In May, 1691, the Iroquois, to the number of about 1000 warriors, again
poured down upon the settlements near Montreal, and marked their course
with massacre and ruin. Other bands, less numerous, spread themselves
over the fertile and beautiful banks of the Richelieu River, burning the
happy homesteads and rich store-yards of the settlers. At length, the
Sieur de la Mine, with a detachment of militia, surprised a party of
these fierce marauders at Saint Sulpice, and slew them without mercy.
Twelve of the Iroquois escaped into a ruinous house, where they held
out for a time with courage and success; but the French set fire to the
building, and they were obliged to abandon it: some were killed in their
efforts to escape, but five fell alive into the hands of their
exasperated enemies, and were burned, with a savage cruelty such as they
themselves would have exhibited.
Intelligence now arrived that a formidable force of English, Iroquois,
and Mahingan Indians were advancing upon Montreal by the River Richelieu
or Sorel; 800 men led by the Chevalier de Callieres, were sent to oppose
their progress, and encamped on the Prairie de la Madeleine,[412] by the
borders of the St. Lawrence. Before daylight, the following morning, the
invaders carried an important position by surprise, slaying several of
the defenders, and finally retreated in good order and with little loss.
On falling back into the woods, they met and destroyed a small French
detachment, and boldly faced a more considerable force under M. de
Valrenes. For an hour and half these formidable warriors withstood the
fire, and repelled the charges of the Canadian troops; but at length
they were overpowered and dispersed, not, however, before inflicting a
loss of no less than 120 men upon their conquerors. An Englishman
captured in the engagement declared that the invaders had purposed to
destroy the harvest, which would have reduced the colony to the last
extremity. The design, in a great measure, failed, and an abundant crop
repaid the industry and successful courage of the French.
At the first news of this alarming inroad, M. de Frontenac hastened to
the post of danger, but tranquillity had already been restored, and the
toils of the husbandman were again plied upon the scene of strife. At
Montreal he found a dispatch from the governor of New England, proposing
an exchange of prisoners and a treaty of neutrality with Canada,
notwithstanding the war then carried on between the mother countries.
The Canadian governor mistrusted the sincerity of the English proposals,
and they were not productive of any result. During the remainder of the
year the Iroquois continued to disturb the repose of the colony by
frequent and mischievous irruptions, and many valuable lives were lost
in repelling those implacable savages.
The war continued with checkered results and heavy losses on both sides
in the two following years. An invasion of the canton of the Agniers, by
the French, was at first successful, but in the retreat the colonists
suffered great privation, and most of their prisoners escaped, while any
of their number that strayed or fell in the rear were immediately cut
off by their fierce pursuers. The fur trade was also much injured by
these long-continued hostilities, for the vigilant enmity of the
Iroquois closed up the communication with the Western country by the
waters of the St. Lawrence and its magnificent tributaries.
We have seen that for a long period the history of the colony is a mere
chronicle of savage and resultless combats, and treacherous truces
between the French and the formidable Iroquois confederacy. This almost
perpetual warfare gave a preponderance to the military interests among
the settlers, not a little injurious to their advance in material
prosperity. The Comte de Frontenac had, by his vigorous administration,
and haughty and unbending character, rendered himself alike respected
and feared by his allies and enemies. But, while all acknowledged his
courage and ability, his system of internal government bore upon the
civil inhabitants with almost intolerable severity; upon them fell all
the burden and labor of the wars; they were ruined by unprofitable toil,
while the soldiers worked the lands for the benefit of the military
officers whom he desired to conciliate. He also countenanced, or at
least tolerated, the fatal trade in spirituous liquors, which his
authority alone could have suppressed. Owing to these causes, the colony
made but little progress, commerce languished, and depression and
discontent fell upon the hearts of the Canadian people.
In the year 1695, M. de Frontenac re-established the fort of
Catarocouy, despite the universal disapprobation of the settlers and the
positive commands of the king. The object was, however, happily and ably
accomplished by M. de Crisasy in a very short time, and without the loss
of a man. This brave and active officer made good use of his powerful
position. He dispatched scouts in all directions, and, by a judicious
arrangement of his small forces, checked the hostilities of the Iroquois
upon the Canadian settlements.
The Sieur de Reverin, a man of enlightened and enterprising mind, had
long desired to develop the resources of the Canadian waters, and in
1697 at length succeeded in associating several merchants with himself,
and establishing a fishery at the harbor of Mount Louis, among the
mountains of Notre Dame, half way between Quebec and the extremity of
the Gulf of St. Lawrence on the southern side. The situation was well
chosen, the neighboring soil fertile, and the waters abounded in fish.
But, where nature had provided every thing that industry could require,
the hand of man interfered to counteract her bounty. The hostility of
the English embarrassed the infant settlement and alarmed its founders.
Despite of these difficulties, a plentiful harvest and successful
fishing at first rewarded the adventurers; subsequently, however, they
were less fortunate, and the place was for some time neglected and
almost forgotten.[413]
Louis de Buade, comte de Frontenac, died in the seventy-eighth year of
his age, 1698, having to the last preserved that astonishing energy of
character which had enabled him to overcome the difficulties and dangers
of his adventurous career. He died as he had lived, beloved by many,
respected by all; with the unaided resources of his own strong mind, he
had preserved the power of France on the American continent
undiminished, if not increased, through years of famine, disaster, and
depression. He loved patronage and power, but disdained the
considerations of selfish interest. It must, however, be acknowledged
that a jealous, sullen, and even vindictive temper obscured in some
degree the luster of his success, and detracted from the dignity of his
nature. The Chevalier de Callieres, governor of Montreal, was appointed
his successor, to the satisfaction of all classes in the colony.
The new governor[414] applied himself vigorously to the difficult task
of establishing the tranquillity of his territories. He endeavored to
procure the alliance of all the Indian tribes within reach of French
intercourse or commerce, but the high price charged by the Canadian
merchants for their goods proved a constant difficulty in the way of
negotiation, and ever afforded the savages a pretext for disaffection
and complaint. In the midst of his useful labors, this excellent chief
was suddenly cut off by death; his upright and judicious administration
won the esteem of all the colonists, and the truth and honesty of his
dealings with the native tribes gave him an influence over them which
none of his predecessors had ever won. On the petition of the
inhabitants of Canada, the king willingly appointed the Marquis de
Vaudreuil to the vacant government. Soon after his accession a
deputation of the Iroquois arrived at Quebec, and for the first time
formally acknowledged the sovereignty of France, and claimed the
protection of her flag.
