NEW SETTLERS--SHERIFF'S RAID--INCIPIENT REBELLION.
In the year 1834 a large party of Highlanders from Blair-Athol arrived,
and finally settled in the township of McNab. They were hardy, healthy,
robust and industrious men. They consisted of the McLachlans, the
Stewarts, the Fergusons, the Robertsons, and the Duffs. The majority of
these families still remain in the township, although some of them, as
late as 1849 and 1850, removed to the Huron tract, and remained there.
This was a great acquisition to the numerical strength of McNab. Being
all located on lands of their own selection, assisted in this choice by
others of their countrymen whose long residence had given them
experience and knowledge, their location tickets were similar to the
last band of settlers, with the exception of a new feature which was
introduced into their agreement by the Chief, that "all the pine timber
was reserved for the use of the Arnprior mills." Their lands might be
slashed, trees might be felled, roads cut through their lots, brush and
rubbish and tree-tops accumulated, thus increasing the difficulties of
clearing, and no compensation made for anything in the shape of a
recompense or remuneration for the greater labor thus imposed, ever
offered to them. They were, of course, serfs. They must submit without a
murmur to their liege lord, and to those to whom he had partly assigned
his rights, or his assumed rights. They did for a time acquiesce,
believing that the whole property was McNab's, and that he had the right
to dispose of it as he pleased. The question was afterwards tested in
the law courts of the country, and there was then discovered by the
people that the "Law of Trespass" existed in Canada as well as at home.
Matters went on smoothly and tranquilly until the first Monday of
January, 1835. Then an event occurred that sent an electric shock
through the whole settlement, and the people looked on in consternation
and apprehension. The township had by this time been regularly
organized. They had come under the jurisdiction of the _quasi_ Municipal
Law as then administered by the Quarter Sessions, composed of
broken-down gentlemen and half-pay officers from Richmond, March, and
Perth. Every half-pay officer was made a justice, and every justice was
a Socrates, combining in his person a knowledge both of military and
civil law; but in their judicial decisions (and they were sometimes very
lucid, especially when good old Jamaica used its influence,) the martial
prevailed over the civil. This court, besides taking cognizance of
assaults, petty thefts, and misdemeanor, laid out the _statute labor_,
expended the taxes, and administered all the internal and municipal
concerns of the District. The executive municipal officers were elected
by the people at their annual meeting held in January. The officers then
chosen were Town-Clerks, Assessors, Collectors, and Pathmasters--all of
them under the authority and jurisdiction of their Worships, the
military and dilapidated Dogberrys in General Quarter Sessions
assembled.
The town-meeting of 1835 for the township of McNab was held in the
shanty of Mr. John McIntyre, in the Flat Rapid settlement, being the
central lot of the township. It had just concluded its session.--Almost
all the male inhabitants of the township had assembled, more for the
purpose of seeing each other than for the business they had to transact.
They knew that the Chief was able to manage all the business of the
township if they did not attend. The people were about to disperse, and
were standing at the door, preparatory to their departure. All at once a
Deputy-Sheriff of Perth, with a _posse_ of bailiffs, made their
appearance, and having seized all John McIntyre's cattle, were driving
them off. Mrs. McIntyre, with the spirit and courage of her grandfather,
who had fought at Culloden, regardless of law or of the consequences,
rushed with a wooden pitchfork on the bailiffs and belabored them
soundly, till she was disarmed and carried off a prisoner to Kennell.
