The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Last Laird of MacNab, by Various This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Last Laird of MacNab An Episode in the Settlement of MacNab Township, Upper Canada Author: Various Editor: Alexander Fraser Release Date: April 12, 2011 [EBook #35841] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE LAST LAIRD OF MACNAB *** Produced by Barbara Watson, James Wright and the Online Distributed Proofreading Canada Team at http://www.pgdpcanada.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries) THE An Episode in the Settlement of MacNab Township, Upper Canada. [Pg 1] ALEXANDER FRASER, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER. PRINTED BY IMRIE, GRAHAM & CO., 31 CHURCH STREET. 1899. Note.—The following account of the difficulties between the Laird of MacNab and his settlers in Canada has appeared in several local papers and in the Scottish Canadian, through whose columns it obtained a wide circulation, resulting in the request that it be preserved in book form, a suggestion now complied with, in the hope that the example of sturdy independence therein described will prove of interest to others than those for whom the story was first compiled by a clansman. A. F. I N D E X TO C O N T E N T S . PAGE. The Flight 5 The McNab in Canada 12 Arrival of the Settlers 22 Progress of the Settlers 27 New Arrivals 38 Fresh Arrivals 47 A Digression 59 [Pg 2] [Pg 3] The Sheriff's Raid 69 Imprisonment of the McIntyres 86 Military Tactics of McNab 103 Mr. Allan's Report 119 The Trials 133 Imprisonment of Mr. Stewart 150 Final Triumph of the Settlers 157 Investigation of Grievances 169 The Chief's Reply 178 The Settlers Free 187 McNab and Hinck's Trial 198 Discomfiture of the Chief 207 Last Scene of all 213 THE CHIEF. T H E L A S T L A I R D O F M A C N A B . CHAPTER I. THE FLIGHT. It was a genial evening in 1823. The sun was casting long shadows from the glorious old pines of Leney woods, and the baronial mansion of Dr. Hamilton Buchanan reflected in gorgeous splendor the last rays of the setting sun. A horseman had just fastened his pony at the outskirts of the park, nigh to the Callender road, on the Loch Earn side of the village; and now on foot, and enfolded in a tartan plaid so as almost to conceal his person, was threading the mazes of the wood, and stealthily approached the house of Leney. This [Pg 4] [Pg 5] was Archibald MacNab, the last chieftain of the MacNabs, who had that morning, for the last time, left his paternal estate of Kennell, on the banks of Loch Tay to take refuge with his cousin, the last Buchanan of the ancient house of Arnprior. Their mutual grandfather, Buchanan the Chief of Arnprior, had been beheaded at Carlisle for participation in the rebellion of 1745; and he it was whom Sir Walter Scott took for his beau ideal, in the person of Fergus MacIvor, in his elegant romance of "Waverley." The estate of Leney was all that was left to the Buchanans out of their immense property, as the Arnprior estates were confiscated to the Crown for high treason on the part of their Chief. The affairs of MacNab were at the time we write, 1823, thought to be involved beyond extrication—his estate mortgaged to the Earl of Breadalbane—and even now the officers of the law were on his track to enforce on his person, by arrest, a decree of the Court of Session, in order to get possession of the title deeds of the Dochart and Kennell estates, and deliver them to MacNab's unrelenting creditor, John, Earl of Breadalbane. By a postern gate he entered the noble halls of Leney, and was there met and welcomed by his cousin. Their meeting was most affecting. There stood the last representatives of two of the most ancient houses in Scotland: Kennell and Arnprior. Both had suffered for Charles Edward—both had lost kindred, lands, and prestige for Prince Charles; but now both were in different circumstances, the last Chief of the MacNabs was humbled: no more was "The haughty MacNab, with his grants beside him, And the lions of Dochart close by his side." He was dejected, impoverished, ruined; while Dr. Hamilton was wealthy, and able and willing to assist his unfortunate and once-powerful kinsman. At that period, MacNab was in the prime of manhood, as he had just passed his forty-second year. With a melancholy countenance and with aspect of despair, he unfolded all his griefs to his relative. About ten days previously, the Court of Session had given the Decree and granted a Caption. To disobey was to forfeit his liberty till compliance was made to the order of the highest civil tribunal in Scotland. To obey was to lose every opportunity of redeeming his estate and to throw away forever any chance of reclaiming it. Long and anxious was the consultation between the two gentlemen; at length it was resolved that the Chief should start for America from an English port, found a settlement, retrieve his lost fortunes, and return to his native land in better times. Hard was the struggle; at length his resolution was taken, and everything was prepared for his departure by next day's afternoon mail. In the meantime, the King's messengers with the writ of caption had gone to Kennell, and finding that their prey had escaped, betook themselves to Callender, a village two miles distant from Leney House. In passing through Glen Ogle, they heard that MacNab had passed through early in the afternoon, and naturally supposed that the Chief was at Leney. Arriving at Callender at four in the morning, they rested to take some refreshments before proceeding to their more disagreeable task. Fortunately for MacNab, the principal of the King's messengers, a person named Watt, was well known to John McEwan, the head waiter of McGregor's Hotel, who at once suspected their errand, as the Chief's affairs were a common topic of conversation through Perthshire. While they were taking their bread and cheese and whiskey he despatched a stable-boy named Scobie, by a short cut to Leney House, to apprise MacNab of his danger. He roused up Dr. Hamilton's butler, and told him his errand. The butler instantly hurried to the Chief's bedroom. MacNab having