Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Seaforth News, 1938-05-26, Page 7THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1938 THE SEAFORTH NEWS u Inommeo- 0 1 Duplicate Monthly Statements We can »save you money on Bill and. sizes Farms, standard st es to fit ledgers, white or colors. It win pay you to see our samples, Also best quality 3,ietal Hinged Sea- tional Post Binders and I'ndex. The Seaforth News Phone 84 1 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 n.00Mn nm.mmen,..."...en. mmeSo*n nmommwu®ruane.--sere--mrq HALIFAX On May 9,'th, 417119, jiust 'one hundred and eighty-nine years ago, 'Colonel the Hon. Edward Cornwallis was .ga- zetted Governor of Nova Scotia. On the ilidfh, he embarked from !England in the Sphinx, a sloop of war, and was soon followed by thirteen transports, carrying two thousand 'five hundred and thirty-two settlers. Before going to lChebucto, now 'Halifax, he visited the present Luttenburg, where there was a: small French settlement, and he 'fiatally arrived at his destination on the 'twenty-first of Fune. This date is. celebrated as !Natal Day in Nova Scotia. The patriotic Howe wrote a 'Centenary song for •tihe hundredth an- niversary .0164i9), which was sung Iby a choir of Hcllfax school children at the 'Cornwallis unveiling. It runs: - "All 'hail to the day when the Britons came over And planted their standard, with sea - foam still wet, Around and above us their ;spirits will hover, Rejoicing to mark how we ''honor it yet. Beneath it the :emblems they cherish- ed are waving, The rose of old 'England the roadside perfumes; The Shamrock and Thistle the north winds are !braving, Securely the 'M•aylflower 'blus'hes and blooms. "Then hail to the •days 'tis with me- mories 'crowded; Delightful to trace 'midst themists of the past, Like the features of Beauty, 'bewitch- ingly sh'rou'ded, They •shi,'te through the shadows Time o'er them has cast. As travellers track to its source in the mountains, The ,stream, •which far swelling ex- pands o'er 'the ,plain's, Our hearts on this day, fondly turn to the fountains Whence flow the 'warm ,currents that bound in our veins." • By the 'terms of the Treaty of Aix- la-Chapelle, in 1048, Lotfisbourg 'had been restored to 'Fran'ce. I1 was im- perative that the British should have a place of strength 'in the vicinity, and: the outcome was the establishing of Halifax. When Cornwallis :sailed into the splendid .harbor where a 'who'le fleet •might anchor in safety he wrote: "'We .,caught 'fish every day since we came within 'forty leagues 'cif the coast. The harbor 'itself is full of fish. of all ,kinds, All :the 'officers agree the 'harbor is the finest they have ever seen. The 'country is one ,continued wood.:NIo clear .spot is to be seen or heard of. The underwood is only you:ug trees so that 'with' 'difficulty one might walk through any of them. D'Anvidle's !fleet have only out wood for present use, • but cleared n.o ,ground. They encamped their men upon the !beach. I have seen but few brooks, nor 'have as yet 'found the navigable river that, !has 'been talked of. There :are a few French families on ,each 'side of the !bay •about three leagues off. Some !have been on 'board. We came to anchor in Ivlerligtuishe Bay (Lunen'bung) where I was told there was a 'French 'settlement. I went ashore to see' the houses and manner of living of the inhabitants. There ,are but a few families with tol- eralble wooded houses, covered with bark—a good many 'cattle, and 'clear ground :more than ,serves 'themselves, They seem to be very peaceable; say they •always looked upon 'themselves as English sulb,ieots; 'have 'their grants from 'Colonel Mascerene, the govern- or of !Annapolis, and showed an un- feigned joy to 'hear •of the new settle- ment, They assure us the Indians are quite peaceable, and not :to be feared. There are none hereabouts." In the 'begi'nning of July many of the settlers were :landed, and they :be- gan to clear the 'wood at 'Point Pleas- ant. Cornwallis, however, found that bhis was not the best site for 'the town,] and fixed on the location on the west side of the haaibor on the slope of •a hill. To the top of the hill was about 'half a mile, and the ascent was gradual .and the soil good. The ground was oovered with wood down to the water's edge. By the twentyathird of fatly twelve acres .had .been cleared. Tradition 'says that Cornwallis' house stood on ,the site of 'the present IPeovin'ce'building, and that it .was defended by cannon mounted on 'casks or hogsheads 'filled with gravel, One wharf waS ,finished suited for ships of two hundred 'tons, and the 'governor .wrote that he eon stan!tly employed all the carpenters he 'could get from Annapolis or from the sh'ips.to !build 'tog !!rouses and stores. The Governor was sworn in before Colonel Mascerene on the thirteenth of July, and on the .fourteenth he