Glimpses of the Past Part 5

Villebon left his fort on the 18th June to go to "Menagoesche" to await the coming of the French s.h.i.+ps. On his arrival there he discovered the British s.h.i.+ps Sorlings of 34 guns and Newport of 24 guns cruising near the harbor and sent information to d'Iberville in order that he might guard against surprise. Soon after entering the Bay of Fundy the French vessels sighted their antagonists and an engagement ensued in the course of which d'Iberville in the Envieux dismasted the smaller English vessel, the Newport, and obliged her to surrender. Favored by night and fog the Sorlings managed to escape after a combat with the Profond lasting three hours. The next day, July 15, 1696, the vessels put into St. John harbor, where they were welcomed by Villebon and Father Simon and a band of Indians. Before proceeding to the attack of Pemaquid an attempt was made to capture John Alden at Port Royal but with his usual good luck he sailed thence just before the arrival of the French. Villebon with Father Simon's a.s.sistance contrived to collect 150 Indians--Maliseets and Micmacs--to join the expedition under his brother, which was further reinforced by a small vessel owned and commanded by the Sieur de Chauffours, an inhabitant of the St. John river.

The start of the expedition was not a very auspicious one, for on leaving the harbor of St. John (or "havre de Menuagoesche," as Villebon calls it) at 2 o'clock on the afternoon of the 2nd of August, d'Iberville ran the Envieux upon a reef; however, the damage was not serious as the s.h.i.+p floated when the tide rose. At Pen.o.bscot Baron St.

Castin joined the expedition with 130 Indians. The French priests Simon and Thury, as the event proved, were no mere figure heads; they actively a.s.sisted in the operations of the siege and at the same time restrained the pa.s.sions of the savages. Batteries were erected within half cannon shot of the fort and it was summoned to surrender. Captain Chubb, the commander, proved to be a weak man for so responsible a position. He at first replied that though the sea were covered with French s.h.i.+ps and the land with Indians he would not surrender unless compelled to do so, but the very next day ignominiously pulled down his flag. D'Iberville sent the garrison to Boston in the vessel belonging to the Sieur de Chauffours which he had brought from the St.

John river. The people of New England were greatly vexed at the destruction of Pemaquid and enraged at the cowardly conduct of its commander. Father Simon got back to Fort Nachouac on the 29th August bringing the news of d'Iberville's success.

CHAPTER VI.

NACHOUAC AND MENAGOUECHE.

It was now proposed by the French authorities to re-establish the stronghold at the mouth of the St. John. The old fort of four bastions so far remained that it could readily be restored; the ditches needed to be deepened, the parapets to be raised and new palisades constructed. It was thought that 150 men would suffice to garrison the post as well as that at the Nashwaak. The fort was needed to protect French privateers and French commerce. Many English vessels were brought to Menagoueche at this time by the privateersmen Baptiste and Guyon. The company of Acadia, with Tibierge as their agent, continued to develop a thriving trade, and it seems, too, that the forest wealth of the country was beginning to attract attention for Villebon, a year or two later, sent home to France a mast, as a specimen, 82 feet long, 31 inches in diameter at one end and 21 at the other.

The French privateers were not allowed to ply their vocation with impunity, they often had spirited encounters with the British s.h.i.+ps in which there were losses on both sides.

In 1694 one Robineau of Nantes, who had taken several English vessels, was forced to burn his s.h.i.+p in St. John harbor, in order to escape capture by an English s.h.i.+p, and to defend himself on sh.o.r.e. The vessels employed as privateers evidently were small, for they sometimes went up the river to Villebon's fort. The prisoners taken were kept at the fort or put in charge of the French inhabitants living on the river, and from time to time ransomed by their friends or exchanged for French prisoners taken by the English. Villebon informs us that in June, 1695, an English frigate and a sloop arrived at Menagoueche (St. John) on business connected with the ransom of eight captives who were then in the hands of the French. Messages were exchanged with Nachouac and the captain of the English s.h.i.+p, a jovial old tar, expressed a wish to meet Governor Villebon and "drink with him" and to see Captain Baptiste, whom he called a brave man, but his overtures were declined.

