FOOTNOTES:

"On the morning of October 25, 1781, a large body of the enemy under Maj. Ross, entered Johnstown with several prisoners, and not a little plunder; among which was a number of human scalps taken the afternoon and night previous, in settlements in and adjoining the Mohawk valley; to which was added the scalp of Hugh McMonts, a constable, who was surprised and killed as they entered Johnstown. In the course of the day the troops from the garrisons near and militia from the surrounding country, rallied under the active and daring Willett, and gave the enemy battle on the Hall farm, in which the latter were finally defeated with loss, and made good their retreat into Canada. Young Scarsborough was then in the nine months' service, and while the action was going on, himself and one Crosset left the Johnstown fort, where they were on garrison duty, to join in the fight, less than two miles distant. Between the Hall and woods they soon found themselves engaged. Crosset after shooting down one or two, received a bullet through one hand, but winding a handkerchief around it he continued the fight under cover of a hemlock stump. He was shot down and killed there, and his companion surrounded and made prisoner by a party of Scotch (Highlanders) troops commanded by Captain McDonald. When Scarsborough was captured, Capt. McDonald was not present, but the moment he saw him he ordered his men to shoot him down. Several refused; but three, shall I call them men? obeyed the dastardly order, and yet he possibly would have survived his wounds, had not the miscreant in authority cut him down with his own broadsword. The sword was caught in its first descent, and the valiant captain drew it out, cutting the hand nearly in two."[131]

This was the same McDonald who, in 1779, figured in the battle of the Chemung, together with Sir John and Guy Johnson and Walter N. Butler.

Just what part the Mohawk Highlanders, if any, had in the Massacre of Cherry Valley on October 11, 1778, may not be known. The leaders were Walter N. Butler, son of Colonel John Butler, who was captain of a company of Rangers, and the monster Brant.

Owing to the frequent depredations made by the Indians, the Royal Greens, Butler's Rangers, and the independent company of Alexander McDonald, upon the frontiers, destroying the innocent and helpless as well as those who might be found in arms, Congress voted that an expedition should be sent into the Indian country. Washington detached a division from the army under General John Sullivan to lay waste that country. The instructions were obeyed, and Sullivan did not cease until he found no more to lay waste. The only resistance he met with that was of any moment was on August 29, 1779, when the enemy hoping to ambuscade the army of Sullivan, brought on the battle of Chemung, near the present site of Elmira. There were about three hundred royalists under Colonel John Butler and Captain Alexander McDonald, assisting Joseph Brant who commanded the Indians. The defeat was so overwhelming that the royalists and Indians, in a demoralized condition sought shelter under the walls of Fort Niagara.

The lower Mohawk Valley having experienced the calamities of border wars was yet to feel the full measures of suffering. On Sunday, May 21, 1780, Sir John Johnson with some British troops, a detachment of Royal Greens, and about two hundred Indians and Tories, at dead of night fell unexpectedly on Johnstown, the home of his youth. Families were killed and scalped, the houses pillaged and then burned. Instances of daring and heroism in withstanding the invaders have been recorded.

Sir John's next achievement was in the fall of the same year, when he descended with fire and sword into the rich settlements along the Schoharie. He was overtaken by the American force at Klock's Field and put to flight.

Sir John Johnson with the Royal Greens, principally his former tenants and retainers, appear to have been especially stimulated with hate against the people of their former homes who did not sympathize with their views. In the summer of 1781 another expedition was secretly planned against Johnstown, and executed with silent celerity. The expedition consisted of four companies of the Second battalion of Sir John's regiment of Royal Greens, Butler's Rangers and two hundred Indians, numbering in all about one thousand men, under the command of Major Ross. He was defeated at the battle of Johnstown on October 25th. The army of Major Ross, for four days in the wilderness, on their advance had been living on only a half pound of horse flesh per man per day; yet they were so hotly pursued by the Americans that they were forced to trot off a distance of thirty miles before they stopped,â€”during a part of the distance they were compelled to sustain a running fight. They crossed Canada Creek late in the afternoon, where Walter N. Butler attempted to rally the men. He was shot through the head by an Oneida Indian, who was with the Americans. When Captain Butler fell his troops fled in the utmost confusion, and continued their flight through the night. Without food and even without blankets they had eighty miles to traverse through the dreary and pathless wilderness.

