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.¢ SETUNDAY, MAY 3, 1038. e-- | Stirring Tales of Canada's Early Days Bluff Old Governor Drove Gallant Officer Into Years of Exile. & Copywight 1925, Selwyn P. Griffin, Though the events mentioned in this sketch occurred in Newfoundland, the characters are prominent in Canadian story. The youthful Baron de Lahon- tan had been serving as an officer of regulars for ten years in Canada. His experience had been varied He had taken part in several campaigns aga- inst the ferocious Iroquois, had hunt- ed far and wide with the Huron and Algonquin allies of the French, and thus acquired a thorough knowledge of Indian life, of Canadian game large and small, and of the Indian methods of hunting and trapping. He had com- manded a desolate outpost at the out- let of Lake Huron and had gone ex: ploring in the far west. He had lived with the great Earl Frontenac in the Chateau St. Louis on the Rock at Quebec, and had participated in the gaiety of the court there, as well as undergone more than one strange ex- perience. there and elsewhere in the vast new country. While he was thus employed abroad his deceased father's creditors had by devious methods seiz- ed his hereditary estates at home in the south of France, and he found him self powerless to regain them and con- sequently penniless. In 1692 the Earl Frontenac, who liked the Baron for his wit and inscuc- iant repartee and pitied the misfortunes of a brother aristocrat, sent him home to France to present to the Court the proposals for a guardian flotilla on the Great Lakes, which he, Lahontan, had worked out. On the way over Lahon- tan's ship put in at Placentia on the southern coast of Newfoundland, just in time to find the place beseiged by a British fleet. In the subsequent fight- ing Lahontan's energy and ability showed to distinct advantage. The Bri- tish were driven off with loss. The Governor of the French settlement, de Brouillan, gave the Baron special mention in his despatches to the Min- ~ 3 _jdter in France. At Versailles Lahontan found the authorities apathetic concerhing his proposals for the defence of the Great Lakes, and found himself without suf- ficient influence to obtain redress in his personal affairs. He was, however, commended for his conduct at the siege of Placentia, and, quite unex- tedly and without solicitation, was s with appointed the King's Lieu- tenant at that same Placentia. jt was a tion certainly, but so out of the n path of advancement and in such a wild and barren spot that it amiotinted to an exile rather than an honour. There was nothing for it, however, but to accept and obey. On June 20th, 1693, he landed again at Placentia, called on the Governor, M. de Brouillan, and presented his cre- dentials. > M. de Brouillan, an old officer who for twenty years had served with cre- dit in the regular infantry, had come to Newfoundland two years before and had started in at once with the most appalling avidity in the approv- 'ed manner of the French colonial offi- cial, to pileiup a private fortune by peculation. He sequestered his sol- diers' pay, sold large quantities of the commissariat supplies, pocketing the proceeds, and endeavored to seize for himself the control of the trade in codfish and in furs. Further, he was intent on gathering his family about him to share the loot. His nephew was already in the garrison, and he had been using all his influence to have his brother appointed to the post to which Lahontan, much against his will, had been assigned. One can easily imagine that the Baron was not welcome. The was not exactly a polished gentleman, and moreover, he had the most imperfect, command of a very violent temper. When the sauve young officer appeared he could not contain his wrath. Instead of answering with civility the courteous address of his new second-in-command, he burst out in a series of Marsh reproaches. He charged Lahontan with having gone over his head in obtaining this posi- tion, of concealing his purpose from him when he had been at Placentia the year previous, and of having put forward sham concerning the defence of the Great Lakes merely as a cloak to hiw design. ~ Lahontan answered most truthiully and earnestly that such was not the He could have added that New- foundland was the last spot in the world in which he wanted to be, but for once he was politic enough to res- Sey # . x . a train his keen-edged tongue. He saw, however, how matters stood, and the prospect was not a pleasant one for him. Nevertheless, he landed his ef- fects and started immediately to have a house built for himself. For - this purpose the captains of the various French fishing vessels at the moment fn the harbour lent him their ships' carpenters free of charge, for he seems, on account of his gay nonchalant man- ner and of his social rank, to have been very popular with these people. The Governor evidently determined to drive Lahontan from the place, if possible. He proceeded to make his life miserable. This he knew how to do most expertly. Day by day the Liecu- tenant of the King was subjected to a series of petty annoyances, mortifica- tions, infringements of his rank and dignity. The high-spirited Baron was not the man to submit tamely to such treatment, but his situation was