WHEN the waters of our harbour and rivers were first ploughed by the rude sailing craft of some bold European, or when civilized man. with almost insurmountable difficulties, made his way through the pathless forests to gaze for the first time upon this broad expanse of waters, is a matter of conjecture only. Even tradition is unwilling to come to our aid and by silence refuses to throw light upon these questions which still remain shrouded in mystery.

John Cabot and Jacques Cartier, in their early voyages, missed our port. Indeed, neither of these entered the Northumberland Strait at all. In the days of the French explorers who followed these two men, it seems hardly conceivable that Tatamagouche was not visited. Records which cannot be disputed show that about the middle of the seventeenth century a small French vessel, engaged in the work of exploration on the north coasts of Acadie, sailed up the Harbour, while those on board eagerly scanned the shores of a district which to them was nameless and unknown. The sturdy Denys, whose name is inseparably linked up with the early exploration of this Province, particularly of Cape Breton, was in charge. He was not only a sea captain. He was also a scholar of no small merit. No day of exploration passed without his faithfully and accurately recording its events. The day he sailed up Tatamagouche Harbour he made no exception to his accustomed rule. Hence it is that today we have. a description of Tatamagouche as it appeared to this bold and adventurous Frenchman of two hundred and fifty years ago. After leaving what is now Pictou Harbour, he says:

“Passing eight or nine leagues along, the coast is high with rocks, [and] it is necessary to keep a little off shore. One finds here, nevertheless, an occasional cove, where the land is low; but there is not much shelter for boats and the sea breaks strongly. Then there is another river met with, which has abundance of rocks at its entrance; and a little off shore towards the sea is another little island covered with woods which is called Isle L’Ormet Before entering into this river one finds a large bay of two good leagues of depth and one of breadth. In several places the low land is ail covered with beautiful tracts. In the extremity of this bay one sees two points of land which approach one another and form a strait and this is the entrance of the river. It comes from three or four leagues inland. It is fiat at its entrance [and] boats cannot go far into it. The land there is rather fine. Some hills appear inland but of moderate height. An abundance of oysters and shell fish is also taken here.”

Wm F. Ganong, Ph.D., who translated and edited, the record of Denys’ voyage, thinks that “Isle L’Ormet” was what is now known as Ainet Island. This is what he says in reference to it:

“L’Ormet. This is the earliest use of the word. Its origin is not known though possibly it may have been suggested by some resemblance to ‘armet’, a helmet. The little island is rapidly being washed away by the sea and is now much smaller than when our author saw it.”

The rocks at the entrance of the harbour and to which Denys referred, are not in existence today unless, as is probable, he was referring either to the Amet or to the Waugh shoals.

The first settlers of Tatamagouche were French Acadians, of whom, unfortunately, there is little known, history having preserved the name of one alone. What few details we have of their attempt at a settlement, we owe for the most part to observations which were made by the first Protestant settlers who, on their arrival here in 1772, found many indications of a once flourishing community.

Tatamagouche was selected as a settlement by the French as a point of communication between their Annapolis and Cobequid settlements and their colonies in what is now New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and .Cape Breton. But there were other reasons.f At that time Tatamagouche was remote from any British settlement and possibly had been represented to them by the Indians as a suitable place for a settlement, and the French love of the smell of the tide and the marsh, of which there is plenty at Tatamagouche, may have influenced them to go there. They were no friends of rock and hill, but preferred the alluvial soil which is found along the shores of this river and harbour. As one writer has said:

“Thither they came with their cattle and seed grain and dyking shovel; there they set up their household goods, their simple machinery for grinding corn, and their little house of prayer.”

The date of the first French settlement at Tatamagouche is unknown. There is a letter in the Archives de La Marine at Paris, written by Abbe de Loutres from Tatamagouche on the 1st day of October, 1738, which translated, reads thus;

“My mission is that of OhigabenaKadi, that is to say, the Acadian Indians, together with the French of Tahand8oche| of Gobekitck and all the French scattered and distant from whatever priests there are in that country. The [care of] savages proved quite a burden to me, and yet I have also charge of the French. It may be too much for me if the Lord does not lend his aid. Still I place all my c mi ienee in Him done. I left Louisburg for my mission on the 22nd day of September. On the eighth day, after having passed through high winds and tempests, I fortunately reached dry ground and I take this advantage of writing you and to give you news of myself. ‘Tahami8oche, this 1st day of October, 1738.’ ”

Thus, from this letter, it appears that as early as 1738, the French had not only settled at Tatamagouche, but they had also established it as part of the Cobequid mission. In another letter, written nine years iater, describing the same mission, the following quotation is found:

“M. Girard is the priest in charge. There is a portage ten leagues in length from Cobequitk which leads to Takamigoush. There is a road through the woods in good shape and finely built. Cattle, sheep and fowl pass over it when sent to Louisbourg. This part is under Cobequitk. The number of communicants is one hundred and fifty."

