settlements and through the winter of 1703-4 | father's care, and was immediately killed by a vigilant watch was kept by night and day. The winter was very severe; the snow lay four feet deep, and the clear, cold atmosphere made it almost as hard as ice. Profiting by this, a war party of about two hundred French and one hundred and forty-two Indians, under the command of Hertel de Rouville, set out from Canada, and by the aid of snow-shoes crossed the country on the snow and reached the vicinity of Deerfield on the last night of February, 1704. Towards daybreak on the first of March the sentinels, supposing that all was safe, left their posts at Deerfield, and the enemy at once silently mounted on the snow-drifts to the top of the palisades and entered the enclosure, which had an area of twenty acres. A general massacre followed. The town was destroyed, forty persons were killed, and one hundred and twelve were carried away into Canada. Fate of Eunice Williams. Among the captives were the minister Williams, his wife Eunice, and their five children. The sufferings of the prisoners on the march to Canada were fearful. Two men starved to death. The infant, whose cries disturbed the captors, was tossed out into the snow to die; and the mother who faltered from fatigue or anguish was despatched by a blow from the tomahawk. Eunice Williams had brought her Bible along with her, and in the brief intervals afforded by the halts of the savages for rest, drew from its sacred pages the consolations she so sorely needed. Her strength soon failed, as she had but recently I recovered from her confinement. Her husband sought to cheer her by pointing her to "the house not made with hands," and she assured him that she was satisfied to endure any suffering, counting it gain for Christ's sake. Perceiving that her end was near, she commended her children to God and to their the savages, as she could go no farther. The Williams family were taken to Canada, and a few years later were ransomed, with the exception of the youngest daughter, with whom the savages refused to part. She was adopted into a village of Christian Indians near Montreal, and became a convert to the Roman Catholic faith, and subsequently married a Mohawk chief. Years afterwards she appeared at Deerfield clad in the dress of her tribe. She had come to visit her relatives; but no entreaties could induce her to remain with them, and she went back to her adopted people and to her children. Slaughter of the Helpless. The war was conducted with brutal ferocity by the French. Hertel de Rouville gained eternal infamy by his butcheries of helpless women and children. Vaudreuil, the governor of Canada, urged on his forces to deeds of fresh atrocity, but at length the savages became disgusted with their bloody work. and refused to murder any more English. The French succeeded, however, in inducing some of them to continue their assistance, and in 1708 Haverhill was surprised by the French and Indians under Rouville, and its inhabitants massacred with the most fiendish cruelty. None of them escaped death or captivity. Filled with horror and indignation, Colonel Peter Schuyler, of New York, wrote to the Marquis de Vaudreuil: “I hold it my duty "I towards God and my neighbor, to prevent, if possible, these barbarous and heathen cruelties. My heart swells with indignation when I think that a war between Christian princes, bound to the exactest laws of honor and generosity, which their noble ancestors have illustrated by brilliant examples, is degenerating into a savage and boundless butchery. These are not the methods for terminating the promised encourgement of fifty pounds. the war." "Such fruitless cruelties," says Bancroft, "inspired our fathers with a deep hatred of the French missionaries; they compelled the employment of a large part of the inhabitants as soldiers, so that there was one year during this war when even a fifth part of all who were capable of bearing arms were in active service. They gave birth also to a willingness to exterminate the natives. The Indians per scalp."" In 1707 Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island made a combined attempt to conquer Acadia. A fleet was despatched against Port Royal, but without success. In 1710 a second expedition was sent from Boston against Port Royal, aided this time by an English fleet. Port Royal was taken, the French were driven out of the greater part of Acadia, and that province was an nexed to the English dominions and called Nova Scotia. The name of Port Royal was changed to Annapolis, in honor of the Queen of England. Encouraged by this success, the English Government the next year attempted the conquest of Canada by two expeditions, one by land and the other by sea. A powerful fleet and a strong army was despatched from England to co-operate with the colonists. The effort was unsuccessful. The fleet, which was badly handled by the admiral in attempting to ascend the St. Lawrence, was wrecked with the loss of eight vessels and eight hundred and eighty-four men, and was obliged to return to Boston. The failure of the fleet to accomplish anything compelled the abandonment of the land expedition against Montreal. In 1713 the war was brought to an end by the treaty of Utrecht, by which Acadia was ceded permanently to Great Britain and became a province of the English crown. RETURN OF THE DAUGHTER OF EUNICE WILLIAMS. vanished when their homes were invaded; they could not be reduced by usual methods of warfare; hence a bounty was offered for every Indian scalp; to regular forces under pay the grant was ten pounds-to volunteers in actual service, twice that sum; but if men would, of themselves, without pay, make up parties and patrol the forests in search of Indians, as of old the woods were scoured for wild beasts, the chase was invigorated by The third Indian war broke out in 1722 shortly after that preparations were on foot to press them more than ever, and they consented to make peace, which, with now and then a slight interruption, continued down to the French and Indian war. in the northern colonies, and spread from | stop hostilities. The eastern