstrance" appears to have been framed after +consultation with others of the committee appointed by the Proprietors +to carry on the settlement of the Townships, and its contents were +approved at a meeting held the next day. The "remonstrance" was +addressed to Rev.'d Dr. Oglevie and William Johnstone, Esq., and to +such other Proprietors, or their attornies, as were then in New York. +The document is of sufficient historic value to be quoted in full:-- + + THE REMONSTRANCE + + Of Capt. William Spry, one of the said Proprietors, sets forth,-- + + "That the manner in which the Townships of Gage and Sunbury have + been divided among the Proprietors, puts it out of their power to + settle their respective shares, the Lots being only sixty-five + rods in breadth, and from four to six miles in depth; that + therefore no family at the first settling of those lands will go + so far back into the Woods as to be deprived of the advantages of + the River, and that there is not breadth enough in the lots but + for very few families to be accommodated even supposing the + Proprietors under the necessity of granting away the most valuable + part of their lands, which would probably be the case, as the time + allowed to complete the settlement is nearly expired. + + "That even granting those long narrow slips of land could be + settled, their being situated in so many places (in the several + townships) and so different from each other, makes it absolutely + impossible for a Proprietor to look after them with that care and + attention which the establishing of new settlements must require. + + "That the inclosing those several lots must of course be attended + with great expense and the fixing their boundaries be very liable + to create disputes. + + "Capt. Spry therefore proposes the following Plan to the Society, + viz.:-- + + "1st. That every Proprietor shall have his proportion of all the + lands in the several Townships (except Conway, as will be + hereafter explained) in one Township only, that Townships to be + fixed by Ballot. + + "2nd. That when the Proprietors have drawn the Township their lot + is to be in, they draw again for their particular lot in that + Township. + + "3rd. That the lots in each Township be divided so as to be as + nearly of equal value with one another as possible, the expense of + which to be defrayed by the Society in general, in case the + division cannot be settled by the survey already taken. + + "4th. That all the Islands be divided into sixty-eight lots and + drawn for, except Perkin's Island which is to remain in common + among all the Proprietors.[76] + + [76] It was perhaps at the suggestion of William Hazen or James + Simonds that in the grant of the Township of Burton, of + which they were grantees, there was included the "island + in Passamaquody bay called Perkins Island," now known as + Indian Island, where the fishing station of Simonds & + White had been for several years established. + + "5th. That the Saw Mill also remain in common among all the + Proprietors for Twenty years from the date of the Grant, and then + to devolve to the Proprietors of the Township it is in. + + "6th. That as the Townships of Gage and Sunbury have been surveyed + and the places for the Town Plots fixed by Charles Morris, Esq., + surveyor of Nova Scotia, that as ten families were sent to the + River last Fall and could get no farther than Fort Frederick, by + reason of contrary winds, and therefore are not as yet fixed to + any particular Township, and as several other families have been + procured to be sent this Spring by different Proprietors, who + without an immediate drawing for the respective Townships cannot + know to what Township to send their settlers, it is proposed that + there should be a drawing for these Townships without loss of + time, and also for the lots in the Townships of Gage and Sunbury, + in the presence of two Magistrates of this City, which said lots + Capt. Spry will undertake to make as equal a division of as the + nature of the thing will allow. + + "The Division of the Townships among the Proprietors is proposed + to be as follows, viz:-- + + "The Townships of Gage, Burton and Sunbury, containing 100,000 + Acres each, to be divided among twenty Proprietors to each + Township, which will be 5,000 acres to each Proprietor. + + "The Township of Conway, containing 50,000 acres, being + conveniently situated for the Fishery, to be divided among all the + Proprietors in equal lots and drawn for, which will be about 735 + acres to each. + + "The tract northwest of Maugerville of 20,000 acres (granted + separately) and that of 20,000 acres adjoining, granted with the + Township of Sunbury, to be made one Township of 40,000 acres and + to be called New-Town, and divided among eight Proprietors, which + will be 5,000 acres to each Proprietor, the same as in the other + Townships. + + "By this method of dividing the townships all the lots will have a + sufficient breadth upon the River, and the worst lot there can + possibly be among them, will be of more value to any one + Proprietor than the five best lots of the several Townships laid + out as they are at present." + + Signed W. SPRY. + +A meeting was immediately held at the house of George Burns, +innholder, in New York, and it was unanimously decided by the +proprietors of the townships and their agents, to annul the former +division of lands and adopt the proposals of Capt. Spry. In accordance +with this decision the proprietors or their representatives, held a +meeting on Wednesday the 20th of April, 1768, and in the presence of +Dirck Brinckerhoff and Elias Desbrosses, justices of the peace and +aldermen of the City and County of New York, made a drawing of the +townships in the manner proposed, the result of which appears below. + +[Illustration: Map of the River St John in the province of Nova Scotia. +Exhibiting The Grants to Officers &c. in 1765 with other +patents. +From the Survey of Mr Chas Morris and other surveyors.] + + TOWNSHIP OF GAGE. + + Lot. No. + + 1. John Lewis Gage. + 2. Daniel Disney. + 3. John Fenton, Esq. + 4. Beamsley Glasier, Esq. + 5. Dr. Thomas Blair. + 6. James Finlay. + 7. Jacob Jordan. + 8. George Johnstone. + 9. Thomas Clapp. + 10. Oliver Delancey, jr., Esq. + 11. Col. Frederick Haldimand. + 12. William Keough. + 13. Rev. Phillip Hughes. + 14. Charles Morris, jr., Esq. + 15. William Johnstone, Esq. + 16. Synge Tottenham. + 17. William Spry, Esq. + 18. George Gillman. + 19. Frederick Haldimand, jr. + 20. Guy Johnstone. + + TOWNSHIP OF SUNBURY. + + Lot. No. + + 1. Alexander John Scott. + 2. Dr. Robert Bell. + 3. Thomas Hutchinson, Esq. + 4. John Collins, Esq. + 5. John Irving, jr., Esq. + 6. John Desbruyeres. Esq. + 7. Francis Greenfield. + 8. Daniel Carleton. + 9. Thomas Smelt, Esq. + 10. Richard Shorne. + 11. George Fead. + 12. Edward Bulkely, Esq. + 13. John Leake Burrage. + 14. Oliver Shorne. + 15. Isaac Caton. + 16. John Norberg. + 17. Hugh Parker. + 18. James Allen. + 19. James Simonds. + 20. Nathaniel Rogers, Esq. + + TOWNSHIP OF BURTON. + + "The Town Plot not being fixed this Township could not as yet be + divided into lots, but is to be as soon as possible: the + Proprietors who drew the Township were: John Porteus, Thomas + Falconer, sen'r, Esq., John York, Esq., Daniel Robertson, Joseph + Peach, Esq., William Parker, Charles Pettit, Ralph Christie, Esq., + Daniel Claus, Esq., William Evins, Esq., John Campbell, Esq., + Joseph Howard, John Cox, Thomas Falconer, jun'r, John Treby, Esq., + James Porteus, Richard Burton, John Livingston, Esq., Samuel + Hollandt, Esq., Benjamin Price, Esq. + + TOWNSHIP OF NEW TOWN, OR THE FORTY THOUSAND ACRE TRACT. + + "This Township is under the same circumstances with that of + Burton; the Proprietors who drew the Township were: Thomas + Moncrief, Esq., Rev. John Ogelvie, D. D., Moses Hazen, James + Jameson, William Hazen, Richard Williams, Charles Tassel, Esq., + and James Hughes." + +It was agreed that the various islands in the River St. John belonging +to the townships should be surveyed as soon as possible and divided +into 68 lots. It was also agreed that the Saw Mill, erected or in +course of erection in the Township of New Town should remain the +common property of all the members of the society for the space of +twenty years from the date of the grant, expenses attending the +building or repairing of the mill to be borne by all the proprietors +of the several townships, and after the expiration of twenty years to +become the property of the grantees of New Town. + +It will be noticed that in the division of the townships the Rights, +or shares, of Moses and William Hazen were drawn in New Town and that +of James Simonds in Sunbury. Mr. Simonds evidently was quite satisfied +for he wrote to Hazen & Jarvis, June 22, 1768. + + "The Township of Sunbury is the best in the Patent and New Town is + the next to it according to the quantity of land, it will have a + good Salmon-Fishery in the river which the mills are to be built + on, which runs through the centre of the tract. The mills are to + be the property of the eight proprietors of the Township after + seventeen years from this time, and all the Timber also the moment + the partition deed is passed." + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE ST. JOHN'S RIVER SOCIETY. + + +Since the preceding chapters were printed the author chanced to +discover some interesting manuscripts in the collections of the +Massachusetts Historical Society which throw a good deal of light upon +the history of the old townships on the River St. John. It is to be +regretted that this discovery was not made a little sooner, but it is +not too late to give the reader the benefit of it in a supplementary +way. + +The association that undertook the settlement of the townships of +Conway, Gage, Burton, Sunbury and New-town has been referred to in +these pages as "The Canada Company," but its proper name was "The St. +John's River Society." The original promoters of the gigantic land +speculation--for such we must call it--set on foot at Montreal in +1764, were chiefly army officers serving in Canada, hence the name, +"The Canada Company." When, however, it was determined to enlarge the +association by the addition of the names of gentlemen in Boston, New +York, Philadelphia, and Halifax, and when the valley of the River St. +John was selected as the place where the most desirable lands were to +be had the Canada Company took a new name and was known as "The St. +John's River Society." + +The president of the society was Captain Thomas Falconer, who was +at this time at Montreal with his regiment. The most active +promoter of the society's plans for several years, however, was +Beamsley P. Glasier. This gentleman has already been frequently +spoken of in connection with events on the St. John. He was a +captain in the Royal American Regiment and afterwards attained the +rank of lieutenant-colonel. He had previously served in the Fifth +Massachusetts Regiment, in which he was commissioned ensign early +in February, 1745. The regiment rendered gallant service under Sir +William Pepperrell at the taking of Louisburg, and we have abundant +evidence of Glasier's reputation as a brave determined leader in the +following document, the original of which is to be found in the +archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society: + + "AGREEMENT. We whose names are underwritten have enlisted + ourselves voluntarily to go on ye attack of the Island Battery at + the mouth of the Harbor of Louisburgh provided Beamsley Glaizer is + our Capt. on said attack and then wee shall be ready att Half am + Hours warning[77]" [Signed by forty individuals.] + + [77] The date of this document is probably May, 1745. The Island + Battery was one of the most formidable defences in Louisburg. + +Captain Glasier served subsequently under Sir Wm. Johnson and Gen'l +John Winslow. + +The idea of securing large grants of land in Nova Scotia was taken up +by officers of the Royal Americans, the 44th foot and other regiments +at Montreal early in the year 1764. Among the promoters were Capt. +Thos. Falconer, Capt. Beamsley Glasier, Capt. John Fenton, Rev. John +Ogilvie, D. D., (chaplain of the Royal American regt.), Major Thos. +Moncrief, Capt. Daniel Claus, Capt. Samuel Holland, Brig. Gen'l. Ralph +Burton, Lieut. Wm. Keough, Lieut. Richard Shorne and others. + +Captain Glasier seems to have obtained am extended leave of absence +from his military duties and for three years most of his time was +spent in trying to settle the society's townships. He sailed from +Quebec on the 28th of August, 1764, and after exploring the southern +coast of Nova Scotia and entering many of the harbors in order to get +"the best information of the Goodness of Land, and Conveniency for +carrying on the Fishery," he at length reached Halifax on the 26th of +October. The events subsequent to his arrival we shall let him +describe in his own words. + + "Upon my arrival I waited on the governor, and gave him my + letters; he rec'd me with great politeness and ordered a meeting + of Council the next day in order to consult where I should pitch + upon a tract of land suitable for such a Grand Settlement, for it + is looked upon as the most Respectable of any in the province, and + I must say that everybody in authority seem'd to interest + themselves in the thing and give me all the advice and assistance + in their power. Many Places was talked of, but none was so + universally approved as the River St. Johns. It was therefore the + opinion of the Council, and all that wished well to the + establishment, that I should go across the country to Pisiquid + (Windsor), and take passage on board a Vessell that was going from + thence with Provisions for the Garrison of Fort Frederick, which I + accordingly did, and arrived the 18th of November. * * + + "As soon as I arrived I procured a Boat and went up the River + above the falls as far as where the good land begins to make its + appearance; but an uncommon spell of cold weather had set in and + frozen over the small rivers leading into the Main River. * * + + "Besides what I saw, which answered exactly with the account I had + of it before, I had the best information from the Indians and + Inhabitants settled 40 miles up the River and the Engineer of the + Fort, who had Just been up to take a plan of the River, so that I + was not at a loss one moment to fix on that spot for the + settlement." + +Capt. Glasier spent about four days in examining the river. It will be +noticed he speaks of "an uncommon spell of cold weather;" nevertheless +the river was open for a good distance. This goes to show that the +winter season did not begin any earlier 140 years ago than it does +today. + +Judging by the account of his journey from Fort Frederick to Halifax +Capt. Glasier was a good traveller. He says, "We breakfasted at the +Fort, dined at Annapolis and walked from thence to Halifax 5 days 145 +miles in company with a brother of Lord Byron, who made the tour with +me to see the country." + +Beamsley Glasier would have made a good immigration agent, for he +certainly describes the country in glowing colors, yet his description +of the valley of the St. John is in the main quite accurate and it is +exceedingly interesting to have a glimpse of that region in its +pristine state. + + "The entrance of St. John's River," he writes, "forms like a Bay + between two points[78] about 3 leagues apart from thence it grows + narrower gradually up to the Falls, which is 200 yards broad. The + Falls, which has been such a Bugbare, is rather a narrow place in + the River than Falls, for at half tide it is as smooth as any + other place in the River, the tide then just beginning to make and + grows gradually stronger until high water, from that till two + hours ebb a Vessell of 500 tons may go up or down. I know of very + few Harbours in America that has not a barr or some other + impediment at the entrance so as to wait for the tide longer than + at St. Johns; here if you are obliged to wait you are in a good + harbour out of all danger of bad weather. + + "On each side the falls the rocks are high and so continue about + four leagues, all Lime stone; then begins the finest Prospect in + the world, the Land becomes flat, not a stone or pebble for 60 + miles * * the banks something higher than it is a little way in; + it runs level from six to twelve miles back and some places + farther, such land as I cannot describe. The New England People + [in Maugerville] have never plowed but harrowed in their grain, + such Grain of all kinds, such Hemp, Flax, &c, as was never seen." + + [78] Mispeck Point on the east and Negro Head on the west. + +Capt. Glasier's description of the interval lands in their virgin +state, untouched by the white man's axe, is particularly interesting. +It serves to explain why these lands were not over-run by forest fires +and were considered so desirable by the early settlers. + + "The trees," he says, "are all extremely large and in general very + tall and chiefly hard wood;[79] no Spruce, Pine, Firr, &c. Neither + is there underwood of brush, you may drive a Cart and Oxen thro' + the trees. In short it looks like a Park as far as ever your eye + can carry you. The pine trees fit for large masts are farther back + and bordering on the small Rivers as I am told by the Indians. + These fellows are the most intelligent people I ever saw; near 400 + live about 60 miles up the River, and seem to be well pleased at + our coming here, I saw all their Chiefs at the Fort. The land on + the N. E. side the River has been overflowed sometimes, but it + goes off immediately and leaves such a manure as you may + imagine--tho' it has not for several years past; the other side is + higher, the lands not so good in general. When I said not so Good + I would not be understood to mean that they are not good, for even + those are as good as any I ever saw in America, with the same kind + and quality of wood, but does not run back so far. + + [79] A few giant elms of the primeval forest are yet to be found + on the bank of the St. John. The author not long since + examined the stump of a large elm that grew a few miles + below the town of Woodstock. It was four feet in diameter + and the number of concentric rings 325, so that it must + have been a sapling in the days of Queen Elizabeth. + + "I suppose we shall have the Proprietor's Town on the west side, + tho' the New England People are all settled on the other side. The + whole Country abounds with Game; there is likewise plenty of Moose + weighing from 1000 to 1500 lbs. each, fatt and finer than beef, + which you may kill every day. Wild fowl of all kinds, cocks, + snipes, and partridges are so plenty that the Gentlemen who was + with me swore that it was no sport, as we could shoot 3 or 4 at a + shot. An Indian made me a present of a pair of horns of a small + Moose as he called them, for he assured me that some was twice as + heavey. These measured 5 feet and 2 inches and weighed 33-1/2 lb., + judge you the biggness of the owner. + + "Upon the Interval land you have a long kind of Grass[80] which + the Cattle in that country fatten themselves upon. I never in my + life saw fatter beef than one I saw killed there, & the New + England People vowed that the heiffers of the same breed that had + a calf in Boston at 3 years old came in at 2 years at St. Johns, + so much they improved in growth and Wantonness as they called it. + + [80] This grass still grows naturally on the St. John River + intervals, and is known to the farmers as "blue-joint." + + "Their Hoggs and Sheep they keep on the Islands, which are + overflowed generally when the River brakes up which is commonly + about the middle of April. This overflowing leaves these Islands + so rich that the Hoggs grow fatt by eating Ground nuts without + any other food in summer (in our Grant we have some of these + Islands) nor do they put up their Horses in the Winter, except + those that work, tho' you may cut any quantity of Grass. Can I say + more of the Soil, Trees, situation, &c.? Be assured it is all + True." + + "The fish is the next thing. This River abounds with all sorts of + small fry, Trout, Salmon, Bass, Whitefish & Sturgeon. The Bass is + ketcht in Wiers just under the Point below the Fort, so that good + voyages may be made in that branch; all the expence is in making + the Wiers, and as to Sturgeon they are more remarkably plenty than + any place upon the Continent, and if there was persons that + understood pickling them it would be a very profitable undertaking + and fetches ready money in London." + +The Glasier letters (which have just been printed in the Collections +of the N. B. Hist. Society) show that before Beamsley Glasier left +Montreal, as the accredited agent of the St. John's River Society, +there had been a good deal of discussion about the location of the +townships it was desired to procure and settle. It was ultimately +decided that this matter should be left to the discretion of Captain +Glasier after he had made a personal examination of certain localities +and obtained reliable information respecting the ungranted lands in +Nova Scotia. Glasier wrote from Halifax on the 15th December, 1764, to +Captain Thos. Falconer and the Society's committee at Montreal, +informing them of his selection of the valley of the River St. John as +by all odds the most desirable situation. He says: + + "When I compare this place to any other we ever thought of I am + surprised it had not been fixed on before I came away. The island + of St. Johns (or Prince Edward Island) is not good land, besides + being so far to the northward it is too exposed if a war should + happen, as is all up the Gut of Canso, Bay Challeurs, etc. Besides + the whole of that part of the country, as well as all the coast to + the head Cape Sable and up the Bay of Fundy, is bound with fog + almost three months in the year. In this River you have none above + the falls, nor have you Musquitos here in any sort of comparison + to any other part of this country. Besides you are so near the + settled parts of New England that you may sail with a good wind to + Boston in 30 hours, or if you have a mind to coast along shore you + may harbour every 4 or 5 Leagues all the way to Boston and that + all winter. I think we are very happy not to settle on the Lake + where we proposed, for if we had anything to send to market it + would take more time and be a greater risk to get it out of the + River St. Lawrence than to go from here to Europe." + +On the 1st March following Capt. Glasier addressed a letter to John +Fenton of Boston informing the members of the Society in that quarter +of the success of his subsequent proceedings. He apologizes for the +tardiness of his communication by saying, "I have put off writing, as +the world puts off Repentence till the last moment." Glasier is very +enthusiastic as to the outlook. + + "The interval lands on the St. John," he says, "are wonderful, not + a stone and black mold 6 feet deep, no underwood, large tall Trees + all hardwood; you may drive a Coach through the Trees, we can cut + what Grass we please and we may improve the land immediately; in + short I can't describe it to you. * * * * I hope we shall be able + to begin something this summer, there is the D--l and all of + people applying for lands in this province. There is now settled + 50 families just above us, all Yankys[81]; they are not very good + Farmers you know but they raised fine grain last year." + + [81] The reference is to the settlement made at Maugerville two or + three years before, which at this time seems to have been + called the Township of Peabody, in honor of Captain Francis + Peabody. + +In the choice of the St. John river valley as the best situation for +the townships that were to be laid out and settled, Beamsley Glasier +seems to have been guided very largely by the advice of Charles +Morris, the surveyor general of Nova Scotia, and his son Charles +Morris, junior. The younger Morris had a personal interest in the +Society and Capt. Glasier writes of him: + + "Mr. Morris's son is one of our Proprietors and is to go with me + in April to survey the whole tract I have asked for. He is Deputy + to his Father and very clever, as you'll have occasion to know + hereafter. We propose setting out from Halifax about the beginning + of April and take a survey of Port O'Bear[82] on our way to St. + Johns. I imagine the whole will take us a great deal of time as we + shall go up all the small rivers. I have engaged a little schooner + for the purpose. As places for our Mills and good Timber, oak as + well as pine, is a great object, and as Mr. Morris is a Conesieur + in the Goodness of Lands, if we don't fix upon convenient spots to + answer all our purposes it will be our faults." + + [82] Probably Port Le Bear (or Hebert) near Shelburne on the southern + coast of Nova Scotia. + +The task of surveying and exploring proved of greater magnitude than +Glasier had anticipated, and at the end of the summer the Surveyor +General of Nova Scotia and his son had only been able to make a +general sketch of the river and townships, not an accurate survey, and +Glasier expressed the opinion that it would be a work of two years at +least before the River would be thoroughly known. Just how much time +was spent in the work of exploration and survey we do not know, but +the younger Morris spent three months in the summer of 1766 surveying +the townships of Gage and Sunbury, and in addition to this he says: +"The Surveyor General and myself expended more than a Hundred Pounds +Sterling of our own Money in surveying the River last year." + +Captain Glasier was very desirous of obtaining the best lands on the +river and he states frankly, in one of his letters, "what we want is +the good lands only, or as small a quantity of the bad as is +possible." He was not ready to make definite application for lands, +therefore, until he had ascertained the whereabouts of all lakes, +ponds, sunken and bad lands, etc., in order to avoid paying quit rents +to the crown for that which was not improvable. + +Meanwhile trouble was brewing at Halifax, and it was only by the good +offices of Governor Wilmot, Charles Morris, sr., and other members of +the Council that the St. John River Society was saved from disaster. +We get an idea of the threatened danger in a letter of Hon. Michael +Francklin to Captain Glasier of July 22, 1765, in which great concern +is expressed that Glasier had not yet made his choice of the lands he +desired. "You cannot conceive how the Government is embarrassed," +writes Francklin, "by the daily applications that are made. We have no +less than three agents from Pennsylvania who are put off on your +account. * * * My dear Sir be thoroughly persuaded that no set of +people will have the preference to your Gentlemen in anything that can +be done for them, but pray do reflect and consider the Government here +and our situation, how disagreeable it is to lock up a whole River, +sufficient for fifty Townships, and people applying every day that we +are obliged to put off until you are served. Consider what a risque +the Government runs of losing a number of valuable settlers. I beg of +you, on my own account and as one who has the welfare and prosperity +of the Province at heart, that you will by some means or other make +your choice as soon as possible and transmit it to the Governor." + +Captain Glasier comments on this in a letter to Nathaniel Rogers of +Boston. "Some of the Council are wanting to establish those companies +belonging to Philadelphia who are waiting at Halifax, as you'll see by +the inclosed letter from one of them to me. I see through the whole, +the Governor[83] keeps them off till I return." + + [83] Captain Glasier seems to have been on excellent terms with Gov'r + Wilmot. On 1st March, 1755, he wrote to Capt. Fenton of + Boston, "I have received great civility from all sorts of + people here in Halifax. I have made your compliments to the + Gov'r and he has desired his to you; poor D----l has had the + Gout all winter, which seems to be the General Distemper in + this place amongst people of Rank." + +By the advice of Governor Wilmot the society filled up the number of +their Proprietors to sixty and at once began to make preparations for +the settlement of the lands promised, and which were granted in the +month of October, 1765. Glasier advised the establishment of a +magazine of stores at Fort Frederick, also the sending of horses, +cattle, sheep, and swine, with any settlers they could procure, as +soon as possible. He adds, "As young strong Fellows might be hired in +Canada for 120 livres a year, 20 of them might be hired and sent here +next spring; the Canada horses are much the best for this country * * +* The men you hire will be able to hew or cut timber for your houses, +clear the land where you have the Town, provide a covering for the +cattle, and cut hay, raise potatoes for your hogs--there is a Spanish +potatoe in this country that yields so much that a boy of 12 years old +will raise as many as will keep 20 hogs, they are made use of for that +purpose throughout all New England. * * The Iron for Saw Mills I think +should be bought in Canada as that Iron is so good. Any French that +have taken the oath of allegiance may become your settlers." + +An assessment of L30 was now ordered to be made on each member of the +Society to meet necessary expenses. The Rev. Dr. Ogilvie of New York +was chosen as Treasurer. Richard Barlow, late a sergeant in the 44th +regiment, was appointed store keeper at St. John. Capt. Falconer, who +sent him from Montreal, described him as "a steady man used to +business of that nature, who proposes to be a settler, has a family +and some money to enable him to begin tolerably well." Barlow was to +receive 12 shillings N. Y. currency pr. week and "oneration of +provisions," also 200 acres of land and a town lot. He was directed to +proceed from Montreal to Boston and there take upon him the care of +the tools, utensils, materials and stores of all kinds and embark with +them for the River St. Johns in Nova Scotia. + +A large assortment of materials, stores, tools and other articles were +purchased by Nathaniel Rogers in Boston, including mill geer, +carpenter's tools, farming implements, also three yoke of oxen and +tackling necessary for drawing logs, etc. These were shipped to St. +John in the schooner "Lucy," James Dickey, master, "consigned to +Richard Barlow storekeeper at St. John's and passenger on board for +the use of the St. John's society." + +Capt. Glasier's expectation was that a majority of the settlers of the +township might be expected from New England. He says, "There is a +number of Families from N. England come this summer (1765) on a +presumption that there was sufficient land to be had, as one Peabody +and his associates had settled themselves the same way about four +years ago and had a great struggle to get their Grant this year after +all their improvements. These people want to become our settlers, but +it is not possible for me to settle them for I can't tell them, 'fix +your selves on such a spott and it shall be yours;' no, the lands must +be lay'd out in proper form, lots No. 1, 2, 3, &c., and drawn for. The +people are waiting for my answer, as I have told them there will be +lands for them when we can come into a proper method. They have all +got stock and all materials to carry on farming and will want no help +from us." + +The difficulties experienced by Capt. Francis Peabody and his +associates in securing their lands at Maugerville have been referred +to already--see page 154--but further light is thrown upon the +matter in the appendix to this Chapter, in which will be found the +memorial of the Maugerville people to the Lords of Trade and +Plantations, together with a letter addressed to Joshua Mauger by +Charles Morris and Henry Newton, who had been sent to the River St. +John by the Governor of Nova Scotia to investigate the situation. + +An important meeting of the members of the St. John's River Society +and their representatives was held at New York on the 3d of June, +1766, when it was decided that steps should be taken as soon as +possible for dividing the lands belonging to the society; that a +surveyor should be employed to lay out the town either at Grimross or +some other place more convenient or proper for the purpose; that a +grist and saw mill should be immediately built on "Nishwack creek"; +that Captain Glasier should agree with proper persons to build the +mills, lay out the town, survey the lots for division and take +possession in due form of all grants (including the island called +Perkins Island, in the Bay of Passamaquoddy) in,the name of the +Society. It was further decided that as a sum of money was required +for the expenses of surveying and dividing the lands into lots, +building the mills, etc., that the second year's subscription money +should be paid on or before the 24th of August. + +Two sites were regarded with favor for the town, Grimross and St. +Ann's Point. Both places had been originally cleared and settled by +the French. Glasier states in one of his letters: "At Grimross there +is timber and lime, which the French had prepared to build a church; +there is cleared land three miles in length, an old settlement where +our Principal Town must be built, if we can't have St. Anns Point, +which is the finest spot on the River for our purpose. There are many +difficulties to surmount, which you will know hereafter; there is but +one good stream on all the River fit to erect Mills upon, which I have +got for us, and, between ourselves, have been obliged to pop them +between two other grants (by the assistance of Mr. Morris). There is +about 100 Families in the Township of Peabody, they have not one mill +of any kind, nor can there be; they have been obliged to bring all +from New England. These mills must be our first object; we shall be +able to furnish our neighbors with Lumber as well as ourselves. I +have arranged for the Timber and all other materials to be prepared +and inclose you Mr. Simonds estimate of the cost. * * * Mr. Simonds is +perfectly acquainted with the business of Saw-mills and knows every +minivar [manoeuvre] belonging to them. I think we are lucky in having +him on the spot to manage so material a part of our establishment. +These Mills properly managed will pay for themselves at least four +times a year, besides we can't carry on our Settlement without them." + +James Simonds' estimate of the cost of the mills will be found in the +letter which follows. It was probably considerably under the mark for +people are usually optimistic in such things:-- + + "Passamaquoddy, August 20th, 1765. + + "Sir,--Agreeable to your desire I have made the nearest + calculation I could of the cost of two mills and dam on Nashwog + River, and am of opinion that two hundred pounds currency will + complete them. The first cost is very great, which will be mostly + for the dam, yet as the stream is sufficient for an addition of + three or four mills on the same dam, it will be cheaper in the end + than to build the same number of mills and a dam to each on small + brooks that will be almost dry near half the year. + + "I must advise you Sir to have your Iron work made of the best + Iron, as breaches in any part of mills is of fatal consequence to + the profit of them. I have sent the dimensions of the cranks, + knowing it to be the practice in New England to make them so small + as to retard the business of sawing, besides frequently + breaking--the breaking of one may be a greater damage than the + cost of two. I have described them something large, but think you + had better exceed the size than fall short of it. + + "The best workmen will be the cheapest as the whole depends on the + effectual laying the foundation of the dam, etc. I make no doubt + but when the mills are completed they will saw at least 5 M boards + pr. day. + + "I am Sir, your most obedient servant, + + "JAMES SIMONDS." + +It may be noticed, in passing, that Mr. Simonds writes from +Passamaquoddy. The headquarters of the trade and fishery there was at +Indian Island, or as it was sometimes called, Perkins Island. Mr. +Simonds and Wm. Hazen were members of the St. John's River Society and +it would appear from Capt. Glasier's letter to Nathaniel Rogers of +10th Nov'r., 1765, that the Society had ambitious designs with regard +to this locality. "Our Fishery at Passamaquoddy," writes Glasier, "is +an object worth our attention; it is the best in the province. A +Block-house will be built there next spring and I can get a party from +the Fort sand some small cannon which will secure the Fishermen +against any insult from the Indians. This spot is more valuable than +you can imagine. I was promised by some of the principal Fishermen +belonging to New Hampshire if I got a grant of this Island they would +came to the number of 100 families with all their crafts, etc., and +become our settlers at Saint Johns, and if we get Grand Manan[84] it +will give us a chain of Harbours all the way to Mount Desert, which +will be all we want." + + [84] In another part of his letter Glasier says, "Capt. Falconer, who + is on the spot, is desired to petition the Lords of Trade for + this Island." Capt. Falconer intended to have gone to the + River St. John to assist in the management of affairs there, + but this plan was upset by his being ordered with his regiment + to Ireland. + +The avidity manifested by the agent of the St. John's River Society in +seeking favors at the hands of government would seems to countenance +the idea, suggested in the preceding chapter of this history,[85] that +when he memoralized the government of Nova Scotia for a grant of "the +Point or Neck of land bearing three quarters of a mile from Fort +Frederick, with 60 acres of land adjoining to it, for the making and +curing Fish," he had in view the valuable peninsula on the east side +of the harbor of St. John, on which the principal part of the city now +stands; but further investigation shows that this is not the case and +that the point of land meant was the neck adjoining the fort, on the +Carleton side of the harbor.[86] + + [85] See page 208, ante. + + [86] Speaking of the fishery in St. John harbor, Captain Glasier + writes, under date December 15, 1764, "The Bass is ketcht in + Weirs just under the Point below the Fort," that is on the + Carleton side of the harbor, and in the next sentence he goes + on to identify this point or neck of land with that adjoining + Fort Frederick. "The Cod Fish," he says, "strikes in here a + month sooner than at Cape Sable shore & goes off a month + sooner; you ketch the Fish a league within the mouth of the + Harbour and quite up to the Island [Navy Island] near the + Point of Land I have asked for." + +We have ample testimony as to Beamsley Glasier's zeal and energy as +director of the affairs of the St. John's River Society. Charles +Morris, junior, says of him, "Capt. Glasier has done everything that +was possible for any man to do, and more than any one else in his +situation would have done to serve the Society," adding that he had +not been properly supported, and if he had retired "there would have +ended the Grand Settlement of St. John's River, for as soon as he had +left it, in all probability the Indians (who have been made to believe +our Dam will destroy their Fishery) would have burnt and destroyed all +that has been done this summer at the Mills, and before we could build +other mills and get things in so good a way again the lands would be +forfeited, for there will be a court of Escheats held and all the +lands that have been granted in this province that are not settled and +improved agreeable to the express condition of the Grant will +absolutely be declared forfeited." "But," he continues, "I can't +imagine the Society will suffer theirs to be forfeited, for I am well +convinced that less than L30 sterling from each proprietor will build +all the mills, divide all the lands and pay every expense that has +attended the settlement from first to last; and each proprietor will +then have 7,000 acres of good land laid out into lots, mills built and +everything ready and convenient to carry on and make a fine settlement +of it." + +Glasier rarely complained of the difficulties with which he was +confronted, but on one occasion be admits "I am in a very disagreeable +situation and am heartily tired of it, and was it not for ingaging in +the Mills, would curse and quit the whole business. I have not been +well treated; to agents for all the Philadelphia and other Companys +have been genteely appointed and every expence paid with honor. What I +have done by myself has been ten times more than they all together and +the expence not the fifth part in proportion." + +Whilst engaged in his work on the River St. John, Glasier was obliged +to make occasional trips to Boston, taking passage usually in the +vessels of Hazen, Simonds and White. The excitement produced in New +England by the operation of the obnoxious Stamp Act gave him some +concern. He writes in November, 1765, "I have some things to settle +with the Governor & Council next time they sit, that prevents my +going to Boston by this vessel, but I shall go the next time she +sails, if you Boston people don't burn her, which I should be very +sorry should happen as she carrys no stamps. My heart bleeds for my +Country, what will be the end of all this?" + +Two projects especially claimed Glasier's attention in the summer of +1766: The first the founding of a town, the second the building of his +saw-mill. "I propose," he says, "to lay out the Town at Grimross in 80 +squares, in addition to public squares; then they are to be numbered +and drawn for by some person on the spot in the form of lottery +tickets, which I shall have sent to the proprietors so that we may fix +as many families as can be had this Summer on the Town lots. * * I +must have young Mr. Morris from Halifax to survey and lay out the +Town, as nothing can be done at Grimross before he arrives." + +In connection with the erection of the Nashwaak mills Capt. Glasier +acknowledges his obligation to Hazen & Jarvis of Newburyport. He says: +"They have procured me men to build the mills and stores of all kinds +for the workmen." The mill geer came this season, but on the 25th +October Glasier writes, "The mills won't be finished this fall, it is +such a work it was not possible to get through with it. * * * * My +time has been divided between the Mills and the Surveying. I am +condemned to tarry here this winter and can know nothing of what is +doing in the world." + +On the 2nd February following, he writes Mr. Nath'l Rogers of Boston, +"We are now employed in getting logs to the mills. I hope we shall get +them going early in the summer. They will begin to pay something of +the expense before the fall. It's impossible for me to tell you in a +letter the expenses of the different branches of business which I am +obliged to carry on to complete the whole. It is not only building +mills, surveying, etc., but clearing up the land, building houses, +making roads, hiring oxen (for we have not half enough of them) and in +fine so much I shall never pretend to write it. James Simonds, Esq., +who is the Bearer of this, will be able to inform you much better than +I can. * * * I am determined to finish what I have undertaken and then +quit it. I am not in the best situation in the world, as I believe +you'll think when I tell you I am not only shut out from all society +and know nothing of what is carrying on in the world, but my stores +are all expended, nor is there one thing to be bought here, pray send +me last year's magazines and some English newspapers as well as the +Boston ones. * * * I should be glad if you'd send the oxen, they may +be not old nor of the largest kind but good to draw. I pay half a +dollar a day for each yoak I hire so that they'll almost pay for +themselves in one year in work. Those that we have here have worked +more than one hundred days since I came, so that if we had been +obliged to have hired them at the rate I pay others it would amount to +a large sum. Twelve is the least that can be employed always at the +mills hauling logs, as they will cut 8,000 feet a day, I am told, when +they are finished. * * * * I told you I would not write you a long +letter, as there is nothing I hate so much; it's the D----l to have +ten thousand things to say." + +Beamsley Glasier's connection with the St. John river was now drawing +to a close. In the summer of 1767 he went to New York where we find +him engaged, in company with the Rev. Dr. Ogilvie, in collecting the +second annual subscription from the members of the society. The +military gentlemen proved very dilatory in paying their subscriptions. +Whether Capt. Glazier became disheartened at the outlook, or whether +he received peremptory orders to rejoin the Royal American Regiment is +uncertain. But about the end of August, 1767, James Porteous, +representing the Montreal committee, wrote to Nathaniel Rogers: "We +are now informed Capt. Glazier is at New York on his way to join his +Regiment, it therefore becomes necessary to appoint another person to +transact the Society's business, for which purpose we have appointed +Mr. James Simonds, one of the Proprietors, agent with whom you will +please correspond on any occurrence regarding the settlement." + +Messrs. Hazen & Jarvis, as well as their partners at St. John, +manifested great interest in the attempts of the Society to settle +their townships. Many details are mentioned in their letters, such as +those contained in the following to James Simonds. These details may +appear of little importance, yet everything that throws light upon the +methods employed in peopling a new country ought to have an interest +for after generations. In explanation of the subject matter of the +letter below it should be mentioned that Philip John Livingston and +others of the more energetic proprietors of the townships were sending +settlers, from New York, and other places to the River St. John. + + Newburyport, Octo. 8th, 1767. + + "We wrote you last Sunday by a sloop that came in here from New + York for some cattle, sheep and hogs. She took on board the cows; + the hogs and sheep go by this vessel. There is ten families [of + settlers], each of which was to have 1 cow, 1 sow, and 6 sheep, + but as they thought it necessary to have one of the hogs a boar, + and it was impossible to procure all the creatures of an equal + goodness, we must beg you will assist them (if they need it) in + the division of them. There was put on board this sloop 90 bushels + of ears of corn, 60 of which is on the Company's account and 30 + for these families' hogs, so that what may be more than 60 bushels + upon their arrival with you, please to deliver with the hogs. The + freight of these hogs and sheep we shall charge here. + + Mr. White is arrived with our Wm. Hazen and writes you by this + vessel. We suppose he will tell you that we think it will not be + best to build a vessel with you this winter. + + We have sent all we could procure of your memo. by this, + vessel--the remainder will come by Mr. White who will sail the + last of next week. You will observe there are seven hogsheads of + rye and Indian corn wanting of the number in the invoices. These + we took out to get ground and you shall have them when Mr. White + goes. + + Please to get as much lime as possible on board Capt. Newman, as + we have agreed with him to land it in Portsmouth, you will + therefore please to consign him to Mess. John & Temple Knight in + that place. + + There are 100 sheep on board the sloop which cost upon an average + about 6s. 10d. a head. Now as the ten families who came from Now + York were to have 60 ewe sheep (and as they chose a ram or two in + the number) you will please to deliver them their number out of + the old sheep which we shall charge at seven shillings per head. + There is a very likely ram on board (without horns) which we + bought of Capt. White for the Company. This you will take care + of. + + Since writing the above we have been getting the sheep on board + and find several very old, which please to take for the Company's + use, and we will get an abatement made by the person whom we + bought them of and who has deceived us in them. + + Please to dispatch Newman as soon as possible as he has been + detained here longer than he ought to have been. What will be + wanting to fill up Newman besides the lime please to make up in + lumber. + + We would recommend it to you not to tarry till Mr. White's arrival + with you before you go up the River. + + Mr. Pickard and Mr. Hartt will give you an account of what freight + they have on board which you will receive of them at the customary + rate. + + We are Sir, + Your sincere Friends and devoted hum, Serv's. + + HAZEN & JARVIS. + + To Jas. Simonds, Esq'r. + +Philip John Livingston, who has been mentioned as a promoter of the +settlement of the townships, was a member of a distinguished and +wealthy New York family. His mother was Catherine de Peyster and his +wife a daughter of Samuel Bayard. His brother, John W. Livingston, and +his wife's brother, Abraham de Peyster, were both captains in Col. +Edmund Fanning's King's American Regiment during the Revolutionary +war. Philip John Livingston was himself high sheriff of Dutchess +County, Now York, and during the Revolution held several important +positions under British authority in the City of New York. His father, +brothers and sons were all Loyalists. + +About the close of the year 1767 Col. Glasier wrote from New York, +seemingly in excellent spirits at the prospect of speedy settlement of +the lands. "He informs us," writes Leonard Jarvis, "that one hundred +families will go down next year to settle on the St. John river--that +a vessel from Ireland will arrive there this fall--that Mr. +Livingston, a gentleman of fortune, has purchased three shares, and +that the Patent is daily getting into fewer hands. This gives us +encouragement to think that some time hence our interest in your River +will be valuable." + +Among the proprietors of the townships who labored to effect their +settlement and improvement was Richard Shorne, a native of Ireland, +with whom were associated the Rev. Curryl Smith of Alminsta, West +Meath, Ireland, and his sons John and Robert Smith of the city of +Dublin. Mr. Shorne took up his residence at the River St. John in 1767 +and lived there for several years. He was on July 8, 1768, returned a +member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for Sunbury county, his +colleague being Phinehas Nevers of Maugerville. He seems to have made +his headquarters at or near St. Anne's Point, where supplies were sent +to him from Newburyport by Hazen & Jarvis. + +Simonds & White informed their partners at Newburyport in a letter +dated June 22, 1768, that they had been obliged to make considerable +advances out of their stores to some settlers that Mr. Livingston had +sent to the St. John river. Livingston it seems found fault with +certain items charged to him in the accounts and this led to a rather +indignant remonstrance on the part of Simonds & White. They wrote, "We +are surprised that he should mention anything as to the sums not being +due, when not only that but near as much more has been advanced to +save the lives of the wretched crew he sent. We have ever found that +the doing business for others is an office the most unthankful, and +equally unprofitable." In the same letter mention is made of the +arrival of Richard Shorne at St. John, with some families from New +York, to settle his own and other lands for which he was agent. It +appears that James Simonds introduced Richard Shorne to his friends at +Newburyport for in one of his letters he writes: "Mr. Shorne, the +bearer of this, is a Proprietor in our Lands and has left Ireland with +an intention of settling a number of Rights on this river and for that +purpose is invested with power from his friends to draw on them for +any sum that may be necessary. I must beg your kind assistance and +advice on his behalf as he does not appear to be much acquainted with +the settlement of Lands." + +Still another extract--this time from a letter of Philip J. Livingston +to James Simonds, will throw additional light upon the story of the +townships. + + "New York, September 12, 1769. + + Sir, * * * + + I intreated the favour of you last year to procure two families + for Sir Charles Dabers, who purchased the Right of James Allen, + No. 18, in Sunbury Township, and desired Peter Carr might be fixed + in that Township. If Sir Charles's families will accept of the + same quantity of land as Captain Spry's and Mr. Morris's have + done, I should be glad the lots were laid out in the same manner + for them. I have only to add with respect to Sir Charles's two + families that you will be pleased to furnish them with such + provisions as may be necessary for their subsistence and draw for + the amount. As to my families Hendrick and Baker, and West--who I + am desired to attend to and who I am informed talk of prosecuting + me--be pleased to furnish the ungrateful fellows, if they mend + their manners, in such manner as best consists with strict + frugality--for the large sums I have expended in the purchase of + my several Rights and in prosecuting schemes of settlement + (together with the sums I have been under the necessity of + advancing to the Society, and still must advance to discharge a + protested will of Glaziers, in this extreme scarcity of current + specie) makes such an order prudential. + + I hope you have taken the cattle from Brooks, or received the + worth of them for me and be pleased to inform me particularly of + the state of the families. You no doubt will hear from Halifax of + our petitioning the Government to confirm our division of lands + and therefore shall say nothing about it but refer you to Capt. + Spry and Mr. Morris. + + As soon as the committee of Montreal will be pleased to furnish us + with cash we shall write to you about finishing the Mills: till + then nothing need be said about it. I should however be glad to + know what sum you think would put the Mills in working order. I + intend, and it is my fixed resolve to be on St. John's River as + soon as the weather will permit in the Spring, which will be about + the 1st of May. If Mr. Ogilvie should not send you an order to + furnish James Marrington with provisions--who was to settle + General Burton's Right--I think it advisable to take that family + for Sir Charles Dabers, as General Burton is dead, and the family + without credit can't subsist. + + I am, Sir, + Your Much Obliged + And Very Humble Servant, + + PHILIP J. LIVINGSTON. + +We may be pretty certain,that the complaints of the settlers mentioned +by Livingston were not entirely unreasonable. They had not anticipated +the hardships before them and were ill prepared to grapple with them. +Probably the attractions of the River St. John had been represented in +an exaggerated form, a circumstance not unknown in the case of +promoters of colonization of a more recent date than that we are at +present considering. + +Peter Carr and Thomas Masterson, two of Livingston's tenants, settled +on the west side of the river opposite Musquash Island; both seem to +have proved good settlers. John Hendrick, one of Livingston's +"ungrateful fellows," was also a valuable settler; he was the father +of five sons and Major Studholme commended him in 1783 as "a good +subject, an old soldier and a very deserving man." Henry West, another +of Livingston's settlers, is also commended by Major Studholme as an +exceedingly good subject. + +Notwithstanding the efforts of individuals, the progress made by the +Saint John's River Society in the settling of their townships was +unsatisfactory, and about this time Hazen & Jarvis expressed their +conviction that half of the proprietors would not settle their lands +at all; they therefore desired Simonds & White to take such measures +as would secure their own Rights in Sunbury and New-Town as well as +those of Moses Hazen and Governor Thomas Hutchinson--that of the +latter having been lately purchased for Mr. Jarvis. Simonds & White +seem to have agreed with their partners as to the improbability of +settling the townships, for in July, 1770, they write: "The Society's +Lands will be forfeited if not settled this year. We think it best to +engage as many families, and fix them in Conway, as will secure our +whole interest on the River, if they can be had." This advice was +based on the opinion of the authorities at Halifax that settling the +required number of families in one township would quite as effectively +protect the interests of the grantees as if they were dispersed over +the several tracts. + + +APPENDIX. + + Halifax, 5th August, 1763. + + Sir,--We beg leave to trouble you with a memorial of a number of + officers and disbanded soldiers, who came from New England, and + are settled on St. John's River. We were sent to them lately as a + Committee of Council, by order of the Lieut.-Governor, to inform + them that they could have no Grant of the Lands they were upon, + and that they must remove therefrom, as these Lands were reserved + by His Majesty for disbanded Troops. However, we are very + apprehensive that their case must by some means or other have been + misrepresented to the Lords of Trade, or not clearly understood. + + They are chiefly American soldiers, officers or privates; they + have sold their Farms in New England, and have transported + themselves at their own expense; they have brought considerable + stock with them, and their Families, and if it is the intention of + the Ministry to settle disbanded Troops on that River, we are of + Opinion these people will be of use and service, as it cannot be + expected that English Soldiers can bring any great stock with + them. The removing these people now they are settled, will be + their utter ruin, the particular circumstances of which they have + set forth in their Memorial to the Lords of Trade, which we beg + the favor of you to present to them, and are with great Respect, + + Sir, your most obedient and very Humble Servts., + + Chas. Morris, + Henry Newton. + + Joshua Mauger, Esqr. + + + MEMORIAL. + + To the Right Honourable and Honourable the Lords of Commissioners + of Trade and Plantations: + + The Memorial of Francis Peabody, John Carlton, Jacob Barker, + Nicholas West and Israel Perley, late officers in the American + service and now Disbanded, In behalf of themselves and others + disbanded from the said service and now settled at St. John's + River in Nova Scotia, Humbly Sheweth:-- + + That your Memorialists, previous to their entering into his + Majesty's Service, among other Encouragements were induced thereto + by a Proclamation of his late Majesty promising that at the + Expiration of the service they should be entitled to a Grant of + Lands in any of his Majesty's colonies for them to Settle upon. + That they have many of them been in Service during this Present + war, and as Americans are not intitled to half pay, as his + Majesty's British Troops are, and therefore expected no other + Recompense than a Donation of Land agreeable to his late Majesty's + Promise to them. + + That having been sollicited to settle in Nova Scotia, by Colonel + McNutt, who appeared to us to be authorized by your Lordships, + having produced to us an Instrument Signed by your Lordships and + under seal promising a Right of Land to each Settler equal to + those already Granted to Horton, Cornwallis and Falmouth, we were + induced to come into the colony of Nova Scotia, and accordingly + sent a Committee of us to view Lands proper for a Settlement. That + our Committee accordingly viewed several Tracts of Lands in Nova + Scotia at our Expense and advised us to settle upon St. John's + River about seventy miles from the Mouth in one of the Extreme + parts and Frontiers of Nova Scotia, that we therefore applyed to + the Governor and Council of Nova Scotia for a Grant of the Lands, + not doubting of having the same confirmed to us, as they had + Granted several Townships in this Province of Nova Scotia to other + New England Proprietors who had not been in the Service. That the + Governour and Councill of Nova Scotia gave your Memorialists + encouragement, by telling your Memorialists that the Lands about + St. John's River were reserved by your Lordships for disbanded + Troops and that they would refer your Memorialists' Petition to + your Lordships. + + In confidence of this, and being ourselves Soldiers, we + apprehended we might with great safety prepare ourselves for + settling the Lands we Petitioned for, and accordingly sold our + Estates in New England, and have at near a Thousand Pounds + Sterling expence Transported ourselves, Families and Stock, and + are now Settled to the number of one Hundred persons, on St. + John's River seventy miles from the Mouth; and a large number of + disbanded officers and soldiers in confidence of the same + Encouragement have now sold all their Possessions in New England + and are hiring Vessels to Transport themselves and Settle among + us. + + We were not a little astonished when we were informed by his + Majesty's Governor and Council here that we could not have a Grant + of the Lands we have settled ourselves upon. + + We therefore humbly apply to your Lordships to Lay our Cause + before his most Gracious Majesty for whose service we have often + exposed our lives in America, that he would be pleased to direct + the Governor and Council here to Grant us these Lands, we are now + settled upon, as the Removal therefrom would prove our utter Ruin + and Destruction. We have been at no expence to the crown and + intend to be at none, and are settled two hundred miles from any + other English Settlement. + + And your Memorialists as in duty bound shall ever pray. + + Recd. & Read Decr. 16, 1763. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +THE FIRM OF HAZEN, JARVIS, SIMONDS & WHITE. + + +The circumstances under which James Simonds, William Hazen and their +associates organized the first trading company at St. John have been +already related. Their business contract was signed on the 1st of +March, 1764. In the course of a year or two the character of the +original company was essentially altered by the death of Richard +Simonds, the retirement of Samuel Blodget and Richard Peaslie and the +admission of Leonard Jarvis as a new partner. Questions had also +arisen as to the rights of the several partners in the lands granted +in 1765 to James Simonds, James White and Richard Simonds. In order to +settle these questions a new business contract was signed at +Newburyport, on the 16th April, 1767, by James Simonds, Leonard Jarvis +and William Hazen. The original contract is yet in existence amongst +the papers of the Hazen family. It is in the handwriting of Leonard +Jarvis and is a well worn document which bears marks of having been +repeatedly handled. This is not to be wondered at for this contract +proved a veritable storm-centre in the litigation that ensued relative +to the division of the lands between the partners. The legal +proceedings assumed various phases and occupied the attention of the +courts for a period of twenty years.