Chapter VIII
A Question of Territory
"Never before has this fine country seen such troubles," said ColonelGeorge Washington, as he sat puffing at his pipe and looking acrossthe wooden flooring of his hut at Steve's long and active figure. "Youhave had fighting, you tell me. You will see more. We are only justentering upon the struggle. Tell me, Steve, what do you propose to do?"
That was a question which our hero found some difficulty in answering.But at length he rolled over on the form and sat up to look at hishost.
"What do you advise?" he asked. "I have a letter here which I wishto deliver at Charlestown, and I should like to find out what hashappened to my father. After that I shall join some band of scouts,and fight the French and their Indians. I suppose they mean to driveus all out of the country, and take it for themselves?"
There was an emphatic nod in answer to his question, and then for awhile the two sat staring at the fire, each busy with his thoughts.
For who could doubt that the total extermination of the Britishcolonists was intended? The French were rapidly pushing south andeast, and in front of them ran a swarm of their Indians, massacringand slaying, and steadily pushing back the British settlers. Tounderstand the position of affairs, and the facts which had led up tothe moment when Steve and his friends arrived at the camp where GeorgeWashington and his small army had settled themselves on the AlleghanyMountains, it would be well for the reader to study a map of NorthAmerica, and trace for himself the possessions held by the French andthe English. For it must be remembered that these two nations, eachjealous of the other, and often at war with each other, had sent theirsettlers and pioneers to this huge continent of North America. Todescribe how the first of those settlers landed, how they fought theirway from the coast and conquered the forests, would be to enter upon asubject which would need abundant space and more attention than can begiven here. But the history of those days is filled to repletion withtales of gallant deeds, of perseverance against great suffering anddifficulty, and of final and glorious success. It will be sufficientperhaps if we say, when dealing with the British colonies, thatQuakers and Puritans, together with others from England and Wales,also Scotchmen and Irishmen, found their way to the eastern shoresof North America, and having dealt with the Indians, finally foundedstates, thirteen in number, stretching from New England in the northto infant Georgia in the south.
Let the reader glance down the eastern coast of the map, and he willtrace these thirteen States without difficulty, and will notice that,while each has easy access to the sea, where the coast naturallylimits further extension in that direction, to the west there is ahuge sweep of country running right across to the Pacific coast, butbroken here and there by mountain and river and vast inland lakes.Then let him take those States in their order from the north, andascertain what reason there was why each one should not extend to thewest till her people flooded the whole continent.
It may be admitted at once that abundance of time was one of themain requirements for bringing about such a state of affairs, forcolonies do not grow in a day, and putting aside all natural barriers,and those erected by the hostility of the old inhabitants, whom thecolonists will in course of time drive from their own country, many,many years must pass before the tide of immigrants flows across theland. For those who come first naturally select suitable placesnearest the coast, while those who come later settle within reach oftheir friends, exchanging commodities with them. Later arrivals areforced farther and farther away, till in time the settlements arefound miles and miles from the coast. Look at North America to-day.She has added many states to those thirteen which existed in the dayswhen Steve sat in the log hut with George Washington. Her peoplehave overflowed the country, they have pushed the Red Indian backsteadily, and to-day they swarm in almost every part. The virginforest of that day, the haunt of the buffalo and the hunting groundsof the Indian, now resound to the clang of the hammer, to the crashof the train, and to the hum and roar of a thriving population.Thousands come to the land every year to swell the throng, and paucityof population is no longer a source of anxious thought for thegovernments of the various States.
But it was in the year 1756. All told, the colonists of those thirteenStates did not exceed a million and a half, while each one of theStates may be said to have been of the size of England. It will berealised at once that it was all that such a population could do tocolonise the neighbourhood of the coast, and that if the westernborder was to extend, thousands must come out to the country. As amatter of fact, however, few though the colonists were, their farmsextended a considerable distance from the coast, and save in thetowns, where they lived close together, the settlers were separatedby wide intervals. They placed their huts for the most part in thefertile valleys, clinging to the rivers, thus having at hand the meansof getting their corn and produce to the coast. And slowly, as theland was taken up, settlers took their farms farther and farther away,till some barrier arrested further progress. Such a barrier existed,and a glance at the map will show the position of the AlleghanyMountains, extending from Pennsylvania down to Georgia. It was not,of course, an obstacle which could not be surmounted, but it was forall that an obstacle which turned the would-be farmer back, for thesimple reason that, with such a range stretching between him and thecoast, there was no possibility of his getting his produce to market.Moreover, on the far side of that range Indians inhabited the forests,and they were an enemy to be reckoned with and feared.