From maps made by C. S. Robert de Vaugondy in 1753 and 1755, it would appear that at that time there were three French settlements m the vicinity of the present village of Tatamagouche. One of these was known as Patemagouche which was presumably situated near the site of the old burying-ground; another was at Cape John and a third somewhere between Brule and River John. One of the last two was designated as “Viiiage des Sauvages”. The road before mentioned in the letter of Le Loutre is also shown on the maps of 1753.

When the first permanent settlers arrived in 1771-2, they found that considerable land had already been cleared from McCully’s Hill to the Presbyterian Church. This had also been ploughed, and put under cultivation, as was evidenced by the ridges still visible among the fast growing bush. On the hill back of the old school house lot the French had erected a small chapel, and in the adjoining field they had buried their dead. Crosses which bore silent witness that the sleepers were of “The Faith” still were standing at the heads of the graves. It was generally believed that the exact location of this burying-ground was directly adjoining the back of the old schoolhouse lot, and for that reason the late William Campbell, the subsequent owner, regarding it as sacred, refused to put the land there under cultivation. Hence it remains till this day grown up in shrubs and wild bushes. Mounds of earth which resemble graves can be plainly seen, but it may have been that these were made by other than human hands, and that the grave-yard was nearer the chapel, which was farther down on the slope of the hill.

The French had also cleared, to some extent, the intervales of the French and Waugh’s Rivers, particularly of the former, which ever since has borne their name. On the latter they had begun the mining and smelting of the native copper ore which was found exposed on the banks of the river at various places, particularly at the Mine Hole, about a mile above Murdock’s, where the river takes a sharp turn at the junction of its two branches. The subsequent settlers believed that the turn was an unnatural one caused by the river’s overflowing into the old mine, and that the stream covered the original workings. Acting on this belief, an American company took over the property and diverted the stream into its natural course, but failed to discover any great bed of copper. The late William Wilson many years ago, when ploughing the adjacent fields, found considerable half-smelted ore along with the rude implements with which the French had been carrying on their feeble attempts at mining and smelting.

Ruins, or rather indications, of several mills were still to be seen. One of these was on a small brook which crosses the main highway a little west of Mrs. William Waugh’s. Even today one can see the remains of their old dam, which, now grown over with grass, resembles a dyke. Another mill was on the Blockhouse Creek near the road bridge. The third was at Gouzar and the other two on the French River, one on Mil! Brook 'and the other on the main stream.* The presence of so many mills would seem to indicate that the little colony was rapidly growing and that it had every prospect of a bright future when in the years to come, the enemies of His Majesty the King of France would be vanquished and they, in peace, would enjoy the land for which they had made many sacrifices. Vain dreams which never were to be realised!

There are also stories which tell of the finding of French coins on Waugh’s River intervale.  Two muskets were found in the early days in the field north of the old Gass house. These had lain there so long that the barrels were rusted through, and when picked up the wooden stocks fell away from the barrels. This happened so long ago, that it is impossible to obtain an accurate description of the weapons, but the finders and others who saw them, expressed the belief that they were French muskets. Then there is the prevalent idea that the willows, growing on the intervales of Waugh’s River, were planted by the French. Some say this idea is erroneous and contend that they were planted by the early Scotch settlers, even though it is true that the willow is a native of France, and was frequently planted by the early French in various places of Nova Scotia where they had made settlements.

In Campbell’s History of Nova Scotia, there is one reference to a French settlement at Tatamagouche. Mr. Campbell, quoting from a report of Governor Hobson sent to the Home Government in 1752, says: “There are sixty-five families at Cobequid, Rimchigne, Tatamagouche and Cape Sable.” This would allow' on an average about fifteen families for this place, and this is further borne out by a report of Judge Morris in 1755, in which he estimates the number of French families at Tatamagouche to be twelve.

