HIGHLAND SETTLEMENT IN PICTOU, NOVA SCOTIA.
"What noble courage must their hearts have fired,
How great the ardor which their souls inspired,
Who leaving far beyond their native plain
Have sought a home beyond the western main;
And braved the perils of thestormy seas
In search of wealth, of freedom, and of ease.
Oh, none can tell, but those who sadly share,
The bosom's anguish, and its wild despair,
What dire distress awaits the hardy bands,
That venture first on bleak and desert lands;
How great the pain, the danger and the toil
Which mark the first rude culture of the soil.
When looking round, the lonely settler sees
His home amid a wilderness of trees;
How sinks his heart in those deep solitudes,
Where not a voice upon his ear intrudes;
Where solemn silence all the waste pervades,
Heightening the horror of its gloomy shades;
Save where the sturdy woodman's strokes resound
That strew the fallen forest on the ground."
--_H. Goldsmith_.
The second settlement of Highlanders in British America was at Pictou,
Nova Scotia. The stream of Scottish emigration which flowed in after
years, not only over the county of Pictou, but also over the greater
portion of eastern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and
even the upper provinces of Canada, was largely due to this settlement;
for these emigrants, in after years, communicated with their friends and
induced them to take up their abode in the new country. The stream once
started did not take long to deepen and widen.
A company of gentlemen, the majority of whom lived in Philadelphia,
received a grant of land in Nova Scotia. Some of the shares passed into
the hands of the celebrated Dr. John Witherspoon and John Pagan, a
merchant of Greenock, Scotland. These two men appear to have jointly
been engaged in promoting emigration to the older colonies. Pagan owned
a ship called _Hector_, which was engaged in carrying passengers across
the Atlantic. In 1770 she landed Scottish emigrants in Boston. In order
to carry out the original obligations of the grant, the proprietors
offered liberal inducements for the settlement of it. An agent, named
John Ross, was employed, with whom it was agreed that each settler
should have a free passage from Scotland, a farm, and a year's free
provisions. Ross sailed for Scotland on board the Hector, and on his
arrival proceeded to the Highlands, where he painted in glowing colors a
picture of the land and the advantages offered. The Highlanders knew
nothing of the difficulties awaiting them in a land covered over with a
dense unbroken forest, and, tempted by the prospect of owning splendid
farms, they were imposed upon, and many agreed to cast their lot on the
western side of the Atlantic. The Hector was the vessel that should
convey them, with John Spears as master, James Orr being first mate, and
John Anderson second. The vessel called first at Greenock, where three
families and five young men were taken on board. From there she sailed
for Lochbroom, in Rossshire, where she received thirty-three families
and twenty-five single men, having all told about two hundred souls.
On July 1, 1773, this band bade adieu to friends, home, and country and
started for a land they knew naught of. But few had ever crossed the
ocean. Just as the ship was starting a piper named John McKay came on
board who had not paid his passage; the captain ordered him ashore, but
the strains of the national instrument so affected those on board that
they interceded to have him allowed to accompany them, and offered to
share their own rations with him, in exchange for his music, during the
passage. Their request was granted, and his performance aided in no
small degree to cheer the pilgrims in their long voyage of eleven weeks,
in a miserable hulk, across the Atlantic. The band of emigrants kept up
their spirits, as best they could, by song, pipe music, dancing,
wrestling, and other amusements, during the long and painful voyage. The
Hector was an old Dutch ship, and a slow sailer. It was so rotten that
the passengers could pick the wood out of the sides with their fingers.
They met with a severe gale off the Newfoundland coast, and were driven
back so far that it required two weeks to recover the lost distance. The
accommodations on board were wretched and the provisions of inferior
quality. Small-pox and dysentery broke out among the passengers.
