The Mispec Murders of 1857

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The Mispec Murders of 1857

A book entitled The Beaver Lake or Mispeck Tragedy is available online. It was published in New York in 1857, but there is no indication of who wrote it. The McKenzie Murders is another account of the following events, and is available in U.N.B.’s online ‘Crime and Punishment’ collection. There are, additionally, a number of newspaper articles about the McKenzie murders. These sources have been used to produce the following.

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The Mispec Murders of 1857

Interior of the Courthouse at Saint John

During the Slavin and Breen Trials, 1857

Robert McKenzie was a Scottish immigrant who had spent many years as a tailor in Saint John. By the time of these events, however, he had changed professions and was a farmer in Mispec. He had a wife and family, and was well enough off that he loaned money to others. He made no secret of his deep pockets.

McKenzie’s farmhouse was on the south side of Mispec road, with a barn behind and another barn on the opposite side of the road. McKenzie owned another house, which was empty, on the north side of the road and a little closer to the City. There was another nearby building, termed a hut, which was occupied by a family named Slavin and another man named James Breen.

Robert McKenzie needed a farm labourer, and James Breen accepted the position. Breen got a salary and the use of the empty house, and said that his wife and family would be joining him. It is doubtful that there ever was a wife and family. It later became known that James Breen also went by several aliases.

Peter O’Hara was a neighbour from about a half mile away, and was passing by on his way to the City on October 25, 1857 when he discovered that McKenzie’s house and the initially empty house where Breen had been living had burned to the ground. He had no idea that McKenzie and family had not escaped the fire, and he travelled onward to the next house where he asked a man named Robertson if he had any information—which he did not. They both went to examine the ruins, on their way to report to the magistrate who would investigate the fire.

O’Hara, Robertson and William Hawks, the magistrate from Black River, then examined the site again. Severely burned bodies, mostly reduced to bones, were found in each of the houses and there was no doubt that these belonged to Robert McKenzie and his wife and children. There was also an open, and empty, money box. They further surmised that the fire could not have spread from one of the houses to the other, without also having lit one of the barns. Taken together, these findings pointed to a murder.

All of this was reported to authorities in Saint John, and rumors immediately began to fly about the City that McKenzie had set fire to his house, sealing the fate of his wife and family, and had then cut his own throat. There was no truth to this murder/suicide theory, but public interest in the case remained intense for throughout the investigation.

A Coroner’s Jury was assembled at Mispec and remained there, taking testimony, for several days, and this was followed by the trial of Breen and Patrick Slavin Sr. and his son Patrick Slavin Jr. for murder.

The prime suspects were always the four Slavin family members, Patrick Sr. and his wife, and their children Patrick, Jr. John Slavin, the youngest son, was not suspected, but did give testimony. James Breen was also suspected of involvement but, at the time of the magistrate’s enquiries, Patrick Sr., Patrick, Jr., and James Breen were all missing. Mrs. Slavin was evasive in her testimony, but finally admitted that Breen, also referred to as Green, and who matched the description of a man named Williams had stayed at their place for a couple of weeks, but she had not seen him before last Sunday morning when he breakfasted there and picked up some laundry. She knew nothing of the fire, she said, but was clearly a very nervous witness. When her twelve years old son John was brought up to testify she called out “Oh! Johnny, Johnny, you won’t hang your poor father.”

John admitted that Breen had been staying at their house more recently than Mrs. Slavin had said, and that he, John, had overheard Breen and his father Patrick Sr. and his brother Patrick Jr. talking in whispers, and displaying a purse and a bag while talking about “a lot of money.” He had also overheard them talking of Breen having killed the McKenzie’s with an axe. These three had then built a camp in the woods, at nearby Beaver Lake because they fearing that they would be accused of the deaths and the fire.

In the face of this evidence, Breen pled guilty and was sentenced to be hanged. The trial of the two Slavins then continued.

Other witnesses testified that Breen, in particular, had been seen, here and there, while sometimes using an alias. There was even a story of one of the men buying a fabric which was then given to a seamstress to make a pair of pants. These pants were later identified as belonging to Patrick Slavin Jr., based on the fabric being identifiable. In one of his outings, Breen had told someone that he feared being accused of murder and arson, though he swore to his innocence.

Similar testimony continued, but ended “very unexpectedly,” they said, on October 30^th, when the Jury, found all three defendants guilty of murder. The Judge told Patrick Jr. that “The Jury taking into account your age, your want of education, the bad example of your father, and the fact that you might have been in some degree under coercion, and influenced by a dread of his severity, have recommended you to mercy.” He gave some consideration to this recommendation, but finally recommended against it and sentenced Patrick Jr. to be hanged, like the others.

Patrick Jr.’s sentence was later commuted to life in prison, and James Breen hanged himself in jail awaiting execution. This left only Patrick Slavin Sr. and crowds began to assemble early on the assigned day. By the time of the hanging there were reported to be between five and six thousand people assembled to witness the event. This was outside the jail, off King Square in Saint John.

New Brunswick, Her History, Her Resources and Her Future

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Oswald Smith Crocket was a conservative MP representing the New Brunswick riding of York, and was later named to the Supreme Court of Canada. He made the following address to the Canadian Club in Toronto on April 15^th, 1912.

The beginning sections of this address are of their time, and emphasize New Brunswick’s devotion to everything good, and especially for everything British. Even his history of the Province, going back to Jacques Cartier seems to anticipate that it would become part of the Empire.

The address then becomes promotional, and even a little emotional. New Brunswick is a place of rapid growth and great potential which has been underappreciated in Confederation. This post is longer than I would like, but I have left it as it is.

The Robertson Hotel in Bathurst

From the Centre des études acadiennes, via the McCord Museum

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New Brunswick, Her History, Her Resources and Her Future

I know of nothing which so completely harmonizes with the aims and objects of the Canadian Clubs of this country as this series of addresses which your executive has arranged on the history and resources of the different Provinces of the Dominion. For the fostering of a broad and healthy Canadian national spirit, there is surely nothing so essential as the diffusion among our people of knowledge of the history and development of the different Provinces comprising the nation and the interesting of these Provinces in each other, and I apprehend that in the history of the little Province by the sea, concerning which I come to speak to you today, will be found no small or unimportant contribution to that splendid fabric which has been reared on this continent, of a strong, united Canadian nation within the British Empire, year by year adding to its strength and greatness in a manner unrivalled by any country of the world.

I need hardly say that I appreciate the honor of having been selected to deliver the address for New Brunswick under such distinguished auspices as those of the Canadian Club of this great and cultured City of Toronto, and I am sure that the people of that Province will also appreciate the opportune privilege which you have thus accorded of making known to you, and perhaps through you to others, something of what we have to offer at this time of her awakening to a fresh realization of the tremendous possibilities which she possesses for future growth and development.

Devoted to the British Crown

If there is one feature more than another which has distinguished the history of New Brunswick through all the years from her foundation as a Province in 1784 until the present time, it has been the constant and unswerving devotion of her people to the British Crown. Born us she was of the spirit of that very devotion a spirit which flinched not before the grim necessity of choosing between the foreswearing of allegiance to the Empire and the abandonment of comfortable homes and all material possessions to endure the trials and hardships of pioneering in an uninhabited wilderness—this same spirit has never failed to animate her in the succeeding years. The famous snowshoe march of the 104^th New Brunswick Regiment to Quebec through the blinding storms and withering cold of the winter of 1813 to join In the resistance of the threatened American Invasion, the march of the 43^rd Regiment to help quell the rebellion in Quebec in 1837, the extraordinary expedition with which hundreds of her young men gathered at the front at the line of the Fenian Raids, the eagerness of her sons to volunteer for service in the Riel Rebellion, her proud record in the South African War, and the wild abandon which has characterized so many of her demonstrations over the success of British arms attest the strength and fervor of her patriotism and of the attachment which binds her to the land from which her fathers sprang.

The Struggle to Found a New France

What of the early history of this Province, so intensely British, before her foundation as a Province in 1784? It is inscribed for the most part in the varying fortunes and vicissitudes of Acadia, of which the territory comprised within her present boundaries formed a part. From the time Jacques Cartier in his first exploration of the Gulf of St. Lawrence camped on the north shore of the Province near the entrance to Miramichi Bay in 1534, and a few days later discovered and named the beautiful Bay Chaleur, until De Monts and Champlain in 1604 explored the Bay of Fundy, discovered the River St. John and founded the first Acadian settlement on a small island near the mouth of the River St. Croix, no known European had set foot on the soil of New Brunswick. A few bands of Indians, the Maliseets in the St. John River district, and the Mi’kmaq on the North Shore, held full and undisputed sway. The little Acadian colony having been transferred in 1605 from the St. Croix to the Annapolis, where Port Royal was founded as the headquarters of the French, the struggle to found a New France in the Atlantic Provinces was stubbornly maintained for a century and a half amidst many difficulties. The French occupation of the country was first challenged by Sir Thos. Dale, Governor of the English colony of Virginia, who in l613 sent Captain Samuel Argall to destroy Port Royal, which at that time contained practically the whole settlement of Acadia, numbering a little more than a score. Argall quickly executed this commission and thereby signalized the commencement of hostilities between the English and French in America. For 19 years the country remained in the nominal possession of the English until it was restored lo France by the Treaty of St. Germain in 1632. In the meantime in l621 King Hames I. of England had granted all the territory of Acadia under the name of Nova Scotia to Sir William Alexander, afterwards the Earl of Stirling. Sir William resolved to make the country a new Scotland in fact as well as in name. He founded an order of Scottish baronets to which he made over 100 appointments, each carrying with it a grant of 18 square miles of land. That portion of his domain which forms the present Province of .New Brunswick he called Alexandria, while to the St. John and the St. Croix Rivers he gave the respective names of the Clyde and the Tweed. Thirty-two of the baronies which he granted were on the St. John River. This Scottish nobleman’s attempt at colonization, however, resulted only in the planting of a small Scottish colony near Port Royal in 1632, the settling of a few additional scattered colonists in 1630 and the retention of the name of Nova Scotia.

From 1632 until 1651, while Acadia was again under French control, her history for the most part consists of the struggle for supremacy between the two rivals, Charles de La Tour and the Chevalier D’Aulnay. The heroic defence of Fort de La Tour on the west tide of St. John harbor by Madame La Tour against D’Aulnay’s attack during her husband’s absence in Massachusetts, its capture by means of the treachery of a Swiss guard, and of the offer of generous terms of surrender which D’Aulnay immediately and brutally violated by compelling its brave defender, with a rope around her neck, to witness the execution of all her devoted followers save one, her death from a broken heart a few weeks later while a prisoner at Fort Royal, the marriage of her bereaved husband to the widow of his relentless foe after the latter’s drowning five years later, and the restoration by the Government of France of La Tour with D’Aulnay’s widow as his wife to the command of the colony, constitute one of the most strangely impressive stories that history records.

With the surrender of Fort La Tour in 1654 to Major Robert Sedgewick, who came from Massachusetts with four ships of war which Oliver Cromwell had despatched from England to attack the Dutch colony at Manhattan, Acadia a second time became a British possession and remained so for thirteen years, when she was again ceded to France by the Treaty of Breda. During this interval Cromwell made a grant of the whole of Acadia to Sir Thomas Temple, William Crowne and La Tour as co-partners, La Tour having become a British subject. Temple bought out his co-partners and in 1659 established the first trading post on the St. John River at the mouth of the Jemseg. He held on to this fort for three years after the conclusion of the Treaty of Breda, when he was commanded by Charles II. to surrender it to the Sieur de Soulanges, the Lieutenant of the French Governor of Acadia. The whole population of Acadia at this time numbered but 400, only a score or two of whom were inhabitants of New Brunswick. The French now retained control until the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, by which Acadia was finally ceded to England. During this latter period the Government of the country was largely directed from Quebec. Seigniorial tenure was established in Acadia, 18 seigniories having been granted on the St. John River before the close of the century. Jemseg became for a short time the capital of Acadia and later on from 1692 to 1696 Nashwaak Point, opposite the City of Fredericton, had this distinction, then It was transferred to St. John, and finally at the close of the century back to Port Royal. The French allied themselves with the Indians in attacks upon the English settlements of Maine and Massachusetts for some years after 1686. These and counter attacks by the New Englanders upon the Acadian forts largely constitute the record of events from that time until the final cession of Acadia to England by the Treaty of Utrecht. When this treaty was concluded practically all the settlers in New Brunswick were of French origin. These contended that the treaty covered only the peninsula of Nova Scotia and shared with their fellow Acadians of that peninsula the hope to see the country again restored to France. They built Fort Beausejour as late as 1750, the most formidable fortress built during their occupation of Acadia, and held it strongly garrisoned until it was attacked in 1755 by a force of 2,000 men and 26 vessels dispatched by Governor Shirley of New England, under command of Col. Monckon, and surrendered. The tragic expulsion of the Acadians from the peninsula of Nova Scotia followed soon afterwards. Many of them came to the river St. John, only to be driven out two or three years later by another expulsion which General Monckton brought from Massachusetts. The majority of these escaped to the headwaters of the river, where their descendants now form the large majority of the population of the County of Madawaska. Others of the unfortunate exiles settled on the marshes of Westmorland and on the north shore, where their descendants number considerably more than one half of the present population of the Counties of Restigouche, Gloucester, Northumberland, Kent and Westmorland.

