A HALF-CENTURY OF CONFLICT BY FRANCIS PARKMAN VOL. II CONTENTS CHAPTER XV. 1697-1741. FRANCE IN THE FAR WEST. French Explorers. --Le Sueur on the St. Peter's. --Canadians on theMissouri. --Juchereau de Saint-Denis. --Bénard de la Harpe on RedRiver. --Adventures of Du Tisné. --Bourgmont visits the Comanches. --TheBrothers Mallet in Colorado and New Mexico. --Fabry de la Bruyère. CHAPTER XVI. 1716-1761. SEARCH FOR THE PACIFIC. The Western Sea. --Schemes for reaching it. --Journey of Charlevoix. --TheSioux Mission. --Varennes de la Vérendrye. --His Enterprise. --HisDisasters. --Visits the Mandans. --His Sons. --Their Search for the WesternSea. --Their Adventures. --The Snake Indians. --A Great War-Party. --The RockyMountains. --A Panic. --Return of the Brothers. --Their Wrongs and their Fate. CHAPTER XVII. 1700-1750. THE CHAIN OF POSTS. Opposing Claims. --Attitude of the Rival Nations. --America a FrenchContinent. --England a Usurper. --French Demands. --MagnanimousProposals. --Warlike Preparation. --Niagara. --Oswego. --Crown Point. --ThePasses of the West secured. CHAPTER XVIII. 1744, 1745. A MAD SCHEME. War of the Austrian Succession. --The French seize Canseau and attackAnnapolis. --Plan of Reprisal. --William Vanghan. --Governor Shirley. --Headvises an Attack on Louisbourg. --The Assembly refuses, but at lastconsents. --Preparation. --William Pepperrell. --George Whitefield. --ParsonMoody. --The Soldiers. --The Provincial Navy. --Commodore Warren. --Shirley asan Amateur Soldier. --The Fleet sails. CHAPTER XIX. 1745. LOUISBOURG BESIEGED. Seth Pomeroy. --The Voyage. --Canseau. --Unexpected Succors. --Delays. --Louisbourg. --The Landing. --The Grand Battery taken. --French Cannon turnedon the Town. --Weakness of Duchambon. --Sufferings of the Besiegers. --TheirHardihood. --Their Irregular Proceedings. --Joseph Sherburn. --AmateurGunnery. --Camp Frolics. --Sectarian Zeal. --Perplexities of Pepperrell. CHAPTER XX. 1745. LOUISBOURG TAKEN. A Rash Resolution. --The Island Battery. --The Volunteers. --The Attack. --TheRepulse. --Capture of the "Vigilant. "--A Sortie. --Skirmishes. --Despondencyof the French. --English Camp threatened. --Pepperrell and Warren. --Warren'sPlan. --Preparation for a General Attack. --Flag of Truce. --Capitulation. --State of the Fortress. --Parson Moody. --Soldiers dissatisfied. --Disorders. --Army and Navy. --Rejoicings. --England repays Provincial Outlays. CHAPTER XXI. 1745-1747. DUC D'ANVILLE. Louisbourg after the Conquest. --Mutiny. --Pestilence. --StephenWilliams. --His Diary. --Scheme of conquering Canada. --Newcastle'sPromises. --Alarm in Canada. --Promises broken. --Plan against CrownPoint. --Startling News. --D'Anville's Fleet. --Louisbourg to beavenged. --Disasters of D'Anville. --Storm. --Pestilence. --Famine. --Death ofD'Anville. --Suicide of the Vice-Admiral. --Ruinous Failure. --ReturnVoyage. --Defeat of La Jonquière. CHAPTER XXII. 1745-1747. ACADIAN CONFLICTS. Efforts of France. --Apathy of Newcastle. --Dilemma of Acadians. --TheirCharacter. --Danger of the Province. --Plans of Shirley. --AcadianPriests. --Political Agitators. --Noble's Expedition. --Ramesay atBeaubassin. --Noble at Grand-Pré. --A Winter March. --Defeat and Death ofNoble. --Grand-Pré re-occupied by the English. --Threats of Ramesay againstthe Acadians. --The British Ministry will not protect them. CHAPTER XXIII. 1740-1747. WAR AND POLITICS. Governor and Assembly. --Saratoga destroyed. --William Johnson. --BorderRavages. --Upper Ashuelot. --French "Military Movements. "--NumberFour. --Niverville's Attack. --Phineas Stevens. --The French repulsed. CHAPTER XXIV. 1745-1748. FORT MASSACHUSETTS. Frontier Defence. --Northfield and its Minister. --Military Criticisms ofRev. Benjamin Doolittle. --Rigaud de Vaudreuil. --His Great War-Party. --Heattacks Fort Massachusetts. --Sergeant Hawks and his Garrison. --A GallantDefence. --Capitulation. --Humanity of the French. --Ravages. --Return to CrownPoint. --Peace of Aix-la Chapelle. APPENDIX. A. FRANCE CLAIMS ALL NORTH AMERICA EXCEPT THE SPANISH COLONIES. B. FRENCH VIEWS OF THE SIEGE OF LOUISBOURG. C. SHIRLEY'S RELATIONS WITH THE ACADIANS. A HALF-CENTURY OF CONFLICT. CHAPTER XV. 1697-1741. FRANCE IN THE FAR WEST. FRENCH EXPLORERS. --LE SUEUR ON THE ST. PETER'S. --CANADIANS ON THEMISSOURI. --JUCHEREAU DE SAINT-DENIS. --BÉNARD DE LA HARPE ON REDRIVER. --ADVENTURES OF DU TISNÉ. --BOURGMONT VISITS THE COMANCHES. --THEBROTHERS MALLET IN COLORADO AND NEW MEXICO. --FABRY DE LA BRUYÈRE. The occupation by France of the lower Mississippi gave a strong impulse tothe exploration of the West, by supplying a base for discovery, stimulatingenterprise by the longing to find gold mines, open trade with New Mexico, and get a fast hold on the countries beyond the Mississippi in anticipationof Spain; and to these motives was soon added the hope of finding anoverland way to the Pacific. It was the Canadians, with their indomitablespirit of adventure, who led the way in the path of discovery. As a bold and hardy pioneer of the wilderness, the Frenchman in America hasrarely found his match. His civic virtues withered under the despotism ofVersailles, and his mind and conscience were kept in leading-strings by anabsolute Church; but the forest and the prairie offered him an unbridledliberty, which, lawless as it was, gave scope to his energies, till thesesavage wastes became the field of his most noteworthy achievements. Canada was divided between two opposing influences. On the one side werethe monarchy and the hierarchy, with their principles of order, subordination, and obedience; substantially at one in purpose, since bothwished to keep the colony within manageable bounds, domesticate it, andtame it to soberness, regularity, and obedience. On the other side was thespirit of liberty, or license, which was in the very air of this wildernesscontinent, reinforced in the chiefs of the colony by a spirit of adventureinherited from the Middle Ages, and by a spirit of trade born of presentopportunities; for every official in Canada hoped to make a profit, if nota fortune, out of beaverskins. Kindred impulses, in ruder forms, possessedthe humbler colonists, drove them into the forest, and made them hardywoodsmen and skilful bushfighters, though turbulent and lawless members ofcivilized society. Time, the decline of the fur-trade, and the influence of the CanadianChurch gradually diminished this erratic spirit, and at the same timeimpaired the qualities that were associated with it. The Canadian became amore stable colonist and a steadier farmer; but for forest journeyings andforest warfare he was scarcely his former self. At the middle of theeighteenth century we find complaints that the race of _voyageurs_ isgrowing scarce. The taming process was most apparent in the central andlower parts of the colony, such as the Côte de Beaupré and the oppositeshore of the St. Lawrence, where the hands of the government and of theChurch were strong; while at the head of the colony, --that is, aboutMontreal and its neighborhood, --which touched the primeval wilderness, anuncontrollable spirit of adventure still held its own. Here, at thebeginning of the century, this spirit was as strong as it had ever been, and achieved a series of explorations and discoveries which revealed theplains of the Far West long before an Anglo-Saxon foot had pressed theirsoil. The expedition of one Le Sueur to what is now the State of Minnesota may betaken as the starting-point of these enterprises. Le Sueur had visited thecountry of the Sioux as early as 1683. He returned thither in 1689 with thefamous _voyageur_ Nicolas Perrot. [Footnote: _Journal historique del'Etablissement des Français à la Louisiane_, 43. ] Four years later, Count Frontenac sent him to the Sioux country again. The declared purposeof the mission was to keep those fierce tribes at peace with theirneighbors; but the Governor's enemies declared that a contraband trade inbeaver was the true object, and that Frontenac's secretary was to have halfthe profits. [Footnote: _Champigny au Ministre, 4 Nov. _ 1693. ] LeSueur returned after two years, bringing to Montreal a Sioux chief and hissquaw, --the first of the tribe ever seen there. He then went to France, andrepresented to the court that he had built a fort at Lake Pepin, on theupper Mississippi; that he was the only white man who knew the languages ofthat region; and that if the French did not speedily seize upon it, theEnglish, who were already trading upon the Ohio, would be sure to do so. Thereupon he asked for the command of the upper Mississippi, with all itstributary waters, together with a monopoly of its fur-trade for ten years, and permission to work its mines, promising that if his petition weregranted, he would secure the country to France without expense to the King. The commission was given him. He bought an outfit and sailed for Canada, but was captured by the English on the way. After the peace he returned toFrance and begged for a renewal of his commission. Leave was given him towork the copper and lead mines, but not to trade in beaver-skins. He nowformed a company to aid him in his enterprise, on which a cry rose inCanada that under pretence of working mines he meant to trade inbeaver, --which is very likely, since to bring lead and copper in barkcanoes to Montreal from the Mississippi and Lake Superior would cost farmore than the metal was worth. In consequence of this clamor his commissionwas revoked. Perhaps it was to compensate him for the outlays into which he had beendrawn that the colonial minister presently authorized him to embark forLouisiana and pursue his enterprise with that infant colony, instead ofCanada, as his base of operations. Thither, therefore, he went; and inApril, 1700, set out for the Sioux country with twenty-five men, in a smallvessel of the kind called a "felucca, " still used in the Mediterranean. Among the party was an adventurous youth named Penecaut, a ship-carpenterby trade, who had come to Louisiana with Iberville two years before, andwho has left us an account of his voyage with Le Sueur. [Footnote:_Relation de Penecaut_. In my possession is a contemporary manuscriptof this narrative, for which I am indebted to the kindness of General J. Meredith Reade. ] The party slowly made their way, with sail and oar, against the muddycurrent of the Mississippi, till they reached the Arkansas, where theyfound an English trader from Carolina. On the 10th of June, spent withrowing, and half starved, they stopped to rest at a point fifteen leaguesabove the mouth of the Ohio. They had staved off famine with the buds andleaves of trees; but now, by good luck, one of them killed a bear, and, soon after, the Jesuit Limoges arrived from the neighboring mission of theIllinois, in a canoe well stored with provisions. Thus refreshed, theypassed the mouth of the Missouri on the 13th of July, and soon after weremet by three Canadians, who brought them a letter from the Jesuit Marest, warning them that the river was infested by war-parties. In fact, theypresently saw seven canoes of Sioux warriors, bound against the Illinois;and not long after, five Canadians appeared, one of whom had been badlywounded in a recent encounter with a band of Outagamies, Sacs, andWinnebagoes bound against the Sioux. To take one another's scalps had beenfor ages the absorbing business and favorite recreation of all theseWestern tribes. At or near the expansion of the Mississippi called LakePepin, the voyagers found a fort called Fort Perrot, after its builder;[Footnote: Penecaut, _Journal. Procès-verbal de la Prise de Possession duPays des Nadouessioux, etc. , par Nicolas Perrot_, 1689. Fort Perrotseems to have been built in 1685, and to have stood near the outlet of thelake, probably on the west side. Perrot afterwards built another fort, called Fort St. Antoine, a little above, on the east bank. The position ofthese forts has been the subject of much discussion, and cannot beascertained with precision. It appears by the _Prise de Possession_, cited above, that there was also, in 1689, a temporary French post near themouth of the Wisconsin. ] and on an island near the upper end of the lake, another similar structure, built by Le Sueur himself on his last visit tothe place. These forts were mere stockades, occupied from time to time bythe roving fur-traders as their occasions required. Towards the end of September, Le Sueur and his followers reached the mouthof the St. Peter, which they ascended to Blue Earth River. Pushing a leagueup this stream, they found a spot well suited to their purpose, and herethey built a fort, of which there was great need, for they were soon afterjoined by seven Canadian traders, plundered and stripped to the skin by theneighboring Sioux. Le Sueur named the new post Fort l'Huillier. It was afence of pickets, enclosing cabins for the men. The neighboring plains wereblack with buffalo, of which the party killed four hundred, and cut theminto quarters, which they placed to freeze on scaffolds within theenclosure. Here they spent the winter, subsisting on the frozen meat, without bread, vegetables, or salt, and, according to Penecaut, thrivingmarvellously, though the surrounding wilderness was buried five feet deepin snow. Band after band of Sioux appeared, with their wolfish dogs and their sturdyand all-enduring squaws burdened with the heavy hide coverings of theirteepees, or buffalo-skin tents. They professed friendship and begged forarms. Those of one band had blackened their faces in mourning for a deadchief, and calling on Le Sueur to share their sorrow, they wept over him, and wiped their tears on his hair. Another party of warriors arrived withyet deeper cause of grief, being the remnant of a village half exterminatedby their enemies. They, too, wept profusely over the French commander, andthen sang a dismal song, with heads muffled in their buffalo-robes. [Footnote: This weeping over strangers was a custom with the Sioux of thattime mentioned by many early writers. La Mothe-Cadillac marvels that apeople so brave and warlike should have such a fountain of tears always atcommand. ] Le Sueur took the needful precautions against his dangerousvisitors, but got from them a large supply of beaver-skins in exchange forhis goods. When spring opened, he set out in search of mines, and found, not far abovethe fort, those beds of blue and green earth to which the stream owes itsname. Of this his men dug out a large quantity, and selecting what seemedthe best, stored it in their vessel as a precious commodity. With this andgood store of beaver-skins, Le Sueur now began his return voyage forLouisiana, leaving a Canadian named D'Éraque and twelve men to keep thefort till he should come back to reclaim it, promising to send him acanoe-load of ammunition from the Illinois. But the canoe was wrecked, andD'Éraque, discouraged, abandoned Fort l'Huillier, and followed hiscommander down the Mississippi. [Footnote: In 1702 the geographer De l'Islemade a remarkable MS. Map entitled _Carte de la Rivière du Mississippi, dressée sur les Mémoires de M. Le Sueur_. ] Le Sueur, with no authority from government, had opened relations of tradewith the wild Sioux of the Plains, whose westward range stretched to theBlack Hills, and perhaps to the Rocky Mountains. He reached the settlementsof Louisiana in safety, and sailed for France with four thousand pounds ofhis worthless blue earth. [Footnote: According to the geologistFeatherstonhaugh, who examined the locality, this earth owes its color to abluish-green silicate of iron. ] Repairing at once to Versailles, he beggedfor help to continue his enterprise. His petition seems to have beengranted. After long delay, he sailed again for Louisiana, fell ill on thevoyage, and died soon after landing. [Footnote: Besides the long andcircumstantial _Relation de Penecaut_, an account of the earlier partof Le Sueur's voyage up the Mississippi is contained in the _Mémoire duChevalier de Beaurain_, which, with other papers relating to thisexplorer, including portions of his Journal, will be found in Margry, VI. See also _Journal historique de l'Etablissement des Français à laLouisiane_, 38-71. ] Before 1700, the year when Le Sueur visited the St. Peter, little ornothing was known of the country west of the Mississippi, except from thereport of Indians. The romances of La Hontan and Matthieu Sagean werejustly set down as impostures by all but the most credulous. In this sameyear we find Le Moyne d'Iberville projecting journeys to the upperMissouri, in hopes of finding a river flowing to the Western Sea. In 1703, twenty Canadians tried to find their way from the Illinois to New Mexico, in hope of opening trade with the Spaniards and discovering mines. [Footnote: _Iberville à ----, 15 Fév. 1703_ (Margry, VI. 180). ] In1704 we find it reported that more than a hundred Canadians are scatteredin small parties along the Mississippi and the Missouri; [Footnote:_Bienville au Ministre_, 6 _Sept. _ 1704. ] and in 1705 one Laurainappeared at the Illinois, declaring that he had been high up the Missouriand had visited many tribes on its borders. [Footnote: Beaurain, _Journalhistorique_. ] A few months later, two Canadians told Bienville a similarstory. In 1708 Nicolas de la Salle proposed an expedition of a hundred mento explore the same mysterious river; and in 1717 one Hubert laid beforethe Council of Marine a scheme for following the Missouri to its source, since, he says, "not only may we find the mines worked by the Spaniards, but also discover the great river that is said to rise in the mountainswhere the Missouri has its source, and is believed to flow to the WesternSea. " And he advises that a hundred and fifty men be sent up the river inwooden canoes, since bark canoes would be dangerous, by reason of themultitude of snags. [Footnote: Hubert, _Mémoire envoyé au Conseil de laMarine. _] In 1714 Juchereau de Saint-Denis was sent by La Mothe-Cadillac to explorewestern Louisiana, and pushed up Red River to a point sixty-eight leagues, as he reckons, above Natchitoches. In the next year, journeying acrosscountry towards the Spanish settlements, with a view to trade, he wasseized near the Rio Grande and carried to the city of Mexico. TheSpaniards, jealous of French designs, now sent priests and soldiers tooccupy several points in Texas. Juchereau, however, was well treated, andpermitted to marry a Spanish girl with whom he had fallen in love on theway; but when, in the autumn of 1716, he ventured another journey to theMexican borders, still hoping to be allowed to trade, he and his goods wereseized by order of the Mexican viceroy, and, lest worse should befall him, he fled empty handed, under cover of night. [Footnote: Penecaut, _Relation_, chaps, xvii. , xviii. Le Page du Pratz, _Histoire de laLouisiane_, I. 13-22. Various documents in Margry, VI. 193-202. ] In March, 1719, Bénard de la Harpe left the feeble little French post atNatchitoches with six soldiers and a sergeant [Footnote: For an interestingcontemporary map of the French establishment at Natchitoches, see Thomassy, _Géologie pratique de la Louisiane. _]. His errand was to explore thecountry, open trade if possible with the Spaniards, and establish anotherpost high up Red River. He and his party soon came upon that vastentanglement of driftwood, or rather of uprooted forests, afterwards knownas the Red River raft, which choked the stream and forced them to maketheir way through the inundated jungle that bordered it. As they pushed ordragged their canoes through the swamp, they saw with disgust and alarm agood number of snakes, coiled about twigs and boughs on the right and left, or sometimes over their heads. These were probably the deadlywater-moccason, which in warm weather is accustomed to crawl out of itsfavorite element and bask itself in the sun, precisely as described by LaHarpe. Their nerves were further discomposed by the splashing and plungingof alligators lately wakened from their wintry torpor. Still, they pushedpainfully on, till they reached navigable water again, and at the end ofthe month were, as they thought, a hundred and eight leagues aboveNatchitoches. In four days more they reached the Nassonites. These savages belonged to a group of stationary tribes, only one of which, the Caddoes, survives to our day as a separate community. Their enemies theChickasaws, Osages, Arkansas, and even the distant Illinois, waged suchdeadly war against them that, according to La Harpe, the unfortunateNassonites were in the way of extinction, their numbers having fallen, within ten years, from twenty-five hundred souls to four hundred. [Footnote: Bénard de la Harpe, in Margry, VI. 264. ] La Harpe stopped among them to refresh his men, and build a house ofcypress-wood as a beginning of the post he was ordered to establish; then, having heard that a war with Spain had ruined his hopes of trade with NewMexico, he resolved to pursue his explorations. With him went ten men, white, red, and black, with twenty-two horses boughtfrom the Indians, for his journeyings were henceforth to be by land. Theparty moved in a northerly and westerly course, by hills, forests, andprairies, passed two branches of the Wichita, and on the 3d of Septembercame to a river which La Harpe calls the southwest branch of the Arkansas, but which, if his observation of latitude is correct, must have been themain stream, not far from the site of Fort Mann. Here he was met by sevenIndian chiefs, mounted on excellent horses saddled and bridled after theSpanish manner. They led him to where, along the plateau of the low, treeless hills that bordered the valley, he saw a string of Indianvillages, extending for a league and belonging to nine several bands, thenames of which can no longer be recognized, and most of which are no doubtextinct. He says that they numbered in all six thousand souls; and theirdwellings were high, dome-shaped structures, built of clay mixed with reedsand straw, resting, doubtless, on a frame of bent poles. [Footnote:Beaurain says that each of these bands spoke a language of its own. Theyhad horses in abundance, descended from Spanish stock. Among them appear tohave been the Ouacos, or Huecos, and the Wichitas, --two tribes better knownas the Pawnee Picts. See Marcy, _Exploration of Red River. _] With themwere also some of the roving Indians of the plains, with their conicalteepees of dressed buffalo-skin. The arrival of the strangers was a great and amazing event for thesesavages, few of whom had ever seen a white man. On the day after theirarrival the whole multitude gathered to receive them and offer them thecalumet, with a profusion of songs and speeches. Then warrior after warriorrecounted his exploits and boasted of the scalps he had taken. From eightin the morning till two hours after midnight the din of drums, songs, harangues, and dances continued without relenting, with a prospect oftwelve hours more; and La Harpe, in desperation, withdrew to rest himselfon a buffalo-robe, begging another Frenchman to take his place. His hostsleft him in peace for a while; then the chiefs came to find him, paintedhis face blue, as a tribute of respect, put a cap of eagle-feathers on hishead, and laid numerous gifts at his feet. When at last the ceremony ended, some of the performers were so hoarse from incessant singing that theycould hardly speak. [Footnote: Compare the account of La Harpe with that ofthe Chevalier de Beaurain; both are in Margry, VI. There is an abstract in_Journal historique. _] La Harpe was told by his hosts that the Spanish settlements could bereached by ascending their river; but to do this was at present impossible. He began his backward journey, fell desperately ill of a fever, and nearlydied before reaching Natchitoches. Having recovered, he made an attempt, two years later, to explore theArkansas in canoes, from its mouth, but accomplished little besides killinga good number of buffalo, bears, deer, and wild turkeys. He was confirmed, however, in the belief that the Comanches and the Spaniards of New Mexicomight be reached by this route. In the year of La Harpe's first exploration, one Du Tisné went up theMissouri to a point six leagues above Grand River, where stood the villageof the Missouris. He wished to go farther, but they would not let him. Hethen returned to the Illinois, whence he set out on horseback with a fewfollowers across what is now the State of Missouri, till he reached thevillage of the Osages, which stood on a hill high up the river Osage. Atfirst he was well received; but when they found him disposed to push on toa town of their enemies, the Pawnees, forty leagues distant, they angrilyrefused to let him go. His firmness and hardihood prevailed, and at lastthey gave him leave. A ride of a few days over rich prairies brought him tothe Pawnees, who, coming as he did from the hated Osages, took him for anenemy and threatened to kill him. Twice they raised the tomahawk over hishead; but when the intrepid traveller dared them to strike, they began totreat him as a friend. When, however, he told them that he meant to gofifteen days' journey farther, to the Padoucas, or Comanches, their deadlyenemies, they fiercely forbade him; and after planting a French flag intheir village, he returned as he had come, guiding his way by compass, andreaching the Illinois in November, after extreme hardships. [Footnote:_Relation de Bénard de la Harpe. Autre Relation du même. Du Tisné àBienville. _ Margry, VI. 309, 310, 313. ] Early in 1721 two hundred mounted Spaniards, followed by a large body ofComanche warriors, came from New Mexico to attack the French at theIllinois, but were met and routed on the Missouri by tribes of that region. [Footnote: _Bienville au Conseil de Régence, 20 Juillet, 1721. _] Inthe next year, Bienville was told that they meant to return, punish thosewho had defeated them, and establish a post on the river Kansas; whereuponhe ordered Boisbriant, commandant at the Illinois, to anticipate them bysending troops to build a French fort at or near the same place. But theWest India Company had already sent one Bourgmont on a similar errand, theobject being to trade with the Spaniards in time of peace, and stop theirincursions in time of war. [Footnote: _Instructions au Sieur deBourgmont, 17 Jan. 1722. _ Margry, VI. 389. ] It was hoped also that, inthe interest of trade, peace might be made between the Comanches and thetribes of the Missouri. [Footnote: The French had at this time gained aknowledge of the tribes of the Missouri as far up as the Arickaras, whowere not, it seems, many days' journey below the Yellowstone, and who toldthem of "prodigiously high mountains, "--evidently the Rocky Mountains. _Mémoire de la Renaudière_, 1723. ] Bourgmont was a man of some education, and well acquainted with thesetribes, among whom he had traded for years. In pursuance of his orders hebuilt a fort, which he named Fort Orléans, and which stood on the Missourinot far above the mouth of Grand River. Having thus accomplished one partof his mission, he addressed himself to the other, and prepared to marchfor the Comanche villages. Leaving a sufficient garrison at the fort, he sent his ensign, Saint-Ange, with a party of soldiers and Canadians, in wooden canoes, to the villagesof the Kansas higher up the stream, and on the 3d of July set out by landto join him, with a hundred and nine Missouri Indians and sixty-eightOsages in his train. A ride of five days brought him again to the banks ofthe Missouri, opposite a Kansas town. Saint-Ange had not yet arrived, theangry and turbid current, joined to fevers among his men, having retardedhis progress. Meanwhile Bourgmont drew from the Kansas a promise that theirwarriors should go with him to the Comanches. Saint-Ange at last appeared, and at daybreak of the 24th the tents were struck and the pack-horsesloaded. At six o'clock the party drew up in battle array on a hill abovethe Indian town, and then, with drum beating and flag flying, began theirmarch. "A fine prairie country, " writes Bourgmont, "with hills and dalesand clumps of trees to right and left. " Sometimes the landscape quiveredunder the sultry sun, and sometimes thunder bellowed over their heads, andrain fell in floods on the steaming plains. Renaudière, engineer of the party, one day stood by the side of the pathand watched the whole procession as it passed him. The white men were abouttwenty in all. He counted about three hundred Indian warriors, with as manysquaws, some five hundred children, and a prodigious number of dogs, thelargest and strongest of which dragged heavy loads. The squaws also servedas beasts of burden; and, says the journal, "they will carry as much as adog will drag. " Horses were less abundant among these tribes than theyafterwards became, so that their work fell largely upon the women. On the sixth day the party was within three leagues of the river Kansas, ata considerable distance above its mouth. Bourgmont had suffered fromdysentery on the march, and an access of the malady made it impossible forhim to go farther. It is easy to conceive the regret with which he sawhimself compelled to return to Fort Orléans. The party retraced theirsteps, carrying their helpless commander on a litter. First, however, he sent one Gaillard on a perilous errand. Taking with himtwo Comanche slaves bought for the purpose from the Kansas, Gaillard wasordered to go to the Comanche villages with the message that Bourgmont hadbeen on his way to make them a friendly visit, and though stopped byillness, hoped soon to try again, with better success. Early in September, Bourgmont, who had arrived safely at Fort Orléans, received news that the mission of Gaillard had completely succeeded; onwhich, though not wholly recovered from his illness, he set out again onhis errand of peace, accompanied by his young son, besides Renaudière, asurgeon, and nine soldiers. On reaching the great village of the Kansas hefound there five Comanche chiefs and warriors, whom Gaillard had induced tocome thither with him. Seven chiefs of the Otoes presently appeared, inaccordance with an invitation of Bourgmont; then six chiefs of the Iowasand the head chief of the Missouris. With these and the Kansas chiefs asolemn council was held around a fire before Bourgmont's tent; speecheswere made, the pipe of peace was smoked, and presents were distributed. On the 8th of October the march began, the five Comanches and the chiefs ofseveral other tribes, including the Omahas, joining the cavalade. Gaillardand another Frenchman named Quesnel were sent in advance to announce theirapproach to the Comanches, while Bourgmont and his followers moved up thenorth side of the river Kansas till the eleventh, when they forded it at apoint twenty leagues from its mouth, and took a westward and southwestwardcourse, sometimes threading the grassy valleys of little streams, sometimescrossing the dry upland prairie, covered with the short, tufted dull-greenherbage since known as "buffalo grass. " Wild turkeys clamored along everywatercourse; deer were seen on all sides, buffalo were without number, sometimes in grazing droves, and sometimes dotting the endless plain as faras the eye could reach. Ruffian wolves, white and gray, eyed the travellersaskance, keeping a safe distance by day, and howling about the camp allnight. Of the antelope and the elk the journal makes no mention. Bourgmontchased a buffalo on horseback and shot him with a pistol, --which isprobably the first recorded example of that way of hunting. The stretches of high, rolling, treeless prairie grew more vast as thetravellers advanced. On the 17th, they found an abandoned Comanche camp. On the next day as they stopped to dine, and had just unsaddled theirhorses, they saw a distant smoke towards the west, on which they set thedry grass on fire as an answering signal. Half an hour later a body of wildhorsemen came towards them at full speed, and among them were their twocouriers, Gaillard and Quesnel, waving a French flag. The strangers wereeighty Comanche warriors, with the grand chief of the tribe at their head. They dashed up to Bourgmont's bivouac and leaped from their horses, when ageneral shaking of hands ensued, after which white men and red seatedthemselves on the ground and smoked the pipe of peace. Then all rodetogether to the Comanche camp, three leagues distant. [Footnote: Thismeeting took place a little north of the Arkansas, apparently where thatriver makes a northward bend, near the 22d degree of west longitude. TheComanche villages were several days' journey to the southwest. This tribeis always mentioned in the early French narratives as the Padoucas, --a nameby which the Comanches are occasionally known to this day. See Whipple andTurner, _Reports upon Indian Tribes, _ in _Explorations and Surveysfor the Pacific Railroad, _ (Senate Doc. , 1853, 1854). ] Bourgmont pitched his tents at a pistol-shot from the Comanche lodges, whence a crowd of warriors presently came to visit him. They spreadbuffalo-robes on the ground, placed upon them the French commander, hisofficers, and his young son; then lifted each, with its honored load, andcarried them all, with yells of joy and gratulation, to the lodge of theGreat Chief, where there was a feast of ceremony lasting till nightfall. On the next day Bourgmont displayed to his hosts the marvellous store ofgifts he had brought for them--guns, swords, hatchets, kettles, gunpowder, bullets, red cloth, blue cloth, hand-mirrors, knives, shirts, awls, scissors, needles, hawks' bells, vermilion, beads, and other enviablecommodities, of the like of which they had never dreamed. Two hundredsavages gathered before the French tents, where Bourgmont, with the giftsspread on the ground before him, stood with a French flag in his hand, surrounded by his officers and the Indian chiefs of his party, andharangued the admiring auditors. He told them that he had come to bring them a message from the King, hismaster, who was the Great Chief of all the nations of the earth, and whosewill it was that the Comanches should live in peace with his otherchildren, --the Missouris, Osages, Kansas, Otoes, Omahas, and Pawnees, --withwhom they had long been at war; that the chiefs of these tribes were nowpresent, ready to renounce their old enmities; that the Comanches shouldhenceforth regard them as friends, share with them the blessing of allianceand trade with the French, and give to these last free passage throughtheir country to trade with the Spaniards of New Mexico. Bourgmont thengave the French flag to the Great Chief, to be kept forever as a pledge ofthat day's compact. The chief took the flag, and promised in behalf of hispeople to keep peace inviolate with the Indian children of the King. Then, with unspeakable delight, he and his tribesmen took and divided the gifts. The next two days were spent in feasts and rejoicings. "Is it true that youare men?" asked the Great Chief. "I have heard wonders of the French, but Inever could have believed what I see this day. " Then, taking up a handfulof earth, "The Spaniards are like this; but you are like the sun. " And heoffered Bourgmont, in case of need, the aid of his two thousand Comanchewarriors. The pleasing manners of his visitors, and their unparalleledgenerosity, had completely won his heart. As the object of the expedition was accomplished, or seemed to be so, theparty set out on their return. A ride of ten days brought them again to theMissouri; they descended in canoes to Fort Orléans, and sang Te Deum inhonor of the peace. [Footnote: _Relation du Voyage du Sieur de Bourgmont, Juin-Nov. _, 1724, in Margry, VI. 398. Le Page du Pratz, III. 141. ] No farther discovery in this direction was made for the next fifteen years. Though the French had explored the Missouri as far as the site of FortClark and the Mandan villages, they were possessed by the idea--due, perhaps, to Indian reports concerning the great tributary river, theYellowstone--that in its upper course the main stream bent so far southwardas to form a waterway to New Mexico, with which it was the constant desireof the authorities of Louisiana to open trade. A way thither was at lastmade known by two brothers named Mallet, who with six companions went upthe Platte to its South Fork, which they called River of the Padoucas, --aname given it on some maps down to the middle of this century. Theyfollowed the South Fork for some distance, and then, turning southward andsouthwestward, crossed the plains of Colorado. Here the dried dung of thebuffalo was their only fuel; and it has continued to feed the camp-fire ofthe traveller in this treeless region within the memory of many now living. They crossed the upper Arkansas, and apparently the Cimarron, passed Taos, and on the 22d of July reached Santa Fé, where they spent the winter. Onthe 1st of May, 1740, they began their return journey, three of themcrossing the plains to the Pawnee villages, and the rest descending theArkansas to the Mississippi. [Footnote: _Journal du Voyage des FrèresMallet, présenté à MM. De Bienville et Salmon_. This narrative is meagreand confused, but serves to establish the main points. _Copie duCertificat donné à Santa Fé aux sept [huit] Français par le GénéralHurtado, 24 Juillet, 1739. Père Rébald au Père de Beaubois, sans date. Bienville et Salmon au Ministre, 30 Avril_, 1741, in Margry, VI. 455-468. ] The bold exploit of the brothers Mallet attracted great attention at NewOrleans, and Bienville resolved to renew it, find if possible a nearer andbetter way to Santa Fé, determine the nature and extent of these mysteriouswestern regions, and satisfy a lingering doubt whether they were notcontiguous to China and Tartary. [Footnote: _Instructions données parJean-Baptiste de Bienville à Fabry de la Bruyère, 1 Juin, 1741_. Bienville was behind his time in geographical knowledge. As early as 1724Bénard de la Harpe knew that in ascending the Missouri or the Arkansas onewas moving towards the "Western Sea, "--that is, the Pacific, --and might, perhaps, find some river flowing into it. See _Routes qu'on peut tenirpour se rendre à la Mer de l'Ouest, _ in _Journal historique_, 387. ] A naval officer, Fabry de la Bruyère, was sent on this errand, withthe brothers Mallet and a few soldiers and Canadians. He ascended theCanadian Fork of the Arkansas, named by him the St. André, became entangledin the shallows and quicksands of that difficult river, fell into disputeswith his men, and after protracted efforts, returned unsuccessful. [Footnote: _Extrait des Lettres du Sieur Fabry. _] While French enterprise was unveiling the remote Southwest, two indomitableCanadians were pushing still more noteworthy explorations into morenorthern regions of the continent. CHAPTER XVI. 1716-1761. SEARCH FOR THE PACIFIC. THE WESTERN SEA. --SCHEMES FOR REACHING IT. --JOURNEY OF CHARLEVOIX. --THESIOUX MISSION. --VARENNES DE LA VÉRENDRYE. --HIS ENTERPRISE. --HISDISASTERS. --VISITS THE MANDANS. --HIS SONS. --THEIR SEARCH FOR THE WESTERNSEA. --THEIR ADVENTURES. --THE SNAKE INDIANS. --A GREAT WAR-PARTY. --THE ROCKYMOUNTAINS. --A PANIC. --RETURN OF THE BROTHERS. --THEIR WRONGS AND THEIR FATE. In the disastrous last years of Louis XIV, the court gave little thought tothe New World; but under the regency of the Duke of Orléans interest inAmerican affairs revived. Plans for reaching the Mer de l'Ouest, or PacificOcean, were laid before the Regent in 1716. It was urged that the best hopewas in sending an expedition across the continent, seeing that everyattempt to find a westward passage by Hudson Bay had failed. Asstarting-points and bases of supply for the expedition, it was proposed toestablish three posts, one on the north shore of Lake Superior, at themouth of the river Kaministiguia, another at Lac des Cristineaux, nowcalled Lake of the Woods, and the third at Lake Winnipeg, --the last beingwhat in American phrase is called the "jumping-off place, " or the pointwhere the expedition was to leave behind the last trace of civilization. These posts were to cost the Crown nothing; since by a device common insuch cases, those who built and maintained them were to be paid by amonopoly of the fur-trade in the adjacent countries. It was admitted, however, that the subsequent exploration must be at the charge of thegovernment, and would require fifty good men, at 300 francs a year each, besides equipment and supplies. All things considered, it was reckoned thatan overland way to the Pacific might be found for about 50, 000 francs, or10, 000 dollars. [Footnote: _Mémoire fait et arresté par le Conseil deMarine, 3 Fév. 1717; Mémoire du Roy, 26 Juin, 1717. _] The Regent approved the scheme so far as to order the preliminary step tobe taken by establishing the three posts, and in this same year, LieutenantLa Noue, of the colony troops, began the work by building a stockade at themouth of the Kaministiguia. Little more was done in furtherance of theexploration till three years later, when the celebrated Jesuit, Charlevoix, was ordered by the Duke of Orléans to repair to America and gain allpossible information concerning the Western Sea and the way to it. [Footnote: _Charlevoix au Comte de Morville, 1 Avril_, 1723. ] In the next year he went to the Upper Lakes, and questioned missionaries, officers, _voyageurs, _ and Indians. The results were not satisfactory. The missionaries and the officers had nothing to tell; the voyagers andIndians knew no more than they, but invented confused and contradictoryfalsehoods to hide their ignorance. Charlevoix made note of everything, andreported to the Comte de Toulouse that the Pacific probably formed thewestern boundary of the country of the Sioux, and that some Indians toldhim that they had been to its shores and found white men there differentfrom the French. Believing that these stories were not without foundation, Charlevoixreported two plans as likely to lead to the coveted discovery. One was toascend the Missouri, "the source of which is certainly not far from thesea, as all the Indians I have met have unanimously assured me;" and theother was to establish a mission among the Sioux, from whom afterthoroughly learning their language, the missionaries could, as he thinks, gain all the desired information. [Footnote: The valuable journal ofCharlevoix's western travels, written in the form of letters, was publishedin connection with his _Histoire de la Nouvelle France_. After hisvisit to the Lakes, he went to New Orleans, intending to return in thespring and continue his inquiries for the Western Sea; but being unable todo this, he went back to France at the end of 1722. The official report ofhis mission is contained in a letter to the Comte de Toulouse, 20 Jan. 1723. ] The Regent approved the plan of the mission; but the hostile disposition ofthe Sioux and the Outagamies prevented its execution for several years. In1727 the scheme was revived, and the colonial minister at Versaillesordered the Governor of Canada to send two missionaries to the Sioux. Butthe mission required money, and the King would not give it. Hence the usualexpedient was adopted. A company was formed, and invested with a monopolyof the Sioux fur-trade, on condition of building a fort, mission-house, andchapel, and keeping an armed force to guard them. It was specially providedthat none but pious and virtuous persons were to be allowed to join theCompany, "in order, " says the document, "to attract the benediction of Godupon them and their business. " [Footnote: _Traité de la Compagnie desSioux, 6 Juin, 1727. _] The prospects of the Company were thought good, and the Governor himself was one of the shareholders. While the mission wasgiven the most conspicuous place in the enterprise, its objects were rathersecular than spiritual, --to attach the Sioux to the French interest by thedouble ties of religion and trade, and utilize their supposed knowledge toreach the Pacific. [Footnote: On this scheme, _Vaudreuil et Bégon auMinistre, 4 Oct. 1723; Longueuil et Bégon au Ministre, 31 Oct. 1725;Beauharnois et Dupuy au Ministre, 25 Sept. 1727. _] Father Guignas was made the head of the mission, and Boucher de la Perrièrethe military chief. The party left Montreal in June, and journeying to theMississippi by way of Michillimackinac, Green Bay, Fox River, and theWisconsin, went up the great river to Lake Pepin, where the adventurousNicolas Perrot had built two trading-posts more than forty years before. Even if his timeworn tenements were still standing, La Perrière had nothought of occupying them. On the north, or rather west, side of the lakehis men found a point of land that seemed fit for their purpose, disembarked, cut down trees, and made a square stockade enclosing thenecessary buildings. It was near the end of October before they were allwell housed. A large band of Sioux presently appeared, and set up theirteepees hard by. When the birthday of the Governor came, the partycelebrated it with a display of fireworks and vociferous shouts of _Vivele Roi, Vive Charles de Beauharnois, _ while the Indians yelped in frightand amazement at the pyrotechnics, or stood pressing their hands upon theirmouths in silent amazement. The French called their fort Fort Beauharnois, and invited the aid of Saint Michael the Archangel by naming the mission inhis honor. All went well till April, when the water rose with the springfloods and filled fort, chapel, and houses to the depth of nearly threefeet, ejecting the whole party, and forcing them to encamp on higher groundtill the deluge subsided. [Footnote: _Guignas à Beauharnois, 28 Mai, 1728. _] Worse enemies than the floods soon found them out. These were theirrepressible Outagamies, who rose against the intruding French and incitedthe Sioux to join them. There was no profit for the Company, and no safetyfor its agents. The stockholders became discouraged, and would not supportthe enterprise. The fort was abandoned, till in 1731 a new arrangement wasmade, followed by another attempt. [Footnote: _Beauharnois et Hocquart auMinistre, 25 Oct. 1729; Idem, 12 Oct. 1731. _] For a time a prosperoustrade was carried on; but, as commonly happened in such cases, theadventurers seem to have thought more of utilizing their monopoly than offulfilling the terms on which they had received it. The wild Sioux of theplains, instead of being converted and turned into Frenchmen, proved suchdangerous neighbors that in 1737 Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, who thencommanded the post, found himself forced to abandon it. [Footnote:_Relation du Sieur de Saint-Pierre, 14 Oct. 1737. _] The enterprise hadfailed in both its aims. The Western Sea was still a mystery, and the Siouxwere not friends, but enemies. Legardeur de Saint-Pierre recommended thatthey should be destroyed, benevolent advice easy to give, and impossible toexecute. [Footnote: "Cet officier [Saint-Pierre] a ajouté qu'il seroitavantageux de detruire cette nation. " _Mémoire de Beauharnois, 1738. _] René Gaultier de Varennes, lieutenant in the regiment of Carignan, marriedat Three Rivers, in 1667, the daughter of Pierre Boucher, governor of thatplace; the age of the bride, Demoiselle Marie Boucher, being twelve years, six months, and eighteen days. Varennes succeeded his father-in-law asgovernor of Three Rivers, with a salary of twelve hundred francs, to whichhe added the profits of a farm of forty acres; and on these modestresources, reinforced by an illicit trade in furs, he made shift to sustainthe dignity of his office. His wife became the mother of numerousoffspring, among whom was Pierre, born in 1685, --an active and hardy youth, who, like the rest of the poor but vigorous Canadian _noblesse_, seemed born for the forest and the fur-trade. When, however, the War of theSpanish Succession broke out, the young man crossed the sea, obtained thecommission of lieutenant, and was nearly killed at the battle ofMalplaquet, where he was shot through the body, received six sabre-cuts, and was left for dead on the field. He recovered, and returned to Canada, when, finding his services slighted, he again took to the woods. He hadassumed the designation of La Vérendrye, and thenceforth his full name wasPierre Gaultier de Varennes de la Vérendrye. [Footnote: M. Benjamin Sultehas traced out the family history of the Varennes in the parish registersof Three Rivers and other trustworthy sources. See _Revue Canadienne_, X. 781, 849, 935. ] In 1728, he was in command of a small post on Lake Nipegon, north of LakeSuperior. Here an Indian chief from the River Kaministiguia told him of acertain great lake which discharged itself by a river flowing westward. TheIndian further declared that he had descended this river till he reachedwater that ebbed and flowed, and terrified by the strange phenomenon, hadturned back, though not till he had heard of a great salt lake, borderedwith many villages. Other Indians confirmed and improved the story. "Thesepeople, " said La Vérendrye to the Jesuit Degonnor, "are great liars, butnow and then they tell the truth. " [Footnote: _Relation du Père Degonnor, Jésuite, Missionnaire des Sioux, adressée à M. Le Marquis deBeauharnois_. ] It seemed to him likely that their stories of a westernriver flowing to a western sea were not totally groundless, and that thetrue way to the Pacific was not, as had been supposed, through the countryof the Sioux, but farther northward, through that of the Cristineaux andAssinniboins, or, in other words, through the region now called Manitoba. In this view he was sustained by his friend Degonnor, who had just returnedfrom the ill-starred Sioux mission. La Vérendrye, fired with the zeal of discovery, offered to search for theWestern Sea if the King would give him one hundred men and supply canoes, arms, and provisions. [Footnote: _Relation de Degonnor: Beauharnois auMinistre, 1 Oct_. 