On August 6, 1781, Donald McDonald, one of the Highlanders who had fled from Johnstown, made an attempt upon Shell's Bush, about four miles north of the present village of Herkimer, at the head of sixty-six Indians and Tories. John Christian Shell had built a block-house of his own, which was large and substantial, and well calculated to withstand a seige. The first story had no windows, but furnished with loopholes which could be used to shoot through by muskets. The second story projected over the first, so that the garrison could fire upon an advancing enemy, or cast missiles upon their heads. The owner had a family of six sons, the youngest two were twins, and only eight years old. Most of his neighbors had taken refuge in Fort Dayton; but this settler refused to leave his home. When Donald McDonald and his party arrived at Shell's Bush his brother with his sons were at work in the field; and the children, unfortunately were so widely separated from their father, as to fall into the hands of the enemy.

"Shell and his other boys succeeded in reaching their castle, and barricading the ponderous door. And then commenced the battle. The besieged were well armed, and all behaved with admirable bravery; but none more bravely than Shell's wife, who loaded the pieces as her husband and sons discharged them. The battle commenced at two o'clock, and continued until dark. Several attempts were made by McDonald to set fire to the castle, but without success, and his forces were repeatedly driven back by the galling fire they received. McDonald at length procured a crow-bar and attempted to force the door; but while thus engaged he received a shot in the leg from Shell's Blunderbuss, which put himhors du combat. None of his men being sufficiently near at the moment to rescue him, Shell, quick as lightning, opened the door, and drew him within the walls a prisoner. The misfortune of Shell and his garrison was, that their ammunition began to run low; but McDonald was very amply provided, and to save his own life, he surrendered his cartridges to the garrison to fire upon his comrades. Several of the enemy having been killed and others wounded, they now drew off for a respite. Shell and his troops, moreover, needed a little breathing time; and feeling assured that, so long as he had the commanding officer of the beseigers in his possession, the enemy would hardly attempt to burn the citadel, he ceased firing. He then went up stairs, and sang the hymn which was a favorite of Luther during the perils and afflictions of the Great Reformer in his controversies with the Pope. While thus engaged the enemy likewise ceased firing. But they soon after rallied again to the fight, and made a desperate effort to carry the fortress by assault. Rushing up to the walls, five of them thrust the muzzles of their guns through the loopholes, but had no sooner done so, than Mrs. Shell, seizing an axe, by quick and well directed blows ruined every musket thus thrust through the walls, by bending the barrels. A few more well-directed shots by Shell and his sons once more drove the assailants back. Shell thereupon ran up to the second story, just in the twilight, and calling out to his wife with a loud voice, informed her that Captain Small was approaching from Fort Dayton with succors. In yet louder notes he then exclaimedâ€”'Captain Small march your company round upon this side of the house. Captain Getman, you had better wheel your men off to the left, and come up upon that side.' There were of course no troops approaching; but the directions of Shell were given with such precision, and such apparent earnestness and sincerity, that the stratagem succeeded, and the enemy immediately fled to the woods, taking away the twin-lads as prisoners. Setting the best provisions they had before their reluctant guest. Shell and his family lost no time in repairing to Fort Dayton, which they reached in safetyâ€”leaving McDonald in the quiet possession of the castle he had been striving to capture in vain. Some two or three of McDonald's Indians lingered about the premises to ascertain the fate of their leader; and finding that Shell and his family had evacuated the post, ventured in to visit him. Not being able to remove him, however, on taking themselves off, they charged their wounded leader to inform Shell, that if he would be kind to him, (McDonald,) they would take good care of his (Shell's) captive boys. McDonald was the next day removed to the fort by Captain Small, where his leg was amputated; but the blood could not be stanched, and he died within a few hours. The lads were carried away into Canada. The loss of the enemy on the ground was eleven killed and six wounded. The boys, who were rescued after the war, reported that they took twelve of their wounded away with them, nine of whom died before they arrived in Canada. McDonald wore a silver-mounted tomahawk, which was taken from him by Shell. It was marked by thirty scalp-notches, showing that few Indians could have been more industrious than himself in gathering that description of military trophies."[132]

The close of the Revolution found the First Battalion of the King's Regiment of New York stationed at Isle aux Noix and Carleton Island with their wives and children to the number of one thousand four hundred and sixty-two. The following is a list of the officers of both Battalions at the close of the War:

"Return of the Officers of the late First Battalion, King's Royal Regiment of New York."

"Return of the Officers of the late Second Battalion, King's Royal Regiment of New York."

