Soon after, probably passed on by other
colonies, a thousand more arrived. Alarmed by the presence
of so many strangers, the authorities adopted measures
to place them under restraint; and in February 1756 two
parties of the prisoners broke loose: thirty of them
outdistanced their pursuers; five or six, according to
the Gazette, made their way to the plantation of a Mr
Williams on the Santee, terrified the family, secured a
quantity of clothing and firearms, broke open a box
containing money, and headed across the Alleghanies, it
was thought, for the French stronghold, Fort Duquesne,
where Pittsburgh now stands. This conjecture is probable,
since nine Acadians from Fort Duquesne arrived at the
river St John some time later. In the interval the South
Carolina legislature passed an act for the dispersion of
four-fifths of the French Neutrals in various parishes
at the public expense, the remaining fifth to be supported
at Charleston by the vestry of St Phillips. On April 16
passports were given to one hundred and thirty persons
to proceed to Virginia.
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