Young Lion of the Woods Part 1

Young Lion of the Woods.

by Thomas Barlow Smith.

PREFACE.

The only merit that the writer claims for the following pages is, that they contain a record of facts, setting forth the sacred sentiments of duty, religious trust, and the spirit of liberty, amid sufferings-and hards.h.i.+ps of persons, whose loyalty was put to the severest test.

It has been beautifully said, "that he who sets a colony on foot designs a great work." "He designs all the good, and all the glory, of which, in the series of ages, it might be the means; and he shall be judged more by the lofty, ultimate aim and result, than by the actual instant motive. You may well admire, therefore, the solemn and adorned plausibilities of the colonizing of Rome from Troy, in the Eneid! Though the leader had been burned out of house and home, and could not choose but go. You may find in the flight of the female founder of the gloomy greatness of Carthage a certain epic interest; yet was she running from the madness of her husband to save her life. Emigration from our stocked communities of undeified men and women, emigration for conquest, for gold, for very restlessness of spirit, if they grow toward an imperial issue, have all thus a prescriptive and recognized ingredient of heroism. But when the immediate motive is as grand as the ultimate hope was lofty, and the ultimate success splendid, then, to use an expression of Bacon's," "the music is fuller."

In the hope that the privations and heroic conduct of those who are the subjects of the story, in the following chapters, may prove as interesting to the public as they did to the writer, when he first learned the history of such heroism, the writer submits them to the reader.

_JANUARY_, 1889.

INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER

The records of the lives and actions of those who have preceded us in the procession of the generations, are full of instruction and interest.

In many instances they hold up to our emulation great models of patriotism, patience, endurance, activity and pluck. It is to be regretted that many doc.u.ments of past ages have been destroyed through lack of knowledge of their real value, and of the light they would have thrown upon the early history of the country. Some few, regarded merely as the relics of departed ancestors, have been so secretly kept and treasured, that dust, must and rust have all but completely defaced them.

If our ancestors had been wise in preserving the papers of their fathers, long ago there might have been collected from such doc.u.ments, and displayed, many particulars of positive information concerning the very early history of the English in Acadia.

We might have possessed a much fuller history of the times when great difficulties and dangers opposed the settlers. When rus.h.i.+ng rivers had to be crossed without boat or bridge; when men and women often found it necessary to contend single handed with Indians; and when, for meeting the many obstacles that placed themselves in their path, our ancestors were often but poorly equipped.

Whilst we take pride in the hards.h.i.+ps cheerfully borne by our forefathers in the early colonial days, may we not be sometimes inclined to forget those fleet-footed, clever, dusky sons of the forest, to whose generous aid they were not infrequently indebted for protection from hostile men and savage beasts, and even sometimes for sustenance?

When we have secured positive information that now and again there have appeared among the brawny men of the forest n.o.ble specimens of all that is true and kind, let us not fail to record their deeds of faithfulness and heroism. The least we can do for such is to bring to light their actions and preserve their history. When beneath the shade of the forest, on the trackless desert, on the rus.h.i.+ng river, in tempest and thunder, or when watching in the vicinity of an old fort or near the log cabin of the early colonists, the Red man has been found a faithful friend and guide; should not his deeds of kindness, faithfulness and bravery be recorded side by side with those of the n.o.blest of the human race?

The story related in the following chapters has been gathered from facts stated in time-worn doc.u.ments, which have been lying for generations concealed in a wooden box. The only regret of the writer is, that it was impossible for him to gain access to all the old musty and defaced papers in the box. The old gentleman, in whose possession they were found, is very old and eccentric, and by no effort or persuasion could the writer induce him to part company with the doc.u.ments, but for a short time. But although the task of procuring them was extremely difficult, and that of deciphering them afterwards was both difficult and tedious, still the satisfaction of having rescued from decay and destruction, what seems so interesting, is satisfaction sufficient for the writer.

That portion of the doc.u.ments relating the events in connection with the first and second settlement of an English officer and his family, during the last century, in a district which is now said to be one of the most beautiful portions of Canada, is most instructive and interesting, although at times, while deciphering it, the writer felt his blood quicken in its pulsations, and tears forcing their way to the surface.