been roused out of a deep sleep, and hearing of the impending danger, at once jumped out of bed, drew on his underclothes, threw a plaid over his shoulders and escaped to the glen in rear of the Leney House, by the back door. Just as he was making his hurried exit, the King's messengers from Stirling thundered at the front entrance. Dr. Buchanan (who was generally called Dr. Hamilton on account of adopting this surname when he came into possession of the Burdovie estate) rushed to the windows. The officers demanded admission. Hamilton sternly refused. They attempted to break the door open. The doctor levelled a double-barrelled gun at their heads, and threatened to shoot the first man who attempted to enter. The messengers at once desisted, slid the ring of their batons from one end to the other, swore that they were deforced, and threatened to bring the whole civil powers of Perth and Stirling to their assistance. Dr. Hamilton jeered and laughed at them. At length they departed, vowing vengeance against all parties concerned. Chief MacNab lay closely concealed in the glen all day. Provisions and clothes were sent to him, and at night he again stealthily entered Leney House. A spy had been left in close proximity to the park to watch proceedings, and he saw what had taken place. He was on his way to inform his employers that the bird was trapped, but just as he cleared the park gates and entered the Callender road, the unfortunate spy was seized by four sturdy Highlanders, gagged and blind-folded, and carried to a lint-mill near Loch Labuig, and [Pg 6] [Pg 7] [Pg 8] [Pg 9] [Pg 10] there kept a close prisoner for forty-eight hours. He was well used and well fed until his period of incarceration had expired. In the meantime, two faithful servants of Dr. Hamilton had prepared the coach and horses for a long journey. These two were Peter MacIntyre, who died in 1868 at the Calabogie Lake; and John Buchan, who also came to Canada, and for many years resided at Point Fortune, a respectable and wealthy farmer. At midnight, MacNab being well provided with funds and necessaries, bade farewell to his cousin of Leney, and set out for Dundee with Buchanan and MacIntyre. Every precaution was taken on the road; but it was needless, for the officers of the law were calmly sleeping at the head inn of Callender, expecting to hear from their spy, little Johnny Crerar, if anything unusual occurred. The Chief arrived safely at Dundee, took shipping for London, thence to Quebec; and the first news Lord Breadalbane and his messengers heard of him was in the public journals of Montreal, of a great dinner and ovation given in Montreal by the upper ten to Highland Chieftain MacNab. The decree of the Court of Session had no power in Canada; consequently MacNab was free. We may as well state that Watt remained round Callender for two days, searching for little Johnny; at length the spy appeared, and informed them of all that had occurred. There were no telegraphs in those days, and they believed the Chief was still in Scotland, and they made frequent excursions to Kennell; and they were only undeceived in their suppositions when the news of MacNab's safe arrival on the other side of the Atlantic reached them. Watt, the celebrated King's messenger, was for once outwitted and completely non-plussed. CHAPTER II. THE M'NAB IN CANADA. From Montreal McNab went to Glengarry, and saw the Highlanders there, and remained with Bishop McDonnell for a fortnight. It was that venerable prelate—the emigrant's friend, without any distinction as to creed—who first spoke to him of the Ottawa. He was really the friend of distressed humanity, whether of a Catholic's or Protestant's type. He put into philanthropic exercise Queen Dido's maxim: "Tros, Tyrinsque mihi nullo discrimine agetur."[1] A patriot, a Christian, a loyalist, ever ready to help the distressed, we shall seldom "see his like again." Having received a good deal of valuable information from the Bishop, McNab proceeded to Toronto (then York), and entered into negotiations with the Government respecting the settlement of a township on the Ottawa. The Government there informed him that a township had been lately surveyed, adjoining Fitzroy, by Mr. P. L. Sherwood, containing about 81,000 acres. It was a large township, and consisted of thirteen full concessions and four broken ones. It was not yet named, and if he undertook the settlement, McNab could name it after himself, and proceed forthwith to occupy it. They gave him a map of the township, which the Chief immediately named McNab, after himself and his clan. Fancying he had all at once tumbled into an El Dorado, without seeing the place, or knowing anything about the facilities the township afforded, McNab at once agreed to the terms of the Government, which were as follows:—He addressed a letter to Sir Peregrine Maitland, then Lieutenant Governor of the Province, offering to settle a township near Glengarry with his clansmen, and found a Highland Settlement of like loyal character as that which existed on the banks of the St. Lawrence. He had received his inspiration from the venerable Bishop McDonnell, and thus put it in practice. The following answer was given to his application; and as this is the basis of the attempt to establish the feudal system in Canada, and the misrepresentations founded upon it, by which many of the unfortunate settlers were harassed and oppressed, we direct particular attention to it:— [copy.] Report of a Committee of the Honourable Executive Council on the Application of the Laird of McNab for a grant of Land. [Pg 11] [Pg 12] [Pg 13] [Pg 14] Executive Council Chamber, at York Wednesday, 5th November, 1823. } Present: The Hon. James Baby, Presiding Councillor; the Hon. Samuel Smith, the Hon. and Rev. Dr. John Strachan. To His Excellency, Sir Peregrine Maitland, K.C.B., Lieut.