First English Settlements

Between the expulsion of the Acadians and the close of the American Revolutionary War several settlements were established in New Brunswick by English colonists from Massachusetts and other Provinces of New England. The most important of these was that which was planted in 1763 at Maugerville, which was really the first permanent settlement on the River St. John. Many of these sided with the revolted American colonies and actually took up arms in their support.

Coming of the Loyalists

Such had been the meagre development of New Brunswick as part of Acadia or Nova Scotia that at the close of the year 1782—178 years after the coming of De Monts and Champlain—the total population of the province was estimated to be less than 2,000. Then In 1783 came the United Empire Loyalists and with their coming began the real progress and development of New Brunswick. Twelve thousand came to New Brunswick during that year, founding the City of St. John and the Towns of St. Andrews and St. Stephen, and a number of settlements in Westmorland, Queens and Sunbury Counties. The newcomers included many men and women who had occupied prominent places in the life of the New England colonies. There were among them graduates of Harvard and Yale, eminent lawyers and physicians, and indeed some of the brightest minds of the population of New England, all animated alike by the same patriotic determination which had cast homes and properties to the winds, to stand at all cost by the flag of their motherland. Such were the pioneers of New Brunswick. A year after their coming Nova Scotia was divided, that portion of it lying north of the Missiguash River being erected into the present Province of New Brunswick. Col. Thomas Carleton was its first Governor. He appointed an executive council and authorized the election of a House of Assembly in 1785. A Supreme Court was established, which had as its first Chief Justice Duncan Ludlow, who had been a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Province of New York. Among the puisne Judges of the Court was James Putman of the .Massachusetts bar, who is described as the ablest lawyer of the time in America, and in whose office John Adams, second President of the United States, studied law.

Fredericton Chosen as Capital

Fredericton was made the capital of the Province in 1783. By 1788 the banks of the St. John River to the distance of 70 miles above Fredericton had been settled by Loyalists. Settlement went on very slowly on the north shore, where the first arrivals were from the British Isles, chiefly from Scotland. The Acadians extended their settlements in Westmorland and along the north shore. One of the first things to which the new settlers turned their attention was the establishment of schools. As early as 1785 an Academy was founded at Fredericton which later became the University of New Brunswick. Commerce and industry began in earnest. Saw mills were erected along the rivers and shipbuilding was begun at St. John and Oromocto, which developed to such an extent that New Brunswick came and continued for many years to be one of the foremost shipbuilding countries of the world. In 1816 thousands of immigrants came to New Brunswick from Scotland and Ireland, and energetically united with the Loyalists in pushing forward the development of the Province.

Responsible Government

The contest for responsible government in New Brunswick went on simultaneously with the same struggle in the other Provinces. The first step in this reform, the control of the casual and territorial revenues by the Legislative Assembly, was secured in 1837 under the leadership of Lemuel Allan Wilmot, but for some years afterwards many office holders, dependent on the good will of the Governor and the members of the Executive Council, continued to sit in the Legislature, with the result that as late as 1847 a reform resolution moved by Charles Fisher, a colleague of Mr. Wilmot from the County of York, was defeated by a vote of 23 to 12. It was not till 1848, after the home government had yielded to the demands of Nova Scotia, that that principles of responsible government were fully affirmed in New Brunswick by resolution of the legislature and secured to the people in their entirety.

Early Railway Construction

Problems of railway construction occupied the attention of the Legislature and of the people for many years. Eleven years after Stephenson operated the first steam railway locomotive in England, in 1836, the Legislature incorporated the Saint Andrews and Quebec Railway Company to build a line of railway from St Andrews to Quebec. This pretentious undertaking, however, resulted only in the completion of about eighty miles from St. Andrews to Richmond in 1863, the Quebec extension having been abandoned in consequence of the Ashburton Treaty ceding to the United States that portion of Maine through which it was to pass. The first railway in operation in New Brunswick was that from St. John to Shediac, which was opened by the Prince of Wales, the late King Edward VII., in 1860. A number of important lines of railway were built in different parts of the Province before Confederation. In 1861 our population bad grown to over 252,000.

Maritime Union and Confederation

Then came the proposal for Maritime Union. While the delegates from the three Provinces were in conference at Charlottetown in 1864 the Upper and Lower Canada delegations intervened with the proposition for the larger union and obtained an agreement for the famous Quebec Conference at which the Confederation compact was drafted. The scheme was submitted to the people by the government of the Hon., afterwards Sir, Leonard Tilley, in the following year, when it was overwhelmingly defeated, 35 anti-confederates having been returned to a House of 41 members. The cry of its opponents that it would place the control of the trade and commerce of the Province and many of her important interests in the hands of a Parliament in which our representatives would be so largely outnumbered by those of the larger Provinces caught the popular mind, but a year later, when an unexpected dissolution of the Legislature afforded another opportunity of testing public opinion upon the question, the advocates of Confederation drove home the consolidation argument from the Imperial standpoint with such effect that the verdict of the previous year was completely reversed, and New Brunswick entered the union with the undoubted consent of her electorate to merge our future in that of Canada.

Growth of Population and Industrial Progress

During the first 14 years of Confederation she maintained a steady growth, but during the past three decades the Province has not made that progress which her record of 50 years before seemed to promise, and has not shared as fully as she should have shared during this latter period in the general development of Canada.

When it is remembered that when the United Empire Loyalists landed upon her shores her population did not number 2,000, that 41 years later it had grown to over 74,000, that 16 years afterwards—in 1840—it had more than doubled, that by 1851 it had gone up to marly 194,000, in ’61 to nearly 253,000, in 71 to over 285,000, and in 81 to over 321,000, it is not at all encouraging to observe that in the past 30 years, from 1881 to 1911, her increase has been but a fraction over 30.000, and that the latest census places her percentage of increase at 6.27 as against 15.58 for Ontario, 21.46 for Quebec, 78.52 for Manitoba, and 110.86 for British Columbia.

Disappointing, however, as is this story of population figures and strange as it may seem, her industrial progress during the past ten years has been quite marked, the capital employed in the manufacturing establishments of the Province having increased from $20,741,000 in 1901 to $35,402,000 in 1911, and the value of her manufactured products from $20,922,000 in 1901 to $34,439,000 in 1911, and I come here today to tell you that at the present time a spirit of hopefulness and optimism pervades the people of New Brunswick such as has not been evidenced in any previous period of her history.

The lure of the West, with its much advertised wheat fields and rapid increase of land values has made heavy drafts upon our population, particularly among the young men of the farms during the last 15 years, but now that the Prairie Provinces are filling up with British and American immigration, the reflex influence of which has begun to affect the land values of the east, our people have awakened to a realization of the advantages and opportunities which lie at their own doors.

Agricultural Possibilities

In agriculture alone the Province presents immense possibilities for development. The quantity of land under cultivation at present is about 1,400,000 acres, out of 13½ million acres capable of being brought under the plough. That such a small percentage of her arable land has been worked in all these years is due in a large measure to the fact that the fishing and lumber industries of the Province have diverted the attention of so many of her people. With respect to the land now under cultivation I have the statement of no less an authority than Mr. Grisdale, Director of the Environmental Farms of Canada, that they are the equal of, if they do not surpass, in natural fertility and crop producing possibilities the lands of any other of our eastern Provinces, including Ontario and Quebec. Her marsh, dyke and interval lands are unsurpassed for hay production, in the growth of wheat and coarse grains her average yields are quite equal to the average yields in any other Province in Canada and superior to most of them, while for potatoes and root crops generally she stands without a peer, both as regards the quality of the product and yield per acre as well as regards the low cost of production per acre or bushel. For dairying, beef production and sheep raising the Province is also peculiarly adapted. Orcharding is coming rapidly to the fore, New Brunswick apples within the last few years are taking their place among the best apples grown In Canada. The exhibit of New Brunswick apples at the recent Dominion Fruit Growers’ Convention at Ottawa was unexcelled for quality, size and color. Prof. W.T. Macoun, Dominion Horticulturalist, has declared that New Brunswick has the climate to raise the best quality of apples, and that he knows of no part of Canada that can grow the McIntosh Red better than that Province. It is not surprising, therefore, that New Brunswick has been pronounced by the foremost agricultural experts of Great Britain and Canada to be one of the best mixed farming areas in the world.

Lumber Industry and Resources

Next to agriculture the lumber Industry is the most important in the Province. The census of last year showed that over 10,000 persons were engaged in the manufacture of lumber and log products in 367 establishments, the output of which amounted in value to $12,610,396. The capital employed in this industry, including lands, buildings, and plant and working capital, amounted to $14,083,383. The wages paid in the year 1910 amounted 10 $3,476,303, which is more than double the amount of wages paid in this industry in New Brunswick in 1901. There is ample field in New Brunswick for the profitable employment of large capital in the manufacture of wood products of various kinds, and in the development of the pulp and paper business. The Province still retains 7,000,000 acres of ungranted Crown lands, or in the neighborhood of one-quarter of the entire area of the Province. This does not represent in any way the forest area of New Brunswick, as much of the Crown lands sold to private persons are still reserved for timber limits by their owners.

New Brunswick’s Fisheries

New Brunswick, in common with the other Maritime Provinces, shares the distinction of being in close proximity to what are the most prolific fishing grounds in the world. Its geographical position and the configuration of its seaboard make it in some respects the most favorably situated of any of the Atlantic Provinces. On the one hand the north shore is washed by that most excellent of fishing waters, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, while on the other hand the Counties of Albert, St. John and Charlotte are washed by the prolific waters of the Bay of Fundy, in which fishing can be carried on practically the whole year round. Its numerous sheltered bays and large inlets,—veritable breeding places,—into many of which flow great rivers, full of anadramous fish life, contain abundant supplies of the finest food for the attraction and sustenance of the most valuable varieties of our commercial salt water fishes, and provide incomparable facilities for the formation of fishing settlements and for carrying on of fishing operations with the least possible expense, risk and exposure. From whatever point of view the fisheries of this Province are regarded, whether as a distinct industry or combined with agriculture, they present themselves as a splendid heritage, and form one of its finest resources. Notwithstanding the very creditable position already attained by the fisheries of New Brunswick, it cannot be said that more than the fringe of their latent industrial possibilities has as yet been touched. During the year 1910 there were 16,158 fishermen operating on board a fleet of 376 vessels and 8,099 boats in New Brunswick waters. The total value of all kinds of fish produced in that year amounted to $4,134,144. These included herring, cod, sardines, salmon, lobsters, haddock, hake, mackerel, smelts, shad, clams and oysters. This Province possesses the only sardine fishery in Canada, which is carried on in the waters of Passamaquoddy Bay and the waters around the islands of Grand Manan and Campobello, and the West Isles in the Bay of Fundy. Our cod, hake and pollock are mostly dried and sent to the West Indies and South America, while haddock are sent in a fresh state and as finnan haddies to all the inland towns of Canada. Large quantities of our cod are sold also in Italy. Much of the herring is smoked for export to the West Indies. There are 185 lobster canneries on the North Shore. Natural oyster beds, bearing a fine quality of oyster, exist along practically the whole North Shore of the Province. New Brunswick has by far the best salmon fishery In Eastern Canada. Its many fine salmon rivers are the means of annually drawing large numbers of sportsmen to the Province.

Progress in Manufactures

In manufacturing the figures already quoted show that a very substantial progress has been made during the past ten years. The lumber manufactures, of course, top the list in value of products. Foundry products run to $2,685,094, cotton to $2,673,226, while the products of fish curing and fish preserving establishments run to $1,500,000, and the products of biscuit and confectionery factories and flour and grist mills to over $1,000,000 each. There are in all 1,094 manufacturing establishments in the Province, a number of which have within the past few years found profitable markets for large quantities of their output in every Province of the Dominion to the farthest limits of Western Canada. Thus at last has the far-seeing wisdom of New Brunswick’s Confederation and national policy champions been fully vindicated and the misgivings, which many of our people entertained for many years that we could not fairly share in their benefits and advantages, been finally dispelled.

Coal, Gypsum and Iron

Mineral development which previously had been inconsiderable has been entered upon during the past few years to such an extent and with such promise that it is rapidly taking its place among the leading industries of the province.