CANADA and OUR AMERICAN COLONY in 1755.]
Thus it happened that from Pennsylvania south to Georgia there wasevery inducement to the young colonies to be satisfied with what landthey already possessed, while to the north, where the natural barrierof the Alleghany Mountains did not exist, there were other barriers,none the less formidable, which held the State of New York and thoseof New England in check. Stretching between them and the unknown westlay the country inhabited by the Iroquois, consisting of six nationsof Indians who had banded themselves together for purposes of offenceand defence, and who were friendly to our colonists. To think ofsnatching their hunting lands from them, was to think of a relentlessand fearful war, which might damage the prosperity of the colonies.Farther north there ran the huge river St. Lawrence, with the Frenchand their so-called Christian Indians for ever ready to sweep over thefrontier.
It will be realized then, that there was reason why the young Statesshould not extend, but in dealing with them, one must not forget thehost of trappers and hunters belonging to each State, who, like theIndians, steadily and surely pushed on away from the settlers. Forwhere there were villages there was little game, and it was uponthe latter that they depended for a livelihood. And so it happenedthat, while the colonies proper came to an end at the slopes of theAlleghany mountains, the trappers clambered over the range, anddescended into the country beyond. And in course of time, when theirnumbers had increased and they had driven the Indians back after manya battle, they too formed settlements, adventurous farmers joinedthem, cleared the forest, and lived the dual life of farmer andtrapper. Then the restless spirit of the hunters took them on again,till the forests west of the mountains harboured many and many agallant trapper, till their solitary log huts were seen in the valleyof the Ohio, on the banks of the Monongahela, the Alleghany, and theKenawha.
Those were the men who knew that Indians still existed, who huntedthe bison and the bear, and fought the bloodthirsty native of theforests in his own manner and with bitter determination. It wasthese hardy fellows, men of Tom Mainwaring's stamp, trappers suchas Jim and Mac and Pete, who carried old England's banner into newlands, and who were the very first to come in contact with the Frenchand their Indians. Their occupation of this valley of the Ohio wonclaims for England which France could not deny and which we could notrepudiate, and though up to this date the various States had for themost part stood aside, apathetically watching while these honest andbrave pioneers were driven back, their huts fired and their peoplemassacred, yet the time was
now come when they and the Government inEngland were to recall the fact that this valley of the Ohio was oursby right of conquest, that it had been won by the toil and blood ofthe trappers.
There remains but one other point to explain with regard to thecolonies. It may be asked why these million and a half souls lookedon so calmly while the unfortunate pioneers and trappers were huntedand massacred, why they sat at home while the Indians swarmed to thewestern slopes of the Alleghanies and over the crest, slaughtering anddestroying the settlements? It must be a matter for marvel that theyremained for the most part inert and unshaken, even while the thirdline of defences was ravaged, and the bloody war brought to their veryfarms and mansions.
There were many reasons for this state of affairs, and it may be saidof the Southern States that it was so long now since their fathersand their grandfathers had driven the redskins over the AlleghanyMountains that they had forgotten that the Indians existed. There wereno longer raids in their direction, and no fear of massacre. Thenagain, those who managed the affairs of the scattered population ofthese various States were more than inclined to sink patriotism andall thought of their fellow-States in acrimonious discussions amongstthemselves, in petty squabbles over some matter which was of thesmallest actual importance, and in for ever harassing their governor.They fought amongst themselves, squabbled with their neighbours asto boundary lines, and wrangled while their countrymen were beingmassacred, and even their own security threatened.