-Governor of the Province of Upper Canada, and Major-General Commanding His Majesty's Forces therein, &c., &c. May it Please Your Excellency: The Committee, of the Executive Council to which Your Excellency has been pleased to refer the letter of the Laird of McNab, dated York, 15th Oct., 1823, proposing upon certain conditions to settle a township of land with his clansmen and others from the Highlands of Scotland, most respectfully report, That a township of the usual dimensions be set apart on the Ottawa River, next to the township of Fitzroy, for the purpose of being placed under the direction and superintendence of the Laird of McNab for settlement. That the said township remain under his sole direction for and during the space of eighteen months, when the progress of the experiment will enable the Government to judge of the propriety of extending the period. That patents may issue to any of the settlers of said township, on certificate from the Laird of McNab stating that the settling duties are well and duly performed, and his claims on the settlers arranged and adjusted; or patents may issue to Petitioner in Trust, for any number of settlers, certified by him as aforesaid; the fee on each patent to be One Pound Five Shillings and Fourpence, sterling. That the conditions entered upon between the Laird of McNab and each settler be fully explained in detail, and that it be distinctly stated that such have no further claim upon the Government for Grants of Land; and that a duplicate of the agreement entered into between the Leader and the settlers shall be lodged in the office of the Government. That the Laird of McNab be permitted to assign not less than One Hundred Acres to each family or Male Twenty-one years of age, on taking the oath of allegiance, with the power of recommending an extension of such grant to the favorable consideration of His Excellency, the Lieut.-Governor, to such families as have means, and are strong in number, and whom it may be deemed prudent to encourage. That an immediate grant of 1,200 acres of land be assigned to the Laird of McNab, to be increased to the quantity formerly given to a Field Officer, on completing the settlement of the township. That the old settlers pay the interest on the money laid out for their use by the Laird of McNab, either in money or produce, at the option of the settler; and that the settler shall have the liberty to pay up the principal and interest at any time during the first seven years. All of which is respectfully submitted. (Signed,) James Baby. Before leaving this part of the subject, it may be as well to state that after repeated trials and applications, it was not till 1841 that the settlers procured a copy of the above document. The Government until then was composed of members of the Family Compact, and they determined to keep settlers in the dark, and to allow the Laird of McNab to do as he pleased. Although the above is the only official document on record, there was a private understanding between the Chief and the Government to the effect that the Chief was to have for his own use and benefit all the timber growing on the township of McNab. There was some unaccountable delay after the passing of the above Order in Council before the Chief proceeded to the importation of immigrants, owing to the survey of the township not being exactly completed, and the assignments to and selection of certain lots by P. L. Sherwood, Esq., who had made the survey, and whose remuneration was to be made in lands on the survey, and not in money. After the lands had been selected by Mr. Sherwood, he assigned them to Billa Flint, of Brockville, and they were marked on the diagram as not open for settlement. This having all been arranged to the satisfaction of all parties, in the autumn of 1824, McNab wrote this letter to Dr. Hamilton: [Pg 15] [Pg 16] [Pg 17] Kennel Lodge, On the Banks of the Ottawa, 10th Aug., 1824. } My Dear Leney,—From my last letter you will have gleaned what my intentions are, and of the progress I have made. Now I am happy to inform you that all my arrangements for settlement are complete. The township of McNab has to-day been handed over to me by Sir Peregrine, and it contains 80,000 acres of fine, wooded, arable land—and upwards. You will send out to me, according to your offer, twenty families, at first. Give them three months' provisions, and make each head of a family, before you give him a passage ticket, sign the enclosed bond, which has been specially prepared by the Attorney-General. ...... I will meet the settlers in Montreal, and see each one on the land located to them, and will provide for their transport to their lands. They should embark early in April, and I should feel obliged if you would personally superintend their embarkation at Greenock. Now I am in a fine way to redeem the estate at home, and in a few years will return after having established a name in Canada, and founded a transatlantic colony of the clan. The preparations can be all made this winter for their emigration, and I shall be fully prepared to receive them. I have a large log house erected close to the banks of the Ottawa, which, as you will see by the heading of this letter, I have called after my estate on Loch Tay, &c., &c. (Signed) McNab. Immediately after the receipt of this letter, Dr. Hamilton, of Leney, set to work to procure a band of emigrants to go to McNab in Canada. In January, 1825, the following heads of families signed the bond prepared by the Canadian Attorney-General, and witnessed by D. McLaren, Banker, Callender—James Carmichael, Donald Fisher, Peter Campbell, Peter Drummond, James Robertson, Alex. McNab, James McFarlane (Kier), Duncan Campbell, James McDonald, Donald McNaughton, John McDermid, John McIntyre, Peter McIntyre, Donald McIntyre, James McLaurin, Peter McMillan, James Storie (Dumbarton), James McFarlane (Crief), Alexander Miller, Malcolm McLaren and Colin McCaul. The terms of the bond were that every adult bound himself—£36 for himself, £30 for his wife, and £16 for every child, with interest, either in money or produce. On the 19th of April, 1825, the McNab settlers, amounting in all—men, women and children—to eighty-four souls, embarked at Greenock in the ship Niagara, for America. After a speedy and prosperous voyage they safely landed in the city of Montreal on the 27th day of May, and were there met by the Chief and his piper, James McNee, and Mr. Miles McDonald, who