CHAPTER IX.
Incidents in King Georges War.
After a long interval of peace from the time of the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, war was declared between France and England in 1744. The Indians of the St. John river, who had been fairly quiet for some years, took the warpath with great alacrity. The war that ensued is known as “King George’s,” or the “Five Years” war. At its commencement the Maliseets played rather a sharp trick upon the English which Paul Mascarene and Shirley, the governor of Massachusetts, remembered against them when peace was proclaimed five years later. On that occasion Count de la Galissonniere wrote to Mascarene to inquire if the Maliseets were included in the peace, “in which case,” he says, “I entreat you to have the goodness to induce Mr. Shirley to allow them to settle again in their villages, and to leave their missionaries undisturbed as they were before the war.” The French governor suggested that a reply might be sent through the missionary by whom he had sent his own letter. Both Mascarene and Shirley replied at some length to the letter of de la Galissonniere. They stated that when a renewal of the war with France was daily expected, a deputation of the St. John river Indians came to Annapolis professedly to make an agreement to remain on friendly terms with the English in the event of war with France. They were well received in consequence. But they had come in reality as spies, and three weeks afterwards returned with others of their tribe, the missionary le Loutre at their head, surprised and killed as many of the English as they caught outside the fort, destroyed their cattle, burnt their houses and continued their acts of hostility against the garrison till the arrival of troops from New England to check them. “For this perfidious behaviour,” Shirley says, “I caused war to be declared in his majesty’s name against these Indians in November, 1744, and so far as it depends upon me, they shall not be admitted to terms of peace till they have made a proper submission for their treachery.”
During King George’s war the Maliseet warriors did not, as in former Indian wars, assemble at Medoctec and turn their faces westward to devastate the settlements of New England, the scene of hostilities was now transferred to the eastward, Annapolis Royal, Beausejour and Louisbourg became the scene of hostilities and Aukpaque, not Medoctec, the place of rendezvous.
Immediately after the declaration of war Paul Mascarene set to work to repair the defences of Annapolis Royal. The French inhabitants at first showed every readiness to assist him, but they retired to their habitations when the Indians, to the number of about three hundred fighting men, appeared before the fort. Among the leaders of the savages was young Alexander le Borgne de Bellisle, who himself had Indian blood in his veins, being the son of Anastasie de St. Castin. The Indians failed in their attack and retired to await the arrival of troops from Louisbourg under Du Vivier.
Some weeks later the united forces again advanced on Annapolis but, after a siege lasting from the end of August to about the 25th of September, they were 80 obliged to retire without accomplishing anything. Mascarene conducted the defence with prudence and energy but honestly admits, in his letter to Governor Shirley, that it was largely “to the timely succours sent from the Governor of Massachusetts and to our French inhabitants refusing to take up arms against us, we owe our preservation.”
The people of New England cherished no good will toward the savages of Acadia. The horrors of Indian warfare in the past were yet fresh in their memories, and stern measures were resolved upon. Governor Shirley, with the advice of his council, offered premiums for their scalps, £100 currency for that of an adult male Indian, £50 for that of a woman or child, and for a captive £5 higher than for a scalp.
After the failure of the French attack on Annapolis Royal, Shirley planned an expedition against Louisbourg, “the Dunkirk of America.” This was indeed a formidable undertaking, for the French had spent twenty-five years of time and about six millions and a half of dollars in building, arming and adorning that city. The walls of its defences were formed of bricks brought from France and they mounted two hundred and six pieces of cannon. The leader of the expedition was William Pepperell, a native of Kittery, Maine, a colonel of militia and a merchant who employed hundreds of men in lumbering and fishing. His troops comprised a motley collection of New Englanders—fishermen and farmers, sawyers and loggers, many of them taken from his own vessels, mills and forests. Before such men, aided by the English navy under Commodore Warren, to the world’s amazement, Louisbourg fell. The achievement is, perhaps, the most memorable in our colonial annals, but a description of the siege cannot be here attempted. After the surrender of Louisbourg a banquet was prepared by Pepperell for his officers, and Mr. Moody of New York, Mrs. Pepperell’s uncle, was called upon to ask a blessing at the feast. The old parson was apt to be prolix on public occasions, and his temper being rather irritable, none dared to suggest that brevity would be acceptable. The company were therefore highly gratified by his saying grace as follows: “Good Lord, we have so many things to thank Thee for that time will be infinitely too short to do it. We must therefore leave it for the work of eternity. Bless our food and fellowship upon this joyful occasion, for the sake of Christ our Lord. Amen.”
