 CHAPTER VIII. THE LORANCE REGISTER The policy both of France and of England towards the Acadians was based upon political expediency rather than upon any definite or well-conceived plan for the development of the country. The inhabitants, born to serve rather than to command, had honestly striven, according to their light, to maintain respect for constituted authority. But the state of unrest into which they were so frequently thrown had deprived them of all sense of security in their homes and had created among them a spirit of suspicion. Unable to reason, disinclined to rebel, they had settled down into a morose intractability, while their confidence in the generosity or even in the justice of their rulers gradually disappeared. Those who could have restored them to a normal condition of healthy citizenship saw fit to keep them in disquietude, holding over their heads the tomahawk of the Indian. England and France were nominally at peace, but each nation was only waiting for a favourable moment to strike a decisive blow, not merely for Acadia or any part of it, but for the mastery of the North American continent. With this object ever in the background, France, through her agents, strove to make the Acadians a thorn in Great Britain's side, while England hesitated to allow them to pass over to the ranks of her enemies. At the same time she was anxious that they should, by some visible sign, acknowledge her sovereignty. But to become a British subject it was necessary to take the oath of allegiance. Most of the Acadians had refused to take this oath without reservations. Great Britain should then have allowed them to depart or should have deported them. She had done neither. On the contrary, she had tried to keep them, had made concessions to them to remain, and had closed her eyes to violations of the law until many of them had been, by various means, acknowledged as British subjects. A Murray or a Dorchester would have humoured the people and would probably have kept them in allegiance, but this was an impossible task for Lawrence. He was unaccustomed to compromise. He kept before him the letter of the law and believed that any deviation from it was fraught with danger. He entered upon his duties as administrator in the month of October 1753. Six weeks later he made a report on the condition of affairs in the province. This report contains one pregnant sentence. He is referring to the emigrant Acadians who had left their homes for French soil and were now wishing to come back, and he says, But your lordships may be assured they will never have my consent to return until they comply, take the oath, without any reservation whatever. Footnote. Lawrence to Lords of Trade December the 5th, 1753. End of footnote. This was the keynote of all Lawrence's subsequent action. Acadians must take the oath without reserve or leave the country. He does not appear to have given any consideration to the fact that for forty years the Lords of Trade had, for various motives, nursed the people, or that only two years before the council at Halifax had declared the Acadians to be still entitled to the privileges accorded to them by the Treaty of Eutrecht. To him the Acadians were as an enemy in the camp, and as such they were to be treated. The Lords of Trade partly acquiesced in Lawrence's reasoning, yet they warned him to be cautious. A year before they had announced that those who remained in the country were to be considered as holding good titles, but they now maintained that the inhabitants had, in fact, no right but upon condition of taking the oath of allegiance absolute and unqualified. Officials might be sent among them to inquire into their disputes, but the more we consider the point, the more nice and difficult it appears to us. For as on the one hand great caution ought to be used to avoid giving alarm and creating such a diffidence in their minds as might induce them to quit the province, and by their numbers add strength to the French settlements, so on the other hand we should be equally cautious of creating an improper and false confidence in them, that by a perseverance in refusing to take the oath of allegiance they may gradually work out, in their own way, a right to their lands and to the benefit and protection of the law, which they are not entitled to but on that condition. Footnote, Lords of Trade to Lawrence, March the 4th, 1754. End of footnote. After nine months tenure of office Lawrence had fully made up his mind as to his policy in dealing with the Acadians. On August 1st, 1754 he addressed a letter to the Lords of Trade to acquaint them with the measures which appeared to him to be the most practicable and effectual for putting a stop to the many inconveniences we have long laboured under from their obstinacy, treachery, partiality to their own countrymen, and their ingratitude for the favour, indulgence and protection they have at all times so undeservedly received from his Majesty's Government. Your Lordships well know that they always affected a neutrality, and as it has been generally imagined here that the mildness of an English Government would by degrees have fixed them in their own interest, no violent measures have ever been taken with them. But I must observe to your Lordships that this lenity has not had the least good effect. On the contrary, I believe they have at present laid aside all thoughts of taking the oaths voluntarily, and great numbers of them at present are gone to both isure to work for the French in order to dike out the water at the settlement. Footnote. Lawrence to Lords of Trade, August 1, 1754. End of footnote. Lawrence explained that he had offered the Acadians work at Halifax which they had refused to accept, and that he had then issued a proclamation calling upon them to return forthwith to their lands as they should answer the contrary at their peril. Moreover, they have not for a long time brought anything to our markets, but on the other hand have carried everything to the French and Indians whom they have always assisted with provisions, quarters, and intelligence. And indeed while they remain without taking the oaths to His Majesty, which they never will do till they are forced, and have incendiary French priests among them, there are no hopes of their amendment. As they possess the best and largest tracts of land in this province, it cannot be settled with any effect while they remain in this situation, and though I would be very far from attempting such a step without Your Lordship's approbation, yet I cannot help being of opinion that it would be much better if they refuse the oaths that they were away. The only ill consequences that can attend their going would be their taking arms and joining with the Indians to distress our settlements, as they are numerous and our troops are much divided, though indeed I believe that a very large part of the inhabitants would submit to any terms rather than take up arms on either side, but that is only my conjecture and not to be depended upon in so critical a circumstance. However, if Your Lordship's should be of opinion that we are not sufficiently established to take so important a step, we could prevent any inconvenience by building a fort or a few blockhouses on Chiba-Nakadi River. It would hinder in a great measure their communication with the French. In order to prevent the Acadians from trading with the French, Lawrence issued a proclamation forbidding the exportation of corn from the province, imposing a penalty of fifty pounds for each offence, half of such sum to be paid to the informer. The exact purpose of the proclamation was explained in a circular. First, it was to prevent the supplying of corn to the Indians and their abetters, who, residing on the north side of the Bay of Fundy, to commit hostilities upon His Majesty's subjects, which they cannot so conveniently do that supply being cut off. Secondly, it was for the better supply of the Halifax Market, which had been obliged to supply itself from other colonies. The inhabitants were not asked to sell their corn to any particular person or at any fixed price. All that was insisted upon was their supplying the Halifax Market before they should think of sending corn elsewhere. There was, of course, nothing objectionable in this proclamation. It was only a protective measure for the benefit of the whole colony, and did not bind the French inhabitants more or less than the rest of His Majesty's subjects in the province. Towards the Indians Lawrence adopted the same tone as towards the Acadians. The tribes at Cape Sable had, for some time, talked of peace, and an alliance with them was particularly to be encouraged. The French were becoming more of a menace, having strengthened their works at Bivert and Beaux-Ségeaux, between which places they lately have made a very fine road, and continue to seduce our French inhabitants to go over to them. The message, however, of which Lawrence sent to the Indians, was hardly calculated to produce the desired results. In short, if the Indians, the message ran, or he, Le Loutre, on their behalf, have anything to propose of this kind about which they are really in earnest, they very well know where and how to apply. Footnote, Nova Scotia documents page 210. End of footnote. The answer of the Indians was communicated by Le Loutre. They agreed to offer no insult to the English who kept to the highway, but they promised to treat as enemies all those who departed from it. If a durable peace was to be made, they demanded the session to them of an exclusive territory suitable for hunting and fishing, and for a mission. This territory was to extend from Bivert through Cobiquid, Truro, to the Choubenacadie, along the south coast to the peninsula of Canso, and back to Bivert, an area comprising half the province of Nova Scotia. Whether the Indians were serious in their application for this immense domain, we know not. Probably it was an answer to the haughty note of Lawrence. Considering the demand of the Indians' insolent, the council at Halifax vowed safe to no reply to it, but the commandant of Fort Lawrence at Shinyecto was instructed to inform the Indians that if they have any serious thoughts of making peace, they may repair to Halifax, where any reasonable proposal would be considered. A case instructive of the new temper of the administration was that of the Abbe Dodar of Pisikid. The Abbe had been suspected of stirring up trouble among the Indians, and Captain Murray of Fort Edward was requested