The French made Beausejour
a solid fort, for it still stands, little altered, though it has
been abandoned for a century and a half. It was chiefly the
Acadians, nominal British subjects, who built these thick walls.
The arrogant Micmacs demanded that the British should hand over
to them the best half of Nova Scotia, and they emphasized their
demand by treachery and massacre. One day a man, in the uniform
of a French officer, followed by a small party, approached Fort
Lawrence, waving a white flag. Captain Howe with a small force
went out to meet him. As this party advanced, Indians concealed
behind a dike fired and killed Howe and eight or ten others. Such
ruses were well fitted to cause among the English a resolve to
enforce severe measures. The fire burned slowly but in the end it
flamed up in a cruel and relentless temper. French policy, too,
showed no pity. The Governor of Canada and the colonial minister
in France were alike insistent that the English should be given
no peace and cared nothing for the sufferings of the unhappy
Acadians between the upper and the nether millstone.
Pages:
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199