On the first settlement of the country, the Indians naturally viewed the intruders with a jealous eye, and some of the settlers having repeatedly robbed their nets, &c., they retaliated and stole several boats’ sails, implements of iron, &c.  The settlers, in return, mercilessly shot all the Indians they could meet with:—­in fact so fearful were the latter of fire-arms, that, in an open space, one person with a gun would frighten a hundred; when concealed among the bushes, however, they often made a most desperate resistance.  I have heard an old man, named Rogers, living on Twillingate Great Island, boast that he had shot, at different periods, above sixty of them.  So late as 1817, this wretch, accompanied by three others, one day discovered nine unfortunate Indians lying asleep on a small island far up the bay.  Loading the large guns[A] very heavily, they rowed up to them, and each taking aim, fired.  One only rose, and rushing into the water, endeavoured to swim to another island, close by, covered with wood; but the merciless wretch followed in the boat, and butchered the poor creature in the water with an axe, then took the body to the shore and piled it on those of the other eight, whom his companions had in the meantime put out of their misery.  He minutely described, to me the spot, and I afterwards visited the place, and found their bones in a heap, bleached and whitened with the winter’s blast.

I have now, I think, said enough to account for the shyness of the Indians towards the settlers, but could relate many other equally revolting scenes, some of which I shall hereafter touch upon.  In 1815 or 1816, Lieutenant, now Captain Buchan, set out on an expedition to endeavour to meet with the Indians, for the purpose of opening a friendly communication with them.  He succeeded in meeting with them, and the intercourse seemed firmly established, so much so, that two of them consented to go and pass the night with Captain Buchan’s party, he leaving two of his men who volunteered to stop.  On returning to the Indians’ encampment in the morning, accompanied by the two who had remained all night, on approaching the spot, the two Indians manifested considerable disquietude, and after exchanging a few glances with each other, broke from their conductors and rushed into the woods.  On arriving at the encampment.  Captain Buchan’s poor fellows lay on the ground a frightful spectacle, their heads being severed from their bodies, and almost cut to pieces.

In the summer of 1818, a person who had established a salmon fishery at the mouth of Exploits River, had a number of articles stolen by the Indians; they consisted of a gold watch, left accidentally in the boat, the boat’s sails, some hatchets, cordage, and iron implements.  He therefore resolved on sending an expedition