ubby woods
and over rough limestone they reached Portland Point undiscovered and
took William Hazen and James White prisoners. James Simonds and Israel
Perley had accompanied Col. Goold to Halifax, and in this way Mr.
Simonds escaped capture, but it seems that a little later he was not
so fortunate. There was now no good will between the people of
Portland Point and their neighbors to the west. Allan states in his
journal "Hazen and Simonds jeered our officers, saying that they made
breastworks of women and children." Tradition has it that on one
occasion James Simonds told a party of marauders who had come to
pillage that they would never dare to face the King's soldiers for
their blood was nothing but molasses and water.

Leaving a guard of sixty men at the mouth of the river under Capt.
West, the rest of the invaders proceeded up the river taking their
prisoners with them. West and his party took possession of Woodman's
store and buildings opposite Indiantown and occupied them for
barracks. Allan directed them "To range the woods from Hazen's across
the river above the falls round to the Old Fort," and in accordance
with his instructions, the party came over every day to the Portland
shore in order to capture any vessel that might enter the harbor and
to prevent the landing of marines or seamen from any British man of
war.

Allan in his diary gives an account of his trip up the St. John, which
is of much local interest. He claims that the majority of the
settlers, despite their late submission to Colonel Goold, were
friendly to the American cause, although some were "great Zealots for
Britain." Gervas Say and Lewis Mitchell are said to have been
instrumental in bringing Col. Goold to the river, and Allan endeavored
to seize them. Mitchell's influence was feared on account of his being
of "an insinuating turn, particularly among the French and Indians."
Mitchell was captured by strategy at his house above Grimross, but a
few days later he "made his elopement" and with the assistance of
other loyalists was not long in bringing a hornet's nest about the
ears of his captors.

On the 5th of June, 1777, John Allan and his party arrived at the
Indian village of Aukpaque where forty or fifty Indians arrayed in war
costume of paint and feathers fired a salute of welcome. The visitors
responded and in order still further to impress the Indians landed
their two cannon and discharged them. Allan says that he found several
o