to keep an eye on him. When the inhabitants refused to bring in wood for fuel and for the repair of the fort, as they had been ordered to do, and presented to Murray a statement signed by eighty-six of their people, declaring that their oath of fidelity did not require them to furnish the garrison with wood, Murray attributed their conduct to the influence of Dodar. Murray therefore received instructions to repeat his orders, and to summon Dodar and five others to appear at Halifax under pain of arrest. When questioned by Murray, Dodar took the ground that the people, who were free, should have been contracted with, and not treated as slaves. But he asserted that if Murray had consulted him instead of reporting to Lawrence, he could have brought the inhabitants to him in a submissive manner. When requested to repair to Halifax, Dodar pleaded illness, and his followers became insolent and questioned Murray's authority. Dodar and five others were immediately arrested and sent under escort to the capital. At a special meeting of the council held on the evening of October 2nd, 1754, Claude Brossard, Charles Leblanc, Baptiste Galen, and Joseph Hébert were required to explain their refusal to obey the orders of Murray, and the following examination took place. Question. Why did you not comply with that order to bring in firewood? Answer. Some of them had wood, and some had not, therefore they gave in the remonstrance to Captain Murray. Question. Why was that not represented in the remonstrance, which contained an absolute refusal without setting forth any cause? Answer. They did not understand the contents of it. Question. Was the proclamation ever published at the church and stuck up against the wall, and by whom? Answer. It was, and they believe by John Hébert. Question. Was it put up with the wrong side uppermost? Answer. They heard that it was. The inhabitants were never known to boast of a reckless facility in reading even under normal conditions, and no doubt the grotesque appearance of the letters in the inverted document prompted the answer that they did not understand the contents of it. Neither have we any evidence to prove that John Hébert contributed to their enlightenment by reading the document. The prisoners, however, were severely reprimanded by the council, and were ordered under pain of military execution to bring in the firewood. The Abbey Daudin, when brought before the council, was questioned as to his position in the province. He replied that he served only as a simple missionary to occupy himself in spiritual affairs not in temporal. The Abbey denied that he had made the statements attributed to him, and was allowed to prepare a paper which he termed his defence. The next day his defence was presented and read, but the council considered that it did not contain anything material towards his justification, and ordered his removal from the province. A few weeks later, however, the inhabitants addressed a communication to Lawrence, asking for the reinstatement of the Abbey. They expressed their submission to the government, promising to comply with the order regarding the supply of wood, and the council considering that the Acadians could not obtain another priest relented and permitted the Abbey to return to his duties. It is noteworthy, however, that Lawrence's regime was not so rigorous as to prevent some of the Acadians who had abandoned their lands and emigrated to French territory from returning to Nova Scotia. In October 1754, six families consisting of twenty-eight persons who had settled in Cape Breton returned to Halifax in a destitute condition. They declared that they had been terrified by the threats of La Loutre, and by the picture he had drawn of the fate that would befall them at the hands of the Indians if they remained under the domination of the English, that they had retired to Cape Breton, where they had remained ever since, but that the lands given them had been unproductive, and that they had been unable to support their families. They therefore wished to return to their former habitations. They cheerfully subscribed to the oath which was tendered them, and in consideration of their poverty twenty-four of them were allowed provisions during the winter, and the other four a week's provisions, to subsist them till they returned to their former habitations at Pisikid. The council considered that their return would have a good effect. Thus it came about that the pangs of hunger accomplished a result which threats and promises had failed to produce. While Lawrence was formulating his policy with regard to the Acadians, events were at the same time rapidly moving towards a renewal of war between France and Great Britain in North America. Indeed, though as yet there had been no formal declaration, the American phase of the momentous Seven Years War had already begun. France had been dreaming of a colonial empire stretching from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Mexico. She had asserted her ownership of the valleys of the Ohio and the Mississippi, and she had set before herself the object of confining the English colonies within limits as narrow as possible. In May 1754, Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts, had advised the home government that he had received intelligence from Halifax that some of the rebel inhabitants of Chinecto, together with the Indians of the Peninsula and St. John River, are through the influence of the French garrison at Beau-sageur, engaged in an enterprise to break up all the eastern settlements. And he pointed out that, if the advices are true, they will afford one instance of the many mischievous consequences to the colonists of New England, as well as to His Majesty's province of Nova Scotia, which must proceed from the French of Canada having possessed themselves of the isthmus of the peninsula at St. John's River in the Bay of Fundy, and continuing their encroachments within His Majesty's territories. Footnote, Nova Scotia documents page 382, Shirley to Sir T. Robinson, May the 23rd, 1754. End of footnote. To this communication the government had replied in July 1754 that it was the king's wish that Shirley should cooperate with Lawrence in attacking the French forts in Nova Scotia. The British, therefore, determined upon aggressive action. In December Shirley acknowledged having received certain proposals made by Lawrence for driving the French of Canada out of Nova Scotia according to the scheme laid down in your letters to me and instructions to Colonel Moncton. I viewed this plan most justly calculated by your honour for His Majesty's service, with great pleasure, and did not hesitate to send you the assistance you desired of me for carrying it into execution as soon as I had perused it. I came to a determination to cooperate with you in the most vigorous manner for effecting the important service within your own government, which your honour may depend upon my prosecuting to the utmost of my power. Footnote, Nova Scotia documents page 389. Shirley says it is now near eleven at night, and I have been writing hard since seven in the morning, and can scarce hold the pen in my hand. End of Footnote As soon as ever they had put the fortifications of Louisbourg into a tolerable condition to make themselves masters of the Bay of Fundy by taking our fort at Chignecto. Footnote, Lawrence to Lords of Trade January 12, 1755. End of Footnote In accordance with this, Colonel Moncton was instructed to prepare for an expedition against Bossejour and St John in the spring of 1755. He was given for the purpose a letter of unlimited credit on Boston, and every regiment in Nova Scotia was brought up to the strength of one thousand men. By May the expedition was ready. Moncton, with two thousand troops embarked at Annapolis Royal, and by June the first the expedition was at Chignecto. In the meantime Virgore, the French commandant at Bossejour, had not been passive. He had strengthened his defenses, had summoned the inhabitants of the surrounding districts to his help, had mounted cannon in a blockhouse defending the passage of the river, and had thrown up a strong breastwork of timber along the shore. On June the third the British landed. They had little difficulty in driving the French from their entrenchments. The inhabitants had no heart in the work of defense, and the French, unable to make a stand, threw their cannon into the river and burned the blockhouse and other buildings. They then retired to the fort, together with about two hundred and twenty of the Acadians. The rest of the Acadians threw away their arms and ammunition, asserting that they did not wish to be hanged. The British took up a position in the woods about a mile and a half from the fort, and on the thirteenth they succeeded in establishing a battery on a hill within easy range. The bombardment of the place, which began the next day, was at first ineffective, and for a time the British were driven back. But in the meantime news reached the French that no reinforcements could be expected from Louisbourg, and such disaffection arose among the Acadians that they were forbidden by a council of war to deliberate together or to desert the fort under pain of being shot. When the British renewed the attack, however, the Acadians requested Virgoire to capitulate, and he feebly acquiesced. The British offered very favourable terms. So far as the Acadians were concerned it was proposed that, since they had taken up arms under threat of death, they would be pardoned and allowed to return to their homes and enjoy the free exercise of their religion. The soldiers of the garrison were sent as prisoners to Halifax. After the fall of Bossejour, which Moncton renamed Fort Cumberland, the British met with little further resistance. For Gasperot, on Bivert, against which Moncton next proceeded, was evacuated by the commandant Villere, who found himself unable to obtain the assistance of the Acadians. And the few Acadians at the river St John, when Captain Rouse appeared before the settlement with three ships, made an immediate submission. Rouse destroyed the cannon, burned the fort, and retired with his troops up the river. The Indians of the St John, evidently impressed by the completeness of the British success and awed by their strong force, invited Rouse to come ashore and assured him of their friendliness. Having removed the menace of the French forts, Lawrence was now able to deal more freely with the question of the Acadians. The opportunity