boarded the vessel in due form, and with a Highland welcome congratulated the settlers on their safe arrival. Preparations were now made for conveying the settlers to the place of their destination. At that time there were but few steamers, and the mode of travelling was difficult and hazardous. The only means of transport on the rivers and lakes were by "batteaux"—a species of large barges,—and the only steamboat that was then to be found on the Ottawa was the old Union, which plied between Hawkesbury and Hull. The necessary number of batteaux were got in readiness at Lachine, and the settlers having arrived at the latter place with their baggage, embarked, and after a voyage of two or three days' duration landed their living freight at Point Fortune. Here Mr. McLachlin, father of the late Daniel McLachlin, of Arnprior, took the contract of bringing the baggage to Hawkesbury. The settlers with their families performed the journey on foot, and Mr. McLachlin drew the baggage up on ox carts and sleds. There were but few horses in those days. At length they got safely on board the Union and steamed up for Hull. This part of the voyage took two days and a night in its accomplishment—a journey that can now be made in a few hours. On the evening of the second day they arrived at Hull. There was no city of Ottawa then—no Bytown. The site of the present seat of Government of the Dominion of Canada was a dense, unbroken forest, an uncultivated wild, a pathless wilderness, where the bear and the wolf roamed uncontrolled, and the red deer gambolled in its deep dark glades and [Pg 18] [Pg 19] [Pg 20] [Pg 21] sylvan retreats. From Hull upwards, the settlers met with many hardships till they reached the Chats. Here they had to disembark and proceed to the place of their future home through the woods, following a pathway and guided by a blaze, their baggage being transported up the Chats Rapids by some of the male portion of the settlers and those who were sent to their assistance, such as lumberers and others who had before that time squatted in the township (the only persons residing there when they arrived were Archibald Stewart, Duncan Campbell and his sons, an old Glengarry soldier and the Goodwins). The journey of the settlers from Montreal to McNab, with their baggage and luggage, occupied 28 days. The above may be freely translated thus—"Protestants and Catholics shall be treated by me with no invidious distinction." CHAPTER III. ARRIVAL OF THE SETTLERS IN M'NAB—THEIR LOCATION. On the 23rd of June, 1825, the settlers all arrived safely in the township, and pitched their camps at the present Arnprior steamboat landing. As many as could be crowded into Kennel Lodge, where the Laird resided, proceeded thither; the remainder occupied the camps until all the luggage had safely reached its destination. The Laird then called them together and informed them that the township was given to him as a grant by the Government, because he was a Highland Chief—that they could go and select their lands —that he would send the Campbells (of the lake), the Goodwins and Arch. Stewart along with them to point out the most eligible locations, and as soon as they had chosen their respective lots, he would locate them in due form. They accordingly proceeded to prospect and select their lands: The three McIntyre families, James McFarlane (Kier), James McDonald and Donald McNaughton went up the Madawaska a distance of seven miles, and selected lands in what is now called the Flat Rapid Settlement. James McLaren went to the borders of Horton, in what is now known as the Lochwinnoch settlement, and the rest of the emigrants pitched upon lands in the neighborhood of what is now Arnprior, and along the banks of a small brook which they named the Dochert, after a river of the same name which flowed through the Kennel estate in Scotland. Having made this selection they removed their families to the wild woods, in the very depth of the primeval forest, and erected small shanties. The heads of families repaired to the Chief's house to get their locations. The Chief, through Dr. Hamilton, of Leney, promised that the settlers were to be transported to their lands without any trouble or expense, and were to be furnished by the Chief with three months' provisions after they arrived, out of a store that was kept at the mouth of the Madawaska river, by Mr. Ferguson (Craigdarrach). When the settlers arrived, all that was in the store was a large puncheon of whiskey and some clothes, nothing in the provision line whatever. They resolved then, as soon as they got their locations, to go out in the neighboring Township of Fitzroy to work for food for themselves and families. The Chief accordingly sitting in solemn state at Kennel Lodge, having these memorable and remarkable documents prepared in duplicate, forthwith proceeded to seal and sign. I subjoin a copy of this remarkable document given to the first settlers. They are all of the same form, and in transcribing one I give you a copy of each settlers' location ticket. All of them were written in red ink, with the exception of two, and these two settlers had given some offence to the Chief on their way up, and to evince his displeasure he wrote theirs in black ink. [copy of location ticket.] I, Archibald McNab, of McNab, do hereby locate you, James Carmichael, [1] [Pg 22] [Pg 23] [Pg 24] upon the rear half of the Sixteenth Lot of the Eleventh Concession of McNab, upon the following terms and conditions, that is to say: I hereby bind myself, my heirs and successors, to give you the said land free of any quit rent for three years from this date, as also to procure you a patent for the same at your expense, upon your having done the settlement duties and your granting me a mortgage upon said lands, that you will yearly thereafter pay to me, my heirs and successors for ever one bushel of wheat or Indian corn, or oats of like value, for every cleared acre upon the said Lot of Land in name of Quit Rent for the same, in month of January in each year. Your subscribing to these conditions being binding upon you to fulfil the terms thereof. Signed and sealed by us at