A few years previous to this English officers first attempt at settlement in Nova Scotia, he came out to Quebec with his regiment. The remaining portion of this introductory chapter will narrate some events in connection with the early life of the officer, his coming to Quebec with his regiment, his short stay there, and his return to his native country:--

On board the transport _Pitt_, in the year 1765, at Cork, embarked Captain G.o.dfrey with his regiment, the 52nd foot, for Quebec, North America.

On the pa.s.sage the _Pitt_ was wrecked in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, where Captain G.o.dfrey with his regiment suffered many hards.h.i.+ps.

The s.h.i.+p ran ash.o.r.e in a dense fog, which had prevailed for several days. The Captain remaining by the wreck for eleven days, a.s.sisted in saving the lives of the soldiers wives and children, and in landing the King's stores. The transport struck well up the gulf on the Nova Scotian coast (now New Brunswick). The exact locality is not stated. The night of the disaster was densely dark, and soon after striking the s.h.i.+p began to pound and leak badly. Had the wind sprung up during the hours of darkness not a soul on board would have lived to record the tale.

Very early the next morning, as Captain G.o.dfrey was standing on the quarter deck, conversing with the officer in charge of the s.h.i.+p, the rain began suddenly to descend in torrents and the wind to freshen. The mist that had enshrouded the s.h.i.+p for so many days, began to lift, and the sun shone through by instalments. Soon it was seen that the _Pitt_ was hemmed in by rocks, almost wedged in among them. Fortunately the storm soon abated, and the situation of the vessel kept her in an upright position. The fog settled down again, and for the next ten days all on board were kept busy in saving their effects and the King's stores.

At the end of ten days all on board were taken off. General Murray, commanding at Quebec, by some means not recorded, having heard of the disaster, sent a man-of-war schooner to the relief of the sufferers, and they were safely conveyed to Quebec.

Captain G.o.dfrey, through exposure and fatigue, contracted a severe cold, and at last, his life being despaired of, the surgeon of the regiment advised his return to England. He applied to General Clavering for leave of absence, or to grant him permission to sell out of the army. The permission being granted, he soon set about preparing to leave Quebec, and rejoin his wife and five children in England. Captain G.o.dfrey notes in a memorandum his great sorrow in parting from his regiment, and that his zeal for serving his King and country was so great that nothing but extreme weakness would have induced him to part from his regiment and King George the Third's service.

Before leaving Quebec to return home to his native land, Captain G.o.dfrey visited the spot where, six years before, the gallant Wolfe had poured out his life's blood in the service of his King and country. Here the Captain knelt and offered up to Him who guides the stars in their courses, thanksgiving for the brilliant and decisive victory gained by the British arms.

The following is from one of his memoranda:--"As I stood, and as I knelt where Wolfe fell, I more than ever realized what it is to be a brave soldier and a good man. As I rose from the spot I whispered to myself, if I am, through the providence of the Almighty, allowed to once again visit my native land, I will go to the widowed mother of General Wolfe and tell her where I have been and what I have seen. That I have stood on the very spot where victory and death gave the crowning l.u.s.tre to the name of her great son."

Charles G.o.dfrey was born at St Ann's, England, in the year 1730. The following, copied from an old doc.u.ment, gives a brief sketch of his early career:--"Was put on board His Majesty's s.h.i.+p _Bedford_, Capt.

Cornwall master, in the year 1741, and in 1742 went out to the Mediterranean. In 1743 was at the siege of Villa Franca, where with a large party of seamen was ordered on sh.o.r.e, and quartered at a six gun battery, under the command of Capt. Gugger, of the Royal Artillery. Was at the battle of Toulon, with Admirals Matthews and Lostock, on board said s.h.i.+p _Bedford_, then commanded by George Townsend. Was at the taking of several rich s.h.i.+ps off the Island of Malta, which s.h.i.+ps and their cargoes were afterward restored to the Genoese. Continued in the navy till the peace of Utretch, and for sometime subsequently.