for action was not long in presenting itself. In June, the Acadians of Minas presented to Lawrence a petition couched in language not as tactful as it might have been. In this memorial they requested the restoration of some of their former privileges. They first assured the Lieutenant Governor of their fidelity, which they had maintained in face of threats on the part of the French, and of their determination to remain loyal when in the enjoyment of former liberties. They asked to be allowed the use of their canoes, a privilege of which they were deprived on the pretext that they had been carrying provisions to the French at Beaucejeuil. Some refugees might have done so, but they had not. They used these canoes for fishing to maintain their families. By an order of June the 4th they had been required to hand in their guns. Some of them had done so, but they needed them for protection against the wild beasts, which were more numerous since the Indians had left these parts. The possession of a gun did not induce them to rebel. Neither did the withdrawal of the weapon render them more faithful. Loyalty was a matter of conscience. If they decided to remain faithful they wished to know what were the Lieutenant Governor's intentions towards them. On receiving this memorial Lawrence ordered the deputies of the Acadians to remain in Halifax on the ground that the paper was impertinent. Upon this the deputies presented another memorial in which they disclaimed any intention of disrespect and wished to be allowed a hearing in order to explain. The council held a meeting and the Lieutenant Governor explained that Captain Murray had informed him that for some time before the delivery of the first of the said memorials the French inhabitants in general had behaved with greater submission and obedience to the orders of government than usual and had already delivered to him a considerable number of their firearms. But that at the delivery of the said memorial they treated him with great indecency and insolence which gave him strong suspicions that they had obtained some intelligence which we were then ignorant of and which the Lieutenant Governor conceived might most probably be a report that had been about that time spread amongst them of a French fleet being then in the Bay of Fundy. Footnote, minutes of council, July the 3rd, 1755. End of footnote. The deputies were then brought in and told that if they had not submitted the second memorial they would have been punished for their presumption. They were severely reprimanded for their audacity in subscribing and presenting so impertinent a paper but in compassion to their weakness and ignorance of the nature of our constitution the council professed itself still ready to treat them with leniency and ordered the memorial to be read paragraph by paragraph. When the question of the oath came up for discussion the deputies said they were ready to take it as they had done before. To this the council replied that his majesty had disapproved of the manner of their taking the oath before and that it was not consistent with his honor to make any conditions. The deputies were then allowed until the following morning to come to a resolution. On the next day they declared that they could not consent to take the oath in the form required without consulting others. They were then informed that as the taking of the oath was a personal act and as they had for themselves refused to take it as directed by law and had therefore sufficiently evinced the sincerity of their unfriendliness towards the government the council could look upon them no longer as subjects of his majesty but must treat them hereafter as subjects of the king of France. They were ordered to withdraw. The council then decided that with regard to the oath none of them should for the future be admitted to take it after having once refused to do so but that effectual measures ought to be taken to remove all such recusants out of the province. The deputies again being called in and informed of this resolution offered to take the oath but were informed that there was no reason to hope that their proposed compliance proceeds from an honest mind and can be esteemed only the effect of compulsion and force and is contrary to a clause in the 13th act of parliament passed in the first year of King George II whereby persons who have once refused to take oaths cannot be afterwards permitted to take them but are considered as popish recusants. Therefore they could not be indulged with such permission. Later they were ordered into confinement. On the 25th of July a memorial signed by over 200 of the inhabitants of Annapolis Royal was laid before the council. The memorialists said they had unanimously consented to deliver up their firearms although they had never had any desire to use them against his majesty's government. They declared that they had nothing to reproach themselves with for they had always been loyal and that several of them had risked their lives in order to give information regarding the enemy. They would abide by the old oath but they could not take a new one. The deputies who had brought this memorial from Annapolis on being called before the council and asked what they had to say regarding the new oath declared that they could not take any other oath than what they had formally taken. If it was the king's intention they added to force them out of the country they hoped that they should be allowed a convenient time for their departure. The council warned them of the consequences of their refusal and they were allowed until the following Monday to decide. Their final answer was polite but obdurate. Inasmuch as a report is in circulation among us, the French inhabitants of this province, that his excellency the governor demands of us an oath of obedience conformable in some manner to that of natural subjects of his majesty King George II and as in consequence we are morally certain that several of our inhabitants are detained and put to inconvenience at Halifax for that object if the above are his intentions with respect to us we all take the liberty of representing to his excellency and to all the inhabitants that we and our fathers having taken an oath of fidelity which has been approved of several times in the name of the king and under the privileges of which we have lived faithful and obedient and protected by his majesty the king of Great Britain according to the letters and proclamation of his excellency Governor Shirley dated the 16th of September 1746 and the 21st of October 1747 we will never prove so fickle as to take an oath which changes ever so little the traditions and the privileges obtained for us by our sovereign and our fathers in the past and as we are well aware that the king our master loves and protects only constant faithful and free subjects and as it is only by virtue of his kindness and of the fidelity which we have always preserved towards his majesty that he has granted to us and that he still continues to grant to us the entire possession of our property and the free and public exercise of the Roman Catholic religion we desire to continue to the utmost of our power to be faithful and dutiful in the same manner that we were allowed to be by his excellency Mr. Richard Phillips charity for our detained inhabitants and their innocence obliged us to beg your excellency to allow yourself to be touched by their miseries and to restore to them that liberty which we asked for them with all possible submission and the most profound respect the inhabitants of Pisikid presented a similar petition they hoped that they would be listened to and that the imprisoned deputies would be released another memorial was presented by the inhabitants of Minas they refused to take a new oath and there upon their deputies were ordered to be imprisoned there was now, the council considered, only one course left open for it to pursue nothing remained but to consider the means which should be taken to send the inhabitants out of the province and distribute them among the several colonies on the continent I am determined, Lawrence had written, to bring the inhabitants to a compliance or rid the province of such perfidious subjects footnote, Lawrence to Lords of Trade, July the 18th, 1755 end of footnote he was now about to fulfil his promise end of Chapter 8, The Lawrence Regime recording by Graham Redmon Chapter 9 of A Chronicle of the Land of Evangelene this is a LibriVox recording, all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Chronicle of the Land of Evangelene by Arthur Doty Chapter 9 The Expulsion the imprisonment of the deputies on George's Island at Halifax naturally agitated the minds of the simple Acadians and the ripening fields and in the villages might be seen groups discussing the fate of their companions but though they may have feared further punitive acts at the hands of the British they were totally unprepared for the approaching catastrophe and did not for a moment dream that they were to be cast out of their homes deprived of all they held dear in the land of their nativity and sent adrift as wanderers and exiles it is no part of this narrative to sit in judgment or to debate whether the forcible expatriation of the Acadians was a necessary measure or a justifiable act of war however this may be it is important to fix the responsibility for a deed that is meaningful in its execution and some momentous in its consequences the Council of Halifax had no power to enact laws its action was limited to the authority vested in the governor by his commission and his instructions and as Lawrence had as yet neither commissioned nor instructions he asked the Chief Justice Jonathan Belcher to prepare an opinion as he desired to be fortified with legal authority for the drastic act on which he had determined footnote he had not yet been appointed governor Hobson had wished to resign in the summer of 1754 but the Lords of Trade who held him in high esteem had refused to accept his resignation and Lawrence had been made merely Lieutenant Governor though with the full salary of a Governor end of footnote Belcher had arrived in Nova Scotia from New England nine months before he does not appear to have examined the official correspondence between the years 13 and 1755 or even the minutes of council at any rate he presented a document ill founded in fact and contemptible in argument the Acadians are not to be allowed to remain he said because it will be contrary to the letter and