THE DUBLIN UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE A Literary and Political Journal. VOL. XXII. JULY TO DECEMBER. 1843. DUBLIN: WILLIAM CURRY, JUN. AND COMPANY. W. S. ORR AND COMPANY, LONDON. MDCCCXLIII. "LIFE had presented too many vicissitudes before me to make much difference in my temperament whatever came uppermost: like the gambler, who if he lose to-day, goes off consoling himself that he may be a winner to-morrow, I had learned never to feel very acutely any misfortune, provided only that I could see some prospect of its not being permanent, and how many are there who go through the world in this fashion, getting the credit all the while of being such true philosophers, so much elevated above the chances and changes of fortune, and who, after all, only apply to the game of life the same rule of action they practise at the rouge et noir' table. "The worthy folks among whom my lot was now cast were a tribe of red men, called the Gaspé Indians, who among other pastimes peculiar to themselves, followed the respectable and ancient trade of wreckers, in which occupation the months of October and November usually supplied them with as much as they could do-after that, the ice closed in on the bay, and no vessel could pass up or down the St. Lawrence before the following spring. "It was for some time to me a great puzzle how people so completely barbarous as they were, possessed such comfortable and well-appointed dwellings, for not only had they log huts well jointed, and carefully put together, but many of the comforts of civilized life were to be seen in the internal decorations. The reason I had at length learned, from the chief, in whose house I dwelt, and with whom I had already succeeded in establishing a sworn friendship. About fifteen years previous this bay was selected by a party of emigrants as the locale of a settlement. They had been wrecked on the island of Antecosti themselves, and made their escape to Gaspé, with such remnants of their effects as they could rescue from the wreck. There they built houses for themselves, made clearings in the forest, and established a little colony, with rules and regulations for its government. Happily for them they possessed within their number almost every description of artificer requisite for such an undertaking, their original intention being to found a settlement in Canada, and thus carpenters, shoe-makers, weavers, tailors, mill-wrights, being all ready to contribute their aid and assistance to each other, the colony made rapid progress, and soon assumed the appearance of a thriving and prosperous place. The forest abounded in wild deer and bears, the bay not less rich VoL. XXII,No. 127. B in fish, while the ground, which they sowed with potatoes and Indian corn, yielded most successful crops, and as the creek was never visited by sickness, nothing could surpass the success that waited on their labours. "Thus they lived till in the fall of the year a detachment of the Gaspé Indians, who came down every autumn for the herring fishery, discovered that their territory was occupied, and that an invading force were in possession of their hunting grounds. The result could not be doubted; the red men returned home to their friends with the news, and speedily came back again with reinforcements of the whole tribe, and made an attack on the settlement. The colonists, though not prepared, soon assembled, and being better armed, for their fire-arms and cutlasses had all been saved, repelled the assailants, and having killed and wounded several of them, drove them back into the forest. The victory, however complete, was the first day of their misfortunes; from that hour they were never safe, sometimes a marauding party of red men would dash into the village at nightfall, and carry away some of the children before their cries could warn their parents. Instead of venturing as before into the 'bush' whenever they pleased, and in small numbers, they were now obliged to go with the greatest circumspection and caution, stationing scouts here and there, and above all leaving a strong garrison to protect the settlement against attack in their absence. Fear and distrust prevailed everywhere, and instead of the peace and prosperity that attended the first year of their labours, the land now remained but half tilled, the hunting yielded scarcely any benefit, and all their efforts were directed to their safety, and their time consumed in erecting outworks and forts to protect the village. "While matters were in this state, a large timber ship bound for England struck on a reef of rocks at the entrance of the bay. The sea ran high, and a storm of wind from the north-west soon rent her in fragments. The colonists, who knew every portion of the bay well, put out the first moment they could venture to the wreck, not, however, to save the lives and rescue the poor fellows who yet clung to the rigging, but to pillage the ship ere she went to pieces. The expedition succeeded far beyond their most ardent hopes, and a rich harvest of plunder resulted from this expedition, casks of powder, flour, pork, and rum were landed by every tide at their doors, and once more the sounds of merriment and rejoicing were heard in the village. But how different from before was it! Then they were happy and contented settlers, living like one united family in brotherly affection and kind good-will; now it was but the bond of crime that bound, and the wild madness of intoxication that excited them. Their hunting grounds were no longer cared for, the fields, with so much labour rescued from the forest, were neglected; the fishing was abandoned, and a life given up to the most intemperate abandonment, succeeded to days of peaceful labour and content. Not satisfied with mere defence they now carried the war into the Indian settlements, and cruelties the most frightful ensued in their savage reprisals. "In this dangerous coast a winter never passed without several wrecks occurring, and as they now practised every device, by false signals and fires, to induce vessels to their ruin, their infamous traffic succeeded perfectly, and wrecking became a mode of subsistence far more plentiful than their former habits of quiet industry. "One long reef of rocks then ran from the most southerly point of the bay, and called by the Indians 'the Teeth,' was the most fatal spot of the whole coast, for while these rocks stretched for above a mile to sea, and were only covered at high water, a strong land current drew vessels towards them, which, with the wind on shore, it was impossible to resist. |