He further suggests an 'oath of obliging the Acadians to
live peaceably,' to take up arms against the Indians,
but not against the French, to acknowledge the king's
right to the country, to obey the government, and to hold
their lands of the king by a new tenure, 'instead of
holding them (as at present) from lords of manors who
are now at Cape Breton, where at this day they pay their
rent.' [Footnote: Public Archives, Canada. Nova Scotia
A, vol. xii, p. 96.]
There were signs that the situation was not entirely
hopeless. The Acadians were not allowed to leave the
country, or even to settle down to the enjoyment of their
homes; they were employed in supplying the needs of the
troops, or in strengthening the British fortifications;
yet they seem to have patiently accepted the inevitable.
The Indians committed acts of violence, but the Acadians
remained peaceable. There was, too, a certain amount of
intermarriage between Acadian girls and the British
soldiers. In those early days of Nova Scotia, girls of
a marriageable age were few and were much sought after.
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