Eighteen, most of whom were children, died and were committed to the
deep. The former disease was brought on board by a mother and child,
both of whom lived to an advanced age. Owing to the voyage being
prolonged, the stock of provisions and water became low; the remnant of
food left consisted mostly of salt meat, which, with the scarcity of
water, added greatly to their sufferings. The oatcake, carried by them,
became mouldy, so that much of it was thrown away before they thought
such a long passage was before them; but, fortunately for them, Hugh
Macleod, more prudent than the rest, gathered into a bag these despised
scraps, and during the last few days of the voyage, all were glad to
avail themselves of this refuse food.
At last, all the troubles and dangers of the voyage having been
surmounted, on September 15th, the Hector dropped anchor, opposite where
the town of Pictou now stands. Previous to the arrival of the vessel,
the sparsely inhabited country had been somewhat disturbed by the
Indians. Word had been received that the Hector was on the way to that
region with Highland emigrants. The whites warned the Indians that the
Highlanders were coming--the same men they had seen at the taking of
Quebec. When the Hector appeared, according to the fashion of that time,
her sides were painted in imitation of gunports, which induced the
impression that she was a man-of-war. Though the Highland dress was then
proscribed at home, this emigrant band, carefully preserving and fondly
cherishing the national costume, carried it along with them, and, in
celebration of their arrival, many of the younger men donned themselves
in their kilts, with _Sgian Dubh_ and the claymore. Just as the vessel
dropped anchor, the piper blew up his pipes with might and main, and its
thrilling sounds then first startling the denizens of the endless
forest, caused the Indians to fly in terror, and were not again seen
there for quite an interval. After the terror of the Indians had
subsided, they returned to cultivate the friendship of the Highlanders,
and proved to be of great assistance. From them they learned to make and
use snowshoes, to call moose, and acquired the art of woodcraft. Often
too from them they received provisions. They never gave them any
trouble, and generally showed real kindness.
The first care of the emigrants was to provide for the sick. The wife of
Hugh Macleod had just died of smallpox, and the body was sent ashore and
buried. Several were sick, and others dying. The resident settlers did
all within their power to alleviate the sufferers; and with the supply
of fresh provisions most of the sick rapidly recovered, but some died on
board the vessel.
However great may have been the expectation of these poor creatures on
the eve of their leaving Scotland, their hopes almost deserted them by
the sight that met their view as they crowded on the deck of the vessel
to see their future homes. The primeval forest before them was unbroken,
save a few patches on the shore between Brown's Point and the head of
the harbor, which had been cleared by the few people who had preceded
them. They were landed without the provisions promised them, and without
shelter of any kind, and were only able, with the help of the earlier
settlers, to erect camps of the rudest and most primitive description,
to shelter their sick, their wives and children from the elements. Their
feelings of disappointment were most bitter, when they compared the
actual facts with the free farms and the comfort promised them by the
emigration agent. Although glad to be freed from the pest-house of the
ship, yet they were so overcome by their disappointment that many of
them sat down and wept bitterly. The previous settlers could not promise
food for one-third of those who had arrived on board the Hector, and
what provisions were there soon became exhausted, and the season was too
late to raise another crop. To make matters still worse, they were sent
three miles into the forest, so that they could not even take advantage,
with the same ease, of any fish that might be caught in the harbor.
These men were unskilled, and the work of cutting down the gigantic
trees, and clearing up the land appeared to them to be a hopeless task.
They were naturally afraid of the Indians and the wild beasts; and
without roads or paths through the forest, they were frightened to move,
doubtful about being lost in the wilderness.
Under circumstances, such as above narrated, it is not surprising that
the people refused to settle on the company's land. In consequence of
this, when the supplies did arrive, the agents refused to give them any.
To add still further to the difficulties, there arose a jealously
between them and the older settlers; Ross quarrelled with the company,
and ultimately he left the newcomers to their fate. The few who had a
little money with them bought food of the agents, while others, less
fortunate, exchanged clothing for provisions; but the majority had
absolutely nothing to buy with; and what little the others could
purchase was soon devoured. Driven to extremity they insisted on having
the supplies that had been sent to them. They were positively refused,
and now determined on force in order to save the colony from starvation.