All her cows and all the cattle of Peter McIntyre were swept away, under
the execution obtained a year before, but which could not previously be
enforced. Taking advantage of a large assembly, and seizing the
opportunity of making a durable example before the eyes of all the
settlers, that they might continue true to their allegiance and not
swerve in the slightest degree from their future loyalty to the Chief,
McNab improvised the occasion, and completely effected his purpose. This
judicial raid filled the minds of the people with anxiety and
apprehension, blended with pity for the sufferers. To assist the
McIntyres was to impoverish themselves, and provoke the undying enmity
of their leader. That year the rent was well paid: not a bushel was
withheld. What had occurred to John and Peter McIntyre might any day
happen to themselves. The Laird was all-powerful. He was supported and
assisted by the Government. He held the social position of a great
gentleman, and was undoubtedly a Highland Chieftain--reduced in
circumstances, it is true, but still the legitimate head of a clan,
which office had been hereditary in his family since the days of Malcolm
Canmore. To oppose him was useless, and not to submit and obey was worse
than madness. Those who had not yielded implicitly to his commands had
come to grief. Both Miller and Alexander McNab had been compelled to fly
the township; and now the McIntyres had been harried and ruined. Thus
reasoned the poor Highlanders of McNab; and had the Chief at this
juncture used his power and influence with moderation and prudence, the
chains of feudalism would have been firmly riveted around the necks of
his followers, which nothing but a legislative enactment, backed by
adequate pecuniary compensation, could have burst asunder. Mrs.
McIntyre, without as much as a cloak, was hurried to Kennell in the dead
of winter, but was released next day by the advice of Mr. McMartin, who
was there at the time. She had suffered so severely from exposure to the
cold that she was confined to her bed for weeks.
The cattle were sold and barely paid expenses. It was no joke to travel
with an execution any distance in those days. The expense was enormous,
owing to the paucity of travelling facilities and the state of the
roads.
In the fall of this year the Chief turned his attention toward the back
settlement of the township. He had heard from the settlers and others
that there was a good tract of hardwood land around White Lake. Thither
he betook himself in October. He sent the "_fiery cross_" through the
people, and assembled on a spot where the village now stands a large
concourse of settlers to assist him in making a new colony. A few acres
were instantly cleared, and a small stone house with pavilion roof was
erected, which he named Waba Cottage. The Chief's first motive for
settling here was to be at a distance from the Buchanans, with whom he
had quarrelled a few weeks before he began his new undertaking; but upon
inspection he at once perceived the natural advantages for milling
purposes, and the employment of all kinds of machinery afforded by Waba
brook--the outlet of the lake,--and it was judged both profitable and
expedient to secure the land in this neighborhood for his son Allan,
whom he represented to the Government as a settler; and his pliable
friend, Sir Francis Bond Head, Lieut.-Governor of Upper Canada, the year
following made and ordered out a patent for 720 acres, round the lake,
to Allan McNab, _as a settler under McNab of McNab_. This was making a
splendid provision for his son (_by the bar sinister_) without impairing
his own grant of 4,000 acres--an amount of land formerly given to a
field-officer.
While these transactions were going on about White Lake, let us turn
our eyes to other portions of the township, where improvements were
being steadily made, and the furthering of which was the origin of a
quarrel with the settlers which led to important results. The lands on
the north side of the Madawaska were being rapidly filled up, and it
became necessary to connect both sides of the river by a bridge at
"Johnson's Rock" (the site of the present Burnstown Bridge). For this
purpose, through the representations of the Chief, the House of
Assembly, in February, 1835, on the motion of the Hon. Malcolm Cameron,
granted a sum of money for that and other improvements, and appointed
Duncan McNab (Auchessan), Donald McNaughton, (Mohr), and James
Carmichael commissioners to superintend its expenditure. These were the
men nominated by the Laird himself. They were his particular friends.
They, he imagined, would do as he bade them, and expend the money as he
desired. It was L200. A moiety of this money was to be appropriated to
the Madawaska bridge. The Government handed the money to McNab to bring
down to the commissioners. McNab called a meeting of these gentlemen to
ascertain their views. He wished the other half to be expended at White
Lake. To his utter astonishment the commissioners refused to accede to
his proposal. They were independent men. They had paid their rents
regularly. They had nothing to fear from the Chief. They firmly but
respectfully suggested the plan of dividing a portion of the funds among
other parts of the township. The Chief fumed and puffed with indignation
at their presumption of even remonstrating.