ap- pointed his 'councillors, who took the What could be more complete than a combina- tion offer that gives you a choice of your favourite magazines—Sends you your local newspaper— and gives yourself and family enjoyment and entertainment throughout the whole year — Why not take advantage of this remarkable offer that means a real saving in money to. you? This Offer Fully Guaranteed- All Renewals Will Be Extended MAIL THIS COUPON TODAY Please clip list of Magazines after checking Publications desired. Fill out coupon carefully. Gentlemen: I enclose $ Please send me the three magazines checked with, a year's subscription to your newspaper. NAME STREET OR RR TOWN AND PROVINCE TO T R W/T THIS NEWSPAPER ALL FOR THIS LOW., NR/C' SEAFORTH NEWS Sb:.Ab'ORT1i, O1'I1'Hied°. 1 HE PAGE SEVEN oaths on ,board the transport :Beaufort in the •harbor. Their ,names were; !Paul 'Mascerene, John 'Gorham, Ben- jaanin Green, John Salisbury, and Hugh Davidson, Cornwallis' first •despatches were dated Chetbv,cto, but on ;the 117th of October, he 'began to use the terra 'Halifax, The town was moaned in honor of George Duk Montague, 'Earl 'of Halifax, who in 11784, had ;:been appointed first Lord of Trade ,in Eisglaird. The .first houses in Halifax were built of wood, some srnal 1 frame 'buildings of planks and :shingles lin-, ported from Massachusetts, and'oth- ers of pickets anade from .brees strip- ped of the bark, and then set in rows, to 'which boards were nailed, The 'settlors, were given lands free from any taxes for the !first ten ,years. The original grantees were 'puincinaily soldiers who had been lately dismiss- ed from the army, and the distribution was in the following manner: Fifty lacres to every private soldier or seaman, and ten :acres over and above to every person '(including ,wo- man and children) ,of which his fanvil y shall consist, and further grants to -I be Made 'to them as their families Shall increase. Eighty acres to every officer under the rank of Ensign in the land service, and 'that of Lieuteant in the sea ser- vice; and :fifteen !acres to every per- sott !belonging to the .family. Two !hundred acres to every 'En- sign; three ,hundred to a 'Lieutenant; four hlmdred to a Captain; six hun- dred to every officer above the rank of a 'Captain in the laud service. In the sea service four hundred acres ,bo a Lieutenant; ^six hundred acres to a Captain; thirty acres to every person belonging to svdh'families. The people were given free passage front 'Eu:gland, with provisions for the voyage as well as for their 'first year in the new 'country. Arms and am- munition were provided for their de- fence, and implements for husbandry, fishing, 'building, and other •purposef. A' civil'government, such as other British colonies' enjoyed, was prom- ised. and ,protection of person and property. Among those of the ,better class to take advantage of the offer were two Majors in the army -Ezekiel .Gilman and ILeoaard ,Lockman; one Fort Major, 'John Lemon; six Captains, Otis Little; Edward Amhurst, Thom- as Lewis, Benjamin Ives, Frederick Albert Strasiburger, 'Francis 'Bartelo. There were •ninebeen Lieutenants. Da - alt Lewis, !George •Berners, George Colly; Richard Partridge, Thomas Newton, John Collier, Robert Ewer, John Creighton, Thomas ''Vaughan, John Galland, Richard 'Reyes, Wil- Itam joice, Joseph Wakefield, Augus- tus Graham, Alexander Callender, D'av'id Haldane, Robert Campbell, William Bryan, T. Vaughan. Among others of importance in the new ,settlement were, Mr. Anwell, clergyman; Jean Baptiste Moreau, gentleman and schoolmaster; William Jeffrey, commissary; William Steele, Brewer and merchant: Daniel Wood, attorney; Thomas Cannon, esquire; John Duport and Lewis Piers. gentle- men; and Archibald Hinshelwood, John herr, ! idlia.m Nisbett, Thomas Gray, Governors clerks; and David Floyd, clerk of the Stores. During the summer Cornwallis was informed that the Indians were plan- ning to molest the settlement, so he let the troops to work •building a fort on the hill, and erecting a 'barricade of logs and!brush all around rhe' town. When the first streets were laid out, the (Governor sent an order ,to Bos- ton for lamps to be in readiness for lighting them on the 'approach 'of winter. On the thirieth of September a new sawmill, near Dartmouth ,Cove, was attacked 'by some Indians. Four men were 'killed, one taken prisoner, and one escaped to carry ,the terrible news to the town. On Sunday, the first of October 'Cornwallis called his Council to a .meeting on board the Beaufort to decide what action should be taken. The Councillors were Messrs. Horseman, Lawrence, How, Gorham, Green and Salusibury. Dras- tic measures were taken to safeguard the settlers, and though it Was resolv- ed that war should not be declared against 'rhe natives, as that •would be a sortrof acknowledgement that they were a free people, ten guineas