M. de Raudot, the intendant, introduced various important judicial and
fiscal improvements in the affairs of the colony at this time; by his
influence and mediation he effectually checked a litigious spirit which
had infused itself among the Canadians to a ruinous extent, and by
strong representations induced the king to remove the cruel restrictions
placed upon colonial industry by the jealousy of the mother country.
In the spring of 1708 a council was held at Montreal to deliberate upon
the course to be pursued in checking the intrigues of the English among
the allied savages: the chiefs of all the Christian Indians and the
faithful and warlike Abenaquis were present on the occasion. It was
resolved that a blow should be struck against the British colonies, and
a body of 400 men, including Indians, was formed for the expedition, the
object of which was kept secret. After a march of 150 leagues across an
almost impracticable country, the French attacked the little fort and
village of Haverhill, garrisoned by thirty New Englandmen, and carried
them after a sharp struggle; many of the defenders were killed or
captured, and the settlement destroyed. The neighboring country was,
however, soon aroused, and the assailants with difficulty effected a
retreat, losing thirty of their men.
Intelligence reached the French in the following year that Colonel
Vetch, who, during a residence of several years at Quebec, had contrived
to sound all the difficult passages of the River St. Lawrence, had
successfully instigated the Queen of England to attempt the conquest of
New France; that a fleet of twenty ships was being prepared for the
expedition, and a force of 6000 regular troops were to sail under its
protection, while 2000 English and as many Indians, under the command of
General Nicholson, were to march upon Montreal by the way of Lake
Champlain. M. de Vaudreuil immediately assembled a council of war to
meet the emergency, where some bold measures were planned, but a
misunderstanding between the governor general and one of his principal
officers paralyzed their execution. Finally, indeed, a considerable
force was marched to anticipate the British attack; but the dissensions
of the leaders, the insubordination of the troops, and the want of
correct intelligence, embarrassed their movements, and drove them to an
inglorious retreat. On the other hand, the English, mistrusting the
faith of their Indian allies, and suffering from a frightful mortality,
burned their canoes and advanced posts, and retreated from the frontier.
The perfidious Iroquois, while professing the closest friendship, had
poisoned the stream hard by the British camp, and thus caused the fatal
malady which decimated their unsuspecting allies. The fleet destined
for the attack of Quebec never crossed the Atlantic: it was sent to
Lisbon instead, to support the falling fortunes of Portugal against the
triumphant arms of Castile.
In the following year, another abortive expedition was undertaken by the
English against Canada. Intelligence was brought to M. de Vaudreuil that
ten ships of war of 50 guns each and upward had arrived from England,
and were assembled at Boston, together with 35 transports capable of
conveying 3000 men, while a force of provincial militia and Indians of
New York, nearly 2000 strong, were collected in that state to assail him
by land. The French governor immediately called together the Iroquois
deputies, and successfully urged their neutrality in the approaching
struggle. He also secured the somewhat doubtful allegiance of the allied
tribes, but only accepted the proffered services of a few warriors of
each nation, and this more as hostages than for the purpose of
increasing his strength.
M. de Vaudreuil then hastened from Montreal to Quebec, where he found
that his lieutenant, M. de Boucourt, had effectually executed his orders
to strengthen the defenses. The settlements along the coast below that
important stronghold were sufficiently guarded to render a hostile
debarkation difficult and dangerous. The governor immediately
re-ascended the St. Lawrence, and formed a corps of 3000 men under M. de
Longueiul, at Chambly, to await the approach of the English. The
invading army, however, retreated without coming to action, having
received information of a great disaster which had befallen their fleet.
The British admiral had neglected the warnings of an experienced French
navigator, named Paradis, who accompanied him, and approached too near a
small island in the narrow and dangerous channel of the Traverse; a
sudden squall from the southeast burst upon him at that critical moment,
and his own, with seven other ships of the fleet, were driven on the
rocky shore, and utterly destroyed: very few men escaped from these
ill-fated vessels.[415]
The generosity and loyalty of the merchants of Quebec furnished the
governor with 50,000 crowns, to strengthen the fortifications of their
town, on the occasion of a rumor that the English were again preparing
an invasion of Canada, in 1712, aided by the Iroquois, to whom they had
become reconciled. At the same time, a new enemy entered the field--the
fiercest and bravest of the native tribes; this people, called Outagamis
or Foxes, joined in a confederacy with the Five Nations, and undertook
to burn the French fort at Detroit,[416] and destroy the inhabitants. A
large force of their warriors advanced upon the little stronghold, but
Du Buisson, the able and gallant commandant, having summoned the
neighboring allies to the assistance of his garrison of twenty
Frenchmen, defeated the dangerous invaders after a series of conflicts
almost unparalleled for obstinacy in Indian war, and destroyed more than
a thousand of their best and bravest.[417]
These important successes, however, could not secure to the French an
equality in trade with their English rivals; their narrow and
injudicious commercial system limited the supply of European goods to be
exchanged for the spoils of the Red Man's forests; the fur trade,
therefore, fell almost wholly into the hands of British merchants, and
even those native tribes in closest alliance with the Canadian governor
obtained their scanty clothing from the looms of Yorkshire, and their
weapons of the chase from the industrious hands of our colonists.
By the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, Louis the Magnificent ceded away
forever, with ignorant indifference, the noble province of Acadia,[418]
the inexhaustible fisheries of Newfoundland, and his claims to the vast
but almost unknown regions of Hudson's Bay; his nominal sovereignty over
the Iroquois was also thrown into the scale,[419] and thus a
dearly-purchased peace restored comparative tranquillity to the remnant
of his American empire.[420]
The fierce Outagamis, more incensed than weakened by their losses at
Detroit, made savage and murderous reprisals upon all the nations allied
to the French. Their vindictive vigilance rendered the routes between
the distant posts of Canada, and those southward to Louisiana,[421] for
many years almost impracticable. At one time, indeed, when overwhelmed
by a successful invasion, these implacable savages made a formal cession
of their territories to M. de Vaudreuil; but, the moment opportunity
offered, they renewed hostilities, and, although beaten in repeated
encounters, having united the remnant of their tribe to the powerful
Sioux and Chichachas,[423] they continued for a long time to harass the
steps of their detested conquerors.