Donald McDonald and Colin Douglass went to the store seized the agents,
tied them, took their guns from them, which they hid at a distance. Then
they carefully measured the articles, took account of what each man
received, that the same might be paid for, in case they should ever
become able. They then left, leaving behind them Roderick McKay, a man
of great energy and determination, a leader among them, who was to
liberate the agents--Robert Patterson and Dr. Harris--as soon as the
others could get to a safe distance, when he released them and informed
them where their guns might be found, and then got out of the way
himself.
Intelligence was at once dispatched to Halifax that the Highlanders were
in rebellion, from whence orders were sent to Captain Thomas Archibald
of Truro, to march his company of militia to Pictou to suppress and
pacify the rebels; but to his honor, be it said, he pointedly refused,
and made reply, "I will do no such thing; I know the Highlanders, and if
they are fairly treated there will be no trouble with them." Correct
representations of the case were sent to Halifax, and as lord William
Campbell, whose term as governor had just expired, was still there, and
interesting himself on behalf of the colony as his countrymen, he
secured orders for the provisions. Robert Patterson, in after years,
admitted that the Highlanders, who had arrived in poverty, paid him
every farthing with which he had trusted them, notwithstanding the fact
that they had been so badly treated.
Difficulties hemming them in on every hand, with rigorous winter
approaching, the majority removed to Truro, and places adjacent, to
obtain by their labor food for their families. A few settled at
Londonderry, some went to Halifax, and still others to Windsor and
Cornwallis. In, these settlements, the fathers, mothers, and even the
children were forced to bind themselves, virtually as slaves, that they
might have subsistence. Those who remained,--seventy in number--lived in
small huts, covered over only with the bark and branches of trees to
shelter them from the bitter cold of winter, enduring incredible
hardships. To procure food for their families, they must trudge eighty
miles to Truro, through cold and snow and a trackless forest, and there
obtaining a bushel or two of potatoes, and a little flour, in exchange
for their labor, they had to return, carrying the supply either on their
backs, or else dragging it behind them on handsleds. The way was beset
with dangers such as the climbing of steep hills, the descending of high
banks, crossing of brooks on the trunk of a single tree, the sinking in
wet or boggy ground, and the camping out at night without shelter. Even
the potatoes with which they were supplied were of an inferior grade,
being soft, and such as is usually fed to cattle. Sometimes the cold was
so piercing that the potatoes froze to their backs.
Many instances have been related of the privations of this period, some
of which are here subjoined. Hugh Fraser, after having exhausted every
means of procuring food for his family, resorted to the expedient of
cutting down a birch tree and boiling the buds, which he gave them to
eat. He then went to a heap, where one of the first settlers had buried
some potatoes, and took out some, intending to inform the owner. Before
he did so, some of the neighbors maliciously reported him, but the
proprietor simply remarked that he thanked God he had them there for the
poor old man's family. On another occasion when the father and eldest
son had gone to Truro for provisions, everything in the shape of food
being exhausted, except an old hen, which the mother finally killed, for
the younger children. She boiled it in salt water for the benefit of the
salt, with a quantity of herbs, the nature of which she was totally
ignorant. A few days later the hen's nest was found with ten eggs in it.
Two young men set off for Halifax, so weak from want of food, that they
could scarcely travel, and when they reached Gay's River, were nearly
ready to give up. However they saw there a fine lot of trout, hanging by
a rod, on a bush. They hesitated to take them, thinking they might
belong to the Indians who would overtake and kill them. They therefore
left them, but returned, when the pains of hunger prevailed. Afterwards
they discovered that they had been caught by two sportsmen, neither of
whom would carry them. Alexander Fraser, then only sixteen, carried his
sister on his back to Truro, while the only food he had for the whole
journey was the tale of an eel. On another occasion the supply of
potatoes, which had been brought a long distance for seed and planted,
were dug up by the family and some of the splits eaten. The remembrance
of these days sank deep into the minds of that generation, and long
after, the narration of the scenes and cruel hardships through which
they had to pass, beguiled the winter's night as they sat by their
comfortable firesides.
