his affront. for the purpose of collecting monies, due from la Tour, Vines of A.D. 1644. Saco, Shurt of Pemaquid, and Wannerton* of New-Hampshire, all men of eminence in their respective plantations, took passage for the river St. John's; yet when they arrived at Penobscot, d'Aulney detained them several days under forcible restraints-from which Mr. Shurt, whom he owed and esteemed, had hardly influence enough with him to obtain a release. The transaction was felt by them to be a violation of all social and sacred usages; Causes of and Wannerton was a man, whose passions and intemperance rendered him a fit instrument to devise acts of revenge. Confirmed in his belief, by reports at St. John's, that the garrison at Penobscot was destitute, both of effective men and competent provisions, he collected a party of twenty or more; and on his return, led them onward, armed with swords and pistols, to an attack of d'Aulney's farm-house, five or six miles from his fort. At the instant Wannerton knocked at the door it was opened, and he received a fatal shot and fell, one of his companions was wounded, and a French resident was slain. The others in the house surrendered; and the assailants, in the work of waste, killed the cattle and set the house on fire.† They then proceeded to Boston without booty, or any other reward, than censure. So highly incensed was the injured General by this rash and unprovoked expedition, that at first no excuses, not the blood of Wannerton himself, would appease his rage. He determined to remain neutral no longer-and uttering the severest threats, that he would make prize of every colony vessel, found eastward of Penobscot; and accordingly issued commissions for the purpose. But repentance is the consequence, and oftentimes the merit of hasty vows. The Governor, at Boston, required of him an explanation; reminding him of the violent manner in which he had seized upon Penobscot, and upon certain English colonists and their goods, at the Isle of Sables. Yet,' said he, I inform 'you, that no hostile act against either French or Dutch is allow'ed; la Tour cannot expect any more succours from this place; ' a merchant's trade is permitted between us and St. John's; and ' rest assured, it will be protected.' Afterwards d'Aulney ac * Winthrop calls him "Waverton,” p. 341. † Hubbard's N. E. p. 485.-This was at Penobscot.-1 Hutch. Hist. p. A. D. 1644. knowledged he had been hasty; having received command from his sovereign, to hold a friendly intercourse with all the English.* D'Aulney's To show the civil authorities at Boston a late commission from negotiation with Massa- the French cabinet, which denounced la Tour and his wife as chusetts. traitorous deserters,--giving command to arrest them; and, further Treaty.- Oct. 8. more, to negotiate a treaty with the government of Massachusetts; the Ruler at Penobscot sent thither M. Marie, Oct. 4, on a mission, with credentials and ten attendants. Unexpectedly, he was there informed, that Madame la Tour had, after a passage of six months, arrived at Boston from London, three weeks before him, and only eight days after her husband's departure for St. John's; and that she had hardly escaped capture by d'Aulney, off Cape Sable, even though she was secreted under hatches. In the negotiation commenced, the Governor strove for provisional terms, by which the belligerent rivals might become reconciled to each other.-No, said Marie, nothing but submission will save la Tour's head, if he be taken; nor will his wife have any passport to St. John's, for she is known to be the cause of his contempts and rebellion. Nay, the vessel that shall admit her a passenger, will be liable to seizure. On the other hand, the Governor refused to make any stipulation for assisting d'Aulney, or preventing an intercourse with la Tour. Several articles of treaty, however, received the signatures of the Governor and of M. Marie,† October 8, which were to be ratified, or rejected, as it might be deemed politic, either by d'Aulney, or the Commissioners of the United Colonies. By these, a preliminary peace was established; all hostile acts in future were to be deferred, till after amends demanded had been refused; and both parties were allowed to enjoy the rights of trade to any place, without limit or restraint.‡ Never had a capitulation been more grateful to the interests and views of Maine and the more eastern plantations. They knew their defenceless condition; and they had entertained many fears, that d'Aulney, in a fit of passion and haste to avenge inju *Winthrop's Jour. p. 356. † Maric signed as “Commissioner of Monsieur d'Aulney, knight, Gov"ernor and Lieutenant-General for his Majesty, the King of France, in "Acadia, a Province of New-France.”—Hubbard's N. E. p. 488. Winthrop's Journal, p. 257, 361. ries or affronts, might take their vessels or plunder the inhab- A. D. 1644. itants. Evils of this fare. Misery and contempt, folly and meanness, mark the controversy of these two ambitious Frenchmen; for civil war never rival reflects a baser image in miniature, than when it is reduced to personal quarrels, or the punctilious points of duelists. Our regrets are deep and many, that the English colonists, and much more the government, ever had any concern in the affair :-For it was impossible to live in amity with both. At one time d'Aulney pressed an English colony-coaster into his service, and compelled the master to go with him to St. John's, in order to communicate through him to la Tour the new arrêt, and ensure a safe return of the messenger. He was otherwise often an offender; and by reason of his threats, the frequent and successful applications of his foe to the rulers of Massachusetts, and the measures adopted or opposed by them; the people were unhappily divided through the whole country into parties. war Madame la lawsuits. Madame la Tour, unable to visit her husband or home, commenced two suits at law, one was against Bayley, the master, for Tour's transporting her to Boston and not to St. John's, whither she was bound; the other was against Berkley upon the charter-party, for an unnecessary detention of six months on board, owing to a circuity of voyage for the sake of a gainful trade. The trials before the Court of Assistants lasted four days; in which she labored to shew her damages, to be equal to the cost of a force and outfit, sufficient to cope with her enemy, in the event of a rencounter; and extravagant as the verdicts of the juries may appear, they gave her £2,000. With this money, obtained from the proceeds of the cargo, she chartered three London ships in Boston harbor, and proceeded to St. John's.