[87] + + [87] The second contract, or Articles of Partnership, entered into by + William Hazen, Leonard Jarvis, James Simonds and James White + is printed in Collections of the N. B. Hist. Soc., Vol. I. p. + 191. It is entered also in the book of records of the old + County of Sunbury. The original document bears the following + certificate, "Registered by me March 9th, 1782, Ja. Simonds, + Dep'y Reg'r." + +Under the new contract Hazen and Jarvis were to have a half interest +in the business, James Simonds one-third and James White one-sixth, +and all the lands on the River St. John that had been granted to any +or either of the partners (Mr. Simonds' lot in Maugerville excepted) +were to be put into the common stock and divided in the following +proportions, namely, one-half to Hazen and Jarvis, one-third to +Simonds and one-sixth to White. The same division was to be made of +any lands that should thereafter be obtained by the members of the +company, either individually or collectively, during the continuance +of the partnership. + +Mr. Simonds sailed from St. John for Newburyport in the schooner +Eunice on the 4th March, 1767, but owing to head winds he was twenty +days in arriving at his destination. He submitted to Hazen and Jarvis +the accounts of the business at St. John for the three years of the +company's operations and then repaired to Haverhill, about fourteen +miles distant, to visit his relations. On his return he was +accompanied by his sister Sarah and by his young bride, Hannah +Peabody, who were about to settle with him at St. John. On his arrival +at the store of Hazen and Jarvis, the new contract was presented to +him for his signature. The proposition relative to the division of +lands led to "a warm altercation and dispute." Hazen and Jarvis +positively declined to continue in the business or to furnish supplies +unless they were allowed an interest in the lands. They stated +further that the goods on board the schooner Eunice should not leave +Newburyport, nor would they furnish anything for the spring trade but +insist upon immediate payment of the balance due them unless Mr. +Simonds should execute the contract. Much as he disliked the proposal +the situation of Mr. Simonds did not admit of delay. He was anxious to +settle his family at St. John, his workmen and tenants needed his +supervision and the Indian trade for the season would be lost unless +the goods on board the Eunice were delivered as speedily as possible. +Under these circumstances he deemed it best to sign the contract. +Hazen & Jarvis claimed the company were at this time indebted to them +in the sum of L3,135, but in the subsequent proceedings in the court +of chancery this was disputed by Mr. Simonds and the statements of the +parties interested are so much at variance that it is difficult to +determine the exact truth in the matter. + +James White declined to sign the new contract stating: + + "That having one-fourth part of the duties, trouble and services + to undergo and perform in transacting the business of the + Copartnership, yet he was by the said Contract entitled to + one-sixth part only of the lands to be divided under the contract. + But that, although he disliked as aforesaid his having no greater + share than one-sixth part in the Concern, he nevertheless joined + with James Simonds in carrying on the business in full confidence + that some equitable allowance would be made him for his services + over and above his proportion of the said profits and lands." + +On the occasion of James Simonds' visit to Halifax early in 1764 he +obtained a license to occupy ten acres of land at Portland Point for +carrying on the fishery and burning limestone, but it was not until +the 2nd October, 1765, that a grant was made to him, in conjunction +with his brother Richard, and James White, described as follows: + + "Beginning at a point of upland opposite to his (Simonds') House + and running East till it meets with a little Cove or River; thence + bounded by said Cove till it comes to a Red Head on the east side + of the Cove--thence running North eleven degrees fifteen minutes + west till it meets Canebekssis river, thence bounded by said + river, the river St. John and harbour till it comes to the first + mentioned boundary." + +The bounds of this tract are shown in the accompanying plan. It was +supposed to contain 2,000 acres "more or less," but in reality it +contained upwards of 5,000 acres. Elias Hardy in 1785 claimed that the +grant must have originated in misrepresentation, either in the +application or survey, otherwise the quantity could not have been so +much mistaken. To this Ward Chipman replied that the land had never +been actually surveyed, but making allowance for lakes, sunken and +broken ground, etc., it was supposed not to contain much if any more +than the number of acres mentioned in the grant. The grant was made in +accordance with the return of the surveyor describing its boundaries +and expressing them to be "with allowance for bad lands, containing in +the whole by estimation 2,000 acres more or less." Chipman adds, "no +misrepresentation can well be supposed to have taken place at the time +of passing this Grant when the lands upon the river St. Johns were +considered as of very little value and there could be no inducement to +such a step." + +However, in view of the fact that when surveyed the grant was found to +contain 5,496 acres, it must be admitted that the allowance for "bad +lands" was tolerably liberal, and the grantees were fortunate to +escape without the loss of at least half of their property. The line +running from Mr. Simonds' house eastward to Courtenay Bay is that now +followed by Union street. It will be observed that the peninsula south +of this street which now contains the business part of the city of St. +John, and which was laid out for the Loyalists in 1783 as Parr-town, +was not included in the grant. The primary object of the grantees was +evidently to obtain possession of the limestone quarries and the big +marsh, and they probably deemed the land south of Union street to be +hardly worth the quit rents. + +[Illustration: Plan of Grants to Simonds & White] + +The first grant at the mouth of the River St. John included only +a small part of the great marsh--then called by the Indians, +Sebaskastaggan--and a further tract in that locality was applied +for by James Simonds in a memorial to the government of Nova Scotia. +The memorial stated that James and Richard Simonds and James White +had obtained a grant of 2,000 acres of mountainous and broken +land at the mouth of the River Saint John in the year 1765, which +had been improved by building houses, a saw mill and lime kiln, +and the company had settled upwards of thirty people on it who were +engaged in carrying on those two branches of business, but that +the wood and timber so necessary for them was all consumed, +therefore praying that 2,000 acres additional to the eastward of +the said tract might be granted to the said James Simonds. + +It can scarcely be believed that all the wood from the harbor of St. +John to the Kennebeccasis had been consumed in the five years of the +company's operations at Portland Point. But probably the lumber in the +vicinity of the saw-mill and the wood most convenient to the lime +kilns had been cut and this was sufficient to afford a pretext for +another grant. Mr. Simonds' memorial was considered by the Governor in +Council December 18, 1769, and approved. The grant did not issue till +May 1, 1770. The bounds are thus described: + + "Beginning at a Red Head in a little Bay or cove to the eastward + of the Harbor at the mouth of Saint John's River described in a + former grant to James Simonds in the year 1765, being the south + eastern bound of the said grant, thence to run north 75 degrees + east 170 chains, thence north 15 degrees west 160 chains or until + it meets the river Kennebeccasis, and from thence to run westerly + until it meets the north eastern bound of the former grant." + +The boundaries of the second grant may be readily traced on the plan. +Like the former grant it included a good deal more than the 2,000 +acres it was supposed to contain, and in this case, too, the grant +escaped curtailment. The grant was in the name of James Simonds, but +the other partners relied upon the clause in their business contract +as a sufficient guarantee of their interests. + +It must be admitted that as the first adventurers to settle in an +exposed and at times perilous situation the first grantees of the +lands at the mouth of the River St. John were entitled to special +consideration. James Simonds had to make repeated visits to Halifax in +connection with the business at St. John and these visits were +sometimes attended with risk as will be seen from the following +extract of one of his earliest letters. + + Halifax, Oct'r 1st, 1764. + + "Last night arrived here after four days passage from St. + John's--the first 24 hours were at sea in a severe storm, the + second passed a place called the Masquerades where there was seas + and whirlpools enough to have foundered the largest ships--we were + providentially saved with the loss of all our cable and anchor + endeavoring to ride at anchor till the tide slacked, but in vain. + It was unlucky for us that we happened to fall in with that + tremendous place in the strength of flood tide in the highest + spring tide that has been this year. Gentlemen here say it is + presumptuous to attempt to return the same way at this season in + an open boat; but as the boat and men are at Pisiquit (Windsor), + and I have no other way to get to St. John in season for my + business this fall, shall get our business done here as soon as + may be and return the same way I came. The plea of the above + difficulty will have a greater weight than any other to have + business finished here immediately. This morning I waited on the + Governor, Secretary and all officers concerned in granting + license, etc., who assure me that my request shall be granted + directly so that I hope to be on my way to St. John's tomorrow." + +We cannot but admire the courage and enterprise of a man who after so +fatiguing and perilous a journey, was ready, on the second day after +his arrival in Halifax, to remount his horse and travel forty-odd +miles over a very rough road to Windsor to face again the perils of +the Bay of Fundy in an open boat at a stormy season. + +The establishment of Fort Frederick on the west side of the Harbor of +St. John, by Brig. General Monckton, in the fall of the year 1759, +contributed not a little to the advantage of the first settlers. The +Indians were disposed to be troublesome to the English, and the +presence of the garrison rendered their situation less lonely and +added very greatly to their sense of security. Not only so, but the +garrison brought quite an amount of business to the store of Simonds & +White. In the old accounts of the year 1764 are to be found the names +of Lieut. Gilfred Studholme of the 40th Regt., Lieut. John Marr and +Commissary Henry Green. Captain Pierce Butler, of the 29th Regt., was +in command at Fort Frederick the following year and his name also +appears in the accounts. For a year or two after the fort was +established the garrison was furnished by the provincial troops of +Massachusetts, afterwards by detachments of British regiments under +various commanders. In addition to the trade with the officers and +soldiers, Simonds & White furnished wood and other supplies to the +garrison, and doubtless it was not the least satisfactory incident in +this connection that the pay-master was "John Bull." The Indians were +unreliable customers and bad debts were not infrequent, the white +settlers on the river had but little money and their pay was chiefly +in shingles, staves, spars, clapboards, musquash and beaver skins; +John Bull paid cash. + +About three years after the arrival of Simonds and White at St. John +their trade with the garrison was interrupted by the removal of the +troops to Boston in consequence of some riots in connection with +the enforcement of the Stamp Act. Mr. Simonds speaks of this +circumstance in a letter dated July 25, 1768, in which he writes: +"The troops are withdrawn from all the outposts in the Province +and sent to Boston to quell the mob. The charge of Fort Frederick +is committed to me, which I accepted to prevent another person +being appointed who would be a trader. I don't know but I must +reside in the Garrison, but the privilege of the fisheries on that +side of the River and the use of the King's boats will be more than +an equivalent for the inconvenience." The defenceless condition of +the port of St. John brought disaster to the settlers there some +years later, but of this we shall hear more by and by. + +The names of most of the heads of families settled at Maugerville +appear in the earlier account books of Simonds & White, and later we +have those of the settlers at Gagetown, Burton and St. Anns. In the +course of time branches of the company's business seem to have been +established at convenient centres up the river, and their account +books contain the invoices of goods shipped to Peter Carr, who lived +just below Gagetown, to Jabez Nevers of Maugerville, and to Benjamin +Atherton at St. Ann's Point. The goods appear to have been sold on +commission and returns were made chiefly in lumber, furs and produce. +The invoices of goods shipped to Hazen & Jarvis at Newburyport by +Simonds & White included pine boards, shingles, clapboards, cedar +posts, spars and cordwood, besides some 50,000 white and red oak +staves, most of these articles having been taken in trade with the +settlers on the river. Messrs. Hazen & Jarvis carried on quite an +extensive trade with the West Indies where, in consequence of the +manufacture of rum and molasses, there was a large demand for +hogshead and barrel staves, these were obtainable in considerable +quantities on the River St. John, and the terms at which they were +purchased may be seen in the following agreement:-- + + "St. Johns River, Nov'r. 10th, 1772. + + "It is agreed between Simonds & White on the one part and Joseph + Garrison & William Saunders on the other, that the said Garrison & + Saunders make and lay at the bank of the said River, at convenient + place to load on board a vessel, five thousand of White Oak barrel + staves and the same number of White Oak hogshead staves, the + hogshead staves to be well shaved and both to be merchantable + according to the laws of Massachusetts Bay, for which the said + Simonds & White are to pay, for Barrel Staves twenty-five + shillings for each thousand and for the Hogshead forty shillings; + the said staves to be ready by the 20th day of April next and at + farthest to be received by the 20th day of June. + + "To the performance of the above agreement each of the parties + hereby bind themselves to each other in the sum of Twenty pounds + currency, to be paid in default of fulfilment of either + party. "Witness our hands, + + JOSEPH GARRISON, + WM. SAUNDERS, + SIMONDS & WHITE." + +Joseph Garrison it may be observed was the grandfather of William +Lloyd Garrison, the celebrated advocate of the abolition of slavery. +He was one of the original grantees of Maugerville, and drew lot No. +4, opposite Middle Island in Upper Sheffield. He was on the River St. +John as early at least as July, 1764, and is said to have been the +first of the English speaking race to work the coal mines at Grand +Lake. Another early miner was Edmund Price of Gagetown, who in the +year 1775 delivered nine chaldrons of coal, to Simonds & White for +which they allowed him 20 shillings per chaldron. + +Nearly all the settlers on the river obtained their goods from the old +trading company at Portland Point, and for their accommodation the +little schooner "Polly" made frequent trips to Maugerville and St. +Anns. Inspection of the old accounts shows that on the occasion of a +trip up the river in May, 1773, goods were sold to thirty families at +various points along the way. In November, 1775, goods were sold in +like manner to more than forty families. At that time there were to be +found in the company's day book the names of 120 customers, nearly all +of them heads of families. Of these, 25 were residents at Portland +Point, 20 lived across the harbor in Conway, 45 belonged to +Maugerville, 20 to other townships up the river and ten were casual +visitors, fishermen and traders. + +The partners amidst all their variety of business continued to make +improvements upon their lands at St. John. They cleared up the Great +Marsh and cut hay there, for in June, 1768, Mr. Simonds writes to +Newburyport, "Please send half a dozen Salem scythes; Haskel's tools +are entirely out of credit here; it would be a sufficient excuse for a +hired man to do but half a day's work in a day if he was furnished +with an axe or scythe of that stamp." The next year plans were +discussed for the general improvement of the marsh, and a number of +indigent Acadians were employed to assist in the construction of a +"Running Dike" and aboideau. These Acadians probably lived at French +Village, near the Kennebecasis, and the fact that they had some +experience in dykeing marsh lands shows that they were refugees from +the Expulsion of 1755. The situation of the first dyke was not, as +now, at the mouth of the Marsh Creek but at a place nearly opposite +the gate of the cemetery, where the lake-like expansion of the Marsh +begins. The work was completed in August, 1774, by the construction of +an aboideau. Those employed in the work were the company's laborers, +six or eight Acadians and a number of the Maugerville people--about +twenty-five hands in all. William Hazen was at St. John that summer +and he and James White gave their personal attendance, "not in +overseeing the work only but in the active and laborious parts +thereof," the company providing the implements, tools, carts, several +teams of oxen, gundolas and other boats, materials and supplies of +every kind including rum for the workmen. This dyke and aboideau +served the purpose of shutting out the tide from about 600 acres of +marsh land. Ten years later Hazen & White built a new aboideau a +little above the first one which had fallen into disrepair. A much +better one than either was built at the mouth of the creek in 1788 by +James Simonds at a cost of L1,300. The House of Assembly voted L100 +towards building a bridge at the place and Mr. Simonds agreed to erect +a structure to serve the double purpose of a public bridge and +aboideau. The width of the structure was 75 feet at the bottom and 25 +feet at the top. Not long afterwards Mr. Simonds built here two tide +saw-mills. These were not a profitable investment, and in 1812 one had +fallen into total decay while the other was so much out of repair as +to be of little benefit to its owner. + +After the first Marsh Bridge had been in existence about twenty-five +years there arose a controversy as to what proportion of the cost of +repairs should be borne respectively by the province, the City of St. +John and the proprietors of the marsh. This controversy has continued +to crop up at regular intervals during the last century and the end is +not yet. + +When the Loyalists arrived in 1783 the dyked marsh lands produced +about 400 tons of hay, but it was said that "if tilled and ditched +they would produce much more." Today the marsh raises at least four +times the quantity of hay named above. + +After building the first running dyke in 1769, Hazen, Simonds and +White continued to devote considerable attention to the task of +reclaiming and improving the marsh. In order to have ready access a +road was laid out running back of Fort Howe hill and along Mount +Pleasant to the marsh. Not far from the present station at Coldbrook +they built a house with hovels for cattle and put up fences and +settled a family there. A few years later they built two more houses +and settled two more families there, each with a stock of cattle. The +first tenants on the marsh were Stephen Dow, Silas Parker and Jabez +Salisbury. The houses built for their accommodation cost from L15 to +L20 apiece. About this time or a little later a small grist mill was +built at the outlet of Lily Lake. + +One of the inducements that led James Simonds to fix upon the harbor +of St. John as a place of settlement was the abundance and excellent +quality of the limestone there and its convenience for shipment. The +license of occupation given under the hand of Governor Montagu Wilmot +on the 8th of February, 1764, was in the terms following: + +"License is hereby granted to James Simonds to occupy a tract or point +on the north side of St. John's River, opposite Fort Frederick, for +carrying on a fishery and for burning limestone, the said tract or +point containing by estimation ten acres." Soon after the formation of +the trading company in the course of the same year, the manufacture of +lime became an object of consideration. Some reference has been made +already in these chapters to the progress of the industry. + +The company had four lime kilns, the situation of which will be best +understood by reference to modern land marks. One was at the base of +Fort Howe hill at the head of Portland street, a second near the site +of St. Luke's church, a third near the present suspension bridge, and +a fourth on the road leading to the old "Indian House." The work of +quarrying and burning limestone was carried on in a very primitive +fashion by the laborers of the company. In the winter a number of them +were employed in quarrying the stone and hauling it with oxen to the +kilns. The wood needed for burning grew almost at the spot where it +was wanted, and its cutting served to clear the land as well as to +provide the fuel necessary. In the course of ten years Simonds & White +shipped to Newburyport and Boston more than 3,500 hogsheads of lime +for which they received four dollars per cask; they also sent lime to +Halifax, Cornwallis and other places in Nova Scotia. The facilities +for manufacturing in those days were very inadequate, the men lacked +experience, casks were hard to get, and for a time the lack of a wharf +and warehouse caused much delay in the shipment. + +And now a word as to the present condition of the lime industry at St. +John. It cannot be questioned that the splendid quality of the +limestone, its vast abundance, its convenient situation for shipment +and the abundance and cheapness of the fuel needed, clearly prove that +the manufacture of lime is destined yet to become an important +industry in this community. Fifteen years ago the industry was rapidly +developing, when the McKinley tariff and the Dingley bill completely +excluded the St. John manufacturers from the United States market +which passed into the hands of their rivals of Rockland, Maine. It is, +however, only a question of time when there will be a removal of the +prohibitive tariff in the interests of United States consumers, and +this will be hastened as the deposits of limestone at Rockland are +exhausted. This circumstance, together with the increasing demands of +the Canadian market, will cause the manufacture of lime at St. John to +become eventually an industry as great as that of shipbuilding in its +palmiest days. + +About the year 1888 the prospects of the St. John lime burners seemed +particularly bright. Extensive operations were being carried on at +Randolph, Robertson's Point, South Bay, Glencoe, Adelaide Road, +Brookville and Drury's Cove. Probably at least 400 men were employed +and a dozen draw kilns and twenty square kilns were in operation. In +order to show the prospective development of that which in the time of +Simonds & White was an infantile industry, it may be stated that the +capacity of the draw kiln is from 70 to 100 barrels of lime every +twenty-four hours, while that of the square kiln is about 400 barrels +per week. The draw kiln is more expensive in construction than the +other, but its capacity is greater, and it is not necessary to +extinguish the fire, the lime being drawn out as it is burned and +fresh stone put in. At several of the lime kilns at the Narrows, above +Indiantown, the facilities are unrivalled. The stone is quarried from +the cliff a few rods from the kiln, dumped in at the top by cart or +wheelbarrow, drawn out at the bottom at the water's level and loaded +on scows. The wood for the kiln grows on the surrounding hillsides or +may be obtained from the saw-mills in the vicinity at nominal cost. At +the time the manufacture of lime was interfered with by the McKinley +bill, the following persons were actively concerned in the development +of the industry: Hornbrook and Wm. Lawlor & Son at Brookville, Jewett +& Co. at Drury's Cove, Isaac Stevens and A. L. Bonnell at South Bay, +Frank Armstrong and J. & F. Armstrong at the Narrows, Hayford & +Stetson at Glencoe above Indiantown, Charles Miller at Robertson's +Point, Randolph & Baker at Randolph, W. D. Morrow and Purdy & Green on +the Adelaide Road. + +It is impossible with the data on hand to form any proper estimate of +the quantity of lime manufactured by these firms, but it may be stated +that in the year 1887, Hayford & Stetson alone expected to burn 50,000 +barrels in their draw kilns at Indiantown and 30,000 barrels in their +square kilns. In the work of quarrying the use of the steam drill was +then being introduced. Perhaps there is no better way of contrasting +modern methods with the methods of those who first embarked in the +industry one hundred and forty years ago, and at the same time showing +the difficulties with which the pioneers had to contend, than by +giving extracts from James Simonds letters to Hazen & Jarvis. + + St. John's River, 27th May, 1765. + + Gentlemen:--I Rec'd yours of 3d. of April the 1st inst., and of + the 18th on the 9th inst. [The letters came by the schooner + "Polly" and the schooner "Wilmot."] The schr. Polly was dispatched + immediately fishing: she is now near loaded. I am sorry the same + dispatch could not be made with the schr. Wilmot. A cargo of Lime + could not be prepared before hand for want of Oxen to draw wood. + Have had bad luck in burning the Lime, the wood being wet, as the + snow was but just off the ground. One-third of the kiln is not + burnt. * * * If you can get freight to this place, we believe it + will be best to keep the schooner [Wilmot] constantly running + between here and Newburyport. If the Lime answers well can burn + any quantity whatever. The want of Hhds. is the greatest + difficulty, the want of a house to cover it the next. + + "I doubt not of your making the greatest dispatch in all business + relating to this concern, and wish I could make you sensible of + the disadvantages we are under to do the same. I thank you for the + willingness you express to relieve me and that you think there is + any difficulty to go through in these parts. You may depend upon + it that no pains will be spared in this quarter to make the + Concern advantageous. * * * I shall be extremely glad to wait upon + Mr. Hazen when the schooner returns. + + "Have been obliged to credit the inhabitants up the River to the + amount of a considerable sum, which is to be paid part in furs and + part in lumber (the lumber is not brought down). The Officers and + Soldiers supplies and wooding the garrison is to be paid by a + draft on the pay-master at Halifax. * * * Since the lime is all + put in hogsheads I find there is near seventy (empty) hogsheads + remains. They chiefly want one head each--twenty or thirty more + will be sufficient for another kiln. If you send the Schr. + directly back, boards must be sent for heads, and should think it + would be best to send 100 refuse shook hogsheads for a third kiln + with boards for heads and hoops, as they cannot be had here, also + 5 M. boards to cover a frame that is now decaying and will serve + for a Lime House and Barn. Have borrowed 12 C. boards of Mr. Green + (of the garrison). Shall have a kiln ready to set fire to in three + weeks after the Schr. sails. Dispatch in shipping lime can never + be made without a Lime house to have it ready when any vessel + arrives. * * * + + In Great haste, I am, Gentlemen, + Yr. Most Obedient & Humble Servt, + JAS. SIMONDS. + + To Messrs. Hazen & Jarvis. + +In the year 1769 the company built a wharf and warehouse at Portland +Point. Their work was often interfered with by the nature of the +season, the winters then, as now, being exceedingly variable. Mr. +Simonds writes, under date March 6, 1769:-- + + "Have had but little snow this winter, but few days that the + ground has been covered. Have got to the water side a large + quantity of wood and wharf logs; about 300 Hogshead Lime Stone to + the Kiln, and should have had much more if there had been snow. + Our men have been so froze and wounded that we have not had more + than three men's constant labour to do this and sled sixty loads + of hay from the marsh, saw boards for casks, look after cattle and + draw firewood. Shall continue drawing or draging wood and stone as + long as the ground is frozen, and then cut the timber for a + schooner and boat stone for a Lime Kiln, which with the wharf will + take 400 tons." + +The next winter was of a different sort, for Mr. Simonds writes on May +10, 1770, "This spring has been so backward that there has been no +possibility of burning any lime. The piles of wood and stone are now +frozen together." The next winter was extremely mild, and Mr. Simonds +writes on February 18, 1771, "There has not been one day's sledding +this winter, and the season is so far advanced there cannot be much +more than enough to get the hay from the marsh; but shall haul logs to +finish the wharf and for plank for Fish Cisterns if it can by any +means be done." + +The popular idea that the climate of this Province was much more +severe in ancient than in modern days is not borne out by the +correspondence of Simonds & White with Hazen & Jarvis. From it we +learn that 140 years ago the navigation of the River St. John, as now, +opened early in April, and that the river could be relied on as a +winter route of communication to St. Anns "only between the first of +January and the last of February and then many times difficult." In +the extracts just quoted Mr. Simonds states that during the winter of +1769 there had been but few days that the ground was covered with +snow, and two years later he says that up to the 18th of February +there had not been a single day's sledding. This testimony does not at +all accord with the popular idea of an old-fashioned winter. It is not +likely that there have been any material changes in the climate of +this region since the days of Champlain, and this conclusion is +strengthened by the fact that the weather reports made to the Dominion +government since the time of Confederation do not indicate any +alteration in our climatic conditions during the last 35 years. + +The first Business Contract under which William Hazen, James Simonds, +James White and their associates engaged in business at the River St. +John was signed on March 1st, 1764. The members of the company +immediately proceeded to engage their workmen and a very interesting +illustration of the way they set about it has been preserved in an old +indenture dated 13th March, 1764, in which James Simonds, "trader," +made agreement with one Edmund Black of Haverhill, "bricklayer," to +pay the said Black L16. 16s. for eight months labor at brickmaking, +fishing, burning lime, or any other common or ordinary work at +Passamaquoddy, St. John, Annapolis Royal or any other part of Nova +Scotia, in the Bay of Fundy. In addition to his pay, at the rate L2. +2s. per month, Mr. Simonds agreed to furnish Black with "suitable +victuals and drink and lodging." + +The exact date of the arrival of Simonds and White, and their party at +St. John is put beyond doubt by the following memorandum in Mr. +White's handwriting, found by the author among a collection of old +papers: "Haverhill, New England, 1764. Set off for River St. John, +Nova Scotia, 1st day of April--Arrived 16th April." + +By the second business contract, entered into by William Hazen, +Leonard Jarvis and James Simonds on the 16th April, 1767, it was +provided that "all trade and business in Nova Scotia shall be done and +transacted by James Simonds and James White and whatever business is +to be transacted at Newbury-Port shall be transacted by William Hazen +and Leonard Jarvis." The remittances of Simonds & White consisted for +the most part of fish, furs, lime and lumber and were at first sent to +Newburyport, but it was soon found to the advantage of the company +that remittances should be made to Boston where Leonard Jarvis went to +dispose of them and to forward supplies needed at St. John. This was +the commencement of St. John's trade with Boston. There was no market +for the Spring catch of Alewives (or Gasperaux) at Newburyport, so +they were usually sent to Boston. Seven eighths of the furs and a +large proportion of the lime and lumber were also sold in Boston. + +As might reasonably be expected the first outlay of the company was +comparatively large while the returns were small, but as time went on +the remittances from St. John gradually increased and the outlay for +supplies slightly diminished. During the earlier years of the +partnership attention was given to deep water fishing, and large +quantities of cod and pollock were taken in the Bay of Fundy and at +Passamaquoddy, but this branch of business was eventually discontinued +and greater attention paid to the shore fisheries in which weirs were +used to good advantage. In the first seven years of their operations +the Company sent 745 barrels of Gaspereaux to Boston, but in the next +four years more than 3,000 barrels were shipped. + +About the close of the year 1775 the Revolutionary war put an end to +all trade with New England and the business of Hazen, Jarvis, Simonds +& White as a company practically ceased. In the course of the dozen +years of their operations, the goods and supplies received at St. John +from Boston and Newburyport amounted in value to at least $100,000. +The partners were not agreed as to the general results of the +business; Mr. Simonds claimed that the receipts had more than repaid +the outlay, while Hazen & Jarvis contended that no money had been made +but that there had probably been a loss. + +During the continuance of the business, 72 cargoes of goods and +supplies were sent to St. John, an average of six cargoes per annum. +The value of goods and outfit sent the first season amounted to +L3,891. 16s. 0-1/2d. The value of goods and supplies furnished under +the first business contract, which lasted only three years, was +L6,850. 9s. 10d. Messrs. Blodget, Peaslie and Simonds, jr., then cease +to be concerned in the business and the partners under the second +contract were Hazen, Jarvis, Simonds and White. + +As early as the second year of their operations at St. John, Hazen & +Jarvis began to feel the large outlay they had made and wrote, under +date May 23, 1766, to Simonds & White, "We must beg you will do all in +your power to remit us largely this summer. By having such a stock +with you we are much straitened for cash, and we are sometimes obliged +to do our business to a disadvantage." + +Not long afterwards Hazen & Jarvis were unfortunate in their +mercantile transactions at Newburyport and this, together with the +loss of some of their vessels, made it necessary for them to take +special care of their interests at St. John, consequently after the +signing of the second business contract William Hazen came frequently +to St. John. Early in 1771 he determined to discontinue business +altogether at Newburyport and remove to St. John with his family. +James White says that it was the wish of both Mr. Simonds and himself +that Mr. Hazen should settle near them, making choice of such +situation as he might deem agreeable to his taste, but that as the +partnership business was drawing to a close the house to be erected +should be built with his own money. Mr. Hazen made his choice of +situation and built his house accordingly. + +In the evidence given in the law suit concerning the division of the +lands obtained from time to time by the company, James Simonds states +that so far as the business at St. John was concerned Mr. Hazen's +presence was not needed since the business was conducted there by +himself and James White when there was five times as much to be done. +To this Mr. Hazen replies that Mr. Simonds' letter of July, 1770, +speaks a different language,[88] and he quotes figures to show that +while for the first four years after the signing of the second +contract the value of the supplies sent to St. John was L8,053 and the +remittances from St. John L7,650; leaving a deficit in the business of +L403; during the next four years, when he (Hazen) spent a large part +of his time at St. John, the cost of supplies was L6,803 and the +remittances L8,245, showing a surplus of L1,442; a difference of +L1,845 in favor of his being at St. John. + + [88] This letter has unfortunately been lost. + +When William Hazen decided to take up his residence at St. John in +order more effectually to promote the interests of the company by +superintending, in conjunction with Simonds and White the various +operations that were being carried on there, his partner Leonard +Jarvis removed to a place called Dartmouth, one hundred miles from +Newburyport, leaving his investment in the business untouched so as +not to embarrass the company at a critical time. The supplies required +at St. John were now furnished by his brother, Samuel Gardiner Jarvis, +of Boston. + +As will presently appear, fortune did not smile upon the removal of +William Hazen and his family from their comfortable home in +Newburyport to the rugged hillsides of St. John. However, Mr. Hazen +was a man of resolution and enterprise, and having once made up his +mind in regard to a step of so much importance was not likely to be +easily discouraged. He at once began to make preparations for the +accommodation of his family by building a house of greater pretensions +than any that had yet been erected at Portland Point. + +The first known reference to the Hazen house is found in a letter +dated Feb.'y 18th, 1771, in which James Simonds writes, "We shall cut +Mr. Hazen's frame in some place near the water where it may be rafted +at any time." The house was erected in July following by the company's +carpenters and laborers. When nearly finished it was unfortunately +destroyed by fire. A new house was begun the next year, which like the +other was built at Mr. Hazen's expense by the company's carpenters and +laborers. + +As soon as the house was ready for occupation Mr. Hazen repaired to +Newburyport to bring on his family, and in the month of May, 1775, +they embarked in the Company's sloop Merrimack of 80 tons. Mr. Hazen's +tribulations were by no means ended, for on the voyage the Merrimack +was unluckily cast away on Fox Island and a good deal of her cargo, +together with papers containing accounts of the Company's business, +was lost. However, all the passengers were saved, as well as most of +their valuables, and were brought to St. John in Captain Drinkwater's +sloop. Drinkwater was obliged to throw overboard a load of cordwood to +make room for the rescued passengers and crew and their possessions. +For this he was of course remunerated by the Company. The Hazen family +proved a great addition to the limited society of Portland Point. We +learn from an enumeration of the inhabitants made this year that the +Hazen household included 4 men, 3 women, 3 boys and 2 girls, 12 in +all. Mr. Hazen's nephew, John, who subsequently removed to Oromocto, +was one of the family at that time. With such a family to provide for +the grocery bill at the Company's store grew rapidly. The first item +charged to the account of the household after their arrival was 67 +lbs. of moose meat at 1d. per lb.; and it is of interest to notice +that beef was then quoted at 2d. per lb., or double the price of moose +meat. It is altogether likely that with the Hazens moose steak was a +much greater rarity on their arrival than it subsequently became, for +at the time it was one of the staple articles of food and almost any +settler who wanted fresh meat could obtain it by loading his musket +and going to the woods. + +[Illustration: OLD HAZEN HOUSE AND GROUNDS. + +This illustration is taken from a water color sketch of +St. John now in possession of Mrs. William Hazen. The original sketch was +made by a member of the Hazen family more than eighty years ago. In the +foreground appears the Hazen house, square and substantial, and nearly in +line with and beyond it is the Chipman house, overlooking the valley; +these two houses are the oldest now standing in the city. To the right of +the Chipman house may be seen the Block-house, which formerly stood at +the corner of King and Wentworth streets. Still further to the right is +the old wind-mill tower, where the Dufferin Hotel now stands, and to the +right of this is old Trinity Church before its first spire was destroyed +by fire.] + +The Hazen house still stands, considerably modernized it is true, at +the corner of Simonds and Brook streets, having withstood the ravages +of time and escaped the numerous conflagrations that have occurred in +the vicinity for more than 130 years. The present foundation is new +with the exception of the stone wall on Brook street which formed +part of the original foundation. The roof formerly pitched four ways, +running up to a peak in the centre. Some of the old studs, lately cut +out to admit of the placing of new windows, were found to be merely +spruce poles flattened on two sides with an axe; the boards too are +roughly sawn. The sheathing of the house has all been renewed and an +ell, which used to extend up Simonds street, has been taken down. The +lower flat is at present used as a grocery, the upper flat as a hall. +In olden times, and for many years, Mr. Hazen's garden and grounds +extended to the water. His residence was by far the best and most +substantial yet erected at Portland--indeed in early days it was +considered quite a mansion. The exact date of its erection, curiously +enough, has been preserved. An entry in the old day book in James +White's handwriting reads thus:-- + +"Nov'r 17, 1773--Wm. Hazen Dr. To 4 Gall. W. I. Rum, 3 lb. Sugar, 3 +Qts. N. E. Rum, Dinner, &c., &c., 25 shillings--for Raising his +House!" + +The entry shows that old time customs prevailed on the day of the +"raising." It doubtless was quite a gala day in the settlement with +everybody there to help and share in the refreshments provided. + +The removal of William Hazen and his family from Newburyport to Saint +John had been planned, as already stated, several years before it was +carried into effect. It was not in any way influenced by the +threatening war clouds which at that time hung low in the sky. Mr. +Hazen's departure from Newburyport, however, was nearly coincident +with the clash of arms at Lexington, and it was not long ere the +events of the war between the old colonies and the mother country +closed the ports of Massachusetts. This unfortunate circumstance +interfered greatly with the business of Hazen, Simonds and White at +St. John. + +The retirement of Leonard Jarvis from the company necessitated a new +business arrangement on the part of the remaining partners, and in +May, 1773, a verbal agreement was made between Hazen, Simonds and +White to carry on the fishery and trading in the proportions of a half +interest to William Hazen a third to James Simonds, and a sixth to +James White. + +There is in one of the old account books an interesting memorandum in +the handwriting of James Simonds, covering several pages, which shows +that the company had then a large and varied assortment of goods on +hand. The list bears the following heading: "Invoice of Goods removed +from the Old to the New Store, July 21st, 1775." The "new store" was +finished about the time of Mr. Hazen's arrival; it stood a little to +the west of the first store built at the Point. + +Among the buildings at Portland Point when the Hazen family arrived +were the residences of the three partners, the Lime Store, the Salt +Store--or Cooper's Shop, the Log Store, the New Store, a blacksmith +shop, two or three small dwelling houses and one or two barns, besides +a saw mill at the outlet of the mill pond, a grist mill at Lily Lake, +and one or two hovels on the marsh. The English-speaking population +settled around the shores of the harbor did not exceed one hundred and +fifty souls. Our authority on this point is indisputable. Two +documents are preserved amongst the archives at Halifax, one entitled +"A Return of the State of the Settlement at the mouth of the Harbour +of the River St. John the First day August, A. D. 1775"; the other, +"A Return of the state of the Township of Conway on the western side +of the Harbour and River St. John on First of August, 1775." The list +of inhabitants given below is compiled from these returns and shows +that the number of persons living on the opposite sides of the harbor +was nearly equal, namely, on the east side seventy and on the west +side seventy-two. The enumeration seems to have been made by James +Simonds. + + PORTLAND POINT. + + Name of Master or Mistress + of the Family. Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total. + James Simonds 4 1 4 3 12 + James White 4 1 1 4 10 + William Hazen 4 3 3 2 12 + George DeBlois 1 1 1 .. 3 + Robert Cram 1 1 1 7 10 + Zebulon Rowe 1 1 .. 2 4 + John Nason 1 1 2 3 7 + John Mack 1 .. .. .. 1 + Lemuel Cleveland 1 1 1 1 4 + Christopher Blake 1 1 .. 2 4 + Moses Greenough 1 1 1 .. 3 + -- -- -- -- -- + 20 12 14 24 70 + + CONWAY. + + Name of Master or Mistress + of the Family. Men. Women. Boys. Girls. Total. + Hugh Quinton 2 2 2 4 10 + Jonathan Leavitt 1 1 1 .. 3 + Daniel Leavitt 1 .. .. .. 1 + Samuel Peabody 1 1 1 2 5 + William McKeen 2 1 5 1 9 + Thomas Jenkins 1 1 3 .. 5 + Moses Kimball 1 1 .. .. 2 + Elijah Estabrooks 1 1 3 3 8 + John Bradley 1 1 2 4 8 + James Woodman 2 .. .. .. 2 + Zebedee Ring 2 1 2 1 6 + Gervas Say 1 1 .. .. 2 + Samuel Abbott 1 .. .. .. 1 + Christopher Cross 1 1 .. .. 2 + John Knap 1 .. .. .. 1 + Eliakim Ayer 1 .. .. 1 2 + Joseph Rowe 1 1 1 2 5 + -- -- -- -- -- + 21 13 20 18 72 + +Both of these little communities were of purely New England origin for +it appears from Mr. Simonds' return that every individual at Portland +Point, with the solitary exception of an Irishman, was a native of +America, and at Conway all the inhabitants, save two of English +nationality, were born in America. The Conway people, it will hardly +be necessary to remind the reader, lived in the district now occupied +by Carleton, Fairville and adjacent parts of the parish of Lancaster. +At the time of the census they had 2 horses--both owned by Hugh +Quinton, 13 oxen and bulls, 32 cows, 44 young cattle, 40 sheep and 17 +swine; total number of domestic animals, 148. On the other side of the +harbor Hazen, Simonds and White were the owners of 57 horses and +mules, 18 oxen and bulls, 30 cows, 35 young cattle, 40 sheep and 6 +swine; the other settlers owned 8 cows, 4 young cattle, 4 sheep and 6 +swine; total number of domestic animals on the east side, 208. + +It will be noticed that the names of all the adult male inhabitants do +not appear in the census lists of 1775; in the case of the households +of Messrs. Simonds, White and Hazen, for example, twelve males are +returned. These included either relatives such as John Hazen and +Stephen Peabody, who are known to have been then living at St. John, +or employes and servants who lived with their masters--among the +latter were probably Samuel Beverley, Levi Ring, Jonathan Clough, +Jacob Johnson, Edmund Black, Reuben Harbut and Michael Kelly. + +Quite a number of the settlers in Conway were employed by the company +in various capacities, and as they were nearly all tenants of Hazen, +Simonds and White they generally traded at the Portland Point store. +These people suffered severely at the hands of American privateersmen +as the war progressed, and most of them were forced to abandon their +homes and move up the river for greater security. + +In the years 1776 and 1777, business being nearly at a stand in +consequence of the war and the stock of goods at Portland Point much +diminished, it was agreed that James White should take charge of the +store and keep the books at a commission of five per cent. His sales +during the two years amounted to L3,150. + +The war of the American Revolution was at the outset a source of +intense disappointment to Hazen, Simonds and White, although in the +end it was destined to prove the making of their fortunes by sending +the exiled Loyalists in thousands to the River St. John and thereby +rendering the lands they owned much more valuable. The war, however, +completely overturned the plans the company had in view. Our old +pioneers had learned by their experience of a dozen years to conduct +their business to the best advantage, and they now had everything in +train for a promising trade with St. Croix in the West Indies. The +hardships incident to the establishment of new settlements were over, +and the partners were now settled in comfortable homes with their +wives and children. + +It may be noted in passing that early marriages were much in vogue in +those days, particularly with the ladies. Sarah Le Baron was not +sixteen years of age when she married William Hazen. Hannah Peabody +had not passed her seventeenth birthday when she married James +Simonds. Elizabeth Peabody was about seventeen when she married James +White and her sister Hephzibeth somewhat younger when she married +Jonathan Leavitt. In most cases the families were large and the "olive +branches" doubtless furnished sufficient occupation for the mothers +to keep them from feeling the loneliness of their situation. James +Simonds had fourteen children. James White and Jonathan Leavitt had +good sized families, but the Hazens undeniably carried off the +palm. Dr. Slafter in his genealogy of the Hazen family says that +William Hazen had sixteen children; possibly he may have omitted +some who died in infancy for Judge Edward Winslow writes on Jan'y +17th, 1793, to a friend at Halifax, "My two annual comforts, a child +and a fit of the gout, return invariably. They came together this +heat and, as Forrest used to say, made me as happy as if the Devil +had me. The boy is a fine fellow--of course--and makes up the number +nine now living. My old friend Mrs. Hazen about the same time +produced her nineteenth!"[89] + + [89] The following inscription on the monument of Mrs. Sarah Hazen + was written by her grandson, the late Chief Justice Chipman: + + Sacred to the Memory of + MRS. SARAH HAZEN, + + Widow of the Honorable William Hazen, Esquire; who was + born in the Province of Massachusetts-Bay on the 22d + February, 1749; and died in the City of St. John on the + 3rd April, 1823. + + Exemplary for Christian piety and benevolence and the + exercise of every female virtue. She bears to her Grave + the fond recollections of a numerous host of Descendants + and the esteem and respect of the community. + +While the presence of young children in their homes may have served to +enliven the situation of Saint John's pioneer settlers it added +greatly to their anxiety and distress in the ensuing war period. More +than this the absence of church and school privileges was becoming a +matter of serious consequence to the little community at Portland +Point and their friends across the harbor. We shall in the next +chapter say something of the religious teachers who endeavored to +promote the spiritual welfare of the inhabitants upon the St. John +river at this period. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +SOME EARLY RELIGIOUS TEACHERS ON THE RIVER ST. JOHN. + + +Our knowledge of affairs on the River Saint John down to the period of +English occupation is largely derived from the correspondence of the +Jesuit missionaries, the last of whom was Charles Germain. After his +retirement the Acadians and Indians remained for several years without +any spiritual guide, a circumstance that did not please them and was +also a matter of concern to the Governor of Nova Scotia, who in +December, 1764, informed the Secretary of State that a promise had +been made the Indians of the River St. John to send them a priest, +which the Lords of Trade had now forbidden. The governor regrets this +as likely to confirm the Indians in their notion that the English "are +a people of dissimulation and artifice, who will deceive them and +deprive them of their salvation." He thinks it best to use gentle +treatment in dealing with the Indians, and mentions the fact of their +having lately burned their church[90] by command of their priest +detained at Quebec, as a proof of their zealous devotion to their +missionaries. + + [90] This statement is corroborated by Charles Morris, who writes in + 1765, "Aughpack is about seven miles above St. Anns, and at + this place was the Indian church and the Residence of the + French missionary; the church and other buildings about it are + all demolished by the Indians themselves." + +In the summer of 1767, Father Charles Francois Bailly came to the +River St. John and established himself at Aukpaque, or, as he calls +it, "la mission d'Ekouipahag en la Riviere St. Jean." The register of +baptisms, marriages and burials at which he officiated during his +year's residence at Aukpaque is still to be seen at French Village in +the Parish of Kingsclear, York county. The records of his predecessor, +Germain, however, were lost during the war period or while the mission +was vacant. That there was a field for the missionary's labor is shewn +by the fact that in the course of his year's residence on the River +St. John he officiated at 29 marriages, 79 baptisms and 14 burials. +His presence served to draw the Indians to Aukpaque, where there were +also some Acadian families who seem to have been refugees of the +expulsion of 1755. The older Indian village of Medoctec was now +deserted and the missionary ordered the chapel there to be destroyed, +seeing that it served merely as a shelter for travellers and "was put +to the most profane uses." The building had been standing for fifty +years and was much out of repair. The ornaments and furnishings, +together with the chapel bell,[91] were brought to Aukpaque. + + [91] This chapel bell was most unfortunately destroyed by fire when + the chapel at French Village was burned early in March, 1904. + An illustration and some account of the bell will be found in + a previous chapters. See pages 75, 76 ante. + +For some reason the presence of the Acadians at Aukpaque and its +vicinity was not acceptable to the authorities of Nova Scotia, and +Richard Bulkeley the provincial secretary, wrote to John Anderson and +Francis Peabody, Esqrs., justices of the peace for the county of +Sunbury, under date 20th August, 1768: "The Lieut. Governor desires +that you will give notice to all the Accadians, except about six +Families whom Mr. Bailly shall name, to remove themselves from Saint +John's River, it not being the intention of the Govern-ment that they +should settle there, but to acquaint them that on their application +they shall have lands in other parts of the Province." + +It is remarkable with what persistence the French clung to the +locality of Aukpaque in spite of repeated attempts to dispossess them. +The New Englanders under Hawthorn and Church tried to expel them as +long ago as 1696, but Villebon repulsed the attack on Fort Nachouac +and compelled them to retire. Monckton in 1759 drove the Acadians from +the lower St. John and destroyed their settlements, but the lowness of +the water prevented his ascending the river farther than Grimross +Island, a little above Gagetown. A little later Moses Hazen and his +rangers destroyed the village at St. Ann's and scattered the Acadians, +but some of them returned and re-established themselves near the +Indian village at Aukpaque. The governor of Nova Scotia apparently was +not willing they should remain, hence his orders to Anderson and +Peabody in 1768. + +What these magistrates did, or attempted to do is not recorded, at any +rate they did not succeed in effecting the removal of the Acadians for +we find that the little colony continued to increase. The missionary +Bailly wrote from Aukpaque, June 20, 1768, to Bishop Briand, "There +are eleven Acadian families living in the vicinity of the village, the +same ones whom your Lordship had the goodness to confirm at St. Anne. +* * It is a difficult matter to attend to them for they live apart +from one another during the summer on the sea shore fishing and in the +winter in the woods hunting." It appears that these poor people were +reduced to the necessity of leading almost an aboriginal life to save +themselves from starvation, yet they clung to the locality. + +Major Studholme sent a committee of four persons to explore the River +St. John in July, 1783.[92] The committee reported sixty-one families +of Acadians settled in the vicinity of Aukpaque. There were in these +families 61 men, 57 women and 236 children. About twenty-five families +lived on the east side of the river, most of them near the mouth of +the Keswick; the others lived not far from the Indian village on the +west side of the river, and there were in addition two or three +families at St. Anne's Point. In their report to Major Studholme the +committee describe the Acadians as "an inoffensive people." They had a +considerable quantity of land under cultivation, but few, if any, of +them had any title to their lands save that of simple possession. +Those who claimed longest residence were Joseph Martin who came in +1758 and Joseph Doucet who came in 1763. The settlement began to grow +more rapidly after the arrival of the missionary Bailly, for out of +the sixty-one heads of families included in the Committees report to +Studholme nine came in 1767, thirteen in 1768, ten in 1769 and four in +1770. All of these enjoyed the ministrations of l'Abbe Bailly. The +missionary seems to have remained a year in residence and then at the +instance of the Governor of Nova Scotia was sent to the Indians and +Acadians of the peninsula to the eastward of Halifax. He, however, +paid occasional visits to the River St. John as is shown by the +records of the baptisms, marriages and burials at which he officiated +when there.[93] He is heartily commended by Lord William Campbell, the +governor of Nova Scotia, for his tact in dealing with the Indians and +his loyalty to the constituted authorities of the province. It is not +probable that there was very much ground for the complaint of Simonds +& White in their letter of June 22, 1768, in which they say, "We have +made a smaller collection of Furrs this year than last, occasioned by +the large demands of the Priest for his services, and his ordering the +Indians to leave their hunting a month sooner than usual to keep +certain festivals, and by our being late in getting to their village, +the reason of which we informed you in our last. * * It's expected +that there will be a greater number of Indians assembled at Aughpaugh +next fall than for several years past." The extract quoted serves to +show that the Abbe Bailly's influence was felt while he lived on the +St. John river. He returned to Canada in May, 1772, and was afterwards +consecrated Bishop Co-adjutor of Quebec. + + [92] The members of the committee were Ebenezer Foster, Fyler + Dibblee, James White and Gervas Say. The first two were + Loyalists,the others old English settlers. Ebenezer Foster was + one of the first members for Kings county in the House of + Assembly. Fyler Dibblee was an attorney-at-law and agent for + settlement of the Loyalists. James White and Gervas Say were + justices of the peace in the old county of Sunbury and have + already been frequently mentioned. + + [93] One of the Abbe Bailly's registers is preserved at French + Village in York county and another, which seems a continuation + of the first, is at Caraquet, Gloucester county. + +During the year of his sojourn on the River St. John and in his +subsequent visits the Abbe Bailly baptized, married and buried many of +the Acadians as well as Indians. The names of a good many individuals +occur in his register whose descendants are numerous in Madawaska, +Bathurst, Caraquet, Memramcook and other places in the province. Among +them may be mentioned Joseph Martin, Jean Baptiste Martin, Louis +Mercure, Michel Mercure, Jean Baptiste Daigle, Olivier Thibodeau, Jean +Thibodeau, Joseph Terriot, Ignace Caron, Joseph Cyr, Pierre Cyr, Jean +Baptiste Cyr, Paul Cyr, Francois Cyr, Pierre Pinette, Francois +Violette, Joseph Roy, Daniel Godin, Paul Potier, Francois Cormier, +Jacques Cormier, Jean Baptiste Cormier, Pierre Hebert, Joseph Hebert, +Francois Hebert, Louis Le Jeune, Joseph Mazerolle, and Jean Baptiste +Vienneau. + +Of these families the Cormiers, Cyrs, Daigles and Heberts came from +Beaubassin at the head of the Bay of Fundy; the Martins from Port +Royal (or Annapolis), the Mercures and Terriots from l'Isle St. Jean +(or Prince Edward Island); the Violettes from Louisbourg, and the +Mazerolles from Riviere Charlesbourg. + +It is worthy of note that despite the hardships and misfortunes +endured there are instances of marvellous longevity among the old +French settlers. Placide P. Gaudet, who is by all odds the best +authority on this head and whose wonderful knowledge of Acadian +genealogy has been attained by years of hard study and patient +research, gives a striking instance of this fact amongst his relatives +of the Vienneau family. The ancestor of this family was one Michael +Vienneau, who with his wife Therese Baude were living at Maugerville +in 1770: both were natives of France. The husband died at Memramcook +in September, 1802, at the age of 100 years and 3 months; his widow in +March, 1804, at the age of 96 years. Their son Jean died at Pokemouche +in August, 1852, at the extraordinary age of 112 years, leaving a son +Moise who died at Rogersville in March, 1893, aged over 96 yeas. The +united age of these four individuals--father, mother, son and +grandson--are equivalent to the extraordinary sum total of 404 years. + +In the course of a year or two after the arrival of the Loyalists the +greater portion of the Acadians living on the St. John river above +Fredericton removed--either from choice or at the instigation of +government--to Madawaska, Caraquet and Memramcook. A few, however, +remained, and there are today at French Village, in York county, about +31 families of Acadian origin numbering 149 souls, and 17 families in +addition reside at the Mazerolle settlement not far away. The most +common family name amongst these people is Godin; the rest of the +names are Mazerolle, Roy, Bourgoin, Martin and Cyr. The influences of +their environment can hardly be said to have had a beneficial effect +upon these people, few of whom now use the French language. And yet +the fact remains that from the time the valley of the River St. John +was first parcelled out into seigniories, in the year 1684, down to +the present day--a period of 220 years--the continuity of occupation +of some portion of the soil in the vicinity of St. Ann's has scarcely +been interrupted, and the records of the mission on the River St. John +may be said to have been continuous for about the same time. The +missionaries as a rule spoke well of the people of their charge. +Danielou said that there were 116 Acadian inhabitants in 1739 and that +Monsieur Cavagnal de Vaudreuil, governor of Trois Rivieres, was +"Seigneur de la paroisse d'Ekoupag." He claims as a special mark of +divine favor that in the little colony there was "neither barren woman +nor child deformed in body or weak in intellect; neither swearer nor +drunkard; neither debauchee nor libertine, neither blind, nor lazy, +nor beggar, nor sickly, nor robber of his neighbor's goods." One would +almost imagine that Acadia was Arcadia in the days of Danielou. + +It may be well, whilst speaking of the remarkable continuity of the +French occupation of the country in the vicinity of St. Anns, to state +that after Chapter VII. of this history had been printed the author +chanced to obtain, through the kindness of Placide P. Gaudet, some +further information relating to the brothers d'Amours, the pioneer +settlers of this region. + +The brothers d'Amours, Louis, Mathieu and Rene, were residents on the +St. John as early at least as the year 1686, when we find their names +in the census of M. de Meulles. A document of the year 1695[94] shows +that their claims to land on the St. John river were rather +extravagant and hardly in accord with the terms of their concessions. +Louis d'Amours, sieur de Chauffours, claimed as his seigniory at +Jemseg a tract of land extending two leagues along the St. John, +including both sides of the river two leagues in depth. He also +claimed another and larger seigniory, extending from a point one +league below Villebon's fort at the Nashwaak four leagues up the river +with a depth of three leagues on each side. His brother Rene d'Amours, +sieur de Chignancourt, lived on this seigniory a league or so above +the fort. + + [94] This document is entitled "Memoire sur les concessions que les + sieurs d'Amours freres pretendent dans la Riviere St. Jean et + Richibouctou." A copy is in the Legislative Library at + Fredericton. + +The statement made in a previous chapter that Rene d'Amours was +unmarried and lived the life of a typical "coureur de bois" is +incorrect. The census of 1698 shows that he had a wife and four +children. His wife was Charlotte Le Gardeur of Quebec. The names of +the children, as they appear in the census, are Rene aged 7, Joseph 5, +Marie Judith 2, and Marie Angelique 1. While fixing his residence in +the vicinity of Fort Nashwaak, Rene d'Amours was the seignior of a +large tract of land on the upper St. John extending "from the Falls of +Medoctek to the Grand Falls," a distance of more than ninety miles. +After the expiration of eleven years from the date of his grant, Rene +d'Amours seems to have done nothing more towards its improvement than +building a house upon it and clearing 15 acres of land. Even in the +indulgent eyes of the Council at Quebec, of which his father was a +member, this must have appeared insufficient to warrant possession by +one man of a million acres of the choicest lands on the St. John +river. He made rather a better attempt at cultivating the land near +his residence upon his brother's seigniory, for the census of 1695 +shows that he had raised there 80 minots [bushels] of corn, 16 minots +of peas, 3 minots of beans. He had 3 horned cattle, 12 hogs and 60 +fowls; two men servants and one female servant; three guns and a +sword. + +The seigniory of Mathieu d'Amours, sieur de Freneuse, lay between the +two seigniories of his brother Louis at Jemseg and Nashwaak, extending +a distance of seven leagues and including both sides of the river. +Both Louis and Mathieu made far greater improvements than Rene, having +a large number of acres cleared and under cultivation, together with +cattle and other domestic animals. They had a number of tenants and +eight or ten servants. + +The census of 1695 contains the following interesting bit of +information: "Naxouat, of which the Sr. Dechofour is seignior, is +where the fort commanded by M. de Villebon is established. The Sr. +Dechofour has there a house, 30 arpents [acres] of land under +cultivation and a Mill, begun by the Sr. Dechofour and the Sr. de +Freneuse." + +The reference to a mill, built by the brothers Louis and Mathieu +d'Amours in the neighborhood of Fort Nashwaak, may serve to explain +the statement of Villebon in 1696, that he had caused planks for +madriers, or gun platforms, to be made near the fort.[95] This mill at +any rate ante-dates by the best part of a century the mill built by +Simonds & White at St. John in 1767 and that built by Colonel Beamsley +Glacier's mill wrights at the Nashwaak in 1768. Doubtless it was a +very primitive affair, but it sawed lumber, and was in its modest way +the pioneer of the greatest manufacturing industry of New Brunswick at +the present day. + + [95] See Murdoch's Hist. of Nova Scotia, Vol. I., p. 223. + +Among the contemporaries of the brothers d'Amours on the River St. +John were Gabriel Bellefontaine, Jean Martel,[96] Pierre Godin, +Charles Charet, Antoine Du Vigneaux, and Francois Moyse. The author is +indebted to Placide P. Gaudet for some interesting notes regarding +the family of Gabriel Bellefontaine. Mr. Gaudet has satisfied +himself in the course of years of genealogical research, that the +Godins now living on the River St. John and in the county of +Gloucester, the Bellefontaines of the county of Kent, and the +Bellefontaines and Beausejours of Anichat and other parts of Nova +Scotia all have a common origin, and that in each case the real family +name is Gaudin, or Godin. To any one conversant with the practice +of the old French families of making frequent changes in their +patryonymics this will not appear surprising. The common ancestor +of the Gaudin, Bellefontaine, Beausejour and Bois-Joly families in +the maritime provinces was one Pierre Gaudin, who married Jeanne +Roussiliere of Montreal, Oct. 13, 1654, and subsequently came to +Port Royal with his wife and children. Their fourth child, Gabriel +Gaudin (or Bellefontaine) born in 1661, settled on the St. John +river in the vicinity of Fort Nashwaak. He married at Quebec in +1690, Angelique Robert Jeanne, a girl of sixteen, and in the census of +1698 the names of four children appear, viz., Louise aged 7, Louis 5, +Joseph 3, Jacques Phillipe 7 months. Of these children the third, +Joseph Bellefontaine, spent the best years of his life upon the St. +John river and his tribulations there have been already noticed[97] +in these pages. He was living at Cherbourg in 1767 at the age of 71 +years, and was granted a pension of 300 livres (equivalent to +rather more than $60.00 per annum) in recognition of his losses and +services which are thus summarised: + + [96] Martel and Bellefontaine have been mentioned already. See page + 57 ante. + + [97] See Chapter xiii., p. 135 + +"The Sieur Joseph Bellefontaine or Beausejour of the River St. John, +son of Gabriel (an officer of one of the King's ships in Acadia) and +of Angelique Roberte Jeanne, was commissioned Major of the militia of +the St. John river by order of M. de la Galissonniere of 10th April, +1749, and has always done his duty during the war until he was made +prisoner by the enemy. He owned several leagues of land there and had +the sad misfortune of seeing one of his daughters and three of her +children massacred before his eyes by the English, who wished by such +cruelty and fear of similar treatment to induce him to take their +part, a fate that he only escaped by fleeing to the woods, bearing +with him two other children of the same daughter." + +Notwithstanding all their misfortunes and persecutions the Acadians +living on the St. John continued gradually to increase. After the +return of the missionary Bailly to Canada they were without a priest +until the arrival of Joseph Mathurin Bourg in September, 1774. This +intrepid missionary was the first native of Acadia to take holy orders +and as such is a subject of especial interest. He saw the light of day +at River Canard in the district of Mines on the 9th of June, 1744. His +father, Michel Bourg, and his mother, Anne Hebert, with most of their +children, escaped deportation at the time of the Acadian expulsion in +1755 and sought refuge at the Island of St. John [Prince Edward +Island], from which place they were transported by the English to the +northern part of France. Young Joseph Mathurin became the protege of +the Abbe de l'Isle-Dieu, then at Paris. He pursued his studies at a +little seminary in the Diocese of St. Malo and on the 13th of +September, 1772, was ordained priest at Montreal by Monseigneur +Briand. After a year he was sent to Acadia as missionary to his +compatriots of that region. He took charge of his mission in +September, 1773. It at first extended from Gaspe to Cocagne, but in +August, 1774, the Bishop of Quebec added the River St. John (including +"Quanabequachies," or Kennebeccasis) and all the rest of Nova Scotia +and the Island of Cape Breton. The bishop also appointed the Abbe +Bourg his grand vicar in Acadia. Almost immediately afterwards he +visited the River St. John and the little settlement at French Village +near the Kennebeccasis where, early in September, he baptized a +considerable number of children, whose names and those of their +parents are to be found in the register which is still preserved at +Carleton, Bonaventure Co., in the province of Quebec. + +[Illustration: (Signature) Joseph Mth. Bourg pretre Grand. V.] + +The missionary made his headquarters at Carleton (on the north side of +the Bay of Chaleur) but from time to time visited different parts of +his immense mission. During the Revolutionary war he paid special +attention to the Indians on the River St. John, who largely through +his efforts were kept from taking the warpath and going over to the +Americans. The raids made by the Machias rebels under Jonathan Eddy +and John Allan, in 1776 and 1777, interfered in some measure with the +visits of the missionary, for Col. Michael Francklin in his interview +with the Maliseets at Fort Howe in September, 1778, assured them that +Mons'r. Bourg would have visited them sooner but for the apprehension +entertained of his being carried off by the rebels. + +The chapel at Aukpaque was not entirely disused during the absence of +the missionary. We learn from John Allan's narrative that while he was +at Aukpaque in June, 1777, a number of Acadians came on Sundays to +worship at the Indian chapel and that he and his prisoners, William +Hazen and James White, also attended. While there they witnessed the +funeral of an Indian girl. The ceremony was a solemn yet simple one. +The body was borne into the chapel, the bell tolling the while; after +a short prayer they sang funeral hymns, that done some of the chiefs +bore the coffin to the grave where there was another prayer followed +by a funeral hymn. The coffin was then deposited in the grave and a +handful of earth cast upon it by the relatives and friends of her sex. +Immediately afterwards the family wigwam was struck and removed into +the thickest part of the village that the parents might be the better +consoled for the loss of their child. + +The important services rendered by Father Bourg to government during +the American Revolution will be told in another chapter. + +The first clergyman of the Church of England to visit the River St. +John was the Rev'd. Thomas Wood, a native of the town of New Brunswick +in the then British province of New Jersey. Mr. Wood went to England +in 1749--the year of the founding of Halifax--to be ordained by the +Bishop of London. He bore with him testimonials declaring him to be "a +gentleman of a very good life and conversation, bred to Physick and +Surgery." He became one of the missionaries of the Society for the +Propagation of the Gospel and was transferred from New Jersey to Nova +Scotia in 1753. Halifax and Annapolis were destined to be the chief +scenes of his labors, but he made frequent tours amongst the new +settlements. + +Mr. Wood was an excellent French scholar and his gifts as a linguist +were of no mean order. While at Halifax he lived on terms of +friendship and intimacy with Antoine Simon Maillard, the missionary of +the Indians and Acadians. In the year 1762 Mr. Wood attended the Abbe +Maillard for several weeks during his last illness, and the day before +his death, at his request, read the Office for the Visitation of the +Sick in the French language in the presence of a number of Acadians, +who were summoned for the occasion by the venerable missionary. Mr. +Wood also officiated at the burial of M. Maillard, reading over his +remains in French the burial service of the Church of England in the +presence of "almost all the gentlemen of Halifax and a very numerous +assembly of French and Indians." + +As the Indians were for the time being without any religious teacher +Mr. Wood resolved to devote much attention to them. He applied himself +diligently to the study of their language, in which he had the +assistance of the papers left him by the Abbe Maillard and by devoting +three or four hours daily to the task he made such progress that upon +reading some of M. Maillard's morning prayers the Indians understood +him perfectly and seemed themselves to pray very devoutly. He resolved +to persevere until he should be able to publish a grammar, dictionary +and translation of the Bible. He writes in 1764, "I am fully +determined that nothing but sickness or the Bastille shall impede me +in this useful service." Two years later he sent to England the first +volume of his native grammar, with a Micmac translation of the Creed, +Lord's Prayer, etc. He was now able to minister to the Indians in +their own language. + +In July, 1767, the Indians attended a special service held in St. +Paul's church, Halifax, at which there were present, the Governor of +Nova Scotia, Lord William Campbell, the officers of the army and navy +and the principal inhabitants. The service was in the Micmac tongue. +An anthem was sung by the Indians at the beginning and again at the +close. On the 12th of August in the same year Mr. Wood married Pierre +Jacques, an Indian, to Marie Joseph, eldest daughter of old Thoma, who +deemed himself "hereditary king of the Mickmacks." There were present +at the wedding, besides the Indians, Sir Thomas Rich--an English +baronet, and other gentlemen. After the ceremony Mr. Wood entertained +the company at his own house. + +It was in the summer of the year 1769 that Mr. Wood made his first +tour up the River St. John. Lord William Campbell provided him with a +boat and party of men, under the direction of Capt. William Spry of +the Engineers. Capt. Spry will be remembered as one of the active +promoters of the settlement of the townships on the St. John river, +where he had large land interests. His knowledge of the river made him +an excellent guide. + +The English missionary arrived at St. John harbor on the 1st day of +July, and the day following, which was Sunday, held the first +religious service conducted by an English speaking minister at +Portland Point. + +The account books of Simonds & White suffice to show that no business +was transacted at their establishment on Sunday, and doubtless the day +was honored as a day of rest, but up to this time there had been no +opportunity for church-going. Among those who heard the first sermon +preached at St. John in English were in all probability, the Messrs. +Simonds & White and their employes, Edmund Black, Samuel Abbott, +Samuel Middleton, Michael Hodge, Adonijah Colby, Stephen Dow, Elijah +Estabrooks, John Bradley, William Godsoe, John Mack, Asa Stephens, and +Thomas Blasdel. To these may be added the wives of James Simonds, of +Black, Abbott and one or two other workmen; also a few settlers living +in the vicinity. It may be observed in passing that Edmund Black was +foreman in the lime burning; Abbott, Middleton and Godsoe were +employed in making hogsheads and barrels for lime and fish; Hodge and +Colby were shipwrights engaged in building a schooner for the company; +the others were fishermen and laborers. Doubtless the service held by +Mr. Wood was a very simple one, and if there were any hymns they were +sung from memory, for there is reason to believe that there was not a +single hymn book in the community, with the exception of a copy of +Watt's psalms and hymns owned by James White. + +Notwithstanding the difficulties of the situation, the Rev'd. Thomas +Wood on the occasion of his first Sunday at St. John established a +record which, after the lapse of nearly a century and a half, remains +unequalled for interest and variety. In the morning he held divine +service and preached to the English settlers and baptized four of +their children. In the afternoon he conducted a service for the +benefit of a number of Indians, who chanced to be encamped there, +baptized an Indian girl and addressed them in their own language. In +the evening, many of the French inhabitants being present, he held a +third service and preached in French, the Indians again attending as +many of them understood that language. These French people were +chiefly Acadians living at what is now called French Village, in Kings +county. They were at that time employed by Simonds & White in building +an aboideau and dykeing the marsh. In one respect the Indians perhaps +did better than the English or the Acadians, for at the close of their +service Mr. Wood desired them to sing an anthem which, he says, "they +performed very harmoniously." + +The next day the missionary sailed up the river, visiting the settlers +in their homes as he proceeded. At Gagetown he baptized Joseph and +Mary Kendrick, twin children of John and Dorothy Kendrick. Mr. Wood +says the children were born in an open canoe on the river, two leagues +from any house, a circumstance that illustrates the exigencies liable +to arise in a region so sparsely inhabited as the valley of the River +St. John then was.