spirit of his Majesty's instructions to Governor Cornwallis and in my humble apprehension would incur the displeasure of the Crown and the Parliament footnote Public Archives Canada Nova Scotia A volume 58 page 380 opinion of Chief Justice Belcher end of footnote what the instructions to Cornwallis had to do with it is not clear there is no clause in that document contemplating the forcible removal of the people but even this is immaterial since the instructions to Cornwallis were not then enforced Hobson who had succeeded Cornwallis had been given new instructions and the council was governed by them since legally at any rate Hobson was still governor in 1755 and according to his instructions Hobson was to issue a declaration in his Majesty's name setting forth that though his Majesty is fully sensible that the many indulgences to the said inhabitants in allowing them the entirely free exercise of their religion and the quiet peaceable possession of their lands have not met with a dutiful return but on the contrary divers of the said inhabitants have openly abetted or privately assisted his Majesty's enemies yet his Majesty being desirous of showing marks of his royal grace to the said inhabitants in hopes thereby to induce them to become for the future true and loyal subjects is pleased to declare that the said inhabitants shall continue in the free exercise of their religion as far as the laws of Great Britain shall admit of the same provided that the said inhabitants do within three months from the date of such declaration take the oath of allegiance the next clause instructed the governor to report to the lords of trade on the effect of the declaration if the inhabitants or any part of them should refuse the oath he was to ascertain his Majesty's further directions in what manner to conduct yourself towards such of the French inhabitants as shall not have complied therewith footnote public archives Canada Nova Scotia e volume 2 instructions to governors and a footnote Hopson had tendered the oath to the Acadians the oath had been refused by them the refusal had been reported to the government and there the matter rested in another paragraph of the opinion the Chief Justice asserted that persons are declared recusants if they refuse on a summons to take the oath at the sessions and can never after such refusal be permitted to take them this no doubt was the law but the King had ignored the law and had commanded his representatives in Nova Scotia to tender the oath again to a people who upon several occasions had refused to take it it was not reasonable therefore to suppose as the Chief Justice did that the King would be displeased at the performance of an act which he had expressly commanded we have seen that in the spring of 1754 when Lawrence had intimated to the government that a number of the Acadians who had gone over to the enemy were now anxious to return to their lands which he would not permit until they had taken an oath without reserve he was advised not to create a diffidence in their minds which might induce them to quit the province that this was still the policy is evident from a letter to the same effect written to Lawrence by Sir Thomas Robinson of the British Ministry on August 13, 1755 two weeks after the ominous decision of the Halifax Council footnote Nova Scotia documents page 279 here is a sentence from the letter it cannot therefore be too much recommended to you to use the greatest caution and prudence in your conduct towards these neutrals and to assure such of them as may be trusted especially upon their taking the oaths to his Majesty and his government that they may remain in the quiet possession of their settlements under proper regulations end of footnote Lawrence however could not have received this last communication until the plans for the expulsion were well advanced on the other hand the decision of the council was not received in England until November 20 so that the king was not aware of it until the expulsion was already a reality the meaning of these facts is clear the thing was done by Lawrence and his council without the authority or knowledge of the home government footnote at the meeting of the Halifax Council which decreed the removal of the Acadians the following members were present the Lieutenant Governor, Benjamin Green, John Collier, William Cotterall, John Ruse, and Jonathan Belcher Vice Admiral Boss Kaywin and Rear Admiral Moston were also present at the earnest request of the council minutes of council July 28, 1755 end of footnote the proceedings in connection with the expulsion were carried on simultaneously in different parts of the province and the circumstances varied according to the temper or situation of the people it will be convenient to deal with each group or district separately on July 31, 1755 Lawrence ordered Colonel Monkton who lay with his troops at the newly captured Fort Cumberland to gather in the inhabitants of the Isthmath of Shignecto and of Chepiti on the north shore of the bay the district of Minas was committed to the care of Colonel Winslow Captain Murray in command at Fort Edward was to secure the inhabitants at Pisaquid and major hand field at Annapolis Royal the people in his district it is regrettable that we do not find in the instructions to these officers any discrimination made between the Acadians who had persistently refused to take the oath and those who had been recognized by the governor and council as British subjects Monkton was advised to observe secrecy and to endeavor to fall upon some strategic to get the men both young and old especially the heads of families into his power and to detain them until the transport should arrive he was also to inform the inhabitants that all their cattle and corn were now the property of the crown and no person should be allowed to carry off the least thing but their ready money and household furniture footnote Nova Scotia documents page 267 end of footnote on August 8 Monkton was advised that the transports would be available soon and that in the interval he would do well to destroy all the villages in the vicinity of Beaussageur or Cumberland and to use every other method to distress as much as can be those who may attempt to conceal themselves in the woods Monkton promptly conceived a plan to entrap the people he issued a summons calling upon the adult males to appear at Fort Cumberland on the 11th about 400 responded to the call the proceedings were summary Monkton merely told them that by the decision of the council they were declared rebels on account of their past misdeeds that their lands and chattels were forfeited to the crown and that in the meantime they would be treated as prisoners footnote collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society volume 4 Journal of Colonel John Winslow part 1 page 227 end of footnote the gates of the fort were then closed less successful was Captain Cobb who had been sent to Chepiti to capture the Cadians there before his arrival the people had fled to the woods three other parties detached from Fort Cumberland to scour the country in search of stragglers reported various successes Major Preble returned the next day with three Cadians and Captain Perry brought in eleven Captain Lewis who had gone to Cobbacquid had captured two vessels bound for Lewisburg with cattle and sheep and had taken several prisoners and destroyed a number of villages on the route the more energetic of the Cadians still at large were not easily caught the pangs of hunger however might tempt many to leave the security of their hiding places and Monkton determined to gather in as many more as possible on August 28 Captain Fry sailed from Fort Cumberland for Chepiti Memorm Cook and Patekodiak on the North Shore with orders to take prisoners and burn the villages on the way Footnote Major Fry with a party of two hundred men embarked on board Captain Cobb Newell and Adams to go to Chepiti and take what French they could and burn their villages there and at Patekodiak Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society Volume 1 Page 131 Diary of John Thomas End of Footnote Captain Gilbert was sent to Bayverte on a similar mission finding the village deserted on his arrival at Chepiti Fry set fire to the buildings and sailed toward Patekodiak on the way the appearance of a house or barn seems to have been the signal for the vessels to cast anchor while a party of soldiers torch in hand laid waste to the homes of the peasantry on September 4 however the expedition suffered a serious check a landing party of about sixty were applying the torch to a village on the shore when they were set upon by a hundred Indians and Acadians and a general engagement ensued the British though reinforced by men from the ships were severely handled and in the end Fry regained the boats with a loss of twenty-three killed and missing and eleven wounded this attack was the work of Boycheverre the Canadian leader whom we met some time ago at St. John on the capture of that place by Rousse in the summer Boycheverre had taken to the woods with his followers and was assisting the settlers of Chepiti to gather in the harvest when Fry's raiders appeared Fry did not attempt to pursue his assailants but retired at once to Fort Cumberland with twenty-three captured women and children he had however destroyed over two hundred buildings and a large quantity of wheat and flax meanwhile Gilbert had laid waste the village at Bayverte and the neighbouring farms footnote a party likewise from ye Bayverte under ye command of Captain Gilbert who had been and consumed that village and the houses adjacent diary of John Thomas and a footnote by August thirty-one the transports had arrived at Beau-Sajure and early in the month of September the embarkation began the work however it was tedious and in the interval the English met with another misfortune on October one eighty-six Acadian prisoners dug a hole under the wall of Fort Lawrence and eluding the vigilance of the guards made good their escape in the night footnote stormy dark night eighty-six French prisoners dug under ye wall at Fort Lawrence and got clear undiscovered by ye sentry diary of John Thomas end of footnote but on October thirteen a fleet of ten sail carrying nine hundred and sixty Acadian exiles left Sinecto Bay bound for South Carolina and Georgia after the departure of the vessels the soldiers destroyed every barn and house in the vicinity and drove several herds of cattle into Fort Cumberland