"Then, my men," exclaimed he, foaming with rage, "you don't get the
money at all; I will send it back to York."
They begged him to reconsider his resolution, and offered to expend L50
of the money at White Lake.
"No; not one farthing shall be spent elsewhere. You will suffer, my men,
for this disobedience. The fate of Miller and the McIntyres shall be
yours."
Thereupon Duncan McNab, who was not only a settler but a lumberer, and
had acquired considerable wealth, told the Chief flatly that he was
nothing but an agent; that George Buchanan had found it out, and that
the people were aware of it.
The Chief stared at him aghast, rolled up his eyes, made a number of
pantomimic gestures, at which he was an adept; and terminated the
interview by ordering them out of the house. This dispute eventually
culminated in a law-suit, and four years elapsed before the money was
obtained from the Chief, and expended.
While the Chief was building his cottage at White Lake, and disputing
with the township commissioners, the Messrs. Buchanan were actively
engaged in carrying on the improvements and investing capital in a new
enterprise. Since the first settlers had taken up their locations in
McNab, a regular line of steamboat communication had been established
between Montreal and Fitzroy Harbor (the Chats). The _Ottawa_ plied
between Lachine and Carillon; the old _Shannon_ performed its regular
trips between Grenville and Bytown; and the _Lady Colborne_ made its
tri-weekly voyage between Aylmer and the Chats. The Messrs. Buchanan
resolved to extend the communication to the Cheneaux. Accordingly, in
the autumn of 1835, they commenced making preparations to build the
_George Buchanan_; the keel was laid--the materials
procured--ship-builders actively at work--when Mr. Andrew Buchanan fell
ill and died. This was a sad blow to the prospects of the Company. The
deceased was a gentleman of education, ability and energy; and the
assistance of his great commercial abilities was much needed at this
crisis. Mr. Buchanan was buried on a knoll on the west side of the
Madawaska. The spot is now occupied by the house and store of Mr.
William Russell. Previous to commencing their building in 1853, Messrs.
Russell caused Mr. Buchanan's remains to be removed to the Inch-Bhui
burying ground at Arnprior, a beautiful spot at the mouth of the
Madawaska, consisting of two acres specially granted by the Chief as a
burying ground for the township.
At this eventful period the dispute between McNab and the Buchanans was
at its height. McPhee, a foreman of theirs, had that season made an
immense quantity of saw-logs on the settlers' lots for their mills, and
had driven the greater part of them to the boom at Arnprior. To
embarrass the Buchanans was now his object and delight. By the wording
of the patent from the Crown, certain reservations and restrictions were
made with respect to the river, and notice was served on Mr. George
Buchanan and by the Chief's legal adviser that an injunction would be
moved for in Chancery to restrain him from violating the restrictions in
the patent, in consequence of which a new boom had to be made further up
the river, where the lands were not severed from the Crown. As this
patent is of the utmost consequence to the people now, and to the lumber
trade on the Madawaska, the writer has, with no small trouble, obtained
an exemplification of the original deed. It is as follows:--
PROVINCE OF UPPER CANADA, } George the Fourth,
P. MAITLAND: } by the Grace of
God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, KING:
To all whom these presents shall come, greeting:
Know Ye that We, of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere
motion, have given and granted, and by these presents do give and
grant unto ARCHIBALD McNAB of McNab, of the township of McNab, in
the County of Carleton, in the District of Bathurst, his heirs and
assigns forever, all that parcel or tract of land situate in the
township of McNab, in the County of Carleton, in the District of
Bathurst, in our said Province, containing by admeasurement Four
Hundred and Fifty Acres, be the same more or less, being the
South-Westerly halves of Lots Three and Four, the North-Easterly
half of Lot number Three, and the broken Lot number Five, in
concession C in the said township of McNab; Together with all woods
and waters lying and being under the reservations, limitations, and
conditions hereinafter expressed.