[98] + + [98] Major Studholme in 1783 states that John Kendrick was a good + subject, an old soldier and very deserving. He lived near + Gagetown with his wife and five children. He settled there + about the year 1768. + +On Sunday the 9th of July Mr. Wood held service at Maugerville, where +he had a congregation of more than two hundred persons but, owing to +the fact that the people were chiefly "Dissenters from New England," +he baptized only two infants. He thought, however, if a prudent +missionary were settled among them their prejudices against the Church +of England would speedily vanish. He speaks in his letter to the S. P. +G. of the rising townships of Gagetown, Burton and Maugerville as a +most desirable field for a missionary and commends the Indians to the +special consideration of the society. After making a call at +Morrisania, a little below Fredericton, where two children were +baptized, Mr. Wood and his companions proceeded to "Okpaak" which he +terms "the farthest settlement upon the River." He thus describes the +reception they met with on their arrival: + + "The Chief of the Indians came down to the Landing place and + handed us out of our boat, and immediately several of the Indians, + who were drawn out on the occasion, discharged a volley of + Musketry turned from us, as a signal of receiving their friends. + The Chief then welcomed us and introduced us to the other Chiefs, + and after inviting us to their Council Chamber, viz. their largest + wigwam, conducted us thither, the rest of the Indians following. + Just before we arrived we were again saluted with their musketry + drawn up as before. After some discourse relative to Monsieur + Bailly, the French Priest that Government have thought proper to + allow them, finding them uneasy that they had no priest among them + for some time past, I told them that the Governor had employed him + to go to the Indians to the eastward of Halifax and had sent me to + officiate with them in his absence. They then seemed well enough + satisfied, and at their desire I began prayers with them in + Mickmack, they all kneeling down and behaving very devoutly. The + vice concluded with an anthem and the blessing." + +Mr. Wood says that although there were then at Aukpaque Indians of +three different tribes, Micmacs, Maliseets and Caribous,[99] they all +understood the Micmac language, and he expresses regret that he had +not been sent among them two years before, being satisfied that he +could have gained their confidence and good will. + + [99] Probably Canibas or Kennebec Indians. + +The Reverend Thomas Wood closed a laborious and successful ministry of +thirty years at Annapolis, where he died December 14, 1778. + +Some account has already been given, in the chapter descriptive of the +progress of the settlement at Maugerville, of the first religious +teachers in that locality, Messrs. Wellman, Webster and Zephaniah +Briggs. We shall have something more to say of their first resident +minister, the Rev'd. Seth Noble, when we come to deal with events on +the river at the time of the American Revolution. As already stated +the first Protestant church on the river was erected at Maugerville in +the year 1775. This building was at first placed on a lot the title of +which was afterwards in dispute, and regarding the possession of which +there was rather a bitter quarrel between the old inhabitants and the +Loyalists. In consequence the building was removed to the lot in +Sheffield where the Congregational Church now stands. An interesting +account of this incident is given in the narrative of the Rev. Joshua +Marsden, a Methodist pioneer missionary on the St. John river, who +says:-- + + "The Presbyterian [i. e. Congregational] chapel at Sheffield, was + a church-like building of frame-work, with a spire steeple and a + spacious gallery. This chapel had been drawn down upon the ice of + the river more than five miles: it had first been erected at + Maugerville, upon a litigated lot of land, which the society, not + choosing to bring to the issue of a law-suit, they determined to + remove the chapel bodily to their own glebe, five miles lower down + the river. The whole settlement, men, horses and more than one + hundred yoke of oxen, were present to assist in this more than + herculean enterprise. The chapel was raised from its stone + foundation by immense lever screws. Prodigious beams of timber + were then introduced under the whole length of the building; into + these were driven large staples, to which the oxen were yoked with + strong chains of iron. When all things were ready for a movement, + at a given signal, each man standing by his horse or oxen, this + great building, capable of holding eight hundred persons, was + drawn along and down the bank of the river to its appointed place, + where another foundation having been prepared, it was again raised + by levers upon it with very little damage. Not a single pew in the + gallery or bottom having been removed in the process. In this + emigrated chapel, I had the satisfaction of preaching the gospel + of the kingdom to a large congregation. Perhaps you will wonder + how the ice of this mighty river bore upon its bosom so ponderous + a body; but your surprise will cease when I inform you that in the + depth of winter, it is from two to three feet in thickness, making + a bridge of aqueous crystal capable almost of bearing up a whole + town." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +ON THE EVE OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION. + + +When the county of Sunbury was established in 1765, there was no +English settlement north of St. Ann's and the river was but sparsely +settled from that place to the sea. Nevertheless the immense forest +wealth of the St. John was gradually becoming known and appreciated. + +The French ship of war "Avenant," as long ago as the year 1700, after +discharging her cargo of supplies for Villebon's garrison and goods +for the French traders, took on board some very fine masts for the +French navy that had been cut upon the River St. John. Afterwards, +when the control of Acadia passed into the hands of the British, they +in turn began to procure masts for the navy on the St. John. England's +place among the nations then, as now, depended very largely on the +efficiency of her navy, and the reservation of trees suitable for +masts for the largest ships of war became a matter of national +concern. In consequence Governor Legge, at the request of the home +government, desired Charles Morris, the Surveyor general of Nova +Scotia, to report as to ungranted lands in the province that might be +reserved for the purpose of supplying masts for the navy. On the 21st +May, 1774, Mr. Morris submitted his report. He states that his +knowledge of the country was based upon personal observations during a +residence of nearly twenty-eight years, in the course of which he had +visited nearly all parts of the province. In the Nova Scotian +peninsula there were very few pines fit for masts, but on the River +St. John, above the settlements, and on the other rivers flowing into +it were great quantities of pine trees fit for masts and great +quantities of others growing into that state, which being so far +inland, protected by growth of other timber and by hills, and remote +from those violent gales which infest the coast would prove the most +desirable reserve for the purpose intended. Mr. Morris adds: "I am of +opinion that a reserve of all the lands on the River St. John above +the settlements for the whole course of the river, at least +twenty-five miles on each side, will be the most advantageous reserve +to the Crown of lands within this province, especially as the river is +navigable for boats and rafting of masts the whole course of it, as +also for rafting of masts in the several branches of it; and in this +tract is contained a black spruce, fit for yards and topmasts, and +other timber fit for ship-building." + +The importance to coming generations of the "black spruce, fit for +yards and top-masts," was little dreamed of by Charles Morris. +However, it seems that in accordance with his recommendation the +region of the upper St. John was at this time reserved to the crown +because its towering pines supplied the best masts in the world for +the British navy, and at the close of the American Revolution it was +still unbroken forest. + +After the formation of the County of Sunbury, April 30, 1765, +magistrates and other officers were appointed and representatives +chosen to sit in the House of Assembly. Some of our local historians, +including the late Moses H. Perley, have stated that the first +representative of Sunbury County was Charles Morris jr., but although +Mr. Morris may have been the first to take his seat he was not the +first elected representative. The late Thos. B. Akins, of Halifax, +a recognized authority on all points of local history, in a +communication to the late J. W. Lawrence states that the election +writs on file at Halifax give the names of Capt. Beamsley Glasier and +Capt. Thomas Falconer as the first representatives of the County of +Sunbury. It does not appear that either of these gentlemen attended +the sessions of the House of Assembly, and as it was the rule for +members who were absent two years to forfeit their seats for +non-attendance, a new election was held in 1768, when Richard +Shorne and Phinehas Nevers were returned. The House of Assembly was +dissolved two years later, and at the ensuing general election +Charles Morris, jr., and Israel Perley were returned; the former took +his seat but Mr. Perley appears never to have done so and in 1773 +James Simonds was elected in his stead. Mr. Simonds was in attendance +in October, 1774, and took the customary oath, being the first +inhabitant of the county to take his seat in the legislative halls of +Nova Scotia. A little later William Davidson was elected a member +and he and James Simonds were the sitting members when the old +Province of Nova Scotia was divided at the isthmus and the Province +of New Brunswick constituted in 1784. + +Among the earliest magistrates of the County of Sunbury were John +Anderson, Beamsley Glasier, Francis Peabody, James Simonds, James +White, Israel Perley, Jacob Barker, Phinehas Nevers and Gervas Say. +The Courts of General Sessions of the Peace meet regularly at +Maugerville and transacted such business as was necessary, appointed +constables and other parish officers, administered justice and so +forth. Benjamin Atherton was clerk of the peace for the county, +James Simonds registrar of deeds and judge of probate, and James +White deputy sheriff. The first collector of customs was Capt. +Francis Peabody, who died in 1773. The attention given to the +collection of duties was but nominal and Charles Newland Godfrey +Jadis, a retired army officer who had settled at Grimross on the +St. John river, wrote to the secretary of state in 1773 calling +his attention to the prevalence of smuggling of which "Major-Ville" +was the centre, connived at, as he alleges, by the magistrate and +collector. This little incident is an indication that the sentiment +of the Massachusetts settlers of Maugerville was identical with that +of their kinsmen in New England in regard to the enactment of the +stamp act and the duties imposed by the British government. + +A few particulars of interest regarding the settlers on the River St. +John are to be gleaned from the papers of David Burpee,[100] at one +time deputy sheriff of the county. There were very few framed +dwellings, nearly all the settlers living in log houses. As late as +1783 there were in Gagetown, Burton, and at St. Anns and vicinity +about 76 houses occupied by English inhabitants, of which only 9 were +framed buildings. The proportion of framed dwellings in Maugerville +was little better, the vast majority being log houses. + + [100] See Hannay's article on the Maugerville Settlement, Collections + of N. B. Hist. Soc., Vol. 1, p. 63. + +Horses were few and nearly all the ordinary farm work was done by +oxen. It is doubtful if any of the settlers owned a carriage, wagon or +sleigh at this time. Carts were generally used in summer and sleds in +winter. Some of the men owned saddles, of which there was much +borrowing, and there were a few pillions for the ladies. Traveling in +the summer time on land was either on horseback or afoot for the roads +were too bad to admit of the use of wheeled vehicles. + +All the cooking in those days was done at old-fashioned fireplaces and +the utensils included a gridiron, toasting iron, frying pan, iron +kettle and a number of pots and pans. The dishes used in the farm +houses were mostly of pewter and their number limited. + +A broadcloth coat or a beaver hat was a valuable asset which might be +handed down to the second or even the third generation. A decent +broadcloth suit would cost a man as much as he could earn in three +months at the current rate of wages, after paying his board; +consequently the early settler did not often indulge in the luxury of +a new suit. Leather breeches were commonly worn, and from their +lasting qualities were an economical garment. + +The money handled by the early settlers was quite insignificant; +nearly all transactions were of the nature of barter. Corn and furs +were the staple articles of trade. The value of corn varied +considerably, according to the season, from 4 shillings to 8 shillings +a bushel, the average rate 5 to 6 shillings. Half a bushel of corn was +the equivalent of a week's board. The ordinary rate of farm wages was +2s. a day except for such work as mowing, framing, hoeing corn, and +raking hay, for which the rate was 2s. 6d. a day. The wages of a woman +servant were 10s. a month and as all articles of clothing were very +dear compared with modern prices, they became excessively so when the +rate of wages was taken into account. It took a whole month's wages to +purchase a pair of stays and two months wages to buy a gown. A pair of +silk mits cost 5s. 6d. and a lawn handkerchief 6s. 6d. Calico was +charged as high as 6s. a yard and cotton wool at 6s. 6d per lb. As a +rule everything that had to be purchased out of a store was dear, +while the prices of country produce were exactly the reverse. Butter +sold as low as 6d. per lb.; lamb at 2-1/2d. per lb.; beef, 1-1/2 to +3d. per lb.; geese at 3s. each; fowls 1s.; potatoes 1s. 3d. a bushel. + +Dr. Hannay quotes the following as a transaction on the part of Mr. +Burpee, which would be regarded as unusual at the present day: + + "September 30, 1778. + + "Took a hog of Mr. Joseph Howlin of Burton to fat, the hog weighs + now 113 lbs. and I am to have as many pounds of pork as he weighs + more when I kill him. + + "Dec. 1st, 1778, killed Mr. Howlin's hog. Weighed before he was + killed 181 lbs." + + Showing that Mr. Burpee obtained 68 lbs. of pork as the result of + his bargain. + + David Burpee taught school one winter, receiving 4s. per month for + each pupil. The tuition fees were paid in a great variety of ways; + in work, in grain, leather, musquash skins, rum, hauling hay and + making shoes; he only handled 10s. in cash for his entire winter's + work. + +In the year 1770 Mr. Burpee kept a diary which, while it contains some +facts of interest, serves on the whole to show how narrow and +monotonous was the life of the early settlers on the St. John. On +Sundays they attended religious services held at the houses most +convenient for the purpose and in the winter there was some social +visiting. However, we are now to speak of more stirring events. + +Many were the trials and tribulations of the dwellers on the St. +John--particularly of those living at the mouth of the river--during +the American Revolution. Most of their calamities might have been +avoided had an efficient garrison been maintained at Fort Frederick, +but the troops were withdrawn from that post in 1768 and sent to +Boston in consequence of disturbances there, and for five or six years +the care of the fort and barracks was entrusted to James Simonds. + +Lord William Campbell reported, about the close of 1771: "Since Fort +Frederick at the entrance of St. John's river has been dismantled and +the garrison, which formerly consisted of an officers' command, +reduced to a corporal and four privates, he had had frequent +complaints of the Indians on the river." The presence of a half dozen +soldiers was of little utility at any time and of no utility whatever +after the Revolution began. It was not until the erection of Fort Howe +that adequate steps were taken for the protection of the inhabitants. + +The year 1774 was an extremely busy one at St. John. Our old pioneers +James Simonds, James White and William Hazen were making strenuous +efforts to place settlers upon their lands in the township of Conway, +while at the same time Mr. Hazen's house was being finished at +Portland Point, an aboideau was being built to reclaim the "great +marsh," and the business of the fishery, lime-burning and general +trade was being vigorously prosecuted. Troublous times were now at +hand. + +The situation of Hazen, Simonds and White when hostilities arose +between the old colonies and the mother country was very embarrassing. +By birth and early association they were New Englanders and most of +their old time friends and neighbors were hostile to the crown. +Massachusetts was practically the cradle of the Revolution, and the +vast majority of its inhabitants were bitterly opposed to the King and +his government. But while Simonds, White and Hazen were Massachusetts +men they now held various official positions under the government of +Nova Scotia and had sworn true allegiance to the King. Very likely +they would have gladly assumed a neutral attitude in the approaching +contest, but alas for them the force of events left no room for +neutrality. + +It is clear that at the beginning of the war the people of Massachusetts +hoped for the cordial support of the settlers on the River St. John. This +is probably the reason why the small colony at Portland Point was not +molested during the early stages of the war and that William Hazen was +able on two occasions to obtain the release of the company's schooner +"Polly" after she had been taken by American privateers. But as the war +progressed considerate treatment gave place to acts of vandalism, and the +sentiments of the settlers at St. John towards their old compatriots of +Massachusetts became intensely bitter. Their tenants in the township of +Conway were driven from their homes and obliged to seek refuge up the +river, and those living at Portland Point suffered equal hardships. + +When the Loyalists arrived in 1783, it was proposed that the township +of Conway should be escheated for their benefit. James Simonds +protested stoutly against this, representing the expense that had been +incurred in the endeavor to settle the township and the losses and +sufferings of the tenants who were for a long time unprotected against +the depredations of the enemy. He adds, "Instead of our being stripped +of our rights to make amends for the losses of the Loyalists, who were +plundered in New York or elsewhere, we have at least as weighty +reasons as they can possibly offer to claim restitution from +Government for the value of all the property taken from us, our +distress by imprisonment, etc. They had a numerous British army to +protect them, we had to combat the sons of darkness alone. In a word +we had much less than they to hope for by unshaken loyalty and +incomparably more to fear." + +The statement of Mr. Simonds is confirmed by Major Studholme who wrote +to Gov'r. Parr, "Messrs. Hazen and Simonds, two of the original +proprietors of Conway, have at different times placed a number of +settlers on the lands of that Township and have used every effort on +their parts to comply with the terms of their Grant, but the continual +robberies committed by the Rebel boats during the war, to which these +settlements have been exposed, obliged a number of their tenants to +remove. However, as every exertion was used by them I take the liberty +to recommend their claims on that Township to your consideration." + +During the earlier stages of the Revolution the attitude of the people +of Machias on the one hand, and of the inhabitants of the township of +Cumberland on the other, proved a matter of concern to the dwellers on +the River St. John. Machias was settled in 1763 by a colony from +Scarborough, one of the oldest towns in Massachusetts. During the war +it was the asylum of disloyal spirits who fled thither from various +parts of Nova Scotia. The township of Cumberland included a +considerable portion of what is now the county of Westmorland. The +inhabitants were mostly natives of New England, and many of them warm +sympathizers with the revolutionary pasty. Jonathan Eddy was their +representative in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1774, and John +Allan in 1776. Eddy and Allan, aided by William Howe and Samuel +Rogers, succeeded in stirring up an active rebellion in Cumberland, +which called for prompt action on the part of the Government of Nova +Scotia. The leaders fled to Machias and a reward of L200 was offered +for the apprehension of Eddy and L100 for each of the others. + +The attitude of the Indians was another matter of serious concern to +the settlers on the River St. John. Immediately after the Declaration +of Independence the American congress authorized Washington to call +forth and engage the Indians of Nova Scotia, St. John and Penobscot to +take up the hatchet and fight against the English. With strange +inconsistency Congress a few days later, in an address to the people +of Ireland, denounced the King of England on the ground that "the wild +and barbarous savages of the wilderness have been solicited by gifts +to take up the hatchet against us, and instigated to deluge our +settlements with the blood of defenceless women and children." + +The Micmacs seem to have been reluctant to take sides in the contest +and in answer to John Allan's solicitations they said, with quiet +dignity, "We do not comprehend what all this quarreling is about. How +comes it that Old England and New England should quarrel and come to +blows? The father and the son to fight is terrible! Old France and +Canada did not do so; we cannot think of fighting ourselves till we +know who is right and who is wrong." + +The style of argument employed to induce the simple minded natives to +side with the Americans is seen in the letter addressed to them by the +agent of the Congress of Massachusetts (May 15, 1775), in which the +following statements occur: "The ministry of Great Britain have laid +deep plots to take away our liberty and your liberty; they want to get +all our money and make us pay it to them when they never earned it; to +make you and us their servants and let us have nothing to eat, drink +or wear but what they say we shall; and prevent us from having guns +and powder to kill our deer and wolves and other game or to send to +you to kill your game with so as to get skins and fur to trade with us +for what you want. * * * We want to know what you our good brothers +want from us of clothing or warlike stores, and we will supply you as +fast as we can. We will do all for you we can and fight to save you at +any time. * * * The Indians at Stockbridge all join with us and some +of their men have enlisted as soldiers and we have given each of them +a blanket and a ribbon, and they will be paid when they are from home +in the service, and if any of you are willing to enlist we shall do +the same for you. * * * Brothers, if you will let Mr. John Preble know +what things you want he will take care to inform us and we will do the +best for you we can." + +In consequence of the inducements of Allan and the other agents, +Pierre Tomah and Ambroise St. Aubin, leading chiefs of the Maliseets +of the River St. John, went to the trading post the Americans had +established at Penobscot, and signed an agreement to the following +effect: "We heartily join with our brethren the Penobscot Indians +in everything that they have or shall agree with our brethren of the +colony of Massachusetts, and are resolved to stand together and +oppose the people of Old England that are endeavoring to take your and +our lands and liberties from us. * * * We desire that you will help +us to a priest that he may pray with us to God Almighty, etc., +etc." The Indians agreed to bring their furs and skins to Penobscot +and to procure their provisions, goods and ammunition there. Many +of them were heavily in debt to Simonds & White, so that the prospect +of a new trading post with no old scores to settle appeared to them +particularly inviting. + +Washington honored the Indians with letters accompanied by belts of +wampum, after the approved Indian fashion. A delegation from the St. +John river, Pierre Tomah at its head, went soon afterwards to +Washington's headquarters on the Delaware, where they received a +flattering welcome and were sumptuously entertained. On the 24th +December, 1776, Washington thus addressed them: + +"Brothers of the St. John's tribe: It gave me great pleasure to hear +by Major Shaw that you keep the chain of Friendship, which I sent you +in February last from Cambridge, bright and unbroken. I am glad to +hear that you have made a treaty of peace with your brothers and +neighbors of Massachusetts Bay. My good friend and brother, Gov'r +Pierre Tommah, and the warriors that came with him shall be taken good +care of, and when they want to return home they and our brothers of +Penobscot shall be furnished with everything necessary for their +journey. * * * Never let the King's wicked counsellors turn your +hearts against me and your brethren of this country, but bear in mind +what I told you last February and what I tell you now." + +Washington's overtures were not without effect. This is evident from +the fact that the Maugerville people in May, 1776, reported that Gen. +Washington's letter had set the Indians on fire, and they were +plundering all people they thought to be Tories, and that perhaps when +the supply of Tories was exhausted others might share the name fate. +"We think it necessary," they added, "that some person of consequence +be sent among them." The Indians had always been allies of the French +and had never fully accepted the change of ownership on the River St. +John. They were disposed to view the cause of the Americans with +favor, more particularly when the French became their allies. + +John Allan was by far the most active and energetic agent of Congress +in dealing with the Indians. He was born in Edinburgh and when four +years of age accompanied his parents to Halifax when that city was +founded by Cornwallis. At the commencement of the Revolution he lived +near Fort Cumberland, on the New Brunswick side of the isthmus of +Chignecto and carried on an extensive Indian trade visiting all the +villages as far west as the Penobscot river. His estimate of the +Indians is not particularly flattering. He says: "The Indians are +generally actuated according to the importance or influence any one +has who lives among them. They are credulous to a degree, will listen +to every report, and generally believe it and think everything true +that is told them." + +We shall presently see that Allan was able to make good use of his +knowledge of the weaknesses of Indian nature. He was appointed +superintendent of the Eastern Indians in 1777 by the Massachusetts +Congress, with the military rank of Colonel. He was the most +persevering and troublesome antagonist the British had in Eastern New +England. Had it not been for his exertions it is probable the +Americans would have lost their outpost at Machias, and it is possible +that the English would then have held the country as far west as the +River Kennebeck. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +AFFAIRS ON THE ST. JOHN DURING THE REVOLUTION. + + +In the year 1775 armed vessels were fitted out in several of the ports +of New England to prey on the commerce of Nova Scotia. Many of these +carried no proper commissions and were manned by hands of brutal +marauders whose conduct was so outrageous that even so warm a partizan +as Col. John Allan sent a remonstrance to congress regarding their +behaviour: "Their horrid crimes," he says, "are too notorious to pass +unnoticed," and after particularizing some of their enormities he +declares "such proceedings will occasion more Torys than a hundred +such expeditions will make good." + +The people of Machias were particularly fond of plundering their +neighbors, and that place was termed a "nest of pirates and rebels" by +General Eyre Massey, the commandant at Halifax. + +Early in the summer of 1775 it was rumored that Stephen Smith of +Machias, one of the delegates to the Massachusetts congress, had +orders to seize Fort Frederick, and the Governor of Nova Scotia +recommended the establishment of a garrison there to prevent such an +attempt. But the military authorities were too dilatory and in the +month of August a party from Machias, led by Smith, entered St. John +harbor in a sloop, burned Fort Frederick and the barracks and took +four men who were in the fort prisoners. The party also captured a +brig of 120 tons laden with oxen, sheep and swine, intended for the +British troops at Boston. This was the first hostile act committed in +Nova Scotia and it produced almost as great a sensation at Halifax as +at St. John. The event is thus described by our first local historian, +Peter Fisher, in his Sketches of New Brunswick:-- + +"A brig was sent from Boston to procure fresh provisions for the +British army, then in that town, from the settlements of the river +Saint John. The same vessel was laden with stock, poultry, and sundry +other articles mostly brought from Maugerville in small vessels and +gondolas, all of which had been put on board within about fifteen days +after the brig had arrived. While she was waiting for a fair wind and +clear weather an armed sloop of four guns and full of men from Machias +came into the harbor, took possession of the brig, and two days after +carried her off to Machias; the first night after their arrival the +enemy made the small party in the Fort prisoners, plundered them of +everything in it, and set fire to all the Barracks, but at that time +they did not molest any of the inhabitants on the opposite side of the +river." + +The burning of Fort Frederick seems to have been made known at Halifax +by James Simonds and Daniel Leavitt, who went to Windsor in a whale +boat to solicit to protection of government. Their report caused a +mild sensation on the part of the military authorities, and they began +to take measures for the defence of the province, although it was more +than two years before any adequate protection was afforded the +settlers at St. John. Being apprehensive that the company's effects +in the store at Portland Point might be carried off by marauders, Mr. +Simonds a few weeks afterwards carried a portion of the goods to +Windsor in the schooner "Polly" and disposed of them as well as he +could. + +The next year was a decidedly uncomfortable one for the people living +at Portland Point. In the month of May two privateers entered the +harbor, remaining more than a week. Their boats proceeded up the river +as far as Maugerville and informed the people that the province would +soon be invaded from the westward, that privateers were thick on the +coasts and would stop all manner of commerce unless the settlers +joined them. They threatened, moreover, that should the Americans be +put to the trouble and expense of conquering the country all who sided +with the mother country must expect to lose their property and lands. +About this time some Indians arrived with letters from General +Washington, and it was believed that the whole tribe was about +entering into an alliance with the Americans, as they showed a decided +predilection in their favor and even threatened to kill the white +inhabitants unless they would join the "Boston men." There can be +little doubt that the majority of the people on the River St. John +were at this time not indisposed to side with the Revolutionary party. +A public meeting was held on the 14th of May, 1776, at the meeting +house in Maugerville, at which a number of highly disloyal resolutions +were unanimously adopted. One of the leading spirits at this meeting +was the Rev. Seth Noble, who had already written to Gen'l. Washington +to represent the importance of obtaining control of western Nova +Scotia, including the River St. John. Jacob Barker, Esq'r., was chosen +chairman and a committee, consisting of Jacob Barker, Israel Perley, +Phineas Nevers, Daniel Palmer, Moses Pickard, Edward Coy, Thomas +Hartt, Israel Kinny, Asa Kimble, Asa Perley, Oliver Perley and Hugh +Quinton, was appointed to prepare the resolutions which were +subsequently adopted by the meeting. One of the resolutions reads:-- + + "Resolved, That it is our minds and desire to submit ourselves to + the government of Massachusetts Bay and that we are ready with our + lives and fortunes to share with them the event of the present + struggle for liberty, however God in his providence may order + it." + +The resolutions adopted were circulated among all the settlers on the +river and signed by 125 persons, most of them heads of families. The +committee claimed that only twelve or thirteen persons refused to +sign, of whom the majority lived at the river's mouth. If this +statement be correct, the resolutions certainly could not have been +submitted to all the inhabitants, for there is evidence to show that +at least thirty families outside of the township of Maugerville were +steadfastly and consistently loyal to the government under which they +lived. The names of these people are as deserving of honor as the +names of the Loyalists, who came to the province from the old colonies +in 1783. In the township of Maugerville the sentiment of the people +was almost unanimous in favor of the Revolution and we have no data to +determine who were loyalists--if any. But at St. Anns we have Benjamin +Atherton and Philip Weade; in the township of Burton, John Larley, +Joseph Howland, and Thomas Jones; in Gagetown Zebulon Estey, Henry +West, John Crabtree, John Hendrick, Peter Carr and Lewis Mitchell; on +the Kennebecasis Benjamin Darling; in the township of Conway, Samuel +Peabody, Jonathan Leavitt, Thomas Jenkins, John Bradley, Gervas Say, +James Woodman, Peter Smith, and Christopher Cross; at Portland Point, +James Simonds, James White, William Hazen, John Hazen, William Godsoe, +Lemuel Cleveland, Robert Cram, John Nason, Moses Greenough, +Christopher Blake and most of the men in the employ of Hazen, Simonds +& White. + +A number of Acadians too were loyal to the government of Nova Scotia +and should be mentioned in this connection. Louis Mercure and his +brother Michel Mercure rendered good service to the Governor of Nova +Scotia in carrying dispatches to and from Quebec during the war +period. Of the Martin family, Jean, Simon, Joseph, Francois and Amant +were warmly commended by Major Studholme for their fidelity and active +exertions on various occasions. Members of the Cyr family also +rendered important services as guides or pilots, Oliver, Jean Baptiste +and Pierre Cyr being employed in that capacity by Major Studholme and +Lieut. Governor Michael Francklin. + +At this distance of time it is difficult to determine the number of +people on the river who were disposed to be actively disloyal. That +they had many inducements to cast their fortunes with their friends in +Massachusetts is undeniable. At Maugerville the powerful influence of +the pastor of the church, Rev. Seth Noble, and of the leading elders +and church members was exerted in behalf of the American congress. +Jacob Barker, who presided at the meeting held on the 14th May, was a +justice of the peace and ruling elder of the church. Israel Perley and +Phineas Nevers were justices of the peace and had represented the +county of Sunbury in the Nova Scotia legislature. Daniel Palmer, +Edward Coy, Israel Kinney and Asa Perley were ruling elders of the +church. Moses Pickard, Thomas Hartt and Hugh Quinton were leading +church members. The gentlemen named, with Asa Kimball and Oliver +Perley, were appointed a committee "to make immediate application to +the Congress or General Assembly of Massachusetts Bay for relief under +the present distressed circumstances." + +At the Maugerville meeting it was unanimously agreed that the +committee, whose names have just been mentioned, should have charge of +all matters civil and military until further regulations should be +made, and that all who signed the resolutions should have no dealings +with any person for the future who should refuse to sign them. The +tone of several of the resolutions was that of open defiance to the +constituted authority of Nova Scotia, the signers pledging themselves +to support and defend the actions of their committee at the expense, +if necessary, of their lives and fortunes. One of the resolutions +reads: + + "Resolved that we will immediately put ourselves in the best + posture of defence in our power; that to this end we will prevent + all unnecessary use of gunpowder or other ammunition in our + custody." + +Asa Perley and Asa Kimball, two of the committee, were sent to Boston +to interview the Massachusetts congress on behalf of the people living +on the river. The commissary general there was directed to deliver +them one barrel of gunpowder, 350 flints and 250 weight of lead from +the colony's stores; they were also allowed to purchase 40 stand of +small arms. + +So far all seemed favorable to the promoters of rebellion, but bitter +humiliation was in store, and within a year the vast majority of those +who had pledged themselves to the people of Massachusetts as "ready +with their lives and fortunes to share with them the event of the +present struggle for liberty, however God in His providence may order +it," were compelled to take the oath of allegiance to His Majesty King +George the Third for the defence of the province of Nova Scotia +against all his enemies. + +An impartial review of the situation on the St. John at this stage of +the American Revolution would seem to show that the sympathies of a +large majority of the settlers were with the revolutionary party, at +the same time many of the people were much less enthusiastic than +their leaders and if left to themselves would probably have hesitated +to sign the resolutions framed by their committee. The presence of the +privateersmen, who came up the river at the time the meeting at +Maugerville was held, was an incentive to many to sign the resolutions +and the attitude of the Indians was a further inducement to stand in +with the people of Massachusetts, who had lately entered into an +alliance with the savages. + +During the autumn of this year (1776) the Bay of Fundy was so infested +with pirates and picaroons that the war vessels Vulture, Hope and +Albany were ordered around from Halifax. They were not entirely +successful in their endeavor to furnish protection, for the privateers +frequently managed to steal past the large ships in the night and in +fogs and continued to pillage the defenceless inhabitants. + +Another hostile act was now undertaken by the people of Machias of a +more ambitious kind than the destruction of Fort Frederick. This was +nothing less than an attempt to capture Fort Cumberland, where Lieut. +Col. Joseph Goreham was in command with a detachment of the Royal +Fencible Americans. This attempt was in the end a miserable fiasco, +but it occasioned much alarm at the time and was the cause of some +distress to the loyal inhabitants of that region. + +The leader of the expedition against Fort Cumberland was Jonathan +Eddy, who had lately been commissioned a lieutenant colonel by the +Massachusetts congress. He was a native of Norton (Mass.), and had +settled in Cumberland about 1763, but early in the Revolution returned +to Massachusetts. About the time of the Declaration of Independence, +in July, 1776, Eddy set out from Boston in company with Jonathan Rowe +(lately a resident at St. John) and proceeded to Machias. He left that +place about the middle of August in a schooner with only 28 men as a +nucleus of his proposed army. At Passamaquoddy a few people joined +him. The party did not meet with much encouragement on their arrival +at St. John, although Hazen, Simonds and White from motives of +prudence refrained from any hostile demonstration. Proceeding up the +river to Maugerville Eddy met with greater encouragement. "I found the +people," he writes, "to be almost universally hearty in our cause; +they joined us with one captain, one lieutenant and twenty-five men, +as also sixteen Indians." The captain of the St. John river contingent +was probably Hugh Quinton[101] who has as his lieutenant one Jewett +of Maugerville. Others of the party were Daniel Leavitt, William +McKeen, Elijah Estabrooks, Edward Burpee, Nathan Smith, John Pickard, +Edmund Price, Amasa Coy, John Mitchell, Richard Parsons, Benjamin +Booby and John Whitney. The rest of the party lived in Maugerville but +their names are not known. + + [101] Hugh Quinton is called Captain Quinton by the rebel Col. John + Allan in his diary, printed in Kidder's "Military Operations + in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia during the Revolution." The + report of Major Studholme's exploration party in 1783 states + that "Quinton was one of the Cumberland party, but since hath + taken the Oath of Allegiance to his Majesty and behaved in a + loyal manner; turned out sundry times and fought the rebel + parties." + +On his arrival at Cumberland Jonathan Eddy was joined by many of the +settlers there who, like himself, were originally from New England. +His whole force probably did not exceed 200 men, badly equipped and +without artillery. The Indians of the St. John were under the +leadership of Ambroise St. Aubin, one of their chiefs, and Eddy says +they "beheaved most gallantly."[102] However, the expedition failed to +achieve anything of importance. The rebels plundered some of the loyal +inhabitants, seized one or two small provision sloops and captured +several prisoners, including the Rev. John Eagleson, acting chaplain +of the garrison. All attempts to take the fort were futile, and the +arrival of Major Batt and Captain Studholme with reinforcement from +Windsor rendered Eddy's situation exceedingly precarious. On the 28th +November his forces were utterly routed by Major Batt and hastily +retired to the River St. John. They suffered great hardships on the +way and arrived at that place in a very miserable condition. Unwelcome +as they had proved to the people of Portland Point on the occasion of +their advance they were still more unwelcome visitors on their return. +In their forlorn condition Hazen, Simonds and White were obliged to +furnish them with provisions and supplies in order to keep them from +plundering their houses and stores. All that the trading company +obtained in return was a bill of exchange on the Massachusetts +congress, which probably was never paid: + + "Gentlemen,--At sight of this our second Bill (first of same tenor + and date not paid) please to pay to Messrs. William Hazen, James + Simonds and James White, or order, forty-one Spanish milled + Dollars for value received of them. + + EZEKIEL FOSTER, Lt., + EDMUND STEVENS, Capt., + DAVID PRESCOTT, Lt., + DANIEL MESERVY, Lt. + + Portland, Nova Scotia, December 14th, 1776. + + To the Honorable Council of Massachusetts State. + + [102] A pretty full account of the siege of Fort Cumberland will be + found in the Canadian Archives for 1894, pp. 355-366. Other + particulars are to be found in Kidder's Military Operations in + Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia, pp. 67-74. + +James White says the supplies furnished to Prescott & Co., were +regarded as for the common cause and benefit to get rid of a needy +lawless banditti. + +On the 10th February ensuing General Massey wrote to the secretary of +State that Eddy, Rogers, Allen and Howe were at the River St. John +preparing with the Indians for attacks on various points in the +Spring. To counteract the designs of Eddy and his associates Colonel +Michael Francklin was appointed Superintendent of Indian affairs about +this time. + +Early in May, 1777, a serious attempt was made by John Allan to +establish a trading post for the Indians on the River St. John. James +Simonds proceeded via Windsor to Halifax, and reported the matter to +the civil and military authorities. Lieut.-Governor Arbuthnot at once +sent Colonel Arthur Goold and an armed party, commanded by Major +Studholme, to investigate, and on their arrival at St. John the +Machias rebels promptly decamped. On the 9th May Goold wrote a letter +to the inhabitants of the townships up the river stating that the +government of Nova Scotia was well informed of their treasonable +doings, and that the tenure of their present possessions was due to +the clemency of "the most just, generous and best of Princes." He +informed them that his object was to effect a reconciliation for them +with Government, and added that while he came to them with the olive +branch of peace, in the event of a refusal of his overtures an armed +force would follow and employ a very different argument. + +A meeting was immediately held at Maugerville, and in reply to Goold a +letter was sent "by order of the body of the inhabitants assembled," +written and signed in their behalf by Israel Perley. In this letter +the inhabitants aver "that their greatest desire hath ever been to +live in peace under good and wholesome laws," and they declare +themselves "ready to attend to any conditions of lenity and oblivion +that may be held out to them." + +Colonel Goold in his reply expresses his pleasure at the unanimity of +their resolution to observe loyalty and obedience to the government +under which they lived and his surprise that they should suffer a few +incendiaries to disturb the public tranquillity. He hoped the word +"Committee" had nothing so terrible in its sound as to frighten a +majority of the loyal people. "Why not," he says, "form a Committee in +favor of Government and see which is strongest? I will throw myself +into your scale and make no doubt but we shall soon over balance these +mighty Law-givers." + +On the afternoon of May 13, two of John Allan's lieutenants, William +Howe and John Preble, arrived at Manawagonish Cove[103] in a whale +boat, not knowing of the presence of a British sloop of war at St. +John. Captain Featus, the commander of the "Vulture," promptly +dispatched a boat to the place and took their whale boat, but Howe and +Preble and their party fled to the woods and eventually got back to +Machias. The captain of the "Vulture" also intercepted two schooners +laden with supplies for the proposed Indian "Truck House." + + [103] Commonly called Mahogany Cove, about three miles to the west of + the harbor of St. John. + +Evidently there was a lack of harmony and mutual confidence among +the inhabitants of Maugerville at this time, for on the 16th May +they wrote to Colonel Goold a letter in which, after representing +their recent conduct in the best light they could and admitting +that they had acted in opposition to this Majesty's Government, they +say: "As your honor is pleased to tell us that you bring the Olive +Branch of Peace we humbly crave the benefit, and as we were +jointly concerned in the first transgressions we now humbly +request that no distinction may be made as to a pardon, there +being in this place as in all others private prejudices and +contentions, and perhaps some persons may avail themselves of this +opportunity to got revenge by representing their private enemies +as the greatest enemies of Government. We earnestly request no such +complaint may prevail upon your Honor to make any distinction with +regard to any person, on the River, and we beg your Honor's answer +to this petition from your Honor's most humble servants. + + [Signed]. Israel Perley, Seth Noble, Jonathan Burpee, Elisha +Nevers, junr." + +In reply to the letter, from which the foregoing is taken, Colonel +Goold said that his ears would be shut to all insinuations as to the +honesty of their submission, that their letter "seems to breathe the +sentiments of a sincere repentance for inconsiderate follies past" and +that he had not the least doubt it would meet with as favorable a +reception as they could desire. + +In spite of Goold's tact and diplomacy there were a few irreconcilables, +and on the 19th of May he wrote from Maugerville to Major Studholme, who +had remained with the troops at the mouth of the river: + + "As notwithstanding every measure which I have taken to reclaim + some of the principal people concerned in the late defection, + amounting to rebellion, on this river has proved fruitless, and + they still continue obstinately bent on quitting their houses and + families rather than submit to his Majesty's gracious offers of + clemency, I think it my duty to give you their names--Seth Noble, + Elisha Nevers, Jacob Barker--that you may act upon the occasion + agreeable to the orders you may have received from Major General + Massey." + +Colonel Goold administered the oath of allegiance to all but a few of +the people and, as his last word, charged them on no account to suffer +those who inconveniently absented themselves from accepting the +proposals of the Lieutenant Governor to return to their habitations +without first proceeding to Halifax to beg pardon for their past +behaviour. "I have nothing more to observe to you," he adds, "but that +you are not to pay any more respect to those Gentlemen, who lately +styled themselves your rulers, than to every other common member of +the community." + +On his return to Halifax, Col. Goold reported to Lt.-Gov'r Arbuthnot +that the inhabitants at the River St. John had cheerfully taken the +oath of allegiance, after delivering up two pieces of ordnance, +formerly concealed by the French inhabitants. + +While he was at the River St. John Goold had an interview with the +Indians and made a speech to them in French, which seems to have +produced a strong impression. Eight of the chiefs and captains swore +allegiance to King George the Third in the name of their tribe, and +had they been let alone by Allan it is probable the Indians would have +given no further trouble to the Government or Nova Scotia. Colonel +Goold regarded his arrival as opportune as Allan, Howe and others from +Machias were assembled "to play the same game as last year." Before he +left the river he addressed a letter to the Indians in French, +promising that he would represent to Lieut. Governor Arbuthnot their +great desire to have a priest, and expressing his confidence that they +might have Mons'r. Bourg, then stationed at the Bay of Chaleur, who +would be put on the same footing as their late missionary Bailly. + +John Allan was altogether too determined a man to abandon the struggle +for supremacy on the St. John without another attempt. He learned on +the 29th of May that the "Vulture" had returned to Annapolis and he +set out the very next day from Machias with a party of 43 men in four +whale boats and four birch canoes. At Passamaquoddy he met with some +encouragement and thirteen canoes joined the flotilla, which proceeded +on to Musquash Cove, where they arrived on the evening of the 1st of +June. Having ascertained that there were no hostile vessels at St. +John harbor, Allan sent one of his captains named West with a party to +seize Messrs. Hazen, Simonds and White. The party landed at +Manawagonish Cove and marched through the woods to the St. John river +above the falls, crossing in canoes to the east side of the river and +landing at what is now Indiantown. Proceeding on through scrubby woods +and over rough limestone they reached Portland Point undiscovered and +took William Hazen and James White prisoners. James Simonds and Israel +Perley had accompanied Col. Goold to Halifax, and in this way Mr. +Simonds escaped capture, but it seems that a little later he was not +so fortunate. There was now no good will between the people of +Portland Point and their neighbors to the west. Allan states in his +journal "Hazen and Simonds jeered our officers, saying that they made +breastworks of women and children." Tradition has it that on one +occasion James Simonds told a party of marauders who had come to +pillage that they would never dare to face the King's soldiers for +their blood was nothing but molasses and water. + +Leaving a guard of sixty men at the mouth of the river under Capt. +West, the rest of the invaders proceeded up the river taking their +prisoners with them. West and his party took possession of Woodman's +store and buildings opposite Indiantown and occupied them for +barracks. Allan directed them "To range the woods from Hazen's across +the river above the falls round to the Old Fort," and in accordance +with his instructions, the party came over every day to the Portland +shore in order to capture any vessel that might enter the harbor and +to prevent the landing of marines or seamen from any British man of +war. + +Allan in his diary gives an account of his trip up the St. John, which +is of much local interest. He claims that the majority of the +settlers, despite their late submission to Colonel Goold, were +friendly to the American cause, although some were "great Zealots for +Britain." Gervas Say and Lewis Mitchell are said to have been +instrumental in bringing Col. Goold to the river, and Allan endeavored +to seize them. Mitchell's influence was feared on account of his being +of "an insinuating turn, particularly among the French and Indians." +Mitchell was captured by strategy at his house above Grimross, but a +few days later he "made his elopement" and with the assistance of +other loyalists was not long in bringing a hornet's nest about the +ears of his captors. + +On the 5th of June, 1777, John Allan and his party arrived at the +Indian village of Aukpaque where forty or fifty Indians arrayed in war +costume of paint and feathers fired a salute of welcome. The visitors +responded and in order still further to impress the Indians landed +their two cannon and discharged them. Allan says that he found several +of the Indian captains were vastly fond of Colonel Goold and seemed +undetermined what to do. The inclinations of the head chiefs were +diverse. Ambroise St. Aubin favored the Americans but Pierre Tomah, +the head chief, inclined the other way. Allan, knowing full well by +experience as an Indian trader the weak points of Indian character, +flattered them, appealed to their cupidity, promised them presents and +supplies at the trading posts he was about to establish, recalled the +days when they regarded the French as their brothers affirming he had +come to do them justice with the same authority Monsieur Boishebert +had exercised in the French time. He was formally admitted into their +tribe and as they had then no missionary the priest's house, adjoining +the chapel, was placed at his disposal. During the next four weeks +there were formal conferences with the Indians with the usual +harangues, exchange of wampum belts and other ceremonies, in all of +which the American agent appeared to advantage. The chiefs made quite +a grand appearance on these occasions, particularly Ambroise St. +Aubin, who was attired in blue Persian silk coat, embroidered crimson +silk waistcoat, scarlet knee breeches and gold lace hat with white +cockade. In the intervals between the formal conferences Allan visited +the various wig-wams exercising his powers of persuasion. Messengers +were sent up the river to invite delegates from Medoctec and Madawaska +and they were not long in coming when they learned that Allan had a +quantity of supplies and presents at his disposal. The Madawaska +delegates arrived on the 20th of June in three birch canoes; in their +party were seven chiefs and captains, one of whom had lately assumed +the name of Washington. Allan wrote to Boston that he needed an +abundance of things sent him as he had been forced to be very lavish +in his dealings with the Indians. In the same letter he says of the +white inhabitants on the river: "I am sorry to say that the people +have not acted with that spirit that becomes the subjects of Liberty. +Much division has been among them * * and having no encouragement of +success from the Westward and being surprised so suddenly by Col. +Goold the whole gave up and are now become the subjects of Britain. +The greatest part, I believe, is as zealous as ever and it is their +earnest desire that a sufficient force be sent from the continent." + +William Hazen and James White had been left by Col. Allan prisoners on +parole at the mouth of the river but a little later they were brought +up the river to Aukpaque by Capt. Preble. James White's long +acquaintance with the Indians gave him an influence which Allan seems +to have feared, for after they had been with him a week he issued the +following order:-- + + "Wednesday, June 18, 1777, Prisoners Hazen and White are to mess + by themselves for the future, not any of our people to join + them." + +The very next day they were sent to the mouth of the river again and +placed in charge of Capt. West and his party. + +After the arrival of the Indian delegates from Medoctec and Madawaska +a general conference was held at Aukpaque, and it was agreed "that +peace and friendship be now established permanent and lasting between +the United States and the several tribes"; also that a truck house be +established by John Preble where the Indians should obtain good prices +for their furs. + +The account of John Allan's doings at Aukpaque, as found in the diary +kept by his lieutenant, Frederick Delesderniers, is very interesting +reading. It is apparent to one who reads between the lines that Allan +felt he was engaged in a game at which two could play, and he feared +the outcome. In spite of his zealous efforts and apparent success he +was suspicious of his native allies. He complains that the impression +Colonel Goold had made seemed to occasion in them an unsteady conduct, +so much so that notwithstanding their fair speeches, he at times +thought that they would desert him after all. He was the more uneasy +when informed by Israel Perley, on his return from Halifax, that the +government of Nova Scotia had appointed so competent a man as Col. +Michael Francklin agent of Indian affairs. + +As soon as the authorities at Halifax were informed of Allan's +expedition and of what was going on at the River St. John they sent +the warship "Mermaid" and the sloops "Vulture" and "Hope" with a +detachment of troops under Major Studholme to put a stop to the +proceedings. Allan's force at the mouth of the river consisted of +about sixty men under command of Captains West and Dyer. The "Vulture" +arrived on June 23rd and an attempt was made to land a party of troops +at Portland Point, but being fired upon by the enemy and having no +exact information as to their strength, nothing further was attempted +until the arrival of the other ships. Allan says "The 'Vulture' +anchored within cannon shot of Simonds[104] where our party lay." + + [104] That is Simonds house at Portland Point. + +On the morning, of the 30th of June about 120 men under command of +Major Studholme left the ships in eight barges and landed at "Mahogany +bay," opposite the house of Samuel Peabody. They marched thence +through the woods two and a half miles in the direction of the falls. +Near what is now called Fairville, Studholme encountered about 40 men +under Captain West and a sharp conflict ensued in which several were +killed on both sides. The American invaders were soon put to flight +and retired with great precipitation. It is said that one poor fellow +climbed into a tree and might have escaped, but the cracking of a +branch betrayed his hiding place, and a soldier "dropped him like a +little carrier pigeon." The next day Colonel Francklin arrived from +Windsor with about 150 troops and militia. + +Finding Studholme in hot pursuit West and his men ascended the +Oromocto and crossing to the head waters of the Maguadavic managed to +reach Machias. They had little or no provisions and endured almost +intolerable hardships. When tidings of the disaster were brought to +Aukpaque all was consternation. Pierre Tomah and some of the Indians +were disposed to listen to the overtures of Michael Francklin, but +Ambroise St. Aubin and the others were of a contrary mind. + +The approach of the British filled the Indians with serious alarm, and +this Allan did not try to allay, his greatest fear being that Pierre +Tomah, "always considered a Tory," might induce the majority to make +terms with the English. He succeeded in persuading the Indians that +their safest course was to retire with him, assuring them that the +Americans would shortly regain possession of the river, and that the +Massachusetts government would provide for them and in the end reward +them for their fidelity. The Indians resolved to accompany Allan to +Machias. They abandoned their cornfields, took down their chapel bell +and moved across the river to the mouth of the Keswick. A conference +was held with the Indians in Mazroles's barn on Sunday, July 6th, at +which Delesderniere says Colonel Allan made a very moving speech. The +same night Allan's men were surprised at Aukpaque by a British +detachment who secured the baggage, provisions, cannon and arms they +had in charge. The party had separated and gone to various French +houses in the vicinity that they might not crowd one another, +otherwise they must inevitably have all been taken. According to +Delesderniers' story the French did all they could to save Allan's men +and for recompense had their houses pillaged and burned and some of +themselves made prisoners by the English. It was reported that the +English soldiers had expressed their determination to follow Allan to +the gates of hell to take him--they would at least follow to Medoctec. +All this time Pierre Tomah was trying to make terms with the British +and was much dejected that he could not carry his tribe with him. + +Allan now donned the garb of an Indian chief, resolved to wear it to +Machias. On his arrival at Medoctec he was in such a sorry plight that +he wrote to his friends "I am at present destitute of everything, I am +forced to put up with the fare the Indians can provide. I must again +implore some help for the Indians; I am still suspicious if I leave +them they will turn." + +Arrived at the old historic village of Medoctec (eight miles below the +modern town of Woodstock) John Allan and his dusky companions did not +long hesitate what course to pursue. Two Indian scouts sent down the +river quickly returned with information that the English had given up +the chase of West and his party, who fled by way of the Oromocto +river, and were on their way to Medoctec in pursuit of Allan. This +decided the Indians to proceed at once to Machias. The exodus was a +remarkable one even for so migratory a people as the Maliseets. On +Sunday, July 13th, a party of about 480 Indians--men, women and +children--embarked in 128 canoes. The journey to Machias occupied +three weeks and the party had a sorry time of it. The midsummer heat +was excessive, the mosquitoes abundant, provisions scanty and the +lowness of the streams greatly retarded the progress of the canoes. At +each of the carrying places along the route a lively scene presented +itself. "It is incredible," says Delesderniers in his diary, "what +difficulties the Indians undergo in this troublesome time when so many +families are obliged to fly with precipitation rather than become +friends to the tyrant of Britain. Some backing their aged parents, +others their maimed and decrepid brethern, the old women leading the +young children, mothers carrying their infants, together with great +loads of baggage. As to the canoes the men make it a play to carry +them across." The Indians after a time became impatient and desirous +to return. They represented to Allan that they had abandoned the +fertile banks of the St. John, their cornfields and hunting grounds +for his sake, and requested that the Americans would vigorously exert +themselves to take possession of and fortify that river, promising +that they would assist in an expedition to gain and hold it or lose +their lives in the attempt. + +Allan's enthusiasm over the spirit displayed by the Indians and their +loyalty to him as their leader was somewhat dampened by their alarming +consumption of his provisions and supplies, which he was obliged to +dispense with a free hand or run the chance of their leaving him. + +The account of Colonel John Allan's operations on the River St. John +given in the former part of this chapter may be supplemented by +Colonel Michael Francklin's official report to the Governor of Canada, +Sir Guy Carleton, which follows: + + Nova Scotia, River St. John, + Maugerville, 23d July, 1777. + + Sir,--The Continental Congress having by their Emissarys taken + every method to alienate the affection of the savages of this + Province from His Majesty so far prevailed as to induce part of + the Tribes of this River, Passamaquoddie and Penobscott to + associate last Fall with a few banditti from the eastern parts of + New England, who together with some of our Provincial Rebels + plundered the peaceable inhabitants of the County of Cumberland, + seized upon the King's provision vessels, and presumed to invest + Fort Cumberland, but were finally defeated by His Majesty's Troops + under the command of Major Batt of the Royal Fencible American + Regt. + + Since last Fall a John Allan, late an Inhabitant of this Province, + has been appointed by the General Congress agent to the Indians, + and the beginning of June entered the River with Two pieces of + cannon and about 120 Rebels, who were to be followed by a more + considerable body. These Rebels were defeated the 30th of June at + the mouth of the River by the King's Troops under the command of + Brigade Major Studholme, sent by Major General Massey. The day + following I arrived in a civil capacity with about 150 Troops and + militia from Windsor. These Rebels in their flight have been + obliged to divide, one part passing over our western Boundary at + about twenty miles from the sea, but Allan with the other part + have been pursued up this river more than 120 miles and have + retired from Medoctic by way of Penobscott. This last party were + joined by Ambrose St. Auban, an Indian Chief, and some others whom + I could not possibly draw off frown assisting the enemy, without + whose aid they must have perished, having lost their little + baggage, provisions, cannon and arms by one of our detachments + falling on them on the 6th instant at Augpeake, ninety miles up + this river. We are friendly with Pierre Toma, the other Indian + chief, and part of the savages, and hostilities have not even been + committed by us against the others. + + "I have been particular that you Excellency may know our + situation. An Indian war is of all others the most to be + dreaded by this Government from the scattered situation of our + settlements, and a word from your Excellency to the savages of + this River, Passamaquoddie and Penobscott, sent by some of your + well affected Indian Chiefs of the neighborhood of Quebec may + have a very great weight with them and prevent much ruin and + expense. + + "I have the honor to be, with respect, + Your Excellency's most obedient and most humble servant, + + MICH. FRANCKLIN." + +The hint contained in the last paragraph of Francklin's letter +evidently was not lost upon Sir Guy Carleton, for later on, deputies +from the Ottawas, Hurons, Algonquins, and other nations of Canada +arrived at the River St. John and ordered the Micmacs and Maliseets to +withdraw from the Americans and to remain quiet otherwise they would +declare war against them. Upon receipt of this message, Francklin +says, the Indians almost universally withdrew from Machias and +remained tranquil to the close of the war. But this is anticipating +the course of events. + +Michael Francklin, though a native of the South of England, was +admirably fitted for the position of superintendent of Indian affairs +in Nova Scotia. He was at one time a captive with the Indians and had +learned their language and customs. He was also conversant with the +French tongue and this gave him still greater influence. + +Unfortunately for the settlers at the mouth of the river a garrison +was not left there for their protection by Francklin and Studholme, +and as soon as the English ships departed Portland and Conway were as +defenceless as ever. Privateers again appeared. The people were robbed +and maltreated so that many were compelled to abandon their homes and +seek refuge up the river. + +Late in the autumn of this year an American sloop carrying eight guns +entered St. John Harbor. Her captain, who bore the singular name A. +Greene Crabtree, proved the most unwelcome and rapacious visitor that +had yet appeared. Many of the settlers fled to the woods to escape the +vandalism of his crew. From the store at Portland Point 21 boat loads +of goods were taken. The plunder included a lot of silver ornaments, +fuzees and other articles left by the Indians as pledges for their +debts.