The officers and men of the First Battalion, with their families, settled in a body in the first five townships west of the boundary line of the Province of Quebec, being the present townships of Lancaster, Charlottenburgh, Cornwall, Osnabruck and Williamsburgh; while those of the Second Battalion went farther west to the Bay of Quinte, in the counties of Lennox and Prince Edward. Each soldier received a certificate entitling him to land; of which the following is a copy:

"His Majesty's Provincial Regiment, called the King's Royal Regiment of New York, whereof Sir John Johnson, Knight and Baronet is Lieutenant-Colonel, Commandant.These are to certify that the Bearer hereof, Donald McDonell, soldier in Capt. Angus McDonell's Company, of the aforesaid Regiment, born in the Parish of Killmoneneoack, in the County of Inverness, aged thirty-five years, has served honestly and faithfully in the said regiment Seven Years; and in consequence of His Majesty's Order for Disbanding the said Regiment, he is hereby discharged, is entitled, by His Majesty's late Order, to the Portion of Land allotted to each soldier of His Provincial Corps, who wishes to become a Settler in this Province. He having first received all just demands of Pay, Cloathing, &c., from his entry into the said Regiment, to the Date of his Discharge, as appears from his Receipt on the back hereof.Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms, at Montreal, this twenty-fourth Day of December, 1783.John Johnson."

"His Majesty's Provincial Regiment, called the King's Royal Regiment of New York, whereof Sir John Johnson, Knight and Baronet is Lieutenant-Colonel, Commandant.

These are to certify that the Bearer hereof, Donald McDonell, soldier in Capt. Angus McDonell's Company, of the aforesaid Regiment, born in the Parish of Killmoneneoack, in the County of Inverness, aged thirty-five years, has served honestly and faithfully in the said regiment Seven Years; and in consequence of His Majesty's Order for Disbanding the said Regiment, he is hereby discharged, is entitled, by His Majesty's late Order, to the Portion of Land allotted to each soldier of His Provincial Corps, who wishes to become a Settler in this Province. He having first received all just demands of Pay, Cloathing, &c., from his entry into the said Regiment, to the Date of his Discharge, as appears from his Receipt on the back hereof.

Given under my Hand and Seal at Arms, at Montreal, this twenty-fourth Day of December, 1783.

John Johnson."

"I, Donald McDonell, private soldier, do acknowledge that I have received all my Cloathing, Pay, Arrears of Pay, and all Demands whatsoever, from the time of my Inlisting in the Regiment and Company mentioned on the other Side to this present Day of my Discharge, as witness my Hand this 24th day of December, 1783.Donald McDonell."[134]

Donald McDonell."[134]

There appears to have been some difficulty in according to the men the amount of land each should possess, as may be inferred from the petition of Colonel John Butler on behalf of The Royal Greens and his corps of Rangers. The Order in Council, October 22 1788 allowed them the same as that allotted to the members of the Royal Highland Emigrants.[135]Ultimately each soldier received one hundred acres on the river front, besides two hundred at a remote distance. If married he was entitled to fifty acres more, an additional fifty for every child. Each child, on coming of age, was entitled to a further grant of two hundred acres.

It is not the purpose to follow these people into their future homes, for this would be later than the Peace of 1783. Let it suffice to say that their lands were divided by lot, and into the wilderness they went, and there cleared the forests, erected their shanties out of round logs, to a height of eight feet, with a room not exceeding twenty by fifteen feet.

These people were pre-eminently social and attached to the manners and customs of their fathers. In Scotland the people would gather in one of their huts during the long winter nights and listen to the tales of Ossian and Fingal. So also they would gather in their huts and listen to the best reciter of tales. Often the long nights would be turned into a recital of the sufferings they endured during their flight into Canada from Johnstown; and also of their privations during the long course of the war. It required no imagination to picture their hardships, nor was it necessary to indulge in exaggeration. Many of the women, through the wilderness, carried their children on their backs, the greater part of the distance, while the men were burdened with their arms and such goods as were deemed necessary. They endured perils by land and by water; and their food often consisted of the flesh of dogs and horses, and the roots of trees. Gradually some of these story tellers varied their tale, and, perhaps, believed in the glosses.