In the north it was entirely different. The States of New York andNew England had French and French Indians on their borders, andthey had never forgotten the bitterness of former wars, nor did theever-present fear of an incursion help to dull their memories. Weshall see that it was to these Northern States in particular that weare indebted for men and money, and for the initiative which firstroused the States to a sense of their duty, and the home Government tothe need for a leader and active opposition to the aims of France.
Having given some idea of the thirteen States and their condition inand about the year 1756, let us turn to France and her possessions inNorth America. And perhaps it will be of interest to go as fully intothis part as into that concerning our own colony. Let the reader runhis finger from the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundlandalong the northern shore of the St. Lawrence, and he will pass overthe route which the gallant Jacques Cartier, of St. Malo, followedin the years 1535-36, when on a voyage commissioned by Francis I.This bold sailor was the first known European to ascend the mightySt. Lawrence river, a river which is of huge proportions, and whichis fed by the most gigantic reservoirs. Look at the five huge lakes,Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, which cover a spacelarger than that covered by the whole of Great Britain, and considerthat these five drain steadily into this St. Lawrence river, and youwill perhaps have some idea of the vastness of this gigantic waterway.
This Jacques Cartier cast anchor off the Isle of Orleans, which henamed the Isle of Bacchus, for it was well covered with vines, andlay near the river St. Croix, within sight of the position where thecity of Quebec now stands. He met with a friendly reception from thenatives, and afterwards sailed up the river to Montreal, where anIndian town was then situated. Having done more than any other whiteman was known to have done, he erected a cross at St. Croix, claimedthe land for his master and for France, and duly returned home, havingcompleted his second voyage to these parts, a voyage commissioned,as has been said, by Francis I., with the object of discovering ashort route to the Indies and new countries not yet discovered andappropriated by the Spanish or the Portuguese.
Monsieur Roberval was the first lieutenant to take up his residencein the newly-found country. It is quite unnecessary to follow hisunimportant doings there, or the fate of the immigrants who went tojoin him. But it may be stated that progress was exceptionally slow,that colonists were few and far between, and that for many years theFrench population of New France was extremely small. Sometimes the newpossessions met with favour from the French court, and for a while anew impetus was given to colonising. And gradually the interior of thecountry was opened up, or rather, some superficial knowledge of it wasgained from the reports of discoverers and hunters. For here, as inthe Ohio valley, the chief inducement to the hardy pioneers to pushon was the desire to obtain furs, for which there was always a readysale.
But it must not be thought that their journeys took them so far thatnothing more was left to discover. Other men of the same venturesometurn of mind were to appear upon the scene, Champlain amongst themost noteworthy. Then, too, we must direct our attention to NovaScotia, the French Acadie, which attracted the eyes of the colonistsin 1604. We find that expeditions landed here and founded settlements,and later we hear of gentlemen adventurers coming to this fertileAcadie, there to seek their fortunes. In course of time, too, to beprecise, in the year 1625, Jesuit missionaries sailed for New France,and we find them hereafter dominating the affairs of the colony,ever pushing forward and boldly entering the country of the Indians.Indeed, the history of Canada is filled with accounts of thesegallant missionaries, who struggled often alone into the forests, whowere murdered and tortured by the redskins, and who yet pressed on,endeavouring always to bring the heathen Indian under the influence oftheir religion.
Cardinal Richelieu also appears upon the scene, the great Richelieuwho dominated France, and we find him forming a trading company andarranging to send out artisans.
It is interesting at this time to remember that England had colonistsat Massachusetts Bay, and that this country was ambitious ofobtaining more lands, and even of ousting the French. Indeed, inthe year 1628 Kirk appeared in the St. Lawrence off Quebec, andthough he did not take the place, Champlain, then the governor, hadthe mortification of hearing that, in his descent of the river hehad captured four armed vessels and eighteen transports, which wereconveying those artisans whom the great Richelieu had selected. Thiswas a serious set back to the colonists, and was increased tenfoldin the following year, for Kirk again appeared upon the scene, andsummoned Champlain to surrender. That was the first occasion when thebroad banner of England floated over the fort of St. Louis, and thesite whereon the city of Quebec now stands. However, on returninghome, Kirk discovered that the war with France was at an end, and asa result the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye was signed, and Charles I.handed back to France her possessions on the St. Lawrence, and PortRoyal, in Acadie.