Kennell Lodge, this twelfth day of August, 1825. Signed, Archibald McNab, (L.S.) Signed, James Carmichael, (L.S.) I have interlined the above document, which indicates the first attempt to establish and fix firmly a system of feudal dependence upon the Chief. All the first settlers signed their original location tickets. Now, McNab held them under him by two instruments—the bond executed at Leney House in Callander, and the location ticket which bound themselves and their lands to the Chief and his heirs and successors forever. The reader will direct his attention to the Order in Council for the settlement of the Township of McNab, passed in 1823, and contrast it with the terms the Laird of McNab imposed upon his settlers. They were ignorant. They had implicit confidence in their Chief. His word was law, and they imagined that the land was his, as he had represented it, and they conceived that they could easily pay the bushel of wheat to the acre. They had no experience and they really and conscientiously believed that the lands in Canada were as fertile as those in the straiths of their own native country—the land they had so lately left and where they paid high rents, and this small tax of a bushel for every cleared acre was a mere nothing, which could be easily met. CHAPTER IV. PROGRESS OF THE SETTLEMENT—PERSECUTION. And now the settlers proceeded to make small clearances round their rough and primitive homesteads. In the midst of the dense and primeval forest—unaccustomed to such work —unused to the woods, their hardships and difficulties can scarce be described; but manfully and courageously they set to work, undeterred by no obstacle and undaunted by no danger, however great. They looked forward to the future with glowing anticipations, but that future was darkened by clouds of adverse fortune and annoyances they had then no expectations to encounter or to dread. The three months provisions with which they had been furnished at Greenock, by Dr. Hamilton of Leney, were nearly exhausted, and something must be done for their families, and to procure seed for the fall and coming spring. They had been informed that Chief McNab would furnish them with a year's provisions, which they would be called upon to pay for on realizing the proceeds of their crops. They put full reliance upon this, and found soon after their arrival that the Laird could not supply them with even the bare necessaries of life. They discovered, when too late, that they had leant upon a reed and put faith in fallacy. They now saw that they would be compelled to leave off the clearing of their lands and go out to work for provisions; consequently some went to a Mr. Thos. Burns, of Fitzroy, and worked with him at haying and harvest and potato digging, and earned provisions—others went to Beckwith and hired out—others purchased provisions on credit in Beckwith. Now it became necessary to transfer to their families a sufficient supply to last till winter, when the carriage would be easier as soon as sleighing set in. There were no roads, but merely a pathway from Mr. Snedden's in Ramsay to Beckwith; the remainder of the route to the Township of McNab was down the Mississippi to the mouth, then up the Chats Lake to the mouth of the [Pg 25] [Pg 26] [Pg 27] [Pg 28] Madawaska, thence up the Madawaska River to the Flat Rapid Settlement; and to other places by land on blazed paths through the bush. Boats knocked together in a rough fashion, and canoes rudely manufactured, were improvised for the occasion, and small loads were brought from "Murphy's Falls" in this manner to McNab. From Beckwith to the present "Carleton Place," and even to Snedden's, loads were transferred on the settlers' backs. These were hardships indeed, and during the years 1825, 1826 and part of 1827, this was the continual occupation of the settlers. They had not yet realized enough from their crops to support their families, because much of the time necessary to the clearing and cultivation of their respective lots was occupied by hiring out to obtain the necessaries of life for their starving families. They were often reduced to the greatest straits: for days the wives and children of the settlers were kept alive by potatoes alone, with a little salt as a relish, and when a bag of flour was got by one neighbour, it was immediately divided among the whole. During the winter, however, after the experience of the first fall and winter, they laid in a sufficient stock to last them for a year, which was partly paid for by the former summer's work and partly to be liquidated by the ensuing summer's labor. It was the custom of the settlers before going out to hire, to ask the Chief's permission, as their liege-lord; and strict injunctions were given to all not to leave the township on any account without asking McNab's leave. This was carrying the Lairdship with a high hand indeed, and reducing the free-born Highlanders to the abject condition of Russian serfs; but they all complied without a murmur, judging from the bond they had signed at Lenney House that they were bound to obey their leader in all things. It was also another despotic rule laid down by the Chief that the timber on their lands belonged to him, and consequently they could not dispose of it. In this they all complied without remonstrance, except Mr. Alexander Miller, one of the settlers, who was well educated, and who before emigrating had taught the village school of Nineveh, a small hamlet half way between Loch Earn head and Callander. He remonstrated, and said that the locatees had a right to the timber, and he sold all on his land to Mr. John Brill, formerly a lumberman in McNab. When the Chief heard of this disposition of the timber he at once made for the spot and ordered Mr. Brill to desist or he would hold him accountable. "And who are you?" exclaimed Brill, an old man-o'-war's man and an athlete of gigantic proportions. "I, sir, am McNab of McNab, and this township and all that is in it belongs to me," exclaimed the Chief pompously. "But who are you, fellow?" "I'm Jack Brill of the Brilliants, sir, and if you don't clear out in five minutes I'll rope's-end you to your