The capture of Louisbourg greatly relieved the situation at Annapolis, and probably saved Acadia to the English. It acted as a damper on the ardor of the Indians of the St. John river, who, under Marin, a French officer from Quebec, had taken the warpath. They were encouraged in their hostile attitude by their missionary Germain, lately come to Aukpaque as Danielou’s[17] successor.
While the stirring events just mentioned were transpiring at Louisbourg, Governor Mascarene was doing his best to place Annapolis Royal in a proper state of defence and the chief engineer, John Henry Bastide, was busily engaged in strengthening the fort. Early in the summer of 1745 the Sieur Marin appeared before the town with a party of six hundred French and Indians—the latter including 81 many from the River St. John and some of the Hurons from Canada. They captured two Boston schooners, one of which was named the “Montague.” Her captain, William Pote, of Falmouth (now Portland) Maine, was taken to Quebec by the Huron Indians, via the St. John river. He remained in captivity three years. He contrived to keep a journal describing his capture and subsequent adventures; this was concealed by one of the female prisoners who restored it to Captain Pote after he was released. The journal had a remarkable experience; it passed through many hands, was discovered at Geneva in Switzerland about a dozen years ago by Bishop John F. Hurst, and has since been printed in a sumptuous volume by Dodd, Mead & Co., of New York. Thus after a century and a half of obscurity this remarkable old document has at length seen the light.
We learn from its pages that Captain Pote was taken by land to Chignecto at the head of the Bay of Fundy, where he found the captured schooner “Montague” already arrived. The Indians called a council to decide whether it was better to go to the River St. John in the schooner or by land, but finally thought it better to go by land. Accordingly on the 26th June, the “Montague” sailed with several prisoners, including two of Pote’s men and the master of the other schooner taken at Annapolis and one of his men. Pote entreated the Indians to be allowed to go in the schooner, but could not prevail. He was taken by way of Shepody Bay up the River Petitcodiac in a small schooner belonging to one of the “neutral French.” The next day’s journey brought them to the carrying place between the Petitcodiac and the Canaan river, which they crossed and encamped.
The events of the day following—Sunday, June 30—are thus recorded in Pote’s journal:
“This day in ye morning we had Intelligence that there was a priest from ye River of Saint Johns expected to arrive at this place in a few minutes, ye Indians made Great preparation for his Reception and at his arrival shewed many symptoms of their Great Respect. Ye Priest was conducted to ye Captain’s camp, where after having passed many compliments, the Priest asked ye Capt. of ye Indians who I was, and when he Understood I was a prisoner, he asked me if I could speak French. I told him a Little, and asked him concerning one Jonathan a soldier that was a passenger on board of our Schooner when we was taken, and was then at ye River of Saint Johns. Ye Priest gave me an account of him, and told me to content myself in ye Condition that I was then in, for I was in ye hands of a Christian nation and it might prove very Beneficial both to my Body and Soul. I was obliged to concur with his sentiments for fear of displeasing my masters. Ye Indians built him a Table against a Large Tree, where he said mass, and sung (louange au bon Dieu pour leur conservation jusqu’au present) after they had concluded their mass, &c., the priest gave them Permission to commence their making Connews and Took his leave of us. This Day we was Imployed in making Connews of Elm and ash Bark.”
The priest here mentioned was no doubt the Jesuit missionary, Charles Germain, for the Governor General of Canada, the Marquis Beauharnois, in his letter to the French minister, dated at Quebec 27 September of this year, writes: “M. Germain, missionary on the lower part of the River St. John, arrived here 82 yesterday with the chief and 24 Indians of his mission, the most of whom served in Mr. Marin’s party.”
