country adjacent to the river St John. On their return
they published glowing accounts of the country, and their
report was transmitted to their friends in New York.

The result of the favourable reports sent in by these
agents, and by others who had gone ahead, was an invasion
of Nova Scotia such as no one, not even the provincial
authorities, had begun to expect. As the names of the
thousands who were anxious to go to Nova Scotia poured
into the adjutant-general's office in New York, it became
clear to Sir Guy Carleton that with the shipping facilities
at his disposal he could not attempt to transport them
all at once. It was decided that the ships would have to
make two trips; and, as a matter of fact, most of them
made three or four trips before the last British soldier
was able to leave the New York shore.

On April 26, 1783, the first or 'spring' fleet set sail.
It had on board no less than seven thousand persons, men,
women, children, and servants. Half of these went to the
mouth of the river St John, and about half to Port Roseway,
at the south-west end of the Nova Scotian peninsula. The
voyage was fair, and the ships arrived at their destinations
without mishap. But at St John at least, the colonists
found that almost no preparations had been made to receive
them. They were disembarked on a wild and primeval shore,
where they had to clear away the brushwood before they could
pitch their tents or build their shanties. The prospect
must have been disheartening. 'Nothing but wilderness
before our eyes, the women and children did not refrain