heart's content," said Brill in a voice of thunder, and lifting up a huge ox gad in a menacing attitude. The Chief looked aghast with astonishment and hastily retired from the spot, vowing vengeance against all concerned; and before leaving this part of the narrative I may as well state the sequel. Owing to McNab's influence with the government, Brill had to pay him the whole amount of the duty of all the timber he cut on the township. In the spring of 1826, Mr. Alex. Miller went to Kennell and asked the Chief's permission to leave the township to seek work for provisions. He was peremptorily refused, and now commenced the first of a series of persecutions, which lasted for sixteen years, and which finally culminated in the liberation of the people of the township from the thraldom of Chief McNab. Miller upon his refusal did not know what to do or how to turn. He had only six weeks' provisions in the house, and at the end of that time he did not know where to look for a replenishing of this stock. He left the township without permission and hired with Messrs. William and John Thompson, of Nepean. While industriously employed in providing for his family he was suddenly and unexpectedly arrested on a capias, at the instance of the Laird of McNab, for a debt £80, and brought to Perth and lodged in jail. These were the palmy days of the "family compact," and a person could then be arrested for a debt of forty shillings, and deprived of his liberty for months, merely upon an affidavit of the plaintiff that he believed the debtor was about to leave the Province. Better times have now supervened. The present generation may look back to the exertions of their fathers and grandfathers with gratitude for the great and glorious struggles in the cause of liberty, and in erasing forever from the Statute Book that barbarous law Imprisonment for Debt. Poor Miller lay in Perth jail for two days without eating any food, and would have starved [Pg 29] [Pg 30] [Pg 31] [Pg 32] [Pg 33] to death had it not been for the kindness and humanity of Mr. James Young, then the benevolent keeper of the county prison. This high-handed proceeding was characterized by the greatest cruelty as well as illegality on the part of the Chief. Let the reader refer to the original agreement between McNab and Sir Peregrine Maitland's government, and he will at a glance perceive that Miller had no right to pay a cent, either of principal or interest on the bond he had given to the Chief, and signed at Leney House, Scotland until seven years after the date of his location; yet, notwithstanding this solemn agreement— notwithstanding all Dr. Hamilton's promises, the agreement was violated at the very outset, and his kinsman's promises—the gentleman, who, out of his own resources, had paid the passage money of Miller and his family and the rest of the settlers to Canada—were treated as flimsy nothings, for at the end of only the second year of Miller's emigration, he was arrested and imprisoned, and his family left to starve. For six weeks he remained in jail before the settlers in McNab knew of his incarceration, but as soon as the intelligence reached the township the following settlers travelled to Perth, a distance then of sixty miles, though scarcely any roads but mere pathways, and went special bail, viz.:—John McIntyre, James McFarlane (Kier), Peter McIntyre, Donald McNaughton and James McDonald, and poor Miller was liberated. The above persons were marked down as black sheep in the Chief's doomsday book, and set apart for the next batch to be sued. The settlers engaged Mr. James Boulton to defend Miller, while the Laird of McNab's legal adviser was the late Daniel McMartin, Esq. The upshot of the affair was that the settlers were sacrificed for want of a proper defence, and each of the persons who entered as bail for Miller were compelled to pay about £50 each. It was during this memorable affair that the following letter was written by Mr. James McLaurin, one of the settlers who was located in the Lochwinnoch section of the township. When Miller's case came up for trial in April, 1827, it became necessary to prove the bond signed by Miller in Scotland. Now Mr. Donald McLaren, the subscribing witness, was in Scotland, and his handwriting was proven by others. The defence was that McNab had not fulfilled his part of the agreement to put the settlers on the land free of expense, and moreover, that he had ordered some salt and a portion of their provisions to be destroyed. Mr. McLaurin warmly esposed Miller's side, and in consequence was obliged to leave the township a few years afterwards, and he settled in the vicinity of the village of Renfrew. This is the letter:— March 9th, 1827. Mr. Peter McIntyre, Dear Sir,—Please send me notice concerning Miller's affair, for I am informed he is dropping all and coming to the land. I wish to let you know that the Chief intends to cast you all as evidences and take you as principals. Ross is to be taken in evidence on behalf of McNab. I wish to let you know that I am the man who spilt the salt by McNab's orders, saying there was plenty on the spot. Sir, please send me notice concerning a petition I was informed you got wrote in Perth. I hope you will count me worthy to sign it. Take some witness besides yourself to Perth and send me a letter without delay about all affairs. I will go as a witness. Remember me to all friends in that quarter that wish to give Satan a blow. I am, yours truly till death, (Signed), Jas. McLaurin. I insert this letter to show that the spirit of discontent was fast creeping in among the settlers, and that something like an organized resistance was commencing; but it was not until ten years afterwards that it assumed form and consistency—but to our narrative. All the efforts for Miller were vain; the Chief received a verdict, and in consequence of an error made by Miller of one day only that he should have surrendered and relieved his bail, the Chief abandoned his judgment against him and issued summonses against the six individuals who went his special bail. For many months he could not get them served, and McDonald and McFarlane were never