Afterward, a warrant being procured, attended the Royal Academy at Woolwich as a gentleman cadet, in which station was allowed to remain till 1755. Received a commission, and was appointed to the 52nd foot, by the recommendation of His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, who was afterwards pleased to recommend me for a Lieutenancy, and a few years later my friends procured for me a Captaincy."

[1]Captain G.o.dfrey returned to England on board a transport from Quebec.

This young officer appears to have been highly respected by the different Generals and Field Officers under whom he had served. He was presented, shortly after his arrival in England, with a certificate of character, signed by Lieut.-Genl. John Clavering, Colonel of the 52nd Regt., Lieut.-Genl. Edward Sandford, Lieut.-Genl. Sir John Seabright, Major-Genl. Guy Carleton, Major-Genl. John Alex. McKay, Lieut.-Col.

Valentine Jones, Lieut.-Genl. Burgoyue, and Major Philip Skene.

[Footnote 1: The full name of this British officer is not given in any part of this work.]

The above has been copied princ.i.p.ally for the purpose of showing that the following story has for its characters those who once lived and moved in the early English colonial life of Acadia. If the districts and places where the events related in this book occurred could speak, they would tell nearly the same thrilling and extraordinary story. In many of these localities great and important changes have taken place through a century and a quarter of time, but the records of the past remain unchanged.

Our barns may be built over the graves of the Indians, and our houses on the sites of their wigwams; our cattle may graze upon the hillsides and valleys of their hunting grounds, and our churches may be erected on positions where the Red men of the forest gathered together to invoke the blessing of the Great Chief of the everlasting hunting ground, yet what is truly written of the past must remain unalterable.

NOTE.--The wrecked transport _Pitt_ was named, it is said, in honour of the Earl of Chatham; and tradition states that one of the boats of the s.h.i.+p drifted from the wreck and went ash.o.r.e at a point of land near where the town of Chatham now stands, the s.h.i.+p's name being painted on the boat; and from this circ.u.mstance Chatham, on the Miramichi River, received its name.

CHAPTER I.

FIRST EXPERIENCE OF COLONIAL LIFE, 1769-70.

Captain G.o.dfrey's health gradually improved after his return to his native country. When he thought himself sufficiently recovered he felt anxious to embark in some branch of business, and not feeling inclined to do so in England, he purchased a grant of land from Lynge Tottenham, Esq., this land was situated on the bank of the River St. John, Nova Scotia.

In the early part of the year 1769, after three years of rest, Captain G.o.dfrey purchased various kinds of merchandize, which he was advised were best adapted to the colonial trade. He freighted a vessel in London, and embarked with his wife and family for Halifax, in the month of June, 1769.

On the pa.s.sage out the weather was usually fine, but the progress was slow, and nothing remarkable occurred on board during the sixty-two days they were in crossing the Atlantic.

Soon after landing at Halifax, Captain G.o.dfrey heard that the Governor of Nova Scotia, (Lord William Campbell,) required some person of experience to enter into possession of Fort Frederick, situated at the mouth of the River St. John, and take charge of the arms, ammunition, and all other of His Majesty King George the Third's stores. He had an interview with the Governor and was appointed to take charge of the fort.

After having secured the appointment at Fort Frederick, he concluded to commence trading operations at that post, and gave bonds to the governor in the sum of one thousand pounds for the privilege of carrying on a legitimate business with the settlers and Indians.[2]

[Footnote 2:

PROVINCE OF NOVA SCOTIA.

Know all men by these presents, that we, Charles * * * G.o.dfrey * * * and Charles Morris, Esqs., both of Halifax, do acknowledge ourselves justly indebted unto our Sovereign Lord King George the Third, his heirs and successors, in the just and full sum of one thousand pounds currency of the Province of Nova Scotia, to which payment well and truly to be made and done, we bind ourselves, our heirs, executors and administrators jointly by these presents. Witness our hand and seals, this thirtieth day of April, one thousand seven hundred and seventy, in the tenth year of His Majesty's reign.

CHARLES * * * G.o.dFREY * * *

CHARLES MORRIS, JR.

Signed and sealed in the presence of NATHL. s.h.i.+PTON