1731. ] But, as was usual in such cases, theKing would give nothing; and though the Governor, Beauharnois, did all inhis power to promote the enterprise, the burden and the risk were left tothe adventurer himself. La Vérendrye was authorized to find a way to thePacific at his own expense, in consideration of a monopoly of the fur-tradein the regions north and west of Lake Superior. This vast and remotecountry was held by tribes who were doubtful friends of the French, andperpetual enemies of each other. The risks of the trade were as great asits possible profits, and to reap these, vast outlays must first be made:forts must be built, manned, provisioned, and stocked with goods broughtthrough two thousand miles of difficult and perilous wilderness. There wereother dangers, more insidious, and perhaps greater. The exclusiveprivileges granted to La Vérendrye would inevitably rouse the intensestjealousy of the Canadian merchants, and they would spare no effort to ruinhim. Intrigue and calumny would be busy in his absence. If, as was likely, his patron, Beauharnois, should be recalled, the new governor might beturned against him, his privileges might be suddenly revoked, the forts hehad built passed over to his rivals, and all his outlays turned to theirprofit, as had happened to La Salle on the recall of his patron, Frontenac. On the other hand, the country was full of the choicest furs, which theIndians had hitherto carried to the English at Hudson Bay, but which theproposed trading-posts would secure to the French. La Vérendrye's enemiespretended that he thought of nothing but beaver-skins, and slighted thediscovery which he had bound himself to undertake; but his conduct provesthat he was true to his engagements, and that ambition to gain honorabledistinction in the service of the King had a large place among the motivesthat impelled him. As his own resources were of the smallest, he took a number of associateson conditions most unfavorable to himself. Among them they raised moneyenough to begin the enterprise, and on the 8th of June, 1731, La Vérendryeand three of his sons, together with his nephew, La Jemeraye, the JesuitMessager, and a party of Canadians, set out from Montreal. It was late inAugust before they reached the great portage of Lake Superior, which ledacross the height of land separating the waters of that lake from thoseflowing to Lake Winnipeg. The way was long and difficult. The men, who hadperhaps been tampered with, mutinied, and refused to go farther. [Footnote:_Mémoire du Sieur de la Vérendrye du Sujet des Etablissements pourparvenir a la Découverte de la Mer de l'Ouest, _ in Margry, VI. 585. ] Some ofthem, with much ado, consented at last to proceed, and, under the lead ofLa Jemeraye, made their way by an intricate and broken chain of lakes andstreams to Rainy Lake, where they built a fort and called it Fort St. Pierre. La Vérendrye was forced to winter with the rest of the party at theriver Kaministiguia, not far from the great portage. Here months were lost, during which a crew of useless mutineers had to be fed and paid; and it wasnot till the next June that he could get them again into motion towardsLake Winnipeg. This ominous beginning was followed by a train of disasters. His associatesabandoned him; the merchants on whom he depended for supplies would notsend them, and he found himself, in his own words "destitute ofeverything. " His nephew, La Jemeraye, died. The Jesuit Auneau, bent onreturning to Michillimackinac, set out with La Vérendrye's eldest son and aparty of twenty Canadians. A few days later, they were all found on anisland in the Lake of the Woods, murdered and mangled by the Sioux. [Footnote: _Beauharnois au Ministre, 14 Oct. 1736; Relation du Massacreau Lac des Bois, en Juin, 1736; Journal de la Vérendrye, joint à la lettrede M. De Beauharnois du ---- Oct. 1737_. ] The Assinniboins andCristineaux, mortal foes of that fierce people, offered to join the Frenchand avenge the butchery; but a war with the Sioux would have ruined LaVérendrye's plans of discovery, and exposed to torture and death the Frenchtraders in their country. Therefore he restrained himself and declined theproffered aid, at the risk of incurring the contempt of those who offeredit. Beauharnois twice appealed to the court to give La Vérendrye some littleaid, urging that he was at the end of his resources, and that a grant of30, 000 francs, or 6, 000 dollars, would enable him to find a way to thePacific. All help was refused, but La Vérendrye was told that he might letout his forts to other traders, and so raise means to pursue the discovery. In 1740 he went for the third time to Montreal, where, instead of aid, hefound a lawsuit. "In spite, " he says, "of the derangement of my affairs, the envy and jealousy of various persons impelled them to write letters tothe court insinuating that I thought of nothing but making my fortune. Ifmore than forty thousand livres of debt which I have on my shoulders are anadvantage, then I can flatter myself that I am very rich. In all mymisfortunes, I have the consolation of seeing that M. De Beauharnois entersinto my views, recognizes the uprightness of my intentions, and does mejustice in spite of opposition. " [Footnote: Mémoire du Sieur de laVérendrye au sujet des Etablissements pour parvenir à la Découverte de laMer de l'Quest. ] Meanwhile, under all his difficulties, he had explored a vast regionhitherto unknown, diverted a great and lucrative fur-trade from the Englishat Hudson Bay, and secured possession of it by six fortified posts, --FortSt. Pierre, on Rainy Lake; Fort St. Charles, on the Lake of the Woods; FortMaurepas, at the mouth of the river Winnipeg; Fort Bourbon, on the easternside of Lake Winnipeg; Fort La Reine, on the Assinniboin; Fort Dauphin, onLake Manitoba. Besides these he built another post, called Fort Rouge, onthe site of the city of Winnipeg; and, some time after, another, at themouth of the River Poskoiac, or Saskatchawan, neither of which, however, was long occupied. These various forts were only stockade works flankedwith block-houses; but the difficulty of building and maintaining them inthis remote wilderness was incalculable. [Footnote: _Mémoire en abrégé dela Carte qui représente les Etablissements faits par le Sieur de laVérendrye et ses Enfants_ (Margry, VI. 616); _Carte des NouvellesDécouvertes dans l'Ouest du Canada dressée sur les Mémoires de Mr. De laVérandrie et donnée au Dépôt de la Marine par M. De la Galissonnière, _1750; Bellin, _Remarques surla Carte de l'Amérique, _ 1755;Bougainville, _Mémoire sur l'Etat de la Nouvelle France, _1757. Most of La Vérendrye's forts were standing during the Seven Years' War, andwere known collectively as _Postes de la Mer de l'Ouest_. ] He had inquired on all sides for the Pacific. The Assinniboins could tellhim nothing. Nor could any information be expected from them, since theirrelatives and mortal enemies, the Sioux, barred their way to the West. TheCristineaux were equally ignorant; but they supplied the place of knowledgeby invention, and drew maps, some of which seem to have been made with noother intention than that of amusing themselves by imposing on theinquirer. They also declared that some of their number had gone down ariver called White River, or River of the West, where they found a plantthat shed drops like blood, and saw serpents of prodigious size. They saidfurther that on the lower part of this river were walled towns, where dweltwhite men who had knives, hatchets, and cloth, but no firearms. [Footnote:_Journal de la Vérendrye joint à la Lettre de M. De Beauharnois du ----Oct. 1737_. ] Both Assinniboins and Cristineaux declared that there was a distant tribeon the Missouri, called Mantannes (Mandans), who knew the way to theWestern Sea, and would guide him to it. Lured by this assurance, andfeeling that he had sufficiently secured his position to enable him tobegin his Western exploration, La Vérendrye left Fort La Reine in October, 1738, with twenty men, and pushed up the River Assinniboin till its rapidsand shallows threatened his bark canoes with destruction. Then, with a bandof Assinniboin Indians who had joined him, he struck across the prairie forthe Mandans, his Indian companions hunting buffalo on the way. Theyapproached the first Mandan village on the afternoon of the 3d of December, displaying a French flag and firing three volleys as a salute. The wholepopulation poured out to see the marvellous visitors, who were conductedthrough the staring crowd to the lodge of the principal chief, --a capaciousstructure so thronged with the naked and greasy savages that the Frenchmenwere half smothered. What was worse, they lost the bag that held all theirpresents for the Mandans, which was snatched away in the confusion, andhidden in one of the _caches_, called cellars by La Vérendrye, ofwhich the place was full. The chief seemed much discomposed at this mishap, and explained it by saying that there were many rascals in the village. The loss was serious, since without the presents nothing could be done. Norwas this all; for in the morning La Vérendrye missed his interpreter, andwas told that he had fallen in love with an Assinniboin girl and gone offin pursuit of her. The French were now without any means of communicatingwith the Mandans, from whom, however, before the disappearance of theinterpreter, they had already received a variety of questionableinformation, chiefly touching white men cased in iron who were said to liveon the river below at the distance of a whole summer's journey. As theywere impervious to arrows, --so the story ran, --it was necessary to shoottheir horses, after which, being too heavy to run, they were easily caught. This was probably suggested by the armor of the Spaniards, who had morethan once made incursions as far as the lower Missouri; but the narratorsdrew on their imagination for various additional particulars. The Mandans seem to have much declined in numbers during the century thatfollowed this visit of La Vérendrye. He says that they had six villages onor near the Missouri, of which the one seen by him was the smallest, thoughhe thinks that it contained a hundred and thirty houses. [Footnote:_Journal de la Vérendrye_, 1738, 1739. This journal, which isill-written and sometimes obscure, is printed in Brymner, _Report onCanadian Archives_, 1889. ] As each of these large structures held anumber of families, the population must have been considerable. Yet whenPrince Maximilian visited the Mandans in 1833, he found only two villages, containing jointly two hundred and forty warriors and a total population ofabout a thousand souls. Without having seen the statements of La Vérendrye, he speaks of the population as greatly reduced by wars and thesmall-pox, --a disease which a few years later nearly exterminated thetribe. [Footnote: Le Prince Maximilien de Wied-Neuwied, _Voyage dansl'Intérieur de l'Amérique du Nord_, II. 371, 372 (Paris, 1843). WhenCaptains Lewis and Clark visited the Mandans in 1804, they found them intwo villages, with about three hundred and fifty warriors. They reportthat, about forty years before, they lived in nine villages, the ruins ofwhich the explorers saw about eighty miles below the two villages thenoccupied by the tribe. The Mandans had moved up the river in consequence ofthe persecutions of the Sioux and the small-pox, which had made great havocamong them. _Expedition of Lewis and Clark_, I. 129 (ed. Philadelphia, 1814). These nine villages seem to have been above Cannon-ball River, atributary of the Missouri. ] La Vérendrye represents the six villages as surrounded with ditches andstockades, flanked by a sort of bastion, --defences which, he says, hadnothing savage in their construction. In later times the fortificationswere of a much ruder kind, though Maximilian represents them as havingpointed salients to serve as bastions. La Vérendrye mentions some peculiarcustoms of the Mandans which answer exactly to those described by morerecent observers. He had intended to winter with the tribe; but the loss of the presents andthe interpreter made it useless to stay, and leaving two men in the villageto learn the language, he began his return to Fort La Reine. "I was veryill, " he writes, "but hoped to get better on the way. The reverse was thecase, for it was the depth of winter. It would be impossible to suffer morethan I did. It seemed that nothing but death could release us from suchmiseries. " He reached Fort La Reine on the 11th of February, 1739. His iron constitution seems to have been severely shaken; but he had sonsworthy of their father. The two men left among the Mandans appeared at FortLa Reine in September. They reported that they had been well treated, andthat their hosts had parted from them with regret. They also declared thatat the end of spring several Indian tribes, all well supplied with horses, had come, as was their yearly custom, to the Mandan villages to barterembroidered buffalo hides and other skins for corn and beans; that they hadencamped, to the number of two hundred lodges, on the farther side of theMissouri, and that among them was a band said to have come from a distantcountry towards the sunset, where there were white men who lived in housesbuilt of bricks and stones. The two Frenchmen crossed over to the camp of these Western strangers, among whom they found a chief who spoke, or professed to speak, thelanguage of the mysterious white men, which to the two Frenchmen wasunintelligible. Fortunately, he also spoke the language of the Mandans, ofwhich the Frenchmen had learned a little during their stay, and hence wereable to gather that the white men in question had beards, and that theyprayed to the Master of Life in great houses, built for the purpose, holding books, the leaves of which were like husks of Indian corn, singingtogether and repeating _Jésus, Marie_. The chief gave many otherparticulars, which seemed to show that he had been in contact withSpaniards, --probably those of California; for he described their houses asstanding near the great lake, of which the water rises and falls and is notfit to drink. He invited the two Frenchmen to go with him to this strangecountry, saying that it could be reached before winter, though a widecircuit must be made, to avoid a fierce and dangerous tribe called SnakeIndians (_Gens du Serpent_). [Footnote: _Journal du Sieur de laVérendrye_, 1740, in Archives de la Marine. ] On hearing this story, La Vérendrye sent his eldest son, Pierre, to pursuethe discovery with two men, ordering him to hire guides among the Mandansand make his way to the Western Sea. But no guides were to be found, and inthe next summer the young man returned from his bootless errand. [Footnote: _Mémoire du Sieur de la Vérendrye, joint à sa lettre du 31Oct. 1744_] Undaunted by this failure, Pierre set out again in the next spring, 1742, with his younger brother, the Chevalier de la Vérendrye. Accompanied onlyby two Canadians, they left Port La Reine on the 29th of April, andfollowing, no doubt, the route of the Assinniboin and Mouse River, reachedthe chief village of the Mandans in about three weeks. Here they found themselves the welcome guests of this singularlyinteresting tribe, ruined by the small-pox nearly half a century ago, butpreserved to memory by the skilful pencil of the artist Charles Bodmer, andthe brush of the painter George Catlin, both of whom saw them at a timewhen they were little changed in habits and manners since the visit of thebrothers La Vérendrye. [Footnote: Prince Maximilian spent the winter of1832-33 near the Mandan villages. His artist, with the instinct of genius, seized the characteristics of the wild life before him, and rendered themwith admirable vigor and truth. Catlin spent a considerable time among theMandans soon after the visit of Prince Maximilian, and had unusualopportunities of studying them. He was an indifferent painter, a shallowobserver, and a garrulous and windy writer; yet his enthusiastic industryis beyond praise, and his pictures are invaluable as faithful reflectionsof aspects of Indian life which are gone forever. ] [Footnote: Beauharnois calls the Mandans _Blancs Barbus_, and saysthat they have been hitherto unknown. _Beauharnois au Ministre, 14Août_, 1739. The name Mantannes, or Mandans, is that given them by theAssinniboins. ] Thus, though the report of the two brothers is too concise and brief, weknow what they saw when they entered the central area, or public square, ofthe village. Around stood the Mandan lodges, looking like round flattenedhillocks of earth, forty or fifty feet wide. On examination they proved tobe framed of strong posts and poles, covered with a thick matting ofintertwined willow-branches, over which was laid a bed of well-compactedclay or earth two or three feet thick. This heavy roof was supported bystrong interior posts. [Footnote: The Minnetarees and other tribes of theMissouri built their lodges in a similar way. ] The open place which thedwellings enclosed served for games, dances, and the ghastly religious ormagical ceremonies practised by the tribe. Among the other structures wasthe sacred "medicine lodge" distinguished by three or four tall polesplanted before it, each surmounted by an effigy looking much like ascarecrow, and meant as an offering to the spirits. If the two travellers had been less sparing of words, they would doubtlesshave told us that as they entered the village square the flattened earthendomes that surrounded it were thronged with squaws and children, --for thiswas always the case on occasions of public interest, --and that they wereforced to undergo a merciless series of feasts in the lodges of the chiefs. Here, seated by the sunken hearth in the middle, under the large hole inthe roof that served both for window and chimney, they could study at theirease the domestic economy of their entertainers. Each lodge held a_gens_, or family connection, whose beds of raw buffalo hide, stretched on poles, were ranged around the circumference of the building, while by each stood a post on which hung shields, lances, bows, quivers, medicine-bags, and masks formed of the skin of a buffalo's head, with thehorns attached, to be used in the magic buffalo dance. Every day had its sports to relieve the monotony of savage existence, thegame of the stick and the rolling ring, the archery practice of boys, horse-racing on the neighboring prairie, and incessant games of chance;while every evening, in contrast to these gayeties, the long, dismal wailof women rose from the adjacent cemetery, where the dead of the village, sewn fast in buffalo hides, lay on scaffolds above the reach of wolves. The Mandans did not know the way to the Pacific, but they told the brothersthat they expected a speedy visit from a tribe or band called HorseIndians, who could guide them thither. It is impossible to identify thispeople with any certainty. [Footnote: The Cheyennes have a tradition thatthey were the first tribe of this region to have horses. This may perhapsjustify a conjecture that the northern division of this brave and warlikepeople were the Horse Indians of La Vérendrye; though an Indian tradition, unless backed by well-established facts, can never be accepted assubstantial evidence. ] The two travellers waited for them in vain tillafter midsummer, and then, as the season was too far advanced for longerdelay, they hired two Mandans to conduct them to their customary haunts. They set out on horseback, their scanty baggage and their stock of presentsbeing no doubt carried by pack-animals. Their general course waswest-southwest, with the Black Hills at a distance on their left, and theupper Missouri on their right. The country was a rolling prairie, wellcovered for the most part with grass, and watered by small alkaline streamscreeping towards the Missouri with an opaque, whitish current. Except alongthe watercourses, there was little or no wood. "I noticed, " says theChevalier de la Vérendrye, "earths of different colors, blue, green, red, or black, white as chalk, or yellowish like ochre. " This was probably inthe "bad lands" of the Little Missouri, where these colored earths form aconspicuous feature in the bare and barren bluffs, carved into fantasticshapes by the storms. [Footnote: A similar phenomenon occurs farther weston the face of the perpendicular bluffs that, in one place, border thevalley of the river Rosebud. ] For twenty days the travellers saw no human being, so scanty was thepopulation of these plains. Game, however, was abundant. Deer sprang fromthe tall, reedy grass of the river bottoms; buffalo tramped by in ponderouscolumns, or dotted the swells of the distant prairie with their grazingthousands; antelope approached, with the curiosity of their species, togaze at the passing horsemen, then fled like the wind; and as they nearedthe broken uplands towards the Yellowstone, they saw troops of elk andflocks of mountain-sheep. Sometimes, for miles together, the dry plain wasstudded thick with the earthen mounds that marked the burrows of thecurious marmots, called prairie-dogs, from their squeaking bark. Wolves, white and gray, howled about the camp at night, and their cousin, thecoyote, seated in the dusk of evening upright on the grass, with noseturned to the sky, saluted them with a complication of yelpings, as if ascore of petulant voices were pouring together from the throat of one smallbeast. On the 11th of August, after a march of about three weeks, the brothersreached a hill, or group of hills, apparently west of the Little Missouri, and perhaps a part of the Powder River Range. It was here that they hopedto find the Horse Indians, but nobody was to be seen. Arming themselveswith patience, they built a hut, made fires to attract by the smoke anyIndians roaming near, and went every day to the tops of the hills toreconnoitre. At length, on the 14th of September, they descried a spire ofsmoke on the distant prairie. One of their Mandan guides had left them and gone back to his village. Theother, with one of the Frenchmen, went towards the smoke, and found a campof Indians, whom the journal calls Les Beaux Hommes, and who were probablyCrows, or Apsaroka, a tribe remarkable for stature and symmetry, who longclaimed that region as their own. They treated the visitors well, and sentfor the other Frenchmen to come to their lodges, where they were receivedwith great rejoicing. The remaining Mandan, however, becamefrightened, --for the Beaux Hommes were enemies of his tribe, --and he soonfollowed his companion on his solitary march homeward. The brothers remained twenty-one days in the camp of the Beaux Hommes, muchperplexed for want of an interpreter. The tribes of the plains have incommon a system of signs by which they communicate with each other, and itis likely that the brothers had learned it from the Sioux or Assinniboins, with whom they had been in familiar intercourse. By this or some othermeans they made their hosts understand that they wished to find the HorseIndians; and the Beaux Hommes, being soothed by presents, offered some oftheir young men as guides. They set out on the 9th of October, following asouth-southwest course. [Footnote: _Journal du Voyage fait par leChevalier de la Vérendrye en 1742. _ The copy before me is from theoriginal in the Depot des Cartes de la Marine. A duplicate, in the Archivesdes Affaires Etrangères, is printed by Margry. It gives the above date asNovember 9th instead of October 9th. The context shows the latter to becorrect. ] In two days they met a band of Indians, called by them the Little Foxes, and on the 15th and 17th two villages of another unrecognizable horde, named Pioya. From La Vérendrye's time to our own, this name "villages" hasalways been given to the encampments of the wandering people of the plains. All these nomadic communities joined them, and they moved togethersouthward, till they reached at last the lodges of the long-sought HorseIndians. They found them in the extremity of distress and terror. Theircamp resounded with howls and wailings; and not without cause, for theSnakes, or Shoshones, --a formidable people living farther westward, --hadlately destroyed most of their tribe. The Snakes were the terror of thatcountry. The brothers were told that the year before they had destroyedseventeen villages, killing the warriors and old women, and carrying offthe young women and children as slaves. None of the Horse Indians had ever seen the Pacific; but they knew a peoplecalled Gens de l'Arc, or Bow Indians, who, as they said, had traded not farfrom it. To the Bow Indians, therefore, the brothers resolved to go, and bydint of gifts and promises they persuaded their hosts to show them the way. After marching southwestward for several days, they saw the distant prairiecovered with the pointed buffalo-skin lodges of a great Indian camp. It wasthat of the Bow Indians, who may have been one of the bands of the westernSioux, --the predominant race in this region. Few or none of them could everhave seen a white man, and we may imagine their amazement at the arrival ofthe strangers, who, followed by staring crowds, were conducted to the lodgeof the chief. "Thus far, " says La Vérendrye, "we had been well received inall the villages we had passed; but this was nothing compared with thecourteous manners of the great chief of the Bow Indians, who, unlike theothers, was not self-interested in the least, and who took excellent careof everything belonging to us. " The first inquiry of the travellers was for the Pacific; but neither thechief nor his tribesmen knew anything of it, except what they had heardfrom Snake prisoners taken in war. The Frenchmen were surprised at theextent of the camp, which consisted of many separate bands. The chiefexplained that they had been summoned from far and near for a grandwar-party against that common foe of all, --the Snakes. [Footnote: Theenmity between the Sioux and the Snakes lasted to our own time. When thewriter lived among the western Sioux, one of their chiefs organized awar-party against the Snakes, and numerous bands came to join theexpedition from a distance in some cases of three hundred miles. Quarrelsbroke out among them, and the scheme was ruined. ] In fact, the campresounded with war-songs and war-dances. "Come with us, " said their host;"we are going towards the mountains, where you can see the great water thatyou are looking for. " At length the camp broke up. The squaws took down the lodges, and the marchbegan over prairies dreary and brown with the withering touch of autumn. The spectacle was such as men still young have seen in these Western lands, but which no man will see again. The vast plain swarmed with the movingmultitude. The tribes of the Missouri and the Yellowstone had by this timeabundance of horses, the best of which were used for war and hunting, andthe others as beasts of burden. These last were equipped in a peculiarmanner. Several of the long poles used to frame the teepees, or lodges, were secured by one end to each side of a rude saddle, while the other endtrailed on the ground. Crossbars lashed to the poles just behind the horsekept them three or four feet apart, and formed a firm support, on which waslaid, compactly folded, the buffalo-skin covering of the lodge. On this, again, sat a mother with her young family, sometimes stowed for safety in alarge open willow basket, with the occasional addition of some domesticpet, --such as a tame raven, a puppy, or even a small bear cub. Other horseswere laden in the same manner with wooden bowls, stone hammers, and otherutensils, along with stores of dried buffalo-meat packed in cases ofrawhide whitened and painted. Many of the innumerable dogs--whose mannersand appearance strongly suggested their relatives the wolves, to whom, however, they bore a mortal grudge--were equipped in a similar way, withshorter poles and lighter loads. Bands of naked boys, noisy and restless, roamed the prairie, practising their bows and arrows on any small animalthey might find. Gay young squaws--adorned on each cheek with a spot ofochre or red clay, and arrayed in tunics of fringed buckskin embroideredwith porcupine quills--were mounted on ponies, astride like men; while leanand tattered hags--the drudges of the tribe, unkempt and hideous--scoldedthe lagging horses, or screeched at the disorderly dogs, with voices notunlike the yell of the great horned owl. Most of the warriors were onhorseback, armed with round, white shields of bull-hide, feathered lances, war-clubs, bows, and quivers filled with stone-headed arrows; while a fewof the elders, wrapped in robes of buffalo-hide, stalked along in groupswith a stately air, chatting, laughing, and exchanging unseemly jokes. [Footnote: The above descriptive particulars are drawn from repeatedobservation of similar scenes at a time when the primitive condition ofthese tribes was essentially unchanged, though with the difference that theconcourse of savages counted by hundreds, and not by thousands. ] "We continued our march, " says La Vérendrye, "sometimes south-southwest, and now and then northwest; our numbers constantly increasing by villagesof different tribes which joined us. " The variations of their course wereprobably due to the difficulties of the country, which grew more rugged asthey advanced, with broken hills, tracts of dingy green sage-bushes, andbright, swift streams, edged with cottonwood and willow, hurrying northwardto join the Yellowstone. At length, on the 1st of January, 1743, they sawwhat was probably the Bighorn Range of the Rocky Mountains, a hundred andtwenty miles east of the Yellowstone Park. A council of all the allied bands was now called, and the Frenchmen wereasked to take part in it. The questions discussed were how to dispose ofthe women and children, and how to attack the enemy. Having settled theirplans, the chiefs begged their white friends not to abandon them; and theyounger of the two, the Chevalier, consented to join the warriors, and aidthem with advice, though not with arms. The tribes of the Western plains rarely go on war-parties in winter, andthis great expedition must have been the result of unusual exasperation. The object was to surprise the Snakes in the security of their winter camp, and strike a deadly blow, which would have been impossible in summer. On the 8th of January the whole body stopped to encamp, choosing, no doubt, after the invariable winter custom of Western Indians, a place shelteredfrom wind, and supplied with water and fuel. Here the squaws and childrenwere to remain, while most of the warriors advanced against the enemy. Bypegging the lower edge of the lodge-skin to the ground, and piling a ridgeof stones and earth upon it to keep out the air, fastening with woodenskewers the flap of hide that covered the entrance, and keeping a constantfire, they could pass a winter endurable to Indians, though smoke, filth, vermin, bad air, the crowd, and the total absence of privacy, would make ita purgatory to any civilized white man. The Chevalier left his brother to watch over the baggage of the party, which was stored in the lodge of the great chief, while he himself, withhis two Canadians, joined the advancing warriors. They were on horseback, marching with a certain order, and sending watchmen to reconnoitre thecountry from the tops of the hills. [Footnote: At least this was done by aband of Sioux with whom the writer once traversed a part of the countryranged by these same Snakes, who had lately destroyed an entire Siouxvillage. ] Their movements were so slow that it was twelve days before they reachedthe foot of the mountains, which, says La Vérendrye, "are for the most partwell wooded, and seem very high. " [Footnote: The Bighorn Range, below thesnow line, is in the main well timbered with pine, fir, oak, and juniper. ]He longed to climb their great snow-encumbered peaks, fancying that hemight then see the Pacific, and never dreaming that more than eight hundredmiles of mountains and forests still lay between him and his goal. Through the whole of the present century the villages of the Snakes were ata considerable distance west of the Bighorn Range, and some of them wereeven on the upper waters of the Pacific slope. It is likely that they wereso in 1743, in which case the war-party would not only have reached theBighorn Mountains, but have pushed farther on to within sight of the greatWind River Range. Be this as it may, their scouts reached the chief wintercamp of the Snakes, and found it abandoned, with lodges still standing, andmany household possessions left behind. The enemy had discovered theirapproach, and fled. Instead of encouraging the allies, this news filledthem with terror, for they feared that the Snake warriors might make acircuit to the rear, and fall upon the camp where they had left their womenand children. The great chief spent all his eloquence in vain, nobody wouldlisten to him; and with characteristic fickleness they gave over theenterprise, and retreated in a panic. "Our advance was made in good order;but not so our retreat, " says the Chevalier's journal. "Everybody fled hisown way. Our horses, though good, were very tired, and got little to eat. "The Chevalier was one day riding with his friend, the great chief, when, looking behind him, he missed his two French attendants. Hastening back inalarm, he found them far in the rear, quietly feeding their horses underthe shelter of a clump of trees. He had scarcely joined them when he saw aparty of fifteen hostile Indians stealthily creeping forward, covered bytheir bull-hide shields. He and his men let them approach, and then gavethem a few shots; on which they immediately ran off, firearms being to theman astounding novelty. The three Frenchmen now tried to rejoin the great chief and his band, butthe task was not easy. The prairie, bare of snow and hard as flint, showedno trace of foot or hoof; and it was by rare good fortune that theysucceeded, on the second day, not in overtaking the chief, but in reachingthe camp where the women and children had been left. They found them all insafety; the Snakes had not attacked them, and the panic of the warriors wasneedless. It was the 9th of February. They were scarcely housed when ablizzard set in, and on the night of the 10th the plains were buried insnow. The great chief had not appeared. With such of his warriors as hecould persuade to follow him, he had made a wide circuit to find the trailof the lost Frenchmen, but, to his great distress, had completely failed. It was not till five days after the arrival of the Chevalier and his menthat the chief reached the camp, "more dead than alive, " in the words ofthe journal. All his hardships were forgotten when he found his whitefriends safe, for he had given them up for lost. "His sorrow turned to joy, and he could not give us attention and caresses enough. " The camp broke up, and the allied bands dispersed. The great chief and hisfollowers moved slowly through the snowdrifts towards the east-southeast, accompanied by the Frenchmen. Thus they kept on till the 1st of March, whenthe two brothers, learning that they were approaching the winter village ofa people called Gens de la Petite Cerise, or Choke-Cherry Indians, sent oneof their men, with a guide, to visit them. The man returned in ten days, bringing a message from the Choke-Cherry Indians, inviting the Frenchmen totheir lodges. The great chief of the Bow Indians, who seems to have regarded his youngfriends with mingled affection, respect, and wonder, was grieved at thethought of losing them, but took comfort when they promised to visit himagain, provided that he would make his abode near a certain river whichthey pointed out. To this he readily agreed, and then, with mutual regret, they parted. [Footnote: The only two tribes of this region who were a matchfor the Snakes were the Sioux and the Blackfeet. It is clear that the BowIndians could not have been Blackfeet, as in that case, after the war-partybroke up, they would have moved northward towards their own country, instead of east-southeast into the country of their enemies. Hence Iincline to think the Bow Indians a band of Sioux, or Dakota, --a peoplethen, as since, predominant in that country. ] [Footnote: The banks of theMissouri, in the part which La Vérendrye would have reached in following aneast-southeast course, were occupied by numerous bands or sub-tribes ofSioux, such as the Minneconjou, Yankton, Oncpapa, Brulé, and others, friends and relatives of the Bow Indians, supposing these to have beenSioux. ] The Frenchmen repaired to the village of the Choke-Cherry Indians, who, like the Bow Indians, were probably a band of Sioux. [Footnote: The Sioux, Cheyennes, and other prairie tribes use the small astringent wild cherryfor food. The squaws pound it, stones and all, and then dry it for winteruse. ] Hard by their lodges, which stood near the Missouri, the brothersburied a plate of lead graven with the royal arms, and raised a pile ofstones in honor of the Governor of Canada. They remained at this place tillApril; then, mounting their horses again, followed the Missouri upward tothe village of the Mandans, which they reached on the 18th of May. Afterspending a week here, they joined a party of Assinniboins, journeyed withthem towards Fort La Reine, and reached it on the 2d of July, --to the greatrelief of their father, who was waiting in suspense, having heard nothingof them for more than a year. Sixty-two years later, when the vast western regions then called Louisianahad just been ceded to the United States, Captains Lewis and Clark left theMandan villages with thirty-two men, traced the Missouri to the mountains, penetrated the wastes beyond, and made their way to the Pacific. The firststages of that remarkable exploration were anticipated by the brothers LaVérendrye. They did not find the Pacific, but they discovered the RockyMountains, or at least the part of them to which the name properly belongs;for the southern continuation of the great range had long been known to theSpaniards. Their bold adventure was achieved, not at the charge of agovernment, but at their own cost and that of their father, --not with aband of well-equipped men, but with only two followers. The fur-trading privilege which was to have been their compensation hadproved their ruin. They were still pursued without ceasing by the jealousyof rival traders and the ire of disappointed partners. "Here in Canada morethan anywhere else, " the Chevalier wrote, some years after his return, "envy is the passion _à la mode, _ and there is no escaping it. "[Footnote: Le Chevalier de la Vérendrye au Ministre, 30 Sept. 1750. ] It wasthe story of La Salle repeated. Beauharnois, however, still stood by them, encouraged and defended them, and wrote in their favor to the colonialminister. [Footnote: _La Vérendrye père au Ministre, 1 Nov. 1746, _ inMargry VI. 611. ] It was doubtless through his efforts that the elder LaVérendrye was at last promoted to a captaincy in the colony troops. Beauharnois was succeeded in the government by the sagacious and ableGalissonière, and he too befriended the explorers. "It seems to me, " hewrote to the minister, "that what you have been told touching the Sieur dela Vérendrye, to the effect that he has been more busy with his owninterests than in making discoveries, is totally false, and, moreover, thatany officers employed in such work will always be compelled to give some oftheir attention to trade, so long as the King allows them no other means ofsubsistence. These discoveries are very costly, and more fatiguing anddangerous than open war. " [Footnote: _La Galissonière au Ministre, 23Oct. 1747. _] Two years later, the elder La Vérendrye received the crossof the Order of St. Louis, --an honor much prized in Canada, but which hedid not long enjoy; for he died at Montreal in the following December, whenon the point of again setting out for the West. His intrepid sons survived, and they were not idle. One of them, theChevalier, had before discovered the river Saskatchawan, and ascended it asfar as the forks. [Footnote: _Mémoire en abrégé des Établissements etDécouvertes faits par le Sieur de la Vérendrye et ses Enfants. _] Hisintention was to follow it to the mountains, build a fort there, and thencepush westward in another search for the Pacific; but a disastrous eventruined all his hopes. La Galissonière returned to France, and the Marquisde la Jonquière succeeded him, with the notorious François Bigot asintendant. Both were greedy of money, --the one to hoard, and the other todissipate it. Clearly there was money to be got from the fur-trade ofManitoba, for La Vérendrye had made every preparation and incurred everyexpense. It seemed that nothing remained but to reap where he had sown. His commission to find the Pacific, with the privileges connected with it, was refused to his sons, and conferred on a stranger. La Jonquière wrote tothe minister: "I have charged M. De Saint-Pierre with this business. Heknows these countries better than any officer in all the colony. "[Footnote: _La Jonquière au Ministre, 27 Fev. 1750_. ] On the contrary, he had never seen them. It is difficult not to believe that La Jonquière, Bigot, and Saint-Pierre were partners in a speculation of which all threewere to share the profits. The elder La Vérendrye, not long before his death, had sent a largequantity of goods to his trading-forts. The brothers begged leave to returnthither and save their property from destruction. They declared themselveshappy to serve under the orders of Saint-Pierre, and asked for the use ofonly a single fort of all those which their father had built at his owncost. The answer was a flat refusal. In short, they were shamefully robbed. The Chevalier writes: "M. Le Marquis de la Jonquière, being pushed hard, and as I thought even touched, by my representations, told me at last thatM. De Saint-Pierre wanted nothing to do with me or my brothers. " "I am aruined man, " he continues. "I am more than two thousand livres in debt, andam still only a second ensign. My elder brother's grade is no better thanmine. My younger brother is only a cadet. This is the fruit of all that myfather, my brothers, and I have done. My other brother, whom the Siouxmurdered some years ago, was not the most unfortunate among us. We mustlose all that has cost us so much, unless M. De Saint-Pierre should takejuster views, and prevail on the Marquis de la Jonquière to share them. Tobe thus shut out from the West is to be most cruelly robbed of a sort ofinheritance which we had all the pains of acquiring, and of which otherswill get all the profit. " [Footnote: _Le Chevalier de la Vérendrye auMinistre, 30 Sept. 1750. _] His elder brother writes in a similar strain: "We spent our youth and ourproperty in building up establishments so advantageous to Canada; and afterall, we were doomed to see a stranger gather the fruit we had taken suchpains to plant. " And he complains that their goods left in thetrading-posts were wasted, their provisions consumed, and the men in theirpay used to do the work of others. [Footnote: _Mémoire des Services dePierre Gautier de la Vérendrye l'aisné, présenté à Mg'r. Rouille, ministreet secrétaire d'Etat. _] They got no redress. Saint-Pierre, backed by the Governor and theIntendant, remained master of the position. The brothers sold a small pieceof land, their last remaining property, to appease their most pressingcreditors. [Footnote: Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, in spite of his treatmentof the La Vérendrye brothers, had merit as an officer. It was he whoreceived Washington at Fort Le Bœuf in 1754. He was killed in 1755, at thebattle of Lake George. See _Montcalm and Wolfe, _ I. 303. ] Saint-Pierre set out for Manitoba on the 5th of June, 1750. Though he hadlived more or less in the woods for thirty-six years, and though LaJonquière had told the minister that he knew the countries to which he wasbound better than anybody else, it is clear from his own journal that hewas now visiting them for the first time. They did not please him. "I wastold, " he says, "that the way would grow harder and more dangerous as weadvanced, and I found, in fact, that one must risk life and property everymoment. " Finding himself and his men likely to starve, he sent some ofthem, under an ensign named Niverville, to the Saskatchawan. They could notreach it, and nearly perished on the way. "I myself was no more fortunate, "says Saint-Pierre. "Food was so scarce that I sent some of my people intothe woods among the Indians, --which did not save me from a fast so rigorousthat it deranged my health and put it out of my power to do anythingtowards accomplishing my mission. Even if I had had strength enough, thewar that broke out among the Indians would have made it impossible toproceed. " Niverville, after a winter of misery, tried to fulfil an order which he hadreceived from his commander. When the Indians guided the two brothers LaVérendrye to the Rocky Mountains, the course they took tended so farsouthward that the Chevalier greatly feared it might lead to Spanishsettlements; and he gave it as his opinion that the next attempt to findthe Pacific should be made farther towards the north. Saint-Pierre hadagreed with him, and had directed Niverville to build a fort on theSaskatchawan, three hundred leagues above its mouth. Therefore, at the endof May, 1751, Niverville sent ten men in two canoes on this errand, andthey ascended the Saskatchawan to what Saint-Pierre calls the "RockMountain. " Here they built a small stockade fort and called it Fort LaJonquière. Niverville was to have followed them; but he fell ill, and layhelpless at the mouth of the river in such a condition that he could noteven write to his commander. Saint-Pierre set out in person from Fort La Reine for Fort La Jonquière, over ice and snow, for it was late in November. Two Frenchmen fromNiverville met him on the way, and reported that the Assinniboins hadslaughtered an entire band of friendly Indians on whom Saint-Pierre hadrelied to guide him. On hearing this he gave up the enterprise, andreturned to Fort La Reine. Here the Indians told him idle stories aboutwhite men and a fort in some remote place towards the west; but, heobserves, "nobody could reach it without encountering an infinity of tribesmore savage than it is possible to imagine. " He spent most of the winter at Fort La Reine. Here, towards the end ofFebruary, 1752, he had with him only five men, having sent out the rest insearch of food. Suddenly, as he sat in his chamber, he saw the fort full ofarmed Assinniboins, extremely noisy and insolent. He tried in vain to quietthem, and they presently broke into the guard-house and seized the arms. Amassacre would have followed, had not Saint-Pierre, who was far fromwanting courage, resorted to an expedient which has more than once provedeffective on such occasions. He knocked out the heads of two barrels ofgunpowder, snatched a firebrand, and told the yelping crowd that he wouldblow up them and himself together. At this they all rushed in fright out ofthe gate, while Saint-Pierre ran after them, and bolted it fast. There wasgreat anxiety for the hunters, but they all came back in the evening, without having met the enemy. The men, however, were so terrified by theadventure that Saint-Pierre was compelled to abandon the fort, afterrecommending it to the care of another band of Assinniboins, who hadprofessed great friendship. Four days after he was gone they burned it tothe ground. He soon came to the conclusion that farther discovery was impossible, because the English of Hudson Bay had stirred up the Western tribes tooppose it. Therefore he set out for the settlements, and, reaching Quebecin the autumn of 1753, placed the journal of his futile enterprise in thehands of Duquesne, the new governor. [Footnote: _Journal sommaire duVoyage de Jacques Legardeur de Saint-Pierre, chargé de la Découverte de laMer de l'Ouest_ (British Museum). ] Canada was approaching her last agony. In the death-struggle of the SevenYears' War there was no time for schemes of Western discovery. The brothersLa Vérendrye sank into poverty and neglect. A little before the war brokeout, we find the eldest at the obscure Acadian post of Beauséjour, where hewrote to the colonial minister a statement of his services, which appearsto have received no attention. After the fall of Canada, the Chevalier dela Vérendrye, he whose eyes first beheld the snowy peaks of the RockyMountains, perished in the wreck of the ship "Auguste, " on the coast ofCape Breton, in November, 1761. [Footnote: The above narrative rests mainly on contemporary documents, official in character, of which the originals are preserved in the archivesof the French Government. These papers have recently been printed by M. Pierre Margry, late custodian of the Archives of the Marine and Colonies atParis, in the sixth volume of his _Découvertes et Établissements desFrançais dans l'Amérique Septentrionale, _--a documentary collection ofgreat value, published at the expense of the American Government. It was M. Margry who first drew attention to the achievements of the family of LaVérendrye, by an article in the _Moniteur_ in 1852. I owe to hiskindness the opportunity of using the above-mentioned documents in advanceof publication. I obtained copies from duplicate originals of some of theprincipal among them from the Dépôt des Cartes de la Marine, in 1872. Theseanswer closely, with rare and trivial variations, to the same documents asprinted from other sources by M. Margry. Some additional papers preservedin the Archives of the Marine and Colonies have also been used. ] [Footnote: My friends, Hon. William C. Endicott, then Secretary of War, andCaptain John G. Bourke, Third Cavalry, U. S. A. , kindly placed in my handsa valuable collection of Government maps and surveys of the country betweenthe Missouri and the Rocky Mountains visited by the brothers La Vérendrye;and I have received from Captain Bourke, and also from Mr. E. A. Snow, formerly of the Third Cavalry, much information concerning the same region, repeatedly traversed by them in peace and war. ] CHAPTER XVII. 1700-1750. THE CHAIN OF POSTS. OPPOSING CLAIMS. --ATTITUDE OF THE RIVAL NATIONS. --AMERICA A FRENCHCONTINENT--ENGLAND A USURPER. --FRENCH DEMANDS. --MAGNANIMOUSPROPOSALS. --WARLIKE PREPARATION. --NIAGARA. --OSWEGO. --CROWN POINT. --THEPASSES OF THE WEST SECURED. We have seen that the contest between France and England in America divideditself, after the Peace of Utrecht, into three parts, --the Acadian contest;the contest for northern New England; and last, though greatest, thecontest for the West. Nothing is more striking than the difference, orrather contrast, in the conduct and methods of the rival claimants to thiswild but magnificent domain. Each was strong in its own qualities, andutterly wanting in the qualities that marked its opponent. On maps of British America in the earlier part of the eighteenth century, one sees the eastern shore, from Maine to Georgia, garnished with ten ortwelve colored patches, very different in shape and size, and defined, moreor less distinctly, by dividing lines which, in some cases, are prolongedwestward till they touch the Mississippi, or even cross it and stretchindefinitely towards the Pacific. These patches are the British provinces, and the westward prolongation of their boundary lines represents theirseveral claims to vast interior tracts, founded on ancient grants, but notmade good by occupation, or vindicated by any exertion of power. These English communities took little thought of the region beyond theAlleghanies. Each lived a life of its own, shut within its own limits, notdreaming of a future collective greatness to which the possession of theWest would be a necessary condition. No conscious community of aims andinterests held them together, nor was there any authority capable ofuniting their forces and turning them to a common object. Some of theservants of the Crown had urged the necessity of joining them all under astrong central government, as the only means of making them loyal subjectsand arresting the encroachments of France; but the scheme was plainlyimpracticable. Each province remained in jealous isolation, busied with itsown work, growing in strength, in the capacity of self-rule and the spiritof independence, and stubbornly resisting all exercise of authority fromwithout. If the English-speaking populations flowed westward, it was inobedience to natural laws, for the King did not aid the movement, the royalgovernors had no authority to do so, and the colonial assemblies were toomuch engrossed with immediate local interests. The power of these colonieswas that of a rising flood slowly invading and conquering, by theunconscious force of its own growing volume, unless means be found to holdit back by dams and embankments within appointed limits. In the French colonies all was different. Here the representatives of theCrown were men bred in an atmosphere of broad ambition and masterful andfar-reaching enterprise. Achievement was demanded of them. They recognizedthe greatness of the prize, studied the strong and weak points of theirrivals, and with a cautious forecast and a daring energy set themselves tothe task of defeating them. If the English colonies were comparatively strong in numbers, their numberscould not be brought into action; while if the French forces were small, they were vigorously commanded, and always ready at a word. It was unionconfronting division, energy confronting apathy, military centralizationopposed to industrial democracy; and, for a time, the advantage was all onone side. The demands of the French were sufficiently comprehensive. They repented oftheir enforced concessions at the Treaty of Utrecht, and in spite of thatcompact, maintained that, with a few local and trivial exceptions, thewhole North American continent, except Mexico, was theirs of right; whiletheir opponents seemed neither to understand the situation, nor see thegreatness of the stakes at issue. In 1720 Father Bobé, priest of the Congregation of Missions, drew up apaper in which he sets forth the claims of France with much distinctness, beginning with the declaration that "England has usurped from France nearlyeverything that she possesses in America, " and adding that theplenipotentiaries at Utrecht did not know what they were about when theymade such concessions to the enemy; that, among other blunders, they gavePort Royal to England when it belonged to France, who should "insistvigorously" on its being given back to her. He maintains that the voyages of Verrazzano and Ribaut made France owner ofthe whole continent, from Florida northward; that England was an interloperin planting colonies along the Atlantic coast, and will admit as much ifshe is honest, since all that country is certainly a part of New France. Inthis modest assumption of the point at issue, he ignores John Cabot and hisson Sebastian, who discovered North America more than twenty-five yearsbefore the voyage of Verrazzano, and more than sixty years before that ofRibaut. When the English, proceeds Father Bobé, have restored Port Royal to us, which they are bound to do, though we ceded it by the treaty, a Frenchgovernor should be at once set over it, with a commission to command as faras Cape Cod, which would include Boston. We should also fortify ourselves, "in a way to stop the English, who have long tried to seize on FrenchAmerica, of which they know the importance, and of which, " he observes withmuch candor, "they would make a better use than the French do. .. TheAtlantic coast, as far as Florida, was usurped from the French, to whom itbelonged then, and to whom it belongs now. " [Footnote: "De maniere qu'onpuisse arreter les Anglois, qui depuis longtems tachent de s'emparer del'Amerique françoise, dont ils conoissent l'importance et dont ils feroientun meillieur usage que celuy qui les françois en font. "] England, as hethinks, is bound in honor to give back these countries to their true owner;and it is also the part of wisdom to do so, since by grasping at too much, one often loses all. But France, out of her love of peace, will cede toEngland the countries along the Atlantic, from the Kennebec in New Franceto the Jordan [Footnote: On the river Jordan, so named by Vasquez deAyllon, see _Pioneers of France in the New World_, pp. 11, 39 (revisededition) _note_. It was probably the Broad River of South Carolina. ]in Carolina, on condition that England will restore to her all that shegave up by the Treaty of Utrecht. When this is done, France, alwaysgenerous, will consent to accept as boundary a line drawn from the mouth ofthe Kennebec, passing thence midway between Schenectady and Lake Champlainand along the ridge of the Alleghanies to the river Jordan, the countrybetween this line and the sea to belong to England, and the rest of thecontinent to France. If England does not accept this generous offer, she is to be told that theKing will give to the Compagnie des Indes (Law's Mississippi Company) fullauthority to occupy "all the countries which the English have usurped fromFrance;" and, pursues Father Bobé, "it is certain that the fear of havingto do with so powerful a company will bring the English to our terms. " Thecompany that was thus to strike the British heart with terror was the samewhich all the tonics and stimulants of the government could not save frompredestined ruin. But, concludes this ingenious writer, whether Englandaccepts our offers or not, France ought not only to take a high tone(_parler avec hauteur_), but also to fortify diligently, and make goodher right by force of arms. [Footnote: _Second Mémoire concernant lesLimites des Colonies présenté en 1720 par Bobé, prêtre de la Congrégationde la Mission_ (Archives Nationales). ] Three years later we have another document, this time of an officialcharacter, and still more radical in its demands. It admits that Port Royaland a part of the Nova Scotian peninsula, under the name of Acadia, wereceded to England by the treaty, and consents that she shall keep them, butrequires her to restore the part of New France that she has wrongfullyseized, --namely, the whole Atlantic coast from the Kennebec to Florida;since France never gave England this country, which is hers by thediscovery of Verrazzano in 1524. Here, again, the voyages of the Cabots, in1497 and 1498, are completely ignored. "It will be seen, " pursues this curious document, "that our kings havealways preserved sovereignty over the countries between the 30th and the50th degrees of north latitude. A time will come when they will be in aposition to assert their rights, and then it will be seen that thedominions of a king of France cannot be usurped with impunity. What wedemand now is that the English make immediate restitution. " No doubt, thepaper goes on to say, they will pretend to have prescriptive rights, because they have settled the country