During the first winter, the first death among the emigrants was a child
of Donald McDonald, and the first birth was a son of Alexander Fraser,
named David, afterwards Captain Fraser. When the following spring opened
they set to work to improve their condition. They sought out suitable
spots on which to settle, judging the land by the kind and variety of
trees produced. They explored the different rivers, and finding the soil
near their banks to be the most fertile, and capable of being more
easily improved than the higher lands, they settled upon it.
Difficulties were thrown in the way of getting their grant. The first
grant obtained was to Donald Cameron, who had been a soldier in the
Fraser Highlanders at the taking of Quebec. His lot was situated at the
Albion Mines. This grant is dated February 8, 1775, and besides the
condition of the king's quit rent, contains the following:
"That the grantee, his heirs or assigns, shall clear and work, within
three years, three acres for every fifty granted, in that part of the
land which he shall judge most convenient and advantageous, or clear
and drain three acres of swampy or sunken ground, or drain three
acres of marsh, if any such be within the bounds of this grant, or
put and keep on his lands, within three years from the date hereof,
three neat cattle, to be continued upon the land until three acres
for every fifty be fully cleared and improved. But if no part of the
said tract be fit for present cultivation, without manuring and
improving the same, then this grantee, his heirs and assigns shall be
obliged, within three years from the date hereof, to erect on some
part of said land a dwelling house, to contain twenty feet in length
by sixteen feet in breadth, and to put on said land three neat cattle
for every fifty acres, or if the said grantee, his heirs or assigns,
shall, within three years, after the passing of this grant, begin to
employ thereon, and so continue to work for three years then next
ensuing, in digging any stone quarry or any other mine, one good and
able hand for every one hundred acres of such tract, it shall be
accounted a sufficient seeding, planting, cultivation and
improvement, and every three acres which shall be cleared and worked
as aforesaid; and every three acres which shall be cleared and
drained as aforesaid, shall be accounted a sufficient seeding,
planting cultivation and improvement, to save for ever from
forfeiture fifty acres in every part of the tract hereby granted."
All were not so fortunate as to secure their grants early. As late as
January 22, 1781, in a petition to the government, they complained that
a grant had been often promised but never received; but finally, on
August 26, 1783, the promise was fulfilled. It contains the names of
forty-four persons, some of whom were not passengers on board the
Hector; conveying the lands on which they were located, the size of the
lots being regulated by the number in the family. The following is a
list of grantees, with the number of acres received and notices of
situation of their lots:
ON WEST RIVER: David Stewart, 300 acres; John McKenzie, 500; Hugh
Fraser, 400; William McLellan,--; James McDonald, 200; James McLellan,
100; Charles Blaikie, 300, and in another division 250 acres, 550 in
all; Robert Patterson, 300, and in an after division 500 in all; James
McCabe, 300; Alex. Cameron,--.
ON MIDDLE RIVER, EAST SIDE: Alex. Fraser, 100 acres; Alex. Ross, Jr.,
100; John Smith, 350; Robert Marshall, 350; James McCulloch, 240; Alex.
Ross, 300; Alex. Fraser, Jr., 100; John Crockett, 500; Simon Fraser,
500; Donald McDonald, 350; David Urquhart, 250; Kenneth Fraser, 450;
James McLeod, 150.
ON EAST RIVER, EAST SIDE: Walter Murray, 280 acres, and 70 acres in
after division; James McKay, 70; Donald McKay, Jr., 80; John Sutherland,
180, and 70 in after division; Rod. McKay, Sr., 300, and in after
division, 50; James Hays,--; Hugh McKay, 100; Alex. McKay, 100; Heirs of
Donald McLellan, 260; Hugh Fraser, 400, and in after division, 100; Wm.
McLeod, 80; John McLellan, 200; Thomas Turnbull, 220, in after division,
180; Wm. McLeod, 210, and in after division, 60; Alex. McLean,--; Colin
McKenzie, 370.