The Indians with Capt. Pote made seven canoes, and in these they proceeded down the Canaan river to Washademoak lake, thence up the St. John river to Aukpaque. On the way several rather curious incidents occurred. For example, on one occasion they caught some small fish, which Pote attempted to clean, but the Indians snatched them from him and boiled them “slime and blood and all together.” “This,” said Pote, “put me in mind of ye old Proverb, God sent meat and ye D——l cooks.” On another occasion, he says, “we Incamped by ye side of ye River and we had much difficulty to kindle a fire by Reason it Rained exceeding fast, and wet our fire works; we was obliged to turn our connews bottom up and Lay under them; at this time it thundered exceedingly, and ye Indians asked me if there was not people in my Country sometimes distroyed by ye Thunder and Lightning, yet I told them I had known several Instances of that nature, they told me yt never any thing hapned to ye Indians of harm neither by thunder nor Lightning, and they said it was a Judgment on ye English and French, for Incroaching on their Libertys in America.”
On their way up the River St. John Mr. Pote and his companions passed several French houses, and at some of these they stopped for provisions, but found the people so “exceeding poor” they could not supply any. When they arrived at Aukpaque, on the evening of the 6th July, they found the schooner Montague had arrived some days before with the other prisoners.
Pote and his friends met with an unexpectedly warm reception at the Indian village, which we shall allow him to relate in his own quaint fashion:
“At this place ye Squaws came down to ye Edge of ye River, Dancing and Behaving themselves, in ye most Brutish and Indecent manner and taking us prisoners by ye arms, one Squaw on each Side of a prisoner, they led us up to their Village and placed themselves In a Large Circle Round us, after they had Gat all prepared for their Dance, they made us sit down In a Small Circle, about 18 Inches assunder and began their frolick, Dancing Round us and Striking of us in ye face with English Scalps, yt caused ye Blood to Issue from our mouths and Noses, In a Very Great and plentiful manner, and Tangled their hands in our hair, and knocked our heads Togather with all their Strength and Vehemence, and when they was tired of this Exercise, they would take us by the hair and some by ye Ears, and standing behind us, oblige us to keep our Necks Strong so as to bear their weight hanging by our hair and Ears.
“In this manner, they thumped us In ye Back and Sides, with their knees and feet, and Twitched our hair and Ears to such a Degree, that I am Incapable to express it, and ye others that was Dancing Round if they saw any man falter, and did not hold up his Neck, they Dached ye Scalps In our faces with such Violence, yt every man endeavored to bear them hanging by their hair in this manner, Rather then to have a Double Punishment; after they had finished their frolick, that lasted about two hours and a half, we was carried to one of their Camps, where we Saw Some of ye Prisoners that Came in ye montague; at this place we Incamped yt Night with hungrey Belleys.”
Unpleasant as was the reception of Pote and his fellow prisoners at Aukpaque they were fortunate in being allowed to escape with their lives. It chanced that the previous year Capt. John Gorham had brought to Annapolis a company of Indian rangers—probably Mohawks—as allies of the English. Paul Mascarene justified this proceeding on the ground that it was necessary to set Indians against Indians, “for tho’ our men outdo them in bravery,” he says, “yet, being unacquainted with their sculking way of fighting and scorning to fight under cover they expose themselves too much to the enemy’s shot.” Gorham’s Indian rangers, it appears, had killed several of the Maliseets, and Pote learned the day after his arrival at Aukpaque “That the Indians held a counsell amongst ym weather they should put us to Death, and ye Saint Johns Indians almost Gained ye point for they Insisted it was but Justice, as they Sd there had been Several of their Tribe, murdered by Capt. John Gorham at anapolis. Our masters being Verey Desirous to Save us alive, Used all ye arguments In their power for that purpose but could not prevail, for they Insisted on Satisfaction; howsoever our masters prevailed so far with ym, as to take Some Considerable quantity of their most Valuable Goods, and Spare our Lives; this Day they Gave us Some Boill’d Salmon which we Eat with a Verey Good Appetite, without Either Salt or Bread, we Incamped this Night at this afforsaid Indian Village Apog. (Aukpaque.)”
