On the evening of the 2nd November the sloop "York" came to anchor
"under an island called the Great Island," or Long Island. Some of the
party landed on the island where, Monckton tells us, they found
walnuts (or butternuts) much like English walnuts.

The expedition was now approaching one of the principal Acadian
settlements and Captain Benoni Danks was sent with a party and a guide
to try to take a prisoner in order, if possible, to obtain further
information, but the Acadians evidently received timely warning of
their danger and had abandoned their village.

It may be mentioned, in passing, that there are some very uncomplimentary
references to Captain Danks and his Rangers in Rev. Hugh Graham's letter
to Rev. Dr. Brown, written at Cornwallis, N. S., in 1791.[42] See for
example the following: "A considerable large body of the French were at
one time surprised by a party of the Rangers on Petitcodiac River; upon
the first alarm most of them threw themselves into the river and swam
across, and by this ways the greatest part of them made out to elude the
clutches of these bloody hounds, tho' some of them were shot by the
merciless soldiery in the river. It was observed that these Rangers,
almost without exception, closed their days in wretchedness, and
particularly a Capt. Danks, who rode to the extreme of his commission in
every barbarous proceeding. In the Cumberland insurrection (1776) he was
suspected of being 'Jack on both sides of the bush,' left that place
in a small jigger bound for Windsor, was taken ill on the passage,
thrown down into the hold among the ballast, was taken out at Windsor
half dead, and had little better than the burial of a dog. He lived under
a general dislike and died without any to regret his death."

[42] This letter will be found in the Collections of the Nova Scotia
Historical Society, Vol. II., pp. 135-145. Many of Mr.
Graham's remarks savor of exaggeration and in reading the
extract above this fact should not be lost sight of.

Saturday, the 4th of November, was an unhappy day for the poor
Acadians living at the little village of Grimrose--the site of the
modern village of Gagetown. The story shall be told in Monckton's own
words:--

"Nov'br ye 4th,--The party returns without any Prisoner, having
been at the Village of Grimrose which they found had been but
lately deserted by the inhabitants.

"Give orders for landing. Having got a body of ab