Some references to the settlement and its inhabitants are to be found in the records of the military expedition of de Ramezay in 1747, which culminated in what is generally known as the “massacre of Grand Pre”. At that rime the French had a fort at Chignecto and from that point they fitted out a strong expedition to surprise and defeat the British Colonial forces which early in the winter of 1746-7, had arrived at Grand Pre with the intention of pushing forward and capturing Chignecto. Among the officers of the French forces which set out from Chignecto on the 21st of January, 1747, were de Villiers, who afterwards defeated Washington at Fort Necessity, the Chevalier de la Corne, and others who subsequently were to play important parts in the struggle which, twelve years latex, resulted in victory for the British on the Plains of Abraham. Diaries of their expedition were kept by Beaujeur and La Corne. These officers relate that on the morning of January 27, 1747, they stopped at the village of Tatamagouche, where they were joined by a number of Acadians. Here they mended their broken sledges. Resuming their journey, they at five o’clock in the afternoon arrived at a place called Bacouel, at the beginning of a portage which led some twenty-five miles across country to Cobequid, now Truro. The location of this place, Bacouel, is not known, but apparently it was somewhere on the French River, and the expedition probably went by a trail following the course of the river, or possibly by the river itself, which at that time of the year would be mostly frozen over. At Bacouel they were met by Girard, priest of Cobequid, who seemed unwilling to assist the French, fearing trouble with the English authorities. They spent the morning of the 28th mending their sledges, and in the afternoon were joined by another party of Acadians and Indians, whereupon they again set out and towards evening reached a village near Cobequid. From the rapid progress made by the expedition and the information received at various points concerning the numbers and equipment of the British, it seems clear that convenient lines of communication in the nature of a highway, extended from the French settlements of Chignecto to those in the Annapolis Valley; and the journals indicate that a number of Acadiansf were at that time settled at Tatamagouche and in the country now-making up the northern part of the County of Colchester.

In the journal of Captain William Pote, who was brought by the French as a captive to Tatamagouche, there is given not only an account of his journey from Annapolis, but as well an interesting narrative of an encounter In the Harbour between several British vessels and a number of Indians, assisted by the French.

Pote had been in command of the schooner “Montague” which was engaged in carrying supplies to Annapolis, and on May 17th, 1745 was captured at that place by the French and Indians. On the 9th of June, he arrived in their custody at Cobequid, from whence all proceeded overland to Tatamagouche, having Louisbourg as their prospective destination.

According to Pote, the party set out from Cobequid at 5 a. m. of Monday, the 10th and arrived here a little before sunset of the same day. The journey, 'he says, being “over high mountains and low valleys” was very tiring and “Verey much fatigued both Indians and English, with Ye Extream heat and Ye sun, yt Beat upon us with So much Vehemency. Some of ye Indians yt carried Oonnews, was almost melted and obliged to Gave out before the Night.”

About the settlement itself, Pote has only the following remark:

“At this place (Tatamagouche] there Livd an old Gentleman yt had been a prisoner in queen Anne's War in boston, and Spoke Verey lood Emglish, ye old Gentleman Saemed Very Kind to me, and Gave me a piece of Bread and told me he was Verey Sorrev for our Misfortune and wished it was in his power to Contribute any thing to our Consolation.”

On the following day, while they remained here, many of the Indians went into the woods, where they busied themselves in making canoes and providing food for their voyage to Louisbourg.

Describing their method of curing meat, Pote says: “there manner of curing moate that they Design to keep any considerable time is to Cut it in Large fletchers, and lay it over ye fire, till it is so Smoake-dryed, and Rost'ed, yt one Cannot perceive any manner of moisture in it more then in a chip, this ye Custom of both french and Indians, when they Design to Carrey their provisions any considerable Distance."

On the next day, Wednesday, the French officers from Louisbourg heard further news which caused them the greatest concern. The truth they carefully concealed from the Indians, who believed that nothing was amiss.

On Thursday, the 13th, preparations for the voyage to Louisbourg were continued.

“Ye Indians Imployed in making Connews and paddles, and ye French In Transporting of their bagage and all yt was heavey Carrige on board of the Vessels, this Day there Came many horses Loaden with Provisions from Quebecet [Cobequid] Viz. meal, flower, meat and Biskett and Liquor, the french officers Seemed Exceeding Urgent to make all possible Dispatch."

