I have
been credibly informed that the moral and intellectual state of
the people is much improved. While I was there the church was
opened, and I must say that the people came in crowds to attend
a place of worship, many of them coming fifteen and twenty
miles purposely to attend.

On the first settlement of the country, the Indians naturally
viewed the intruders with a jealous eye, and some of the
settlers having repeatedly robbed their nets, &c., they
retaliated and stole several boats' sails, implements of iron,
&c. The settlers, in return, mercilessly shot all the Indians
they could meet with:--in fact so fearful were the latter of
fire-arms, that, in an open space, one person with a gun would
frighten a hundred; when concealed among the bushes, however,
they often made a most desperate resistance. I have heard an
old man, named Rogers, living on Twillingate Great Island,
boast that he had shot, at different periods, above sixty of
them. So late as 1817, this wretch, accompanied by three
others, one day discovered nine unfortunate Indians lying
asleep on a small island far up the bay. Loading the large
guns[A] very heavily, they rowed up to them, and each taking
aim, fired. One only rose, and rushing into the water,
endeavoured to swim to another island, close by, covered with
wood; but the merciless wretch followed in the boat, and
butchered the poor creature in the water with an axe, then took
the body to the shore and piled it on those of the other eight,
whom his companions had in the meantime put out of their
misery. He minutely described, to me the spot, and I afterwards
visited the place, and found their bones in a heap, bleached
and whitened with the winter's blast.

I have now, I think, said enough to account for the _shyness_
of the Indians towards the settlers, but could relate many
other equally revolting scenes, some of which I shall hereafter
touch upon. In 1815 or 1816, Lieutenant, now Captain Buchan,
set out on an expedition to endeavour to meet with the Indians,
for the purpose of opening a friendly communication with them.
He succeeded in meeting with them, and the intercourse seemed
firmly established, so much so, that two of them consented to
go and pass the night with Captain Buchan's party, he leaving