and built towns and cities in it; butthis plea is of no avail, because all that country is a part of New France, and because England rightfully owns nothing in America except what we, theFrench, gave her by the Treaty of Utrecht, which is merely Port Royal andAcadia. She is bound in honor to give back all the vast countries she hasusurped; but, continues the paper, "the King loves the English nation toomuch, and wishes too much to do her kindness, and is too generous to exactsuch a restitution. Therefore, provided that England will give us back PortRoyal, Acadia, and everything else that France gave her by the Treaty ofUtrecht, the King will forego his rights, and grant to England the wholeAtlantic coast from the 32d degree of latitude to the Kennebec, to theextent inland of twenty French leagues [about fifty miles], on conditionthat she will solemnly bind herself never to overstep these limits orencroach in the least on French ground. " Thus, through the beneficence of France, England, provided that sherenounced all pretension to the rest of the continent, would become therightful owner of an attenuated strip of land reaching southward from theKennebec along the Atlantic seaboard. The document containing thismagnanimous proposal was preserved in the Château St. Louis at Quebec tillthe middle of the eighteenth century, when, the boundary dispute havingreached a crisis, and commissioners of the two powers having been appointedto settle it, a certified copy of the paper was sent to France for theirinstruction. [Footnote: _Demandes de la France_, 1723 (Archives desAffaires Etrangères). ] Father Bobé had advised that France should not trust solely to the justiceof her claims, but should back right with might, and build forts on theNiagara, the Ohio, the Tennessee, and the Alabama, as well as at othercommanding points, to shut out the English from the West. Of thesepositions, Niagara was the most important, for the possession of it wouldclose the access to the Upper Lakes, and stop the Western tribes on theirway to trade at Albany. The Five Nations and the Governor of New York werejealous of the French designs, which, however, were likely enough tosucceed, through the prevailing apathy and divisions in the Britishcolonies. "If those not immediately concerned, " writes a member of the NewYork council, "only stand gazing on while the wolff is murthering otherparts of the flock, it will come to every one's turn at last. " The warningwas well founded, but it was not heeded. Again: "It is the policy of theFrench to attack one colony at a time, and the others are so besotted as tosit still. " [Footnote: _Colonel Heathcote to Governor Hunter, 8 July_, 1715. _Ibid, to Townshend, 12 July_, 1715. ] For gaining the consent of the Five Nations to the building of a Frenchfort at Niagara, Vaudreuil trusted chiefly to his agent among the Senecas, the bold, skilful, and indefatigable Joncaire, who was naturalized amongthat tribe, the strongest of the confederacy. Governor Hunter of New Yorksent Peter Schuyler and Philip Livingston to counteract his influence. TheFive Nations, who, conscious of declining power, seemed ready at this timeto be all things to all men, declared that they would prevent the Frenchfrom building at Niagara, which, as they said, would "shut them up as in aprison. " [Footnote: _Journal of Schuyler and Livingston_, 1720. ] Notlong before, however, they had sent a deputation to Montreal to say thatthe English made objection to Joncaire's presence among them, but that theywere masters of their land, and hoped that the French agent would come asoften as he pleased; and they begged that the new King of France would takethem under his protection. [Footnote: _Vaudreuil au Conseil deMarine_, 24 _Oct. _ 1717. ] Accordingly, Vaudreuil sent them apresent, with a message to the effect that they might plunder such Englishtraders as should come among them. [Footnote: _Vaudreuil et Bégon auConseil de Marine_, 26 _Oct. _ 1719] Yet so jealous were the Iroquois of a French fort at Niagara that they sentthree Seneca chiefs to see what was going on there. The chiefs found a fewFrenchmen in a small blockhouse, or loopholed storehouse, which they hadjust built near Lewiston Heights. The three Senecas requested them todemolish it and go away, which the Frenchmen refused to do; on which theSenecas asked the English envoys, Schuyler and Livingston, to induce theGovernor of New York to destroy the obnoxious building. In short, the FiveNations wavered incessantly between their two European neighbors, andchanged their minds every day. The skill and perseverance of the Frenchemissaries so far prevailed at last that the Senecas consented to thebuilding of a fort at the mouth of the Niagara, where Denonville had builtone in 1687; and thus that important pass was made tolerably secure. Meanwhile the English of New York, or rather Burnet, their governor, werenot idle. Burnet was on ill terms with his Assembly, which grudged him allhelp in serving the province whose interests it was supposed to represent. Burnet's plan was to build a fortified trading-house at Oswego, on LakeOntario, in the belief that the Western Indians, who greatly preferredEnglish goods and English prices, would pass Niagara and bring their fursto the new post. He got leave from the Five Nations to execute his plan, bought canoes, hired men, and built a loopholed house of stone on the siteof the present city of Oswego. As the Assembly would give no money, Burnetfurnished it himself; and though the object was one of the greatestimportance to the province, he was never fully repaid. [Footnote: "I amashamed to confess that he built the fort at his private expense, and thata balance of above £56 remains due to his estate to this very day. " Smith, _History of New York_, 267 (ed. 1814). ] A small garrison for the newpost was drawn from the four independent companies maintained in theprovince at the charge of the Crown. The establishment of Oswego greatly alarmed and incensed the French, and acouncil of war at Quebec resolved to send two thousand men against it; butVaudreuil's successor, the Marquis de Beauharnois, learning that the courtwas not prepared to provoke a war, contented himself with sending a summonsto the commanding officer to abandon and demolish the place within afortnight. [Footnote: _Mémoire de Dupuy_, 1728. Dupuy was intendant ofCanada. The King approved the conduct of Beauharnois in not using force. _Dépêche du Roy, 14 Mai, 1728. _] To this no attention was given; andas Burnet had foreseen, Oswego became the great centre of Indian trade, while Niagara, in spite of its more favorable position, was comparativelyslighted by the Western tribes. The chief danger rose from the obstinateprejudice of the Assembly, which, in its disputes with the Royal Governor, would give him neither men nor money to defend the new post. The Canadian authorities, who saw in Oswego an intrusion on their domainand a constant injury and menace, could not attack it without bringing on awar, and therefore tried to persuade the Five Nations to destroy it, --anattempt which completely failed. [Footnote: When urged by the youngerLongueuil to drive off the English from Oswego, the Indians replied, "Drivethem off thyself. " _"Chassez-les toi-même. " Longueuil fils au Ministre, 19 Oct. 1728. _] They then established a trading-post at Toronto, in thevain hope of stopping the Northern tribes on their way to the moreprofitable English market, and they built two armed vessels at FortFrontenac to control the navigation of Lake Ontario. Meanwhile, in another quarter the French made an advance far morethreatening to the English colonies than Oswego was to their own. They hadalready built a stone fort at Chambly, which covered Montreal from anyEnglish attack by way of Lake Champlain. As that lake was the great highwaybetween the rival colonies, the importance of gaining full mastery of itwas evident. It was rumored in Canada that the English meant to seize andfortify the place called Scalp Point (_Pointe à la Chevelure_) by theFrench, and Crown Point by the English, where the lake suddenly contractsto the proportions of a river, so that a few cannon would stop the passage. As early as 1726 the French made an attempt to establish themselves on theeast side of the lake opposite Crown Point, but were deterred by theopposition of Massachusetts. This eastern shore was, however, claimed notonly by Massachusetts, but by her neighbor, New Hampshire, with whom shepresently fell into a dispute about the ownership, and, as a writer of thetime observes, "while they were quarrelling for the bone, the French ranaway with it. " [Footnote: Mitchell, _Contest in America_, 22. ] At length, in 1731, the French took post on the western side of the lake, and began to intrench themselves at Crown Point, which was within thebounds claimed by New York; but that province, being then engrossed, notonly by her chronic dispute with her Governor, but by a quarrel with hernext neighbor, New Jersey, slighted the danger from the common enemy, andleft the French to work their will. It was Saint-Luc de la Corne, Lieutenant du Roy at Montreal, who pointed out the necessity of fortifyingthis place, [Footnote: _La Corne au Ministre, 15 Oct. 1730. _] in orderto anticipate the English, who, as he imagined, were about to do so, --adanger which was probably not imminent, since the English colonies, as awhole, could not and would not unite for such a purpose, while theindividual provinces were too much absorbed in their own internal affairsand their own jealousies and disputes to make the attempt. La Corne'ssuggestion found favor at court, and the Governor of Canada was ordered tooccupy Crown Point. The Sieur de la Fresnière was sent thither with troopsand workmen, and a fort was built, and named Fort Frédéric. It contained amassive stone tower, mounted with cannon to command the lake, which is herebut a musket-shot wide. Thus was established an advanced post of France, --aconstant menace to New York and New England, both of which denounced it asan outrageous encroachment on British territory, but could not unite to ridthemselves of it. [Footnote: On the establishment of Crown Point, _Beauharnois et Hocquart au Roy_, 10 Oct. 1731; _Beauharnois etHocquart au Ministre_, 14 Nov. 1731. ] While making this bold push against their neighbors of the South, theFrench did not forget the West; and towards the middle of the century theyhad occupied points controlling all the chief waterways between Canada andLouisiana. Niagara held the passage from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie. Detroitclosed the entrance to Lake Huron, and Michillimackinac guarded the pointwhere Lake Huron is joined by Lakes Michigan and Superior; while the fortcalled La Baye, at the head of Green Bay, stopped the way to theMississippi by Marquette's old route of Fox River and the Wisconsin. Another route to the Mississippi was controlled by a post on the Maumee towatch the carrying-place between that river and the Wabash, and by anotheron the Wabash where Vincennes now stands. La Salle's route, by way of theKankakee and the Illinois, was barred by a fort on the St. Joseph; and evenif, in spite of these obstructions, an enemy should reach the Mississippiby any of its northern affluents, the cannon of Fort Chartres would preventhim from descending it. These various Western forts, except Fort Chartres and Fort Niagara, whichwere afterwards rebuilt, the one in stone and the other in earth, werestockades of no strength against cannon. Slight as they were, theirestablishment was costly; and as the King, to whom Canada was a yearlyloss, grudged every franc spent upon it, means were contrived to make themself-supporting. Each of them was a station of the fur-trade, and theposition of most of them had been determined more or less with a view tothat traffic. Hence they had no slight commercial value. In some of them the Crown itselfcarried on trade through agents who usually secured a lion's share of theprofits. Others were farmed out to merchants at a fixed sum. In others, again, the commanding-officer was permitted to trade on condition ofmaintaining the post, paying the soldiers, and supporting a missionary;while in one case, at least, he was subjected to similar obligations, though not permitted to trade himself, but only to sell trading licenses tomerchants. These methods of keeping up forts and garrisons were of courseopen to prodigious abuses, and roused endless jealousies and rivalries. France had now occupied the valley of the Mississippi, and joined withloose and uncertain links her two colonies of Canada and Louisiana. But thestrength of her hold on these regions of unkempt savagery bore noproportion to the vastness of her claims or the growing power of the rivalswho were soon to contest them. [Footnote: On the claim of France that allNorth America, except the Spanish colonies of Mexico and Florida, belongedto her, see Appendix A. ] CHAPTER XVIII. 1744, 1745. A MAD SCHEME. WAR OF THE AUSTRIAN SUCCESSION. --THE FRENCH SEIZE CANSEAU AND ATTACKANNAPOLIS. --PLAN OF REPRISAL. --WILLIAM VAUGHAN. --GOVERNOR SHIRLEY. --HEADVISES AN ATTACK ON LOUISBOURG. --THE ASSEMBLY REFUSES, BUT AT LASTCONSENTS. --PREPARATION. --WILLIAM PEPPERRELL. --GEORGE WHITEFIELD. --PARSONMOODY. --THE SOLDIERS. --THE PROVINCIAL NAVY. --COMMODORE WARREN. --SHIRLEY ASAN AMATEUR SOLDIER. --THE FLEET SAILS. The Peace of Utrecht left unsettled the perilous questions of boundarybetween the rival powers in North America, and they grew more perilousevery day. Yet the quarrel was not yet quite ripe; and though the FrenchGovernor, Vaudreuil, and perhaps also his successor, Beauharnois, seemedwilling to precipitate it, the courts of London and Versailles stillhesitated to appeal to the sword. Now, as before, it was a European, andnot an American, quarrel that was to set the world on fire. The War of theAustrian Succession broke out in 1744. When Frederic of Prussia seizedSilesia and began that bloody conflict, it meant that packs of howlingsavages would again spread fire and carnage along the New England border. News of the declaration of war reached Louisbourg some weeks before itreached Boston, and the French military Governor, Duquesnel, thought he sawan opportunity to strike an unexpected blow for the profit of France andhis own great honor. One of the French inhabitants of Louisbourg has left us a short sketch ofDuquesnel, whom he calls "capricious, of an uncertain temper, inclined todrink, and when in his cups neither reasonable nor civil. " [Footnote:_Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg contenant une Relation exacte etcirconstanciée de la Prise de l'Isle Royale par les Anglois. _] He addsthat the Governor had offended nearly every officer in the garrison, anddenounces him as the "chief cause of our disasters. " When Duquesnel heardof the declaration of war, his first thought was to strike some blow beforethe English were warned. The fishing-station of Canseau was a temptingprize, being a near and an inconvenient neighbor, at the southern end ofthe Strait of Canseau, which separates the Acadian peninsula from theisland of Cape Breton, or Isle Royale, of which Louisbourg was the place ofstrength. Nothing was easier than to seize Canseau, which had no defencebut a wooden redoubt built by the fishermen, and occupied by about eightyEnglishmen thinking no danger. Early in May, Duquesnel sent CaptainDuvivier against it, with six hundred, or, as the English say, nine hundredsoldiers and sailors, escorted by two small armed vessels. The Englishsurrendered, on condition of being sent to Boston, and the miserablehamlet, with its wooden citadel, was burned to the ground. Thus far successful, the Governor addressed himself to the capture ofAnnapolis, --which meant the capture of all Acadia. Duvivier was againappointed to the command. His heart was in the work, for he was adescendant of La Tour, feudal claimant of Acadia in the preceding century. Four officers and ninety regular troops were given him, [Footnote:_Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg. _] and from three to four hundredMicmac and Malecite Indians joined him on the way. The Micmacs, undercommand, it is said, of their missionary, Le Loutre, had already tried tosurprise the English fort, but had only succeeded in killing two unarmedstragglers in the adjacent garden. [Footnote: _Mascarene to theBesiegers, 3 July, _ 1744. Duquesnel had written to all the missionaries"d'engager les sauvages à faire quelque coup important sur le fort"(Annapolis). _Duquesnel à Beauharnois, 1 Juin_, 1744. ] Annapolis, from the neglect and indifference of the British ministry, wasstill in such a state of dilapidation that its sandy ramparts werecrumbling into the ditches, and the cows of the garrison walked over themat their pleasure. It was held by about a hundred effective men under MajorMascarene, a French Protestant whose family had been driven into exile bythe persecutions that followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Shirley, governor of Massachusetts, sent him a small reinforcement ofmilitia; but as most of these came without arms, and as Mascarene had fewor none to give them, they proved of doubtful value. Duvivier and his followers, white and red, appeared before the fort inAugust, made their camp behind the ridge of a hill that overlooked it, andmarched towards the rampart; but being met by a discharge of cannon-shot, they gave up all thoughts of an immediate assault, began a fusillade undercover of darkness, and kept the garrison on the alert all night. Duvivier had looked for help from the Acadians of the neighboring village, who were French in blood, faith, and inclination. They would not join himopenly, fearing the consequences if his attack should fail; but they didwhat they could without committing themselves, and made a hundred and fiftyscaling-ladders for the besiegers. Duvivier now returned to his first planof an assault, which, if made with vigor, could hardly have failed. Beforeattempting it, he sent Mascarene a flag of truce to tell him that he hourlyexpected two powerful armed ships from Louisbourg, besides a reinforcementof two hundred and fifty regulars, with cannon, mortars, and other engineryof war. At the same time he proposed favorable terms of capitulation, notto take effect till the French war-ships should have appeared. Mascarenerefused all terms, saying that when he saw the French ships, he wouldconsider what to do, and meanwhile would defend himself as he could. The expected ships were the "Ardent" and the "Caribou, " then at Louisbourg. A French writer says that when Duquesnel directed their captains to sailfor Annapolis and aid in its capture, they refused, saying that they had noorders from the court. [Footnote: _ettre d'un Habitant deLouisbourg. _] Duvivier protracted the parley with Mascarene, and waitedin vain for the promised succor. At length the truce was broken off, andthe garrison, who had profited by it to get rest and sleep, greeted therenewal of hostilities with three cheers. Now followed three weeks of desultory attacks; but there was no assault, though Duvivier had boasted that he had the means of making a successfulone. He waited for the ships which did not come, and kept the Acadians atwork in making ladders and fire-arrows. At length, instead of aid fromLouisbourg, two small vessels appeared from Boston, bringing Mascarene areinforcement of fifty Indian rangers. This discouraged the besiegers, andtowards the end of September they suddenly decamped and vanished. "Theexpedition was a failure, " writes the _Habitant de Louisbourg_, "though one might have bet everything on its success, so small was the forcethat the enemy had to resist us. " This writer thinks that the seizure of Canseau and the attack of Annapoliswere sources of dire calamity to the French. "Perhaps, " he says, "theEnglish would have let us alone if we had not first insulted them. It wasthe interest of the people of New England to live at peace with us, andthey would no doubt have done so, if we had not taken it into our heads towaken them from their security. They expected that both parties wouldmerely stand on the defensive, without taking part in this cruel war thathas set Europe in a blaze. " Whatever might otherwise have been the disposition of the "Bastonnais, " orNew England people, the attacks on Canseau and Annapolis alarmed andexasperated them, and engendered in some heated brains a project of wildaudacity. This was no less than the capture of Louisbourg, reputed thestrongest fortress, French or British, in North America, with the possibleexception of Quebec, which owed its chief strength to nature, and not toart. Louisbourg was a standing menace to all the Northern British colonies. Itwas the only French naval station on the continent, and was such a haunt ofprivateers that it was called the American Dunkirk. It commanded the chiefentrance of Canada, and threatened to ruin the fisheries, which were nearlyas vital to New England as was the fur-trade to New France. The Frenchgovernment had spent twenty-five years in fortifying it, and the cost ofits powerful defences--constructed after the system of Vauban--was reckonedat thirty million livres. This was the fortress which William Vaughan of Damariscotta advisedGovernor Shirley to attack with fifteen hundred raw New England militia. [Footnote: Smollett says that the proposal came from Robert Auchmuty, judgeof admiralty in Massachusetts. Hutchinson, Douglas, Belknap, and otherwell-informed writers ascribe the scheme to Vaughan, while Pepperrell saysthat it originated with Colonel John Bradstreet. In the Public RecordOffice there is a letter from Bradstreet, written in 1753, but withoutaddress, in which he declares that he not only planned the siege, but "wasthe Principal Person in conducting it, "--assertions which may pass for whatthey are worth, Bradstreet being much given to self-assertion. ] Vaughan wasborn at Portsmouth in 1703, and graduated at Harvard College nineteen yearslater. His father, also a graduate of Harvard, was for a timelieutenant-governor of New Hampshire. Soon after leaving college, theyounger Vaughan--a youth of restless and impetuous activity--established afishing-station on the island of Matinicus, off the coast of Maine, andafterwards became the owner of most of the land on both sides of the littleriver Damariscotta, where he built a garrison-house, or wooden fort, established a considerable settlement, and carried on an extensive trade infish and timber. He passed for a man of ability and force, but was accusedof a headstrong rashness, a self-confidence that hesitated at nothing, anda harebrained contempt of every obstacle in his way. Once, having fittedout a number of small vessels at Portsmouth for his fishing at Matinicus, he named a time for sailing. It was a gusty and boisterous March day, thesea was rough, and old sailors told him that such craft could not carrysail. Vaughan would not listen, but went on board and ordered his men tofollow. One vessel was wrecked at the mouth of the river; the rest, aftersevere buffeting, came safe, with their owner, to Matinicus. Being interested in the fisheries, Vaughan was doubly hostile toLouisbourg, --their worst enemy. He found a willing listener in theGovernor, William Shirley. Shirley was an English barrister who had come toMassachusetts in 1731 to practise his profession and seek his fortune. After filling various offices with credit, he was made governor of theprovince in 1741, and had discharged his duties with both tact and talent. He was able, sanguine, and a sincere well-wisher to the province, thoughgnawed by an insatiable hunger for distinction. He thought himself a bornstrategist, and was possessed by a propensity for contriving militaryoperations, which finally cost him dear. Vaughan, who knew something ofLouisbourg, told him that in winter the snow-drifts were often banked sohigh against the rampart that it could be mounted readily, if theassailants could but time their arrival at the right moment. This was noteasy, as that rocky and tempestuous coast was often made inaccessible byfogs and surf; Shirley therefore preferred a plan of his own contriving. But nothing could be done without first persuading his Assembly to consent. On the 9th of January the General Court of Massachusetts--a convention ofgrave city merchants and solemn rustics from the country villages--wasastonished by a message from the Governor to the effect that he had acommunication to make, so critical that he wished the whole body to swearsecrecy. The request was novel, but being then on good terms with Shirley, the Representatives consented, and took the oath. Then, to their amazement, the Governor invited them to undertake forthwith the reduction ofLouisbourg. The idea of an attack on that redoubtable fortress was notnew. Since the autumn, proposals had been heard to petition the Britishministry to make the attempt, under a promise that the colonies would givetheir best aid. But that Massachusetts should venture it alone, or withsuch doubtful help as her neighbors might give, at her own charge and risk, though already insolvent, without the approval or consent of the ministry, and without experienced officers or trained soldiers, was a startlingsuggestion to the sober-minded legislators of the General Court. Theylistened, however, with respect to the Governor's reasons, and appointed acommittee of the two houses to consider them. The committee deliberated forseveral days, and then made a report adverse to the plan, as was also thevote of the Court. Meanwhile, in spite of the oath, the secret had escaped. It is said that acountry member, more pious than discreet, prayed so loud and fervently, athis lodgings, for light to guide him on the momentous question, that hiswords were overheard, and the mystery of the closed doors was revealed. Thenews flew through the town, and soon spread through all the province. After his defeat in the Assembly, Shirley returned, vexed and disappointed, to his house in Roxbury. A few days later, James Gibson, a Boston merchant, says that he saw him "walking slowly down King Street, with his head boweddown, as if in a deep study. " "He entered my counting-room, " pursues themerchant, "and abruptly said, 'Gibson, do you feel like giving up theexpedition to Louisbourg?'" Gibson replied that he wished the House wouldreconsider their vote. "You are the very man I want!" exclaimed theGovernor. [Footnote: Gibson, _Journal of the Siege of Louisbourg_. ]They then drew up a petition for reconsideration, which Gibson signed, promising to get also the signatures of merchants, not only of Boston, butof Salem, Marblehead, and other towns along the coast. In this he wascompletely successful, as all New England merchants looked on Louisbourg asan arch-enemy. The petition was presented, and the question came again before theAssembly. There had been much intercourse between Boston and Louisbourg, which had largely depended on New England for provisions. [Footnote:_Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg_. ] The captured militia-men ofCanseau, who, after some delay, had been sent to Boston, according to theterms of surrender, had used their opportunities to the utmost, and couldgive Shirley much information concerning the fortress. It was reported thatthe garrison was mutinous, and that provisions were fallen short, so thatthe place could not hold out without supplies from France. These, however, could be cut off only by blockading the harbor with a stronger naval forcethan all the colonies together could supply. The Assembly had beforereached the reasonable conclusion that the capture of Louisbourg was beyondthe strength of Massachusetts, and that the only course was to ask the helpof the mother-country. [Footnote: _Report of Council, 12 Jan. 1745_. ] The reports of mutiny, it was urged, could not be depended on; raw militiain the open field were no match for disciplined troops behind ramparts; theexpense would be enormous, and the credit of the province, already sunklow, would collapse under it; we should fail, and instead of sympathy, getnothing but ridicule. Such were the arguments of the opposition, to whichthere was little to answer, except that if Massachusetts waited for helpfrom England, Louisbourg would be reinforced and the golden opportunitylost. The impetuous and irrepressible Vaughan put forth all his energy; theplan was carried by a single vote. And even this result was said to be dueto the accident of a member in opposition falling and breaking a leg as hewas hastening to the House. The die was cast, and now doubt and hesitation vanished. All alike setthemselves to push on the work. Shirley wrote to all the colonies, as farsouth as Pennsylvania, to ask for co-operation. All excused themselvesexcept Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island, and the whole burdenfell on the four New England colonies. These, and Massachusetts above all, blazed with pious zeal; for as the enterprise was directed against RomanCatholics, it was supposed in a peculiar manner to commend itself toHeaven. There were prayers without ceasing in churches and families, andall was ardor, energy, and confidence; while the other colonies looked onwith distrust, dashed with derision. When Benjamin Franklin, inPhiladelphia, heard what was afoot, he wrote to his brother in Boston, "Fortified towns are hard nuts to crack, and your teeth are not accustomedto it; but some seem to think that forts are as easy taken as snuff. "[Footnote: Sparks, _Works of Franklin_, VII. 16. ] It has been said ofFranklin that while he represented some of the New England qualities, hehad no part in that enthusiasm of which our own time saw a crowning examplewhen the cannon opened at Fort Sumter, and which pushes to its end withoutreckoning chances, counting costs, or heeding the scoffs of ill-wishers. The prevailing hope and faith were, it is true, born largely of ignorance, aided by the contagious zeal of those who first broached the project; foras usual in such cases, a few individuals supplied the initiate force ofthe enterprise. Vaughan the indefatigable rode express to Portsmouth with aletter from Shirley to Benning Wentworth, governor of New Hampshire. Thatpompous and self-important personage admired the Massachusetts Governor, who far surpassed him in talents and acquirements, and who at the same timeknew how to soothe his vanity. Wentworth was ready to do his part, but hisprovince had no money, and the King had ordered him to permit the issue ofno more paper currency. The same prohibition had been laid upon Shirley;but he, with sagacious forecast, had persuaded his masters to relent so faras to permit the issue of £50, 000 in what were called bills of credit tomeet any pressing exigency of war. He told this to Wentworth, and succeededin convincing him that his province might stretch her credit likeMassachusetts, in case of similar military need. New Hampshire was thusenabled to raise a regiment of five hundred men out of her scantypopulation, with the condition that a hundred and fifty of them should bepaid and fed by Massachusetts. [Footnote: Correspondence of Shirley andWentworth, in _Belknap Papers, Provincial Papers of New Hampshire_, V. ] Shirley was less fortunate in Rhode Island. The Governor of that littlecolony called Massachusetts "our avowed enemy, always trying to defame us. "[Footnote: _Governor Wanton to the Agent of Rhode Island, 20 Dec. 1745, _ in _Colony Records of Rhode Island_, V. ] There was a grudgebetween the neighbors, due partly to notorious ill-treatment by theMassachusetts Puritans of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, andpartly to one of those boundary disputes which often produced ill-bloodamong the colonies. The Representatives of Rhode Island, forgetting pastdifferences, voted to raise a hundred and fifty men for the expedition, till, learning that the project was neither ordered nor approved by theHome Government, they prudently reconsidered their action. They voted, however, that the colony sloop "Tartar, " carrying fourteen cannon andtwelve swivels, should be equipped and manned for the service, and that theGovernor should be instructed to find and commission a captain and alieutenant to command her. [Footnote: _Colony Records of RhodeIsland_, V. (_Feb. _ 1745). ] Connecticut promised five hundred and sixteen men and officers, oncondition that Roger Wolcott, their commander, should have the second rankin the expedition. Shirley accordingly commissioned him as major-general. As Massachusetts was to supply above three thousand men, or more than threequarters of the whole force, she had a natural right to name aCommander-in-chief. It was not easy to choose one. The colony had been at peace for twentyyears, and except some grizzled Indian fighters of the last war, and somesurvivors of the Carthagena expedition, nobody had seen service. Few knewwell what a fortress was, and nobody knew how to attack one. Courage, energy, good sense, and popularity were the best qualities to be hoped forin the leader. Popularity was indispensable, for the soldiers were all tobe volunteers, and they would not enlist under a commander whom they didnot like. Shirley's choice was William Pepperrell, a merchant of Kittery. Knowing that Benning Wentworth thought himself the man for the place, hemade an effort to placate him, and wrote that he would gladly have givenhim the chief command, but for his gouty legs. Wentworth took fire at thesuggestion, forgot his gout, and declared himself ready to serve hiscountry and assume the burden of command. The position was awkward, andShirley was forced to reply, "On communicating your offer to two or threegentlemen in whose judgment I most confide, I found them clearly of opinionthat any alteration of the present command would be attended with greatrisk, both with respect to our Assembly and the soldiers being entirelydisgusted. " [Footnote: _Shirley to Wentworth, 16 Feb. _ 1745. ] The painter Smibert has left us a portrait of Pepperrell, --a good bourgeoisface, not without dignity, though with no suggestion of the soldier. Hisspacious house at Kittery Point still stands, sound and firm, thoughcurtailed in some of its proportions. Not far distant is another notedrelic of colonial times, the not less spacious mansion built by thedisappointed Wentworth at Little Harbor. I write these lines at a window ofthis curious old house, and before me spreads the scene familiar toPepperrell from childhood. Here the river Piscataqua widens to join thesea, holding in its gaping mouth the large island of Newcastle, withattendant groups of islets and island rocks, battered with the rack ofages, studded with dwarf savins, or half clad with patches of whortleberrybushes, sumac, and the shining wax-myrtle, green in summer, red with thetouch of October. The flood tide pours strong and full around them, only toebb away and lay bare a desolation of rocks and stones buried in a shock ofbrown drenched seaweed, broad tracts of glistening mud, sandbanks blackwith mussel-beds, and half-submerged meadows of eel-grass, with myriads ofminute shellfish clinging to its long lank tresses. Beyond all these liesthe main, or northern channel, more than deep enough, even when the tide isout, to float a line-of-battle-ship. On its farther bank stands the oldhouse of the Pepperrells, wearing even now an air of dingy respectability. Looking through its small, quaint window-panes, one could see across thewater the rude dwellings of fishermen along the shore of Newcastle, and theneglected earthwork called Fort William and Mary, that feebly guarded theriver's mouth. In front, the Piscataqua, curving southward, widened to meetthe Atlantic between rocky headlands and foaming reefs, and in dim distancethe Isles of Shoals seemed floating on the pale gray sea. Behind the Pepperrell house was a garden, probably more useful thanornamental, and at the foot of it were the owner's wharves, withstorehouses for salt-fish, naval stores, and imported goods for the countrytrade. Pepperrell was the son of a Welshman [Footnote: "A native of RavistockParish, in Wales" Parsons, _Life of Pepperrell_. Mrs. Adelaide CilleyWaldron, a descendant of Pepperrell, assures me, however, that his father, the emigrant, came, not from Wales, but from Devonshire. ] who migrated inearly life to the Isles of Shoals, and thence to Kittery, where by trade, ship-building, and the fisheries, he made a fortune, most of which he leftto his son William. The young Pepperrell learned what little was taught atthe village school, supplemented by a private tutor, whose instructions, however, did not perfect him in English grammar. In the eyes of hisself-made father, education was valuable only so far as it could make asuccessful trader; and on this point he had reason to be satisfied, as hisson passed for many years as the chief merchant in New England. He dealtin ships, timber, naval stores, fish, and miscellaneous goods brought fromEngland; and he also greatly prospered by successful land purchases, becoming owner of the greater part of the growing towns of Saco andScarborough. When scarcely twenty-one, he was made justice of the peace, onwhich he ordered from London what his biographer calls a law library, consisting of a law dictionary, Danvers' "Abridgment of the Common Law, "the "Complete Solicitor, " and several other books. In law as in war, hisbest qualities were good sense and good will. About the time when he wasmade a justice, he was commissioned captain of militia, then major, thenlieutenant-colonel, and at last colonel, commanding all the militia ofMaine. The town of Kittery chose him to represent her in the General Court, Maine being then a part of Massachusetts. Finally, he was made a member ofthe Governor's Council, --a post which he held for thirty-two years, duringeighteen of which he was president of the board. These civil dignities served him as educators better than tutor or villageschool; for they brought him into close contact with the chief men of theprovince; and in the Massachusetts of that time, so different from our own, the best education and breeding were found in the official class. At once aprovincial magnate and the great man of a small rustic village, his mannersare said to have answered to both positions, --certainly they were such asto make him popular. But whatever he became as a man, he learned nothingto fit him to command an army and lay siege to Louisbourg. Perhaps he feltthis, and thought, with the Governor of Rhode Island, that "the attempt toreduce that prodigiously strong town was too much for New England, whichhad not one officer of experience, nor even an engineer. " [Footnote:_Governor Wanton to the Agent of Rhode Island in London, 20 Dec. 1745. _] Moreover, he was unwilling to leave his wife, children, andbusiness. He was of a religious turn of mind, and partial to the clergy, who, on their part, held him in high favor. One of them, the famouspreacher, George Whitefield, was a guest at his house when he heard thatShirley had appointed him to command the expedition against Louisbourg. Whitefield had been the leading spirit in the recent religious fermentationcalled the Great Awakening, which, though it produced bitter quarrels amongthe ministers, besides other undesirable results, was imagined by many tomake for righteousness. So thought the Reverend Thomas Prince, who mournedover the subsiding delirium of his flock as a sign of back-sliding. "Theheavenly shower was over, " he sadly exclaims; "from fighting the devil theymust turn to fighting the French. " Pepperrell, always inclined to theclergy, and now in great perplexity and doubt, asked his guest Whitefieldwhether or not he had better accept the command. Whitefield gave him coldcomfort, told him that the enterprise was not very promising, and that ifhe undertook it, he must do so "with a single eye, " prepared for obloquy ifhe failed, and envy if he succeeded. [Footnote: Parsons, _Life ofPepperrell, _ 51. ] Henry Sherburn, commissary of the New Hampshire regiment, begged Whitefieldto furnish a motto for the flag. The preacher, who, zealot as he was, seemed unwilling to mix himself with so madcap a business, hesitated atfirst, but at length consented, and suggested the words, _Nil desperandumChristo duce_, which, being adopted, gave the enterprise the air of acrusade. It had, in fact, something of the character of one. The cause wasimagined to be the cause of Heaven, crowned with celestial benediction. Ithad the fervent support of the ministers, not only by prayers and sermons, but, in one case, by counsels wholly temporal. A certain pastor, muchesteemed for benevolence, proposed to Pepperrell, who had at last acceptedthe command, a plan, unknown to Vauban, for confounding the devices of theenemy. He advised that two trustworthy persons should cautiously walktogether along the front of the French ramparts under cover of night, oneof them carrying a mallet, with which he was to hammer the ground at shortintervals. The French sentinels, it seems to have been supposed, on hearingthis mysterious thumping, would be so bewildered as to give no alarm. Whileone of the two partners was thus employed, the other was to lay his ear tothe ground, which, as the adviser thought, would return a hollow sound ifthe artful foe had dug a mine under it; and whenever such secret danger wasdetected, a mark was to be set on the spot, to warn off the soldiers. [Footnote: Belknap, _Hist. New Hampshire_, II. 208. ] Equally zealous, after another fashion, was the Reverend Samuel Moody, popularly known as Father Moody, or Parson Moody, minister of York andsenior chaplain of the expedition. Though about seventy years old, he wasamazingly tough and sturdy. He still lives in the traditions of York as thespiritual despot of the settlement and the uncompromising guardian of itsmanners and doctrine, predominating over it like a rough little villagepope. The comparison would have kindled his burning wrath, for he abhorredthe Holy Father as an embodied Antichrist. Many are the stories told ofhim by the descendants of those who lived under his rod, and sometimes feltits weight; for he was known to have corrected offending parishioners withhis cane. [Footnote: Tradition told me at York by Mr. N. Marshall. ] Whensome one of his flock, nettled by his strictures from the pulpit, walked indudgeon towards the church door, Moody would shout after him, "Come back, you graceless sinner, come back!" or if any ventured to the alehouse of aSaturday night, the strenuous pastor would go in after them, collar them, drag them out, and send them home with rousing admonition. [Footnote:Lecture of Ralph Waldo Emerson, quoted by Cabot, Memoir of Emerson, I. 10. ] Few dared gainsay him, by reason both of his irritable temper and of thethick-skinned insensibility that encased him like armor of proof. And whilehis pachydermatous nature made him invulnerable as a rhinoceros, he had atthe same time a rough and ready humor that supplied keen weapons for thewarfare of words and made him a formidable antagonist. This commended himto the rude borderers, who also relished the sulphurous theology of theirspiritual dictator, just as they liked the raw and fiery liquors that wouldhave scorched more susceptible stomachs. What they did not like was thepitiless length of his prayers, which sometimes kept them afoot above twohours shivering in the polar cold of the unheated meeting-house, and whichwere followed by sermons of equal endurance; for the old man's lungs wereof brass, and his nerves of hammered iron. Some of the sufferers venturedto remonstrate; but this only exasperated him, till one parishioner, moreworldly wise than the rest, accompanied his modest petition for mercy withthe gift of a barrel of cider, after which the Parson's ministrations wereperceptibly less exhausting than before. He had an irrepressible conscienceand a highly aggressive sense of duty, which made him an intolerablemeddler in the affairs of other people, and which, joined to an underlyingkindness of heart, made him so indiscreet in his charities that his wifeand children were often driven to vain protest against the excesses of hisalmsgiving. The old Puritan fanaticism was rampant in him; and when hesailed for Louisbourg, he took with him an axe, intended, as he said, tohew down the altars of Antichrist and demolish his idols. [Footnote: Moodyfound sympathizers in his iconoclastic zeal. Deacon John Gray of Biddefordwrote to Pepperrell: "Oh that I could be with you and dear Parson Moody inthat church [at Louisbourg] to destroy the images there set up, and hearthe true Gospel of our Lord and Saviour there preached!"] Shirley's choice of a commander was perhaps the best that could have beenmade; for Pepperrell joined to an unusual popularity as little militaryincompetency as anybody else who could be had. Popularity, we have seen, was indispensable, and even company officers were appointed with an eye toit. Many of these were well-known men in rustic neighborhoods, who hadraised companies in the hope of being commissioned to command them. Otherswere militia officers recruiting under orders of the Governor. Thus, JohnStorer, major in the Maine militia, raised in a single day, it is said, acompany of sixty-one, the eldest being sixty years old, and the youngestsixteen. [Footnote: Bourne, _Hist, of Wells and Kennebunk_, 371. ] Theyformed about a quarter of the fencible population of the town of Wells, oneof the most exposed places on the border. Volunteers offered themselvesreadily everywhere; though the pay was meagre, especially in Maine andMassachusetts, where in the new provincial currency it was twenty-fiveshillings a month, --then equal to fourteen shillings sterling, or less thansixpence a day, [Footnote: Gibson, _Journal; Records of Rhode Island_, V. Governor Wanton, of that province, says, with complacency, that the payof Rhode Island was twice that of Massachusetts. ] the soldier furnishinghis own clothing and bringing his own gun. A full third of theMassachusetts contingent, or more than a thousand men, are reported to havecome from the hardy population of Maine, whose entire fighting force, asshown by the muster-rolls, was then but 2, 855. [Footnote: Parsons, _Lifeof Pepperrell_, 54. ] Perhaps there was not one officer among them whoseexperience of war extended beyond a drill on muster day and the sham fightthat closed the performance, when it generally happened that the rusticwarriors were treated with rum at the charge of their captain, to put themin good humor, and so induce them to obey the word of command. As the three provinces contributing soldiers recognized no common authoritynearer than the King, Pepperrell received three several commissions aslieutenant-general, --one from the Governor of Massachusetts, and the othersfrom the Governors of Connecticut and New Hampshire; while Wolcott, commander of the Connecticut forces, was commissioned as major-general byboth the Governor of his own province and that of Massachusetts. When thelevies were complete, it was found that Massachusetts had contributed about3, 300 men, Connecticut 516, and New Hampshire 304 in her own pay, besides150 paid by her wealthier neighbor. [Footnote: Of the Massachusettscontingent, three hundred men were raised and maintained at the charge ofthe merchant James Gibson. ] Rhode Island had lost faith and disbanded her150 men; but afterwards raised them again, though too late to take part inthe siege. Each of the four New England colonies had a little navy of its own, consisting of from one to three or four small armed vessels; and asprivateering--which was sometimes a euphemism for piracy where Frenchmenand Spaniards were concerned--a favorite occupation, it was possible toextemporize an additional force in case of need. For a naval commander, Shirley chose Captain Edward Tyng, who had signalized himself in the pastsummer by capturing a French privateer of greater strength than his own. Shirley authorized him to buy for the province the best ship he could find, equip her for fighting, and take command of her. Tyng soon found a brig tohis mind, on the stocks nearly ready for launching. She was rapidly fittedfor her new destination, converted into a frigate, mounted with 24 guns, and named the "Massachusetts. " The rest of the naval force consisted of theship "Cæsar, " of 20 guns; a vessel called the "Shirley, " commanded byCaptain Rous, and also carrying 20 guns; another, of the kind called a"snow, " carrying 16 guns; one sloop of 12 guns, and two of 8 guns each; the"Boston Packet" of 16 guns; two sloops from Connecticut of 16 guns each; aprivateer hired in Rhode Island, of 20 guns; the government sloop "Tartar"of the same colony, carrying 14 carriage guns and 12 swivels; and, finally, the sloop of 14 guns which formed the navy of New Hampshire. [Footnote: Thelist is given by Williamson, II. 227. ] It was said, with apparent reason, that one or two heavy Frenchships-of-war--and a number of such was expected in the spring--wouldoutmatch the whole colonial squadron, and, after mastering it, would holdall the transports at mercy; so that the troops on shore, having no meansof return and no hope of succor, would be forced to surrender or starve. The danger was real and serious, and Shirley felt the necessity of helpfrom a few British ships-of-war. Commodore Peter Warren was then with asmall squadron at Antigua. Shirley sent an express boat to him with aletter stating the situation and asking his aid. Warren, who had marriedan American woman and who owned large tracts of land on the Mohawk, wasknown to be a warm friend to the provinces. It is clear that he wouldgladly have complied with Shirley's request; but when he laid the questionbefore a council of officers, they were of one mind that without ordersfrom the Admiralty he would not be justified in supporting an attempt madewithout the approval of the King. [Footnote: _Memoirs of the PrincipalTransactions of the Last War_, 44. ] He therefore saw no choice but to decline. Shirley, fearing that hisrefusal would be too discouraging, kept it secret from all but Pepperrelland General Wolcott, or, as others say, Brigadier Waldo. He had written tothe Duke of Newcastle in the preceding autumn that Acadia and the fisherieswere in great danger, and that ships-of-war were needed for theirprotection. On this, the Duke had written to Warren, ordering him to sailfor Boston and concert measures with Shirley "for the annoyance of theenemy, and his Majesty's service in North America. " [Footnote:_Ibid. , 46. Letters of Shirley_ (Public Record Office). ]Newcastle's letter reached Warren only two or three days after he had sentback his refusal of Shirley's request. Thinking himself now sufficientlyauthorized to give the desired aid, he made all sail for Boston with histhree ships, the "Superbe, " "Mermaid, " and "Launceston. " On the way he meta schooner from Boston, and learned from its officers that the expeditionhad already sailed; on which, detaining the master as a pilot, he changedhis course and made directly for Canseau, --the place of rendezvous of theexpedition, --and at the same time sent orders by the schooner that anyKing's ships that might arrive at Boston should immediately join him. Within seven weeks after Shirley issued his proclamation for volunteers, the preparations were all made, and the unique armament was afloat. Transports, such as they were, could be had in abundance; for the harborsof Salem and Marblehead were full of fishing-vessels thrown out ofemployment by the war. These were hired and insured by the province for thesecurity of the owners. There was a great dearth of cannon. The few thatcould be had were too light, the heaviest being of twenty-two-poundcalibre. New York lent ten eighteen-pounders to the expedition. But theadventurers looked to the French for their chief supply. A detached worknear Louisbourg, called the Grand, or Royal, Battery, was known to be armedwith thirty heavy pieces; and these it was proposed to capture and turnagainst the town, --which, as Hutchinson remarks, was "like selling the skinof the bear before catching him. " It was clear that the expedition must run for luck against risks of allkinds. Those whose hopes were highest, based them on a belief in thespecial and direct interposition of Providence; others were sanguinethrough ignorance and provincial self-conceit. As soon as the troops wereembarked, Shirley wrote to the ministers of what was going on, telling themthat, accidents apart, four thousand New England men would land on CapeBreton in April, and that, even should they fail to capture Louisbourg, hewould answer for it that they would lay the town in ruins, retake Canseau, do other good service to his Majesty, and then come safe home. [Footnote:_Shirley to Newcastle, 24 March_, 1745. The ministry was not whollyunprepared for this announcement, as Shirley had before reported to it thevote of his Assembly consenting to the expedition. _Shirley to Newcastle, 1 Feb_. 