Kimball enterprise. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1883, 1883-05-18

dience. In response to this summons
four hundred and eighteen men as.
sembled at the Church OF Grand Pre-.
The doors were closed and barricaded,
and Colonel Winslow, surrounded by
his officers and guarded by his men, in
formed the unfortunate Acadians that
the King of England had ordered s'that
their land anu tenements, cattle of all
kinds, and live stock, and all fruits and
they were to be removed from the pro-
vince" The wretched people uncon-
scious of any u for such brutality, re-
ceived this sentence with resignation
and fortitude; but when the fatal mo-
ment arrived in which they were to part
from their friends and relatives without
a hope of seeing them again in this
world. and to be dispersed among stran.
gers whose language, religion and Gus
toms were opposed to their own, they
We're crushed by a full realization of
misery: They young men were
first ordered to 80 on board of one OF
the vessels; this they peremptorily re-
fused to do, unless their families we're
allowed to accompany them. This very
natural request was refused, and the
them with fixed bayonets, which had
the effect Of making them commence
their march. The r DAD from the chapel
to the shore W lined with women and
children, who greeted the procession
with tears and blessings as the prisoners
walked slowly along, praying, and weep.
ing, and singing hymns. The old men
next followed through the same scene
Of sorrow, and thus the whole male por.
ton Of Grand Pre- was forced on board
the transports which were to convey
them away from their homes forever.
They having been thus secured, the wo-
men and children were distributed indis-
crimnately among the vessels: husbands
were separated from their wives, and
children from their parents, whom in
many cases they never met again. As
these wretched people sailed away from
the land where they had lived SO happi-
ly and innocently, the sight Of Their
burning homes was the last that met
their eyes. Altogether, seven thousand
Of these poor exiles were thus dragged
from their homes and scattered along
the Atlantic coast from Maine to Geor-
gia. Five hundred landed in Philade,.
phia, one-half of whom died in a short
time, owing to the hardships they had
endured. Seven hundred reached Mary.
land so destitute that they must have
died from starvation had not some hu.
q PC4oO1lc pIOHluCu 1OI LllSlI lulluSs
date necessities. The largest portion of
the exiles were taken to Massachusetts,
where claiming to be prisoners OF war,
they refused to work, and were distribu-
ted as paupers among the cities and
towns of the colony. i
"A pathetic appeal was made to George
II. in behalf Of these unhappy people,
but without effect; they were left in their
exile and misery, their enemies hoping
that, in the course of time, their Lam
guage, customs, etc., would be lost in
midst Of the English celonists among
whom they were scattered. The remov-
al OF the Acadians recalls the tender
lineso of Virgil which expresses the la
ment Of the Mantuan shepherd when
driven from his home by the v ictorious
soldiers of Augustus, commencing:
70 Lycida, viva pcryenimus," etc.
ward the Acadians, and the wanton de-
struction of their possessions, form one
Of the darkest spots in American history,
and is only paralelled by the massacre of
the Wyoming by the English and Indi-
ans twenty-five years afterwards. All
That could throw light on this dark tran
sactlon was carefully suppressed by the
English authorities. But terinvestiga-
ton has discovered that the Ubiquitous
sentence of Punishment was carried out
with brutal violence. Old men and del
!cate women we're torn from
their homes and left all night
on the shore exposed to the cold
autumn air, and no roof to shelter, no
covering to protect them. And although
Colonel Winslow had pledged his honor
that families should go on the same ves-
sci, the aged husband was separated
from her who had been the partner OF
bis joys and sorrOws for fifty years, the
young bride of q few WEEKS was torn
from the protecting;arms other husband,
widows were separated from their only
sons, never to meet again.
Colonel Winslow received eight hum
dred pounds sterling from the British
government for driving the Acadians
into exile. His portrait in the rooms Of
the Massachusetts Historical society rep
resents a man of full face, fair complex
ion, blue eyes and smiling mouth. He
died in 1878, aged 70 years. His fami-
lies were tories during the American
revolution and were obliged to seek
refuge in Nova Scotia when the British
evacuated Boston in IT'S.
Only q m%ournful tradition remains of
the beautiful village OF Grand Pres
few weeping willows mark the spot
where once stood the happy home of
"Evangeline," and forever sing the re-
QUEEN Of her doomed people; while
Under the shade Of their branches
Dwell another people with other customs
and language"