were offered for an Indian dead or alive, or for art Indian scalp. right through .till spring. The Govern- or wrote to the Lords of Trade in April telling them that lots were sell- ing for fifty iguineas, and that the pulb':lir, money which had cleared the ground, built the :town, and fortified it, was well sp'est, for it had brought down about a thousand settlers from the other British colonies, I'f no mon- ey had ,been in circulation lots would, have been selling +for a gallon of rum, A tetter .from a subtler, published in the London 'Magazine in 41750, gives a'vivid picture of the birth of Halifax. It reads: "We are all' happily 'arrived in this country, after a voyage of two'months and three days. At our :first 'landing we were ,obliged to live in .tents, like soldiers in the field, having no• other ha'bitation's; but, were soon after or- dered by our 'Governor .to cut down a great number of trees .(all the country being wood, quite wild and o,ver- grown)' to clear a large piece of .ground, whsoh we actually did and finished this work as we were order- ed, in the space of six 'weeks, after which the country •was divided among the new inhabitants by 'lots, sixty feet in le$gth and forty in 'breadth, 'being given :to each settler to :build their houses, There was no such thing as :a carpenter or +bricklayer, everyone being 'obliged to be his own architect, and perforin the wank with his own hands -not so much as . a workman was to be had, all having enough to do for themselves, The Government assisted us with 'boards and nails, which. were !brought 'from Boston, in New England, and every day we see some sloops arrive ,from thence with boards and shingles. "Everything necessary, as victuals and clothing is to' be had Isere; for ships are daily arriving. When we first came, the Indians, in a friendly manner, brought tis lobsters and oth- er ,fish in plenty, being satisfied for then by a bit of 'bread or some meat; but now they conte no more, but are turned our adversaries;; and when they get one of our people in their power they will carry stint along with therm, and put him to death in a 'bar- barous manner. Our soldiers take great pains to drive them away, and clear the country of them. We have also some strong farts built for the security of the town. And now there are twice as many new inhabitants as arrived at first from England, a great many from Cape Breton and New England 'having settled here likewise; and we are assured that above two tbotsand, more will arrive this euannter from England." The Lords of Trade did not alto- gether approve, of the Governors at- titude towards the natives, and 'wrote: "As to your opinion of never hereaf- ter making peace with them and of totally ecttrpating then, we cannot but 'think that; as the - prosecution of such design must be attended with acts of great severity, it may peeve of dangerous consequences to the safety of His Ivlajestys other colonies upon the' continent; by Ifillirug the .surds of the 'bor Bring Lndians with ideas of cruelty, •ansa instigating them to a dan; erous spirit of resentment." The ,fest winter its !Halifax was not severe, and navigation wasopen ALONG THE RIO 'GRANDE Tom Choctaw had just returned from an exploring trip in the 'wild mesquite and chaparral country that lay thirty miles to the south 'between the "Nueces (River and the Rio Grande. There he 'bad formed a part- nership with a 'Mexican trapper, had blazed out his trapitlnr routes and then had returned t? his cabin on the St. ;Cohn plantati.?n r+ acv:ait the trap- ping, season, His friend 'Cdr. St, John had ntet hits with a .tory o1 what had occurred during his ,absence. "Tom, said the planter,' "they know that you are the hest trapper in the country, and they think that you ought to he abie to catch the critter." "Si, John. tste'hbe ; i. Fur tea goad now 'tall." "True; furs ora rot yet prince. Birt the heart is doing mischief. If if- proves tproves to he a liar, the state wilt pay you ten dollars bounty. ,and f wilt add fifteen.' 'i, h, huh. Good! Ketch urn hintehv. !!ebbe so bear, ntebbe so wolf, meb- be so lion, huh? No see um, sau't set trap 'tall.' "But Pete ,Hornstra says it is a lion, for he saw it sitting on the rocks near the iNueces 'Gave acro s the river. He was within seventy yards of it; and it sat up and locked at ]tint like a 'big dog." ',Pete all tate lie plenty. Leetle clank, I spect so, ya-as. See rock sit up, •heap skeerl Nowall 'tam talk some more, skeer hisaelf. Come dark, see lion shore!" "It must be something, though. Pete has dost four shotes; McMhirray two, Jan 'Jansen a hog, and the Cross S some calves." "Where he go? Where he stay? Me go over look unt INeeces Cave—noth- ing doin' ''tall. Can't smell rabbit, Guess so (bear, eh? ,Swim river with shote, ,est?" "They do say that it drags the pigs down to the river and swims over with them, but I never