The Last Laird of MacNab Part 4

The Chief wrote to Mr. McVicar to accept none for bail except freeholders. Now there were no freeholders in the towns.h.i.+p, and he thought if Mr. McVicar would follow his instructions, McNaughton would be sent to prison. Not so, however; Mr. Alex. McVicar, of Pakenham, was a decent, upright, and benevolent man; he accepted the sureties of Mr.

Duncan McLachlin and Mr. Donald McNaughton, Sr., and the prisoner was liberated. They were not freeholders, but Donald Mohr's next neighbor--settlers like himself, who had not received their deeds. The trial was fixed for the ensuing March (1838), and McNaughton and his friends returned home in safety and triumph. The result will be narrated in its proper place.

CHAPTER X.

THE REBELLION--MILITARY TACTICS OF M'NAB--GENERAL INSUBORDINATION OF THE SETTLERS.

While these things were transpiring in McNab, and the people were nerving themselves for a struggle which they saw was to terminate either in ruin or independence, other momentous affairs were being transacted in Upper and Lower Canada. Papineau had fanned the flame of discontent into an open rebellion, and Mackenzie and Bidwell, following his example, had roused the more enthusiastic and rash of the Reform party in the west to take up arms. The British troops had met with a reverse at St. Denis, which was amply retrieved and avenged by Col. Wetherall at St. Charles. Mackenzie was investing Toronto, and had marshalled his forces at Montgomery's farm, within a few miles of Toronto. All was panic and confusion in the immediate vicinity of the seat of the revolt, and the news was much exaggerated to those living at a distance. The political atmosphere was overcast. A portentous cloud of evil omen seemed to envelop both provinces. Volunteers, men of loyal hearts and warm love for the mother country, poured in. Thousands flocked to the standard of their Queen, and the Laird of McNab, among the rest, sent the following characteristic letter to Sir F. B. Head:--

WABA COTTAGE, 15th Dec., 1837.

MY DEAR SIR FRANCIS,--The spirit of my fathers has been infused into my soul by recent events, and has roused within me the recollection and memory of the _prestige_ of my race. The only Highland chieftain in America offers himself, his clan, and the McNab Highlanders, to march forward in the defence of the country--

"_Their swords are a thousand, their hearts are but one._"

We are ready to march at any moment.--Command my services at once, and we will not leave the field till we have routed the h.e.l.l-born rebels, or

"In death be laid low, With our backs to the field, and our face to the foe."

I am yours sincerely,

(Signed,) McNAB.

Immediately upon the receipt of this doc.u.ment, Sir Francis Head appointed the Laird Colonel of the 20th Battalion of Carleton Light Infantry, comprising the towns.h.i.+ps of McNab, Fitzroy and Pakenham, with instructions to nominate his officers, forward the list to headquarters, and _call the regiment_ out to muster forthwith. On the 25th December, 1837, the whole regiment mustered at Pakenham, and were put under the militia law. McNab made a speech to them, read the names of their officers, and gave a general order that they were to muster by companies near the abodes of their captains, on the 15th and 17th of the ensuing month. The companies of the towns.h.i.+p of McNab, under the command of Captain Alex. McDonnell and Captain John McNab, of Horton, a.s.sembled at Sand Point on the 15th of January. After the roll was called, and all had answered to their names, the Chief, who was present, read the Articles of War, and then addressed them thus--

"Now, my men, you are under martial law. If you behave well, obey my orders and the officers under me, you will be treated as good soldiers; but if you come under the lash, by the G.o.d that made me, I will use it without mercy. So you know your doom. Now, I call upon as many of you as will do so willingly, to volunteer and go to the front, and I will lead you on to glory."

There was a murmur in the ranks, they were drawn up in line, two deep, in Mr. McDonnell's large stone shed, as it was a stormy day. When the whispering was over, a dead silence prevailed. Two--and only two--stepped forward as volunteers, and these were Mr. Young and Mr.

Henniker, two of McDonnell's clerks.

"What! No more?" exclaimed McNab: "then I must proceed to ballot and force you."

The men remained doggedly silent; at length some one asked him where was his authority for the ballot. The Chief turned away; told them he would call them together again for that purpose; and dismissed them. The people were in the highest state of indignation and apprehension. They held a meeting and sent the following pet.i.tion to the Government:--

McNAB, 22nd January, 1838.