During all these years the progress of New France had been slow, andon the mighty St. Lawrence her colonists were lost in the immensityof their new possessions. In Acadie they had fared little better, andthough Port Royal was handed back to them and they enjoyed peacefulpossession of the country, it was not for a great number of years, forour fleets captured the province in 1654, and in our hands it remainedtill 1667, when Charles II. gave it back to Louis XIV.
We pass over those years in Canada with the mention of few events,amongst the most important of which was the danger which the colonistsnow encountered from the Iroquois. They had a deadly feud with thesemen from France, and we hear of their canoes ascending the Richelieuand lying off Quebec itself, taunting the small garrison. Theseuneventful times, however, produced scores of gallant men desirous ofpushing on into the mysterious west, and the names of Etienne Bruleand of Nicolet loom large in the list. For a while the invasion of theIroquois kept these spirits close to the forts at Montreal and Quebec,but when the Indian trouble had subsided, the Mohawks having beendispersed, these gallant men pushed on again. They were found on thegreat lakes, and to north and south of them. Hunters pushed into thewilderness in search of skins, _coureurs de bois_, often the youngersons of men of position in France, blazed their tracks through theforests, intent upon discovery. And with one or other were to be foundthe ubiquitous priest, bolder and more persevering than any perhaps.The tales of these wanderers fill one with wonder and admiration,and the history of these years of discovery teach us that the Frenchwere wonderful hunters and explorers. They took to the forests as aduck does to water. Often
enough they associated with wandering bandsof Indians, learned their language and lived with them for monthsand even years at a time, dressing in their hunting costumes. Thefascination of the wilderness cast such a spell over the coloniststhat at this period, when men were sorely needed in the settlements,when the hold which France had on her fine possessions was none of thesecurest, scarcely a young colonist, be he habitant or the son of aman of consequence, could be persuaded to remain. Threats of severepunishment could not keep them. They broke from home ties, took theirponderous muskets, their bullet and their powder pouches, and went offinto the forests, content to hunt and wander into a country which wasentirely strange, and to indulge in a life of freedom and adventure,where hardship was the order of the day, and where only the strongestand boldest survived.
But it must not be supposed that the governing powers at Quebec, intheir endeavours to retain these young men, entirely muzzled thedesire to make fresh discoveries. They fostered the idea, selectedsuitable men, and equipped expeditions. Frontenac, whose name hassecured an honoured place in the history of Canada, sent Jolliet tofind that great water of which the French had heard, though it hadbeen but vaguely mentioned. This intrepid explorer finally launchedhis canoe on the waters of the giant Missipi (as it was then spelled),and with Marquette, a bold Jesuit, paddled down the stream. ReneRobert Cavalier, Sieur de la Salle, completed this important work ofexploration, and with Tonty and Father Membre sailed down the longstretches of the Mississippi till he reached the Gulf of Mexico. Thismomentous voyage opened the eyes of the French very wide indeed, forthe travellers could tell of fertile lands stretching from the greatlakes to the gulf in the south, and of a huge expanse of country whichwould give refuge one of these days to millions of wanderers pressedout of their own native lands by the overcrowding there. However,beyond building a few forts, nothing more of consequence was donetill we arrive at a period in which New France, now generally styledCanada, made rapid strides under the able leadership of her governorsand the careful attention of Louis Quatorze.
