A

FTER the taking of Canada1, the government of Nova-Scotia wanted

the trade of the Bay of Chaleurs to be turned into their channel, while the government of Quebec strove to keep it in their hands. There was a number of Acadians settled in the bay, who had taken a great many of our vessels with their privateers, but had now made their submission to the English.2

I

I GOT a licence from General Murray, governor of Quebec, to go trade with them, and to make an establishment if I thought proper. found the place and people convenient for a cod fishery, and had employed them sometime in that branch. They had loaded a vessel for me, of about an hundred and twenty tons, with dry fish, oil, &c. which was ready to sail, when government thought proper suddenly to remove the inhabitants. 3 This manuoevre was a very great loss to me-they had engaged to deliver me the year after, five thousand quintals of fish, and four thousand weight of beaver, &c. I was obliged to leave the supplies of salt, &c. which I must have advanced to them [VI] against the spring fishery, upon the beach, (as my vessel was full)-this was destroyed in the winter. I am afraid this step originated from selfish motives, not the consideration of the public good; for I read a letter from Captain M'Kenzie, commanding officer of Fort Cumberland, to Jean Baptist, a principal person there, offering supplies of all kinds, such as powder, shot,

1. In the previous year, 1760. The competition for the trade of Bay Chaleur, here mentioned, is not referred to in any of our historical works, so far as I can find.

2. The Acadians, it will be remembered, had been practically outlaws in Nova Scotia (then including New Brunswick), ever since the Expulsion in 1755. The English repeatedly tried to drive them from the Province, while they, on their part, attacked English vessels with their privateers, and, in conjunction with the Indians, made forays against the English settlements. In 1760 the Acadians from the Miramichi southward had made their submission to the English at Fort Cumberland, while those from Restigouche (including no doubt those of Nepisiguit), were expected soon to do likewise (Murdoch, Nova Scotia, II, 396) and actually did so, as Smethurst's statement shows.

3. As described in the opening paragraph of the Narrative following. The question now arises,-why were they

5

removed after making their submission? The answer is given in a letter from Jonathan Belcher, President of the Council of Nova Scotia, to the Secretary of State (abstract in Report on Canadian Archives, 1894, 229; also in Murdoch, Nova Scotia, II, 408), in which he states that "a considerable body of Acadians had withdrawn from allegiance and retired North to the Gulph of St. Lawrence. These people had taken up arms and by means of small vessels are infesting the navigation of the river and committing depredations on His Majesty's subjects."

It is quite possible that the inhabitants of Nepisiguit and vicinity were not the guilty ones, but had to suffer for them, as so often is the case in operations of war.

4. The numbers in brackets scatter.. ed through the following pages are those expressing the pagination in the original text. The first numbered page begins here.

5. The same person, no doubt, mentioned in the Narrative under Nov. 5.

blankets, provisions, &c. and that they should not be disturbed, provided they would bring their beaver to Fort Cumberland.1 These people would have been very useful, and I would have made it their interest to have been very good subjects, had Government though proper to let them remain in the Bay of Chaleurs.

This bay is situated on the west side the gulph, before you enter the great river St. Lawrence-The north side of this bay is formed by the islands Bonaventure and Piercé; the south side by the island and Point Miscou―This is low flat land, and continues so all the way up the baySome vessels have mistaken the Bay of Chaleurs for the river St. Lawrence; but the difference is very great-This bay is only seven leagues over, and the land on the south side exceeding low, and shoal water-A league or more from the shore, you have not above five fathoms waterOn the contrary, the river St. Lawrence is fifteen leagues over, the south side exceeding high land and very deep water.

To this great river St. Lawrence, I ascribe the forming of those vast banks off Newfoundland-The current is so strong in the river and gulph, that the sand cannot settle, but to the leeward of islands; or where there is an eddy, which prevents it from stopping in any quantities, till the water has passed the [VII] streights of Bellisle, one way, and island of Briton and gut of Canso, on the other. If one considers the vast extent of shore the lakes of this river washes, it must bring down more sand than any other river in the world, which causes the lips of the mouths of this surprising river to be proportionably large. So the Bahama banks, I apprehend, are formed by the sand brought along with the gulph stream, lodging in the eddies back of the island of Cuba.

The following remarks were taken down every night in short hand, which was my constant practice when I was upon any expedition-I chuse to deliver my journal just as I then wrote it, and leave every reader to make his own remarks; preferring simple truths before the embellishments and colourings of the best writers-The judicious will see that this piece is intended as a sketch, (to speak in the style of the artists) a drawing only -as such it is offered.

1. Apparently he means to imply that the Acadians were removed from Bay Chaleur because they were trading with Quebec rather than with Nova Scotia. This, however, is wholly unlikely; for not only would it be a very illogical cure for such a difficulty, but no government would remove these people simply for such a dog-in-the-manger reason. The real reason was very likely that given by Belcher,-viz., they had

not ceased privateering.