On the 10th of April, 1725, M. de Vaudreuil closed his useful career.
For one-and-twenty years he had discharged his important duties with
unswerving loyalty, ability, and vigilance. Good fortune crowned him
with well-merited success, and he went to rest from his earthly labors
with the blessings of a grateful people, who, under his wise rule, had
rapidly progressed to prosperity.
The Marquis de Beauharnois, captain of the marine, succeeded to the
government of the now tranquil colony. His anxiety was aroused, however,
the year after his accession, by the vigorous efforts of the English to
extend their commerce even into the heart of the Canadian territories.
Governor Burnet, of New York, had erected a fort and trading post at
Oswego, with the view of monopolizing the rich traffic of the Western
lakes. To counteract this design, M. de Beauharnois sent the Baron de
Longueuil to negotiate with the Indians in the neighborhood of Niagara,
for their consent to the erection of a French fort and establishment
upon the banks of their magnificent river, where it enters the waters of
Ontario. After many difficulties in reconciling the jealousy of the
native tribes, the French succeeded in effecting their object. On the
other hand, the men of New York strengthened their defenses at Oswego,
and increased the garrison. Angry communications then passed between the
French and English governors in peremptory demands for its abandonment
by the one, and prompt refusals by the other. Each was well aware of the
importance of the position: it served as a means of diverting nearly all
the Indian trade by Albany and the channel of the Hudson into the
British colonies, and also formed a frontier protection to those
numerous and flourishing settlements which Anglo-Saxon industry and
courage were rapidly forming in the wilderness.
In the vain hope of checking the irrepressible energies of rival
colonization, Beauharnois erected a fort at Crown Point, on Lake
Champlain, commanding its important navigation, and also serving to hold
in terror the settlers on the neighboring banks of the Hudson and
Connecticut. The English remonstrated without effect against this
occupation, and the French remained in peaceable possession of their
establishment. The next war that broke out between the mother countries
spread rapine and destruction over the colonial frontiers, without any
real result beyond mutual injury and embittered hatred. From this fort
at Crown Point, and other posts held by the Canadians, marauding parties
poured upon the British settlements, and destroyed them with horrid
barbarity. A party of French and Indians even penetrated to Saratoga,
within forty miles of Albany, attacked and burned the fort, and slew or
carried into captivity the unhappy defenders.
For many subsequent years the history of Canada is but a chronicle of
the accession of governors and the registration of royal edicts. In
comparison with her southern rivals, the progress in material prosperity
was very slow. Idleness and drunkenness, with all their attendant evils,
were rife to a most injurious extent. The innumerable fetes, or holidays
of the Church, afforded opportunities to the dissolute, and occasioned
frequent instances of serious disorders, till the king was urged to
interfere: the number of these fete-days was then very much reduced, to
the great benefit of the colony. The feudal system of tenure also
operated most unfavorably upon the development of agricultural
resources, and the forced partition of lands tended to reduce all the
landholders to a fraternity of pauperism. The court of France endeavored
vainly to remedy these evils, without removing the causes, and passed
various edicts to encourage the further clearance of wild land, and to
stimulate settlement.
In 1745, the year when the power of France in Europe was exalted by the
splendid victory of Fontenoy, a dangerous blow was struck at her
sovereignty in America by the capture of Louisburg, and with it the
whole island of Cape Breton,[424] by the New Englanders under Mr.
Pepperel,[425] aided by Admiral Warren's squadron. This disaster was no
sooner known in Paris[430] than an extensive armament was equipped under
the command of the Duc d'Anville, an officer of known valor and ability.
The wounded pride of the French hurried on rapidly the preparations for
this expedition, which they confidently hoped would redeem the
tarnished honor of their arms in the Western world. Early in May the
fleet was already completely appointed; but the elements did not second
these energetic preparations, and contrary winds detained the armament
till the 22d of June. Then it at last put to sea, in the formidable
strength of eleven ships of the line, thirty smaller vessels of war, and
transports containing 3000 regular soldiers. Nova Scotia, the
Acadia[431] of other days, was their destination. There it was expected
that the old French settlers, who had unwillingly submitted to English
conquest, would readily range themselves once more under the
fleur-de-lys: Canada had already sent her contingent of 1700 men under
M. de Ramsay to aid the enterprise, and M. de Conflans, with four ships
of the line from the West Indies, was directed to join the squadron.
This formidable fleet was but a short time at sea when the ships
separated and fell into hopeless confusion. On the 12th of September,
indeed, the Duc d'Anville reached the Western continent in the
Northumberland, accompanied by a few other vessels, but there no laurels
awaited the gallant admiral: he was suddenly seized with apoplexy, and
in four days his body was committed to the deep. The vice admiral
immediately proposed returning to France, on account of the absence of
the greater part of his force; but other officers strongly opposed this
desponding counsel, and urged a bold attack upon Nova Scotia[432] rather
than an inglorious retreat. The more vigorous course was adopted by a
council of war, which threw the vice admiral into such a state of
frantic excitement that he ran himself through the body, fancying he had
fallen into the hands of the enemy. De la Jonquiere succeeded to the
command, and, although more than three-score years of age, acted with
unimpaired energy. But the elements were again hostile to France; the
fleet was dispersed by a violent storm off Cape Sable, and the shattered
remnant of the expedition returned ingloriously to their country,
without having accomplished any of the objects for which they had been
sent forth.
The government at Paris was, however, by no means cast down by these
untoward occurrences, and the armament was speedily equipped to renew
their efforts against the English colonies. The expedition was prepared
at Brest, under the command of M. de la Jonquiere, and, at the same
time, a squadron under M. de St. George was armed with a view to
threaten the coasts of British India.