[105] + + [105] Some of the Indian pledges were valuable. Wm. Hazen says + that among the articles that escaped the notice of the + privateers-men on this occasion were eight silver arm + clasps, two of which he afterwards sold for L4. + +John Allan seems to have had doubts as to whether this kind of thing +came within the pale of civilized warfare, for in a letter written at +Machias, November 18, 1777, he says: + + "Capt. A. Greene Crabtree arrived here yesterday. He has been to + the mouth of the St. John's where he found a Truck House erected + by the Britons under the care of Messrs. Hazen, White and Simonds. + He took everything of their property only. Also all the Indian + Pledges he has bro't and delivered me, expecting some payment. I + cannot say how far this was legal for a Privateer, but I am + extremely glad it is done." + +The situation at the mouth of the St. John had now become intolerable; +the inhabitants were well nigh beggared and the end of their trials +apparently had not yet been reached. William Hazen therefore +proceeded to Windsor and urgently demanded protection. Col. Small, of +the Royal Highland Emigrants, went with him to Halifax and by their +united efforts the authorities were convinced of the necessity for +immediate action. A considerable body of troops was ordered to St. +John with directions to either repair Fort Frederick or to build a +new fort as might seem most desirable. General Massey's choice of +Gilfred Studholme as commander of the expedition was a wise one. He +was not only a brave and capable officer but his former experience +as commander of the Fort Frederick garrison, and his intimate +knowledge of the River St. John and its inhabitants--Whites and +Indians--rendered him peculiarly fitted for the task to which he was +appointed. + +We come now to consider the circumstances under which Fort Howe was +built. + +[Illustration: FORT HOWE IN 1781] + +Lieut.-Governor Arbuthnot wrote to the Secretary of State, Lord George +Germaine, on the 11th October, 1777, that in consequence of frequent +attacks on the settlements on the St. John river by the Machias rebels +he had requested Brig.-Gen. Massey to establish a fortified post at +the mouth of that river with a garrison of fifty men; this with the +aid of a British frigate he thought would secure the inhabitants from +further molestation, and prevent the Americans from occupying the +post, an object they had long coveted. In the latter part of November, +Brigade Major Studholme was sent to St. John with fifty picked men, a +framed block-house and four six-pounders. The small force was brought +in a sloop of war, which remained in the harbor for their protection +till the next spring. + +Studholme at first thought of restoring Fort Frederick, which the +rebels had burned the year before, but in the end it was decided to +erect a new fortification on the commanding site since known as Fort +Howe. The lateness of the season rendered it necessary for the +garrison to lose no time. They set to work vigorously and with the +assistance of the inhabitants erected the blockhouses, threw up the +necessary defences, and were in snug winter quarters ere the cold +weather set in. + +The accompanying illustration is taken from a sketch of Fort Howe in +1781 by Capt. Benjamin Marston on board his vessel the "Brittania", +which was then lying at anchor in the harbor; the original is believed +to be the only representation of Fort Howe before the arrival of the +Loyalists that is in existence. + +Colonel Robert Morse of the Royal Engineers thus describes the fort as +he saw it in 1783:-- + + "This little work was erected in the course of the late war in + preference to repairing a small square fort thrown up during the + former war [Fort Frederick] the position of the latter being low + and commanded, and not so well situated for the protection of the + houses built in the cod of the bay, where two or three persons + lived of a company to whom a large tract of land had been granted + and who carried on a considerable trade with the Indians and + persons settled up the river. The ridge upon which the new fort + stands was offered by them and a work in which there are eight + pieces of cannon, barracks for 100 men, and a small block-house + was accordingly erected, together with a larger block-house at the + other end of the ridge. The block-houses remain, but the work, + which was composed of fascines and sods, is falling down, and the + ridge on which it stands is too narrow to admit of any useful + works being constructed upon it." + +The armament of Fort Howe, according to Col. Morse, consisted of 2 +five and a half inch brass mortars, and 8 iron guns; the latter +comprising 2 eighteen-pounders, 4 six-pounders, and 2 four-pounders. +In the barracks were twelve rooms for the officers and accommodation +for 100 men. + +The guns of Fort Howe would be no better than pop-guns in modern +warfare. Indeed they appear never to have been fired upon an invader. +On Royal anniversaries and in honor of national victories they +thundered forth a salute from their iron throats, and we may believe +that on the ever memorable 18th of May, 1783, they gave a right royal +welcome to the Loyalist founders of the City of St. John. + +Scarcely had Major Studholme got his defences in order at Fort Howe, +when the old Machias pirate, A. Greene Crabtree, reappeared upon the +scene. He had disposed of his former booty and returned to complete +the work of destruction. In order to accomplish his design he landed a +party from his eight-gun vessel at Manawagonish, and proceeded through +the woods intending to surprise the settlement at Portland Point; but +in this case the surprise was his own. The sight of the British flag +waving from the ramparts of Fort Howe was quite sufficient; he showed +no inclination to try the mettle of Studholme's garrison, and beat a +hasty retreat. + +General Massey, who had sent Studholme's party to St. John, was of the +opinion that a rigorous policy should be set on foot against the +privateers, and in a letter to Lord Germaine laments that Arbuthnot +did not command the naval squadron. "If he did," he says, "these +trifling pirates could not appear on the coast without meeting their +deserved fate." In the course of the next summer Captain Fielding +succeeded in destroying six privateers in the space of three weeks +time, and this served to render the Bay of Fundy coast a little more +secure. But already much damage had been inflicted. In the township +of Conway, on the west side of St. John harbor, the settlers had been +obliged to abandon their homes. Daniel and Jonathan Leavitt built +small houses in Carleton near old Fort Frederick, where they were +under the protection of Fort Howe. Messrs. Samuel Peabody, Gervas Say, +Elijah Estabrooks, James Woodman, Thomas Jenkins, Zebedee Ring, John +Bradley, John Jones and Peter Smith were so harrassed "by the +continual robberies of the Rebel boats" that they were compelled to +move up the river to escape the dangers of their exposed situation. + +James Simonds also decided to change his residence at this time, and +in the month of May (1778) he removed his effects and placed them on +board a small vessel, lying above the falls, and with his family +proceeded sixty miles up the river to a tract of land in the parish of +Sheffield, which he had purchased of Charles Morris. The property +comprised about 2,000 acres, but at the time of Mr. Simonds' arrival +not a single tree had been cut upon it. He built a small log house on +the bank of the river just above Loder's Creek as a shelter for his +young and helpless family, and here they were destined to spend the +next nine years of their lives. He left to Lemuel Cleveland the care +of his house at Portland Point, and leased all his lands and buildings +at the mouth of the river to Major Studholme for L60 per annum. + +The presence of the garrison at Fort Howe did not entirely prevent the +Machias marauders from interfering with the loyal inhabitants of St. +John, and Messrs. Hazen and White arranged with John Curry of +Campobello to give them warning whenever possible of any danger that +might threaten from the direction of Machias. + +John Curry was a native of Ireland. He came to Passamaquoddy about +1770, settled there and was appointed a justice of the peace in 1774. +He was a man of intelligence and ability, but apparently had not +enjoyed the advantages of a liberal education. He had himself several +encounters with the privateers. In 1778 his house was plundered while +he was absent, and many of his possessions carried off, including the +records of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace of Passamaquoddy +district, which met on the island of Campobello. Curry was an Indian +trader and during the Revolution received supplies from Hazen and +White. The following letter is of interest in this connection:-- + + "Campobello, July, 1781. + + "Gentlemen,--Things here is much more peasable than I expected: + the Indians appear very friendly which I think deters others from + committing aney depredations in the neighbourhood. Have disposed + of all the Goods I brought home and want the remainder of my Goods + much, therefore if Hutchins and Archibald's sloops is got to St. + Johns beg you would desire them to proceed hear immediately, as I + want to dispose of the Goods while the Weather is calme. * * + Please send me a cask of flower as Bread begins to grow scarce: + pray Hurrey Archibald along and tell him to come in the Night + least sum Thiefe Should Bee lurking about the harbor." + +A few months later Mr. Curry again wrote to his friends to warn them +of impending danger: + + Campobello, March 22, 1782. + + "Gentlemen,--In my last I Refur'd you to Major Studholme for sum + inteligeance which was this: there is a small privateer at Machias + that I expect will sale every day. She is own'd and man'd by a + parcle of Cumberland Refugees who is determined to suply + themselves with Beef for use of the Crue at your expence by + privately going to the Marsh (at St. John) and killing your + Cattle. You may look for them every day after you receive this: + they are bound up ye Bay a plundering. Take care of yourselves and + pray keep this a profound secret." + +[Illustration: Signature of Major G. Studholme] + +The comparative security enjoyed by the people living on the River St. +John after the erection of Fort Howe was largely due to the ability +and zeal displayed by Major Gilfred Studholme. It is to be regretted +that no portrait of this really eminent man is in existence, a +fac-simile of his signature is given.[106] He was a native of Ireland +where has family owned a considerable estate. On the 22nd November, +1756, he was commissioned an ensign in the 27th Foot, and embarked at +Cork for Halifax in May following. He was commissioned Lieutenant in +the 40th Foot November 10, 1761, and it was as an officer of this +regiment he commanded the garrison at Fort Frederick. He was +transferred to the 24th Foot, September 1, 1771, and temporarily +retired from active service July 16, 1774. When the American +Revolution broke out he offered his services and was appointed captain +in Governor Legge's "Loyal Nova Scotia Volunteers," but was afterwards +transferred to the command of a company in the Royal Fencible American +regiment under Lieut. Col. Joseph Goreham. He served with credit at +Fort Cumberland, sharing in the spirited attack of Major Batt, in +which the beseigers under Eddy were driven off in great disorder and +compelled to retire to the River St. John. The next summer Studholme +drove John Allan from the St. John. + + [106] The memory of Gilfred Studholme is preserved in Guilford + (properly Gilfred) street in Carleton. For some years + Charlotte street in St. John was called Studholme street. A + parish of Kings County also bears his name. + +Lieut.-Governor Arbuthnot wrote Lord Germaine that the establishment +of a fortified post at St. John was a necessity since it was a place +coveted by the rebels, who wished to settle the river with people of +rebellious principles after removing the inhabitants who were loyal +subjects. It was at his request and that of the inhabitants at St. +John that General Massey sent Major Studholme with fifty picked men to +take post there, and although it was reported that John Allan had five +hundred men at Machias, the general had no apprehension as to +Studholme's ability to maintain his post. General Massey wrote Lord +Germaine on the 13th of March, 1778, that he continued to hear from +Major Studholme every fortnight--that Fort Howe was perfectly secure. +Some weeks later, however, on learning that a large force was +assembling at Machias, he sent a reinforcement which arrived safely. + +By the joint efforts of the garrison and of the inhabitants it was not +long before Fort Howe was in a fairly good state of defence, barracks +were built, with signal station adjoining, also a blockhouse at +the east end of the ridge. These are shown in the illustration +below.[107] + + [107] This illustration is made from a water color sketch in the + possession of Mrs. William Hazen--the oldest known picture of + Saint John. The sketch was taken from a point about the site + of the deBury residence south of St. Luke's Church. It dates + about the year 1818. + +Small as were the numbers of the Indians--perhaps not more than 500 +warriors in all Acadia--they were capable of devastating remote +settlements and of creating general uneasiness and alarm. + +[Illustration: Fort Howe in 1818] + +Rumors now began to prevail of an Indian uprising. John Allan +contrived after his flight to Machias to keep in touch with the +Indians of the River St. John and sent emissaries among them, who were +very liberal in their promises of rewards, and who assured the savages +that their old father the King of France had now joined hands with the +Americans against the English. + +Michael Francklin now began to act with vigor in the capacity of +Superintendent of Indian affairs, and in consequence of his +representations Lieut. Gov'r. Hughes sent to the Bay of Chaleur for +the missionary Bourg to come and use his influence with the savages. +He also wrote a letter to James White, appointing him his deputy on +the River St. John:-- + + "Windsor, 23d July, 1778. + + "Sir,--Upon the Recommendation of Major Studholme & from what I + know of your zeal to serve Government and from your knowledge & + acquaintance with the Indians of the River St. John and its + environs, I do hereby authorize and appoint you to act as my + Deputy at and in the neighborhood of the said River St. John. You + will therefore take under your care the said Indians and inform me + from time to time of their wants and wishes, and what measures you + conceive may at any time be adopted to promote his Majesty's + interest to the end they may not be led astray by the machinations + and devices of his Majesty's rebellious subjects or other of the + King's enemies. But in all your proceedings you are to consult + with and follow the advice of Major Studholme who will be so + obliging as to supply them, at your request, now and then with + some provisions, but sparingly & when they shall be in absolute + want of them. + + "I have no salary to give or promise you, but as I have made a + strong representation to the King's minister of the necessity of a + fund to defray the necessary expenses, if my representation shall + be approved you may depend that I shall not fail of providing you + with an annual allowance. You will not fail writing me by all + opportunities. I am sir, + + "Your most humble servant, + "Mich. Francklin. + + "James White, Esq. + +A crisis now rapidly developed. John Allan prevailed on the Indians to +return the British flag to Fort Howe and to send in a declaration of +war. The Indians even went so far as to take several English vessels +and to commit other acts of hostility. + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +THE GREAT INDIAN POW-WOW AT FORT HOWE, AND ITS CONSEQUENCES. + + +The establishment of Fort Howe rendered the situation of the people at +the mouth of the St. John comparatively secure, but the following +summer was a very anxious and trying time to those who lived in the +townships up the river. The Indians were restless and dissatisfied. +They complained bitterly of being left without a missionary, and it +was in vain that Lieut. Gov. Arbuthnot and Colonel Franklin endeavored +to keep them in good temper by promising that a missionary would be +sent them immediately. + +Most of the settlers in the townships were natives of New England, and +the threatened Indian uprising was particularly terrifying to them on +account of their forefathers' familiarity with the horrors of savage +warfare. The Indians were supposed to be hostile only to those who +were in opposition to American Independence, but it was felt that they +would not be very nice in their distinctions if they once took the war +path, and that the Whig might fare little better than the Tory. + +The Indians had probably some grievances, but it is evident that the +real disturbing influence emanated, as usual, from Machias. John Allan +in his zeal for the conquest of Nova Scotia was determined to make +every use of his Indian allies in order, if possible, to drive all +English sympathizers from the St. John river. The formal declaration +of war sent to Major Studholme was his composition. It was approved by +the Maliseets at Machias and then forwarded to Aukpaque and after +approval by the Indians there sent to Studholme at Fort Howe. The +document read as follows: + + "To the British Commanding Officer at the mouth of the River St. + John's: + + "The Chiefs, Sachems and young men belonging to the River St. + John's have duly considered the nature of this Great War between + America and Old England. They are unanimous that America is right + and Old England is wrong. The River on which you are with your + soldiers belongs from the most ancient times to our Ancestors, + consequently is ours now, and which we are bound to keep for our + posterity. You know we are Americans and that this is our Native + Country: you know the King of England with his evil councillors + has been trying to take away the Lands and Libertys of our + Country, but God the King of Heaven, our King, fights for us and + says America shall be free. It is so now in spite of all Old + England and his Comrades can do. + + "The great men of Old England in this country told us that the + Americans would not let us enjoy our religion; this is false, not + true, for America allows everybody to pray to God as they please; + you know Old England never would allow that, but says you must all + pray like the king and the great men of his court. We believe + America now is right, we find all true they told us for our Old + Father the King of France takes their part, he is their friend, he + has taken the sword and will defend them. Americans is our + Friends, our Brothers and Countrymen; what they do we do, what + they say we say, for we are all one and the same family. + + "Now as the King of England has no business, nor never had any on + this River, we desire you to go away with your men in peace and + to take with you all those men who has been fighting and talking + against America. If you don't go directly you must take care of + yourself your men and all your English subjects on this River, for + if any or all of you are killed it is not our faults, for we give + you warning time enough to escape. Adieu for ever. + + "Machias, August 11, 1778. + + "Auque Pawhaque, August 18th, 1778. + +Michael Francklin was able at this critical moment effectually to +check-mate the designs of John Allan. During the previous winter an +express messenger had been sent to Sir Guy Carleton at Quebec to get +permission for Father Bourg, the French missionary, to reside among +the Indians of the River St. John. In his reply, dated February 23rd, +1778, Governor Carleton wrote that the missionary had orders to repair +to Halifax in order to receive instructions for the establishment of +his mission. + +Just as Francklin and the missionary were about to leave Halifax they +received information "that the Malecetes had plundered an English +vessel, taken and ransomed another, robbed and disarmed many of the +inhabitants and killed several cattle belonging to the King's Loyal +subjects on the River St. John, whom they had stiled Torys, and that +they had even proceeded the length to return to Fort Howe the King's +Flag, accompanied with a formal declaration of war in writing." + +The services of James White at this time were invaluable. As early as +the 2nd of April and at various times during the summer he went among +the Indians to pacify them at great personal risk, always returning +unharmed. This was due to the confidence placed in him by the majority +of the savages, who had long known him in the capacity of an Indian +trader. Mr. White went up the river to meet the Indian war party. He +found among them many of the Penobscots and Passamaquoddies under +Nicholas Hawawes, a noted chief. They had been instructed by Allan to +return the colors sent the previous year by Major Studholme, to ravage +the country in the vicinity of Fort Howe, to take prisoners and +encourage the soldiers of the garrison to desert. Allan wrote the +Massachusetts congress, "I earnestly and sincerely wish I had a +hundred or two good troops at this juncture to go in boats along the +shore to act in concert with the Indians." + +Our early historian, Moses H. Perley, says that James White, unarmed +and without any escort, met the war party at the head of "Long Reach" +as they were coming down the river in ninety canoes. He had a long +conference with the chiefs, of whom the majority were disposed to be +hostile; but Pierre Tomah, the head chief, said that before giving a +final answer he must consult the Divine Being and throwing himself +upon his face in the sand lay motionless for the space of nearly an +hour. Then rising he informed the other chiefs that he had been +counselled by the Great Spirit to keep peace with King George's men. +This decision was not acceptable to several of the chiefs, and Mr. +White was still engaged in his negotiations when Colonel Francklin and +Father Bourg arrived at St. John, having crossed from Annapolis in the +war ship "Scarborough." Messengers were immediately sent up the river +to Mr. White desiring him to come down at once with Pierre Tomah and +the other chiefs and captains to meet Col. Francklin and the +missionary Bourg, assuring them of a friendly reception. Francklin +also wrote a letter to the Indians, which is here given. + + "Fort Howe, 14 Sep. 1778. + + "To Pierre Thomas and others + the Indians of the River St. John. + + "BRETHREN:--According to my promise last fall I have brought with + me Mr. Bourg, your Priest, to instruct you and to take care of + your eternal welfare. + + "BRETHREN:--I am come to heal and adjust every difference that may + exist between you and your Brethren the faithful subjects of King + George your father, my master. + + "BRETHREN:--As my heart is good, my hands clean and my intentions + as white as snow; I desire Pierre Thomas and two or three other + principal Indians do immediately come down to Fort Howe with Mr. + White my Deputy to speak to me and to Mr. Bourg that we may settle + in what manner to proceed to accomplish my good intentions towards + you, and that your minds may be made easy I do hereby pledge + myself that no harm shall happen to you from any of the King's + Troops or others His Majesty's subjects. + + "I am your affectionate Brother, + + MICH. FRANCKLIN, + "Superintendent of Indian Affairs." + +The Indians promptly accepted the invitation and a conference was held +which Francklin terms "A grand meeting of the Indians at Menaguashe in +the Harbour of the River St. John near Fort Howe on Thursday, the 24th +September, 1778." There were present on the part of King George the +Third:-- + +Michael Francklin, Superintendent of Indian affairs; Major Studholme, +commanding the garrison at Fort Howe; Capt. Mowatt, commanding his +Majesty's ship Albany; Rev. Mr. Bourg, missionary to the Indians; +James White, agent for Indian affairs at St. John, and several other +officers and gentlemen. The Indian delegates included Pierre Tomah, +supreme sachem or chief of St. John River; Francis Xavier, 2nd chief; +and four captains and eight principal Indians, representing the +Maliseets of the St. John. There were also present delegates of the +Micmacs of Richibucto, Miramichi, Chignecto and Minas. + +Col. Francklin informed the Indians that according to his promise he +had brought them a priest and it was his desire to settle and adjust +amicably all differences between the Indians and his Majesty's +subjects. The proceedings of the conference are detailed at length in +Francklin's report to the Governor of Nova Scotia. The Indians after +listening to the addresses of Francklin and Monsieur Bourg declared +that they had been deceived by John Allan of Machias who had not +spoken their sentiments but his own; they acknowledged their offences +and offered to restore to the white inhabitants the arms and other +articles in their possession (not consumed or destroyed) which they +had taken, and promised that they would deliver to James White in the +course of the winter, two hundred pounds of Beaver, or as many moose +skins, in lieu thereof, towards making good the damage sustained by +individuals. They added that they were poor and had been kept from +hunting by the idle stories of John Allan and his friends. + +Michael Francklin did not lose the opportunity to give Allan "a +Rowland for his Oliver." As Allan had been the author of the Indian +declaration of war so would Francklin now dictate the message of +reply. This message was couched in the following terms:-- + + "To John Allan and his Associates at Machias: + + "The Chiefs and Great men of the Malecete and Mickmack Indians + hereby give thee notice:-- + + "That their eyes are now open and they see clearly that thou hast + endeavored to blind them to serve thy wicked purposes against thy + lawful sovereign King George, our forgiving and affectionate + Father. + + "We have this day settled all misunderstanding that thou didst + occasion between us and King George's men. + + "We now desire that thee and Preble, and thy Comrades will remain + in your wigwams at Machias and not come to Passamaquadie to + beguile and disturb our weak and young Brethren. We will have + nothing to do with thee or them or with your storys, for we have + found you out; and if you persist in tempting us we warn you to + take care of yourselves. We shall not come to Machias to do you + harm, but beware of Passamaquodie for we forbid you to come + there. + + "At Menaguashe, the 24th September, 1778. + + [Signed] + + Pierre Thomas x, Francis Xavier x, Chiefs of the + Malecetes and in their behalf. Jean Baptiste Arimph + x, Chief of Richibouctou and in behalf of the + Mickmacks. + +During the conference Father Bourg produced a letter he had lately +received from the Bishop of Quebec instructing him not to suffer any +Indian to enter his Church who should molest the white settlers or +take part in the rebellion against the constituted authorities of Nova +Scotia, and directing him to forward a list of the names of any +Indians who should disobey his orders to Quebec that he might "cast +them out of the Church as disobedient and undutifull children." + +The Indians were not long in deciding to make terms with the British +and in signifying their willingness to take the oath of allegiance to +the King. Accordingly the chiefs and captains and other delegates on +their knees took a solemn oath in which they pledged themselves to +bear faithful and true allegiance to his Majesty King George the +Third. They also promised to give information to the King's officers +and magistrates of any hostile designs of the enemy that should come +to their knowledge; to protect the persons of Michael Francklin and +Joseph Mathurin Bourg, their missionary, from insult, outrage or +captivity; not to take any part directly or indirectly against the +King in the troubles then existing, but to follow their hunting and +fishing in a peaceable and quiet manner; not to go to Machias or hold +any communication with the people of that neighborhood or other +rebellious subjects of his Majesty. + +Having taken the oath in behalf of themselves and their several tribes +the Indians delivered to Col. Francklin a string of Wampum as a solemn +confirmation of their act and deed. They also delivered the presents +sent them by Washington together with the treaty they had made with +the Massachusetts government on July 19, 1776, in which they had +promised to furnish 600 warriors for the service of the United States +Congress. + +Although the Indians, by the treaty they had just signed, ostensibly +settled all the differences between themselves and "King George's +men," there were still certain functions dear to the savage heart to +be performed before the grand pow-wow was ended. + +The oath of allegiance having been taken and the treaty duly signed, +all the chiefs and captains united with the English delegates in +drinking the King's health, and Colonel Francklin decorated the chiefs +and captains with his own hands and distributed to the other Indians a +variety of clothing and presents. After this, we are informed, "the +night, altho' rainy, was spent in the open air with great mirth under +the British Flag." The next day the Indians went on board the Albany +man-of-war, where they again very cheerfully drank the King's good +health, and were presented with a pound of gunpowder each. They +concluded the afternoon and evening on shore "with great satisfaction +and good humor." Colonel Francklin concludes his official report of +the proceedings as follows:-- + + "The 26th September the Indians, being on their departure, were + saluted at 12 o'clock by the cannon of Fort Howe and his Majesty's + ship Albany, and it was returned by three Huzzas and an Indian + Whoop. Then the Micmac Chief made a handsome speech and delivered + to the Superintendent [Francklin] a string of Wampum on behalf of + the whole Micmac nation, as their seal of approbation and + agreement to everything that had been transacted. This being + finished, the Superintendent, Major Studholme and Rev. Mr. Bourg, + were desired to seat themselves, when a Malecete captain began a + song and dance in honor and praise of the Conference and those + concerned therein. On his finishing, a Micmac captain began + another song and dance to the same purpose. The Superintendent + then, with Major Studholme and the Rev. Mr. Bourg and the other + Gentlemen, marched off with the Indians to the portage above the + falls of the River St. John and stayed there until Mr. Bourg and + the Indians embarked, when the Gentlemen on the landing were + saluted by the musquetry from the Indian canoes." + +During the continuance of the conference the Indians received every +attention on the part of Francklin, Studholme and the white +inhabitants. Francklin kept a table for their entertainment which cost +him L40, and the value of the presents and supplies furnished on the +occasion amounted to L537 more. The goods required were mostly +obtained from the store at Portland Point and the account rendered to +Francklin by William Hazen is yet in existence. It contains some +curious and interesting items. The presents for the Indians included +blankets, hats, ribbons, gold and silver lace, intermixed with axes, +pots, kettles, knives and tobacco. Among the more expensive presents +were "1 large Silver plated Cross with the figure of our Saviour on +it, L3 10 0," and "1 small Gold plated Cross with the figure of our +Saviour on it. L2 6 8." The heading of the account reads: "The Hon'ble +Michael Francklin Esq'r., Superintendent of Indians, to Wm. Hazen Dr. +for sundrys paid and supplies furnished by his order for the use of +the Indians assembled at Menaguashe, near Fort Howe, from the 13th +September to 19th October, 1778." Some of the expenditures were +evidently dictated by motives of policy; see for example the +following:-- + + "Paid Dr. Sharman, surgeon at Fort Howe, for attendance and + medicines to Pierre Thoma and four other sick Indians, L5 16 8. + + "Pd. Acmobish for 3 Beaver Traps stolen last year by the soldiers, + L1 10 0. + + "Pd. Charles Nocout ten dollars to make up for an Englishman's + beating of him. + + "To sundrys delivered to aged and infirm people, viz. Magdalen + Katpat, Magdalen La Porte, Marie Barishe & others, L13 10 0." + +Quite a number of the white settlers and several Acadians were engaged +by Francklin in various capacities while the negotiations with the +Indians were in progress. Gervas Say and Capt. Quinton received L7 for +going to Aukpaque and attending the Indians coming down to Fort Howe. +Daniel Leavitt, Lewis Mitchel, John Hartt, Louis Goodine, Augustin +LeBlanc and Messrs. Peabody and Brawn acted as couriers, express +messengers and negotiators under direction of Francklin, Studholme and +James White. + +The general result of the grand pow-wow was considered exceedingly +fortunate for the Province of Nova Scotia under the circumstances then +existing. Sir Richard Hughes, the lieutenant-governor, writing to Lord +Germaine, expresses his great satisfaction at the result of the +conference and praises the talents, zeal and diligence of Francklin +"to whose discreet conduct and steady perseverance," he says, +"assisted by Major Studholme and M. Bourg, the priest, we owe the +success of this treaty." Francklin, on his part, seems disposed to +award the meed of praise to Studholme and writes Sir Henry Clinton: +"In justice to Major Studholme, commanding at Fort Howe, I am obliged +to say that his constant zeal and singular address and prudence has +been a great means of keeping the Indians near his post quiet." But +while both Francklin and Studholme are deservedly entitled to credit +for the success of their negotiations, there is not the least doubt +that the man to whom even greater credit is due is James White, the +deputy agent of Indian affairs at the River St. John. Mr. White, +although acting in a subordinate capacity, was in direct contact with +the savages at the time they were most unfriendly, and it was his tact +and fearlessness that paved the way for the subsequent negotiations. +For six months he devoted his time and energies to the task of +conciliating the Indians, receiving from government the modern sum of +one dollar for each day he was so employed.[108] Most potent of all +perhaps in the ultimate result of the conference, was the presence of +the French missionary Bourg. It was this that inspired the Indians +with confidence in the good intentions of the government of Nova +Scotia, and when the missionary accompanied them on their return to +Aukpaque their satisfaction was unbounded. + + [108] In Col. Franklin's memorandum of expenses incurred in + negotiating the Indian treaty the following item appears: "To + cash pd. to James White, Esq'r, for services among and with + the Indians from the 2d. April, 1778, to the 20th October + inclusive, part of which time he ran great risques both of his + life & being carried off Prisoner, L50.10.0. + +The Indians of the River St. John still possess a traditionary +knowledge of the treaty made at Fort Howe in September, 1778, and +refer to it as the time when the Indian and the Englishman became +"all one brother." Some of the Indians claim that when the treaty was +made it was understood that an Indian should always have the right +to wander unmolested through the forest and to take the bark of the +birch tree for his canoe or the splints of the ash tree for his +basket-making regardless of the rights of the white owner of the +soil. In many parts of the province there is an unwritten law to +this effect, and the Indian roams at pleasure through the woods in +quest of the materials for his simple avocations and pitches his tent +without let or hindrance. + +In order to cultivate friendly relations with the Indians and to guard +against the insidious attempts of the people of Machias to wean them +from their allegiance it was decided to establish a trading house for +their accommodation at the landing place above the falls at the mouth +of the St. John. This locality still bears the name of Indiantown, a +name derived from the Indian trading post established there in 1779. +In old plans Main street, Portland, is called "Road to ye Indian +House." + +On the 8th of December, 1778, Colonel Francklin sent instructions to +James White to proceed with the building of the Indian House which was +to cost only L30. He says in his letter, "The ground should be very +well cleared all about or the Brush will sooner or later most +assuredly burn it. The boards required may be sawed from the Spruces +on the spot if you have a whip-saw. The Shingles can be made by any +New England man in the neighborhood." The house was built in the +course of the next few months by James Woodman, who was by trade a +shipwright. For some reason the sum of L30 voted by the Council of +Nova Scotia for the erection of the building was never paid, and it +remained the property of Hazen, Simonds and White. The three partners +not long afterwards cleared a road to the Indian House, the course of +which was nearly identical with that of the present "Main street." +They also built a wharf at the landing and a small dwelling house +which was occupied by one Andrew Lloyd, who has the distinction of +being the first settler at Indiantown. + +Not many weeks after the signing of the treaty at Fort Howe, Col. John +Allan of Machias sent Lieut. Gilman and a band of Penobscot Indians to +make a demonstration at the River St. John. They captured a small +vessel about sixty miles up the river and plundered one or two of the +inhabitants but the only result was to create an alarm amongst the +settlers without producing any effect upon the Indians. Pierre Tomah +and most of his tribe were at this time encamped at Indian Point on +the north side of Grand Lake. + +To offset the influence of Father Bourg, Col. John Allan induced the +American Congress to obtain a missionary for the Indians at Machias +and Passamaquoddy and he hoped by this means to seduce the Indians +remaining on the St. John from their allegiance and draw them to +Machias. Never in their history did the Maliseets receive such +attention as in the Revolutionary war, when they may be said to have +lived at the joint expense of the contending parties. The peace of +1783 proved a dismal thing indeed to them. Their friendship became a +matter of comparative indifference and the supplies from either party +ceased while the immense influx of new settlers drove them from their +old hunting grounds and obliged them to look for situations more +remote. + +After the alliance formed between France and the old English colonies +in America was known to the Indians of Acadia, Francklin's task of +keeping them in hand became more difficult and as regards those on the +River St. John he might have failed but for the powerful influence of +the Abbe Joseph Mathurin Bourg. + +The Indians resisted every temptation held out to them by the +Americans during the year 1779, and welcomed Colonel Francklin and the +Missionary Bourg in their principal villages with great rejoicing. + +Major Studholme's post at Fort Howe was rendered more secure at this +time by the capture of Castine, at the mouth of the Penobscot River. +The place was then known by its Indian name of Megabagaduce. Had there +been a little more energy and foresight on the part of Admiral +Collier, Machias would have shared the same fate, and the result might +have been greatly to the advantage of the maritime provinces today. +The importance of such a move was self-evident. It was seriously +discussed both in England and America, and a plan was very nearly +adopted that might have altered the map of America to the advantage of +the Canadian dominion. This plan was nothing less than to divide the +colony of Maine, giving to that part extending from Saco to the River +St. Croix the name of New Ireland and settling it with Loyalists who +had been driven from the other colonies in rebellion. The project is +believed to have been countenanced by the King and the ministry, but +eventually it was abandoned in consequence of the opinion of +Wedderburne, the English attorney-general, that the whole of Maine was +included in the colony of Massachusetts and that the charter of that +colony should be respected. + +There is extant a very interesting letter, written at New York in 1780 +by the Rev. Wm. Walter to his friend, the Rev. Jacob Bailey, then in +Nova Scotia, which shows that the project was seriously discussed in +America as well as in England. Mr. Walter writes: + + "If you have not already heard it permit me to acquaint you that + there is a plan in considerable forwardness to erect the Province + of Maine into a Province by itself, to extend from Saco to St. + Johns river, making Falmouth [now Portland] the capital;[109] to + secure this new Province by strong Forts and Garrisons; to invite + the Refugees from the other Provinces in rebellion to settle in + this, and by liberality of its constitution to show to the other + Provinces the great advantages of being a portion of the Empire + and living under the protection of British Government. Sir William + Pepperrell is talked of as Governor. The large tracts of land + belonging to companies and individuals, which are not forfeited, + will be purchased and the whole distributed in farms of 200 acres + to every settler. These distributions and appointments are to be + in the management and recommendaton of a respectable Board of + Refugees [Loyalists] which is now forming under the auspices of + Government in this city [New York]." + + [109] Lorenso Sabine in his Loyalists of the American Revolution + credits William Knox, of Georgia, with proposing the formation + of the eastern part of Maine into the Province of "New + Ireland," with Thomas Oliver for governor and Daniel Leonard + as chief-justice. + +It is a curious fact that a little after the close of the Revolutionary +war an attempt was made of a very different character to erect this +territory into the "Free and Independent State of New Ireland." A +constitution and frame of government were prepared by a committee for +the consideration of a convention of delegates. In the preamble of their +report the Loyalists are termed "the Sons of Slavery and Dregs of the +human species in America." The committee evidently entered upon their +work of constitution making with great gusto as will appear from the +following: + + "Agreeable to the trust reposed in us by the good People of New + Ireland, We, anticipating the glorious morning of American + Freedom, which will shortly shine upon them with a lustre superior + to any other spot on the terraqueous Globe, after consluting with + the sagest Politicians of the Age, and carefully examining the + several frames of Government already erected in this new Empire, + and particularly all the advantages which Divine Revelation + affords; have drawn up the following Frame of Government for New + Ireland, which, from the knowledge we have of the dispositions of + our Constituents we have ground to believe will be very acceptable + to them, and calculated to render them and their posterity the + happiest People on the earth." + +Among the provisions of the Constitution were several that may be +mentioned for their oddity. Not only were all tavern keepers debarred +from holding office "lest spirituous liquors should influence the +choice," but the legal fraternity were viewed with suspicion and it +was ordained that "Practising Lawyers or Attornies shall not be +eligible for any office of profit or trust in the State whilst they +continue such." + +In order still further to keep the morals of the people pure and +uncorrupted, and for the encouragement of piety and virtue and the +suppression of vice and immorality, it was provided that "no Stage +Plays, Horse-racing, Cock-fighting, Balls and Assemblies, Profane +swearing and cursing, Sabbath-breaking, Drunkenness, nocturnal +revelling, whoredom, Cards, Dice, and all other games whatsoever, +commonly called Games of Chance (Lotteries ordered by the Legislature +to raise money for public uses excepted) shall be permitted." + +The would-be founders of New Ireland close their report by expressing +their hope that Europeans, panting after the sweets of Liberty and +Independence will flock thither. "Here," say they, "are no griping and +racking Landlords to oppress you; no avaricious Priests to extort from +you the Tenth of all your increase and labors and whom you must pay +for the liberty to come into the world, of being married, of having +children and likewise of leaving the world. * * * Send here the frugal +and industrious; no half Gentlemen with long pedigrees from Nimrod and +Cain, nor any who expect to make their fortunes by any other methods +than the plain beaten paths of honest industry, for idle indolent +people, unwilling to work, ought not to eat but to live in all places +miserable." + +But to return from this digression; it is clear that if the British +forces had routed John Allan and his Indians out of Machias in 1779, +as they might easily have done if a serious effort had been made, the +American congress would then have had no foothold east of Saco, so +that Portland and all the coast to the St. Croix would have been, at +the close of the war, as firmly in the possession of the English as +any part of Nova Scotia. The American writer Kidder, in his +interesting account of the military operations in eastern Maine and +Nova Scotia during the Revolution, says: "It is now generally conceded +that our present boundary was fixed mainly on the ground of +occupation, and had we not been able to hold our eastern outpost at +Machias, we cannot say what river in Maine would now divide us from a +British province." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +WHITE CHIEFS AND INDIAN CHIEFS. + + +In the year 1779 many of the Indians at Machias and Passamaquoddy +began to waver in their adherence to the Americans and to imagine they +would fare better by withdrawing from John Allan and returning to +their old haunts on the River St. John. Allan wrote in the autumn of +this year, "The unsteady conduct of the Indians has obliged me to use +every means to prevent their going to St. Johns. I have not met with +such difficulty previous to this summer." He managed to keep them a +little longer, but in July of the next year came the great defection +which had been so long impending. The immediate cause of this +defection it will be of interest now to consider. + +Sir Guy Carleton, not long after his appointment to the command at +Quebec, secured the allegiance of the principal Indian tribes of +Canada, and at his instigation messages were sent to Machias early in +April 1779, desiring the Indians there to have no further connection +with the Americans, adding that the Indians of Canada were coming +across the woods, as soon as the leaves were as big as their nails, to +destroy the settlements on the Penobscot and the Kennebec. In order to +impress the Indians with the importance of the message the delegates +who bore it were furnished with an immense belt of wampum of 1500 +pieces. "We send you this Great Belt," say the Canadian Indians, "for +every one of you to see and think of, and to show it to the St. Johns +and Micmac Indians, and then to return the belt to us immediately." +The message contained a further assurance that nine thousand Indians +were ready to execute any orders they might receive from the British +general in Canada. The arrival of this message made a great impression +on the Indians, and occasioned in them "a fluctuating and unsteady +conduct," but John Allan was able, with the help of Mon. de la Motte, +a French priest, to keep them in control. + +Curiously enough at this crisis the old St. John river chieftain, +Pierre Thoma, arrived at Machias in quite an indignant frame of mind. +His annoyance was caused by General McLean's ordering Major Studholme +not to furnish any more provisions to the Indians. Francklin +considered this order a mistake, and at once represented to the +secretary of state the necessity of keeping the Indians in good humor +as the cutting of masts and timber for the Royal Navy, the safety of +the English settlers on the River St. John and communication with +Canada might all be endangered by losing their good will. His +statements were strongly supported by Sir Richard Hughes, the +lieutenant-governor of Nova Scotia. The next spring Col. Francklin +invited the Indians at Passamaquody and Machias to a conference at +Fort Howe. + +Two English schooners arrived at Passamaquody on the 1st of June. John +Allen at once issued an order to the Indians not to hold any +intercourse with unwelcome visitors, but, he adds, "Pierre Tomma the +chief of St. John, always considered a Tory, and Lewis Neptune of +Penobscot went on board and received presents." They were told that +Col. Franklin and Father Bourg were at Fort Howe with presents and +supplies and desired a conference with them. Soon after three special +messengers arrived from Father Bourg desiring the Indians to attend +him immediately on business of the church. The result of these +invitations we shall presently see, but in the meantime an important +conference was being held at the River St. John. + +There are many references to this conference but we shall first +consider a letter which Col. Franklin wrote from Windsor to Sir Henry +Clinton, 21st August, 1780. In this letter Franklin states, "A meeting +was held the 24th June about ninety miles above Fort Howe attended by +upwards of 900 Indians. Deputies from the Ottawas, Hurons, Algonkins, +Montanagais, Abenakies and Canabas attended and made the speech +inclosed." + +This speech was addressed to the Malecete, Passamaquoddie and Mickmack +Indians and was in substance as follows: + + "Our dear Brothers, We come to warn you that the Boston people, + having destroyed several of our villages, killed our wives and + children and carried off our young women by force, we to revenge + ourselves for these outrages have declared war against them. If + there are yet remaining among them [i. e. the Americans] any of + your people, let them withdraw immediately, for they will be + treated like the enemy if they remain with them. Therefore our + dear Brothers we tell you to remain quiet and in peace. We have + 13,000 men assembled, who are allied against the Boston people and + they have already taken twenty-seven villages larger than Three + Rivers in Canada, and to burn their villages they sent more than + 300 lighted arrows which instantly destroyed their houses, great + part of the Inhabitants were burnt and those who attempted to + escape were put to death. Now we demand your answer." + +The Micmacs and Maliseets presented belts of wampum and replied that +so long as the King of England should continue to leave them free +liberty of hunting and fishing and to allow them priests sufficient +for the exercise of their religion they promised to keep quiet and +peaceable. + +This grand Indian pow-wow seems to have been brought about largely by +Franklin's diplomacy. He was not himself present at the meeting but +the interests of the English were well looked after by Major +Studholme, James White and the Missionary Bourg. The conference with +the visiting delegates was held at Aukpaque and 300 warriors were +present besides 600 women and children. A considerable quantity of +presents and supplies had been sent from Windsor to Fort Howe by the +schooner Menaguash, Peter Doucet, master, to be given to the +Indians--blankets, shirts, blue and scarlet cloth, beaver bats, +ribbons, powder and shot, and lastly, "one cask of wine sent by Mr. +Francklin for the squaws and such men as do not drink rum."[110] + + [110] The receipt of these articles at the hands of James White was + acknowledged at Aukpaque, June 26, 1780, by Francis Xavier, + and five other chiefs. + +The arrival of the messengers sent by Studholme to the Indians of +Machias and Passamaquody, assuring them that if they would give their +attendance at Fort Howe they would be well treated and receive +handsome presents, made them extremely anxious to at least have a +look at the presents; at the same time urgent invitations from Father +Bourg gave them a good excuse for going. For two days John Allan +exercised all his powers of persuasion to keep them, but in vain; go +they would. They assured him "that they only meant to see the priest, +their souls being heavy and loaded with burthens of sins, and that +they acted upon a duty commanded in their church which they could not +neglect." + +On the 3rd July nearly all the Indians, some women and children +excepted, set out for Fort Howe. In a letter to the Massachusetts +Congress Allan mournfully observes: "I am very unhappy in being +obliged to acquaint you of this, after the success I have experienced +in disappointing the Priest and Mr. Francklin these three years." + +The substantial results of Francklin's policy of conciliation were the +inducing of the Indians who had acted with enemy to return to their +former villages and live peaceably there, second the opening of a safe +route of communication via the St. John river with Quebec and thirdly +protection of the King's mast cutters. + +Colonel Francklin wrote to Lord Germaine on the 21st November, 1780, +that the disposition of the Indians during the summer and autumn had +been very tranquil and he attributed the fact largely to the +conference held on the River St. John on the 24th of June, when the +deputies of the Ottawas, Hurons and other nations of Canada required +the Micmacs and Malissets to withdraw from the Americans and to remain +quiet. + +The situation of Gilfred Studholme, as commandant at Fort Howe, was at +times a difficult and uncomfortable one. His garrison was none too +large at the best, and, although the majority of his soldiers +displayed remarkable fidelity, there were occasional desertions. John +Allan naturally used every means in his power to render the post +untenable. In August, 1778, he sent Nicholas Hawawes, an Indian chief, +with a small party to the mouth of the St. John with orders to destroy +the cattle around the Fort, that were intended for the use of the +troops[111], to take prisoners and encourage desertion. The Indians +were provided with letters, written by deserters who had already come +to Machias, which they were instructed to convey secretly to the +soldiers of the garrison. + + [111] The requirements of the garrison insured a ready market for all + the beef Hazen, Simonds & White and their tenants could + furnish, indeed at times it was necessary to send to the + settlements up the river for a supply. When the garrison was + first fixed at Fort Howe, James White made a trip to + Maugerville and purchased nine yoke of oxen for their use from + Asa Perley, Thomas Barker, Daniel Jewett, Henry Miller, John + Esty, Nathan Smith, David Dow, Peter Mooers and Richard + Barlow. The agreement in each case was similar to the + following: + + "Maugerville, November 16, 1777. + + "I promise to deliver to Mr. James White, or his order, + two oxen coming five years old, when the ice is strong + sufficient to bear them to drive to the mouth of this + River, said White paying me on delivery fifty-five + dollars. Witness my hand-- + + "ASA PERLEY." + +Studholme was compelled to take stern and it may even seem terrible +measures to repress desertion, as will be seen in the following note +which he addressed to James White: + + "Sir,--I shall esteem it as a favor if you will endeavour to get + some Indians to bring in the three deserters, for each of which I + will give Ten Guineas. Should the soldiers make any opposition + the Indians are to make use of force, and if compelled to kill + them, they are to bring in their Heads, for each of which they + will receive Ten Guineas. + + "I am, Sir, + "Your most obedient servant, + "G. STUDHOLME." + +Among the important services which Major Studholme was able to +accomplish while at Fort Howe should be mentioned the establishment of +excellent communication between Halifax and Quebec by way of the St. +John river. This had been the customary route of travel between Acadia +and Canada during the final conflict between England and France for +supremacy in North America (A. D. 1744-1759) and was well known to the +French and their Indian allies; it now proved of equal service to the +English. + +In order to facilitate communication with Quebec, and at the same time +to afford protection to the settlements on the St. John, a block house +was built at the mouth of the Oromocto river and a few soldiers +stationed there under command of Lieut. Constant Connor. The post was +named Fort Hughes in honor of Sir Richard Hughes, the lieutenant +governor of Nova Scotia. A number of log huts, or post-houses were +built, at intervals of about a day's journey, from the block house at +Oromocto to the St. Lawrence. Over this route important messages were +carried between the civil and military authorities of Halifax and +Quebec, and sometimes dispatches were sent from the Commander-in-chief +of the forces at New York to Sir Guy Carleton and Sir Frederick +Haldimand at Quebec. Indians were occasionally employed to carry the +messages, but greater confidence was placed in the Acadians. The most +famous couriers probably were Louis Mitchel and the brothers Louis and +Michel Mercure. The couriers were aware of the value of their +services, and they demanded, and generally received, one hundred +dollars for each trip from Fort Howe to Quebec. This was regarded as +extravagant by Major Studholme and General Haldimand, but they could +do no better. They dared not trust the Indians with important +dispatches, and when the Acadian couriers were not available messages +were usually carried by officers accompanied by Indians as guides. + +The route via the River St. John was used both in summer and winter. +It is said that when the water was high the Indians were able to +deliver letters from Quebec to the French commander at the mouth of +the St. John in four or five days, a distance of 430 miles. This +statement is made by John Allan and there is nothing impossible about +it. The Messrs. Straton of Fredericton, some years since, paddled in a +bark canoe from the Grand Falls to Fredericton, 133 miles, in 14 hours +46 minutes, making a short stop at Woodstock on the way. Short +distances have been covered at much greater rates of speed. The +Acadian couriers were usually a fortnight going from Oromocto to +Quebec in the summer and about double that time in the winter. + +Like others of their race the Indians of the St. John were fleet +of foot and possessed of great endurance, qualities that are by no +means wanting in their descendants. Some forty years ago a Maliseet +Indian, named Peter Loler, gave a remarkable exhibition of speed +and endurance, which is still talked of by the older residents of +Woodstock. The circumstances, briefly stated, were these. One +pleasant summer morning Loler presented himself to the driver of +the old four-in-hand stage coach which was just about leaving the +hotel at Fredericton for Woodstock, the distance being rather more +than sixty miles. The Indian desired a passage and offered the +customary fare. The driver on the occasion was John Turner, one of +the most accomplished whips of the old stage coaching days, and +popular with all travellers. As the stage coach was pretty full and +the day promised to be very warm Turner, after a brief consultation +with the passengers, declined the Indian's money and upon Loler's +remonstrating, told him in plain Saxon that the other passengers +didn't like the smell of him, that his room was better than his +company. This angered Peter and he said, "All right, John! Me be in +Woodstock first!" + +At 8 o'clock, a. m., Indian and stage coach left Fredericton together, +and together they proceeded and in spite of Turner's endeavor to throw +dust in the Indian's face the latter was always a little in advance. +He stopped at every place the stage stopped to change horses (this +occurred four or five times on the route) and took his dinner with all +the solemnity of his race in the kitchen of the "Half-way House" where +the passengers dined. + +As they drew near their destination the Indian's savage nature seemed +to assert itself; he ran like a deer, waving his cap at intervals as +he passed the farm houses, and shouting defiantly. Turner now began to +ply the whip, for he had no intention of allowing the red-skin to beat +him out. The passengers began to wager their money on the result of +the race and grew wild with excitement. The Indian village, three +miles below Woodstock, was passed with Loler fifty yards in advance, +but the village was not Peter's destination that day. He saluted it +with a war-whoop and hurried on. It was still early in the afternoon +when the quiet citizens of Woodstock were aroused in a manner entirely +unexpected. The stage coach came tearing into town at the heels of an +Indian who was yelling like a demon and running as for his life, John +Turner plying the whip in lively fashion, and four very hot and tired +horses galloping at their utmost speed. The finish was a close one, +but the Indian was ahead. As soon as he had regained his breath +sufficiently to speak, Loler walked over to where Turner was standing +and philosophically remarked, "John! me here first!" Turner's answer +is not recorded. + +Our story should end here, but alas for poor human nature, it remains +to be told that the Indian was soon surrounded by a crowd of friendly +admirers, and before the close of the day was gloriously--or shall we +say ingloriously--drunk. + +From the year 1779 onward the cutting of masts for the navy became an +industry of growing importance on the River St. John and Col. +Francklin's efforts were largely directed to the protection of the +workmen so employed from being molested by the Indians. The +consideration of the "masting" industry will be taken up in the next +chapter. + +Michael Francklin died Nov. 8, 1782, deeply lamented by all classes of +society. His last general conference with the Maliseets was at +Oromocto in the month of November, 1781, when he distributed presents +to nearly four hundred Indians who had assembled there. On this +occasion he settled amicably some jealousies that had arisen about +the election of chiefs. He tells us that the Indians were eager to go +to the defence of the block house on the occasion of a recent alarm, +that they were grateful for the continuance of their missionary Bourg +and were resolved to again plant corn on the river. At the close of +the conference they quietly dispersed to their hunting. + +In spite of the interference of war the traffic in furs with the +Indians was still very considerable, and about this time Hazen and +White sent a consignment to Halifax in the ship Recovery, to be +shipped to England for sale, which included 571 Moose skins, 11 +Caribou, 11 Deer, 3621 Musquash, 61 Otter, 77 Mink, 152 Sable, 40 +Fishers, 6 Wolverene, 11 "Lucervers," 17 Red Fox, 6 Cross Fox, 9 +Bear. + +Michael Francklin continued to the last to cultivate the friendship of +Pierre Thoma the old Maliseet chieftain whose descendants, it may be +observed, are numerous at the present day. The name of this well known +Indian family (variously spelled Thoma, Toma, Tomah, Tomer) is clearly +of French origin, and was originally Thomas, which pronounced in +French fashion sounds like Tomah. The name Pierre Thoma was very +common among both the Micmacs and the Maliseets, so common indeed as +to make it difficult to distinguish between individuals. A few +observations will enable the reader to see what splendid opportunities +there are for confusion with regard to those Indians who bore the name +of Pierre Thoma. + +In the month of August, 1827, the Lieut.-Governor of New Brunswick, +Sir Howard Douglas, visited the historic Indian village of Medoctec, +where he was introduced to an Indian name Pierre Thoma (or Toma +Pierre) aged 93 years. The old warrior, who had lost an eye and an arm +in the battle of the Heights of Abraham in 1759, was carefully +provided for by the kindly hearted governor. Our first conclusion +naturally would be--this is the old chieftain of Revolutionary days. +But further investigation shows such a conclusion to be very +improbable. If old Tomah, who greeted Sir Howard Douglas, were 93 +years old in 1827, he must have been born in 1734, and in that case +(supposing him to have been Francklin's old ally) he would have filled +the office of supreme sachem or head chief of the St. John river when +about thirty years of age, which is very unlikely. But this is not +all. In the sworn testimony submitted to the commissioners on the +international boundary in 1797, John Curry, Esq., of Charlotte County +says that when he came to the country in 1770 there was an Indian +place of worship and a burial ground on St. Andrew's Point at the +mouth of the River St. Croix, and that among those whom he recollected +to have been buried there were John Neptune (alias Bungawarrawit), +governor of the Passamaquoddy tribe, and a "chief of the Saint John's +Tribe known by the name of Pierre Toma." There can be little doubt +that the latter was our old chief Thoma. His wife was one of the +Neptune family whose home was at Passamaquoddy. The burial ground at +St. Andrew's Point was abandoned by the Indians when the Loyalists +settled at St. Andrews in 1783. We may therefore conclude that Pierre +Thoma did not long survive his old friend and Patron Michael +Francklin. Their acquaintance began as early at least as the summer of +1768, when Governor Thoma and Ambroise St. Aubin had an interview with +Lieut.