ON EAST RIVER, WEST SIDE: Donald Cameron, 100 acres; James Grant, 400;
Colin McKay, 400; Wm. McKay, 550; Donald Cameron, 100; Donald McKay,
Sr., 450; Donald Cameron, a gore lot; Anthony Culton, 500.
The following is a list of passengers that arrived on board the Hector,
originally drawn up, about 1837, by William McKenzie, Loch Broom, Nova
Scotia:
SHIPPED AT GLASGOW: a Mr. Scott and family; George Morrison and family,
from Banff, settled on west side of Barnys River; John Patterson,
prominent in the settlement; George McConnell, settled on West River;
Andrew Main and family, settled at Noel; Andrew Wesley; Charles Fraser,
settled at Cornwallis; John Stewart.
FROM INVERNESSHIRE: Wiliam McKay, wife and four children, settled on
East River; Roderick McKay, wife and daughter, settled on East River;
Colin McKay and family, on East River; Hugh Fraser, wife and three
children, on McLellans Brook; Donald Cameron and family, on East River;
Donald McDonald, wife and two children, on Middle River; Colin Douglass,
wife and three children, two of the latter lost on the Hector, on Middle
River; Hugh Fraser and family, on West River; Alex. Fraser, wife and
five children; James Grant and family, East River; Donald Munroe,
settled in Halifax, and Donald Mc----.
FROM LOCH BROOM: John Ross, Agent, history unknown; Alexander Cameron,
wife and two children, settled at Loch Broom; Alex. Ross and wife,
advanced in life; Alex Ross and Family, on Middle River; Colin McKenzie
and Family, on East River; John Munroe and family; Kenneth McRitchie and
family; William McKenzie, at Loch Broom; John McGregor; John McLellan,
on McLellans Brook; William McLellan, on West River; Alexander McLean,
East River; Alexander Falconer, Hopewell; Donald McKay, East River;
Archibald Chisholm, East River; Charles Matheson; Robert Sim, removed to
New Brunswick; Alexander McKenzie and Thomas Fraser, From
Sutherlandshire; Kenneth Fraser and family, Middle River; William Fraser
and family; James Murray and family, Londonderry; David Urquhart and
family, Londonderry; Walter Murray and family, Merigomish; James McLeod
and wife, Middle River; Hugh McLeod, wife, and three daughters, the wife
died as the vessel arrived, West River; Alexander McLeod, wife, and
three sons, one of the last died in the harbor, and the father drowned
in the Shubenacadie; John McKay and family, Shubenacadie; Philip McLeod
and family; Donald McKenzie and family, Shubenacadie(?); Alexander
McKenzie and family; John Sutherland and family; William Matheson, wife
and son, first settled at Londonderry, then at Rogers Hill; Donald
Grant; Donald Graham; John McKay, piper; William McKay, worked for an
old settler named McCabe, and took his name; John Sutherland, first at
Windsor, and then on Sutherland river; Angus McKenzie, first at Windsor,
and finally on Green Hill.
Some interesting facts have been gathered concerning the history of
these emigrants, Roderick McKay, who took up land on the East River, was
born in Beauly, and before leaving his native country gained a local
admiration by rescuing some whiskey from the officers who had seized it,
and for the offence was lodged in jail in Inverness. He soon ingratiated
himself into the good graces of the jailer, and had no difficulty in
sending him for some ale and whiskey. The jailer returning, advanced
into the cell with both hands full. Roderick stepped behind him, passed
out the door, locked it, and brought off the key. In Halifax he added to
his reputation. An officer was paying some attention to a female inmate
of his house which did not meet the approbation of Roderick, and meeting
them together upbraided him for his conduct, when the latter drew his
sword and struck him a cruel blow on the head. Telling the officer he
would meet him within an hour, he had his wound dressed, and securing a
stick stood before his antagonist. The officer again drew his sword and
in the melee, Roderick disarmed him and well repaid him for his cowardly
assault. Alexander Fraser, who settled on Middle River, although too
young to serve in the Rising of the Forty Five had three brothers at
Culloden, of whom two were killed. He was in comfortable circumstances,
when he left what he thought was a Saxon oppression, which determined
him to seek freedom in America. His horses and cart were seized by
gaugers, with some whiskey which they were carrying, and taken to
Inverness. During the night, the stable boy, a relative of Fraser, took
out the horses and cart, and driving across country delivered them to
the owner, who lost no time in taking them to another part of the
country and disposed of them. He was the last to engage a passage in the
Hector. Alexander Cameron who gave the name to Loch Broom, after that of
his native parish was not quite eighteen at the Rising of the Forty
Five. His brothers followed prince Charles, and he was drawn by the
crowd that followed the prince to Culloden. When he returned to his
charge, it was to meet an angry master who attempted to chastize him.