Extensive bituminous coal fields exist in Queens and Sunbury Counties, which until the past few years had been mined only to a limited extent by the private owners of the lands on which they are situated. A few years ago the Central Railway was extended from Chipman to these mines with the result that in 1910 over 46,000 tons were mined and now this railway is being extended from Minto to Fredericton by the Fredericton and Grand Lake Coal Co., whose charter has been acquired by Sir Thomas Tait, and his associates, under an agreement with the C.P.R. to take over the railway upon its completion and operate it as part of the C.P.R. system, while Sir Thomas Tait and his associates will undertake the development of the mining areas upon a large scale. The effect of such an operation of these mines upon the industrial life of the province can scarcely be foretold.

New Brunswick has also valuable gypsum deposits in Albert County and at Plaster Rock on the Tobique. The Albert Manufacturing Co. of Hillsboro quarries nearly 100,000 tons of crude gypsum a year, the greater part of which is shipped abroad in lump form but a considerable portion of the product is reduced at Hillsboro and shipped as plaster to Canadian and United States points and even to Australia.

A few years ago iron ore deposits were discovered in Gloucester County, which have been found to be the largest iron deposits in Canada. The property comprising 30 square miles of territory has been acquired by the Drummond Mines, Ltd., of Montreal, and is now being actively developed. The Northern New Brunswick & Seaboard Railway has been built into these mines and extensive docks have been constructed at Newcastle for the shipment of the ore. Over $1,000,000 has already been expended in connection with the development of these recently discovered mines. The ore averages about 50 per cent of metallic iron and it is estimated that by hand picking or rough lump sorting, one half of these large ore bodies can be made to average 57 to 58 per cent. The development of these mines, even if it does not lead to the establishment of a smelting industry, and is confined simply to the mining and shipment of ore, will afford millions of dollars of labor in the coming years.

Natural Gas and Oil Wells

The most important discovery of recent years, however, having regard to the future development of the Province, has been the natural gas and oil wells and the shale deposits in Albert and Westmorland Counties. The Maritime Oil Fields, Ltd., of London and Glasgow, are now developing the gas and oil properties. They have already discovered in Albert County, and have now shut in over 50,000,000 feet of natural gas in 14 wells and are pumping from five prospect wells 300 barrels of petroleum a month. These wells have a depth of from 1,400 to 2,400 feet. The company claims the largest individual gas well in Canada, running over 12,000,000 feet of gas in 24 hours with a rock pressure of 550 pounds to the square inch. The quality of the gas has been determined by Dr. Donald of McGill and other scientists of the United States to be practically the purest and the highest in caloriphic value of any gas produced on the continent of America. This field has now sufficient development to be capable of supplying a quantity of light and power equal to the present total consumption of the entire Province. The company has already laid 2 miles of 10-inch pipe to the City of Moncton and are distributing natural gas in that city at 38 cents a thousand for domestic use, 25 cents a thousand for gas engines and 15 cents for boilers.

Richest Shales in the World

Important, however, as are these natural gas and oil wells, they do not compare, either in their intrinsic value or in their potential effect upon the future general development of the Province with the oil shales of the same counties. These shales are undoubtedly the most valuable mineral asset which New Brunswick possesses and the greatest thing in sight in that portion of the country. The late Dr. R.W. Ells, of the Canadian Department of Mines, after a special study of these shales and those of Scotland, France and Belgium, declared to Col. Loggie, deputy head of our Provincial Crown Lands Department, that everything else in New Brunswick paled into insignificance before the stupendous possibilities of these wonderful mines. The Scotch shales average less than 30 gallons of oil and 27 pounds of sulphate of ammonia to the ton. The New Brunswick shales run from 45 to 60 gallons of oil and 70 pounds of sulphate of ammonia to the ton. When it is stated that the stock of the great Pumpherston Shale Company, Scotland, of the par value of £1 a share, is selling at £13 a share, some idea may be had of the value of these New Brunswick deposits. Sir William Mackenzie of your city has just purchased the lease and rights of the Albertite, Oilite and Canal Coal Co., covering 190 square miles, mostly comprised in Albert and Westmorland Counties, and proposes to enter at once upon the active development of these tremendous properties. He has stated to the New Brunswick government that he will erect within two years a plant which will cost $1,500,000 for extracting the oil and ammonia from the shale, a plant which will be capable of treating 450,000 tons of shale a year, and will employ many hundreds of hands. In close proximity to these shale deposits lie extensive reefs of calcic sulphate, testing 98 per cent of lime, and also gypsum deposits. An experiment has already been made in the manufacture of Portland cement from the by-products of the shale, limestone and gypsum, which Prof. Meade of Pennsylvania after an examination made in behalf of the Canadian government, has pronounced to be superior to anything yet known for quality and cheapness of production. Other by-products will give us fertilizer factories of enormous capacity whose products will in turn greatly augment the productivity of an already fertile soil. The possibilities of these shales are simply incalculable.

Water Powers

Then we have our water powers, which still await proper development, including Grand Falls on the St. John River, second only in volume in Canada to Niagara, and capable of developing from 22,000 horsepower in the low water months of February and April to 300,000 horsepower in springtide, and of maintaining with the construction of storage and conservation dams, which can be effected at a very moderate cost, a constant flow of 60,000 horsepower throughout the year. The situation of this great water power in such close proximity to the best and most extensive lumber areas of the St. John River affords an almost unrivalled chance for a great pulp and paper industry. A strong company has already been formed to undertake the development of this power with Sir William Van Horn at its head.

Unexcelled Transportation System With Seaport at Her Doors

With the development of these iron mines, these natural gas and oil wells, these vast shale deposits and coal fields, and of these water powers, now being actively entered upon by such men as Sir William Van Horn, Sir William Mackenzie, Sir Thomas Tait and the Drummond Mines of Montreal have come provincial and federal government contracts for two of the greatest public works ever undertaken in the province, the St. John Valley Railway and the St. John harbor improvements, two contracts which call for an expenditure of over $20,000,000 in the next four years. The St. John Valley Railway will traverse the whole of the fertile valley of that river from Grand Falls to the City of St. John, a distance of about 220 miles. Tapping at the former point the National Transcontinental Railway, the New Brunswick section of which runs diagonally through the yet mostly unsettled central portion of the Province from its northwestern to its southeastern corner, a distance of 261 miles, and will be ready for operation during the present year, the St. John Valley Railway will complete a system of railway communication aggregating over 2,000 miles, which cannot be excelled, while the St. John harbor works will double the capacity of that already great seaport, lying at our very doors, within a day’s rail haul of the most remote settlement of the Province, and provide it with one of the world’s great dry docks.

Educational Facilities and Social Life

To these material resources and advantages add an ideal system of common, high school and university education, with her commercial colleges and consolidated schools for manual training and natural science study, her numerous and well organized churches and her exceptional opportunities for hunting, fishing, boating, skating, curling and other healthful recreation, all contributing to a social life of the most attractive kind, and we surely have a country which cannot fail to nourish and in time to take her place among the most thriving provinces of Canada. Be assured of this: the days of stagnation or retrogression in New Brunswick are past. She is on the eve of the greatest development of her history. Watch her, and I am no prophet if you do not find that her record of the next ten years marks one of the most conspicuous features of the growth of Canada.

A Short Review of Saint John River History

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Joseph Whitman Bailey published a book entitled The St. John River in Maine, Quebec, and New Brunswick, in Cambridge, Mass., in 1894. It was mostly a physical description of the river and its tributaries, but also had a closing chapter which reviewed the long history of the watershed. It is only a couple of pages in length and is therefore not detailed. It is easily consumed, however.

Of this chapter, Bailey stated that “These notes upon the settlement of the valley of the St. John have been furnished upon our request by a local historian.” It is not clear whether it was written entirely by the local historian, or by Bailey with information from him. In any case, it required further editing which I have done.

The Construction of Fort Frederick, 1758

From Military.Wikia.org

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A Short Review of Saint John River History

There are few places of the same extent in North America which possess a history so varied as that of the valley of the Saint John. Aside from its purely local annals and associations, already rich for so new a country, it offers not a little of a more general interest. The history of its colonization presents a curious parallel to the varied movements of colonization of North America as a whole. In the case of both continent and valley, the population of European origin has been established in a series of waves. First of all, the Saint John River was the exclusive home to the Maliseet who were the rightful owners of it all, but are now confined to a few settlements. It has, secondly, a very old Acadian French population, now likewise outnumbered by later arrivals. Thirdly, it has a pre-Revolutionary New England settlement, a product of the same expansive movements of people that fuelled the colonization of the West. To these follow a few British settlers direct from the homeland. Next come the Loyalists in great numbers, New Brunswick’s largest influx of immigrants. The Loyalist migration was the result of the American Revolution, and completely changed the course of events in New Brunswick. Finally, the valley contains settlements of later European immigrants, — English, Irish, Scottish, Danish, and others, who have come to the Province as their kindred have also come to the States in the present century.

The Maliseet are closely akin to the Passamaquoddy and Penobscot people to the west, and distantly related to the Mi’kmaq of the north and east. They live by hunting, acting as guides and supplementary woods trades, but do little farming. One of their more conspicuous appearances in history has been in connection with raids, in alliance the Passamaquoddies and Penobscots and the French, upon the New England settlements. The principal Maliseet villages are upon reservations at Apohoqui; and in Marysville opposite Fredericton; and at French Village, a few miles above Fredericton; and at Woodstock; at Tobique; and at Madawaska, with smaller settlements near Saint John, Gagetown and other places.

Before the coming of Europeans, the principal Maliseet settlements were at Meductic, a few miles above Eel River; and at Aucpaque, five miles above Fredericton. Their place-names along the river have largely persisted, the names of nearly every one of its branches being of Maliseet origin.

The history of Europeans on the River begins with its discovery by Samuel de Champlain, on Saint John’s Day, 1604. It was partially explored by one of his lieutenants, and more thoroughly a few years later by fishermen and fur-traders. About 1635, Charles de la Tour, under authority of a grant from the king of France, built a fort at the mouth of the river from which the fur-trade was controlled. His neighbor, D’Aulnay Charnisay, of Port Royal (now Annapolis) cast envious eyes on this location. The efforts of these two men for supremacy in Acadia culminated in 1645 in the success of Charnisay who, during the absence of his rival, captured and destroyed his fort. The story of the defense of this fort is the most picturesque in the history of the Saint John, and a great favorite with the local chroniclers.

Towards the end of the century, large tracts of land along the river were granted by the French government to various of its favorites as seigneuries. The seigneurs were, by conditions of their grants, to bring settlers, clear land, make roads, etc., but these improvements were rarely or never made. Some of the seigneurs lived lives very much like those of the Maliseet along the river, but their rights gradually lapsed, and they were in time replaced by a few Acadians from Port Royal, who settled at Saint John and a few other points along the river.

About 1690, a fort was built by Villebon, the French Governor, at the mouth of the Nashwaak, opposite Fredericton. From this fort went forth the expedition which, with carried devastation to New England settlements. To avenge these attacks, in 1696, an expedition from New England attempted to capture Fort Nashwaak, but was repulsed with loss.

The few settlers on the river continued to increase very slowly until 1755, in which year the British expelled most of the Acadians. This expulsion has been remembered in Longfellow’s Evangeline. The settlers on the Saint John were not captured, but fled up the river, and, joined by others, attempted to re-establish themselves at Gagetown, Fredericton, and other places. But from these they were driven, and only secured a resting-place after the arrival of the Loyalists. Passing far above these newcomers, they settled below the mouth of the Madawaska, and since that time they have spread up and down the river, almost to Grand Falls. The most important event of their subsequent history was the transference of nearly half of them to the United States by the Ashburton Treaty in 1842.

The close of the French War, in 1759-60, was followed rather by a spirit of restlessness than by quiet in New England, and this manifested itself in emigration. Many New Englanders came to Nova Scotia in 1762-64, and some of these to the valley of the Saint John. They had their choice of almost the entire river, and settled upon the rich intervales of Maugerville, below Fredericton. At the breaking out of the Revolution they showed sympathy, very natural under the circumstances, with their kinsmen in the States. Their descendants still live at Maugerville.

The Englishmen who came during the next twenty years were very few in number, and never formed any settlement, but scattered to various points. Their descendants are still to be found at Oromocto and others of the older villages.

In 1783, there came to New Brunswick many thousands of Loyalists. They included those who, either from conviction or other reasons, took the side of the Crown in the Revolution. To these Loyalists was granted the site of the city of Saint John, and as much of the main river and its branches as was necessary to supply them with land for settlement. This required much of the unoccupied land along the main river as far up as Woodstock, and the accessible parts of the Kennebecasis, Belleisle, Washademoak, and Grand Lake, and in these places accordingly are their descendants to be found to this day.

Early in this century other settlers began to arrive. A disbanded West India regiment settled above the Tobique; and Scottish and Irish settlers were brought by immigration and settled lands back of the earlier settlers on the various branches. These, together with settlers from the older settlements, extended gradually up the Tobique and other upper branches, and passed above the French on the main river. The people of Maine extended into the Aroostook and Fish River valleys; and so in this century there has been no new wave of immigration, but a slow growth by expansion within and additions from without.

