New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-06-14
IN GOOD OLD COLONY TIMES.
THE NEW-FOUND MEMOIRS OF A PRIS-
ONER or WAR.
THE JOURNAL. OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM POTE.

THE JOURNAL OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM PoTE
JR. During his captivity In the trcnch 49,"
Indian War. From May. r@ 70 August "''
Ip. XxXvii, 2.3. Dodd Mead co.
Aside from the beauty Of print, picture AMI
binding which sets off this ncw-found relic Of the
American past. the thing i;self ia jewel joan
Fletcher Hurst must be the envy of all rival
collectors The faded notoho k which he pi ked
up in Geneva. Switzerland. was one of those curl
ostics which might easily have cs,aied even
careful. wcll-traincd eyes. |, was not one Of
those manuscripts which renertti"rs # book
hunters are successfully 'aupht to look for. which
are mentioned In catal CUES as famous chiefly
be cause they are missing ~ Twink man know
that such a book existed. captain WAIiam Poie
was a mere name known only to those who were
expert in the minute details II Colonial history.
Now he cniorrcs from obscurity as an acute.
sensible accurate man. with "a clear eye FOR The
history that was making before hl' face AMI a
qrolnt humorous Way 81 telling .i. Nj Hurst
has thus added not merely ncw volume Z Oh.
mass Of material which serves as basis for tho
historical study Il Colonial times. bu, be- has
added new AMI piciufcs1u, figure TO the scene"
CAPTAIN William Poto. jr.. was native II Mr.
hchcal. Mass. apparently. though some = lars
after his birth his family settled ~ Falmouth. NJ"
whore his father. Captain william Pote. bought
a small farm. Tho lad grew up 20 be good
navigator at sea and % survey n- ga land. ani
II Is In botn ihe,. capacities that d" figures when
he enersos into the light o.. history. 4, the time
II the outbreak - the French and Indian War In
17l4 John Henry BastGe was the cnef engine.
for Nova Scotia AMI Ncw-Hanpshiro. ana one %
his important tasks wasIhat - Certifying Annop-
oils Royal after the French expedition agaias'
that place. which WIS la hy Duvlv.er Annap IT,
Royal stood on a convenient 'mir'I-r a. tn" head
II what was called Annapolis Hac!n. nnc land
locked harbor the Nova Scoiian side ~ tn l'oy
Of Fundy This basin looks as Il 1t might have
been Ia the gcoogir past a continuation o, -
Narv's BAY. but it is now accessible from the SEA
only 10y a narrow waterway almost AZ right angles
70 10 own direction. In tho work NJ carrying ma
teral for rebuilding the forrcrs Two vessels were
employed by the Bard Of Ordnance the Mon
tag,ie ana the Scanowcr. The former 81 these
vessels was IN mmanI Of Captain william P0ie.
ir POte knew very we'll the difficulty and danger
Of the business in viii he was engaged. II An
napolis Royal were taken by the French 10
stronghold would be lcft 10 the English In Nova
Scotia The fcw colorista who hal settled there
since the trarafcr Of tho country by the French
Crown would b. At the merry Of tho Indians and
the Acadians and there would be no station from
which a diversion might be attempted in case ~
/ an English attack on LOuisburg. He may not
have forecast the famous Lousburg campaign
definitely. but neither ne nor any other colonst
was ignorant that such a campaign must be un-
dcrtakcn. In an elaborate Introduction to the
present volume written at the instance OF Mr.
Hurst Victor II. Paltsts. OF the Ienox Library,
has dwelt or the aspect Of affairs throughout the
region between Northern NewEnrland ana the
St. Lawrence River Remembering the facts
| urb oh he ri "a bo
an incident the capture of Captain Potes little
vessel with himself and his crew OF five men. had
| its bearing on later events For the captors were
commanded by Marin and 1t was Marln's subsc-
quent delays that weakened the defence OF Louis
| burg. Those delays were caused at Annapolis
| Royal In par. so that the connection between the
capture Of Pote and the defeat Of Marin In Tat
magouche Bay by Captain David Donohew la not
too remote for the historical imagination.
The two little ordnance vessels were captured as
they lay becalmed some distance from the fortress
near the shore Of the harbor. The mixed force Of
French and Indians that made the attack had
been brought into the neghborhood by the Neil
trail French who had carried the news OF the COM
Ing Of the ordnance vessels from Boston. The
Neutral French-that is. the cadians-hgurc
throughout Captain Pote's Journal as the bitter
est and most troublesome foes TINT he and other
English coloniets had to deal with. He would
read with amazement the modern writings In
which is celebrated the idyllic innocence OF the
French settlers In Nova Scotia. Beginning with
this charge OF trcachery against the Neutral
French Annapolis. h. proceeds TO tell how he
| found william Wnnett an Acadion. acting as In
| terpreter for the French comm ndor, and how
| Winniett was authorized to offer Potc and his
| captive companions In exchange for some Neutral
! French who had been imprisoned by Governor
| Mascarene. Pote was asked to write to Chief En-
g!neer Bastide and he did so. getting reply that
charged the Acadians not with harboring spies
from Canada, but with gathering information for
them. But to your proposals." wrote Bastidc,
they cannot be compiled with by any means.
those people you mentioned In your letter being
apprehended as criminals and traitors to the King
of Great Britain" Winniett avenged himself for
his disappointment by a trick the prisoners.
| Pretending sympathy for them in their hardships.
he offered to get them some small supplies in re-
turn for a letter commencing him a friend. He
| got the letter, but Pote never saw him again.
On the march later Pote met several Acadians
| with whom he was acquainted A few showed
him real Kindness but for the most part they