1745. ] On receiving this communication, the Governmentresolved to aid the enterprise if there should yet be time, and accordinglyordered several ships-of-war to sail for Louisbourg. The sarcastic Dr. Douglas, then living at Boston, writes that theexpedition had a lawyer for contriver, a merchant for general, and farmers, fishermen, and mechanics for soldiers. In fact, it had something of thecharacter of broad farce, to which Shirley himself, with all his abilityand general good sense, was a chief contributor. He wrote to the Duke ofNewcastle that though the officers had no experience and the men nodiscipline, he would take care to provide against these defects, --meaningthat he would give exact directions how to take Louisbourg. Accordingly, hedrew up copious instructions to that effect. These seem to have undergone aprocess of evolution, for several distinct drafts of them are preserved. [Footnote: The first draft of Shirley's instructions for taking Louisbourgis in the large manuscript volume entitled _Siege of Louisbourg_, inthe library of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The document is called_Memo for the attacking of Louisbourg this Spring by Surprise_. Aftergiving minute instructions for every movement, it goes on to say that, asthe surprise may possibly fail, it will be necessary to send two smallmortars and twelve cannon carrying nine-pound balls, "so as to bombard themand endeavour to make Breaches in their walls and then to Storm them. "Shirley was soon to discover the absurdity of trying to breach the walls ofLouisbourg with nine-pounders. ] The complete and final one is among thePepperrell Papers, copied entire in the neat, commercial hand of theGeneral himself. [Footnote: It is printed in the first volume of the_Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society_. Shirley was sowell pleased with it that he sent it to the Duke of Newcastle enclosed inhis letter of 1 Feb. 1745 (Public Record Office). ] It seems to assumethat Providence would work a continued miracle, and on every occasionsupply the expedition with weather precisely suited to its wants. "It isthought, " says this singular document, "that Louisbourg may be surprised ifthey [the French] have no advice of your coming. To effect it you must timeyour arrival about nine of the clock in the evening, taking care that thefleet be far enough in the offing to prevent their being seen from the townin the daytime. " He then goes on to prescribe how the troops are to land, after dark, at a place called Flat Point Cove, in four divisions, three ofwhich are to march to the back of certain hills a mile and a half west ofthe town, where two of the three "are to halt and keep a profound silence;"the third continuing its march "under cover of the said hills, " till itcomes opposite the Grand Battery, which it will attack at a concertedsignal; while one of the two divisions behind the hills assaults the westgate, and the other moves up to support the attack. While this is going on, the soldiers of the fourth division are to marchwith all speed along the shore till they come to a certain part of the townwall, which they are to scale; then proceed "as fast as can be" to thecitadel and "secure the windows of the Governor's apartments. " After thisfollow page after page of complicated details which must have stricken theGeneral with stupefaction. The rocks, surf, fogs, and gales of thattempestuous coast are all left out of the account; and so, too, is thenature of the country, which consists of deep marshes, rocky hills, andhollows choked with evergreen thickets. Yet a series of complex andmutually dependent operations, involving long marches through this ruggedand pathless region, was to be accomplished, in the darkness of one Aprilnight, by raw soldiers who knew nothing of the country. This rare specimenof amateur soldiering is redeemed in some measure by a postscript in whichthe Governor sets free the hands of the General, thus: "Notwithstanding theinstructions you have received from me, I must leave you to act, uponunforeseen emergencies, according to your best discretion. " On the 24th of March, the fleet, consisting of about ninety transports, escorted by the provincial cruisers, sailed from Nantasket Roads, followedby prayers and benedictions, and also by toasts drunk with cheers, inbumpers of rum punch. [Footnote: The following letter from John Payne of Boston to Colonel RobertHale, of the Essex regiment, while it gives no sign of the prevailingreligious feeling, illustrates the ardor of the New England people towardstheir rash adventure:-- BOSTON, Apr. 24, 1745. Sir, I hope this will find you at Louisbourg with a Bowl of Punch a Pipe and aP--k of C--ds in your hand and whatever else you desire (I had forgot tomention a Pretty French Madammoselle). We are very Impatiently expecting tohear from you, your Friend Luke has lost several Beaver Hatts alreadyconcerning the Expedition, he is so very zealous about it that he hasturned Poor Boutier out of his House for saying he believed you would notTake the Place. --Damn his Blood says Luke, let him be an Englishman or aFrenchman and not pretend to be an Englishman when he is a Frenchman in hisHeart. If drinking to your success would Take Cape Briton, you must be inPossession of it now, for it's a standing Toast. I think the least thingyou Military Gent'n can do is to send us some arrack when you take ye Placeto celebrate your Victory and not to force us to do it in Rum Punch orLuke's bad wine or sour cyder. To Collonell Robert Hale at (or near) Louisbourg. I am indebted for a copy of this curious letter to Robert Hale Bancroft, Esq. , a descendant of Colonel Hale. ] CHAPTER XIX. 1745. LOUISBOURG BESIEGED. SETH POMEROY. --THE VOYAGE. --CANSEAU. --UNEXPECTED SUCCORS. --DELAYS. --LOUISBOURG. --THE LANDING. --THE GRAND BATTERY TAKEN. --FRENCH CANNON TURNEDON THE TOWN. --WEAKNESS OF DUCHAMBON. --SUFFERINGS OF THE BESIEGERS. --THEIRHARDIHOOD. --THEIR IRREGULAR PROCEEDINGS. -JOSEPH SHERBURN. --AMATEUR GUNNERY. --CAMP FROLICS. --SECTARIAN ZEAL. --PERPLEXITIES OF PEPPERRELL. On board one of the transports was Seth Pomeroy, gunsmith at Northampton, and now major of Willard's Massachusetts regiment. He had a turn forsoldiering, and fought, ten years later, in the battle of Lake George. Again, twenty years later still, when Northampton was astir with rumors ofwar from Boston, he borrowed a neighbor's horse, rode a hundred miles, reached Cambridge on the morning of the battle of Bunker Hill, left hisborrowed horse out of the way of harm, walked over Charlestown Neck, thenswept by the fire of the ships-of-war, and reached the scene of action asthe British were forming for the attack. When Israel Putnam, his comrade inthe last war, saw from the rebel breastwork the old man striding, gun inhand, up the hill, he shouted, "By God, Pomeroy, you here! A cannon-shotwould waken you out of your grave!" But Pomeroy, with other landsmen, crowded in the small and malodorousfishing-vessels that were made to serve as transports, was now in the gripeof the most unheroic of maladies. "A terrible northeast storm" had fallenupon them, and, he says, "we lay rolling in the seas, with our sailsfurled, among prodigious waves. " "Sick, day and night, " writes themiserable gunsmith, "so bad that I have not words to set it forth. "[Footnote: Diary of Major Seth Pomeroy. I owe the copy before me to thekindness of his descendant, Theodore Pomeroy, Esq. ] The gale increasedand the fleet was scattered, there being, as a Massachusetts privatesoldier writes in his diary, "a very fierse Storm of Snow, som Rain andvery Dangerous weather to be so nigh ye Shore as we was; but we escaped theRocks, and that was all. " [Footnote: Diary of a Massachusetts soldier inCaptain Richardson's company (Papers of Dr. Belknap). ] On Friday, April 5th, Pomeroy's vessel entered the harbor of Canseau, aboutfifty miles from Louisbourg. Here was the English fishing-hamlet, theseizure of which by the French had first provoked the expedition. The placenow quietly changed hands again. Sixty-eight of the transports lay here atanchor, and the rest came dropping in from day to day, sorely buffeted, butall safe. On Sunday there was a great concourse to hear Parson Moody preachan open-air sermon from the text, "Thy people shall be willing in the dayof thy power, " concerning which occasion the soldier diaristobserves, --"Several sorts of Busnesses was Going on, Som a Exercising, Soma Hearing Preaching. " The attention of Parson Moody's listeners was, infact, distracted by shouts of command and the awkward drill of squads ofhomespun soldiers on the adjacent pasture. Captain Ammi Cutter, with two companies, was ordered to remain at Canseauand defend it from farther vicissitudes; to which end a blockhouse was alsobuilt, and mounted with eight small cannon. Some of the armed vessels hadbeen sent to cruise off Louisbourg, which they did to good purpose, andpresently brought in six French prizes, with supplies for the fortress. Onthe other hand, they brought the ominous news that Louisbourg and theadjoining bay were so blocked with ice that landing was impossible. Thiswas a serious misfortune, involving long delay, and perhaps ruin to theexpedition, as the expected ships-of-war might arrive meanwhile fromFrance. Indeed, they had already begun to appear. On Thursday, the 18th, heavy cannonading was heard far out at sea, and again on Friday "thecannon, " says Pomeroy, "fired at a great rate till about 2 of the clock. "It was the provincial cruisers attacking a French frigate, the "Renommée, "of thirty-six guns. As their united force was too much for her, she kept upa running fight, outsailed them, and escaped after a chase of more thanthirty hours, being, as Pomeroy quaintly observes, "a smart ship. " Shecarried despatches to the Governor of Louisbourg, and being unable todeliver them, sailed back for France to report what she had seen. On Monday, the 22d, a clear, cold, windy day, a large ship, under Britishcolors, sailed into the harbor, and proved to be the frigate "Eltham, "escort to the annual mast fleet from New England. On orders from CommanderWarren she had left her charge in waiting, and sailed for Canseau to jointhe expedition, bringing the unexpected and welcome news that Warrenhimself would soon follow. On the next day, to the delight of all, heappeared in the ship "Superbe, " of sixty guns, accompanied by the"Launceston" and the "Mermaid, " of forty guns each. Here was force enoughto oppose any ships likely to come to the aid of Louisbourg; and Warren, after communicating with Pepperrell, sailed to blockade the port, alongwith the provincial cruisers, which, by order of Shirley, were placed underhis command. The transports lay at Canseau nearly three weeks, waiting for the ice tobreak up. The time was passed in drilling the raw soldiers and forming theminto divisions of four and six hundred each, according to the directions ofShirley. At length, on Friday, the 27th, they heard that Gabarus Bay wasfree from ice, and on the morning of the 29th, with the first fair wind, they sailed out of Canseau harbor, expecting to reach Louisbourg at nine inthe evening, as prescribed in the Governor's receipt for taking Louisbourg"while the enemy were asleep. " [Footnote: The words quoted are used byGeneral Wolcott in his journal. ] But a lull in the wind defeated thisplan; and after sailing all day, they found themselves becalmed towardsnight. It was not till the next morning that they could see the town, --novery imposing spectacle, for the buildings, with a few exceptions, weresmall, and the massive ramparts that belted them round rose to noconspicuous height. Louisbourg stood on a tongue of land which lay between its harbor and thesea, and the end of which was prolonged eastward by reefs and shoals thatpartly barred the entrance to the port, leaving a navigable passage nothalf a mile wide. This passage was commanded by a powerful battery calledthe "Island Battery, " being upon a small rocky island at the west side ofthe channel, and was also secured by another detached work called the"Grand, " or "Royal Battery, " which stood on the shore of the harbor, opposite the entrance, and more than a mile from the town. Thus a hostilesquadron trying to force its way in would receive a flank fire from the onebattery, and a front fire from the other. The strongest line of defence ofthe fortress was drawn across the base of the tongue of land from theharbor on one side to the sea on the other, --a distance of about twelvehundred yards. The ditch was eighty feet wide and from thirty to thirty-sixfeet deep; and the rampart, of earth faced with masonry, was about sixtyfeet thick. The glacis sloped down to a vast marsh, which formed one of thebest defences of the place. The fortress, without counting its outworks, had embrasures for one hundred and forty-eight cannon; but the number inposition was much less, and is variously stated. Pomeroy says that at theend of the siege a little above ninety were found, with "a great number ofswivels;" others say seventy-six. [Footnote: Brown, _Cape Breton_, 183. Parsons, _Life of Pepperrell_, 103. An anonymous letter, datedLouisbourg, 4 July, 1745, says that eighty-five cannon and six mortars havebeen found in the town. ] In the Grand and Island batteries there were sixtyheavy pieces more. Against this formidable armament the assailants hadbrought thirty-four cannon and mortars, of much inferior weight, to be usedin bombarding the fortress, should they chance to fail of carrying it bysurprise, "while the enemy were asleep. " [Footnote: _Memoirs of thePrincipal Transactions of the Last War_, 40. ] Apparently theydistrusted the efficacy of their siege-train, though it was far strongerthan Shirley had at first thought sufficient; for they brought with themgood store of balls of forty-two pounds, to be used in French cannon ofthat calibre which they expected to capture, their own largest pieces beingbut twenty-two-pounders. According to the _Habitant de Louisbourg_, the garrison consisted offive hundred and sixty regular troops, of whom several companies wereSwiss, besides some thirteen or fourteen hundred militia, inhabitantspartly of the town, and partly of neighboring settlements. [Footnote: "Onfit venir cinq ou six cens Miliciens aux Habitans des environs; ce que, avec ceux de la Ville, pouvoit former treize à quatorze censhommes. "--_Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg_. This writer says thatthree or four hundred more might have been had from Niganiche and itsneighborhood, if they had been summoned in time. The number of militia justafter the siege is set by English reports at 1, 310. Parsons, 103. ] Theregulars were in bad condition. About the preceding Christmas they hadbroken into mutiny, being discontented with their rations and exasperatedwith getting no extra pay for work on the fortifications. The affair was soserious that though order was restored, some of the officers lost allconfidence in the soldiers; and this distrust proved most unfortunateduring the siege. The Governor, Chevalier Duchambon, successor ofDuquesnel, who had died in the autumn, was not a man to grapple with acrisis, being deficient in decision of character, if not in capacity. He expected an attack. "We were informed of the preparations from thefirst, " says the _Habitant de Louisburg_. Some Indians, who had beento Boston, carried to Canada the news of what was going on there; but itwas not believed, and excited no alarm. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 17 June, 1745, _ citing letters captured on board a ship from Quebec. ] Itwas not so at Louisbourg, where, says the French writer just quoted, "welost precious moments in useless deliberations and resolutions no soonermade than broken. Nothing to the purpose was done, so that we were as muchtaken by surprise as if the enemy had pounced upon us unawares. " It was about the 25th of March [Footnote: 14 March, old style. ] when thegarrison first saw the provincial cruisers hovering off the mouth of theharbor. They continued to do so at intervals till daybreak of the 30th ofApril, when the whole fleet of transports appeared standing towards FlatPoint, which projects into Gabarus Bay, three miles west of the town. [Footnote: Gabarus Bay, sometimes called "Chapeau Rouge" Bay, is a spaciousouter harbor, immediately adjoining Louisbourg. ] On this, Duchambon sentMorpain, captain of a privateer, or "corsair, " to oppose the landing. Hehad with him eighty men, and was to be joined by forty more, already on thewatch near the supposed point of disembarkation. [Footnote: _Bigot auMinistre, 1 Aout, 1745. _] At the same time cannon were fired andalarm bells rung in Louisbourg, to call in the militia of the neighborhood. Pepperrell managed the critical work of landing with creditable skill. Therocks and the surf were more dangerous than the enemy. Several boats, filled with men, rowed towards Flat Point; but on a signal from theflagship "Shirley, " rowed back again, Morpain flattering himself that hisappearance had frightened them off. Being joined by several other boats, the united party, a hundred men in all, pulled for another landing-placecalled Fresh-water Cove, or Anse de la Cormorandière, two miles farther upGabarus Bay. Morpain and his party ran to meet them; but the boats werefirst in the race, and as soon as the New England men got ashore, theyrushed upon the French, killed six of them, captured as many more, including an officer named Boularderie, and put the rest to flight, withthe loss, on their own side, of two men slightly wounded. [Footnote: _Pepperrell to Shirley, 12 May 1745. Shirley toNewcastle, 28 Oct. 1745. Journal of the Siege, _ attestedby Pepperrell and four other chief officers (London, 1746). ] Furtherresistance to the landing was impossible, for a swarm of boats pushedagainst the rough and stony beach, the men dashing through the surf, tillbefore night about two thousand were on shore. [Footnote: Bigot says sixthousand, or two thousand more than the whole New England force, which wasconstantly overestimated by the French. ] The rest, or about two thousandmore, landed at their leisure on the next day. On the 2d of May Vaughan led four hundred men to the hills near the town, and saluted it with three cheers, --somewhat to the discomposure of theFrench, though they describe the unwelcome visitors as a disorderly crowd. Vaughan's next proceeding pleased them still less. He marched behind thehills, in rear of the Grand Battery, to the northeast arm of the harbor, where there were extensive magazines of naval stores. These his men set onfire, and the pitch, tar, and other combustibles made a prodigious smoke. He was returning, in the morning, with a small party of followers behindthe hills, when coming opposite the Grand Battery, and observing it fromthe ridge, he saw neither flag on the flagstaff, nor smoke from the barrackchimneys. One of his party was a Cape Cod Indian. Vaughan bribed him with aflask of brandy which he had in his pocket, --though, as the clericalhistorian takes pains to assure us, he never used it himself, --and theIndian, pretending to be drunk, or, as some say, mad, staggered towards thebattery to reconnoitre. [Footnote: Belknap, II. ] All was quiet. Heclambered in at an embrasure, and found the place empty. The rest of theparty followed, and one of them, William Tufts, of Medford, a boy ofeighteen, climbed the flagstaff, holding in his teeth his red coat, whichhe made fast at the top, as a substitute for the British flag, --aproceeding that drew upon him a volley of unsuccessful cannon-shot from thetown batteries. [Footnote: John Langdon Sibley, in _N. E. Hist, and Gen. Register_, XXV. 377. The _Boston Gazette_ of 3 June, 1771, has anotice of Tufts's recent death, with an exaggerated account of his exploit, and an appeal for aid to his destitute family. ] Vaughan then sent this hasty note to Pepperrell: "May it please your Honourto be informed that by the grace of God and the courage of 13 men, Ientered the Royal Battery about 9 o'clock, and am waiting for areinforcement and a flag. " Soon after, four boats, filled with men, approached from the town to re-occupy the battery, --no doubt in order tosave the munitions and stores, and complete the destruction of the cannon. Vaughan and his thirteen men, standing on the open beach, under the fire ofthe town and the Island Battery, plied the boats with musketry, and keptthem from landing, till Lieutenant-Colonel Bradstreet appeared with areinforcement, on which the French pulled back to Louisbourg. [Footnote:Vaughan's party seems to have consisted in all of sixteen men, three ofwhom took no part in this affair. ] The English supposed that the French in the battery, when the clouds ofsmoke drifted over them from the burning storehouses, thought that theywere to be attacked in force, and abandoned their post in a panic. This wasnot the case. "A detachment of the enemy, " writes the _Habitant deLouisbourg_, "advanced to the neighborhood of the Royal Battery. " Thiswas Vaughan's four hundred on their way to burn the storehouses. "At oncewe were all seized with fright, " pursues this candid writer, "and on theinstant it was proposed to abandon this magnificent battery, which wouldhave been our best defence, if one had known how to use it. Variouscouncils were held, in a tumultuous way. It would be hard to tell thereasons for such a strange proceeding. Not one shot had yet been fired atthe battery, which the enemy could not take, except by making regularapproaches, as if against the town itself, and by besieging it, so tospeak, in form. Some persons remonstrated, but in vain; and so a battery ofthirty cannon, which had cost the King immense sums, was abandoned beforeit was attacked. " Duchambon says that soon after the English landed, he got a letter fromThierry, the captain in command of the Royal Battery, advising that thecannon should be spiked and the works blown up. It was then, according tothe Governor, that the council was called, and a unanimous vote passed tofollow Thierry's advice, on the ground that the defences of the batterywere in bad condition, and that the four hundred men posted there could notstand against three or four thousand. [Footnote: _Duchambon au Ministre, 2 Sept. 1745_. This is the Governor's official report. "Four hundredmen" is perhaps a copyist's error, the actual number in the battery beingnot above two hundred. ] The engineer, Verrier, opposed the blowing up ofthe works, and they were therefore left untouched. Thierry and hisgarrison came off in boats, after spiking the cannon in a hasty way, without stopping to knock off the trunnions or burn the carriages. Theythrew their loose gunpowder into the well, but left behind a good number ofcannon cartridges, two hundred and eighty large bombshells, and otherordnance stores, invaluable both to the enemy and to themselves. BrigadierWaldo was sent to occupy the battery with his regiment, and Major SethPomeroy, the gunsmith, with twenty soldier-mechanics, was set at drillingout the spiked touch-holes of the cannon. These were twenty-eightforty-two-pounders, and two eighteen-pounders. Several were ready for usethe next morning, and immediately opened on the town, --which, writes asoldier in his diary, "damaged the houses and made the women cry. " "Theenemy, " says the _Habitant de Louisbourg_, "saluted us with our owncannon, and made a terrific fire, smashing everything within range. "[Footnote: _Waldo to Shirley, 12 May, 1745_. Some of the Frenchwriters say twenty-eight thirty-six-pounders, while all the English callthem forty-twos, --which they must have been, as the forty-two-pound shotbrought from Boston fitted them. ] [Footnote: Mr. Theodore Roosevelt drawsmy attention to the fact that cannon were differently rated in the Frenchand English navies of the seventeenth century, and that a French thirty-sixcarried a ball as large as an English forty-two, or even a little larger. ] The English occupation of the Grand Battery may be called the decisiveevent of the siege. There seems no doubt that the French could haveaverted the disaster long enough to make it of little help to the invaders. The water-front of the battery was impregnable. The rear defences consistedof a loopholed wall of masonry, with a ditch ten feet deep and twelve feetwide, and also a covered way and glacis, which General Wolcott describes asunfinished. In this he mistook. They were not unfinished, but had beenpartly demolished, with a view to reconstruction. The rear wall was flankedby two towers, which, says Duchambon, were demolished; but General Wolcottdeclares that swivels were still mounted on them, [Footnote: _Journal ofMajor-General Wolcott_. ] and he adds that "two hundred men might holdthe battery against five thousand without cannon. " The English landed theircannon near Flat Point; and before they could be turned against the GrandBattery, they must be dragged four miles over hills and rocks, throughspongy marshes and jungles of matted evergreens. This would have required aweek or more. The alternative was an escalade, in which the undisciplinedassailants would no doubt have met a bloody rebuff. Thus this GrandBattery, which, says Wolcott, "is in fact a fort, " might at least have beenheld long enough to save the munitions and stores, and effectually disablethe cannon, which supplied the English with the only artillery they had, competent to the work before them. The hasty abandonment of this importantpost was not Duchambon's only blunder, but it was the worst of them all. On the night after their landing, the New England men slept in the woods, wet or dry, with or without blankets, as the case might be, and in themorning set themselves to encamping with as much order as they were capableof. A brook ran down from the hills and entered the sea two miles or morefrom the town. The ground on each side, though rough, was high and dry, andhere most of the regiments made their quarters, --Willard's, Moulton's, andMoore's on the east side, and Burr's and Pepperrell's on the west. Those onthe east, in some cases, saw fit to extend themselves towards Louisbourg asfar as the edge of the intervening marsh; but were soon forced back to asafer position by the cannon-balls of the fortress, which came bowlingamongst them. This marsh was that green, flat sponge of mud and moss thatstretched from this point to the glacis of Louisbourg. There was great want of tents, for material to make them was scarce in NewEngland. Old sails were often used instead, being stretched overpoles, --perhaps after the fashion of a Sioux teepee. When these could notbe had, the men built huts of sods, with roofs of spruce-boughs overlappinglike a thatch; for at that early season, bark would not peel from thetrees. The landing of guns, munitions, and stores was a formidable task, consuming many days and destroying many boats, as happened again whenAmherst landed his cannon at this same place. Large flat boats, broughtfrom Boston, were used for the purpose, and the loads were carried ashoreon the heads of the men, wading through ice-cold surf to the waist, afterwhich, having no change of clothing, they slept on the ground through thechill and foggy nights, reckless of future rheumatisms. [Footnote: Theauthor of _The Importance and Advantage of Cape Breton_ says: "Whenthe hardships they were exposed to come to be considered, the behaviour ofthese men will hardly gain credit. They went ashore wet, had no [dry]clothes to cover them, were exposed in this condition to cold, foggynights, and yet cheerfully underwent these difficulties for the sake ofexecuting a project they had voluntarily undertaken. "] A worse task was before them. The cannon were to be dragged over the marshto Green Hill, a spur of the line of rough heights that half encircled thetown and harbor. Here the first battery was to be planted; and from thispoint other guns were to be dragged onward to more advanced stations, --adistance in all of more than two miles, thought by the French to beimpassable. So, in fact, it seemed; for at the first attempt, the wheelsof the cannon sank to the hubs in mud and moss, then the carriage, andfinally the piece itself slowly disappeared. Lieutenant-Colonel Meserve, ofthe New Hampshire regiment, a ship-builder by trade, presently overcame thedifficulty. By his direction sledges of timber were made, sixteen feet longand five feet wide; a cannon was placed on each of these, and it was thendragged over the marsh by a team of two hundred men, harnessed withrope-traces and breast-straps, and wading to the knees. Horses or oxenwould have foundered in the mire. The way had often to be changed, as themossy surface was soon churned into a hopeless slough along the line ofmarch. The work could be done only at night or in thick fog, the men beingcompletely exposed to the cannon of the town. Thirteen years after, whenGeneral Amherst besieged Louisbourg again, he dragged his cannon to thesame hill over the same marsh; but having at his command, instead of fourthousand militiamen, eleven thousand British regulars, with all appliancesand means to boot, he made a road, with prodigious labor, through the mire, and protected it from the French shot by an epaulement, or lateralearthwork. [Footnote: See _Montcalm and Wolfe_, chap. Xix. ] Pepperrell writes in ardent words of the cheerfulness of his men "underalmost incredible hardships. " Shoes and clothing failed, till many were intatters and many barefooted; [Footnote: _Pepperrell to Newcastle, 28June, 1745. _] yet they toiled on with unconquerable spirit, andwithin four days had planted a battery of six guns on Green Hill, which wasabout a mile from the King's Bastion of Louisbourg. In another week theyhad dragged four twenty-two-pound cannon and ten coehorns--gravely called"cowhorns" by the bucolic Pomeroy--six or seven hundred yards farther, andplanted them within easy range of the citadel. Two of the cannon burst, andwere replaced by four more and a large mortar, which burst in its turn, andShirley was begged to send another. Meanwhile a battery, chiefly ofcoehorns, had been planted on a hillock four hundred and forty yards fromthe West Gate, where it greatly annoyed the French; and on the next nightan advanced battery was placed just opposite the same gate, and scarcelytwo hundred and fifty yards from it. This West Gate, the principal gate ofLouisbourg, opened upon the tract of high, firm ground that lay on the leftof the besiegers, between the marsh and the harbor, an arm of which hereextended westward beyond the town, into what was called the Barachois, asalt pond formed by a projecting spit of sand. On the side of the Barachoisfarthest from the town was a hillock on which stood the house of an_habitant_ named Martissan. Here, on the 20th of May, a fifth batterywas planted, consisting of two of the French forty-two-pounders taken inthe Grand Battery, to which three others were afterwards added. Each ofthese heavy pieces was dragged to its destination by a team of threehundred men over rough and rocky ground swept by the French artillery. Thisfifth battery, called the Northwest, or Titcomb's, proved most destructiveto the fortress. [Footnote: _Journal of the Siege_, appended toShirley's report to Newcastle; _Duchambon au Ministre_, 2 Sept. 1745;_Lettre d'un Habitant_; Pomeroy, etc. ] All these operations were accomplished with the utmost ardor and energy, but with a scorn of rule and precedent that astonished and bewildered theFrench. The raw New England men went their own way, laughed at trenches andzigzags, and persisted in trusting their lives to the night and the fog. Several writers say that the English engineer Bastide tried to teach themdiscretion; but this could hardly be, for Bastide, whose station wasAnnapolis, did not reach Louisbourg till the 5th of June, when thebatteries were finished and the siege was nearly ended. A recent Frenchwriter makes the curious assertion that it was one of the ministers, orarmy chaplains, who took upon him the vain task of instruction in the artof war on this occasion. [Footnote: Ferland, _Cours d'Histoire duCanada_, II. 477. "L'ennemi ne nous attaquoit point dans les formes, etne pratiquoit point aucun retranchement pour se couvrir. " _Habitant deLouisbourg_. ] This ignorant and self-satisfied recklessness might have cost the besiegersdear if the French, instead of being perplexed and startled at the noveltyof their proceedings, had taken advantage of it; but Duchambon and some ofhis officers, remembering the mutiny of the past winter, feared to makesorties, lest the soldiers might desert or take part with the enemy. Thedanger of this appears to have been small. Warren speaks with wonder in hisletters of the rarity of desertions, of which there appear to have been butthree during the siege, --one being that of a half-idiot, from whom noinformation could be got. A bolder commander would not have stood idlewhile his own cannon were planted by the enemy to batter down his walls;and whatever the risks of a sortie, the risks of not making one weregreater. "Both troops and militia eagerly demanded it, and I believe itwould have succeeded, " writes the Intendant, Bigot. [Footnote: _Bigot auMinistre, 1 Août, 1745. _] The attempt was actually made more thanonce in a half-hearted way, --notably on the 8th of May, when the Frenchattacked the most advanced battery, and were repulsed, with little loss oneither side. The _Habitant de Louisbourg_ says: "The enemy did not attack us withany regularity, and made no intrenchments to cover themselves. " This lastis not exact. Not being wholly demented, they made intrenchments, such asthey were, --at least at the advanced battery; [Footnote: _Diary of JosephSherburn, Captain at the Advanced Battery. _] as they would otherwisehave been swept out of existence, being under the concentred fire ofseveral French batteries, two of which were within the range of a musketshot. The scarcity of good gunners was one of the chief difficulties of thebesiegers. As privateering, and piracy also, against Frenchmen andSpaniards was a favorite pursuit in New England, there were men inPepperrell's army who knew how to handle cannon; but their number wasinsufficient, and the General sent a note to Warren, begging that he wouldlend him a few experienced gunners to teach their trade to the raw hands atthe batteries. Three or four were sent, and they found apt pupils. Pepperrell placed the advanced battery in charge of Captain Joseph[Footnote: He signs his name Jos. Sherburn; but in a list of the officersof the New Hampshire Regiment it appears in full as Joseph. ] Sherburn, telling him to enlist as many gunners as he could. On the next day Sherburnreported that he had found six, one of whom seems to have been sent byWarren. With these and a number of raw men he repaired to his perilousstation, where "I found, " he says, "a very poor intrenchment. Our bestshelter from the French fire, which was very hot, was hogsheads filled withearth. " He and his men made the West Gate their chief mark; but before theycould get a fair sight of it, they were forced to shoot down thefish-flakes, or stages for drying cod, that obstructed the view. Some oftheir party were soon killed, --Captain Pierce by a cannon-ball, Thomas Ashby a "bumb, " and others by musketry. In the night they improved theirdefences, and mounted on them three more guns, one of eighteen-poundcalibre, and the others of forty-two, --French pieces dragged from the GrandBattery, a mile and three quarters round the Barachois. The cannon could be loaded only under a constant fire of musketry, whichthe enemy briskly returned. The French practice was excellent. A soldierwho in bravado mounted the rampart and stood there for a moment, was shotdead with five bullets. The men on both sides called to each other inscraps of bad French or broken English; while the French drank ironicalhealths to the New England men, and gave them bantering invitations tobreakfast. Sherburn continues his diary. "Sunday morning. Began our fire with as muchfury as possible, and the French returned it as warmly from the Citidale[citadel], West Gate, and North East Battery with Cannon, Mortars, andcontinual showers of musket balls; but by 11 o'clock we had beat them allfrom their guns. " He goes on to say that at noon his men were forced tostop firing from want of powder, that he went with his gunners to get some, and that while they were gone, somebody, said to be Mr. Vaughan, brought asupply, on which the men loaded the forty-two-pounders in a bungling way, and fired them. One was dismounted, and the other burst; a barrel and ahalf-barrel of powder blew up, killed two men, and injured two more. Again:"Wednesday. Hot fire on both sides, till the French were beat from alltheir guns. May 29th went to 2 Gun [Titcomb's] Battery to give the gunnerssome directions; then returned to my own station, where I spent the rest ofthe day with pleasure, seeing our Shott Tumble down their walls and FlaggStaff. " The following is the Intendant Bigot's account of the effect of the NewEngland fire: "The enemy established their batteries to such effect thatthey soon destroyed the greater part of the town, broke the right flank ofthe King's Bastion, ruined the Dauphin Battery with its spur, and made abreach at the Porte Dauphine [West Gate], the neighboring wall, and thesort of redan adjacent. " [Footnote: _Bigot au Ministre, 1 Août, 1745. _] Duchambon says in addition that the cannon of the right flank ofthe King's Bastion could not be served, by reason of the continual fire ofthe enemy, which broke the embrasures to pieces; that when he had themrepaired, they were broken to pieces (_démantibulès_) again, --andnobody could keep his ground behind the wall of the quay, which was shotthrough and through and completely riddled. [Footnote: _Duchambon auMinistre, 2 Sept. 1745. _] The town was ploughed with cannon-balls, thestreets were raked from end to end, nearly all the houses damaged, and thepeople driven for refuge into the stifling casemates. The results werecreditable to novices in gunnery. The repeated accidents from the bursting of cannon were no doubt largelydue to unskilful loading and the practice of double-shotting, to which theover-zealous artillerists are said to have often resorted. [Footnote:"Another forty-two-pound gun burst at the Grand Battery. All the guns arein danger of going the same way, by double-shotting them, unless underbetter regulation than at present. " _Waldo to Pepperrell, 20 May, 1745_. ] [Footnote: Waldo had written four days before: "Captain Hale, ofmy regiment, is dangerously hurt by the bursting of another gun. He was ourmainstay for gunnery since Captain Rhodes's misfortune" (also caused by thebursting of a cannon). _Waldo to Pepperrell, 16 May, 1745. _] It is said, in proof of the orderly conduct of the men, that not one ofthem was punished during all the siege; but this shows the mild andconciliating character of the General quite as much as any peculiar meritof the soldiers. The state of things in and about the camp was compared bythe caustic Dr. Douglas to "a Cambridge Commencement, " which academicfestival was then attended by much rough frolic and boisterous horseplayamong the disorderly crowds, white and black, bond and free, who swarmedamong the booths on Cambridge Common. The careful and scrupulous Belknap, who knew many who took part in the siege, says: "Those who were on the spothave frequently, in my hearing, laughed at the recital of their ownirregularities, and expressed their admiration when they reflected on thealmost miraculous preservation of the army from destruction. " While thecannon bellowed in the front, frolic and confusion reigned at the camp, where the men raced, wrestled, pitched quoits, fired at marks, --thoughthere was no ammunition to spare, --and ran after the French cannon-balls, which were carried to the batteries, to be returned to those who sent them. Nor were calmer recreations wanting. "Some of our men went a fishing, about2 miles off, " writes Lieutenant Benjamin Cleaves in his diary: "caught 6Troutts. " And, on the same day, "Our men went to catch Lobsters: caught30. " In view of this truant disposition, it is not surprising that thebesiegers now and then lost their scalps at the hands of prowling Indianswho infested the neighborhood. Yet through all these gambols ran anundertow of enthusiasm, born in brains still fevered from the "GreatAwakening. " The New England soldier, a growth of sectarian hotbeds, fanciedthat he was doing the work of God. The army was Israel, and the French wereCanaanitish idolaters. Red-hot Calvinism, acting through generations, hadmodified the transplanted Englishman; and the descendant of the Puritanswas never so well pleased as when teaching their duty to other people, whether by pen, voice, or bombshells. The ragged artillerymen, batteringthe walls of papistical Louisbourg, flattered themselves with the notionthat they were champions of gospel truth. Barefoot and tattered, they toiled on with indomitable pluck andcheerfulness, doing the work which oxen could not do, with no comfort buttheir daily dram of New England rum, as they plodded through the marsh andover rocks, dragging the ponderous guns through fog and darkness. Theirspirit could not save them from the effects of excessive fatigue andexposure. They were ravaged with diarrœa and fever, till fifteen hundredmen were at one time on the sick-list, and at another, Pepperrell reportedthat of the four thousand only about twenty-one hundred were fit for duty. [Footnote: _Pepperrell to Warren, 28 May, 1745. _] Nearly all atlast recovered, for the weather was unusually good; yet the number fit forservice was absurdly small. Pepperrell begged for reinforcements, but gotnone till the siege was ended. It was not his nature to rule with a stiff hand, --and this, perhaps, wasfortunate. Order and discipline, the sinews of an army, were out of thequestion; and it remained to do as well as might be without them, keep menand officers in good-humor, and avoid all that could dash their ardor. Forthis, at least, the merchant-general was well fitted. His popularity hadhelped to raise the army, and perhaps it helped now to make it efficient. His position was no bed of roses. Worries, small and great, pursued himwithout end. He made friends of his officers, kept a bountiful table at histent, and labored to soothe their disputes and jealousies, and satisfytheir complaints. So generous were his contributions to the common causethat according to a British officer who speaks highly of his services, hegave to it, in one form or another, £10, 000 out of his own pocket. [Footnote: _Letter from an Officer of Marines_, appended to _Aparticular Account of the Taking of Cape Breton_ (London, 1745). ] His letter-books reveal a swarm of petty annoyances, which may have triedhis strength and patience as much as more serious cares. The soldierscomplained that they were left without clothing, shoes, or rum; and when heimplored the Committee of War to send them, Osborne, the chairman, repliedwith explanations why it could not be done. Letters came from wives andfathers entreating that husbands and sons who had gone to the war should besent back. At the end of the siege a captain "humble begs leave for to gohome" because he lives in a very dangerous country, and his wife andchildren are "in a declining way" without him. Then two entire companiesraised on the frontier offered the same petition on similar grounds. Sometimes Pepperrell was beset with prayers for favors and promotion;sometimes with complaints from one corps or another that an undue share ofwork had been imposed on it. One Morris, of Cambridge, writes a movingpetition that his slave "Cuffee, " who had joined the army, should berestored to him, his lawful master. One John Alford sends the General anumber of copies of the Reverend Mr. Prentice's late sermon, fordistribution, assuring him that "it will please your whole army ofvolunteers, as he has shown them the way to gain by their gallantry thehearts and affections of the Ladys. " The end of the siege brought countlessletters of congratulation, which, whether lay or clerical, never failed toremind him, in set phrases, that he was but an instrument in the hands ofProvidence. One of his most persistent correspondents was his son-in-law, NathanielSparhawk, a thrifty merchant, with a constant eye to business, whogenerally began his long-winded epistles with a bulletin concerning thehealth of "Mother Pepperrell, " and rarely ended them without charging hisfather-in-law with some commission, such as buying for him the cargo of aFrench prize, if he could get it cheap. Or thus: "If you would procure forme a hogshead of the best Clarett, and a hogshead of the best white wine, at a reasonable rate, it would be very grateful to me. " After pestering himwith a few other commissions, he tells him that "Andrew and Bettsy[children of Pepperrell] send their proper compliments, " and signs himself, with the starched flourish of provincial breeding, "With all possibleRespect, Honoured Sir, Your Obedient Son and Servant. " [Footnote:_Sparhawk to Pepperrell, -June_, 1745. This is but one of many lettersfrom Sparhawk. ] Pepperrell was much annoyed by the conduct of themasters of the transports, of whom he wrote: "The unaccountable irregularbehaviour of these fellows is the greatest fatigue I meet with;" but it maybe doubted whether his son-in-law did not prove an equally efficientpersecutor. CHAPTER XX. 1745. LOUISBOURG TAKEN. A RASH RESOLUTION. --THE ISLAND BATTERY. --THE VOLUNTEERS. --THE ATTACK. --THEREPULSE. --CAPTURE OF THE "VIGILANT. "--A SORTIE. --SKIRMISHES. --DESPONDENCYOF THE FRENCH. --ENGLISH CAMP THREATENED. --PEPPERRELL AND WARREN. --WARREN'SPLAN. --PREPARATION FOR A GENERAL ATTACK. --FLAG OF TRUCE. --CAPITULATION. --STATE OF THE FORTRESS. --PARSON MOODY. --SOLDIERS DISSATISFIED. --DISORDERS. --ARMY AND NAVY. --REJOICINGS. --ENGLAND REPAYS PROVINCIAL OUTLAYS. Frequent councils of war were held in solemn form at headquarters. On the7th of May a summons to surrender was sent to Duchambon, who replied thathe would answer with his cannon. Two days after, we find in the record ofthe council the following startling entry: "Advised unanimously that theTown of Louisbourg be attacked by storm this Night. " Vaughan was a memberof the board, and perhaps his impetuous rashness had turned the heads ofhis colleagues. To storm the fortress at that time would have been adesperate attempt for the best-trained and best-led troops. There was asyet no breach in the walls, nor the beginning of one; and the French wereso confident in the strength of their fortifications that they boasted thatwomen alone could defend them. Nine in ten of the men had no bayonets, [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 7 June, 1745. _] many had no shoes, and it is said that the scaling-ladders they had brought from Boston wereten feet too short. [Footnote: Douglas, _Summary_, I. 347. ] Perhaps itwas unfortunate for the French that the army was more prudent than itsleaders; and another council being called on the same day, it was "Advised, That, inasmuch as there appears a great Dissatisfaction in many of theofficers and Soldiers at the designed attack of the Town by Storm thisNight, the said Attack be deferred for the present. " [Footnote: _Recordof the Council of War, 9 May, 1745. _] Another plan was adopted, hardly less critical, though it found favor withthe army. This was the assault of the Island Battery, which closed theentrance of the harbor to the British squadron, and kept it open to shipsfrom France. Nobody knew precisely how to find the two landing-places ofthis formidable work, which were narrow gaps between rocks lashed withalmost constant surf; but Vaughan would see no difficulties, and wrote toPepperrell that if he would give him the command and leave him to managethe attack in his own way, he would engage to send the French flag toheadquarters within forty-eight hours. [Footnote: _Vaughan to Pepperell, 11 May, 1745. _] On the next day he seems to have thought the commandassured to him, and writes from the Grand Battery that the carpenters areat work mending whale-boats and making paddles, asking at the same time forplenty of pistols and one hundred hand-grenades, with men who know how touse them. [Footnote: _Vaughan to Pepperell, 12 May, 1745. _] Theweather proved bad, and the attempt was deferred. This happened severaltimes, till Warren grew impatient, and offered to support the attack withtwo hundred sailors. At length, on the 23d, the volunteers for the perilous enterprise musteredat the Grand Battery, whence the boats were to set out. Brigadier Waldo, who still commanded there, saw them with concern and anxiety, as they camedropping in in small squads, without officers, noisy, disorderly, and, insome cases, more or less drunk. "I doubt, " he told the General, "whetherstraggling fellows, three, four, or seven out of a company, ought to go onsuch a service. " [Footnote: _Waldo to Pepperell, 23 May, 1745. _] Abright moon and northern lights again put off the attack. The volunteersremained at the Grand Battery, waiting for better luck. "They seem to beimpatient for action, " writes Waldo. "If there were a more regularappearance, it would give me greater sattysfaction. " [Footnote: _Ibid. , 26 May, 1745. _] On the 26th their wish for action was fully gratified. The night was still and dark, and the boats put out from the batterytowards twelve o'clock, with about three hundred men on board. [Footnote:"There is scarce three hundred men on this atact [attack], so there will bea sufficient number of Whail boats. " _Ibid. , 26 May, 10-1/2 p. M. _]These were to be joined by a hundred or a hundred and fifty more fromGorham's regiment, then stationed at Lighthouse Point. The commander wasnot Vaughan, but one Brooks, --the choice of the men themselves, as werealso his subordinates. [Footnote: The list of a company of forty-two"subscribers to go voluntarily upon an attack against the Island Battery"is preserved. It includes a negro called "Ruben. " The captain, chosen bythe men, was Daniel Bacon. The fact that neither this name nor that ofBrooks, the chief commander, is to be found in the list of commissionedofficers of Pepperrell's little army (see Parsons, _Life of Pepperell, Appendix_) suggests the conclusion that the "subscribers" were permittedto choose officers from their own ranks. This list, however is not quitecomplete. ] They moved slowly, the boats being propelled, not by oars, butby paddles, which, if skilfully used, would make no noise. The windpresently rose; and when they found a landing-place, the surf was lashingthe rocks with even more than usual fury. There was room for but threeboats at once between the breakers on each hand. They pushed in, and themen scrambled ashore with what speed they might. The Island Battery was a strong work, walled in on all sides, garrisoned bya hundred and eighty men, and armed with thirty cannon, seven swivels, andtwo mortars. [Footnote: _Journal of the Siege_, appended to Shirley'sreport. ] It was now a little after midnight. Captain d'Aillebout, thecommandant, was on the wratch, pacing the battery platform; but he seems tohave seen nothing unusual till about a hundred and fifty men had got onshore, when they had the folly to announce their presence by three cheers. Then, in the words of General Wolcott, the battery "blazed with cannon, swivels, and small-arms. " The crowd of boats, dimly visible through thedarkness, as they lay just off the landing, waiting their turn to go in, were at once the target for volleys of grape-shot, langrage-shot, andmusket-balls, of which the men on shore had also their share. Thesesucceeded, however, in planting twelve scaling-ladders against the wall. [Footnote: _Duchambon au Ministre, 2 Sept. 1745. Bigot auMinistre, 1 Août. 1745. _] It is said that some of them climbedinto the place, and the improbable story is told that Brooks, theircommander, was hauling down the French flag when a Swiss grenadier cut himdown with a cutlass. [Footnote: The exploit of the boy William Tufts inclimbing the French flag-staff and hanging his red coat at the top as asubstitute for the British flag, has also been said to have taken place onthis occasion. It was, as before mentioned, at the Grand Battery. ] Many ofthe boats were shattered or sunk, while those in the rear, seeing the stateof things, appear to have sheered off. The affair was soon reduced to anexchange of shots between the garrison and the men who had landed, and who, standing on the open ground without the walls, were not wholly invisible, while the French, behind their ramparts, were completely hidden. "The fireof the English, " says Bigot, "was extremely obstinate, but without effect, as they could not see to take aim. " They kept it up till daybreak, or abouttwo hours and a half; and then, seeing themselves at the mercy of theFrench, surrendered to the number of one hundred and nineteen, includingthe wounded, three or more of whom died almost immediately. By the mosttrustworthy accounts the English loss in killed, drowned, and captured wasone hundred and eighty-nine; or, in the words of Pepperrell, "nearly halfour party. " [Footnote: Douglas makes it a little less. "We lost in this madfrolic sixty men killed and drowned, and one hundred and sixteenprisoners. " _Summary_, i. 353. ] Disorder, precipitation, and weakleadership ruined what hopes the attempt ever had. As this was the only French success during the siege, Duchambon makes themost of it. He reports that the battery was attacked by a thousand men, supported by eight hundred more, who were afraid to show themselves; and, farther, that there were thirty-five boats, all of which were destroyed orsunk, [Footnote: "Toutes les barques furent brisées ou coulées à fond; lefeu fut continuel depuis environ minuit jusqu'à trois heures du matin. "_Duchambon au Ministre, 2 Sept. 1745_. ]--though he afterwards saysthat two of them got away with thirty men, being all that were left of thethousand. Bigot, more moderate, puts the number of assailants at fivehundred, of whom he says that all perished, except the one hundred andnineteen who were captured. [Footnote: _Bigot au Ministre, 1 Août, 1745_. ] At daybreak Louisbourg rang with shouts of triumph. It was plain that adisorderly militia could not capture the Island Battery. Yet captured orsilenced it must be; and orders were given to plant a battery against it atLighthouse Point, on the eastern side of the harbor's mouth, at thedistance of a short half mile. The neighboring shore was rocky and almostinaccessible. Cannon and mortars were carried in boats to the nearestlanding-place, hauled up a steep cliff, and dragged a mile and a quarter tothe chosen spot, where they were planted under the orders of ColonelGridley, who thirty years after directed the earthworks on Bunker Hill. Thenew battery soon opened fire with deadly effect. The French, much encouraged by their late success, were plunged again intodespondency by a disaster which had happened a week before the affair ofthe Island Battery, but did not come to their knowledge till some timeafter. On the 19th of May a fierce cannonade was heard from the harbor, anda large French ship-of-war was seen hotly engaged with several vessels ofthe squadron. She was the "Vigilant, " carrying 64 guns and 560 men, andcommanded by the Marquis de la Maisonfort. She had come from France withmunitions and stores, when on approaching Louisbourg she met one of theEnglish cruisers, --some say the "Mermaid, " of 40 guns, and others the"Shirley, " of 20. Being