-Governor Francklin and his council at Halifax. At that time the +chiefs made a favorable impression. They requested that their +missionary Bailly, lately arrived might remain with them, complained +that rum was much too common for the good of their people, desired +lands for cultivation and that their hunting grounds should be +reserved to them. Having completed their business they stated "We have +nothing further to ask or represent, and we desire to return soon, +that our people may not be debauched with liquor in this town." + +The previous summer (12th August, 1767) Rev. Thomas Wood officiated at +a notable wedding at Halifax the contracting parties being a young +Indian captain named Pierre Jacques and Marie Joseph, the oldest +daughter of "old King Thoma." An English baronet, Sir Thos. Rich, and +other distinguished guests were present on the occasion. However this +Thoma was not our old Maliseet chief, for Mr. Wood observes of him, +"Old King Thoma looks upon himself as hereditary king of the +Mickmacks." Moreover the date is too nearly coincident with an +interesting event at Aukpaque in which Pierre Thoma was concerned. The +event was a christening at the Indian chapel the particulars +concerning which we find in the old church register. The Abbe Bailly +on two consecutive days baptized thirty-one Indian children, viz., +sixteen boys on August 29th and fifteen girls on August 30th. Among +the boys we find a son of Ambroise St. Aubin and Anne, his wife, who +received the name of Thomas and had as sponsors Pierre Thoma, chief, +and his wife Marie Mectilde. The following day the compliment was +returned and Ambroise and his wife stood as sponsors at the +christening of Marie, the daughter of Pierre Thoma. + +The next year (June 5, 1768) there was a double wedding in the family +of Governor Thoma at which the Abbe Bailly officiated and which no +doubt was the occasion of great festivity at the Indian village. The +old chief's son Pierre Thoma, jr, wedded an Indian maiden named Marie +Joseph, and his daughter Marie Belanger married Pierre Kesit. The +younger Pierre Thoma was most probably his father's successor as chief +of the Maliseets. At any rate when Frederick Dibblee[112] made a +return of the native Indians settled at Meductic in 1788 he includes +in his list Governor Thoma, his wife and four children. The Indians +were always migratory and two years later we find Governor Thoma +living at the mouth of the Becaguimec and tilling his cornfield since +become the site of the town of Hartland. This Governor Thoma, may be +the same referred to in the following paragraph in the Courier of +January 6, 1841:[113] + + "Friday last, being New Years day, a large body of the Milicete + tribe of Indians including a considerable number of well dressed + squaws, headed by their old-old-chief Thoma, appeared at + Government House to pay their annual compliments to the + representative of their Sovereign, and were received by His + Excellency with great kindness. His Excellency availed himself of + the occasion publicly to decorate the worthy old chief with a + splendid silver medallion suspended by a blue ribbon, exhibiting a + beautiful effigy of our gracious sovereign on one side, with the + Royal Arms on the reverse." + + [112] Frederick Dibblee was a Loyalist, a graduate of Columbia College + (N.Y.); afterwards rector of Woodstock, N. B. He went to + Medoctec as a lay missionary teacher to the Indians under an + arrangement with an English Society for the propagation of the + Gospel amongst the Indians. There were at Medoctec in 1788 + about seventy Indian families including 98 men, 74 women, 165 + children; total, 337 souls. + + [113] The author is indebted for the above extract to the kindness of + Mr. Ward. + +Many of the Thoma family were remarkable for their longevity. When the +writer of this history was a boy there lived at the Indian village, +three miles below the Town of Woodstock, a very intelligent and +industrious Indian, whose bent, spare figure was a familiar object to +travellers along the country roads. It would be hard to count the +number of baskets and moccasins the old man carried on his back to +town for sale. He was born at Medoctec in 1789 and died at Woodstock +not long ago at the age of nearly one hundred years. The old fellow +was famous for his knowledge of herbs, which he was wont to administer +to the Indians in case of sickness; indeed it was not an uncommon +thing for the white people to consult "Doctor Tomer" as to their +ailments. In the year 1877 "Tomer" came to pay a friendly visit to +Charles Raymond, the author's grandfather, who was then in his 90th +year and confined to his room with what proved to be his first and +last illness. The pleasure of meeting seemed to be mutual. The two had +known one another for many years and were accustomed from time to time +to compare ages. "Tomer" was always one year younger, showing that the +old Indian kept his notch-stick well. He is believed to have been the +last surviving grandson of the old chieftain, Pierre Thoma. + +While speaking of the Maliseets and their chiefs, mention may be made +of the fact that the Indians, as a mark of especial confidence and +favor, occasionally admitted one of the whites to the order of +chieftainship. This compliment the Maliseets paid to the French +Governor Villebon, when he commanded at Fort Nachouac, and a like +compliment was paid some sixty-five years ago to the late Moses H. +Perley. In early life Mr. Perley was very fond of the woods and +frequently visited the Indian villages on the upper St. John to buy +furs, which he paid for in silver dollars. So great was the confidence +reposed in him by the Indians that he became their agent with the +provincial government, and was in the end adopted as their chief. In +1840 he visited England and was presented to Queen Victoria in the +character of an Indian chief, wearing on the occasion a very +magnificent costume of ornamental bead-work, plumes, and so forth. He +received at the Queen's hands a silver medal three inches in diameter, +on the edge of which was engraved, "From Her Most Gracious Majesty to +M. H. Perley, Chief Sachem of the Milicetes and Wungeet Sagamore of +the Micmac nation. A. D., 1840." This medal is still in the possession +of Mr. Perley's descendants. + +It will be noticed that the St. John river Indians are termed +"Milicetes" in the above description. The form Milicete, or Melicete, +used by Dr. Gesner and Moses H. Perley, has been followed by the +majority of our provincial writers. Dr. Hannay, however, in his +history of Acadia, retains the spelling of Villebon and the early +French writers, Malicite, which is almost identical with the Latin +form, Malecitae, on the stone tablet of the chapel built by the +missionary Jean Loyard at Medoctec in 1717. Either of these pronounced +in French fashion is practically identical with Maliseet, the form +adopted by modern students of Indian lore, and which the writer has +followed in this history. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +MASTS FOR THE ROYAL NAVY. + + +The enormous lumbering operations carried on upon the St. John river +and its tributaries in modern times had their small beginning, two +centuries ago, when masts for the French navy were cut by order of the +King of France.[114] The war of the Revolution obliged the English +government to look for a reserve of trees suitable for masts in the +remaining British colonies. In the year 1779, arrangements were made +with William Davidson to provide a number of masts at the River St. +John. + + [114] Mon. Diereville states that in 1700 the man of war Avenant, of + 44 guns, shipped at St. John some very fine masts for the + French navy, which had been manufactured by 14 carpenters and + mast makers. These were safely delivered in France after a + prosperous voyage of 33 days. + +Colonel Francklin was quite aware of the necessity of giving careful +attention to the Indians at this juncture, for the Machias rebels +threatened to destroy the "King's masts" and endeavored to get the +Indians to harass the mast cutters and obstruct, them in every +possible way. In consequence Francklin sent the following letter to +Pierre Thoma by James White, his deputy:-- + + "Windsor, 29th November, 1779. + + "My Brother.--Mr. Davidson is now employed on the River St. John + for the King my Royal master. I therefore request you will afford + him and all his people every assistance and protection in your + power. + + "My Brother,--I request and flatter myself if any party of Rebels + or Indians should attempt to disturb Mr. Davidson that you and + your people will prevent it, and if necessary take up arms for + that purpose. + + "My Brothers,--The Governor of Nova Scotia sends to Major + Studholme some presents for you; they are intended to encourage + you to protect Mr. Davidson; receive them and be true to the trust + that his Excellency reposes in you. + + "My Brother,--Major Studholme is your friend and your advocate and + desires that all your faults may be overlooked and buried, + therefore they are all forgot and will be thought of no more. + + "My Brother,--Present my best compliments to all the Captains, + Councillors, and other Indians of the River St. John, and I do not + forget their wives and children. + + [Seal.] "MICH. FRANCKLIN." + +The Indians promised to protect the workmen who were employed in +cutting masts. Francklin soon afterwards sent a consignment of goods +from Windsor to Fort Howe in the schooner Menaguashe, as a further +inducement to them to protect Mr. Davidson's men in their work. In the +letter accompanying the presents he says:-- + + "Brethern,--King George wants masts for his ships and has employed + people to provide them on your river, depending on you to protect + them in cutting them and conveying them to Fort Howe. The Governor + sends you some presents, which Major Studholme will deliver you. + They are intended to bind fast your promise that you will protect + the Mast Cutters." + +The presents were delivered at Aukpaque by James White[115] and the +masts were brought safely to Fort Howe. The first cargo of masts +arrived at Halifax on 22nd November, 1780, in one of the navy +transports. + + [115] Among the James White papers is the following: + + "Aupahag, 26th June, 1780. + + "Received from James White, Esq., agent to Indians, River St. + John, the goods sent them by the Governor for the purpose of + protecting the Contractor, his people and masts from the + Rebels, etc., etc. + + (Signed) Francis Xavier, Nichola Nepton, Francis Joseph, + Andrew Fransway, Joseph Pemahawitt, Pierre Meductsick. + +The River St. John now assumed an importance in the eyes of English +statesmen it had not before possessed. England's power, then as now, +centred in her navy, and the larger warships required masts of such +magnificent proportions that pine trees suitable for the purpose were +rare. The rebellion of the old colonies having cut off the supply in +that quarter the reservation of suitable trees in the remaining +colonies became a matter of national concern. + +As long ago as in the time of George I. the British parliament passed +an act (A. D. 1722) prohibiting the cutting or destroying of White +Pine trees 12 inches in diameter and upwards in the King's Woods in +North America. In 1729 it was further enacted that the same penalties +should be extended to trees growing on granted lands. So great was the +anxiety manifested by the British government for the preservation of +trees suitable for masts, that in the grants made in New Brunswick at +the close of the American war the words were inserted, "Saving and +reserving nevertheless to us, our heirs and successors (i. e. to the +Crown) all White Pine Trees." Under the regulations of parliament the +Surveyor General of the Woods and his deputies had a legal right to +seize all White Pine timber found in the possession of any one, +although it might have been cut on his own land. It was the custom of +the Surveyor of the Woods to grant licenses to the proprietors of +lands to cut and take away such pine timber as was "unfit for His +Majesty's service and the standing of which was detrimental to +cultivation;" but this was only done after a previous inspection, and +marking with the "broad-arrow" such trees as were fit for the navy. + +The enforcement of the regulations for the protection and preservation +of White Pine trees was entrusted to Sir John Wentworth,[116] Surveyor +of the King's Woods in North America. He was a discreet and able man, +of polished manners and amiable disposition, but the office he filled +was by no means a popular one, and brought him into conflict not only +with individual owners of the soil, but on one occasion, at least, +with the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. + + [116] John Wentworth was the last Royal Governor of New Hampshire. He + was a classmate and friend of John Adams, at Harvard. He was + an active Loyalist, and at the close of the Revolution, came + to Nova Scotia. He was made a baronet and for sixteen years + filled the position of Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia. He + died at Halifax in 1820 in the 84th year of his age. + +It was not many years after the establishment of the province that Lt. +Gov'r Carleton wrote the English Secretary of State:-- + + "Under the regulations for preserving masting timber the deputies + appointed by the surveyor of the woods have, or assume to have, + authority to seize all the pine timber which they find in the + possession of any one, though it may have been cut on his own + ground. * * * I feel it my duty to submit it to the consideration + of his Majesty's ministers whether it may not be expedient to + relinquish these restrictions on private property, which have an + evident tendency to discourage the advancement of cultivation and + settlement in the province." + +Sir John Wentworth justified the enforcement of the regulations as a +matter of national importance. He quoted the experience of New England +where, after the restrictions of the surveyor general's office were +removed, the mast timber had been so largely destroyed that it was +scarcely possible to procure a cargo of large masts, and those that +were to be had were held at enormous prices. Even if the government +should grant all the land available for settlement, it did not follow, +he argued, that the efficiency of the navy should be imperilled or the +mast timber pass into the hands of speculators; nor did he think that +its preservation should be left entirely to the discretion of the +owners of the soil. + +Wentworth's representation to the Home Government proved effectual at +the time; his deputies continued to range the woods, and many a tall, +stately pine bore the mark of the "broad-arrow" in token that it was +reserved for the royal navy. It was not until about the year 1811 that +the reservation of White Pine trees was no longer insisted upon by the +crown. + +The masting business was a very important one in the early days of New +Brunswick. Vessels were built expressly for the trade, and, being of +large size, and usually sailing under protection of a man-of-war, soon +became the favorite passenger ships. + +The development of the masting industry proceeded very rapidly after +the arrival of the Loyalists, but even before that date it had +attained considerable proportions. Sir Richard Hughes wrote to Lord +Germaine on the 30th April, 1781, that upwards of 200 sticks for +masts, yards and bowsprits had been cut, squared and approved by the +King's purveyor at the River St. John in the course of the last fall +and winter, and that one of the navy transports was then at Fort Howe +loading a cargo of masts. + +The year the Loyalists arrived, Captain John Munro, in reporting to +General Haldimand the state of settlement of the country, said:-- + + "On the River St. John are the finest masts and spars that I have + ever seen. I saw at Fort Howe about six thousand pounds worth. Two + ships were loading when I left that place. I suppose there were + masts sufficient there to load ten ships." + +The masts, spars, bowsprits and other timber, having been prepared in +the woods by the workmen, were hauled to the water by oxen. Trees +growing near the stream were "bowsed out"--that is, hauled with block +and tackle to the river's bank. In the month of March it was customary +for the King's purveyor to certify the number and sizes of the sticks +that had been brought to the stream, "trimmed four-square and fit for +rafting," and on receipt of the purveyor's certificate the contractor +was at liberty to draw one-half of the money due on the fulfilment of +his contract, from the naval storekeeper at Halifax. The masts were +rafted and floated--or towed by sloops--to Fort Howe, where they were +stored for shipment in the mast pond. + +The mast pond was a little cove to the west of Portland Point, just +east of the site of the present Portland Rolling Mills. The situation +will be seen in the accompanying plan. It was closed and fenced in by +the British government for the purpose of receiving the masts. + +[Illustration: St. John Harbor] + +A few words now concerning William Davidson, who may be said to have +been the first man to engage in lumbering on the River St. John. Mr. +Davidson came from the north of Scotland to Miramichi in 1764, the +same year that James Simonds and James White established themselves at +the mouth of the River St. John. Cooney, the historian of the North +Shore, tells us that at the time of Davidson's arrival the abandoned +houses of the French had been destroyed by the Indians, and our Scotch +immigrant found himself the only white man in a vast and desolate +region. If this be so he did not long remain solitary, for the next +year a grant of 100,000 acres on the south side of the Miramichi was +made to him and John Cort. Mr. Davidson was a resolute and energetic +man. He prosecuted the fishery, and about the year 1773 built the +first schooner launched upon the Miramichi. At the time of the +Revolutionary war the Micmacs were so hostile and troublesome that he +removed with his family to Maugerville, where he became the purchaser +of two lots of land near the head of Oromocto Island. His associations +with James Simonds, Wm. Hazen and James White were not of the +pleasantest kind. In consequence of purchasing some land at Morrisania +(below the present city of Fredericton) the title to which was in +dispute, he became involved in litigation with James Simonds, and the +result was a suit in the court of chancery,[117] which proved rather +costly to both parties. As regards Messrs. Hazen and White there was, +as we shall presently see, a lot of trouble arising out of the masting +business in which both parties were actively engaged. + + [117] This was probably the first suit of the kind in the Province of + New Brunswick. Elias Hardy was Davidson's attorney and Ward + Chipman appeared on behalf of James Simonds. + +Mr. Davidson's influence on the St. John river is shown by the fact +that he was elected a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly for +the County of Sunbury. He returned to Miramichi about the time the +Loyalists came to the province, and died there in 1790. His tomb-stone +in the old cemetery on Beaubair's Island bears the following +inscription:-- + + SACRED TO THE MEMORY + OF + WILLIAM DAVIDSON, ESQ. + + Representative of the County of Northumberland, + Province of New Brunswick, Judge of the Court + of Common Pleas, Contractor for Masts for His + Majesty's Navy. + + He died on the 17th of June, 1790, aged 50. He + was one of the first settlers of the river, + and greatly instrumental in promoting the + settlement. He left a widow and five children + to deplore his loss. + + "MEMENTO MORI." + +The success that attended William Davidson's masting operations led +Messrs. Hazen and White to engage in the same business. They were +fortunate enough to secure the co-operation of Colonel Francklin, with +whom they entered into partnership in the summer of 1781 for general +trade and "masting." Francklin's political influence at Halifax and +the personal friendship of Sir Andrew Snape Hamond, the lieutenant +governor of Nova Scotia and Commissioner of the navy yard, proved of +very great advantage to the partners in their business. A few +quotations from the original papers of the firm, which are now in the +possession of the author, will throw light upon the nature of their +subsequent operations. + + "CONTRACTED and agreed on the 9th day of August, 1781, with Sir + Andrew Snape Hamond, Commissioner of his Majesty's Navy, resident + at Halifax, by us Michael Francklin, Esqr., of Windsor, and Wm. + Hazen and James White, Esqrs., of the River St. John in the + Province of Nova Scotia, And we do hereby covenant and agree to + deliver, free of all charges to his Majesty, at the mouth of the + River St. John, the undermentioned North American White Pine + Masts, Yards, and Bowsprits, Ash Rafters, Elm Timber, Oak Timber, + Anchor Stocks of White Oak, and Crooked or Compass Timber, in the + quantities, of the dimensions and at the prices expressed against + each size * * to be brought to the mouth of the River Saint John + by or before the 1st day of July, 1782, and there to remain at + our risque until they shall be embarked on board such ships or + vessels as shall be sent to transport them to England, Halifax or + elsewhere. * * * + + "It is further agreed by Sir Andrew Snape Hamond for the + encouragement of the said Contractors, that in case the enemy + should make a descent on the Port of Saint John in order to + destroy the masts lying there, that the damages sustained thereby + should fall on Government and not upon the Contractors, provided + it shall appear that all proper endeavors on the part of the + Contractors were used to save the masts." + +Great Britain was at this time engaged in a struggle for national +existence. She was at war, not only with the colonies in rebellion, +but with France, Holland and Spain, and that without a single ally. +Under such circumstances it was absolutely necessary that the navy +should be kept as efficient as possible. The dockyards were busy +places and we need not be surprised that good prices were paid for +masts, yards, bowsprits and ship timber in general. In the contract +signed by Francklin, Hazen and White the prices offered by government +are stated in detail, but the table of prices is too long to quote in +full. The sums paid varied with the size of the tree as will be seen +from the following examples selected from the table in the contract: + + Masts of 36 inches diameter, 36 yards long, L136. + Masts of 35 inches diameter, 35 yards long, L110. + Masts of 34 inches diameter, 34 yards long, L95. + Masts of 32 inches diameter, 32 yards long, L68. + Masts of 31 inches diameter, 31 yards long, L61. + Masts of 26 inches diameter, 28 yards long, L25. + Masts of 18 inches diameter, 23 yards long, L10. + Yards of 25 inches diameter, 35 yards long, L52. + Yards of 23 inches diameter, 32 yards long, L40. + Yards of 21 inches diameter, 29-1/2 yards long, L20. + Yards of 14 inches diameter, 22 yards long, L4.16. + Bowsprits 38 inches diameter, 25 yards long, L42.10. + Bowsprits 34 inches diameter, 23 yards long, L32.10. + Bowsprits 30 inches diameter, 20-1/2 yards long, L30. + Bowsprits 25 inches diameter, 17 yards long, L10.2. + +The rapid increase in price as the maximum dimensions were neared was +due to the fact that timber of such size was exceedingly rare. + +The certificate of the naval storekeeper, George Thomas, shows that on +the 6th July, 1782, Francklin, Hazen & White had delivered under the +protection of his Majesty's Post at Fort Howe, in pursuance of their +contract of the 9th of August, 1781, 37 masts valued at L1098.16.3; 65 +yards valued at L1502.13.4; 8 bowsprits valued at L181.1.11-1/2 and 20 +M. feet white ash oar rafters valued at L156.5.0; so that the firm +received upwards of $14,000 from government on their first year's +masting operations. Some of the sticks obtained were of very large +size, including one mast, 35 inches in diameter and 91-1/2 feet long, +and a yard 26 inches in diameter and 108 feet long; for these two +sticks they received respectively $450 and $350. + +It was essential to the success of the masting business that a +good practical man should be at the head of it, and Mr. White's +brother-in-law, Samuel Peabody, was selected for the position. He +was given an interest in the contract and was also allowed "seven +shillings and six pence per diem in consideration of his care and +trouble in taking upon him the management of the business." + +At the time the agreement was made with Mr. Peabody, Michael Francklin +was at the River St. John.[118] The agreement specified that the +masts, yards and bowsprits were to be converted into eight squares +carrying their dimensions in their several parts conformable to the +rules of the navy. + + [118] The document was dated at Maugerville the 15th October, 1781. + The parties to the agreement were on the one hand Francklin, + Hazen & White; and on the other hand Francklin, Hazen, White & + Peabody. The second party were to deliver to the first at Fort + Howe "by the first Freshes in the Spring" the masts, yards, + etc., mentioned in the contract. One third of the profit or + loss to be the said Samuel Peabody's and two-thirds to be the + said Michael Francklin, Wm. Hazen and James White's. + +While the profits derived from the mast business may have been +considerable, the expenses also were heavy. There were many unforseen +contingencies. The demand for workmen and laborers in a short time +nearly doubled the rate of wages, and the cost of provisions and +supplies increased. In the course of a few months Col. Francklin sent +three consignments of goods to St. John, amounting in value to about +$3,000. A bill of lading in those days was a quaint document, witness +the following: + + "SHIPPED by the Grace of God, by John Butler Dight in and upon the + good Ship called the Young William Naval Store Ship, whereof is + master, under God, for this present Voyage, George Hastings, and + now riding at anchor in the Harbour of Halifax, and by God's Grace + bound for Fort Howe, River St. John in the Bay of Fundy. + + To say, one Hogshead, three Casks, one Case, three Bales, one + Large Trunk, one Bag Coffee, six Boxes, twenty Barrels Pork, and + twenty firkins Butter--by order of Mich'l Francklin, Esq., for + account and risque of himself, Wm. Hazen & James White, consigned + to Messrs. Hazen & White at Fort Howe as aforesaid, being marked + and numbered as in the margin, and are to be delivered in good + order and well conditioned at the Port of Fort Howe (the danger of + the seas only excepted.) + + In Witness whereof the master of the said Ship hath affirmed to + three Bills of Lading, all of this tenor and date; the one of + which three Bills being accomplished, the other two to stand + void. + + And so GOD send the Good Ship to her desired Port in safety. + Amen. + + "Dated in Halifax 23rd April, 1782. + + "G. HASTINGS." + +Col. Francklin procured at Halifax many articles needed for the mast +cutters, such as chains, blocks and tackle, camp supplies, etc. Flour +retailed in Halifax at this time at $11.00 per bbl., and the freight +to Fort Howe was $1.50 per bbl. Pork cost at Halifax $25.00 per bbl. +and upwards. The population on the St. John river was small, and men +and oxen were in demand both in winter and summer. The cultivation and +improvement of farms was retarded and a spirit of speculation +introduced into the country, destined ere long to bear pernicious +fruit. Francklin sent from Windsor some skilled hewers of timber. +Nevertheless the masting operations were carried on after a primitive +fashion, and Mr. Peabody was constantly obliged to write for articles +needed by his workmen. A few sentences culled from his correspondence +with Hazen & White will shed a little light on the difficulties that +attended the masting business: + + "There is no prospect of the business being in one place as we + expected when Mr. Francklin was here; at present have given up + trying at St. Anns, for the Pine proves so rotten that it would + never pay the expense of cutting a road to where it grows." [Nov. + 2d, 1781.] + + "The men are very bad off for Bread, and people cannot work + without good food, besides it takes much time in baking Indian + cakes for them in the woods, one hand continually imploy'd. * * We + are very badly off indeed for Chalk lines, having nothing of that + kind to make use of but twine." [Jan. 21, 1782.] + + "Davidson is almost done--his situation is this: no workmen, no + rum, no provision, he's nearly possesst of Pandora's Box." [Feb. + 5, 1782.] + + "Men's wear is much wanted, such as thick clothes, a few blankets + if you can procure them, as some men are obliged to sleep without + blankets in the camp." [Feb. 9, 1782.] + + "Pork, beef and corn is very scarce and dear, the two former not + to be bought. Have engaged what wheat and Indian corn we could on + the river." [March 23d, 1782.] + + "Our common laborers value their hire very high, as there is so + many mast cutting, running from place to place to get sticks for + the highest bidder." [Dec. 25, 1782.] + + "Some chocolate is wanted for our Masting Camp for at present we + use Spruce Tea, which causes some murmuring." [Feb. 2, 1783.] + +In order to fill the contract at the time fixed, Samuel Peabody found +it necessary to cruise the woods over a wide area selecting trees that +grew not far from the banks of the streams which might be "bowsed in" +by oxen with block and tackle. In consequence of the competition with +Mr. Davidson the hire of a yoke of oxen became as high as seven +shillings and six pence a day and difficult to obtain at that. The +exigencies of the situation were such that Hayes and Peabody ventured +to press into their service a pair of fat oxen that had been sent down +the river from St. Anns by Philip Weade for an entirely different +purpose. This was displeasing to Hazen & White who wrote: "We are much +surprised that you stopped the particular pair of oxen which we +desired last Fall to be stall fed for the use of the officers of the +garrison here and ourselves, which hath left them and us without a +good slice of beef." + +It is rather a curious circumstance that very soon after Francklin, +Hazen and White embarked in the masting business they found +themselves at logger heads with William Davidson, whose workmen they +had for two years been endeavoring to protect from interference on the +part of the "rebels" and Indians. In point of fact Mr. Davidson +suffered greater annoyance at the hands of Samuel Peabody and his mast +cutters than he ever experienced from the rebels or the Indians. Under +the arrangements at first made with the government of Nova Scotia, a +good deal of latitude was allowed the mast cutters. Mr. Davidson had +a special order to cut masts, yards, etc., for his Majesty's +service, wherever he could find them. Under this roving commission +his workmen came into contact on several occasions with those of +the other contractors and in a very short time there was bad blood +between them. + +Samuel Peabody, who had charge of the operations of Francklin, Hazen +and White, was a man of resolute and somewhat aggressive spirit. +William Davidson on the other hand, possessed all the energy and +determination for which the Scotch race is noted. The state of affairs +on the River St. John in consequence of the rivalry created by the +masting business was not at all harmonious. The sentiments of the +people were divided. There were some who sided with Hazen, White and +Peabody while others took the part of Wm. Davidson and Israel +Perley--the latter being in Mr. Davidson's employ. A couple of letters +of the period will serve to show how the rivals regarded one another. + +Samuel Peabody writes as follows: + + Maugerville, 2nd Nov'r, 1781. + + "Messrs. Hazen & White, Merchants at Fort Howe, + + "Gentlemen,--Since I wrote to you by John Hart, giving you account + of the badness of the Pine Lumber back of St. Anns, I sent 3 hands + up Nashwalk to try the timber in that place, and find the timber + to be small near the waterside. Upon Davidson's understanding I + was determined to try that place, he immediately sent a party of + French up that River, commanded by Israel Perley, to cut all the + Timber that fell in his way, among which was a large Tree that I + suppose was marked by Mr. Hayes, as he tells people that it had + several Broad Arrows on it. At the same time that Davidson + dispatched this party he sent another party back of Thomas + Langin's[119] upon the growth of Pine Mr. Hayes had pitched upon + for us, and has his small party sallying out upon all quarters, + and bids defiance to any Proprietors stopping him from such + proceedings. Now if he is allowed to cut Timber upon the Society's + Land[120] it will be impossible for me to furnish half the + quantity of sticks I could if I had the privilege of all the above + mentioned lands. + + [119] Thomas Langan lived at this time about four miles above St. + Ann's Point. On his lot there was a log house and he had + about 20 acres of land, cleared chiefly by the French. He + lived there about six years but was disturbed by the + Indians, who, about this time, killed his cattle and made + his situation so precarious that he moved down the river + with his family to Burton. + + [120] The townships of the St. John's River Society are here + referred to, more particularly Burton, Sunbury and + New-town. Wm. Hazen, James Simonds and James White were + proprietors of lands in these townships, and Peabody + regarded Wm. Davidson as an intruder. + + "Tomorrow morning I am a going with 8 or 10 hands to cut sum fine + Trees up Oromocto, near whear Davidson is stearing his course, as + he should be paid in his own coin. I have imployed sum men to cut + Trees by the jobb up Oromocto, and by searching, they say, that + there may be had some fine lengthy Trees, but not the greatest + diameter. + + "I hope one of you will come up soon and reside a few days, for, + as I mentioned to you in my last letter it is very difficult for + me to procure hands at suitable times, as I am in the woods the + cheaf of the time, and at present there is no prospect of the + business being in one place, as we expected when Col. Francklin + left this place. At present I have given up trying at Saint Anns, + for the Pine proves so rotten that it never will pay the expense + of cutting a road in to where it groes + + "There is sum that pertended to undertake to ingage to get us sum + sticks, by what I can learn has ingaged them to Davidson, + especially that scoudril John Tibbits, although he gave Mr. + Francklin good incurragement, as I thought, that we should have + all the sticks that he could procure. + + I am, with respect, + Your Humble Serv't, + + SAM'L PEABODY. + +A year later William Davidson writes in quite as emphatic terms to +Samuel Peabody: + + Maugerville, 9th December, 1782. + + "Sir--I'm not a little surprised at a piece of your conduct that + has lately come to my knowledge; which is your triming my masts, + etc., on the streame of Rushaganes and its vicinaty. I cannot + conjecture upon what principle you pretend to have acted. I had (& + have) a speciall order from Government to cutt masts, yards, etc., + for His Majesty's use wherever I could find them, when I cutt + those sticks, which constitute as good a right in them to me as + any that could be given. If (by some kind of means) the people + you're concerned with afterwards got a grant of the lands on which + they were, it could not be supposed to extend to a prior right any + other person had derived from as good authority. But in the mean + time I shall not take the trouble to say any more on the subject + than to desire you will from this time desist from meddling with + any sticks that have been cut for me, and also relinquish what you + have already medled with. + + "I wish to live peaceably, but I have lately experienced so many + instances of your most bare-faced and wanton oppression, to my + prejudice, that there's no longer a doubt with me what course I + must be under the disagreeable necessity to take, that I may + obtain redress and do justice to myself and family. I shall expect + your immediate answer for my future government, and am, sir, + + "Your Humble Serv't + + "WM. DAVIDSON." + +The fact that William Davidson was the first in the field gave him +some local advantages that were increased considerably by the +predilection in his favor displayed by Constant Connor, the commander +of the small garrison posted at the Oromocto blockhouse. This we know +from one of the letters of the government purveyor, John Hayes, who +was exceedingly friendly to Hazen & White. He wrote "I am sorry to say +that Lieut. Connor is much atached to Davidson and Andrews,[121] his +orders from Sir Richard Hughes specifying to give Davidson all the +assistance in his power, and on that account Davidson carries much +more sway than he otherwise would." + + [121] The reference is to George Andrew, government purveyor, who + surveyed the masts furnished by Mr. Davidson's workmen. + +Sir Richard Hughes, it may be observed, was succeeded as Lieut. +Governor of Nova Scotia by Sir Andrew Snape Hamond in 1781. Both +Hughes and Hamond held in turn the office of commissioner of the naval +yard at Halifax. Colonel Francklin had himself been lieutenant +governor of Nova Scotia from 1766 to 1776, and seems to have kept on +excellent terms with his successors. Through his influence at +headquarters the government patronage passed largely to the firm of +which he was the senior partner. Francklin was an adept in the art of +diplomacy. During the Revolutionary war, as we have already seen, his +tact and judgment prevented the Indians from becoming actively hostile +to the English and restrained the New Englanders, settled in +Cumberland and other parts of Nova Scotia, from taking up arms on the +side of the rebellion. A specimen of his diplomacy in small matters is +found in one of his letters to Hazen & White in which he writes: +"However high Indian corn may be, I wish you would send twenty bushels +to Sir Andrew for his poultry, in which Lady Hamond takes great +delight, and pray don't omit getting her some wood ducks in the +approaching season." + +Some further light is thrown upon the state of affairs on the River +St. John at this period, and the "modus operandi" of the mast cutters +by the following letter, written by Hazen & White, to Colonel +Francklin:-- + + "Fort Howe, 23rd March, 1782. + + "Dear Sir,--Since our last we have been at Maugerville viewing the + masts, etc, etc. Mr. Peabody has cut down and procured as many + sticks as could be expected under the disadvantage of having the + other contractor at his elbow. You will find enclosed Mr. Hayes + account and certificates of the number and sizes of sticks on the + banks, trimmed four square and fit for rafting. They have about + 120 more cut, many of which cannot be got out this season. Mr. + Peabody set off on the 14th inst. to view a glade of Pines on the + Grand Lake, about 40 miles from Mr. Simonds' house, where he has a + number of men to work. * * The French people at Kanibikashes have + about 100 sticks cut. They say they will be able to get out and + bring here this Spring about 40 sticks, the others they can get + out in Summer. Pork, beef and corn is very scarce and dear; the + two former not to be bought. Have engaged what wheat and Indian + corn we could on the River. * * Davidson expects to have 200 + sticks out this season and near as many more cut in the woods; he + gives the people larger prices for sticks (and takes them at + Maugerville or elsewhere afloat) than we give Mr. Peabody + delivered here. * * We must have two or three hundred pounds in + cash here by the first conveyance. + + "Yours etc., + "Hazen & White." + +The pines of our primeval forests were evidently of magnificent +proportions. Samuel Peabody mentions cutting a yard 110 feet in +length and 26 inches in diameter, and a mast 38 inches in diameter, +and other timber of nearly equal size. Many of the largest pines grew +on the banks of the Rushagonish, a branch of the Oromocto. By the +favor of Lieut. Governor Hamond and his council Messrs. Hazen, +White and Peabody obtained possession of a tract of 8,000 acres of +land in that quarter. The grant was made in the first instance to +William Hazen, James White, Jacob Barker and Tamberlane Campbell, +as officers serving in the provincial troops in the last French war. +Tamberlane Campbell immediately sold his share to Samuel Peabody +for a small consideration. + +The extent of William Davidson's masting operations must have been +very considerable, for Hazen & White wrote to Colonel Francklin in +March, 1782, "Davidson will have about 200 sticks out this season and +near as many more fell in the woods, having employed almost half the +Inhabitants in cutting. We should not be surprised to hear that he, +with many of the Inhabitants, should memorialize the Navy Commissioner +to have all his sticks received; if so, and he should succeed, another +contract for us would be but of little advantage as he has raised the +price of provision and men and Ox labour--oxen to 7s. 6d. pr. pair pr. +day and men in proportion." + +The masting business seems to have been remunerative, and was the +means of putting in circulation a considerable amount of specie, which +was greatly appreciated by the settlers on the River St. John. On +April 25, 1782, Col. Francklin wrote to his partners, Hazen & White, +"There is no doubt of another contract, or of Sir Andrew's friendship +to me, therefore go on and get out as many sticks as you can, and +throw down as many as you are sure of getting out between this and +Xmass, at least, for be assured we shall have another contract, and I +mean to apply for a standing one when I go to Halifax again, which I +expect will be in ten days or a fortnight, or even sooner if the +annual ships (from England) arrive." The letter from which this +extract is taken is the last that has been preserved of Francklin's +interesting correspondence with William Hazen and James White. He died +at Halifax, Nov. 8, 1782. The masting business was, however, carried +on by Hazen, White and Peabody for several years longer. William +Davidson also continued to engage in the business. Although some +improvement was gradually made in the way the masting business was +conducted by the pioneer "lumbermen"--if we may so term them--the +methods employed down to 1825 were very crude. In that year Peter +Fisher writes. "In this country there is no article that can in any +degree furnish export equal to the pine, which is manufactured in the +simplest manner with but little trouble. So simple is the process that +most settlers who have the use of the axe can manufacture it, the +woods furnishing a sort of simple manufactory for the inhabitants, +from which, after attending to their farms in the summer, they can +draw returns during the winter for the supplies which are necessary +for the comfort of their families." Mr. Fisher enters a strong protest +against what was, even then a growing evil, namely, the wanton +destruction of valuable young timber by persons who were merely +speculators, and had little regard for the future. + +The rapid increase in the lumber industry is seen from the fact that +in 1824 there was shipped from the port of St. John alone 114,116 tons +of Pine and Birch timber; 11,534,000 feet of Pine boards and planks; +1,923,000 staves; 491,000 Pine shingles; 1,918 masts and spars; 2,698 +handspikes, oars and oar rafters; and 1,435 cords of lathwood; while +in addition large quantities were shipped from Miramichi, St. Andrews, +Richibucto and Bathurst. Up to 1825 there is scarcely any mention of +Spruce lumber as an article of export. The first Spruce deals cut in +New Brunswick were sawn in 1819, and the first cargo, which consisted +of only 100,000 superficial feet, was shipped to England in 1822. + +In 1782, Hazen, White and Peabody had a small saw mill in operation on +the Oromocto stream, and about this time they erected another and +larger one. The mills were not profitable at first, but they became +more valuable after the close of the Revolutionary war, when the +arrival of the Loyalists created a great demand for sawn lumber. + +Before we turn from the consideration of the small beginnings of our +great lumbering industry to other matters, a few words may be added +concerning the Glasier family, so famous in the annals of the province +for their enterprises on the River St. John. Colonel Beamsley +Glasier's connection with the mills erected on the Nashwaak in 1788, +by the St. John's River Society, has already been related. His brother +Benjamin, who was a somewhat younger man, came to the St. John river +from Massachusetts in 1779 as a shipwright. The Revolutionary war, +however, rendered it impracticable to carry on ship building, so he +moved up the river to what was then called "Morrisania," about six +miles below Fredericton, where in 1782 he purchased from Benjamin +Bubier, for the sum of L200, a tract of 1,000 acres of land on which +his desendants of the fourth generation still reside. Benjamin +Glasier's commission as a lieutenant in the Massachusetts infantry is +yet preserved in the family. It bears the signature of Thomas +Hutchinson, the last Royal Governor of Massachusetts. Lieut. Glaiser +served in the French and Indian wars and was taken prisoner at the +siege of Fort William Henry. + +Benjamin Glasier was the progenitor of the well known family, of which +the late Senator John Glasier (familiarly known as "the main John +Glasier") and his brothers Stephen, Duncan and Benjamin were members. +The operations of the Glasier family in lumbering and shipbuilding +extended over very nearly a century. At one time they were undoubtedly +the largest operators in New Brunswick, employing over six hundred +men. For many years their production was principally pine timber, +which was shipped to Liverpool. + +The late Senator Glasier began his lumbering operations on the +Shogomoc, in York County, and afterwards in company with his brother +Stephen, extended them to the waters of the upper St. John. He was the +first lumberman to bring a drive over the Grand Falls, and is said to +have been the first white man to explore the Squattook lakes. The +phrase "the Main John Glasier" originated with an Irishman named Paddy +McGarrigle, who was employed as a cook.[122] It was soon universally +adopted by the lumbermen and, strange to say, has spread over the +continent. In the western states today men employed in lumbering apply +the term, "He is the main John Glasier" to the manager of any big +lumbering concern. It is said that only a few of those who use the +term know its origin. It was undoubtedly carried to the west by men +who went there from the River St. John. Senator Glasier died at Ottawa +in his 84th year, during the session of 1894, while engaged in the +discharge of his parliamentary duties. + + [122] My authority for this is Adam Beveridge, Esq., of Andover, than + whom few, if any, living men are better posted on the history + of lumbering on the St. John river.--W. O. R. + +It is a curious circumstance that the present members for Sunbury +County in the provincial legislature, Parker Glasier and J. Douglas +Hazen, are great-grandsons respectively of Benjamin Glasier and John +Hazen, old neighbors and worthy residents of Sunbury one hundred and +twenty years ago. At that time Sunbury included nearly the whole of +the province, now it is a very modest little constituency indeed. + +The origin of the famous "Wood-boats" of the St. John river is +revealed in the correspondence of Hazen and White. Previous to the +arrival of the Loyalists all the vessels used on the river were either +small schooners and sloops or gondolos; but in November, 1783, Hazen +and White determined to build two schooners or boats to bring wood to +market to carry about eight cords. These little vessels they state +were to be managed by two men and were not decked. + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +PIONEERS ON THE ST. JOHN RIVER IN PRE-LOYALIST DAYS. + +Considerable information has already been given in the preceding +chapters of this history concerning the first English settlers on the +River St. John, and the names of such men as Francis Peabody, Israel +Perley, James Simonds, James White, William Hazen, Jonathan and Daniel +Leavitt, Beamsley P. and Benjamin Glasier, Benjamin Atherton, William +Davidson, Gilfred Studholme and others will be familiar to the +majority of our readers. Some further information concerning the early +settlers may prove of equal interest. + + +BECKWITH. + +Nehemiah Beckwith was an active and well known man on the St. John +river in his day and generation. He was a descendant of Mathew +Beckwith, who came to America from Yorkshire, England, in 1635. The +branch of the family to which Nehemiah Beckwith belonged lived chiefly +at Lyme in Connecticut. Two brothers, Samuel and John, emigrated from +that place to Nova Scotia in 1760, in consequence of the inducements +offered by Governor Lawrence to New Englanders to occupy the lands +vacated by the Acadians. A fleet of 22 vessels from Connecticut, +carrying a considerable colony, entered Minas Basin on the 4th day of +June, and the settlers landed near the town plot of Cornwallis. +Nehemiah Beckwith was born at Lyme, February 29, 1756, and was the +seventh, and youngest, child of Samuel Beckwith by his wife Miriam, +who was a daughter of Capt. Reynold Marvin. At the time of his arrival +in "bluenose land" he was little more than four years old. The exact +date of his arrival at Maugerville is uncertain, but it was probably +not long before the 16th December, 1780, when--as we learn from old +Sunbury County records--he purchased half of lot No. 78 in Upper +Maugerville from Joseph Dunphy for L100. Nehemiah Beckwith is +described in the deed of conveyance as "late of Cornwallis but now of +Maugerville, Trader." Mr. Beckwith was quite an enterprising man in +the early days of New Brunswick. He was the first to attempt the +establishment of regular communication by water between St. John and +Fredericton, and for that purpose built in August, 1784, a scow or +tow-boat to ply between Parrtown and St. Anns. A little later he built +at Mauger's (or Gilbert's) Island a ship called the Lord Sheffield, +which he sold on the stocks in May, 1786, to Gen'l Benedict Arnold. In +consequence of sharp practice on the part of Arnold he was financially +ruined. However, in a few years he succeeded in extricating himself +from his difficulties and again became an enterprising and useful +citizen. At the first general election in this province Mr. Beckwith +and James Simonds were candidates for the County of Sunbury, their +opponents being Capt. Richard Vanderburg and William Hubbard. The +election was conducted after the old fashioned style of open voting, +and lasted several days, during which the poll was held in succession +at the principal centres. After a sharp party contest between the old +inhabitants and the loyalists, the former were outvoted and Simonds +and Beckwith consequently defeated. This election helped to intensify +the ill-will and jealousy already existing between the "old" and "new" +inhabitants. Mr. Beckwith married Miss Julia Le Brun and, after a +time, made his residence at Fredericton, where he met his death by +drowning in 1815. His son, the late Hon. John A. Beckwith, born in +Fredericton, December 1st, 1800, filled many high offices. He was for +a time mayor of Fredericton, chairman of the provincial Board of +Agriculture, a director of the Quebec and New Brunswick railway and +for many years agent of the New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Land +Company. His son Harry Beckwith was for several years mayor of +Fredericton; another son, Charles W. was for years city clerk, and a +third, Adolphus G., filled for some time the position of chief +engineer of the provincial public works department. A daughter married +James Hazen of Oromocto, Sunbury County, and is the mother of J. +Douglas Hazen, M. P. P. + + +QUINTON. + +Hugh Quinton, who was one of the pioneers who came to St. John in 1762 +with Captain Francis Peabody, was born in Cheshire, New Hampshire, in +1741. Being of an adventurous spirit he served, while only a lad in +his teens, in one of the provincial regiments at Crown Point in the +French war. His wife, Elizabeth Christie of Londonderry, New +Hampshire, was born in the same year as her husband. They were married +at the age of twenty and came to St. John a year later. According to +the late John Quinton (who was Hugh Quinton's grandson and derived +much of his information directly from his grandmother's lips) Hugh and +his wife Elizabeth arrived in St. John on the 28th August, 1762, and +on their arrival found shelter at the Old Fort Frederick barracks in +Carleton where, on the night of the day of their arrival, their first +child James Quinton was born: to him therefore appertains the honor of +being the first child of English speaking parents born at St. John. +Not long afterwards Hugh Quinton went up the river to Maugerville, of +which township he was one of the first grantees. He is described in an +old legal document as "Inn-holder," from which it is evident he +furnished entertainment to travellers, or kept a "tavern." In those +days the keeper of a tavern was usually quite an important personage. +Many of the first religious services at Maugerville were held at Hugh +Quinton's house, as being centrally situated and more commodious than +those of the majority of the settlers. He was himself a member of the +Congregational Church. In 1774 he sold his lot of land opposite Middle +Island, and removed to Manawagonish in the township of Conway where, +as we learn from an enumeration of the settlers made 1st August, 1775, +(yet preserved at Halifax) he lived with his family, comprising ten +persons in all, in a small log house, his stock of domestic animals +including 2 horses, 4 oxen and bulls, 5 cows, 6 young cattle, 13 sheep +and 5 swine. In common with the majority of the settlers who came from +New England, the sympathies of Hugh Quinton in the Revolutionary war +were at first with the "rebels." He was one of the "rebel committee," +formed at Maugerville in May, 1776, and accompanied Colonel Jonathan +Eddy in his quixotic expedition against Fort Cumberland. After this +unlucky escapade Hugh Quinton thought better of his conduct, took the +oath of allegiance and on several occasions turned out and fought the +rebel parties. At the peace in 1783 he drew a lot in Parrtown, at the +corner of Charlotte and Princess streets, (where the residence of the +late Dr. John Berryman now stands), also one in Carleton. For many +years he kept a well known house of entertainment at Manawagonish, +Parish of Lancaster. He died in 1792, but his widow lived until the +year 1835. He was the ancestor of all of the name who are now resident +in the province. + + +JONES. + +John Jones, the ancestor of the late Hon. Thomas R. Jones and many +others of the name in the province, claims a little notice at our +hands. His grandfather came to America from Wales about the year 1700, +accompanied by his family. They landed at Newburyport, settling, a +little later, at Amesbury. This immigrant ancestor met a tragic death +at the hands of the Indians. John Jones, who came to St. John, was the +youngest of his father's children. He learned the ship-carpenter's +trade, and came to St. John with William Hazen in 1775 as a master +workman to build ships for the firm of Hazen, Simonds and White. The +first vessel he was employed in constructing was on the stocks and +partly planked when she was burned by a party of marauders from +Machias. Mr. Jones' employers paid him his daily wages for some time, +in order to retain his services, under the impression that the +Revolutionary war would soon be ended and they would be able to resume +the business of ship-building. During this waiting period Jones was +not entirely idle--at least he found time to marry a New England girl, +Mercy Hilderick by name, who was visiting at the home of her +brother-in-law Samuel Peabody. The marriage ceremony was performed by +Gervas Say, Esquire, a neighboring justice of the peace. The ravages +of the Yankee privateers that infested the shores of the Bay of Fundy +obliged Mr. Jones and nearly all his neighbors of the Township of +Conway to move up the river. But previous to their departure there +occurred John Allan's famous invasion of the St. John. Allan left a +guard of sixty men at the mouth of the river to oppose the landing of +the troops under Major Studholme and Col. Francklin. The British +landed eventually at Manawagonish Cove near the house of Samuel +Peabody and were guided by Messrs. Jones, Peabody and others through +the woods to the place where the enemy were encamped on the west side +of the river near the falls. The Americans were apprised of their +coming and had ambushed themselves--some of them climbing into trees. +Major Studholme sent out flanking parties, which fired upon the enemy +from either side, killing eight of their number, who were buried in +one grave near the spot where they fell; the rest fled terror stricken +with all possible speed to Machias. John Jones at first went up the +river to Jemseg Point, which was then covered with white oak trees. +Later he became acquainted with Edmund Price and, concluding to become +his neighbor, removed to the head of Long Reach and settled at the +place called "Coy's Mistake" on Kemble Manor, where he had a property +of 400 acres of land. It would be quite impossible in this chapter to +follow the various ramifications of the Jones family, for John Jones +had a family of eight sons and seven daughters, fourteen of whom +married and reared large families. One of the sons, Samuel, born while +the family were at Manawagonish, in the first years of the last +century had the responsible duty of carrying his Majesty's weekly mail +from St. John to Fredericton. There was, by the way, a curious +circumstance connected with this mail, namely, that letters from +Halifax to St. John were first carried to Fredericton, as the +headquarters of the province, and then returned to St. John. This +involved a delay of about a week in delivery. Naturally the beauties +of such a system did not strike the citizens of the commercial +metropolis at all favorably, and the consequence was a vigorous "kick" +on the part of the citizens of St. John that led ere long to a change +for the better. The house of John Jones, at the head of Long Reach, +was a favorite stopping place for travellers in early times, and the +reputation of the family for hospitality was proverbial. The loyalist +settlers at Kingston during the summer of 1783 met with much kindness +from the Jones family while they were living in their canvas tents and +busily engaged in the construction of log houses and in making +preparations for the ensuing winter. + + +BURPEE. + +The first of the Burpee family in America appears to have been Thomas +Burpee, who settled at Rowley in the County of Essex, Massachusetts. +This town lies near the north-east corner of the "Old Bay State." It +was settled about 1639, and Thomas Burpee bought a lot there +immediately after the first settlement was made. It was from this town +and its vicinity that many of the first settlers of the township of +Maugerville came in 1762-3. Included in the number were the Burpees, +Barkers, Perleys, Jewetts, Palmers and others whose decendants are +quite numerous in the province today. Rowley was a stronghold of New +England puritanism and, if we are to credit the testimony of the +Rev'd. Jacob Bailey, who was born there in 1731 and was a contemporary +of Jonathan Burpee and of Jacob Barker, the citizens of Rowley were +not remarkable for their enterprise. Mr. Bailey writes that in his day +"every man planted as many acres of Indian corn, and sowed the same +number with rye; he ploughed with as many oxen, hoed it as often, and +gathered in his crop on the same day with his grandfather; he salted +down the same quantity of beef and pork, wore the same kind of +stockings, and at table sat and said grace with his wife and children +around him, just as his predecessors had done before him." "An uniform +method of thinking and acting prevailed, and nothing could be more +criminal than for one person to be more learned, religious, or polite +than another."[123] + + [123] Many facts of interest concerning the early days of Rowley are + to be found in the History of Rowley by Thomas Gage, printed + in 1840. It contains a genealogical register of the families + of some of the first settlers of the town. + +Doubtless the emigration of the men of Massachusetts, who settled on +the River St. John, deprived New England of some of the more +enterprising of its people. An indication of the Puritan ancestry of +these immigrants who settled on the St. John river is furnished by the +Biblical names of a very large majority of the original grantees of +Maugerville.[124] Among these names we find the following:--Enoch, +Moses, Joshua, Elisha, Samuel, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Nehemiah, +Jedediah, Isaac, Israel, Jacob, Joseph, Benjamin, Zebulun, David, +Jonathan, Phinehas, Jabez, Nathaniel, Asa, Ammi, Thomas, Matthew, +Stephen, Peter, James and John. + + [124] See names of grantees at page 159 of this history. + +In the town and parish records of Rowley the name of Thomas Burpee +frequently appears--the surname usually in the form of Burkby or +Burkbee. The name of Jonathan Burpee (who was probably a great +grandson of the first ancestor in America) appears in the list of the +first grantees at Maugerville. He was a deacon of the Congregational +Church and his name is first in order among the signers of the +Church covenant agreed to at Maugerville shortly after the settlement +was founded. He was the head of nearly all Church movements up to +the time of his death in June, 1781. The papers connected with the +administration of his estate are still in existence, and much of +the information contained in Dr. Hannay's valuable sketch of the +Township of Maugerville is based upon them. His estate was appraised +by Jacob Barker and Daniel Jewett, two of his old neighbors and +life-long friends, and was valued at L525. He was considered, in his +day, one of the well-to-do farmers of the township. + +The simplicity of life which prevailed in this country in the year +1781, is shown by the fact that Jonathan Burpee had no carriage or +wagon of any kind and no sleigh--probably the roads were too bad to +admit of the use of wheeled vehicles. The deacon, however, had a +saddle for himself and a pillion for his wife and daughters. Household +furniture was indeed meagre, for that of Deacon Burpee was valued at +only L5. 7. 8. But his three good feather beds with pillows, coverlets +and bankets were valued at L16. 11. 3. + +The cooking in those days was done at the old-fashioned fire place +with swinging crane, and the cooking utensils were few and simple. All +the dishes in use were of pewter and their number was quite limited. A +similar remark applies to the wearing apparel of that time. A beaver +hat or a broadcloth suit was regarded as a valuable asset that might +be handed on to the second or even to the third generation. Deacon +Burpee's library included "a number of books valued at L2. 2. 6.," and +probably it was as good as any in the settlement. + +Commenting on these facts Dr. Hannay justly observes, "We may gather +from all this that life was somewhat hard and dry in the Maugerville +Settlement, and that even the richest had very few of those things +about them which a modern man regards as essential to his comfort." + +Jonathan Burpee's grandson, David, was a man of mark in the community +in which his lot was cast. He filled for a time the office of Sheriff +of the old County of Sunbury. To him also appertains the honor of +being the first school teacher, of whom we have certain knowledge, +within the limits of New Brunswick. In the winter of 1778-9 he +conducted a school distant only a few rods from the site of the famous +Sheffield Academy of later times. + +Among the later descendants of Jonathan Burpee the names of the Hon. +Isaac Burpee, minister of Customs in the McKenzie government, and of +E. R. Burpee manager of the "Western Extension" R. R., were not long +ago as familiar in the province as household words. Descendants of +Jonathan and Jeremiah Burpee are now to be found in nearly all the +counties bordering on the River St. John. + + +PALMER. + +The first of the name in America is believed to have been John Palmer, +a sergeant in the British army, who settled in Rowley, Mass., in 1639. +Daniel Palmer who was one of the founders of Maugerville, settled in +what is now Upper Sheffield in 1763. He was one of the seven signers +of the Maugerville Church Covenant and an Elder of the church. Many of +the early religious services were held at his house. His name in +common with most of the early settlers is found in the account books +of Simonds and White in the year 1765. He supplied them with musquash +and beaver skins, hogshead staves, clapboards and oar rafters in +return for such goods and supplies as he needed. Like the majority of +his neighbors he was disposed to sympathize with the Americans at the +outbreak of the Revolution and was one of the "Rebel Committee" but +afterwards accepted the situation and took the oath of allegiance to +the King. His grandson, David Palmer, born at Grand Lake, Queens Co., +in 1789, was a man of literary ability, who in 1869, published a +volume from the press of J. & A. McMillan, entitled New Brunswick and +other Poems. + + +NEVERS. + +Several persons of this name were grantees of Maugerville, including +Elisha, Jabez, Phinehas and Samuel. The Nevers family settled at +Woburn, Massachusetts, nearly a century before the pioneers came to +Maugerville. The first of the name was Richard Nevers (or Neverds) who +is mentioned in the town records of Woburn, August 26, 1666. Several +of his decendants served in the old French war, which ended with the +conquest of Canada, and it is probable that the offer of free grants +of lands to disbanded provincial troops led Elisha, Phinehas and +Samuel Nevers to associate themselves with Captain Francis Peabody in +the application for a township, "at St. John's River in Nova Scotia," +made in the year 1762. Elisha Nevers was one of the seven signers of +the original Maugerville Church Covenant, and religious meetings were +often held at his house in early times. Phinehas Nevers was quite a +leading man in the early days of Maugerville. He was one of the first +magistrates, and in 1768 was chosen a member for the county of Sunbury +in the Nova Scotia legislature. He practised medicine and was the +first doctor, in all probability, who lived on the river. The practise +of medicine was by no means a lucrative one in his day, for we learn +from the account books of Messrs. Simonds & White, that in February, +1773, he attended one of the men in their employ, having come down +from Maugerville for the purpose, and received L1. 4. 