In rapid summary, then, the order of inhabitants in ascending the river is as follows: At its mouth is the Loyalist city, Saint John. Then, upon all of the lower river and its great branches, as far as Maugerville, are settled the descendants of the Loyalists, commingled with New Englanders and Englishmen and some later immigrants, and a few Mi’kmaq at Apohoqui. At Maugerville are the New Englanders, above which occur Loyalists and Mi’kmaq again to Fredericton, itself another city of this people. Hence to Woodstock. Beyond Woodstock, there are commingled New England, Loyalist, and later immigrants, the latter especially back from the river, as far as Grand Falls. Thence upwards, as far as Madawaska, the French occur almost exclusively; but beyond Madawaska they become fewer, and are replaced by settlers of various origin to the Saint Francis, above which they almost cease. At Seven Islands the last isolated family is passed, and the river remains a wilderness to its extreme source.

The Maugerville ‘Declaration of Independence’

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The Maugerville ‘Declaration of Independence’

A View at Fort Cumberland

From Parks Canada

The first English settlers in Maugerville were mostly from Massachusetts, and arrived on the river in 1766. They were a close-knit society, both by inclination and out of necessity, and it is not surprising that they decided to support the American Revolution en masse, in May of 1776.

Their decision was real, and not symbolic. They were prepared to fight and die, if it came to that. They had the advantage of being isolated from British military camps and could make decisions as they saw fit. On the other hand, they were few in number and there was little they could do on their own except to support military advances from the south.

Jonathan Eddy led one such advance when, in late 1776, he led an assault on Fort Cumberland. This was a diverse force of New Englanders, and Penobscot and Wolastoqiyik fighters, and a sizable number of Maugerville settlers. This assault failed, and Eddy’s forces retreated in a battered and bruised condition. The British then stationed the ship Vulture at Saint John to guard against any further intrigues.

John Allan stepped onto the scene as soon as the Vulture finally left, harbour. He took some British sympathizers prisoner and campaigned among the Wolastoqiyik to support the American side in the revolution. Some of his prisoners escaped, however, and notified the authorities at Halifax and Cumberland.

The British demanded that the Maugerville settlers declare their loyalty in each of these cases—and they had no other choice.

Early Maugerville history is very fascinating, and there are several posts about it here. Seth Noble has been blamed as a revolutionary rabble-rouser as discussed here https://johnwood1946.wordpress.com/2011/07/16/seth-noble-maugerville-and-the-american-revolution/, but he was a scapegoat for the people’s decision. The story of Jonathan Eddy’s campaign against Fort Cumberland is told here, https://johnwood1946.wordpress.com/2014/10/01/jonathan-eddys-account-of-the-attack-on-fort-cumberland-november-1776/ and John Allan’s campaign among the Wolastoqiyik is described here https://johnwood1946.wordpress.com/2014/10/29/john-allans-revolutionary-mission-to-the-saint-john-river-2/, and in a more recent post originally by W.O, Raymond. There are also several other posts.

But what of the Maugerville Declaration of Independence?

The Maugerville ‘Declaration of Independence’

The following documents are from Military Operations in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia During the Revolution, edited by Frederick Kidder and published in Albany, New York in 1867. Spelling is as found.

1. The People’s Decision, May, 1776:

The Inhabitants of the County of Sunbury in the province of Nova Scotia being regularly assembled at the Meeting house in Maugervile in s^d County on Tuesday the 14 day of May 1776 to Consult on some measures necessary to be taken for the safety of the Inhabitants.

1^ly Chose Jacob Barker Esq^r Chairman.

2 ^ly Chose Jacob Barker, Israel Perley, Phin ^s Nevers, Esq ^r and Messrs Daniel Palmer, Moses Pickard, Edward Coye, Tho ^s Hartt, Israel Kenney, Asa Kimball, Asa Perley, Oliver Perley, and Hugh Quinton a Committee to prepare a Draught proper for the Proceedings of the Assembly. The meeting then adjourned till three of the clock in the afternoon.

Being again met the Committee Reported the following Resolves which were read and after a second Reading the Resolves were passed in the affirmative, unanimously.

1^ly Resolved. That we can see no shadow of Justice in that Extensive Claim of the British Parliament (viz) the Right of Enacting Laws binding on the Colonies in all Cases whatsoever. This System if once Established (we Conceive) hath a Direct tendency to Sap the foundation, not only of Liberty that Dearest of names, but of property that best of subjects.

2 ^ndly Resolved. That as tyrany ought to be Resisted in its first appearance we are Convinced that the united Provinces are just in their proceeding in this Regard.

3^dly Resolved. that it is our Minds and Desire to submit ourselves to the government of the Massachusetts Bay and that we are Ready with our Lives and fortunes to Share with them the Event of the present Struggle for Liberty, however God in his Providence may order it.

4^ly Resolved. That a Committee be Chosen to Consist of twelve Men who shall Immediately make application to the Massachusetts Congress or general assembly for Relief, and that s^d  Committee or the Major part of them shall Conduct all Matter Civill or Military in this County till further Regulations be made.

5^ly Resolved. That we and Each of us will most strictly adhere to all such measures as our s^d Committee or the Major Part of them shall from time to time prescribe for our Conduct and that we will support and Defend them in this Matter at the Expence of our Lives and fortunes if Called thereto.

6^ly Resolved. That we will Immediately put ourselves in the best posture of Defence in our power, that to this End we will prevent all unnecessary use of gun Powder or other ammunition in our Custody.

7^ly Resolved. That if any of us shall hereafter, Know of any person or persons that shall by any ways or means Endeavour to prevent or Counteract this our Design, we will Immediately give notice thereof to the Committee that proper Measures may be taken for our Safety.

8^ly Resolved. that we and Each of us will Pay our proportion of all such sums of Money as may be Necessary for Carrying these matters into Execution, and finally, that we will share in and submit to the Event of this undertaking however it may terminate, to the true performance of all which we bind and obligate ourselves firmly each to other on penalty of being Esteemed Enemies and traitors to our Country and Submitting ourselves to popular Resentment.

The whole assembly subscribed to the foregoing Resolves.

The Body then Voted.

1^ly that the above named Committee shall be a standing Committee to make application to the Massachusetts Congress.

Also to Conduct all Matters Civil or Military in the County till further Regulations be made.

Voted that we will have no Dealings or Connections with any Person or Persons for the future that shall Refuse to Enter into the foregoing or similar Resolutions.

A true Copy from the Minutes.

Israel Perley Clerk

Dated at Maugerville on the River S^t Johns May the 21, 1776.

2. The Massachusetts Response:

The Committee of both Houses to whom was referred the Petition of Jacob Barker, &c. from the County of Sunbury in the Province of Nova Scotia beg leave to report by way of Resolve That the Commissary General be and hereby is directed to deliver one Barrell of Gun Powder, Three hundred & Fifty Flints & Two hundred & fifty weight of Lead from the Colony Stores to Asa Perley and Asa Kimball or their Order agents of the Committee appointed by the Inhabitants of the County of Sunbury, for the use of their Constituents, and that they the said Perley & Kimball be accountable to this Court for the same, and that the said agents have liberty to purchase from such of the Inhabitants of this Colony as shall be Willing to part with the same, Forty stand of small arms for the use of their Constituents, and that the Committees of Correspondence & in any of the Sea Ports within the Colony, are directed to grant permits to the said agents to Transport the same or any other Goods or merchandize that may legally be Transported from Port to Port within this Colony. Jer: Powell p^r Order, consented to, June 26, 1776.

And, …:

All officers, civil or military, in the united provinces and all others are desired not to molest or hinder the within Asa Perley and Asa Kimball in their progress, on the Contrary to Encourage and Assist them, as they would merit the Esteem of all Lovers of their Country’s Liberty and the thanks of this Committee.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Voyage to North America

From the blog at http://JohnWood1946.wordpress.com

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Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s voyage to North America was mentioned in this blog before, but all that was said was that he set sail in 1583 after failing at an earlier attempt. The lack of detail was because he was one of those ‘in between’ adventurers, well after Columbus in 1492 and Cartier in 1534, but well before Champlain in the early 1600’s. There were others who ventured westward during this period, with many failures in establishing settlements. There were, in addition, many nameless fishermen and traders who left hardly any record of their existence, much less of their experiences.

Sir Humphrey’s voyage was nonetheless eventful and interesting, and the following is edited from British America, Volume II, published in Edinburgh by Oliver & Boyd in 1839 [no author indicated, and Volume I not found].

Sir Humphrey Gilbert Remembered

From Library and Archives Canada

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Sir Humphrey Gilbert’s Voyage to North America

[This text is heavily edited to suit the blog posting.]

Many English voyages had sought to discover a passage around the Americas and to open trade routes with the Far East. Yet, even as early as the 1530’s, an attempt was made to actually colonize Newfoundland. Nothing came of this, but efforts were renewed in the latter half of the 1500’s, when Queen Elizabeth I offered encouragements. Therefore by letters patent of 1578, Sir Humphrey Gilbert was offered possession of any lands that he might discover subject only to a tax to Her Majesty as Sovereign. The ‘tax’ was to be one-fifth of any gold or silver that he might find.

Motivated by hopes of treasure, Sir Humphrey spent a large part of his personal fortune preparing an expedition. His main difficulty was in finding seamen willing to face such a hazardous enterprise, and those that he did assemble were chiefly volunteers of doubtful character. Desertions took place even before they left port, and he was obliged to sail with a mere handful of regular mariners. He soon afterwards encountered tempestuous weather, and was driven back with the loss of a handsome ship, and also of its captain, an officer whom he highly esteemed.

This disaster left Sir Humphrey without funds to fit himself out again, and he was obliged to seek partners, and thus managed to furnish another squadron with the help of Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir George Peckham, and others. The largest vessel, called the Raleigh, was of 200 tons. The admiral hoisted his own flag in the Delight of 120. The Golden Hind and the Swallow, of 40 each, and the Squirrel, a little bark of only 10, completed the equipment. [The Golden Hind had been named in honor of Sir Francis Drake’s ship.] The crews, though numbering only 260, could not be collected without including persons condemned for piracy on the seas. They formed a desperate band, by no means inclined to relinquish their original vocation. He succeeded, however, in procuring skilled tradesmen,—masons, carpenters, and workers in metal. Nor did he omit musicians, morris-dancers, hobby-horses, and other means of recreating the eyes and gaining the affections of Native peoples.

Thus prepared, Sir Humphrey sailed on the 11^th of June 1583; but soon encountered many reverses similar to before. On the third day sickness broke out on the Raleigh, his largest ship, the crew of which immediately forsook him, and returned to Britain. The commander, however, pushed on, undiscouraged even when, on the 20^th of July, the Swallow and the Squirrel were separated from him in a thick fog. About the end of that month he, with his remaining vessels, came in view of the great bank of Newfoundland, its vicinity being indicated by the incredible number of seafowl that darkened the air. On the 30^th he reached the coast, the sight of which affected his crewmen. It being the height of summer, the surface even of this wild region was clothed with verdure, and adorned by fruits and flowers. But one witness was not impressed, saying “The maner of this countrey what shall I say, when I see nothing but a very wildernesse.” All agreed, however, as to the vast profusion of fish.

The squadron here met their lost companion, the Swallow, which presented a surprising spectacle. Her crew, chiefly consisting of pirates, had been very indifferently clad; but now they appeared on deck handsomely dressed and dancing and waving their caps in the air. Sir Humphrey asked the cause of a transformation, to which he obtained a most unsatisfactory reply. Happening to meet a French vessel returning from the fishery, the crew “following still their kind,” cast upon her a longing eye. Knowing, however, their captain to be an honourable man, they merely besought permission to go on board and borrow a few articles which they urgently wanted. Having obtained leave, with strict injunctions to abstain from every kind of violence, they proceeded to the ship, seized the crew, stripped them of clothes, food, and every article they could find and then, by winding cords round their heads, produced such torture, that they rendered up their most hidden stores. Having effected all this, “like men skilfull in such mischiefe,” they returned to the Swallow; but their boat being upset several of them were drowned, and the rest suffered afterwards the full penalty of their crime.

The fishery on this shore was already in a state of activity, thirty-six vessels, sixteen of them English, being busily engaged in it. Sir Humphrey immediately assumed sovereignty, as vested in him by the Queen’s patent. His first step was to cause each of his ships to draw up a list of their wants, the duty of supplying which was then partitioned among the different fishermen, foreign as well as native. They are said to have complied, not only furnishing what he had demanded, but adding wines, marmalade, biscuit, and other delicacies. The officers were also entertained at festivals. “In short,” said one, “we were supplied as if we had bene in a countroy or some citie, populous and plentifull of all things.” This was explained as follows: “They being not able to match us, suffer us not to be hunger-starved.” Sir Humphrey’s vessels were armed, while the others were only fitted out for fishing.

