TEE ACADIANS. 231 



Bathurst. This country then formed part of the seigniory 

 of Gaspesia, belonging to M. Denys. In 1638 there was 

 a war between the Mohawks and Micmacs, in which the 

 former were victorious, and the Acadians of Bathurst had 

 to fly for their lives to the Isle of St. John (now Prince 

 Edward Island). In 1670 they returned and resumed 

 possession of their land, from which they were again driven 

 away by the Mohawks, in 1692. A portion of them, how- 

 ever, having formed an alliance with the Micmacs, remained 

 and established themselves at Petitte Bochelle, on the 

 Bestigouche. By the treaty of Utrecht in 1713, this 

 seigniory, together with the rest of the maritime provinces, 

 was ceded to England, and the whole country assumed 

 the name of Acadia. 



The Acadians were a gentle and inoffensive people, and 

 wanted those sterner qualities which enabled our English 

 fathers to make good their settlements in strange lands 

 peopled by hostile tribes. They never turned upon an 

 oppressor, nor made themselves feared. They were hares 

 amongst wolves. They married early and multiplied 

 exceedingly, intermarrying with the Micmac Indians. At 

 the present day the two races can hardly be distinguished. 

 Within one century they changed masters no less than 

 fourteen times, so that they had the misfortune of always 

 being liable to be styled rebels, and as such to be attacked 

 and robbed by every needy adventurer. In the year 1755 

 this people numbered nearly 20,000, and owned over 60,000 

 head of cattle. They lived by agriculture, fishing, and 

 hunting. Now occurred the famous exodus described by 

 Longfellow ; 7000 of these poor harmless wretches were 

 expelled the country by the British, who at that time 