A good story has gained extensive currency, and has been variously told, on Donald Grant. He was born at Crasky, Glenmoriston, Scotland, and was one of the heroes who sheltered prince Charles in the cave of Corombian, when wandering about, life in hand, after the battle of Culloden, before he succeeded in effecting his escape to the Outer Hebrides. Donald, with others, settled in Glengarry, a thousand acres having been allotted to him. This old warrior, having seen much service, knew well the country between Johnstown and Canada. He took charge of one of the parties of refugees in their journey from Schenectady to Canada. Donald lived to a good old age and was treated with much consideration by all, especially those whom he had led to their new homes. It was well known that he could spin a good story equal to the best. As years went on, the number of Donald's party rapidly increased, as he told it to open-mouthed listeners, constantly enlarging on the perils and hardships of the journey. A Highland officer, who had served in Canada for some years, was returning home, and, passing through Glengarry, spent a few days with Alexander Macdonell, priest at St. Raphael's. Having expressed his desire to meet some of the veterans of the war, so that he might hear their tales and rehearse them in Scotland, that they might know how their kinsmen in Canada had fought and suffered for the Crown, the priest, amongst others, took him to see old Donald Grant. The opportunity was too good to be lost, and Donald told the general in Gaelic the whole story, omitting no details; giving an account of the number of men, women and children he had brought with him, their perils and their escapes, their hardships borne with heroic devotion; how, when on the verge of starvation, they had boiled their moccasins and eaten them; how they had encountered the enemy, the wild beasts and Indians, beaten all off and landed the multitude safely in Glengarry. The General listened with respectful attention, and at the termination of the narrative, wishing to say something pleasant, observed: "Why, dear me, Donald, your exploits seem almost to have equalled even those of Moses himself when leading the children of Israel through the Wilderness from Egypt to the Land of Promise." Up jumped old Donald. "Moses," exclaimed the veteran with an unmistakable air of contempt, and adding a double expletive that need not here be repeated, "Comparemeto Moses! Why, Moses took forty years in his vain attempts to lead his men over a much shorter distance, and through a mere trifling wilderness in comparison with mine, and he never did reach his destination, and lost half his army in the Red Sea. I brought my people here without the loss of a single man."

It has been noted that the Highlanders who settled on the Mohawk, on the lands of Sir William Johnson, were Roman Catholics. Sir William, nor his son and successor, Sir John Johnson, took any steps to procure them a religious teacher in the principles of their faith. They were not so provided until after the Revolution, and then only when they were settled on the lands that had been allotted to them. In 1785, the people themselves took the proper steps to secure such an one,â€”and one who was able to speak the Gaelic, for many of them were ignorant of the English language. In the month of September, 1786, the ship "McDonald," from Greenock, brought Reverend Alexander McDonell, Scotus, with five hundred emigrants from Knoydart, who settled with their kinsfolk in Glengarry, Canada.

FOOTNOTES:[101]Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 30, 1773.[102]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. II. p. 151.[103]Ibid, p. 637.[104]Ibid, p. 638.[105]Ibid, p. 661.[106]Ibid, p. 665.[107]Ibid, p. 672.[108]Ibid, p. 712.[109]Ibid, p. 880.[110]Stone's Life of Brant, Vol. I, p. 106.[111]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. III. p. 1194.[112]Ibid, p. 1245.[113]Ibid, p. 1963.[114]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 651.[115]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. IV, pp. 818-829.[116]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 668.[117]See Appendix,Note J.[118]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI, p. 447.[119]Ibid, p. 643.[120]Ibid, p. 642.[121]Ibid, p. 644.[122]Ibid, p. 511.[123]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 683.[124]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI. p. 647.[125]Sir John Johnson's Orderly Book, p. LXXXII.[126]Macdonell's Sketches of Glengarry in Canada, p. 22.[127]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 779.[128]Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, Vol. I, p. 238.[129]Johnson's Orderly Book, p. 57.[130]Ibid, p. 59.[131]Ibid, p. 56.[132]Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, Vol. II, p. 164.[133]Macdonell's Sketches of Glengarry, p. 47.[134]Ibid, p. 51.[135]See Appendix,Note K.

[101]Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 30, 1773.

[102]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. II. p. 151.

[103]Ibid, p. 637.

[104]Ibid, p. 638.

[105]Ibid, p. 661.

[106]Ibid, p. 665.

[107]Ibid, p. 672.

[108]Ibid, p. 712.

[109]Ibid, p. 880.

[110]Stone's Life of Brant, Vol. I, p. 106.

[111]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. III. p. 1194.

[112]Ibid, p. 1245.

[113]Ibid, p. 1963.

[114]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 651.

[115]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. IV, pp. 818-829.

[116]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 668.

[117]See Appendix,Note J.

[118]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI, p. 447.

[119]Ibid, p. 643.

[120]Ibid, p. 642.

[121]Ibid, p. 644.

[122]Ibid, p. 511.

[123]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 683.

[124]Am. Archives, Fourth Series, Vol. VI. p. 647.

[125]Sir John Johnson's Orderly Book, p. LXXXII.

[126]Macdonell's Sketches of Glengarry in Canada, p. 22.

[127]Documentary and Colonial History of New York, Vol. VIII, p. 779.

[128]Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, Vol. I, p. 238.

[129]Johnson's Orderly Book, p. 57.

[130]Ibid, p. 59.

[131]Ibid, p. 56.

[132]Stone's Life of Joseph Brant, Vol. II, p. 164.

[133]Macdonell's Sketches of Glengarry, p. 47.

[134]Ibid, p. 51.

[135]See Appendix,Note K.