diffi- cult, for under the stern rules of mili- tary life then in force--not so greatly changed even yet--the subordinate was always in the wrong, and it was well- nigh impossible for him to get past his superior officer to higher authority unless he had the strongest influence at Court. There were stormy scenes between the two, and at times Lahon- tan would refuse to go near the Gov- ernor for days. All the while, however, de Brouillan was keeping a detailed list of all petty infractions of disci- pline to which he was driving his as- sistant, and every now and then would send the dossier in a plaintive, injured. innocent sort of despatch to the Min- ister. After a summer of this treatment, seeing no possibility of legal redress, Lahontan, embittered, began to regard his position as hopeless. His mercurial Gascon temperament, however, must have some outlet, and he found his satisfaction and heart's ease in the sav- age delight of writing anonymous sati- rical ballads upon the subject of his chief. They seem to have been very clever, very funny, and probably no names were mentioned. Nevertheless, the whole population, who hated the Governor for his temper, his injustice, his avaricious misgovernment, and sympathized with Lahontan smarting under his injuries, knew instantly who was meant and what were the inci- dents. referred to. The ballads were taken up with alacrity and sung with gusto by fislermen, sailors and sol- diers in the taverns, to the great joy of all. In so small a settlement--a few fishing villages on the southern coast of the Island; the English occupied the East coast--it was not long before to the Governor himself came rum- ours of these songs, and finally he managed to secure copies. In apolectic fury he read them. He knew at on. who had composed them. There was only one man in Newfoundiand who could do it, but how, without openly demeaning his dignity, was he to bring the accusation home to him? There was one means and one only of which he could think and that was covert force, One night in November 1693 the Baron was entertaining some of the principal inhabitants in his comfort. ably built, comfortably furnished house. He always did himself extre- mely well when at all possible. The company had become genially mellow and were probably singing some of their host's latest and most brilliant minstrel, efforts, when suddenly there came an appalling crash of glass, and through the wrecked windows sprang a crowd of armed, masked men. Among them the keen eye of Lahon. tan detected the figure of the Gover- nor - himself. They seized tables and overturned them, sending plates, dish- es, glasses and bottles smashing to the floor; they tpset all the furniture, up turned the sideboard swept out the cupboards, and even cleaned out the drawers in the chests into the general pell-mell confusion heaped in the mid. dle of the room. "The Baron sprang into his bedroom to get his pistols, but before he could get one of them load- ed and get out again the vicious in- truders had departed by the Raping windows as they had come. Lahontan was in the act of springing out after them when some of his guests, also having recognized: the Governor, caught him and dragged him back. The Baron was. almost beside him- self with fury at this outrage. But there was more to come. Next morn. ing the servants of the Governor way. laid his servants in the street and as. | reap some hay in the meadows not far ited them: with clubs, beating them till they barely escaped with their lives, Lahontan began to lay his plans for revenge but the Recollet Fathers, who were bent on acting as peacemakers, after considerable effort, dissuaded him. The end was not yet, however, It was the custom for the senior offi- cers of the garrison to employ sol- | diers from time to time as labourers. The King's Lieutenant had a right to Ido this, and he sent two of his men to | | away. They were absent from quarters | two nights, and the Governor ordered | out a search-party which arrested them |as deserters--a palpable injustice. It would have gone hard with these two innocent men, for the Governor in- tended to proceed to extremitiés, had not the Recollet Fathers interceded |and saved them from the capital pen- alty. The Recollets then urged Lahontan, for the good of the King's service, to call on the Governor tof pacify him. Much against his inclinations Lahon- tan agreed. Alone with his assistant, de Brouillan poured out such a torrent of abuse, demanding satisfaction for the insults he said he had received, that Lahontan, restraining himself with unwonted care, left him talking, shut himself up permanently in his house and read his books, for he had a clas- sical library with him, probably the only library then in Newfoundland. Again the Recollets intervened. Both they and the Baron were unaware that the Governor had been scheming to get rid of his assistant in another way if he should fail to drive him out. He had sent memoranda to the Min- ister enlarging upon the deplorable state of the little islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon on the edge of the Grand® Banks of Newfoundland, ex- plaining how important they were as harbours of refuge and refitting sta- tions to the. French codfishermen, how exposed they were to attack, and