come on board to be married, and a great many marriages followed,
from an idea prevailing that all the single men would be made
soldiers.

Nine transports sailed in company; Captain Wilson with Lord Rollo and
some soldiers, and Captain Moore also with soldiers, under convoy of
the Hind sloop of war; the rest being cartels, had no occasion for
convoy. Captain Moore's vessel was lost going through the Gut of
Canso, by striking on a sunken rock, whence the soldiers whom she
carried were put on board Captain Wilson's ship bound to Louisbourg.
Captain Moore, his son, mate and carpenter, took a passage in the Duke
William.

Contrary winds obliged the fleet to lie in the Gut of Canso, where
the French prisoners were permitted to go ashore frequently, and
remain there all night, making fires in a wood to keep themselves
warm, and some of them obtained muskets from Captain Nicholls for
shooting game, as they were not afraid of meeting with the Indians.
About three hours after departing, one of them came running back, and
begged, for God's sake, that the Captain would immediately return on
board with his people, as they had met with a party of Indians, who
were coming down to scalp them. Captain Nicholls, with the other
masters and sailors, hastily went off, and had scarce got on board
when the Indians actually reached the place that they had left. Thus
they had a very narrow escape of being murdered and scalped, had not
the French been faithful, and Providence interposed.

The fleet, in gaining the Gut of Canso, had been assailed by dangers.
During a fine night, some of the transports, worked within the Gut,
but Captain Nicholls, and Captain Johnson of the Parnassus, cast
anchor without it.

In the night a hard gale arose, and increased so much, that the latter
let go three anchors, yet the ship drove ashore and was lost. Another
ship, the Narcissus, also parted from her anchors, and was obliged to
run ashore, and most of the rest suffered damage. When the weather
became somewhat moderate, Captain Nicholls, found that all the French
prisoners on board the Parnassus, had gained the land, and had made
themselves large fires in the woods, on account of the cold showery
weather which prevailed; and, on joining them there, he told them, to
their great joy, that he would send boats to carry them off. This he
did next morning, and, finding it impossible to save the hull of the
Parnassus, though another ship was got off shore, ever