2. This theory, though showing good observation and reflection by its author, is erroneous, the great banks are now believed to have a glacial origin, supplemented, in the case of the Newfoundland Banks, by material continually brought to them by icebergs from the Greenland glaciers. The currents of the St. Lawrence are by no means so strong as he implies.

L

A NARRATIVE, &c.

JOURNAL.

THURSDAY, October 29, 1761.

EFT Nipisiquid, in the Bay of Chaleurs. Capt. M'Kenzie, with about fifty Highlanders, had just arrived to remove the people: he took them all unexpectedly; they were very unwilling to be removed. He took about one hundred and eighty persons, with all their vessels, to the number of eleven sloops and shallops. We came out with them in the evening: it was calm, and we were obliged to tow-Got out of the channel. By the obstinacy and confusion of the captain of my brigantine, though I had a French pilot on board, who told us we were too much to the northward, got upon a bank. As it was top of spring-tides, our captain said we should never get off: he seemed frightened out of his senses-Parted with our pilot-He must go with the rest of the French.

FRIDAY, October 30.

IN the morning I went ashore in the boat-took my papers and trunks along with me-went to find a lighter in order to unload the vessel so much as to lighten her to float-found one-staid to keep her afloat when the tide should come in-sent the men on board for fear they should be wanted, (the night's tide had been a very low one). Towards noon it began to blow fresh (10) at north-west. About two o'clock saw the brig was got off, but no boat came for me: she tacked all the afternoon, as if

1. They were removed for reasons stated in a footnote to the Introduction. A letter from Jonathan Belcher, President of the Council of Nova Scotia, to the Secretary of State (abstract in Report on Canadian Archives for 1894, 229; also, Murdoch, Nova Scotia, II, 408), states that Capt. Roderick Mackenzie surprised the Acadians, took 787 prisoners, and brought off 335. This number includes, of course, those taken from Shippegan and elsewhere (see later under Nov. 6.)

2. Probably upon the shoal, dry at the lowest tides, indicated upon the accompanying modern map of Nepisi

guit.

1

to get to windward and come to, but in the evening she bore away.1 For what reason they did not come ashore for me, cannot account-suppose some accident happened. I was left in a very disagreeable situation. What few French staid behind, were on the other side the bay, and are irritated to the last degree against the English, for the step they have taken to remove their friends from their habitations at this season of the year, and the savages are no friends at all to the English. I was on the south side the harbour2-There came a canoe with Indians in the evening-looked about them and walked off. I durst not appear, not knowing what disposition they were in. I staid all night in one of their hovels durst not make a fire for fear of discovery.

3

SATURDAY, October 31.

LOOKED impatiently all day-no vessel appeared in sight-The wind northwest, brisk breeze, but did not blow over-hard-Killed a few ortolans, and dressed them-Some of the inhabitants came searching for little things amongst the rubbish-one of them promised to take me off in the evening to the habitations of the French on the other side the bay, but did not-Lodged very uncomfortably-slept little-made no fire at night.

SUNDAY, November 1.

WAS not without hopes of seeing the brig-she may have put into Port Daniel, and waiting an opportunity of coming up. Mr. Charles Dugas. who is very sick, sent for me-I went to his house-In the evening came back for my trunks-Some persons had attempted to open them both, but had not forced the locks.

MONDAY, November 2.

MADE an agreement with Capt. Andrews, an Indian, to take me down to Caraquet, in a canoe. In the afternoon came in Mr. Dugas' brother

and known (from old plans in the Crown Land Office) to have been early occupied by the Acadians.

3. The Ortolan of Europe is unknown in America, but a bird which resembles it is our snow-hunting (Plectrophenax nivalis), and it was doubtless this which Smethurst killed. Cooney, in his work on New Brunswick and Gaspe, page 243, speaks of the Ortolan as occurring in New Brunswick and resembling the Snow-bird, i. e., the Junco.

4. An Acadian, ancestor of those of this name at Caraquet. (P. P. Gaudet, letter).

from Ristigouch-they behave very civilly to me. Mr. Dugas' brother intends to (11) go to Fort-Cumberland when the frost sets in, but I am in hopes of reaching it before that time; at least to hear of the brig along shore, if I can get a conveyance-The Indian Andrews refuses to go.

TUESDAY, November 3.

THERE came a skiff in here from Port Daniel-the people saw nothing of the brig, which convinces me she is gone out of the bayAgreed with the people of the skiff to take me down to Caraquet, twelve leagues gave them fifty-six livres.1

WEDNESDAY, November 4.

TOWARDS noon, set out from Nipisiquid, in company with three Frenchmen; they all look like run-aways, who dare not go to their own country-they belong to Old France--I find they have not made their submission to the English government. The wind was too much to the northward, as the master said, to proceed-We only went over the bay to the deserted huts-they staid to pick up what they could find-they stole about a bushel of salt from one family who had not removed all their things over the bay-this confirms me in opinion that they are rogues. Captain M'Kenzie had not taken all the Acadians-there were some women lying in, so he must leave some to take care of them; others were sick, and could not be removed. Those who remained had gone over