footnote we burnt thirty houses brought away one woman two hundred head of neat cattle twenty horses we mustered about sunrise mustered the cattle together drove them over ye river near Westcock sought near fifty houses on fire and returned to Fort Cumberland with our cattle et cetera about six o'clock p.m. Diary of John Thomas pages one thirty-six one thirty-seven end of footnote Lawrence was now rid of nearly a thousand Acadians it was less than he expected to be sure and yet no doubt it was a great relief to him about this time he should have received Sir Thomas Robinson's letter of August thirteen conveying to him the king's wishes in effect that the Acadians were not to be molested footnote the date of the receipt of this letter is uncertain but it is evident that he received it before the thirtieth of November as on that day he replied to a letter of the thirteenth of August end of footnote this letter received in time would no doubt have stopped the whole undertaking but now that some of the people had already been deported there was nothing to be done but to go on with the business to the bitter end at Annapolis Royal more than a hundred miles south of Monkton's camp matters proceeded more slowly Handfield the common daunt there had decided to wait for the arrival of the promised transports before attempting to round up the inhabitants then when his soldiers went forward on their mission up the river no sound of human voice met their ears in any of the settlements the inhabitants had hidden in the woods Handfield appealed to Winslow who was then at grand prey for more troops to bring the people to reason footnote Winslow's journal part two page ninety six end of footnote but Winslow had no troops to spare Handfield does not appear to have relished his task which he described as a disagreeable and troublesome part of the service what induced the inhabitants to return to their homes is not clear but early in the month of September they resumed their occupations they remained unmolested until early November when a fresh detachment of troops arrived to assist in their removal on December 4 over sixteen hundred men women and children were crowded into the transports which lay off goat island and which four days later set sail at eight o'clock in the morning meanwhile Captain Murray of Fort Edward was doing his duty in the Pisaquid neighborhood on September 5 he wrote to Winslow at grand prey only a few miles distant and succeeded finally and have got 183 men into my possession footnote Winslow's journal part two page ninety six end of footnote but there was still much to be done three days later he wrote again I'm afraid there will be some lives lost before they are all got together for you know our soldiers hate them and if they can find a pretense to kill them they will of the means Murray employed to accomplish his task we are not told but he must have been exceedingly active up to October 14 for in that date nine hundred persons had been gathered into his net his real troubles now began he was short of provisions and without transports at last two arrived one of ninety tons and the other of one hundred and fifty these however would not accommodate half the people another sloop was promised but it was slow and coming he became alarmed good God what can keep her? he wrote I earnestly entreat you to send her with all dispatch then with the three sloops and more vessels I will put them aboard let the consequence be what it will footnote Ibed page 173 end of footnote he was as good as his word on October 23 Winslow wrote Captain Murray has come from Pisaquod with upwards of one thousand people in four vessels footnote Ibed page 178 end of footnote Colonel Winslow arrived at August 19 at Grand Prey in the District of Minus after requesting the inhabitants to remove all sacred objects from the church which he intended to use as a place of arms he took up his quarters in the Presbyty a camp was then formed around the church and enclosed by a picket fence his first action was to summon the principal inhabitants to inform them that they would be required to furnish provisions for the troops during their occupancy and to take effective measures to protect the crops which had not yet been garnered there was danger that if the object of his visit were to become known the grain might be destroyed he was careful therefore to see that the harvest was gathered in before making any unfavorable announcement on August 29 Winslow held a consultation with Murray as to the most expeditious means of affecting the removal of the people the next day three sloops from Boston came to anchor in the basin there was of course immediate and intense excitement among the inhabitants yet in spite of all inquiries regarding their presence no information could be elicited from either the crews or the soldiers on September 2 however Winslow issued a proclamation informing the people that the Lieutenant Governor had a communication to impart to them respecting a new resolution and that his Majesty's intentions in respect to their two would be made known they were therefore to appear in the church at Grand Prairie on Friday September 5 at three o'clock in the afternoon no excuse would be accepted for non-attendance and should any fail to attend their lands and chattels would be forfeited to the crown Winslow's position was by no means strong he had taken all the precautions possible but he was short of provisions and there was no sign of the expected supply ship of the Saul besides the Acadian's far outnumbered his soldiers and should they prove rebellious trouble might ensue things are now very heavy on my heart and hands he wrote a few days later I wish we had more men but as it is shall I question not to be able to scuffle through footnote Winslow's journal part 2 page 97 end of footnote the eventful 5th of September arrived and at three o'clock 418 of the inhabitants walked slowly into the church which had been familiar to them from their youth and closely connected with the most solemn as well as with the most joyous events of their lives here their children had been baptized and here many of them had been united in the bonds of matrimony here the remains of those they loved had been carried ere they were consigned to their final resting place and here too after divine service they had congregated to glean intelligence of what was going on in the world beyond their ken now however the scene was changed guards were at the door and in the center of the church a table had been placed around which soldiers were drawn up presently Colonel Winslow entered attended by his officers deep silence fell upon the people as he began to speak the substance of his speech has been preserved in his journal as follows gentlemen I've received from his excellency Governor Lawrence the King's commission which I have in my hand by his orders you are convened to hear his Majesty's final resolution in respect to the French inhabitants of this his province of Nova Scotia who for almost half a century have had more indulgence granted them than any of his subjects in any part of his dominions what use you have made of it you yourselves best know the duty I am now upon though necessary is very disagreeable to my natural make and temper as I know it must be grievous to you who are of the same species but it is not my business to animadvert but to obey such orders as I receive and therefore without hesitation I shall deliver you his Majesty's orders and instructions namely that your lands and tenements cattle of all kinds and livestock of all sorts are forfeited to the crown with all your other effects saving your money and household goods and that you yourselves are to be removed from this his province thus it is preemptorily his Majesty's orders that all the French inhabitants of these districts be removed and through his Majesty's goodness I am directed to allow you liberty to carry with you your money and as many of your household goods as you can take without discounting the vessels you go in I shall do everything in my power that all these goods be secured to you and that you be not molested in carrying them with you and also that whole family shall go in the same vessel so that this removal which I am sensible must give you a great deal of trouble may be made as easy as his Majesty's service will admit and I hope that in whatever part of the world your lot may fall you may be faithful subjects and a peaceable and happy people I must also inform you that it is his Majesty's pleasure that you remain in security under the inspection and direction of the troops that I have the honour to command Footnote, Winslow's Journal, Part 2, Page 94 It is not thought necessary here to follow the gotresque spelling of the original it will be noted that the doom of the people is pronounced in the name of the king but as already stated the king or the home government knew nothing of it and instructions of a quite contrary tenor were even then on their way to Lawrence end of footnote this address having been delivered and interpreted to the people Winslow issued orders to the troops and seamen not to kill any of the cattle or rob the orchards as the lands and possessions of the inhabitants were now the property of the king he then withdrew to his quarters in the Presbyty leaving the soldiers on guard the first thoughts of the stricken prisoners were of their families with whom they had no means of communication and who would not understand the cause of their detention after some conversation together a few of the elders asked leave to speak to the commander this being granted they requested to be allowed to carry the melancholy news to the homes of the prisoners Winslow at length ordered them to choose each day twenty men for whom the others would be held responsible to communicate with their families and to bring in food for all the prisoners only five transports lay in the basin of minus no provisions were in sight it was impossible as yet to put all the prisoners on board more had been captured and they now outnumbered Winslow's troops nearly two to one presently news came of the disaster to Fry's party at Chepity Winslow having observed suspicious movements among the prisoners began to fear for the safety of his own position he held a consultation with his officers it was decided to divide the prisoners and put fifty of the younger men on each of the transports footnote Winslow's journal part two page one oh eight September 10 called my officers