Nova Scotia Archives

Acadian Heartland

Records of the Deportation and Le Grand Dérangement, 1714-1768

ACADIAN FRENCH.

199

ments which are Cobequid, Rimchigue, Tatmagouche and Cape Sable containing among them all only 63 families with whom we have very little communication. As the almost continual war we have with the Indians, prevents our mixing any English Settlers with these Inbabitants or instituting any sort of civil Jurisdiction among them, they have been hitherto left open to the insinuations and evil practices of French Priests & other Emissaries that are sent amongst them from Canada and the French Fort at Beausejour, who have at all times been endeavouring to prejudice them against an English Government, and to persuade them that the Country they live in will very shortly fall into the hands of the French either by negotiations or by force of Arms. Tho' these doctrines would not fail of their desired effect with so ignorant and so bigotted a people, yet no event happening in all this time towards the accomplishment of their predictions, the Inhabitants began to suspect they were deceived, and even some few of those who had deserted their lands returned again into the province, and I have been privately informed the Inhabitants went so far as to hold consultations whether they should not throw themselves under the protection of the English Government and become subjects to all intents and purposes; but there arose a very considerable objection to their taking this step, which was that as they live on farms very remote from one another, and of course are not capable of resisting any kind of enemy, the French might send the Indians among them and distress them to such a degree that they would not be able to remain on their farms, which apprehension they were soon confirmed in by the arrival of the Abbe Le Loutre at Bay Verte, where he has just now assembled the Indians whose numbers I have omitted no pains to learn, but could never succeed in obtaining any certain account; it is generally estim'd there are about 300 families of the Mickmack's, but I could never yet find that any person who has been among them has ever seen two hundred men under arms together.

Your Ldships may perhaps be somewhat surprised that I should have anything to apprehend from so inconsiderable and contemptible a body when I have the command of so many troops; but exclusive of the difficulty that attends marching after Indians in a country like this, I assure your Ldships that the troops are so divided in keeping the different posts of Chignecto, Annapolis Royal, Mines, Pisiquid, Lunenburg, Dartmouth, George's Island, Fort Sackville and Halifax, that