Beauport. A village two miles below Quebec. Index: WM Defended by entrenched camp, 80; headquarters of intendant and commissary of stores, 88; hasty abandonment of camp at, with all its stores, 228.
Beaupré, Seigniory of. L Acquired for Seminary of Quebec, 58; chapels and churches erected to Ste. Anne at, 101, 102; pilgrimages to, 102, 103.
Beauséjour. A fort built by the French in 1750-1751, on Chignecto Bay, three miles from the British Fort Lawrence. A little tidal stream, the Missaguash, ran between—nominally marking the dividing line between British and French territory. The fort was captured by the British under Monckton, in 1755, and renamed Fort Cumberland. Bib.: Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe; Bradley, Fight with France; Hannay, History of Acadia; Murdoch, History of Nova Scotia: Campbell, History of Nova Scotia; Selections from the Public Documents of Nova Scotia, ed. by Akins.
Beaver. D First steamship on the Pacific, 1835, 47; carries party to build Fort Camosun (Victoria), 178; north to Forts Taku and McLoughlin, 178; returns to Victoria, 179; to Fort Vancouver, 180; history of ship, 180-181. Bib.: McCain, History of the S.S. Beaver.
Beaver Club. Founded in Montreal in 1775 by the partners of the North West Company. It opened with nineteen members, and at one time the registry showed ninety-three members, with eleven honorary members. Among them were such famous fur traders and explorers as Alexander Mackenzie and his cousin Roderick, the three Frobishers, Alexander Henry and his nephew of the same name, Simon McTavish, James Finlay, Simon Fraser, John Stuart, and David Thompson. The motto of the club was "Fortitude in Difficulties." No one was admitted who had not made a journey to the North-West and wintered there. The club entertained many distinguished guests, including Sir John Franklin, Lord Selkirk, Washington Irving, and the Earl of Dalhousie. The club was disbanded in 1824 after the union of the North West and Hudson's Bay Companies. An effort to revive it in 1827 proved unsuccessful. Index: MS Founded by the partners of the North West Company, 139; lavish hospitality and boisterous banquets, 139. Bk Famous social club at Montreal, 99. Bib.: Hetherington, Canada's First Social Club, in Univ. Mag., April, 1910.
Beaver Dam, Battle of. In War of 1812. FitzGibbon commanded a detachment of the 49th Regiment, with several hundred Indians. Boerstler, with a party of 600 men, advanced from Fort George by way of Queenston to surprise him, but was ambushed by a body of Indians. FitzGibbon, who had been warned of the approach of Boerstler by Laura Secord, advanced with his men of the 49th and demanded the surrender of the Americans, who, believing themselves surrounded by a superior force, capitulated. The engagement took place June 24, 1813. See also War of 1812. Bib.: Lucas, Canadian War of 1812; Hannay, War of 1812: FitzGibbon, A Veteran of 1812; Curzon, Laura Secord, the Heroine of 1812: Cruikshank, The Fight in the Beechwoods; Thompson, Jubilee History of Thorold.
Beckwith, John A. T Confederate candidate in York, 108.
Becquet, Romain. L Clerk of Ecclesiastical Court, arrested, 163.
Bédard, Elzéar. For some years a member of the Assembly of Lower Canada. Moved the celebrated Ninety-Two Resolutions, 1837. Puisne judge of the Court of Queen's Bench, 1837; suspended, but afterwards reinstated. Died, 1849. Index: P Moves the Ninety-Two Resolutions, 117; deserts Papineau, 117; appointed judge by Gosford, 117. Bib.: Morgan, Cel. Can.; Christie, History of Lower Canada.
Bédard, Pierre Stanislas (1762-1829). Educated at the Seminary of Quebec; studied law, and appointed advocate, 1790. Elected for Northumberland to the first Legislature of Lower Canada, 1792. In 1806, with a number of other French-Canadians in the Assembly, founded Le Canadien, to represent the views of the popular party. In 1810 the paper seized, and Bédard and his associates arrested on a charge of treasonable practices. Released the following year. In 1812 appointed judge of the District Court of Three Rivers. Retired in 1829 on account of ill health. Index: P Leader of French-Canadians in Lower Canada Assembly, 27; opposes property tax, 27; establishes Le Canadien, 28; considered by Sir James Craig a dangerous revolutionist, 28; sent to jail, 29; released and charges withdrawn, 29; moves resolution as to ministerial responsibility, 96. C Claims liberty of the press, 95; sent to jail, 95; released, 96; asks for ministerial responsibility, 96. Bk Arrested, 127; demands trial, 128; released, 145. Bib.: Parent, Pierre Bédard et Ses Deux Fils in Journal d'Instruction Publique, 1859; Christie, History of Lower Canada; De Gaspe, Memoires; Dionne, Pierre Bédard et Ses Fils; Dionne, Pierre Bédard et Son Temps (R. S. C., 1898).