together and communicated to them what I had observed and after debating matters it was determined Néminé contra dissente that it would be best to divide the prisoners end of footnote the parish priest Father Landry who had a good knowledge of English and was the principal spokesman of the Acadians was told to inform the inhabitants that one hour would be given them to prepare for going on board Winslow then brought up the whole of his troops and stationed them between the door of the church and the gate the Acadians were drawn up the young men were told off and ordered to march they refused to obey unless their fathers might accompany them footnote Ibid page 109 they all answered that they would not go without their fathers I told them that was a word I did not understand for that the king's command was to me absolute and should be absolutely obeyed and that I did not love to use harsh means but that the time did not admit of parlays and delays and then ordered the whole troops to fix their bayonets and advance towards the French Ibid the four right hand files of the prisoners consisting of 24 men which I told off myself to divide from the rest one of whom I took hold on end of footnote Winslow informed them that orders were orders that this was not the time for parlay and commanded the troops to fix bayonets and advance this appears to have had the effect desired for with the assistance of the commander who pushed one of them along 24 men started off and the rest followed the road from the church to the ships nearly a mile and a half in length was lined by hundreds of women and children who fell on their knees weeping and praying 80 soldiers conducted the procession which moved but slowly some of the men sang some wept and others prayed footnote Winslow's journal part 2 page 109 they went off praying singing and crying being met by the women and children all the way which is a mile and a half with great lamentations end of footnote at last the young men were put aboard and left under guard while the escort returned to bring another contingent of the prisoners had been disposed of the vessels had not been provisioned but the women and children brought daily to the shore food which the soldiers conveyed to the prisoners after this it appears that the soldiers committed some depredations in the neighborhood and Winslow issued an order forbidding anyone to leave the camp after the roll call footnote Winslow's journal part 2 page 113 September 13 no party or person will be permitted to leave the shore however as many bad things have been done lately in the night to the distressing of the distressed French inhabitants in this neighborhood end of footnote in the meantime parties were sent to remote parts of the rivers in search of stragglers but only 30 very old and infirm were found and it was decided to leave them ashore until the ships should be ready to depart it still remained however to bring in the inhabitants of the parish of Cobacquid without a prisoner the inhabitants of Cobacquid had fled but Lewis reported that he had laid their habitation in ruins neither the needed transports nor the provisions had arrived Winslow chafed and groaned he longed to be rid of the painful and miserable business at last on the evening of September 28 came the belated supply ship but where were the transports Winslow resolved to fill up the five vessels which lay in the basin and ordered that the women families and those of the same village were to be kept together as far as possible meanwhile 24 of the young men imprisoned on the ships made good their escape and one Francois Abert was charged as an abetter Winslow ordered Abert to be brought ashore and to impress upon the Acadians the gravity of his offence his house and barn were set on fire in his presence at the same time the inhabitants were warned that unless the young men all their household furniture would be confiscated and their habitation destroyed if captured no quarter would be given them the result that the 22 of the young men returned to the transports the other two were overtaken by the soldiers and shot footnote Winslow's journal part 2 page 173 finally a number of transports arrived and on October 8 amid scenes of wild confusion the embarkation began in earnest from the villages far and near came the families of those who were detained in the church and on the vessels some came aiding the infirm or carrying the sick while others were delayed with bundles of their personal effects most were on foot although a few rode in the vehicles bringing their household goods old and young wended their way to the vessels weary and foot sore and sad at heart in all 80 families were taken to the boats the next day the men were in order that they might join their families and accompany the people of their own villages four days later, October 13 several of the ships received sailing orders some for Maryland, others for Pennsylvania and others for Virginia by the 1st of November Winslow had sent off over 1500 exiles but his anxieties were by no means at an end there was still a large number of people to be deported Winslow had been taxed to their utmost Winslow had still over 600 persons on his hands footnote Winslow's journal, Part 2, page 183 end of footnote and he was obliged in the meantime to quarter them in houses at Grand Prairie there remained also the task of destroying the villages to prevent their occupation by stragglers in accordance with Lawrence's orders finally on December 13 transports were provided for the unhappy remnant of the prisoners left port the cruel task was done in all over 6000 persons had been forcibly deported while the rest of the population had been driven to the wilderness and their homes laid waste some wandered to the Île Saint-Jean and others to Nebrunswick and Canada the land of the Acadians was a solitude and so sorrowframed the story of the expulsion draws to its close hardly had the deplorable work ended the treaty which formerly inaugurated her seven years war with France for Lawrence perhaps this was a fortunate circumstance the day of mutual concessions had passed and an act which a few months before might have been denounced as unwarrantable might now, in the heat of a mighty contest be regarded as a patriotic service nor is this the only instance of the kind in history often indeed has war served not only to cover the grossest in humanities it has even furnished an excuse for substantial reward End of Chapter 9 Chapter 10 of A Chronicle of the Land of Evangelion This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org A Chronicle of the Land of Evangelion by Arthur Doty Chapter 10 Thus the Acadians passed from the land of their birth and from the scenes of their youth Some were to wander as exiles in many lands for many years separated from their children and from their kind while others, more fortunate were soon to regain their native soil Lawrence, in his instructions to the governors of the colonies to which he had sent the exiles said that they were to be received and disposed of in such a manner as they were designed of preventing their reunion as a people It was not intended to tear apart families and friends but owing to the scarcity of vessels and the inadequate arrangements for the deportation there were many cruel separations The deputies, confined since July on Georgia's island, for example were at the last moment transferred to Annapolis in order that they might accompany their families but this was not affected and the children were dispersed in other colonies Footnote, Nova Scotia documents page 280 Kalneck and Savry history of the county of Annapolis page 124 One of the leading Acadians and one who had loyally served the British René Leblanc notary of Grand Pré was landed with his wife and his two youngest children in New York were transported to Philadelphia printed in Richard volume 2 page 371 The real separation of families however began in the colonies for example 400 persons were transported to Connecticut but before the whole number arrived an order went forth for the dispersion in 50 towns 19 were lauded to Norwich while 3 only were sent to Haddon in some colonies only the first boats were allowed to embark the exiles and the masters of the others were forced to seek other ports the treatment of the exiles in the colonies varied according to circumstances in some instances the younger men and women were bound out to service for periods varying from 3 to 12 weeks in others they were left free to maintain themselves by their own efforts the state to provide a role escaped and wandered footsore and half clad from town to town in the hope of meeting their relatives or a finding means to return to their former homes little record has been preserved of the journeyings of these unfortunates or of the sufferings they endured about a third of the people deported from Nova Scotian 1755 found their way to South Carolina although that does not appear to have been the destination in 1855 the South Carolina Gazette announced that the Baltimore snow is expected from the Bay of Fundy with some French neutrals on board to be distributed in the British colonies a fortnight later the first of these arrived and in the course of a few weeks over a thousand had been landed at Charleston soon after probably passed on by other colonies a thousand more arrived alarmed by the presence in February 1756 two parties of the prisoners broke loose thirty of them out distanced their pursuers five or six according to the Gazette made their way to the plantation of a Mr. Williams on the San T terrified the family secured a quantity of clothing and firearms broke open a box containing money and headed across the Alleghenies it was thought for the French stronghold Fort Duquesna where Pittsburgh now stands probable since nine Acadians from Fort Duquesna arrived at the river St. John some time later in the interval the South Carolina legislature passed an act for the dispersion of four fifths of the French neutrals in various parishes at the public expense the remaining fifth to be supported at Charleston by the vestry of St. Phillips on April 16 passports were given to 130 persons to proceed to Virginia and they reached the river St. John on June 16th 1756 some time later the governor of South Carolina gave the remainder of the people permission to go where they pleased two old ships and a quantity of inferior provisions were placed at their disposal and they sailed for Hampton, Virginia in Duquesna 900 of them