On the next day (Friday) the party took its departure. The Indians proceeded ahead in canoes which were

“so large yt Sum of them would carrey Very Comfortably fourteen men, and their Bagage So yt ill of them Could Com-paddle, or Row, without Discommoding Each other In ye Leaste.”

The French and their officers embarked on two vessels which it seems had been sent to Tatamagouche to be at their disposal. Pote was taken into a canoe with the Indians. In his narrative he gives no hint as to the exact place of embarkation; he merely says, “We took our Departure from Togmiguish”.

After the Indians had proceeded two or three leagues (which in any case would take them well out into the Harbour) they learned that the vessels bearing the French had grounded. Therefore they concluded it was best “to Go on Shore and Stop for ye General.”f (who was on one of the French vessels). They therefore landed “in a sandy cove, Behind a Point of Land yt sheltered it from Ye Sea.” If they embarked on the river anywhere near the site of the present village, this landing was in all probability somewhere on the Malagash shore which is well sheltered, and has, for the most part, a sandy beach, but from the few details given, no definite conclusion regarding this and their subsequent movements can be safely arrived at.

Next morning, as they sailed out and turned round the point, they saw but a short distance from them three sloops which at once began to bear directly down upon them. Great speculation then arose among the Indians as to the nationality of the approaching craft. Some feared that they were English, while others believed them to be French vessels bearing supplies for Louisbourg. The Indians, who numbered two hundred or more, kept a course close to shore which “brought ye Sloops to Hear almost a Stern” of them and at a distance of six miles. The sloops gradually began to overhaul the Indians who, for the first time, discerned the French colours flying on the nearest craft. They were now firmly convinced that it was a French ship and consequently were in a state of great elation, but Pote says he was “firmly perswaeded to ye Contrary.”

In going round a large cove one of the sloops suddenly shot ahead and sailed directly in the course of the canoes. The Indians, whose suspicions were again aroused, decided to land on the beach, but before they could do so they were overhauled by the sloops. And as they drew near.

"Down Domes ye French colors on the one Side and up ye English on ye other and knocked open their portes and almost in the Twinkling of an Eye,”

they fired three of their cannon. Among the savages a great confusion followed, and as Pote rather quaintly expresses it, “he was ye Best Alan yt could Get on Shore first.” According to his narrative all safely escaped on shore and when they had drawn their canoes out of the water they sought safety behind what he terms a “seawall”. He describes the encounter as foliows:

“Ye Bullets Continued flying amongst us, but by bad Fortune they all Escaped Safe on Shore, and Never a man hurt. we hailed our Connews up behind a Sea Wall. Ye Sloops Stood Near ye Shore uni Came to anker, and fiered Verey Briskly unon us, But we being Behind ye Sea Wall it was to no purpose, for as Soon as they Saw ye Flash of A Cannon they Tumbled as quick as though they had been Shoot Down, ye Indians Lay Scatered along Shore Some Considerable Distance and to Shew there Great Co wage, would Sometimes Crawl from behind ye Sea Wall, and hoop and Yell, and make ye most hellish Noise that is possible to proceed from he main Creature--at Length there Came a ball, that passed through one of their Bodys and Carried part of his powdter horn, that hung by his Side with it. the Sloop yt Stood back for ye General, and those that was behind us, began to firr Yerey briskly ye Indians began to [be] much Concerned for ye General, and Sent Messengers Back by Land to Inspect how affairs Stood, who Returned in a Very Short time, and gave Intelligence, that they would Soon Take ye privatear. if they had a few Cannon But Nevertheless if it Continued Callm, they would Soon take her with Small armes, for they was then In Chase of her with all four of their resells, end Intend to board her. ye two Sloops that was with us, hearing ye Continual fireing come to Sail, and made all possible Kxjx'dction to ye others assistance, as Soon as they Saw ye Sloops oaks towards ye General, ye French officers that was with us, and Likewise ye Indians Changed their Countenances and Exactly Imetated Beltcshaier ye Great King of Babylon and Said one to another, that they was verey much Concerned at what they feared would be ye Event, for they was Sensible there would be much Blood Shed, if they was not all Destroyed, as Soon as ye French General Saw ye other two Sloops, he Gave orders to make for ye Shore with all possible Expedition, the Sloops gave Chase and followed them, Verey Clost but by ye help of their Gars they made their Escape, and arrived Safe Into their Lurking place, a Small Crick where ye Sloops could not follow, ye Sloops followed Clost in to ye mouth of ye Crick, and Came to anker. So that they Could by no means Come out. When we Saw ye Course was Cleai we Embarqued In our Connews. In order to Return to Togmiguish. In Expectation ye General and all yt was with him, was Either Taken or killed, when we Came in Sight of ye Harbour, we found ye Three Sail of Privetears, where Come to anker in ye Entrance, and we Could not by any means pass, without being Exposed to ye danger of their Cannon, and we was obliged to Go Round to another place and Transport our Connews by Land Into ye harhour, this Night we Incamped at ye Head of a Small Crick, arid Could not arrive to Togmcguish nor hear any News from ye General, this Night I sought for an opportunity to make my Escape, but ye Indians kept So Good a watch, I found it would be but Imprudent to make ye attempt.”

