An Account of the Customs and Manners of the Micmakis and Maricheets Savage Nations, Now Dependent on the Government of Cape-Breton eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 85 pages of information about An Account of the Customs and Manners of the Micmakis and Maricheets Savage Nations, Now Dependent on the Government of Cape-Breton.

An Account of the Customs and Manners of the Micmakis and Maricheets Savage Nations, Now Dependent on the Government of Cape-Breton eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 85 pages of information about An Account of the Customs and Manners of the Micmakis and Maricheets Savage Nations, Now Dependent on the Government of Cape-Breton.

The same year, 1745, several bodies of the savages, deceased, and buried at Port Tholouze, were dug up again by the Bostoners, and thrown into the fire.  The burying-place of the savages was demolished, and all the crosses, planted on the graves, broke into a thousand pieces.

In 1746, some stuffs that the savages had bought of the English, who then traded in the bay of Megagouetch at Beau-bassin, there being at that time a great scarcity of goods over all the country, were found to be poisoned, [Is it possible a missionary of the truths of the Gospel could gravely commit to paper such an infernal lie?  If even the savages had been stupid enough of themselves to imbibe such a notion, was it not the duty of a Christian to have shewn them the folly of it, or even but in justice to the Europeans?  But what must be their guilt, if they suggested it?  Surely, scarce less than that of the action itself.] so that more than two hundred savages of both sexes perished thereby.

In 1749, towards the end of the month of May, at a time that the suspension of arms between the two crowns was not yet known in New France, the savages, having made prisoners two Englishmen of Newfoundland, had from these same prisoners the first news of the cessation of hostilities.  They believed them on their bare words, expressed their satisfaction to them, treated them like brothers, unbound them, and carried them to their huts.  The said prisoners rose in the night, and massacred twenty-five of these savages, men, women, and children.  There were but two of the savages escaped this carnage, by being accidentally not present. [How improbable is the whole of this story?]

Towards the end of the same year, the English being come to Chibuckto, made the report be every where spread [The missionaries in those parts might indeed raise such reports; the which giving the savages an aversion to the English, forced them to take hostile measures against them in their own defence:  but who would suspect the English themselves of raising them, in direct opposition to their own interest?], that they were going to destroy all the savages.  They seemed to act in consequence thereto, since they sent detachments of their troops, on all sides, in pursuit of the savages.

These people were so alarmed with this procedure of the English, that from that time they determined, as weak as they were, to declare open war against them.  Knowing that France had concluded a peace with England, they nevertheless resolved not to cease from falling on the English, wherever they could find them; saying, they were indispensably obliged to it, since, against all justice, they wanted to expel them out of their country.  They then sent a declaration of war in form to the English, in the name of their nation, and of the savages in alliance with it.

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An Account of the Customs and Manners of the Micmakis and Maricheets Savage Nations, Now Dependent on the Government of Cape-Breton from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.