_To His Excellency, Sir Francis Bond Head, Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, &c., &c._

THE PEt.i.tION OF THE UNDERSIGNED HUMBLY SHEWETH:

That the Carleton Light Infantry was mustered on the 25th ultimo, at Pakenham Mills, commanded by McNab of McNab, and on the 15th and 17th current by Companies at their Captains' respective places of abode.

That we the undersigned, one and all of us, consider ourselves true and loyal subjects, and are willing to serve Her Majesty in any part of British North America, where Your Excellency may think proper to call us, under any other commander than McNab.

That a number of us have suffered severely from McNab through the course of the Civil Law, and are therefore afraid to come under him in the Martial Law, being harsh in his disposition, and also inexperienced.

That we hope it may please Your Excellency to look into our circ.u.mstances as misled people by McNab, who made us give bonds for Quit-Rents, which we, not knowing what the poor lands in this part of the country could produce, gave without hesitation; and notwithstanding all our industry and economy, with these bonds we are not able to comply.

That we trust Your Excellency will endeavor to set us on the same parallel with other loyal subjects in the Province, and free us of those Quit-Rents, as we find them a heavier burden than we can bear.

That there are twelve families in the Towns.h.i.+p who were brought from the old country at McNab's expense, and who are willing to pay any reasonable fraught Your Excellency may think proper; all the rest of the settlers came to the Towns.h.i.+p at their own expense, and beg to know from Your Excellency whether the land of this Towns.h.i.+p is McNab's or the Government's.

And your humble pet.i.tioners as in duty bound will ever pray.

(SIGNED.)

James Robertson, James Brown, John Robertson, Donald Stewart, Peter McGregor, Donald Kerr, Angus McNab, John McNab, Donald McNab, Duncan Campbell, Peter McMillan, John McMillan, Malcolm McLaren, Daniel McIntyre, John McGregor, Alexander McGregor, Peter McArthur, John McDermaid, James Stevenson, Alexander Cameron, Thomas McLaughlin, Donald McLaughlin, Jr., Donald McLaughlin, Sr., James McLaughlin, Donald McNaughton, Chas. Goodwin, Alex. Campbell, Izett Duff, Arch. McDonnell, James McDonnell, Dugal McGregor, Andrew Hamilton, Donald McNaughton, John McNaughton, Robt. McNaughton, Alex. McNaughton, Peter Fergusson, Duncan McNab, Angus Cameron, Alex. Dure, Donald Dure, Colin McFadden, Alex. McNiven, Arch.

McNab, Alex. McNab, Colin McGregor, Arch. McNab, John McNab, Andrew Taylor, John Campbell, John Hamilton, Andrew Hamilton, Alexander Goodwin, Duncan McLachlin, Alexander Goodwin, Sr., Donald McIntyre, Jas. McLaren, Donald McIntyre, Alex. Thomson, Jas. Robertson, James McKay, Alex. Fergusson, Donald Robertson, Duncan McNab, Matthew Barr, Thomas McLaughlin, Thomas Frood, Andrew Hamilton, Sr., Alex.

McNiven, Jr., Alex. McNiven, Sr., John McDermaid, James Miller, John McInnes, Archibald Stewart, Sr., David Stewart, Peter Campbell, Patrick Callaghan, Leech McAlormae, Peter Robertson, J.

Crego, John Fergusson.

[REPLY.]

(_Copy_) { GOVERNMENT HOUSE, { Toronto, 13th March, 1838.

GENTLEMEN:--Having laid before His Excellency, the Lieutenant-Governor, your memorial of the 23rd of January, I am directed in reply to the several statements contained in it to inform you that the arrangements made between The McNab and his followers are of a purely private nature, and beyond the _control of the Government_--that Martial Law which you apprehend will bring you more immediately under the control of your Chief, has not been proclaimed nor is it likely to be--and that in any military organization which may eventually take place, the Government will take care in this, as in all other cases, not to put it in the power of any individual to treat Her Majesty's subjects harshly or oppressively.

I have, &c.,

(Signed) J. JOSEPH.

MR. JAMES ROBERTSON and others McNAB.

Printed by order of the Government.