no match for her, the British or provincial frigatekept up a running fight and led her towards the English fleet. The"Vigilant" soon found herself beset by several other vessels, and after agallant resistance and the loss of eighty men, struck her colors. Nothingcould be more timely for the New England army, whose ammunition andprovisions had sunk perilously low. The French prize now supplied theirneeds, and drew from the _Habitant de Louisbourg_ the mournfulcomment, "We were victims devoted to appease the wrath of Heaven, whichturned our own arms into weapons for our enemies. " Nor was this the last time when the defenders of Louisbourg supplied theinstruments of their own destruction; for ten cannon were presentlyunearthed at low tide from the flats near the careening wharf in thenortheast arm of the harbor, where they had been hidden by the French sometime before. Most of them proved sound; and being mounted at LighthousePoint, they were turned against their late owners at the Island Battery. When Gorham's regiment first took post at Lighthouse Point, Duchambonthought the movement so threatening that he forgot his former doubts, andordered a sortie against it, under the Sieur de Beaubassin. Beaubassinlanded, with a hundred men, at a place called Lorembec, and advanced tosurprise the English detachment; but was discovered by an outpost of fortymen, who attacked and routed his party. [Footnote: _Journal of theSiege_, appended to Shirley's report. Pomeroy, _Journal_. ] Beingthen joined by eighty Indians, Beaubassin had several other skirmishes withEnglish scouting-parties, till, pushed by superior numbers, and theirleader severely wounded, his men regained Louisbourg by sea, escaping withdifficulty from the guard-boats of the squadron. The Sieur de la Valliere, with a considerable party of men, tried to burn Pepperrell's storehouses, near Flat Point Cove; but ten or twelve of his followers were captured, andnearly all the rest wounded. Various other petty encounters took placebetween English scouting-parties and roving bands of French and Indians, always ending, according to Pepperrell, in the discomfiture of the latter. To this, however, there was at least one exception. Twenty English werewaylaid and surrounded near Petit Lorembec by forty or fifty Indians, accompanied by two or three Frenchmen. Most of the English were shot down, several escaped, and the rest surrendered on promise of life; upon whichthe Indians, in cold blood, shot or speared some of them, and atrociouslytortured others. This suggested to Warren a device which had two objects, --to prevent suchoutrages in future, and to make known to the French that the ship"Vigilant, " the mainstay of their hopes, was in English hands. Thetreatment of the captives was told to the Marquis de la Maisonfort, latecaptain of the "Vigilant, " now a prisoner on board the ship he hadcommanded, and he was requested to lay the facts before Duchambon. This hedid with great readiness, in a letter containing these words: "It is wellthat you should be informed that the captains and officers of this squadrontreat us, not as their prisoners, but as their good friends, and takeparticular pains that my officers and crew should want for nothing;therefore it seems to me just to treat them in like manner, and to punishthose who do otherwise and offer any insult to the prisoners who may fallinto your hands. " Captain M'Donald, of the marines, carried this letter to Duchambon under aflag-of-truce. Though familiar with the French language, he spoke to theGovernor through an interpreter, so that the French officers present, whohitherto had only known that a large ship had been taken, expressed to eachother without reserve their discouragement and dismay when they learnedthat the prize was no other than the "Vigilant". Duchambon replied to LaMaisonfort's letter that the Indians alone were answerable for thecruelties in question, and that he would forbid such conduct for thefuture. [Footnote: _De la Maisonfort à Duchambon, 18 Juin_ (newstyle), 1745. _Duchambon à de la Maisonfort, 19 Juin_ (new style), 1745. ] The besiegers were now threatened by a new danger. We have seen that in thelast summer the Sieur Duvivier had attacked Annapolis. Undaunted byill-luck, he had gone to France to beg for help to attack it again; twothousand men were promised him, and in anticipation of their arrival theGovernor of Canada sent a body of French and Indians, under the notedpartisan Marin, to meet and co-operate with them. Marin was ordered to waitat Les Mines till he heard of the arrival of the troops from France; but hegrew impatient, and resolved to attack Annapolis without them. Accordingly, he laid siege to it with the six or seven hundred whites and Indians of hisparty, aided by the so-called Acadian neutrals. Mascarene, the governor, kept them at bay till the 24th of May, when, to his surprise, they alldisappeared. Duchambon had sent them an order to make all haste to the aidof Louisbourg. As the report of this reached the besiegers, multiplyingMarin's force four-fold, they expected to be attacked by numbers more thanequal to those of their own effective men. This wrought a wholesome reform. Order was established in the camp, which was now fenced with palisades andwatched by sentinels and scouting-parties. Another tribulation fell upon the General. Shirley had enjoined it uponhim to keep in perfect harmony with the naval commander, and the injunctionwas in accord with Pepperrell's conciliating temper. Warren was no lessearnest than he for the success of the enterprise, lent him ammunition intime of need, and offered every aid in his power, while Pepperrell inletters to Shirley and Newcastle praised his colleague without stint. Butin habits and character the two men differed widely. Warren was in theprime of life, and the ardor of youth still burned in him. He was impatientat the slow movement of the siege. Prisoners told him of a squadronexpected from Brest, of which the "Vigilant" was the forerunner; and hefeared that even if it could not defeat him, it might elude the blockade, and with the help of the continual fogs, get into Louisbourg in spite ofhim, thus making its capture impossible. Therefore he called a council ofhis captains on board his flagship, the "Superbe, " and proposed a plan fortaking the place without further delay. On the same day he laid it beforePepperrell. It was to the effect that all the king's ships and provincialcruisers should enter the harbor, after taking on board sixteen hundred ofPepperrell's men, and attack the town from the water side, while what wasleft of the army should assault it by land. [Footnote: _Report of aConsultation of Officers on board his Majesty's ship "Superbe, "_enclosed in a letter of _Warren to Pepperrell, 24 May, 1745. _] Toaccept the proposal would have been to pass over the command to Warren, only about twenty-one hundred of the New England men being fit for serviceat the time, while of these the General informs Warren that "six hundredare gone in quest of two bodies of French and Indians, who, we areinformed, are gathering, one to the eastward, and the other to thewestward. " [Footnote: _Pepperrell to Warren, 28 May, 1745. _] To this Warren replies, with some appearance of pique, "I am very sorrythat no one plan of mine, though approved by all my captains, has been sofortunate as to meet your approbation or have any weight with you. " And toshow his title to consideration, he gives an extract from a letter writtento him by Shirley, in which that inveterate flatterer hints his regretthat, by reason of other employments, Warren could not take command of thewhole expedition, --"which I doubt not, " says the Governor, "would be a mosthappy event for his Majesty's service. " [Footnote: _Warren to Pepperrell, 29 May, 1745. _] Pepperrell kept his temper under this thrust, and wrote to the commodorewith invincible courtesy: "Am extremely sorry the fogs prevent me from thepleasure of waiting on you on board your ship, " adding that six hundred menshould be furnished from the army and the transports to man the "Vigilant, "which was now the most powerful ship in the squadron. In short, he showedevery disposition to meet Warren half way. But the Commodore was beginningto feel some doubts as to the expediency of the bold action he hadproposed, and informed Pepperrell that his pilots thought it impossible togo into the harbor until the Island Battery was silenced. In fact, therewas danger that if the ships got in while that battery was still alive andactive, they would never get out again, but be kept there as in a trap, under the fire from the town ramparts. Gridley's artillery at Lighthouse Point had been doing its best, droppingbombshells with such precision into the Island Battery that the Frenchsoldiers were sometimes seen running into the sea to escape the explosions. Many of the Island guns were dismounted, and the place was fast becominguntenable. At the same time the English batteries on the land side werepushing their work of destruction with relentless industry, and walls andbastions crumbled under their fire. The French labored with energy undercover of night to repair the mischief; closed the shattered West Gate witha wall of stone and earth twenty feet thick, made an epaulement to protectwhat was left of the formidable Circular Battery, --all but three of whosesixteen guns had been dismounted, --stopped the throat of the Dauphin'sBastion with a barricade of stone, and built a cavalier, or raised battery, on the King's Bastion, --where, however, the English fire soon ruined it. Against that near and peculiarly dangerous neighbor, the advanced battery, or, as they called it, the _Batterie de Francœur_, they plantedthree heavy cannon to take it in flank. "These, " says Duchambon, "produceda marvellous effect, dismounted one of the cannon of the Bastonnais, anddamaged all their embrasures, --which, " concludes the Governor, "did notprevent them from keeping up a constant fire; and they repaired by nightthe mischief we did them by day. " [Footnote: _Duchambon au Ministre, 2Sept. _ 1745. ] Pepperrell and Warren at length came to an understanding as to a jointattack by land and water. The Island Battery was by this time crippled, andthe town batteries that commanded the interior of the harbor were nearlydestroyed. It was agreed that Warren, whose squadron was now increased byrecent arrivals to eleven ships, besides the provincial cruisers, shouldenter the harbor with the first fair wind, cannonade the town and attack itin boats, while Pepperrell stormed it from the land side. Warren was tohoist a Dutch flag under his pennant, at his main-top-gallant mast-head, asa signal that he was about to sail in; and Pepperrell was to answer bythree columns of smoke, marching at the same time towards the walls withdrums beating and colors flying. [Footnote: _Warren to Pepperrell, 11June, 1745. Pepperrell to Warren, 13 June, 1745. _] The French saw with dismay a large quantity of fascines carried to the footof the glacis, ready to fill the ditch, and their scouts came in withreports that more than a thousand scaling-ladders were lying behind theridge of the nearest hill. Toil, loss of sleep, and the stifling air ofthe casemates, in which they were forced to take refuge, had sapped thestrength of the besieged. The town was a ruin; only one house wasuntouched by shot or shell. "We could have borne all this, " writes theIntendant, Bigot; "but the scarcity of powder, the loss of the 'Vigilant, 'the presence of the squadron, and the absence of any news from Marin, whohad been ordered to join us with his Canadians and Indians, spread terroramong troops and inhabitants. The townspeople said that they did not wantto be put to the sword, and were not strong enough to resist a generalassault. " [Footnote: _Bigot au Ministre, 1 Août, 1745_. ] On the 15thof June they brought a petition to Duchambon, begging him to capitulate. [Footnote: _Duchambon au Ministre, 2 Sept. 1745_. ] On that day Captain Sherburn, at the advanced battery, wrote in his diary:"By 12 o'clock we had got all our platforms laid, embrazures mended, gunsin order, shot in place, cartridges ready, dined, gunners quartered, matches lighted to return their last favours, when we heard their drumsbeat a parley; and soon appeared a flag of truce, which I received midwaybetween our battery and their walls, conducted the officer to Green Hill, and delivered him to Colonel Richman [Richmond]. " La Perelle, the French officer, delivered a note from Duchambon, directedto both Pepperrell and Warren, and asking for a suspension of arms toenable him to draw up proposals for capitulation. [Footnote: _Duchambon àPepperrell et Warren, 26 Juin_ (new style), 1745. ] Warren chanced to beon shore when the note came; and the two commanders answered jointly thatit had come in good time, as they had just resolved on a general attack, and that they would give the Governor till eight o'clock of the nextmorning to make his proposals. [Footnote: _Warren and Pepperrell toDuchambon, 15 June_, 1745. ] They came in due time, but were of such a nature that Pepperrell refused tolisten to them, and sent back Bonaventure, the officer who brought them, with counter-proposals. These were the terms which Duchambon had rejectedon the 7th of May, with added conditions; as, among others, that noofficer, soldier, or inhabitant of Louisbourg should bear arms against theKing of England or any of his allies for the space of a year. Duchambonstipulated, as the condition of his acceptance, that his troops shouldmarch out of the fortress with their arms and colors. [Footnote:_Duchambon à Warren et Pepperrell, 27 Juin_ (new style), 1745. ] Tothis both the English commanders consented, Warren observing to Pepperrell"the uncertainty of our affairs, that depend so much on wind and weather, makes it necessary not to stickle at trifles. " [Footnote: _Pepperrell toWarren, 16 June, 1745, Warren to Pepperrell, 16 June, 1745. _] Thearticles were signed on both sides, and on the 17th the ships sailedpeacefully into the harbor, while Pepperrell with a part of his ragged armyentered the south gate of the town. "Never was a place more mal'd [mauled] with cannon and shells, " he writesto Shirley; "neither have I red in History of any troops behaving withgreater courage. We gave them about nine thousand cannon-balls and sixhundred bombs. " [Footnote: _Pepperrell to Shirley, 18 June_ (oldstyle, ) 1745. _Ibid. _, 4 July, 1745. ] Thus this unique militaryperformance ended in complete and astonishing success. According to English accounts, the French had lost about three hundred menduring the siege; but their real loss seems to have been not much above athird of that number. On the side of the besiegers, the deaths from allcauses were only a hundred and thirty, about thirty of which were fromdisease. The French used their muskets to good purpose; but their mortarpractice was bad, and close as was the advanced battery to their walls, they often failed to hit it, while the ground on both sides of it lookedlike a ploughed field, from the bursting of their shells. Their surrenderwas largely determined by want of ammunition, as, according to one account, the French had but thirty-seven barrels of gunpowder left, [Footnote:_Habitant de Louisbourg. _]--in which particular the besiegers faredlittle better. [Footnote: Pepperrell more than once complains of a totalwant of both powder and balls. Warren writes to him on May 29th: "It isvery lucky that we could spare you some powder; I am told you had not agrain left. "] The New England men had been full of confidence in the result of theproposed assault, and a French writer says that the timely capitulationsaved Louisbourg from a terrible catastrophe; [Footnote: "C'est par uneprotection visible de la Providence que nous avons prévenu une journée quinous auroit été si funeste. " _Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg. _]yet, ill-armed and disorderly as the besiegers were, it may be doubtedwhether the quiet ending of the siege was not as fortunate for them as fortheir foes. The discouragement of the French was increased by greatlyexaggerated ideas of the force of the "Bastonnais. " The _Habitant deLouisbourg_ places the land-force alone at eight or nine thousand men, and Duchambon reports to the minister D'Argenson that he was attacked inall by thirteen thousand. His mortifying position was a sharp temptation toexaggerate; but his conduct can only be explained by a belief that theforce of his enemy was far greater than it was in fact. Warren thought that the proposed assault would succeed, and wrote toPepperrell that he hoped they would "soon keep a good house together, andgive the Ladys of Louisbourg a Gallant Ball. " [Footnote: _Warren toPepperrell, 10 June, 1745. _] During his visit to the camp on theday when the flag of truce came out, he made a speech to the New Englandsoldiers, exhorting them to behave like true Englishmen; at which theycheered lustily. Making a visit to the Grand Battery on the same day, hewon high favor with the regiment stationed there by the gift of a hogsheadof rum to drink his health. Whether Warren's "gallant ball" ever took place in Louisbourg does notclearly appear. Pepperrell, on his part, celebrated the victory by a dinnerto the commodore and his officers. As the redoubtable Parson Moody was thegeneral's chaplain and the oldest man in the army, he expected to ask ablessing at the board, and was, in fact, invited to do so, --to the greatconcern of those who knew his habitual prolixity, and dreaded its effect onthe guests. At the same time, not one of them dared rasp his irritabletemper by any suggestion of brevity; and hence they came in terror to thefeast, expecting an invocation of a good half-hour, ended by open revolt ofthe hungry Britons; when, to their surprise and relief, Moody said: "GoodLord, we have so much to thank thee for, that time will be too short, andwe must leave it for eternity. Bless our food and fellowship upon thisjoyful occasion, for the sake of Christ our Lord, Amen. " And with that hesat down. [Footnote: _Collection of Mass. Hist. Society. I. 49_] It is said that he had been seen in the French church hewing at the altarand images with the axe that he had brought for that purpose; and perhapsthis iconoclastic performance had eased the high pressure of his zeal. [Footnote: A descendant of Moody, at the village of York, told me that hewas found in the church busy in the work of demolition. ] Amazing as their triumph was, Pepperrell's soldiers were not satisfied withthe capitulation, and one of them utters his disapproval in his diary thus:"Sabbath Day, ye 16th June. They came to Termes for us to enter ye Sitty tomorrow, and Poore Termes they Bee too. " The occasion of discontent was the security of property assured to theinhabitants, "by which means, " says that dull chronicler, Niles, "the poorsoldiers lost all their hopes and just demerit [desert] of plunder promisedthem. " In the meagreness of their pay they thought themselves entitled tothe plunder of Louisbourg, which they imagined to be a seat of wealth andluxury. Nathaniel Sparhawk, Pepperrell's thrifty son-in-law, shared thisillusion, and begged the General to get for him (at a low price) a handsomeservice of silver plate. When the volunteers exchanged their wet and drearycamp for what they expected to be the comfortable quarters of the town, they were disgusted to see the houses still occupied by the owners, and tofind themselves forced to stand guard at the doors, to protect them. [Footnote: "Thursday, ye 21st. Ye French keep possession yet, and we areforsed to stand at their Dores to gard them. " _Diary of a Soldier, anonymous. _] "A great Noys and hubbub a mongst ye Solders a bout yePlunder; Som Cursing, som a Swarein, " writes one of the disgusted victors. They were not, and perhaps could not be, long kept in order; and when, inaccordance with the capitulation, the inhabitants had been sent on boardvessels for transportation to France, discipline gave way, and GeneralWolcott records that, while Moody was preaching on a Sunday in thegarrison-chapel, there was "excessive stealing in every part of the town. "Little, however, was left to steal. But if the army found but meagre gleanings, the navy reaped a rich harvest. French ships, instead of being barred out of the harbor, were now lured toenter it. The French flag was kept flying over the town, and in this wayprizes were entrapped to the estimated value of a million sterling, half ofwhich went to the Crown, and the rest to the British officers and crews, the army getting no share whatever. Now rose the vexed question of the relative part borne by the colonies andthe Crown, the army and the navy, in the capture of Louisbourg; and here itmay be well to observe the impressions of a French witness of the siege. "It was an enterprise less of the English nation and its King than of theinhabitants of New England alone. This singular people have their own lawsand administration, and their governor plays the sovereign. Admiral[Commodore] Warren had no authority over the troops sent by the Governor ofBoston, and he was only a spectator. .. . Nobody would have said that theirsea and land forces were of the same nation and under the same prince. Nonation but the English is capable of such eccentricities(_bizarreries_), --which, nevertheless, are a part of the preciousliberty of which they show themselves so jealous. " [Footnote: _Lettred'un Habitant de Louisbourg_. ] The French writer is correct when he says that the land and sea forces wereunder separate commands, and it is equally true that but for theconciliating temper of Pepperrell, harmony could not have been preservedbetween the two chiefs; but when he calls Warren a mere spectator, he doesglaring injustice to that gallant officer, whose activity and that of hiscaptains was incessant, and whose services were invaluable. Theymaintained, with slight lapses, an almost impossible blockade, withoutwhich the siege must have failed. Two or three small vessels got into theharbor; but the capture of the "Vigilant, " more than any other event of thesiege, discouraged the French and prepared them for surrender. Several English writers speak of Warren and the navy as the captors ofLouisbourg, and all New England writers give the chief honor to Pepperrelland the army. Neither army nor navy would have been successful without theother. Warren and his officers, in a council of war, had determined that solong as the Island Battery and the water batteries of the town remained inan efficient state, the ships could not enter the harbor; and Warren hadpersonally expressed the same opinion. [Footnote: _Report of Consultationon board the "Superbe" 7 June, 1745_. "Commodore Warren did saypublickly that before the Circular Battery was reduced he would not venturein here with three times ye sea force he had with him, and, through divineassistance, we tore that [battery] and this city almost to pieces. "_Pepperrell to Shirley, 4 July, 1745_. ] He did not mean to enter tillall the batteries which had made the attempt impracticable, including theCircular Battery, which was the most formidable of all, had been silencedor crippled by the army, and by the army alone. The whole work of the siegefell upon the land forces; and though it had been proposed to send a bodyof marines on shore, this was not done. [Footnote: Warren had no men tospare. He says: "If it should be thought necessary to join your troops withany men from our ships, it should only be done for some sudden attack thatmay be executed in one day or night. " _Warren to Pepperrell, 11 May, 1745. _ No such occasion arose. ] Three or four gunners, "to put your menin the way of loading cannon, " [Footnote: _Ibid. , 13 May, 1745. _ Onthe 19th of May, 1746, Warren made a parting speech to the New England menat Louisbourg, in which he tells them that it was they who conquered thecountry, and expresses the hope that should the French try to recover it, "the same Spirit that induced you to make this Conquest will prompt you toprotect it. " See the speech in _Beamish-Murdoch_, II. 100-102. ] wasWarren's contribution to the operations of the siege; though the fear ofattack by the ships, jointly with the land force, no doubt hastened thesurrender. Beauharnois, governor of Canada, ascribes the defeat to theextreme activity with which the New England men pushed their attacks. The _Habitant de Louisbourg_ says that each of the two commanders waseager that the keys of the fortress should be delivered to him, and not tohis colleague; that before the surrender, Warren sent an officer topersuade the French that it would be for their advantage to make theirsubmission to him rather than to Pepperrell; and that it was in fact somade. Wolcott, on the other hand, with the best means of learning thetruth, says in his diary that Pepperrell received the keys at the SouthGate. The report that it was the British commodore, and not their owngeneral, to whom Louisbourg surrendered, made a prodigious stir among theinhabitants of New England, who had the touchiness common to small andambitious peoples, and as they had begun the enterprise and borne most ofits burdens and dangers, they thought themselves entitled to the chiefcredit of it. Pepperrell was blamed as lukewarm for the honor of hiscountry because he did not demand the keys and reject the capitulation ifthey were refused. After all this ebullition it appeared that the keys werein his hands, for when, soon after the siege, Shirley came to Louisbourg, Pepperrell formally presented them to him, in presence of the soldiers. Warren no doubt thought that he had a right to precedence, as being anofficer of the King in regular standing, while Pepperrell was but acivilian, clothed with temporary rank by the appointment of a provincialgovernor. Warren was an impetuous sailor accustomed to command, andPepperrell was a merchant accustomed to manage and persuade. The differenceappears in their correspondence during the siege. Warren is sometimesbrusque and almost peremptory; Pepperrell is forbearing and considerate tothe last degree. He liked Warren, and, to the last, continued to praise himhighly in letters to Shirley and other provincial governors; [Footnote: Seeextracts in Parson, 105, 106. The _Habitant de Louisbourg_ extolsWarren, but is not partial to Pepperrell, whom he calls, incorrectly, "theson of a Boston shoemaker. "] while Warren, on occasion of Shirley's arrivalat Louisbourg, made a speech highly complimentary to both the General andhis soldiers. The news that Louisbourg was taken, reached Boston at one o'clock in themorning of the 3d of July by a vessel sent express. A din of bells andcannon proclaimed it to the slumbering townsmen, and before the sun rose, the streets were filled with shouting crowds. At night every window shonewith lamps, and the town was ablaze with fireworks and bonfires. The nextThursday was appointed a day of general thanksgiving for a victory believedto be the direct work of Providence. New York and Philadelphia also hailedthe great news with illuminations, ringing of bells, and firing of cannon. In England the tidings were received with astonishment and a joy that wasdashed with reflections on the strength and mettle of colonists supposedalready to aspire to independence. Pepperrell was made a baronet, andWarren an admiral. The merchant soldier was commissioned colonel in theBritish army; a regiment was given him, to be raised in America andmaintained by the King, while a similar recognition was granted to thelawyer Shirley. [Footnote: To Rous, captain of a provincial cruiser, whomWarren had commended for conduct and courage, was given the command of aship in the royal navy. "Tell your Council and Assembly, in his Majesty'sname, " writes Newcastle to Shirley, "that their conduct will always entitlethem, in a particular manner, to his royal favor and protection. "_Newcastle to Shirley, 10 Aug. 1745. _] A question vital to Massachusetts worried her in the midst of her triumph. She had been bankrupt for many years, and of the large volume of heroutstanding obligations, a part was not worth eightpence in the pound. Added to her load of debt, she had spent £183, 649 sterling on theLouisbourg expedition. That which Smollett calls "the most importantachievement of the war" would never have taken place but for her, and OldEngland, and not New, was to reap the profit; for Louisbourg, conquered byarms, was to be restored by diplomacy. If the money she had spent for themother-country were not repaid, her ruin was certain. William Bollan, English by birth and a son-in-law of Shirley, was sent out to urge the justclaim of the province, and after long and vigorous solicitation, hesucceeded. The full amount, in sterling value, was paid to Massachusetts, and the expenditures of New Hampshire, Connecticut, and Rhode Island werealso reimbursed. [Footnote: £183, 649 to Massachusetts; £16, 355 to NewHampshire; £28, 863 to Connecticut; £6, 332 to Rhode Island. ] The people ofBoston saw twenty-seven of those long, unwieldy trucks which many elders ofthe place still remember as used in their youth, rumbling up King Street tothe treasury, loaded with 217 chests of Spanish dollars, and a hundredbarrels of copper coin. A pound sterling was worth eleven pounds of theold-tenor currency of Massachusetts, and thirty shillings of the new-tenor. Those beneficent trucks carried enough to buy in at a stroke nine tenths ofthe old-tenor notes of the province, --nominally worth above two millions. A stringent tax, laid on by the Assembly, paid the remaining tenth, andMassachusetts was restored to financial health. [Footnote: Palfrey, _New England_, V. 101-109; Shirley, _Report tothe Board of Trade. Bollan to Secretary Willard_, in _Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. , _ I. 53; Hutchinson, _Hist. Mass. , _ II. 391-395. _Letters of Bollan_ in Massachusetts Archives. It was through the exertions of the much-abused Thomas Hutchinson, Speaker of the Assembly and historian of Massachusetts, thatthe money was used for the laudable purpose of extinguishing the old debt. Shirley did his utmost to support Bollan in his efforts to obtaincompensation, and after highly praising the zeal and loyalty of the peopleof his province, he writes to Newcastle: "Justice, as well as the affectionwhich I bear to 'em, constrains me to beseech your Grace to recommend theirCase to his Majesty's paternal Care & Tenderness in the Strongest manner. "_Shirley to Newcastle, 6 Nov. 1745. _ The English documents on the siege of Louisbourg are many and voluminous. The Pepperrell Papers and the Belknap Papers, both in the library of theMassachusetts Historical Society, afford a vast number of contemporaryletters and documents on the subject. The large volume entitled _Siege ofLouisbourg_, in the same repository, contains many more, including anumber of autograph diaries of soldiers and others. To these are to beadded the journals of General Wolcott, James Gibson, Benjamin Cleaves, SethPomeroy, and several others, in print or manuscript, among which isespecially to be noted the journal appended to Shirley's Letter to the Dukeof Newcastle of Oct. 28, 1745, and bearing the names of Pepperrell, Brigadier Waldo, Colonel Moore, and Lieutenant-Colonels Lothrop andGridley, who attest its accuracy. Many papers have also been drawn from thePublic Record Office of London. Accounts of this affair have hitherto rested, with but slight exceptions, on English sources alone. The archives of France have furnished usefulmaterial to the foregoing narrative, notably the long report of theGovernor, Duchambon, to the Minister of War, and the letter of theIntendant, Bigot, to the same personage, within about six weeks after thesurrender. But the most curious French evidence respecting the siege is the_Lettre d'un Habitant de Louisbourg contenant une Relation exacte &circonstanciée de la Prise de l'Isle-Royale par les Anglois. A Québec, chezGuillaume le Sincère, à l'Image de la Vérité_, 1745. This little work, of eighty-one printed pages, is extremely rare. I could study it only byhaving a _literatim_ transcript made from the copy in the BibliothèqueNationale, as it was not in the British Museum. It bears the signature B. L. N. , and is dated _à . .. Ce 28 Août, 1745. _ The imprint of Québec, etc. , is certainly a mask, the book having no doubt been printed in France. It severely criticises Duchambon, and makes him mainly answerable for thedisaster. For French views of the siege of Louisbourg, _see_ Appendix B. ] CHAPTER XXI. 1745-1747. DUC D'ANVILLE. LOUISBOURG AFTER THE CONQUEST. --MUTINY. --PESTILENCE. --STEPHENWILLIAMS. --HIS DIARY. --SCHEME OF CONQUERING CANADA. --NEWCASTLE'SPROMISES. --ALARM IN CANADA. --PROMISES BROKEN. --PLAN AGAINST CROWNPOINT. --STARTLING NEWS. --D'ANVILLE'S FLEET. --LOUISBOURG TO BEAVENGED. --DISASTERS OF D'ANVILLE. --STORM. --PESTILENCE. --FAMINE. --DEATH OFD'ANVILLE. --SUICIDE OF THE VICE-ADMIRAL. --RUINOUS FAILURE. --RETURNVOYAGE. --DEFEAT OF LA JONQUIÈRE. The troops and inhabitants of Louisbourg were all embarked for France, andthe town was at last in full possession of the victors. The serious-mindedamong them--and there were few who did not bear the stamp of hereditaryPuritanism--now saw a fresh proof that they were the peculiar care of anapproving Providence. While they were in camp the weather had beenfavorable; but they were scarcely housed when a cold, persistent rainpoured down in floods that would have drenched their flimsy tents andturned their huts of turf into mud-heaps, robbing the sick of every hope ofrecovery. Even now they got little comfort from the shattered tenements ofLouisbourg. The siege had left the town in so filthy a condition that thewells were infected and the water was poisoned. The soldiers clamored for discharge, having enlisted to serve only till theend of the expedition; and Shirley insisted that faith must be kept withthem, or no more would enlist. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 27Sept. 1745. _] Pepperrell, much to the dissatisfaction of Warren, senthome about seven hundred men, some of whom were on the sick list, while therest had families in distress and danger on the exposed frontier. At thesame time he begged hard for reinforcements, expecting a visit from theFrench and a desperate attempt to recover Louisbourg. He and Warrengoverned the place jointly, under martial law, and they both passed halftheir time in holding courts-martial; for disorder reigned among thedisgusted militia, and no less among the crowd of hungry speculators, whoflocked like vultures to the conquered town to buy the cargoes of capturedships, or seek for other prey. The Massachusetts soldiers, whose pay wasthe smallest, and who had counted on being at their homes by the end ofJuly, were the most turbulent; but all alike were on the brink of mutiny. Excited by their ringleaders, they one day marched in a body to the paradeand threw down their arms; but probably soon picked them up again, as inmost cases the guns were hunting-pieces belonging to those who carriedthem. Pepperrell begged Shirley to come to Louisbourg and bring themutineers back to duty. Accordingly, on the 16th of August he arrived in aship-of-war, accompanied by Mrs. Shirley and Mrs. Warren, wife of theCommodore. The soldiers duly fell into line to receive him. As it was nothis habit to hide his own merits, he tells the Duke of Newcastle thatnobody but he could have quieted the malcontents, --which is probably true, as nobody else had power to raise their pay. He made them a speech, promised them forty shillings in Massachusetts new-tenor currency a month, instead of twenty-five, and ended with ordering for each man half a pint ofrum to drink the King's health. Though potations so generous might bethought to promise effects not wholly sedative, the mutineers were broughtto reason, and some even consented to remain in garrison till the nextJune. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 4 Dec 1745. _] Small reinforcements came from New England to hold the place till thearrival of troops from Gibraltar, promised by the ministry. The tworegiments raised in the colonies, and commanded by Shirley and Pepperrell, were also intended to form a part of the garrison; but difficulty was foundin filling the ranks, because, says Shirley, some commissions have beengiven to Englishmen, and men will not enlist here except under Americanofficers. Nothing could be more dismal than the condition of Louisbourg, as reflectedin the diaries of soldiers and others who spent there the winter thatfollowed its capture. Among these diaries is that of the worthy BenjaminCrafts, private in Hale's Essex regiment, who to the entry of each day addsa pious invocation, sincere in its way, no doubt, though hackneyed, andsometimes in strange company. Thus, after noting down Shirley's gift ofhalf a pint of rum to every man to drink the King's health, he addsimmediately: "The Lord Look upon us and enable us to trust in him & may heprepare us for his holy Day. " On "September ye 1, being Sabath, " we findthe following record: "I am much out of order. This forenoon heard Mr. Stephen Williams preach from ye 18 Luke 9 verse in the afternoon from ye 8of Ecles: 8 verse: Blessed be the Lord that has given us to enjoy anotherSabath and opertunity to hear his Word Dispensed. " On the next day, "beingMonday, " he continues, "Last night I was taken very Bad: the Lord bepleased to strengthen my inner man that I may put my whole Trust in him. May we all be prepared for his holy will. Red part of plunder, 9 smalltooth combs. " Crafts died in the spring, of the prevailing distemper, afterdoing good service in the commissary department of his regiment. Stephen Williams, the preacher whose sermons had comforted Crafts in histrouble, was a son of Rev. John Williams, captured by the Indians atDeerfield in 1704, and was now minister of Long Meadow, Massachusetts. Hehad joined the anti-papal crusade as one of its chaplains, and passed for aman of ability, --a point on which those who read his diary will probablyhave doubts. The lot of the army chaplains was of the hardest. A pestilencehad fallen upon Louisbourg, and turned the fortress into a hospital. "Afterwe got into the town, " says the sarcastic Dr. Douglas, whose pleasure it isto put everything in its worst light, "a sordid indolence or sloth, forwant of discipline, induced putrid fevers and dysenteries, which at lengthin August became contagious, and the people died like rotten sheep. " Fromfourteen to twenty-seven were buried every day in the cemetery behind thetown, outside the Maurepas Gate, by the old lime-kiln, on Rochefort Point;and the forgotten bones of above five hundred New England men lie there tothis day under the coarse, neglected grass. The chaplain's diary is littlebut a dismal record of sickness, death, sermons, funerals, and prayers withthe dying ten times a day. "Prayed at Hospital;--Prayed atCitadel;--Preached at Grand Eatery;--Visited Capt. [illegible], verysick;--One of Capt. ----'s company dyd--Am but poorly myself, but able tokeep about. " Now and then there is a momentary change of note, as when hewrites: "July 29th. One of ye Captains of ye men of war caind a soldier whostruck ye capt. Again. A great tumult. Swords were drawn; no life lost, butgreat uneasiness is caused. " Or when he sets down the "say" of some Briton, apparently a naval officer, "that he had tho't ye New England men wereCowards--but now he tho't yt if they had a pick axe & spade, they w'd digye way to Hell & storm it. " [Footnote: The autograph diary of Rev. StephenWilliams is in my possession. The handwriting is detestable. ] Williams was sorely smitten with homesickness, but he sturdily kept hispost, in spite of grievous yearnings for family and flock. The pestilenceslowly abated, till at length the burying-parties that passed the MaurepasGate counted only three or four a day. At the end of January five hundredand sixty-one men had died, eleven hundred were on the sick list, and aboutone thousand fit for duty. [Footnote: On May 10th, 1746, Shirley writes toNewcastle that eight hundred and ninety men had died during the winter. Thesufferings of the garrison from cold were extreme. ] The promised regimentsfrom Gibraltar had not come. Could the French have struck then, Louisbourgmight have changed hands again. The Gibraltar regiments had arrived solate upon that rude coast that they turned southward to the milder shoresof Virginia, spent the winter there, and did not appear at Louisbourg tillApril. They brought with them a commission for Warren as governor of thefortress. He made a speech of thanks to the New England garrison, nowreduced to less than nineteen hundred men, sick and well, and they sailedat last for home, Louisbourg being now thought safe from any attempt ofFrance. To the zealous and energetic Shirley the capture of the fortress was but abeginning of greater triumphs. Scarcely had the New England militia sailedfrom Boston on their desperate venture, when he wrote to the Duke ofNewcastle that should the expedition succeed, all New England would be onfire to attack Canada, and the other colonies would take part with them, ifordered to do so by the ministry. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 4April, 1745. _] And, some months later, after Louisbourg was taken, heurged the policy of striking while the iron was hot, and invading Canada atonce. The colonists, he said, were ready, and it would be easier to raiseten thousand men for such an attack than one thousand to lie idle ingarrison at Louisbourg or anywhere else. France and England, he thinks, cannot live on the same continent. If we were rid of the French, hecontinues, England would soon control America, which would make her firstamong the nations; and he ventures what now seems the modest predictionthat in one or two centuries the British colonies would rival France inpopulation. Even now, he is sure that they would raise twenty thousand mento capture Canada, if the King required it of them, and Warren would be anacceptable commander for the naval part of the expedition; "but, " concludesthe Governor, "I will take no step without orders from his Majesty. "[Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 29 Oct. 1745. _] The Duke of Newcastle was now at the head of the Government. Smollett andHorace Walpole have made his absurdities familiar, in anecdotes which, trueor not, do no injustice to his character; yet he had talents that weregreat in their way, though their way was a mean one. They were talents, notof the statesman, but of the political manager, and their object was to winoffice and keep it. Newcastle, whatever his motives, listened to the counsels of Shirley, anddirected him to consult with Warren as to the proposed attack on Canada. At the same time he sent a circular letter to the governors of theprovinces from New England to North Carolina, directing them, should theinvasion be ordered, to call upon their assemblies for as many men as theywould grant. [Footnote: _Newcastle to the Provincial Governors, 14 March, 1746; Shirley to Newcastle, 31 May, 1746; Proclamation of Shirley, 2 June, 1746. _] Shirley's views were cordially supported by Warren, and thelevies were made accordingly, though not in proportion to the strength ofthe several colonies; for those south of New York felt little interest inthe plan. Shirley was told to "dispose Massachusetts to do its part;" butneither he nor his province needed prompting. Taking his cue from the Romansenator, he exclaimed to his Assembly, "_Delenda est Canada;_" and theAssembly responded by voting to raise thirty-five hundred men, and offeringa bounty equivalent to £4 sterling to each volunteer, besides a blanket forevery one, and a bed for every two. New Hampshire contributed five hundredmen, Rhode Island three hundred, Connecticut one thousand, New York sixteenhundred, New Jersey five hundred, Maryland three hundred, and Virginia onehundred. The Pennsylvania Assembly, controlled by Quaker non-combatants, would give no soldiers; but, by a popular movement, the province furnishedfour hundred men, without the help of its representatives. [Footnote:Hutchinson, II. 381, _note. _ Compare _Memoirs of the PrincipalTransactions of the Late War. _] As usual in the English attempts against Canada, the campaign was to be adouble one. The main body of troops, composed of British regulars and NewEngland militia, was to sail up the St. Lawrence and attack Quebec, whilethe levies of New York and the provinces farther south, aided, it washoped, by the warriors of the Iroquois, were to advance on Montreal by wayof Lake Champlain. Newcastle promised eight battalions of British troops underLieutenant-General Saint Clair. They were to meet the New England men atLouisbourg, and all were then to sail together for Quebec, under the escortof a squadron commanded by Warren. Shirley also was to go to Louisbourg, and arrange the plan of the campaign with the General and the Admiral. Thus, without loss of time, the captured fortress was to be made a base ofoperations against its late owners. Canada was wild with alarm at reports of English preparation. There wereabout fifty English prisoners in barracks at Quebec, and every device wastried to get information from them; but being chiefly rustics caught on thefrontiers by Indian war-parties, they had little news to give, and oftenrefused to give even this. One of them, who had been taken long before andgained over by the French, [Footnote: "Un ancien prisonnier affidé que l'ona mis dans nos interests. "] was used as an agent to extract informationfrom his countrymen, and was called _"notre homme de confiance. "_ Atthe same time the prisoners were freely supplied with writing materials, and their letters to their friends being then opened, it appeared that theywere all in expectation of speedy deliverance. [Footnote: _Extrait enforme de Journal de ce quie s'est passé dans la Colonie depuis . .. Le 1Déc. 1745, jusqu'au 9 Nov. 1746, signé Beauharnois et Hocquart. _] In July a report came from Acadia that from forty to fifty thousand menwere to attack Canada; and on the 1st of August a prisoner lately taken atSaratoga declared that there were thirty-two warships at Boston ready tosail against Quebec, and that thirteen thousand men were to march at oncefrom Albany against Montreal. "If all these stories are true, " writes theCanadian journalist, "all the English on this continent must be in arms. " Preparations for defence were pushed with feverish energy. Fireships weremade ready at Quebec, and fire-rafts at Isle-aux-Coudres; provisions weregathered, and ammunition was distributed; reconnoitring parties were sentto watch the Gulf and the River; and bands of Canadians and Indians latelysent to Acadia were ordered to hasten back. Thanks to the Duke of Newcastle, all these alarms were needless. TheMassachusetts levies were ready within six weeks, and Shirley, eager andimpatient, waited in vain for the squadron from England and the promisedeight battalions of regulars. They did not come; and in August he wrote toNewcastle that it would now be impossible to reach Quebec before October, which would be too late. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 22 Aug. 1746. _] The eight battalions had been sent to Portsmouth forembarkation, ordered on board the transports, then ordered ashore again, and finally sent on an abortive expedition against the coast of France. There were those who thought that this had been their destination from thefirst, and that the proposed attack on Canada was only a pretence todeceive the enemy. It was not till the next spring that Newcastle tried toexplain the miscarriage to Shirley. He wrote that the troops had beendetained by head-winds till General Saint Clair and Admiral Lestock thoughtit too late; to which he added that the demands of the European war madethe Canadian expedition impracticable, and that Shirley was to stand on thedefensive and attempt no further conquests. As for the provincial soldiers, who this time were in the pay of the Crown, he says that they were "veryexpensive, " and orders the Governor to get rid of them "as cheap aspossible. " [Footnote: _Newcastle to Shirley, 30 May 1747. _]Thus, not for the first time, the hopes of the colonies were brought tonought by the failure of the British ministers to keep their promises. When, in the autumn of 1746, Shirley said that for the present Canada wasto be let alone, he bethought him of a less decisive conquest, and proposedto employ the provincial troops for an attack on Crown Point, which formeda half-way station between Albany and Montreal, and was the constantrendezvous of war-parties against New York, New Hampshire, andMassachusetts, whose discords and jealousies had prevented them fromcombining to attack it. The Dutch of Albany, too, had strong commercialreasons for not coming to blows with the Canadians. Of late, however, Massachusetts and New York had suffered so much from this inconvenientneighbor that it was possible to unite them against it; and as Clinton, governor of New York, was scarcely less earnest to get possession of CrownPoint than was Shirley himself, a plan of operations was soon settled. Bythe middle of October fifteen hundred Massachusetts troops were on theirway to join the New York levies, and then advance upon the obnoxious post. [Footnote: _Memoirs of the Principal Transactions of the Last War. _] Even this modest enterprise was destined to fail. Astounding tidingsreached New England, and startled her like a thunder-clap from dreams ofconquest. It was reported that a great French fleet and army were on theirway to retake Louisbourg, reconquer Acadia, burn Boston, and lay waste theother seaboard towns. The Massachusetts troops marching for Crown Pointwere recalled, and the country militia were mustered in arms. In a few daysthe narrow, crooked streets of the Puritan capital were crowded with morethan eight thousand armed rustics from the farms and villages of Middlesex, Essex, Norfolk, and Worcester, and Connecticut promised six thousand moreas soon as the hostile fleet should appear. The defences of Castle Williamwere enlarged and strengthened, and cannon were planted on the islands atthe mouth of the harbor; hulks were sunk in the channel, and a boom waslaid across it under the guns of the castle. [Footnote: _Shirley toNewcastle, 29 Sept. 1746. _ Shirley says that though the Frenchmay bombard the town, he does not think they could make a landing, as heshall have fifteen thousand good men within call to oppose them. ] The alarmwas compared to that which filled England on the approach of the SpanishArmada. [Footnote: Hutchinson, II. 382. ] Canada heard the news of the coming armament with an exultation that wasdashed with misgiving as weeks and months passed and the fleet did notappear. At length in September a vessel put in to an Acadian harbor withthe report that she had met the ships in mid-ocean, and that they counted ahundred and fifty sail. Some weeks later the Governor and Intendant ofCanada wrote that on the 14th of October they received a letter fromChibucto with "the agreeable news" that the Duc d'Anville and his fleet hadarrived there about three weeks before. Had they known more, they wouldhave rejoiced less. That her great American fortress should have been snatched from her by adespised militia was more than France could bear; and in the midst of aburdensome war she made a crowning effort to retrieve her honor and pay thedebt with usury. It was computed that nearly half the French navy wasgathered at Brest under command of the Duc d'Anville. By one account hisforce consisted of eleven ships of the line, twenty frigates, andthirty-four transports and fireships, or sixty-five in all. Another listgives a total of sixty-six, of which ten were ships of the line, twenty-twowere frigates and fireships, and thirty-four were transports. [Footnote:This list is in the journal of a captured French officer called by ShirleyM. Rebateau. ] These last carried the regiment of Ponthieu, with otherveteran troops, to the number in all of three thousand one hundred andfifty. The fleet was to be joined at Chibucto, now Halifax, by four heavyships-of-war lately sent to the West Indies under M. De Conflans. From Brest D'Anville sailed for some reason to Rochelle, and here the shipswere kept so long by head-winds that it was the 20th of June before theycould put to sea. From the first the omens were sinister. The Admiral wasbeset with questions as to the destination of the fleet, which was known tohim alone; and when, for the sake of peace, he told it to his officers, their discontent redoubled. The Bay of Biscay was rough and boisterous, andspars, sails, and bowsprits were carried away. After they had been a weekat sea, some of the ships, being dull sailers, lagged behind, and the restwere forced to shorten sail and wait for them. In the longitude of theAzores there was a dead calm, and the whole fleet lay idle for days. Thencame a squall, with lightning. Several ships were struck. On one of themsix men were killed, and on the seventy-gun ship "Mars" a box of musket andcannon cartridges blew up, killed ten men, and wounded twenty-one. Astoreship which proved to be sinking was abandoned and burned. Then apestilence broke out, and in some of the ships there were more sick than inhealth. On the 14th of September they neared the coast of Nova Scotia, and were indread of the dangerous shoals of Sable Island, the position of which theydid not exactly know. They groped their way in fogs till a fearful storm, with thunder and lightning, fell upon them. The journalist of the voyage, acaptain in the regiment of Ponthieu, says, with the exaggeration common insuch cases, that the waves ran as high as the masts; and such was theirviolence that a transport, dashing against the ship "Amazone, " immediatelywent down, with all on board. The crew of the "Prince d'Orange, " halfblinded by wind and spray, saw the great ship "Caribou, " without bowspritor main-topmast, driving towards them before the gale, and held theirbreath in expectation of the shock as she swept close alongside andvanished in the storm. [Footnote: _Journal historique du Voyage de laFlotte commandée par M. Le Duc d'Enville. _ The writer was on board the"Prince d'Orange, " and describes what he saw (Archives du Séminaire deQuébec; printed in _Le Canada Français. _)] The tempest raged allnight, and the fleet became so scattered that there was no more danger ofcollision. In the morning the journalist could see but five sail; but asthe day advanced the rest began to reappear, and at three o'clock hecounted thirty-one from the deck of the "Prince d'Orange. " The gale wassubsiding, but its effects were seen in hencoops, casks, and chestsfloating on the surges and telling the fate of one or more of the fleet. The "Argonaut" was rolling helpless, without masts or rudder; the "Caribou"had thrown overboard all the starboard guns of her upper deck; and thevice-admiral's ship, the "Trident, " was in scarcely better condition. On the 23d they were wrapped in thick fog and lay firing guns, ringingbells, and beating drums to prevent collisions. When the weather cleared, they looked in vain for the Admiral's ship, the "Northumberland. "[Footnote: The "Northumberland" was an English prize captured by CaptainsSerier and Conflans in 1744. ] She was not lost, however, but with two otherships was far ahead of the fleet and near Chibucto, though in greatperplexity, having no pilot who knew the coast. She soon after had the goodfortune to capture a small English vessel with a man on board wellacquainted with Chibucto harbor. D'Anville offered him his liberty and ahundred louis if he would pilot the ship in. To this he agreed; but when herejoined his fellow-prisoners they called him a traitor to his country, onwhich he retracted his promise. D'Anville was sorely perplexed; butDuperrier, captain of the "Northumberland, " less considerate of theprisoner's feelings, told him that unless he kept his word he should bethrown into the sea, with a pair of cannon-balls made fast to his feet. Atthis his scruples gave way, and before night the "Northumberland" was safein Chibucto Bay. D'Anville had hoped to find here the four ships ofConflans which were to have met him from the West Indies at this, theappointed rendezvous; but he saw only a solitary transport of his ownfleet. Hills covered with forests stood lonely and savage round what is nowthe harbor of Halifax. Conflans and his four ships had arrived early in themonth, and finding nobody, though it was nearly three months sinceD'Anville left Rochelle, he cruised among the fogs for a while, and thensailed for France a few days before the Admiral's arrival. D'Anville was ignorant of the fate of his fleet; but he knew that the twoships which had reached Chibucto with him were full of sick men, that theirprovisions were nearly spent, and that there was every reason to believesuch of the fleet as the storm might have spared to be in no better case. An officer of the expedition describes D'Anville as a man "made to commandand worthy to be loved, " and says that he had borne the disasters of thevoyage with the utmost fortitude and serenity. [Footnote: _Journalhistorique du Voyage. _] Yet suspense and distress wrought fatally uponhim, and at two o'clock in the morning of the 27th he died, --of apoplexy, by the best accounts; though it was whispered among the crews that he hadended his troubles by poison. [Footnote: _Declaration of H. Kannan andD. Deas, 23 Oct. 1746. Deposition of Joseph Foster, 24 Oct. 1746, sworn tobefore Jacob Wendell, J. P. _ These were prisoners in the ships atChibucto. ] At six o'clock in the afternoon of the same day D'Estournel, thevice-admiral, with such ships as remained with him, entered the harbor andlearned what had happened. He saw with dismay that he was doomed to bearthe burden of command over a ruined enterprise and a shattered fleet. Thelong voyage had consumed the provisions, and in some of the ships the crewswere starving. The pestilence grew worse, and men were dying in numbersevery day. On the 28th, D'Anville was buried without ceremony on a smallisland in the harbor. The officers met in council, and the papers of thedead commander were examined. Among them was a letter from the King inwhich he urged the recapture of Louisbourg as the first object of theexpedition; but this was thought impracticable, and the council resolved toturn against Annapolis all the force that was left. It is said thatD'Estournel opposed the attempt, insisting that it was hopeless, and thatthere was no alternative but to return to France. The debate was long andhot, and the decision was against him. [Footnote: This is said by all thewriters except the author of the _Journal historique_, who merelystates that the council decided to attack Annapolis, and to detach somesoldiers to the aid of Quebec. This last vote was reconsidered. ] Thecouncil dissolved, and he was seen to enter his cabin in evident distressand agitation. An unusual sound was presently heard, followed by groans. His door was fastened by two bolts, put on the evening before by his order. It was burst open, and the unfortunate commander was found lying in a poolof blood, transfixed with his own sword. Enraged and mortified, he hadthrown himself upon it in a fit of desperation. The surgeon drew out theblade, but it was only on the urgent persuasion of two Jesuits that thedying man would permit the wound to be dressed. He then ordered all thecaptains to the side of his berth, and said, "Gentlemen, I beg pardon ofGod and the King for what I have done, and I protest to the King that myonly object was to prevent my enemies from saying that I had not executedhis orders;" and he named M. De la Jonquière to command in his place. Infact, La Jonquière's rank entitled him to do so. He was afterwards wellknown as governor of Canada, and was reputed a brave and able sea-officer. La Jonquière remained at Chibucto till late in October. Messengers weresent to the Acadian settlements to ask for provisions, of which there wasdesperate need; and as payment was promised in good metal, and not inpaper, the Acadians brought in a considerable supply. The men were encampedon shore, yet the pestilence continued its ravages. Two English prisonerswere told that between twenty-three and twenty-four hundred men had beenburied by sea or land since the fleet left France; and another declaresthat eleven hundred and thirty-five burials took place while he was atChibucto. [Footnote: _Declaration of Kannan and Deas. Deposition ofJoseph Foster. _] The survivors used the clothing of the dead as gifts tothe neighboring Indians, who in consequence were attacked with suchvirulence by the disease that of the band at Cape Sable three fourths aresaid to have perished. The English, meanwhile, learned something of thecondition of their enemies. Towards the end of September Captain SylvanusCobb, in a sloop from Boston, boldly entered Chibucto Harbor, took note ofthe ships lying there, and though pursued, ran out to sea and carried theresults of his observations to Louisbourg. [Footnote: _Report of CaptainCobb, _ in _Shirley to Newcastle, 13 Oct. 1746. _] A more thoroughreconnoissance was afterwards made by a vessel from Louisbourg bringingFrench prisoners for exchange under a flag of truce; and it soon becameevident that the British colonies had now nothing to fear. La Jonquière still clung to the hope of a successful stroke at Annapolis, till in October an Acadian brought him the report that the garrison of thatplace had received a reinforcement of twelve hundred men. The reinforcementconsisted in reality of three small companies of militia sent from Bostonby Shirley. La Jonquière called a secret council, and the result seems tohave been adverse to any further attempt. The journalist reports that onlya thousand men were left in fighting condition, and that even of these somewere dying every day. La Jonquière, however, would not yet despair. The troops were re-embarked;five hospital ships were devoted to the sick; the "Parfait, " a fifty-gunship no longer serviceable, was burned, as were several smaller vessels, and on the 4th of October what was left of the fleet sailed out of ChibuctoHarbor and steered for Annapolis, piloted by Acadians. The flag of trucefrom Louisbourg was compelled for a time to bear them company, and JosephFoster of Beverly, an exchanged prisoner on board of her, deposed that asthe fleet held its way, he saw "a great number of dead persons" droppedinto the sea every day. Ill-luck still pursued the French. A storm off CapeSable dispersed the ships, two of which some days later made their way toAnnapolis Basin in expectation of finding some of their companions there. They found instead the British fifty-gun ship "Chester" and theMassachusetts frigate "Shirley" anchored before the fort, on which the twoFrenchmen retired as they had come; and so ended the last aggressivemovement on the part of the great armament. The journalist reports that on the night of the 27th there was a council ofofficers on board the "Northumberland, " at which it was resolved that nochoice was left but to return to France with the ships that still kepttogether. On the 4th of November there was another storm, and when itsubsided, the "Prince d'Orange" found herself with but nine companions, allof which were transports. These had on board eleven companies of soldiers, of whom their senior officer reports that only ninety-one were in health. The pestilence made such ravages among the crews that four or five corpseswere thrown into the sea every day, and there was fear that the vesselswould be left helpless in mid-ocean for want of sailors to work them. [Footnote: _Journal historique. _] At last, on the 7th of December, after narrowly escaping an English squadron, they reached Port Louis inBrittany, where several ships of the fleet had arrived before them. Amongthese was the frigate "La Palme. " "Yesterday, " says the journalist, "Isupped with M. Destrahoudal, who commands this frigate; and he told methings which from anybody else would have been incredible. This is hisstory, exactly as I had it from him. " And he goes on to the followingeffect. After the storm of the 14th of September, provisions being almost spent, itwas thought that there was no hope for "La Palme" and her crew but ingiving up the enterprise and making all sail at once for home, since Francenow had no port of refuge on the western continent nearer than Quebec. Rations were reduced to three ounces of biscuit and three of salt meat aday; and after a time half of this pittance was cut off. There was diligenthunting for rats in the hold; and when this game failed, the crew, crazedwith famine, demanded of their captain that five English prisoners who wereon board should be butchered to appease the frenzy of their hunger. Thecaptain consulted his officers, and they were of opinion that if he did notgive his consent, the crew would work their will without it. The ship'sbutcher was accordingly ordered to bind one of the prisoners, carry him tothe bottom of the hold, put him to death, and distribute his flesh to themen in portions of three ounces each. The captain, walking the deck ingreat agitation all night, found a pretext for deferring the deed tillmorning, when a watchman sent aloft at daylight cried, "A sail!" Theprovidential stranger was a Portuguese ship; and as Portugal was neutral inthe war, she let the frigate approach to within hailing distance. ThePortuguese captain soon came alongside in a boat, "accompanied, " in thewords of the narrator, "by five sheep. " These were eagerly welcomed by thestarving crew as agreeable substitutes for the five Englishmen; and beingforthwith slaughtered, were parcelled out among the men, who would not waittill the flesh was cooked, but devoured it raw. Provisions enough wereobtained from the Portuguese to keep the frigate's company alive till theyreached Port Louis. [Footnote: _Relation du Voyage de Retour de M. Destrahoudal après la Tempête du 14 Septembre, _ in _Journalhistorique. _] There are no sufficient means of judging how far the disasters ofD'Anville's fleet were due to a neglect of sanitary precautions or todeficient seamanship. Certain it is that there were many in self-righteousNew England who would have held it impious to doubt that God had summonedthe pestilence and the storm to fight the battles of his modern Israel. Undaunted by disastrous failure, the French court equipped another fleet, not equal to that of D'Anville, yet still formidable, and placed it underLa Jonquière, for the conquest of Acadia and Louisbourg. La Jonquièresailed from Rochelle on the 10th of May, 1747, and on the 14th was met byan English fleet stronger than his own and commanded by Admirals Anson andWarren. A fight ensued, in which, after brave resistance, the French weretotally defeated. Six ships-of-war, including the flag-ship, were captured, with a host of prisoners, among whom was La Jonquière himself. [Footnote:_Relation du Combat rendu le 14 Mai _(new style)_, par l'Escadre duRoy commandée par M. De la Jonquiere, _in_ Le Canada Français, Supplément de Documents inédits, 33. Newcastle to Shirley, 30 May, 1747. _] CHAPTER XXII. 1745-1747. ACADIAN CONFLICTS. EFFORTS OF FRANCE. --APATHY OF NEWCASTLE. --DILEMMA OF ACADIANS. --THEIRCHARACTER. --DANGER OF THE PROVINCE. --PLANS OF SHIRLEY. --ACADIANPRIESTS. --POLITICAL AGITATORS. --NOBLE'S EXPEDITION. --RAMESAY ATBEAUBASSIN. --NOBLE AT GRAND PRÉ. --A WINTER MARCH. --DEFEAT AND DEATH OFNOBLE. --GRAND PRÉ RE-OCCUPIED BY THE ENGLISH. --THREATS OF RAMESAY AGAINSTTHE ACADIANS. --THE BRITISH MINISTRY WILL NOT PROTECT THEM. Since the capture of Louisbourg, France had held constantly in view, as anobject of prime importance, the recovery of her lost colony of Acadia. This was one of the chief aims of D'Anville's expedition, and of that of LaJonquière in the next year. And to make assurance still more sure, a largebody of Canadians, under M. De Ramesay, had been sent to Acadia toco-operate with D'Anville's force; but the greater part of them had beenrecalled to aid in defending Quebec against the expected attack of theEnglish. They returned when the news came that D'Anville was at Chibucto, and Ramesay, with a part of his command, advanced upon Port Royal, orAnnapolis, in order to support the fleet in its promised attack on thatplace. He encamped at a little distance from the English fort, till heheard of the disasters that had ruined the fleet, [Footnote: _Journal deBeaujeu_, in _Le Canada Francçais, Documents_, 53. ] and then fellback to Chignecto, on the neck of the Acadian peninsula, where he made hisquarters, with a force which, including Micmac, Malecite, and PenobscotIndians, amounted, at one time, to about sixteen hundred men. If France was bent on recovering Acadia, Shirley was no less resolved tokeep it, if he could. In his belief, it was the key of the BritishAmerican colonies, and again and again he urged the Duke of Newcastle toprotect it. But Newcastle seems scarcely to have known where Acadia was, being ignorant of most things except the art of managing the House ofCommons, and careless of all things that could not help his party andhimself. Hence Shirley's hyperboles, though never without a basis of truth, were lost upon him. Once, it is true, he sent three hundred men toAnnapolis; but one hundred and eighty of them died on the voyage, or layhelpless in Boston hospitals, and the rest could better have been spared, some being recruits from English jails, and others Irish Catholics, severalof whom deserted to the French, with information of the state of thegarrison. The defence of Acadia was left to Shirley and his Assembly, who in time ofneed sent companies of militia and rangers to Annapolis, and thus onseveral occasions saved it from returning to France. Shirley was the mostwatchful and strenuous defender of British interests on the continent; andin the present crisis British and colonial interests were one. He held thatif Acadia were lost, the peace and safety of all the other colonies wouldbe in peril; and in spite of the immense efforts made by the French courtto recover it, he felt that the chief danger of the province was not fromwithout, but from within. "If a thousand French troops should land in NovaScotia, " he writes to Newcastle, "all the people would rise to join them, besides all the Indians. " [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 29 Oct. 1745. _] So, too, thought the French officials in America. The Governorand Intendant of Canada wrote to the colonial minister: "The inhabitants, with few exceptions, wish to return under the French dominion, and will nothesitate to take up arms as soon as they see themselves free to do so; thatis, as soon as we become masters of Port Royal, or they have powder andother munitions of war, and are backed by troops for their protectionagainst the resentment of the English. " [Footnote: _Beauharnois etHocquart au Ministre, 12 Sept. 1745. _] Up to this time, however, thoughthey had aided Duvivier in his attack on Annapolis so far as was possiblewithout seeming to do so, they had not openly taken arms, and their refusalto fight for the besiegers is one among several causes to which Mascareneascribes the success of his defence. While the greater part remainedattached to France, some leaned to the English, who bought their produceand paid them in ready coin. Money was rare with the Acadians, who lovedit, and were so addicted to hoarding it that the French authorities wereled to speculate as to what might be the object of these careful savings. [Footnote: _Beauharnois et Hocquart au Ministre_, 12 Sept. 1745. ] Though the Acadians loved France, they were not always ready to sacrificetheir interests to her. They would not supply Ramesay's force withprovisions in exchange for his promissory notes, but demanded hard cash. [Footnote: _Ibid_. ] This he had not to give, and was near beingcompelled to abandon his position in consequence. At the same time, inconsideration of specie payment, the inhabitants brought in fuel for theEnglish garrison at Louisbourg, and worked at repairing the rotten_chevaux de frise_ of Annapolis. [Footnote: _Admiral Knowles à ----1746. _ Mascarene in _Le Canada Français, Documents_, 82] Mascarene, commandant at that place, being of French descent, was disposedat first to sympathize with the Acadians and treat them with a lenity thatto the members of his council seemed neither fitting nor prudent. He wroteto Shirley: "The French inhabitants are certainly in a very periloussituation, those who pretend to be their friends and old masters having letloose a parcel of banditti to plunder them; whilst, on the other hand, theysee themselves threatened with ruin if they fail in their allegiance to theBritish Government. " [Footnote: Mascarene, in _Le Canada Français, Documents_, 81. ] This unhappy people were in fact between two fires. France claimed them onone side, and England on the other, and each demanded their adhesion, without regard to their feelings or their wrelfare. The banditti of whomMascarene speaks were the Micmac Indians, who were completely under thecontrol of their missionary, Le Loutre, and were used by him to terrify theinhabitants into renouncing their English allegiance and activelysupporting the French cause. By the Treaty of Utrecht France hadtransferred Acadia to Great Britain, and the inhabitants had afterwardstaken an oath of fidelity to King George. Thus they were British subjects;but as their oath had been accompanied by a promise, or at least a clearunderstanding, that they should not be required to take arms againstFrenchmen or Indians, they had become known as the "Neutral French. " Thisname tended to perplex them, and in their ignorance and simplicity theyhardly knew to which side they owed allegiance. Their illiteracy wasextreme. Few of them could sign their names, and a contemporary wellacquainted with them declares that he knew but a single Acadian who couldread and write. [Footnote: Moïse des Derniers, in _Le CanadaFrançais_, I. 118. ] This was probably the notary, Le Blanc, whosecompositions are crude and illiterate. Ignorant of books and isolated in awild and remote corner of the world, the Acadians knew nothing of affairs, and were totally incompetent to meet the crisis that was soon to come uponthem. In activity and enterprise they were far behind the Canadians, wholooked on them as inferiors. Their pleasures were those of the humblest andsimplest peasants; they were contented with their lot, and asked only to belet alone. Their intercourse was unceremonious to such a point that theynever addressed each other, or, it is said, even strangers, as_monsieur_. They had the social equality which can exist only in thehumblest conditions of society, and presented the phenomenon of a primitivelittle democracy, hatched under the wing of an absolute monarchy. Each wasas good as his neighbor; they had no natural leaders, nor any to advise orguide them, except the missionary priest, who in every case was expected byhis superiors to influence them in the interest of France, and who, infact, constantly did so. While one observer represents them as living in astate of primeval innocence, another describes both men and women asextremely foul of speech; from which he draws inferences unfavorable totheir domestic morals, [Footnote: _Journal de Franquet_, Part II. ]which, nevertheless, were commendable. As is usual with a well-fed andunambitious peasantry, they were very prolific, and are said to havedoubled their number every sixteen years. In 1748 they counted in thepeninsula of Nova Scotia between twelve and thirteen thousand souls. [Footnote: _Description de l'Acadie, avec le Nom des Paroisses et leNombre des Habitants_, 1748. ] The English rule had been of thelightest, --so light that it could scarcely be felt; and this was notsurprising, since the only instruments for enforcing it over a populationwholly French were some two hundred disorderly soldiers in the crumblinglittle fort of Annapolis; and the province was left, perforce, to take careof itself. The appearance of D'Anville's fleet caused great excitement among theAcadians, who thought that they were about to pass again under the Crown ofFrance. Fifty of them went on board the French ships at Chibucto to pilotthem to the attack of Annapolis, and to their dismay found that no attackwas to be made. When Ramesay, with his Canadians and Indians, took post atChignecto and built a fort at Baye Verte, on the neck of the peninsula ofNova Scotia, the English power in that part of the colony seemed at an end. The inhabitants cut off all communication with Annapolis, and detained theofficers whom Mascarene sent for intelligence. From the first outbreak of the war it was evident that the French builttheir hopes of recovering Acadia largely on a rising of the Acadiansagainst the English rule, and that they spared no efforts to excite such arising. Early in 1745 a violent and cruel precaution against this dangerwas suggested. William Shirreff, provincial secretary, gave it as hisopinion that the Acadians ought to be removed, being a standing menace tothe colony. [Footnote: _Shirreff to K. Gould, agent of Phillips'sRegiment, March, 1745. _] This is the first proposal of such a naturethat I find. Some months later, Shirley writes that, on a false report ofthe capture of Annapolis by the French, the Acadians sang _Te Deum, _and that every sign indicates that there will be an attempt in the springto capture Annapolis, with their help. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 14 Dec. 1745. _] Again, Shirley informs Newcastle that the French willget possession of Acadia unless the most dangerous of the inhabitants areremoved, and English settlers put in their place. [Footnote: _Ibid. , 10May, 1746. _] He adds that there are not two hundred and twenty soldiersat Annapolis to defend the province against the whole body of Acadians andIndians, and he tells the minister that unless the expedition againstCanada should end in the conquest of that country, the removal of some ofthe Acadians will be a necessity. He means those of Chignecto, who werekept in a threatening attitude by the presence of Ramesay and hisCanadians, and who, as he thinks, had forfeited their lands by treasonableconduct. Shirley believes that families from New England might be inducedto take their place, and that these, if settled under suitable regulations, would form a military frontier to the province of Nova Scotia "strongenough to keep the Canadians out, " and hold the Acadians to theirallegiance. [Footnote: _Ibid. , 8 July, 1747. _] The Duke of Bedfordthinks the plan a good one, but objects to the expense. [Footnote:_Bedford to Newcastle, 11 Sept. 1747. _] Commodore Knowles, thengovernor of Louisbourg, who, being threatened with consumption andconvinced that the climate was killing him, vented his feelings instrictures against everything and everybody, was of opinion that theAcadians, having broken their neutrality, ought to be expelled at once, andexpresses the amiable hope that should his Majesty adopt this plan, he willcharge him with executing it. [Footnote: _Knowles to Newcastle, 8 Nov. 1746. _] Shirley's energetic nature inclined him to trenchant measures, and he hadnothing of modern humanitarianism; but he was not inhuman, and he shrankfrom the cruelty of forcing whole communities into exile. While Knowles andothers called for wholesale expatriation, he still held that it waspossible to turn the greater part of the Acadians into safe subjects of theBritish Crown; [Footnote: Shirley says that the indiscriminate removal ofthe Acadians would be "unjust" and "too rigorous". Knowles had proposed toput Catholic Jacobites from the Scotch Highlands into their place. Shirleythinks this inexpedient, but believes that Protestants from Germany andUlster might safely be trusted. The best plan of all, in his opinion, isthat of "treating the Acadians as subjects, confining their punishment tothe most guilty and dangerous among 'em, and keeping the rest in thecountry and endeavoring to make them useful members of society under hisMajesty's Government. " _Shirley to Newcastle, 21 Nov. 1746. _ If theNewcastle Government had vigorously carried his recommendations intoeffect, the removal of the Acadians in 1755 would not have taken place. ]and to this end he advised the planting of a fortified town where Halifaxnow stands, and securing by forts and garrisons the neck of the Acadianpeninsula, where the population was most numerous and most disaffected. Thegarrisons, he thought, would not only impose respect, but would furnish theAcadians with what they wanted most, --ready markets for their produce, --andthus bind them to the British by strong ties of interest. Newcastle thoughtthe plan good, but wrote that its execution must be deferred to a futureday. Three years later it was partly carried into effect by the foundationof Halifax; but at that time the disaffection of the Acadians had soincreased, and the hope of regaining the province for France had risen sohigh, that this partial and tardy assertion of British authority onlyspurred the French agents to redoubled efforts to draw the inhabitants fromthe allegiance they had sworn to the Crown of England. Shirley had also other plans in view for turning the Acadians into goodBritish subjects. He proposed, as a measure of prime necessity, to excludeFrench priests from the province. The free exercise of their religion hadbeen insured to the inhabitants by the Treaty of Utrecht, and on this pointthe English authorities had given no just cause of complaint. A priest hadoccasionally been warned, suspended, or removed; but without a singleexception, so far as appears, this was in consequence of conduct whichtended to excite disaffection, and which would have incurred equal orgreater penalties in the case of a layman. [Footnote: There was afterwardssharp correspondence between Shirley and the Governor of Canada touchingthe Acadian priests. Thus, Shirley writes: "I can't avoid now, Sir, expressing great surprise at the other parts of your letter, whereby youtake upon you to call Mr. Mascarene to account for expelling the missionaryfrom Minas for being guilty of such treasonable practices within HisMajesty's government as merited a much severer Punishment. " _Shirley àGalissonière, 9 Mai 1749. _ Shirley writes to Newcastle that the Acadians"are greatly under the influence of their priests, who continually receivetheir directions from the Bishop of Qeubec, and are the instruments bywhich the Governor of Canada makes all his attempts for the reduction ofthe province to the French Crown. " _Shirley to Newcastle, 20 Oct. 1747. _ He proceeds to give facts in proof of his assertion. Compare_Moncalm and Wolfe_, I. 106, 107, 266, _note_. ] The sentence wasdirected, not against the priest, but against the political agitator. Shirley's plan of excluding French priests from the province would not haveviolated the provisions of the treaty, provided that the inhabitants weresupplied with other priests, not French subjects, and therefore notpolitically dangerous; but though such a measure was several times proposedby the provincial authorities, the exasperating apathy of the NewcastleGovernment gave no hope that it could be accomplished. The influences most dangerous to British rule did not proceed from love ofFrance or sympathy of race, but from the power of religion over a simpleand ignorant people, trained in profound love and awe of their Church andits ministers, who were used by the representatives of Louis XV. As agentsto alienate the Acadians from England. The most strenuous of these clerical agitators was Abbé Le Loutre, missionary to the Micmacs, and after 1753 vicar-general of Acadia. He was afiery and enterprising zealot, inclined by temperament to methods ofviolence, detesting the English, and restrained neither by pity nor scruplefrom using threats of damnation and the Micmac tomahawk to frighten theAcadians into doing his bidding. The worst charge against him, that ofexciting the Indians of his mission to murder Captain Howe, an Englishofficer, has not been proved; but it would not have been brought againsthim by his own countrymen if his character and past conduct had gained himtheir esteem. The other Acadian priests were far from sharing Le Loutre's violence; buttheir influence was always directed to alienating the inhabitants fromtheir allegiance to King George. Hence Shirley regarded the conversion ofthe Acadians to Protestantism as a political measure of the firstimportance, and proposed the establishment of schools in the province tothat end. Thus far his recommendations are perfectly legitimate; but whenhe adds that rewards ought to be given to Acadians who renounce theirfaith, few will venture to defend him. Newcastle would trouble himself with none of his schemes, and Acadia wasleft to drift with the tide, as before. "I shall finish my troubleing yourGrace upon the affairs of Nova Scotia with this letter, " writes thepersevering Shirley. And he proceeds to ask, "as a proper Scheme for bettersecuring the Subjection of the French inhabitants and Indians there, " thatthe Governor and Council at Annapolis have special authority and directionfrom the King to arrest and examine such Acadians as shall be "mostobnoxious and dangerous to his Majesty's Government;" and if found guiltyof treasonable correspondence with the enemy, to dispose of them and theirestates in such manner as his Majesty shall order, at the same timepromising indemnity to the rest for past offences, upon their taking orrenewing the oath of allegiance. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 15Aug. 1746. _] To this it does not appear that Newcastle made any answer except to directShirley, eight or nine months later, to tell the Acadians that so long asthey were peaceable subjects, they should be protected in property andreligion. [Footnote: _Newcastle to Shirley, 30 May, 1747. _ Shirley hadsome time before directed Mascarene to tell the Acadians that while theybehave peaceably and do not correspond with the enemy, their property willbe safe, but that such as turn traitors will be treated accordingly. _Shirley to Mascarene, 16 Sept. 1746. _] Thus left to struggle unaidedwith a most difficult problem, entirely outside of his functions asgovernor of Massachusetts, Shirley did what he could. The most pressingdanger, as he thought, rose from the presence of Ramesay and and hisCanadians at Chignecto; for that officer spared no pains to induce theAcadians to join him in another attempt against Annapolis, telling themthat if they did not drive out the English, the English would drive themout. He was now at Mines, trying to raise the inhabitants in arms forFrance. Shirley thought it necessary to counteract him, and force him andhis Canadians back to the isthmus whence they had come; but as the ministrywould give no soldiers, he was compelled to draw them from New England. Thedefence of Acadia was the business of the Home Government, and not of thecolonies; but as they were deeply interested in the preservation of theendangered province, Massachusetts gave five hundred men in response toShirley's call, and Rhode Island and New Hampshire added, between them, asmany more. Less than half of these levies reached Acadia. It was thestormy season. The Rhode Island vessels were wrecked near Martha'sVineyard. A New Hampshire transport sloop was intercepted by a French armedvessel, and ran back to Portsmouth. Four hundred and seventy men fromMassachusetts, under Colonel Arthur Noble, were all who reached Annapolis, whence they sailed for Mines, accompanied by a few soldiers of thegarrison. Storms, drifting ice, and the furious tides of the Bay of Fundymade their progress so difficult and uncertain that Noble resolved tofinish the journey by land; and on the 4th of December he disembarked nearthe place now called French Cross, at the foot of the North Mountain, --alofty barrier of rock and forest extending along the southern shore of theBay of Fundy. Without a path and without guides, the party climbed thesnow-encumbered heights and toiled towards their destination, each mancarrying provisions for fourteen days in his haversack. After sleepingeight nights without shelter among the snowdrifts, they reached the Acadianvillage of Grand Pré, the chief settlement of the district of Mines. Ramesay and his Canadians were gone. On learning the approach of an Englishforce, he had tried to persuade the Acadians that they were to be drivenfrom their homes, and that their only hope was in joining with him to meetforce by force; but they trusted Shirley's recent assurance of protection, and replied that they would not break their oath of fidelity to KingGeorge. On this, Ramesay retreated to his old station at Chignecto, andNoble and his men occupied Grand Pré without opposition. The village consisted of small, low wooden houses, scattered at intervalsfor the distance of a mile and a half, and therefore ill fitted fordefence. The English had the frame of a blockhouse, or, as some say, oftwo blockhouses, ready to be set up on their arrival; but as the ground washard frozen it was difficult to make a foundation, and the frames weretherefore stored in outbuildings of the village, with the intention ofraising them in the spring. The vessels which had brought them, togetherwith stores, ammunition, five small cannon, and a good supply ofsnow-shoes, had just arrived at the landing-place, --and here, withincredible fatuity, were allowed to remain, with most of theirindispensable contents still on board. The men, meanwhile, were quarteredin the Acadian houses. Noble's position was critical, but he was assured that he could not bereached from Chignecto in such a bitter season; and this he was too readyto believe, though he himself had just made a march, which, if not so long, was quite as arduous. Yet he did not neglect every precaution, but keptout scouting-parties to range the surrounding country, while the rest ofhis men took their ease in the Acadian houses, living on the provisions ofthe villagers, for which payment was afterwards made. Some of theinhabitants, who had openly favored Ramesay and his followers, fled to thewoods, in fear of the consequences; but the greater part remained quietlyin the village. At the head of the Bay of Fundy its waters form a fork, consisting ofChignecto Bay on the one hand, and Mines Basin on the other. At the head ofChignecto Bay was the Acadian settlement of Chignecto, or Beaubassin, inthe houses of which Ramesay had quartered his Canadians. Here the neck ofthe Acadian peninsula is at its narrowest, the distance across to BayeVerte, where Ramesay had built a fort, being little more than twelve miles. Thus he controlled the isthmus, --from which, however, Noble hoped todislodge him in the spring. In the afternoon of the 8th of January an Acadian who had been sent toMines by the missionary Germain, came to Beaubassin with the news that twohundred and twenty English were at Grand Pré, and that more were expected. [Footnote: Beaujeu, _Journal de la Campagne du Détachement de Canada àl'Acadie_, in _Le Canada Français_, II. _Documents_, 16. ] Ramesayinstantly formed a plan of extraordinary hardihood, and resolved, by arapid march and a night attack, to surprise the new-comers. His party wasgreatly reduced by disease, and to recruit it he wrote to La Corne, Récollet missionary at Miramichi, to join him with his Indians; writing atthe same time to Maillard, former colleague of Le Loutre at the mission ofShubenacadie, and to Girard, priest of Cobequid, to muster Indians, collectprovisions, and gather information concerning the English. Meanwhile hisCanadians busied themselves with making snow-shoes and dog-sledges for themarch. Ramesay could not command the expedition in person, as an accident to oneof his knees had disabled him from marching. This was less to be regretted, in view of the quality of his officers, for he had with him the flower ofthe warlike Canadian _noblesse_, --Coulon de Villiers, who, sevenyears later, defeated Washington at Fort Necessity; Beaujeu, the futurehero of the Monongahela, in appearance a carpet knight, in reality a boldand determined warrior; the Chevalier de la Corne, a model of bodily andmental hardihood; Saint-Pierre, Lanaudière, Saint-Ours, Desligneris, Courtemanche, Repentigny, Boishébert, Gaspé, Colombière, Marin, Lusignan, --all adepts in the warfare of surprise and sudden onslaught inwhich the Canadians excelled. Coulon de Villiers commanded in Ramesay's place; and on the 21st of Januaryhe and the other officers led their men across the isthmus from Beaubassinto Baye Verte, where they all encamped in the woods, and where they werejoined by a party of Indians and some Acadians from Beaubassin and Isle St. Jean. [Footnote: _Mascarene to Shirley, 8 Feb. 1746_ (1747, newstyle). ] Provisions, ammunition, and other requisites were distributed, andat noon of the 23d they broke up their camp, marched three leagues, andbivouacked towards evening. On the next morning they marched again atdaybreak. There was sharp cold, with a storm of snow, --not the large, moist, lazy flakes that fall peacefully and harmlessly, but those smallcrystalline particles that drive spitefully before the wind, and prick thecheek like needles. It was the kind of snowstorm called in Canada _lapoudrerie_. They had hoped to make a long day's march; but feet andfaces were freezing, and they were forced to stop, at noon, under suchshelter as the thick woods of pine, spruce, and fir could supply. In themorning they marched again, following the border of the sea, theirdog-teams dragging provisions and baggage over the broken ice of creeks andinlets, which they sometimes avoided by hewing paths through the forest. After a day of extreme fatigue they stopped at the small bay where the townof Wallace now stands. Beaujeu says: "While we were digging out the snow tomake our huts, there came two Acadians with letters from MM. Maillard andGirard. " The two priests sent a mixture of good and evil news. On one handthe English were more numerous than had been reported; on the other, theyhad not set up the blockhouses they had brought with them. Some Acadiansof the neighboring settlement joined the party at this camp, as also did afew Indians. On the next morning, January 27th, the adventurers stopped at the villageof Tatmagouche, where they were again joined by a number of Acadians. Aftermending their broken sledges they resumed their march, and at five in theafternoon reached a place called Bacouel, at the beginning of the portagethat led some twenty-five miles across the country to Cobequid, now Truro, at the head of Mines Basin. Here they were met by Girard, priest ofCobequid, from whom Coulon exacted a promise to meet him again at thatvillage in two days. Girard gave the promise unwillingly, fearing, saysBeaujeu, to embroil himself with the English authorities. He reported thatthe force at Grand Pré counted at least four hundred and fifty, or, as somesaid, more than five hundred. This startling news ran through the camp; butthe men were not daunted. "The more there are, " they said, "the more weshall kill. " The party spent the 28th in mending their damaged sledges, and in theafternoon they were joined by more Acadians and Indians. Thus reinforced, they marched again, and towards evening reached a village on the outskirtsof Cobequid. Here the missionary Maillard joined them, --to the greatsatisfaction of Coulon, who relied on him and his brother priest Girard toprocure supplies of provisions. Maillard promised to go himself to GrandPré with the Indians of his mission. The party rested for a day, and set out again on the 1st of February, stopped at Maillard's house in Cobequid for the provisions he had collectedfor them, and then pushed on towards the river Shubenacadie, which runsfrom the south into Cobequid Bay, the head of Mines Basin. When theyreached the river they found it impassable from floating ice, which forcedthem to seek a passage at some distance above. Coulon was resolved, however, that at any risk a detachment should cross at once, to stop theroads to Grand Pré, and prevent the English from being warned of hisapproach; for though the Acadians inclined to the French, and were eager toserve them when the risk was not too great, there were some of them who, from interest or fear, were ready to make favor with the English bycarrying them intelligence. Boishébert, with ten Canadians, put out fromshore in a canoe, and were near perishing among the drifting ice; but theygained the farther shore at last, and guarded every path to Grand Pré. Themain body filed on snowshoes up the east bank of the Shubenacadie, wherethe forests were choked with snow and encumbered with fallen trees, overwhich the sledges were to be dragged, to their great detriment. On thisday, the 3d, they made five leagues; on the next only two, which broughtthem within half a league of Le Loutre's Micmac mission. Not far from thisplace the river was easily passable on the ice, and they continued theirmarch westward across the country to the river Kennetcook by ways sodifficult that their Indian guide lost the path, and for a time led themastray. On the 7th, Boishébert and his party rejoined them, and brought areinforcement of sixteen Indians, whom the Acadians had furnished witharms. Provisions were failing, till on the 8th, as they approached thevillage of Pisiquid, now Windsor, the Acadians, with great zeal, broughtthem a supply. They told them, too, that the English at Grand Pré wereperfectly secure, suspecting no danger. On the 9th, in spite of a cold, dry storm of snow, they reached the westbranch of the river Avon. It was but seven French leagues to Grand Pré, which they hoped to reach before night; but fatigue compelled them to resttill the 10th. At noon of that day, the storm still continuing, theymarched again, though they could hardly see their way for the driving snow. They soon came to a small stream, along the frozen surface of which theydrew up in order, and, by command of Coulon, Beaujen divided them all intoten parties, for simultaneous attacks on as many houses occupied by theEnglish. Then, marching slowly, lest they should arrive too soon, theyreached the river Gaspereau, which enters Mines Basin at Grand Pré. Theywere now but half a league from their destination. Here they stopped anhour in the storm, shivering and half frozen, waiting for nightfall. Whenit grew dark they moved again, and soon came to a number of houses on theriver-bank. Each of the ten parties took possession of one of these, makinggreat fires to warm themselves and dry their guns. It chanced that in the house where Coulon and his band sought shelter, awedding-feast was going on. The guests were much startled at this suddenirruption of armed men; but to the Canadians and their chief the festivalwas a stroke of amazing good luck, for most of the guests were inhabitantsof Grand Pré, who knew perfectly the houses occupied by the English, andcould tell with precision where the officers were quartered. This was apoint of extreme importance. The English were distributed among twenty-fourhouses, scattered, as before mentioned, for the distance of a mile and ahalf. [Footnote: _Goldthwait to Shirley, 2 March, 1746 (1747)_. Captain Benjamin Goldthwait was second in command of the Englishdetachment. ] The assailants were too few to attack all these houses atonce; but if those where the chief officers lodged could be surprised andcaptured with their inmates, the rest could make little resistance. Henceit was that Coulon had divided his followers into ten parties, each withone or more chosen officers; these officers were now called together at thehouse of the interrupted festivity, and the late guests having given fullinformation as to the position of the English quarters and the militaryquality of their inmates, a special object of attack was assigned to theofficer of each party, with Acadian guides to conduct him to it. Theprincipal party, consisting of fifty, or, as another account says, ofseventy-five men, was led by Coulon himself, with Beaujeu, Desligneris, Mercier, Léry, and Lusignan as his officers. This party was to attack astone house near the middle of the village, where the main guard wasstationed, --a building somewhat larger than the rest, and the only one atall suited for defence. The second party, of forty men, commanded by LaCorne, with Riganville, Lagny, and Villemont, was to attack a neighboringhouse, the quarters of Colonel Noble, his brother, Ensign Noble, andseveral other officers. The remaining parties, of twenty-five men eachaccording to Beaujeu, or twenty-eight according to La Corne, were to make adash, as nearly as possible at the same time, at other houses which it wasthought most important to secure. All had Acadian guides, whose services inthat capacity were invaluable; though Beaujeu complains that they were ofno use in the attack. He says that the united force was about three hundredmen, while the English Captain Goldthwait puts it, including Acadians andIndians, at from five to six hundred. That of the English was a littleabove five hundred in all. Every arrangement being made, and his partassigned to each officer, the whole body was drawn up in the storm, and thechaplain pronounced a general absolution. Then each of the ten parties, guided by one or more Acadians, took the path for its destination, everyman on snow-shoes, with the lock of his gun well sheltered under hiscapote. The largest party, under Coulon, was, as we have seen, to attack the stonehouse in the middle of the village; but their guide went astray, and aboutthree in the morning they approached a small wooden house not far fromtheir true object. A guard was posted here, as at all the Englishquarters. The night was dark and the snow was still falling, as it had donewithout ceasing for the past thirty hours. The English sentinel descriedthrough the darkness and the storm what seemed the shadows of an advancingcrowd of men. He cried, "Who goes there?" and then shouted, "To arms!" Adoor was flung open, and the guard appeared in the entrance. But at thatmoment the moving shadows vanished from before the eyes of the sentinel. The French, one and all, had thrown themselves flat in the soft, lightsnow, and nothing was to be seen or heard. The English thought it a falsealarm, and the house was quiet again. Then Coulon and his men rose anddashed forward. Again, in a loud and startled voice, the sentinel shouted, "To arms!" A great light, as of a blazing fire, shone through the opendoorway, and men were seen within in hurried movement. Coulon, who was inthe front, said to Beaujeu, who was close at his side, that the house wasnot the one they were to attack. Beaujeu replied that it was no time tochange, and Coulon dashed forward again. Beaujeu aimed at the sentinel andshot him dead. There was the flash and report of muskets from the house, and Coulon dropped in the snow, severely wounded. The young cadet, Lusignan, was hit in the shoulder; but he still pushed on, when a secondshot shattered his thigh. "Friends, " cried the gallant youth, as he fell bythe side of his commander, "don't let two dead men discourage you. " TheCanadians, powdered from head to foot with snow, burst into the house. Within ten minutes, all resistance was overpowered. Of twenty-fourEnglishmen, twenty-one were killed, and three made prisoners. [Footnote:Beaujeu, _Journal_. ] Meanwhile, La Corne, with his party of forty men, had attacked the housewhere were quartered Colonel Noble and his brother, with Captain Howe andseveral other officers. Noble had lately transferred the main guard to thestone house, but had not yet removed thither himself, and the guard in thehouse which he occupied was small. The French burst the door with axes, andrushed in. Colonel Noble, startled from sleep, sprang from his bed, receiving two musket-balls in the body as he did so. He seems to have hadpistols, for he returned the fire several times. His servant, who was inthe house, testified that the French called to the Colonel through a windowand promised him quarter if he would surrender; but that he refused, onwhich they fired again, and a bullet, striking his forehead, killed himinstantly. His brother, Ensign Noble, was also shot down, fighting in hisshirt. Lieutenants Pickering and Lechmere lay in bed dangerously ill, andwere killed there. Lieutenant Jones, after, as the narrator says, "riddinghimself of some of the enemy, " tried to break through the rest and escape, but was run through the heart with a bayonet. Captain Howe was severelywounded and made prisoner. Coulon and Lusignan, disabled by their wounds, were carried back to thehouses on the Gaspereau, where the French surgeon had remained. Coulon'sparty, now commanded by Beaujeu, having met and joined the smaller partyunder Lotbinière, proceeded to the aid of others who might need their help;for while they heard a great noise of musketry from far and near, and coulddiscern bodies of men in motion here and there, they could not see whetherthese were friends or foes, or discern which side fortune favored. Theypresently met the party of Marin, composed of twenty-five Indians, who hadjust been repulsed with loss from the house which they had attacked. Bythis time there was a gleam of daylight, and as they plodded wearily overthe snow-drifts, they no longer groped in darkness. The two parties ofColombière and Boishébert soon joined them, with the agreeable news thateach had captured a house; and the united force now proceeded to make asuccessful attack on two buildings where the English had stored the framesof their blockhouses. Here the assailants captured ten prisoners. It wasnow broad day, but they could not see through the falling snow whether theenterprise, as a whole, had prospered or failed. Therefore Beaujeu sentMarin to find La Corne, who, in the absence of Coulon, held the chiefcommand. Marin was gone two hours. At length he returned, and reported thatthe English in the houses which had not been attacked, together with suchothers as had not been killed or captured, had drawn together at the stonehouse in the middle of the village, that La Corne was blockading themthere, and that he ordered Beaujeu and his party to join him at once. When Beaujeu reached the place he found La Corne posted at the house whereNoble had been killed, and which was within easy musket-shot of the stonehouse occupied by the English, against whom a spattering fire was kept upby the French from the cover of neighboring buildings. Those in the stonehouse returned the fire; but no great harm was done on either side, tillthe English, now commanded by Captain Goldthwait, attempted to recapturethe house where La Corne and his party were posted. Two companies made asally; but they had among them only eighteen pairs of snow-shoes, the resthaving been left on board the two vessels which had brought the stores ofthe detachment from Annapolis, and which now lay moored hard by, in thepower of the enemy, at or near the mouth of the Gaspereau. Hence thesallying party floundered helpless among the drifts, plunging so deep inthe dry snow that they could not use their guns and could scarcely move, while bullets showered upon them from La Corne's men in the house andothers hovering about them on snow-shoes. The attempt was hopeless, andafter some loss the two companies fell back. The firing continued, asbefore, till noon, or, according to Beaujeu, till three in the afternoon, when a French officer, carrying a flag of truce, came out of La Corne'shouse. The occasion of the overture was this. Captain Howe, who, as before mentioned, had been badly wounded at thecapture of this house, was still there, a prisoner, without surgical aid, the French surgeon being at the houses on the Gaspereau, in charge ofCoulon and other wounded men. "Though, " says Beaujeu, "M. Howe was a firmman, he begged the Chevalier La Corne not to let him bleed to death forwant of aid, but permit him to send for an English surgeon. " To this LaCorne, after consulting with his officers, consented, and Marin went to theEnglish with a white flag and a note from Howe explaining the situation. The surgeon was sent, and Howe's wound was dressed, Marin remaining as ahostage. A suspension of arms took place till the surgeon's return; afterwhich it was prolonged till nine o'clock of the next morning, at theinstance, according to French accounts, of the English, and, according toEnglish accounts, of the French. In either case, the truce was welcome