Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)
History
Glimpses of the Past: History of the River St. John, A.D. 1604-1784
Raymond, W. O. (William Odber)
New Brunswick -- History; Saint John River Valley (Me. and N.B.)
It is rather difficult to get at all the facts of the quarrel that now
rapidly developed between la Tour and Charnisay. The statements of
their respective friends are very diverse, sometimes contradictory,
and even the official records of the court of France are conflicting.
Nicolas Denys, the historian, had reason to dislike Charnisay, and
perhaps some of his statements concerning Charnisay's barbarity should
be received with caution. On the other hand the friends of Charnisay
have cast aspersions an the character of Lady la Tour that seem
entirely unwarranted.[2] The fact remains that Acadia, large as it
was, not large enough for two such ambitious men as Charles la Tour
and d'Aulnay Charnisay.
[2] See "Feudal Chiefs of Acadia," by Parkman in Atlantic Monthly of
January and February, 1893.
The exact site of la Tour's fort at the mouth of the River St. John
has been the subject of controversy, Dr. W. F. Ganong, a most
conscientious and painstaking student of our early history, has
argued strongly in favor of its location at Portland Point (the green
mound near Rankine's wharf at the foot of Portland street); the late
Joseph W. Lawrence and Dr. W. P. Dole have advocated the claims of
Fort Dufferin, but the site usually accepted is that known as "Old
Fort," on the west side of the harbor opposite Navy Island. It seems
probable that la Tour resided at one time at "Old Fort," in Carleton,
and his son-in-law the Sieur de Martignon lived there afterwards, but
whether this was the site of the first fort built by la Tour and so
bravely defended by his wife is at least a debatable question.
In the absence of positive information as to the exact location of la
Tour's first fort, it is perhaps unadvisable to disturb popular
opinion until a thorough search of the records in France shall have
been made in order if possible to settle the question.
Upon his arrival at St. John, la Tour speedily surrounded himself with
soldiers and retainers and established an extensive traffic with the
Indians, who came from their hunting grounds when the ships arrived
laden with goods for the Indian trade. Doctor Hannay gives a graphic
picture of la Tour's situation:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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