0. for board for +sixteen days and L2. for his professional services. Dr. Nevers was a +strong sympathiser with the Americans at the time of the Revolution +and when John Allan invaded the River St. John in 1777, he joined him, +and when a little later Allan was compelled by Major Studholme to flee +to Machias, he was accompanied thither by Phinehas Nevers. Other +members of the family however took the oath of allegiance and were +thenceforth loyal to the king. Samuel Nevers was a man of enterprise +and was one of those who furnished masts to enable Francklin Hazen and +White to fulfil their contract for the royal navy. + + +PERLEY. + +The founder of the Perley family in New England was Allan Perley, +who came from London in 1635 in the ship "Planter." A good deal of +information regarding the family may be found in the historical +collections of the Essex County Institute of Massachusetts. Israel +Perley was a native of Boxford, in the vicinity of Rowley, and the +house in which he was born was standing not many years ago and may +be still in existence. He was born in 1740, was educated as a +land surveyor, and came to the River St. John in 1761 at the head +of an exploring party said to have been sent by the governor of +Massachusetts to report upon the condition and resources of the +country with the view of effecting the settlement of a township +in that region. The story of the establishment of this township and +the important services of Israel Perley in that connection have +been already referred to in these chapters. At the time of his +arrival in the country he was a young man of twenty-one years of +age but in the course of time his education and natural abilities +made him one of the most prominent citizens of Maugerville. He was +elected a representative for Sunbury county in the Nova Scotia +legislature in 1768, and his name occurs a few years later as a +justice of the Peace for the county. Several of Justice Perley's +court documents are to be found among the old records of the +county of Sunbury, one of which reads as follows: + + "County of Sunbury:--Be it Remembered that on the Seventh Day of + July, 1774, Nathaniel Barker of Maugerville in the County of + Sunbury and Province of Nova Scotia, yeoman, cometh before Me, + Israel Perley, one of his Majesty's Justices assigned to keep the + Peace in the sd County, and Informeth against himself that he had + been this day guilty of a breach of the King's Peace, viz., by + Striking with his fist the body of Rich'd Estey Jun'r of the town, + County and Province aforesaid, yeoman, for which offence he is + willing to submit to such a fine as the Law Requires. + + "The sd Richard Estey Jun'r personally appeareth at the same time + and Declareth before me that he forgives the sd. Nathaniel Barker + the Injury he had Done him, being Convinced that it was not of + malice aforethought but the Effect of sudden passion: for which + Breach of peace I have fined the sd Nath'l Barker to the king one + Shilling. + + "ISRAEL PERLEY." + +However all the cases that came before Esquire Perley were not settled +in a manner so creditable to the offending party. The following case +will serve for illustration: + +On the 22 June, 1775, a resident of Morrisania,[125] who shall be +nameless, was arrested on information laid by Richard Barlow for using +seditious and profane language. Abigail Barlow, wife of the +complainant, testified that the offender had in her presence uttered +the following words "The king I believe is a d--d Roman, and if he was +standing now in that corner by G-- I would shoot him, or stab him," +with many other words to the same purpose. The prisoner was convicted +of profane swearing, and the magistrate decreed that he should forfeit +for that offence the sum of two shillings currency to the use of the +poor of the town of Maugerville, and it was further ordered that the +prisoner "stands charged with the Treasonable words spoken against the +King till he shall be further called upon to answer the same--there +being at present no gaol in the sd. county wherein to confine said +prisoner nor Courts held to determine such matters." + + [125] Morrisania was in the Parish of Lincoln below Fredericton. + +Israel Perley was a leading member of the Congregational Church and +frequently occupied the chair as moderator at important public +meetings. He was one of the committee who, in 1774, arranged with the +Rev. Seth Noble to become the pastor of the church at Maugerville. The +friendship that existed between Mr. Perley and the Rev. Seth Noble +very nearly involved the former in serious difficulty a few years +later, as will be seen in the following letter addressed by Major +Studholme to James White, Esquire. + + "Fort Howe, 4 November, 1780. + + "Sir,--The Inclosed letter from Mr. Perley to Seth Noble of + Newbury having fallen into my hands in the course of inspecting + the letters to be sent by the cartel, I have thought it necessary + instantly to secure the person of Mr. Perley and shall send him to + your house about 9 this morning, when I must request you will + closely examine him on the subject of the Inclosed letter. I + cannot but think it will be very difficult for him to reconcile + his styling himself the 'sincere friend' of a notorious rebel with + his own situation as one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace. * + * * "I am sir, etc., etc. + + "G. STUDHOLME." + +In the examination that followed Lieut. Samuel Denny Street, a lawyer +by profession and at this time a lieutenant of the garrison, appeared +for Major Studholme, and Mr. Perley was required to explain certain +paragraphs and expressions in his letter, also to explain why he +attempted a correspondence with "a declared and notorious rebel to +whom in his letter he subscribes himself a sincere friend." Mr. Perley +replied, "I meant not to maintain any correspondence with him, but as +his wife was going to him in the cartel I wrote the letter now +produced to acquaint him of the broken situation of the church here, +and that there would be no encouragement to him to think of +returning." + +In regard to the expression, "your sincere friend," Israel Perley +stated that the Rev. Mr. Noble was "an old acquaintance before the +present disturbances arose and I had no reference, in styling myself +his friend, to anything but his person. I did not mean that I was a +friend to his principles." + +Evidently there was a vein of humor in Mr. Perley's character. He is +said to have declined a second election to the House of Assembly of N. +S., after having served one term. The chaplain's prayer, "Prevent us, +O Lord, in all our doings," etc., he construed to mean, "We should be +prevented from doing the half we do there." Israel Perley died at +Maugerville in 1813 in the 73rd year of his age. + +Oliver Perley, who was his brother, came to the River St. John in +January, 1765, in company with Jacob Barker, jr., Zebulun Esty, +Humphrey Pickard and David Burbank, as passengers in a schooner +belonging to Hazen, Simonds & White. His wife was a Palmer, whom he +married at Newburyport. In common with the majority of their neighbors +they were inclined to sympathize with the New England "rebels" at the +outbreak of the American Revolution, and the name of Oliver Perley +appears as one of the "rebel" committee appointed at the meeting held +at Maugerville in May, 1776. Soon after the peace, in 1783, he is said +to have removed to Newburyport, at the solicitation of his wife, but +they found so little to admire in the squabbles that prevailed between +the followers of Adams and Jefferson that they soon returned to the +River St. John declaring that the Americans were "cursed with +liberty." One of Oliver Perley's sons, Solomon, was married by Rev. +John Beardsley, March 8, 1798, to Elizabeth Pickard; another son, +Moses, was married by the same clergyman, March 10, 1802, to his +cousin Mary, daughter of Israel Perley. This Moses Perley and his wife +were members of the church of England and their son Moses H. Perley +was eminent in the history of his native province. Amos Perley, +another son of Oliver Perley seems to have inherited some poetical +taste from the Palmers, and is credited with the following amongst +other rhymes:-- + + "Wrapt in dark mantles of the night + Was Bonnel when he took his flight; + Elijah-like he tried to fly + To the bright mansions in the sky. + But snow was scarce and sleighing bad, + And poor success our deacon had; + For lo! his chariot, as you see, + Is lodged in this old willow tree." + +The incident that gave rise to this effusion was a practical joke +played on a pious itinerant preacher, whose sleigh the Maugerville +boys had hoisted into the forks of a large willow. The family of +Oliver Perley lived at the spot now known as McGowan's wharf. Asa +Perley, another of the early Maugerville settlers lived at the head of +Oromocto Island in Upper Maugerville. The descendants of the Perleys +in the province are so numerous and so highly respected that it will +be needless to try to follow further their history. + + +PEABODY. + +The founder of the Peabody family in America was Lieutenant Francis +Peabody of St. Albans, Herefordshire, England, who came to America in +April, 1635, in the ship "Planter," Capt. Nicholas Travice. The same +vessel brought the first of the Perleys, Beardsleys and Lawrences to +this continent. Lieut. Francis Peabody was then about 21 years old. He +lived a year or two at Lynn, Mass., and then removed to Hampton in Old +Norfolk County, where he married a daughter of Reginald Forster and +had a family of seven sons and six daughters. + +Captain Francis Peabody, who came to the St. John river in 1762, as a +prime mover in the establishment of the township of Maugerville, seems +to have been a native of Rowley. By reason of his rank and character, +and the active part he took in the settlement of the River St. John, +he may justly be regarded as the most influential person on the river +while he lived. He served with honor in the old French war, and is +mentioned in Parkman's "Wolfe and Montcalm," (Vol.I., p. 428.) He was +one of the magistrates appointed under the first commission of the +peace for the county of Sunbury, August 11th, 1766, and was the first +collector of customs at the River St. John. The names of Richard, +Samuel, Stephen and Oliver Peabody appear in the list of Maugerville +grantees of 1765. Of these Richard was a brother of Captain Francis +Peabody[126] and seems not to have become a permanent settler; the +others were sons of Capt. Peabody. Samuel the eldest, has been +frequently referred to in these chapters. He was a man of parts--a +farmer, surveyor, mast contractor, ship-builder, trader and mill +owner. He died at his residence, parish of Lincoln, in 1824, at the +age of 82 years. Descendants of Stephen Peabody lived for some years +in the parish of St. Mary's, York County. Francis Peabody, the third +son, went to Miramichi where he became a prosperous merchant and a +very influential citizen. The youngest son, Oliver, married, Dec. 31, +1789, Hulda Tapley of Maugerville, removing to Woodstock, N. B., with +his family about 1812, where his descendants still reside and are +enterprising and successful farmers. Oliver Peabody died in 1819, but +his widow survived for more than thirty years. Mary Peabody, wife of +Captain Francis Peabody, lived to quite a ripe old age; she died on +the 22nd December, 1803, aged 84 years. + + [126] Nathan Frazier of Andover, Essex Co., Mass., merchant, on 15th + October, 1767, delivered sundry articles--such as crockery, + sugar, spices, cloth goods, etc., to Richard Peabody "for his + brother, Capt. Francis Peabody." The articles amounted in + value to L311.18.1, old currency, and Richard Peabody gave his + note for this amt. + +Captain Peabody's was the first will admitted to probate in the county +of Sunbury. It is a document of sufficient historic interest to be +quoted in full. And here it may be well to state that in the year of +grace, 1771, a will was made out in more solemn form than is the case +in modern times. As a rule it was read immediately after the funeral, +in the presence of kith and kin, and rarely were its provisions +disputed. Captain Peabody mentions his daughter Heprabeth in his will; +she married Jonathan Leavitt about the year 1773. + + In the name of God. Amen. + + I, Francis Peabody, of Maugerville in the County of Sunbury and + Province of Nova Scotia, being thro' the abundant goodness of God, + though weak in body, yet of a sound and perfect understanding and + memory, do constitute this my last will and testament, and desire + it may be received by all as such. + + First, I most humbly bequeath my soul to God my maker, beseeching + his most gracious acceptance of it through the all-sufficient + merits of my Redeemer, Jesus Christ. I give my body to the earth + from whence it was taken, in full assurance of its resurrection + from hence at the last day. As for my burial I desire it may be + decent, at the discretion of my dear wife and executors hereafter + named. As to my worldly estate I will, and positively order, that + all my just debts be paid first. I give my dear and loving wife + one third part of all my estate in Nova Scotia, real and personal, + (excepting my wearing apparel), and one third part of my land in + Middleton and Rowley and Canada, and the use of two hundred + dollars now in New England, during her natural life, and the + principal if necessity calls for it. + + Item, to my son Samuel I give one-fourth part of all my lands not + yet disposed of, excepting the land on Oromocto Island, and all + the money I have in New England, except two hundred dollars given + his mother, his paying all my just debts in New England, and + fifteen dollars to his sister Elizabeth White, and two dollars and + a half to his sister Hannah Simonds, and one hundred and fifty + dollars to his sister Heprabeth on her marriage day. + + Item, to my son Stephen I give the same quantity of lands as I + gave to my son Samuel, his paying the same sums to his three + sisters as ordered for his brother Samuel to pay. + + Item, to my son Francis I give one half of my lands not yet + disposed of. + + Item, to my son Oliver I give all my lands not yet disposed of. + + Item, I give to my daughter Elizabeth White thirty dollars, to be + paid by my two eldest sons in household goods. + + Item, to my daughter Hannah Simonds five dollars, to be paid by my + two eldest sons. + + Item, to my daughter Heprabeth I give three hundred dollars to be + paid by my two eldest sons in household goods on the day of her + marriage. As to my household goods and furniture I leave to the + discretion of my loving wife to dispose of, excepting my sword, + which I give to my son Samuel. I appoint my dear wife and my son + Samuel executors of this my last Will and Testament. + + As witness my hand, + + FRANCIS PEABODY, Sr. + + Delivered this twenty-sixth day of October, the year of our Lord + 1771; in presence of us: + + Israel Kinney, Alexander Tapley, Phinehas Nevers. + + This Will was proved, approved and registered this 25th day of + June, 1773. + + BENJAMIN ATHERTON, Reg'r. + JAS. SIMONDS, J. Probates. + + +BARKER. + +There were three of this name among the original grantees of +Maugerville, Jacob Barker, Jacob Barker, jr., and Thomas Barker. All +were natives of Rowley. They settled near one another in what is now +Upper Sheffield, just above the Sheffield Academy, having as near +neighbors John Wasson, Isaac Stickney, Humphrey Pickard, Samuel Tapley +and several members of the Burpee family. Jacob Barker, sr., served as +an officer in one of the Massachusetts regiments in the old French +war, and after his arrival at the River St. John was a leading man in +the affairs of church and state. He presided as moderator at important +church meetings and was one of the ruling elders. He was also one of +the early magistrates of the county. At the outbreak of the American +Revolution his sympathies were with the revolutionary party, and his +son Jacob Barker, jr., was termed by Major Studholme "a bitter rebel." +The father presided as chairman of the famous meeting held at +Maugerville on the 24th, May, 1776, at which resolutions hostile to +Great Britain were adopted. He regained the confidence of the +authorities of Nova Scotia, however, for we find that on the 3rd of +August, 1782, Lieut.-Governor Sir Andrew Snape Hamond made a grant of +8,000 acres on the Oromocto river to William Hazen, James White, Jacob +Barker and Tamberlane Campbell, as disbanded provincial officers who +had served the King in the late French war. Thomas Barker and his +neighbor, Richard Estey, jr., owned the first mill in the township. +This they sold to James Woodman in 1782. Thomas Barker also owned and +improved a tract of land in the township of Burton. He died shortly +before the arrival of the Loyalists. + +Jacob Barker, jr., came to Maugerville from New England in January, +1765, along with Oliver Perley, Zebulon Estey, David Burbank, Humphrey +Pickard and others, in the schooner "Wilmot." He paid passage and +freight amounting to L1. 10. 5; and 13s. 6d. for his "clubb of Cyder +on the Passage." On November 13, 1775, Jacob Barker, jr., paid the sum +of L32. 10s. to Giles Tidmarsh of the Island of Grenada, planter, for +half of Lot No. 11 in the Township of Maugerville, comprising about +250 acres. Giles Tidmarsh lived for a while at Maugerville and was one +of the original grantees of the township. + +Among the decendants of Jacob Barker may be mentioned Thos. B. Barker, +who was born in Sheffield in 1820 and came to St. John in 1853, where +he was associated in the drug business with the late Sir Leonard +Tilley, and eventually became the head of the firm of T. B. Barker & +Sons. The Hon. Frederic E. Barker, judge of the supreme court, is also +a descendant of Jacob Barker and a native of Sheffield. + + +ATHERTON. + +Benjamin Atherton, the first English speaking settler at St. Anns, was +born in Lancaster, Massachusetts, December 20, 1746. His acquaintance +with Nova Scotia dates back to the time of the Acadian Expulsion, when +as a young man of less than twenty years of age he enlisted in Captain +Willard's company in Lieut. Colonel Scott's battalion of Massachusetts +troops. He sailed from Boston on the 20th of May, 1755, in the sloop +"Victory," and served a year in Nova Scotia under Colonel John +Winslow. + +In the year 1769, by arrangement with James Simonds, Benjamin Atherton +settled at St. Anns Point, where he established a trading post near +the site of Government House, Fredericton. The position of a trader on +the outskirts of civilization, in the vicinity of Aukpaque, the +largest Indian village on the St. John, required tact and courage, but +Mr. Atherton was equal to the emergency. In 1783, when the Loyalists +arrived, he had at St. Anns "a good framed house and log barn, and +about thirty acres of land cleared--partly by the French." On March +30th, 1773, Benjamin Atherton married Abigail Mooers of Maugerville. +She was a daughter of Peter Mooers and a sister of Mrs. Israel Perley. +At the time of her marriage she was a girl of seventeen. She died at +Prince William, N. B., June 28th, 1852, at the great age of 97 years. +By exchange with government Benjamin Atherton acquired a valuable +property in Prince William in lieu of his lands at the upper end of +Fredericton. His place in Prince William was well known to travellers +of later days as an inn kept by one of his descendants, Israel +Atherton, for many years. Benjamin Atherton was a man of excellent +education. He filled the offices of clerk of the peace and registrar +of the old county of Sunbury when it formed part of Nova Scotia; a +little later he was a coroner. The old prayer book from which he used +to read prayers on Sunday for the benefit of his assembled neighbors +in the absence of a clergyman, is still in existence. Benjamin +Atherton died June 28th, 1816, and his ashes rest beside those of his +wife in the little burial ground in Lower Prince William, hard by +"Peter Smith Creek." His descendants are numerous and widely +scattered; among the number is Dr. A. B. Atherton, the well known +physician and surgeon of Fredericton. + + +GARRISON. + +Joseph Garrison was born in Massachusetts in 1734 and came to the +River St. John as one of the pioneer settlers. He married in 1764, +Mary Palmer, who was born in Byfield, Mass., in 1741, and who was most +probably a daughter of Daniel Palmer, sr., his next door neighbor at +Maugerville. Whether the marriage ceremony was performed at the River +St. John or in New England the writer of this history is unable to +say; but if at the former place it was probably celebrated after the +fashion described in the following document:-- + + "Maugerville, February 23, 1766. + + "In the presence of Almighty God and this Congregation, Gervas Say + and Anna Russell, inhabitants of the above said township, enter + into marriage covenant lawfully to dwell together in the fear of + God the remaining part of our lives to perform all the duties + necessary betwixt husband and wife as witness our hands. + + GERVAS SAY, + ANNA SAY. + + (Witnesses.) Daniel Palmer, Fran's Peabody, Sam'l Whitney, Richard + Estey, George Hayward, David Palmer, Edw'd Coy." + +The respectability of the witnesses, and the solemn terms of this +marriage covenant, suffice to show that marriages thus solemnized were +regarded as perfectly regular, and it is probable that in the absence +of a minister competent to perform the ceremony this was the ordinary +mode of marriage.[127] It will be noticed that Daniel Palmer, whose +daughter Mary had married Joseph Garrison a little before this time, +was the first witness to the marriage covenant of Gervas Say and Anna +Russell. + + [127] See Dr. Hannay's sketch of the Township of Maugerville; N. B. + Hist. Society Collections, vol. I., p. 72. + +Joseph Garrison's lot in the township was No. 4, opposite the foot of +Middle Island in Upper Sheffield. His father-in-law Daniel Palmer and +his brothers-in-law Daniel Palmer jr., and Abijah Palmer were his +nearest neighbors. His third son, Abijah Garrison, born in the year +1773, married Fanny Lloyd who was born on Deer Island, near St. +Andrews, in 1776. Their youngest son, William Lloyd Garrison, was the +celebrated advocate of the abolition of slavery. Joseph Garrison is +said to have been the first of the settlers to engage in mining coal +at Grand Lake. The coal was shipped to New England on board one of the +vessels of Simonds & White. His name occurs among the first customers +in their books after the establishment of their trading post at the +mouth of the river in 1764, and he had frequent business transactions +with the firm.[128] + + [128] See Page 234 of this history. + + +COY. + +The progenitor of those of this name now living in the province was +Edward Coy, who came to the River St. John from Pomfret in Connecticut +in 1763. The name was originally McCoy; but the "Mc." was dropped by +Edward Coy's grandfather and was not again resumed by his descendants. +By his wife, whose maiden name was Amy Titus, Mr. Coy had a family of six +sons and five daughters. His third daughter was the first female child +born of English or American parents on the River St. John. The well +known inlet on the river, called "The Mistake," was originally called +"Coy's Mistake," the name doubtless suggests by the circumstance of +Coy's mistaking the channel in ascending the river, and after +proceeding some miles finding himself in a "cul de sac." Edward Coy was +one of the original grantees of Maugerville, his lot being opposite the +head of Gilbert's Island, but for some years he lived at Gagetown, +where his daughter Mary was born in 1771. This daughter published in +1849 a narrative of her life and christian experience, including +extracts from her diary and correspondence during a period of upwards of +sixty years. It is a curious and interesting old book. Edward Coy was an +active member of the Congregational church and one of the signers of +the original church covenant. As the children of the family grew up, +Mrs. Bradley informs us, their parents instructed them in the ways of +religion, furnishing them with such education as their situation and +circumstances admitted, which was little more than they learned at home, +except in the case of the two youngest. The early years of the family were +rendered more arduous by reason of ill health on the part of the +mother and failing sight on the part of the father. Edward Coy settled at +Upper Gagetown under arrangements with Col. Wm. Spry, who gave him (July +12, 1770,) a lease of 200 acres of land. Under the terms of the lease Coy +was to pay at the expiration of two years 4 shillings per annum, and at +the expiration of four years 8 shillings per annum for ever. This was not +a very large rental for a farm of 200 acres, but the tenant system was +never popular on the St. John. Mr. Coy was required to "leave a row of +trees on each side of the high road, thereafter to be laid out, at the +distance of about six rods from each other." About this time he sold +his lands in Maugerville to Moses Coburn. + +At the outbreak of the Revolution the attitude of the Indians was so +threatening, and reports of the lawlessness of privateers so alarming, +that Mr. Coy removed his family once more to Sheffield, which was then +by far the most thickly settled place on the river. He attended the +meeting held on the 24th May, 1776, at which resolutions strongly +favoring the cause of the colonies in rebellion were adopted, and was +appointed one of the "rebel committee." His son Amasa went in arms +with Jonathan Eddy against Fort Cumberland. Both father and son, +however, subsequently took the oath of allegiance to the King and were +thenceforth loyal subjects. The family returned to Gagetown in a few +years, the public mind having become more settled respecting the +American war. Mrs. Bradley, in her narrative, gives a good description +of the general interest and excitement created in the Spring of 1779, +by the coming of the celebrated New-light preacher and evangelist, +Henry Alline, which made an indelible impression on her mind, although +she was only a child at the time. Shortly afterwards the small-pox +broke out in the settlements, and Edward Coy determined to have his +family "inoculated." Inoculation, it may be observed, was regarded as +the best preventative of small-pox before vaccination was introduced +by Dr. Jenner. The results, however, were not uniformly satisfactory. +In the case of the Coy family, Mr. Coy and his wife lay at the point +of death for a considerable time, and their second son, aged 24 years, +died.[129] + + [129] Rev. Jacob Bailey writes regarding an epidemic of smallpox at + Annapolis in 1794. "What is somewhat remarkable, numbers died + under inoculation, while the old sexton who took it in the + natural way, though 98 years of age, recovered." + +When the Loyalists arrived in 1783 Edward Coy was living in a log +house on his lot at Upper Gagetown where he had cleared about 15 +acres of land. The circumstances of the pioneer settlers were still +rather straitened, but the exiled Loyalists were in a much more +unfortunate condition. Speaking of their distress, Mrs. Bradley says; +"My heart was filled with pity and affection when I saw them in a +strange land, without house or home, and many of them were sick +and helpless. I often looked upon them when they passed by in boats +in rainy weather and wished for them to call and refresh themselves +and was glad when they did so." Edward Coy shared with a Loyalist +family the accommodation of his humble dwelling until they could +provide themselves a shelter. + + +ESTEY. + +The ancestor of the Esteys in America was Jeffrey Estey, an English +puritan, who sought refuge in New England from the persecutions of Old +England. He was living at Salem, Mass., in 1636, but removed later to +Long Island, N. Y., where he died in 1657. His son, Isaac Estey, +married Mary Towne, who was born in Yarmouth, England, about 1634. She +was among the unfortunate witchcraft martyrs of Salem in 1692; she +wrote a remarkable letter to the judges and court denying the charges +preferred against her. Isaac Estey was grandfather of Richard Estey +who came to the St. John river with the Maugerville colony. Richard +Estey lived at Rowley but he was born at Topsfield, Mass., the home of +his parents and grand-parents. His wife was Ruth Fisk of Ipswich, +Massachusetts. He was a member of the Congregational church in Rowley +until he was dismissed to the church at St. John river in May, 1764. +Among his children who were born at Rowley and came to Maugerville +were the following:-- + + 1. Richard Estey, jr., born Feb. 9, 1728, married Hannah Hazen. + 2. Sarah Estey, born Oct. 12, 1736, married Thomas Barker. + 3. John Estey, born about 1739, married Mary Hart. + 4. Zebulon Estey, born Dec. 14, 1742, married Molly Brawn and + died Oct. 10, 1806. + +Richard Estey, sr., was one of the seven signers of the original +church covenant at Maugerville and served on important church +committees. The Esteys were well known and active men in the +community, and were among the pioneers of milling on the St. John +river. Richard Estey, jr., had a saw mill in 1779, on what was then +called Numahael creek. His brother Zebulon moved to Upper Gagetown +about 1778, where he built a grist mill--the first in that vicinity +and used by farmers on both sides of the river. The committee sent by +Major Studholme early in 1783, to explore the river and report upon +the state of settlement, mention the fact that Zebulon had been +settled about 5 years on his location. He had built a house and grist +mill and cleared about 3 acres of land. He had a wife and 8 +children. The committee add:--"Said Estey is a good man, his +character very loyal and we beg to recommend him to be confirmed +in his possessions." + +Moses, Israel and Amos Estey, who were of a younger generation, +removed from Maugerville to the Burton side of the river prior to +1783, induced thereto in all probability, by the inconveniences +consequent upon the Spring freshets. + +Zebulon Estey was a ruling elder of the Congregational church at +Maugerville in 1775. Through the ministry of the Rev. Joseph Crandall, +one of the fathers of the Baptist denomination in the maritime +provinces, a considerable number of the old Congregationalists of +Waterborough and the vicinity were led to organize a Baptist church. +Their leader, Elijah Estabrooks, was foremost in the movement, which +was much aided by the unexpected conversion of the "old squire" +Zebulon Estey to Baptist principles. Father Crandall writes of that +day: "Nearly thirty candidates were baptized, and the meeting did not +break up until the going down of the sun. It was truly solemn and +delightful to hear the praises of the Lord sung by great numbers of +happy converts in boats returning home from the delightful scene. The +work of that day I can never forget. The clear setting sun, the large +expanse of unruffled water, the serenity of the atmosphere, the +delightful notes of the feathered songsters, and the solemn sound of +hymns sung by many happy voices, presented to me an emblem of the +paradise of God. It seemed as though heaven had come down to earth, +and that I was on the brink of the eternal world." + +Of the church organized at Waterborough in 1800, Elijah Estabrooks +became the pastor, Edward Coy and Joseph Estabrooks deacons, and +Zebulon Estey clerk, "all by a unanimous vote." + +Further particulars of the organization of this church, which was the +first of the denomination in western New Brunswick, will be found in +Dr. Bill's History of the Baptists. + +The Esteys proved a prolific stock and their descendants on the River +St. John are numerous. + + +ESTABROOKS. + +The first of this name in America is supposed to have been Joseph +Estabrooks, who was born in Enfield, Middlesex County, England, +and came to Concord, New Hampshire in 1660. It is said that he had +two brothers, one of whom, Thomas, was at Swansea in 1683, but +subsequently went to Concord. Elijah Estabrooks, who settled on the +River St. John, had in his lifetime many places of abode. He was +probably a native of Haverhill, Massachusetts, where his son, of same +name, was born in May, 1756. The family came to Halifax about the +year 1763, removing soon afterwards to Cornwallis, and from thence +to St. John. On the 18th October, 1765, Mr. Estabrooks entered the +employ of Simonds & White. In 1773 he made an agreement with Wm. +Hazen and James Simonds to settle in the township of Conway, near the +mouth of the river, Hazen and Simonds guaranteeing him a deed of +250 acres of land. An old return, or census, of the township, +dated 1st August, 1775, shows that Mr. Estabrooks' family included +a wife, three sons and three daughters. He had cleared and +improved seven acres of land and built a log house. His domestic +animals were one cow, two young cattle and two hogs. Before he had +made more than a good beginning the Revolutionary war brought +everything to a stand. We learn from Major Studholme's report that +Elijah Estabrooks was one of those who accompanied Hugh Quinton in +the expedition against Fort Cumberland in 1776, and shared in the +discomfiture of the party. His predilection for the American cause +did not save him from being molested by the "rebel privateers," +and he was obliged in the Spring of 1777 to remove his family from +their exposed situation at the mouth of the river to the vicinity +of Gagetown. It is a little remarkable that Elijah Estabrooks and +his immediate neighbors on the St. John should have come from +Cornwallis and other parts of Nova Scotia, although they were in the +first instance natives of New England. They seem to have had no +legitimate title to the lands on which they settled themselves, while +awaiting the issue of the struggle between Great Britain and the +colonies in rebellion. The arrival of the Loyalists in 1783 rendered +their situation exceedingly precarious. However, they were befriended +by Governor Parr, who directed that such lots as were occupied by old +inhabitants of the country (although the occupants might not have +any legal claim) should not be appropriated by the Loyalists until +they had paid for the improvements made by those in possession. This +policy was continued, after the formation of the Province of New +Brunswick, by Governor Carleton and his council. A valuation of the +improvements made at Upper Gagetown by Robert Lasky, Robert Lasky, +jr., Elijah Estabrooks, sr., Elias Clark, Arculus Hammond, John +Richardson, Samuel Hersey, Francis Grant, Moses Clark, Samuel +Kemble and Benjamin Boober was made by Thomas Hart, Samuel Upton and +John Hart. As the valuators were old settlers and neighbors, the +interests of their friends were not likely to suffer at their +hands. They placed the value of the buildings and improvements of +the eleven individuals named above at L603.12s.6d. which was more +than the Loyalists who had drawn the locations were disposed to +pay; consequently the old settlers remained in possession. The +valuation put upon the house of Elijah Estabrooks, sr., was L10; +that of his "improvements" L46. + +Elijah Estabrooks, jr., was led by the visit of Rev. Henry Alline, in +1779, to connect himself with the church formed on "New-light" +principles at Waterborough, and a few years later he commenced +preaching. In May, 1780, he was baptized by Rev. Joseph Crandall, and +his example being followed by several others a small Baptist church +was constituted in Waterborough of which Mr. Estabrooks was the +pastor. Several of the incidents of his ministry are related in Rev. +Dr. Bill's History of the Baptists. During the years he labored in +Waterborough and the adjoining settlements he supported himself and +his family by his own industry. He was held in universal esteem by +persons of all denominations and all descriptions. Today his +descendants and those of his brothers are very numerous on the St. +John river. + + +DARLING. + +There were twenty-three proprietors of a township, which was +originally called "Amesbury" in honor of James Amesbury, a Halifax +merchant, one of the grantees. Among the few inhabitants of the +township, prior to the arrival of the Loyalists, mention may be +made of Benjamin Darling, the first English speaking settler on the +banks of the Kennebecasis. Mr. Darling was born at Marblehead, +Massachusetts, in 1730, and came to the St. John river a few years +before the war of the American Revolution. He used to trade with the +Indians and became very friendly with the chief of a small village at +Nauwigewauk. Here in early times the Indians used to raise corn and +tobacco. They were inclined to resent the intrusion of the whites +into their domain but Benjamin Darling, after prolonged negotiation, +obtained from the local chief possession of the island, the +consideration offered and accepted being two bushels of corn, one +barrel of flour, a grindstone, some powder and shot and sundry knives, +hatchets and other implements. Darling built himself a comfortable +log dwelling, the upper part of which served as a store-room for +goods for the Indian trade. After his wife's death his daughter Hannah +became the housekeeper with a young girl friend as companion. The +Indians, though otherwise friendly enough, objected to all attempts +to clear and till the land and would not even allow the young ladies +to beautify their premises by the cultivation of flowers. On one +occasion Benjamin Darling went in company with the Indian chief to +visit a beaver dam not far away. During their absence an Indian +entered the house with the avowed intention of taking one of the +girls for his "squaw." There being no man about the premises the +prospect was certainly alarming, but woman's wit proved equal to the +emergency. As the intruder advanced to lay hands upon her Hannah +Darling offered to go with him of her own free will, but immediately +after leaving the house cleverly eluded the Indian, slipped in again +at the door and fastened it. The despicable savage advanced to the +window with diabolical threats, whetted his knife before their eyes +and finally seized a club to make forcible entry only to find himself +confronted at the doorway by the plucky girl with a loaded musket in +her hands. Her spirit was now thoroughly aroused; she ordered him +off the premises forthwith, and the Indian after glancing at her +determined face slunk away. The old chief was greatly incensed at +this occurrence, and a day or two later the culprit was brought +before the young woman with his hands tied, the chief demanding +"shall we kill him?" To which she answered, "Oh, no! let him go." He +was thereupon chased out of the neighborhood and forbidden to return +under penalty of death. Hannah Darling, the heroine of this spirited +adventure, afterwards married Christopher Watson, and is said to have +attained the wonderful age of 108 years. + + +GAGE. + +Among the large land grants on the River St. John, passed in the year +1765, was one of 20,000 acres to General Thomas Gage and nineteen +other individuals, most of them residents of New York. The tract +included the lower part of the parish of Hampstead and the upper part +of Greenwich, extending in front along the river from about the foot +of Long Island to Jones' Creek, a little below Oak Point. Many of the +original grantees were related by blood or marriage and the +association was in its way a "family compact." General Gage served in +the seven years war in America and was commander-in-chief of the +British forces at the Battle of Bunker Hill. His wife was a daughter +of Peter Kemble, president of the Council of New Jersey; Stephen +Kemble and Samuel Kemble, who were proprietors of the township, also +were her brothers.[130] Henry Gage, son of General Gage, although only +a child of five years, was one of the proprietors.[131] Other +proprietors were William, Samuel and Robert Bayard; they were related +to the Kembles. The Bayards were leading Loyalists and among their +descendants we have still with us Dr. William Bayard, the nestor of +the practising physicians of the maritime provinces. Archibald McCall, +a wealthy merchant of Philadelphia, was another proprietor; his wife, +Edith Kemble, was a sister of Stephen and Samuel Kemble. Another +notable proprietor was John Watts, a member of the Executive Council +of New York, a gentleman of wealth and reputation; his daughter +married Sir John Johnson, who was also one of the associates in the +grants. + + [130] See Jonas Howe's interesting account of "Kemble Manor" in the + New Brunswick Magazine of September, 1898. + + [131] Henry Gage served as lieutenant in the Seventh regiment during + the Revolutionary war, and on the death of his uncle, Viscount + Gage, inherited the family titles and estate in Sussex, + England. + + +KEMBLE. + +On the 27th of May, 1767, fifteen of the original grantees, including +General Thomas Gage, transferred their rights to Stephen Kemble[132] +for a very small consideration--ten pounds current money of the +Province of New York--and the grant was thenceforth known as the +Kemble Manor. + + [132] Stephen Kemble was born in 1740 at New Brunswick in New Jersey; + was ensign in the 44th regiment under Lord Howe at Ticonderoga + in 1757. In 1765 he became captain in the 60th or Royal + American regiment, major in 1775 and Lieut.-Colonel in 1778. + He was for a while Deputy Adjutant General of the forces in + America, a position filled a little later by Major John Andre. + Col. Kemble retired from active service in 1805. He eventually + returned to his native town of New Brunswick in New Jersey and + died in the house where he was born, Dec. 20, 1822, in the + 82nd year of his age. + +In the year 1774 Col. Kemble appointed Joseph Frederick Wallet +Des-Barres to act for him in the settlement of the manor, with power +to substitute and appoint one or more agents. Des-Barres immediately +named James Simonds as his deputy; the duties of the latter are +specified in the records of the old county of Sunbury under the +following heading: + + "Instructions for carrying into execution the letter of Attorney + of Stephen Kemble, Esq., to Joseph Frederick Wallet Des-Barres, + Esq., to be observed by James Simonds, Esq., his substitute for + this purpose specially appointed." + +Under the instructions the manor was to be divided into one hundred +lots of 200 acres each, to be laid out in such a way as to allow +communication with the river to as many settlers as possible. Half the +lots were offered at L5 sterling each to purchasers or to tenants at a +renewable lease of ten shillings per annum, but it was not until about +the year 1782 that any effectual measures were taken for the +settlement of the grant, the explanation probably being that Mr. +Simonds and his partners were too much engaged in securing their own +lands from forfeiture to pay much attention to those of Col. Kemble. +However on the arrival of the Loyalists a number of lots were speedily +disposed of and by the efforts of Ward Chipman, who succeeded James +Simonds as agent, the greater part of the lands were saved from +escheat. Col. Kemble visited the River St. John in 1788. His +correspondence with Ward Chipman relative to the improvement of the +Manor is of interest. The last of the lots on the river was sold in +1811, and in 1820 the rear of the property, comprising about one half +of the whole, was sold to Nehemiah Merritt, of St. John, for L1000. + + +STERLING. + +Another considerable grant in the year 1765 was that made to Captain +Walter Sterling of the Royal Navy, and nine others[133], 10,000 acres +at the foot of Kingston peninsula, now known as "Lands End." This +tract was forfeited for non-fulfilment of the conditions of the grant. +Capt. Walter Sterling visited the River St. John in August, 1775, and +some business transactions with him are to be found in the old account +books of Hazen, Simonds and White. + + [133] The names of the associates in this grant were Dorothy Sterling, + Walter Sterling, jr., Christopher Sterling, Ann Sterling, + William Sterling, Andrew Sterling, John Ewer, Walter Ewer and + John Francis. + + +GLASIER. + +Another large grant of this period was known as "Glasier's Manor" +(subsequently as "Coffin's Manor"), extending from Brundage's Point in +the parish of Westfield up the river to a point two or three miles +above the Nerepis. Colonel Glasier is believed to have made his +headquarters during his sojourn on the River St. John at or near the +site of Fort Boishebert at Woodman's Point. The Nerepis stream was at +one time known as "Beaubear's river;" for example, in a description of +the River St. John, written a little before the arrival of the +Loyalists, we have the following: "At the entrance of a small river +called Baubier's River or narrow Piece [Nerepis] the land a +considerable distance back is good upland but no Interval. The land up +Baubier's River for three miles, which was included in Glasier's +original Grant, is good, both Interval and upland. On Baubier's River +mills may be erected and there is some good timber. On Baubier's Point +the salmon fishery is said to be the best on St. John's River." + +Shortly after the arrival of the Loyalists Glasier's Manor passed into +the possession of General Coffin, and was by him named Alwyngton +Manor. Before this transaction was consummated, however, Glasier's +Manor had nearly shared the fate of other grants. Elias Hardy, a +clever lawyer employed by the government to investigate the state of +the old townships with a view to the forfeiture of lands vacant and +unimproved, claimed that the manor was escheatable in part as not +having been fully settled. It was shown, however, that Nathaniel +Gallop and others had made improvements, built dwellings, barns and +out-houses, but the Indians had burned the houses and destroyed the +crops and finally driven the settlers away. Owing to the distracted +state of the country at the time of the Revolution, no settlement was +practicable near the mouth of the river. Governor Parr used his +influence in Col. Glasier's behalf, assuring him that every effort +would be made to preserve his lands in view of his efforts to promote +the settlement of the country. General Coffin succeeded, after he had +purchased the manor, in getting some valuable settlers to take up +lands at the Nerepis, among them Capt. Henry Nase, a brother officer +in the late King's American regiment, whose descendants still live at +Westfield. In the course of the first year's residence General Coffin +expended more than L1,200 sterling in improving his property. He built +on the Nerepis stream an excellent mill and displayed much enterprise +in other ways. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +AT THE CLOSE OF THE REVOLUTION--AFFAIRS CIVIL AND RELIGIOUS. + + +After the establishment of Major Studholme's garrison at Fort Howe, in +the fall of 1777, the settlers on the river found adequate protection. +The Indians occasionally assumed a hostile attitude it is true, +especially when they were stirred up by Allan's emissaries from +Machias, but they were rather overawed by the proximity of the fort +and were for the most part peacefully disposed. The privateers +continued their depredations on the coast, but kept clear of Fort +Howe. The condition of the settlers on the river had gradually +improved and they were now able to live within themselves. Money too +began to circulate more freely, owing to the development of the +masting industry. In several of the townships primitive grist and saw +mills were to be found, and there was even a small tannery, owned and +operated by one Nathaniel Churchill of Gagetown. Among the artificers +of Maugerville were Sylvanus Plummer, joiner and housewright; James +Woodman, Shipwright; John Crabtree, weaver; Israel Kenny, blacksmith; +Jonathan Whipple, cooper; Benjamin Bailey, housewright; Abel English, +blacksmith. + +Among the glimpses of Portland Point, during the closing year of the +Revolution, a rather interesting one is to be found in the diary of +Benjamin Marston, a loyalist of Marblehead, who visited the place in +his vessel the "Britannia" in the autumn of 1781. An extract from his +diary here follows:-- + + "Friday, Sept. 7--About 10 a. m. arrived safely into St. John's + river, went ashore and dined with Mr. Hazen whom I find to be + every way the man I have ever heard him characterized. + + "Saturday, Sept. 8--Dined with Mr. Hazen. Sold him and Mr. White + some tobacco, wine and chocolate. Mending sails today. Wind + blowing very hard at N. W. + + "Sunday, Sept. 9--Am in hopes of having a convoy to Annapolis, + shall know more of it tomorrow; if one, shall wait for it. Dined + ashore at Mr. Hazen's. + + "Monday, Sept. 10--Still waiting in hopes of a convoy and have + some prospect of carrying garrison stores to Annapolis, in that + case shall have a party sufficient to keep off pirate boats. Spent + the day rambling about the country which hereabouts is very + broken, barren and but little cultivated, but abounding in vast + quantities of excellent limestone. Fort Howe is built on a single + limestone--'tis a pretty large one. Delivered Mr. Hazen his two + hogsheads of tobacco, which I couldn't do before, we have had such + blowing weather the two days past. + + "Tuesday, Sept. 11--Dirty, rainy, wind at noon S. and S. S. W. + + "Wednesday, Sept. 12--Waited till 12 o'clock at noon to sail with + the men of war and the mast ships." + +Benjamin Marston sold a portion of his cargo to Hazen & White; but +he found his stay at St. John very monotonous during the fortnight +he was detained by contrary winds. He tried to break the monotony by +the composition of the following rhyme, for which, under the +circumstances, we are disposed to excuse him; it was St. John's +first attempt in the poetical line and is as good as some that has +been attempted since: + + "I'm almost sick and tired to death + With staying in this lonesome place, + Where every day presents itself + With just the same dull-looking face. + + Oh! had I but some kind fair friend + With whom to chat the hours away, + I ne'er would care how blew the wind + Nor tedious should I think my stay. + + Ah! that was once my happy lot + When I with house and home was blest, + I'd then a fair companion got + With many female charms possesst. + + Nor scantily did Heaven shower down + Those gifts which render life a blessing, + But did our cup with plenty crown, + Nor let us feel what was distressing. + + Yes, dearest Sally, thou wert fair, + Not only fair, but kind and good; + Sweetly together did we share + The blessings Heaven on us bestowed. + + Till base Rebellion did display + Her banners fair with false pretence, + Then kindly Heaven took you away + From evils which have happened since. + + And careless me, when I had lost + Of all my blessings far the best, + Did teach, and justly, to my cost, + The worth of what I once possessed. + + 'Tis often so--we do not prize + The present good at its just rate, + But gone, we see with other eyes + What was its worth when 'tis too late. + + Now one more verse, fair Ladies nine, + And there'll be one apiece for you; + 'Tis the way I sometimes spend my time + When I have nothing else to do." + +The war of the Revolution was practically ended on the 19th October, +1781, when Lord Cornwallis surrendered his army to Washington at +Yorktown, Virginia, in the presence of the united French and American +forces. From this date until the peace, the military operations were +few and unimportant. Major Studholme continued quietly to maintain his +post at Fort Howe. In addition to a strong detachment of his own +corps, the Royal Fencible American Regiment, he had a detachment of +the 84th regiment, or Young Royal Highland Emigrants. Among +Studholme's subordinate officers were lieutenants Peter Clinch, Samuel +Denny Street, Ambrose Sharman and Constant Connor, all of the Royal +Fencible Americans, and lieutenants Laughlan Maclane and Hugh Frazier +of the Young Royal Highland Emigrants. + +Lieut. Clinch, according to family tradition, was born in Ireland and +educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He came to America before the +outbreak of the Revolution, was gazetted lieutenant in his regiment +May 15, 1776, and shortly afterwards appointed adjutant. He settled at +St. George, N. B., after his regiment was disbanded, and among his +neighbors were Capt. Philip Baily and a number of officers, +non-commissioned officers and private soldiers of the regiment. The +difficulties with which they were confronted on their arrival at St. +George are thus described by one of Mr. Clinch's sons:-- + + "My father had charge of a party of soldiers, who were disbanded + in 1783 and sent to colonize a howling wilderness--the most unfit + employment they could be put to. The delay which took place in + furnishing a vessel to convey them and their stores added much to + their difficulties. It was not until the 10th of November that a + landing was effected at the mouth of the Magaguadavic, where there + was neither house nor habitation of any kind to receive them; and + so glad was the skipper of the vessel to get rid of such a + disorderly and almost mutinous crew, that he sailed away the + moment he got them landed. He was under some apprehension that + they would insist on coming away with him again rather than land + on such an inhospitable shore. That night my father slept in the + open air and such a heavy fall of snow came that he had some + difficulty in removing the blankets next morning." + +Peter Clinch, in 1793, raised a company for the King's New Brunswick +Regiment which he commanded. He was for some years a representative of +Charlotte County in the New Brunswick legislature, and a man prominent +in public affairs up to the time of his decease in 1816. + +Lieut. Sam'l. Denny Street was born and educated in England and +admitted an attorney and solicitor at law in the court of Westminster. +He came to America in 1774, and enlisting as a volunteer was soon +gazetted a lieutenant in the Royal Fencible American Regiment. He +obtained for General McLean the pilots who accompanied him on his +successful expedition to Penobscot, and was himself sent on several +occasions from Fort Howe to Penobscot on confidential services. On the +25th of April, 1781, he was so unfortunate as to be betrayed by his +guide, and was captured near Machias with six of his men. He was sent +to Boston and put aboard the prison ship. Anxious to retain the +services of so useful and enterprising an officer, Gen'l McLean on two +occasions offered two "rebel" officers of superior rank in exchange, +but in each instance the offer was declined, and it was learned +afterwards that the failure was due to a memorial forwarded from +Machias by Col. John Allan representing that Lieut. Street was too +dangerous a man to be set at liberty. + +After several months of irksome confinement Lieut. Street contrived, +with the help of a fellow prisoner, to seize the "rebel sentinel" as +he was pacing the deck one sultry night in August, without arousing +the guard, who was asleep. Having bound and gagged their man and +possessed themselves of his weapons, they released the other +prisoners, and with their assistance surprised and disarmed the guard +consisting of a corporal and twelve men. One of Street's men now swam +ashore and brought off a boat in which they all embarked. The guard +were landed on a small island. Street and his party landed on the +mainland and pushed through the woods to Marblehead, but the day +coming on they were so unfortunate as to fall in with a detachment of +American troops by whom they were captured and conveyed to Boston +jail. Street was now measured for irons but information having reached +General McLean on this head he threatened to retaliate upon the +American prisoners at Halifax and the project was abandoned. + +After enduring for some time the prison fare, which Street describes +as "putrid and offensive," he made another unsuccessful attempt to +escape. He was now sent once more aboard the prison ship. He contrived +one dark night to lower himself from the cabin window, and with the +tide at flood swam off undiscovered. After swimming a mile up the +harbor he landed on shore and sought refuge at the house of an +Englishman whom he knew and by whose timely aid he returned in safety +to the garrison at Fort Howe. + +Samuel Denny Street was the first lawyer to practice his profession in +this province. At the peace in 1783 he was employed as Major +Studholme's assistant in the settlement of the Loyalists on the St. +John river. His descendants have filled conspicuous positions in the +history of the province, both political and judicial. One son, George +Frederick Street, was a judge of the supreme court, another, John +Ambrose Street, was attorney general of the province and leader of the +government and still another, William H. Street, was mayor of the city +of St. John. + +Lieut. Ambrose Sharman filled a dual position, being surgeon of the +garrison as well as a lieutenant. While he was at Fort Howe he had a +variety of patients in addition to those of the garrison; for example, +in 1778, he rendered a bill amounting to L5. 16.8 "for attendance & +medicines to Pieree Thomas & four other sick Indians;" and again, +August 4, 1780, he presents his bill to James White "To inoculating +self and family for smallpox, L9." + +After the Royal Fencible American Regiment was disbanded, Dr. Sharman +settled in Burton, Sunbury county, along side his brother officer, +Samuel Denny Street. Ten years later he was drowned while crossing the +river to attend a sick call. Three of his orphan children were +provided for and educated by Mr. Street, who also named his seventh +son John Ambrose Sharman, in honor of his former friend and comrade. + +In a former chapter some account has been already given of the first +religious teachers on the River St. John. A few words may be added +concerning the celebrated "New Light" preacher, Henry Alline, who was +at Maugerville in 1779 and again in 1780, and 1782. A great deal has +been written concerning this remarkable man, and widely divergent +opinions have been expressed as to the value of his labors, though few +are found to gainsay his sincerity, ability and zeal. Rev. Jacob +Bailey, the S. P. G. missionary at Cornwallis and Annapolis, terms him +"a rambling teacher, who has made great commotions in this province." +Mr. Bailey was a tory of the olden time, and strongly deprecated +anything that chanced to be at variance with the sober ways of the +Church of England, which were then in vogue. In an old paper written +about 1783, still preserved by his descendants in Nova Scotia, we find +the following from Mr. Bailey's pen:-- + + "This country is troubled with various sects of enthusiasts who + agree in nothing except a frenzy of pious zeal and a most + uncharitable spirit towards their unconverted neighbors, and a + madness to introduce confusion, anarchy and nonsense into all the + exercises of religion. * * He that is master of the strongest pair + of lungs, and is able to exhibit the loudest and most doleful + vociferation, is sure of prevailing success. Those who perceive + themselves deficient in point of noise endeavour to secure renown + by the advancement and propagation of some new and singular + opinion." + +In much the same strain Sheriff Walter Bates of Kings county +writes:--"When I was first in Maugerville in 1783, I was informed of a +preacher by the name of Collins, who had been some time with them; +that on account of some jealousy among them he soon after left, but +another preacher named Alline came, whose followers were called +Allinites. In Sheffield and Waterboro the people became divided into +three sects, named after their own preachers: Hartites, Brooksites and +Hammonites, who were annually inspired by two travelling preachers +from Nova Scotia."[134] The sheriff had very little that was good to +say of these evangelists, whose methods and doctrines he cordially +disliked. + + [134] The two preachers were in all probability Rev. Theodore S. + Harding and Rev. Joseph Crandall. See Dr. Bill's History of + the Baptists, page 698. The people referred to as "Brooksites" + by Sheriff Bates were the founders of the Baptist denomination + in Waterborough and Canning, Queens county, N. B., over whom + Rev. Elijah Estabrooks presided as teaching elder, with Joseph + E. Brooks (or Estabrooks) as deacon, and Zebulon Estey as + clerk. An interesting account of the origin of this church is + to be found in Dr. Bill's Hist. of the Baptists pp. 594-602. + Another reference to the "Hammonites" and "Brooksites" will be + found in the Winslow Papers, page 392. + +Henry Alline, the Whitefield of Nova Scotia, was born at Newport, +Rhode Island, June 14, 1748. He settled with his parents at Talmouth, +N. S., in 1760. He was a preacher of fervid eloquence, which, as in +the case of Whitefield, few who came under its influence were able to +resist. He was brought up a Congregationalist, and from that +denomination he never really separated, although he plunged into +speculations on theological points in which, to quote the late Dr. T. +Watson Smith, "the import of the words of inspiration is often lost +amidst the reveries of mysticism." One of the errors of New-Light +enthusiasm consisted in regarding mere animal impulses as leadings of +the Holy Spirit, which must be followed at all hazards. Henry Alline +was one of the best exponents of the New-Light idea. He was a good +singer as well as a fervid preacher, and in his sermons appealed to +the feelings of his hearers. "The early New-Light preachers," says Dr. +Smith, "resembled their leader. Such men, passing from settlement to +settlement, as if impelled by a species of religious knight-errantry, +could not fail to make an impression. Viewed in themselves, the +results of their visits were in certain cases painful. Families were +divided; neighbors became opposed to each other; pastors preached and +published in vain endeavor to stem the tide, and failing submitted to +the inevitable; old church organizations were broken down and new +organizations set up in their places. * * To disturb the slumbers of +the churches and arouse them to active effort seemed to be his +vocation." His doctrines were distasteful to the Presbyterians of his +day, and were termed by one of their ministers, "a mixture of +Calvinism, Antinomianism, and Enthusiasm." + +It is certain, nevertheless, that Henry Alline stirred non-conformist +Nova Scotia to its core. After his death the societies which he +founded, as a rule, gradually became Baptist churches, and in this way +many of the most intelligent and influential New England families +became members of that denomination. + +In the month of April, 1779, Henry Alline left Cornwallis in response +to an invitation to go to the River St. John. On his arrival at +Maugerville he was cordially received by the people, who related to +him the broken state of their church and deplored the darkness of the +times. + +"When the Sabbath came," he says, "I preached, and the Lord was there, +and took much hold of the people. The week ensuing I preached two +lectures, and went from place to place, visiting the people and +inquiring into their standing. O! it was a grief to see sincere +Christians thus scattered up and down the mountains like sheep having +no shepherd; and the accuser of the brethern had sown much discord +among the Christians. There had been a church there, but the people +had separated on account of the greatest part holding the minister to +be an unconverted man, who afterwards went away, but the division +still subsisted." + +Mr. Alline spent some weeks in the township, preaching often and +visiting the people. By his advice they renewed their church covenant +in the form following:-- + + "Maugerville, June ye 17, year 1779. + + "We who through the exceeding riches of the grace and patience + of God do continue to be a professing church of Christ being now + assembled in the holy Presence of God, in the name of the Lord + Jesus Christ after humble confession of our manifold breaches of + the Covenant, before the Lord our God and earnest supplication + for pardoning mercy through the blood of Christ and deep + acknowledgement of our great unworthiness to be the Lord's + Covenant People, also acknowledging our own inability to keep + covenant with God or to perform any spiritual duty unless the + Lord Jesus do enable us thereto by his spiritual dwelling in us, + and being awfully sensible that it is a dreadful thing for sinful + dust and ashes personally to transact with the infinitely + glorious Majesty of Heaven and Earth. + + "We do in humble confidence of his gracious assistance and + acceptance through Christ; each one of us for ourselves and + jointly as the church of the Living God explicetly renew our + Covenant with God and one with another and after perusing the + Covenant on which this church was at first gathered, we do + cordially adhear to the same, both in matters of faith and + discipline; and whereas some provoking evils have crept in among + us which has been the procuring causes of the divisions and + calamitys that God has sent or permitted in this place, especially + the neglect of a close walk with God and a watchfulness over our + brother. We desire from our hearts to bewail it before the Lord + and humbly to entreat for pardoning mercy through the blood of the + Everlasting Covenant, and we do heartily desire by God's grace to + reform these evils or whatsoever else have provoked the eyes of + God's glory among us." + + Daniel Palmer, jr., + Peter Mooers, + Jabez Nevers, + Moses Coburn, + Benjm. Brown, + Israel Perly, + Daniel Jewett, + Jacob Barker,jr., + Asa Perley, + Jonathan Burpe, + Saml. Whitney, + Daniel Palmer, + Jacob Palmer, + Humphrey Pickard, + Edward Coy. + + Female Members of the Church. + + Mary Barker, + Jane Pickard, + Abigail Jewett, + Hannah Coburn, + Lydia Whitney, + Lydia Jepheson, + Hannah Noble, + Anna Coy, + Elizbh. Palmer. + + "The last Sabbath I preached at St. John's river," continued Mr. + Alline, "the people seemed so loth to go away, that we stopped at + the meeting-house door, and sung and discoursed some time, and + then I left them to go down the river." He preached at Gagetown, + encamped a night in the woods, and on the third day reached the + mouth of the river where he preached at "Mahogany." The next day + was Sunday and in the morning a boat came to take him to "the + town"--or settlement at Portland Point--where he was to preach. + Evidently the people were disposed to hold aloof from his + ministrations at this time, for he says, "O! the darkness of the + place! * * I suppose there were upwards of 200 people there come + to the years of maturity, and I saw no signs of any Christian + excepting one soldier. Yet although I was among such an + irreligious people, the Lord was kind to me, and I lacked for + nothing while I was there." + +He returned to St. John in the latter part of August and preached on a +Sunday. Major Studholme treated him with civility, and sent him up the +river in his own barge. He found the church prospering. There was much +interest in religion; a good many new members having been added to the +roll in his absence, three or four of them upwards of fifty years of +age. Two elders and two deacons were now appointed, and a formal call +was extended to Mr. Alline to remain as their settled pastor. This +call he did not see his way clear to accept, but promised to revisit +them shortly. He got back to Fort Howe on the 6th of November, and +preached there while awaiting a chance to cross the bay to Annapolis. +He returned to St. John, April 22, 1780, staid a week and preached on +Sunday, after which he again went up the river. Several weeks were +devoted to visiting the various settlements and great interest was +manifested, crowds of people attending his preaching. In his diary he +tells us that much company went with him from place to place, some +times six or seven boats loaded with people. Edward Coy's daughter +Mary (afterwards Mrs. Mary Bradley) who was then a child in her ninth +year, gives, in her book her recollections of Henry Alline's visit. +"My parents," she says, "took me with them twice to meeting. The first +text was, 'And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold the Bridegroom +cometh; go ye out to meet him.' My attention was arrested, and for +many days after I was engaged in ruminating and repeating over some +parts of the sermon. * * After the sermon and worship was over, I was +astonished to see the people talking and shaking hands as I never +before had witnessed. Some looked of a cheerful, loving and happy +countenance; others were in tears, and cast down. * * It soon became +the common subject of conversation that such and such persons were +converted." + +On Mr. Alline's return from Maugerville to the mouth of the river he +staid there a fortnight, waiting for a passage, and during that time +preached and visited among the people. On June 25th he sailed to +Annapolis. + +Two years later he again visited the River St. John. He left Windsor +on the 29th April and arrived at the mouth of the river in four days. +"When I came to the river," he says, "the vessel did not go up that I +was in, but God gave me speed, for there was another vessel just going +over the falls to go up the river, so that without the least delay I +crossed Pot-Ash[135] and went immediately on board.... I remained on +the river, preaching from place to place among the people almost every +day, and often twice a day until the 26th of May, during which time I +had happy days and much of the Spirit of God moving among the people." +On the last Sunday of Alline's stay at Sheffield the concourse was so +great that he preached in the open field. "I had so much to say to +them," he writes, "and they seemed so loth to part that I was almost +spent before we parted; and then I went ten miles down the river. But +after I had refreshed the body, I preached again in the evening; and +it was an evening much to be remembered." + + [135] That is the portage to Marble Cove, or Indiantown, above the + falls. This portage is shown in Champlain's plan of Saint + John. It was used by the Indians long before the coming of the + whites. + +Mr. Alline's opinion of the spiritual condition of the community in +the vicinity of Fort Howe seems to have changed but little, for he +writes under date, June 29th., 1782, "When I came to the port at the +mouth of the river, there appeared no passage from thence; and I +thought I could not content myself long in that dark place; but the +very next day four or five vessels came in, all bound for Cumberland +where I wanted to go." + +The story of Alline's illness and death, which occurred in the town of +Northampton, New Hampshire, February 2nd, 1784, is pathetic in the +extreme, but we must pass on. + +When Rev. Wm. Black visited Sheffield in 1792 the results of Henry +Alline's labors were yet in evidence, and were not entirely acceptable +to Mr. Black, who says that he found among the people "many +New-Lights, or more properly Allinites--much wild fire and many wrong +opinions." + +In the year 1805, in answer to a petition from Sheffield, the Rev. +James MacGregor, a Presbyterian minister of Pictou, visited the River +St. John, and has left us an entertaining account of his visit. He +stopped at a house not far below the Grand Lake, where the following +colloquy with the good woman of the house ensued. + +Woman--Who are you? + +Doctor--I am James MacGregor, a minister from Pictou. + +Woman--Are you a Methodist? + +Doctor--No. + +Woman--Are you Church of England? + +Doctor--No. + +Woman--Then you must be a New-Light. + +Doctor--No, I am not a New-Light. + +Woman--Then what in the world are you, for I do not know any more? + +Doctor--I am a Presbyterian. + +Woman--Well, I never saw a Presbyterian minister before, but my mother +used to tell me that they were the very best in the world. But what do +you hold to? + +Doctor--I do not understand what you mean. + +Woman--Do you hold to conversion? + +Doctor--Don't they all hold to conversion? + +Woman--No, the Methodists and New-Lights holds to it, but the Church +of England holds against it. + +Doctor MacGregor was very hospitably entertained by Squire Burpee and +his family, who informed him that they were a colony from New England, +and that of course they were Congregationalists in their religious +profession. The Doctor said that he had long wished to see one of +their congregations and hoped that they were a fair sample of a New +England church. The squire replied: "I am afraid that we are +degenerated." Mr. MacGregor says, "I preached two Sabbaths to them in +a respectable place of worship, and to Methodists and Baptists. They +heard with apparent attention and satisfaction. Many of them stayed +and conversed a good while after public worship was over." + +In the course of his missionary tour Doctor MacGregor visited the +settlement on the River Nashwaak founded by the disbanded soldiers of +the 42nd regiment. Not having been visited by a minister of their +church for many years, a few of them had turned Baptists and +Methodists, but "the best and worst of them," he says, "continued +Presbyterians." + +The glimpses we have of life at the mouth of the St. John, during the +last two or three years of the Revolutionary struggle, are of some +local interest, though not of a thrilling or exciting character. The +proximity of the garrison seems to have proved detrimental to the +morals of some of the inhabitants. At least this is the inference we +should draw from the following notice posted up by order of the chief +magistrate of the community. + + NOTICE. + + Whereas complaint hath been made to me by the Commanding Officer + of the King's Troops at this place that several Irregularities + have lately been committed here by his Troops, proceeding from the + quantity of strong Liquors sold them by the Inhabitants: To + prevent any disturbance for the future, I publickly forbid any + person or persons at this place selling Strong Liquors, under the + penalty of the Law made and provided in such cases, except those + who have Licence or Permits from authority for that purpose. + + Given under my hand at Fort Howe this third day of July, 1781. + + JAMES WHITE, J. P. + +The civil authority at this period was vested in the Court of General +Sessions of the Peace for the County of Sunbury, which used to meet +regularly at Maugerville, and of which James Simonds, James White, +Israel Perley, Gervas Say and Jacob Barker, Esquires, were members. +One of the notices issued by order of the court was as follows:-- + + PUBLIC NOTICE. + + Application having been made to the Court of General Quarter + Sessions of the Peace, for the County of Sunbury and Province of + Nova Scotia, held at Maugerville on the Second Tuesday of October, + A. D., 1781, setting forth the necessity of having a Publick House + of Entertainment kept near the Harbour of the River St. + Johns:--Therefore by virtue of the Authority vested in the said + Court by the Laws of the said Province, Licence is hereby given to + Philip Newton to keep a Publick House of Entertainment and to + retail Spirituous Liquors for the space of one year at the place + aforesaid, he the said Philip Newton keeping and maintaining good + order agreeable to the Laws of this Province. + + By order of the said court, + BENJ. ATHERTON, Clerk Peace. + +It is not improbable that Philip Newton, mentioned above, was a +relative of Hon. Henry Newton, member of the Council of Nova Scotia, +and Collector of Customs at Halifax. His stay at St. John was +evidently brief, and this is the only known reference to him. + +In 1782 the disturbed condition of affairs, consequent upon the +Revolution, had so far improved that St. John was made a Port of +Entry, with James White as Deputy Collector, under Henry Newton of +Halifax. It was truly the day of small things with the future Winter +Port of Canada. The following is a list of the vessels that entered +and cleared in the year 1782. + + Entered. Tons. Cleared. Tons. + + Rosanna 17 Rosanna 17 + Betsy 10 Peggy 8 + Escape 10 Betsy 10 + Polly 10 Escape 10 + Sally 10 Polly 10 + Lark 18 Sally 10 + Ranger 12 Lark 18 + Prosperity 10 Ranger 12 + Unity 10 Prosperity 10 + Speedy 7 Unity 10 + Little Tom 30 Little Tom 30 + --- Monaguash 20 + Total tonnage 144 --- + Total tonnage 165 + +The emoluments derived by James White from his office as Deputy +Collector of Customs were small. William Hazen's position, as +commissary of the garrison of Fort Howe, was something better. Most of +the supplies of fuel, meat and vegetables for the garrison were +furnished by Messrs. Hazen & White, and the profits were considerable. +In the year 1782, for example, they furnished 172 cords of firewood +for which the price paid them was 20 shillings a cord. + +An event was now to transpire which marks an epoch in the history of +St. John and which in the course of a few months served to transform +the little community at the mouth of the river from the dimensions of +a hamlet to those of a respectable town. The war between Great Britain +and the old Colonies was over and the colonies had gained their +independence. Had they been wise they would, as Dr. Hannay well +observes, have tempered their triumph with moderation. They would have +encouraged those who had espoused the Royal cause to remain and assist +in building up the new nation which they had founded. Instead of this, +they committed one of the most stupendous acts of short sighted folly +ever perpetrated by a people. They passed edicts of banishment against +the persons, and acts of confiscation against the estates of the +Loyalists. They drove them out, poor in purse indeed, but rich in +experience, determination, energy, education, intellect and the other +qualities which build up states, and with their hearts fired and their +energies stimulated with hatred of republicanism. They drove them out +70,000 strong to build up a rival nation at their very doors which +perhaps would never have had an existence but for the rash folly of +those who persecuted the Loyalists. + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +THE COMING OF THE LOYALISTS. + + +The vanguard of the Loyalists now began to make its appearance. +Captain Simon Baxter has a fair claim to be considered the pioneer +Loyalist of this province. He arrived at Fort Howe with his family in +March, 1782, in distressed circumstances, and was befriended by +William Hazen and James White, who recommended him to the favorable +consideration of the authorities at Halifax. Captain Baxter was a +native of New Hampshire. He was proscribed and banished on account of +his loyalty, and had several narrow escapes at the hands of his "rebel +countrymen." On one occasion he was condemned to be hanged, but upon +being brought out to execution contrived to escape from his +persecutors and fled for safety to Burgoyne's army. His early arrival +at St. John proved of substantial benefit to him, for on the 15th of +August he obtained a grant of 5,000 acres, "as a reduced subaltern and +as a refugee," in what is now the Parish of Norton, in Kings County. +His sons, William and Benjamin, received 500 acres each, along with +their father. The important services of Major Gilfred Studholme were +also rewarded at this time by a grant of 2,000 acres on the +Kennebecasis river, just above Captain Baxter's land. Two years later +Major Studholme obtained a grant of a tract nearly three miles square, +at Apohaqui, to which he gave the name of Studville. + +It was not without fore-thought and serious consideration that the +Loyalists came to the River St. John. Several associations were formed +at New York, in 1782, to further the interests of those who proposed +to settle in Nova Scotia. One of the Associations had as its +president, the Rev. Doctor Seabury,[136] and for its secretary, +Sampson Salter Blowers.