Those who did not appear were to forfeit their
goods. No doubt many Acadians did not understand the summons. Few
of them could read and it hardly mattered to them that on one
occasion a notice on the church door was posted upside down. Some
four hundred anxious peasants appeared. Winslow read to them a
proclamation to the effect that their houses and lands were
forfeited and that they themselves and their families were to be
deported. Five vessels from Boston lay at Grand Pre. In time more
ships arrived, but chill October had come before Winslow was
finally ready.
By this time the Acadians realized what was to happen. The men
were joined by their families. As far as possible the people of
the same village were kept together. They were forced to march to
the transports, a sorrow-laden company, women carrying babes in
their arms, old and decrepit people borne in carts, young and
strong men dragging what belongings they could gather. Winslow's
task, as he says, lay heavy on his heart and hands: "It hurts me
to hear their weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth.
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