There were perhaps three thousand souls in the colony prior to thisperiod, and it was obvious that many more were required if France wasto retain her rights there. The astute young king was the first torecognise this, and we find him sending emigrants in large numbers,emigrants who had been carefully selected. They consisted of young menof the peasant class, called _habitants_, and of officers and youngersons, for the most part unmarried. Then ship loads of peasant girlsand demoiselles were dispatched to the colony, and every inducementoffered to these men and women to marry and settle down. Indeed, youngmen who failed to take notice of these inducements were harried andtaxed till they fell in with the wishes of their king. In additionto these emigrants, men of some family were persuaded to go to thecolony, and from these smaller "gentilhommes" a Canadian noblesse wasformed, seigneurs were selected from amongst them, and a form offeudal life commenced in the backwoods. The seigneur had a huge grantof uncleared forest, he built his log hut or cabin, and a rough fortto protect him against the Indians. And about this fort gathered his_habitants_, tilling the land he allotted them, and paying their rentin kind, a portion of corn, a few bear skins, fresh salmon from thelake, or other commodities. Allegiance they gave to their seigneur forthe simple reason that these seigneuries were scattered and widelyseparated, and self-support was their only policy, for otherwise theywould have fallen victims to the first redskin marauders.
And thus we find the possessions of France slowly being peopled, tillin the year when Steve and his friends reached the Alleghanies, thecolonists numbered some 60,000 souls, exclusive of some ten thousandliving in Acadie, once French but now English, though the _habitant_who had filled that smiling land was French by birth and intenselyFrench in thought and sympathy. We find Cape Breton, an island justnorth of Nova Scotia, a possession of France, with the formidablefortress of Louisbourg situated upon it, and its ramparts bristlingwith cannon. Hunters and _coureurs de bois_ had sailed across thelakes, and knew every foot of their shores, while soldiers and agentsof France had built forts and trading posts in numerous places, haderected stockades at certain points on the Mississippi, and wereslowly progressing in a scheme which promised soon to allow the mendescending this mighty Mississippi to join hands with men of theirblood at New Orleans, settled some time ago by the French.
Look again at the map for a moment, and see what such a line of fortsmeant. It cut the northern continent into two unequal parts, leavingFrance the major portion lying to the west, as well as that wide tractbetween the Mississippi and the Alleghanies. It was this portion,commencing with the valley of the Ohio, which they determined tooccupy, despite the fact that our hunters and pioneers had penetratedits forests years before, and it was this same valley in which theirown Indians were now camping, having harried and massacred far andwide, and set fire to all the settlements not only in the valley, butas far as and beyond the Alleghany range.
History repeats itself, and it is strange to consider that theconstant forward movement of these persevering French was copied yearsafterwards by those gallant men who opened up the great west of NorthAmerica to the thirteen colonies, that the work of exploration carriedon in Canada by hunters, by _coureurs de bois_, and by the restlessand bold spirits of the young noblesse was repeated on the far sideof the Alleghanies. Not that our trappers, even at this date, whenthe French were doing their utmost to oust the British from the Ohiovalley, had been backward. They had done much, and a glance at the mapwill show the reader that they had a station on Lake Ontario, Oswegoby name, which was well in advance of their own frontiers, and which,in fact, was a bitter thorn in the side of the French. But adventurousthough our trappers were, they had not penetrated so far perhaps intothe wilderness as had the French, for the simple reason no doubtthat ways of communication were less frequent and difficult to comeacross. A French trapper might enter his canoe at Quebec, and therewas water to take him hundreds of miles into the heart of the country,to the farthest bays and creeks of the giant lakes. True, there weremighty falls, as witness those of Niagara, but a canoe could becarried. There were "portages" where canoes must be taken from thewater, the stores piled upon the backs of willing Indians, and thewhole outfit carried to some point above the falls. But these did notaltogether bar the great waterways, and on this account prospectingand exploration was easier for the French. And thus we find them atthe period of this impending conflict masters of the St. Lawrence,with strong places at Quebec, Montreal, Niagara, and Frontenac, notto mention the huge and elaborately defended fortress at Louisbourgon Cape Breton Island. We hear of their soldiers and trappers, withthousands of Indians south of the great lakes, of their forts on theMississippi and on the river Richelieu and on Lake Champlain. Infact, these energetic men, in spite of their paucity of numbers, wereswiftly surrounding the British, cutting off the thirteen States fromthe smiling interior of America, and aiming no doubt at their finalextermination. We shall see, however, that even an apathetic peoplemay at last see their danger, and that England was not to be so easilydriven from a colony which had been founded by her hardy sons.