Buckingham Street was the north and Salter Street the south limit, and
the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade of pickets with block
houses or log forts at convenient distances. Foreman's new division was
afterwards added as far as the present Jacob Street. The north and south
suburbs were surveyed about the same time, but the German lots in the
north were not laid off till the year following.
Great difficulty was at first experienced in the erection of dwellings;
the European settlers being totally unacquainted with the method of
constructing wooden buildings. Frames and other materials for building
were, however, soon brought from Massachusetts, and before the cold
weather set in a number of comfortable dwellings were erected.
Provisions and other necessary supplies were regularly served out in the
camp, and every exertion on the part of the Governor made to render the
settlers comfortable before the approach of winter. Several transports
were detained and housed over to accommodate those settlers whose houses
were not complete, and the canvas tent and log hut were soon abandoned
for more convenient and comfortable accommodations.
I have, says Governor Cornwallis, in his letter of the 20th August,
contracted for frames and materials for barracks and officers' lodgings
from Boston. Boards are very high owing to the drought. I have got none
under £4 per thousand, and shall be obliged to furnish a vast number to
help the people to get under cover, and have sent an officer on purpose
to Boston to obtain them at a fair price. Many houses are begun and huts
and log houses already up for more than half a mile on each side the
town.
Tradition says that on clearing the ground for settlement a number of
dead bodies were discovered among the trees, partly covered by the
underwood, supposed to have been soldiers of the Duke D'Anville's
expedition which put into Chebucto Harbor in 1746,[12] but the Governor
in his letter does not mention the facts.
[Footnote 12: The remnant of this formidable fleet which was destined
for the destruction of the British settlements of Acadia and New
England, put into Chebucto Harbor in distress in September, 1746. The
troops it is said were encamped on the western side of the Basin, near
the small Cove about 4 miles from town, which still bears the name of
the French Landing. The Duke died of grief at the failure of the
expedition, and the Vice Admiral Destourville, ran himself through the
body, and was buried on George's Island. His remains, or what was
supposed to be have been, were afterwards removed to France by his
family. Several of the ships of war were sunk on the eastern side of the
Basin. The hulls of these vessels were visible in calm weather about 50
years ago, but they have long since disappeared. M. Jonquiare,
afterwards Governor of Canada, was also in this expedition.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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