Evidently the Indians had retained the practices of their forefathers as regards their treatment of captives, for Pote’s experience at Aukpaque was just about on a par with that of Gyles at Medoctec rather more than half a century before. But it is only just to remember that this was a time of war and (as Murdoch well points out) Indian laws of war permitted not only surprises, stratagems and duplicity, but the destruction and torture of their captives. These practices being in harmony with the ideas and customs inherited from their ancestors did not readily disappear even under the influence of Christianity. And yet it is well to remember that the Indians often spared the lives of their captives and even used them kindly and however much we may condemn them for their cruelty on many occasions we must not forget that there were other occasions where men of our own race forget for a season the rules of their religion and the laws of humanity.
Captain Pote’s unhappy experience at Aukpaque caused him to feel no regret when the Huron Indians took their departure with their captives the next day. They had now come to the “beginning of the swift water” and their progress became more laborious. The party included twenty-three persons. One of the prisoners, an Indian of Gorham’s Rangers, taken on Goat Island at Annapolis, Pote says
“Was exceedingly out of order and could not assist ye Indians to paddle against ye Strong Current that Ran against us ye Greater part of ye Day, his head was So Exceedingly Swelled, with ye Squaws beating of him, yt he Could Scearsley See out of his Eyes. I had ye Good fortune to be almost well in Comparison to what he was, although it was he and I was Companions, and Sat Next to Each other, In ye Time of their Dance, and him they alwas took for my partner to knock our heads Together. Ye Indians asked me In what Manner ye Squaws treated us, that his head was So Exceedingly Swelld, I Gave them an account, at which they feigned 84 themselves much Disgusted, and protested they was Intierly Ignorant of ye affair, and Said they thought ye Squaws Designed Nothing Else, but only to Dance round us for a Little Diversion, without mollisting or hurting of us In any manner.”
As they ascended the river the party encountered occasional rapids which caused some delay, particularly the Meductic rapids below the mouth of the Pokiok, where they were obliged to land and carry their baggage over clefts of rocks, fallen trees and other obstacles. The Indians told Pote they would shortly arrive at another Indian village and he asked, with some anxiety, if the Indians there would use them in the same manner as those at Aukpaque. This question led to an immediate consultation among the Hurons, and, Pote says,
“I observed they Looked with a Verey Serious Countenance on me; when I Saw a Convenient oppertunity I spoke to this affect, Gentlemen You are all Verey Sensible, of ye Ill Usage we met with at ye other Village, which I have Reason to believe, was Intierly Contrary to any of Your Inclinations or permission, and as you Call your Selves Christians, and men of honor, I hope you’l Use your prisoners accordingly, But I think it is Verey Contrary to ye Nature of a Christian, to abuse men In ye manner we was at ye other Village, and I am Verey Sensible there is no Christian Nation yt Suffers their prisoners to be abused after they have Given them quarters, In ye manner we have been; the Indians Looked verey Serious, and approved of what I said, and Talked amongst themselves in Indian, and my master told me when we arrived to ye Indian Village I must mind to keep Clost by him.”
On the second morning after they left Aukpaque, the party drew nigh Medoctec, passing as they proceeded, several small spots where the Indians had made improvements and planted corn, beans, etc. Pote says:—
“We arrived to ye Indian village about Noon, as soon as Squaws, saw us coming In Sight of their Village, and heard ye Cohoops, which Signified ye Number of Prisoners, all ye Squaws In their Village, prepared themselves with Large Rods of Briars, and Nettles &c., and met us at their Landing, Singing and Dancing and Yelling, and making such a hellish Noise, yt I Expected we Should meet with a worse Reception at this place that we had at ye other. I was Verey Carefull to observe my masters Instructions, yt he had Given me ye Day before, and warned ye Rest to do Likewise.”