Highlanders had penetrated into the wilds of Ontario, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island before they had formed any distinctive settlements of their own. Some of these belonged to the disbanded regiments, but the bulk had come into the country, either through the spirit of adventure, or else to better their condition, and establish homes that would be free from usurpation, oppression, and persecution. It cannot be said that any portion of Canada, at that period, was an inviting field. The Highland settlement that bears the honor of being the first in British North America is that on Prince Edward Island, on the north coast at the head of Tracadie Bay, almost due north of Charlottetown. This settlement was due to John Macdonald, Eighth of Glenaladale, of the family of Clanranald.

John Macdonald was but a child at the date of the battle of Culloden. When of sufficient age he was sent to Ratisbon, Germany, to be educated, where he went through a complete course in the branches of learning as taught in the seminary. Returning to his country he was considered to be one of the most finished and accomplished gentlemen of his generation. But events led him to change his prospects in life. In 1770 a violent persecution against the Roman Catholics broke out in the island of South Uist. Alexander Macdonald, First of Boisdale, also of the house of Clanranald, abandoned the religion of his forbears, and like all new converts was over zealous for his new found faith, and at once attempted to compel all his tenants to follow his example. After many acts of oppression, he summoned all his tenants to hear a paper read to them in their native tongue, containing a renunciation of their religion, and a promise, under oath, never more to hold communication with a catholic priest. The alternative was to sign the paper or lose their lands and homes. At once the people unanimously decided to starve rather than submit. The next step of Boisdale was to take his gold headed cane and drive his tenants before him, like a flock of sheep, to the protestant church. Boisdale failed to realize that conditions had changed in the Highlands; but, even if his methods had smacked of originality, he would have been placed in a far better light. To attempt to imitate the example of another may win applause, but if defeated contempt is the lot.

The history ofCreideamh a bhata bhuidhe, or the religion of the yellow stick, is such an interesting episode in West Highland story as not to be out of place in this connection. Hector MacLean, Fifth of Coll, who held the estates from 1559 to 1593, became convinced of the truths of the principles of the Reformation, and decided that his tenants should think likewise. He passed over to the island of Rum, and as his tenants came out of the Catholic church he held his cane straight out and said in Gaelic,â€”"Those who pass the stick to the Kirk are very good tenants, and those who go on the other side may go out of my island." This stick remained in the family until 1868, when it mysteriously disappeared. Mrs. Hamilton Dundas, daughter of Hugh, Fifteenth of Coll, in a letter dated March 26, 1898, describing the stick says, "There was the crest on the top and initials either H. McL. or L. McL. in very flourishing writing engraved on a band or oval below the top. It was a polished, yellow brown malacca stick, much taller than an ordinary walking stick. I seem to recollect that it had two gold rimmed eyelet holes for a cord and tassle."

John Macdonald of Glenaladale, having heard of the proceedings, went to visit the people, and was so touched by their pitiable condition, that he formed the resolution of expatriating himself, and going off at their head to America. He sold out his estates to his cousin Alexander Macdonald of Borrodale, and before the close of 1771, he purchased a tract of forty thousand acres on St. John's Island (now Prince Edward Island), to which he took out about two hundred of his persecuted fellow catholics from South Uist, in the year 1772.

Whatever may have been the trials endured by these people, what ship they sailed in, how the land was allotted, if at all given to the public, has not come under the author's observation. Certain facts concerning Glenaladale have been advertised. His first wife was Miss Gordon of Baldornie, and his second, Marjory Macdonald of Ghernish, and had issue, Donald who emigrated with him, William, drowned on the coast of Ireland, John, Roderick and Flora. He died in 1811, and was buried on the Island at the Scotch Fort.

Glenaladale early took up arms against the colonists, and having raised a company from among his people, he became a Captain in the Royal Highland Emigrants, or 84th. That he was a man of energy and pluck will appear from the following daring enterprise. During the Revolution, an American man-of-war came to the coast of Nova Scotia, near a port where Glenaladale was on detachment duty, with a small portion of his men. A part of the crew of the warship having landed for the purpose of plundering the people, Glenaladale, with his handful of men, boarded the vessel, cut down those who had been left in charge, hoisted sail, and brought her as a prize triumphantly into the harbor of Halifax. He there got a reinforcement, marched back to his former post, and took the whole crew, composed of Americans and French. As regards his military virtues and abilities Major John Small, of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Highland Emigrants, to which he was attached, writing to the English government, said of him,â€”

"The activity and unabating zeal of Captain John Macdonald of Glenaladale in bringing an excellent company into the field is his least recommendation, being acknowledged by all who know his rank in his Majesty's service."

