insurrection to go into exile and to pardon the rest on condition that tlie former would sign a paper acknowledging their participation in the revolt. Girouard refused to sign the paper and made strenuous efforts to dissuade his companions. The result proved his wisdom, as the other leaders were exiled to the Bermudas, while he was released after the proclamation of amnesty without conditions. He then returned to St. Benoit, where he devoted himself successfully to his profession. He was offered a portfolio in the Baldwin-Lafontaine min- istry of 1842, but declined this and other public oflBces. The rest of his life was spent in the du- ties of his profession and in succoring families that suffered in the troubles of 1837. He also founded the hospital of Youville in St. Benoit.
GIRTY, Simon, soldier, b. in Pennsylvania in
1741; d. in Malden, Canada, 18 Feb., 1818. His
father died, and his mother had married again,
when in 1755 the whole family were taken captive
by Indians, and the step-father was burned at the
stake. Simon remained a prisoner till 1758, when
he was released. In 1774 he was a soldier and spy
under Lord Dunmore at Fort Pitt, and a friend
and companion of Simon Kenton. Being an
active loyalist, he left Pennsylvania at the beginning
of the Revolution, became a leader of the savages,
and was concerned in many atrocities. It is not
known whether he was given a British commission.
He had been held a prisoner by the Whigs at
Pittsburg, but escaped, collected about 400
Indian warriors in the summer of 1777, and in
September attacked Fort Henry (now Wheeling, W.
Va.), which was garrisoned by about forty men.
After defeating with great slaughter a reconnoitring
party, and reducing the garrison to twelve
men, he made a demand for its surrender, but was
refused. The Indians now laid siege to the fort,
but, as they had no artillery, the garrison held its
own until it was relieved next day by forty mounted
men. In 1778, with two other Tories, Girty went
through the Indian country to Detroit, urging the
savages to take up arms against the Americans.
He was present at the torture and death of Col.
William Crawford (q. v.) in 1782, and is charged
with showing delight at his sufferings; but Girty
averred that he did what he could to save
Crawford's life. Subsequently, when his old associate,
Simon Kenton, was captured by the Indians, Girty
exerted himself to the utmost to save him from
the torture, and succeeded in effecting his release.
In August, 1782, Girty invaded Kentucky and with
600 savages made an attack on Bryant's station,
near Lexington, which was garrisoned by about
fifty men. After an unsuccessful ambuscade Girty
laid siege to the fort till the approach of re-enforcements
under Daniel Boone caused him to retreat.
He was rapidly pursued, and the battle of the Blue
Licks followed, in which many of the Kentucky
leaders lost their lives. This was the last great
Indian battle on Kentucky soil. In the same year
Girty was active in the expulsion of the Moravian
missionaries who had been laboring quietly among
the Wyandottes. He lived for some time on
Sandusky river, where he had established a trading-station,
and planned and led many marauding
excursions. He was present at Gen. Arthur St. Clair's
defeat in 1791, and directed a savage to kill and
scalp Gen. Richard Butler, who lay wounded on
the field. Girty acted as interpreter to the
commissioners that were appointed by the U. S.
government to meet the Indians in 1793, and treated
them with insolence, finally securing the failure of
the negotiations. He also aided the British in the
war of 1812, and is said by some authorities to
have been killed in the battle of the Thames in
1813, but his descendants assert that he died a
natural death five years afterward.
GISBORNE, Frederic Newton, Canadian in-
ventor, b. in Broughton, Lancashire, England, 8
March, 1824. He made a tour around the world in
1842-'5, came to Canada in July of the latter year,
and, after spending two years in farming, became
one of the operators of the Montreal telegraph
company, and opened its first station at Quebec.
He was then connected with various telegraphic
enterprises, and successfully completed the line
across Newfoundland in October, 1856. In 1862 he
was acting commissioner for Newfoundland at the
London exhibition, represented it at the Paris ex-
hibition of 1865, and was appointed London agent
for mines and minerals by the government of Nova
Scotia. In 1879 he was made superintendent of
the Dominion government telegraph and signal
service, which oifice he now holds (1887). He has
invented electric, pneumatic, and mechanical ship-
signals, anti-corrosive and anti-fouling compositions
for the bottoms of iron ships, an electric recording
target, and improvements in gas-illumination. His
semaphore was awarded a gold medal at the late
fishery exhibition in London. He was one of the
original members of the Royal society of Canada.
GIST, Christopher, scout. He was summoned
from ills home on the Yadkin in North Carolina
by the Ohio company, an association of English
merchants and Virginia planters, to whom had
been given a royal grant to examine the western
country " as far as the falls of the Ohio," to mark
the passes in the mountains, trace the course of
rivers, and observe the strength and numbers of
the Indian nations. On 31 Oct., 1750, he left the
shores of the Potomac. He crossed the Allegha-
nies and journeyed in February, 1751, to the
Miami river, holding conferences with the vari-
ous Indian tribes, but principally with the chief
of the Miamis. During the latter meeting four
ambassadors from the French were announced, but,
after a deliberation, an alliance was formed with
Gist, as the representative of the English. On
1 March, Gist continued his tour, descending the
Miami to the Ohio ; thence ascending the valley of
the Kentucky, he found a pass to the Bluestone,
and returned by way of the Roanolve. In 1753
the Ohio company opened a road into the western
valley, and Gist established a plantation near the
Youghiogheny. In November of that year hostili-
ties were threatened between the French and Eng-
lish : and George Washington, then just twenty-
one, but thoroughly familiar with the wilderness,
was selected as an envoy from Gov. Dinwiddle, of
Virginia, to make a winter journey to the streams
of Lake Erie. With Christopher Gist as his guide
he set out. In nine days they had reached the
junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela riv-
ers, and on 23 Nov., 1753, swam their horses across
the Alleghany, and wrapped themselves in their
blankets for the night. Their journey ended at
Waterford, near the shores of Lake Erie, where
they were not courteously received. They hastened
their return, and the day after Christmas were fired
upon by an Indian in ambush. " I would have
killed him," wrote Gist, " but Washington forbade."
They took him prisoner instead. Dismissing their
captive at dusk, they travelled all night and next
day, resting at dark under a huge tree. The de-
spatches were delivered, and a fort was established
at the junction of the rivers which Washington
and Gist had crossed, where Pittsburg now stands.
It was afterward, 17 April, seized by the French,
and named Fort Duquesne. Washington hastened