The first canoe that landed was that of the captain of the Hurons who had in his canoe but one prisoner, an Indian of Capt. Gorham’s Company. This unfortunate fellow was not careful to keep by his master, and in consequence
“Ye Squaws Gathered themselves Round him, and Caught him by ye hair, as many as could get hold of him, and halled him down to ye Ground, and pound his head against ye Ground, ye Rest with Rods dancing Round him, and wipted him over ye head and Legs, to Such a degree, that I thought they would have killed him In ye Spot, or halled him in ye watter and Drounded him, they was So Eager to have a Stroak at him Each of them, that they halled him Some one way and Some another, Some times Down towards ye water by ye hair of ye head, as fast as they could Run, then ye other party would have ye Better and Run with him another way, my master spoke to ye other Indians, and told ym to take ye fellow out of their hands, for he believed they would Certainly murther him, In a Verey Short time.”
The squaws advanced towards Pote, but his master spoke something in Indian in a very harsh manner that caused them to relinquish their purpose. The prisoners and their Indian masters were conducted to the camp of the captain of the village who, at their request, sent to relieve the poor Mohawk from the abuse of the squaws, and he was brought to them more dead than alive. At this place Pote met a soldier that had been with him on the schooner “Montague” when she was captured who told him how the Indians had abused him at his arrival. Captain Pote did not entirely escape the attentions of the “sauvagesses,” witness the following entry in his journal:—
“Thursday ye 11th. This Day we Remained In ye Indian Village called Medocatike, I observed ye Squaws could not by any means Content themselves without having their Dance. they Continued Teasing my master to Such a Degree, to have ye Liberty to Dance Round me, that he Consented they might if they would Promis to not abuse me, they Desired none of ye Rest, but me was all they aimed at for what Reason I cannot Tell. When my masters had Given ym Liberty, which was Done in my absence, there Came Into ye Camp, two Large Strong Squaws, and as I was Setting by one of my masters, they Caught hold of my armes with all their Strength, and Said Something in Indian, yt I Supposed was to tell me to Come out of ye Camp, and halld me of my Seat. I Strugled with ym and cleard my Self of their hold, and Set down by my master; they Came upon me again Verey Vigorously, and as I was Striving with them, my master ordered me to Go, and told me they would not hurt me. At this I was obliged to Surrender and whent with ym, they Led me out of ye Camp, Dancing and Singing after their manner, and Carried me to one of their Camps where there was a Company of them Gathered for their frolick, they made me Set down on a Bears Skin in ye Middle of one of their Camps, and Gave me a pipe and Tobacoe, and Danced Round me till the Sweat Trickled Down their faces, Verey plentyfully, I Seeing one Squaw that was Verey Big with Child, Dancing and foaming at ye mouth and Sweating, to Such a degree yt I Could not forbear Smilling, which one of ye old Squaws Saw, and Gave me two or three twitches by ye hair, otherwise I Escaped without any Punishment from them at the time.”
While he was at Medoctec one of the chiefs desired Pote to read a contract or treaty made about fourteen years before by his tribe with the Governor of Nova Scotia. He also had an interview with one Bonus Castine,[18] who had just arrived at Medoctec, and who examined him very strictly as to the cargo of the Montague and took down in writing what he said. Castine told Pote that the Penobscot Indians were still at peace with the English and he believed would so continue for come time. Pote thought it not prudent to contradict him, though he was confident there were several Penobscot Indians in the party that had captured the Boston schooners. At his master’s suggestion he remained close in camp, as the Indians were dancing and singing the greater part of the night, and Castine had made use of expressions that showed his life was in great danger.
The following day the Hurons resumed their journey and in due time arrived at Quebec. At times the party suffered from lack of food, though fish were usually abundant, and on one occasion they caught in a small cove, a few miles below the mouth of the Tobique, as many as fifty-four salmon in the course of a few hours.
Having considered, at greater length than was originally intended, the adventures of Captain Pote, we may speak of other individuals and incidents which figure in King George’s War.
Paul Mascarene, who so gallantly and successfully defended Annapolis Royal against the French and Indians, was born in the south of France in 1684. His father was a Huguenot, and at the revocation of the edict of Nantes was obliged to abandon his native country. Young Mascarene was early thrown upon his own resources. At the age of 12 he made his way to Geneva, where he was educated. Afterwards he went to England, became a British subject and entered the army. He was present at the taking of Port Royal by General Nicholson and, after serving with credit in various capacities, was appointed Lieut.-Governor of Nova Scotia in 1740. He eventually rose to the rank of a major general in the English army.
