ran aground and were wrecked with a loss of nearly a
thousand men; and the commander gave up the undertaking
and bore away for England. When news of this mishap
reached Nicholson he retreated and disbanded his men.
But, though the ambitious enterprise ended ingloriously,
it was not wholly fruitless, for it kept the French of
Quebec on guard at home; while but for this menace they
would probably have sent a war-party in force to drive
the English out of Acadia.

The situation of the English at Annapolis was indeed
critical. Their numbers had been greatly reduced by
disease and raids and the men were in a sorry plight for
lack of provisions and clothing. Vetch could obtain
neither men nor money from England or the colonies. Help,
however, of a sort did come in the summer of 1712. This
was in the form of a band of Six Nation Indians, allies
of the English, from the colony of New York. [Footnote:
Collections of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, vol.
iv, p. 41.] These savages pitched their habitations not
far from the fort, and thereafter the garrison suffered
less from the Micmac and Abnaki allies of the French.

The Acadians were in revolt; and as long as they cherished
the belief that their countrymen would recover Acadia,
all attempts to secure their allegiance to Queen Anne
proved unavailing. At length, in April 1713, the Treaty
of Utrecht set at rest the question of the ownership of
the country. Cape Breton, Ile St Jean (Prince Edward
Island), and other islands in the Gulf were left in the