Ephraim Cooke was a mariner, merchant, and shipbuilder who was instrumental in establishing Halifax, Mushamush (present-day Mahone Bay), and Blockhouse, Nova Scotia.
Infuriated by Cooke's insubordination and disrespect, Cornwallis issued a warrant preventing him from leaving the harbor until he paid the damages and wrote a note of apology.
[14][2][15][16][17] Cooke was left off the commission list following the conflict with Steele, but he maintained that his first appointment was still valid, effectively dismissing the legality of the court's authority.
[18] Eventually, though, his desire to do as he pleased and his disrespect for the court caught up with him when he issued a warrant for fisherman John Grace, who had not yet gone to trial and thus was not required to be in prison.
After deliberation about how to punish Cooke for being in contempt of court, they decided on a more lenient sentence and charged him a £20 fee with a £500 surety bond for a year of good behavior.
"[20] It is unclear whether he returned to England for a short period or whether he went straight to form a settlement at the mouth of the Mushamush River in what is now Mahone Bay, but he had settled and started building a block house in 1754.
[23][16][2][7] Patrick Sutherland at Fort Edward in nearby Lunenburg was given orders to provide Cooke with whatever he needed; as such, he was given a sloop and soldiers to protect him from the Indigenous Mi'kmaq, who were already living on the land.
[16][7] Following the Raid on Lunenburg, he built another block house, this time in the present-day community of Blockhouse, to protect the Mushamush population.