Neville Trueman the Pioneer Preacher | Page 9

much the same, I reckon," continued Tom, "an' a queer
lot o' boats they wuz--fishin' boats, Durham boats, scows [Footnote: In
the absence of roads, boats were much used for carrying corn and flour
to and from the mills, and for the conveyance of farm produce.]--a'most
anythin' that 'ud float. Ther' wuz three hundred of us at the start, an' we
picked up more on the way. Wall, we sailed an' paddled a matter o' two
hundred miles to Fort Malden, an' awful cramped it wuz, crouchin' all
day in them scows; an' every night we camped on shore, but sometimes
the bank wuz so steep an' the waves so high we had to sail on for miles
to find a creek we could run into, an' once we rowed all night. As we
weathered P'int Pelee, the surf nearly swamped us."
"What a gran' feed we got frae thae gallant Colonel Talbot!" interjected
Sandy McKay. "D'ye mind his bit log bothie perched like a craw's nest
atop o' yon cliff. The 'Castle o' Malahide,' he ca'd it, no less. How he
speered gin there were ony men frae Malahide in the auld kintry wi' us!
An' a prood man he was o' his ancestry sax hunnerd years lang syne.
Methinks he's the gran'est o' the name himsel'--the laird o' a score o'
toonships a' settled by himsel'. Better yon than like the gran' Duke o'

Sutherland drivin' thae puir bodies frae hoose an' hame. Lang suld
Canada mind the gran' Colonel Talbot [Footnote: Posterity has not been
ungrateful to the gallant colonel. In the towns of St. Thomas and
Talbotville, his name is commemorated, and it is fondly cherished in
the grateful traditions of many an early settler's family. He died at
London, at the age of eighty, in 1853.] But was na it fey that him as
might hae the pick an' choice o' thae braw dames o' Ireland suld live his
lane, wi' out a woman's han' to cook his kail or recht up his den, as he
ca'd it."
"I've been at his castle," said Neville, "and very comfortable it is: He
lives like a feudal lord,--allots land, dispenses justice, marries the
settlers, reads prayers on Sunday, and rules the settlement like a forest
patriarch." "Tell about Tecumseh," said Zenas, in whose eyes that
distinguished chief divided the honours with General Brock.
"Wall," continued Loker, "at Malden there wuz a grand pow-wow, an'
the Indians wore their war-paint and their medals, and Tecumseh made
a great harangue. He was glad, he said, their great father across the sea
had woke up from his long sleep an' sent his warriors to help his red
children, who would shed the last drop of their blood in fighting against
the 'Merican long knives." "And they'll do it, too," chimed in Zenas, in
unconscious prophecy of the near approaching death of that brave chief
and many of his warriors.
"An' Tecumseh," continued the narrator, "drawed a map of Detroit an'
the 'Merican fort on a piece o' birch bark, as clever, I heered the Gineral
say, as an officer of engineers."
"But was na yon a gran' speech thae General made us when we were
tauld tae attack thae fort?" exclaimed Sandy with martial enthusiasm.
"Mon, it made me mind o' Wallace an' his 'Scots wham Bruce hae aften
led.' I could ha' followed him 'gainst ony odds, though odds eneuch
there were--near twa tae ane, an' thae big guns an' thae fort tae their
back."
"Wasn't I glad to see the white flag come from the fort as we formed
column for assault, instead o' the flash o' the big guns, showin' their
black muzzles there," Loker ingenuously confessed. "I'm no coward,
but it makes a feller feel skeery to see those ugly-lookin' war dogs
splttin' fire at him."
"Hae na I tell't ye," said Sandy, somewhat sardonically, "gin ye're born

tae be hangit, the bullet's no made that'll kill ye."
"Ye're as like to be hanged yerself," said Tom, somewhat resentfully,
giving the proverb a rather literal interpretation.
"Tush, mon, nae offence, its ony an auld Scotch saw, that. But an angry
mon was yon tall Captain Scott [Footnote: Afterwards Major- General
Scott, Commander-in-Chief of the United States army. The prisoners
were sent to Montreal and Quebec. Hull was subsequently
court-marshalled for cowardice and condemned to death, but he was
reprieved on account of Revolutionary service.] at thae surrender. How
he stamped an' raved an' broke his sword."
"I am sure the Gineral was very kind to them. On our march home, the
prisoners shared and fared as well as we did."
"I heard," said Neville, "that Hull was afraid the Indians would
massacre the women and children who had taken refuge in the fort."
"No fear of that," said