CAPT. GODFREY AND LORD WM. CAMPBELL.--YOUNG LION OF THE WOODS.
Shortly after the arrival of the sloop at Halifax, Capt. Godfrey waited
on Lord William Campbell, at that time (the summer of 1771) Governor of
the Provinces.
His Lordship received him in the most cordial and gentlemanly manner,
and remarked that he would be pleased to order an investigation into his
case and have the Indians who committed the outrage ordered down from
the St. John river.
On September 2nd, 1771, a council met and an investigation took place.
Letters and affidavits were produced, sworn to before Plato Denny and
William Isherwood, Justices of the Peace for Campo Bello, where Lewis
LeBlond, a Canadian, made oath, that he was told by Lewis Neptune, an
Indian, that Captain Godfrey was to be burned out by Chief Pére Thomas'
orders, and that other Indians of the St. John tribe were to perform the
deed.
An affidavit was made by Gervase Say, an inhabitant of Gage township,
sworn to before Francis Peabody, Justice of the Peace, in which it was
stated that John Baptiste Caltpate, an Indian of the St. John tribe, had
declared to him that Francis DeFalt, an Indian belonging to Pére
Thomas' tribe, set fire to Captain Godfrey's house and store at
Grimross.
A schedule of the Captain's losses, attested before one of His Majesty's
Justices of the Peace at Halifax, was also laid before the council. The
reader will not be troubled with the items, suffice it to say the
losses, including lands, amounted to seven thousand four hundred and
sixty-two pounds.
His Excellency, finding that Captain Godfrey had acted conformably to
the rules and regulations of the Province, returned to him his bond that
he had given the government for carrying on a legitimate trade with the
Indians.
He was also satisfied that the Captain's losses were on account of the
action of the savages, and being fully convinced of the great hardships
and privations the Captain and his distressed wife and family had
undergone, he was pleased to give him an honourable clearance out of the
province, according to the regulations of said province, and also to
recommend him to the protection of the Right Honourable the Earl of
Hillsborough, at that time first Lord of Trade and Plantations for
public relief. The Governor had it not in his power to grant Captain
Godfrey any suitable gratuity for the great loss he had sustained.
COPY OF LORD CAMPBELL'S LETTER TO LORD HILLSBOROUGH.
HALIFAX, October 9th, 1771.
_My Lord_:
The gentleman who will deliver this to you was lately a Captain in the
52nd Regiment of foot, and came out to this province in August, 1769,
with his wife and a large family, to settle on some lands on river St.
John, which he had purchased before he left Europe, with a view of
carrying on trade with the Indians. I have frequent complaints of those
Indians since Fort Frederick, situate on the entrance of the St. John
river, has been dismantled, and the garrison, which consisted of an
officer's command, reduced to a corporal and four.
The Fort, when properly garrisoned, kept the Indians of that district in
pretty good order, but not so effectively by situation as it would if it
had been constructed higher up the river, and as now the fort is
entirely dismantled, I beg leave to offer to your Lordship's
consideration whether a strong Block House, properly garrisoned, might
not prove a proper check upon the insolence of the savages, at the same
time it would afford a secure protection to a very increasing settlement
on the banks of the river St. John, a situation abounding with most
excellent soil, which produces the most valuable timber of all sorts in
the province.
These are considerations which I beg your Lordship will please to submit
to His Majesty's advisers. The unhappy state of _Mr. Godfrey's_
misfortunes will, I am persuaded, speak everything in his favour with
your Lordship, which his past services or present suffering can entitle
him to.
I have the honour to be,
Yours, &c., &c.,
WM. CAMPBELL.
_The Earl of Hillsborough_.
After remaining at Halifax for five months, an opportunity offered for
Captain Godfrey to leave for England. He sailed with his wife and family
in the brigantine "Adamante," William Macniel, master, on the twentieth
day of December, 1771. Paul Guidon remained at Halifax about six weeks
after he had arrived with the Godfreys. While at Halifax he was much
admired by the officers of the army, and those of the navy paid him
even greater attentions. Margaret had circulated the report that the
Indian was of the Iroquois tribe, and as brave a man as ever drew a bow.
He wanted for nothing. He was dined and wined by the citizens generally.