Slight information may be gained of his connection with the Royal Highland Emigrant Regiment from the "Letter-Book" of Captain Alexander McDonald, of the same regiment. In embodying that regiment he was among the very earliest and readiest. Just why he should have exhibited so much feeling against the Americans whose country he had never seen and who had never harmed him in the least, does not appear. Captain McDonald, writing from Halifax, September 1, 1775, to Colonel Allan MacLean, says,â€”

"What Men that are on the Island of St. Johns (Prince Edward's) are already Engaged with Glenaladall who is now here with me, also young Mcdonald, with whom he came, he will Write to you by this opportunity and from the Contents of his Letter I will Leave you to Judge what sort of a Man he is."

By the same letter, "young Mcdonald" had been sent "to ye Island of St. John," unquestionably for the purpose of raising the Highlanders. His great zeal is revealed in a letter from Captain Alexander McDonald to Major Small, dated at Halifax, November 15, 1775:

"Mr. McDonald of Glenaladale staid behind at Newfoundland and by the Last accounts from him he and one Lt Fizgerald had Six and thirty men. I dont doubt by this time his having as many more, he is determined to make out his Number Cost what it will, and I hope you will make out a Commission in his brother Donald's name, * * * poor Glenaladall I am afraid is Lost as there is no account of him since a small Schooner Arrived which brought an account of his having Six & thirty men then and if he should Not be Lost He is unavoidably ruined in his Means."

The last reference is in a letter to Colonel Allan MacLean, dated at Halifax June 5, 1776:

"Glen a la Del is an Ornament to any Corps that he goes into and if the Regiment is not established it had been telling him 300 Guineas that he had never heard of it. On Account of his Affairs upon the Island of St. John's and in Scotland where he was preparing to go to settle his Business when he received the Proposals."

The British government offered Glenaladale the governorship of Prince Edward Island, but owing to the oath of allegiance necessary at the time, he, being a catholic, was obliged to decline the office.

"What noble courage must their hearts have fired,How great the ardor which their souls inspired,Who leaving far beyond their native plainHave sought a home beyond the western main;And braved the perils of the stormy seasIn search of wealth, of freedom, and of ease.Oh, none can tell, but those who sadly share,The bosom's anguish, and its wild despair,What dire distress awaits the hardy bands,That venture first on bleak and desert lands;How great the pain, the danger and the toilWhich mark the first rude culture of the soil.When looking round, the lonely settler seesHis home amid a wilderness of trees;How sinks his heart in those deep solitudes,Where not a voice upon his ear intrudes;Where solemn silence all the waste pervades,Heightening the horror of its gloomy shades;Save where the sturdy woodman's strokes resoundThat strew the fallen forest on the ground."â€”H. Goldsmith.

The second settlement of Highlanders in British America was at Pictou, Nova Scotia. The stream of Scottish emigration which flowed in after years, not only over the county of Pictou, but also over the greater portion of eastern Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Prince Edward Island, and even the upper provinces of Canada, was largely due to this settlement; for these emigrants, in after years, communicated with their friends and induced them to take up their abode in the new country. The stream once started did not take long to deepen and widen.

A company of gentlemen, the majority of whom lived in Philadelphia, received a grant of land in Nova Scotia. Some of the shares passed into the hands of the celebrated Dr. John Witherspoon and John Pagan, a merchant of Greenock, Scotland. These two men appear to have jointly been engaged in promoting emigration to the older colonies. Pagan owned a ship calledHector, which was engaged in carrying passengers across the Atlantic. In 1770 she landed Scottish emigrants in Boston. In order to carry out the original obligations of the grant, the proprietors offered liberal inducements for the settlement of it. An agent, named John Ross, was employed, with whom it was agreed that each settler should have a free passage from Scotland, a farm, and a year's free provisions. Ross sailed for Scotland on board the Hector, and on his arrival proceeded to the Highlands, where he painted in glowing colors a picture of the land and the advantages offered. The Highlanders knew nothing of the difficulties awaiting them in a land covered over with a dense unbroken forest, and, tempted by the prospect of owning splendid farms, they were imposed upon, and many agreed to cast their lot on the western side of the Atlantic. The Hector was the vessel that should convey them, with John Spears as master, James Orr being first mate, and John Anderson second. The vessel called first at Greenock, where three families and five young men were taken on board. From there she sailed for Lochbroom, in Rossshire, where she received thirty-three families and twenty-five single men, having all told about two hundred souls.