landed in the district of the river St. John where they were employed by Van Dri the governor of New France by the year 1763 only 283 Acadians remained in South Carolina one family of the name of Lino became protestants and gave two ministers to the Presbyterian church the Reverend John Lino who afterwards went as a missionary to Jerusalem and the Reverend Basil Lino who became Hebrew tutor in the theological seminary at Columbia among the refugees who put out 1555 were some 450 destined for Philadelphia the vessels touched Delaware on November 20th when it was discovered that there were several cases of smallpox on board and the masters were ordered to leave the shore they were not permitted to land at Philadelphia until the 10th of December many of the exiles died during the winter and were buried in the cemetery of the poor which now forms a part of Washington Park, Philadelphia and the others were lodged in a poor quarter of the town in neutral huts as their mean dwellings were termed when the plague-stricken people arrived Philadelphia had scarcely recovered from the panic of a recent earthquake moreover there was a letter said to have been written by Lawrence dated at Halifax August 6th and published in the Philadelphia Gazette on September 4th not calculated to place the destitute refugees in a favorable light this is the substance of the letter saying the noble project of driving the French neutrals out of this province they have long been our secret enemies and have assisted the Indians if we are able to accomplish their expulsion it will be one of the great achievements of the English and America for among other considerations the lands which they occupy are among the best in the country and we can place good English farmers in their stead a few days later another letter was published to the effect that three Acadians had been in the vicinity of Halifax their trial it was stated had not yet taken place but if guilty they would have but a few hours to live Robert Hunter Morris the governor at this time of Pennsylvania wrote to Shirley of Massachusetts saying that as he had not sufficient troops to enforce order he feared that the Acadians would unite with the Irish and German Catholics in a conspiracy against the state he also addressed the governor of New Jersey and later of Massachusetts he was the father of the chief justice of Nova Scotia to the same effect the governor of New Jersey in his reply expressed surprise that those who plan to send the French neutrals or rather rebels and traitors to the British crown had not realized that there were already too many strangers for the peace and security of the colonies in an attempt to ruin and destroy the king's colonies the Acadians had arrived in Philadelphia in a most deplorable condition one of the Quakers who visited the boats while they were in quarantine reported that they were without shirts and socks and were sadly in need of bed clothing a petition to the governor giving an account of their conduct in Acadia and of the treatment they had received fell on deaf ears an act was passed for the dispersion in the counties the refugees however were not without friends to several Quakers they were indebted for many acts of kindness and generosity among those deported to Philadelphia was one of the LeBlanc family a boy of 17 Charles LeBlanc early in life he engaged in commerce and in the course of a long and successful career in Philadelphia amassed an enormous fortune including large estates in the colonies and in Canada in 1816 there were many claimants to his estate and the litigation over it is not yet ended the Acadians taken to New York were evidently as poor as their fellow refugees at Philadelphia an act of July 6th 1756 recites that a certain number have been received into this colony poor, naked and destitute of every convenience and support of life and to the end that they may not continue as they now really are useless to his majesty and a burden to this colony be it enacted that the justices of the peace be required and empowered to bind with respectable families such as are not arrived at the age of 21 years for such a space of time as they may think proper the justices were to make the most favorable contracts for them and when their term of service expired they were to be paid either in implements of trade, clothing or other gratuity in the month of August 1756 110 sturdy Acadian boys and girls made their appearance in New York they had traveled all the way from Georgia in the hope of finding means to return to Acadia great was their disappointment when they were seized by the authorities and placed out to service later some of the parents straggled in but they were dispersed immediately in Orange and West Chester counties and some on Long Island in charge of a constable the New York Mercury of July 1757 reported that a number of the neutrals had been captured near Fort Edward while on their way to Crown Point between the arrival of the first detachment in New York in the month of August 1757 the colony was compelled to provide for large numbers who came in from distant places to prevent any further escape the sheriffs were commanded to secure all the Acadians except women and children in the county jail unfortunately were put to a strange use Sir Harry Moore Governor of the colony of New York 1765 to 69 had designs upon the French colony at Santo Domingo in the West Indies and desired plans of the town and its fortifications so he entered into correspondence with the French Admiral Count de Stun offering to transport the other 70 Acadian families in order that they might live the Count accepted the offer and issued a proclamation to the Acadians inviting them to Santo Domingo Moore had arranged that John Hansen should conduct the exiles to their new home Hansen on arriving at the French colony was to take a contract to build houses and make out the desired military plans while so engaged he succeeded in transporting the Acadians but failed in the real object of his mission he was not allowed the liberty the Acadians who went to the West Indies suffered greatly the tropical climate proved disastrous to men and women who had been reared in the atmosphere of the Bay of Fundy they crawled under trees and shrubs to escape the fierce rays of the sun numbers of them perished and life became a burden to the others far different was the lot of the Acadians who were sent to Maryland footnote the Maryland Gazette andapolis December 4th 1755 said Sunday last November 30th the last of the vessels from Nova Scotia with French neutrals for this place which makes four within this fortnight bringing upwards of 900 of them as the poor people have been deprived of their settlements in Nova Scotia and sent here for some political reason bear and destitute Christian charity nay common humanity calls on everyone according to his ability to lend assistance and to help these objects of compassion and footnote there they were kindly received no doubt a happier lot than in any of the other colonies those landed at Baltimore were at first lodge in private houses and in a building belonging to a Mr. Fatherall where they had a little chapel and it was not long before the frugal and industrious exiles were able to construct small but comfortable houses of their own on South Charles Street giving to that quarter of the city the name of French town many of them found employment on the water side and in navigation Massachusetts at one time counted in the colony a thousand and forty of the exiles but all these had not come direct on the ships from Nova Scotia many of them had wandered in from other colonies the people of Massachusetts loved not Catholics and Frenchmen nevertheless in some instances they received the refugees with a special kindness at Worcester a small tract of land was set aside for the Acadians to hunt deer at all seasons the able-bodied men and women toiled in the fields as reapers and added to their income in the evening by making wooden implements the Acadians were truly primitive in their methods although, says a writer of the time they tilled the soil they kept no animals for labor the young men drew their material for fencing with thongs of sinew and they turned the earth with a spade the slightest allusion to their native land drew forth tears in the heart as French neutrals began to come into Boston from other towns the selectmen of that city protested vigorously and passed the people on to outlying parishes promising, however, to be responsible for their maintenance should they become a public charge several instances are recorded of children being sent to join their parents a certain number were confined in the work house and in the provincial hospital but on December 6th, 1760 the hospital to be cleared to make room for the colonial troops who were returning home many of them suffering from contagious diseases and the Acadians were forthwith turned out although none of the Acadians appear to have been sent direct to Louisiana large numbers of them found their way thither from various places especially from Virginia where they were not allowed to remain finding in Louisiana men speaking their own tongue they felt a sense of security and contentment there are today in various parishes of the state of Louisiana many thousand Acadian-Americans of the Acadians who succeeded in escaping deportation and went into voluntary exile many sought shelter in New Brunswick on the rivers Petykodiak Memeramcook Bakthush Richebakto and Miramichi and along Charleur Bay on the Miramichi at Pierre-Baubert's Signori where the village of Nelson now stands for several years these refugees in New Brunswick bravely struggled against hardship, disease and starvation but in the late autumn of 1759 the several settlements sent deputies to Colonel Fry at Fort Cumberland asking on what terms they would be received back to Nova Scotia Fry took a number of them into the fort for the winter and presented their case to Lawrence and decided to accept their submission and supply them with provisions but when the people returned they were held as vassals and many of them afterwards were either sent out of the province to France or England or left it voluntarily for Saint Pierre and Michelin or the West Indies other fugitives of 1755 1500 according to one authority footnote Placide Godet Acadian genealogy and notes Canadian archives report 1905 appendix A page 15 succeeded in reaching Quebec here their lot was a hard one Bigo and his myridones plundered