The s.h.i.+ps Envieux and Profond, before proceeding to the attack of Fort Pemaquid, had landed at St. John a number of cannon and materials of all sorts to be used in the construction of the new fort. This project was not viewed with complacency by the people of New England, and Lieut.-Governor William Stoughton, of Ma.s.sachusetts, thus explains the line of action proposed against the French in a communication addressed to Major Benjamin Church, the old Indian fighter, who had been sent from Boston in August, 1696, on an expedition against the settlements of Acadia: "Sir, His Majesty's s.h.i.+p Orford having lately surprised a French shallop with 23 of the soldiers belonging to the fort (at Nashwaak) upon St. John's river in Nova Scotia, together with Villieu, their captain, providence seems to encourage the forming of an expedition to attack that fort, and to disrest and remove the enemy from that post, which is the chief source from whence the most of our disasters do issue, and also to favor with an opportunity for gaining out of their hands the ordnance, artillery, and other warlike stores and provisions lately supplied to them from France for erecting a new fort near the river's mouth, whereby they will be greatly strengthened and the reducing of them rendered more difficult."

Before the order from which the above extract is quoted was placed in Major Church's hands he had arrived at St. John, having previously devastated the French settlements at Chignecto. Being desirous, if possible, to surprise the men engaged upon the new fort Church landed at Manawagonish Cove, a little to the west of the harbor; what followed we shall let him tell in his own quaint fas.h.i.+on. "Next morning early the Major, with his forces, landed to see what discovery they could make, travelled across the woods to the old fort or falls at the mouth of St. John's river, keeping themselves undiscovered from the enemy. Finding that there were several men at work, and having informed themselves as much as they could, returned back (the enemy being on the other side of the river could not come at them). But night coming on and dark wet weather with bad travelling, were obliged to stop in the woods till towards next day morning and then went on board. Soon after the Major ordered all the vessels to come to sail and go into the mouth of the river, the French firing briskly at them, but did them no harm, and running fiercely upon the enemy they soon fled to the woods. The Major ordered a brisk party to run across a neck to cut them off from their canoes[7] which the day before they had made a discovery of. So the commander, with the rest, ran directly towards the new fort they were building, not knowing but they had some ordnance mounted. The enemy running directly to their canoes were met by our forces who fired at them, and killed one and wounded Corporal Canton, who was taken. The rest threw down what they had and ran into the woods. The prisoner Canton being brought to the Major told him if he would let his surgeon dress his wound and cure him he would be serviceable to him as long as he lived. So being dressed he was examined and gave the Major an account of the twelve great guns which were hid in the beach, below high water mark--the carriages, shot, and wheelbarrows, some flour and pork all hid in the woods.

[7] These canoes were probably lying in the cove at Indiantown just above the falls.

"The next morning the officers being all ordered to meet together to consult about going to Vilboon's fort, and none amongst them being acquainted but the Aldens, who said the water in the river was very low so that they could not get up to the fort; and the prisoner Canton told the commander that what the Aldens said was true * * so concluded it was not practicable to proceed. Then ordered some of the forces to get the great guns on board the open sloops and the rest to range the woods for the enemy, who took one prisoner and brought him in. * * Now having with a great deal of pains and trouble got all the guns, shot, and other stores aboard intended on our design which we came out first for. But the wind not serving, the commander sent out his scouts into the woods to seek for the enemy. And four of our Indians coming upon three Frenchmen undiscovered concluded that if the French should discover them they would fire at them and might kill one or more of them, which to prevent fired at the French, killed one and took the other two prisoners. And it happened that he who was killed was Shavelere (Chevalier), the chief man there."

Major Church's design was to make a raid on the settlement of Baron St. Castin and his Indians at Pen.o.bscot by way of retaliation for the destruction of Fort William Henry at Pemaquid, but as he was sailing down the bay he met a small squadron having on board a reinforcement of 100 men under Colonel Hawthorne. The command now pa.s.sed to Hawthorne as the senior officer, and it was decided to attempt the capture of Fort Nachouac. This was against the advice of Major Church, but as the expedition now numbered about 500 men, Hawthorne was unwilling to return to Boston without striking a blow at the chief stronghold of the French in Acadia.

Villebon was on the alert: he had stationed his ensign, Chevalier, with five scouts at the mouth of the river and on the 4th of October he learned of the presence of the English at Menagoueche. Chevalier was at first alarmed by the appearance of Church's s.h.i.+ps off Partridge Island, and sent word directly to Fort Nachouac; a day or two later he was killed by some of Church's Indians as already related. Villebon sent his brother Neuvillette down the river to continue the look out and in the meantime made every possible preparation for a siege. His garrison, numbering about 100 soldiers, was busily employed in throwing up new intrenchments and mounting additional guns, word was sent to the French inhabitants of the vicinity to repair to the fort and a.s.sist in its defence, and Villebon, on the 11th October, sent an urgent message to Father Simon, the missionary at Medoctec, to get the Indians to come down as soon as possible if they wished to fight the English. He lost not a moment and having sent out word on all sides (the Indians being then dispersed upon the river) he arrived the afternoon of the 14th, with thirty-six warriors and expressed his desire to remain at the fort as the chaplain was absent. Two days later Neuvillette returned to the fort and reported that he had seen the enemy in great force about a league and a half below the Jemseg.

