Arthur O'Leary: His Wanderings And Ponderings In Many LandsLever, Charles
General
Arthur O'Leary: His Wanderings And Ponderings In Many Lands
Lever, Charles
Fiction
“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.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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