The English ministry, early informed of all the movements of their
opponents, resolved to intercept both these squadrons, which they had
been apprised would sail from port at the same time. Admiral Anson and
Rear-admiral Warren were ordered upon this enterprise with a formidable
fleet, and, taking their departure from Plymouth, steered for Cape
Finisterre, on the Gallican coast. On the third of May, 1746, they fell
in with the French squadrons of six large men-of-war, as many frigates,
four armed East Indiamen, and a valuable convoy of thirty ships. The
enemy's heavier vessels immediately formed in order of battle, while the
merchantmen made all sail away, under the protection of the frigates.
The British were also ready for action, and a severe combat ensued.
Before night all the French line of battle ships were captured after a
spirited defense, but two thirds of the convoy escaped through the
darkness of the night. A considerable quantity of bullion fell into the
hands of the victors, and their grateful sovereign rewarded the courage
and good fortune of the admirals by raising Anson to the peerage, and
decorating Warren with the ribbon of the Bath.
Admiral de la Jonquiere, the newly-appointed governor of Canada, was
among the numerous captives who graced the triumph of the British fleet.
When the news of this event reached Paris, the king appointed to the
vacant dignity the Comte de la Galissoniere,[433] an officer of
distinguished merit and ability. The wisdom of this selection was
speedily displayed; the new governor no sooner entered upon the duties
of office than his active zeal found employment in endeavoring to
develop the magnificent resources of his province. He made himself
thoroughly acquainted with the face of the country, the climate,
population, agriculture, and commerce, and then presented an able
statement to the French court of the great importance of the colony, and
a system which, had it been adopted in time, might have secured it
against English aggression.
The Comte de la Galissoniere proposed that M. du Quesne, a skillful
engineer, should be appointed to establish a line of fortifications
through the interior of the country, and, at the same time, urged the
government of France to send out 10,000 peasants to form settlements on
the banks of the great lakes and southern rivers. By these means he
affirmed that the English colonies would be restricted within the narrow
tract lying eastward from the Allegany Mountains, and in time laid open
to invasion and ruin. His advice was, however, disregarded, and the
splendid province of Canada soon passed forever from under the sway of
France.[434]
Under the impression that the expected peace between the mother
countries would render it important to define the boundaries of their
colonial possessions, the active governor of Canada dispatched M. de
Celeron de Bienville, with 300 men, to traverse the vast wilderness
lying from Detroit southeast to the Apalachian Mountains. Assuming this
range as the limit of the British colonies, he directed that leaden
plates, engraved with the arms of France, should be buried at particular
places in the western country, to mark the territories of France, and
that the chief of the expedition should endeavor to secure a promise
from the Indians to exclude for the future all English traders. At the
same time, he gave notice to the governor of Pennsylvania that he was
commanded by the King of France to seize all British merchants found in
those countries, and to confiscate their goods. De Celeron fulfilled his
difficult commission to the best of his powers, but the forms of
possession which he executed excited the jealous apprehension of the
Indians, who concluded that he designed to subject or even enslave them.
When M. de la Galissoniere failed in his endeavor to obtain the aid of
an extensive immigration from France, he turned his thoughts toward the
Acadian settlers[435] (whom the treaty of Utrecht had transferred to
the British crown), with the object of forming a new colony. The
readiest expedient to influence this simple and pious people was,
obviously, by gaining over their clergy; the Abbe le Loutre was selected
as the fittest embassador to induce them to withdraw from allegiance to
the English government. This politic and unscrupulous priest appealed to
their interests, nationality, and religion as inducements to abandon the
conquered country, and to establish themselves under the French crown in
a new settlement which he proposed to form on the Canadian side of
Acadia. Le Loutre's persuasions influenced many of these primitive
people to proceed to the French posts, where every protection and
attention was bestowed upon them.
Animated by the success of this measure, and sanguine that large numbers
of the Acadians would follow the first seceders, De la Galissoniere
induced the home government to appoint a considerable sum yearly to
carrying out his views; but, in the midst of his patriotic exertions, he
was obliged to hand over the reins of government to M. de la Jonquiere,
who had now arrived to claim the post so ably held by another during his
captivity with the English. Galissoniere, however, before he sailed for
France, magnanimously furnished his successor with the best information
on colonial matters, and pointed out the most promising plans for the
improvement of the province.[436] De la Jonquiere unwisely rejected
such as related to the Acadian settlements; but the King of France
disapproved of his inaction, and reprimanded him for not having
continued the course of his predecessor. Instructions were given him to
take immediate possession of the neighboring country, to build new forts
for its retention, and to occupy it with troops; he was also desired to
aid Le Loutre in all his proceedings, and to forward his designs. In
obedience to these orders, M. de Boishebert was dispatched with a body
of troops and some peasants, to take post near the mouth of the River
St. John, which was looked upon as an important post for the defense of
the new settlement.
These measures inevitably aroused the jealousy of the English governor
of Nova Scotia, who made repeated remonstrances on the subject, but with
no other effect than that of causing De la Jonquiere to warn his
officers to avoid all possible grounds of dispute, as he expected the
limits of the rival powers would be speedily arranged.
(1749.) Supplies for the new post at St. John's could only be obtained
from Quebec, and transmitted by the long and difficult circuit of the
whole Acadian peninsula. M. de Vergor was sent on this mission in an
armed sloop, containing military and other stores for the French and
Indians. He was ordered to avoid all English vessels, but, if he could
no longer shun pursuit, to fight to the last. This stern command was not
obeyed, for he surrendered without an effort to Captain Rous, who,
apprised of his design, had intercepted him on the coast. On the news of
the capture of this sloop, M. de la Jonquiere empowered the governor of
Louisburg[437] to make reprisals upon all English vessels that might
enter his port.
General Cornwallis, governor of Halifax,[438] sent a detachment of
British troops, under Major Lawrence, to watch the movements of La
Corne, the French commander, who had been directed to build a fort on
the Bay of Fundy, called Beau-sejour.[439] As soon as Le Loutre became
aware of the arrival of the English, he caused the houses and homesteads
of those unfortunate Acadians who remained faithful to England to be
burned. Soon after this cruel severity the French and English leaders
held a conference, and agreed to erect forts opposite to each other on
each side of the River Beau-bassin,[440] but to remain at peace till
they received further instructions.