The Governor took a deep interest in him, and secured a vast amount of
information from him respecting the character and movements of the
Indians on the St. John. One of the officers of the navy presented him
with a complete suit of navy-blue clothes, and an officer of the
garrison fitted him out with a second-hand undress military suit.
In his blue suit his appearance was most commanding. It suited his
complexion to a charm. He was straight as an arrow, and looked as
graceful as an elm. His frame was wiry; his limbs long and straight. He
would bound over the rails of the ships like a deer. His step was long,
quick and elastic, and he would run like a greyhound. His long black
hair, reaching down to his slender waist, seemed to make his broad
square shoulders doubly broad as it hung over his blue coat. But the
Indian, while he appeared to enjoy his new mode of life, was not always
happy or at ease. A sudden expression of sadness would often flit across
his features. He would roam for hours all alone in the woods. He often
longed for his canoe, which was washed overboard in the mouth of the Bay
of Fundy. He would often inquire of Captain Godfrey when he would get
back to his home on the St. John.
The time at last arrived when Paul Guidon was to depart. The King's
schooner was soon to sail for Passmaquaddy. Captain Godfrey, his wife
and children went on board the schooner to bid Paul farewell. They found
it hard to do so, especially Mrs. Godfrey. Paul Guidon had no idea that
he was to be separated from the family he loved. He thought they were
going to return to the St. John soon again.
As the Godfreys left the side of the King's schooner to return to the
shore, the "Young Lion of the Woods," (for such was the name given to
the Iroquois by the naval officers at Halifax) would not let go of Mrs.
Godfrey's hand. He gently pulled her back and said, "I may never see you
again, I want to speak to you alone." They went into the cabin, and
there the Indian poured out the agonies of his soul. He spoke to
Margaret as follows (the words are given as he spoke them): "You 'member
evening Fort Frederick when pale face man 'way, me, Paul, saved your
life and children too? when Indians threw tomahawk, and fired arrows at
you? when you come out Fort, and one arrow struck you in arm?" Mrs.
Godfrey replied: "Paul, the mark of that arrow I shall carry with me to
the grave." The Indian continued: "You and children been all dead now
and buried near old Fort if Paul not been there; when you come out Fort,
after Indians threat to burn Fort and all up, me saw you like spirit
from some other land; you looked pale, and stood brave; you mind me put
hand up and told Indians stand back. Pale face and looked so brave,
saved life and in boat too. All squaws in woods none like you." Paul
then relapsed into silence, and his head dropped forward. He firmly held
Margaret Godfrey's hand all the time he was repeating the event at the
Fort, and her small white hand was frequently wet with tears as they
rolled off the swarthy face of the Indian.
At last she said: "Paul, I can stay here no longer, they are waiting to
take me to the shore. You have been a good friend to us all; without
your assistance I might never have been here to bid you good-bye. May
the great good Spirit bless and help you on the big, broad waters and in
the lonely woods. You, Paul, ask him to guide you. I shall always ask
the Great Spirit to look after you, and, if it be the Great Chief's
will, I may come back to see you again." A smile played over his face as
she uttered the last words, and he brushed the tears from her pale hand
with his long flowing hair. She asked him for a lock of his hair; he cut
off a piece and handed it to her. She then went to the boat, but the
Indian did not leave the cabin.
Margaret was so completely overcome with emotion that she laid her head
on her husband's shoulder and quietly wept, as they were being rowed to
the shore.
Captain Godfrey knew that his wife admired the Indian for his courage
and honour, but was entirely ignorant of those warmer feelings that Paul
expressed for Mrs. Godfrey during his leave-taking.
The Godfreys remained at Halifax four months after Paul Guidon had
sailed, and Margaret never ceased to praise the actions of the noble red
man. Yet, it may be after all, that the husband and children owed their
lives, as much to the good sense, brave spirit, firmness and steadiness
in the face of danger, of the wife and mother, as to the action of the
noble Iroquois. Yet again had not Paul appeared on the scene at [3]Fort
Frederick and at the taking of the boat, all the splendid traits of
character possessed by Margaret might have availed little in defeating
the purposes of the other Indians.