toboth sides. The English, who were in the stone house to the number ofnearly three hundred and fifty, crowded to suffocation, had five smallcannon, two of which were four-pounders, and three were swivels; but thesewere probably not in position, as it does not appear that any use was madeof them. There was no ammunition except what the men had in theirpowder-horns and bullet-pouches, the main stock having been left, withother necessaries, on board the schooner and sloop now in the hands of theFrench. It was found, on examination, that they had ammunition for eightshots each, and provisions for one day. Water was only to be had bybringing it from a neighboring brook. As there were snow-shoes for onlyabout one man in twenty, sorties were out of the question; and the housewas commanded by high ground on three sides. Though their number was still considerable, their position was growingdesperate. Thus it happened that when the truce expired, Goldthwait, theEnglish commander, with another officer, who seems to have been CaptainPreble, came with a white flag to the house where La Corne was posted, andproposed terms of capitulation, Howe, who spoke French, acting asinterpreter. La Corne made proposals on his side, and as neither party wasanxious to continue the fray, they soon came to an understanding. It was agreed that within forty-eight hours the English should march forAnnapolis with the honors of war; that the prisoners taken by the Frenchshould remain in their hands; that the Indians, who had been the onlyplunderers, should keep the plunder they had taken; that the English sickand wounded should be left, till their recovery, at the neighboringsettlement of Rivière-aux-Canards, protected by a French guard, and thatthe English engaged in the affair at Grand Pré should not bear arms duringthe next six months within the district about the head of the Bay of Fundy, including Chignecto, Grand Pré, and the neighboring settlements. Captain Howe was released on parole, with the condition that he should sendback in exchange one Lacroix, a French prisoner at Boston, --"which, " saysLa Corne, "he faithfully did. " Thus ended one of the most gallant exploits in French-Canadian annals. Asrespects the losses on each side, the French and English accounts areirreconcilable; nor are the statements of either party consistent withthemselves. Mascarene reports to Shirley that seventy English were killed, and above sixty captured; though he afterwards reduces these numbers, having, as he says, received farther information. On the French side hesays that four officers and about forty men were killed, and that manywounded were carried off in carts during the fight. Beaujeu, on the otherhand, sets the English loss at one hundred and thirty killed, fifteenwounded, and fifty captured; and the French loss at seven killed andfifteen wounded. As for the numbers engaged, the statements are scarcelyless divergent. It seems clear, however, that when Coulon began his marchfrom Baye Verte, his party consisted of about three hundred Canadians andIndians, without reckoning some Acadians who had joined him from Beaubassinand Isle St. Jean. Others joined him on the way to Grand Pré, counting ahundred and fifty according to Shirley, --which appears to be much toolarge an estimate. The English, by their own showing, numbered fivehundred, or five hundred and twenty-five. Of eleven houses attacked, tenwere surprised and carried, with the help of the darkness and storm and theskilful management of the assailants. "No sooner was the capitulation signed, " says Beaujeu, "than we became inappearance the best of friends. " La Corne directed military honors to berendered to the remains of the brothers Noble; and in all points theCanadians, both officers and men, treated the English with kindness andcourtesy. "The English commandant, " again says Beaujeu, "invited us all todine with him and his officers, so that we might have the pleasure ofmaking acquaintance over a bowl of punch. " The repast being served aftersuch a fashion as circumstances permitted, victors and vanquished sat downtogether; when, says Beaujeu, "we received on the part of our hosts manycompliments on our polite manners and our skill in making war. " And thecompliments were well deserved. At eight o'clock on the morning of the 14th of February the English filedout of the stone house, and with arms shouldered, drums beating, and colorsflying, marched between two ranks of the French, and took the road forAnnapolis. The English sick and wounded were sent to the settlement ofRivière-aux-Canards, where, protected by a French guard and attended by anEnglish surgeon, they were to remain till able to reach the British fort. La Corne called a council of war, and in view of the scarcity of food andother reasons it was resolved to return to Beaubassin. Many of the Frenchhad fallen ill. Some of the sick and wounded were left at Grand Pré, othersat Cobequid, and the Acadians were required to supply means of carrying therest. Coulon's party left Grand Pré on the 23d of February, and on the 8thof March reached Beaubassin. [Footnote: The dates are of the new style, which the French had adopted, while the English still clung to the oldstyle. ] [Footnote: By far the best account of this French victory at Minesis that of Beaujeu, in his _Journal de la Campagne du Détachement deCanada à l'Acadie et aux Mines en 1746-47. _ It is preserved in theArchives de la Marine et des Colonies, and is printed in the documentarysupplement of _Le Canada Français_, Vol. II. It supplies the means ofcorrecting many errors and much confusion in some recent accounts of theaffair. The report of Chevalier de la Corne, also printed in _Le CanadaFrançais_, though much shorter, is necessary to a clear understanding ofthe matter. Letters of Lusignan fils to the minister Maurepas, 10 Oct. 1747, of Bishop Pontbriand (to Maurepas?), 10 July, 1747, and of Lusignanpère to Maurepas, 10 Oct. 1747, give some additional incidents. Theprincipal document on the English side is the report of Captain BenjaminGoldthwait, who succeeded Noble in command. A copy of the original, in thePublic Record Office, is before me. The substance of it is correctly givenin _The Boston Post Boy_ of 2 March, 1747, and in _N. E. Hist. Gen. Reg. _, X. 108. Various letters from Mascarene and Shirley (Public RecordOffice) contain accounts derived from returned officers and soldiers. The_Notice of Colonel Arthur Noble_, by William Goold (_CollectionsMaine Historical Soc. , 1881_), may also be consulted. ] Ramesay did not fail to use the success at Grand Pré to influence the mindsof the Acadians. He sent a circular letter to the inhabitants of thevarious districts, and especially to those of Mines, in which he told themthat their country had been reconquered by the arms of the King of France, to whom he commanded them to be faithful subjects, holding no intercoursewith the English under any pretence whatever, on pain of the severestpunishment. "If, " he concludes, "we have withdrawn our soldiers from amongyou, it is for reasons known to us alone, and with a view to youradvantage. " [Footnote: _Ramesay aux Députés et Habitants des Mines, 31Mars, 1747_. At the end is written "A true copy, with the misspellings:signed W. Shirley. "] Unfortunately for the effect of this message, Shirley had no sooner heardof the disaster at Grand Pré than he sent a body of Massachusetts soldiersto reoccupy the place. [Footnote: _Shirley to Newcastle, 24 Aug. 1747. _] This they did in April. The Acadians thus found themselves, asusual, between two dangers; and unable to see which horn of the dilemma wasthe worse, they tried to avoid both by conciliating French and Englishalike, and assuring each of their devoted attachment. They sent a patheticletter to Ramesay, telling him that their hearts were always French, andbegging him at the same time to remember that they were a poor, helplesspeople, burdened with large families, and in danger of expulsion and ruinif they offended their masters, the English. [Footnote: "Ainsis Monsieurnous vous prions de regarder notre bon Coeur et en même Temps notreImpuissance pauvre Peuple chargez la plus part de familles nombreuse pointde Recours sil falois evacuer a quoy nous sommes menacez tous les jours quinous tien dans une Crainte perpetuelle en nous voyant a la proximitet denos maitre depuis un sy grand nombre dannes" (printed _literatim_). _Deputés des Mines à Ramesay, 24 Mai, 1747. _] They wrote at the sametime to Mascarene at Annapolis, sending him, to explain the situation, acopy of Ramesay's threatening letter to them; [Footnote: This probablyexplains the bad spelling of the letter, the copy before me having beenmade from the Acadian transcript sent to Mascarene, and now in the PublicRecord Office. ] begging him to consider that they could not without dangerdispense with answering it; at the same time they protested their entirefidelity to King George. [Footnote: _Les Habitants a l'honorablegouverneur au for d'anapolisse royal_ [sic], _Mai_(?), 1747. On the27th of June the inhabitants of Cobequid wrote again to Mascarene:"Monsieur nous prenons la Liberte de vous recrire celle icy pour vousassurer de nos tres humble Respect et d'un entiere Sou-mission a vosOrdres" (_literatim_). ] Ramesay, not satisfied with the results of his first letter, wrote again tothe Acadians, ordering them, in the name of the Governor-General of NewFrance, to take up arms against the English, and enclosing for theirinstruction an extract from a letter of the French Governor. "These, " saysRamesay, "are his words: 'We consider ourself as master of Beaubassin andMines, since we have driven off the English. Therefore there is nodifficulty in forcing the Acadians to take arms for us; to which end wedeclare to them that they are discharged from the oath that they formerlytook to the English, by which they are bound no longer, as has been decidedby the authorities of Canada and Monseigneur our Bishop. '" [Footnote: "Nousnous regardons aujourdhuy Maistre de Beaubassin et des Mines puisque nousen avons Chassé les Anglois; ainsi il ny a aucune difficulté de forcer lesAccadiens à prendre les armes pour nous, et de les y Contraindre; leurdeclarons à cet effêt qu'ils sont dechargé [sic] du Serment preté, cydevant, à l'Anglois, auquel ils ne sont plus obligé [sic] comme il y a étédecidé par nos puissances de Canada et de Monseigneur notre Evesque"(_literatim_). ] "In view of the above, " continues Ramesay, "we order all the inhabitants ofMemeramcook to come to this place [Beaubassin] as soon as they see thesignal-fires lighted, or discover the approach of the enemy; and this onpain of death, confiscation of all their goods, burning of their houses, and the punishment due to rebels against the King. " [Footnote: _Ramesayaux Habitants de Chignecto, etc. , 25 Mai, 1747. _ A few monthslater, the deputies of Rivière-aux-Canards wrote to Shirley, thanking himfor kindness which they said was undeserved, promising to do their dutythenceforth, but begging him to excuse them from giving up persons who hadacted "contraire aux Interests de leur devoire, " representing thedifficulty of their position, and protesting "une Soumission parfaite et entouts Respects. " The letter is signed by four deputies, of whom one writeshis name, and three sign with crosses. ] The position of the Acadians was deplorable. By the Treaty of Utrecht, France had transferred them to the British Crown; yet French officersdenounced them as rebels and threatened them with death if they did notfight at their bidding against England; and English officers threatenedthem with expulsion from the country if they broke their oath of allegianceto King George. It was the duty of the British ministry to occupy theprovince with a force sufficient to protect the inhabitants against Frenchterrorism, and leave no doubt that the King of England was master of Acadiain fact as well as in name. This alone could have averted the danger ofAcadian revolt, and the harsh measures to which it afterwards gave rise. The ministry sent no aid, but left to Shirley and Massachusetts the task ofkeeping the province for King George. Shirley and Massachusetts did whatthey could; but they could not do all that the emergency demanded. Shirley courageously spoke his mind to the ministry, on whose favor he wasdependent. "The fluctuating state of the inhabitants of Acadia, " he wroteto Newcastle, "seems, my lord, naturally to arise from their finding a wantof due protection from his Majesty's Government. " [Footnote: _Shirley toNewcastle, 29 April, 1747. _ On Shirley's relations with the Acadians, see Appendix C. ] CHAPTER XXIII. 1740-1747. WAR AND POLITICS. GOVERNOR AND ASSEMBLY. --SARATOGA DESTROYED. --WILLIAM JOHNSON. --BORDERRAVAGES. --UPPER ASHUELOT. --FRENCH "MILITARY MOVEMENTS. "--NUMBERFOUR. --NIVERVILLE'S ATTACK. --PHINEAS STEVENS. --THE FRENCH REPULSED. From the East we turn to the West, for the province of New York passed forthe West at that day. Here a vital question was what would be the attitudeof the Five Nations of the Iroquois towards the rival European colonies, their neighbors. The Treaty of Utrecht called them British subjects. Whatthe word "subjects" meant, they themselves hardly knew. The English toldthem that it meant children; the French that it meant dogs and slaves. Events had tamed the fierce confederates; and now, though, like allsavages, unstable as children, they leaned in their soberer moments to aposition of neutrality between their European neighbors, watching withjealous eyes against the encroachments of both. The French would gladlyhave enlisted them and their tomahawks in the war; but seeing little hopeof this, were generally content if they could prevent them from siding withthe English, who on their part regarded them as their Indians, and weresatisfied with nothing less than active alliance. When Shirley's plan for the invasion of Canada was afoot, Clinton, governorof New York, with much ado succeeded in convening the deputies of theconfederacy at Albany, and by dint of speeches and presents induced them tosing the war-song and take up the hatchet for England. The Iroquois weredisgusted when the scheme came to nought, their warlike ardor cooled, andthey conceived a low opinion of English prowess. The condition of New York as respects military efficiency was deplorable. She was divided against herself, and, as usual in such cases, party passionwas stronger than the demands of war. The province was in the midst of oneof those disputes with the representative of the Crown, which, in onedegree or another, crippled or paralyzed the military activity of nearlyall the British colonies. Twenty years or more earlier, when Massachusettswas at blows with the Indians on her borders, she suffered from the samedisorders; but her Governor and Assembly were of one mind as to urging onthe war, and quarrelled only on the questions in what way and under whatcommand it should be waged. But in New York there was a strong party thatopposed the war, being interested in the contraband trade long carried onwith Canada. Clinton, the governor, had, too, an enemy in the person of theChief Justice, James de Lancey, with whom he had had an after-dinnerdispute, ending in a threat on the part of De Lancey that he would make theGovernor's seat uncomfortable. To marked abilities, better education, andmore knowledge of the world than was often found in the provinces, readywit, and conspicuous social position, the Chief Justice joined a restlessambition and the arts of a demagogue. He made good his threat, headed the opposition to the Governor, and provedhis most formidable antagonist. If either Clinton or Shirley had had theindependent authority of a Canadian governor, the conduct of the war wouldhave been widely different. Clinton was hampered at every turn. TheAssembly held him at advantage; for it was they, and not the King, who paidhis salary, and they could withhold or retrench it when he displeased them. The people sympathized with their representatives and backed them inopposition, --at least when not under the stress of imminent danger. A body of provincials, in the pay of the King, had been mustered at Albanyfor the proposed Canada expedition; and after that plan was abandoned, Clinton wished to use them for protecting the northern frontier andcapturing that standing menace to the province, Crown Point. The Assembly, bent on crossing him at any price, refused to provide for transportingsupplies farther than Albany. As the furnishing of provisions andtransportation depended on that body, they could stop the movement oftroops and defeat the Governor's military plans at their pleasure. In vainhe told them, "If you deny me the necessary supplies, all my endeavors mustbecome fruitless; I must wash my own hands, and leave at your doors theblood of the innocent people. " [Footnote: _Extract from the Governor'sMessage_, in Smith, _History of New York_, II. 124 (1830). ] He urged upon them the necessity of building forts on the twocarrying-places between the Hudson and Lakes George and Champlain, thusblocking the path of war-parties from Canada. They would do nothing, insisting that the neighboring colonies, to whom the forts would also beuseful, ought to help in building them; and when it was found that thesecolonies were ready to do their part, the Assembly still refused. Passionate opposition to the royal Governor seemed to blind them to theinterests of the province. Nor was the fault all on their side; for theGovernor, though he generally showed more self-control and moderation thancould have been expected, sometimes lost temper and betrayed scorn for hisopponents, many of whom were but the instruments of leaders urged bypersonal animosities and small but intense ambitions. They accused him oftreating them with contempt, and of embezzling public money; while heretorted by charging them with encroaching on the royal prerogative andtreating the representative of the King with indecency. Under suchconditions an efficient conduct of the war was out of the question. Once, when the frontier was seriously threatened, Clinton, ascommander-in-chief, called out the militia to defend it; but they refusedto obey, on the ground that no Act of the Assembly required them to do so. [Footnote: _Clinton to the Lords of Trade_, 10 Nov. 1747. ] Clinton sent home bitter complaints to Newcastle and the Lords of Trade. "They [the Assembly] are selfish, jealous of the power of the Crown, and ofsuch levelling principles that they are constantly attacking itsprerogative. .. . I find that neither dissolutions nor fair means can producefrom them such Effects as will tend to a publick good or their ownpreservation. They will neither act for themselves nor assist theirneighbors. .. . Few but hirelings have a seat in the Assembly, who protracttime for the sake of their wages, at a great expence to the Province, without contributing anything material for its welfare, credit, or safety. "And he declares that unless Parliament takes them in hand he can do nothingfor the service of the King or the good of the province, [Footnote:_Clinton to the Lords of Trade_, 30 Nov. 1745. ] for they want to usurpthe whole administration, both civil and military. [Footnote: _Remarks onthe Representation of the Assembly of New York, May, 1747_, in _N. Y. Col. Docs. _, VI. 365. On the disputes of the Governor and Assembly, seealso Smith, _History of New York_, II. (1830), and Stone, _Life andTimes of Sir William Johnson_, I. _N. Y. Colonial Documents, _ VI. , contains many papers on the subject, chiefly on the Governor's side. ] At Saratoga there was a small settlement of Dutch farmers, with a stockadefort for their protection. This was the farthest outpost of the colony, andthe only defence of Albany in the direction of Canada. It was occupied by asergeant, a corporal, and ten soldiers, who testified before a court ofinquiry that it was in such condition that in rainy weather neither theynor their ammunition could be kept dry. As neither the Assembly nor themerchants of Albany would make it tenable, the garrison was withdrawnbefore winter by order of the Governor. [Footnote: _Examinations at aCourt of Inquiry at Albany, 11 Dec. 1745, _ in _N. Y. Col Docs. , _VI. 374. ] Scarcely was this done when five hundred French and, Indians, under thepartisan Marin, surprised the settlement in the night of the 28th ofNovember, burned fort, houses, mills, and stables, killed thirty persons, and carried off about a hundred prisoners. [Footnote: The best account ofthis affair is in the journal of a French officer in Schuyler, _ColonialNew York, _ II. 115. The dates, being in new style, differ by eleven daysfrom those of the English accounts. The Dutch hamlet of Saratoga, surprisedby Marin, was near the mouth of the Fish Kill, on the west side of theHudson. There was also a small fort on the east side, a little below themouth of the Batten Kill. ] Albany was left uncovered, and the Assemblyvoted £150 in provincial currency to rebuild the ruined fort. A feeblepalisade work was accordingly set up, but it was neglected like itspredecessor. Colonel Peter Schuyler was stationed there with his regimentin 1747, but was forced to abandon his post for want of supplies. Clintonthen directed Colonel Roberts, commanding at Albany, to examine the fort, and if he found it indefensible, to burn it, --which he did, much to theastonishment of a French war-party, who visited the place soon after, andfound nothing but ashes. [Footnote: Schuyler, _Colonial New York, _ II. 121. ] The burning of Saratoga, first by the French and then by its own masters, made a deep impression on the Five Nations, and a few years later theytaunted their white neighbors with these shortcomings in no measured terms. "You burned your own fort at Seraghtoga and ran away from it, which was ashame and a scandal to you. " [Footnote: _Report of a Council with theIndians at Albany, 28 June, 1754. _] Uninitiated as they were in partypolitics and faction quarrels, they could see nothing in this and othermilitary lapses but proof of a want of martial spirit, if not of cowardice. Hence the difficulty of gaining their active alliance against the Frenchwas redoubled. Fortunately for the province, the adverse influence was insome measure counteracted by the character and conduct of one man. Up tothis time the French had far surpassed the rival nation in the possessionof men ready and able to deal with the Indians and mould them to theirwill. Eminent among such was Joncaire, French emissary among the Senecas inwestern New York, who, with admirable skill, held back that powerful memberof the Iroquois league from siding with the English. But now, among theMohawks of eastern New York, Joncaire found his match in the person ofWilliam Johnson, a vigorous and intelligent young Irishman, nephew ofAdmiral Warren, and his agent in the management of his estates on theMohawk. Johnson soon became intimate with his Indian neighbors, spoke theirlanguage, joined in their games and dances, sometimes borrowed their dressand their paint, and whooped, yelped, and stamped like one of themselves. Awhite man thus playing the Indian usually gains nothing in the esteem ofthose he imitates; but, as before in the case of the redoubtable CountFrontenac, Johnson's adoption of their ways increased their liking for himand did not diminish their respect. The Mohawks adopted him into theirtribe and made him a war-chief. Clinton saw his value; and as the Albanycommissioners hitherto charged with Indian affairs had proved whollyinefficient, he transferred their functions to Johnson; whence arose moreheart-burnings. The favor of the Governor cost the new functionary thesupport of the Assembly, who refused the indispensable presents to theIndians, and thus vastly increased the difficulty of his task. Yet the FiveNations promised to take up the hatchet against the French, and theirorator said, in a conference at Albany, "Should any French priests now dareto come among us, we know no use for them but to roast them. " [Footnote:_Answer of the Six [Five] Nations to His Excellency the Governor atAlbany, 23 Aug. 1746. _] Johnson's present difficulties, however, sprangmore from Dutch and English traders than from French priests, and he begsthat an Act may be passed against the selling of liquor to the Indians, "asit is impossible to do anything with them while there is such a plenty tobe had all round the neighborhood, being forever drunk. " And he complainsespecially of one Clement, who sells liquor within twenty yards ofJohnson's house, and immediately gets from the Indians all the bounty moneythey receive for scalps, "which leaves them as poor as ratts, " andtherefore refractory and unmanageable. Johnson says further: "There isanother grand villain, George Clock, who lives by Conajoharie Castle, androbs the Indians of all their cloaths, etc. " The chiefs complained, "uponwhich I wrote him twice to give over that custom of selling liquor to theIndians; the answer was he gave the bearer, I might hang myself. "[Footnote: _Johnson to Clinton, 7 May, 1747. _] Indian affairs, it willbe seen, were no better regulated then than now. Meanwhile the French Indians were ravaging the frontiers and burningfarm-houses to within sight of Albany. The Assembly offered rewards for thescalps of the marauders, but were slow in sending money to pay them, --tothe great discontent of the Mohawks, who, however, at Johnson'sinstigation, sent out various war-parties, two of which, accompanied by afew whites, made raids as far as the island of Montreal, and somewhatchecked the incursions of the mission Indians by giving them work nearhome. The check was but momentary. Heathen Indians from the West joined theCanadian converts, and the frontiers of New York and New England, from theMohawk to beyond the Kennebec, were stung through all their length byinnumerable nocturnal surprises and petty attacks. The details of thismurderous though ineffective partisan war would fill volumes, if they wereworth recording. One or two examples will show the nature of all. In the valley of the little river Ashuelot, a New Hampshire affluent of theConnecticut, was a rude border-settlement which later years transformedinto a town noted in rural New England for kindly hospitality, culturewithout pretence, and good-breeding without conventionality. [Footnote:Keene, originally called Upper Ashuelot. On the same stream, a few milesbelow, was a similar settlement, called Lower Ashuelot--the germ of thepresent Swanzey. This, too, suffered greatly from Indian attacks. ] In 1746the place was in all the rawness and ugliness of a backwoods hamlet. Therough fields, lately won from the virgin forest, showed here and there, among the stumps, a few log-cabins, roofed with slabs of pine, spruce, orhemlock. Near by was a wooden fort, made, no doubt, after the commonfrontier pattern, of a stockade fence ten or twelve feet high, enclosingcabins to shelter the settlers in case of alarm, and furnished at thecorners with what were called flankers, which were boxes of thick planklarge enough to hold two or more men, raised above the ground on posts, andpierced with loopholes, so that each face of the stockade could be swept bya flank fire. One corner of this fort at Ashuelot was, however, guarded bya solid blockhouse, or, as it was commonly called, a "mount. " On the 23d of April a band of sixty, or, by another account, a hundredIndians, approached the settlement before daybreak, and hid in theneighboring thickets to cut off the men in the fort as they came out totheir morning work. One of the men, Ephraim Dorman, chanced to go outearlier than the rest. The Indians did not fire on him, but, not to give analarm, tried to capture or kill him without noise. Several of them suddenlyshowed themselves, on which he threw down his gun in pretended submission. One of them came up to him with hatchet raised; but the nimble and sturdyborderer suddenly struck him with his fist a blow in the head that knockedhim flat, then snatched up his own gun, and, as some say, the blanket ofthe half-stunned savage also, sprang off, reached the fort unhurt, and gavethe alarm. Some of the families of the place were living in the fort; butthe bolder or more careless still remained in their farm-houses, and ifnothing were done for their relief, their fate was sealed. Therefore themen sallied in a body, and a sharp fight ensued, giving the frightenedsettlers time to take refuge within the stockade. It was not too soon, forthe work of havoc had already begun. Six houses and a barn were on fire, and twenty-three cattle had been killed. The Indians fought fiercely, killed John Bullard and captured Nathan Blake, but at last retreated; andafter they were gone, the charred remains of several of them were foundamong the ruins of one of the burned cabins, where they had probably beenthrown to prevent their being scalped. Before Dorman had given the alarm, an old woman, Mrs. McKenney, went fromthe fort to milk her cow in a neighboring barn. As she was returning, withher full milk-pail, a naked Indian was seen to spring from a clump ofbushes, plunge a long knife into her back, and dart away without stoppingto take the gray scalp of his victim. She tried feebly to reach the fort;but from age, corpulence, and a mortal wound she moved but slowly, and whena few steps from the gate, fell and died. Ten days after, a party of Indians hid themselves at night by this samefort, and sent one of their number to gain admission under pretence offriendship, intending, no doubt, to rush in when the gate should be opened;but the man on guard detected the trick, and instead of opening the gate, fired through it, mortally wounding the Indian, on which his confederatesmade off. Again, at the same place, Deacon Josiah Foster, who had takenrefuge in the fort, ventured out on a July morning to drive his cows topasture. A gun-shot was heard; and the men who went out to learn the cause, found the Deacon lying in the wood-road, dead and scalped. An ambushedIndian had killed him and vanished. Such petty attacks were without number. There is a French paper, called a record of "military movements, " whichgives a list of war-parties sent from Montreal against the English borderbetween the 29th of March, 1746, and the 21st of June in the same year. They number thirty-five distinct bands, nearly all composed of missionIndians living in or near the settled parts of Canada, --Abenakis, Iroquoisof the Lake of Two Mountains and of Sault St. Louis (Caughnawaga), Algonkins of the Ottawa, and others, in parties rarely of more than thirty, and often of no more than six, yet enough for waylaying travellers orkilling women in kitchens or cow-sheds, and solitary laborers in thefields. This record is accompanied by a list of wild Western Indians whocame down to Montreal in the summer of 1746 to share in these "militarymovements. " [Footnote: _Extrait sur les différents Mouvements Militairesqui se sont faits à Montréal à l'occasion de la Guerre, 1745, 1746. _There is a translation in _N. Y. Col. Docs. _] No part of the country suffered more than the western borders ofMassachusetts and New Hampshire, and here were seen too plainly the evilsof the prevailing want of concert among the British colonies. Massachusettsclaimed extensive tracts north of her present northern boundary, and in thebelief that her claim would hold good, had built a small wooden fort, called Fort Dummer, on the Connecticut, for the protection of settlers. New Hampshire disputed the title, and the question, being referred to theCrown, was decided in her favor. On this, Massachusetts withdrew thegarrison of Fort Dummer and left New Hampshire to defend her own. This theAssembly of that province refused to do, on the ground that the fort wasfifty miles from any settlement made by New Hampshire people, and wastherefore useless to them, though of great value to Massachusetts as acover to Northfield and other of her settlements lower down theConnecticut, to protect which was no business of New Hampshire. [Footnote:_Journal of the Assembly of New Hampshire, _ quoted in Saunderson, _History of Charlestown, N. H. , _ 20. ] But some years before, in 1740, three brothers, Samuel, David, and Stephen Farnsworth, natives of Groton, Massachusetts, had begun a new settlement on the Connecticut aboutforty-five miles north of the Massachusetts line and on ground which wassoon to be assigned to New Hampshire. They were followed by five or sixothers. They acted on the belief that their settlement was within thejurisdiction of Massachusetts, and that she could and would protect them. The place was one of extreme exposure, not only from its isolation, farfrom help, but because it was on the banks of a wild and lonely river, thecustomary highway of war-parties on their descent from Canada. NumberFour--for so the new settlement was called, because it was the fourth in arange of townships recently marked out along the Connecticut, but, with oneor two exceptions, wholly unoccupied as yet--was a rude little outpost ofcivilization, buried in forests that spread unbroken to the banks of theSt. Lawrence, while its nearest English neighbor was nearly thirty milesaway. As may be supposed, it grew slowly, and in 1744 it had but nine orten families. In the preceding year, when war seemed imminent, and it wasclear that neither Massachusetts nor New Hampshire would lend a helpinghand, the settlers of Number Four, seeing that their only resource was inthemselves, called a meeting to consider the situation and determine whatshould be done. The meeting was held at the house, or log-cabin, of JohnSpafford, Jr. , and being duly called to order, the following resolutionswere adopted: that a fort be built at the charge of the proprietors of thesaid township of Number Four; that John Hastings, John Spafford, and JohnAvery be a committee to direct the building; that each carpenter be allowednine shillings, old tenor, a day, each laborer seven shillings, and eachpair of oxen three shillings and sixpence; that the proprietors of thetownship be taxed in the sum of three hundred pounds, old tenor, forbuilding the fort; that John Spafford, Phineas Stevens, and John Hastingsbe assessors to assess the same, and Samuel Farnsworth collector to collectit. [Footnote: Extracts from the Town Record, in Saunderson, _History ofCharlestown, N. H. (Number Four)_, 17, 18. ] And to the end that their fortshould be a good and creditable one, they are said to have engaged theservices of John Stoddard, accounted the foremost man of westernMassachusetts, Superintendent of Defence, Colonel of Militia, Judge ofProbate, Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, a reputed authority inthe construction of backwoods fortifications, and the admired owner of theonly gold watch in Northampton. Timber was abundant and could be had for the asking; for the frontiersmanusually regarded a tree less as a valuable possession than as a naturalenemy, to be got rid of by fair means or foul. The only cost was the labor. The fort rose rapidly. It was a square enclosing about three quarters of anacre, each side measuring a hundred and eighty feet. The wall was not ofpalisades, as was more usual, but of squared logs laid one upon another, and interlocked at the corners after the fashion of a log-cabin. Withinwere several houses, which had been built close together, for mutualprotection, before the fort was begun, and which belonged to Stevens, Spafford, and other settlers. Apparently they were small log-cabins; forthey were valued at only from eight to thirty-five pounds each, in oldtenor currency wofully attenuated by depreciation; and these sums beingpaid to the owners out of the three hundred pounds collected for buildingthe fort, the cabins became public property. Either they were built in astraight line, or they were moved to form one, for when the fort wasfinished, they all backed against the outer wall, so that their low roofsserved to fire from. The usual flankers completed the work, and thesettlers of Number Four were so well pleased with it that they proudlydeclared their fort a better one than Fort Dummer, its nearest neighbor, which had been built by public authority at the charge of the province. But a fort must have a garrison, and the ten or twelve men of Number Fourwould hardly be a sufficient one. Sooner or later an attack was certain;for the place was a backwoods Castle Dangerous, lying in the path ofwar-parties from Canada, whether coming down the Connecticut from LakeMemphremagog, or up Otter Creek from Lake Champlain, then over themountains to Black River, and so down that stream, which would bring themdirectly to Number Four. New Hampshire would do nothing for them, and theironly hope was in Massachusetts, of which most of them were natives, andwhich had good reasons for helping them to hold their ground, as a cover toits own settlements below. The Governor and Assembly of Massachusetts did, in fact, send small parties of armed men from time to time to defend theendangered outpost, and the succor was timely; for though, during the firstyear of the war, Number Four was left in peace, yet from the 19th of Aprilto the 19th of June, 1746, it was attacked by Indians five times, with someloss of scalps, and more of cattle, horses, and hogs. On the last occasionthere was a hot fight in the woods, ending in the retreat of the Indians, said to have numbered a hundred and fifty, into a swamp, leaving behindthem guns, blankets, hatchets, spears, and other things, valued at fortypounds, old tenor, --which, says the chronicle, "was reckoned a great bootyfor such beggarly enemies. " [Footnote: Saunderson, _History ofCharlestown, N. H. _, 29. Doolittle, _Narrative of Mischief done by theIndian Enemy_, --a contempory chronicle. ] But Massachusetts grew tired of defending lands that had been adjudged toNew Hampshire, and as the season drew towards an end, Number Four was leftagain to its own keeping. The settlers saw no choice but to abandon a placewhich they were too few to defend, and accordingly withdrew to the oldersettlements, after burying such of their effects as would bear it, andleaving others to their fate. Six men, a dog, and a cat remained to keepthe fort. Towards midwinter the human part of the garrison also withdrew, and the two uncongenial quadrupeds were left alone. When the authorities of Massachusetts saw that a place so useful to bearthe brunt of attack was left to certain destruction, they repented of theirlate withdrawal, and sent Captain Phineas Stevens, with thirty men, tore-occupy it. Stevens, a native of Sudbury, Massachusetts, one of theearliest settlers of Number Four, and one of its chief proprietors, was abold, intelligent, and determined man, well fitted for the work before him. He and his band reached the fort on the 27th of March, 1747, and theirarrival gave peculiar pleasure to its tenants, the dog and cat, the formerof whom met them with lively demonstrations of joy. The pair had apparentlylived in harmony, and found means of subsistence, as they are reported tohave been in tolerable condition. Stevens had brought with him a number of other dogs, --animals found usefulfor detecting the presence of Indians and tracking them to theirlurking-places. A week or more after the arrival of the party, thesecanine allies showed great uneasiness and barked without ceasing; on whichStevens ordered a strict watch to be kept, and great precaution to be usedin opening the gate of the fort. It was time, for the surrounding forestconcealed what the New England chroniclers call an "army, " commanded byGeneral Debeline. It scarcely need be said that Canada had no GeneralDebeline, and that no such name is to be found in Canadian annals. The"army" was a large war-party of both French and Indians, and a Frenchrecord shows that its commander was Boucher de Niverville, ensign in thecolony troops. [Footnote: _Extrait en forme de Journal de ce qui s'estpassé d'intéressant dans la Colonie à l'occasion des Mouvements de Guerre, etc. , 1746, 1747_. ] The behavior of the dogs was as yet the only sign of danger, when, aboutnine o'clock on the morning of the 7th of April, one of Stevens's men tookit upon him to go out and find what was amiss. Accompanied by two or threeof the dogs, he advanced, gun in hand, into the clearing, peering at everystump, lest an Indian should lurk behind it. When about twenty rods fromthe gate, he saw a large log, or trunk of a fallen tree, not far beforehim, and approached it cautiously, setting on the dogs, or, as Stevenswhimsically phrases it, "saying _Choboy!_" to them. They ran forwardbarking, on which several heads appeared above the log, and several gunswere fired at him. He was slightly wounded, but escaped to the fort. Then, all around, the air rang with war-whoops, and a storm of bullets flew fromthe tangle of bushes that edged the clearing, and rapped spitefully, butharmlessly, against the wooden wall. At a little distance on the windwardside was a log-house, to which, with adjacent fences, the assailantspresently set fire, in the hope that, as the wind was strong, the flameswould catch the fort. When Stevens saw what they were doing, he set himselfto thwart them; and while some of his men kept them at bay with their guns, the rest fell to work digging a number of short trenches under the wall, onthe side towards the fire. As each trench was six or seven feet deep, a mancould stand in it outside the wall, sheltered from bullets, and dashbuckets of water, passed to him from within, against the scorching timbers. Eleven such trenches were dug, and eleven men were stationed in them, sothat the whole exposed front of the wall was kept wet. [Footnote: "Thosewho were not employed in firing at the enemy were employed in diggingtrenches under the bottom of the fort. We dug no less than eleven of them, so deep that a man could go and stand upright on the outside and notendanger himself; so that when these trenches were finished, we could wetall the outside of the fort, which we did, and kept it wet all night. Wedrew some hundreds of barrels of water; and to undergo all this hardservice there were but thirty men. " _Stevens to Colonel W. Williams, --April, 1747. _] Thus, though clouds of smoke drifted over thefort, and burning cinders showered upon it, no harm was done, and the enemywas forced to other devices. They found a wagon, which they protected fromwater and bullets by a shield of planks, --for there was a saw-mill hardby, --and loaded it with dry fagots, thinking to set them on fire and pushthe blazing machine against a dry part of the fort wall; but the taskproved too dangerous, "for, " says Stevens, "instead of performing what theythreatened and seemed to be immediately going to undertake, they called tous and desired a cessation of arms till sunrise the next morning, which wasgranted, at which time they said they would come to a parley. " In fact, theFrench commander, with about sixty of his men, came in the morning with aflag of truce, which he stuck in the ground at a musket-shot from the fort, and, in the words of Stevens, "said, if we would send three men to him, hewould send as many to us. " Stevens agreed to this, on which two Frenchmenand an Indian came to the fort, and three soldiers went out in return. Thetwo Frenchmen demanded, on the part of their commander, that the garrisonshould surrender, under a promise of life, and be carried prisoners toQuebec; and they farther required that Stevens should give his answer tothe French officer in person. Wisely or unwisely, Stevens went out at the gate, and was at once joined byNiverville, attended, no doubt, by an interpreter. "Upon meeting theMonsieur, " says the English captain, "he did not wait for me to give him ananswer, " but said, in a manner sufficiently peremptory, that he had sevenhundred men with him, and that if his terms were refused, he would stormthe fort, "run over it, " burn it to the ground, and if resistance wereoffered, put all in it to the sword; adding that he would have it or die, and that Stevens might fight or not as he pleased, for it was all one tohim. His terms being refused, he said, as Stevens reports, "Well, go backto your fort and see if your men dare fight any more, and give me an answerquickly; for my men want to be fighting. " Stevens now acted as if he hadbeen the moderator of a town-meeting. "I went into the fort and called themen together, and informed them what the General said, and then put it tovote whether they would fight or resign; and they voted to a man to standit out, and also declared that they would fight as long as they had life. "[Footnote: _Stevens to Colonel William Williams, --April, 1747. _] Answer was made accordingly, but Niverville's promise to storm the fort and"run over it" was not kept. Stevens says that his enemies had not thecourage to do this, or even to bring up their "fortification, " meaningtheir fire-wagon with its shield of planks. In fact, an open assault upon afortified place was a thing unknown in this border warfare, whether wagedby Indians alone, or by French and Indians together. The assailants onlyraised the war-whoop again, and fired, as before, from behind stumps, logs, and bushes. This amusement they kept up from two o'clock till night, whenthey grew bolder, approached nearer, and shot flights of fire-arrows intothe fort, which, water being abundant, were harmless as their bullets. Atdaylight they gave over this exercise, called out "Good morning!" to thegarrison, and asked for a suspension of arms for two hours. This beingagreed to, another flag of truce presently appeared, carried by twoIndians, who planted it in the ground within a stone's throw of the fort, and asked that two men should be sent out to confer with them. This wasdone, and the men soon came back with a proposal that Stevens should sellprovisions to his besiegers, under a promise on their part that they wouldgive him no farther trouble. He answered that he would not sell themprovisions for money, but would exchange them for prisoners, and give fivebushels of Indian corn for every hostage placed in his hands as securityfor the release of an English captive in Canada. To this their only answerwas firing a few shots against the fort, after which they all disappeared, and were seen no more. The garrison had scarcely eaten or slept for threedays. "I believe men were never known to hold out with better resolution, "writes Stevens; and "though there were some thousands of guns shot at us, we had but two men slightly wounded, John Brown and Joseph Ely. " [Footnote:_Stevens to Colonel W. Williams, --April, 1747. _] Niverville and his party, disappointed and hungry, now made a tour amongthe scattered farms and hamlets of the country below, which, incapable ofresisting such an inroad, were abandoned at their approach. Thus they tookan easy revenge for their rebuff at Number Four, and in a march of thirtyor forty leagues, burned five small deserted forts or stockaded houses, "three meeting-houses, several fine barns, about one hundred dwellings, mostly of two stories, furnished even to chests of drawers, and killed fiveto six hundred sheep and hogs, and about thirty horned cattle. Thisdevastation is well worth a few prisoners or scalps. " [Footnote: _N. Y. Col. Docs. _, X. 97. ] It is curious to find such exploits mentioned withcomplacency, as evidence of prowess. The successful defence of the most exposed place on the frontier waswelcome news throughout New England, and Commodore Charles Knowles, who wasthen at Boston, sent Stevens a silver-hilted sword in recognition of hisconduct. The settlers of Number Four, who soon returned to their backwoodshome, were so well pleased with this compliment to one of their fellowsthat they gave to the settlement the baptismal name of the Commodore, andthe town that has succeeded the hamlet of Number Four is Charlestown tothis day. [Footnote: Just after the withdrawal of the French and Indians, Stevens wrote two letters giving an account of the affair, one to GovernorShirley, and the other to Colonel William Williams, who seems to have beenhis immediate military superior. At most points they are substantially thesame; but that to Williams contains some passages not found in the other. The letter to Shirley is printed in Saunderson, _History of Charlestown, N. H. _, 34-37, and that to Williams in _Collections of the NewHampshire Historical Society_, IV. 109-113. Stevens also kept a diary, which was long in possession of his descendants. One of these, Mr. B. F. Stevens, kindly made a search for it, at my request, and learned that ithad been unfortunately destroyed by fire, in 1856. Doolittle, in his_Narrative of Mischief_, and Hoyt, in his _Antiquarian Researches_, give other accounts. The French notices of the affair are few and short, asusual in cases of failure. For the principal one, see _N. Y. Col. Docs. , _X. 97. It is here said that Stevens asked for a parley, in order tocapitulate; but all the English accounts say that the French made the firstadvances. ] CHAPTER XXIV. 1745-1748. FORT MASSACHUSETTS. FRONTIER DEFENCE. --NORTHFIELD AND ITS MINISTER. --MILITARY CRITICISMS OFREV. BENJAMIN DOOLITTLE. --RIGAUD DE VAUDREUIL. --HIS GREAT WAR-PARTY. --HEATTACKS FORT MASSACHUSETTS. --SERGEANT HAWKS AND HIS GARRISON. --A GALLANTDEFENCE. --CAPITULATION. --HUMANITY OF THE FRENCH. --RAVAGES. --RETURN TO CROWNPOINT. --PEACE OF AIX-LA-CHAPELLE. Since the last war, the settlements of Massachusetts had pushed westwardand begun to invade the beautiful region of mountains and valleys that nowforms Berkshire. Villages, or rudiments of villages, had grown up on theHousatonic, and an establishment had been attempted at Pontoosuc, nowPittsfield, on the extreme western limits of the province. The position ofthese new settlements was critical, for the enemy could reach them withlittle difficulty by way of Lake Champlain and Wood Creek. TheMassachusetts Government was not unmindful of them, and when war againbroke out, three wooden forts were built for their protection, forming aline of defence westward from Northfield on the northern frontier of theprovince. One of these forts was in the present town of Heath, and wascalled Fort Shirley; another, named Fort Pelham, was in the present town ofRowe; while the third, Fort Massachusetts, was farther westward, in what isnow the town of Adams, then known as East Hoosac. Two hundred men from themilitia were taken into pay to hold these posts and patrol the interveningforests. Other defensive works were made here and there, sometimes by thevotes of town meetings, and sometimes by individuals, at their own cost. These works consisted of a fence of palisades enclosing a farm-house, orsometimes of a blockhouse of timber or heavy planks. Thus, at Northfield, Deacon Ebenezer Alexander, a veteran of sixty who had served at Louisbourg, built a "mount, " or blockhouse, on the knoll behind his house, and carrieda stockade from it to enclose the dwelling, shed, and barn, the whole atthe cost of thirty-six pounds, one shilling, and sixpence, in Massachusettscurrency, which the town repaid him, his fortifications being of publicutility as a place of refuge for families in case of attack. [Footnote:Temple and Sheldon, _History of Northfield_, 237, give the items fromthe original account. This is one of the best of the innumerabletown-histories of New England. ] Northfield was a place notoriouslydangerous, and military methods were in vogue there in season and out ofseason. Thus, by a vote of the town, the people were called to the Sundaysermon by beat of drum, and Eleazer Holton was elected to sound the call inconsideration of one pound and ten shillings a year, the drum being hiredof Ensign Field, its fortunate possessor, for the farther sum of threeshillings. This was in the earlier days of Northfield. In 1734 the Sundaydrum-beat was stopped, and the worshippers were summoned by the lessobstreperous method of "hanging out a flagg, " for the faithful discharge ofwhich function Daniel Wright received in 1744 one pound and five shillings. [Footnote: Temple and Sheldon, _History of Northfield_, 218. ] The various fortifications, public and private, were garrisoned, sometimesby the owner and his neighbors, sometimes by men in pay of the provincialAssembly. As was to be expected from a legislative body undertaking warlikeoperations, the work of defence was but indifferently conducted. JohnStoddard, the village magnate of Northampton, was charged, among the restof his multifarious employments, with the locating and construction offorts; Captain Ephraim Williams was assigned to the general command on thewestern frontier, with headquarters at Fort Shirley and afterwards at FortMassachusetts; and Major Israel Williams, of Hatfield, was made commissary. At Northfield dwelt the Reverend Benjamin Doolittle, minister, apothecary, physician, and surgeon of the village; for he had studied medicine no lessthan theology. His parishioners thought that his cure of bodies encroachedon his cure of souls, and requested him to confine his attention to hisspiritual charge; to which he replied that he could not afford it, hissalary as minister being seventy-five pounds in irredeemable Massachusettspaper, while his medical and surgical practice brought him full fourhundred a year. He offered to comply with the wishes of his flock if theywould add that amount to his salary, --which they were not prepared to do, and the minister continued his heterogeneous labors as before. As the position of his house on the village street seems to have beenregarded as strategic, the town voted to fortify it with a blockhouse and astockade, for the benefit both of the occupant and of all the villagers. This was accordingly done, at the cost of eighteen pounds, seven shillings, and sixpence for the blockhouse, and a farther charge for the stockade; andthenceforth Mr. Doolittle could write his sermons and mix his doses inpeace. To his other callings he added that of historiographer. When, aftera ministry of thirty-six years, the thrifty pastor was busied one day withhammer and nails in mending the fence of his yard, he suddenly dropped deadfrom a stroke of heart-disease, --to the grief of all Northfield; and hispapers being searched, a record was found in his handwriting of the inroadsof the enemy that had happened in his time on or near the Massachusettsborder. Being