served. Whenever a stranger appeared in the Flat Rapid settlement, a horn was blown as a signal, guns were fired at every house and the male inhabitants hid until the stranger disappeared. It was after many months of strategic manoeuvering that four of the six "black sheep" were served, and they subsequently had to pay the amount. Alex. Miller left the township entirely, and for many years taught school in [Pg 34] [Pg 35] [Pg 36] [Pg 37] the township of Beckwith. His death occurred as late as 1867. He was the first martyr to the Laird of McNab's despotism, and he was thus victimized as an example to the rest. CHAPTER V. NEW ARRIVALS. When McNab procured from the Government the "Order-in-Council" granting to him the privilege of settling the township, it was restricted to eighteen months, but in 1827 the Government, who granted his every request, extended it to an indefinite period. His power was almost unlimited, and none of the inhabitants for a moment doubted that it was his own property. Even as late as 1827 the settlers looked up to the Laird of McNab with that degree of dread and awe that Highlanders regarded the Chief of a Highland Clan, and that deference was kept up for a long period, and not till every tie that binds man to friendship and respect was severed did it entirely cease. Miller's treatment perpetuated a sentiment of respect in some, of fear in others, so that nearly at the very outset of its settlement the Township of McNab was divided into two parties, the Opposition and the staunch adherents of the Chief. When they first arrived, there were several lumberers carrying on their operations in the township, viz.: Alexander McDonnell, Esq., Sand Point; Duncan Campbell, Matthew Barr, the Goodwins, Messrs. Mitchell & Sutherland, and John Brill. It was the interest of these parties to keep on terms with the chief. For about one-fourth of the real value he gave passes to all cutting timber in the township. These parties never questioned his title to the ownership of the land, and even Brill, who had at first treated him roughly, was obliged to succumb and propitiate his favor. The settlers had about this time (1827) cut several roads through the settlements, and though rough and unfinished, served as channels of communication. It was in January of this year that the Chief wrote to Dr. Hamilton of Leney, to send out more settlers. The Doctor, who had received some information of McNab's treatment to the settlers, point blank refused to take any more interest in him or his affairs. This was an unlooked-for repulse. He had to settle the township in order to keep on terms with the Government of the day, which gave him every latitude, and did for him whatever he asked. Accordingly he proceeded to Montreal, met with some emigrants (1827), and by glowing descriptions, plausible representations and enticing promises, induced them to come to "his township," among whom were the Hamiltons, the Wilsons, and Mr. David Airth, sr., now of Renfrew, and he located them upon lands at the rate of half a bushel of wheat per acre to be paid him and his heirs and successors forever. Here the reader will perceive that by the wording of his location tickets, he already contemplated the establishment of a principality on the Ottawa. Mr. Airth, soon after his arrival, discovered that he was entitled to a grant of 200 acres, as a sergeant in the Royal Artillery. He consequently left the Goshen settlement of McNab and drew land in the neighboring Township of Horton, where he at present resides. About this time (1829) Messrs. Alexander and Daniel Ross, having made improvements on Lot No. 3, in the 14th concession of McNab, with the intentions of erecting mills on that lot which is now partly occupied by the flourishing village of Arnprior, would not agree to the Chief's terms, as the lot was originally a Clergy Reserve. The Chief exchanged it for another lot, drew the patent in his own name, and ejected the Rosses who, as has been before stated, went to Lower Canada and settled in Bristol. They wrote an anonymous communication to Lieut.-Governor Sir John Colborne (Baron Seaton), severely reprobating the Chief's behaviour, and animadverting in no measured terms on the conduct of the Government itself. This document was without a signature, and without either locality or date. The high-minded and honorable soldier who ruled Upper Canada, scorning such a mode of attack and complaint, at once sent the communication to the Chief. They were intimate friends. Sir John had offered McNab a place in the Government and a seat in the Legislative Council, which was politely declined. The Chief's affable manner, his imposing and noble appearance, the manly beauty of his person, and that chivalrous politeness which he had acquired in France, together with his generous expenditure, both at home and abroad, had so won on the Lieut.-Governor that he could not believe the accomplished gentleman was a tyrant, nor the handsome Highland Chieftain a cruel despot, as represented in the letter, and if one statement appeared false, the whole must be without foundation—thus reasoned the simple and honorable soldier. [Pg 38] [Pg 39] [Pg 40] [Pg 41] [Pg 42] Besides, the complaint was anonymous and consequently cowardly and untrue. It was attributed to ingratitude and discontent. When the Laird of McNab received the communication, he was surprised at its audacity. To discover its author was his first object, to punish him his next effort. Being without a name it did not come within the category of privileged communication, and consequently the author in those days was liable to punishment. He, on the impulse of the moment, selected one of the settlers as the author—one Alexander McNab, who had been a teacher in Scotland, and who had specially emigrated to Canada to follow his profession. As such he received the location ticket for 200 acres instead of one, as had been awarded to other settlers. He was now the only educated man among the settlers. He had shown symptoms of insubordination some time previously. His handwriting was very like that of the libellous communication. He resided within two miles of Kennell