The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 3: Acadia, 1611-1616
History
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 3: Acadia, 1611-1616
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France); Indians of North America -- Canada; Jesuits -- Missions; Jesuits -- North America
The English, after this first and furious volley, came
alongside of us, and held an Anchor ready to grapple our bitts.
Captain Flory very opportunely paid out more cable, which stopped
the enemy and made them turn away, for they were afraid if they
pursued us we would draw them into shallow water; then seeing our
vessel fall back, and thus being reassured, they again began to
approach us, firing off the muskets as before. It was during this
second charge that Gilbert du Thet received a musket shot in his
body and fell stretched out across the deck. Captain Flory was
also wounded in the foot, and three others in other places, which
made them signal and [236] cry out that we surrendered, for it was
evidently a very unequal match. At this cry the English jumped into
their boat to come to our ship. Our men also, misled by bad advice,
jumped into theirs with the hope of gaining the shore, for they
feared the arrival of the victors. These, however, reached the ship
before our men could get away from it, and so they began to yell
to them to come back, and, to enforce the order, fired upon them.
Frightened at this, two of our men threw themselves into the sea,
in order, I believe, to swim to the shore; but they were drowned,
either because they were already wounded, or (what seems more
probable) because they were struck and wounded in the water. These
were two very promising young fellows, one from Dieppe, called le
Moyne, the other named Nepveu, of the town of [237] Beauvais; their
bodies did not appear until nine days later, when means were found
to recover them and they were given a religious burial. Such was
the capture of our ship.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL. III
XIII
The original Latin MS. of Biard's letter to his general, dated at
Amiens, May 26, 1614, is in the archives of the Gesù, at Rome. In
1858, Father Martin there copied this document, with others of like
character; and in the present publication we follow his apograph, which
is now preserved in the archives of St. Mary's College, Montreal.
Martin's translation of the letter into French appears in Carayon's
_Première Mission_, pp. 106-116.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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