The last preparations were now hurriedly made and on the evening of the 17th, Villebon caused the "generale" (or a.s.sembly) to be beat and all the garrison being drawn up under arms he addressed them in stirring words, bidding them to maintain the honor of their country and the reputation of French soldiers, adding that if any should be maimed in the approaching combat the king would provide for him during the rest of his life. This speech created the greatest enthusiasm and the cry of "Vive le roy" awoke the forest echoes and was borne over the waters. The same evening a dozen Frenchmen who lived in the vicinity arrived at the fort. Among them were the brothers Mathieu and Rene d'Amours and the privateersman Baptiste. Villebon a.s.signed to Baptiste and Rene d'Amours the duty of heading the Indians and opposing the landing of the English.

The sketch on the next page, based upon a plan in the archives de la Marine, Paris[8] will serve to give an idea of the general character of Fort Nachouac. The s.p.a.ce of ground enclosed by the palisade was about 125 feet square; the site, as already stated, lay in the upper angle formed by the junction of the Nashwaak with the river St. John, nearly opposite the Cathedral in Fredericton. The general arrangement of the buildings is shown in the plan. At the rear of the enclosure is the commandant's lodging, on the right hand side the guard house and on the left the soldiers' barracks; at the front is the gate and in the lower left hand corner the bake oven; cannons were placed at each corner. A small room in the left end of the commandant's lodging was fitted up as a chapel. The ditches and ramparts that surrounded the enclosure added considerably to the strength of the position. The bastions were so arranged that the s.p.a.ce outside the walls was entirely commanded by the musketry fire of the defenders. The loopholes at the corners from which the fire was delivered are shown in the sketch.

[8] The author is indebted to Dr. W. F. Ganong for his kindness in furnis.h.i.+ng the sketch from which the accompanying plan of ill.u.s.tration has been made. It is not, of course, a copy of the original, but gives an idea of the general character of the fortification.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FORT NACHOUAC, A. D. 1696.]

Everything being now in order for the defence of his fort Villebon ordered the garrison to pa.s.s the night under arms, as from the barking of the dogs it was believed the enemy was drawing near. The next morning between eight and nine o'clock, whilst Father Simon was celebrating ma.s.s in the chapel, a shallop filled with armed men rounded the point below, followed by two others. The alarm was at once given and every man repaired to his post. The sloops approached within the distance of half a cannon shot when the guns of the fort opened on them and they were forced to retire below the point where they effected a landing. Villebon did not deem it prudent to oppose the landing as his men would have had to cross the Nashwaak river to do so and this would have been very imprudent. The English took up a position on the south side of the Nashwaak stream and threw up an earthwork upon which they placed two field guns from which they opened fire on the fort; a third gun of larger size was mounted soon afterwards nearer the fort, but not being sheltered it was not much used. The beseigers hoisted the royal standard of England and there were cheers and counter-cheers on the part of the combatants. The cannon fire was heavy on both sides but the guns of the fort being better mounted and well served had rather the advantage. There was also a sharp exchange of musketry fire, the St. John river Indians, from the bushes along the sh.o.r.e, engaging in a vicious fight with Church's Indians on the opposite side of the stream. When darkness ended the day's struggle the English had made little or no progress.

The following night being very cold they made fires to keep themselves from freezing, but this afforded a sure mark for the French cannon, which opened on them with grape shot, and they were obliged to put them out and suffer the inclemency of the weather. Major Church's men being almost bare of clothing from their long service, suffered extremely and were ill disposed to continue the siege. At daybreak the musketry fire from the fort recommenced and about 8 o'clock the English again got their guns into operation, but la Cote, who had distinguished himself the evening before by firing rapidly and accurately, dismounted one of their field guns and silenced the other.