The commander proceeded now to avail himself of his advantage, in order to establish permanent dominion over that remote region. Having fixed his headquarters at St John’s, he proclaimed that a circuit of two hundred leagues in every direction was held by him in full right under Her Majesty. English laws as to the form of worship, were established, and it was ordained, that whoever should attempt anything prejudicial to this dominion, should be forthwith tried and executed. Any person who should utter words “to the dishonour of her majesty,” should lose his ears. Lofty as these pretensions were, they are said to have been accepted.

Sir Humphrey, however, did not attempt to form a settlement, and many of his men, disgusted with the country, and longing to return to England, disappeared in various directions. Their character rendered them unscrupulous as to the means. One party seized a fishing vessel, turning the crew on shore. Others plotted to treat in a similar way a squadron of ships; but were discovered and defeated. Some fled into the woods, in hopes of making their way to England in other barks. The sick, too, had become numerous, and the commander sent them home in the Swallow, taking with him only the three other vessels—for the Squirrel had also joined them at another point along the coast. On the 20^th of August, he directed his course to Sable Island, recommended, on no satisfactory intelligence, as an eligible station. The sailing directions were imperfect, however, so that, after quitting Cape Race and venturing into the open sea they were soon in trouble. Sir Humphrey, reportedly having an exaggerated opinion of his skills at sea, disregarded the warnings given by the master of the Delight that he was carrying the vessel towards dangerous shores. Cox, of the Golden Hind, was of the same opinion, but being in the rear, was obliged to follow. In his narrative he said, that on the night of the 28^th, the crew of the Delight were so little aware of their danger that they were celebrating with musical instruments. It was “like the swanne that singeth before her death.” On that night there arose a violent gale from the south-east, with heavy rain, and a thick mist. Cox next morning thought he saw white cliffs, but it was probably only the foam of the breakers. The soundings, however, indicated that they were passing over dangerous banks. Signals were made to the Delight; but before they could be acted upon, this their largest vessel struck the bank and her whole stern went to pieces. The two others could afford no aid, being obliged to save themselves by standing out to sea. The only means of escape was by a little pinnace, into which sixteen men leaped, including the master; but the captain, Maurice Brown, refused to leave his ship, and, with the rest of the crew, doubtless perished. Those in the boat could scarcely command their senses, or believe it possible, that this little skiff could reach any haven. Their danger was increased by their being overloaded, so that one sailor proposed to choose four by lot, and to cast them into the sea. But Clarke, the master, declared they would live and die together, “advising to abide God’s pleasure, who was able to save all as well as a few.” They were tossed six days on the ocean, without any food but sea-weed, or any drink but salt water. Two died and others, quite exhausted, at last came in view of the Newfoundland shore. They crept with difficulty to a sheltered spot, formed a habitation of boughs, and collected berries, recruiting their strength. Afterwards, when sailing along the coast, they met a Biscayan vessel, which kindly received and conveyed them to the harbour of Passages.

Sir Humphrey having sailed in the Squirrel with the view of more closely surveying the shore had avoided this catastrophe. The news dismayed him, yet he was reluctant to abandon the design, till the seamen urged the necessity of returning to Europe “before they all perished.” The crew of the Golden Hind, though too distant for speech, pointing to their mouths and ragged clothes, strongly enforced the argument. He felt that no choice was left, yet lamented the loss of his vessel, his men and his books and papers. He was determined to continue his career of discovery; declaring that though his whole fortune was sunk, he would make such representation to the queen for her to finance a still larger expedition.

Arrangements being now made for crossing the Atlantic, Sir Humphrey was urged to quit the Squirrel, as unfit for such a voyage, and go on board the Golden Hind. But he replied “I will not forsake my little company, with whom I have passed so many stormes and perils.” The vessels sailed in safety for three hundred leagues, till they reached the meridian of the Azores. A violent storm then overtook them, the like of which they had never seen. The waves, broke “short and high, pyramid-wise,” owing to their being moved by conflicting tides and currents. In the afternoon of 9^th September, the Squirrel was in extreme peril amid these terrible billows; yet as she approached the Golden Hind, the sailors observed Gilbert sitting with a book in his hand, and heard him call to them, “We are as near to heaven by sea as by land.” Darkness fell and the storm still raged. The crew of the Golden Hind kept their eyes fixed on them and, a little past midnight, the light in Sir Humphrey’s vessel suddenly disappeared and neither he nor his companions were ever heard of again. The Golden Hind, almost a wreck, returned, the sole survivor of the fleet.

Badger and his Little Brother

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Badger and his Little Brother

This story was told to Silas Rand on December 9, 1869 by his friend Benjamin Brooks, who said that he had heard it many times, a long time ago. Rand then published in his Legends of the Micmacs, New York, 1894.

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Mi’kmaq group in about 1890

From the Nova Scotia Archives via the CBC

Somewhere in the forest there resided an Indian, — a young man named Kekwajoo (Badger); he had with him a small boy, who was his brother. In order to secure their winter’s supply, they retired into the midst of the woods, where game abounded. As they moved on, they came to a large, beautiful lake covered with water-fowl. There were wild geese, brant, black ducks, wood-ducks, and all the smaller kinds, such as teals and whistlers.

The small boy was delighted with the sight; but he eagerly inquired of his brother how they were going to manage them. He answered, “Let us first go to work and build a large wigwam, and make it very strong, affixing to it a heavy, solid door.” This was done. Kekwajoo then, being a magician, arranged his plans for decoying the geese and ducks to their destruction. The little boy received the orders. He was to go out on a point of land that extended far into the lake, and call the birds; he was to tell them that his brother was waiting in the wigwam, to give them a kingly reception. The boy went out, as directed; and Kekwajoo, arraying himself in his most splendid robes, seated himself in the part of the wigwam opposite the door; he leaned back with his eyes nearly closed, awaiting their approach.

Then the boy shouts at the top of his voice, calling to the birds to come in and attend upon their king, while he displays his royal authority and utters his high behests. In flock the birds pass through the open door; they arrange themselves around their monarch in the order of their size. The wild-geese come nearest, and sit down; next to them the brant take their station, then the black ducks; and so on, until the least in size are farthest off and nearest to the door. The little boy comes in last, sits down by the door, closes it as he has been directed, and holds it together.

He now, according to previous instructions, directs all the birds to close their eyes and keep them shut as tight as possible, until he gives them word to open them, or their eyes will burst when the king displays his royal magnificence. They obey to the letter, whereupon Badger begins operations upon them, grasping each one tightly round the wings and legs, and crushing their heads with his teeth, — thus preventing all noise and fluttering. He proceeds quietly with the work of death, until he has finished all the wild-geese, brant, and black ducks. The small boy now begins to have his better feelings stirred. He sees no necessity for such wanton destruction, as it seems to him; they can never eat what are already killed. So, stooping down, he whispers into the ear of a small bird seated near him to open his eyes a little.

This the bird does cautiously, lest his eyes should burst; he sees to his horror what the man is doing. He immediately gives the alarm; he screams out, Kědŭmmědolk! (We are all killed!), whereupon they all open their eyes, scream, and fill the wigwam with flutter, noise, and confusion worse confounded. The boy drops down as though knocked over in the general mêlée; the door flies open, and out the birds rush over his prostrate body. Kekwajoo in the meantime exerts himself to the utmost in seizing them and crushing their heads. The little boy seizes the last one by the legs and holds it fast, lest his brother should suspect the trick and administer condign punishment. He is suspected, for his brother seizes him roughly and threatens to flog him; but he begs off, and declares that the birds knocked him down and forced open the door, and that he could not possibly help it. This apology is accepted, and the two begin to pluck and dress the game. The giblets are carefully preserved, and the fowls are sliced up, dried, and thus preserved for their winter’s store.

Time now passes on. They have plenty of food and fuel, and are comfortable in their lodge.

About midwinter they have a visitor. A little fellow comes smelling around, and finally enters the lodge; he is hungry, and intimates that he wishes to share in the abundance that evidently reigns there. His name is Ăbĭstӑnāooch’ (Marten), and he is entertained according to the rules of Indian hospitality. After a while another visitor arrives, whose name is Ableegŭmooch (Rabbit); and they all dwell comfortably and cosily together, telling stories, and engaging in other pastimes.

One day Marten undertakes to quiz Rabbit. The latter is somewhat inclined to boast, and pretends that he has moved in a higher circle than his present company. He is proud of his white robe, and claims to have been the companion of the aristocracy; “he has kept company with gentlemen.”

“What means that slit in your lip?” his comrade, the Marten, asks archly.

“Oh,” says he, “over there where I live, we eat with knives and forks; and one day my knife slipped while I was eating, and I cut my lip.”

“And pray, why are your mouth and whiskers always going when you are keeping still?”

“Oh, I am meditating, planning something, and talking to myself; that’s the way we do.”

“Well, why do you always hop? Why do you not sometimes walk and run, as we do?”

“Ah, that’s our style! We gentlemen do not move like the vulgar; we have a gait of our own.”

“But, pray, why do you scamper away so fast, jumping so far and so rapidly when you move?”

“Well, I used to be employed in carrying weëgadĭgŭnn (dispatches), and got into the habit of moving nimbly; and now it comes natural.”

“And why is your dung so round and hard?”

“It is because we eat biscuit and other nice things.”

“And why does your water stain the snow of a red color?”

“That is owing to the fact that we gentlemen often regale ourselves with wine.”

While this important discussion is going on between the two little guests, their host has been attentively listening. He inquires where their homes are. Marten informs him that his home is not very far away. “Who and what are the people who reside there?” asks Badger. Marten gives him a full account. They are all named from the animals; he begins with the largest animals in the forest, placing the moose at the head, and going downwards to the smallest creature, — mentioning the bear, the caribou, the deer, the wolf, the wildcat, the squirrel, and the tiny mouse.

“Will you go and show me the way to your village?” Kekwajoo asks. “I will,” is the answer; and they start on the journey. As soon as they come in sight of the village, however, the wily Badger turns back; he is resolved to have some sport at the expense of the strangers, and to play upon them a practical joke.

So he returns to his own lodge, and tells his little brother that he has found a village of Indians, and he is going to pay them a visit. Taking a quantity of feathers and a good supply of dried fowl, the two go on towards the newly discovered settlement. Before they reach it, Badger fixes a bed for his brother under a hollow stump, puts in the feathers, leaves the meat, and tells him to remain there until he comes for him.

He now arrays himself in the garb and ornaments of a young woman. In this attire he proceeds to the camp. He enters the chief’s lodge, and is kindly received and entertained. A young man and several girls are there; the young chief and his sisters, as well as their parents, are delighted with the looks and manners of the stranger. The young man becomes enamoured of her beauty, and intercedes with his parents, who make proposals of marriage in his behalf; she replies that if they will treat her kindly, she will consent to the match. So the agreement is made, and the wedding is celebrated in great style, with feasting, dancing, and sports suited to the important occasion.

A new lodge is erected, and the newly married pair retire to their own home.

Time passes, and the young chief does not suspect the imposition that is being practised upon him; when the jester determines to cap the climax with a bogus baby. One day the young man kills a moose, and the wife obtains permission to go out and see it dressed. It is a cow, and there are two small calves; one of these calves the pretended wife snatches up unperceived, and concealing it under her dress, she carries it home. This she manages to dry and hide against the time of need.

Meanwhile the little brother hidden under the stump has eaten up all his provisions; he is lonely, and shouts lustily for his brother. The villagers hear the strange noise, but cannot understand the words or divine their cause. The young chief’s wife is called out to listen; she understands and explains all. It is the Owoolakŭmooějit (Genius of Famine), gaunt and grim; and should he reach the village, starvation would be the consequence. Alas! she remembers too well his visits in her country. “Can you meet and drive him back?” they eagerly ask. “I can,” is the reply; “do you furnish me with a well-dressed hide of a yearling moose, and a good supply of tallow, and I’ll soon stop his noise and drive him away.” The articles are forthwith furnished; she takes them, and rushes furiously forth, shouting the name of the brother: Āā chowwāá [a word to which they could attach no meaning; nor could anyone else now], ělŭmeě’! (go home!) and bidding him at the same time to stop his noise. The noise accordingly soon ceases. The little fellow is completely rolled up in the soft blanket, supplied with food, and told to wait a little longer, and the game will soon be played out.