While occasions of dispute were thus arising on the Nova Scotia
peninsula, a still more dangerous difficulty threatened the cause of
peace in the far West. The governors of the British colonies continued
to grant license to their merchants to trade on the banks of the Ohio,
in contempt of the haughty pretensions of French sovereignty. By the
orders of La Jonquiere, three of these adventurers were seized, with all
their goods, and carried captive to Montreal: after a long examination,
however, they were discharged.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 412: "Vis a vis de Montreal, du cote du sud est un endroit qu'
on appelle la Prairie de la Madeleine."--Charlevoix, tom. ii., p. 233.
"Le Cap de la Madeleine a eu son nom de l'Abbe de la Madeleine, un des
membres de la Compagnie des cent Associes." The name of the Prairie had
probably the same origin.--Charlevoix, tom. v., p. 167.]
[Footnote 413: There was a flourishing settlement at Mount Louis in
1758, which was destroyed by General Wolfe.]
[Footnote 414: "Sans avoir le brilliant de son predecesseur, il en avait
tout le solide; des vues droites et desinteresses, sans prejuge et sans
passion; une fermete toujours d'accord avec la raison, une valeur, que
le flegme scavoit moderer et rendre utile: un grand sens, beaucoup de
probite et d'honneur, et une penetration d'esprit, a laquelle une grande
application et une longue experience avoient ajonte tout ce que
l'experience peut donner de lumieres. Il avoit pris des les commencemens
un grand empire sur les sauvages, qui le connoisoient exacte a tenir sa
parole, et ferme a vouloir qu' on lui gardat celles qu' on lui avoient
donnees. Les Francois de leur cote etaient convaincus qu'il n'
exigeroient jamais rien d'eux, que de raisonnable; que pour n' avoir ni
la naissance, ni les grandes alliances du Comte de Frontenac, ni le rang
de lieutenant general des armees du roi, il ne scauroit pas moins se
faire obeir que lui."--Charlevoix, tom. iii., p. 353.]
[Footnote 415: "Enfin la retraite des deux armees Anglaises qui devaient
attaquer en meme tems la Nouvelle France par terre et par mer, et
diviser ses forces en les occupant aux deux extremites de la colonie, n'
etant plus douteuse, et le bruit s' etant repandu que la premiere avait
fait naufrage dans le fleuve St. Laurent vers les Sept Isles, M. de
Vaudreuil y envoya plusieurs barques. Elles y trouverent les carcasses
de huit gros vaisseaux, dont on avoit enleve les canons et les meilleurs
effets, et pres de trois mille personnes noyees, dont les corps etoient
etendus sur le rivage. On y reconnut deux compagnies entieres des Gardes
de la Reine, qu' on distingua a leurs casaques rouges, et plusieurs
familles Ecossoises, destinees a peupler le Canada, mais quoique le
reste de la flotte eut reste mouille plusieurs jours au meme endroit,
pour enlever toute la charge des vaisseaux brises, on ne laissa point d'
y faire un assez grand butin."--Charlevoix, tom. iv., p. 82.]
[Footnote 416: The city of Detroit dates its history from July, 1701. At
that time M. de la Motte Cadillac, with one hundred men, and a Jesuit,
carrying with them every thing necessary for the commencement and
support of the establishment meditated, reached this place. "How
numerous and diversified," said a public literary document, "are the
incidents compressed within the history of this settlement. No place in
the United States presents such a series of events interesting in
themselves and permanently affecting, as they occurred, its progress and
prosperity. Five times its flag has changed; three different
sovereignties have claimed its allegiance; and since it has been held by
the United States, its government has been thrice transferred. Twice it
has been besieged by the Indians, once captured in war, and once burned
to the ground."
"Detroit has long been considered as the limit of civilization toward
the northwest. This town, or commercial port, is dignified by the name,
and enjoys the chartered rights of a city, although its population at
present does not exceed three thousand. The banks of the river above and
below the city are lined with a French population, descendants of the
first European traders among the Indians in that quarter, and extending
from Lake Erie to Lake St. Clair, increasing in density as they approach
the town, and averaging, perhaps, one hundred per mile. This place, but
a little while ago so distant, is now brought within four days of the
city of New York, the track pursued being seven hundred and fifty miles.
Here, at Detroit, some of the finest steamers in North America come and
go every day, connecting it with the east, and have begun already to
search out the distant west and north."--Colton's _Tour to the American
Lakes_, vol. i., p. 46.]
[Footnote 417: "Le fruit de sa victoire (Da Buisson) fut que les Anglois
desespererent de s' etablir au Detroit, ce qui auroit ete la ruine entiere
de la Nouvelle France, non seulement a cause de la situation de ce lieu,
qui est le centre et le plus beau pays du Canada, mais encore parcequ'il
ne nous auroit plus ete possible d'entretenir la moindre communication
avec les sauvages d'en haut ni avec la Louisiane."--Charlevoix, vol.
iv., p. 105.]
[Footnote 418: "Le roi tres Chretien cede a la reine d'Angleterre a
perpetuite, l'Acadie, ou Nouvelle Ecosse, en entier, conformement a ses
anciennes limites, comme aussi la ville de Port Royal, maintenant
appellee Annapolis Royale."--_Article XII. du Traite d'Utrecht_, 1713.]
[Footnote 419: "Ce dernier article ne nous ota rien de reel, et ne donna
non plus rien aux Anglais, parceque les cantons renouvellerent les
protestations, qu'ils avoient deja faites plus d'une fois contre les
pretentions reciproques de leurs voisins et ont tres bien scu se
maintenir dans la possession de leur liberte et da leur
independance."--Charlevoix.]
[Footnote 420: "Il (Prior) etoit pareillement autorise a traite sur les
limites de l'Amerique septentrionale, et s'il plaisoit au roi, ces deux
articles pouvoient etre regles en peu de tems."--_Memoires de Torcy sur
la Paix d'Utrecht_, vol. iii., p. 426.]