Mascarene preserved his love for his native tongue and was always disposed to deal kindly with the Acadians. Two very interesting letters written by him in French to Madame Francoise Bellisle Robichaux have been preserved. This lady came of rather remarkable ancestry. She was the granddaughter of the Baron de St. Cactin, and had as her great-grandsires on the one hand the celebrated Charles la Tour, and on the other the famous Penobscot chieftain Madockawando.
In view of the fact that the Belleisle family lived for a considerable time on the St. John river, where their name is preserved in that of Belleisle Bay, it may be well to trace the lineage in fuller detail.
The eldest daughter of Charles la Tour by his second wife, the widow of d’Aulnay Charnisay, was Marie la Tour, who was born in St. John in 1654.[19] She married when about twenty years of age Alexander le Borgne de Belleisle, who was eleven years her senior. Their son Alexander, born in 1679, married December 4, 1707, Anastasia St. Castin, a daughter of the Baron, de St. Castin by his Indian wife Melctilde, daughter of Madockawando, and as a consequence of this alliance the younger le Borgne obtained great influence over the Maliseets. Lieut.-Gov. Armstrong alludes to this circumstance in a letter to the Lords of Trade, written in 1732, in which he observes, “Madame Bellisle’s son Alexander married an Indian and lived among the tribe, being hostile to the British government.” This statement is hardly fair to Anastasie St. Castin, for, while her mother certainly was the daughter of an Indian chief, her father was the Baron de St. Castin and she herself a well educated woman. The genealogist of the d’Abbadie St. Castin family, however, uses rather grandiloquent language when he styles the 87 mother of Anastasie St. Castin, “Mathilde Matacawando, princess indienne, fille de Matacawando, general-en-chef des indiens Abenakis.”[20]
In spite of the supposed hostility of Alexander le Borgne de Belleisle to British rule in Acadia, he came before the governor and council at Annapolis and took the oath of allegiance. He also presented a petition requesting the restoration of the seignioral rights of his father as one of the la Tour heirs; this was ordered to be transmitted to the home authorities. For several years the sieur de Belleisle lived with his family at Annapolis and the governor and council regarded him with favor, but failed to obtain the recognition of his seignioral rights. After a time the la Tour heirs got into litigation among themselves, and one of their number, Agatha la Tour, who had married an officer of the garrison, Ensign Campbell, seems to have outwitted the other heirs and to have succeeded in selling the rights of the la Tour family to the English crown for three thousand guineas. This naturally was displeasing to Alexander le Borgne de Belleisle. He retired to the St. John river about the year 1736 and settled near the mouth of Belleisle Bay. He had a son Alexander (the third of the name[21]), who married Marie Le Blanc and settled at Grand Pre, where he died in 1744. Francoise Belleisle, who had the honor of being a correspondent of Lieut.-Governor Mascarene, married Pierre Robichaux. The wedding took place at Annapolis Royal, January 16, 1737, the officiating priest being St. Poncy de Lavennede. The contracting parties are described in the old church register as “Pierre Robichaux, aged about 24 years, son of Francois Robichaux and Madeleine Terriot, and Mademoiselle Francoise de Belle Isle, aged about 22 years, daughter of Sieur Alexandre Le Borgne de Belle Isle and Anastasie de St Castin of the Parish of Ste Anne.” The bride signs her name Francoise le Borgnes. It is evident that the “Parish of Ste. Anne” was the parish or mission of that name on the St. John river from the fact that two years later a second daughter of the Sieur de Bellisle married a Robichaux and in her marriage certificate she figures as “Marie Le Borgne de Belle Isle, daughter of Alexandre Le Borgne de Belle Isle and of Anastasie St. Castin of the River St. John.”
The brothers Robichaux settled after their marriage near their father-in-law on the St. John river and it was from them that the little settlement of Robicheau, above the mouth of Belleisle Bay, derived its name.[22]
(From the Calnek-Savary History of Annapolis, by permission of the Hon. Judge Savary.)