[137] It was under the arrangements made by +this Association that a great many of the Loyalists of the Spring +fleet came to the St. John river. The document, which is published +below, is well worthy of preservation by the descendants of those +devoted men and women, who were induced by unshaken loyalty to seek +refuge in a wilderness under its provisions. + + [136] Dr. Seabury was consecrated first Bishop of the Episcopal Church + in the United States, November 14th, 1784. + + [137] Sampson Salter Blowers was appointed chief justice of Nova + Scotia in 1809. He died in 1842 in his 100th year having + outlived all his contemporaries. He was a man of wonderful + vitality and is said never to have worn an overcoat. + + ARTICLES. + + Of the Settlement of Nova Scotia, Made With the Loyalists at New + York, at the Time of the Peace of 1783. + + "The reverend Doctor Samuel Seabury, and Lieutenant Colonel B. + Thompson, of the Kings American Dragoons, having been appointed by + the Board of Agents to wait on His Excellency Sir Guy Carleton, + Commander in Chief, in behalf of the Loyalists desirous of + emigrating to Nova Scotia, they read the following rough + proposals, as articles of supply for the settlers in Nova + Scotia:-- + + 1st.--That they be provided with proper vessels and convoy to + carry them, their horses and cattle, as near as possible to the + place appointed for their settlement. + + 2nd.--That besides the provisions for the voyage, one year's + provision be allowed them, or money to enable them to purchase. + + 3d.--That some allowance of warm clothing be made in proportion to + the wants of each family. + + 4th.--That an allowance of medicines be granted, such as shall be + thought necessary. + + 5th.--That pairs of millstones, necessary iron works for grist + mills, and saws and other necessary articles for saw-mills, be + granted them. + + 6th.--That a quantity of nails and spikes, hoes and axes, spades + and shovels, plough irons, and such other farming utensils as + shall appear necessary, be provided for them, and also a + proportion of window glass. + + 7th.--That such a tract or tracts of land, free from disputed + titles, and as conveniently situated as may be, be granted, + surveyed and divided at the public cost, as shall afford from 300 + to 600 acres of useful land to each family. + + 8th.--That over and above 2,000 acres in every township be allowed + for the support of a clergyman, and 1,000 acres for the support of + a school, and that these lands be unalienable for ever. + + 9th.--That a sufficient number of good musquets and cannon be + allowed with a proper quantity of powder and ball for their use, + to enable them to defend themselves against any hostile invasion; + also a proportion of powder and lead for hunting. + + "His Excellency the Commander in Chief, in reply, was pleased to + say that in general he approved the above Articles, and that at + least the terms of settlement should be equivalent to them. He was + pleased to say further that he should give every encouragement to + the settlers in Nova Scotia, and that he would write to the + Governor of the Province respecting the matter. He advised that + some persons might be sent to examine the vacant lands and see + where the settlement could be made to the best advantage. + + "We whose names are hereunto subscribed do agree to remove to the + Province of Nova Scotia, on the above encouragement, with our + families, in full reliance on the future support of Government, + and under the patronage of the following gentlemen as our agents, + they having been approved of as such by His Majesty's Commissioner + for restoring Peace, etc:--Lieut. Col. B. Thompson, K. A. D; + Lieut. Col. E. Winslow, Gen. Muster-master provincial forces; + Major J. Upham, K. A. D; Rev. Dr. Samuel Seabury, Rev. John Sayre, + Captain Maudsley, Amos Botsford, Esq., Samuel Cummings, Esq., + Judge John Wardle, Esq., James Peters, Esq., Frederick Hauser." + +These terms were liberal and were afterwards considerably extended. +The Loyalists were allowed not only full provisions for the first +year, but two-thirds of that allowance for the second year, and one +third for the third year. + +In accordance with the prudent advice of Sir Guy Carleton, it was +decided to send agents to Nova Scotia immediately to explore the +country and report upon it. The agents chosen were Messrs. Amos +Botsford, Samuel Cummings and Frederick Hauser. They were furnished +with the following + + INSTRUCTIONS. + + "That on their arrival in Nova Scotia they apply themselves to + discover whether a Tract or Tracts of Land free from all disputed + titles, either with the Indians or former Grantees, can be found + sufficient to accommodate the Loyalists and their Families who + shall remove thither. + + "They will examine the soil, timber, game, limestone, rivers, + bays, creeks, harbors, streams and ponds of water with regard to + mills, fishing, trade, etc. They will examine the face of the + country whether it be hilly, stoney, sandy, clayey, etc. + + "They will enquire what lands in the neighborhood are granted and + to whom, whether the grants be forfeited, or whether they may be + purchased and at what rate; and whether advantageous terms may not + be made with the present proprietors. + + "They will endeavor to ascertain as near as they can what will be + the difficulties and obstructions in forming new settlements, and + what will be the probable advantages. + + "They will keep a journal of their proceedings and register their + observations, noting well the distances from the principal + settlements already made, and from noted rivers and harbors, as + well as the obstructions in travelling and transporting. + + "Such lands as may be obtained will be distributed and divided + among the proposed adventurers in as just and equitable a manner + as the nature of the case will admit, and the Agents will make + reports of their proceedings from time to time, as early as may + be, to the Secretary of the Agency in New York." + +Amos Botsford, Samuel Cummings and Frederick Hauser arrived at +Annapolis Royal on the 19th October, 1782, in company with 500 +Loyalists, who sailed from New York in nine transport ships. Rev. +Jacob Bailey, who was then living at Annapolis, describes their +arrival in one of his letters: + + "On Saturday morning early, we were all surprized with the + unexpected appearance of eleven sail of shipping, sailing by Goat + Island and directing their course towards the town. About nine, + two frigates came to anchor, and at ten the remainder, being + transports, hauled close in by the King's wharf. On board this + fleet were about 500 refugees, who intend to settle in this + province. They are a mixture from every province on the continent + except Georgia. Yesterday they landed and our royal city of + Annapolis, which three days ago contained only 120 souls, has now + about 600 inhabitants. You cannot be sensible what an amazing + alteration this manoeuvre has occasioned. Everything is alive, and + both the townspeople and the soldiers are lost among the + strangers. + + "All the houses and barracks are crowded and many are unable + to procure any lodgings; most of these distressed people left + large possessions in the rebellious colonies, and their + sufferings on account of their loyalty and their present + uncertain and destitute condition render them very affecting + objects of compassion. Three agents are dispatched to Halifax + to solicit lands from government." + +The agents on their return from Halifax, at once set out to explore +the country in the vicinity of Annapolis; they then crossed the Bay of +Fundy and arrived at St. John about the end of November. In the +report, which they subsequently transmitted to their friends in New +York, they write:-- + + "We found our passage up the river difficult, being too late to + pass in boats, and not sufficiently frozen to bear. In this + situation we left the river, and for a straight course steered by + a compass thro' the woods,[138] encamping out several nights in + the course, and went as far as the Oromocto, about seventy miles + up the river, where is a block-house, a British post." "The St. + John is a fine river, equal in magnitude to the Connecticut or + Hudson. At the mouth of the river is a fine harbor, accessible at + all seasons of the year--never frozen or obstructed by ice.... + There are many settlers along the river upon the interval land, + who get their living easily. The interval lies on the river and is + a most fertile soil, annually matured by the overflowings of the + river, and produces crops of all kinds with little labor, and + vegetables in the greatest perfection, parsnips of great length, + etc. They cut down the trees, burn the tops, put in a crop of + wheat or Indian corn, which yields a plentiful increase. These + intervals would make the finest meadows. The up-lands produce + wheat both of the summer and winter kinds, as well as Indian corn. + Here are some wealthy farmers, having flocks of cattle. The + greater part of the people, excepting the township of Maugerville, + are tenants, or seated on the bank without leave or licence, + merely to get their living. For this reason they have not made + such improvements as might otherwise have been expected, or as + thorough farmers would have done.... Immense quantities of + limestone are found at Fort Howe, and at the mouth of the river. + We also went up the Kenebeccasis, a large branch of St. John's + river, where is a large tract of interval and upland, which has + never been granted; it is under a reserve, but we can have it. + Major Studholme and Capt. Baxter, who explored the country, chose + this place, and obtained a grant of 9,000 acres. On each side of + this grant are large tracts of good land, convenient for + navigation. A title for these lands may be procured sooner than + for such as have been already granted, such as Gage, Conway, etc., + which must be obtained by a regular process in the court of + Escheats. The lands on the river St. John are also sufficiently + near the cod fishery in Fundy Bay, and perfectly secure against + the Indians and Americans. The inhabitants are computed to be near + one thousand men, able to bear arms. Here is a County and Court + established, and the inhabitants at peace, and seem to experience + no inconveniency from the war." + + [138] Frederick Hauser, one of the agents, was a surveyor. A number of + grants made to the Loyalists were laid out by him. + +The popular idea of the landing of the Loyalists at St. John is that +on the 18th day of May, in the year 1783, a fleet of some twenty +vessels sailed into St. John harbor, having on board three thousand +people, who, wearied with the long voyage, immediately disembarked and +pitched their tents on the site of the present city of St. John--then +called Parrtown. The popular idea, however, is not strictly in +accordance with the facts. The fleet arrived at St. John, not on the +18th, but on the 10th or 11th of May, and, according to the narrative +of Walter Bates, there was no one day fixed for disembarkation. In the +case of the "Union," in which Mr. Bates and many of the founders of +Kingston came from New York, the passengers were allowed to remain on +board until several of their number had gone up the river and selected +a place for them to settle. In some cases, however, the passengers +were "precipitated on shore." As regards the name Parr (or Partown) it +was not given for months after the arrival of the Loyalists, and was +then applied only to that part of the city south of Union street, on +the east side of the harbor. The name was never very acceptable to the +citizens. Governor Parr admitted that it originated "in female +vanity;" from which observation we may assume that the name was +suggested by Madame Parr. The name of Parr was soon discarded, and the +time-honored name, which goes back to the days of de Monts and +Champlain was restored at the incorporation of the city on the 18th of +May, 1785. + +The names of the vessels of the Spring fleet and of their respective +masters, so far as they have been preserved, are as follows:--"Union," +Consett Wilson, master; "Camel," Wm. Tinker, master; "Cyrus," James +Turner, master; "Sovereign," Wm. Stewart, master; "Aurora," Capt. +Jackson; "Hope," Capt. Peacock; "Otter," Capt. Burns; "Emmett," Capt. +Reed; "Spring," Capt. Cadish; "Ann," Capt. Clark; "Bridgewater," Capt. +Adnet; "Favorite," Capt. Ellis; "Commerce," Capt. Strong; "Lord +Townsend," Capt. Hogg; "Sally," Capt. Bell; and five others, +"Spencer," "Thames," "William," "Britain" and "King George," the names +of whose masters are unknown. + +The Loyalists who came to St. John in the first fleet numbered +about 3,000. They were mostly natives of Rhode Island, Connecticut, +New York and New Jersey, who had been driven from their homes and +forced to seek refuge within the British lines at New York, or on +Long Island. There was a scarcity of ships, and the number of those +desirous of emigrating to Nova Scotia proved much larger than had been +anticipated. It became evident that the vessels must make repeated +trips. The following paragraph from an old newspaper is interesting +in this connection:-- + + New London, Conn., April 25, 1783. We hear that the Loyalists + destined for Nova Scotia from New York are to depart in two + Divisions; the first, consisting of about 3,000 men, women and + children, are nearly ready to sail; the second to sail as soon as + the vessels return which carry the first." + +This paragraph accords with what subsequently took place. The first +fleet sailed from Sandy Hook, on the 26th April, arriving at St. John +about the 11th of May; and the second fleet sailed from Sandy Hook on +the 16th June, arriving at St. John on the 28th of the same month. The +most authentic account of the voyage of the first fleet is to be found +in the narrative of Walter Bates,[139] who was a passenger on board +the "Union." We learn from this source that in the early part of +April, 1783, the Rev. John Sayre, one of the agents for settling the +Loyalists in Nova Scotia, visited those who were then living on the +north shore of Long Island at Eaton's Neck, Lloyd's Neck and +Huntington, to inform them that the King had granted to those who did +not incline to return to their former places of abode and would go to +Nova Scotia, two hundred acres of land to each family and two years +provisions, and provide ships to convey them as near as might be to a +place of settlement. A public meeting was held at which the matter was +considered in detail, and it was resolved by all present to remove +with their families to Nova Scotia and settle together in some +situation where they might enjoy the advantages of a church and +school. Mr. Bates says that providence seemed to select for them the +best ship and by far the best captain in the fleet. The captain +received them on board "as father of a family," and took care that +nothing in his power should be wanting to render them comfortable on +the voyage. The "Union" took on board her passengers at Huntington +Bay. The embarkation began on April 11th and was completed in five +days. The manifest of the ship has been preserved and is now in +possession of J. T. Allan Dibblee of Woodstock, N. B. (See Collections +of N. B. Hist. Society, Vol. II. p. 276). It is signed by Fyler +Dibblee, deputy agent in charge of the party. There were 209 +passengers in all, viz., 61 men, 39 women, 59 children over ten, 48 +children under ten and 2 servants. The ship sailed to the place of +rendezvous near Staten Island. While waiting at New York for the other +vessels, an interesting incident occurred, which (together with +subsequent events) we shall let Mr. Bates tell in his own way:-- + + "Having a couple on board wishing to be married, we call upon the + Reverend Mr. Leaming, who received us with much kindness and + affection--most of us formerly of his congregation--who after the + marriage reverently admonished us with his blessing, that we pay + due regard to church and schools, as means to obtain the blessing + of God upon our families and our industry. We embarked; next day + the ship joined the fleet, and on the 26th day of April, 1783, + upwards of twenty sail of ships, under convoy, left Sandy Hook for + Nova Scotia--from whence, after the pleasure of leading the whole + fleet fourteen days, our good ship Union arrived at Partridge + Island before the fleet was come within sight. Next day our ship + was safely moored by Capt. Dan'l. Leavitt, the Pilot, in the most + convenient situation for landing in the harbor of St. John, all in + good health--where we remained comfortable on board ship (while + others was sickly and precipitated on shore from other ships) + which we proved a providential favor, until we could explore for a + place in the Wilderness suitable for our purpose of settlement. A + boat was procured for the purpose. David Pickett, Israel Hait, + Silas Raymond and others proceeded sixty miles up the River St. + John and report that the inhabitants were settled on Interval + lands by the river--that the high-lands had generally been burned + by the Indians, and there was no church or church Minister in the + country. They were informed of a tract of timbered land that had + not been burned, on Bellisle Bay, about thirty miles from the + harbor of St. John, which they had visited and viewed the + situation favorable for our purpose of settlement. Whereupon we + all agreed (to proceed thither) and disembarked from on board the + good ship Union, and with Capt. Wilson's blessing embarked on + board a small sloop all our baggage. The next morning with all our + effects--women and children--set sail above the falls and arrived + at Bellisle Bay before sunset. Nothing but Wilderness before our + eyes, the women and children did not refrain from tears." + + [139] See "Kingston and the Loyalists of 1783," in which Walter Bates' + narrative is edited, with notes by the author of this history; + published at St. John by Barnes & Co. in 1889. + +Those who are curious to know what kind of a passage their fore-fathers +had on their voyage to the River St. John will be able to form some +idea from a study of the following record of the weather, kept by +Benjamin Marston, while he was engaged in laying out the town of +Shelburne. + + "May 1st, Thursday--Wind east; calm at night. + May 2nd, Friday--Rain; wind south-westerly. + May 3d, Saturday--Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh. + May 4th, Sunday--Fair; wind north-westerly, fresh. + May 5th, Monday--Fair; wind westerly, moderate. + May 6th, Tuesday--Fair; wind easterly changing to southerly. + May 7th, Wednesday--Fair; wind south-easterly. + May 8th, Thursday--Fair; wind easterly. + May 9th, Friday--Fair; wind easterly. + May 10th, Saturday--Weather foggy and at times drizzly; wind + south-easterly. + May 11th, Sunday--Begins with plenty of rain; wind south-westerly, + changes to foggy weather. At night wind south-easterly with + frequent showers. + +The Union had not long to wait until she was joined by her sister +ships, and all lay safely anchored near the landing place at the Upper +Cove. We may well believe that the arrival of such a multitude +produced a profound sensation among the dwellers at Portland Point, +then a mere hamlet. + +Three hundred years have passed since Champlain sailed up this same +harbor and in honor of the day of its discovery, gave to St. John the +name it still retains, but in all these centuries the most notable +fleet that ever cast anchor in the port was the "Spring fleet" of +1783. The old iron guns of Fort Howe thundered out their salute as the +score of vessels came up the harbor, the flag of Britain streaming +from the masthead, and we know that Major Studholme gave the wearied +exiles a hearty welcome. The old soldier had held his post secure, in +spite of hostile savages and lawless marauders, and he was now +equally faithful in the discharge of his duty to his new comrades. He +did his best to cheer their drooping spirits and as speedily as +possible to settle them in habitations which they once more might call +their own. + +There is a quiet spot in the parish of Studholme, on the banks of the +Kennebecasis, where the mortal remains of Gilfred Studholme lie. No +headstone marks his grave. + +Little preparation had been made by the Government of Nova Scotia for +the reception of the Loyalists, and the season was cold and backward. +Anxious as were the masters of the transports to return speedily to +New York they were obliged to tarry some days. We learn from an old +newspaper that the ship "Camel," captain William Tinker, sailed from +St. John on her return voyage, the 29th of May, in company with eight +other transports, and that they left the new settlers "in good health +and spirits." Before the Loyalists could disembark, it was necessary +to clear away the brushwood around the landing place and to erect +tents and various kinds of shelter. The 18th of May saw them safely +landed. The day was Sunday, and it is said the hapless exiles found +consolation in a religious service held by the Rev. John Beardsley on +the site of the present Market Square. + +If Abraham's fidelity to the Almighty caused him on his arrival in the +land he was to inherit, to erect an altar, it was equally fitting that +the first public act of the founders of the City of the Loyalists +should be to render thanks for their preservation and safe arrival in +the land of their adoption. The psalms for that 18th morning may have +struck a responsive chord in many hearts. "Comfort us again now after +the time that thou hast afflicted us, and for the years wherein we +have seen adversity." "Establish the work of our hands upon us, yea, +the work of our hands establish thou it." + +No friendly roof had yet been reared to shelter them from the storm. +The wilderness had its unknown perils. Perhaps too the dread of some +lurking savage may have filled the hearts of the helpless ones with a +nameless fear. Still the message was--"He that dwelleth in the +tabernacle of the most High shall lodge under the shadow of the +Almighty." "Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night, nor for +the arrow that flieth by day." + +The Loyalists could not but feel relieved when they safely reached +their destination. There were no light houses, or beacons, or fog +horns to aid the navigator, and the charts were imperfect. The vessels +were greatly over crowded and the accommodations not of the best. To +add to the general discomfort, in some of the ships epidemics, such as +measles, broke out. Yet, glad as they were to be again on shore, it +was with heavy hearts they watched the departure of the fleet. The +grandmother of the late Sir Leonard Tilley said to one of her +descendants, "I climbed to the top of Chipman's Hill and watched the +sails disappearing in the distance, and such a feeling of loneliness +came over me that, although I had not shed a tear through all the war, +I sat down on the damp moss with my baby in my lap and cried." + +The days that followed the arrival of the Loyalists were busy days for +Major Studholme and his assistant, Samuel Denny Street.[140] By their +orders, boards, shingles, clapboards, bricks, etc., were distributed +to those needing them. A large number of Studholme's accounts in this +connection are on file at Halifax. The first in which the name of Parr +(Parrtown) occurs is the following:-- + + "Parr, on the River St. John, 31 August, 1783. + + "Rec'd from Gilfred Studholme L5. 18. 10 1-2 for surveying 142,660 + feet lumber for use of the Loyalists settled on the River St. + John. + + "JEREMIAH REGAN." + + [140] Amongst the documents at Halifax relating to the settlement of + the Loyalists at St. John is the following receipt: + + River St. John, 30 September, 1783. + + "Rec'd from Gilfred Studholme, Esq. the sum of L72.10.0 + Halifax currency for superintending his office for + conducting the settlement of and issuing lumber to the + Loyalists within the district of St. John from the 9th May + to 30th September, 1783, both days included, at 10 + shillings pr. day for which I have signed three receipts + of the same tenor and date. + + SAM'L DENNY STREET. + +Each Loyalist on his arrival was provided with 500 feet of boards, and +a proportion of shingles and bricks. Most of the erections at first +were log houses, the lumber being used for roofing. By the end of May, +1784, Major Studholme had delivered to the Loyalists 1,731,289 feet of +boards, 1,553,919 shingles and 7,400 clapboards. The lumber was +purchased from James Woodman, William Hazen, Nehemiah Beckwith, +Patrick Rogers, John Whidden and others, the usual price being, for +boards L4 per M., and for shingles 15 shillings per M. + +The work of building must have progressed rapidly, for when winter +came, about 1,500 dwellings afforded shelter. Joshua Aplin wrote Chief +Justice Smith that the efforts of the people were unparalleled, and +that on his arrival he could scarce credit his own eyes at the sight +of such industry. But, he adds, the people had no legal right even to +the ground their houses covered, and they appeared to be almost in +despair at not getting on their lands. The greater part of those in +the town at the mouth of the St. John river never meant to fix +themselves there, but to settle on their lands and to apply their +money to building farm houses, purchasing live stock, etc., and great +loss had been incurred by their being obliged to build at the mouth of +the river. + +The Kingston settlers were amongst the few that proceeded directly to +the lands on which they were to settle. For some weeks they lived in +tents on the banks of Kingston Creek, where the mothers found +occupation in nursing their children through the measles. They used to +send across the river to "Jones's" for milk and other necessaries. +They were visited by the Indians, with whom they established friendly +relations and who furnished them plentifully with moose meat. In the +month of July they obtained the services of Frederick Hauser to survey +their land. Before the lots were drawn by the settlers, however, +reservations were made for church and school purposes. They then set +to work with a will, working in one united party, clearing places on +their lots for buildings, cutting logs, carrying them together with +their own hands, having as yet neither cattle nor horses to draw them. +By the month of November every man in the district found himself and +his family covered under his own roof, and, according to Walter +Bates, they were "perfectly, happy, contented and comfortable in their +dwellings through the winter." In this respect they were fortunate +indeed in comparison with those who passed their first winter in +canvas tents at Parrtown and St. Anns. + +We must now speak of the arrival of the Summer fleet of transports at +the River St. John. + +Almost everybody has heard of the Spring and Fall fleets, but +comparatively few are aware that a very important contingent of +Loyalists came to St. John on the 29th of June. The late J. W. +Lawrence makes no mention of this Summer fleet in his "Foot-Prints;" +in fact nearly all of our local historians have ignored it. Moses H. +Perley, in his well known lecture on early New Brunswick history, +mentions it very briefly. Lorenzo Sabine, in his Loyalists of the +American Revolution, incidentally refers to the date of arrival. The +reference occurs in the biographical sketch of John Clarke, of Rhode +Island, of whom we read:-- + + "At the peace, he settled at St. John. He arrived at that city on + the 29th of June, 1783, at which time only two log huts had been + erected on its site. The government gave him and every other + grantee 500 feet of very ordinary boards towards covering their + buildings. City lots sold in 1783 at from two to twenty dollars. + He bought one for the price of executing the deed of conveyance + and 'a treat.' Mr. Clarke was clerk of Trinity church nearly 50 + years. He died at St. John in 1853, in his ninety-fourth year, + leaving numerous descendants." + +The Loyalists who came in the Summer fleet embarked at various places, +some on Long Island, others at Staten Island and many at New York. In +some instances embarkation had taken place three weeks prior to the +departure of the ships from Sandy Hook. The delay in sailing was +caused by difficulties attending the embarkation and getting the fleet +together. The names of the vessels have been preserved in the +following notice, printed in a New York paper:-- + + "NOTICE TO REFUGEES. + + The following Transports, viz. Two Sisters, Hopewell, Symetry, + Generous Friends, Bridgewater, Thames, Amity's Production, Tartar, + Duchess of Gordon, Littledale, William and Mary, and Free Briton, + which are to carry Companies commanded by Sylvanus Whitney, Joseph + Gorham, Henry Thomas, John Forrester, Thomas Elms, John Cock, + Joseph Clarke, James Hoyt, Christopher Benson, Joseph Forrester, + Thomas Welch, Oliver Bourdet, Asher Dunham, Abia. Camp, Peter + Berton, Richard Hill and Moses Pitcher, will certainly fall down + on Monday morning; it will therefore be absolutely necessary for + the people who are appointed to go in these companies, to be all + on board To-Morrow Evening. + + "New York, June 7th, 1783." + +Of the seventeen companies whose captains are named above, those of +Christopher Benson and Richard Hill went to Annapolis, and that of +Moses Pitcher, to Shelburne; the others (with the possible exception +of Thomas Welch's company) came to St. John. We learn from a document +entitled "A Return of the number of Loyalists gone to St. John's River +in Nova Scotia, as pr. returns left in the Commissary General's +Office in New York" that the number enrolled in the various companies +for provisions, etc., was as given below:-- + + Men. Women. Children. Servants. Total. + + Capt. S. Whitney 42 27 87 12 168 + Capt. J. Goreham 31 20 78 7 136 + Capt. H. Thomas 32 26 52 12 122 + Capt. J. Forrester 51 30 73 31 185 + Capt. Thos. Elms 30 19 27 45 121 + Capt. John Cock 32 21 48 10 111 + Capt. J. Clarke 36 25 48 52 161 + Capt. Jas. Hoyt 42 31 61 85 219 + Capt. Jas. Forrester 35 25 47 15 122 + Capt. O. Bourdet 55 36 47 42 180 + Capt. A. Dunham 31 19 57 5 112 + Capt. Abi. Camp 52 36 67 48 203 + Capt. P. Berton 31 20 51 30 132 + --- --- --- --- ---- + Total 500 335 743 394 1972 + +If all who gave in their names to Brook Watson at the commissariat +office actually embarked for St. John in the June fleet, it would +appear that nearly two thousand persons were carried in that fleet. +But it is not unlikely that some of those who gave in their names did +not go at this time. Among the papers in the archives at Halifax, +there is a copy of a "Return of Loyalists, etc., gone from New York to +Nova Scotia as pr. returns in the Commissary General's office." The +original was compiled at New York, Oct., 12, 1783, by Richard +Fitzpatrick, and at the bottom he adds the significant words--"The +above is made from returns left in the commissary general's office, +but it is probable the numbers actually gone will fall far short." The +chief reason for supposing this to have been the case in regard to the +summer fleet is the publication of the following official return, +signed by Sir Guy Carleton, in one of the newspapers of the day. + + RETURN OF REFUGEES EMBARKED FOR NOVA SCOTIA. + + New York, 17th June, 1783. + + Men. Women. Children. Servants. Total. + + For St. John's River 443 283 670 258 1654 + For Annapolis Royal 46 37 76 46 205 + For Port Roseway 34 15 39 34 122 + For Fort Cumberland 175 86 216 14 491 + --- --- ---- --- ---- + Total 698 421 1001 352 2472 + + GUY CARLETON. + +It may be safer to take the figures in Sir Guy Carleton's list; but +whichever list we take, the numbers are sufficient to make the arrival +of the summer fleet a thing of considerable importance. The names of +nearly all the captains of the companies of Loyalists, who sailed in +the fleet are found amongst the grantees of Parrtown. + +The diary of Sarah Frost, who was a passenger to St. John in the ship +"Two Sisters," throws much light upon the circumstances that attended +the voyage. Sarah (Schofield) Frost was the wife of William Frost, a +sturdy loyalist of Stamford. He was proscribed and banished and +threatened with death if he ever returned to Connecticut. He did +return, however, on the night of July 21, 1781, accompanied by an +armed party in seven boats. The boats were secreted and the party +placed themselves in hiding in a swamp near the meeting house. The +next day, which was Sunday, they surprised and captured the minister, +Rev. Dr. Mather, and his entire congregation. A selection of the +prisoners was quickly made, and forty-eight individuals were hurried +away to the boats and taken across the sound to Lloyd's Neck, where +they were greeted in no complimentary fashion by some of their old +neighbors whom they had driven from their homes. Twenty-four of the +prisoners were allowed to go back to Stamford on parole. The +remainder, twenty-six in number, were sent to the provost prison in +New York. Dr. Mather was one of those consigned to the provost, as a +"leader of sedition." Needless to say this exploit rendered Wm. Frost +exceedingly obnoxious to the "patriots" of Stamford. The parents of +Mrs. Frost espoused the cause of the revolutionary party, and her's +was one of those sad cases in which families were divided by the war. + +The extracts from her journal will enable the reader to have a good +idea of some of the trials endured by those who left their old homes +for the sake of the principles they cherished. + + "May 25, 1783. I left Lloyd's Neck with my family and went on + board the Two Sisters, commanded by Captain Brown, for a voyage to + Nova Scotia with the rest of the Loyalist sufferers. This evening + the Captain drank tea with us. He appears to be a very clever + gentleman. We expect to sail as soon as the wind shall favor. We + have very fair accommodation in the cabin, although it contains + six families besides my own. There are two hundred and fifty + passengers on board." + +A few days later the ships proceeded to New York, and then there +followed an uncomfortable period of waiting. They hoped to have sailed +on the 9th of June, having been already a fortnight on shipboard, but +it was not until a week later that they got away. While at New York +the passengers spent much of their time on shore, visiting their +friends and making purchases of things needed on the voyage. Mrs. +Frost had a touching interview with her father, who came in a boat +from Stamford to bid her farewell. She writes under date of Monday, +June 9th; "Our women all came on board with their children, and there +is great confusion in the cabin. We bear with it pretty well through +the day, but at night one child cries in one place, and one in +another, while we are getting them to bed. I think sometimes I will go +crazy. There are so many of them, if they were still as common, there +would be a great noise amongst them." + +Two days later the ships weighed anchor and dropped down to Staten +Island where they remained until Sunday the 15th of June, when Mrs. +Frost writes: "Our ship is getting under way, I suppose for Nova +Scotia. I hope for a good passage. About three o'clock we have a hard +gale and a shower which drives us all below. About five o'clock we +come to anchor within about six miles of the Light House at Sandy +Hook. How long we shall lie here I don't know. About six o'clock we +had a terrible squall and hail stones fell as big as ounce balls. +About sunset there was another squall and it hailed faster than +before. Mr. Frost went out and gathered a mug full of hail stones, +and in the evening we had a glass of punch made of it, and the ice was +in it till we had drank the whole of it." + + "Monday, June 16. We weighed anchor about half after five in the + morning, with the wind North-Nor'-West, and it blows very fresh. + We passed the Light House about half after seven. It is now half + after nine and a signal has been fired for the ships all to lie to + for the Bridgewater, which seems to lag behind, I believe on + account of some misfortune that happened to her yesterday.... It + is now two o'clock and we have again got under way. We have been + waiting for a ship to come from New York, and she has now + overhauled us.[141] We have a very light breeze now, but have at + last got all our fleet together. We have thirteen Ships, two + Brigs, one Frigate belonging to our fleet. The Frigate is our + Commodore's. It is now three o'clock, we are becalmed and the men + are out fishing for Mackerel. Mr. Miles has caught the first." + + [141] It is a question whether or not the passengers of this ship + are included in Sir Guy Carleton's return of the 17th + July, which appears at p. 354. + + "Thursday, June 19. We are still steering eastward with a fine + breeze. We make seven miles an hour the chief part of the day. + About noon we shift our course and are steering North by East. At + two o'clock the Captain says we are 250 miles from Sandy Hook, + with the wind West-Nor'-West. At six o'clock we saw a sail ahead. + She crowded sail and put off from us, but our frigate knew how to + talk to her, for at half past seven she gave her a shot which + caused her to shorten sail and lie to. Our captain looked with his + spy glass; he told me she was a Rebel brig; he saw her thirteen + stripes. She was steering to the westward. The wind blows so high + this evening, I am afraid to go to bed for fear of rolling out." + + "Friday 20th. This morning our Frigate fired a signal to shift our + course to North-Nor'-East. We have still fine weather and a fair + wind. Mr. Emslie, the mate, tells me we are, at five in the + afternoon, about 500 miles from Sandy Hook. We begin to see the + fog come on, for that is natural to this place. At six our + Commodore fired for the ships to lie to until those behind should + come up. Mr. Emslie drank tea with Mr. Frost and myself. The fog + comes on very thick this evening." + + "Saturday, June 21. Rose at 8 o'clock. It was so foggy we could + not see one ship belonging to the fleet. They rang their bells and + fired guns all the morning to keep company. About half after ten + the fog all went off, so that we saw the chief part of our fleet + around us. At noon the fog came on again, but we could hear their + bells all around us. This evening the Captain showed Mr. Frost and + me the map of the whole way we have come and the way we have yet + to go. He told us we are 240 miles from Nova Scotia at this time. + It is so foggy we lost all our company tonight and we are entirely + alone. + + "Sunday, June 22. It is very foggy yet. No ship in sight now, nor + any bells to be heard. Towards noon we heard some guns fired from + our fleet, but could not tell where they was. The fog was so thick + we could not see ten rods, and the wind is so ahead that we have + not made ten miles since yesterday noon. + + "Monday, June 23. Towards noon the fog goes off fast, and in the + afternoon we could see several of our vessels; one came close + alongside of us. Mr. Emslie says we are an hundred and forty miles + from land now. In the evening the wind becomes fair, the fog seems + to leave us and the sun looks very pleasant. Mr. Whitney and his + wife, Mr. Frost and I, have been diverting ourselves with a few + games of crib." + +The passengers had now become exceedingly weary of the voyage. The +ships had lain buried in a dense fog, almost becalmed, for three days. +An epidemic of measles, too, had broken out on board the "Two +Sisters," and served to add to the anxiety and discomfort of the +mothers. But a change for the better was at hand and Mrs. Frost +continues her diary in a more cheerful strain. + + "Thursday, June 26. This morning the sun appears very pleasant. We + are now nigh the banks of Cape Sable. At nine o'clock we begin to + see land. How pleased we are after being nine days out of sight of + land to see it again. There is general rejoicing. At half past six + we have twelve of our ships in sight. Our captain told me just now + we should be in the Bay of Fundy before morning. He says it is + about one day's sail after we get into the Bay to Saint John's + River. How I long to see that place though a strange land. I am + tired of being on board ship, though we have as clever a captain + as ever need to live. + + "Friday, June 27. I got up this morning very early to look out. I + can see land on both sides of us. About ten o'clock we passed + Annapolis. The wind died away. Our people got their lines out to + catch cod fish. About half after five John Waterbury caught the + first. + + "Saturday, June 28. Got up in the morning and found ourselves nigh + to land on both sides. At half after nine our Captain fired a gun + for a pilot and soon after ten a pilot came on board, and a + quarter after one our ship anchored off against Fort Howe in Saint + John's River. Our people went on shore and brought on board pea + vines with blossoms on them, gooseberries, spruce and grass, all + of which grow wild. They say this is to be our city. Our land is + five and twenty miles up the river. We are to have here only a + building, place 40 feet wide and an hundred feet back. Mr. Frost + has gone on shore in his whale boat to see how it looks. He + returns soon bringing a fine salmon." + + "Sunday, June 29. This morning it looks very pleasant. I am just + going on shore with my children.... It is now afternoon and I have + been on shore. It is I think the roughest land I ever saw.... We + are all ordered to land tomorrow and not a shelter to go under." + +Such is the simple story told by this good lady; the reader's +imagination can fill in the details. At the time of Mrs. Frost's +arrival she was a young matron of twenty-eight years. Her daughter, +Hannah, born on July 30th., is said to have been the second female +child born at Parrtown. + +In the case of the June fleet, as of that which arrived in May, the +captains of many of the transports seem to have been remarkably +considerate for the welfare of their passengers. The "Bridgewater," +staid at St. John more than a fortnight before she sailed on her +return voyage to New York, as we learn from the address presented to +her captain by the Loyalists who came in her. + + "To Captain Adnet, Commander of the Transport Bridgewater. + + "The Address of the Loyalists, that came in the Ship under your + command, from New-York to St. John's River, Nova-Scotia. + + "Your humanity, and the kindness and attention you have shewn to + render as happy as possible each individual on board your ship, + during the passage, and till their disembarkation, has filled our + hearts with sentiments of the deepest gratitude, and merit the + warmest return of acknowledgments and thanks, which we most + sincerely desire you to accept. Wishing you a prosperous voyage to + your intended port, we are, your much obliged and very humble + servants. + + Signed by the particular desire, and in behalf of the whole. + + JOHN HOLLAND, + CAPTAIN CLARKE, + NATHANIEL DICKINSON. + + St. John's River, July 15, 1783. + +Vessels continued to arrive during the summer, each bearing its quota +of loyal exiles. Those who came were in nearly all cases enrolled in +companies, and officers appointed, who were commissioned by Sir Guy +Carleton. Several of the ships came repeatedly to St. John. The +Bridgewater, one of the Spring fleet, came again in June, and made a +third voyage in October. The Cyrus, one of the Spring fleet, arrived +again on the 14th September, with 194 passengers, whose names are +given in the collections of the New Brunswick Historical Society. The +Sovereign, one of the vessels of the Spring fleet, came again in +August, as we learn from the letter of thanks addressed to the captain +by her passengers, which follows: + + "Dear Sir: Your Generosity, Kindness and Attention to us while on + board your ship, and assistance lent us on landing our Property + from on board, demands our most warm Acknowledgments: Permit us + therefore to return you that unfeigned Thanks for all your + Goodness that feeling hearts can: and as your are about to leave + us, accept of our most sincere wishes for your Happiness and + Prosperity; and that you may have a safe and easy Passage to New + York is the sincere wish of, Dear Sir. + + (By Request of the Company.) + + Your most obedient, humble servant, + + JOHN MENZIES, Capt. 24th Company. + + St. John's River, Aug. 12, 1783. + + To Capt. Wm. Stewart, Ship Sovereign." + +About this time the Americans began to urge upon Sir Guy Carleton the +speedy evacuation of New York by the British forces. But Sir Guy was +too good a friend of the Loyalists to allow himself to be unduly +hurried in the matter. He stated that the violence of the Americans, +since the cessation of hostilities, had greatly increased the number +of Loyalists who were obliged to look to him for escape from +threatened destruction. That their fears had been augmented by the +barbarous menaces of Committees formed in various towns, cities and +districts, which had threatened dire vengeance to any who ventured +back to their former homes. He therefore adds, "I should show an +indifference to the feelings of humanity, as well as to the honor and +interest of the nation whom I serve, to leave any of the Loyalists +that are desirous to quit the country, a prey to the violence they +conceive they have so much cause to apprehend." + +Sir Guy did his best to facilitate the emigration of all who desired +to leave New York, and by his instructions the following notice was +published. + + "City Hall, New York, August 14, 1783. + + "Notice is hereby given to all Loyalists within the lines, + desirous to emigrate from this place before the final Evacuation, + that they must give in their Names at the Adjutant-General's + Office, on or before the 21st instant, and be ready to embark by + the end of this month. + + "ABIJAH WILLARD." + +Before the arrival of the date, mentioned in the notice, 6,000 names +were entered at the Adjutant-General's Office for passages, and the +evacuation proceeded as fast as the number of transports would admit. +Four weeks later another and more emphatic notice was issued. + + "City Hall, New York, September 12, 1783. + + The Commissioners appointed to examine the Claims of Persons for + Passages from this Place, give this Notice to all Loyalists, who + have been recommended for Passages to Nova Scotia; that ships are + prepared to receive them on board, and it is expected they will + embark on or before the Twentieth Instant. + + "And the Board have Authority further to declare. That if they + neglect to embrace the opportunity now offered, they must not + expect to be conveyed afterwards at the Public Expense. + + ABIJAH WILLARD." + +There can be little doubt that many who continued to linger at New +York would gladly have returned to their former places of abode, but +the experience of the few days who attempted it was too discouraging. +Here is an instance, as described by one of the American "patriots." + + "Last week there came one of the dam'd refugees from New York to a + place called Wall-Kill, in order to make a tarry with his parents. + He was taken into custody immediately, his head and eye brows were + shaved--tarred and feathered--a hog yoke put on his neck, and a + cow bell thereon; upon his head a very high cap of feathers was + set, well plum'd with soft tar, and a sheet of paper in front, + with a man drawn with two faces, representing Arnold and the + Devil's imps; and on the back of it a cow, with the refugee or + tory driving her off." + +The forced migration of the Loyalists was a source of much amusement +to the whigs of that day. A parody on Hamlet's soliloquy, "To be or +not to be," was printed in the New Jersey Journal, under the title, +The Tory's Soliloquy. It begins: + + "To go or not to go; that is the question, + Whether 'tis best to trust the inclement sky, + That scowl's indignant, or the dreary bay + Of Fundy and Cape Sable's rocks and shoals, + And seek our new domain in Scotia's wilds, + Barren and bare, or stay among the rebels, + And by our stay rouse up their keenest rage." + +We have now to consider the circumstances under which the "Fall fleet" +came to St. John. + +After the cessation of hostilities, the violent temper manifested by +the victorious Americans caused the officers of the Loyalist regiments +to lay their case before Sir Guy Carleton in a letter dated March 14, +1783. They state, "That from the purest principles of loyalty and +attachment to the British government they took up arms in his +Majesty's service, and, relying on the justice of their cause and the +support of their Sovereign and the British nation, they have +persevered with unabated zeal through all the vicissitudes of a +calamitous and unfortunate war.... That whatever stipulations may be +made at the peace for the restoration of the property of the Loyalists +and permission for them to return home, yet, should the American +Provinces be severed from the British Empire, it will be impossible +for those who have served his Majesty in arms in this war to remain in +the country. The personal animosities that arose from civil +dissensions have been so heightened by the blood that has been shed in +the contest that the parties can never be reconciled." The letter goes +on to speak of sacrifices of property and lucrative professions; of +the anxiety felt for the future of wives and children; of the fidelity +of the troops, who in the course of the contest had shown a degree of +patience, fortitude and bravery almost without example; and of the +great number of men incapacitated by wounds, many having helpless +families who had seen better days. In conclusion they make the +following request:-- + + "That grants of land may be made to them in some of his Majesty's + American Provinces and that they may be assisted in making + settlements, in order that they and their children may enjoy the + benefit of British government. + + "That some permanent provision may be made for such of the + non-commissioned officers and privates as have been disabled by + wounds, and for the widows and orphans of deceased officers and + soldiers. + + "That as a reward for their services the rank of the officers be + made permanent in America, and that they be entitled to half pay + upon the reduction of their regiments." + +The letter was signed by the commanders of fourteen Loyalist +regiments. + +The application of these officers received due recognition, and on the +arrival of his Majesty's orders and instructions to Sir Guy Carleton, +dated the 9th of June, it was decided that the Kings American +Regiment, Queens Rangers, British Legion, New York Volunteers, Loyal +American Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers, De Lancey's Brigade, Prince +of Wales American Regiment, Pennsylvania Loyalists, Maryland +Loyalists, Loyal American Legion, King's American Dragoons and one or +two other corps, should hold themselves in readiness to embark for +Nova Scotia, where on their arrival they were to be disbanded, unless +any should chose to be discharged at New York. + +Before the royal orders and instructions arrived in America the King's +American Dragoons had been sent to the mouth of the St. John river, +under command of Major Daniel Murray. They encamped at Manawagonish, +a little to the west of Carleton heights, with the intention of +making a settlement in the old township of Conway. On the 6th of +July, Col. Edward Winslow wrote to Major Joshua Upham, who had +remained at New York as Aide-de-Camp to Sir Guy Carleton: "I am +gratified excessively at the situation and behaviour of your +regiment. I never saw more cheerfulness and good humor than appears +among the men. They are encamped on one of the pleasantest spots I +ever beheld, and they are enjoying a great variety of what you +(New) Yorkers call luxuries--such as partridges, salmon, bass, trout, +pigeons, etc. The whole regiment are this day employed in cutting +and clearing a road to the river, and Murray and I intend to ride +tomorrow where man never rode before." The following day Winslow +wrote Ward Chipman, "I am at present at Murray's head quarters in a +township which we shall lay out for the provincials,[142] and we +have already cut a road from his camp to the river, about three +miles. We cut yesterday, with about 120 men, more than a mile through +a forest hitherto deemed impenetrable. When we emerged from it, +there opened a prospect superior to anything in the world I +believe. A perfect view of the immense Bay of Fundy, on one side, and +very extensive view of the river St. John's with the Falls, grand Bay +and Islands on the other--in front the Fort, which is a beautiful +object on a high hill, and all the settlements about the town, +with the ships, boats, etc., in the harbor--'twas positively the +most magnificent and romantic scene I ever beheld." + + [142] Meaning the Loyalist regiments. + +The view from Lancaster Heights, which so delighted Colonel Winslow, +proves equally charming to American tourists of the present +generation. The stay of the King's American Dragoons at "Camp +Manawaugonish," however, was brief, for about the end of August they +were sent up the St. John river to what is now the Parish of Prince +William, where many of their descendants are to be found at the +present day. The commander of the regiment was the celebrated Sir +Benjamin Thompson, better known as Count Rumford, who, by the way, +never came to New Brunswick; but other officers of the corps were +prominent in our local affairs. Major Joshua Upham was a judge of the +supreme court. Major Daniel Murray was for some years a member of the +House of Assembly for York County. Chaplain Jonathan Odell was for +years Provincial Secretary. Surgeon Adino Paddock was a leading +physician, and the progenitor of a long line of descendants, who +practiced the healing art. Lieutenant John Davidson was a member for +York County in the provincial legislature and a leading land surveyor +in the early days of the country. Lieutenant Simeon Jones was the +ancestor of Simeon Jones, ex-mayor of St. John, and his well known +family. Quarter master Edward Sands was a leading merchant of the city +of St. John. Cornet Arthur Nicholson was a prominent man on the upper +St. John in early times, and for a while commanded the military post +at Presquile. + +After the articles of peace had been signed, no serious effort was +made to restrain the non-commissioned officers and men of the Loyalist +regiments from taking "French leave," and a good many of them left the +service without the formality of a discharge. Those who did so +were of course marked on the roll as deserters; they remained, for +the most part, in the States, and eventually returned to their +former places of abode. Others of the troops were formally discharged +at New York. As a consequence the British American regiments that +came to the St. John river were reduced to a fraction of their +original strength. The number of those who came to St. John in the +Fall fleet, has been commonly stated as about three thousand souls. +The returns of the Commissary general's office in New York show that +up to October 12th as many as 3,396 persons connected with the +Loyalist regiments had sailed to the River St. John, viz., 1823 +men, 563 women, 696 children and 311 servants. The following summer +an enumeration was made by Thomas Knox of the disbanded troops settled +on the St. John river. His return for the Loyalist regiments gives +a total of 3,520 persons, viz., 1877 men, 585 women, 865 children +and 193 servants. This does not differ very materially from the +other return at New York, the difference being accounted for by the +fact that a few of the men of these regiments left New York very +late in the season, and consequently were not included in the return +of 12th October. + +The official correspondence of Sir Guy Carleton contains a pretty full +account of the circumstances that attended the departure of the +Loyalist regiments and their subsequent arrival at St. John. During +the summer months they had been encamped near Newtown, Long Island, a +short distance from Brooklyn Ferry. They embarked on the 3d of +September, and Sir Guy Carleton wrote to General Fox, the commander in +chief in Nova Scotia, that he hoped they would sail on the 7th of that +month; but, as usual, unforseen delays prevented their departure until +some days later. The command of the troops devolved on Lieut. Col. +Richard Hewlett, of the 3d battalion of De Lancey's Brigade; Lieut. +Col. Gabriel De Veber, of the Prince of Wales American Regiment, was +second in command. Most of the senior officers were at this time in +England, where they had gone to present to the British government +their claims for compensation for losses consequent upon the war, and +to press their claims for half-pay upon the disbanding of their +regiments. + +Sir Guy Carleton's instructions to Lieut. Col. Hewlett are contained +in the following letter. + + "New York, Sep. 12, 1783. + + "Sir.--You are to take the command of the British American Troops + mentioned in the margin,[143] which are to proceed to the River + St. John's in the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. On your arrival + there you will see that the stores intended for them are duly + delivered, and you will take such steps as shall be necessary for + the several corps proceeding immediately to the places alloted for + their settlement, where they are to be disbanded on their arrival, + provided it does not exceed the 20th of October, on which day + Captain Prevost, deputy inspector of British American Forces, has + directions to disband them.... You will give directions to the + officer commanding each corps that, in case of separation, they + will proceed on their arrival at the River St. John's in + forwarding their respective corps to the places of their + respective destination.... The debarkation of the troops must not + on any account whatever be delayed, as the transports must return + to this Port with all possible dispatch. Directions have been + given to Mr. Colville, assistant agent of all small craft at the + River St. John, to afford every assistance in his power to the + corps in getting to the places of their destination, and the + commanding officers of corps will make application to him for that + purpose. + + [143] The names of the corps found in the margin of the original + letter are, Queens Rangers, Kings American Regiment, + Detachment of Garrison Battalion, New York Volunteers, 1st + De Lanceys, 2nd De Lanceys, Loyal American Regiment. 2nd + Do., 3d Do., Prince of Wales American Regiment, + Pennsylvania Loyalists, Maryland Loyalists, American + Legion, Guides and Pioneers, Detachment Kings American + Dragoons, Detachment North Carolina Volunteers. + + I am, etc., etc., + GUY CARLETON. + +The perils of navigation in the olden time are seen in the experience +of the Esther and the Martha, two of the vessels of the Fall fleet. +The ships left Sandy Hook, on or about the 15th of September, and all +went well until they arrived near the Seal Islands, off the South-West +coast of Nova Scotia. Here the Esther, having on board Colonel Van +Buskirk's battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers, got out of her +course and narrowly escaped destruction, reaching St. John several +days after her sister ships. The Martha, Capt. Willis, was even more +unfortunate. She was wrecked on a ledge of rocks off the Seal Islands, +afterwards known as "Soldier's Ledge." Her passengers numbered 174 +persons and including a corps of Maryland Loyalists and part of Col. +Hewlett's battalion of De Lancey's Brigade. Of these 99 perished and +75 were saved by fishing boats. + +According to the account of Captain Patrick Kennedy of the Maryland +Loyalists, the accident was due to gross neglect. The master reported +the previous evening that he had seen land, and everyone imagined he +would lay to during the night, the weather being tempestuous. He had +left New York with an old suit of sails and had not above twelve men +and boys to work his ship. While they were engaged in rigging and +setting up a new main topsail, to replace one that had gone to pieces +early in the night, the ship struck. Soon after the long boat was +smashed by the fall of the mainmast. The cutter had already been +launched. The captain now gave orders to launch the jolly boat and, to +the surprise of everybody, having repeatedly proclaimed that he would +be one of the last to leave the ship, he jumped into her as she went +over the side, rowed to the cutter, got into her, and inhumanly pushed +off for the shore. The empty Jolly boat was turned adrift in full view +of the unhappy people on board, the master turning a deaf ear to the +solicitations of Captain Kennedy, who begged him to pull in toward the +stern, in order to discuss some means of saving the lives of his +passengers. + +Another account of this tragedy has been preserved in the letter of +Lieut. Michael Laffan, of Colonel Hewlett's battalion, to his +brother:-- + + St. Johns, Oct. 11, 1783. + + Dear Brother.--Yesterday evening I had the good Fortune to arrive + at this Place. On the 25th of September, about 4 o'clock in the + morning, the "Martha" struck against a rock off the Tusket river + near the Bay of Fundy, and was in the course of a few Hours + wrecked in a Thousand Pieces. I had the good Fortune to get upon a + Piece of the Wreck with three more officers, viz., Lieut. Henley, + Lieut. Sterling, Dr. Stafford and two soldiers (all of the + Maryland Loyalists) and floated on it two Days and two nights up + to near our Waists in Water, during which time Lieut. Sterling and + one of the Soldiers died. On the third Day we drifted to an island + where we lived without Fire, Water, Victuals or Clothing, except + the Remnants of what we had on, about one Quart of Water per man + (which we sipped from the cavities in the Rocks) and a few + Rasberries and snails. On the seventh Day we were espied and taken + up by a Frenchman, that was out a fowling, who took us to his + House and treated us with every kindness. We staid with him six + Days and then proceeded to a Place called Cape Pursue, where we + met with Captain Kennedy and about fifty of both Regiments, who + were saved at Sea by some fishing Boats, about 36 Hours from the + time the Vessel was wrecked. Capt. Doughty, Lieut. McFarlane, Mrs. + McFarlane and Ensign Montgomery perished.... + +Lieut. Col. Hewlett's letter to Sir Guy Carleton, announcing the +arrival of the fleet at its destined port, is brief and to the point: + + St. Johns, Bay of Fundy, 29th September, 1783. + + Sir.