Cameron ran with his master in pursuit. The latter finding him too
nimble, stooped down to pick up a stone to throw at him, and in doing so
wounded himself with his dirk in the leg, so that he was obliged to
remain some time in hiding, lest he should be taken as having been at
Culloden, by the soldiers who were scouring the country, killing any
wounded stragglers from the field. The eldest son of James Grant who
settled on East River, did not emigrate with the family, but is
believed to have emigrated afterwards, and was the grandfather of
General U.S. Grant.
As has already been intimated, amidst all the discouragements and
disappointments, the Highlanders used every means in their power to
supply the wants of their families. They rapidly learned from the
Indians and their neighbors. The former taught them the secrets of the
forests and they soon became skilled in hunting the moose, and from the
latter they became adepts in making staves, which were sent in small
vessels to the older colonies, and in exchange were supplied with
necessaries. But the population rather decreased, for a return made
January 1, 1775, showed the entire population to be but seventy-eight,
consisting of twenty-three men, fourteen women, twenty-one boys and
twenty-girls. The produce raised in 1775, was two hundred and sixty-nine
bushels of wheat, thirteen of rye, fifty-six of peas, thirty-six of
barley, one hundred of oats, and three hundred and forty pounds of flax.
The farm stock consisted of thirteen oxen, thirteen cows, fifteen young
neat cattle, twenty-five sheep and one swine. They manufactured
seventeen thousand feet of boards. While the improvement was somewhat
marked, the supply was not sufficient; and the same weary journeys must
be taken to Truro for necessaries. The moose, and the fish in the
rivers, gave them a supply of meat, and they soon learned to make sugar
from the sap of the maple tree. They learned to dig a large supply of
clams in the autumn, heap the same on the shore, and cover with sand.
Scarcely had these people become able to supply themselves, when they
were again tried by the arrival of a class poorer than themselves.
Inducements having been held out by the proprietors of Prince Edward
Island to parties in Scotland, to settle their land, John Smith and
Wellwood Waugh, living at Lockerbie, in Dumfriesshire, sold out their
property and chartered a small vessel to carry thither their families,
and all others that would accompany them. They arrived at Three Rivers,
in the year 1774, followed by others a few months later. They commenced
operations on the Island with fair prospects of success, when they were
almost overwhelmed by a plague of mice. These animals swarmed
everywhere, consuming everything eatable, even to the potatoes in the
ground; and for eighteen months the settlers experienced all the
miseries of a famine, having for several months only what lobsters or
shell-fish they could gather on the sea-shore. The winter brought them
to such a state of weakness that they were unable to convey food a
reasonable distance, even when they had means to buy it. In this
pitiable condition they heard that the Pictou people were beginning to
prosper and had provisions to spare. They sent one of their number David
Stewart to make inquiry. One of the settlers, who had come from one of
the older colonies, brought with him some negro slaves, and when the
messenger arrived had just returned from Truro to sell one of them, and
brought home with him some provisions, the proceeds of the sale of the
negro. The agent was cheerful in spite of his troubles; and withal was
something of a wag. On his return to the Island the people gathered
around him to hear the news. "What kind of a place is Pictou?" inquired
one. "Oh, an awful place. Why, I was staying with a man who was just
eating the last of his nigger;" and as the people were reduced
themselves they did not hesitate to believe the tale. Receiving correct
information, fifteen of the families went to Pictou, where, for a time,
they fared little better, but afterwards became prosperous and happy.