knew a lion to do anything of the kind, and I, doubt if a bear would." "Si, Senor 'John; Jess so! Bimeby. putty soon see um track, meb'be so; ketch wan !heap q,uick." That was .all that satisfaction that Mr, St. John could getfrom Tont Choctaw.'The .Indian would take his time and do ,things in his own way, and that wars all there was to it: Though you might have found many Lndians like Tons among hie own tribe in O:klahoma,he seemed to be an odd character to be living in south Texas. .lir. St. ;John had known him in Mexi- co; and when Tom, 'after living sever - D. Ho MClnnes lairopractor OBfice — Commercial Hotel Hours—Mon. and Thurs.. after Electro Therapist — Massage nouns and by appointment FOOT CORRECTION by manipulation -Sun -ray treat- ment Phone B21F. al years among the 'Mexicans, 'came riding through Texas on his 'way hone he was overjoyed to see his sold iriend "John." He showed no inclina- tion to 'continue his ijoutney, but !built a little cabin of his own on the planta- tion hisinto the pas- ture.and 'turned pony 1 t p ture. After that he •was 'a fixture on 'the ranch. Tom spoke Spanish, but little Eng- lish; and he did not make friends read- ily. He 'became intimate with no one except another old 'bachelor, !Pete Hornstra, who lived a short distance away. Pete and Tont .played ,cards in one' cabin or the other during the win, - ter evenings and ate in the oabin that happened to contain the ,more food. Tom was an expert 'hunter •and a skill- ed trapper, with an :uncanny ,ability •to . imitate the cries of 'wild animal's. Ile could call deer, turkeys, wolves, wild- cats and .:boxes well within range of his gun. Withmoreor less success he tried.' to impart some sof his knowledge to Pete. Though Tom and !Pete 'found each other companionable and were often companions, the Indian seemed to think that he owed no real allegiance to anyone except his 'friend and pro- tector, St. John, whom in his aborigi- • nal way he had undoubtedly eleoted as his 'c'hief whenever he needed them. When Tom came !back the neigh- boring planters were 'confident that their troubles would soon cease. Bear, panther, or whatever it wa`s, Tom wowed have it .in his trap in short order, for no animal 'could escape the Indian once he set out ,to trap it. However, Tom had been at home a week, and, though he had searched closely on' both sides of the river and far out into the mesquite, ,not a sign had he 'found 'that any "varmint" larger than a coyote had made, Oddly enough, the depredations ceased when Tom got home; so he could not learnenough about., the ma-. rainier to tell what kind of animal it was. "Old-timers" shook their heads at the idea of a ,mountain lion's swim- ming the river with its prey; they had not seen bears for years; and wolves would have left more sign. !Pete •Harnstra nettled the question by showing the tracks 'af the 'beast. He had heard a commotion in his pigpen ora dark night and had sitout- ed and run out. "I yist hear a 'leetle squeak." said Pete when he 'haat .ga- thered thr •neighbors. 'and :ponty gvick—hwh-1p.plo'p'1—he go aver der fent,! 1 ,valla, 'Hellal Sick heem! Git cult!' But h, yist keep right on to der ri:er, an kerplunk1 D'ot's alit" In confirtratiou ,of his statement there were the. tracks ---lion tracks, For the pads were round, and the claws, were far too short to be .those of 1 hear. it -i +" di:sent rir:-ndanters pro- nouncei trail aa he that of a liar. They .,,aa no algal of the lions Navin: dragged off a pig, hat Pete declared that one nae gone. Procuring boats, the party crossed the river and search- ed the thickets, the rocks and the caves, 'hut hound no 'further trace of the' beast. Tout 'Choctaw' had refrained From'crosaing ttie river. and Mr. St. John and Pete had stayed with him. After what appeared to be a rather casual inspection of the 'tracks the In- dian had seemed to be satisfied. Mr. St. John had been watdhing him. "Mountain lion, is it, Tont?" he asked. "I spect." "Can you catch him?" 'SiJh-huh. L s''pose. Mssbtbe so.' 'Get •busy, Tom, will you? 'Phew 6, ,gore that two hundred dollars' worth of stock has been destroyed already. The neighbors have agreed 'to offer a reward of twenty-five dollars for the beast, and that with my fifteen dollars and the state !bounty will stake fifty dollars -'It would pay you, eh, Tom?" "Si. Retch ung tion, then ;buy new gaup, Whey?" .g "What if I get heem?" 'queried Pete. ''Pay me the same as Tont?" Toru gave his would-be trapping ri- val a sudden stare of astonishment, hollowed by a look ,of 'supreme con- tempt; then the In'dian's i1st'e settled into its it paz's14tty. St. (John noticed Tom's expression; it occurred to him that little Hollander fright well act as a 'spur on 'the Indian. +(To be cootluued) He—Homey, would you love me just es much if L toldyou' I was broke? .She—You aren't, are you? He--lNo. Site—Of course I would d •1i