[Footnote 421: It is hardly remembered at the present day that the
French nation once claimed, and had begun to colonize the whole region
which lies at the back of the thirteen original United States, from the
mouth of the St. Lawrence to that of the Mississippi, comprising both
the Canadas and the vast fertile valley of the Ohio, and had actually
occupied the two outlets of this whole region by its ports at Quebec and
New Orleans.[422] Canada, the oldest French colony, and the only one on
the continent to which that nation has sent any considerable number of
settlers, was under the management of an exclusive company, from 1663 to
the downfall of what was called the Mississippi Scheme, in 1720; and
this circumstance, still more, perhaps, than the vicious system of
granting the land to non-resident proprietors, to be held by seignorial
tenure, checked its progress. Louisiana, with more sources of surplus
wealth from climate and soil, was never a very thriving colony, and was
surrendered to Spain with little reluctance, from which last power its
dominion passed to the United States.
The French traders and hunters intermarried and mixed with the Indians
at the back of our settlements, and extended their scattered posts along
the whole course of the two vast rivers of that continent. Even at this
day, far away on the upper waters of these mighty streams, and beyond
the utmost limits reached by the backwoodsman, the traveler discovers
villages in which the aspect and social usages of the people, their
festivities and their solemnities, in which the white and red man mingle
on equal terms, strangely contrast with the habits of the
Anglo-American, and announce to him, on his first approach, their Gallic
origin.--Merivale, vol. i., p. 58; Sismondi, _Etudes sur L'Ecole
Politique_, vol. ii., p. 200; Latrobe.]
[Footnote 422: "La ville de Nouvelle Orleans fut fondee dans l'annee
1717. M. de Bienville fit choix de la situation. On a nomme cetto
fameuse ville la Nouvelle Orleans. Ceux qui lui ont donne ce nom
croyoient qu' Orleans est du genre feminin, mais qu' importe? l'usage
est etabli et il est au-dessus des regles de la grammaire. Cette ville
est la premiere qu' un des plus grands fleuves du monde ait vu s'elever
aur ses bords."--Charlevoix, vol. viii., p. 192.]
[Footnote 423: "Garcilasso de la Vega parle des Chichachas dans son
histoire de la conquete de la Floride, et il les place a peu pres au
meme endroit ou ils sont encore presentement.... Ce sont encore les plus
braves soldats de la Louisiane, mais ils etoient beaucoup plus nombreux
du tem de Ferdinand de Soto.... C'est notre alliance aves les Illinois
qui nous a mis en guerre avec les Chichachas et les Anglois de la
Caroline attisent le feu. Notre etablissement dans la Louisiane fait
grand mal au coeur a ceux-ci; c'est une barriere que nous mettons entre
leurs puissantes colonies de l'Amerique septentrionale, et le
Mexique.... Les Espagnols qui nous voyent avec des yeux si jaloux nous
fortifier dans ce pays, ne sentent pas encore l'importance du service
que nous leur rendons."--Charlevoix, tom. vi., p. 160.]
[Footnote 424: From the year 1706 the name of Cape Breton was changed to
Ile Royale. Louisburg was called le Havre a l'Anglais.]
[Footnote 425: "The importance of the colonies[426] was too little
considered until the commencement of the last war. The reduction of Cape
Breton by the people of New England was an acquisition so unexpected and
fortunate, that America became, on that remarkable event, a more general
topic of conversation. Mr. Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts Bay,
was the principal projector of that glorious enterprise; an enterprise
which reduced to the obedience of his Britannic majesty the _Dunkirk_ of
North America. Of such consequence to the French was the possession of
that important key to their American settlements, that its restitution
was, in reality, the purchase of the last general peace of
Europe."[427]--_A Review of the Military Operations in North America, in
a Letter to a Nobleman_, p. 4 (London, 1757).
"The plan of the invasion of Cape Breton was laid at Boston, and New
England[428] bore the expense of it. A merchant named Pepperel,[429] who
had excited, encouraged, and directed the enterprise, was intrusted with
the command of the army of 6000 men, which had been levied for this
expedition. Though these forces, convoyed by a squadron from Jamaica,
brought the first news to Cape Breton of the danger that threatened it;
though the advantage of a surprise would have secured the landing
without opposition; though they had but six hundred regular troops to
encounter, and eight hundred inhabitants hastily armed, the success of
the undertaking was still precarious. What great exploits, indeed, could
have been expected from militia suddenly assembled, who had never seen a
siege or faced an enemy, and were to act under the direction of
sea-officers only? These inexperienced troops stood in need of the
assistance of some fortunate accident, with which they were indeed
favored in a singular manner. The construction and repair of the
fortifications had always been left to the care of the garrison at
Louisburg. The soldiers were eager to be employed on these works, as the
means of procuring a comfortable subsistence. When they found that those
who were to have paid them appropriated to themselves the profits of
their labors, they demanded justice: it was denied them, and they
determined to assert their right. As the depredations had been shared
between the chief persons of the colony and the subaltern officers, the
soldiers could obtain no redress. They had, in consequence, lived in
open rebellion for above six months when the English appeared before the
place. This was the time to conciliate the minds of both parties; the
soldiers made the first advances, but their commanders distrusted a
generosity of which they themselves were incapable. It was firmly
believed that the soldiers were only desirous of sallying out that they
might have an opportunity of deserting, and their own officers kept them
in a manner prisoners, until a defense so ill managed had reduced them
to the necessity of capitulating. The whole island shared the fate of
Louisburg, its only bulwark. This valuable possession, restored to
France by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, was again attacked by the
English in 1748, and taken. The possession was confirmed to Great
Britain by the peace in 1763, since which the fortifications have been
blown up, and the town of Louisburg dismantled."--Winterbottom's
_History of America_, vol. iv., p. 14.]
[Footnote 426: "L'ile de Cap Breton n'etoit pas alors (at the time of
the treaty of Ryswick), un objet, et l'etablissement que nous y avions
n'avoit rien qui put exciter la jalousie des Anglais: elle nous
demeura."--Charlevoix, tom. iii., p. 349.]
[Footnote 427: "The island of Cape Breton, of which the French were
shamefully left in possession at the treaty of Utrecht, 1713, through
the negligence or corruption of the British ministry, when Great Britain
had the power of giving law to her enemies."--Russell's _Modern Europe_,
vol. iii., p. 223.
"Only three years after Cape Breton was taken by the New Englanders,
England was obliged reluctantly to resign her favorite conquest of Cape
Breton, in order to obtain the restitution of Madras. This was by the
treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. The final conquest took place in
1758, by the English, under Amherst and Wolfe."--Belsham, vol. ii., p.