The next step is to bring forth the babe. When all is ready, she informs her verdant husband that custom on such occasions among her tribe is for the mother to be left entirely alone, and for the husband to go away and remain till all is over. He accordingly goes to his father’s lodge, to await the important event. So the dried little moose-calf is taken and carefully rolled up like a newborn infant, whose cry the pretended mother exactly imitates; when in rushes a bevy of young girls, to welcome the little stranger, — for they had heard the cry as they were going to the spring for water. There lies the mother; and she holds the baby all rolled up, and concealed in a blanket. They take it up carefully, and make a dive for the dear little face, but are told that they must not do that, — that the father must see it first, and that he must uncover the face, and they must carry it to him. Noolmusŭgakělŭmadĭijŭl (They kiss it outside the blanket). Off they start; and off he starts, too, in hot haste, as well he may, running with all his might to where his brother lies concealed, whom he snatches up, and away they run for dear life.

Meanwhile the girls have given the supposed babe into the hands of the supposed father. Grinning with delight, he begins to unroll the wrapper; when, to his dismay, horror, and mortification, the cheat is exposed. He flings it indignantly into the fire, and rushes furiously towards his lodge, to deal summary vengeance upon the author of the trick. But the lodge is empty. A party of fleet hunters and warriors is, however, soon upon the trail; the wily magician baffles them. He and his brother reach the lake. Seizing some dry, broken limbs, he casts them into the water and commands them to turn into a canoe; instantly this is done; in they leap, and paddle for life. His pursuers reach the shore, and just catch a glimpse of the canoe, with its freight, far out and rapidly approaching the opposite shore.

They hunt round, and find the lodge; little Marten and Ableegŭmooch (Rabbit) can now give them the whole history of their adventures. They take possession of all that is of any service, and, chagrined and mortified, but unrevenged, they return to their own village.

The Beauty of Nova Scotia in 1842

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The Beauty of Nova Scotia in 1842

This article catalogues some of Nova Scotia’s lovely rural places. The author had another preoccupation in writing it, however, and that was to highlight the Province as a good place to live, despite it being “only a speck” in the larger British Empire. The author liked to write long and complex sentences, and seemed determined to use as much vocabulary as possible. It ends with an interesting story of someone being lost and injured while travelling in the woods. I will be charitable and assume that it was a statement of facts, and not an ‘Irish joke,’ though I’m probably wrong.

The article is from Vol. 1, No. 2 of The Nova Scotia New Monthly Magazine, published in Halifax in March, 1842.

Nova Scotia’s Avon River

From the Avon River Heritage Society

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Streams and Rural Places in Nova Scotia

There is something not unpleasing in the idea of being natives of a small and remote province of a great empire, rather than of the central portion and immediate seat of power. It is grateful to those feelings of locality, by which we are ten-fold more attached to the small and obscure neighbourhood, with every spot of which we are acquainted, than if we be denizens of a city. It is true, that the man who spends his life in the crowded streets, or the dull brick houses, of the latter, may have become warmly attracted to them, but this has required years. On the contrary, in the village the circumference of which may be half that of a town square,—its inhabitants about as numerous as the inmates of a London hotel,—with one little church of which all the members are the best friends in the world, and you feel an affection for every foot of the road you tread,—you would draw a limit between your vicinity and the world without, and feel, in short, as snug and comfortable as if you sat in your own chimney corner, the fragrant weed in your mouth, and a glass of—whatever you’ll take (tee-total or otherwise) beside you. There is a unity, in the oneness of thought, feeling, opinion, and information, which renders your neighbours and yourself  like a pair of lovers, or rather, perhaps, like tried friends who have, passed the hey-day of youth, and with whom, for long intercourse and familiarity, the possessions of each—the va1ued dog, or the treasured curiosity—have become equally dear. Now, very similar to this is the position of Nova Scotia relative to the great centre of the British Empire. The latter (they have pleasant nooks, but they have not the charm which. remoteness gives) seems like a huge sun constantly convulsed, new rising high from its native level with tumultuous fury, now falling precipitously into a valley presently to mount anew. Faintly the murmur seems to be borne to us across the bosom of the broad Atlantic, as the fisherman reposes safely in his storm-shaken hut, and hears the roaring surge that dashes on the rocks below. But this is not the only portion of the pleasure to which we allude. It is not alone the quiet, the remoteness from turmoil which agitates the great empire of which, we are a portion; but there is something gratifying in the reflection, that we are not a mite lost to sight in the magnitude around us,—that though only a speck, the speck is distinct and perfect, standing forth boldly in relief, and not pictured faintly in the background. Now this locality neither injures, nor is injured by our nationality. We are equally loyal, equal compatriots of the inhabitants of Britain, and it is only as provincials, that we feel and are proud of our unique position.

The Province of Nova Scotia is far from being destitute of rural beauty. The native lover of nature sees a thousand picturesque scenes in this—the land of his birth. True it is that he who has wandered beneath the unsullied skies of enchanting and romantic Italy, or by the banks of the majestic Rhine, can meet with no landscape in this country to attract his attention; but still there are scenes in Nova Scotia presenting a rich extent of prospect, and some which, we have often thought, would bring strikingly to the remembrance of the wanderer from our fatherland some long-familiar spot. There is little attractive scenery in Nova Scotia in which water does not form a very prominent point. Those sequestered nooks, in which a cottage, a prominent tree, a close circumference of wood, a distant spire, are sufficient to be marked by a quiet and bewitching beauty, are but rarely to be met with here. The prospect is in general wide, and the very soul of it, at all times, seems to be the bay, harbour, river, or lake which forms a portion of it. Indeed, the water scenery Nova Scotia, has nothing to fear in a comparison with many more celebrated aquatic places. The Harbour of Halifax is excelled by few, if any, in the United Kingdom while the three principal rivers, as we presume we may term the Annapolis River, the Avon and the Shubenacadie, are all beautiful. The Annapolis River takes its rise in the eastern part of King’s County, and flaws through King’s and Annapolis Counties with very little variation in its course, into a harbour formed by the Bay of Fundy, and which is one of the most beautiful sheets of water, of the same extent, in North America. The Avon is short, but wide, and runs in a southerly direction. The beauty of its appearance below Windsor is, however, somewhat spoilt by the tide which, at low water, leaves the banks of a muddy hue. The third river, which is known by the Indian name of Shubenacadie, (river of Acadia), has its source in the wel1 known chain of lakes near Dartmouth, and, flowing to the north with an easterly inclination, runs a distance of some twenty miles by the side of the great eastern road, from which the traveler may now catch a glimpse of its extremely picturesque waters, and now lose sight of them as they take a more circuitous route and pass on unseen amidst the dense and majestic forest. The unfortunate issue of the attempt to connect, by a canal, this river, the lakes, and Halifax harbour, which would have been of immense advantage in opening an inland navigation through the centre of the province, is a subject with which everyone is acquainted. The timber on the banks of the Shubenacadie is by it made highly profitable. It is transported to the mouth of the stream in the Cobequid Bay, which is a portion of the Basin of Minas, being,—and being a large growth and otherwise valuable, ship-building is carried, on to advantage. At the mouth of the river, the harbour, or rather basin, formed.by its waters and those of the adjacent stream is, at high, water, very beautiful, and, on a fine evening in the time of the salmon fishery there is not a more pleasant sight than the boats and the fishermen dropping up slowly with the flood, unimpelled by oars, while the occupants are securing that, de1icieus fish which Mrs. Hemans should have enumerated among the treasures of the deep. The sun in the west, sinks below the water, of the Bay of Fundy, and leaves twilight to rest softly and not less pleasantly upon the scene.

At the head of the Cobequid bay we find the little river of Truro. This is a fine stream for trouting, but besides being small, it is too deficient in any particular attraction ta merit attention, save that it runs through a place which is said somewhat to resemble in appearance an English village. The village of Truro lies in a valley nearly surrounded by hills, for the most part, of no great height. Though its appearance is pleasing, it would be difficult to say in what the similarity spoken of consists. The hawthorn hedge, the thatched cottage, are wanting; but that in which more peculiarly differs from English villages is the extent of prospect, Truro being wide and diffuse, on a uniform, level. It is however one of the prettiest places in the Province. The hills on one side are covered with spruce, fir, birch &c. and in the course of a stream which flows amongst these, there is a waterfall—small, indeed, but of no mean beauty. The partridge shooting was very good at the place we speak of, a few years ago. We remember, on one occasion, being with a party who divided into the recesses of these woods on a shooting excursion. That day proved extremely fine, and the sport ditto; but a few drops of rain having fallen towards evening and the sky beginning to look dark and lowering, it was determined to return at once, although we had before resolved ta remain out during the night. On mustering our party accordingly, an Irishman who had accompanied it was found to be missing. In vain we hallooed with our utmost strength—the echoes of the forest were the only reply. Loading our guns, we separated into five bands, each composed of three persons. One of these parties was left on the ground at which we divided, and the rest took different routes, intending to make a circuit of about six miles. The missing man had not been seen since two o’clock, at which time he had, with several others, made a halt, and refreshed himself with the creature comforts. Various surmises were, of course, hazarded at to his fate. Two or three large bears had been seen in the neighbourhood shortly before, but it was very unlikely that they should have remained near so large a shooting party during the day, or that, if they had, no tracks should have been discovered. Stories were related by some of wildcats, and other fierce animals, large numbers of which had once been inhabitants of these woods. The night was dark and drizzly, and towards morning we all became completely disheartened. At length, someone suggested that, as the waterfall (which we before mentioned) was but half a mile from the place of halt, and the banks high and precipitous, poor Tim Collins might have wandered thither and fallen over. When persons are thus at bay, an opinion possessing any degree of plausibility is generally concurred with. Such was the case in the present instance, and the whole party immediately set off for the falls. The weather cleared up as we were on the way, and the sun shining brilliantly was received as an omen that Tim would be found, if not with a whole skin, at least “in the land of the living.” We reached the fall, therefore, in comparatively good spirits. It was a spot which seemed only to want a connection with some legend of death to render it a place of pilgrimage to travelers. The stream was narrow, but the noise of the fall was sufficient to prevent any other sound from being heard. The high, and very steep banks were, in most places, covered all the way up with tall spruce and birch, with which were here and there mingled a few trees of other kinds. The course of the stream, both above and below the fall, immediately changed, and the banks, with their lofty trees, appeared to form the circumference of a circle, the centre of which was the fall, with the basin into which the water fell. At the very steepest part of the bank there were but few trees. To this place one of the party went, and having looked over, came back to the rest, who were on their way down, with the information that there was a man stretched out near the edge of the water below. Between the bottom of the bank and the stream was a space of about twenty feet, perfectly level. Here we found the body of the Irishman, with the face downwards. His clothes were torn, but as the bank, though steep, was not rough, his body had not been lacerated. At first we thought him dead, but a slight movement of the arm convinced us of the contrary. Having sprinkled his face with the clear water of the brook, he somewhat revived. We then placed him on a litter hastily constructed, and bore him towards home. As we got beyond the noise of the falling water we found to our amazement that Tim’s tongue was going at a most voluble rate, and presently he leaped from his high position, and wished to know “if we hadn’t a dhrop of the craythur to give a feifer, instead of brakin’ his bones in that rampageous fashion.” Greatly astonished at this undignified conduct in a man whom we had really supposed near his end, an explanation was demanded, and we were, of course, highly delighted to learn that the cause of our having made a night journey of some twenty miles was Tim’s having secured a flask of his darling liquor, with which, being of an unobtrusive nature, he retired to this “sweet sequestered spot” to regale himself, and so, fall asleep. Poor Tim! He has since taken the pledge, and assures us that he never intends to lose himself again. We have heard, however, that he cannot refrain from relating this adventure, and generally concludes by boasting that- “Fifteen of the bost gintry in the counthry were in purshuit of me, but none of ‘em could find me but meeself.”

John Allan’s Invasion of the St. John River

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John Allan’s Invasion of the St. John River

W.O. Raymond published an article in the April 10, 1897 edition of The Dispatch, a Woodstock newspaper, entitled John Allan’s Invasion of the St. John River. The article was short, because The Dispatch usually budgeted about two columns to his submissions.

The article was interesting, of course, because it was by Raymond, but I have one objection to it as follows:

John Allan’s opinions of the character of the Wabanaki and Native people in general are quoted. This was appropriate to the article, but Raymond’s agreement with parts of it was incorrect. The Wolastoqiyik were not capricious in their dealings with competing forces. The American Revolution was not their fight. The Mi’kmaq had been forthright in their opinions when they said “The father and the son to fight is terrible. Old France and Canada did not do so, we cannot think of fighting ourselves till we know who is right and who is wrong.” If one or other of the warring sides seemed to be in the ascendency then it was in their interest to support that side and not to alienate the eventual winner.

Raymond’s article follows and is nearly as found. I have made no editorial changes to his remarks about the character of the Wolastoqiyik people.