It is probable that the place of retreat for the French vessels was Gouzar an I that the creek referred to was Dewar’s Itiver. The British ships to watch thorn would anchor near the bar which Pote correctly terms the “entrance.”

The English captain, David Donahew, however, gives a rather different version of this affair. It reads thus:

"On the 15th Instant [June, 1745] in Askmacouse Harbour, up the Bay [Tatamagouche Bay], my Luck was to meet with two sloops and two schooners and an unaccountable number of Indian Canoes. At six the same morning the Captains Beeket [or Beckwith] and Fones [Daniel Fonrs] who were consorted with me, being to Leeward saw some smoke which they pursued, and soon lost sight of me. I pursued my Chase, and at Ten o'clock came up with, and fired at them, they strove to decoy me and catch me in shoal water, which I soon perceived and I accordingly stood away from the Shore, they being a Thousand in number and I but Forty odd. We spoke to Each other for two hours and a half; they knowing mv name they desired me to make ready my Fast for them and I telling the cowards they wTere afraid to row' up; the weather start ealm; as they come to Hand I killed but the number I know not. I fired two hundred four Pounders double round and Partridge fifty-three Pounders, my swivel and small Arms continually playing on them. My stern by force of filing is down to the water edge. Round House all to pieces but bold hearted; had it not been so calm I should have done as I would, but not one Breath of Wind, and they rowing all round me, both Head and Stern; but Capt. Becket and Capt. Fones appearing in Sight they retreated and turn into shoal water I followed them withm pistol shot till 1 ran aground; but blessed be Cud, have got safe off. This was the army that besieged Annapolis and was ordered to assist Louisbourg but their Design is prevented.”

Next morning the Indians joined the French where “they had hauled all four of their Vessells ashore in a Criek and incamped by them.”

On Monday, the 17th another English ship arrived and anchored in the harbour.

On Tuesday, Pote writes as follows:

“This Day ye French and Indians Imployod In falling Trees Hound their Camps. In Expectation of ye English Comming to attack vm on Shore, there was also Spies from our Camps, continually passing and repassing, to Inspect wcither there was any Danger of their Handing, to attack ym which the French and Indians told me they wished they would attempt & I Should Soon have more of my Countrymen In there Camps with me for Company.”

A conference of the Indians and French was held on Thursday. At this meeting Marin proposed a scheme whereby they could steal past the English ships and thus bring relief to the hard pressed Louisbourg, but the Indians had had enough of fighting and insisted on proceeding by land to Canada. The next day they began the journey and in due time reached Quebec.

This incident which we have just noted can claim more than local significance. It deserves mention in any provincial history, for in no small measure it contributed to the fall of Louisbourg. Had the French ships succeeded in escaping from the harbour and bringing relief the result of the New Englanders’ expedition to Louisbourg might have been entirely different. As the author of ‘‘Pote’s Journal” says:

“This exploit of Captain Donahew contributed very materially toward the capture of Louisbourg. For had Marin arrived during the siege, he would have harassed the New England troops not a little, and Duchambou distinctly stated that Marin’s failure to appear proved disastrous to him at a time when succour would have meant victory.”

Historians, as a rule, have been mistaken as to the place of the engagement. Murdock in his history of Nova Scotia states that the engagement took place oft of Cape Sable. “Douglass calls the place ‘Asmacouse’ and Donahew ‘Askamacouse Harbour’” But the publication of “Pote’s Journal” removes all doubt as to the place and significance of the engagement, and we trust that future historians of Nova Scotia will not fail to give it the mention which it deserves.