tribe learned the disputed border on the east to Maine and New Hampshire, where the scenes which we have so often described were enacted over again. The crack of the rifle, the war-whoop of the Indian, the crash of the tomahawk, and the smoke of the cabin played their dreadful part, as they had done so many times before, and have done so often since. Father Sebastien Rasle had dwelt among Indians for nearly forty years, living so thoroughly their life, while he preached and ministered to them, that his influence was unbounded. He possessed great learning, and, being a French Jesuit, sympathized so strongly with the views of the governor of Canada that he was worth a whole regiment of troops. The Indian settlement at Norridgewock, where it may be said this French chief was sole ruler, was highly prosperous. Two attempts were made to break it by capturing Rasle, but he escaped each time. Peace at Last. In August, 1724, however, it was attacked by a force of two hundred men, when most of the warriors were gone from home. Those who escaped fled to the woods, and Father Rasle was killed while trying to divert attention from the flying fugitives. When the assailants departed and the Indians returned, they found the dead body of Rasle, scalped, hacked and mutilated. They gave it tender burial under the altar of the pillaged chapel, and uttered many a wild vow of vengeance on those who had robbed them of their beloved leader. In the hope of checking the shocking brutalities, the provinces sent representatives to Governor Vaudreuil at Montreal. He 'treated them with much courtesy, but it took a long time to bring him to terms. He finally promised to advise the Indians to In 1744 the disputes in Europe concerning the succession of the Austrian throne culminated in a war, which is known in European history as the War of the Austrian Succession, and in America as King George's war. As usual, England and France were arrayed on opposite sides, and their colonies in America soon became involved in hostilities. The French were the first to receive information from Europe of the existence of war, and began the struggle by attacking and capturing the English fort at Canso and carrying the garrison prisoners to Louisburg. Louisburg, the principal port of the island of Cape Breton, was at this time the strongest fortress in America, and from its secure harbor the French were constantly despatching privateers against the merchant vessels and fishermen of New England. These depredations caused such serious loss to the eastern colonies that at length Governor Shirley proposed to the general court of Massachusetts to undertake the capture of Louisburg as the only means of putting a stop to them, and this measure was laid by the general court before the other colonies. Another Appeal to Arms. It was understood that no aid was to be expected from the mother country, which was too busily engaged in conducting the war in Europe, and that the colonies would be obliged to depend entirely upon their own resources for their success. Nevertheless, the measure was popular, and the enthusiasm of the colonists was aroused to the highest point. Nearly all the northern colonies had suffered severely at the hands of Al the French and Indians, and in every ship- | from England had declined to do so. most immediately afterwards he received Moving Against the Enemy. Massachusetts, being the most interested in the success of the expedition by reason of being the largest owner of shipping, undertook the principal part of the expense and agreed to furnish a majority of the troops and the vessels. There was no difficulty in procuring volunteers, but those who offered themselves were civilians, ignorant of military discipline, and utterly unprepared to attempt the reduction of such a fortress as that against which the expedition was directed. These disadvantages, however, were lost sight of in the enthusiasm aroused by the hope of destroying the ability of the French to prey upon the commerce of the colonies. Sir William Pepperell, a wealthy merchant of Maine, was elected commander of the expedition, which rendezvoused at Boston in the early spring of 1745. One hundred vessels and a force of over three thousand men were assembled, and about the first of April sailed for Canso, which was reached on the seventh. The ice was drifting in such quantities that the fleet could not enter the harbor of Louisburg, and was obliged to remain at Canso for more than two weeks. Admiral Warren, commanding the West India squadron, had been invited to join the expedition, but in the absence of instructions At length, the ice having moved southward, the New England fleet entered the harbor of Louisburg on the thirtieth of April. The fortress was built on a neck of land on the south side of the harbor, and its walls were from twenty to thirty feet high and forty feet thick at the base, and were surrounded with a ditch eighty feet in width. Outlying forts protected the main work, and there was not a foot of the walls that was not swept by the fire of the artillery. Nearly two hundred and fifty cannon of all sizes constituted the armament of the fortress, and the principal outwork, the "royal battery," was deemed capable of withstanding an attack of five thousand men. The garrison numbered sixteen hundred men. To attack this fortress the New England troops brought with them eighteen cannon and three mortars. The French Driven to the Woods. As the fleet drew near the town the French marched down to the beach to oppose the landing of the troops. Immediately the whale-boats of the ships were lowered and manned, and at a signal from the flagship darted for the shore with a speed which astonished and struck terror to the French, who were quickly driven to the woods. The landing was secured, and the next day a detachment of four hundred men marched by the town, giving it three cheers as they passed, and took position near the northeast harbor, completely cutting off the fortress from communication with the country in its rear. This completed the investment, as the fleet closed the harbor, and prevented the approach of relief by sea. |