Maliseet Men and Canoe, ca. 1863

New Brunswick Museum

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John Allan’s Invasion of the St. John River

John Allan, of whose doings on the river St. John in the summer of 1777 we are about to speak, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, and when only four years old came with his father to Halifax at the time that city was founded by Cornwallis. He was consequently about thirty years of age when the Revolutionary war began. He relied upon his personal influence and acquaintance with the Indians to bring them over to the side of the Americans. His estimate of Indian character is not particularly flattering. He says “The Indians are generally activated according to the importance or influence anyone has who lives among them. They are credulous to a degree, will listen to every report, and generally believe it, and think everything is true that is told them.” At the same time he says “They think among themselves it is a great qualification to use deception … and employ every art to achieve their ends. Where they perceive an opportunity to get something, they will employ every facility to obtain it.” Allan used all his art to subvert the Micmacs, but they were too politic to commit themselves, and we must admit that in their answer to their solicitations they had the best of it: “We do not comprehend” they said “what all this quarrelling is about. How is it that Old England and New England should quarrel and come to blows? The father and the son to fight is terrible. Old France and Canada did not do so, we cannot think of fighting ourselves till we know who is right and who is wrong.”

In the spring of 1777, Allan resolved to try his personal influence over the Maliseets in order to remove, if possible, the favourable disposition towards the English by Col. Gould’s visit. Col. Gould, it may be observed, spent several weeks on the river in the early part of May, 1777, during which he succeeded in pacifying the Indians and securing the submission of the Maugerville settlers who, with the exception of three who fled to the States, took the oath of allegiance to the British crown.

On the 29^th of May word was brought to Allan that Col. Gould had returned to Halifax. He accordingly left Machias the following day with four whale boats and four canoes and a party of forty-three men. The next day they arrived at the encampment of the Passamaquoddies where they were well received, and proceeded onward reinforced with about a dozen more canoes manned with Indians. On the evening of June 1^st, they arrived at Musquash Cove where they planned to surprise the settlers at Portland Point. Accordingly, Captain West and sixteen men started in the night for Manawagonish Cove, arriving there early in the morning. (This cove about four miles to the west of Portland Point.) They marched nearly three miles to South Bay above the falls crossing there in bark canoes to the east side of the river near what is now Indiantown. Proceeding on through scrubby woods and over rough limestone rocks they arrived undiscovered at Portland Point and made possession of William Hazen and James White. Leaving a strong guard at the mouth of the river under Captain West, they proceeded up the river. Allan claims that the majority of the settlers, despite their submission to British authority, were still favourable to the Americans. Some, however, “were great zealots for Britain” and among them was one Lewis Mitchell was particularly obnoxious, having been instrumental to bringing Col. Gould to the river. Gervis Say, one of the old Sunbury magistrates, was another loyal British subject and is referred to by Allan as one of those who informed Nova Scotia of his arrival on the St. John. Lewis Mitchell was an active and zealous partisan, and Allan dreaded his influence because of his being “of an insinuating turn, particularly among the French and Indians.” The Americans succeeded in surprising and capturing Mitchel at his house in Grimross in the same manner in which they had previously captured Hazen and White. Three weeks afterwards he effected his escape, a circumstance regarded by Allan as very unfortunate and liable to be “of the worst consequence.”

On the 5^th day of June the party arrived at Aukpaque where forty or fifty Indians arrayed in war paint and feathers fired a feu de joie and received them with much ceremony. What followed in the course of the next few weeks bears out the truth of Allan’s statement at the beginning of this article, viz that he Indians were generally activated according to the importance and influence of anyone who lived among them. At first he found that several were vastly fond of Col. Gould and were undetermined what to do. The inclination of the two head chiefs were diverse. Ambroise St. Aubin followed the Americans, Governor Pierre inclined the other way. Allen, however, knowing well the weak points of the Indian character, appealed to their capacity, promising them presents from the trading post he was about to establish, recalled the days when they had regarded the French as their brothers, affirming he had come to do them justice with the same authority as Monsieur Boishébert had exercised in French times. He was formally admitted into their tribe, and as they then had no resident priest in the village, the Priest’s house adjoining the chapel was placed at his disposal. There followed frequent exchanges with the usual harangues exchanges of wampum belts and other ceremonies, in all of which the American agent appeared to advantage. The several chiefs made quite a grand appearance at these conferences. Ambroise St. Aubin, for example, was attired in a blue Persian silk coat, embroidered crimson silk waistcoat, scarlet knit breeches and gold laced cap with white cockade. Allan in the intervals between the formal conferences occupied himself visiting the different wigwams, exercising his powers of persuasion upon the Indians individually. Messengers were dispatched upriver to invite the attendance of delegates from Meductic and Madawaska, and they promptly responded, especially as it became known that Allan had a considerable quantity of supplies at his disposal.

The journal kept by the party during the expedition is printed in Kidder’s Military Operations in Eastern Maine and Nova Scotia During the Revolution. It affords occasional glimpses of the state of affairs on the St. John river at the time and gives us some further insight into the customs and manners of the Indians. Allan describes the funeral of an Indian girl. The ceremony was a solemn yet simple one. The body was borne into the chapel, the bell tolling the while; after a short prayer they sang a funeral hymn. The coffin was then deposited into the grave and a handful of earth cast upon it by the relatives and friends of her sex. Immediately afterwards the family wigwam was struck and removed into the thickest part of the village that the parents might be better consoled for the loss of their child.

Allan says that on the Sundays he was at Aukpaque a number of Frenchmen came to worship at the Indian chapel and that he and his prisoners Messrs. Hazen and White also attended. The bell of the chapel is probably the very same one now at the chapel at the Indian village at Fredericton, which is inscribed with the fleur de lis of France.

Allan wrote to Boston that he needed an abundance of things sent to him as he had been forced to be very lavish in his dealings with the Indians. Delegates arrived from Meductic on the 20^th of June, and three birch bark canoes arrived from Madawaska with seven chiefs and captains one of whom had lately assumed the name of Washington. At the next conference an agreement was made that a truck house should be established by the Americans on the river St John and good prices were promised for firs and peltry.  

Thus far, fortune had smiled upon the undertaking and all had gone swimmingly with John Allan, but he was now about to undergo a very different kind of experience.

Information had already been sent to Halifax by Gervis Say and other Loyalists regarding Allen’s expedition, and Lewis Mitchell after his escape is said to have proceeded post haste to Fort Cumberland. Sir George Collier immediately ordered the war ship Mermaid and the sloops Vulture and Hope to proceed to St. John where shortly after their arrival they were joined by a detachment from the garrison Fort Cumberland under the command of Major Studholm, accompanied by Col. Michael Franklin, very lately appointed superintendent of Indian affairs.

Allan had left Captain West and sixty men to defend the river. On the 30^th of June the English landed about 120 men at Manawagonish cove opposite the house of Mr. Samuel Peabody. They marched through the woods about two miles and a half, and after a sharp battle at the falls where several were killed on both sides the Yankees beat a hasty retreat. Finding Capt. West and his men ascending the Oromocto crossing and hence to the head of the Magaguadavic which they descended to Passamaquoddy and so to go back to Machias. They had little or no provisions with them, and endured almost intolerable hardship on their way.

When tidings if this disaster reached Aukpaque, all was consternation. Allan says in his journal that the head chief came to him and begged that he write a letter to the commander of the British forces it being the desire of the Indians at Aukpaque and at “Metawashough” and Meductic. Allan now exercised all his diplomacy to prevent the Indians submitting to the English, and not without effect. Pierre Tomah and several others were disposed to listen to the overtures of Michael Franklin, but Ambroise St. Aubin and the majority were not so disposed. Tomah went on board the British sloop that had come to the river and had an interview with Franklin. Evidently he was not indisposed to come to terms, but the efforts of Allan, seconded by Ambroise St. Aubin prevented him carrying his tribe with him. Finding that the British would in all probability follow him up the river Allan persuaded the majority of the Indians to abandon their settlements and follow his fortunes. He assured them that this was only a temporary measure and that the Americans would shortly regain control of the river. It was certainly not for want of effort on his part that they failed to do so.

W.O. Raymond

Remarkable Farm Values in New Brunswick, 1915-16

From the blog at http://JohnWood1946.wordpress.com

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The First World War dragged on, and Alfred Burley wanted to promote his New Brunswick real-estate business. That was a difficult task, since he specialized in farm properties and immigration from Europe had almost entirely dried up. Nonetheless, he produced a very substantial pamphlet, or book, promoting New Brunswick as a wonderful place to buy one of his properties and become a farmer.

His publication was Burley’s Farm Catalogue No. 7, (Remarkable Land Values in New Brunswick, Canada),Alfred Burley & Co., Real Estate Brokers and Farm Specialists,Saint John, N.B., 1916.

Some parts of Alfred Burley’s pamphlet were more interesting to me than others, and following is a selection of excerpts.

Remarkable Farm Values in New Brunswick, 1915-16

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1. From the introduction to his book:

“Introductory

“When the German Kaiser plunged the great nations into war, he struck the real-estate business a stunning blow, and no other branch of the world’s business has been harder hit. It is true that our business was more successful previous to the war, yet we have done remarkably well, considering that immigration has been almost entirely cut off, and that there is very little land changing ownership elsewhere.

“Judging from the many, encouraging letters we are receiving from persons who intend coming here after they have sold their holdings elsewhere, there will be a keen demand for New Brunswick farms after peace has been proclaimed and trade and commerce once more become normal. We look forward to the time of peace with great expectancy.

“The splendid opportunities offered by the farm lands of this beautiful province to those who wish to engage in agricultural pursuits cannot be approached, elsewhere. Nine-tenths of our sales are to persons attracted by our advertising and who come from other lands, and, every one of these people, after they have closed a deal for a farm, inform the writer that they have never seen or heard of such great land values in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta, or wherever they happened to come from. However, values are steadily increasing and those fortunate enough to come soon will be the happy ones, and those who are not ready to come now would be wise to secure their farms while values are so remarkably great.

“This is the best collection of really desirable farms we have yet offered, and believing the autumn the best time to come, we issue this catalogue in October rather than in January.

“Yours very truly,

ALFRED BURLEY, & CO. Farm Specialists.

2. A newspaper article which he reproduced:

“To Secure Farmers for New Brunswick

“From St. John Standard, Nov. 9^th, 1912.

“The opportunities New Brunswick offers to the British farmer are the subject of an instructive article which appeared in the Empire supplement of the London Standard last week. It should prove of great value in making the advantages of this Province better known in the Old Country. The policy of the Provincial Government and the work of the Farm Settlement Board are lucidly explained. Mr. Percy W. Thomson, who spent some time in the Province recently in connection with Mr. Norton-Griffiths’ colonization plans, is interviewed, and speaks very highly of the farming possibilities of the Province. New Brunswick he says, offers the best field for the small farmer to be found in Canada.

“The article opens with a reference to the fact that signs are not wanting that the people of ‘the beautiful Canadian Province of New Brunswick’ are alive to the potentialities of their heritage and are about to attempt in a thorough fashion to secure their share of the new settlers who are pouring into Canada. The Premier, Hon. J.K. Fleming, and the members of his government, it is pointed out, are particularly alive to the importance of attracting farmers from the Old Country to the fertile lands of New Brunswick. What the Provincial Government wish to do is to attract settlers who are farmers, not capitalists, for they realize that it is the working farmer who is going to make the most use of the opportunities that offer and at the same time benefit the Province as a whole.

“Stress is laid upon the number of farms at the present time that can be purchased at a very reasonable price. The reasons for this, says the writer, are explained by the lack of adequate railway facilities in the past, the absence of markets close at hand, and the extensive advertising of the West. The first two drawbacks are now being removed; and the third reason is in no sense an aspersion on the possibilities of New Brunswick, although it has undoubtedly contributed largely to the comparative stagnation of the Province in recent years.

“Mr. Thomson’s conclusions as to the opportunities in New Brunswick are of special interest from the fact that he toured Canada for some months in connection with Mr. Norton-Griffiths’ colonization plans. He states that he went to New Brunswick somewhat skeptical as to its future, but that he had his eyes opened by what he had seen. The interview is worth quoting. He says:

“‘New Brunswick offers the best field for the small farmer to be found in Canada, in my opinion. In the summer conditions are very like those prevailing in England. The winters are colder, but much more enjoyable. The Province is on the coast, and now enjoys excellent railway facilities. The Premier is taking a keen personal interest in the farm settlement scheme, and he realizes that if the rural districts are filled up it is going to have a considerable effect on the prosperity of the towns. St. John is going ahead at a tremendous rate, but you can buy farms at from $600 to $1,000. Hitherto many of the farmers have gone in for lumbering and fishing as well as farming, and the consequence has been that their agricultural methods have been very haphazard. In every case where Old Country farmers are at work the results are excellent.

“‘For natural beauty of scenery New Brunswick compares very favorably with any part of the Dominion. There are farms along the St. John River and in Carleton County which any first-class farmer would be very glad to possess. Taking the country as a whole, I don’t see why New Brunswick should not become one of the most prosperous Provinces in the whole of Canada. They not only want farmers, but farm laborers, and girls for factories, cotton mills and soap works. Another very fine opening which exists for Englishmen is in market gardening or in private gardening. Whenever the New Brunswickers can, they secure an English gardener, and invariably he makes good. Men engaged in this class of work make plenty of money and have a very good time.