Francoise Belleisle Robichaux wrote to Paul Mascarene early in 1741 respecting her claim to some property in dispute with her relatives at Annapolis. The governor in his reply gives her some information and advice, adding, “I think you too reasonable to expect any favor of me in what concerns my conduct as a 88 89 judge; but in every other thing that is not contrary to my duty I shall have real pleasure in testifying to you the esteem I have for you. Let me have your news when there is an opportunity, freely and without fear.”
When the war with France began, three years later, the sieur de Belleisle and his son Alexander took sides with their countrymen. The father evidently cherished a hope that in the course of events Acadia might revert to France, in which case he expected to obtain the recognition of his seignioral rights. Young Alexander le Borgne was, as already stated, a leader of the Indians in the attack on Annapolis early in 1744, which attack failed on account of the energy and bravery of Mascarene. The following letter of the Lieut.-Governor to Frances Belleisle Robichaux is of interest in thin connection.
Annapolis Royal, Oct. 13, 1744.
Madame,—When I learned that your father, in the hope of recovering his seigneurial rights, had sided with those who came to attack this fort, I confess I was of opinion that the whole family participated in his feelings; and the more so, as your brother was with the first party of savages who came here last summer. I am agreeably surprised, however, and very glad to see by your letter that you did not share in those sentiments, and that you have remained true to the obligations which bind you to the government of the King of Great Britain, I am unwilling that the esteem which I have entertained for you should be in any manner lessened.
With respect to the protection which you ask for your establishment on the river St. John, it is out of my power to grant it. We cannot protect those who trade with our declared enemies. Therefore you must resolve to remain on this [the English] side during the continuance of the present troubles, and to have no intercourse with the other. Should you come and see us here, you will find me disposed to give you all the assistance that you can reasonably expect.
Be assured that I am, Madam,
Your friend and servant,
P. MASCARENE.
The next glimpse we get of the name of Belleisle on the River St. John is in connection with a notable treaty made with the Indians in 1749. In the summer of that year, peace having been proclaimed with France, Capt. Edward How went to the St. John river in the warship “Albany,” and had several interviews with the Indian chiefs, who agreed to send deputies to Halifax to wait upon Governor Cornwallis and renew their submission to the King of England. Accordingly on the 12th of August, Francois Arodowish, Simon Sactawino, and Jean Baptiste Madounhook, deputies from the chiefs of the St. John river, and Joannes Pedousaghtigh, chief of Chignecto, with their attendants, arrived at Halifax to pay their respects to the new governor, and to agree upon “articles of a lasting peace.”
Great must have been the wonder of these children of the forest at the busy scene that met their eyes on landing at old Chebucto. A colony of two thousand five hundred persons had settled on a spot hitherto almost without inhabitant, and the Town of Halifax was rising, as if by magic, from the soil which less than eight 90 weeks before had been covered by a dense forest. The sound of axes, hammers and saws was heard on every hand.
Two days after their arrival the Indians were received on board the man-of-war “Beaufort” by Cornwallis and his entire council. The delegates announced that they were from Aukpaque, Medoctec, Passamaquoddy and Chignecto, and that their respective chiefs were Francois de Salle of Octpagh, Noellobig of Medoctec, Neptune Abbadouallete of Passamaquoddy and Joannes Pedousaghtigh of Chignecto. They brought with them a copy of the treaty made with their tribes in 1728 and expressed a desire to renew it. After the usual negotiations the treaty was engrossed on parchment and signed by the Indians, each man appending to his signature his private mark or “totem.” Eleven members of the council also signed the treaty as witnesses.
A few days later the Indians returned with Capt. How to the St. John river, where the treaty was duly ratified, and thirteen chiefs signed the following declaration:—
“The Articles of Peace concluded at Chebuckto the Fifteenth of August, 1749, with His Excellency Edward Cornwallis Esq’r, Capt. General Governor and Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty’s Province of Nova Scotia or Acadie, and signed by our Deputies, having been communicated to us by Edward How Esq’r, one of His Majesty’s Council for said Province, and faithfully interpreted to us by Madame De Bellisle Inhabitant of this River nominated by us for that purpose. We the Chiefs and Captains of the River St. Johns and places adjacent do for ourselves and our different Tribes confirm and ratify the same to all intents and purposes.