Had it not been for a French settlement a few miles distant the people
of Lockerbie would have perished during the winter. For supplies,
principally of potatoes, they exchanged the clothing they had brought
from Scotland, until they barely had enough for themselves. John Smith
who was one of the leaders removed to Truro, and Waugh left the Island
for Pictou, having only a bucket of clams to support his family on the
way.
The American Revolution effected that distant colony. The people had
received most of the supplies from the States, which was paid for in
fish, fur, and lumber. This trade was at once cut off and the people, at
first, felt it severely. Even salt could only be obtained by boiling
down sea water. The selection of Halifax as the chief depot for the
British navy promoted the business interests for that region of
country. As large sums of money were expended there, the district shared
in the prosperity. While prices for various kinds of lumber rapidly
increased, and the Pictou colony was greatly advantaged thereby, still
they found it difficult to obtain British goods, of which they were in
need until 1779, when John Patterson went to Scotland and purchased a
supply. The War had the effect to divide the colony of Pictou. Not only
the Highlanders but all others from Scotland were loyally attached to
the British government; while the earlier settlers, who were from the
States, were loyally attached to the American cause, with the exception
of Robert Patterson. Although the Americans were so situated as to be
unable to take up arms, yet they manifested their sympathy in harmless
ways, as in the refusal of tea, and the more permanent method of naming
their sons after those who were prominent in the theatre of war. At
times the feeling became quite violent, in so much so that the circular
addressed to the magistrates in the Province was sent to Pictou,
requiring these officers "to be watchful and attentive to the behaviour
of the people in your county, and that you will apprehend any person or
persons who shall be guilty of any opposition to the King's authority
and Government, and send them properly guarded to Halifax." The
inhabitants were not only required to take the oath of allegiance, but
the magistrates were compelled to send a list of all who so complied as
well as those who refused. Robert Patterson, who had been made a
magistrate in 1774, was very zealous in carrying out this order. He even
started for Halifax, intending to get copies of the oath required, for
the purpose of imposing it on the inhabitants. When he reached Truro one
of the Archibalds discovered his mission and presenting a pistol, used
its persuasive influence to induce him immediately to return home. So
officious did Patterson become that his sons several times were obliged
to hide him in the woods, taking him to Fraser's Point for that purpose.
Many occurrences relating to the War effected the Province, the County
of Pictou, and indirectly the Highlanders, though not in a marked
degree. The first special occurrence, was probably during the spring of
1776, when an American privateer captured a vessel at Merigomish, loaded
with a valuable cargo of West India produce. The vessel was immediately
got to sea. The news of the capture was immediately circulated, and
presuming the privateer would enter the harbor of Pictou, the
inhabitants collected with every old musket and fowling piece to resist
the enemy.--The next incident was the capture of Captain Lowden's vessel
in the harbor in 1777, variously reported to have been the work of
Americans from Machias, Maine, and also by Americans from Pictou and
Truro. In all probability the latter were in the plot. The vessel had
been loading with timber for the British market. The captain was invited
to the house of Wellwood Waugh, and went without suspicion, leaving the
vessel in charge of the mate. During the visit he was surrounded and
informed that he was a prisoner, and commanded to deliver up his arms.
In the meantime an armed party proceeded to the vessel, which was easily
secured. As the crew came on deck they were made prisoners and confined
in the forecastle. Some of the captors took a boat belonging to the ship
and went to the shop of Roderick McKay some distance up East River, and
plundered it of tools, iron, &c. In the meantime Roderick and his
brother Donald had boarded the vessel and were also made prisoners. When
night came the captors celebrated the event by a carousal. When well
under the influence of liquor, Roderick proposed to his brother to take
the ship, the plan being to make a sudden rush up the cabin stairs to
the deck; that he would seize the sentry and pitch him overboard, while
Donald should stand with an axe over the companionway and not allow any
of them to come up. Donald was a quiet, peaceable man, and opposed to
the effusion of blood and refused to take part in the scheme. The McKays
were released and the vessel sailed for Bay Verte, not knowing that the
Americans had retired from the place. The vessel fell into the hands of
a man-of-war, and the captors took to the woods, where, it is supposed,
many of them perished. All of Waugh's goods were seized, by the officers
of the war-vessel, and sold, and he was forced to leave. This affair
caused the American sympathizers to leave the settlement moving
eastward, and without selling their farms.