(Then follow the surveyor's boundaries, which are in the usual
form, except the boundaries of number Five, which we transcribe:)
Also commencing where a post has been planted at the South-West
angle of the said broken Lot number Five, then north thirty-six
degrees west thirty chains more or less to the Grand or Ottawa
River, then easterly along the shore to the mouth of the River
Madawaska, then southerly along the water's edge of the said river,
against the stream, to the southern limit of the said Lot, then
south fifty-four degrees west to the place of beginning, containing
One Hundred and Fifty acres, more or less.
To have and to hold the said parcel or tract of land hereby given
or granted to him the said Archibald McNab (reserving free access
to the beach by all vessels, boats and persons, and also all
navigable waters within the said tract of land) his heirs and
assigns forever, saving nevertheless to us, our heirs and
successors, all mines of gold and silver that shall or may be
hereafter found on any part of the said parcel or tract of land
hereby given and granted as aforesaid,--&c., &c.
2nd proviso reserves all white pine trees.
3rd proviso enjoins the erection of a dwelling-house.
PROVIDED also that it as any time or times thereafter the land so
hereby given and granted to the said Archibald McNab and his heirs
shall come into possession or tenure of any person or persons
whomsoever, either by virtue of any deed or sale, conveyance,
enfeoffment, or exchange; or by gift, inheritance, descent, devise,
or marriage; such person or persons shall _twelve months_ next
after his, her, or their entry into and possession of the same,
take the oaths prescribed by law, before some one of the
magistrates of our said Province, and a certificate of such oath
having been so taken, shall cause to be recorded in the Secretary's
office of the said Province. In default of all or any of which
conditions, limitations and restrictions, the said Grant, and
everything herein contained, shall be, and We hereby declare the
same to be null and void, to all intents and purposes whatsoever;
and the land hereby granted, and every part and parcel thereof,
shall revert to, and become vested in us, Our Heirs and Successors
in like manner, as if the same had never been granted, etc., etc.
(Signed) JOHN B. ROBINSON,
_Attorney-General_.
Given under the Great Seal of our Province of Upper Canada: Witness
our trusty and well-beloved Sir Peregrine Maitland, K.C.B., etc.,
etc.; this Twenty-eighth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-eight, and ninth of Our
reign.
By command of His Excellency in Council,
(Signed) D. CAMERON, _Sec'y_.
Entered with the Auditor, 8th March, 1828.
(Signed) S. HEWARD, _Aud. Gen'l_.
[NOTE.--It will be observed that anyone who has purchased land from the
McNab or his assigns, or from any one holding under them, in the village
of Arnprior, itself, or in any portions of the lots described in the
patent, must have the oaths of supremacy and allegiance taken and
registered within a year of their entry and possession, or their land is
forfeited to the Crown. And again, by another of the provisions it
stipulates that if free access to the beach on the shores of the Ottawa
and Madawaska by means of booms and other impediments is prevented, the
whole of the above land is forfeited; and the party hindered from this
free access, either through the land, or by boat or vessels by water,
has his remedy by action. There seems something strange in the wording
of this particular patent, differing, as it does, from all others, but
it was drafted by Sir John Beverly Robinson, late Chief Justice of Upper
Canada, and was evidently drawn up with great care and forethought, in
order to protect the rights of the lumbermen taking their timber down
the Madawaska.]
At the close of this year, in consequence of his dispute with the
Buchanans, the Chief procured a specific grant of all the white-pine
timber on all unlocated lands in the township. This grant was made by
patent, but he took special care in locating new lots to reserve the
timber for his own use. We now find McNab at the close of this year
(1835), engaged in a law-suit with Mr. George Buchanan and others
involved in a dispute with the Commissioners respecting road-grants, and
making a new farm and building a new cottage at White Lake.--His hands
were full, but this did not prevent him from carrying out his revenge on
certain of the "black sheep," the full particulars of which will be
detailed in the following chapter.