It was now apparent that the fort could not be taken without a regular investment and in view of the lateness of the season this was not deemed advisable. The Ma.s.sachusetts historian Mather quaintly observes, "The difficulty of the cold season so discouraged our men that after some few shot the enterprize found itself under too much congelation to proceed any further." And so the following night the New England troops re-embarked after lighting fires over a considerable extent of ground in order to deceive the French. When the morning dawned their camp was deserted and soon after Neuvillette, who had been sent down the river to reconnoitre, reported that after he had gone three leagues he found them embarked in four vessels of about 60 tons and going down the river with a fair wind. On their return towards the mouth of the river the invaders burned the house and barns of Mathieu d'Amours at Freneuse, opposite the Oromocto, and laid waste his fields. The sieur de Freneuse was himself so much injured by exposure during the siege that he died shortly afterwards. Major Church took back with him to Boston a Negro man of Marblehead, who had been taken prisoner by the French and kept amongst them for some time. He was probably the first of his race to set foot within the borders of New Brunswick.

In the siege of his fort Villebon lost only one man killed and two wounded while the English loss is said to have been eight soldiers killed and five officers and twelve soldiers wounded.

The effect of the capture of Pemaquid by d'Iberville and the repulse of the English by Villebon greatly encouraged the savages of Acadia in their hostility and the following summer another raid on the English settlements was planned. A large number of Micmacs came from the eastward, some of them from the Basin of Minas, with St.

Cosme, their priest, at their head. They were entertained by Villebon, furnished with ammunition and supplies and sent on to the rendezvous at Pen.o.bscot. Father Simon and 72 Maliseets were sent in the same direction soon afterwards with instructions to pick up the Pa.s.samaquoddies on their way; they departed in high spirits with the intention of giving no quarter to the enemy and Villebon encouraged their animosity, exhorting them "to burn and to destroy."

This advice they followed to the letter for the Governor wrote in his journal shortly afterwards, "the missionary, M. de Thury, confirms the report I already had received of four small parties of our Indians having killed fifteen or sixteen English and burnt one of them alive on account of one of their chiefs being slain." The vindictiveness of the Indians is further ill.u.s.trated by an incident that happened at the Medoctic village in the time of King William's war, in which John Gyles and James Alexander, two English captives, were cruelly abused. A party of Indians from Cape Sable, having had some of their relatives killed by English fishermen, travelled all the way to Medoctec in order to wreak their vengeance upon any English captives they might find. They rushed upon their unfortunate victims like bears bereaved of their whelps, saying, "Shall we, who have lost our relations by the English, suffer an English voice to be heard among us?" The two captives were brutally beaten and ill used and made to go through a variety of performances for the amus.e.m.e.nt of their tormenters. Gyles says: "They put a tomahawk into my hands and ordered me to get up, sing and dance Indian, which I performed with the greatest reluctance and while in the act seemed determined to purchase my death by killing two or three of these monsters of cruelty, thinking it impossible to survive the b.l.o.o.d.y treatment....

Not one of them showed the least compa.s.sion, but I saw the tears run down plentifully on the cheeks of a Frenchman who sat behind." The tortures were continued until the evening of what Gyles might well call "a very tedious day." Finally a couple of Indians threw the two wretched men out of the big wigwam, where they had been tormented; they crawled away on their hands and knees and were scarcely able to walk for several days.

The experience of Gyles was, however, nothing in comparison with that of his brother and another captive taken by the Indians at the same time as himself. This unfortunate pair attempted to desert, but failed and were subjected to the most horrible tortures and finally burned alive by the savages.

The people of the frontier settlements were now so on the alert that, although the Indians roamed over the country like wolves, they were usually prepared to meet them. Every little village had its block house and sentinels, and every farmer worked in his fields with his musket at his side. Nevertheless tragic events occasionally happened.

In February, 1698, Captain Chubb, of Pemaquid notoriety, and six others were killed by the Indians at Andover, several of the inhabitants were captured and many houses burned; Major Frost was slain at Kittery and a number of people at Wells; Major Marsh had a sharp fight near Pemaquid, in which he lost twenty-five of his men, but succeeded in putting the savages to rout. This was the last blood shed during King William's war. The Indians were becoming weary of fighting and the peace of Ryswick deprived them of the open a.s.sistance of their French allies. For a brief season peace reigned in Acadia.

