Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/528

 510 MICKLE MICMACS Pius IX. to his schemes of national regenera- tion, he went to Italy in 1848, and at Florence received a flattering ovation. In 1851 he was appointed by Louis Napoleon sub-librarian of the library of the arsenal at Paris ; and on the outbreak of the war against Russia he headed a Polish deputation to the French emperor, call- ing upon him to turn the great movement in favor of their oppressed country. Soon after he was sent on a secret mission to Constanti- nople, where he ended his career. His works have passed through numerous editions, and have been partly translated into other lan- guages. His correspondence has been pub- lished in Paris (3 vols., 1870 et seg.). MICKLE, William Julius, a Scottish pqet, born at Langholm, Dumfriesshire, Sept. 29, 1734, died at Wheatley, Oxfordshire, Oct. 25, 1788. After pursuing various occupations and becom- ing bankrupt, he became in 1766 corrector of the Clarendon press at Oxford, and produced "Pollio," an elegy, and "The Concubine,'' a moral poem, the title of which was afterward changed to " Syr Martyn." He published a translation of the first book of the " Lusiad " in 1771, and in 1775 completed the work which has passed through many editions. His most popular productions are " Cumnor Hall," which suggested " Kenil worth " to Scott, and the song " There's nae luck about the house," the authorship of which has been disputed. MICMACS, the most easterly branch of the Algonquin family of Indians, spread over northern New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and Gaspe They were called by the early French writers Souriquois, and by the neigh- boring Indians "Salt Water Indians," as they always cling to the seacoast. The Indians taken to England by Cabot in 1497, and to France by Aubert in 1508, were apparently Micmacs. From a very early period they waged fierce war with the Little Esquimaux north of the St. Lawrence. They were expert canoe men, and lived by fishing and hunting. They knew maize and tobacco, but there was no cultivation of maize among them, or indeed east of Saco. When the French under De Monts began to settle Canada, the Micmacs were estimated at 3,000 or 3,500, and their greatest chief was Membertou, who is said to have seen Cartier. Missions were soon be- gun, and the French secured permanently the friendship of the Micmacs. They figure in many of the border wars, and after the Eng- lish established Annapolis, the Micmacs de- stroyed Capt. Pigeon's force at Bloody Creek in 1711. They constantly plundered English vessels on the coast, in 1722 taking several in the bay of Fundy, and 18 in the harbors. They cruised along in their prizes, and actu- ally engaged two British armed vessels sent out against them. They attacked Annapolis in 1724 and 1744, Port Lajoie in 1746, and the fort at Mines in 1749, capturing a lieutenant and 18 men; and in 1751 they took Dart- mouth, opposite Halifax. Band after band made peace, but it was not till 17<><> that the Richibucto Micmacs, the most warlike and for- midable, laid down their arms. A series of treaties followed, and the Micmacs submitted to English rule. From 1783 to 1841 reserva- tions were allotted to them in New Bruns- wick, and in other colonies attempts were made to induce them to become agricultural ; but they were strongly averse to it, and in 1844 New Brunswick began a series of acts for selling the land. Nova Scotia and Cape Breton did the same, investing the proceeds for the benefit of the Indians. Catholic mis- sions have existed among them from early times, and Protestant missions have been ac- tively maintained for several years past. In. 1873 the Micmacs were estimated at 1,765 in Nova Scotia, and 1,386 in New Brunswick; there were 400 on Cape Breton in 1861, and 70 in Newfoundland ; so that they are about as numerous as they were 270 years ago. The Micmacs worshipped the sun. Papkootparout, the governor and ruler of the land of souls, was their great benefactor, having given them corn and tobacco. Glooscap is another great mythical character. Le Clercq, toward the close of the 17th century, found at Gasp6 great reverence for the cross, and many theo- ries were based on the fact; but Lescarbot many years before mentions their setting up crosses in imitation of the French. They made no pottery, had no hemp like neighbor- ing tribes, made breech cloths and mantles of skins, strings for bows and fishing lines of intestines, and lodges of bark or skins. They had a system of hieroglyphics more compre- 2 I or we; ^) thou ;, he; they; 3~+ P we are ; & ^J they are ; & our Father ; ^ his father or who is father; W light, heaven; ^J^ again; C } not ; ^N/"^ now ; (~*~ to-day ; (gP earth ; j may ; 3 also. Micmac Characters. hensive than has been found in other northern tribes. Le Clercq, seeing boys take down the prayers he was teaching them, adopted and im- proved these hieroglyphics, and as finally estab- lished they are still employed. Three books in this character have long been in use am<mir them in manuscript, and one was recently printed at Vienna. A grammar of the Micmac language, by the abbe" Maillard, revised by Bel- lenger, was printed at New York in 1864; and portions of Scripture, tracts, and books of devo- tion have been printed in the language, some in phonetic characters and some in ordinary type.