There is another interesting letter written from Tatamagouche during this period and which is still preserved.

in the French archives. The author was apparently an agent of the French government who had gone to Tatamagouche for the purpose of inciting the French and Indians against the British authorities. Late in December he ventured to Tatamagouche without being molested. He found “that the villagers were engaged in celebrating the festival of Christmas. It had assumed an orgy of great dimensions. They had several great casks of rum [fire water, cognac] from the Caribbean Islands and the people, freed from the labours of the harvest, had abandoned themselves to the enjoyment of the feast.” He admonished them severely but to no avail. He found it impossible to expect any help from them in his projected enterprise, and was obliged to return home without having accomplished the object of his visit. Later on the Indians bitterly complained to him of the treatment of their squaws by the French.

In 1714 the French settlers at Tatamagouche were joined by a number of Acadians from Cobequid, who, evidently fearing that they soon would be molested by the British, burned all their buildings and retired to Tatamagouche, Itamsheg (Wallace) and other places on the north shore.

It was in 1755 that the British Government decided to expel the Acadians and in July 31st of that year, we find Governor Lawrence writing as follows to Col. Monckton:

. . but I am informed those will fall upon ways and means in spite of all our vigilance to send off their cattle to the Island of St. John and Louisbourg (which is now in a starving condition; by way of Tatamagouche. I would, therefore, have you without loss of time, send thither a1 pretty strong detachment to beat up that quarter and to prevent- them. You cannot want a guide for conducting the party, as there is not a Frenchman at Chignecto but must perfectly know the road. . . I would have you give orders to the detachment you send to Tatamagouche to demolish all the houses which they find there, together with all the shallops, boats, canoes or vessel of any kind which may be lying ready for carrying off the inhabitants and their cattle, and by this means the pernicious intercourse and intelligence between St. John Island and Louisbourg and the inhabitants of the interior part of the country will be in a great measure prevented.”

There is no official record that this order was ever carried out, but the first settlers related that from observations, which they were able to make, they believed that- the departure of the previous inhabitants had been made in haste. When forced to leave Tatamagouche, the French joined many of their compatriots who had previously settled at Arichat Harbor au Bouche and other places in the eastern part of the province, where their descendants still live.

After expelling the French from Tatamagouche, the British, in order to frustrate any future attempt on the part of the French to re-occupy it, erected a smail fort on that point of land at the head of the bay which is still known as the “Blockhouse”. It was Governor Shirley of Massachusetts who suggested that this fort should be erected. In a letter written by him to Governor Lawrence, and dated at Boston, March 13th, 1756, he says:

“I would propose for your consideration whether taking possession of the harbour of Tatamagouche and erecting a small fort “there, to be garrisoned with one hundred and fifty men, may not be necessary.

There is no record that this suggestion of Shirley’s was ever acted upon, but even today, an examination of the ground at this point of land clearly shows that some kind of fortification was once there. Mounds of earth, and remains of excavations are still plainly seen. It would thus appear that this suggestion of Shirley’s met with the approval of the Government, and that a fort was duly erected5.

The strategic importance of a fort at Tatamagouche at that period can be easily understood. It guarded the terminus of the road leading from Cobequid over the mountain, a road which as early as 1747 had been opsned by the French. Had there been any endeavour on their part to re-occupy this province, nothing would have been more probable than that an expedition equipped at Quebec or Louisbourg, would disembark at Tatamagouche and then proceed over this road to Cobequid, just as de Ramezay’s expedition had done a few years previously. It was to meet such an emergency that this fort was erected. It is to be remembered, too, that at that time Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton were still in the possession of the French, and a fort at Tatamagouche would tend to prevent all communication between those colonies and any Acadians who remained, or who might return to the mainland. With the capture of Prince Edward Island and Louisbourg, and final surrender of the French forces in Canada in 1760, all further need of a fort at Tatamagouche was at an end, and consequently it was allowed to fall into ruin.

The attempt to settle this place by the French resulted in failure—a failure not due to any want of industry or forbearance on the part of the Colonists, but entirely to the inability of the King of France to recapture and hold Nova Scotia as a French Province. Nothing was accomplished except the clearing of a few scattered acres, the erection of several small water-mills, a little fur trading, and the cutting of timber and masts for the Navy of France.

“They departed and others entered into the reward of their labours. The land was taken from them and given to another who, while speaking the same language, worshipped at a different altar, and honoured another king."