The expedition under Church had interrupted the rebuilding of the fort at St. John and shown the correctness of Villebon's prediction in a letter written to the French minister in 1696 that it was impossible with the few men at his disposal to attempt a work which, though easy to repair could not be completed as quickly as the enemy could get ready to destroy it. In the same letter he speaks of making plank near Fort Nachouac for the madriens, or gun platforms, of the fort at Menagoueche. As there were mills at this time at Port Royal, it would be possible from this incident to frame a theory that Villebon had a saw mill a short distance up the Nashwaak, say at Marysville, but it is more probable the planks were cut in saw pits by the soldiers of the garrison. The plan of the fort at St. John was agreed on in 1698, and 3,000 livres granted for its construction. Villebon paid his workmen 30 sous (about 30 cts.) a day, his laborers 20 sous, and the soldiers 4 sous a day over their pay and a weekly allowance of 1 qr.

lb. tobacco. The walls of the fort were laid in clay and mortar, 24 pounders were placed on the bastions and 36-pounders could be placed there three on each bastion. By the end of the year Villebon was able to report the fort in a condition to do honor to whoever should defend it. He had left Nachouac just as it was, leaving only two men to see that nothing was spoiled by the savages.

A plan in the Marine Archives at Paris, made by Villieu in 1700, shows that "Fort de la Riviere de St. Jean," or Fort Menagoueche, was built at "Old Fort Site," behind Navy Island in Carleton. The general plan was the same as that of Fort Nachouac, but it was considerably larger, nearly 200 feet square. Within the enclosure were barracks for the soldiers, a residence for the governor with small chapel adjoining it, a house for the officers of the garrison, lodgings for the surgeon, gunner and armorer, a small prison and a well, and just outside the gate were two bake-houses. The water supply of the fort seems always to have been inadequate. The sieur des Goutins, who disliked Villebon, complains in a letter of 23rd June, 1699, "the Governor keeps the water within the fort for the exclusive use of his kitchen and his mare, others being obliged to use snow-water, often very dirty." Diereville, who visited St. John during his short stay in Acadia describes the fort as "built of earth, with four bastions fraised (or picketed) each having six large guns." A new industry was now coming into existence, namely the s.h.i.+pping of masts to France for the King's navy; Diereville sailed to France in the Avenant "a good King's s.h.i.+p," mounting 44 guns which had brought out the ammunition and provisions that Placentia and the Fort on the River St. John received annually. This s.h.i.+p took on board a number of fine masts that 14 carpenters and mast makers in his majesty's service had manufactured at the River St. John. The vessel left Acadia on the 6th of October and reached France in 33 days.

The period of Governor Villebon's residence at St. John was of about two years' duration. He died on the 5th July, 1700, and was buried near the fort. The life of this devoted son of New France went out with the century and with his death the seat of government of Acadia was again transferred to Port Royal.

Brouillan now succeeded to the command. He found the fort at St. John in good order, as was to be expected, it having been just rebuilt, but in the opinion of the new governor it was of little use for the glory of the King or for the preservation of the country. He condemned the situation as being commanded on one side by an island at the distance of a pistol shot, and on the other by a height at the distance only of a hundred and odd fathoms (toises), and with a very insufficient water supply. He therefore caused the fortifications to be razed, demolished the houses, and carried away the guns and everything else of a portable character to Port Royal. The inhabitants living on the River St. John were left without protection and they seem almost without exception to have removed, some to Quebec and others to Port Royal.

The valley of the St. John was thus left as deserted and desolate as it had been previous to the arrival of Champlain. The Indian might wander at will among the ruins of forts and dwellings abandoned to his care, or left to be converted into hiding places for the wild beasts and wonder at the folly of the white man who had forsaken the finest river in all Acadia with its wealth of forest and stream and its fertile lands awaiting the hands of industry and thrift.

CHAPTER VII.

THE BROTHERS D'AMOURS.

Among the young adventurers who came to Acadia towards the close of the seventeenth century were four brothers, sons of Mathieu d'Amours[9] of Quebec. The father's political influence as a member of the Supreme Council enabled him to obtain for each of his sons an extensive seigniory. That of Louis d'Amours, the eldest, included a tract of land of generous proportions at the Richibucto river; the grant was issued September 20, 1684, but the seignior had already built there a fort and two small houses, and for two years had been cultivating a piece of land. His sojourn was brief, for in a year or two we find him living on the River St. John, where his brothers Mathieu and Rene were settled and where they were not long after joined by their brother Bernard.

[9] This gentleman married in 1652 Marie, the eldest daughter of Nicolas Ma.r.s.elot of Quebec; she was a very youthful bride, being only 14 years old at the time of her marriage; she was the mother of 15 children.