everybody and the starving Acadians did not escape they had managed to bring with them a little money in a few household treasures of which they were soon robbed for a time they were each allowed but four ounces of bread a day and were reduced it is said to searching the gutters for food to add to their miseries and many perished from the disease after Quebec surrendered and the victorious British army entered the gates some 200 of them under the leadership of a priest who apparently had a passport from General Murray marched through the wilderness to the headwaters of the Saint John and went down to Fort Frederick at the mouth of that river Colonel Arbuthnod the British commandant there treated them generously treated to Halifax where they were held as prisoners of war but were provided with rations and given good wages for road making footnote Macamecan in Canada and its provinces volume 8 page 115 of those who escaped this deportation some established themselves on the Kennebacassus river and some went up the Saint John to Saint Anne's now Frederickton but even here the Acadians 20 years later when the war of the revolution ended and land was needed for the king's disbanded soldiers the lands of the Acadians were seized once more the unfortunate people sought new homes and found them at last along the banks of Chalur Bay and of the Marawaska where thousands of their descendants now rudely cultivate the fields and live happy contented lives the deportation did not bring peace to Nova Scotia where the people of the peninsula and Cape Breton joined with the Indians in guerrilla warfare against the British and there was more killing of settlers and more destruction of property from Indian raids than ever before early in the month of January 1756 British Rangers rounded up over 200 Acadian prisoners at Annapolis and put them on board a vessel bound for South Carolina the prisoners however French privateers manned by Acadians haunted the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of St. Lawrence and carried off as prizes 12 British vessels but in 1761 the British raided a settlement of the Marauders on Chalur Bay and took 350 prisoners to Halifax we have seen in a preceding chapter that from time to time numbers of Acadians voluntarily left their homes in Nova Scotia and went over to French soil St. Jean at Port-la-Joy Charlottetown where they soon formed a prosperous settlement and were able to supply not only the fortress but the town of Louisbourg with provisions those who were not engaged in agricultural pursuits found profitable employment in the fisheries there were also thriving settlements at Pointe Prince St. Peter and Malpec it is computed that this settlement is given by some historians now on the fall of Louisbourg in 1758 some of the British transports which had brought out troops from Cork to Halifax were ordered to Île Saint-Jean to carry the Acadians and French to France the largest of these transports was the Duke William another was named the Violet some of the Acadians made good their escape and the sole sale he was called upon to perform numerous marriages for the single men learned that if they landed unmarried in France they would be forced to perform military service for which they had no inclination nine transports sailed in consort but were soon caught in a violent tempest and scattered on December 10th the Duke William came upon the Violet in a sinking condition and notwithstanding all efforts at rescue the Violet went down with nearly 400 souls meanwhile the Duke William herself had sprung a leak for a time she was kept afloat by empty casks in the hold but presently it became evident that the ship was doomed the long boat was put out and filled the capacity and scarcely had the boat cleared when an explosion occurred and the Duke William went down taking 300 persons to a watery grave the long boat finally reached Penzance with 27 of the castaways probably found some French port footnote in 1763 there were 2370 Acadians in the maritime towns of France and 866 at various English ports many of these returned later to the land of their birth see Canadian archives report 1905 volume 2 appendix G page 148 and 157 in Nova Scotia the Acadians were sorely needed even their bitter enemy Jonathan Belcher now Lieutenant Governor footnote he succeeded Lawrence who died in October 1760 two documents in the colonial office records raised more than suspicion that Lawrence had been by no means an exemplary public servant the first is a complaint made by Robert Sanderson speaker of the first legislature of Nova Scotia elected in 1758 the fourth trial of prisoners charged with burglary and other grave offenses as well as the misapplication of public funds the second is a letter from the lords of trade to Belcher laying down rules for his conduct as Lieutenant Governor and referring to the many serious charges against his predecessor some of which they regard as having substantial foundation and none of which they express themselves is altogether rejecting in the context of this and footnote wrote on June 18th 1761 by representations made to me from the new settlements in this province it appears extremely necessary that the inhabitants should be assisted by the Acadians in repairing the dykes for the preservation and recovery of the marshlands particularly as on the progress of this work in which the Acadians are the most skillful people in the country the support and subsistence of Nova Scotia documents page 319 it seemed almost impossible to induce settlers to come to the province and those who did come seemed to have been unable to follow the example of the former owners of the soil for much of the land which had been reclaimed from the sea by the labor and ingenuity of the Acadian farmers was once more being swept by the ocean tides yet when the Acadians began to return to Nova Scotia in ever increasing numbers to punish them again in 1762 five transports loaded with prisoners were sent to Massachusetts but that colony wanted no more Acadians and sent them back Belcher had some difficulty in explaining his action to the home government and the lords of trade did not scruple to censure him when the Treaty of Paris February 1763 brought peace between France and England and put an end to French power in America the Acadians could no longer be considered and there was no good political reason for keeping them out of Canada or Nova Scotia almost immediately those in exile began to seek new homes among people of their own race and religion the first migration seems to have been from New England by the Lake Champlain route to the province of Quebec there they settled at various places notably La Cadie Saint Gregor Nicolais Becancourt these communities hundreds of their descendants still live in 1766 the exiles in Massachusetts assembled in Boston and decided to return to their native land all who were fit to travel numbering about 900 men women and children marched through the wilderness along the Atlantic coast and across New Brunswick to the Isthmus of Sinecto many perished by the way overcome by the burden but at last the weary pilgrims approached their destination and near the site of the present village of Coverdale in Albert County, New Brunswick they were attracted to a small farmhouse by the crowing of a cock in the early dawn to their unspeakable joy they found the house inhabited by a family of their own race here they halted for a few days making inquiry concerning their old friends then they tramped on in different directions everywhere on the Isthmus the scene changed the old familiar farm buildings had disappeared or were occupied by strangers of an alien tongue and even the names of places were known no more some journeyed to Windsor and some to Annapolis where they remained for a time at length on the western shores of the present counties of Digme and Yarmouth they found a home and there today live the descendants of those pilgrims for a century and a half they have lived in peace cultivating their salt marshlands and freshwater meadows preserving the simple manners, customs and language of their ancestors they form a community apart a hermit community but they are useful citizens good farmers hardy fisherman and sailors both in Canada and in the United States are to be found many Acadians occupying exalted positions of Acadian descent in Canada the right reverend Edward LeBlanc Bishop of Acadia the Honorable P.E. LeBlanc Lieutenant Governor of the province of Quebec and the Honorable Pascal Poirier Senator are Acadians as are many other prominent men and Isabelle LeBarre who married Jean Forêt of Beaubassant was one of the maternal ancestors of Sir Wilfred Laurier save in the maritime provinces of the original Finch settlers of Acadia who came out from France in the 17th century it is estimated that there were at the time of the expulsion 10 or 11,000 under the British flag and four or five thousand in Île-Saint-Jean and elsewhere on French territory about 6,000 were deported as we have seen and scattered over the British colonies undoubtedly a great number of Americans of today are descendants of those exiles but except at the mouth of the general population and their identity is lost neither can we tell how many of those who found their way to old France remained there permanently for upwards of 20 years the French government was concerned in finding places for them some were settled on estates some were sent to Corsica others as late as 1778 went to Louisiana nor can we estimate the number of Acadians in the province of Quebec and the population for the maritime provinces however we have the count of the census of 1911 this shows 98,611 in New Brunswick 51,746 in Nova Scotia and 13,117 in Prince Edward Island a total of 163,474 in the three provinces the largest communities are those of Gloucester Madowasca and Kent counties in New Brunswick and of Digby and Yarmouth in Nova Scotia several thousand Acadians are counted in Cape Breton so too in Halifax and Cumberland counties but in the county of Annapolis where stands the site of the first settlement formed on the soil of Canada the site of the ancient stronghold of Acadia and for which many generations are to be found today while looking out over Minas Basin the scene of so much sorrow and suffering one solitary family keeps its lonely vigil in the village of Grand Prais end of chapter 10 bibliographical note omitted for this recording end of A Chronicle of the Land of Evangelion by Arthur Doty