On July 1, 1773, this band bade adieu to friends, home, and country and started for a land they knew naught of. But few had ever crossed the ocean. Just as the ship was starting a piper named John McKay came on board who had not paid his passage; the captain ordered him ashore, but the strains of the national instrument so affected those on board that they interceded to have him allowed to accompany them, and offered to share their own rations with him, in exchange for his music, during the passage. Their request was granted, and his performance aided in no small degree to cheer the pilgrims in their long voyage of eleven weeks, in a miserable hulk, across the Atlantic. The band of emigrants kept up their spirits, as best they could, by song, pipe music, dancing, wrestling, and other amusements, during the long and painful voyage. The Hector was an old Dutch ship, and a slow sailer. It was so rotten that the passengers could pick the wood out of the sides with their fingers. They met with a severe gale off the Newfoundland coast, and were driven back so far that it required two weeks to recover the lost distance. The accommodations on board were wretched and the provisions of inferior quality. Small-pox and dysentery broke out among the passengers. Eighteen, most of whom were children, died and were committed to the deep. The former disease was brought on board by a mother and child, both of whom lived to an advanced age. Owing to the voyage being prolonged, the stock of provisions and water became low; the remnant of food left consisted mostly of salt meat, which, with the scarcity of water, added greatly to their sufferings. The oatcake, carried by them, became mouldy, so that much of it was thrown away before they thought such a long passage was before them; but, fortunately for them, Hugh Macleod, more prudent than the rest, gathered into a bag these despised scraps, and during the last few days of the voyage, all were glad to avail themselves of this refuse food.

At last, all the troubles and dangers of the voyage having been surmounted, on September 15th, the Hector dropped anchor, opposite where the town of Pictou now stands. Previous to the arrival of the vessel, the sparsely inhabited country had been somewhat disturbed by the Indians. Word had been received that the Hector was on the way to that region with Highland emigrants. The whites warned the Indians that the Highlanders were comingâ€”the same men they had seen at the taking of Quebec. When the Hector appeared, according to the fashion of that time, her sides were painted in imitation of gunports, which induced the impression that she was a man-of-war. Though the Highland dress was then proscribed at home, this emigrant band, carefully preserving and fondly cherishing the national costume, carried it along with them, and, in celebration of their arrival, many of the younger men donned themselves in their kilts, withSgian Dubhand the claymore. Just as the vessel dropped anchor, the piper blew up his pipes with might and main, and its thrilling sounds then first startling the denizens of the endless forest, caused the Indians to fly in terror, and were not again seen there for quite an interval. After the terror of the Indians had subsided, they returned to cultivate the friendship of the Highlanders, and proved to be of great assistance. From them they learned to make and use snowshoes, to call moose, and acquired the art of woodcraft. Often too from them they received provisions. They never gave them any trouble, and generally showed real kindness.

The first care of the emigrants was to provide for the sick. The wife of Hugh Macleod had just died of smallpox, and the body was sent ashore and buried. Several were sick, and others dying. The resident settlers did all within their power to alleviate the sufferers; and with the supply of fresh provisions most of the sick rapidly recovered, but some died on board the vessel.

However great may have been the expectation of these poor creatures on the eve of their leaving Scotland, their hopes almost deserted them by the sight that met their view as they crowded on the deck of the vessel to see their future homes. The primeval forest before them was unbroken, save a few patches on the shore between Brown's Point and the head of the harbor, which had been cleared by the few people who had preceded them. They were landed without the provisions promised them, and without shelter of any kind, and were only able, with the help of the earlier settlers, to erect camps of the rudest and most primitive description, to shelter their sick, their wives and children from the elements. Their feelings of disappointment were most bitter, when they compared the actual facts with the free farms and the comfort promised them by the emigration agent. Although glad to be freed from the pest-house of the ship, yet they were so overcome by their disappointment that many of them sat down and wept bitterly. The previous settlers could not promise food for one-third of those who had arrived on board the Hector, and what provisions were there soon became exhausted, and the season was too late to raise another crop. To make matters still worse, they were sent three miles into the forest, so that they could not even take advantage, with the same ease, of any fish that might be caught in the harbor. These men were unskilled, and the work of cutting down the gigantic trees, and clearing up the land appeared to them to be a hopeless task. They were naturally afraid of the Indians and the wild beasts; and without roads or paths through the forest, they were frightened to move, doubtful about being lost in the wilderness.

Under circumstances, such as above narrated, it is not surprising that the people refused to settle on the company's land. In consequence of this, when the supplies did arrive, the agents refused to give them any. To add still further to the difficulties, there arose a jealously between them and the older settlers; Ross quarrelled with the company, and ultimately he left the newcomers to their fate. The few who had a little money with them bought food of the agents, while others, less fortunate, exchanged clothing for provisions; but the majority had absolutely nothing to buy with; and what little the others could purchase was soon devoured. Driven to extremity they insisted on having the supplies that had been sent to them. They were positively refused, and now determined on force in order to save the colony from starvation. Donald McDonald and Colin Douglass went to the store seized the agents, tied them, took their guns from them, which they hid at a distance. Then they carefully measured the articles, took account of what each man received, that the same might be paid for, in case they should ever become able. They then left, leaving behind them Roderick McKay, a man of great energy and determination, a leader among them, who was to liberate the agentsâ€”Robert Patterson and Dr. Harrisâ€”as soon as the others could get to a safe distance, when he released them and informed them where their guns might be found, and then got out of the way himself.