As mentioned in a previous chapter, it was customary among the French n.o.blesse for each son to take a surname derived from some portion of the family estate; accordingly the sons of Councillor d'Amours figure in history as Louis d'Amours, sieur de Chauffours; Mathieu d'Amours, sieur de Freneuse; Rene d'Amours, sieur de Clignancourt and Bernard d'Amours, sieur de Plenne.

After his arrival at the River St. John, Louis d'Amours fixed his abode on the banks of the Jemseg and became the proprietor of the seigniory formerly owned by the sieur de Soulanges. His brother, and nearest neighbor, Mathieu's seigniory included all the land "between Gemisik and Nachouac," two leagues in depth on each side of the river.

The wives of Louis and Mathieu d'Amours were sisters, Marguerite and Louise Guyon of Quebec.

To Rene d'Amours, sieur de Clignancourt, was granted a seigniory extending from the Indian village of Medoctec to the "longue sault."

The longue sault was probably the Meductic rapids twelve miles below the village of Medoctec, although it may have been the Grand Falls eighty miles above. The sieur de Clignancourt fixed his headquarters a few miles above Fredericton at or near Eccles Island, which was formerly called "Cleoncore"--a corruption of Clignancourt. An old census shows he lived in that vicinity in 1696, and this is confirmed by a statement in an official report of the same year that he lived a league from Fort Nachouac. Rene d'Amours had an extensive trade with the Indians, he was unmarried and lived the life of a typical "coureur de bois."

Bernard d'Amours, the youngest of the quartette, came to Acadia rather later than his brothers and was granted a seigniory at Canibecachice (Kennebecasis), a league and a half along each side of the river and two leagues in depth.[10] He married Jeanne le Borgne, and their son Alexander was baptized at Port Royal in 1702 by a Recollet missionary.

[10] The grants of Louis d'Amours at Richibucto, and of Mathieu and Rene on the St. John river are of the same date, September 20, 1684; that of Bernard on the Kennebeccasis is dated June 20, 1695.

The brothers d'Amours were in the prime of life when they came to Acadia; the census of de Meulles taken in 1686 gives the age of Louis as 32 years and that of Mathieu as 28. All the brothers engaged in hunting and trading with the Indians and were in consequence disliked by Governor Villebon, who viewed them with a jealous eye and mentions them in unfavorable terms in his official dispatches. Villebon's hostility was no doubt intensified by a representation made to the French ministry in 1692 by Louis d'Amours that the Governor of Acadia, to advance his own private fortune, engaged in trade, absolutely prohibited by his majesty, both with the natives of the country and with the people of New England.

Frontenac and Champigny at this time filled the offices respectively of governor and intendant (or lieutenant governor) of New France, and the king in his message to them, dated at Versailles June 14, 1695, refers to matters on the River St. John in the following terms:

"His Majesty finds it necessary to speak on the subject of the grants obtained by the Sieurs d'Amours, which comprehend an immense tract of land along the River St. John. It is commonly reported that since they have lived there they have not engaged in clearing and cultivating their lands, that they have no cattle nor any other employment than that of a miserable traffic exclusively with the savages; and as his Majesty has been informed that the lands in those parts are the best in the world, watered by large rivers and in a situation more temperate and pleasant than other parts of Canada, the sieurs d'Amours must be compelled to establish themselves upon a better footing; and those people who are to have new grants of land are directed to this part of Acadia where, as his Majesty is informed, the sieurs d'Amours pretend to have exclusive possession of about thirty leagues of country."

That the sentiments of this royal message were inspired by Villebon is evident from the tenor of the letters he addresses to the French ministry at this time. In one of these he says of the brothers d'Amours: "They are four in number living on the St. John river. They are given up to licentiousness and independence for the ten or twelve years they have been here. They are disobedient and seditious and require to be watched." In another communication he scornfully terms them "the pretended gentry" (soi disant gentilhommes). Writing to the French minister the next year he observes: "I have no more reason, my lord, to be satisfied with the sieurs d'Amours than I previously had.

The one who has come from France has not pleased me more than the other two. Their minds are wholly spoiled by long licentiousness and the manners they have acquired among the Indians, and they must be watched closely as I had the honor to state to you last year."

Fortunately for the reputation of the brothers d'Amours we have evidence that places them in a more favorable light than does the testimony of Governor Villebon. M. de Champigny, the intendant at Quebec, wrote to the French minister. "The sons of the sieur d'Amours, member of the supreme council at Quebec, who are settled on the River St. John, apply themselves chiefly to cultivating their lands and raising cattle.