333.]
[Footnote 428: "The sum of L235,749 was granted by the British
Parliament to the provinces of New England, to reimburse them for the
expense of reducing Cape Breton."--Smollett, vol. iii., p. 224.]
[Footnote 429: "The news of this victory being transmitted to England,
Mr. Pepperel was preferred to the dignity of a baronet of Great
Britain."--Ibid., vol. iii., p. 154.]
[Footnote 430: "When Marshal Belleisle was told of the taking of Cape
Breton, he said he could believe that, because the ministry had no hand
in it. We are making bonfires for Cape Breton, and thundering over
Genoa, while our army in Flanders is running away."--Walpole's _Letters
to Sir Horace Mann_, July 26, 1745.]
[Footnote 431: "The tract of country known by the name of Nova Scotia,
or New Scotland, was in 1784 divided into two provinces, viz., New
Brunswick on the southwest, and Nova Scotia on the southeast. The former
comprehends that part of the old province of Nova Scotia which lies to
the northward and westward of a line drawn from the mouth of the River
St. Croix, through the center of the Bay of Fundy to Baye Verte, and
thence into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, including all lands within six
leagues of the coast. The rest is the province of Nova Scotia, to which
is annexed the island of St. John's, which lies north of it in the Gulf
of St. Lawrence. The modern Nova Scotia is the French Acadia. The modern
New Brunswick is the French Nouvelle Ecosse. This name was given by Sir
William Alexander, to whom the first grant of lands was given by James
I.; since then the country has frequently changed hands, from the French
to the English nation, backward and forward. It was not confirmed to the
English till the peace of Utrecht. Three thousand families were
transported into this country in 1749, at the charge of the government,
and they built and settled the town of Halifax."--Winterbottom's
_History of America_, vol. iv., p. 39.]
[Footnote 432: "La cour de France avoit extremement a coeur de recouvrer
cette province (Acadia); les efforts reiteres des Anglois pour l'avoir
en leur puissance, et plus encore, leur triomphe apres l'avoir conquise,
avoit enfin ouvert les yeux aux Francois sur la grandeur de la perte
qu'ils avoient faite. M. de Pontchartrain ecrivit ainsi a M. de
Beaubarnois: 'Je vous ai fait assez connoitre combien il est important
de reprendre ce poste (le Port Royal) avant que les ennemies y soient
solidement etablis. La conservation de toute l'Amerique septentrionale,
et le commerce des Peches le demandent egalement: ce sont deux objets
qui me touchent vivement.'"--Charlevoix, tom. iv., p. 90.]
[Footnote 433: "Roland Michel Barrin, marquis de la Galissoniere,
remplit la poste de gouverneur comme s'il ne se fut toute sa vie occupe
que de cet objet.... Il etablit a Quebec un arsenal maritime, et un
chantier de construction, ou l'on n'employa que les bois des pays. Il
concut, proposa, et fit adopter le vaste plan dont il commenca
l'execution, de joindre le Canada et la Louisiana par une chaine de
forts et d'etablissements, le long de l'Ohio et des Mississippi, a
travers les regions desertes qui separaient ces deux colonies a l'ouest
des lacs. A l'avantage d'etablir entre elles une communication moins
penible et moins long que par le nord, se joignoit celui de pouvoir
faire parvenir les depeches en France, en hiver par la Louisiane, tandis
que l'embouchure du fleuve St. Laurent est fermee par les glaces; enfin
celui de resserrer les Anglais entre les montagnes et la mer.... Il
emporta tous les regrets quand il revint en France, en 1749.... La
defaite de l'amiral Anglais, Byng, et la prise de Minorque que fut le
fruit de cette victoire decisive, couronnerent sa carriere. Il avoit
entrepris cette derniere expedition contre l'avis des medecins qui lui
avoient annonce sa mort comme prochaine, s'il se rembarquoit.... Il
cacha ses maux tant qu'il put, mais il fut enfin oblige de se demettre
du commandement. Il revint en France et se mit en route pour
Fontainebleau ou etoit alors le roi. Les forces lui manquerent
totalement a Nemours, ou il mourut le 26 Octobre, 1756.... A ses talens
eminens comme marin, la Galissoniere unissoit une infinite de
connaissances.... Serieux et ferme, mais en meme tems doux, modere,
affable, et integre, il se faisito respecter et cherir de tous ceux qui
servoient sous ses ordres.... Tant de belles qualites etoient cachees
sous un exterieur peu avantageux. La Galissoniere etoit de petite taille
et bossu. Lorsque les sauvages vinrent le saluer a son arrivee au
Canada, frappes de son peu d'apparence, ils lui parlerent en ces termes,
'Il faut que tu aies une bien belle ame, puisqu' avec un si vilain
corps, le grand chef notre pere t'a envoye ici pour nous commander.' Ils
ne tarderent pas a reconnaitre la justice de leur opinion, et
entourerent de leur amour et de leur veneration, en l'appellant du nom
de pere, l'homme qui ne se servit du pouvoir que pour ameliorer leur
sort."--_Biographie Universelle_, art. Galissoniere.]
[Footnote 434: "In observing on old maps the extent of the ancient
French colonies in America, I was haunted by one painful idea. I asked
myself how the government of my country could have left colonies to
perish which would now be to us a source of inexhaustible prosperity.
From Acadia and Canada to Louisiana, from the mouth of the St. Lawrence
to that of the Mississippi, the territories of New France surrounded
what originally formed the confederation of the thirteen United States.
The eleven other states, the district of Columbia, the Michigan,
Northwest, Missouri, Oregon, and Arkansas territories, belonged, or
would have belonged to us, as they now belong to the United States, by
the cession of the English and Spaniards, our first heirs in Canada and
in Louisiana. More than two thirds of North America would acknowledge
the sovereignty of France.... We possessed here vast countries which
might have offered a home to the excess of our population, an important
market to our commerce, a nursery to our navy. Now we are forced to
confine in our prisons culprits condemned by the tribunals, for want of
a spot of ground whereon to place these wretched creatures. We are
excluded from the New World, where the human race is recommencing. The
English and Spanish languages serve to express the thoughts of many
millions of men in Africa, in Asia, in the South Sea Islands, on the
continent of the two Americas; and we, disinherited of the conquests of
our courage and our genius, hear the language of Racine, of Colbert, and
of Louis XIV. spoken merely in a few hamlets of Louisiana and Canada,
under a foreign sway. There it remains, as though but for an evidence of
the reverses of our fortune and the errors of our policy. Thus, then,
has France disappeared from North America, like those Indian tribes with
which she sympathized, and some of the wrecks of which I have
beheld."--Chateaubriand's _Travels in America_, vol. ii., p. 207.]