* When d'Aulney was apprized of her flight, or rather departure, D'Aulney. he was excessively chagrined, for one of his schemes was now frustrated; he having had the fullest intentions of making her his illustrious captive. In this malignant warfare, chivalrous gallantry, once the pride of Frenchmen, seems to have lost its charac * Winthrop's Jour. p. 363-4.-Here the Journal closes. Afterwards the recorder of the Court and one of the jurymen, were arrested in London and compelled to find bonds for £4,000, to answer in a Court of Admiralty -where they were discharged.-Hubbard's N. E. p. 491. tion and de A. D. 1645. ter; and the married wife was marked for triumphant seizure. Jealous now of Massachusetts to a greater degree than ever, he determined to consider the obligations of the late treaty with her government as broken ties; and his king's directions relative to the English, as nullities. He knew, the protestant interest in France was sinking; his monarch was a child; and the administration was too much distracted with foreign and domestic wars, too feeble and too partial, to arraign him for his conduct, provided he His expedi- acted zealously the part of a catholic. From the friars and other feat. treacherous fellows, dismissed by lady la Tour after her arrival home, he had information, that her husband was on a cruise in the bay of Fundy; and his garrison being supplied with only 50 men and poor provisions, might be easily captured. Therefore the Commander of Penobscot, proceeded thither early in the spring; and meeting with a New-England vessel off the coast of the peninsula, laden with supplies for his enemy, he made prize of her, turning the crew upon a desolate island, without fireworks, gun or compass; and proceeded on with his prize. A miserable wigwam was their only shelter; the snow was deep, and a part of their clothing was withholden from them by their piratical captor. Arriving in the harbor of St. John's, d'Aulney moored his ship in a well-chosen position, near the fort; and then discharged his ordnance upon it, with considerable effect. But he was contending with a heroine of consummate valor :-She returning the fire with such spirit, that 20 of his men were killed-13 were wounded; and his ship was so much shattered and disabled, that he was forced to warp her away under the shelter of a bluff to prevent her from going to the bottom. On his return, he took the plundered crew from the Island after ten days' suffering, and sent them homeward in an old shallop, without the necessary comforts of life. Massachusetts, justly incensed by his base conduct, accused him of breaking a sacred treaty, and demanded immediate satisHis conduct faction. But he refused to admit into his presence the messenColonists. ger, till he had explained how la Tour's wife effected her return towards the home; and then he charged the colony with assisting his mortal enemy; killing his domestic animals; and burning his buildings; and furthermore, added he,-I warn you to beware of my sovereign's resentments.—It is true, the messenger replied, he is a mighty prince, and also one of too much honor to com mence a rash attack; yet should he, we trust in a God, who is A.D. 1645. the infinite arbiter of justice. When the messenger furthermore informed d'Aulney, that the treaty negociated by Marie, had been ratified by the Commissioners of the United Colonies, he utterly refused to give it the sanction of his own signature, till all difficulties were settled. Still, said he, so much more is 'honor with me than emolument, that I will wait for an explan'atory answer till next spring; and in the mean time, there shall 'be no act of hostility on my part.' 6 Impossible as it evidently was to enjoy peace and a free trade, with both the contending Generals at the same time; the Governor and magistrates of Massachusetts resolved upon farther negociation rather than war, so long as it could be managed upon honorable grounds. The place and manner were questions of debate. Some thought it would neither be wise nor consistent with the rules of etiquette, to go and treat with d'Aulney in his own castle, supposing Pemaquid would be a fitter place. Others saw an expediency in such approaches to one, who professed to stand so much upon his 'honor;' when he, being apprized of their deliberations, sent them a note, to trouble themselves no farther upon the subject, for he should commission messengers in due time, to wait upon them and settle difficulties. Massachu The delay was long and unexpected, extending even to the 1646. Sept. 20. 20th of the next September, (A. D. 1646,) when three commis- d'Aulney sioners of his, Marie, Louis, and his Secretary, arriving in Bos- treats with ton, were received with all the testimonies of respect due to their scuts. master. After a review of mutual grievances, the commissioners, in the sequel, demanded £800 damages, for injuries done d'Aulney at different times. But the Governor and magistrates thought the colonists were the greater sufferers :-nevertheless, to evince their high sense of justice and honor, and to give d'Aulney satisfaction, on a re-establishment of the former treaty, they made him a flattering present. This was an elegant sedan worth 40 or £50, which being sent by a Mexican Viceroy to his sister in the West Indies, fell into the hands of Capt. Cromwell, and was presented by him to the Governor.* By protracting the negociation, d'Aulney had been successful D'Aulney in deterring the English colonists from trading at St. John's, or and la Tour. Hubbard's N. E. p. 496. |