Lodge, near the present Flat Rapid Road. His place is now occupied by his son-in-law, Mr. John Yuill. He received a peremptory summons to attend upon the Laird. At once obeying the mandate of his Chief, he appeared before him anxious and apprehensive. The missive he received was couched in these terms—not by any means calculated to remove his apprehension:— Kennell Lodge, 13th March, 1829. Alexander McNab: Degraded Clansman,—You are accused to me by Sir John Colborne, of libel, sedition, and high treason. You will forthwith compear before me, at my house of Kennell, and there make submission; and if you show a contrite and repentant spirit, and confess your faults against me, your legitimate Chief, and your crime against His Majesty King George, I will intercede for your pardon. Your offended Chief, (Signed) McNab. When he appeared at Kennell, McNab read the communication and asked poor Sandy to confess. Mr. McNab stoutly denied it. He was completely astonished and indignant at being thus charged and asked to acknowledge a crime he had never contemplated, and which, if his name had been affixed to it, would have been a privileged communication and beyond the bounds of prosecution. "Well, my man," exclaimed the Chief, "I must send you to jail, and I assure you that your neck is in danger." Alexander McNab was an innocent man, and had a bold and courageous spirit. Instead of begging for mercy, he defied the Chief. This was enough. The least opposition was sure to raise a whirlwind. He drew up a warrant of commitment, swore in two special constables, and sent Alex. McNab to Perth without bail or mainprize. He was six weeks imprisoned when the Assizes came on. Defended by the Hon. Jonas Jones afterwards the late Judge Jones, of the Queen's Bench, he was at once acquitted, and the warrant of commitment was the subject of amusement from its quaint and patriarchal style to the lawyers and others assembled in Court. Alexander Ross, the writer of the alleged libellous communication, was in Court, and if Alexander McNab had been convicted, he would have acknowledged the authorship, and thus saved an innocent man from severe punishment. For in those days the law of libel was very stringent and severe. It was a favorite axiom with both Judges and law officers of the Crown "the greater the truth the greater the libel"—a doctrine now justly exploded and subject to merited ridicule. Alexander McNab returned to his family in triumph. This was the first check the Chief had received, and he resolved to punish the "black sheep" the first opportunity that offered. His name was accordingly entered in the prescribed list, with what results the sequel will show. The Laird of McNab was a Magistrate, and this case shows the despotic sway of the Family Compact. He had, without information laid, without examination, without ex parte evidence, acted as witness, prosecutor and Judge; and the first process issued was a warrant of commitment, so utterly illegal in point of force and substance that in the present day, no keeper of a prison would have received the person committed under it; yet the Laird of McNab, instead of being dismissed from the Commission of the Peace, was warmly applauded for his energy and decision. Times have changed. The occurrence of such a betise in the present day would be denounced in no measured terms by the [Pg 43] [Pg 44] [Pg 45] [Pg 46] public opinion and by the press, until the perpetrator would have been brought to justice and adequately punished. Our liberties are so sacredly guarded, our constitutional rights so well defined and protected that such an outrage is impossible; and this we owe not only to responsible government, which was attained in 1841, after a severe and protracted struggle, but to the spirit of liberty it infused, and to the wholesome and salutary safeguards introduced. CHAPTER VI. FRESH ARRIVALS. The Chief being a Magistrate, had, by the law of the land, the power of celebrating marriages, after banns had been duly published. The mode of publishing banns was by fixing written notices upon three of the most conspicuous pine trees in three public places in the township. The first marriage after this primitive fashion among the settlers was celebrated by the Chief at his residence, between Mr. Matthew Barr, a lumberer, and Miss Elizabeth McIntyre, daughter of John McIntyre, the oldest settler, who came out in 1825. After Mr. Barr's marriage, frequent inter-marriages occurred among the settlers, and since the trial of Alex. McNab, matters had subsided into a state of tranquility. Alex. McNab left the township, but his family still remained, cultivating and improving the farm. He, himself, travelled westward, and obtained a school which he taught for some years. About this time (1830), a fresh accession of settlers increased the numerical strength of the inhabitants. They consisted of the McNabs, the Camerons, the Campbells, the McKays and the McNevins from Isla, and they took up land in the rear of the township, where there was a good hardwood country, viz., on the first, second, third and fourth concession, embracing the part of the country lying around White Lake, and what is called Canaan. The arrangements entered into with these settlers, whom McNab met in Montreal and induced to settle in what he called "his township," differed from all the rest. It will be borne in mind that they paid their own passage money and expenses to McNab Township. It did not cost McNab or his friends in Scotland one single penny—yet, in direct violation of the Order-in-Council, quoted in the second chapter of this narrative he located them as follows:— [copy.] I, Archibald McNab, of McNab, do hereby locate you, James McKay, upon Lot No. 18, in the Second concession of McNab, upon the following terms and conditions, that is to say:—I hereby bind myself, my heirs or successors, to give you the said land free of any quit rent or free rate, for three years from this date, and also procure you a patent for the same at your own expense, upon you having done the settlement duties, and your granting me a mortgage on the said lands, that you will yearly thereafter pay to me...