how insolent and independent were the handful of inhabitants there with prac- tically no government. He suggested fortification, and recommended that Lahontan be appointed Governor, in- asmuch as he understood that the Ba- ron had been applying for this posi- tion. That Lahontan had ever thought of such a thing is incredible. The two little islands are mere wind-swept, treeless rocks, and the lively young man would as soon have applied for a prison term in the Bastille as for the governorship of St. Pierre and Mique- lon. The Recollets were successful. La- hontan visited the Governor again. There was a reconciliation. De Brouil- lan dissembled his enmity while await- ing the results of his poisonous re- ports at Court. The two embraced each other and outwardly the govern- ment of the colony was unity once more. Meanwhile, the Governor was pre- paring his final dossier on the King's Lieutenant, which he had good reason to believe would ruin his career when it arrived at Versailles. Fortunately this d"Mment has survived and we a" Mate the Governor's malevol- d his duplicity. By some chance ~"Recollet fathers saw it and gave Lahontan warning. Thereupon the lat. ter managed in some way to get hold + of the papers.and read. them himself. He was appalled. If these accusations ever came to the notice of the Minis- ter he was done for. In all probability he would not even be heard. He saw the gates of the Bastille opening for him, that terrible prison into which so many entered never to appear again, not even for trial. He did not know, as we do now, nor did de Brouillan, that the year before the Minister had commissioned some naval officers ships were to call at Placentia, to make a report upon de Brouillan himself, that this report was sufficiently damn. ing, and that the Minister even then had it in his hands. Lahontan saw only one course, in- stant flight. True, that would put him forever out of courf and exile him, for he would be committing the crown ing military offence, that of an officer deserting his post. But he could ima-4 gine no chance of presenting his case, and it is difficult even now to conceive of there being ny. The Governor got wind of his intention, for Lahontan was by no means suffering silently. By the last mail of the autumn he wrote the Governors of the seaports of the west coast of France to arrest the Baron de Lahontan if he should land there. He also wrote the Minister what he had heard of Lahontan's in- tention, and his attitude was, "I fold you so; I knew he was that kind of man." Jahantan beaf That these let- ters were going. There was no time for ied in exile in 171 wavering now. The Governor had left Tlontan did Te bk no loophole, had decided his course De for him. Tt was the 14th of December. the was one little fishing vessel in the harbour, the last. He bargained for a passage. The captaiy mulcted him a thousand crowns, an outrageous sum. On that very day he sailed. He was forced to leave furniture, his library and most of his personal effects be- hind, escaping with his life and free-| dom alone. published his letters home from Can- ada and wrote a book on his travels and on the customs of the American Indians. These books were translated into German, Dutch, Italian and Eng- lish, 'enjoyed an immense popularity all over Europe until long after the middle of the eighteenth century, and ran into a vast number of editions. The first English edition, of 1703, was dedicated "to His Grace, William Duke of Devonshire," ancestor of the recent Governor-General of Canada, fi ky ; ip: iE LE : ed <t TEERHE, Hh : aEY Fight 5% i THE DAILY BRITISH WHIGC ee rare ar ] SORT LTTE FEET LR TE --"So, Unafraid, He Faced the Setting Sun' T THE HEIGHT OF HIS ACHIEVEMENT.--when all his difficulties seemed conquered-.when success had crowned his efforts and his activities were greatest, came the warning of impending physical disaster. Faced with the likelihood of failing health, anxiety for his own and his family's future naturally seized him. But here, as in numerous other instances duting his life, his wide business experience pointed out the solution. To protect his family and himself, he had created an ad- equate Life Insurance fund. So, to-day, his income continues. He is well cared for-- his family comfortably supported." After he is gone, this support will be continued. Contrast his case with yours..and decide now to protect the future of yourself and your loved ones with Life Insurance. #54 "The Love that, Never Dies" dence against him in the pigeonholes § , charged of the offices of Government, and not-| coal bunkers of C. P. liner Empress | def of Premier Kato. withstanding the yearly complaints of| of Russia at Vancouver. the inhabitants, plundered his troops and the French King's Newfoundland fof eight years more. In 1701 he was promoted to be Gover- nor of Acadia with headquarters at Port Royal, the modern Annapolis Royal in Nova Scotia. For four years he plundered then the troops and in- habitants of Acadia, despite the bitter | complaints of the latter, until they were relieved by his death at sea in 1705. -------------- Indigo blue serge suits, $38.50, Tweddell's. ~-- Large quantity of opium found in| rested with Chief of Fascist! in Japan is ar- subjects in| Nice double lot. Would sell the lot