“Given under our hands at the River St. Johns this fourth day of September, 1749.”
At first glance it would seem that the interpreter, Madame Belleisle, must have been Anastasie St. Castin, wife of Alexander le Borgne de Belleisle, but as she was then more than sixty years of age it is possible the interpreter may have been her daughter, Francoise Belleisle Robichaux. That the latter had a position of some influence with the Indians is shown by the fact that when the chiefs of the River St. John went to Halifax in 1768 (nearly twenty years later) they complained that the ornaments of their church “were taken by Francoise Belleisle Robicheau and carried to Canada by her, and that she refused to give them up.” The natural presumption is that the ornaments were intrusted to her care by the missionary, Germain, when he left the mission of Ste. Anne, and that she took them with her for safe keeping.
The English colonial authorities congratulated Cornwallis on the treaty made with the Indians. “We are glad to find,” say they, “that the Indians of the St. John river have so willingly submitted to His Majesty’s government and renewed their treaty, and as they are the most powerful tribe in those parts, we hope their example may either awe or influence other inferior tribes to the like compliance.”
Cornwallis in reply said, “I intend if possible to keep up a good understanding with the St. John Indians, a warlike people, tho’ treaties with Indians are nothing, nothing but force will prevail.”
Alexandre le Borgne de Belleisle was living on the River St. John as late at least as 1754 and was regarded by the Nova Scotia authorities as “a very good man.” The site of his residence is indicated on Charles Morris’ map of 1765 and there can be little doubt that a settlement of four houses in the same vicinity, marked “Robicheau” in the Morris map of 1758, was the place of residence of Frances Belleisle Robichaux.
The name Nid d’Aigle, or “The Eagle’s Nest,” is applied to this locality in Bellin’s map of 1744, D’Anville’s map of 1755 marks at the same place “Etabliss’t Francois,” or French Settlement. The place is nearly opposite Evandale, the site of the well known summer hotel of John O. Vanwart. Here the St. John river is quite narrow, only about a five minutes paddle across. The British government during the war of 1812 built at Nid d’Aigle, or “Worden’s,” a fortification consisting of an earthwork, or “half-moon battery,” with magazine in rear and a block-house at the crest of the hill still farther to the rear, the ruins of which are frequently visited by tourists. The situation commands an extensive and beautiful view of the river, both up and down, and no better post of defence could be chosen, since the narrowness of the channel would render it well nigh impossible for an enemy to creep past either by day or night without detection. There is some reason to believe that the French commander, Boishebert, established a fortified post of observation here in 1756.
Old Fort at Worden’s
It is altogether probable that the name “Nid d’Aigle” was given to the place by the sieur de Belleisle or some member of his family, and one could wish that it might be restored either in its original form, or in its Saxon equivalent, “The Eagle’s Nest.”
Colonel Monckton, by direction of Governor Lawrence, ravaged the French Settlements on the lower St. John in 1758, and in the report of his operations mentions “a few Houses that were some time past inhabited by the Robicheaus,” which he burnt. It is possible that Francoise Belleisle Robichaux went with her family to l’Islet in Quebec to escape the threatened invasion of which they may have had timely notice, but it is more probable the removal occurred a little earlier. The situation of the Acadians on the River St. John in 1757 was pitiable in the extreme. 92 They were cut off from every source of supply and lived in fear of their lives. The Marquis de Vaudreuil says that in consequence of the famine prevailing on the river, many Acadian families were forced to fly to Quebec and so destitute were the wretched ones in some instances that children died at their mother’s breast. The parish records of l’Islet[23] show that Pierre Robichaux and his wife lived there in 1759.
Francoise Belleisle Robichaux died at l’Islet January 28, 1791, at the age of 79 years, having outlived her husband six years. They had a number of children, one of whom, Marie Angelique, married Jean Baptiste d’Amour, de Chaufour, and had a daughter, Marguerite d’Amour, whose name seems very familiar to us.
The parish records at l’Islet give considerable information concerning the descendants of the families d’Amours, Robichaux and Belleisle, but the space at our disposal will allow us to follow them no further.