“‘New Brunswick is just beginning to wake up. It has the advantage of being near to Great Britain, and this consideration will weigh with a good many people when they realize what the Province can offer them. It is a magnificent game country. Moose wander about on the country roads; caribou, deer, partridge, duck, geese, snipe and woodcock are plentiful, and the rod fishing is excellent. A friend of mine landed a 16-lb. salmon and a 24-pounder soon afterwards. In fact you can catch any quantity of them and good speckled trout fishing can be obtained in any part of the Province.’”

3. His comments about Saint John:

“Strategic Position of St. John is not Excelled by any City

“‘St. John, for its strategic position, is not excelled by any city in Canada,’ said J. Hamilton Ferns, chairman of the Board of Assessors of Montreal, when responding to a vote of thanks tendered him by the big meeting in the Seamen’s Institute, which listened to his address on taxation recently.

“Let me drop the assessor and speak to you as a Canadian. St. John is a city with a future. As a Canadian I am proud of St. John. You have been doing things in St. John, and some of those things are bigger than you think. In Montreal we are watching you, and in Vancouver I have heard them talking of you.”

4. His list of cities, with some population data:

“Cities and Towns

“St. John, our largest city and the oldest incorporated city in Canada, was incorporated in 1785, with a population of about 60,000, situate at the mouth of the St. John River. It contains numerous saw mills, factories, pulp-mills, foundries and sugar refineries. St. John has the only harbor on the Atlantic north of Baltimore that is not obstructed by ice and is now the chief winter port of Canada. In tonnage St. John ranks fourth in the British Empire.

“Fredericton is situated on the right hank of the St. John about 85 miles from its mouth, is the capital of New Brunswick, with level wide streets shaded by beautiful elms. The Parliament Buildings, Provincial University, Infantry School and Normal School have their home here. It is not only a beautiful city, but it is a stirring business centre with a population of 10,000.

“Moncton, on the Petitcodiac River, is an important railway centre, and carries on considerable manufacturing. Population 15,000.

“St. Stephen, one of the prettiest towns of New Brunswick, is situated at the head of navigation on the St. Croix River, and is the centre of important lumber industries. Population 3,000. Adjoining it on the southwest is Milltown with a population of from 2,000 to 3,000.

“St. Andrews, beautifully situated on a small peninsula between the St. Croix River and the Passamaquoddy Bay, is a popular summer resort.

“Woodstock, situate on the right bank of the St. John, is the centre of a fine agricultural district. Population 4,000.

“Chatham, situate on the right bank of the Miramichi, has an excellent harbor and a large lumber trade. Population 5,000.

“Newcastle, situate six miles further up the Miramichi, at the head of deep water navigation, also carries on a large lumber trade.

“Sackville is home of Mount Allison University and Ladies’ College.

“Memramcook is the site of the Roman Catholic University.”

5. Effect of the war on Saint John:

“St. John is the best market east of Montreal, and gives, promise of greater expansion in the near future. Since the War began, trade in general in New. Brunswick has been about 93 per cent, normal.”

6. And later on he adds:

“St. John’s Outlook is Excellent

“Expert Opinion on the Business Situation

“In Babson’s report on North America business conditions the following reference to St. John appears:—

“‘War is causing great activity in the industrial sections of Canada. The manufacturing cities in the Maritime Provinces are thriving on orders for shrapnel shells and ammunition. Business, in clothing and knit goods, nails and products of the flour and grist mills, shows stimulation, and wholesale and retail trade is very favorable, especially in St. John. The outlook for this city is excellent. Agriculture plays an important part in the prosperity, and hence the predicted bountiful crops should aid in furthering the welfare of St John.’”

The Dreadful Deeds of Pook-jin-skwess, or the Evil Pitcher

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The Dreadful Deeds of Pook-jin-skwess, or the Evil Pitcher

The following story is from Charles Leland’s The Algonquin Legends of New England…, London, 1884. It is an Abenaki story from the Passamaquoddy people and takes place mostly in Nova Scotia. Leland’s full description of the story is “Of the Dreadful Deeds of the Evil Pitcher, who was both Man and Woman, and how she fell in love with Glooscap, and being scorned, became his Enemy. Of the Toads and Porcupines, and the Awful Battle of the Giants.”

Glooscap Setting His Dogs on the Witches

From Leland’s Book

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When Glooscap came into the world it abounded in giants, monsters, sorcerers and witches, fiends and devils. Among the witches there was one whom the Passamaquoddy call Pook-jin-skwess, or the Pitcher. And they have a legend that she once fell in love with Glooscap when he was young and had not gained the power of his riper age. He fled before her, and she pursued him. It was a dreadful flight, since to make rapid steps both took the form of giants by their m’téoulin, or magic power. It was like an awful storm in winter, the wind chasing the cloud; it was like a frightful tempest in summer, the lightning chasing the thunder. As the snow lay deep, both had snow-shoes on. When they came to the shore Glooscap leaped from the mainland to the island of Grand Manan, and so escaped her. Now the snow-shoes of Glooscap were sams’ook, or round, while those of Pook-jin-skwess were long and pointed, and the marks of them as they jumped are to be seen deep in the rocks to this day.

When Glooscap came to the camp, which was at Ogumkegéak, now called Liverpool, he found no one. But there lay the witch-hwed-lakun-cheech, or birch-bark dish of Martin, and from it, or, as another legend states, from an old man and woman who dwelt hard by, he learned that Win-pe and the families had been gone for seven years, along a road guarded by wicked and horrible beings, placed by Win-pe to prevent the Great Master from finding him. For it was a great triumph for him to keep Glooscap’s friends as slaves, and all the land spoke thereof.

And these monsters were Pook-jin-skwess, or the Evil Pitcher herself, in many forms; for she could be man or woman, or many of them, and also several girls, when she willed it. Now it is a great part of Indian m’téoulin to know what one’s enemies are planning and plotting, and all their tricks and darkened paths; and in this Glooscap went beyond them all, for before his time everyone went his own way, even in wickedness. But Glooscap first of all threw out his soul unto others.

And when he came to Ogumkegéak he found a hut and in it, seated over a fire, the ugliest old hag he had ever seen, trembling in every limb, as if near death, dirty, ragged, and loathsome in all ways. Looking up at him with bleared eyes, she begged him to gather her a little firewood, which he did. And then she prayed him to free her from the wah gook, or vermin, with which she was covered, and which were maddening her with their bites. These were all devils in disguise, the spirits of foul poison, such as she deemed must kill even the Master. Now Glooscap, foreseeing all this, had taken with him, as he came, from a bog many cranberries. And bidding Pook-jin-skwess bend over, he began to take from her hair the hideous vermin, and each, as he took it, became a horrid porcupine or toad. Then the hag asked, “Have you found one?” “I have,” replied the Master. “Bâsp!” (Crush it!) was her answer, and Glooscap crushed a cranberry; and she, hearing the noise, thought that he had done as she bid, and that the poison on his fingers would penetrate to his life. But he put the imps, one by one, under the wooden platter, which lay before him. As this went on he put the witch to sleep. When she awoke he was gone. The foul porcupines and toads were swarming all over the ground, having upset their hive. And filled with fury at being made a jest of, since it was a great despite that he had not even found it worthwhile to kill her when asleep, she burst out into her own form, which was beautiful as sin, wild as the devil, and gathering up all her imps, and making herself far more magical by fiercer will, went onward to encounter him again.

Then Glooscap came to a narrow pass in the hills. Here were two terrible beasts, as one story has it, or two monstrous dogs, as it is told in another. And they attacked him; but he set his own at them, and they, growing to tremendous size, killed the others. His dogs were so trained that when called to come off they went on, and the more they were bid to be quiet the more they bit.

Soon he came to the top of a high hill, and looking thence over all the land saw afar off a large wigwam, and knew in his heart that an enemy dwelt therein. And coming to it he found an old man and his two daughters. Now the girls came out greeting him with very pleasant glances, wooing softly and sweetly; they offered him a string of sausages, such as the Indians make from the entrails of the bear by only turning them inside out. For the fat, which clings to the outside, fills the skin. When these are washed and dried and smoked, many deem them delicious. But these which the girls offered, as girls do, to show their love, by casting the string round the neck of the favored youth, were enchanted, and had they once put the necklace upon him he would have been overpowered. However, they knew not of this new magic which the Master had brought into the land, by which one can read the heart; so, as they sidled up unto him with smiles and blandishments, waving in the wind as they danced their garlands of enchanted sausages, he looked as if he wanted to be won. And when his dogs growled at them he cried, “Cuss!” which means Stop! but which the dogs only knew as “Hie, at them!” So they flew at the witches, and these flashed up like fire into their own dreadful forms of female fiends. Then there was a terrible tumult, for never before in the land of the Wabanaki had there been such a battle. All the earth and rocks around were torn up. All the while the Master cried to the dogs, “Stop! These are my sisters. Come off, ye evil beasts! Let them alone! Cease, oh cease!” Yet the more he exhorted them to peace the more they inclined to war, and the more fiercely they fought, until the witches fled.

Then he entered the wigwam where the old sorcerer sat, waiting for him as food. And the Master said, “Are you hungry? Or do you love sausages? Here they are!” Instantly casting the links around his neck, he was taken, and Glooscap slew him with one blow.

Then, going on, he reached the Strait of Camsoke [meaning ‘there is a high bluff on the opposite side of the river’, or Canso,] and to cross over again sang the song which wins the whales, and one of these rising, carried him to the opposite shore. Thence he made the circle of Oona-mah-gik, keeping round by the southern coast, and coming to the old camps where his enemy had been. From the witch-kwed-lakun-cheech, or birch-bark dish, left by Martin, he learned how long they had been gone. When he came to Uk-tu-tun (Cape North) he found they had rowed to Uk-tuk-amqw (Newfoundland), and had left three days before.

Then again he sang, and once more a whale carried him over. And now he knew that he was indeed coming to what he sought, for in the deserted camp he found the embers of a fire, still smoking. Advancing rapidly, he saw near the next camp Martin, seeking wood to burn. The youth and the old Dame Bear had been most cruelly treated by Win-pe, and they were nearly starved, but Martin’s clothes were good [which, for Martin, meant that he was dying of hunger.] And Martin was so sunk in sorrow that he did not hear Glooscap call him, and not till the Master threw a small stick at him did he look up, and even then he thought it had fallen from a tree. Then, seeing him, he cried out with joy; but Glooscap, who was hiding in the woods, bade him be silent. “Wait till it is dark,” he said, “and I will go to your wigwam. Now you may go home and tell your grandmother.”

In the other story it is narrated that as Martin with the grandmother were on the road, and Dame Bear bore him as almost a babe on her back, he turned his head and saw Glooscap following them, and cried out,—

“Where, oh where,
Where is my brother?
He who fed me often
On the marrow of the moose!”

And she replied,—

"Alas for thee boy!
He is far away;
You will see him no more."

But the little fellow, seeing him again, sang as before, and Dame Bear, turning her head and beholding her Master, was so moved that she fainted and fell to the ground. Then Glooscap raised her in his arms, and when she had recovered she related how cruelly they had been treated by Win-pe. And Glooscap said, “Bear with him yet a little while, for I will soon pay him in full for what he has done.”

Then the Master bade the old woman go back to the camp with Martin, and say nothing. It was the youth’s duty to go for water and tend the baby in its swinging cot. And Glooscap told him all that he should do. When he should bring water he must mix with it the worst filth, and so offer it to Win-pe, the sorcerer.

And even as he ordered it was done, and Martin meekly offered the foul drink to the evil man, who at the smell of it cried aloud, “Uk say!” (Oh, horror!) and bade him bring a cleaner cup. But Martin, bearing the babe, threw it into the fire, and, running to the spot where Glooscap hid, cried out, “Nse-sako! nse-sako!” (My brother! my brother!) Win-pe, pursuing him, said, “Cry out to him; your brother cannot help you now. He is far away from here, on the island where I left him. Cry out well, for now you must die!” All this had been done that Win-pe’s power might be put to sleep by anger, and his mind drawn to other things. And the Master rose before him in all his might, and stepped forward, while Win-pe drew backward a pace to recover his strength. And with great will the Master roused all the magic within him, and, as it came, he rose till his head was above the tallest pine; and truly in those days trees were giants beyond those of this time. But the lord of men and beasts laughed as he grew till his head was far above the clouds and reached the stars, and ever higher, till Win-pe was as a child at his feet. And holding the man in scorn, and disdaining to use a nobler weapon, he tapped the sorcerer lightly with the end of his bow, like a small dog, and he fell dead.