Intelligence was at once dispatched to Halifax that the Highlanders were in rebellion, from whence orders were sent to Captain Thomas Archibald of Truro, to march his company of militia to Pictou to suppress and pacify the rebels; but to his honor, be it said, he pointedly refused, and made reply, "I will do no such thing; I know the Highlanders, and if they are fairly treated there will be no trouble with them." Correct representations of the case were sent to Halifax, and as lord William Campbell, whose term as governor had just expired, was still there, and interesting himself on behalf of the colony as his countrymen, he secured orders for the provisions. Robert Patterson, in after years, admitted that the Highlanders, who had arrived in poverty, paid him every farthing with which he had trusted them, notwithstanding the fact that they had been so badly treated.

Difficulties hemming them in on every hand, with rigorous winter approaching, the majority removed to Truro, and places adjacent, to obtain by their labor food for their families. A few settled at Londonderry, some went to Halifax, and still others to Windsor and Cornwallis. In, these settlements, the fathers, mothers, and even the children were forced to bind themselves, virtually as slaves, that they might have subsistence. Those who remained,â€”seventy in numberâ€”lived in small huts, covered over only with the bark and branches of trees to shelter them from the bitter cold of winter, enduring incredible hardships. To procure food for their families, they must trudge eighty miles to Truro, through cold and snow and a trackless forest, and there obtaining a bushel or two of potatoes, and a little flour, in exchange for their labor, they had to return, carrying the supply either on their backs, or else dragging it behind them on handsleds. The way was beset with dangers such as the climbing of steep hills, the descending of high banks, crossing of brooks on the trunk of a single tree, the sinking in wet or boggy ground, and the camping out at night without shelter. Even the potatoes with which they were supplied were of an inferior grade, being soft, and such as is usually fed to cattle. Sometimes the cold was so piercing that the potatoes froze to their backs.

Many instances have been related of the privations of this period, some of which are here subjoined. Hugh Fraser, after having exhausted every means of procuring food for his family, resorted to the expedient of cutting down a birch tree and boiling the buds, which he gave them to eat. He then went to a heap, where one of the first settlers had buried some potatoes, and took out some, intending to inform the owner. Before he did so, some of the neighbors maliciously reported him, but the proprietor simply remarked that he thanked God he had them there for the poor old man's family. On another occasion when the father and eldest son had gone to Truro for provisions, everything in the shape of food being exhausted, except an old hen, which the mother finally killed, for the younger children. She boiled it in salt water for the benefit of the salt, with a quantity of herbs, the nature of which she was totally ignorant. A few days later the hen's nest was found with ten eggs in it. Two young men set off for Halifax, so weak from want of food, that they could scarcely travel, and when they reached Gay's River, were nearly ready to give up. However they saw there a fine lot of trout, hanging by a rod, on a bush. They hesitated to take them, thinking they might belong to the Indians who would overtake and kill them. They therefore left them, but returned, when the pains of hunger prevailed. Afterwards they discovered that they had been caught by two sportsmen, neither of whom would carry them. Alexander Fraser, then only sixteen, carried his sister on his back to Truro, while the only food he had for the whole journey was the tale of an eel. On another occasion the supply of potatoes, which had been brought a long distance for seed and planted, were dug up by the family and some of the splits eaten. The remembrance of these days sank deep into the minds of that generation, and long after, the narration of the scenes and cruel hardships through which they had to pass, beguiled the winter's night as they sat by their comfortable firesides.

During the first winter, the first death among the emigrants was a child of Donald McDonald, and the first birth was a son of Alexander Fraser, named David, afterwards Captain Fraser. When the following spring opened they set to work to improve their condition. They sought out suitable spots on which to settle, judging the land by the kind and variety of trees produced. They explored the different rivers, and finding the soil near their banks to be the most fertile, and capable of being more easily improved than the higher lands, they settled upon it. Difficulties were thrown in the way of getting their grant. The first grant obtained was to Donald Cameron, who had been a soldier in the Fraser Highlanders at the taking of Quebec. His lot was situated at the Albion Mines. This grant is dated February 8, 1775, and besides the condition of the king's quit rent, contains the following:

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