[Footnote 3: It will be remembered that during the voyage from the mouth
of the St John to Grimross Neck, the Captain's wife was most anxious to
be on deck alone during the hours of darkness. The Iroquois and several
braves appeared before Fort Frederick on the afternoon of the day that
Captain Godfrey left for Annapolis Royal. They ran round and round the
place, calling upon the occupants of the Fort to come out, or they would
break in and murder them. The Captain's wife determined to go outside
and face the savages, but found it difficult to leave her terrified
children, who were afraid to follow her. She knew her only course was to
appear bold and fearless in presence of the red men. At length she got
the little ones pacified, as she stepped toward the opening, her
children were huddled together in a corner. She did not hesitate a
moment, but went out and advanced down the slope and stood face to face
with the savages. Paul Guidon advanced a few steps toward her. She said,
"I believe you to be an honest man, and you will not see a defenceless
woman injured and her children murdered, if you can help it." At this
moment a couple of tomahawks and several arrows passed in close
proximity to Mrs. Godfrey, and a moment after a single arrow struck her
in the arm, causing the blood to flow freely. Paul Guidon turned
suddenly and spoke firmly and decidedly to his comrades, they retired a
short distance. Margaret continued, "Why do those Indians wish to injure
me? My husband is away, and when he comes back we will leave this place
and go up the river to Grimross Neck and live there." The red man stood
silent all the time Mrs. Godfrey was speaking. He now spoke as follows,
"You no 'fraid Injuns, stand fore them like rock," at the same time
pointing down to a big boulder on which he was standing, "Brave Pale
Face." She said in reply: "I shall never be afraid while you are with
the Indians, but some of the red men I would not trust. If my King, the
Great Pale Faced Father of this country, knew of your kindness to me he
would love you. I feel that my life and the lives of my children are
safe in your hands." Margaret then asked him into the Fort. In doing
this she appears to have obeyed the cool dictates of judgment rather
than the impulses of the heart. He at first hesitated and then slowly
followed her cautiously up the rising ground. She turned around and said
to him rather sharply: "Do you fear to trust me? There are no pale faced
men inside. Did I not trust you when I went out single, alone and
unarmed, to meet you?" He quickened his pace, but glanced restlessly all
around. Arriving near the entrance of the Fort, he said: "Me stop here."
Margaret called to her children, but they would not come. Paul said:
"Children frightened with Injun." After much difficulty she persuaded
Paul to step inside. He stopped as he entered and looked wildly about,
appearing inclined to draw back. Margaret Godfrey looked straight into
his restless eyes and said: "You are my friend now. When my husband
comes back you can help us up this unknown stream to our new home."
"Yea," he replied; "me will watch on river bank and in canoe; fire gun
and point where stay night. Don't tell pale face man me be in Fort.
White man sometime kill Injun. Won't tell pale face man, say?" Here he
hesitated for a reply. Margaret took his hand, led him out, and promised
she would not. And she kept her word.]
Noble bearing and grand courage in the case of Mrs. Godfrey, it would
appear, touched the tenderest chords of the Iroquois' heart, and brought
to the surface his better nature. Naturally, some human beings are
better than others. Such seem born to exert a power and cast a healthy
influence all about them. Doubtless Margaret was one of this class. Her
early training, her immortal hope, her strong belief in the spread of
everlasting truth, and in prayer and God, had much to do in steadying
and solidifying her character.
We may all profit by her example, if we seek to incorporate the
principles of the Christian religion into our every day actions and
life, in the full conviction that it is the happiest life, the soundest
life, the bravest life, that partakes of the mild and peaceful spirit of
Christianity. Something more than ordinary courage in the presence of
yelling savages and flights of arrows is necessary to support a delicate
woman single handed and alone; this something Margaret Godfrey
possessed, and, possibly, the penetrating eye of the Iroquois detected
it in her every feature and movement.
The King's schooner arrived at Passmaquaddy in due time, and Paul took
his departure for his native woods. He sent word hack by the captain of
the schooner to Margaret Godfrey that he would watch for her spirit some
evening when he sat by his mother's grave. He felt sure he would see
her there.
In the next chapter Captain Godfrey and family will be followed across
the ocean, and Paul Guidon will be allowed to remain in his native
woods, to fish, to shoot, and occasionally to sit beside Old Mag's grave
and commune with her immortal spirit.