--Agreeable to your Excellency's orders I have the honor to + inform you that the Troops under my command arrived at the River + St. Johns the 27th instant, except the ship "Martha" with the + Maryland Loyalists and part of the 2d Batt'n De Lancey's, and the + ship "Esther" with part of the Jersey Volunteers, of which ships + no certain accounts were received since their sailings. + + This day a small party of the Guides and Pioneers are landed, + which proceed from the Falls up the River St. Johns tomorrow, if + the weather permits. + + I have given the necessary orders for the Troops to disembark + tomorrow and encamp just above the Falls, from which place they + shall be forwarded with all possible expedition to the place of + their destination, but am much afraid the want of small craft will + greatly prevent their dispatch. + + I have the honor to be sir, + Your most obedient, humble servant, + + RICHARD HEWLETT, Lt. Col. + +On the 13th October Col. Hewlett informed Sir Guy Carleton that the +troops had all been disbanded by Major Augustin Prevost, and were +getting up the river as speedily as the scarcity of small craft for +conveying them would admit. + +A large number of the officers and men of the disbanded regiments drew +lots at Parrtown, and many remained at the mouth of the river during +the winter. George Leonard, who was one of the chief directors of the +settlement of the town, says that the lots at first laid out were +divided and subdivided, on the arrival of almost every fleet, to +accommodate the Loyalists as they came. These proved to be so greatly +in excess of what had been anticipated, that the lots of those who +came at the first were reduced by degrees to one sixteenth part of +their original dimensions. It was not until the 17th December that a +complete plan of Parrtown was prepared by Paul Bedell. Meanwhile there +had been much delay in laying out lands for settlement on the River +St. John. + +Colonel Morse, of the Royal Engineers, gives a summary of the causes +of the delay in placing the disbanded troops upon their lands: "First +their arriving very late in the season; Secondly, timely provision not +having been made by escheating and laying out lands; Thirdly, a +sufficient number of surveyors not having been employed; but Lastly +and principally, the want of foresight and wisdom to make necessary +arrangements, and steadiness in carrying them out." + +Lieut. Col. Edward Winslow, muster-master-general of the British +American regiments, had been sent to Nova Scotia in the month of April +to secure lands for the accommodation of the officers and men who +wished to settle there. In this task he had the assistance of Lieut. +Col. Isaac Allen, Lieut. Col. Stephen De Lancey and Major Thomas +Barclay. Their instructions were to procure the lands required "in the +most eligible and advantageous situation, paying strict regard to the +quality of the soil." They decided to make application for the vacant +lands on the River St. John, and the Nova Scotia government agreed +that the provincial troops might be accommodated "near the source of +that river, leaving the lower part to the Refugees." Lieut. Colonel De +Lancey was greatly chagrined at this decision, and on the 11th July he +wrote to Winslow: "If what I am informed is true, we might better be +all of us in New York. It is that Conway, Burton, etc., are to be +given to the Refugees, and that the lands to be given to the +Provincials are to commence at Sunbury (or St. Anne) and go northwest +to Canada or elsewhere.... This is so notorious a forfeiture of the +faith of Government that it appears to me almost incredible, and yet I +fear it is not to be doubted. Could we have known this a little +earlier it would have saved you the trouble of exploring the country +for the benefit of a people you are not connected with. In short it is +a subject too disagreeable to say more upon." + +The decision to settle the Loyalist regiment some distance up the +river obliged the Kings American Dragoons to remove from Lancaster, +where they had at first pitched their tents. The intimation to move on +came in the shape of a letter from Gen'l Fox's secretary, to Major +Murray, their commanding officer. An extract follows: + + "It having been represented to Brig'r. General Fox that the King's + American Dragoons under your command cannot be enhutted at the + place where they are at present encamped, without inconvenience to + the great number of Loyalists who are forming settlements at the + mouth of the River St. John's, and he being also informed that His + Excellency the Governor of this Province has assigned a certain + tract of land for the accommodation of the Provincial Regiments on + the River St. John's, beginning at the eastern boundaries of the + Townships of Sunbury and Newtown, and extending up the River, I am + directed to acquaint you that you have Brigadier General Fox's + permission to remove the King's American Dragoons to that part of + the district which has been allotted to the regiment.... Lieut. + Colonel Morse, chief Engineer, will, in consideration that your + Regiment may be exposed to peculiar inconveniences from being the + first who are ordered to but on the River St. John's, forward to + you such articles as he apprehends cannot be procured at that + place." + +On the 16th September, Gen'l Fox wrote from Annapolis, informing +Governor Parr that the Loyalist regiments embarking at New York were, +by the Commander in Chief's express order, to be discharged as +contiguous as possible to the lands on which they were to settle, and +he accordingly asked the Governor to determine the district each +regiment was to settle, so that on their arrival they might proceed +immediately to their respective destinations. Up to this time no +attempt had been made to lay out lands for the troops, save in the +district of Prince William for the King's American Dragoons. There +was, it is true, an order to reserve for the Provincial Regiments, a +tract extending from the townships of Maugerville and Burton on both +sides of the river on the route to Canada as far as to accommodate the +whole, but no survey had been made. + +About this time the Hon. Charles Morris prepared a plan of the river +in which the land not yet granted was laid out in blocks. These blocks +were numbered and drawn for by the various regiments shortly after +their arrival. But as the lines had not been run, nor any lots laid +out for settlement the disbanded troops were in great perplexity. They +knew not where to turn or what to do. Extracts from the letters of two +regimental commanders will show how they regarded the outlook. Lieut. +Col. Gabriel De Veber, of the Prince of Wales American Regiment, +writes at Parrtown on the 14th December. "I am still here, where I +have built a small house for the present. I have not been up the River +yet, indeed the block, No. 11, which our Regiment has drawn, is so far +up that I am totally discouraged. The numerous family I have demands +some attention to the education of children. At such a distance they +never can hope for any, and I should think myself highly culpable, +were I not to endeavor to settle nearer to the metropolis, or to some +place where I can attend to this necessary duty." + +Major Thomas Menzies, of the Loyal American Legion, writes on March +2d, 1784: "I drew Block No 10 for the Corps under my command, which +commences 48 miles above St. Anns, so that whatever becomes of me, it +would be wildness to think of carrying my family there for the +present." + +We get a glimpse of the distress and perplexity of the men of the +loyal regiments in one of Edward Winslow's letters to Ward Chipman. "I +saw all those Provincial Regiments, which we have so frequently +mustered, landing in this inhospitable climate, in the month of +October, without shelter and without knowing where to find a place to +reside. The chagrin of the officers was not to me so truly affecting +as the poignant distress of the men. Those respectable sergeants of +Robinson's, Ludlow's, Cruger's, Fanning's, etc.,--once hospitable +yeomen of the Country--were addressing me in language which almost +murdered me as I heard it. 'Sir, we have served all the war, your +honor is witness how faithfully. We were promised land; we expected +you had obtained it for us. We like the country--only let us have a +spot of our own, and give us such kind of regulations as will hinder +bad men from injuring us.'" + +A great many of the disbanded soldiers drew lots at Parrtown in the +Lower Cove district. Some of them spent their first winter in canvas +tents on the Barrack square. They thatched their tents with spruce +boughs, brought in boats from Partridge Island, and banked them with +snow. Owing to the cold weather and the coarseness of the provisions, +salt meat, etc., the women and children suffered severely and numbers +died. They were buried in an old graveyard near the present deep water +terminus of the Intercolonial railway. + +The last of the transports that sailed from New York to St. John, in +addition to her passengers--mostly women and children--carried an +assortment of clothing and provisions. The officer in charge was +Lieut. John Ward of the Loyal American Regiment, grandfather of +Clarence Ward, the well known secretary of the New Brunswick +Historical Society. There was not time to build even a hut, and +Mr. Ward was obliged to spend his first winter in the country under +canvas. His son, John Ward, jr., was born in a tent on the Barrack +square, Dec. 18, 1783. The Ward family were a sturdy stock and were +noted for their longevity. The child born on the Barrack square +attained the age of 92 years, and a younger son, Charles Ward, +died in 1882 at the age of 91 years. The father, Lieut. John Ward, +was 92 years of age when he died on the 5th August, 1846. He was +known in his later years as "the father of the city." At the +semi-centennial of the Landing of the Loyalists he was honored with +a seat on the left of the mayor, John M. Wilmot, on whose, right +sat Sir Archibald Campbell the Lieut. Governor. On the 18th May, +1843, the sixtieth anniversary of the landing of the Loyalists, +the corporation of the city waited on Mr. Ward, then aged 90 years, +at his residence, and presented him with an address. The officers of +the Artillery also presented an address in which they say: "We claim +you with pride as one of the first officers of the corps to which we +now have the honor to belong; and we hail you at the same time as +one of the few survivors of that gallant band, who--surrendering all +save the undying honor of their sacrifice--followed the standard of +their Sovereign to these shores, and whose landing we this day +commemorate. That health and prosperity may be yours, and that the +evening of your days may be as free from a cloud as your past life has +been unspotted, is the sincere desire of the corps in whose behalf we +have the honor to subscribe ourselves." + +The experience of the disbanded soldiers, who wintered with their +families at St. Anns, was even more trying than that of those who +remained at Parrtown. The month of October was cold and rainy, and +those who went up the river in boats had a very miserable time of it. +A few were fortunate enough to be admitted into the houses of the old +settlers, but the vast majority were obliged to provide themselves a +shelter from the approaching winter by building log and bark huts. At +St. Anns, where Fredericton was afterwards built, there were only two +English speaking settlers, Benjamin Atherton, who lived on the site of +Government House, and Philip Wade whose house stood on the river bank +in front of the present Cathedral. + +Speaking of the hardships endured by the founders of Fredericton, +Peter Fisher observes: "Scarcely had they begun to construct their +cabins, when they were surprised by the rigors of an untried climate; +their habitations being enveloped in snow before they were +tenantable.... The privations and sufferings of some of these people +almost exceed belief. Frequently, in the piercing cold of winter, a +part of the family had to remain up during the night to keep fire in +their huts to prevent the other part from freezing. Some very +destitute families made use of boards to supply the want of bedding; +the father or some of the elder children remaining up by turns, and +warming two suitable pieces of boards, which they applied alternately +to the smaller children to keep them warm; with many similar +expedients." + +The awfulness of their situation may be readily imagined. Women, +delicately reared, cared for their infants beneath canvas tents, +rendered habitable only by the banks of snow which lay six feet deep +in the open spaces of the forest. Men, unaccustomed to toil, looked +with dismay at the prospect before them. The non-arrival of supplies +expected before the close of navigation, added to their dire +forebodings. At one time during the winter, starvation stared them in +the face, and one who passed through the sorrowful experience of that +time says: "Strong proud men wept like children, and, exhausted by +cold and famine, lay down in their snow bound tents to die." The poor +settlers had to make frequent trips of from fifty to one hundred miles +with hand-sleds or toboggans, through the wild woods and on the ice, +to procure a precarious supply of food for their famishing families. + +Among those who settled at St. Anns at this time was Lodewick Fisher, +who had seen nearly seven years service in Col. Van Buskirk's +battalion of the New Jersey Volunteers. This brave old Loyalist came +to St. John in the Ship "Esther," accompanied by his wife Mary, and +three children, Eliza, Henry and Peter, all of whom were born on +Staten Island during the war. Peter, the youngest of the trio, was +only 16 months old at the time of his arrival and of course had no +personal recollection of the experience of the first winter, but in +his little history he has given some of the recollections of his +elders which are of great interest. (It may be noted, in passing, that +the eldest son of Peter Fisher, the Hon. Charles Fisher, was attorney +general of the province and later a judge of the supreme court; he was +one of the fathers of Responsible Government and left his impress in +the pages of our history.) + +Much that is of great interest concerning the founders of Fredericton +has been gleaned from the reminiscences of Mrs. Lodewick Fisher, +which she used to relate in the hearing of her grand-children.[144] +From this source we learn that soon after the arrival of the +Loyalist regiments at St. John, her family joined a party bound up +the river in a schooner to St. Anns. In eight days they got to +Oromocto, where they were landed by the Captain, who refused to +proceed further on account of the lateness of the season. He charged +them each four dollars for their passage. The night was spent on +shore and the next day the women and children proceeded to St. +Anns in Indian canoes, the others coming on foot. It was the 8th +of October when they reached their destination, and pitched their +tents at Salamanca, near the shore. Before any effectual steps had +been taken to provide a shelter, winter was at hand. Snow fell on +the 2nd November to the depth of six inches. The best that some of +the unfortunate people could do was to pitch their tents in the +depths of the forest. Stones were used for a rude fire place. The tent +had no floor but the ground. The winter was very cold, with deep +snow, which afforded some protection. Still it was an awful winter. +There were mothers who had been reared in a pleasant country, +enjoying the luxuries of life, who now clasped their helpless +little ones to their bosoms and tried by the warmth of their own +bodies to protect them from the bitter cold. Many of the weaker ones +died from cold and exposure. Graves were dug with axes and shovels +near by, and there in stormy wintry weather, the survivors laid their +loved ones. They had no minister, and they were buried without any +religious service. The burial ground at Salamanca, continued to be +used for some years until it was nearly filled. They used to call +it "the Loyalist Provincials burial ground." + + [144] See "Founders of Fredericton," p. 165, Dr. G. U. Hay's Canadian + History Readings. + +This old burial ground is on the Ketchum place, just below the town. +Some of the older citizens of Fredericton remember old head boards +placed at the graves, since fallen into decay. Many names that were +painted or carved on them served to show the Dutch ancestry of the men +of Van Buskirk's battalion. The names were such as Van Horn, +Vanderbeck, Ackermann, Burkstaff, Ridner, Handorff, Van Norden, +Blaicker, Blann, Ryerson, etc. + +As soon as the snow was off the ground the people began to build log +houses, but they were soon obliged to desist for want of provisions. +There was again delay in sending supplies, and the settlers were +forced to live after the Indian fashion. They made maple sugar, dug +edible roots, caught fish, shot partridges and pigeons and hunted +moose. Some who had planted a few potatoes had to dig them up again +and eat them. In their distress these poor souls were gladdened by the +discovery of large patches of beans that were found growing wild. The +beans were white, marked with a black cross, and had probably been +planted by the French. "In our joy at this discovery," said Mrs. +Fisher, "we at first called them the Royal Provincial's bread; but +afterwards the staff of life and hope of the starving." There was +great rejoicing when at length a schooner arrived with corn-meal and +rye. It was not during the first season only that the settlers at St. +Anns suffered for food, other seasons were nearly as bad. + +During the summer all hands united in the task of building log houses. +They had few tools beside the axe and saw. They had neither bricks nor +lime. Chimneys and fire-places were built of stone, laid in yellow +clay. The walls of the houses were of logs; the roofs of bark bound +over with small poles. The windows had only four small panes of glass. +The first house finished was that of Dr. Earle, whose services in a +variety of ways were of the utmost value to the little community. +Lieut. Col. Hewlett's house was built on Queen Street, where the +Barker House now stands. It would seem that the old veteran +accompanied his comrades to St. Anns, for he makes an affidavit before +Major Studholme at that place on the 13th of October, stating that by +the wreck of the Martha he had lost in tools, stores and baggage, +property of the value of L200 stg. His loss included the greater part +of his effects and left him well nigh penniless. + +Col. Hewlett was born at Hampstead, Queens County, Long Island in New +York, and died at Hampstead, Queens County, New Brunswick. His grant +of land at the latter place included part of Long Island in the St. +John river. He died in 1789 in the 60th year of his age. Two monuments +have been erected in his memory, one at Hampstead on the St. John +river, the other at his native town of Hampstead Long Island, N. Y. +The inscriptions on the monuments are nearly identical. + + SACRED + To the Memory of + LIEUT. COL. RICHARD HEWLETT, + + Who served as Captain at the Conquest of Canada, and contributed + to the Capture of Fort Frontenac, August, 1758, and at the + breaking out of the American Revolution, 1775, received a + Lieut.-Colonel's commission, and served during the war under + General Oliver Delancey. + + Born at Hampstead on Long Island in the then Province of New York, + and died at this place, July 26th, 1789, aged 59 years. + +Some interesting particulars of the services of Lt. Col. Hewlett +during the Revolution are to be found in Jones' Loyalist History of +New York. He was a brave and capable officer. + +We cannot at this time follow further the fortunes of the Loyalists of +1733. Their privations and their toils were not in vain. History has +justified their attitude during the Revolutionary epoch, and their +merits are acknowledged by broad minded and impartial students of +history in the United States. The late Professor Moses Coit Tyler, of +the University of Cornell, gave it as his opinion, "That the side of +the Loyalists, as they called themselves, of the Tories, as they were +scornfully nick-named by their opponents, was even in argument not a +weak one, and in motive and sentiment not a base one, and in devotion +and self-sacrifice not an unheroic one." The same sentiments were even +more emphatically expressed by Dr. Tyler on the occasion of the +celebration of the centenary of the founding of the University at +Fredericton, a few years since, on which occasion he said: + + "We Americans here to-day wish to express our friendship toward + you, not only on account of yourselves and the good work you are + doing, but also on account, of those noble men and women, your + ancestors, who founded this Province of New Brunswick, this + town of Fredericton, and this University which is the crown and + glory of both. We remember what sort of men and women they + were--their sincerity, their devotion to principle in defiance + of loss and pain, their courage, their perseverance, their clear + prevision of the immense importance of race unity. So, very + honestly, with all our hearts we greet you as a kindred people, + many of you of the same colonial lineage with ourselves, having + many things in your public and private experience identical + with our own, still bound to us by antique and indestructible + bonds of fellowship in faith, in sympathy, in aspiration, in + humane effort, all coincident with the beginnings of English + civilization in North America, nay with the beginnings of + civilization itself in that fast-anchored isle beyond the sea, + which is the beloved mother of us all. If between your ancestors + and ours, on opposite sides of the old Revolutionary dispute a + century and a quarter ago, there were many and bitter years of + unfriendly tradition, we, on our part, are glad to think that + such tradition lives no longer; that in the broad-minded view + which time and the better understanding of our own history have + brought us, the coming years are to witness a renewal and a + permanent relation of good-will and mutual help, which bound + together the earlier generations of our common race on this + continent." + +To these kindly words every generous souled descendant of the +Loyalists will utter a fervent Amen. And still we say--all honor to +the brave hearts that sacrificed so much and suffered so severely for +the preservation of a united British empire, and whose hands in later +years laid strong and deep the foundation of our Canadian Dominion. + + + + +INDEX. + + + Aboideau, 235. + + Acadia, bounds of, 17, 93. + + Acadians, encouraged to leave N. S. Peninsula, 96, 101; + settled on River St. John, 107, 114, 117, 120, 122, 133, 145, 234, + 248, 249, 255, 309; + expulsion of, 116, 120, 133, 139. + + Account books of Simonds & White, 181, 183, 201, 234. + + Alden, John, 44, 46, 48. + + Alexander, James, 13, 52. + + Alexander, Sir William, 23. + + Allan, John, 183, 262, 264, 265, 270-277, 293, 316, 337. + + Allen, Lieut.-Colonel Isaac, 364. + + Alline, Rev. Henry, 327, 330, 338-342. + + Amesbury, 330. + + Anderson, John, 161, 196, 247. + + Andros, Governor, 38. + + Annapolis, 76, 77, 79, 87, 347. + + Aplin, Joseph, 352. + + Arbuthnot, Colonel, 136, 138, 139, 143, 271, 278. + + Argall, Samuel, 22. + + Armstrong, Governor, 77. + + Arrival of Simonds & White, 179, 239. + + Atherton, Benjamin, 166, 180, 198, 233, 325, 343, 366. + + Audren, Father, 107, 113. + + Aukpaque, 36, 78, 82, 140, 142, 145, 175, 196, 253, 273, 285, 299; + missionaries at, 106, 127, 146, 247, 253, 256. + + + "Bachelor," Sloop, 161. + + Bailey, Rev. Jacob, 135, 317, 338, 347. + + Bailly, Charles Francois, 75, 247, 248, 249, 299. + + Baptiste, Captain, 47. + + Barker, Jacob, 154, 171, 173, 174, 228, 259, 311, 324. + + Barker, Jacob Jr., 161, 174, 324. + + Barlow, Richard, 210, 219, 320. + + Bates, Walter, 339, 348, 349, 353. + + Batt, Major, 276, 281. + + Baxter, Simon, 345, 348. + + Bayard, Samuel, 332. + + Bay of Fundy, 17; + battles in, 46, 101. + + Beardsley, Rev. John, 173, 351. + + Beausejour, 96, 115. + + Beckwith, Nehemiah, 314, 352. + + Bellefontaine, 57, 100, 135, 143, 252. + + Bellisle, 79, 86, 89, 90, 350. + + Belliveau, Charles, 118, 119. + + Bell of Medoctec Chapel, 75, 247. + + Benardin, 22. + + Bessabez, 7, 8. + + Biard, Pierre, 8, 20, 21. + + Biencourt, 20, 22. + + Bill of Lading, 307. + + Black, Edmund, 178, 239, 245. + + Black, Rev. William, 342. + + Blodget, Samuel, 176, 177, 178, 182, 188, 189, 192, 201. + + Blowers, Sampson Salter, 346. + + Boishebert, Pierre, at mouth of the St. John, 96, 97, 100, 102; + retires to a "detroit," 117, 118, 120; + at Nerepis, 123, 333; + at Petitcodiac, 116; + at Miramichi, 124. + + Books in olden days, 201, 255. + + Boston, 26, 178, 236, 239. + + Botsford, Amos, 346, 347. + + Bourg, Rev. Joseph M., 252, 253, 271, 285, 286, 289, 294, 295. + + "Bridgewater," Ship, 356, 357, 358. + + Briggs, Zephaniah, 171. + + Brookings, Henry, 202. + + Bruce, Lieutenant. R. G., 150. + + Bungwarrawit, 298. + + Burbank, David, 161, 174, 321, 324. + + Burpee, David, 172, 259, 260, 318. + + Burpee, Jonathan, 169, 170, 317. + + Burton, Township, 203, 213, 364. + + Butler, Captain Pierce, 174, 233. + + Butternut, Trees, 8, 17, 131, 174. + + + Cadillac, 9, 109, 111. + + Campbell, Tamberlane, 311, 324. + + Campobello, 280. + + Canada Company (see St. John's River Society). + + Carleton, Sir Guy, 277, 293, 296, 345, 354, 358, 361, 362. + + Carr, Peter, 227, 233. + + Cartier, Jacques, 7. + + Caton, Isaac, 196, 198, 208. + + Caton's Island, 20, 130, 198. + + Census, 56, 57, 78, 159, 168, 214, 250, 251. + + Chamberlain, Montagu, 41. + + Chambly, 30, 32. + + Champlain, 9, 17, 19. + + Charlevoix, 39, 112. + + Charnisay, d'Aulnay, 23, 24-29. + + Chauffours, Sieur de (see Louis d Amours). + + Chipman, Ward, 191, 230, 360, 365. + + Chkoudun, 17, 19. + + Christie, Thomas, 174. + + Chubb, Captain, 46, 53. + + Church, Colonel Benjamin, 40, 47, 48. + + Church, Covenant, 169, 340. + + Clarke, John, 353. + + Cleoncore Island, 55. + + Cleveland, Lemuel, 177, 244, 280. + + Clignancourt, Sieur de (see Rene d'Amours). + + Climate, 238. + + Clinch, Peter, 337. + + Cobb, Captain, 99, 126, 128. + + Coburn, Moses, 167, 174, 327. + + Coffin's Manor, 333. + + Congregational Church, 172, 256, 257. + + Connor, Lieutenant, 296, 310, 337. + + Contract, 1st Business, 177, 188, 191, 229, 239. + + Contract, 2nd Business, 229, 239. + + Converse, Captain, 42. + + Conway, Township, 208, 212, 227, 244, 261, 280, 364. + + Copper Mine, 19. + + Cornwallis, Governor, 90, 100, 102. + + County of Sunbury formed, 207. + + Coy, Edward, 167, 168, 169, 326. + + Crabtree, A Green, 183, 277, 279. + + Crandall, Rev. Joseph, 329, 330, 339. + + Cummings, Samuel, 346, 347. + + Currency of Massachusetts, 182. + + Curry, John, 280, 298. + + Customs Collector, 259, 344. + + + D'Amours, Bernard, 55. + + D'Amours, Louis, 46, 55, 57, 59-65, 250, 251. + + D'Amours, Mathieu, 52, 55, 57, 59, 250. + + D'Amours, Rene, 49, 55, 57, 69, 63, 67, 250, 251. + + Danielou, Jean Pierre, 75, 78, 80, 141, 143, 250. + + Danks, Benoni, 128, 131. + + Darling, Benjamin, 330. + + Davidson, Lieutenant John, 361. + + Davidson, William, 259, 301, 304, 305, 308, 310. + + DeLancy, Lieut.-Colonel, Stephen, 364. + + Delesderniers, Frederick, 274, 275. + + DeMeulles, 34. + + DeMonts, 16, 20. + + Denys, Nicolas, 10, 24, 27. + + DePeyster, Abraham, 225. + + DeRazilly, 23. + + DesBarres, Joseph F. W., 164, 332. + + Deserters, 137, 295. + + "Detroit," or Narrows, 93, 117, 118. + + DeVeber, Lieut-Colonel Gabriel, 361, 365. + + Dibblee, Fyler, 349. + + Dibblee, Rev. F., 299. + + D'Iberville, 38, 41, 45, 46. + + Diereville, 40, 54. + + Disbanded Troops, 149, 164, 160, 206, 227. + + Dole, W. P., 25. + + Doucet, Joseph, 248. + + Dover, N. H., 38. + + Dummer, Rev., 41. + + Du Pont, 21, 22. + + Dutch, Mauraders, 32. + + + Eagleson, Rev. John, 269. + + Early Mechanics, 335. + + Earthquake, 194. + + Eaton, Captain, 176, 177. + + Eddy, Jonathan, 167, 262, 268, 327. + + Ekouipahag, (see Aukpaque). + + Elizee, Father, 43. + + Emerson, Samuel, 181. + + Emerson, Webster, 179. + + Emenenic, 20, 130, 198. + + English Settlers, 156. + + "Envieux," Ship, 46, 47, 64. + + Estabrooks, Elijah, 244, 280, 329. + + Estey, Richard, 164, 169, 174, 328. + + Estey, Zebulon, 161, 167, 174, 321, 329. + + + Falconer, Captain Thomas, 207, 210, 214, 222. + + Falls, mouth of St. John, 20, 109, 215. + + Fenton, Captain John, 212, 214, 217. + + Fisher, Hon. Charles, 367. + + Fisher, Peter, 155, 265, 312, 366. + + Fishery, 176, 195, 198, 204, 222, 239. + + Fleets of 1783, 348, 350, 353, 357, 361. + + Fort Boishebert, 97, 103, 105, 114, 333. + + Fort Cumberland, 268, 276. + + Fort Frederick, erection of, 122, 127, 128, 133; + garrison at, 134, 137, 150, 196, 233, 315; + Glasier at Fort, 208, 215, 222; + dismantled, 261; + burned, 265. + + Fort Howe, 218, 282, 284, 295, 335, 348, 350. + + Fort Hughes, 295. + + Fort LaTour, 24. + + Fort Menagoueche, 103, 106, 116, 122, 133. + + Fort Nachouac, 51, 196. + + Fort at St. John, 24, 48, 53, 54, 100, 102, 105, 116, 122. + + Fox, General, 364, 365. + + Franklin, Michael, 159, 218; + Superintendent of Indian affairs, 269, 276, 277, 282, 285, 287, 289, + 293, 297, 301. + + Francklin, Hazen & White, 305, 306-310. + + Fredericton, 78, 366. + + French Village, 231, 250, 253, 311. + + Freneuse, 52, 58, 251. + + Freshets, 63, 110, 216. + + Frontenac, Count, 30, 40, 41. + + Frost, Sarah, 354, 357. + + Fur Trade, 20, 22, 26, 28, 59, 144, 174, 182, 193, 298. + + + Gage, 208, 212, 331. + + Gagetown, 123, 132, 255. + + Gale, 137, 155, 204. + + Galissonniere, Count de la, 94, 106, 113. + + Game, 10, 19, 26, 216, 368. + + Ganong, Dr. W. F., 24, 31, 49, 123. + + Garrison, Joseph, 159, 162, 174, 234, 326. + + Gaspe, Sieur de, 103, 105, 106. + + Gaudet, Placide P., 64, 87, 103, 116, 119, 130, 139, 249, 250, 252. + + Gemesech, 30, 34. + + Gemisick (see Jemseg), 30, 31, 34, 109. + + Germain, Charles, 80, 81, 94, 98, 106, 113, 114, 137, 139. + + Gilbert, Colonel Thomas, 166. + + Glasier, Beamsley P., 196, 207, 208, 214, 312, 333; + agent of St. John's River Society, 208, 209, 214-225. + + Glasier, Benjamin, 312. + + Glasier, "The Main John," 313. + + Glode, Ballomy, 143. + + Goold, Colonel, 270, 271. + + Gorham, Captain John, 83, 94. + + Grand Falls, 36, 70. + + Grand Fontaine, 30. + + Grand Lake, 290, 311. + + Grand Lake Coal, 26, 234, 326. + + Grand Manan, 221. + + Grantees at Maugerville, 159, 162. + + Grantees of Townships, 212, 213. + + Grants of Lands, 149, 158, 206, 209, 230, 232. + + Grapes, 8, 17. + + Greenough, Moses, 176, 244. + + Grimross, 132, 146, 220, 223. + + Gyles, John, 11, 13, 29, 43, 52, 57, 69-63, 68-72. + + + Haldimand, Colonel, Frederick, 208, 296, 303. + + Halifax, 89, 299. + + Hamond, Sir A. S., 305, 306, 310, 311, 324. + + Hannay, James, 11, 25, 39, 116, 169, 259, 318, 341. + + Hardy, Elias, 230, 305, 333. + + Hart, John, 289. + + Hart, Jonathan, 174. + + Hart, Thomas, 167, 330. + + Hauser, Frederick, 346, 347, 352. + + Haverhill, 190, 229. + + Hawawes, Nicholas, 285, 295. + + Hawthorn, Colonel, 49, 61. + + Hayes, John, 309, 310, 311. + + Hayward, Nehemiah, 168, 174. + + Hazen Family, 190, 191, 203, 245. + + Hazen House, 241. + + Hazen & White, 309, 311, 335. + + Hazen, Jarvis, Simonds, White & Co., 177, 178, 188, 200, 224, 229, etc. + + Hazen, John, 241, 243, 313. + + Hazen, Moses, 135, 150, 208, 227. + + Hazen, William, 149, 176, 177, 190, 311; + at St. John, 240, 272, 277, 311, 335, 344. + + Hewlett, Lieut.-Colonel Richard, 361, 362, 363, 368. + + Hovey, Stephen, 167. + + How, Captain Edward, 89, 98. + + Howlett, Ammi, 169, 174. + + Hubbard, William, 314. + + Huron Indians, 81, 86, 277, 294. + + Hutchinson, Hon. Thomas, 137, 208, 227, 313. + + + Ice-jam, 197, 198. + + Indian Church at Medoctec, 73, 74, 112. + + Indian Corn, 9, 110, 166, 260. + + Indian Cruelty, 6, 14, 39, 52, 53, 61, 69, 82, 83, 84. + + Indians (see Maliseets and Micmacs). + + Indian Pow-wows, 42, 144, 174, 284-289, 293, 294, 298. + + Indian Treaties, 77, 89, 90, 94, 143, 174, 263, 287. + + Indiantown, 290, 341. + + Inventory of effects, Simonds & White, 200, 201. + + Island of St. John, 108. + + + Jack, D. R., 58. + + Jadis, Captain, 259. + + Jarvis, Leonard, 176, 181, 192, 225, 240. + + Jarvis, Samuel Gardiner, 241. + + Jemseg, Post at, 30, 31, 32, 40, 61, 140, 316. + + Jenkins, Thomas, 178, 244, 280. + + Jesuits, 73. + + Jewett, Daniel, 173, 174. + + Johnson, The Chevalier, 113, 124. + + Joibert, 30, 33 (see Soulanges). + + Jones, John, 205, 280, 316, 352. + + Jones, Lieutenant Simeon, 361. + + + Kemble, Manor, 316, 332. + + Kennebec, 67, 72, 93, 94. + + Kennebeccasis, 55, 61, 234, 311. + + Kennedy, Captain Patrick, 362. + + Kimball, Richard, 174. + + King George's War, 72, 79, 86. + + King Philips's War, 38. + + King William's War, 38, 53, 72. + + Kingsclear, 75. + + Kingston, 61, 350, 352. + + King's Woods, 302. + + Kinney, Israel, 167, 180. + + + LaHontan, Baron, 57. + + LaJonquiere, 98, 102, 103. + + Langan, Thomas, 309. + + Larlee, John, 167, 174. + + LaTour, Charles, 22, 24-29, 86. + + LaTour, Lady, 24, 26, 27. + + LaValliere, 33. + + Lawrence, J. W., 25, 353. + + Lawrence, Governor, 96, 115, 122. + + Lawrence's Proclamations, 148, 206. + + Leaming, Rev. J., 349. + + Leavitt, Daniel, 181, 202, 244, 280, 350. + + Leavitt, Jonathan, 150, 178, 179, 202, 204, 244. + + LeBorgne, Alexander, 55, 79, 86, 91. + + LeBorgne, Francois, 87. + + LeLoutre, Abbe, 79, 94, 99, 113, 122. + + LeMoyne, 38, 41. + + Lescarbot, 9, 17. + + Lime at St. John, 176, 195, 196, 199, 236-238, 348. + + Lime-Kilns, Modern, 236, 237. + + L'Isle, Dieu, Abbe, 106, 107, 113. + + Livingston, Philip J., 208, 224, 225, 226. + + Loder's Creek, 280. + + Lloyd's Neck, 349, 355. + + Loler. Peter, 297. + + Long Island, 131. + + Louisburg, Capture of, 80, 115, 124, 125. + + Loverga, Father, 107, 113, 114. + + Loyalists, 261, 266, 328, 344, 348, 353, 358. + + Loyalist Agents, 346. + + Loyalist Regiments, 360, 361-366. + + Loyard, Jean B., 73-75, 77, 141. + + Lumbering, 308, 312. + + + Machias, 183, 262, 265, 277, 292, 335. + + Madawaska, 70, 102, 110, 111, 147, 249, 273. + + Madocawando, 38, 86, 87. + + Magistrates, Early, 196, 259, 322, 343. + + Mahogany (see Manawagonish). + + Maillard, Abbe, 254. + + Maliseets, Their origin and Customs, 5-14; + at war with the English, 40, 42, 43, 49, 51, 72, 79, 94, 161, + 263, 283, 333; + at Medoctec, 66-72, 141, 275; + at Aukpaque, 127, 141, 145, 216, 247, 250, 256, 273; + peace parleys, 77, 143, 284-289, 294; + claim the lands, 6, 112, 142, 156; + trade with the English, 145, 152, 161, 182, 196, 198, 300, 331. + + Magistrates, Early, 161, 196, 259, 280, 322, 343. + + Malouins, 20. + + Manawagonish, 48, 270, 272, 274, 279, 316, 341, 360. + + Marble, Isaac, 202, 204. + + Marichites, (Maliseets), 95. + + Marin, Sieur, 80, 82, 112. + + Marriages, 12, 28, 33, 64, 65, 86, 87, 170, 180, 205, 245, 326. + + Marsden, Joshua, 257. + + Marsh at St. John (see Sebaskastaggan). + + Marsh Bridge, 235. + + Marston, Benjamin, 279, 335, 350. + + "Martha," Ship, 362, 363. + + Martignon, Sieur de, 31. + + Martin, Joseph, 248, 267. + + Mascarene, Paul, 79, 83, 86, 88, 95, 141. + + Massacre at St. Anns, 135, 136, 252. + + Masse, Enemond, 20, 22. + + Massey, Brig. General, 269, 271, 276, 278, 279, 281. + + Masting Contract, 305. + + Mast-Pond, 304. + + Masts, 47, 54, 109, 258, 293, 297, 301, 303, 305, 309, 311. + + Mather, Rev. Dr., 355. + + Mauger, Joshua, 154, 165, 220, 227. + + Maugerville, 59, 146, 153, 206, 217, 227, 348; + progress of, 158-175, 233, 256, 260; + rebels of, 266, 267, 271, 315, 321. + + Mazerolle Settlement, 250. + + Medoctec Village, 6, 9, 13, 34, 36, 107, 110, 113, 273, 275, 298, 299; + plague at, 45; + Gyles at, 52, 59, 60, 68; + Pote at, 84, 85. + + Megabagaduce, 291. + + Members for Sunbury, 207, 225, 259, 305, 314, 319. + + Membertou, 7, 22. + + Menagoueche, 18, 19, 43, 46, 47, 49, 53, 59, 105, 133, 141, 179. + + Menaguashe, 183, 205, 286, 288, 294. + + Men-ah-quesk, 18, 150, 179, 185. + + Menneval, 38, 40. + + Menzies, John, 358. + + Menzies, Major Thomas, 365. + + Mercure, Michael, 249, 267, 296. + + Merveille, Captain, 21. + + Micmacs, 7, 10, 38, 42, 60, 77, 94, 262, 294. + + Middleton, Samuel, 176, 178. + + Mill Creek, 156. + + Mills at Nashwaak, 53, 209, 220-223, 226, 251; + at Maugerville, 159, 164, 324; + at St. John, 199, 231, 235; + at Oromocto, 312. + + Miramichi, 42, 121, 124, 305. + + "Mistake," The, 167, 316, 327. + + Mitchel, Lewis, 272. + + Mohawks, 12, 13. + + Moireau, Claude, 141. + + Monckton, Colonel R., 91, 96, 115, 125-134. + + Moncton, 161, 196. + + Montcalm, 124. + + Montesson, 107, 112. + + Mooers, Peter, 159, 162, 174. + + Moose, 10, 11, 216, 368. + + Morpain, Pierre de, 64. + + Morrisania, 256, 305, 312, 320. + + Morris, Charles, 147, 158, 160, 218, 227, 258, 365. + + Morris, Charles, Jr., 218, 222, 259. + + Morris, Major, 134. + + Morse, Colonel Robert, 279, 364. + + Murray, Captain, 116. + + Murray, Major Daniel, 360, 364. + + McCurdy, Captain, 126, 132, 134. + + McGregor, Rev. James, 342, 343. + + McKeen, William, 167, 244. + + McLean, General, 337. + + McNeal, Sergeant, 77. + + + Narantsouak, 67. + + Nashwaak, (Nachouac), 32, 40, 43, 47, 51, 53, 110, 196, 209, + 220, 223, 343. + + Navy Island, 17, 18, 53, 103. + + Negro Men, 52, 199. + + Neguedchecouniedoche, 33. + + Neptune, John, 298. + + Neptune, Lewis, 293. + + Nerepis, 37, 97, 103, 104, 105, 123, 333. + + Neuvillette, 49, 52. + + Nevers, Elisha, 169, 171, 174, 319. + + Nevers, Phinehas, 174, 180, 225, 259, 319. + + Newburyport, 167, 178, 236, 239, 240, 321. + + New Ireland, 291. + + "Newport," Ship captured, 46. + + Newton, Hon. Henry, 227, 343, 344. + + Newton, Philip, 343. + + New-town Township, 208, 212, 364. + + Nid d'Aigle, 91, 118. + + Noble, Rev. Seth, 171, 173, 266, 271, 321. + + + O'Bear, Port, 218. + + Odell, Jonathan, 361. + + Ogilvie, Rev. John, 208, 210, 214, 219. + + Oromocto, 123, 296, 297, 309, 310, 324, 347, 367. + + Ouigoudy, 17, 18. + + + Paddock, Adino, 361. + + Palmer, Daniel, 169, 171, 174, 319. + + Parr, Governor, 334, 348, 365. + + Parr-town, 179, 348, 352, 363, 365. + + Passamaquoddy, 176, 179, 195, 196, 204, 221, 268, 272. + + Passamaquoddy Indians, 46, 90, 120, 143, 276, 280, 293, 294. + + Peabody, Captain Francis, 149, 152, 153, 161, 174, 176, 178, 217, + 220, 228, 247, 322; + will of, 180, 323. + + Peabody, Samuel, 167, 174, 205, 244, 280, 307, 309, 311, 323. + + Peaslie, Robert, 176, 177, 181, 192. + + Pemaquid, 39, 42, 45, 49, 53. + + Pennoniac, 7. + + Penobscot, 42, 44, 52, 67, 85, 263, 276, 290, 337. + + Pepperrell, William, 80. + + Perkins' Island, 195, 211, 221. + + Perley, Israel, 149, 153, 174, 228, 259, 270, 271, 309, 320. + + Perley, Moses H., 300, 322, 353. + + Perley, Oliver, 161, 167, 174, 321. + + Perrot, 33. + + Peters, James, 346. + + Phillipps, Governor, 76. + + Pickard, Humphrey, 161, 169, 174, 321, 324. + + Pickett, David, 350. + + Pine-trees (see also Masts), 302, 309, 311. + + Plague on St. John River, 45. + + Plummer, Sylvanus, 172, 173. + + Pontgrave, 20. + + Porier, Senator, 116. + + Portland Point, 25, 157, 176-187, 194, 243, 244, 277; + arrival at, 178, 193, 261. + + Portneuf, 38, 40, 44. + + Port Royal, 7, 20, 22, 23, 24, 28, 41, 54, 64, 76. + + Post Houses on the St. John, 296, 317. + + Pote, Captain William, 81-85. + + Poutrincourt, 19, 20. + + Pow-wows, Indian, 42, 144, 174, 284-289, 293, 294, 298. + + Preble, John, 270, 273. + + Prescott & Co., 269. + + Price, Edmund, 234, 316. + + Prices of Goods, etc., 144, 161, 168, 174, 182, 184, 260, 306, 307. + + Prince William, 361, 365. + + Privateers, 183, 204, 265, 268, 277, 279, 281, 316, 330. + + + Quinton, Hugh, 156, 167, 171, 174, 244, 269, 289, 315. + + + Ralleau, 17. + + Ralle, Missionary, 43. + + Regan, Jeremiah, 352. + + Religious Teachers, 247. + + Relics, Indian, 5, 9. + + Rideout, Nicholas, 174. + + Ring, Zebedee, 205, 244, 280. + + Robichaux, 86, 87, 90, 92, 133. + + Rogers, Captain Jeremiah, 126, 132. + + Rogers, Nathaniel, 209, 219, 223. + + Rous, Captain John, 97, 100, 101, 115. + + Route to Canada, 102, 108, 111, 112, 296. + + Rowley, 317. + + Royal Fencible American Regiment, 276, 281, 336. + + Rum, 183, 193. + + Rushagonis, 311. + + + Salamanca, 367, 368. + + Saturday Night in 1764, 185. + + Savary, Judge, 116. + + Saw-mills, 53, 159, 164, 199, 209, 213, 220, 221, 223, 251, 312, 324. + + Say, Gervas, 167, 169, 170, 174, 205, 244, 272, 289, 316, 326. + + Sayre, Rev. John, 346. + + Scalps, Rewards offered for, 80, 122. + + Scott, Major, 127, 134. + + Seabury, Rev. Samuel, 345. + + Secondon (see Chkoudun). + + Sedgewick, Major Robert, 29. + + Seebaskastaggan Marsh, 176, 231, 234. + + Seigniories, 30, 31, 32, 55, 58, 251. + + Sharman, Dr., 288, 337, 338. + + Sheffield (see Maugerville). + + Sheep for settlers, 224. + + Ship-building, 203, 205, 312, 316. + + Ships, Transport, 348, 351, 353. + + Ship-wrecks, 203, 241. + + Shirley, Governor, 79, 95, 115, 121. + + Shorne, Richard, 208, 215, 225, 226, 259. + + Siege of Fort Nachouac, 49. + + Simonds Family, 190. + + Simonds, James, 149-152, 161, 167, 174, 176, 177, 184, 190, 194, + 195, 198, 207, 210, 213, 221, 229-235, 238, 261, 262, 265, + 314, 332. + + Simonds, Richard, 150, 152, 177, 181, 188, 192. + + Simon, Recollet Missionary, 36, 43, 44, 46, 52, 56, 59, 67, 72, 141. + + Small, Colonel, 277. + + Small-pox, 327. + + Smith, Jonathan, 169, 171, 174. + + Smith, Rev. Curryl, 225. + + Smith, Stephen, 265. + + Soulanges, Sieur de, 30, 32. + + Spry, Captain William, 208, 210, 255, 327. + + Stamp Act, 222. + + St. Anns, Acadians at, 78, 120, 122, 123, 133, 248; + massacre at St. Annes, 135, 136, 252; + Indian Claims at, 146, 156, 175; + trading post at, 198, 220, 308, 325; + the Loyalists at, 366, 367. + + St. Aubin, Ambroise, 175, 183, 263, 269, 299. + + St. Castin, Baron, 38, 46, 64, 85, 86. + + St. Croix Island, 10, 19. + + St. John, name of City, 179. + + St. John Harbor, 17, 48, 150, 176, 239, 347. + + St. John River, 18, 34, 93, 120, 215, 347, 362; + Cadillac's description, 109; + inundations of, 63, 110, 216. + + St. John's River Society, 210, 214-227, 309. + + St. Vallier, Bishop, 34, 140. + + Sterling, Captain Walter, 333. + + Stickney, Isaac, 167, 174. + + Stone age, 5, 9. + + Storey, William, 179, 202. + + Straton Brothers, 297. + + Street, Samuel Denny, 321, 337, 352. + + Studholme, Gilfred, at Fort Frederick, 233; + at Fort Howe, 248, 262, 270, 274, 278, 279, 281, 283, 295, 316, + 321, 336, 345, 350. + + Sunbury County, 206, etc., 258, 259, 348. + + Sunbury Township, 175, 208, 212, 364. + + + Tablet, Medoctec, 73, 74, 300. + + Tapley, Alexander, 167, 168, 174. + + Tapley, Samuel, 174. + + Taxous, 42. + + Temiscouata, 111, 121. + + Temple, Sir Thomas, 30. + + Thoma, Chief, 143. + + Thoma, Pierre, 183, 263, 275, 285, 288, 290, 293, 298, 299, 300, 301. + + Thompson, Lieut.-Colonel, Benjamin, 345, 361. + + Thury, Missionary, 43, 44, 46, 52. + + Tidmarsh, Giles, 168, 174, 180, 325. + + Tilley, Sir S. L., 351. + + Tinker, Captain William, 351. + + Tory's Soliloquy, 359. + + Townships, 208, 211, 212, 309, 364. + + Transport Ships, 348, 351, 353. + + Treaties, 77, 89, 90, 94, 143. + + Truck-houses, 141, 143, 144, 161, 196. + + "Two Sisters," Transport Ship, 355. + + + "Ulysees," Sloop, 126. + + "Union," Transport Ship, 348, 349, 350. + + Upper Cove, 180. + + Upham, Joshua, 346, 360. + + Upton, Samuel, 168. + + + Van Buskirk, Colonel Abraham, 362, 368. + + Vaudreuil, 33, 64, 73, 75, 93, 112, 117, 121, 135. + + Vergor, Sieur de, 101. + + Vessels of Simonds, Hazen & White, 202-204, 222. + + Vienneau Family, 250. + + Villebon, Sieur de, 38, 40-54, 61, 63, 251, 300. + + Villieu, 44, 47, 53, 57, 133. + + + Wade, Philip, 308, 366. + + Wages, 174, 193, 205, 239, 260. + + Waldron, Major, 38. + + Walnut (see Butternut). + + Ward, Clarence, 366. + + Ward, Major John, 366. + + Washademoak, 82, 94, 111. + + Washington, George, 263. + + Wasson, John, 174. + + Watson, Brook, 354. + + Webster, Mr., 171. + + Webster, Samuel, 181. + + Wellman, Mr., 171. + + Wentworth, Governor, 302. + + West, Captain, 272, 275. + + White, James, 149, 152, 193, 201, 245, 261, 311, 321, 343; + arrival at St. John, 178, 179, 239; + at Crown Point, 192; + second contract, 229, 230; + dealings with Indians, 182, 272, 273, 283, 289, 295. + + Whitney, Samuel, 170, 174. + + Willard, Captain, 325, 358, 359. + + Wilmot, Governor Montagu, 175, 177, 218, 219. + + Winslow, Edward, 346, 360, 364, 365. + + Winslow, Lieut.-Colonel John, 116. + + Winthrop, Governor, 26. + + Wood, Rev. Thomas, 171, 254, 255, 299. + + Woodboats, First, 313. + + Woodman, James, 164, 205, 244, 272, 280, 290, 324, 352. + + Woolastook, 18. + + Woodstock, 69, 73. + + Wordens, Fort at, 91, 118. + + + Xavier, Francois, 77, 183, 286, 287. + + + Young Royal Highland Emigrants, 336. + + + + +ILLUSTRATIONS. + + + Page + Samuel de Champlain Frontispiece + Indian Encampment and Chief 15 + Champlain's Plan of St. John Harbor 18 + Title Page Bp. St. Vallier's Book 35 + Fort Nachouac 50 + Signature of Sieur de Freneuse 58 + Signature of John Gyles 63 + Plan of Old Medoctec Village 66 + Medoctec Tablet 74 + Bell of Old Medoctec Chapel 76 + Signature of Jean Loyard 78 + Paul Mascarene 88 + Old Fort at Worden's 91 + Woodman's Point--site of Fort Boishebert 104 + Colonel Robert Monckton 125 + Sketch Map of River St. John in 1758 129 + Isle au Garce, or Emenenic 130 + Inscription on Medoctec Stone 141 + Plan--Aukpaque and Surroundings 146 + Bruce's Plan of St. John Harbor 151 + Signature of Peter Fisher 155 + Plan of Maugerville 163 + The Congregational Church at Maugerville 172 + A Cottage of Today 185 + Signatures 188 + Ice-jam, 1902 197 + Plan of Townships 212 + Plan of Grants to Simonds & White 231 + Old Hazen House and Grounds 242 + Signature Joseph Mathurin Bourg 253 + Fort Howe in 1781 278 + Signature of Major G. Studholme 281 + Fort Howe in 1818 282 + St. John Harbor, showing Mast Dock 304 + + + + + * * * * * + + + + +Transcriber's Note: + + Author's archaic and variable spelling, hyphenation, and quoting + practices are preserved. + + Author's punctuation style is preserved. + + Illustrations have been moved closer to their relevant paragraphs, + but page numbers in the list of illustrations have not been + changed. + + Footnotes moved to below relevant paragraphs. + + Passages in italics indicated by _underscores_. + + Passages in bold indicated by =equal signs=. + + Typographical problems have been changed and are listed below. + + +Transcriber's Changes: + + Page 7: Was 'a lowed' (Bessabez, the sagamore of the Penobscot + Indians, =allowed= the body of the dead chief to be taken + home) + + Page 8: Was 'o' (One =of= the islands in that vicinity the early + English settlers afterwards called "Isle of Vines,") + + Page 12: Was 'Baird' (=Biard= relates that a certain sagamore on + hearing that the young King of France was unmarried,) + + Page 14: Was 'therr' (This fact should be remembered to their credit + by those who most abhor =their= bloodthirstiness and + cruelty.) + + Page 19: Was 'villiage' (Chkoudun lived at "Menagoueche" in his + fortified =village= on Navy Island when Champlain invited + him to go with the Sieur de Poutrincourt) + + Page 19: Was 'Cahmplain' (Chkoudun lived at "Menagoueche" in his + fortified village on Navy Island when =Champlain= invited + him to go with the Sieur de Poutrincourt) + + Page 20: Was 'Baird' (was the scene of an exciting incident of which + =Biard= has left us a picturesque description.) + + Page 27: Was 'beseigers' (For three days Madame la Tour bravely + repelled the =besiegers= and obliged them to retire beyond + the reach of her guns.) + + Page 36: as per errata note: Was 'bllier afterwards became the + mission of' (The islands which the bishop mentions are the + well known and =beautiful islands below the mouth of= the + Keswick stream.) + + Page 40: Was 'commissioned' (Villebon was favorably received and + returned with a =commission= from the king to command in + Acadia.) + + Page 43: Was 'ingrediants' (At this time they presented the + Indians with a bag or two of flour with some prunes as + =ingredients= for a feast.) + + Page 43: Added closing double quote ("July 10, 1696. M. Thury, + missionary, having arrived with Taxous, chief of the + Canibas and other savages from Pentagouet; brandy, 1 + gallon; tobacco, 2 =lbs."=) + + Page 48: Added closing double-quote (whereby they will be greatly + strengthened and the reducing of them rendered more + =difficult."=) + + Page 49: Was 'the the' (Villebon assigned to Baptiste and Rene + d'Amours the duty of heading =the= Indians and opposing the + landing of the English.) + + Page 51: Was 'opertion' (the English again got their guns into + =operation=, but la Cote,) + + Page 52: Was 'rendevous' (with ammunition and supplies and sent on + to the =rendezvous= at Penobscot.) + + Page 55: Was 'the the' (Mathieu's seigniory included all =the= land + "between Gemisik and Nachouac,") + + Page 63: Was 'Mademe (Some days after he took an affecting leave of + =Madame= d'Amours and his master went down to) + + Page 63: Was 'fourtunes' (The next year France and England were + again at war and in the course of the conflict the + =fortunes= of the d'Amours) + + Page 71: Was 'in in' (However, early =in= the morning we took our + loads of moose flesh) + + Page 77: Was 'sterness' (His disposition had nothing of =sternness=, + yet he was equally beloved) + + Page 79: Added closing double quote (to induce Mr. Shirley to allow + them to settle again in their villages, and to leave their + missionaries undisturbed as they were before the =war."=) + + Page 83: Removed closing double quote (we Incamped this Night at + this afforsaid Indian Village =Apog.= (Aukpaque.)") + + Page 83: Added closing double quote (or Bread, we Incamped + this Night at this afforsaid Indian Village Apog. + =(Aukpaque.)"=) + + Page 89: Was 'Mascaerne' (Annapolis early in 1744, which + attack failed on account of the energy and bravery of + =Mascarene=.) + + Page 98: Added closing double quote ("It is =desirable,"= he writes, + "that the savages should unite in opposing the English) + + Page 101: Was 'main-maist' (Vergor had a new =main-mast= cut and + drawn from the woods by the crew of the St. Francis) + + Page 101: Was 'illict' (St. Francis was confiscated for engaging in + =illicit= commerce in the province of his Britannic + Majesty.) + + Page 102: Was 'warike' (she was engaged in furnishing =warlike= + munitions to the Indian enemy) + + Page 102: Was 'anticipatd' (The Marquis de la Jonquiere + =anticipated= great advantages from the overland route of + communication.) + + Page 111: Was 'benfits' (It was claimed that many =benefits= would + follow, chiefly that the lumbermen) + + Page 115: Was 'removel' (about the =removal= of the Acadians from + Chignecto and the River St. John.) + + Page 124: Added closing double quote (and the Micmacs he would be + able to form a camp of 600 or 700 men, and Drucour could + frequently place the besiegers between two =fires."=) + + Page 133: Was 'Menagoeche' (the English were engaged in rebuilding + the old Fort at =Menagoueche=; the Indians of the River + St. John had retired with the Rev. Father Germain,) + + Page 141: original spelling: Guidry ... Guirdy ("At Menagoueck, the + year of grace 1681, the 2 June, have baptized according to + the forms of the Church, Jeanne =Guidry, child of Claude + Guirdy= dit la Verdure and of Keskoua) + + Page 144: Was 'arrranged' (Gerrish agreed to buy goods and sell them + to on furs sold, and the prices to be so =arranged= that + the Indians) + + Page 144: Was 'skin skin' (the same standard: Moose skin, 1-1/2 + "beavers"; bear =skin=, 1-1/3 "beavers"; 3 sable skins, 1 + "beaver"; 6 mink skins, 1 "beaver"; 10 ermine skins, 1 + "beaver";) + + Page 144: Was '1 1-3' (the same standard: Moose skin, 1-1/2 + "beavers"; bear skin, =1-1/3= "beavers"; 3 sable skins, 1 + "beaver"; 6 mink skins, 1 "beaver"; 10 ermine skins, 1 + "beaver";) + + Page 146: Was 'Goverment' (the vicinity of their village was early + recognized by the =Government= of Nova Scotia) + + Page 147: Was 'rendevous' (The island opposite Aukpaque, called + Indian Island, was the place where the Indians of the + river made their annual =rendezvous=.) + + Page 148: Was 'river' (However, very shortly after Monckton's + occupation of the St. John =River= Lawrence issued the + first of his celebrated proclamations) + + Page 165: Was 'and and' (Grog was at that time freely dispensed in + the army =and= navy, and Mauger erected a distillery) + + Page 165: Was 'inculding' (As the business was lucrative he soon + accumulated much property in and around Halifax, + =including= the well known Mauger's Beach) + + Page 175: Added closing double quote (M. WILMOT. RICH'D BULKELEY, + =Secretary."= }) + + Page 190: Was 'Phippin (land was first described by Judith + =Phippen=, which proved to be the headland now called + "Point Judith.") + + Page 190: Was 'Parley' (the ancestors of many well known families in + America, bearing the familiar names of Peabody, =Perley=, + Beardsley) + + Page 190: Was 'Ticonderga' (with his cousin Captain John Hazen in + the campaign against Fort =Ticonderoga=.) + + Page 198: Was 'ilustration' (See =illustration= on preceding page of + a recent ice-jam at this place.) + + Page 203: Was 'rom' (She made occasional voyages =from= St. John to + St. Croix in the West Indies. ) + + Page 219: Was 'and and' ("consigned to Richard Barlow storekeeper at + St. John's =and= passenger on board for the use of the St. + John's society.") + + Page 222: Was 'o' (The avidity manifested by the agent =of= the St. + John's River Society in seeking favors at the hands of + government would seems to countenance the idea) + + Page 222: Added closing double-quote (to the express condition of + the Grant will absolutely be declared =forfeited."=) + + Page 224: Added closing double-quote (Proprietors, agent with whom + you will please correspond on any occurrence regarding the + =settlement."=) + + Page 247: Was 'Bailey' (In the summer of 1767, Father Charles + Francois =Bailly= came to the River St. John) + + Page 255: Was 'here' (but up to this time =there= had been no + opportunity for church-going.) + + Page 255: Was 'pslams' (with the exception of a copy of Watt's + =psalms= and hymns owned by James White.) + + Page 261: Was 'rooom' (but alas for them the force of events left no + =room= for neutrality.) + + Page 265: Was 'and, and' (The people of Machias were particularly + fond of plundering their neighbors, =and= that place was + termed) + + Page 267: Was 'commissiary' (The =commissary= general there was + directed to deliver them one barrel of gunpowder) + + Page 267: Was 'of of' (one barrel of gunpowder, 350 flints and 250 + weight =of= lead from the colony's stores;) + + Page 273: Was 'Aukaque' (John Allan and his party arrived at the + Indian village of =Aukpaque= where forty or fifty + Indians) + + Page 279: Added closing double-quote (Capt. Benjamin Marston on + board his vessel the ="Brittania"=, which was then lying + at anchor) + + Page 280: Was 'Passamoquoddy' (He came to =Passamaquoddy= about + 1770, settled there and was appointed a justice of the + peace in 1774.) + + Page 298: Was 'Perre' (We may therefore conclude that =Pierre= Thoma + did not long survive his old friend and Patron Michael + Francklin.) + + Page 305: Was 'Franklin's' (=Francklin's= political influence at + Halifax and the personal friendship of Sir Andrew Snape + Hamond,) + + Page 307: Was 'Franklin' (Col. =Francklin= procured at Halifax many + articles needed for the mast cutters, such as chains, + blocks and tackle, camp supplies, etc.) + + Page 309: Was 'Frankcklin' (as we expected when Col. =Francklin= + left this place.) + + Page 311: Changed single to double closing-quote (he has raised the + price of provision and men and Ox labour--oxen to 7s. 6d. + pr. pair pr. day and men in =proportion."=) + + Page 311: Was 'renumerative' (The masting business seems to have + been =remunerative=, and was the means of putting in + circulation a considerable amount of specie, which was + greatly appreciated) + + Page 315: Was 'jealously' (This election helped to intensify the + ill-will and =jealousy= already existing between the "old" + and "new" inhabitants.) + + Page 320: Moved onto new line ("=County of Sunbury=:--Be it + Remembered that on the Seventh Day of July, 1774, + Nathaniel Barker of Maugerville in the County of) + + Page 324: Was 'the the' (Item, to my daughter Heprabeth I give three + hundred dollars to be paid by my two eldest sons in + household goods on =the= day of her marriage.) + + Page 326: Was 'Gearge' ((Witnesses.) Daniel Palmer, Fran's Peabody, + Sam'l Whitney, Richard Estey, =George= Hayward, David + Palmer, Edw'd Coy.") + + Page 326: Was 'caol' (Joseph Garrison is said to have been the first + of the settlers to engage in mining =coal= at Grand + Lake.) + + Page 327: Was 'vacciantion' (Inoculation, it may be observed, was + regarded as the best preventative of small-pox before + =vaccination= was introduced by Dr. Jenner.) + + Page 333: Was 'Baubiers' ("At the entrance of a small river called + =Baubier's= River or narrow Piece [Nerepis] the land a + considerable distance back is good upland but no + Interval.) + + Page 338: Added comma (One son, George Frederick Street, was a judge + of the supreme court, =another,= John Ambrose Street, was + attorney general of the province and leader of the + government) + + Page 346: Was 'Bostford' (The agents chosen were Messrs. Amos + =Botsford=, Samuel Cummings and Frederick Hauser.) + + Page 348: Was 'Bridgwater' ("Ann," Capt. Clark; "=Bridgewater=," + Capt. Adnet; "Favorite," Capt. Ellis;) + + Page 358: Was 'Bridgwater' (The =Bridgewater=, one of the Spring + fleet, came again in June, and made a third voyage in + October.) + + Page 365: Was 'glimse' (We get a =glimpse= of the distress and + perplexity of the men of the loyal regiments in one of + Edward Winslow's letters to Ward Chipman.) + + Page 369: Was 'perserverance' (their courage, their =perseverance=, + their clear prevision of the immense importance of race + unity.) + + Page 370: Was 'severly' (And still we say--all honor to the brave + hearts that sacrificed so much and suffered so =severely= + for the preservation) + + Index: Unclear in original (Acadians, encouraged to leave N. S. + Peninsula, 96, 101; settled on River St. John, 107, 114, + 117, 120, 122, 133, 145, 234, =248=, 249, 255, 309;) + + Index: Was 'Zephamiah' (Briggs, =Zephaniah=, 171.) + + Index: Was 'Dierville' (=Diereville=, 40, 54.) + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Glimpses of the Past, by W. O. Raymond + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GLIMPSES OF THE PAST *** + +***** This file should be named 31368.txt or 31368.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/3/1/3/6/31368/ + +Produced by Robin Monks, Dan Horwood and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. If you +do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the +rules is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose +such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and +research. They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do +practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks. Redistribution is +subject to the trademark license, especially commercial +redistribution. + + + +*** START: FULL LICENSE *** + +THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE +PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK + +To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free +distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work +(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project +Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project +Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at +http://gutenberg.org/license). + + +Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic works + +1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to +and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property +(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all +the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy +all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession. +If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the +terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or +entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. + +1.B. "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark. It may only be +used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who +agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few +things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works +even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See +paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement +and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. See paragraph 1.E below. + +1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation" +or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the +collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an +individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are +located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from +copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative +works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg +are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project +Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by +freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of +this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with +the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by +keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project +Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others. + +1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern +what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in +a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check +the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement +before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or +creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project +Gutenberg-tm work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning +the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United +States. + +1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: + +1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate +access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently +whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the +phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project +Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, +copied or distributed: + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + +1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived +from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is +posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied +and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees +or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work +with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the +work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 +through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the +Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or +1.E.9. + +1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted +with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution +must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional +terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked +to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the +permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. + +1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this +work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm. + +1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this +electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without +prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with +active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project +Gutenberg-tm License. + +1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, +compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any +word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or +distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than +"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version +posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org), +you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a +copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon +request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other +form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm +License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. + +1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, +performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works +unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. + +1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing +access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided +that + +- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from + the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method + you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is + owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he + has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the + Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments + must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you + prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax + returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and + sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the + address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to + the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation." + +- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies + you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he + does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm + License. You must require such a user to return or + destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium + and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of + Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any + money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the + electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days + of receipt of the work. + +- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free + distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works. + +1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm +electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set +forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from +both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael +Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark. Contact the +Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. + +1.F. + +1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable +effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread +public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm +collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain +"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or +corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual +property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a +computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by +your equipment. + +1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right +of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project +Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project +Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all +liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal +fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT +LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE +PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE +TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE +LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR +INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH +DAMAGE. + +1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a +defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can +receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a +written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you +received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with +your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with +the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a +refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity +providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to +receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy +is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further +opportunities to fix the problem. + +1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth +in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER +WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO +WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. + +1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied +warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. +If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the +law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be +interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by +the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any +provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. + +1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the +trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone +providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance +with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, +promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works, +harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, +that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do +or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm +work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any +Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause. + + +Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm + +Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of +electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers +including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists +because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from +people in all walks of life. + +Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the +assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's +goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will +remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project +Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure +and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations. +To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation +and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 +and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org. + + +Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive +Foundation + +The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit +501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the +state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal +Revenue Service. The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification +number is 64-6221541. Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at +http://pglaf.org/fundraising. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent +permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws. + +The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S. +Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered +throughout numerous locations. Its business office is located at +809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email +business@pglaf.org. Email contact links and up to date contact +information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official +page at http://pglaf.org + +For additional contact information: + Dr. Gregory B. Newby + Chief Executive and Director + gbnewby@pglaf.org + + +Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg +Literary Archive Foundation + +Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide +spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of +increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be +freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest +array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations +($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt +status with the IRS. + +The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating +charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United +States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a +considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up +with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations +where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To +SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any +particular state visit http://pglaf.org + +While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we +have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition +against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who +approach us with offers to donate. + +International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make +any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from +outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. + +Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation +methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other +ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. +To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate + + +Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic +works. + +Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm +concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared +with anyone. For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project +Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. + + +Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S. +unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. |