American privateers were frequently off the coast, but had little effect
on Pictou. One of the passengers of the Hector who had removed to
Halifax and there married, came to Pictou by land, but sent his baggage
on a vessel. She was captured and he lost all. A privateer came into the
harbor, the alarm was given, and the people assembled to repel the
invader. An American living in the settlement, went on board the vessel
and urged the commander to leave because there were only a few Scotch
settlers commencing in the woods, and not yet possessing anything worth
taking away. In consequence of his representations the vessel put out to
sea.--The wreck of the Malignant excited some attention at Pictou, near
the close of the war. She was a man-of-war bound to Quebec, and late in
the fall was wrecked at a place since known as Malignant Cove. The crew
came to Pictou and staid through the winter, being provided for through
the efforts of Robert Patterson.
The cause of the greatest alarm during the War was a large gathering of
Indians at Fraser's Point in 1779. In that year some Indians, in the
interest of the Americans, having plundered the inhabitants at
Miramichi, a British man-of-war seized sixteen of them of whom twelve
were carried to Quebec as hostages, and from there, afterwards, brought
to Halifax. Several hundred Indians, for quite a number of days were in
council, the design of which was believed to join in the war against the
English. The settlers were greatly alarmed, but the Indians quietly
dispersed. Most of the Highlanders that emigrated on board the Hector
were very ignorant. Only a few could read and books among them were
unknown. The Lockerbie settlers were much more intelligent in religion
and in everything else. They brought with them from Scotland a few
religious books, some of which were lost on Prince Edward Island, but
those preserved were carefully read. In 1779 John Patterson brought a
supply of books from Scotland, among which was a lot of the New England
Primer, which was distributed among the young.
The people were all religiously inclined, and some very devout. All were
desirous of religious ordinances. They would meet at the regular hour on
the Sabbath, Robert Marshall holding what was called a religious
teaching for the English, and Colin Douglass doing the same in Gaelic.
The exercises consisted of praise, prayer and the reading of the
Scriptures and religious books. They were visited once or twice by
Reverend David Smith of Londonderry, and Reverend Daniel Cock of Truro
came among them several times. As the people considered themselves under
the ministry of the latter, they went on foot to Truro to be present at
his communions, and carried their children thither on their backs to be
baptized by him. These people had so little English that they could
scarcely understand any sermon in that language. This may be judged from
an incident that occurred some years later. A Highlander, living in
Truro, attended Mr. Cock's service. The latter one day took for his text
the words, "Fools make a mock of sin." The former bore the sermon
patiently, but said afterward, "Mr. Cock's needn't have talked so about
moccasins; Mr. McGregor wore them many a time."
The people were also visited by itinerant preachers, the most important
of whom was Henry Alline. In his journal, under date of July 25, 1782,
he says:
"Got to a place called Picto, where I had no thought of making any stay,
but finding the spirit to attend my preaching, I staid there thirteen
days and preached in all the different parts of the settlement, I found
four Christians in this place, who were greatly revived and rejoiced
that the Gospel was sent among them."--Reverend James Bennet, missionary
of the Church of England, in 1775, visited the eastern borders of the
Province, and in 1780 visited Pictou and Tatamagouche, and on his return
lost his way in the woods.
The Peace of 1783 brought in an influx of settlers mostly from the
Highlands, with some who had served in the Revolution against the
Americans. This added strength gave more solidity to the settlement.
Although considerable prosperity had been attained the added numbers
brought increased wealth. Among the fresh arrivals came Reverend James
McGregor, in 1786, and under his administration the religious tone was
developed, and the state of society enhanced.