[Footnote 435: From the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, 1632, till 1654,
the French had quiet possession of Acadia; then Cromwell sent Major
Sedgwick to attack it, with orders to expel all who would not
acknowledge themselves subjects of England. Sedgwick executed his
commission, and Cromwell passed a grant of Acadia to one De la Tour, a
French refugee, who had purchased Lord Sterling's title to that country;
and De la Tour soon after transferred his right to Sir William Temple.
Nova Scotia was ceded to France at the treaty of Breda, in 1670. In 1690
it was retaken by Sir William Phipps on his way to Quebec. It was given
back to France by the treaty of Ryswick; retaken by General Nicholson
(who gave the name of Annapolis to Port Royal) in 1710, during the War
of the Succession. It was formally and finally ceded to England at the
peace of Utrecht. The undefined limits of Nova Scotia were a constant
source of dispute between the French and English nations.]
[Footnote 436: Professor Kalm thus speaks of La Galissoniere, who was
the governor of Quebec at the time of his travels through Canada. "He
was of a low stature and somewhat hump-backed. He has a surprising
knowledge in all branches of science, and especially in natural history,
in which he is so well versed, that, when he began to speak to me about
it, I imagined I saw our great Linnaeus under a new form. When he spoke
of the use of natural history, of the method of learning, and employing
it to raise the state of a country, I was astonished to see him take his
reasons from politics, as well as natural philosophy, mathematics, and
other sciences. I own that my conversation with this nobleman was very
instructive to me, and I always drew a great deal of useful knowledge
from it. He told me several ways of employing natural history to the
purposes of politics, and to make a country powerful in order to depress
its envious neighbors. Never has natural history had a greater promotion
in this country, and it is very doubtful whether it will ever have its
equal here. As soon as he got the place of governor general, he began to
take those measures for getting information in natural history which I
have mentioned before. When he saw people who had for some time been in
a settled place of the country, especially in the more remote parts, he
always questioned them about the trees, plants, earths, stones, ores,
animals, &c., of the place. Those who seemed to have clearer notions
than the rest were obliged to give him circumstantial descriptions of
what they had seen. He himself wrote down all the accounts he received,
and by this great appreciation, so uncommon among persons of his rank,
he soon acquired a knowledge of the most distant parts of America. The
priests, commandants of forts and of several distant places, are often
surprised by his questions, and wonder at his knowledge when they come
to Quebec to pay their visits to him, for he often tells them that near
such a mountain, or on such a shore, &c., where they often went a
hunting, there are some particular plants, trees, earths, ores, &c., for
he had got a knowledge of these things before. From hence it happened
that some of the inhabitants believed he had a preternatural knowledge
of things, as he was able to mention all the curiosities of places,
sometimes near 200 Swedish miles from Quebec, though he never was there
himself. Never was there a better statesman than he, and nobody can take
better measures, and choose more proper means for improving a country
and increasing its welfare. Canada was scarcely acquainted with the
treasure it possessed in the person of this nobleman when it lost him
again; the king wanted his services at home, and could not have him so
far off."--Kalm, in Pinkerton, vol. xiii., p. 679.]
[Footnote 437: Louisburg, together with the whole island of Cape Breton,
had been restored to the French by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in
1748.]
[Footnote 438: "In the year after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, the land
forces of Great Britain were reduced to little more than 18,000 men;
those in Minorca, Gibraltar, and the American plantations, to 10,000;
while the sailors retained in the royal navy were under
17,000."--_Commons' Journals_, Nov. 23, 1749, and Jan. 19, 1750.
"From the large number both of soldiers and seamen suddenly discharged,
it was found that they might be either driven to distress or tempted to
depredation. Thus, both for their own comfort and for the quiet of the
remaining community, emigration seemed to afford a safe and excellent
resource. The province of Nova Scotia was fixed upon for this
experiment, and the freehold of fifty acres was offered to each settler,
with ten acres more for every child brought with him, besides a free
passage, and an exemption from all taxes during a term of ten years.
Allured by such advantages, above 4000 persons, with their families,
embarked under the command of Colonel Cornwallis, and landed at the
harbor of Chebuctow. The new town which soon arose from those labors
received its name from the Earl of Halifax, who presided at the Board of
Trade, and who had the principal share in the foundation of this colony.
In the first winter there were but 300 huts of wood, surrounded by a
palisade; but Halifax at present deserves to be ranked among the most
thriving dependencies of the British crown."--Lord Mahon's _History of
England_, vol. iv., p. 6.]
[Footnote 439: "As it was the intention of the government to build a
strong fort at Beau-sejour, Chaussegros de Lery, son of the engineer who
traced the fortifications of Quebec, was sent for that purpose. De
Vassan, who succeeded La Corne in the command of this post, was
instructed, as his predecessor had been, to pay the utmost attention to
the Abbe le Loutre, and to avoid all disputes with the English. De
Vassan's penetration soon led him to discover Le Loutre's true
character; but, not wishing to have any misunderstanding with him, he
left him full scope in the management of the affairs of the Acadians.
These unhappy people had from the first felt the iron hand of his
tyranny; neither the provisions nor clothing furnished by the crown
could be obtained without repeated supplications and prayers, and in
every instance he showed a heart steeled against every sentiment of
humanity."--Smith's _History of Canada_, vol. i., p. 217.]
[Footnote 440: "We soon after came to anchor in the basin, called by the
French, with much propriety, Beau-bassin, where a hundred ships of the
line may ride in safety without crowding, and from the time we entered
this bay we found water enough every where for a first-rate ship of war.
It is about five miles from Beau-sejour, now Fort Cumberland."--Knox's
_Historical Journal_, vol. i., p. 35.]
END OF VOL. I.