Adjutant-General's Office, } 14th March, 1838. }

The above pet.i.tion was drafted by Mr. Allan Stewart, afterwards Treasurer of the munic.i.p.ality of McNab, a gentleman of some literary pretensions, and the best Gaelic grammatical scholar in the County--perhaps in the Province. It was signed by the majority of the settlers; a few kept in the background from timidity; others were staunch partizans of the Chief; while a few others were governed by a closer consideration. Even some of those who were under deep obligations to him for favors received felt themselves compelled to affix their signatures. Old Mr. Donald McNaughton--one of the first settlers--a man of the most pure and genuine Christian principles; one who, like Enoch, daily walked with his G.o.d; who was a perfect Ebenezer in Israel; a man over eighty at the time; who daily silently glided into the darkest and deepest glades of the forest, and there poured forth the ardent desires of his soul in unrestrained communion with his Maker; who longed ardently to throw off the "mortal coil" and join the celestial hosts of angels and seraphs who flood the regions of eternal felicity with streams of enchanting harmony, and make heaven's high and resplendent arch echo with the strains of immortal bliss--that man, who longed ardently to be with his G.o.d, was among the very first to sign it. He had met with his soul's eager longings. At the advanced age of nearly a century of years, he yielded up the ghost, and the venerable patriarch, attended by the largest concourse of mourners that ever a.s.sembled in McNab, was gathered to his fathers. When such men sign a doc.u.ment of the above description, the oppression must have been great--the tyranny intolerable. It is true the pet.i.tion is not exactly according to form, and has a few Scottish idiomatic expressions embodied in it; but it tells in clear and forcible language the wrongs the settlers had endured, and the grievances they still expected to bear. It breathes forth a spirit of loyalty to the throne: "they were willing to go to any part of British America to defend their country under any other leader than McNab." Mr. Donald McIntyre (Paisley) went round with the pet.i.tion to those who were not present at Sand Point; and Mr. Daniel McIntyre (Kilmabog) brought it to Perth to get it transmitted to the Government.

In vain he applied to the Hon. W. Morris; that gentleman threw cold water on the whole business. Col. Taylor was applied to; he declined.

Mr. Powell was sick; and Mr. M. Cameron, then one of the members, was absent from Perth. At length Mr. James Young placed it in an envelope and directed it to the proper quarter. Upon hearing that a pet.i.tion had been transmitted, McNab wrote to Sir Francis Head not to reply to it until he arrived in Toronto. Accordingly, about the 3rd of March, 1838, he started for the seat of Government, and a.s.sisted the Governor to rivet the chains more firmly, and for the future to preclude any possibility on the part of the settlers to pursue a similar course. The reply conveyed the impression that the whole towns.h.i.+p was the Chief's.

"The arrangements made between The McNab and his followers are of a purely private nature, and beyond the control of the Government." How came Sir Francis to utter so gross a falsehood? Every buffoon and half-fledged harlequin is a liar, and Sir F. B. Head, impregnated with the spirit of braggadocio, scrupled at no falsehood, when he could turn a period, serve a friend, or carry out a purpose. It was this overweening vanity that caused him to insult the United States Government, and subsequently to lose his own situation, when he said in his memorable speech to the Legislature, speaking of the people of the United States, "In the name of every militia-man in the Province, I say, let them come if they dare." But this reply to the poor settlers did not alone satisfy the schemes of the Chief or his friends, the Family Compact. They were resolved to strike terror into their hearts, and make public the pet.i.tion and reply. Accordingly both doc.u.ments were ordered by the Executive to be printed, and four hundred copies were sent to be distributed among the people. They saw that further efforts with their present rulers would be useless; and they bowed quietly to the decision, waiting for better times, and these soon offered by the recall of Sir F.

Head and the mission of the Earl of Durham.

The Chief had now entirely abandoned his Kennell residence on the banks of the Ottawa, and was now residing at Waba Cottage, White Lake, where he was preparing to erect a saw-mill. A characteristic anecdote is told of him, which is literally true. Meeting Mr. Walter McFarlane in one of the houses of the settlers with whom he had not quarrelled, and impressed with his robust and ruddy appearance, he addressed him with a polite bow and said:--

"Well, my man, you're a good-looking fellow. Are you a Highlander, too?"

"Yes, Chief," said Walter.

"And what may your name be, my fine fellow?"

"Walter McFarlane," was the reply; "you ought to know me; I am the son of James McFarlane, one of your first settlers."