rightly thought worthy of publication, it was printed atBoston in a dingy pamphlet, now extremely rare, and much prized byantiquarians. [Footnote: _A short Narrative of Mischief done by theFrench and Indian Enemy on the Western Frontiers of the Province of theMassachusetts Bay; from the Beginning of the French War, proclaimed by theKing of France, March 15th, 1743-4; and by the King of Great Britain, March29th, 1744, to August 2nd, 1748. Drawn up by the Rev. Mr. Doolittle, ofNorthfield, in the County of Hampshire; and found among his Manuscriptsafter his Death. And at the Desire of some is now Published, with somesmall Additions to render it more perfect. Boston; Printed and sold by S. Kneeland, in Queen Street. MDCCL. _ The facts above given concerning Mr. Doolittle are drawn from the excellent _History of Northfield_ byTemple and Sheldon, and the introduction to the _Particular History ofthe Five Years' French and Indian War, _ by S. G. Drake. ] Appended to it are the remarks of the author on the conduct of the war. Hecomplains that plans are changed so often that none of them take effect;that terms of enlistment are so short that the commissary can hardly serveout provisions to the men before their time is expired; that neither bread, meat, shoes, nor blankets are kept on hand for an emergency, so that theenemy escape while the soldiers are getting ready to pursue them; that thepay of a drafted man is so small that twice as much would not hire alaborer to take care of his farm in his absence; and that untried and unfitpersons are commissioned as officers: in all of which strictures there isno doubt much truth. Mr. Doolittle's rueful narrative treats mainly of miscellaneous murders andscalpings, interesting only to the sufferers and their friends; but he alsochronicles briefly a formidable inroad that still holds a place in NewEngland history. It may be remembered that Shirley had devised a plan for capturing FortFrédéric, or Crown Point, built by the French at the narrows of LakeChamplain, and commanding ready access for warparties to New York and NewEngland. The approach of D'Anville's fleet had defeated the plan; but rumors of ithad reached Canada, and excited great alarm. Large bodies of men wereordered to Lake Champlain to protect the threatened fort. The two brothersDe Muy were already on the lake with a numerous party of Canadians andIndians, both Christian and heathen, and Rigaud de Vaudreuil, town-major ofThree Rivers, was ordered to follow with a still larger force, repel anyEnglish attack, or, if none should be made, take the offensive and strike ablow at the English frontier. [Footnote: French writers always call himRigaud, to distinguish him from his brother, Pierre Rigaud deVaudreuil-Cavagnal, afterwards governor of Canada, who is usually mentionedas Vaudreuil. ] On the 3d of August, Rigaud left Montreal with a fleet ofcanoes carrying what he calls his army, and on the 12th he encamped on theeast side of the lake, at the mouth of Otter Creek. There was rain, thunder, and a violent wind all night; but the storm ceased at daybreak, and, embarking again, they soon saw the octagonal stone tower of FortFrédéric. The party set up their tents and wigwams near the fort, and on the morningof the 16th the elder De Muy arrived with a reinforcement of sixtyFrenchmen and a band of Indians. They had just returned from an incursiontowards Albany, and reported that all was quiet in those parts, and thatFort Frédéric was in no danger. Now, to their great satisfaction, Rigaudand his band saw themselves free to take the offensive. The question was, where to strike. The Indians held council after council, made speech afterspeech, and agreed on nothing. Rigaud gave them a wampum-belt, and toldthem that he meant to attack Corlaer, --that is, Schenectady; at which theyseemed well pleased, and sang war-songs all night. In the morning theychanged their minds, and begged him to call the whole army to a council fordebating the question. It appeared that some of them, especially theIroquois converts of Caughnawaga, disapproved of attacking Schenectady, because some of their Mohawk relatives were always making visits there, andmight be inadvertently killed by the wild Western Indians of Rigaud'sparty. Now all was doubt again, for as Indians are unstable as water, itwas no easy task to hold them to any plan of action. The Abenakis proposed a solution of the difficulty. They knew the NewEngland border well, for many of them had lived upon it before the war, onterms of friendly intercourse with the settlers. They now drew upon thefloor of the council-room a rough map of the country, on which was seen acertain river, and on its upper waters a fort which they recommended as aproper object of attack. The river was that eastern tributary of the Hudsonwhich the French called the Kaské-kouké, the Dutch the Schaticook, and theEnglish the Hoosac. The fort was Fort Massachusetts, the most westerly ofthe three posts lately built to guard the frontier. "My Father, " said theAbenaki spokesman to Rigaud, "it will be easy to take this fort, and makegreat havoc on the lands of the English. Deign to listen to your childrenand follow our advice. " [Footnote: _Journal de la Campagne de Rigaud deVaudreuil en 1746. .. Présenté à Monseigneur le Comte de Maurepas, Ministreet Secrétaire d'Etat_ (written by Rigaud). ] One Cadenaret, an Abenakichief, had been killed near Fort Massachusetts in the last spring, and histribesmen were keen to revenge him. Seeing his Indians pleased with theproposal to march for the Hoosac, Rigaud gladly accepted it; on whichwhoops, yelps, and war-songs filled the air. Hardly, however, was the partyon its way when the Indians changed their minds again, and wanted to attackSaratoga; but Rigaud told them that they had made their choice and mustabide by it, to which they assented, and gave him no farther trouble. On the 20th of August they all embarked and paddled southward, passed thelonely promontory where Fort Ticonderoga was afterwards built, and heldtheir course till the lake dwindled to a mere canal creeping through theweedy marsh then called the Drowned Lands. Here, nine summers later, passedthe flotilla of Baron Dieskau, bound to defeat and ruin by the shores ofLake George. Rigaud stopped at a place known as East Bay, at the mouth ofa stream that joins Wood Creek, just north of the present town ofWhitehall. Here he left the younger De Muy, with thirty men, to guard thecanoes. The rest of the party, guided by a brother of the slain Cadenaret, filed southward on foot along the base of Skene Mountain, that overlooksWhitehall. They counted about seven hundred men, of whom five hundred wereFrench, and a little above two hundred were Indians. [Footnote: "Le 19, ayant fait passer l'armée en Revue qui se trouva de 700 hommes, scavoir 500françois environ et 200 quelques sauvages. " _Journal de Rigaud_. ] Someother French reports put the whole number at eleven hundred, or even twelvehundred, [Footnote: See _N. Y. Col. Docs. _, X. 103, 132. ] whileseveral English accounts make it eight hundred or nine hundred. TheFrenchmen of the party included both regulars and Canadians, with sixregular officers and ten cadets, eighteen militia officers, twochaplains, --one for the whites and one for the Indians, --and a surgeon. [Footnote: _Ibid. _, X. 35. ] After a march of four days, they encamped on the 26th by a stream which raninto the Hudson, and was no doubt the Batten Kill, known to the French as_la rivière de Saratogue_. Being nearly opposite Saratoga, where therewas then a garrison, they changed their course, on the 27th, from south tosoutheast, the better to avoid scouting-parties, which might discover theirtrail and defeat their plan of surprise. Early on the next day they reachedthe Hoosac, far above its mouth; and now their march was easier, "for, "says Rigaud, "we got out of the woods and followed a large road that led upthe river. " In fact, there seem to have been two roads, one on each side ofthe Hoosac; for the French were formed into two brigades, one of which, under the Sieur de la Valterie, filed along the right bank of the stream, and the other, under the Sieur de Sabrevois, along the left; while theIndians marched on the front, flanks, and rear. They passed deserted housesand farms belonging to Dutch settlers from the Hudson; for the Hoosac, inthis part of its course, was in the province of New York. [Footnote: TheseDutch settlements on the Hoosac were made under what was called the "HoosacPatent, " granted by Governor Dongan of New York in 1688. The settlementswere not begun till nearly forty years after the grant was made. Forevidence on this point I am indebted to Professor A. L. Perry, of WilliamsCollege. ] They did not stop to burn barns and houses, but they killedpoultry, hogs, a cow, and a horse, to supply themselves with meat. Beforenight they had passed the New York line, and they made their camp in ornear the valley where Williamstown and Williams College now stand. Herethey were joined by the Sieurs Beaubassin and La Force, who had goneforward, with eight Indians, to reconnoitre. Beaubassin had watched FortMassachusetts from a distance, and had seen a man go up into thewatch-tower, but could discover no other sign of alarm. Apparently, thefugitive Dutch farmers had not taken pains to warn the English garrison ofthe coming danger, for there was a coolness between the neighbors. Before breaking up camp in the morning, Rigaud called the Indian chiefstogether and said to them: "My children, the time is near when we must getother meat than fresh pork, and we will all eat it together. " "Meat, " inIndian parlance, meant prisoners; and as these were valuable by reason ofthe ransoms paid for them, and as the Indians had suspected that the Frenchmeant to keep them all, they were well pleased with this figurativeassurance of Rigaud that they should have their share. [Footnote: "Mesenfans, leur dis-je, le temps approche où il faut faire d'autre viande quele pore frais; au reste, nous la mangerons tous eusemble; ce mot les flattadans la crainte qu'ils avoient qu'après la prise du fort nous ne nousréservâmes tous les prisonniers" _Journal de Rigaud_. ] The chaplain said mass, and the party marched in a brisk rain up theWilliamstown valley, till after advancing about ten miles they encampedagain. Fort Massachusetts was only three or four miles distant. Rigaud helda talk with the Abenaki chiefs who had acted as guides, and it was agreedthat the party should stop in the woods near the fort, makescaling-ladders, battering-rams to burst the gates, and other thingsneedful for a grand assault, to take place before daylight; but their plancame to nought through the impetuosity of the young Indians and Canadians, who were so excited at the first glimpse of the watch-tower of the fortthat they dashed forward, as Rigaud says, "like lions. " Hence one mightfairly expect to see the fort assaulted at once; but by the maxims offorest war this would have been reprehensible rashness, and nothing of thekind was attempted. The assailants spread to right and left, squattedbehind stumps, and opened a distant and harmless fire, accompanied withunearthly yells and howlings. Fort Massachusetts was a wooden enclosure formed, like the fort at NumberFour, of beams laid one upon another, and interlocked at the angles. Thiswooden wall seems to have rested, not immediately upon the ground, but upona foundation of stone, designated by Mr. Norton, the chaplain, as the"underpinning, "--a name usually given in New England to foundations of thekind. At the northwest corner was a blockhouse, crowned with thewatch-tower, the sight of which had prematurely kindled the martial fire ofthe Canadians and Indians. [Footnote: The term "blockhouse" was looselyused, and was even sometimes applied to an entire fort when constructed ofhewn logs, and not of palisades. The true blockhouse of the New Englandfrontier was a solid wooden structure about twenty feet high, with aprojecting upper story and loopholes above and below. ] This woodenstructure, at the apex of the blockhouse, served as a lookout, and alsosupplied means of throwing water to extinguish fire-arrows shot upon theroof. There were other buildings in the enclosure, especially a largelog-house on the south side, which seems to have overlooked the outer wall, and was no doubt loopholed for musketry. On the east side there was a well, furnished probably with one of those long well-sweeps universal inprimitive New England. The garrison, when complete, consisted of fifty-onemen under Captain Ephraim Williams, who has left his name to Williamstownand Williams College, of the latter of which he was the founder. He wasborn at Newton, near Boston; was a man vigorous in body and mind; betteracquainted with the world than most of his countrymen, having followed theseas in his youth, and visited England, Spain, and Holland; frank andagreeable in manners, well fitted for such a command, and respected andloved by his men. [Footnote: See the notice of Williams in _Mass. Hist. Coll. _, VIII. 47. He was killed in the bloody skirmish that preceded theBattle of Lake George in 1755. _Montcalm and Wolfe_, chap. Ix. ] Whenthe proposed invasion of Canada was preparing, he and some of his men wentto take part in it, and had not yet returned. The fort was left in chargeof a sergeant, John Hawks, of Deerfield, with men too few for the extent ofthe works, and a supply of ammunition nearly exhausted. Canada being thenput on the defensive, the frontier forts were thought safe for a time. Onthe Saturday before Rigaud's arrival, Hawks had sent Thomas Williams, thesurgeon, brother of the absent captain, to Deerfield, with a detachment offourteen men, to get a supply of powder and lead. This detachment reducedthe entire force, including Hawks himself and Norton, the chaplain, totwenty-two men, half of whom were disabled with dysentery, from which fewof the rest were wholly free. [Footnote: "Lord's Day and Monday. .. Thesickness was very distressing. .. . Eleven of our men were sick, and scarcelyone of us in perfect health; almost every man was troubled with the gripingand flux. " Norton, _The Redeemed Captive_. ] There were also in thefort three women and five children. [Footnote: Rigaud erroneously makes thegarrison a little larger. "La garnison se trouva de 24 hommes, entrelesquels il y avoit un ministre, 3 femmes, et 5 enfans. " The names andresidence of all the men in the fort when the attack began are preserved. Hawks made his report to the provincial government under the title _"AnAccount of the Company in his Majesty's Service under the command of Serg'tJohn Hawks. .. At Fort Massachusetts, Aug. 20_ [31, new style], _1746. _" The roll is attested on oath "Before William Williams, _Just. Pacis. _" The number of men is 22, including Hawks and Norton. Each man brought his own gun. I am indebted to the kindness of Professor A. L. Perry for a copy of Hawks's report, which is addressed to "the Honble. Spencer Phipps, Esq. , Lieut. Gov'r and Commander in Chief [and] theHon'ble. His Majesty's Council and House of Representatives in GeneralCourt assembled. "] The site of Fort Massachusetts is now a meadow by the banks of the Hoosac. Then it was a rough clearing, encumbered with the stumps and refuse of theprimeval forest, whose living hosts stood grimly around it, and spread, untouched by the axe, up the sides of the neighboring Saddleback Mountain. The position of the fort was bad, being commanded by high ground, fromwhich, as the chaplain tells us, "the enemy could shoot over the north sideinto the middle of the parade, "--for which serious defect, John Stoddard, of Northampton, legist, capitalist, colonel of militia, and "Superintendentof Defence, " was probably answerable. These frontier forts were, however, often placed on low ground with a view to an abundant supply of water, firebeing the most dreaded enemy in Indian warfare. [Footnote: When I visitedthe place as a college student, no trace of the fort was to be seen excepta hollow, which may have been the remains of a cellar, and a thrivinggrowth of horse-radish, --a relic of the garrison garden. My friend Dr. D. D. Slade has given an interesting account of the spot in the _Magazine ofAmerican History_ for October, 1888. ] Sergeant Hawks, the provisional commander, was, according to tradition, atall man with sun-burnt features, erect, spare, very sinewy and strong, andof a bold and resolute temper. He had need to be so, for counting every manin the fort, lay and clerical, sick and well, he was beset by more thanthirty times his own number; or, counting only his effective men, by morethan sixty times, --and this at the lowest report of the attacking force. Asthere was nothing but a log fence between him and his enemy, it was clearthat they could hew or burn a way through it, or climb over it with nosurprising effort of valor. Rigaud, as we have seen, had planned a generalassault under cover of night, but had been thwarted by the precipitancy ofthe young Indians and Canadians. These now showed no inclination to departfrom the cautious maxims of forest warfare. They made a terrific noise, but when they came within gunshot of the fort, it was by darting from stumpto stump with a quick, zigzag movement that made them more difficult to hitthan birds on the wing. The best moment for a shot was when they reached astump, and stopped for an instant to duck and hide behind it. By seizingthis fleeting opportunity, Hawks himself put a bullet into the breast of anAbenaki chief from St. Francis, --"which ended his days, " says the chaplain. In view of the nimbleness of the assailants, a charge of buckshot was foundmore to the purpose than a bullet. Besides the slain Abenaki, Rigaudreports sixteen Indians and Frenchmen wounded, [Footnote: "L'Ennemi me tuaun abenakis et me blessa 16 hommes, tant Iroquois qu'Abenaquis, nipissingset françois. " _Journal de Rigaud_. ]--which, under the circumstances, was good execution for ten farmers and a minister; for Chaplain Nortonloaded and fired with the rest. Rigaud himself was one of the wounded, having been hit in the arm and sent to the rear, as he stood giving orderson the rocky hill about forty rods from the fort. Probably it was a chanceshot, since, though rifles were invented long before, they were not yet ingeneral use, and the yeoman garrison were armed with nothing but their ownsmooth-bore hunting-pieces, not to be trusted at long range. The supply ofammunition had sunk so low that Hawks was forced to give the discouragingorder not to fire except when necessary to keep the enemy in check, or whenthe chance of hitting him should be unusually good. Such of the sick men aswere strong enough aided the defence by casting bullets and buckshot. The outrageous noise lasted till towards nine in the evening, when theassailants greeted the fort with a general war-whoop, and repeated it threeor four times; then a line of sentinels was placed around it to preventmessengers from carrying the alarm to Albany or Deerfield. The evening wasdark and cloudy. The lights of a camp could be seen by the river towardsthe southeast, and those of another near the swamp towards the west. Therewas a sound of axes, as if the enemy were making scaling-ladders for anight assault; but it was found that they were cutting fagots to burn thewall. Hawks ordered every tub and bucket to be filled with water, inpreparation for the crisis. Two men, John Aldrich and Jonathan Bridgman, had been wounded, thus farther reducing the strength of the defenders. Thechaplain says: "Of those that were in health, some were ordered to keep thewatch, and some lay down and endeavored to get some rest, lying down in ourclothes with our arms by us. .. . We got little or no rest; the enemyfrequently raised us by their hideous outcries, as though they were aboutto attack us. The latter part of the night I kept the watch. " Rigaud spent the night in preparing for a decisive attack, "being resolvedto open trenches two hours before sunrise, and push them to the foot of thepalisade, so as to place fagots against it, set them on fire, and deliverthe fort a prey to the fury of the flames. " [Footnote: "Je passay la nuit àconduire l'ouvrage auquel j'avois destiné le jour précédent, résolu à faireouvrir la tranchée deux heures avant le lever du soleil, et de la pousserjusqu'au pied de la palissade, pour y placer les fascines, y appliquerl'artifice, et livrer le fort en proye à la fureur du feu. " _Journal deRigaud_. He mistakes in calling the log wall of the fort a palisade. ] Itbegan to rain, and he determined to wait till morning. That the commanderof seven hundred French and Indians should resort to such elaborate devicesto subdue a sergeant, seven militia-men, and a minister, --for this was nowthe effective strength of the besieged, --was no small compliment to thespirit of the defence. The firing was renewed in the morning, but there was no attempt to opentrenches by daylight. Two men were sent up into the watchtower, and abouteleven o'clock one of them, Thomas Knowlton, was shot through the head. The number of effectives was thus reduced to eight, including the chaplain. Up to this time the French and English witnesses are in tolerable accord;but now there is conflict of evidence. Rigaud says that when he was aboutto carry his plan of attack into execution, he saw a white flag hung out, and sent the elder De Muy, with Montigny and D'Auteuil, to hear what theEnglish commandant--whose humble rank he nowhere mentions--had to say. Onthe other hand, Norton, the chaplain, says that about noon the French"desired to parley, " and that "we agreed to it. " He says farther that thesergeant, with himself and one or two others, met Rigaud outside the gate, and that the French commander promised "good quarter" to the besieged ifthey would surrender, with the alternative of an assault if they would not. This account is sustained by Hawks, who says that at twelve o'clock anIndian came forward with a flag of truce, and that he, Hawks, with two orthree others, went to meet Rigaud, who then offered honorable terms ofcapitulation. [Footnote: _Journal of Sergeant Hawks_, cited by WilliamL. Stone, _Life and Times of Sir William Johnson_, I. 227. What seemsconclusive is that the French permitted Norton to nail to a post of thefort a short account of its capture, in which it is plainly stated that thefirst advances were made by Rigaud. ] The sergeant promised an answer withintwo hours; and going back to the fort with his companions, examined theirmeans of defence. He found that they had left but three or four pounds ofgunpowder, and about as much lead. Hawks called a council of his effectivemen. Norton prayed for divine aid and guidance, and then they fell toconsidering the situation. "Had we all been in health, or had there beenonly those eight of us that were in health, I believe every man wouldwillingly have stood it out to the last. For my part, I should, " writesthe manful chaplain. But besides the sick and wounded, there were threewomen and five children, who, if the fort were taken by assault, would nodoubt be butchered by the Indians, but who might be saved by acapitulation. Hawks therefore resolved to make the best terms he could. Hehad defended his post against prodigious odds for twenty-eight hours. Rigaud promised that all in the fort should be treated with humanity asprisoners of war, and exchanged at the first opportunity. He also promisedthat none of them should be given to the Indians, though he had latelyassured his savage allies that they should have their share of theprisoners. At three o'clock the principal French officers were admitted into the fort, and the French flag was raised over it. The Indians and Canadians wereexcluded; on which some of the Indians pulled out several of the stonesthat formed the foundation of the wall, crawled through, opened the gate, and let in the whole crew. They raised a yell when they saw the blood ofThomas Knowlton trickling from the watch-tower where he had been shot, thenrushed up to where the corpse lay, brought it down, scalped it, and cut offthe head and arms. The fort was then plundered, set on fire, and burned tothe ground. The prisoners were led to the French camp; and here the chaplain waspresently accosted by one Doty, Rigaud's interpreter, who begged him topersuade some of the prisoners to go with the Indians. Norton replied thatit had been agreed that they should all remain with the French; and that togive up any of them to the Indians would be a breach of the capitulation. Doty then appealed to the men themselves, who all insisted on being leftwith the French, according to the terms stipulated. Some of them, however, were given to the Indians, who, after Rigaud's promise to them, could havebeen pacified in no other way. His fault was in making a stipulation thathe could not keep. Hawks and Norton, with all the women and children, remained in the French camp. Hearing that men were expected from Deerfield to take the places of thesick, Rigaud sent sixty Indians to cut them off. They lay in wait for theEnglish reinforcement, which consisted of nineteen men, gave them a closefire, shot down fifteen of them, and captured the rest. [Footnote: OneFrench account says that the Indians failed to meet the English party. _N. Y. Col. Docs, _ X. 35. ] This or another party of Rigaud's Indianspushed as far as Deerfield and tried to waylay the farmers as they went totheir work on a Monday morning. The Indians hid in a growth of alder-bushesalong the edge of a meadow where men were making hay, accompanied by somechildren. One Ebenezer Hawks, shooting partridges, came so near theambushed warriors that they could not resist the temptation of killing andscalping him. This alarmed the haymakers and the children, who ran fortheir lives towards a mill on a brook that entered Deerfield River, fiercely pursued by about fifty Indians, who caught and scalped a boy namedAmsden. Three men, Allen, Sadler, and Gillet, got under the bank of theriver and fired on the pursuers. Allen and Gillet were soon killed, butSadler escaped unhurt to an island. Three children of Allen--Eunice, Samuel, and Caleb--were also chased by the Indians, who knocked down Eunicewith a tomahawk, but were in too much haste to stop and scalp her, and shelived to a good old age. Her brother Samuel was caught and dragged off, butCaleb ran into a field of tall maize, and escaped. The firing was heard in the village, and a few armed men, under LieutenantClesson, hastened to the rescue; but when they reached the spot the Indianswere gone, carrying the boy Samuel Allen with them, and leaving two oftheir own number dead. Clesson, with such men as he had, followed theirtrail up Deerfield River, but could not overtake the light-footed savages. Meanwhile, the prisoners at Fort Massachusetts spent the first night, wellguarded, in the French and Indian camps. In the morning, Norton, accompanied by a Frenchman and several Indians, was permitted to nail toone of the charred posts of the fort a note to tell what had happened tohim and his companions. [Footnote: The note was as follows: "August 20 [31, new style], 1746. These are to inform you that yesterday, about 9 of theclock, we were besieged by, as they say, seven hundred French and Indians. They have wounded two men and killed one Knowlton. The General de Vaudreuildesired capitulations, and we were so distressed that we complied with histerms. We are the French's prisoners, and have it under the general's handthat every man, woman, and child shall be exchanged for French prisoners. "]The victors then marched back as they had come, along the Hoosac road. They moved slowly, encumbered as they were by the sick and wounded. Rigaudgave the Indians presents, to induce them to treat their prisoners withhumanity. Norton was in charge of De Muy, and after walking four miles satdown with him to rest in Williamstown valley. There was a yell from theIndians in the rear. "I trembled, " writes Norton, "thinking they hadmurdered some of our people, but was filled with admiration when I saw allour prisoners come up with us, and John Aldrich carried on the back of hisIndian master. " Aldrich had been shot in the foot, and could not walk. "Weset out again, and had gone but a little way before we came up with JosiahReed. " Reed was extremely ill, and could go no farther. Norton thought thatthe Indians would kill him, instead of which one of them carried him on hisback. They were said to have killed him soon after, but there is goodreason to think that he died of disease. "I saw John Perry's wife, " pursuesthe chaplain; "she complained that she was almost ready to give out. " TheIndians threatened her, but Hawks spoke in her behalf to Rigaud, whoremonstrated with them, and they afterwards treated her well. The wife ofanother soldier, John Smead, was near her time, and had lingered behind. The French showed her great kindness. "Some of them made a seat for her tosit upon, and brought her to the camp, where, about ten o'clock, she wasgraciously delivered of a daughter, and was remarkably well. .. . Friday:this morning I baptized John Smead's child. He called its name_Captivity_. " The French made a litter of poles, spread over it adeer-skin and a bear-skin, on which they placed the mother and child, andso carried them forward. Three days after, there was a heavy rain, and themother was completely drenched, but suffered no harm, though "Miriam, thewife of Moses Scott, hereby catched a grievous cold. " John Perry wasrelieved of his pack, so that he might help his wife and carry her when herstrength failed. Several horses were found at the farms along the way, andthe sick Benjamin Simons and the wounded John Aldrich were allowed to usetwo of them. Rarely, indeed, in these dismal border-raids were prisonerstreated so humanely; and the credit seems chiefly due to the efforts ofRigaud and his officers. The hardships of the march were shared by thevictors, some of whom were sorely wounded; and four Indians died within afew days. "I divided my army between the two sides of the Kaskékouké" (Hoosac), saysRigaud, "and ordered them to do what I had not permitted to be done beforewe reached Fort Massachusetts. Every house was set on fire, and numbers ofdomestic animals of all sorts were killed. French and Indians vied witheach other in pillage, and I made them enter the [valleys of all the]little streams that flow into the Kaskékouké and lay waste everythingthere. .. . Wherever we went we made the same havoc, laid waste both sides ofthe river, through twelve leagues of fertile country, burned houses, barns, stables, and even a meeting-house, --in all, above two hundredestablishments, --killed all the cattle, and ruined all the crops. Such, Monseigneur, was the damage I did our enemies during the eight or nine daysI was in their country. " [Footnote: _Journal de Riguad. _] As the Dutchsettlers had escaped, there was no resistance. The French and their allies left the Hoosac at the point where they hadreached it, and retraced their steps northward through the forest, wherethere was an old Indian trail. Recrossing the Batten Kill, or "River ofSaratoga, " and some branches of Wood Creek, they reached the place wherethey had left their canoes, and found them safe. Rigaud says: "I gave leaveto the Indians, at their request, to continue their fighting and ravaging, in small parties, towards Albany, Schenectady, Deerfield, Saratoga, orwherever they pleased, and I even gave them a few officers and cadets tolead them. " These small ventures were more or less successful, andproduced, in due time, a good return of scalps. The main body, now afloat again, sailed and paddled northward till theyreached Crown Point. Rigaud rejoiced at finding a haven of refuge, for hiswounded arm was greatly inflamed: "and it was time I should reach a placeof repose. " He and his men encamped by the fort and remained there for sometime. An epidemic, apparently like that at Fort Massachusetts, had brokenout among them, and great numbers were seriously ill. Norton was lodged in a French house on the east side of the lake, at whatis now called Chimney Point; and one day his guardian, De Muy, eitherthinking to impress him with the strength of the place, or with an amusingconfidence in the minister's incapacity for making inconvenient militaryobservations, invited him to visit the fort. He accepted the invitation, crossed over with the courteous officer, and reports the ramparts to havebeen twenty feet thick, about twenty feet high, and mounted with abovetwenty cannon. The octagonal tower which overlooked the ramparts, andanswered in some sort to the donjon of a feudal castle, was a bomb-proofstructure in vaulted masonry, of the slaty black limestone of theneighborhood, three stories in height, and armed with nine or ten cannon, besides a great number of patereroes, --a kind of pivot-gun much like aswivel. [Footnote: Kalm also describes the fort and its tower. Little traceof either now remains. Amherst demolished them in 1759, when he built thelarger fort, of which the ruins still stand on the higher ground behind thesite of its predecessor. ] In due time the prisoners reached Montreal, whence they were sent toQuebec; and in the course of the next year those who remained alive wereexchanged and returned to New England. [Footnote: Of the twenty-two men inthe fort when attacked, one, Knowlton, was killed by a bullet; one, Reed, died just after the surrender; ten died in Canada, and ten returned home. _Report of Sergeant Hawks. _] Mrs. Smead and her infant daughter"Captivity" died in Canada, and, by a singular fatality, her husband hadscarcely returned home when he was waylaid and killed by Indians. FortMassachusetts was soon rebuilt by the province, and held its ownthenceforth till the war was over. Sergeant Hawks became alieutenant-colonel, and took a creditable part in the last French war. For two years after the incursion of Rigaud the New England borders werescourged with partisan warfare, bloody, monotonous, and futile, with noevent that needs recording, and no result beyond a momentary check to theprogress of settlement. At length, in July, 1748, news came that the chiefcontending powers in Europe had come to terms of agreement, and in the nextOctober the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was signed. Both nations were tired ofthe weary and barren conflict, with its enormous cost and its vast entailof debt. It was agreed that conquests should be mutually restored. Thechief conquest of England was Louisbourg, with the island of CapeBreton, --won for her by the farmers and fishermen of New England. When thepreliminaries of peace were under discussion, Louis XV. Had demanded therestitution of the lost fortress; and George II. Is said to have repliedthat it was not his to give, having been captured by the people of Boston. [Footnote: _N. Y. Col. Docs. _, X. 147. ] But his sense of justice wasforced to yield to diplomatic necessity, for Louisbourg was theindispensable price of peace. To the indignation of the Northern provinces, it was restored to its former owners. "The British ministers, " saysSmollett, "gave up the important island of Cape Breton in exchange for apetty factory in the East Indies" (Madras), and the King deigned to sendtwo English noblemen to the French court as security for the bargain. Peace returned to the tormented borders; the settlements advanced again, and the colonists found a short breathing space against the greatconclusive struggle of the Seven Years' War. APPENDIX A. CHAPTER XVII. ENGLAND HAS NO RIGHTFUL TITLES TO NORTH AMERICA, EXCEPT THOSEWHICH MAY BE GRANTED HER BY FRANCE. _Second Memoire concernant les limites des Colonies presenté en 1720, par Bobé prêtre de la congregation de la Mission. à Versailles. _ Archives Nationales. (_Extracts, printed literatim. _) "L'année Dernier 1719 je presenté un Memoire Concernant les prétensionsreciproques de la grande bretagne et de la france par Raport aux Coloniesdes deux Nations dans L'Amerique, et au Reglement des limites des ditesColonies. "Je ne repete pas ce que j'ay dit dans ce memoire, je prie seulement quel'on pese bien tout ce que j'y dis pour Aneantir les prétensions desAnglois, et pour les Convaincre, s'ils veullent être de bonne foy, qu'ellessont des plus mal fondées, trés Exorbitantes, et mêmes injustes, qu'ayantusurpé sur La france presque tout ce qu'ils possedent en Amerique, ilsdeveroient luy rendre au lieu de luy demander, et qu'ils deveroient estimerComme un tres grand avantage pour Eux, la Compensation que j'y propose pourfinir cette affaire, laqu'elle, sans cette Compensation, renaitra toujoursjusqu'a ce qu'enfin la france soit rentrée en paisible possession de toutce qui luy appartient légitimement, et dont on ne L'a depoüilleé que par laforce et La malheureuse Conjoncture des tems, qui sans doute tôt ou tardluy seront plus favorables. "Il Est surprenant que les Anglois entendus Comme ils sont par Raport àleurs Interests, ne fassent pas attention qu'il Leurs est infiniment plusAvantageux de s'assurer, par un traité raisonnable, la tranquille etperpetuelle possession des payis ou ils etoient établis avant la paixD'utrecht, que de vouloir profiter des Conjonctures pour oster aux françoisdes payis qu'ils ne Cederont jamais de bon Coeur, et dont ils serempareront quand ils trouveront l'occasion favorable pour Cela, sepersuadant qu'il leur sera alors permis de reprendre par force, ce que parforce on leurs à pris, et ce qu'ils ont été obligé de Ceder a Utrecht; etmême de reprendre au moins une partie des payis que l'angleterre à usurpezsur la france, qui ne les à jamais cedez par aucun traité que je scache. .. . "Jean Verazan par ordre de françois 1er fit La decouverte de tous lespayis et Costes qui sont Entre le 33e et le 47e Degre de latitude, et yfit deux voyages dont le dernier fut en 1523 et par ordre et au nom du ditRoy francois 1er il prit possession de toute cette Coste et de tous cespayis, bien long tems avant que les Anglois y Eussent Eté. "L'an 1562 Les françois s'établirent dans La Caroline. Champlain à La finde la relation de ses voyages fait un chapitre exprez Dans lequel ilprouve. "1. Que La france a pris possession de toutes les Costes et payis depuis lafloride inclusivement jusqu'au fleuve St. Laurent inclusivem't, avant toutautre prince chrêtien. 2. Que nos roys ont eu, dez le Commancement des decouvertes des lieutenansgeneraux Dans ces payis et Costes. 3. Que Les françois les ont habitez avant les Anglois. 4. Que Les prétensions des Anglois sont Mal fondées. "La Lecture De ce chapitre fait voir que Champlain prouve invinciblementtous ces chefs, et de maniere que les Anglois n'ont rien de bon à yrepondre, de sorte que s'ils veullent être de bonne foy, ils doiventConvenir que tous ces payis appartiennent Légitimement à la france qu'ilss'en sont emparez et qu'ils les Retiennent Contre toute justice. .. . "Il Est A Remarquer que quoyque par le traité de St. Germain l'angleterredut restituer tout ce qu'elle Avoit occupé dans la Nouvelle france, et parConsequent toute la Coste depuis baston jusqu'a la virginie inclusivement(car alors les Anglois ne s'etoient pas encore emparez de la Caroline)laqu'elle Coste est Certainement partie de la Nouvelle france, les Angloisne l'ont pas Cependant restituée et la gardent encore a present Contre lateneur du traité de St. Germain, quoy que la france ne L'ait point Cedée aL'angleterre ni par le dit traité ni par Aucun Autre que je scache. "Cecy Merite La plus serieuse attention de la france, et qu'elle fasseEntendre serieusement aux Anglois que par le traité de St. Germain ils sesont obligez de luy rendre toutte cette Coste, qui incontestablement estpartie de la Nouvelle france, Comme je L'ay prouvé cy devant et encore plusau long dans mon 1r memoire et Comme le prouvent Verazan, Champlain, Denis, et toutes les plus ancienes Cartes de l'amerique septentrionale. .. . "Or Le Commun Consentement de toute l'Europe est de depeindre la Nouvellefrance S'étendant au moins au 35e et 36e degrez de latitude Ainsy qu'ilappert par les mappemondes imprimées en Espagne, Italie, hollande, flandres, allemagne Et Angleterre même, Sinon depuis que les Anglois sesont Emparez des Costes de la Nouvelle france, ou est L'Acadie, EtechemainsL'almouchicois, et la grande riviere de St. L'aurens, ou ils ont imposé aleur fantaisie des Noms de nouvelle Angleterre, Ecosse, et autres, mais ilest mal aisé de pouvoir Effacer une chose qui est Connué De toute laChretienteé D'ou je Conclus, "1. Quavant L'Usurpation faite par les Anglois, toute Cette Coste jusqu'au35e Degre s'appelloit Nouvelle france, laquelle Comprenoit outre plusieursautres provinces, l'Etechemains, L'almouchicois, et L'acadie. .. . "Les Anglois Doivent remettre à La france le Port Royal, et La france doitinsister vigoureusement sur cette restitution, et ordonner aux françois dePort Royal, Des Mines, et de Beaubassin, et autres lieux De reconaitre saMajesté tres Chretiene pour leur Souverain, et leur deffendre d'obeir aaucun autre; de plus Commander a tous ces lieux et payis, et a toute lapartie Septentrionale de la Peninsule, ainsi qu'aux payis des Almouchicoiset des Etechemains [_Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts_], deReconaitre le gouverneur de l'isle Royale pour leur Gouverneur. "Il Est même apropos De Comprendre Dans le Brevet de gouverneur de L'isleRoyale tous ces payis jusqu'au Cap Cod. .. . "Que La france ne doit point souffrir que les Anglois s'etablissent Dansles payis qu'elle n'a pas Cedez. "Qu'elle Doit incessament s'en remettre en possession, y Envoyer quantiteD'habitans, et s'y fortifier de maniere qu'on puisse Arrêter les Angloisque depuis long tems tachent de s'emparer de l'amerique francoise dont ilsConaissent L'importance, et dont ils feroient un meilleur usage que celuyque les francois en font. .. . "Si les Anglois disent que les payis qui sont entre les rivieres dequinibequi [_Kennebec_] et de Ste. Croix font partie de la NouvelleAngleterre. JE LEURS REPONS "1. Qu'ils scavent bien le Contraire, que Ces payis ont toujours faitpartie de la Nouvelle france, que Les francois les ont toujours possedez ethabitez, que Mons'r De St. Castin gentilhomme francois a toujours eu, et aencore son habitation entre la Riviere de Quinibequi et celle de Pentagoet[_Penobscot_] (que même depuis les usurpations des anglois et leursetablissements, dans leur Prétenduë Nouvelle Angleterre) les francois onttoujours prétendu que la Nouvelle france s'etend qusqu'au Cap Cod et qu'ilen est fait mention dans toutes les patentes de gouverneurs francois. "2. Que De L'aveu même des Anglois, la Nouvelle Angleterre a une trespetite Etenduë du Costé de L'est, il est facile de le prouver par euxmêmes. "J'ay Lu une description de la Nouvelle Angleterre et des autres ColoniesAngloises, Composée par un Anglois, traduite en francois, imprimée à Parisen 1674 par Loüis Billaine, voicy les propres termes de Cet autheurAnglois, La Nouvelle Angleterre est au Septentrion de Marylande, au raportdu Capitaine Smith, elle a prez de 25 Lieuës de Coste de mer. "Ainsi selon les Anglois qui sont de Bonne foy, la Nouvelle Angleterre, quin'a que prez de 25 lieuës de Coste de mer, ne scauroit s'etendre jusqu'e áLa Riviere de Quinebequi. C'est tout au plus si elle s'etend jusqu'a deuxou trois lieuës à l'est De Baston. "Il Semble même que les Anglois ont basti Baston, et en ont fait une villeConsiderable à l'extremeté de leur pretenduë Nouvelle Angleterre. "1. Pour être a portée et en Etat de s'emparer sur les francois de tout cequi est à L'est de Baston. "2. Pour être en Etat d'Empecher les francois de s'etablir sur toute CetteCoste jusqu à La Karoline inclusivement, laquelle Coste etant de Notorietépublique de la Nouvelle france, à eté usurpez sur La france a qui elleappartenoit alors, et luy appartient Encore, ne L'ayant jamais cedeé. C'estce que je vais prouver. "Apres Avoir Invinciblement Convaincu les Anglois que tout ce qui est aL'est de quinibequi a Toujours appartenu et appartient encore à La france, excepté L'Acadie selon ses Ancienes limites, qu'elle a Cedée par force aL'Angleterre par La paix d'utrecht. "Il faut Que Presentement je prouve que toute La Coste depuis la Rivierequinibequi jusqu' à La Caroline inclusivement appartient par toutes sortesde droits à La france. Sur qui les Anglois L'ont usurpeé, voicy une partiede mes preuves. "Les françois ont decouvert tous ces payis Avant les Anglois, et en ontpris possession avant Eux. Les Roys de france ont nommé ces payis Carolineet Nouvelle france avant que les Anglois leurs eussent donné des Noms áleur mode pour faire oublier les Noms que les francois Leurs avoientimposez. Et que ces payis Appartenoient à La france. "Les Roys de france ont Donné des lettres patentes à leurs sujets pourposseder et habiter ces payis, avant que Jacques 1r et Charles 1r Roysd'Angleterre en eussent donne à Leurs sujets. "Pour Convaincre les Anglois de ces veritées il faut Lire avec attention cequ'en ont Ecrit Jean verazan, Champlain, Laet, Denis. "Les traitez faits Entre La france et L'Angleterre, et Le memoire que j'aypresenté L'anneé Dernier 1719. "On y Trouvera tant de Choses, lesquelles il seroit trop long de Copiericy, qui prouvent que ces payis ont toujours appartenu de droit a Lafrance, et que les Anglois s'en sont emparez par force, que La france neles a jamais Cedez à l'angleterre par aucun traité, que je scache. "Et Partant que La france Conserve toujours son droit sur tous ces payis, et qu'elle a droit de les redemander à l'Angleterre. Comme elle lesredemande présentement, ou Bien un Equivalent. "L'Equivalent que la france demande et dont elle veut bien se Contenter, C'est la restitution de tout ce qu'elle a Cedéé par force à L'Angleterrepar Le traité D'utrecht. "Il Est De l'honeur et de l'interest de l'angleterre d'accorder à la francecette Equivalent. "1. Parceque n'y ayant point D'honeur à profiter des Malheurs D'un Roy pourLuy faire Ceder par force les payis qui luy appartiennent, il est del'honeur de L'Angleterre de rendre a la france, ce qu'elle a eté Contraintede luy ceder, et qu'elle ne possede qu'a ce mauvais tiltre. "2. Il est aussi Contre la justice et l'honeur de l'angleterre de possedersans aucun Tiltre, et Contre toute justice les payis qui sont depuis laRiviere de quinibequi jusqu'à la Caroline inclusivement. "3. Il N'est pas moins de l'honeur et de l'interest de l'angleterre deprofiter du moyen que la france veut bien luy presenter, pour sassurer aperpetuite toute Cette Coste, et pour la posseder justem't par la Cessionque la france en fera, et de tous ses droits sur ces payis moyennantL'Equivalent proposé. "4. Parceque L'Angleterre doit Craindre que la france, dont elle ne Doitmepriser ni le Ressentiment ni la puissance, ne trouve une Conjoncturefavorable pour faire valoir ses pretensions et ses droits, et pour Rentreren possession de tout ce que L'Angleterre Luy a usurpée, et de tout cequ'elle l'a obligé par force de luy Ceder. "5. Quand on veut trop avoir, souvent on n'a Rien, et même on perd ce queL'on Avoit. Il est donc de la sagesse Et de l'interest de l'Angleterre dene pas pousser trop loin ses demandes, et de Convenir avec La france desorte qu'elle puisse posseder Avec justice et tranquillement des payis quela france Aura toujours droit de reprendre jusqu'a ce qu'elle en ait faitune Cession libre et volontaire, et qu'il paroisse que L'Angleterre Enfaveur de Cette Cession luy ait donné un Equivalent. "La france s'offre donc pour vivre en paix avec l'Angleterre de luy Cedertous ses droits sur toute la Coste qui est entre la riviere de quinibequidans la Nouvelle france jusqu'a la Riviere Jourdain, dans la Caroline, desorte que ces deux rivieres servent de limites aux francois et aux Anglois. "La france Demande pour Equivalent de la Cession de tant de payis, sigrands, si beaux, et si a sa biensceance que l'Angleterre luy rende Etrestituë tout ce qu'elle luy á cedé par le traité Dutrecht. "Si La france ne peut pas engager L'Angleterre à convenir de CetEquivalent, Elle pouroit (mais Ce ne doit être qu'a L'extremité) CederEncore à l'Angleterre la Caroline francoise, C'est a dire, ce qui est ausud de la Riviere Jourdain, Ou bien Ce qui est Entre la Riviere quinibequi, et Celle de Pentagoet. Ou bien leur offrir une somme D'argent. "Il Semble que L'Angleterre doive estimer Comme un grand Avantage pourElle, que La france veuille bien Convenir de Cet Equivalent, qui Assure AuxAnglois et leur rend legitime La possession de Cette grande etenduë deCostes qu'ils ont usurpez sur La france, qui ne les a jamais Cedez, qui neles Cedera jamais, et sur lesqu'elles elle Conservera toujours seslegitimes droit et pretensions, jusqu'a ce qu'elle les ait Cédeés aL'angleterre moyennant un Equivalent raisonnable tel qu'est la Restitutionde tout ce que La France luy a Cedé par force a Utrecht. LIMITES. "Suposeé L'acceptation de Cet Equivalent par L'une et l'autre Nation. "La france toujours genereuse Consentira pour vivre en paix avec lesAnglois, qu'une ligne tirée depuis l'embouchure de la Riviere dequinibequi, ou bien, depuis l'embouchure de la Riviere de Pentagoet, quiira tout droit passer á egale distance entre Corlard [_Schenectady_]et les lacs de Champlain et du Saint Sacrement, et joindre la ligne parlaqu'elle le sieur de L'isle geographe termine les terres Angloises, jusqu'a la Riviere Jourdain, ou bien jusqu'a La Caroline inclusivem't. Lafrance dis-je Consentira que cette ligne serve De borne et limites auxterres des deux Nations, de sorte que tous les payis et terres qui sontentre Cette ligne et la mer appartiendront à L'Angleterre, et que tout cequi sera au dela de cette ligne appartiendra a La france. "Dans Le fond il est avantageux a la france de faire incessament regler leslimites, tant pour Empecher les Anglois d'empieter toujours de plus en plussous pretexte de limites Non regleés, que parcequ'il est assuré que si ledroit de la france est bien soutenu le réglement lui sera Avantageux, aussibien que l'equivalent que j'ay proposé. "Mais il pouroit arriver que les Anglois qui ont demandé le Reglement deslimites, voyant qu'il ne doit pas leur etre favorable s'il est fait selonla justice, pourroient bien eux mêmes l'eloigner, afin de pouvoir toujoursempieter sur les francois sous pretexte de limites non regleés, et de semettre toujours en possession des payis Appartenans à la france. "En ce Cas et aussi au Cas que les Anglois ne veullent pas restituer a lafrance leur Nouvelle Angleterre et autres payis jusqu'a la Carolineinclusivement qu'ils luy ont usurpez, ou bien leur rendre L'Acadie &c pourl'equivalent Dont j'ay parlé. "1. Il faut que la france mette incessament quantité d'habitans dans lepayis qui est entre la riviere de quinibequi et Celle de Ste. Croix, lequelpayis qui selon les Anglois N'est point en Litige, ni partie de lapretenduë Nouvelle Ecosse, même, selon l'etendue imaginaire que luy ádonnée leur Roy Jacques 1er qui ne la fait Commancer qu'a La riviere Ste. Croix, et Celle de quinibequi N'ayant jamais eté Cedé ni par le traiteD'utrecht ni par Aucun autre que je scache, et ce payis Ayant toujoursappartenu a La france, et eté par elle possedez et habité, Mr. De St. Castin gentilhomme francois ayant son habitation entre la riviere dePentagoet et Celle de quinibequi comme je l'ay Deja dit. "2. On peut même faire entendre a L'Angleterre que Le Roy donnera Ce payisa la Compagnie des Indes qui scaura bien le deffendre et le faire valoir. "Que Le Roy donnera aussi a la Compagnie des Indes la Caroline francoise, Comme depandance et province de la loüisiane, a Condition qu'elle y metterades habitans, et y fera bâtir de bons forts, et une bonne Citadelle poursoutenir et deffendre ce beau payis Contre les Anglois. "Il Est Certain que si le Roy fait entendre serieusement qu'il est resolude donner à la Compagnie des Indes non seulement La Caroline francoise, etle payis qui est entre les Rivieres de quinibequi et de Ste. Croix, maisaussi de luy Ceder et abandonner tous ses droits sur tous les payis que lesAnglois ont usurpez sur la france. "Il Est Certain Dis je, que les Anglois, Crainte D'Avoir affaire avec uneCompagnie si puissante, se resoudront au Reglement des limites, tel que jel'ay proposé, et à rendre a la france toute la Nouvelle Ecosse ou Acadieselon ses Ancienes limites, Enfin tout ce que la france leur à Cedez aUtrecht, moyennant une somme D'Argent, ou bien L'equivalent que j'ay Aussiproposé. "Je finis Ce memoire en priant de faire une tres serieuse attention auxExorbitantes prétensions des Anglois et a tout ce qu'ils ont fait Et fontencore pour se rendre maitres de la pesche la Moluë, et de L'Ameriquefrancoise. "En Effet il est tres important que quand on traitera du reglement deslimites, La france attaque les Anglois au lieu d'etre sur La defensive, C'est a dire, qu'elle doit demander aux Anglois tout ce qu'ils ont usurpezsur Elle, et le demander vigoureusement. "C'est peut être le meilleur moyen de les mettre a la Raison, il est mêmeapropos qu'elle les presse de finir Cette affaire, Dont sans doute LaConclusion luy sera Avantageuse, si on luy rend justice. " II. DEMANDES DE LA FRANCE (1723). _Archives du Ministère des Affaires Etrangères. (Literatim. )_ "Pour tous les Raisons deduites cy devant La france demande a Langleterre. "1. Qu'Elle laisse jouir Tranquillement la france de Tous les pays qui sonta L'Est de la riviere Quinibequi ou de Celle de St. Georges excepté de laseulle ville de Port Royal avec sa banlieüe et de L'accadie selon sesanciennes Limites, C'Est a dire La partie Meridionale de la Peninsuledepuis le Cap fourchu jusqua Camseau Exclusivement, Que la france a cedéepar la traite d'Utrecht, Tout le reste qui est a L'Est de Quinibequi[_Kennebec_], appartenant a La France en tout souveraineté depuis L'an1524. Laquélle ne la jamais cedé ny par le Traitté d'Utrecht ny par aucunautre traitté. "2. Que les Anglois Laissent Vivre Tranquillement sous la domination du Royles nations Sauvages qui sont dans Les payis a L'Est de Quinibequi etqu'ils Ninquietent point les Missionnaires qui demeureront Chés les d. Nations Ny les françois qui Iront Chés Elles. "3. Que Les Anglois restituent a la france ce qu'ils ont occupé a L'Est deQuinibequi et qu'ils ne Trouvent pas mauvais que les françois prennentdetruisent ou gardent les forts Postes et habitations, que les Anglois ontEtablis, ou Etabliront dans tous les Pays a L'Est de Quinibiqui, ou de la